"Now for the obstacle course, I should warn you it is dangerous and potentially harmful, you may decide if you partake or not." Gardevoir said smiling at the six students, none of them backed down from the challenge.
"Good, let's get started then. You will begin here, Stoutland is standing at the finish line on the other side of the forest, if anyone is injured call for help and nurse Audino will come to you. You will race in teams of two, the moment one of you crosses the finish line you are both finished." Gardevoir watched the Pokémon sort themselves into pairs.
A Deerling and an Espurr stood side by side, Poochyena rolled his eyes at the dumb Venipede, an Eevee smiled cockily at the Riolu next to her.
"Well then, if you're all ready we'll start, everyone line up."
Ez climbed onto Summer's back and the Deerling readied herself at the start line, Evie crouched next to her, beside Evie Kin stood next to Levi and Vincent snickered at the far end of the group.
Gardevoir laughed, they all looked so confident, but they didn't know the surprises that awaited them within the forest. She raised a hand and began the countdown.
"Three, two... oh, sorry one last thing. You may use any means necessary to win except for attacking your classmates."
"Wait, what?" Evie asked.
"Three two one go!" Gardevoir shouted quickly before dropping her hand.
The teams began racing through the forest, Vincent instantly fell behind as he grubbed along. Riolu and Poochyena led the pack, Levi had a mean glint in his eyes, he changed his course slightly and rammed Kin's legs.
Kin stumbled, fell and rolled, he hit a bump and shot upwards into the air, he was flying face-first towards the ground, Evie saw Kin going to crash and she ran under him. She caught her partner and kept running with a confused Riolu now sitting on her back, it was an awkward way to run but they made it work. Kin hunched down and held the scruff of Evie's neck, she kept running and soon they were tying for first place, Levi ran on one side, Ez riding Summer ran on the other. Kin felt the wind in his fur and a huge smile spread across his face.
"Run Vee run!" He shouted.
"What do you think I'm doing?" She growled.
At this point Kin got a little... over-excited. "Yah! Yah!" He shouted. He reached out with his hand and slapped his mount on her backside. Evie yelped and jolted forwards, she tripped and fell, both Kin and her rolled across the ground whilst their competitors raced away.
Kin sat up slowly and tried cleared his head. "Ow, ow, ow." he muttered.
When his vision stopped swimming, Kin found himself face to face with an incredibly angry Eevee. Her face was bright red, the blush was as fierce and as obvious as her rage. She was covered in dirt and grass, laughing nervously Kin pulled the mess from her fur.
"Hehehe, sorry about that." He said looking away while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Kin."
Kin hesitated but nonetheless he faced his friend.
"You ever try anything like that again and I swear I will feed you to a Staryu."
"But Staryu don't have mouths..."
"Exactly."
Evie turned and started running up the path, Kin remembered the race and followed his partner's example, but he was distracted. Eaten alive by a Staryu... What a cruel and terrible fate.
He was too far behind, he'd never catch them, then he remembered what Gardevoir had said, 'you may use any means necessary to win'. Kin realised what the words meant, and he smiled. Using Quick Attack he caught up with Evie a moment later, he told her the plan and they sprinted after the pack.
They slowed down upon reaching the first obstacle of the course. A log served as a bridge over a pit of mud, they jumped on, quickly crossed and kept going. They rounded a bend in the forest and standing before them was Scizor, when he saw them he unleashed a Razor Wind.
The attack struck them but didn't hurt, Scizor had lowered the damage so that they were now fighting an endurance battle against the winds.
Evie used dig to disappear underground and Kin dove down the hole after her, they resurfaced on the other side of Scizor and kept running. They rounded another bend and before them was a long stretch of path, standing in the middle of it was Simisage. He wielded two vines and whipped them back and forth. Summer, Ez and Levi were all struggling to pass him. Behind the grass-monkey was the finish line.
"Any ideas?" Vee asked.
Kin thought for a moment before answering. "Do you trust me?" he replied.
"Yes. But don't even think of touching my butt."
"That was an accident and a mistake, and it well never happen again."
"Well then, yes I trust you completely." Evie said with a sly smile.
Kin nodded at her and they continued running, Kin pulled back and let Evie run in front of him, they approached Simisage, he had seen them and flicked a vine at the pair.
Kin jumped forwards, grabbed Evie's hips, and using Circle Throw he propelled her over Simisage and she flew across the line, rolling and coming up dusty but otherwise unharmed.
"Yeah! We won!" She screamed in excitement.
Simisage's jaw dropped, Ez and Summer ran over the finish line and were quickly followed by Levi.
Stoutland laughed loudly as all his students celebrated the race, except for a certain Poochyena who was blaming the loss on the incompetence of his partner.
Gardevoir was standing at the tree-line and had been watching the whole race, next to her stood a Scizor who wore a proud and knowing smile.
"I see, you were right, those two, they'll make a powerful Rescue Team yet." She said, Scizor nodded his agreement but was otherwise silent.
******
Later that night everyone sat around a small campfire, they had just finished dinner and Gardevoir stood and spoke to the group.
"Everyone, tonight we're going to hear another story from Scizor, but first I would like to congratulate Summer and Ez for winning our obstacle course race."
Confused Summer spoke up and asked what they were all thinking, "But, didn't Evie and Kin win?"
Gardevoir smiled and shook her head. "No, they were disqualified."
"What?! What for?" Evie exclaimed.
"For violating the rules." Gardevoir replied. "Towards the end of the race Kin used the move Circle Throw to propel you over the finish line. The rules state that you are not allowed to attack your classmates, and for that reason, you are disqualified."
