Notes: The discussion on the Kaibas possibly helping is based on Harry2's suggestion.

Chapter Four

Radley wasn't really surprised when Scotch called back in a few minutes. "Hey, Radley?" he greeted. "I really would like to come with you guys. Uncle Robert went to the general store to get a couple of cat carriers. Then we can bring everyone along!"

Radley smiled. "That's great, Scotch. We'd be lonely without you guys."

"Yeah, and what if the owner is receptive and we're not there?! That would be awful," Scotch said.

"Eevee!" said Penny.

"I should get Penny's collar and nametag too," Scotch said. "I wonder if they have any that would fit baby Eevees too? I don't like to think of them not having identification if they manage to slip away or something!"

"That's a good point. I really hope they won't, though," Radley said. "Did you use Pokeballs yet?"

"On Penny, yeah," Scotch said. "Would I really need to on the babies?"

"I'm not sure," Radley said. "If they did get loose, I can imagine some overzealous Trainers trying to catch them."

Scotch frowned. "That'd be awful. We'd better do it, huh, Penny?"

Penny nodded. "Vee!"

"I'll hurry and do it," Scotch said. "Thanks, Radley! We'll see you soon!" He quickly hung up.

Radley smiled. "I'm glad they're coming. I really figured that would happen."

Kalin nodded. ". . . Do you think the babies will like being in carriers, though? Especially if their mother isn't in one with them?"

"They probably won't," Radley said. "Maybe there should be one big dog carrier that they can all be in together. Maybe I need to see if Robert's thought of that."

"You'd think he would," Kalin said.

"Yeah. I'm really sure he will," Radley said. "But I think I'll call him anyway."

The call brought the assurance that Robert had indeed thought of that problem and was getting a carrier large enough for Penny and the babies together. Radley hung up with a smile.

"Now we just need to think of a way for Ramon's owner to soften up and let the family visit," he said.

"That doesn't seem likely," Kalin said.

"I know," Radley sighed. "If they're completely immovable, do you think Seto or Mokuba might help us out?"

"What," Kalin grunted.

"Well, I don't think either of them would like to think of a nice family unable to even see each other, even an animal family," Radley said.

"Seto seems more like the type who would scoff and say we were wasting his time," Kalin said. "He might say that what one of his technicians was doing in the off-hours was none of his business or interest."

Radley sighed. "And maybe it's not. But on the other hand, Pokemon have human-level intelligence. And I think even Seto would be angry if he learned one of his employees was treating their own human family poorly. So maybe he'd extend that to an animal family member too." He smirked. "Or alternately, if Seto just didn't want to, I'm almost positive Mokuba would agree right away."

Kalin smirked too. "On that I'll agree."

"Then we'll try Mokuba if they don't agree to our own impassioned pleas," Radley smiled.

"That will be interesting," Kalin deadpanned.

"Yes, won't it? I wonder if it would even make the news," Radley chuckled. "'Loco businessman appeals to KaibaCorp for animal family rights.'"

"Who knows. Maybe it will start a precedent," Kalin said.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Radley mused.

Evie cheered with a paw in the air. If anyone could do it, she knew it would be Radley!

He laughed and petted her. "Let's get ready to go," he said. "Are you going to let Yusei know we're coming in?"

Kalin nodded. "I'll do that right now. And I'll tell him about the babies too."

"I wonder what he'll think of that," Radley said.

"I'm sure Bruno will be excited," Kalin said. "Yusei might wonder if we're able to handle it. I wonder myself."

"Me too," Radley admitted with a chuckle.

xxxx

Scotch was definitely growing more and more concerned about that himself. As he and Biff waited for Robert's return, the babies continued to climb all over Scotch. Holly made it to his head and stood there with a triumphant warble.

"Yeah, they sure love climbing," Biff groaned. But he had to admit this was cute. He snapped a picture. Scotch would want it later.

