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Glaceon ambled through the open greenery, her head tilted down, in no particular hurry to reach her destination. Glancing up slightly, she could make out the grey tent in the oncoming distance, which stuck out like a sore thumb in the lush, empty environment. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or apprehensive that she had almost reached it.
"Freeze!"
Glaceon was caught off guard by a Rattata suddenly leaping from the grass at her.
"Huh?" she replied. "Freeze what?"
"Surrender your food!" Rattata went on. "You...wait, where's your Trainer?"
"What makes you think I have a Trainer?" asked Glaceon coldly.
"Oh, uh, my bad," Rattata replied, suddenly timid. "I could've sworn I smelled a human out here somewhere...are you sure you haven't seen any stupid travellers nearby?"
"Get a mirror," said Glaceon nonchalantly as she walked off.
"Uh, uncalled for," Rattata called after her, only to find himself ignored.
"Who's that Pokémon?" asked another Rattata who had just emerged from the tall grass. "I don't think I've ever seen one like that around here..."
"And what's a mirror?" asked another. "Is it edible?"
Glaceon unenthusiastically stepped into the slightly tattered tent. The inside was a cramped mess, full of odd, haphazardly placed machinery, wayward cables, and a fairly large puddle of spilled water. The tent's sole occupant was sat nearby, facing away from her as he stared intently at a small screen on one of his many contraptions.
"Hey," said Glaceon flatly.
"Ah!" Jolteon clumsily turned around to face her, addressing her cheerfully. "Glaceon! I'm so glad you came!"
"You're lucky I bothered," said Glaceon, a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "What made you decide to set up your base of operations in the middle of nowhere again?"
"Well, a bit of privacy never hurt anyone," Jolteon reasoned. "I imagine some of the technology in here is rather sought after."
"And are you aware of the Rattata colony living right outside?" Glaceon asked.
"The what?" Jolteon replied. "Wait, that would explain all the tooth marks on the tent..."
Glaceon rolled her eyes as she sat down on the floor. "All this fancy tech and you didn't think to use a couple Repels?"
"Hey, I couldn't concentrate on my work with that stench!" Jolteon retorted.
"Don't say I didn't warn you when you lose your walls," warned Glaceon. "So what did you need me for again?"
"Oh, right, the task," Jolteon answered, turning back to his machinery. "It's about this...object that I've been keeping track of for a few days now."
"Object?"
"I don't know much about it," Jolteon continued. "Only where it's located and its rather small size. I noticed it the other day because it's been giving off these weird signals...they seem to suggest the same kind of energy that's associated with technology developed by EV Labs."
Glaceon froze at the mention of the name, her eyes widening slightly. "What?"
"You know, Ever Virtuous Labs?" Jolteon replied calmly as he turned back towards her. "The one in Viridian Forest?"
"I don't need reminding," said Glaceon bitterly. "I'm not...going back there."
"Oh, no, no, of course not," Jolteon assured quickly. "I wouldn't ask that of you. In fact, the object seems to be located rather nearby in this very field. I don't have any reason to assume it's dangerous, but those signals are...concerning me a bit."
"Right..." Glaceon replied. "So I guess you want me to go out and fetch this thing for you while you sit here comfortably?"
"Hey, I'm playing an important role in this operation," Jolteon insisted. "If I'm not sitting here with the radar, how will you have any idea where to look?"
"Sure," said Glaceon incredulously. "I don't think I get why you needed me specifically for this. Were the others unavailable or something?"
"Well, Sylveon's off on a different task," Jolteon explained. "She's looking into an unrelated rumour I heard about a cursed video game cartridge."
"Of course she'd believe something like that," Glaceon tutted. "Umbreon?"
"Also looking into the cursed game cartridge," Jolteon answered.
"Right, should've figured," Glaceon admitted, remembering that Umbreon and Sylveon are rarely seen apart. "What about, I don't know, Leafeon?"
"You weren't actually the only one I asked, you know," Jolteon explained. "Though I'm not sure if the other plans on showing up."
Before Glaceon could respond, she suddenly felt something wet on her front paw. She quickly looked down to see a puddle spread out in front of her feet. One that looked as though it had been sliding along the ground.
