Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shiro nodded. "It's amazing, how Pokemon learn some attacks on their own as they grow and change, rather than needing to be taught."

He turned his attention back to Andarien. "One of the first lightning attacks it learns is Thundershock - try getting it to attack the crystal with it, Andarien, and see what happens."

He set the crystal on the ground and stepped out of the way. The young Pokemon had not yet been tested in battle, and he wanted to make sure that he didn't get zapped by mistake.

Andarien followed Shiro's example and took a half-step back. "Jolteon, use thundershock on the crystal!" he grinned at it - thinking at the same time that the Pokemon needed a good name now that it had evolved.

The Jolteon braced its legs and its body began to crackle with live electricity again. Then, with a loud clap of thunder, it hurtled the charge at the crystal.

Shiro chuckled softly. "You'll notice I moved out of the way," he winked at Miyuki.

Andarien knelt next to the Jolteon, hesitated, then reached out and stroked its golden coat. When he didn't receive a shock, he smiled and began to pet it.

"Looks like we can keep going with more training," he grinned.

Shiro chuckled again and eyed the crystal that was lying on the ground. It was glowing brightly with the electricity that filled it. A sudden thought struck the neko, and he murmured softly to himself, "I wonder ..."

He picked up his charger and disconnected the solar paneling, then touched the nodes of the wires to the crystal instead.

"If this works, I won't have to worry about not being able to use the sun," he grinned at his cousins. "And then I'll be able to look up more information about Jolteons for you, Andarien."

Shiro grinned at Miyuki. "You bet. We'll find out soon enough if this works. I really hope it does. And Andarien, if it does, then you'll be able to do more with the things you make than have them simply run by being wound all the time."

Andarien looked thoughtful when he heard that. "Like things in Gaia?" he asked. "That run on electricity? Plugged into the walls?"

"Exactly." Shiro nodded. "Of course, nothing so big - we'd never be able to transport it. But small things, why not?"

Andarien grinned down at the Jolteon, who rubbed up against his knee, content with the attention. Eon nosed the golden Pokemon, then licked its head. It was after all still his offspring, even if it had grown to its final form.

"So Andarien," Shiro asked casually, taking a seat again and stretching, "thoughts on a name?"

Andarien looked up at his cousin. "Well ... you know those stories you told me, the Greek ones?" he said hesitantly. "I was thinking ... Zeus. You know, the guy that throws lightning bolts."

Andarien beamed, glad to have his sister's approval for his pet's name.

"I guess we know now what the crystal can do," he said sheepishly, petting Zeus's head affectionately.

"Well, that's part of it," Shiro corrected the youth. "There is more ... nothing demonstrable here, unfortunately, but I'll tell you what - once the battery is charged and I can use the tablet again, I'll put together a file on it and copy it out for you, all right?"

"Thanks!" Andarien grinned. "I'd appreciate that!" He looked down at Eon and Zeus. "Come on, you two! You have to show Ai how Zeus has grown!"

Eon straightened proudly and started trotting back to where his mate and second offspring were resting, and Zeus bounded after him.

"It sure will," Andarien grinned, following after his two pokemon.

Most everyone was busy when they returned to the main group. Lancaeriel, as usual, was preparing dinner, chatting cheerfully with Wren as she did so; Daeron was caring for his weapons; Iorlas sat next to him, her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed, a blanket wrapped around her; and Lin and Earendil were relaxing by the fire, taking advantage of the time to just be together. Kaito and Kyrie were nowhere in sight, but it was probable that Kaito was asleep (or at least resting) in the tent he and Shiro were sharing, and Kyrie was almost guaranteed to be out in the woods around them, scouting to make sure things were all right.

"Nana! Ada! Look!" Andarien beamed proudly. "My Eevee evolved! It's a Jolteon now!"

Eon nudged Zeus towards where Ai and the other Eevee were resting, and Zeus pranced towards them as if showing off its growth.

Zeus nuzzled against Ai, letting her know with gentle sounds that he was feeling just fine.

Andarien grinned at Lin. "Shiro was showing us the crystals we found on Amon Darthir, back when those dragons chased us. They can hold electricity, like he needs to use his tablet, and he was showing it to us. He said it had a bit of charge left, and Zeus was sniffing at it and he got zapped and then poof! He changed!"

Young adult though he was, and had been for a while now, Andarien still had his childish moments - especially when he was excited as he was now.

Zeus's height was about halfway between his sibling's and his parents' heights. He could sense that his brother was troubled by his sudden change, and he licked his face to reassure him that he was still the same Pokemon (at least on the inside) that he had been before.

"It was a huge surprise," Andarien agreed with his mother, "but it was a great one! And Shiro's working on a way to use the crystal to charge his tablet because he's not going to be able to get enough sunlight to charge it while we're under the trees, and who knows how long it will be before we're out of the trees? But Zeus can charge the crystal so Shiro won't have to worry about it anymore!"

"He was cursing them a bit," Andarien agreed with a chuckle.

"Dinner is ready," Lancaeriel called out to everyone, setting aside the spatula that she had been using to prepare the meal over the fire. She reached for the small stack of plates so that she could begin serving people as soon as they were ready.

A moment later, Kyrie appeared from the trees. For a moment, she said nothing; but then she spotted Zeus and asked in surprise, "Where did that come from?"