2. New perspectives

It had taken me some time to fall asleep, something that hadn't been helped by a persistent feeling of insecurity. Was I really safe here? I spent the first part of the night staring at the outside, fearing that the Arcanine was still lurking in the shadows, looking for me, ready to attack me at any moment. But after a while, my tiredness proved to be too much, and I finally succumbed to a heavy and dreamless slumber.

However, my sleep didn't end up being as long as I would have like it to be. I woke up abruptly. First off, there was this dreadful feeling, when after some seconds of half-sleeping, half-awake indecisiveness, I remembered what situation I had found myself into. Then, I wondered why I had woken up. Something must have forced me awake. An I heard it. Something akin to wolf howls, only a bit higher pitched. It immediately froze my blood. I couldn't explain why, but deep down, I was sure it meant only one thing: bad news. There was a pack of Pokemon somewhere, and by the sound of it, not the friendliest kind. The sun was only beginning to appear over the horizon, but was mostly hidden behind a very heavy morning mist. The pack call resonated again through the forest.

I immediately got out of my hiding place. If those Pokemons were to find me, let that not be in such a confined space where I wouldn't be able to flee or defend myself. I had no idea what those Pokemons were. Maybe Mightyenas, judging from the sound? One of the benefits of my newly acquired hearing prowess was that I could tell the direction from where the calls were coming. I was also pretty sure they were getting closer. Not good at all.

I wasn't sure if they were after me, but nevertheless, I departed in the opposite direction, not really wanting to find out. I had made some progress with my walking technique, and it now wasn't nearly as difficult as it had been when I had woken up one day ago. Still, I wasn't very quick.

I realized after a bit that fleeing in that direction would lead me directly to the clearing where I had encountered the man and his Arcanine. I wasn't eager to meet them a second time, but I thought I'd rather do that than being caught by the pack of Pokemons on my heels. Besides, I was now confident they were really after me. The calls behind me had redoubled in intensity soon after I had started to run from them, and I could already tell they were gaining on me.

I tried to pick up my pace, but needed to be careful not to hit any tree trunk or trip over something on the ground. Unfortunately for me, the creatures behind me seemed to have noticed my tentative to lost them and had begun to pick up speed to follow me. And they were much faster than me, as well as having more endurance.

My rush was frantic. I passed near the trees and rocks I had seen the day before while fleeing the Arcanine. It was like I was replaying what had happened all over again, only in a different direction. But I hardly had time to ponder over this feeling of déjà-vu. I didn't want to become some Pokemon's breakfast on my second day here.

Soon, I found myself nearing the clearing. The pack behind me had almost caught up on me and those unidentified Pokemons were now just meters behind my heels. The trees had gotten thicker here. It was now really hard not to collide with anything while running, and I couldn't see much in front of me anymore. I was exhausted anyway, so I decided to stop running and face the threat. If I was to die, I thought, let's die facing my enemies rather than fleeing from them. I chose to stop in the middle of clearing. That way, they maybe would change their focus to the Arcanine and the man, if they were still here? I wasn't very proud to be hoping for such a thing, but if that meant I could escape unscathed, I would take my chances. Besides, they would surely be able to fight back, something I couldn't really do.

As I entered the clearing, I realized immediately that the man and his Pokemon weren't there anymore. Well, there went my plan. I turned around. If I was to die here, it would be bravely. I was here, in the middle, scrutinizing the border of trees where I was sure the creatures following me would emerge in a few seconds. The first thing I was able to see was a pair of red eyes looking at me from the darkness of the forest. In such a low visibility, they seemed to be glowing. Instinctively, I took a step back. After a few seconds, the creature finally entered the clearing. Thanks to the feeble light provided by the sun rising above me, I could now discern precisely what was in front of me. It was some sort of canine with a very dark fur. Its underbelly and muzzle were much clearer though, having an orange tone. What was really noticeable about this creature was really its ears: well, it didn't have proper ears but rather some sort of big white horns that protruded from the top of its head. And along its spine and ribs, white bones emerged from the fur, as if a part of the canine's skeleton was outside its body. A bit like a thin exoskeleton. I could see its red eyes better now: they were blank, not giving away any emotions whatsoever. I was so astonished by this sight that for a moment, I nearly forgot my fear and the criticality of my situation. I just stayed here, unable to process what I was seeing. This however only lasted for a second or two, because more of these canines entered the clearing and I was reminded the hopelessness of my position. Something clicked in my brain: They weren't Mightyenas, like I thought they would be. They were Houndooms! Not that it was particularly good news from me… I took some more steps back, without stopping eying them. That proved to be a mistake. I hadn't seen a root behind me, and tripped on it, falling on my back. Shit. My situation had just gone from bad to worse. I was sure this was the end of me. The first Houndoom, which I supposed was the leader of their little pack, approached me baring its teeth and with a menacing growl. I swore I could see some flames coming from inside its maw.

