The Greatest Pokemon Trainer

by Victor Soul

Join Charles Roberts, his Pikachu and his travelling companions as he attempts to become the ultimate Pokemon Trainer. On his travels he will meet new friends, rivals and many Pokemon to capture. Follow him on his journey to be the best, like no one ever was.

54. O Sister, Where Art Thou?

Here's the next chapter!

rusty32536 - Thanks so much, sorry for the late reply.

raz2694 - Ah yes, the GS Ball! The plot point that never really went anywhere. I was planning for Charles to pick it up after Ash leaves it behind so I'm glad that you suggested it as well.

I'm also glad that you like the sound of the new chapters. I'm looking forward to writing them. The battle between Charles and Mewtwo will be...intriguing to say the least. Thanks again!

KarmaChaos5 - Thanks, to you too. I haven't planned the Orange Island story yet, but I will when we get closer to it. I'm sure Charles would like to take part for a little fun. Maybe Alice could join in as well. Also, thanks for reminding me. I have added them on now.

I'll see what I can do about the bird Pokemon. Pidgeot might be a little too late, but I'll see if it could work out. Thanks so much.

Guestfyre - Thank you, Happy Christmas to you too.

Chiaki Forever - Thanks so much and no problem at all. I've also added your other suggestions.

I'm glad you're looking forward to it and I'll see what I can do about the shiny Pokemon. It would be cool. Thanks again.

pokemonking0924 - Thanks so much, I'm so glad that you enjoyed the chapter. I remember those episodes and, initially, Notting Hamlet was going to have a more medieval style to it, but I made it with more of a Victorian style as it made a little more sense. Still, I'm glad with how it turned out in the end.

What happened to Rick, his deputies and the Tyranitar, you say? Well, I heard that Rick, Wayne and John were stripped off there titles and were sentenced to do community service until they paid off all the money they stole from the citizens. Of course, they needed a new sheriff in town and so they voted in a new one which, strangely enough, happened to be the tyranitar; Notting Town's first ever Pokemon sheriff. I heard Sheriff Tyranitar is great at his job and he loves his new home. They even made a special uniform for him to wear. Isn't that nice?

I'm also glad that you like the new chapters. It's going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. And, after this, I can finally start planning for 'Mewtwo Strikes Back'. I'm very excited.

Infinite Love 14 - Great! I'm glad that you like it. I'll see what I can do about Todd Snap.

Ooh, some more recommendations. Thanks so much.

Kunoichi69 - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed him. I'll tell you what, coming up with the names of the Merry Pokemon was, by far, the hardest part of the chapter.

Yes, I suppose Notting Hamlet is pretty simple technologically wise. However, I guess that is what is so appealing about it. Every town has something different about it and that's what it make it so unique. Although, it's greedy people like Rey Zorbes who come over and ruin it for everybody. I'm sure he will return some day with another rotten scheme up his sleeve. When that would be...well, who's to say.

I'm also glad that you like the new chapters. You know what, I had forgotten about the clefairy spaceship episode. Perhaps Alette could mention it in the future sometime. And yes, Echo is getting his own chapter (finally, am I right?). That will be a fun chapter to write, I guarantee.

Thanks again for reading and all of your support. I hope you had a Happy Christmas as well.

FanSuperAnime - Whose to say Robin won't join. After all, this won't be the last time they will encounter each other. It's only a matter of time. Thanks so much for reading.

djinn - Thanks so much, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

SkullGreymonX - Thank you so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I'm sure they'll meet up with Robin in the future. Perhaps when they are journeying through Johto. A Rey Zorbes and Leslie team up sounds very intriguing; I can imagine them getting along and cooking up a devious scheme.

Thank you also for the suggestion. It was a good idea, but I had something else planned. I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Sonic07 - I'm glad to hear it and I'm happy that you liked the previous chapter. Coming up with the dreams of our main characters was quite difficult, but I knew that all of their individual dreams had to evolve all their friends. If Alice was there, she would have seen herself at her own reward ceremony and being gifted the golden baton of honour for outstanding service in her field along with all of her Pokemon and friends watching her receive it...then she takes a bite of the reward and realises that it was made of cake.

Rey Zorbes will get his comeuppance sometime, but who knows when. Although, there are still a lot of schemes up his sleeves. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Guest2 - Thanks so much. That chapter (The Great Princess Showdown) was tough to write, but I'm glad with how it turned out.

Alice would jump at any chance to solve a mystery; especially one that leads up to a conspiracy. And a good thing too, otherwise Happy Co would become a large franchise and take over Kanto.

I'm glad you like the new sneak peeks, I'm very excited to write them. Especially, writing the new Pokemon movie. That reminds me, I need to rewatch. I haven't seen it in years. What will Mewtwo think of Charles...well, you'll have to wait and see ;) Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

thanhmacu - Thanks

Guest - Thanks so much, I'm glad you like the sound of them. I'll try my best, but I also have plenty of projects going on at the moment so it's a little difficult. Thanks for the suggestions and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Guest - Sorry, it took so long.

Guest - It'll resume...right now!

NowherePerson - It was intentional, yep.

Marina is a smart Pokemon and it also helps that she's raised in a loving environment.

I'm sure Janine will come in at some time; I haven't made plans for her yet, but I'm sure she will. After all, there are plenty of Poison type gyms in the Pokemon world.

Ah, Mimey. I completely forgot about him. Yeah, Charles will not be happy at all.

Mele vs Titania; that'll be a great fight to see. If you throw Fleur into the mix then they form a very toxic trio.

Yeah, I don't blame you. Daisy Oak is rarely mention in any Pokemon media. I depicted her as a cool, laid-back older sister which suits her very well. I'm sure I'll involve everyone in that list at some point. It'll be nice to see the main characters interact with all of them.

Lickitung? Damn it! It's such a hard word to spell. Please forgive me. Thank you also for telling me that, I wouldn't have known otherwise.

Thank you also for the extra information, I'll be sure to keep in mind for later. Also, I've only seen the dubbed version of the movie, so I'm hoping to do a lot more research on it in the future. I also enjoyed Legends: Arceus. I have no plans for it at the moment. but it's something I would like to write about. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll add them now. And lastly, thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Thanks for reviewing :)

---

Chapter 48 - O Sister, Where Art Thou?

Countryside, Southern Kanto

"Finally!" Flo gasped as she and her friends bust through the treeline and into an open field, "We're out of that forest!"

"What a relief," Charles sighed.

("And look, I can see a path!") Benny squeaked as he pointed out over the field towards a single paved road winding its way through the countryside, ("We're on the right tracks now.")

Alice grinned proudly, "Told you guys I'll get us out of here."

"You were the one who led us in there in the first place," they deadpanned crossly.

The proud grin instantly dropped from her face at their remark.

"…oh, right. Sorry," she sheepishly replied.

After encountering Robin Hoothoot in Notting Hamlet, our heroes had set off for Cinnabar Island once again. But first, they had to get out of the large forest that had wandered into a few days ago. They had walked for over a day and reached Ting Hamlet (not to be confused with Notting Hamlet) and then spent another day getting to the forest's edge. Now, as they crossed the field to the road, they were eager to make up for lost time and head to the next gym.

But there was a problem with that…

"A hundred and ten miles to Centre City!" Charles exclaimed in shock, "We're that far away!"

They were all staring up at a wooden signpost they had found on the side of the road with one sign that pointed south-westwards from their position. As Charles had said, they were still miles away from their destination.

"Darn it!" Flo cried, "It's going to take almost a week of walking to reach there. And we lost time wondering through that forest."

Alice hummed in determination, pulled out her map from her bag and looked over it.

"There's a Pokecentre on the way there. About four miles away, it looks like. Why don't we stop there and ask if there's a more direct path to take," she suggested.

"That's good, I suppose. We kind of need to stock up on supplies and everything."

("And to have a wash as well,") Benny commented as he patted the shoulder that he was perched on, ("my personal seat is starting to smell.")

"Hey! It doesn't smell...and it's my shoulder, not your personal seat," Charles told him.

Flo sighed wearily, "Four miles. That's bearable. My feet are killing me," she said before she noticed a flyer nailed to the signpost, "Huh, what's this?" she asked as she ripped the flyer off the signpost and looked over it, "It's an advert for an...Evolution Party being held tomorrow."

"Evolution Party?" Charles questioned.

"Yeah, it says here that trainers can come and evolve their Pokemon with a collection of Evolution Stones brought all the way from Stone Town."

"I know that. Stone Town is at the foot of Evolution Mountain around north from here," Alice said, "They say that 90% of Evolution Stones in Kanto are produced there and delivered all over the place. But I never heard of an Evolution Party before," she looked over to Charles and frowned in concern, "I'm guessing that's not something you agree with, right?"

Charles gave a shrug, "As long as the Pokemon consent than I have nothing agaisnt it. You have no idea how many trainers go around evolving their Pokemon without a care just because they think they get stronger in battle," he muttered in annoyance before he smiled and stroked Benny behind the ears, "After all, Pokemon deserve as much respect and care as humans."

