Chapter 7: Eggs
"You're ready for your rematch?" Cress said as he and Chili stood before Gabri and the others in the Straiton Gym.
The young girl nodded. "I'm ready. I would like to challenge Chili again."
"Very well," Chili said. "Pansear and I look forward to it."
Dragon had a determined look on his face as he strolled onto the battlefield with is trainer. The two of them had done a lot of training over the past few days. Gabri thought that watching Max's gym battle and the contest battles had been especially helpful. She not had a new strategy to help her win.
"Come on out, Pansear," Chili said, releasing his monkey.
"The battle between Chili the gym leader and Gabri the challenger will now begin," Cress said from the side.
"Dragon, use Tackle!" Gabri called.
"Pansear, dodge and use Fire Punch!"
"Now Ember!"
Dragon raced towards the fire monkey Pansear ran forward to meet him with a flaming arm. Before he could hit him, the Tepig jumped to the side and hit him with his ember.
"Not bad," Chili said. "It will take more than that to beat us, though. Fire Blast!"
"Tackle!"
Pansear blasted out fire shaped almost like a star. Dragon found space in the middle to run through. Some of the fire hit him, but he kept on running until he slammed into his opponent.
"Now Ember!" Gabri said.
"Flame Charge!"
Dragon's fire balls hit Pansear, but he ignored him. Soon, the monkey was covered in flames as he ran towards the Tepig. Dragon was unable to dodge, and he slid across the floor with a sequel.
"It's alright," Gabri said. "Use Tail Whip."
"Now it's time for Solar Beam!" Chili exclaimed.
Gabri knew all about this attack from Shelly. She had to be careful not to get it, but she also wanted to take advantage of the time it took to use the attack. "Quick, run and use Ember before you Tackle!" She hoped this would work. She trusted her Pokemon to know to get out of the way of the Solar Beam.
Dragon raced forward as quickly as his little legs would carry him. He shot out his Ember, which hit the Pansear but did not stop his attack. He then slammed into him full-force. Pansear dug his feet in the ground and kept up his attack. He then turned with a ball of energy in his hands.
"His tail!" Gabri cried.
Dragon bit Pansear's tail and held on tightly. The monkey cried out as he let his attack go loose. He tried to aim, but it was difficult to strike the Tepig when he was right on him.
"Now Ember!" Gabri called.
When Dragon could see that Solar Beam was over, he let go of Pansear's tail and shot out fire at him. Pansear fell over from the force of the attack and did not get back up.
"Pansear is unable to battle," Cress said. "Dragon is the winner, and the victory goes to Gabri, the challenger."
"We did it!" Gabri said happily.
"Tepig!" Dragon raced towards his trainer and jumped into her arms. She smiled as she rubbed his head.
"That was impressive," Chili said as the two of them returned to where the others were waiting for them. "You sure learned a lot in a few days."
Gabri nodded. "Thanks. The Pokemon contest was helpful. I learned there is more to battles than the attacks."
"Strategy is important," Dani said. "You did a good job today."
"It was a great battle," Gary said.
"Yeah, good job," said Shelly.
Gabri smiled at them. "Thanks, guys."
"Tepig," said Dragon happily.
"And we have something for you," Cress said. "Proof of your victory here at the Straiton Gym."
Chili held out a small object to her. "The Trio Badge. You've earned it."
"Thanks," Gabri said as she took the badge. She had finally earned her first gym badge, and it felt great!
"If you're ever in Straiton City again, stop by and say 'hi.'"
"We will. Goodbye."
The group waved as the gym leaders as they departed. Once they were outside, they stopped to consider their next move. "Where should we go next?" Dani asked.
Shelly took out her Pokenap to look something up. "There's a contest in Luxuria City in three weeks. Can we go? I really want to win my first Unova ribbon."
"That's fine with me," Gary said.
"Sure," said Dani. "We have plenty of time for gym battles, so there's no hurry."
Gabri nodded. "Let's go."
Shelly grinned. "Great. It's off to Luxuria City!"
The group took a leisurely pace as they made their way to Luxuria City. They were purposefully pursuing the long route so that they would have more time to train and catch Pokemon. As long as there was no hurry to make it to the contest, they found this pace quite refreshing and rewarding.
All four members of the group were enjoying each other's company. Gabri found that she loved traveling. She had missed her sisters the last couple of years, so it was great to be spending all of this time together. Gary took a liking to all three girls. They four of them casually talked and go to know each other as they walked through the forest and made meals together.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened until several days had passed since they left the last city. They were walking along a path, minding their own business, when a red, furry Pokemon suddenly ran past them.
"What was that?" Gabri exclaimed, her eyes wide.
Gogoat stopped walking and snorted.
"I think that was a Flareon!" Dani said.
"What's a Flareon doing in Unova?" Shelly asked.
"That is quite odd," Gary said.
Before anyone could think of an explanation, something else came running towards them and slammed into Shelly, sending them both crashing to the ground. "Hey!" Shelly grunted, finding herself stuck underneath a person.
