Chapter Nine
Everyone awakened bright and early after a good sleep. The Eevees were cuddled together on the pet couch, but roused up and jumped on the bed for pets. Radley and Kalin were happy to comply before getting down to do breakfast.
"I wonder if the babies have been getting into anything new," Radley chuckled as he made waffles.
"Hopefully not," Kalin deadpanned. "Maybe they'll be good when the plan is probably to see Ramon today."
"They probably don't think they're doing anything wrong to investigate everything, though," Radley mused. "At least if it's not something they've been told to stay out of, like the curtains."
Kalin checked his phone. "According to Scotch, they were good," he reported. "But now they're bouncing off the walls and they even keep going in the carrier hoping it's time to go."
Radley laughed. "That's adorable. We should be ready to go pretty soon."
"Scotch already called Kelly and she says it's alright to come by," Kalin added.
"I'm glad he thought to do that," Radley said. "I was going to call if he hadn't."
After a delicious breakfast, they were indeed ready and the Bunch came around the same time as Jordan and the kids. Hellos were exchanged and they swiftly headed out, with Scotch choosing to ride in the van with all the Eevees and Robert.
The babies swayed back and forth in the carrier and began singing in Eevee talk on the drive, entertaining everyone present.
"That is so cute!" Scotch gushed.
"What even is that song?" Kalin wondered.
"It sounds like Staying Alive, honestly," Radley chuckled. "How they ended up learning that is beyond me."
"I was listening to it, but I only played it once!" Scotch exclaimed. "They're amazing!"
"They've sure got ears for music," Radley agreed.
"Do you think when Eevees sing songs, they're singing the real lyrics?" Kalin pondered.
"It'd be pretty fun to know, wouldn't it," Radley mused. "Maybe someday we will."
"Vee!" said Evie. She certainly intended that someday they would.
The ride was peaceful and pleasant and soon they were pulling up in front of the breeder's house. Nico and West leaped out of their van and rushed to the porch, where they knocked excitedly. Katie and Harvey the Eevees immediately called out Hellos from inside and the breeder was quickly opening the door and greeting them warmly.
"Hello, Sir!" Nico greeted. "My brother and I are here to get Eevee eggs."
"Yeah!" West beamed. "Radley and Kalin reserved them for us!"
The breeder smiled, seeing the men he recognized. "Come right in," he said.
Radley smiled too as they all caught up and were led inside. As before, Eevees were everywhere—playing on the floor, lounging on the furniture, and cuddling the eggs. It was a paradise for any Eevee lover.
West especially was in awe. "Can we pet them?!" he asked.
"Of course," said the breeder. "But the ones looking after eggs need to focus on keeping them warm."
Nico nodded and petted one on the couch. "Is it the parents with the eggs?" she wondered.
"Sometimes. They all help each other," the breeder said.
"That's so nice," Nico said.
"They're very good about it," the breeder smiled. "And now you may choose your eggs." He gestured to all of them in the room. "The Eevees meant to be yours should call out to you even from within the eggs."
West's eyes widened. "Really?!" He went up to each egg. "Are you mine?!"
"You'll probably have to listen carefully to hear what the Eevees inside are saying," the breeder said in gentle amusement.
Smiling, Nico stayed quiet and placed a hand on each egg in turn. It was a sweet bonding ritual, and all the Eevees watching over the current batches of eggs looked up curiously at the group and chirped.
The baby Eevees were fascinated too. "What is this, Mommy?" Holly asked.
"The breeder likes for everyone to choose their own eggs," Penny explained. "He feels that a bond can be formed even when an Eevee is in an egg and they and the humans will understand who they should be with."
"That's nice," Heidi said innocently. "We could all feel you, Mommy! We knew we were supposed to be with you!"
"Yes, Darling, like that," Penny smiled.
"I sensed that about my first person, Robert, as well," Isla said. "I'm so glad he's here again." She rubbed him lovingly and he smiled, petting her.
Soon Nico had found her chosen egg and the breeder was placing it in an incubator and including a free Pokeball to register the Eevee when they were born. West was still walking around amid all the Eevees and eggs.
"I can't hear anything!" he said in dismay. "Are none of them mine?!"
One of the eggs started to rock. The Eevee watching it jumped.
The breeder smiled kindly and reached for it. "I think this Eevee is saying even louder that they want to be yours."
West stared at the egg in awe. "You're my Eevee?" he said, his voice hushed now.
The egg rocked again and the top pointed towards him.
"There's no doubt." The breeder let West take the egg and he held it lovingly while an incubator was being obtained.
