Chapter 4
The next morning, the three woke up just a little before dawn. Din was chasing her tail and barking a little, while Ema was looking at Jacob before using Moonlight to heal him again. "Are you sure you're fine?" Ema asked.
"Y-yeah I'm sure Ema." He replied. Jacob rubbed his trusted Umbreon and got dressed before making them breakfast. The three of them ate their fill and then Jacob led them outside the house.
"So where are we going?" Din asked.
"Well, since I know you two want a chance at the gym…I decided to get a license so we can take a crack at it." Both pokemon perked up.
"Really?" Ema asked in an eager tone. He nodded and they walked into the Poke-Center. They arrived and Jacob walked to the front desk.
"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" The receptionist asked.
"I was here about getting a trainer's license today." Jacob replied.
"I see, well since you already have yourself a Fennekin, I assume you graduated the trainer school correct?" She asked. Jacob nods. "What's your name?"
"Jacob, ma'am." Jacob replied. The receptionist typed on her PC for a few moments.
"Oh here you are. It says you also have an Umbreon under your care…is that correct?" The receptionist inquired. Jacob nods and she opens up a drawer behind the counter. She took out 5 pokeballs and a pokedex and set them on the counter. "Here are some pokeballs for you as well as a pokedex for you to store the data of the pokemon you capture. Please take these and have a seat. I'll have a representative of the pokemart come by with a form for you to fill out before you officially receive your license."
"Thank you ma'am." Jacob replied. Jacob then took the pokeballs and pokedex off the counter before setting them in his pocket and going sit down on one of the chairs in the room. After a few minutes, someone handed him a clip board with a paper for him to fill out. The paper asked him things like his age, gender, address, etc. and after he was done, he went hand it to the people at the pokemart.
"Thank you sir, now may I please see your pokedex so I can scan your license inside of it?" The man at the counter asked.
"Here you go." Jacob said grabbing in. The man then took his pokedex and plugged it into his PC and then the pokedex lit up and displayed his face on the screen. The man then pulled it out again and handed the device back.
"There you go, good luck on your pokemon adventure." He said.
"Thanks, have a good day!" Jacob replied as he walked out of the building. He put his pokedex back in his pocket and opened the door to the exterior. The trio walked out and began walking down the sidewalk towards the house again.
"Wait I thought we were going to the gym." Din said.
"We will, but I want you to train with Ema to get stronger. Right now, even though you are a fire type, I have a small feeling I'd rely on Ema more and I want you to be able to hold your own." Jacob replied. Din looked down.
"Don't worry Din, it will be fun." Ema reassured the young pokemon. Din looked up and smiled. "I guess we'll use the backyard?"
"Yeah, I'll be watching, but please don't hurt each other." Jacob said. Both girls nodded and Jacob opened both doors for them while he locked the front door and then went sit outside. Din and Ema lined up across from each other. They began circling each other, before Din made the first move by using Ember. Ema dodged the attack easily and then ran in with bite. Din then whipped her tail and then used scratch to counter. Din lightly scratched her claws against Ema's skin while Ema nipped her torso. They both backed away from each other before Din used another Ember. Ema used Feint Attack to dodge and then she charged at Din, who rolled out of the way at the last second. Ema hit a tree and then Din saw her chance and used Ember. This time the Ember hit Ema in the back and she rolled on the ground as she put out her fur. Din walked over out of worry but Ema told her to stay back as their training wasn't complete. Ema then used Feint Attack again and hit Din which knocked her back a few feet she grunted as she hit the ground and then she struggled to get to her feet.
"Are you ok Din?" Ema asked. Din nodded and they continued. Dark and Fire attacks alike were thrown around the back yard, but Ema made it easy for Din to dodge her attacks. The two tumbled and ran around the yard only breaking when Jacob fed them lunch, but eventually Din started getting better. She began instinctually dodging attacks more efficiently, and she had begun to strike more effectively. Din even learned a new move…Flame Charge. It actually took both Ema and Jacob by surprise when a charged flame blast spewed from Din's maw. Since it was her first time using it however…the yard happened to catch on fire a little. Jacob quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the grass that was on fire. Din put her head down in shame and then a shadow loomed over the young pokemon.
"I-I'm sorry…" Din said not looking up.
