Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds and Pokemon

Journey to Your Heart

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters from the shows and the Pokemon species are not mine. The specific Eevee characters and the story are mine. This takes place post-series 5Ds and Radley is a nice guy, the way I honestly see him. I write a crossover verse where both series take place in the same dimension. This verse is influenced a lot by the games, but the Pokemon anime is an influence too.

Chapter One

Radley smiled to himself as he finished scraping off the dinner plates and prepared to take the scraps to the dumpster out back of the diner. It had been a pleasant day, and really, several pleasant months. Things had been peaceful now for weeks, with the most activity being Scotch and his uncle Robert Camden getting to know each other after 19 years of separation. Robert had eased into the swing of things in Satisfaction Town fairly quickly, accepting Radley and the Bunch despite them being a motorcycle gang. They were certainly the nicest one in existence, and he felt that anyone calling them a gang was using a misnomer.

It was a relief that he was so open-minded. Radley had feared he would want to take Scotch away with him. Instead, he wanted to be part of Scotch's world, to understand it and love it. And they both loved their Eevee Isla dearly. She was happier than she had ever been, with both of her owners right here with her. She was also less likely to get into mischief, which was a great relief.

All the Eevees were very happy lately. They played and romped every day and were currently doing it again in the diner. The customers adored all of them and their cute antics. West had even asked if they were going to make merchandise of the Eevees like some Internet cat celebrities' owners did for their stars. Radley hadn't even considered it before, but now the thought was stuck in his mind. The Eevees were so cute and Radley was proud of all of them and would love to show them off. People would definitely buy stickers and calendars and folders and other possible memorabilia featuring them. He was thinking that tomorrow he would contact the local scrapbooking store and possibly do a test-run of printing up some stickers and shirts. He had already talked to Kalin, Scotch, and the Eevees and they all loved the idea.

He wondered sometimes if Satisfaction Town really would end up known for its Eevees even more than the dyne. Not everyone followed mining news, but most people loved adorable animals. He still didn't want to risk exploiting the Eevees and encouraging Team Rocket to come after them again, but just selling merchandise to people in the town and the City seemed okay, and he hoped that in the near future it would be safe enough to publicize the Eevees more. There had already been a nationally read newspaper article about them and the dismantling of the Team Rocket headquarters in this area, and some people were still sending fanmail to the Eevees. Radley and Kalin and Scotch showed them all of it and read the letters to them, and they always chirped and trilled most happily in response.

He was forever fascinated by how Eevees seemed to be as intelligent as humans. They understood everything they were told. Maybe they were too innocent to always grasp the darker side of humanity, but they picked up on every word. And after the things each of them had been through, they probably understood more of the dark things than anyone would think. It was that they had retained their innocence despite it, which was a truly inspiring thing and more than many humans could do.

It would be incredible, Radley thought, to have the sweetness of an Eevee. Scotch came very close to that. He had their enthusiasm and air of innocent mischief too. Isla's curiosity and love of play had forced Scotch to act like an adult more often, but he was still very fond of playing right along with her when he could.

All of them seemed to have ended up with Eevees who matched their personalities quite closely, strangely enough. Kalin's Evan was serious and reserved, while Radley's Evie was outgoing and happy and wanted to make all the friends. And every one of the furry animals was sweet and loving and adored them all.

A small shadow fell upon the back alley when Radley opened the door, and he paused. It looked like two Eevee ears and a thick ruff. "Hey," he said softly. "What are you doing back here?"

An unfamiliar female Eevee slowly stepped out, staring at him defiantly, cautiously. She looked like she'd been around more than a little bit; her fur was ruffled and what looked like a small scar was under her right eye. She was staring at the scraps Radley had on a paper plate.

"You're hungry, huh? Well, I don't want you climbing in the dumpster to get this. You might get hurt." He set the plate down and stepped back.

She kept staring at both him and the plate for a moment, debating which was the greater risk—waiting for him to leave or going to the food while he was there. Finally she made up her mind and went over, ravenously gobbling the food.

Sadness filled Radley's eyes. "When's the last time you had a good meal?"

She mumbled noncommittally with her mouth full of food.

A heavy footfall signaled the arrival of one of his cooks. The man glowered at the Eevee, raising a rolling pin above his head. "Why, you . . . !"

The Eevee looked up and flinched, ready to bolt.

