Arc 2: Resonating Soul
By morning, the blanket of grey skies had finally dispelled, and the sun was finally capable of casting its unhindered rays of light and warmth upon the earth. It was the closest Sinnoh ever seemed to get to 'clear skies', and Leaf in particular was thrilled.
Frost had been up since dawn, beginning his day as he often did, with a morning walk and a quick bath and grooming to bring his mind and body to full alertness. One could hardly be expected to excel in battle training while suffering a mental fog.
What had surprised him that morning, however, was that Leaf was also awake shortly after dawn. He shouldn't have been that surprised that the Leafeon seemed to have adapted to a sleep schedule relative to sunrise and sunset, but Frost's parents had always been exasperated by his tendency to be awake at dawn, so he had been under the impression that this rhythm was actually exceedingly rare and unusual.
Just as surprising, and again it shouldn't have been, was that Shadow had slept in. His sleep had seemed peaceful and uninterrupted, and Leaf had confirmed that he hadn't been awakened that night by spontaneous psychic backlash. The black Espeon had returned late in the afternoon the previous day, and it was remarkable how much better he had looked. His stance and movements were more relaxed, his eyes were brighter and more lively, and his gemstone had not flickered randomly.
Sleeping in, without nightmares tormenting his rest, was an excellent sign of progress. Frost doubted it would be a permanent fix, but he was confident that Shadow might have better luck focusing his psychic energies. Leaf had already benefited an impressive amount from his tutoring, and so today, the Glaceon hoped to get similar progress from Shadow.
Leaf had finally grown bored of waiting for Shadow to wake up, so Frost was treated to the sight of the playful Leafeon pouncing on his unsuspecting brother, which promptly turned into a playful wrestling match. By all accounts, Leaf should have won easily with the element of surprise, but somehow, Leaf ended up on his back with a triumphant Espeon sitting on his stomach.
"No fair, you're bigger than me!"
No bets on which sibling thought that was a valid defense.
"You started it!"
And...no bets on which sibling thought this was a mature retort. Honestly, Frost was trying not to burst out laughing. Not so much for his dignity's sake, and more because he suspected that if they saw him laughing, they'd team up against him, and he never was good at playful wrestling, least of all with unfavorable odds, and that WOULD cost him his dignity.
More amusing is that this sort of banter between the brothers continued for several minutes, until Shadow got the bright idea to just start tickling the Leafeon into submission. It was super effective, and left the Leafeon with hysteric giggles long after Shadow had stopped.
"Sleep well?" Frost wondered as Shadow walked over to the small pile of berries that Frost and Leaf had gathered earlier. Frost had found it a better option to take the excitable Leafeon with him for the gathering task rather than risk him wandering around or waking Shadow early.
Shadow paused, the berry poised just outside his mouth, and glanced skywards to judge the sun's location. "Yes, I suppose I did," he mused, sounding pleasantly surprised by the fact he could say as much.
"No nightmares?" Frost asked. Shadow chewed the berry thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Excellent. Then you've definitely made some progress with your mental stress. If you're up to it, I can attempt to walk you through the process of learning how to control your psychic abilities again."
"Okay," Shadow stated with a shrug, but his tail flicked and his eyes were thoughtful, even as he continued to eat. Frost just smiled and walked over to where Leaf was recovering from his laughter attack.
"You still remember the things I showed you yesterday?" he asked. The Leafeon nodded enthusiastically, and Frost chuckled. As he had thought, Leaf had showed a great deal of potential and had picked up on things much faster than Shadow had. Not that this was particularly surprising; Leaf didn't seem to have the same mental block that Shadow had, and the carefree attitude and curiosity were ideal for mentoring, at least once his focus was set on something.
Once Shadow had finished eating, Frost led them away from the clearing, deciding that for this session, they needed something different. Neither of the brothers asked him where they were going, and had instead followed a few paces behind him, conversing with one another.
