Chapter Three

Evie listened as Radley and Kalin told of the town's past and of Radley's struggle to protect the town and its people from Malcolm's Crew. Kalin looked a bit awkward to be telling all of this to an animal, but he was following Radley's lead and he could see both that Radley believed Evie understood and that Evie definitely seemed to. She was listening very attentively, and cried out with indignation and emotional pain several times. Kalin hated to even bring up that Radley had died from the torture in the mines, but she deserved to know. She would likely hear it from other sources if not from them. But upon hearing the news, she wailed in anguish and leaped on Radley, nuzzling him and licking his face.

Radley held her close. "Hey, I'm okay now," he soothed. "Everyone's love gave me the strength to fight."

"Eevee-vee!" she exclaimed, cuddling against his neck.

"And he forgave me for everything," Kalin said softly. "He still wanted to be friends."

"Vee. . . ." Evie continued to snuggle Radley and he gently stroked her fur.

"No, I don't know why," Kalin said. "But I'm so grateful. I can't imagine life without him."

"And you'll never have to," Radley soothed. He smiled at Evie. "I always knew Kalin was special. When I learned the full story of why I'd been hurt, I knew he deserved another chance. People suffering from depression, as he was, just don't have their minds clear."

". . . Is a Pokemon going to understand about depression?" Kalin wondered.

"Pokemon can have depression too," Radley said. "Maybe she would."

"Vee . . ." Evie said softly. Finally she nuzzled Kalin, to his surprise.

"She understands enough," Radley smiled.

Kalin was still confused, and now he really had to wonder what had happened in the innocent Pokemon's life before they met her. They would probably never know, he supposed. He would have to be satisfied that she was forgiving of him, even though he certainly didn't understand why.

He slowly reached out, petting her head. She made a purring sound, rubbing his hand.

"She acts like a cat," he said in surprise.

Radley chuckled. "It sure is cute, isn't it?"

"Yes," Kalin admitted.

It wasn't long after that when the Bunch finally arrived. Kalin got up to get the door and they all trouped in.

"Hi, Kalin. Hi, Radley. Hi, Eevee!" Scotch called for all of them.

Evie looked up with a start. "Eeveeee!" she greeted.

"She's so cute!" Scotch gushed.

"Right now Kalin and I just got through telling her about Malcolm," Radley said.

"And about us too, huh?" Virgil said. More specifically, about their betrayals.

Radley sighed. "Yeah. We didn't want her hearing about it from someone else, so we decided to be the ones to tell her."

"Does she hate us all now?" Billy wondered.

Evie settled on Radley's lap and looked up at them. "Vee. . . ."

"I don't think so," Radley said. "I still love you guys so much, and you're different now. We told the whole story, including why it happened."

"None of us get the Why," Billy said. "I know we were scared. I sure was. But it's not an excuse."

Evie nodded. "Vee!"

"Let's just try to all move on," Radley said. "We've got a lot to think about now."

"We sure do!" Scotch exclaimed. "We've got our first female member of the Bunch and she's so cute!"

"Eevee-vee!" Evie cheered.

"We should have a big party in her honor!" Scotch went on.

Radley chuckled. "That's great with me." He petted Evie. "And you'd like that too, huh?"

"Eevee!" Evie confirmed.

Kalin had to smile a bit. She really was cute. She reminded him a bit of an animal version of Scotch, so full of energy and enthusiasm.

"Have any of you heard anything about what the townspeople are thinking?" Radley asked. "We figure they all probably know by now, after last night."

"Most of what we've heard is how cute she is," Billy said. "But some people were wondering if she's a wild animal or dangerous. We told them she's a Pokemon, and very tame."

"Did anyone act like they might want to get her for themselves?" Radley asked. "I know they wouldn't come right out and say it, but maybe something in their behavior would tip you off."

"Some of them acted interested, yeah," Billy said. "A couple of people said how much people would probably pay for a rare animal like that. We said she wasn't for sale at any price."

"Ee-vee!" Evie exclaimed in agreement.

"Good," Radley said. "Do you think they were just talking or that they might try something?"

"Well, one of the people who said it was Klaus," Billy said. "And I think we can be pretty sure he won't do anything to hurt you, Radley."

