For the small group of Eevee of Harrow, these last few days had been nothing but fun. Finally, they could all play together. Even if two of them seemed to grow distant. The bond of their group would only grow stronger. But none of them knew of what tomorrow would bring, they would soon meet someone, who would forever change their simple lives. And that change would start right here, at the entrance to Water Cave.

A Jolten sat alone by the ocean, his expression tired and beaten. He gazed towards the horizon as if expecting something to happen. An opening suddenly appeared in that same spot and another Jolteon came out of it, an unconscious Eevee after him. The new Jolteon jumped to his feet, huffing with adrenaline. He searched his surroundings looking around, scared and confused. Shock takes him for a moment as his eyes land on the other Jolteon.

"You! How!?" He exclaimed not believing his eyes.

The old Jolteon ignored him, he only stared at the Eevee boy on the sand. "The boy is going to die." He said sternly

"What?" The younger one asked.

"He's dying," he said again not sparring a glance at the other Jolteon. "if you don't take him to the town he will die." He said without taking his eyes off the boy. He seemed oddly aware of this scenario.

"But the plates, and the others, I need-"

"It's over. He got what he wanted, it started again." The old Jolteon interrupted.

"That can't be right, everything should've ended, that's what he wanted."

"And yet You are still here." The old Jolteon urged him with a grimace.

The younger Jolteon still filled with confusion tried his best to make sense of what happened. Shaking his head, he accepted his situation and moved on to the problem at hand. He looked toward the boy with a frown. "How do I help him?"

"You take him to town, but you don't come back."

"Yeah, I figured." He replied moving toward the boy. For a moment the old Jolteon showed his teeth as if he were trying to remember how to smile. "That's good, at least one of us still has a good heart." The old one said as the younger departed.

After raising the boy to his back so he could carry him. He moved towards the forest, in the direction of the town. The deeper he got the more he could feel his body beginning to break, but still, he pushed on. Not long after he reached the town's wooden walls. He fell to the ground, his legs giving out under him. His last act was a last plea for help barely a shout. before being completely erased, now he was nothing more than mere dust in the wind.

His actions, however, saved the boy's life, one of the guards patrolling heard his plea and came to check on the noise, only to find an unconscious Eevee at their gate. They were quick to carry the boy inside, rushing him to the infirmary, soon he should recover.

By the time morning came, one of the town's children, another Eevee, slept soundly on his bed. He quietly dreamed of what could be. These dreams however would have to wait because his friend had just barged into their room.

"You up yet?" The other Eevee asked while making his way inside.

"No." The sleeping boy responded.

"Bright, dude. It's the day we agreed to hang out, and you're still just going to sleep like a Snorlax." His friend also his roommate Needle said. Needle is known for being the cause of most of their problems, so Bright had recently been avoiding Needle and his schemes. Needle poked him repeatedly trying to get him up. Bright groaned while forcing his eyes shut.

"What's so important that you have to wake me up anyway?" He asked annoyed. Refusing to move from his spot on the bed. His roommate seemed oddly excited, a bad omen for Bright.

"First, you overslept. And second, if my intel is right-"

"Your intel?" Bright cut in with a tired grin. Needle only glared in response before continuing.

"We, are gonna be getting some fresh meat and an even number." He finished posing smugly.

"Wait, you mean there's another orphan?" Bright asked slightly surprised.

"Yes... Probably... I don't know about orphan but they're definitely a new Eevee, and more importantly a boy!" a devilish grin spreading across his face.

"Oh no. Needle please don't drag the kid in the middle of your war." Bright pleaded, he knew how bad Needle could get. Needle on his part put on a smug expression. "Hey, not my fault. You don't help anymore, and now I'm stuck in a 2v1, meanwhile, you just waste away doing nothing in here"

Bright hummed disinterested.

"Really nothing to that." Needle asked him disappointed.

"I don't feel like 'playing' anymore Needle."

