— — — — — —
Three hours later...
"We still haven't broken through to Articuno's nest?"
Vicious, the Iron-Masked Marauder, snapped at the Team Rocket grunt in charge of opening the path.
"Almost there! Just a few more minutes! Please, Sir Vicious, just give us ten more minutes—I swear we'll make it happen!"
The grunt was pale—half from the freezing cold, half from fear. Vicious had a reputation in Team Rocket for being ruthless and violent.
The guy didn't even always follow Boss Giovanni's orders. Total wildcard.
But... the dude was strong. No one could argue that. He'd mastered the use of Dark Balls and forcibly captured several powerful Pokémon to use as his main team.
"Hmph." Vicious scoffed. "Fine. Ten minutes. But if we're still not in by then, I'm taking your life instead."
"Y-yes, sir!!"
...
Ten minutes later—
"It's open! It's open! Sir Vicious! I can see Articuno!"
The grunt suddenly yelled from down below.
"Oh?" Vicious' eyes lit up. He and the rest of the squad rushed into the icy cavern, erging into a hidden inner chamber of the cave.
Ariana and the other hunters followed close behind.
— — —
Two hours earlier...
"Eevee, what should we do now? Should we go ahead and try to stop them first?"
Cynthia had already recalled her Garchomp and was hiding with Eevee so distance away from the cave where Team Rocket was working. She turned to ask Eevee for guidance.
"Nope." Eevee shook his fluffy little head. "I've already locked onto a deeper chamber inside. I found Articuno. We're gonna teleport in directly, try to talk to her first—and if all goes well, maybe even team up with her to fight off the Rocket goons. Heh."
Don't forget—Eevee was a Pokémon now, not a human. That gave him a huge natural advantage in situations like this.
His plan was to communicate with Articuno, help her out, and earn her trust. That way, things would go a lot smoother later on.
"Smart plan!" Cynthia's eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly. "Let's get in there, then!"
"Alright!" Eevee leapt up onto Cynthia's shoulder, and with a thought, teleported the two of them out of sight.
---
Next mont...
They reappeared deep underground in a hidden cavern.
There, Articuno was already staring right at them, eyes sharp and wings flaring. Her beak opened slightly—she was clearly ready to strike the mont they made a move.
She'd already sensed the spatial disturbance and probably picked up on Eevee's earlier psychic pulse too.
"Wait! Articuno, don't attack—we're here to help! I can heal your injuries... and I can save your baby!"
Eevee quickly sent out a telepathic ssage to calm her down.
That's right—Articuno was injured. And behind her lay an egg... an Articuno egg.
But the shell was cracked in several places, and the life energy inside was fading fast. If nothing was done soon, that poor baby Articuno wasn't going to make it.
Eevee had no idea what exactly happened, but judging by the way Articuno was glaring daggers at Cynthia, it wasn't hard to guess—she'd already had a run-in with either Team Rocket or Hunter J and had been seriously hurt in the process.
"Kuu...?" (Really?)
Articuno paused, hesitating for the first ti.
"It's true!" Eevee jumped off Cynthia's shoulder. His body lit up with a purifying light as he instantly shifted into Leafeon form.
Then, he activated a newly learned move.
A rich, vibrant aura of life energy spread out, enveloping both Articuno and her egg.
Articuno tensed up again, but stopped short of attacking.
She was stunned—her wounds were healing, and more importantly, the egg... the egg's life force was no longer draining so quickly!
But after a mont, a look of disappointnt and sorrow crossed her face. She gave Eevee a soft cry.
"Kuu..." (It's not enough.)
It was clear. The healing had helped, but it wouldn't be enough to fully save the baby.
"I figured that might be the case. Good thing I've got sothing stronger."
Eevee gave her a gentle nod and began walking closer.
Articuno didn't move to stop him. No hostility. No fear.
When Eevee was about two ters away, a glowing magic circle appeared beneath both their feet.
"Kuu...?" (What's that?)
Even Articuno, a Legendary Pokémon, looked puzzled by the mysterious circle—this wasn't sothing she'd ever seen before. But she could tell, whatever it was, it was powerful.
"HOLY HEALING!!"
In the next mont, Eevee activated a powerful healing skill he learned from Hero Renzo, originally passed down by Aqua.
Instantly, an intense wave of pure healing light and vibrant life energy spread out, enveloping both Articuno and her egg.
