Post by lana on Jan 29, 2009 19:32:51 GMT -5
{{Since someone had to go ranting on my story and then everyone wanted to see it, I just decided to post it here. Feedback, comments, etc. is all welcome.}}
“Hey! Hey, you gotta get up! C’mon, please wake up.”
I blinked, smoke clogging my nostrils, and I coughed several times before finally cracking my eyelids open. I was looking up at a Pikachu, who seemed ready to drag me off. Then, something in my head clicked.
I was looking up at a Pikachu, after just hearing a voice that could come from nowhere else but in front of me. I jumped up, and looked down at myself, barely a foot from the ground. I turned, and a brown, bushy tail tickled my nose. I conscious of large ears, and I lifted my hand to them. And then I saw my right hand had been replaced with a brown paw. I blinked, once, twice, before I realized what I was seeing was me.
“What!?” I exclaimed, spinning in circles to try and get a better look at myself. I finally stopped, looking down at the ground in disbelief. “But – but I’m not an Eevee!”
The Pikachu frowned. “Then explain the fact you look like an Eevee,” he sniffed, “smell like an Eevee, and sound like an Eevee.”
“B- but --” I started, only to be interrupted.
“Look,” the Pikachu said hastily, “I’m sure you’re a little out of sorts, but I’m sure once you’ll come back to your senses once this is over. Right now, we’ve got to get out of here.” He looked over me, trying to catch a glimpse of something.
I turned, and saw a battlefield. Or what was left of one. There was blood here and there, with burnt ground, foliage, and puddles littering the ground. The Pikachu was looking at a tall wall of thick foliage, reinforced by solid rock. “It’s a good thing they decided to retreat…” he murmured.
“Who decided to retreat? And where am I?” I asked, demanding answers.
The Pikachu seemed to realize I wasn’t going to be compliant unless he started cluing me in. “I’ll tell you on the way, but, right now, we need to move.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have your word?"
The Pikachu rolled his eyes. “Yes,” he said, “But I won’t be able to tell you anything if we’re captives. So move.” With that, he turned and started running on all fours in the other direction, towards a faint outline of an even stronger wall than the one behind me. The Pikachu started talking as we jogged. “I’m not sure how – seeing as you were on the battlefield, out cold – but you honestly seem to have no idea what happened. Early this morning, before the sun was up --”
“Wait,” I interrupted, looking up at the smoke-filled sky. “It’s morning? I can’t see the sun through all of this smoke!”
The Pikachu smiled wryly back at me. “That’s war for you.” Before I could interrupt again, he started talking again. “Anyways, early this morning, one of the lookouts saw light approaching. He almost immediately alerted the nearest supervisor, and the whole entire camp was woken up. A message was sent to the underground shelter, and they closed all of the entrances and exits.
“Of course,” the Pikachu continued, “my dad said I should have gone with my little sister and my mom. But I stayed, because I had to see what a real war battle was like…” the Pikachu trailed off, “But then it started taking a turn for the worse, despite our numerous advantages. The grass type Pokemon were having a tough time with the fire types, despite the rest of the army’s efforts.”
I broke in again. “Army?! What exactly is going on here?” I asked incredulously.
The Pikachu didn’t turn around, merely kept running. “We’re almost to the base, so I’ll tell you once we’re safe.”
I huffed, before renewing my speed. Finally, several huts became visible, but it was utterly still. The Pikachu stopped before the entrance of one and waved me in after him. It was occupied only by a Raichu, who was sound asleep.
The Pikachu grimaced. “Hopefully,” he whispered, “he won’t --” The Raichu stirred and opened his eyes. The Pikachu’s grimace only worsened as he continued in a low voice, “Wake up.”
The Raichu noticed us then. He locked eyes with the Pikachu. “Caleb.” He said simply, standing on his hind legs. Caleb straightened up and puffed out his chest, trying to seem bigger. The Raichu rolled his eyes. “You were supposed to go with your mother and sisters,” he said in a low voice. “Or did you not hear me?”
“I heard you,” Caleb said, no fear in his voice, “but I wasn’t going to hide like a female.” I scowled behind him.
