Five New Abilities (Part 2)

I was tense with apprehension as I hunted, causing me to scare away two Pidgeys and a Magikarp.  Luckily for me, Magikarps aren't the brightest Pokémon in the world.  I managed to catch another one that was bigger than the one I had lost.

As I carried my catch back to camp, worries bounced around my head.  Any second, I half expected to hear Eevees crying out in pain or fear.  The silence was even worse.  I couldn't know if something happened to them or not.  I shook my head, almost dropping my Magikarp.  Three was super lucky and One was Psychic.  They would be fine.

Still, I couldn't help but be apprehensive as I entered the (sort of) camp entrance.  I glanced around the camp.  Nothing was out of order.  Well, things were out of order, the camp was still in shambles, but nothing was different that I had left it.  Sighing in relief, I dove into the pond, still with my Magikarp in my mouth, and swam into my den. 

"Hi, you hoo," I managed around my catch.  One and Three were play-wrestling and having a grand old time.  They broke away from each other as I entered.

"Hi, Splash!" One called happily.

Three rolled to his paws.  "One and I were playing while you were gone."

I smiled, setting my Magikarp down.  "That's good to hear.  You two can keep playing, if you want.  I need to have something to eat," I said as I settled down near my bed and began eating.

Three crept up next to me.  "Hey Splash?"  I could only nod with my mouth full.  This tasted so good after not eating in a day...  Three took his cue to continue speaking.  "One and wanted to know if you could teach us how to battle...?"

I stopped in mid-bite.  "Why?"

The shiny Eevee looked at the ground.  "Well... we wanted to help you find Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Bolt and everyone..."

One came up on the other side of me.  "You told us that we would have to know how to fight to go outside the camp.  Can you teach us?"

I let out a sigh, turning away from my food.  "I don't know...  I don't know how your mother would want me to do this..."

One let her ears droop and her eyes go wide.  "Please?  We want to help!"

I hesitated.  On the one paw, having two more sets of paws, even if they were small paws, to aid in the search would be useful, especially considering their abilities.  On the other paw, teaching a kit to battle is a huge milestone.  It's usually reserved for parents only. 

An idea came to me.  "Ok, kits, if you help me clean up and repair the camp, then we'll talk about battle lessons."  That would test their commitment and work ethics.  There was a lot to do around camp to make it look like home again...

Both Eevees lit up.  "Ok!  Thank you, Splash!"  With that, both of them raced past me and dove into the pond.  I let out a long breath.  Someone needed to watch them and make sure they didn't hurt themselves.  And that someone had to be me.  I glanced down at my half-finished Magikarp.  How in the world did Espeon and Umbreon do this?

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

Espeon awoke from a small recharging nap to her name being called.  It was Zorua's voice.  "Espeon!  There are humans coming to look at us!"

Within a second, Espeon snapped the tiredness off of her mind. "Thank you, Zorua."  She then did her best to contact Surf and Snow.  "There are humans coming to look at us.  If we don't do something, then they may take one of us."

Both grew more awake as Espeon spoke, though she was mentally yelling to the two Eevees next to her.  Surf instantly responded by melting into a puddle.  Snow panicked for a few seconds before creating a wall of ice between her and the door of her cage.  Espeon had no choice but to conceal her presence.  She could work her powers inside her cage perfectly well...

Espeon lowered her shield for a moment.  "Zorua?  Will you be ok?"

Her new friend's voice answered.  "I'm small, but I can still use illusions," she stated as Espeon felt the little black fox Pokémon cast an illusion on herself.  She now looked like a Rattata.

Espeon resumed her essence shield just as a male human walked in.  He didn't look like anything special.  "Hey, I'm looking for a present for my wife?  I'm kind of short on cash, and she always wanted to be a trainer...  I want to get her something no one else has..."

The human behind the counter gestured to the rows of cages, rolling his eyes when the new human turned away from him.  Espeon didn't need Psychic powers to tell that the new human meant well, and the burly human didn't care.

The new human looked among the cages for a few seconds, passing right over Surf's, then Snow's, then Espeon's.  He hardly noticed any of them.  He pointed to another area, where Espeon could hear running water.  "Talk to me about that Feebas."  Secretly, Espeon wondered if getting your mate a Feebas was the best idea in the world... Oh well.

The new human bought the Feebas, caught it in a Poke Ball without any problems, and left.  Espeon relaxed.  Surf reformed himself and spoke as Snow worked on removing her icy barrier.  "Espeon, we need to get out of here.  I have to find Splash."

Espeon did her best to look at him with little success.  "And what about me?  My mate and all of my kits are missing.  You think  I don't want to get out of here?" she said in a cool tone.

"Sorry," Surf said apologetically.  "I didn't mean it like that..."

Espeon looked away.  "As am I.  I think being trapped in this tiny space with no Psychic abilities is getting to me."

"Tell me about it..." Surf trailed off, deep in thought.  Espeon closed her eyes.  What could they do?  Surf spoke again as the burly human got up and left the room.  "Espeon?"

"Yes?" she asked as the human closed the door behind himself. 

"Promise me something?" he asked as Snow finally managed to break her ice wall down.

"What?"  Something in Surf's voice told her that something was off...

"I'll always have your back."

"What does tha-"  Espeon was cut off as Surf used Dive, escaping his cage and leaping with a furious shout at the dark corner where the Zoroark was hidden.

Clover spoke before Umbreon could say anything.  "...What's in it for you?" she whispered, even though her voice was still shaking uncontrollably.  Umbreon kicked himself.  He was so blinded by her words that he forgot to use his common sense.  Of course she had an ulterior motive!

Terror tilted her head, acknowledging Clover.  "You got me.  I also have a friend in there.  I think you know her as well...  A Zorua?"

There was a tense silence in which Umbreon still stood at the ready to attack at any moment.  He let his built-up Sludge Bomb die down, though.  Finally, Clover spoke.  "...she was the only one that was nice to me..." she said in barely more than a whisper.

Terror began licking her paw.  "She's a good Pokémon.  I also have a small score to settle with her cousin, a Zoroark who is also there and is not as friendly."

Umbreon gave her a skeptical look.  "So you want us to do what?  I don't think you just sauntered in to tell us about our Clan mates, did you?"

The Liepard mocked looking offended.  "Why Umbreon!  Why can't I be a nice Pokémon?  Since when can't I give you piece of useful information that I know you would appreciate without having some kind of scheme hidden behind my back?"

Umbreon narrowed his eyes.  "Since you lived up to your name, terrorizing one of my very good friends," he shot back.

Terror became serious again.  "Look.  I know something that you three want, and you can do something that I cannot.  You groom my fur, I groom yours."

Clover quietly slipped inside the makeshift den while Umbreon spoke.  "And how do we know we can trust you?"

Terror tilted her head again.  "If I teach your radioactive son how to control his extra energy, would that do the trick?"

Umbreon was intrigued by the notion that Four could possibly do that, but before he could ask what else Terror could suggest, Four poked his head out of the den.  "I can do what?"

Terror leaned around Umbreon.  "It's all mind over matter.  I knew anther Pokémon that got caught in an experiment that the humans were doing, and he ended up with the same sort of buzzy energy that you have.  He could control it, pushing it onto his enemies in a Toxic-like attack.  He died later, but I don't see why you couldn't learn to control that energy, too."

Four looked struck.  His eyes went wide with fear and excitement at the same time as Umbreon moved in between the two.  "That's enough!  Terror, stop scaring my son, or I swear to Arceus, I'll show you an actual Toxic-like attack!"

Terror took a step back with a smile still on her face.  Umbreon was beginning to dislike that smile.  Her eyes touched Umbreon's red stone.  "Fine, then, use that promise stone.  Any promise that's made on it has to be kept or the stone breaks.  If that happens, then you two can do whatever you want to me."

A promise stone?  Umbreon had no idea that this was what the stone was.  Then, his lie detecting instinct alerted him.  "There's no such thing as a Promise Stone."

Terror rolled her eyes.  "Fine.  I'll put all my claws out in plain view.  There's no real way to prove that I mean what I say, except that I say I'll stand by it.  We both have common interests right now.  Work together to achieve a common goal.  I have no doubt that your battle abilities exceed mine, though Clover's are questionable.  If I do misspeak, which it seems you can detect with no trouble at all, then I expect you would attack me, which I would understand.  All I need is some backup when we go to find your friends.  Do we have an agreement?" she asked, placing her paw on the ground in front of her.

