Milo Chapter 8 – Saviors and Shadows
The next morning, Marcus left, citing his need to get back to Hearthome, "It's been great to see you, bro, but I can't be away super long. We'll have to hang out more often if this kind of craziness happens when we get together!"
"For sure", Milo was beaming from ear to ear at Marcus' approval, "and before too long, I'll need to come visit you! I'll need that Hearthome badge eventually!"
"That you will", laughed the older brother, "but it won't be easy. Amaya, it was great to meet you! Best of luck on the rest of your journey! With this goofball for a travelling buddy you'll need it."
Amaya waved politely back, and Marcus ruffled his younger brother's hair before turning and heading out to catch the small plane that would bring him back to his Gym.
Milo was still struggling to come to grips with the barrage of events from the previous day. Marcus had shown up out of nowhere just before Annie and Oakley had attempted to reclaim the Egg, which the two brothers had successfully defended…but all that paled in comparison to the secret that now resided within Milo's very skin. He resolved that for the rest of his time in Oreburgh, he'd focus on training not only his team, but his own new Dark Aura powers. If the Order of Shadows called upon him, he needed to be ready.
He decided, for the time being, that all he could really do was to put his head down and focus on one thing at a time. He still needed a few days in Oreburgh to finish his crash course on Egg care from Nurse Joy.
"Alright. Back to our training routine, then?"
Amaya nodded, "Sure. I'm making good progress with my three and it seems like you've still got business here. What's another few days?"
"Cool. In that case, I'm headed for the mine. Coming?"
Without warning, Amaya sprinted off, yelling back over her shoulder, "Ha! Keep up, Milo!"
Laughing, he took off after his friend, outstripping her easily to win their impromptu race to the mine.
He stood at the entrance waiting with a smile, as Amaya jogged up to him, panting, "Ha…Screw you…and your speed training…not a fair race…"
"Oh, I beat you fair and square. Get over it. Anyway, ready for training?"
"Sure", she replied, recovering her breath. Together, the pair headed into the mine.
As usual, Amaya went off somewhere to build her team's power beyond the ridiculous levels she'd already achieved. Milo called out his two loyal partners and set them each a training routine. He had worked recently on designing exercises for his Pokémon that balanced working on their weaker points with honing their strengths. He, meanwhile, found an unoccupied corner to test out his Dark Aura abilities. This was slow and difficult at first; every time he began to do it right, he was so surprised that his concentration would slip and he'd completely screw up. Eventually, he reached out to Azura for help;
Hey girl, can you spar with me? I need to work on this Dark Aura thing, and I think your Dark moves should just about do the trick.
Sure, Milo.
Azura stood herself a ways away from her Trainer and began by firing a simple, relatively tame Shadow Ball…which hit Milo square in the chest after his attempted counterattack once again fizzled out in his palm.
He kept at it tenaciously, and after another couple hours, shortly before they took a break for lunch, Milo managed to fire a ball of Dark energy through Azura's latest Shadow Ball, sending her skidding backwards across the rock floor.
"YES! I did it! Oh, wait, are you alright Azura?"
I'm fine, Milo. That was really good though, if you work on it, that has some real potential.
"Cool. Let's find Blaze and Amaya and get some lunch. Nurse Joy will expect me soon."
That day, when they were done going over the nuances of caring for a Lucario Egg in particular, Nurse Joy offered Milo some unexpected encouragement;
"Milo, you've done a great job. I think that's all I have to tell you about Eggs, actually. I'd like to see you again tomorrow, to discuss caring for the Riolu that will hatch eventually, but after that, I think you should be ready to go!"
"Really?" Milo smiled down at the Egg, which he was holding in his lap, "Thanks, Nurse Joy! That's really exciting!"
"I agree. Remember, if our estimates are correct, it shouldn't have much more than a week or so before you can expect it to hatch. But for now, just keep it with you and focus on your training!"
