𝒴
A few minutes after the chase for Eevee began, it came to an end, as Serena and Fennekin spotted their target just around the street corner. Yet, before Serena could rush up ahead to catch her, she paused. Someone had beaten her to it.
"There she is! She's, with someone?"
A large, heavyset man in jogger's clothes stood at the Eevee's side, while the Pokémon rolled on the ground at his feet. It was a bit hard to tell at a distance, but the man seemed to be chuckling quite happily at the adorable package he'd run into.
"Fenn. Fenneeeekin, fenn." Fennekin squinted at the two, a clear furrow in her brow as they watched the Eevee make quick work of the man's defenses. She was rubbing up against his ankles and pawing against the laces of his shoes.
"Yeah, she bounced back quick, huh?" The sudden flip was confusing to Serena at first, especially considering how fast Eevee had run away just a few minutes ago. Maybe… "Eevee looks, happy."
There was an undeniable smile on Eevee's face, as she bit down on the man's laces and pulled them loose, a smile reflected in the man's hearty laugh. Maybe Eevee just needed someone, anyone, she could be friends with, besides that rotten old man. Serena took on a small, sad smile.
"I think we're done here, Fennekin. Let's go."
"Nekin! Fenn!" Glad to hear that, Fennekin turned her head up, ready to walk out of here and return to their planning to face Grant. Yet, before she could move to follow Serena, she noticed something. She almost ignored it, before she sighed and called her partner back.
"Huh? What's up Fennekin?" Serena looked back, looking down the street to the jogger and Eevee again.
Back at the scene, the Eevee stretched her little head back as far as she could, pulling the man's shoelaces tight. With that, she hopped up and leapt away from the man.
"Oh? What's wrong, little one?" The man, confused by the Eevee's sudden behavior, took a step forward to follow— Before immediately falling flat on his face. "Huh!?"
The man's shoelaces, they'd been tied together!
"Eeee! Veeveeveevee!" The Eevee snickered with the same adorable energy she'd put into everything she did, before waving her bushy tail in the jogger's face and running off.
"What the hell!? Get back here!"
Serena looked upon the scene, shocked.
"I don't understand. Why did that Eevee do that?" She put a hand to her mouth, as her mind went back to minutes earlier, to that poor, sad look the Eevee had given her. Her heart broke all over again. "We need to follow her, Fennekin. Come on!"
"Fenn!? Nekin, fenne!" Fennekin, in comparison, was far less charitable. As the two of them rushed after the skedaddling Eevee, she seemed to think they should cut their losses.
"We can't just leave her, Fennekin! She must be so lost and confused after her old trainer kicked her out. No wonder she's acting out like this!"
"Fennekin…" Fennekin grumbled, unconvinced that this was a case of confused behavior.
Cutting across the street, the snickering Eevee approached another scene— a pair of handymen working at a storefront. One stood atop a ladder leaning against a wall, while his partner held the ladder in place. That was, until Eevee entered the picture.
"Huh!? Where'd you come from?" The worker holding the ladder jumped, as the Eevee leapt onto his shoulder and began rubbing against his head. She had a devilishly cute look in her eye and a curious grin on her face, as she got very acquainted with the man's nose and mouth. "You're mighty cute, little one, but— you— Achoo!"
The man sneezed and stumbled back, as the Eevee leapt off him with perfect timing. Coming to a stop, he quickly realized his mistake.
"Oh shoot!"
"Did you just let go of the ladder!?" The worker up above stumbled and shook as the ladder below him slipped back. "Whoa!"
"I've gotcha!" The ground worker tried rushing in, but tripped as the sliding ladder slammed into his shins. With a crash, he fell to the ground, his partner landing on top of him a second later. "Ugh…"
"Veeveevee!" Giggled, the Eevee rolled across the ground, watching the two men try and fail to pick themselves up. Whatever she thought she was doing, she was certainly having fun. "Eee! Veevee!"
Eevee gave the two men a wave before scampering off down the nearby alley. Just then, Serena and Fennekin arrived—
"Sorry! That Eevee probably didn't even know what she was doing! We'll handle it!"
