Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Day 9 of the Johto journey. Clear.

Reiji flew over the forest canopy through the entire night. He did not know whether Team Rocket would keep chasing him, so once Pidgeot had rested enough, he sent it out and continued toward Lake of Life.

He had passed Blackthorn City the night before and was now flying toward Violet City. Violet was an old city, home to a Flying-type Gym, a Trainer School, and a place where Pokémon were laid to rest, much like Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town.

But he had no intention of entering the city. The moment he stepped into a populated area, there was a chance someone would spot him. He could not risk that now. Resting in the wild was safer.

Pelipper and Pidgeot took turns resting, but Reiji did not stop. He planned to fly straight to Lake of Life in one push.

After that, he would pass Ecruteak City. It had a Ghost-type Gym and an old history of its own, with a Pokémon graveyard and plenty of Ghost-type Pokémon. That made sense, given the Gym’s specialty.

Bell Tower, where Ho-Oh once perched, was there too. So was Burned Tower, once Lugia’s home before the fire drove it to the Whirl Islands. Burned Tower was also where the 3 Legendary beasts, Ho-Oh’s guardians, were born.

Reiji would pass Ecruteak as well, but he would not go inside. He would head straight for the old-growth forest northwest of the city. Lake of Life was hidden there.

From Mt. Silver to Lake of Life, he crossed Johto from southeast to northwest on the backs of his 2 Flying-type Pokémon. After 2 days and 1 night of nonstop flight, he finally reached his destination. From the air, he could see the lake below, its pale water shining under the moonlight.

…

Day 10 of the Johto journey. Midnight.

Reiji finally landed by Lake of Life. Many wild Pokémon lived around the lake, and the moment they noticed a human approaching, most of them instinctively backed away.

He did not care. He released his Pokémon for a late-night meal, then prepared to camp by the water. The plan was simple: let them soak in the lake, treat their wounds, and recover from the battle.

He had not closed his eyes for 2 days. Whenever he felt himself nodding off on the way here, he pinched himself hard enough to stay awake. That was how he had dragged himself this far.

The Pokémon inside their Poké Balls had been able to rest. He released them all and let them enter the lake.

It was night, so apart from a few fireflies, there was no way to enjoy the forest scenery. He was not in the mood for that anyway.

He left the Pokémon to soak, ate something quickly, set aside food for their late-night meal, washed up by the lake, dried himself off, and crawled into his sleeping bag. He did not even bother setting up the tent.

After Reiji fell asleep, the Pokémon soaked in the warm lake water. A tingling itch spread through their wounds, the kind that made them want to scratch.

But Reiji had warned them beforehand. The lake could heal injuries, and the itching was part of the process. They had to bear with it. Even Magmar, despite being a Fire-type Pokémon, could feel the lake’s healing effect.

More than 20 Pokémon rested along the shore, half-submerged in the water as the lake worked on their wounds. The forest was quiet, and one by one, their eyes drifted shut.

From the main team, Pelipper was exhausted from 2 days of flying. Poliwrath was badly injured. Accelgor had minor injuries. Rhydon, Scyther, and Gyarados were all badly hurt.

Among the cover Pokémon, Toxicroak was badly injured. Golbat, Swampert, Magneton, and Gengar had minor injuries. Weezing was fine.

From the third group, Magmar had minor injuries. Pidgeot had minor injuries and was worn out from 2 days of flight. Lucario and Dugtrio had minor injuries. Zapdos was badly injured. Dratini was fine.

Eevee and Starmie were fine too, so Reiji left Starmie in charge of watching the others and making sure the little ones did not wander off and get lost.

Reiji slept on. His Pokémon soaked in the lake. Everyone was enjoying the quiet, and none of them noticed the green figure flickering in and out of view above the bushes by the shore, peeking at them.

The green figure suddenly spotted Reiji, then Pelipper, Gyarados, and the rest. They were familiar faces, but this time they all seemed hurt. Some of them badly.

Reiji had once saved Nurse Joy, and Nurse Joy had saved it in turn, so it remembered him. It remembered Pelipper and the others too. It remembered fleeing with Nurse Joy on their backs, and it remembered meeting Professor Oak from 40 years in the future.

Reiji had been hunted because of it. He was also one of the people who saved its life. Of course it remembered.

