Chapter 6: The Enigmatic Evolution Pokémon
The road from Pallet to Viridian wasn't long—maybe around two miles or so. Fortunately for us, we weren't planning to go any further than Viridian, so we could take our time getting there and still be able to relax once we arrived.
Route 1 was mostly made up of grassland, with sole trees dotting the terrain and tall grass covering the ground. In the distance, smudges of green and gray were all we could see of wooded areas and mountain peaks.
As we walked, the three of us chatted about the things we were looking forward to, along with the different kinds of Pokémon we wanted to catch. Lance showed me his Squirtle, who hadn't yet evolved but had grown quite large since I'd last seen him, and introduced me to his Pidgeotto, whom he had caught and trained as a Pidgey. Seeing this only made me that much more excited to proceed in our journey and become stronger along the way. Those Pokémon weren't going to catch and train themselves, you know.
The suburban city came into sight before noon, a hazy shape outlined ahead of us on the horizon. Its buildings were of moderate height, composed mainly of short office buildings and tightly packed houses with small yards. People strolled the sidewalks, giving its streets a populated feel—not too crowded, not too lonely.
It didn't take long to find the Pokémon Center with its notorious red roof and Poké Ball logo, although we did have to drag Lance away from a few restaurant windows before we got there. Upon arriving, we checked into a room and ate lunch in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, both of which were free courtesy to travelling Trainers.
"Man, that was good," Lance said, stretching. "Free food isn't all bad." The two of us burped simultaneously, earning a strange look from Riley. I smiled innocently up at him; hey, better out than in as they always say.
"It was okay," he commented with a sniff, deciding not to address our abrupt sounds. "Chicken was a bit dry. Soup could use more salt." I rolled my eyes at him, but of course, he was just being Riley. He didn't like to think of anyone as a better cook than himself, which is why he couldn't work with other people in a kitchen.
I mimicked Lance's stretch as we exited the cafeteria and made our way to the Pokémon Center's training grounds. Lance and Riley were raring to battle one another, which meant that I would be stuck watching or training solo; it wouldn't have been fair for me to use Hisa against them with the size-and-strength advantage that he possessed, but it sure made me feel frustrated.
The training ground was pretty vast, with plenty of practice fields outlined in the dirt. There were also pools, obstacle courses, and many other types of fields and training equipment. Benches were set up all over the property, shadowed by trees and lining the sides of the battlefields. Trainers milled everywhere throughout the area.
"Well buddy, looks like we're on our own for now," I sighed, crossing my arms as Lance and Riley took their positions on a vacant field. Hisa snorted and let out a small whimper, as if to say, "Aww man." I fingered his Poké Ball thoughtfully with a sigh before I remembered that his was no longer the only one on my belt.
That's right…there's still the Pokémon that Professor Oak gave me. I plucked the second sphere off my belt, surprised that I had forgotten about it so quickly. My partner gazed at the red and white orb, sniffing at it inquiringly.
"Let's find out who our new friend is, shall we?" Hisa offered an enthusiastic snort, a plume of smoke rising from his nostrils. What kind of Pokémon did Professor Oak give us? I positioned myself for the release, burning with curiosity. "Go, Poké Ball!"
The Poké Ball sailed into the air, popping open in mid-arc and unleashing a jagged beam of white light that descended onto the grass. There, it began materializing into a small, four-legged form with slender, pointed ears and a bushy tail.
"Oh hey…it's an Eevee," I stated, feeling excited for the tenth time that day. The Evolution Pokémon had tan colored fur covering most of his body, with a fluffy cream collar surrounding his neck and a similar coloration tipping his tail. He surveyed his surroundings warily, but held a calm composure. "Hey there, Eevee! How's it going?" I greeted. "I'm Swift, and this is Hisa. I'm going to be your new Trainer, so let's work hard together, okay?"
Eevee's head snapped in my direction, and suddenly I found myself staring into the coldest, most piercing eyes I had ever seen. Only now did I remember Professor Oak saying that the Pokémon he gave us were highly distrustful of humans. Hopefully, that wasn't an understatement.
Hisa grunted, shifting. I could tell that he was baffled about his new teammate, and swallowed anxiously, suddenly having the urge to crawl back into my nice, comfy bed in Pallet Town.
