The Lost Espeon
Umbreon…?
Where did you go… My Umbreon…
Nika awoke from her deep dream, pulling her sleeping bag over her head. The same dream had been playing through her head for the last few weeks… ever since that "legend" had taken place at the Violet City gym, the memories had haunted her nights. But for some reason, they never seemed all that familiar…
She sat up in her tiny sleeping bag, looking around the tent where she and her friends were sleeping. Her two friends, Falkner and Sakura, were cuddled together in the same sleeping bag (Sakura had lost hers to a Slowpoke who had decided to be a thief). They looked very peaceful together, but Nika had to admit that she was a little bit jealous. James had gone back home, wherever that was, once everything at Violet had been cleared up. And she had liked him… maybe a little.
Nika turned over and tried to get back to sleep. She thought about James… thought about his emerald-colored eyes staring into her own. These thoughts brought peace to her mind and body, and she slipped away into dreamland.
In the middle of a dark field, the Espeon ran aimlessly, looking for the one who had captured her heart. "Where did you go?" she cried over and over again. "Umbreon!"
There was a golden glow suddenly then, a flash of brilliance that seemed to come from a small opening in the darkness. Espeon ran toward it, hoping… dreaming that this was what she was searching for. And then it was gone, as suddenly as it had appeared, and everything was dark again. Espeon was still alone.
"No, please don't leave me again!" she shouted. "Umbreon!"
"Umbreon…. Umbreon…" Nika mumbled several times before her eyes blinked open, and she stared into the faces of her friends.
"Are you okay?" asked Sakura. "What were you dreaming?"
"What? Dream?" Nika questioned. "I don't remember…"
"You were saying 'Umbreon'," Falkner said. "Are you still thinking about what happened?"
"I sometimes do," she admitted. "But I mostly think about James."
Sakura sighed. "Typical," she said.
"Look who's talking, Miss I-think-I'll-give-my-sleeping-bag-to-a- Slowpoke-so-I-can-sleep-with-my-boyfriend," Nika laughed. Sakura sweatdropped, and said, "I did NOT give my sleeping bag to that Slowpoke, it stole it! Fal even saw it pull it into the river!!"
Falkner laughed. "Well, it doesn't matter all that much," he said, standing up. "Come on, let's take down the tent so we can keep going. Maybe we can get to Azalea Town by tonight."
"Okay!" Sakura agreed, jumping up and running outside to help Falkner. But Nika couldn't bring herself to move. She had lied to her friends; she did remember the dream. The only thing was, she wasn't sure how she could explain it to them…
"Nika, come on! I don't wanna fold you up too!" Falkner joked.
"Coming," Nika sighed, picking up her sleeping bag and leaving the tent.
"Something is coming," said Mewtwo, who was sitting atop a cliff with the gold Umbreon by his side. (Once Umbreon had come, Mewtwo had abandoned that ugly Pikachu in a heartbeat. But, on to more important matters…)
"What are you talking about?" Umbreon asked.
"I can sense that someone will need your help… but it will depend on whether or not she wants it," Mewtwo continued. "Soon you may have to leave."
"What, when? Permanently?" Umbreon blurted nervously.
"Not permanently," Mewtwo assured. "But soon. "I will tell you when the time comes."
Umbreon growled in frustration. "Then why did you tell me now?"
"I am simply preparing you," he explained. "But relax. The time will soon come."
"Grr," Umbreon said, laying down in the soft sand that surrounded them. He stretched his legs out into the warmth, and fell into sleep, dreaming about his Espeon.
Outside of Azalea Town, a deep well sat proudly on a small hill. Falkner, Sakura and Nika came upon it just as the sun was setting in the sky.
"NO! We're supposed to get to Azalea Town!" Sakura complained.
"Hey, we've still got a good fifteen-minute walk," Nika said, "and it's starting to get cold. Why don't we rest in this well tonight?"
"Good idea," Falkner said.
Sakura ran up to the well, reading a sign beside it. "Slowpoke Well," she read aloud.
"You go down first, Falkner, then you can catch us girls if we fall," Nika suggested.
"'Kay," he said, starting down the ladder; following close behind was Sakura, and then Nika. The well was cold, but not as cold as it had been outside.
The group started exploring the cave, looking for a decent place to stay. They were stalled when Sakura noticed something floating in the water… it looked vaguely familiar…
"My sleeping bag!" she exclaimed. "Guys, look, how did my sleeping bag get down here?"
"Sloooow," said a voice."
"Wow, Fal, you sure sounded like a real Slowpoke!" she said.
"Wasn't me," Falkner said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Poke," said the same voice. A small Slowpoke stuck its head out from inside of Sakura's black sleeping bag, followed by another.
"Aww! Cute!" Sakura cooed. "They should keep it!"
"But didn't your mom give you that?" Falkner asked her.
"Yeah. It was hers anyway, I don't think she'll care," she replied. "Fal, I'm tired. Can we sit down here and go to sleep?"
"Yeah, it's a nice spot," Nika said. "The lake is really pretty and relaxing."
"Fine," Falkner finished, setting out his sleeping bag for himself and Sakura. Nika lay hers next to theirs, and they fell asleep to the soft sound of the lapping water.
"Umbreon?"
The word had been echoing through Nika's dreams, and as she spoke it, she awakened. She felt strangely cold, and her sleeping bag seemed a bit damp…. Then she realized that it wasn't her sleeping bag, but Sakura's! Nika was out in the middle of the lake, snoozing in the Slowpoke sleeping bag.
"YOU GUYS, THAT IS SO MEAN!" she screamed, loud enough so her friends could hear her. Sakura opened her eyes, and looked out to the water where Nika was floating.
"Nika, what are you doing in the water?" she asked, smiling.
"You should know!" she replied. "I didn't come in here myself, so you must have put me here!"
"Why would I do something cruel like that?" Sakura questioned. "Think about it… I'm you're friend!"
"Yeah, sorry," Nika said. "I just can't see how this happened. I'm scared."
"What is going on?" Falkner yawned. "You girls woke me up…"
"Well, you should be awake," Sakura said. "It's morning, and Nika just woke up with the Slowpoke. Hey, maybe that's it Nika! Maybe the Slowpoke stole you too!!"
"Ha-ha. That's funny," Nika laughed sarcastically. "Slowpoke aren't strong enough to carry me." She looked down at one of the Slowpoke that was sharing her sleeping spot; it looked up at her innocently, "poke"-ing in amusement.
"This stupid thing is laughing at me!" Nika complained. Falkner and Sakura laughed hysterically as Nika trudged out of the water.
"Are you okay?" Falkner asked.
"I'm soaked!" she whined. "I wanna know what happened! How did I get into that lake?"
"It was the Slowpokes, I tell ya! It was them!" Sakura said.
"Maybe," Nika said. "But I do find it a little hard to believe that tiny little Slowpokes took me into the water."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Maybe you were sleepwalking," Falkner said. "But if we get to Azalea Town, we can dry off at the Pokemon Center, and then you guys can go get your badges."
"Yeah! Forget it, let's go get another Johto badge!" Sakura said. She looked at the Zephyr badge on her shirt, and smiled at Falkner. "You are so easy!" she laughed.
"I wouldn't talk," he whispered in her ear. She blushed, even though she knew he was kidding…
Azalea Town was a pretty city full of sunshine. There were many Slowpoke wandering around the city along with other trainers, and there were lots of cool buildings (especially the gym ^^). The three friends made their way to the Pokemon Center immediately, even though it was tempting to stop and see the sights.
"What happened to you? Chansey, get a towel," said Nurse Joy upon seeing Nika.
"I woke up in the lake in Slowpoke Well," Nika explained.
"The Slowpokes brought her there," Sakura added.
Joy laughed. "Well, you can dry off here for as long as you want," she said.
"Thanks," Nika said.
"And while we're here, do you think you could heal our Pokemon for our battle?" Sakura asked.
After a few hours of waiting, Nika was finally ready to go. Sakura bounded out the door first, very excited to be going to her second gym in Johto. And this time, she wasn't acquainted with the gym leader! ^^
"Hurry up you guyyys!!" she exclaimed, bouncing around outside of the gym doors. "Can I go in? CanIcanIcanI?"
"Go ahead, cutie," Falkner said. Sakura's cheeks blushed, but she ran into the gym anyway.
"Um… hello?" Sakura called.
"Hi!" called a voice from up in a tree. Sakura looked up to see a little girl standing in one of the tallest trees, holding a butterfly net. "Could you possibly get that ladder down there for me?"
"What? Where?" Sakura answered, looking around. "I don't see it!"
"Oh… my Pokemon must have carried it off," she said.
"How did you get up there?" Sakura called.
"I climbed up here to see the bug Pokemon in the trees," the girl said. "But whenever I climb up, I can't get down! The ladder falls down, and I get stuck."
Sakura laughed. "How long have you been up there?"
"About an hour," she said. "Can you help me get down?"
"Sure! Chikorita, go!" Sakura commanded. "Use your Vine Whip to help her down!"
"Chiko!" said Chikorita, releasing its strong vines from the seeds on her neck. The vines took hold of the girl and slowly pulled her down from the tree.
"Yay! Thank you!" said the girl. "So, who are you anyway?"
"My name is Sakura Tachikawa," Sakura said.
"Cool. I'm Bugsy, the Gym Leader," she replied.
