(Not proofread or edited yet)
ZoraZora broke away from her babysitters the moment they came within sight of the Castle. She had her eyes closed, mouth locked in a frustrated snarl; Incultyr and Crown had just taken her and Zoey to the Hospital. Their mother was out cold, and their father didn't even recognize them. Just the sight of them in that state, so different from their normal, confident selves...it was unnerving to see them so broken.
She ignored the shouting of the members of Team Polaris, her brother's whining. She heard a flapping noise behind her and held her breath, discharging all the electricity in her fur. She heard Crown cry out, and Zora disappeared in a cloud of shadows just as a mass of stun spore descended where she was moments ago. An instant later she reappeared several meters ahead, and the eevee dashed into the Main Hall of the Palace.
"Damned kid's quick." Incultyr mumbled, hurrying forward to Crown, who was twitching on the ground, electricity arcing from her wings. By the time he got to her, she was back to her feet, shaking slightly from the ordeal.
"Are you OK Crown?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern." The Butterfree murmured. Beside them Zoey whined, the Glaceon-like Manectric staring longingly after his sister. Incultyr reached up to pat him on the shoulder. He never got along well with kids, but he owed his partner's siblings this. "Stay with us Zoey, your sister needs some time alone."
---
Zora pushed the door to their room open with her head, padding in. She and Zoey had been staying with Team Polaris the last few days, so it was nice to smell home again. This was where she was hatched and raised. The scent of her family hung thick in the air, as well as the smell of old blood. Zora whined a bit as she bent down to sniff the floor. Auntie Anna was injured as well, so she couldn't take them hunting; Zora hated eating the prey food that Team Polaris had. She longed for fresh meat.
Zora made her way to her father's explorer's pack and slipped her head through the straps, stepping through so that it hung about her the way it did on Zero. If she was as big as her father anyways; though she was large for an eevee, the bag was way too big for her and dragged along the ground as she left the room.
Her brother needs her in their time of need, this time of trials where their parents were not here to take care of them. He was evolved, and three times her size; that's something she needs to fix. Once she evolves, she can go hunting better on her own and with her brother, and she'll take care of him as their parents recover. Because they will recover, they just have to.
She needed to evolve.
The small green Eevee rushed back out of her Team room, leaving the door wide open behind her as she raced down the hallway. She ignored the other Guilders, forcing them to jump out of her way, ignoring them as they yelled indignantly at her back. She skidded back into the main hall, and then out into the open streets.
Her bag bounced crazily against the ground, the flap barely held closed by its magnetic clasp. People looked at her curiously as she passed, for she was obviously very young, but she gave none of them a second glance. After more than fifteen minutes of running straight-out, Zora skidded to a stop before a store she recognized, panting heavily for breath. The Eevee pushed the door open with a paw and bounded in, shoving aside other shoppers, pushing her way to the evolutionary stones counter.
Zora stared through the glass to see the few stones on display; a a red one with the image of a flickering fire at its heart, a white grey rock with frost clinging to its edge, and a light yellow stone with an immense light shining out of its core. Most of the spots for evolutionary stones were empty.
"G'day, how can I help you today young miss?" Someone said to her right behind the counter and she leaped back in a start, crouched and growling. She looked up to see the face of a Purple Pokemon just over the Counter. It was ugly, with yellow fins. He looked rather taken aback at her response. "Are you doin' OK there?"
Zora shook her head, relaxing and closing her mouth so she was no longer baring her razor-sharp teeth.
"Want to...evolve." Zora mumbled, staring at each stone in turn. She didn't know what would do what to her. The Kecleon nodded, more than used to seeing very young Pokemon deciding to force their evolution. The Guild was full of children after all, and many of them make the choice so they would have a much better chance at surviving the life of an explorer.
"Well then, do you know what you want a' evolve inta? Eevees have quite a spectrum of choice in t'matter." The Kecleon asked, and Zora shook her head. She wasn't entirely sure what she could evolve into.
"Evolve like daddy." She finally said. The Kecleon waited for more, but that was all he was getting out of Zora. He could only assumed that she wanted the same evolution as her father, whoever he was.
"I see, your father was t'eeveelution then? What was your father's evolution?"
Zora shrugged. She honestly didn't know what her father was in terms of species. She only knew that he was some form of Eevee like her.
"What's his name, and what'sis team then? I might know 'im." He was starting to lose his patience, but selling an evolutionary stone is worth it. Zora thought about this for a moment before answering: "Zero Absolute Indignation."
All three words slurred together into one as she struggled to pronounce them and say them before she forgot. The Kecleon blinked, recognizing the name once he deciphered Zora's speaking.
"Absolute Indignation? Interestin', I heard that they had children but I never confirmed the rumours...well, so you want a' evolve into a Glaceon then? Just like your dad?"
Zora nodded. She really didn't care what right now, as long as she became bigger and stronger. The Kecleon pointed to the gray stone covered in frost.
"You're in luck, this here is t'Frozen Stone you'll need. We're rather short on stones at t'moment but we still have a few of these left. That'll be 3000 PD then kid." The Kecleon sighed when he saw the kid staring at him blankly. "PD kid, Pokedollars. Money. You t'pay to get the stone."