"I agree," Alice happily said with a nod.

"So, do I, but it also says they have a special guest star that they are going to introduce and anybody with an eevee or a eeveelution get half price off their entrance fee," Flo said, "I wonder what this special guest star could be. Could be interesting. Why don't we go?"

Alice hummed unsurely, "I don't know. We kind of have to make up for lost time."

"Oh...it also says here that they are serving complimentary food and they'll be plenty of cute Pokemon."

...

...

...

...

"Sounds good to me," Alice said firmly.

"Let's go," Charles agreed.

("You guys are too easy,") Benny grumbled.

---

Evolution Mansion, Southern Kanto

The next day at 9 o'clock, they had stepped through the iron gates and onto the grounds of a large estate; named, according to a bronze plaque on the walls that surrounded it, Evolution Mansion. The estate included a large mansion with white pristine walls, dark blue roof tiles and hundreds of windows that allowed the light to pour in no matter what time of the day it was. Around the mansion was the gardens, one at the front and one at the rear, that were both the size of football fields.

The front gardens was where the party they had heard about was being held; long tables covered in white tablecloths were laid out on the right hand side; where trainers mingled as they looked at the impressive displays of evolution stones. They had everything; Water Stones, Leaf Stones, Fire Stones, Thunder Stones, Moon Stones and so on. Trainers and their Pokemon would admire them, study them and either move on or purchase them so they could evolve their Pokemon. Once they were done, they were free to talk to other trainers or get a snack from the food tables over in the corner.

On the left, the Pokemon, who had just been evolved, were allowed to use the open space to frollic, play or swim in the fountains dotted across the lawn. They all looked happy in their new forms; poliwhirl became poliwrath, vulpix became ninetails, shellder became cloyster. They all seemed to enjoy their new bodies and everything that came with it; something that Charles was happy to see.

"This party is not as bad as I thought," he admitted, "everyone looks like they are having fun."

("I can't believe how many people there are here,") Benny said from atop his shoulder.

"Good thing we came here. I might even talk to my Pokemon and see if they want to evolve," Flo said.

"Me too. I bet Apollo would love to become an arcanine," Alice commented.

("So...why are we here again?")

Charles looked down to see Titania, who was sat in his arms, looking back at him with her blue eyes as her ribbons were wrapped around his arms instinctively.

"Because it's been a while since we've spent time with you or Hal," he told her, smiling from her to the half-bald, sweater-wearing eevee in Flo's arms, "As a trainer and your friend, I must make sure all of you are well and to let you know how much I care and love you all of you."

"Also, entrance fee tickets are half-priced if you bring an eevee or eeveelution," Flo added.

"...that as well."

Titania raised an eyebrow at that, ("Why's that then?")

"I don't know. Maybe the organisers like eevee," Charles said with shrug.

("I suppose eevee can represent how varied and how important Pokemon evolution can,") Benny said, ("It's a symbolic gesture in a way.")

("If you say so.")

Meanwhile, Halycon observed his surroundings; especially the tables which held the Evolution Stones, and hummed in satisfaction.

("The displays are neat and tidy. There is an even number of them and they are presented clearly,") he said before he frowned in irritation and growled, ("Grrr! But the humans keep messing them up! Grrr! So untidy! Must clean!") he shouted as he made to leap out of Flo's arms.

Luckily, Flo caught him and dragged him back, "Stop! Hal! If you go over there, you might evolve accidentally!"

Alice, who was eevee-less, stopped suddenly when she spotted three familiar Pokemon wandering around the party and immediately alerted the others.

"Hey, those are the Kanto eeveelutions," she said, pointing them out to the others, "They are so adorable!"

Alice was correct twice; they were the Kanto eeveelutions and were adorable. All of them were quadrupedal Pokemon with eevee-like apperances, but they also were different in many ways. One had orange fur over it's body and a fluffy cream coloured fur around its neck and ontop of its head as well as large fluffy tail. It had large sharp ears that pointed upwards, black oval eyes and a small black nose.

Another one had yellow spiky fur along with a white band of spiked fur around its neck. It had long pointed ears that stuck upwards, black diamond-shaped eyes and a thing snout.

The last one was covered in light blue scales from its snout to the tip of its forked fish-like tail. It had a dark blue ridge which ran down its back and over its tail, a white fin that encircles its neck, round black eyes and a small nose. It had three fins, two on either side of its head, resembling ears, and one on its head which resembled a dorsal thin.

"Oh wow," Charles said as he immediately got out his pokedex and scanned all three, "All three in one go. You don't see this often."

Flareon -When storing thermal energy in its body, its temperature could soar to over 1600 degrees.

Jolteon - It accumulates negative ions in the atmosphere to blast out 10000-volt lightning bolts.

Vaporeon - Lives close to water. Its long tail is ridged with a fin which is often mistaken for a mermaid's.

All three eeveelutions were wandering through the party when they happened to spot the group admiring them. Immediately, all three Pokemon made a bee-line towards them and stopped right before Flo and looked up at Halcyon in her arms.

("Oh hey, welcome to the party,") the flareon one greeted cheerily, ("Nice to see an Normal type around here.")

("What are you in the market for, huh?") the jolteon one asked, ("You know, a jolteon, like myself, are pretty powerful. If you want to evolve into one then I can definitly recommend it.")

The flareon glared at his fellow Pokemon at that, ("Hey, what are you doing?") he whispered angrily.

("Nothing, I'm just talking to him. Is that a problem?") the jolteon shot back.

("You're going to scare him away. The plan was to get friendly with him and then we sell our pitch.")

("I was just sharing a fact. What? I can't do that now,") the jolteon snapped before he turned to the vaporeon, ("Back me up here, would you?")

("Wow, you're gorgeous!")

To the two Pokemon's shock, the vaporeon was actually staring up at a bored-looking Titania with love hearts in his eyes.

("You're the most beautiful eeveelution I've ever seen,") the vaporeon swooned as he wagged his fish-like tail, ("You know, vaporeon are very capable and are the strongest eeveelution of them all. We can swim and...err...walk on land...")

("Beat it, loser,") Titania muttered as she rolled her eyes, ("I'm not interested.")

("Man! ~So sassy! ~ I love it! ~")

("Concentrate, would ya!") the flareon and jolteon shouted at him.

"Ah, there you guys are!"

They looked around and saw three boys, who looked to be in their mid-teens, heading their way. As soon as Charles and the others saw them, they couldn't help but cringe. They looked to be identical triplets with rather simple faces and large round eyes, but all of them have leaned in heavily on a particular aesthetic.

And what an aesthetic it was.

One had blue spiky hair made to look like a drop of water splashing everywhere as well as blue eyebrows and blue eyes. He wore a white vest and blue trousers that were so tight that they looked like tights. The second one was dressed the same, but wore yellow trousers as well. He had orange hair that stuck straight up as if he had been electrocuted. The third one, also dressed the same but with red trousers, had red spiky hair made to look like a flickering flame. All three approached them and stood beside their respective eeveelution; it was very clear which eeveelution belong to who.

"That's a...that's a brave look," Alice muttered under her breath.

"We lost you for a few seconds," the one with orange hair said before he spotted Halcyon and Titania, "Nice, we got a couple more eevee fans."

"That's great," the one with red hair cheerily said, "Looks like this one has already evolved while the other is undecided. That's a sylveon, right? All the way from Kalos."

"That's right. I'm surprised that you knew," Charles said, "I only learned about them fairly recently."

The one with blue grinned and pointed his thumb at himself, "My brothers and I know all about eevee and eeveelutions. Around where we come from, we're known as the 'Battling Eevee Brothers'. Heard of us?"

"I think I have," Flo spoke up, "You guys are trainers based in Stone Town, right? Don't you guys own the largest Evolution Stone company in Kanto? A lot of Pokecentres get their supplies from you."

The brother with orange hair made a so-so gesture with his hand, "Not quite. Our dad owns the company. We just help with promoting it."

"We go around Kanto and Johto, rent out a venue for a month and host these parties," the one with blue hair explained, "Trainers get to evolve their Pokemon and we get to sell Evolution Stones. It's a win-win business strategy," he told them, "My name is Rainer by the way and these are my brothers Sparky and Pyro."

"Nice to meet you."

"Thanks for coming."

"That's nominative determination if ever I heard one," Flo whispered.

"Oh, my charmeleon is called Pyro. I might just have to call you Pyro the human."

"Ha ha...please don't," Pyro replied worriedly.

"So, you're hoping to evolve you're eevee, right?" Sparky questioned, "Well, may I recommend jolteon," he said as he proudly showed off his own Pokemon, "They are pretty powerful and can deal a lot of damage to your opponents."

"That's true, but it's pretty useless against Rock and Ground types," Rainer said, earning a annoyed glare from Benny, "Vaporeon are far better in that category. You can battle not just on land, but in the water. Also, did you know that in terms of human and Pokemon companionship..."

"Rainer, don't go there!"

