Chapter 3:
The Silver Moonlight Pokemon!
*Ring ring! Ring ring!*
Standing up on the pier, I reach down to my Pokegear to see who's calling. "Mr. Fuji?" I say under my breath. As odd as it seems that he'd be calling me this early in the morning, I had a feeling he was holding something back about the "present" he had given me yesterday evening.
"Mr. Fuji, just the man I was coming to see." I say this as I gather up the remainder of my Pokegear.
"Good morning Abel. If you are nearby, could you please stop by the Pokémon Shrine? There's something that you need to see."
"Well, coincidentally I am nearby. I actually have a couple of questions for you, to be honest. For instance, what can you tell me of the Moonlight Seal?" I heave the backpack up and insert my arms through the straps. Even with the box empty, this thing always seems to weigh a ton.
"Oh, how do you know its name," he says with a bit of shock in his voice. "Only a few people know its true name…" his voice trails off on the Pokegear as if in deep thought.
Walking towards Lavender Town, I say with a bit of effort, "last night, Lugia revealed herself from the sea and hinted at some destiny I have to fulfill and only MENTIONED the seal. She also mentioned something about my inner thoughts resonating with the seal in some way. Do you know what she meant by that; and another thing, why'd you give it to me in the first place?"
"I see, so it WAS you she was looking for. Abel, come to the shrine; from there I'll explain everything." Mr. Fuji then cuts the connection as if he is in a hurry.
"Hm. Whatever this is, it obviously has a great meaning to him and Lugia. I have a bad feeling about all of this."
I step past the town gate a short time later. The sun had already taken a high position in the sky and the cool of morning was quickly fading away. From the Pokemon Shrine building I see near the floor where Sniff is buried, Mr. Fuji waving from the window.
Making my way inside, I notice that there weren't any visitors yet. "Maybe it's still too early for visitors," I say thinking out loud. I set my Pokegear in my usual spot by the door; mostly out of habit, but trust me, if you had to walk five flights of stairs up AND down with that thing, you'd wish you had left it at the door.
A few minutes later I reach the floor where Mr. Fuji is and I see him standing facing the Sniff's grave. "I'm here Mr. Fuji. I figured it was a sensitive topic since you cut the line so quick, so I suppose this will be a good place for you to fill me in on what's going on?"
"Abel, I'll get to that in a second, but first, take a look at this." Mr. Fuji steps out of the way to reveal an Umbreon that had chosen to sit in front of Sniff's grave. "This is an Umbreon, Abel; that much I'm sure you're aware of. However, can you see anything particular about him?"
I study the Umbreon for a moment before the thought jolts through my head. "He's… silver? I thought Umbreons were supposed to have golden rings, not silver."
"Exactly, this one seems to be completely unique! I've never seen an Umbreon like this before, Abel!" Mr. Fuji is almost jumping up at the prospect of seeing such a unique Pokémon; honestly I can't blame him.
Obviously confused, I say, "Is this what you wanted to show me? Yeah, he seems to be pretty cool, but what does this have to do with anything important, like with what happened with me last night?"
"That's the thing, Abel, there may be a connection! This Umbreon was here when I came in; in this exact same spot as if waiting for something… or someone," Fuji seems to be getting pretty excited, and it's a bit obvious that he's hinting at me, but why… !
"You always lock the doors and windows to keep out people who would damage to the graves! You mean to say, that he got in even though everything was locked?" Fuji seemed ecstatic that I picked up so quickly. He rushed over to me and began talking in quick, hushed tones.
"Exactly, my boy! The fact that this Umbreon is here, waiting next to YOUR Pokémon's grave and hasn't run at the sight of humans obviously means something wonderful! Also consider the fact of your meeting with Lugia last night. There's no doubt in my mind that these two events are connected!"
Having my attention focused on Fuji and my mind sorting the details of what he was saying with the events that are coming together, Umbreon stands up and paces toward us. Fuji notices my eyes training on Umbreon and falls silent; watching with intent.
"I have waited for you, trainer." A voice from nowhere but everywhere speaks to me. Remembering the conversation with Lugia, I immediately pick up that this is a form of telepathy.
"Excellent!" Umbreon said, his voice a pitch lower than that of a young pre-teen boy. "I'm glad that you understand things so quickly, Abel! Yes, I am the one speaking to you, and yes, you are the trainer I have been waiting for. He said I could trust you, and I now see why he would say that."