"Fenn!?"
—And then promptly left again, disappearing down the same way. The two men laid there, bewildered.
Back at the chase, the Eevee appeared at the other end of the alleyway, finding a new street to greet her gaze and new people to satiate her attention. She spotted a sideway cafe, with a party of people and pokémon alike sitting down for food— Perfect.
With a giggle and a hop, the Eevee approached the party's table, and leapt onto it without pause.
"Huh!?"
"An Eevee?"
"What's it doing here?"
"Eeeevui!" The Eevee gave a wide grin, before strutting across the table with her head held high. With each step, she walked directly into a plate of food.
"What the—!?"
"Why you little!"
The people were getting angry, while their Pokémon were downright furious. The Eevee's behavior was one thing, but the swagger she carried herself with sent them ballistic. A Pangoro, Granbull, and Primeape instantly jumped the table.
"Eevui! Veeveevee!" Unfortunately, the collected Eevee was too quick for them. She leapt out of the way, allowing the Pokémon to crash into each other and land onto the table. Just like that, brunch had been ruined. "Veeveevee!"
Snickering, Eevee ran off again, as the people screamed after her .
Moments later, Serena and Fennekin ran by.
"Sorry! That Eevee had a bad owner! I'm sure she didn't mean it— Bye!" Serena belted that out in one breath, before speeding up again. They were making gains on the Eevee, but she was just too slippery! "Eevee, slow down! We just wanna talk to you!"
The Eevee glanced back as she turned a corner, pausing for just a moment to stick a tongue out, before rushing off again.
"Huh?"
"Ne!?" The taunt confused and annoyed Serena, and utterly incensed Fennekin. In an instant, she picked up speed, leaving her partner behind.
"Fennekin? What're you doing? Fennekin!" Serena skidded past the corner, following behind both Fennekin and Eevee. Only then did she stop, and realize where Eevee was running towards. "No Eevee! That's not safe!"
Straight ahead was an intersection, two lanes in each direction with plenty of passing cars to fill it up. The lights seemed to be malfunctioning, as in the center, there was an Officer Jenny directing traffic.
Eevee was racing straight ahead, with Fennekin close behind.
"Eevee! Don't! Fennekin—!" Serena groaned and sprinted ahead, meeting up with Fennekin after a second of sustained running. With a jump, she swiped Fennekin off the ground, just before she could run into the street. Eevee, unfortunately, wasn't as fortunate.
Taking a graceful leap, Eevee ran into the center of the intersection, skidding to a stop in front of the on-duty Officer Jenny. The sudden appearance of the adorable Pokémon very quickly confused the officer.
"Huh? An Eevee? What're you doing here?" Officer Jenny turned and indicated to the other two lanes of cars they could proceed, keeping an eye on the surprise Pokémon as she walked around her. "You shouldn't be here. The road is no place for an innocent little thing like you to be playing!"
"I'm sorry Officer Jenny! That Eevee's not been having the best day!" From the sidewalk, Serena called out, grabbing the officer's attention next. "Her owner just abandoned her! I think that's why she's been acting out!"
"Fenn! Nekin!"
"An abandoned Pokémon? Well that's no good! I'm sorry about what happened to you, Eevee, but you need to get somewhere safe!" Turning, Officer Jenny indicated for the other lane of cars to start moving. "Why don't you go with that nice trainer calling out for you?"
Jenny motioned towards a clear path leading back to Serena. Eevee, however, seemed uninterested. She watched car after car pass with rapt attention, until a gap finally occurred. The next car wouldn't be by for a few moments more.
"Hey, what're you— No!"
"Eevee!?"
Without a hint of hesitation, Eevee leapt in front of an oncoming car, forcing Officer Jenny into action.
"Watch out!" She jumped ahead, abandoning her post to grab Eevee off the ground. Try as she did, however, she couldn't jump back fast enough. "Whoa!"
