"Go Fletchling!" Kristine threw her pokeball. Fletchling hopped right out and took two steps forward, ready to fight the caterpie that opposed it.
It was the morning after another day of trekking through Rugged Pass. The twins were sure to make it to the pokemon lodge by nightfall at this rate. After they packed up and headed onward, a boy wanted to challenge one of the twins with his new pokemon, and Kristine stepped up to the challenge. She really wanted to develop her skills and win a battle.
"Caterpie, String Shot!" the boy commanded.
"Fletchling, Peck!" Kristine responded.
Fletchling flew into the air with its wings spread out and struck at Caterpie before it could even fire off String Shot. The super-effective impact sent Caterpie flying back.
"How did your Fletchling move so fast?" the boy seemed startled by Fletchling's speed.
"Flechling's special ability, Gale Wings," Kristine replied. "Any flying-type move gives Fletchling incredible speed."
Kristine followed up with a command. "Now, Quick Attack!"
Fletchling swooped down for another attack.
"String Shot!" the boy commanded again. This time, the sticky string connected, wrapping up Fletchling and stopping his attack.
Fletchling was forced to land before Caterpie.
"Caterpie, Tackle!" the boy followed up.
Caterpie lunged forward at Fletchling.
"Fight your way out and use Tackle!" Kristine commanded.
Fletchling used its body to rock back and forth to remove the sticky strings. As Caterpie attacked, Fletchling also lunged at it. The two collided, knocking each other back.
Kristine saw that String Shot broke.
"Quick Attack before Caterpie gets up!" she saw the opportunity to win.
Fletchling swooped right at Caterpie and struck it, sending it flying back. Caterpie was unable to continue.
"Caterpie!" the boy seemed disappointed. "Agh…return."
He recalled Caterpie to its pokeball.
Kristine raised her fist in the air in celebration. "Good job, Fletchling! Now return!" she recalled him.
"Come on out, Sentret!" the boy threw a second pokeball. Out came a round creature with long ears and a big, bushy tail.
Jason, who was observing the battle, pulled out his pokedex.
"Sentret, the scout pokemon," the pokedex explained. "When acting as a lookout, it warns others of danger by screeching and hitting the ground with its tail."
"Sentret!" Sentret stood tall on its tail.
"Eevee, showtime!" Kristine threw her pokeball.
"Eevee!" Eevee took two steps towards Sentret.
"All right Eevee, Quick Attack!" Kristine commanded.
Eevee charged right at Sentret.
"Defense Curl!" the boy responded.
Sentret flipped forwards on its tail and curled itself into a ball. As Eevee made a direct impact, Sentret was able to deflect much of the damage in a defensive position.
"Now you use Quick Attack!" the boy followed up.
Sentret lunged forward at Eevee, using its tail to boost itself right at her. Sentret successfully struck Eevee, knocking her back a fair distance.
"Now close in and Scratch!" the boy commanded.
"Eevee, use Sand Attack!" Kristine responded.
Eevee kicked up the dirt in front of her right at Sentret, stopping it in its tracks.
"Tackle!" Kristine followed up.
Eevee tackled the blinded Sentret head-on, sending it flying back.
"You got this, Kristine!" Jason cheered for his sister.
Jason thought Kristine would continue the assault with Quick Attack.
Kristine figured the boy would use Defense Curl once more and follow up with another Quick Attack or Scratch, so she decided to take a more conservative approach.
"Eevee, Growl!" Kristine declared.
Eevee approached Sentret with an intimidating growl.
"Sentret, Defense Curl!" the boy played it on the defensive. He knew Eevee's Growl would make Sentret's attacks weaker.
"Keep using Growl!" Kristine commanded. Eevee snarled at Sentret, who was curled up in a ball in anticipation of an attack.
"Ugh!" the boy became impatient. "Sentret, Tackle, let's go!"
Sentret used its tail as a spring and lunged toward Eevee.
"Eevee, Sand Attack once more!" Kristine yelled.
Eevee used her back legs to kick more dirt at Sentret. Kristine knew that Sentret was lunging to the right of Eevee.
"Eevee, Quick Attack on its side!" Kristine commanded.
Eevee leaped into the air and quickly struck Sentret's side, knocking it down.
"Tackle!" Kristine followed up.
Before Sentret got up, Eevee struck it with a hard Tackle. Sentret flew back from the impact, and it was unable to spring back up.
"Oh no," the boy realized he lost. He then recalled Sentret and accepted defeat.
"I guess we have a lot of work to do," the boy said. "But I know one day my Caterpie and Sentret will become Butterfree and Furret, and we'll be good enough to take on the Mystic Gym!"
