Hey, thanks for reviewing again, guys! The first big snowstorms have come in today and, out of boredom, I decided to update this earlier than I planned. Anonymous, your character Florence will appear in this chapter. Thanks for being so patient with me. Hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Chapter 10: Tale of a Lost Eevee

Elsewhere on the unknown island…

Mist slipped into his bedroom through the window. It was the middle of the night and Mist had just returned from spying on the two Snaggers, Mark and Alex. They had mentioned Anna, his former friend who had mysteriously died years ago. That meant they must've somehow gotten her records, but only Poindexter and he knew their location. Plus Poindexter deleted it. How could they have gotten it?

He decided that he needed a shower. Walking down the hallway, he spotted a fellow Gym Leader sitting in the library. She had long, wavy sea green hair and dark green eyes. She wore a dark green dress with light green sleeves and skirt edge. Leaf-shaped earring glittered from her ears.

Curled up beside her chair was an abnormally large Sceptile. It had a dark green body with a leafy black tail, red orbs running down its back in two rows of three, red lower jaw and stripe on its stomach, and glowing red eyes. The leaf blades on its arms were longer and sharper, ending in a deadly point that cut you even if you barely brushed your finger against it. Two fangs poked out of its mouth, making it look even more sinister.

The 22 year old woman looked up at Mist and smiled. "Well, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"I was about to ask the same thing of you, Florence." Mist replied.

The woman, Florence, giggled behind her book. "Well now, aren't we Mr. Grumpy today? You're worse than Dart when his favorite toy is taken away."

"Do not compare me with that insolent fool!" Mist snapped, falling silent since he spoke a little too loud. When he was certain no one had woken up, he continued. "It seems you've been given the duty of controlling Erika's Gym. How is it so far?"

"Everything's good, according to plan." Florence replied. "Sceptile and I are doing a great job so far. No one has come to stop us!"

"No one has stopped you… yet." Mist corrected. "The Snaggers are almost to Pewter City. It will be a while but they'll reach you eventually."

"What do you mean, Mist? Once Dart beats them, they'll run home with their tails between their legs and never bother us again." Florence declared. "It's a piece of cake. These guys are no threat!"

"Florence, you silly fool!" he hissed. "Do not underestimate these two. So far, they have beaten Dart in a pre-battle and their determination even drove me away. I'm warning you, you underestimation of everything will be your defeat."

"Don't call me a fool, jerk!" growled Florence. "And you two weren't even trying!"

"Don't be so sure about that, Florence." Mist growled, turning on his heel and exiting the room. "Those two are much stronger than you think they are."

"Oh, shut up and get a life!" Florence snapped, chucking a book at Mist's head. Mist used his psychic powers and caught the book, setting it on a nearby table.

When he left her range of vision, Florence rested her head in her hands. "Man, who'd have thought he was such a rough guy for a 14 year old. He acts more like a 19 year old." She grumbled, shaking her head. "Too bad about Anna though. She's dead and he doesn't even know who killed her or why."

Mist continued to walk down the hallway, mumbling under his breath how stupid Florence could be. She acted more like a 6 year old than a 22 year old. Even he was more mature than her. How she became a Gym Leader, he'll never know.

Route 2…

Mark woke up and rolled over as the sun shone in his face. Sitting up, he blinked and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He looked at Alex's sleeping bag and saw that she was still sleeping. Smiling sleepily, he got up and returned his Pokemon to their Poke Balls. After pulling on his jacket and bandanna, he decided to wake Alex up.

"Hey, wake up." Mark mumbled, shaking her shoulder. When she didn't wake up, he said, "Hey! It's time for sleeping beauty to wake up!"

Alex mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over, hitting Mark in the face with her arm. Her eyes snapped open instantly and she glared at him. "What are you doing? I have the best sleep of my life!"

"It's time to rise and shine, Alex." Mark said. "I'd like to reach Pewter City before dark if at all possible."

"Okay, MOM!" Alex huffed, crawling out of her sleeping bag and rolling it up. Mark followed her example. "Anything happen last night while I was asleep?" she asked.

