This is the chapter that will show us which Eeveelution Ashley will evolve her Eevee into. Which one do you think it will be? Let's find out!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 25: The Battling Eevee Brothers

It has been a week since we visited the Safari Zone. We were still days away from reaching Lavender Town where we were going to stop by Mr. Fuji's place and then head to Saffron City for my and Ash's sixth badge. Gym Leader Sabrina might be back by now.

Right now, we were taking a short break to check the map and play with our Pokémon. I was gently wiping Dratini's skin with a damp cloth from a water hole while Pikachu, Luna, and Eevee played tag. Dratini had just shed her skin and she needed some help to clean up.

"How does that feel, Dratini?" I wondered.

"Kyuu!" Dratini chirped happily, enjoying the treatment.

"You really like taking care of dragon Pokémon, don't you, Ashley?" Misty giggled softly.

"I do, and all the other Pokémon as well", I nodded with a big smile before patting Dratini's head. "I have a feeling that Dratini will become a strong Pokémon when she evolves."

"Then we better keep practicing so you can become as strong as you can, Dratini!" Ash smiled.

"Kyuu!"

"Hey, guys! It looks like we're close to Stone Town", Brock looked up from the region map.

"Stone Town?" Ash, Misty, and I repeated simultaneously.

"Stone Town is famously known for its three evolution stone mines", Brock explained. "Stone Town became prosperous when the townsfolk discovered mines with mysterious rocks that could give certain Pokémon power to evolve; Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Fire Stone, Leaf Stone, and even Moon Stone."

"Oh! So they have evolution stones for Pikachu, Eevee, Vulpix, and other Pokémon?" I asked.

"Yeah", Brock nodded. "Although, I won't evolve Vulpix because I want to prove to other Pokémon Breeders that you don't have to evolve Pokémon to make them more beautiful. Vulpix is already beautiful, all thanks to my and Suzie's work!"

"I'll let Pikachu decide whether he wants to evolve into a Raichu or not", Ash added. "I want my Pokémon to decide when they want to evolve."

I looked down on my lap as I thought about Eevee. He has learned Bite now, so maybe it was time for him to evolve now that we were close to a town that might sell evolution stones.

But… Did Eevee want to evolve or not?

Wait, speaking of…

"Where did Pikachu, Eevee, and Luna go?" Misty spoke up.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked around, seeing the three playful Pokémon were gone!

"Luna! Eevee!" I shouted as I straightened up.

"Kyuuu!"

"Pikachu! Where did you guys go?!" Ash yelled.

As on que, the three Pokémon jumped through the bushes and ran over to us. They all talked at once while they pointed at something in the forest.

"What's wrong, you guys? Did something happen?" Ash asked.

"It looks like they want to show us something", Misty pointed out.

Brock quickly folded the map and put it away in his backpack. "Let's go and see what it is. Maybe someone's in need for help."

I put the damp cloth in my pocket and grabbed my backpack from the stump we used as table. "Then let's hurry."

Ash called back Dratini into her Poké Ball before we followed Pikachu, Luna, and Eevee through the forest. It didn't take long before they led us to a hollow tree where there was another Eevee sitting inside of it. It was tied to a leash and had water and food bowl.

"Vee… Vee…", the other Eevee called sadly.

My heart broke when I saw its big sad eyes. It looked so scared and confused. Who could abandon Pokémon?!

"An Eevee?" Ash said in disbelief.

"Why is it tied up?" Misty wondered before she hurried to Eevee and removed the leash from it before picking it up.

"It must've been abandoned", Brock concluded.

"How can someone do such a thing?!" I exclaimed angrily.

"Damian is one of those cold-hearted jerks", Ash pointed out.

"Wait a minute, guys…", Misty spoke up as she checked something around the new Eevee's neck. "This Eevee has a collar."

"It does?" I blinked confusedly.

Misty messed with the Eevee's fur and revealed a collar. It even had a name tag on it. "Stone Town, 3-14…", Misty read out loud. "I don't know why, but if someone abandons their Pokémon, they would remove any collar and ribbon to show the Pokémon doesn't belong to them."

"Vee…", the Eevee cried in her arms.

"That's weird", Ash scratched the back of his head.

"We better look it up by bringing this Eevee to its Trainer and see what's actually going on", Brock suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be the best idea", Ash nodded.

