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Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by GAMEFREAK/The Pokemon Company
Darren and Harmony are owned by ScruffyEevee
Chapter 7
In a flash of light, the Eevees successfully completed their transfer into the new box. Darren never described the box in detail before, so the other two Eevees didn't know what to expect. The first detail they gathered about the box, much to their misfortune, was the blinding light reflected off of what looked to be a floor of white stone beneath their paws. Darren squinted his eyes in response to how bright it was, and his siblings had done the same. Looking away from the flooring, he was able to observe the area to which he had just been transported to.
The Eevees found themselves in the middle of a large, seemingly endless prairie full of tall grass and flowers. In the distance was a ring of woodland that appeared to be surrounding the entire prairie. If they had to guess, then it would probably take them around 10 minutes of walking to reach the wooded area, though they were fully intent on scouting the large field before them first.
Looking away from the land in the distance to the land right before them, Darren quickly turned his head around to see the marble structure above the terminal. The structure surrounding the device this time was not quite as vibrant or decorated as the pavilion in Box 1. It did not have arches supporting it, but rather four smooth marble pillars erected from a flat, square slab of marble, which also served as the flooring that the Eevees stood upon. This stone floor below them also appeared to be the third layer on top of two larger slabs of stone. The Eevees then realized they were actually standing on three slabs of marble, each decreasing in surface area as they were stacked on top of each other. This resulted in the slabs forming small steps that led up to the PC terminal on all sides, similar to a step pyramid.
On top of the four pillars was another slab of marble the same size as the slab the Eevees were standing on. This slab served as a foundation for the smooth hemispherical dome that crowned the entire structure. It too was made entirely of marble and was just as smooth as it probably was when it was first constructed. The shape of the entire landmark had puzzled Darren, and he also questioned how the structure was as smooth as it was since surely this box experienced wind and rain, but he decided not to dwell on it much longer, for him and his siblings already had a clear goal in mind.
"Alright," Sorrel said, causing the other two Eevees to look at him. "We've made it to Box 9... and it seems it won't be that difficult to explore seeing as it's just an open field," he concluded as he scanned the grassland in front of him. Darren turned away from him to survey the land in more detail as well. Nothing much could be found looking into the endless field of grass and flowering plants before him. The plants swayed calmly in the wind as the artificial Sun in the sky bathed the entire plain in its warm and nourishing rays. The field looked so realistic despite merely being a virtual realm of existence created and stored on a few pieces of metal and circuit boards. It was something Darren never really could wrap his head around. Pokemon believe it is possible to create a world like this only by using magic, which sounded rather strange to Darren, but nothing had proven it otherwise so he never denied the beliefs of these individuals. The land this computer had generated had a more intimate effect on Darren than the other boxes. It gave Darren a sense of tranquility and safety as if nothing bad could go wrong in here. He could see why his mother liked to visit this place.
"Mother has got to be here. How could you not want to come here and relax?" Darren said as he took in the open air.
"I can see where you're coming from. After what we dealt with just now, I'd like to just lay here for a while. I wished I had discovered this place sooner, to be honest," Sorrel commented as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the breeze on his fur. "I could get used to this," he added.
"Wow…" Harmony gasped to herself as she looked around, before quickly turning her head towards her eldest sibling. "So brother? You've actually been here before?" Harmony asked, tilting her head at him. He responded with a smile.
"Yes, and it looks just like it did in my memories. Grass and flowers as far as the eye can see, and this thing made of stone covering the terminal," he said, shrugging behind him. "It's all coming back to me now," Darren said, turning to look away from his sister. She gave a cheeky grin as she admired the thought that her brother got to venture around a place as nice as this before.
"Really?! This place is so cool big brother! When'd you come here?" she asked eagerly. Darren looked towards her, slightly surprised at her excitement, and thought for a moment before responding.
"Well, I came here a lot when I was really young - like newly hatched young. Sometimes mother would play or nap with me. I was kinda raised here, to be honest, and my littermates were always here too. Mother never really let me play with them for some reason..." he said more to himself than anything as he thought back on his past. Harmony stared at him curiously as if expecting him to continue, but Sorrel was more eager to continue their search than to listen to his brother's stories.