"How should I know?" Mark said. "I was asleep too."

After packing up, the two Snaggers headed around the second fence and stopped in front of the lookout station. It was a large building leading in Viridian Forest, their next destination. The two walked inside, entering the forest.

Once they entered the forest, Mark's PDA went off. Pulling it out, Mark saw five dots blinking on the screen. There were five Shadow Pokemon in here, and that meant five Cipher goons.

Alex ran up to talk to a guy with blonde hair that was leaning against a tree close to the entrance to the southern half of Route 2. When she returned, Alex said, "That man says we have to be careful in this forest. The trees are so thick that little light gets in, and it's full of Bug and Flying-type Pokemon. It's a natural maze and many people get lost in it. We should keep and eyes out for rocks and berry trees."

"Got it, Alex," Mark said. "Thanks for the info."

"No problem, Mark!"

As the two walked east, Mark spoke. "Did you know that a campfire is held on every non-rainy night here in Viridian Forest? Whether it's cloudy or clear, people living here in the forest sleep outside to watch the stars."

"Wow!" Alex gasped. "If we end up staying the night here, can we watch the stars outside?"

"Sure." Mark replied. "Nothing's stopping us."

They soon spotted a man wearing dark green clothing sitting in a thick patch of grass on the edge of the path before it turned north. When he saw them, the man walked over to them. "Well, well. You wouldn't happen to be the Snaggers, would you?"

"Oh man!" Alex whined. "A Cipher goon already?!"

"So you work for Cipher, correct?" Mark asked. Sparks' cheeks started to spark angrily.

"Correct," the Cipher goon replied, pulling out a Poke Ball. "Seems you're not a dumb as Dart said you two were. Let's start, shall we?"

"Gladly," Mark said. "Sparks, get ready!"

"Pika pika!!" Sparks cried, leaping to the ground to face its opponent.

"An Electric-type?" the man questioned. "Good choice, kiddo."

What Pokemon is he going to use? Mark thought, readying for an attack.

"Go Starly!" the man yelled, throwing the Poke Ball. As second one joined it. "You too, Spearow!"

The two bird Pokemon popped out. Starly had a black head, wingtips, and tail, dark gray body, and a light gray face and chest. Its eyes were glowing red and tiny claws tipped its little feet.

Spearow, on the other hand, had a black body, red face and tail, and blood red wings tipped with pale purple. Its eyes were glowing red and claws poked out of its feet. Its beak was sharpened to a point.

"Oh, great. Two low levels." Mark mumbled. "Sparks, get back here! Rattata, Pidgey, it's your guys' turn to battle!" The red Rattata and Pidgey got ready for battle.

"It doesn't matter how hard you try, in the end you'll always lose!" cackled the goon. "Starly, use Shadow Whirlwind! Spearow, use Shadow Fury!"

"Rattata, use Shadow Fang! Pidgey, use Shadow Gust!" Mark yelled.

Starly and Pidgey's attacks crashed into one another, blowing both Pokemon backward. Spearow pecked at Rattata at a vicious speed, forcing Rattata on the defensive. When Spearow pulled back, Rattata saw its chance and leaped forward, biting a wing. Spearow let out a loud squawk, crashing to the ground with Rattata's teeth imbedded in its wing.

"Starly, help out Spearow!" the goon yelled. "Use Shadow—"

"No you don't!" Mark growled. "Pidgey, use Shadow Gust to blow them away!"

Pidgey flapped its wing quickly, throwing Starly back at the goon before it could attack. Spearow buried its beak into the ground to anchor itself against the wind. When the attack ended, Spearow and Starly were both to weak to finish the battle.

Mark tossed two Poke Balls and captured them both. After returning his own two Pokemon, the goon raced away. "That was too easy."

"Yeah, I know." Alex agreed. "I guess Cipher's wasting all the lowest level Pokemon on us first before they send out the big guys."

"Probably," Mark muttered. "Come on. We got to keep going if we want to reach Pewter City."