"I'll take good care of you," West told it. "You'll be with me and my sister Nico and our dad and Nico's Eevee! We'll be an amazing family!"
Jordan smiled.
The breeder soon returned with the incubator and Pokeball. He looked to Scotch, who was holding up the carrier so all inside could see what was happening. Isla and Kiryu were staying close to him too.
"I remember you wanted another Eevee," the breeder remarked. "You certainly seem to have got your wish."
"Yeah!" Scotch said enthusiastically. "We found Kiryu in a tree and all these others were under my bed!"
The babies chorused happily.
"Eevees can get everywhere," the breeder said in amusement.
"And we love them for it," Radley chuckled.
Evie nuzzled him.
The group's adult Eevees, minus Penny, were soon romping and playing with the breeder's Eevees, especially Katie and Harvey. The babies cheered them on and jumped around the carrier.
"I'd let them out to join in, but it might be pretty hard to round them up again," Scotch said apologetically. "They get into everything!"
"Baby Eevees are always very curious," the breeder agreed.
"Vee," said Penny.
"I'm sure they'd be good about the eggs, though," Scotch hurriedly added.
The breeder smiled. "Eevees do seem to be good about that. I haven't ever had any trouble with any of mine, even with the babies I end up keeping."
"That's good," Kalin said in some surprise.
"Even when they're little, they understand what eggs are," the breeder said. "They remember being in them. Sometimes they sit with the eggs and call to the Eevees inside, encouraging them to come out."
"I would love to see that!" Scotch said.
"I have some videos on YouTube," the breeder said, and handed Scotch a business card with the username included. "I've filmed several incidents like that."
"I'll watch all your videos!" Scotch declared. He slipped the card into his vest pocket for later.
"You know, if you let the babies play, I'm sure they'd be good and come when we tell them it's time to visit their dad," Radley said.
"Eeveeeee!" exclaimed the babies.
Scotch pondered that for all of a few seconds. "Okay!" He set the carrier down and opened the door. "Go play for a few minutes, guys! Some of these Eevees are your family too! Go meet them!"
They scampered out in delight. Penny followed more slowly.
"So who is their father?" the breeder asked, intrigued now.
"Ramon," Radley said. "He's owned by Kelly Pierson."
The breeder immediately smiled. "I remember her! She was just getting into Pokemon and Ramon was her first. It's my sister who mostly interacted with her."
"Yeah! He's Evie's brother!" Scotch said. "Hey, we should take the babies to meet their grandparents too!"
"We should," Radley smiled. Evie, overhearing the plan, chorused in joy.
The breeder nodded. "Kelly dotes on Ramon. She called my sister and me so many times to make sure she was treating the egg right. She still sends us updates about him every couple of weeks or so."
"But she didn't tell about the babies?" Scotch blinked in surprise.
"Maybe she's told my sister," the breeder said. "I'm sure she will tell us."
Scotch frowned. "Unless she feels embarrassed or something."
"If she does, it's probably just because she didn't realize she could safely have Penny," Radley said. Or maybe because she didn't feel she could have handled all the babies, he silently added.
"Maybe," Scotch said.
After a few minutes, they decided it was time to round up the Eevees for the next part of their trip. As Radley had surmised, the babies swiftly came running when Scotch said it was time to see their daddy. They climbed back into the carrier with Penny but stayed near the door. As a parting gift, they had decided they would provide music for entertainment. They started singing Staying Alive again, while Penny looked on proudly.
"That's fascinating," the breeder said. "Have they been doing this long?"
"They just heard the song today!" Scotch said.
"Then they have quite the music and memorization skills," the breeder remarked in amazement.
"Yeah! I can hardly wait to get them on the stage at the diner!" Scotch gushed. He looked pleadingly to Radley. "Couldn't we try it right away?! They're so cute! I'm sure they'd be good on the stage. See how they're telling us they really want to sing!"
Radley couldn't deny that. He folded his arms, looking to the hopeful and innocent babies. "Well, guys? If I let you sing, will you be good and not run everywhere and try to climb everything?" he asked.
"Eevee!" they chorused in unison.
Radley sighed but chuckled. "Okay then. I'll give you a chance, but you have to promise to do what we say," he said.
They jumped up and down happily and warbled.
Penny looked a little worried, but she still smiled. She wanted everyone to see her incredible babies too.
"When can we visit their grandparents?" Scotch eagerly asked when they headed back to the vehicles after Goodbyes were said.
"We should call their owner and ask," Radley said. "I guess it couldn't hurt to ask now, since we're right in town, but we wouldn't be able to stay long today when Kelly and Ramon are expecting us."
