The many water Pokémon made way for the pair of Lapras, seemingly with pleasure as they watched the group atop their backs. Owen gently held on to both Umbreon and Fennekin as they lay back to back on the grey shell.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t catch him in time.” Korrina offered up alongside Lucario while putting away her other pokéball.
“Yeah, I guess it was the last thing I was expecting. Wouldn’t a wild Pokémon normally just attack?” Owen asked.
“Nah, wild Pokémon will usually jump at the chance to snag things, especially food, though that wasn’t the case now.” Lucario grunted in agreement with its trainer.
Owen returned his gaze to the north side of the river, wondering if he would get a glimpse of their thief, but any chance of that was shot down by just how dense the forest was. It was a solid wall of green mixed with sounds and chirps unknown to him, only barely audible over the flowing stream. A few bird Pokémon flew rather close overhead, chirping as they flew by. The friendly Lapras pair started blowing bubbles that drifted off in the wind.
Owen spotted a glint up ahead in the water. As they drifted closer, it was revealed to be a bridge of ice over the water! One that seemed to be partially melting. The pair of Lapras stopped to shoot blue beams out of their mouths, startling both Umbreon and Fennekin. Owen and Korrina ducked their heads with the Lapras, as they slowly drifted under the recently repaired ice bridge. The slight chill felt refreshing as they passed underneath.
Their free ferry ride continued on towards a break in the trees, a mystical archway adorned by flowers along with tiny glistening lights sparkling in the afternoon glow. The pair of Lapras slowly approached the shore and craned their necks around to watch their passengers disembark.
“Thank you so much for carrying us this far!” Korrina and her Pokémon bowed to the Lapras, as Owen followed suit. Umbreon was happy to jump off, to roll around in the grass, while Fennekin finished wiping her eyes out. The little fox turned around with a brave face on, as Owen picked her up and off of their benefactor’s shell.
“And thank you for getting him out of the water, too.” Owen gestured towards Umbreon as he looked at the Lapras who happily cried out back to him, almost sounding like the start of a lullaby. The group watched as the two blue Pokémon started further down the river, their necks bobbing in motion as they gathered speed.
“We’ll get to our first stop before dark thanks to them.” Korrina turned to Owen. “You see, this path was made by fairy Pokémon that sometimes help out at the center around here.”
Owen looked up in wonder at the rows of decorated branches that formed archways in front of them. He could have mistaken it for a Christmas-themed amusement park with multicolored sparkling lights.
Lucario trailed behind the group, keen to watch over all the members involved, feeling a bit humiliated that his senses had failed him before. He would rely more on his regular senses while paired up with this peculiar Umbreon.
Owen was content to enjoy the natural beauty, as several Pokémon meandered in and out of sight. A pair of happy Bulbasaur greeted them briefly, as Umbreon ran circles around Owen and Korrina.
“There’s nothing like this at home.” He mused aloud.
“Oh, I kind of forgot that you’re from the city. Well, I’m glad you like it! I’ve been through here loads of times before.” Korrina offered in return.
It didn’t take long to come to a clearing, however. The light of day returned all too quickly at the end of the path, causing everyone to wince if only briefly. It was a rather normal dirt road, wide enough for cars to get through. The wind howled as it rushed through the hollowed-out pathway. Farther ahead the group could see a familiar red roof. This Pokémon center looked much more like the traditional ones from the games to Owen.
I guess they can’t afford to get fancy out in the middle of nowhere.
The group approached the center, and as the doors opened, Umbreon recoiled in shock and ran behind Owen who turned around to look at the Pokémon who was blinking up at him.
“What? It’s a door. You’ve been through them before.” He scolded the black cat who looked over again, and back up at Owen. With a sigh, he picked up his Pokémon, and carried it on through the door, after the others who had gone on ahead.
On the inside, they were greeted by the nurse and her Wigglytuff. There were a few other trainers in here, one of whom was standing by his Pangoro near a bench. The man had short red hair and was wearing a jacket. The other was a young girl, holding a little purple thing that might have been a Noibat, sitting on a bench with a few drinks on the table next to them.