The oncoming driver swerved away, side-swiping another vehicle before narrowly missing the officer and Eevee. It skidded across the intersection, coming to a complete stop right in front of more oncoming traffic. The other drivers tried braking, but they only managed to slow to a low-speed collision.
In an instant, the poor driver was boxed in, his car dented and scraped, as cars on all sides surrounded him.
Serena gasped at the sight of it all— The intersection was in complete chaos!
"Look at what you've done!" The Officer Jenny quickly grew upset with the snickering Eevee in her arms, who seemed to find the minor pile up to be hilarious. "Is this funny to you!?"
"Veevee! Eevui!" With a sudden kick, Eevee bounced out of the Officer Jenny's arms, onto one of the stalled cars. She only paused to shake her tail before rushing off again.
"Darn it! She's going the other way!" Taking a sharp breath, Serena forged ahead, surprising Fennekin as she ran into the stalled traffic. She wasn't gonna lose this yet! "Come on, Fennekin! We've gotta follow her!"
"Fennekin?!" Do we?!
𝒴
"Gotcha!"
After a few more rounds of back and forth across Cyllage City, Serena and Fennekin finally managed to catch up with their mischievous trouble maker, as Eevee ran down a dead-end alley. With a chain link fence blocking access to the next street, she was cornered. The chase was over.
Serena paused for just a moment to catch her breath, spotting Eevee pawing against the fence. Even now, she was looking for a way out. Serena frowned and approached, with Fennekin at her heel.
"Eevee, you need to stop this. You can't mess with people like that!" Her first call came on a bit strong, but with how her frustration had been mounting, it was understandable. That was, until Serena realized Eevee flinched at her raised voice. Then she realized her mistake. "Eevee… I'm sorry. Your old trainer, they must've been really rotten to you, huh?"
Serena came to a stop, as Eevee turned and looked at her. Her eyes were wide and watering, with a distinct quiver to her lip. At that moment, any frustration she had with the precocious trickster melted away.
"What do you say we try again?" Serena knelt down, offering her hand to the cornered Eevee. "I could take you to the Pokémon Center, make sure you're all taken care of."
"Vee? Eevui?" Eevee took a step forward, apprehension in her gait, but still longing in her eyes. Serena resisted the urge to cheer. She was doing it! "Vee, Eevee?"
"Yeah! And maybe, if you'd like, you could come with me! And I could teach you how to behav— Oof!"
"Eeeveevee!" With a sudden pounce, Eevee leapt into Serena's chest, using her as a springboard to launch herself into the air. With the extra assistance, Eevee landed squarely on the upper half of the chain link fence, more than high enough to let her climb the rest herself. She scrambled up a pace or two, before looking back to laugh in Serena's face. "Veeveevee!"
Serena blinked.
"Are, you kidding me!?" Serena stumbled to her feet, her hands clenching as she watched Eevee climb the fence. "Was that all an act?! Were you pretending this whole time?!"
"Fennekin! Fen! Nekin!" Fennekin growled. She knew this Eevee was no good. With a yip, Embers began to pour from her maw— Embers that quickly caught Eevee's attention.
"Eevee? Veevee!" With a grin, Eevee raised her tail, letting red and orange energy grow in her fur. Before Serena could even realize what was happening, Eevee launched a splatter of Embers her way.
Eevee had copied Ember!
"Fen!?"
"Whoa!?" Serena stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the cinders that crashed down at her feet. She was barely out of the direct line of fire then, when she heard snickering.
The Eevee was laughing at her.
Serena furrowed her brow as she watched her climb.
"You know what. Forget it." With a huff of frustration, Serena turned around, surprising both Fennekin and the Eevee with her sudden leave. Fennekin paused only to look back for a moment, before she went to follow along.
For the first time in her rampage throughout the city, the Eevee paused. With her body straddling between one side of the fence and the other, she watched Serena and Fennekin leave her behind, an odd feeling bubbling in her eyes. Was she feeling… remorse?
That was no fun. With a huff, the Eevee pulled herself over the fence, and landed on the other side.
She had enough of humorless sourpusses constantly yelling at her. She could get by just fine on her own.
