Snow Day Magic (Part 2)

I watched Three push his leaf-wrapped gift into the closed off area that Snow had made with a bunch of ice.  This way, no one could see who was placing which present.  She and Clover had taken this whole Secret Stantler thing pretty seriously.

Bolt and Inferno were standing on their toes, poised and watching the shiny Eevee as his tail vanished behind the ice.  Inferno's tail swished, and Bolt bounced on his paws, glowing brightly.  "Almost time...  I got the best present," Bolt muttered.

"Bet mine is better than yours," Inferno said, a challenging smile on his face.  Bolt, surprisingly, ignored him.

Surf inched closer to me so that our sides were touching.  "I haven't seen you put anything in there."

"I know," I said, keeping my eyes on Three.  "It doesn't need a package."

He watched me for a few seconds.  "...Are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me guess?"

"Neither!"  I slapped his flank with my tail.  "That would ruin it.  You know how into this Snow, Clover, and Bolt are."

He shrugged.  "Fair enough."

Finally, Three bounded back out.  "Ok!  Done!  Sorry about that!"

Bolt shot to his paws.  "Can we start now!?"

I tried to resist laughing.  "Sure!  Everyone, get your Snow Day present!"  In the following stampede, I was one of the three Eevees who didn't get stepped on or tripped over.  The other two were Bolt (who got in, grabbed his present, and got out before anyone else even stood up) and Espeon (who simply lifted her gift telekinetically).  I just waited until the chaos had subsided, then walked in and taken my leaf-swaddled gift.

Inferno put his package down.  "Who goes first?"

Snow looked around at the assembled Eevees.  "Let's let the kits go first."

The three Eevees cheered as Sunbeam tried to regulate.  "Go backwards, ok?  Five first."

"Oh boy!" the excited kit squeaked, tearing the leaf wrapping off.  Inside was a beautiful headband of flowers, woven with effort and care.  The main color was pink, but there were also white, blue, and yellow flowers spun in.  Five gasped in delight.  "It's beautiful!" she yelled excitedly before spilling it onto her head.  "And it fits!  Clover, was it from you?"

The Leafeon shook her head.  "Close!"

Five's eyes instantly moved to the Glaceon beside her previous suspect.  "Snow?"

Snow broke into a smile, nodding happily.  "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it!  I'll wear it all the time!"  She bounced around happily, kicking up powdery flakes as she danced with her wreath.  I smiled warmly.  How was she so cute?

She finally stopped, bounding back towards her other siblings.  "Your turn, Four!"

Four was less energetic than his sister, but his crackling buzz betrayed his excitement.  His gift looked like a squashed blob on the outside, but once the leaves were torn away, a plush Eevee was revealed.  Four looked confused.  "Why...?"

Surf stepped forward.  "It's so you can have someone to cuddle with at night.  I know you always sleep outside your nest, and I also know you want to sleep next to someone."  Four broke into a smile, looking back at the toy Eevee. "I also asked Bolt and Inferno to set it up so it would stay warm."

Four gave it an experimental hug, then pushed himself right up against it.  "Thank you, Surf.  It's perfect," he said, beaming.  Espeon smiled, lifting her son and his new toy back to the rest of his siblings with her mind so that Four didn't have to move. 

Three broke away to get to his present, tearing the leaves off as Surf sat down beside me again.  Under the leaves was a deck of human cards.   I knew who had given the gift because he was swishing his very fluffy tail back and forth as Three pawed through the deck, coming to a note at the end.  He read aloud.  "I'll teach you to play if you figure out who gave this to you."  He looked up and around at the assembled Eevees.  "Inferno?"

"Lucky guess!" he replied enthusiastically.  "I's a game called Go Fish, but I'll have to teach you how to play after everyone opens their presents.  I'll teach all five of you."

"Thanks, Inferno!" Three chirped before collecting the cards and stumbling back to his spot, losing quite a few of them on the way.  Sunbeam helped him clean them up as their shiny sister started unwrapping her present, her face neutral.  I felt bad for whoever pulled her name.  She'd be hard to find a present for...

Whoever got the present had clearly overcome the challenges, as Moonlight unwrapped a painted canvass depicting a magnificent blue moon shining over a forest.  Moonlight's eyes widened as she studied the detail.  "Who made this?  This is...  This is amazing."

"You like it, sis?" Sunbeam said as she took a step forward.  Moonlight could only nod.  "Well, thank Five and Snow, too.  They're the ones with the real artistic talent.  I just helped."

Moonlight turned around.  "Thank you.  All three of you."  The smile on her face gave away how happy she was. 

Sunbeam helped her sister move it back to her spot with telekinesis before opening her own present, which was a metal thing much like what I had gotten Surf the year before, the incense like the sea.  Except Sunbeam's was pink and purple, and I couldn't quite place what it smelled like.  Sunbeam smelled it for a while before slipping it around her neck and looking around.  "This is neat.  I really like the scent.  Was it... Four!" she said, not even trying to hide the usage of her telepathy.

Her radioactive brother sat up, smiling.  "Well, I wanted to find something pretty for you, because you're pretty, and it smelled cool, so..." he trailed off as Sunbeam smiled warmly at him.

"Aww...  Thanks, Four!  I love it!  I have no idea what it smells like, but it's good, and I love it!"

Inferno didn't even ask who should go next.  He just started ripping the leaves off as soon as Sunbeam sat down.  I rolled my eyes with a knowing smile.  I knew it was going to be him or the other troublemaker.

A very eager Inferno tore the wrapping off of a huge cake, which the Flareon gazed at with wide, stunned eyes.  "I love it," he furtively whispered.  Clover tried not to laugh behind him.  Though Inferno was in no state of mind to puzzle out who was the maker of his gift, it wasn't too hard to figure out who his Secret Stantler was, based on the decorative berries in the icing and Clover's happy smile.

Bolt watched his best friend stare at his cake.  "...Can I open mine now, or are you still busy staring?"  When Inferno only nodded, Bolt tried not to laugh, focusing instead on his gift, which was a carefully-wrapped pack of rechargeable human batteries.  Umbreon had to tell Bolt that he was the Secret Stantler after several rounds on unsuccessful guessing.

The general vote was that Umbreon and Espeon open their gifts next, and Espeon let her mate go first.  Inside the haphazardly-wrapped gift was a jar made of ice.  Inside was a large collection of beautiful stones of all different colors.  Umbreon bent down, looking inside, then immediately shifted his gaze to his youngest daughter.

She tilted her head, making her flower wreath slip to one side.  "You really liked the pretty red stone I found, so I got you more!"

Umbreon smiled, walking over and nuzzling his daughter.  "Thank you, Five.  I love it."

Espeon waited patiently for him to sit back down with his jar, then opened her own present, which was a beautiful string of pearls.  She immediately looked at me, but I shook my head.  "Wasn't me."

She looked around with a small smile.  Umbreon had already given a gift to Bolt, and Surf got Four his Eevee doll...  Finally, she slipped it on.  It hung a bit low, but it was still beautiful.  Bolt looked at Inferno.  "Told you my gift was better than yours."

Espeon turned around to look at the Jolteon.  "Bolt?"  He nodded, a bit sheepish.  "It's lovely.  Thank you very much."  I noticed Umbreon looking critically at Bolt for a half second before returning to smiling at Espeon.  I really hoped that this wasn't going to develop more drama...  We had enough of that last year...

Snow let Clover open her gift next, which was a large, heated pan for water, which she could use to grow water plants during winter.  Due to the gift's practicality, it was fairly easily placed as being from Moonlight.  Clover still thanked her profusely.

Snow received a large tub of ice cream from Three, who had apparently discovered the sweet stuff,  tasted it, gotten a brain freeze, and figured that it was the kind of thing that a Glaceon might like better.  Snow laughed at his story.  "Well, it's true.  Thank you."

Finally, Surf and I were the only ones left.  Naturally, he pushed me to go first.  "All right, all right..." I said, trying to hide my relief that he had asked me to go first.  He watched closely as I unwrapped a series of orbs on a stand, 12, to be exact.

"This seems like the kind of thing that a certain Psychic would make..." I said, looking at Espeon, who nodded.

"There's one for each member of the Clan.  I included a list for which orb is which and what the colors mean."

I smiled.  "Thank you, Espy.  Practical, yet thoughtful and beautiful.  Just like you."

"Why, thank you.  Do you want some help with Surf's present?"

Surf looked at me.  "Help?  I figured mine was from you, but..." he trailed off, looking at me curiously.

Espeon walked up to the two of us.  I looked at her seriously, but spoke so that everyone else could hear.  "You're in charge until we get back, ok?"

"Back?" Surf asked.

I nodded just as Espeon teleported the three of us to the spot that I had brought her to a few days earlier.  Soft sand, a sea breeze, and waves gently lapping at the shore.  I turned to look at Surf as Espeon stepped back to give us room.  "Do you remember this place?"

He could only nod.

I looked out at the ocean with him.  "I kept thinking 'what would remind him of how much I love him?'  And then I thought of something.  We fell in love when we walked from this very beach to the spot where we decided to found the Eevee Clan.  So I figured, why not make that same trip and fall in love all over again?"