Zora wiggled her way out of her bag's strap and pushed it up against the counter. The Kecleon sighed again, and hopped over the counter. He leaned over the bag, unclasped it, and looked inside. There was an exploration badge, a deep purple ribbon he didn't recognize, a sticker-covered ball that looked disturbingly like a Pokeball, and...a bag of 500 PD. He shook his head; he should have seen this coming.
"Sorry kid, but you don't have enough." He handed the bag back to Zora, and hopped back over the counter to deal with other customers. Zora growled, leaping up onto the counter after him.
"Stone! Evolve!" She insisted, pawing at the Purple Kecleon. He turned angrily, picked her up, and dropped her back to the ground.
"Stay off t'counter and scram kid. I have business ta do here." He scolded her, and then turned back to a hopeful-looking Pikachu. Zora sat on the ground, staring daggers at the Kecleon the entire time.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't have Thunderstones in stock. We're expectin' a shipment soon but it 'aint here yet. Please try again in a few days." He told the Pikachu, who replied something angrily, and then turned and left. The Kecleon mumbled angrily to himself as he turned, and then swore when he saw Zora still there.
"You're still here you little-!" The Kecleon stopped, sighed, spun around, grabbing something from a box in the back and then furiously scribbling on a sheet of paper. He handed the paper to Zora.
"Kid, get this mission to the Guild for us, and you can ask your parents for the PD when you're there." He told her, and then tossed her a white gummi. She jumped out of the way of the candy, watching it suspiciously as it landed on the ground and bounced once before settling.
"That's payment for delivering the mission kid." He explained. She sniffed it, and it smelled pretty good, so she snapped it up, before turning back to the Kecleon. She held the paper he gave her up, pressing it against the glass with her front paws.
"Read!" she demanded, wanting to know exactly what was on the paper. It's not like she's ever learned to read. The Kecleon rolled his eyes, just about at the end of his patience.
"Shipment of Evolution Stone was suppose a' come in two days ago, but it 'aint here. We want'a send a team in ter find out what's been happening. We lost contact a'fer they went into that damned rainforest." He explained, then paused, thinking.
"How 'bout this kid, go take it to your parents. I know they 'aint the ones a' take missions, but tell 'em if they help us we'll throw a free evolution kit for their kid." Zora took a moment to digest all this, and then looked up at the Kecleon hard.
"I take mission." And with that she spun around and dashed out the door. Free evolution items sounded nice.
"You what-? Oh sh- HEY! Kid! Get back here! It's danger...ous...aw hell."
---
Zora stepped into the building called the Battle Emporium, staring at her reflection in the shiny walls. She padded up to the reflective surface, examining it curiously until a voice broke her focus. It came from deep unnatural shadows in the back of the shop.
"After purchasing anything, just leave the money in the jar." It rasped. Zora went over to the counter, examining the jar up on the glass counter. She slipped out of her father's bag and pulled out the small bag of PD with her teeth, swinging her head to toss it up above, before grabbing her bag again and looking around. Her parents have told her that you needed to prepare by taking necessary items with you on a mission, and this seemed as good of a place as any to get some.
Zora headed to boxes stacked against the wall, each filled with differently coloured orbs. The boxes were labelled, but since she couldn't read it was a moot point. The eevee padded over to the boxes, grabbed three orbs out of the first box, and then proceeded to go fish an orb out of each adjacent box, putting them in her bag. When she finally rolled her tenth one out of a box with a paw, and headed for another, the voice sounded again from the shadows.
"Enough. If you are to purchase more, you must pay more." Zora stared at the yellow orb she was pulling out, its centre shining a brilliant white light and allowed it roll back into the box along with the others. What she got should be enough, right...?
Picking up her now-heavier backpack, she bounded out the door as the explorer's bag dragged along the ground behind her...
---
Zora's been to the Misty Jungle before. Her parents had been working on taking her and her brother to all of the major ecological areas in the region, and while they haven't covered nearly all of them, they had taken the two kids to the Rainforest for a week-long stay, during which they learned the simple ins and out of the difficult terrain. The trip to the forest was uneventful. The large major road that connected the Central Territory to the Eastern Territory was full of various Pokemon. The traffic had been steadily increasing after the outbreak of Algenders ended, and it was a busy bustling street now. She hitched a ride on the waggon of a family of Milktank and Tauros who were headed to the Morning Sun Guild, which cut down on her travel time greatly.
"Take care Zora!" Hillary, the Milktank, waved to her as she hopped down from the waggon onto the side of the road. The Eevee nodded curtly to her as the Milktank got back onto the wagon pulled by a team of Rapidash and continued to roll down the street.
Zora looked up above her, at the canopy dozens of meters above her. Screeches and calls came from up above and all around, the sound of an uncountable diversity of life. The rainforest was one of the richest ecosystems in the world, and to Zora, that meant plenty of prey and plenty of predators. She'll have to watch herself.
