So, here's the third chapter, much later than I had actually planned. But their have been a lot of things that took my attention, like school... Though I really don't pay that much attention to school, thinking about it again. Whatever, I don't really know what else to put here... Let's just get on with the story, I hope you'll enjoy it!



PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Whatever, every species of Pokémon referred to in the following text is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me.





A Mansion made of Dreams



Chapter three: She's a heroine!


The forest was calm, and the trees were being basked in the warm, golden light of the morning sun. Niani took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of the wilderness. She smiled. Living in the mansion sure was nice, but nothing could ever match the feeling of strolling through the slowly awakening woods. It was a feeling of freedom, a feeling of being home.

The Jolteon had woken up so early that day that Kara and Ral?re had still been sleeping, so she had just snuck out of the room, having paid attention not to wake them. She had seen the beginning sunrise through the window, and this impression had overwhelmed her with the desire to be outside. She had met no other Pokémon on the way out, probably because it had been so very early in the morning.

Niani just walked without wanting to get anywhere, enjoying the calming experience of the golden forest. She grinned as she realized that she also enjoyed not having to listen to Kara's weird stories and suspections all the time. It had been three days since she had been found by Dolph and Korph, and during this time she had heard the Totodile's voice almost all the time, either spreading rumors or trying to teach Niani to read, which seemingly wasn't as easy as Kara had thought. This might have had something to do either with the Totodile's bad teaching methods, or with Niani's indifference about the subject. She wasn't really interested in learning how to read, at least not at this very moment. The whole mansion was new to her, and it would first take her a few days to accustom to these new surroundings.

Niani blinked as she suddenly recognized the place her steps had been leading her to. Everything seemed to be familiar, and for one moment she didn't believe it. But all of it looked exactly how it had looked a few days ago; even the light of the morning sun was the same. This was the place where she had blacked out, just to be found by the mansion's patrol a few moments later. The Jolteon shook her head. She wondered how she was able to find this place again, as she had been unconscious when they had brought her to the mansion. It had either been a gigantic coincidence, or it had something to do with her subconscious. Niani slowly sat down, looking at the place where her legs hadn't been able to support her weight anymore. She wondered if she would return someday, return to that place she had used to call her home such a long time ago.

„What happened to them?", she whispered. „I just hope they escaped as well..." The Jolteon looked at the ground, suddenly feeling as if she had to carry a large weight.

„I should probably return to the mansion", she mumbled and turned around. Walking back through the woods, she tried to figure out what exactly it was that made her feel so strange about all this. She felt like she was worried, but she didn't even know why. There was no use in thinking about her past, she would never see them again anyway. Even if they had managed to get away, the woods were gigantic and they could be anywhere right now.

Niani perked up as she heard something. For a moment she thought it would just be the wind, but then she recognized it as a soft whisper. She looked around, confused about where that sound came from. There was no movement in the bushes; maybe someone was hiding behind a tree? Niani walked around in circles, looking to the left and to the right. There had to be someone there, someone who whispered something she couldn't understand. The sound was just too low to make out the words. She closed her eyes in order to focus better on what she heard, and after a short moment it worked. Though she still couldn't understand what was being said, she now knew where the sound came from. She opened her eyes again and looked up towards the branches of the trees, where a Pidgeotto sat.

The Pidgeotto looked in the direction of the rising sun, so Niani could only see his back. She moved forward until she could face him and sat down, looking up with a smile. Netho obviously hadn't noticed her yet. He seemed to be wound up in staring at the sun, continuing to whisper. For a while, the Jolteon just sat there, not wanting to interrupt him. But after a while she grew impatient.

„Good morning, Netho." The Pidgeotto jerked and looked around, until finally he noticed Niani. He did a bow, as usual.

„It sure is a wonderful morning, being greeted by someone as lovely as you, Miss Niani", he replied. „I apologize for not noticing you before, that was very impolite of me." The Jolteon shook her head. 

„Please don't be sorry, I don't feel offended or something like that. If anything, I should apologize for interrupting your..." She searched for words, but couldn't think of anything intelligent. „For interrupting whatever you were doing", she finally said. Niani blinked. „If I'm not asking too much, what were you doing, anyway?" Netho directed his stare from her back at the sun.

„I was greeting the morning sun, Miss Niani", he replied.

„Greeting the morning sun?", Niani repeated. She took a look in the direction of the rising sun, but couldn't see it because of the trees. „I've never heard anything like that before." Netho turned to the side.

„I don't think many Pokémon in these regions do that, Miss Niani, so it is not surprising." The Jolteon grinned.

„Sooo..." She stretched out the word a little, „If I may ask, why do you do it?" She noticed that she tried to imitate Netho's courtesy and smiled. The Pidgeotto had a good influence on her. He looked back at her.

„I would never deny you any answers, Miss Niani", he stated. „Greeting the morning sun is a common ritual of the tribe I belong to."

„You belong to a tribe?", the Jolteon asked. She looked around for a moment, as if she suspected to find even more Pidgeotto nearby. „Where do they live?" Even though Netho had a beak, Niani was sure that he smiled at her.

„I apologize, Miss Niani, but I can't tell you. If I knew the answer, I'd be happy to satiate your curiosity, but sadly I cannot tell you what I do not know." Niani was surprised.

„You don't know where your own tribe lives? But how are you going to get back there?" The Pidgeotto chuckled softly.

„Before I can answer that question, I would like to tell you about my tribe first, if you don't mind, Miss Niani. I am sure that you will understand then." The Jolteon nodded.

„I'm listening", she said. Netho spoke:

„I am glad you are interested in my past, Miss Niani. Not many of the other Pokémon ever asked me to tell them about myself." He took a deep breath. „I cannot tell you the exact location of my tribe, but I know that it is very far away. There is an old saying that I have been told very often when I was young and lived with my tribe. It goes:
Over the ocean, across the land,
Through forests of ice and deserts of flames,
There lies a mountain, the highest of them all,
And this is where we live, forevermore."

He stopped for a moment, letting Niani take in what he had just said. Then he continued:

„It is a very secluded place, Miss Niani, and those who do not belong to the tribe will never be able to find it. Our children grow up safely, but when they evolve into Pidgeottos, it is time for them to travel the world, earning as many different experiences as possible. During these travels, they forget the location of the mountain they came from. And only when they feel they have been gone for a time long enough, they will be able to return to the tribe, even though they do not know where the mountain is located. But everyone who belongs to the tribe will find their way back eventually." He nodded in agreement to his own words. „So you see, Miss Niani, I will be able to return when it is time."

The Jolteon found this to be a little strange, but she didn't want to argue about it. It seemed impossible to her to find a way back to a place nobody knows the location of, but maybe there was something special about Pidgeotto and Pidgeots that allowed them to do it anyway. Niani nodded.

„I just have one more question", she said. Netho looked at her in a way to show that he was listening.

„Why are you so polite to everyone? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it's just... unusual." The Pidgeotto seemed to smile again. Niani wondered why she knew this, though Netho's expression hadn't really changed.

„It is one of my tribe's teachings, Miss Niani", he replied. „We respect everyone for who they are. Every living being deserves to be shown this respect. It is one of the basic guidelines to a peaceful world." After he had said this, he turned to the side. Niani frowned.

„There's more to it than that, right?", she suspected. „There's another reason." Netho sighed. His answer came very reluctant.

„You are indeed right, Miss Niani, there is more to it. I am impressed that you noticed this so quickly." The Jolteon nodded.

„It wasn't that hard to see." She waited a moment, but Netho didn't say anything. She started to feel uncomfortable about it. „Look, if you don't want to tell me..." The Pidgeotto shook his head.

„I do not intend to leave your question unanswered, Miss Niani, I just needed to find the right words..." He cleared his throat. „You see, since every single one of us must return to the tribe at some point of their lives, we also use this way of talking to distance ourselves from others, so that we will not have to leave any friends behind when it is time." Niani had already guessed something like that.

„Doesn't that make you feel terribly lonely?" Again, the Pidgeotto seemed to smile. Niani got the impression that this was a smile that could be seen in the eyes only, so she could tell he was smiling even though he had a beak.

„I have grown used to this loneliness, Miss Niani, and I must say that it is a rather comforting feeling. Besides, being a member of my tribe helps me a lot. I know that I have a home somewhere, a place with a family that cares about me." The Jolteon tilted her head to the side.

„So, if you don't want to have friends, why are you staying at this mansion?" Netho turned his head in the direction where the mansion was located.

„It is an interesting place, Miss Niani, a unique place. And living there gives me a certain impression of how it will probably be when I finally return to my tribe. I figure I can get a lot of useful experiences out of it." Niani nodded.

„So, you wouldn't actually describe anyone as your friend", she concluded. Netho nodded as well.

„That is right. My only true friends in life will be the Pokémon of my tribe." He bowed once again. „But please do not get me wrong, Miss Niani, I still enjoy your company greatly." The Jolteon smiled.

„So do I." She took a look over her shoulder and noticed that the sun had risen some more. Maybe Kara and Ral?re would have awakened by now, then they could have breakfast together. „It has been a pleasure talking to you", she said, imitating Netho's style of speaking once more. „I hope you won't mind if I leave now, I still haven't had anything to eat for today." Netho nodded.

„Have a safe way back to the mansion, Miss Niani", he replied. The Jolteon thanked him and then went to disappear between the dense trees.





„Okay sweeties, hold on tight now!" Chria quickly dove underwater and started to swim through the lake as fast as she could, bouncing up and down a little to make the ride rougher. She slowly counted to five in her mind and then quickly resurfaced, bringing her shell and head out of the water. The Lapras heard the sounds of deep breaths and giggling from behind her and turned her head to look at her shell, where a small Eevee and a Pichu were holding on to her spikes. They were both soaked after the short time under water, but they were happy about it.

„That was fun!", the Eeevee stated, looking at Chria with a smile. „Thanks, mommy!"