The Raichu noticed my annoyance with Caleb’s stereotype. “And who’s this, Caleb?” He asked, looking from me to him.
Caleb started to answer, but then he hesitated. He looked at me. “I never did get your name, did I?”
I threw a withering glance at him before looking up at the Raichu. A split-second of hesitation, and then it came to me. “Kira.”
The Raichu only nodded. “Right, just call me Raichu. Where is your family?”
I started to say that they were human and probably miles away, but Caleb cut in. “She was getting away with her mother, but somebody rammed into her and she passed out. I found her near the wall.”
I frowned, wondering why he wanted to lie. “No, actually,” I said. I was conscious of Caleb groaning softly, but I continued. “Well, I don’t remember anything. At all. I don’t know where I am or where my family is, or even who they could possibly be,” I hesitated again for a moment. “The only thing I can remember, to be honest, is being human before… all of this.” Caleb gasped from next to me.
Raichu blinked and was silent for a few moments, holding my gaze. It was very evident Raichu took any of my word for the truth. Raichu finally grunted. “I think we ought to head deeper into camp, maybe see what the Generals want us to do about… all of this.”
Caleb perked up. “We’re going to see Risa and Avalon?” he asked eagerly.
Raichu nodded. “Since I can’t get you to retreat, maybe they can find something for you to do.” He glanced at me. “And perhaps we can sort this whole mess out, somehow.”
I blinked before nodding slowly. Caleb’s tail bumped me slightly, and I realized I should say something. “I hope so, Sir.”
Raichu looked satisfied, and showed us through the back entrance of the hut. Rather than emerging outdoors like I had expected, we were in a tunnel leading downwards. I bit back a complaint, for a sense of foreboding had overwhelmed me. I fought to keep my breath regular as we proceeded deeper and deeper into the tunnel, which was lit by a flame-baring ledge. When I realized the sensitive ears of the father and son could probably hear my breaths as well as I could, I tried to make a conversation. “So…” I started, trying to think of a question “who are Risa and Avalon?”
Raichu started to reply, but he was cut off by Caleb. “They’re a Jolteon and a Leafeon who maintain all of the troops. They have the last word about pretty much everything around here.”
“So what other kind of troops are there?” I asked, trying to get a feel for how things worked here.
Caleb thought. “Well, Avalon managed to get the ground types to join us, and then the rock types followed, and the steel types followed after them.”
“Who’s the boss of them?”
Caleb hesitated, so Raichu stepped in there. “Right now, there’s a shaky agreement that a Tyranitar and an Aggron share the leadership of all three – though Risa and Avalon still have the last say on all of their decisions. The steel types seem to listen to Aggron more, and the ground types more to Tyranitar. The rock types are mostly neutral and will listen to either. You can imagine the arguments the two leaders get in. Half of all our problems are internal because of them.”
I nodded slowly. “So what are the other sides like in this… conflict?” saying it was a war outright might not have been the smartest thing, so I tried to be a bit more general.
Neither answered me for a moment. “I think,” Raichu finally said, “Risa and Avalon should explain that to you themselves.”
I started to protest, but Caleb shook his head. Miffed, I hesitated before continuing to follow them down the tunnel. Finally, we came into an empty cavern breaking off into three other tunnels. I could hear yells from one, and Raichu grimaced before going down the tunnel leading to noise. A Lairon eyed us, but saw Raichu and let us by.
The room was lit – a Pokemon had probably used Flash. I took in all of the Pokemon at the table. Closest to us, there were a Scizor and Aggron, both looking particularly volatile. Opposite them, there was a Tyranitar and a Rampardos, though the Rampardos looked calmer than the Tyranitar. Past the two pairs and on the left was a Torterra. Opposite him, there was an empty spot.
At the head sat – though they were perhaps the smallest there – two very proud Pokemon. A Leafeon was seated next to a Jolteon, and both had their heads held high. The Leafeon seemed calm, and his eyes reflected peaceful wisdom. His partner, however, had a look of perpetual annoyance.
