FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next day I woke up in a sleepy haze. I had liked the pet store, but Sara's bed was so much, much more comfortable. I sat there for a few minutes before I was awake enough to realize Sara wasn't in the room- and then I panicked and ran out of the room to find her. A quick search revealed she wasn't upstairs (and I checked the closet twice just to be sure) so I hopped down the stairs to the first floor. I tripped about three stairs from the bottom, rolling the rest of the way to the floor, but I wasn't hurt so I quickly got back to my feet. I ran into the living room and back out just as quickly- Sara's parents were on the couch watching the TV, but Sara wasn't there. Laughter came from the living room as I exited but I ignored it, concentrating instead on not slipping on the tiled floor of the kitchen. I finally paused and calmed down to think, and that was when I heard Sara's voice coming from the dining room. I ran to that room, almost loosing my balance again- I mean, for the first time- on the tile, but I made it through the doorway more or less intact. Sara was sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast and talking to a screen on the table.

I ran to her and called out "Sara!" though I know she heard only an excited "Eve!" She smiled when she saw me, putting her spoon down before picking me up in a hug.

"Here's Opal now; isn't he just the cutest?" Sara had turned back to the screen, and I turned to give it a better look. There was an image of a smiling guy with a baseball cap on the screen.

The person on the screen waved and said "Hi Opal!"

I blinked, looking at the screen with confusion. "Hello?" Clara had told me how the televisions at the pet store worked before- that they showed what had happened somewhere else at a different time, like a memory, but she had said they couldn't respond to anything outside of the screen. I wasn't sure what was happening and looked back up at Sara.

"Opal, this is my brother Thomas; he's a Pokemon trainer. He just made a phone call from the Pokemon Center to tell me happy birthday."

My confusion cleared- this wasn't a television, it was some type of phone. I had seen them used at the pet store so people could talk to somebody who wasn't there. I put my ears back up and replied with a simple bark, a happy but meaningless "Vee!"

Thomas laughed through the screen. "Well, he seems happy. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you yesterday; I just got caught up with a few problems here. How was the party?"

"It was fun! Brittany got a bike from her parents, and Flen was there, too; he brought his Espeon with him. I think they just came because of Opal, but it was amazing to see them both. That Espeon looks pretty powerful; she would just open doors and lift things out of her way without breaking stride."

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, she's very strong and she knows it. I tried to fight Flen before I left, but she was just impossible to beat. She seemed nice enough off the battlefield though; it's easy to believe she's friendly, especially to another Eevee."

Sara nodded and answered back, but my attention wandered. I vaguely remember Sara asking Thomas what he did with his Pokemon at night, and him answering that it would depend on if they were hurt or not, but that he usually let them do whatever they wanted to. They talked some more about Sara's birthday and about how Thomas' travels were going before Thomas finally had to go. They said goodbye to each other before Sara pressed a button and the screen went blank.

The rest of that day and the next passed in much the same way as the day before. There were more trips down the stairs, and slipping on tile. We played in the yard until it was time to eat or go to bed, and came back again the next day. Some of the other kids from the party came over, and we played with them too. It was a lot more fun with more people- alone we played fetch with the ball, but when her friends were there we played tag or hide-and-go seek. And at the end of each day I curled up at the foot of Sara's bed and fell asleep.

The third day turned out much different. I woke up earlier than usual, awakened by the sound of Sara digging through her closet. I hopped off the bed and walked over to her, yawning on the way. Sara was putting things in a backpack, and she looked down at me when she realized I was there. "Sorry Opal! I was just getting things together for school. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay... what's school?" I remembered vaguely that Clara had mentioned it back at the pet store. It was something people had to go to for some reason I had forgotten.

Sara gave me a pat on the head and went back to the closet. I realized from her lack of any other response that she had no idea I had even asked a question. I shook my head and tried to look into her backpack instead. Before I could make anything out Sara picked me up off the ground. I barked a surprised "Eve!" but Sara ignored me, instead putting me back on the bed. "No Opal, you can't go in there, that's for my books. If you want to come with me you'll have to be in the PokeBall."

