-Chapter 8-

Dream Eater

Marleon spun a nearby Pokestop, receiving a few more items. He sat at a park close to the Team Valor headquarters, letting his Pokemon all come out and meet one another. He had a few new additions after all. Magikarp and Seel were both released into a fountain designed for water Pokemon to swim in, while Swablu and Eevee sat on the edge of the fountain and spoke with one another in their native tongues. He leaned back on the bench and exhaled, quite happy that his Pokemon were all getting along well. He was going to have to find Pokemon to train them against, and the way it was looking, most of the trainers around here were already exceptionally skilled and had Pokemon far too powerful for him to even stand a chance against. Then again...it might not be an issue now that he had access to the Team Valor building. He could definitely train the Pokemon there, and let them get stronger.

Something caught his attention though. He looked skyward, and noticed an aurora forming above the island. Several trainers had stopped and observed it. Auroras were unnatural occurrences where the island chain was located geographically, so the sudden appearance of one could only mean one thing – a legendary Pokemon had arrived nearby. The aurora seemed to be hovering just above the center of the island, directly above the Aqua Rainforest. Marleon looked over to the Pokemon, "Come on, guys. I want to go check that out.", he spoke to them, taking the balls and returning the four Pokemon to them. He took off, heading on the path that led directly into the rainforest. The Aqua Rainforest was the place to go looking for water-type Pokemon who could walk on land, as well as ice and dragon types. However, the rainforest was a dangerous place, and caution signs were posted on the perimeter warning trainers that powerful Pokemon lived there and should be approached only by the strongest of trainers. Marleon was taking a risk going in with the Pokemon he had, but something was drawing him into the forest. He felt like he was being called.

He saw some other trainers going in as well. "Come on, Bulbasaur!", he saw a female trainer call. "Wait, Chandos! Are you sure you want to go in there? The signs say-", a Mystic trainer asked her, but the fellow Mystic turned and smiled, "We're not scared at all! Right Bulbasaur?" The grass Pokemon nodded, "Bulba!", and the woman brushed her curly dark brown hair back with a hand. She went in, the other trainer right behind. Marleon shook his head, the trainers were eager to find glory it seemed. Or to find danger. He released Swablu, who perched on his shoulder and yawned. "Swablu, I'm going to need your eyes when we go in. You've got the sharpest vision of all of us, so the moment you spot anything at all, let me know.", he spoke to her. The cloud bird chirped back in acknowledgment, and the two of them entered into the Aqua Rainforest.

The bustle of the cities and towns outside the rainforest deemed to vanish once they were in. They followed the path until it branched, and then began down one pathway. They had lost the other trainers who went in first, Marleon and Swablu were alone save for the wild Pokemon they saw. Swablu gave a nudge to Marleon's neck when she saw a whole family of Poliwag and Poliwhirl. He kept moving, noticing a Mudkip or two run by. There were several Shellos on the trees, and Lotad scurried across the path a few times. There were Pokemon of other types here too, including Deerling and Stantler who had gotten used to the wet conditions. Marleon stopped momentarily when he saw a Dratini sleeping on a branch. Swablu chirped again, and Marleon put a finger to his lips to instruct her to keep quiet. He took out the Pokeballs he had, and aimed...throwing the first one at the Dratini. It missed and whirred over the dragon's head, rustling the bushes in the distance. Marleon blinked a few times, before trying again, throwing another. It hit the tree trunk, and the Dratini woke up and yawned, looking around groggily. "Damn...is my aim really this bad?", he asked himself, throwing another Pokeball. It connected with Dratini, the Pokemon getting sucked in and the ball dropping to the ground. It wiggled, and wiggled...and then shattered, the Dratini escaped! Marleon huffed, and took another Pokeball, "Alright, you're mine this time!", he announced, staring eye to eye with Dratini. He threw the Pokeball, and the Dratini smacked it away with its tail, the ball went flying into the forest and was lost. Marleon grumbled, and went to get another ball...only feeling potions in his bag. "Wait, am I-?", he questioned, looking in the bag. He was out of Pokeballs! The Dratini hurriedly escaped while he wasn't looking, vanishing into the forest. Marleon grimaced. He should have spun more Pokestops when he had the chance.