"Right, right, I keep forgetting." Needle gave in. He moved further into their room, trying to put some distance between them. He started searching for something on his mess of a bed, Bright sighed loudly while rising from his. He's curious about the new boy as well, so that made him quite invested. Another orphan, he thought he wouldn't see another one in a while. After getting ready they set off from their room. They had previously made plans to meet the others at the market in town.

While the boys made their way there. Three more Eevee were already waiting at the fountain, beyond impatient Nadia (of course) was the first to voice her displeasure.

"So let me get this straight, we were supposed to be meeting them an hour ago. so, why are we still here?" She asked with her iconic frown.

Faye was about to answer her with a bite of her own, but as she saw Nadia's expression she instantly changed her approach to something more pacifying. "Nadia, please. Don't be like that I know it's been a bit, but we got here early-"

"Fifteen minutes early."

"Even so, it's not like that. Bright probably overslept again, I saw Needle lurking around a while ago. So they're probably on their way." Faye felt the annoyance of having to wait too, but they would get nowhere blaming the boys (even if Bright was to blame). Ruby on the other hand.

"Of course he overslept, it's not like he cares about making us wait." She said while looking away. What she didn't say however was how furious she was at the fact that Needle and his complete fumble of a schedule, still had more respect for them and their time than Bright. Her expression had gone from impatient to pure spite. Faye ever perceptive decided to play devil's advocate, hoping to improve her friend's attitude.

"You know, it's not like Bright does it out of malice. he doesn't really think about these things, he has a hard time reading people's feelings. And Needle doesn't like coming to talk to us by himself when we're together like this, he thinks it would be awkward." Faye's attempts to calm them seemed to work for now. Nadia's frown had finally gone away. And Ruby's mood seemed to be going up, 'another job well done.' Or it would be if Ruby didn't catch on to something she said.

"Needle doesn't like talking to us?" She asked, finding Faye's remark absurd. The last time she saw Needle had no problem approaching her. Faye's face twisted in surprise, guilt, and worry all at the same time. She straightened her posture before answering.

"I asked him about why he did that lurking around once, And he told me that." She figured being blunt might Be for the best. " Needle thinks he makes the mood awkward between us, whenever he comes to hang out."

Ruby thankfully decided that was good enough. Faye let out a sigh being the glue was a thankless job but it would be fine, as long she could help it they would all be together. Now she really hoped Needle had gotten Bright out of bed, she didn't feel like playing apologist again.

Thankfully their wait would finally come to an end as the boys were not far. Bright observed his roommate quietly as he followed him, and a thought crossed his mind.

"What did you mean an even number?" He asked recalling Needle's words. Needle seemed caught off guard, he looked back confused for a moment before answering.

"Well, it used to be me and you against Faye and Nadia." Needle replied, With a slight bitterness to his tone.

"What about-"

"Yeah, I know Ruby is there too, but she doesn't count since she never really played with us back then." He quickly clarified with a roll of his eyes. "Also she likes to play both sides."

"I thought you loved to annoy Ruby." Bright asked genuinely surprised.

"I do, but she made it pretty clear she doesn't like it so I'm trying to give her space. and I'm not going to keep making her do something she doesn't like." Needle said sincerely even if a little proudly. Bright simply hummed in response. Needle snarled, he found Bright's constant indifference to be quite irritating. Best to move on.

"Yeah, anyway. So the even number thing is more about how we had two guys and three girls, and now we're even, simple really." He finishes. 'Well, I guessed it was pretty obvious.' Needle thought while glaring back at his friend. Bright hummed again, his attention now on the on the market in front of them. Three more Eevee were seated around the fountain at the center chatting among themselves. Bright smiles after seeing his friends, Needle smirking beside him.

"Well, well, would you look at that, somebody's late." Faye begins, Being the more outgoing of the girls. Smirking at the approaching boys. "Yeah, you can say that again. What kind of dream were you having? That you managed to get here one hour after the time we agreed, dick." Nadia asked glaring daggers all the way.

Bright shook his head, knowing exactly where this was going, Needle however immediately took the bait. "Hey, not my fault big baby here can't wake up on time." He responded, his smirk somehow growing. His interest however quickly moves toward the Eevee watching them with mild impatience. She frowns when she sees she caught his attention.