It sure was the end… I would have been killed in a horrible way on my second day here. Way to go. Honestly, I wasn't even mad at that. How was I supposed to do better? I was literally given no chances. It was like I had been summoned here, just to die. What a cruel fate. Death was the only possible ending to this mess.

I wanted to close my eyes. I was resigned to die here, in any second. I only hoped my end would at least be quick and painless. The clearing was in perfect silence.

The Houndoom made a move, and bit hard the scruff of my neck. It then lifted me, and shook me, like a dog playing with one of its toys. The pain was unbearable. If I still needed a proof of the fact it wasn't a dream, here it was. You can't experience that much pain in a dream, you are forced to wake up. I didn't. They were toying with me. Playing with their food. And I wasn't even putting any resistance. I was just staying limp between its jaws, waiting for death to come.

Suddenly, there was some ruffle coming from behind me. It seemed that my assailants were as surprised as me, because we they turned their heads towards the noise. The Houndoom let go of me, and I just fell to the ground, where I remained unmoving, having just enough force to turn my head to see what was happening.

With a great leap, the Arcanine from yesterday had entered the clearing, and had positioned itself between me and the Houndooms. From my position, huddled up close to the ground, I couldn't see its face clearly. But I could hear its low growl. Except this time, it wasn't directed at me. The Arcanine was actually trying to protect me from the Houndooms! Neither the Arcanine nor the Houndooms were making a move. I wasn't either, literally petrified by fear and pain. The only thing that could be heard over the silence of the forest was the menacing growls from both parties. They were judging each other, as if to evaluate their chances in the inevitable fight coming. I barely noticed that my tail was instinctively tucked between my rear legs.

The standoff was broken by the man, who I believed was the master of the Arcanine. He entered the clearing behind me, and appeared to have run to get there. He looked out of breath, but his entire focus was on his Pokemon and its enemies.

"Flamethrower, Topaz!". His order was given without a hint of hesitation, the serious of the situation transpiring from the tone of his voice.

The Arcanine opened its maw, and out of nowhere, a gigantic torrent of flames was unleashed upon the pack of Houndooms. The clearing was illuminated by the bright fire, and I could feel the intense heat emanating from it, even from my position, behind the big dog Pokemon. I instinctively made myself even smaller on the ground.

The Houndooms at the front were barely able to dodge the column of fire. The leader of their pack was grazed by it, and squealed out a pained whine. After that, they seemed to reconsider the opportunity to get to me. I surely wasn't worth such a difficult fight. One by one, they left the clearing, running in the direction from where we came from. The pack leader was the last one to leave. He gave a defiant howl, then turned back and chased its pack members.

"Good job!". Hearing its master, the Arcanine, whose name I now suspected was Topaz, ended its attack. The blazing hell in front of it stopped abruptly, only leaving scorched grass and some ashes as the only proof of what had just happened here. The ambient temperature, which had risen sharply during the flamethrower, fell just as quickly.

The two then turned to face me. I was still pretty intimidated by them, even though they had just saved me. During the whole thing, I had remained in a submissive position, close to the ground. And while I wasn't in immediate danger anymore – at least I thought I wasn't – I was still too shellshocked to do anything.

