"So where are your family at the moment?" asked Jake's mother as she carried the tea into the living room.
"Thanks, Liz," Mr Wilson said as he accepted the offered tea. "They're in town, doing the shopping. Martha likes to take Rachel with her. She figures the earlier Rachel learns to do the groceries, the sooner she won't have to. I have to admit that four is a little young, but it frees up time for me to get that extra bit of work done."
Jake trudged into the room, his head down.
"She's dead."
A stony silence filled the room, as the two adults absorbed what he'd said.
"She just…stopped breathing. Just like that."
This wasn't by any means the first time Jake had seen something die. Living in a rural area, it was hard to avoid. But it was always objectified. He'd never liked it, but he never felt genuinely sad. This was different. He'd held that Eevee in his arms. He'd felt it breathing. He'd tried to help it. And he'd failed. He'd seen the way the cubs had curled up next to their mother, and he knew they'd never be able to do that again. It tore his heart.
"Jake," said his mother, reading his expression correctly, "It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could. You saved those cub's lives. If they'd been left out there they surely would have died without their mother."
"Yeah, mate, you're mother's right. You did well. Don't beat yourself up."
"But if I'd been faster-"
"The medical team from Olivine were still about ten minutes away. No-one could have been that quick."
"What if I'd had my phone?"
"I still would have had to drive out. It would have worked out the same anyway."
"Jake, we're both very proud of you for saving those cubs," said his mother soothingly. "I'm sure she was very grateful."
"Yeah, I guess. Thanks. We should probably call the Pokemon Centre and cancel that help."
Mr Wilson got up and went to the phone. Jake and his mother went into the kitchen to see how the cubs were doing. When they walked in, they were sniffing and nudging their mother. Seeing them, the little silver one bristled and growled.
"What'll we do with the cubs?" asked Jake.
"Why don't we look after them for a while?" suggested his mother. "The Greys get back in three weeks. Peter will know what to do with them after that. He might even take them in himself. He likes normal types."
"That's not a bad idea," said Mr Wilson approvingly, walking in. "That silver one's feisty, isn't he?" he said, noticing the defensive stance he'd adopted.
"Do you think we should bury her now?" asked Liz.
"No, the medical team is still going to come," replied Mr Wilson. "Cause of death, that sort of thing. Just because Eevee are endangered. That logging company may be held responsible. Those paws look as though they were crushed by a log or something. I told them that."
"It would be good if the cubs sort of… you know, realised what happened before we bury her, anyway."
They sat in silence as the silver cub relaxed and went back to nudging and sniffing its mother with its siblings. Eventually, they seemed to realise that she wouldn't answer. Jake watched with sadness as they resorted to trying to return to their position curled beneath their mother. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't force their way underneath with their mother's dead weight. First the chestnut coloured one gave up, and it curled up about a foot away. Then the slightly lighter one did the same, curling next to its sibling. Only the silver was still trying to burrow its way underneath when the team from Olivine City arrived.
"Ah, I see it had cubs," said a deeply lined woman as she bustled into the room. "Poor dears."
The words seemed automated and meaningless from the woman, who had probably seen thousands of cases like this in what appeared to have been many years. Then again, maybe the lines we're just from stress. A Chansey followed close behind, not entirely sure what to do, now that there was no-one to heal. She spotted the two curled up cubs, and tried to cheer them up.
"Your names?"
"Liz Baker, Jake Baker, and I'm Rodney Wilson."
"Ah, yes, I see what you meant, Mr Wilson," said the woman, examining the dead Eevee, "These paws have obviously been crushed by something. It doesn't look like any battle injury I've ever seen. Was it you that found her?" she inquired of Mr Wilson.
"No, it was Jake here," he said, gesturing towards the teenager, "He probably saved those three cub's lives. I just drove."
"I see. Can you describe what happened?"
Jake described in as much detail as he could manage what had happened. He was sure to include, very clearly, the blood trail that led in the direction of the loggers.
"I see. Chansey is questioning those cubs, but they're probably too young to be of any use. The logging company may be in quite some trouble. Every company whose work may potentially disrupt the environment must file a report saying that no rare or endangered species inhabit an area in which they wish to work."
"I hope they get busted for it," said Mr Wilson irritably. "Though they'll probably get off. Always a touch above the law, those companies."
"About the cubs," questioned the lady, "If they were found on your property I can find no reason for you not to keep them, but if you don't want to, we can take them and put them in a sanctuary."
"No, that'll be alright," replied Mr Wilson. "I think we decided Jake and Liz would keep them for a few weeks until Peter Grey, who lives on the property next to mine, comes back from vacation. He was a gym leader who specialised in normal types over in Hoenn, so he should know what to do."
"Very well, then. Because they're endangered, one of you'll have to go to Olivine and get them registered. When does your friend Mr Grey return?"
"Three weeks. Well, just under," replied Liz.
