Notes: Cheers again for commenting guys! Glad that you are enjoying the story so far :) It's finally battle time for Lucas and his pals but how will it go?
Friday morning, Solaceon Ruins
Lucas stared at the little bottle Dawn had given him. It was a small, round glass bottle, full of pale yellow potion.
"Devolution spray in liquid form?" he said. "I don't get it".
"Devolution potion", Dawn corrected him. "To use on Terry, if we should find him".
"But I don't want to devolve him", Lucas said in dismay. "He's big and badass! If he devolves into an Eevee, he won't be able to win against Cyrus".
"Yeah he will", said Barry. "My Dad said that devolved Pokemon retain all their moves that they knew as an evolved Pokemon so Terry will still know Hyper Beam and all that cool arse-kicking stuff".
"But he'll still be an Eevee", Lucas grumbled. "A cute, fluffy little Eevee. Cyrus would laugh at me if he had a sense of humour".
"Sweetie, let me explain", said Dawn. "If we do find Terry and if you do manage to capture him"... (Barry snorted)..."You'll be walking around with a Wanted: Dead or Alive Pokemon. How long do you think you'd be allowed to keep him?"
"Oh!" said Lucas. His shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I never thought of that".
"The police would find out and take Terry off you", said Dawn. "And then, who knows what they would do to him?"
"They just see him as a remorseless killing machine", said Barry. "They don't understand that he's an old, weary tormented but still probably super cool Pokemon who would like to eat them but probably doesn't have enough teeth left to be able to do so. And, actually, all Terry probably wants is to be reunited with his beloved trainer".
"Lucas darling, they might kill him", said Dawn, gazing at Lucas with big, pained eyes. "We can't let him stay as a Groundeon. They'll never know it's him if he becomes a sweet little Eevee".
"OK, OK, you guys win", said Lucas, holding his hands up in the air. "We devolve Terry!" Dawn squealed and flung her arms around Lucas' neck. Barry slapped him on the back and beamed at him.
"Nice one mate! You really do care about Pokemon, you know that".
"I know", said Lucas, smiling and rubbing his back. "So, shall we begin our searching?"
All morning and all afternoon, Lucas and his friends combed the Ruins, after any sign of the Groundeon. They met Monty again twice (and were persuaded to have a drink of Dandelion tea with him the second time). As the sun began to sink into the west, Lucas felt his hopes draining away.
This is no use at all, he thought. Killer Groundeon on the loose, my arse! We've wasted two flipping days here and found NOTHING!
"Hey, Lucas!" Barry ran over to his friend. "Come over here a minute, me and Dawn have found this weird thing that wasn't here yesterday".
Lucas followed Barry to a clearing, set in a suspiciously round hollow. Half broken columns rose up on either side and overgrown bushes and shrubs filled the gaps between them. Dawn was crouching down in the grass, her hand hovering over a pale tan object.
"Look!" she said, holding it up for Lucas to see. "Look at this weird piece of pottery".
Lucas peered closely. It appeared to be the lip of an old jar. There were crude carvings of Bidoofs on it. Lucas sighed.
"Babe, that's just another red herring", he said.
"Yeah but it's so cool", Barry said with enthusiasm. "Maybe we can take it to the museum and get some big Pokebucks for it".
Lucas was about to say that he didn't care when he felt something under his feet. A slight, rumbling sensation. Barry immediately looked down and Dawn took a step backwards.
"Here, did you guys feel that?" Barry asked.
"Yeah", said Dawn. She stared at the patch of grass they had just vacated. The grass was quivering and shaking, as if a strong wind was blowing it. A low, rumbling sound occurred, deep beneath the surface.
The rumbling grew louder. And louder. The grass trembled and a nearby rock split into two.
Lucas, Dawn and Barry backed away as quickly as they could, stumbling over tussocks and loose pebbles. Dawn and Barry looked scared but Lucas was elated.
"I think I know what's coming up!" he announced.
Then the ground exploded; earth, plants and grass flying up into the sky as a Pokemon burst forth. A massive brown Pokemon, with grey fur around its ears and muzzle. Its eyes gleamed like precious jewels; its sharp claws glinted in the weak sunlight. Its left foreleg was held at a strange angle so the claws partially faced upwards. Then, it raised its shovel like tail and bared a mouth full of yellowed teeth at the teenagers.
"It's showtime!" Lucas breathed.
The Groundeon charged at Dawn and Barry, snarling with fury. Dawn shrieked and threw the Devolution potion at it. The bottle smashed, glass mingling with yellow liquid and it splashed all over the Pokemon. There was a burst of yellow smoke, followed by a brilliant flash of light. The Groundeon howled and when the smoke cleared, it had reverted back to an Eevee. A scruffy looking Eevee with a bent foreleg and most of the fur missing from its ruff.
"Oh Arceus, that was close", gasped Dawn.
"Good shot", said Lucas, impressed. "Now, let's battle and capture it!"
Barry withdrew his Pokeball from his pocket. Pressing the button on it, his Torterra leapt forth.
"Go Tortilla!" he shouted.
Lucas groaned.
"Barry, if I ever meet a trainer who gives his Pokemon dafter names, I swear I will stick my head down a public toilet and let you flush it as many times as you wish!"
"Tortilla, use Leaf Storm", yelled Barry. "Lucas, is that a bet?"
"NO!" Dawn said crossly. "No more freaking bets!"