"Yeah, so she was probably overprotective or whatever, as she usually is. She's just serious about stuff like that, you know? Always saying we have to look out for Harmony," Sorrel complained, causing his siblings to shoot him an awkward look. "Well, never mind me, I'd like to get moving now. Do you have any idea where mom could be?" he said as he turned towards Darren.
"She has a nest somewhere in here. We all know that, though. Don't know why she'd be in it, but we can still check it out," Darren informed him. Sorrel looked away towards the field as if trying to look for it.
"Well, I hope she is there. This search is gonna go on all day at this rate," Sorrel grumbled before stepping away from them and heading down the set of stairs. Darren chuckled at his brother's situation.
"It isn't that bad. We could still be at the Pokemon Center or something stupid like that." Darren tried reassuring him.
"Well, I guess you're right about that, but I still wish we can find her already. This is pretty irritating now after that run-in we just had," Sorrel said, not even turning to look at his brother.
"Yeah, I get it," Darren sighed. "Just… do it for Harmony."
"Well of course I'll do it bro!" Sorrel quickly told him. "It's just…" he struggled. "I'd like to find her myself. She's been doing this a lot lately, you know. Like, what, it's the third time this week she's gone into the PC?" Sorrel questioned, to which Darren just shrugged.
"Well, I'd like to find out what she's been doing," Sorrel admitted. Darren looked at him with an understanding grin and giggled.
"That's kinda why I'd like to find her as well. She seems a bit… off lately. Going into the box regularly and all. She can take care of herself, but still," Darren said as he empathized with his brother. "That, and it clearly upsets Harmony, and well, I'd like her to not be so upset."
"Right," Sorrel agreed. "And speaking of Harmony, she's currently running off right now."
"Eh?" Darren looked at him weirdly before turning around to find that his sister was trotting away from them towards what looked to be an area of the field that was heavily cluttered with Pokemon nests. Darren looked at her surprised before turning in her direction and calling out to her.
"Harmony!" he cried, causing the young Eevee to stop in her tracks and twist her head in his direction. "Don't touch those eggs alright?"
"Well, duh big bro!" she retorted. "I know I shouldn't touch someone else's eggs," she said, rolling her eyes. "That'd be a death sentence. I ain't that dumb!"
"Well, I have my doubts," Darren replied, to which Harmony raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head.
"Are you coming or what brothers?" she hastily asked before turning to explore more of the field before them. Darren and Sorrel looked at each other before quickly bounding down the stairs of the marble landmark and heading in their sister's direction.
The three Eevees trudged through the field as they looked at the few sights around them. The prairie wasn't exactly the most interesting place is what they quickly had come to learn. It seemed the only things to be found in it were grass, more grass, flowers, Pokemon nests, and eggs inside of those nests. Like Darren said before, the box was only accessible to Pokemon on their trainer's main team, which to their knowledge was currently just the three of them and their mother. Therefore, if they were to find another living Pokemon in this box, then it couldn't be anyone but the Flareon.
Along with the number of different flowers and patches of grass, the amount of Pokemon nests with eggs seemed endless. The group had walked past quite a few already as they surveyed the area, and each nest seemed to have a unique type of Pokemon egg. None of them knew what Pokemon the eggs would become, of course, seeing as how this is the first time any of them have seen a Pokemon egg that wasn't from an Eevee much less an entire field full of them.
After a while, they approached a small hill with no nests or plants besides grass on top of it. Darren asked Harmony if she wanted to continue past the hill or head in a different direction. She had thought about it for a moment before asking Sorrel what he thought.
"Look sis, I don't think it matters where we go since we'll look around this entire box anyway. You can go wherever you want," he told her. Harmony nodded in understanding and looked back towards the hill. She made her decision.
"Let's go over it!" she declared before continuing forward. "Maybe mother will be just past it! You never know!" she added as she walked away from her brothers. The two males gave each other a look of doubt before begrudgingly following her.
