She can't be dead… she mustn't be! Azure the Vaporeon gently nudged his trainer's limp body. No! I refuse to admit it… we are just walking here together… and she fell to the ground… no…
The memory flashed in Azure's mind… the two of them running along in the forest. "Wait up, Azure!" called Lisa to the running Vaporeon.
"Gotta catch me, Lisa!" he called to her, which probably came out as, "Eon!"
Then he didn't hear her voice for about a minute, and he slowed down. Lisa? Where are you? He had hesitantly turned around, sensing something was very wrong. He could feel it in the wind. He padded back cautiously, careful for anybody that had perhaps attacked his beloved trainer. Lisa wasn't careless. She had Arvon and Leon and Ellie. But this was different… this wasn't something he could have prevented; he could sense it. Then he had stepped into the sunny clearing. With a gasp, he ran under his unconscious trainer's arm.
"Lisa!" Then he was pulled into the present, still resting under his trainer's cold touch. He felt it; she was gone. Her body provided none of the warmth he had known before, and he arms hung limp, her elbow digging into his side uncomfortably. "Lisa… what happened?" he whimpered, feeling lost. Did I cause this somehow? Could I have stopped her from dying? But he knew what Lisa would say; Don't blame yourself, Azure. The same thing she said whenever they lost. It's my fault. He expected she would have said a similar thing today… if she hadn't died, he thought bitterly. He pressed his head against his trainer's chest, checking for heartbeat just in case. But her chest was as cold as the rest of her body, and it was evident her soul had moved on. Goodbye Lisa, he thought, tears welling in his eyes. He knew what must be done.
Pshhk. Pshhk. Pshhk. With moderate difficulty, Azure released his three companions from their Pokeballs.
"Alright Lisa, what do you… want…?" Arvon, an Arcanine engulfed himself in flames, before seeing their trainer's limp body. "Lisa?" He gently nuzzled her cheek. "Lisa? Are you okay?"
Leon, a Pidgeot, flew onto their trainer's back, and stared at the Vaporeon accusingly. "What the fuck happened, Azure?" he asked.
"Calm down, Leon… don't get mad at him." Ellie the Liepard walked to their trainer, concern in her eyes. "What happened, Azure?"
He gulped. "I… well, I ran ahead a little bit… and we were racing through the woods. Then she started falling behind, and when I came back… well, she was… gone…"
The three of them looked at him, with different expressions. Arvon's face was horrified, Leon's disbelief, and Ellie's distraught.
"N-no. How could it have happened? Was she attacked while you were gone, Azure?" asked Arvon.
"OBVIOUSLY!" yowled Leon. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU KILLED LISA!" The bird pokemon flew at Azure, and pinned the Vaporeon's neck to the ground. "FUCKER!" Could it be my fault? Could this all be because I ran ahead a bit?
"Get off of him!" He heard Ellie's shriek, and felt her push the flying type off of him. "Look, Leon! Do you see any stings? Bites? Blood? No! I see absolutely nothing! It can't be Azure's fault! He's our leader!"
The three looked at him, all of their faces filled with sadness; even Leon's. "What should we do now?" asked Arvon, pulling his cheek off their master's. "What do you say, Azure?"
"I…" He sighed, knowing what he had to do. "I release you all."
All of them nodded slowly. Leon sighed, seeming to have relaxed. "I suppose it couldn't be your fault, then…"
"You three, I want you all to go out into the forest. I want you to do what Lisa would have wanted you. Find mates, reproduce, be happy…"
Then the four of them got ready to part with their trainer. "Lisa… I'll miss you, master." Arvon gave their trainer a lick, then moved to the side. His eyes were teary.
Leon nuzzled her cheek. "Oh Lisa… I'm so sorry for never listening to you… but we loved you. Thank you." He flapped away, eyes unusually somber. He noticed a single tear drip from the aggressive bird pokemon.
Ellie was next, and she gave their master a lick affectionately. "Lisa… thanks mother." Ellie had been abandoned, and Lisa had taken her in. Tears fell again.
Finally, Azure stepped up. He felt tears drip down his face. "Lisa… goodbye, dear friend." He let out a shaky sigh, then stepped back.
"Azure… goodbye buddy." Arvon twined tails with the Vaporeon, who nodded sadly. "Maybe we'll meet again… who knows."