Under Articuno's shocked and emotional gaze, she watched as the life force inside her egg stopped fading away.
And not just that—the cracks on the eggshell started to rapidly heal, and the energy inside the egg began to recover quickly, growing stronger and more stable by the second.
In less than five minutes, the life energy within the egg had fully recovered and returned to its peak. It looked completely healthy again.
At the sa ti, all the wounds on Articuno's body were completely healed.
"Kuu! Kuu!!" (Thank you! Eevee!)
Articuno cried out in pure gratitude, eyes brimming with tears.
Only she knew how desperate and hopeless things had felt before.
But now… everything was okay again.
"No need to thank ," Eevee replied with a calm shake of its head.
"This is sothing I wanted to do. And hey—see that human over there? That's my partner, Cynthia! She's a good person, not like those jerks who hurt you and your child. Please don't be hostile toward her, alright?"
"Kuu! Kuu!" (I understand! She has a pure heart.)
Articuno gave a firm nod in agreent. As a Legendary Pokémon, it had its own way of reading the nature of people—and it could sense Cynthia's sincerity.
Earlier, it had lashed out because its child had been dying. But now that things were different… and Eevee had stood up for her, it no longer harbored any hostility.
Crack, crack, crack!!
Suddenly, the sound of breaking eggshells echoed through the cave.
Articuno and Eevee both turned sharply toward the egg in surprise.
"Chirp chirp!!"
A gentle flash of white light shimred out, and the next mont, a small Articuno chick erged, fluff covered in icy blue feathers with a pure white belly.
The baby opened its eyes for the first ti.
The first thing it saw was Articuno.
The second... was Eevee.
From both of them, it instinctively felt warmth and deep affection.
"Chirp? Chirp chirp!" (Mom? Dad!)
"..."
Articuno: 😳!!!!!
Eevee: 😵????
"Uh…"
Not far away, Cynthia—who had also heard through telepathy—couldn't help bursting out into laughter.
"Haha! Eevee! Looks like you're a dad now!"
She winked playfully at him as she sent the ssage into his mind.
Eevee: "..."
He rolled his eyes hard.
The hell do you an, 'I'm a dad'? I'm still just a kid myself!
Also, was it really okay to just toss that kind of title at soone like that? Just casually call soone your daddy?
And more importantly… wasn't Cynthia casually throwing her "husband" out there a bit too boldly?
---
anwhile, Articuno—the big one—seed a little frozen in place, especially as the little chick toddled up and rubbed its tiny head affectionately against Eevee's leg.
Eevee quickly explained, "I think the little guy's just confused. Since I saved it, it probably sensed my life energy and thought I was... well, you know. Don't take it the wrong way."
Articuno nodded, completely calm about it. "Kuu kuu kuu… Kuu!!" (I get it! I'm not offended! You're our savior. Honestly, if the little one wants to call you its father, I don't mind at all!)
"Uh…"
Eevee was even more speechless now.
So that's how you're playing it, huh, big bird?
I save you and your kid, and now you're trying to rope in as part of the family?
And as if sensing Eevee's awkward gaze, Articuno suddenly flinched and flapped her wings nervously. "Kuuuu!!" (Wait wait, that's not what I ant! Don't get the wrong idea!)
"Yeah yeah, I know…" Eevee said quickly, clearly just as flustered, trying to change the subject.
He looked up toward the icy ceiling above.
"You've probably sensed it too, right? There are people digging their way down. Won't be long before they break through."
"Your baby's still too small. If it cos down to running, there's no way it can keep up or escape with you. Got any plans?"
Red Queen's predictions were spot on. In about two hours, Team Rocket would definitely find this place.
"Kuu… Kuu kuu!" (Not really. But I can tell—you're not an ordinary Eevee. You're special. Can you help us, one more ti? I'll repay you—whatever it takes!)
Articuno's voice carried both desperation and sincerity. She clearly hated and feared those who hurt her and her child, and she was now placing her trust in Eevee.
"Of course! That's why Cynthia and I ca here in the first place."
Eevee nodded confidently. "But in return, I'd like to ask a small favor. I want to analyze your data—yours and the baby's, if that's okay."
"I want to understand the difference between and a true legendary Pokémon like you. I need that info to help break through my own limitations… and maybe one day, beco a legendary myself. Is that alright?"
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