”Awoo…”

Just as the green figure was about to come out and use its power to help the injured Pokémon, a graceful blue figure leaped in front of it and stopped it. The newcomer held its head high, with a blue, gem-like crest and 2 white streamers trailing from its body.

”Celebi, Celebi.” The green figure looked anxiously at Poliwrath and the others. Their blood had already stained the lake red. It wanted to help them.

”Rrr.” The blue figure blocked it again, refusing to let it approach. It was afraid the human might harm it.

The green figure explained that this human had saved it before. The human’s Pokémon were hurt, and it wanted to help him.

”Rrr.” After hearing that, the blue figure hesitated. The green figure insisted, and in the end, it stepped aside. Still, it stayed close, guarding the green figure as they moved toward the shore.

”Star!”

Starmie’s psychic sweep caught the 2 sudden visitors at once. It rose out of the lake and blocked their path.

”Gengar, Gengar.”

Gengar noticed them too. It floated out of the water and hovered in the air, staring at them.

”Gar…” Gengar rose out of the lake and hovered beside Starmie, eyes locked on the 2 visitors.

Suicune. Celebi.

Gengar recognized both Legendary Pokémon. Reiji had shown them plenty of pictures of Legendary Pokémon before, and the moment these 2 appeared, Gengar knew who they were.

”Cele, Cele.” Seeing Starmie and Gengar on guard, Celebi quickly explained that it had come to help.

”Gar.” Gengar looked toward Poliwrath and the others. Their injuries really were serious. Rhydon had taken Steelix’s tail head-on with both arms and still could not put any strength into them.

It could also feel the enormous energy inside Celebi. The problem was, this was the kind of thing that needed Reiji’s approval. And right now, Reiji was not waking up.

”Rrr.” Suicune followed Gengar’s gaze and looked toward Reiji, who was asleep under a tree. None of the commotion had woken him.

The moment Suicune looked at Reiji, Gengar’s expression turned hostile. It was afraid Suicune might try something against its Trainer.

Reiji had gone 2 days without sleep, and now he was out cold. He had no idea what was happening by the lake, or that Gengar was facing off with Suicune.

”Cele, Cele.” Celebi saw that Gengar and Starmie still did not trust it, so it floated over to Poliwrath instead. It lifted one of Poliwrath’s blasted fists from the water and used its power.

Celebi could heal wounds. It could also share its power with plants. It was said that forests visited by Celebi grew especially lush because of the life force it left behind.

Pale green energy glowed in Celebi’s hands and wrapped around Poliwrath’s white fist. Under that life energy, the injury began to heal at visible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the charred patches disappeared, and the torn flesh began closing. Its effect was far stronger than the lake water. After only a few breaths, most of the damage to Poliwrath’s fist was gone.

”Poli! Poli! That’s amazing!” Poliwrath stared at its white fist after the green light faded. It looked almost untouched. It clenched its hand a few times, and there was no pain.

”Cele.” Celebi wiped sweat from its forehead. Healing one fist was nothing. Next, it would heal everyone at once.

”Bi!”

A thick wave of pale green life energy burst from Celebi. Its whole body shone with soft green light, and the energy spread over every Pokémon in the lake, including Starmie on land.

Gengar was not included. Neither was Weezing, because it smelled so bad that Reiji had not released it.

Celebi did not heal Gengar because the dark energy inside Gengar was too strong. That was the scent of death, the opposite of life energy. Healing it with life force would only backfire.

Wrapped in the green light, everyone’s wounds began healing quickly. Rhydon’s powerless arms, Toxicroak’s legs and arms, Scyther’s wings, Gyarados’s scales and horn, Pidgeot, Golbat, Magmar, Dugtrio, Magneton, Dratini, even Eevee…

Reiji knew none of it. He was still asleep. The green light wrapped around him too, and in his dream, it felt as though he were lying on a pile of soft cotton. Everything around him was warm, and no matter how he turned, it stayed gentle.

The bruises from the forest fight, the exhaustion from 2 days without sleep, the ache in his back and waist — all of it faded under the life energy. In his dream, he felt as if he had sprouted wings and was soaring through the blue sky, lighter by several years.

The Pokémon in the lake let out soft, comfortable sounds as the life energy washed over them. Their wounds still itched, but it felt too good to complain.