"Pika…"

"Fairy…"

"Eevee eee", my Eevee barked.

XXXXXXXXXX

I called back Luna, but kept Eevee outside so he could make the new Eevee more comfortable with us. Misty carried the Eevee in her arms as we made it to Stone Town. It took some time to find the correct house number, but when we did… We were blown off by surprise to see the house was actually a large mansion guarded by a wall.

"Eee eee!" the Eevee in Misty's arms started struggling, as if it knew it was coming home.

"Eevee, calm down a little bit", Misty told it.

"Eevee must really miss its Trainer", Ash said.

I could hear noise coming from the garden of the mansion, so it sounded like there was a party going on. "Um… I think they're a little busy right now…"

"Maybe, but we've come this far to give Eevee back to its Trainer", Brock pointed out.

"But what if we crash the party and they'll yell at us?" I asked nervously, feeling my anxiety slowly taking over my mind as I held my Eevee in my arms.

"Vee?"

"Hey, Ashley", Ash called before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure they'll understand why we've dropped by when they see Eevee."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded.

I looked down at Eevee and patted his head as I tried calming down by thinking of pleasant ideas instead of worst case scenarios. "Okay… Let's go."

"That's the spirit, sis!" Ash grinned widely.

The gate to the mansion was open, so we stepped into the garden. There were many humans and Pokémon having a blast. Adults and children alike were eating from the buffet or playing around with their Pokémon. We also got to witness how a few Trainers used evolution stones to evolve their Pokémon. A few water and grass-type Pokémon were relaxing in a large fountain while Poliwrath jumped in to enjoy the water.

"A Poliwrath! I'll evolve my Poliwag into Poliwrath after I've trained it up!" Ash smiled widely.

"Hey! You four!" a voice suddenly called.

I flinched in fear, thinking we were going to get yelled at. Three tall and slender boys around Brock's age ran over to us followed by a Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon. Weirdly, the young men had the same face, but they had different hairstyle and hair color based off on the Eeveelutions.

"Thanks for finding our little brother's Eevee!" the yellow-haired boy thanked us. "We were so worried about him!"

"Yeah, we couldn't find him anywhere in our home!" the blue-haired boy added as he gently took Eevee from Misty's arms.

"You mean, you never tried abandoning Eevee?" Misty wondered.

"What? No! We'd never do such a thing!" the Jolteon Trainer shook his head.

"But now that Eevee is back, it's time for the big show of the party!" the Flareon Trainer exclaimed joyfully.

"Mikey! Mikey, Eevee is back!" the Vaporeon Trainer shouted to the crowd.

A young boy walked slowly towards us. He looked like he was just seven years old and had brown hair. The Eevee barked in joy before he jumped out of the Vaporeon Trainer's arms and ran to Mikey. I noticed the boy didn't look so happy for seeing his partner again.

"Mikey, you've got to be careful and look after Eevee", the Flareon Trainer lightly scolded him. "He was a present from Dad so you could get used of taking care of Pokémon before you turn ten and can go on your own journey."

"Yeah…", Mikey nodded hesitantly.

Misty walked over to the boy and got down on one knee to be in the same eye level. "Your name is Mikey, right? Why did you tie it up in the forest?"

"Why did you bring Eevee here?!" Mikey growled angrily at Misty, catching us off guard by his reaction.

Why wasn't he happy to see Eevee again? Was there a reason why Mikey left his Eevee in the forest? What's going on?

"Listen very closely, Mikey!" the Jolteon Trainer spoke up harshly. "We orchestrated this party so you could finally make up your mind on which Eeveelution you should evolve your Eevee into."

"Eevee may be cute in its unevolved form, but he can't possibly help you win the first Gym battle", the Vaporeon Trainer added.

"The reason we won our first Gym battle is because we evolved our Eevee before challenging the Gym", the Flareon Trainer nodded. "The key of victory is evolution!"

Was it really? Neither Firered nor Bruce were evolved by the time I challenged Brock and we still won because of our strategy. I think the brothers were wrong in a way or two.

"But I don't care about battles…", Mikey spoke up.

That was clearly not the answer his brothers wanted to hear. "Don't care?!" they repeated angrily.

"Jolteon!"

"Flareon!

"Vaporeon!"