Frost would have liked to have been able to hear what they were saying, but dismissed the idea of trying to eavesdrop. It probably wasn't very interesting, more in the vein of brotherly chatter that would hold no relevance to him. Leaf was perfectly happy to trust him, but Shadow always appeared slightly on-guard, yet never truly suspicious. Frost couldn't really blame him for that, though. Different people varied on how quickly they'd trust new acquaintances, and Frost would have been disappointed if they both considered him perfectly trustworthy from the start. It'd mean he wasn't interesting enough to suspect, and this way, he needed to be self-aware of how he came across, and simultaneously read their reactions to be sure he wasn't rubbing them the wrong way.
Frost broke off his thoughts as they came in view of the lake. It was small, much too small to ever confuse with one of the three famous Sinnoh lakes, but it was beautiful in its own way. Crisp, fresh, refreshing water that invited Pokemon from all over the area to visit. Some used the lake for relaxation, and water-types came here to swim or rehydrate, depending on the species. Various fruit bushes dotted the shore, and Pokemon frequently came by for food or fish, depending on availability.
The Glaceon's eyes scanned the shoreline, before focusing his attention on the water's surface. The water was calm this morning, so it seemed that the majority of the local water-types had opted not to swim yet, but the shore was still occupied by various species of Pokemon. He paid them little attention. Even at a glance, he could tell they were neither trained Pokemon nor threats. Simply local Pokemon using the resources of the surrounding area.
Both of the younger Eons accompanying him took drinks, and Frost himself paused to do so, if only to be able to examine whether anything was swimming below water, but that hope went nowhere. He could have sworn that Raze usually spent most of time at this lake, but he also knew that nothing was absolute when it came to where the Buizel spent his day.
"Are you looking for something?" Shadow asked finally, once it became clear that Frost had hit a dead-end in terms of destination.
"A friend of mine. Thought he'd be good for a sparring match for the little guy," Frost said, frowning. "He's usually around here, except for when he isn't. You can see how this can leave me floundering a little-"
Movement from the corner of Frost's eye cut off his explanation, and as he turned towards it, a jet of water caught him right in the face with enough force to make him stagger backwards a few paces, and one of his hind feet slipped over the shore line into the lake. Frost immediately lost his footing and fell, managing to cling to the shore with his forelegs even as the back half of his body slipped into the water.
"Are you okay?" Leaf asked, his eyes wide from surprise and amazement, either from how quickly the events had played out (and Frost was loathe to admit that it was probably incredibly entertaining to watch, seeing as Shadow was visibly shaking from the effort of not laughing), or from the fact Frost had partially recovered, albeit in a way that didn't do his dignity any favors.
"Fine," Frost grunted, managing to crawl out of the water, everything from his midsection to his tail completely soaked, while his upper body had remained dry. He fixed the laughing Buizel with an aggravated look. "I assume you had a reason for that?"
"Oh, plenty of them," Raze answered with a wide grin, and began to count on his claws. "One, to make sure you weren't going to freeze the lake again. Two, to test your Mirror Coat reflexes. They're not as good as you think they are. Three, because it's funny. And...four, because you had just used the word 'floundering' in a sentence and I was hoping to be able to throw that in your face afterwards."
"How long were you able to overhear me talking?" Frost asked, breathing an icy wind over his soaked fur, shivering in delight as the fur needles froze over.
"About two seconds, but I planned to soak you from the start. Would have hit you when you were drinking, but I was out of range," the Buizel said, walking over to the Glaceon, apparently without giving a moment's pause for whether Frost would retaliate.
"Amusing," Frost said icily. "Now then, perhaps you can introduce yourself to these two?" he said, gesturing to the other Eons.
"All righty. Whoa, nice fur. I'm Raze," the Buizel said, doing a double take as he looked towards Shadow. The Espeon simply nodded in response, until Raze gave him an expectant look.
