I don't normally write Pokémon or second person stories, but I got hit with the inspiration for this and wanted to write it. It's my theory on how ghost-type eeveelutions come about, and the name for the eeveelution.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon but I do lay claim to the name of the ghost-eeveelution and my theory behind it.
The Ghost of My Friend is Still My Friend
Your legs were burning, pain shooting up your calves with every step you took forward. But you couldn't stop running- you just couldn't. You would have taken your bike, or even your skates, but there was no time for either. Not to mention, there would have been no way to guarantee no more harm would have occurred, and there was no way you were putting her back in her pokéball.
You'd been running the entire way, from the forest, trying to remember in your panic where the closest town with a Pokémon Center was. Tears were burning strong in your eyes and you were having trouble breathing but you could not let that stop you. This pain you were feeling was nothing like… like… you suppressed a sob and pushed your legs harder. God, you were so stupid! You should have stocked up on more medicinal supplies before leaving town. She should have escaped that battle. You should have, you should have, you should have!
"Don't worry," You choked out, looking desperately for a town, or any passing trainer you might be able to bum supplies off of. "Don't worry Evelyn, you'll be just fine." You cradled her closer to your chest, taking relief that your Eevee was still aware enough to give you some sort of response, even if it was weak. This was all your fault! You had completely forgotten that ghost type moves were completely ineffective against normal type Pokémon, you had completely forgotten that Lickitungs were normal types, why had you thought having Evelyn use Shadow Ball was a good idea?
You had only had Evelyn for about two months now, but you and your Eevee were inseparably close. You both had bonded almost the moment you had caught her, and most days you didn't even keep Evelyn in her pokéball. She slept curled next to you, and when people brought up about you evolving her into something "more useful" you always responded that it was up to Evelyn for whether she evolved or not, and what she would evolve into.
Aside from Evelyn, who was a normal type, your Pokémon were mainly psychic types with the Ghastly you and Evelyn had captured last week. It was around the same time that Evelyn had mastered Shadow Ball. But despite that, you were adamant with her that it was her decision what she would evolve into. Regardless that it would be nice to have an Espeon as part of the group, you would be completely happy if Evelyn decided to evolve into an Umbreon or a Flareon, or a different evolution path. You had been content with the idea that Evelyn would be happy.
But now that would never happen. If you didn't hurry, if you didn't make it to the Pokémon Center, there would be no Evelyn deciding her evolution path, if any. There would be no more victorious battles capturing a new friend. There would be no more nights with Evelyn's tail tickling your chin as you both slept. There'd be no shared victories against gym leaders.
There'd be no more of your best friend.
Finally, finally! You see a town coming into sights on your right, and you pick up your pace, keeping your eyes locked for the path that turned off into it. It felt like forever, but you finally came across it. You didn't slow down a bit, barreling down the road leading into the town. Other trainers swept by in slow motion in your peripheral, but you didn't slow down to accept any challenges or to try and bum supplies. The Pokémon center was so close; you couldn't waste any more time getting Evelyn there.
Skidding on the cobblestone streets to a stop for the first time since you started running, you only paused for your lost momentum for a fraction of a second in order to determine which direction the Pokémon center was in, before you mustered the strength to restart running. You were so close! Help for Evelyn was only a short distance away.
You rammed through the doors to the Pokémon center with the same sense of urgency of someone whose Charmander's tail-fire went out, crying out,
"Please, someone help my Eevee!" Before your legs finally went out on you, collapsing you to the floor. You were breathing heavily, doing your best not to break out into tears as you cradled Evelyn close to your chest for what you were deathly afraid was the last time, before one of the nurses and Chansey's at the center coaxed you to let Evelyn go (for the last time, for the last time), rushing her off to somewhere at the back of the center. Another nurse came along, attempting to help you stand before you just collapsed once more. You couldn't stand. You wanted to, you wanted to so much because you wanted to be taken back to Evelyn, you wanted to be with her in case she had her last moments without you- what would you do if she had her last moments without you? -but you couldn't.
