"If you follow this river," Obstagoon began, "You'll go to the mountain."

"You make it sound so straightforward," Boltund said, who stalked the new teammates in front.

"Ah, it is no longer. The river meanders and curves and you'll save a day or two if you don't follow it," Scrafty said. "But add more days because we have a lot of company 'round here. Once the sun sits on the horizon, we'll need to leave the bank."

Falinks cursed under his breath. He walked in the back of the assembly where Goodra could remain watching him. Eevee heard him making a joke about the dark types'— Scrafty's more so— walking speed. Yet, Falinks should know that Scrafty was a fighting-type and not inclined to run away, and that his loose skin made that difficult. Plus, he and his friend were visibly tired.

Obstagoon and Scrafty walked side by side, and then Boltund, Eevee, Falinks, and Goodra in the rear. The female dragon ensured Eevee that she would keep her eye on Falinks, who still fumed from their argument and remained incensed. The motley crew was an obvious target for any aerial pokémon, and she wondered if the two dark types had any clue where six pokémon could find shelter. Nonetheless, she had to trust them, for she and her friends weren't natives and had little knowledge of the plains.

Obstagoon and Scrafty suddenly stopped, which caused Boltund to slam into the former's back. Boltund winced and then shook herself out. Eevee asked, "Are you okay?"

Boltund nodded and then said, "I hope you have a good reason for doing that."

The two leading pokémon turned around. Obstagoon looked embarrassed and apologized, while Scrafty rubbed the back of his head and looked uncertain. "All right… do you lot know how to swim?" Scrafty asked.

Boltund and Eevee's faces fell. Goodra shouted an affirmative while Falinks burst, "No! We're not swimming!"

Scrafty rolled his eyes. "Figures. Here we go again—"

Goodra shifted the conversation and asked, "Why? Do we need to cross here?"

"Better here than later," Obstagoon said. "It's wide and shallow here. Nearby is a den, and the old resident is gone."

"I never swam, ever!" Falinks protested. "I refuse."

"We don't have much time till evening," Boltund warned.

Scrafty looked at Falinks with one of his hands resting on his chin. "No. We don't need to swim."

"But then the patrols…" Obstagoon started, but Scrafty stayed her response with a hand. He looked at her and then jerked his head and Falinks.

"I have a better idea." He walked around Boltund and Eevee. His eyes burned with fire. He stood before Falinks and said, "Since your suggestions are better, I bid you lead us."

Falinks didn't seem to understand the implications of this request. He looked at the faces of the five others like he'd been caught stealing. Scrafty nodded at Obstagoon. The two pokémon said no more and went to the back behind Goodra and stood there. Scrafty stood with his arms crossed while Obstagoon hunched over slightly with her arms at her sides.

Goodra's jaw dropped as her eyes went from the dark types to Falinks. She appeared that she wasn't sure who to be more disgusted with. Eevee got the sensation that Scrafty was done with Falinks's antics. However, Eevee didn't understand why he'd put Falinks in front, especially since they were wary of patrols and Falinks had no idea what they were walking into. Didn't Scrafty want to be in front to start?

"We're waiting," Scrafty said, elongating the last syllable.

"What are you getting at?" Boltund asked. Scrafty ignored her and clutched at his skin with his hands shaking slightly.

Eevee realized Scrafty was seconds away from roundhouse kicking the brass. She snarled, "I'll lead, if you can't make up your mind." It was getting dangerous to keep delaying with the sun sinking lower. She stepped past Boltund and began to move on. "Coming?"

"No, Eevee," Falinks suddenly said, snapping him out of the reverie. "You can't be in front."

"Why?" Eevee asked, glaring at him as she met the brass who walked up alongside her. "Why not?"

"You're not strong enough," he said. "You'll be light work for pretty much anything."

Eevee felt like all the air had been knocked out of her lungs. He was not supportive of her. She, who had given him the chance to join their party.

"Eevee…" Boltund began, but she was disrupted when Scrafty approached and walked in front of the foxlike pokémon.

"You see why I want him in front," Scrafty said gently. "He can be the shield now. I've been taking most of the damage for her." He looked at Obstagoon. Eevee regarded him curiously. He sounded like he was speaking to a sibling or a child. He soaked his tone with sarcasm and said, "That thoughtful veteran needs to feel the same."

"Guys! We have company!" Goodra hollered.

"What?" Obstagoon said as she looked up, as Goodra was doing. "Now? It's early!"

The team on the ground forgot about their argument as they witnessed three pokémon flying in their direction. Eevee recognized an orange dragon with a flame on the tip of its tail— charizard. Another was a vulture-like pokémon she had seen on the crags: mandibuzz. The third was a blue dragon with red wings whose name she didn't know.

"Shit," Scrafty swore, reaching for his skin "hood" and draping it over his head. "We've met these ones before."

"What's this? Aww. Looks like they made some friends," a husky voice taunted from somewhere on the ground nearby.

Eevee lowered her eyes from the flyers and saw a green and white bipedal pokémon with sharp appendages on his arms. This was a gallade, a psychic pokémon and to Eevee's surprise, he was not friendly as she would have expected.

"Scrafty!" he shouted as he approached. "I told you we don't want to see your ugly mug around here no more!"