Radley grabbed the rolling pin. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"You can't let a stray hang around here, Mr. Ramon," the cook snarled. "It'll bring more! And it looks like a filthy creature, nothing like the ones you've got inside!"

Radley advanced on him, forcing him to walk backwards into the kitchen. "This is my establishment and I'll decide who gets to dine here," he said evenly, but with definite anger. "If I want to feed a stray Eevee, I have that right."

The Eevee stared at him over the plate of food. He was different . . . so different from the people she had known before. . . . He was protecting her. No one had ever done that.

The cook still looked upset, but he backed down. Radley was definitely his superior and there was little he could do if Radley wanted the Eevee there. "You might regret it if a whole herd of them come," he said.

"We can spare a little," Radley said. "This stuff was gonna be thrown out anyway. If it can be eaten, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned."

The Eevee went back to the food, eating peacefully. Was it possible, really possible, that someone was being nice just to be nice? He really didn't have an angle?

Radley waited until the cook left, then turned back to her. "I'm sorry about that, Miss," he said. "No one should have their meal disrupted by such disagreeable behavior."

"Vee . . ." said the Eevee.

"So, you need a pretty name," Radley decided. "All Eevees are beautiful. Let's see. . . . I met a really nice Shiny Eevee named Lily. That's a nice name. Do you wanna be Lily?"

She wagged her tail. "Eee . . . Eevee!" No one had ever wanted to call her something nice, either.

Radley grinned. "Okay then. Lily it is!"

He waited while Lily finished eating. She wasn't nearly as tough as she had initially appeared. He had no doubt that she could hold her own in a fight, but she clearly wanted to be loved. Showing her kindness was starting to bring that out, albeit he could also see the wariness in her eyes of waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had seen that same look on many of the Bunch when he had first started getting to know them. They had been used to cruelty and unkindness and had wondered what kind of angle Radley had and when his darker motives for acting nice would be revealed. But one by one they had become convinced of his sincerity. He hoped the same would be true of Lily. He wanted to be friends with her.

Finally the plate was empty. Lily licked it for several minutes to get every last scrap before leaning back and starting to wash a paw.

Radley smiled. "I hope you enjoyed our afterhours special," he said.

"Eevee!" Lily declared.

Radley bent to get the plate and now deposited it in the garbage. He always kept the property around the diner clean and free of trash, just like the diner itself. Lily continued to sit there, grooming herself and watching Radley every moment.

"How would you like to get cleaned up and come home with us?" he asked. "There's three Eevees inside and two of them live with me and my best friend."

Lily considered that. It was quite a jump to go from people only caring about her abilities to suddenly being showered with real kindness. It was hard to fully trust in it. But . . . what did she have to lose? She could always fight back if something went wrong. That was how she'd lived her life up to this point. And trying this out sounded a lot nicer than curling up under a porch to sleep, which was what she'd been planning.

"Vee!" she said at last.

"Great! Come on inside." Radley held the door open for her and she walked into the kitchen. For a moment she stood, looking at everything in awed amazement. Everything was so clean and there were so many good food smells. She would have been happy to linger for a time, but when Radley opened the door to the back hall, she followed him there and up the stairs to his office. It was just as well; she didn't want to run into that mean cook again.

He brought her into the connecting bathroom and gestured at the tub. "Here we are. Your grooming station, milady."

Lily hopped into the tub and Radley turned on the taps, getting a nice, gentle warm temperature. Her first reaction to getting wet and then soaped up was to yell indignantly. But Radley kept talking soothingly to her and the dirt was running down the drain, leaving her feeling so light and free. She watched it for a moment and then looked to him, treating her so tenderly.

Why was he so nice?

She looked deeply into his eyes. There was nothing but sincerity there. It still didn't make sense to her, but she couldn't find any trace of ill will. He was as gentle as he appeared to be.

When she was all rinsed and the bath finished, Radley turned off the water and reached for a thick towel. "There we go. All clean!"

Lily shook out her fur like a dog. Radley laughed, holding up the towel to defend himself. Apparently he was used to animals doing that. He wrapped her in the towel, still talking soothingly to her, and started rubbing her dry. "Let's go down to the lounge, okay? You can finish drying off and meet everyone else."

"Eevee!" she agreed.

Radley picked her up, something else she was completely unused to, and carried her towel and all downstairs. She stiffened in his grasp, not sure what to make of it. But when she heard the other Eevees and how happy they sounded, she started to relax again. Things were just as he had said.

