"Well... as the saying goes, there's warmth in the world, and journeys are best made with companions. Now it's just us, Pikachu, and our friends in the Pokémon Balls."
"Pika~ Pika~"
Pikachu ran into the bushes.
"What is it, Pikachu?"
Pikachu ran up to a hollow tree, where a Pokémon had been tied up.
"This is an Eevee, but what's it doing here?"
Eevee touched the tag hanging around its neck with a forepaw.
"Let me see... Taichi, E-14, Stone Town."
"Huh? Isn't Taichi the guy from Digimon? Did he switch to training Pokémon?" Xiao Yan suddenly remembered the plot of a cartoon from another world.
Pikachu slapped Xiao Yan twice, telling him to get serious.
"All right, all right! Anyway, let's help find its owner first."
He untied Eevee and let it lie on the hat on his head.
"Let's go, Eevee, Pikachu!"
"We're here. Taichi's house." Xiao Yan and his companions arrived in front of a luxurious villa.
Eevee immediately jumped off Xiao Yan's hat and ran into the courtyard.
"Wait for me! I want to meet this Taichi!"
Xiao Yan followed Eevee inside.
"Looks like there's a party going on here." As soon as Xiao Yan entered the mansion, he forgot all about Eevee and headed to the table in the middle, laden with delicacies, to start eating.
"You there, with the Pikachu on your shoulder."
A voice stopped Xiao Yan.
"What is it?"
"You're the one who brought my little brother's Eevee back, right?"
A red-haired man walked over with a child holding Eevee.
"Could it be? Your little brother is Taichi?!"
(Xiao Yan realized they were just different people with the same name.)
"Yes! Thank you... for bringing Eevee back. Today is actually a big day for my little brother's Eevee."
Two more people came over just then.
"Taichi, have you made up your mind? Jolteon is still the best choice, right?" The yellow-haired man showed Taichi his Jolteon.
"No, no, no... Vaporeon is much more elegant." The blue-haired man showed off his Vaporeon too.
"Taichi, choose the powerful Flareon!" A Flareon appeared behind the red-haired man who had just spoken to Xiao Yan.
"Um..." The little boy named Taichi looked rather overwhelmed.
Just then, Xiao Yan called out his Umbreon beside them. Since Umbreon was black, Xiao Yan's hair was black too.
"Is this Pokémon also one of Eevee's evolutions, the one who brought Eevee back?"
The red-haired man turned his attention to Xiao Yan.
"That's right! Eevee doesn't just evolve into fire, water, and electric types. There are plenty of others. This one evolved with a Moon Stone. It's called Umbreon."
Many of the party guests turned their eyes toward Umbreon. A little embarrassed, Umbreon hid behind Xiao Yan.
"Guys... actually, I..."
As soon as young Taichi spoke, his three older brothers turned to look at him.
"So it's Jolteon after all, right?"
"No! It's my Vaporeon!"
"You're both wrong. It's Flareon. Go on, Taichi, tell us!"
Taichi held the Eevee in his arms more tightly.
"Actually, I don't want Eevee to evolve. I like it just the way it is."
"What did you say?! Pokémon can only get stronger by evolving. Unevolved ones are nothing but weaklings."
Xiao Yan clearly couldn't listen to any more of this.
"You're wrong! A Pokémon's strength has to do with its bond with its trainer!"
"Then let's put that to the test in a battle!" The red-haired man challenged Xiao Yan.
"Fine! I accept!"
"Prove him wrong, Flareon!"
Xiao Yan didn't send out Pikachu or Umbreon to battle. Instead, he grabbed a Pokémon Ball at his hip.
"I'm counting on you, Bagon!"
Once summoned, Bagon danced around happily.
"Looks like it's still a little kid! But we won't hold back. Flareon, Ember!"
Flareon spat a ball of fire at Bagon.
"Bagon, dodge!"
Bagon leaped into the air.
"Now! Flareon, use Flamethrower!"
Flareon used Flamethrower on Bagon as Bagon leaped into the air.
"Bagon, use Headbutt!"
Bagon plunged down from the air, deflecting Flamethrower with Headbutt and successfully slamming into Flareon.
"Flareon!!!"
The red-haired man's Flareon collapsed on the ground, while Xiao Yan's Bagon won the match without a scratch.
"Nicely done, Bagon!" Bagon responded to Xiao Yan's praise with a dance.
"Maybe I was wrong. I was so focused on making my Pokémon evolve that I forgot about our bond."
Holding his exhausted Flareon, the red-haired man walked up to Taichi.
"I'm sorry... Taichi. We kept forcing you to evolve Eevee and ignored how you and Eevee felt."
"It's all right. You were only doing it for my sake."
"Taichi..."
The four brothers embraced.
"All right! It's about time I continued my journey. May our paths cross again."
Xiao Yan turned to leave.
"Wait!"
The red-haired man called out to Xiao Yan.
"Thank you for teaching us all this. If you'd like, pick out a few Evolution Stones from that table and take them with you."
The red-haired man pointed to the mountain of Evolution Stones on the table in the middle of the venue.
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up at the sight.
"Then don't mind if I do!"
Xiao Yan grabbed all kinds of Evolution Stones and stuffed them into his bag. Just then, Umbreon brought him a stone held in its mouth.
"The way this stone looks... could it be?!"
Xiao Yan looked at Umbreon, who seemed very fond of the stone. Then let's take it with us.
Before long, Xiao Yan's backpack was completely stuffed with Evolution Stones.
"Well then, until we meet again!"
Xiao Yan said goodbye to the four Eevee brothers and continued on his journey.
Before you continue