Another Eevee's Story - Chapter One
#6 of Sara's Story
Hello again! This is a sequel story, of sorts; this chapter is meant to be read AFTER reading Opal's story, or at least chapter five of that story. It can make sense on its own, but a few things make much more sense after that point. The first two pictures were done by Kuroseishin on FA.
This is the story of a young trainer and his first Pokemon - enjoy~
Oversleeping and running late was a theme for a lot of great Pokemon trainers- the boy had read stories of League Champions that had started there journeys out by oversleeping, and as a result missed out on the nice, friendly Pokemon. Instead they ended up with an ill-tempered brat of a Pokemon that, after a little bit of work and love, turned out to become a steadfast companion with near legendary powers. The trainer would use the lessons learned from that obstinate Pokemon to unlock the potential of his other Pokemon and from there lead his team to countless victories, finally battling the Elite Four and claiming their own place in the Hall of Fame, remembered for all time by other trainers.
So even though he was a little worried, the boy wasn't too upset when he rolled out of bed, saw the notice on his computer screen, and realized that daylight savings time had been the night before- and that he had overslept by a whole hour. It wasn't a bad thing. It just meant he would end up with whatever Pokemon his friends didn't pick, and that he would meet up with them near the edge of town, and start out on his own adventure- nothing major, just a slight setback. He said his goodbyes, giving his mom a last hug, and agreeing to help his friend's mom by bringing along a bag of supplies- of course, his friend's mom would have given it to her son earlier, but he had rushed off so quickly that she barely had time enough to say goodbye. It was all normal and fit right into all the stories he had heard of the great Pokemon trainers. As he walked he just knew that whatever Pokemon he ended up with would bring him straight to the doors of the Pokemon League.
So when he ended up at the Pokemon Center and met up with the trainer who had promised a Pokemon to him and his two friends, he was very surprised to find there were none left- at all.
"Sorry, kid. I guess I got you mixed up- there were two of you here an hour ago, and I gave them each one; then another kid came by about half an hour ago, and I gave him the Growlithe. I'm still a little surprised he actually took it; that stubborn thing will probably just end up eating all his food and drive him crazy."
Nothing the boy could say could make a Pokemon appear out of thin air, and he just stood there speechless. Finally the trainer sighed and caved a little. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am, but I just don't have another Pokemon to give you. The best I can do is to give you a Pokeball; it's my last one. I thought I was going to use them all on that Squirtle, but I caught him with one to spare, and since I need to restock anyways... just go ahead and take it. If you go catch up with your friends, maybe they can help you catch something with their Pokemon."
It wasn't what he had expected, but it was at least something, and the boy took it, thanking the trainer and running off after his friends, the Pokeball clutched in his hand. And when he did meet up with them, the boy didn't tell them he didn't have a Pokemon- just said that he was too tired from running after them to battle and that they'd have to wait until later; they probably needed to keep walking anyways if they were to make it to the next city before dark.
Of course, it turned out that even walking all day, they still didn't make it to the next city before night, and the three of them set up camp a little ways off the road near an old tree, using the supplies the boy had carried for his friend's mom. The other two trainers fell asleep, a young Nidoran keeping watch for them, but the boy just stretched out in his sleeping bag, holding onto and brooding over the empty Pokeball.
The little Eevee hadn't seen her parents in nearly two weeks by the night the humans set up camp by her tree. She hid in her burrow under the roots for a while, wishing they would just go away, and that her parents would come back... but she knew, somehow, that her parents weren't going to come back, and the humans just stayed where they were, even going so far as to fall asleep. A Nidoran guarded the camp, and every now and then it would sniff the air and look in her general direction. She didn't know if the Nidoran could smell her or not, but she could smell them just fine- especially the food they all carried with them. She hadn't gone two whole weeks without food- something had been leaving food near her den at night, though never being seen as anything more than a silvery flicker- but whatever it was had stopped coming two nights ago, and she had grown very hungry. She wanted to go over there, to dig into one of those bags and just eat everything she could find... but she knew the Nidoran would hurt her badly if she tried, not to mention the three humans who would wake up.
But eventually a chance seemed to reveal itself- one of the humans crawled out of his sleeping bag and grabbed his backpack, pulling out a bit of food. The Nidoran looked annoyed at the boy, snorting a little, but it just went back to guarding the other two, and the boy walked a ways into the forest, munching on a bar of some kind. The Eevee glanced between the two groups and quickly made up her mind, crawling out of the burrow, her stomach leading her after the lone human.