Having made his breakthrough with Dark Aura before lunch, Milo made rapid progress when he returned to the mine for afternoon training. With another hour and a half or so of work, he had mastered Dark Aura sphere, and was moving on to other forms of attack. He soon had a Dark Beam as well as a Dark Pulse attack to add to his Dark Aura arsenal.
His Pokémon were a big help as he taught himself, and by the time evening approached, he was finding success fighting against both of them simultaneously.
"HAH!" Milo yelled triumphantly as he released a wave of Darkness that radiated powerfully out of him and threw an onrushing Blaze backwards.
Predictable, he heard Azura's smug voice in his head. Too late he realized that she had vaulted over his attack and had thrown herself into a savage Night Shade that plowed through Milo's left side. Standing victoriously over him, Azura playfully hit his head with her front paw and chuckled,
Got you. We win again.
Yeah, he replied, but I was closer that time!
Tell me about it, came Blaze's voice, that last one really stung! You're definitely getting stronger.
Milo chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment, Yeah, sorry about that, pal.
Blaze aimed a cheeky leg sweep at his Trainer in joking retaliation, and Milo laughed along before saying, "Okay guys, this seems like a good time to break for dinner, I feel like we've all made a lot of progress today. Deal?"
YES! Blaze immediately clenched his stomach, I'm starving…
"Alright, then. We'll call it for the day."
Amaya had already gone back, it seemed, so Milo and his Pokémon headed straight for the Center, where Nurse Joy greeted them as usual. The young Trainer cleaned himself off before going back to the cafeteria where he found Amaya seated alone in a booth staring out the window blankly. Her headphones were, predictably, stuffed firmly over her ears until she noticed Milo. She took them off and said,
"Hey. You're back. How was training?"
"Pretty productive, actually. You?"
She shrugged, "Eh. Hard to tell, really, I think my team has outgrown the wild enemies in the mine. Seems like we're generating more power, though, and accuracy has improved."
"Good, good. We did some work on power as well, plus battle reflexes and speed."
The pair got up to get themselves food from the buffet, and brought back full plates along with type-specific food for each of their Pokémon. There wasn't much conversation as the hungry Trainers plowed through their food.
Exhausted and satisfied by the day's work, they soon bid one another good night and returned to their respective rooms to settle in. Milo had just flopped on his bed with a sigh when a knock came at the door;
"Hello", came Nurse Joy's courteous voice through the door, "Milo? Can you come out for a minute?"
He hurriedly got up and rushed to the door. Nurse Joy looked apologetically at him, held up a mobile phone, and said quickly, "I'm so sorry to disturb you, but it's your brother Marcus. He says it's urgent."
What could Marcus be calling about? He'd only left that morning…
"Alright", Milo answered, taking the phone, "thank you, Nurse Joy. I'll bring this back out to you when I'm done."
"Perfect", she smiled.
Closing the door, Milo held the phone up and turned the screen on to reveal Marcus, who bore a serious expression. He seemed to be sitting in a back office at his Gym.
"What's up, bro?"
"Well, Milo", began the older brother, "things are moving quicker than even I thought. The Order of Shadows has a mission for you already."
"What? No…no, I'm not ready! I've barely started working on Dark Aura, I-"
"I know, bro, I know. I'll be there to help you out, but you need to be in Floaroma the day after tomorrow, that's when this is going down."
"What's going down, what's the mission even about?"
"Have you ever heard of the Windworks that's just East of Floaroma?"
"Yeah, I've heard of it, don't Drifloon sometimes show up there?"
"Correct, but that's not why we're needed. The Spirit League has come from nowhere and seized the facility. Essentially, they want to use it as a power play; get in, cause fear and chaos, and eventually take the whole thing down. If we don't take it back very soon, Pokémon and humans alike could be in serious danger."
Milo was utterly stunned, but he summoned what courage he could muster in that moment and said with a small voice, "…okay, Marcus. I'll be there in two days."
"That's excellent, Milo. Listen, I'm really proud of you, little bro. I know this is a lot right now, I know it feels overwhelming, but you're doing a really good job holding it together. Just keep it up, alright?"
