Author's Note

I felt it warranted to say the reason certain pokemon are capitalized is a reflection of Suicune's mindset. He still considers himself an evolved Vaporeon, and why he refers to himself as the King of the Vaporeons because of this perceived evolution.

This thought process and respect goes to other pokemon as well. Meaning any name with a lowercase is his belief where they stand when compared to himself.

Example: Eevee is the base form of Vaporeon, and as the King of the Vaporeons he'll view them as subservient to his status and power. His brothers Jolteon and Flareon received the same evolution as himself making them his equals.

The Search Part 2

“Time was slower than a slowpoke.” Vaporeon once told his brothers while waiting for their evening meal when he lived almost exclusively at the tower.

Yet everywhere he traveled now whispered another tale, and it said he’s slowpoke.

Former settlements he’d seen in his youth either lay devoid of human life save the plants desperate attempts to reclaim the stolen land, or had grown so massive it made the two towers back home look unassuming. Vaporeon had chanced another look of his former home what felt like months ago(not understanding years had gone by) only to discover the monks of the two towers and their eevee guardians missing - the old training grounds and living quarters abandoned.

Risking his life further, he foolishly asked a passing stantler herd about the expanding town only to discover they knew nothing of it save what he’d asked of them. His second attempt yielded better results when he came upon one of an eevee wandering along the forest’s edge. A skittish pup in nature, but warmed up after learning of his King’s return; the young pup lacked manners, but served his purpose all the same.

“No true eevee lives here, my king. Only the traitors do.” The little pup said with more venom than a seviper.

The large Vaporeon found the statement more troublingly than comforting, but pressed the eevee for more information. This need grew long until the sun began setting, yet he learned so much from the young pup, who he eventually escorted to their home after offering them a blessing of strength.

There was no more order.

The monks and their eevee guards had long disappeared from this region leaving only a few stubborn pups trying to befriend the very humans that drove them away. If believed, the pack had eventually split to become what the pup had called traitors, and his group simply known as The Wilds. Vaporeon could only guess, but the order had been the only eevees he’d ever seen in this region because of their adaptability of evolutions, yet with its scattering, and the lack of sightings, the self proclaimed King predicted his entire species would eventually die off…

“Another reason to leave.” Vaporeon concluded as he dashed off into the forest once again, in search of a new purpose rather than an endless search for some Arceus blessed water.

Unfulfillment antagonized the poor pokemon for a good while after that, leading him down a more destructive path. Partly inspired by the stray eevee’s words, the self proclaimed king began stalking human settlements and their pokemon slaves simply to scuff at their servitude before the act gradually became more violent. The simple tricks, or taunts of his youth took on a more sinister nature the Vaporeon started to realish; his taunts became more personal toward the pokemon evolving to promises of violence to them and the humans they served, while the tricks grew to become destructive in nature.

The king didn’t care as his name became more infamous over time as he enjoyed the thrill of his actions. It became the air needed to sustain his new life, and almost became his pseudo purpose until it all came to a violent end. He grew too careless and provoked an over eager houndour with too much to prove, and so little to give…

That much he would admit to himself. One of its companion pokemon stumbled across him with its friend limp in his jaws.

The scent of death had alerted the other pokemon, and their humans before Vaporeon could fully process the life he’d taken, yet his inaction was swiftly taken advantage of when an ember from the Quilava struck his side just above the ribs. The shock hurt more than the attack, yet unwilling to take another life so soon, the unsure King of the Vaporeons did the only thing he could comprehend in that moment, and ran away.

It was the only choice he told himself, yet the world knew of his transgression, and wanted repayment immediately.

Everywhere he went the humans and their pokemon were there waiting for him. Searching the forests, waiting along traveled paths, using their flying types to scout, and at one point set a trap for him. The latest fight had taken more out of the water pokemon than he cared to admit, and he certainly didn't want to acknowledge how close of a fight it had been.

He’d been distracted.

Ambushed by a group of humans and their traitor pokemon. Their markings and clothes all looked the same to the large Vaporeon, but it was very likely they were from one of the villages he visited some time before looking for revenge. He was angry more at himself than the ambush, and strangely respected them more for it.

