FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I bring to you another chapter of the current story that has peaked your interest enough to click on with your computer mouse and read with your eyes. So, it's been a while, ya? Can't really say much except that I hope that you didn't lose any interest, though for some reason I doubt it. (a little bit of ego showing isn't bad, right?) Anyway, I'll let you start reading if you haven't already done so. Remember, Comments and Votes are welcome and appreciated.

**********8**********

"That's the last time I trust you for directions," Eric muttered half-heartily toward Ember. The ninetails grinned sheepishly at her trainer, feeling embarrassed that she had gotten them turn around a couple times in Eterna Forest, despite going through there a couple times in the past. At most, they lost two days from what Eric had originally planned, but it wasn't a complete waste of time. He captured a new pokémon, a shroomish he's named Khloe. She was a pretty energetic pokémon, always dancing around with an upbeat attitude. She took to being captured rather well, quickly making friends with everyone. Her bubbly personality is exactly what the group needed to make their journey out the forest a lot more pleasant.

"So, just going on a limb here, do you have any idea where the police station is?" Ember shook her head. "Well, I guess we can ask around or get lucky enough to walk passed it on the way to the pokémon center. I could go for a bath and some clothes need to get washed." He watched Ember sniff at his pants and suddenly fall over to feign death. "Oh ha ha, miss funny pants. See if I ever get you that shampoo you love so much. You need a bath too and I just might accidentally get the one that makes you smell like a Banana." Ember quickly got up and barked in protest. She didn't like bananas... Period... and she'll damned if she smelled like one. "Not so funny now, is it?" he laughed. His laughter was cut short when an explosion nearby shook the ground. Shortly afterward, they heard a loud roar and some people shouting. "Let's go check it out." Even before he said it, he was already running toward the commotion with his fox companion right beside him.

Once they got to where the source of the explosion was, they stood in awe at the battle before them. There was a massive steelix fighting off ten other pokémon. A woman stood by giving it orders, while ten people in matching uniform and haircuts doing the same to with their pokémon. Eric recognized them immediately and felt anger boiling up inside him. "Those are the same people who stole Eevee," he muttered angrily. Ember tensed up and started growling. "That lady with the steelix could be the person we're looking for, so we're going to help her out." He unclipped a ball from his belt and released Aipom. The small monkey took in the scene before her and turned to the ninetails.

"So, what, is this a show or something? Cuz I think that big snake thing is winning," she said.

"Those are the same people who kidnapped your friend, so I wouldn't take this scene lightly," Ember replied.

"What?! Oh, they're so dead." She emphasized her statement by slamming her fist in an open paw.

"Ember, start off with a flamethrower on those croagunk and metang. Aipom, you use swift on the golbat and murkrow. Let's go!"

With that last command, Aipom hopped on Ember's back and the fox sprinted toward the battle scene, Eric right behind them. As soon as they were close enough, Aipom jumped off Ember and they launched their respective attacks. The large stream of fire caught everyone off-guard. The metang and croagunk fled from the flames, though some were caught in the attack. The same went for the flying pokémon with Aipom's attack. The woman and her steelix were surprised by this unexpected development.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Helping you out," Eric replied. "Ember, use fire spin!"

"I appreciate the help, wish there were more kids like you, but you're only putting yourself in unnecessary danger."

"I think you're the person I'm looking for. The Jenny in Oreburge sent me to find you." At this, the woman looked him over real quick.

"Okay, we can talk, but not here. Metagross, take us back to my apartment," she said as she released her pokémon. The blue psychic gave her a mod before teleporting everyone, except for the steelix, to her home.

They reappeared in the middle of decently large room. There was a couch in the middle of the floor facing toward an entertainment system. There was a kitchen to Eric's left that was right next to a short hallway that no doubt led to a bedroom and bathroom. The walls and carpet were white, except for the kitchen, which had patterned plastic tile. There was very little furniture around, most likely because the woman only used this place to eat and sleep.

Aipom and Ember, who were still in battle mode, looked around confusingly at the sudden change in surroundings. "Hey, what gives?!" Aipom complained. "I still needed to teach those assholes a lesson!"

"I share the same feelings as you," Ember admitted as she calmed down. "But I believe we've accomplished what we originally came here to do."