"Just keep at it," Kristine smiled. "Maybe we'll see you again someday."
"It was a good battle," the boy gave a bow. "Later, guys."
The boy then departed, venturing down the road.
Eevee seemed happy about the victory.
"Great job, Eevee!" Kristine bent her knees to get closer to eye level with Eevee. Eevee ran over and used its paws on Kristine's chest to stand up. Kristine hugged her.
"I'm proud of you," Kristine continued. She looked right at Eevee's eyes. Then, something strange happened. She felt a connection with Eevee, yet she felt like something was entering her consciousness by looking into her eyes.
"Eevee!" Kristine heard the voice of Eevee in her mind. It caused her to lose her awareness of the reality around her. For the moment, only Eevee was in front of her. It had been more than a week since the two united, but it felt much longer than that. Kristine knew Eevee felt the same way. And for them to win a battle together, and the way they worked together to achieve victory, this was a special moment together.
"Uh…Kristine?" Jason was on one knee next to his sister, nudging her shoulder with his hand. He managed to break her trance with Eevee. "You okay?"
"Yeah…" Kristine snapped out of it. "I…I felt something…like Eevee was entering my mind or something."
"Eevee!" Eevee happily said. She then got off of Kristine.
"Psychic pokemon are known to communicate with trainers through telekinesis," Jason mentioned. "And dark pokemon. And some others."
"But Eevee's not a psychic type," Kristine replied. "Or a dark type. Or some other type. She's a normal type."
Jason shrugged. "If we see those Mystic guys again, maybe you should tell them what happened."
"Right," Kristine nodded as Jason got up and helped her up.
The two continued down the road all day. By afternoon they came across flat terrain with two large mountains visible on their right and left.
"We're getting towards the end of Rugged Pass," Kristine noted.
"So we'll be in the Forest by tomorrow," Jason added.
"Mmhmm," Kristine confirmed.
By nightfall, the two approached a trail leading off the main path. A nearby sign pointed them in the direction of the pokemon lodge.
"Perhaps we can get some good rest in," Jason said.
"Yeah," Kristine agreed. They walked up to a two-story pokemon center in the structure of a large wooden lodge.
They both walked inside to be greeted by Nurse Joy.
"Welcome to South Cheron Forest Pokemon Lodge," Nurse Joy said with a warm smile.
Nurse Joy's appearance confused the twins.
"Wait, weren't you at Spring Hamlet Pokemon Center?" Jason asked.
"Huh?" Nurse Joy seemed puzzled. "Oh, you must have seen my sister. The Joy family is extensive. We run pokemon centers all over the world."
"That would make sense," Kristine replied.
"If you two would like a room to stay in, we have plenty of vacant space," Nurse Joy continued. "Trainers are coming and going all the time here."
"Hey, it's the twins!" Bradley walked into the lobby. "Nice to see you guys here."
"Hey, Bradley!" Kristine waved.
"If you're heading out into the Forest tomorrow, have fun and be safe," Bradley continued. "There's all sorts of pokemon to go about. We've been tracking a group of gastly migrating from the west within the past week, and they've made their way into the forest. Just beware of ghost pokemon. Some of them like to play tricks on unsuspecting travelers."
"Gastly, huh?" Jason replied. "We'll keep that in mind."
"Just stay in your tents at night," Bradley advised. "If you hear someone you don't know, don't go out."
"Gotcha," Kristine acknowledged.
"Shall I lead you guys to your room?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Sure," Jason nodded. He then followed Nurse Joy out of the lobby and down the hallway.
Kristine began to follow Jason, but then she remembered to bring her incident with Eevee up with Bradley. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," Bradley approached her. "What's up?"
"I dueled a boy this morning and won," Kristine explained. "Eevee was happy to win, and I was happy for her and myself. We had a moment of celebration, but then I felt as if Eevee was entering my consciousness. I felt very strange."
"Your consciousness?" Bradley seemed intrigued. "You're explaining what a trainer goes through when they have a strong bond with a telepathic pokemon. Was there any intelligent communication?"
"Intelligent?"
"Was Eevee talking to you in the human tongue?" Bradley elaborated.
"No," Kristine slightly shook her head.
"Hmm…" Bradley rubbed his chin. "That could mean that Eevee feels like she has a special bond with you. But a sense of telepathy could mean one thing…."
"What do you mean?" Kristine asked.
"Go ahead and follow your brother," Bradley replied. "Let me run back to my room real quick."
"Okay," Kristine walked down the hallway to catch up to Jason.
"Here you two go," Nurse Joy opened the door to one of the rooms on the left. It was a studio with two twin beds spaced apart.