„Yeah!", agreed the Pichu, still giggling. „I'll never get enough of that!"

Chria smiled. She loved to see her children happy. Moving her fins, she slowly swam to the shore of the lake, where the other ones were waiting.

„I'm next, I'm next!", exclaimed another Pichu, jumping up and down. Chria grinned.

„You've already had two turns, Zinu", she said. „Let the other ones go first."

She had reached the shore, and the Eevee and Pichu got off of her shell, sitting down on the grassy ground. The Lapras looked at her children, of which nearly all of them were smiling at her. There were the two Pichu brothers, Zinu and Zeeno, the female Eevee Ialee, who was the youngest one in the group, Fiador the male Growlithe, the female Poochyena Sherea, the male Chikorita called Rantha, then the oldest one of the group, a male Vulpix called Demorho and, of course, the young male Absol named Varol. Even though he wasn't the youngest one, he was the newest child she was taking care of. There was a low splashing sound as the ninth of Chria's children, a female Mudkip called Berai resurfaced as well and swam closer to the Lapras. Sometimes, other Pokémon suspected Chria would have only eight children, since Berai was under water almost all the time, making it easy not so see her.

„What about you, Rantha?", Chria asked, for she knew that the Chikorita was too shy to even ask if he could join in on this activity. „Wouldn't you like to try it as well?" Rantha blushed.

„I, uh, I don't... I mean, I'm not sure...", he stammered. „What if... What if I can't hold on?" 'He has a point there', thought Chria, looking at Rantha's paws. They were too short to be completely wrapped around her spikes, and he had no fingers to really grab them, either.

„I'll be glad to take his place if he doesn't want to!" Zinu jumped up and down excitedly, trying to direct Chria's whole attention just at himself. But the Lapras wasn't about to reward such a behaviour in any way. She got the upper half of her body out of the water, slowly moving her head towards Varol, who was looking to the side.

„Why don't you try it for once, my dear?", she asked in a soft tone. „I'm sure you'll like it." The small Absol didn't even look at her.

„Don't bother me", he just said. Chria gently nudged his side with her nose.

„Please, sweetie, I...", she began, but was interrupted when Varol growled:

„Don't touch me!" The Lapras retreated her head. Demorho looked at the Absol with a stern expression. The other children kept quiet, even Zinu. They always did when Chria tried to talk to Varol.

„I just want to make you feel better", she said, still speaking in that soft tone. Varol didn't reply. „I just want my children to be happy and..." She was interrupted once again.

„You're not my mother!" These words hit Chria like a ton of bricks. Demorho hissed at Varol:

„How dare you talk to mother in such a way! Especially after all the things she's done for you!" The Absol didn't reply once more. Chria sighed.

„Let him be, Demorho", she said in a slightly sad tone. „He's right, after all." The Vulpix shook his head.

„He isn't", he said. „A true mother is not necessarily the female that gave birth to you, but the female that cares about you the most instead."

„If my true mother hadn't cared about me so much, she wouldn't be dead now!", the Absol sneered. He looked up at Chria with an expression of disgust. „I'll never accept some random female Lapras as my mother, just because she doesn't have a mate who could give her children of her own!"

„You know what happened to her mate!", Demorho barked.

„Sure I know!", Varol snapped back. „It's the same thing like what happened to my mother! And it's alright that Chria doesn't want another mate because she loved him, but it obviously isn't that I don't want any other female than my real mom to be my mother?!" Demorho bared his teeth. He wanted to say something intelligent in return, but he just couldn't think of anything. Then, the Lapras spoke:

„You don't have to accept me as your mother. You don't even have to like me. I will still love you as if you were my own child." Varol turned away again.

„Leave me alone", he mumbled lowly.

Chria looked to the ground, while Demorho continued glaring at the young Absol. The Lapras directed her attention to her other children, which hadn't said or done anything while she had been talking to Varol. The Absol has always acted like this since he had got to the mansion.

„Alright", Chria said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, „Who's turn is it again?"



Demorho watched as Sherea and Zinu climbed on the Lapras' shell. Looking at his mother's face, he was able to tell that being rejected by Varol has made her feel much worse than she would ever admit. Sure, the Absol had his reasons, and Demorho could even understand him to a certain point. After all, he himself had lost his mother a long time ago, otherwise he wouldn't be at the mansion. But there was a fine line between being understandably introverted and being insensitive, and Varol had definitely crossed this line. The Absol was still looking in another direction, so that Demorho couldn't even see his face. The Vulpix stepped a little closer to him.

„Why do you have to do that to her?", he hissed. „She just wants to make you feel better."

„I don't recall ever asking for anything like that", Varol replied, not turning around. Demorho shook his head.

„You'd be dead if she hadn't been there to take care of you", he said. He was trying not to sound angry or accusing. Maybe then he'd actually get through to the young Absol.

„Are you calling me weak?" Varol finally turned to the Vulpix, but his eyes were full of anger.

„No", Demorho said, „I'm just saying that you were practically dead when they found you." Varol bared his teeth and the Vulpix immediately regretted what he had just told him. He had never completely understood the Absol, but he was pretty sure that, if he intended to ever let him feel as part of the family, he would need to me more sensitive.

„Doc was the one that fixed me up again, not Chria", Varol snapped. „All she ever does is telling me what to do, though she doesn't even have the right to do that!"

„She just wants to keep you out of trouble!", Demorho replied, now getting a little angry himself. „She's trying to protect you! You should be grateful that there is someone who cares about you enough to do that!" The Absol rose to his paws now, getting in a rather aggressive stance.

„I can take care of myself!" Demorho didn't stand up. He tried his best to calm down.

„You can't", he replied. „You're still a child, just as we all are. And children need their parents." Varol blinked. He didn't seem as angry as just before, but he was still displeased.

„Well, my parents are dead", he said. There seemed to be no expression in his voice, but the Vulpix could see in his eyes how much this memory hurt him. It was obvious to him that Varol tried to appear strong, for whatever reason. „That means I have to live by myself now." Demorho looked over his shoulder at Chria, who just resurfaced. He heard the Poochyena's giggling and saw the Pichu smile at the Lapras, who returned the look with an expression of love.

„You do not have to do that", Demorho stated. „You're not an adult yet, and right now there is someone who wants to care about you. Why can't you just accept that?" The Absol also turned to the Lapras for a second, but then looked to the side again.

„My mother was someone very special", he answered in a low tone. „I will never forget her. And I will never disgrace her by accepting any other female as my new mother."

„But wouldn't she have wanted you to be at a safe place with someone who cares about you?", the Vulpix argued. „If she died to protect you, then she did that so you could have the possibility to live a good life. You need to let Chria take care of you, that's what your mother would want." Varol growled lowly. The Vulpix had a good point, but he wouldn't admit that to him.

„Don't tell me what my mother would have wanted, you didn't even know her!" The Absol turned around again. „Leave me alone already!" He heard Demorho sigh.

„Varol, don't you see that this is..."

„Shut up!" Varol made his voice sound as aggressive as he somehow could in order to not let the Vulpix notice the shaky undertone. He kept looking away, not just because he was angry but also because he didn't want Demorho to see the single tear that had left his eye. The memory of his mother dying to protect him was still too fresh for him to cope with.

„Alright", said Demorho. „If you want to be a moron, that's fine with me." Varol didn't reply and The Vulpix turned to the Lapras and the other children again, who were sitting together at the lake's edge, except for Berai, who was swimming next to Chria. All the children were looking at the Lapras, listening to the story she was telling. Demorho smiled to himself as he walked over to her. He knew the story quite well, since it was the first one that the Lapras had ever told him.

„...and the Bulbasaur and the Charmander stayed together for all times, because they truly loved each other despite their differences", she concluded with a smile.

„That was a great story", said Fiador, his tail wagging.

„Yes, I can't hear it often enough", agreed Sherea. „Will you tell us another one, mommy?" The Lapras nodded.

„Sure, if you want to hear more..." She trailed off as she noticed Demorho. Varol still sat a few steps away, looking in another direction. „You look sad, sweetie", she stated, lowering her head to gently nudge the young Vulpix' side.

„Yes, well...", he said, moving his head in Varol's direction.

„I understand", said Chria in a low tone, so only Demorho would hear her. „Maybe we should give him more time. He might grow to trust us sooner or later."

She rose her head again and spoke louder, so that all the children could hear her. „So, if you want to hear another story..."

„Actually", Zinu interrupted, „I'd rather play hide and seek with Zeeno and Ialee. Would that be alright, mom?" Chria nodded with a smile.

„Of course, sweetie. But please stay around the mansion, so that I won't have to worry about you."

„But moooom", Zeeno, who was sitting right next to his brother said, stressing out the word in a very childish manner, „hide and seek is only fun in the woods!"

„The woods are too dangerous", the Lapras replied. „I won't let you go there alone. But if you find someone responsible who can protect you, then it won't be a problem."

„We could ask Ryakee!", Ialee chimed in, obviously very excited. „She's the strongest Pokémon around!" Zinu shook his head.

„I don't think Ryakee would go with us", he said. „She's probably training at the moment."

„But we've got to find someone!", Zeeno insisted. „How about some of those Fighting-type Pokémon? They're all pretty tough!"

„I don't want you to go with any of these guys", Chria said in a worried tone. „They're way too rough and brutal." Sherea chuckled.

„Mom's right", she said in a mocking tone. „They might have a bad influence on you."

„Why... Why do you w-want to go into the forest, anyway?" Rantha asked, looking at the dense trees with a frightened expression. „It's all deep and... and scary!" Zinu rolled his eyes.

„Well, you don't have to come with us", he said. „Just stay here and let your mommy look after you." Rantha blushed and looked to the side. Fiador smiled.

„I can protect you!", he claimed, rising to his paws. „I'm strong enough!" Even though she was still worried, Chria had to giggle at this remark.