Disappointed, he kept on walking. He wouldn't add to the team while he was here, since he didn't have any more Pokeballs to use. The canopy of the rainforest rose pretty far above, but he could tell that the aurora was getting brighter. They must be getting closer to the destination. He questioned who could be creating it, concluding that it had to be one of the Ice-types. Articuno was definitely in the area, but he thought it was uncommon for the bird Pokemon to announce its presence like that. It could be Regice, but he never remembered seeing the titan Pokemon on the island before. He had an idea though, and his suspicion was confirmed once Swablu gave a chirp and pointed toward the lake in the center of the rainforest. Marleon peeked through the trees, and caught a visual of Suicune standing on the water. The Legendary Dog had already seen him, Suicune's vision was unmatched. Luckily, Marleon trusted the dog not to run, as they had a long history together. He stepped out of the trees and went toward the water. Suicune stood there, eyes locked on him. "It's been a long time, Suicune. Hope you've been doing well.", Marleon spoke. The dog didn't budge, the white ribbons on either side fluttering forward as it continued to glare at him. "You're here for a reason, aren't you?", Marleon asked. Suicune lifted it's head a little, then took a few steps forward before letting the ribbons dip into the water. The lake glistened before them, Swablu stared speechlessly. Marleon had seen Suicune purify the water before. He wasn't sure what had contaminated it, but the Guardian of the Water had special powers of restoration and healing of the ecosystem. Marleon took a deep breath, and then attempted to step into the water. His foot didn't sink in the water, floating on the surface much like Suicune's paws were. He took a few more steps, and was walking on the lake.

Suicune wasn't one to smile, only giving that dour look as it watched him approach. When Marleon was close enough to the legend, he reached his hand out to touch the dog's muzzle. But something happened that caused Suicune to react. Marleon felt it, a sharp pain stabbing into his fingers upon contact with Suicune, and there was a little flash of purple when the contact happened, much like a static discharge. Suicune winced and hopped back, keeping its distance from the trainer. "Wha-?", Marleon questioned, looking at his hand. His index finger was throbbing. He looked up to Suicune, but the Pokemon wasn't looking at him, but rather looking at the water. "Suicune, I don't-", he began to say, when he looked down at his feet, gasping at once at the sight. Something was sinking from the bottom of his shoes, slowly making the water below him a murky shade of purple. The edge of the lake was becoming opaque, swirling shades of purple from the edge up to where Marleon was standing. Suicune was shivering, glaring at him, eyes twitching.

"Unclean...", he actually heard Suicune speak! "Unclean!" "Wait, Suic-!", Marleon tried to say, but in that moment, he sunk into the lake, head dunking beneath the water as he lost the ability to walk on water. Swablu was writhing in the water, and Marleon grabbed her and swam to the surface. He coughed up some water, he had just taken a breath when he and Swablu went under. He swam back over to the shore, carrying Swablu out, the two of them dripping and drenched. He was completely confused. Did he really hear Suicune speak to him? He knew Psychic Pokemon would have capabilities like that, but Suicune was a water-type. He lost that train of thought when he looked back at the lake, now shivering in shock when he saw the water had become polluted. "S-swablu...did I...?", Marleon stared in disbelief, "But how...how could I have...?", he inspected his whole body. The clothes were drenched, but they were new, a fresh set from his room at the Team Instinct headquarters. He took a step back, "We...we need to go.", he returned Swablu and began to run. He saw the first guide arrow out of the rainforest, and followed the path, finally making it out. He looked back, noticing the trees had started to turn a strange shade of dark violet. "No...", Marleon gasped. The discoloration was spreading, and Marleon nearly stumbled backwards as he saw it continue to chase after him.

