Hey, and welcome to my new story. Thanks for checking it out. I do hope that you will like it.
Snow. That's what was falling on the ground. Snow was the sign of Winter. The season of Winter itself hadn't actually come yet, as it was still only November, but it sure felt like it. Of course, Winter happened at a different time for all Pokemon all around the world. It all depended on where they lived. But, for a simple gloom, it started in December.
The said gloom trudged through the snow, leaving footprints behind her. She was shivering because of the cold, holding her hands close to her body. Being part grass type didn't help with the crisp weather much. Looking up, the gloom saw that the snow was falling at a slower rate than it was earlier, which was good.
Still didn't make her feel any warmer though.
All around her, bare trees stood, towering over her like giants. They almost looked like they were bending down to try and grab her. Of course, she knew that's not what they were doing, but she had never gotten rid of that childish, imaginative way of thinking, even after all these years.
Continuing on her trek, the gloom couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety that she had. It was weighing upon her heart just like the snow upon her petals, growing with every passing second. It was a terrible feeling, and if you've ever felt it, you know what it's like.
It's not pleasant.
Speaking of snow, enough had landed on the gloom's head to actually be heavy. She shook it off before continuing on her way.
The partial poison type wondered how much longer it would be until she would reach her destination. She had walked this path many a time before, but not a lot while it was snowing, and never while feeling this nervous, so it felt a lot longer than it actually had been.
But, familiar landmarks finally appeared through the blanket of snow, signaling that the gloom was close.
Indeed, after a few more minutes of frosty travel, the grass type made her way to a small building that was almost hidden by the snow.
Well, 'building' was a bit of an overstatement.
It was really just a small cabin with a domed roof made out of twigs, grass, mud; really anything that could be put together to make an abode with room inside of it.
But, despite its roughness, it had a certain elegance to it that couldn't be explained, and the gloom liked it.
Going up to the door, the gloom took a deep breath and gave the door two good knocks before bringing her arm back to herself to help with the cold.
"Coming," a female voice came from inside the house. After a few more seconds of the gloom shivering, the door was engulfed with a pink light, and then it opened.
The Pokemon who had opened the door was a kirlia. She was slightly taller than the gloom. Both of her hands were across her stomach, almost touching each other, but not quite. The back of her feet were in the air, and she was balancing on the tips of them.
The kirlia exclaimed when she recognized who was at the door.
"Oh, Sarah, I wasn't expecting you; please, come in," the kirlia invited her friend with a bow.
"Thank you," the gloom named Sarah took the offer and walked inside the hut.
The inside didn't look too much different from the outside, to be honest. Except for the fact that it wasn't damp at all, the interior didn't look too grandiose. The walls and roof were made of wood while the floor was just dirt.
Not that Sarah cared at all. Her home didn't look too much different.
Inside the house, it was a bit warmer, but not that much. The kirlia closed the door with her psychic powers, just like how she opened it.
"Wish I could do that," Sarah thought.
Looking at the kirlia, Sarah had always thought that she moved in the most elegant way. She always had the most perfect balance, never falling over or even letting the back of her feet hit the floor.
"Wish I could do that, too."
"You must be freezing. Here, let me light a fire for you," the kirlia offered.
"That would be nice, thank you," Sarah was still shivering from frigid weather outside.
The kirlia put her hands together and formed a small, blue orb in them. Afterwards, she launched the orb at a fire pit that was in the middle of the house. The orb came into contact with the wood inside the pit, and it violently burst into flames, which made Sarah jump a little.
No matter how many times it happened, the fire always at least startled her. Even if she was prepared for it. Maybe it was an internal instinct to be afraid of fire because she was part grass type; Sarah didn't know.
"Please, take a seat while I get you something to eat," the kirlia said. Sarah thanked her, and she went off towards her kitchen to get something for her.
Sarah sat on the ground and took this time to look around the house. There was a small kitchen area near the back of hut where the kirlia had gone. Inside, there was a wooden counter that was hand-made and a stump to keep all of the food in.
Sarah had always thought that it would be so cool to be able to make stuff like the counter, but she had never gotten the talent, and she never had any time to have someone teach it to her, especially nowadays.
Other than the kitchen, not much else was in the house. Two small beds made out of leaves and grass rested in another area with a wooden bucket beside it.
Sarah was so distracted looking around the house that she didn't see the oran berry that was next to her head. Eventually, she looked back and saw the blue fruit hovering next to her with a pinkish light around it. The kirlia had sat down next to the fire and waited for Sarah to grab the berry.
"Oh, sorry," the gloom apollagized and snached it out of the air.
"It's no problem at all," the kirlia said with a large smile. "So, why did you stop by my humble abode this night?"
Sarah took a bite out of the oran berry before she answered. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been. She skipped lunch because of how nervous she was.
"Well…" Sarah let out a sigh. "Grace, I need your help," Sarah admitted quietly.
"Of course. What might you need assistance with?" Grace asked. She took a bite out of her own berry that she had gotten.
"It's…it's about tomorrow." Sarah hated talking about the subject because it made her even more nervous when she thought about it.
"Tomorrow?" Grace asked skeptically. "What about it?"
"You see, my ceremony is tomorrow," Sarah explained.
"Oh, I see. Shouldn't that be a happy thing for you?"
Well…for most gloom, I guess…but…" Sarah slugged through her sentence with a heavy heart. "I…still haven't decided," She finally was able to spit out.
Grace's happy expression turned to a sad one almost instantaneously.
"I see. That is a problem," the kirlia agreed.
"I came here hoping that you would have some advice that could help me decide," Sarah said before scarfing down the last of her berry. She had finished her oran berry before Grace had even taken two bites of her's.