Their ferocity both surprised, and excited him, having to fight with such ferocity as he feared for his life as he realized why they had chosen this place for the attack. There were no lakes, rivers, or even a puddle for him to escape from. Like a common furret trying to avoid detection, the self proclaimed King of the Vaporeons found himself hiding in some hole in the ground trying to licking his wounds. By the hairs of his ribbon-like tail he managed to avoid the humans and pokemon, but dared not move until he was completely sure…

The sun was finally setting when the injured pokemon crawled out of his hiding spot, eager to retreat as the stalking shadows of the coming night skittered through the forest underbrush. Between the blades of grass, and toward the sky toward the thinning clouds the shadows grew prominent in mass before welcoming the flickering stars for the night; Vaporeon did nothing as he held his breath trying to hear the people, and their pokemon, yet the flickering lights above called to him with an soothing melody loud enough for him along to hear it.

The self proclaimed King of the Vaporeons found his mind slipping quietly into the welcoming night the longer he stared into the abyss like sky above, and it terrified him. More so than his crazy uncle Lugia’s statement, or the many moments he found himself encountering pokemon he could never imagine or dare to see ever again; the desire for battle had been beaten out of him, and Vaporeon felt an uncontrollable urge to whisper to the stars like godly promise to change his ways.

“Star light, Star bright,
First star I see…”

The words were all he could hear in this fleeting moment leaving the pokemon little choice to do anything, but listen as the strange collection of words he was being fed escaped into the night sky. Even as Vaporeon slipped into and out of the darkness of sleep, he kept repeating that strange saying over and over trying to make some intent known to the wider world.

Even as his consciousness continued to wane, the strange phrase kept falling off his tongue with an increased desperation until the words only bore their desired effect.

The abyss known as the night sky flared brightly in a dazzling display that would be told across the next few generations of humans, and burned into the memories of every pokemon in the region till the end of their bloodlines; every star flashed at once before going dim for a single count of two prior to giving away to the intensity of the words spoken, the night transitioned into the day in that moment, and then stopped.

The night returned without its sparkling diamonds, or even the pale moon to set the mood, and Vaporeon welcomed its embrace. HIs wounds were washed away during the display leaving only the dried blood, and his own exhaustion the only indication of any altercation. No human would find him that night, especially the hunters with their pokemon caught out in the forest when this terrifying display befell them. They didn’t even need their eyes to know this vaporeon wasn’t normal, and in their world that almost certainly meant trouble would forever follow close behind.

To the self proclaimed King of the Vaporeons?

The tribal allegiances of the pokemon race escaped his thoughts or concerns as he slept in his literal hole in the ground, free of the pain. For this one night, the freak pokemon slumbered away without a care in the world.

Vaporeon spent the next several days limping back to the cave he’d been calling home after being forcibly relocated by the humans. He passed the time reflecting on his life till now, and the words of the deranged eevee.

He himself knew little of their family’s reasoning for allowing the humans at the tower to use them, that was more his brothers Flareon and Jolteon’s thing. Their betrayal only made it more hurtful, having the surviving humans living in the tower do anything to prevent the town and their pokemon from attacking them that night, and Vaporeon rightly despised them.

His brothers did not, and it drove him crazy. Exposure to the outside world had always faded his perceptions of humans and pokemon, and to finally have proof meant little if his own brothers refused to accept their lot in life.

How could they not see the curse they’d been given? The power meant as a reward was the chain that held them back as the world around them moved on without them? Vast swaths of forests one day, and the next a human habitat in the throes of life.

This creeping revolt finally came to when he discovered on his favorite lakes had been diverted, and drained of its precious water to further this unnecessary expansion into the wilds; these very woods he slinked from tree to tree were once part of a greater forest he used to explore as a young eevee, but now as a King of Vaporeons, he felt even less connected to this once majestic place. None of the smells were the same: looks, trees, and the very tastes.

Many long days have graced his life, yet as the weight of it slows him down, the lonelier he becomes.

Flareon and Jolteon themselves scattered to the winds leaving this single cave where the stone separates itself from the trees, their only recluse from the changing world, and even that seems to be fading. None of the pokemon encountered could recall seeing his brothers, or a pokemon that so much looked like him in generations. But they’ve seen humans. None could recall a time without seeing a human.

“If broth..ther Jolt was there… we might ha…have showed them…” Vaporeon coughed as the exertion to carry his violated body consumed his already depleted energy. Occasionally his rear left leg would give, forcing him to drag the limb some distance before he could regain control long enough to pick it u. Sometimes his eyes would lead him astray, and off course until an urge compelled him to stop only to realize his mistake.