Leon sighed. "Look, bro. I'm sorry we never really saw eye to eye… but, hey, you're still my bro." The flying type wrapped his wings around Azure. "See you around, blue."
Finally, Ellie stepped up. Her teary eyes didn't hide a grin. "I used to have a crush on you, ya know."
He chuckled. "Yeah. I sort of knew."
She twined her tail with his, and gave him a quick kiss. "You go and have lots of babies, okay handsome?"
He smiled for the first time in awhile. "You too, Ellie. Maybe we'll see each other again."
The four stepped away from each other. Leon was first to move, quickly flying off with a final glace at his trainer's body before disappearing. Ellie and Arvon both shot one final, sad glance at Azure before running in separate directions. Azure sat down next to their master's body, unsure of what to do next. His friends had all seemed so confident… but they had all stayed in the wild before. He had not. He never remembered anything before Lisa. In fact, he doubted he had been born in the wild. He looked at their trainer's body, which was growing paler. What should I do, Lisa? How do I find a mate? How do I mate? How do I hunt?
He heard rustling bushes behind him, and whipped around. "Who are you?" he head a voice ask cautiously.
"I-I am Azure…" He slowly stepped back. He readied an Ice Beam, anticipating some grass type.
"Oh, don't get aggressive now, Vaporeon. I'm an eon too."
He gasped as a pretty Espeon stepped out of the bushes. "You seem sad," she commented, before gasping. "Oh my! A-a human! How did she get here?"
"She-she was my trainer. Lisa."
She tilted her head. "A trainer? Oh. So you're a 'captured' one."
He glared at the pink female. "You sound rather disgusted."
"Well, I've never met one before," she said before sitting down, and swishing her tail, before smelling him.
"Do you mind?" he said, pulling away.
"You smell different, even."
"You know, my trainer just died, and I'd appreciate some room right now."
She looked at the human's body, realization in her eyes. "Oh my, you're right… she's… passed on…" She bowed her head to Azure. "I'm so sorry…"
He sighed. "It's fine. It's not your fault." He got up, and gave Lisa one last kiss before walking away.
A few moments later, he felt the Espeon walking alongside him. "So… I mean, Azure… what do you plan on doing?"
"I don't really know- hang on, I never got your name…"
"Sola. You know, like the sun." He looked at her, and she smiled back at him. He realized he hadn't thought about their trainer for awhile. "But, anyways… well, what do you plan on doing?"
He stopped. "I told you, I don't-"
"No, I mean like, what are you going to eat? Where are you going to sleep?"
He paused. "Well… I…" He flattened his fins in embarrassment. "I don't know…"
"Well… so you're walking off, trying to make it look as if you have somewhere to be when you don't." She sighed. "Males. Believe it or not, Azure, I'm actually in a similar predicament. My parents just kicked me out of the house… I need to find a den too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I know how to hunt… you know, if you're that incompetent."
"Hey! I'm not incompetent… just, well, domesticated."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Look, I was wondering if you'd like to den with me until, you know, you find something better to do."
He realized that this female was going to help him den and hunt for him. Plus it didn't hurt that she looked pretty cute. "Sure."
She smiled at him happily. "Good. Now sit here patiently why I go and get us some food." She turned to him again. "By the way, you're not vegetarian, right?"
"Of course not," he said. "Does it look like I am?" he said, feeling self conscious as he looked at his legs.
She giggled. "Good."
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"So what? How was raw meat?"
He licked his chops. "Not bad really…"
"Glad to hear it." The two of them had settled in a small stone cave that provided shelter from the rain. She stretched and yawned, then said, "Well, Azure… I know it must be tough, but how has it been so far? You know, without your trainer?"
He curled up, and saw the last traces of daylight seemingly racing into the ground. "Well, you've made it a lot easier for me, Sola. I mean, I'd probably be out, shelter-less and without food."
She blinked at him. "Happy to help," she murmured. "By the way… I mean, you're mating age, right?"
"Err… what is that?"
She shuffled her paws awkwardly. "You know… the '3 and up' rule."
"Oh… well, I'm 5."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay… it'd be awkward if you were that young… I'm nearly 5 , so it's fine for us to den together, even if we don't mate."
"Mate?"
She looked at him, then said, "Want to snuggle up?"
"Snuggle? Okay… I mean, if you're comfortable…"
"Of course. Why would I ask?"
