Asa-Hoshi paced back and forth in the field, thinking. On a bright sunny day such as this one, she would normally be playing with her toys, or hanging out with her friends. But today was not just any day; she had recently reached level 30, and this was the last day of the past week her trainer had given her to decide for herself exactly which step she wanted to take next.
Like most Pokemon, Asa-Hoshi had the potential to evolve into a new form. Unlike most Pokemon, however, she had the potential to evolve into five different forms. For her trainer specialized in raising Eevee, and of her team of six, Asa-Hoshi was the only one who was still in her basic stage.
The young Eevee turned around for the ump-teenth time and saw her teammate, Sakura the Espeon, walking towards her. The psychic-type Pokemon stopped and sat down before the normal-type one.
"Hello, Asa-Hoshi", she said in her calm voice. "Are you alright? Have you come to a decision yet?"
"Not yet", said the Eevee. "It's not exactly an easy choice to make, is it?"
This was true; there were five different options to choose from, and once her mind was made up, there would be no turning back. Evolution was permanent.
"Come walk with me", said Sakura to her younger teammate. "Maybe that will help you get your thoughts straight."
The two Pokemon began strolling along the green field. As they walked, Sakura proceeded to ask Asa-Hoshi some questions.
"How would you feel being able to sense things telepathically, to know what your opponent's next move will be?"
"You mean like you?" the Eevee asked, understanding the Espeon's question. Sakura nodded.
"Well", Asa-Hoshi answered, "I would probably have an eerie calm about me constantly if I had that power, plus it would eliminate the fun element of surprise in battle. As cool as it would be to be psychic, I don't really think that would suit me."
Sakura smiled. At least one evolution could be crossed off the list.
The two Pokemon walked on until they reached another of their teammates. Kuro the Umbreon was curled up asleep in the shade of a tree. His ears were twitching slightly; he may have been in the middle of a pleasant dream. The Espeon turned to the Eevee and spoke again.
"What about the dark type? Does it appeal to you more than the psychic type?"
Asa-Hoshi gazed at the snoozing Kuro for a moment before replying.
"Probably not. Dark-type moves are cool, but I don't think I would be able to enjoy sunny days like this as much as I do now. I love to play outside with my friends; I don't want to lose that feeling."
That was one more evolution down. The two Pokémon continued their walk, and stopped when they reached the pond close to their trainer's house. There they found the last three of their teammates: Takibi the Flareon, Akarui the Jolteon, and Mizu the Vaporeon.
Takibi and Akarui were in the middle of a play battle with each other; the Flareon was firmly standing his ground and using powerful flame attacks, while the Jolteon was darting from side to side and emitting quick electric sparks from his jagged coat. Mizu, on the other hand, was swimming calmly in the pond, her tail swaying gently with the small waves in the water. Sakura spoke to Asa-Hoshi once more.
"Can you see yourself honing the power of fire, water or electricity?"
The Eevee watched her friends around the pond for a minute, then turned back to the Espeon.
"If I choose fire, I'll become very powerful and even courageous, but I might become too focused on just winning battles instead of learning from them. If I choose electricity, I'll be very sharp and agile, but then I might miss out on things that take time to appreciate. And if I choose water, I'll have great defenses, but then I might not be able to sense things as finely as I do now."
Asa-Hoshi looked around the field, glancing at each of her teammates in turn, before looking back up at Sakura.
"Why does this decision have to be so hard?" she asked sadly. The Espeon gazed back down at her and smiled her mysterious smile.
"I think", she answered calmly, "you've already made your choice."
As the Eevee tried to understand what her friend meant, their trainer came walking out the back door of her house and made her way towards the Pokemon team gathered by the pond. In her hands she was carrying five items, each of which had a certain meaning regarding the evolution process. Knowing her time was up, Asa-Hoshi walked forth to meet her trainer, and the two stopped in front of each other close to the house's back porch.
The trainer knelt down before her Eevee, and placed each of the items she was holding on the floor between them in a straight line: a water stone, a thunder stone, a fire stone, a purple eye charm, and a black mask charm. She then looked Asa-Hoshi in the eyes and smiled.
"This is it, sweetheart", she said kindly. " Have you decided which step you want to take?"
The Pokemon looked down at the items on the ground, recalling her own opinion about each evolution as her gaze passed over its respective symbol. When she had finished looking over them all, she found that none of them really appealed to her as much as she had hoped they would when this moment finally came. Asa-Hoshi took a step back and stared up at her trainer once more.
The trainer seemed to understand what her Pokemon was feeling. Winking at the young Eevee, the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a sixth item, placing it in line with the other five. It was a small pale brown stone with a necklace chain through it and a swirl pattern carved into it: an everstone.
That was the one. At the sight of the stone, Asa-Hoshi's heart skipped a beat, and then began to race. That was when she realized what Sakura had meant: the Eevee had known all along what she really wanted to do. Evolving into a different Pokemon would not only change her form and abilities, it might change her personality too. And there was only one personality that suited Asa-Hoshi: her own. She didn't want to change, neither now nor ever.
The Pokemon stepped forward and happily nudged the everstone with her nose. Her trainer laughed, picking up the item and placing the chain around the Eevee's neck. She then picked up the Pokemon as she stood up, and the two of them looked out at the rest of the team watching them.
Sakura had woken Kuro up and summoned him to the spot near the house. Mizu had stepped out of the pond, and Takibi and Akarui had finished their battle. The five Pokemon cheered as the youngest member of their team laughed joyfully in their trainer's arms. The happiest of them all was Asa-Hoshi, for she had finally gotten what she had always wanted. She knew now exactly who she was, who she would always be, the only Pokemon she ever wanted to be: Asa-Hoshi, the Eevee.