"I looked fine until you lot kept interrupting my beauty sleep," Scrafty grumbled.

"As you deserve. Too bad. I see it's still not getting through your thick skull that the mountain lord promised me this turf. Shove off and take these fools with you. Or we'll rough you up."

Eevee shook her head at the psychic pokémon. She never thought one would align with Hydreigon, as they usually were altruistic. "What's with him?" she asked no one in particular.

"This guy never liked Scrafty," Obstagoon answered. "He never could get a big enough force to overwhelm the gang, but when Hydreigon took over, he found his opportunity."

"But a gallade?" Boltund asked with her mouth open.

Obstagoon shook her head and lowered her eyes. "You've a lot to learn. Some psychics think they are better than everyone else, being able to get into minds and all. Except us of course. Don't think they are always good guys just because."

The aerial pokémon had caught up with gallade and they hovered over the psychic pokémon. Both groups remained about fifty feet apart, with Eevee and her group readying for attack. Falinks had taken the front.

"Six enemies," the blue-colored dragon said. "We got a nice fight."

"I'd say five," Charizard cooed. "One's an eevee. She's no threat." Eevee bristled again.

"It'd be better if they were on our side. Right, Salamence?" the vulture next to the blue dragon said.

"They brought their own dragon along," Gallade said. "And she looks tough, Mandibuzz."

"Join you? You dodgy kidnappers can piss off," Goodra hissed. Eevee and her companions looked at Goodra with awe. Had she really said something that venomous?

"They've done that to your young?" Scrafty asked the wetland dragon. "I fear they did the same to half of our siblings."

"Yes. Well, it was Hydreigon himself who had done the crime."

"He attacked our forest," Eevee said. "A place I thought he'd never come. He destroyed my den."

"A caterpie's string is all that binds you together," Gallade said. "Weaved in misery."

"I'd call it resolve," Scrafty countered.

Charizard cast a tongue of flame from his mouth. "Enough talk."

"Agreed," Mandibuzz squawked, squinting at the group with distaste.

Gallade bolted at the group and Falinks responded by focusing the energy of every one of his troops. All the segments spread out, with the brass in the lead, which effectively protected the team from the sole ground threat. The aerial attackers flew toward the remaining pokémon and picked an opponent. Mandibuzz contested with Goodra, Charizard with Obstagoon, and Salamence with Scrafty, so Eevee and Boltund were left to help a comrade.

Eevee rolled to the side to avoid being crushed by Salamence as the blue dragon landed in front of Scrafty. Eevee focused, forming star-like energy around her and she directed them at Salamence, hitting him in the back.

Salamence whipped his head toward Eevee and thrashed his tail at her, which forced her off her feet and threw her into the meadow. She screamed from the blow and once she landed, her side throbbed with pain. The distraction, however, allowed Scrafty time to jump into the air and thrust his knee into Salamence's face. The blue dragon roared and flattened on the ground. Eevee shakily got to her feet as she witnessed the fights.

Mandibuzz had been too confident and was getting beaten down by an angry Goodra. Unlike their dark-type teammates, the dragon was uninjured and alert. Goodra opened her mouth, and a beam of ice flew at the flying-type, making the mandibuzz shriek as she tried to avoid it. She escaped a direct attack, but one of her wings contacted the frozen stream and encrusted it in ice. Unable to move it, she began to fall to the ground while her other wing beat restlessly to slow her descent.

Boltund helped Obstagoon weaken Charizard. Obstagoon snarled, sending an eerie growl into the air that formed a dense ball of dark energy which assaulted Charizard. When the attack contacted him, he covered his ears and during his disorientation Boltund ran toward him, her legs collecting electricity. She jumped as high as she could and targeted the fire dragon with a bolt of electricity which flowed from her to Charizard. Charizard hissed in pain.

Falinks's troops kept Gallade busy as the blade pokémon could select only one to attack, which forced him to continuously block to avoid taking a hit. Two of the troops looked unwell, signaling that Gallade had battered them, but Gallade himself started to appear weary.

Salamence cast a flame from his mouth, and in the process, he scorched Obstagoon and Boltund who were focusing on Charizard. The two pokémon wailed as they rolled on the grass to put their flaming fur out. Scrafty cursed as he jumped and flipped in the air to land a metallic tail on Salamence's back.

Eevee staggered to the fray, breathing heavily, and she shouted, "Look! Charizard!"

Obstagoon and Boltund were still trying to get to their feet, and they wouldn't be able to respond by dodging or attacking in time. Charizard prepared a ball of blue draconic energy from his mouth and fired it at the two pokémon, hoping to strike both like Salamence had done. Scrafty bounded from Salamence's back and stood in front of Boltund and Obstagoon. He quickly readjusted his "hood" and pulled his loose skin up high, and the pulse hit him. The attack pushed him back as his skin reflected the energy off. Once the onslaught ended, he lowered his elastic skin and looked disoriented, wavering on his feet.

Eevee distracted Salamence again by batting her eyes and winking at him. The charmed blue dragon hesitated to perform an attack. Eevee began to sprint at him as she intended to slam headfirst into him. Her body shivered with excitement. She was going to take out a dragon!