"He? He who?" Not understanding who he may be talking about, my thoughts bring me back to Sniff and how I wish he were here with me.
"Him, the Pokémon you bonded with so well for all those years; Sniff, I believe you call him." Umbreon said this while turning towards the grave. I looked with him and saw that the grave stone had been bathed in the morning light. This all seems like a dream; this stuff only happens in stories and video games. Nothing like this is supposed to happen in real life!
"Umbreon," Fuji taking his chance to speak, seeing me transfixed to the grave, "You said you have spoken with Sniff; when was this and why haven't you shown yourself until now?"
"This past morning we spoke. He wanders the dream world like all others who rest here. I found him because of the energy he had, and he told me of Abel. Now I know that he has spoken true and that the Moonlight Seal has found a safe refuge."
"This seal," I say as I slowly take my eyes off the stone, "Why do I have it? What makes me so special? Why not choose someone like Champion Red, or Ash or any number of others that do this kind of thing on a daily basis; why me?" Tears well up in my eyes as I say this casting diamonds of light to flood my vision from the sunlight.
"We chose you because of what you have endured; I chose you because of what you have suffered and have left to offer." Umbreon takes a step back and nudges a Pokeball toward me. It rolls until it bounces lightly off of my shoe. "I have chosen you to be my partner, bearer of the seal. With that seal embedded on your forearm, rides the hopes and dreams of those that sleep here, as well as your own salvation."
Picking up the ball and pressing the center button with my thumb, it expands. "I don't quite understand what you mean, but if you say this seal has something to do with Sniff, then I have no choice but to believe you. I accept your offer, Umbreon."
Throwing the ball in Umbreon's direction, it stops short of his body and opens up, engulfing him in a glowing red light; both of which disappearing inside the ball. The ball rocks once then stops, emitting a low tone that signals he has been captured; my reinstatement as a trainer. I then pick up the ball and let Umbreon out.
"Thank you Umbreon, knowing that I have you and Lugia looking out for me, I feel that I'm definitely in good hands." That's when a rumble coursed through the building followed by a sound like an explosion.
"What in the world is that!?" Mr. Fuji yells as he heads toward the window.
"What do you see?" Umbreon and I follow up behind to look for ourselves.
"Oh no! The daycare, we have to hurry!" Fuji yells as he runs down the stairwell.
A few moments later we're at the bottom floor, Fuji trailing just behind. I pick up my Pokegear from the side of the entranceway and peer out towards the daycare. Several figures in long black coats surround the daycare; a hole has been blown into the wall.
"Now, you three: find the seal! The rest of you, case the town! No one leaves until we have that stone!" A woman with green flowing hair says this and the rest scatter at her commands.
"Fuji, stay back; I'll handle this. If you can, get the kids and Pokémon out to safety!" As Mr. Fuji's words are forming on his lips, Umbreon and I race out to meet the intruders face on.
One of the men in black noticed me and decided to step in my way. "Hold it! This town is under our control!" As he says this, he throws out his Pokeball, revealing a large Raticate. "There's no way you're getting past us! I've had this Pokémon since I was a kid, and he's the pinnacle of what a Raticate can become!"
"I knew you looked familiar, Joey." Umbreon and I stand aggressively facing Joey and his Raticate.
"How'd you know my name, and it's Joe now! I haven't been called that since I was a kid…" He takes a moment to study me and his eyes widen in realization. Giving a toothy grin, he says, "Oh yeah! You're that trainer I battled who had a Growlithe, right? That thing was so weak! What happened to him, did you release him to get a new one? Hahaha!"
I feel the anger and bitterness well up inside me almost coming to a boil, when Umbreon says, "it won't do you any good to get mad. You know the truth about what happened; don't succumb to bitterness! Use it as your strength to beat him!"
I close my eyes for a second and exhale; the weight of loss and sadness melting away like the morning fog. My eyes opening again, everything seemed to be in slow motion. Joe's laughter is silent and his movements sluggish; I can see everything in such detail!
Taking advantage of our mental connection, Umbreon shares with me the knowledge of his abilities. "Okay, let's do this Umbreon," I say out loud.
Umbreon blasts toward Raticate in a lightning bolt of silver. Raticate, caught off guard, takes the hit head on and tumbles backward toward Joe. "Hey! How dare you hit my Raticate before the battle's begun! That's our job!"
