All for an Eevee
Written By Zachary (Nidonemo), for Jenn.
The late afternoon sky began to turn a slight orange, the day had been very hot and two traveling Pokemon trainers wandered close to an abandoned warehouse. Friends from trainer college, they had been on the road for a few days now, sleeping in various small hotels, and training their Pokemon in a new art they had designed called "Combined Attack Technique". Today they are exploring the abandoned town of Thistleroot, and hot on the trail of an injured Eevee they tracked to an old warehouse.
The large steel door was stubborn, and screeched as it scraped the floor under its rusted frame, Zach and Jenn grunted with great effort as they forced it open just a few more inches, sparks flying from the steel bottom. At last the door was open wide enough and the two trainers slipped through.
"You're certain you saw the little guy come in through here?" Jenn asked, looking around, her eyes adjusting to the light.
Zach gazed around, rubbing his eyes and looking about the huge warehouse himself.
"Absolutely positive I saw him limp in here...poor thing must be hurt pretty badly." he said, walking slowly forward.
Jenn followed close behind Zach, the warehouse was gigantic and very dark except for the dim light streaming in through the filthy windows. Assorted machinery and large stacks of metal crates took up the majority of the space inside. Dirty and damp cardboard boxes lined the sides of the warehouse, along with metal pipes winding everywhere as well as running across the ceiling. Jenn looked along the floor and wrinkled her nose, the light smell of mold and Pokemon droppings hit her nostrils, she spotted a dead Pidgey in the corner and gagged.
"Oh nasty...there's a dead Pokemon over there..." she said, covering her mouth.
Zach looked up and spotted it, sighing.
"Ahh, that's unfortunate. Sometimes bird Pokemon get trapped in large buildings. They find an open window and fly in, but then get confused and starve to death because they can't find their way out again." he said sadly. "A friend of mine that lives in Saffron City told me the same thing happened when they moved the martial arts dojo, and couldn't find a renter for the original building for like, two years."
Jenn shook her head, but kept looking around the old warehouse. The two trainers wandered in different directions, investigating their surroundings.
"What did you say this town was called again?" Zach asked, checking behind an old rectangular machine with back lit buttons, now dark with no power.
"Thistleroot Town." Jenn answered, not looking up from an old cardboard box.
Zach paused and thought hard. Something in the back of his head told him that name held some significance. He shook it off and kept searching for the lost Eevee, certain that it would come to him in time.
At the other side of the warehouse, Jenn shoved a large piece of sheet metal out of the way and found an array of rusted tools discarded underneath. Looking up to the dirty windows above, she remembered the Pidgey in the corner. Picking up a wrench she aimed carefully and hurled it upwards, smashing clear through the window frame and shattering open a large hole. The sound of breaking glass startled a hidden cluster of rattata out from under an old pile of boxes, and a sunbeam shot through the hole like an entrance wound, shining into a random corner far behind her.
"What are you doing over there?" Zach called over with a laugh.
"Opening an exit for the birdies!" Jenn answered with a silly voice.
Zach shook his head, smiling and continued searching. Suddenly a small creak in the rafters above made him stop and look up. Dust falling from the beams caught in the sunlight, and he stood silent for a few minutes. Certain it was possibly a Raticate scurrying around, he returned to looking around.
After about ten minutes, the trainers met up once more.
"I can't find the little guy, this place is so big too. He could be anywhere!" Jenn said, placing her hands on her hips.
"I know...hey let's see if-" Zach stopped mid sentence and looked behind him.
Jenn looked too, but didn't see anything.
"What?" She asked, after a moment Zach shook his head.
"...nothing. I just thought I felt someone behind me. God that freaks me out..." he said shivering.
Jenn reached to her belt and grabbed a Pokeball that was hooked to it. She raised it and pressed the small button on the front with her index finger. As the ball snapped open a burst of light came forth and splashed onto the floor, forming into a small lumpy shape. The light faded and a small purple Pokemon opened its eyes and twitched its whiskers.