"Oh! Well, my friend Nika and I are here for a gym battle," Sakura told her. "Would you want to battle me?"
"Yeah!" Bugsy said. "Where's your friend?"
"We're here!" Nika said, running up to Sakura and Bugsy. Falkner was following close behind.
"Oh, hi, Falkner!" Bugsy chirped. "It's been a long time!"
Falkner raised his hand and gave his old friend a high five. "Yeah, I haven't seen you since the last convention," he replied. "How's it going?"
"I'm all right," she said. "My bug Pokemon are way stronger than when I battled you before, so I can probably beat you now! ^^"
"First battle me!" Sakura exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"What did you eat, Sakura?" Nika asked, watching her hyper friend.
Sakura smiled. "I went to the Tim Horton's across the street from the Pokemon center! I had bow ties!!"
"Sheesh," Nika sighed. "Okay, you can battle first. If you don't let off that energy you'll explode," she said.
"Yay!" Sakura cried.
"How about a two-on-two battle?" Bugsy requested.
"Fine with me," said Sakura. "And my Chikorita will be my first Pokemon."
Chikorita, who had been waiting patiently by the big tree, stepped forward and faced Bugsy, eyeing the Pokeball in her hand.
"I choose Ariados!" Bugsy said. She threw the Pokeball, revealing a huge spider with an evil face and long yellow legs.
"EEEEEK! SPIDER!" Sakura shouted; everyone else covered their ears and cringed.
"Loud… enough?" Nika asked.
"I HATE bugs!" Sakura cried.
"Well, you're going to have to live with it, because this is a bug gym!" Bugsy laughed. Sakura frowned, and hugged herself into a ball. "Okay Chikorita, let's take this thing out," she said.
"Ariados, use your Spider Web attack!" Bugsy commanded. The big spider released a sticky white thread at Chikorita, coating it in the gross substance.
"Chikori…" said the unimpressed Pokemon.
"Chikorita, use your Razor Leaf to break some of that stuff off!" Sakura said. "Then use your Tackle attack!"
"Chi-ko!" cried Chikorita, breaking away from its prison with a flurry of leaves. Then, it slammed itself into Ariados's side, knocking the spider off balance.
"Ariados, Bite attack!" said Bugsy.
"Dos!" it cried, sinking its teeth into the side of Chikorita's leaf. Chikorita cried in pain, and started running around fanning its leaf.
"Chikorita! Try powering up for your Solarbeam!" Sakura called.
"Ri," it said, drawing in a beam of sunlight that was shining from the transparent roof.
"Ariados! Sludge bomb attack! Block that Solarbeam!" Bugsy said quickly. As Chikorita fired a beam of golden light at the spider, it inhaled, and spit a ball of some toxic liquid at Chikorita. The light was deflected; the poison hit Chikorita right on its leaf, and it dripped down all over her body.
"Chiko…" she moaned painfully.
"Ah! Come back, Chikorita," Sakura said. Once Chikorita was safely tucked away, She took another Pokeball and threw it down onto the battlefield. "Flareon, I choose you!"
"Flare!" cried the red catlike Pokemon that came out of the Pokeball.
Bugsy stopped. "Ariados, return!" she said. "Instead, I'll use Scizor!"
Bugsy threw a new Pokeball, revealing a red Pokemon with two dangerous-looking pincers. It was skinny, and looked very agile.
"It's a Steel-type," Sakura thought. "Steel-type and Bug-type are both weak against Fire. This will be easy!"
"Flareon, use Fire Blast!" Sakura yelled confidently.
"FLARE!!" Flareon cried, sending a five-pointed star of flame at Scizor. It stood there and took the hit, but it was hardly fazed. It shook its head, and took a battle stance in front of Flareon.
"No way! But both of your types are weak against fire!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Bugsy said. "I knew that would happen when Scyther evolved, so as a Scyther, I trained her to be especially resistant to fire!"
"Smart," Falkner said. "You have gotten tougher."
Sakura frowned. "Well, Flareon and I can win without using fire! Flareon, Mud-Slap now!"
"Reon," it said, turning around and sending a clump of mud flying into Scizor's face with its back legs. Scizor flailed, and held its face with its pincers.
"Now, pin it and use Body Slam!" Sakura said. Flareon ran at Scizor, knocking it to the ground with a tackle. Then, it jumped up, and hit Scizor's skinny body with its own full weight. Scizor cried out once, then fainted.
"Return," Bugsy said. Flareon dropped to the ground below it as Scizor disappeared in a flash of red light. "Very nice strategy. I never trained myself against that," she said. "Here's your prize… the Hive Badge."
Bugsy gave Sakura a shining badge that resembled a ladybug. Sakura pinned it to her shirt next to Falkner's, and jumped up with a cry of victory. "Whoo!!!" she cried. "Flareon, you did so awesome! ^^"
Her Pokemon jumped at her, and she gave it a quick hug before she re- called it. "Okay, Nika, your turn. That is, if Bugsy's still up for another battle."
"I'm cool for another round," she said. "Bring it on!"
"Okay!" Nika said. "Persian, do this!"
Nika's creamy furred cat came out of the Pokeball, awaiting command from its owner. Bugsy took out her own Pokeball, and threw it onto the battlefield. "Butterfree, go!" she said. Her Pokemon was a large, beautiful butterfly with large black wings, and a purple body.
"Persian, go! Use your Tri Attack!" Nika commanded. Three tiny beams shot out of the gem on Persian's forehead; one of ice, one of flame and one of lightning. They hit Butterfree, sending it crashing to the ground. It shook itself off and flew up again, hovering over Persian with a look of anger in its huge buggy eyes.
"Butterfree, Stun Spore now!" Bugsy told it.
"Freeee! Free-free!" Butterfree squeaked, flapping its wings and sprinkling yellow pollen over Persian.
"Persian!" Nika called in alarm. Persian was still moving, but it was going pretty slow.
"Now Butterfree, use Tackle!" Bugsy instructed.
"Persian, Slash it when it comes down!" Nika said, thinking quickly. Butterfree sped quickly toward Persian, who prepared its claws. When Butterfree got close enough, Persian swung out, swiping its claws across Butterfree's wing.
"FREEE!!" it cried, letting itself fall.
"Persian, now's your chance! Get it!" Nika said.
"Come on back, Butterfree," Bugsy said. "You beat me! Good job!"
Nika also got a Hive badge, which she pinned on her bag alongside the Zephyr badge. By this time, it was pretty late at night, and Falkner suggested that they stay at Bugsy's gym for the night.
"It's no problem really!" Bugsy said. "We can have a big sleepover and everything! We can sleep out here in the gym, and have snacks…"
"Yay!" Sakura and Nika cried. Falkner just kind of looked down at his feet, and sighed.
That night, at 11:00, Bugsy and her three guests were curled up in their sleeping bags in the middle of the gym. Bugsy had lent Sakura and extra sleeping bag, so for one night she could sleep alone.
"This is awesome!" Nika said. "I'm gonna go to sleep, okay guys?"
"Yeah, me too," Bugsy said. "Thanks for keeping me company."
"No problem," Sakura replied, turning over and adjusting her head on her pillow. "Good night, everyone!"
"'Night, Sakura," Falkner said. "'Night, everyone."
Falkner lay down, drifting off to sleep before everyone else. Soon, all four of them were asleep and dreaming.. although not all of the dreams were pleasant.
"Why can't I get out of here?" Espeon thought, looking around the dark room that had confined her for the last few weeks. "I want my Umbreon back… now!"
Espeon then lunged at the wall, using Psychic attacks to try to break the darkness. Finally, she concentrated on the sunlight that she had been created from, summoning it to free her. A beam of light broke through the ceiling, and Espeon smiled as the entire room dissolved away…
Nika woke up, shivering in her sleeping bag. She felt sick, and she felt like she was paralyzed, like her Persian had been earlier.
"Hey guys… wake up, I don't feel good," she whispered. Her voice was high and squeaky. "Sakura… Falkner…"
But she stopped… her breath was cut off for a second, and a strange purple light seemed to fill the room. When Nika opened her eyes she could see everything… even in the darkness of the gym, she had perfect vision.
'What's happening to me?' she thought. But then something else happened… as she concentrated on her own thoughts, she could hear others flooding her head… and the voices sounded like her friends.
'Oh, I wish I could be sleeping in Fal's arms again…'
'Girly sleepovers are so boring! To think I could have been hang- gliding…'
'Those two were so tough… I wanna train my Pokemon to be that strong…'
Nika jumped, looking up at her friends. They were all peacefully sleeping, so there was no way they could have been talking. Nika opened her mouth to scream for them to wake up… after all, she was really scared. But it wasn't her own voice that rang out through the cold gym.
"ESPEON!!!"
'Wait a minute… Why do I sound like an Espeon?' Nika thought. 'That means…'
Nika looked down at herself… she saw the body of an Espeon. She stared at her configured form in disbelief… and then she felt herself falling into darkness. The Espeon was taking over.
Espeon opened her eyes… she was very relieved, having broken out of her dark cage. Now she was free to search for her Umbreon.
"Umbreon… isn't here," she thought aloud. She could sense Umbreon's energy, but it wasn't coming from anywhere in the room. She had to leave.
"I am coming, Umbreon!" she hissed, making trails for the door. But before she got there, she heard a voice behind her, "Who's there?"