"So, you heard what I heard? or..." Needle prompted her with that annoying smirk she hated. Ruby huffed glaring at him.

"You already know I did. And on that note, we should start actually looking into it." Ruby tried to bring him back to the topic.

'Odd of her to be this forward.' Bright wondered, thinking back.

"Yeah, we do." Even weirder Needle volunteering stopped trying to annoy her. They all silently gape at him in surprise. "What? Anyway, I don't know what you girls heard but from what I heard some guards heard someone screaming for help last night and all they could find was an unconscious kid. Also, as I am well versed in the art of subterfuge-"

"You snuck into the infirmary again?" Ruby asked agitated.

"The details don't matter." Needle replied casually. Nadia now paying attention, interrupted him angrily.

"You ass! if we get in trouble again because you can't keep to yourself, I'm going to bury you on the beach and watch you drown." She shrieked bitterly. Needle grimaced for a second before continuing.

"Right, back to the point. Our newest addition is in fact another Eevee."

"That's rare." Ruby noted intrigued.

"Weird right, never thought I would see another Eevee show up like this. The weirdest part was how desperate the guards were trying to help him, from what I heard he almost died from freezing." Needle recounted.

"Freezing?" Faye murmured, discovering her voice after losing it due to the weight of the topic.

"Freezing? did he get attacked by an ice type?" Bright joins the conversation, his curiosity showing.

"Dunno." Needle replied helpfully.

"Maybe he passed out in the rain, that's a quick way to get yourself in some trouble," Nadia remarked as she shifted her attention toward the infirmary.

"Possibly, but it didn't rain last night, so it's unlikely, I think he may have been in a body of water, maybe at the lake here or close to the sea. Probably unconscious." Ruby theorized.

"Alright, that might be close but I don't think that's it. the closest beach takes a bit of walking to get to, Harrow isn't that close to the ocean. We can't rule out the lake though." Needle adds while rubbing his chin.

"Needle, You saw him, was he wet," asked Bright.

"Well... no... not wet, no."

"Of course not, they would have dried him. If he was freezing as you said, it would be irresponsible to leave a boy dying from freezing wet." Ruby explained while side-eying Bright with a glare. Needle quickly brought attention back to himself.

"So, someone might have carried him!" He announced as if it were the truth.

"What makes you say that," Ruby asks questioning his validity.

"Well I overheard some of the guards talking, and they said that the guard who heard the scream thought it came from an older Pokemon." He revealed with a grin.

Ruby's eyes sparked with curiosity, if she wasn't as reserved she might have been grinning too.

Bright finally figured out what got his friend so excited, Needle does love mysteries. 'Well, he's not the only one.' He looked over toward Ruby her eyes glinting dangerously. Her expression once skeptical had turned around entirely, now invested she began to actively speculate with Needle, while Bright and Faye watched.

"You know, I think I've never seen them get along like this." Bright remarked to Faye and Nadia.

"This talk is making my stomach turn, although I'm happy to see them getting along. I still get surprised by it." Faye replied trying to hide her frown behind a smile.

Nadia ignored the others. She had been watching the town infirmary, she tried to listen in but all she could hear was pure gibberish. Then she saw an unfamiliar figure leave through the entrance together with the town's healer.

"As fun as it is to sit here and talk about maybe this and maybe that, instead let's go do something productive like asking him." She said while pointing toward the new boy. And just like that, they all began to move toward the two Pokemon. As they moved closer they heard the boy speaking with the Audino by his side, he sounded uneasy.

"Do I have to do this?" he asked

"No, but it's the best we can do. if you really don't-" She stopped short, instead glaring at the group watching them speak.

"Oh don't mind us, we're just curious." Needle quickly answered her questioning gaze.

"Needle, I don't know what you-" The town medic began only to be interrupted.

"Hey we just agreed to get together by the fountain and saw you talking to someone new, why do I have to be somehow at fault?" He asked playing innocent. The audino sighed tiredly, before starting again. "This is probably for the best, our friend here has amnesia, he can't remember anything, not his name, his family, his home, nothing." The audino explained with a heavy tone.