Umbreon thought about what she had said.  Not once did his lie-detecting instinct tell him that anything that the Liepard said was untrue.  He looked back at the entrance to the den, where Clover and Four were standing and watching.  Clover seemed less afraid now.  Umbreon sent her a questioning glance.  She hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded.  Umbreon turned back to Terror.  "Fine.  But only if you teach Four how to use his radioactivity as well," he stated as he placed his paw on top of Terror's.

"Deal," she said, looking serious for the first time since Umbreon had seen her.

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

As it turns out, walking the whole way to the river was almost painful for Bolt.  He had made a promise to Two and he planned to keep it, but walking for hours on end to Bolt felt like he going the same speed as a Slugma.  How did Inferno do this!?

Said battle partner seemed to notice his discomfort.  "Hey, Bolt, I think I heard something up ahead.  Two, come here.  Bolt, can you run ahead and see what it was?"

Bolt smiled at his best friend as the shiny Eevee gave Inferno a grumpy look, but jumped to the ground anyway.  "Sure.  One sec!" Bolt said before blasting off at his full speed.

Bolt loved running.  Only Inferno would say that he heard something to give Bolt an excuse to run without breaking his prom-

Bolt wiped out as something hit his paws in mid stride.  He rolled over several times before being able to stand on his paws again.  His fur crackled threateningly.  No one stops Bolt from running and gets away with it.  He scanned his surroundings warily.  Whatever had tripped him before hadn't been there before, and definitely wasn't there now.

Ears flicking back and forth and nose pointed upwards, Bolt detected the smell of... a Ground Type.  That wasn't good.  But there was something else...

Suddenly, Bolt saw two eyes the color of sand staring at him through the shadows of the trees.  The full smell hit him.  He knew what that was.

Garchomp!

Bolt skidded on his paws and blasted back towards Inferno at full tilt.  He had to warn him and get the kits to safety!  "INFERNO!!!" he yelled.

The Flareon stepped out from the bushes with Two and Five, looking surprised.  "Bolt, you know that I didn't actually-"  Bolt ignored him, dashed past him, and grabbed Two by the scruff.  Just as she started to complain, the Garchomp burst through the ticket, roaring loudly.

Bolt looked at Inferno.  "RUN!"

Five New Abilities (Part 1)

My thoughts drifted as One and Three devoured the berries that I had brought them.  One had inherited her mother's Psychic abilities and Three was the luckiest Pokémon in the world.  Suicune really HAD overdosed the kits with luck, especially in Three's case.  What would the other three Eevees have?  Four's would probably have something to do with his radioactivity, but nothing came to mind as for what Two and Five would have.

Two just liked going her own way and hated when someone told her what to do.  She was extremely independent, though she still listened to her older sister's directions.  Thinking about it, was One the only one that Two wouldn't disobey or question orders with?  Aside from her personality, the only strange thing I've ever witnessed about her was her shiny fur.

And then there was Five.  The cute, sweet, loving runt of Espeon's litter.  She was only a bit smaller than her older siblings, but the difference was noticeable.  However, what she lacked in size, she more than made up for in heart.  Other than her attitude, she was just a normal, small, brown Eevee.

I gave up trying to think of other talents, shaking my head and curling my tail over my paws.  My stomach growled.  I had to hunt.

"Kits, I'm going to go out and catch something to eat for myself, ok?" I asked, standing up.

One jumped up as well.  "I want to come!  Teach me to hunt, Splash!  Please?" she asked loudly.  Next to her, Three jumped up as well, nodding vigorously and slopping even more berry juice on his fur.

I shook my head with a smile.  How did Espeon do this with five of them?  Then again, she also had Umbreon.  "One, maybe I should teach you how to swim before I teach you to hunt and battle..."

One let her ears droop and her eyes go wide.  "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" she pleaded.  "At least teach me how to swim!"  Three looked less interested in learning swimming than hunting.

I tried my hardest, but I couldn't say no to that face.  "Fine, let me take you to the surface."

"Yaaaay!" both kits shouted at the same time.  I couldn't help but smile. 

Shuttling the two of them to the surface using Surf, I placed both of them down facing the water.  "Ok, so we're just going to learn the basics.  Nothing fancy," I said as I stepped into the water.  It was so easy for me to use my tail for extra speed and stability, but I forced myself to keep it limp.  Both One and Three sat at rapt attention.

"Swimming is just like walking, but without something solid to stand on.  All you really have to do to stay afloat is use the same movements that you do when you walk," I explained, giving a demonstration.

The lessons continued through the day.  Eventually, One and Three got into the water to try out my tips for themselves.  They floundered at first (neither of them were really natural born swimmers), but eventually, both of them got the hang of it.  Before I knew it, it was already noon, and the kits were diving underwater just fine.  It looked like they would be able to get to and from my den without problems now.

Finally, however, my angry stomach made me stop the lesson.  "Ok, you two.  I really have to go hunt now."

"Aww..." both said at the same time with crestfallen faces and soaked fur.

Three stood back up.  "Can't we come with you?"

I shook my head, looking at how worn out they looked.  "No, you two should probably go back to my den and take a rest.  You earned it."  Three did look pleased to hear that.  "Show me what you've learned by swimming back to my den, ok?"

Without another word, both Eevees dove into the pond, stroking strongly and holding their breaths with confidence.  Finally, I saw then disappear into my den.  I smiled in satisfaction and turned towards the (sort of) camp entrance, but paused.  I could leave them alone, right?  It would only be for a few minutes, and they were in my den.  What could be wrong with that?

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

At first, Espeon was horrified.  What had happened to the powerful Staraptor that she knew?  The one that had taken the full brunt of an Electric Type attack from a Pikachu for his mate?

Espeon quickly turned from horror to outrage.  The humans did this to him, all of this.  The explosion, the capture, the roughness of Streak's treatment.  The roughness of all of their treatment, she thought, thinking of Surf.

Storing the anger that she felt in a corner of her mind, Espeon automatically tried to contact Streak mentally, but was still bound by the Zoroark.  Espeon whisked her tail angrily.  She had to stop the interference.  "Zorua?" Espeon asked quietly.  "Can you tell your cousin to let me check on my friend?"  She realized too late that she had forgotten the word 'please.'  Oh well.

"Um..." the Illusion Fox Pokémon's voice answered hesitantly.  "I can try, but I don't think he'll listen.  He's pretty attached to his trainer.  I don't get it."  Espeon didn't either.  "Blackstrike?  Blackstrike!"  When she only got a minor grunt from the corner, Zorua took it as a cue to proceed.  "Can you let this Espeon use her Psychic abilities?  That Staraptor is a friend of hers, and she wants to check on him.  Please?"

The shadow in the corner stepped further into the light, revealing the Dark Type.  He glared at a spot above and to the left of Espeon, presumably at Zorua.  "Are you telling me what to do?" he challenged, advancing on Zorua.

"N-no, I was just asking if-"

"NO!" Blackstrike snarled.  "My trainer ordered me to keep that pink puffball under wraps, so I will!  Whether you like it or not, you runt!"

Espeon bristled at his abusive names, but said nothing.  Zorua continued to cower in her cage.  "I-I'm sorry, Blackstrike, I really didn't mean it like that, honest!"

"GOOD!" the Zoroark roared, delivering a Shadow Claw through the bars of Zorua's cage.  Espeon heard her yelp.  "Now don't speak to me again unless you want to end the day with way more than that little princess cut!"  With that, he spun on his tail and marched back to his corner.

One of the humans glanced at Blackstrike before returning to his papers.  "Good job, Zoroark," he said, sounding more like he was commenting on something written on the papers, rather than a job well done to his Pokémon.

A few seconds passed in silence.  Finally, Espeon tried to see Zorua unsuccessfully.  "Are you all right?"

Her voice shook as she answered.  "Fine.  Just fine.  He doesn't realize how hard he hits sometimes..."  Espeon shook her head, trying to come up with a plan of some sort.  Anything that resembled a plan would be nice.

Finally, after about half an hour with no words or ideas, Surf captioned Espeon's thoughts in two words.  "Now what?"

