"He's mine to play with!" one boy shouted.

"No, he's mine!" another one did.

Hey… My name's-ow…-Jake. I'm an-ouch-I'm an Eevee. And right now, I'm getting pulled in half.

"Let go! I'm playing with him now!"

"No, I am!"

Yea… these two kids are just some of the seven I live with… Yea, that's right. Seven. Each one is different in some way. They never can all agree on one thing. Food, games, tv shows-whatever. They can never agree on something. They all think that everything they own or like is the best… and when it comes to me, it's no exception.

Each one of them has a different toy or game they play with me. Normally, everyone else is already doing something different, leaving only one to play with me. I guess you could say I like the diversity each one brings when we play, but when two or more want to play… it ends up a game of tug-o-war with me as the rope…

"Let go!"

"No! You let go!"

They just keep pulling on me harder and harder. Thank Mew they're all fairly young; otherwise, it'd be likely for me to actually be pulled in half. One of the boys is holding onto my two front paws, while the other has the back two. I'm getting jerked around in mid-air, just hoping these two eventually stopped or their parents save me.

"What's going on in here?" I heard a voice from afar say. Both boys instantly let me go, letting me unceremoniously drop to the floor. I quickly got onto my feet; although my legs still hurt I still managed to run behind the figure of authority to the two unruly children, their mother. "You two were fighting over Jake again, weren't you?"

"I wanted to play with him first," the one on the left said.

"No, I was!" the other shouted quickly afterwards.

"Enough!" their mom yelled. Both boys quickly quieted and look down at the ground, waiting for the scolding they'd normally get whenever they played tug-o-war with me as the rope. "You two-and all of you kids-need to learn to share what you have. I've told you this so many times before; why is it so hard to understand?"

None of them agree on anything. That's pretty much the only explanation there is. I just wish that, on some days, every one of them could play the same game with me. That'd just be the greatest day of my life when that happens. But with how these kids act… it's just not very likely…

"If you kids don't get your act together and keep treating Jake like a toy instead of a pet, he might consider running away from you all. Do you want that?" she said with a stern look on her face. She did have a point, even if her thoughts were hypothetical or not. If I keep getting hurt like that, I may end up running away.

Both boys quickly shook their heads in response to their mother's question. None of the seven kids would like it if I left, but that may be the case if things don't change.

"Well, as punishment, neither of you will be allowed to play with Jake today," their mother said. "Now, go and do something else." She returned back into the kitchen to finish their dinner. I looked back at the two boys. Each sported looks of sadness on their faces, but that wasn't all that fair, really. They're sad, but here I am in a bout of pain from these two. They seemed sadder that they couldn't play with me instead of the fact that they hurt me.

As the two walked away, taking separate paths, of course, I decided to stay away from all the kids for the moment. My paws and legs were just plain sore. I really didn't feel like playing anything at the moment.

I limped a little bit into the kitchen where their mother returned to moments later. She was busy stirring up something in a pot as I limped over to her side. She instantly took notice of me and my limp. "Hey there, boy, did those two hurt you?" I nodded my head, but she seemed to already know the answer. "I'm sorry about what those kids do to you. I just wish that they could get along." You and me both… "There's something that hasn't been said to you, too. They've all been asking if we could evolve you," she stated. "Just our luck that you can evolve into seven different forms, huh?"

Evolving me? That last part she said probably meant that they were keeping strong to their tendency to not agree on anything; each one wanted me to evolve into a different form. However, I don't even want to evolve! I've seen every form I can evolve into, and I just don't like any of them. I just want to stay the Eevee that I am. If it's not the kids that make me run away, it's going to be evolution. I only hope I can somehow show that I don't want to evolve.

"Well, we'll get you your dinner when this is done, ok, Jake?" she told me. I just nodded my head. Food was always good, but right now, I need to lie down. I can't stay standing for much longer; my paws are about to give out. I just walked out of the kitchen and moved towards the stairs near the door.