"It's fine Din, you couldn't control it." Ema said to her. Din looked up slightly. "You're still learning these things Din, every pokemon makes mistakes like these, hell, I used to do it a lot a while ago."
"S-so you used to battle a lot?" Din asked. "I-is that how you got your scars?" Ema sighed and nodded. "Did he…?"
"What, Jacob? Oh no, he didn't do it. I never knew him at the time." Ema replied.
"Ok." Din stated. Jacob soon finished putting out the fire and walked over to them.
"Are you two ok?" He asked. They both nod. He then bent down and sat down in front of Din who was crying a little from guilt.
"D-do you hate me?" She asked.
"Wh-what? No. No I don't hate you, I could never hate you Din. It was an accident; you didn't know how to control it." Jacob replied. Din smiled and rubbed against his torso and Jacob held the young Fennekin in a fatherly manner. Ema came and comforted the younger pokemon who was smiling and had tears slowly streaming from her face. Din then proceeded the lick both of them before yipping in joy. "You feel better?"
"Yes!" Din exclaimed. "You're the best human ever!" Din then nuzzled him. Jacob then let her go.
"Do you want to continue our practice?" Ema asked. Din was about to respond but her stomach growled with hunger. Ema and Jacob laughed a little and then Jacob went inside to get them food. He gave them some left over bacon from that morning and the two pokemon happily ate their food.
"I think that will be enough training for today guys." Jacob said as they ate. Both of them looked up to him a little confused.
"It's not tha….oh." Ema began before seeing the sun setting. "Don't want to give me too much of the advantage I see." Jacob nods and Din looks at Ema curiously.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means that when moonlight hits one of these." Ema said pointing to one of her blue rings. "That my attacks are amplified."
"Oh I see." Din replied. Ema nodded and the two finished eating and then Jacob turned on the TV to the carton channel he saw the other day. Ema was confused as to why he was putting on a child's show, but then remembered how old Din was. Din enjoyed the shows that were being played, most of them involving a ton of slap-stick humor with the occasional corny joke thrown in.
The three sat there for a little bit longer until Ema spoke up. "Hey Jacob, can I talk to you in the yard for a minute?"
"S-sure?" Jacob said. "Din remember, don't change the channel without asking us first." Din nods and the two stepped outside. Jacob closed the glass door and sat down on the ground. "What's up?"
"You, more importantly why you keep sweating bullets, are you having nightmares? Because if it's about that time I did the night terror prank, I'm sorry." Ema said to him. Jacob looked up towards the sky.
"It's not that." He said.
"Then what is it?" She asked. Jacob sighed.
"Lately I've been getting these…dreams…they haven't been nightmares, but they leave me waking up and feeling like crap every morning." The boy replied looking towards his folded leg.
"Would you be willing to say what they are like?" Ema inquired as she inched closer.
"Well, the start with me walking into this room with scribbles I can't read on the walls. Then I notice a pillar in the middle with white crystals at the top before an older man literally teleports in with his back to me. There's some form of purple/pink aura around his body and then he touches the center pillar before the entire world is purple/pink. That's when I wake up." Jacob answered. Ema's rings began glowing a little brighter as the moon rose. "What's odd is that the photo my mom showed me had that exact same place minus the old man."
"The dig site out by route 40?" Ema asked.
"The very same." Jacob said with a nod.
"That's odd." Ema stated. "Would you want to go investigate it?"
"I don't know in all honestly, I have a desire that is screaming inside of me to go, but at the same time I don't even know what I would find." Jacob replied. He then laid down on the ground and looked up at the night sky.
"Well, whatever you choose, I'll be there to support you, even if I have to deal with you waking up in a cold sweat." Ema told him. Jacob smiled a little bit and rubbed his companion who sat next to him. They sat outside for a little bit before there was some scratching at the door. Jacob got up and let Din outside as she pawed at the glass door. "Sorry about leaving you in there." Din ignored her and started wobbling around outside and whimpering.
"Din?! What's wrong?" Jacob asked.
"If it's about that time you hit the tree, I'm sorry." Ema said and Din was clenching her chest before a light started cracking out of her sides. Both Ema and Jacob stepped back as the light consumed the Fennekin. After a few seconds, the light faded from Din and what used to be a Fennekin was a Braixen lying on her back.