„Of course you are strong, my dear", she told the Growlithe, „but we really need an adult to look out for them. The forest can be very dangerous, you see..."

„Maybe I can help", came a voice from behind her. The Lapras and all the children, except for Varol, turned around to look at who had spoken there. A Jolteon came through the trees, aiming for the lake. Chria frowned. For a moment she had thought it was Teranza, but then she remembered the other Jolteon that had arrived at the mansion a few days ago. „I just took a walk through the forest", the Jolteon continued, „it didn't seem too dangerous to me."

The Lapras let herself slide into the water again, swimming in the Jolteon's direction. She thought about her offer; would the Jolteon be able to protect her children?

„Excuse me, I'm not sure if that'd be such a good idea", Chria said carefully. She didn't want to insult the Jolteon, after all. „I don't want to offend you, but you're fairly new here, and..."

„Don't worry, you can trust me", the Jolteon said with a reassuring smile. She slowly walked around the lake in the children's direction who were looking at her with interest, paying attention not to seem too hasty or threatening. She noticed that the Eevee obviously was the most curious; she even took a few steps towards her.

„What's your name?", asked the Eevee, looking up at her with an excited smile.

„I'm Niani", replied the Jolteon, sitting down in front of her.

„You're the one who got found by Korph and Dolph the other day, aren't you?" The Vulpix seemed to share Chria's sentiment about Niani; he looked at her with a frown, and his voice had a reserved sound. The Jolteon nodded.

„I understand that you can't really trust someone you don't even know", she said, turning to the Lapras again, „but I promise you to take good care of them."

„I like her!", chimed Zinu and Zeeno nodded.

„She's an Electric type, just like us! I think we can trust her!" Chria shook her head at the Pichu's naivete.

„You can't trust someone just because of something like that", she said and then blushed, as she realized that she probably sounded very rude. She turned to Niani. „Look, I really don't want to insult you, but..." She didn't find the right words to finish the sentence. The Jolteon nodded.

„You're worried about the children, I understand." Niani stood up again. „Well, maybe I can at least find someone to go, then I could be of some help..."

„You should trust her", came a voice from above. Everyone, except for the Absol, directed their attention to the sky. On a branch of a nearby tree there sat a familiar Pidgeotto, looking down at the children and the two adults. „She will not let any harm come to your children." Chria frowned. She knew Netho, and she had actually always listened to him when he'd had any advice.

„Why are you so sure about that?", she asked the Pidgeotto. Netho looked at Niani.

„Miss Niani seems to me like a very trustworthy person", he replied. „I am sure she would do everything to protect the children in case of an eventual attack"

„Why should anyone attack us, anyway?", asked Zinu, sounding a little annoyed. „It's not like they would get anything out of it." Demorho shook his head.

„Listen, Zinu, just because you're safe in the mansion doesn't mean you're safe out there as well. There are all kinds of predators in the woods, and there is no easier prey than a defenseless child." Rantha visibly shivered at his words. Chria took a closer look at Niani.

„Are you sure you can do this?", she asked. The Jolteon nodded.

„I know how to fight, and I promise to pay close attention." The Lapras still didn't seem to be completely convinced.

„Come on, mom!", said Zeeno. „If Netho says we can trust her, then you should believe him. Besides, the odds for actually getting attacked are incredibly small, anyway!" Chria sighed.

„Alright then", she said, „I guess you'll be safe with her." She lowered her head and gave first Ialee, then Zinu and Zeeno a kiss on their cheeks. „But please promise me to be careful, and don't come back too late." The Pichu brothers both seemed to be a little embarrassed by the Lapras' actions, but Ialee smiled up at Chria.

„Don't worry, mommy, we promise to take care." Chria nodded.

„Alright", she said, then repeated: „Alright." It was obvious that she did this to convince herself that their wasn't anything to worry about. After a moment, she smiled. „Then go, sweeties, and have fun. And I want you to listen to Niani as if it was myself looking out for you." The Eevee, Zinu and Zeeno all nodded.

„Okay, mom", said the Pichu brothers and then turned to Niani who was smiling at them.

„Let's go", said the Jolteon and then looked up at the Pidgeotto once more. „Thank you, Netho." Netho bowed and then spread his wings, flying off towards the mansion. Chria watched as Niani walked off into the woods, closely followed by Ialee and the Pichus.

„Will you tell us another story now, mom?" Came a voice from beside her. Chria looked at Berai, who was floating in the water and smiled.

„Of course I will, my dear." She turned to her children and took a deep breath before starting with the story.




„Now, children, stay close to me so you won't make your mother worry, and..." Niani stopped as she noticed that she didn't even know the children's names yet. The Jolteon turned around and saw that all three of them were looking up at her. „I don't think you've told me your names yet", she said with a smile. With that, the Pichu brothers and the Eevee introduced themselves. Niani nodded. „And you're trying to find a good place to play hide and seek?", she suspected, remembering what she had caught of the conversation the children had had with the Lapras. Zinu wagged his large ears as a sign of agreement.

„We are! Do you know such a place, Niani?" The Jolteon chuckled.

„Well, I think I can find the way back to a clearing I had seen when I had taken a walk", she said. „Maybe that'll be a good starting point, what do you think?" The Pichu brothers agreed, but Ialee only nodded lightly. Niani noticed that the little Eevee was watching her with a very curious expression, but she shrugged it off. If Ialee wanted anything, then she would probably tell her.

Niani led the way through the woods, making the children go in front of her so she could keep an eye on them. The Pichu brothers chattered about all kinds of stuff, mainly things that were going on in the mansion. Ialee seemed to listen as well, nodding occasionally, often looking back over her shoulder at the Jolteon. Then, Niani noticed a word that interested her.

„Meeting?", she asked, repeating Zeeno's last word. „What kind of meeting are you talking about?" The Pichu turned to look at her, still walking forward, though.

„There's a meeting held every month", he explained. „Every Pokémon in the mansion gets the possibility to speak, in case there are problems with anything or anyone has a proposal on how to make things better for everyone."

„But most of the time, nobody takes such proposals seriously", Zinu added, giggling. „Most Pokémon seem pretty satisfied with how things are, I guess." Niani nodded.

„So, when is the next meeting going to be?" Zeeno shrugged.

„In a few days, I think." He paused, as if he wanted to keep talking, but then didn't say anything. But instead, his brother continued with an intrigued frown:

„There's something special about the meeting in April", he said, „at least there was last year. Everyone acted pretty weird and mom didn't want us to listen to what they had to discuss. The only one allowed to come with her was Demorho, and we had to promise her not to leave our room."

„Do you know why we couldn't go to the meeting, Niani?", asked Zeeno. The Jolteon shook her head.

„Think about it!", Zinu said, playfully batting his brother across the cheek with his paw. „She just arrived a few days ago, how is she supposed to know?"

Niani listened to the light argument between the Pichus, Zeeno claiming she was an adult and thus had to know everything, and Zinu insisting that she couldn't possibly know anything about the meetings, because she had never been to one. But after a short time, they both fell silent, for they had reached the clearing they had been heading for.

The Jolteon smiled to herself as she took a closer look at it, for it would certainly be a good place to play hide and seek. There were a few bushes, old and hollow tree stumps, a few holes in the ground, and, of course, the surrounding trees. The children seemed to like it as well; the Pichu brothers immediately dashed across the clearing, competing against each other in a race, jumping over rocks, holes and fallen trees, while Ialee just kept standing for a second, taking in the almost miraculous view; the light of the rising sun threw large shadows, and the whole clearing still had a tinge of that golden glow.

After a moment, Niani went to the middle of the clearing, closely followed by the little Eevee. The Pichu brothers had obviously finished their race and were coming back now, arguing about the question who had actually won. But they stopped, when they saw the Jolteon sitting in front of them.

„Alright", said Niani, „you have the whole clearing to play, but don't wander off into the woods." She saw that the Pichu brothers were about to complain, so she quickly added: „I'm here to keep an eye on you, so you have to stay within a certain range. Now, if you somehow manage to get lost inspite of that, you stay exactly where you are, call my name and wait for me to get you. Are you alright with that?" Just as expected, Ialee nodded; for a moment, the Jolteon feared the Pichu brothers might not listen to her, but then they also agreed, even though they were a little more reluctant than the Eevee. „Very good", said Niani with a smile. „Have fun, then."

„Alright!", exclaimed Zinu. „Ialee, it's your turn to search first!" The little Eevee seemed like she didn't really agree with this, but she nodded anyway. She lay down, covered her eyes with her front paws and started to slowly count to twenty as Zinu and Zeeno dashed off in different directions. Niani paid close attention to where they went, concerned that they would get out of sight. But they stayed in the clearing, and so the Jolteon didn't have anything to worry about.

She watched as Ialee finally got up and started searching, her thoughts trailing off a little. She found the children pretty sweet, and they reminded her of her own childhood... But she quickly tried to think of something else, for she didn't want to have that memory on her mind right now. Since her thoughts were still trailing around children, she jumped to the next logical association. Seeing the Eevee and the Pichu brothers play together, she actually considered it to have children of her own someday. It wasn't like she would have been against children before, but her life had been pretty unstable until she had come to that mansion. Maybe she would be able to find someone to love and have children with in that house? Only time would tell...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a grumbling sound coming from her stomach. She blushed a little, even though Ialee was definitely too wound up in her search to have heard it. Niani remembered that she still hadn't had anything for breakfast that day. She would probably just have to not pay any attention to that, because there was no way she would interrupt the childrens' game because of such a selfish reason. When the Jolteon had overheard the conversation between the children and the Lapras, she had totally forgotten that she had actually wanted to get something for breakfast, but even now she didn't regret it. She was new at the mansion, after all, and helping other Pokémon was a good way to make friends, no doubt about that. Niani wondered if Kara was searching for her right now. After all, the Totodile had seemed really eager to teach her reading. The Jolteon had to smile at the thought that being with the children had probably „saved" her from having to listen to what Kara would have taught her today. She thought about things like this for a while, until a small, timid voice made her direct her attention elsewhere.

