A/N I'm sure some of you older readers have noticed that I am editing this entire fic. Well, I hope you like the change. And yes, some things don't make sense. Excuse me while I time travel backwards and have a long talk with Younger Me.
Evening. The Sun started to sink below the horizon. Evening bird Pokémon sang their melodies, sweet and full of joy, a welcome addition to the stifling summer air. In the midst of all this, three dark shapes slipped out of the shadows.
On closer inspection, one could tell that these were Pokémon of the same family, how similar certain features were. They moved with the grace of a fox, silence of a cat, and the bravery of a canine.
The blue fox-like creature stopped dead in her tracks, raising her face to the setting Sun. Aqua-coloured ridges ran down her back, and from her forehead and sides of her head sprouted fins, with thin cream webbing inside. The Vaporeon's split tail was curled up, holding an egg and serving as an extra paw.
She sniffed, looking for familiar scents. Her little nose quivered. "That way," she commanded. Evidently she was the only one of the trio that knew where she was going.
"Where are we going?" huffed the yellow Pokémon, struggling to catch up with her. The Vaporeon was unusually fast, and although he was an Electric-type, years spent in captivity hadn't done him any good where training was concerned. His Nopelt had caught him to keep as a pet, and so, over the years, he had grown somewhat fat and lazy.
Until one winter day when the beautiful Vaporeon had stumbled into his home, nearly half-starved then, unable to find any rich pickings in the snow, thin ribs showing through, but still pretty nonetheless. He recalled his first meeting with Rei, the Water-type holding his gaze determinedly, apologizing in a stiff dignified manner.
He had tried to get her to stay. "My Nopelt will be sure to bring you some food. Look at you, all fur and bones."
"I'm sorry, but I must refuse," Rei had replied flatly. "I am a creature of the wild. I do not accept food from Nopelts."
"But how will you get through the winter?"
"I'll find a way. This isn't exactly the first winter I have been through."
She had turned away from him, slender paws hardly making any sound as she padded along the hard wooden floor.
"Wait!" He had jumped to his feet. "Could you...maybe come back here again?" When Rei had given him a disdainful look, he lowered his ears and steeled himself. "I...I haven't met anypoké else. Maybe we could be friends."
But, oh, no. He hadn't wanted to just be friends.
"The Viridian forest, Voltheo." Rei's voice cut into his thoughts now. He stood now, on the grassy expanse. His yellow paws tingled.Freedom! It's been so long! It wasn't only his newfound free will, but he would not rather have any other Pokémon to experience it beside. Rei was his mate now, and trotting behind them was Nyroc, his little son. His heart swelled with pride.
"Okay, I'll slow down. After all, you were a Nopelt's monster once." There was laughter in Rei's black eyes. He loved those eyes, just as he loved every single thing about her. Those black eyes, tinted with just a hint of violet.
Voltheo gently cuffed her ear. He had to admit the water pokemon was right. It was going to take some time to rebuild his muscles and increase his speed again. He stared back at his Nopelt's fence, a reminder of his past life. Not my Nopelt anymore, he reminded himself. A pang of anguish stabbed his heart. He still sometimes wondered if he should have left his old Nopelt, who had only shown him love and affection. He felt somewhat guilty.
Down by his legs, the Eevee began to wail much for guilt. "Dad, how much longer? My feet feel like a pile of bonemerangs!"
Voltheo licked the brown pokemon's long ears. "Rei?" The water pokemon's eyes glinted. "Soon, Nyroc. It's just over this grass now, and past that city over there."
The Electric-type looked back at the Nopelt's house he had left. Nyroc had lived in that house too, if only for a little while.. The Nopelt had named both of them, and leaving him felt as if the great Arceus had been stricken down overnight, never to watch over all Pokémon again.
Voltheo missed his familiar apricornball and his comfortable bed. On the other hand, he remembered what it felt like in the wild, and the early frustration of being cooped up in that red apricornball that his former Nopelt had used to catch him.
When Nyroc had hatched, Voltheo had brought his son to his Nopelt for a name. The Nopelt had assumed the young Eevee was his friend back then. The Jolteon shook his head, shaking out his wild spiky fur. What good would reminiscing about the past do him? It would only cause him more guilt. Anyway, he had a family now. They needed him. He could not live with a paw in both worlds. And soon, he would have another Eevee.
As if on cue, the egg started shaking. "Looks like it's hatching," gasped Rei, who was a knowledgeable mother, setting the egg down carefully on the grass.
"It's gonna explode!" wailed Nyroc, who knew nothing about Pokémon eggs and their hatching.
The egg kept shaking, its shell cracking. A Eevee's small head poked through it. His eyes shined with a curious light, the look of the newly-hatched taking in the surroundings of this new world.
"It's a boy," said Rei in a hushed voice.
The Eevee shook its ears and peered up at his parents and brother. "Ee," he squeaked. Newborn Pokémon could only speak their names, until they learned to talk.
"Look, Nyroc," said Voltheo, nosing the slightly larger Eevee towards his older brother, "It's your new baby brother. Say hello!"
"His name is Takashi," added Rei. Takashi was a rather popular male Pokémon name in the Kanto region.
Nyroc stared at Takashi, his eyes emotionless. Somehow he hadn't realized that the egg would contain his new sibling. Slowly he stood up on all fours.
"Hello, Takashi," he hissed with such utter contempt, amazing for a four-week old Eevee. Had his parents heard, he would have certainly received a hard tail-slap from Rei and a glare from Voltheo. But no, this small creature was amazingly calculative for his age, intelligent beyond his young age.
"Welcome to the world."