Giving Joe a happy smile, I silently tell Umbreon to fish it off with a Shadowball. As Raticate bounces to his feet, Joe yells, "Get 'im Raticate! Use Hyper Fang!" As Raticate jumps toward Umbreon baring his massive incisors, Umbreon lets loose a charged sphere of darkness, blasting Raticate out of the sky!
Out of the smoke, Raticate thuds against the ground; some of its hair still caught with dark fire. "Raticate, no! How could you do this to me?" Joe runs toward his Raticate, seeing that it's unconscious and returns him to his Pokeball.
"Joe, I forgive you for making fun of me as a kid; we were all cruel to each other in some way." Joe looks up at me as I offer my hand to help him up.
"Tch! You just got lucky, taking a cheap shot like that!" With that he got up and ran to the green haired woman.
"I think it's best we prepare for trouble, Abel."
"Yeah buddy, we better make it double, look!"
The green haired woman signals for the ones in the house toward me. Three black trench coat wearing grunts exit the daycare and move between me and their leader.
Not saying a word, each of them release their Pokémon; the one on the left has a strong looking Spearow, the one on the right has a Misdreavous, and the center one has a Skitty.
The two on the ends start chuckling while the one in the center speaks.
"So, you beat Joe, huh? Seems like you've chosen the wrong people to mess with; go Skitty, use Slash!"
Skitty runs at full speed and jumps high to bring his claws down on Umbreon.
"Umbreon, catch it with Quick Attack and follow up with Crunch!" I yell, momentarily forgetting my telepathic link.
As Umbreon races toward Skitty at high speed, Misdreavous lets out a piercing Screech, momentarily distracting Umbreon causing his attack to miss. Skitty almost connects with his Slash, but Umbreon deftly hops to the side to avoid the hit.
"Oh, this is going to be good! Look here, we have a lively one, this time!" The girl with the Misdreavous says.
"Now Spearow, use your Wing Attack!" The guy on the left shouts toward the sky as his Spearow rockets toward the ground.
'Umbreon, jump straight up when I say to, okay?'
Without even a nod, I knew that Umbreon understood me. A split second later Spearow came down and his wings began glowing, ready for his attack. 'Wait for it, partner; just a moment longer.' Spearow was just inches from the ground flying at high speed, the three in black all had smug grins as if this would end the battle in one swoop; boy did I have a surprise for them.
"Now Umbreon!" He didn't need me to say anything because he understood immediately and reacted flawlessly. As Spearow's attack was about to strike, Umbreon jumped straight up in a somersault and planted his feet on Spearow's back like a spring board. Caught by surprise, Spearow was slammed into the ground and Umbreon was launched high into the air!
'There's one out of commission; now about the other two, take 'em both out with one ShadowBall!'
There couldn't have been a better set up; Skitty had jumped back next to Misdreavous to clear a path for Spearow. Now that Spearow was knocked out, they were sitting like fish in a barrel!
Umbreon began accumulating darkness around his mouth; black smoke and flame growing immensely within the split moment it took to conjure. The three in black, mouths agape at what had been done to Spearow, only looked up in astonishment to see the end of the battle hurtling toward their Pokémon.
With a massive explosion, Misdreavous and Skitty were knocked unconscious and their trainers knocked backward toward the feet of their leader; the three on one battle was over.
The Pokémon had automatically recalled to their Pokeballs while their trainers were unconscious from the concussive blast. The woman with green hair said, "Well… if you want something done right, do it yourself. Come, Pinsir!"
Throwing her Pokeball high into the air, the red beam shot down to the ground to reveal her blue Pinsir, the stag beetle Pokémon. It easily stood my height without his spiked horns; this would definitely be a test of our skill.
Out from the house, another man in black emerged. He had shoulder length blonde hair and a scar across his cheek. Keeping calm and collected, he said, "Ma'am, shall I offer my assistance or should I keep looking?"
"Keelan, if you would keep the old man occupied while I deal with this one that should suffice. This'll be quick." Taking her gaze off of Keelan, her eyes met mine; I could tell that she was a powerful trainer.
Mr. Fuji appeared standing next to me. Giving out a sly smile, Fuji threw out a Pokeball.
"You did well against those grunts, kiddo, but these two will be a bit more of a challenge. Go, Scyther! Helps us out here, would 'ya?" Out of the Pokeball, Mr. Fuji's Scyther emerged. His sickles shone in the light and were just slightly transparent enough to see through. His wings buzzed with a steady hum 'til he landed on the ground; knicks in his green carapace were a testament to the many battles he had been in. "SCYTHER! Scyther, SCY!" It cried as its blades slid against one another.
