Chapter 15 Pinwheel Forest

Remember! Go vote in my poll for the name! Vote vote vote!

Decided I ought to start doing this:

Eevees/Sophie speaking to each other

Psychic speaking

Singing

xXxXx- Time jump or simple line break

XxXxX- point of view change

And now on with the story.

xXxXx

"Alright! This is the camp site. Jen, Tim, you two help me set up the tents. Tourmaline, Sophie, can the two of you gather some sticks for the fire? Just get the ones that are already on the ground, no need to break any off of the trees." Maria said, already pulling three tents out from behind some bushes that lined the clearing she had led us to. "We have tents stashed all around the forest for Trainers to use. Tim gets his own cause he's the only boy here. We can figure out which of us girls are staying with which later. Let's get to work!"

Tim and Jen each grabbed a tent and started setting them up, Hopper attempting to help his new Trainer.

"Alley!" Jen called out her Ghost and Ice-type Pokémon. "Can you help me here? I need another set of hands and I don't think Emi would like to be called out for something other than an actual battle."

The Froslass gently bumped against Jen's head before going to help with the other end of the tent.

Tourmaline tapped my shoulder. "You might want to put the Egg in one of your pouches. We don't want it damaged." She looked down at her Munchlax. "Apatite, want to help us gather sticks?"

Apatite smiled up at his Trainer and held his arms above his head.

I looked at Apatite as I carefully put the Egg away. "You know, I really feel short when what is considered a baby Pokémon is nearly as tall as me." I glance over at Aleyandria. "And Alley IS taller than me." Sighing, I start to walk into the forest surrounding the clearing. "I feel short."

"You are short, kid." Tourmaline said as she walked with me.

"I know." I start gathering sticks for the small fire that we were going to use to warm some food up for our supper.

"Trying to not develop a complex about it?" Tourmaline knelt down and handed sticks to Apatite to hold.

"Yeah..."

"Well, it's obvious that you are probably gonna be short for a while. I'm glad you're trying to get past it now." She stands up and moves farther on.

I hear a soft thud and look to see what fell. An object sat on the ground that Tourmaline had just vacated.

I go over and pick it up. A poke ball on a chain rests in my hands. Looking a little closer, I realize that it is occupied by a Pokémon.

Mommy...It's a Mew. Avon's observation came to me quietly, as if he was whispering.

Please...Please don't say anything to anyone! Tourmaline is helping me keep away from some bad people! A small voice I did not know pleaded.

Tentatively , I reached out with my mind. Are...Are you Mew?

Yes. Please. Return me to Tourmaline!

Of course.

"T!" I run to catch up to the older girl. "You dropped something! Here."

When she saw what I had, her hand flew to her throat while her eyes widened in panic. She quickly retrieves Mew from my hand. "Thanks...Uh...umm..."

Before she manages to gather her thoughts, I am walking back to the pile of sticks I had gathered. "I think we have enough now. Let's start heading back."

Once she had caught up to me, I continued talking. "I know that there is a good place to have chains fixed in Castelia. I'm planning to go there to see if I can find a collar for Jolt. They can probably fix it so that chain doesn't break again. Want to come with me?"

Tourmaline freezes, confusion taking over her face. "You...aren't going to ask?"

"I was told that you were helping. If you want to tell me the story, I'll listen, but I am not going to demand to know." I turn to face her with a smile, tension keeping my shoulders high. "I will say that I am curious. But if you answer me a few questions now, then I'll drop it. And I don't plan on telling the others."

"What...do you want to know?"

"Do you battle with-"

"No! And I don't ever plan to."

Some tension leaves my shoulders. "Okay then. Next question. Do you ever plan on releasing her?"

"If that is what she wants, I will give her the poke ball so that she can do what she wants with it."

The tension leaves my shoulders completely. "Last question then. Will you travel with us?"

Tourmaline blinks at me, taken completely off guard. "What?"

"Will you travel with us? It will probably be easier for you to get around the region without sticking out so much if you are in a group of trainers taking on the Gyms. Not to mention the fact that it would be less stressful for you if occasionally, you could talk to someone you trusted about it."

