Chapter 17

Eclipse: The voting is proceeding nicely, but it will be closed very soon, so hurry up and get your last minute polls in! *Grabs a bowl of Oran berries and starts stuffing his face*

Sky: HOW IN MEW'S NAME DO I HAVE 7 FREAKIN VOTES?!

Eclipse: *Looks up* Dang Sky... You actually have a legit shot of winning this.

Sky: WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN

Eclipse: *Looks at poll* Oh my Arceus you're winning now XD

Sky: HOW AM I WINNING WHAT IS THIS BLACK MAGIKS?!

Sparky: So what was that you were saying about beating me Snow?~

Snow: One vote doesn't mean anything...

Eclipse: On the contrary, it's very possible that this poll will come down to 1 vote. *Resumes face stuffing*

Sun: ... I'm losing him... C'mon guys, everyone knows I'm the only one who actually deserves him!

Flame: Hey guys, has anyone seen my bowl of Oran?

Eclipse: Nooooooooooo...

Jolt: Why is there blue on Eclipse's paws and muzzle?

Eclipse: I think something unfortunate just might happen to you, Jolt...

Flame: Seriously dude! Why'd you eat my food?! I was looking forward to those...

Eclipse: I'm sorry! I've just been so hungry! Breeze keeps making me get all these weird foods only a pregnant Pokémon could want, and doesn't share! On top of that. She makes me cuddle with her right after, and I can't get something to eat! Do you know how hard that girl can grasp things with those ribbons?!

All the males: *Realizes what was just said* Heheheheh...

Frost: Dirty minds...

Flame: Anyway, I guess that's a good enough reason, but just check what you're eating before you dig in next time, okay?

Eclipse: K.

*Screaming rings throughout the house*

Midnight: Holy- What was that?!

Rubi: Breeze.

Eclipse: WAAAAAAAT?!

Rubi: I suggest we all move to their room, and rather quickly, too.

All: *Make a run for Eclipse's / Breeze's room, where there is already a crowd of everyone else*

Eclipse: *Pushes his way past people and to the door, when the screaming suddenly stops* what the... *slowly opens the door and walks in*

Breeze: Clipsy... *Pant* you... *Pant* Sonova bitch... *Pant* that really hurt...

Eclipse: Breeze? What happened, are you okay?!

Breeze: *Slowly nods as more file into the room*

Eclipse: Hun, what happened? Why were you screaming?

Breeze: Come here and I'll show you...

Eclipse: *Walks over to the bed*

Breeze: Heheh... Look. *Shifts over the covers, revealing a Pokémon egg*

Eclipse: *Jaw hangs open, vision goes blurry, then passes out*

Breeze: I think he forgot how short Pokémon pregnancy cycles are...

Chapter 17- Set In Motion

BTW, I promised Rubi and Midnight would get their last little moment with Jolt, and now I'm starting that. Also, things are gonna start happening here.

Jolt woke up shivering and along on top of the cold stone cave, a thin layer of frost coating him. He sat up and shook himself, hoping to get some of the icy flakes off him, but with minimal success. He shrugged, then looked off to his right where there was a faint imprint from where Sun had been laying. She must have gotten up when it started snowing... Jolt guessed, but didn't even bother to wake me. Jolt shrugged it off and stood, not wanting to linger out in the snow. To his relief, Flame had already gotten up, and a fire was burning below him near the mouth of the caves. Jolt leaped down right next to it, sighing contently as the warmth enveloped him.

Eclipse got up from his den, and stood shivering in the snow. His jet-black fur seemed to gleam in the dim sunrise. He yawned for a moment, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes, then cast a glance down at the city below. "Still going at it..." he muttered, shaking his head. He normally wouldn't have cared much, except that the frequent skirmishes produced loud bangs that kept him up. A proper Umbreon would've been awake at night, but he learned long ago that he should catch sleep where he could, at night. Besides, with his inconspicuous den and dark body color, who would see him anyway? He started on a light jog to the berry patches by his den, trying to put a spring in his step to ward off the cold. It had been a few weeks since he had last had to make a trip, but he had finished off the last of his stock the previous night. As he walked through the tall, snowy trees, he couldn't help but feel good. The frigid air, the dim light, the snow, it all came together to put him at ease for some reason. No sooner had he thought of being at peace did a shadow ball fly over his head, grazing his ears and nipping at the fur on his head. Eclipse instinctually dropped to the floor, suddenly on high alert. He wasn't sure who had just fired, but they had almost hit him, and were liable to attack again at any moment. Eclipse silently snaked through the undergrowth of a cluster of nearby brush, and peered out of it. His heart pounded and the adrenaline coursing through him made him want to either run away as fast as he could, or fight viciously. For a moment, he saw no one around, just an empty clearing. All of a sudden, another shadow ball flew out of thin air, this time slicing a tree in half and causing it to slowly fall over. It teetered about for a moment, then leaned over, and started to fall. Eclipse's eyes shot open and he uttered a silent squeak of horror as he realized that the tree was falling straight towards him.

