Author's Note:

A short filler chapter this week, so for the bonus chapter I will let you go back and review the last chapter rather than this one. Also next weekend will be my last chapter upload for the summer. This is interesting because the end of the first "arc" if you want to call it that is Ch 17! So play it safe and spam me with reviews that meet the criteria specified on my profile page. It'd be a shame to let the summer end on a cliffhanger!

Also, for those of you who have enjoyed reading deep into the details of the story, this chapter provides a very interesting detail that will make you want to reread Ch 14 and will probably leave you a lot of questions to explore. Happy digging!

Today is 8/8/2015 and this chapter is 1100+ words.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, just dream it.

Chapter 15: Magic Moss

The sun glared at the lake, trying to see its own reflection as several weary clouds floated by. It was a beautiful day, the sky clear of the dark clouds and rain that had plagued the day before. A migrating flock of starly arrived at the lakefront to bathe in the sun-warmed water of late summer noon. Their chirping and the pridging of the pidgeys were the only calls that broke the air-stilled silence encompassing the valley. Not a wisp of wind existed to rattle the leaves, some of which had just exhibited first signs of the changing season. One of the starly took notice of a red lump sprawled out on a nearby dock.

"Rise and shine, Mr. Flareon," it sang, landing next to the creature's flame-patterned fur. The flareon opened its eyes to see a small little bird cock its head to the side in curiosity.

"Huh? A starly?" the flareon questioned. "It must be that time again."

"Sure is Mr. Flareon. Sorry to bother ya, but there's someone I know from here who goes by the name 'Trent'. You know him?"

"That would be me," the flareon answered. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Dillon, by any chance?"

Four days had passed since Kieren departed the valley on his quest to find out what element was best for his future. Since then, Trent had tried to uncover more about Kat's secret but to no avail.

"Drake has been busy studying up on something he deems important. I'm afraid he won't come out for a while," Tara had told him three days ago. This morning she had brought him similar news. Kat either was studying with Aubrey or had managed to completely disappear from the forest. Trent didn't dare approach Celestia after his last encounter. Had they stayed any longer, she would have been pissed.

After wasting most of the afternoon catching Dillon up on all the recent events since the migration games six months ago, the flareon realized he had somehow managed to overlook a key resource in unraveling the mysteries. The voice. Yes. Now that he thought about it, he knew that voice from the cliff that had told him, Andy, and the eevee how the poachers fit into the equation.

"Anyone here?" Trent called as he walked along a path that separated patches of flowers and shrubs, all blossomed vibrantly in the sunlight. Dillon had flown off to tell his starly friends about Trent's evolution and stories, so Trent decided now was a good time for more sleuthing.

"Trent?" the familiar voice called back. Following the call approached a taller-than-average heavy-shouldered eevee that made careful stride through the flower-laden fields.

"Sorry to bother you, Caleb, but would you mind if we discuss some things?" Trent asked.

"Certainly," the eevee replied. "I was hoping you would eventually stop by. I have something to show you."

"Great. But before that, there has been something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now," Trent told Caleb anxiously.

"Throw it at me," Caleb welcomed.

"What did Kat want from Celestia?" Trent asked with a serious businesslike tone.

"Before she quit training?"

"Exactly," Trent answered. He allowed all his thoughts to pour out of mouth in an attempt to clear his mind. "It was something she trained for, yet did not conflict for her dislike of 'blood baths' as she confessed after Samantha wreaked havoc. Right now it seems like she is attempting to gain psychic power, likely because it would somehow allow her to obtain what she desired against Celestia's will."

"Did you figure this all out yourself?" Caleb asked in wonder.

"I managed to get a few words from Celestia, and of course your hint helped me make a few more conclusions," Trent confessed.

"Trent! That's incredible!" Caleb praised. "I could really use a brain like you to help with my research, but I will get to that in a second."

"So do you know what Kat wanted?" Trent asked, reverting back to his serious tone.

"Leadership," Caleb stated without batting an eye.

"Leadership?" Trent repeated, wondering if it was really that simple.

"Yea. A leadership role, whether it be an Alpha, an Officer, or something else entirely. She wanted to be a leader."

"A leader," Trent mumbled to himself. He paused to contemplate the sudden revelation. "Thank you Caleb," he said with a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how much that has been bothering me these last few days."

"No problem," Caleb answered with a slight chuckle. "Unfortunately I can't tell you what occurred in the argument for it to result in a bitter end. Only herself and Kieren know that, and maybe Melody the vulpix?" Caleb guessed.

"That's alright. I can take a few guesses based on what Celestia told us." Trent replied, turning his gaze towards the ground. "How did you find out all of this anyways?"

"I was with Kieren when Kat told him she had gotten into an argument with her mother. She asked him if his father could do anything to help her situation."

"And the poachers?" Trent asked, glancing back up at the eevee, who oddly stood with his front paws close together, one in front of the next.

"She told me when we were hanging decorations," the eevee responded.

"Gotcha. Now my only question is whether eevee can actually master psychic power," Trent thought aloud, glancing back down at the bizarre rock beneath him.

"Then it is time I showed you my research," Caleb announced.

"Whaa?" Trent asked looking up. Caleb gestured Trent to follow him down a pathway that split the garden. Suddenly Trent began to feel a faint surge of energy hit him.

Trent stopped at the sudden tingling. "Whoa! What is that?"

"That's my research," Caleb answered. "This energy is coming from some strange moss I discovered on the rail of the poacher's helicopter."

"Helicopter?" Trent asked, never having heard the word before.

"The vehicle the poachers came and escaped in," Caleb hinted.

"How the heck do you know it is called a helicopter?" Trent asked with a comical voice crack.

"You learn things when you make origami in the treetops and show your creations to Melody," Caleb answered with a small chuckle.

"Fair enough," Trent answered, satisfied with the explanation. "By the way, this energy faintly reminds me of my evolution."

"Really?" Caleb asked excitedly. "That's actually what I wanted to ask you. I knew there was something different about it. As I've been growing the moss, I have slowly felt like I am beginning to understand plant energy. It's like this moss is magic or something."

"Magic moss?" Trent asked, somewhat amused.

"Yea…well…whatever," Caleb responded. His voice slowly morphed into a more serious tone. "My point is that I think eevee can master more than three elements, and I believe this moss is the ticket to one of them."

"Interesting," Trent mumbled. "I will keep that in mind. But you're right. That moss is definitely suspicious."

Author's Note: Next weekend is the last chapter. The end of the "arc" is Ch 17. The chapter you just read is Ch 15.

15 + next week's chapter = 16.

15 + Bonus Chapter + next week's chapter = 17.

Choose your fate!

Save your summer!

~Dreaming I'm Latios