"Goodbye..."
"Goodbye..."
First of all, I want to thank anyone who have read my other chapters... Second, the title says 'goodbye', but this doesn't mean between Sashi and Eevy! No... not for a long time that is... *gasp* Did I say that out loud?
Sashi: We're going to be separated?
No... I was just ehh... Making up things... Got you fooled, didn't I? *Laughs weakly*
Sashi: Ohhh... You sure did...
Anyway, you'll read it in the story! Oh and by the way, there will be no sex in this one...
Sashi: There won't? Awww, that really takes out all the fun... *Reads the story* Yep, it's true... No sex...
Hey, how come you've read the story already when I haven't even started writing?
Sashi: I'm Psychic...
"Echo!" Sashi called, and she could hear her own voice repeating itself time after time.
"Your voice sound more beautiful in this cave..." Eevy laughed.
The two had entered the cave, just like Chris had told them. They were in it for at least 10 minutes now. The cave was lit with several lights, but there were not many of them, so some parts were darker.
"Any idea how long this cave is? I mean, I'd like to be out of it before dark..."
"It's dark enough in here..." Eevy said, but then saw Sashi's serious look. "I'll go check..."Eevy quickly said, and grabbed her Pokemon Guide. "It says no one knows exactly how long this cave is... Only that it takes a long time to get out..."
"Couldn't we have gone around this cave?" Sashi asked.
"Chris said we had to follow this route, didn't he?" Eevy said.
"True, but who listens to a man who talks weird?" Sashi said.
"We, obviously..." Eevy said.
"Yeah..." Sashi said as she started walking. Eevy followed.
"Look..." Eevy said, and pointed ahead.
"Mmmm?" Sashi replied, looking in the direction Eevy pointed. There was a Pokemon. "Who's that Pokemon?" Sashi asked, and aimed her Pokedex at it.
"-Bzzt- Golbat. Poison/Flying type Pokemon. It clamps down on its prey with needlesharp fangs and drains over 10 ounces of blood in one gulp. -Bzzt-"
"A Golbat?" Eevy said.
"Poison type?" Sashi said to herself. "That means it's weak against Psychic types..."
"Where are you going with this?"
"This is the perfect opportunity to train my Kirlia..." Sashi smiled.
"I see now..."
"Kirlia! I choose you!" Sashi called, and threw Kirlia's Pokeball into the air. It opened, and Kirlia came out.
"Kirlia..." she said.
"Kirlia?" Sashi asked, and Kirlia looked at her. "I want you to try and defeat this Pokemon in battle..."
"You mean that Golbat?" Sashi nodded. "Piece of cake!" Kirlia said, and walked forwards. The Golbat saw this.
"Kirlia! Use-"
"Shadow Ball attack!" someone else called, and a ball of dark energy came out of the opposite direction of Kirlia, and it hit the Golbat. The Golbat screamed in pain, and fainted.
"What the...?!" Sashi gasped as she saw the Golbat faint. "What's going on?" Sashi asked as she approached the Golbat.
"All right, I di-" the same voice as before said, when it stopped suddenly. Sashi gasped when he stepped into the light, and he did the same.
"You're..." Sashi began.
"You're..." the male said exactly the same time.
"Wait a second... Isn't that..." Eevy began.
"An Umbreon..." Sashi said, but couldn't believe it.
"No, I mean... an Anthro?" Eevy said.
"Yeah..."
"And you're an Espeon..." the Umbreon said.
"Yeah..." Sashi said, and approached the Umbreon. She looked all over him; his hair, his eyes, his long ears, his body. It looked like a human body, but it was one of a Pokemon. Just like hers. "This is the first time I meet a different anthro..."
"It's pretty new to me too..." the Umbreon said, and he too looked all over Sashi. "Wow..."
"What?"
"Nothing..." the Umbreon quickly said. "Your body... it looks just like one of a human..."
Sashi nodded slightly.
"Oh, where are my manners..." the Umbreon said and reached out his hand. "My name's Brian..." Brian said.
"My name's Sashi..." Sashi said, as she took Brian's hand. The two smiled at each other while the black and the purple hands shook. Then Brian saw Eevy.
"You travel with a human?" Brian asked.
"Yeah... She's okay, and a very nice travel companion..." Sashi said.
"And you're okay with us being anthro's?" Brian asked Eevy.
"Why shouldn't I be okay with it? I know Sashi, and I think she's really nice too..." Eevy said. "Really nice looking yeah..." Eevy thought when she said that. "So you should be okay too..." Eevy finished.
"In that case," Brian said, and reached out his hand, "Nice to meet you..."
"Eevy..." Eevy said, and shook Brian's hand.
"Eevy..." Brian repeated.
"So... now that we have all the nice things done, what were you trying to do, stealing my Pokemon?!" Sashi said a bit louder than usual.
"A-hem... Your Pokemon? Wild ones don't belong to someone..." Brian replied calm.
"But I was about to attack it before you interrupted..." Sashi said.
"I interrupted? Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know that Golbat was occupied..." Brian said.
"Ugh forget it!" Sashi growled.
"Okay, why are we fighting?" Eevy asked.
"Oh come on! Didn't you see what he did?" Sashi asked.
"He attacked the Golbat, yeah... But that doesn't mean you two have to fight over it... It's just a Golbat..." Eevy said.
"Maybe you're right..." Sashi sighed, and then looked at Brian. "I'm sorry for yelling at you..."
"Nah, it's my fault... I shouldn't have attacked that Golbat..."
"It's not your fault... You couldn't know I was attacking it in the first place... It's my fault!"
"It can't be your fault when it's my fault!"
"Whoa wait a second... You two are fighting again..." Eevy said.
Sashi and Brian gasped.
"Sorry..." they both said at the same time.
"That's good..." Eevy said.
"So..." Brian said. "Where are you two going?"
"Salia City..." Sashi said. "I want to win my fourth badge..."
"Now I remember!" Brian gasped.
"Remember what?" Sashi asked confused.
"I knew your name sounded familiar... You've faught against Ocean, am I right?" Brian asked.
"Uh, yeah... why?"
"I wondered why Ocean said 'Oh no, not another one' when I entered the Gym... And now I know why... You beat him, didn't you?"
"You bet!" Sashi said, and showed Brian her Coralbadge.
"Haha! He's gonna remember our fights for a long time! He's going to dislike us anthro's now..."
"Why?" Eevy asked.
"I beat him too..." Brian said, and showed his Coralbadge.
"Wow..." Sashi began, but stopped when she spotted something behind Brian's legs. "What's that?" Sashi asked, looking down.
"This?" Brian asked, looking down too. "Oh, that's Umbreon..." Brian said.
"Okay, this is way too coincidental..." Eevy said.
"Why?" Brian asked.
"Well, you're an Umbreon, training an Umbreon, while Sashi is an Espeon, training an Espeon..." Eevy explained.
"You have an Espeon?" Brian asked, looked down, and saw Espeon behind Sashi's legs. "Wow, that's awesome!" Brian said. "Hello Espeon... I'm Brian..." Brian said, and kneeled down. Espeon walked from behind Sashi's legs to Brian.
"Hello Brian..." Espeon said.
"What level is she?" Brian asked Sashi.
"Ehhh..." Sashi said.
"I'm level 35 by now..." Espeon replied.
"Wow, you're strong..." Brian said.
"You can understand Pokemon language too?" Eevy asked.
"Of course he can... He beat Ocean, so he got a new badge, and that made his Pokemon, and himself, stronger..." Sashi explained. "Happened to me too..."
