The base was quiet. Outside the window, night draped around the forest, the stars twinkling a stark white against the inky backdrop.

Inside the base, the peace of sleep had stolen across almost every door. In Buizel's room, the Water-type was already asleep, lulled by the gentle rippling of the water in his pool.

Zorua, too, was dozing, her blankets only half pulled-up over her furry body, but the night was warm and she didn't shiver in her sleep.

Cyndaquil had forgotten to turn off his lamp before he fell asleep, but Sirai had taken care of it for him before shutting down most of her system for the night.

The only movement in the base came from the gentle scratching sound of a pen moving across paper. Beneath Eevee's door, a bar of soft yellow light was visible- not the harsh white lamp that lit up her room in the daytime, but the shaded lamp with the golden light that she used at night, when she was quite alone, or at least the only one awake.

The light illuminated the page she was writing on, the ink shining slightly before it sank into the paper of the well-worn journal. Eevee's handwriting was spiky and hard to decipher, but it didn't much matter, because nobody but her would ever read it.

It was a rough couple of days… and one of our most impressive adventures yet. The most exciting thing of all, though, is that we have two new members on our team. The two little kids that we rescued from J a few weeks ago have become part of Team J. I don't know how to feel about this…

The pen stopped for a moment as Eevee propped her chin up on her paw, thinking.

They really did come in handy on the job, and they're more skilled than they let on at first. I can't complain about how well they kept up. And in the end… without them, we would have failed. Without them, we couldn't have made it through. There were so many times that I thought I was a dead Pokemon, that I had led my friends into a death trap, and those two pulled me and Buizel through it. I don't know

She stopped again, the pen perching on the paper, waiting to complete the sentence.

I don't know what we would have done without them.

It all started with Zorua's Meema being missing. The two kids insisted they wanted to help, and we agreed because we didn't expect that it would be this… crazy. We had a lot of adventures on our way to J's ship- I'll never forget when we saw the Amber Castle and Vespiquen, and raced to win back our net. And meeting Team Ghoul- those three were such jerks. I hope they don't bother us again, I feel like it would definitely lead to trouble. Then again, I might have another chance to punch them in their wimpy faces… Buizel wouldn't let me when we had them as prisoners. They deserve it, though, the

She paused, trying to think of a suitable insult. Jerkfaces? Ham-fisted bullies? Lost in thought, she whipped around quickly as her door creaked open a notch.

"Eevee?" Zorua's small voice came from the hallway? Eevee breathed a sigh of relief- only Zorua!- and went to open the door.

"What is it?" she asked gruffly, looking down her nose slightly at the Dark-type.

"I can't sleep…" said Zorua, bouncing slightly on her toes.

"Why don't you go see your Meema?" asked Eevee huffily, rolling her eyes. "I'm not your nursemaid, you know."

"I can't go all the way out there at night," said Zorua, wide-eyed. "Meema would kill me!" Eevee had to repress a grin. Have to hand it to that Zoroark. I didn't know anybody could inspire fear in Zorua…

"Why don't you try counting Mareep?" she suggested.

"That's boring," complained Zorua, shifting on one foot.

"That's the point," said Eevee, rolling her eyes again. Zorua just gave her a pleading stare. Eevee sighed.

"Look, I can't help you," she said, exasperated. "Why don't you go see Buizel? I bet he could, I dunno, tell you a story or something soppy like that."

"Okay!" chirped Zorua, preparing to close the door.

"Wait! Zorua," The Dark-type turned halfway in the hallway, a questioning look on her face. "Huh?" she asked. A million things bubbled up in Eevee's mind at once. She tried to squish the sudden warm feeling in her chest.

"Uh. I just wanted to ask…" The Normal-type paused. "D'you know any good insults?" she asked at last.

"Insults?" Zorua appeared to ponder the question for a moment. "Uhh… oh! I know!" Her eyes narrowed wickedly. "How about 'sugar cube'?"

Eevee opened her mouth, then sighed and closed it. "Never mind," she said, a faint smile dancing inside her eyes for a second. "Just… well, good night."

"Good night, Eevee!" The Normal-type closed the door and listened to Zorua's pattering footsteps down the hallway before returning to her desk. She picked up her pen.

I did things that I've never done before, like travel in an interregional teleport station, and go underwater in that huge glass submarine thing. I didn't even know things like that existed. We finally made it to J's ship, but after searching the whole place, we found out that Zoroark wasn't there! And then J managed to catch us. That was a first, too.