After a few seconds of silence, the man decided to take a few careful steps forward, and crouched in front of me. He then presented his hand to me. I remained immobile for a moment, not understanding what he was expecting me to do. It's not like I could shake his hands! Could I? I awkwardly raised one of my front paws and rested it on his hand. It was hard keeping my balance doing that. And it gave me a lot of pain: I suspected the Houndoom had dislocated something. He looked a bit surprised by my gesture, but after a moment, he seemed to understand what I was trying to do, took my paw, and gave it a light shake.

"You are a weird little guy, aren't you?" He told me, with a smile on his face. He let go of my paw. "Good thing Topaz and I heard the pack of Houndooms who were after you and got back here in time!"

The Arcanine was sitting a meter or so behind its master, and its gaze was trained on me. I couldn't decipher what it was thinking, so I just decided to lower my head and looked at the ground.

The man seemed unphased by my shyness, and continued. "I'm John, a ranger working for the Office of Kalosian Wildlife Protection" He proudly showed me a badge that was attached to his shirt. "My job is essentially to help with the protection and the regulation of wild Pokemons."

Now that he was saying that, it made sense: his attire was one you would expect a wildlife ranger or guide to wear. He wasn't just here hiking; he was here for his job.

"Are you hurt?" he asked me, with a concerned voice. This caused the pain to get back firmly in my mind: the adrenaline had acted as a painkiller, but now that all this was over, I was feeling it again, stronger than ever. Wincing from the pain, I nevertheless forced myself to answer. "Yes, I think they broke one of my bones or something".

Only some sort of mix between a bark and an animalistic grunt came out. Of course. I had talked to him as if I was still human, but I wasn't anymore! It was weird though: I could understand my own speech perfectly, but at the same time, I could hear that it was completely what you would expect from a canine. It was like my brain was doing a flawless translation in real time.

He seemed to get the meaning of my answer anyway. He extended his arm to get a closer look at my back. I was a bit surprised by his sudden action, and shied away to escape his hand. He stopped immediately.

"Calm down, I won't hurt you. I just want to take a look at your injury. It won't be long". I nodded and let him extend his arm again. Gently, he touched my back to feel my injury. I jolted from the pain when he found it, but he quickly put his hand away. I noticed it was covered in blood. My blood. I couldn't really see my injury, but judging from that and from the pain that was radiating from it, it was far from just a scratch.

"This is a bit more serious than I thought" he then told me, with a sad smile. "I unfortunately don't have what's necessary to get you back in good health on me, but I know a place where you should be able to get proper treatment. Would you allow me to bring you there?".

A place to get treated? Where? Would it be some kind of medical center for the wildlife? At that point, the pain had come back with so much force than his proposition was really the only option I had. I was prepared to get anywhere as long as it would make the pain disappear. So, I nodded again.

"Can you manage to walk?" he asked me. I was pretty sure I couldn't. Every movement I did was putting me in great pain. My frown was enough to give him an answer. "Ok. Well, I guess that leaves us with only one solution". He took his backpack off, and produced a red and white ball out of it. I didn't know much about Pokemon in general, but I was certainly able to recognize a Pokeball. He showed it to me. "This will put you in a stasis, a coma like state where you won't be bothered by pain anymore. And we will be able to get you to the medical center much more quickly. Are you okay with that? This will only work on you if you want it to, anyway". He seemed to be wanting to get my approval before using it on me, and I was thankful for that. I nodded.

He approached me, and touched my forehead with the ball. I couldn't explain what happened to me then. My mind sort of just got blank, and I fell asleep immediately.

I woke up in a hospital bed. Saying I was in a bed wasn't exact, to be honest. It reminded me more of a big dog couch, except it was elevated at the height of a normal hospital bed. I guess it was designed to accommodate most Pokemons of a certain range of size and weight. Another difference was that it was clear the room had been built with keeping in wild animals, well, in that case, Pokemons, in mind. There wasn't any way to exit the room for a Pokemon like me. The windows were protected with wire mesh, and the doors were fitted with handles that could not be operated without hands. Apart from that detail, nothing in the room differed much from what you would find in a regular hospital room.

Taking a look at myself, I realized the injury on my back had been treated and bandaged. Every bone seemed in the right place, so I assumed they had worked on me when I was unconscious. Though I was experiencing a little bit of pain from the spot, it was much better than before. I was still a bit sore though. And my range of motion around my shoulder was limited. But overall, it seemed that accepting the man's proposal to get me to the hospital had been a good choice.