Umbreon ran on over to the latter pair and looked up at them expectantly. The girl looked at Owen first, who smiled, and then pat Umbreon on his head, before scratching under his chin, much to the moonlight Pokémon’s delight. Still, Umbreon had taken an interest in the little bat Pokémon, eyeing it with childlike wonder. Owen made his way over, while Fennekin trailed Korrina to the front desk.
“Hi, hope he’s not a bother” Owen offered to the stranger. “Umbreon’s well, really curious.”
“Oh, not at all, we’re just waiting for my Quilladin to come out. He got a little roughed up, so it’ll be a while, they said.” She said, seemingly not worried about her Pokémon. “But it was worth it to get this little cutie here!” She looked down at the bat Pokémon in her lap who let out a very strange screech with a smile. Whatever noise Owen expected it to make, it surely wasn’t that.
“So you just caught it then?”
“Yeah, we tried to go into a cave, but there were a bunch of Pokémon fighting in there. He was kind of caught up in all of it though.” She said with a warm smile. Korrina had made her way over while the two had been chatting, having handed her Pokémon off along with Fennekin to the nurse.
“What’s this about a lot of Pokémon fighting?” She inquired, having overheard the end of their conversation.
“Oh, I was just telling this um… actually what’s your name?” The girl asked as she turned her attention back. Umbreon was now eye level with Noibat, presumably inspecting it to see if it indeed, had fur.
“Right, I’m Owen, sorry about that.”
“No worries, oh yeah, I was telling him about this cave up the road, and it’s not too far out of the way. There were a bunch of Pokémon that I don’t really know too well fighting in there.” She paused a moment as she looked up and then back down at Noibat and Umbreon. “Oh, I think some of them were grey and shiny.”
“Grey and shiny in a cave… that’s got to be Aron or maybe even Lairon.” Korrina assumed. “Do you remember any others?” She asked the girl.
“Um… Not really. It’s a shame too, I wish I could have got one of them.” The girl in front of them pouted, before looking back up. “Wait, haven’t I seen you before?”
“I don’t think so?” Korrina responded to the little girl, which caught Owen off guard.
That’s strange. Normally she’s happy to announce her position.
A pink flash came from the adjoining room, grabbing their attention moments before Lucario and Fennekin came out alongside Wigglytuff, who had been holding a ball that Owen assumed had been Mienshao’s.
“It was nice chatting with you!” Korrina waved to the girl before looking at Owen, who bent over to pick up Umbreon. The gym leader pulled him along after he had done so, over to their returning Pokémon, leaving a rather dumbfounded girl on the bench with her cute little companion.
Korrina had already made arrangements for them to have a room upstairs, and she quickly brought the party there. It was nice, perhaps not as spacious as the castle that was the Shalour city gym, but still looked like a modern hotel from Owen’s old world, stacked with two large beds, a television, multiple chairs, and a doorway to a bathroom. Once all of their Pokémon were inside, Korrina locked the door behind them.
Fennekin hopped up on one of the beds and promptly slumped down into its soft embrace. Umbreon jumped right after the little fox, crashing any attempt at peace she would be having at that moment. Lucario stood in the corner, near the door with his eyes closed, as his black sensors began to float again as Owen had seen before.
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“So, what was all that about?” He asked the Gym Leader, wondering why they had been so hasty to get up into the room.
“Keep it down.” She whispered as she turned towards Owen. “You remember that guy downstairs with the Pangoro? I think I’ve seen his face before.”
“Bad news?” He inquired.
“I think so, but I’m not sure. Either way, Lucario’s going to watch for us.” She whispered back.
“So that’s why you didn’t want her to…okay.” He thought aloud.
“Yeah, I don’t like sneaking around, but Gramps was really adamant about not causing a scene if I wasn’t sure. Sorry, you really shouldn’t have to worry about that.” She turned away and started going through her own phone on the other side of the room.
Not sure about what?
The rest of the afternoon seemed to drag on as Lucario stood still as if he himself were a statue. Not even the slightest of grunts came from him as he patiently waited for whatever it was to happen. Owen wondered how long he could keep this up, but the jackal Pokémon showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever.
