Due to having little time to plan other fanfiction chapters this week, I'll be doing another update here. Hoping to expand on other ones soon though.
*Chapter Twenty-Six: A Bolt of Lightning*
"If we can't go to Amethyst City, where should we head next?" Misya asked as they left the shop.
Tenga showed her the map. "We're actually quite close to Diamond City."
"The gym we skipped because we weren't ready yet?" Kyra recalled.
"We weren't then," Grisom said. "But I think now we're in pretty good shape. Three of us have six Pokémon now, while you have five. And most of us have had a Pokémon evolve, if not more than one."
Misya remained silent while Kyra said, "You can only carry six, right?"
"Six at a time," Tenga confirmed. "The rest get sent back to your home location. Many trainers choose to have that be with the professor in their home town, while others have them go to their houses."
"So if I got more than six, Professor Cedar would receive them," Kyra said.
"Yep," Grisom said. "You could switch between the six by computer at any time by contacting him."
Misya appeared concerned at this. "Where would mine go? I don't have-er, I never decided anything like that."
"Maybe we could ask Professor Cedar to receive yours too?" Kyra suggested.
"That should work," Tenga said. "When we get to the next Pokémon Center, you can talk to him about it."
"Okay, thanks." Misya looked relieved at that.
"So nobody's against going back to Diamond City?" Grisom asked.
Tenga shrugged. "It's a logical choice."
"I'm fine with it," Misya said, and Kyra nodded.
"It shouldn't take us long to get there. We can take a route through the plains," Grisom said. "No obstacles there, unless we run into any crazy Pokémon."
"That was one good thing about the marsh," Kyra remarked. "None of them were there."
"You never know when we'll run into them again." Grisom started walking to the north. "Let's get moving. If we're quick, we may be able to make it there before nightfall."
"I'd love to be able to sleep in an actual bed again," Misya said dreamily while following him.
Kyra laughed. "No arguments there."
Though they were still a bit tired from their marsh expedition, being in an easier place to travel made them progress swiftly. Ranma spent the time running around and leaping on and off of Tenga's shoulders. He tried to peck Hama once to get her to join in on the activity, but her violent hiss in response caused him to give that up. Florian remained close to Kyra, even though she gave him a chance to run around as well. He remained quiet for a good while. Because of that, when he whimpered, Kyra took quick notice.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Tenga pointed at the sky, where they could see dark clouds rolling in. "A storm's coming."
"That won't be fun." Grisom sighed. "Well, no way to avoid it. We'll have to tough it out."
"Unfortunately," Misya muttered.
The rain began coming down in short order. Ranma showed his displeasure by shaking his wings multiple times and trying to get the water off them while failing miserably. Tenga recalled him to prevent anything worse from happening. The first crack of thunder that they heard nearly caused Florian to become petrified, so Kyra did the same for him. Misya offered Hama a chance to go in her Poké Ball, but she turned her nose up at the offering and stayed out.
"She really doesn't like being called back, does she?" Kyra spoke loudly so that her voice could be heard over the heavy raindrops.
"Yeah, and there's usually no reason to force it, so it works out," Misya said. Hama spun around her, causing Misya to look amused. "Okay, there hasn't been any reason to force it. Yet."
Grisom broke through their conversation. "Do any of you see something up ahead?"
They went silent to look, with Tenga finally saying, "I think so. It looks like there are two silhouettes."
"Pokémon?" Misya asked. "Or humans? Or neither?"
"Judging by the size, I'd say Pokémon," Grisom said. "Let's take a look."
Trying their best to go straight ahead while ignoring the occasional cracks of thunder, they soon arrived upon the curious scene. One of the Pokémon was a brown creature that stood on its hind legs and had a short tail. Other than its red eyes, its face could not be seen due to a white skull covering it. It carried a bone in its left hand like a club. Directly across from it was an Eevee that had its fur up and was growling fiercely.
"Another Eevee?" Kyra said in surprise.
"Oh hey, it's a new Pokémon for you," Grisom said with a smirk.
Kyra's retort was cut off by Tenga saying, "That's a Marowak. They aren't seen very often in the wild."
"Do you think it's one of the crazy Pokémon?" Misya said worriedly. "The Eevee seems fine, but I can't tell with the other one."
"If it is, I'll have to deal with it," Grisom stated.
The Eevee barked viciously at the Marowak. It drew back its club, seeming ready to strike, when suddenly a third Pokémon walked over. The two of them stared in disbelief at the Riolu that simply went between them, not caring at all about the fight they were about to have.
