Hello, this is something that has been in my head for quite a while, A VERY LONG WHILE. Like, for five years and I finally thought, 'hey I have a fanfiction account, why not write it down?' I have like, a million stories going right now and I'm dead smack in the middle of exams but this chapter practically was writing itself so I just thought, 'meh, I'll post it.'
Although this is a type of mystery dungeon story, there will be some differences, like pokemon that evolve through human intervention won't be naturally popping up in the wild, meaning pokemon that evolve through friendship with humans or trading.
I stumbled through the forest in a daze overwhelmed by the emotions consuming me, pain, confusion, forlornness. It had been a week and yet these dark feelings still continued to engulf me. Others don't realize this, but it is difficult for us dark types to fight these kinds of thoughts and emotions that are a part of who we are by nature.
Taking a breath I tried to push it all down. I focused on my paws one moving after the other. I listened to the quiet swishing of the patches of grass and the snapping twigs beneath me. For a moment, one blissful moment I felt empty. It wasn't quite happiness but not sadness either. Then the memories came back of his face. My partner, my trainer, my human.
That was just the problem, he was human, and humans grow up too fast. I suppose being a Pokémon Master was just a silly childhood dream to him, one that most kids outgrow, but it was a silly dream that I had dedicated my life to.
I had lived for the battles, and trained tirelessly in the past just for a glimpse of his megawatt smile or for a simple pat on the head. It was the single happiest moment I had ever had that night when I, as his Eevee, brought down his rival's Charmander and he picked me up and hugged me in joy. That was also the night I became "Umbreon".
Those memories ran through my head like an old movie reel and that was exactly how they felt, impersonal, detached, I was simply sitting in the audience of my head and could only wonder if that really had been me. The pictures were getting fuzzy, unreal and off coloured, there wasn't even the illusion of warmth to them.
Happy memories just seemed fake now. To take their place was the much more recent ones. Me sitting alone in his room listening to the tv from downstairs and her soft giggles. Then me alone in the backyard training my skills for the day he decides to finally journey through victory road. I was always alone since she was scared of me you see, his girlfriend was. Most would be of my glowing red eyes, black fur and sharp claws.
It's funny I had never actually seen myself as a monster before, I was just his pokemon. No different from the Chansey in the pokemon center or his girlfriend's stuck up Delcatty. I was different though, I was only good for battles and wasn't the type of pokemon people keep simply for company or companionship. Really I didn't do much to make her like me, so it was partially my fault when it came down to the "it's me or her" situation in which he turned around and gave her the ring.
I had been mad at her since she was always in the way, he had stopped training or watching battles on the tv preferring to spend time with her. I realize now after being released that all I had ever wanted was to be by his side, it didn't have to be battles, I'd be his pet if I needed to, I'd play with his kids provided they weren't too scared of my appearance. Heck, I'd even go into one of those sissy pageants Delcatty always participated in if it would make him happy.
I didn't even get to say good bye, not that a human would ever understand my words. Releases are highly impersonal and done through a machine which suddenly transfers you somewhere. I was in a forest. That's about all I knew. It seemed to stretch on forever too, like in those nightmares you experience in battles against ghost types.
Obviously wherever I was, I was very far from any kind of civilization and I was at a complete loss. I was born in captivity and wasn't exactly sure how to survive in the wild. Not that I cared, it was hard to care about anything. The ache in my chest was far worse than the hunger aches in my stomach. I was vaguely aware of my fur losing its characteristic shine, and my glowing rings seemed to become duller every night.
The sun was rising so I collapsed under the shadiest looking tree I could find. It would have to do.
Nestling twice I let sleep overtake me.
There was a prodding at my nose. I let it twitch once and hoped whoever it was, that they'd have the intelligence to know to walk away and not to wake up a dark type during the day.
"This is the Pokémon I was talking about." Said a young voice.
"Oh my, you're right she does look awfully sick." A very old a grizzled voice spoke up this time.