"So since you beat Ocean, you can understand Pokemon?" Brian asked.
"You can too, right?" Sashi asked.
"I can, but before now I didn't know why... How did you discover?"
"Jolty explained it to me..." Sashi replied.
"Jolty? Who is that?" Brian asked.
Eevy grabbed Jolty's Pokeball, and let her out.
"Jolty!" Jolty called when she was released.
"This is Jolty, my Jolteon..." Eevy said.
Jolty looked at everybody, and saw a new face.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"I am Brian..." Brian said.
"You can understand me... That means you have now three badges, right?" Jolty asked.
"That's right..." Brian replied.
"Cool..." Jolty replied.
"It's not fair I'm the only one who can't understand Pokemon language..." Eevy thought. "Jolty, return!" Eevy said, and called Jolty back into her Pokeball.
"Umbreon? Say hello to our new friends..." Brian said, and slowly, Umbreon walked from behind Brian's legs.
"Hello..." Sashi said, kneeling down. "My name is Sashi..."
"H-hello Sashi..." Umbreon said.
"He's a little shy..." Brian said. "I don't know where he gets it from..."
"I once read that a Pokemon starts acting like the trainer the more time they spend together..." Sashi said.
"Not in my case..." Espeon replied.
"Oh no?" Sashi giggled.
"That's what I said... I don't know where he gets it from..." Brian said.
"Okay, now that we've introduced ourselves and got to know each other, where are you going?" Eevy asked.
"Same place you two are going... Salia City..." Brian replied.
"You're going for your fourth badge too?" Sashi asked, and Brian nodded.
"Cool!"
"But I have another question... If you're going for your fourth badge, and I am too, how come I met you two here when I've started later?" Brian asked.
"That's because of Doruki town..." Sashi said.
"What about it?"
"Haven't you read?" Eevy asked, and Brian shook his head. "Many trainers think that's the next Gym to go to after defeating Ocean..."
"They do?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, and that's what slowed us down... We too thought that he was the next Gym to go to... Didn't you?" Sashi asked.
"No... I read that he was the last Gym to go to..."
"You're saying you read Drake's information int he Pokemon Guide?" Eevy asked.
"I did..." Brian said proudly.
"Well... now you know..." Sashi said.
"I see..."
Silence.
"So... what are we gonna do with the Golbat?" Brian asked, breaking the silence.
"You can have it, if you want..." Sashi replied.
"I was not trying to catch it..." Brian said.
"You weren't?"
"I was merely trying to defeat it for experience..." Brian said.
"So was I, until someone stole my Pokemon..."
"I didn't-" Brian started.
"Oh come on!" Eevy said loudly, and both stopped. "Not this again!"
The two were silent.
"Anyway, if we ever want that next badge, we gotta move on..." Sashi said.
"Yeah you're right..." Brian replied, and started walking.
"I see your Umbreon doesn't want to be locked up in a Pokeball also..." Espeon said.
"Yeah... I hate being locked up... It makes me feel... locked up... you know..." Umbreon slowly said.
"I understand..." Espeon replied.
"So... what kind of Pokemon do you have?" Sashi asked.
"Me? Oh, it's nothing..." Brian replied.
"Oh please tell us... We'll tell you about all of our own Pokemon too..." Sashi somewhat begged.
"Oh all right..." Brian said. "You already know Umbreon... And my other Pokemon are Alakazam, Gyarados and Scizor..." Brian said, naming all his Pokemon. "And yours?"
"I have Espeon, Kirlia, Vulpix and Dragonair..." Sashi said.
"I have Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon and Umbreon..." Eevy said.
"Let me guess... You like all the Eevee evolutions?" Brian asked.
"Gee, how did you know?" Eevy giggled.
"Anyway, nice Pokemon... You're gonna let your Vulpix evolve into a Ninetails?" Brian asked.
"How?" Sashi asked.
"You mean you don't know?" Brian asked.
"Would I say 'how' if I knew it?"
"Okay... You can make a Vulpix evolve by using a Firestone..."
"A Firestone?" Sashi asked.
"Yes... That's how Flara was created..." Eevy said.
"By using a Firestone?" Sashi asked, and Eevy nodded. "Are there others who can evolve by using a Firestone?" Sashi asked curious.
"Yes, there is also a Growlithe..." Brian said.
"Interesting..." Sashi said.
"How come you didn't know that?" Brian asked.
"How come you did?" Sashi replied.
"I read books..."
"Impressive..." Eevy said.
"Puh..." Sashi said.
"Are we going to admire the walls of this cave, or shall we move on?" Eevy asked.
"Yes... These walls are so one of a kind around here..." Brian said.
The three were walking for quite some time now, but the exit was still not in sight.
"I think we're lost..." Sashi said.
"I told you we were supposed to turn right the last time!" Brian said.
"As if we would've found the exit then!" Sashi replied.
"We would if we did!"
"They look like a married couple..." Eevy thought. "I gotta stop that..."
"A-hem!" Eevy coughed.
"Mmmm?!" both replied, looking at Eevy.
"We're not getting anywhere like this... If we want to get out of this place, we'll have to start working together..." Eevy said.
The two looked at each other.
"Fine..." Sashi groaned.
"All right..." Brian said.
"Good..." Eevy said. "Actually, if they keep on fighting, they might start to hate each other, and Brian will leave Sashi..." Eevy thought. "But I saw the happiness in her eyes when she met another one of her kind, and I can't destroy that..."
"Let's go this way..." Sashi said, and walked to her right. It was along tunnel, but there were enough lights to make it visible in there.
"I don't know about this..." Eevy said, and stayed where she was.
"How bad can a tunnel be?" Brian asked, and moved forwards.
"It's not bad... It's creepy... I think going in here is asking for trouble..." Eevy said.
"If you want to you can hold on to my hand?" Brian asked.
"No, thanks..." Eevy said. "But I wouldn't mind if Sashi asked that question..." she thought.
"Oh come on, Eevy... It's not dangerous... It's completely sa-" Sashi began, when suddenly, there was a small explosion somewhere near. Everything shook wild, and the walls were falling apart.
"What the..." Sashi began, but suddenly the ceiling started to break apart too, and the rocks fell to the ground, directly above Sashi.
"Look out!" Brian screamed, ran forwards, and pushed Sashi out of the way. The rocks crashed down on the ground, and the lights around went out. There was total darkness now.
"Sashi?!" Eevy called, but heard nothing. "Sashi? Are you there?!" Eevy asked. Suddenly, the lights went on again, and Eevy was able to see again. What she saw shocked her. The tunnel had collapsed. There was nothing but rocks left.
"Sashi!" Eevy screamed, terrified.
Meanwhile, Sashi and Brian were still alive. The only thing that hurt Sashi was when Brian pushed her.
"What happened?" Sashi asked. "And where is Eevy?"
Eevy was alone. All alone. Alone in the darkness.
"Sashi, please answer me!" she kept on calling, when she suddenly heard a noise to her left. "Sashi?" Eevy gasped.
"Espeon..." Espeon said. Rocks had fallen on her, but she managed to stay alive, and dig her way out.
"Oh, it's you, Espeon..." Eevy said.
"Es..." Espeon said, and looked at the collapsed tunnel.
"Oh I wish I could understand you..." Eevy said.
Sashi heard someone talking, and smiled.
"Eevy? Is that you?!" she asked.
"What? Sashi?" Eevy replied, hearing Sashi's voice, but it was muffled.
"Yeah, it's me..."
