This is the story of one little Eevee that suffered through many hardships to brighten the world's future relations of humans and Pokémon. I will tell this story to you as this has been told by the Eevee himself for many years.
Chapter Five: Expedition
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The sun was beginning to set. James and Growly were playing with their newfound friends for most of the day. All of them shared their likes and dislikes with each other, and learned much about the other. Everyone was preparing for nightfall, and proceeded with their routines.
"Flary..." While they were preparing their evening meal, Flary's mate made a worried look on her face as she looked towards her lover. "You haven't told anyone else, have you?" He did not. Flary believed that finding and playing with a human was taboo with all of the bad imagery that the leaders have given the pack by now. If anyone else found out, they may be separated from the pack, and to ruin his mate's and his offspring's futures is the last thing he wants to do. He shook his head slowly and made the small fire at the end of their cave. He knew that he had to at least tell the leaders...perhaps they will understand. He decided he would sleep on the decision.
Meanwhile, Freya told her siblings that she wanted to go back to the fruit patch because she forgot something, and went alone. The others didn't mind her going by herself in the least, although sharing what she was planning to do would mean that she would not able to go where she was going. When she was out of sight from her family, she veered into the deep forest and began to run along a different path. This area of the forest was quite dense, and it was hard for her to make out where she was going, but she remembered every checkpoint that she made along the way. In a few minutes, she came to the base of a tree. She dug at it slightly, and found the hole she was looking for. She crawled inside without much effort, and tumbled through a tunnel going downward. When her footing was regained, she shook off her dizziness and looked forward. She was now in a small cave. There was a small tree trunk with a Mightyena's back facing her. There were blue markings on his black fur, which Freya found strange.
"...What took you, Freya?"
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"Hey, what's that on TV?" A geekish purple-longhaired teenage girl with glasses and blue and black clothing was quietly resting inside a Pokémon Center when she spots a news bulletin appearing on a nearby TV screen. Some others turn their heads to take a look as well.
"...this young boy, age 14, was last seen going into the forest at the outskirts of his hometown. His parents have been waiting for him to come home or at least call for nearly seven months. He was a Pokémon Trainer that was well-traveled, so if you see him, call this number..."
"How sad...I wonder if he got lost in the forest forever? You've heard that story, right"
"Nonsense. I doubt he would"
"I would hate to get lost in a forest"
"Seven months? Can he survive that long"
"And to think it happened in such a friendly town"
"I wonder if there were Pokémon there"
The girl was thinking about the young boy. She could have sworn she's seen that boy before, when she had passed the town on her Pokémon Trainer journey. She decided to go back to the town to investigate. 'I think I'll go back to that town. I would hate for something like that to happen to such good parents...' But in reality, she's always loved a good mystery and decided to pursue it. Her journey has been rather boring lately.
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Freya walked up to Torvus as she was examining his new features. "Hey...you look a lot different from what I remember." Torvus turned around to greet her. "I'm the pack leader now. All of the leaders in our pack get a special marking on their fur. You remember the previous leader, correct?" She did remember that the previous leader had blood-red fur instead of the usual black, and nodded. "Well, it appears as though I was given these dark diamond markings along with my black fur. Good thing it didn't all change, because I've always liked my black fur." Freya smiled. "You don't have to worry about anyone coming here, I can trust my pack to uphold their word. I've met with them before coming here and they seemed to be tending to their duties, so you can rest easy." Freya sighed. At least one worry was eliminated.
Torvus stood up and motioned her to the tree stump. "Let me show you something...sit here." Freya nodded and jumped onto the tree stump and sat down. "What's so great about it?" Just as she finished speaking, she notices the moon shine right above her, the rich moonlight shining straight down on her from a clear twilight sky. She didn't notice the hole when she was above ground...how can this be? She wasn't about to think about how this was possible as she was smitten with the beauty of the moon directly above her. She couldn't stop staring upwards.
"Wow...this is..." Torvus looked at her and saw the moon reflected in her large bewildered eyes, the moonlight casting a wonderful light over her fur... Torvus jerked his head away to the side suddenly. 'What am I doing...she's still a kit...!' He shook off this moment of distraction and spoke. "This place is where the ceremony is held to initiate the new leader." Freya looked at him straight in the eyes with the moonlight still pouring down on her, and again he had to overcome his feelings. "How does your fur change like that? Do you use berry juice?" "Err... No, it's rather complicated and I can't share the ritual with anyone other than our pack members..." Freya understood.
She looked up at the sky again, and the moon was starting to pass by. "Do you ever just come here to look up at the sky? Just to appreciate the beauty of it?" Torvus smiled. "Yes...I'm glad someone appreciates this as much as I do. No one else in the pack finds an interest in it. They believe it's a waste of time, but I come here often to relax and to clear my mind. Some of them could really use it, that's for sure..." Freya giggled. "I think that my little brother could spend a lot of time down here. He could probably see the beauty more than I can." "Why is that?" She looked back at him. "My brother, Kroa, seems almost connected to nature. Whenever he's not busy with something, he's always on a hill or somewhere high up where he can see everything happening to the horizon. He loves to do it mostly during sunrise or in the middle of the day." The mere thought of doing it had relaxed both of them. "Hmm. When we can get more time, I wanna hear more about your family." "Of course!" She smiled.
"Hey...can you keep a secret?" Torvus smiled. "What do you think we're doing now?" Freya was being serious. "No, this is something you should keep as a secret until your life is threatened!" That attracted his attention. "I promise I won't tell anyone..." Freya stepped closer to him and motioned him down to lend his ear so she could whisper. She didn't want any stray ears to pick this up.