"Yeah…I will. Marcus, thanks."
"Alright. I'm going to go; you should sleep on all this. You'll feel more confident after a rest."
"Good night, Marcus", Milo said numbly, before hanging up. He walked the phone back out to Nurse Joy's desk, and when he got back to his room he sank onto the couch, head in hands, completely unsure what to do with himself.
He released his Pokémon, and Azura immediately wriggled her way into his lap, saying,
We heard everything through you, Milo. We'll be right with you through all of it.
Yeah, added Blaze, It's a lot, but this is the right thing to do. We can help those people.
"You're right, guys, but…I just don't feel ready. I'm, well, honestly I'm really scared. How can I possibly take back a facility full of trained anarchists with Ghost powers? I've had my new abilities for exactly one day!"
Azura cooed softly, trying to calm her friend and Trainer, Remember, Marcus will be with us. He has strong Pokémon, he has experience, he trusts you, and you trust him. I know you've just gotten use to your Dark powers, but I think you've made massive progress. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for.
"Thanks, guys. I just…can't help being nervous. I mean, all of a sudden I have two days to prepare to raid a hostile facility like some kind of military commando team."
Blaze punched him softly in the arm, and commented with a smile, That actually sounds kind of cool, anyway. Besides, it's natural to be nervous. I'd probably be more worried if you weren't nervous.
Milo gave a weak chuckle, and said, "Alright. Marcus was probably right; I should just sleep on it. Tomorrow I'll have my last lesson over lunch with Nurse Joy and we can get back to Jubilife by evening. That'll give us a much easier time making it to Floaroma the next day to meet Marcus."
Feeling slightly reassured, he was able to eventually force himself to sleep, though it took a while.
The next morning, he proposed his improvised schedule to Amaya, "Hey, so, after lunch today I'll be done learning what I need to know about the Egg, so why don't we head out after that? I mean, we'll have no more real reason to stay."
"Just like that, huh?" Amaya raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"Well", Milo shrugged, "you said yourself that your team had outgrown those mines as a training site, right? If I'm done and you're done, we ought to get going towards Eterna. What do say tonight we go back to Jubilife, so we can head to Floaroma tomorrow and then on through Eterna Forest?"
Amaya stared for a moment, as she tended to do when thinking. Milo found her intensity rather unsettling, but it was just one of her little quirks. Soon she came out of her trance and said, "Alright, sure. We can hit the road this afternoon."
So, one last time, the whole crew headed out for the mine to train. Milo worked frantically during those few hours on his Dark Aura in much the same way as the previous day, and made similarly significant progress. He was still extremely nervous, but his confidence in his abilities was on the rise. Emboldened by this small success, he presented himself, tired but beaming, at the usual place for his lunchtime appointment with Nurse Joy. For one final hour he learned as much as he could, this time with regards to caring for what would eventually be a newborn Riolu. Nurse Joy even teared up as she concluded and shook Milo's hand, saying,
"I really can't thank you enough for everything you've done. Your heroic actions in defending this Egg and your willingness to care properly for it are truly inspiring."
Embarrassed, Milo answered, "Wow, thanks, Nurse Joy. I just…want to do the right thing, and this little Pokémon deserves the best it can get after what happened to its parents."
"I couldn't agree more", added the devoted Joy fervently.
Within an hour, Milo and Amaya had gathered everything they had with them and bid farewell to Oreburgh. This time, Amaya insisted on taking the road that Milo had conveniently 'forgotten about' on their way towards the city. Along this road they met another teenage couple who were lounging on a bench, watching people go by.
"Hey", called out the boyfriend, "You two look like Trainers! How about a double battle? You two versus me and my girlfriend here."
Milo glanced towards Amaya, who shrugged, and said simply, "I'm game if you are."
"Alright", Milo answered the boy's challenge, "we'll take you down. Two on two?"
"Woohoo! Then let's go, Starly!"