"What? I was just saying that they are really friendly."

Pyro smirked proudly and showed off his own Pokemon, "Well, of course, flareon is a popular choice. You can dominate the pitch with its Fire type moves...also they're super fluffy which is a bonus."

"So, what do you think?" Sparky questioned as all three brothers leaned in eagerly, "Which one do you want your eevee to evolve into?"

In response to their insistent sales pitch, they leaned back away from them and looked away uncomfortably.

("They're really keen to make us choose sides, aren't they?") Benny muttered.

However, before they could give an answer, Rainer noticed somebody at the corner of his eye. He looked around to his left and saw a young boy, no older than six years old, with light brown hair, large round eyes and a small nose. He wore blue shorts and a green sweater with a red underneath. The boy looked to be searching for something urgently; his eyebrows knitted together in concern. He had just lifted up a tablecloth so he could look under it when Rainer called out to him.

"Mikey! There you are!"

The young boy, now named Mikey, jumped and stopped what he was doing immediately. He gulped nervously and dragged himself over to them.

"Hey...Rainer," he softly said, "I was just-"

"Never mind that," Sparky interrupted, "Why aren't you looking after Princess Eevee?"

"She's fine. She's in her room...like usual."

Pyro tutted at him, "Come on Mikey. She's your Pokemon so you have to take more responsibility," he scolded before he gave him a confident grin, "After all, if you're going to turn her into a flareon, you need to get as much practise as you can."

"Or a jolteon," Sparky interjected.

"Or a vaporeon," Rainer snapped.

("Aww~ Princess Eevee!~ She's a dream~") Vaporeon sighed as he daydreamed.

His fellow eeveelutions rolled their eyes at his behaviour.

"Err...sorry to interrupt," Alice spoke up, "But who is this Princess Eevee? We read about her on the posters, but we don't know much about her."

Sparky grinned excitedly, "Well, she's our guest star, of course," she told her before he looked down at Mikey, "It's almost time. Why don't you go get her."

Mikey sighed sadly and did what he told him to do. Flo, Alice and Charles couldn't help but notice that he seemed depressed about something.

"Is he alright?" Flo asked.

"Who? Our little brother," Rainer said, "Nah, he's fine. He's just nervous, you know."

"Nervous about what?"

However, Flo's question fell on deaf ears as the Eevee brothers walked up to the middle of the gardens and began to make their announcement.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention please!" Sparky proclaimed, quickly drawing a crowd of trainers around him, "Our main event is about to begin!"

Charles, Flo and Alice shared a look and silently decided to go over to them. They had just made in time so they were right in front, allowing them to see the brothers clearly.

"As you might know, today's a very special occasion," Rainer continued, "We have been journeying across the regions for a while now and we have demonstrated how powerful Pokemon evolution can be with the use of Evolution Stones. But today our trio is now going to become a quartet."

"Our little brother, Mikey, has recently acquired an eevee for himself and now he is going to evolve her and join us at the forth Battling Eevee Brother. Come on out Mikey!" Pyro announced.

The crowd parted away to reveal Mikey again carrying a Pokemon in his arms. As Pyro had said, it was another eevee, but this one was a little different than to one Charles had seen. For one thing, she was a lot smaller than the average eevee; she was about 60" tall rather than the usual 1' height that a normal eevee was. However, that only made her even more adorable. One main difference, which Charles, Flo and Alice seemed to be the only humans who noticed, was that she didn't smile. In fact, she looked completely stoic. Her brown eyes had lost its light, her ears didn't wiggle and her body was completely stiff. If the brothers hadn't said so otherwise, everybody would assume she was a stuffed toy rather than an actual living creature.

The crowd cooed and awed as Mikey reluctantly showed her off to them. The eevee didn't react to the crowds or to anything. She just stared on ahead with the blank look in her eyes.

"That's her folks," Rainer announced, "At a height of 62" inches and weight at 10 lbs, our perfect ice princess is just the most adorable Pokemon around. Give her a round of applause everybody."

As everybody clapped and cheered for the eevee, Charles and Benny heard a gasp from down below. They looked down and saw Titania standing to full attention; her eyes were wide in shock and her jaw was opened slightly.

("It can't be,") she uttered.

("Sister,") Halcyon whispered from Flo's arms, he was just as shocked as she was, ("That's her. That's definitely her.")

("Oh Arceus,") Titania said as tears formed in her eyes, ("That's our little sister.")

"What!" Charles and Benny cried in astonishment, suprising Flo and Alice.

Mikey walked past the crowd of onlookers and stood before his older brothers; the emotionless eevee sat in his arms and allowed herself to be taken. Pyro grinned down at his younger brother and gave him a thumbs up.

"You ready, Mikey?" he questioned, "What will it be? Are you going to evolve her into a Flareon…"

"…a vaporeon…" Rainer interjected.

"…or a jolteon?" Spark finished.

"Errr…" Mikey stammered.

He looked up at his brother's smiling faces and winced slightly. The pressure of deciding here and now was starting to get too much for him.

However, he didn't have time to give an answer. Titania leapt out of Charles' arms unexpectedly and sprinted towards Mikey; she was quickly followed by Halcyon. Mikey gasped as Titania ran into him and knocked him over, making him accidentally drop the eevee in his arms. Luckily, Titania caught her with her ribbons before she could land on the ground.

("Little sister, it's me!") she cried happily as joy-filled tears flowed from her eyes.

"Hey!" Pyro yelled, "What's the big idea!?"

"Why did you knock over our brother like that!?" Sparky cried.

"Oh boy," Charles murmured.

Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon growled angrily and ran towards Titania.

("Hey! Release her at once!") Flareon yipped.

("You're ruining the ceremony!")

Before they could attack, however, Halcyon pounced in front of them and bared his sharp teeth. All three eeveelutions stopped short at his threat.

("Don't come closer! When I grow irritated, I start chewing fur out!") he growled angrily.

Jolteon and Flareon paled slightly and backed away, but Vaporeon stood still and raised his eyebrow.

("I don't have fur.")

("Then…I'll chew your scales off! Grrr! So annoying!")

Titania gently placed the small eevee down on her paws. She couldn't believe it. She had found her siblings. First her brother and now her sister. Her heart began to fill with joy and she felt hopful for the future.

("Little sister. I finally found you,") she whispered as she moved her head to nuzzle her head, ("You're safe now. You don't have to worry any-")

And then, to her shock, the small eevee stepped back away from her.

Titania blinked in confusion as she tried to comprehend what she was doing. That was when she noticed that her expression had not changed at all. The eevee stared right through her as if she didn't exist.

("Sister?")

The eevee didn't respond. She simply stepped around her and walked right past her. She kept on going; walking past a confused Halcyon and stopping finally right beside Mikey who had recovered from his fall. The young boy then picked her up and she sat right in his arms as if nothing happened.

Titania and Halcyon were astonished. So astonish that they didn't register Charles kneeling beside them and picking them up in his arms.

"I'm really sorry about that," Charles apologised to Mikey, "You're not hurt are you?"

Mikey shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

"Why don't you go back inside," Rainer suggested as he gave his younger brother a small nudge, "We'll do the evolution later, alright?"

"O-okay."

Mikey sped off as fast as his little legs could take him back to the mansion; only goancing at Titania and Halcyon on the way. Titania, however, kept her eyes on the eevee in his arms and watched her get taken away.

The eevee never looked back at them.

("She...she didn't recognise me,") Titania softly said.

---

("Charles, please, you have to get us to her,") Titania begged, looking pleadingly up at her trainer, ("I don't care what it takes!")

("GRRRR! SO FRUSTRATING!") Halcyon growled irritably, ("WHY DIDN'T SHE RECOGNISE US!?")

"Okay, okay, you two," Charles calmly told them, casting a look at the other party guests in case they were disturbed by all the growling and the yipping.

After Princess Eevee's presentation, two of the elder Eevee Brothers, Sparky and Rainer, brought their younger brother back into their mansion, taking the young eevee along with them. After apologising to Pyro a few more times, he forgave him and followed his brothers into the mansion. Titania and Halcyon wanted to follow after them, but Charles brought them back to the corner of the front garden and away from the party.

"Listen, I want to help you two, I promised I would, but you can't just barge into somebody's home like that," Charles gently said as he crouched down in front of them, "We need to relax and think this out rationally."

("But they are going to force her to evolve,") Titania said, ("We need to talk to her now and get to come with us.")

"Titania, you know I can't just do that. I have never forced any of our friends to join the team and I certainly can't take her away from another trainer."

("Why not? You got me from that other trainer.")

("And you picked me up at that hospital,") Halcyon added.

"You were confiscated from your old trainer and you, Hal, were only there for treatment," Charles told them, "We have no evidence that they brought your sister from Leslie and I'm sure no Officer Jenny would let me steal her away from them."

("Besides,") Benny spoke up from Charles' shoulder, ("How do you know that she's your sister?")

("I recognise her scent,") Titania told him, ("It's definitely her.")