"Pssh right. What are the chances of that?" Sorrel muttered. "Mother would set up a nest or whatever so far away from the PC terminal? Like… why?" he said, referring to Darren with an eyebrow raised.
"Maybe she's a fan of cardio or something," he shrugged. Sorrel quickly glanced over to him.
"Huh? What is that?" he asked, genuinely curious. Darren staggered for a moment. "Uh, well. It's a human thing..."
Sorrel immediately lost interest after that and turned to see their sister was pulling away from them. He gave Darren another look of confusion before walking faster to catch up with Harmony. The small Eevee had made it to the top of the hill before her brothers, and once she got up there, she stopped and glanced around the field on the other side, using the small increase in height to her advantage even though the land was so flat that it hardly made a difference. Quickly and without warning, the small Eevee gasped and stood completely frozen as she stared at something in the distance. The two brothers noticed this and ran towards her wondering what she was surprised about.
Only a few seconds later, they walked up next to their sister to find her still staring ahead. The brothers looked at her before turning their heads towards the open field before them. It was then when they quickly realized what was in the field that had caused Harmony to look as stunned as she was.
"MOTHER!" she suddenly cried as she took off down the hill. The brothers didn't pay any mind to her, though, as they were transfixed on what they saw in the field in front of them. Further away from them, laying in a small nest made from grass and sticks, was a Flareon resting. Her nest sat by itself under a large tree, and its owner appeared to be the only Pokemon with a nest past the hill.
As Harmony called out to her, Dahlia suddenly jolted her head up and quickly spotted her daughter running towards her. She saw her two sons behind her sister as well, and after recovering from her initial shock, the Flareon quickly stood up in her nest and stepped out of it to greet them.
"Why… Hello, my sweets!" she said, still shocked to find her three children approaching her nest.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Harmony cried before practically tackling her mother, much to everyone's surprise. The action hardly seemed to affect Dahlia at all though, and she used one of her front legs to hug the little Eevee as she held onto the Flareon's yellow mane.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you three in here," Dahlia told them as she stroked Harmony's fur, much to her delight. The brothers looked at each other with looks of hesitation before Darren turned back, scratching his head.
"Uh-huh, well see Harmony here couldn't wait for you to come out, so we just brought her to you," Darren said. Dahlia kept her eyes on the little Eevee in her embrace.
"Ah, I see," Dahlia responded. "Harmony, you've been good to your brothers haven't you?" she asked her. Harmony quickly lifted her head, showing Dahlia the happy gleam in her eyes.
"Uh-huh!" she said enthusiastically. Dahlia smiled and couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's pure innocence.
"She's been fine, mother. Although, we had a little… incident with her today," Darren said as he carefully thought how to break it to their mother that they ran into trouble.
"Oh?" she tilted her head as she looked up at him. "What trouble? Are you alright?" she asked concernedly. Darren looked her in the eyes before glancing away.
"Yeah. But it was… pretty bad actually," he said as he then shifted his gaze towards the ground, earning an even more concerned look from the Flareon.
"What happened?" she asked, now completely serious unlike before.
"She um… got… attacked," Darren said, trying not to put it so bluntly.
"She… wait, what? Who got attacked?" Dahlia asked, clearly confused. Darren nor Sorrel said anything as they both looked at Harmony, who wasn't paying much attention to them at all as she snuggled into her mother's fur, and even seemed to be trying to fall asleep. Dahlia realized that both males had been eyeing Harmony, and a look of shock appeared on her face as she whipped her head down at the Eevee. Her movement seemed to disturb the dozing Eevee, and Harmony quickly opened her eyes to see Dahlia's own staring down at her.
"Do you mean… someone attacked her?" she questioned as she looked back towards Darren, with a lot less anger than he was expecting from her. Both boys responded with a nod, something they would instantly regret soon after seeing the angry scowl appear across their mother's face directly after.
"WHAT?!" she shouted, causing both of them and Harmony to jump. There's the reaction he was waiting for. "WHO!?"
"Er… a Snivy," Darren replied, trying to look his mother in the eyes, but failing. Even if he could, he'd just see that Dahlia didn't look satisfied with that answer at all.
