Chapter 9

Teamwork

The Vaporeon and Umbreon were still in Persian territory after traveling all day. It was dangerous to be in there. More than two-hundred Persian lived in the small area and the pack hunted in these forests, including the mountain. Unlike the civilized pokemon in Auras kingdom, the Persian were still wild pokemon and hunted other pokemon for food. It was actually how most wild pokemon lived.

This competition was held outside the safety of the walls. Kingdom pokemon were vulnerable in the wilderness. Abbie never knew anything outside Auras. No one would try to kill her inside the walls. No one would harm her inside the walls. Although she hadn't obeyed all the rules of the kingdom, it was all she ever knew.

A red light glinted from the foliage of the trees and caught Abbie's eye. "Hey, Cece, did you see that?"

"See what?" The water type yawned. "The trees?"

"No, I think I saw something."

"Abbie, you're just being paranoid. I don't even think the Persian are close to us."

Abbie stopped talking, but continued to watch the trees. For the next hour, she saw nothing but her ears rung with the sound of snapping twigs. She knew that there was an entire pack of pokemon just waiting for the chance to attack. Once the sun was completely down, the glinted gems on their foreheads were clear to Abbie, and they were closer than before. Way closer.

She nudged Cece and whispered. "Run."

"What?"

"Now!"

The Umbreon slammed her body onto the wet, blue one, sending the Vaporeon into a run. The Persian pounced into attack, half of them trying to get Abbie while the other half ran after Cece. Instinctively, the dark energy flowed through the dark type's veins and burst from under her paws. Waves were sent outward and smacked the pokemon away, giving Abbie a chance to follow Cece.

Without thinking, her paws sped along the ground and up to the water type's side, firing Shadow Balls at the ground to kick up dirt. Cecilia threw out pumps of pressured water to slow them down, but the pokemon were ready to attack and still chasing them. Claws were out and fangs lengthened to pierce skin and cause bleeding. The Persian pack was ready to kill the trespassers.

"What should we do?" Cece panted, tired of running. "We can't do this forever."

"Then we'll just have to fight!"

Abbie stopped running and turned just as a Persian leapt at her, trying to bite her neck. She quickly twisted her body and flung it off with ease, power flowing into her veins and to her tail. Iron Tail hit two normal types and threw them into others, causing the unity of the pack to fall. They attacked on random, not following orders from the alpha.

Cece froze paws, legs, and tails of the predators only to break them free when she smacked them with her iron coated tail. A Persian jumped on her and bit hard onto the webbed leg. She screamed and blasted a Hydro Pump right into its face, flinging it off. Quickly, Cecilia's bared her fangs and bit into a black Persian without thinking.

A guy screamed and kicked the air, hitting the jaws of the attacking cat pokemon. He used Psychic on Cece and threw her into the river, thinking his sister was a Persian. Cyle pulled out a large amount of energy and let it swirl around him. He ran and scored a direct hit on about ten Persian before one scratched his side and knocked him away.

A loud crack echoed through the air as Thundershock flew in and saved Cyle from dying at the paws of the alpha. Arron quickly stepped in and knocked the attacking Persian away until Cyle was able to get up. He twisted around and nailed Double Kick to a normal type's side.

The four Eevee evolutions were backed into a defensive circle, finally realizing that they were with each other. Arron and Cyle were attacked by the other half of the Perisna pack and chased here with the girls. Abbie was annoyed but Cece was happy that they were here. If they all worked together they could chase the pack away.

"So what do we do now?" Abbie growled, baring her fangs at the pokemon as she launched a Shadow Ball at the ground in front of it. "We're kind of trapped."

"I could try freezing the ground." Cece suggested, preparing an Ice Beam. "We might be able to get away."

"Stop!" Cyle yelled, making his sister cut off her move. "That won't work! They're all around us and you only have a limited shooting area."

"I have an idea!" Arron shouted. "Abbie you use Dark Pulse, Cece you used Hydro Pump on the ground, I'll use Thundershock, and Cyle you can use Psychic to amplify the power!"

"I love that idea!" Abbie agreed, thinking how big the move would be.

Cyle shot another ineffective Shadow Ball. "Why don't these things work?!"

"Because it doesn't work on normal types!" Cece shouted, a little frustrated that he didn't figure that out yet.