'Sakura,' the Espeon immediately thought. She stepped more slowly toward the door, hoping not to be noticed.
"Hey! It's a Pokemon!" Sakura exclaimed, getting up from her sleeping bag. As she walked closer to Espeon, she got prepared with a Pokeball in her hand.
"I choose Chikorita!" she said, throwing the ball. But before it had a chance to open, Espeon used some sort of psychic move to hold the ball shut, gently dropping it at Sakura's feet.
"You shall pay for your insolence," the Espeon hissed. It lunged at Sakura, attempting to bite her neck. She missed, however, and sunk her sharp teeth into Sakura's shoulder. She shook her head, tearing off a good- sized chunk of skin before she jumped down and ran.
Meanwhile, Sakura's crying woke up Falkner and Bugsy. Falkner immediately ran up to Sakura; one look at her shoulder made him gasp in surprise.
"What did you do?" he asked, running up to her and taking her into his arms; he didn't care if he got blood all over him. "What happened?"
"A Pokemon attacked me!" she wailed, crying at he top of her lungs. "It stopped Chikorita's Pokeball somehow, and it talked! Waa!!"
"Ssh, don't cry," Falkner said, trying to comfort her.
"But it HURTS!" she screamed.
"Here," said Bugsy, handing Falkner a wet cloth and a large bandage. "I got them while you were talking to her. What happened?"
"She got attacked by some Pokemon," Falkner said. "Tell me, do you have any psychic bugs in our gym?"
"I have Venonat wandering around," Bugsy said. "But they could never leave a cut like that on anyone."
"You're right," Falkner said, examining Sakura's wound. "These marks look like they were made by an animal-like Pokemon."
"Well, what Psychic type could leave a mark like this?" Sakura asked. She had calmed down now, and was very curious to know what had done this to her.
"Maybe an Espeon," Falkner said. "But I don't think there are any around here."
"Maybe it was a Slowpoke?" Sakura asked, smiling through her tears. She looked cute, smiling with a pale, tear-stained face (well, about as cute as you can get with a torn-up shoulder…).
"Hey, where's your other friend?" Bugsy asked suddenly. They all looked, and sure enough, Nika was gone. Her sleeping bag and pillow were in her spot in a messy heap.
Falkner looked at Sakura. "What did it say in that legend book about the Espeon?" he asked.
Sakura's eyes widened; she knew exactly what he was getting at. "Nothing," she replied. "The Espeon was hardly mentioned at all… only the fact that Umbreon was looking for it."
"Do you think that… that since the Espeon wasn't really removed from Nika, it might still be in there?" Falkner asked.
"I don't know!" Sakura yelled. "All I know is, that was not Nika! Nika wouldn't hurt me. So if that was her body, there is someone else controlling her right now."
"We have to find that Espeon," Falkner announced. "Sorry to go so soon, Bugsy, but we have to find our friend."
Bugsy just stood there, staring. "You guys are crazy," she said. "I'll come with you. Nika's my friend too."
"So where do we start looking?" Sakura asked as Falkner put the bandage on her arm.
"I don't know," Falkner said. "I guess we just follow our instincts. We've always been able to find each other before, right?"
"Right," Sakura responded. "Let's go, guys!"
Sakura quickly picked up Chikorita's Pokeball off the floor; then, they packed up a few of their things, and left, Bugsy locking the gym behind her.
"Why do I have to be here again?" Morty asked, plopping down on one of the squishy couches in the Goldenrod City Gym.
"Because, silly, I'm throwing a party for the gym leaders, remember?" Whitney replied with a big smile. She sat next to Morty and kissed his cheek, making him pull away. "Your sister is coming, right?"
"Uh, right," Morty said, shifting farther away from Whitney. "Keep your distance, all right?"
"Hmph, you're no fun," Whitney whined. "You don't like me very much, do you?"
"Put it this way. I didn't even want to come to your stupid gym, okay? I came because Luna wanted to."
Whitney sighed. "I don't know why you can't even make an effort to be my friend," she complained.
"You're so mean! Why can't you be nice like the other boys! Like Falkner, or… Hey, I have to call him! Be right back!"
So Whitney stopped her ranting, and left for the next room where the phone was. Morty let out the breath he was holding, and sat back on the couch.
"Why does she get the nice furniture?" he wondered aloud. "Stupid Whitney."
"Morty, you in here?" asked another female voice; it was Luna, Morty's sister.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
"She's bugging you again, isn't she?" Luna asked.
"All she does is flirt with me! It's so annoying!" Morty said. "I don't know what's wrong with her…"
"We have other things to worry about," Luna interrupted, "or at least I do. Come outside and see what I found."
"Um, okay," Morty said, shooting to his feet. Any excuse to get away from Whitney was good enough for him. He followed Luna out to the field in front of the gym, where a Pokemon lay peacefully sleeping. It had a small cut on its side, and blood dripped from its smiling fangs.
"It's an Espeon," Morty said.
"Right," Luna added. "What scares me is, there are no such things as wild Espeon. To get Espeon you must train an Eevee to completely trust you. Whoever this Espeon belongs to must have abandoned it."
"I guess that would explain why it looks so… so evil," Morty said. "Dark Espeon or what?"
"Morty, don't kid around!" Luna snapped. "This is serious!"
"I know… do you think we should take it inside?"
"Take what inside?" asked Whitney, who had just stepped outside to find her precious Morty. (Author Note: Whitney's a loser ^^)
"This," Morty said, pointing at the Espeon.
"Ew, it's dirty!" Whitney cried. "I'm gonna give it a bath, and put on some nice ribbons…"
"So, we can take it inside?" Luna asked.
"Of course! I would never abandon a Pokemon!" Whitney said. She ran up to the Espeon, picking it up and carrying it into her gym.
"Whitney, wait!" Morty said, chasing after her. "If you hadn't noticed, it is bleeding!" He was speaking to her like you would speak to a little child. "We have to clean out the cut! And if it's been eating something, hence the blood on its teeth, I want to clean out its mouth to see what."
"Oh, whatever, Morty, you think you know everything," Whitney said. "I'm taking Espeon to my pool room for a nice, warm bubble bath!"
And she ran off before Morty could stop her. Luna ran in, and saw Morty just standing there. "Well, go after her!" she exclaimed.
"Umm… no," Morty said.
"Why the hell not? That thing will probably eat her!" Luna said.
"So?" Morty remarked.
"Aren't you a pretty little Pokemon?" Whitney asked the fainted, bloody Espeon. "Ready for your bubbly bath?" She slowly placed Espeon in the warm water as the light water jets distributed the pink bubbles into the water. "Now, I'll use some of my lovely Pokemon shampoo to clean that ugly cut. Be right back, sweetie!"
Whitney went across the room to a shelf that held many bottles of human and Pokemon care products. "Now, where was that shampoo?"
Espeon breathed in, and got a mouthful of water. She coughed, and opened her eyes… she was surrounded by warm water and pink bubbles. 'What the hell is this?' she thought.
"I've got your shampoo all ready!" Whitney chirped, pouring a large amount of the blue soap into her hand. She went to rub the Espeon's side with it, but it lashed out at her, biting her hand. The shampoo dropped into the water.
"Now now, don't be a savage little Pokemon," Whitney cooed, picking up the shampoo bottle. Her blood dripped all over the bottle, and she screamed. Espeon thrust its head forward, knocking the bottle into the water. Then, she stared at Whitney.
"What's wrong, Espeon?" Whitney stammered, backing away from the small pool that she was bathing Espeon in.
"There's probably something wrong with your head," Espeon said telepathically.
"Espeon! Don't be so mean!" Whitney sobbed, ready to cry.
"I'll show you mean!" Espeon declared, jumping forward. It tore at Whitney's ankle, and she fell over, leaving an open target for Espeon to attack. She lunged, and tried to tear at her neck. Whitney screamed, letting her tears go as she felt Espeon's razor-like teeth sink into her collar. "Help!" she called. "Get this crazy thing off of me!"
"Hold on, Whitney!" called a voice. Luna burst into the room, pulling Espeon off of Whitney's chest. Espeon tried to attack Luna too, but she swung her arm back and threw it into the pool.
"What are you doing, Luna?" Morty asked; he had just come into the room. "Don't hurt it!"
"This is not a normal Pokemon!" Luna exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That Espeon is a killer! Now help me hold it!"
"Right," Morty said, standing across from Luna. The two of them concentrated, lifting Espeon out of the water and containing it in a cage of blue and purple energy.
"How… did you do that?" Whitney asked, looking up from the ground with one eye. She was bleeding from the spot below her neck, her ankle, and from her hand.
"Don't move," Morty said, kneeling at her side. "I'll get you to your room. You're not bleeding too much, so I'll clean your cuts and you can rest."
Whitney looked up at Morty, and she saw the sympathy in his eyes. "You really… do care," she said softly.
"Of course I care, stupid," he said. "Now come on. Let's get you to your bed."
"'Kay… Up the stairs all the way. It's the only room up there," she said.
"All right," Morty finished, starting up the stairs. Luna remained in the poolroom, watching Espeon closely.
"I hope I can hold it on my own,' she thought.
Later on, Morty was resting in the living room in Goldenrod Gym. Whitney was sleeping, and Luna was still watching the Espeon.