The other Eevees were playing in the main room and all looked up as they arrived. "This is Lily," Radley told them. "She's thinking of staying with us."

"Eevee!" one exclaimed in particular joy.

They all followed him to the lounge and he set Lily down near the fireplace. She and the others were soon talking.

"I love when Radley gives me a bath!" the first Eevee exclaimed. "He's so kind and sweet!"

"Was that what he did when you first showed up?" Lily wondered.

"No, because my paw was hurt and he didn't want to hurt the bandages," she said. "But he did it soon! I'm Evie! This is Evan and Isla!" She indicated the others, who also said Hello.

"You're all so nice," Lily said in surprised bewilderment. "He is too. It's . . . not what I'm used to."

"He's amazing!" Evie gushed. "Are you going to come home with me and Evan?"

"Or you could come home with me," Isla said. "We could play!"

"I . . . I don't know," Lily said. She sat down and curled her tail around her. "I think Radley was planning to take me home with him."

"He'll do whatever you want," Isla said.

The problem was, Lily wasn't sure what she wanted. This was an overload of information, of positive feelings, that were just foreign to her. She wasn't sure how to proceed from here.

"What if I don't know what I want?" she said at last.

"Then he'll be patient while you figure it out," Evan said.

Evie nodded. "We all love new friends! Radley does too!"

"And you love Radley," Lily said.

"Well, of course!" Evie exclaimed. "Why wouldn't we?!"

"Why does he want Eevees?" Lily wondered.

"He loves us!" Evie said. "I was his childhood Pokemon! Eevees always reminded him of me, even when we couldn't be together! Team Rocket took me away for years. But then I got away and I never stopped looking until I found him!"

Lily stared at her. "That kind of devotion . . ." She shook her head. "I've heard about things like that, but I didn't think they could really be real."

"People were always mean to you, weren't they?" Evan said.

". . . Yeah," Lily quietly admitted. "They're interested in what I can do, but they don't really care about me."

Evan nodded. "People always wanted to catch me and immediately make me evolve. It made me want to not evolve out of spite."

"Are you ever going to?" Lily wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe." Evan looked thoughtful. "Kalin is okay with it if I never do, so I'm happy just to be Eevee for now."

"I'm always going to be Eevee," Evie said cheerfully. "I want to stay small enough that Radley can hold me. He wants me to do whatever makes me happy. And nothing makes me happier than Radley holding me!"

"I don't know what I want," Isla said. "I used to be able to Gigantimax, so I couldn't evolve. But I don't have that ability anymore, so I suppose now I could evolve if I want to. We could all play together no matter what, but it's nice to be the same size as Evie and Evan. All the evolved forms are so big compared to us."

"A bunch of Eevees running around. . . ." Lily's eyes gleamed a bit. "That sounds fun."

"Yeah, and it fits because Radley is the leader of a motorcycle gang called The Radley Bunch!" Evie exclaimed.

"A motorcycle gang?" Lily looked confused. "But he seems so nice. . . ."

"They're all nice!" Evie said. "They're not really a gang, but they're not a club either. They're really just a group of friends who like motorcycles! Or that's how Radley explains it. I don't really understand. But they don't hurt people! They try to help people! They run this whole town and I'm so proud!"

"I don't understand either, but I'd like to stay for a while," Lily said. "This place seems nicer than anywhere I've been before."

"Another friend!" Evie exclaimed, tail wagging vigorously. "Will you come with me and Evan or go with Isla?"

". . . I'm still not sure," Lily said. "Radley's the only human I've met so far. . . ."

"You'll meet them all and then you can decide," Evie said confidently.

xxxx

Radley went back out to where Kalin and the Bunch were waiting in the main room. Scotch especially looked delighted. "They're saying you found another Eevee!" he gushed.

Radley chuckled. "She found me, actually. The poor girl came here looking for food, so I gave her the scraps. It's a good thing Pokemon can safely eat more human food than regular animals can."

"Is she staying?" Kalin asked.

"I asked her if she wanted to, and she acts like she does," Radley said. "I'm not sure who she's going home with, though. Kalin and I have two now, but I've kinda been bonding with this sweetheart."

"I'm alright with another one," Kalin said. "The Eevees probably are too. But we could all go in and she could choose from among us."

