Snowpoint Mountain- An Eeveelution Story
This will be a complete rewrite of my previous story of the same name. I'm doing it better this time around.
Chapter 1: Snowpoint
The city of Snowpoint was as it had always been; cold enough to freeze one to their core, but bustling with life and activity nonetheless. Being a port city, this was a given, but not even the deep snow drifts and icy winds would stop people and Pokémon alike from taking advantage of the unique climate. From specialized training to snow sports, and even just innocent playing, the snow that the city based itself off of provided a steady stream of new people and Pokémon to keep it alive and bustling.
It was in this frigid city that a Jolteon sat in a cardboard box, nestled tightly in several blankets. The bitter autumn cold had already set in and leaving his "nest" for even a few minutes was unappealing. The Jolteon would watch the people and Pokémon walk by the alleyway that he sat in all day and was left mostly undisturbed by them. Though he was a slightly rare Pokémon, many of the town's inhabitants must have preferred the other members of his evolutionary chain to him, because passing glances were the most that he managed to interact with them. This Jolteon hadn't always been a street urchin, however. Once, he had been the pet and partner of a man who had lived in the city. This man had raised him from nearly the time of his birth, to the time that he had evolved, and the two had been as close as a master and Pokémon could have been. However, as time progressed and the man grew, he became increasingly focused on other things, such as starting a family.
The Jolteon's master had met a woman one night and fell deeply in love with her, but the Jolteon did not share his sentiments. Before long, the woman had moved in and stank up his entire life with her scent. The spot on the bed he shared with his master was now occupied. The couch where he enjoyed lazy naps became off limits. The food his master had shared with him started to come from cans and bags rather than the human's plate. The time, love and affection that had once belonged only to the Jolteon was now reduced to bits and scraps of the once unbreakable bond that it had been. And one day, when the woman had angrily swatted him off the couch he was laying on, the Jolteon turned around, bristled his many spikes, and shot the woman's legs with many electrified spines, hospitalizing her for a short while. That very same day, his trainer had wrapped him in several blankets, put him in an old cardboard box, and dumped him in the alleyway where he now sat.
Presently, the Jolteon was gnawing at the remains of his lunch; a few pieces of sausage and some beef scraps that a sympathetic human had been kind enough to throw to him. The ground he ate off of was cold but the meat was still warm, and the warmth spread pleasantly to the rest of his body as he ate. Just as the final morsel had vanished into his mouth and he prepared to return to his makeshift den, a commotion across from his alley caught his attention. Upon further inspection, the Jolteon determined that a fight was going on based on the shouting. However, when he poked his head around the corner, there was only one human flailing around. Pokémon battles were not uncommon, but this human was the only character to be seen.
The Jolteon debated whether or not to investigate further. The situation did not involve him at all, and a sudden breeze tossed his soft yellow pelt around and siphoned the little bit of warmth from his body with its icy kisses, making the blankets behind him look more inviting than ever before. However, he simply felt compelled to move closer to the situation that was unfolding.
As soon as he crept out of the alley, his paws immediately sank into cold, wet snow, but he persisted. The street was barren of anyone else besides this human, but the Jolteon moved as silently as he could anyway, as if being detected was fatal. He closed the gap between the alley and the human in seconds, but each step he took felt like an eternity. However, he stopped short just a few feet behind the human when he saw what he was doing.
The human was not flailing his arms in panic like the Jolteon had originally suspected. Instead, he was kicking the snow in front of him over and over while cursing angrily. In a small mound of snow lay a Glaceon on her back, covering her underbelly and crying out while the human kicked her over and over again. The entire situation baffled the Jolteon. This human couldn't have been her master, masters did not harm their own Pokémon. Why did she lay down and take it, instead of freezing the human where he stood? What could have made this human so mad in the first place?
"Useless!" Screamed the man, snapping the Jolteon back to reality. Now was not the time for questions. He crouched low and growled as golden sparks began to jump from his pelt. His fur turned from its silky relaxed state into electricity-hardened daggers, and no sooner had the man spun around than the Jolteon released the electrical energy he had built. The lightning struck the man square in the chest and sent him flying backwards into the middle of the street, leaving a large smeared imprint on the snow. For a second, none of the three moved. Time stood still until the man, once overcome with anger, became overcome with terror, and ungracefully scrambled to his feet and fled the scene.