I was dimly aware of Espeon smiling and teleporting away as Surf broke into a loving smile.  "Splash, I love you so much."  He stepped towards me and kissed me deeply with the smell of my last gift to him merging perfectly with the smell of the sea behind him.

 

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

 

Hello, readers!  I know I usually post my author's comment in the comments section, but I have amazing news that I really, really, really want to share.  First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  Happy holidays!  Proof that my sister is the best sister ever: for Christmas, she got me the entire Eevee Clan in miniature!!  I love them all and have fond places on my laptop for them to sit as I type my new posts (it's a thing I do to get inspiration, don't judge).

 

Secondly, SHINY POKEMON ALERT.  Over the week before Christmas, I was hoping to get a little Christmas miracle, so I went Eevee chaining.  Finally, after a lot of hard work, I find my first ever shiny Eevee!  Then...  I accidentally use the Masuda method and get ANOTHER shiny Eevee, and she, that's right, I have a shiny female Eevee, the odds of which of getting one is 0.00875% (yes, I did the math), is perfectly suited for being a Vaporeon, and I love her so much, and she is definitely going to feature in my blog at some point.  THEN, as if that weren't amazing enough, I'm training a Jolteon when I just walk into a shiny Sandshrew.  I can never win anything with a scratch-off ticket, and yet somehow I obtain 3 shinies within a week!?  Thank you, Arceus, or whichever Pokémon regulates luck!!!

 

Finally, sorry about posting later than usual today.  I didn't have access to my laptop until about noon.  I hope the adorableness of this post makes up for it.

 

As per usual, comment, comment, comment, follow, follow, follow, and share this blog with everyone you know!

 

~Chief

Snow Day Magic (Part 1)

I dove into the pond, early morning light glittering through the sheet of ice on the surface of the water.  It must have snowed again.  Fitting, since Snow Day was rapidly approaching.  However, like yesterday, the ice broke when I touched it with my nose.  Still not cold enough for ice skating.

Surf bumped my flank from behind.  "Good morning, beautiful."

I smiled, turning around and touching noses with him.  "Hello, handsome."

He pulled away quickly as my nose touched his.  "Jeez, your nose is cold!"

I shrugged.  "Sorry.  I was just trying to break the ice."

"I thought only Inferno made jokes that bad," he said with a smile.

"Eh, I have my moments."

He swam closer, touching his (not cold) nose against my fins instead.  "Well, we have a Clan to run, and bad puns won't do that for you."

"Yes sir," I said with a hint of playful mocking, then jetted towards the surface, shattering through the thin ice and landing on my paws on shore.  Surf landed next to me a second later.  Most Eevees were already up and about.  Espeon and Sunbeam were practicing their Psychic powers, Three through Five were wrestling together, Umbreon was out with Clover on a hunting patrol, and Moonlight was helping Snow clear the results of last night's sleet from the inconvenient places around camp, namely, Bolt and Inferno's rock den, where the two were iced in.

Inferno's voice issued from the inside, muffled by the snow.  "How is it that we get snowed in here, and the pond isn't even close to skating conditions?"

Moonlight shrugged.  "I don't know.  Maybe Articuno doesn't like you two."

"Hey!"  I couldn't tell who said that.

I watched Moonlight dig through the snow around the rock den.  Espeon had confined her to camp until Snow Day, which Moonlight had surprisingly complied to.  I guessed that she still felt guilty about running away and getting captured.  She had dutifully stayed in camp without complaining, for the most part, for a week already, and she only had a few more days until Snow Day.

Speaking of Snow Day...

I turned back towards Surf.  "Actually, can you supervise for a little bit?  I'm going to go check on Streak and Night.  See how the Starlys are doing."

He paused for a moment, then nodded.  "Sure.  Hurry back, though!"

"I will!" I called over my shoulder as I bounded out the camp entrance.  I was going to visit the Staraptors, but I also had to find a present for Surf.  He wore my present from last year almost all the time, the one that smelled like the sea.  I had to find something just as good this year.  The pressure was on.

I slowed as I approached the nest.  "Streak?  Night?  It's Splash!"

Night jumped onto the edge of the nest, shushing me quickly.  "They're still sleeping!" she whispered.

"Sorry!" I whispered back.  That explained why it was so quiet.  Starlys were loud...

Night flew quietly down to the ground.  "What's going on?"

I tilted my head towards the forest, indicating that we should walk as we talked so that we wouldn't wake the chicks up.  Night nodded and followed.  After a bit, when we were farther away, I spoke in a normal volume.  "I'm trying to think of something to get Surf.  He loved his present from last year, and I have to find something just as good this year."

Night thought for a moment.  "Funny.  I'm in the same place with Streak.  What does he like?"

"The ocean," I responded instantly.  "He met me on a beach.  He had been living in the ocean, but came with me when we met."

"Aww..."  Night smiled and tilted her head at me.  "That's so sweet..."

I smiled, thinking about it.  "Yeah...  I love him so much."

"Well...  You need to get him something that reminds him of that choice.  He loved the sea, but he loved you more."

I looked at my paws, smiling.  "You're such a romantic."

"Darn right I am..." Night said back, nudging my shoulder playfully with her wing.  "I don't know him well enough to tell you exactly what to get him, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, but you'll have to figure something out.  Just let that set the Klinks turning."

I nodded, a plan already coming to me.  "Thanks, Night.  That was really helpful."

"My pleasure!" she chirped happily.

"And if I were you, I'd take advantage of the fact that Streak's always getting himself hurt instead of you."

She tilted her head with an amused smile.  "That could work...  Thanks, Splash.  Glad I could help."

"Yes, thank you."

She spread her wings.  "I should get back before Streak wakes up and loses his feathers worrying about me."

I laughed as she took off.  "Bye!"

When the Staraptor was out of sight over the trees, I sat down.  Remind Surf of the day we met...  I could do that.  It would be a bit complicated, but I could do it.

Clover bounded over to Snow after she dropped her prey on the pile.  Umbreon could organize it, and she had to talk to Snow.  The Glaceon looked up from watching Moonlight finally free the battle duo from their den.  "Clover!  You're back!"

"I am!  And I had a neat idea for Snow Day," she said quickly, skidding to a stop.  "Have you ever heard of a Secret Stantler?"

"Secret Stantler?" shouted a hyperactive voice behind them.  "I LOVE Secret Stantler!" Bolt yelled as he ran over, kicking up powder snow as he did so.

Snow looked confused.  "What's a Secret Stantler?"

Clover started to explain, but Bolt ran her words over with his own.  "So everyone gets one Eevee in the clan to give a present to at random, but no one else knows who has to give a gift to who.  When everyone opens their present on Snow day, we have to try and figure out who their Secret Stantler is!"

Snow blinked a few times at him.  "...What?"

Clover spoke slower than the Jolteon had, explaining what he had missed.  "The Secret Stantler is the giver of your mystery gift.  Everyone in the Clan picks another Eevee's name at random, then gives them a present without revealing their identity.  When everyone opens their present from their Secret Stantler, they have to try and figure out who gave the gift."

"Oh..." Snow nodded.  "Yeah, that sounds fun!  We'll have to run it by Splash when she gets back, though."

"Great!" Bolt shouted, bouncing as he did so.  He was already glowing brightly with excitement.  "I'll go tell everyone!  You two make the leaves for the names!"  He didn't even give them time to agree before bolting off towards the nearest Eevee he could find, which happened to be Umbreon.

Snow looked at Clover.  "...I guess we're making name tags."

Clover nodded, standing up and starting to clear a patch of bare ground near their bush den for the plant that would supply the leaves.  "Frost-covered waxleaf works pretty well..."

Snow watched her as she pushed her paw into the ground, leaving the correct seed in the dirt.  She spoke as Clover started growing the plant.  "Are you ok?  You seem a bit tired."

Clover stopped growing the sprout.  "I do?" she asked quizzically, tilting her head at her best friend.

Snow nodded.  "Did you sleep ok last night?"

Clover nodded, returning to the plant.  "Yeah.  Fine.  I guess I just wore myself out hunting."

"If you say so..." Snow said, skeptical, but accepting the answer for now.

Finally, the leaves were ready.  Both Leafeon and Glaceon each carefully bit the leaves off the stem and laid them flat on the ground.  Snow blew an icy breath over the leaves, covering them with a uniform layer of frost.  Neither said a word as they each wrote the names of all of the Clan members in the frost with their claws. 

Clover stood up.  "I'll go dig a dip in the snow to put these in and choose from.  Can you fold the leaves so no one can read the names yet?"

"Sure."  Clover trotted towards the middle of camp then began scooping snow, trying to appear energetic.  Snow was right; she was tired and it had been from lack of sleep.  Why did Snow have to know her so well?  While she enjoyed the companionship greatly, it made it very difficult to keep secrets.

What it Feels Like (Part 3)

Sarah apparently didn't care that Moonlight had found a name.  "Umbreon, calm down.  It's ok.  They're nice.  They have other Pokémon that you can play with, too!"

Moonlight growled in frustration, turning her back on the humans and going back to the windowsill with a running jump.  Great. she thought sulkily.  More Pokémon who can see the result of the biggest mistake of my life.

"Umbreon?  What's wrong?" Sarah asked, confused.