While Celebi healed them, it had Suicune cleanse the blood from the lake. Then it had the Pokémon drink a little of the water before guiding them back onto the shore, where they soon drifted into sleep. Only Gengar remained awake.

Gengar saw the life energy around its companions fade. Celebi, drained from the effort, suddenly swayed and began to fall toward the lake.

Gengar was about to catch Celebi with Psychic, but Suicune leaped over first and caught Celebi on its back. Then it shot Gengar’s round black hand a look, clearly refusing to let it touch Celebi.

”Gar… heh.” Gengar looked at its little black hand and scratched its head awkwardly. It could read the disgust in Suicune’s eyes just fine. All it could do was watch as Suicune carried Celebi away, bounding through the trees until both vanished into the forest.

Gengar turned back to the grass. Everyone’s injuries had recovered, which meant it had nothing left to worry about. It floated over to the tree where Reiji slept and settled there, quietly watching the stars.

Starmie and Eevee woke shortly after being set down. Seeing everyone else asleep, Starmie took the night watch on its own.

Eevee got up and shook its ears, then padded over to Reiji’s sleeping bag. It licked his nose and cheek, pushed its little head against the opening, and squeezed its face beside his. It wanted to sleep with him.

Bright silver moonlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves, washing over Reiji’s face and Eevee’s small body.

Eevee had only just lain down and closed its eyes when white light burst from its body.

Evolution light.

A hot, bright glow rose from below. Gengar looked down curiously, saw that Eevee was evolving, and lost interest.

Reiji slept through the whole thing. He had no idea that, after Celebi’s healing and under the silver moonlight, Eevee had evolved.

When the white light faded, Umbreon stood in the moonlight. The golden rings on its black fur glowed softly.

…

Day 11 of the Johto journey. Clear.

Sunlight fell across Reiji’s face. It was bright enough to bother him even in his sleep. He raised a hand to block it and slowly woke up.

He had just opened his eyes and stretched when he caught sight of something black in the corner of his vision. His body reacted before his brain did. He shot out of the sleeping bag, wriggled free in a panic, and scrambled away. The black lump dropped back into the bag.

It was the same kind of panic as getting a caterpillar — or something worse — stuck to your hand as a kid. He shook himself so hard he almost left afterimages.

”What the hell—Gengar! Gengar?” Reiji finally calmed down enough to look around. His Pokémon were scattered across the grass, but Gengar was nowhere in sight, so he shouted for it.

”gen, gar.” Gengar yawned and floated down from a branch. Seeing Reiji panic over nothing, it sighed. Trainers really were a pain to look after.

”Gengar, did you see that? What is it? That big black thing. Why was it on my face?” Reiji pointed at the sleeping bag, his finger trembling. Who knew how long that black lump had been sleeping next to him? And what kind of night watch had Gengar been keeping?

”Gen, gar. Come out already.” Gengar yawned again and called toward the sleeping bag. Of course it knew what the black lump was. It was just Eevee after evolving last night. What was there to freak out about?

”Hey, take this seriously. That thing slept with me all night. I asked you to keep watch, and this is how you—”

Reiji was about to scold Gengar, but before he could finish, the sleeping bag wriggled. A black head poked out.

The Pokémon that crawled out had black fur, red eyes, and bright golden rings. It sat on the sleeping bag and began washing its face with its paws.

Umbreon licked its paw and rubbed its face, still half-asleep. When it saw Reiji, it called out and ran straight at him.

”You… Umbreon? When did this happen? I didn’t even know.” Reiji finally recognized the black blur as it crashed into his arms. It was Eevee. Or rather, Eevee after evolving. He looked up at Gengar in embarrassment.

This one was on him. He had overreacted. Gengar had done nothing wrong.

”gar...” Gengar gave him a look that said, See? Then it melted into a shadow and slipped into Reiji’s. It was finally time for a proper nap. It had spent the entire night staring at the stars and was dead tired.

”Haha… Sorry, Gengar. My bad. I’ll give you extra food later.” Reiji rubbed Umbreon’s head. The feel was different from when it had been Eevee. Umbreon’s fur was shorter.

Eevee’s evolution had caught him completely off guard. Who could have guessed it would evolve last night? Something must have happened after he fell asleep.

[End of chapter]

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