 

 



Umbreon dropped his prey where he was and took off as fast as he could.  That had been Clover.  She was with Four!  Putting on as much extra speed as he could, Umbreon practically flew through the forest, not caring anymore about how much noise he made and thanking Arceus that his shoulder wasn't slowing him down too much.

Finally, he spotted the Leafeon.  She had her back pressed against their temporary den, her ears flat against her head and her claws out.  Umbreon had almost never seen Clover's claws out.  Something was very wrong.

With a final bound, Umbreon skidded to a halt in front of Clover in full attack posture, ears flat, fangs bared, hackles up, crouched low, and rings glowing brilliantly.  What was in front of him, however, made him hesitate. 

It was a Liepard.  She didn't appear to want to attack, but Umbreon knew that these Pokémon were all about trickery.  However, he recognized this Liepard from somewhere...

He turned his head a bit, still keeping the Liepard in full view, but addressing the terrified Leafeon behind him.  "Clover, are you all right?"

He could hear her trembling breath and voice as she answered.  "Umbreon, keep her away from me, get her away.  Chase her off."  Umbreon could smell her fear a mile off.  Had she forgotten that she knew Aura Sphere?

Before Umbreon could do anything, Four's quiet voice came from the den.  "What happening?"

Umbreon didn't take his eyes off the Liepard.  He wasn't afraid to demonstrate his battling abilities again, as he had with the human.  "Four, stay inside," he ordered.

The Liepard didn't move at all, except to roll her eyes.  "Clover, I don't want to hurt you," she stated factually.  She knew Clover.  And her voice sounded familiar...

Umbreon knew this Liepard.  He wracked his brain, but couldn't remember the name.  As luck would have it, Clover whimpered it for him.  "Terror!  Leave me alone..." she trailed off in a sob.

Umbreon took a step towards the Liepard that had both hurt Clover and led Splash to her.  "Terror," he stated simply.  "What do you want?" he growled.  He didn't trust this Pokémon one bit.

Her muscles were still relaxed as she peered curiously at Umbreon and answered.  "My humans abandoned me after you and your Legendaries destroyed their workplace.  I'm on my own now.  I'm doing all right, but I smelled Clover nearby and thought I'd come and say hello."

Umbreon stood back up to his full height, but kept his muscles tense and his ears back.  "Say hello?" he asked incredulously.  "You scarred her for life!  She can barely get within ten steps of a Purrloin thanks to you, and you have the nerve to say that you just 'stopped by' to say hello!?"

Terror sat down in a leisurely manner, not responding at all to Umbreon's aggression.  "Please, Umbreon.  If I wanted to attack, I would have.  Your shoulder is hurt, Clover is too terrified to do anything but run, and I believe you have a small Eevee with you, radioactive, judging by the smell."

Umbreon tried not to let his surprise show, instead feeling the weight of his red stone and moon dust leaves around his neck.  "So?  I managed to take down a human with ease in this condition.  Rather brutally, I might add."

Clover voice was shaking worse that one of her sprouts in a windstorm.  "Yeah, Umbreon was vicious.  And he will be again if you don't back off!" she said, trying and failing to sound brave.

Terror's eyes went wide in a mocking expression.  "Clover, I thought you of all Pokémon would be happy to see me."  Clover began to answer, but the Liepard cut her off.  "How are your wings treating you?"

Both Clover and Umbreon froze.  Umbreon was the first to find his words again.  "How dare you.  Clover hates it when Pokémon look at her wings, let alone talk so casually about them.  And why would she be glad to see the Pokémon that tormented her throughout the worst time in her life thus far, the time that has been giving her nightmares ever since she got back!?" Umbreon demanded, charging up a sludge bomb.

Terror didn't respond to his actions, yet again.  "I thought she'd be glad to see me since I know where her Glaceon friend is."  Clover's ragged breath caught, even though she knew where Snow was, too.  Terror continued.  "Her and a few others in your Clan," she finished.

Umbreon was still on guard.  It was almost definitely a trick.  Even though the little instinct that warned Umbreon of lies was silent, he ignored it.  "Yeah?  Who?"

"Just that male Vaporeon and your Espeon friend."   Umbreon froze.  Hope flared like a light in his chest.  Every word rang true with his internal lie detector.  She knew where Espeon was.

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

"Bye, Soursap!" Bolt called over his shoulder, letting Two climb up on his back again.

"Bye, Bolt, Inferno, Two, and Five!" Soursap called back from his trainer's doorstep.  "Come back and visit sometime!" he said before closing the door.

Bolt might come back, but not to visit.  Soursap had no idea how grateful he was to be outside with endless space again.  Apparently, everyone else did, though.  "Bolt, you look like one of those mini-suns that Chris had in his den.  Lower the light level," Inferno commented at he helped Five up.

Bolt obliged, turning off his excited glow.  "I can run again!" Bolt crowed.  "Watch me!"  Completely forgetting about his passenger, Bolt blasted away as fast as he could run.  Two, not having any time to grab Bolt's spiked fur in her teeth, flew off Bolt's back with a startled screech.

Bolt immediately skidded to a halt, almost falling over himself.  "Two!?" he called, turning around.  What was he thinking!?  How could he just forget Two like that!?  "Are you ok!?  I'm sorry!  Where are you?" Bolt called as he searched for his niece.

Inferno seemed just as confused as Bolt was.  "Where'd she go?  I lost sight of her when she fell!"

Five was just as concerned as Bolt.  "Two?  Where are you?" she called, searching for her shiny sister.  Deciding that Inferno's head was in her way, she stood on his back and put her front paws on his head, peering over his ears and swirled fluff tuft.  "Two?" she called again.

Bolt would have laughed at his friend's expression and predicament, but right now, he had a missing kit to think about.  "TWO!?" he yelled.  Where in Arceus's name could she have gone?  He had only lost her for a second!  He looked up at Inferno, fear written all over his face.  "Where is she!?"

Inferno was losing his cool, too.  "I don't know!  She can't have just vanished into thin air!" he shouted as he did his best to track her scent with Five on his head.  Bolt shook his head vigorously.  Inferno was right.  She couldn't have just vanished, just like that. 

Something clicked in Bolt's mind.  She couldn't have vanished... or could she?  He looked up at the Flareon.  "Inferno?  Doesn't Umbreon know Phantom Force?" he asked slowly.

Inferno, too, looked up slowly.  "Yes.  Yes he does."

Bolt tilted his head in thought.  "You think Two might have inherited it from him?  And used it accidentally when she fell?"

Bolt shrugged.  "It makes the most sense.  She vanished into thin air, her scent ends very abruptly, and there's no sign of her anywhere."

A short silence fell before Five piped up.  "So how do we find her?"

Bolt thought about it.  "I think we just have to wait for her to figure out how to come back.  She's smart.  She can do it."

Five nodded quietly and slid back down onto Inferno's back.  The Flareon looked at Bolt suddenly.  "How does Umbreon know Phantom Force anyway?  I thought it was a pretty exclusive move."

Bolt shrugged again, beginning to pace and speak quickly.  "I don't know.  I once asked him about it, but he evaded the question and changed the subject.  Something must have happened that he doesn't want to talk about.  But still, Phantom Force?  How did he learn that?  I mean, sure, it's useful, but still!"

Inferno rolled his eyes and threw his head back in exasperation.  "Bolt!  Run in circles!"

"...Right.  Sorry."  Bolt began blasting in tight circles, trying to figure out what to do.  Wait.  Was that a cold spot there?  He stopped suddenly, putting a paw through the air in front of him.  It was colder there!  Umbreon had once walked through Bolt with Phantom Force, and it had given him that cold sensation.  Two was standing right in front of him!

Inferno, however, was confused.  "Bolt, what are you doing?"

Bolt turned to look at Inferno.  "Two's right here!  I was right!  I can feel her!"  He looked back at the empty space in front of him.  "Two, if you can hear me, try jumping back through to our side!  You just have to open up another gap like you did the first time, ok?"

Inferno gave his Jolteon friend a look that said 'you're insane.'  However, less than a second later, a small black hole opened up in mid-air and Two tumbled out, breathing heavily.  Bolt dashed up and hugged his shiny niece tightly.  "Two!  Thank Arceus you're ok!  I know it was an accident and it was kind of my fault, but don't ever do that again, ok?" he said, rushing his words.

