Returning Home: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Homeward Bound

Team Aura walked out of the meeting hall and were walking their way out of the village when they heard the sound of paws running towards their direction. The team looked back to see the leafeon and vaporeon from earlier along with Elvin running up to them. Eon stopped so the rest of her team stopped and they all waited for the three Pokémon to catch up to them.

“M-mom…dad,” Eon said when the three got close enough.

“So, those were her parents,” Axle mumbled to nobody in particular.

“Eon…what the heck was that?” Elvin asked. “You…and you…what?!”

“S-sorry about that,” Eon said shyly. “I…might have gone a little overboard. I just…” Eon took a look back at her teammates before shaking her head. “I wasn’t about to let them intimidate me!” Eon said proudly. “I made a promise to go to your evolution ceremony and I intend to keep that promise! No matter what!”

“You’re…different than how I last saw you,” Elvin said.

“Still…” Eon mumbled, once again shyly. “I…might have gone a little overboard. So…sorry about that. I just…” Eon looked around the village. There was nobody else there besides them. “I’ve been intimidated so many times by the Pokémon in this village, I just had to do that. I had to prove I’m not going to be intimidated anymore.”

Eon’s parents looked awkward in the conversation that was going on until they decided to move on in and actually join the conversation.

“A-anyways,” the leafeon said. “I guess proper introductions are in order.”

Eon nodded. “Mom…dad. These are my fellow team members: Axle the riolu and Shaymin a well…shaymin. Axle’s the one who I first formed a team with and my steadfast partner. Shaymin on the other paw, we recruited from Sky Peak and he has proven himself to be a great team member time and time again. If…he isn’t a little strange at times.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shaymin said with a bow. Axle also nodded his hello as usual.

“It’s…nice to meet you both as well,” the leafeon said hesitantly. “My name is Leif and I am Eon’s father.”

“And my name is Myst and I’m Eon’s mother,” Myst the vaporeon said. “Despite the circumstance, it’s nice to meet you both.”

“Yeah, the circumstances,” Leif mumbled. “Listen, the elders talked about it since you guys left and they came to a decision. They accepted your challenge. On the evening before Elvin’s Evolution Ceremony the three strongest members of this village will face your team. While they can’t promise to change any rules, if you win, you and your friends will be allowed to come and go from this village as you please, and you will be allowed to go to Elvin’s ceremony.”

Eon looked slightly relieved yet still a little disappointed. “Figures they’d do something like that.”

“Rules and tradition exist for a reason, and even if you disagree with them,” Elvin said. “You can’t expect them to just suddenly change. You need to change the hearts of the Pokémon before you can change laws.”

“Still, we managed to clear it with the elders and you three are allowed to stay with us for the duration of the week,” Myst said. “Your brothers and sister have already left so there’s plenty of room.”

Eon smiled. “Thanks mom. Dad.”

“If you wouldn’t mind showing us the way to there then,” Axle said. “We had a long walk here through Mystifying Forest and it’d be nice to rest up for a bit and strategize.”

Silence fell as Eon’s parents looked at Axle with amazement, this being the first time he spoke in their presence. Axle didn’t react or respond to that though, and instead he just stood there with his arms folded as usual. This continued like that for a bit until Eon’s parents finally found their voices again.

“A-alright, follow us,” Leif said.

The family and Elvin first walked off first, leaving Axle and Shaymin to follow along behind.

While they were all out and walking, Eon’s parents decided to talk to their daughter. “Eon…about that riolu,” Leif said quietly so ‘that riolu’ didn’t hear him. “Who…exactly is he?”

“Axle?” Eon asked. “What do you mean by ‘who is he?’”

“Well…” Leif quickly snuck a glance back at Axle. “He’s really quiet. But it’s more than that.” Leif looked directly at Eon. “It almost feels like he’s examining us. Calculating us. As if we could become his next enemies.”

“Well we are explorers,” Eon said. “We do have to crawl through dangerous dungeons and there are times where we can be suddenly attacked by the Pokémon living in the area. Axle’s also our leader so he sort of has to examine our foes and be ready to fight at any moment. Plus…he went through a lot in his past.”

“What is his past anyways?” Elvin asked. “I’ve heard a lot about you guys second-hand, but never anything about where he comes from?”

“It’s…complicated and I’d rather Axle explain it to you instead of me,” Eon said. “It’s his story to explain for as long as he’s here.”

“Still, he is a good partner right?” Eon’s mother asked.

“The best,” Eon assured her. “Axle might be quiet, but he’s nice. He’s also really strong. He makes me feel stronger and braver when I’m around him. Plus, he’s great at thinking on his feet and coming up with strategies on the fly. He’s also got a great variety in his moves which is great for our explorations. Plus, his Emit Ring item lets him hit ghost-type Pokémon which has been very helpful.”

Eon realized she was singing Axle’s praises a bit too much, so stopped with a blush. Elvin examined Eon for a couple of seconds. “I did hear that much second-hand,” he said with a nod. “Yours and Axle’s names are spoken of highly throughout the forest so I imagine Axle is a pretty nice Pokémon.”

“And what about Shaymin?” Myst asked.

“Shaymin’s…weird,” Eon said.

“Yeah, I sort of got that when I first met him,” Elvin said.