"And you're saying I can trust you." Her face is closed and suspicious.

I look at her and make a decision. I release Dawn from her poke ball. "Dawn? Can you make sure that there is no one around and that if someone comes, they can't hear us?"

Sure! Always happy to help out, Dawn settles down and concentrates.

I look at Tourmaline again. "Would it be easier for you to trust me if I told you a secret that only those I consider family and Tim know?"

"May I ask why Tim knows this secret?" She refused to drop her guard, her hand shielding the pocket where she had placed Mew.

I give a small smile. "Because he was there when I received Jolt's Egg."

"That doesn't make any sense."

My hands are shaking as I prepare to do what my family had decided was a bad idea. Before I continued, I had to have some insurance. "Will you promise not to tell anyone? A secret for a secret, I guess is what I am going for."

"If you threaten her, I will not hesitate to use anything I know about you, against you."

"Fair enough." I rush on to the explanation. "I can talk to Eevees. Not just Espeons, but Umbreons, Jolteons, Flareons and all the others. When I received Avon...Suddenly I could hear them all! It's only Eevees and their evolutions that I can hear. Ask her." I gesture to Tourmaline's pocket. "She started talking to me while I was talking to Avon."

"Alright. I believe you. Can I meet your Pokémon?" Her whole stance relaxes.

I slap myself in the face. "I completely forgot that you hadn't met everyone yet. Come on out everyone!" Once I had all of my Eevees in front of me, I did the introductions. "My Eevee is Avon, Shiny Umbreon is Dusklace, Espeon is Dawnlace, and Jolteon is Joltlace. I received all of them as Eggs."

"Right, you mentioned something about Tim being there when you got Jolt?" Tourmaline knelt down and tickled Jolt under the chin, smiling as the small Pokémon began to purr.

"She didn't like the Gym Leader whose doorstep she had been left on. She was screaming really loudly."

Tourmaline winced. "And you probably developed a really bad headache."

"You know, it's nice to be able to talk to someone who has to deal with voices in their head. Tim and Jen don't have any Psychic types, so while Tim knows, he can't really understand." I blink as a memory surfaces suddenly. "Oh. That reminds me. There is this kid with long green hair and a hat that can talk to Pokémon!"

Tourmaline's panicked look spoke more than a thousand words.

"Maybe if she is completely silent when he is around, he won't be able to tell."

T gives a shaky laugh. "I'll try to avoid him, that's for sure."

"Let's head back to camp." I help T stand up."Jolt can you light the way?"

While my others return to their poke balls, Jolt happily runs ahead of us, her sparks bright enough to light our path.

xXxXx

We sat around the small fire that Maria had set up, having Tim use Blaze to actually light it.

Jen shared out some of the food that she had gotten at the cafe before we had left town. She had apparently gotten enough to last six people traveling through the forest.

After all the food was finished, we just sat around the fire as it burned down to embers.

"...storm clouds gather in her eyes...daddy was a mean...blow it down...not enough wind in all Unova..."

"What was that Jen?" I leaned closer to the girl sitting next to me.

Jen gasped, startled. She looked at me, her face flushed red. "Sorry...Was I singing out loud?"

"Why are you sorry? You're voice is pretty. What were you singing?"

Jen's blush darkened. "It's...just a song I'm writing."

"I thought I heard a bit about wind in Unova? What was that about?" Maria called from across the fire. When everyone looked at her, surprised that she could hear what had so quietly been said, she shrugged. "What? My hearing has gotten fairly sharp from being out in the forest so much. So, spill."

Jen gave a small smile. "It's something I noticed traveling around the region. Sometimes, the wind and the rain can get really vicious." She stared off into space for a few minutes before looking at us again. "It just inspired me, I guess. So I've been working on this song. I've been traveling alone, not counting my Pokémon, for a while now. Maybe I've been alone for a bit too long."

"Every picture, every song has the story of a life behind it." I leaned back to look up at the stars peeking through the leaves of the trees. When I looked back down at the others that surrounded the fire, I found them now staring at me.