As Morty was about to fall asleep, a knock at the door pulled him back into consciousness. He figured since he was the only one available he should answer it, even though it wasn't his gym. So… he did! ^^
It was Falkner, Bugsy, and Sakura (whom Morty didn't recognize).
"Morty?" Bugsy questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"You should know," Morty said. "Aren't you here for Whitney's stupid party? Well, the party's delayed for a while… Whitney just got attacked by some crazy Espeon."
"Espeon?" Sakura asked. "Is it still here?"
"Yeah… in the poolroom with Luna," Morty said. Immediately, she and Falkner rushed out of the room. Morty looked at Bugsy, expecting her to know.
"Don't ask me," Bugsy said, "let's just go see what they're doing."
"Uh… yeah," Morty agreed, chasing them into the poolroom.
"Nika!" Sakura yelled, rushing into the poolroom. Luna looked at her, and questioned, "Is this Espeon yours?"
"Well…" Sakura started.
"If it is, good job raising it," Luna snapped. "It showed up here with blood on its teeth, and then it attacked the leader of this gym!"
"She's not really an Espeon!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's our friend… oh, it's hard to explain!"
"This is a human?" Luna asked. "How?"
Falkner was about to explain, but they were interrupted when the Espeon's psychic cage exploded in a flash of violet light.
"How dare you try to capture me?" Espeon screeched. "I'm looking for my Umbreon."
"There you go," Falkner said. "I told you…"
"Listen, your Umbreon is gone!" Sakura shouted. "So give back my best friend!"
"Who… the stupid girl who kept me locked in her dreams?" Espeon asked, beginning to glow with a silver aura. "Once I find my Umbreon, and leave this world with him, she will die. And so will the rest of you!"
With this, Espeon released a silver wave of energy through the room, throwing everyone off balance. Sakura felt a pair of strong arms pick her up and carry her out of the room… she was then placed in a corner of another room.
"Fal… Thank you," she sighed, lifting her head up. She leaned forward and kissed him, holding herself up for at least 30 seconds before falling back down, dazed from the blast.
"Um… I take it you're NOT Luna, then," said Morty. Sakura looked up, and saw a face that was definitely not Falkner's.
"Oh my goodness…" she stammered, "I am so sorry!"
"It's all right," Morty said, smiling. "Forget about it. You stay here, I have to go see if everyone else is all right."
"Okay," Sakura said, curling herself up in a ball.
Morty ran back into the poolroom to be blasted by another psychic attack by the Espeon. Luna was trying to hold it back, and Falkner was backing her up. Bugsy had been thrown against a wall, and she lay knocked out on the other side of the room.
"I could use a hand, brother dear," Luna yelled.
"Huh… Oh, yeah!" Morty exclaimed, rushing forward to his sister's side. "You girlfriend's out in the hallway, Falkner," he said.
"Thanks," Falkner said, running to join Sakura. Morty added his power to Luna's, trying to contain the Espeon again. But she was shielded now, and their powers weren't strong enough.
"Fools!" Espeon declared. "You might as well give up, for you will die today anyway…"
Luna dropped to her knees. "I can't do this anymore, Morty…" she said slowly. "I need a milk shake…"
The Espeon smiled, picking Luna up with her psychic powers. Luna was thrown across the room, and she landed next to Bugsy, totally out cold.
"No…" Morty said, looking back at the two girls. He turned to the Espeon and spoke, "This has to stop! You have no reason to be hurting us!"
"Really?" Espeon shouted back, pressing her powers even further as Morty struggled to keep his footing. "Just as I was finally bonded with my Umbreon, we were torn apart! Umbreon was taken to… to someplace far away… and I was kept contained inside this girl's head, like some sort of irrelevance… You expect me to come back and love everyone?"
"Well…" Morty began.
"Yes, thank you for disrupting my eternal sleep," Espeon interrupted. "Thanks for allowing me five minutes with the other half of my soul… and then tearing us apart! I'm so damn grateful!"
"It's not our fault!" Morty said calmly. "You have no right to attack me, and Luna, and Bugsy and Whitney… we didn't do anything!"
"It doesn't matter!" Espeon yelled. "Nothing else matters but finding my Umbreon!"
"Are you looking for me?" said a voice. Espeon turned around… and stared into the cherry-red eyes of a familiar Pokemon.
Whitney woke up in her own room… she was covered with soft blankets, and her neck hurt like crazy. She looked down at her collar to see the bloodstained bandage that lined it like a necklace.
"What the… what is going on?" she questioned. When an answer didn't come, she knew she was alone. "Oh… how dare they leave me here all by myself! How rude!!" So she immediately threw off the blankets that surrounded her and stomped down the stairs, fuming… (Author Note: Oh no, Whitney's mad! Look who's not intimidated…)
The first people Whitney saw when she came downstairs were Sakura and Falkner; they were sitting outside the poolroom, Sakura cuddled in Falkner's lap.
"Aww, how cute is this?" Whitney said rather loudly; Sakura jumped, and Falkner gave her an angry stare. Whitney ignored him, and said, "Where were you when I called your gym? Matt said you weren't home!" (Author Note: Matt is the underling trainer at Violet Gym in Pokemon Stadium 2, so I used him for someone to be there to put up with Whitney's phone call… poor, poor Matt…)
"I was out, chickie," Falkner said. "Remember, I'm training with my friends…"
"Oh YEAH!!" Whitney chirped. "Well, can you tell me what's going on? And where's that crazy Espeon that attacked me?"
"It's in there," Sakura said, pointing into the poolroom.
"Thank you," Whitney said. She started walking…
"I wouldn't," Falkner informed.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped. "I'll go in if I want to!"
Whitney entered the room; Falkner expected to come flying back out, but she didn't. She was fine.
"What…?" Falkner peeked into the room, curious as to what had happened. Espeon was still there but… she was suddenly calm. Then he noticed the other Pokemon standing in front of her.
"Sakura… take a look at this!" he said. She crawled over, looking into the poolroom, and what she saw made her eyes widen.
"Is that James?" she questioned.
"I don't know," Falkner replied. "Let's take a closer look…"
"Umbreon?" Espeon asked, staring deeply into the black Pokemon's eyes.
"You're even crazier than I was," Umbreon said. "I didn't think you really cared that much about me."
"What are you talking about?" Espeon cried. "Of course I care about you! After you put so much effort into trying to find me, I knew we were meant to be!"
"Espeon…" Umbreon ran to his Espeon's side, nuzzling her cheek with his own. As they touched, a golden light shone from between them, and soon the two Pokemon were surrounded with light. Everyone was watching them; Bugsy and Luna had recovered, and everyone was crowded around the two Pokemon.
"Wait!" Sakura called, throwing forward her arm. "If you leave, Espeon, we'll never see our friend Nika again!"
"I'll spare her," Espeon said, turning away from Umbreon to look at Sakura with reassuring eyes. "Don't worry about it."
"Thank you," Sakura said, her eyes tearing as the light around the two Pokemon grew brighter. Suddenly, a bright flash blinded everyone, and when it cleared the two Pokemon were gone. In their place stood Nika, very lost and confused.
"Umm… What happened now?" she asked, looking around. "Where are we?"
"Nika!" Sakura yelled, running to hug her friend. "You're back! You're back!"
"Back? Where did I go?"
Sakura sighed, and began explaining to her what had happened. Everyone else joined in, adding their own parts to the story, and eventually no one could understand each other anymore.
"EXCUSE ME!" screamed Whitney, silencing the room. "Does this have anything to do with MY party? No! So you can all get into the other room right now so I can start!"
There was another long silence; everyone just kind of stood there, staring at her. Finally, they all broke out in laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!" Whitney cried. "Stop being so mean!"
"Yeah, yeah," Sakura said. She jumped forward and pushed Whitney into the pool. "Okay, party's over!"
Everyone laughed louder… everyone except Falkner. He walked to Sakura and whispered in her ear, "You know, she's the next gym leader you have to battle."
Sakura stopped. "…Oh," she said. "Well, whoop-dee-doo."
"You're not scared? I mean, she's a tough girl… probably tougher when she's mad."
"Yeah, well, she needed to cool down," Sakura said. "Come on, let's go to her little party. Come on, Nika!"
"Where am I going now?" Nika asked. Sakura and Falkner laughed.
"Don't worry, Nika," Falkner said. "The Espeon won't bother you anymore."
Nika smiled. "Thanks," she said. "You guys are the best."
And the three of them headed for the living room where everyone else was, while Whitney crawled out of the pool, yelling for Sakura to "come back here!" (Author Quote: Oh no! Not Whitney! Anything but that! *rolls eyes*)
The air at the peak of the mountain was warm and thick. Espeon stood at the highest point, staring out at the sky. "Where… are we?" she asked. "Are we alone?"
Umbreon was lying on a rock a few levels below her, soaking up the sun's rays. "There are others here," he replied. "But… they're down there. We're all the way up here."
"Is this our place?" Espeon asked. "Can we stay here forever?"
"I don't know," Umbreon responded. "But we'll stay here as long as we can, right?"
"Right," said Espeon, jumping down to his level. She curled up at his side and said, "Time to rest. I used all of my energy today."
"I understand," Umbreon said. "Good night."
He rested his head against hers, nuzzling her soft fur. The two slept, dreaming of each other, and their lives that would soon unfold on the island.