It hurt going up them, but my nice and comfy bed was at the top. After hopping up the sixteen steps, I walked into the parents' bedroom. At the foot of their bed was mine. Such a simple bed, but with the pillow they set in it, it just feels so comfy… Stepping on it just felt so good for my paws. I just plopped down into it and decided to get some sleep.

"Jaker? Wake up, buddy," someone said. I slowly opened my eyes to see the father of the kids. Should've figured, though; he's the only one who calls me 'Jaker.' "Time for dinner, buddy." I nodded my head. I wonder exactly how long I was asleep. I definitely needed that nap, though; my paws feel so much better now.

I ran in between the father's legs as we exited their bedroom. I quickly ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. No one was at the table and there were dishes on the counter. I must've slept right though their dinner. Oh well, I didn't really have to eat with them, anyway.

"Here you are, Jake," the mom said. She placed a bowl filled with Pokémon food next to my water bowl. I wasted no time in nibbling at my food. They had me on a feeding schedule, so I really only got fed twice a day, plus a few treats now and then. Took me a while to get used to, but I'm pretty good about it now.

It took me about ten minutes to eat my dinner. They always kept my water dish full, and it was about half full when I was done. It was pretty late now; all the kids must've had homework they were doing now. I believed it was safe to roam the house without getting mauled again.

Just as expected, all the kids were nowhere to be found. All the lights were on upstairs, too, which meant that they did have homework. The parents were each doing their own thing, too-dad at the tv and mom cleaning the kitchen.

There were barely any lights on in the house. Outside was pitch-black, too. It was just another dark, end of winter day. Spring was next month, so the weather would be warming up soon. I never liked the warm seasons. Autumn was always my favorite-not too warm but also not as cold as winter gets.

It was pretty warm inside the house, so I figured I'd cool off outside. It may be night, but there's no snow blowing out tonight nor is there much in our yard. It's all in the seven different snowmen in the yard…

I sat next to the door and waited for either of them to get the message. "Ya need out, Jaker?" Huh, wasn't expecting them to notice that fast. "You always seem to want out when it gets too warm in here. I'll join ya for a bit." He got up from the couch and walked to the front hall. He threw on his shoes and a jacket and went back to the back door. He unlocked it and slid it open, letting a nice, cool breeze blow inside. I quickly ran out the door as he followed up behind me.

Although it technically was still winter, there weren't any clouds in the sky. The moon was just a bit of a crescent. It barely lit anything up, but the backyard lights did. There were only a few patches of snow left and the seven snowmen. Each one was decorated differently… They never can have anything the same…

"Hey, Jaker, I don't know if you've been told already, but there's been plans to evolve you," the dad told me suddenly. Of course, I already knew, and I still didn't have a plan to tell them I didn't want to evolve. "The decision's going to be made tomorrow. You'll be evolved the day after. Are you excited any?"

Excited? Far from it! I don't want to evolve! I barked out a few times in protest, but he couldn't understand if I was angry or happy. "Well, you'll just have to wait and see what you'll evolve into. I'm going to go back inside; come to the door when you want back in," he told me before walking back inside, leaving me out.

They never once thought to ask me if I wanted to evolve. They seem to care more for pleasing one of their kids rather than me… Maybe the time is now. Maybe I should do the one thing that would ensure me keeping my Eevee form: run away. I just ate, so I'd be able to last for quite a while. It's time. I don't want to evolve and there's no way I'm gonna.

The only thing left to do was to actually get out of the backyard. They always kept both side gates closed, plus the back one. There's no way I could jump over any of them… but what about under? The ground was pretty soft by the back gate; it wouldn't take much to make a hole I could fit under.

That's the plan. I ran to the back gate, and sure enough, the ground felt very soft under my paws. I took a quick look back to make sure they didn't see me do this. No one was at the door or in the windows; I was safe for now. I began digging furiously under the gate. The soft ground made this task pretty easy, but there was still a lot of dirt to move.

