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 Six: Memories
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"Prepare for trouble"
"And make it double"
"To protect the world from devastation"
"To unite all peoples within our nation..."
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One jolted awake. He's never had a dream so strange as this one. The human that he saw to the left of a giant red symbol and another human seemed to look familiar to him, though. His dream was beginning to escape his memory, however, so he began to dismiss it.
The sun was just beginning to rise. It cast a lovely red and purple sky from beyond the horizon, and the way it shined through the trees was making One feel relaxed enough to fall asleep again. James had already left their den area to go to the next human town. They exchanged their thanks before then, of course. Perhaps they will meet each other again someday.
When One walked out of the den to greet the day, he noticed Kroa was already on top of the entrance and was appreciating the beauty of nature. One jumped up next to Kroa and decided to watch the morning appear with his serene brother.
Today was a special day for their pack. Every six months, any Eevee who thinks they are old enough may choose an evolutionary path and begin their duties in the pack, or they may venture off to see the world. Many Eevees were excited about this day, because then they get bigger and get to have elemental powers like the grown-ups. One wasn't so excited about it, however. He liked to be small, but he knew that eventually he would have to evolve. He decided he would evolve at the next ceremony.
"Kroa, what do you want to be?" He looked at One coolly and thought for a moment. He pointed a finger and poked it right above One's dark mark, and drew a circle on his forehead. "Oh, you want to be an Umbreon?" He nodded. There weren't very many Umbreons in the pack because Moon Stones were rather rare. More often than not, the pack gatherers wouldn't be able to find any. The same goes for Sun and Cold Stones. If any stones that the Eevees wanted weren't available at the time, they would have to wait until the next ceremony. They can still choose to be Eevees if they wanted, however. It is an uncommon occurence for that to happen.
About three miles away was a deposit of such magical stones inside of a cave. The pack gatherers always grab the common ones, that is, Fire, Thunder, and Water, but the rarer ones they make sure not to take so many, because one day they'll all be gone. They also make sure not to take any Eevees along on the journey because they might accidentally evolve while carrying them, a previous accident.
One and Kroa watched their family walk out of the den below them. Freya was still asleep and was on their mother's back. She spent quite some time with Torvus, after all. They didn't see her come back before they fell asleep themselves, so they don't know how late she was out.
Their mother spoke. "Alright, everyone...let's get cleaned up for the ceremony today. I trust you to make the right decisions..." Like the typical mother, she didn't want to let them go, but she knew it was their decision and wiped a tear away. Freya only mumbled. One and Kroa jumped down and walked with their family to the river that was within sight. Everyone, even Freya who was still waking up, bathed themselves. Their father dried everyone off with radiant heat and their mother made sure their fur looked smooth and wet down any stray fluffing. The day was warm and cloudless, a perfect day for a gathering.
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Lorelei woke up before the bus finally reached Cerulean Village. She sleepily walked off the bus and into the bus station. She decided that the first thing to do was to check in at the local inn, and then head to the missing boy's parents' house to gather information. She popped open the bottle of lemonade and responsibly threw away the bottlecap in the nearest waste disposal reticule. Unfortunately the lemonade was getting warm, so she didn't enjoy it as much.
Walking along the side of the dirt road, as there weren't any sidewalks yet, she made sure to enjoy the scenery while she was here. Lorelei has always loved this place because of how much they were connected to nature here. This village has been self-sufficient for generations, making sure that they try to stay out of becoming a large city and destroying Pokémon habitats around the area. Because of this, the air is fresh, the forests are lush and plentiful, and the people that live here are friendly. She took in a great breath of air and loved the freshness.
Lorelei arrived at the inn. Unfortunately, there wasn't a room available... She thanked the clerk and paid her respects before leaving to head to the home of the missing boy. She turned back and talked to the clerk at the counter before she got to the door, because she hadn't known where that home was. The clerk made a sad face and gave her the directions to the house. They live rather close to the northern forest, which was convenient for her. She walked down the road and then the bike path to her destination, all the while surveying and appreciating the environment while it lasted. While walking along the path, she formulated a plan that just might get her a free night's stay...
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At the gathering area, Espy and Umby were making their announcement under the clear blue sky on the announcement stump, with their entire pack watching them, families sitting together and the guard on post. The fissure that was split into the ground by Flary was fixed.
Countless evolution stones were piled up behind the leaders. The two used their psychic powers to help project their voices. "Welcome, everyone!" "I hope you all will make the right choices today!" "Don't forget, you don't HAVE to evolve if you don't want to." "It's totally up to you." "Now then, who's first?"
Freya, expectedly, ran up to the stump first, and Espy giggled. "Freya, you're first, I see!" "What would you like to be?" Freya thought for a minute. She had resolved what she wanted to be beforehand, but now that the time has come, her nervousness was overcoming her and her thoughts were becoming chaotic. "Hey, calm down, now..." Umby touched a paw to her forehead. His rings glowed for a split second, and she began to calm down.
