Radioactivity's Quest (Part 2)

Radioactivity followed his uncle out of camp, anxiousness prickling at his paws.  Or maybe that was his new Electric Type powers.  He couldn't tell.  He was leaving camp for a new place to go on an adventure, just like he and his siblings had always pretended!  It was all a little sudden, but he supposed it was better to learn to use his powers in the wild than back at camp.  That made sense.

Bolt was still talking about all of the perks of being a Jolteon.  "...run faster than any other Eevee!  And a lot of other Pokemon!  Seriously, a LOT of other Pokemon.  We're fast, even for Electric Types!"  Radioactivity secretly wondered if all of the things that the older Jolteon told him were true, or if he was just really, really proud of both of them for choosing the Electric Eevee.

Radioactivity hadn't chosen Jolteon for being a Jolteon.  Bolt may have done it for the speed, the lightning, the agility (which was what he was currently talking about), and everything else, but Radioactivity had used that thunderstone purely to gain control over his energy.  He liked being close to other Pokemon, but he was always afraid of hurting them and giving the radiation poisoning by accident.  Even from when he and the rest of his siblings were kits, he had to have his own bed so that he wouldn't hurt his own siblings.  Even then, he'd have to change out the moss lining every so often because it would start glowing.

"Hey!  Radioactivity!  What are you doing?"  Radioactivity shook his head out, tuning back in to Bolt's speech.  He didn't want to be rude...

"Nothing, just trying to figure out where we're going.  I'm listening."  He felt bad for lying, but there was a lot to think about...

"Oh.  It's ok, I know how to get there.  We get to take the train!"

"Train?"

Bolt lit up at the chance to explain something to his nephew.  Secretly, Radioactivity knew what a train was from Sunbeam, but he wanted to make up for lying to his uncle.  He knew how much Bolt loved showing off what he knew or was capable of.  "You know what cars are, right?"

"Yeah," Radioactivity said with a nod, still following Bolt as we wove between the trees.

"It's like a bunch of cars stuck together end to end, and humans ride in them.  It follows a track really really quickly, so you can cross regions in just a few minutes."

"Cool!"

"Yeah!  Really cool!  And the one that we're taking runs on electricity!"

"How are we going to get on if it's for humans?" Radioactivity asked with a smile.  Bolt stopped walking.  The radioactive Jolteon turned to look at him.  "...Uncle Bolt?"

"...uh..." was the older Jolteon's only reply.  "...I'll think of something."

He fell back into step with Radioactivity as he asked another question.  "How did you get to the power plant last time if you didn't take the train?"

"...I was a lot closer to the power plant at the time.  That was before the Eevee Clan..."  Why was he so uncomfortable with that?

Radioactivity pushed his curiosity away.  He didn't want to make anyone upset...  But he knew the perfect way to cheer his uncle up.  "Hey Uncle Bolt!  I bet I can beat you in a race now!"

Bolt's demeanor changed instantly, lighting up and crackling with static at the challenge.  "Not in a million years, kit!" he yelled before bolting off at incredible speeds.  Radioactivity worked his paws, getting ready for the chase.  Time to see if running as a Jolteon really was all it was cracked up to be...

Radioactivity skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding crashing into Bolt.  He was panting heavily and was rather exhausted, but...

Bolt turned to face his nephew.  "So?  What do you think?  Fun, right!?"

"Yeah!  That was... amazing!" Radioactivity panted, sparks still popping around his fur.  He had always been fast as an Eevee, faster than all of his siblings, but this had taken it to a new level.  He had covered so much ground!  And so quickly!  It was like everything had happened in slow motion, and his paws had almost floated over the forest floor.  It was more exhilarating than anything he could have ever imagined.  No wonder Bolt loved it so much...

"Welcome to Jolteon-hood.  You're a little rough around the edges, but you'll get there!"  He hardly seemed winded at all...

Radioactivity kept trying to catch his breath.  "Thanks...  How... much farther?"

Bolt grinned.  "We're halfway there."

Already?  The young Jolteon looked up at the sun, which had barely moved in the sky since they had started the race.  Sunbeam had said that Goldenrod City, the place where they could board the train, was really far away.  About twice the distance that the Eevee Clan was from Ecruteak City.  And yet...

Sure enough, Bolt led the way through a few bushes, revealing the human city, complete with two towers, one burnt nearly to the ground.  What had taken Espeon and Sunbeam almost a full day to walk had taken the two Jolteons just over an hour at a run.

Bolt trotted down to the street.  "Come on!  We can refuel here, then dash to Goldenrod!"

Radioactivity wasn't sure if the prospect of another run made him excited or even more tired.  "What about Clover's berries?"

"Those are for status problems!"

"Well, what can we hunt here?"

"Power sockets!" Bolt shouted happily, breaking into bounding dash towards one of the buildings.  Radioactivity didn't even bother asking, just sighing and following at a quick trot.  His paws protested a bit, but he summoned a quick jolt of electricity after a few seconds, which seemed to do the trick.  He really needed to learn how to use his power...

Bolt led him near one of the many buildings in the city, which turned out to be a restaurant of some kind with an open door.  "Perfect.  Come on, Buzz!"

"Buzz?" the mock-shiny Jolteon asked as he hesitantly followed his uncle through the door.  Didn't Splash say to stay away from things like this?

Bolt looked back over his shoulder.  "Well, Radioactivity is kind of a mouthful.  It's a good name, but it's a mouthful.  And since I can't call you my buzzy wonder anymore, because you can stop buzzing..."

"You just went with Buzz," Radioactivity finished for him.

"Yep.  And it works.  Here we go," he called, trotting to a spot in the wall with two sets of three holes in the wall.  Radioactivity could feel the electricity inside.  Huh.  Being a Jolteon is pretty cool.

"...What do we do with it?"

"This!" Bolt shouted before sticking his nose directly into one of the holes.  Sparks exploded all around him, popping loudly and startling several humans and Pokemon, Radioactivity included.  Bolt pulled away after a few seconds, urging his nephew closer.  "Hurry!  Before they chase us out!"

"Chase us out?"  Were they doing something wrong?

"Hurry!"  The younger Jolteon sighed.  As long as they left right after this...  He copied Bolt's actions, pressing his nose into one of the holes in the wall.  Electricity immediately surged through him, making his entire body feel tingly, from his paws to the ends of his spiked fur.  He could feel his energy levels recharging, the weariness from their run dissolving away with every spark that popped and snapped around him.  Finally, when he instinctively knew when his power levels were back to full, he pulled away, shocked into amazement.

Bolt wasted no time, not giving his nephew a spare second to process what had just happened before shoving him towards the door, a huge grin on his face.  "Come on, run!"

Radioactivity glanced back at him as he picked up his pace, dodging around the humans that were, sure enough, coming to chase them outside.  "Run, or RUN run?"

"Bolt!" Bolt shouted.  "We don't have all day, let's get to Goldenrod!"  And with that, he blasted off in a crackling blur of glowing yellow fur, leaving Radioactivity no choice but to take off after him, going faster and faster until his paws barely brushed the ground as he raced after his uncle, barely aware of anything except the yellow glow guiding him and the exhilaration of speed.