His girlfriend got up with a cheer, "I believe in us, Kricketot!"
"Terrus", called Amaya, "you're up."
"Alright then", Milo made his choice, "Azura, let's go to work!"
Amaya, as usual, took it a bit more seriously than everyone else, "We'll get started! Terrus, Bite Starly before it gets in the air!"
Terrus practically flew across the makeshift field and clamped down hard on the unprepared little bird. Using this as a distraction, Milo calmly made his move, "Pursuit, on Kricketot."
While Terrus and Starly struggled, Azura almost silently took out Kricketot in one savage hit.
"Terrus, Body Slam it!"
The aggressive young turtle obliged with gusto, and Starly was also down for the count. The whole battle had lasted mere seconds.
"…Whoa."
The boyfriend was in a state of shock, "That was…kind of nuts. Not to mention a bit of a buzzkill."
"Yeah, sorry about that", Milo felt incredibly awkward and slightly ashamed; "My friend here has no chill. Hope you have a nice rest of your day, I guess?"
"Yeah, you too…" The couple returned to their bench, their earlier excitement now thoroughly subdued. Milo hurried off down the road and motioned for Amaya to follow. When she caught up, and they were out of earshot, he hissed rather insistently,
"What the heck? It's a casual battle, not a Gym challenge!"
Amaya retorted quite correctly, "Hey, don't talk to me about casual, you knocked out that girl's Kricketot in one move when she wasn't even paying attention."
Taken slightly aback, Milo had to admit she was right. He took a deep breath, and began, a little more calmly this time, "Okay, good point. Maybe we both need to work on taking it down a notch when the battle is more casual. Deal?"
"Sure", answered Amaya without real conviction, "I guess."
If Milo had learned anything of his new friend, it was that 'taking it down a notch' was the least natural thing for her to do. Sighing, he decided to let it drop.
It wasn't much longer before they came to the city limits of Jubilife. After finding a local burger joint for a quick dinner, Milo and Amaya knocked once again on the door of the JPTA, to be greeted by an eternally bubbly Mrs. Ketchum.
"Milo! So good to see you back! Please, come in! Ah, and hello, Amaya!"
"Nice to be back, Mrs. Ketchum", replied Milo, "even if it's just another quick visit. We're passing through to get to Floaroma."
"I see! Already on your way to that second badge, then?"
"That's right. I'm assuming it's alright if I use my old room again?"
"Certainly", she replied, "just wait half a minute and I'll fix it up for you."
The two young Trainers watched as Mrs. Ketchum bustled up the stairs to Milo's room. After a minute of quiet, Amaya spoke her mind,
"What's your plan for Gardenia? Just use Blaze?"
Milo grinned before answering, "Already thinking about that, huh? I think Azura will be better suited for Gardenia's Grass types."
"…All right, Milo, I'll bite. Why is your Dark type better suited for a Grass Gym than your fire type starter?"
"It's not about types, though, it's about Pokémon. Gardenia's strength is in Special Attack, moves like Grass Knot and Magical Leaf. She's faced plenty of Fire-types before; using Blaze would be just what she'd expect. Azura has better Special Defense, and I'm sure Gardenia won't have a contingency plan for her. I'll use Blaze, certainly, but only to draw out her trump card."
Amaya shook her head and commented, "Eh, you're overthinking it again. Terrus can take her down, Grass to Grass, and Coral's got Ice Beam if I need help."
At that point, Mrs. Ketchum came back down, and announced to the youngsters that their accommodations were ready. They both decided to call it an early night so they could hit the road in the morning with plenty of time to reach Floaroma.
Accordingly, they walked out the JPTA's front door at 8 o'clock the next morning, after Milo gave his favorite teacher and personal confidant a quick hug goodbye.
"North gate", Amaya said, pointing down the street, "right? This way?"
Milo chuckled, "North gate…that way", he responded, heading off in the opposite direction.
"Whatever", she grumbled as she caught up.