"What do you mean?" The ninetails gestured to Eric and the woman standing next to him. "Her? Well, she was easier to find than I thought. So, she'll tell us where Eevee is?" The fox looked at her and saw nothing but hopeful eyes behind her calm facial expression. Not knowing where or what's happening to her friend has put the monkey in a constant state of worry and depression, even after talking to her about everything. Playing with her son, Ethon, and Khloe only temporarily helped her deal with her pain. Ember hated to see her hurting, but giving her false hope would be more hurtful than giving her no hope at all.

"We can only hope she can," Ember replied.

"You're a gym leader?" Eric exclaimed, clearly surprised by this fact.

"Yes, my name is Jasmine. I take it you already know that I'm working undercover since you were sent to find me?" Eric nodded. "I see... Is there anything wrong that I should know about?"

"Yeah, there is. My Eevee was stolen from me a couple weeks ago and I was told that you might know where he is," Eric said hopefully. The news didn't really come to a shock to her. Why else would a child seek her out?

"An Eevee?" She thought for a few moments, trying to remember if she's seen one recently. "Oh, I remember!" she said finally. "He had a black collar on his neck, right?"

"Yes! Th-then you've seen him?! Where is he?" Eric was clearly getting excited. It's the best news he's heard since he left Oreburge. This was one giant step toward finding his friend.

"Yes, I've seen him. He was brought to my room in a big cage with a few other pokémon with him."

"Other pokémon?" Jasmine nodded.

"There was a sandshrew, a vulpix, a plusle and minun, a riolu, and a buizel with him. My sister and I managed to rescue them the same day they were brought in, along with a couple extra members." Eric, Aipom, and Ember all sighed with relief. At least they knew he wasn't in Team Galactic's clutches anymore.

"So... Where is he?"

"I... Don't know..." There was a collective groan. "But I can tell you where to start looking. I gave them a map that leads to the other side of Mt. coronet. If they followed it correctly, they should've ended up near Celestic town. It's not really a maze in there, but I just wanted to make sure they didn't end up turned around somewhere. Would you like one?"

"That's okay, you've already done more than I expected. I really can't thank you enough," he said happily. He couldn't resist hugging her, which surprised her at first, but she gladly returned it.

This was one of the reasons Jasmine likes doing what she does in spite of the danger, knowing that trainers like Eric, who are actively looking for their pokémon, have a chance at being reunited with each other. The pokémon without trainers will have regained their freedom and not be used for evil purposes, once again living their lives to the fullest.

*****8*****

"Alright guys, there's something I have to tell you and I need your honest opinions." Eric had all his pokémon out in the middle of the room. He reserved a room at the pokémon center for the day, the main reason being to have someplace to take a shower and wash his clothes. Ember and Aipom waited patiently for his announcement, while Ethon playfully chased Khloe around the room. "Since we're obviously going to be traveling for a while, there might be times when we're facing something we can't handle. I was thinking we should train by a going to a couple gyms."

Aipom immediately spoke up against the idea, making angry gestures and waving her arms about. Eric half-expected a negative response from her, so he wasn't too surprised with her outburst. "Look, I know you want to find him right now, but I'd really feel more comfortable if you, Ethon, and Khloe were trained a little more before we head out again. We were barely able to get through the forest, even with Ember's help. I don't want to have to come running back here because one of you got injured." The small monkey crossed her arms with a huff and looked away from him, mumbling something under her breath. Assuming that she was agreeing with him, he looked to ember for reassurance. The cream-colored vixen nodded to him. Now that they were officially on board with his plan, it was time to initiate it.

After refreshing himself with a shower and separating his clothes for washing, Eric made his way out of the center and headed towards Eterna City Gym. There weren't that many people on the street, probably due to the massive battle earlier. The gym wasn't too far away. It only took about fifteen minutes of walking to get there. The building had trees and shrubs surrounding the front and sides. It was just as big as the one inOreburghCity. He stepped through the sliding glass doors and was met with the one thing he wasn't so keen on seeing right now. There were trees everywhere. Not only that, but there was grass... inside the gym, along with bushes, flowers, the whole nine yards. It was like a piece of Eterna forest was in it.

Eric walked on the path before him. It was pretty straight forward and it quickly opened up to a large clearing. Sunlight was coming in through the glass ceiling overhead. "Hello?" he called out uncertainly, not totally sure if anyone was around to hear him.

"Hello yourself, kid," a woman said before she leapt down from one of the trees across the field, effectively startling him. She stood with an air of confidence about her and a smile to boot. "So, you've come to challenge the gym?" she asked.

"Yeah, are you the gym leader?"

"That's right. The name's Gardenia and in case you haven't noticed, this a grass type gym."