"Even a few minutes would be great!" Scotch said. "I just want them to see their adorable grandkids!"
Evie warbled in agreement.
Radley smiled and took out his phone. "Okay, I'll call."
To their delight, Evie's parents' owner was home and quite willing for them to have a short visit. When they arrived several minutes later, the parents were right there at the door with waving tails.
"Mommy! Daddy! It's so amazing!" Evie gushed as she ran over to them. "We found out Ramon is my brother and he got married and we have his wife and all their kids!"
Radley started filming as she enthusiastically talked and the parents hugged and nuzzled her.
"That's wonderful, Dear," said her mother.
Scotch set the carrier down and opened it. "Here they all here!" he said proudly.
The babies all ran out with happy squeals and surrounded their new family members. Penny followed with a hopeful smile. "Hello. .. . I'm Penny."
"I'm Holly!" said Holly. All the babies introduced themselves in turn, with Heidi adding, "Scotch named us all!"
"Scotch must love you all very much," Evie's mother said.
"He loves us bunches!" Ivy said. "And we love him too!"
"We climbed the curtains and it was so fun!" Heidi innocently exclaimed.
"Oh my," said Evie's mother with a smile.
"Did he like that?"Evie's father asked.
"Well . . . no," Ivy admitted.
"But he was nice about it!" Peter said. "They're all always nice!"
"They do seem like very good people," Evie's father said.
"Mommy said we were going to find nice people to be with, and she found us the bestest people ever!" Heidi declared.
Penny smiled. "I'm so glad I did," she said. "I can hardly believe I really found Ramon's sister, though. It's so incredible!"
"From what Evie tells us, incredible things are always happening to them," Evie's father said.
Evie nodded enthusiastically. "It all started when I found Radley again!" she said. "Then we found Evan when we went to get Pokeballs for me, and then this mean lady tried to do bad things to us, but she brought Isla here through a portal! Then we found Isla's first person when we went looking to see if he was okay after an awful cave-in! Then Lily found us, and then her sister Ruby saw her on YouTube and came, and now all of you are here too!"
"That's a lot of amazing experiences," Penny had to agree. "It seems almost unreal." She smiled. "But then, I've had amazing experiences too. I found Ramon and we had our beautiful children. Then we had to find somewhere else to be when his person didn't want me around. I didn't let her see the children. We got on a delivery truck coming here from the City and we found Scotch."
"How was it you came to pick Scotch's house to go in?" Isla curiously asked.
"We were looking at all the houses on the street and they all seemed nice," Penny said. "They felt so peaceful and welcoming and good. I chose Scotch's because when we looked in the window, we saw lots of pet toys all around the room. I was sure someone who loved animals that much would love us."
"You must have been coming from the side of the block where our home showed up first," Isla said.
Evie nodded. "If our home had been first, you would've seen lots of toys in there too!"
"Yes, we were coming from that other way," Penny said. "Your home would have been wonderful too, Evie. Radley is so special. But I'm happy we're with Scotch."
"Me too! He wanted more Eevees so bad, and he wanted to raise babies!" Evie exclaimed.
"Well, he certainly has them now," Penny smiled.
They all visited happily for a short time. Then Radley announced they needed to hurry on to the City since Ramon and Kelly would be waiting for them. The Eevees agreeably regrouped and said Goodbyes and soon were on their way again.
"That was so fun!" Evie said as they rode back down to the City. "I always love visiting Mommy and Daddy!"
"They're very nice," Penny said. "I'm glad you can stay in touch."
Lily shyly nodded. "Ruby and I don't know what happened to our parents or who they even are. It's amazing to me to think of being able to still be with parents."
"We'll always be with you, won't we, Mommy?" Heidi asked.
"Yes, Dear," Penny said. "Scotch wants us to all stay together."
"He even hopes for a way to bring your father closer to us," Isla remarked. She doubted that would happen, but she didn't say so.
Penny looked grateful for that. "In the meantime, this is still more than I ever thought we could have," she said.
Ramon and Kelly were out in the front yard when they arrived. Ramon called happily and Scotch opened the carrier and soon the whole family was reunited once again.
Kelly smiled as she watched the sweet reunion. "They're so adorable together," she said.
"They sure are," Radley smiled too.
"Are they getting into everything?" Kelly wondered.
"They'd like to, I'm sure," Radley chuckled. "But they're going to be good tonight for their concert debut, aren't they?" He looked to the babies, who all looked up and chirped.
"They're totally going to be good!" Scotch insisted.