"So, when do you want to do it?" Rubi asked, tapping Midnight on the shoulder. Midnight looked up, slightly concerned. They had discussed it over and over in Rubi's chamber for the last two days, but now the younger Espeon was actually serious. "I don't know... I mean, are you sure it's a good idea?" Midnight asked, making the concern in her voice evident. Sure, it was fun to fantasize about their plan in private, but now that they could actually execute it, Midnight was having serious doubts. "Of course it is," the Espeon assured her. "No one will ever know, and then we can move out of this stupid cave. I want to live in a real den for once!" Midnight had to admit she made a valid point. The first cave had been more defensible, and over the years became comfortable, but this new cave wasn't either of those things. Rubi, Midnight and several of the others often complained about the drops of water that fell on their heads, the way the wind whistled in between the cracks and woke them up, or how the rocks were positioned at just the right angle to allow cold breezes in. They fantasized about a nice, warm, grassy den, a proper den, one for everyone. They wouldn't have to share, it would be all for themselves. Of course, each of them lived alone with Jolt in their fantasies, and would bicker for a few moments over who got to be with him. Then, a few laughs later, they were back to scheming and fantasizing. But now, Rubi wanted to blow up the cave and blame it on some hostile Pokémon. Breeze and Frost were in on it too, and the plan they had conceived was actually viable. Midnight would lead everyone else off for about half an hour, while the other three would slip away undetected. They had the highest attacks, and naturally would be the ones to blow up their horrid shelter. Everyone would come back to find it completely destroyed, and would have to move. "Well... It COULD work..." Midnight admitted at last. Rubi grinned, and jumped up excitedly. "Today. We'll do it today, to not waste any more time." One less night in here I guess... Midnight thought, and nodded. "Breeze is out practicing her shadow ball, so go get Frost and we'll get ready. We begin when Breeze returns."

Sky paced around on the cold stone floor, her soft, cream fur standing on edge, her tail standing up and her ears twitching as she shivered. "Damn cave can't keep me warm at all..." she muttered, wishing she was anywhere else. She wasn't built for the cold weather, and Flame didn't help at all. All he ever did was keep the fire burning, and only snuggled up to her when it struck his fancy. Otherwise, it was up to her to stay warm. Sky paced for several more minutes, then finally laid down and sighed, defeated. The only way she could keep relatively warm was to go running, and she didn't like going alone. Sparky was still sleeping and she had no idea where Jolt was. She doubted she would've asked Jolt anyway, since he made her feel... odd. Whenever she was around him, she felt similar to how she felt around Flame, only Jolt was, well, different. She wasn't sure whether or not this was good or bad, so she decided to avoid him for the most part. But lately, Flame had started taking long walks off in the forest alone, and frankly Sky felt a little lonely. She found herself wanting some attention, wanting that stirring in her heart more and more. Maybe the friendly Jolteon would give her the attention she wanted. After all, it would only be friendly, right? Sky thought on that question for a long while. "I guess it couldn't hurt to just talk to him a little..." she muttered, resolving to break her apartheid with Jolt.

Eclipse took a deep breath, one he feared would be his last, and shut his eyes tightly. The large tree snapped as it fell, sounding like cracks of gun fire at the close range. This was it. Eclipse was going to be crushed. The tree struck the brush with a mighty boom, just inches away from where the Umbreon was lying. Eclipse breathed a silent sigh of relief, but just then his ears perked up. No more than 15 yards away, someone was laughing triumphantly. Perhaps they thought they had killed him with the tree? Eclipse stopped wondering about whom his assailant was, and started building then energy for a shadow ball. Whoever it was, he was going to get the drop on them. Once the energy had been amassed, Eclipse tensed his muscles, and got ready to spring, He heard the footsteps beginning to approach, and waited until they were right next to the bush. Without warning, he sprang from his hiding spot, the ball of dark energy forming at his mouth, and turned to meet his attacker. What he saw made the shadow ball lose all of its energy and die out in a second. Before him, looking very surprised, was a beautiful Sylveon.

Jolt looked around for Sun everywhere in the caves, but she was nowhere to be found. Then, he tried on top and around them, without any success either. Jolt finished his perimeter sweep and shrugged, wondering why she had gone. Hadn't they just kissed? Why was she suddenly gone? Jolt felt his ears droop as a new thought occurred to him. What if she didn't like him? Maybe that's where she was gone, she was avoiding him. Jolt quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head. It was too soon to tell anyway. Now however, Jolt was faced with a new problem: he was bored. No one else was up yet that he knew of, and he wanted to talk to someone. They had plenty of food and fuel, and it was too cold to go running. So what to do? He walked into a cave with only Sparky, Frost and Ripple sleeping in the back, and took a seat on the cold stone by the entrance. No sooner had he sat down, when Sky popped out of nowhere and sat by him.

Jolt stared at her, surprised for a moment. Out of all of them, Sky was the least likely to sit next to him for an intended purpose, except maybe Icy. After a minute though, he relaxed and offered her a warm smile. At least she was someone to talk to. "Uh, hi there Sky. What can I do for you?" Sky didn't say anything, and simply looked at him as if she was staring at something. In reality, she was trying to decide if that quickened heartbeat she was feeling now meant anything. "Uh, Sky? Sinnoh to Sky, come in Sky!" Jolt teased, snapping the Leafeon back to reality. "Oh, sorry about that..." Sky muttered, looking away as if she was suddenly embarrassed about something. If that was the case, then Jolt wouldn't pursue it. "Anyway, what's up?" Jolt asked, leaning over and taking a Stritus berry into his paw. Sky just smiled, and relaxed against the wall next to him. "I'm cold, you're warm." Sky stated, and without warning scooted over even closer to Jolt. The Jolteon felt it odd that he didn't feel awkward still, but shrugged it off. The morning was particularly cold anyway. They sat in silence there, sharing warmth and eating breakfast, the same exited feeling never leaving Sky's chest. What was it about this Jolteon that made her so... excited? No, that wasn't it... Happy?