Tourmaline was looking me up and down again. "Waaaay too mature for your age, kid."

"Would you have her any other way?" Tim smiled, flicking a fallen leaf into the embers.

"Where did that come from, girl?" Maria asked with Jen nodding in agreement, both curious.

"It's something my mom says. I think she discovered it when she went on her journey. She hasn't told me the story behind it." I say with a smile.

Jen draped an arm over my shoulder and gave me a hug. "You like to know the story behind things, don't you?"

Smiling, I duck my head. "It's a bad habit of mine."

"Okay, I give up." We all look to see Tim flop back onto the ground.

Maria reaches out and nudges her brother with her foot. "What are you giving up on, boy?"

He sighs. "I feel like I remember hearing the story about the storms, but I can't remember any details." His head rolls towards me. "You got anything Sophie?"

"Whoa, wait. If what I've gathered is correct, Sophie has only recently started her journey. What makes you think she knows?" Tourmaline spoke up, stroking Apatite's sleeping head that rested in her lap.

"Because her parents seem to have taught her all sorts of interesting things." Jen piped up. She gives my shoulder a squeeze. "So do you know what Tim is forgetting?"

I giggle. "Yeah I think I do. But it wasn't my parents who taught me about it."

"Oh?"

"Tristan told me the story." I shift into a more comfortable position. "On Route 7 there is a house. A family lives there and the daughter of the older couple will heal traveling Trainers Pokémon so that they can continue their journey. While the Pokémon rest, the old lady that lives there tells the Trainers a story." I look at the others. "She tells them a legend. The legend about the time when storms raged because of Pokémon that were enraged." I give a little laugh. "I don't know all the details, because my brother wasn't paying all that much attention to what the lady said and it had been a few years since he had heard it. But there were at least two Legendary Pokémon involved in the story."

"Legendaries?" Jen interest seemed to grow even more.

"Mmhmm. My brother did remember the names of two of them. Tornadus and Thundurus. Apparently, they brought or caused the storms. Or something."

Tourmaline leaned back. "So you have people like that here too, huh."

"What do you mean?" I turn my focus to her.

"People who pass on the legends. People who heal others Pokémon. I guess every region has them." She shrugs.

"What region are you from? I'm from Johto, by the way." Jen asked.

Tourmaline focused on her, with eyes slightly narrowed. "I'm from Kanto."

Tim sits up and glances between the two. "Have either of you ever had to deal with Team Rocket?" Curiosity gleamed in his eyes.

Tourmaline's jaw clenched when he uttered the Team's name.

"Boys. No tact." Jen hissed, too quiet for Tim to hear.

I stood, yawning widely. "I'm tired. We should get some sleep soon."

xXxXx

Unable to sleep as I had suggested, I quietly slipped out of the tent that I had ended up in with Jen. A heavy sleeper, the older girl didn't stir.

With Jolt out to give me some light, I walked a little ways from the clearing. Coming across a ledge, I decided to sit on it to think. I had brought the Egg with me, because it was what was keeping me awake.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be sitting there?" A soft voice came from behind me.

Clutching the Egg closer, I glance over my shoulder and relax when I see that Tim stood there.

"I thought you said you were tired."

I sigh. "I am. But the Egg..."

Tim carefully sat beside me. "Not being quiet enough for you to sleep?"

I finally allow worry to completely take over my face. "The opposite actually. I haven't heard a single sound out of it."

He gently rests a hand on the Egg. "Maybe it's just sleeping." He frowns and his second hand joins the first on the Egg. "I know that I haven't handled many Eggs, in fact only Jolt's that one time when you let me hold her the other day, but this one seems really warm."

"Oh no!" I start to panic. "What if it's sick? What am I-"

"Or maybe it's just going to be a Fire type." Tim says, trying to say something that will stop the panic.

I freeze and turn towards him. "That's it." Everything clicked into place. "It will probably become a Flareon. And maybe you're right about why it isn't talking to me. Maybe it is just sleeping." Tim yawned. "Go on, go back and get some sleep. Once the adrenaline has left my system, I'll head back as well."