After a deep breath, she exhaled, and said, "I wanna be a Flareon, just like my father." In the audience, she could see her father smiling proudly. Umby put a big smile on his face as well. He's known Flary since before he met Espy, and to have a daughter that's practically just like him made him think about old times. He shook off his feelings for a moment, and returned to where he was. He picked up a Fire Stone from the pile, and gave it to Freya. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a Flareon..."
Just as she closed her eyes, the stone glowed a bright white with Freya following shortly. While glowing white, she grew and grew as she was evolving into a Flareon, with the audience watching and the little Eevees in awe. After a few seconds, the glowing stopped and she was a young Flareon with dark red fur and fluffy yellow neck, forehead, and tail fur. She looked at her paws, and her tail, and fluffed her neck fur which was much fluffier than it was before.
"Hooray! I'm a Flareon!" she shouted with glee, and she hopped up and down and hugged Espy. Just when she did, she started to feel a curious sensation coming from within her. "Hey...I'm feeling warmer than usual. Is this my fire?" Espy nodded. She gave a deep breath, trying to feel the flame within her, and tried her best to expel it. A short stream of fire erupted from her mouth and into the air. Many of the young ones in the audience oohed and aahed. Freya was amazed with her new power, her smile as wide as her eyes were. 'I'll definitely have to train with father later!' she thought.
Flary was reminded of his evolution when he was little after seeing Freya, and spoke to his mate. "Hey...remember when we first met? We evolved just so we could be together..." She giggled. "You're right...I still don't regret it after all this time, so you don't have to ask." He rolled his eyes and she gave her mate a passionate lick on the cheek.
The day continued and everyone practically reacted the same as Freya. When One went to his real parents and told them he wasn't ready yet, they understood and just gave him a big hug and their loving regards; although, some chatter was going on in the crowd when he was doing so, making him and his parents a bit nervous, but they pretended like nothing happened and One went back to his second family.
When it was Kroa's turn, Espy read his mind and after a moment, said "He wants to be like you!" to Umby and giggled. Umby smiled. "Do we have any Moon Stones...?" He dug through the pile, but couldn't seem to find any. "Sorry, Kroa..." But Kroa didn't falter. He walked up to the pile and pointed at the only Moon Stone in the pile hidden from view, careful not to touch any stones. "Oh! There it is. Sorry about that. They look too similar to Leaf Stones." Kroa bowed and forgave him. He put a paw the stone held by Umby and the usual evolutionary glow occured. When the evolution was complete, Kroa looked at his paws and the rings that he could see and made a petit smile. "Welp, no one can read your mind anymore, so try to work on that body language!" However, Espy could tell by looking into Kroa's grey eyes that he was thankful as he nodded silently and ran back to his family.
Starra slowly walked up to the leaders after Kroa had returned. Espy smiled. "Ah, another of Flary's kits? What would you like to be?" Starra was being quite nervous. She said quietly, "I wanna be a Vaporeon...like my mommy." Espy couldn't help letting out an "Aww..." when Starra blushed out of nervousness. Espy grabbed a Water Stone and handed it to Starra. She evolved, looked at herself, and really liked her bright blue and smooth and soft skin when she poked it, and especially liked her long tail. She thanked the couple and ran back to her family. Her mother gave her a big hug and let out a tear when Starra returned and mentioned she wanted to raise a family like her.
The evolutionary gathering took the time out of most of the day, and, by tradition, the children that evolved gather the evening meal to show their love and responsibility for their family. One was the only Eevee that didn't evolve, and he felt a little depressed. Before he left to go to the fruit patch, he stayed with his real parents that were waiting for everyone to leave the gathering area.
"Don't feel so left out, One... We respect your decision to stay as our little baby" Espy picked up One and cuddled him close, and One hugged back. Umby snuggled close to Espy and said, "You can always wait until we do this again during the cold season, One. Don't get down, now." Just as this little family was getting comfortable, Espy and Umby sense something watching them in the far trees and look in the direction of the being and begin to growl. Espy sets One down in the grass, not removing eye contact from the trees. "Stay here, One..." They begin walking side-by-side towards the disturbance, with one watching nervously from a distance.
"I think they've noticed us, Growly...we might as well show ourselves...I don't want to run away and get caught by them..." Growly whined, but he understood. James and Growly stepped out of the trees and into the open. Espy and Umby both gasped, and Espy, in fear, hid behind Umby who took a fighting stance and growled. Espy shuddered and quietly said, "A h-human...!" James tried to stay as docile as possible, and sat down in the soft grass to show that he isn't afraid nor is he hostile, but Umby kept his eye on him. However, he and Growly recognized the Eevee that was running up to the Espeon and Umbreon in front of him.
"Mommy...father...I know this human!" Espy and Umby looked back at One momentarily with surprise in their eyes. "He came to our den...he was really friendly. He gave us food and shared stories of his travels with his best friend." One pointed to Growly.