The End
Umbreon…?
Where did you go… My Umbreon…
Nika awoke from her deep dream, pulling her sleeping bag over her head. The same dream had been playing through her head for the last few weeks… ever since that "legend" had taken place at the Violet City gym, the memories had haunted her nights. But for some reason, they never seemed all that familiar…
She sat up in her tiny sleeping bag, looking around the tent where she and her friends were sleeping. Her two friends, Falkner and Sakura, were cuddled together in the same sleeping bag (Sakura had lost hers to a Slowpoke who had decided to be a thief). They looked very peaceful together, but Nika had to admit that she was a little bit jealous. James had gone back home, wherever that was, once everything at Violet had been cleared up. And she had liked him… maybe a little.
Nika turned over and tried to get back to sleep. She thought about James… thought about his emerald-colored eyes staring into her own. These thoughts brought peace to her mind and body, and she slipped away into dreamland.
In the middle of a dark field, the Espeon ran aimlessly, looking for the one who had captured her heart. "Where did you go?" she cried over and over again. "Umbreon!"
There was a golden glow suddenly then, a flash of brilliance that seemed to come from a small opening in the darkness. Espeon ran toward it, hoping… dreaming that this was what she was searching for. And then it was gone, as suddenly as it had appeared, and everything was dark again. Espeon was still alone.
"No, please don't leave me again!" she shouted. "Umbreon!"
"Umbreon…. Umbreon…" Nika mumbled several times before her eyes blinked open, and she stared into the faces of her friends.
"Are you okay?" asked Sakura. "What were you dreaming?"
"What? Dream?" Nika questioned. "I don't remember…"
"You were saying 'Umbreon'," Falkner said. "Are you still thinking about what happened?"
"I sometimes do," she admitted. "But I mostly think about James."
Sakura sighed. "Typical," she said.
"Look who's talking, Miss I-think-I'll-give-my-sleeping-bag-to-a- Slowpoke-so-I-can-sleep-with-my-boyfriend," Nika laughed. Sakura sweatdropped, and said, "I did NOT give my sleeping bag to that Slowpoke, it stole it! Fal even saw it pull it into the river!!"
Falkner laughed. "Well, it doesn't matter all that much," he said, standing up. "Come on, let's take down the tent so we can keep going. Maybe we can get to Azalea Town by tonight."
"Okay!" Sakura agreed, jumping up and running outside to help Falkner. But Nika couldn't bring herself to move. She had lied to her friends; she did remember the dream. The only thing was, she wasn't sure how she could explain it to them…
"Nika, come on! I don't wanna fold you up too!" Falkner joked.
"Coming," Nika sighed, picking up her sleeping bag and leaving the tent.
"Something is coming," said Mewtwo, who was sitting atop a cliff with the gold Umbreon by his side. (Once Umbreon had come, Mewtwo had abandoned that ugly Pikachu in a heartbeat. But, on to more important matters…)
"What are you talking about?" Umbreon asked.
"I can sense that someone will need your help… but it will depend on whether or not she wants it," Mewtwo continued. "Soon you may have to leave."
"What, when? Permanently?" Umbreon blurted nervously.
"Not permanently," Mewtwo assured. "But soon. "I will tell you when the time comes."
Umbreon growled in frustration. "Then why did you tell me now?"
"I am simply preparing you," he explained. "But relax. The time will soon come."
"Grr," Umbreon said, laying down in the soft sand that surrounded them. He stretched his legs out into the warmth, and fell into sleep, dreaming about his Espeon.
Outside of Azalea Town, a deep well sat proudly on a small hill. Falkner, Sakura and Nika came upon it just as the sun was setting in the sky.
"NO! We're supposed to get to Azalea Town!" Sakura complained.
"Hey, we've still got a good fifteen-minute walk," Nika said, "and it's starting to get cold. Why don't we rest in this well tonight?"
"Good idea," Falkner said.
Sakura ran up to the well, reading a sign beside it. "Slowpoke Well," she read aloud.
"You go down first, Falkner, then you can catch us girls if we fall," Nika suggested.
"'Kay," he said, starting down the ladder; following close behind was Sakura, and then Nika. The well was cold, but not as cold as it had been outside.
The group started exploring the cave, looking for a decent place to stay. They were stalled when Sakura noticed something floating in the water… it looked vaguely familiar…
"My sleeping bag!" she exclaimed. "Guys, look, how did my sleeping bag get down here?"
"Sloooow," said a voice."
"Wow, Fal, you sure sounded like a real Slowpoke!" she said.
"Wasn't me," Falkner said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Poke," said the same voice. A small Slowpoke stuck its head out from inside of Sakura's black sleeping bag, followed by another.
"Aww! Cute!" Sakura cooed. "They should keep it!"
"But didn't your mom give you that?" Falkner asked her.
"Yeah. It was hers anyway, I don't think she'll care," she replied. "Fal, I'm tired. Can we sit down here and go to sleep?"
"Yeah, it's a nice spot," Nika said. "The lake is really pretty and relaxing."
"Fine," Falkner finished, setting out his sleeping bag for himself and Sakura. Nika lay hers next to theirs, and they fell asleep to the soft sound of the lapping water.
"Umbreon?"
The word had been echoing through Nika's dreams, and as she spoke it, she awakened. She felt strangely cold, and her sleeping bag seemed a bit damp…. Then she realized that it wasn't her sleeping bag, but Sakura's! Nika was out in the middle of the lake, snoozing in the Slowpoke sleeping bag.
"YOU GUYS, THAT IS SO MEAN!" she screamed, loud enough so her friends could hear her. Sakura opened her eyes, and looked out to the water where Nika was floating.
"Nika, what are you doing in the water?" she asked, smiling.
"You should know!" she replied. "I didn't come in here myself, so you must have put me here!"
"Why would I do something cruel like that?" Sakura questioned. "Think about it… I'm you're friend!"
"Yeah, sorry," Nika said. "I just can't see how this happened. I'm scared."
"What is going on?" Falkner yawned. "You girls woke me up…"
"Well, you should be awake," Sakura said. "It's morning, and Nika just woke up with the Slowpoke. Hey, maybe that's it Nika! Maybe the Slowpoke stole you too!!"
"Ha-ha. That's funny," Nika laughed sarcastically. "Slowpoke aren't strong enough to carry me." She looked down at one of the Slowpoke that was sharing her sleeping spot; it looked up at her innocently, "poke"-ing in amusement.
"This stupid thing is laughing at me!" Nika complained. Falkner and Sakura laughed hysterically as Nika trudged out of the water.
"Are you okay?" Falkner asked.
"I'm soaked!" she whined. "I wanna know what happened! How did I get into that lake?"
"It was the Slowpokes, I tell ya! It was them!" Sakura said.
"Maybe," Nika said. "But I do find it a little hard to believe that tiny little Slowpokes took me into the water."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Maybe you were sleepwalking," Falkner said. "But if we get to Azalea Town, we can dry off at the Pokemon Center, and then you guys can go get your badges."
"Yeah! Forget it, let's go get another Johto badge!" Sakura said. She looked at the Zephyr badge on her shirt, and smiled at Falkner. "You are so easy!" she laughed.
"I wouldn't talk," he whispered in her ear. She blushed, even though she knew he was kidding…
Azalea Town was a pretty city full of sunshine. There were many Slowpoke wandering around the city along with other trainers, and there were lots of cool buildings (especially the gym ^^). The three friends made their way to the Pokemon Center immediately, even though it was tempting to stop and see the sights.
"What happened to you? Chansey, get a towel," said Nurse Joy upon seeing Nika.
"I woke up in the lake in Slowpoke Well," Nika explained.
"The Slowpokes brought her there," Sakura added.
Joy laughed. "Well, you can dry off here for as long as you want," she said.
"Thanks," Nika said.
"And while we're here, do you think you could heal our Pokemon for our battle?" Sakura asked.
After a few hours of waiting, Nika was finally ready to go. Sakura bounded out the door first, very excited to be going to her second gym in Johto. And this time, she wasn't acquainted with the gym leader! ^^
"Hurry up you guyyys!!" she exclaimed, bouncing around outside of the gym doors. "Can I go in? CanIcanIcanI?"
"Go ahead, cutie," Falkner said. Sakura's cheeks blushed, but she ran into the gym anyway.
"Um… hello?" Sakura called.
"Hi!" called a voice from up in a tree. Sakura looked up to see a little girl standing in one of the tallest trees, holding a butterfly net. "Could you possibly get that ladder down there for me?"
"What? Where?" Sakura answered, looking around. "I don't see it!"
"Oh… my Pokemon must have carried it off," she said.
"How did you get up there?" Sakura called.
"I climbed up here to see the bug Pokemon in the trees," the girl said. "But whenever I climb up, I can't get down! The ladder falls down, and I get stuck."
Sakura laughed. "How long have you been up there?"
"About an hour," she said. "Can you help me get down?"
"Sure! Chikorita, go!" Sakura commanded. "Use your Vine Whip to help her down!"
"Chiko!" said Chikorita, releasing its strong vines from the seeds on her neck. The vines took hold of the girl and slowly pulled her down from the tree.
"Yay! Thank you!" said the girl. "So, who are you anyway?"
"My name is Sakura Tachikawa," Sakura said.
"Cool. I'm Bugsy, the Gym Leader," she replied.