("Also she is...") Halcyon trailed off slightly before he looked down and closed his eyes, ("...she is small.")

("Huh? Small?") Benny inquired, ("What does that have to do with anything?")

("She was...it...does not matter,") Halcyon eventually sighed, ("We are certain that she is our sister?")

Charles hummed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Okay, tell you what, why don't we all go and meet up with the brothers and I'll talk to them. They are all seem like decent trainers. I'm sure they will understand. How about that?"

Titania sighed as she let go of her frustration while Halcyon took a long deep breath.

("We...we can do that. Right, Titania?") Halcyon asked.

The sylveon nodded firmly, ("Alright fine...but if things don't go our way then we're breaking her out of there.")

("Why do you quickly result to violence,") Benny muttered as Charles sweat dropped.

---

Back at the party, Flo and Alice were over by the food tables, waiting for Charles to return. They both had plates filled with various finger foods piled on them in their hands; although Alice's pile was significantly bigger than Flo's.

"You think they are alright?" Flo asked as she picked up some crackers of the tray in front of her and placed it on the edge of her plate, "I don't know if you caught what Charles said or not."

"I think he just said 'sister'," Alice said in concern, "You don't suppose Princess Eevee is Titania's and Halcyon's other sibling, right?"

"That's a possibility," she hummed as she looked over her shoulder towards them, "We'll talk to him later. Let's let them sort this one out for themselves."

She looked back and was about to step away from the table when she noticed something strange. Her plate, that had been almost filled to the brim, was half gone as if it just disappeared into thin air. Flo blinked in bafflement before she glared at Alice.

"There's plenty of food, you know? You don't have to steal from mine."

"Huh?" Alice uttered in confusion, "Steal? I don't steal other people's food. I'm not a wild Pokemon," she shot back, "Are you sure you didn't drop it somewhere."

"No, it was on my plate a second ago and then it was...huh, wait a moment."

She pointed to the table to where an entire plate of cube cheese had been; only now neither the cheese nor the plate were there.

"There was something there a moment ago. Where did it go?"

"You're right. There was an entire platter of Johto Moomoo blue cheese," Alice murmured as she rubbed her chin with her free hand, "That is weird. The small sandwiches are gone as well, the croquettes and the Kalos-inspired macarons as well."

The two looked around the area and saw that a few more trainers had noticed the same thing. Some were searching the table for their favourite snack while others were staring down in disbelief at their now empty plates. Alice hummed thoughtfully before she gave a small smirk.

"Looks like we got a thief on our hands. And not just a thief; the worst kind..." her eyes narrowed dramatically, "...a food thief."

"Another food thief?" Flo sighed as she rolled her eyes, "Didn't we already do that back in Notting Hamlet?"

"Yes...but it's different this time," Alice said as she coughed into her hand, "But we don't have time to talk about how. We have to find this food thief now."

"Why?"

"Because...it might be fun."

Flo shrugged, "Alright then, let's go," she said with a grin before she noticed Alice's plate, "Doesn't seem like the thief has taken anything from your plate? Could that be a clue?"

"Oh no," Alice said as she shook her head, "Ever since that incident when we met Mahad, I've been putting myself through secret training to prevent it happening ever again," she held out her plate to her, "Here, let me show you. Take something from my plate."

Flo raised a sceptical eyebrow before she did what Alice instructed. She reached out to take a croquette from her plate, however, to her surprise, as soon as her fingers were about to brush the rough breadcrumb surface of the croquette, it and the rest of the plate disappeared right before her eyes.

"What?" she uttered.

"You see," Alice proudly said.

Somehow, she had got behind Flo without her looking with her plate held up in one hand.

"What!?" Flo shouted in disbelief, "Are you a ninja now!?"

Alice laughed, "I call that my Food Illusion Genjutsu, dattebayo!"

"...I think you need more hobbies, Alice."

---

Back Of The Mansion

Apollo sniffed the ground before him eagerly as he tried to pick up the trail of the elusive food thief with his sharp senses. Alice and Flo followed after him a few meters behind so he could concentrate on what he was doing. So far, he had led them around the side of the mansion, away from the party to the back gardens. Nobody was around; all the guests were still at the party, meaning they could sneak around as much as they could.

"Is this breaking and entering?" Flo questioned in a low voice, "because this feels like breaking and entering."

"No, of course not," Alice replied, "It's trespassing. Sort of the same thing, but less serious."

"That's not exactly reassuring."

"We're only going to be here for a few minutes. Once we identify the thief, we can go back to the party," she reassured as she watched Apollo go through a short hedge which lined the side of the mansion with his nose pressed against the ground, "I think he's found something. Let's go."

They quickly followed the Pokemon, passed through the hedge as well and found him glaring straight forwards with his nose pointed downwards towards something. They looked closer at what he had found and saw a basement window about half a meter wide and about forty centimetres tall.

"You're saying the thief went through here, Apollo?" Alice asked as she crouched down beside him.

Apollo barked and nodded his head at her before staring at the window.

Flo hummed thoughtfully, "It's a pretty small window. I doubt a grown up could fit through there."

"But look," Alice said as she picked up something beside the window, "It's a piece of cracker," she said before popped it in her mouth and chewed on it, "Hmm, a salted cracker as well. Just like the ones from the party."

"Yeah, I could have guess that. You didn't have to eat it off the ground."

Alice quickly returned Apollo to his pokeball, saying a quick thank you for all his hard work. She then turned back to the window once again and pushed it gently with her fingers. Surprisingly, the window swung backwards which gave them full access to the dark basement below them.

"It's open," she murmured, "Somebody could have snuck in and out whenever they wished."

"I suppose they could," Flo said as she crouched down beside her, "If that's the case, then they could be using the basement as their hideout. Strange how the brothers hadn't noticed before they moved in."

"I say we tell them and so they could investigate for themselves," Alice suggested, "now let's get out of here before we get found out."

"We could do that...or...we can do it ourselves," Flo suggested as she gestured to the window.

Alice frowned at her, "What? No. Absolutely not. Now that would be breaking and entering."

Flo responded by gently pushing the window and allowing it to swing back and forth, "If we don't break anything then it won't be. It would be just 'entering'. And entering places isn't a crime."

"You're sounding more like a lawyer than a nurse right now."

"Come on," Flo said with a mischievous smile, "I bet it'll be fun."

Alice looked from her to the basement window, reluctantly considering what she said. After a few seconds of contemplating, she gave a sigh and shook her head.

"Alright fine. But it's your fault if we get caught."

"Absolutely," Flo promised, "Okay, so when you get down there, see if you can find a switch or something so we're not searching around in the dark."

"Okay, I'll-" Alice stopped mid-sentence and turned to her angrily, "Hey! Why do I have to be the one who goes first!?"

"Well, somebody needs to go down first."

"Then why not you?"

"Are you kidding me," Flo said as she looked at the pitch black basement through the window, "It's scary."

"Yeah, of course it is!"

Flo sighed and gave a casual shrug, "Fine then. Don't go first," she said before she placed a hand over her mouth and smiled cheekily, "If you can't fit through the window then you should have said so," she tittered.

Alice's eye twitched at that single sentence; a single vein bulged violently on her forehead. She growled furiously and gave her a deathly glare.

"I can so to fit through the window! Watch!" she yelled.

Anger seemed to have clouded her logic at that moment as Alice would soon regret what she did next. She brought her hands together, lowered herself closer to the ground and dived towards the basement window.

"NOT HEAD FIRST, YOU MORON!" Flo cried out.

Alice, however, didn't get far. Her head and shoulders managed to get through, but the rest of her did not. She soon found herself lodged half way theough the window with her top half inside and her bottom was outside.

...

...

...

"Flo...I'm stuck..." Alice sadly murmured.

Flo shook her head in disappointment, "You idiot," she said as she took both of her legs in her hands, "Hold still, I'm going to pull you out."

"Wah! Something's got my legs!" Alice cried out as she furiously kicked her legs.

"It's just me! Hold still!"

"I'm slipping! Flo, I'm slipping!"

"You're not! Stop kicking me!"

"AH! I'M FALLING!"

"OW! Stop that! WHOA!"

Flo felt her feet slip out from under her and, due to Alice's extra weight, made her lurch forwards and get dragged into the basement as well.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! WAIT! AHHH!"

Both girls screamed as they slipped through the window and fell straight into the dark, dusty basement.

CRASH!

BANG!

BOOM!

SHATTER!

...

...

...

"Okay...now it's breaking and entering," Alice groaned in pain.

---

Main Hall, Evolution Mansion

"So...you're saying that you, a person who had just arrived today, think our Princess Eevee is related to your eevee and slyveon."

"Yes."

"And she is actually one of seven eeveelutions that had been kidnapped and shipped across the world by a poacher called Leslie Humperdink."

"Yes."

"And you have no evidence to prove it...other then the word of the same eevee and slyveon."

"...Yes...oh, the poacher can also go by Striker...or is it Biker...Smasher? Sorry, he changes his name a lot."

