Message From Venus: OK… I must apologize, if I offended anyone, with my earlier messages, you know, about getting the tons of reviews. What I was trying to say is, I thought that if I were to get lots of reviews like lots of you people, that I'd write more.. but the I discovered that that's not completely true… I understand the reason why you guys don't always write chapters that often – because you have lives! Lol, plus, sometimes we get Writers Block… which I had, which is why this chapter took so long. So, um, sorry again.

***

Letting the Moonlight Die

~Part 3~

"Luna!!" Damien screamed loudly, shielding his eyes from the intense light of the Solar Beam as it finally released from Venusaur's flower, heading strait for the struggling Umbreon.

Damien shut his eyes tightly; the light was too great for him, as was what was happening to Luna. She was the only thing on his mind as the Solar Beam hit, he no longer cared about the match, only his Pokémon; his best friend.

Jamie grinned as the Solar Beam collided into the already-weakened Luna, and then broke up into a cloud of dust. The audience just went wild, screaming and cheering for Jamie and his Venusaur as this happened. They then quieted down, waiting for the dust cloud to clear, waiting to see what kind of condition the poor Umbreon would be in.

But Damien couldn't wait. He just couldn't stand there and do nothing, when he knew his Pokémon, the only thing he greatly cared about, could be near death! Without another thought he leaped into the dust, and struggled to find Luna. Fortunately, it cleared only seconds later.

Damien gasped as what he saw, and ran over to Luna. Her paws were outstretched, her eyes closed, her body covered in burn marks, and the tear in her skin from Vine Whip was stretched even further. The ref and announcer both went crazy, announcing Jamie's final victory and the fact that he was now a champion, but Damien seemed to block out all sound as he kneeled down over Luna. She seemed completely motionless, but Damien could see her chest slowly rising and falling, which meant she was still breathing, one good thing.

"Luna..." Damien whispered, placing his hand upon her head. He stared at her, shaking. He was just shocked that his Umbreon could be in such condition, too shocked to even cry. "Nurse Joy?? Nurse Joy!?" Damien looked around and called. He saw the familiar pink haired Nurse, and ran up to her, his eyes were becoming a bit foggy. "Nurse Joy! Please! Luna! My Umbre-"

"Don't worry Damien, I'll take care of her right away" Nurse Joy quickly ran up to the spot where Luna was laying. Damien returned her to her Pokéball, and then handed it to Nurse Joy.

"Please take good care of her." Damien said, as she took off full speed to the Pokémon Center, which was only about a block away. Damien turned and gave one last look at the battle field, and the crowd which was now encircling Jamie, and then took off running after Nurse Joy, toward the center.

***

"Damien Silver, please report to the main desk" Damien finally heard his name over the intercom, from where he was sitting, in the waiting room. He was very anxious to see if his Pokémon were going to be alright.

"Nurse Joy!" He cried, running up to her desk. Nurse Joy gave him a soft smile, and handed him two Pokéballs. "Your Wartortle is fully recovered…" She told Damien. Damien smiled a little, despite the fact he was still anxious about Luna, not to mention Flura, who had nearly burned to death. "Your Chikorita is recovering pretty well too, but she'll need some sunlight to help her recover quicker. I'm going to let you take her outside for a bit, is that alright?" Damien nodded, as he took the two Pokéballs.

"I'm so glad to hear she's going to be alright, thank you very much Nurse Joy… but… but what about Luna? My dear Umbreon, is she going to be OK?" Damien asked her, worriedly, noticing Nurse Joy had not handed him Luna's Pokéball along with the other two. Nurse Joy took a deep breath and hesitated a bit, as if she weren't sure how to say it.

"Well… We've managed to heal most of Luna's wounds, but…"

"But what?"

"She's very ill. She took in a lot of water from the lake when you were battling, and that lake is very badly contaminated with a virus which is very harmful to Pokémon. It has put her in an unconscious state, but we're doing the best we can do to help her recover, to help treat the virus… Damien? Are you OK?" Nurse Joy looked at Damien, whose face was beginning to pale.