"Good old Klaus," Radley chuckled.

"But the other used to be one of Malcolm's supporters," Virgil said in disgust. "She probably still is."

Radley sighed. "I don't wanna think poorly of them, but some of them have sure caused us a lot of trouble lately. It does make it hard to relax around them. They're usually hostile or passive-aggressive to us, even though most of them haven't done worse than that."

"So what are we going to do?!" Scotch wondered.

"For now, just mind our own business and look after Evie while she's recovering," Radley said. "Someone should always be with her, so we'll rotate who goes on patrol. Evie can come to the diner too."

"And be out where everyone can see her?" Virgil frowned.

"They already saw her last night," Radley said. "Eevees are really sociable. I don't wanna leave her in my office or something, unless she wants some peace and quiet. We can get some nice, soft cushions and she can lay on those to watch everything that's going on."

"Eevee!" Evie chirped in approval.

"I also wanna get her a collar and nametag," Radley said. "But I don't think Pokemon are microchipped and I don't know how they'd take to that, so probably not that too. Eventually I'll need to get a Pokeball as proof of ownership to people from the Pokemon regions."

"How are you going to do that?" Virgil looked skeptical.

"I could just buy one online, but I'm not sure where I'd get an authentic one and not a toy," Radley said. "The best thing to do would probably be to go see one of the Pokemon professors. Solomon Muto knows a couple of them, so maybe I can talk to him about where to go. I might need to have Evie with me, though, so she'll need to get better first."

"Yeah! We'll all help Eevee get better, and then we'll take a fun day trip to New Domino City!" Scotch cheered. "And then probably explore a Pokemon region!"

"Ee-vee!" Evie exclaimed.

"Oh, and she has a name, but it's E-V-I-E," Radley added, still looking a bit embarrassed. "It sounds the same as Eevee. I named her as a kid and I wasn't very creative, but she wants to keep her name."

"Aww, that's cute, though!" Scotch said. "She likes it, so that's the most important thing!"

Radley slowly smiled. "Yeah, that's true."

Evie nuzzled him happily.

xxxx

The day proceeded normally and peacefully, with the Bunch taking turns on patrol and Radley staying at the diner as much as possible. The customers were thrilled with the adorable animal, including West and Nico when they arrived for lunch with Jordan.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Nico beamed, seeing Evie relaxing on the soft pillow in the window.

"A real Pokemon!" West exclaimed.

"Eevee!" Evie chirped. She had been enjoying seeing everyone come and go, and she definitely appreciated all the attention she had been getting.

"Can we pet her?!" West pleaded.

"She would love that," Radley smiled.

West promptly started petting her in glee. Nico joined in as well.

Kalin smiled too as he watched. "I'm going to call Yusei," he told Radley. "He hasn't heard about any of this latest commotion."

"Yes, you do that," Radley said. He leaned back, just enjoying the happy scene.

Yusei was working on his Duel Runner when Kalin called, but he immediately perked up and smiled. "Kalin!" He set his tools aside and sat on the Duel Runner to talk. "What's up?"

"Well . . ." Kalin hesitated, wondering what was the best way to approach this subject. "Yusei, what do you know about Pokemon?"

Yusei blinked in surprise. "The card game, the video games, or the anime?"

". . . The reality," Kalin said after a moment.

". . . Not much," Yusei said. "I know there were Magnet Pokemon that hung out in the Satellite. They might still be there. And Sludge ones can be found in the sewers." He made a face.

Kalin frowned. "I always thought those were silly rumors kids made up, but now I'm not sure."

"I think I saw a Magnet one once," Yusei said. "What's happening, Kalin?"

"Well . . ." Kalin swung the phone around to reveal Evie, who swished her tail and happily greeted Yusei.

". . . Wow," Yusei said in surprise. "She's beautiful."

The kids chorused greetings to Yusei, who smiled and returned the sentiments before turning his attention back to the sweet fox-like animal.

"Where did she come from?"

"Out of the mountains," Kalin said. "Her paw's hurt. She found Radley and he took her in. She's actually a Pokemon he met years ago when she played at the villa. Then she disappeared and he didn't hear any more from her."