I wasn't sure what she meant by 'come with me'. She wasn't planning on just leaving me here while she left, was she? I didn't think she would understand anything I told her, so instead I picked the PokeBall up in my mouth, walked back to her, and with tail wagging dropped it in front of her. Sara laughed as she reached down and picked up the PokeBall. "Okay Opal, I guess if you really want to go to school you can, but it's going to be boring. Sure you still want to come with me?" I was nodding before she even finished asking the question, and she laughed. "Okay then. See you later!" Sara pressed part of the PokeBall and my world went pink before being replaced with the moonlit forest of the Pokeball. I yawned, then stretched out on the grass and went back to sleep.

I woke up a little bit later and decided to explore the world of the PokeBall. I knew Sara would let me out when she could, so I started looking around while I had the chance. It seemed about the same no matter where I went, and no matter how far I went, the clearing was always right behind me. It was a little creepy the first time I realized that, but it was still hard to be scared in the PokeBall. Everything about the place seemed calm and comfortable, familiar, and the moon overhead and the gentle chirping around me soon made me forget about the 'stalker clearing'. I also learned that the PokeBall could make things for me. After a while of exploring the same spot I sat down and yawned, wishing I at least had a ball to play with. No sooner had I thought that than I heard a chime from behind me, and when I turned to investigate found a yellow ball where before there was only grass. I stared at it for a little bit, confused, but then boredom won out and I decided to play with it instead of wonder where it came from.

At long last I heard another chime and the world dissolved into a pink glow. When it faded I found a scene similar to Sara's yard, though much larger, with random structures throughout it. Although it was a big area, the immediate area was pretty crowded. I was in the middle of a circle of several children, and they were all looking down at me with various expressions. I gave a nervous "Vee" and looked for Sara, finding her behind me. She put the PokeBall in her pocket and picked me up, holding me in a hug. "This is Opal; I got him for my birthday."

One kid in the circle elbowed another kid. "See, I told you she has an Eevee!" The other kid- a boy maybe just a little younger than Sara- glared at the first one before looking back at Sara. "Is it true you got him from Flen himself?"

Sara shook her head. "Not really... well, kind of... I mean, he helped my parents pay the store, but Opal was still a gift from my parents."

Other people began asking questions, talking over each other until it was just a blur of noise. I dropped my ears at the noise, a little uncomfortable from it. Sara noticed and told them to stop. "One at a time; I can't understand you if you're all talking at once! What were you asking?" She looked at a boy near the back of the circle.

"Well, I was just wondering what attacks he knew? He doesn't look that tough." Somebody snickered at that response, though I wasn't sure who. Sara looked down at me, a look of confusion on her face.

"Um... I don't know; we haven't been in a battle yet. I guess he knows Tackle; that's something every Eevee knows, but I don't know about anything else."

"You haven't battled at all yet? Hah, I bet he's a weakling; he doesn't look like much of a fighter. That must be why Flen gave him to you; that would be the perfect Pokemon for you." The speaker stepped forward from the crowd and faced Sara. I realized from his voice that he was the one who snickered earlier and I saw he had a PokeBall on his belt.

"Maybe, but he's more than enough to take on you and your Growlithe. A blind Rattata could beat you." Sara's tone was angry enough to start making me nervous. This was the first time I had seen her get angry. It was easy to see she didn't like this person and I was suddenly worried about what she might do.

"Is that a challenge?!" The PokeBall I had seen earlier was in the boy's hand before he had finished talking, and he glared at Sara's. "Growlithe, go!"

A pink beam shot out from the PokeBall and a red Growlithe appeared before me. I had seen a few of them in the pet store- there was a section near mine for them- and they had been fun to play with the on the few occasions I was able to. I didn't think this one was going to want to play, and the whole situation was making me nervous. So many people were around, and I had never been in a battle before, and I was sure it wouldn't be like the friendly playing I had done with the other Pokemon at the pet store. I backed up a few steps, stopping once Sara's leg was between me and the circle of children.

Sara smiled at me when I hid behind her, but the boy just started laughing cruelly. "Wow, I was just kidding, but it looks like he really is a wimp. I guess I was right about Flen picking him just for you then; you make a perfect pair. Both of you are too scared to do what it takes to actually be a trainer."