"What's wrong!?" Moonlight snapped, turning back around to glare at the girl.  She looked out the window again as she listed.  "Where do I start?  I evolved without meaning to, which proved my father right, you keep calling me by his name, and, oh, what else," she added mockingly.  "Right!  I remember!  I am trapped in this Arceus-forsaken place against my will with no way to ever do what I want again!!"  She ground her teeth, staring out the window with her back to the humans.
After a few seconds of silence, the father human spoke quietly.  "Sarah, maybe she needs some time to adjust.  This is throwing a lot at her at once."

"But..." Sarah said quietly, watching her new friend.  Why was she acting like this?

Her mother stood up.  "Come have some dinner.  Give Umbreon some time to get used to this."

Moonlight said nothing.  She stared defiantly at the night sky.  Her name was unnoticed, her feelings were misunderstood, and her freedom was gone.  She couldn't even jump dimensions and escape.  She would still be bound to the human girl and her Poke Ball.  There had to be a way...

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the humans had closed the door after they had left.  "Great.  Now I have to figure out how to get that open."  She knew that humans turned the round thing on it to get it open, but Moonlight only had paws to achieve the same goal.  She could use Phantom Force to go through it, but it would tire her out.  She needed as much energy as possible.

She glanced back outside.  Why did she care if she could move around the human den?  It was getting home that mattered, and she couldn't do that.  Maybe if she acted up, the girl would give up on her and release her?  "No..."  She had seemed pretty determined to befriend her.

So consumed with her thoughts, she almost didn't see the Vaporeon run past the human den.  Almost.  She saw a tail disappear behind another building.  "It can't be..."  How could she have tracked her all the way here?  "Splash!?  Over here!  It's me, Moonlight!  I'm in here!!" she shouted, reaching up and clawing the glass.  "Wait, you don't know that's my name.  It's Two!  My name is Moonlight now!  I..." she sat back down slowly.  Splash didn't know that she evolved.  She'd be looking for a gray Eevee, not an Umbreon.  Her being shiny would probably do the trick, but that was if Splash saw or heard her.  She knew she sounded different than when she was an Eevee.

"Splash...  Come back.  I wanna go home..."

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

 

I darted between the buildings, trying to make sure that the humans who had been chasing me were off my tail.  I couldn't believe it.  Two hadn't been at the Pokémon Center.  Where else could she be?

 

I spotted Snow as she turned a corner and raced towards her.  "Hey!  Any luck?"

 

She shook her head.  "No.  I got the humans off my tail, but I can't find any trace of Two."

 

Umbreon jumped back into the normal dimension.  "She has to be somewhere in this town.  I'm not leaving until I find her."

 

I sighed.  "Umbreon, she could be in a Poke Ball.  We'd need Espeon."

 

"This is my fault!  I'm not coming back without her!"

 

Snow stepped towards him.  "Then I'll go.  I'll run back to camp and tell everyone what happened and where you two are, then I'll come back with more Clan members for a bigger search party."

 

I nodded.  "And we can keep looking for Two in the meantime."

 

Umbreon nodded, looking at the ground in front of him.  "All right...  Hurry back."

 

"I will."  With that, Snow turned and trotted away, back towards the forest.

 

I looked back at Umbreon.  "Let's start checking the individual human dens."

 

He nodded.  "I'll use Phantom Force again so that-"

 

"No, you are already very tired.  We'll look in the windows."

 

"Fine."

 

We set off between the buildings, occasionally jumping onto a windowsill to peek in if there were no humans in sight.  Two would stay as far away from humans as possible, especially if she were trapped in a human den.  I knew this was a long shot, but Umbreon still felt responsible.  Maybe when Snow came back with Espeon, she'd be able to convince him otherwise.

 

Moonlight watched the corner of the building where she saw Splash's tail disappear like a Talonflame.  "Come on, Splash...  Come back..."

After several minutes, she was about to give up hope when the Clan leader walked back into view, peering into a window of another human den.  Moonlight jumped back up on the glass again.  "SPLASH!!  Over here!  It's me!"

The Vaporeon turned towards Moonlight's voice, knitted in confusion, then lit up in relief.  "Two!" she called, running over and jumping onto the ledge on the other side of the glass.  "You're ok!"

Moonlight nodded.  "How did you find me?  I'm not even sure where I..." she trailed off as Umbreon stepped around the corner.  Great.  Now she had to answer to him.

His eyes found Splash sitting on the window ledge, then Moonlight on the other side.  Instead of anger, his eyes filled with relief as he practically leaped up next to Splash from where he stood.  "Two!  You're safe!  You're not hurt!"

Moonlight felt like she should correct them about her name, but she was still watching her father.  "...You're not mad?"

He shook his head.  "Of course not.  I've been worrying myself sick ever since I found out that no one knew where you were.  Splash can tell you that."  The Vaporeon nodded in agreement.

Moonlight hung her head.  "I...  I'm sorry, Dad."  That was the first time she had ever said she was sorry and truly meant it.  "I was upset and I heard the humans and I evolved and got caught and..."  Neither said a word.  Moonlight couldn't look at them.  "I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself..."

Umbreon spoke gently.  "It's all right.  I know.  I know you.  I shouldn't have been so strict on you."

"But I'm the one who ran away!" Moonlight shot back, looking back up at her father.  "And now I'm stuck as an Umbreon.  I'm not even sure that's what I wanted.  And I belong to a human now, and...  I just want to go home, Dad."

Splash looked at Umbreon.  "We need to break her Poke Ball.  Two, do you know where it is?"

"Moonlight.  It's...  Moonlight."

Umbreon smiled.  "You found a name."  When his daughter could only nod, he continued.  "Moonlight.  It's good for you.  And that's your proof that this evolution fits you."

Moonlight looked up, managing a tiny smile.  "I think Sarah has it on her.  That's the human kit."

"I believe I can get that from her," said a familiar feminine voice from the ground.

Both Eevees outside turned around.  Umbreon lit up.  "Espeon!  Two's safe!  Her name is Moonlight now and..."  He stopped as she gave him a look that said 'I know.'

Her gaze shifted to Moonlight.  The shiny Umbreon thought she would be glad to see her mother, but she actually found it harder to meet her eyes.  "Moonlight."

"I'm sorry I ran away, Mom..." she whispered quietly.  Espeon's expression told her that there would be a discussion about this later.

Espeon looked at Splash.  "Snow is coming back with Surf.  He should be able to break Moonlight's Poke Ball with Iron Tail."

"Good thinking," she nodded.

"It was his idea..." Espeon shrugged with a small smile.  May I come up so that I can see where I'm teleporting to?"

Splash nodded and jumped down, as did Moonlight, who spoke as her mother bounded gracefully onto the windowsill.  "I can distract her.  She's not mean, just...."  She couldn't find a good word to end that sentence with.

Espeon nodded, turning the knob and opening the door with her mind.  Moonlight acted like she wasn't jealous and trotted out.  She knew that her mother would teleport in behind her and try to stay out of sight.

"Sarah!" Moonlight called loudly.  "Where are you?"  She caught the smell of human food (ugh), remembering that they were having dinner.  That would make it harder for her mother to sneak the Poke Ball unnoticed...

The humans hadn't noticed her enter the room.  The father was talking.  "But I'm very proud of you, Sarah.  Catching a wild Pokémon like that with only one Great Ball!  And she looks feisty, too.  You'll become a very good trainer with her."

The mother nodded.  "But you need to take care of both her and Starly now.  And you'll probably have to train her.  She seems a bit stubborn."

Sarah nodded.  "But she's so great!  You should have seen how she made Matt run away!  I'll always take Umbreon with me!"

That was it.

Moonlight broke into a run, then jumped up on the table, knocking something breakable over with a crash.  "DON'T call me Umbreon!!" Moonlight snarled.  "My name is MOONLIGHT!"

The three humans jumped at her entrance.  Sarah was the first to react.  "Umbreon, no!  Don't jump on the table!  No Pokémon on the table!"

"My name is Moonlight, you stupid human!  Don't you get it!?"  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Espeon focusing on Sarah from behind.  She just had to keep the girl distracted.

"Umbreon, get off the table or I'm putting you back in your Poke Ball!" the tiny girl said, trying to look stern by putting her hands on her hips.

Moonlight couldn't have her trying to take the Poke Ball that Espeon was trying to get.  She swallowed her pride and acted submissive, walking very slowly to the edge of the table.

"Good girl.  Get down."

Moonlight held back the baleful glare and jumped to the floor, hoping her mother had been quick enough.

"Good girl, Umbreon."

Biting her tongue to keep from snapping again, Moonlight subtly glanced back towards where her mother was sitting with a Great Ball hovering next to her.  "I'm out of here.  Mom, throw me that, please."

Espeon nodded, telekinetically tossing the Poke Ball to Moonlight, who caught it in mid-air.  The humans looked at her in surprise, then towards where Espeon had been a second after she teleported away.  Sarah just watched Moonlight. 

"Sorry, but I'm wild."  She turned around and ran, jumping into the shadow dimension as soon as the humans couldn't see her.  She was surprised at how easy it was all of a sudden.  Probably because she was a Dark Type now.  Huh.

"I could get used to that..." she muttered around the Poke Ball as she ran through the wall of the human den, finding Splash, Espeon, Umbreon, and the just-arriving Snow and Surf.  She jumped back into the normal world as a few flakes of snow started to fall from the sky.  "Got it!"