"Oh! Well, my friend Nika and I are here for a gym battle," Sakura told her. "Would you want to battle me?"
"Yeah!" Bugsy said. "Where's your friend?"
"We're here!" Nika said, running up to Sakura and Bugsy. Falkner was following close behind.
"Oh, hi, Falkner!" Bugsy chirped. "It's been a long time!"
Falkner raised his hand and gave his old friend a high five. "Yeah, I haven't seen you since the last convention," he replied. "How's it going?"
"I'm all right," she said. "My bug Pokemon are way stronger than when I battled you before, so I can probably beat you now! ^^"
"First battle me!" Sakura exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"What did you eat, Sakura?" Nika asked, watching her hyper friend.
Sakura smiled. "I went to the Tim Horton's across the street from the Pokemon center! I had bow ties!!"
"Sheesh," Nika sighed. "Okay, you can battle first. If you don't let off that energy you'll explode," she said.
"Yay!" Sakura cried.
"How about a two-on-two battle?" Bugsy requested.
"Fine with me," said Sakura. "And my Chikorita will be my first Pokemon."
Chikorita, who had been waiting patiently by the big tree, stepped forward and faced Bugsy, eyeing the Pokeball in her hand.
"I choose Ariados!" Bugsy said. She threw the Pokeball, revealing a huge spider with an evil face and long yellow legs.
"EEEEEK! SPIDER!" Sakura shouted; everyone else covered their ears and cringed.
"Loud… enough?" Nika asked.
"I HATE bugs!" Sakura cried.
"Well, you're going to have to live with it, because this is a bug gym!" Bugsy laughed. Sakura frowned, and hugged herself into a ball. "Okay Chikorita, let's take this thing out," she said.
"Ariados, use your Spider Web attack!" Bugsy commanded. The big spider released a sticky white thread at Chikorita, coating it in the gross substance.
"Chikori…" said the unimpressed Pokemon.
"Chikorita, use your Razor Leaf to break some of that stuff off!" Sakura said. "Then use your Tackle attack!"
"Chi-ko!" cried Chikorita, breaking away from its prison with a flurry of leaves. Then, it slammed itself into Ariados's side, knocking the spider off balance.
"Ariados, Bite attack!" said Bugsy.
"Dos!" it cried, sinking its teeth into the side of Chikorita's leaf. Chikorita cried in pain, and started running around fanning its leaf.
"Chikorita! Try powering up for your Solarbeam!" Sakura called.
"Ri," it said, drawing in a beam of sunlight that was shining from the transparent roof.
"Ariados! Sludge bomb attack! Block that Solarbeam!" Bugsy said quickly. As Chikorita fired a beam of golden light at the spider, it inhaled, and spit a ball of some toxic liquid at Chikorita. The light was deflected; the poison hit Chikorita right on its leaf, and it dripped down all over her body.
"Chiko…" she moaned painfully.
"Ah! Come back, Chikorita," Sakura said. Once Chikorita was safely tucked away, She took another Pokeball and threw it down onto the battlefield. "Flareon, I choose you!"
"Flare!" cried the red catlike Pokemon that came out of the Pokeball.
Bugsy stopped. "Ariados, return!" she said. "Instead, I'll use Scizor!"
Bugsy threw a new Pokeball, revealing a red Pokemon with two dangerous-looking pincers. It was skinny, and looked very agile.
"It's a Steel-type," Sakura thought. "Steel-type and Bug-type are both weak against Fire. This will be easy!"
"Flareon, use Fire Blast!" Sakura yelled confidently.
"FLARE!!" Flareon cried, sending a five-pointed star of flame at Scizor. It stood there and took the hit, but it was hardly fazed. It shook its head, and took a battle stance in front of Flareon.
"No way! But both of your types are weak against fire!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Bugsy said. "I knew that would happen when Scyther evolved, so as a Scyther, I trained her to be especially resistant to fire!"
"Smart," Falkner said. "You have gotten tougher."
Sakura frowned. "Well, Flareon and I can win without using fire! Flareon, Mud-Slap now!"
"Reon," it said, turning around and sending a clump of mud flying into Scizor's face with its back legs. Scizor flailed, and held its face with its pincers.
"Now, pin it and use Body Slam!" Sakura said. Flareon ran at Scizor, knocking it to the ground with a tackle. Then, it jumped up, and hit Scizor's skinny body with its own full weight. Scizor cried out once, then fainted.
"Return," Bugsy said. Flareon dropped to the ground below it as Scizor disappeared in a flash of red light. "Very nice strategy. I never trained myself against that," she said. "Here's your prize… the Hive Badge."
Bugsy gave Sakura a shining badge that resembled a ladybug. Sakura pinned it to her shirt next to Falkner's, and jumped up with a cry of victory. "Whoo!!!" she cried. "Flareon, you did so awesome! ^^"
Her Pokemon jumped at her, and she gave it a quick hug before she re- called it. "Okay, Nika, your turn. That is, if Bugsy's still up for another battle."
"I'm cool for another round," she said. "Bring it on!"
"Okay!" Nika said. "Persian, do this!"
Nika's creamy furred cat came out of the Pokeball, awaiting command from its owner. Bugsy took out her own Pokeball, and threw it onto the battlefield. "Butterfree, go!" she said. Her Pokemon was a large, beautiful butterfly with large black wings, and a purple body.
"Persian, go! Use your Tri Attack!" Nika commanded. Three tiny beams shot out of the gem on Persian's forehead; one of ice, one of flame and one of lightning. They hit Butterfree, sending it crashing to the ground. It shook itself off and flew up again, hovering over Persian with a look of anger in its huge buggy eyes.
"Butterfree, Stun Spore now!" Bugsy told it.
"Freeee! Free-free!" Butterfree squeaked, flapping its wings and sprinkling yellow pollen over Persian.
"Persian!" Nika called in alarm. Persian was still moving, but it was going pretty slow.
"Now Butterfree, use Tackle!" Bugsy instructed.
"Persian, Slash it when it comes down!" Nika said, thinking quickly. Butterfree sped quickly toward Persian, who prepared its claws. When Butterfree got close enough, Persian swung out, swiping its claws across Butterfree's wing.
"FREEE!!" it cried, letting itself fall.
"Persian, now's your chance! Get it!" Nika said.
"Come on back, Butterfree," Bugsy said. "You beat me! Good job!"
Nika also got a Hive badge, which she pinned on her bag alongside the Zephyr badge. By this time, it was pretty late at night, and Falkner suggested that they stay at Bugsy's gym for the night.
"It's no problem really!" Bugsy said. "We can have a big sleepover and everything! We can sleep out here in the gym, and have snacks…"
"Yay!" Sakura and Nika cried. Falkner just kind of looked down at his feet, and sighed.
That night, at 11:00, Bugsy and her three guests were curled up in their sleeping bags in the middle of the gym. Bugsy had lent Sakura and extra sleeping bag, so for one night she could sleep alone.
"This is awesome!" Nika said. "I'm gonna go to sleep, okay guys?"
"Yeah, me too," Bugsy said. "Thanks for keeping me company."
"No problem," Sakura replied, turning over and adjusting her head on her pillow. "Good night, everyone!"
"'Night, Sakura," Falkner said. "'Night, everyone."
Falkner lay down, drifting off to sleep before everyone else. Soon, all four of them were asleep and dreaming.. although not all of the dreams were pleasant.
"Why can't I get out of here?" Espeon thought, looking around the dark room that had confined her for the last few weeks. "I want my Umbreon back… now!"
Espeon then lunged at the wall, using Psychic attacks to try to break the darkness. Finally, she concentrated on the sunlight that she had been created from, summoning it to free her. A beam of light broke through the ceiling, and Espeon smiled as the entire room dissolved away…
Nika woke up, shivering in her sleeping bag. She felt sick, and she felt like she was paralyzed, like her Persian had been earlier.
"Hey guys… wake up, I don't feel good," she whispered. Her voice was high and squeaky. "Sakura… Falkner…"
But she stopped… her breath was cut off for a second, and a strange purple light seemed to fill the room. When Nika opened her eyes she could see everything… even in the darkness of the gym, she had perfect vision.
'What's happening to me?' she thought. But then something else happened… as she concentrated on her own thoughts, she could hear others flooding her head… and the voices sounded like her friends.
'Oh, I wish I could be sleeping in Fal's arms again…'
'Girly sleepovers are so boring! To think I could have been hang- gliding…'
'Those two were so tough… I wanna train my Pokemon to be that strong…'
Nika jumped, looking up at her friends. They were all peacefully sleeping, so there was no way they could have been talking. Nika opened her mouth to scream for them to wake up… after all, she was really scared. But it wasn't her own voice that rang out through the cold gym.
"ESPEON!!!"
'Wait a minute… Why do I sound like an Espeon?' Nika thought. 'That means…'
Nika looked down at herself… she saw the body of an Espeon. She stared at her configured form in disbelief… and then she felt herself falling into darkness. The Espeon was taking over.
Espeon opened her eyes… she was very relieved, having broken out of her dark cage. Now she was free to search for her Umbreon.
"Umbreon… isn't here," she thought aloud. She could sense Umbreon's energy, but it wasn't coming from anywhere in the room. She had to leave.
"I am coming, Umbreon!" she hissed, making trails for the door. But before she got there, she heard a voice behind her, "Who's there?"