The electric Eevee watched him run until his form had faded away into the distance, then turned his attention over towards the lump of snow that held the Glaceon. He approached cautiously, hardly daring to breathe, and peered at her. Despite the man's assault, her chest and sides were bruised but whole, and she didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere. Her breathing was fast but not shallow, and she appeared to be far more stunned and dazed than in actual pain. While he was examining her, the Glaceon suddenly opened her eyes, and her gaze snapped to meet the Jolteon's. When their eyes met, neither spoke. The Jolteon found himself gazing into the frosty Eevee's crystal blue eyes, and nearly drowned in them; in that moment, he had forgotten to breathe.
The sudden screaming of his lungs for air broke the trance that she held him in, and the Jolteon shook his head and bridged the rest of the gap between them, albeit cautiously. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out at first; he felt almost bewitched by this creature. As unsettling as that was however, the situation demanded that he should ignore that feeling for now. "I, uh… I was that… he…" The Jolteon's voice suddenly trailed off. The first interaction he had had with another Pokémon in a while, and he was absolutely blowing it. Finally, he managed an unceremonious "…You okay?" Rather than respond, she simply nodded and shakily rose to her feet. The Jolteon was forced to reconsider his assessment however, because after no more than ten steps, the Glaceon promptly collapsed in the snow.
The easiest thing for him to have done then would have been to turn around and march straight back to his den of blankets. This thought was so repulsive however, that it didn't even occur to the Jolteon until he was halfway to the nearest Pokémon center with the ice-type on his back, and even then, he quickly pushed it out of his mind. Despite how surprisingly warm her body was on his back, it did little to stave off the biting cold that now whipped his body from all sides out in the open. The snow crunched loudly under his paws as he trudged through it as quickly as he could, trying his best not to injure her further. When he finally did arrive, the red and white lights were a godsend to the half-frozen creature.
After stepping through the sliding doors, the change in temperature was staggering. A fire roared in a large stone and brick hearth in the center of the room. Pokémon and people sat around it and on various couches and chairs, talking amongst themselves or to the medical staff. As warmth again flooded his body, the Jolteon quickly made his way over to a Chancey that was stationed behind a counter. When she saw the two of them, her bored expression shifted into one of concern, and she quickly got up from where she sat and approached them.
"I don't really know what happened. She was being kicked by a human over and over when I saw them, and I- "The Jolteon stopped when the Chancey raised a hand to silence him.
"We'll take your report afterwards. Does she have a pokeball?"
The Jolteon shook his head no, causing the Chancey to swear quietly and press a red button on the desk that she had been sitting at. A mere few seconds later, another nurse Chancey arrived with a small gurney and together the pair lifted the injured Glaceon onto it, then quickly wheeled her away into the medical wing of the center, leaving the Jolteon alone.
As he sat by a space heater in an unoccupied corner of the center, the Jolteon groomed himself and decided his next course of action. It would probably be best if he were to return to his den, as the situation was now out of his hands. However, something told him to stay where he was and wait, though that may have been more from the space heater than the thought of the Glaceon he had saved. Having finished his bath, the electric-type moved himself over to a pillow nearby and collapsed on it. He thought about the gaze they had shared, and wondered why it had affected him so intensely. Nothing had ever really impacted him like that before. At least, not to the same degree. He had met plenty of other Pokémon before, but most of that was when he was slightly younger. When he began to mature, his trainer began keeping him more as a pet as opposed to a partner, which meant that the amount of interaction he had with other Pokémon reduced drastically. Perhaps, he thought, that this was just a scientific explanation for why he'd become dumbstruck when a pretty girl looked at him. The Jolteon's normal yellow cheeks turned a warm rosy color.
Some time had passed since they had arrived, because when the Jolteon lifted his head from the pillow, the windows were black from the night. His timing was perfect too, because as he looked around the room, he saw the Chancey from before walking towards him. Standing up from the pillow, he padded along the carpeted floor to meet her.