I let my eye open up a fraction, they were looking at one and other and did not notice I was now awake. It was an Eevee and a Kadabra. Wild Pokémon by the look of it. I suppressed a growl. It was natural for trained and wild Pokémon to dislike each other even if, technically, I was wild now too I did not want anything to do with those barbarians.
"What should we do?" The Eevee squeaked. The Kadabra turned to look at me so I shut my eye.
"Well we could take her to my clinic or-" He began
"We could turn around and leave her the heck alone." I growled not bothering to even look at them.
There was silence, they were probably shocked. "It looks like she does not wish to be disturbed." The Kadabra told the Eevee.
The Eevee made a sound of protest but ultimately sighed and mumbled an "alright." Then I heard their steps receding away. I sighed and readjusted myself to go back to sleep.
I hadn't slept long before there was a prodding at my side again. "Hey, hey, wake up!" It was the Eevee's voice. I glared at her.
She stumbled back in surprise, "Oh my, what red eyes you have!"
"All the better to see you with." I said quoting the story about the little girl with the red hood and the Mightyena. The reference was lost on the wild eevee.
"Okay." She said slowly and then she grinned wide, "I bet you're super hungry! I brought you an apple!" She dropped it in front of me unceremoniously.
I was about to tell her that I did not in fact feel like eating and I'd rather just be left to die but there was something in her excited gaze that stopped me. That really was not anything to say to a kid so I just mumbled "Thanks."
She grinned even wider which showed off each of the little teeth in her mouth. "Okay! I have to go do some chores for my brother, then I'll be back okay?" She asked.
I opened my mouth to respond but she was already gone. I just blinked, she sure was energetic. I didn't think that I had made any sign that I wanted to be her friend but I merely shrugged and looked down at the apple. I wasn't hungry. My stomach gurgled in spite of me. Maybe I was a little hungry. I wolfed it down ending my little hunger strike.
The world seemed just a little brighter when I was no longer half-dead from starvation. I looked around curiously, I hadn't really been up in the day for a while, not since I was released anyway. I had figured it made more sense to move around at night being naturally nocturnal but sometimes a bit of sunlight wasn't so bad. I looked at my dirty fur as if seeing it for the first time and began to clean myself not stopping until some of the old shine returned.
All that was left was to sit and think. There was nothing to think about though but him. I desperately returned to cleaning myself."Is something wrong?" The Eevee was back, I was surprised she snuck up on me. My instincts were already dulling.
"That was fast." I said.
She looked down and if her face wasn't covered in fur I would say that she'd be blushing shyly. "I did them superfast so I could get back faster."
"Why are you wasting your time with me?" I asked the kid.
"I don't have lotsa friends in town." She admitted shyly and then her eyes sparkled, "Plus I've never seen a pokemon like you before and I've seen LOADS of different pokemon!"
It made sense, an Umbreon is evolved by an inseparable bond between human and pokemon. Inseparable meaning usually the trainer doesn't leave it in the middle of a forest after seeing some skirt. Something she said caught my attention, "town?" I asked, "There's a town nearby?"
She looked at me funny and giggled, "of course! We're, like, right outside it." I sniffed the air but couldn't make out the familiar scent of humans or gasoline. I let my ears pick up instead but could only make out pokemon sounds. "Really?" I asked sceptically.
She giggled, "Well duh, I didn't lie." She nudged me again, something she really seemed to like to do. "Come one I'll show you around!"
I got up curiously and followed her. "I'll introduce you to everyone!" She babbled, "oh and you should meet my brother! He's super strong and he explores to lots of places! I bet he's seen a Pokémon like you before!"
She hopped into the undergrowth and I followed wordlessly, we emerged a moment later. I blinked unprepared to what lay ahead, "everyone in town is… a pokemon?" It wasn't quite large enough to be a town by human standards. Huts and structures made of various natural materials filled the plains. All around pokemon of entirely different types and species intermingled. Some even appeared to be operating shops.
She laughed, "Well of course what else would we be? Humans?" At that thought she fell to the ground and rolled in laughter.
"There aren't any humans?" I asked.
