One day, for no particular reason, Tabby had the inclination to venture into the Dark
Forest. The plan seemed reasonable as she had nothing else to do that Saturday, and she thought
it might help inspire her on the story she was writing. And so, she headed out without bothering
to tell anyone.
Tabby knew her way around the Dark Forest fairly well, having lived in the area all her
life. However, on this day, a forgotten path took her to a place she had never been before.
Revealed before her in a clearing in the midst of the trees was the most beautiful
waterfall
Tabby had ever seen-- of course, she had seen very few waterfalls in person. Water fell serenely
from a rocky ledge down into a sparkling pool. Bright green trees surrounded the area-- no
bother that it was still January; things like this happened in the Dark Forest-- and Tabby instantly
felt at peace there.
Tabby tossed her backpack aside and sat down on the gray rock rim of the pool and
stared
down at her reflection. At first she saw only the face of a pink unicorn with vibrant red hair-- she
would have been deeply concerned if she had seen something else-- but after waiting a few
moments, the image seemed to be marred by unnatural ripples in the water.
Tabby cocked her head as the ripples moved across the pond. It seemed like there had
to
be a living creature causing it-- but there was certainly nothing hidden in the crystalline
water.
A haunting melody began to echo throughout the clearing. Tabby jumped up from her
seat. This trip was getting quite mysterious. The strains of the song she could make out sounded
somewhat like, "Va-por-eon, va-por-e-e-e-eon, va-por-eon..."
"What in the world?" Tabby exclaimed outloud in confusion.
"Die-die-die!" a different voice laughed from the direction of the rock ledge.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Tabby demanded, aiming her voice at the waterfall.
"Die-chu!" Suddenly, a fairly large orange mouse-like creature leaped down from out
of a
tree growing atop the ledge. It landed in front of Tabby. "Die!"
Following suit, another creature formed out of the water-- it was shaped somewhat like
a
dog, but was blue with aquatic fins on its face and back. "Vaporeon!" it declared.
"A Raichu and a Vaporeon!" Tabby exclaimed. Being a certified Pokèmon nurse, she
didn't need a PokèDex to identify these two, an electric rodent and the evolved water-type of
Eevee.
"Die," Raichu agreed, rummaging through Tabby's backpack which had been tossed
aside.
"Vapor," the other Pokèmon mumbled from the depths of the backpack.
"Wait a second! Stop! Don't go in there!" Tabby shrieked, rushing to protect her
possessions.
The two looked at her curiously as the pink unicorn shied away, clutching her backpack.
"Poreon, poreon," Vaporeon laughed, holding a notebook in his jaws.
Tabby's eyes opened wide. "Give that back to me!" She jumped forward and
grabbed it from the creature. "It's the story I'm writing," she added as a sidenote to the
two.
"Die. Diechu," Raichu hopped over to Tabby's side as she seated herself again by the
waterfall.
"It's about Atlantean Furbys," Tabby went on, somewhat subconsciously.
"Vapor," Vaporeon nodded knowledgeably.
"Rather fascinating, really," Tabby murmured, smoothing out the pages. "So far, Dah
Doo-ay has managed to get caught in a swirling whirlpool of water while his sister is off on her
first date with a handsome new Furby to the city."
"Die," Raichu said in approval.
"Vapor," Vaporeon agreed.
"And what's up with you guys, anyway?" Tabby snapped her notebook shut. "What
was
with that singing? Was it you, Vaporeon?"
Vaporeon nodded. "Vapor. Roreon. Va-vapor. Vapor-roeon," he elaborated, and
continued to repeat his melody that Tabby had heard earlier.
"You've learned to sing your name to the tune of the Jigglypuff song!" Tabby said
gleefully. "Clever, clever!"
"Vapor, vapor." The Vaporeon looked a bit downcast.
"But you can't put your adversaries to sleep with it, can you?" Tabby said
sympathetically.
"I suppose that's true, if I'm still awake."
"Vapor."
"You could always find a Jigglypuff to teach you," Tabby suggested.
"Vapor-reon!" Vaporeon paused in thought.
"Die," Raichu reflected.
"And Raichu," Tabby said, turning to the other Pokèmon, "what is your obsession with
death?"
"Die. Die-chu! Die!" Raichu explained.
"Va-vapor," Vaporeon added.
"Ah," Tabby nodded. "You have a lisp. It sounds rather intimidating, really."
The two Pokèmon lapsed into silence. Tabby took the opportunity to pick up her
backpack, making sure that her writing and other miscellaneous supplies were still there. "Well,
it's been fascinating chatting with you, but I really must be on my way." She turned to look once
more over the waterfall before heading onto the trail. "Perhaps I'll stop by here again
sometime."
Her gaze fixed itself on Vaporeon and Raichu for a moment longer. It certainly would
be
nice to catch them... but it didn't seem right for the two. They seemed happy in the wild; and they
were so friendly, too. She just couldn't bring herself to battle Pokèmon like that. She shook her
head and walked resolutely out into the forest.
Oblivious to Tabby, the two Pokèmon snickered quietly as they themselves ran into the
woods, keeping themselves disguised in the underbrush. They followed along for several minutes
before Tabby was aware of them, their laughs giving them away.
Tabby whirled around. "You're following me, aren't you?"
"Die-chu!" Raichu declared, coming out into the open.
"Reon," Vaporeon said in agreement.
"Why?" Tabby looked at them intently.
The two paused in thought. "Die..."
"Va..."
"Do you want to come with me?"
The Pokèmon looked at each other. "Die..."
"Va..."
"Now you're just repeating yourselves," Tabby said sharply.
"Diechu! Die!" Raichu said gleefully, running forward and leaping up on Tabby's
back.
"Vaporeon." Vaporeon wrapped himself around Tabby's front legs.
"You do want to come with me?"
"Die."
"Va."
"Was that a yes, or a no?"
The two looked at her impatiently.
"You're impossible to figure out," Tabby fumed. "What do you want?"
Without replying, Vaporeon cleverly unzipped Tabby's backpack again and extracted
one
of her PokèBalls-- an empty one. Raichu hopped down and found one for himself. They stood,
looking up at Tabby.
"Wow," Tabby breathed. "You really want to be caught?"
"Vapor-roreon, vapor, reon, vapor-vapor."
"Diechu, die-die, chu, diechu."
"Vaporeon wants singing lessons from my Jigglypuff," Tabby translated, "and Raichu
just
wants to come with you."
They nodded.
"Hey, how you'd know I have a Jigglypuff?" Tabby demanded.
Vaporeon sniffed out one of the other PokèBalls in the backpack and rolled it out-- the
one that Tabby knew contained her Jigglypuff.
"You can really sniff out who's inside?" Tabby said in amazement.
"Diechu," Raichu nodded knowingly.
"Vaporeon." Vaporeon impatiently nudged one of the empty balls.
"Okay, if you're sure..." Tabby picked up the two empty PokèBalls and tossed one at
Raichu and the other at Vaporeon. They both disappeared into their respective balls in a flash of
red light.
"Hmm, not too bad of a trip in the Dark Forest," Tabby reflected as she gathered up her
catches. She glanced back down the path which had led to the waterfall-- she hadn't gone too far,
and the green trees should still have been visible-- but she could see nothing now. The trail now
dead-ended where the clearing had been before, and it was now filled in with the regular,
ominious trees of the Dark Forest.
Tabby shrugged and continued back home. The Dark Forest was not meant to be
understood.