Two seemed a bit stunned.  "Sorry, Uncle Bolt.  I didn't mean to.  Suddenly everything was dark and fuzzy and you couldn't see me and I didn't know what happened!"

Inferno and Five trotted over happily.  "Two you used a move that your father knows.  You used Phantom Force."

Two nodded at him.  "I heard.  I need to practice that..."

"Not now you don't," Bolt said, gently sliding Two onto his back again.  "We are going to the river and you are going to rest."

Two nodded, her paws sagging over Bolt's fur.  "Ok.  But Uncle Bolt?"

He turned his head to see her.  "Yes, Two?"

She gave a small smile.  "Promise you won't run until we get there?"

Bolt chuckled as Inferno burst out laughing.  Bolt just smiled warmly at the Eevee who usually acted so tough and distant.  "I promise."

Wandering (Part 3)

I blinked awake, confused for a moment as to why I wasn't in my den.  Then, it hit me like the weight of ten Wailords.  The explosion, my destroyed Clan, missing clan members, ruined camp, and only One and Three to keep me sane.  The orb next to Surf's bed dramatically changed from aqua blue to a violent dark blue with some black swirled in.

I rested my head on the edge of Surf's nest and sighed.  I took a long time inhaling again, trying to discern as much of Surf's scent as I could  It mostly smelled like the Sea Incense that I had given him, the one that he wore almost all the time.  It now sat near his pond access hole, untouched since he rushed to help me contain Espeon's kits.  Half of me was glad.  It was fine, unharmed by the explosion.  I touched the Shell Bell around my neck with one paw.  Half of it was shattered and unusable.  I had fallen on it when I was thrown by the blast.  It had made the most beautiful sound...

I shook my head.  I had two kits to take care of.  When everything was back to normal, then I could ask Surf about fixing my Shell Bell.  I hopped out of Surf's nest, reflecting on my lack of dreams and trying to prioritize.  I sat down in front of the pond water and curled my tail over my paws.  Think. 

First things first, I had to get the kits and I fed and cared for.  I still had the berries from Clover's den, so the kits should be ok on those.  I, however, had to hunt.  But what would One and Three do while I was out?  I couldn't just keep them in my den forever.  I'd cross that river when I got to it.  For now, I had to care for the kits.

Diving into the water after smelling Surf's Sea Incense one last time, I contemplated my lack of Legendary dreams.  Suicune hadn't shown up.  There was the off chance that he had been busy.  Maybe that was it.  Probably-

"ONE!?" I screeched through the water as I spotted the brown Eevee, who couldn't swim, struggling to reach my den.  I shot through the water like a Sharpedo, grabbing One's scruff in my teeth, and leaping into my den, accidentally knocking Three backwards with my tail.

I landed on my paws and dropped One, checking to see if she was still breathing.  She wasn't, though she was alive.  I quickly flipped her onto her back and pushed on her chest pushed with my front paws, using my tail for balance.  Nothing was happening.  I tried to focus on the water in her lungs, trying to draw it out, but nothing was happening.

Three, still dazed from his tail-slap to the face, stumbled over to me and One, leaning on my thigh.  I turned to look at him for a moment.  "Three, give me space!  I'm trying to save your sister!"  But as I pressed on One's chest, just after finishing my thought, One suddenly hacked up the pond water that she had swallowed, drooling it all over her fur.  I quickly got up and righted her, though I didn't push her to stand up.  One continued to cough and throw up pond water, and I sat right next to her until she stopped and was breathing normally, if not raggedly, again.  I leaned close to her, ignoring the water on the floor.  "Are you all right, One?"

It took her a few seconds before she could answer.  "I... I think so...  That was scary..." she stammered, barely whispering.

I gently picked her up and placed her in my nest.  "What were you doing?  You can't swim."

She gave me apologetic Growlithe eyes.  "I... I was looking for you... We woke up and you weren't there..."

I closed my eyes and sighed softly.  This was my fault.  "I'm sorry, One.  You two were sleeping in my bed, so I slept in Surf's.  I should have woken you up and told you.  I'm sorry."

She put her head down and closed her eyes.  "I rubbed Three all over before I tried to swim, but it didn't work."

I tilted my head.  "You rubbed Three?  Why?" I inquired glancing at the shiny Eevee that was, once again, playing with the seashells in my Vaporeon box.

"Three's really lucky," One stated simply.  "If you rub against him, some of his luck rubs off on you for a little bit."

My fins lifted.  It all made sense.  Three never got into trouble because he lucked his way out.  He almost always won the games that the kits played that involved hiding or chance.  And during the ice skating fiasco, he was one of the few who didn't fall in the hole in the ice.  One had been lucky when she rubbed Three and jumped in, not that she got to the surface, but that I had woken up and gone into the water at the exact moment that I did.  And hadn't he leaned on me when I was trying to get the water out of One's lungs?  Wasn't that the exact moment that I was successful?  My gaze shifted back to Three without saying anything.  So the shiny male, too, had powers of a sort.  Something made me wonder if all five of Espeon's kits had something.

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

Espeon had to sit in silence for a few minutes.  Snow, after receiving no answer, tried to break the tension.  "So, I guess the Spring Vaporeon Marathon is cancelled, Surf?"  Surf just let out a tense sigh in response.

Espeon fretted.  What should they do now?  Something was still restricting her powers.  She had to find out what.  Surf spoke before she could start.  "I don't know, Snow.  Let's focus on the problem at our paws right now.  Is there any way that you can get out of your cage, right now, right this second?"

The Glaceon faltered.  "No..."

Surf sighed.  "Well, I can think of three ways that I can escape, right here and now."

Espeon tried to home in on the source of her Psychic blockage as Snow answered.  "Really?  What?"

"I can turn into a puddle and slide out, I can use Dive, and I can use Iron Tail to smash the door out," Surf explained in a simple tone of voice.

Espeon tuned in to the conversation.  "I would be able to teleport out or use telekinesis to pull the door open or open the lock."

She couldn't see Surf, but she guessed that he tilted his head.  "Would?"

Espeon nodded, though, again, no one could see her.  "I would, but something is blocking my Psychic powers.  Surf, I tried to help you escape by clouding the humans' minds, but something was holding me back.  It still is."

Surf got right down to business.  "Is it inside or outside your cage?"

Espeon used her telekinesis to lift both bowls and a lot of sand at the same time.  "No, definitely not inside," she stated, gently placing everything back down.  Before Surf could even ask, Espeon tried lifting things outside her cage, at varying distances away.  She didn't move it much, so as not to alert the burly human, but enough to gauge by how much she was being held back.  Closer to her cage was an issue, though not terribly big.  However, the nearer she got to a dark corner...

Espeon placed the empty can that she was lifting and tried to read the presence in that corner.  She couldn't figure out anything about it, revealing that it was a Dark Type.  Full-blooded and single Typed, but very gifted with tricking the mind.  Espeon ran though the list of Pokémon that she knew.

A small, shy, female voice interrupted her thoughts.  "Um... Excuse me?  Y-you're the Espeon, right?"

Snow and Surf had fallen silent to let Espeon and this new Pokémon talk.  Maybe she could help.  "Yes.  Who are you?" Espeon asked politely.

"Um... I'm Zorua," she answered simply.  Something clicked in Espeon's powerful mind about the presence in the corner.  Zorua confirmed her suspicion.  "That's a cousin of mine over there.  He's a Zoroark."  Everything about her power blockage was explained perfectly.  Zoroarks relied on mind tactics to create their illusions, explaining why he could weaken Espeon's powers.

Before Espeon could respond, another human burst in through the doorway, carrying a large cage.  His body was blocking what kind of Pokémon was inside.  "Found the last one!  The cage got thrown when our Rapidashes had a fright!"  Espeon watched carefully as the human marched over to a large hook on the wall and hung the cage there.  "Mark male Staraptor on the list there," the human said as he stepped away from the cage.  Espeon's eyes went wide.  Snow gasped.

Inside the cage, broken, bruised, battered, and restrained, lay Streak.