As the two walked around a clump of trees as they headed north, Mark checked the two newest Pokemon's stats. Starly's Attack and Speed was two stars and its other stats were one star each. It was female, 1'00", 4 lbs, Keen Eye ability, and was Level 5.

Spearow's Attack was three stars, Defense was two stars and its other stats were one star each. It was male, 1'00", 4 lbs, Keen Eye ability, and was Level 8. Both were the same except for species, gender, and levels.

As they continued walking, Alex pointed out a small boy running through the tall grass. He was around 7 years old and wore a pair of blue jean overalls, red shirt, and brown shoes. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. A small Eevee chased him around, giggling with the small boy.

But that wasn't what caught Alex's eye. It was the fact that the Eevee was dark gray instead of brown and had glowing red eyes. "That Eevee's a Shadow Pokemon, Mark!" Alex hissed, pointing to the gray and white Eevee that dashed circles around the seven year old boy.

"I know but that kid is no Cipher Peon, that's for sure." Mark muttered, walking toward the boy. "Hey kid, where did you find that Eevee?"

The little boy looked up and smiled. "I found her in the forest. She was starving so I took her in. I'm not supposed to have a Pokemon but she had nowhere to go. When I picked her up, this mean guy in a black trench coat chased me."

A Cipher Peon!! Mark thought. "Hey, you mind if I look at her?"

"Okay," the boy said. "But you got to promise not to touch her back paw. She got hurt and can't walk right."

"Okay, I promise." Mark said, reaching out to take the Eevee.

Suddenly a man with a long black trench coat appeared and grabbed Eevee by the scruff. "I'm sorry, Snagger, but this Shadow Pokemon belongs to me!"

"Eevee!!" the boy cried.

"Put her down now!!" screamed Alex, watching as the man shook Eevee around by the scruff.

The man paused and said, "I think not."

Mark tore a Poke Ball out of his bag and blocked the Cipher goon's escape. "Not this time! I'm gonna beat you here and now!"

The man frowned, but then smirked viciously. "Just try me, little boy."

"Oh, don't worry. I will!" Mark said, throwing out a Poke Ball. "Umbreon, get ready!"

Umbreon popped out and dashed onto the field, eyes narrowed at the man. Its ears flattened against its head and it started growling loudly.

"Well now, it seems you came back to see me, Umbreon?" the man asked, smiling cruelly. He threw out a Poke Ball, releasing an Ekans.

The Ekans was dark purple with a red belly, stripe around neck, and tail. It had glowing red eyes and started to hiss aggressively at Mark and Alex.

"Mark, do you think he's like that girl who trained Espeon?" Alex asked.

"Maybe," Mark hissed, remembering that girl.

Flashback

"Are you really from Cipher?" Mark asked, noticing his Espeon bristling again.

"Well, yeah," the Cipher Peon replied. "I'm the one that trained that Espeon there. She was supposed to be loyal, but she decided to team up with the two annoying little Snaggers. I'll take out that pest once and for all."

End flashback

"Are you the one that trained Umbreon?" Alex growled.

The man smirked. "Why, yes I am. Unlike Espeon, Umbreon was a little more defiant than she was. I needed to use brute force and more brutal training to get him to obey me. But after three years of training before he became a Shadow Pokemon, he still resisted me. But that is a good trait in him now."

Mark grit his teeth in anger. He could already imagine the pain Umbreon was forced to go through before he became a Shadow Pokemon. "Umbreon, use Shadow Wave!"

Umbreon growled viciously and gigantic waves of darkness erupted from his body. The waves smashed into the man and his Pokemon, sending both crashing into the ground. Eevee got away and limped back to the boy, who picked her up and glared at the man.

"You little brat! Ekans, use Shadow Sting!" the goon yelled.

Ekans slithered upright and hissed at Umbreon. It opened its mouth and small dark purple needle-like energy shot at the black dog Pokemon. Umbreon raced away and rammed into it, sending Ekans crashing into its trainer and making them both fall over.