'Sakura,' the Espeon immediately thought. She stepped more slowly toward the door, hoping not to be noticed.
"Hey! It's a Pokemon!" Sakura exclaimed, getting up from her sleeping bag. As she walked closer to Espeon, she got prepared with a Pokeball in her hand.
"I choose Chikorita!" she said, throwing the ball. But before it had a chance to open, Espeon used some sort of psychic move to hold the ball shut, gently dropping it at Sakura's feet.
"You shall pay for your insolence," the Espeon hissed. It lunged at Sakura, attempting to bite her neck. She missed, however, and sunk her sharp teeth into Sakura's shoulder. She shook her head, tearing off a good- sized chunk of skin before she jumped down and ran.
Meanwhile, Sakura's crying woke up Falkner and Bugsy. Falkner immediately ran up to Sakura; one look at her shoulder made him gasp in surprise.
"What did you do?" he asked, running up to her and taking her into his arms; he didn't care if he got blood all over him. "What happened?"
"A Pokemon attacked me!" she wailed, crying at he top of her lungs. "It stopped Chikorita's Pokeball somehow, and it talked! Waa!!"
"Ssh, don't cry," Falkner said, trying to comfort her.
"But it HURTS!" she screamed.
"Here," said Bugsy, handing Falkner a wet cloth and a large bandage. "I got them while you were talking to her. What happened?"
"She got attacked by some Pokemon," Falkner said. "Tell me, do you have any psychic bugs in our gym?"
"I have Venonat wandering around," Bugsy said. "But they could never leave a cut like that on anyone."
"You're right," Falkner said, examining Sakura's wound. "These marks look like they were made by an animal-like Pokemon."
"Well, what Psychic type could leave a mark like this?" Sakura asked. She had calmed down now, and was very curious to know what had done this to her.
"Maybe an Espeon," Falkner said. "But I don't think there are any around here."
"Maybe it was a Slowpoke?" Sakura asked, smiling through her tears. She looked cute, smiling with a pale, tear-stained face (well, about as cute as you can get with a torn-up shoulder…).
"Hey, where's your other friend?" Bugsy asked suddenly. They all looked, and sure enough, Nika was gone. Her sleeping bag and pillow were in her spot in a messy heap.
Falkner looked at Sakura. "What did it say in that legend book about the Espeon?" he asked.
Sakura's eyes widened; she knew exactly what he was getting at. "Nothing," she replied. "The Espeon was hardly mentioned at all… only the fact that Umbreon was looking for it."
"Do you think that… that since the Espeon wasn't really removed from Nika, it might still be in there?" Falkner asked.
"I don't know!" Sakura yelled. "All I know is, that was not Nika! Nika wouldn't hurt me. So if that was her body, there is someone else controlling her right now."
"We have to find that Espeon," Falkner announced. "Sorry to go so soon, Bugsy, but we have to find our friend."
Bugsy just stood there, staring. "You guys are crazy," she said. "I'll come with you. Nika's my friend too."
"So where do we start looking?" Sakura asked as Falkner put the bandage on her arm.
"I don't know," Falkner said. "I guess we just follow our instincts. We've always been able to find each other before, right?"
"Right," Sakura responded. "Let's go, guys!"
Sakura quickly picked up Chikorita's Pokeball off the floor; then, they packed up a few of their things, and left, Bugsy locking the gym behind her.
"Why do I have to be here again?" Morty asked, plopping down on one of the squishy couches in the Goldenrod City Gym.
"Because, silly, I'm throwing a party for the gym leaders, remember?" Whitney replied with a big smile. She sat next to Morty and kissed his cheek, making him pull away. "Your sister is coming, right?"
"Uh, right," Morty said, shifting farther away from Whitney. "Keep your distance, all right?"
"Hmph, you're no fun," Whitney whined. "You don't like me very much, do you?"
"Put it this way. I didn't even want to come to your stupid gym, okay? I came because Luna wanted to."
Whitney sighed. "I don't know why you can't even make an effort to be my friend," she complained.
"You're so mean! Why can't you be nice like the other boys! Like Falkner, or… Hey, I have to call him! Be right back!"
So Whitney stopped her ranting, and left for the next room where the phone was. Morty let out the breath he was holding, and sat back on the couch.
"Why does she get the nice furniture?" he wondered aloud. "Stupid Whitney."
"Morty, you in here?" asked another female voice; it was Luna, Morty's sister.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
"She's bugging you again, isn't she?" Luna asked.
"All she does is flirt with me! It's so annoying!" Morty said. "I don't know what's wrong with her…"
"We have other things to worry about," Luna interrupted, "or at least I do. Come outside and see what I found."
"Um, okay," Morty said, shooting to his feet. Any excuse to get away from Whitney was good enough for him. He followed Luna out to the field in front of the gym, where a Pokemon lay peacefully sleeping. It had a small cut on its side, and blood dripped from its smiling fangs.
"It's an Espeon," Morty said.
"Right," Luna added. "What scares me is, there are no such things as wild Espeon. To get Espeon you must train an Eevee to completely trust you. Whoever this Espeon belongs to must have abandoned it."
"I guess that would explain why it looks so… so evil," Morty said. "Dark Espeon or what?"
"Morty, don't kid around!" Luna snapped. "This is serious!"
"I know… do you think we should take it inside?"
"Take what inside?" asked Whitney, who had just stepped outside to find her precious Morty. (Author Note: Whitney's a loser ^^)
"This," Morty said, pointing at the Espeon.
"Ew, it's dirty!" Whitney cried. "I'm gonna give it a bath, and put on some nice ribbons…"
"So, we can take it inside?" Luna asked.
"Of course! I would never abandon a Pokemon!" Whitney said. She ran up to the Espeon, picking it up and carrying it into her gym.
"Whitney, wait!" Morty said, chasing after her. "If you hadn't noticed, it is bleeding!" He was speaking to her like you would speak to a little child. "We have to clean out the cut! And if it's been eating something, hence the blood on its teeth, I want to clean out its mouth to see what."
"Oh, whatever, Morty, you think you know everything," Whitney said. "I'm taking Espeon to my pool room for a nice, warm bubble bath!"
And she ran off before Morty could stop her. Luna ran in, and saw Morty just standing there. "Well, go after her!" she exclaimed.
"Umm… no," Morty said.
"Why the hell not? That thing will probably eat her!" Luna said.
"So?" Morty remarked.
"Aren't you a pretty little Pokemon?" Whitney asked the fainted, bloody Espeon. "Ready for your bubbly bath?" She slowly placed Espeon in the warm water as the light water jets distributed the pink bubbles into the water. "Now, I'll use some of my lovely Pokemon shampoo to clean that ugly cut. Be right back, sweetie!"
Whitney went across the room to a shelf that held many bottles of human and Pokemon care products. "Now, where was that shampoo?"
Espeon breathed in, and got a mouthful of water. She coughed, and opened her eyes… she was surrounded by warm water and pink bubbles. 'What the hell is this?' she thought.
"I've got your shampoo all ready!" Whitney chirped, pouring a large amount of the blue soap into her hand. She went to rub the Espeon's side with it, but it lashed out at her, biting her hand. The shampoo dropped into the water.
"Now now, don't be a savage little Pokemon," Whitney cooed, picking up the shampoo bottle. Her blood dripped all over the bottle, and she screamed. Espeon thrust its head forward, knocking the bottle into the water. Then, she stared at Whitney.
"What's wrong, Espeon?" Whitney stammered, backing away from the small pool that she was bathing Espeon in.
"There's probably something wrong with your head," Espeon said telepathically.
"Espeon! Don't be so mean!" Whitney sobbed, ready to cry.
"I'll show you mean!" Espeon declared, jumping forward. It tore at Whitney's ankle, and she fell over, leaving an open target for Espeon to attack. She lunged, and tried to tear at her neck. Whitney screamed, letting her tears go as she felt Espeon's razor-like teeth sink into her collar. "Help!" she called. "Get this crazy thing off of me!"
"Hold on, Whitney!" called a voice. Luna burst into the room, pulling Espeon off of Whitney's chest. Espeon tried to attack Luna too, but she swung her arm back and threw it into the pool.
"What are you doing, Luna?" Morty asked; he had just come into the room. "Don't hurt it!"
"This is not a normal Pokemon!" Luna exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That Espeon is a killer! Now help me hold it!"
"Right," Morty said, standing across from Luna. The two of them concentrated, lifting Espeon out of the water and containing it in a cage of blue and purple energy.
"How… did you do that?" Whitney asked, looking up from the ground with one eye. She was bleeding from the spot below her neck, her ankle, and from her hand.
"Don't move," Morty said, kneeling at her side. "I'll get you to your room. You're not bleeding too much, so I'll clean your cuts and you can rest."
Whitney looked up at Morty, and she saw the sympathy in his eyes. "You really… do care," she said softly.
"Of course I care, stupid," he said. "Now come on. Let's get you to your bed."
"'Kay… Up the stairs all the way. It's the only room up there," she said.
"All right," Morty finished, starting up the stairs. Luna remained in the poolroom, watching Espeon closely.
"I hope I can hold it on my own,' she thought.
Later on, Morty was resting in the living room in Goldenrod Gym. Whitney was sleeping, and Luna was still watching the Espeon.