She stopped and looked at me, assessing how serious I was, "Um, no. Not for a very long way." Her head tilted, "Actually I've never met one before but old man Kadabra has." She attempted a sinister smile which she did not pull off, "They say that they have all sorts of weird items and enslave Pokémon."
I was not frightened by her "scary story."
"Good little pokemon should never get to close, they take you from your families and then they brainwash you into fighting other brainwashed pokemon." She continued.
"ENOUGH!" I snapped. I did not appreciate the way she looked down or the art of pokemon training.
She whimpered, "Why are you so mad?"
I didn't answer just pushed on ahead, She followed timidly. The pokemon in town each eyed me strangely. I glared back, fur raising on my back threateningly. You can't trust wild pokemon. My sharp sense of hearing let me pick up the gossip trailing behind me.
"A new pokemon in town."
"A dark type it looks like, that can't be any good."
"What is she? Did you see those eyes?"
I stopped listening and forced my ears to angle away. I was not being warmly received. The Eevee could tell I could hear them and she tried to distract me suddenly bubbly again. "Come to my house!" She lead me to a bush which I found upon entering was hollowed out and dug under to make an actually somewhat-impressive burrow.
The leaves rustled as we entered, Eevee looked back excitedly "Come on, come on!" She lead me into a larger room with moss and leaves covering the center. She sat so I did the same. She chattered excitedly about anything and everything and I just watched her occasionally nodding or mumbling a response. I wouldn't say it out loud but I was beginning to like her, she was the embodiment of who I used to be back when I was an Eevee.
There was another rustling back at the entrance and both of our ears perked. "Eevee?" A female voice called, "I'm home!" The Eevee shot out of the room in a blur of brown, "MOM!" She shrieked.
I listened calmly from the room as Eevee chattered on rapidly to the other pokemon. All the while the voices got closer indicating that they were both coming back into the room.
The other pokemon was a vaporeon who froze upon seeing me, her deep black eyes peering into my scarlet ones a little curiously and as I could detect, a little cautiously.
"Are you a friend of my daughter's?" She asked.
"We met outside." I answered truthfully.
The Vaporeon glanced at the Eevee in question with some irritation. "What did I tell you about bringing home strangers?" She scolded, then, remembering I was there she turned back before Eevee could protest.
"So you're new in town." Said the Vaporeon, "Or at least I've never seen you before."
"Just arrived a while ago." I agreed.
Eevee looked nervous from the tension. "So mom how was your trip?"
"Trip?" I asked deciding to at least attempt to be social.
The Vaporeon smiled and finally settled down into the moss, "Oh I went to the ocean, it is wonderful this time of year!" She glanced down at her daughter endearingly, "Now if only this one decided to become a Vaporeon as well, I'd have someone to go with."
The Eevee rolled her eyes, "I haven't decided yet, I wish you three would get off my case." She turned to me to explain, "I'm an Eevee so I have more than one possible evolution, my mom's a Vaporeon- a water type and my dad's a Flareon- a fire type."
The Vaporeon sighed, "And her brother chose to become a Jolteon, such a shame I had always hoped to take him out to the water with me."
"A Jolteon is an electric type!" Eevee told me. I looked back at her in confusion, I knew all this very well and wondered why she was telling me.
"There's too many choices!" She continued putting her paws to her head, "And all three of them want me to become their evolution, but I don't want to choose one of them and make the others sad."
"Then be something else." I answered simply.
"Like stay an Eevee?" She asked.
"Or become a different evolution." I said.
"But there's only three." She said staring at me in interest.
"I know of at least seven." I responded. "And I'm living proof of that, I'm Umbreon, the dark-type Eevee evolution."
Both pokemon looked at me in shock, then, the Eevee squealed, "Another Eevee evolution!" She jumped on me in excitement. "I knew there was something familiar about you."
The mother eyed me carefully, "What kind of thing did you have to do to become a dark type?" I didn't really blame her for being apprehensive, I could see how it would certainly seem suspicious to say the least. Not to mention dark types have a very bad rep.
I looked back at her silent for a moment, "From loving someone with all my heart" I answered truthfully and I could feel my heart break once more.