Umbreon kept a vigilant watch all throughout the night.  The night was his domain.  The moonlight gave him all the strength that he would get from sleeping through the night.  He had purposefully dimmed the glow on his rings, so as not to attract any unwanted attention, but there had been a Luxray and a Gengar that had noticed their encampment.  Luckily, the Luxray had been one that Umbreon had met before, when walking this way Espeon.  He wished Umbreon luck in finding her and left to tend to his own new family.  Apparently, he now had two Shinxes to look after.  As far as the Gengar encounter went, it had wanted to find Clover and Four, but a threatening glare from Umbreon was enough to convince it to keep moving.

Clover, as usual, was up with the sun.  "Morning, Umbreon," she said as she exited the den.  Umbreon had to agree with her that it was not a "good" morning. 

"Morning," he returned. 

There was a bit of silence in which Clover began stretching in the early light.  "You can tell there's a hint of spring in the air," she said as she bent into a stretch, displaying her wings.

Umbreon nodded.  "Yeah.  It was pretty warm last night."  He couldn't help but admire her wings.  He wouldn't mind having wings like those, even if he had no clue how to use them.  He'd figure it out and find Espeon.

Clover seemed to sense Umbreon's gaze on her wings, snapping them back into their hidden position along her sides.  "Stop that.  You know I don't like that."

"They're very pretty," Umbreon defended.  "I can look at them."

"How's your shoulder?" Clover countered, using a slightly acidic tone.

"Fine, as a matter of fact.  I was right.  A night off made it better," Umbreon lied.  It actually had gotten a bit worse overnight.  When Clover said nothing, just looked at him, Umbreon stood up.  "In fact, I'm going to go hunting.  Watch Four.  I'll be back."  Umbreon trotted into the surrounding foliage, forcing himself not to react to the pain in his shoulder.

As he passed out of Clover's range of sight, Umbreon let himself walk and limp.  He used Moonlight, kicking himself that he hadn't thought of that before (he really didn't need to use his healing move all that much), and tested it out to see if that was better.

It still had a dull ache, but using Moonlight again would have more potency when the moon was actually out.  He'd heal himself tomorrow night.  But for now, he'd look awfully silly if he returned less than a few minutes after leaving with no prey.

He closed his eyes and lifted his ears and nose.  Rustling touched his right ear, accompanied by a faint smell of Spearow.  Using his Dark Type powers to home in on the unsuspecting bird Pokémon, he walked as close as he could to his prey without alerting it.  Deciding that crouching and creeping would irritate his shoulder further, He bounded into the shadow dimension using Phantom Force.

Landing easily on his paws, Umbreon relaxed.  Everything around him looked like it was either in shadow or early dusk lighting, and the normal lines and boundaries of objects were blurry.  The only solid thing in Umbreon's line of sight was Umbreon.  He walked towards the Spearow, which was very busy wrestling with a Weedle.  Passing straight through a large rock that would have been blocking his way, he walked right up to the Spearow, so close that he could touch it.  Actually, if he had tried, his paw would have passed straight through his prey.  He still went undetected.

Umbreon put his weight on his hind legs, leaping high into the air and opening another hole between dimensions as he fell.  He landed squarely on top of the Spearow, before it could even register that there was a threat.  Phantom force knocked out the tiny bird Pokémon is one hit.  But just as Umbreon was about to pick up his catch, a terrified voice screeched across the forest.

"UMBREON!"

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

Bolt turned in about 17 circles before earning a look from Two and laying down next to his nieces.  The meeting had gone better than Bolt had expected.  Chris, Soursap's trainer, had certainly been surprised when he had come back into his den to find out that a Jolteon, Flareon and two Eevees, one of which was shiny, had suddenly appeared on his "sofa," but honestly, who wouldn't?

When Soursap had told them on the spot to get Chris to like them in two harshly whispered words.  "Be helpful!"  This had led to Inferno dusting various things with his tail, Two staring out the window, and Five picking flowers from a nearby pot for Chris to have.  The human did not seem particularly happy with Five, but said nothing to her after looking at her proud and adorable smile.

When Bolt couldn't think of anything to do that would be helpful, Soursap had suggested fixing the "television," which was apparently 1. a sort of glass pane thing that moved and showed things happening that weren't really there, and 2. broken.  It hadn't taken Bolt long to find the problem.  Some small Pokémon had chewed through one of the cables.  After some experimentation, Bolt selected a bit of metal foil and some rubber circles to repair the wire, jump-starting it with a mild Charge Beam.  Bolt then proceeded to track down the culprit, a lost Dedenne which Bolt chased outside as Soursap held the door open.

Thus, they had earned a place to stay for the night.  Soursap had his own bed, which was soft, cushy, and filled with vines, leaves, and flowers.  He had volunteered to let Bolt have it, since he could sleep on Chris's bed, and Inferno would likely catch it on fire.  Inferno was sleeping a part of the den that Chris called the "bathroom," in a dip in one of the stone slabs that was perfectly Flareon sized.  Bolt had taken the offer of Soursap's bed due to the fact that Two liked it, Five loved it, and it was right next to a power outlet.

Bolt had, as usual, woke up at the crack of dawn.  As he was about to wake everyone else up as well, Two, who had been awake for a while, shushed him and told him not to.  So Bolt laid back down next to her and Five.  Bolt pointed his nose towards the bathroom.  "Can you hear Inferno snoring?" he whispered quietly, earning a giggle from Two.

She regained her composure relatively quickly, looking at Bolt curiously.  "Uncle Bolt?"

"Yes, Two?" Bolt asked, looking at her.

"Why does Soursap like living with a human?"

Bolt tried to recall what Splash had said to him after Snow Day.  "Well...  Some Pokémon are different than others.  We like to self-reliant.  We make our own dens, hunt our own food, and heal our own injuries.  Some Pokémon like the companionship with humans, and aren't as good at taking care of themselves.  Some are just used to being with humans.  Soursap has both.  He's blind, so it's hard for him to care for himself, and he's been with humans almost his whole life."  Sometimes, Bolt thought that the tiny shiny Eevee was older than she looked.  She asked good questions.

She nodded, accepting the answer.  She looked over at Soursap.  "Why is he blind?  Why does he have two tails?  What happened to him?"

Bolt flicked an ear.  "Humans did that to him, too.  There are a few good humans, but there are also a lot of bad ones.  That's why we live in the Eevee Clan and have ways to avoid being caught by humans.  It's better to be safe than sorry."

Two was still stuck on Bolt's first sentence.  "Humans did that to Soursap?"  Bolt nodded seriously.  Two looked up at him, a trace of fear in her eyes.  "Can we go home now?  Chris is nice and all, but that's scary."

Bolt nodded again.  "I know, Two.  We'll go as soon as everyone else wakes up.  Chris and Soursap were nice to us.  We can't just leave without saying goodbye."

Two shrugged, putting her head back down.  "I guess not." 

Bolt's mind drifted.  Was it a good thing that Two was scared of humans?  Probably a little of both.  Her two interactions with them thus far were a pack of humans blowing up he home and kidnapping her mother, and one nice human giving her a place to sleep.  Where was Espeon, anyway?  Bolt wished that he had one of the little stone things that Snow and Clover had.  That would have made this whole thing so much easier.  He knew that Espeon could easily escape whatever the humans had put her in.  She was brilliant like that.  Then he, Inferno, Two, and Five could find her.  That'd be half of the Clan right there.

If only it were that easy.

Wandering (Part 2)

I gently placed a snoozing Three next to his sister in my nest.  Both had fallen asleep after a long game of Messenger Pidgeot.  One had improved a lot since we had first started the game.  Now, it only took her a few seconds to contact someone, and her focus was getting sharper, more adept at finding others.  Her improving skills with telepathy gave me a lot of hope.

Three snuggled up next to One in my nest, shiny silver next to normal brown.  I let out a quiet sigh.  I was tired, too.  However, I had a job to do.  First things first.  One had said that that the humans in our camp had left.  Now, it was time for me to inspect the damage and search for clan members.

Slipping into the pond as quietly as I could, I swam cautiously towards the surface.  As One had promised, no humans were in sight.  Getting bolder, I jumped high over the pond, arcing over the surface to do a cursory check.  No humans in sight.  As I fell back into the pond with a splash, my stomach growled.  I hadn't had anything to eat since early this morning, and now the sun was going down.  It would be dark soon.  As far as normal Clan rules went, no one was allowed hunting at night alone, unless it was Umbreon.  It was too dangerous.  I'd have to go hunting tomorrow.