"Luna…" he said, staring strait forward, as if he were in a trance. But after a few seconds, he managed to snap out, and turned to look at Nurse Joy again. "She's going to be OK, right?" He asked. "Right??" He repeated again when Nurse Joy didn't answer, getting more worried by the second.

"We're trying, Damien… we're trying."

***

Damien sat outside the Pokémon Center, with his back laid against the wall. He had already let Flura and Bubbles out of their Pokéballs, and they were sitting peacefully beside him, but Flura could tell something was wrong. Not only was Luna missing, but Damien was staring out into space, his mind completely elsewhere. Flura even tried jumping up on his lap a few times, but he still made no movement.

"Chika chi…" She sighed, worriedly.

"Luna…" Damien said to himself over and over, though so faintly, it couldn't even be heard by Flura, who was resting upon his lap, or Bubbles, who was less then a foot away. "Why…"

***Flashback***

Damien, at around the age of 9, sat outside, with his back against a wall in what appeared to be an alleyway, in the same position as when he sat outside the Pokémon Center. It was very late at night, and the full moon shone brightly.

He was covered in bruises, and his head was buried in his hands, where he sobbed uncontrollably. After a few minutes, he began to look up at the stars.

"Mom…" He whispered. "Why'd you have to leave me like this? It's not fair! Come back! We could be happy again! I need your help! I can't make it like this! Please mom…" he yelled. He wasn't sure if his mother really could hear his words, but he was hopeful. After waiting a few minutes with no response, he burst out into tears again. This continued for what seemed like hours, until suddenly, Damien heard a large crash nearby. He instantly froze, and slowly turned to look in the direction of the loud noise.

A large garbage can had tumbled over. But what caused it to tumble? Damien couldn't help feeling a little afraid. But what if it was his mother, finally returning his desperate cries? Damien had to find out. He looked around, though all he could see was darkness, until finally, something caught his eye.

It was a brown fox-like creature. She was very small, and had large ears, a large white ring of fur around her neck, and a big bushy tail. She was visible only by the faint moonlight, and was staring at Damien very cautiously.

By staring at her eyes, Damien immediately felt a sense of sadness in them, similar to the sadness he was feeling himself. He noticed the creature was very ruffled up, and quite scrawny, as if she hadn't eaten in days.

"Hello… little girl…" Damien whispered, afraid he might scare her away. The creature stood still, her ears perking up a bit to listen to his voice. She remained cautious.

"I'm not going to hurt you… don't be scared… I'm just like you. My name is Damien." Damien told her. She looked up at him curiously, and took a few little steps toward him, her ears up and listening. Damien suddenly felt an urge to tell everything, everything he had been holding inside him for quite some time. But he couldn't – could he? No… he couldn't share everything, all his secrets with anybody… not even this little creature looking up at him... so sad and innocent… reminded Damien of himself… maybe he could… tell a little. He took a deep breath, and began, not taking his eyes away from the creature.

"You look lost. I know where I am… but I'm lost too." He whispered. "It's like there's nowhere to turn, nowhere to go…" The creature continued watching and listening carefully. "I'm stuck here with my father. But um… he has a problem, and he can't control it. I wish so badly he could though, but ever since my mom died… well, all he wants to do is drink. And it's turned him into a completely different person." As Damien said this, he took a glance at the beautiful moon and stars again, before returning to fix his gaze upon the creature. She was whimpering, while looking up at him, her eyes fully understanding. "Wow…" Damien couldn't help but smile, just a little. "It's almost as if you understand completely… maybe you do." He then sighed, as a frown reappeared on his face. "It gets worse though… my father's begun blaming me for everything, and…" Damien paused, unsure if he should go on, but the creature was pleading. "Well… he does terrible things to me… see these bruises? I don't understand why. I wish mom never left… everything was perfect! And she promised it would always be!" He tried to keep from sobbing again, though it was difficult. The creature continued staring at him, and as she did this, she took a few steps closer, until she was almost touching him. Damien knew that the creature probably had a rough life herself, judging from her appearance.