"Oh, right. I'm Shadow," the Espeon said quickly. Leaf bounded closer to the Buizel, looking him over curiously.
"I'm Leaf!" he chirped, before noticing the Buizel's tails. "Hey Shadow, he's got a tail like yours!"
"He does not," Shadow said, giving Raze an apologetic look and a shrug, but the Buizel was unfazed.
"Hey there, Leaf. I'm Raze, nice to meet you. You guys new friends of Frost's or something? It's amazing he's got any, right?"
Frost rolled his eyes and smirked. Raze certainly had his own style of handling introductions, and judging by how Shadow simply raised an eyebrow at the comment, and Leaf just nodded obliviously, neither of them knew what to say to that.
"Ah, did I put you two on the spot?" Raze asked with a chuckle. "Never mind that. What's up?"
"I have no idea," Shadow said simply.
"Me neither!"
Raze blinked, then swiveled to face Frost. "I guess that means me three."
Frost chuckled. "I was hoping you'd be able to give Leaf some paws-on practice for a while. They've both evolved fairly recently and are still learning how to use their evolved abilities. I've given Leaf some tutoring, and just need to work with Shadow a bit longer. Think you can keep Leaf occupied for a little while?"
Raze shrugged, "Sure, if he wants to." He looked over at Leaf, who was now openly staring at his neck's flotation ring. "You want to have a quick spar, little guy? Show me what you know?"
"Really? Sure!" Leaf said, smiling brightly.
They set up a little ways further from the lakeside, to give themselves more room without getting too close to the water. As Leaf and Raze chose their places in the center of their imaginary arena, Frost and Shadow chose a spot further away, so as not to involve themselves in the spar unintentionally.
"Are you watching, Shadow?" Leaf asked brightly. Shadow chuckled and nodded. Satisfied with this answer, Leaf turned his attention back to Raze, who was grinning, already charmed by the young Leafeon's enthusiasm.
"All right, Leaf," Raze said, readying himself. "Go ahead."
Leaf nodded and then dashed forward at Raze. The Buizel cocked his head slightly, and Frost understood why; Leaf's running stance was rather unorthodox. The Leafeon hadn't yet figured out how to position his center of gravity properly when charging, so Raze couldn't read whether it was a Quick Attack coming his way, or if Leaf was about to headbutt him. This could hardly be counted against Leaf, as it was obvious the young Pokemon had no practical training since he evolved. That particular flaw would correct itself with time and practice.
"What exactly did you teach him?" Shadow wondered, but Frost waved a paw, indicating that he should just watch Leaf for the moment. The Espeon furrowed his brow, but turned his attention back to his brother, just in time to see Leaf feint a pounce and then instead dart to the side and tackle himself into Raze's leg.
The Buizel had pivoted to the side when Leaf feinted, only to realize his mistake at the last second, so when Leaf hit his grounded leg, he fell over easily, grunting a bit from the landing. Leaf bounced his weight from leg to leg, looking over at Shadow for approval.
"Did you see that, Shadow?" he called over.
"Stay focused, Leaf," Shadow reminded him, nodding, the motion itself prompting Leaf to smile happily.
"Interesting," Raze said, getting back to his feet, his grin returning. "Dodge this," he warned, and then dashed forward rapidly, but instead of striking Leaf with his paw or body weight, he pivoted, striking Leaf in the chest with his tails, the impact producing a whip-like cracking sound. Leaf winced in pain and backed up, but seemed to realize it hadn't actually hurt very much.
"Raze knows how to hold back hits," Frost assured Shadow, seeing that the Espeon had tensed. "Do you remember yesterday when we worked on accessing your psychic abilities? With your mental strain reduced, I'd like to give it another shot."
"Very well," Shadow said, taking a deep breath. "What do I need to do?"
Frost considered for a moment. He had figured out the key to properly directing Leaf, although it had taken many tries to phrase it in a way that didn't confuse the young Leafeon. Shadow would be easier to talk to, but the method of using his abilities would be harder for Frost to describe. Psychic abilities seemed to operate slightly differently from elemental abilities like ice and grass.
