Hello again everyone! That last chapter was a monumental effort for me to get done; I spent between 11 in the morning and 7 in the evening straight working on it. I most likely won't make the following chapters quite as long, but I think I'm going to try and at over 1.6 thousand words from now on. I have to say that I am glad to get reviews from more people as opposed to just What Lies Beyond. If you haven't already I would suggest you read his works, we have been coordinating so that some characters are in both of our stories.
Reviews:
Silverleone: I'm appreciate the encouragement, and I am glad you liked the chapter.
Zombie cherno alpha: I'm glad you liked it, but we have a long ways to go until the end. I honestly don't have a fully fleshed out plan of where this is going, but it's definitely going.
GlaceonFan: Thank you! I think there were more than enough clues even without the last chapter to tell that he would evolve into an umbreon. I do hope that my work continues to meet or exceed your expectations.
What Lies Beyond: I really do think that that was my best work so far, in no small part due to your input.
I picked myself up off the ground, and looked down at myself. My fur was black, with a ring of blue on each of my legs. The rings were glowing with a strange inner light. Looking around, I was able to see much farther through the night than I could previously. I had pretty clearly evolved into an Umbreon.
I looked back up at the moon, and once again became entranced by it. I lost track of time almost immediately, watching the moon travel across the night sky. The moon had traveled halfway across the night sky before my euphoric state was broken by Frost returning to the clearing.
"Enjoying yourself?" She said, snickering a bit. I glared at her, tearing my gaze away from the moon. "Well, congratulations on evolving, either way."
"Thanks." I said. I felt energized, but I knew I had to sleep. My mind felt lighter than before, which probably had to do with the eradication of Moonbeam. I would like to say that I felt sadness or pity that he was gone from the world, but I couldn't say that in good conscience. He had wished that same fate upon me.
This train of thought, unfortunately, let me to think about my parents, buried beneath the unforgiving rock in the far off mountains of Kalos. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and there was nothing I could do to stem their flow. I curled up at the base of one of the trees on the edge of the clearing, still crying even as I drifted off to sleep.
I awoke the next morning, feeling a bit sluggish. Bane and Frost were already awake. Bane was sitting down, his back against a tree, and when noticed me getting up he stood up as well. "Good morning! Glad to see that you evolved, how do you feel?" He asked.
"Tired." I responded. For the first time I realized how much height I had gained evolving, I must have been three times as tall as before.
Bane chuckled a bit, and then took on a more serious tone. "Ok, so what I have decided that I am going to do is track down Pluto. Do you want to stay with us for that?" He asked.
I considered this for a moment. "Yes, I think I do." I responded. "It's not like I have something else to do or anywhere to go." Bane nodded.
"Alright." He said. "Our goal for today is trying to reach another town to get some supplies." He looked around, spotting Frost in the middle of yawning. He waited patiently until she finished, then asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yep." Frost answered, still sounding a bit tired. Bane glanced around the clearing one last time, perhaps looking to see if we left any traces of our presence, before setting off. Frost and I followed close behind. We walked for two or three hours before we reached the edge of the forest, emerging perpendicular to a road. The road wound and twisted out of sight in both directions, indicating that we were far away from a town.
Bane pulled a crumpled looking map from one of the many pockets in his trench coat, and unfolded it. He spent a few seconds looking at it, presumably tracing our path through the forest, before he folded up the map and stowed it back in its pocket.
We turned left, which I think lead us northwards, and continued walking. We walked for about two more hours before we reached the outskirts of a small town. "Stay close." Bane said quietly. "We don't want a repeat of last time."
Bane led us to a small convenience store off of one of the town's side streets. The store was relatively small, with a low ceiling and claustrophobia inducing isles between shelves packed with various odds and ends. An elderly man, evidently the owner of the store, was sitting behind a dusty cash register reading a newspaper.
Bane spent five minutes looking around, eventually settling on a medium sized plastic tarp, a small length of rope, and three potions. He brought the items over to the shopkeeper, who didn't seem to have noticed we had even entered. After a few seconds Bane rapped gently on the shopkeepers desk, startling the old man slightly.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't notice you had entered." The old man said, his voice raspy and wizened. His eyes widened as he noticed Frost and me. "Well, bless my soul." He said, his tone of voice displaying his wonder. "Two shiny Pokémon. You must be one of the luckiest trainers alive." The man said to Bane.
Bane grimaced. "Hardly." He said, placing the items on the desk.
The old man consulted a price list taped onto the desk. "That will be 700." The man said, pushing his glasses up his nose a bit. Bane fished around in his trench coat, eventually pulling out the amount of cash he needed. The shopkeeper smiled, brightly, and opened the dusty cash register with a metallic clang. He put the money in, closed it with the same metallic clang, and then looked back up at Bane. "Have a good day." He said, gratefully. Bane nodded in response and headed out of the store, with Frost and I following close behind.
Bane wound the rope around the tarp, compressing it to the point where he could stick it in one of his seemingly infinite pockets, and put the potions in yet another.
We made our way around the town, avoiding main streets when we could and sometimes passing through thin alleyways between buildings. The town was heavily populated, however, and even with these detours we inevitably attracted some attention.
Right as we were leaving, while on the main road of the town, someone shouted from behind us. "Where do you think you're going?", they said, and Bane whipped around, an angry gleam in his eyes. I followed his gaze to see a man, not very old but with short, gray hair. He was wearing a light green jacket and worn looking greens, and was leaning against the side of one of the buildings. I could barely make out the spherical shape of a pokéball in his right hand.
The man grinned, but in a way that conveyed no humor, only malice. He revealed a second pokéball in his left hand, and released both Pokémon, a Lucario and an Infernape. My mind started racing, analyzing the battle in a way I never had before. We had a bad type match up, two Pokémon with fighting against two dark. I didn't have much offensive capability, and if Frost took a hit she was likely down for the count.
The man waved his hand, lazily, and the battle began. In the same flash of blinding light, Frost Mega Evolved, wings appearing outstretched, although it seemed to drain her a bit to do so. The Lucario, seemingly needing no instruction, instantly shot off an Aura sphere towards frost, identifying her as the more valuable target.
Time seemed to slow down, my mind racing. Frost was still recovering from her Mega Evolution, and wouldn't be able to dodge in time. I gritted my teeth, and leapt into the path of the sphere. It hit me in the side, but not with enough force to send me flying backwards into Frost.
The orb stung harshly, and I felt light headed. I felt energy well up within my chest, and I felt slightly euphoric as I channeled the moonlight I had witnessed during my evolution, reaffirming my focus and healing me.
Frost was gathering energy, surrounded by an almost imperceptible halo of light, and I felt a faint wind begin to pick up. I planted myself between our two opponents and her, ready to take any incoming attack. The infernape charged at me, fire forming around its body as it ran. I braced myself for the hit, but it never came.
A massive blast of wind erupted from frost, blasting towards our foes as if they were solid blades. The infernape was thrown backwards, and landed in a heap on the ground, knocked out. The lucario weathered the Razor Wind, but just barely.
"I am bested." The lucario said in English, and turned to its trainer, who recalled both Pokémon. He glanced at Frost and me before turning and running into the town, quickly making a left and vanishing from sight.
In a brief flash of light, Frost returned to her usual form. She was obviously exhausted, but she made no complaint as we followed Bane off of the road and once again into the surrounding forest.