"Hey… you're a Pokémon, aren't you? I love Pokémon. They're so wonderful. I wish I could become a trainer… lots of people I know are going to become Pokémon trainers when they turn 10. They'll get their starting Pokémon from one of the Pokémon labs. I was going to, also…" Damien paused and the sadness fully returned to his eyes. "My mom promised…"

"Vee!" The Pokémon couldn't take it anymore, as she saw a small tear roll down Damien's cheek. She hopped up onto his lap, and tried to lick the tear away. A little smile formed on Damien's face, as he looked at her eyes, which were filled with compassion.

"I wonder what your story is. How you got here. You're in really bad condition though; looks like you're really hungry. I can look after you for a while... if you want…"

"Vui…" The Pokémon gave a little nod. Damien smiled; as he was beginning to get the feeling this creature really did understand him. "Hey…" He thought for a minute. Maybe we could run off together, become a team… we could escape from all our problems, it would be like a fresh start… you could be my Pokémon, and maybe we'd catch more along the way, like trainers do! I could be a trainer! Just like my mother promised…" The Pokémon looked up at him, surprised at the confidence Damien had, to try something like that. She felt it in herself, too. It was like her and Damien were meant to find each other… maybe Damien's mother did answer his calls, after all.

Damien stood up, as the little Pokémon jumped in his arms.

"Here…" Damien told her. "I'll take you inside, where it's nice and warm, and I'll feed you, and make you all better. And then we'll leave together. Just you and me."

"Vee" She smiled and nodded in response.

"Hey... what are you called, anyway? I can't remember… we studied Pokémon a bit at school though, once, just let me think." Damien said, as he walked toward the fence which led into his backyard. "Hey! I think I got it! It's 'Eevee' isn't it? I remember now. An evolution Pokémon, which has multiple forms. Your kind is very rare!" Damien waiting for a response, but didn't get one. He looked, and noticed the Eevee was leaning over his shoulder, her eyes staring at the full moon. They were wide, and full of wonder. Damien gave a small chuckle. "So you like the moon, eh?"

"Vu…" The Eevee responded, her eyes not shifting away from it. The moon was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen; especially when it was full like it was on that night.

"You should have a name, Eevee. Like…" Damien thought for a minute. "Luna! That would fit you perfectly. I believe it's Latin for the word 'moon'… and you seem to be connected to it in someway… Plus, I think it sounds pretty, don't you think?"

"Vui!" The Eevee finally pulled her gaze away from the moon, and turned to look at Damien. "Vee!" She nodded, this time her eyes filled with happiness. What he said about her being connected to the moon was definitely correct, but she was also beginning to feel a sense of connection with Damien himself.

***End Flashback***

"Chiiikor!" Damien suddenly snapped back to reality, as he felt Flura tackle into his side. She looked a little frustrated, as if she has been trying to get his attention for quite some time now.

"Flura? What is it?" he turned to look at his Pokémon. She pointed her leaf down the road from the Pokémon Center, and the few buildings next to it, which included a few houses and Pokémon Marts.

It took him a minute, but then Damien realized that Bubbles was gone. "Bubbles!" he sighed, and took off running in the direction Flura pointed to. Flura was already far ahead of him, in search for the troublesome Wartortle. Bubbles had always been that way, often disobedient, though all he really wanted was to have fun. This usually got him into quite a bit of trouble though, and Damien knew he had to find him as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, a teenaged girl was sitting down on the stairs leading up to the door of a small house. She had pale skin, light brown wavy hair, and blue eyes that would normally be very bright and happy, but instead were looking very dull. Her head lay in her hands, and she had a bored expression upon her face.

Until, suddenly, she lifted her head up, as she noticed something coming in her direction. Her bland eyes suddenly seemed to get their color back, filling with happiness as she got up and began to run to it.

"Hello little Pokémon!" The girl squealed.

"War?" The Pokémon looked at her curiously, but with an excited smile covering his face. The girl didn't seem at all scared of this Pokémon in anyway, and quickly lifted him up into his arms, though she almost tumbled over while doing so.

