I can remember the night my mother told my siblings and I about her troubled past.
"My babies, childhood is supposed to be a precious experience, planting the seeds of hope for the future. However, life is not so kind to simple truths, and wastes no time in beating every speck of hope out of your soul; especially in the childhoods of many. This I found out in one of the hardest ways a child, or anyone at any age can experience; it's sometimes harder to remember.
"When I was an Eevee at your age, living near Oreburgh City, the first part of my childhood was bliss. I was chasing Beautifly across the fields of flowers and drinking sweet creamy Miltank milk while my parents watched, laughed, and hugged me. I thought this would last forever, but it was not to be.
"One day I tried to chase the Beautifly again, but most of them didn't come, and the few who did flew too far and fast for me to keep up. Then I noticed two men wearing gray suits running towards me. Eager to play, I ran towards them as well, only for my father to tackle me. He had tackled me before, but I could tell something was wrong as this one was less playful.
"I saw fear in his eyes and began to worry more. My mother ran towards us both and yelled in a panicked manner, "It's Team Rocket! They're smuggling the Pokemon, run to the forest!"
"I was in shock and horror to think that there were people out there to smuggle us, let alone kill us. My father kicked me to my feet and told me to run while my mother bit one of the men's arm who cursed and threw her to the ground. My father rushed over to her but the other man stomped on him like a blade of grass. I cried out for them, but the sudden pain of electricity entering my body stopped me. The last I saw of my parents were their two tails.
"The sensation of moving and the rattling of cages woke me up, but I saw nothing. When my vision got used to the darkness, I found that I was trapped inside a cage in the back of a moving van alongside other Pokemon, including another Eevee. He looked at me with sorrowful eyes, like he knew something about me that I didn't. I turned and noticed that the lock on my cage was not properly secured, so I used my quick attack to jolt it open. I went to work on freeing the others, starting with the other Eevee. I had finished picking the lock when I fell on the floor as the van bumped along the road, then suddenly, with a lurch it stopped.
"The two Pokemon smugglers walked through the door and scowled. They had heard me making noise.
'You little runt!' One of them said, 'Don't try any funny business! Otherwise, you'll end up like your mommy and daddy.'
"He pulled out two keychains, each one with an Eevee foot attached to them. It was then that I knew my parents were not coming back.
"Instead of cowering, however, I stood filled with a fury I had never known before. The very thought of these people killing and torturing Pokemonm taking them away from my family, just for their selfish needs, filled me with anger.
"In an instant, I was on that man's face, biting and tearing at his flesh. The other smuggler tried to pull me off, but I kicked him down. The first smuggler, bloodied and bruised, slapped me away and reached for his electrical whip from a sack, when he was knocked down by a swift attack. He fell down and other Eevee appeared behind him. We then noticed that the sack the man carried was filled with Evolution Stones. Without hesitation, the other Eevee and I reached for the first ones that fell out, and power surged within us!
"I evolved into a Glaceon while he evolved into a Flareon. Together, we attacked the two smugglers mercilessly. After making sure they wouldn't bother us again, we freed the other Pokemon and ran out to the forests and fields. I took one last look at the van, saying goodbye to my mother and father with tears in my eyes. The Flareon stood by me, and comforted me. He said 'I will always be by your side, I'm here for you.'
"He was as good as his word. Our bond continued to grow stronger since that day. We had happy moments, sad moments, angry moments, but we still loved each other dearly. Years passed, and he proposed marriage to me. You can guess now that the Flareon is your father, Fireball. I'd never known such happiness since my youth, but alas, life is always ready to steal it away.
. . .
"After several years of our marriage, I became pregnant with you, my beautiful eight children. Fireball doted on us like a loving father and husband should always do, foraging for food, rubbing my belly and singing songs to you. We lived in the forest near an old chateau rumored to be haunted by ghosts and ghost Pokemon, meaning that not many people would go near there. We felt safe, until one night there was a loud crash near the chateau. I woke up and saw Fireball running towards me, shouting, 'Crystal, run as far as you can! A Darkrai has come for me!'
'For what purpose!?' I asked, confused and shaken.
'I have no idea, something about a key code, but there's no time, we have to get to safety.'
"We both ran as fast as we could, dodging blast after blast of Darkrai's power raining from above. The only way out of this situation was through the Oreburgh Gate. Finally, we arrived at the Gate, but Darkrai had used one of his shadow balls to block most of the entrance, leaving only a small gap. Suddenly, Fireball pushed me into the gap, which then closed.
'Fireball, what are you doing!?' I asked.
'It's me that Darkrai wants Crystal, I can't let you or the children get hurt!'
'But what about you!?' I shrieked.
'I'll do my best to hold him off. You get to safety!'
'B-but, you'll die, I can't lose you, I can't lose anyone else again!'
'Crystal, please, I love you so much, you won't lose me, no matter what happens to any of us, we will never be apart, please may you and the babies live a beautiful life, so that I may look down from the heavens and smile upon you and all of our children! CRYSTAL, I LOVE YOU!'
"With that, a loud boom was heard outside, and I was blown back to the farthest end of the mine, blacking out.
"I woke up in a Pokemon Center, surrounded by Nurse Joy and two hikers.
I could hear Nurse Joy say, 'She's doing better, but that landslide really took a toll on her. It's lucky that all eight of her babies are okay.'
'Thank goodness for that, but it's still a terrible thing to happen, especially to a mother.' the female hiker said.
'That Flareon was a hero, it's all so heartbreaking.' The male hiker said.
"Tears filled my eyes as I knew what that meant.
. . .
"Over the next several days, I was nursed back to health physically, but emotionally I was broken. I still ate and drank for you babies, but I felt guilty and grief stricken. The hiking couple visited me every day to check up on me. I gradually began to open up to them as they understood my grief, even crying with me. One day they brought a small baby girl with them. She was shy at first, but soon petted my belly and giggled when I sneezed little ice crystals. Months passed and we grew closer, becoming a family. I shared many moments with them, as they helped me process my grief for Fireball, and helped me appreciate simple pleasures again.
"Over one year had passed, and I made a decision. I allowed the family to catch me and bring me to their ranch home, where we live now. Two months later, eight more miracles happened, you all came into this world.
"I know this story was hard to hear, even harder to talk about. Life is always filled with hardships and pain, some worse than others, and you will feel defeated. However, this story was not supposed to leave you hopeless or thinking that life isn't worth living because of the suffering. The story shows us that we must carry a spark of hope within ourselves, no matter how dark it gets. Being consumed by terrible events and actions will lead you down a destructive path and hurt you even more. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so we must cherish the happiest and most important moments as sparks of hope living within us. We will feel sad, afraid, and angry, but that doesn't mean the spark of hope will fade away; if anything hope will get stronger because of these emotions. It'll only fade away when you've given up and let it consume you.
"I've suffered much in those two tragic events, but like Fireball told me, he's always with me, no matter what. Do not let the bad consume the good you have, that way you can shine. We love all eight of you, no matter what. If you remember anything we've taught you from stories, it is that no matter how bad things get, there will be good. Do not let yourself be corrupted by the bad, but rather be redeemed by the goodness that is within and around you."
With that, she kissed us all one by one, and put us to bed.
Since that night, those last words have stayed with me. I had not understood the message at the time, I would do so at a later time.