"Thank god!" Eevy smiled. "I thought..."
"I'm okay, and so is Brian..." Sashi said.
"Oh..."
"Sashi!" Espeon asked in Pokemon language.
"Espeon? You're there too?"
"Yes!"
"Good..."
"Say, is Umbreon there too?" Brian asked.
Espeon looked around her, but saw nobody.
"No, I don't see him!" Espeon replied.
"Oh no..." Brian said.
"What can I do?" Eevy asked.
"I dunno... Are any of your Pokemon strong enough to move these rocks?" Brian asked.
"No! Do you?" Eevy replied.
"No... I could use Gyarados, but he's to big!"
"And my Pokemon are to weak too!" Sashi said.
"Then what?"
"You could go and find help!" Sashi said.
"But I don't know if there's anyone nearby!" Eevy said. "And I can't leave you like this!"
"There has to be someone near... That explosion had to come from somewhere, and I bet it's caused by a Pokemon!" Brian said.
"I know, but..."
"I know it's hard, but could you try?" Sashi asked.
"You sure?"
"Yes! Now hurry!"
"Okay! Wait here!" Eevy said, and ran away.
"As if we're going anywhere..." Sashi said, but Eevy was already gone.
Eevy ran through the cave, looking for help. She went through some tunnels, but then she came to a halt.
"Oh no... If I'm ever gonna find someone, how am I able to bring him to Sashi?" Eevy said to herself. "I know! I'll mark the way I came from..." she said, searched through her pockets, and found a piece of chalk. "Perfect..." she said, and drew a little cross on the wall. Next to the cross, she drew a little arrow, pointing at where she came from. "This ought to do it..." she said, and continued walking, making sure to mark the wall everytime she passed a corner. When she had passed a few corners, she smiled. In front of her she saw a boy. The boy looked at Eevy.
"Please help! My friends are caught in a tunnel... It has collapsed!" Eevy said.
"Oh no..." the boy said.
"Do you have any strong Pokemon?"
"I have my Graveler..." he replied.
"Great! Come with me!" Eevy said, and pulled the boy with her.
Meanwhile, Sashi sighed. "I hope Eevy comes back soon..."
"Me too... Are you sure she will find someone?" Brian asked.
"Without a doubt..." Sashi said.
"You really trust her that much?"
"With my life... And I know that if something ever happened to me, she'll be there to save me..." Sashi said.
"Wow... I've never met an anthro who cared so much about a human..." Brian said.
"She's... just a friend" Sashi said. "Though I feel... we've become more than that..." Sashi thought.
There was a silence.
"She'll find help..." Sashi said, and sat down on the ground.
There was another silence.
"Thanks for saving my life..." Sashi said.
"Mmmm? Oh, it was nothing... I couldn't let one of my kinds get killed, right?" Brian replied, making it sound as if it wasn't that important. Sashi smiled.
"This way!" Eevy said, and the boy followed. They came to the tunnel. "Sashi! I've found someone!" Eevy said.
"That's awesome!" Sashi replied, standing up.
"All right Graveler! I choose you!" the boy called, and threw his Pokeball into the air, and a big, round rock appeared.
"Graveler..." Graveler [Rock/Ground type] said.
"Use Strength!" the boy called, and Graveler growled, walked forwards, and grabbed a huge rock lying on the ground. He lifted it, and threw it away. "Good job, Graveler! Now keep going!"
"Graveler!" Graveler said, and threw another rock away.
"Yes!" Brian said.
Later, almost every rock was gone, just a few were still in the way.
"I can see light!" Sashi smiled.
Then, a rock was pushed aside, and an opening was visible.
"Sashi!" Eevy called, and looked through the hole.
"Eevy! Great work!" Sashi replied.
"You're okay?"
"Never been better!" Sashi said. "Well, those were times when I was not trapped in an collapsed tunnel..." Sashi giggled.
Eevy smiled.
"Almost done!" the boy said.
"Graveler!" Graveler said one more time, and grabbed the last rock. This one was the biggest of them all, and it took Graveler all he had to push it away. When that was done, Sashi and Brian came out.
"Oh Eevy!" Sashi said, embracing Eevy. "Thank you!"
"Why? What did I do?" Eevy asked, blushing while Sashi's hugged her.
"I'm just happy to see you again..." Sashi smiled.
"Me too..." Eevy said.
"Thank you for your help..." Brian said, and reached out to shake hands with the boy. He looked at Brian's hand, and then shook his head.
"No... I don't want anything to do with your kind..." the boy said, called his Pokemon back, and walked away.
"Puh... These humans never change..." Brian grunted.
"I told you this tunnel was trouble..." Eevy said.
"Umbreon?!" Brian called. "Where could he be?"
"Has this ever happened before?" Sashi asked.
"Well, it doesn't happen that often, but yeah, sometimes he gets so scared, he runs away..." Brian said.
"But why do you still have him if he's like that?" Eevy asked.
"Because he was my first Pokemon, and I love him..." Brian said.
"Oh... Sorry..."
"Does he run away far from you?" Sashi asked.
"Normally no, but in this case, I think he's far away now..." Brian said.
Umbreon was walking down the tunnels, trying to find his way back to Brian. Who knows what happened to him... He could have died, which meant that he now had no trainer. But he felt that Brian was safe... But for how long? He turned a corner, and saw nothing but more tunnels.
"Oh no..." Umbreon said.
He continued walking and turning corners, until he saw something marked on the wall.
"What in the world?" Umbreon asked himself as he saw a little cross drawn on the wall with chalk. And next to it was an arrow. "What does this mean?" he asked. "Where is this pointing at?"
Suddenly, a boy walked out of the tunnel, and Umbreon quickly hid..
"Stupid anthro's..." the boy mumbled as he walked by.
"Anthro's? He must be talking about Brian and Sashi! I'm saved!" Umbreon thought, and quickly ran down the tunnel, following the marks on the wall.
"I can't blame the guy... I mean, it's not his fault he's scared of everything..." Brian said. "It's just that he runs away all the time... If he doesn't get over it, he might never..."
"Running away from dangerous things isn't that bad, is it?" Sashi asked, when Umbreon's head came across the corner. Umbreon smiled when he saw his Trainer, and walked forwards, until...
"No one likes someone who's running away from everything..."
Umbreon stopped. Did he hear that correctly? Does Brian not like Pokemon who run away from danger? Does he... hate him?
"Mmmm?" Espeon moaned when she spotted Umbreon. "Umbreon! You're back!" she smiled. Brian and Sashi both looked at Espeon, then at Umbreon. Eevy just followed their gazes.
"Umbreon! I'm glad you're back buddy!" Brian said, and took a step forwards. Umbreon took one backwards. "What's wrong, buddy?" Brian asked confused.
"You hate me..." Umbreon replied.
"What? No! Of course not!" Brian said. How in the world could Umbreon think he hated him?
"I heard you saying it yourself..." Umbreon said, now with tears in his eyes.
"No... I didn't mean that! I-" Brian began.
"Save me your lies... I don't want to hear them... I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Umbreon said.
"No you don't understand... I-"
"Oh I understand all right... Yes, I run away from dangerous things! So what? I'm not perfect!"
"Please, Umbreon..." Brian too had tears in his eyes. "Let me explain..."
"Don't..." Umbreon said, and turned around. "Goodbye, Brian..." Umbreon said, and walked forwards.
"No! Umbreon!" Brian cried, but Umbreon had already turned the corner.
"Oh no..." Eevy said. She may not have understood everything that was said, but she understood what happened.