"Thanks a bunch," Jason showed his gratitude.
"You're welcome," Nurse Joy smiled. "If you need anything else, let me know,"
"Will do," Kristine replied.
Nurse Joy walked back to the hallway. As Jason went inside the room, Kristine saw Bradley approach her from the other end of the hallway.
"I have something I want to give to you," he said, holding something in his hand. "Eevee's evolutions are a mystery. It was originally believed that eevee evolved from just being exposed to elemental stones."
He then revealed a hardcover book to Kristine: Eeveelutions and Friendship: Eevee's More Mysterious Paths. "This book will give you insight on the friendship-based evolutions of eevee - espeon, umbreon, and sylveon. They all have the ability to communicate with trainers telepathically. This will give you more insight on where Eevee is heading."
Bradley handed the book over to Kristine, as she gladly accepted it.
"Thank you so much," Kristine spoke with gratitude.
"No problem," Bradley nodded. "If anything happens to Eevee, let me know. Aria loves it when we document eevee evolutions."
"Will do," Kristine assured him. She glanced at the cover. "Written by Blanche Dubois. She's the Mystic leader, right?"
"Yep!" Brad nodded. "Anyways, I gotta get some shuteye. Summer, Don and I are heading out early in the morning tomorrow. Our rotations are coming to an end, so we gotta get back to Fort Lexing."
"Okay," Kristine said. "Have a good night."
"You too, kid," Bradley nodded. "Make sure you and your twin stay safe out there."
Kristine snickered. "We will."
As Bradley walked away, Kristine headed inside.
"I take it you talked to Bradley?" Jason asked.
"Mmhmm," Kristine affirmed. "He gave me this book."
"A book about eeveelutions?" Jason was almost jealous. "You do know what that means, right?"
"That Eevee wants to evolve, right?" Kristine replied.
"Bradley gave you that book because he thinks Eevee is going to evolve into an espeon, umbreon, or sylveon," Jason explained. "It totally makes sense if Eevee is trying to talk to you through telepathy. I just find it weird that Eevee can do that now."
"Wait, would that make Eevee a non-normal type?" Kristine asked. "Because Eevee is classified as a normal type."
"Who knows?" Jason shrugged. "Let's see what happens tomorrow."
The twins got to bed shortly after. As Jason soon fell asleep, Kristine remained awake, reading the book Bradley gave her.
An eevee with an affinity for daylight is known to become espeon, she read. An eevee known to be more nocturnal is known to become umbreon, while an eevee known to be keen on its appearance is known to become sylveon. All of this remains in theory, of course.
As Kristine continued reading, she contemplated Eevee's personality. She's not a night eevee. She isn't afraid of getting her paws dirty if needed. Could she be an espeon in an eevee's body?
She continued to satisfy her curiosity until she could no longer stay awake. The twins slept soundly and without incident until dawn broke the next morning. After getting dressed and grabbing breakfast in the dining hall, they both headed out of the lodge and back out onto the last part of the Rugged Pass.
The two came across a sign that notified that Route 102 came to an end. As they ventured down the road, they could see huge masses of trees from a distance. Finally, the road was reduced to a small trail with mile markers.
"This is it," Kristine observed. "Cheron Forest."
"Anything we need to worry about?" Jason asked.
Kristine pulled out her handbook. "It's easy to get lost in here. A huge number of pokemon make this place their home. A lot of trainers pass by here, and Team Mystic has rangers inside here."
"We should just stick to the trail," Jason suggested.
"If we do, we should be out of here within a few days," Kristine said. "But I think we should take the time to add more pokemon to our team."
The two proceeded down the trail as they heard chirps, cries, and callings from all sorts of creatures surrounding them. The trees partially blocked out the sun as the twins ventured deeper.
The two headed off the trail by noon to find a nice, flat area to settle down for lunch. First, they both released all four of their pokemon.
"Jason, can you take care of feeding the pokemon?" Kristine asked. "There's a stream nearby, and we have an empty canister from last night I forgot to fill this morning. Might as well fill it now, right?"
"Yeah, sure," Jason replied.
Kristine proceeded out of sight of Jason and the pokemon towards a nearby stream, using the noise from the gentle water flow as a guide.
"Awesome, good, clean water," she muttered under her breath as she kneeled and gathered water with her canister.
Suddenly, she heard a sifting noise to her right, where a bunch of bushes resided.
"What was that?" she spoke and shifted her eyes to the nearby bushes.
The bushes rumbled some more. Finally, a pikachu emerged from them.
"Pika pika!" the wild pikachu greeted.
"A pikachu!" Kristine was excited. Her excitement startled the pikachu away.
