Food had been the first priority. Although Shadow would have dearly loved to have gotten another few hours of sleep, he also knew that dozing off now was nigh-impossible, and after so many nights of restless slumber, he had gotten gradually adjusted to not being fully awake. Leaf hadn't helped that issue, but there was no point in dwelling on it.
Shadow explained the necessity of getting food to Leaf as they walked together, the Eevee serving as an effective crutch in helping the newly evolved Espeon adjust to the early differences of his new form. Shadow was pleased to find that his mind was rapidly adjusting to the difference in his strides, so before they even reached their destination, he no longer needed Leaf to support his normal walking. This was definitely not going to account for other leg-related movements, such as running or jumping, but if he could get comfortable with simple walking, then the other steps would also transition smoothly.
The real problem Shadow expected to have was that he didn't really know how he was going to go about teaching Leaf basic battle. He had brought it up because it was necessary, and he was desperate to avoid discussing the more sensitive matter of their parents. If Leaf didn't learn some form of basic survival tactics, even something as simple as how to run away from danger and hide, then Leaf would always be, through no fault of his own, a liability.
Shadow kept his eyes peeled, observing every Pokemon that he glimpsed. Many of them were relatively harmless species, like Starly and Bidoof. He did notice that even the timid species did a double take on seeing them, however, and some of their gazes lingered on him far longer than they ever did when he was still an Eevee.
Leaf was oblivious to the looks, and he smiled at all the Pokemon that looked his way, his tail wagging happily. Shadow smiled a little, in spite of himself. The little one had probably been looking forward to learning basic battling ever since the winter had ended. He had always been fascinated by the parents' playful spars during the winter days, when really there wasn't much else to do in the winter den except for talk, sleep, and occasionally spar. As tough as winter had been for the easily bored younger Eevee, Shadow had experienced two winters previously, and the parents had openly explained to him that evolved Pokemon had far more restless energy than even a kit.
Shadow winced. This time it wasn't the thoughts of his parents that produced it, but rather an odd surge within his head, at the spot he knew the Espeon gemstone was located. He at first was going to touch it with his paw as an instinctive response to a sensation, but he quickly reminded himself not to. Last time he had so much as tapped the gem, his headache had exploded with intensity, and he didn't want to unbalance himself again.
"Where are we going? To hunt something?" Leaf wondered loudly. Shadow noticed that several of the closest Pokemon abruptly found a reason not to stand around. Fortunately, that hadn't been his plan, so he was much more amused by Leaf's tactless volume than annoyed by it.
"No, I'll teach you hunting another time. I'd be no good at catching anything right now," Shadow admitted. Did Espeon even hunt? He had never really gone too in-depth with his parents about evolution options, or the pros and cons of each. His dad had done most of the hunting end of things, since he was superb at fishing and was surprisingly nimble on-land despite a Vaporeon's natural bulk. Their mother had been better at catching things like Starly, with her electricity and speed, but she usually watched over the kits to make sure they didn't get into too much mischief. She was also really good at finding berries and edible plants, but that didn't seem specifically related to her evolution as much as a personal skill.
Other than that, Shadow had only a passing understanding of each of the evolutions. Flareon for fire, Espeon for psychic abilities, Umbreon for...he wasn't even sure what Umbreon had in their favor, but did know they were supposed to be masterful hunters. Then there were Leafeon and their plant expertise, and Glaceon for ice. There was another evolution, but his parents had only heard of it existing. They were supposed to be ridiculously rare, and even clans had precious few of them.
Leaf started to shoot Shadow slightly concerned looks as the two of them approached the forest, but the Espeon simply nodded and gave his younger brother a nudge when he started to hesitate.
"Are we going back in there?" Leaf asked, when Shadow had nudged him for the third time.
"I saw some berry bushes nearer to this entrance yesterday," Shadow explained. He took one deep breath before leading the Eevee past the first trees. Like the last time they were here, the trees kept most light from passing through, making everything seem much darker than the time of day would suggest. Unlike their first visit, there weren't any rays of light passing down from above, for the sun had been just peeking over the horizon when they came in.