Sara turned red at that comment, blushing, and I could tell the comment had upset her. She didn't actually say anything, but she swallowed and looked back down at me, blinking her eyes rapidly. I was worried about an actual battle and nervous about what would happen... but I wasn't going to let somebody else hurt my trainer like that, and I gave a low growl as I stepped back into the ring.

Sara shifted a little when I reached the center, and I looked back to see that she had started smiling. The other boy looked down at me and his smile vanished into a scowl, and the crowd of people began murmuring and backing up to give us more space. I looked back at the Growlithe, examining him for the first time, and realized that Sara's earlier comment wasn't much of a stretch. The Growlithe looked wobbly and sick to the point where I lost some of my anger, instead concerned for it. "Are you okay?" I took a cautious step towards it, wondering if I could help it somehow.

The Growlithe shook his head and responded with an annoyed tone. "It's just a little cold. I'm fine. Who are you?"

The Growlithe had such an abrupt and direct manner that it seemed almost rude, but I figured it was a fair question. "My name's Opal; what's yours?"

"John calls me Growlithe. I'm supposed to battle you?" The Growlithe looked behind him to his trainer- John- and waited for an answer.

Sara answered first, noticing the same things I had. "Are... is he okay? He looks sick; are you sure you want to do this?"

Sara voice merely sounded concerned, but her question just seemed to make John angrier. "You're pathetic. You aren't going to get me to back out of this for you. Growlithe, Bite!"

The Growlithe lunged at me without any other warning, mouth open wide and teeth gleaming, but he stumbled a little, and I was able to easily jump away from him as a result. John seemed a little surprised at this, and I realized that the Growlithe wasn't moving as quickly as it usually did.

Sara noticed the same thing and her voice lost all of her earlier anger. "John, don't do this; your Growlithe shouldn't be fighting like this."

John glared at Sara, and I was suddenly worried he would attack her himself. I edged between them just in case. "Are you going to battle or what? You started this!"

Sara looked back at the sick Growlithe, who was now standing near the edge of the circle and coughing. "Um... Opal, try not to hurt him too much... use Quick Attack!"

I turned from her to the Growlithe, and took a step forward... then stopped, looking back at her in confusion. What was Quick Attack?

John laughed. "He doesn't seem to know that move, Sara. At least I know what my Growlithe can and can't do."

Sara blushed but looked back at the Growlithe and mumbled. "You wouldn't know it from this fight." Sara looked back at me and raised her voice again. "Sorry Opal. Every Eevee knows Tackle; use that!"

When Sara spoke the word 'Tackle', something just clicked inside my head. An image flashed through my mind of myself running forward and slamming into the Growlithe. Even though I had never actually done it before I knew exactly how to pull it off. I gave Sara a nod and charged towards the Growlithe, angry at John for laughing at my trainer. About five steps in I remembered what Sara had said about not hurting the Growlithe too much, and slowed down for the rest of the way... but I knew when I hit the Growlithe that I had really hurt it.

The Growlithe went flying across the 'field' and landed just short of the ring of people. He let out a soft grunt as he landed... and then just lay there, not even trying to get up. I dropped my ears and felt even worse- from the looks of it I had really hurt him, right after Sara had just told me not to. The people in the circle all seemed surprised, and a few said "Ooooh", but Sara just looked sad. My first thought was that she was disappointed with me for not holding back more, but I quickly saw she was staring at the Growlithe, and that her feelings then were only of worry for it.

John began yelling at the Growlithe. "Get up and get back into the fight; you're not going to let me loose to her, are you?" The Growlithe coughed again but didn't move otherwise.

Sara stepped towards the hurt Pokemon and reached into her backpack. "You lost, John; don't hurt your own Pokemon even more." Sara pulled a small bottle from her backpack and pointed it at the wounded Growlithe. She pressed a button and a mist emerged from the bottle, floating slowly over the Growlithe. A second later he seemed to get a little stronger and slowly rose to his feet.

I dropped my ears and looked down at the ground. "Sorry Growlithe."

The Growlithe coughed again. "It's okay... it wasn't your fault." I looked up and saw the Growlithe looking back at John.

"I hope you feel better soon... maybe we can try again when you're better? I'm sure you'll beat me then."

The Growlithe gave a soft chuckle. "That's nice of you... we'll see what happens."