"Right...of course he does."

...

...

...

...

"This isn't going well, is it?"

After a while of waiting, Charles was finally allowed into the spacious, marble hall of the mansion so he could talk to the brothers. He stood before the three of them with Benny perched on his head along with Titania at his feet. Halcyon, on the other hand, was too busy straightening the large carpet in the middle of the hall with his teeth to properly pay attention. Charles had explained the situation to the Eevee Brothers, but he was finding it hard to convince them.

"Still, you would have got Princess Eevee from this poacher, right?" Charles questioned, "He's pretty big, muscular, leather jacket..."

"Actually we bought Princess Eevee from a Breeder," Pyro said.

"He could have been pretending to be a-"

"A female Breeder," he added.

"Ah...damn."

("Charles,") Benny whispered, ("Leslie must not have sold all them off on his own. He could have sold them to Breeders and middlemen so the police can't trace him down. That guy may be an idiot, but he's a smart idiot.")

'Damn, he's right. We have been lucky so far, but finding a connection between Leslie and the contacts is impossible right now. Proving to them that I'm telling the truth is getting harder and harder,' Charles thought. He glanced down at Titania, who was starting to look worried, and frowned in thought, "Okay," he said out loud, "I don't have evidence. But say that I have been telling the truth all this time and Princess Eevee was kidnapped and taken away from her family. Would you still keep her away from her family?"

Rainer crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "That's a lot of assumptions we have to make. For all we know, you could be a poacher who is trying to swindle us."

"But then again," Sparky sighed as he glanced over at his brother, "We don't have evidence to contradict you either. We are against poaching of any Pokemon and we hate ourselves if we, unknowingly, contribute to it."

Charles leaned down and picked up Halcyon and held him in his arms. He could sense that the eevee was going over to move the table with the expensive vase on it and decided to stop him before something could break.

"Please just allow my Pokemon to spend some time with her. If she recognises them then we'll know that they are related if not then...well, I guess we made some sort of mistake," Charles said sadly.

The brothers shared a look with one another as they held a silent conversation. Charles could understand their hesitance, but they were trainers as well and they also truly cared for Pokemon as much as he did. After a few seconds, they turned back to him and nodded.

"Okay, fine. You can have half an hour with Princess Eevee."

Charles looked down at Titania and Halycon. The slyveon didn't look to please about having only half an hour, but she nodded up at Charles to accept the deal. Halcyon, on the other hand, looked relieved just to have even a little bit of time with her sister...or it could be because the room was now perfect according to him or a mixture of both.

"Thank you, that's brilliant," he told the brothers.

"Right then follow us then to Princess Eevee's private chambers," Sparky said as they crossed the hall and down an ornate corridor.

"Can I ask, why do you call her Princess Eevee?" Charles questioned as they walked, "Kind of a weird name choice."

"It was Rainer's idea," Pyro said, "I thought she could be named Countess Eevee, because it sounds sophisticated. Princess Eevee sounds childish."

"Countess Eevee doesn't make sense. She's a total ice princess. That's why we named her that," Rainer responded.

"It wasn't supposed to be a real name. It was just something we called her before she became Mikey's Pokemon. After that, he could name her whatever she liked," Sparky explained.

Charles frowned slightly, "Sorry, going back on what Rainer said, what's an 'ice princess'?"

"Oh yeah, she's unfazed by pretty much everything. She'll let you hold her, brush her, take her on walks. You can put her down anywhere and then come back and she's still there. Not only that, but she doesn't show a hint of emotion. She doesn't show happiness or look upset about anything. She never smiles or even make a single noise. She's like a stoic, apathetic queen looking down on us...although, because she's so small, she's a princess," Rainer explained, "The Breeder we bought her from said that she was the most docile Pokemon she's ever worked with and perfect for newbie trainers."

"And you didn't think that was a red flag or anything?"

Pyro rubbed the back of his head, "Well, we did at first, but the Breeder said she was just nervous about new environments. Once she gets used to her new family, she'll open up."

"And has she?"

"...well...no, I guess," Pyro admitted, "But we have been trying hard to make her feel at home."

"We gave her the largest room, plenty of food and water and we groom and clean her every day," Sparky said.

"We have provided her with everything a Pokemon could want and more," Rainer said.

Titania and Halcyon shared an concerned look with one another as they listened to the brothers. It didn't sound like their sister at all. But before they could talk anymore about it, they had reached the end of the hallway and stood before a large wooden door. On the door, there was a large sign that read 'Princess Eevee's Private Chambers'.

"Here we are," Rainer said as he turned the handle and opened the door for them, "Princess Eevee, can we please come in?"

The door opened and revealed a very large room, far too large for a single Pokemon occupant. The walls were painted a bright pink; the ceiling was painted like the night sky with stars and a crescent moon in the centre and the floors were padded with soft pillows. Most of the room was taken up by a king-sized bed in the dead centre with a set of stairs built in so its occupant can climb off it without having to jump. The bed was filled with a cluster of pillows and plushies of various Pokemon and fitted with a pink duvet fit for a princess. Sitting on the bed, unmoving and without reacting to their presence, was Princess Eevee herself, who looked the same as she did the first time they saw her. Her facial expressions were blank, her body was ridged and still and her eyes were glazed over with no hint of life in them.

("Wow, they really did pull out all the stops,") Benny murmured as they stepped inside.

Charles put Halcyon down on the padded floor and allowed him and his sister to walk inside.

"Do you mind if we leave them alone for a bit," Charles asked the brothers, "We can wait outside."

Sparky gave a simple shrug, "Sure, we can get some tea while we wait."

The humans and Benny stepped back out into the hallway, but, before the doors could close, Charles gave Titania and Halcyon a thumbs up as if to say 'good luck'. Titania smiled back at him before the doors closed behind them.

They were now alone with their younger sister.

Titania looked back up at the bed where Princess Eevee was sat and saw that she hadn't moved from her position at all. She sighed sadly and whispered to her brother.

('Do you want to sort out any things you don't like first. I can take over first.)

Halcyon shook his head, ("No...no, I am fine. I want to be there for my sister and I am not going to let my compulsion") he said before his eye twitched irritably, ("...actually, those plushies need to be in size and colour order.")

("Go ahead,") Titania told him as he rushed off to quickly deal with them.

She then slowly walked to the bed, climbed up the steps and slowly stepped onto the soft mattress. She walked right in front of the eevee and kneeled down so they were face to face. However, the eevee continue to stare ahead as if she was invisible.

("Little sister,") Titania softly whispered, ("Little sister. It's me. It's your older sister. You're safe now. You don't have to worry about anything ever again, because I will look after you.")

("...") responded the eevee.

She didn't utter a word or even look at her. She just stood still.

Titania looked down at her pink furred self and sighed sadly, ("I know I look different. It's because I evolved in a sylveon not too long ago, But I'm still your sister and nothing is ever going to change that,") she raised her paw up to her nose, ("If you don't recognise my face then you must recognise my scent. It's how I managed to identify you. Come on. You must know me by now.")

("...")

There was still no response from her.

Halcyon, who had just finished organising the plushies, walked over to them and sat right next to Titania.

("What about me? Do you recognise my face or my scent? It hasn't changed at all,") he told her, ("Sure...I have these patches all over me and I am wearing this jumper...but even then...you must know who I am. We all used to play in the meadow near the den and, on hot days, we go to the river and swim. You were never a really good swimmer so I carried you around on my back. Then mom would call us for dinner and we would watch the volbeat and the illumise fly at night near the pond. Do you not remember that?")

("...")

There was still no answer.

("Little sister, please,") he said as he gently tapped the eevee on her shoulder.

However, to their surprise, the eevee rolled onto her side from Halcyon's light tap and stayed like that for a few seconds. Titania, seeing that she wasn't going to get up, used her ribbons to put her back into her sitting position.

("...")

And even then, there was no answer.

("This is going to be harder than we first thought,") Halcyon moaned while Titania slumped on the ground.

---

Basement, Evolution Manor

"Have you found it yet?"

"Not yet..."

CRASH!

"Ow! My foot!"

"You alright?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stubbed my toe! Stubbed my toe!"

"This was a bad ide-eek! What was that! Something's in my hair! Oh...hold on...I found it."

Click!

As Flo pulled down the string, the lightbulb clicked on and the dreary basement was illuminated by it's dull light. It would have been a large basement if it weren't for the hundreds of cardboard boxes, all stamped with the Evolution Stone Company's logo, stacked all over the place. Unused furniture wrapped in dustsheets and random rubbish littered the rest of the space which made the area almost impassable weren't it for a narrow path that wound it's way around. Flo released the string and looked around her area while Alice continued to hop around as she held her injured foot.

"This place is a total dump," she muttered, "I bet they just threw this stuff in without planning. Eugh! Boys are so annoying sometimes."

Alice placed her sore foot back down on the ground and frowned, "Damn, the thief is really living down here. It doesn't seem likely."

