How often is it that one sees a wild Eevee wandering around in the middle
of nowhere? Exactly. The odds are about a trillion to one. But that's
exactly what I'm seeing right now. Of course, last summer I didn't even
know what an Eevee was.
By this point Shadow's gone to inspect our little newcomer. And who's Shadow? Well, might as well start from the beginning.
I was on my grandpa's farm, helping take care of the Milktank, the Mareep, the Ponyta and Rapidash, and the few Tauros my grandparents had. I was just walking over to the house to get a drink of lemonade before checking on the Milktank when I saw it come out of the trees.
The creature looked pretty bad, like it had been beaten and mistreated every day of its life. I figured some irresponsible trainer had abandoned it. As soon as it spotted me it screamed at ran back to the protection of the trees.
I laughed a bit, I'm sure, then crouched down and held out my hand.
"Come here, little guy," I crooned, letting it see that I had no weapons or harmful items or anything like that. Slowly, very slowly, the Pokémon crept out of the woods toward my outstretched hand. After what seemed like an hour to an impatient nine-year-old like me, the little fox was close enough to sniff my hand. As soon as it caught the scent of human on my hand it screamed and ran.
Well, I had no clue what was wrong with the little creature, so I just went in. As I closed the screen door I saw that the Pokémon was hiding by the steps, trying to stay out of my line of vision. I laughed out loud and the little head immediately disappeared. As I started to turn away, I saw two brown ears and a pair of sable eyes watching me. Laughing to myself I walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Gramma, what has pointy ears, black eyes, a brown coat, a fluffy tail with a white tip, little stubby legs, and a fluffy white crest?" I asked my grandma. She was fixing lunch at the time.
"Hmmm…" she thought about my question for a moment. "I give up, Mike, what is it?" she asked, laughing good-naturedly.
"I don't have a clue," I admitted. "I was hoping you'd know."
"Well, by the sounds of it I'd say it was an Eevee," she told me.
"An Eevee? Never heard of it."
"Well, that's probably because it's such a rare Pokémon. Very few trainers have them, but they're quite powerful once they evolve. Let's see…last time I checked there were five evolutions…Flareon, the fire type…Vaporeon, the water type…Jolteon, the electric type…Espeon, the psychic type…and Umbreon, the dark type."
"Have you ever seen any around here?"
"Hell, no! Those little critters are so rare! You couldn't just see them wandering around anywhere!"
"Oh," I said, quickly debating whether or not I should tell her about the Eevee or not. I chose not to. "Well, what's for lunch?" I asked.
"Well, I fixed up some roast beef sandwiches, and I thought you might like a bit of lemonade," she replied, handing me a glass of lemonade and a sandwich. "So, do you want to eat it outside or in here?"
"I'll take it outside, if you don't mind," I told her. She nodded, then turned and started fixing sandwiches for Grampa. I opened the screen door again and watched the Eevee dart under the steps.
I slowly walked down and sat on the last step. Taking a bit of roast beef out of the sandwich, I held it next to the step. As I took a big bite out of the bread I felt the bit of meat slip out of my fingers. I took a bit more out, this time holding it farther from the steps. Again I felt it taken from my hand. Little by little I drew the Eevee out of its hiding place until it was sitting right in front of me, watching and waiting for more.
I chuckled as I took a bit more beef out of the bread, holding it out for the creature. It eagerly snapped it out of my hand as I ate the last of the sandwich.
"Well, Eevee, that's it," I said, gulping down the last of my lemonade and standing up. The creature's ears drooped as I started to walk away. I looked back once or twice, and I always saw the little thing following me.
"Jeez, you're like my shadow!" I laughed, stopping. The Eevee stopped at my heel, looking up at me like I was supposed to be its trainer.
That last part sank in about ten seconds later.
"Huh? You think I'M your TRAINER!?" I almost shouted. The little Pokémon cowered slightly. I sighed and crouched down, patting the creature's head.
"Hey, I can't be your trainer. I don't have any experience in Pokémon training, and the only thing I'm really good at is helping around the farm…"
Suddenly I saw a movement from the trees. The Eevee screeched and jumped into my arms. I looked back at what had scared it so badly. I was staring down at one of the strangest Pokémon I had ever seen. It was black with two ears, one with pinkish feathers, the other without. It had big claws on its hands and smaller ones on its feet.
I knew instantly that it was a dark type. I just didn't know which one. I knew I'd seen it somewhere before, maybe in one of my Pokémon textbooks. Then it hit me.
"It's a Sneasel!" I exclaimed. I felt the Eevee shuddering in my arms. I looked down and saw that it was about three times smaller than when I had first found it, crunched into a little ball.