Keelan threw out his Pokeball which revealed his Roselia, the rose Pokémon.
"Mara, this match up isn't looking good." Keelan was taken aback by the Scyther that stood before him; after all, bug types are extremely effective verse grass types.
"Then use support skills. Pinsir, Horn Attack; target Scyther to keep him busy!" Pinsir lowered its head as it ran full speed at Scyther.
Fuji didn't even need to speak, Scyther's after image was all that was hit by the ineffective horn attack. Reappearing behind Pinsir, Scyther let out a series of Fury Cutter slashes against Pinsir's shell.
Pinsir, unfazed by the attack, turned around with a rock breaking downward punch. Scyther's Double Team was too quick for Pinsir which caused it to miss entirely and slam his fist into the ground.
Roselia, not taking a moment to spare, began using its flower arms to cheer on Pinsir with Helping Hand. As the petals moved in sync with the cheer, pollen was released into the wind.
'Umbreon, be careful of that pollen. Roselia is known to release poisons and paralyzing agents by using pollen.' This thought was transferred in an instant, but unfortunately, Scyther didn't have the benefit of telepathy. His after image was directly in the cloud of paralyzing spores which caused him to slow down. He wasn't quick enough this time and was slugged by a powerful hit from Pinsir's horn.
"Scyther, what's wrong?!" Fuji exclaimed, only to realize too late that Roselia's pollen had affected him.
"Now Pinsir, Seismic Toss!" The woman known as Mara shouted this as Pinsir clutched onto Scyther to bring him to bear.
That's when I decided to bring Umbreon in. Slamming into Pinsir's back with a quick attack, Pinsir lost his balance, and his grip, and fell forward. Scyther, deftly landing next to Umbreon, nodded briefly just before Fuji tossed a Cheri Berry for Scyther to eat. Eating the berry in one gulp, Scyther's disability faded away almost as quickly.
Roselia, still dancing to support Pinsir, released more spores, only of a darker color; flooding the battle field with poison.
Realizing what had happened, Fuji shouted, "Scyther, use Double Team to blow the poison away!" Scyther then vanished in a fading image only to reappear in a circle around the battle field, seemingly everywhere at once. With the speed of his movement, Scyther formed a powerful Whirlwind, syphoning the deadly spores in a funnel cloud toward the sky.
Roselia, too busy trying to keep her footing, was sucked up into the funnel while Pinsir braced itself against the stinging sand.
'Umbreon, this is our chance! Quick Attack Pinsir then fire your Shadow Ball into the funnel!' Blazing through the whirlwind, Umbreon struck Pinsir's right hoof which sent it reeling backwards and with its balance gone, was sucked up into the funnel with Roselia.
Sliding on the loose dirt to turn around, Umbreon fired his sphere of darkness into the funnel and disappearing almost immediately. A moment later, the funnel of wind and sand turned into a torrent of black fire, exploding in the instant after.
Roselia and Pinsir crashed down to the ground, both unconscious. The concussive blast sent dirt and debris flying in all directions; so much so that Fuji and I had to shield our eyes from the sand.
Once the dust had cleared, Pinsir, Roselia, the woman known as Mara, and Keelan were gone. Looking down at Umbreon, I noticed him smiling; obviously pleased at the result of the battles we had just fought. Fuji thanked Scyther for his hard work and sent him to the house to check on everyone else.
Looking inside the house, I say, "It seems we were pretty quick on our feet, Mr. Fuji. The only damage there seems to be is the hole in the wall; everything else seems to be where you left it."
"I'm thankful for what you have done Abel. You battled bravely today, and truth be told, you had a smile on your face that I haven't seen in some time." He chuckled at this and went to the back room. "Now now children, I'm back. Scyther did a good job of hiding you, he did! Nothing to be scared of; Abel and I scared them off. Hahahahaha!"
Looking down at Umbreon playing with the kids, I realize that Fuji was right. I did enjoy the battles today, even after everything I've lived with as a kid. Maybe this will be a good start for me after all.
Umbreon looks back at me after this thought and smiles knowingly. 'Seems I'm going to have to get used to this mind reading business too, huh?'
'Hehe! It's okay, your secrets are safe with me!' Umbreon said before jumping into the mass of delighted children and Pokémon.
End Chapter 3