Eevee huffed and raised her head up high, strutting back onto the streets. Now, time to find some more marks to—
"There it is!"
A pitched, angry cry rang out from down the street, and at it, Eevee froze, stiff as a board. She hated being yelled at. She hated the screaming.
When Eevee turned, She realized there were many more screaming voices to come.
𝒴
"Ugh, I can't believe we wasted all that time."
With their pursuit of the nefarious Eevee at an end, Serena and Fennekin turned their sights back to their original destination— The Pokémon Center. They had a gym battle to plan for, and a shower in their near future. The aura of frustration and sweat was all over the two of them.
"Fenne… Fennekin." Fennekin tried her best to comfort her grumbling trainer in the meantime, rubbing her head against Serena's legs as they walked. As annoyed as she had been through that whole endeavor, she hated seeing her trainer so disillusioned.
"I should've listened to you, Fennekin. That Eevee was nothing but trouble. I can't believe she was such a—" Serena paused, as the old man's ravings from earlier flashed through her mind, the word salaud being at the forefront. She shook her head and sighed. "No, that's not right. I'm thinking like that jerk now. No Pokémon deserves to be called that."
"Nekin, fenn." Fennekin didn't seem to totally agree, turning her head while the two crossed an intersection. Her huffing put a little giggle in Serena's voice.
"You only say that because you've had a good trainer, silly." Reaching down, Serena swept Fennekin off her feet, and held her in her arms as she walked. "I bet if you had someone as mean and rotten as that guy then you'd… act out too."
Serena shook her head, holding Fennekin closer until her frown disappeared.
"Fennekin?" Her partner gazed at her with a worried look, one Serena returned with a smile.
"Sorry, I was just thinking, heh." She pressed her forehead to Fennekin's, before setting her down on the ground again. "Even if she had a bad trainer, it doesn't excuse how she was treating everyone. Especially people trying to help her."
"Neki— Fen. Fennekin?" Bounding ahead, Fennekin asked the one question that was still hanging in Serena's mind— What would happen to that Eevee now?
Serena frowned, before she crossed her arms and huffed.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. In any case, it's not our problem any—"
"There it goes!"
"Get them!"
Serena came to a sudden stop, as pitched, angry cries rang down the street the two were walking. The Pokémon Center stood only a few meters away, but beyond it was a sight that captured Serena's absolute attention— A mob. It was a crowd of angry, marching people, all heading down the same street with the same furrowed expression. With a moment of pause, Serena recognized a few of them.
"Those people at the restaurant… The workers on that ladder… Officer Jenny!" The cause of the crowd's anger quickly became clear to Serena. She gulped. "I think they're going after Eevee."
At first, Serena tried to turn her eyes away, tried looking towards the Pokémon Center, mere meters ahead of her. Yet, it took just one angry scream from the crowd for her to snap back, a look of worry clear in her eyes. Serena sighed.
"Fenn?"
"Darn it. Stupid sense of justice." With that final word, Serena took off running once again. "Come on, Fennekin!"
𝒴
Racing, Eevee's heart was racing. Her chest heaved and her veins ran hot as she sprinted down the road, angry screaming echoing in the air behind her.
Screaming. She hated the screaming. That rotten old man had done nothing but scream, and these people were screaming too.
Everyone was screaming, and now Eevee wanted to, too.
Eevee turned, paws clambering against the cobblestone streets as she looked for a way out. She couldn't stay out in the open, she needed to— she came to a stop, a ledge appearing before she had even noticed it. As far as Eevee could see, there were sandy beaches, with a dozen meter drop between her and the ground below. She couldn't go any further, and turning back—
"There it is!"
—was no longer tenable.
In an instant, Eevee was surrounded by a loud, angry mass of cacophonous screaming. There were no people, no one face she could spot in a crowd, but instead just a collective of fury aimed her way. Anger and screaming. All she ever got was anger and screaming, from everyone she had ever met.
Everyone, except for…
"Stop it! All of you!" A voice, a distinct voice, rang out. It was separate from the crowd, opposed the crowd. A moment of pause then came, when Eevee heard feet skidding across the ground.