"Aww," she seemed disappointed. She finished gathering water, and afterward, she headed back to her and Jason's picnic.
"I saw a pikachu out there," Kristine said.
"Awesome," Jason replied. "We should be careful out here. Remember the aipom nest?"
Kristine chuckled. "How could I not?"
As everyone chowed down on their food, more rumbling in the bushes could be heard. This alerted both eevee.
"What's going on, guys?" Jason noticed both eevee looking alert.
Kristine looked over in the bushes. "Must be that pikachu again."
Kristine got up and pulled out a can of pokemon food from her backpack. She then approached the bushes.
"It's okay," Kristine calmly spoke. "We're friends."
Pikachu slowly came out of the bushes and approached Kristine.
Kristine opened the can and offered it to Pikachu. Pikachu reached out its hands and took the can.
"There ya go," Kristine got on her knees.
Pikachu took a nibble of the pokemon food and seemed to enjoy it.
"It's good, isn't it?" Kristine asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed.
"Would you like to come along with me?" Kristine proposed. "I plan to travel all around Inventum and become a Pokemon Master. There are good friends to meet along the way and all the pokemon food you want."
Pikachu looked at Kristine as she pulled out a pokeball.
"I promise you we'll have lots of fun," Kristine continued. "See those pokemon behind me? The girl Eevee and Fletchling are part of my team. The boy Eevee and Taillow are a part of my twin brother Jason's team. Do you like to compete?"
"Pika," Pikachu nodded.
"Do you like meeting new friends?"
"Pika!" Pikachu gave a sound answer.
"Then join us, and we will have lots of fun together!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu was on board.
"This'll take a second, and I will let you back out," Kristine activated the pokeball and projected Pikachu into it. It became bound uncontested.
"All right, Pikachu joins the team!" Kristine cheered.
"I can't believe that just happened," Jason looked on in awe. "If that wasn't the easiest catch ever, I don't know what is."
"A little sweet talkin' does the trick," Kristine smiled. "Come back out, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted everyone as he was projected back out.
Both Eevee, along with Taillow and Fletchling, went over to greet Pikachu.
"Welcome aboard, Pikachu," Jason went over to say hello.
Kristine pulled out her pokedex to examine Pikachu's moves.
"Let's see…," Kristine examined. "Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, and Electro Ball! And his ability is Static! Awesome!"
"Pikachu's very heavy on the electric attacks," Jason added.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu began to emit electricity from the red spots on its cheeks.
Kristine chuckled. "Easy there, buddy."
She turned to Jason. "He knows Thunder Shock and Electro Ball, both damaging lightning attacks. What's your take on it?"
"Thunder Shock has a chance to paralyze," Jason replied. "Electro Ball is best effective on targets slower than Pikachu. Our Taillow and Fletchling are too fast to be knocked out of the sky by it, but it can damage someone slow perfectly."
"Interesting," Kristine pondered.
"If possible, I'd have Pikachu learn Double Team," Jason suggested.
"Good idea," Kristine agreed. "We need some defensiveness for his good offense."
"Exactly."
"Well, I think we should pack up and head back out," Kristine said.
"Yeah," Jason replied.
The two packed up, recalled their pokemon, and headed back out on the road.
"So that's my team of three," Kristine said. "I wonder who's going to be in your team?"
"Who knows?" Jason smirked. "The way you got Pikachu, who knows what will happen? Maybe a gastly will come into our tent tonight and get inside one of my pokeballs."
"Hah!" Kristine laughed.
As dusk settled in, the two found a nice area to unpack and set up their tent. They settled in under the night, with all sorts of Pokemon making noise all around them. Jason browsed through his pokedex while Kristine read through the Inventum handbook.
"Huh," Jason seemed intrigued. "The pokedex says gastly live out in the Barren Flats in the west and the Marshlands in the south. It's sporadic to see them in Inventum outside of those places."
"Interesting," Kristine replied. "There's no information on them in Cheron Forest. Of course, you'd get a ghost pokemon passing by now and again, but this is a bit strange."
"Isn't it?" Jason agreed.
"Just stay inside," Kristine added. "Don't want any ghost pokemon playing tricks on us."
"Yeah," Jason said. He put his pokedex aside. "I'm going to bed. Night, sis."
"Night, Jason," Kristine added. "Sleep well."
Jason closed his eyes and fell asleep soon afterward. Kristine eventually followed his lead.
It was a cool night within Cheron Forest. The breeze swept gently as the twins were sound asleep. Then, suddenly, the temperature dropped drastically to where it became very chilly. Jason woke up, slowly opening his eyes. When he registered how cold it was, he leaned upwards.