"Really? I couldn't tell with all the trees in here," Eric replied jokingly, earning a chuckle from the gym leader.

"Right. You'll be my second challenger today, so you want to get this started or do you need time to prepare?"

"Let's get this started now. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't prepared," he said, getting more excited.

"That's the kind of spirit I like to see from young trainers! This will be a two-on-two battle. You can substitute your pokémon at any time, blah blah blah... You know the rules right?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." Gardenia tossed out a pokéball and a roselia popped out the ball. The small grass pokémon twirled on the spot and bowed to him.

"Huh, kinda reminds me of Khloe," Eric thought. He pulled out a pokéball and released Aipom on the field. The purple monkey checked her surroundings, wondering why they were in the middle of forest again, then settled her sights on the roselia and the woman behind it. "Aipom, this is a gym match, so give it all you've got," Eric said. Aipom nodded and pumped herself up for battle. "You don't mind if I get things started do you? Aipom, use swift!" The small monkey leapt in the air and swung her tail in front of her, firing off an array of yellow stars.

"Roselia, poison sting!" The plant type nodded and shot out several purple darts from its rose hands. The attacks ended up canceling each other out.

"Get up close with Fury swipes!" Aipom sprinted at her opponent, ready to scratch it up.

"Leech seed!" Gardenia shouted. The roselia waited until the last moment to dance, literally, away and fire a couple seeds at Aipom from its rose-like hands. Aipom flinched when the seeds hit her and started to panic when they suddenly sprouted and started growing vines on her body.

"W-what's going on?!" she shouted as she tried to rip them off, but having no luck. "Why won't this crap get off?!"

"Stay calm, Aipom!" Eric said. "Just concentrate on the battle and try to win this as fast as you can!"

"Easy for you to say," She thought.

"Poison sting!" Aipom barely managed to back flip out the way of a couple dozen poison pins were shot at her. For some reason, she stumbled back and almost fell on her rear, which was strange because that's never happened before. "You're not getting away that easily! Roselia, Magical leaf." The rose pokémon giggled before it spun in place and sent dozens of multicolored leaves at the purple monkey.

"Quick, counter it with Swift!" Eric cried out. She didn't need to be told twice. She launch her attack a d deflected all the leaves. "Let's try getting in close again. We're at a disadvantage from long range." Aipom started feeling a little drained, but she ran at her opponent anyway. She needed to get some hits in fast.

"Keep it away with another Poison sting!" Gardenia said. Aipom dodged the pokémon's attack with a couple flips and managed to close the distance between them. She immediately leapt forward, tackled the roselia to the ground and started tickling it. The rose pokémon didn't stand a chance. Aipom was a champion tickler, due to a couple years of practice on Eevee, and has never failed to deliver a savage tickling. Though the roselia tried to fight back, it was simply no use.

Aipom let up after a good minute, her opponent gasping for air as it slowly stood back up. "Finish it off, Aipom!" Eric said, feeling victory close at hand. Aipom unleashed a relentless Fury swipes on the rose pokémon before it even had a chance to fully stand back up, its head jerking back with each hit it took. The poor grass type fell on the last hit, clearly unconscious.

"Oh, wow," Gardenia gasped. "I wasn't expecting that. You sure have an interesting aipom, there."

"Yeah, she's one of a kind," Eric agreed as he looked Aipom over. She looked a little unsteady on her feet as she stood triumphantly over her down opponent. No doubt the leech seed was taking its toll on her. "You did awesomely, Aipom. You can leave the rest to Ethon." Both Gardenia and Eric returned their pokémon back into their balls and released their next choices. Gardenia tossed out a turtwig and Eric tossed out Ethon, a vulpix. Gardenia raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, why didn't you start off with your vulpix? You probably could've had an easier time in the first round." she pointed out.

"I do have other pokémon to train," he simply stated, to which the leader just smirked at. Ethon crouched low and growled at the turtwig, who growled right back.

"No matter. Even with your type advantage this round, it'll be a lot more difficult for you to beat my turtwig," she said confidently. "Oh, hold on..." She unclipped a pokéball from her belt and released a marill right next to her. The blue water mouse bounced happily on the spot. Before Eric could ask, gardenia said, "We don't want any wildfires started, right? And marill here will make sure to catch any stray flames." Eric simply nodded. "Alright turtwig, start off with Razor leaf!" The grass turtle reared back and swung it's head around, sending razor sharp leaves their way.