"Uh, are you sure it's safe to spill water around—"
Glaceon was interrupted when the water suddenly burst up and formed into a familiar quadrupedal shape.
"Surprise!" exclaimed Vaporeon happily as her body solidified.
"Ah, there you are!" said Jolteon. "Perfect timing!"
"Oh!!" Glaceon had stumbled back a bit in alarm. "Uh, V-Vaporeon? I d-didn't know you'd be here!"
"Nice to see you, Glacy!" Vaporeon replied cheerfully. "I hear Jolteon wants us to check out some object he's worried about?"
"Indeed," Jolteon affirmed. "There's safety in numbers, as they say. Uh, not that I think the object is dangerous at all."
"Uh, r-right," Glaceon replied frantically, her tone suddenly less downbeat than it had been a moment ago. "And you want me to go with, uh, with her?"
"Yeah, aren't you two, like, best friends?" Jolteon asked.
"Well, uh, yeah, we are," Glaceon answered. "It's just, uh...the, um, the object, don't you think those signals it's giving off are telling us it isn't safe?"
"Well, I doubt it," Jolteon explained. "It's the same kind of energy you'd find in this tent, what with all the tech that me and Espeon...acquired from EV Labs. It seems to just be associated with the things developed at that place."
"Uh...right." Glaceon closed her eyes for a second as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "And you really don't think there's any chance that something developed by...them...could be dangerous?"
"I mean, I won't force you to do it if you really don't want to," Jolteon said. "But it would save me a good amount of trouble. This mystery has been bothering me for a while now."
"Come on, you've gotta take risks sometimes or you'll never experience anything," Vaporeon said to Glaceon in a reassuring tone. "If it does turn out to be something bad, I'm sure the two of us will be able to take care of it just fine! We're capable battlers, right?"
"...Right." Glaceon repeated quietly, looking up from the floor to see Vaporeon's smiling face. She turned to Jolteon. "Yeah. Okay. I'll, uh, I'll do it."
"Oh, fantastic!" Jolteon seemed overjoyed. "I truly appreciate that you guys are willing to help me out. I'm lucky to have such good friends!"
"Aw, thanks!" Vaporeon replied with a smile.
"Just...tell us where to go before I change my mind," Glaceon instructed.
"Sure thing," agreed Jolteon. "One moment..." He stuck his front paw into a small box on a nearby surface and rifled around a bit before pulling out a pair of tiny metal devices.
"Here we are," he said, offering them to the other two Pokémon. "These earpieces will allow me to speak to you while you're out in the field. They should also let me track where you are with this radar, so I can give directions."
"Sounds good," agreed Vaporeon as she took the two items off of Jolteon, passing one to Glaceon.
"You can start by heading off in that direction," Jolteon said, nodding his head to his left. "Good luck and— HEY! No chewing on wayward cables, you vandalising pest!"
"Shit!" Rattata exclaimed, scurrying off through a tiny hole in the side of the tent.
Outside the tent, the field stretched to the distant horizon, mostly empty besides the occasional patch of tall grass and the line of trees that marked the edge of the bordering forest. Glaceon and Vaporeon walked side-by-side under the cloudless midday sky, a light breeze brushing against them.
"Good day for a walk, isn't it?" Vaporeon broke the silence. "I'm lucky I've got you here so I don't get too hot."
"Y-yeah," stammered Glaceon awkwardly.
"You, uh..." Vaporeon's tone became a bit more serious. "You feeling alright, Glaceon? I'm sorry if I startled you earlier..."
"Huh? What makes you think I was startled?" replied Glaceon.
"Well, you seemed perfectly fine before I revealed myself, only to then get a bit..."
"Wait, you were in the room the whole time?" Glaceon interrupted after a second.
"Oh, yeah, I actually got there before you," Vaporeon explained. "Uh, sorry if that bothered you. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
The two were silent for a couple of seconds.
"Okay, you two." Jolteon's voice came through the earpieces, making Glaceon jump slightly. "You're gonna want to turn right a bit here, about 45 degrees, towards the forest."