Korrina helped herself to some of the amenities of the room and called Owen over to do the same. He made sure to get water for his Pokémon first, watching Umbreon clumsily lap up from one of the dishes with a smile. The aura Pokémon broke his concentration for a minute, pointing down and out of the room, presumably toward the room their suspect had secured, before returning to his silent watch.
Noticing she still hadn’t moved from the bed, Owen took the little fox Pokémon over to the window side of the room, having found a brush in one of the drawers. After setting her down, he offered the red brush up to the yellow Pokémon, who was staring at him reluctantly from atop the table.
She nodded.
Owen carefully smoothed out the bits of fur that had been messed up or matted, trying his best not to get burnt by her ears. It was nearly as cathartic to him as it must have been to her, being one of the few mundane things he’s had the time to do since his arrival in this world. And yet, he could feel a pair of jealous red eyes on him, as Umbreon had hopped from one bed to the other.
It reminded him of when he used to live with his parents. Doodle had been the second cat they owned, a tuxedo just like their first. And when one received a good brushing, the other was always there, ready and waiting for pampering. That was until only Doodle was left. Owen took him when he moved, knowing his parents were a bit too old to be taking care of cat litter on their own. Why couldn’t he remember the other cat’s name? Before he could ruminate on the thought, another question brought him back to the present.
“Hey Fenn, did you… do you have a name?” He asked the little fox as he pulled back the brush, to push any stray hairs into the garbage. She looked him dead in the eye for a solid moment before nodding slowly.
“Can you tell me somehow?” He asked of the Pokémon in front of him, who looked around for a moment. After scanning the room, she shook her head.
“But you would if you could?” This received a more earnest nod from the little fox.
“What about your scarf…” he started, unsure of where he was going with this. Fennekin lit up at the mention of it, all the same. “Do you want a new one?” He asked, only for her to instantly refute the notion with a violent shake of the head.
“That important, huh?”
Fennekin nodded with determination.
At the same time, Umbreon had been pushing its way over the edge of the bed and onto the armrest in an attempt to get on the table as well. Fennekin gave a sigh before making room for the larger Pokémon, before returning her gaze to Owen, who smirked as he started brushing Umbreon.
The Moonlight Pokémon absolutely loved this, almost too much. His excitement inevitably made it hard to brush his head, as the Pokémon kept tilting his head back to watch the brush he was so infatuated with.
“What about you big guy?” He looked at the black cat who stared right back at him for a moment before it got impatient and demanded more of idle brush. Umbreon didn’t ever seem to even respond to his words, and Owen wasn’t sure if this felt more normal than a living being that could understand everything you are saying, yet unable to speak the language back.
WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRTTTTTTTT
The high-pitched screech pierced the air causing everyone to flinch. Not a moment later an azure flash tore through the evening sky, followed by a thunderous crash that shook the foundations of the building, knocking over one of the lamps in the room and causing it to shatter on the floor.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH”
“HEEEEEELP”
A cacophony of screams came from the hallway, prompting Lucario to erupt out of the door and into action. Korrina released her other Pokémon, before quickly turning around.
“I’m going where those came from, you go down to the nurse and ---------“ Owen’s ears were still ringing, but he could make out most of what she was saying before both Korrina and Mienshao left to support Lucario.
He looked back at his two Pokémon who were also recovering from the unexpected ear blast, reassuring them to come along. The little fox had shaken it off, now awaiting orders, as Umbreon was trying to dig under the bed, to no avail. Still, the two managed to usher him out the door together into the dark hallway, kept alight only by dim red lights on the sides of the wall now. Another trainer was clutching their Eevee as they ran down ahead of Owen and his team.
There was just enough light coming in from the front windows to keep the front lobby visible, as many frantic people and Pokémon were rushing out the doors. Amongst the chaos were several trainers demanding their Pokémon back from the nurse, including the girl from before. Owen hurried over to the desk, drawing the attention of the nurse.
“You! You’re okay, where’s leader Korrina?”
“She’s upstairs, she ran toward the crash as soon as it happened.” He responded hastily. The nurse nodded her head in acknowledgement, before looking down at both Fennekin and Umbreon.