"Ember!" Ethon took in a deep breath let loose a small jet of flame from his maw. The flame completely incinerated the leaves and nearly hit the turtwig, but it dodged the attack with a surprising amount of speed. It didn't miss a beat and went straight in for some close combat, despite how dangerous it was for it to do so. The young fox didn't even wait for Eric to give the command before he sprinted at the turtle with a quick attack.

The two head-butted each other near the middle of the field in a stalemate. However, that didn't last long as the turtwig proved his strength and experience by shoving Ethon back and quickly tackled him down. The fox quickly rolled back up and growled at his opponent. "Ethon, you've got to calm down. Don't let your frustration get the better of you." Eric said. He knew that because the vulpix was young, he was more headstrong and relied more on instinct than using his head. Ethon slowly stopped his snarling and settled for a slight growl.

Nice recovery," Gardenia commented. "You regained control before things got out of hand, something that could be a deciding factor in this match." Eric didn't want to be rude by not saying anything to her praise, but his focus was completely on the match.

"Ember!" Ethon fired off his attack quicker this time, and with the turtwig at almost point blank range, it didn't have any time to dodge. The grass turtle was bathed in flames and let out a scream of pain.

"Get out of there turtwig!" Gardenia exclaimed. The turtwig steeled itself and managed to get out the way of the fire, looking quite exhausted and drained from the ordeal. Ethon quickly distanced himself and smiled proudly back at Eric. "Now, Energy ball!" The turtwig charged a green ball of life energy from the surrounding trees and shot it at Ethon. The vulpix nimbly dodged the attack.

"Finish it off with Heat wave!" Eric shouted. Ethon took in a deeper breath than usual and exhaled a massive wave of pure, dry heat. To everyone on the receiving end of the attack, it felt like they were suddenly thrown into an oven, with the temperature rising every second. Due to Ethon's young age, he can only use the attack twice before becoming extremely tired. With more training, Eric hopes that he could use it as well as his arcanine father. The turtwig swayed for a moment, the small leaf on its head wilting as it tried to stay standing, before toppling over unconscious. No sooner had the turtwig hit the ground, Eric shouted an unrestrained "Yes!" and ran up to pick up Ethon in a victory dance. The vulpix was surprised at first, but laughed along with him as he was swung around. Eric hadn't felt this good about a battle since his first win with Eevee at the Oreburgh gym.

"You did great, Ethon!" he said happily, hugging the fox close to his chest.

"I'll say," Gardenia commented as she approached them. "That was decent battling you did there, a little rough, but you certainly pulled a win out of your hat." She held out her hand, in the center of it was theForestbadge. Eric took the badge and stared almost unbelievingly at it between his fingers. He had actually won his second badge. The only thing that could make this moment better is if Eevee were here too. Still, he was proud of Aipom and Ethon for their efforts and, with their help, they'll find their lost friend again.

*****8*****

Eevee panted lightly as he trudged on the beaten path before him. The trees overhead provided him protection from the sun, but he still felt a little overheated. He had his stitches removed the day before and felt well enough to finally go on that walk with Fay. It was the one thing he's been looking forward to doing with her. She made it sound so great, and it has been.

"Ready for a break yet?" Fay asked, only slightly ahead of him.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Eevee responded.

"Ok, let's go over there. We can get a drink while we rest." The female fox lead them off the trail to a small stream not too far off. Eevee walked right up to the stream and dunked his head in the cool, refreshing water. It felt so good to be in something so cold. He found that it wasn't too deep, probably only deep enough to come up to his neck. He lifted his head back out with a satisfied sigh, letting the water drip off his fur.

"Feeling better?" Fay asked giggling. Eevee shook his head and flinging water at her and making her squeak in surprise.

"Much. I'm really glad we could finally do this. It's really nice out here."

"Me too. I was starting to think it'd never happen... with the way you walk down the stairs."

"Hey, I wasn't even slow this time. I could've run down those steps if I wanted too!" he said defensively.

"Sure you could've," she replied dismissively. "If you could run then, surely you could run now." Fay suddenly sprinted off into the forest.

"H-hey, wait up! I thought we were taking a break!" Eevee shouted as he took off after her. He saw her glance back and laugh at him before running even faster. He took it as a challenge and stepped up his game as well. The two foxes dashed around trees, jumped over fallen logs, and charged through bushes; all in the name of fun. Eevee was panting heavily as he tried to catch up to Fay. He almost couldn't believe he hadn't caught her yet. "Either she's faster than I gave her credit for, or I've lost some speed," he thought. As if to confirm his suspicions, Fay looked back at him and gave the best fake yawn she could manage while running. "Oh, it is SO on!" With some newfound determination, Eevee used Quick-attack and leapt at the female fox. Fay let out a startled yelp and made a quick dash to the right. Eevee however wasn't going to let it end there and kept up with her.