Needle, Ruby, and Bright were disappointed, it seemed like they wouldn't get any answers from him. Faye was worried, she imagined how terrible it must be to completely forget yourself. And Nadia... was invested, her expression changing from her signature frown to one of curiosity.

"I was hoping you kids might be willing to show him around and stay with him for today. I hoped this problem would go away, quick and easy but with the amnesia, we can't do anything. The best we can do now is hope he recovers." She continued. She knew one way or the other the boy was staying, unless his parents showed up out of whatever hole they disappeared into, he would be another addition to Harrow's Eevee collection.

Bright looked over at the boy, he noticed how he was hesitant and remembered how his first day was hellish as well. Lately, he had been feeling too sorry for himself, the Ruby fight was still eating at him, so he felt the need to welcome the boy to this strange new life.

"That's ok, we're happy to help."

The boy was shocked by how quickly Bright responded, even if the others seemed less enthusiastic about helping him. Needle sighed loudly before addressing the medic.

"Yeah well, guess that's what we get for being curious. Anyway, we'll take him off your hands, we'll bring him back around afternoon so you get to do your whole doctor thing." Needle told her while walking towards him. The amnesiac Eevee recoiled from Needle's approach, prompting Needle to immediately stop.

"Oh, you're jumpy." Needle's expression was steady with an odd smile barely a smirk, not the usual annoying smirk they were familiar with. The boy could feel Needle's gaze evaluating his every move.

The audino shared a glance with the boy, he wanted to tell her no but he wouldn't get anywhere hiding away in the infirmary. He swallowed a lump down his throat and nodded. She sighed before saying goodbye and going back inside.

"Alright, I think we need to think this through." Faye said, trying to organize the others.

"We're being rude, we should introduce ourselves. I am called Ruby, and I'm pleased to meet you." Ruby declared with too much formality. The new boy thought she was hard to understand.

"My name's Nadia," Nadia replied with her eyes stone cold. The new boy thought she was scary.

"Oh! Yes of course. I'm called Faye, anything thing you need I'm here to help." Faye responded last. The boy wanted to like her but he was still very wary, but she was nice so maybe just a little.

The Eevee's eyes searched them with hesitation. they were welcoming, but that did little to lessen his anxiety. Needle shuffled in front of him to get his attention.

"Well, guess that means it's our turn. I am Needle and this dofuss is Sleepy." Needle explained. Bright opened his mouth so he could speak his turn but Needle stopped him.

"Don't mind Sleepy by the way he wasn't always like this." Needle said quickly. Bright glared in his direction, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Needle just let him do it." Faye pleaded.

"Don't, with how he's been lately he deserves it." Nadia said with a grin, Ruby nodded along with her.

"Yeah, you're right. let me try that again." Needle decided, his attention back on the boy. He was pushed aside by Bright before he could continue.

"Shut up." Bright exclaimed with annoyance, Before turning to the boy.

"I'm Bright, I would like to welcome you to Harrow. I hope you feel at home, you can come to me with anything you might need." Bright spoke softly. With that done all their eyes fell on the boy, the tension quickly becoming overwhelming.

"I'm... not sure how to respond." The boy uttered, trying to escape their attention.

"Well, we can use a name" Needle prompts without thinking, Ruby glaring a hole through the back of his head. "I mean something to call him not his actual name" He barked feeling Ruby's rant coming. Faye quickly stepped in to calm down the others.

"I'm sure we can work something out, like, even if you don't remember, how about we give you a temporary name so things go a little bit smoother?" Faye suggests with a hopeful smile. The boy was hesitant but he di me see how it could improve the situation.

"I don't mind." He said meekly

"You got any preferences?" Needle questioned, genuinely curious. The boy thinks for a moment searching his empty mind for anything, anything at all. And then something clicks a feeling, an old memory he can't quite recall. But he can still remember... how he felt.

"I guess... I could be red?" the boy said without confidence.

"Red?" Bright wondered out loud.

"I... um... think, I like the color red." Red explained.