"Umbreon..." Brian said, tears flowing freely over his cheeks. Sashi put a paw around Brian, and hugged him slowly.
"I just... wanted to say... it didn't matter... to me..." Brian said. "And now he's gone..."
"Don't say that... I'm sure he'll understand when you'll explain everything to him..." Eevy said.
"Didn't you hear? He thinks I hate him!" Brian growled furiously.
"No of course I did not hear!" Eevy started to become angry too.
"Calm down you two..." Sashi said. It felt weird for her to be the calm one in this argument.
"I'm sorry..." Eevy said.
"Good... Now, Brian..." Sashi said. "It's not your fault... He just misunderstood..."
"I know, but I should have never said I didn't like Pokemon that run away from danger... Because of that he's gone now..."
"Like Eevy had said, he's not gone... You should find him, and try to explain it to him... We'll help you with it..."
"You will?" Brian asked.
"Sure..." Eevy said. "I may not understand or speak Pokemon language, but I can use Umbro to make him listen..."
"Umbro?" Brian asked.
"Here..." Eevy said, grabbed Umbro's Pokeball, and released him.
"Umbreon..." Umbro said as he was free.
"An Umbreon..." Brian said, and fresh tears started to drop.
"Oh no, I'm sorry... I shouldn't-"
"It's okay..." Brian said.
"It is?"
"You were only trying to help..." Brian said, and got up. "Thanks for your help, girls..." Brian said.
"No problem at all..." Sashi said. "Now come, and find Umbreon..."
"Right..." Brian said, and wiped his face clear of tears.
Espeon was still upset about what happened. She understood his reaction, but disagreed in his decision. If only he would have let Brian explain what he meant by what he said, all things would be fine by now. After a while of searching, Espeon decided she'd try to find him on her own.
"You sure about this?" Sashi asked.
"I'll be fine... I know where to find you..." Espeon replied.
"Oh okay... Good luck."
"Thanks." Espeon said, and walked away from the group.
She was now walking through darker tunnels. The lights had burned out at this point, and hadn't been replaced yet. But even in this darkness she was able to see. She turned a few corners, and came to a stop. She could choose out of three ways. The left tunnel, the one in the middle, and the one on her right. She closed her eyes, and listened carefully. Maybe she could hear him, or pick up his scent. She raised her head, and sniffed the air. She may not have been around Umbreon for long, but she remembered how Umbro smelled. After all, she had been extremely close to his body. Espeon smiled. She smelled something coming from the right tunnel, but it was faint. So that meant he had passed here. Now she had to decide what to do. Tell the others? Or go after Umbreon alone? She picked the second one. She ran forwards, and the smell started to increase. So much, that when she turned one final corner, she saw Umbreon, sitting in a beam of sunlight. The sunlight was shining through a hole in the roof. The closest thing to outside.
"Umbreon..." Espeon said. Umbreon turned his head into Espeon's direction.
"What do you want..." he growled.
"I... Want to talk..." Espeon said, and slowly approached Umbreon.
"I can hear you perfectly from over there..." he said, and Espeon stopped.
"Okay..." she said, and sat down.
There was a silence.
"Didn't you say anything about talking?" Umbreon asked.
"Yes..." Espeon said. "Why have you chosen on leaving your trainer?"
"Haven't you heard? You were there too!" Umbreon said.
"I know... But for what reason?"
"He hates me..."
"No he doesn't..." Espeon said.
"I heard it myself! And my ears don't lie to me!"
"I know what you heard... But that wasn't all Brian had to say about you..." Espeon said.
"Oh? Did he have more awful things to say about me? What's next? Do I snore that loud? Do I have something bad I don't know of? Do I smell bad?" Umbreon said. "No! Nothing! Just..."
"Your fear..." Espeon said.
"Fear?" Umbreon asked.
"You run... You hide... You can't deny you're afraid of danger..."
"Who isn't?" Umbreon asked.
Espeon was silent."There! Proven my point!"
"Have you?" Espeon asked, and walked in closer. "You really think it's all over now that you've 'proven your point'?" Espeon said. "What about Brian?"
"Don't even say that name out loud when you're near me!"
"Do you think he'll accept this? What do you expect me to say to him when I return? 'Oh Brian, I saw Umbreon... He said everybody is afraid of danger...' I'll say to him, and then he'll say; 'Oh, okay. Well, I guess that's life, huh?'" Espeon said.
Umbreon was silent.
"I know everybody is afraid of danger... And you're right... Being afraid is part of life... But people, as well as Pokemon, try to fight their fears to become stronger... And what do you do?" Espeon asked. "You run and hide..."
"I know, but-"
"When I was a young Eevee, I was afraid Sashi would leave me if I didn't do everything perfect... But I soon realized that I was wrong... There were still times when the fear came back, but I fought against it... And here I am, a little stubborn Espeon..." Espeon said, then cocked her head. "Did I say 'little'?" she asked nobody. "Anyway, fear is something you can fight against..."
Umbreon was silent.
"And you know what Brian really said about you?" Espeon said, as she got up, ready to leave.
"Mmmm?"
"He said it didn't matter you ran away all the time... You were his first Pokemon, and he'll always love you..." Espeon said, and started to walk away.
Umbreon was silent again, but before Espeon disappeared out of sight, Umbreon spoke.
"Wait!" he said.
Espeon smiled, and turned her head. "Yes?"
Umbreon remained where he was. "I'm sorry..." he said.
Espeon was quiet. The she walked to Umbreon, and rubbed her head against his.
"You know who you have to tell that to..." she said.
"Thanks..." Umbreon said as he rested his head on Espeon's.
"Umbreon!" Sashi called.
"Come back!" Eevy said.
"It's no use..." Brian said.
"We can't quit now!" Sashi said. "Quitting is something a Trainer must never do... If I quitted the moment I lost my first battle, I wouldn't be here right now!"
"And I wouldn't have met you either..." Eevy thought.
"I know... But it's just... We've been searching for him for fifteen minutes now... He could be anywhere..."
"Not while I'm still here..." Espeon said, as she came into sight.
"Espeon!" Sashi cried happily. She was glad that Espeon was safe.
"And look who's back..." Espeon said, and looked behind her.
"Umbreon?" Brian asked, and Umbreon came into sight.
"Yes..."
"Oh Umbreon... I missed you so much..." Brian said, and approached Umbreon. He only took a few steps backwards. "Umbreon..."
"Don't you have anything to say to him?" Espeon asked.
"Yes..." Umbreon smiled at Espeon, and then looked at Brian. "Espeon told me about what you said..."
"Oh..."
"And I want to tell you... I'm sorry for yelling at you..."
"No, it's my fault for saying such things about you..."
"Hey it's my fault for not letting you explain!"
"If I hadn't said these things, you couldn't let me explain them!"
"I'm sensing a déj� vu here..." Sashi said.
"You're absolutely right..." Eevy giggled. "Should we take them apart?"
"No... They've been apart already... Now they're just happy to see each other again..." Sashi said.
"My fault!"
"My fault!"
to be continued...
*Sniff* These were such dramatic scenes...
Sashi: Oh come on... You wrote them!
But still they are...
Sashi: You're weird...
I'm weird!? You're the Anthro!
Sashi: Oh are we going to fight?
Bring it on!
*Ding ding ding!*
*Both get in fighting position, but suddenly stop*
Sashi: I'm sensing another déj� vu...
Yeah... me too... I'm sorry...
Sashi: No, I'm sorry...
No, I am!