"Got it," Glaceon replied as the duo turned. "Do you have any clue at all what the object looks like?"
"I don't think he can hear us," Vaporeon pointed out. "There's no microphone, it's just a speaker."
"I knew that," Glaceon mumbled.
The two of them wandered between the trees and into the forest, their surroundings darkening a bit. The silence was replaced by the quiet calls of wild Pokémon.
"Yeah, that's good, just keep going forward," Jolteon chimed in again. "It should be faster to cut through the forest this way."
Vaporeon continued to walk ahead, her fins vibrating as she admired the pleasant greenery surrounding her. She came to a stop after realising Glaceon wasn't by her side.
"Glacy?" She turned back to see Glaceon trailing behind, walking slowly and cautiously. "Am I, uh, going too fast?"
"S-sorry," Glaceon blurted out as she caught up, staring at the ground. "No, you're, uh, you're fine, I just— OW!"
Something had suddenly fallen from a tree branch above. It smashed into Glaceon's head and bounced off onto the ground.
"Glaceon!"
"Ahh!" Glaceon recoiled in pain, squinting as she put a paw to her head. "What the fuck was that made of, ow!!"
"Are you okay?!" Vaporeon asked, wishing she could do more to help.
"Yeah, I think...ow..." Glaceon panted. She looked over to the green, hard object that had struck her head, which now sat on the ground.
"That's not the object we're looking for, is it?" Vaporeon wondered. A muffled groan came from it.
"I think that's...a Pokémon..." Glaceon replied.
"Ugh..." Metapod muttered, remaining perfectly still. "Oof...rough fall..."
"Is your shell made of iron or something?" Glaceon asked.
"No, no..." Metapod replied as he used Harden. "Get away...I'm not ready to...evolve yet..."
"Hey, it seems you've stopped moving," Jolteon spoke up. "You're still pretty far from the object. Is there an obstacle or something?"
"You alright to keep going?" Vaporeon asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," Glaceon affirmed. "Let's go."
"H-hey..." Metapod watched the pair walk off. "Wait...if you're not attacking...could you...put me back on the tree...please?"
Glaceon and Vaporeon were already too far away to hear his soft voice.
"Oh..." he muttered sadly. "Oh no..."
"Oh right, you can't answer me," Jolteon realised. "I should really add a microphone to those things. Well, at least you're moving again."
Vaporeon and Glaceon pressed on through the forest, passing by burnt patches of grass as they went deeper. They moved more slowly and closer together than before.
"Sorry I keep slowing you down," said Glaceon. "You probably should've gone on your own..."
"Of course not, you're great company," assured Vaporeon.
"I'm not normally so...accident-prone," Glaceon noted.
"Hey, it's not your fault that dumb Metapod fell on you," replied Vaporeon.
"Well, maybe he wouldn't have if I wasn't going so laughably slowly," Glaceon grumbled. There were a few seconds of silence.
"It's just that..." Glaceon continued. "I know it's pathetic, but I haven't been in a forest since...since we escaped from...you know..."
"Right, of course," Vaporeon replied sympathetically. "I don't think I have either. Really though, it's fine. We're not in any hurry."
"I guess..." Glaceon mumbled.
"Okay, I think you're about half of the way there," Jolteon announced. "See, I told you it was nearby."
Overhead movement caught Glaceon's eye. She looked up to see a Pidgeotto, flying swiftly through the air with a helpless Metapod in its claws.
"Nature can be harsh," Glaceon muttered.
Her attention was directed back down when she felt something squishing under her feet.
"Ew," laughed Vaporeon, having made the same mistake. "What did I just step in?"
The two looked down to see a largely squished pile of Berries of various kinds. They seemed to have been roasted, a few of them overdone and blackened.
"Oh..." Vaporeon looked a bit sorrowful. "A shame to waste all that..."
"Ugh, since when was I this clumsy?" Glaceon complained. "I can't even look where I'm going..."
"Hey!"
The two looked up to see the source of the voice. A bright yellow Pokémon was pointing intently at them.
"Oh, not a Pikachu..." Glaceon grumbled quietly.
"What do you two think you're doing?!" Pikachu yelled angrily. "Those are our Berries!"