However, she had to skid to a halt as one of Falinks's troops stood in her way. She angrily shoved him aside, but from the delay she realized that Falinks managed to land an attack first. She looked around wildly for Gallade to discover he was fleeing from whence he came. The brass tried to attack the fleeing combatant, but Charizard helped Gallade by picking him up from the ground. Mandibuzz winced as she left with the patrol, with her injured wing causing her to barely escape Goodra's water-logged tail.

Salamence shouted, "I yield!" and he shook one of Falinks's troops from his back and took flight. He appeared almost ready to pass out. Eevee fumed as the patrol left. Salamence was hers! She would've knocked him out if Falinks wouldn't have decided to stall her.

"What did you do that for?" she roared. "I had him!"

"Eevee, you were pushing yourself too hard—"

"No!" she thundered. "I almost did it! Now I lost the chance!"

She stomped on the ground; her injuries almost forgotten as the others caught their breath. The sun grazed the western horizon, signaling night was going to begin.

Goodra stepped toward the irate Eevee and said, "We need to rest. We can't take another patrol head on…."

"Agreed," Scrafty said, putting his hood down.

"We need to get a move on before backup comes," Boltund said.

"What cowards!" the brass shrieked. "They all ditched the fight!"

"They're guerrilla fighters," Scrafty mentioned levelly, no longer miffed by Falinks. "They beat you down until your morale's shot."

"That den…" Obstagoon said. "We need to head there. We need to swim across the river," she pressured. She, like Boltund, panted from their exertions.

Eevee shook her head, still seeing red. She could have sworn she felt a great power stirring in her that she couldn't unleash because Falinks blocked her. How dare he….

"Eevee!" Boltund yelled as she shook the little vulpine pokémon. "We need to go before our adrenaline runs out. We can sort this out later."

Eevee followed Boltund robotically, feeling a sense of depersonalization. Something had been cut off. That power she felt….

"Oh no," Boltund said. "My pack is damaged." One of the straps had been torn in two and only the one on the left side remained.

"It's scorched," Goodra said. The female dragon still had the waterskin, thankfully. Goodra approached Boltund and tied the ends of the torn right strap together until it could be properly repaired.

"Whatever Eevee had is squashed," Scrafty remarked, looking at the leaking juice, probably from berries, staining Eevee's grass-filled fur. In her rage, Eevee hadn't cared to notice the status of their provisions.

"Across the river," Obstagoon yelled. "You too, Falinks!"

"All right…" he said, although he wasn't as infuriated about it as before since he released steam from the battle.

The team swam across the river. All the pokémon besides Falinks had experience swimming. Eevee, Boltund, Scrafty and Obstagoon made it across with nothing other than a few groans. Falinks, however, floated on the surface to the best of his ability while Goodra guided him along so the current would not carry him and his troops downstream. She and Falinks reached the opposite bank last.

Eevee, Boltund, and Obstagoon shook to rid themselves of excess water from their coats. Scrafty drained water from his hood. He used his lower elastic skin to float across, so he hadn't been submerged like the others. Goodra enjoyed the swim while Falinks and his troops trembled from the occurrence. If they hadn't been attacked, he wouldn't have crossed.

"All good?" Obstagoon asked, brushing water from above her eyes. She waved her arm and said, "Come, and be quick."

Goodra shoved the startled troops and brass to get them to move along. Boltund trailed Obstagoon and Scrafty in the lead. Both dark types scurried northwest of the bank. Obstagoon pulled ahead of Scrafty who failed to keep up.

"Evening must be a really bad time," Boltund said to Eevee as the two hurried side-by-side.

"They're so tired," Eevee stressed. "Whatever buzz they got they aren't wasting. I doubt they can handle another battle."

They headed away from the bank and as they crested a hill, they discovered that the sun was no longer visible, albeit a bright orange glow basked the western horizon. If they were caught in the dark on the high plains, Eevee and her companions would be done for— none of them were nocturnal. She guessed that Obstagoon was, but Scrafty wasn't as evidenced by his sunbathing earlier. She didn't understand how they managed so long, especially if both operated on different internal timepieces, but these were desperate times.

The two leading pokémon covered ground as quickly as they could. They seemed to know where this den was, but across the nearby landscape Eevee discerned nothing that would provide adequate shelter. From her vantage point she noticed that the plains transitioned into more rolling hills the father west one went.

"It should be around here," Obstagoon said.

The group found themselves in a gentle depression in the land. Eevee remained at a loss as to wherever this den's opening was. The den being in this still exposed area implied that a pokémon had burrowed its own home. Were they looking for a shallow and artificial cave?

"Here's the opening," Obstagoon said, parting the tall grasses. "It's only three feet high." She immediately turned to Goodra. "Will you fit?"

Goodra walked up to the area Obstagoon pointed out and examined it. The dragon shook her head. "I'm too tall."

"I won't fit either," Obstagoon said. "I thought the opening was larger."

"Is this the other one?" Eevee said, noting a longer, but not as wide, opening sloping down into the earth. She felt that the land's gradient was unnatural here. Eevee forced herself through the grasses as she led the team down a rocky tunnel. The entrance was narrow, but they would fit.

"This is what I remember," Obstagoon said.

