An Eevee's Chapter - Chapter Two
#12 of Sara's Story
Clara groaned, rolling to her side and curling up. Distantly she heard Todd speak to his Nidoran. "Okay Feren, that's enough." There was no 'good job' to follow, though she knew in the past he would say that after a match. No congratulations for beating her... it wasn't really much of an accomplishment, after all.
Then Flen was there next to her... and the pain she felt was swept aside by a crushing feeling. She saw in his face his concern about her, saw he was worried... and she saw disappointment. Just the tiniest bit, but it was there. Her trainer had expected more of her, had thought she could do better... and... she hadn't. She felt him lift her up in his arms and pet her head, being gentle where the Nidoran had hit her hardest, and heard him speak softly. "It's okay Clara, you did your best. I'm sorry; we should have waited until you were feeling better first."
"Sorry..." She tried to shift to face Flen but cringed as the movement triggered another burst of pain from her hurt leg.
"It's okay. Just rest for a little bit, okay? I'll be right here the whole time." There was a click, and the world around her faded to pink.
A second later the gentle sound of waves reached Clara's ears, and a feeling of warmth surrounded her. She realized she was lying down, and slowly stood up to look over the beautiful scenery that had appeared before her. The sun lit up a clear blue sky, shining down on the beach around her. A gentle breeze blew out to the ocean, carrying the faint scent of coconut to the Eevee's nose and soothing away the soreness of her leg. The golden sand and the pristine, clear blue water stretched out as far as her eyes could see... with one exception. A smooth rock 'pier' rose from the sand and stretched out over the ocean, a flat warm shelf that she could sprawl out on to enjoy the warmth of the sun. She hopped up onto it without concern- she had learned that here in her Pokeball aches and pains just didn't matter as much. It was good, too- she had developed a bad stomach ache after she ate all the strange food Flen had offered her when they first met, but the Pokeball had made it less agonizing for her. Clara made herself comfortable, listening to the gentle sound of the waves as she remembered back to that time.
That had been a little over a week ago. Her life had gotten so much better since then. No longer was she starving and alone in the woods, hoping one of her parents would finally return and bring her food. Flen always had food for her, and she went to bed every night with a full belly. Shells- the Squirtle- and Perry- his trainer- were both very nice to her. Feren- the Nidoran- and Todd- his trainer- were a little closed off, but she thought the Nidoran was starting to like her a little. With a little more time, she was certain they would be good friends. The other trainers had both said she looked cute the first time they saw her, albeit a little scrawny, and she had walked as long as she could alongside Flen that first day. She had quickly grown tired, and she remembered how Flen had looked then. It had been a look of worry, not one mixed with disappointment the way it had been this time. Later that first night Perry and Todd had battled, and she had curled up in Flen's lap to watch as the two Pokemon battled... but Flen had said he was too tired from walking to fight that night. He had continued to make excuses every night, until Clara had realized her trainer wasn't afraid to battle, but was instead too worried about sending her into one. He had found her half-starved and alone, after all; he couldn't be sure she was healthy enough for a fight. But she knew from the way he watched them that Flen wanted to be a part of the nightly battles... so this night, after Feren had beaten Shells, she had jumped forward and barked at the Nidoran, trying to let her trainer know she could handle it.
Now... now she wished that she had waited longer. At that moment she doubted she would ever forget the disappointment she had just seen on Flen's face.
Clara lay on the warm rock for a while, staring at the soft waves, fighting off boredom. She didn't mind being there, not really- it was very pretty and warm, but... there was never anybody else there. She wanted to see Flen again... but she was a little worried her trainer wouldn't want her around right now, so she stared out at the calm ocean for as long as she could. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she grew too lonely, and decided to risk it. She had learned the trick of leaving the Pokeball a few nights ago- if she went to the base of the rock and then bit down on this piece of rock here, then...
...the world turned pink and faded away, replaced by the outside world. It was late at night, and she was inside Flen's tent. He was fast asleep in his sleeping bag, so she walked over to him quietly. Back outside the Pokeball the pain from the fight came back, and Clara winced at her first step. It wasn't as bad as it had been, but it was still noticeable. Since she didn't want to stand on her hurt leg, and since Flen was asleep anyways, she curled up on top of Flen's sleeping bag and closed her eyes, listening to the comforting sound of his steady breathing.
Clara snuggled deeper into the fabric of Flen's sleeping bag. She had only met him a few nights ago, but she hated so much that she had let him down. He had been so nice to her, and kept her company, and was so warm... She silently thanked Flen once again for having found her and for being so nice. The night stretched on, and she soon fell asleep to the steady sound of her trainer's breathing.