Yet, I wasn't sure about what to do now. If this was really a wildlife medical center, they probably would release me back in the wild after my recovering. But did I really want that? I had been on my own for just around a day, and had already got a close call with death. Hell, without this man and his Arcanine, I would have been dead meat by now. If I were to get back to the forest, my odds would not be great. And if I wasn't killed by some other wild Pokemon, I would still have to find some food. Because given my new morphology, I was pretty sure I would not be able to subsist forever on berries only. I would eventually need to hunt, and that wasn't something I was confident I could learn on my own.

I was interrupted in my thoughts by the door of the room opening, revealing a nurse. Or whatever the equivalent of a nurse was called for Pokemons. She stayed for a moment at the door, eyeing me warily. I stared back at her, confused. What was she waiting for? After a moment, she entered the room and went to open the curtains that had been blocking me from seeing through the window. Bright light from the outside spread into the room, forcing me to blink a few times to adapt to the new luminosity. I focused my attention to the nurse. She still seemed a bit tense. Maybe she had had previous unpleasant experiences with aggressive Pokemons? After a bit, seeing I wasn't about to do anything against her, she started to relax some more.

She finally addressed me. "Is it ok if I check your bandages?". I nodded. With a smile, she approached the side of my bed, and gently placed a hand on my back, where she proceeded to make sure everything was right in place. I could tell that, while less tense than before, she was still careful and was purposely not doing any brusque movement. I wouldn't blame her though. She couldn't know I was pretty much as harmless as a dog right now, and a Pokemon could probably kill any human easily.

This took around a minute, after which she took a step back. "You are pretty lucky your injuries were not worse than that. Still, you can thank your friend the ranger for bringing you here this rapidly. You had lost a lot of blood." She smiled again. "But all of that is behind you now. We took care of your back. Nothing was broken inside, just dislocated. All that will remain will be an impressive scar."

I voiced a sort of low grunt to signify my understanding. The nurse's smile grew a bit. "Actually, you should be good to go as soon as tomorrow morning."

I took a look at the clock on the far wall. It indicated 3 PM.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, I think the ranger wants to talk to you", she continued. "Actually, he should be there to see you sometime during the evening."

That was unexpected. I thought he would just continue on with whatever he was doing after rescuing me, and that I would have never seen him again. What could he possibly want from me? I nodded, the nurse exited the room and I was left alone again. She came back a minute later with a bowl of food for me. She placed it on a small table beside me and left the room again. By that time, having not been able to eat anything since yesterday, I was pretty hungry. So as soon as the nurse left, I went for the bowl. I was bit disappointed to see that it contained something looking very much like house pet kibble. The sight wasn't very appetizing, but its smell was appealing. I was too starved to refuse any kind of food, anyway, so I forced myself to eat. Fortunately, while not being exquisite, it wasn't that bad, and I surprised myself by finishing the whole of it in a short time. The nurse had also put some water for me, so I was able to hydrate too.

I was still a bit drowsy. Maybe they had given me some painkillers whose side effects were sleepiness? I chose to try and get some more sleep.

I was woken up by the sound someone entering. As expected, it was John. He had changed clothes since I last saw him. He wasn't wearing his ranger attire, but more casual, urban clothing. Right now, he could perfectly pass for a random young man, nothing betraying his job in the wild.

His face brightened with a smile when he saw me.

"I'm glad you are better! When I released you from your ball here, you were unconscious. I had been worried ever since!"

At that point, I was starting to appreciate this guy. I mean, he had helped me when he could have just ignored me. And now, he was back to check on me.

"You know, I normally shouldn't have intervened in situations such as the one you found yourself in with the Houndooms. Not interfering with the normal course of nature is one of the main rules of my job."

Yet, he did. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful it went that way, but I was also curious as to why I had benefited from such an exception.

"But when I saw you the day before, at the camp, I knew something was different about you" he continued. "You weren't behaving anywhere close to what I'm used to see in wild Pokemons. You almost seemed lost."