As he ran, he saw trees, bushes, and the grass nearby begin to discolor, slowly wilting and rotting. He ran into town, and was surprised to see no one around. All the lights were glowing an eerie purple shade, and he looked back to see the strange wave of decay continue to follow him. It was now covering whole buildings and the streets, and he watched the foundations crumble and buildings start to cave in. It almost looked like a purple ooze now, seeping along, covering everything in its path. He continued to run down a street, but the wave was now surrounding him, coming from almost every direction. His only escape was a grocery store, where he ran in. No one there, but he watched as the once fresh produce began to wilt and decay right before his eyes. He backed into a corner, watching as the building began to crumble around him. The walls beginning to appear blotchy with the purple discoloration. It was closing in on him. Marleon began to scream for help. He shut his eyes and cringed.

And then everything slowed to a stop. He was in the last corner the purple ooze hadn't claimed. He opened his eyes. Everything was still. And then he noticed someone approaching him. An elderly woman, walking his way, just walking right on the ooze as if it was nothing but a regular hard floor. Marleon was trembling in fear, glaring at her, shaking visibly. The woman gave him a smile and leaned over, putting a hand on his shoulder. Marleon gasped and stared into her eyes.

"It's just a bad dream.", she spoke, "Let me eat it for you." Marleon blinked. "Wha-?", and then he cringed and felt a sharp pain in his brain. "Gyaaahhh!", he cried out, but he opened his eyes again, and the elderly woman had changed into a Haunter.

"Sir! Are you okay?", someone asked. Marleon jumped, looking around. The grocery store was completely normal, and there were people all around looking at him in concern. The Haunter smiled. "Haunter Haunter!", she spoke. Marleon noticed the Ghost-type Pokemon's hand was on his shoulder. He exhaled. "Did you...use Dream Eater on me?", he asked. Haunter laughed and gave a nod. "Haunter!", she replied. Marleon exhaled and leaned back. It would take him a little while to recover from the dream. It was so vivid though. He finally stood and assured everyone he was okay, looking outside. Everything was normal, there was no discoloration or rot in sight. "Haunter! There you are!", a trainer said, wearing a Team Instinct shirt. Haunter turned and smiled at Harley, her trainer. Harley chuckled, "I turned away for just a few seconds to pick out a few ripe tomatoes and you were gone!", she said. Haunter rubbed her head bashfully and the two walked away as if nothing had happened. Some of the spectators made sure Marleon was okay before they went on their way. While he was there, he decided to buy a few boxes of Pokepuffs and some bird seed. He had some friends to thank, and once he stepped back outside, confirming everything had gone back to normal, he went on his way.

As he walked, he noticed a flashy store with a lot of neon coloring. There were several posters with silhouettes of various Eevee evolutions. There was a big crowd around the place. Marleon noticed the sign - Eevolution Solution. "Oh! This is the Eevee place that Rose was telling me about!", he said. He took Eevee's Pokeball and released her. The fluffy Pokemon shook a bit and looked around. "Hey look, Eevee, this is the evolution place. What do you say? Are you ready to evolve yet?", he asked. Eevee hesitantly looked up at the sign, and then all the neon posters with the different evolutions. She tilted her head, "Vee?", she spoke. Marleon looked at the brochure again, going over all the options. He had a Vaporeon a long time ago, and of course was partial to them, but since he was on Team Instinct, maybe a Jolteon would be a great choice. Though, he could give a Sylveon a try. He didn't know much about Fairy-type Pokemon but he remembered overhearing someone say they were strong. Or maybe...an Espeon or an Umbreon after the situation he was in. Maybe one of them could help prevent illusions like he had experienced.

As he pondered, he overheard some trainers in an argument. "I didn't want a Flareon!", an Instinct trainer was shouting at his shivering Flareon, who was stepping back in shock, "I wanted an Espeon! Why did you become a Flareon?!" Another Instinct shouted at the fellow trainer, "Hey leave him alone!" "Stay out of this, Dorota! Unless...you had something to do with my Eevee making a stupid decision to be a Flareon!" Dorota put her arms to her sides, "Don't be cruel to him! He's going to be just fine as a Flareon!"