"Hey Rattata, can you check around and see if the other Pokemon in here have seen an injured Eevee? If they find it, can you let them know we want to help?" Jenn asked the small rat Pokemon.
Rattata nodded and scampered off into the darkness.
"Now why didn't I think of that? Hey Oddy, come on out for a sec." Zach said, reaching for his own Pokeball and releasing a small green plant Pokemon.
"Oddish?" the Pokemon asked.
"Can you help Jenn's Rattata and see if you can't get any info on a lost and limping Eevee?" he asked.
The Oddish nodded and waddled off as well. The two trainers looked at each other and smiled. Walking over to the least dirty spot they could find, they sat down and rummaged through their backpacks. Zach pulled out a bottled water and Jenn grabbed a soda, they knocked their drinks together.
"To helping hurt and stubborn Pokemon." Jenn said.
"To making our Pokemon do the work for us." Zach joked.
Jenn laughed and peeled her tab open, Zach twisted off his cap and started gulping his water down. Closing his eyes he leaned back and swallowed mouthful after mouthful of the lukewarm liquid. The bottle empty, he let his arm fall and land on his bag, letting out a loud and crass belch as he did so.
"Nice." Jenn grunted.
A soft creak of metal was heard above them. Jenn looked up, but the sun caught her glasses and she was blinded for a moment. Rubbing her eyes, she looked again, but nothing was there.
A short while later, both Rattata and Oddish returned.
"You guys find anything?" Zach asked, tiredly.
Both Pokemon shook their heads.
"Weird...hey did they even say anything to you?" Jenn asked.
"Ratta..." Replied the purple rat, frustrated.
"Oddy odd, odd." The Oddish added.
Zach closed his eyes and stretched.
"They seemed scared? Didn't want to even stay to talk?" Jenn asked, concerned.
"Well I'm sure it's because-AHHH!" Zach let out a startled scream, but then looked very annoyed. "Rattata! Don't scare me like that!" he scolded, looking upward.
"Rattata's at my feet, Zach...what are you..."
"Wait...what?"
The young man looked over and saw the confused purple rat staring at him from between Jenn's sneakers. He looked back upward and saw what had startled him in the first place, a gigantic pair of red glowing eyes.
"D-don't...move..." he whispered.
Everyone slowly looked up to where Zach was gazing. There was a loud creak and something very large shifted its weight.
"OH SHIT! SCATTER!" Zach screamed.
Without thinking, Jenn grabbed the bags and raced in one direction as fast as she could, Oddish and Rattata darted off in another, and Zach scrambled to his feet and rocketed off as a huge shadow came crashing down on where they were just sitting. Jenn looked behind her but lost her footing and stumbled to the ground, she looked up and yelped.
Zach stopped running as soon as he heard and looked behind him. As he followed her gaze, panic gripped his chest, his eyes scanned the large creature standing over her. Deep gray skin that looked as hard as the cement floor it had just stomped into, rigid spikes lined its back and down to a large tail, and on the front of the snout, a large cream-colored horn.
"RHYDON!" he shouted.
The huge creature snapped its attention from Jenn to Zach in an instant, it let out a loud roar and the horn spun with a vicious buzz like a saw blade. Rearing back on its hind legs, the Rhydon stood up straight and then bent towards the male trainer. With a snarl it took off at high speed, its huge feet thundering over the cement floor. Zach turned and ran for a cluster of machinery, his legs pumping as fast as they could physically go. Dodging pipes and boxes, he reached the cluster, the Rydon charging right behind him as he slipped into the narrow gap and pushed himself as deep as possible between the old machines. The large gray Pokemon slammed into the towers with a loud roar, clawing at the trapped trainer.
"OH GOD! ZACH!" Jenn screamed.
The Rhydon turned his attention to where the young woman stood, his eyes narrowing in the most sinister of glares. Jenn felt a slap of fear in her heart as she begged her body to turn and run.
The Rhydon turned around.
Jenn did her best to keep from panicking, and looked around for a hiding spot, a ladder, a pile of boxes, anything!