"We are so incredibly sorry about this," Vaporeon began, alarmed to see more irate Pikachu emerging from the surroundings. "We promise that we had no ill will, and that this was entirely accidental and—"
"How dare you destroy our food supply!" yelled another Pikachu angrily, sparks beginning to burst from his cheeks.
"Maybe you shouldn't have left it unguarded in the open," Glaceon spat, her eyes narrowing.
"Glaceon?!" Vaporeon was alarmed. "What are you—"
"You've gotta take risks sometimes, right?" Glaceon said to her friend, assuming a battle-ready position. "I'm not just gonna let them yell at you for something that's their fault. We're capable battlers, right?"
The Pikachu were closing in on the duo, forming a rough circle around them.
"I worked so hard trying to roast those Berries just right!" yelled one. "You think you can just walk all over my hard work?"
"Who do you two fools think you are?" yelled another. "I've never seen the likes of you around here before. You intruders?"
"Go home, invaders!"
"Get your own Berries!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Pika pika!"
"Does anyone else smell humans nearby or am I going insane?"
"Uh, hey, you seem to have stopped moving again," came Jolteon's voice in the duo's ears. "And I know weather forecasting is Espeon's thing, but I'm pretty certain there's some big storm clouds gathering above where you are, so watch out for that..."
"...Shit..." Vaporeon replied.
Rain began to pour as a sudden lightning bolt crashed down, striking the tail of an agitated Pikachu.
"Uh, Glaceon?" Vaporeon was worried. "You know I have a type disadvantage here, right?"
"We'll be fine," Glaceon assured boldly. "Look, it's raining, you love rain!"
"Get out of here!" yelled a Pikachu as he charged towards them. He promptly used Discharge, unleashing a flare of electricity. Vaporeon leapt off to the left to dodge, while Glaceon ran to the right.
"Ow!" Vaporeon had leapt straight into another Pikachu's Electro Ball. She tumbled to the ground after the super effective hit.
"Nowhere to run now!" A group of Pikachu had her cornered against a tree stump. "Maybe we'll consider sparing you if you can replace our Berry supply!"
"But there's no way they could roast them as perfectly as me!"
"U-um..." Vaporeon did some quick thinking. "Uh, bye!"
She quickly melted into a puddle and slithered away.
"...Huh." commented a Pikachu. "Well, one down, one to go, I guess."
"Haha!" Glaceon exclaimed as she tackled a Pikachu, her fur frozen into sharp icicles. "Take that, doofus!"
"Ugh..." The injured Pikachu groaned as she tried to stand up. "Backup, please...?"
"You got it!" More Pikachu quickly zipped over to assist.
"Not so fast!" Glaceon quickly used Icy Wind, blasting several Pikachu with a gust of chilled air. Their Speed fell as they recovered from the attack.
"Argh, that's it!" a Pikachu yelled. "You're not gonna get the better of us that easily! Thunder!!"
The clouds overhead swirled as electricity crackled through the air. Glaceon did her best to jump out of the way, but the rain made her efforts futile as the wicked thunderbolt hurtled straight towards her.
Glaceon yelped as she was knocked to the ground by the attack. Paralysis took effect, slowing her down as she weakly attempted to get back up. She saw the gang of Pikachu approaching her.
"Ha! Not so tough now, are you?" they laughed. "You asked for this!"
Glaceon turned and tried to flee, only to stumble and fall. She couldn't get away.
"Time to roast you like we roast our Berries!" yelled a Pikachu as Glaceon braced for the hit. "Let this be a lesson to— OW!"
Glaceon turned back to see the Pikachu rubbing his head in pain as Metapod tumbled to the ground.
"Shit!" yelled Pidgeotto overhead. "Could you toss that back up to me?"
"Run!" Vaporeon whispered in Glaceon's ear, having solidified next to her. She helped Glaceon up from the ground and the two sprinted off, ignoring the chaotic noise behind them as they stayed focused on reaching the edge of the forest.
Glaceon and Vaporeon dashed out of the trees and back into the open field. Their pace slowed before they both tumbled to the ground in exhaustion.