"Which Snivy?" she said, glaring at him.
"B-Basil," Darren said. "He… scratched her on the cheek."
"Scratched her!?" Dahlia roared, now seeming more concerned than anything else. She quickly looks down and faces Harmony, who had fearfully backed away from her furious mother.
"Harmony! Are you alright?!" Dahlia asked, leaning over to inspect her daughter's face. Her eyes widen as she notices a small wound on Harmony's face beneath her fur that looked to be healing.
"Y-yeah, momma. I'm okay," Harmony stuttered nervously as she tried backing away from her mother's grasp.
"Did that Snivy do anything else to you?" Dahlia inquired.
"N-no! I'm just fine!" Harmony said. Dahlia looked at her for a second before lowering her head.
"Grr, that… scum," she growled. "Attacking a child… MY child!" she said before quickly standing up and turning away from the group towards the hill they had just come from.
"When I find him, I swear…" she muttered as she began walking away from them, much to their surprise.
"Mother, wait!" Sorrel called to her, making her stop for a second.
"That Sigilyph in the village...Azul... he helped us take care of him!" he exclaimed, causing his mother to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah! He threw him away using his psychic! That was sooo awesome," Darren said excitedly as he was reminded of the event.
"So you two were just watching the whole time!?" Dahlia yelled, causing both brothers to flinch.
"H-huh? No, mom! Me and Darren were being attacked by Basil's friends! We couldn't do anything! They were just... a lot stronger than us," Sorrel admitted, lowering his head since he knew she would become disappointed with them.
"Ugh… what am I gonna do with you two," she sighed as she rubbed her head. The Eevees lowered their ears in shame knowing they couldn't do anything about their situation. Dahlia looked back at them to see both of them looking away from her, and she sighed again.
"I'm gonna have to train you two myself if Master won't do it," she said as she glared at the two of them.
"I… I'm sorry Mom," Darren replied.
"Yeah… me too," Sorrel added. Dahlia's expression softened as she watched the two offer their apologies.
"It's fine, boys," she said, a lot calmer. "It seems you three are alright despite all that, so I guess this can pass," she told them, much to their relief. "Though, if I ever see that filth in town then I will have to fight the urge to knock him senseless."
"Hah, we're with you on that one mom!" Sorrel stated. "Definitely," Darren agreed. Dahlia chuckled at the both of them, before putting on a serious face again.
"So... " Dahlia said, looking between all three of them now.
"I guess since all three of you are here, then I might as well break this news to you," she said, earning faces of confusion from all her children. "You may have noticed that I've been visiting the PC a lot lately, right?" she asked, seeing Sorrel's face in particular light up at the question.
"Yeah! What's all that about? I've been wondering about that for days but never got to bring it up," he admitted.
"Well, I did this same thing with Harmony when she was here as an egg. And you too, Sorrel," Dahlia said, looking at both of them before shifting her attention towards her eldest son. "And Darren, well…" she paused as she looked at him.
"This wasn't a Box for Pokemon eggs when you were being hatched, Darren. This was a…" she said, hesitating as she looked away from them and at the field of flowers beside them.
"...ugh, I don't know how to say this any differently, but, this… used to be a breeding ground," she reluctantly informed them, much to their shock.
"A… what?" Sorrel stuttered.
"A place where Pokemon go to… you know," she said, giving them a wink.
"Y… yeah. I understood that part Mother," Sorrel blushed.
"Wait, what'd they do?" Harmony said while turning to him.
"N-nevermind it, Harmony," Sorrel replied, looking away from her with a slight blush.
"Oh… okay then."
"But mother… Why this place?" Darren asked suddenly.
"Hm, well, there's a lot of space around for us to work with," Dahlia said, looking back at the open field next to them. "Plus, the flowers here. They're special."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Darren inquired. Dahlia had to think of a response for a moment before opening her mouth to speak again.
"I do not know the names the humans have for them, but us Pokemon call them 'Pink Plume' flowers," she explained. "You may have seen them here today. They have dark-pink petals, and aren't very big."