Well, "lost" was a great way to describe my situation here…

He sat on a chair close to the window. He was studying me with interest, almost like he was trying to get through my secrets. "In fact, your behavior almost instantly reminded me of trained Pokemons. That, and the fact you were able to understand me, and still do right now."

I was surprised by that. Was understanding human speech something that wild Pokemons were not supposed to master?

He finally turned his head away from me and chose to gaze to the outside through the window instead. "After our first encounter at the camp, I thought I wasn't going to see you ever again".

He remained silent for a moment, still looking outside at something I couldn't see from my bed.

"But when Topaz heard a Pokemon being attacked by this pack of wild Houndooms, we both understood it could only be you," he continued. "Did you come back to our camp to seek our help?" he asked me, now looking at me again.

I nodded. It wasn't exactly true: my plan was that the Houndooms would switch their focus to them so I could leave. But well, wasn't it seeking their help, in a way?

John sighed. "Now... I have two options for your future. The first option is to get you back in the wild once you are completely healthy again, and let you free." He paused, as if he wanted me to have some time to think about it. "The second isn't something I often propose to the Pokemons I stumble upon during work: you can accept to go with me, be my Pokemon. You would help me with my ranger job, and in exchange, you would be safe, able to train with my team and me, and wouldn't have to rely only on yourself anymore."

I hesitated. Get back to the wild would mean I would still have complete independence. I would be able to search a way back home more effectively. On the other hand, after my first experience in the wild, I didn't know how much time I could manage to survive all by myself out there. Being with John meant I could train, maybe learn to fight and defend myself. And I would certainly be safer.

"Yes, I would like to go with you" I answered John. While all that could be heard of my response was some short barks, John seemed to get the meaning of it nonetheless.

"You are OK with my proposition?" he asked me, now sporting a large grin. I nodded. "That's great! I swear you won't regret this!".

He stood up, approached me and petted me behind the ear, still smiling. I was still a bit uncomfortable with him doing that, but I let him. I wasn't going to show any sigh of aggressivity now that he was technically my "trainer", or "master", or whatever.

"Now, here is what we will do. I will let you sleep here for the night, so the medical personnel can keep an eye on your health a bit more. I will come get you first thing tomorrow, and then you will meet my other Pokemons and be explained how things are working in my team. I hope that's alright with you."

I voiced a quick bark of approvement. Hearing that, he continued: "Oh, before I leave! You will need a name!"

I hadn't thought about that, actually. I guess my name is something I'm so deeply used to, that I hadn't even considered it would be lost, with me unable to communicate with the others.

John didn't seem to notice my gloomy thoughts. "I have thought about it, and found one I believe you could like. The name Lapis, in reference to your blue rings, would be fitting, don't you think?" he asked me, still grinning. It was a great choice, I thought. And looking at my fur, it was true the color of my rings was reminiscent of that of a Lapis Lazuli. I nodded in agreement with his choice.

"Ok, that's settled then! So, Lapis, I'm going to leave you now. See you tomorrow!"

As I was watching him exiting my room, closing the door after him, I slowly got lost in my thoughts. So much had happened today! I had narrowly escaped from death. I had gotten captured by John, who fortunately seemed to be a decent bloke. I had ended up accepting a place in his team. At the end of the day, I hadn't gotten closer at all to my goal to get back home. But I was still alive. I could consider that as a win, right?

I took a look at a mirror placed on a wall not far from my bed. I was greeted by the sight of a black canine with blue and glowing rings on various body parts. The new me. I noticed my eyes weren't the red color I was pretty sure most Umbreon's irises were. The scleras were an unnatural, almost glowing yellow, and the irises had a greyish blue tone. Just like my old ones. My parents used to tell me they were the color of the deep ocean. Today, they were the only thing I had left as a reminder of my old self.

Some notes from the author :

Here is the second part of this fanfiction, where our accidental Umbreon meets some highly needed allies, and finally gets a name. I want to thank you all who read this. As I wrote in the previous part, I'm not seeking to maximize the number of views on my text, the aim being primarily to improve my written English. It is however always great to see that some people have taken time to read, and I hope enjoy, this work. So thank you all, and especially the two users who left words of encouragement after the first part.