"I think they love it even more than Isla!" Scotch said, reaching to pet Holly.

"I dunno; Isla's kind of the queen of climbing," Biff said.

Isla warbled, quite agreeing with that.

Scotch had to smirk a bit as he reached to pet her. "You sure are, girl," he said.

Isla nuzzled his hand.

The door opened and Robert came back in with one very large carrier instead of two smaller ones. "I'm back now," he greeted.

Scotch looked up in surprise. "Was this the only size they had?" he asked.

"No, Lad," Robert said. "I realized the babies will likely fare much better if Penny is in there with them. They probably haven't been apart from her at all . . . except to cause mischief." He set the carrier down and opened the door.

"Oh. That's a really good idea," Scotch said.

Penny walked over to it, sniffed it, rubbed it, and climbed in on the soft blanket inside. The babies, seeing her settling down, all went over too and also got in.

Robert shut the door. "There. Now we have the whole family."

"Epic!" Scotch grinned.

Biff looked pleased too. "They won't be able to get the door open, will they?"

"They shouldn't be able to," Robert said. "And of course, we'll have to be careful opening the door so they don't suddenly rush out."

Scotch shuddered. "That would be awful."

"Hopefully we won't need to open the door while we're out," Robert said. "At least not unless Ramon's owner agrees to a meeting, which I'm sadly afraid is unlikely."

"I'll keep hoping for it, though!" Scotch said.

"As will we all," Robert said.

Penny warbled in agreement.

"It sounds like the van and everybody else is pulling up outside," Biff said. "We'd better go."

Robert lifted the carrier. "Right then."

Scotch picked up his messenger bag and Isla and Kiryu as they headed for the door.

Radley smiled at them as they came out. "Hey, how's the carrier working?"

Penny chirped, peeking out the door.

"I think it's going to be great!" Scotch said. "All the babies look okay with it!"

"They'll probably get restless before we get to the City," Kalin said.

"Hopefully not too much," Radley said. "Maybe if Isla doesn't run all around, they won't feel encouraged to either?"

"Eevee," Isla sighed.

But despite her displeasure, she was good. For most of the ride she sat on Scotch's and Robert's laps, purring contentedly. They both petted and praised her as well as Kiryu. Penny happily watched, tending her babies.

Evie was very talkative, as always, keeping up a steady stream of "Eevee!" and "Eevee-vee-vee!" the whole way there. The others all responded, leaving Radley fascinated and curious about the conversation.

"They're probably talking about finding Ramon and getting to talk to him," he chuckled. "And the weird coincidence of his name being Ramon."

"Did you find the owner's address, by the way?" Robert asked.

"Yeah, we did," Radley said. "They live in the old and fancy part of the City that wasn't destroyed by Zero Reverse."

"Epic! I love it there!" Scotch gushed. "Especially in Fall!"

"It is really pretty," Radley agreed.

"The babies are going to love playing in leaves!" Scotch said.

Evie thought that sounded great too. "Eeveeeee!" she squealed.

The rest of the ride was in high spirits. But as they got closer to the house, the feelings of trepidation among the humans grew. Some of the Eevees, too, began to look worried. Evie, however, stayed optimistic and waved her tail. When Kalin and the motorcycles pulled up in front of the house, she cheered.

Radley stared at it. It was a big old mansion, beautifully renovated and restored to its original glory from the 19th Century. Majestic oak trees cast shade over the entire front yard, and many leaves had already fallen in a gentle carpet over the grass.

". . . It doesn't really look like the house of a snooty jerk, does it," he remarked.

"Eevee," said Penny. It was indeed beautiful.

"I mean, you'd think a snooty jerk wouldn't allow leaves to stay on the ground for any time at all," Radley continued. "They'd be calling the leaf guy the very moment several fell down." He smirked dryly.

"And you've probably had experience with people like that," Kalin said.

"Oh yeah. A lot of our neighbors." Radley started to get up once the Eevees jumped down from his lap to let him stand.