"Wow! You're such a cute little Wartortle! But quite a heavy one, too!" She laughed. The Wartortle gave a little laugh himself, he enjoyed being picked up by such a cute little lady. Suddenly, he felt the girl almost drop him.

"Oh wow!!" She cried loudly. "A Chikorita! You're the cutest Pokémon I've ever seen!"

"Chi?" The Chikorita looked at her confusingly, and then turned her head to see if her trainer was close behind. He was.

"Hey! That's my Wartortle you're holding!" Damien yelled, as he finally managed to find where Bubbles was.

"Oh, sorry." The girl replied, and with a little sigh, she dropped Bubbles back onto the ground. Damien kneeled down and gave Bubbles a little pat on the head, though Bubbles looked a little disappointed.

"Is that Chikorita yours too? You have the most amazing Pokémon! Wait a second… Oh my gosh, you're Damien Silver, aren't you?" The girl looked at him with an excited grin.

"Yes…" Damien replied dully. "And who would you be?"

"My name is Neona Kimko. I saw your match!"

"Oh… great..." Damien sighed sarcastically. She had been a witness to his worst match ever.

"You were so awesome! That was the most outstanding battle I've ever seen! How your Umbreon beat up that Primeape and Electabuzz... and she healed herself using moonlight… oh that was so beautiful!" Damien gave a little sigh of relief as he heard her say this.

"So you watched the semi final match."

"Yes, I did. I wish I could have seen the finals, but things were getting a tad too crowded, so I was asked to leave. Too bad the Stadium burned down…" As Damien heard her say this, he remembered all the details of his battle in the field by the lake… especially Luna being whipped right into it, nearly drowning. Now, Luna was dreadfully ill, and all thanks to gulping down that contaminated water…

"It never would have happened if we had the battle in the stadium… or… if we didn't have the battle at all…" Damien said, in a low voice. Neona gave him a strange look.

"Pardon me?"

"Wha? Oh... nothing…" Damien replied, not realizing he had said that aloud. He then glanced up at the sky, noticing the sun was beginning to set. "I'd better go." He told Neona, and began to walk off back toward the Pokémon Center. "C'mon, Bubbles, Flura." Flura immediately took off after Damien, but Bubbles gave Neona a sad look, before slowly beginning to follow.

"Wait!" Neona suddenly called, before Damien could go any further. He slowly glanced back, and waited for an explanation.

"Where do you live, Damien?" Neona asked.

"Nowhere." Damien replied dully. Neona gave him a surprised look, but continued.

"Well, where are you staying?"

"Pokémon Center."

"Oh… oh yes, I forgot, all trainers usually stay there. Well, are you in a hurry? Do you have plans?" Damien turned around, and began to hesitate. He really did want to get back to the Pokémon Center, but what would he do when he got there, anywhere? Not really anything, except sitting, and thinking… thinking about Luna… The most important to him in the world… who might not be around much longer…

"Damien?" Neona asked again, after Damien didn't respond for awhile.

"Oh! Um… no, no hurry. The Jade Championship closing ceremonies aren't until tomorrow night anyway. I have no plans." Damien felt surprised at himself for saying this, and almost whacked himself on the head.

'Great'… he thought to himself, 'now she's probably going to ask me on a date or something, and a date is the last thing I want now.'

"Great!" Neona smiled. "Um… you wouldn't by any chance like to come get an Ice-cream with me? There's a place just down the street… and it's on me!" Damien tried not to groan as she said this.

"Umm…" He looked into Neona's bright blue pleading eyes, and was having a bit of trouble figuring out how to say 'no'.

"Alright." Damien finally agreed. He just wasn't in the mood for thinking of excuses, and plus, Bubbles was tugging on his pant leg getting all excited. Bubbles loved to get to know new people, especially girls.

"Yay!" Neona responded, and took began to lead him to the Ice-cream place. Damien felt a little relieved that she didn't take his hand and pull him or anything like that. Flura and Bubbles followed, Flura sighing, Bubbles smiling.

"Wartortle war war!" Bubbles said happily along the way, causing Neona to laugh.

"I'm not sure what you said, but I'm sure it was a compliment" She grinned. Bubbles laughed also, and sped up so he could be next to her. Damien sighed.