In a short while they were out of the city, and Milo took the opportunity to release his Pokémon, to allow them to stretch their legs.
Ah, Azura sighed contentedly as she jogged about, that's nice. Where are we?
North of Jubilife. We're hoping to make Floaroma in good time today.
Blaze cut in very excitedly, Isn't that where Marcus is meeting us for our first secret mission?
Milo's smile fell a bit as he thought ahead once more to the challenge that loomed ever nearer, Yeah, buddy. That's where we're meeting Marcus.
The conversation was cut off as Amaya yelled in surprise, "Look out!"
Milo was startled and looked about quickly, before he saw a crowd of wild Pachirisu scrambling frantically over one another to escape…something. They rushed past the two Trainers, hardly seeming to notice they were even there.
"What was that about?" asked a very bewildered Amaya.
"I don't know", answered Milo, "but it does surprise me that we haven't come across any other wild Pokémon since we left the city…"
"Oh, hadn't thought about that, you're right. Let's keep going, maybe we'll find out what's up."
It wasn't too much longer before some more frenzied Pokémon came dashing past. This time it was a pair of Bidoof, one of which was clearly in some pain, limping lightly along behind its partner.
"Okay", Amaya said, "something is definitely up here."
"Agreed", said Milo cautiously, "we should be ready for anything."
"…This always seems to happen to us."
Milo couldn't resist a chuckle, "It does, doesn't it? Must be our good luck."
Blaze cut off any further discussion by running ahead a short ways and holding up a hand to demand silence. Both young Trainers stopped immediately in their tracks, and silence erupted eerily around them as each listened as hard as they could.
Blaze, Milo asked mentally, what's up, buddy? What did you hear?
I heard a small voice. Sounded like it was in pain. That way, maybe?
I hear it too! Azura leaped forward and ran off into the forest to the left.
"Amaya, let's go!"
Milo took off, and Amaya followed, asking, "What's going on? What did Blaze hear?"
Without stopping or looking back, Milo answered, "Small Pokémon, possibly injured, definitely scared."
There, yelled Azura, in that tree!
Milo was horrified. Not one, but two small Pokémon, a Shinx and an Eevee, were backed up against the trunk of a large tree. They were surrounded by a group of three Gastly being directed by a Haunter. The ghosts had set up a kind of perimeter, and were more or less toying with their victims. The Eevee looked like it was too young, too scared, or too injured to fight, so the Shinx stood bravely in front of its friend, firing off wanton Crunch and Spark attacks at the slowly advancing attackers. Amaya arrived a second after Milo, and together they called in their Pokémon as reinforcements.
"Azura, Pursuit, drive off that Haunter first!"
"Terrus, go! Bite and Razor Leaf! Get those bullies out of there!"
Azura caught the Haunter off guard with a vicious Pursuit and refused to let the ghost Pokémon have any recovery time to organize its cronies, as she continued to bludgeon it into submission. Meanwhile, Terrus leapt in heroically to cover the young Shinx. The brave Turtwig immediately began pummeling the confused Gastly with myriad attacks, whatever he could fire off. The Gastly still outnumbered the defenders, though, and despite the sudden beating, they began to recover enough to hit back at Terrus, who looked enraged.
"Come on, Terrus!" Amaya knew there wasn't enough space for her to call Coral or Granite into action to help. She yelled frantically, "Those two Pokémon need you! Be strong! FIGHT BACK!"
Terrus released the loudest roar he could muster and began to glow fiercely
"TUURRRR-TWIIIIIGG!"
When the light died down, balls of green energy flew out in every direction…from a newly evolved Grotle. Terrus had been so driven to win this fight that he had evolved!
"Yes!" Amaya cheered on her newly evolved partner, "That's Energy Ball, great job, Terrus! Come on, you know you can do this!"
"Haun! Haunter!"
A thoroughly beaten Haunter called sharply to its allies, wriggled away from Azura's latest onslaught, and without further warning, all the ghosts disappeared. They seemed to be headed away towards the East side of Floaroma.