The Rhydon bent down and snorted.
She spotted a ladder, but it was so rusted, she knew it wouldn't hold her, or would it? There wasn't any time!
The Rhydon charged.
Jenn raced towards the ladder, she jumped up and caught the lowest rung that dangled just over her head. She pulled herself up, adrenaline pumping in her veins. She reached for the next rung and suddenly there was a rush of air. The ladder snapped. She fell towards the ground and landed on her feet, turning to face the charging Rhydon, she screamed at the top of her lungs. The Rhydon was almost upon her, her vision began to blur, everything seemed to go light blue and purple.
Suddenly two small voices screamed out in unison.
"ODDISH!"
"RATTA!"
The Rhydon slowed down and stumbled forward, losing his balance and crashing to the floor with a loud smash. He had fallen asleep in mid charge, and lay there sedated. Oddy and Rattata leaped out from the scaffolding above and landed in front of Jenn. Light blue dust was clumped on Oddy's leaves and Rattata's tail.
"Jenn! Are you okay?!" Zach screamed as he pushed himself through the gap, poking his head out from between the machines.
She couldn't speak, her heart was racing way too fast for her to answer, her body was so sluggish. She could only look at the alarmed faces of the two Pokemon in front of her, they were frantically jumping up and down, motioning towards somewhere. Her heartbeat was thumping in her ears, and she could barely look in the direction they were pointing, a shadowy corner? She struggled to her feet, not thinking, she wandered in that direction, as her body told her that she needed to go there, her head a fuzzy blur. Then Zach appeared next to her, he was helping her move, soon her hearing returned from the dull hum. She heard her footsteps and remembered why she was running and everything clicked.
"Okay, over here, there we go, keep going." Zach said softly, guiding her into a shallow alcove behind two large dusty computer towers.
They crouched down, and kept silent. The panting slowing to nervous breath, ears straining to hear every sound. There was heavy breathing nearby, it stayed at a usual pace, Jenn looked down to the attentive Rattata and Oddish at their feet, they waited in silence, also straining to hear every movement in the air, leaves rigid, whiskers twitching.
For what seemed like ages, they waited there, hidden in the darkness, hearts beating in fearful silence, muscles cramping slightly from strain to keep still. Then Rattata's whiskers twitched to the left and his ears perked. What changed? Jenn strained to listen, her eyes moving to Zach's face, no he didn't hear it yet. Then it hit her, and her heart beat faster. The breathing had changed.
"He's...waking...up..." Zach whispered as softly as he dared.
A scraping sound, the Rhydon was rising to his feet. A grunt and growl, then quiet. Jenn squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, she prayed to become invisible, to melt into the darkness, to become a shadow, a particle of dust, something small, something so tiny no one would ever see! She prayed to be silent, she wished her heart would stop beating so loudly! The sound of a large spiked tail dragging across the floor, then a snorting sound.
Rhydon was sniffing the air.
Jenn's eyes snapped open. She looked at Zach, who's grip on her shoulders had tightened slightly, he was shaking too. She looked down at Oddy and Rattata, they were just as alert as before, taking in every detail around them. The snorting stopped abruptly. A long intake of air, then a short snort again. Large feet moved across the floor towards them.
Zach squeezed her shoulders quickly three times. Jenn looked up at him, he leaned in close and mouthed something.
"We...have...to..." he mouthed.
We have to? She looked confused.
"We...have...to..." he mouthed again, more urgently.
We have to what? What did "we have to" do?
Zach took a deep breath, slowly let it out through his nose and leaned in to her ear.
"We...have...to...fight." he breathed.
Jenn's eyes widened in fear. She shook her head frantically. She wanted to hide! Zach started to stand up slowly, she pulled at his shirt and frantically shook her head again. He leaned down and hugged her tightly.
"It's okay...I'm scared too. I'll go first, and get him from behind, then you can finish him off." he whispered.