"Oh, is someone getting serious?" Fay asked tauntingly, waving her tail around.

"You could say that. Why don't you stop running so you can see," Eevee replied.

"That's alright. I think I like it better up here." They continued to run, Eevee noticing back into familiar territory. He could see the daycare center in the distance. He followed her in the open grass, both of them running out stamina at this point. He guessed they'd been at it for at least fifteen minutes already. A couple of the younger pokémon saw them running and waved at them. "If you can't get me by the time we reach the house, you won't get my surprise for when you leave." Eevee's ears perked up at the promise of a surprise, even better, a surprise from Fay. Using the last bit of adrenalin he could summon, he kicked it up full speed and leapt at her like a predator on a wounded prey, a growl resounding in his throat while he leapt.

All Fay heard was the growl before she felt a sudden weight on her back and was sent tumbling on the grass with Eevee. The foxes rolled around for a bit, both trying to gain dominance over the other, but Eevee ultimately won. He had her pinned under him on her back with his front paws on both sides of her to prevent her from escaping. Fay was curled up submissively underneath him, panting just as heavily as Eevee. They stared at each other for what felt like minutes before someone said anything.

"I... I Finally... Got you," Eevee gasped out with a strained smile. Fay couldn't help but smile as well.

"Yes... You did..." she replied. "It took you... long enough. I guess you really... wanted that surprise."

"Since it's from you... I knew it'd be worth... a little run. So... here we are."

"Here we are.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" someone said. Fay and Eevee looked up to see Hana coming around the corner, sporting a toothy grin. "I knew you two were getting close, but showing such affection in public... And in front of the kids no less." Their exhausted minds took a minute to register what she was saying. Looking around, they did notice that a couple of the younger pokémon were looking at them and finally noticed that they were in a pretty compromising position. Both foxes felt their faces suddenly heat up in embarrassment. Eevee nervously jumped off of Fay and allowed her to get up.

"Uh... S-sorry about t-that," he apologized, refusing to meet her eyes. She giggled nervously at him.

"I-it's alright," she replied. "It was kind of my fault anyway. So, Hana, w-what did you need?"

"I came looking for little Romeo here," Hana said, gesturing toward Eevee.

"Me?"

"Yeah, that buizel girl was looking for you. She told me to tell you to meet her inside when you get a chance."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you later Fay."

"Yeah, I-" Fay almost took a step forward, but suddenly decided against it. "I-I'll see you later!" She ran off toward the shed where the pokémon eggs were kept. Eevee was about to see what was wrong, but Hana picked him up in her jaws by his furry collar.

"Oh, no you don't," she said through a mouthful of fur. "She'll be fine. Just go talk to Mia and you can play 'woo the eevee' when you're done."

"W-Woo her? I wasn't-"

"Sure you're not."

Eevee was thankful she was carrying him, so that she couldn't see how red his face was getting. The mightyena carried him up the stairs and into the room he's been sleeping in with his friends. Mia was inside the room playing with the twins, Tammy and Kato. They were tossing a ball back and forth to each other. Upon entering the room, Hana dropped the brown fox unceremoniously on the floor. "Special delivery," she said. All three of them stooped what they were doing to look at them.

"Jeez, you didn't have to drop me like that," Eevee complained.

"And it talks too!" Mia and the kids laughed.

"Okay, Hana. Thanks for finding him," Mia said. "Why don't you two play outside? Eevee and I have to talk about something."

"Okay," the twins sang simultaneously before chasing each other out the room, Hana following right behind them.

Eevee stood up and approached the sea weasel. The buizel hopped up and situated herself on the bed. "So, what's up?" he asked. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," she replied. "It's about us."

"Us?!" Eevee exclaimed. "What do you mean us?!" Mia looked at him slightly confused.

"What? Wha-No!" she shouted, once she understood what he was getting at. "I meant you, me, and the kids... Westen too, I guess. I wanted to talk to you about what our plans are." Eevee let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh... That doesn't sound any better, but ok."

"Jeez, don't sound so relieved," she said halfheartedly, which got Eevee laughing a bit. He hopped onto the bed next to her. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Good, I guess. I just found out that I feel good enough to run around."

