Hey everybody! Duffle here with my monthly upload of Tales of an Eevee Pack! Sorry that uploads have been slow, motivation to do it has been low and I was trying to get school in check, but now that I'm all set, let's hop right into it!
Chapter 14: Some Slides Just Aren't Fun:
As the Eeveelutions packed up their things and prepared to head out for their next grand adventure, Flareon was just about done and began to skim over some important notes from Espeon. She had given him a run-down on how they were going to use the money won in the Doubles Tournament in order to fund not only supplies for the party, but also each individual member.
Because everyone just NEEDS that hot new item in the store, don't they? Flareon thought to himself. He shook his head. He supposed that he really couldn't complain with the distribution of money, especially since a good majority of it was still being put towards the group as a whole, but the fact that the money that was being taken by the individual party members would most likely end up being spent on a worthless item in the shop. To snap him out of his thoughts, Flareon heard a knock on the door, which whisked him back into reality. He turned his attention to the door and opened it up. Flareon's mood instantly improved as he saw Glaceon's beaming and happy face at the door.
"Oh, hey Glaceon, what's up?" Flareon said, putting on a large smile.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to give you an item that I forgot to give you yesterday..." Glaceon pulled out the charcoal from her bag and handed it over to Flareon. "It's a charcoal, which increases the power of Fire Type attacks. This probably would've been helpful in the tournament, but you were busy and I forgot to give it to you after the matches but… I hope it's helpful."
Flareon took the charcoal and looked at it for a little bit. "Wow, Glaceon… Thanks a lot! This will surely help me out." Flareon gave a bright smile as he put away the Charcoal. He closed his bag and turned back towards Glaceon. "So, have you been holding up fine? It's been a long journey and I wanna make sure you're doing fine."
Glaceon smiled, but it faded to a frown. "Don't worry, Flareon, I'm fine. I'm more worried about you… You've been working so hard lately and you didn't even take this time to rest… Are you gonna be okay in the coming areas?"
Flareon shook his head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I got plenty of rest, fighting is just how I vent out. Thanks for the worry, and I appreciate the thought, but I'm gonna be A-OK."
Glaceon's look of worry disappeared. "Well… Alright. But if anything is wrong, the rest of us can pick up some slack, alright?"
Flareon smiled. "Thanks, Glaceon. I appreciate it."
The Eeveelutions left the town and began walking towards their next destination, being directed by Espeon. As they were walking, Espeon's expression became more and more distressed. Eventually, she opened her eyes back up and addressed the group. "Bad news, everyone. Alakazam has contacted the mayor of the next town, and they said there isn't a Green Orb Shard anywhere around there. They've already made a search for the area around their main stronghold, but they could not find any trace of it."
The Eeveelutions all looked back at Espeon, shocked at the news. Jolteon was the first to break the silence. "What? But that's impossible! They sent a recon squad to go search for it, and they couldn't find it? There's supposed to be a shard at every town, right? That's what Alakazam said!"
Espeon bit her lip. "It might be a situation similar to that of the Squirtle Bros, where a bandit has taken the shard and waiting until we come, but I doubt it. This area has a very good police and punishment system, so bandits are not very common. Either way, it is urgent that we all proceed with caution. This bodes extremely poorly for the rest of the adventure, especially since we've lost all contact with the energy of the other shards as well. If we cannot find the shard in this area, it's safe to assume the shard will continue to take its effect on the area and bring all of it to the brink of collapse. I think we need to find this shard or get as much information as possible on possible locations of the shards, but then we should go back to our village and regroup. We need the location of these shards, because without them, we're going to be incredibly lost."
Flareon nodded. "Good idea, but for now, we need to focus on trying to find a shard in this area or possibly solving a major problem here. Espeon, do you have any crucial info on this place?"
Espeon closed her eyes. "It's mostly mountainous. A large mountain range extends across the entire region, hiding a village within its boundaries. This village is somewhat of a capital for the surrounding villages at the base, and serves as a point of order for the region. The other villages tend to be much smaller and more specific with its Pokemon types, but the center is mostly composed of both Rock and Flying type Pokemon. Because of how we're typed, we're all gonna need to support each other in case we get into a fight, or else they'll just pick us off based on our specific weaknesses."
Flareon nodded and turned to the the rest of the group. "Alright everyone, because of what Espeon said, we're gonna need to stick together. Cover each other when we're put at a disadvantage, and don't let them overwhelm you. If you are at a type disadvantage, don't be afraid to go to someone else in order to get help from them. We're a team, and so we need to stick together and make sure we get through this safely."