The seven, who looked like they had been arguing, fell silent as the three of us entered the dimly lit room. The Jolteon seemed pleased. “Ah,” she said, “Raichu. Good for you to join us. Sit.” She said, motioning her ears to the place opposite the Torterra.
The Leafeon held up a paw. “Wait a moment,” he said, his voice curious, “who is it you have with you?”
“We can’t have a child here, this is a war meeting,” the Tyranitar spoke up. “You can’t expect – “
The Jolteon – who I figured must be Risa – sent a warning look to the Tyranitar, her fur sparking for a moment. Tyranitar glared, but – after glancing at Avalon – was silent. Raichu nodded gratefully to her before speaking. “The Pikachu is my son, Caleb. The Eevee – “
He was interrupted by gasps – it was clear that they hadn’t seen me. The Leafeon –Avalon – regained his composure first. “An Eevee, you said?” He asked, nothing given away by his calm face.
Raichu nodded. “I had much the same thoughts when I first saw her. She told me her name was Kira.”
I was starting to dislike being talked about as if I wasn’t here. But I decided keeping my mouth shut was a much better option here. Risa spoke then, her voice quiet. “But… there hasn’t been an Eevee in this region since my sisters and I, along with Avalon and his brothers, evolved. And each of our parents hasn’t been seen since the seven of us evolved.”
I blinked. Who would’ve thought I would be an oddity? The Rampardos spoke then. “While this is all fine and good,” she said. “Shouldn’t we get back to the matter at hand?”
Risa snapped out of her deep thoughts. “Yes,” she said gruffly. “How are we to go about defeating Espeon’s troops? Tactfully and strategically,” she clarified as the Aggron and Tyranitar opened their mouths to respond. “You two have both made your opinions known. And as everyone else has said here, your brute force charges won’t work. Anyone have other ideas?”
Silence. Avalon gazed at each of the seated Pokemon before sighing. “Council dismissed,” he said, standing. He looked to Risa, who nodded.
She turned to Raichu. “The three of you should follow us,” she said, turning around to follow Avalon into a tunnel in the back of the cavern. The three of us followed after a moment, and it wasn’t long before we entered a cave smaller than the one we had just left. There were two pallets of hay in the room, with an egg laying in one.
Risa immediately settled herself into that pallet, curling around the brown and tan egg. Avalon sat in the other, eying me for a long while. He smiled softly. “Now,” he started, settling on the pallet and looking up at Raichu, “why don’t you tell me what happened, starting from when the signal for invasion was sent out?”
Raichu nodded. “I did as ordered, and went out to battle Flareon, Umbreon, and Vaporeon’s troops. Eventually, they were forced to retreat and the grass types put up a wall surrounding the entrances. I went to take a quick nap in an entrance hut before coming down here…” he trailed and glanced at Risa, who said nothing despite the annoyed glare she was giving her lieutenant. “And my son came in through that entrance, waking me up. Kira introduced herself to me, and explained her… unique situation. I then proceeded to bring both Kira and Caleb down here, and you know the rest.”
Avalon was silent for a few moments. “Explain what you mean by her unique situation,” he finally said, staring intently at the ground in thought.
I stepped up before Raichu could speak. I was ready to speak for myself, thank you. “He means that I told him that I don’t remember a thing I don’t remember being an Eevee, only being human.”
Avalon looked up, and both generals blinked. “Human, you said?” Risa asked, her voice skeptical.
I nodded. “Yes. I don’t know how any of this could have happened, but…” I trailed off lamely, shrugging.
Risa and Avalon looked at one another. Risa hesitated before speaking. “Do you think this was she may have met?” she asked quietly. “You don’t think you could…?” Risa trailed off, leaving the question hanging.
Avalon apparently understood, though. “I’ll see if I can get her to talk to me at all.” He said, nuzzling Risa before padding out behind the three of us.
Raichu made to say something, but Risa held a paw up to silence him. “Now,” she said, looking at Caleb, who shifted under her scrutiny, “how are we to put your eagerness to good use?”
“Please, General Ma’am,” Caleb said, bowing his head slightly, “I wish to fight alongside my father.”