Leaf pressed closer to Shadow as they walked, the darkness more unnerving to him than the first time, but Shadow was surprised to find that he had no trouble whatsoever seeing despite the dim lighting. He could tell it was dark, but his eyes penetrated the darkness with ease, showing him every detail along the way. There were Pokemon nesting in the trees, as it was too early in the morning for many of them to be alert, and too late in the day for the nocturnal Pokemon to still be up and about.
Shadow nudged Leaf carefully at a branched path, directing him without words to change direction. His brother did so without a sound, and Shadow noticed that his brother was being uncharacteristically quiet and serious, in sharp contrast to his excited nature as they had walked to the forest. Was it because of the incident yesterday, or was something dwelling on his mind? Before Shadow could decide whether to ask Leaf what was up, they arrived at berry bush.
Quick inspection of the berries told Shadow that other Pokemon had taken some of its stock since the previous night, but there was more than enough to satisfy their appetite this morning.
Once they had eaten their fill, Shadow began to guide Leaf back in the direction they had come from, but sudden movement caught his eye, and he instinctively darted in front of his brother, and curled his tail around Leaf. Not exactly the most effective shield, now that his tail was so thin, but it definitely caught Leaf's attention and he squealed in surprise and alarm, turning his head frantically to see the source of Shadow's unease.
Shadow narrowed his eyes at the shape moving between the trees in their direction, dimly aware of buzzing echoing throughout the tightly woven plant-life. It was neither as loud nor as threatening as the Beedrill's wings from the other day, and not even that unusual to hear with so many insect Pokemon making their home within the forest, but the shape of the Pokemon reminded him unpleasantly of the hornet Pokemon.
Leaf's squeal had drawn the insect Pokemon's attention, and it moved nearer, either oblivious or indifferent to Shadow. Then again, how easy was it to see a completely black Pokemon in this lighting? Yet as the Pokemon drew closer, the buzzing grew louder and more distinct, and Shadow tensed, his stomach sinking as he saw the familiar stingers.
"Hi Bee-Bee!" Leaf chirped, no longer anxious, but instead delighted. Shadow blinked.
"...seriously? The same one? How can you even tell?" he asked.
"She's talking to me," Leaf explained. This only confused Shadow more.
"I can't hear anything. Just the buzzing."
"Uh...yeah, she's buzzing to talk to me," Leaf said, looking at his brother oddly. "Maybe she's just talking too fast for you?"
"What's she saying?"
"Hi Leaf, nice to see you again," the Eevee replied promptly. Shadow looked at the Beedrill. Then at Leaf. Then at the Beedrill again, which by now was hovering passively in front of them, its wings buzzing in what he could only assume was a cheerful manner, since it wasn't remotely aggressive.
"I'm not getting this at all."
"Well, it probably sounds to you more like 'HiLeafisthatyourbrotheragain? IsheanUmbreonnow?" Leaf suggested, abruptly speaking so fast that it took all of Shadow's focus to decipher fragments of the individual words, and none of them lingered in his brain long enough to figure out the full sentence.
"...don't speak that fast, you're giving me a headache."
"Sorry. How are you doing, Bee-Bee?" Leaf asked. The Beedrill proceeded to gesture with its foreleg stingers, darting from side to side, producing a constant buzzing noise. Shadow strained his ears, but never heard anything that resembled spoken words. However, Leaf smiled and nodded, as if the Beedrill was making perfect sense. "Cool! Have you learned how to battle as a Beedrill yet? Shadow's going to teach me today."
Again, the Beedrill made odd gestures and buzzing sounds, causing Shadow to just give up on trying to understand the conversation. It was beyond frustrating, and the buzzing was just inconsistent enough to be almost impossible to dismiss as white noise.
"Shadow, do we need a partner?"