She looked down at the ground and noticed some more crumbs on the cold, cement floor. She bent down, picked one crumb up and inspected it with her fingers.

"And yet..." she muttered.

"Please don't eat that," Flo told her.

"I wasn't going to!"

She stood back up, but, when she did, her shoulder happened to brush past the stack of carboard boxes on her left which moved far too easily. She blinked in confusion and poked the stack, only to find there was no resistance at all and tilted forwards. She tapped the stack of boxes next to it and found that it didn't move nor did the stack on the other side. She frowned in determination, reached up and grabbed the two boxes at the top.

"Here, help me with this," she said as she lifted the boxes over her head easily.

Alice and Flo dismantled the stack of empty boxes easily and found a secret space that was hidden from view. It was surrounded by boxes on all four sides with even more boxes acting as the floor. A yellow blanket was spread out over the enclosure; there were soft pillows in the corner, a couple of empty bowls in the middle and even a few Pokemon toys scattered around. If they didn't know any better, they would say that this was a pen of some kind.

"Is somebody keeping a Pokemon in here," Flo uttered in surprise, "That's super weird."

"There are plenty of rooms in this mansion. Why not there?" Alice said.

"It's because my brothers can't know about him."

Flo and Alice jumped in shock at the new voice and spun around. Standing behind them, unexpectedly, was Mikey with a pokeball clutched in his hands. His eyes stared down at the concrete floor, his forehead was dripping with sweat while he fidgeted under their curious gaze.

"You're Mikey, right?" Flo asked, "One of the Eevee brothers."

Mikey nodded his head, "Yeah, but I'm not a Eevee brother...yet."

"What are you doing down here? Did you build this?" Alice questioned.

Mikey, once again, nodded his head.

Alice sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "Mikey, you're hiding a Pokemon down here, aren't you? A Pokemon that you're brothers don't know about. Why are you doing this?"

"They wouldn't understand," he quietly said.

"Why not?"

Mikey looked up to them, "It's a tradition in our family to have our own eevee or eeveelution. Our great-grandfather had one, our grandfather had one, our dad has one and now my brothers have one of their own. But...but...I don't want to train an eevee. It's not like I don't like them. They're adorable and all... but I want to decided which Pokemon I want to train," he showed them the pokeball where, presumably, his Pokemon was inside, "I caught him a few months back secretly and...he's my best friend in all the world. However, I can't show him to my brothers otherwise they'll be...disappointed in me. So, I've been keeping him hidden down here all this time. He must have got hungry earlier and snuck out to steal some food. I've tried looking for him before it was too late, but I kept being dragged away to do this ceremony thing. I...I just want it to be over."

"Ah, so that's how it happened," Alice hummed, "That explains it."

"Yeah. And now I feel even more bad because my brothers got my Princess Eevee. She's fine, I guess. She just so...emotionless."

"I understand, Mikey, I really do," Flo said before her tone became more serious, "But what's the plan here? Are you going to keep your Pokemon hidden down here for the rest of your life. As a nurse, I can tell you that is not healthy at all. He needs a proper home rather than...this."

"I know..."

Mikey looked down at the pokeball in his hands sadly. He closed his eyes as tears began to form before holding it out to Flo.

"Take him! Take him, please!" he demanded, "He deserves much more than this!"

"Mikey-"

"You're a Nurse Joy, right? You can properly look after him and love him! If my brothers find out them...then...I don't know what they'll do with him! So please! TAKE HIM!"

His heart began to break as he forced himself to give up on his best friend. But he was convinced that this was for the best. If he can't have him then he would be better off with somebody would care for him. However, the young boy was surprised when he felt a gentle hand push the pokeball back to him. He opened his eyes and saw the two girls smiling warmly down at him.

"You made a mistake there," Flo softly said, "If you don't know what you're brothers will do with him, then why are you scared? Are your brothers the sort of people who would make you get rid of your Pokemon."

"Well...no..."

"Are they horrible and mean to you?" Alice added.

"No, they're really kind. They're the best brothers ever!"

"Well, maybe instead of worrying about what could happen, you start focusing on what should you do," Flo told him, "For example, you should get your Pokemon out of this dusty basement, because it's not healthy. And you should tell your brothers about him, because they need to know. If you are scared about a possibility then nothing will ever be solved. All you have to do is...well, find out yourself."

"But...but what happens if it goes wrong?"

"Then we'll find a solution when the problem comes up," Alice said, "After all, you can't fix something that hasn't been broken. And if you're still worried, we can always support you. Alright?"

Mikey sniffed and wiped his tears from his eyes. He gave one last look down at his pokeball before he nodded nervously.

"O..okay."

"Greta," Flo said with a toothy grin, "Now, how do we get out of this basement then?"

Mikey gave her a strange look, "Didn't you get in through the door?" he asked, pointing across the room.

They followed his finger and saw, as he said, a door that led out to the back garden. They blushed in embarrassment and smiled nervously.

"...Yeah...we came through...the door over there obviously, haha," Alice sheepishly said.

"How else would we have come in," Flo added as she played with her hair ringlets.

They may have been smiling on the outside, but on the inside they were fuming with rage.

'There was a door there!' they both thought.

---

Princess Eevee's Chambers. Evolution Mansion

Meanwhile, back with Titania and Halcyon, things were not looking any better. The slyveon's face was buried in the duvet in utter defeat while her brother was pacing the length of the mattress in frustration. Princess Eevee had not moved an inch since they had come in and had not responded to anything they did.

("How long have we got left?") Titania sighed, her voice slightly muffled by the duvet.

("We've been in here for twenty minutes and fifteen seconds,") Halcyon replied, ("We don't have long at all.")

Titania got to her feet and gave annoyed sigh, ("What are we doing wrong? Does she really not remember us? We've told her stories from when we were young, told her about our family and everything that we could think of, but she's not responding to it.")

Halcyon stopped his pacing and stared down at the mattress below him, ("Maybe...she's just like me.")

("What do you mean?")

("You know...damaged,") he sadly whispered, ("What ever happened to her must have traumatised her. I...still remember the cages...the lonely nights...the pain...maybe it's just how she copes with it...I'm...I'm sorry...")

("Halcyon.")

Titania's firm, but gentle voice made him look up to her.

("You're not damaged. You're perfectly fine as you are,") she told him, ("Sure, you're a little odd...but we're all a little odd. And that's what make us special. You're my brother no matter what,") she said before looking down at the eevee, ("But just like how you I know that she wants to get better as well. We just need to find something. Just one little thing that can break her out of her shell,") she pressed her forehead against hers as tears began to fall from her eyes, ("I just want to see her smile, Halcyon. She always had the most wonderful smile.")

Halcyon felt tears come to his eyes as well as he nodded in agreement.

("I remember...she was always so small and so fragile...but she always knew how to make us smile,") he whispered as he fought down a sob.

Titania nuzzled her head against the eevee's lovingly and closed her eyes to stop the tears, ("When you were born...you were what the humans would call the runt of the the litter,") she whispered to her, ("We were not sure if you would actually make it. Mom tried to wake you up for hours and hours, but you were too weak to even open your eyes. Mom didn't give up. She kept encouraging you more and more until she exhausted herself...but then you did wake up...and we so happy and relieved,") she gave a sob as her heart began to break, ("Because of that, mom gave you a nickname. Do you remember what it was?") she softly asked.

And then, Titania said a single name.

And for the first time in what felt like ages, the eevee's ears flicked as she recognised it. It was so subtle then neither of her siblings noticed it happen. And from that single word, something within the eeve's mind began to stir.

---

My first memory was darkness.

I felt so weak and so fragile that only a whisper could shatter me like I was made of glass. I had no strength to open my eyes, no ability to move my ears so I could hear; there was so little that I could do except float in the cold nothingness that surrounded me. I had the desire to fall inside myself; to bury and hide from everything and anything until I was the smallest thing in the world.

But something stopped me; something warm and loving prevented me from drifting endlessly. I reached out to it as it got nearer and warmer; my desire had now taken a new form and it was not the pursuit of this lovely, wonderful thing. I kept fighting and fighting until...I could open my eyes.

I felt my mother lick my head and nuzzle my cheek encouragingly; thanking me that I had chose to stay awake. My mother's face, so beautiful and so loving, smiled down at me as I was the proudest thing in this entire world. And then appeared the others, seven faces in total, smiling and cheering as if they had found their greatest treasure. My mother gave me a name; a name that I had come to adore so much. I felt so loved. I was so happy to be here. The world and everything in it was so big and scary and yet I felt so safe.

I grew up with my siblings with our mother looking over us; my family were my entire world and I couldn't be happier.

It didn't last.

My memory is hazy and vague, but the last thing I knew was that I was sat in a metal prison. My mother was gone. My siblings were gone. I am lost. So lost. I cried and yelled for them, but they never called back to me. And so I became surrounded by the darkness once more, but this time nobody was there to help me. I crawled inside my and kept myself hidden from the darkness, hoping that I won't be consumed by it's cold hands again. I shiver in fear and lock myself inside my body, hoping that I will never be found or else I will feel so much unbearable pain.