There was a Valor trainer screaming at a poor Sylveon who was trembling in fear, who wanted her Eevee to evolve into an Umbreon. Marleon then saw a Mystic trainer groaning, with a Leafeon tagging along, looking confused up to her trainer. Did she choose wrong as well? A Valor trainer named Jesenia and her Sandshrew noticed the angry trainers around. "My word! What is wrong with them, Sandshrew?", she asked. Marleon was just as baffled. He looked back down to Eevee, who was cowering behind his leg now. "Hey, hey!", he bent down and rubbed her head, "I don't know who these trainers are, but they obviously don't know what sort of decision this is. Whatever you decide, you're going to be that species for the rest of your life...", Marleon assured the Eevee, and looked back at the brochure. He realized he had been thinking selfishly himself right before he saw the other trainers and how abusive they were toward their Eevee evolutions. He pulled the voucher out of the brochure for one free evolution, and then balled up the brochure and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. Eevee looked up to him in confusion, and he rubbed her head, "Listen, Eevee. This is your decision and yours alone. If you're not ready to evolve, or even if you don't want to evolve at all, I won't pressure you into it. And...you know, whatever you decide to evolve into, I'll be supportive of you. I want you to be happy with who you are, and I will be proud of you no matter what you choose."

He handed the voucher down to her. She looked at it, and then took the voucher in her mouth and walked up to the door of the Eevolution Solution store. Marleon followed behind her, the doors sliding open automatically as the two of them entered. The music was upbeat, and there were screens all over with trendy Eevee evolutions posing and showing off their attacks. Marleon's Eevee looked at each of them, her eyes twinkling in excitement. A worker in a stylish shirt showing an Eevee jumping into a prism and eight evolutions jumping out asked, "Hello sir, are you ready to evolve your Eevee? We have several options...", she asked him. Marleon chuckled and pointed down to the Eevee with the voucher, "We have a voucher from Rose of Team Valor. And...well, I'm letting my Eevee choose what she'd like to evolve into.", he explained. The worker nodded, taking the voucher out of Eevee's mouth, "Very good! Right this way, Eevee. We'll help you decide on the perfect evolution!", she spoke, and Eevee looked back at her trainer. Marleon gave her a thunbs up, and the Eevee smiled and followed the worker into a side room where the door closed behind the two of them. Marleon found a chair and sat, leaning back. He understood now what had been happening. The trainers didn't accompany their Eevee when the decision was made, so the Eevees chose on their own accord what they wanted to become. It made sense why there were a few angry trainers outside the place. Marleon closed his eyes, yawning a little. "Sir? She's ready for you. I think you'll be thrilled with her choice.", the worker spoke. Marleon opened his eyes and sat up, and looked do the room where Eevee had gone in.

A Glaceon was looking back at him, stepping out of the room. She walked back to Marleon, who stood out of the chair. "Oh...you're beautiful...", he said to her. The Glaceon flashed a smile and did a little circle walk, showing herself off. Marleon knelt and reached to give her a rub. She was surprisingly cold to the touch, but he couldn't have been happier with her decision. "You know...my old gym featured ice type Pokemon. Well...I didn't have enough of them, but I'd love to learn more about them. You're going to be a fantastic addition to the team.", he said. Glaceon leaned into his rubs and smiled happily. The worker nodded, "You two are definitely quite the team! We thank you for using Eevolution Solution as your solution to your Eevee Evolutions!"

Marleon and Glaceon decided to head back to the Rain Dance Gym after the evolution occurred. The ice type walked proudly in her new form, and Marleon couldn't help but smile at her newfound pride. The two of them were putting those other trainers to shame. He did wonder what Glaceon's reason was for choosing the evolution she did. He didn't remember seeing too many of them walking about with their trainers at the Eevolution Solution store. In any case, as far as he was concerned, she couldn't have picked a better evolution to become.