"Ten Pokebucks and you're on", said Lucas. "Oh blimey, what's Terry doing?"
Terry had easily dodged Tortilla's attack and was now using one of his own. He fired a beam of ice directly at the giant tortoise. The air became so cold that Lucas wrapped his arms around his body and for the one and only time in his entire life, was so happy to be wearing Cyrus' jacket.
The ice hit Tortilla and he keeled over in a one hit K.O. Barry howled and clenched his fists.
"Oh noooooooooooooooooooooo! My Pokemon!"
"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Lucas. "Dawn, quick, you're up next".
Dawn released her Infernape from its ball. "Go Fern!" she cried. "Use Flare Blitz!"
Fern shot out a wall of powerful flames and Lucas backed away from the searing heat. The flames died away and Terry blinked. His whiskers weren't even singed.
"What the heck? That Eevee must be about level 1,000!" Lucas yelled.
Terry then used Earthquake. The ground shook and columns toppled over left right and centre. Lucas, Dawn and Barry fell over too and when the shaking finally stopped and Lucas scrambled back up, he saw that Fern was out for the count too.
"No way!" Dawn gasped. "That little sweetheart is really REALLY tough".
Terry cocked his head on one side, glaring round at the challengers. Lucas groaned and reached for his Pokeball.
"It's up to me now and I do NOT feel confident! OK, go Pip!"
Lucas' Empoleon leapt forwards and at his trainer's command, used his Hydro Pump. Water gushed everywhere, flooding the Ruins and probably putting out Monty's cooking fire, if he was still cooking. The water drained away at last and Terry shook his head, droplets spraying out everywhere. He looked slightly weary but still determined. He turned to face Pip and attacked with a brilliant blast of light.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooo, not Hyper Beam! Lucas shrieked. The light smacked right into the Empoleon, knocking him out within seconds. Dawn stared, fascinated and Barry gasped like a landed Magikarp. Lucas covered his eyes.
"Such power!" he wailed. "And I can't bloody well catch the little arsehole".
"Never mind that", Barry yelled. "How are we going to protect US now, huh?"
"I'll use a Ball, don't panic!" said Lucas, panicking himself silly. He threw an Ultra Ball at Terry. The Ball caught him and it rocked for a split second before the Eevee burst free and charged at Lucas, wild with fury. He collided into Lucas, knocking him flat on his back and bared his teeth, ready for the death bite to his neck.
Dawn and Barry squealed and ran forward in a vain attempt to help their pal but they were so far away. Lucas closed his eyes, waiting for his life to end. At least I won't have the humiliation of being beaten in another Pokemon battle by Cyrus he thought.
Lucas waited for the inevitable pain and gush of jugular blood. Instead he felt something soft and warm, nuzzling against his chest. Opening his eyes a little, he saw that Terry was rubbing against him in a friendly manner. The little Eevee looked up and chirruped softly.
"Y-you're not g-going to eat me?" Lucas stammered.
Terry shook his head; his sparse ruff fluffing up. He rubbed his face against Lucas' neck and began to purr loudly. Lucas felt his fear receding and his elation beginning to stir.
"No way", muttered Barry in amazement. "No bloody way!"
"Oh, Lucas, sweetie!" Dawn gushed. "He likes you. You were right! He really, really likes you".
"He does?" Lucas panted. He sat up, very carefully so as not to dislodge the Eevee. Terry whined and pawed at the zip on Lucas' jacket. Lucas smiled and pulled it down, allowing his new Pokemon friend to crawl inside.
"How did he do that?" Barry demanded, staring up at the sky as if he was waiting for an answer from Arceus. "How did he tame that bloody Pokemon?"
"That's amazing!" Lucas breathed. "I-I don't understand but I sure don't mind". He cautiously put his hand inside the jacket and petted Terry's furry head.
"Are you g-going to keep him now? Barry asked, sitting down next to Lucas. Dawn sat on the other side of him and patted his shoulder.
"I don't know", Lucas said softly. "Maybe, if he'll go inside a Pokeball of his own will".
Dawn felt inside Lucas' backpack and pulled out an Ultra Ball. "Here, try it", she said, handing him the ball. "See what he does".
Lucas held the Ball out to Terry. "You wanna live in here?"
Terry shook his head and clamed out of the jacket. He put his paws on Lucas' arm for a moment and gazed up at him. His brown eyes were friendly and curious and there was a determined look in them.
Then he jumped down onto the grass, turned round and ran off, limping as he went.
"He's gone!" Lucas cried.
"He must be going to find his way home", said Dawn, clutching at Lucas' arm, her eyes over bright. "He can return to his original trainer now that's he's a harmless Eevee".
"You call THAT harmless?" Barry said incredulously.
"I mean he won't be hunted anymore", said Dawn. She blinked and wiped her eyes. Lucas put his arm around her shoulders.
"You were right", he murmured. "He couldn't ever be mine. But, ohhh, he was so powerful".
"Karma, Sweetie, think of karma", Dawn reassured her boyfriend. "You did a good deed, befriending Terry and letting him leave of his own accord. That good deed won't pass unforgotten".
"I hope not", said Lucas. He felt Barry's arm go around his other shoulder and pat him awkwardly. The three of them sat there, on the soggy, icy, ravage aged ground, staring into the distance, where the little lost Eevee had vanished.
Then Lucas smiled.
"Barry", he said.
"Uhuh?"
"You've gotta eat an energy root!"