"What?" the Espeon asked, furrowing his brow.
"Bee-Bee wants to know if we need a partner to help us practice. She's got a brother who wants to become a Kakuna, but needs more battle practice. Ooh, can we help him? Pleeeease?"
Shadow sighed. Whenever Leaf got an idea into his head, he was impossible to talk down from it. Still...it wasn't the worst idea in the world, and if one of the forest Beedrill were willing to help them out, then maybe they could avoid a hostile situation from developing in the future.
"Okay, but a little later," he said finally. "I still need to give you the basics. You can...spar with her brother...afterwards."
Bee-Bee made another series of buzzing and gestures, and even Shadow could tell that she was delighted by his answer. Leaf brightened and turned to Shadow expectantly. The Espeon glanced around blankly.
"I don't have a clue what she's saying, Leaf," he reminded his brother seriously.
"She said that'll work out great, and if we want, she can lead us to a good sparring spot for us to practice until she brings her brother by," Leaf answered, his tail wagging. "Sound good?"
Fifteen minutes later, the two of them found themselves in a grassy area deeper within the forest. It was a dead-end path from the looks of it, so it didn't get much traffic, and there wasn't really anything particularly interesting about the spot. Just a lot of grass, surrounded by trees on all sides. No berry bushes, no fruits in the trees, and no source of water. The only notable feature was a single large boulder in the center of the clearing.
Shadow could see why this was a good sparring location. Open enough for maneuvering, private enough to remain undisturbed for a good period of time, and the boulder could be used for cover or target practice. All in all, it was a much better spot than anything he would have chosen outside the forest.
Naturally, the very first thing Leaf did was climb on top of the boulder. He then promptly slipped off due to how slick the mossy surface was. The grass may have cushioned his fall, but this only encouraged him to repeat the routine several times. Climb, slip, fall. Climb, slip, fall.
It wasn't until Shadow insisted on getting started that the Eevee focused on their reason for being here. Bee-Bee had lingered for only a few minutes before leaving again, and that suited Shadow fine. Without the Beedrill's buzzing in the background, he could focus on what he needed to show and tell Leaf about basic battling.
The first thing on his agenda was to show Leaf a simple tackle. This wasn't difficult for the Eevee to grasp; He already knew how to tackle and pounce on things just from the little games they had played during the winter and early spring, and Shadow resigned himself to being Leaf's target for a few practice pounces.
"That was good. Get off now," Shadow said, as Leaf once again demonstrated his aptitude for throwing his smaller body against the Espeon with enough force to knock him over. Leaf had been quick to catch onto the fact he had more power behind his tackles with a bit of a running start, and Shadow had been similarly quick to learn that an Espeon's thinner fur made for an inferior defense against impacts. He would definitely be feeling those aches tomorrow.
"Now what?" Leaf asked eagerly, his eyes fixed upon Shadow. Never before had the little guy been so focused and attentive. It was almost unnerving.
"Well, so far you've been tackling me while I just stood here. Now I want you to try again, this time with me dodging. If you miss me or if I dodge, try to turn around quickly so that you can see what I'm doing at all times," Shadow said. "After missing an attack, the opponent often has a chance to counterattack, and you need to be ready to dodge in that case, which is easier if you can see it coming. For right now, I will not actually be attacking back. Not until you're better at recovering from a miss. Okay?"
"Got it!" the Eevee chirped.
At Shadow's signal, Leaf charged forward and pounced at Shadow. The Espeon's tail twitched, and he side-stepped nimbly, watching as Leaf hit the spot he had been standing at a moment before. The Eevee grunted on impact, and it was clear that he had still anticipated connecting with Shadow, which threw off his balance when he landed. When Leaf did succeed in regaining his footing, Shadow gave a slight nod of encouragement and signaled for him to try again.
Each time that Leaf attempted to pounce, Shadow moved to the side, and each time they went through the steps, Leaf visibly improved his form. One time, he even tried to adjust his pounce to hit Shadow after he moved, which actually would have worked...but Shadow picked up on the Eevee's intention at the last second and ducked his body down low, causing the Eevee to tumble across the grass instead.