The team entered and filled the cave. Goodra had to hunch over as she was still too tall, and when she sat down her horns grazed the ceiling. Obstagoon was just short enough to stand. The remaining four had more than enough clearance. The burrow emanated of balmy soil and a pungent scent of stale fur. Some tufts remained along the sides of the den.

"Diggersby and their young lived here," Boltund said as she recognized the pokémon's scent and the grey fur strewn about the burrow floor.

Obstagoon said, "Now gone… they probably couldn't counter the aerial raids. Hopefully the fliers won't notice we're here for one night. We knocked over all the grasses out front, but the wind might cover that for us."

Eevee divested her pack and examined the contents. The salt block had broken, so she took the biggest intact chunks out to dry. Most of the berries had been ruined. They had a lot of oran berries, and even if they were pulp and juice, they would still supplement a pokémon's healing abilities. "Who wants to salvage this?"

"Eevee, you can. You took a lot of damage," Boltund said. "My stuff's a bit damaged and burnt, but mostly everything is fine."

"I'm getting stiff," Eevee said. "All right."

"I have a few sitrus berries," Boltund mentioned. "Who needs some?"

Obstagoon said, "My brother does. He's hardly slept the past two days and we got attacked twice since then. Scrafty?"

The group looked at the pokémon in question who was asleep on the burrow floor. His hood was bunched behind his head and his loose skin covered his chest like it were a blanket. They all turned back to the badger-like pokémon with puzzlement. Obstagoon said, "Well… he's been needing that." She laughed.

"I was going to say he got quiet," Falinks said.

"Wait," Boltund said, her eyes wide. "He's your brother?"

Obstagoon scratched the back of her head. "We didn't tell you that? I thought we did."

Eevee, assuming they were mates, felt her face flush. However, Obstagoon being Scrafty's sister explained their actions just as well. "You must have the same father," Eevee pointed out.

Obstagoon said, "He's a zoroark, and he really got around." She snorted. "His ability to make illusions made him pretty appealing. Since the takeover we don't know where he is."

"As long as he's not with Hydreigon," Goodra said as she reclined against the cavern wall.

"Even my brother's not sure about that. We never knew him too well. We occasionally saw him around, when he hadn't transformed, that was."

"Then how can you be sure he's your father?" Falinks challenged.

Obstagoon rolled her eyes. "Intimate contact makes an illusion impossible to maintain… you'd understand why if you could, well, do it."

The pokémon besides the agender Falinks laughed despite themselves. His eyes narrowed and Eevee witnessed a lack of coordination with his troops. The troops didn't seem to get it and instead looked confused.

"Okay, okay," Obstagoon said, pointing at Scrafty. "I guess we should follow his lead after we get some berries."

"Right," Goodra said. From Boltund and Eevee's packs they procured any berry that would help them heal or assuage their wounds. Eevee took many of her smashed oran berries and ate the pleasant-tasting juice and pulp, feeling her strength rebounding.

"Lend me a sitrus." Obstagoon said. "Scrafty can use one."

"This one's damaged and a bit burnt— is that okay?" Boltund asked.

"Sure, he's not going to eat it."

The jacketed female pokémon pounded the healing berry with her fists. She made a poultice to treat her brother's injuries and aches topically. Eevee recalled Reuniclus doing the same for fainted pokémon, as oran and sitruses' juices could enter through a pokémon's skin in minutes. Thinking about it, Eevee realized the berries soaking into her fur lessened the worst of her injuries. The river had washed some of the stain away, but a faint blue streak remained from the orans' juice.

Boltund served herself rawst berries and a sitrus berry from her fur being burned. The combination of both berries would restore her coat and any superficial burns that she received. After a night's rest, the entire crew would be properly healed, which they needed above all. After tending Scrafty, Obstagoon copied Boltund's treatment. Falinks offered three of his injured troopers oran berries. Goodra insisted she was fine and only needed rest since the mandibuzz she fought landed one measly dark pulse on her.

"I'm so glad you came," Obstagoon said, her usually threatening voice faltering. "We couldn't find any berries lately… and seriously I wanted to tell him we need to leave, but I couldn't bring myself to say it." She shook her head, her eyes glossy with tears. "Thank you again."

"Of course," Goodra said. "We help however we can."

Eevee looked at Obstagoon in a different light. She was sensitive for a dark-type, something Eevee believed to be impossible.

"Then why remain with him?" Falinks asked.

Obstagoon sighed. "I evolved recently. From all the recent fighting it was bound to happen. Scrafty thinks it happened too soon, and he worried I'd do something stupid." She looked at her brother and then at the group. "But don't get the wrong idea. He's always been protective, and since the siblings he's cared for are gone, without them, he feels purposeless. I can't ditch him and leave him alone considering all that he's lost, more than me by far."

She smiled—her first genuine one so far— and said, "Above all, it's great to speak with others who don't attack us."

Obstagoon's initial harshness seemed excused to Eevee. Scrafty still made her nervous, but with him sound asleep, he seemed more benign. Perhaps with his previous injuries healed and a full night's rest his pretentiousness might abate some. Although she couldn't call him bad since she witnessed him protecting Obstagoon and Boltund earlier.