Milo ran in to try and get a look at the injured young Eevee, but was stopped in his tracks by a Spark from the Shinx, which refused to let him get any closer.
"Okay", Milo thought as fast as he could, "Umm, Azura, see if you can talk to it. See what's wrong with Eevee, and if you can, convince Shinx to let us help."
I'll…I'll try…
Milo couldn't understand Azura's suddenly shaky voice, until he realized that this situation almost exactly mirrored her own childhood trauma. She was probably feeling all her own old fear again…
Blaze, Milo called out to his other partner, this is your chance to help out. Let Azura talk to the Eevee, but I need you to calm Shinx down and convince it to let us help.
You got it, Blaze answered, immediately stepping up to the Shinx. He had to take a couple of weak attacks before the young Electric type would listen to him.
Milo could only understand Blaze's half of the conversation, but it was clear that the young Shinx was having none of Blaze's efforts to defuse the situation. Turning to Amaya, Milo asked,
"You got any ideas? I can't figure out how to make this thing chill out enough for us to help it and Eevee."
"I…have an idea, but it's kind of crazy."
"Crazy is fine", Milo answered quickly, "just do it. These two need help as soon as possible."
"Alright", Amaya turned and called her new Grotle into action, "Terrus, it's our turn to do some convincing. If this thing doesn't thing we're strong enough to protect it, let's show it how strong we are! Prepare for a battle!"
Well, thought Milo, that's certainly crazy…
He looked over to the tree trunk to see Azura huddled as close as possible to the young Eevee, who had buried its head in her black fur. She looked back at her Trainer with a face of abject sorrow and Milo's heart went out to them both.
Come on, Amaya, your idea better work. We need to get these two to a Center NOW.
Despite everything about this situation, Amaya was in her element, totally focused in on this battle.
"Alright, Terrus, give it an Energy Ball. Remember, we're trying to put on a show here, not pummel this Shinx."
As the moderately weak Energy Ball landed perfectly, Amaya called out, "Now dodge its counter."
Sure enough, a Spark attack flew out and struck a tree right behind the place that Terrus had just left.
"Tackle."
While the Shinx was still wondering at where its opponent had gone, it was slammed in the side by a charging Terrus. The attack certainly packed a punch, but Milo could see that Amaya's Pokémon was doing a great job cushioning its attacks so as not to cause further injury.
The Shinx took a long time to get back up, but it gave a low growl and forced itself back into a standing position. Amaya took an empty Pokéball from the side pocket of her backpack and looked back at the Shinx, who was too tired to make any more formal attacks, and simply stood there, snarling.
"You've got guts, little guy, but your tank is empty. You're coming with me now!"
She threw the ball, and watched it wiggle, before settling with a soft ping.
"Nice, Amaya. I may just try the same thing."
Still in mental overdrive, Milo took a spare Luxury ball from his bag and approached Azura and the small Eevee. He was extremely cautious and reached out to Azura first,
I need you to keep it calm. This is the best way we can help it.
She knows exactly what this means, responded Azura, I've been talking to her the whole time. She wants to come with us. She trusts me, and I trust you. Come on, Milo.
Milo was taken aback, and also impressed, Wow…Excellent job, Azura. I'm really proud of you for jumping in and calming it – her – down like that.
Milo walked slowly up to the young Pokémon and offered the ball, setting it on the ground and stepping back. He heard a soft conversation between Azura and Eevee, before Azura gave her an encouraging push towards the Luxury ball. The little Eevee nervously put a tiny paw on the button and was sucked in. The ball wiggled once or twice before pinging.
Milo took a second to hug Azura before returning both of his Pokémon, picking up the Pokéball and turning to Amaya; "Let's go. We need to get them to Floaroma."
The two Trainers took off running down the route, towards Floaroma Town. The exchange had cost them about fifteen to twenty minutes all told, and it was mid-morning. After they picked up the pace significantly, they needed only a short rest around 11:30 to eat a small snack and replenish their energy before they made it all the way to Floaroma by half past noon.