I pulled myself out of the water and into the main camp.  Everything was wrecked.  Dens were broken, personal possessions were scattered carelessly around camp, and debris was everywhere.  My heart broke to see my camp in such a state.  Surf and I had built this camp ourselves when we first started the clan.  I walked around, trying to find things that weren't damaged.  Bolt's and Inferno's rock den was relatively unharmed.  So was the Emergency Tree.

The Emergency Tree!  Bolt might have escaped up there, possibly with a few other clan members!  "BOLT!?" I called loudly.  "BOLT!?  IT'S SPLASH!  ARE YOU UP THERE!?"  No response.  The hole at the base of the tree was free of debris.  I set my jaw and slipped inside, dashing up the inside of the trunk.

Leaping out into the daylight, I looked around for any sign of a friend.  The only thing I saw was the rapidly setting sun.  "Patrats..." I muttered.  Bolt could have easily jumped from the Emergency Tree to another.  He could be anywhere in the forest by now, at the speeds he could run amongst the branches.  I shook my head sadly and dragged my tail back down the tree tunnel to the ground.

I looked around again, trying to think like my clanmates.  The only dens that were not destroyed were mine, Surf's and Bolt and Inferno's.  Espeon and Umbreon's den was completely gone, but Snow and Clover's bush den was in better shape.  Slipping inside, I nosed around amongst the charred leaves and broken twigs for any of Clover's herbs or berries that might have been spared.  All of her herbs were gone, but there were a few berries left.  The kits might like those.  After hunting around some more, I found one of the leaf pouched that Clover made to help carry things around.  I collected the berries in the pouch and walked back outside.

The sun was halfway over the horizon.  I sighed.  If any of my Clan had heard me calling to Bolt, they would have responded.  None of them would be knocked out from this long.  Either the humans captured them, or some of them escaped and went somewhere else.  For now, it was just myself, One, and Three.

I dove back into the pond with my berry pouch.  I could feel it fill up with water.  Oh well.  I popped my head back into my den, checking to make sure that the kits were sleeping soundly, which they were.  Then, since I couldn't sleep in my own nest, I swam to Surf's den instead.  His den was about the same size as mine, with Snow's ice sculpture of a Vaporeon jumping out of the water right next to the entrance to the pond, and the crystal orb that Espeon and Umbreon had given him next to his bed, the one that changed color, depending on my mood.  Right now, it was dark blue and black, both colors swirling around the orb.  There was a note next to the orb, written in Surf's paw style on a frosted leaf that was a bit crinkled from age and use.

Colors to watch for:
Red - angry - slow her roll and don't let her boil over
Deep purple - lonely - give her the loving and attention she needs always deserves.
Color swirls - confusion - she's probably strung up over another problem in the Clan. Talk to her.
Dark blue - Overwhelmed - lend her a paw.  Take over while she takes a break.
Black - fear - find her immediately and beat the living daylights out whatever has her scared.

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

Espeon looked around at her new enclosure, trying to hold back the utter disgust that she felt.  It was about as big as the crate had been, barely enough space to turn around in.  It only had a bowl of stuff that she guessed was supposed to be food, but smelled more like rotting carrion that a Trubbish had found, and another bowl of water that smelled almost as foul.  At least there was light in here.  She was in a cage in a poorly lit human den.  The entire structure was rather dirty, with only a large, rough-looking human behind a "counter" as he had called it.

Espeon could sense other Pokémon around her, also in cages that were stacked around hers.  Some of them were quite rare.  A Zorua, two Riolus, a Crygonal, a few Axews, a Totodile, a scared Cyndaquil, and a Servine.  Espeon sat down.  This was a place where humans could get rare Pokémon.

The door to the human den suddenly burst open, and a human carrying a small wooden box marched in, gripping the box tightly.  Espeon could easily see why; Surf was inside, and he was fighting with everything he had.  "LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU DULL, DIM-WITTED HUMAN!"  The box shook violently as Surf threw himself against the sides, trying to break loose.

The human shook the box vigorously.  "Stop it!"  The burl human behind the counter gave him a look.  "Male Vaporeon," the one holding Surf stated.  "He's pretty feisty."  Suddenly, a large dent appeared in the side of the box.  Then another, and another, each accompanied by a hard bang!  Espeon smiled.  Surf was using Iron Tail.  There was a mad scramble to get a cage open before Surf broke loose.  Espeon tried to help the strong Vaporeon by muddling the humans' minds, but something was restricting her powers.

Espeon increased the force of her attack, but even then, the effect was minimal.  Finally, the humans managed to get Surf into a cage and shut the door, locking it with a key.  Surf continued to fight, blasting water through the bars at the humans, trying to use Hydro Pump again.  It didn't work, but he did get them soaking wet.

Espeon sent him calming vibes.  "Surf, back off.  They may attack you if you don't stop."  The Vaporeon relented, though he still sent death glares at the humans and swore at them under his breath.

Another human brought in Snow's crate as Espeon tried to seek out what was dulling her Psychic power.  She, unlike Surf, did not put up a fight.  A quick mind-read told Espeon that Snow was trying to buy the humans' trust.  She was clever.  "Snow?  Are you all right?" Espeon asked quietly.

"A bit shaken up, but I'm fine," Snow responded.  She sounded tired.  "Espy?"

"Yes?"

"What do we do now?"

 

We'll wait for each other.  Espeon's voice came back to Umbreon as he walked.  As long as it takes, she had added. 

"Even if we wait forever," Umbreon finished under his breath.  He would wait forever for Espeon.  His red stone attested to that.

Four piped up.  "Did you say something, Daddy?"

"Hm?"  Umbreon said, glancing at his son.  "No, nothing."  His eyes moved back to the path through the forest ahead of them that he knew by heart, but his mind stayed on Four.  His radioactive, but still perfect in his eyes, son.  All he really wanted was to hug and be hugged, but he knew that he would hurt people if he did.  He was a truly good Pokémon.  He put his own desires aside for the good of others. 

He looked up at the sky.  The sun was setting.  He could barely see the moon.  They'd have to find a place to den soon.  Umbreon knew from experience the kind of Pokémon that came out at night here.  He could deal with them if necessary, but he didn't want to antagonize anyone on purpose.

Clover interrupted his train of thought.  "Umbreon, why are you walking like that?"

"Like what?" Umbreon responded, even though he knew perfectly well what she was talking about.  His shoulder was getting a bit worse with all of the walking that they had been doing.  Resting for the night would make it better.  "I stepped wrong.  It'll go away."

Clover, however, wasn't so easily swayed.  "How does one 'step wrong?'  Did you hurt yourself?"  Dang Clover and her extensive knowledge of injuries.  He was able to walk ad fight just fine.  It wasn't that bad.

"It's nothing," Umbreon insisted.  He refused to stop and waste extra time and herbs on an injury that didn't require attention.  Instead, he changed the subject.  "We should be able to reach the spot by tomorrow morning, but we should stop and rest for now.  I think Four's getting tired."  Clover gave him a look, but dropped it.

Four swished his tail gratefully.  "Thank you, Daddy."  He had been trying not to act tired so that Umbreon could look for Espeon.  Umbreon's heart warmed.

Clover bounded ahead, stopping near a large tree with a rather expansive root system.  "I'll make a den for us!"

Four pawed Umbreon's side as he stopped, a question in his eyes.  Umbreon knew what he was thinking.  Four just hadn't wanted to ask.  Umbreon looked over at Clover.  "Hey, don't forget to make extra space for Four."

"Sure, thanks for reminding me!" the Leafeon responded.

Four smiled at his father.  It was clear that he wanted to be closer, but didn't want to risk hurting Umbreon.  Personally, Umbreon didn't care.  The fuzzy sensation had been getting less noticeable as the three of them had traveled.  Umbreon laid down and reached out a paw, pulling Four close to him.  Father and son curled up together, enjoying the respite that the end of the day was bringing.  Umbreon knew that he would have to keep a vigil through the night, to protect the three of them against any nocturnal predators, but for now, he was content to stay here, close to his son. 

His radioactive, but perfect, son.