All of those distractions had taken nearly three days of his time, but Vaporeon didn’t so much as growl. He vowed to never tell a soul what happened in the hole he’d laid dying in, if it meant burying the memory of Giratina’s voidless eyes staring back with anticipation. Though he somehow survived that night, he would never shake the feeling some creature was lurking in between the space where the shadows touch the very ground.

Since then, the limping pokemon couldn’t help but flinch with each rustle of the wind against the branches, the taunting pokemon, or his least favorite, the Misdreavus lapping the very air around him.

“You do taste ever so wonderful, have I ever told you that?”

“Many..tim..mes.” Vaporeon grumbled, having little energy to barely limp along, let alone use one of his split tails to whip the ghost away. The only true benefit of having the annoyance following him would be the constant draining of his very fear, and that was it.

There’s no honor among pokemon save for family, especially none for pokemon once raised by humans. He had nothing.

Vaporeon could see the little spirit on the very edges of his vision, appearing as the vanishing shadow the pokemon would see in that moment before losing it. It’s how they all worked, emissaries of Giratina. Toying with its meal before moving in to whisper the final words a pokemon on the cusps of fainting would ever hear, and that was if it was feeling benevolent.

Sometimes, like this one, they would go a bit further by laying a curse in the hopes of prolonging the fear of the target, hoping the urgency to be rid of the curse would spur its emotions into running wild. Unlucky for this one, Vaporeon is the King of the Vaporeons and wouldn’t succumb to his instincts that easily.

“Wha..ere.. are we?”

“Where? Home! All my life I’ve lived here, and you’re the strangest Vaporeon I’ve seen, and I’ve tasted some strange fears.”

“I’m scary?” the large Vaporeon felt the edges of his lips curling up at the thought.

‘ME! THE POWERFUL KING!’ he thought at that moment, before having all of it come crashing down.

The Misdreavus hummed a haughty tune that jumped from tree to tree not unlike the rare Aipom of the southern forests.

“Scary? No. Strage? Of course. You are nothing more than a curious meal that’s close to getting cold.” The humming resumed, but this sounded further ahead of him. “Beware little king, for Giratina will find you…”

Vaporeon didn’t see the Misdreavus after that, yet his fur remained bristled for the rest of his excursion through the forest looking for that lonesome cave.

‘Home.’

The journey to this literal hole in the mountain wasn’t anything Vaporeon would boast about, and even then calling it home was a stretch given how little time any of them spend living here. His brothers weren’t here, but their stale scent lingered strongly amongst the dried leaves used for bedding. It’d been too long since he dropped by as the faint ocean scent of water and salt were missing, and the only indication he even been here was the old claw marks gracing the wall toward the back.

Before the tower burned down, and he’d been passed up as a Tower Guardian, his brothers would actively train with the monks and their parents. Vaporeon’s desire to roam the earth untethered from any duty or choice imposed upon them save his own was only a questioning thought by then, and nothing else. Or so he thought. These brazzen thoughts were seen as disrespectful for the family tradition that earned him a few choice words. Over time that evolved into a deep rooted destain as the black mareep of the family began drifting further away from his duties before disregarding them completely.

Jolteon and Flareon were more forgiving, yet they couldn’t avoid the call of the selfless duty as they called it, and chose to remain.

There were only so many times one could attempt to challenge a river before they’re swept away by the current, and for vaporeon that boundary had been crossed the moment Flareon chose the humans over his fellow pokemon!

After everything that they went through growing up, and endured after receiving Ho-Oh’s blessing, Flareon still chose them. At the very least Jolteon had enough sense to question his their eldest’s blind loyalty, but that teamwork broke down nearly the same day when his lightning spewing younger brother deserted him right after the battle.

The Terror Trio became the Lone Fright.

Lugia’s words had struck a nerve with the water pokemon, and that festered long enough to riddle him with doubt. The possibility he’d been too brash with his attacks were finally gnawing upon his very soul, leaving the supposed king with lingering doubts. Yet with no brothers to keep him in check, Vaporeon used his new powers to great effect with every battle, or by raiding human settlements with some twisted hope it would bare some great purpose in life. Nothing was ever revealed of course and this spiral had led him here to the cave they’d claimed before each one picked a direction and never looked back.

Vaporeon was lost as to what to do. Everything he’d ever known or loved was gone or dying, and it felt as if the world itself was trying to force him into some ultimatum.