"Din? I-is that you?" Jacob asked the Braixen before him. The Braixen sat up and rubbed the back of its head.
"Did you guys get shorter?" She asked the two. "Yeah it's me."
"Din do you just realized what you just did?" Ema asked. Din gave her a confused stare.
"What do you mean? Is there something on my face?" Din asked.
"Uh…no…you kind of…evolved." Jacob said. Din went wide-eyed and examined herself to find a Braixen body replacing her Fennekin one.
"THIS IS SO COOL!" Din yelled at the top of her lungs. She then clapped her paws over her mouth. "S-sorry. I-I just never expected to evolve so quickly."
"Well that's what happens when you train with me throughout the day." Ema stated. Din then walked over to them, still getting used to her new legs. Din wobbled a few times before falling forward. Jacob caught her and slowly set her up right again.
"Thanks." Din said.
"No trouble, just remember to take it slow for a little bit." Jacob said. Din nodded. "Why don't you try walking around and testing yourself a little bit?" Din started slow, but soon was running around the yard, jumping, and firing light fire blasts from her forepaws. 'I thought I said slow.' Jacob thought as Din ran around a while before jumping before she slipped and fell. Ema and Jacob rolled their eyes and walked over to Din only to find her asleep on the ground.
"You think you can carry her?" Ema asked. Jacob picked up the Braixen with little trouble. "Never mind." Jacob set Din on the other side of his bed and went get changed.
"What was that now?" Jacob said jokingly while walking off. Ema stuck her tongue out and hopped on the bed herself. Jacob returned and climbed under the covers of the bed before falling asleep. Ema however stayed up a little longer and looked to the sleeping Braixen and human lying on the bed. She smiled a little and went to sleep.
The next morning was like usual only this time Din noticed Jacob's cold sweat that morning. "Is he going to be ok?" Dina asked.
"To be honest Din, I have no clue." Ema replied as their human boy stirred in his sleep before snapping awake. Ema used Moonlight just in case Jacob was feeling any sickness. "That's the 4th time this week. Are you sure you'll be fine?"
"No, I honestly have no idea." Jacob then sighed and went get ready for the day in his bathroom.
"Well if you're nervous about the gym don't be!" Din said as Jacob walked into the hallway. "I'm sure we'll do just fine!" Jacob chuckled and rubbed her head a little bit.
"I'm sure we will, now I'm going make some breakfast and then we are going to go to the gym." Jacob said. Din was bounding off the walls with excitement and ran around the house a few times while Ema tried anything to get her calm enough to sit still. Eventually Din was calm enough to sit down and both pokemon were given eggs and toast for breakfast. Jacob just ate toast and soon he finished eating. Jacob then put on his gloves and jacket, and he opened the door. "You two ready?" Both pokemon walk over to him and then Din takes off running outside the front door. "DIN!" She didn't listen as she sped off. Jacob hurriedly closed the door with Ema already running after the hyperactive Braixen. The two ran through the town dodging people and pokmon alike. Jacob soon followed and caught up with them by the café.
"Please don't do that again." Ema said while panting a little.
"S-sorry…just excited, that's all." Din said. Jacob gave them both some water.
"It's ok, but like Ema said don't do it again." Jacob said. Din nods and the three set off to the gym. They arrived at the gym and were surprised to see it laid out like a bamboo hut. The trio walked inside and saw the place was a massive garden with a pokeball symbol in the middle of the area floor not too far away.
"Excuse me sir, may I help you?" A man in gardening clothes said as he walked over.
"I'm here about battling James, you think he has got some time to spare?" Jacob answered. The man nods.
"This way please." He said gesturing to the arena. Jacob followed the man until they reached another man who was tending to some flowers. This man had a beard and mustache, white hair, and two pokeballs clipped to his belt. "Hammel, could spare a moment?"
"Sure, what you need?" James said.
"I have a young boy who wishes to battle you for the badge." The guide said.
"Oh really? I'll take it from here Mack." James said looking up to see the 4 of them. 'Mack' as he was called walked away leaving James, Jacob, Din, and Ema alone. "So you want to battle me for the badge?"
"Yes sir. That is if you aren't too busy." Jacob replied.
"It's fine," James said standing up, "Good luck kid." Jacob nodded and both of them took their positions on opposite sides of the ring. James grabbed a pokeball and opened it. "Cherubi you're up."