„Niani?" The Jolteon blinked. Ialee sat in front of her. Niani smiled.

„What is it, Ialee?" The Eevee winced.

„I can find neither Zinu nor Zeeno", she said, lowering her head. „I'm not very good at this game..." Niani chuckled and nudged Ialee's cheek with her nose, making the Eevee look up at her again.

„Well, I'm sorry I can't help you", she grinned, making a motion with her head at the tree stump where she knew Zeeno was hiding in. „Just keep looking, you'll find them sooner or later." From the slowly forming smile on Ialee's face the Jolteon could tell that the Eevee had got her hint. The small Pokémon slowly padded over to the tree stump, walking around it.

„I've got you!", she shouted, but then Zeeno dashed out of his hiding place, running across the clearing.

„You've got to catch me first!" Ialee quickly began to chase after him, but it was an uneven match, as the Pichu was a lot faster than her, making the distance between the two Pokémon grow.

„That's mean!", the Eevee shouted, panting a little. „I can't catch you and you know that!" Zeeno chuckled.

„Well, it's clearly not my fault that you're so slow!" Seeing that Ialee was distracted running after his brother, Zinu now also left his hiding place and swiftly snuck up behind the young Eevee, stepping on her tail and then quickly running past her. Ialee yelped more in surprise than pain and found herself now having to chase after two Pichus, of which both of them were much faster than her.

„That's unfair!", she exclaimed. „You're working together!" Indeed, the Pichus had worked out a strategy that made Ialee always run from one of them to the other, but never getting close enough to actually catch either of them. This seemed to tire her out rather quickly.

„Of course we're working together!", Zinu laughed. „We're brothers!" But he quickly fell silent as suddenly Niani's cold nose touched the back of his neck.

„Got you", she said, watching the Pichu turn around in surprise at who had touched him. Zeeno stood a little distance away from them and quickly dashed off in the opposite direction. Niani wouldn't even have had to run maximum speed to catch him, but instead she chose to chase after him, cutting off his way and making him run towards where Ialee came from, until the Eevee just had to take a step forward to touch and therefore catch the Pichu, who found himself stuck between Niani on the one and Ialee on the other side.

„That's unfair!", meant Zinu as he walked over to them. „You can't catch us, Niani, it was Ialee's turn!" The Jolteon shrugged.

„If you're allowed to work together, then I don't see what's wrong with Ialee getting some help as well", she replied with a smile at the Eevee. Ialee smiled back. Zeeno shook his head and stepped away from the two females.

„Whatever, hide and seek is a stupid game, anyway", he said in a slightly annoyed tone. „Hey, Zinu! How about we race a little instead?" His brother nodded.

„Sounds good to me!" Just a moment later, the two Pichus were chasing each other around the clearing once again. Ialee sat down and watched them for a while. Niani was not completely sure if she had just done the right thing. She cleared her throat.

„I'm sorry that they don't want to play with you anymore because of me", she said, keeping her voice low. Ialee looked up at her. She smiled.

„They won't be angry for long", she predicted. „Thank you for helping me. I've never been able to catch them." She paused for a moment and then continued: „Niani? Do you think Richard will get me a Thunderstone someday?" The Jolteon was a little surprised by this question.

„Well, I don't really know Richard, but I don't see why he shouldn't." She brought her face a little closer to the Eevee, examining her. „You want to become a Jolteon?" Ialee nodded eagerly.

„That'd be great!", she exclaimed, smiling. „Then I could finally be as fast as Zeeno and Zinu!" This made Niani chuckle.

„You shouldn't make such an important decision based on nothing but the desire to win a game of catch", she explained. „Wait until you're a little older, then you'll probably want to evolve into something else..." Ialee tilted her head to the side.

„Really? But... It's fun to be a Jolteon, isn't it? Teranza told me something like that..."

„Being a Jolteon is only fun when you're meant to be a Jolteon", Niani lectured. The Eevee blinked, obviously concerned that she already knew the answer to her next question.

„And... And I'm not meant to be a Jolteon?" Niani noticed the shivering undertone in her voice. She smiled reassuringly.

„There's a way to find out about that, you know... It's something between us Eevee evolutions..." Ialee's eyes visibly brightened up.

„Is that true? You can find out what I'm supposed to be?" The Jolteon nodded.

„Just keep your eyes open and don't look away", Niani said, bringing her head even closer to the Eevee until their foreheads touched each other's. The Jolteon stared directly into Ialee's eyes, and the Eevee looked back. The yellow-furred female was so much taller than her, but she didn't feel intimidated. Still, she knew she had respect for Niani; not the kind of respect induced by fear, but rather the kind of respect that came from admiration. After a while of staring into her eyes, the Jolteon slowly moved her head away again and smiled at the Eevee. It was such a warm smile that Ialee just had to return it, even though Niani might just tell her that she shouldn't become a Jolteon; after looking into the larger female's black eyes, she somehow knew that she could trust her estimate unconditionally.

„You're an Espeon", said Niani and Ialee nodded. The Jolteon looked to the side. „At least that's what you'd probably be the most happy with, you can still become a Jolteon if you want to..."

The Eevee smiled. „If you think it'd be best for me to become an Espeon, then I trust you", she said. This made Niani feel special; the child barely knew her, and already she trusted her. For a moment, there was this memory again that the Jolteon didn't want to have; memories of being a child, of being naive and trusting, way too trusting for her own good...

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. Her head turned to the Pichus, who were still running around like crazy, mainly because she feared that memory would become stronger if she kept looking at the young Eevee.

„How long have you been here?", asked Niani. Ialee shrugged.

„For almost a year, I think. I got found when Summer had just begun..." She trailed off and Niani turned back to her. She was wondering if it would maybe be a better idea to just forget what she wanted to ask next, but then again, she wanted to at least try to find out more about this Eevee.

„What happened to your parents?" Ialee looked to the side.

„I don't know", she said reluctantly. „I can't remember anything about them." The Jolteon frowned. She was pretty sure this was not the truth, but she didn't intend to push Ialee. If she didn't want to talk about her past, then it was just too understandable for Niani. She lowered her head and gently nudged the Eevee's cheek with her nose.

„You should go play with your brothers." Niani had consciously used the word „brothers", even though she knew that the Pichus were not actually blood-related to the Eevee. But she figured it would make Ialee feel better, and it seemed to work indeed, as the Eevee smiled again.

„Yes. Yes, I'll do that." The Jolteon watched as Ialee went over to Zinu and Zeeno. Just a short moment later, they had arranged another game of hide and seek with Zeeno being the seeker this time. Niani smiled to herself. The Pichus seemed to not hold a grudge against their sister anymore. 'Life becomes so very complicated when we grow up', she thought. 'Why can't we just stay children, at least for a little longer? Why can't we keep this precious feeling of naivete and just be happy?' Niani shook her head. There was no point in being nostalgic.

It didn't take Zeeno long to find both Ialee and Zinu. His brother accused him immediately that the only way he could have found them so quickly would be that he had cheated, which Zeeno constantly denied. Knowing that this argument wouldn't last long made the nostalgic feeling the Jolteon had just stronger. Children sometimes got mad at each other, but just as quickly as that happened, they would also forgive again. Watching the children, Niani felt that there once had been something in her life that she had lost when growing up, and that she would never be able to find again...

„Hello there", came a deep voice from behind, interrupting her thoughts. Niani jerked and immediately turned around. Stepping out of the woods, there came a large Nidorino, who was almost twice Niani's size. The Jolteon took a step back because it sure was intimidating; she had never seen such a tall Nidorino before. She figured it had to be very close to evolving into a Nidoking. The slight grin he was showing didn't make her feel more comfortable; she immediately knew that there was trouble coming up.

„What do you want?", she asked, taking a look over her shoulder. The children had stopped talking among each other and were now looking at the Nidorino; while the Pichus seemed more curious than anything else, Ialee was obviously afraid. Her tail and ears were shivering lightly and she turned to Niani with a concerned expression. The Jolteon gave a reassuring nod and then turned to the Nidorino again.

„That's not a very polite way to greet someone", he stated. He took another step towards Niani. The Jolteon didn't back away, but instead lowered her head and tensed up, getting in a stance that signaled she was ready for an eventual battle. „But it's actually quite comfortable that we'll get to the point so quickly", the Nidorino continued. He grinned broader and exposed a row of sharp teeth. „You see, I am rather hungry and these kids over there look pretty tasty..."

„There's a mansion full of food nearby", said Niani, giving a light growl and showing her teeth as well. „Just go get something from there and leave the children alone."

„I prefer my meat to be fresh, thank you", replied the Nidorino with another look at the now definitely frightened children. „And, if possible, still alive." As the only answer he got from the Jolteon was another growl, he went on: „Look, maybe we can work something out. How about you just let me have that Eevee and I won't kill you and the Pichus?" His tongue raced across his lips. „Eevees are juicy, and..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, as Niani had jumped forward, ramming her forehead into his side, which made the Nidorino fall over. The Jolteon used this moment of distraction to quickly get between him and the children again. Her thoughts were racing around the question of what she should do; should she tell them to get back to the mansion? They could get attacked on their way, and then they wouldn't have any protection. And while Niani had confidence in her fighting skills, she had to admit that she had never taken on such a large Nidorino before, so she couldn't be sure if the children were actually safe with her. The idea came to her when she spotted a rather large fallen tree which was hollowed out.

„All of you!", she hissed quietly, „get into that fallen tree over there and don't come out!" She was glad to see that the children obeyed without hesitation, making use of what little protection the tree had to offer. Niani turned back to the Nidorino, who had just managed to stand up again. He shook his head and glared at the Jolteon.