Even their Eeveelution Pokémon barked angrily.

"The brothers are scary…", Ash mumbled softly.

"And a little stupid…", I said honestly.

"Just make sure they don't hear you say that, Ashley…", Brock whispered.

"We'll give you a little more time to think about which Eeveelution you want to evolve your Eevee into", the Vaporeon Trainer told Mikey.

"But you have to decide by the end of the party", the Flareon Trainer added.

"Whatever you decide, we will respect it", the Jolteon Trainer finished.

"Hey, guys, knock it off!" Ash yelled at the triplets. "Your little brother is still too young to battle and I don't really agree with your evolution idea. My Pikachu has helped me defeat several Gyms without evolving him, which proves unevolved Pokémon can be strong too if you train them properly!"

"But what if you reach a wall and you have no other choice but to evolve your Pikachu?" the Flareon Trainer wondered.

"Um…", Ash hesitated to answer as he looked down at Pikachu. "I… I'm not sure…"

"Chu…", Pikachu whined softly.

I swallowed down my nervousness and took a step forward while my Eevee was still in my arms. "I… I have a few Pokémon that needs evolution stones to evolve, but… I want them to decide when they want to evolve. Pokémon have their own feelings and opinions, so it's only fair they can make up their minds about it."

"Eevee!" my Eevee nodded.

"You've got a point, girl, but let's be honest; the weakest type of them all is normal-type Pokémon, so of course you'd want to make your normal-type Eevee stronger by evolving it, right?" the Jolteon Trainer asked.

"Y-Yeah, but… I don't know what Eevee wants to evolve into…", I mumbled softly before burying my face onto Eevee's thick fur.

"Vee…"

"Maybe you'll make a decision, just like Mikey, if you guys stay at the party", the Vaporeon Trainer suggested. "You're more than welcome to stay here and have fun."

"And if you need evolution stones, you can have some", the Jolteon Trainer nodded. "We've got a lot, so feel free to take the ones you need for your Pokémon."

XXXXXXXXXX

After the triplets and my group introduced ourselves, we joined the party. I called out Luna and Oliver to have some fun with Eevee and make up their minds whether they wanted to evolve now or not. I grabbed some food while Ash and Brock got scolded by Rainer, Sparky, and Pyro for not wanting to evolve Pikachu and Vulpix. Misty had gone to the fountain and called out her Horsea so it could enjoy swimming around.

I noticed Mikey sat by himself on a bench with his Eevee on his lap. The boy looked sad while his Pokémon tried cheering him up. I couldn't help but feel a connection to him since I was the younger twin.

I walked over to Mikey and stood in front of him, so he would notice me. "Can I sit down next to you?"

"Y-Yeah…", Mikey nodded.

I sat down next to him and placed the paper plate with food on my lap before slowly taking one bite after another. I grabbed a sausage and held it out to Mikey. "Want some food?" I asked.

"Eevee!" Mikey's Eevee barked happily before taking a bite of the sausage.

I couldn't help but giggle softly. "Your Eevee is really adorable."

"Thank you…", Mikey nodded shyly. "Your Eevee is cute too."

I smiled softly before I looked down on my lap. "Thank you. I actually rescued my Eevee during a raid in Celadon City a while ago."

"A raid in Celadon City? I think I've heard about it", Mikey said. "Wasn't it something about Team Rocket?"

"That's right", I nodded as my three Pokémon joined us. "Eevee was meant to be sold in an auction that Team Rocket hosted, but my friends, brother, and I helped the police to release the Pokémon and catch Team Rocket. Eevee felt safe with me, so I decided to catch him. I recently added him to the party because my brother and I will challenge Saffron City's Gym next, so I trained him so he could learn Bite."

"I see…", Mikey said, looking stunned to hear what I had gone through.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Misty spoke up as she held out another plate of food. "I brought more food for us."

"Thank you", Mikey smiled softly.

The little boy looked more relaxed now than before. He grabbed one of the sandwiches Misty had fetched and took a bite of it. I shared the remains of my food with my Pokémon.

"It seems to me you don't want to evolve your Eevee, Mikey", Misty pointed out.

"My brothers only care about evolving Pokémon and they keep saying only evolved Pokémon can win battles", Mikey sighed sadly.

"That's not true", I shook my head, disagreeing with the triplets' idea.