"Din you said you wanted to fight a gym battle right?" Jacob asked. Din. She nods. "Then you're up." Din walks onto the field and Mack climbed up to a judge chair.
"Cherubi versus Braixen. Begin!" Mack said.
"Use Grass Knot." James said.
"Counter with Ember and then use Flame Charge." The Cherubi balled up same grass vines around Din before slowly tying them into a knot to try and trap her. Din then held up her paws and used ember to burn away the grass before shooting a charged flame ball at the Cherubi. The Cherubi dodged the fire blast, but only barely.
"Leech Seed." Cherubi sent our spores towards Din and they latched onto her fur coat.
"Ember." Din raised her forepaw and fired a fire burst from it which hit Cherubi square in the face. The grass type yelped in pain from the blast and fell backwards a bit. The Leech Seed's effects kicked in, but they barely bothered Din. The Cherubi struggled to get up, but at that point it had a burn affect on it and it fell down again.
"Cherubi is unable to battle, Braixen wins." Mack said. James recalled his Cerubi and the affects of Leech Seed wore off.
"You good Din?" Jacob asked. Din nods and turned back to James who opened his second pokeball to reveal a Turtwig.
"Turtwig versus Braixen. Begin!" Mack announced.
"Use Withdraw." James ordered. The Turtwig started drawing all the water from the surrounding area towards itself to make a weak shield of defence, making sure some water attempted to hit on the way.
"Get in close and use Scratch." Din ran in, avoiding the water and scratched the side of the Turtwig. Some water managed to splash onto Din, but it wasn't enough to cause major damage.
"Razor leaf." The Turtwig started firing volleys of razor sharp leaves at Din.
"Use Ember to clear a path, and then hit it with Flame Charge." Din raised her paws and fire erupted from them. She then charged a flame ball in her paws and let it fly, hitting the Turtwig. The Turtwig yelped like the Cherubi did, but didn't go down.
"Grass knot into Razor Leaf." Turtwig started forming the grass prison while readying another volley of leaves.
"Flame Charge and Ember." Din fired a flame charge bellow her feet to disrupt the prison and then fired a fire blast at the Turtwig. The leaves the Turtwig fired in defense were incinerated and the attack hit Turtwig dead on, knocking it down again. This time it didn't get up from exhaustion.
"Turtwig is no longer able to battle. The match goes to the Challenger." Mack said before climbing down. The Turtwig was recalled and then Din walked back to her friends and was jumping with joy.
"I did it!" Din exclaimed as she started running around.
"It seems you beat me kid, congratulations." James said.
"Thank you sir, but it really was Din doing all the work." Jacob said pointing to the Braixen who was still running around him in excitement.
"I see…in any case, here." James them flicked a shiny metallic object towards Jacob. Jacob caught it in his hand and saw it was the badge. "You earned it kid. Feel free to come back anytime you like, we might be able to have a chat over some coffee."
"I'd like that, thank you." Jacob said. The three then walked out of the gym and went to the Poke-Center.
"Why are we coming here?" Din asked.
"To make sure you'll be ok after that fight, I don't want to take any chances." Jacob replied.
"I see that you three are back." The nurse, receptionist said. "How can I help you?"
"I want to make sure my friend is fine and not hurt too bad." Jacob replied. The nurse nods. The nurse then takes out a portable scanner and checks the young Braixen's health. Din, gave the nurse a curious stare as she observed the scanner and even tried to paw at it, but Ema stopped her and told her to stay still.
"Nothing to out of the ordinary." The nurse said finishing his scan. "She's slightly tired though. Have you been battling recently?"
"We just completed the Grass Gym." Jacob said.
"Congratulations. Anyways, is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked. Jacob shook his head no. "Thank you sir, please feel free to stop by if you need anything."
"Thanks." Jacob said. The trio then walked out of the Poke-Center and was surprised it was still the middle of the day. "So what do you two want to do?" Just then Jacob's stomach growled and that settled the matter. They went to a café and ordered some burgers with fries. Din was given a milkshake while the other two drank water with their meals.
"This is so much better than your cooking." Ema teased.
"It was one time ok. One time." Jacob replied in embarrassment remembering when he was cooking and happened to burn the food he was making. Ema rolled her eyes and continued eating. 'One down, 7 to go.'