„Too bad for you. Now you have to die along with them." He charged at Niani with his head lowered, trying to impale the Jolteon on his horn, but she quickly jumped to the side, making him run right past her. Niani knew she had to be careful, because this horn was likely to be poisonous. The Nidorino growled and turned around, running towards the Jolteon once again, obviously trying just the same maneuver he had tried before. Niani frowned. This Nidorino had to be pretty stupid not to learn from his mistakes. This time, however, instead of jumping aside, she jumped up, seeing him run by beneath her. She was right at the highest point of her jump, when she pushed down her legs once again, kicking the Nidorino in the back with great force. Her enemy stumbled and fell, sliding a little across the ground. Niani came down from her large jump and quickly got into her battle stance again, watching the Nidorino stand up with a groan.

„Don't think this is over already!", he barked. „I've just started to warm up!" This time, he didn't charge at her. Instead he started to slowly encircle Niani, obviously trying to make her nervous. The Jolteon watched as he traced circles around her, all her muscles tensed up, ready to react immediately whenever the Nidorino would do anything. And suddenly he rushed at her, trying to slash her with his claws. The Jolteon was surprised by his sudden speed and couldn't back away far enough, and even though the Nidorino didn't hit her thorat as he had planned, she still received three bloody red lines across her left cheek. Luckily, the gashes weren't very deep. The Nidorino grinned and jumped out of the way when Niani tried to bite him in return, starting to encircle her once more.

Niani thought about how she would be able to defeat this enemy. He was definitely taller and stronger than her, and he also seemed like he could endure much more. Her biggest advantage had always been her speed, but this Nidorino wasn't slow either. He probably wouldn't be as quick as Niani, but the gashes on her cheek painfully reminded her that she had her limits as well. She focused as much as possible on her thoughts, while still trying to predict her enemy's next move. 'How to defeat a superior enemy?', she thought. The answer was clear: 'I've got to work out some kind of strategy!' The Nidorino laughed.

„What's wrong?", he mocked her. „Regretting that you didn't take my offer?" 'Bigger, stronger, and almost as fast as I am', Niani thought. She grinned. 'But he doesn't look like a very smart guy, now does he?'

„What's wrong with you?", she taunted. „Won't you attack? Can't you even win a fight against a female who is smaller than you?" She knew she had used the right words, as the Nidorino roared and charged at her again, his horn lowered. Niani quickly stepped to the side to let him run past her, but he seemed to have predicted that, as he swung his hindquarters around and smashed into Niani's side, sending the smaller and lighter Jolteon flying right into a tree. He watched her fall to the ground, her eyes closed, not moving. The Nidorino knew she was unconscious and therefore out of the way.

„Shouldn't have been so cocky." He could kill her later, but first the highest priority was to make sure that the children wouldn't escape. He walked over to the hollow tree, grinning to himself as he heard the sound of sobbing coming from inside.

Suddenly, the two Pichus dashed out of one end of the tree, getting between the Nidorino and their hiding place, where the Eevee had to be. They glared at him, trying to seem bigger than they actually were.

„We won't let you do anything to our sister!", one of them shouted.

„That's right!", the other one agreed. „We'll kill you if you try anything!" The Nidorino almost had to laugh.

„You'll kill me?", he asked. „Two Pichus? How do you think you can pull that off? Just look at what I did to that Jol..." Suddenly, he felt a great pain coming from every area of his body at once, but he couldn't even scream, though it was one of the most agonizing things he had ever felt. He fell over on his side, noticing that he couldn't move at all. His muscles all seemed to be completely stiff and immobile, and his mind was trapped in a prison of immense pain.

The Pichu brothers stared at the Jolteon who had stepped up behind the Nidorino. Niani was a little weary, but she seemed to be alright.

„Thunder Wave", she said, panting. „I'm sorry I had to let him get so close to you, but if he hadn't been distracted it would have never worked this well." She looked from the Pichu brothers to the Nidorino who lay on the ground. It was barely possible to tell that he was still breathing; only his eyes still moved, trying to look at who had brought him down without turning his head. Niani nodded. The attacker would be immobile for at least two hours, seeing as her Paralyze had hit directly without him even expecting it. Maybe the constant pain he was feeling would teach him a lesson not to attack anyone's children.

The sobbing coming from within the hollow tree caught her attention. She stepped closer to it and spoke in a soft tone:

„It's alright, Ialee. Nobody's going to hurt you. You can come out now." At first, nothing happened, but then the Eevee slowly stuck her head out from within the dead tree. He face was wet with tears, which had matted her fur.

„Did... Did you kill him?", she asked with a shaky voice. Niani shook her head.

„He's alive", she replied, „but he's not dangerous anymore. Don't worry, you're completely safe." The Eevee suddenly dashed out of the hollow tree, running up to Niani, curling up between her front paws, still crying. The Jolteon lowered her head and gently nudged the back of Ialee's neck with her nose, speaking some comforting words. The Pichu brothers joined her after a moment, trying to make Ialee feel better by gently petting her.

„You really don't see that every day", came a female voice from right behind of Niani. The Jolteon froze and then slowly turned around, expecting another attack. Maybe the Nidorino hadn't been alone? But when she saw who sat there behind her, she let out a sigh of relief; it was a female Umbreon, a little taller than her, but probably not a threat. In fact, she was smiling. Niani wondered if this could be the same Umbreon she had seen at the mansion. She didn't really know, because Umbreons often had the strange habit to disappear as soon as one didn't keep a close eye on them. Thus, Niani had not really yet made contact with the dark Pokémon she had noticed at the mansion. However, even though that Umbreon seemed genuine, the Jolteon still didn't let down her guard completely.

„You're not going to attack us, too, are you?", she asked. From the corner of her eye she saw that the Pichus went on with comforting Ialee, for the Eevee obviously wanted to run away at the sight of the dark Pokémon. The Umbreon shook her head, chuckling.

„I live at the mansion, so I''ll probably never be so hungry that I would even consider murdering children." Niani frowned a little, finding this comment to be rather morbid. But at least her question had been answered; it was the same Umbreon that she had seen at the mansion.

„What's your name, and what are you doing out here?", she asked. The Umbreon grinned.

„You're pretty straightforward, aren't you?" She wagged her tail. „My name is Sable. I just took a walk through the woods, when I heard the sounds of a fight, so I hurried to investigate." She paused a short moment, then went on: „I was a little afraid you might had actually been unconscious. If that had been the case, then I would have continued the fight against the Nidorino in your place, of course; but when you got up again, I knew that this wouldn't be necessary." Niani nodded slowly.

„So, you actually could have helped me a lot earlier?", she asked, sounding a little tired. Sable shrugged.

„As I said, it wasn't necessary. I knew that dumb Nidorino wouldn't be a problem for you, so I didn't interfere." The Jolteon sighed, taking a look at the children. Ialee seemed to have calmed down a little.

„It's just Sable", she heard Zinu say. „You know, that Umbreon from the mansion."

„She won't attack us", added Zeeno. Ialee nodded. She had finally stopped crying.

Niani turned back to the Umbreon, who was looking at the Nidorino lying on the ground.

„We should return to the mansion", said Sable, turning to the Jolteon again. „It's very noble of you to let him live after something like that, but I doubt he'll be very grateful of that when he'll be able to move again." Niani nodded.

„You're right." She lowered her head again, softly nudging Ialee's side. „Let's go back to the mansion, alright?" The Eevee nodded slightly and stood up. Zinu and Zeeno took her in between them, speaking to her in a low tone. They went to leave the clearing, closely followed by Sable and Niani, who watched the children with a soft smile. It was sweet how much the Pichus cared for the little Eevee.

After a short while of walking, Niani turned to the Umbreon next to her. Sable seemed to be staring off into the distance, probably not concentrating on where she put her paws. But this was alright, since she obviously knew the way very well.

„Why does an Umbreon go outside at a time like this?", asked Niani. Sable looked at her, a little confused.

„Excuse me?"

„Well, uhh..." Suddenly Niani thought her question was pretty stupid, but she posed it anyway. „I mean... You know, wouldn't it actually be more fitting if you took your walks at night?"

„What, just because I'm a Dark type?" Sable chuckled. „I'm an Umbreon, not some kind of vampire. And I like the morning sun, especially in spring. It's comfortably warm, and the forest is so quiet in the morning..." The Jolteon nodded, agreeing to what Sable had said. It was then that she noticed something.

„Oh, that was probably very rude of me, I still haven't introduced myself..."

„I know your name, Niani", interrupted the Umbreon. She noticed Niani's surprised expression. „There's always a lot of commotion when there's a newcomer", she explained. After a short moment, she added: „Well, let's rather say Karana always causes a lot of commotion when there's a newcomer." The Jolteon grinned at these words, also noticing that Sable had spoken of the Totodile using her full name, which she found to be a little strange. Not even Netho did that. For a moment there was silence. Then Sable said:

„You know, I'm a bit impressed at how you managed to take that blow from the Nidorino so well." Niani looked to the side and Sable went on, sounding excited: „I mean, he sent you flying right into that tree, and you're not even limping! And that strategy to fake unconsciousness was great, it really looked very convining..."

„Let's just say I have enough experience when it comes to being beaten", Niani interrupted, making the Umbreon close her mouth immediately. Now it was Sable who looked to the side.

„I'm sorry for sounding insensitive", she said in a low tone. Niani took a deep breath.

„That's alright, don't worry about it." She tried to think of something, anything that she could use to change the subject. „So, umm, how long have you been staying at the mansion now?" The Umbreon's answer came a little reluctant.

„About one and a half years", she replied in a strange tone. Niani wondered if this was the truth; she couldn't really tell. Sable's expression had suddenly become firm and the Jolteon fell silent. For the rest of the way back, she didn't say anything and just listened to what Zinu, Zeeno and Ialee had to talk about among themselves.





After a short while, they left the woods and arrived at the lake again, where the children were running around and laughing, obviously playing a game of tag, except for the young Absol who just lay on the ground, looking in a different direction. Chria was watching over her children, taking a concerned look at Varol from time to time, but turned around when she heard Niani, Sable and the rest of her children step out of the woods.