"First things first, that Glaceon is going to be fine," the Chancey started in a warm tone, much to the Jolteon's relief. "Her injuries were more internal than external, but thanks to you bringing her in so quickly, her treatment was easy and her recovery was fast. Also, we took her statement when she came to, and already passed it on to the police department, so there's no need for you to explain yourself." The Jolteon wondered if he had been suspected of anything, but the nurse continued, "she should be coming out any time now, and if you'll wait a little longer, I think she wants to meet you." He just nodded back at the nurse and thanked her, though as she walked away, he couldn't figure out why she sounded almost bubbly when she mentioned the last part.
Just as the Chancey had said, the Glaceon he had rescued came walking over not long afterwards. Her steps were graceful and so quiet that the Jolteon saw her reflection in the mirror he looked out of before he heard her come from behind him. When he turned around, their eyes locked for a second time, but this time he quickly shut them and offered her a warm smile. This caught the Glaceon off guard, but she sat down beside him and smiled back anyway.
"I wanted to thank you for what you did," she began softly, looking down at his feet. "I don't really have anything to offer you except for an explanation though, so I hope that will suffice for now…" When he remained silent, she took it as her cue to continue. "That guy was my trainer- former trainer. He used to be so sweet and kind to me, but… lately, he became obsessed with battling after a run in with his childhood rival. We began training and fighting over and over again, each time more intensely than the last, but… I just couldn't keep up with his demands." The Jolteon across from her just nodded understandingly. "Earlier today, I just stopped listening. I wanted my old trainer back, I don't even like fighting that much, but he… h-he wouldn't have it." When her voice caught in her throat and her eyes became moist, she was surprised to feel a paw on her lips, silencing her.
"We're more than just their tools or their pets," the Electric type said, his voice as soothing as he could make it. "You don't need to worry about that human anymore." The Glaceon nodded silently as he said that, but she began to tremble ever so slightly. The idea of being alone, abandoned on the streets had terrified her up until that point. The Jolteon picked up on that, so he shifted around the topic. "My name's Jolt," he said, offering her another smile. "What's yours?"
"Snow…" She responded quietly, but looked up and met his kind gaze. It was strange to her, another Pokémon, a total stranger showing her such kindness. "W-Why are you being so nice to me?" she blurted out, catching Jolt off-guard. "You could've walked away or left me there or anything else, but you carried me all the way here and waited around until I recovered. Why is that?"
Jolt really didn't have an answer to her question. "I… I guess I didn't like seeing you getting hurt from one of the bad humans…" Snow realized then that he had probably been in the same situation as her and wondered if anyone had come to his aid. "Anyway, listen," Jolt continued, recapturing Snow's attention. "I, uh… I'm guessing that you won't be going back to that human, will you?"
"Never," came her slightly bitter response.
"In that case… maybe you and I should stick together? It'd probably be a lot easier on both of us if we worked together… or something…" Jolt glanced up at her, waiting for her reply, but he felt his heart sink when she remained silent. 'Yeah, of course not Genius. You met her a few hours ago, what were you thinking?' he chastised himself.
"Yeah, you might be right…" Snow said quietly, shattering Jolt's negative thoughts. "But I don't want to live on the streets, around the humans. I want to be wild again."
Jolt paused for a moment. He knew nothing about surviving in the wild, having been around humans since he had hatched. Still, the thought of returning to his tiny mound of blankets alone again was even less appealing. He hadn't realized just how starved for attention he was until he thought about being alone again.
"If you'll let me tag along, Ill follow you," Jolt finally said. He hoped he wasn't pushing things too fast with someone he really didn't even know, but when he looked back at Snow, she was beaming at him. Jolt had never seen a cuter smile… wait, what?
"Snowpoint Mountain." Snow said, confidently. "Let's go there and carve something out for ourselves."
Jolt just nodded, trying hard to hide the blush that was once again forming in his cheeks. And just like that, the two of them stepped out into the icy night. The wind had stopped, and a light snow had begun to fall, reflecting the millions of city lights in each tiny flake. The distant sounds of the inner-city bustle echoed through the streets as they walked together, Snow in the lead, and talked about their old lives and their hopes for their new ones. In the distance, Snowpoint Mountain loomed, its icy surface turned to silver by the moonlight.