Everyone turned to face her as she threw the awful thing towards Surf.  True to his personality, he didn't say a word as he jumped, charged up Iron Tail, and smashed the Poke Ball into pieces.  Moonlight felt an immediate difference.  It was like a cord had been cut somewhere.  She felt free again.

Splash smiled at him, then looked back at Moonlight.  "Thanks, Surf.  Let's get Moonlight back to camp before those humans come looking."

Nothing else needed to be said.  Moonlight followed the group as they ran home, tiny bits of snow glittering in the light of the blue moon.

 

What it Feels Like (Part 2)

Umbreon took a step back.  "She can't...  She wouldn't..." he whispered, looking at the ground.

I wanted to say something to console him, but nothing I could think of would help.  It was a bad situation.  "How could she have been caught?  If she evolved, that means that she won."

Snow sat down, deep in thought and worry etched onto her face.  "I don't know...  Maybe she only defeated one trainer.  Or maybe she got hurt during the fight."

Umbreon shook his head.  "Unless something was seriously wrong, she'd still have a lot of fight left.  More than enough to break out of a Poke Ball."

I glanced back towards the human town.  It was a grim thought.  I shook my head slowly.  We had to save her.  "This search party just turned into a rescue team.  Let's think.  Where would she be?"

Snow stood up.  "If she was hurt, then her trainer would take her to a Pokémon Center to get her fixed up."

Umbreon stood up as well.  "Then that's where we'll go."

"Not without a plan!" I said, pushing him back to a sitting position with my tail.  "We can't just walk into that human town.  Espeon and Sunbeam were in a big city, and the last time we went in here, we split up to be inconspicuous and Clover still almost got killed by Fire Types."

Snow shrugged, sitting down again as well.  "I'm not splitting up again.  That has gone wrong too many times."

Exactly," I nodded.  "Let's figure this out.  Umbreon, you can jump dimensions.  You can scout out the Pokémon center and see if you can find her."

"But I can't catch scents in another dimension."

"And that's where Snow and I will come in.  If you don't see her, come back and tell us.  I'll cause a diversion while you help Snow get in and try to track her."

Snow tilted her head.  "What if something goes wrong?"

I thought for a moment.  "If the two of us are spotted before Umbreon gets back, we'll tag team, Water and Ice.  We're both pretty fierce.  If I get caught during the diversion, I can melt into a puddle until you two get back.  You'll have to help me get away.  And if you two are seen inside the Pokémon center..."

"I can get both of us into the shadow dimension," Umbreon finished.

Snow nodded as I weighed the plan.  "Sounds good.  Meet back here if we get separated by accident."  Both nodded in agreement.  "Perfect.  With any luck, we'll find Two, get her out, break her Poke Ball, and get back to camp without a hitch."

Umbreon stood up again, following a few paces behind me.  "Yeah, like that happens a lot..." he muttered under his breath.  I wanted to say something to refute him, but I had to admit that he had a valid point...

 

The shiny Umbreon had no idea how long she was inside the Poke Ball.  It could have been only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.  She didn't care. 

 

Having no one around to judge her, she had nearly cried her eyes out.  Her father had been right.  If only she had stayed in camp like she was supposed to, if only she had left the humans alone, if only she had been more aware...

 

"If only," she whispered to herself.  What a stupid pair of words.  She couldn't change what she had done, no matter how much she wanted to.  Now she'd have to pay for her arrogance with her freedom.

 

She was hungry and thirsty, but pride kept her from touching the things that had appeared in the Poke Ball for her.  "I'm not a pet," she growled.  "I'm wild.  And I plan to stay that way," she finished, kicking some dirt at the bowls.  Just because she had been captured didn't mean she was suddenly tripping over herself to please this human.  Having nothing else to throw her anger at, she sat down in the middle of the clear area, defying everything in the Poke Ball.  She had been upset before, but now she was just angry.

 

The human girl's voice addressed her.  "Ok, Umbreon, ready to see your new home?"

 

Can't-be-called-Two-anymore stood up, glowering.  Before she could say or do anything, everything around her vanished in a bright white haze.  Her vision cleared a moment later, showing her that she was now in the girl's room.  A bed in the corner, large pink rug on the floor, a chest of drawers, a window, and a bunch of toys on the floor.  The shiny Umbreon lowered her ears.  This was where this girl expected her to live?

 

The girl, Sarah, not-Two remembered, knelt down next to her.  "What do you think, Umbreon?  Do you like it?"

 

The Umbreon who couldn't be called Two refused to look at her.  "My name is not Umbreon," she growled quietly, trotting towards the bed.  She could see a space under it that she could fit.  "I don't know what my name is, but it is not Umbreon."  She refused to be called by her father's name.  That only made her feel worse.

 

Sarah stood back up as not-Umbreon slipped under the bad.  "Ok...  I'll leave you to explore.  I want to you meet my family!"

 

"Not gonna happen..." the voice under the bed growled, but Sarah had already left.  Shifting on her paws so that she was laying down, Umbreon's shiny daughter fumed quietly.  She had to figure out a name so that the human girl would stop addressing her like her father.  But it had to be the right name.  Something that fit her.

 

She slipped out from under the bed.  Sunbeam's name fit her perfectly.  She was bright, happy, smart, and warm.  How could her shiny sister find a name for herself that fit just as well?

 

The window caught her eye.  She was supposed to live somewhere where the biggest piece of the outside world was a tiny pane of glass?  Nevertheless, she crouched low and judged the distance to the windowsill.  What would have been a very difficult jump for her before was now easy.  She landed perfectly and silently.

 

The blue moon was still visible.  She sat down and watched it, getting distracted by her reflection.  She actually did look a lot like Umbreon.  Her frame was a lot like his, except she was leaner and quicker.  He was stronger.  Her black fur, unlike his, had a light sheen to it, the way that the night sky was never truly black, and her eyes were a dim yellow, not red.  Moving her tail around to her side, she looked at its color.  It was glowing electric blue, rather than bright yellow.  In fact, her eyes were a brighter yellow than Umbreon's rings.  The color of her own rings reminded her of something...

 

Her gaze trailed away from her tail back to the blue moon.  Clouds were beginning to form around it, giving it a blue glow.  She moved one of her ears so that the reflection laid over the outside world.  The color was a perfect match.  She was like a walking night sky.  Her fur matched the night, her eyes reflected the stars, and her rings glowed like a blue moon.

 

Just then, Sarah came back into her room, followed by two older humans, who must have been her mother and father.  "Umbreon, come here!  Come meet my mommy and daddy!"

 

"I already told you..." the shiny Umbreon growled, standing up and jumping off the windowsill.  "Don't call me Umbreon!"

 

"It's ok," Sarah soothed.  "They're not mean like Matt.  You don't have to fight them, Umbreon."

 

"My name is NOT Umbreon!!  It's..."  She paused, thinking.  Night was taken.  Plus, it didn't feel right.  What felt right?  "My name is..."  What fit her perfectly?  What one word could describe what she liked and who she was?  She closed her eyes and said the first word that came to her.  "...Moonlight.  My name is Moonlight!"

What it Feels Like (Part 1)

Two looked at her new form.  "How...?"  Her father's lessons came back to her, as if mocking her.  Umbreons are deeply connected with the moon and the night.  Umbreons evolve only at night when they are content.  It was supposedly a tricky state to achieve, as it could only be after a battle.

Guilt overcame Two.  She had gone against her father's wishes to get what she wanted, at night, which ended up with her gloating over the fight.  She'd hit all three.  "No, no, no...  I didn't want this to happen...   I wanted time, and options, and..." Two stammered while pacing.  No, she couldn't even call herself Two anymore!

Meanwhile, the world was still moving around her.  The two trainers watched the newly evolved shiny Umbreon stand stock-still near the boy's defeated Rhyhorn.  Not even when he returned his Pokémon to its Poke Ball did she react.  Was she waiting for something?

Sarah risked a glance at her bully, who had his eyes fixed on the Umbreon, but he couldn't do anything about it.  He only had one Pokémon, and it was knocked out.  She was in the same boat, but that Umbreon had appeared to save her...  Did it want her to catch it?

She took a careful step towards the shiny Pokémon.  "Umbreon?  Do you want to come home with me?  I can take good care of you..."

The Umbreon only responded by pacing slowly, as if bored of waiting.

She took her one Great Ball out of her bag.  Her mother had given her three to catch a Pokémon, but she had lost one on Starly, having no way to tire him out.  This Umbreon was tired and apparently willing to join her team.  Only one way to find out...

The bully Matt took a step towards her.  "Stop.  You can't."  He tried to look threatening, but he didn't scare her anymore.

"I can, actually.  She wants to be with me!"  She paused, hoping her next sentence would work.  "...And if you don't want to see her in action against you again, you'll stay away from me!"

Matt stopped, then took a step back.  He didn't say a word as he turned and walked back towards his house.

Sarah smiled, looking back towards the Umbreon, who had stopped pacing with her back to her.  They had done it.  She and this Umbreon had made Matt stop bullying her.  And now she had a new friend!  She tossed the Great Ball to herself.  "Ready, Umbreon?"