"So that's where my Eevee got to!" a voice exclaimed. I looked up at the trees again and saw a trainer come out. He was about a foot taller than me, maybe two years older. He had six Pokéballs at his waist, meaning he was training his team, as far as I knew. He had deep green hair and eyes of the same color, with a light scar running down his left cheek.
"Thanks for finding my Eevee. I owe ya one," he said. The Eevee's ears perked up at the sound of his voice, and it picked its head up to stare at the boy. "Okay, c'mon now." He reached out to take the fox-like creature from me.
The Eevee suddenly snarled and snapped at his hand. The trainer jumped back, startled. Now the creature took to offensive mode. It jumped from my arms and ran forward, snapping at the other boy's heels.
"Sneasel, now!" he shouted. The dark Pokémon leapt forward and grabbed the Eevee. And if I hadn't known better, I would say that Eevee was expecting it. The hairs on its tail became iron bristles as it lashed out at the creature holding it. The Sneasel screamed and jumped back, releasing the fox, which came running back to me.
"Eevee, return!" the other boy shouted, pointing a red and white ball at the Pokémon in front of me. The Eevee jumped back, avoiding the red beam that came shooting out of the ball.
"C'mon, Shadow!" I yelled, turning back toward the house. The Eevee's ears pricked up as I called it, then it cried out joyfully and followed me.
And I learned something interesting that day. Eevees don't run. They bounce. When I looked back to make sure my Shadow was there, I saw it bouncing about three feet in the air as it kept with me.
"GRAMMA!!!" I shouted, pounding up the steps. I threw the door open, watching as Shadow pulled in front of me. Before the screen had hit the frame again, the main door was closed and locked.
"Whew, that was a close one," I said to Shadow. It hopped into my lap, cooing softly.
"What's wrong, Mike!?" Gramma asked, coming out of the kitchen. I saw Grampa behind her. Both stopped dead when they saw Shadow.
"Hey, its trainer was abusing it, so I'm helping it out," I said.
"Abusive trainer, eh?" Gramma said, a strange look in her eye. I'll take care of him." With that she went to the desk by the door, pulled open one of the drawers, and pulled out a belt with six Pokéballs on it. "Okay, then, guys, we have work to do," she whispered to the balls. She strapped on the belt and unlocked the door. I had to stand up fast to avoid being pushed along the floor by her opening it.
Grampa and I watched as she walked out to greet the trainer. Shadow followed cautiously, so I picked it up and walked toward them.
"Hey, that's my Eevee!" the trainer exclaimed.
"And by the looks of it, you don't deserve the little thing!" Gramma said.
Ouch, that's gotta sting! I said to myself.
"Who asked you, lady?" the trainer sneered.
"If you want that Eevee, you'll have to battle for it," she said. I had never seen her like that before. I hadn't even known she was a qualified trainer! But she picked up a ball and threw it between them. Out popped major league Nidoqueen.
"I'd be taking notes if I were you, Mike!" she called back to me. The other trainer had sent his Sneasel out.
"Nida, Dynamic Punch!" Gramma shouted. The Nidoqueen's fist blazed as she raced forward. I had never expected to see a Nidoqueen go that fast. Neither had the other trainer or his Pokémon. His Sneasel was knocked out with one hit.
"Note to self: Dynamic Punch rocks," I said to myself. Shadow nodded. As the opponent pulled back his Sneasel, he grabbed a second ball.
"Go, Houndoom!" he shouted. A devilish dog appeared before Nida. "Flamethrower!" he instructed.
"Dodge," she commanded calmly. Nida sidestepped the blast of fire. "Now Earthquake!" Nidoqueen pounded the ground with her feet. The house shook. And the guy's Houndoom fell for a second knock out.
"Second note to self: Earthquake rocks," I muttered. Shadow nodded as another ball was selected. Nida used the Surf on the Houndour that followed, and Thunderpunch on the Murkrow after that. The Tyranitar was finished with another Dynamic Punch.
"There's no way you could have beaten my team!" he shouted.
"Hey, I trained my Pokémon RIGHT!!" Gramma exclaims. "Now, get out before I use Nida to chase you off!" The trainer, glared at Shadow for a moment, then walked off.
"Grampa, did you know Gramma was a trainer?" I asked.
"Nope," he replied. Shadow chuckled like only an Eevee can.
Gramma didn't help me train Shadow. I wanted to do it myself. And I think he'll be ready to evolve pretty soon! His coat is all shiny and smooth, and his eyes are bright and lively. And if I can enlist this Eevee, maybe I'll have a partner for him!