Nothing had really changed at the gym, at least not that he remembered. It was a strange feeling stepping back in the place, especially after what he had found the first day he was there. At least the power was working now. The Rattata, Pidgey, and Murkrow all seemed to be enjoying the sanctuary, and they perked up when they heard the door open and the two enter in. "Hey there.", Marleon said to them. Glaceon seemed confused at the sight, looking around at the run-down arena. Marleon was relieved that it hadn't been vandalized. He probably had Chris Daté to thank for keeping the building safe, as well as Drago. She must have scared off any would-be vandals and thieves. He looked down to Glaceon and chuckled, "I know, it's a little dated here, probably not the same as what you're used to at Team Valor, but we'll get it cleaned up. Besides, we have friends here.", he looked back to the birds and rodents who were eyeing them. Marleon went back to where his living quarters were and found a few plastic bowls in the cabinets. He went back out to the arena and began to fill the bowls with the food he had bought from the grocery store. Poke-puffs in a few bowls, and bird seed in the others. "Rattatata?", the rodents sniffed and wiggled their whiskers. The Pidgey were watching from the rafters above, the Murkrow were already starting to fly down and hopped closer. The former Gym Leader chuckled, "Well, no sense hiding it. This is for all of you to enjoy, as my way of saying 'thank you' for taking care of my Gyarados.", he said, sliding the bowls out. The Murkrow were the first to chase after the bowls, not having a preference between the ones with seed and the others with the puffs. They greedily scarfed down the meal. The Rattata went over to the bowls with the Poke-puffs, each taking a handful of the puffs and standing there on their hind legs, nibbling on them. Marleon chuckled as he saw a few of them grab some of the food and stuff them into their cheek pouches before running off. The Pidgey were the last to descend on the food, though only wanting the bird seed. They seemed to bicker among each other though, but would peck at the seed, making a good mess. There was plenty to share, and Marleon refilled the bowls before he let his own Pokemon out to enjoy a meal. There wasn't much water in the pool, so Magikarp flopped and complained. He had to hand-feed the fish. Seel, Glaceon, and Swablu ate their fill of the puffs. He realized after the fact that he didn't buy anything for himself to eat. He was almost terrified to consider what had been left in his refrigerator after six years, especially considering the power had been off.

"Everyone good for now? I need to head back out and get a little dinner for myself.", he said. His own team seemed to be satisfied, Magikarp had settled down, Glaceon gave a little burp. Seel and Swablu both didn't need much. He saw several Rattata stuffed and lazing contently, rubbing their countershaded bellies happily. The Pidgey and Murkrow had flown back up to their respective places, bundling up together, starting to drift to sleep. Marleon stood, looking at his team once more. He went ahead and returned Magikarp, knowing the fish wouldn't want to spend any more time flopping around. Seel and Glaceon seemed to be enjoying each other's company, so he looked to Swablu, "Hey Swablu, mind tagging along with me?" The bird blinked a little but flew up and perched on his shoulder. He didn't want to go back out alone. "We'll be back, keep an eye on the place for me, alright?", he asked Seel and Glaceon. The two were agreeable, and Marleon turned and went back out to town with Swablu.

The daylight was slowly fading, but it was still bright enough for the town to be well lit. The two of them walked about, looking at some of the different restaurants on the main street. He eventually decided on a soup bar, he had been craving some pho and he stepped in to see a lively restaurant, with several customers conversing with one another. "Come on in!", the staff said when Marleon walked in. He noticed the Team Valor décor, and it reminded him about what had happened in Hydrofoil Town before. But he did spot a few trainers wearing blue or yellow. "Table or booth?", a waitress asked him. "Oh umm…booth would be fine.", Marleon said. He really didn't have a preference. She nodded, "Right this way!", and led him to a booth where he sat and looked over the menu. Marleon ordered a big bowl of pho, and while he waited, he noticed the televisions that had the local news on. The sound wasn't on, but he could tell they were talking about Rose and her father, Anthony. A picture of them together, alongside Marleon and some of their Pokemon at the Team Valor headquarters popped up, and when he realized he was in the photo, he looked around and noticed a few of the trainers were looking his way. He lowered his Team Instinct cap a bit over his head. He didn't intend to cause a commotion, as he waited for his soup to arrive. Of course, in his periphery, he saw a few trainers stand and approach him. "Hey you're the guy that was on TV, right?", a Valor trainer asked him. Marleon looked up and met eye-to-eye with the trainer. "Yeah, I…", he began to say, when another trainer approached and put his hand out. Marleon reached over and shook hands. The trainer laughed, "We can't thank you enough for what you did for Rose!"