"That's good. So, I was thinking... Maybe we should consider leaving here." The way she said it almost sounded like she didn't want to ask, which was understandable. They pretty much had it made here. They could do whatever they wanted, had friends they could play with, and, best of all, ate three square meals a day. It was the perfect home, but it wasn't their home. He's not going to lie to himself; he had gotten too comfortable living here during his recovery just as they have. And his growing relationship with Fay was making it harder to want to leave. "It's not that I'm in a hurry to leave or anything, it's just-"

"How soon were you thinking?" Eevee suddenly asked.

"Two days," she said quickly. "If you're up for it."

"That sounds fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like I really expected for us to stay here forever. We've got lives to get back to and staying here won't get us there. Besides, I've already prepared myself to leave soon anyway." Mia let out a relieved sigh as she flopped backwards on the bed.

"Oh, good. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that." Eevee tilted his head.

"Why's that?"

"Do you really have to ask? I thought you'd be harder to convince because you've found yourself a girlfriend here."

"She's not-" Eevee started but quickly sighed in defeat. "I like her a little alright? It's no big deal."

"A little? You two are inseparable," Mia laughed as she sat back up.

"... Fine, I like her a lot. I can't help it though! She's just too amazing! Her fur is as soft as any blanket, her smile could part the clouds on a rainy day, her laugh is like music to my ears, and she's so... So..."

"Beautiful?"

"Yes!" Eevee exclaimed, starting to get excited now. "I can't even explain how I feel around her sometimes. Most of the time I can be myself, but sometimes I feel so subconscious about myself. Is that weird? I think it's weird. I bet she thinks I'm weird."

"Whoa, calm down." Mia patted his head reassuringly. "I'm sure she doesn't think you're weird. If anything, I think she's feeling the same way you do." Eevee looked over at her with a look that would make anyone go 'aww'.

"You think so?" he asked.

"Of course. You've got everything going for you. You're fun to be around, you've got a good personality, you're brave, cute, and you've been a good role model for the kids here. As far as I know, you've got the qualities pretty much any girl is looking for in a guy."

The brown fox mulled over everything she said, slowly coming to the conclusion that everything she mentioned was true. The kids did look up to him now and considered him brave for fighting Berret. He was generally nice to everyone and, as far as looks go, he wasn't too sure what to think. "You think I'm cute?" The way he asked sounded like he was accusing her of something, to which she couldn't help but laugh and playfully push him.

"Nice try, but you're an eevee. You guys radiate cuteness. So, by default, I think you're cute." She hopped off the bed and stretched. Eevee hopped down as well. "So, now that that's out of the way, I'll let you get back to doing whatever you were doing. I'll be outside training with Kai."

"You guys are training?"

"Yeah; He felt bad that he wasn't able to help you out more, so he asked me to train with him. It's really fun, but those kicks of his are starting to hurt."

They smiled at each other as they left the room, headed down the stairs, and outside the house. Mia waved him goodbye and walked off further into the backyard, where she would occasionally find Kai meditating. Nina would always be sunbathing next to him. Mia guessed it was because the pup was closer to her age, so they'd naturally want to hang out together rather than with the younger pokémon. Of course there were other reasons she could think of, but she wouldn't dwell on them because she didn't think they were old enough to think about the opposite sex.

Just as she thought, Nina and Kai were sitting together near the shade of some trees. She was about ten feet from the pair before they stirred. Kai uncrossed his legs and stood up.

"Are we going to train now?" he asked.

"Of course. You still need to practice on your kicks and punches." She walked him a few feet from where he was just sitting. By now, Nina had her head lifted and was intently watching them practice. The rust-furred vixen enjoyed watching them. They inspired her to get stronger as well, mostly because she wants to be someone her mother would be proud of when she returns home. "Alright, let's start with your punches." Mia put her paws up near her head.

"Right." Kai thrust his paw forward to strike Mia's chest, but she knocked it away.

"C'mon; put some weight behind your hits like I showed you."

"O-oh, sorry." With correct form this time, he thrusts his paw again. The buizel simply blocked it this time.

"Better, now just keep it up."

The pup kept up his strikes, eventually trading blows with Mia after a few minutes of getting into a groove. She didn't use her full strength when she threw her punches, but she didn't exactly go easy on him. It took Kai nearly everything he had to block or dodge her punches while he tries to land hits on her. He even mixed in some kicks to increase his odds, but it only slightly worked.