„You're back already?", she asked, obviously surprised. „I thought you'd be gone for a longer time..." She stopped and frowned, quickly swimming through the lake to get closer to the Pokémon who had just come out of the forest. „Sweetie, did you cry?", the Lapras asked with a worried expression after a closer look at Ialee. The Eevee nodded and looked to the side, while Chria turned to Niani. „What did you do to her?" Her expression became stern and the tone of her voice was very aggressive. The Jolteon shook her head, watching the Vulpix, the Poochyena, the Chikorita and the Growlithe surround the lake to get closer to her. Even the Mudkip resurfaced to investigate what was going on. While most of the children seemed to be the most concerned about Ialee, the Vulpix followed Chria's example and glared at Niani.

„I didn't do anything to her", the Jolteon defended herself. Zinu and Zeeno both nodded.

„She's right", said Zinu. „A really big Nidorino attacked us, and that's why Ialee cried, but Niani fought him off!" The children all looked up at the Jolteon, obviously impressed, except for the Vulpix, who frowned, just as Chria. The Lapras looked at the small Pichu.

„Dear, you shouldn't make up stories in a situation like this, I really..."

„He isn't making up stories!", interrupted Zeeno. „There really was a Nidorino that attacked us, and it was at least this big!" He stood up on his toes and stretched his paws as high as he could, but he still wasn't even half as tall as Niani. The Lapras looked from the Pichu to the Eevee, her expression alone asking her if this was really true. Ialee only nodded in response.

„She took him out with a really clever trick", added Sable, her tail wagging. „I mean, he was taller and stronger than her, but she managed to defeat him without problems, and..." She stopped as Chria gasped, realizing that what the Pichus had said was actually true. The Lapras threw herself onto the edge of the lake, trying to get out of the water as quick as possible, nudging Ialee's side so hard that the young Eevee almost fell over.

„A Nidorino? Those ones are poisonous!", she cried, quickly examining Ialee for eventual wounds. „Are you hurt? Ialee, did that monster touch you?!" The Eevee had trouble to keep standing on her paws and backed away a little.

„I'm fine, mommy", she said, looking up at the Lapras with a small smile. „Please don't worry, Niani protected us." Chria slowly calmed down and retreated her head. She took a look at Zinu and Zeeno and sighed in relief as she noticed that the Pichus weren't hurt, either. Then, she looked at the Jolteon.

„What happened out there?" Niani quickly told the Lapras about everything; how the Nidorino had attacked them with the intention to eat the children, how they had hidden in the fallen tree, and how Niani had managed to defeat the attacker. Sable occasionally agreed, or added a small detail about the fight. When she finished, the Lapras and the Vulpix just stared at her; the other children had gathered around the Pichus and the Eevee, trying to make Ialee feel safe.

„I should have guessed something like that has happened", came a voice from the other side of the lake. Niani took a step to the side in order to be able to look past the Lapras, who had been blocking her view, and saw a familiar Totodile swim through the lake, showing her usual toothy grin. „I've been searching for you all morning", she went on in a tone that was close to that of a disappointed mother, „and now it turns out that you were in the woods, fighting Nidorinos and saving children." The fact that she was grinning while saying this made it clear that she was indeed not disappointed, but rather excited instead. Niani shook her head.

„I fought one Nidorino", she corrected the Totodile. „Please don't make that such a big deal, it wasn't that big of a problem..." She realized that she probably sounded like she was bragging, and quickly stopped talking.

„Don't make it a big deal?", the Lapras repeated, unbelieving. „Niani, if it hadn't been for you, my children would be dead now!" Chria's voice was shivering, and she seemed like she was caught somewhere between crying and laughing in relief that nothing had happened to the young ones. The Lapras lowered her head, and the Vulpix imitated that motion. „I will never be able to thank you in an appropriate way for saving them." Niani took a step back, feeling a little uncomfortable.

„Hold on there", she said, blushing under her fur. „You shouldn't thank me for that, I mean, protecting them was the reason I went with them, after all..."

„Don't be so modest", Sable encouraged her, smiling at the Jolteon. „You really did a great job, and your fighting style is impressing!" Niani frowned a little, noticing that the Umbreon always seemed to get back to the topic of fighting again, but nodded anyway. Kara held on to the edge of the lake and pulled herself out of the water, still grinning at Niani.

„Why are you with Sable, anyway?", she asked. The Umbreon replied:

„Well, I just happened to be close by and thought I should check if everything was alright." She looked at the nearby mansion and added: „I guess I should get something to eat now. Since there's not going to be any dangerous situations anytime soon, I don't really have to keep an eye on you anymore." She winked at Niani and then went, without saying anything else. The Jolteon was a little surprised by the Umbreon's sudden decision, but let her go, concentrating on Chria once more.

„Listen", she tried again, „I understand that you're relieved to know your children are safe, but I really didn't do anything special, I had promised to protect them..."

„You didn't get the point", Chria said with a smile, shaking her head. „You fought against a Nidorino that was taller and stronger than you, in order to save the children that aren't even yours. You could have died doing that, but you didn't run away. This is, by far, one of the noblest deeds anyone is able to do." Niani looked to the side, blushing again. Luckily for her, she heard her stomach growl once more.

„I, uh, I don't want to appear rude", she said quickly, „but I still haven't eaten anything today and, well, I should go back to the mansion..." She blushed even more as she noticed she was stuttering. Chria chuckled.

„I see. Well, thank you again, and if you want to keep us some company again sometime, you're always welcome to do so." Niani nodded and then turned to the children.

„It'd be great if you could come over and play with us again sometime." The Pichu brothers both grinned. „We'll train really hard", added Zinu, „and then we'll be faster than you!" The Jolteon smiled. She would definitely visit the children again, for she had taken a liking to them. She took a last look at Ialee and thought about what she had told the young Eevee about becoming an Espeon and how Ialee had immediately trusted her on this. Niani lowered her head and nudged the Eevee's side with her nose.

„We'll see each other again very soon, don't worry." Ialee smiled at her.

„Thank you for everything, Niani", she whispered. The Jolteon nodded and then turned away, looking at Kara.

„Let's go."

The two Pokémon walked around the lake, heading for the mansion. Niani had to look at Kara over and over again; the Totodile wore an expression that she couldn't quite figure out.

„You're a heroine", Kara said after a while. The Jolteon shook her head.

„Why does everyone think of that as something special? I mean, if Chria doesn't let her children go into the forest on their own, then such things have to happen pretty often, right?" The Totodile shook her head.

„It happens all but often", she replied. „In fact, I think there had only been one attack until now, but that had been before I got here. I was told that the child managed to run away and back to the mansion, but it was probably a close call." Niani nodded and looked forward again.

„And as soon as I get here, the children get attacked", she stated. „I can only hope nobody will make a wrong assumption about that." Kara shook her head.

„I doubt anyone would be that stupid. It probably happened because the Nidorino thought he could win against you, with him being taller and all that." She chuckled. „I figure he would have never attacked the children if Ryakee had come with them." Niani stopped walking and frowned.

„Was that just a clumsy choice of words, or are you accusing me to have caused the attack by not looking strong enough?" Niani didn't really think the Totodile had tried to insult her, of course, but it had really sounded a little strange. As expected, Kara rolled her eyes.

„Do you really think I would do such a thing?" Then she grinned. „I might be a little angry at you for dodging my reading lesson, but that doesn't mean I would start thinking bad about you." The Jolteon shrugged and started walking again, when suddenly there came a voice from behind.

„Niani! Niani, please wait!" Niani and Kara turned around and saw that the young Vulpix was coming, running up to them. He sat down in front of the Jolteon and lowered his head in a gesture of respect.

„I wanted to thank you personally for saving my siblings' lives", he said. „You have to be really courageous and strong." Niani looked to the side, feeling uncomfortable once again about being complemented. Kara nodded.

„She definitely is!", agreed the Totodile. Niani rolled her eyes.

„Did you have to say that?", she hissed. Kara nodded, her grin growing broader.

„Well, I for one think that a true heroine such as you should be honored in an appropriate way." She looked at the Vulpix. „You agree with me on that, don't you, Demorho?" Demorho looked up, smiling.

„Of course I agree!", he shouted, sounding very excited. „The whole mansion should know that Niani saved Zinu, Zeeno and Ialee today!" The Jolteon wanted to interrupt and tell them that she would prefer if they didn't make such a big deal out of it, but Kara didn't pay any attention to her.

„That won't take long", the Totodile chuckled. „There still have to be pretty many Pokémon at the hall, so we'll just have to go in there and gain their attention."

„I don't want to have their attention", said Niani, but Kara and Demorho ignored her completely.

„Let's go to the hall!", said Kara, starting to walk again. „Are you coming along as well, Demorho?" The Vulpix shook his head.

„I'll rather return to mother." He looked at Niani once again and smiled. „What you did for our family was..."

„It was nothing!", Niani interrupted and immediately turned to follow Kara. When she was close enough, she growled in an annoyed tone:

„Why can't anyone grasp that I would rather not have the attention of every single Pokémon in the mansion just because I did what I was supposed to do?" The Totodile shook her head.

„What's the matter with you?", she asked. „There's nothing wrong about being complimented for helping someone in need."

„I never said there was anything wrong with that", replied Niani. „I just don't think it's necessary to brag about it. Besides, I can't imagine anyone would actually be interested in it, anyway." Kara grinned once again.

„Oh, you don't know anything", she chuckled. „There's always a lot of interest for dramatic stories like this. I mean, you heroically saved Chria's children by fighting against a Nidorino more than twice your size, and..."

„There was nothing heroic about it!", the Jolteon shouted. „I just did what Chria had asked me to do! And the Nidorino was a little taller than me, but not more than twice my size!" Kara shook her head.