The nurse that had come along to help you up had left you, and you were afraid you were going to be left alone in the middle of the Pokémon center, with everyone staring and whispering at you and not helping you, when she came back. There was another Chansey bouncing beside her, pushing along an empty wheel chair.
"Here we go," She said gently, helping you stand briefly, your knees buckling under you once again, before you were sitting on the wheel chair. The nurse smiled.
"Much better than sitting on the floor, isn't it?" You couldn't find the words to respond. You knew you should probably thank the nurse, but your mind, all of your focus was on Evelyn. Your Eevee. What was going to happen to her? Would she be alright?
"Evelyn." Was what finally came out of your mouth. "Can I see Evelyn? Please?" The nurse looked confused, and you worried for a moment that you came off as rude.
"My Eevee," You elaborated for the nurse's sake, breathless and near tears. "Please, I want to see her. Is she going to be okay? Could I at least say goodbye?" You could feel your eyes watering, and the nurse's look switched from confused to realization, and then to a worried look over your words. She looked over to the Chansey who was still behind the wheelchair you were in, and after a short pause you were rolling down the hall of the Pokémon Center.
"Don't worry," The nurse started speaking in a calm voice, walking next to you. "We're doing everything to help your Evelyn, alright? You just need to take a deep breath, and stay strong; can you do that for me?" You nodded, and tried to take a deep breath, and put all your focus on keeping your breathing steady. You did your best, but your thoughts all kept traveling back to the one bad outcome; the what if of Evelyn passing. Evelyn passing without you there.
Your breathing quickened again, and you could feel your chest feeling impossibly tight. The thought of Evelyn passing was too much for you. Sounds filtered past your ears, and you thought one voice might have been the nurse trying to calm you down, and you were doing your best, you really were.
A sweet scent intruded on your senses, and the next breath you took was much easier than the one before. Each breath following it was easier for you to take, and slowly you found yourself calming down and relaxing despite the sense of urgency that still lingered in the back of your mind.
"Are you alright now?" The nurse's face came into view; she was kneeling in front of the wheelchair, with a concerned look covering her features. "You were panicking quite badly, so I apologize but I had Chansey use Aromatherapy on you."
"I'm… okay," You responded after a moment, and relief flickered over the nurse's visage. She stood up, and motioned for the Chansey to continue moving.
"That's good." She nodded, navigating the interior of the center with ease. "You had me worried there. It's clearly obvious that you really care for your Eevee, don't you?" You swallowed hard, but managed to nod.
"Yeah," You fight out over a lump in your throat. "We… We've only been with each other for about two months now, but… we're best friends. Evelyn's the best friend I could ever ask for." You paused, uncertain of what else to say.
"You do seem really close." The nurse smiled, placing a hand on your shoulder. "Don't worry so much. I'm sure your Evelyn will pull through and be just fine." She stopped, followed by the Chansey pushing your wheelchair.
You were in another waiting room, similar to the one out in the front of the center, but this one seemed smaller. There were less chairs, and no one was back here aside from you and the nurse that escorted you back.
"I'm afraid this is as far as I can take you," The nurse apologized. "You'll have to wait here for news on your Eevee. This is where we have trainers in emergency situations wait." She gave you another smile, softer and sadder this time.
"Don't worry," She repeated. "If your Pokémon has the same love for you as you do with her, I am positive that she will pull through."
The Chansey settled you near the television in the waiting room, and then both Pokémon and nurse were gone.
You don't know how long you waited for. It felt like eons, watching the television change through shows, but not taking anything in. You drummed a nervous rhythm on the arm rest of the wheelchair. No news was supposed to be good news, but you couldn't help the nervousness. Evelyn was in there, and you had no way of knowing if she'd be alright or not.
Every time a door opened, your breath hitched, and it took all your concentration to calm yourself.
After what felt like ages, you finally heard the soft pat of shoes on the floor headed in your direction. There as a gentle hand on your shoulder, and you looked to see the nurse's sad face, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry," She said, and you felt your heart drop. "We did everything we could."
"That, that doesn't mean-" You tried to say, but you couldn't find the right words.