"Fenn!"
"Eevui?" Looking up, Eevee was shocked to find Serena and Fennekin standing before her. They'd come back?
Serena grit her teeth, her arms raised as she put herself between Eevee and the rancorous crowd. All at once, the crowd's ire turned to her.
"What are you doing, girl! Get out of the way!"
"No! Can't you see you're scaring her!" Serena glanced back for just a moment, confirming exactly what she had thought. Eevee was trembling, pure terror in her eye unlike anything from before. The look she had given Serena in the alleyway was practically a joke compared to this.
That terror strengthened Serena's resolve even further.
"Scaring her?! Maybe she ought to be scared!" One of the crowd goers screamed, anger ripe in their voice. "Did you see what she did back there!?"
"Yes, I did, but you can't—!" Serena came to a pause as a new face forced its way to the front of the crowd: Officer Jenny. For a moment, it was a point of relief, until Serena saw just how angry even she looked.
"I'm sorry, but that Eevee's rampage through the city needs to be answered for."
"Yeah!"
"How dare it treat us this way!"
"It doesn't just get to run around and cause chaos!"
Serena winced, the crowd's fury laying into her with every word. She wasn't even the main target and it still hurt, because she knew every one of those complaints came from a place of truth. Eevee had caused that chaos. Eevee had mistreated those people.
But that didn't mean this response was the right one.
Officer Jenny broke through Serena's train of thought.
"Ma'am, you need to step aside. Someone has to take responsibility for this Pokémon's bad behavior." At that word, Serena paused. She hesitated, before looking back at the scared, cornered Eevee.
She sighed.
"I'll take responsibility for her."
There was a moment of stark silence in the crowd, centered at Officer Jenny in particular. She shook her head.
"Are you saying you're this Pokémon's trainer?"
"I'm saying, I'll take responsibility for them." Serena stood tall, letting her arms fall to her side as she stared down the crowd. All the while, Fennekin was looking up at her with shock and befuddlement. Serena continued. "I'm sorry for everything Eevee has done. She obviously hasn't had a trainer who can handle her."
At that word, Serena glanced back, giving Eevee a strong, firm look. Yet still, it was free of anger. Serena wasn't angry, just disappointed. Eevee's expression grew with shame.
Officer Jenny eyed Serena with suspicion.
"I don't know, kid. Are you sure you're serious about this? That Eevee is more than just a little handful."
For just a moment, Serena hesitated, clenching her hands into fists. As quickly as that hesitation came, however, it then left.
"I am, ma'am. I promise."
"Well, that's all I needed to hear." With a snap, Officer Jenny faced the crowd, waving her hands and directing people back. "Alright, break it up! The situation is handled! You can all go!"
At her word, the crowd grumbled, before it began to disperse. A few of the townsfolk gave Serena nasty stares, but they soon left all the same. In the end, it was just Serena and the officer.
Jenny gave Serena one last look.
"Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it." With that, she left.
"Thanks." Letting out a sigh, Serena turned, facing the cause of all this chaos— Eevee. Despite the clear paths to run away, she simply stood there, very still. "You've been a real headache today, you know that?"
"Eevee…" Her words cut deep, as Eevee bowed her head in shame.
Shame. Try as Serena might, she couldn't stand for that.
"It's a good thing then, that you're so cute."
"Eevui?"
"Fenn?!"
Serena surprised both Fennekin and Eevee, as she got down on her knees.
"I know your last owner wasn't particularly nice to you," she began, offering a hand forward while she spoke. "And that's probably why you act out so much."
Eevee slowly broke from her curled position, and apprehensively approached.
"So, I promise that as long as you behave yourself, it'll be nothing but affection from me." Serena laid her terms out simply before she gave a smile— A warm, sincere smile. "Okay?"
Eevee looked upon Serena, at her kind words and pure intentions, and smiled.
With a running start, she leapt into Serena's arms.
"Eevui!"
Notes for Pokémon Battling #4: The more Pokémon, the merrier.