Freya spoke as soft as she could into Torvus's ear. "Have you ever heard of...humans?" Torvus pondered for a moment. Keeping his voice equally down, he responded in a whisper. "I believe so, but only in stories. I get mixed signals from those stories; sometimes the humans destroy, and sometimes they help. I've never seen one, though." Freya, even quieter now, said, "We met one at our den..." Torvus jerked back from Freya. He wasn't sure of what to think. "What did...it do?" She softened her expression, which calmed him down. "The human was really friendly, actually...in fact, his most trusted travel companion is a fellow Pokémon, and they get along very well. His friend can even understand the human language." Torvus looked puzzled.
"And although he doesn't say it, I know my father is still cautious with the human around... He had a very comfortable and warm thing called a...'sleeping bag'. I rested in there for awhile, but my father wouldn't let me sleep in it." Torvus was as curious as any would be. "Do you think I could meet this...human?" "I'm not sure...he's rather young, and he might be frightened by such a big Mightyena. We're much smaller and look less menacing, you know?" Torvus chuckled. "Heh, I guess you're right." Freya giggled. "Besides, I'm not so sure how my family would react to the Mightyena leader suddenly showing up at our enclosure." Torvus smiled.
He gave his regards in a more serious tone. "I'm sure someday our packs can be allies. Looks like we're the only ones that can pull it off." Freya looked up at him and smiled back. "Yeah, I hope so! I think I should get back home, though. They're probably worried about me. I told them I went to get some fruit." "Be my guest." He pointed to some that were stashed away in the corner of the cave, and Freya went over and picked up a few. "One more thing, before I go..." Freya motioned for him to lend his ear to her again. However, instead of whispering, she gave him a soft lick right on the left cheek, which is a sign of attraction. She ran off to the cave entrance, leaving a puzzled, and blushing, Mightyena behind with a paw touching the spot where she licked him.
Both Torvus and Freya found a body of water to wash off each other's scents in. Hopefully no one will find out about this encounter. Torvus smashed fruits around the cave so that no one will figure out that an Eevee was there. And no one did find out about their conversation, at least to their knowledge.
While bathing, the thought of Freya washing herself under the moonlight popped into Torvus's head. 'Guh...am I really falling for her?' Meanwhile, Freya was thinking about getting home and wondering if she'll be in trouble for being out so long. Whenever she thought about the lick on Torvus's cheek, she couldn't help but be overcome by embarrassment.
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The purple-haired girl was at the bus station buying a ticket to head to the town of the missing boy previously mentioned on the news. "You're just in time before we close. Identification, please." She brought out her PokéDex, pressed a few buttons, and the device projected her picture and identification as she showed it to the clerk. "This PokéDex belongs to Lorelei of the Sevii Islands. Manufactured and assigned by Professor Oak of Pallet Town." "Good enough for me." They made the transaction and she received her ticket to Cerulean Village. "Be careful out there, it's getting late."
Lorelei walked back to the Pokémon Center. Her Pokémon are more than likely all better by now. She couldn't help but think about what happened to that boy from Cerulean. The forest they were talking about on the news was a gigantic forest that spread for miles and miles starting from the north of Cerulean. The forest is off-limits to everyone as it is more than likely populated by Pokémon undisturbed by humans. She has heard of some that venture in, but never return. She usually just dismissed them as horror stories, but Lorelei may find out the truth. The excitement of such mysteries never ceases to amaze her, and she smirked at the thought.
Lorelei reached the Pokémon Center and talked to Nurse Joy. "Your Pokémon have a clean bill of health!" She smiled and showed Lorelei the tray containing her Poké Balls. She thanked Nurse Joy as she took the Poké Balls, put them on her belt, and walked out of the center.
She was on her way back to the bus station and decided to go ahead and buy a bottle of lemonade for the trip from a nearby vending machine. She was going to stock up on supplies here, but thought that since Cerulean was a much less populated area than Saffron City, it would have much cheaper prices than this place.
When she was getting close to the bus station, she noticed there was a fierce Pokémon battle going on between an Arcanine and a Rhydon, and they were making quite the scene. Ducking behind a corner as she didn't want to get involved, she peered around it and saw someone in all black clothing controlling the Rhydon. 'Team Rocket...! I should've known! Heh, bad luck for you to be using a Rhydon...' Lorelei came around the corner and encountered the Team Rocket grunt with his back turned. He heard her running towards him and turned around. She reached into her coat and onto her belt and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Hey! Stay out of this or else!" Lorelei didn't listen, of course, and threw the Poké Ball. Out came a Dewgong, ready to fight. "Alright, Dewgong, let's turn them into a giant popsicle!" The Rhydon and Arcanine stopped their scuffle with their attention on the Dewgong charging an Ice Beam. The Arcanine quickly jumped out of the way as the Rhydon was hardly fast enough to move away. The Rhydon, with the Rocket grunt next to him, were frozen within seconds with defeated looks on their faces.
Just as she returned her Dewgong to the Poké Ball, Officer Jenny pulled up on her motorcycle next to Lorelei. "Good work, miss. I'll take care of these thugs, so you can go about your business." Lorelei nodded. That was one thing she never thought about. Perhaps the boy from Cerulean was captured by or reverted to Team Rocket? It could happen. As for Team Rocket activity in the area, she wasn't so surprised since Saffron was the biggest city in Kanto, which usually goes hand-in-hand with higher crime rates. She couldn't shake off the feeling that Team Rocket was planning something big this time, though.
Lorelei boarded the bus headed for two other destinations and had quickly fallen asleep on the comfortable ride with a minimal amount of passengers.
To Be Continued