"Growly...that's the same Eevee from before, right?" Growly stepped forward and spoke, despite his fears. "Please, don't be mad at us...we were just passing through and saw that your pack was having a good time, and we were just curious...we'll leave as soon as we can, really!" One reassured them. "Even Flary was beginning to like him...we played all day yesterday, and he even gave us meat..." Espy and Umby believed One's words about the human, at least, for now.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise except Espy's, Umby spoke in the human language. "I suggest you leave...you'll regret staying here if you stay any longer. I'll take your friend's word that you'll leave the forest as soon as possible." James, Growly, and One stood looking at Umby with a bewildered look. James takes a step back. "I...I will! I promise!" He and Growly then ran back into the forest.
Espy begins to relax and hugs Umby and One together. One was confused. "Father, how do you know human language?" Umby looked down in sadness. "Someday, One...we'll tell you of our experiences..." Espy began to form tears. One couldn't help but be curious and feel sorry for their obviously bad experiences... "Now, One, go to the fruit patch with the others. We're going back to our den, okay?" One walked to the direction that the rest of the pack went. He took one look back at his parents, but then continued on with a sad look in his eyes.
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"Thank you for the information. I'll try my hardest to find your son, I promise." Lorelei was sitting in a comfortable armchair at the house where the missing boy had lived, and she and the parents were enjoying the evening with some hot tea. "We really miss him...please, find our son, we beg of you."
Lorelei finished her tea and stood up, grabbing her pack and turning to the door. "I should be going now...it's getting late..." "...Wait, Lorelei, was it? Would you like to spend the night here? We really appreciate your kindness to us." She smirked as she knew she could get a free room here with the right cards played, and turned around with a kind smile. "That's really nice of you. I really appreciate your kindness as well." The parents smiled. "There's a spare room upstairs to the right. Please enjoy your stay. You like ice-type Pokémon, right? We have a cool pond in the backyard in case any of your Pokémon want some fresh air." Lorelei nodded and headed upstairs to the spare room.
When she opened the door, it was a simple bedroom with a bed in the corner and a three-shelf bookshelf in the opposite corner, and a dresser in the corner to the right of the doorway. A nicely-woven Eevee rug was covering most of the hardwood floor in the center of the room. Overall, the room was simple.
Lorelei dropped her pack on the floor at the end of the bed. She takes off her black-and-white tennis shoes and blue vest showing her plain black shirt, and falls back on the bed. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was still active. It took her a minute until she realized there wasn't a blanket for her to use. Just as she did, the mother showed up at the door with one.
"I wove this myself, just as I did the rug on the floor." She unraveled it to unveil an Eevee smiling contently right at Lorelei with all the colours of the Eevee rainbow around him, and she couldn't help but smile. "I like it! You're great at making these." She gets off the bed, takes the blanket and spreads it onto the bed. "You like Eevees, do you?" The mother nodded. "They're the cutest little things. I only wish I had one of my own." Lorelei thanked her and she left the room, and Lorelei closed and locked the door after her.
Lorelei decided to get comfortable, and took off her dark green cargo pants and unveiled light blue panties. She grabbed a Poké Ball off of her belt while she fell to sit on the bed, and juggled it a little bit while thinking. "Eevee, huh..." Lorelei was thinking of the day when she first got her Eevee, close to when she started her Pokémon Trainer journey.
Lorelei pressed the button on the Poké Ball, and it enlarged. She pressed it again, and raw energy popped out onto her lap, and formed into a Glacieon. Her Glacieon gave a little mewing sound, and Lorelei smiled and petted her on the head. "Hey...I was just thinking about when we first met." Lorelei moved and laid down on the bed with her head on the pillow. She put her Glacieon on the side of her, and hugged her close while scratching her softly around her ears. It's been awhile since Lorelei had reminisced. She's usually busy solving one mystery after the next. Lorelei was about to ask her something she remembered, but her Glacieon is an easy relaxer, and simply fell asleep under Lorelei's caresses and scritches. Lorelei smiled and decided to follow her example as it was best. She got up and slowly pulled the blanket from under her sleeping beauty and took off her glasses and put them in her pack. She climbs into bed, casting the soft Eevee-themed blanket over both of them, and hugs her Glacieon close despite the cool body temperature. She falls asleep within moments.
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"Umby...when do you think we should tell One?" "Perhaps when he asks and is sure he is ready to know the truth." "What if anyone else asks or finds out?" "I'm not sure...but we shouldn't worry about it. Let's just get some rest, okay?" "Umby...there's probably a human settlement nearby, isn't there?" Umby was silent. "I read the human's mind...he was heading to a town that was next to this forest. I'm worried..." "Don't worry, Espy...I'll protect you, just like I always have." He reassured his mate with a strained smile. They cuddled each other and went to sleep on their soft grass bed in their private cave.
To Be Continued