Eevee and Boltund lay down to sleep. The burrow's two entrances became apparent then, as they felt the cooler outside air flow in. Goodra slumped against the cave wall and the brass and his troops huddled together to rest. Obstagoon appeared that she was to remain awake. Eevee realized Scrafty and Obstagoon's different schedules let one take watch while the other slept. However, Obstagoon was going to watch all five this night.


Eevee awoke near dawn. She hadn't recalled dozing off. She felt uncomfortably hot. The heat from the pokémon in the narrow burrow, except cool-blooded Goodra, warmed it up too much. She stretched and got to her feet and skirted past Obstagoon, who was now asleep, and headed to the exit. She saw no sign of Scrafty. She hoped she wouldn't see him until the others awoke.

She left the cavern and parted past the grasses to witness the bright eastern horizon, but during the night a blanket of clouds covered the sky. She discerned the scent of rain on the breeze, and the increased humidity explained why the burrow had felt so uncomfortable. They hadn't been found by a patrol and Eevee wondered if the coming rain put a damper on the patrols' duty to examine their conquered land.

She discovered Scrafty at the top of the bowl-like depression. Near where he stood was a pile of fish. In his hands she recognized an edible plant. She cocked her head in thought. Had he gathered them for everyone?

She began to retrace her steps to elude conversation, but Eevee rustling the grasses caused Scrafty to turn around. He beamed with childlike delight once he saw Eevee. She failed to distinguish it as a smirk or smile and doubted if she could ever tell the difference.

The lizard-like pokémon appeared more alert and healthier than yesterday. He held up several stalks of a long-stemmed plant with yellow flowers and green leaves, but they weren't dandelions. "I've got something for you."

"Wild lettuce?" Eevee asked. It was bitter but she was thankful for his consideration.

"I found some near the bank. I eat this too, you know." He pointed over near the small hole they discovered first. "Yet I've found something you might like better." He started toward the other entrance. His vagueness trapped Eevee as her curiosity got the better of her, and she followed him to see what he found.

He parted the grasses and sorted through weeds to show Eevee several stunted berry bushes hidden among the grass. "I can see why no one took them. They offer no healing properties and most of the flyers like their flesh food."

Eevee's eyes bulged at the find. She spotted a narrow blue berry shooting off from the tips of one the bushes. She found her favorite— kelpsy berries, which she had ran out of on the crags. With them were bluk, pinap, and razz berry bushes. "I'm guessing the former resident grew them," she said.

"Same. They're ours now," he said definitively.

Eevee recalled her old community and their statutes against stealing, but the plains were no community and technically everything here belonged to Hydreigon. She shrugged off the strange feeling and helped herself to the kelpsy berries, which she supplemented with the wild lettuce leaves. Scrafty brought the caught fish into the burrow and Eevee enjoyed her breakfast. She forgotten how much she missed the savory tasting kelpsy berries.

Scrafty returned as Eevee finished the last of her selected fill. The two pokémon plucked the remaining berries from the bushes. Eevee was grateful to keep her paws busy. For several minutes the soft tussling of the grass and leaves from their picking seemed to amplify. Scrafty broke the interlude and broached, "Eevee, I sort of passed out on you yesterday. I didn't mean to."

Eevee's ears twitched. This felt like he referenced just her and not her group again. She didn't want to socialize this early in the morning, especially with this devious pokémon. "You were tired, and I can't blame you." She interrogated, "But, what is it?" She stopped her berry picking. She cringed inwardly as Scrafty might have heard the squeak in her voice.

"Eevee," he said looking her in the eye. Eevee resisted a shudder. It was like he could see right into her. "I noticed that you're not a meat-eater. If you were I bet you would've evolved long before we met."

Eevee took an involuntary step back to gain some distance from him. She broke his gaze, pretending to study the berry bushes. She asked, "Why do you figure?"

"You must be patient. You need to spend valuable time chewing plants and all. Most pokémon just inhale meat, especially if they like it. Yet, certain eevee resonate with elemental stones and can acquire the power to evolve instantly. I think you'd came across one at some point. Right?"

"Several," she said, immediately regretting giving him more bait. She couldn't help it when her nervousness was at play.

"So, there's a reason you're still an eevee, given all this danger. Why?"

Eevee tried to straighten up. She said, "The stones made me feel terrible. I don't regret not evolving. I wanted to wait." She wondered how Scrafty cognized this. Had a pokémon in his gang been an evolution of eevee? Eevee made a mental note to ask him about his old gang and its members.

"Eevee adapt well to their environments." He looked at her with interest. "Eevee, I see how your friends have been stepping over you. I noticed how pissed you were yesterday."

Eevee immediately recalled that power she felt rolling through her, and how Falinks blocked it from being released. Did Scrafty know…?

"You're burning to evolve, aren't you?" he whispered like someone was nearby.

Eevee sat down and put her tail in front of her paws. She felt like an imposter that had been found out. "Yes," she admitted, looking at him. Her apprehension disappeared. "I wanted to crush that salamence!" She stomped one of her forepaws against the ground.

"Atta girl," Scrafty said. "I like your style." His eyes dilated. "So, how about you battle me?"

Eevee's heart sank, and her erect ears faltered. "You? But you're a fighting-type and…" she shook her head.