Darren thought about all the plants he'd seen as he followed Harmony just a few minutes ago to their mother's location. He could recall seeing one or two pink flowers but wasn't sure if they were what his mother was referring to.
"I think I've seen those around here. What's so special about them?" Darren asked.
"Well, you know, us Pokemon are driven by many primal desires. Hunger, sleep, the urge to survive and fight..." Dahlia explained as Darren looked at her odd. He couldn't understand what his mother was getting at. "Let us just say that these flowers can release spores that… amplify one of our primal desires," she explained. "As a result, it makes it easier for Pokemon in this box to do their business with each other."
"O-oh. I see…" Darren replied awkwardly.
"Darren, you remember being here when you were little?" Dahlia suddenly asked. Darren perked his ears at the question, showing she piqued his interest.
"Yeah, but what's that have to do with anything?" he asked curiously.
"Did you get headaches sometimes?" Dahlia continued.
"Uhm, yes... actually," he replied, now even more interested.
"Well then, those flowers are the cause of them. Your brain was nowhere near mature enough to respond properly to the effects of their spores, so you must have gotten headaches from it," she said before lifting a paw to her chin and frowned as if thinking about something. "Now that I think about it, you may have built up a resistance to them since you spent a lot of time here when you were young."
"Maybe. The headaches got less intense after a while if I remember correctly," Darren said.
"Yes, well," she said, looking up at him again. "Those flowers are the main reason this Box was used as a breeding ground, but… anyways," Dahlia waved her paw at them. "Like I was saying, this box was used for breeding, and it proved to be very effective at it. Master quickly ended up with more eggs than she knew what to do with, and by the time Sorrel was born, she had transformed this box into a nursery and reduced the number of flowers by quite a bit," Dahlia explained.
"Speaking of nursing, I still need to show you the reason why I even started explaining all of that in the first place," Dahlia said before getting up and walking past them towards the pile of twigs and leaves they had found her resting in before. Darren and his siblings turned as their mother came to sit next to the structure.
"This here… it is my nest," she said, placing a paw on top of it. "Inside… well," she motioned for them to look. Darren curiously took a few steps closer to the nest so that he could look over the side of it and peer inside. Sorrel and Harmony followed him close behind, and all of them peeked inside to see what Dahlia was referring to. Much to everyone's pure shock, what they saw inside was not at all what they were expecting. Inside was a small, brown egg with a lightly colored stripe running across the middle. Darren's eyes widened as he realized that his mother's behavior now all made sense. "That would be your fifth sibling," Dahlia confirmed from behind them. After gasping at the sight of the egg, Sorrel quickly jumped away from the nest and looked towards her.
"M-mom… what!" he exclaimed. "You?!... You had another!"
"Woah," Harmony whispered in awe as she completely ignored her brother's outburst.
"Hehe, sure! But I don't think I want anymore now," the Flareon said with a goofy grin. Sorrel stared at her dumbfounded, not believing his mother was even considering having another child.
"Mother… How long have you had this egg here?" Darren said as he continued staring at the egg.
"I laid it about 2 weeks ago. It hasn't left this nest since; not even Master has seen it yet, but she knows that I must have an egg by now," she replied.
"Martha knows too!?" Sorrel exclaimed.
"Yes, she does. We set these things up with… your father, you know," Dahlia stuttered at the mention of their father.
"I see… so Dad is its father, huh?" Darren said, lowering himself from the nest to face his mother instead. Dahlia hesitated before speaking again.
"Yes. We are still together… in that sense. That is all, though," she said before letting out a loud sigh. "I'm… still sorry about your father. I never-"
"I like it," Darren interrupted.
"Oh?" Dahlia said, perking her ears up.
"I like… how you two stay mates. Even if you aren't together, you guys are still each other's mate," Darren explained. Dahlia looked at him puzzled, before giving a warm smile.
"Hehe, well, some things aren't in my control. I must take what I can get," the Flareon shrugged. "However... I do find that very appealing as well. Your father, he is a lot of things… but a bad mate isn't one of them," she said before looking collectively at her children.