Hot tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to leave the alcove! She wanted to stay and hide in the dark! Zach was already sneaking out, and she felt something pulling her to follow, even though every part of her mind screamed at her to sit. The young man crept out and snuck a peek around the corner, kneeling down he made himself as small as possible and sidled along the wall and out of sight, his Oddish following him. The Rhydon walked around the open warehouse, occasionally sniffing the air, Jenn stood up into a crouch and motioned for her Rattata to keep silent as she ripped every shred of courage she had together and peeked out of the hiding spot.
The Rhydon was only a few meters away, back to her. She spotted Zach sidling along the wall, to the Rhydon's right side on the far end of the warehouse, slowly climbing some stairs, his Oddish on his back. He nodded at her and motioned to keep still, showing her a crumpled soda can in his hand, then to keep her eyes on the Rhydon, Jenn nodded back and hovered her hand over the remaining Pokeballs in her belt.
It felt like hours before Zach came back into view, he was followed by his Oddish, Staryu, and Growlithe. The Rhydon seemed completely oblivious to his presence above him, the trainer motioned for Jenn to stay put and raised the soda can. Jenn took a deep breath and held it as she watched him raise it over his head, take one final breath and then fling it in front of the Rhydon.
The can hit the floor with a clatter that seemed deafening.
As soon as the Rhydon turned his head, Zach grunted and pointed forward, and his Pokemon leaped down behind the horned beast. The Rhydon heard them, but it was too late.
Oddish landed first, hopping into a nearby sunbeam, Growlithe was next, and manuevered behind her, then finally Staryu slipped behind Growlithe.
"RHYYYYYYYDON!" the Pokemon roared, and began to charge.
"STARYU! KEEP IT AT BAY! Everyone else! Begin energy charge!" Zach shouted from the second floor balcony, then waving at Jenn.
As Staryu released a beam of bubbles from its gem, Jenn took that as her cue. She released her remaining Pokemon, a Butterfree and a Raichu. She stood up and faced her team.
"Okay, we're going to rush that Rhydon out there with a final attack when they're done! Got it? The one we've worked on lately, you remember right?" she asked.
Her team nodded firmly and her spirits rose, she felt a wind of confidence enter her chest.
"RHYYYYYY!" screeched the gray giant, trying to shield its face from the harsh slapping bubbles that stung its eyes.
Growlithe's back was dancing with embers, and Oddish's leaves glowed with a sparkling light, just as Staryu's bubblebeam subsided.
"Now! Stars of Sunfire!" Zach barked.
Oddish went first, releasing the pent up energy in her body in a gigantic solar beam attack. Growlithe's eyes shot open and the embers in his fur crackled as he opened his mouth and let loose a mighty fire blast that met with the solar energy in the air. Staryu then released a strong flurry of swift stars that ripped through the air and tore into the combining solar-fire, coating themselves and streaking towards the Rhydon. Each star embedded itself in the Pokemon's chest and exploded upon impact with brilliant flashes. The Rhydon was covered in a flashing cloud of smoke, blood spattered across the floor amidst yowls of pain.
"Jenn!" Zach called out, waving his arms "NOW!"
The young woman ran forward out of the shadows and motioned her team in front of her. Her Butterfree took the far left side, Raichu to the right, and Rattata scampered a foot behind them in the center.
"My Team! Shadow Psychic Shock!" she commanded.
As the cloud began to settle, her eyes fell upon the downed Rhydon, Butterfree began to focus as well as Raichu, there was no turning back now. The Rhydon's body was covered with wounds, some bleeding very badly.
"Rhyyy...don..." it grunted maliciously, its red eyes fierce and bloodthirsty.
Butterfree and Raichu turned and faced each other, the fluttering psychic Pokemon released an intense beam of mental energy as the electric rodent slapped the ground with its tail and shot forth an amazing thunderbolt. The two energies absorbed themselves into each other and hung in the air, a twisting violent cloud of unstable forces. Rattata then frantically began to form a small energy ball of darkness with its paws, whiskers twitching as the ball grew to the size of the Pokemon itself, and just as the cloud began to tear itself apart Rattata hurled the shadowball into the air and slapped it through the cloud with its curled tail. The orb of darkness sucked in the cloud of psychic electricity and rocketed towards the Rhydon, shaking uncontrollably and crackling through the air.