"All the better," Scrafty said.

Eevee's mind ran a mile per second. She looked at him askance and asked, "What are you machinating?"

"Your evolution." Scrafty said shortly. "Will you battle me? Or will you risk waiting for a dragon again?"

"Can't I just battle Goodra?"

Scrafty chuckled and shook his head. "She's too motherly for you to bat a paw at."

Eevee looked away. He was right about that.

Scrafty said no more as he picked up the plucked berries and put them into the pouch that he made from his loose skin. Eevee watched him blankly, ambivalent of his offer, as he retreated with the berries to the burrow. He whipped his head around and told Eevee, "I'd love to see what you're made of." He disappeared into the den.

Eevee's tail twitched. Scrafty was too strong from his type advantage and he'd decimate her. She recalled his using two moves yesterday, high jump kick and iron tail, two moves that could easily be dodged. She relaxed but he knew more moves and tricks, so she tensed again. She considered how then-Yamper evolved from being overwhelmed by a drednaw. She also witnessed how then-Toxel almost evolved from battling Morgrem. The poison-type ultimately evolved by battling Dragapult, a pokémon of supreme power. Maybe this battle with Scrafty was her best bet. He wouldn't go easy on her, yet her friends would ensure things didn't get out of hand. Yes… this could work in her favor, and it made her tingle with anticipation. Most of all, she was confounded by Scrafty's aid. Her teammates never asked if she was willing to battle them to evolve, but she never prompted the idea either.

Eevee walked back to the burrow and within she saw that everyone but Obstagoon was awake. Falinks and Boltund looked shocked that Scrafty delivered their meal. Goodra expressed her gratitude for his doing so. The fish had been eaten since Scrafty distributed them, as evidenced by their bones and scales piled near Goodra. As Eevee walked toward Boltund, Scrafty said, "I woke up sticky from sitrus, so someone here offered to give me one," he said with a hint of disbelief. "I feel better than I have in days." Eevee got the impression that pokémon he used to hang with took more than they gave. It wasn't too surprising considering his old buddies apparently ditched him. Unlike Obstagoon, he didn't speak his thanks although his actions implied it.

"Oh, Eevee!" Goodra said, waving her arm to greet her. "I didn't see you and got worried."

Scrafty turned and threw Eevee a look. Written on his face were the words, "I told you so."

Eevee smiled and said, "I woke up roasting, so I went outside."

"With the patrols?" Falinks asked. "It's dangerous out there alone."

Eevee shook her head considering Scrafty had been by himself until she left the burrow, but Falinks didn't mention that. Then again, the segmented pokémon secretly hoped something would pick off the rogue. She thought to herself that Falinks's treating her like a child could end soon. She sniggered in spite of herself.

"Eevee?" Boltund asked. "What's so funny?"

Eevee walked up to her companions and stood in front of them. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Scrafty lean in her direction. "I made a decision to battle Scrafty—"

A surge of protests erupted from Falinks and Boltund, but Goodra seemed to appear contemplative. "Why? What's in it for him?" Falinks asked.

"Eevee? What? This is madness!" Boltund burst, throwing an accusing frown at Scrafty.

"Slow down!" she shouted. "He'll get nothing but a beating, and this isn't some nutty idea. I want to evolve!"

The complaints died for a moment. Obstagoon began to shift as the commotion woke her up. Falinks broke the silence and asked, "Why him and not me?"

"He offered," Eevee said.

"Or me?" Boltund asked.

Goodra gave the two complaining pokémon a reprimanding glance and she expressed clearly, "No. It has to be Scrafty." The female dragon nodded at the dark-type in understanding. "You want to do this, Eevee?"

"Absolutely." She turned and looked into Scrafty's eyes. "I'm bursting to begin." Scrafty's face lit up and he offered a competitive smile.

"Now?" Falinks asked, who'd never refuse witnessing a battle.

"If we can," Eevee said, her stomach somersaulting.

Scrafty walked over to the groggy Obstagoon and told her what had excited the team. Once she understood the details of the plot she gaped, her eyes flashing from her brother to Eevee. "So, she'll become—!" she shouted.

Scrafty pressed one of his short fingers against his mouth as a cue for silence. He whispered something into her ear that the others failed to hear. Obstagoon nodded slowly. "I want to see this," the badger-like pokémon said as she rose to her feet. Scrafty offered his sister some of the forged berries to eat.

"We can do it right outside," Scrafty said, addressing all the pokémon. "We won't need to worry about patrols. It's going to pour soon."

"It was cloudless yesterday," Boltund said.

"C'mon out. You'll see."

Scrafty and Eevee led the rest of the pokémon. They exited the little depression and decided to battle right next to it, as it was level terrain without obstructions. Goodra stood by the bowl and so did Boltund. Obstagoon sat on the ground near them, attentive but still fatigued. Falinks stood on Eevee's side of the battlefield like he still wished to protect her. Scrafty stood about fifteen feet opposite from Eevee.

"Everyone in position?" Goodra asked as she looked at the duelists. Eevee and Scrafty concurred. "Begin the battle!" the dragon roared.

"You'll kick his ass, Eevee!" Boltund exclaimed, like she wished to say that for a long time. Obstagoon looked at Boltund and agreed with a snicker.