“I mean, he’s a good friend, don’t get me wrong,” Eon back-tracked. “He’s really, really kind. Out of all of us he prefers rescue missions because he likes saving other Pokémon. He’s also a great fighter and really fast. He can sense where items are in a dungeon and his senses allow him to map out a dungeon immediately. He can even cure our poison with his Purify Veil which is really useful when facing poison types.”

Eon chuckled. “He’s just…eccentric. In a way he’s sort of Axle’s opposite. While Axle is more serious and likes to keep his emotions under his hat so that we don’t worry about him, Shaymin is hardly ever serious and doesn’t bother hiding his emotions. They balance each other out in that way.”

Everyone she talked to nodded. They soon reached a decently large tree, larger than most of the other trees, where they all stopped. “Well, we’re here,” Leif said. He pushed the door open. “All in.”

The inside of the tree was a lot homelier then the town hall was. It was still a circular room just like town hall, and it even still had a staircase on the other side of the room. It was a lot smaller, but it had some extra doors along some of its sides. The room was furnished with an azure carpet with a grass emblem, a wooden table, and the same eeveelutions banners on the wall that the town hall had.

As Eon walked in, a wave of nostalgia ran over her. The eevee shuddered at the memories that poured into her, causing her to stop where she was going. Axle and Shaymin walked next to her, Axle looking over her as she stood there.

“You ok?” Axle asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Eon answered. “Just…”

“Being home again getting to you?” Axle asked.

“Yeah,” Eon said with a nod. “But I’ll have plenty of time for me to be nostalgic later.”

“True,” Axle said. “For now we should get settled in.”

“Well make yourselves at home,” Myst said. “Eon should know where the bedrooms are so you shouldn’t have any trouble there.”

Axle nodded. “Thanks,” he said.

“Yes, thank you for your hospitality Mr. Leif and Mrs. Myst,” Shaymin said formally and seriously. “If you wouldn’t mind, to show my gratitude I’d like to be the one to make dinner tonight.”

Axle and Eon both looked at Shaymin with eyes wide in surprise.

“If you would like to, sure,” Myst said. “That would be great actually. Thank you so much Shaymin.” The vaporeon pointed a paw to the door at the right of the staircase. “Our storage is over there. Feel free to use whatever you need.”

“Thanks,” Shaymin said before dashing off into the storage room, pushing the door with his psychic power.

Myst walked closer to Eon and Axle. “Does he always do that?” the vaporeon asked.

“Yeah, he does,” Eon said while Axle leaned against the doorway. “Since Shaymin joined us and started sleeping in our base with us he also took it upon himself to cook for us after explorations.”

“Because apparently just berries normally would be some sort of crime or something,” Axle said, his eyes closed.

“Shaymin’s also been trying to learn how to blend fruit from a Pokémon called Spinda that opened up a café in Treasure Town,” Eon continued. “He’s been getting…decently good at it from what I’ve heard but he hasn’t let us try anything he’s blended yet. Mostly because he’s having trouble ‘getting Spinda’s technique down.’ He wants us to try what he makes sometime soon though and I personally can’t wait.”

“Still, I’m sorta amazed,” Eon said, looking towards where Shaymin left. “Shaymin is hardly ever formal with anyone. Nor did I expect him to offer to do that.”

“Maybe it’s just how he was raised,” Elvin offered. “I was personally taught to always be formal to those that are willing to house me so perhaps Shaymin had the same teaching. I would personally love to meet his parents if they did.”

“Good luck with that,” Shaymin’s voice called out from the storage room, causing Axle to open his eyes back up as well. He soon after used Psychic to open the door and bring out plates filled with a random assortment of different meals and sweets. The gratitude Pokémon had the largest grin on his face as he walked across the room with the plates and saw everybody’s expressions.

“Sorry if I went a little overboard,” Shaymin apologized to Eon’s parents as he placed the plates on the table in a circular pattern. “I’ll be sure to replenish your stock later. I just wanted to give a feast to the Pokémon that created my favorite eevee as a thanks for taking us in even though the rest of your culture looks down upon us.”

Eon’s mouth dropped and a large red blush was evident on her face. Even Axle couldn’t contain his feelings of surprise, but the riolu was able to keep it off his face a bit more than Eon was. Elvin looked at Shaymin with amazement, the white eevee enamored by the grass-type.

“You…really don’t have to do all that,” Leif said in amazement.

“Of course I do,” Shaymin told the leafeon with a smile.

The gratitude Pokémon finished setting up the plates and flew a few feet over the table when he was done. “Dinner is served,” Shaymin announced to everyone. “Feel free to eat.”

“Uhh…thanks…Shaymin,” Eon said with embarrassment.

Everyone surrounded the table and eat the dinner that Shaymin prepared for them.

“Thanks once again for your hospitality,” Axle said while they were eating. “This will make a great spot to rest for now. Better than going back to Treasure Town at least.”

“No problem,” Myst said. “Hopefully you’ll be able to rest up here more often.” Leif nodded as if he was in agreement, though he seemed much more melancholy about it.

“I don’t plan on losing!” Eon said confidently. “My team and I have been through so much together that there’s no way we’re going to lose this! Especially not with what’s at stake.”

“If you wish for my recommendation though, I do have a suggestion,” Elvin said. “While you are waiting for the week to end, talk with the villagers. As I said before, if you wish for outsiders to be accepted in, like yourselves, you first need to change the hearts of those of us living here. Do that and you might get your wish eventually.”