I smiled at the Growlithe, glad he wasn't angry at me for hurting him. Before I could say anything else a voice yelled from outside the circle- an older voice this time. "What's going on here? Move out of the way, move!"

The crowd parted and a woman stepped into sight. She looked at us- me, the Growlithe, Sara, John- and shook her head. "Are you two fighting out here? You should know better, especially you Sara! Put those away right now and come with me. I can see we need to have a talk with the principal."

Sara looked down at me with a guilty expression on her face. She said "Sorry, Opal," and with a click the world turned pink, replaced by the starry clearing.

I wasn't sure what the lady was so mad about but I had a feeling that Sara wouldn't be able to let me back out for a while. I still felt a little bad about the Growlithe to the point where I didn't feel like playing with the ball, which was still lying where I had left it. Instead I just curled up in the clearing and watched the sky and the moon.

My guess turned out to be right- I was in the Pokeball for a while. The stars and moon slowly moved about the sky, but it was hard to keep track of time even with their aid. It dragged on so long that I finally ended up falling asleep again. When I woke up next I was back in Sara's room, lying on a pillow on her bed. Sara was stretched out on the bed too, but she was facing away from me and writing in a notebook. I yawned, a drawn out "Veeee", and Sara turned her head to look back at me.

"Morning, Opal! I guess you were tired after the fight. I'm sorry about that... I didn't think John would challenge me to a fight right there, especially with his Growlithe being sick. You did a really great job though!" With that Sara sat up and pulled me into her lap, giving me a pat on the head as she did.

Outside the window the sky was orange with the setting sun, but there was light enough that I could still see by. The notebook was lying open, and I leaned forward to look at it. I couldn't understand what she was doing- the signs in the pet store with their big straight letters were one thing, but the curves and scribbles on Sara's page were nothing I could understand. I could tell that it was the same thing over and over again- every seven spaces the pattern started over again. Sara saw me looking at the notebook and let out a sigh before closing it with her free hand. "Yeah... John and I both got in trouble. We have to write 'I will not bring Pokemon to school' five hundred times by tomorrow. The teachers don't want us bringing Pokemon to school anymore, 'cause it's too much of a distraction, so I'll have to leave you at home tomorrow. It's not your fault, though; you did great back there. That was a really strong tackle, and I could tell you were holding back!" Sara lifted me up and put me on the floor as she stood up. "I bet you're hungry after all that work." Sara started walking downstairs so I did a quick stretch and followed her. I wasn't sure I had done all that much- in the end all I did was just run into another Pokemon- but I was pretty hungry so I decided not to mention that. Besides, Sara probably wouldn't have understood me anyways.

The rest of the night passed happily- after a quick dinner we played in the yard until it grew too dark. After that we came back inside and watched television for a while. There was a news flash about a strange red Gyrados and a bright orange Cherubi attacking some nearby city, and that strong Pokemon trainers were desperately needed to help fight them off. I wasn't sure what either a Gyrados or a Cherubi were, nor why the reporters kept mentioning the colors as if they was something special... but the report soon ended. It was replaced by a much more interesting superhero movie where a rich man dressed up like a Zubat and fought scary criminals, so I soon forgot all about the odd report. After the show ended Sara went back up to her room to finish her homework and I followed after her. She sat on her bed and worked for a few minutes, writing in her notebook, but before too long she closed it and set it on her dresser. "All done! Ready for bed, Opal?"

I blinked and thought it over. It was pretty late but I wasn't that tired- I had slept for a good bit both before and after the fight with Growlithe. I finally shook my head in a no and Sara laughed. "I bet not; you must've slept all day!" Sara gave me a pat on the head, then picked up the remote and turned on the television. "I'll be back in a little bit, Opal." Sara turned and left the room, and I stretched out on a pillow and watched the show.