Throughout the training, Shadow gradually became more aware of certain sensations within his body. Similar to the strange awareness of the weather, or lack thereof, he also was oddly aware of tiny shifts in the air currents, and so long as he didn't stop to think about it, his body would sometimes react instinctively, such as when Leaf had tried to change his pouncing tactics. It had happened so quickly that Shadow hadn't initially realized what he had done, but after three or four repetitions of the same scenario, he realized it wasn't a coincidence. The last attempt almost succeeded, and it was only Shadow spontaneously rolling his body to the left that enabled him to dodge Leaf's tackle.
"I think you've gotten the hang of it," Shadow said finally. Leaf was panting heavily, but his eyes shone with excitement and eagerness. "Take a moment to get your breath back. We'll move on to me trying to tackle you, and you need to try to dodge me."
"Okay!" Leaf said, and he flopped down on the grass, resting his head on his forepaws. Shadow chuckled a little to himself and looked around the clearing. They had brought a few berries along, in case they got hungry, but also because if Leaf was going to practice against a Weedle, Shadow wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any problems involving the venomous stinger even the younger poison bugs wielded.
Once Leaf had sufficiently recovered, they began again. This time, Shadow took the offensive. Fortunately, the earlier practice with dodging had given him more confidence in using his evolved legs, but he still took it slow. Leaf dodged the first few tackles easily, so Shadow gradually picked up speed, and even started to adjust his direction to keep Leaf on his toes. Leaf eventually messed up his timing, and the Espeon knocked the smaller Eevee over, but hopped off quickly, smiling at him.
"You're doing really good. I didn't think you'd catch on so quickly," Shadow said, rubbing Leaf's ears fondly.
"Thanks!" Leaf chirped, again taking a few moments to get his breath back. Just as Shadow was about to suggest another round, the sound of buzzing drew their attention to Bee-Bee's return. Clinging to the Beedrill's abdomen with a dozen or so suction-like legs was a limb-less brown worm Pokemon with a prominent nose, a stinger on its forehead and a smaller one at the end of its tail.
"Hello again," Shadow said. The Weedle dropped to the ground and looked at the two of them curiously. Bee-Bee made a gesture with her stingers, her wings vibrating loudly.
"Yup, we're ready!" Leaf replied, glancing at Shadow for confirmation. Feeling the start of his headache returning, Shadow simply nodded and moved to the far side of the clearing, giving Leaf and the Weedle more space.
"Be careful of the stinger, Leaf. Don't tackle that," Shadow warned.
"But it's shiny!" Leaf complained. Shadow genuinely couldn't tell if Leaf was being sarcastic or not. To the Espeon's relief, Bee-Bee moved to the opposite side of the clearing, so he didn't have to endure the buzzing of her wings so close to his sensitive ears.
The two Pokemon watched each other in silence for a few seconds. Leaf crouched his body down low, his tail wagging playfully. After a long pause, he darted forward and swiped his paw playfully at the Weedle. The worm reared its body backwards with surprising agility and then lashed its upper body down, slamming its head against Leaf's forehead.
"Ow!" Leaf complained, retreating a pace and rubbing the spot the Weedle had struck. The Weedle made an odd chittering sound that sounded suspiciously triumphant. Leaf growled and swiped a paw at the bug again, this time managing to hit it and knock it off balance. The Eevee then pounced on the Weedle, using both of his forepaws to pin the bug against the grass, but seemed to be taking care not to use too much pressure.
Bee-Bee made a gesture with a foreleg stinger, and Leaf immediately backed off, allowing the Weedle to get back up. The two Pokemon stared each other down again, and this time the Weedle darted forward, jabbing at Leaf with its forehead stinger. The Eevee squeaked and jumped over the Weedle, pivoting to face it, but stumbled a bit on the landing, giving the Weedle enough time to switch direction as well.