“Do you think you could help me get this door open? The Pokémon that were getting longer treatment are trapped in there with Wigglytuff!” She asked with desperation.
“We can try.” Owen hurried over to the door, looking to see what was on the other side of the tall glass slit, but there was nothing. It had been black, not even the faint glow of the emergency lights could be seen through the window. He carefully prodded one finger toward the handle, covered by his long sleeve.
Cold.
That’s a good sign.
“We’re going to try to get through the door, so get away from the other side!” He shouted as best as he could.
He hunkered down to Fennekin’s level to ask, “What else you got besides what we used today? Anything that would work on the door, that isn’t fire?” He whispered to the little fox, who looked up at him in thought for just a second before she gave a confident yip. The orange tip of her tail began to glow, a shining light that traveled down to the base, before engulfing the whole tail in metallic sheen.
That’s great, real great, actually.
He took a step back before Fennekin jumped in the air, slashing the door, dead center!
BOOM!
Her tail carved through the thick wood before the little fox landed gracefully.
The result was…
A rather disappointingly small gash. The little fox’s ears slumped after looking up at her work.
Shit. No, no we can work with this.
“Okay, Fenn use Howl and then next time aim for that side!” He pointed to the right side of the door, opposite the handle.
“Arooooooooo!” Came a rather adorable noise that was probably embarrassing for the both of them, preceding another attempt at slashing the door. Surely this time would work, it had to. For the sake of the Pokémon trapped on the other side.
Splinters rained down from the door as a few gasps were heard from the small crowd behind him. Fennekin landed again, looking up at more disappointment. That Iron Tail was stronger, so much was plain to see, but the door just didn’t give. It was incredibly thick, which would have been a good thing under most other circumstances.
Suddenly multiple blue lights surrounded Fennekin, they circled the fox before converging into a ball above her head, and flew backward, straight past Owen’s legs toward Umbreon. The Pokémon who had, up until now been watching their struggle with a mixture of curiosity and awe. One could only guess he wanted to join in on what appeared to be some sort of game as his larger black tail became covered all the same as Fennekin’s had seconds prior.
Fennekin jumped out of the way just in time for the black cat to come crashing down with nothing short of an iron club of a tail, smashing the door, along with whatever had been stuck opposite as well. Everyone backed up and winced as the sound of metal buckling and breaking mixed with the crashing of glass and wood before them. Everyone except, of course, the culprit who poked up out of the rubble with nary a scratch on him.
“Bree Bree!” Umbreon spouted as he jumped back towards Fennekin.
“Fennek kin! Fen Fenne.”
What’s all that about? Wait, never mind, it’s open! The lights!
BOOM!
Another crash sounded off, just like when Fennekin hit the door the first time, though Owen could tell this time it was farther away.
But before he could act, the other trainers rushed on in through the dim hallway, as the nurse chased after them. It was now clear that whatever was blocking the door, had fallen through the ceiling. The group was gathered around another door this time, with the nurse at the front.
Oh, not this shit again.
But thankfully this time, the door opened, and a pink Pokémon with green eyes had been on the other side. The nurse gasped before rushing into the room. There were multiple Pokémon on the inside, including a green ball-shaped Pokémon, but many others as well. The nurse finished handing out the Pokémon to their trainers, who left the way they came, only one of whom thanked Owen for his help in getting to their partners. He looked over to the nurse, noticing two had been left, a small brown bird and a little yellow lizard.
“Here, could you take him?” The nurse handed off the little lizard to Owen, who looked up at him with its big blue eyes. “I’ll take this one since she’s still not fully recovered yet. Let’s go, Wigglytuff.”
BOOM!
Dust and debris fell from the remnants of the ceiling as the ground shook again, but they were almost in the clear. The lobby was now empty, eerily silent as they arrived with the injured Pokémon in tow. Everyone was outside on the road, looking up at the roof, as Owen joined them with the nurse and Wigglytuff. Orbs could be seen flying out of the center, seemingly at nothing at first. Owen followed their trajectory, up into the darkness opposite the fading light of dusk. He followed them until passing over the crimson crescent moon, as it moved across the sky.
Oh shit… That’s no moon.