The show was a history report about some great Pokemon battles, and I was soon completely absorbed in it. I paid close attention and watched what both the Pokemon and the trainers did. Most of the Pokemon seemed far out of my league- the first fight was between an Onyx and Nidoking, and they both seemed scarier than anything I'd ever seen. The sheer power behind their blows scared me, and I wondered how I could ever stand up against something like that. The next few battles were about the same as large Pokemon fought each other with physically powerful attacks- but the final fight was a surprise. The two Pokemon combined were barely the size of a human, but they each seemed to wield more sheer power and endurance than all of the other Pokemon before them. One of them- a Glaceon, a Pokemon that looked as if somebody had just frozen an Espeon- summoned a storm in the opening round, then pulled chunks of ice from it and hurled them towards its opponent. The other Pokemon- a Raichu, a mouse type Pokemon with a bladed tail- deflected or flat out destroyed the ice with it's tail, then pulled lighting down from the sky and electrified the field. The battle was simply awe-inspiring, and I didn't realize just how caught up in it I was until the end when Sara completely surprised me with a cheer for the winning Glaceon. I had been so engrossed in the battle that I hadn't heard her come back in and curl up under the covers, and I jumped a little at the surprise.

Sara didn't seem to notice my shock, too caught up in the show herself. "Wow, that was an intense match!" She sat up on the bed and gave me a pat on the head. "One day we're going to fight like that, I know it."

The thought of fighting on that level scared me a little, but it also was a little exciting. I gave a happy "Vee!" and smiled, just trying to encourage Sara's dream- though inside I doubted I would ever be able to compare to the Glaceon I had just watched. Sara changed the channel after that, flipping to a music channel that didn't really hold my interest- upbeat songs about far away places with names I never heard of. Sara gave a yawn and fell asleep before long, but I stayed up longer, bored. Eventually the music changed to a flute's melody, and the sound lulled me to a restful sleep.

---

The Honchkrow fluttered down from the tree and pecked at the Houndoom's ear. "You're not even listening, are you?"

"No, I'm not." The Houndoom thwacked the dark bird with his tail, though the weak attack didn't even ruffle feathers.

"Figures. The only thing you listen to is that Haunter; I guess it was pointless to expect you to try and think about anything else."

The Houndoom snorted, and a wisp of flame fell to the ground with the exhaled breath. "And why shouldn't I listen to him? I don't know how your life went, but before he showed up I barely had enough to eat each night. Now my worry is about getting fat. Getting. Fat. Do you know how nice it is to have that be the big thing to worry about for once?" The Houndoom grabbed a berry and swallowed it, underscoring his point.

The Honchkrow glared back at the Houndoom. "Yeah, but there have to be other ways to get food. Those Mareep are probably going to starve now because of us."

"Who cares about the Mareep? They can get more food- and if they can't then they deserve to starve. They can eat grass. There's grass everywhere here. Can you eat grass?"

"That's not the point! It was their food and we took it. And what are we going to do about that Ninetales? I didn't even know they came in that color! We have this blue Ninetales out there somewhere just waiting for us to attack again. How are we supposed to do anything now, when that thing could show up out of nowhere?" The Honchkrow flapped his wings, agitated.

"I didn't have any problem with it."

"You were the first one to run away! And you didn't have to worry about it roasting you alive, you're already on fire! What is Haunter going to do about that, huh?"

"Still don't trust me, do you?" A form appeared behind the Honchkrow, a pair of red eyes staring at the dark bird. The bird whirled and glared back at it.

"No I do not. You grabbed the food and then left us back there on our own, and I know that Ninetales recognized you. What are you dragging us into?"

"I told you already, I never saw her before. And she won't be a problem anymore."

"Oh? And why's that?"

The Houndoom rose to his feet, speaking again. "Because we're leaving. There's a city not far from here that we're going to go to instead. Haunter and I already came up with a plan to slip into it."

The Honchkrow turned back to the Houndoom, anger vanishing to curiosity. "Why would we want to go there? Humans are even worse; there's no telling what kind of Pokemon they'll have to attack us with."

"You're welcome to stay here with that crazy Ninetales instead. That'll just be more things for Houndoom and I to split- just imagine all the food a city would have waiting in it. And humans have those machines that teach you the new abilities- I'm sure we'll find some powerful ones at the gym there."

"And what do you get out of all this?"

"What, you don't think I want food or special abilities too? Knowing the two of you are well fed and happy can't be enough for me?"

The Honchkrow thought for a minute, looking back and forth between the two. "Well... okay. We'll see where this goes."

"But I still don't trust you, Haunter."