„Those are just details, and they'll get narrated differently by everyone, anyway. I'm telling you, the Nidorino will eventually grow into a Nidoking, and the three children you saved will get turned into all nine that Chria takes care of." Niani sighed. Kara knew enough about rumors that she trusted her on this. Still, she wanted to try it one more time.

„Look", she said, „can't we just keep it a secret? I mean, nobody's going to talk about it if they don't know, right?" The Totodile rolled her eyes.

„You're a hopeless case", she stated. Then, she grinned again. „And as your friend, it is my honorable duty to make sure you won't exaggerate it with your modesty." Niani knew what that meant.

„You're going to tell it to absolutely everyone, right?" Kara nodded.

„Right." The Jolteon rolled her eyes and didn't say anything anymore. Just a few moments later, they arrived at the mansion, now standing in front of the door that led directly to the hall. Kara looked at Niani, still showing her toothy grin.

„Are you ready to get become really popular?" Niani sighed.

„Do I have to answer this question?" Kara shook her head.

„Actually, no. A heroine like you is always ready." And with that, she opened the door.



The hall was indeed filled with Pokémon, just as the Totodile had expected. It weren't as much as it had been when Niani had entered it for the very first time, but it was still pretty full and almost as noisy as it had been the first time. The Jolteon guessed that the amount of Pokémon in the hall was somewhere around fourty or fifty. She looked at Kara, who seemed to be ready to spread her rumors.

„Before you tell everyone lies about me, could you maybe wait until I've got something to eat?", asked Niani. „I'm pretty close to starving." The Totodile nodded.

„That's even better!", she exclaimed. „You were able to defeat the Nidorino without having eaten anything the whole day! That makes you seem even tougher!" Niani just ignored that comment and went to get something to eat and to drink. Today there was a gigantic Charizard helping to get the quadrupeds their food and water; Niani was a little intimidated as he couldn't even spread his wings in the small room, that's how big he was. He seemed very nice though and smiled at Niani, who appreciated the gesture, even though he exposed a row of enormously sharp teeth doing this. The Jolteon was relieved when she could enter the hall again, shoving two feeding dishes around in front of her, one of them filled with water, the other one full of meat. When she returned to where she had left Kara, she saw not only the Totodile, but also Ral?re standing there. The Zangoose had got something to eat as well; she seemed pretty tired and her eyes were halfway closed.

„How can you be so sleepy when you just got out of your bed?", asked Kara, looking in Ral?re's direction. The Zangoose shrugged wearily.

„I probably didn't sleep for long enough", she mumbled. Kara frowned.

„Ral?re, I don't want to insult you, but you don't actually do anything else than sleeping here", she said. Ral?re gave a small growl.

„Shut up", she muttered in a very tired tone. The Totodile rolled her eyes, but then noticed that Niani had stepped up behind her and turned around.

„It's good you're back", she grinned. „Now hurry up and eat, we've got an important announcement to make!" Niani sighed and, before starting to eat, wished Ral?re a good morning, which the Zangoose answered with:

„I hate mornings." Kara shook her head.

„She hates almost everything", she whispered at the Jolteon with an annoyed look. Niani just shrugged and started to eat, enjoying the comfortingly warm feeling of finally getting something into her empty stomach.

The Totodile watched her for a while, looking around impatiently. She wanted to spread her new information as soon as possible, so that all the Pokémon in the hall could hear it. Then, she saw Netho sitting on an artificial branch and smiled. She waved at him.

„Netho! Hey, Netho! Could you come here for a moment?" It was pretty hard for the small Totodile to shout loud enough for the Pidgeotto to hear her, but it seemed to work as Netho turned around and then got off his branch, flying through the hall to land right next to Kara. Niani watched him from the corner of her eye; as expected, he bowed.

„Greetings, Miss Kara. I hope you're having a fine morning. Is there anything I can do for you?" The Totodile nodded.

„There is indeed something you can do for me. If you could be so kind and try to get the attention of every single Pokémon in this room, I would be very grateful." Niani noticed once again, that, whenever anyone spoke with Netho, their choice of language would become more and more like the Pidgeotto's. Netho nodded.

„I'm glad to be of help." He took a very deep breath and then let out such a loud screech, that Niani could have sworn to see the window glasses shiver for a moment. The Jolteon, Kara and Ral?re, not having expected something like that, all jumped at hearing the shrill noise. The Zangoose now seemed completely awake and glared at Netho, not saying anything. Kara shook her head, rubbing her paws over her earholes.

„Was that really necessary?", she asked, sounding a little groggy. Netho shrugged.

„It was the fastest way to get their attention, Miss Kara. See for yourself." He performed a gesture with his wing to underline his words, and he was indeed right; the steady noise in the hall had disappeared completely, all the Pokémon just stared at Niani, Kara, Ral?re and Netho. The Jolteon swallowed, feeling uncomfortable yet again, and shoved the bowl that contained her food a little distance away from her. Ral?re just sighed and rolled her eyes, but the Totodile seemed to be happy that everybody was paying attention. She cleared her throat and then spoke:

„I am sorry to have distracted you from whatever you were doing, but something has happened that will interest you all." She paused for a moment, letting the tension grow. And while Niani still disapproved of all this, she had to admit that Kara definitely knew how to address the masses.

„You probably know Niani by now", the Totodile continued, pointing at the Jolteon with. „She has just been here for three days and already she has done something so magnificent, something so brave and selfless that I have become certain that the gods themselves sent her to us!" Niani blushed heavily, hoping her dense fur would cover it up. Kara's version of the story seemed to be even more horrible than she had feared. But Ral?re shoved her elbow into the Totodiles side and hissed:

„Don't exaggerate too much, alright?" Kara rolled her eyes.

„Since when do you know anything about how this works?", she whispered, and then turned to speaking louder again: „As far as I can see, Niani's noble deed was probably the most heroic thing that ever happened around this mansion! Nothing else will ever be able to measure up against it!" She paused again, as the other Pokémon in the hall started to become more and more curious. Some of them whispered amongst themselves, either trying to figure out what Kara was talking about, or ridiculing the Totodile's important behaviour. But each of them was interested in what the blue reptile had to say next. Kara kept them waiting, smiling to herself. She knew she had the crowd under control. But she wanted to wait for a special signal before continuing. After a few more moments, somebody finally shouted:

„What did she do, anyway?"

„What she did?", repeated Kara. „I'll tell you what she did, and I promise you'll be impressed!" The Totodile took a deep breath to further delay the solution and Niani looked to the side. This was so embarassing! „She was out in the woods, watching over some of Chria's children who had wanted to go and play in the forest", Kara finally continued. „She did this, even though she hadn't eaten anything all morning, just because she is such a friendly and selfless person! And then..." She paused once again, just looking at the crowd of Pokémon for a moment.

„What happened then?", came a voice from somewhere in the hall.

„Yeah, tell us!" shouted someone else. Kara could almost feel the tension, as if it were something like a spiritual entity that had entered the hall, filling it up completely. Once again, she took a deep breath.

„A Nidorino suddenly jumped out of the woods!", she shouted, trying to make herself seem bigger in order to imitate the attacking Pokémon. „He was unusually tall for his species, way taller than Niani, obviously close to evolving into a Nidoking! And he wanted the children!" Just a very short pause this time, to keep her listeners on the edge. „A poisonous beast!", she added, „Like a raging horned demon! But Niani had promised to protect the children at all cost, and so she did not run from her physically superior enemy!" She stopped talking again, until someone from within the crowed yelled:

„What did she do? What did she do?" Kara grinned. 

„Well, what do you think she did?", she asked in a low tone, before going back to shouting again: „She fought that giant abomination, risking to get poisoned or even killed, just to keep the children safe! And in the end, intelligence triumphed over brute strength, as she came up with a tactic to divert his attention and hit him with an all-out Thunder Wave!" The crowd now started cheering and stomping on the ground, nearly all of the Pokémon in the hall shouting and yelling, so that nothing could be understood because there were too many voices at once. Only a few of the listeners remained unimpressed, shaking their heads or grinning about Kara's usual antics. Within a few seconds, the Pokémon had formed a circle around Niani, all of them congratulating and complimenting her. Even the large Charizard that had helped her to get her food expressed his admiration. The Jolteon was completely overwhelmed with having the full attention of just a little less than fourty Pokémon and just nodded all the time, not knowing what to say. Kara had stepped back, looking at the crowd forming around Niani, grinning to herself.

„I don't think she enjoys all this attention too much", Ral?re stated. Kara's grin just got broader.

„Well, it's what she deserves. For saving the children on the one, and for dodging my lessons on the other paw." Ral?re frowned.

„You're weird." The Totodile shrugged.

„That's just your opinion." The Zangoose nodded and then directed her attention to the mass of Pokémon around Niani, who were all trying to get her attention in order to ask her some kind of question. Without looking at Kara, she raised her right paw, showing the Totodile her large, black claws.

„You know what's going to happen if you should ever do anything like this to me, right?" Kara rolled her eyes and carefully pushed Ral?re's paw away from her.

„Remind me again why I share my room with you?" The Zangoose grinned.

„Because nobody else can stand your blabbering, and you hate being alone."




„Hey! Hey! How did you do this?"

„How did you win a fight against such an enemy?"

„What kind of trick did you use? Please tell me!"

Niani heard the questions coming from all sides and shook her head, trying to think straight again. The Pokémon had gathered so closely around her, that she nearly couldn't move anymore. Maybe they would leave her alone if she just answered their question.

„That's enough!"; she shouted, and the crowd went quiet. „I'll tell you how I did it. At first I..." But a familiar voice interrupted her:

„Why just tell them when you can show them?" Niani was relieved to recognize Sable in the mass of Pokémon, but then remembered the Umbreon's strange obsession with fighting and didn't know anymore if she should be happy or worried. Sable pushed her way through the ring of Pokémon and shouted:

„Everyone, take a few steps back! We're going to re-enact the whole scene, but we'll need enough room to move!" The crowd obeyed, giving the two Pokémon room. Niani instinctively took a deep breath and Sable grinned at her.