Grace stared into the fire for a few seconds, not looking at Sarah.
For the next several moments, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. The embers went up from it for a half a meter or so, only to disappear out of sight afterwards.
Grace closed her eyes and bowed her head.
"I'm afraid there's not much I can help you with, not this time," Grace said with a somber tone of voice.
Sarah was stunned by this answer.
"Wh-why not?" Sarah asked, bewildered. Grace had always been able to help her with any problem she had in the past. What was different about this time?
"You want my help with your evolution, correct?" Grace asked to make sure they were on the same page.
"Yes, the ceremony is tomorrow."
Grace looked up. "Sarah, evolution is something that you have to decide for yourself. I can't make the choice for you, and you know that."
Sarah nodded. "But I thought you might have some advice to help me decide."
Grace took her second bite out of the berry in her hands. "Well…" The kirlia thought about what to say. "Which one do you think is the most like you?"
"That's the problem! I don't know!" Sarah exclaimed in exasperation. "Sometimes I think that bellossom would suit me best, but at other times, vileplume seems more who I am."
"What do the other members of your clan think?"
"They're as equally divided as I am. I asked all of them for their opinions. Half think I should evolve into a vileplume, while the other half think the exact opposite." After explaining this, Sarah sighed. "I don't want to choose the wrong one, because the one I choose will be what I stick with til the day I die. There's no way to reverse it. That's why it's so hard to decide. What do you think?" she asked.
Grace shook her head. "Evolution is the hardest decision for a Pokemon to make, especially for someone like you, who has a choice. I'm not a gloom myself, so I couldn't help you."
Sarah thought about it some more while the fire keep crackling. "If only I had some more time to decide. Then, maybe, I would be able to make a choice."
"Can you postpone the ceremony?" Grace asked.
"I've already moved it forward twice, and the elders said that it can't wait anymore."
"So that's why you came to me," Grace guessed.
"Yeah…"
"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't believe I can help you. I know you traveled up here for my advice, so I apologize."
"It's alright," Sarah said with clear sadness in her voice that made it clear the situation was anything but that.
"Here, I have an extra bed that I keep around for visitors. You can stay here for the night."
"Thank you," Sarah accepted Grace's offer with a nod.
"Maybe the answer you seek will come to you in your sleep," Grace thought out loud while getting up to her feet. Sarah knew, however, that that was just wishful thinking.
Grace walked over to the bucket that was near the beds and picked it up. "I'm going to go out and collect some berries before it gets too dark. You can feel free to go to sleep whenever you feel like it."
"Right…"
Grace made her way to the door of the hut and opened it with her mind. She walked through the doorway, but poked her head back into the house to say something.
"Sarah?"
"Yeah?" Sarah turned around to face her friend.
"Do what your heart thinks is right," the kirlia said before her head disappeared and the door closed.
"If it were only that simple…" Sarah said to herself.
After a few more minutes of staring into the fire, Sarah decided that it was wise to get some sleep. Tomorrow would come, whether she got some rest or not, and she would rather be recovered for it.
Sarah layed down on the bed of grass and leaves and closed her eyes, trying to forget everything that would happen when she woke up. Eventually, sleep took her.
Sarah was right about the wishful thinking. She didn't dream at all, and if any answers came to her while she was asleep, she didn't remember it.
Currently, Sarah was walking down the forest path down from Grace's house to her village. Grace herself decided to walk down there with Sarah. She, too, wanted to see the ceremony, after all.
No words were exchanged between the two. Grace knew that there was nothing more to say, and Sarah didn't want to talk at all. The only sound was coming from the crunching of the snow under Sarah's feet. Grace didn't make a noise while walking on the snow, her feet barely touching the ground.
"Wish I could do that," Sarah thought.
The way back from Grace's house felt even longer than the road up. But, eventually, the two made their way to the village where Sarah had grown up, and now, where she will evolve into her final stage.
The village, which was usually surrounded by lush green trees, bushes, and the like, now only looked like an empty shell of what it used to be. Then again, come next spring, it would look all glorious once again.
The second that they walked into the village, Sarah could tell something was wrong.
Normally, at this time in the morning, the village would be a lot more lively than it was now. Pokemon would be running around, doing what they needed to do in order to prepare for Sarah's ceremony. Some would be putting up the stage that she would be on, while others needed to get food ready for the feast they had afterwards. Evolution was a big deal, and every time someone was about to evolve, a large gathering was held. There was always singing, dancing, and lots of food.
None of that was present here. No one was running around preparing. No one was celebrating. Something had gone terribly awry, and Sarah could sense it.
As Grace and Sarah made their way through the village passing lots of huts and houses. As they were walking, the two saw a lot of Pokemon in groups, whispering to each other in a quiet enough voice that Sarah couldn't hear any of it. Whenever someone in the groups would see Sarah, they would only glance at her, and then go back to what they were talking about.
"Something's wrong," Sarah finally spoke up.
"I agree. We should find someone who can tell us what's going on," Grace suggested.
After a little bit more walking through the village, the two came upon another group of Pokemon who were also whispering. This group, however, was comprised of only vileplume and bellossom. One of the bellossom heard Sarah and Grace approaching and turned towards them. Her eyes grew wide when she recognized who they were.
"Sarah!" the bellossom exclaimed and ran up to the gloom. The other members of the assembly stopped their mumbling and looked over to her.
"Mother, what's happening here? Why is the village so quiet?" Sarah asked.
"Oh Sarah, it's terrible!" she cried out, on the verge of tears.
"Mom, what are you talking about? What's going on?" Sarah wanted to know.
Finally, Sarah's mother was able to cough out the reason she was so upset.
"They're gone, Sarah-the evolution stones. They've been stolen!"
Thanks for reading. I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I can.