"Ow..." Glaceon sighed, struggling to move with her paralysis. She coughed a few times. "Thanks for...the help..."
"What were you thinking?!" Vaporeon exclaimed between breaths. "We could've completely avoided that battle!"
"I thought you were more into battles," Glaceon replied with another cough. "It was only a few Pikachu..."
"We were so outnumbered!" Vaporeon continued. "There were, like, 25 of them at least!"
"I don't..." Glaceon coughed. "...care how many there were! I wasn't gonna let them yell at you for their awful choice of food placement!"
There was a pause.
"I..." Glaceon continued. "I just wanted to defend you...to help you out for once, instead of weighing you down..."
Vaporeon opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted when Jolteon's voice returned in their ears.
"Hey, uh, Glaceon? Vaporeon?" Jolteon said in a somewhat puzzled tone. "Not sure if you can still hear me with whatever's been going on out there...but you're really close to the object now. You should probably be able to see it from where you are."
"Right..." Glaceon replied. "Let's just find the thing and be done with this already..."
"...Alright," Vaporeon agreed, having calmed down. She pushed herself back up and began to look around. After a few seconds of struggling, Glaceon managed to do the same.
"It's probably in some of this tall grass," Vaporeon guessed, poking around inside a patch. "Hmm..."
Glaceon slowly trudged over to another patch to search herself. After some rummaging around, her paw struck something metallic.
"Hey, I think I found it!" Glaceon called as she pulled the object out from the tall grass. Vaporeon ran over to look.
The object seemed to be a small, purple-tinted capsule of some kind. As the pair looked at it, it haphazardly flashed with a variety of dim colours, making quiet buzzing sounds.
"What a conspicuous little thing," said Vaporeon. "That has to be what we're looking for, right? I wonder how it even ended up out here..."
Glaceon pawed at the object a bit before picking it up and observing it closely.
"Huh," she noted. "I guess it's not dangerous after all. It was the journey here that was the real danger..."
"Well, all's well that ends well," Vaporeon replied. "Come on, let's get this back to—"
In an instant, the capsule flashed brightly and burst open in Glaceon's paw. Colourful energy blasted out at her with a loud bang, making her recoil in pain as though she had received an electric shock.
"Glaceon!!" Vaporeon yelled in alarm, her eyes widening. She frantically ran over to her friend, who looked dazed as she collapsed to the ground.
"Glaceon! Are you okay?! Do you need a Potion?!"
"I...huh..." Glaceon slurred weakly. Her vision blurred as her head spun. "Oh...do you have an...ice cream...? Or..." Her eyes closed.
"Glaceon?" Vaporeon yelled desperately. "Can you hear me?! Glaceon!!"
There was no response.
Glaceon blacked out!
Vaporeon scurried back to the tent, protecting the exhausted Glaceon from further harm...
Glaceon strode confidently down the Repel aisle in the Poké Mart. Vaporeon awaited her at the other end.
"Hey, Vaporeon!" she greeted. "I'm glad I came to see you!"
"It's been so strange lately," Vaporeon replied thoughtfully, putting on a pair of glasses. "The sky changes colour every day..."
"Don't focus on the problems," Glaceon advised. "We're here to have...fun."
Vaporeon glared at Glaceon like she had said something deeply disturbing. She took her glasses off.
"What's your problem?" Vaporeon asked sincerely. "Creeps like you cause all of this."
"Uh, stop that!" advised Glaceon. "I just want to...befriend you."
"You're so unnerving..." Vaporeon said as she began to enlarge. "Keep yourself together!"
"Shit!" Glaceon whispered, grabbing a Repel from the shelf below. She threw it straight at Vaporeon, only for it to be absorbed into her.
"You're such a klutz..." Vaporeon complained. "No wonder you struggled to escape..."
Vaporeon melted down into a puddle. The Poké Mart melted down into a puddle. Glaceon melted down into a forest.
She quickly looked around. A shiny silver building appeared before her in the centre of a clearing, its futuristic look incongruous with the surrounding nature. Above its metal door, the letters "EV" were engraved on the wall.
"..." said the building. "..."
