Ch.3

Four months had gone within a blink of an eye; the night of 'Ripen' had finally arrived in Elemental Cove, and all had gathered to watch their offspring take the next step into adulthood. As was tradition, the main families would have their offspring be the first to choose; one by one, they would march single file before their leaders, and wait to be called forward to the wall. The young eevee were asked to choose their next stage of evolution, and to choose wisely; once their transformation was complete, there was no turning back.

Fluorescent (Espeon, Female, Third leader): "Welcome! Tonight, we celebrate the hour of 'Ripen.' As most of you know, tonight is the night where you will all be given the chance to make the biggest decision into becoming adults. You all wear brown coats now, but that will all change soon enough; we, the leaders, ask that you choose wisely before deciding to evolve. This is a choice that you cannot simply change once it has been made; remember, whatever you feel is the best path for you to take, will be entirely up to you."

Siren (Vaporeon, Male, Fifth leader): "We will start with the offspring of our great leaders. When we call upon you, please come forth, and tell us what you have chosen."

While the first to make the transition began to be called upon; their parents waited patiently with their younger siblings, all of which watched with fascination as they shed their brown coats for good. Neon and Jasper clung to their mother, unsure as to what was going on, and why their brother was not waiting with them; Bolt, unlike his mate, had stood at the very front, almost blocking her view of Copper. The Jolteon had been completely unsettled by what his heir was about to do; for the past four months, he had made an attempt to convince his son to consider becoming an electric type, but failed to make any progress.

(Four months ago)

Copper: "But dad-"

Bolt: "What is wrong with being an electric type like your old man!?"

Copper: "Nothing, but I'm really interested in becoming an Umbreon or Glaceon."

Bolt: "Can't you just consider being an Jolteon?"

Copper: "Isn't this suppose to be my decision, and not yours?"

Bolt: "Son, your grandfather, his father, and even his father before him, were all Jolteons. Why would you want break such a long standing tradition?"

Copper: "Because it's not me, dad! I want to choose my own future, one where I become the type that I choose; I'll still lead, but I don't want to be a Jolteon."

Bolt: "If you do this Copper, I will not make you my heir."

Copper: "That is fine with me, father. (Walks away)"

Bolt: "Copper! Come back here!"

Copper had finally had it with his father's constant encumbrance; what did it matter if he wanted to be something other than a Jolteon? It wasn't as though he would be weaker than any of the other leaders, and yet his father made it seem as though he were making a grave mistake. Eventually there came a point where Bolt had come to the realization that his heir, was going to follow in his own footsteps, and leave his behind; bitter as we was to see his first born become a different type other than an electrical, Bolt swallowed his pride, and waited for that faithful day to come.

Siren: "(Looks at Copper) Have you chosen, son?"

Copper: "Yes. I will take…..the moon shard."

Siren: "Is that your final decision?"

Copper: "It is…..I choose to be an Umbreon."

Fluorescent: "(Points to wall) Take your shard, and hold it tightly."

Copper had made his decision; he would become an umbreon, a dark pokemon that most had feared to become, and only a rare few had chosen within the thousand years that had passed. A hand full resided in Elemental Cove, but were considered the minority unlike the other types; for the first time in centuries, an Umbreon would take the position of leader in Elemental Cove. Holding the shard close to his chest, Copper closed his eyes, and let the warm glow fill his body; his brown hair began to turn pitch black till it reached the end of his tail. Two gold rings began to appear around his long rabbit like ears, while one wrapped around his thick tail, and another began to take shape in the middle of his forehead; four more appeared, two around his ankles, and two on the side of his biceps. The last thing that changed were his black eyes; they began to turn a ruby red with small black pupils, no longer was Copper an eevee, but now a powerful Umbreon.

Fluorescent: "A rare choice, young Copper. May it serve you well."

Bolt: "A mistake is more like."

Grace: "(Hits mate and whispers) Dear! You promised!"

Bolt: "Why a dark type!? Of all the ones that the wall has, and he chooses a moon shard! Ridiculous!"

Grace: "It is his choice. Would you rather them let you pick for him instead?"

Bolt: "No, but…..(Groans)...…...well, at least I have two more children. Hopefully one of them makes the right decision."

Bolt was harsh when he didn't get his way, but tried to look on the brighter side of things, especially since he had realized that he still had two other children; however, it would be Neon that would bear the burden of becoming what his father wanted, and that was only being delayed because of Copper. The reality of the situation, was that Bolt did not favor Neon as much as he did Copper; maybe it was solely due to the fact that he was younger, but that wasn't entirely the truth. Neon was…..frail; he wasn't a coward or weak, he was just….Neon. It was not just Neon that suffered neglect from his sire; Jasper, unlike her fragile brother, had shown that she was not just brave, but a leader that could persuade many with her great confidence. The young female had shown that she had potential to go beyond her father's expectations; sadly, Bolt had not paid as much attention to her, as he had done with his sons, therefore leaving his daughter to feel undesired.

Neon: "What do you think dad meant, sis?"

Jasper: "I think he wants one of us to become an electric type."

Neon: "It's probably you. He'd never want me to be like him."

Jasper: "What do you mean? Dad always spends time with you and Copper; he doesn't even let me try some of the stuff he wants you to do. Why is he so unfair?"

Neon: "Unfair!? Do you know what he forces us to do!? I've already lost count of how many times he's thrown me off the falls. And every chance he gets, he wants me to spar with the others; I hate sparing, what's the point in doing it!?"

Jasper: "(Growls) At least you have fun! I'm not even allowed to spar with boys! Do you know how annoying it is to fight with other females!? They just cower in fear! And when any of them do show some kind of courage, they barely last a few seconds before running in tears!"

Neon: "...Sis?"

Jasper: "What!?"

Neon: "Do you think that….something's wrong with me?'

Jasper: "Huh? Wrong with you?"

Neon: "I don't think that…..I just don't feel right sometimes. It's like I don't really fit in, that maybe I'm not suppose to be…..I'm not suppose to be this way."

Jasper: "Neon? Neon I…. (Folds ears) Look I….(Nuzzles cheek) I didn't mean to yell. I know it's hard, but things will probably get better."

Neon: "I feel so lost, sis. I don't know what to do anymore? (Sobs)"

Jasper: "(Holds Neon) I'm here, Neon. Don't cry, I'll always be here for you. I promise."

They were both trapped; one of them felt unwanted, while the other felt out of place among everyone else. What could they do? They were too young, and not sure as to what they should do; for now, they had each other to turn to when things got rough, and that was really all they needed to get through this hard life of theirs.