"Well, this is what I've been busy with these last couple of days. I apologize for not telling you, but I think I'm allowed to keep my own secrets right?" she told them. "Trust me, I was going to surprise you later, but I guess this works too."
"Yeah…" Sorrel shrugged. "Later…" he said, earning a look from Darren.
"So you want to be left alone now?" Darren asked, looking back towards his mother.
"If that doesn't bother you two, then yes, I would like that."
"We only came here to make sure Harmony got to you," Darren said, pointing back at Harmony who was still captivated by the egg in the nest but turned to look at them once she heard her name.
"Oh? My sweet, did you miss me that much?" Dahlia smiled, earning an enthusiastic look from Harmony.
"Yeah, I did Momma! Can I please stay? Pleeeease?" she begged as she hopped away from the nest and ran over to her.
"Well…" Dahlia said as she jokingly looked away from the pleading Eevee. "Hehe, of course you can my sweet!" she grinned as she looked back at Harmony to see her eyes gleaming.
"Yesss!" the little Eevee squealed with joy, earning a chuckle from her mother.
"Well, I guess we will see you later then mother?" Sorrel asked after seeing the exchange between both females. Dahlia looked at him and nodded.
"Thank you both for looking after your sister. I'm happy that she seems alright after your little problem earlier," she said.
"We are too. We'll see you later mom," Darren told her as the Flareon stood up to head back to her nest.
"Of course! I will see you two later today!" Dahlia said as she passed him, followed closely behind by Harmony. Darren grinned as he watched them depart before turning to his brother.
"Come on Sorrel, let's go," Darren said to him.
"Finally," Sorrel said, rolling his eyes. "Glad we're done here," he stated before following close behind Darren as they made their way over the hill that had obscured Dahlia's nest and then in the direction of the marble structure holding their key out of the PC in the far distance. Dahlia watched from her nest as her two sons made their way over the hill, and thus out of view. Harmony saw them leave as well as she sat next to her mother and the egg. After they had gone, Harmony glanced back at the egg she had curiously inspected earlier while her brothers talked with their mother, before shifting her attention to the Flareon herself.
"Mommy?" Harmony asked, hoping to get her attention.
"Yes, my sweet?" Dahlia turned her head to focus on her. Harmony looked away timidly before shifting her focus towards the egg between them.
"So, is that egg gonna be my new sibling?" she asked.
"Yes. You are going to be a big sister soon," her mother responded with a little concern seeing the uncertainty written on her daughter's face. "Are you excited?"
To Dahlia's surprise, the little Eevee quickly put on a face of excitement and looked over at their mother.
"Well, DUH! I've never been a big sister before!" Harmony replied, wagging her tail. Dahlia smiled at her daughter's rhapsody.
"I'm glad you're happy, my sweet," she said before Harmony went back to observing the small egg in front of her.
"But, wait. Once they hatch… does that mean I can't spend any time with you anymore?" Harmony muttered, more towards herself than her mother. Dahlia quickly looked at her with eyes full of worry.
"What? Honey, that's not what that means!" Dahlia quickly responded, surprised that the Eevee was questioning something like that. Harmony looked at her mother distraught.
"But… you're spending so much time with it… and it's just an egg! What will it be like when they hatch?" Harmony questioned, before looking away. "I… want to be with you more mommy. Can we be together more? Please?" she asked, looking back towards her mother pleadingly.
"Sweetie, we can spend more time together if you'd like, whether you have a new sibling or not," Dahlia said confidently.
"Really!?" Harmony said, her eyes growing wide.
"Yes!" Dahlia responded, trying to emulate her daughter's same enthusiasm. "Of course Harmony, I'd love to be with you and your brothers as much as I can."
"Thanks momma!" Harmony said joyfully.
