Evolution Trials

The Forest Trial

~Leafeon, the Verdant Pokemon. Although it dislikes disputes, it will sharpen its tail into a blade and fight to protect its friends~

What greeted the remaining three Eevee in the next room was what they could only describe as a forest with small bushes scattered around the room. Grass and moss covered the floor and the walls had trees painted on them. Immediately they all saw the locked door on the opposite side.

"Maybe this is like the first trial where someone has to find the key somewhere in these bushes." Ellie wondered aloud.

Before they could test that theory, however, a large roar disturbed the otherwise peaceful silence that the room had. One of the hills began to rumble before it stood up, revealing itself to be a Venusaur. It suddenly charged towards them, making them scatter in order to dodge it.

"Is someone supposed to fight that!?" Hailey exclaimed. "That Venusaur is bigger than the Houndoom that Flick battled!"

"None of us are that good at fighting!" Ellie called out. "There's gotta be something else to this! But it definitely involves Venusaur somehow!"

Suddenly Venusaur used Seed Bomb. The Eevee frantically ran around the room, trying to avoid getting hit. But Ellie soon tripped on a root, grunting as she fell on her face.

Maple soon noticed Venusaur going towards her best friend and sprinted towards them. She used Protect right as the rampaging pokemon used Petal Blizzard.

Ellie stared up at Maple in shock. "W-what are you doing!? You could've gotten hurt."

"And you definitely would've been hurt if I hadn't done anything." Maple countered. She saw two things that caught her eye as she continued to keep her protective force field up. The first thing was Hailey running towards them in worry, and the second was something painfully lodged into Venusaur's right hind leg.

'That must be why he's so upset.'

Maple then saw a bush full of Oran Berries. A plan formulated in her mind. The thought scared her but it was the only way to make sure that Ellie and Hailey didn't get hurt.

"El, whenever he stops using Petal Blizzard, I want you and Hailey to run to the farthest corner." she quickly said.

"What about you?" Ellie asked.

"I'm gonna calm down Vensaur. Don't worry about me. I just don't wanna worry about you or Hailey while I'm doing this."

Ellie looked at Maple and saw nothing but sheer determination in her eyes, something that was a rare sight to see in her. She slowly got up and nodded.

"Alright. As long as you're sure you know what you're doing," she said. "Just please don't get hurt...but then again when you're this serious about something there's usually nothing to worry about. So, I'll put my faith in you."

Maple nodded. Soon Petal Blizzard calmed down and taking a deep breath, Maple jumped onto Venusaur's head, covering his eyes with her paws. Ellie then dashed away, meeting Hailey about halfway.

"Come on, Maple's got this."

"Are you crazy!? She can't take down a Venusaur all by herself!" Hailey exclaimed.

"She's not trying to fight it. We gotta get out of the way so she doesn't have to worry about us."

Hailey looked at Maple who was now hanging onto Venusaur's back as it tried to shake her off. She then turned back to Ellie and nodded, running to the farthest corner from the confrontation.

Maple slowly made her way to Venusaur's back leg, trying her hardest not to get thrown off. As she inched closer, she assumed that it had a small piece of bark stuck in its leg.

'This must be really painful for poor Venusaur. I just gotta hold on a little longer so I can pull it out.'

"Maple, look out!" Ellie shouted. "It's about to use Poison Powder!"

Immediately remembering what her mother said about her scarf, Maple quickly placed the teal fabric over her nose as a purple powder washed over her. Just as her mother told her, the scarf prevented her from being poisoned.

Maple made one last push towards the piece of bark, immediately pulling out once it was in reach. Once it was off, she rushed towards the Oran Berry bush, grabbing a few before returning to the now confused Venusaur who had begun to still itself. It looked back in time to see Maple squish the berries into mush and then placing the blue paste onto the wound.

Now with things less chaotic, Ellie and Hailey slowly made their way towards their friend. It was then that Venusaur began to speak.

"Thank you, little one. But healing won't be necessary."

Maple tilted her head in confusion. "But...the piece of bark was stuck in your leg. Didn't that hurt?"

"It was never really stuck. Simply attached to make it seem like it was." the Seed Pokemon explained. "You have successfully completed the Forest Trial, little one. Congratulations."

Maple was even more confused. "B-But...I didn't really do all that much. I-I just thought that you were hurt. Not to mention that I didn't find the key to the door."

Venusaur let out a low chuckle, amused at the Eevee's confusion. "Look closely at what you pulled from my leg."

Maple went over to where she discarded the piece of bark, her eyes widening as she got a better look at it. The bark was in the shape of a key. Maple stood there speechless as she slowly picked it up.

'I really did complete this trial.'

"Good job Maple." Ellie praised. "You should've seen yourself out there. You looked so fearless."

Hailey nodded in agreement. "I have to admit that you surprised me there. I never thought that you would face such a big opponent by yourself."

Maple blushed by all the praise that she was getting but still made her way over to the locked door with the key. Nervousness began to settle in as she unlocked the door and went in. Hailey and Ellie followed closely behind.

The first thing that they noticed in the next room was a large rock covered in moss. A Leafeon spirit sat on top of the rock.

Maple took a step back when the Leafeon jumped down to greet her but Ellie nudged her forward.

"Go on. You earned this."

Maple nodded and slowly approached the spirit who smiled at her.

"Well done, young one. Your kindness and determination is what led you to solve the problem with no one getting hurt. Now for your reward." the spirit gestured over to the rock with its tail. "Go and touch the Moss Rock."

Maple looked back at the two Eevee who nodded. She took a shaky breath and went over to the Moss Rock, glowing brightly as she closed her eyes and pressed her nose to it. The scarf around her, loosened but did not fall off as she grew in size. Maple still had her eyes shut when the light died down, revealing her new form. She slowly opened them and looked at herself.

"That was...not as bad as I thought that it was gonna be," she commented.

"Well, no one said that evolution was going to be painful," Ellie said with a giggle. "You look great."

"Thanks. Too bad I won't be there to see you evolve." Maple said.

"It's alright. Just wait for us with everyone else alright?"

Maple nodded, watching as Hailey and Ellie went onto the next floor.