The major road winded next to a large, slow-moving shallow river. An old and broken bridge spanned this, no more than several planks of wood with corroded ropes as handrails. It was sturdy though, and she made her way to the bridge, crossing as her bag bounced along behind her.
She mentally went through her objective: find the Kecleon Store's caravan. She wasn't exactly sure what they look like, or what form it would take, but she assumed they would be on the trail. Why would you not be on the trail when you're trying to move through the damned rainforest?
The "trail" was no more than a narrow strip of worn ground winding between the enormous trunks of the trees, no more than three feet across at its widest, not even visible at times. Zora trekked through the mud, static building up in her fur from the moisture in the air. It was cloudy up above, making the forest floor extremely dark and dim-lit. Even when the sun is fully out, barely any light reaches the floor at all.
Zora followed this trail, sniffing it for the faint scent of all the other Pokemon who have used it before to keep on track when sight alone failed her. She passed many Pokemon along the way, many of them scurrying away. She bumped into one Vileplume, but the grass-type was non-hostile and helped direct her back onto the trail she had strayed from.
It was getting darker at an alarmingly fast rate. She had come here quite late, and the rainforest isn't exactly small. Her pace was slowed by the fact she was dragging her bag behind her as she walked, and it often snagged on roots and rocks, forcing her to stop and work it free. She ran into no encounters the entire way, which is surprising for an Eevee leaving such an easily followed trail.
It didn't rain that day, and by the time it grew completely dark the sky actually cleared up; she caught glimpses of the moon through a small opening up in the canopy now and then. Zora stopped her trip then, glancing around for a place to stay the night. At the base of some trees, Pokemon dig out the soil to form a protective burrow. Now all she has to do is to find one of those.
Zora carefully marked where she was on the trail and began to walk out in ever-increasing circles around that point. It was important for her to not lose the trail, or it would be almost impossible to find her way back home. She nosed her way through the thick vegetation, sniffing for the scent of other Pokemon.
An hour later she froze, sniffing the air, and then lowered her head to examine the ground. She recognized the scent, and the image of an ugly blue frog popped into her mind. Her parents had shown her a Croagunk and Toxicroak the last time they came here, and had also taught her which areas on their body were safe to eat.
The small Eevee's stomach growled at the thought, and she slowly began to inch forward, patiently following the scent one careful step at a time. She carefully made her way around a large, deep pool of mud; she could smell the thick scent of decay and a previous bad experience with these kind of mud traps made sure she kept well away from it.
Her ears pricked slightly as she caught a strange, repeating sound, a sound she very quickly identified as croaking. Straining her hearing, she could pick out about three separate Pokemon, one whose sound was much deeper than the other two. That meant there was one Toxicroak amongst them.
Zora considered her options; she knew that she was weak against the fighting types, and their poison is nasty to deal with. She was also outnumbered and outsized...
Hell, let's do this! The Eevee quietly slipped out of her bag to lessen her encumbrance, and silently stalked forward, pushing aside plants soundlessly. Moments later the area before her cleared and opened up to the sight of two Croagunk sleeping soundly by a tree. A large hole opened up amongst the tree's roots, slipping into shadows, where the sound of deeper croaking reached her. Perfect; a meal and a place to stay for the night.
Thinking back to her lessons for fighting enemies much larger than herself, Zora quietly approached the two Croagunk. She had to kill the two of them fast, efficiently, and without a sound. The eevee vanished into the shadows of the night.
The first Croagunk jerked awake when darkness itself engulfed him. He cried out for only a fraction of a second before a claw sliced cleanly through his throat. He thrashed and flailed, dying on the ground as the darkness zoomed away in a blur to engulf the second Croagunk.
This one woke the moment he heard his companion's cry, and turned to see the shadows approaching. He braced himself, and as he felt something go for his throat, struck out with a sharp, precise strike with his arm, slamming whatever was attacking him aside.
Zora landed with a sharp yell as she slammed against the ground. She had not expected the Croagunk's reaction to be so fast. Zora was always confident in his fighting abilities; her parents often praised her for it, and she has never lost a fight before. But those were all against single prey under her parent's supervision! She has never fared against a trained Pokemon before.
Staggering back to her feet, Zora snarled at the Groagunk before merging back into the shadow in a flash. The Croagunk got to his feet, looking around warily.
"Crooooaaaaaa!" He cried, a sharp, splitting sound that cut through the air. Though it would not travel far in the thick vegetation of the rainforest, it would surely bring other Pokemon nearby to this location.
Zora rushed in once more, but the wary Croagunk kept his eyes on the shadows for the slightest movement, and suddenly turned, jabbing his arm sideways, slamming into his attacker. Zora yelped as she felt the powerful jab glance her belly, piercing skin, even as her momentum crashed her into the Croagunk's head. Both of them flew back from the force.
"Croooootoxiiiii...." A deep menacing voice loomed above them as they crashed, and Zora felt large, strong hands clasp around her midsection. She squirmed, trying to break free of this hold, knowing it to be the Toxicroak. Much bigger than her, the Poison-type simply held her up before his eyes as the Eevee struggled to regain her composure.