It took me about five minutes to make a decent sized hole big enough for me to fit through. I slowly squeezed my head under first, it making it to the other side fairly easy. The rest of my body soon followed, and I was outside the backyard, free. A small part of me was a bit sad at leaving, but the fact that they're going to evolve me without asking me first is just inconsiderate. I'm going to have to look out for myself from now on. I ran down the alley towards the main city. I wasn't sure where I'd go, but I'd manage.

Man, I never realized how big Goldenrod City is or how dirty it is in some parts. I've been taken on walks around our street but never over to here. All the houses looked completely desolate. Surprisingly enough, I even saw some other Pokémon occupying some of the houses. I went up to one that I saw housed some Pokémon of different species. "Hello," I said, not really knowing what else to say.

However, they really didn't react well to me. "Get out of here! We don't need anyone else cramming up this place!" one of them yelled. From the window, a burst of fire shot out towards me. I quickly just ran away but not before the tip of my tail got burned.

I turned a corner and stopped to catch my breath. "Man, what was that all about?" I continued walking down this road that had even more desolate houses. It's like this entire portion of the city is just void of any humans. It's kinda creepy…

All the houses I saw contained the same scene: multiple different Pokémon occupying them. Each one seemed to have someone always watching out the window. With how I was treated at the last house, I didn't even bother to stop at any of them. I just continued walking down the street.

It wasn't long before I came upon a completely empty house. No one was poking their head through the window or even outside. I poked my head into the window to confirm it was completely empty.

I settled into the house quickly. It wasn't as big or clean as my old one, but it did have some comfortable accommodations still in it. I settled down on a small blanket and managed to fall asleep again.

I really don't know how long I was asleep for, but it probably wasn't very long. I was abruptly woken up from my sleep by a painful jolt of electricity. I focused in the dark to see a Pokémon I never really expected to see, a Raichu along with some Pikachu and Pichu, and they all seemed pissed. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing in our house?"

"I thought it was empty," I replied. I was quickly hit with another jolt of electricity. These guys were not very friendly.

"This is our house. We don't take well to squatters around here," the Raichu told me. "There's a big punishment for doing so." Every one of the Pokemon there, except for the Pichu, gathered around me. One from behind me jumped onto my back, and the rest quickly followed afterward.

I couldn't move under the weight of all the Pokémon. "Now we're going to show you what we do to Pokémon who try to steal our home," the Raichu said threateningly.

"Please, don't!" I cried out. "I didn't know this was already taken!"

"Too late," is all he said. A swift kick to my face started it off. A few of the Pikachu held onto my legs as the rest just kicked and punched at my body. Whatever pain I endured from those kids… those injuries were nothing. This was pure hell. These Pokémon were ruthless in their assault. The only plus side is that none of them were using any electricity.

The Raichu, who I only assumed is their leader, just stood back and laughed as all his buddies beat me up. "Ok, stop. Let's see if he's learned his lesson." The Pikachu thankfully obeyed, but not before one last kick to my gut. I felt blood flowing down my nose and from out my mouth. My whole body was in pain, but I at least didn't feel anything broken.

He came up to me and knelt down right next to my face. He grabbed the top of my head and lifted it up. "So, have we learned our lesson yet?" he asked me, his face mere inches from mine. All I could muster was a short nod. "Then beat it." All the Pikachu got off me only to have the Raichu lift my entire body up and toss it outside.

I willed myself through the pain to stand. I just needed to get away from here as fast as possible. I somehow managed to get up and just ran. I didn't care where to. I just needed to get away. I eventually just stopped in an alley completely void of anything; at least, I hoped it was void…

There was an empty cardboard box lying against the side of the wall. I quickly overturned it and set myself in it. I was still bleeding, but I didn't care about that. The only thing on my mind now was how stupid I was at even thinking of running away. Even keeping my Eevee form wasn't worth this.

My body wasn't strong enough to stay active for much longer. I just drifted into a pain induced sleep moments later.