"Yeah!" Scotch said. "I'd like to have a chance. But I'm sure she'll want to go with you, Radley!"

Radley was gently amused at Scotch's idolizing. "We'll see," he said.

They all soon went into the lounge, where all the Eevees looked up at them. "Hi, girl!" Scotch gushed, addressing the new one. "Are you going home with Radley?"

"Eevee," Lily said.

"Or you could come with me," Scotch offered as he bent to pet her. "Isla would love a playmate. You could be Biff's Eevee!"

Biff looked a little unsure, but he smiled a bit. "If she doesn't roughhouse as much as Isla does, then maybe . . ."

"Eevee," Lily said noncommittally. So far she liked the idea of being Radley's or Scotch's Eevee better. They both seemed genuinely interested in her.

Biff noticed. "You could have two, Scotch," he said. "I look after all of you guys as it is. That's plenty."

"You just need to meet one with the right personality!" Scotch said. "Lily's really serious, so she'd be good for you!"

"I think Lily likes more outgoing personalities," Biff said. "Radley made a big impression on her."

"Maybe she could try being with each of us and then decide," Radley said. "She could come with us tonight and with you guys tomorrow night, and keep trying other willing members of the Bunch if she's still not sure."

"That's fair," Biff said.

"Do you wanna try that, Lily?" Radley asked her.

"Eee . . ." Lily mused.

"Or maybe you'd just rather plan on living with us," Radley added.

"Eevee!" Lily nodded.

Radley smiled. "Alright then. We are really happy to have you, Lily."

"Yay! We'll have fun!" Evie exclaimed, jumping up and down in her excitement.

Lily wasn't sure at all what to expect. When it was time to go, she went outside with everyone and Radley gently put her in a basket attached to Kalin's motorcycle. "You can ride back with Evan in this," he explained as he affixed the safety straps. "It's not far to our house."

"Eevee?" Lily looked unsure now.

"It's fine," Evan told her. "It's completely safe."

Lily swished her tail uneasily.

The ride was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Evie was exclaiming in joy from inside Radley's jacket, while Evan was more subdued but definitely enjoying it. Lily, well . . . after the initial unease, she warmed up fast. She had ridden all kinds of Pokemon and vehicles during her adventures. This was fun once she got into it.

They got to a nice house on a pleasant street and Radley helped Kalin undo the safety straps. He took Lily in one arm while petting Evie in his jacket with his free hand. Kalin carried Evan. They called Goodbye to the others, including Scotch, Biff, and Isla, and went inside.

"Here we are," Radley announced as he set the Eevees on the floor. Kalin added Evan.

"We like to run around and play before bed!" Evie said. "But we could show you around instead!"

"I'd like that," Lily said. "I want to understand everything here."

For the next half-hour, Evan and Evie played host and hostess, telling her about all the rooms and the softest and comfiest furniture. Of course, Evie's favorite spot was Radley's lap. Not as soft as the beds, but it was Radley, so nothing else mattered to her. Lily listened attentively to everything, sniffed the furniture, and finally sat on a chair like a regal princess.

"What do you think?" Kalin asked.

"I'm not sure," Radley mused. "I think she likes it here. We'll have to see how she feels tomorrow."

Kalin nodded. "She really likes you. I think she'd be sad to go with someone else."

"Maybe," Radley said. "I don't wanna have a monopoly on Eevees. We all love them."

"No one here would think that of you," Kalin said. "You're giving Lily the freedom to choose. It really looks like she's already chosen you."

Radley smiled a bit. "I always was told I have that kind of charisma that draws people to me."

"You do. And animals as well." Kalin watched as the Eevees started to run around, their tour finished. Mostly they stayed on the floor, but Evie especially jumped on furniture and off again. The others pounced. Soon they were rolling across the carpet.

Radley laughed. "I hope they'll all fit on the pet couch."

"Eevees are small. I think there's enough room for three," Kalin said. "Maybe four."

He was right. Eventually they all settled down on it, with Evie in the middle, and started to doze all curled up together.

"It's interesting how animals innocently snuggle together like that," Radley mused. "Human culture is usually that it's not heard of if it's not a romantic thing."

"Of course, it's different with us," Kalin said.

Radley grinned. "Yeah. Well, let's get ready for bed ourselves. It's late."

Soon both had showered in the home's two bathrooms and were climbing into bed in peace. They snuggled close as well and soon slipped off to sleep.