Chapter 28: Caught by the Thief

Shadow watched the last of her partners fall, his expression neutral now as he jumped off the railing and released his kadabra, "I'm growing bored of this chase now…Psy, hold her for me…"

"Shadow, play nice now…" Vert sighed as he returned his partners, leaving only flareon out now as he followed Shadow, "We've discussed this problem before…"

Light started as they approached her, her eyes wide in fear as her fingers curled around the grass shard. Before she could do anything though the kadabra's psychic caught her and she found herself hovering an inch off the stone floor with the shadow thief standing before her.

"I know that, I'm not a monster you know…" Shadow sighed as he reached out and fingered the grass shard, suppressing the angry glow with this own shards, "You don't want to do that you know, the elements aren't something to play with…"

"What…" Light broke off as the psychic's grip tightened, her gaze darting to the kadabra a moment before finally settling on the gym leader.

"At least let her speak, she won't listen otherwise…I don't know how Neross put up with her for so long…" Vert shook his head as he picked flareon up, his gaze straying to her injured partners as they attempted to aid her.

Shadow spotted them too and within moments Blaze and Crow had them pinned neatly, "Fine, Psy let up…let's see why she's been following us…"

The kadabra gave his partner a sidelong glance, his clone mark glowing faintly before he relented and loosened her bonds, "You will not harm my partner grass hunter…"

"She's not a hunter, not yet anyway…" Shadow claimed a new seat on the railing beside her as he shifted his gaze back to Vert again "Do you have any more objections?"

"No, at this point it's for the best…we'll be your witnesses…"

Shadow nodded at that and waved for his partners to back off, "Good, then you'll have one hour to rest and heal…after that you come back here and we'll settle this the old-fashioned way…"

Vert waited until she had scampered off with her wounded partners, clearly in too much shock to object, before turning back to Shadow, "After this I'll take you there but I can't guarantee you'll find anything…"

"Either way I'd rather find somewhere quieter to train…"


Kazeon ducked under the jutting stone, squeezing herself into the narrow tunnel hidden beyond it. The mountains had grown quiet since the passage of the dex holders, almost too quiet for her tastes but she was glad to see last of New Moon for the time being.

The tunnel narrowed, scraping painfully against her wings, before finally opening out to a small clearing set in the heights of Mount Diligence and there before her sat another kazeon, the balance token hanging from her neck marking her true identity even as she turned to greet the resident guardian.

"Sister, it's been a while…"

"Get out of my form Flee, don't you have your own assignment?" Kazeon growled low at the younger guardian before stalking past her to peer down the mountain's side.

Flee cocked her head for a moment, a smirk visible before her form shrank and she was once again an eevee, "You're no fun…"

"And you've been hanging out with Spark again, why are you here?"

Flee sighed, relenting as she stepped up to the flying eeveelution's side, "Do you sense my replacement yet?"

Kazeon turned to regard the eevee a moment, her expression unreadable before she turned back to the landscape below them, "No, the boy shows promise but he will not evolve…you are the only that can take that form…"

"I can't control it! All the others are easy, just meet the requirements and I can hold it as long as I like…but that one is impossible!"

"Origieon is born of the bonds between human and pokémon…perhaps you would do better spending more time with the humans…"

Flee snorted, the sound ending in a low growl as her claws kneaded against the mountain stone, "Don't forget humans created me…they don't deserve my kindness…"

"They created the boy too and yet he has reason to hope…you are foolish to keep such narrow views, return to your city now little sister…" Kazeon's growl was deeper and more powerful than the eevee's, her eyes narrowing dangerously before she suddenly leapt into the air.

Flee took a nervous step away from the edge, her own growl dropping to a faint whimper before fading into silence. She watched the flying type for a moment more before turning and dashing off without another word.

"That didn't end well, do you have to be so hard on her?"

Kazeon started at the new voice and twisted sharply in the air, a thin blade of wind hovering inches from Souleon's throat.

The ghost eeveelution grunted, floating back to a safe distance as he waited for her to relax, "Settle Sis, Drac sent me to check on you…"

"Draceon…she's a good leader…" Kazeon released the blade and turned in a slow spiral to land on the neighboring Mount Sloth, "But we need a proper leader again…"

"Origieons do not last long, perhaps it is better this way…" Souleon dropped down beside her with a sad smile, "Let Flee have her fun, it cannot last and in time she might prove the true guardian…"

"She will not, she barely has more years than Flareon yet he was proven a better guardian…"

"Shh…will you wake the dead? In a year's time we will meet again…I am sure Draceon will have a solution by then…"

"I wish the enemy would come already…I have no fear of their power, we will beat any who abuse the elements…"

"Then you would die and leave us another short, please take care sister…Draceon has a new assignment for you anyway…"