"Careful, Leaf," Shadow reminded him. Leaf was clearly enjoying the battle as if it were a game, but it was important to remember that even if the battle wasn't serious, there was still some real danger involved.
Leaf made a few tentative steps closer to the Weedle, his eyes focused on the Bug-Type's stinger, and he raised a paw, ready to swat at the bug again. The Weedle made a forward movement, but immediately drew back, baiting out Leaf's response. Shadow winced a little as Leaf jumped to the side, falling for the feint entirely, and the Weedle pounced, its stinger poking Leaf in the shoulder.
"Ow!" the Eevee wailed, looking at his injured shoulder. Although Shadow felt a momentary surge of aggression towards the Weedle, he could see that the stinger hadn't drawn blood at all, and probably hadn't used any poison. Bee-Bee gestured again, and the Weedle made its little chittering sound. This time, Shadow was able to get the gist of the Beedrill's motion. It was a point scored by both sides so far.
"You okay, Leaf?" Shadow asked seriously.
"Uh-huh," Leaf said, sniffling. He gave the Weedle a bit of a glare, but his tail still wagged playfully.
Both Pokemon stared each other down again, and both moved at the same time. Leaf moved to the side, and then ran forward, while the Weedle attempted another feint. However, because Leaf had already shifted his positioning, the feint accomplished nothing, and the Weedle was forced to rear its head up defensively, displaying its stinger towards the advancing Eevee.
Seeing the danger, Leaf skidded to a halt, but instead of trying to retreat, he instead thrust his forepaw into the Weedle's face. The worm recoiled from the blow, shaking its head, and in that moment, Leaf pounced. His head plowed into the Weedle's exposed belly, and both of them tumbled across the grass.
"Gotcha!" Leaf squealed, pinning the Weedle down with his forepaws. The Weedle squirmed vainly for a few seconds, but then went limp, accepting the loss. Bee-Bee made another gesture, and Leaf backed off, looking over at Shadow for his reaction. The Eevee's eyes were shining with pride and happiness, and although a Weedle was difficult to really label as a challenging opponent, Shadow knew that the win meant a lot to the little guy.
So he smiled back. Their eyes met, and Leaf's body relaxed.
"Good one, little Weedle!" Leaf chirped, turning to his opponent and offering his paw to shake. The Weedle chittered in response and nudged the Eevee's paw with its head. Leaf giggled quietly. "That was fun! We should do this again sometime!"
Shadow chuckled, but a sudden ray of white light drew his attention. The Weedle was glowing brightly, its body becoming enveloped in light. Leaf squealed in excitement, his eyes watching as the worm-like body shifted shape and expanded. To Shadow's surprise, the glowing light intensified. It was coming not just from the Weedle's body, but from Leaf's as well.
Shadow raised a paw to shield his eyes from the glowing, and when the light finally faded, he blinked at the other Pokemon. Where the Weedle once stood was now the same yellow-gold cocoon that Bee-Bee had been in when Leaf had first seen her. Where an Eevee had been moments before sat a different Pokemon, tan fur replacing the brown, except for the paws. Its tail and ears were now shaped like leaves, and a slender green sprout sat on its forehead, although it immediately drooped downwards, partially obscuring the view of the distinct brown eyes that Shadow immediately recognized as his brother's.
Leaf blinked and brushed the drooping sprout from his face, pausing to stare at the tan fur now covering his forelegs. "What the...?"
Confusion slowly gave way to excitement as the newly-evolved Leafeon looked himself over, admiring everything from the odd green sprouts growing from his legs, to his leaf-like tail. He then bounded over to Bee-Bee to show off his new body, squealing with gleeful enthusiasm. This was followed up by him doing the exact same thing in front of the newly-evolved Kakuna.
Shadow could only stare at his brother in numb shock. Both of them had evolved in such a short span of time. How could that even be possible? And now that they both had evolved...what would they do now?