"Croooaaa!" It snarled angrily at her, bringing her close to his face. She squirmed, holding back a scream as he tightened his grasp, driving his sharp middle finger into her side. The finger bulged as poison ran through it.
She snarled, shaking her head to deny the pain, and then closed her eyes, bringing forth all the static electricity she had managed to store in her fur. Bright sparks lit the air, some hurting the Toxicroak, but most of the result came from the blinding flash. The Poison Type cried in surprise -for who expected an Eevee to burst into lightning?- and dropped Zora, who promptly melted back into the shadows.
She could feel her heart racing as she carefully retreated back into the safety of darkness. The Poison types looked around carefully for her, but she was quickly gone, leaving them to tend to their dying companion. The Eevee came out of the shadows only long enough to snatch her bag. Keeping to the shadows like the legendary Girantina took much of her energy, but it was far preferable to fighting those Pokemon again. Her side burned, flaring with pain at twitch of her muscles. She grimaced at the thought of the poison coursing through her system.
A few hundred meters down the trail, an explosion of shadow revealed her, too tired to hold herself in the darkness any longer. Gasping for breath, the Eevee laid down on the trail, ignoring the mud that seeped into her fur from the ground as she licked her wounds. She understood that she was in trouble, but she shook away the thought and got back to her feet.
She can't just stay here, out in the open; she was too vulnerable to predators, especially in her current state. She whispered a quick prayer to Arceus -her father had told her that some Eevees can ask of healing miracles from the Original One and receive it- and continued down the road. If perhaps she could find a suitable tree to climb...
Half an hour later, she could barely walk. An unearthed root tripped her and Zora fell where she was, groaning lightly from the pain. She struggled back to her feet, but knew that she could go no farther. The Eevee dragged herself to the base of the tree. She placed her bag between two great root, nestled protectively between its firm wood, and the Eevee crawled into the bag for protection, curling up and going to sleep.
---
She slept very lightly. Her ears pricked at the sound of Pokemon walking through the thick mud, a small squelch sound with every step. Zora froze, trying to identify the size and nature of her opponent without giving herself away. She was very weak now, her entire side feeling oddly numb.
"Is this where you saw it dear?" Zora heard someone ask, a female voice, lacking the usual accent of wild Pokemon. It sounded gentle, kind...
"Yes mommy! Look, it's right there!" Came a second, higher pitched voice, this one that of a young boy. It sounded excited, and Zora's eyes opened in horror as she heard them approach her. Gathering her strength, the eevee waited until they got closer...and closer...and paused...
Zora sprang out of the bag, fire leaking out of her mouth. But not everything worked as she planned; her hind legs would not respond. Instead of flying out right into whatever was getting too close for comfort, she flopped pitifully out of her father's bag, her front paws sinking in to a thick layer of moss.
"AHHH!" The small, high-pitched voice screamed.
"Hush Verte! Oh dear, I think she's hurt." The female voice chimed in, and Zora struggled to get to her feet as a Roselia approached. Zora looked up at the grass-type, baring her teeth as a warning for her to stay back. The Roselia stopped, watching her cautiously, and then examined the bag she was sleeping in.
"Oh dear, an exploration team. Did you come from the Rebirth, Sun, or Morning Star? Ah, I guess this isn't the time to figure that out. What's wrong with you dear?" She asked, genuine concern in her voice. Zora's head slumped in exhaustion, her ears dropped by her head.
"Croagunk...Toxicroak..." She mumbled, and the Roselia's eyes opened wide.
"Oh dear, oh dear, that's not good! Nasty poison they have, they do." She exclaimed, taking a step further but stopping when Zora perked her head up again, snarling. The Eevee wasn't very trusting.
The Roselia looked at her, a very concerned expression on her face. She looked down to -presumably- her son.
"Stay back Verte, let me handle this." She told the small grass-type. The Budew nodded fearfully, hopping back and onto a thick patch of moss several meters away.
The Roselia turned her attention back to Zora, who was trying to drag herself out of the bag by her front claws. It wasn't working very well, as there was nothing to hold onto but thick moss and they broke as she tried to drag her weight by them.
A burst of scent radiated out from the Roselia, a sweet, calming scent that washed over the Eevee. Zora growled, fighting it as it assaulted her senses, luring her to some better state of mind, somewhere calmer, more rational...
The Eevee snarled, shaking her head furiously, her eyes locked on the Roselia.
"Calm down little one. I'll take care of you." She reassured her, and waved a flower-tipped hand. A cloud of spores puffed out, falling over Zora. She defiantly held her breath, recognizing the sleep powder. The Roselia sighed at this, and closed her eyes, beginning to whistle gently. A combination of all three attacks began to gradually wear down Zora's defence, until her head finally fell down to rest against her outstretched forelegs, the last of the fire escaping between her teeth.
---
Zora's eyes flickered open, and she carefully scanned her surroundings. Strong vines wrapped themselves around her body, holding her down to the dirt floor. She was in a small round room, the walls made of wood and dried leaves. There were large jars and boxes around the room, each smelling strongly of dried herbs. She sneezed at the smell, and then shuddered at the pain that shot down her body.