The once thick forest was thinning on all sides the closer he’d neared the base of the mountain, yet only now was he aware of the cold silence that surrounded him. For the pokemon of his near secluded region, they’d welcomed three brothers like kings; the praise and admiration inspired not only them, but himself as they sought his wisdom when it came to the outside world, or the transgressions of humans.

Flareon and Jolteon were less enthusiastic.

Flareon, the eldest, had grown less social the older they got, especially after evolving leaving Vaporeon and Jolteon alone during their occasional adventures into the surrounding woods when training permitted the down time, but eventually he managed to sway Jolteon to abandon his ‘immature’ outings. Certain webs of speculation were being strung all over his mind, and for the already hateful, and injured water pokemon it ran wild.

“They’re trying to send me to Giratina.” The injured pokemon concluded with this great fear clouding his limited judgment.

Suddenly everything was conspiring to get him. The trees had been cut to expose him to the very sky full of traitors ready to turn him in. The forest pokemon were silent to allow his labored breathing, and unsteady steps to echo across the valley, making it easier to hear of his approach.

Everything was against him. Every Pokemon was against him.

The speculation grew too powerful, and carried by the fear of an early meeting with the dark one Vaporeon turned tail. Unwilling to chance an encounter with his brothers, and in his current condition the injured pokemon left this hole in the wall, weaving himself through the dense forest with intent to abandon this forest forever. It became clear why the local pokemon preferred to fly or traverse his path if given the chance, for the isolated nature of this forest finally hit him with each branch or unwavering clump of bushes hindering his progress. Desperation prevented him from using any moves unless he wanted his brothers to set the whole forest on fire.

Instead, he practically threw himself into the vegetation trying to brute force his way in between at the expense of opening some more wounds.

The sun above had dove beyond the other side of the mountain when he finally reached a lone lake he’d learned about, thanks to some friendly Tangela pointing the way. Collapsing along the bank, Vaporeon laid panting as he hungrily began absorbing the water from his throbbing paws; under the last rays of the dying sun, the injured pokemon found measured solace knowing he finally had nothing binding him to this land anymore.

He was finally free to leave for good.

Purpose provided Vaporeon the motivation to continue waking up, but it was anger that drove him to travel further south, beyond the Mountains toward the sea in his effort to escape his homeland.

“Who needs family, or this region! Arceus curse them all for their sins, pokemon and humans alike!” His vocal declaration scared off what few pokemon had been following him. Their morbid curiosity hoping to learn of this proclaimed Vaporeon’s secrets to his evolution were forgotten.

‘Bottom feeders.’ He grumbled to himself as he dragged his right rear leg through the thick brush of trees, maneuvering through the mass to the best of his abilities.

Providing a brief thanks to father Ho-Oh for the lack of human settlements near this forest, the injured water pokemon made little effort to conceal his presence. The pokemon here were sparse, and it created that lingering impression of isolation the large vaporeon was growing to notice with each passing day.

He belonged nowhere.

It was why he’d sought out this mysterious forest for within its unexplored center was a lake unlike anything the large Vaporeon had ever seen, nor experienced elsewhere. For it not only shone with a purity that reminded the pokemon of that cave he’d discovered in some mountain to the far east, but even taking a simple drink left him feeling refreshed, and almost happy. Enamored would be a word if the pokemon knew what it meant, but what Vaporeon did know was that this lake contained a certain power unknown to any pokemon or human.

‘Save myself…” he said aloud, almost happy to be returning to this secret place of his. One he was sure his brothers knew nothing about let alone could find even if they burnt every forest down trying to find it.

Reiterating his point, the Vaporeon’s eyes scanned the ground and hanging branches above him looking for any signs of habitation, and his eyes saw nothing but the numerous undisturbed limbs of depressed trees. The usual array of pokemon living in a forest were practically nonexistent here, and the very few that did call this forest home appeared more than skittish to the point of nearly discarding the very world around them for the safety of their sheltered nests.

It was this reasoning the injured pokemon sought this strange pool of water in the mysterious forest- hope.

Hope he’ll find a new path and reasoning to drag himself over the world instead of some fools quest with no end in sight. Hope it would provide the answer to a question he hadn’t asked, nor understood needed answering. Hope for the sake of having something to cling to…

Instantly all the tension in his body vanished as the feeling of isolation vanished from his entire being, to be replaced with a serenity never before felt. The air was thick with it. The moment his eyes could gleam the mysterious lake through the thinning trees was the moment Vaporeon knew he’d found it.