"You can do it," Falinks said, but with not as much emotion.

"I believe in you, Eevee," Goodra said with an uplifting smile.

"What are you waiting for?" Scrafty asked. "Attack me!"

Eevee was at a loss as to what move she should perform first. She felt that he'd anticipate a drawn-out move and dodge everything. Then again, he wasn't that fast… she concentrated, and she formed clusters of energy and she launched them at Scrafty. The swift attack was valuable to her since it could never miss.

Yet, Scrafty wasn't going to submit to this move. Like yesterday, he flipped his hood over his head and pulled his skin up to absorb most of the damage. He returned his elastic skin to its original position and shrugged the move off, unfazed. He spread his arms out and focused, absorbing dark energy into himself. The energy surrounded him, and he launched himself at Eevee. Eevee tried to dodge but Scrafty moved faster than she thought. Scrafty slammed into her left side and the attack caused her to scream from the pain. She flopped on to the ground, her breath taken away.

"That's payback!" Goodra yelled. "He planned that!"

"What has he not planned?" Falinks asked.

"Stay strong, Eevee!" Boltund said.

Eevee slowly rose and returned to her feet. Scrafty was strong, and she needed to do something about that. She looked at Scrafty, she winked at him, and then blew a kiss. He looked at her with his eyes sparkling, like he'd softened significantly. Eevee took the momentary distraction to allow herself to hurl dirt and grit into his face. This angered him and then he shook his head to remove any lose dirt. He blinked repeatedly.

Eevee charged and she slammed into him, throwing Scrafty back and causing her to receive a headache in kind. Scrafty fell on to his back, and then he got back on his feet. Eevee put a paw to her forehead, as the world was spinning. Her heart palpitated as she felt the beginnings of that power she recalled flowing through her yesterday.

Scrafty jumped into the air and then aimed his right knee in her direction. Scrafty came down suddenly, but Eevee rolled away as planned, which caused Scrafty to groan from the pain as he hit the ground. He tried to get to his feet quickly, but the knee he injured gave out and he collapsed.

Eevee launched a swift attack that he couldn't counter as it was aimed at his back. The attack landed and it hurled Scrafty several feet. He picked himself up from the ground and glared daggers at Eevee. "That's it, you little runt!" he hollered. If anything, seeing his livid face made Eevee feel that unbelievable power increase. She felt ready to burst.

Yet, Scrafty was feeling the same. To Eevee's horror, he surrounded himself with blue energy— draconic energy. It then turned blood red. It encompassed him and she swore his sclerae blazed the same color.

"Eevee needs to act fast," Obstagoon said, who had risen to her feet at some point from the energy of the battle.

"Eevee! Oh my!" Goodra shouted. "That's outrage!"

"I didn't know he can learn dragon-type moves!" Falinks yelled.

"Someone taught him it," Goodra said. "It's very powerful."

"C'mon Eevee!" Boltund barked. "Or we'll need to calm him down!"

Scrafty lunged at Eevee, and he clipped her upper back as she dodged a full-bodied blow. Even still, it hurt her, and she struggled to stand. She screamed as she felt that energy overcome her. Scrafty turned and began to charge at her in a mad frenzy. Eevee then felt the energy within her climax and then her body filled with a sensation of warmth. She appeared transparent briefly before her body became brilliant white.

"Yes!" Goodra exclaimed as she jumped for joy.

"Here it is!" Boltund yelled.

"Oh…" Obstagoon breathed as she gawked.

"But what is she becoming?" the bemused Falinks asked.

Eevee transformed within seconds to respond to the threat before her. Scrafty still radiated a red aura, but whatever energy Eevee emitted seemed to be canceling his. The evolution completed and in Eevee's place stood a cream-colored pokémon with pink extremities. She featured several ribbon-like protrusions which transitioned from pink to blue on the ends. Her eyes appeared pupilless and they matched the same blue as the tips of her ribbons. The pokémon then screeched, which distorted the air with a pink glow and hit Scrafty directly. Upon being stricken, he was blown back like a gale had lifted him.

"Who has she become?" Falinks asked.

Goodra looked at the pink pokémon and warmly said, "Sylveon. She's a fairy-type."

Boltund continued to gape at her friend as she sprang across the pitch to find Scrafty, who remained prone. He struggled but managed to roll on to his back. He wasn't fainted, but his eyes were closed as he clutched his chest, like he was trying to still his heart in vain. He brushed his face with a feeble hand and opened his eyes to see Sylveon. She noticed a flicker of fear in his glance. Sylveon, her tail high and her eyes shining with joy, extended one of her ribbons to him and said, "Thank you."

He hesitated to take it, looking at it like it would slap him. "The battle is over," she said. "We need you not fainted."

His hand shook as he took the ribbon. He rose and looked at her, saying, "That attack… I don't think I can handle a second one. My life might flash before my eyes…."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Sylveon teased. She reconsidered that she did thrust him ten feet in the air to plant his face in the ground. She felt guilty for dismissing his feelings. She asked, "Did I hurt you that much?"

"I don't feel quite right," he said. Scrafty acknowledged his injuries, yet for an unknown reason he didn't sound sure. "Seriously."