Risa’s eyes narrowed. “A battlefield is no place for a child,” she said shortly. “But, there is something you can do.” Caleb’s eyes brightened as Risa continued. “Manny?” She called, and a Manetric stepped in to stand in front of Risa. “Show Caleb and Kira here to Breloom, if you please.” she said.
Manny nodded. But Caleb wasn’t as willing. “Wait – Breloom?” He asked in disbelief. “You’re making us into espionages?”
Risa seemed amused. “The formal term is Rescue Team, and espionage is something done only rarely. Consider yourself lucky. It’s an honor to be chosen for a team.”
“But they’re all a bunch of cowards that don’t ever fight!” Caleb exclaimed.
His father glared at him, and was about to say something when Risa cut in. “Rarely, they do fight. And their intensive training actually gives them an edge in battling,” she said, and it was clear she was growing annoyed. “I’m afraid it’s either this, or you will become an Escort and will stay one until five years after the passing age. You need to be kept busy if I can’t get you to retreat with the rest of the females and children.”
Caleb’s eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth, then closed it. His shoulders slumped. “Fine,” he muttered, scuffing his foot on the ground.
Risa nodded. “Good,” she said, pleased. “Now, Manny, make sure Breloom sees them personally. Raichu, you’re dismissed to find your family.” As we all started to leave, she spoke once more. “And Kira?”
I walked forward. “Yes?” I asked, taking a quick glance at the egg.
Risa was dead serious. “I think it would be best if we kept your… history a secret for now.”
I nodded and turned to leave. I paused and looked back at the Jolteon. “Do you believe me at all?” I asked.
Risa smirked. “I can tell you’re smart, Kira,” she said. “Just be prepared to meet some skeptics – some more aggressive than others – if you do decide to tell everyone about your circumstances of being here. Pokemon around here are already wary enough. A human-turned-Pokemon may not sit well with them.”
I blinked. Without so much as nodding, I turned and trotted after Caleb and Manny. I could have sworn Risa gave a soft chuckle. And then I wondered if anyone here believed me, or if they thought I was just some crazy Eevee.
{{So, general thoughts would be appreciated. Most of these ideas were only half-though through, and several elements are likely to change.}}
“Hey! Hey, you gotta get up! C’mon, please wake up.”
I blinked, smoke clogging my nostrils, and I coughed several times before finally cracking my eyelids open. I was looking up at a Pikachu, who seemed ready to drag me off. Then, something in my head clicked.
I was looking up at a Pikachu, after just hearing a voice that could come from nowhere else but in front of me. I jumped up, and looked down at myself, barely a foot from the ground. I turned, and a brown, bushy tail tickled my nose. I conscious of large ears, and I lifted my hand to them. And then I saw my right hand had been replaced with a brown paw. I blinked, once, twice, before I realized what I was seeing was me.
“What!?” I exclaimed, spinning in circles to try and get a better look at myself. I finally stopped, looking down at the ground in disbelief. “But – but I’m not an Eevee!”
The Pikachu frowned. “Then explain the fact you look like an Eevee,” he sniffed, “smell like an Eevee, and sound like an Eevee.”
“B- but --” I started, only to be interrupted.
“Look,” the Pikachu said hastily, “I’m sure you’re a little out of sorts, but I’m sure once you’ll come back to your senses once this is over. Right now, we’ve got to get out of here.” He looked over me, trying to catch a glimpse of something.
I turned, and saw a battlefield. Or what was left of one. There was blood here and there, with burnt ground, foliage, and puddles littering the ground. The Pikachu was looking at a tall wall of thick foliage, reinforced by solid rock. “It’s a good thing they decided to retreat…” he murmured.
“Who decided to retreat? And where am I?” I asked, demanding answers.
The Pikachu seemed to realize I wasn’t going to be compliant unless he started cluing me in. “I’ll tell you on the way, but, right now, we need to move.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have your word?"