The Umbreon who couldn't call herself Two anymore stopped pacing.  "Ok...  What do I do?  I have to go back."  But she couldn't face her father.  He had been right.  She'd have to either learn to accept this new form and be confident about it before she got back to camp, or-

Ping!

Something landed on her back.  The next thing she knew, she was trapped in a space that she couldn't see!  She stood in shock for a moment.  What happened!?  Then, she laid her ears back.  "Lousy humans!" she snarled as she tried to throw herself against the sides of her enclosure.  Trust them to take advantage of her while she was vulnerable!  "Stupid, lousy, greedy, awful humans!" she growled, hitting a wall with every word she said.  How could they!?  She had a family and a clan!

Click.

The sides weren't giving way anymore.  She was trapped.

Things started appearing around her that reminded her of home.  A starry sky with a full moon overhead, a small tree to climb, a bed of leaves, and fresh food and water.  She was stuck here.

The Umbreon who could longer be called Two slumped down to the floor, letting her head rest on her paws.  She wouldn't have to face Umbreon now.  She couldn't go back if she wanted to.  Ever.

She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to appear back in camp.  Sunbeam could do it, right?

Nothing.

She knew it wouldn't work, but it was the final blow.  The second eldest of five, toughest and emotionally thick-skinned out of all of them, and newly evolved Two broke down and cried.

 

"TWO!?" I called again.  No response.  "I don't get it.  This is the tree!"

 

Umbreon crouched down, then bounded up into the branches while Snow kept her nose low.  "She was here," the Glaceon muttered distractedly as she continued to track.  "She jumped back into the real world here, but then..."

 

Umbreon called down from the treetop.  "Splash!  There's a Noctowl up here who's seen her!"

 

"What did he say?" I called back, leaning back to see the yellow glow of his fur.  I only heard a few hoots of the bird Pokémon, but I couldn't make out any words.  After a bit, there was no other sound from the tree.  "...Umbreon?"

 

The Dark Type jumped down at dangerous speeds.  "She heard a human bullying another human and ran off to help!"

 

"Great!" I said bitingly.  "Now humans are involved in this, too!"

 

Snow's head jerked up.  "She went this way!"  With that, she bounded away through the fallen leaves with Umbreon and I right on her tail.

 

It only took me a moment to gain my bearings.  "The human town is this way!"  Umbreon growled quietly in frustration and worry.  The more I thought about it, the more confused I got.  "She usually doesn't care about humans at all!  Why would she do this?"

 

"Because she has a good heart," Umbreon answered.  "She acts tough and callous on the outside, but she tries to do what's right."

 

Snow posed a question without turning from her trail.  "Then why did she run away in the first place?"

 

"She hates being ordered around," Umbreon volleyed back.  "When she wants something, nothing can stop her until she gets it."

 

"It's still not your fault," I offered, knowing what Umbreon was thinking.  "You did the right thing.  Clover would have been left alone with three kits and an undefended camp."

 

"But I should have promised her!"

 

My next words were cut off as Snow slowed to a trot near the tree line.  At a glance, it was easy to see that a fight had taken place here, and recently.  Umbreon took a step forward, keeping his rings lit.  "Two?" he called quietly.  Nothing was heard.

 

Snow and I stepped up next to him, Snow's nose going to the ground again.  "She came this way.  Recently.  If she hadn't answered, I would have guessed that she was still here."

 

Umbreon turned to look at her as I walked onto the battlefield, looking for clues.  "My daughter is missing near a battlefield where humans were involved.  Please tell me that you can find her."

 

"I'm doing my best, Umbreon, but tracking in a battle is hard.  I'll have to trace around the edges to see where she left."

 

Something on the ground caught my eye.  Trotting over, I brushed the grass aside with one paw and peered closely at it.  It was a bit of Two's shed fur, but it was black at the end.  I sniffed it carefully.  It smelled an awful lot like...  My gaze trailed to the Dark Type, who was moving so closely to Snow that he looked like her shadow.  "Guys?  I think Two evolved."

 

"What!?" both yelled at the same time.

 

"I found some of her fur!  It's half Eevee, half Umbreon!  She must have shed some while she was evolving!"

 

Umbreon narrowed his eyes in thought.  "She'd be satisfied that she won and got what she wanted, and she won a battle at night.  It all fits."

 

Snow stood back up, worry written all over her face.  "That explain why I can't find her scent anymore...  But even with a new smell, nothing left this area except the two humans."

 

Umbreon froze.  "...You mean..."

 

I stepped closer to him as Snow shrugged.  "It's the only story that fits."

By the Light of the Moon (Part 3)

WHAM!

"OW!"

I shook my head out, rubbing my fin.  If that was Bolt getting back at me for tearing him away from that Dedenne, I swear to Arceus...  I stood up and stretched, still irritated.  Clover may have had that vine installed for a reason, but that didn't mean I had to be happy about it.

Slipping into the pond, I could see Umbreon framed against the night sky on shore.  He looked just as anxious as he did when Sunbeam and Espeon were in danger.  I quickly swam to the surface, leaping out of the water to land in from of him.

He immediately took a step towards me, worry shining in his eyes.  "Oh, good!  You're up!"

"Yes, I'm up.  Slamming one's head against their ceiling will tend to do that."  I immediately regretted the snappy comment, but Umbreon didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Two's missing."

"What!?"  That shook me out of my sleep-deprived mood.

Umbreon nodded.  "She jumped up to the lookout platform with me while everyone was away, asking me if I could take her to see the moon.  I told her no, and she ran off in a huff.  I thought she had gone back to Clover, or was pouting in our den, but no one's seen her!  She's not in camp!"

I thought hard.  What would Two do if she was upset because Umbreon had told her not to do something? 

Do it anyway.

"I bet she went to her tree.  She probably used Phantom Force to get out unnoticed."

His eyes strayed to the bush den.  "That explains why Snow couldn't find her scent near the entrance..."

"The three of us will go to look for her.  You, me, and Snow.  I know where Two's tree is," I said confidently, trying to steady Umbreon with leader-like authority.

He stood up quickly and ran towards Snow's den.  "Meet us by the entrance!"

I nodded and trotted quickly towards the entrance of camp.  Two couldn't be that reckless, could she?  Sure, she could fight, but still...

Umbreon ran back to me, skidding to a halt beside me.  "Snow's getting up.  She'll be here in a second."  He let out a quiet breath.  "I had a nagging feeling that she might do something like this, but I thought she'd have more common sense..."

"It's not your fault," I said as Snow ran towards us.  "She does what she wants, when she wants to do it.  You told her not to, and she went anyway to spite you.  That's her fault, not yours."

"It's a little my fault..." he muttered quietly as Snow stopped beside us.

"Ready when you two are."

I nodded at her, then led the way into the forest.  "Two's tree is this way.  With any luck, we won't need Snow's tracking skills because she'll be there, safe and sound."

Two burst out of the bushes, knocking the Rhyhorn's charge away with a Quick Attack to the snout.  Forced to change course, the charging Rock Type curved away from the exhausted Starly lying on the ground.

Both humans, a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair tied in pigtails and a slightly older boy with freckled cheeks, stopped and stared.  Two didn't like that.  She turned to look at the girl's Starly.  "Well!?"

The Starly flapped into the air again, looking just as startled as the humans.  "R-Right!" she chirped.

Two rolled her eyes and turned back to the Rhyhorn.  It didn't move.  Was it really so dependent on its trainer that it had to wait for orders to attack?

The girl human behind her found her words first.  "...That's a shiny Eevee."

"That's a shiny girl Eevee!" the boy corrected.  "She's ours, Rhyhorn, get her!  Use Fury Attack!"

"Leave her alone!" the girl shouted.  "Starly, protect that Eevee!"

Two laid her ears back, easily jumping away from the Rhyhorn's charge.  It may have been a lot bigger than her, but it was slow and stupid.  "I don't need your protection!" she shouted over her shoulder.  "I came here to protect you!"

No one listened to her.  As the Rhyhorn stopped, attempting to turn around for another attack, the Starly swept in from above and used Wing Attack on the Rock Type.  Two growled in frustration, crouching low and firing Swift from a distance.  She couldn't use Phantom Force.  That was a secret.

Evading the charge again, Two and the Starly both used Quick Attack at the same time, managing to knock their opponent off balance.  It was already slight injured from its previous fight, so this was easy.

"Rhyhorn, change tactics!  Use Rock Blast on the Eevee!"  His Pokémon instead used it against the flying Starly, knocking it out of the air and out of the fight.

"Starly!" the girl cried, running over to her fallen bird Pokémon.

Two fired Swift again as the boy scolded his Rhyhorn.  "I said on the Eevee!  Not-  oh, forget it!  Just attack!"

Two swished her tail.  This was going to be easy.

Two Quick Attacks and a Swift later, the Rhyhorn was barely standing, and Two hadn't been hit once.  She ended the battle quickly with a final strike with Bite.  The Rhyhorn went down heavily.

"Ha!" she said, stepping away.  "And Dad said I couldn't handle myself out here!"

Suddenly, her fur began to glow white.  She was evolving.  Both humans watched in amazement as Two grew bigger, leaner, and quicker.  The light finally died down, and Two blinked in confusion.  She looked at herself.  Short, black fur, rounded ears...  and glowing blue rings on her shoulders and flanks.