Shadow is sniffing the Eevee's nose, and the other one is sniffing his. Then they start rubbing their heads together…oh, boy.
It's a girl.
By this point Shadow's gone to inspect our little newcomer. And who's Shadow? Well, might as well start from the beginning.
I was on my grandpa's farm, helping take care of the Milktank, the Mareep, the Ponyta and Rapidash, and the few Tauros my grandparents had. I was just walking over to the house to get a drink of lemonade before checking on the Milktank when I saw it come out of the trees.
The creature looked pretty bad, like it had been beaten and mistreated every day of its life. I figured some irresponsible trainer had abandoned it. As soon as it spotted me it screamed at ran back to the protection of the trees.
I laughed a bit, I'm sure, then crouched down and held out my hand.
"Come here, little guy," I crooned, letting it see that I had no weapons or harmful items or anything like that. Slowly, very slowly, the Pokémon crept out of the woods toward my outstretched hand. After what seemed like an hour to an impatient nine-year-old like me, the little fox was close enough to sniff my hand. As soon as it caught the scent of human on my hand it screamed and ran.
Well, I had no clue what was wrong with the little creature, so I just went in. As I closed the screen door I saw that the Pokémon was hiding by the steps, trying to stay out of my line of vision. I laughed out loud and the little head immediately disappeared. As I started to turn away, I saw two brown ears and a pair of sable eyes watching me. Laughing to myself I walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Gramma, what has pointy ears, black eyes, a brown coat, a fluffy tail with a white tip, little stubby legs, and a fluffy white crest?" I asked my grandma. She was fixing lunch at the time.
"Hmmm…" she thought about my question for a moment. "I give up, Mike, what is it?" she asked, laughing good-naturedly.
"I don't have a clue," I admitted. "I was hoping you'd know."
"Well, by the sounds of it I'd say it was an Eevee," she told me.
"An Eevee? Never heard of it."
"Well, that's probably because it's such a rare Pokémon. Very few trainers have them, but they're quite powerful once they evolve. Let's see…last time I checked there were five evolutions…Flareon, the fire type…Vaporeon, the water type…Jolteon, the electric type…Espeon, the psychic type…and Umbreon, the dark type."
"Have you ever seen any around here?"
"Hell, no! Those little critters are so rare! You couldn't just see them wandering around anywhere!"
"Oh," I said, quickly debating whether or not I should tell her about the Eevee or not. I chose not to. "Well, what's for lunch?" I asked.
"Well, I fixed up some roast beef sandwiches, and I thought you might like a bit of lemonade," she replied, handing me a glass of lemonade and a sandwich. "So, do you want to eat it outside or in here?"
"I'll take it outside, if you don't mind," I told her. She nodded, then turned and started fixing sandwiches for Grampa. I opened the screen door again and watched the Eevee dart under the steps.
I slowly walked down and sat on the last step. Taking a bit of roast beef out of the sandwich, I held it next to the step. As I took a big bite out of the bread I felt the bit of meat slip out of my fingers. I took a bit more out, this time holding it farther from the steps. Again I felt it taken from my hand. Little by little I drew the Eevee out of its hiding place until it was sitting right in front of me, watching and waiting for more.
I chuckled as I took a bit more beef out of the bread, holding it out for the creature. It eagerly snapped it out of my hand as I ate the last of the sandwich.
"Well, Eevee, that's it," I said, gulping down the last of my lemonade and standing up. The creature's ears drooped as I started to walk away. I looked back once or twice, and I always saw the little thing following me.
"Jeez, you're like my shadow!" I laughed, stopping. The Eevee stopped at my heel, looking up at me like I was supposed to be its trainer.
That last part sank in about ten seconds later.
"Huh? You think I'M your TRAINER!?" I almost shouted. The little Pokémon cowered slightly. I sighed and crouched down, patting the creature's head.
"Hey, I can't be your trainer. I don't have any experience in Pokémon training, and the only thing I'm really good at is helping around the farm…"
Suddenly I saw a movement from the trees. The Eevee screeched and jumped into my arms. I looked back at what had scared it so badly. I was staring down at one of the strangest Pokémon I had ever seen. It was black with two ears, one with pinkish feathers, the other without. It had big claws on its hands and smaller ones on its feet.
I knew instantly that it was a dark type. I just didn't know which one. I knew I'd seen it somewhere before, maybe in one of my Pokémon textbooks. Then it hit me.
"It's a Sneasel!" I exclaimed. I felt the Eevee shuddering in my arms. I looked down and saw that it was about three times smaller than when I had first found it, crunched into a little ball.
