Just Partners

Chapter 49: Bad News

'Excuse me. Are you the ones who brought in the Espeon and Eevee?'

My heart began to pound out of my chest, and my palms began sweating as I swallowed nervously. 'Yes. We are.'

'Are the alright?!' Gladion asked suddenly, letting go of me and standing up to meet the woman's face. Though it failed since she was taller than him. She gave us both sympathetic glances, before closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

'The Eevee is completely fine. It only had few skin wounds and should have a smooth recovery...'

I smiled slightly, but quickly lost it as I remembered the other Pokemon we had brought in. 'And Espeon?'

The nurse pursed her lips together and swept away the bangs of her long black hair. I could tell from her green eyes that the news she was about to tell us wasn't good.

'Unfortunately... she didn't make it... her wounds were way too deep and were already infected... we tried saving her but... it was already too late. I'm sorry... she passed away not too long ago...'

I began to shake from fear as the reality sunk in. I placed my hands over my heart and gripped the fabric of my shirt, feeling my heart skip multiple beats. I wanted to cry, but no tears left my eyes. I wanted to speak, but my mouth remained wordless. I wanted to move, but my body was frozen in time.

But then, I was pulled back into reality as I felt an arm wrap around my frame and pull me into someone's chest. I could already tell it was Gladion.

'...When will Eevee be able to come out?'

'As soon as possible, sir. After he says his final goodbyes to his mother that is.'

Mother? That Espeon was his mother?

I gritted my teeth and tensed my muscles. Which Gladion took notice of, and he placed his right hand on top of my head. 'Thank you.' he told the nurse, who bowed and walked off. Then he sat down and pulled me with him so I was on his lap, which caused me to immediately bury my face into his chest.

'We'll figure things out.' He told me, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist and lightly kissing the top of my head.

(Eevee POV) (A/N: Yup! I'm doing it! Pokemon POVs)

I lay there, on the operation table, head resting on mom's torso. She was covered with a white sheet, which I heard they did to people when they die, with only her tail hanging out. I wasn't necessarily crying, but there were unfallen tears in my eyes. It shouldn't have been this way... She shouldn't be this way... She should still be alive, with me.

'Mom... I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough...' I whispered, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. 'I wish I could've stood up to that... that...'

I couldn't finish my sentence as the tears finally fell, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth together as I replayed what happened in my mind.

Flashback

'Okay, now watch me.' Mom ordered as her tail began to glow. 'Focus all your energy into your tail... and... ATTACK!' She charged, jumped, flipped, and finally slammed her tail into the rock, splitting it into two. I watched in awe as she landed gracefully on all fours. Man my mom's awesome...

'Wow! I wanna try!' I exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down.

Mom chuckled. 'Then try, dear. No one's stopping you.'

'Yay!' I cheered. As mom had said, I charged all my energy into my tail... Again... and again... and agai- Oh for crying out loud why isn't it working?!