"They're going to sing?" Kelly said in surprise.
Taking that as their cue, the four little Eevees lined up and started singing their new song, while Kelly listened in awe and Ramon with pride.
"Eevees are amazing," Kelly said in shock.
"Yeah! We didn't even plan this!" Scotch said. "They just suddenly did it!"
Kelly looked a bit melancholy, perhaps thinking on how the Eevees could have been hers had she not tried to keep Ramon and Penny apart. But the look was soon gone. She really hadn't known how she would take care of so many. It was better for Scotch to have them.
"They're wonderful," she smiled. "I know everyone will love them."
"Yeah!" Scotch said with pride. "They're just adorable!"
The babies all chorused happily and snuggled with Ramon again. He held them with a smile as Penny came over and cuddled with them too.
The rest of their visit remained happy and pleasant. By the time they all left to head home, they were in high spirits. The babies continued to sing on the ride back, even beginning to harmonize after a while.
"Wow," Radley commented. "They're sure natural singers."
"Yeah, seriously!" Scotch exclaimed. "They must just be copying what they've heard, but it can take humans ages to successfully learn harmonies and stuff!"
"We'll have to be careful when they all get up to sing," Radley said. "This kind of talent could make unsavory people sit up and take notice. They might try to steal the babies."
"Eevee," Penny agreed in some concern. But she still wanted to allow her children the chance to sing in public, as they were clearly hoping to do.
"We'll be careful," Kalin promised. He knew Radley would be, and they would all follow his lead.
"Eevee!" Evie nodded in agreement. She wouldn't let anyone take her nieces and nephews away!
xxxx
That evening at the diner, Scotch again brought the carrier. This time, he took it up to the stage and opened it, allowing the little Eevees to run out onto the stage. They ran right under a spotlight and got into position, looking out happily at the audience. Many "Awwws" went up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to present our newest singing sensations!" Scotch declared.
As the babies launched into Staying Alive without a mistake, people began to film with their phones. Penny sat just outside the carrier, beaming as she watched her children perform.
Kalin looked a bit uncertain. "You don't think Team Rocket would get interested in singing Eevees, do you?"
"Not really, but we can't be too careful," Radley said. "I'm sure the people filming are going to post the videos online, so we'll need to stay alert and make sure no one with bad intentions can get the Eevees. It wouldn't even have to be Team Rocket, necessarily, but just anyone who might think singing Eevees would sell." Which could be almost anyone, he silently added.
"We'll make sure to have our security system going!" Scotch said. "And if anyone gets through the big one, I'll have my own set up too!"
"What's yours?" Kalin asked.
"A whole lot of noisy things positioned throughout the house so we'll get woke up if anyone disturbs them," Scotch said.
"What if the Eevees disturb them?" Kalin grunted.
That gave Scotch pause. "Um . . . I didn't think about that," he admitted.
The Eevees finished their song and sat there soaking up the audience's praise in awe. Then, finally, when Penny called them, they hurried over to her for a cuddle session.
"I'm so proud of all of you," she declared.
"Thank you, Mommy! It was fun!" Heidi said innocently.
"Yeah! We should perform every night!" Ivy said.
"I'm sure Scotch will let you," Penny smiled.
"Yeah! You were all wonderful!" Evie exclaimed as she went to the scene. "I'm proud too!"
"So am I," Isla said.
"How did you learn the song so fast?" Lily wondered in awe.
The babies shrugged.
"We don't know," Holly said. "That's just how it is for us."
"Maybe because the song is fun!" Heidi said.
"I hope you'll do it again," Isla said.
"We will!" they happily chorused.
Instead of putting the babies right back in the carrier, Scotch praised and petted them when he went to them. "You guys were so great!" he said. "I'll get you some special toys tomorrow!"
They thought that sounded fine, and they warbled and trilled as they nuzzled Scotch's hands.
"He's probably got everything the general store has," Kalin grunted. "Does that mean he's planning another trip into the City?"
"Or maybe he'll have something delivered," Radley said. "I wouldn't mind going in to the pet store. The babies deserve a good reward and they're too little to eat the food here yet." He leaned back. "We'll see what happens."
"We still haven't finished fixing up that room yet," Kalin reminded him.
"I know." Radley smiled. "We can take care of that if we don't go anywhere tomorrow."
Kalin nodded. "Right."
Radley peered at him. "Are you okay, Kalin?"
"I'm fine," Kalin said. "I'm just thinking again about what you said before, if Lawton might be interested in Eevees."
Radley sighed. "Let's hope he won't be."
Kalin grunted. He most certainly did.