The lake in true display of its mysterious power was alight with a strange blue haze that shined like the stars in the night, with the exception this light would fade in and out without warning.

It was this very reason Vaporeon took his first steps toward the lake until his front paws were resting firmly on the edge where the land and water met. The strange ribbon-like appendages began to move erratically leaving him mostly unable to control their movements, yet it was the pressure building in his head that scared him the most. The large crest he’d taken as his right to be called a king pulsed in sync with the lake until both grew with an intensity that forced the water pokemon to shut his eyes. The lake shone so bright Vaporeon could see it trying to slip in between his eyelids for an unknown span of time before it vanished, plunging him into darkness.

Bravery betook him. Encouraged by this display of power, Vaporeon opened his and peering into the lake revealed no reflection staring back. The King recoiled when he felt a pull, as if he was being dragged by an unseen rope, like the ones humans would use to tie pokemon with, and while the idea enraged him he found himself unable to move so freely as before. Instead, he was having to fight the call of the lake itself as it pulled him into this blackened pit.

“What is thi..this place!”

With only sheer reluctance keeping him back he fought its influence for a moment, but the call was winning.

Soon the shockingly cold water continued to claim more of his body as he reluctantly walked further into its depths, the mystical light from before returned, and was now consistently pulsing that strange light as he slowly shifted to swimming once his paws couldn’t touch the ground anymore. It wasn’t until he’d reached the very center did the large crest on his head shine the brightest when an imposing thought pushed its way to the forefront of his very mind with a single demanding requirement: DIVE.

For a water pokemon the act isn’t uncommon, and often a fundamental foundation of their life- this wasn’t.

The King of the Vaporeons struggled to combat this thought with a greater sense of respect for the world around him now that the very world seemed intent on ridding itself of his presence for good. Still, his body began obeying the command. With little time to capture a full breath, the Vaporeon submerged into the lake that shouldn’t be so deep.

The further he sank into the void, the more the darkness fought him, and soon the great light emitting from his large crest faltered, but never faded. Before the fear could root itself for good, the darkness retracted its efforts, transitioning from the crushing void of isolation to the in between where surface and depth met. From here the large Vaporeon experienced one of the strangest moments of his life when his rear broke though the surface, meaning he’d somehow gotten turned upside down during the strange calling…

“It’s gone…”

Spurred by this realization, he quickly righted himself so he could indulge in that much needed breath of air, but quickly knew something was wrong with that first gulp. Nowhere in his travels had he tasted anything quite like this. Yet before he could further comprehend the differences in the air, the rest of his senses caught up with him: the water drops echoing all around told him he was in a cave. Quickly moving his head to check the rest of the cavern only reinforced he’d somehow stumbled into a network under the lake similar to the ones Lugia called his home, only smaller. Very small in fact, almost suffocating for a free roaming spirit like himself.

With no option than to tread water in this little pool, the King of the Vaporeons made his way to the ledge where he quickly pulled himself out of the water, gave himself a single shake to rid his coat of the water, and took his first steps up the literal stairway carved in stone to see where in the forest it would lead him. To his surprise it took no more than a few trots up the winding path to deposit him into the side of a cliff nestled near the edge of a forest vastly different from one he’d been in.

He sampled the air, smelling the strange assortment of scents he’d never encountered before with an unusual glee; everything in his immediate vision was different, the grass more pronounced with color, the air seemed more pure, the sun above more inviting, and above all no pokemon or humans could be heard or smelt.

He caught the scents of creatures, but pokemon carried a distinct scent with them that made it nearly impossible for a pokemon to disappear if they wanted to, so to find a strange forest without no pokemon?

“Incredible.”

Hesitation was a feeling Vaporeon was acquainted with, and this time he did it with a genuine smile gracing his muzzle as he dropped his paw onto the strange grass, marveling how it didn’t crunch under the pressure, but parted to allow his paw to touch the bare ground between. He tried this again with a second paw to actually observe the grass sensing his paw for them to catch an invisible wind long enough to be pulled out of his path.

“Remarkable. Father Ho-oH thank you.” Encouraged by this, the large Vaporeon took his first steps with unrestrained glee, even adding a few skips and hops into his routine for good measure.

That calming feeling came back in force, and nearly forced the pokemon to sit. He couldn’t explain it, but he welcomed the feeling of reliving his youth a little longer; laughter filled his emptying mind as the immature voices of his brothers beckoned him to join, and in that moment Vaporeon felt like an eevee again playing in the forest with his two brothers.