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

Bolt gazed across the space that was clear of sheltering foliage. It was about 20 paces between their current position and the human den.  Two shifted her weight on Bolt's back to get a better look.  "Is that what a human den looks like?" she asked, a tiny hint of disgust edging her voice. 

Inferno trotted up behind them with Five comfortably aboard his back.  Bolt tried very hard not to snicker.  Inferno still had dirt and twigs stuck in his fur from the fall.  The Flareon seemed ignorant of this fact as he answered Two.  "Yes.  Why they like their dens like that, I don't know."

Bolt nodded and shrugged in agreement.  "Now, under any other circumstance, you two are not to go anywhere near any other human den.  This is a...  extraneous... sort of... thing," Bolt groped for his words.  Five giggled.

Inferno stood on the edge of the tree line next to Bolt.  "Will you do the honors since you are a gazillion times faster than me?"

Bolt looked at Inferno mischievously.  "I WILL do the honors since I am a gazillion tames faster than you!"  Then, before Inferno could retort, but Two had enough time to hold on, Bolt laid on the speed up the door of Soursap's human's den, stopped short, and scratched on the door.  He then bolted back to where Inferno was standing, ignored Inferno's look, and waited for a response.
Nothing.

Bolt looked back at his passenger.  "Two, can you get off for a second?  You can get back on when I come back."

Two nodded and slid off the Joelton's back before he could bend down.  She shook her fur out as Bolt smiled.  "Thanks."  Dashing at high speeds back to the door, Bolt scratched for longer this time.  He stood poised and ready to run at the first sign of movement, but none came.  It wasn't THAT late in the day, was it?

Bolt turned back around, looking at the door.  "Soursap?  Are you in there?" he called, confused.

The old Leafeon's voice answered back, a lot less scratchy than Bolt remembered.  "Bolt?  Is that you?"

"Yeah," Bolt said, stepping closer to the door.  "Where's your trainer?  Didn't he hear me?"

"No, but I did.  That's why I'm here talking to you.  Chris is out of the house.  He's buying more food, I think." 

"So he's not in there," Bolt stated.

"No.  Why?" Soursap asked with the same confusion that Bolt had.  Bolt thought about his answer.  He didn't want to alarm the Leafeon too much.  He needed the shelter for a day.  A thought came to him.  What would Splash say if she found out that he and Inferno spent a day inside a human den?  He imagined she wouldn't be pleased.  Maybe she'd understand.  It was the only option that they had, and Splash was pretty cool.  She'd be ok with it, right?  Right.  Soursap's voice pulled him out of his stray thoughts.  "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry, uhh..." Bolt stammered.  "We have a little situation."

"Who's we?" Soursap asked warily.

Bolt glanced back at the rest of his crew before answering.  "Just me, Inferno, and two of Espeon's kits."

A joyous shout came from behind the door.  "Espeon's kits!  Clover told me that she had kits, but I never thought I'd get to meet them!  I'll open the door!  I'm sure Chris won't mind.  Give me a second.  It's hard to do this without eyes..."  Well, that went better than he had anticipated.

Bolt whirled around and dashed back to his best friend and nieces.  "Ok, Soursap's going to let us in, come on," Bolt said, rushing his words again.  He really had to work on that.  He bent down so that Two could climb back on as Infernos started a slow-ish run to the den.  Bolt blasted past him as soon as Two was settled.

The Flareon and his tiny Eevee passenger arrived just as the paddle-thing on the door started to turn very slowly downwards.  Inferno stepped closer to Bolt, addressing the kits.  "Just so you know, Soursap doesn't look like Clover, ok?  Try not to stare or say anything about it, ok you two?"

Both nodded seriously.  Bolt tilted his head.  "They can stare.  He can't see them."

Inferno rolled his eyes.  "You know what I mean."

Finally, the door swung open.  Soursap was precariously balanced on a supported shelf near the door.  However, it seemed that having two tails was beneficial in this case, as he was able to regain his balance and jump to the floor rather quickly.  "Welcome!  Come in!"

Bolt marveled at the change in the Leafeon since he had last seen him on Snow Day.  Almost all traces of brown in his leaves had vanished, the slightly curling edges the only clue that they had ever been unwell.  Though his eyes were still misted over completely, his demeanor had completely changed.  He was smiling, first off.  He was polite and happy.  He also seemed to be a lot better at navigating without eyesight.  Bolt gestured for the kits to slide off, which they did.  "Two, Five, this is Soursap.  Well, that's what we used to call him.  It doesn't seem so accurate now, though."

"Oh, it's fine," Soursap answered as he pushed the door closed behind them.  Bolt didn't like that.  But he supposed that it would keep other humans out.  He could deal with that.  If Soursap could open it blind, then so could he.  "Chris calls me Leafeon, so that name between familiar Pokémon is perfectly all right by me.  Now, let me smell these two..."  Two and Five exchanged looks.

Bolt leaped in to explain.  "Soursap can't see, so he has to get to know everyone by smell." 

The kits grew much more comfortable, Five even running up to Soursap and leaning on his leg.  "I love you, Soursap.  Clover likes you a lot!"

Before any further introductions were exchanged, there was a sound at the door.  "Leafeon?  I'm home!"

Wandering (Part 1)

I looked at One closely.  "Was it something in your mind?"  If she could use Psychic powers, she might be able to help find the rest of the Clan.

One sat back down, looking at the floor.  "I guess.  Something just told me that there was someone new around.  I don't know who it was."

I nodded.  "It was a human.  But you were right, One.  Did your mother teach you how to do that?"

Three wandered towards the Vaporeon box that Inferno had given me as One tilted her head and looked at me.  "Teach me how to do what?" she asked, confused.

I sat down and curled my tail over my paws.  "Detecting when someone else is near you is a Psychic power.  Have you been able to do that before?"

She closed her eyes in thought.  "Ummmm....  Not really.  Whenever I know someone else is near me, it's because I can smell of hear them.  Like Daddy, I guess," she said factually.

My mind reeled.  Could she control it?  There was no question that she had some of her mother's powers, but could she control it?  "One, try and look for your siblings.  Or your mother."

"But I'd have to go outside for that!"

"No, with your mind," I amended.  When she only gave me a tired look in response, I tried to remember how Espeon had explained it.  "Try to... feel them with your mind.  You know how your sisters and brother think, right?"

Three shrugged, pawing through the shells that I had put inside the box.  One slowly nodded.  "I guess so...  How do I do this?" she asked, desperation and confusion in her eyes.

I took a breath.  I was not Espeon.  I wasn't One's mother, nor was I even close to a Psychic Type.  Nevertheless, I had to at least try to coach her.  "I'm no expert, but I'll try to teach you."  One sat down in front of me, ears up and eyes attentive.  "You know how they think.  Maybe not their thoughts exactly, but close.  Try and hear that with your mind, not your ears."

One gave a tiny nod, then screwed her eyes shut, focusing hard.  Even Three broke away from my shells to watch his sister.  I could almost feel One's focus.  Wait.  Could I actually feel it?  Was she tapping into Psychic power?  One? I asked mentally.

...Mommy? I heard dimly in response.  One had used telepathy.

"One, that's me!  You contacted me!" I said happily.  The bright female Eevee's face, however, fell upon hearing the news.

"But I didn't find Mommy..." she trailed off sadly.

I put my paw on hers as Three continued to look on in confusion.  "No, listen, this is a wonderful thing!  You can use mind reading!"

One glanced up at me.  "Really?"

Nodding excitedly, I removed my paw and stood up.  "Yes!  Ok, try and contact Three and I mentally, like your mother does.  The more you practice, the better you'll get.  Then, when the humans leave, you can help us find everyone!"

One jumped up, too, just as excited as I was to help.  "Really?  With Three's luck, my new powers, and your... everything else, we can find everyone in no time!"  Her tail flicked back and forth animatedly.

I pulled Three away from my ice sculpture as I answered.  "Absolutely.  But don't expect to be as good as your mother within a short time.  She spent years getting that good, and I don't think I've ever met a Psychic as talented as her."

One shook her head, still smiling.  "Of course not!  No one's as good as Mommy!"

"You might be one day."  I placed Three on the floor, ignoring his indignant words.  I sat a short distance away from him, making sure that One was the same distance away from both of us.  "Ok, let's play a game.  This game is called Messenger Pidgeot.  I'll think of something, a message.  One, you try and read my mind to find out what it is.  Then, you try and tell Three what the message is with your mind."