It sort of baffled him how she could be so good at using just her paws to fend him off. Her kind weren't known to be so... physical when it came to fighting. As he mulled over her talent, he stepped in as he brushed away another punch and actually managed to land a hit on her chest. The pup lost focus from the small moment of accomplishment and received a left hook to his face, sending him to the ground.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Mia exclaimed as she knelt over Kai. Nina ran over to check on him as well. Kai rubbed his cheek as he sat up, slightly out of breath.

"Ow, that kinda hurt," he said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"It's fine. It was sort of my fault too for losing my concentration."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Nina asked.

"I'm fine. It'll take more than that to keep me down. Anyway, how do you do it?"

"Do... What?" Mia asked.

"You're so strong. It took me everything I had just to hit you once, and you're not even breaking a sweat. How'd you get to be like you are?"

The buizel took a moment to think over his question. "Well, when I was with my trainer, she had a meditite on her team. He was nice enough to teach me how to defend myself if I couldn't use any of my attacks. Of course, I'm not exactly a kicker," she giggled, wiggling her feet. "So he taught me how to properly throw a punch and it sort of took off from there. Not to brag or anything, but I can punch with the best of 'em."

"So... I can be as strong as you?"

"Of course you can. You just have to keep practicing. Fighting is in your blood. You'll be able to take on anyone in no time. In fact, I think there's something I can teach you... If you're willing to put in some more effort in your training," Kai's expression lit up.

"Really?! You can teach me something?!" he said excitedly. "I'll do whatever it takes to learn, I swear!" Mia giggled at his enthusiasm.

"That's all I need to hear. Now get up so we can get started." Without another word, the blue pup jumped to his feet and was practically bouncing up and down in his excitement. Mia was eager to get to work as well. This would prove to be a great use of their time in the coming days.

*****8*****

Two days had passed in nearly a blink of the eye. Most of the younger kids' time was spent having as much fun as possible before the day of departure. Tammy, Kato, and Perry played until they nearly collapsed coming back inside, their playmates following in line behind them. Westen didn't do much other than lounge around as usual doing who knows what else. Nina, Mia, and Kai spent their time training. In the short span of time, Kai managed to learn Force palm. Not to be left behind, Nina trained with them and learned a new move as well; Will-o-wisp. Mia had never felt so proud of them.

Even Eevee spent his last days at the daycare sparring with Hana. It was mostly because Fay was somewhat avoiding him lately for some reason, but he figured that getting stronger would be the best use of his remaining time here anyway. He has to be strong if he's to be dependable leader. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what was up with her. It was so unlike her to be acting this way after spending so much time together.

It was the morning of their departure and everyone was making final preparations to leave, saying goodbye to new friends and such. Eevee and Mia were sitting under a tree, waiting for the others to show up so that they could get going. The weather was pleasantly cool out, the breeze gently blowing at a near constant pace. Glancing toward the buizel, Eevee noticed something was missing.

"Hey, where's that backpack you had," Eevee asked, knowing she wouldn't go anywhere without it.

"I'm gonna leave it here," she replied. "That thing was getting kind of a pain to drag around all the time, so I just decided to leave it here for good. They'll probably have more use for it than we did anyway."

"That makes sense. We haven't really used it much for anything other than to hold some berries."

"So, are you gonna miss this place," Mia asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," the brown fox replied with a sigh. The buizel caught the somber tone in his response and turned worriedly towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Fay. She been avoiding me these past couple days and I don't know why. It's like she doesn't like me anymore."

"Aww, I'm sure it's not something as serious like that. You two are practically inseparable."

"Then what is it then? I don't understand what I did to make her like this. What if she doesn't say goodbye to me?"

"She probably has her reasons, but nothing really comes to mind. In fact, I don't think anyone has seen much of her lately. The times I've seen her around were really brief, usually to eat something quick and bolt." Hearing this didn't make Eevee feel any better, only more concerned that he might not say his farewell to the girl he likes. "Well, think of it this way; since you two like each other so much, there's no way she's not coming to see us off."

"I guess..." At that time, Kai, Nina, Tammy, Kato, and Perry all came walking out of the house, bidding final farewells to their friends as they headed toward their guardians. "Huh, where's Westen?"

"Up here," came the lizards' reply from above right before he leapt down from a branch.

"How long have you been up there?" Mia asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. As long you're here, I guess it's whatever." She really wasn't in the mood to get into it with Westen right now. This trip was not going to start off with another fight between them. "Is everyone ready to go?" Mia asked once everyone was gathered.

"Yes," the younger pokémon said simultaneously. Eevee's chest tightened in worry as he looked around one last time for any sign of Fay.