She twisted her head as far as the vines allowed her to and she saw her body sprawled on the ground, her belly bandaged and a thick paste covering much of her fur. The blood and mud were no longer there, having been washed clean. She closed her eyes, trying to sink into the darkness to escape her bonds. Some shadows along the edges of the hut twitched, creeping towards her, but she knew she could not escape that way. The vines, so close to her, would be taken with her, still locking her to the same space.
Sighing, she relaxed her muscles, testing each vine individually. they were tight, but not painfully so, and very strong. She couldn't break them, unless if she could line up an attack with them...fire began leaking out of her mouth as she started her struggled to turn her head enough to clamp down on one of the vines.
Moments later, a door to the room opened, and in strode a Roserade. She frowned when she saw Zora attempting to break free.
"Stop that." She commanded sharply. Zora turned to regard her, anger in her eyes.
"Let go!" Zora snarled, and then yelped as she felt the vines tightening about her.
"They can grow thorns I assure you." The Roserade threatened, her voice cold. Another voice sounded behind her;
"Calm down mother, she's only just a child." A voice called from behind the Roserade, and the Roselia from earlier walked in to stand by Marge's side. The Roserade snorted.
"You're too soft Seia, you can't just bring in every injured Pokemon in the damned Jungle!"
"But mother! She can't be more than a few months old! And she's here as an exploration Team member; they do their best to help those in need. Or are you so quick to forget?" The Roselia huffed, turning to face her mother. The older Roserade glared at her daughter, then suddenly turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The Roselia sighed and turned sadly to Zora.
"I'm sorry about that." She sighed, and walked over to the Eevee who followed her every move carefully, muscles tensed and ready to spring. With a wave of her hand, the vines lightened their grip around the Eevee, and she turned to reach into one of the jars for something.
"You still have some of the poison, but we've managed to get most of it out or neutralized. You're lucky our village has such skilled healers like my mom. She's grumpy, but she's a good person at heart." The Roselia explained as she scooped up a handful of berries. Zora, on the mean hand, barely listened to her, keeping her attention on the loosening grip of the vines. Just a little more...a little more...
Fire flared at the back of her throat as Zora suddenly snapped her jaws down on one of the green tendrils, snapping it in half. The broken ends shrivelled black, shrinking back into the earth as if trying to find a place to hide. The Roselia turned around in surprise just in time to see the Eevee fly towards her face; and then watched as the green-and-blue blur was knocked right out of the air and into the wall. The small Pokemon yelped sharply- and then suddenly vanished into a cloud of darkness!
In the doorway stood Seia's mother, the one who had thrown the Weather Ball attack. The experienced Grass-Type closed the door behind her, eyes scanning the shadows.
"Damned Exploration Teams and their access to TMs..." The old Roserade mumbled, eyes darting from one dark corner to another. Seia was frozen in place in fear. The Roserade suddenly reacted, pointing one rose-tipped arm at one of the jars of berries, and a bright beam of light erupted from it. The Shadow disappeared, revealing a dark, blacker shadow that seemed to be...moving? A barrage of Magical Leaf flew at the shadow and as they hit the darkness dispersed in a cloud of smoke.
A green and yellow Eevee darted out of it, growling and snarling. Vines erupted from the ground around her, wrapping around her mid-section and pulled her down to the ground before she could react. With a cry of surprise she fell down, belly tight against the ground. Zora did everything she could to break free, but the old Roserade was strong in her control of the plant. The Roserade looked livid.
"Try and attack my family will you? Especially after everything Seia has done for you you little-!" Her sentenced ended with a yelp of pain from the Eevee; thorns were sprouting from the edge of the vines.
"No! Stop!" They stopped growing suddenly, Seia doing her best to hold them back. "Please, don't. She's young, she doesn't understand. She's probably just scared."
The Roserade turned to her daughter with fury.
"Then why is the damned thing in an Exploration Team? I want her out! Out of the village completely! Take her away from here or kill the thing, I don't care anymore! She will be far from here by sundown, and we are to never see this Eevee near our village again, on pain of death!" The Roserade waved a hand, a stream of yellow powder engulfing Zora. The Eevee growled in defiance, holding her breath, but before long she had to breathe and the powerful stun spore quickly began taking effect. The Roserade turned and left, the vines loosening their grip.
Seia stared at the Roserade's back sadly, fighting back tears.
"Oh, why didn't you just behave...? You're still hurt, and I can't just leave you out in the rainforest by yourself..." The Roselia sighed, bending down to pick up the limp Eevee, cradling her like a baby. "Come on little one, let's see if I can get you somewhere safe. The Guild of the Morning Star will take you in, whatever guild you're from."
---
Seia sent her son to a friend to take care of, stuffed a backpack with supplies, and created a rough harness for Zora with vines. By the end of the day she was prepared to carry the Eevee all the way to the Guild by herself. Her mother was not happy about her decision though.
"You fool. You risk your life for nothing."
"I risk my life for another life. By being in an Exploration Team she does this for all of us. It is the least I can do in return."