Automessage: e-mail me at [email protected]
First of all, I want to thank anyone who have read my other chapters... Second, the title says 'goodbye', but this doesn't mean between Sashi and Eevy! No... not for a long time that is... *gasp* Did I say that out loud?
Sashi: We're going to be separated?
No... I was just ehh... Making up things... Got you fooled, didn't I? *Laughs weakly*
Sashi: Ohhh... You sure did...
Anyway, you'll read it in the story! Oh and by the way, there will be no sex in this one...
Sashi: There won't? Awww, that really takes out all the fun... *Reads the story* Yep, it's true... No sex...
Hey, how come you've read the story already when I haven't even started writing?
Sashi: I'm Psychic...
"Echo!" Sashi called, and she could hear her own voice repeating itself time after time.
"Your voice sound more beautiful in this cave..." Eevy laughed.
The two had entered the cave, just like Chris had told them. They were in it for at least 10 minutes now. The cave was lit with several lights, but there were not many of them, so some parts were darker.
"Any idea how long this cave is? I mean, I'd like to be out of it before dark..."
"It's dark enough in here..." Eevy said, but then saw Sashi's serious look. "I'll go check..."Eevy quickly said, and grabbed her Pokemon Guide. "It says no one knows exactly how long this cave is... Only that it takes a long time to get out..."
"Couldn't we have gone around this cave?" Sashi asked.
"Chris said we had to follow this route, didn't he?" Eevy said.
"True, but who listens to a man who talks weird?" Sashi said.
"We, obviously..." Eevy said.
"Yeah..." Sashi said as she started walking. Eevy followed.
"Look..." Eevy said, and pointed ahead.
"Mmmm?" Sashi replied, looking in the direction Eevy pointed. There was a Pokemon. "Who's that Pokemon?" Sashi asked, and aimed her Pokedex at it.
"-Bzzt- Golbat. Poison/Flying type Pokemon. It clamps down on its prey with needlesharp fangs and drains over 10 ounces of blood in one gulp. -Bzzt-"
"A Golbat?" Eevy said.
"Poison type?" Sashi said to herself. "That means it's weak against Psychic types..."
"Where are you going with this?"
"This is the perfect opportunity to train my Kirlia..." Sashi smiled.
"I see now..."
"Kirlia! I choose you!" Sashi called, and threw Kirlia's Pokeball into the air. It opened, and Kirlia came out.
"Kirlia..." she said.
"Kirlia?" Sashi asked, and Kirlia looked at her. "I want you to try and defeat this Pokemon in battle..."
"You mean that Golbat?" Sashi nodded. "Piece of cake!" Kirlia said, and walked forwards. The Golbat saw this.
"Kirlia! Use-"
"Shadow Ball attack!" someone else called, and a ball of dark energy came out of the opposite direction of Kirlia, and it hit the Golbat. The Golbat screamed in pain, and fainted.
"What the...?!" Sashi gasped as she saw the Golbat faint. "What's going on?" Sashi asked as she approached the Golbat.
"All right, I di-" the same voice as before said, when it stopped suddenly. Sashi gasped when he stepped into the light, and he did the same.
"You're..." Sashi began.
"You're..." the male said exactly the same time.
"Wait a second... Isn't that..." Eevy began.
"An Umbreon..." Sashi said, but couldn't believe it.
"No, I mean... an Anthro?" Eevy said.
"Yeah..."
"And you're an Espeon..." the Umbreon said.
"Yeah..." Sashi said, and approached the Umbreon. She looked all over him; his hair, his eyes, his long ears, his body. It looked like a human body, but it was one of a Pokemon. Just like hers. "This is the first time I meet a different anthro..."
"It's pretty new to me too..." the Umbreon said, and he too looked all over Sashi. "Wow..."
"What?"
"Nothing..." the Umbreon quickly said. "Your body... it looks just like one of a human..."
Sashi nodded slightly.
"Oh, where are my manners..." the Umbreon said and reached out his hand. "My name's Brian..." Brian said.
"My name's Sashi..." Sashi said, as she took Brian's hand. The two smiled at each other while the black and the purple hands shook. Then Brian saw Eevy.
"You travel with a human?" Brian asked.
"Yeah... She's okay, and a very nice travel companion..." Sashi said.
"And you're okay with us being anthro's?" Brian asked Eevy.
"Why shouldn't I be okay with it? I know Sashi, and I think she's really nice too..." Eevy said. "Really nice looking yeah..." Eevy thought when she said that. "So you should be okay too..." Eevy finished.
"In that case," Brian said, and reached out his hand, "Nice to meet you..."
"Eevy..." Eevy said, and shook Brian's hand.
"Eevy..." Brian repeated.
"So... now that we have all the nice things done, what were you trying to do, stealing my Pokemon?!" Sashi said a bit louder than usual.
"A-hem... Your Pokemon? Wild ones don't belong to someone..." Brian replied calm.
"But I was about to attack it before you interrupted..." Sashi said.
"I interrupted? Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know that Golbat was occupied..." Brian said.
"Ugh forget it!" Sashi growled.
"Okay, why are we fighting?" Eevy asked.
"Oh come on! Didn't you see what he did?" Sashi asked.
"He attacked the Golbat, yeah... But that doesn't mean you two have to fight over it... It's just a Golbat..." Eevy said.
"Maybe you're right..." Sashi sighed, and then looked at Brian. "I'm sorry for yelling at you..."
"Nah, it's my fault... I shouldn't have attacked that Golbat..."
"It's not your fault... You couldn't know I was attacking it in the first place... It's my fault!"
"It can't be your fault when it's my fault!"
"Whoa wait a second... You two are fighting again..." Eevy said.
Sashi and Brian gasped.
"Sorry..." they both said at the same time.
"That's good..." Eevy said.
"So..." Brian said. "Where are you two going?"
"Salia City..." Sashi said. "I want to win my fourth badge..."
"Now I remember!" Brian gasped.
"Remember what?" Sashi asked confused.
"I knew your name sounded familiar... You've faught against Ocean, am I right?" Brian asked.
"Uh, yeah... why?"
"I wondered why Ocean said 'Oh no, not another one' when I entered the Gym... And now I know why... You beat him, didn't you?"
"You bet!" Sashi said, and showed Brian her Coralbadge.
"Haha! He's gonna remember our fights for a long time! He's going to dislike us anthro's now..."
"Why?" Eevy asked.
"I beat him too..." Brian said, and showed his Coralbadge.
"Wow..." Sashi began, but stopped when she spotted something behind Brian's legs. "What's that?" Sashi asked, looking down.
"This?" Brian asked, looking down too. "Oh, that's Umbreon..." Brian said.
"Okay, this is way too coincidental..." Eevy said.
"Why?" Brian asked.
"Well, you're an Umbreon, training an Umbreon, while Sashi is an Espeon, training an Espeon..." Eevy explained.
"You have an Espeon?" Brian asked, looked down, and saw Espeon behind Sashi's legs. "Wow, that's awesome!" Brian said. "Hello Espeon... I'm Brian..." Brian said, and kneeled down. Espeon walked from behind Sashi's legs to Brian.
"Hello Brian..." Espeon said.
"What level is she?" Brian asked Sashi.
"Ehhh..." Sashi said.
"I'm level 35 by now..." Espeon replied.
"Wow, you're strong..." Brian said.
"You can understand Pokemon language too?" Eevy asked.
"Of course he can... He beat Ocean, so he got a new badge, and that made his Pokemon, and himself, stronger..." Sashi explained. "Happened to me too..."