"No, we can't leave yet," he thought. "Maybe she'll come if we wait another minute. She has to-"

"I'm sorry, Eevee, but we have to get going." The brown fox wanted to argue with her so badly just to keep them here for a couple more minutes, but the end result would probably make him feel even worse than he is now.

"I understand," he sighed miserably, reluctantly starting to walk alongside the sea weasel.

"Eevee, wait!" a feminine voice shouted that was the most beautiful and uplifting sound he's heard all morning. Even as the others turned to see who was shouting, Eevee was already running to his female counterpart.

"Fay, where have yo-"

"Stay where you are!" she shouted urgently. Eevee came to an immediate halt not more than twenty feet away the brown vixen, a perplexed look forming on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, looking troubled and refusing to look him in the eyes. "I've been avoiding you these past couple days without explaining to you why. I'm sorry for making you think I didn't like you or that I was just being mean. It's just... something came up and I really can't be around you right now."

"Fay, I never thought you didn't like me or anything like that." The thoughts had crossed his mind a couple times, but he wasn't going to tell her that. Fay finally lifted her head to look at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, just tell me what the matter is," he said as he took a step forward.

"No don't come near me!"

Eevee stopped again, this time really confused, and slightly frustrated, as to why she didn't want him near her. He studied her closely, taking notice of her slight squirming and general agitation. She looked really uncomfortable just standing there. The sight reminded him of something from a while ago, but he just couldn't think of where he's seen it before. The wind picked up again, carrying with it a faint scent that seemed to stir something within the brown fox. He sniffed the air a little more carefully to try and pick out the reason as to why the scent seemed so familiar. A tingle in his privates finally reminded him where he's smelt it before, making him feel both relieved and slightly embarrassed at the same time.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, which might've been a bad idea because the tingling he feels got stronger. He put on the best neutral face he could manage and walked forward.

"Eevee, stop!" Fay shouted, but Eevee kept walking toward her much to her surprise. "I said stop!" she shouted again, still having no effect on the approaching eevee. "I-I mean it! I-I'm not playing around!"

"Stop me then," Eevee said, which caused Fay to freeze up. "Or run away. If you really don't want me near you, then you should either fight me off or run away." "Oh man, I can't believe I just said that to her! Maybe her scent is getting to me a little. I hope she doesn't do any of those things."

Thankfully for Eevee, Fay didn't do anything and let him approach her. She was still as tense and uncomfortable as ever. The tingling Eevee felt before in his privates had escalated to unbelievable heights, feeling his maleness throbbing with life. It took nearly all his willpower to do nothing but stand there with a smile on his face while inhaling the intoxicating smell she was emitting. "Look, I know what's going on, so you don't have to be so defensive around me." She seemed to relax some, not much though.

"I don't?" she asked.

"Not really. It's not my first time being around a female in heat, but I can honestly say it's not all that easy to control myself around you right now. I wish we could've said our goodbyes on more... favorable times, but I guess we'll have to make due. Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me that you were going through your heat cycle?"

"That's not it at all!" she exclaimed, eyes wide in shock at the accusation. "It's not that I didn't trust you. I didn't trust myself enough to not try something with you while I wasn't thinking clearly and take a huge risk I'm not ready to make yet. Still, I should've told you sooner instead of waiting until the last minute like this. I'm sorry for this." Eevee licked the top of her head to both comfort her and to try relieving some of the tension in his body.

"It's alright; I understand. I... I know tha- OH man!" Eevee gasped out. "I'm sorry, Fay, but I really can't stand here much longer. It's really starting to get to me." He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his urges under control around her anymore. He was panting with an extreme need for release and felt very tempted to mount the vixen right there in front of everyone. "When I find my trainer again, I'll make sure to come back to see you again."

"Wait! Before you go..." Fay leaned in and whispered into his ear. As she was whispering, Eevee's eyes were getting bigger from shock at what she was telling him.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, now hurry up and leave so I can, uh..."

"R-Right." The brown fox turned and bolted toward his waiting friends and Westen. He didn't even care that he was still sporting an erection, but Mia apparently did when she caught a glimpse of it.

"You better take care of that thing before you get over here!" she yelled, getting Tammy and Nina to turn around before they saw anything. Sighing, Eevee made a right toward a tree to handle his problem.

**********8**********

AN: I feel that the beginning may have been a little rough. I don't know, I couldn't really change it anyway. The ending was pretty much spilled out of my head these passed two days. Didn't even know I was going to take it so far. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it.