The Roserade snorted and turned, walking away.
"This is about that damned Breloom again isn't it? That idiot dragged you into danger and then got himself killed. And left you with a child no less! Why do you insist on remembering that failure?" The Roserade snarled as she walked away. Seia stood on the spot, looking hurt, and then down to her feet.
"He's not...He saved me...." She whispered. In the kiddie harness of vine on her back, Zora twitched, fighting off the lingering effects of the Stun Spore. Seia sighed, closing her eyes and whistling a soft tune. Zora fought it for only a moment, before allowing herself to be lulled to sleep.
---
"Wake up little one. Hello?" Zora was dragged back into the realm of consciousness by a soft, motherly voice. She stared up at the face of Seia, taking stock of the situation. She herself was curled up on a worn leather bag, and the Roselia was kneeled over her. Zora immediately began her usual behaviour, lips curling up to show her sharp teeth, but Seia scowled and put her roses up to her lips.
"Shhh, don't. Little one, I'm not an enemy, you have to work with me here. You are hurt, and you will die here on your own, understood?"
Zora considered these words for a moment, flipping through her memory. That Roserade had been scary and had hurt her, but this grass-type had defended her. The Eevee closed her mouth, but continued to glare at the Roselia.
"We can move faster if you can walk, but I need you to work with me. I know my way through this forest, and I'm assuming you do not, being so young. I will lead you to safety, I promise." She whispered to Zora, and the Eevee slowly nodded.
"Good. Now, it is late and we need to find somewhere safe for the night." The Roselia stood up, and watched as Zora slowly got to her feet, testing her ability to walk with the bandages wrapped around her midsection. It restricted her movement somewhat, but it didn't hurt. She was pretty well off, except for one thing...
"Hungry!" She declared. 'Hungry' was an understatement; she's barely eaten anything for two days. The Roselia nodded, having expected this, and reached for her bag, which Zora promptly hopped off of. She pulled out a bag of berries, offering it to the Eevee. Zora sniffed it, wrinkling her nose -she hated berries- but gobbled them down anyways. Like I said, she was hungry.
While she was demolishing the pile of Oran Berries, Seia put her backpack back on and stared up at the sky, estimating the time. What was visible of the sky through the thick canopy was a rich orange and red colour.
"We only have about half an hour until sundown. We need shelter in case it rains again tonight." Seia told her young companion, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "If we follow the trail north-east, we should arrive at the Guild the day after tomorrow, somewhere around midday."
Zora growled, scratching at the trail. "No Star. Sun." The Eevee declared. "No go back. Mission. Evolve."
It took Seia a few moments to understand what the young Eevee was trying to say, and she only got part of it.
"I see, so you're from the Sun Guild? And what is the mission you were here to complete?" She asked patiently, in a tone she would use for her own son.
"Find Evolution Stones! Kecleon Store wants! They did not come!"
It was more than frustrating sometimes to deal with a child that could barely speak. Seia sifted through the Eevee's words, finally understanding that "they" referred to the stones and not the Kecleon Store. So it seems that a shipment of Evolutionary Stones got...?
Seia blinked in surprise, suddenly looking down at the Eevee.
"Little one, I think I know where your Evolutionary Stones are." She started slowly. "Some of our younger members were out gathering food when they found the wreckage of a Caravan. There were quite a few stones in there..." Woops. Her Village had dug out all of the Shiny Stones from the bags of stones in the caravan. There had been many evolutions in the village over the past few days.
Zora stared up at Seia expectantly, ears prickling, her eyes demanding that the older Pokemon lead her to this place. Seia sighed, and nodded.
"It might be a good place to stay the night anyways." The Roselia adjusted her bag and headed down the trail, motioning for Zora to follow. The eevee bounded after her right away, ignoring the way her bandages rubbed against her fur, the edges uncomfortably itchy.
The trail, so near the Roselia village, was more well-used. It was worn and slightly wider, allowing the two unlikely companions to travel side-by-side. It was also covered in water and mud, which both Pokemon had some difficulty walking through, causing them to walk by the trail more often than on.
As Zora kept an eye out for danger, Seia talked, just for the sake of talking. She explained life in the village, her mother, her role as a healer-in-training, her friends, their way of life...and though Zora wasn't exactly the best audience, at least the quiet Eevee never interrupted.
"Oh dear, I just realized I have never caught your name. Would you be so kind as to tell me?" She asked half-way through, and Zora considered this for a moment.
"Zora Absolute." The Eevee replied. Their family traditionally used the name of their exploration name as their last name, but Absolute Indignation was a bit much. So Zora inherited her father's half of the name and Zoey had inherited their mother's. It works out.
It was dark for only a quarter-hour when they came upon the wreckage. The Waggon was tipped over, lying on its side at the edge of the trail. Zora sniffed the area, but could not identify the reason for the Waggon's state.
"The rain has probably washed away the blood. We found several dead Rapidash, and a few other Pokemon all about. We gave them the best burial we could." Seia explained sadly, looking over at the cart. Zora nosed her way into the open back of the waggon, where items were strewn around what used to be the wall and is now the floor.