"So since you beat Ocean, you can understand Pokemon?" Brian asked.
"You can too, right?" Sashi asked.
"I can, but before now I didn't know why... How did you discover?"
"Jolty explained it to me..." Sashi replied.
"Jolty? Who is that?" Brian asked.
Eevy grabbed Jolty's Pokeball, and let her out.
"Jolty!" Jolty called when she was released.
"This is Jolty, my Jolteon..." Eevy said.
Jolty looked at everybody, and saw a new face.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"I am Brian..." Brian said.
"You can understand me... That means you have now three badges, right?" Jolty asked.
"That's right..." Brian replied.
"Cool..." Jolty replied.
"It's not fair I'm the only one who can't understand Pokemon language..." Eevy thought. "Jolty, return!" Eevy said, and called Jolty back into her Pokeball.
"Umbreon? Say hello to our new friends..." Brian said, and slowly, Umbreon walked from behind Brian's legs.
"Hello..." Sashi said, kneeling down. "My name is Sashi..."
"H-hello Sashi..." Umbreon said.
"He's a little shy..." Brian said. "I don't know where he gets it from..."
"I once read that a Pokemon starts acting like the trainer the more time they spend together..." Sashi said.
"Not in my case..." Espeon replied.
"Oh no?" Sashi giggled.
"That's what I said... I don't know where he gets it from..." Brian said.
"Okay, now that we've introduced ourselves and got to know each other, where are you going?" Eevy asked.
"Same place you two are going... Salia City..." Brian replied.
"You're going for your fourth badge too?" Sashi asked, and Brian nodded.
"Cool!"
"But I have another question... If you're going for your fourth badge, and I am too, how come I met you two here when I've started later?" Brian asked.
"That's because of Doruki town..." Sashi said.
"What about it?"
"Haven't you read?" Eevy asked, and Brian shook his head. "Many trainers think that's the next Gym to go to after defeating Ocean..."
"They do?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, and that's what slowed us down... We too thought that he was the next Gym to go to... Didn't you?" Sashi asked.
"No... I read that he was the last Gym to go to..."
"You're saying you read Drake's information int he Pokemon Guide?" Eevy asked.
"I did..." Brian said proudly.
"Well... now you know..." Sashi said.
"I see..."
Silence.
"So... what are we gonna do with the Golbat?" Brian asked, breaking the silence.
"You can have it, if you want..." Sashi replied.
"I was not trying to catch it..." Brian said.
"You weren't?"
"I was merely trying to defeat it for experience..." Brian said.
"So was I, until someone stole my Pokemon..."
"I didn't-" Brian started.
"Oh come on!" Eevy said loudly, and both stopped. "Not this again!"
The two were silent.
"Anyway, if we ever want that next badge, we gotta move on..." Sashi said.
"Yeah you're right..." Brian replied, and started walking.
"I see your Umbreon doesn't want to be locked up in a Pokeball also..." Espeon said.
"Yeah... I hate being locked up... It makes me feel... locked up... you know..." Umbreon slowly said.
"I understand..." Espeon replied.
"So... what kind of Pokemon do you have?" Sashi asked.
"Me? Oh, it's nothing..." Brian replied.
"Oh please tell us... We'll tell you about all of our own Pokemon too..." Sashi somewhat begged.
"Oh all right..." Brian said. "You already know Umbreon... And my other Pokemon are Alakazam, Gyarados and Scizor..." Brian said, naming all his Pokemon. "And yours?"
"I have Espeon, Kirlia, Vulpix and Dragonair..." Sashi said.
"I have Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon and Umbreon..." Eevy said.
"Let me guess... You like all the Eevee evolutions?" Brian asked.
"Gee, how did you know?" Eevy giggled.
"Anyway, nice Pokemon... You're gonna let your Vulpix evolve into a Ninetails?" Brian asked.
"How?" Sashi asked.
"You mean you don't know?" Brian asked.
"Would I say 'how' if I knew it?"
"Okay... You can make a Vulpix evolve by using a Firestone..."
"A Firestone?" Sashi asked.
"Yes... That's how Flara was created..." Eevy said.
"By using a Firestone?" Sashi asked, and Eevy nodded. "Are there others who can evolve by using a Firestone?" Sashi asked curious.
"Yes, there is also a Growlithe..." Brian said.
"Interesting..." Sashi said.
"How come you didn't know that?" Brian asked.
"How come you did?" Sashi replied.
"I read books..."
"Impressive..." Eevy said.
"Puh..." Sashi said.
"Are we going to admire the walls of this cave, or shall we move on?" Eevy asked.
"Yes... These walls are so one of a kind around here..." Brian said.
The three were walking for quite some time now, but the exit was still not in sight.
"I think we're lost..." Sashi said.
"I told you we were supposed to turn right the last time!" Brian said.
"As if we would've found the exit then!" Sashi replied.
"We would if we did!"
"They look like a married couple..." Eevy thought. "I gotta stop that..."
"A-hem!" Eevy coughed.
"Mmmm?!" both replied, looking at Eevy.
"We're not getting anywhere like this... If we want to get out of this place, we'll have to start working together..." Eevy said.
The two looked at each other.
"Fine..." Sashi groaned.
"All right..." Brian said.
"Good..." Eevy said. "Actually, if they keep on fighting, they might start to hate each other, and Brian will leave Sashi..." Eevy thought. "But I saw the happiness in her eyes when she met another one of her kind, and I can't destroy that..."
"Let's go this way..." Sashi said, and walked to her right. It was along tunnel, but there were enough lights to make it visible in there.
"I don't know about this..." Eevy said, and stayed where she was.
"How bad can a tunnel be?" Brian asked, and moved forwards.
"It's not bad... It's creepy... I think going in here is asking for trouble..." Eevy said.
"If you want to you can hold on to my hand?" Brian asked.
"No, thanks..." Eevy said. "But I wouldn't mind if Sashi asked that question..." she thought.
"Oh come on, Eevy... It's not dangerous... It's completely sa-" Sashi began, when suddenly, there was a small explosion somewhere near. Everything shook wild, and the walls were falling apart.
"What the..." Sashi began, but suddenly the ceiling started to break apart too, and the rocks fell to the ground, directly above Sashi.
"Look out!" Brian screamed, ran forwards, and pushed Sashi out of the way. The rocks crashed down on the ground, and the lights around went out. There was total darkness now.
"Sashi?!" Eevy called, but heard nothing. "Sashi? Are you there?!" Eevy asked. Suddenly, the lights went on again, and Eevy was able to see again. What she saw shocked her. The tunnel had collapsed. There was nothing but rocks left.
"Sashi!" Eevy screamed, terrified.
Meanwhile, Sashi and Brian were still alive. The only thing that hurt Sashi was when Brian pushed her.
"What happened?" Sashi asked. "And where is Eevy?"
Eevy was alone. All alone. Alone in the darkness.
"Sashi, please answer me!" she kept on calling, when she suddenly heard a noise to her left. "Sashi?" Eevy gasped.
"Espeon..." Espeon said. Rocks had fallen on her, but she managed to stay alive, and dig her way out.
"Oh, it's you, Espeon..." Eevy said.
"Es..." Espeon said, and looked at the collapsed tunnel.
"Oh I wish I could understand you..." Eevy said.
Sashi heard someone talking, and smiled.
"Eevy? Is that you?!" she asked.
"What? Sashi?" Eevy replied, hearing Sashi's voice, but it was muffled.
"Yeah, it's me..."