She had evolved into an Umbreon.

By the Light of the Moon (Part 2)

I let my eyes drift closed again while sitting on the edge of the pond, my tail in the water.  It was still rather early for me to be awake, and Surf had left with Snow and Inferno on a morning hunting trip.  Smaller Pokémon were out gathering food amongst the falling leaves, so I had decided that we should take advantage. 

However, this left me without motivation to stay awake.  Surf was away, One through Five were still sleeping, their parents were talking quietly about their kits' evolutions (we all knew that Two would become an Umbreon, but until she herself said something, we weren't allowed to make the suggestion), and Clover had gotten Bolt to go looking for Chople Berries for a possible new recipe.  This was actually a ploy to get Bolt distracted so that the rest of us could sleep.  Bolt had two speeds: Off and High.  And last night, he was at High speed.

My near-doze was unceremoniously interrupted.  "Splash!  Splash!" a frantic, energetic, and feminine voice called, startling me so badly that I fell into the pond.  Shaking myself fully awake, I swam back to the surface to see a sheepish Sunbeam.  "Sorry..." she muttered apologetically.

"It's fine.  I probably needed that anyway."  I pulled myself out of the water again and sat down in front of her.  "What happened?"

Her excited aura returned.  "You remember two days ago?  When Mother and I came back and Four asked me to look at what he could evolve into with his extra energy?"

I leaned forward a bit.  "Slow down.  But yes."

Sunbeam took a steadying breath.  "Right.  I finally got the hang of using Future Sight without Cresselia's help, but I still couldn't see much.  Just colors and blurry shapes."  I nodded, wondering where this was going.  "So I had to use logic instead.  What colors do the different evolutions of Eevee turn when they're shiny?"

"Uh..."  Her question took me aback.  "I know a few...  Umbreons turn blue, Vaporeons turn pink, and... Espeons and Jolteons both turn green, I think.  That's all I know."

Sunbeam tilted her head thoughtfully.  "Green?"

I nodded, trying to recall what I knew.  "Yes...  I think the Espeon is a much deeper green."  How did I know about this?

I could almost see the wheels turning inside her head.  "Hm...  That could work...  I'd need to go by the library again to see a picture.  I need to be sure it's the color I saw!"  With that, she turned and bounded back towards her den.

"Wait!" I called after her, standing up.  "What color?"  Sunbeam either ignored me or didn't hear me.  Knowing her, probably the second option.

I sighed quietly and rose to my paws.  Sitting around wasn't going to get anything done.  I trotted over to Clover's den, the occupant of which was busy organizing certain berries into a small pile near a bowl made of ice.  I leaned in as she started counting a certain kind of red, three-sectioned berries.  "Hi, Clover.  I should probably find Bolt.  He's been out all night."

The Leafeon nodded, looking up at me.  "That might be a good idea.  Arceus knows when he'll give up the search on his own."

"When do you think it would occur to him that you could grow them in a few seconds?"

"Not for a while..." she answered thoughtfully.

I nodded, taking my cue.  "Well, I'll go track him down.  Snow's still out hunting, so I'll go solo."

Clover went back to her Chople Berries as she answered.  "I'll tell her to look for you when she comes back."

"Thanks!" I called back, bounding away towards the camp exit.  Fall was nice.  The air was crisp, the trees had turned all sorts of colors, and the ones that had already fallen littered the ground, making everything smell nice and pawsteps crunch on the forest floor.  Hopefully, though, there weren't too many yellow leaves still on the trees as to camouflage any tree-climbing Jolteons.

 

Two stood at the edge of her family's den, watching the stars come out.  Splash, Bolt, Surf, Snow, and Inferno had been gone for almost the entire day, and Sunbeam and Espeon had left later to look for them and check out Sunbeam's book place at the same time.  Umbreon had taken up watch for them from the lookout post, having the best night vision.  Two looked back up at the sky.  She knew the phases of the moon well enough by now to know that tonight was not only a full moon, but a blue one.  She loved blue moons.

 

Unfortunately, with so few evolved clan members in camp, no one would take her to see it.  Her father was busy and Clover was watching her three other siblings until the rest of the clan returned.  Flicking one ear in frustration, she slipped through the camp entrance and jumped up the steps to the lookout post.  "Dad?"

 

He turned his gaze away from the forest, looking at her with mild disapproval.  "Two, you know you're not supposed to be up here."

 

She ignored the comment and continued on.  "Dad, can you take me to see the blue moon?"

 

"No, Two.  I'm sorry.  That would leave just Clover alone in camp with your brothers and sister."

 

Two had expected this answer, but it was still upsetting.  "But I want to see the blue moon!  They don't happen every night!"

 

"You can watch the moon from camp," he father said patiently.

 

"There are too many trees in the way," Two retorted.  "There's this tree that I can climb.  It's not too far from camp and it gives a perfect view!"

 

Umbreon closed his eyes, still keeping his patience.  "Two, not now.  Maybe I can take you when everyone else gets back, ok?"

 

"But then I can't see it come up!"

 

"Not now!  If you keep this attitude up, I won't take you to see it at all!"

 

Two growled angrily.  "Fine!" she yelled before jumping into the ice slide back into camp, seething.   It wasn't even that far!  She could even see the camp from the top anyway!  Why couldn't she go alone if he was too busy?

 

The last thought stuck in her head.  Could she go on her own?  She was the best of all of her unevolved siblings at fighting, if it came to that, and she could escape using Phantom Force any time she wanted.  Another use for Phantom Force would be slipping past her father undetected...

 

She glanced around camp, making sure no one was watching.  Then, she leaped high and opened up a hole between dimensions and landing perfectly on her paws in the dim reverse world.  Resisting a smug grin, she marched straight through the camp wall, directly under her father's watch point.  Breaking into a satisfied run, she bounded towards the tree that she knew so well.

 

Leaping back into the normal dimension as she reached the trunk, Two didn't even pause before jumping up to the lowest branch, working her way up until she was perched at the top.  She sighed heavily.  She was in the shadow dimension for a long time.  That took more out of her than she had expected.

 

A Noctowl flew to the tree, landing nearby.  Two only gave the bird Pokémon a cursory glance before returning her gaze to the horizon, where the first blue rays of moonlight  were starting to appear.  He wasn't going to attack her.

 

"Whoooo are you?" hooted the Noctowl.

 

"Just watching the moon," Two replied without looking away from the sky.  The Noctowl seemed satisfied with her answer, sitting on a higher branch and thinking quietly.

 

After only a few minutes out, noises reached Two's ears.  No.  Not noises.  Voices.  Human voices.

 

"Look who's out past her bedtime!"

 

"Leave me alone!"

 

"Aw, what's that you have there?  Aww, you got a Pokémon, how cute!  Sarah's all grown up now!"  The tone was acidic and mocking.  This was not a nice human.

 

"Go away!  Leave me alone or I'll make you!  Go, Starly!"

 

"Did you catch that thing yourself, or did your mommy do it for you?  Either way, I don't think it'll do too well against a Rock Type!  Go Rhyhorn!"  This was turning into a fight!

 

Two stood up on her branch.  "She's in trouble..."

 

The Noctowl spoke quietly.  'What are you going to doooo?"

 

Two hesitated.  This was a human.  Not only dangerous, but unnecessary.  But...  How could she walk away knowing that someone was being bullied like that?  "I'm going to defend her."

 

"Are yooooou sure?  You're young tooooo begin with."

 

"I can fight!" she snapped back.  "I'm the toughest out of all of my siblings!"

 

The Noctowl looked away.  "If yooooou say so..."

 

Two huffed and started climbing down the tree.  She didn't need the approval of another Pokémon to defend someone.  It was simple.  Fight the Rhyhorn just enough to weaken it until the girl human could take care of it herself, then run.  Not that hard.



By the Light of the Moon (Part 1)

"Umbreon, you have to calm down," I said impatiently.  At this point, I had lost count of how many times I had been saying these exact words over the last few days.

The Dark Type paced anxiously in front of me.  "I can't calm down, Splash!  She was in danger!  The ice sculpture that Snow made?  The one that glows when she's in trouble?  It was glowing for over a day!  I need to help her!"

"Past tense!  It's not glowing now!  She's out of whatever she got into!"

"I need to know if she's safe!  Both of them!"

I forced myself to take a deep breath and speak calmly.  "Umbreon, you have been driving everyone else in camp crazy for the last three days.  Didn't Espeon promise you that she's be back before the full moon?"

"Yes!" Umbreon said, stall pacing.

"And when is the full moon?" I asked, using the same tone that Umbreon had when he had told Three that he could only eat when the hunting patrol came back with food.

"Tomorrow night."

"Right.  So if Sunbeam and Espeon don't show up by tomorrow night, then I'll organize a search party.  Ok?" 

The worried father finally stopped his pacing.  "...Yes.  I'm not happy about it, but I'll wait."

I sat down.  "Umbreon, you won't be happy until they come back, no matter what you'll be doing."

"Exactly."

I let out an exasperated sigh.  He had been more annoying than Bolt and Inferno put together recently.  That was new for him.  He was usually one of the most levelheaded Pokémon that I knew.