Levi's hysteric laughter and Vincent's snickering broke the silence.
"Ha take that losers!" Levi called.
Gardevoir opened her mouth to scold the Poochyena but Evie spoke first.
"Summer! Ez! Congratulations, you guys did really well! That was awesome!"
Kin joined his partner in her praises and Gardevoir couldn't help but smile at them.
Scizor stepped up and began telling another story, they all listened intently, except Kin, who frowned. He was watching Evie from the corner of his eye, she didn't look well, she kept flinching, it looked like she was in pain.
"You okay?" He asked her quietly.
"Yeah, just feeling a little sick, I think I'll go to bed early." She said as she stood and began talking quietly with Stoutland. Seconds later Evie was walking towards her tent with her head down.
"Oh, goodnight then." Kin whispered.
She smiled at him before entering the tent. Kin sat and listened to the rest of the story until Stoutland announced that it was time for bed. Deerling and Espurr walked straight to their tents, Kin didn't bother, when no-one was looking he jumped into the tree where he had slept the night before. He leant against the tree and looked at the stars, they were so bright and pretty, like Evie's eyes. Wait, where'd that come from?
Kin was surprised by the sudden thought, he looked at his friend's tent, the camp had been fun, but he couldn't wait for tomorrow, when they'd be home, sharing a bed again. She was warm and comfortable, sleeping next to her, it was nice, much nicer than the hard tree branch he currently sat on. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
******
Evie couldn't sleep, it felt like something was wrong, like her soul was being split in two. It hurt. It hurt so bad. She stood and stumbled from the tent, she struggled to keep tears from her eyes. She dragged her paws towards the tent where Audino slept.
"Ms. Audino are you awake?" She asked quietly.
There was a shuffling noise and the sound of a match being struck, a candle was lit, and it provided light to the small room.
"Evie, what's wrong dear, why aren't you asleep?" Audino asked gently.
"My chest hurts." Evie complained.
"Your chest?" came the confused reply.
"Yes."
"Well let's see what I can do."
Audino stepped towards the Eevee, she placed a paw over her chest and it glowed white, after a moment the light faded.
"How's that? Better?" Audino asked.
Evie burst into tears. "No. Ms. Audino, where's Kin? I want Kin." Evie sobbed.
Audino nodded in sympathy. "Okay, I'll find Kin."
Audino helped Evie move to the nurse's tent and climb into the bed, Audino walked out and she peeked inside the boy's tent, she saw Levi and Vincent, but no Kin. Audino began to panic, "Kin. Kin!" She called.
"Up here." Came a voice.
Audino looked up, Kin sat on a high tree branch, the moon shone upon his blue fur and red eyes.
"Kin, Evie needs you." Audino had barely finished speaking before Kin had jumped to the ground.
"Where is she?" He asked in a calm voice.
"In the nurse's tent, follow me."
Kin did as told and followed Audino into the tent, he saw Evie laying on a bed in the corner, he ran over and dropped to his knees.
"Vee, what's wrong?"
"Kin it hurts, it hurts Kin, I'm scared." She whispered in a small voice.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here now, I'll always keep you safe." He comforted her.
Evie smiled weakly and reached out her front paws to him. Kin picked her up and cradled her like a new-born, she looked weak and fragile, this wasn't the Evie he knew, the Evie he knew was strong and confident and shy and cute. The Eevee before him looked... helpless, broken.
Kin sat in the bed and placed her in his lap, he started singing softly, a lullaby he remembered from long ago, he didn't know where he'd learnt it, but it was his favourite.
Audino smiled at the pair and gave Kin a thumbs up, he nodded, and she returned to her tent.
"Kin don't let him get me, please." Evie whispered.
Kin didn't sleep that night, he stayed awake, singing to Evie though she had long since fallen asleep, he couldn't stop, he had to keep singing. Every-time he stopped she would begin to struggle, thrashing in his lap, she looked like she was in pain.
Kin looked at the Eevee with pity, he held out a paw and closed his eyes, he reached and felt for her Aura. He found it, it was a blue colour, a sad and heavy blue, the pink aura was quiet and still, but only when he was singing. Whenever he was silent the pink aura would turn purple and rampage violently, striking harshly against Evie's true aura.
Kin sat the whole night, waiting for the inevitable moment, when Mewtwo would find him, waiting for the moment when he would be struck down, never to see his Evie again. There was so much he would regret never doing, he didn't want that to happen, and so, he tried to fight, even if just a little. He didn't bother checking to see if she was asleep, he just started talking.
"Vee, I need to tell you, thank-you for everything, you gave me a name, a friend, a family, you have given me so much, I could never hope to repay you, but I'll try, and I will always keep you safe, every day, for the rest of my life. Evie I, I, I lo... I need you."
Tears spilled from Kin's eyes and fell upon Evie's head, he kept singing and waiting, he had told her, he was sure now, there wasn't much time left. Mewtwo was coming.
******
Evie: I'm so confused.
Me: Yeah, even I don't know what's happening, you should see the next chapter!
Evie: No not that! Where did Audino get a match?
Kin: What's weird about that? It can be hard for some Pokemon to light fires or candles so matches were invented.
Me: I'm surprised. Evie aren't you more intrigued by Kin's almost confession?
Evie: Confession? What confession?
Me: Oh that's right. You were asleep. Well-
Kin: Shuuut up.
Me: You can't tell me what to do. I created you.
Kin: Exactly I am figment of your imagination and I will haunt your dreams.
Me: Shutting up now.
Kin: Good. Bye everyone! See you next week for another thrilling chapter of Team Eve! Trust me, this is a big one. You don't want to miss it!