It was dark, but sparks soon leaped from Zora's fur, illuminating the inside of the waggon. She could smell the blood here, where the waggon kept most of the rain out. Evolutionary stones sparkled in the light from the Eevee, though there was little else. Several bags laid about the side of the floor that met what used to be the floor, slashed and ripped open.
Seia came into the waggon behind her, staring at it sadly.
"We're not sure what happened to them, but it was over a week ago. I can only assume some desperate group of Pokemon attacked for the food and materials on them. They must be wild, or they wouldn't have left such valuable stones behind."
Zora sniffed around the ground, frowning as she tried to identify the scent. It was stinky, the smell of wet dirty fur...but it wasn't exactly very distinctive. A normal type perhaps...?
The entire waggon suddenly shook, and a loud sound was heard right above the Eevee. Zora's sparks dispersed immediately, casting the waggon into darkness. Both Zora and Seia froze, and all was silent again.
Just as the Roselia was about to relax, she let out a high-pitched scream. Zora spun around just in time to see the grass-type yanked out of the waggon, a hand roughly grabbing her shoulder.
With a roar Zora leaped out of the waggon, her explorer's bag swinging wildly on its straps, barrelling into another figure that tried to step in. Zora quickly attached herself to his face and began to tear it apart. Howling, the round pokemon with arms and legs stumbled back, trying to pry the furious Eevee off his face.
A moment later she vanished into a cloud of darkness. Overbalancing from the suddenly disappearance of weight, the Mankey stumbled back. Zora reformed on his face, a kicking foot digging claws deep into its eye. The Eevee leaped off of this Mankey and onto the Primeape who had Seia. The Roselia struggled to turn and face her attacker in order to aim an attack, but the furious Primeape did not allow her that chance.
Until a certain ball of fur, fury, and death engulfed him. In a yelp of surprise, the Primeape let go into order to deal with Zora clawing at his face. Seia immediately turned around, the leaf-petal on her left shoulder ripped off from her struggled. Raising her two arms, a soft glow began to envelope her flowers. It peeled itself off the flowers to engulf the Primeape. The Fighting Types barely seemed to notice- until the light peeled off of himself and went back to the Roselia.
Seia basked in the healing warmth of the stolen vitality as the Primeape faltered, allowing Zora to clamp her jaws around its nose and breathe fire right up the poor thing's nostrils.
She suddenly felt a sharp jerk on the straps of her bag, tugging her off the primeape. She tumbled to the ground, but rolled to her feet and looked back to see the Mankey that had pulled her off by the Exploration bag. The magnetic clasp had come loose in the fighting, the top open, and the last few motions had sent its contents everywhere.
As Seia fought off another of the fighting types -they seemed endless in their numbers- Zora leaped forward, snatching one of the Wonder Orbs that had fallen to the ground with her mouth. With a mighty bite downwards, she broke it, the outer shell surprisingly fragile and weak, to release the energy stored inside.
Zora was suddenly knocked back off her feet, the contents of the broken orb staying where she was moments ago though. It was a small bright light, and it pulsed once, twice, with energy. The attention of every person in the battle was suddenly turned to that glowing light, wondering what destruction it would wreak.
It suddenly expanded in an amazing show of force, passing through the combatants harmlessly. The same could not be said of the surrounding vegetation, for as the expanding front of the shock wave approached, low plants were flattened, and as they hit the trees, they began to topple. Roots ripped themselves from the earth as trees, fifty feet tall, began to tip and fall.
The sound was absolutely deafening. The Rainforest came to life with screeches and screams, and the sound of giants striking the forest floor, dragging along with them entire ecosystems buit upon their branches. And as they fell they brought others down, helped along by the One-Room orb. All around them the dense forest became a mess of fallen trees, the sky suddenly open and clear up above, revealing the light of a waxing moon through small slivers of openings in the clouds.
Zora ripped her gaze back to the fight, where everyone was busy gawking at the aftermath of the orb with wide eyes. Zora focused her attention on her bag, lying right next to a distracted Mankey and the fallen waggon. She leaped at him, and the experienced Fighting type turned immediately to face his attacker- with another orb in his hand.
The Eevee couldn't stop her momentum, and the fighting type crushed the orb in his fist as the Eevee slammed into him. But she couldn't grab on, couldn't attack; in fact, she couldn't move at all.
The Mankey pushed her off of him, and she fell onto her bag. She couldn't do anything, as if she were encased in stone. Zora struggled hard against the effects of the Petrify Orb, but could do little against it. Behind her Seia was similarly paralysed.
Zora growled inwardly as the Mankey approached, fury in his eyes. Mankeys were prone to anger, sometimes spontaneously, and this causes their entire to go on a rampage. Whatever was upsetting them before, was probably now forgotten in the aftermath of their home probably being blown to smithereens. The Mankey swung about in a low kick right into the Eevee. Zora could do nothing as she was punted off her bag and flew into the waggon, slamming against the floor. Evolutionary stones scattered as she fell amongst them.