"Three! Two!" Everyone got their attacks ready. The Persian leapt forward, baring their claws and fangs. "One!"

An explosion was created from all the moves combined together. The ground around them shook forcefully. All four were hit by each other's attacks, being blown far away from each other. Once the smoke cleared, everyone was still standing and the Persian fled, knowing that they weren't going to get these guys out of their territory without getting hurt.

With the pack gone, Abbie, Cecilia, Cyle, and Arron all collapsed where they were and fell into a deep sleep.

…

Abbie was the first to wake up. It was just before dawn, leaving the sky a glowing dark blue. Her body ached from the first day of running and fighting, walking, and then more running and fighting. She laid there for a couple of minutes until she heard the growling stomachs of Arron and Cecilia. They looked worn out with all of the scratches and bruises on their bodies from fighting the Persian. Of course, Abbie and Cyle were beaten, too, but they weren't really that hungry since the moon gave them some energy.

Even though it was a bad idea, the Umbreon stood up and walked into the forest. They couldn't keep going on without something to eat, and Abbie had to save the Oran berries for an emergency. While they could be eaten, their juices had healing properties when applied to a wound.

She walked around the area for a few minutes, stopping and sniffing and digging to try to find food. She could smell the faint scent of something sweet, but who knew how far away it was? It didn't smell too far away, but she shouldn't just leave her friends alone. Even though they had each other, the three were asleep, and it was fair to say that Abbie was the strongest one there. She turned to go back, but the scent became stronger and she knew they were Oran berries. Through the trees, she saw her blue friend, who had become a sister to her, lying on the ground with her tail twitching. It didn't look like it was getting better, and the berries were right there. She needed as many of the healing berries as she could get.

Abbie turned back around and walked toward the scent. Her nose led the way through the forest, taking her in several twisting directions. The smell of the berries was similar to Sweet Scent. After just a minute of following it, Abbie developed an attraction to it. It was sweet and nice, but it dulled her instincts and reactions, causing her to trip over random roots.

Then, the aroma was all around her, making her stay in one spot. She didn't move and remained sniffing the air, not even notice the vines on the ground moving. They circled around her paws, careful not to touch her fur, and the eyes from all around watched and waited.

Then, the aroma was gone and the vines seized their prey.

The life source in her chest jolted Cecilia awake, alerting her of danger nearby. She jumped up and blasted an Ice Beam at the ground, as if something had grabbed her paws. Arron and Cyle were immediately awake after feeling the icy wave of air rush over them, only to find the water type standing there. She was still, and staring into the forest, her rubbery ears erect.

"Sis, what happened?" Cyle asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

Arron looked out to where Cece's eyes were focused, only seeing trees. "Was someone here?"

Another jolt shook her life source, making her jump once again. She didn't know what it was or where it was coming from, but it made her heart beat a mile a minute. Her claws dug into the ground as she could smell the soft aroma of berries, but the scent was dulling to her senses, and she shook her head to clear her mind.

Cecilia looked around hastily. "Where's Abbie?"

Arron and Cyle just noticed that Abbie was gone, but before they could even process it, Cece was gone. She was running into the forest, and the two guys sighed and followed her, knowing she couldn't go on her own. At the speed she was running, though, they doubted that they could keep up with her.

"Wait...Cece," Arron panted as he ran. "Where are…we going?"

"What if Abbie comes back and sees us gone?" Cyle asked. "We need to be waiting…"

Suddenly, the Vaporeon skidded to a stop. Cyle and Arron slowed down until they were by her side. The growling, snaps, and snarls flooded their ears, and before them was was a jungle of vines, coming from Bellsprout and Tangela, and a dulling aroma was being produced by the Vileplume. Most of the vines were wrapped around an Umbreon, and the others were on their way.

Abbie was suspended in the air by several of the Tangela's and Bellsprout's vines. She opened her mouth and started forming a Shadow Ball. Before she could release it, though, a vine snapped her mouth shut and held it closed, causing the move to disappear into the air. Then, she was slammed at the trunk of a tree. The pokemon were about to smash her body against the ground, but before they could an Ice Beam froze the vines over. A bolt of lightening whizzed by and cracked the ice, breaking the grass ropes in two.