"What's your opinion, Mikey?" Misty wondered.

"I don't know…", Mikey shook his head. "I've never battled before. When I heard my brothers were going to host the party, I felt too much pressure and thought they would cancel it if I said Eevee ran away. That's why I left him in the forest."

"But Eevee looked so scared and lonely out there", I pointed out, patting Mikey's Eevee.

"Eevee!" my Eevee nodded.

"Fairy clefairy!" Luna nodded.

"I wasn't going to leave it there forever. I was going to get him back after the party", Mikey said quickly. "I don't care about evolving Eevee. I want to be best friends with him."

"Then you should tell your brothers that", Misty pointed out. "I'm sure they'll understand and respect your decision. You shouldn't run away from your problems."

"My brothers don't listen to me at all…", Mikey said sadly.

"I think they do this for you because they care about you, Mikey", I said.

"They care about me?" Mikey repeated confusedly.

"Yeah", I nodded. "Ash and I have a good relationship, but sometimes my brother can be strict at me, but that's because he cares about me and wants me the best. If I say no to something he suggests, he respects it."

"I know that feeling myself", Misty nodded. "My three older sisters have always been pushy, but I later learned that's their way to show me they love me. When I told them I was leaving to train and become stronger so I could take over the Gym, they let me go."

"You're going to be a Gym Leader, Misty?" Mikey asked.

"Yep", Misty nodded. "I still have much to learn, so I'm really glad I'm on a journey. You learn a lot as you go together with your friends and Pokémon."

"It sounds like you both have a better relationship with your big sisters and brother", Mikey spoke sadly. "I wish I had the same with my brothers…"

"You should tell your brothers your honest feelings", I suggested. "I know it might be scary because you can't predict their reaction, but you need to stay strong and true to your feelings. You don't have to be like them; you can be Mikey the Eevee Trainer."

"The Eevee Trainer…?" Mikey repeated.

"Hey, Mikey!" Sparky called. "Have you decided yet? You're gonna evolve Eevee into Jolteon?"

"Pick Flareon, Mikey! You can cozy with your own Flareon and his soft fur", Pyro said.

"Vaporeon is the best Pokémon in competitive battles, so choose the Water Stone", Rainer added.

Mikey looked down at his Eevee who looked at him with warm eyes. "Um…"

"Go on, Mikey. Tell them your feelings", Misty encouraged him.

"You can do it, Mikey", I added.

Mikey swallowed before he stood up from the bench and walked over to his big brother. "Sparky, Pyro, Rainer…!" he began seriously. "I… I…"

"You can let it out, Mikey", Sparky told him calmly. "Don't be scared."

"I don't want to evolve Eevee!" Mikey shouted out.

It was quiet for a few seconds as the triplets comprehended their little brother's words.

"You…don't want to evolve your Eevee?" Rainer asked.

Mikey nodded frantically. "I want to spend a little more time with Eevee before I can make a decision without regretting it! I want to keep training with Eevee and make him strong so he can defeat Pokémon without evolving! I want to become an Eevee Trainer!"

"That's the spirit, Mikey!" Ash cheered. "If my Pikachu managed to defeat several Gyms without evolving, so can Eevee!"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu cheered from my brother's shoulder.

The triplets looked at each other while Mikey waited nervously for their reaction. Misty and I waited nervously too as my Pokémon were silent.

The triplets nodded to each other before turning back to Mikey. "You should've told us sooner, Mikey", Sparky spoke up.

"Huh?" Mikey said confusedly, probably not expecting this calm reaction.

"We hosted this party to help you decide which Eeveelution you should evolve Eevee into, but I guess we forgot to ask you what you want", Pyro chuckled sheepishly as he scratched his left cheek.

"We only did this because we care about you and want the best for you, Mikey", Rainer added. "But if you want to wait a little longer and be with Eevee just the way he is, you can do that."

"R-Really…?" Mikey stuttered as tears accumulated in his eyes. "You're not angry…?"

"No, little brother", Pyro shook his head. "Just a little surprised because you never tell us what you want."

"Sorry we were so forceful, Mikey", Sparky apologized as he rested his hands on top of his knees before patting Mikey's head. "We'll respect your decision. But if you ever change your mind, let us know and we'll give you the stone you need."

Mikey bit his lower lip before tears ran down his cheeks. "T-Thank you…!"