"Don't be like that," I coaxed, extending my hand. "Come on—we'll make a great team." Hisa punctuated my words with a friendly growl, neither of which lifted the hostile look on Eevee's face. I stiffened, racking my mind for other techniques to try. Usually, the friendly approach got through to most Pokémon. Of course, I'd met my fair share of rowdy ones, but I'd never seen one so cold-looking before.
"Eeee!" the Normal type snarled, spreading his legs in preparation to pounce. His eyes flared a golden orange as the fur along the edge of his spine shot up. I took a step back, alarmed. This...was definitely not normal. Another round of "Eeee!" sent sparks flying from the Evolution Pokémon's pelt, and my sanity must've bailed on me, because I was pretty sure that Eevee couldn't learn any Electric attacks.
"H-hey I didn't mean to offend you―"
And then he leapt. The Evolution Pokémon came at me so fast that I didn't even realize he had moved until he slammed into my stomach. I fell back with an involuntary cry as small bursts of electricity sparked my body. Now, I've been electrocuted by a Pokémon before, but I don't remember any of those other times hurting as much as it did now. Instinctively I shoved the Evolution Pokémon off my body, jumping to my feet despite the aches that were quickly developing where the electricty had made contact.
But Eevee wasn't done yet. He lunged almost immediately after he got to his paws, but this time I was prepared. I sidestepped the attack and tried to grab hold of the furry Pokémon, but snatched my arms back as he snapped his jaws at me.
"Eevee, calm down!" I shouted as a yellow bolt of energy soared over my head. I gazed into the Normal type's glowing, fiery eyes that seemed to be filled with nothing but hatred. "We're not your enemies!"
Eevee either didn't believe me or didn't care—or maybe both, because he rammed into me before I could react, throwing me back a good several yards. Air suddenly rushed out of my lungs, rendering me almost immobile.
"Stop!" I ordered, getting to my feet. The command must've come out louder than I thought, because several Trainers in the area immediately turned their heads, and Eevee suddenly stood stock-still (although his expression didn't change). I ignored the stares that were directed at us and aimed the Poké Ball back at Eevee. "Eevee, return!" A red beam shot forward from the Poké Ball's button, enveloping the Evolution Pokémon and withdrawing him back inside. I exhaled in relief, grateful that I was able to withdraw him before he had done any real damage.
"Look out!"
Before I knew it, two strong, green vines had bound my entire midsection, pinning my arms to my sides.
"What the heck…...?"
"Saur!" Riley's Ivysaur blinked up at me, the beginning ends of the vines originating from the giant bud on his back. "Saur?" The Seed Pokémon cocked his head, clearly confused as to why he had caught me.
"Squirtle-squirt!" cheered the Tiny Turtle Pokémon who stood on my opposite side. His skin was sky blue, with a large brown shell covering his torso and a curled tail sticking out of its rear. The Water Pokémon looked quite happy about the fact that I had been tied up.
"Swift, are you okay?" Lance called as he and Riley ran over from their sides of the battlefield.
"Yeah," I replied, rolling my shoulders as Ivysaur released me from his vines.
"What happened? We heard you shouting something about an Eevee."
"Well, that's what's in those Poké Balls that Professor Oak gave us." I reported, frowning.
"Just an Eevee?" Riley asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me you got thrown into the middle of our battle by a little Eevee."
"Oh trust me—it's not just any Eevee," I said, letting out a small laugh. "I would be careful if I were you."
Of course, I probably shouldn't have said that, knowing that my friends only become more curious when someone admonishes them. Before I could argue, both boys drew their Poké Balls and released their contents. Within an instant, everything became chaos.
Lance's Eevee was no less aggresive than mine, but the problem was that the supposed Normal type spewed fire. That's right: fire. The Evolution Pokémon almost cooked us all for dinner before Hisa restrained her with his clawed hands, the flames having no affect on his scaly skin.
Riley's Eevee was probably the most well-behaved of the bunch, but at the same time she wasn't completely obedient, either. When Riley tried to approach her, we were forced to dodge numerous shots of pressurized water (which, in case you don't know, can really hurt). She didn't seem interested in having any contact with us, and left us alone when we kept our distance.
"You were right," Riley admitted, raising his eyebrows once he had withdrawn the Evolution Pokémon. "Those aren't just any Eevee."
"Got that right," I muttered. Our first day away from home was turning out to be quite eventful.