Morning came. My body felt completely sore from the bashing I took last night. My belly ached with hunger. It was normally this time when I was given my first bowl of food. Just the thought of it made my stomach groan out. I somehow mustered the strength to get onto my feet and out of the box I took shelter in. The whole place still looked like it did last night, desolate. Good thing, though; the last thing I need is getting into another fight.

I stayed in the shadows as I retraced my steps. I especially made sure not to be seen in front of the house all the Pichu, Pikachu, and the Raichu stayed in. I also dodged the house where I nearly got my tail burned off. Nothing about this place was inviting; I just wanted to go back home…

It took me about thirty minutes at full strength to get to that area last night, but to get back home, it took almost an hour. The hole I made under the fence had been filled up, which meant they knew I left. I didn't have the energy to dig again, so I just circled around the block and stood at the front door. I wasn't able to open the door, nor could I ring the doorbell. Any attempt at barking just failed. All that was left was to scratch at the door and hope they heard.

A moment later and the door opened. It was the mother, all dressed in winter wear. I could only assume it was to search for me. "Hel-Jake! Jake, you're back!" She picked up my battered body and took me inside. The first thing she did was to take me upstairs to the bathroom. I was placed in the tub, and the water was turned on. She started washing all of my blood off my fur.

The warm water felt so good. It cleaned my fur and soothed my body. It was completely stupid of me to even think about running away. Oh well, it's too late now to take that decision back.

The mom just kept washing me off. "Where'd you go last night? When we saw that hole you dug, we were extremely worried for you," she said. All that she said apparently attracted the attention of everyone else in the house. All seven of the kids were inside the bathroom, each looking over the edge of the tub at me.

"Mommy, why did Jake run away?" one of them asked.

"I think I know why," I heard the dad say. He was standing in the doorway to the bathroom. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a green stone with a lightning bolt on it, a Thunder Stone. As he walked towards me with it, I just moved as quickly as I could away from the object. He stopped his advance and put the stone back in his pocket.

"When'd you get that Thunder Stone?" the mom asked.

"It wasn't real; it was just a fake one I put together quickly, but did you see how Jake reacted to it? I think I misunderstood him last night. He doesn't want to evolve into anything."

Hearing those words, an enormous wave of relief washed over me like the water was. At last, my wish of them finally knowing that I didn't want to evolve finally came true. I gave a quick little bark and a smile to confirm that's what I wanted.

"See? He doesn't want to evolve."

I knew the mom would understand instantly, but each kid would still protest.

And one did. "But-"

"Let me stop you there," the dad cut in. "All of you need to learn to think of others instead of only yourself. Jake ran away because of each of you wanting to evolve him. Also, you guys do share one thing in common. You all care for Jake, and you should move the care you share for him over to each other."

Each kid looked at each other, then at me. Smiles were planted across each of their faces. I guess their father's words did get through.

The water was turned off as I was completely cleaned. My body still hurt a bit though, but I'd be fine after some food and more sleep. The mom picked me up and walked out of the bathroom, a line of kids following her. She entered the kitchen and set a bowl of food down on the ground. It was like she could read my mind or something.

"Leave him to eat and rest for a bit," she said. "He'll be able to play with you all later."

"Ok!" all seven of them said in unison. It seemed like them losing the one thing they must've cared so much about, me, caused something to change in them all. I didn't put too much thought to it, though. Food and rest were the main things on my mind. I quickly downed my breakfast and, with the help of the seven kids, made my way to my bed. It felt so much better than that box…

After a day of taking it easy, I finally felt like my old self again. My body didn't hurt anymore, and I was able to do everything normally again. There was one little difference, though… "Ok, is everyone ready?" All seven kids nodded their heads. "Ok, c'mon Jake. Let's play!"

All of the family, the mom, dad, and the seven kids, were all outside playing with me. The best thing was that none of them were fighting amongst themselves as to who'd play with me. I played with them all at the same time, and they all enjoyed-for the first time I've seen-the same thing. This was the best day of my life.