Rio collapsed on the ground, exhausted. "Finally lost her," he muttered to himself. "Once this is all over, we really need to find a counselor..."
He put Shadow on his back and began climbing a nearby tree. He rested on one of the lower branches, and lifted Shadow onto the one above him. He took a sandwich out of his bag and began sharing with his partner. He looked around to make sure no one was watching them.
Then they rested.
-0-
Rio woke up to the disturbing sound of barking. He looked down to see Shadow barking at another Pokemon, a Leafeon.
"Yo, Shadow!" he yelled, jumping off the branch. "What'd she do to you?"
He grabbed his partner and looked to the Leafeon. "Sorry about that," he said, petting her. The Leafeon growled, reared back, and bit him. "Ya!" he yelled. He quickly pulled his hand back. "I thought Leafeon were peaceful!"
"Wow. You must be really gullible," a voice said behind him.
Rio turned to the sound of the voice. An older girl, about a year older then him, appeared behind him. Her tan skin and greenish hair made her look like a Leafeon. "Kira is my Pokemon," she hissed. "A prototype Pokemorph like you shouldn't touch her."
Rio froze. "How did you know?"
"Well, I'm Leah!" the girl said, smiling. "I'm an Eon Pokemorph!" Kira ran towards her, with Rio's bag in her mouth. She jumped into Leah, and they merged immediately. Immediately. It always took the other Pokemorphs a while to completely merged, but Leah's ears, tail, and sprouts popped out right away.
Rio cursed under his breath. "Why are you here?"
"We were sent to dispose all the failed experiments," Leah replied, slinging his bag over her shoulder. "But I'm more of a peaceful type. I won't fight you."
Rio growled. "Then gimme back my bag!"
"No way!" Leah said, climbing onto a tree. "You catch me within half an hour, you keep your bag and your life. But if you don't..." She smiled as the leaf on her head began to absorb sunlight. "Let's just say if you don't die, I'll have my brothers take care of you." She jumped off the branch and ran off.
"Darn it!" Rio yelled. "Shadow, merge!" Shadow jumped into Rio, and he began to glow. Gray ears and a tail popped out, and some fur sprouted on his hands and feet. His blue eyes turned red, and his blond hair turned black. Basically, he looked like a gray werewolf. A wereyena.
He ran after Leah, following her scent. I'll catch her in no time like this, Rio thought.
She wasn't making it a challenge. It was pretty much a game of Follow the Leader. Her smell, as well as the sound of rustling leaves, made this challenge more like a kid's game.
Eventually, once he thought he had the chance to catch her, Rio came to a dead end, near a mossy rock. "Wha?" he asked in surprise. "Where did she go?"
"I'm right here you idiot," Leah said, appearing in the trees. "And half an hour already past." She pointed to an imaginary watch on wrist and smiled. The sprout on her head began to glow brightly with energy.
Rio looked surprised at first, but then he smiled evilly. "Go ahead, solar beam me."
"You asked for it." A bright beam of light came out of Leah's mouth and towards Rio, who simply stood there, taking the attack. When the light faded, however, there was nothing but a puff of smoke.
"Where did he go?" Leah asked, looking around frantically.
Rio appeared right behind her. "I'm right here, you idiot," he said. "You gotta love substitute." He took his bag from her, and pushed her to the ground. "I see why you didn't want to battle me. You're stupid and weak." He jumped over her, then started to walk away.
"That's not it," Leah said as she separated from her Leafeon. "I wanted to test your ability, to see if you were worth fighting." She stood up and dusted off her shirt. "Seeya later!" She blew a kiss to him, then disappeared behind the trees with Kira.
Rio turned pink. He sighed, and took his Pokegear out of his bag. "She doesn't seem that bad," he said to himself. He smiled, then dialed Tosan's Pokegear number.
-0-
"Eon Pokemorph?" Tosan asked for about the hundredth time. Like trainer, like Pokemon, Zephyr shared his surprised look.
"Yeah," Rio replied over the Pokegear. "She was testing me, I think."
Tosan's eyes widened. He opened up Adriana's laptop (which was left with him so he could study the Pokemorph data) and searched for any data on Eons. "There's no data on Eons," Tosan said. "Must be a new experiment. What was her name again?"
"Leah," Rio replied.
Tosan searched for 'Leah', but no results came up. "Nothing on her, either."
Rio sighed. "That sucks. You tell the others, 'kay?"
"Sure," Tosan replied. "I'll tell them right away." Then he hung up, smiling to himself. Rio and Leah, sitting in a tree...
-0-
"Eh, Toasty?" Adeline said over the Pokegear. "Are you at the chateau?"
Tosan raised an eyebrow. He looked through the dusty bedroom, the same room he's been living in ever since he became a Pokemorph. "Yeah, why?"
"Well, is there any records on the family that used to live there?" Adeline asked.
"There might," Tosan replied, looking towards a bookshelf. "Maybe."
He heard Adeline sigh. "Um, can you look for records of girl name Miley?" she asked. "If you find anything, I'll repay you!"
Tosan had an unconvinced look on his face. "You're not usually like that," he pointed out. "How do I know you'll repay me?"
Then, in the most sincere voice Adeline could try (which still didn't sound so sincere), she replied, "If I don't, you have every right to beat me up."
Tosan smiled. He thought back to the times when he was in school, when Adeline teased him and Alex for being nerds. "Sure." He hung up, and reached for the bookshelf. Sure enough, the first he grabs is a photo album.
-0-
Revenge of the nerds! XD