Marleon felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He was expecting more hostility since he was still wearing his Team Instinct outfit, but he simply smiled and said, "It's really fine, I just did what anyone else would do when they realized her father was here." "Hey everyone! Gyarados is here! Let's give him a round of applause for what he did for Rose!", another trainer called, and the place erupted in cheers. Marleon leaned back and grinned. He was really starting to like these Team Valor trainers. "Oh wow! Your Swablu is close to evolving!", one of the Valors at the restaurant said. Marleon blinked a bit, "Oh? How can you tell?", he asked her. The trainer showed her Pokedex, which could analyze the Pokemon and show their level, attacks, and other information. "Just needs one more candy to evolve! I don't have any Swablu candy, but here…", she sat a rainbow-colored candy on the table, "I was saving this Rare Candy for my Shinx, but I think you could use it now. Swablu take a lot of candy to evolve.", she explained. Marleon didn't know that evolution could be achieved with a system like that. He was more used to having to battle for leveling. Team Mystic must have taken good care of Swablu and trained her well for her to be so close to evolving. "What do you say, Swablu? Want to become an Altaria tonight?", he asked the Pokemon. The crowd watched eagerly, and she looked back at her trainer, "No pressure if you don't—", but in that moment, he watched her swallow down the Rare Candy, and then began to glow brightly. She grew from a small bird into a large bird-like dragon before their eyes. Marleon realized too late that he should have gotten out of the booth before she evolved, as she was now awkwardly wedged between the seats and the table, and her cloud-covered wing had pinned him against the wall. "Oof!", he grunted, and Altaria looked about in confusion. The patrons laughed at the scene, offering to help move the table so the dragon could slip out. It was about this time that Marleon's pho had arrived, and once Altaria had been freed, he joined in the laughing and finally enjoyed his soup.

Altaria now provided a good means for Marleon to travel around the island since she was a large dragon and could carry him in flight. He considered going back to Hydrofoil Town, but since the rest of his Pokemon team were at the Rain Dance Gym, he hopped on Altaria's back and she took off. The bird was shaky at first, but once she adjusted to the new, larger body, she had no problem flying Marleon back to the gym. Seel and Glaceon were both in shock to see that Swablu had evolved, and Marleon was starting to see a new, powerful gym team forming right before his eyes.

He awoke to loud banging on the doors of the Rain Dance Gym. The Pokemon were all wide awake, and Marleon stumbled out of bed and went to the door. The banging was getting louder, obviously someone knocking loudly. "Alright, alright, I'm coming...", Marleon groggily called. He opened the door, and was surprised to be met by several trainers there. The man doing the knocking grinned.

"So the rumors were true! You finally show back up here, after abandoning us years ago, and we're just supposed to pretend that everything's all peachy! You have a lotta nerve, you know!", the man, dressed in an outfit that proudly displayed the Team Valor logo. The entourage laughed, "You tell 'em, Charstar!", Nichole, a trainer with a Charmander, called out. Marleon rubbed his eyes a little. He had to get a good look before he realized who it was. "Wait...Charstar?", he asked. He was face to face with the Fire, Rock, and Dark-type Gym Leader of Lavatic Island. Charstar crossed his arms, "Well well, at least you remember me!" Marleon blinked a few times, "Of course I remember you, Charstar. How could I forget a fellow Gym Leader. But...what are you doing here?", he asked.

Charstar grinned. "I really came by to drop off a few of my best Pokemon on the gyms around here. I have Pokemon stationed on every island of the Fire Islands League, and I'm here to help maintain Team Valor's dominance. But when I saw you on the news last night, I just had to come see you...", he pulled one of his Pokeballs off of his belt and tossed it in the air briefly, before catching it, "...and of course, to challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"