Three jumped to his paws.  "Then I think of a message?" he chirped.

"Right!" I nodded.  I was optimistic.  If One could hone her skills, she could help us find Surf and the others.  I only hoped that she really was as skilled as her mother.

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

Espeon rested her head on her paws as the Rapidash started moving again.  Their plan had failed.  Umbreon was missing.  So were all of her kits.  The only two friends whose whereabouts she knew were captured by humans, along with herself.

She closed her eyes, letting her powers die down and her jewel go dark.  She'd give up all of her powers in a heartbeat if it meant that she knew her family was safe.  She'd give anything to know that.

Dimly, Espeon heard the thoughts of others, but she shut them out.  Her mind began to fill with what ifs.  What if Umbreon had been injured or killed?  She had only contacted him for a split second.  What if her kits had shared the same fate, or worse?  What if they were alive, but alone?  Trying to navigate the forest without training or protection?  What if she had detected the humans earlier?

What if she had?  She would have sensed the Electrode, if that was what caused the explosion.  She could have alerted everyone else in the Clan, gotten everyone to safety.  None of this would have happened if she had been alert.  If she had been listening.  If she had been watching.

Someone said her name mentally.  Espeon didn't want to talk with anyone right now.  It was Snow.  She kept persisting.

Espeon!

Finally, Espeon let her mental wall down.  She opened her eyes again and lit up her jewel.  What is it, Snow?

Your sad vibes are kind of overpowering here.  Surf and I are both really depressed now.

Oh.  Sorry, Snow.  I didn't realize that I was putting out.  I'll try and-

No, keep going!

Espeon didn't follow, but she didn't read Snow's mind.  Instead, she just responded with  ...What?

If your vibes are this overpowering to us, then it must be having some kind of effect on the humans!  Everything clicked in Espeon's mind.  She had to try and keep up the somber mood as Snow explained.  You said that they would have to feel bad for us before you could manipulate their emotions to let us go.  If your sad vibes keep up, they'll have to feel bad for us!

Espeon put a lot of focus into keeping a façade of sadness, but sent Snow a small burst of happiness.  It was brilliant.  Espeon was already feeling down in the dumps.  It wouldn't be hard.  Good for Snow for thinking positively when she couldn't.  She just had to keep being sad, or at least put out sad vibes.

Before she could put more energy into the new plan, however, the Rapidashes slowed to a halt.  Wherever the humans had been going, they had arrived.

 

 



Umbreon took only Five's red rock as he padded slowly away from the remnants of his den.  It was the only thing that he had left.  It gleamed in the sunlight, like Espeon's gem did when she was happy.  He gripped it gently in his teeth as he walked back over to Clover and Four. 

The rock was like a promise.  Umbreon would find Espeon and the other kits.  The rock gave him hope.  Five had said there was something special about it when she had brought it back.  He tried not to think about his wrecked telescope.

Clover was just finishing gathering herbs from her den.  Four was looking at the ground near the far side of a tree.  Umbreon walked up just as Clover finished with her herbs, putting them all into a leaf pouch that she had made.  "There," she muttered.  "That's as much as I have."

She turned and saw Umbreon approaching.  "Hey.  I saw you over by your den.  Are you ok?" she asked with a concerned tilt of her head.

Umbreon put down the stone.  "No.  I am not ok," he murmured quietly.  "Espeon's missing.  Four of my other kits are missing.  My home is destroyed.  I'm not ok."

Clover walked closer and put her tail over his back comfortingly.  "Hey...  It'll be ok.  You're the strongest and most determined Pokémon I know.  We'll find them.  I know where Snow is, but I can tell how shaken up you are.  We'll look for Espeon first."

Umbreon smiled in appreciation.  "Thank you, Clover," he said in barely more than a whisper.  He looked at the red stone.  His promise to Espeon.

Clover looked at it, too.  "What's this?"

"A... rock that Five found.  It looks like Espeon's gem when she's happy."  Umbreon tried not to tear up as he spoke.

Clover glanced at him and smiled.  "Say no more."  A touch of her paw on the ground and a bit of focus sprouted small vines from the ground.  They snaked around the rock, fastening it, then looped around and met in the middle.  Clover used a small Leaf Blade where the vines met the ground.   Picking up the stone off the ground, she slipped the vine over Umbreon's head, letting the stone fall around his neck, onto his chest.  "There," she said, sitting down.

A promise.

Umbreon smiled.  As he was about to thank Clover, Four piped up.  "Daddy, what's this glittery stuff?"

"What glittery stuff?" Umbreon asked as he walked over to where his son was sitting, felling the small weight of the stone against his chest.  Four said nothing, only pointing a paw to the ground in front of him.  Sure enough, silvery dust littered the floor of the camp.  It looked vaguely familiar.

Tentatively reaching out a paw, Umbreon touched the dust.  Energy surged through him.  "It's the moon dust that Splash and Surf got me for Snow Day.  I was keeping it in a jar of ice that Snow made.  I guess it got thrown and broken during the explosion," he explained.  What was it with him finding destroyed Snow Day presents of his?

Clover came up behind him.  "Then you'll probably need it later." Clover started to use her tail to sweep the moon dust into five small piles.  Before long, Four and Umbreon, who had better tails for sweeping, joined in, until almost all of the dust had been piled.  Clover then used the same technique that she had for Umbreon's red stone, holding each of the five piles in thick leaf balls strung together on a vine.

Clover, once again, strung the dust around Umbreon's neck.  The new addition hung lower than the stone, keeping it unobstructed.  She sat down, admiring her work.  "There.  One for each of the family members that you rescue."

The rush from touching the stray particles of moon dust died.  The pain from his shoulder returned, but he still made a point not to acknowledge it.  Pain was a message.  Until Espeon was safe, that message would go unread. 

Still, the ache remained as he adjusted the moon dust spheres on his chest.  The rush from the dust had made the pain go away for a bit.  At least he knew that, when he needed to save his family, the dust would fix his shoulder.  He needed all of his strength that he could find.  He would not rest nor take any breaks until his family was safe.

Umbreon nodded thanks, glanced around the camp, then stood up.  "Come on, you two."

Four, still buzzing, bounded over next to Umbreon as he walked toward the camp entrance.  "Where are we going?"

Umbreon looked down at his son as Clover fell into step behind them.  "Your mother and I have a special place.  We agreed that, if we were ever separated, we'd go there and wait for the other."

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

Bolt took another flying leap, easily clearing the short distance between the two trees.  Turning a circle, he quickly jumped back to the Emergency Tree, where Inferno was perched precariously, along with Two and Five.  "See?  Easy!" he called.

Inferno was trying very hard not to look at the ground.  "Easy for you maybe..."

Five looked up at Bolt.  "Uncle Bolt?  Can you give me a Rapidash ride across?"

Bolt looked down at his younger niece, who was flicking her tail excitedly.  "Sure, Five.  Just hold on tight!"  Bolt flattened himself to the branches as Inferno crept near the edge of the branches, reaching one paw out tentatively towards the next tree over.  Five scrambled up onto Bolt's back, grabbing his white, spiked fur in her teeth.  Bolt tried especially hard to hold in any residual electricity.

He stood up, making sure that Five had a good grip.  "Hang on!" he called back, doing a practice jump straight up, just to test Five's grip.  He did not want her falling off between trees.  She held firm.  "Here we go!" he yelled as he dashed forwards and jumped around Inferno, landing perfectly in the next tree over.  Bolt followed up by going three trees over before stopping.  The branches were thicker in this one.  Finding a convenient hole in the trunk, Bolt stopped just under it, letting Five bounce into the safe spot.

"Thanks, Uncle Bolt!" she squeaked happily.

Bolt smiled, bounding back through the trees.  After moving Two the same way, Bolt went to help Inferno, who was attempting to move to the next tree.  Which was a bigger distance away.

"Careful!"

"Watch out!"

"Back off!"

"Move over there!"

"I'M FALLING!"

"BACK UP!"

"AIYEE!!"

The fall was narrowly avoided.

After about 20 minutes of nerve-wracking movements and jumps, Inferno finally made it to the tree that allowed easy access to the ground.  Which was the one that the Flareon fell from.