Night and Day

Chapter 7: Eclipse

Note: This chapter contains explicit sexual material.

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Present

"They call themselves Team Eclipse," Tabitha said, wiping one of the last tables in the pokeinn. Chance had become fast friends with her after helping to remove a drunk patron from the common room. He had taken a room for the night—all pokeinns were supported by the government of the Evos region for wary travelers. He hoped the inn was far, far away from Tyler. He still seethed with frustration after what happened at the haunted mansion.

"And they're stealing Gems?" Chance asked.

Tabitha looked at her rattata, who sat in a stupor on the table, having had a sip of Tabitha's unusually strong lager. She rubbed his belly, to which he hiccupped loudly.

"Aye, that they are," she said. Her red hair blazed in the flickering fire of the lounge. This inn, apparently, liked the older aesthetic. "They probably want to—"

Thunder roared in the distance, cutting her off, and the door slammed open. Lightning flashed, illuminating—to Chance's surprise—Tyler. His face looked terrified, eyes wide, mouth open. His poncho was entirely soaked, his brown hair matted down. In his arms, he carried a black bundle.

No, not a black bundle—Umbreon, wounded.

"Help," Tyler whispered, the words almost lost to the howling wind.

Chance jumped up from his chair, any thought from their last fight fleeing his mind. He walked over to Tyler whose eyes were darting everywhere. His breath came in ragged, sharp gasps. Panicking, Chance realized. Tyler was having a panic attack.

Umbreon moaned as Chance took him without a word from Tyler, offering just a warm smile, as he always did when Tyler was panicking. Tyler didn't seem to notice, his eyes so hollow that Chance could almost see through them. Umbreon was cold to the touch, as though he had been in a harsh battle with an ice-type pokemon.

Blissey, who had been serving drinks to Tabitha's clientele, opened her arms and took Umbreon from Chance. Cooing softly, she took him into a side room, out of which a chansey and happiny followed her. All three had been working the inn, since pokecenters were only in the large cities in the Evos region. Pokeinns served as pokecenters and pokemarts out in the wilds of the Evos region, providing a place to rest. The Evos region was known for its large swaths of trees, uncharted mountains, and lack of tourists, being so far away from any other region and difficult to get to.

"Blissey is a good healer," Tabitha assured Chance. "We'll take good care of Umbreon."

Chance smiled appreciatively, but his focus was entirely on Tyler now that Umbreon was taken care of. Tyler sat on a wooden chair, his face in his hands. His clothes dripped onto the floor. Chance guessed that not only had he been in a battle gone bad, but afterward, he had been caught in the torrential rain. The area they were in—east of the haunted mansion gym and near the ocean—was called the Gale of Storms for a good reason.

Tyler looked at the floor with deep, sunken eyes. He shivered violently, the sound of his teeth chattering filling the pokeinn.

"We need to get you out of those clothes," Chance said.

"I have some spare clothes in the backroom," Tabitha offered.

"Come on." Chance gripped Tyler's arm and pulled him to his feet. Tyler didn't object, just mumbled what sounded like gratitude but was basically nonsense.

As Tabitha walked to the backroom, Chance called out, "I'm taking him to my room. A warm bath should help." Tabitha waved as she opened the door to the back, acknowledging his words.