"I'm sorry!" the boy said quickly as he hopped off her. He held out a hand to help her up. He had blond hair and bright blue eyes. "I was chasing after that Flareon. I didn't mean to run into you."
"It's alright," Shelly said as she brushed herself off. She then blushed upon realizing that this boy was cute.
"Is that your Flareon?" Gary asked.
The boy shook his head. "No. I'm trying to catch it, but it's tricky. Hey, would you guys want to help me?"
"Maybe we want to catch it," Dani said. "Flareon are awesome."
The boy frowned. "I saw it first. There may be more rare Pokemon where it hangs out."
"Why would you think that?" Gabri asked.
"Eevee and its evolutions aren't native to Unova, so that Flareon might want to hang out with other Pokemon not usually form here."
"I guess that makes sense," Gary said.
"I say we help him," said Shelly.
Dani shrugged. "Ok."
The boy grinned. "Thanks, guys. I'll pay you back alter if I can. Oh, my name's Henry."
"I'm Gary," said the other boy. "This is Dani, Shelly, and Gabri."
"We're sisters," Gabri said.
Henry smiled. "Cool." He then stared at Mo curiously. "Hey, what kind of Pokemon is that?"
"This is a Cyndaquil," Dani said. "I got him from Johto. His name is Mo."
"Cynda." Mo waved at the boy.
"Cool!" said Henry. "Anyway, I'll show you where that Flareon hangs out, and we can try to find it."
He led the group deeper into the forest. Soon, they reached a grassy area hat had dips and turns and a small pond. There was a hill covered in trees, which made it difficult to see what was up there. "This is it," Henry said.
"Let's split up and look around," Gary said.
Mo and Dragon started sniffing around the area. The both ended up at the base of the hill. "Quil!" Mo said.
"Tepig."
"What is it, guys?" Dani said curiously. She walked over to where they were standing and stared up at the hill. "Maybe the Flareon is up there."
"Oh, cool," Henry said, popping up beside her. "Let's check it out."
"Maybe we should wait for it down here," Gary said. "We don't want to scare it again."
"Oh, right. Good idea."
"Let's hide," Dani said.
There were plenty of hiding places in the trees and bushes around the area. Everyone found a different place all around the hill so that the Flareon would have no means of escape. Then they waited.
The sun was starting to go down when they heard a noise. Then, just as expected, the Flareon trotted down the hill. She stopped at the base and looked around. Figuring it was safe, she took several more steps forward.
"Flareon!" Henry said, stepping out from the tree. "I challenge you to a battle."
The Flareon looked around wildly. Then the others emerged from their hiding places, surrounding the Pokemon. The fire type looked back at Henry and growled, her hackles raised.
"Let's go, Swanna!" Henry said, releasing a white water and flying type. "Use Water Pulse!"
From his beak, Swanna sent a blast of water flying out. Flareon grunted as she was hit. She responded by hitting the other Pokemon with a swirl of fire.
"Ok, now Bubble Beam!"
Flareon jumped out of the way of the bubbles by running quickly, zipping back in forth. She then slammed into Swanna, causing him to fall back.
"Careful," Gary warned.
"Swanna, try Bubble Beam again."
This time, the bubbles hit their target. Flareon growled as she shook the water off. Then she ran forward again. This time one of her teeth glowed with fire.
"That's Fire Fang!" Dani exclaimed. "Watch out!"
"Fly into the air!" Henry commanded. "Ariel Ace!"
Swanna flew straight up just in time to dodge Flareon's attack. Then he zipped down, smashing into the fire type.
"Alright, now use Water Pulse!"
Flareon was hit straight on by the blast of water. She fell to the ground and struggled to stand up.
"That water has done a lot of damage," Gary said. "Try catching her now."
Henry nodded. "Go Pokeball!" He tossed the spherical object at the Flareon. The Pokemon was sucked inside, and the ball began to wobble. After a moment, it grew still. The boy let out a breath of relief as he walked to retrieve the Pokeball. "Yes! I caught a Flareon!"
"Swanna!" is Pokemon said happily.
"That was awesome," Gabri said. "Good job."
Henry grinned. "Thanks. I have to get going, but you guys should check out that hill to see if there are any cool Pokemon around. See you later!" He returned Swanna to his Pokeball, and then he was off before anyone could say anything else.
"I say we do it," Shelly said.
"I could use an adventure," Dani agreed.
The group started the long climb up the hill. It was not a very steep hill, but it took several minutes before they reached the top. They all gasped at what they saw waiting for them. There was a large nest with three brown eggs that looked oddly familiar. Mo, Dragon, and Gogoat stepped forward to sniff the eggs.
"I think those are Eevee eggs," Gary said.
"You don't think they're Flareon's eggs?" Shelly said with wide eyes.
"Probably," Gary said grimly.
"Do you think they have a father around?" Dani asked.
"I don't know. I doubt he would come around while we're here. Let's set up camp nearby. We can check on the eggs in the morning."