As Morty was about to fall asleep, a knock at the door pulled him back into consciousness. He figured since he was the only one available he should answer it, even though it wasn't his gym. So… he did! ^^
It was Falkner, Bugsy, and Sakura (whom Morty didn't recognize).
"Morty?" Bugsy questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"You should know," Morty said. "Aren't you here for Whitney's stupid party? Well, the party's delayed for a while… Whitney just got attacked by some crazy Espeon."
"Espeon?" Sakura asked. "Is it still here?"
"Yeah… in the poolroom with Luna," Morty said. Immediately, she and Falkner rushed out of the room. Morty looked at Bugsy, expecting her to know.
"Don't ask me," Bugsy said, "let's just go see what they're doing."
"Uh… yeah," Morty agreed, chasing them into the poolroom.
"Nika!" Sakura yelled, rushing into the poolroom. Luna looked at her, and questioned, "Is this Espeon yours?"
"Well…" Sakura started.
"If it is, good job raising it," Luna snapped. "It showed up here with blood on its teeth, and then it attacked the leader of this gym!"
"She's not really an Espeon!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's our friend… oh, it's hard to explain!"
"This is a human?" Luna asked. "How?"
Falkner was about to explain, but they were interrupted when the Espeon's psychic cage exploded in a flash of violet light.
"How dare you try to capture me?" Espeon screeched. "I'm looking for my Umbreon."
"There you go," Falkner said. "I told you…"
"Listen, your Umbreon is gone!" Sakura shouted. "So give back my best friend!"
"Who… the stupid girl who kept me locked in her dreams?" Espeon asked, beginning to glow with a silver aura. "Once I find my Umbreon, and leave this world with him, she will die. And so will the rest of you!"
With this, Espeon released a silver wave of energy through the room, throwing everyone off balance. Sakura felt a pair of strong arms pick her up and carry her out of the room… she was then placed in a corner of another room.
"Fal… Thank you," she sighed, lifting her head up. She leaned forward and kissed him, holding herself up for at least 30 seconds before falling back down, dazed from the blast.
"Um… I take it you're NOT Luna, then," said Morty. Sakura looked up, and saw a face that was definitely not Falkner's.
"Oh my goodness…" she stammered, "I am so sorry!"
"It's all right," Morty said, smiling. "Forget about it. You stay here, I have to go see if everyone else is all right."
"Okay," Sakura said, curling herself up in a ball.
Morty ran back into the poolroom to be blasted by another psychic attack by the Espeon. Luna was trying to hold it back, and Falkner was backing her up. Bugsy had been thrown against a wall, and she lay knocked out on the other side of the room.
"I could use a hand, brother dear," Luna yelled.
"Huh… Oh, yeah!" Morty exclaimed, rushing forward to his sister's side. "You girlfriend's out in the hallway, Falkner," he said.
"Thanks," Falkner said, running to join Sakura. Morty added his power to Luna's, trying to contain the Espeon again. But she was shielded now, and their powers weren't strong enough.
"Fools!" Espeon declared. "You might as well give up, for you will die today anyway…"
Luna dropped to her knees. "I can't do this anymore, Morty…" she said slowly. "I need a milk shake…"
The Espeon smiled, picking Luna up with her psychic powers. Luna was thrown across the room, and she landed next to Bugsy, totally out cold.
"No…" Morty said, looking back at the two girls. He turned to the Espeon and spoke, "This has to stop! You have no reason to be hurting us!"
"Really?" Espeon shouted back, pressing her powers even further as Morty struggled to keep his footing. "Just as I was finally bonded with my Umbreon, we were torn apart! Umbreon was taken to… to someplace far away… and I was kept contained inside this girl's head, like some sort of irrelevance… You expect me to come back and love everyone?"
"Well…" Morty began.
"Yes, thank you for disrupting my eternal sleep," Espeon interrupted. "Thanks for allowing me five minutes with the other half of my soul… and then tearing us apart! I'm so damn grateful!"
"It's not our fault!" Morty said calmly. "You have no right to attack me, and Luna, and Bugsy and Whitney… we didn't do anything!"
"It doesn't matter!" Espeon yelled. "Nothing else matters but finding my Umbreon!"
"Are you looking for me?" said a voice. Espeon turned around… and stared into the cherry-red eyes of a familiar Pokemon.
Whitney woke up in her own room… she was covered with soft blankets, and her neck hurt like crazy. She looked down at her collar to see the bloodstained bandage that lined it like a necklace.
"What the… what is going on?" she questioned. When an answer didn't come, she knew she was alone. "Oh… how dare they leave me here all by myself! How rude!!" So she immediately threw off the blankets that surrounded her and stomped down the stairs, fuming… (Author Note: Oh no, Whitney's mad! Look who's not intimidated…)
The first people Whitney saw when she came downstairs were Sakura and Falkner; they were sitting outside the poolroom, Sakura cuddled in Falkner's lap.
"Aww, how cute is this?" Whitney said rather loudly; Sakura jumped, and Falkner gave her an angry stare. Whitney ignored him, and said, "Where were you when I called your gym? Matt said you weren't home!" (Author Note: Matt is the underling trainer at Violet Gym in Pokemon Stadium 2, so I used him for someone to be there to put up with Whitney's phone call… poor, poor Matt…)
"I was out, chickie," Falkner said. "Remember, I'm training with my friends…"
"Oh YEAH!!" Whitney chirped. "Well, can you tell me what's going on? And where's that crazy Espeon that attacked me?"
"It's in there," Sakura said, pointing into the poolroom.
"Thank you," Whitney said. She started walking…
"I wouldn't," Falkner informed.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped. "I'll go in if I want to!"
Whitney entered the room; Falkner expected to come flying back out, but she didn't. She was fine.
"What…?" Falkner peeked into the room, curious as to what had happened. Espeon was still there but… she was suddenly calm. Then he noticed the other Pokemon standing in front of her.
"Sakura… take a look at this!" he said. She crawled over, looking into the poolroom, and what she saw made her eyes widen.
"Is that James?" she questioned.
"I don't know," Falkner replied. "Let's take a closer look…"
"Umbreon?" Espeon asked, staring deeply into the black Pokemon's eyes.
"You're even crazier than I was," Umbreon said. "I didn't think you really cared that much about me."
"What are you talking about?" Espeon cried. "Of course I care about you! After you put so much effort into trying to find me, I knew we were meant to be!"
"Espeon…" Umbreon ran to his Espeon's side, nuzzling her cheek with his own. As they touched, a golden light shone from between them, and soon the two Pokemon were surrounded with light. Everyone was watching them; Bugsy and Luna had recovered, and everyone was crowded around the two Pokemon.
"Wait!" Sakura called, throwing forward her arm. "If you leave, Espeon, we'll never see our friend Nika again!"
"I'll spare her," Espeon said, turning away from Umbreon to look at Sakura with reassuring eyes. "Don't worry about it."
"Thank you," Sakura said, her eyes tearing as the light around the two Pokemon grew brighter. Suddenly, a bright flash blinded everyone, and when it cleared the two Pokemon were gone. In their place stood Nika, very lost and confused.
"Umm… What happened now?" she asked, looking around. "Where are we?"
"Nika!" Sakura yelled, running to hug her friend. "You're back! You're back!"
"Back? Where did I go?"
Sakura sighed, and began explaining to her what had happened. Everyone else joined in, adding their own parts to the story, and eventually no one could understand each other anymore.
"EXCUSE ME!" screamed Whitney, silencing the room. "Does this have anything to do with MY party? No! So you can all get into the other room right now so I can start!"
There was another long silence; everyone just kind of stood there, staring at her. Finally, they all broke out in laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!" Whitney cried. "Stop being so mean!"
"Yeah, yeah," Sakura said. She jumped forward and pushed Whitney into the pool. "Okay, party's over!"
Everyone laughed louder… everyone except Falkner. He walked to Sakura and whispered in her ear, "You know, she's the next gym leader you have to battle."
Sakura stopped. "…Oh," she said. "Well, whoop-dee-doo."
"You're not scared? I mean, she's a tough girl… probably tougher when she's mad."
"Yeah, well, she needed to cool down," Sakura said. "Come on, let's go to her little party. Come on, Nika!"
"Where am I going now?" Nika asked. Sakura and Falkner laughed.
"Don't worry, Nika," Falkner said. "The Espeon won't bother you anymore."
Nika smiled. "Thanks," she said. "You guys are the best."
And the three of them headed for the living room where everyone else was, while Whitney crawled out of the pool, yelling for Sakura to "come back here!" (Author Quote: Oh no! Not Whitney! Anything but that! *rolls eyes*)
The air at the peak of the mountain was warm and thick. Espeon stood at the highest point, staring out at the sky. "Where… are we?" she asked. "Are we alone?"
Umbreon was lying on a rock a few levels below her, soaking up the sun's rays. "There are others here," he replied. "But… they're down there. We're all the way up here."
"Is this our place?" Espeon asked. "Can we stay here forever?"
"I don't know," Umbreon responded. "But we'll stay here as long as we can, right?"
"Right," said Espeon, jumping down to his level. She curled up at his side and said, "Time to rest. I used all of my energy today."
"I understand," Umbreon said. "Good night."
He rested his head against hers, nuzzling her soft fur. The two slept, dreaming of each other, and their lives that would soon unfold on the island.
The End