"Haha, you're welcome, my sweet," Dahlia said, embracing the Eevee. Dahlia knew that she couldn't spend as much time with her in the future due to another kit on the way, but she didn't know Harmony would be that concerned about it when she inevitably would receive the news. Though, after hearing her concerns, Dahlia knew she had to confer her other children with the same feelings since they probably have the same thoughts as Harmony. With this new child, she was now determined to spend more time with her children and to share her love equally between them. However, whilst amid her thoughts and also the embrace of her child, Dahlia was quickly thrust back into reality after the sounds of branches snapping and leaves being rustled could be heard from the tree next to them.
"Huh, how cute," was suddenly commented by an eerily deep and muddled voice. Both Dahlia and Harmony were greatly startled by something neither of them had ever expected to hear at that moment. So much so that Dahlia quickly leaped into a defensive position towards whatever voice she had just heard. The two watched as a tall, bipedal Pokemon landed softly at the base of the tree, presumably after being perched on one of its branches for who knows how long. The Pokemon stood up to its full height, revealing its webbed hands and feet, before stepping closer to them and partially outside of the tree's shade.
"What a nice little family," they muttered again, with the same tone of voice. Dahlia glared alarmingly at the creature and quickly deciphered what it was. She hadn't ever been to the region of Kalos, but she had quite the experience facing some of the region's Pokemon in the past. She was quite familiar with some of the more popular faces exclusive to the region, and despite having never seen this one particular Pokemon face-to-face, there was no mistaking it. Their webbed hands and feet, tall bipedal stature, the disproportionately long tongue that seemed to resemble a scarf, and something unique to the Pokemon in front of her was the jet black coloring of their skin.
She knew exactly what they were; A Greninja. The Flareon snarled at them.
"Only Master's main team can access this box…" Dahlia growled at her opposer. "And I don't believe we've met," she continued, still holding her ground with an equally alarmed Harmony now behind her mother's leg.
"No need to be so alarmed, Flareon," the entity began assuring, though without much success.
"Who are you? How did you sneak up on me?" Dahlia questioned who she viewed to be a trespasser. They only seemed to be entertained by her demeanor, however.
"I must say, you are quite the heavy sleeper," he chuckled mockingly. This did not sit well with Dahlia, who realized this 'mon must have been watching the entire interaction she had with her children.
"To my knowledge, Master has yet to even catch a Greninja, so I ask again. Who are you?" she said, prying into the mysterious figure.
"Who I am is none of your concern," he replied, inspecting the Flareon's robust defense protocol. "Don't worry. I do not intend to harm either you or your offspring," he relayed. This seemed to have the most success in eliciting a reaction from the Flareon, as her eyes seemed to somewhat relax after staying glued to the Greninja.
"Then, what do you want?" she asked, not sounding any less assertive.
"I am simply here… to speak with you," Greninja said, seemingly intent on presenting themselves as docile to the females.
"Then speak," Dahlia ordered coldly, showing the Greninja her resolve to progress in their conversation. They obliged, albeit shooting a crude glare at her after receiving the command.
"Those two males just now…" the Greninja said, pointing one of their webbed fingers at the hill Darren and Sorrel had recently scaled, causing Dahlia as well as Harmony to lift an eyebrow.
"I want them"
Author's Note:
Alright, finally. Before I say anything, I want to let it be known that I actually finished this chapter the morning of July 4th. I haven't posted it because I wanted to publish my new Warriors story before updating this one.
In addition to that, I will be spending plenty of my time on said story and also reading other Warriors fics - call it a "phase" if you will. Therefore, this fic actually might go on a decent-sized hiatus since I'll be working on other things, and not to mention I have two vacations planned for the next two months. I've never really been keen on the idea of going on vacation for more than a week, yet my family decides to do that anyway. So if my profile is just dead for the next month then that's likely what I've been doing. I will most definitely try to write some stuff during this time, but who even knows.
Meanwhile, I think I've discussed everything I needed to in this author's note for now. I would say be on the lookout for new stories, but I don't think that will be happening at least for two weeks or more. Life gets in an author's way sometimes, and that's just how it is. Hopefully, you folks enjoyed the chapter despite seeing how disappointed I am at the cruel thought of going on a relaxing vacation with my family soon, Haha.
Thanks for reading all the same, and I will see you guys when I see you! : ]