"No!!" squealed Glaceon. "I won't need to...to..."
"Shh..." whispered Vaporeon. Glaceon blinked.
"I can't wait to try it!" said Sylveon.
"If you insist..." said Umbreon.
"You know how this'll end up, right?" said Espeon.
"I'll make sure nothing bad happens to us!" said Leafeon.
"Leave me alone for a minute..." said Flareon.
"Enough..." whispered Vaporeon. "There's too much at stake here!"
Glaceon turned around and walked back up the Repel aisle. The Poké Mart groaned and collapsed.
Jolteon used a Full Restore!
"...don't think there's any major long-term damage," Glaceon heard Jolteon say. "That should be enough to heal her."
"Well, that's a relief," Vaporeon replied.
Glaceon slowly opened her eyes. "Ugh..."
"Glaceon!" Vaporeon turned to her. "You're awake! Are you feeling alright? Is your head okay?"
"Yeah, I..." Glaceon gradually stood up. She was back in Jolteon's tent. "I think I'm fine..."
"Glaceon, I am so, so sorry about this," said Vaporeon sincerely. "You were right to have your doubts. I really shouldn't have pressured you into coming with me..."
"It's...fine..." Glaceon replied, still rather dazed. "...Did we get the object?"
"Vaporeon did," Jolteon confirmed. "I've been analysing it here. I really can't thank you two enough for taking care of this for me."
Glaceon held a paw to her head, breathing heavily. Vaporeon sat next to her in an effort to comfort her, rubbing her back.
"It seems the object was an Ability Capsule that had been modified by EV Labs," Jolteon explained, presenting the capsule to the other two. "Normally an item like this would allow a Pokémon to permanently switch its Ability to another one that its species can have, functional for one use only. But it seems this one was modified to not only allow repeated uses, but also to grant a Pokémon two Abilities at once."
"Two at once?" Vaporeon repeated. "Surely that's dangerous for the Pokémon."
"Indeed," Jolteon affirmed. "Worse, the two Abilities granted by the capsule appear to be selected completely at random. I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would experiment with something so dangerous..."
"It...affected me...didn't it?" Glaceon asked.
"I'm afraid it did," answered Jolteon. "Based on my analysis, I can say with 88% certainty that you now simultaneously have the Abilities...Unnerve and Klutz."
"Well, that could certainly be worse," reassured Vaporeon.
"Ha, I'm already enough of a klutz as is..." Glaceon joked. Her eyes started to close again.
"One thing I still don't quite understand is how this dangerous Ability Capsule ended up in that spot in the first place," Jolteon went on. "Whoever was responsible for this tech must have mishandled it badly. Whatever the case, it's out of charge now after that last use, so I can ensure it stays that way."
"That's good to hear," said Vaporeon. "Looks like this mission was a success!"
"Yay..." Glaceon muttered drowsily. "Sorry, I'm still a bit...tired..."
She promptly collapsed onto Vaporeon and went back to sleep.
"Haha..." Vaporeon chuckled. "...Is anyone else cold all of a sudden?"
Jolteon turned back to his machines and put the capsule down. Electricity crackled in his breath as he let out a sigh of relief that the threat had been averted. One of his screens beeped, displaying the newly updated results for another part of his analysis of the capsule. He squinted, looking closely at the first line of text.
"PREVIOUS USAGES: ~1"
In the distant, open skies, an electric gale roared and crackled as a pair of small Pokémon happily drifted along together.
"That old video game wasn't so bad, huh?" Chi-Yu struck up conversation. "We should go back to that phone line sometime."
"Yeah," Carbink agreed. "We've all the time and freedom we could ever need, after all."
"Yeah, and no sea monster or angry human could ever hope to stop our combined power," Chi-Yu went on cheerfully. "These charged-up winds sure are handy for a speedy getaway, aren't they?"
"Absolutely," replied Carbink. "You know, sometimes I wonder if I really should've just stayed in that cave and lived a more normal life..."
A couple seconds passed. Carbink locked eyes with Chi-Yu, gazing through their cool glasses.
"But I never wonder that for very long," Carbink finished. The two laughed as they soared off into the distance.