"Alright." Tim stood up with another yawn. Suddenly a small mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Don't fall off the ledge."

I blush. "That was one time and technically, you were the one who fell. I was pushed."

Softly laughing, Tim patted my head and headed back to camp. With the sound of his laughter filling the air, he did not here the rustles of leaves closer to the camp that signaled someone else returning to it.

Momma, Bluey was listening in on yours and Tim's conversation.

Sorry. She is a light sleeper and when she heard the boy exiting his tent, she went to see what was going on. Mew's silent voice echoed in my head.

It's fine. I sent back before I let everything fall into silence.

XxXxX

After Sophie had left the ledge and returned to camp, a large shadow, that had hidden itself in the trees near bottom of the ledge, separated and solidified into a discernible form.

Kevin Emerson was thoughtful, considering what he had learned from the conversation he had listened in on.

He had listened in on both the conversation the tiny girl had had with the boy and the one between the girl and the unknown Psychic type. From the girl's tone, she respected the unknown one, though they did not seem to have known each other long.

Kevin walked over to where his silent companion waited. They continued on until they reached a clearing farther away. Clint released Golem, his recently obtained Golurk and his most silent fliers.

Only once they were safely in the air, on their way back to Castelia, did Kevin speak.

"I discovered something new about our little friend. When she is worried, her senses seem to only focus on her Pokémon. I stood practically right next to her feet and neither she, nor her Eevees seemed to notice me. I considered actually talking to her, perhaps chiding her for sitting on a ledge only days after she fell from one, but decided that I would probably learn more if I remained hidden."

"And you did." The low rumble of his friend's voice reached his ears even through the loud wind.

Kevin smiled. "Yes."

Kevin thought back to the first meeting. To how the girl, though seemingly friendly, had hesitated to tell them even her first name. How her eyes had held the faintest hints of suspicion as she thanked them for their help before continuing on her way.

His mind returned to what he had seen on her face as she arrived at the ledge. Worry, uncertainty, panic just waiting to break loose as fears wormed their way into the child's mind. And all for her Pokémon. None for herself. She had not even hesitated before approaching the ledge.

As she had spoken with the boy, the worry she had hidden when he appeared broke loose again, and the panic soon followed. The boy had managed to calm her, to still some of those fears. Perhaps there was some potential in him. He already knew the girl's secret. And the boy was not the only one.

There was that unknown person with the Psychic type. They had listened to the conversation as well, and the girl did not seem worried that they had found out. They most likely already knew. So who were they, and what had they done to gain the girl's trust?

Kevin smiled as he and Clint landed just outside of the City. He turned to his friend, his second in command. "I believe that not only would the girl be helpful to us, but some of those who are around her as well."

Clint stopped Kevin with a hand on his shoulder as Kevin started to enter the city. "You need to..."

"Oh! Right. Thanks, I almost forgot. It would not do any of us any good if I was caught."

He reached up and stroked what appeared to be leather surrounding his neck. It shivered and changed to a pink color before sliding down to cover his shoulders. Small, sleepy eyes blinked up at Kevin.

"Sorry for waking you, but I need to walk through town. Mind helping me out?"

The Ditto gave his shoulders a squeeze before flowing back up and carefully covering his face, changing the man's appearance.

"Alright. Shall we continue on to the house that 'Serendipity' has secured for us?" Kevin's slightly disfigured voice emerged.

Clint nodded, and together they entered the city.

XxXxX

Author's Note: I dedicate this chapter to my Beta Reader! Happy Birthday, MorohtarSingod! This chapter is mainly giving the readers some insight into some of the characters. Please tell me your opinions of them. Just anything that stands out to you. I need to know how the characters are coming across to the readers.

MorohtarSingod: Hello everyone, I would like to thank Lady of the Shards for letting me be her beta. And to everyone who is reading this for supporting her and her writing.

Shards: I have been asked to work on 'Penny in the Air' next, so I am heading over to that section…I will mash those ideas into a readable shape!

…I may end up doing another chapter of this though…I am on a roll here people! But I will be attempting to work on my other stories! I promise!

Remember, I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!