The effects of the orb wore off them, but as the Eevee clambered back to her feet, the Mankey was climbing into the waggon. Upon seeing her, he held up another orb. The first one seemed to work well for him, so why not try again?
As he crushed this one, Zora braced herself. There was a suddenly moment of nothingness -no sight, sounds...and a feeling of weightlessly- but then everything returned to normal. The two stared at each other in confusion, the Mankey deep in the Wagon and Zora perched just on the entrance. Looks like that one was a Switcher Orb.
Zora growled, slinking into the shadows and leaving the Mankey behind. She travelled through it to where Seia was fighting off several fighting-types, severely wounded. Puffs of spores came out of the end of her flowers, several enemies paralysed and asleep around her, but she was tiring, fast.
Zora slammed into one of the Primeapes, and it staggered aside under the weight of the unexpected blow. He stumbled and fell as he stepped on an orb, sending the small round object crashing into Zora.
It burst upon impact, and the force the exploded outwards from it sent the small Eevee hurling back, straight into the Mankey that was climbing out of the Wagon, looking very very confused. He cushioned the Eevee's fall quite nicely from the Hurl Orb's aftermath.
Zora hopped right back to her feet, lunging at the Mankey. The two fought furiously, each trying to get within the other's defences. Zora released electricity from her fur, stinging the Mankey, but the fighter had a type-advantage. A type-advantage that just got multiplied when a second Mankey grabbed Zora by the midsection and pulled her off, throwing her into the ground.
The Eevee has had enough. She swiped her paw at a nearby orb, and her claws sank into it effortlessly, as if it wasn't really there.
She and the orb suddenly vanished.
The two Mankeys stared at where she was only moments ago with confusion, until a stinging pain erupted on top of his head, accompanied by fire. The Invisified Eevee moved onto the adjacent Mankey. This one was ready though, and slammed her out of the air as she got close. The Eevee, with a yelp, fell back on top of her bag, forcing more of it contents out, fading back into visibility. A round ball with a button rolled out, a black ribbon half stuck within it and without. It was that odd object her father had woken up with after he had some nightmare. And that ribbon was something she had found off of an Umbreon she killed during the Moon Guild's invasion.
The clearing formed by the One-Room orb was suddenly cast into silvery light, as the moon above broke free of the curtain of clouds, clearly visible through a large break. It shone down brightly, perhaps more brightly than usual. As Zora got back to her feet, she kicked aside a Thunderstone that had flown out of the waggon probably during her fighting within, and prepared to lunge once more at the Mankey. She was covered in wounds and aching, tired, but like hell if she was going to give up. She had her little brother to look after.
She moved to attack, but was stopped by a sudden force that held her in place. She yelped in alarm as portions of her body began to glow a bright yellow: a band on each ear, her forehead, and on her shoulders and flanks. The black ribbon pulsed with life, somehow now free of the Pokeball and wrapped around her ankle. The darkness flowed off of it like ink in water, covering the Eevee and settling into her fur, which faded from its green and yellow to a dark blue and finally black. The Thunderstone she kicked glowed for only a brief moment, a spark coming off of it to land upon her. The ruff around her neck hardened, resisting the black mist and turning white, clinging together to form a ring of spiky fur around her neck. Bone pushed its way through skin, showing on her back, and rings of bone formed on her legs, showing a bright, shiny ivory.
She was now much bigger. Umbreons were the largest of the Eeveelutions, standing at well over a meter at the shoulder. But Zora's mother was a Manectric, and they were larger. So was Zora. She now towered over her foes.
The rings on her body glowed a fierce yellow, lighting up the area around here. Red eyes glared at the two cowering Mankeys before her, and the moon above seemed to shine brighter in response to her. The Umbreon's wounds began to mend themselves, drawing upon the silvery light above. She stalked towards her intended prey, and they saw doom in her eyes.
The large umbreon turned back to see the large pile of sleeping opponents around an exhausted Seia. With a roar to the sky, darkness pooled under any remaining fighting-Types. It shot up, engulfing them, soaking into them, leaving them in a fitful sleep. And Zora could sense something within all the sleeping Pokemon nearby...fears, anxieties...monsters of nightmares. She saw glimpses of them, and she fed off of them, became stronger as their fears grew. And grew they did! They could sense the dark magic stealing their vitality.
"Z-Zora?" Seia gasped, and the Umbreon's attention snapped to the hurt Roselia on the ground. She was in bad shape; she was torn, and her flowers were wilting. Zora wordlessly padded up to her side, bending down to nose the injured grass-type. The Umbreon turned back to see her bag and its scattered contents. Within minutes Zora had gathered her things, placing them back into the bag that now fit on her, bounding at her side instead of dragging along the ground.
The Umbreon worked for several minutes to get Seia onto her back, and then the Dark-type was off, running down the trail, back towards the road. It would be early next morning when she hits it, and the two got a ride back to the Sun Guild by another Merchant caravan, one Zora recognized; the ones that supplied Second Chance.
She got off before she could go to her babysitter's shop though, taking Seia to the hospital before reporting to the Kecleon what had happened, handing over what stones she had managed to fit into her bag, keeping a certain special Thunderstone for herself.