Mark threw a Poke Ball and caught Ekans. Alex walked over to the little boy and Eevee, protecting him in case the Cipher goon tried anything. The man simply got up and limped away, vanishing into the trees.

Mark checked Ekans' stats. Its Attack was three stars, Speed was two stars, and its other stats were one star. It was male, 6'07", 15 lbs, Intimidate ability, and was Level 12.

Mark turned to the little boy. "Is Eevee okay?"

"Yeah, she is." The boy said. "Thanks for helping her. Oh, my name is Nik."

"Yeah, well… Nik, we need you to, uh…" Alex struggled to find the right words to explain Eevee's condition. "We need you to give us Eevee, uh, please?"

"Why?" the boy asked. "Are you guys going to hurt her like that man hurt your Umbreon?"

"No, Nik," Mark answered. "It's just that…"

Your Eevee is very special but something is wrong with it. Espeon said gently. That man is part of an organization that does bad things to Pokemon. Your Eevee is one of them, as are most of Mark's Pokemon. He has set out to help these Pokemon get better.

"So those men did something bad to Eevee?" Nik asked. "Can you help her?"

"Yeah, I can but I'll need to take her from you." Mark said. "But I won't take her by force. If you want to keep her, it's okay."

"Mark, what are you doing?" Alex hissed. "We set out to catch all of these Shadow Pokemon, and we can't catch them all if you let him keep Eevee!"

"I know but look at them, Alex." Mark whispered. "It would be horrible if we just took her from him. At least give the poor kid a choice. If he wants to keep her, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Well, if Eevee trusts you then I trust you with her." Nik said, setting Eevee on the ground. "Well Eevee, you want to go with him?"

Eevee looked at Mark for a while before dashing towards him and yipping happily. Alex smiled and picked her up, cuddling the little fox Pokemon. "Does this mean she trusts us?" Alex asked as Eevee liked her face.

"Yeah, it does." Nik giggled. "But if you guys take her, you got to promise to take good care of her. Okay?"

"Okay, but how about I make you a promise too?" Mark suggested. "Once this is all over, us catching these Pokemon and beating that organization, I'll bring Eevee back to you. That a deal?"

Nik looked stunned. "But if you catch her, won't she be your Pokemon?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she can't visit the kid that rescued her." Alex said.

"So how do you like that, Nik?" Mark asked. "After this is over, I'll visit with Eevee and when you become ten, I'll let you have Eevee back. By then, she will be your Pokemon."

"Okay!" Nik cried. "Just take good care of her for me, okay?"

"Got it, Nik!" Alex said.

Mark pulled out a Poke Ball and tapped Eevee with it. The ball opened and Eevee vanished inside it. After saying good-bye to Nik, the two trainers walked down the path to deal with the next Cipher Peon.

Sitting in a nearby tree, Mist quietly watched them. Now he was convinced that they had gotten Anna's files and read them, even if Mist himself had never read them. But the white-haired Gym Leader had a strange feeling that these guys knew something he didn't. "Well, whatever it is, I'll know soon enough." Mist chuckled, teleporting back to base.

Next Chapter: The Woodland Maze and the Stone Gray City

As the two emerged from the forest, Alex stretched and said, "Man, am I glad to be back in the open again!"

"Calm down, Alex!" Mark chuckled, stretching his arms over his head. "I know you're happy to be out of the forest but don't overdo it."

"Get over it, Mark!" Alex said, looking forward. She suddenly stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing here?!"

Mark looked forward and saw the last person he wanted to meet tonight. "I control the gym here, if you haven't forgotten." Dart replied, eyes narrowed at the two. "Meet me at the Pewter City Gym tomorrow afternoon after you've dealt with the goons wandering the city. And don't forget our new rules."

Mark just glared at the blonde as he walked away. "Oh, don't worry. We haven't forgotten the rules, Dart!" he hissed angrily.

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Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story. As you might have guessed, Mist has no idea that Cipher killed Anna and a hint that Florence knows a little about the incident. While writing this chapter I was listening to 'Lies' by Evanescence. Hope you guys all enjoy the story and please review!