Chapter 1: The Evolution Stand
The very first thing I heard on that particular morning was a scream of ecstatic joy. After opening my small Eevee eyes I saw exactly what I had been expecting. My sister – or one of them, I should say – was running around the hole we called home, laughing like mad.
I giggled softly. Standard Niss behavior.
Our five other siblings didn't look so amused. They rubbed their eyes and mumbled sleepily. All five of us, as you would expect, were Eevee.
Our mother walked in from her side of the hole.
"Niss, would you please keep it down?" She yawned, scratching one of her orange Flareon ears.
Our Vaporeon father walked in behind her and laughed. "Oh, she's probably just excited. It's not every day that a young Eevee gets to evolve!"
The Evolution Stand. How could I have forgotten? I stood up and yawned softly. Niss started jumping around even more.
"Can we go now", she begged. "Please?"
"It's so early", Mom said, yawning.
"Oh, come on", Dad said with a chuckle. "Why not?"
All seven of us, our tiredness forgotten, raced out of the hole. I scrambled out to find myself standing in soft dew covered grass. The morning sun shone on our brown fur as we eagerly awaited what very well might change our lives.
Well, it certainly did. Just not in the way we expected.
A few seconds later, our parents emerged from the hole.
Dad clapped his blue paws together. "Well, let's get going!"
We all cheered and started off with the sun on our backs.
We were a very tight-knit family. Even though there were so many of us we all felt like one. We never fought and sibling rivalry was like a myth.
All of us lived far away from humans. None of us had even seen a real life human before.
We lived in the unexplored outer regions of Kanto. Here it was custom for an Eevee to go to The Evolution Stand exactly one week after his or her birthday.
Well, this happened to be that day.
As odd as it may seem, I never really gave life much deep thought. I always considered life to be one big playground. My siblings and I would spend our days running around the beautiful fields and playing with one another.
As our family walked the long way it took to get to The Evolution Stand, I thought evolution was going to be another fun thing. Of course we'd be different, but we'd still live happily together forever.
I don't think I've ever been so wrong before in my life.
Finally, Dad pointed to a shack in the distance and said "There!"
All seven of us Eevee looked in the direction he was pointing.
"That's it?" I swung my tail doubtfully. "It doesn't look like much to me."
"Yes, Free, that's it", Mom said. "Just wait."
All of us walked up to it. It was small, old looking, and covered with gaudy yellow paint. Dad walked up to the door and knocked on it softly.
No answer
Every Eevee looked disappointed but Niss, who was still jumping around in the way only she could.
However, the ugly yellow door eventually swung open. A large orange Electric-Type rodent – a Raichu – stood in the doorway and smiled.
"Why, what a nice bunch we have here now! Come in! Please come in! There's no reason to be shy!"
Our parents and the Raichu disappeared into the shack. The rest of us followed hesitantly.
The shack was small and dark except for a few small candles on the floor.
The Raichu picked up a torch and handed it to Mom. "If you don't mind…"
Mom smiled and blasted a few weak flames onto the torch, which caught fire instantly.
The Raichu took the torch back. "It's always nice to have a Fire-Type around", he said with a wink. "You can call me Joe, by the way. This place isn't really a stand, but oh well."
Joe pulled out a long, skinny box and clicked it open. Inside were all the evolution stones and four more that I've never seen before.
"These are the everlasting element stones", Joe explained. "They are the only ones in existence. Please, choose your evolution."
Niss stepped up first. "Me! Me! Oh, please pick me!"
Joe nodded and held the box out to her.
"Well", Niss said, "I want to be an Umbreon."
All of us Eevee looked at each other in disbelief. An Umbreon? Her?
"Well", Joe said, "I'd say you look more like an Espeon to me… oh well, it's your choice. Take the black stone."
Niss excitedly scooped up a stone that was as black as night. The only thing on the stone that wasn't black was a yellow crescent moon shape.
Suddenly, Niss became engulfed in a strange white glow. The glow became bigger until it finally faded away. In her place was a black dog-like creature with yellow rings. She blinked and smiled. "Yes! Yes," she yelled, jumping around frantically. "I'm an Umbreon!"
I decided to go last. I waited as all of my other siblings stepped up, grabbed a stone, and evolved.
There was indeed something strange about the place in which we lived. Usually female Eevee were very rare and hard to come by. Gender ratios were 50/50 here. Eevee and the eons were only found wild here. The only Eevee found in human inhabited areas were ones that wanted trainers. They usually put themselves into empty Pokeballs left in random places such as mansions.
There were also rumors and legends flying about concerning the everlasting stones. I remembered a tale I heard when I was little that I never believed a word of. Supposedly some Umbreon had magical powers or something… it was hard to remember after so long…
"Free, you're up next."
I snapped back to reality. It's not like any Pokemon could have "magical" powers. We had powers certain humans regarded as magic, but they really weren't. I stepped up to the box. Then I realized that I had absolutely no idea which evolution to pick. I stood there stupidly for a few seconds.
Then I remembered something.
When I was only five, I wandered too deep into a forest alone. A group of wild Victreebel trapped me and intended to turn me into a meal. I still remember vividly that vine wrapped around me so tight that I could scarcely breathe, and then being pulled into that ugly gaping mouth…
Then she came.
A beautiful young Espeon had come and rescued me.
I always admired the beauty and grace of the sun Pokemon. And now that elegance would be mine.
I grabbed a light purple stone in my brown Eevee paws.
Suddenly, I was blinded by a white light. I dropped the stone. I heard it fall into the box, but all I could see was light.
I suddenly started to grow bigger and longer. My fluffy tail grew long and slim and split at the tip. Something was wrong, though, and I could feel it.
The glow faded, and everything around me returned to normal.
I glanced down at my paws. They were no longer brown, they were purple.
I looked around at my siblings and realized all seven of us were a different eon.
Reaching up with my paw, I felt around for the red jewel that was usually on the forehead of Espeon.
It wasn't there.
I realized that I had retractable claws.
The big gobs of fur under my ears were shorter and messier than they should've been.
Joe looked at me solemnly. "I was afraid of this…"
"What does it mean," asked Mom in a worried voice.
"I'm not sure… I knew she should've been an Umbreon. Without the jewel, she can't absorb energy from the sun."
"It's alright", I said. "I don't mind."
Joe's happy expression returned. "Okay then. It's name changing time!"
After an Eevee evolves, he or she changes his or her name in accordance to her new form. All of us combined our old names with our new species. Niss became Umbreoniss, and I became Espeonfree.
Joe clapped his paws together and smiled. "Off you go, then! Enjoy your new forms!"
All of us waved goodbye and walked outside. The yellow door shut behind us.
Suddenly, we heard laughter.
Human laughter.