"And now he's with her again," Yusei said. "That's incredible."

"I know you don't believe in destiny, Yusei, but I can't see how they weren't meant to meet," Kalin said. "There's too many things that had to align just right."

"It's definitely amazing how that worked," Yusei said. "Maybe their hearts called to each other. Is he going to keep her or will she have to go back?"

"Oh, she's absolutely staying," Kalin said with a smile. "It would shatter their hearts to be separated again. Radley wants to go about establishing himself as her owner, though, and he figures he'll need a Pokeball if anyone from a Pokemon region wanders in and sees her."

"That's probably a good idea," Yusei said. "Trainers can be really zealous and determined if they want a Pokemon. Most of them would probably respect Radley's ownership anyway, but there's always those few who don't care and think someone's not the real owner if there's no Pokeball."

"And then if they insist on trying anyway, they seem to feel the Pokemon is bound to their Pokeball," Radley frowned. "Although the Pokemon can still break out and refuse to be theirs. But I'd like to be absolutely safe on this."

"I guess there's no place in the City that sells them," Kalin said.

"Not that I know of," Yusei said. "There's just not enough around here for the stores to think it's a good investment."

"That's what we figured," Kalin said. "When she's better, we're planning to come talk to Yugi's grandfather. Radley says he knows a couple of Pokemon professors."

"Good," Yusei said, but he looked a little concerned.

"Do you think we shouldn't wait?" Radley asked.

"It's probably fine, but I'm just wondering if you'll have any trouble with rogue Trainers before that," Yusei said. "Eevees are pretty sought-after, I think, since they can change into so many other, powerful Pokemon."

"Vee," Evie sighed.

"Well, I don't think she could handle a motorcycle ride right now," Radley frowned. "What should we do?"

"It's just my opinion, but if you could get Klaus or Jordan to bring you to the City in their truck or van, you should probably do it as soon as possible," Yusei said. "Maybe Mr. Muto would even have some Pokeballs on hand himself."

"Thanks, Yusei," Kalin said with a quick glance at Radley.

"Yes," Radley agreed. "We'll see what we can come up with."

Kalin and Yusei talked a bit longer before Kalin hung up. Radley was deep in thought, staring down at the table without really seeing it.

"What do you want to do?" Kalin asked.

"Yusei's right, I'm afraid," Radley said. "We really shouldn't wait. We're both worried about what some of Malcolm's supporters might do, and Trainers could show up anytime."

"Dad could definitely take you guys in!" West exclaimed. "And then we could go too!"

"West," Nico admonished, but she looked hopeful as well.

Jordan looked a little awkward to be put on the spot, but he nodded. "I'd be happy to do it," he said. "We could go in tomorrow."

"Thank you," Radley smiled. "It would mean a lot to us."

"Eevee!" Evie chirped.

Kalin nodded in agreement. Maybe while they were in the City, he would look into the possibility of getting a car. They kept needing one for various reasons and he hated imposing on people, as he knew Radley did too.

"I'll pack a lunch," Nico offered.

"Thank you, Nico," Kalin said. "That's thoughtful."

"It may be quite a task, though," Radley chuckled uneasily. "I'm sure some of the Bunch will want to come too."

"Oh, that's fine," Nico smiled. "It will be nice for us to all have a picnic in the park there."

"It will," Kalin agreed.

"Eevee!" Evie rejoiced.

"If we go to the Pokemon region, can we get Pokemon?!" West asked.

Jordan looked even more overwhelmed. "We'll see. If you can, it should just be one each. They should be thought of as pets, like Evie here. I don't want them battling."

"That would be fine," Nico said. "Thank you, Dad!"

Radley chuckled a bit and looked to Kalin. "What do you think about that?" he mused. "Would you like one too?"

Kalin grunted. "It's all happening pretty fast. We have Evie right now. Maybe that's enough."

"Of course," Radley nodded. "It is a lot to get used to."

"That said, I won't turn one away if for some reason it wants to be with me," Kalin said.

Radley smiled. "I can easily imagine one would."

Kalin couldn't, but stranger things had happened, he supposed.

"Eee," said Eevee.