Chapter 19: A Lesson in Love
With the Dusknoir defeated, the catatonic people gathered at the top of the Lost Tower slowly stirred to life. The dozens of people all looked at each other in surprise, wondering how they had gotten to the top floor of the tower when most had planned to pay their respects to their deceased Pokemon. Morgan rubbed a spot on her forehead that had stung as though someone had flicked it and the Medium at the base of the altar clutched her head and chest nervously. Lucas had explained what had happened and the grateful Medium gave the Trainer a Cleanse Tag to keep him safe on the way back down the tower. The people slowly shuffled back down the stairs and back to the tombs and headstones of their beloved creatures, thanking the two Trainers for their help.
The fog was gone too now, clearly also caused by the immensely powerful Ghost-type, and it only took a few minutes to finally arrive in the small burgh of Solaceon Town. The small city and its Pokemon Center were a welcome sight to the exhausted teens, both desperately needing rest and a chance to heal their weakened teams. With their Pokemon fully healed and a meal in their bellies, Morgan showed Lucas around the town.
Solaceon Town was less a city and more a straight road with buildings on either side. The residents were mostly farmers and Pokemon Breeders, who used to Morgan and her outlandish appearance barely paid attention to her, though Lucas got more than a few suspicious glances. Lucas' natural reaction was to grimace from the judgment, but Morgan ignored his sullen attitude as she gave the short tour, "There isn't much in Solaceon Town itself, north of here the road splits and you can head to the next town but due west is a really cool set of ruins. I haven't explored them yet but I plan to now that I have the Spiritomb. The one really important thing here is the Daycare. It's a good place to have Pokemon raised if you don't have the chance to do it yourself,"
"I think I might put Gizmo and Donna in here for a little while, they've been working really hard, I'm sure they wouldn't mind a short rest here without having to fight all the time," Lucas stopped in front of the cheerfully painted building and pulled out the Pokeballs containing Donna and Gizmo. The two hadn't seen each other since the battle in the tower, and he thought it would be good for them to be alone for a little while. The inside of the Daycare was just as cheery and upbeat as the outside and an old couple was smiling behind the counter.
"Good afternoon and welcome to the Daycare Center. Would you like us to take care of some of your Pokemon?" the old lady asked politely.
Lucas presented the two Pokeballs on the counter, "Yeah, I'd like you to take care of my two Eevee, sorry, I mean my Eevee and my Espeon. I keep forgetting Donna evolved,"
"We'll take good care of your Pokemon, young man. You can pick them up anytime and we'll raise them as long as you're away," the old man added.
"Oh, I'm not going to be gone for too long, probably will be back for them tomorrow. I'm just going back to the Center for the rest of the day, now," Lucas explained. He turned to Morgan and asked, "You coming with?"
"Actually I was planning on going out to the Ruins for a bit. You can always join me if you feel like it," Morgan shrugged.
"Aww, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were actually starting to like me," Lucas grinned.
"Hey, I'm not a total ungrateful bitch. You did save my butt back at that tower, and you didn't make fun of me for crying, either. So you're not a total jackass yourself. If you don't wanna come, don't," Morgan snapped.
"You need to work your people skills. Though I'm probably the last person to help you with that," Lucas joked, "But yeah, the ruins sound fun. Tell Gizmo and Donna 'bye' for me," The two Trainers left the Daycare bickering and the elderly couple went to the back to let the Pokemon left in their care out to run around.
Gizmo and Donna were released from their balls into a small courtyard with a small pond, some playground equipment, trees and shrubs and lots of little places to hide and nest. Gizmo stretched himself out and scratched his ear, still groggy from the procedure that revives fainted Pokemon. Donna gave the male Pokemon a happy chirp, but when the Eevee finally turned to her, his look towards her was one of shock and dismay. To the couple that ran the Daycare, the squeaks and chirps that the two Pokemon made were just the normal noises that the loyal creatures made all the time, oblivious to the real meaning the sounds meant.
"Gizmo! I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried in the tower, the way that Dusknoir made you fly, I knew I would make him pay!" Donna chirped in a series of happy sounds, her tail wagging and ears flicking.
"Donna, you, you evolved," Gizmo replied, his sounds much more restrained and his ears more drooped.
"Oh, that's right, I did. It was the only way I could save you. Lucas was so nice to give us some time together. I missed you so much and was scared, even if it was only a short time," the purple Pokemon tried to approach the Eevee to give him a loving nuzzle, but the small brown normal-type flinched and backed away.
"I-I'm going to go wait for Lucas. I have to make sure he comes back for us. My last Trainer abandoned me," without so much as a pause, Gizmo ran away and climbed up a stubby pine tree to sit on a small, short branch, turning away from the Espeon.
Donna cocked her head, puzzled by her boyfriend's odd behavior, "Gizmo, is there something wrong? I mean, you know Lucas isn't going to abandon us, right?"
"Better safe than sorry!" Gizmo's high squeak seemed to hit the wrong note with Donna, something felt very wrong.