What was that? He thought to himself, shivering.
The chilly sensation went away.
"Whatever," he muttered and tried to go back to sleep.
Then, it suddenly hit him. His bladder was full, and he needed to go bad.
"Ugh…" Jason became frustrated. He knew he shouldn't go out there.
But he really needed to go. If he didn't go now, he would have an incredibly embarrassing moment that he'd have to explain to Kristine the next day. He couldn't have that.
"Just gonna be real quick," Jason muttered to himself and ran out of the tent with only his undershirt and shorts on.
He quickly ran behind a tree to relieve himself. Then, after a solid minute, he was happy to go.
"Much better," he sighed in relief. He turned around, only to be startled by a purple mist in front of him.
"Oh no," Jason knew what it was. He knew of what he was at the mercy of.
A black orb appeared from the mist. That black orb had massive white eyes, its gaze piercing right through Jason.
"Gaaaaastlyyyyyy," the ghost pokemon spoke hauntingly.
Jason suddenly lost consciousness, but his body was still standing. He was under the influence of Gastly's Hypnosis. As Gastly departed, Jason followed it deeper into the forest.
Kristine woke up the next morning. After rubbing her eyes, she lifted herself. "Mornin –" she was going to say hello to her brother, but she noticed he wasn't there. "Well, I guess he had an early morning."
She stood up and realized both Jason's Eevee and Taillow were still in their pokeballs. "That's not like him to go outside on his own like that."
Still in her pajamas, Kristine put on her shoes to venture outside.
"Jason?" she called. "Oh, Jason?"
She then walked around. "Jason? Where on earth could he have gone?"
After spending several moments looking for him, she began to be worried. She ran back into her tent, put on her clothes, and ran back out without tying her ponytail.
"I think that knucklehead went outside," Kristine feared the worst. "And a gastly got him. But why would he go outside?" She then summoned Eevee, Fletchling, and Pikachu.
All three pokemon stood before her. Kristine also took Jason's pokeballs and called forth his Eevee and Taillow.
She had everyone's full attention.
"Okay, boys and girls," she briefed. "Jason went missing last night. I believe that he may have gone outside and was tricked by at least one gastly. Wherever he may be, he might be under that gastly's influence. I need you guys to track his whereabouts and rescue him."
All five Pokemon nodded. Taillow and Fletchling took to the skies, while Kristine's Eevee and Pikachu took off in one direction. Jason's Eevee sniffed the ground and picked up the scent. He then ran in a different direction.
"Well then," Kristine crossed her arms. "You did whatever it took to carry me to safety when I was badly hurt, Jason. Be assured that I'm going to do the same for you."
Meanwhile, Jason began to wake up.
"Where am I?" he faintly asked. The trees above him covered the sky so much that it was dark where he was.
"Gaaaastllly!" a purple mist appeared in front of Jason again.
"Gastly, I don't appreciate this," Jason spoke sternly. "My sister is going to be worried sick, and so will my pokemon. Take me back. Now."
Gastly's physical self appeared within the purple mist. "Gastly gastlyyyy!" Gastly seemed to laugh at him. "Gaaaaaaaaastlyyyyy."
Suddenly, Jason felt drowsy once more.
"No, Gastly…" Jason fell on his knees.
That was when Jason heard something behind him.
"Ralts!" yelled a pokemon.
"Gastly!" Gastly yelled back.
"Ralts!" the Pokemon did not back down.
Suddenly, Jason felt something enter his mind. It was hard for him to explain. But whatever was happening, he noticed that gastly was losing consciousness as well.
"Ralts!" the Pokemon spoke sternly.
"Gastly!" Gastly backed off. When it did, both it and Jason regained consciousness.
"Ral ral ralts!" the Pokemon approached Gastly.
"Gastly gastly!" Gastly seemed to argue. "Gastly!" It then vanished into thin air.
Jason stood straight once more. He turned around to see Ralts, a small psychic and fairy pokemon with two rounded horns at the center of her head. Her green hair covered her reddish eyes in a bowl-cut style, and her legs had a wispy extension trailing off, making it appear as if she was wearing a dress.
"You used Synchronize to drive off Gastly," Jason noticed. "Thank you, Ralts."
"Ralts," Ralts approached Jason.
She then extended her hand to Jason. He shook her hand gently, and when he did, he felt as if Ralts tried to enter his mind.
"Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon," Jason remembered the description through his pokedex. "You don't make yourself known too much, don't you?"
Ralts shook her head.
"Well, I appreciate you coming to my rescue. That was awfully brave of you." Jason knelt. "Can you help me get back to my sister? It's imperative."