"You can still say goodbye," The nurse told you gently, and you could barely manage the nod that it took for her to start wheeling you where they were keeping Evelyn.
She looked so small, lying on the bed. Her ears barely twitched as you entered, and the nurse rolled you up to the side of the bed before exiting quietly, leaving you alone with Evelyn.
"Evelyn…" You gave a breathless sob, hands hovering over her small body, afraid to touch her. "I'm so sorry." Tears started dripping down your cheeks.
"I am so sorry." You cried, gently picking her up, and cradling her close one last time, "This is all my fault. I hope you'll forgive me." You pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.
"You are my best friend Evelyn." Tears were still coming, dropping down onto your Eevee's fur as you gently placed her back down on the bed. You placed a hand on her head, giving her a smile. Evelyn breathed one last wheezy breath, before her eyes slid shut and her chest rose no more.
A sob heaved from your chest once more, and you buried your face in your hands, sobbing opening. Bawling, the only thought that you could remain a hold onto was the idea that this all happened because of you. If you hadn't been so careless, so reckless, so stupid, Evelyn might still be… still be…
Wrapped up in your grief, with your hands darkening your world and hiding your tears, you almost missed the bright light. It was the same, warm, flashing light that signified the evolution of a Pokémon. But that didn't make any sense; the only Pokémon out in this room was Evelyn, and she was… Not only that, but you didn't have anything to meet the normal requirements of one of the evolution paths for Eevees…
"An?" That was the sound of a questioning Pokémon though. There was the pressure of something pushing at your arms, nuzzling at them like knowing something was wrong with you. "Animeon!"
Whatever the Pokémon was, it successfully separated your arms, forcefully pushing itself onto your lap. You had never seen a Pokémon like it before, and you scrabbled for your Pokédex, to try an identify it.
"Animeon?" The purple Pokémon tilted its head to the side as you held the Pokédex in front of you to scan it. Shockingly though, the Pokédex came up with no results.
The Pokémon floated off your lap circling around above the still body of your Evelyn. It made a sad sound, dropping down onto the bed next to the body. Then, all of a sudden, it hit you, hard.
"No… way…" Tears started springing back to your eyes.
"Evelyn?" You asked, and the long ears of the Pokémon perked, its attention turning from the cold body of your Eevee to you. It cocked its head to the side, and you held out a shaking hand.
"Is that you, Evelyn?" Could there possibly be the chance?
"An! Animeon!" The Pokémon chirped, and in swift leap that seemed more of a glide, hopped into your lap. It- no, Evelyn -bumped affectionately against your chin.
"Oh my gosh!" You gasped, hugging her tight against you, before pushing her away in a shocked realization.
"Wait a minute!" You said. "How did this happen?" Evelyn cocked her head to the side before dipping it to lick at her paw. Cleaning behind her ear, she waited not a minute before jumping off your lap, circling you in the air.
"Animeon, an!" She chirped, nuzzling against your cheek affectionately, eliciting a laugh out of you.
"I suppose it doesn't really matter, now does it?" You laughed, holding Evelyn in your arms. "Not as long you and I are still best friends." You hesitated for a moment before asking.
"We… are still friends, aren't we?" There was a pause, sharing a look between you and Evelyn, before her mouth turned upwards in the equivalent of a smile, and she chirped happily,
"An an!" You let out a breath of relief. Pulling out her pokéball, you asked Evelyn,
"Ready to go then?" And, at her nod, you pressed the button on it that took her into the confines of the ball.
"Let's go then." Slipping her pokéball back on your belt, you left to continue on your journey.
After all, it wouldn't be much of a journey without your best friend. And your best friend was still your best friend, no matter what she looked like.
Even if she was a ghost.
-End
There you have it! Just to summarize my theory behind ghost type eeveelutions for everyone:
-You need Max affection (on Pokémon Amie) with your Eevee
-Your Eevee needs to know at least 1 ghost-type move (Shadow Ball in this)
-Unfortunately, your Eevee needs to pass away.
And then my reasoning behind the name of Animeon for the ghost-type eeveelution is because 'anima' in Latin means spirit/soul and then eon is the normal ending for eeveelutions.