And still...I hope that somebody would call me name one more time. Such a sweet name; a loving name; a name that my mother gave to me on the day I was born.

Please, somebody out there. Say my name one last time.

---

("Hikari,") Titania called out to her as tears streamed down her face, ("Please, wake up! Hikari!")

("Hikari,") Halcyon repeated with a nod, ("Yes...that was what our mother used to call her. It means 'flame', right?")

Titania pulled away and nodded, ("Even the smallest flame still glows brightly in the dark. That's what mom used to say. And she was right. You were always so bright and happy.")

Using one of her ribbons to wipe away her eyes, Titania began to walk away to the door, ("Come on, Hal. If we talk to Charles then maybe he could convince them to-")

("Titania.")

She stopped and looked towards her brother as soon as he called her name. He was staring back towards the eevee with wide eyes and a slack jaw; it was as if he had just seen something unbelievable.

("Hal, what's wrong?")

He raised her paw towards the eevee, ("Titania...look...look at her.")

She did just that and gasped in disbelief.

The eevee, for the very first time, was smiling.

A small, but happy, smile.

Titania was lost for words. Halcyon couldn't even move. They stood in silence for a few seconds and watched as the smile slowly fell back to what it was again. Titania stepped forwards and cleared her throat.

("Hikari?")

As if it was a magic word, the smile had returned to the eevee's face. And, if they weren't mistaking things, they could see a bit more life in her glazed eyes.

("She...responds to her nickname...") Titania uttered as tears began to form in her eyes.

("The same one mom gave her when she was born,") Halcyon said, as he felt a smile creep onto his face, ("She...recognises us.")

They both rushed her and embraced her; nuzzling her head in joy as tears streamed down their faces. They were overjoyed; more than that, they were elated. They finally got their sister back. Even though it was just a smile, it meant so much to them. More than any words could convey.

("Titania...we...we have our sister back!") he cried happily

("Hikari,") Titania whispered gratefully, ("Welcome back.")

The eevee merely smiled in return. Telling them all the need to know about how she felt.

---

"Well...I guess this does complicate things," Rainer admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

"Actually, it kind of messes up everything," Sparky sighed.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about this," Charles sheepishly apologised.

The thirty minutes were up and so they entered Princess Eevee's private chambers; only to find something that none of the brothers were expecting. All three Pokemon were fast asleep. Princess Eevee slept on the bed with her older sister on her left and her brother on her right, forming a small pile of fluffy adorableness.

Not only that, but Princess Eevee, who had remained so stoic and emotionless for the whole time they have known her, was smiling as she slept.

It wasn't a large smile, nor was it warm or kind. But it was definitely meaningful and the brothers could see that.

"They're her siblings after all," Pyro muttered as he scratched his cheek idly, "Man, I kind of feel like a jerk now."

"The guy we brought her from seemed legit, though," Sparky grumbled in annoyance, "Damn it, we should have run a background check first."

"Or maybe we should have caught an eevee ourselves," Rainer said.

Charles turned to the three of them and put his hands together pleadingly, "Look, I know you didn't know and I know you wasted a lot of money on her, but you can't split them up again. I'll pay you back the amount you spent. In fact, I'll pay double."

"That's not really the problem," Pyro told him, "Technically, she's supposed to be Mikey's Pokemon. I mean, he's a good kid and all, but I don't know if he's just going to let go his first Pokemon."

"It's fine, let her go with them."

They spun around as they heard a familiar voice. Coming towards them down the hallway, they saw Mikey hurriedly running towards them with Flo and Alice right behind him. The young boy stopped in front of them and took a deep breath.

"Let her go with them. Please, I don't want to be an eevee trainer," he begged them.

"Huh!?" the brothers cried out in shock.

"What are you saying!?" Pyro shouted.

"Don't you like eevee!?" Rainer yelled.

Mikey looked down at his feet shyly and sighed, "I do. She's cute and all...but I want to train a Pokemon that I've caught for myself," he told them, showing the pokeball to the three of them, "He's my best friend and I want to battle with him instead. I'm really sorry for lying to you all this time, but I was afraid how you guys would react."

Sparky frowned slightly, "What were you afraid of? You think we disown you or something?"

"Well...yes."

The brothers all shared a look before they burst out laughing, much to Mikey's surprise.

"Oh Mikey," Rainer sighed, "Of course we wouldn't do that to you. We're not monsters."

"Well, no I-"

"Well, we admit that we're a little suprised, but if you talked to us then we would have understand," Pyro told him with a grin, "If you want to be a Battling Some-Other-Pokemon Brother than you can. Is this why you have been acting strange these past days?"

Mikey could only nod in response.

"We don't mean to force you to decide. We just get a little competitive once in a while," Rainer said as he ruffled his hair, "You can be any sort of trainer. Don't listen to us. Listen to your heart, okay?"

Mikey gave a relived smile; happy in the knowledge that he wouldn't be excluded by his brothers.

"Thank...thank you," he uttered.

"This does mean we have to do an overhaul with the branding, though," Rainer said, "Aw well, we'll worry about it later," he told them, earning a chuckle from Mikey.

Flo and Alice smiled at each other as they saw the four brothers overcome the problem. They looked past them and saw Charles give them a thumbs-up to ask if everything was alright on the end. They responded with a thumbs-up as well, something that Charles and Benny was pleased to see.

---

Front Gardens

It was nearing the end of the day and all the trainers who came to the party were starting to leave, leaving the gardens almost empty. Before they decided to leave, Charles wanted to introduce their newest member to everybody else. And so, he released Pyro, Marina, Miko, Echo and Tyche so they could properly meet her.

"Alright, team," Charles happily said as he showed off the eevee to the Pokemon currently present, "Please give a warm welcome to our newest member."

("A pleasure to meet you,") Miko politely said as she wagged her tails.

("Another eevee,") Pyro said as he looked towards Titania and Halcyon, ("Is she another sibling of yours?")

Titania smirked, ("Yep, three down, six to go.")

("Grrr! So incomplete!") Halcyon growled.

("Well, that is rather lucky,") Echo said as he fluttered in the air, ("I'm sure we'll find everybody eventually.")

("Yep! And I'm happy to help in anyway I can!") Tyche commented.

Marina slithered over to the eevee and bent her head down so she could introduce herself, ("Hi, the name's like Marina. Titania is like my big sis as well so I'm sure like we'll get along as well.")

("...") the eevee responded as she stared back at her.

Marina sweat dropped, ("Err...did I like say something wrong?")

("Don't worry about it,") Titania said as she stepped beside her sister, ("She's...dealing with a lot at the moment. I'm sure she would like to be friends with you as well.")

("Phew, that's cool,") the dragonair, ("Thought I was like mad disrespectful or something, you dig?")

Charles leaned over to Benny and whispered, "Has Marina always spoke like that?"

("Eh, teenagers are like that. She'll grow out of it,") Benny said with a shrug.

"I see," Charles muttered before he turned his attention back to group, "Now, it's customary for everybody on the team to have a new name. So, what would like to be called for now on?"

("...") the eevee replied as she looked up at him blankly.

"Oh...right...well, I guess we have to come up with one for you."

("Can I make a suggestion?") Titania asked before she looked down at her sister adoringly, ("Back when we were younger, our mother always called her by a nickname as a reminder that, despite how small she was, she'll always shine brightly. Like a flickering flame in the dark.")

("And what name was that?") Benny asked.

Titania smiled warmly and nuzzled the smaller eevee, ("Hikari. The small light.")

To everyone's astonishment, as soon as Titania said her name, the small eevee began to smile. A hopeful, happy smile.

"Hikari," Charles repeated softly, "That sounds wonderful."

("I agree,") Pyro said with a nod, ("Welcome to the team.")

("How lovely,") Miko yipped in delight.

("Woohoo! Go Hikari!") Tyche cheered.

("Yes, how brilliant,") Echo said before he fluttered over to Pyro's head, ("What happened?")

("She smiled,") Pyro replied, ("I'll explain later.")

("That's like totally adorbs,") Marina cooed, ("Like totally radical, you dig?")

("She'll grow out of it,") Benny muttered to himself.

"Hey! You guys ready to go!?"

Charles looked over his shoulder and smiled as he saw Flo and Alice walking over with tote bags over their shoulders. They wanted to do some Evolution Stone shopping before they continued on their journey and planned to have them posted back to Oak's Corral. After all, you never know when one of your Pokemon decide that they want to evolve.

As they got closer, Flo grinned a reached into her tote bag.

"Got you something," she said as she pulled out two Sun Stones from her bag and showed him, "Now Fleur and Lilly can evolve into bellossom whenever they like."

"Ah, wow! Thanks Flo," Charles gratefully said, "I'm sure they would love it. Let's get back to the Pokecentre and have it shipped off now."

Charles was about to return his Pokemon to their pokeballs so they could leave when they happened to hear another shout.

"Hey, wait up!"