"Pfft." Vaporeon looked completely disinterested. "No worries, it should be a piece of cake for us. We've taken down everyone in our way so far, and that isn't gonna change!"
Flareon gave Vaporeon a glare. "Vaporeon, I'm serious about this! We're fighting in unfamiliar terrain and-"
Jolteon nudged Flareon a little bit. "Awe, c'mon buddy. What happened to your fighter attitude? You used to charge in and take care of business, but now you're boring. Vaporeon's right, we should just go in and show em who's boss, amiright?" Jolteon and Vaporeon smirked at Flareon.
Glaceon decided to step in. "Guys, Flareon is just trying to make sure we all come out of this safely, you don't need to…"
Vaporeon shook her head. "No way, girlfriend. I'm running my own train through the enemy. They're Rock and Flying, they can't do anything to me! I don't need any help from any of you, you'll just hold me back cause I'll have to support you all time."
Jolteon smirked too. "And I'll be just fine on my own. I can cover Vaporeon if she ends up getting her butt kicked."
Flareon started to get ticked off. "God, did the Desert Oasis teach you guys nothing?! We need to work as a team in order to fight off these threats, or we're all gonna get separated and slaughtered! We can't just rush in head first towards our problems! Don't you understand?!"
Vaporeon snapped back at him. "What the Desert Oasis taught me was that I saved all of your butts! I don't need you all to support me, I'm just fine on my own! So you stop trying to tell me what to do, and we're gonna be fine, 'kay?" Vaporeon walked towards the mountains, Jolteon soon following after her as Flareon just stood there in shock.
A deafening silence filled the area, but it was soon broken by Glaceon who approached Flareon to comfort him. "Hey, Flareon… Don't worry about them, I think you're doing fi-"
"I don't wanna hear it. Just keep moving. If they want to go and throw their lives out the window, that is fine by me!" Flareon huffed and turned away, walking through the path towards the town.
"...fine." Glaceon looked crushed as Flareon just walked away, but Sylveon walked over and tried to reassure her.
"Hun, don't worry about it. He's just frustrated. You know how quick to anger he is…" Glaceon nodded. He was very quick to anger if something didn't go his way, and she didn't really like it that much. In fact, she hated it. It always put her into a bad mood whenever he flared up like that, and so she just shook her head.
"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Glaceon sighed. "Oh well, I guess all of us can just talk." She looked over at Leafeon and motioned to her, with the three of them walking forward.
"Don't let him get you down, sis. You've got us! And besides, he's probably just stressed out. That guy can be quite the loon when he doesn't get his beauty sleep." Leafeon said, giggling at her own joke.
"Yeah…" Glaceon sadly agreed. Espeon and Umbreon watched this scene and had grim expressions.
"Umbreon, this might be an issue for us in the long run. No one really has a good outlook on Flareon right now."
"Espeon, with all due respect, I don't see how this affects the group, just that Flareon isn't very popular anymore."
Espeon gave him a look. "Umbreon, whether you like it or not, Flareon is our leader. If people don't rally around him, they're going to be scattered."
"Espeon, Flareon has shown that he's not a good leader. I've seen him lose his temper multiple times, and instead of rallying the group around him to solve a problem, he usually either rushes in or gets upset and makes it worse."
"And do you think that someone else would be better for the role? Because I'm certainly not going to uptake it."
"Why not? With your knowledge, you would be much better and more appropriate for the position than Flareon."
Espeon sighed. "Because, Umbreon, I couldn't deal with the stress. Flareon's job is to lead us and make sure everyone's come out safe. He is courageous and a strong fighter, two attributes that make a good leader, and both of which I lack. He would not hesitate to throw himself into danger if it meant saving one of us, and I've seen it many times myself. None of us can do it ourselves, and so we look up to him because of that."
"...I see your point. Very well, I suppose we should try to rally everybody back up. But how do we do that?"
"They have to regain the trust themselves. Maybe a battle in the future can have everybody restore their faith in Flareon, but there's nothing that we can directly do to influence their decision. This is all on him now."
Umbreon nodded. "We should go follow the rest, they've gotten a pretty good distance lead on us right now."
"You're right. Let us hurry, these regions can be incredibly hostile towards outsiders." The two nodded and then both rushed after the rest of the group.
The Eeveelutions eventually made it towards a type of toll, with two Rhyperiors blocking the way that they were going. Espeon pulled Flareon aside before he went up to talk.
"Flareon, the path we're on is very narrow and one misstep could cause us to fall down the entire mountain. This is not an optimal place for a fight, so try to keep relations between each other clean for now."
