Author's Comment: This is pretty much my first fanfic that I've ever done... and is actually a few years old. Despite the fact that it is a pokemon fic, it really doesn't have much to do with the world of pokemon as we know it. I've had alot of fans of this from my website, and one of them was actually the person to convince me to submit it here. Please keep in mind: this is only the first chapter, it does get much better.

Please Critique and Comment? :)

Friends for the Friendless

She was running. Always running. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't. Just because she was different from all Pokémon didn't mean she was bad. Everyone just assumed the worst. As a silvery-black fox with golden circles, she seemed to scare them, but she wasn't quite sure why. What had the human called her? Umbreon - the Pokémon of true darkness. That wasn't what she wanted to be.

She looked behind her and stopped to catch her breath. Hopefully the Pokémon that was chasing her had given up.
She was a Pokémon who didn't like confrontations, and fled whenever a battle arose. It wasn't that she was scared or weak; she was actually quite strong. She just didn't like to see other living things hurt.

For the time being, she seemed to have gotten away. But, how long until another Pokémon chased her away from her temporary home? She sighed as her eyes began to well up with tears. So this is my destiny, she thought, to be alone and running all my life.

Teary-eyed, she sub-consciously looked around for some sort of shelter. Finally, she came upon a nest underneath the roots of a large oak tree and fell asleep.

She woke a few hours later to the angry chattering of a Furret and ran out of the tree as it growled and nipped at her heels. She had learned the hard way that it was someone else's home. Sighing, she looked at the sky as water droplets trickled down her face. Just her luck, it had begun to rain.

She began to walk through the forest, stepping lightly as the dirt turned to mud. At least the trees provided some shelter. Shelter. That's what she needed to find. She glanced around and noticed all of the Pokémon in that area watching her closely. She suddenly felt self-conscious and slunk quietly through the forest until she came to the edge of a clearing.
Wet and tired, she walked along a fence line until she came to a ditch underneath it. At least it is shelter, she thought as she climbed in and curled into a ball. Without realizing it, she drifted off to sleep.

When she finally awoke, she stretched her legs a bit. It had stopped raining; that was a good sign. However, her fur was soaked and she was chilled to the bone. Noticing a faint shadow in the moonlight, she looked up out of the ditch only to see a white fox staring back at her. Startled, she jumped, and in doing so, hit her head on the fence beam above her. Wincing, she rubbed her head.

The white fox looked as startled as she did when she hit her head. He got a little closer, seemingly inspecting her. She backed away, afraid she may have invaded yet another home. "What… what are you?" she stammered.
He seemed surprised. "I… am an Umbreon."

He was an Umbreon? But, he looked different than she did. He seemed… she shook her head. Simultaneously, they both apologized. "I'm sorry. I'll go now." They turned around and looked at each other.

"This isn't your home?" she questioned.

"No… it isn't yours?"

She shook her head. "Why do you want to leave?"

"You don't want me to go?"

She shook her head again. "You can stay if you wish. I won't make you leave."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said as he sat down.

"Why would I want to make you leave?"

"Because I am different."

"What difference would that make?"

He looked at her questioningly. "Everywhere I go I am shunned because I am different. My mother always protected me, but she died when I was quite young. Most other Eons seem to dislike me because I am not like them."

She slunk out of the ditch, careful not to hit her head, and sat down beside him. "That's sad. I'm not like that."
"Why," he paused, "why are you alone?"

She looked down, ashamed. "I was caught at a young age, but quickly abandoned because I didn't want to fight my opponent. I seem to scare others because of how I look and what I am, and Pokémon don't want me around them."

"You know, we have a lot in common." He held out a paw. "My name is Angel."

She smiled and they shook paws. "My name is Eclipse."

They began to walk through the clearing, talking for hours about anything: weather, life, or just whatever happened to cross their mind at that time. Eclipse felt a strange sensation whenever she was around him; one she had never felt before. Angel felt the same way, but they were both too embarrassed or shy to say anything. Eclipse thought to herself. Happiness… even if it is only for a moment, at least I have felt happiness.

As dawn started to come, they reached the end of the clearing. Eclipse sighed and looked down. This was the part she had been dreading. "Well," she said slowly, "I guess I'd better go now." She began to walk away.

Not wanting to loose his first true happiness, Angel stammered for an excuse for her to stay. "Wait!" he hollered. Eclipse's face brightened a bit and she turned around. "We should… uh… stick together… um… because… ah… after all… two make a better team than one." He could have slapped himself. Not only was it a lame excuse, it wasn't very convincing. He sat there, trying to pose a smile to encourage her, but on the inside, he was kicking himself. He knew she would never go along with that.

Eclipse trotted back over next to him. "You know, you are right."

"I am?" he muttered to himself. He was kind of shocked that she had agreed. "Well," he said aloud, "we should probably find some place to rest for the day. The sun is almost up."

Eclipse nodded. They looked around for quite some time, but they never found anything bigger than a small den barely big enough for the two of them. Wanting to respect her rights, Angel stayed outside the cave and lay down. When Eclipse looked at him questioningly, he simply stated, "I can sleep outside. Don't worry."

Eclipse sniffed the air. "It is going to get cold tonight. I don't mind you sleeping in here." She paused. "Just as long as you don't get any ideas," she teased. Angel smiled in understanding and walked in.

After situating themselves, they both curled into balls and fell asleep, back-to-back. Unknown to each other, they both smiled. It was the happiest each of them had ever been.