"Forgive us..." she whispered.
The Rhydon was slammed with the attack, letting out a painful roar as its body was shocked relentlessly and torn asunder by the violent combination of forces of darkness and psychic energy. Soon the Rhydon couldn't feel anything, sound seemed to be absorbed into itself and go silent, the last thing it saw was two trainers turning away, just as everything went shades of red, then darkened more, and more, and more. The air stilled, and it felt the world fall away into a chilly darkness.
The horn stopped spinning and slowed to a halt.
Two trainers looked on, the air was silent and no one said a word. Zach let out a long breath and sat down on the floor of the balcony, legs hanging over the edge. Jenn felt her legs slowly give out beneath her, and she fell on her rear, but not taking her eyes off what lay in front of her. The body didn't move anymore, blood began to pool beneath it, the faded eyes looking into infinite space. The Pokemon teams walked up to their trainers and then looked at each other, Rattata smiled and wiggled its whiskers, and Raichu folded her arms triumphantly while Butterfree twirled a little bit.
"Stop that please..." she said.
Her team stared at her, surprised, then looked at Zach's team who all shared the same solemn gaze.
"We don't...celebrate a battle like this." Jenn explained, "He isn't going to be revived at a Pokemon center. He's not going to wake up."
A look of shock and slight horror passed through the Pokemon gathered around her as they looked back at their fallen opponent, the reality seemed to sink in, and tears formed in their eyes. The three Pokemon slowly moved towards the body, and were joined by Zach's team as they approached. Staryu went up to Raichu, Growlithe accompanied Rattata, and Oddish kept close to Butterfree. Zach and Jenn watched as her Pokemon experienced the severity of the situation, but were swiftly comforted by his team immediately, tears formed in her eyes and Jenn started to walk towards the door. Zach carefully climbed over the railing and dropped himself down to the cement floor, also headed towards the exit, but pausing next to the giant. Looking over the aftermath one last time, he shook his head and motioned for both teams to follow him.
The sky was a deep orange when they found an old apartment building, a line of Spearow perched on the dead power lines hanging over the rooftop cawed in the setting sunlight. Jenn sat hugging her knees on the floor in front of their lantern, while Zach checked the cupboards in the kitchen for any scraps of salvageable food. Jenn stared into the flickering electric light in front of her, her mind awash with various thoughts.
"I'm concerned about my Pokemon." she said, finally breaking the silence.
Zach turned from the shelf he was examining.
"I don't want them to think of themselves as murderers." she said, gripping her legs closer.
Zach walked over to her and sat down, putting a gentle arm around her shoulder.
"I will tell my team to explain to yours what happened. They know what to say and how to say it." he told her.
Jenn slowly shook her head.
"We didn't have to kill him...we could have caught him, took him to a Pokemon center..." she said, choking back tears.
Zach sighed and looked around the abandoned apartment, then back at Jenn who had begun to cry.
"No...we couldn't have. It wouldn't have done any bit of good." he said sighing.
"That's a load of bullshit!" she shouted, startling him. "We could have paralyzed him! We could have put him to sleep and caught him! We didn't have to blow him to hell like that!" Jenn screamed, kicking over an overturned trash can and turning her back to him. "We could...we could have saved him!"
A silence drifted back into the room, Zach looked down and put his hands into his pockets.
"I finally remembered what I heard about Thistleroot when I saw that Rhydon." he said, leaning against the wall.
Jenn watched him go back over to the kitchen and rummage through the shelves, she wiped her eyes angrily.
"They said some strange Pokemon was in the area one day, acting really weird, going into spasms, spitting and coughing. Turned out it was infected with some unknown disease. They caught it easily and brought it to a Pokemon Center, but they couldn't save it. They ended up putting it down in the end." he explained, taking down a can of fruit and looking at the expiration date. "They thought that was the end of it, but a few weeks later some kid used the same ball they caught the original carrier with to catch a wild Parasect in the forest. Few days after that the kid let the Parasect out and it just went nuts, swiping at anyone that came near, but before he could put it back in the ball, it released a bunch of spores into the air and died."