Ralts gave a nod. But then, she walked back to get something. "Ral ralts!"
A moment later, she returned to Jason, and she was holding something in her hands.
"What's that?" Jason asked.
Ralts revealed the item and offered it to Jason. It was yellow in color and was largely opulent to the eyes of many.
"Is that a thunder stone?" Jason seemed to be very surprised. "How –"
Then, something entered Jason's mind once more. He felt a sense of peace and friendship. Ralts gave him a gift because she thought of him as a friend. Jason knew that ralts as a species are shy in general, so gift giving was essential in this case.
"I know two pokemon who can really use this," Jason smiled. "If Eevee doesn't want it, perhaps my sister's pikachu would. Thank you very much, Ralts."
Ralts smiled, then led the way for Jason to get to safety.
Kristine looked around the immediate area on her own. With no trace of Jason anywhere, she hoped that any of her or Jason's pokemon would come up with any clues. As she headed back out onto the trail, she saw Bradley approach her.
"Hey there, sport," Bradley greeted, but he quickly found out something was not quite right. "What's wrong?"
"My brother went missing overnight," Kristine replied nervously. She was relieved to see Bradley. "I sent our pokemon out to find him. Can you help me?"
"Absolutely! I know who can help," Bradley reached for his pokeballs and released Growlithe and Bagon.
"Growlithe, can you pick up Jason's scent?" Bradley asked.
Growlithe sniffed the ground briefly. He then looked up and barked with confidence.
Just then, Kristine's eevee and Pikachu returned. But, unfortunately, they couldn't find any signs of Jason, to their regret.
"Don't worry," Kristine said to them. "Growlithe has a scent!"
"Growl!" Growlithe ran in the same direction Jason's eevee set out on.
"Let's go!" Bradley said. "We'll get your brother back!"
Jason continued to follow Ralts through the dark forest.
"Agh!" Jason felt a sharp pain in his foot. He checked his foot to see that he stepped on a small branch. Thankfully, there was nothing but some redness on his foot.
Ralts turned around to check on him.
"I'm fine," Jason assured her. "We just gotta take it slow. I need shoes to get around quickly."
Ralts acknowledged and turned around to continue.
Just then, Jason's eevee approached the two.
"Hey, that's Eevee!" Jason seemed relieved.
"Eevee!" Eevee happily greeted and ran towards Jason and Ralts.
"Hey buddy," Jason kneeled and patted Eevee on his head. "This is my pal Ralts. She saved me from a gastly."
"Eevee!" Eevee showed his gratitude.
"Ralts!" Ralts gave an elegant bow.
Suddenly, Ralts became uneasy and alert. She turned around to Jason, warning him frantically. "Ra-ralts! Ra-ra-ralts!"
"What's going on?" Jason became concerned.
Gaaaaasssstllyyyyy, Jason, Ralts, and Eevee could hear the Pokemon coming back. But then, one chant became two.
Gaaaaaasssstllyyyy, Jason heard another chant behind him. Eevee turned around and growled.
Another chant could be heard to the left and right. Then, purple mists formed all around the three.
"Oh boy," Jason stood there, looking all around him. Ralts seemed fearful of the situation.
The black orbs began to appear as different gastly materialized all around them. Jason could count six gastly.
"We're a bit outnumbered here," Jason looked on.
"Gassssssstttlllyyyyy!" All six gastly chanted at the same time and began attempting to hypnotize the entire group.
"Ralts!" Ralts held her hands forward, trying to synchronize hypnosis's effects at the attacking gastly.
Ralts used all of her might to deflect Hypnosis back. As she became drowsy, so were the gastly. Finally, the gastly backed off from the hypnotic assault.
Then, a gastly behind Ralts floated right up to her and licked across her back.
"Ralts!" Ralts yelled in pain and fell on her knees. It became apparent to Jason that she became paralyzed.
"Gastly's Lick," Jason noted. "It has a chance to cause paralysis,"
Suddenly, the single gastly who licked Ralts fell on the ground, also suffering from paralysis. It vanished afterward, leaving five gastly left.
"Ralts!" Ralts aimed at a gastly in front of her and brought her hands together. The eyes of gastly turned purple. As Ralts pushed her arms forward, the telekinetic force threw that gastly back against a nearby tree. It quickly recovered, however.
Ralts struggled to stand back up, suffering from paralysis. Eevee stepped forward against the oncoming gastly. The five that were still floating slowly converged on the group.
Jason looked at the thunderstone he was holding. I guess I have to make an important decision. But would Eevee want this?
Then, a strafing windy attack knocked the attacking gastly away. Then, Jason noticed it was Taillow, swooping down from the sky with glowing wings.