"I don't get it. Why does he keep showing up? Is he following us?" Misya wondered.
"Somehow, I get the feeling he's just lost," Tenga said. "Thus we keep finding him by coincidence. Or he finds us."
With the Riolu now gone, the Eevee and Marowak turned back to each other. Kyra had decided to take action by this point and went over to them. "That's enough! Why are you two trying to fight? If you have a good reason, explain it to me!"
They looked at her in surprise. The Eevee then turned its head away and pawed at the ground a bit, seeming embarrassed. The Marowak merely snorted and brought out an item in its right hand.
"A Poké Ball! He must belong to a trainer!" Misya realized.
"Did you get separated from your trainer?" Kyra asked. The Marowak nodded. "And now you're trying to find him?" Another nod.
"So he isn't crazy," Misya said. "That's a good thing."
"Then why did you try to fight him?" Kyra said to the Eevee. It responded by walking in a determined circle and then sitting down. "Um… …Oh, is this your territory?"
"I wouldn't have guessed that from its movements," Grisom commented as the Eevee confirmed it. "She really does have a gift with them."
"And you insist on fighting anyone who comes into your territory?" Kyra sighed as the Eevee jumped up and down. "If you're so determined to do that, then fight one of my Pokémon. We're trespassing too, right?"
The Eevee considered this, and then nodded.
Kyra directed to the Marowak, "We've been traveling a lot. If you would like, we could help you find your trainer. We're already doing that for several Pokémon that we found. Want to come with us?"
In response, the Marowak tossed the ball up and vanished into it. Kyra picked it up to store. "Maybe we should have these sent to Professor Cedar too, even if they aren't our own Pokémon."
"It would probably be safer," Tenga agreed.
Seeing the Eevee wiggling with impatience, Kyra took out one of her own Poké Balls. "I promised you a battle, so let's get it over with. Ilya, go!"
Ilya popped out to survey the situation. She caught sight of the Eevee and smiled widely.
"Apparently she already has a plan," Tenga said.
"This Eevee wants a battle," Kyra said to Ilya. "Are you up for it?"
Looking over the Eevee again, Ilya began to approach it while waving her tail. As a flash of lightning occurred, her tail stretched over her face, in a pattern that appeared erotic to even the human viewers. The wild Eevee watched in fascination.
"I guess that tells us what gender he is," Misya said in exasperation.
With her opponent completely under her spell, Ilya suddenly darted forward and slammed him in the head with a full-body tackle. The Eevee crashed to the ground, eyes swirling.
"Good work, Ilya!" Kyra said as Ilya strutted back.
Grisom raised an eyebrow as he watched Kyra pet her. "You aren't going to catch him?"
"I'd feel guilty if I did that," Kyra answered. "He just wanted to fight."
"That's all, you say?" Tenga pointed down.
When they looked at where he was indicating to, they saw the Eevee was on his feet and staring at Ilya. He approached and flopped over, rolling on his back. Ilya looked at him for a moment before sniffing and weaving between Kyra's legs to go behind her.
"I think her Attract worked too well," Tenga observed.
"Oh dear," Misya said. "So now he wants to follow her like a stalker?"
"Love at first sight," Grisom said. "But this gives you the perfect excuse to capture him. You already have five Eevees-or had, with your Espeon. Why not take this one too?"
"That's true, but…" Kyra knelt down to look at the Eevee. "Do you want to come with me to stay near Ilya?" He instantly nodded, and she turned to Ilya. "Are you okay with that?" Ilya gave the Eevee an exasperated look before slowly nodding as well. "All right then. I guess I have no reason to argue." She tossed a Poké Ball at the Eevee, who stayed in it until she released him again.
"What will you call him?" Misya asked.
"I think Leon will be fine." Kyra watched Leon approach Ilya again, only to be batted on the nose. "I hope they'll be okay together."
"Ilya's loyal to you," Grisom said. "If the situation calls for her to work with Leon for your benefit, she'll do it. Doesn't mean she'll like him, but she'll do it."
"It's like some people," Misya added. "They don't like each other when they first meet, but after being together for a while, they get along."
"Right." Seeing that the two Eevees were soaked, Kyra recalled both of them. "As… strange as that was, we should keep going."
"I'm all for getting out of this rain," Grisom agreed.
Unanimous in the decision to prevent being wet any longer than necessary, the group set forth once more.
To be continued…