"Thank god!" Eevy smiled. "I thought..."
"I'm okay, and so is Brian..." Sashi said.
"Oh..."
"Sashi!" Espeon asked in Pokemon language.
"Espeon? You're there too?"
"Yes!"
"Good..."
"Say, is Umbreon there too?" Brian asked.
Espeon looked around her, but saw nobody.
"No, I don't see him!" Espeon replied.
"Oh no..." Brian said.
"What can I do?" Eevy asked.
"I dunno... Are any of your Pokemon strong enough to move these rocks?" Brian asked.
"No! Do you?" Eevy replied.
"No... I could use Gyarados, but he's to big!"
"And my Pokemon are to weak too!" Sashi said.
"Then what?"
"You could go and find help!" Sashi said.
"But I don't know if there's anyone nearby!" Eevy said. "And I can't leave you like this!"
"There has to be someone near... That explosion had to come from somewhere, and I bet it's caused by a Pokemon!" Brian said.
"I know, but..."
"I know it's hard, but could you try?" Sashi asked.
"You sure?"
"Yes! Now hurry!"
"Okay! Wait here!" Eevy said, and ran away.
"As if we're going anywhere..." Sashi said, but Eevy was already gone.
Eevy ran through the cave, looking for help. She went through some tunnels, but then she came to a halt.
"Oh no... If I'm ever gonna find someone, how am I able to bring him to Sashi?" Eevy said to herself. "I know! I'll mark the way I came from..." she said, searched through her pockets, and found a piece of chalk. "Perfect..." she said, and drew a little cross on the wall. Next to the cross, she drew a little arrow, pointing at where she came from. "This ought to do it..." she said, and continued walking, making sure to mark the wall everytime she passed a corner. When she had passed a few corners, she smiled. In front of her she saw a boy. The boy looked at Eevy.
"Please help! My friends are caught in a tunnel... It has collapsed!" Eevy said.
"Oh no..." the boy said.
"Do you have any strong Pokemon?"
"I have my Graveler..." he replied.
"Great! Come with me!" Eevy said, and pulled the boy with her.
Meanwhile, Sashi sighed. "I hope Eevy comes back soon..."
"Me too... Are you sure she will find someone?" Brian asked.
"Without a doubt..." Sashi said.
"You really trust her that much?"
"With my life... And I know that if something ever happened to me, she'll be there to save me..." Sashi said.
"Wow... I've never met an anthro who cared so much about a human..." Brian said.
"She's... just a friend" Sashi said. "Though I feel... we've become more than that..." Sashi thought.
There was a silence.
"She'll find help..." Sashi said, and sat down on the ground.
There was another silence.
"Thanks for saving my life..." Sashi said.
"Mmmm? Oh, it was nothing... I couldn't let one of my kinds get killed, right?" Brian replied, making it sound as if it wasn't that important. Sashi smiled.
"This way!" Eevy said, and the boy followed. They came to the tunnel. "Sashi! I've found someone!" Eevy said.
"That's awesome!" Sashi replied, standing up.
"All right Graveler! I choose you!" the boy called, and threw his Pokeball into the air, and a big, round rock appeared.
"Graveler..." Graveler [Rock/Ground type] said.
"Use Strength!" the boy called, and Graveler growled, walked forwards, and grabbed a huge rock lying on the ground. He lifted it, and threw it away. "Good job, Graveler! Now keep going!"
"Graveler!" Graveler said, and threw another rock away.
"Yes!" Brian said.
Later, almost every rock was gone, just a few were still in the way.
"I can see light!" Sashi smiled.
Then, a rock was pushed aside, and an opening was visible.
"Sashi!" Eevy called, and looked through the hole.
"Eevy! Great work!" Sashi replied.
"You're okay?"
"Never been better!" Sashi said. "Well, those were times when I was not trapped in an collapsed tunnel..." Sashi giggled.
Eevy smiled.
"Almost done!" the boy said.
"Graveler!" Graveler said one more time, and grabbed the last rock. This one was the biggest of them all, and it took Graveler all he had to push it away. When that was done, Sashi and Brian came out.
"Oh Eevy!" Sashi said, embracing Eevy. "Thank you!"
"Why? What did I do?" Eevy asked, blushing while Sashi's hugged her.
"I'm just happy to see you again..." Sashi smiled.
"Me too..." Eevy said.
"Thank you for your help..." Brian said, and reached out to shake hands with the boy. He looked at Brian's hand, and then shook his head.
"No... I don't want anything to do with your kind..." the boy said, called his Pokemon back, and walked away.
"Puh... These humans never change..." Brian grunted.
"I told you this tunnel was trouble..." Eevy said.
"Umbreon?!" Brian called. "Where could he be?"
"Has this ever happened before?" Sashi asked.
"Well, it doesn't happen that often, but yeah, sometimes he gets so scared, he runs away..." Brian said.
"But why do you still have him if he's like that?" Eevy asked.
"Because he was my first Pokemon, and I love him..." Brian said.
"Oh... Sorry..."
"Does he run away far from you?" Sashi asked.
"Normally no, but in this case, I think he's far away now..." Brian said.
Umbreon was walking down the tunnels, trying to find his way back to Brian. Who knows what happened to him... He could have died, which meant that he now had no trainer. But he felt that Brian was safe... But for how long? He turned a corner, and saw nothing but more tunnels.
"Oh no..." Umbreon said.
He continued walking and turning corners, until he saw something marked on the wall.
"What in the world?" Umbreon asked himself as he saw a little cross drawn on the wall with chalk. And next to it was an arrow. "What does this mean?" he asked. "Where is this pointing at?"
Suddenly, a boy walked out of the tunnel, and Umbreon quickly hid..
"Stupid anthro's..." the boy mumbled as he walked by.
"Anthro's? He must be talking about Brian and Sashi! I'm saved!" Umbreon thought, and quickly ran down the tunnel, following the marks on the wall.
"I can't blame the guy... I mean, it's not his fault he's scared of everything..." Brian said. "It's just that he runs away all the time... If he doesn't get over it, he might never..."
"Running away from dangerous things isn't that bad, is it?" Sashi asked, when Umbreon's head came across the corner. Umbreon smiled when he saw his Trainer, and walked forwards, until...
"No one likes someone who's running away from everything..."
Umbreon stopped. Did he hear that correctly? Does Brian not like Pokemon who run away from danger? Does he... hate him?
"Mmmm?" Espeon moaned when she spotted Umbreon. "Umbreon! You're back!" she smiled. Brian and Sashi both looked at Espeon, then at Umbreon. Eevy just followed their gazes.
"Umbreon! I'm glad you're back buddy!" Brian said, and took a step forwards. Umbreon took one backwards. "What's wrong, buddy?" Brian asked confused.
"You hate me..." Umbreon replied.
"What? No! Of course not!" Brian said. How in the world could Umbreon think he hated him?
"I heard you saying it yourself..." Umbreon said, now with tears in his eyes.
"No... I didn't mean that! I-" Brian began.
"Save me your lies... I don't want to hear them... I don't want to be anywhere near you!" Umbreon said.
"No you don't understand... I-"
"Oh I understand all right... Yes, I run away from dangerous things! So what? I'm not perfect!"
"Please, Umbreon..." Brian too had tears in his eyes. "Let me explain..."
"Don't..." Umbreon said, and turned around. "Goodbye, Brian..." Umbreon said, and walked forwards.
"No! Umbreon!" Brian cried, but Umbreon had already turned the corner.
"Oh no..." Eevy said. She may not have understood everything that was said, but she understood what happened.
