Evolution Trials

The Dusk Trial

~Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokemon. Umbreon evolved from exposure to the moon's energy pulses. It lurks in the darkness and waits for its foes to move. The rings on its body glow when it leaps to attack~

The next floor that the remaining Eevee encountered was almost pitch black. The only source of light being small dots on the floor that seem to have made two separate paths. One path shone brighter than the other.

"I...don't see a key anywhere," Hailey noted as she looked around. "Are we supposed to venture around to find it then?"

"Yeah, that could probably be it," Ellie said. "But which path do we take?"

"M-Maybe the brighter path." Maple suggested. "That would be safer."

Xander stared at the two paths for a bit. He then stopped his friends before they stepped onto the lighter path.

"Wait, don't you think taking the brighter route would be a bit too easy?" he questioned. "I think that we should take the dimmer route."

"We'll be as blind as Zubat if we continue on that path." Hailey countered. "What makes you think that we can even make our way through the darker path?"

"Well, you guys don't see me when I'm doing pranks until the very last second right?" Xander said. "It's kinda like the same thing here. Plus these trials are supposed to be challenging. So taking an easy route isn't gonna get us to the key, let alone the door on the other side so let's take the dimmer route."

The other three cautiously followed behind as Xander began following the path that provided less light, making sure that they were all close together. The path suddenly curved to the right and everyone followed suit, the light getting slightly dimmer when they turned.

Before they knew it, they came across another forked path. One path was just as dim as the path they were already on and another one that gave off very little light. Going with what he had predicted before, Xander went towards the darker path, yet the three behind him hesitated a little. He stopped and looked back at them.

"Is something wrong?"

"All of this is just a bit unnerving for me." Maple admitted. "It's getting really hard to see."

"Are you sure that we should change routes now?" Hailey questioned.

Xander nodded. "We're gonna keep following the path with less light."

"If you say so," Ellie said. "Let's go. Everyone that already done their trials are waiting for us. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

They strayed from their original path, going down the one with very little light, staying even closer than last time. When their surroundings got even darker, a bright blue light laid on the floor just a small distance away from them. Xander carefully went over to it to get a closer look. It was a small key. He grinned and took the key.

"I knew we were going the right way," he said, showing the key to everyone else.

"At least we'll have a little bit of light for the rest of the way." Maple said. "That's reassuring."

Xander nodded and continued to lead them through the dark maze. Like before, the path they were currently walking slowly got dimmer as they went further. Once again they soon found themselves standing in front of what should seem like a forked path. One path giving off the same amount of light as the path they were on and one with no light at all. In fact, it was hard to tell that there even was a second path at first glance. Before Xander could take a step however, Hailey stopped him.

"No way are we going through a pitch-black path," she said. "We already are having trouble seeing our paws in front of us and who knows what's going to happen if we go that way. I say we take the lighter route this time."

"But taking the lighter route didn't get us this far." Xander countered. "We gotta take the darker path."

"I-I mean...if you're sure but...it would be nice to take a...y-you know...a path that's a little safer. I mean w-who knows what's lurking around in the darkness." Maple stuttered, trying to keep herself from trembling in fear.

"Look guys, I know this is really scary but I think we should just keep doing what we were doing like Xander said," Ellie said. "Like he said, these trials are supposed to challenge us. And who knows what would happen if we took the brighter paths. Plus for this last part, we got the key to serve as a flashlight in a way so it won't be completely dark."

"Y-Yeah you're right." Maple said before turning to Xander. "You're the reason that we've got this far...so if you want us to go down the really dark path then I'll come with you."

"So will I." Ellie added. "I'll always have your back."

Xander smiled at them, relieved to know that they understood where they were coming from despite their discomfort. He then looked at the third Eevee.

Hailey sighed. "Well, I'm not going the other path alone. If everyone else thinks that you're making the right call then I'll come with you too."

"Thanks, guys. Now, let's get out of here."

Xander led his friends down the pitch-black, their only source of light being the glowing key, which had helped them not run into any walls on any sharp turns. Soon their surroundings slowly but surely got brighter, giving them the same amount of light they had when they had first entered this floor. They soon came across the locked door that they had been searching for.

Xander went ahead and unlocked the door, pushing it open after the key was in. The next room was similar to what they saw in the last trial. A cave with no evolution stones embedded in the walls and a shallow pool of sparkling water. The only difference being that an Umbreon spirit standing in front of the shallow pool.

Maple, Hailey, and Ellie watched as Xander went up to the spirit. At first, no one said anything. The Umbreon spirit simply nodded and stepped aside, allowing Xander to step into the pool.

'Alright...here goes nothing.'

He stood there in the water for a few seconds before he began to glow and change shape. As he grew in size, the cape that he was wearing slipped off, falling at the edge of the pool. Before they knew it, Xander looked exactly like the spirit who simply watched in silence. Once he had retrieved his cape and stepped out, the spirit finally spoke.

"The darkness isn't always an enemy. Remember that as you continue your journey through life."

Xander nodded before looking back at the remaining three Eevee.

"Guess I'll wait for you guys with everyone else. Good luck on the rest of your trials," he said with a grin. "Can't wait to see what you all will evolve into."

"Only three of us left." Maple noted. "I wonder what the other trials are going to be like."

"Let's go find out," Ellie said as she raced towards the stairs. Maple and Hailey quickly caught up with her as they ran to the next floor.