The boy sat on the tree stump trying to decide what to do as he munched on the candy bar. He couldn't keep the deception up much longer- the next morning he was sure his friends would demand a battle, and he couldn't just tell them he had nothing. He couldn't go back either- he knew his mom would lose it if she found out he had just up and left the city without a Pokemon of some kind to protect him. He knew his friends could handle anything, but he also knew his mom wouldn't see it that way.
"Why am I doing this?" The boy asked. He was confused. This time last night he had been so sure, so certain that he was destined to be a trainer. That nothing would stand in his way, that he would rise to the top, and that the steps in between were just formalities. But now here, alone with only an empty Pokeball, doubts plagued him. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be a trainer after all, maybe he didn't get a Pokemon not because of a bad coincidence, but because he would have been an awful trainer, and any Pokemon of his would have been a miserable creature. His doubts were like a fog around him, and the bright future he thought he had waiting for him was impossible to find.
He sighed, looking up to watch the night sky. A crumb fell off the candy bar, making the barest of sounds as it hit the dirt ground... but it was enough for the Eevee watching from the side. Hunger overrode her caution, and she ran forward, grabbing the crumb, and started to dart off again... but she tripped over one of the tree stump's roots, landing on the ground with a thud.
The boy's response was to laugh- the creature's appearance had scared him half to death, coming out of the darkness and grabbing something from right in front of him, but seeing it fall on the ground like that was just too funny to see. He soon realized the Eevee wasn't moving, and was actually crying, and he instantly stopped laughing, sliding off the tree trunk to sit on the ground and take a closer look. The Eevee finally sat up, looking up at the boy, and he realized then that she wasn't hurt- just very young and hungry.
"You want something to eat, don't you?" When the Eevee nodded, the boy held out the rest of the candy bar, and the Eevee quickly grabbed it, trying to devour it before he changed mind. While he watched the Eevee eat the boy thought over his predicament and the Eevee's- it was obvious the Pokemon was very young, and that she wasn't getting food from her parents if she was hungry enough to risk confronting humans in the middle of the night. The boy didn't know much about how Pokemon raised their young, but he felt sure that if the Eevee was this hungry, something bad had probably happened to them.
"Where are your parents? Aren't they feeding you?" The Eevee paused from eating, looking up at the boy, then quickly ducked her head and went back to eating. It had been quick, but he was sure he had seen a tear forming in her eye, and he knew then that the Eevee had been abandoned for some reason.
The Eevee finally finished the candy bar and looked up at the boy, whining a little. He reached into his bag and pulled out a stick of beef jerky. The Eevee's eyes lit up at the sight, and she was soon eating her way through the boy's supply of trail rations.
Finally the Eevee was satisfied. She looked at the boy and said "Vee!", a happy sound that even she didn't really understand the meaning of. The boy looked down at the Pokemon and then back towards the camp, wondering. He looked back down at the Eevee and found her nuzzling his leg. "You're out here all by yourself, aren't you?"
The Eevee stopped and looked away, then nodded a slow, sad nod. The boy reached into his backpack one more time, pulling out his only Pokeball, his only chance at becoming a trainer, and held it out to the Eevee. "Come with me- I'll make sure you always have plenty of food, and are always safe." The Eevee looked doubtful, until the boy continued. "You won't have to be alone ever again."
The Eevee's eyes lit up, tears welling up in them, and she jumped onto the tree stump, stopping next to the Pokeball. She looked at the boy and wagged her tail, her ears forming a happy V... and then she leaned down and poked the Pokeball with her nose. There was a clicking noise along with a flash of pink, and she was gone, tucked away inside the Pokeball. The Pokeball went dark and chimed, and the boy stared at it, amazed at what had just happened.
"She seemed so hungry... but I think she's lonely, more than anything, out here on her own." The boy sat quietly for a little longer, still stunned at what had just happened and just sitting underneath the stars, before finally whispering. "This is it. This is why I want to be a trainer." He picked up the Pokeball and stared at it, still thinking, until his eyes lit up. "That's perfect... I know what your name should be." The trainer lifted the Pokeball and called forth his Eevee, the brown Pokemon materializing on the tree stump beside him.
For the very first of many, many times to come, the trainer picked his Eevee up in his arms, and looked down at his very first Pokemon. "Clarity. Though, maybe for short..." The Eevee smiled up at him, and Flen smiled back, everything clear once more. "Come on, Clara- let's go meet Feren and Shells."