The Pikachu rolled his eyes. “Yes,” he said, “But I won’t be able to tell you anything if we’re captives. So move.” With that, he turned and started running on all fours in the other direction, towards a faint outline of an even stronger wall than the one behind me. The Pikachu started talking as we jogged. “I’m not sure how – seeing as you were on the battlefield, out cold – but you honestly seem to have no idea what happened. Early this morning, before the sun was up --”
“Wait,” I interrupted, looking up at the smoke-filled sky. “It’s morning? I can’t see the sun through all of this smoke!”
The Pikachu smiled wryly back at me. “That’s war for you.” Before I could interrupt again, he started talking again. “Anyways, early this morning, one of the lookouts saw light approaching. He almost immediately alerted the nearest supervisor, and the whole entire camp was woken up. A message was sent to the underground shelter, and they closed all of the entrances and exits.
“Of course,” the Pikachu continued, “my dad said I should have gone with my little sister and my mom. But I stayed, because I had to see what a real war battle was like…” the Pikachu trailed off, “But then it started taking a turn for the worse, despite our numerous advantages. The grass type Pokemon were having a tough time with the fire types, despite the rest of the army’s efforts.”
I broke in again. “Army?! What exactly is going on here?” I asked incredulously.
The Pikachu didn’t turn around, merely kept running. “We’re almost to the base, so I’ll tell you once we’re safe.”
I huffed, before renewing my speed. Finally, several huts became visible, but it was utterly still. The Pikachu stopped before the entrance of one and waved me in after him. It was occupied only by a Raichu, who was sound asleep.
The Pikachu grimaced. “Hopefully,” he whispered, “he won’t --” The Raichu stirred and opened his eyes. The Pikachu’s grimace only worsened as he continued in a low voice, “Wake up.”
The Raichu noticed us then. He locked eyes with the Pikachu. “Caleb.” He said simply, standing on his hind legs. Caleb straightened up and puffed out his chest, trying to seem bigger. The Raichu rolled his eyes. “You were supposed to go with your mother and sisters,” he said in a low voice. “Or did you not hear me?”
“I heard you,” Caleb said, no fear in his voice, “but I wasn’t going to hide like a female.” I scowled behind him.
The Raichu noticed my annoyance with Caleb’s stereotype. “And who’s this, Caleb?” He asked, looking from me to him.
Caleb started to answer, but then he hesitated. He looked at me. “I never did get your name, did I?”
I threw a withering glance at him before looking up at the Raichu. A split-second of hesitation, and then it came to me. “Kira.”
The Raichu only nodded. “Right, just call me Raichu. Where is your family?”
I started to say that they were human and probably miles away, but Caleb cut in. “She was getting away with her mother, but somebody rammed into her and she passed out. I found her near the wall.”
I frowned, wondering why he wanted to lie. “No, actually,” I said. I was conscious of Caleb groaning softly, but I continued. “Well, I don’t remember anything. At all. I don’t know where I am or where my family is, or even who they could possibly be,” I hesitated again for a moment. “The only thing I can remember, to be honest, is being human before… all of this.” Caleb gasped from next to me.
Raichu blinked and was silent for a few moments, holding my gaze. It was very evident Raichu took any of my word for the truth. Raichu finally grunted. “I think we ought to head deeper into camp, maybe see what the Generals want us to do about… all of this.”
Caleb perked up. “We’re going to see Risa and Avalon?” he asked eagerly.
Raichu nodded. “Since I can’t get you to retreat, maybe they can find something for you to do.” He glanced at me. “And perhaps we can sort this whole mess out, somehow.”
I blinked before nodding slowly. Caleb’s tail bumped me slightly, and I realized I should say something. “I hope so, Sir.”
Raichu looked satisfied, and showed us through the back entrance of the hut. Rather than emerging outdoors like I had expected, we were in a tunnel leading downwards. I bit back a complaint, for a sense of foreboding had overwhelmed me. I fought to keep my breath regular as we proceeded deeper and deeper into the tunnel, which was lit by a flame-baring ledge. When I realized the sensitive ears of the father and son could probably hear my breaths as well as I could, I tried to make a conversation. “So…” I started, trying to think of a question “who are Risa and Avalon?”
Raichu started to reply, but he was cut off by Caleb. “They’re a Jolteon and a Leafeon who maintain all of the troops. They have the last word about pretty much everything around here.”