To Sylveon he didn't act like his usual self either, but she felt it subtly too. "Then let's get healed. We're both injured."

Scrafty gawked at her, his gaze softening. "Yes," he said breathlessly. "Eve… I mean, Sylveon. You're a sylveon forever. How are you feeling?"

This was uncharacteristic of him, and Sylveon noticed that Scrafty couldn't tear his huge eyes off her. Thankfully, the others behind them ran up to greet the newly evolved pokémon, and Sylveon was thankful for the distraction.

"Whoa, what a sight!" Boltund exclaimed.

"We're so happy for you, Sylveon. Gee, I'm going to have to get used to saying that," Goodra said, her face flush with joy. "Excuse me if I still say Eevee."

"Damn, Scrafty. You got creamed!" Obstagoon hollered. Scrafty responded by falling on his knees to faint.

"Oh… now he's out," Obstagoon said as she caught him. "Again."

"I did something to him," Sylveon confessed. "Did I break him?"

"Your aura is his antithesis," Goodra said, "Even more than mine… and you did him in well with your last attack."

Sylveon gritted her teeth. "It's like I put him under a spell."

"You did. I didn't anticipate this," Obstagoon said as her fainted brother leaned against her.

Scrafty moved slightly, and then turned his head up to greet his sister. He turned around slowly and addressed Sylveon. "Your fighting me… I thought this was how it could happen… you'd be a sylveon and not an espeon." He was exhausted but sounded less dreamy than before. He smirked, showing he was more like his normal self.

Boltund's jaw was open in awe. "We never heard of sylveon… not even Eevee's, I mean, Sylveon's parents mentioned this evolution."

Sylveon narrowed her eyes and asked Scrafty, "You knew this? You knew how to make eevee evolve like this?"

"As a little lad I heard tales about this evolution. I had a feeling I could draw it out of you," Scrafty admitted. "My hunch was right."

Sylveon was about to point a paw at him, but then she realized she could use her ribbons instead. "You little stinker!" She prodded his chest as she got in his face. "I knew you were up to something!"

Scrafty laughed. "Hey, just because I like to create trouble doesn't mean I'd necessarily cause trouble for you. You look very satisfied with the result!" His eyes glossed over again, and Sylveon knew she charmed him once more. "It's true. You're as beautiful as I thought." Boltund and Goodra giggled and then offered Sylveon sultry looks. Before Sylveon could respond, Falinks shoved himself before the newly evolved teammate and gawked at her.

Falinks said, "I never knew of this fairy evolution of eevee, but now…."

"Behold!" Scrafty announced, extending his hands out. He faltered but he corrected himself. "Sylveon, our little dragon slayer!" Obstagoon pulled her brother by his hood away from the allure of the pink pokémon so he could get treatment before he keeled over. The two headed back to the den, with a disgruntled Obstagoon trying to get Scrafty to stop drooling over Sylveon.

Sylveon looked at Goodra. "You knew this too, I'm guessing. I was surprised you agreed to the battle without complaint!"

Goodra tugged at one of her horns as her face flushed. "I feel that he helps out in a roundabout way, and I knew you wanted to evolve, so I wasn't going to stop you. I've noticed you've been apprehensive of dark types. I knew you wouldn't want to be one or even worse, an espeon."

"What's this?" Falinks asked. "Goodra, scheming? Are the dark-types rubbing off on you?"

Goodra laughed and shrugged. The female dragon faced Falinks and said, "She had options, and can only evolve once. She might as well be an evolution she likes."

Boltund walked up to Sylveon and then whispered, "Just like how he fancies you..."

"Who? Scrafty?" Sylveon asked as she watched the pokémon in question dip into the depression with his sister.

"No, Falinks, who's oblivious as a slowpoke. Of course, it's Scrafty, he's the only male among us." Falinks narrowed his eyes and looked offended, as he didn't understand the romantic discussion. If it dealt with anything unrelated to fighting, he was clueless.

"He's under Sylveon's influence," Goodra said as she stifled a chuckle. "I guess the rumor is true that your touch can make the opposite sex fall in love with you."

"Great," Sylveon said, sitting down. "Of all the things I expected on this journey, this wasn't one of them!" She sighed. The morning hadn't even ended yet, and she felt exhausted from everything that happened. "I need some aid, and not near Scrafty, please."

"Aww," Boltund teased. "But he might bring you a bouquet of flowers with a get-well message, and congratulations for evolving."

Sylveon's mouth gaped. "What? Flowers? Absolutely not. He's a hoodlum!"

"C'mon. He could be a nice guy," Boltund joked.

Sylveon huffed as she felt a raindrop hit her above her eye. A few seconds later, another struck her right ear. They needed to return to the burrow soon, and hopefully their subject was cured of infatuation. Sylveon drilled into her head not to touch Scrafty at any cost. She asked, "Can't a berry cure his fascination for me?"

Goodra and Boltund exchanged glances. "Hope his liking you is superficial," Goodra said.

"It better be!" Sylveon exclaimed. She frowned and lowered her voice, looking defeated. More raindrops landed on the pokémon, and the wind started to increase. "And if it isn't?"

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Goodra closed her eyes and shook her head. She declared, "Then all the mental herbs won't work in the entire world."