Clara woke up the next day to the feeling of Flen rubbing her head. She opened her eyes to see Flen smiling at her, and she arched in a stretch as she slipped to the ground beside him. There was no disappointment in his expression- only a happy look, as if the trainer was glad to see his Eevee. "Good morning Clara! Ready for another day?"
The Eevee wagged her tail in relief, instantly forgetting all about the pain in her leg. "Uh-huh!"
Flen gave Clara another pat on her head before getting up and getting ready for the day. The three trainers set off down the road as a group, the day going like the days before it had. Feren ran a ways ahead and then rested, keeping an eye out in front of the group until they caught up. Shells lagged behind, his stubby legs and heavy shell making it hard for him to keep up. And Clara stayed close to Flen, keeping a steady pace alongside him. Perry said it was a miracle she didn't get stepped on as she weaved in and out between his legs, running a little bit ahead and then a little bit behind, never straying farther than a few feet away from Flen. The day was uneventful- they took breaks like usual, but Perry mentioned they were still a long way from the next city, and no trainers or wild Pokemon appeared to bother them.
Finally night fell and they came to a stop, walking a ways off the road to set up camp. Clara helped out the way she had all the other nights- holding the ropes for the tent stakes, nudging rocks into place for a campfire, and other little things that she could handle. She liked doing this, both because she knew it meant less work for Flen and because it was something she was better at than Shells and Feren. Shells was a hard worker, but he was slow, and Feren simply lacked the energy she had- Clara could run back and forth all over the camp to gather as many twigs or rocks were needed, or help each trainer when they needed something retrieved. She did end up making Todd a little angry when she panicked upon realizing she had lost track of where Flen was, and ran to their tent to find him- instead of holding the rope that was holding Todd's tent up- but she worked twice as hard after that to help get it back up, and she was pretty sure Feren wasn't that angry with having it collapse on him while he was inside.
Before long, everything was set up and a small fire was burning, and like every night before, Perry and Todd began a battle. Shells and Feren were soon going at it, the two Pokemon obviously closely matched, and Clara watched the battle intently from where she and Flen sat. Flen rubbed her head absent-mindedly, and she could tell from the way he watched the fight that he was wishing it was them battling... and that they were winning.
Clara cheered when Shells came out ahead, ending the fight with a well-placed Water Gun attack. "Yay! Good job!" Flen clapped for Perry... who turned towards them.
"You fought Todd last night; I think it's my turn tonight."
Flen looked down at Clara, concern plain on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Come on, you've been refusing to fight all week. If you don't get into the habit of practicing soon, Clara won't have a chance against any trainers you come across." Perry looked down at Clara, and she leaned back against Flen, worried. "Neither one of you will be able to be proud of the other, unless you're both trying, even if you lose a few times along the way."
Flen still looked worried... but Perry's words made Clara think. She knew Flen wanted to battle... and she wanted to make him proud of her. She didn't want him to be disappointed in her again... but if she didn't try, he would never really be happy with her, would he? After a few more seconds of thought Clara hopped to the ground and faced Shells. The Squirtle looked tired from fighting Feren... maybe it would give Clara the edge that she needed. "Are you sure, Clara?'
She nodded, not taking her eyes off of Shells, waiting for the battle to start. Flen bit his lip, hoping he wasn't making a big mistake, before looking up at Shells. "Well... okay then... Tackle!"
The fight was a long one- or at least, it seemed that way to Clara. It lasted more rounds than her fight with Feren had, which was the only other fight she had to compare it to. The battle was exciting, with lots of near misses and painful impacts. She lost track of just how long it took... but at long last, after a lot of dodges, hits, and misses, Shells collapsed to the ground in defeat. Clara stood where she was, panting, watching Shells in case he got back up, not quite willing to believe it... but with a whoosh and a click, Perry called the Squirtle back to his Pokeball. The realization finally hit her- the battle was over. She had won!
"GOOD JOB CLARA!!!" Flen's shout rang through the night, and she yelped in surprise as her trainer scooped her up into his arms, spinning them around in his excitement. He was ecstatic! When she looked up at his face she saw joy and pride, and she smiled with him, sharing in his happiness.
While he held her and spun her through the air, she felt overcome with happiness. Her loss before had made him sad, but her victory had made him happy. Had made him proud. Of her. She loved that, and swore right then that she would work as hard as she could, so that he would stay happy.
Eventually Clara forgot the details of her first loss, and of her sense of Flen's disappointment. It had hurt, but he never said a word of it or ever mentioned being disappointed in her. But she never, ever forgot that first win, or the decision she made that day to try as hard as she could to win every fight, so that her trainer would always be happy.