The Bellsprout and Tangela jumped back a few feet, surprised and hurt by the sudden attack. Abbie hit the ground, but quickly got to her feet and tackled one of the Vileplume nearby. The scent was weaker, almost gone, as soon as it hit the tree and was knocked out. A vine grabbed her back leg and dragged her down, but she simply fired a Shadow Ball back at the Tangela. It exploded, releasing a cloud of smoke and covering a majority of the grass types.

Abbie smiled at her friends. "Thanks guys."

Suddenly, a dozen vines shot and grabbed Arron and Cyle, and Abbie and Cecilia were just barely able to avoid them. The vines emitted a green electricity, sapping the energy from Arron and Cyle. The two girls tried to get to them, but were kept busy by the dancing greenery around them. It smacked them, grabbed them, and slammed them against anything it could.

Abbie simply stopped attacking, focusing everything in her heart, her power source, to her paws. She could feel the dark energy building up in her bloodstreams, making her paws shake. She did her best to ignore the constant slam against the ground, and focused just on the darkness.

A pulse of blackness burst from her paws. It vibrated and traveled through the air and ground, knocking everything away, including her friends. The vines broke, dropping her and Cece onto the ground. The Dark Pulse wasn't strong enough to knock out anyone, but stunned the grass types for a few seconds.

Abbie got back up in a second. "Run!" She yelled.

Arron and Cecilia ran ahead, but Cyle was nowhere to be seen. Abbie looked around hastily, knowing the pokemon would be moving any moment now, and she found him still lying on the ground. Abbie quickly ran back and slid under him, adjusting the Umbreon so he wouldn't fall. He groaned in as she ran, but Abbie had to ignore it and continue running.

A vine shot passed her and quickly turned, coming back at her. She jumped and the vine scraped her ankles, flipping her midair. She quickly formed and launched a Shadow Ball at the Tangela's vines, causing it to retreat, and landed on her paws. Abbie swiftly moved to catch Cyle on her back, and then ran after Arron and Cecilia.

…

They ran on until evening, with the exception of Cyle who still unconscious and being carried by Abbie. Once they decided to stop, the sun was almost setting, and having been running all day they made the choice to settle in for the night. Abbie gently placed Cyle on the ground and laid down a few feet away from him.

"You must've hit him pretty hard," Cecilia stated as she walked over and curled up on the ground. "That was some Dark Pulse."

"It wasn't much," Abbie admitted. "I can't believe Cyle's been out all day. I mean, he's a dark type, and you two didn't get knocked out."

"We haven't had a lot to eat. I mean, I haven't eaten the entire competition and Cyle probably hasn't either. When he wakes up, he's gonna be exhausted."

Arron heard their predicament and headed into the forest alone, trying to find an Oran berry tree. Of course, though, the female Umbreon joined him. She couldn't let him go into the forest alone, not after what happened with her. At first, they said nothing to each other, trying to find something for them to eat. Abbie sniffed the trees and ground, digging into the dirt when she thought she found something. Arron often combed through his fur when she wasn't looking.

"So," Arron started awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

"Oh you know," Abbie said, her voice slightly shaky from digging through the dirt. "Just hunting Bouffalant."

Arron laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "You're cute."

"Thanks."

"Oh, no, I was saying that the joke you…" Arron paused for a second, realizing he was making the situation more awkward for himself. He just wanted to talk to Abbie. "I mean that your joke is cute and you're…uh…kinda cute-too?"

"I'll take that as a complement." There was nothing under the dirt, so Abbie sniffed the air and caught a whiff of berries. She led the Jolteon toward a tree and looked up, spotting two Oran berries hanging off the branch and three more in the leaves. "How good is your aim?"

"Huh? Oh! I think I shoot my Thundershock pretty well."

"Good, now hit the Oran berries off that tree."

Arron pulled electricity out of the orb in his chest, letting it charge in his yellow fur. He set his aim on the stem of a blue berry and threw the bolt. An Oran berry fell off and smacked his head. Abbie chuckled and jumped, swiftly kicking the trunk of the tree. Three more berries fell on the Jolteon, causing him to rub the spots where he was hit. The Umbreon laughed again and picked up two of the berries while Arron got the other two.

He couldn't help but have a crush on her.