"You mean to tell me we're in a contaminated town!?" Jenn shouted.
"No...hear me out." Zach said, shaking his head. "The result was that any Pokemon touched by those spores went crazy, violently insane, and any Pokemon they scratched or slashed went crazy too. It was transferred by blood contact. The whole ordeal was so chaotic they just evacuated and left the town here. I bet that Rhydon was released as a last ditch effort to quell the whole thing, but it got infected too and they gave up and retreated, leaving it behind."
Jenn looked outside and shivered, thoughts of insane Pokemon coming through the window entered her head.
"I'm certain that Rhydon was the last carrier. Being so large I have no doubt it annihilated any other infected Pokemon that dared to come close. He was suffering..." he trailed off, gazing at the can in his hands. He looked up at Jenn who caught his gaze. "We put him out of his misery." he said, a tear falling from his cheek.
Jenn felt all the anxiety, fear, stress and sorrow burst into her chest. She raced over to Zach and hugged him close, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Let it out..." he said, barely able to keep his own emotions at bay.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't want to kill you! I wanted to save you! You didn't do anything wrong! It wasn't your fault! Oh my god!" she screamed into his chest between sobs.
"He understands...he can sleep now." Zach said, rocking her in his arms.
That morning the two trainers gathered up whatever they could find for food and left the apartment building. Jenn looked out into the clear blue sky and breathed deeply, letting the breezy air into her chest as they walked down the empty street. She reached for her belt and released her team, Zach did the same. As soon as they were out, they gathered into a circle and everyone sat down.
"Now, what we experienced yesterday was very tragic." Zach started, the Pokemon nodding in agreement. "However, that Rhydon was very, very sick, and today he is no longer suffering. Jenn and I had to make a very serious decision yesterday, and we want you to know that you helped that Pokemon. We all helped put him out of his misery and suffering. He is gone today, but not forgotten." the trainer announced.
Each of the Pokemon looked to the other and then back at the trainers. They seemed to all understand.
"We also want you guys to know that we love you very, very much. You are not murderers. We commanded you to do what you did in order to help stop the suffering of someone, not to prolong it or cause it." Jenn added.
Again, the Pokemon understood.
"Good. Now today we need to help save someone else. This Pokemon is injured, but we can help him live. You all remember the Eevee we were looking for yesterday?" Zach asked standing up and dusting himself off.
Raichu's ears perked and she leaned to her left, looking behind Jenn into the street. She pointed with a paw.
"Raichu?" she asked.
Zach, confused, looked to where she was gesturing and his mouth dropped.
"You have got to be kidding me..." he said breaking out into a smile.
Jenn looked as well and grinned.
"Why hello there, sweetie!" she cooed.
There, standing alone in the dusty street was the Eevee, left foreleg held upward off the ground, looking curious and a little scared. He limped a few steps forward and tilted his head.
"Vee?" he seemed to ask.
Without a second thought, Jenn's Rattata slolwy walked forward, a friendly smile on his face, and met with the Eevee. He sat down and grinned.
"Ratta!" he replied.
Jenn stood up, walked over and knelt down.
"Hello, my name is Jenn and we would like to help you out. Would you like to join our family?" she asked.
The Eevee thought for a moment, looking at all the friendly and warm smiles gazing back at him, then looking behind at the abandoned town and the warehouse in the distance. The Eevee then looked back at Jenn and grinned. Reaching back into her bag Jenn took out a fresh Pokeball and tossed it high into the air, it reached the peak of the throw and fell back down, snapping open and turned the Eevee into a white light, sucked it inside and snapped shut.
The ball landed softly in her open hand and she looked at it, soon a soft tone emitted from the red and white sphere and she smiled.
"I'll take care of you. You have nothing to worry about now." she said to the Pokeball.
END