"So are you and Kalin going to go up first and try to talk to them while we wait?" Scotch asked.

"Yeah, I think that would be best," Radley said. "And if somehow they have a heart, we'll come get you."

Penny looked very nervous now. "Eevee. . . ." She cuddled her babies close. Still not understanding what was going on, her children were happy just to snuggle.

Radley took a deep breath as he got out of the van. "Ready to do this?" he smiled awkwardly at Kalin.

"It has to be done regardless," Kalin said.

"So true," Radley said.

No one appeared as they went up the walk onto the porch. But when Radley rang the bell and the door was answered by a fluffy Eevee and a human he recognized, she rocked back in shock. "Radley Ramon?!"

Radley stared in surprise. "Kelly Pierson?!"

Kalin looked back and forth between them. ". . . Where do you know her from?" he asked Radley.

"I didn't actually know her," Radley said. "Her family was our neighbors and Grandma tried to get me to play with her older brothers. They never liked me."

"I did," Kelly said. "But I was too shy to come out. Then I was sent off to boarding school and prep school and every other kind of school."

"I've seen you on ads for KaibaCorp," Radley said. "I had no idea it was you living here. The last name was different. . . . Are you married?"

She shook her head. "It's a stage name for Pokemon Contests. I wanted my own identity aside from my family." She picked up her Eevee and hugged him close. "This little guy is so sweet and friendly, I had to name him 'Ramon' in your honor."

Now Radley was even more bowled over. "He's named for me?" He stared, stunned.

Hearing the conversation from the van, Evie exclaimed in delight. "I knew it was a sign! Everything's going to be okay!"

Penny was amazed, but still worried.

Kelly smiled, hugging Ramon close as he nuzzled her. "It just seemed like the most perfect name," she said softly.

Radley went red. "That's . . . that's really flattering," he said. "I'm honored." Pushing back his shock, he said, "This is probably going to sound really weird, but I think we have Ramon's wife and kids. We traced you guys through a Contest badge he gave her."

Ramon exclaimed for joy.

Kelly stared in shock. "That's what happened to it?! I've been looking everywhere!"

Ramon looked a little guilty at that. His ears drooped. "Eevee. . . ."

Radley patted his head. "His wife really wants to see him again and have him see the kids," he said. "Would you be willing to let them visit?"

Kelly hesitated. "I didn't know there were babies," she admitted. "But I saw the wild Eevee hanging around a lot and I didn't want Ramon being with her. I'm still so new to Pokemon and all and I worried maybe she'd carry some disease like regular wild animals do a lot. When I found out that isn't really a problem with Pokemon, I tried to find her again for Ramon but couldn't."

Radley was stunned. "Then . . . you were hoping to adopt her?"

"For Ramon's sake," she said. "Babies, though. . . . I'm not sure I could manage so many, especially when I have a demanding job. . . ." She looked awkward, but then smiled. "I'd love to have them visit, though, if you'll be here to supervise."

"Of course," Radley smiled. "They're all out in the van. I'll go get them." He hurried back down the walk, leaving Kalin standing awkwardly with Kelly.

Scotch perked up, seeing how happy Radley looked. "It's okay?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is!" Radley said. "We were all wrong about her. She was just worried Penny might have some disease, being wild. That was why she kept them apart! She knows better now, and she says we can all visit!"

Evie cheered, jumping in the air.

Penny was too stunned to speak. She just stared.

Scotch beamed. "That's so amazing! Let's go!" He started to get out, but paused. ". . . Is she going to want them all?" Sadness flickered in his eyes.

"I don't think so," Radley said. "She didn't know how she'd take care of the babies. Oh, also, this is wild, but she's a neighbor from my childhood. Ramon is . . . well, he's named for me." He blushed.

Scotch stared. "Seriously?! That is the most epic thing ever!" He leaped out of the van and grabbed the carrier. "We'll all be one big happy family!"