“So what other kind of troops are there?” I asked, trying to get a feel for how things worked here.
Caleb thought. “Well, Avalon managed to get the ground types to join us, and then the rock types followed, and the steel types followed after them.”
“Who’s the boss of them?”
Caleb hesitated, so Raichu stepped in there. “Right now, there’s a shaky agreement that a Tyranitar and an Aggron share the leadership of all three – though Risa and Avalon still have the last say on all of their decisions. The steel types seem to listen to Aggron more, and the ground types more to Tyranitar. The rock types are mostly neutral and will listen to either. You can imagine the arguments the two leaders get in. Half of all our problems are internal because of them.”
I nodded slowly. “So what are the other sides like in this… conflict?” saying it was a war outright might not have been the smartest thing, so I tried to be a bit more general.
Neither answered me for a moment. “I think,” Raichu finally said, “Risa and Avalon should explain that to you themselves.”
I started to protest, but Caleb shook his head. Miffed, I hesitated before continuing to follow them down the tunnel. Finally, we came into an empty cavern breaking off into three other tunnels. I could hear yells from one, and Raichu grimaced before going down the tunnel leading to noise. A Lairon eyed us, but saw Raichu and let us by.
The room was lit – a Pokemon had probably used Flash. I took in all of the Pokemon at the table. Closest to us, there were a Scizor and Aggron, both looking particularly volatile. Opposite them, there was a Tyranitar and a Rampardos, though the Rampardos looked calmer than the Tyranitar. Past the two pairs and on the left was a Torterra. Opposite him, there was an empty spot.
At the head sat – though they were perhaps the smallest there – two very proud Pokemon. A Leafeon was seated next to a Jolteon, and both had their heads held high. The Leafeon seemed calm, and his eyes reflected peaceful wisdom. His partner, however, had a look of perpetual annoyance.
The seven, who looked like they had been arguing, fell silent as the three of us entered the dimly lit room. The Jolteon seemed pleased. “Ah,” she said, “Raichu. Good for you to join us. Sit.” She said, motioning her ears to the place opposite the Torterra.
The Leafeon held up a paw. “Wait a moment,” he said, his voice curious, “who is it you have with you?”
“We can’t have a child here, this is a war meeting,” the Tyranitar spoke up. “You can’t expect – “
The Jolteon – who I figured must be Risa – sent a warning look to the Tyranitar, her fur sparking for a moment. Tyranitar glared, but – after glancing at Avalon – was silent. Raichu nodded gratefully to her before speaking. “The Pikachu is my son, Caleb. The Eevee – “
He was interrupted by gasps – it was clear that they hadn’t seen me. The Leafeon –Avalon – regained his composure first. “An Eevee, you said?” He asked, nothing given away by his calm face.
Raichu nodded. “I had much the same thoughts when I first saw her. She told me her name was Kira.”
I was starting to dislike being talked about as if I wasn’t here. But I decided keeping my mouth shut was a much better option here. Risa spoke then, her voice quiet. “But… there hasn’t been an Eevee in this region since my sisters and I, along with Avalon and his brothers, evolved. And each of our parents hasn’t been seen since the seven of us evolved.”
I blinked. Who would’ve thought I would be an oddity? The Rampardos spoke then. “While this is all fine and good,” she said. “Shouldn’t we get back to the matter at hand?”
Risa snapped out of her deep thoughts. “Yes,” she said gruffly. “How are we to go about defeating Espeon’s troops? Tactfully and strategically,” she clarified as the Aggron and Tyranitar opened their mouths to respond. “You two have both made your opinions known. And as everyone else has said here, your brute force charges won’t work. Anyone have other ideas?”
Silence. Avalon gazed at each of the seated Pokemon before sighing. “Council dismissed,” he said, standing. He looked to Risa, who nodded.
She turned to Raichu. “The three of you should follow us,” she said, turning around to follow Avalon into a tunnel in the back of the cavern. The three of us followed after a moment, and it wasn’t long before we entered a cave smaller than the one we had just left. There were two pallets of hay in the room, with an egg laying in one.