Gasping for breath, Milo and Amaya threw open the door of the Pokémon Center and hurried up to the counter.
"Nurse Joy", began Milo, "we have…two young Pokémon…that we found on the route…they need help right away."
Leaning on Nurse Joy's desk for support, he took out his new Eevee's Luxury Ball and released her. Hands on her knees, Amaya looked up just long enough to let Shinx out of its new Pokéball before doubling back over, lungs heaving.
"Oh, my! I'll get them back and work on them straight away!"
With a clap of her hands, Nurse Joy summoned two Wigglytuff assistants who immediately soothed the two frightened young Pokémon and got them on operating tables before rushing back to begin helping as only they could.
As they waited nervously in the lobby of the Center, Milo called his brother to let Marcus know he had arrived in Floaroma.
"Hey there, little bro", answered Marcus with a calm grin.
"Hey Marcus. I'm in the Floaroma Pokémon Center right now. You in town yet?"
"Ah. Uh, no. I will be soon, though. I'm about to board a small plane from Eterna to Floaroma, so I'll be there in a few hours."
Amaya had overheard, and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Wait, are we meeting Marcus here? What's that about? And why was he in Eterna?"
"Wait", a rather sly smile grew on Milo's face as understating struck him, "don't tell me…you were visiting Gardenia again, weren't you?"
Marcus was visibly uncomfortable, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally responding, "Umm, yeah. Maybe I was. So what? Gym Leaders visit each other all the time, you know."
"Hah, sure they do. But I think we all know you have a thing with Gardenia, Marcus."
"Seriously?" Amaya immediately cracked up with uproarious laughter, "That's amazing! I can't even imagine what those dates would be like! Ha!"
An instantly red-faced Marcus glared menacingly at his brother through the connection and said curtly, "I should go, or I'll miss my flight."
Wiping his eyes from tears of laughter, Milo hung up and commented, "Oh man, I love teasing him about that. He's been flirting with Gardenia for years. Pretty much since he got the job and they started hanging out."
"That's just so weird to think about, though. Like, do they actually go on dates and such?"
"I'm pretty sure they do, but Marcus never talks about it. I mean, it kind of makes sense, though. They have a lot in common, obviously, and they're the only ones their age. Roark and Volkner are older, Maylene and Candice are younger, and Wake and Byron are a whole lot older."
"You know", Amaya answered after some thought, "I suppose that does actually make sense. I never would have imagined it, though."
Nurse Joy came back out, and smiled wearily at the two Trainers; "Your Pokémon are finally in stable condition. I'm impressed that you two were able to get them here in such a hurry. You got them here before they were in any real danger. As things stand, they'll just need a couple days to rest and feel better."
Milo jumped up, but Azura was even faster, bounding forward towards the back hallway. Milo leapt up to follow her before remembering to turn and ask Nurse Joy,
"Is it… alright if we go back and see them now?"
Nurse Joy was used to this kind of reaction from eager Trainers, and chuckled before replying, "Certainly. Just be soft and careful around them, they're still a bit fragile."
Azura was already waiting, pawing at the door to the little Eevee's room. Shinx was being cared for across the hall.
"We got a couple hours until Marcus gets here", said Milo to Amaya, "so take your time."
Amaya nodded, and each Trainer walked in to see their new Pokémon.
You're really invested in this Eevee, Azura, Milo noticed as he opened the door.
Azura didn't even respond, just bolted in and jumped up on the first thing she could find to get to the Eevee she had protected in the forest.
Milo, she…she's just like me.
I thought so. The difference is that you were there for her; you can help her get through this.
I will. I can protect her. I can be the help for her that nobody was for me.
Milo smiled, a tear coming to his eye as he watched Azura curl up tenderly next to the young Evolution Pokémon and stare lovingly at her. He released Blaze, and thought to himself that surely this would be as much a healing experience for Azura as it would be for…but what should he name the newest addition to his team?