"I know by now, you've been able to pick up on aspects of your abilities. Since you're currently calm and relaxed, are you able to explain at all anything you've noticed? You managed to confirm that Quilava's presence yesterday somehow."
"Ah...yes," Shadow said. He paused thoughtfully. "I let my mind wander a little. I don't push for things to come to me, they tend to...reveal themselves. In flashes. Does this make sense?"
"Actually, yes," Frost admitted. "Psychic abilities are probably heavily linked to your subconscious mind, so you do them without conscious thought. Trying too hard to push them to the surface would frustrate you and block them because of your emotions getting in the way. This is a theory, but it sounds likely. Should we give it a try?"
"If I'm not supposed to push for them to work, how can we try it?" Shadow asked blankly. Frost paused to consider that.
"I have an idea," he said finally. "Let your mind wander for now. Let's watch Leaf and Raze's spar, but don't focus on it entirely. Watch it mindlessly, like it's something in the background."
Shadow seemed perplexed by the suggestion, but obligingly turned back to the sparring match. Frost watched the Espeon from the corner of his eye, seeing after a minute that Shadow's attention had become unfocused, almost like he was daydreaming. The Glaceon allowed himself to smirk, then turned his own attention to the battlers.
Leaf flicked his head towards Raze, and a small bladed leaf fired from the Leafeon's body, but spiraled away from Raze entirely until it landed in the grass harmlessly. Leaf seemed unbothered and repeated the technique several times, each time the fired projectile coming nowhere near its target.
"Well...I guess you're improving if you can shoot those at will, but you might need to figure out how to aim," Raze suggested, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah...I just need practice," Leaf said with an awkward shrug and prepared another charge. This time Raze was expecting it, and his weight shifted, his paw poised to counterattack. Leaf charged forward, shifting to the left and right occasionally to adjust his path, but he lacked the speed of a true Quick Attack, another thing that would doubtlessly improve with practice. All in all, Frost found the maneuvering to be impressive for such little practice time.
Raze stepped forward and punched his paw towards Leaf, intercepting the Leafeon's dash, but Leaf rolled sideways, his momentum allowing him to slip underneath Raze's paw. The Buizel pivoted immediately, his tails again making the whip-crack as they lashed across Leaf's side.
Frost blinked in surprise. Despite taking the blow from Raze's tails, Leaf continued forward, instead of recoiling or retreating. And then he spun, mimicking Raze's tail attack. Unlike Raze's version, however, Leaf's tail took on a pale green glow as he brought it across Raze's thigh. The Buizel hadn't even noticed the maneuver, since his pivoting motion to deliver the tail whip had turned his back to Leaf. It wasn't until the glowing tail struck him that he realized he was under attack, and the next moment, the Buizel recoiled from Leaf as if he had just been burned.
"What was that?!" Raze demanded, staring incredulously at his thigh, where a visible mark had formed from the strike.
Leaf cocked his head in confusion and concern. "Wait, did that hurt? I'm sorry, I was just trying to do what you did!"
"What just happened?" Shadow asked, shaking himself out of his daze and giving Frost a curious look. But the Glaceon was floored. All he could do was stare at Leaf incredulously.
"I didn't teach him how to use Leaf Blade," Frost said blankly. "I didn't even teach him the concept behind it. I knew he had no chance of using it at this stage of experience."
It shouldn't even have been possible for such a young, untrained Leafeon to have accomplished that by accident. All the reading Frost had done regarding Leafeon back home had indicated that Leaf Blade was their ace technique, but that it was incredibly difficult to master. Sure, Leaf's use here had been far from perfect, and not nearly as powerful as the technique naturally would be, but the fact he had done it at all was mind-blowing.
Frost's shock was wearing off, and an amused smile formed across his muzzle instead. This was definitely interesting.