Risa immediately settled herself into that pallet, curling around the brown and tan egg. Avalon sat in the other, eying me for a long while. He smiled softly. “Now,” he started, settling on the pallet and looking up at Raichu, “why don’t you tell me what happened, starting from when the signal for invasion was sent out?”
Raichu nodded. “I did as ordered, and went out to battle Flareon, Umbreon, and Vaporeon’s troops. Eventually, they were forced to retreat and the grass types put up a wall surrounding the entrances. I went to take a quick nap in an entrance hut before coming down here…” he trailed and glanced at Risa, who said nothing despite the annoyed glare she was giving her lieutenant. “And my son came in through that entrance, waking me up. Kira introduced herself to me, and explained her… unique situation. I then proceeded to bring both Kira and Caleb down here, and you know the rest.”
Avalon was silent for a few moments. “Explain what you mean by her unique situation,” he finally said, staring intently at the ground in thought.
I stepped up before Raichu could speak. I was ready to speak for myself, thank you. “He means that I told him that I don’t remember a thing I don’t remember being an Eevee, only being human.”
Avalon looked up, and both generals blinked. “Human, you said?” Risa asked, her voice skeptical.
I nodded. “Yes. I don’t know how any of this could have happened, but…” I trailed off lamely, shrugging.
Risa and Avalon looked at one another. Risa hesitated before speaking. “Do you think this was she may have met?” she asked quietly. “You don’t think you could…?” Risa trailed off, leaving the question hanging.
Avalon apparently understood, though. “I’ll see if I can get her to talk to me at all.” He said, nuzzling Risa before padding out behind the three of us.
Raichu made to say something, but Risa held a paw up to silence him. “Now,” she said, looking at Caleb, who shifted under her scrutiny, “how are we to put your eagerness to good use?”
“Please, General Ma’am,” Caleb said, bowing his head slightly, “I wish to fight alongside my father.”
Risa’s eyes narrowed. “A battlefield is no place for a child,” she said shortly. “But, there is something you can do.” Caleb’s eyes brightened as Risa continued. “Manny?” She called, and a Manetric stepped in to stand in front of Risa. “Show Caleb and Kira here to Breloom, if you please.” she said.
Manny nodded. But Caleb wasn’t as willing. “Wait – Breloom?” He asked in disbelief. “You’re making us into espionages?”
Risa seemed amused. “The formal term is Rescue Team, and espionage is something done only rarely. Consider yourself lucky. It’s an honor to be chosen for a team.”
“But they’re all a bunch of cowards that don’t ever fight!” Caleb exclaimed.
His father glared at him, and was about to say something when Risa cut in. “Rarely, they do fight. And their intensive training actually gives them an edge in battling,” she said, and it was clear she was growing annoyed. “I’m afraid it’s either this, or you will become an Escort and will stay one until five years after the passing age. You need to be kept busy if I can’t get you to retreat with the rest of the females and children.”
Caleb’s eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth, then closed it. His shoulders slumped. “Fine,” he muttered, scuffing his foot on the ground.
Risa nodded. “Good,” she said, pleased. “Now, Manny, make sure Breloom sees them personally. Raichu, you’re dismissed to find your family.” As we all started to leave, she spoke once more. “And Kira?”
I walked forward. “Yes?” I asked, taking a quick glance at the egg.
Risa was dead serious. “I think it would be best if we kept your… history a secret for now.”
I nodded and turned to leave. I paused and looked back at the Jolteon. “Do you believe me at all?” I asked.
Risa smirked. “I can tell you’re smart, Kira,” she said. “Just be prepared to meet some skeptics – some more aggressive than others – if you do decide to tell everyone about your circumstances of being here. Pokemon around here are already wary enough. A human-turned-Pokemon may not sit well with them.”
I blinked. Without so much as nodding, I turned and trotted after Caleb and Manny. I could have sworn Risa gave a soft chuckle. And then I wondered if anyone here believed me, or if they thought I was just some crazy Eevee.
{{So, general thoughts would be appreciated. Most of these ideas were only half-though through, and several elements are likely to change.}}