"Aw dude, that's neat, me too." Needle stated

"That's great! if you remember that maybe more of your memories can come back." Faye beamed with hope, Red did not share that same hope. "Maybe." Still, he didn't have the heart to bring her down. Needle abruptly regained their attention.

"So, 'Red' you up for getting a tour now, or do you want to do something else?" Needle prompted hoping to move things along.

"I guess I could use a tour." Red accepted.

With that Needle began to introduce the town of Harrow, first by telling about the market square at the center, where they currently are, he focused on some key buildings such as the infirmary where they were before and the assembly house where their elders were "Doing old Pokemon Stuff.", Ruby scolded him for his lack of respect.

They reached another important point with a small dock where Pokemon would fish. Ruby explained that the town of Harrow had been built around the lake of Harrow, mostly by fishermon, and when the population had become large enough to be considered a large community and later a town, rather than picking a different name for the town they simply adopted the lake's name.

They moved on to the rest of the town Needle showed him more points of interest such as the best shop in town owned by a granbull that he really disliked and the library which he said is Ruby's favorite spot since he was banned, Ruby didn't feel like responding. Finally, they reached the residential region just as the sun began to set.

"So, anything else you wanna know before we're done?" Needle asked hiding his tiredness.

"I think that's fine thanks" Red replied also exhausted.

"Well, if that's the case we should bring you back to the Nurse." Bright reminded them.

"We don't need everyone to bring him back, besides we're all tired" Nadia argued letting out a yawn.

"I hate to say it, but I'm tired too. today was hectic." Faye agreed her eyes nearly shut.

"Fine, I can take him back." Bright gave in.

Nadia and Faye said their goodbyes and set off toward their home. Needle watched Ruby closely, she should be going back with them. Ruby had been staring pointedly at Bright. She sighed before excusing herself as well. Needle watched her go with worry.

"Well, I'm going to bed don't take too long." Needle said with a yawn. After he got inside Bright began to head back toward the infirmary, and Red followed behind.

Needle watched them go, before leaving again through the window. There was still one more thing to do before bed. The girls lived in separate rooms, unlike the boys. Mrs. Mara was very insistent on privacy. He crept toward the girl's home quietly he moved to the window on the left side, and he tapped twice.

Faye was stunned for a moment before she remembered her little deal, she frowned before opening the window.

"What? I'm tired." she asked impatiently.

"Nothing much. just a quick check-up, mainly about today." he explained.

"Alright, okay." Faye takes a deep sigh while gathering her thoughts. "They're... Weirdly distant." Faye said she had noticed how tense they had been after the last Ruby day, she hoped to find out why but she and Needle didn't have any luck.

"You too? What the hell happened between them?" Needle groaned frustrated. When he got Ruby to play with them he didn't think it would've cost him Bright. "Something weird happened, she's been giving him the death stare all day today. And that's usually reserved for me." Needle told her.

"It's been going on for a while, it's been making me worried. it was so sudden too. Ever since Ruby started spending more time with us." She stopped for a moment looking to the side. "With the way things are, I think we should stop and just let them figure it out." Faye told him with a frown. Needle cringed for a moment before he corrected himself.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Needle huffed. after wishing her good night, he left back to his home, He stopped and frowned looking at Ruby's window before leaving

Bright and Red were almost at their destination. Red had been staring at Bright wondering why he was so quick to agree to help him.

"Why are you so accepting?" Red asked out loud. That made Bright pause, he looked back his expression showing nothing.

"I mean the others were a lot more wary around me, but you... You just accepted me. Why?" Red continued.

"I thought it would be nice." Bright responded.

"Oh." Red was surprised. "Just like that?"

"Yeah." Bright insisted

Bright starts to move again, Red running to catch up. they reach the infirmary doors. Once there Bright knocked three times and the Audino opened the door. Bright parted ways with Red after they reached the infirmary.

Now Red was alone again, It seemed this would be his life now, at least they were nice. He wondered about his past, his memory did not show any sign of returning. But still, he had been found by good Pokemon, that's more than enough. hopefully, tomorrow will be better.