"Then can I join you? We can wait together. Two sets of eyes are better than one. And I have psychic-type powers now, I might even be able to sense him before he actually is in line of sight,"
"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. This branch is too small for both of us, our weight together might break it,"
"Then just move to a different branch, one that will fit both of us,"
"This one has the best sight,"
Donna flicked her ears irritably, she knew what Gizmo had said was untrue. There were several branches above him that were bigger and he could see further, and a rock close to the fence would provide a clearer view than the more grassy location the Eevee had chosen, "What's wrong, Gizmo? And don't say Lucas, because the both of us know that he would never abandon us. He's a good human, better than most. Otherwise Bill wouldn't have given me to him,"
"Nothing's wrong," With that statement, Donna lost her patience. She leapt up the tree, bouncing off of the few branches before snatching Gizmo by his mane and jumping to the ground. She pinned the Eevee on his back and forced him to face her stare.
Gizmo looked the Espeon up and an down, taking in the fact that she was now almost three times bigger than he was, and looked away, clenching his eyelids so he wouldn't see her. The normal-type's reaction to her caused Donna's ears and shoulders to droop in rejection. She unpinned him and walked a few steps away. It was clear now, he was ashamed of her. He no longer loved her now that she had evolved, "I-I'm sorry you hate me like this. I'm sorry you think I'm ugly or too big or whatever it is about me now that makes you not love me anymore. I only did it to save you. I only wanted to help,"
The Eevee finally opened his eyes, sat up and looked at her again, his eyes weren't full of revulsion, but rather anguish, "You are beautiful. Always were, always will be. You were the most beautiful Eevee, and now you're the most beautiful Espeon. And smart, and fun to play with and strong in heart and body. The problem isn't you, it's me,"
"That's a thing humans say to each other when they don't love each anymore. Even other humans don't believe it," Donna huffed, her tail twitching irritably.
"The problem isn't that you're an Espeon, the problem is I'm an Eevee. I will always be an Eevee. I can't ever be anything else. I'll never become an Umbreon or Flareon or anything, no matter how much I would want to. That's why my last Trainer abandoned me, because I was useless. Lucas loves me and he is a good human. But he's a human that wants to become the greatest Trainer in all the regions so he can beat his brother. Sooner or later he's going to need a stronger Pokemon with better moves and a better type so he can win. When that time comes and he puts me in a PC box, I won't be mad or sad, because I'll still have a home and know that he loves me. But I'll always look like I'm your cub, I'll never be that strong, and you deserve something more than that." Gizmo explained sadly.
Donna shook her head fiercely and once again approached the Eevee so their noses almost touched, "I know you can't evolve, and I don't care. I always knew about this, don't you remember? I heard Lucas explain how he found you to Bill. I love you, Gizmo, and I always will. And you're aren't useless, you never were. Lucas keeps using you because you're a strong Pokemon. Whatever happens in the future, never forget that, even if we do end up in the PC. Lucas is a special human for the way he treats us, and you're a special Pokemon."
"So you aren't ashamed of me? Even if I am a third of your size?" Gizmo paced slightly, still not sure what to feel about the situation
"I'm ashamed of the way you treated me earlier, but not of you in general," The Espeon sat down, chirped and wagged her tail cheerfully.
Gizmo studied her again and let out an equally happy chirp, "I love you Donna,"
"I love you Gizmo,"
The next day Lucas and Morgan returned, slightly bruised and laughing like idiots as they walked through the Daycare doors. They swore they would never repeat what had happened at the Solaceon Ruins to any living person, but every time the teen boy said the word 'popcorn,' the two would collapse into another fit of hysterical laughter. Lucas wiped the tears from his eyes and approached the counter to receive his Pokemon. The old lady and man greeting him politely.
"So did they behave themselves?" Lucas asked as the woman added up his bill for their services.
"They were good, but I think there is something you should see." The old man lead the two Trainers to the back where Gizmo and Donna were curled together sleeping on a cushion, a pile of six eggs on their side. The Eevee slowly opened up an eye to see Lucas had returned and stretched his body without moving from Donna's side. The old man motioned to the pile of eggs, "We have no idea where they all came from,"
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea how they got here," Lucas grinned mischievously. He walked over to his Pokemon and knelt down to Gizmo's level so he could scratch his Pokemon's cheeks, "Gizmo, you animal. I wasn't even gone a whole day! And congratulations to you too, Momma Donna, I'll get on your matching World's Greatest Mom and Dad coffee mugs as soon as well leave,"
"Wow, you were smart to breed them, now you'll have a small army of Eevee you'll be able to evolve into all the types and really take a chunk of you're Pokedex," Morgan commented.
"Nah, that wasn't my intention. I just knew that these two needed some time to get reacquainted. I know if someone I was in love with changed that much, I'd like some time to adjust, too. I just didn't figure they'd get reacquainted this much. And it doesn't matter if they evolve or not. If they want to stay Eevee like their dad, or evolve like their mom, it's really up to them. Training Pokemon is more than stats and being the best. You really aren't enjoying it unless you genuinely love Pokemon," Lucas returned Donna and Eevee to their Pokeballs and scooped up the eggs, "Probably sounds corny, but I don't care, screw it."
"No, no, I totally agree with you," Morgan shook her head as they started walking back out the Daycare, "But you're a weird guy Lucas. On one hand you can be a total and complete prick, and on the other you do all these really sweet things. I don't get you,"
"No one really does. Sorry if my angsty charms entice you, but you're not my type," Lucas sighed.
"You're not my type, either, dumbass!" Morgan snapped.
As the two stepped out the door Lucas turned to the snide girl with the big hair, "Hey, Morgan,"
"What?"
"Popcorn," and with that the two Trainers began wheezing with laughter.