"Alright, I suppose it can wait until then," replied the elderly woman, a kind smile flittering across her face. "You'd best think up some names, Mr Baker. They'll need them for registration."
"Um, OK, I'll think about some."
"Good. Three weeks, come to the Centre, we'll get it all sorted out."
The cubs took a while to settle in to their new home. The people from the Olivine Pokemon Centre had taken some pictures of the mother as evidence, allowing Jake and Liz to bury her. Mr Wilson and his family came to watch and help. The cubs simply sat and watched as their mother was buried. Jake thought it was strange that they hadn't tried to run away. He thought they might be reluctant to go anywhere without their mother's protection.
The two brown cubs had been fairly trusting of Jake and his mother. Once, the chestnut coloured one, which he'd aptly named, "Chestnut", had even curled up next to his arm, like it did with its mother. He wasn't sure of the genders of the three cubs, so he'd tried to go for non-gender specific names. He'd named the light brown one, "Lemon", but was still undecided about the feisty silver one. He wasn't sure if the silver one was younger than Chestnut and Lemon, or just naturally smaller. It definitely made up for any lack of size with sheer determination and aggression. It wasn't uncommon for Chestnut or Lemon to pick a fight with it, only to cop a quick, hard paw to the head. As young as they were, this was enough to end the fight. Jake noticed that no matter how much fighting went on during the day, they always curled up next to each other at night.
Jake had built a comfortable pen for the cubs to sleep in, with help from Mr Wilson. They had emailed Peter in Hoenn and told him the story about the Eevees. He'd offered to return early to look after them, but Liz wouldn't hear it. Instead, he gave them as much information on caring for Eevees as he could remember. He'd once raised one from birth, apparently, but then gave him to a breeding program once he reached a mature age.
In just two weeks, the cubs had tripled in size. They seemed to trust Jake and his mother enough not to run away. Jake had learned a fair bit about the cubs' personalities in this time. It seemed that Chestnut was the most trusting of their new carers. Jake had been pleasantly surprised when, while lying on the couch watching TV one day, Chestnut had jumped on the couch and curled up next to him for a nap. Seeing this, Lemon, who seemed to follow Chestnut around a lot, jumped on too. The silver one, who still didn't have a name, stayed exactly where it was. It was still cautious about Jake and his mother, but no longer growled at them, and accepted their presence with a careful calm.
By the time the Grey's returned from their vacation, Chestnut and Lemon were both about a foot long and half a foot tall. The silver one was just under a foot long, and a little less tall. Chestnut and Lemon both called happily every time Jake returned from his run, and Lemon seemed to have developed a genuine trust of him, rather than just following Chestnut.
Jake and Liz took the Eevees over to the Grey's house the day after they got back. Peter quickly identified both Chestnut and the silver one as male, while Lemon was female. Jake had no idea how he could tell, but he took his word for it. Simon and Chris seemed entirely uninterested by the pokemon, and went upstairs to play their videogames. Jake, Liz, Peter and his wife Marie sat and discussed the future of the pokemon.
"Well, if you want me to take them, I will," said Peter. "I've raised them before. Norman might want to keep them at his gym. We could even hand them over to a sanctuary or a breeding program. Females are quite rare, you know."
"I don't know about captivity," said Liz. "It seems cruel, even if it does increase their numbers."
"I agree," piped in Marie. "I've seen some of the worse ones. You wouldn't like to send them to one of those unless you absolutely had to."
"They seem to have become attached to Jake too," said Peter, watching Jake stroking Chestnut in his lap. "And he, them. You know, Jake, you could raise them."
At this, Jake looked up.
"You could even go on a journey with them. I'm sure they would like that."
"What, you mean like what you did?" asked Jake, shocked. "As a trainer?"
"If you want to."
"Mum?"
"I suppose," said Liz carefully. Somehow she knew this day would come. "Many kids start even younger. We'll talk about it."
"That's a good idea," said Peter. "Make sure it's what you really want to do." Peter knew it was only a formality. He had seen the gleam in the boy's eye when he'd hear about his adventures. It was the same gleam he'd had at his age.
A large part of the rest of the afternoon was spent talking about what he may or may not do on his journey. What he was and wasn't allowed to do. His mother had a great deal to say on that topic. About halfway through, Simon came down to find out what was going on. When he heard that Jake was going to become a trainer ("Maybe!" his mother insisted), a flicker of jealousy crossed his face, though that was something he would never admit to. He went upstairs with a casual, "Whatever," and the group got back to talking.
"Jake, have you thought up a name for the little one yet?" asked Liz.
"We have to go get them registered tomorrow," explained Jake. "I can't think of a name for him."
"How about just, "Silver", or something like that," suggested Marie. "Silvo or Silvio or something."
"Silvio sounds good," Jake interrupted. "I like that. I think that's what I'll call him. Silvio."
With that decided, they caught up on what the vacation was like, and what they did. Jake didn't pay much attention. He was too preoccupied with the thought of finally becoming a trainer.