Clover suddenly called from the lookout post.  "They're back!  Espeon and Sunbeam are back!"

Umbreon didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence.  He was gone before I could even register what Clover had said.

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

 

Sunbeam was telling her sibling all about her adventure.  Espeon was... otherwise occupied.

 

Surf approached me, watching the happy couple, still just outside the camp entrance where they had found each other an hour ago.  "They're still at it?"

 

I nodded.  "They haven't stopped since she got here."

 

The pair blissfully ignored us, kissing and whispering things in each others' ears without any sign of them letting up.

 

Surf tilted his head back towards Sunbeam and her younger siblings.  "Come on.  You know you won't hear this story from Espeon any time soon."

 

I smiled.  "Very true."  We ducked in through the camp entrance, and I looked over at Surf.  "Do we act like them, or do we try to focus on the Clan more?"

 

He stopped, looking back at me with a thoughtful expression.  Finally, he answered with a single word.  "Yes."

 

I smiled, sitting down behind Three and Five as Surf chose a seat next to me, letting his tail sit on top of mine.  I leaned over and briefly touched my nose to his before turning my attention to Sunbeam and the rest of her story.

 



 

It was getting dark by the time Sunbeam was wrapping up her story.  Her parents had moved back inside camp, staying in their den.  Espeon had stayed just long enough to tell us how Absol had saved her from the Houndoom pack.  Sunbeam was touched.

 

"Then, just as the chief of police ran back out, BOOM!" she shouted, making Three, Four, and Five jump.  "The entire building explodes!"

 

"That must have been scary..." Five whispered.

 

"It was bigger than any explosion Inferno ever made!" she continued dramatically.

 

Bolt glanced at his best friend.  "Unlikely..." he said quietly.  I smacked his shoulder with my tail.

 

Sunbeam either ignored him or didn't care.  "So we stopped for a bit afterwards and caught our breath, then we find Absol knocked out in the middle of the street.  We used one of Clover's Revival Herbs.  By the way, Clover, you are brilliant with the leaf pouches."  The Leafeon blushed with a sheepish smile as the young Espeon continued.  "So we told him what happened, and he told us that he had fought off practically the entire Houndoom pack on his own, but got beat by the last two at the end.  Then he thanked us and left for the mountains..."

 

"That's it?" Two said.  "Just like that?"

 

Sunbeam nodded.  "Pretty much.  But then, the best part of the trip happened."

 

I leaned back.  "Better than meeting a Legendary Pokémon?"

 

Sunbeam made a face.  "...Ok, it's a tie.  Mother took me back to the library and let me stay the entire day just to read the books!"  I could tell how happy she was, but not many of her listeners seemed as interested.  However, she didn't seem to care as she talked on.  "And when we had to leave, Gardevoir let me check out a few more books for me to read here!  I love books!"

 

Two nodded as her shiny brother spoke.  "That explains the small pile in our den..."

 

She smiled sheepishly.  "Sorry..."

 

Finally, Espeon and Umbreon slipped out of their log den.  "All right, everyone, time for bed.  Especially you, Sunbeam, you need sleep."

 

There were a few groans of complaint, one of which was from Bolt.  Four, however, stood up and approached the storyteller.  "Sunbeam?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Can you still use Future Sight?"

 

"I don't know.  I think so."

 

He looked at the ground, his energy field lighting up the area around him.  "Can you...  Try to see what I can evolve into?  I know I can control my energy more now, but..."

 

Sunbeam nodded, sitting down next to her brother and finishing his sentence.  "You don't want to stand out like that?"

 

"More like I don't want to hurt anyone.  I want to be able to control it perfectly."

 

She looked up at the sky.  "I don't know.  I can try to find out, but no promises, ok?"

 

Four looked up at her and managed a smile.  "Thanks, Sunbeam.  You're an awesome older sister."

 

Sunbeam returned his smile warmly.  "Thank you, Four.  Now, come on.  Let's get to bed to I can dream about your question."

Dreams, Visions, and Futures (Part 3)

The fight was over before Sunbeam was even aware that it had started.  Before she could have even registered that she should have fought back, she was lying on the floor on her back and hurting in a lot of different places.  "...ow..." she said ungracefully.

The Absol walked around her so that she could see him.  "Wow.  You must have evolved really recently.  I've seen Poison Types have better reflexes than that."

"Yeah..." was all Sunbeam could manage.  Boy was she glad she cut that deal with Absol...

After a few seconds, he spoke again.  "Those are just bruises and superficial wounds.  If push comes to shove, they shouldn't slow you down too much."  He stayed where he was, watching her.  "...Have you ever been in a real fight?"

Sunbeam bit back an acidic response for the first time in her life as she rolled to her paws, wincing a bit.  "I have, but I had friends with me."  She didn't want to give anyone away.

She could read his thoughts without using telepathy.  Of course you were.  She may not have been the biggest fan of him, but she needed him to help both of them escape.  She shook herself off and tried to act nonchalant.  "Can we go now?"

"Sure.  Pretend I knocked you out.  Shouldn't be too hard."  Sunbeam did her best to ignore the slight mocking tone.  She needed his help.  "I'll have to carry you in to make it more realistic."

Sunbeam huffed indignantly, but allowed him to approach again anyway.  If Two or Three ever heard about this, she would near hear the end of it.

Absol grabbed her scruff in a surprisingly gentle manner and lifted her off the ground somewhat awkwardly.  Sunbeam hung limp and closed her eyes, casting her senses out in a small area, just in case.  The Dark Type trotted her back to the building, scratching at the door.  She felt a human approach, then open the door.  Absol held Sunbeam up a bit higher, taking on the same haughty attitude that he had before.

The human stepped away to let Absol in.  This was it.  She was inside the humans' lair.  The guard human shouted towards the stairs.  "Hey, guys!  Absol found the Espeon!"

Another voice shouted from below.  "Perfect!  I knew the darn thing couldn't get away for long!  Absol!  Bring it here!"

Sunbeam had to resist laying her ears down.  What, did they have him trained at their beck and call?  He may have been working for them (until now), but he deserved more respect than that!  Nevertheless, Absol trotted towards the stairs.  As he descended, he whispered around Sunbeam's scruff.  "I've about finished with my end of the deal, and now you do yours.  They keep my Poke Ball on the shelf next to the door to the holding area.  It's an Ultra Ball.  Black with gold markings."

Sunbeam nodded slightly.  Absol seemed content with this and approached the door.  Another part of her vision flashed back to her, and she urgently tried to telepathically contact him.

"I can hear you.  Stop it."

Absol, my vision ended with this building exploding.  You can't be inside when we escape!  No one can!

At first, when Absol stopped near the door, she thought that he hadn't heard her.  She couldn't tell if she had done it right.  Finally, however, he spoke again.  "Kid, that isn't how the world works.  You can't save everyone.  I'll stay... outside, but if you want to try and get everyone out of this building before it blows, then fine, be my guest."

Why did you pause before saying 'outside' like that?  ...  Absol?  He didn't answer.  ...Absol, I plan on trying anyway.  Thanks for the warning, though.

Again, he said nothing.  He only waited for one of the humans to open the door to the 'holding area,' which apparently was the room with the cage in it, then walked inside and glared at the Mightyenas as he approached the cage.

Wait.  When Sunbeam had seen the police humans burst into the room in her vision, she was trying to open the lock with her claws, and the Mightyenas weren't there.  Where had they gone?

Another human followed Absol inside and opened the cage for him.  The Disaster Pokémon stood up on his hind legs and placed Sunbeam inside, who sluggishly sat up and poised herself like her mother, still acting like she was just waking up from being knocked out.  As Absol pulled away, Sunbeam telekinetically lifted Cresselia's feather and tucked it into the thick fun on Absol's chest.  For the first time, he smiled at her.  Not a taunting smile, but a genuine one.

Finally, he dropped back to the floor and dashed out as the human closed the cage door.  Right.  Now she just had to get the Mightyenas to leave and escape.  But how?  With a twinge of regret, she wished that Future Sight could be more specific.

 

Espeon concealed her presence as she pressed herself against the wall of another human den.  How long did Sunbeam need?  She had already used Morning Sun a few times and was to top shape, but she was still hiding from the humans who called themselves Team Rocket's Pokémon.  She had taken out a Weezing and an Arbok easily, but she was still tired.  She couldn't keep up this pace for much longer.  Where was the human police station?

 

A howl split the air.  The Houndooms were onto her again.  She had to act fast.  Taking a risk, she broke her cover early, sprinting for the opposite side of town, near the Pokémon Center.  It had to be somewhere close by!

 

Another howl sounded again, closer this time.  Espeon knew how they got her last time.  They surrounded her after one of them had used Mean Look, disabling her teleportation.  She wouldn't let that happen again.  Her daughter was depending on her! 

 

She kept her senses cast as far out as she could, encompassing nearly the whole town, but specifically focusing on the human den where Sunbeam would be held.  She could feel her daughter's distress earlier, but it then turned to a mixture of relief, sadness, and satisfaction, followed less than a few seconds later by annoyance.  Wait!  There!  Espeon veered into another alley while she shut her eyes and tried to focus on Sunbeam.