She slowly moved against the inside of his resting body.
"Now you wrap your paws around me, Azure…" she told him gently.
He did as she told him, and she sighed happily. "Like this?"
She nodded. "You're very warm, Azure," she whispered.
"R-really?"
"Yes." He heard her yawn. "Goodnight, Azure."
Eventually, he heard her snoring. Oh Lisa…
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"You sure eat up that meat quickly," said Sola.
"Well, we'd never have real meat with my trainer," he replied.
"Poor thing," she said teasingly. "No real meat…"
"Hey… don't feel sorry for me."
The two of them, now finished eating, decided to explore a bit. "I've never been here either," said Sola. "I hear water in the distance," said Sola.
"W-water?" he said, excitement creeping in.
Sola laughed. "Look at your tail, Azure. It's wagging so much!"
He bowed his head in embarrassment. "Hey, I'm a water type!"
"I know." She giggled. "You're just cute."
They followed the noise of rushing water until they came to a beautiful waterfall. Trees lined a stream that flowed away, while the fall itself was about ten feet.
"This is pretty," breathed Sola.
Azure jumped into the pool, and dunked his head under, sadness at his master's death seeming to wash away from him almost completely. I've got a friend. I have food. I have a home. Things might not be so bad…
Azure popped his head up, and heard Sola's voice. "Having fun, Azure?"
"Yeah. Come in!"
She shook her head. "No no. I absolutely hate wate-EEP!" She squealed as Azure sprayed a little stream of water at her. She flattened her ears in shock. "A-Azure! Y-you little…"
She ran after him into the water, and he laughed. "Hee hee! Come catch me!"
"Damn Vaporeon," she growled, struggling to keep her head above the water. "I hunt for you, and…" She was slowly sinking, and her voice changed. "Hey, Azure… I can't swim… mmph…"
Azure turned around, and dove under. He buried his teeth in her scruff, and pulled her up. She gasped for air as he dragged the shivering Espeon onto the land. "Are you okay, Sola?"
She glared at him, but couldn't keep a straight face. "I hate you," she said, laughing. The two soaked eons laughed together at the edge of the stream. Finally, they both sat up and looked at each other.
She's gorgeous… look at those eyes! That figure! She's so pretty… He sighed.
"We get along well, Azure…" Her eyes were honest. "I mean, in addition to searching for a den and all, I was looking for a mate. A good male, a kind one who gets along with me. Plus you're pretty handsome."
"Oh…" He felt himself blush. "I… err…"
"Don't worry," she whispered, nuzzling him. "I don't want sex or stuff like that right now. I just want somebody who will care for me. You've cared for your master… I can tell. But eventually… well…"
"H-hang on… I mean, I've never-"
"Don't worry," she said gently. "We'll live together. And we'll take care of each other. Then maybe when we're ready, well… we could start a family, Azure."
"Err… I've just met you… like, can we be certain things will work?"
"It's worth a shot… if we happen to be incompatible, we can break up. But I hope it doesn't come to that."
He gulped. "W-well… alright. We'll be testing mates." Then she kissed him on the cheek.
"It'll work. You watch…"
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
That was all two years ago. Sola and I are both seven now. We both turned out to be compatible thankfully. After that day at the waterfall, she helped me bury Lisa. I still think of her from time to time, but when you're the proud father of three, it can be tough. Sola is a wonderful mother. She treats them all so gently, and is a good teacher. I still learn things from her each day. She's a glorious hunter; even after all this time, I still can't hunt as well as her.
We've been blessed with very healthy children, and we still have alone time occasionally. Every week, I visit Lisa's grave, which we've lined with some stones. I've thanked Sola countless times for taking me under her wing, and she often replies, "No problem, handsome." Like I've said, she is an amazing mother; our offspring are certainly the handful. Right now, I hear her scolding one of our newborns not to bite so much as she is breastfeeding them. She sure has patience…
Lisa… if you can hear me, I want you to know that I miss you. But I am doing fine, and you need not worry. I've found my soul mate, who just happens to be the most beautiful Pokemon I have ever laid eyes upon, and relieves me of doubt.
But I must go. I hear her calling me…
A little one shot I thought of. Nothing too lemony, so I hope it's okay… Maybe a bit too fast paced? IDK. Thanks for reading, folks! R&R