„I'll take the part of the Nidorino. Don't worry, I'll..." She stopped as she heard the sound of someone closing a door and looked over to where it had come from. All the other Pokémon followed her example, recognizing more or less surprised that Richard had entered the hall, Light walking behind him, as usual. The human slowly walked towards the middle of the hall, where Niani and Sable stood, surrounded by the other Pokémon. Richard went right through to Niani, the Pokémon in the crowd quickly stepping aside, even those who were taller than him. Either it was the fact that Richard was the owner of this mansion, or it had something to do with his dark clothing and his strange expression, but everyone respected him at least enough to let him through. He came to a stop just in front of the Jolteon, who now looked up at him.

„You're not fighting, are you?", he asked. „If you were, I'm sure Thunder would have stopped you." He pointed behind him and Niani noticed just now that the Ninetales had been there all the time, amongst the few Pokémon that hadn't been all too impressed by Kara's speech. Thunder now stepped up to Richard and explained in a few words what was happening. Light quickly wrote it down and reached the note up to her mate.

„She saved Chria's children from a Nidorino and now everyone wants to see how she fought him", Richard read aloud. He frowned and looked at the Jolteon. „You saved Chria's children?", he repeated. Niani just nodded in response. Richard's indifferent expression still didn't change, but he reached out with his hand and gave her a pat on her head.

„Good work... Niani, right?" The Jolteon nodded again. All the other Pokémon just stared at Richard with an unbelieving expression, except for Light, who, after a short moment of surprise, glared at Niani with pure hatred in her eyes. The Jolteon blinked. Had she done anything wrong?

„Let's go, love", said Richard, turning around and heading for the door that led outside the mansion. The Raichu also turned, and as she did, she swung her tail so that the broad tip slapped Niani straight across the cheek, before Light hurried to follow the human. Even though it hadn't hurt, the Jolteon still got the message. The silence remained until Richard and the Raichu had left the hall, and then Niani slowly turned to Thunder, who now stood next to her.

„What did she do that for?" The Ninetales shook his head.

„Well...", he said reluctantly, „you see, normally Richard doesn't remember any Pokémon's name except for Light's, mine, Lightning's and Doc's." Niani was confused.

„That's strange", she stated. „And why is that a reason for Light to hate me?" Thunder sighed.

„You know how extremely obsessed she is with Richard", he just said, trusting Niani to figure it out on her own, which wasn't very hard after all. There was an awkward silence, but it only lasted for a short moment as Sable cleared her throat.

„How about we just re-enact the battle now?", she proposed, taking everyone's minds off the Raichu. There came shouts from the crowd, agreeing to the Umbreon's proposal, and just a little while later, the two Eevee evolutions had engaged in their fake fight.





After seeing how Niani had managed to defeat the Nidorino, the excitement had slowly died down again. The Pokémon that had crowded around the Jolteon before had congratulated Niani once again and then had gone back to eating their food; some of them had also left the hall. Niani was sure some of them were still talking about her, but she didn't pay it too much attention now that she was quickly finishing the food that was still in her feeding dish. Sable had left after their fight, and Netho wasn't in the hall anymore, either, but Kara and Ral?re still sat where the Jolteon had left them. After a while, the Totodile asked:

„How does it feel to be a heroine?" Niani slowly swallowed the last bit of her food and looked up, thinking about what she could say.

„I guess it feels better than being a blabbermouth", she said with a grin. Kara frowned and Ral?re quickly looked in another direction, so that the Totodile wouldn't hear her giggle.

„You got that word from Ral?re, haven't you?", Kara suspected, turning to the Zangoose.

„You know very well that I would rather die than speak badly of you, my friend", chuckled Ral?re, looking at the Totodile again. „I never said you..." She stopped, as she noticed that a certain Sneasel slowly approached them with an obvious expression of displeasure. „Now look who's paying us a visit", the Zangoose said, her voice now very serious again. Kara and Niani both turned to see who was coming and watched quietly, as Sugar stepped closer and finally sat down in front of the Jolteon.

„Can I... help you?", asked Niani reluctantly. The Sneasel seemed to stare right into her eyes, with a look that was as hard as an iron blade.

„You've done enough already", she said lowly, glaring at Niani. Kara frowned.

„What do you want?", she asked. „Haven't found a male to play with for today?" Sugar bared her teeth, sneering at the Totodile. Then, she turned to Niani again.

„I don't like it when someone tries to get in the center of everyone's attention", she explained. „You should better stop bragging, or you'll have to face the consequences." The Jolteon gasped.

„Is this supposed to be a threat?", she asked, unbelieving. Ral?re slowly stepped up behind her, raising her front paws so Sugar could have a good look at her claws.

„It'll be better for you to answer this question with a no", she growled. Sugar didn't seem to be impressed. Instead, she set up a sly grin.

„My, what a brute you are", she stated. The expression in her eyes seemed to get even more piercing when she looked at the Jolteon again. „This is merely a friendly warning", the Sneasel said. „You should better watch out not to steal my males' attention from me, or you'll regret it." Niani found this situation to be so absurd, that she didn't say anything and just stared at Sugar, completely surprised at what the Sneasel had implied. However, Kara didn't seem to have that problem.

„You shouldn't worry about that", she said in a harsh tone. „After all, Niani's not a slut like you." Sugar slowly turned to the Totodile, gritting her teeth.

„What did you just call me?", she asked in a low, calm tone, that made her seem even more dangerous. Her eyes were focused on Kara and filled with rage. Ral?re frowned.

„Kara, maybe you shouldn't..."

„What shouldn't I do?", asked the Totodile with a sadistic grin. „Were you going to say that I shouldn't tell the truth about that dirty slut?"

Then, everything happened within less than a second. Sugar growled and jumped at the Totodile with her front paws stretched out in an attempt to slash at Kara with her claws. But right after her hind paws had left the ground, a white lightning bolt rushed right between the Totodile and the Sneasel, blocking Sugar's way. Her head hit Thunder's side and she fell to the ground, groaning lowly, while the Ninetales didn't even seem to notice the that a Sneasel had just crashed into his side, as he stood unwavering. Thunder slowly looked from Kara to Sugar, who was rubbing her forehead with her front paws, looking up at the Ninetales. The Pokémon that had remained in the hall all turned to look.

„Sugar, you know that fighting in the hall is not allowed", Thunder said with a stern voice. The Sneasel gasped.

„It's not like I started!", she defended herself, sounding more than just a little displeased. She pointed at Kara. „She called me a dirty slut!" A few Pokémon in the hall chuckled and Niani was certain she heard someone say lowly: „The most fitting description I've ever heard." Most of the uninvolved Pokémon turned away again, having lost their interest quite quickly. Thunder sighed and looked at Kara.

„Kara, if you would please stop agitating everyone..."

„Hey, wait!", interrupted the Totodile. „She was the one who came to us, threatening Niani!" The Ninetales turned to Sugar again.

„I didn't threaten her!", the Sneasel claimed. „I just gave her a friendly advice!"

„Yeah, right!", shouted Kara. „Very friendly indeed, telling her she would regret it!" Thunder sighed loudly. He had to handle such minor problems way too often.

„Have you ever heard of „Sticks and stones"?", he asked. The Totodile and the Sneasel both nodded.

„I'm tired of everybody getting in each other's faces just because of something they said", Thunder went on and looked first at Kara and then at Sugar again. „Stop insulting anyone, stop overreacting all the time, just try to get along with each other!" The Totodile and the Sneasel both looked to the side. Niani grinned. Thunder sounded like a father scolding his children. „If anything like this happens again, both of you will be punished", he finished and then walked away, signalising that he wouldn't discuss this any further. Sugar looked from Kara over Ral?re to Niani.

„Just remember what I said", she told her as she turned to walk away as well. „You should better not try to make me angry." When the Sneasel was a few steps away, Niani shook her head and looked at the Zangoose and the Totodile behind her.

„Kara, were you purposely trying to get me in trouble? Because you've certainly ruined it for me with Light and Sugar." Kara just shrugged.

„Do you actually care about what that crazy Raichu and that slutty Sneasel think about you?" After a short moment of thinking about her words, the Jolteon grinned.

„No", she said. „No, definitely not."





Varol sat on the ground, looking at the Lapras which lay near the edge of the artificial pool in the room of her mansion. All of the children had curled up next to her, as Chria held them embraced with her large flippers. It was almost noon, and so they were having a nap together, all of them close to each other, just like a real family would do it. Even Demorho had joined them, inspite of his exaggeratedly mature behaviour at times. The Absol was the only one who was still awake.

Varol looked at the door. It was closed, but not locked, as always. Chria had made him promise her not to leave the room; before he would have done that, she had said, she wouldn't go to sleep. But why should he listen to her, anyway? She wasn't his mother, after all, and so she didn't have any right to keep him in this room. He slowly stood up and took a step towards the door. Another look over his shoulder confirmed his assumption; everyone was fast asleep.

The Absol smiled to himself. He had never snuck away like this before, but after his conversation with Demorho earlier, he felt like he had to prove that he could get along quite fine on his own. This was his chance to show that stupid Vulpix and his so-called mother that he would never need to accept Chria as his new mother. He slowly raised one of his front paws, placing it on the lower handle of the door.

„I'll show them", he whispered, as he pushed it open and left the room.





(16751 words)






This ends the third chapter. The fourth chapter will be something very special, but... Let's just keep it a secret what exactly it'll be ^^. I'd like to thank everyone who commented on one of the former chapters; as always, if you have anything to tell me, proposals, questions or story requests, then please leave a review or email me at [email protected]. That's it, I guess... The next chapter may or may not take even longer than this one, that depends on... a few of these things that I decided to keep a secret until the next chapter comes out ^^. Thank you for reading!





-- Lion vom Silberwald