"Taillow!" Jason cheered. "You learned Wing Attack!"
"Taillow!" Taillow passed off a nod. Fletchling was right behind her.
Jason thought for a moment that the arrival of Taillow and Fletchling would turn the tables and send the gastly on the run. Fletchling swooped right through one gastly, but not without using a powerful Peck that left the gastly twitching the affected eye, awfully irritated. Taillow used Quick Attack on another gastly and simply flew right through it with no effect.
"Taillow, use Wing Attack, not Quick Attack!" Jason instructed.
Taillow nodded and flew back up. As Fletchling prepared to use Peck once more, a gastly flew up to him and used Hypnosis. Hypnosis caused Fletchling to lose his sense of awareness and crashed to the ground in a deep state of sleep.
"It's not enough!" Jason clenched his fist.
At that moment, however, that gastly also crashed to the ground. It seemed that Ralts used Confusion to help support Fletchling. The gastly became disoriented, confused from the after-effects. Ralts' appeared to be exhausted, however. She fell flat on the ground soon after.
Taillow hovered over Jason's head. "Taillow taillow!"
"I know," Jason looked on as the four undamaged Gastly approached him. One of them suddenly picked up speed and licked Jason on his side.
"Ugh!" Jason felt the unbearable tingle ripple through his body. He fell on one knee.
"Taillow!" Taillow used Wing Attack to knock that gastly away successfully. Then, he hovered around Jason, acting as the last line of defense since Eevee could not do anything to affect the gastly.
The four battle-ready gastly closed in on Taillow. Protecting everyone else, Taillow flew forward with Wing Attack. One gastly flew back from the impact and appeared to be knocked out. However, the three others used Hypnosis, covering three directions. Taillow, using her instincts, closed her eyes and used Wing Attack to propel herself backward to Jason while keeping the gastly at bay.
Jason, having no idea if more help would arrive soon, knew he had to make a tough choice regarding Taillow. He was getting desperate.
Eevee, overwhelmed by the incoming gastly, concentrated at the foes around him. Then, he shot out energetic stars from his body, projected at all gastly around him.
"Eevee, you know Swift!" Jason cheered amidst the chaos.
The projected stars startled the gastly, but it simply went right through them since it was a normal type attack.
"Taillow, go find my sister and guide her to me," Jason commanded.
"Taillow!" Taillow seemed uncomfortable leaving Jason.
"Go," Jason instructed firmly. "The sooner you bring her here, the sooner we'll be safe."
Taillow gave a nod and flew away.
The gastly all laughed as the swift of stars went right through them. They further approached Jason, Eevee, and Ralts, ignoring Fletchling, who was rendered asleep from Hypnosis.
"Eevee," Jason addressed.
Eevee looked up at Jason.
Jason then revealed the thunderstone to him. "Do you want to become Jolteon?"
"Eevee?" Eevee looked at Jason and tilted his head.
"By all means, don't do this just to get us out of this situation," Jason continued. "My sister will be here in a minute. I know it."
Just then, the thunderstone floated out of Jason's hands and into the air before the gastly. He looked over to see Ralts using her hand to guide the stone.
"If you truly want to become Jolteon, go for it!" Jason said. "We're in this together!"
"Eevee!" Eevee gave a nod. He thought about it briefly, but he couldn't give it much time. They were seconds away from being under the influence of the gastly. He closed his eyes and reaffirmed himself. He didn't have to do this. He wanted to do this. He was born for speed and maneuverability. That was why he was one of few pokemon to learn Double Team early on in their journeys. That was why he learned Swift in a dire situation. Becoming something more would give further meaning to Eevee. Becoming Jolteon seemed right. Kristine preached speed as essential in battle. Perhaps she was right.
Eevee opened his eyes with dogged determination. He jumped into the air and made contact with the thunderstone.
"Eevee!" Eevee roared one last time.
The thunderstone triggered upon contact. It glowed, as did Eevee. He became enveloped in a blinding white glow, so bright that everyone, including the gastly, had to look away.
"Eevee…" Jason muttered to himself, shielding his eyes with his arm.
The glow was complete. A transformed Eevee jumped in place before the gastly.
"Jolt!" Jolteon barked. "Jolteon!"
"Jolteon…" Jason looked on to see Jolteon for the first time. He was covered in a spiky, yellow coat with a white ruff around his neck. Jason thought about his father's Jolteon. He knew that Dad would have been proud that he was following in his footsteps.
Jolteon looked on with fierceness, poised to defend Jason and Ralts and poised to break through to the aid of Fletchling.
All three gastly then jumped towards Jolteon all at once.