"So that's where my Eevee got to!" a voice exclaimed. I looked up at the trees again and saw a trainer come out. He was about a foot taller than me, maybe two years older. He had six Pokéballs at his waist, meaning he was training his team, as far as I knew. He had deep green hair and eyes of the same color, with a light scar running down his left cheek.
"Thanks for finding my Eevee. I owe ya one," he said. The Eevee's ears perked up at the sound of his voice, and it picked its head up to stare at the boy. "Okay, c'mon now." He reached out to take the fox-like creature from me.
The Eevee suddenly snarled and snapped at his hand. The trainer jumped back, startled. Now the creature took to offensive mode. It jumped from my arms and ran forward, snapping at the other boy's heels.
"Sneasel, now!" he shouted. The dark Pokémon leapt forward and grabbed the Eevee. And if I hadn't known better, I would say that Eevee was expecting it. The hairs on its tail became iron bristles as it lashed out at the creature holding it. The Sneasel screamed and jumped back, releasing the fox, which came running back to me.
"Eevee, return!" the other boy shouted, pointing a red and white ball at the Pokémon in front of me. The Eevee jumped back, avoiding the red beam that came shooting out of the ball.
"C'mon, Shadow!" I yelled, turning back toward the house. The Eevee's ears pricked up as I called it, then it cried out joyfully and followed me.
And I learned something interesting that day. Eevees don't run. They bounce. When I looked back to make sure my Shadow was there, I saw it bouncing about three feet in the air as it kept with me.
"GRAMMA!!!" I shouted, pounding up the steps. I threw the door open, watching as Shadow pulled in front of me. Before the screen had hit the frame again, the main door was closed and locked.
"Whew, that was a close one," I said to Shadow. It hopped into my lap, cooing softly.
"What's wrong, Mike!?" Gramma asked, coming out of the kitchen. I saw Grampa behind her. Both stopped dead when they saw Shadow.
"Hey, its trainer was abusing it, so I'm helping it out," I said.
"Abusive trainer, eh?" Gramma said, a strange look in her eye. I'll take care of him." With that she went to the desk by the door, pulled open one of the drawers, and pulled out a belt with six Pokéballs on it. "Okay, then, guys, we have work to do," she whispered to the balls. She strapped on the belt and unlocked the door. I had to stand up fast to avoid being pushed along the floor by her opening it.
Grampa and I watched as she walked out to greet the trainer. Shadow followed cautiously, so I picked it up and walked toward them.
"Hey, that's my Eevee!" the trainer exclaimed.
"And by the looks of it, you don't deserve the little thing!" Gramma said.
Ouch, that's gotta sting! I said to myself.
"Who asked you, lady?" the trainer sneered.
"If you want that Eevee, you'll have to battle for it," she said. I had never seen her like that before. I hadn't even known she was a qualified trainer! But she picked up a ball and threw it between them. Out popped major league Nidoqueen.
"I'd be taking notes if I were you, Mike!" she called back to me. The other trainer had sent his Sneasel out.
"Nida, Dynamic Punch!" Gramma shouted. The Nidoqueen's fist blazed as she raced forward. I had never expected to see a Nidoqueen go that fast. Neither had the other trainer or his Pokémon. His Sneasel was knocked out with one hit.
"Note to self: Dynamic Punch rocks," I said to myself. Shadow nodded. As the opponent pulled back his Sneasel, he grabbed a second ball.
"Go, Houndoom!" he shouted. A devilish dog appeared before Nida. "Flamethrower!" he instructed.
"Dodge," she commanded calmly. Nida sidestepped the blast of fire. "Now Earthquake!" Nidoqueen pounded the ground with her feet. The house shook. And the guy's Houndoom fell for a second knock out.
"Second note to self: Earthquake rocks," I muttered. Shadow nodded as another ball was selected. Nida used the Surf on the Houndour that followed, and Thunderpunch on the Murkrow after that. The Tyranitar was finished with another Dynamic Punch.
"There's no way you could have beaten my team!" he shouted.
"Hey, I trained my Pokémon RIGHT!!" Gramma exclaims. "Now, get out before I use Nida to chase you off!" The trainer, glared at Shadow for a moment, then walked off.
"Grampa, did you know Gramma was a trainer?" I asked.
"Nope," he replied. Shadow chuckled like only an Eevee can.
Gramma didn't help me train Shadow. I wanted to do it myself. And I think he'll be ready to evolve pretty soon! His coat is all shiny and smooth, and his eyes are bright and lively. And if I can enlist this Eevee, maybe I'll have a partner for him!
Shadow is sniffing the Eevee's nose, and the other one is sniffing his. Then they start rubbing their heads together…oh, boy.
It's a girl.