They turned around again and saw Mikey waving his little hands as he ran towards them. He skidded to a halt right in front of Flo and Alice and sighed in relief.

"Phew! Thought I miss you guys," he said cheerfully, "You're heading to Central City, right?"

"Yeah, we are," Alice answered, "Our destination is Cinnabar Island. Why do you ask?"

Mikey raised his arm up and pointed southwards.

"When we do these tours, I like to explore around the area a bit. There's a path that branches off the main road a couple miles away that leads directly to Centre City. It's much quicker as it cuts through a forest. I think it's like a two day journey."

"Only two days!?" Alice exclaimed in surprise, "No way! We can get to Centre City in no time!"

"Looks like we're back on track," Charles said, "I need to squeeze in more training in the meantime."

"Thanks so much, Mikey," Flo said as she patted his head, "You've saved us a lot of time."

Mikey shook his head, "I should be the one thanking you," he said as he retrieved his Pokeball from his pocket and held it in his hands, "If it wasn't for you...I would have never have told my brothers. I might have even have forced myself to release my Pokemon."

"All in a day's work," Alice proudly said as she puffed out her chest.

"We're just glad it didn't have to come to that," Flo said with a warm smile, "Now it's up to you. Go and have a good time with your..." she trailer off slightly as she realised something, "...you know. I don't think we ever learned what Pokemon you have," she said with a giggle.

"Really?" Mikey asked as he opened his pokeball and released the Pokemon inside, "Don't laugh, okay? This Pokemon isn't cool or powerful or anything, but he's my best friend."

The Pokemon appeared in a beam of red light in Mikey's hands and it was revealed to be, none other than...

"Psy?" the Pokemon quacked as he looked around curiously.

...a psyduck.

Flo gasped in joy. Her eyes turned into love hearts; she clamped her hands together and lifted her leg up behind her.

"Eeek! A psyduck! It's so cute!" she squealed in delight, much to the dismay to everybody around her, "Oh! He's so handsome and adorable! I would love to have..."

...

...

...

...

"...you were about to give him to me earlier."

Her fantasy shattered to pieces in a split second as realisation took hold of her. She began to shake uncontrollably; her eye twitched agitatedly as she staggered towards Mikey and his psyduck.

"Haha! You know, maybe I should take him off you hands, huh?" she muttered like a mad person, "Why don't you forget about earlier and find yourself another eevee, huh? Sound good, right?"

"Good grief," Charles, Alice and Benny muttered.

If Mikey noticed her change in demeanour, then he didn't show it. He laughed in amusement and patted his psyducks head.

"Hahaha! You're funny, Flo," he said as he turned his back to her and began to walk away with the psyduck resting in his arms, "Thanks again, everybody. Have a safe trip."

"No wait," Flo uttered as she fell to her hands and knees, "Come back!"

But it was too late, he and his Pokemon left them.

"That's so unfair!" she whined as tears streamed from her eyes, "I was so close!"

Charles and Alice patted her shoulders comfortingly as she wept; they couldn't really do anything else to help.

"Do you want to hug Hikari for a bit?" Charles offered, holding out the stoic eevee to her.

Flo sadly nodded, "Yes, please."

---

That's it for now!

You may have noticed that some of things in this chapter were a little different to the sneak peeks I published a while ago. That's because the sneak peeks were written when I had a basic plan of what the chapter was going to be and so, by the time I properly plan the chapter, I could change some things that would make the story better or take things out so it would make better sense. I just thought I would let you guys know.

I think the most difficult thing about writing this chapter was not getting too choked up over Hikari's backstory. I have been workshopping her character design for a while now and, as soon as I realised what I should write, I couldn't help but tear up. She's just so small! Who would do that to her!?

The second hardest thing is making sure I spell Mikey's name right. I spent about half an hour editing this chapter, because I kept calling him 'Mickey'!

Also those clothes the brothers were wearing were pretty...bold. I don't know if they were wearing tights or they were just very thin trousers.

Also, to make Marina sound more like a teenager, I plan for her to use more teenage slang when she speaks, because I thought it would be kinda cute. Therefore, I shall be taking inspiration from the one character who I think encapsulates how a teenager speaks and that is ...Kitty Pryde from the X-Men Evolution series. Because, apparently, my knowledge of slang has not journeyed further than the early 2000s [Dearie, dearie me].

But, to be honest, what would you prefer? Marina speaking like a Kitty Pryde or Marina saying stuff like 'Sigma' or 'Rizz' or 'Skibidi Toilet'? Because I'll do it. And that's a threat.

(As a sidenote, I looked up what the hell 'skibidi toilet' is for the first time and I really regret it. Are the kids of today alright? I feel like we should set up a charity or something to help.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next time. Sorry, I haven't been very frequent with this updates, I have been extremely busy for the past few months.

Thanks for reading :)

---

Potential Pokemon List:

Charles

Gastley

Drowzee

Goldeen

Pinsir

Onix (Orange Islands)

Grimer (Orange Islands)

Octillery (Orange Islands)

Komala (Orange Islands)

Kabuto (Orange Islands)

Ledian (Johto)

Wooper (Johto)

Chikorita (Johto)

Dunsparce (Johto)

Hoothoot (Johto)

Dewgong (Johto)

Elekid (Johto)

Shuppet (Hoenn)

Salamance (Hoenn)

Metagross (Hoenn)

Poochyena (Hoenn)

Feebas (Shiny) (Hoenn)

Gardevoir (Hoenn)

Absol (Hoenn)

Spinda (Hoenn)

Flygon (Hoenn)

Cranidos (Sinnoh)

Riolu (Sinnoh)

Garchump (Sinnoh)

Bronzong (Sinnoh)

Drapion (Sinnoh)

Abonmasnow (Sinnoh)

Medicham (F) (Sinnoh)

Bibarel (Sinnoh)

Hippopotas (Sinnoh)

Druddigon (Unova)

Timburr (Unova)

Bisharp (Unova)

Zorua (Unova)

Gigalith (Unova)

Galvantula (Unova)

Ferrothorn (Unova)

Haxorus (Unova)

Basculin (Unova)

Elgyem (Unova)

Larvesta (Unova)

Amaura (Kalos)

Avalugg (Kalos)

Aegislash (Kalos)

Pangoro (Kalos)

Slurpuff (Kalos)

Hawlucha (Kalos)

Dhelmise (Alola)

Geodude (Alola)

Pheromosa (Alola)

Pyukumuku (Alola)

Kommo-o (Alola)

Araquanid (Alola)

Sandslash (Alola)

Pinchurin (Galar)

Falinks (Galar)

Corviknight (Galar)

Coalossal (Galar)

Frosmoth (Shiny) (Galar)

Duraludon (Galar)

Flo

Psyduck

Cubone

Jolteon

Shellder

Weedle

Qwilfish (Orange Islands)

Kabuto (Orange Islands)

Exeggcute (Orange Islands)

Snubbull (Johto)

Sunkern (Johto)

Delibird (Johto)

Miltank (Johto)

Shuckle (Johto)

Mareep (Johto)

Numel (Hoenn)

Beautifly (Hoenn)

Chimecho (Hoenn)

Budew (Hoenn) (Egg)

Slugma (Hoenn)

Wingull (Hoenn)

Breloom (Hoenn)

Combee (Sinnoh)

Croagunk (Sinnoh)

Kricketot (Sinnoh)

Shieldon (Sinnoh)

Bronzor (Sinnoh)

Mandibuzz (Unova)

Alomomola (Unova)

Petilil (Shiny) (Unova)

Audino (Unova)

Lampent (Unova)

Heliolisk (Kalos)

Flabebe (Red) (Kalos)

Meowstic (Kalos)

Aromatisse (Kalos)

Comfey (Alola)

Stakataka (Alola)

Ribombee (Alola)

Hatenna (Galar)

Indeedee (Galar)

Alice

Rattata

Poliwag

Spearow

Lickitung

Kabuto (Orange Islands)

Spinarak (Johto)

Teddyursa (Johto)

Umbreon (Johto)

Rhyhorn (Johto)

Wobbuffet (Johto)

Smeargle (Johto)

Corsola (Johto)

Houndoom (Johto)

Misdreavus (Johto)

Sneasel (Johto)

Nosepass (Hoenn)

Masquerain (Hoenn)

Nincada (Hoenn)

Lileep (Hoenn)

Electrike (Hoenn)

Spheal (Hoenn)

Swinub (Sinnoh)

Shinx (Sinnoh)

Buizel (Sinnoh)

Vanillite (Unova)

Golett (Unova)

Mienshao (Unova)

Darmanitan (Unova)

Lillipup (Unova)

Solosis (Unova)

Scatterbug (Kalos)

Litleo (Shiny) (Kalos)

Tyrantrum (Kalsos)

Klefki (Kalos)

Morelull (Alola)

Rockruff (Day) (Alola)

Buzzwole (Alola)

Bewear (Alola)

Passimian (Alola)

Sizzlipede (Galar)

Grapploct (Galar)

Fidough (Paldia)