"Vee…!" his Eevee barked as he licked the tears.

"Mikey was so brave just now…", I commented softly, relieved to see the triplets accepted their little brother's decision.

"It must have been tough for Mikey, but this is a big step for him", Misty nodded. "He's going to be a great Trainer when he will go on a journey."

"Yeah…", I nodded before turning to my Pokémon. "Eevee, Oliver, Luna… Do you want to evolve now?"

"Airy!" Luna shook her head.

"Gloom ooom!" Oliver also shook his head.

"Eevee!" Eevee nodded.

"Looks like only Eevee wants to evolve", Misty giggled.

I picked up Eevee from my lap and held him up to my eye level. "Which Eeveelution do you want to evolve into? Run to the Eeveelution to show me."

I placed down Eevee on the ground so he could run over to the triplets and their Eeveelutions. Everyone watched Eevee as he walked around Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon until he sat down in front of Jolteon.

"Eee veee!" he barked.

"Eevee wants to evolve into a Jolteon!" Misty gasped in surprise. "I was hoping he would choose Vaporeon."

"Maybe when you get your own Eevee, Misty", I giggled before I walked over to the brothers. "Um… Is it okay to receive a Thunder Stone to I can evolve my Eevee?"

"Of course! I'm glad to see another Jolteon fella!" Sparky grinned.

We walked over to the table where there were lots of different evolution stones that people could grab to evolve their Pokémon now or later. Sparky gave me a Thunder Stone, which I gladly accepted. I crouched down in front of Eevee who wagged his tail back and forth.

"This is it, Eevee. Once you evolve into Jolteon, you can't change back", I reminded him. "Are you sure this is your choice?"

"Eevee!" Eevee barked with a nod.

I nodded in return as I touched him with the Thunder Stone. "Let's do this… Volt."

The evolution stone shone brightly at the contact with Volt before his body started glowing. The Thunder Stone were absorbed into Volt's body as his body got a little bigger and spiky. Seconds later, the light died down and revealed a Jolteon.

"Jolteon!" Volt barked.

"Congratulations! Your Eevee is now a Jolteon!" Sparky cheered as everyone clapped their hands.

I blushed hard by the attention I received, but I forgot about it when Volt nuzzled his head against mine. I laughed by the tickling feeling and caressed his face in return. Oliver, Luna, and Pikachu joined the party as they congratulated Volt for evolving.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

Not far away from Stone Town, Team Rocket was watching the party from a cliff with binoculars. They had plans to steal the evolution stones, but now they were angry for seeing the twins and their friends again.

"Not the twerps again!" Jessie growled irritably. "Why must they show up whenever we have a plan?!"

"First they ruined our plans in the Safari Zone and now this!" James snorted. "My bruises still haven't healed up from last time!"

"Whatever! We'll just barge in and steal all those evolution stones and the Pokémon!" Jessie declared.

Meowth jumped out from their hidden air balloon with a blinking device in his hands. "Forget about the stones, guys! We've got an urgent message from the boss!"

"From the boss?!" Jessie and James exclaimed in surprise.

The trio hurried to the deepest part of the forest where no one could interrupt them. Meowth settled down the device on the ground and pressed a button. A holographic screen appeared above the device and showed the silhouette of their boss and his Persian.

"This is a message to every Team Rocket grunt in the Kanto region", Giovanni called. "Assemble the troops and head to Saffron City for Operation: Master Ball."

XXXXXXXXXX

I originally planned on making Team Rocket wreak havoc, but the end of the chapter should explain everything.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Firered the Charizard (male)

Bruce the Primeape (male)

Luna the Clefairy (female)

Wanda the Gyarados (female)

Oliver the Gloom (male)

Volt the Jolteon (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Kobra the Arbok (male)

Rina the Nidorina (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Bulbasaur (male)

Charmeleon (male)

Pidgeotto (male)

Pikachu (male)

Squirtle (male)

Dratini (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Squirtle x4 (males)

Krabby (male)

Primeape (male)

Muk (male)

Beedrill (male)

Tauros (male)

Rhyhorn (male)

Exeggcute (male)

Nidorino (male)

Poliwag (male)

Gengar (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Starmie (genderless)

Horsea (female)

Psyduck (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)

Rhyhorn (male)