It was really scary, especially when we woke up and realized that we'd been sold to Team Plasma. I'll admit, I thought we were goners that time. But thanks to J's carelessness, we managed to escape with the broken Base Key that I still had. After that, we slipped through the vents and were on our way to find Zoroark when we ran into this creepy scientist, Colress. He set the whole base to explode. But in the end, with the help of the Pokemon we rescued, we got out of the base just a few seconds before it imploded on us.

Although traveling and seeing new things with Buizel and the kids was fun, I think I only just came to terms with the fact that they're staying with us as new members of Team J. I think it was in the Team Plasma base, when we were trying to break down the metal barrier that was keeping us in. I think I realized for the first time that I don't have to be alone…

Eevee paused again, all seriousness now, gazing down at the words on the paper.

They really have earned their place on the team.

Zoroark decided to stay at the place Buizel found for her, and she's already visited us twice. Zorua's so happy about it, and Cyn warmed up to her really fast. Sometimes I wonder whether she thinks about the stuff I told her when she asked me what my goals were for this team, but she's always polite to me. I'm so happy that this could all work out, with her living so close to our base.

Rio and Quill came around to visit Cyn and Zorua the other day. They're as grotesquely cheerful as usual, of course. Rio mentioned something about a new discovery that Rescue Home might have just made, but I wasn't paying much attention. Anyways, me and Buizel signed the papers, and Cyn and Zorua are officially members of Team J! I've never been one for paperwork, but that was… a touching moment.

Eevee sighed.

At first I thought Cyn was a wimp. Only brave Pokemon should be on rescue teams. But now… I've come to realize that he's really braver than I am, maybe the bravest one of all of us. I can honestly say that I'm glad to have him on the team, although I would never say that to his face.

She smiled as her thoughts shifted to the next member of the team.

Zorua… may possibly be the only thing I regret about this whole thing. No, not really! She can be a huge nuisance, as I've already found out. But she's also loyal, daring, and smart. The kid's got a lot of spirit, and it is kind of nice to have somebody else to wreak mayhem with.

Her smile grew a little bittersweet.

Of course, through this all, Buizel was there for me as always. He was the one who first wanted to keep the kids around for a while, and I think he's happier now, with Cyn and Zorua to add pep to his life. I guess I'm a bit jealous that I'm not his only partner any more, but it's hard to be mad when I see him so happy. My loyal partner…

Right now, he's looking into getting Sirai an avatar, but he's having a little trouble. I don't know why, it seems like a pretty straightforward process, but then again I never understood any of that so I can't talk. And speaking of Sirai, I don't really know how to think about her now…

Before all this, I saw her as a sort of charmingly programmed tool. But now… she's revealed her personality to us, on this adventure, a lot more than I'd ever thought possible. Cyn, Zorua, and Buizel all love her, of course, and she's undoubtedly very useful. I don't know whether to think of her as a member of the team too?

Eevee stopped again, blowing gently on the newest words and fiddling with her pen in one paw. She gazed thoughtfully at the curtains pulled over her window, as if looking past them into the star-studded night.

I don't know… but I feel like there's something fishy about the whole thing. If Sirai's really that intelligent… I dunno, but I've just never trusted her.

At any rate, it's been a long couple of weeks and I'm exhausted. Maybe, soon, things will return to a semblance of normalcy… but somehow, I doubt it. Normal just isn't for Team J. And that's the way I like it.

Sleep was stealing over Eevee's eyes as she yawned and stretched before looking back at the page. There was a little more space left on it, about two lines of blank paper near the end. Soon she'd have to turn it and start writing on a new page. Just a few more lines. Her bed looked soft and inviting.

Anyways, I think

Her pen hovered over the letter "k" in "think".

I think this "team" thing could really… take off.

You haven't seen the last of Team J yet! :) Hopefully you've connected with Zorua, Cyndaquil, Buizel, and Eevee enough by now to join them on their second set of adventures- in other words, yes, a sequel!

What is Eevee's secret, anyways, and why is she so sensitive about it? Can Team J hold it together, or will they go their separate ways? And just what is up with that sassy, secretive, a little-bit-too-lovable AI?

Hopefully my cheesiness hasn't destroyed any desire you might have to read the sequel, because I'm honestly really excited for it and I think it's gonna be great.

Thank you all, and see you... next time!

Also, here's a poem by Rio that she wanted me to put at the end ;D

"Kickstart the day,

We've come a long way.

We've written and wrote,

Planned and hoped.

/

But now here's the end,

Of this tale from Eevee and friends.

We've had a lot of fun,

But fear not, there's more to come!

After all,

The journey's only just begun."

-Rioludoodle