"JOLT-EON!" Jolteon anticipated the attack and used his new electric energy to produce a thunderous wave around him. Just like that, all three gastly were affected as they all crashed to the ground.
"Gaaaaasssstllllyyy," all gastly admitted defeat and quickly evaporated from reality.
Jason's paralysis wore off as he got up. He then ran over to pick up Ralts.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked.
"Ralts," Ralts waved at him with a smile of relief.
"You're going to be fine," Jason assured her. "You did amazing out there. And you were brave."
Ralts reached her hand out to Jason, holding onto his right thumb and index fingers.
Jolteon ran over to Fletchling.
"Fletch!" Fletch was able to get back up, shaking off Hypnosis.
"Jolt!" Jolteon acknowledged.
"Jolteon!" Jason ran over to Jolteon, still holding Ralts. "Jolteon…" The first sight of Jolteon nearly brought Jason to tears of happiness.
"Jolt!" Jolteon looked at Jason and nodded.
"You did great," Jason smiled. "Thank you."
"Jolteon!" Jolteon acknowledged.
"Jason!" Jason could hear Kristine as she ran towards him. Her eevee, Pikachu, and Bradley, Growlithe, and Bagon were in tow.
Taillow swooped in and landed on Jason's shoulder.
"Looks like you're safe," Kristine said. She then saw Jolteon. "Wait…Eevee evolved? Into Jolteon!?"
"Jolteon!" Jolteon greeted her.
"Well, this is an interesting development," Bradley said as he walked forward.
"Jolteon…" Kristine got on one knee and patted Jolteon on the head. "Just like our father's…."
Kristine briefly hugged Jolteon. She then got up.
"How?" She asked Jason. "How did you find a thunder stone?"
"I didn't," Jason replied, smiling. He showed Ralts to her. "Ralts gave it to me. She played a major part in protecting us from six gastly. Eevee wanted to evolve. I told him he didn't have to because I knew you were coming."
Kristine blushed. "It looked like we were just seconds too late." She then looked at Ralts. "Is she okay? She looks wiped."
"I just think she needs a good rest," Jason said. "We've been through a lot today."
By then, Kristine had already examined Ralts through her pokedex.
"Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon," the pokedex explained. "Ralts, originally classified as a pure psychic type, was also classified as a fairy type when the fairy type became official. Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This pokemon rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition."
"We?" Kristine smirked. "Sounds like you two already share a bond. Her helping you means she senses great, positive potential in you. Ask Ralts if she wants to join your team."
"What do you say, Ralts?" Jason looked at her. "Would you like to go on an adventure with us?"
"Ralts!" Ralts consented without a doubt.
"Here," Kristine pulled out an empty pokeball and tossed it to Jason. "I'll just take one of yours back at our tent."
"Thanks, sis," Jason gave a nod. "Ralts, get a nice, long rest," he said. "You more than deserve it."
Ralts was emitted into the pokeball and became bound uncontested.
"Return, Fletchling!" Kristine also recalled Fletchling, who appeared to be worn out. "Thank you for helping us."
Kristine's Eevee then walked over to Jolteon. "Eevee!" she greeted.
Jolteon bowed his head. "Jolt!"
"I have Ralts…." Jason stood there, not believing that just happened. "Welcome to the team, Ralts."
"Congratulations," Bradley stepped forward. "Jason, are you hurt in any way?"
"I have some cuts and bruises," Jason replied. But it's fine."
Kristine took no chances and put Jason's arm over her shoulders, helping him along the way. "Let's get you back to our camp. You can wash up and get dressed."
"Sounds like a good idea," Jason smiled.
"Just one thing," Kristine's curiosity kicked in. "Why did you leave the tent last night?"
"I needed to pee, really, really badly." Jason shamefully admitted.
"Oh, brother," Kristine rolled her eyes.
Bradley laughed. "Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go. Just unfortunate gastly happened to be in the area."
Jason was able to shake off what happened as he got some good rest and a nice bath back at the tent. The twins spent another night at the same location, this time with all of their pokemon out for protection. By then, Bradley had continued with his companions through the forest.
The twins spent the next few days traversing through the forest. Each morning and evening, they trained their pokemon, experimenting with new moves and running scrimmages. At last, they reached the end of the forest to the pokemon lodge on the north side. After spending one more night in the area, they begin to get ready to head out onto Route 103, just a few days away from Fort Lexing…
A/N: So I realized that I unintentionally gave Synchronize a buff. In the games, the special ability passes burns, paralysis, and poisons back to the attacker. Here, I made it work on sleep statuses. I kept it as is for now, so consider Synchronize getting a minor buff in my fanfic.