"Ok," Gabri said. They all reluctantly left, worried about the future of the eggs.
The following morning, everyone returned to the clearing just they had planned. They stopped at the base of the hill and looked around. There were several forest Pokemon roaming around. "Mo and Dragon," Dani said, "go ask some of these Pokemon if the eggs have a father. Then meet us at the nest."
"Cynda," Mo said as he climbed off of her shoulder onto the ground.
"Tepig," Dragon said as he followed him.
The humans made their second trek up the hill. When they arrived, the scene was the same as the previous evening. "It looks like nothing has been moved," Shelly said, sounding worried.
"If the father is an Eevee evolution, a trainer may have already captured him," Gary said, placing his hand on Gogoat.
"Or he was scared off by humans," Dani said.
A few minutes later, the two fire types made their way up the hill, panting. "Cynda Cyndaquil," Mo said sadly.
"You didn't find anything?" said Dani.
"You either?" said Gabri.
Dragon shook his head. "Tepig."
"What do you think we should do?" Shelly asked, glancing at Gary worriedly.
Gary hesitated before responding. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave the eggs here. They need someone to care for them, and a Pokemon could cause them harm if they stay. I think each of you should take one."
"Really?" Dani said in surprise. "What about you?"
"I don't need an egg, and I've already had an Eevee. There are three girls and three eggs, so it makes sense."
"Well, if it's what's best for the eggs..." Shelly said.
"I think it's a good idea," Gabri said.
Dani smiled slightly. "I've always wanted an Eevee."
"I don't know much about eggs, so we'll have to get them check out by Nurse Joy at the nearest Pokemon Center," Gary said. "They seem healthy to me."
The sisters each picked up and egg and held them tightly in their arms. "We'll take care of you," Dani whispered to hers.
"You'll be a part of our family," Shelly added.
"Yeah," Gabri said, excited at the thought of having three new babies soon. Mo and Dragon appeared just as pleased.
That night, the girls made a makeshift nest with their bags so that the eggs would have a safe place to rest that night. They stood back and examined their work as the last rays of light disappeared. "I hope that will work," Shelly said.
"It looks pretty good to me," Gary said. "We're doing the best we can. Umbreon, come watch the eggs." He released the Eevee evolution. Umbreon stared at the eggs before walking over to lie next to them.
"I'm sure the eggs will appreciate it," Gabri said.
Dani nodded. "Yeah." She watched her Cyndaquil stand by the eggs and yawn. "You tired, Mo? You can go to sleep, but I'm going to lie down and watch the stars." Mo curled up in a ball near the eggs to rest. Dragon walked over to join him.
Dani grabbed her sleeping bag and set it down a few yards away from the eggs. She than laid down on top of it and stared up at the sky. Only the brightest stars were visible this early in the evening. She could still see some clouds, and she tried to form shaped with them in her mind.
Several minutes later, Gary set his sleeping bag down on her left side a foot away from her. She did not say anything as he copied her. Soon, Gabri and Shelly joined them on her other side.
"We're going to be moms," Shelly said after a long time of silent.
"Sure, if you want to put it that way," Dani said.
"I hope I do well since I'm a new trainer," Gabri said.
"You'll all do just fine," said Gary. "You seem to come from a kind and loving home. You'll know what to do."
"Thanks," Dani said, smiling slightly even though he could not see it. She let another minute pass before she spoke up again. "Gary, can I ask you something that might be a little personal?"
"Go ahead," Gary said. "We're traveling together, so I should try to be as open with you as possible."
"Is Professor Oak the only family you have back in Pallet?"
Gary grew silent, and she was worried that she had offended him. Finally, he calmly said, "Yes. I don't have any siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, are any of that sort of thing."
"What about your parents?"
"My mom left when I was a baby, and my dad died a few years later of a broken heart.
Dani frowned. She had not been expecting this. "I'm sorry." She turned to her side to look at him. He was staring at the sky, his expression unreadable.
"Growing up with Gramps is all I ever knew. I had a great childhood. I have nothing to complain about."
"Still..." Shelly said with uncertainty. "Don't you miss them?"
"Sometimes, but why dwell on what I don't have? I'd rather focus on solving future problems."
"Don't you ever wonder where your mom is?" Gabri asked.
"I used to when I was little, but Gramps won't tell me anything, and it's hard to find her when I don't know her last time. When I got older I realized that, if she is the kind of person who would leave a baby, then I don't want to find her. I don't care about her."
"That's better than hating her, I guess," Dani said softly.
Gary's expression softened as he turned into his side to face her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking like this. I guess you couldn't understand."
"Just because we have an intact family doesn't mean we don't know suffering. We all do – in our own way. We don't have to talk about these types of things if you don't want. Not now."
"Maybe someday," Gary agreed. He returned to his back and gazed up at the stars. "It sure is beautiful tonight."
"Yes," Dani agreed, staring up as well.
"Very lovely," said Shelly.
"I'm enjoying it," Gabri added. It was one great part about her new, exciting adventure.