Radley chuckled. "Yeah, I guess in a way, we will."

Kelly, meanwhile, was studying Kalin with curiosity. "Are you a friend of Radley's?"

"Yeah," Kalin said. "He has a lot of friends now."

"I wish I'd been less shy as a kid," Kelly lamented.

"It would have meant a lot to Radley," Kalin said. "He was so lonely growing up. He thought all the neighborhood kids wanted his money and not his friendship."

"That was unfortunately true for a lot of them," Kelly scowled. "Not me."

". . . Where did you get Ramon from?" Kalin asked.

"A breeder in Hydrangea Town," Kelly said. "It's a really interesting place in the canyons."

"We know it," Kalin said. "He might be related to Radley's first Eevee, Evie. She's from there."

"That would be quite a coincidence," Kelly said. "Not as strange as this one, though. Out of everyone around, how did Ramon's wife end up with you?!"

Kalin grunted. "I have no idea."

The group was coming over now. More than all the bikers, Kelly had to stare at the sheer number of Eevees romping on the grass. "Oh. Oh wow."

Radley smirked. "We love Eevees."

"I can tell," Kelly said.

Scotch ran up to the porch with the carrier. "Here's Penny and the babies!" he happily announced.

Ramon and Penny both exclaimed in joy. They reached up paws to each other through the carrier door before Scotch opened it. The two nuzzled and hugged, starting up happy purrs. The babies, finally understanding, rushed out and swarmed their daddy. He warbled, proudly cuddling them all.

Scotch was filming everything. "This is just so cute!" he gushed.

Kelly watched, a bittersweet smile on her lips. "I wish I'd understood about wild Pokemon before," she said. "But I guess even if I had, the babies still would have come and I would have been left wondering what to do with them."

"You wouldn't have anyone who could watch them?" Scotch frowned. "I mean, I love them and wouldn't want to let them go, but . . . I know Penny would really like to be with Ramon, and the kids would have to be around too. . . ."

She shook her head. "I really don't have anyone."

"Didn't any of your family move here with you?" Scotch asked.

"No, and if they did, they wouldn't want to look after cute animals," Kelly said. "I wouldn't trust them to either."

"They're that bad?" Scotch frowned.

"They're not responsible," she said. "My brothers just love fast living and easy money."

Radley sighed. "They haven't changed any then, except for the worse."

Kelly nodded. "I moved here to get away from them, really."

Penny continued to snuggle with Ramon on the porch. "I've missed you so much," she said softly.

"I've missed you too," he said. "Where have you been? Are you and the children happy?"

"We went down to Satisfaction Town," Penny said. "We found a very nice house with Scotch and his friend Biff and his uncle Robert. Everyone else there is really nice too."

"I'm glad," Ramon said. "I've been so worried about all of you. I wish you could all be here."

"I do too," Penny said. "But . . . I love where we're living now. I'd hate to leave everyone." She hesitated. "I still don't know what to think of your person, even with what she said now."

"I know," Ramon said. "But she was telling the truth about trying to find you later."

"She really does love you, doesn't she?" Penny said. "She'd never want to sell you so you could come with us. . . ."

"I don't think so," Ramon said. "And I love her too."

"Evie hoped you could both move down to Satisfaction Town," Penny said, "but I'm sure that wouldn't be an option either. She'd have to travel so far every day to and from work."

"Yeah, I don't think she'd want to do that," Ramon said.

Radley was pondering to himself as he watched the visit. He stepped closer to Kalin. "What do you think of Kelly?" he asked low.

"I don't know," Kalin said. "She seems alright, and yet something seems off. She said she didn't know about the babies. Wouldn't Penny have brought them to show Ramon? How could she have not seen them before?"

"Maybe Penny made sure they were hidden when she saw Kelly coming," Radley said. "There's lots of brush around here she could have hidden them in."