"Meet Bubbles, my Wartortle. He has a thing for female humans."

"Well, isn't he just the sweetest thing!" Neona smiled, causing Bubbles to blush a bit. Damien felt himself getting an anime-style sweatdrop. After walking a little more, they finally arrived at the Ice-cream Place.

Neona stopped at the door, and gave Damien a sad look. "I'm sorry... but they don't allow Pokémon in here… I guess you'll have to recall Flura and Bubbles." Neona winked at Bubbles. "We'll talk again later."

"Flura, Bubbles, return." Damien knew that the sunlight was disappearing, so staying out any longer wouldn't do Flura much good anyway. He grabbed her and Bubble's Pokéballs, and after returning them, hooked the Pokéballs back upon his trainer belt, and then walked in the door with Neona.

"Hello!" The friendly man at the counter greeted them. "What can I get for you?" Neona looked at Damien and grinned.

"Their Hot Fudge Sundaes are delicious!" She said, excitedly. Damien nodded, and then began to head for a table. Neona gave him a confused look.

"Excuse me…" She said, and then took off after Damien. "You're not ordering? Or do you want me to order for you?"

"I'm not very hungry right now." Neona looked a little bit ticked off at Damien's behavior.

"What's the point of going out for ice-cream, when you don't even get anything??" Damien shrugged, unsure how to answer.

"Fine, get me one of those hot fudge sundaes you claim are so good…"

"Okay!" Neona cheered back up again, and ran back over to the counter. Damien sighed, and stared out the window, deep in thought. He couldn't wait to get back to the Pokémon Center and see what kind of condition Luna was in, though he knew she probably wouldn't be any better then before. Thinking about her always gave him have the urge to cry, but there's no way he would let himself do that, especially not in front of a girl.

"Here you go!" Neona said cheerfully, as she returned to the table, handing him his sundae. "Enjoy!" She smiled, and sat down herself. "So…" She murmured, trying to start a conversation. "Um… I saw your match, which I already mentioned. But did I mention how beautiful that moonlight was? Your Umbreon is very beautiful, too! What was her name? Luna? I think I remember you calling her Luna. I remember seeing her lying on the ground; all battered and bruised; the poor thing. But that didn't last long, did it?" Neona seemed like a very talkative person, and could probably talk non stop for days, especially since Damien wasn't saying much in response. But as she mentioned Luna being battered and bruised, many images flashed through Damien's mind… of Luna being torn up even worse, in the final battle… the deep red gashes… her nearly drowning in the water… her fainting… and she may not be able to heal this time… Damien realized that this could have been his own fault. It was his choice to become a Pokémon trainer, if he hadn't, none of this would've happened… Luna would be safe… Luna wouldn't be dying…

"Oh gosh!" Neona suddenly stopped talking, and jumped back. "Damien, you're crying! Are you OK? Is it something I said?" She looked very surprised, and a little worried. Damien flashed back to reality, and realized that Neona was right, he was crying. Now he felt even worse… how could he let this happen? How could he start crying in front of a girl, not to mention everyone in the ice-cream shop? But all this thinking gave him the urge to cry even more.

When Damien didn't respond, Neona handed him a napkin.

"Here… are you OK?" She asked again.

"Luna… she's dying… all because of me…" Damien buried his head in his arms, and started sobbing.

"What??" Neona looked incredibly surprised. "I'm so sorry! But I don't understand… how could this happen..." She stared at Damien for a few moments, unsure of what to do or say. "Here… let me take you to my house, alright? You can explain everything there, if you don't mind of course"

Damien slowly lifted his head up, and agreed. He decided he wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, before anybody else saw him. He wasn't too sure about the explaining part, though he still carried faint memories of how relieving it could be to get everything out.

***

OK, I'll end this now. ^^' Um… yeah, this fanfic is getting weirder and weirder, isn't it? Er… Part three was supposed to be a little longer, but I kinda realized that Part 4 is going to be pretty short, so I decided to leave the ending out of this part, and add it to part 4. If you get what I mean. Ack.

~Venus