Flareon nodded. "Yeah, I will." Flareon approached the Rhyperiors, but they immediately blocked the entrance to the town. Flareon raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, but I need to enter your town. There's some business that I need to take care of."
"Sorry buddy, but we were given specific orders to keep you and your friends out of this town at all costs. I must ask you to leave." The left guard said.
"Well, I'm not taking no for an answer. The business I have is incredibly important, and we were told that your leader was expecting us, so please let us in."
"Our leader told us you might be telling these lies about our town. If you refuse to listen us, we will remove you and your friends by force." The Rhyperior got into a fighting stance and looked at Flareon. The other Rhyperior did the same.
Flareon looked at his surroundings. He could see many flying type Pokemon that used to be cycling the area landing around the group. Flareon just clicked his tongue. Maybe we should just leave and regroup… We're at a serious disadvantage and we can't afford to fight in these conditions. We need to go back and think of a way to take out the flying types before trying to enter…
Suddenly, Vaporeon ran past Flareon and just blasted both of the Rhyperiors with Surf, knocking them both out. "Out of the way, Flareon! I'm tired of waiting!"
Flareon's shock was soon replaced by anger and frustration. "Vaporeon, are you kidding me?! Why did you do that?!"
"Because, I'm tired of waiting, it's time to fight!" Vaporeon got into a fighting position as the birds started to close in on the entire group, looking vicious.
"We weren't supposed to fight here! This is awful terrain and-" Flareon was thrown to the side by a Staraptor who smacked him with Brave Bird. It was about to follow up, but Vaporeon blasted it with Hydro Pump.
"Just shut up and start fighting, Fire Boy!" Vaporeon started shooting Hydro Pumps at the incoming Pidgeots and Mandibuzzes.
The other Eeveelutions started to fight as well. Glaceon fired off an Ice Beam towards an incoming Toucannon, freezing it on contact. Jolteon was being cut off by the speed of the birds, but Sylveon managed to knock them down with Dazzling Gleam as Jolteon finished them off with Thunderbolt. Umbreon was taking some hits from the birds, while Espeon and Leafeon were taking care of some rock types that were coming in to help. From a large distance away, an Aerodactyl was watching the battle.
"Hmph… It seems I had underestimated this Eevee Force, they are doing quite well against my army. No matter, I suppose I did want to get my claws dirty myself…" Aerodactyl swooped down, and immediately set his sights on Flareon, who was fighting a Swellow. As Flareon knocked it away, he couldn't turn around in time and he was smacked in the face by a Wing Attack. Flareon was thrown aside and he landed on the ground hard.
"Augh… Who are-" Flareon was interrupted as Aerodactyl smacked him with Take Down and he flew across the battlefield once again, skidding across the ground. Even in just a few hits, Flareon was already struggling to get up. "Geez… You aren't kidding around…"
Aerodactyl looked at him and smirked. "Ah yes, it seems not even you can manage to defeat me, so you really aren't worth my time." Aerodactyl looked over at Vaporeon, who was shooting Hydro Pumps and taking down most of the birds in the sky. "She, however, seems to be a major problem for my men. She won't be once I take her out for good!" Aerodactyl glowed with a brown energy as a collection of rocks began to fall down the slope and head right towards Vaporeon. Flareon reacted to this and began running towards Vaporeon, trying to go warn her.
Vaporeon just took out another Mandibuzz, and she was obviously tired. She heard a noise and looked to her right, noticing the Rock Slide fall towards her. It was almost on her, and she was going to be hit, but Flareon tackled her out of the way. She landed on the ground and couldn't do anything as the attack hit Flareon for super effective damage, taking him off the flat area and down the mountain, into the forest. "Wait, no, Flareon!" was all Vaporeon could say as he was taken away.
All the other Eeveelutions looked over in shock, dropping their fights as they watched their leader get taken down the mountain in the attack. Glaceon was the first to react. "FLAREOOOOON!"
Espeon spoke up quickly. "Everyone, we must retreat. Now! We can't win this fight…" The Eeveelutions began to run away, staying away from the birds as they retreated. Aerodactyl looked at this display with a wide smirk.
"I hope you all learned your lesson… Don't mess with my town ever again, or you're going to end up just like your friend." He said to himself as he flew back into the town.
End of Chapter 14
Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll hopefully start updating this more, but I can't promise anything. Anyways, if there's anything you want to say to me, whether it be advice or just a positive message, feel free to review, anything helps! Anyways, this is Duffle signing off. Deuces!