". . . That's plausible," Kalin admitted. "Maybe I'm just biased against her because she didn't come out to talk to you when you were kids. You needed a friend, and she apparently liked you, and yet she couldn't work up enough courage to talk to you."

Radley smiled sadly. "Shyness can be crippling, I guess. I don't know what it'd be like, but it must be miserable."

Kalin smirked a bit. "You're the opposite of shy," he agreed. "I am too. I can't even imagine what it would be like."

"We've seen it with Lily," Radley said.

"You've been so patient with her," Kalin said. "Even though you don't know what it's like."

Radley looked to where Lily was playing with most of the Eevees in the leaves. "She's sure settled in with her friends now." He smiled.

"She probably wouldn't have without you being kind to her," Kalin said.

"And the other Eevees being kind," Radley added.

By now the babies were really seeing how fun the leaves looked. They all dived off the steps into them, ran through them, and batted them through the air. Smiling, Penny and Ramon went down to join them.

Radley chuckled. "Well, they're having fun."

Scotch was gathering some of the leaves into a small pile for them to jump in. Evie sprang into it in delight. The babies, seeing a new great fun, all leaped into it with one accord.

"They're all so cute," Kelly said. "Ramon was adorable as a baby."

"Do you have pictures of him?!" Scotch asked.

"Of course," Kelly said. "He's my baby. I have several albums worth of pictures."

"I wanna see!" Scotch said.

Penny looked interested too.

"I can show you," Kelly said. Eyeing the energetic babies, she said, "But maybe I'd better bring the albums out here."

Radley gave an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, I don't think the babies should be in your house if you've got a lot of breakable stuff."

"I do," she said. "I'll be right back." She went back in the house, leaving the screen door closed but the wooden door open. A nicely furnished living room was visible inside.

". . . You know, Pokemon eggs are pretty big," Radley noted. "I wonder where they made the eggs. If it wasn't someplace good to care for them, Penny must have moved them, maybe with Ramon's help."

"There's still so much we don't know about Pokemon," Robert said. "I wonder this as well."

"I'm glad we all came!" Scotch exclaimed. "Everything's been amazing!"

"It really has," Radley had to admit. "And if Kelly's really what she seems to be, we should be able to visit a lot."

In a few moments Kelly returned with several thick albums. She set them on the porch swing and opened the top one. "I also have Ramon's pedigree papers here," she said. "I thought you might like to see those too."

"We would," Radley smiled.

As they all gathered around, Evie immediately cheered for joy.

"She recognizes the names?" Kelly asked.

Radley stared. "Oh wow. She sure does. They have the same parents!"

Evie promptly glomped Ramon in utter happiness. "You're my brother!"

Stunned, Ramon hugged back. "I never thought I'd see any of my family again."

"Now you have so many! And all your adorable kids are my nieces and nephews!" Evie squealed, looking ready to levitate. "And Penny is my sister!"

Penny beamed. "This is wonderful!"

Evan just sat back and stared. "How . . . how are so many amazing things possible?"

Isla nuzzled him. "Perhaps it's Evie's complete innocence that brings it all about," she said. "I don't want to question it, just accept and celebrate it."

Evan smiled and snuggled back. "I want to too."

"This is so epic!" Scotch gushed. "Could things get any more awesome?!"

Radley chuckled. "It's pretty cool, alright."

The babies, too young to fully understand, were just excited that everyone was happy. They all chirped in delight and then promptly started to climb the porch railing. Penny exclaimed, most definitely not delighted by that.

". . . Um, uh oh." Scotch hurried over to try to lift them down. Biff went to help him.

Kelly sighed with a knowing look. "It was an adventure just keeping little Ramon from getting into everything," she said. "I can't imagine trying to handle four."

Radley sighed too but managed a resigned smile. "It's an adventure, that's for sure."

"And they're so cute!" Scotch said. "I just love having them around!"

"They're definitely endearing," Kelly said.

Ramon and Penny warbled in proud agreement.