Does she have a name, Azura?
I'm sure she – she's waking up!
Sure enough, various beeps from the medical machines went off or sped up for a few seconds before the little Eevee's eyes opened, and she uttered a small, weak "vee?"
Azura began instantly to speak softly and consolingly to her, while maintaining a mental connection with Milo.
It's okay, little one. You're safe now, you're healing.
The little Eevee said something in return, and Azura smiled once more and responded,
That's right; you're not a wild Eevee anymore. Your Trainer is right over there, his name is Milo.
"Hi there, Eevee", Milo walked around to stand in the tiny Pokémon's field of vision, "I'm Milo. I hope we can be great friends. I'll do whatever I can to take care of you."
"Mon! Monferno!"
Blaze didn't want to feel left out, and he also came around to present himself to his new young teammate.
The Eevee smiled and asked something, causing Azura and Blaze to laugh. Azura responded verbally and mentally, for Milo's benefit;
Oh don't worry, he's got lots of food and other treats for you. Can you tell us your name, little one? Do you have a name?
Azura listened to her response, and informed Milo, Our new friend's name is Aurora. Do you…want to connect to her? It should work, but I should warn her before you do.
Overwhelmed by this precious interaction, Milo simply nodded in response. Azura said something to Aurora, presumably an explanation, and Aurora looked surprised – as much as was possible in her still very tired state – but seemed to agree.
Milo took a deep breath and reached out to the young Eevee;
…Aurora? Can you understand me?
Hello? Is that you…Milo?
Aurora's voice made it further clear that she was very young indeed.
Thank you for helping me. I was really scared.
Moved by her innocence, Milo knelt by her small bed and reached out a hand to pet her very softly, saying through his mind,
Of course, Aurora. From now on, I'll always be here to keep you safe. We're on the same team now. We watch out for one another.
With what little energy she could muster, Aurora turned herself slightly and playfully grabbed at Milo's hand. He was transfixed by this young Pokémon, who so quickly trusted and loved him. As he watched, she opened her mouth in an adorable yawn that reminded Milo that she was still just beginning her recovery.
Okay, Aurora, he told her, you need to get some sleep to feel better. We're going to go so that you can rest, alright?
She didn't respond, and Milo stood there waiting until Azura told him gently, She's already asleep, Milo. Come on, let's go, quietly.
They met Amaya in the lobby, and traded stories. It was Amaya's turn first, and she cracked a smile immediately and said, "Leon will fit in great, he's a real fighter."
"Leon? Is that what you named him?"
"Yup. Seems appropriate, and it has a ring to it. He's a fierce little guy, but he likes me and Terrus, so I'm pretty stoked to get him training."
She continued to share the details of her first real meeting with Leon the Shinx, and then Milo began talking about Aurora. Once he got going, it was quite a while before he even stopped long enough to take a breath, so thrilled was he about his new team member.
Evetually, Milo ran out of words, and it wasn't long afterwards that Marcus' flight arrived from Eterna. The two young Trainers met him at the small airport on the other side of Floaroma, and Milo immediately went in on his older brother;
"How's Gardenia? Did you tell her I say hello? Did you at least go out for lunch together?"
"Aw, come on, man. Can you not just let that go? It's not any of your business."
"You're my brother", laughed Milo with a joking punch to Marcus' arm, "of course it's my business to bug you when you have a crush that's that obvious!"
"Ugh. Whatever. Let's find dinner, I'm starving."
Over dinner, Marcus casually remarked, "Oh, by the way, I need to have another conversation with you after this, Milo. Just you and me. No offense, Amaya."
She shrugged, as unaffected as ever, "Eh, don't mind me. Your family business is your own. Do what you have to."
Milo took a deep breath. He knew what was about to happen. He and Marcus were maybe two hours away from launching a two man nighttime raid on a facility that was controlled by a veritable horde of hostile Ghost Pokémon users. His first mission for the Order of Shadows was coming very soon.