"Umbreon..." Brian said, tears flowing freely over his cheeks. Sashi put a paw around Brian, and hugged him slowly.
"I just... wanted to say... it didn't matter... to me..." Brian said. "And now he's gone..."
"Don't say that... I'm sure he'll understand when you'll explain everything to him..." Eevy said.
"Didn't you hear? He thinks I hate him!" Brian growled furiously.
"No of course I did not hear!" Eevy started to become angry too.
"Calm down you two..." Sashi said. It felt weird for her to be the calm one in this argument.
"I'm sorry..." Eevy said.
"Good... Now, Brian..." Sashi said. "It's not your fault... He just misunderstood..."
"I know, but I should have never said I didn't like Pokemon that run away from danger... Because of that he's gone now..."
"Like Eevy had said, he's not gone... You should find him, and try to explain it to him... We'll help you with it..."
"You will?" Brian asked.
"Sure..." Eevy said. "I may not understand or speak Pokemon language, but I can use Umbro to make him listen..."
"Umbro?" Brian asked.
"Here..." Eevy said, grabbed Umbro's Pokeball, and released him.
"Umbreon..." Umbro said as he was free.
"An Umbreon..." Brian said, and fresh tears started to drop.
"Oh no, I'm sorry... I shouldn't-"
"It's okay..." Brian said.
"It is?"
"You were only trying to help..." Brian said, and got up. "Thanks for your help, girls..." Brian said.
"No problem at all..." Sashi said. "Now come, and find Umbreon..."
"Right..." Brian said, and wiped his face clear of tears.
Espeon was still upset about what happened. She understood his reaction, but disagreed in his decision. If only he would have let Brian explain what he meant by what he said, all things would be fine by now. After a while of searching, Espeon decided she'd try to find him on her own.
"You sure about this?" Sashi asked.
"I'll be fine... I know where to find you..." Espeon replied.
"Oh okay... Good luck."
"Thanks." Espeon said, and walked away from the group.
She was now walking through darker tunnels. The lights had burned out at this point, and hadn't been replaced yet. But even in this darkness she was able to see. She turned a few corners, and came to a stop. She could choose out of three ways. The left tunnel, the one in the middle, and the one on her right. She closed her eyes, and listened carefully. Maybe she could hear him, or pick up his scent. She raised her head, and sniffed the air. She may not have been around Umbreon for long, but she remembered how Umbro smelled. After all, she had been extremely close to his body. Espeon smiled. She smelled something coming from the right tunnel, but it was faint. So that meant he had passed here. Now she had to decide what to do. Tell the others? Or go after Umbreon alone? She picked the second one. She ran forwards, and the smell started to increase. So much, that when she turned one final corner, she saw Umbreon, sitting in a beam of sunlight. The sunlight was shining through a hole in the roof. The closest thing to outside.
"Umbreon..." Espeon said. Umbreon turned his head into Espeon's direction.
"What do you want..." he growled.
"I... Want to talk..." Espeon said, and slowly approached Umbreon.
"I can hear you perfectly from over there..." he said, and Espeon stopped.
"Okay..." she said, and sat down.
There was a silence.
"Didn't you say anything about talking?" Umbreon asked.
"Yes..." Espeon said. "Why have you chosen on leaving your trainer?"
"Haven't you heard? You were there too!" Umbreon said.
"I know... But for what reason?"
"He hates me..."
"No he doesn't..." Espeon said.
"I heard it myself! And my ears don't lie to me!"
"I know what you heard... But that wasn't all Brian had to say about you..." Espeon said.
"Oh? Did he have more awful things to say about me? What's next? Do I snore that loud? Do I have something bad I don't know of? Do I smell bad?" Umbreon said. "No! Nothing! Just..."
"Your fear..." Espeon said.
"Fear?" Umbreon asked.
"You run... You hide... You can't deny you're afraid of danger..."
"Who isn't?" Umbreon asked.
Espeon was silent."There! Proven my point!"
"Have you?" Espeon asked, and walked in closer. "You really think it's all over now that you've 'proven your point'?" Espeon said. "What about Brian?"
"Don't even say that name out loud when you're near me!"
"Do you think he'll accept this? What do you expect me to say to him when I return? 'Oh Brian, I saw Umbreon... He said everybody is afraid of danger...' I'll say to him, and then he'll say; 'Oh, okay. Well, I guess that's life, huh?'" Espeon said.
Umbreon was silent.
"I know everybody is afraid of danger... And you're right... Being afraid is part of life... But people, as well as Pokemon, try to fight their fears to become stronger... And what do you do?" Espeon asked. "You run and hide..."
"I know, but-"
"When I was a young Eevee, I was afraid Sashi would leave me if I didn't do everything perfect... But I soon realized that I was wrong... There were still times when the fear came back, but I fought against it... And here I am, a little stubborn Espeon..." Espeon said, then cocked her head. "Did I say 'little'?" she asked nobody. "Anyway, fear is something you can fight against..."
Umbreon was silent.
"And you know what Brian really said about you?" Espeon said, as she got up, ready to leave.
"Mmmm?"
"He said it didn't matter you ran away all the time... You were his first Pokemon, and he'll always love you..." Espeon said, and started to walk away.
Umbreon was silent again, but before Espeon disappeared out of sight, Umbreon spoke.
"Wait!" he said.
Espeon smiled, and turned her head. "Yes?"
Umbreon remained where he was. "I'm sorry..." he said.
Espeon was quiet. The she walked to Umbreon, and rubbed her head against his.
"You know who you have to tell that to..." she said.
"Thanks..." Umbreon said as he rested his head on Espeon's.
"Umbreon!" Sashi called.
"Come back!" Eevy said.
"It's no use..." Brian said.
"We can't quit now!" Sashi said. "Quitting is something a Trainer must never do... If I quitted the moment I lost my first battle, I wouldn't be here right now!"
"And I wouldn't have met you either..." Eevy thought.
"I know... But it's just... We've been searching for him for fifteen minutes now... He could be anywhere..."
"Not while I'm still here..." Espeon said, as she came into sight.
"Espeon!" Sashi cried happily. She was glad that Espeon was safe.
"And look who's back..." Espeon said, and looked behind her.
"Umbreon?" Brian asked, and Umbreon came into sight.
"Yes..."
"Oh Umbreon... I missed you so much..." Brian said, and approached Umbreon. He only took a few steps backwards. "Umbreon..."
"Don't you have anything to say to him?" Espeon asked.
"Yes..." Umbreon smiled at Espeon, and then looked at Brian. "Espeon told me about what you said..."
"Oh..."
"And I want to tell you... I'm sorry for yelling at you..."
"No, it's my fault for saying such things about you..."
"Hey it's my fault for not letting you explain!"
"If I hadn't said these things, you couldn't let me explain them!"
"I'm sensing a déj� vu here..." Sashi said.
"You're absolutely right..." Eevy giggled. "Should we take them apart?"
"No... They've been apart already... Now they're just happy to see each other again..." Sashi said.
"My fault!"
"My fault!"
to be continued...
*Sniff* These were such dramatic scenes...
Sashi: Oh come on... You wrote them!
But still they are...
Sashi: You're weird...
I'm weird!? You're the Anthro!
Sashi: Oh are we going to fight?
Bring it on!
*Ding ding ding!*
*Both get in fighting position, but suddenly stop*
Sashi: I'm sensing another déj� vu...
Yeah... me too... I'm sorry...
Sashi: No, I'm sorry...
No, I am!
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