 

Whatever she had done, it had worked.  She was approaching the human den.  Espeon couldn't tell much more than that since her daughter wasn't trying to contact her, but she could tell that she was a bit bruised, but mostly in good shape.  She let out a quiet sigh of relief.  Her daughter could take care of herself.  She had charged Espeon with finding and contacting the human police as soon as possible.  Apparently, it had to be her that convinced them to come.

 

A low growl snapped Espeon out of her thought, and she opened her eyes quickly, coming face to face with a Houndoom.  They had found her.

 

She teleported quickly onto the roof, appearing with just enough space between her and the tiles to land running.  Where is my mind today!? she though angrily to herself as the Houndoom behind her howled again.  Step it up, Espy,  she thought, picturing Umbreon saying it to her.  Go save Sunbeam!

 

She leapt rooftop to rooftop, catching glimpses of the growing number of Houndooms pursuing her.  She had to stay far enough away to avoid being caught again!  She tried teleporting to a roof that was farther away, but she knew her pursuers would know here she went.  She had to get ahead of them.  She had to lose them.

 

Suddenly, she saw another figure bounding across the rooftops towards her.  White fur with a black arc.  Absol.  She quickly changed course.  Absols lived on mountains.  Jumping building like this would be a walk in the woods for them.  She'd rather jump over the Houndooms than get into a fight with an Absol with the same Houndooms around the building.

 

Not being able to detect the Dark Types by casting her senses, she had to rely on sight alone.  She looked down when she jumped, showing that the Houndooms seemed to have figured out her path.  That couldn't be good.  They could catch her with Mean Look again if they timed it right!  And a quick glance backwards showed the Absol quickly gaining on her.  She was running out of time.  This was going to lead to a fight.  Desperately, she tried reading the minds of the humans within the buildings, most of whom were shaken my Team Rocket's attack, searching for any police.

 

Her luck swung in her favor as she neared the edge of another roof, detecting the human police in a building not too far away.  Even with the Dark Types after her, she knew she could make it there.

 

Until her luck swung back the other way.  A Houndoom caught her with Mean Look as she jumped.  Distracted and unable to complete her jump, she fell to the street, landing on her paws in a fighting stance.  She was NOT going down without a fight!  And this time, she knew what she was doing.  It would be tough, but she could possibly win this battle.  Sunbeam needed her to.

 

Suddenly, the Absol dropped from the rooftop as well, landing between her and the advancing pack.  Espeon took a step back.  If she had to fight the pack and the Absol?  She knew her limits, and this was beyond them.

 

The Absol stood facing the wall, not looking at neither Espeon nor the Houndooms.  "I have waited far too long for this..." he muttered quietly.  Espeon caught a glimpse of something poking out from the fur on his chest.  Was that a feather?

 

Before she could do anything, the Absol spun away from her and leapt at the Houndoom pack, Using Slash and the element of surprise to land a critical hit on the Houndoom that had Espeon trapped, knocking him out.  In the moment of shock that affected both Espeon and the rest of the pack, the Absol turned to look at her.  "Do you have any more sense than your daughter!?  RUN!!" he shouted just as the Houndooms leapt at him.

 

Having no other option, Espeon turned and ran, free of the capturing stare.  She wanted to ask why he was helping her, but she had no time, running for the police station.

 

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

 

Teleporting through the closed glass door to the police humans' den, Espeon jumped onto the nearest table, out of breath from her mad dash from the Absol's distraction.  She got their attention the first way she thought of.  She lifted a water glass telekinetically, smashed it to the ground with a loud crash! and yelled telepathically to everyone in the den.  HEY!

 

Everyone stopped suddenly, looking at the panting Espeon on the table.  One confused officer spoke what the rest were thinking.  "What...?"

 

Espeon continued with telepathy, there being a slight language barrier between them.  I know where Team Rocket is hiding out and I need to lead you there.  They have my daughter.  Please help!  She hadn't been this desperate in a long time.  Calm, methodical Espeon was gone.

 

A few humans looked at one another.  "How do we know that this isn't a trap by Team Rocket?"

 

They wouldn't have an Espeon.  They focus on Dark and Poison Types, not Psychic.  If any of them got their rotten hands on an Eevee, they evolve it into an Umbreon, paws down.  Maybe a Flareon, but not an Espeon.

 

The humans spoke quietly for a moment before one spoke up.  "Come on, what are we waiting for!?  We were looking for a lead on their location, and now it's staring us in the face!  Literally!"

 

Espeon smiled with a twinge of satisfaction.  She jumped off the table and raced for the door.  This way!  Follow me!

 

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

 

Sunbeam looked down at the Mightyenas pacing the room.  How was she going to get rid of them?  She glanced at the other Pokémon in the cage with her.  She doubted any of them could help.  The vision had to match, or else it would turn out differently!  How was she supposed to-

 

A human yanked open the door to the holding area.  "Mightyenas!  Police!  Go get 'em!"  The Dark Types raced around the human and out of the room, with the human following and shutting the door.  Sunbeam stared.  "Oh.  Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."

 

She jumped to the door and grappled the lock with her claws, trying to find the opening.  An Axew stepped closer to her hesitantly.  "Do you have a plan?"

 

"I have better than a plan," Sunbeam grunted as she tried to force her claw into the lock.  "I have a vision!"

 

Sounds of fighting issued from the other side of the door.  The police humans had made it!  She yelled to all of the Pokémon in the cage with her.  "Ok, everyone!  When we get out, you have to get everyone out of this building as soon as possible!  Even if they're the bad guys!  Understand?"

 

Silence.

 

"It's important!!" she shrieked.  "The building is going to be destroyed!  You HAVE to get everyone out!!"

 

Still no one spoke, but she could sense acceptance of her order.  She loved being an Espeon.

 

The lock wasn't working.  She couldn't unlock the door.  "Mother!  I can't the door!  How do you do it so easily?" she growled, not meaning it to be out loud.

 

However, her mother then answered her.  Please!  The stolen Pokémon are in here!  My daughter is in here!

 

She heard a human shout.  "Feraligatr, go!  Use Headbutt!"  The door exploded open, revealing the exact scene from her vision.  Except for one thing.  Espeon ran from behind the Big Jaw Pokémon, stopping just short of the cage. 

 

"Sunbeam!"

 

"Mother!"

 

"You're all right!"

 

"You're not hurt!"

 

"Come on, we have to get out of here!"

 

"I can't get the lock open!"

 

Espeon smiled at her daughter, despite the chaos, and focused on the lock, scrambling it with telekinesis and popping it open with ease.  In the following stampede, Sunbeam and her mother pressed close to one another.

 

"Thank you, Mother."

 

"I love you, Sunbeam.  You make me proud."

 

The Feraligatr behind them spoke in a rough voice, but in a kind tone.  "I hate to be the one to break up the reunion, but we should get out of here.  My trainer needs to help the rest of the force.

 

The final part of her vision came back to her.  "Wait!  They building!  It's going to explode!  We have to get everyone out!"

 

"What!?" the Water Type exclaimed, taking a step back.

 

Espeon relayed Sunbeam's warning to the trainer.  "No...  I thought I heard them say something about a backup in case they were busted.  That must be it!  Come on, guys, let's get everyone else and get out!"

 

He turned on his heel with the three Pokémon following behind him and ran back into the main room, which was pure chaos from the multitudes of battles happening at once.   Sunbeam called to the burly Feraligatr.  "Wait!  I made a promise."  She searched the wall near the door, finding the open Ultra Ball and lifting it towards him with telekinesis, noting her mother's proud look.  "Can you break this for me?  Please?"

 

He hesitated for a moment before taking the Ultra Ball out of the air and snapping it in two with relative ease.  The police human, noticing his Pokémon had stayed behind, turned back and knelt down on one knee to be more level with Sunbeam and her mother.  "Espeons?  I know you're wild, but if it's true that they're going to blow the building, I need you to go outside and make sure everyone makes it out.  I'll come with you and tell the rest of the force.  Ok?"

 

Both Espeons nodded, and the human stood up again.  "Come on.  Feraligatr, help them get out safely!  I've got to tell the other officers!"

 

Espeon looked at Feraligatr.  "Will he be all right without you to help him?"

 

The larger Pokémon nodded.  "He's chief of police.  He's got a whole team with him.  He'll be fine.  He's the toughest human I know!" he said proudly.  Sunbeam smiled.  "Now come on, let's go!"

 

They two Espeons led the way, running stride for stride with the Water Type behind them.  They passed two drenched Houndooms, fainted on the floor.  Before Sunbeam could even say anything, Feraligatr spoke again.  "We'll get them out, too, don't worry."

 

Finally, they burst outside into the sunlight again.  Sunbeam breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew she couldn't rest yet.  They had a job to do.  She looked at her mother.  "How do we know when everyone is out?"

 

Her mother smiled.  "How do you think?"

 

"...Cast our senses?"

 

"Well done."

 

Many people and Pokémon were already out of the building, so when Feraligatr's trainer ran back out holding a Quilava under one arm, Sunbeam called loudly.  He was the last one.

 

The chief of police looked panicked.  "RUN!"

 

They didn't need to be told twice.  Feraligatr loped on four legs for speed as Sunbeam and Espeon tore away from the building as quickly as possible, just as the entire structure blew off of its foundation in a fiery explosion.