Grass clippings and fallen leaves whip wildly around in the gale Corviknight's wings kick up as the mammoth bird touches down just outside of Slateport's Pokemon Center. Around the landing site, several people let out startled exclamations and raise their arms, shielding their eyes from the dust.

Astride the raven's back, Lee takes off his flight goggles, pulls down the scarf around his face, and rubs his arms to help chase away the high-altitude chill.

It gets damn cold several thousand feet up in the air, regardless of how tropical Hoenn is.

Once some feeling has returned to his limbs, Lee looks down at the clock in the instrument panel of Corvi's saddle, raising a brow. "We made good time."

Corviknight croaks deep in his throat and looks over his shoulder as Lee dismounts as if to say, "Was there ever any doubt?"

"You're right, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Lee easily agrees, smirking. "Aarons was, though. I don't think he expected us to show up only a few hours after calling, and he certainly didn't expect to see you."

Corvi haughtily chortles.

With deliberations between the Draconid elders on whether or not Lee and Brendan would be allowed to accompany Zinnia into 'The Crater' expected to take several days, Lee decided to take the liberty of clearing up his outstanding obligations. After informing his friends that he would be leaving for a day or two, Lee saddled Corviknight up and flew to Mauville, stopping at the Silph Co. office to speak with Alec Aarons, his… Ugh. His account manager. Since Corvi can leisurely cruise well over a hundred miles an hour, the raven swiftly got them to Mauville before midday.

After demonstrating and letting Silph Co copy an unnamed Ember shotgun blast technique from Ninetales, and signing an agreement for another run of Seed Blast and Seed Sniper, Lee left the Silph Co office and came to the realization that, in only a few hours, his errands were finished.

'Flight really opens up the world, just like in the games,' Lee muses. 'Only flying is much more fun here.'

With so much time and freedom suddenly in his hands, the zoologist wondered for a moment if there was anything else he had to do before returning to the Draconid village; then, his eyes fell on the empty sixth pokeball on his belt.

With both time and spare credits available, why not tour around and see if any pokemon breeders in the area have a pokemon who would fit the team? Naturally, his mind went to Leo, the breeder who he had adopted Shinx from, and who had a pair of Eevee brothers.

"Raising your team limit to seven is easy enough," Nigel had said on a call earlier that morning. "The limit of six is actually just a traditional safeguard; did you know that? It's so young trainers don't collapse under the strain of a large team. Distinguished trainers can have their limit increased by the League or whoever is offering ranch services to them, though six is still the maximum you can use in competitions. Hang tight, and I'll adjust your account."

If the pair of Eevee don't want to be separated, then that's just fine to Lee. He'll get them both.

'If I'm being honest, I don't want seven pokemon,' Lee thinks to himself, returning Corviknight to his ball for a rest. 'Shinx is more or less recovered from all the side effects of her premature birth, but she's really gunning for the position of "biggest handful" out of all of the cubs I've raised. More pokemon to split my attention between has some definite downsides.'

'The Eevee duo, assuming they wish to be adopted, could function as more eyes to keep watch of Shinx,' Ninetales offers from within her ball. 'They seemed fully mature last time we met.'

'That relies on the assumption that the brothers themselves aren't troublemakers,' Lee sends back.

'True,' Ninetales concedes. 'Perhaps you should have Shinx walk with you today. Both as an exercise in discipline, and to surprise Leo when you arrive at his market plot.'

'Not feeling up to walking with me today?'

The click of the fox's tongue is mental, but Lee still hears it within his ears. 'I stayed up late into the night reading up on the lore and law of the Draconids. If it is all the same to you, Beloved, I would rest for now and enjoy a midday siesta.'

The hand hovering over Nine's pokeball instead grasps Shinx's. 'You know I was joking when I asked you to become an expert on Dragon politics overnight, right?'

'Joke or not, it's valid and worthwhile preparation,' Ninetales replies, her thoughts slowly growing lethargic as she settles for her nap. 'Wake me if you need me.'

'I will, love. Have a nice nap.'

Ninetales sends back a warm, slow flow of love, before nodding off.

Taking Shinx's ball from his belt, Lee taps the pokeball button and lets it pop open. In a flash of light, a blinking Shinx takes form at Lee's feet. After the kitten looks around and gets her bearings, she turns her bright yellow eyes up to Lee with a tilt of her head.

"We're back in Slateport, babygirl," Lee says, kneeling down closer to her height. "I'm going to go visit the market and see Leo, the man I adopted you from. Do you remember him?"

It takes a moment for the name to click, but when it finally does, Shinx's face lights up with a smile. Behind her, her star-tipped tail flicks back and forth eagerly.

"C'mon." Lee offers an arm. "Let's make tracks."

Needing no other encouragement, Shinx leaps up and drapes herself across her trainer's shoulders like Ninetales used to do before her evolution, purring all the while.

Together, man and kitten begin the trek to Slateport's famous outdoor market. As they walk, Shinx's head is on a constant swivel, turning all around to take in all of the unusual sights, sounds, and smells. More than once, she tenses as if to leap off of Lee's shoulders and go investigate things that pique her interest, like a group of wild Taillow chirping back-and-forth on a public bench, but each time Lee gives her a firm look and she reluctantly settles back down.

Once they pass the outer boundaries of the Slateport market, Lee glances around and finds it much the same as the last time he visited. There are a few new vendors here and there, but it seems like most have retained their places. He even spies the phony TM merchant from before, who gives Lee a sour look as he and Shinx pass.

Once they walk past all of the common wares and back into the corner where all of the breeders have set up shop, it doesn't take long for Lee and Shinx to find Leo, the breeder who raised Shinx for the first few weeks of her life. The man is leaning on his truck next to his pen of young pokemon, humming a tune as he jots something down on a small clipboard.

"Hey, Leo!" Lee smiles and raises a hand in greeting as he approaches. "Long time, no see."

The pokemon breeder looks up briefly, then back down to his clipboard. A second later, his eyes widen and his head shoots back up in a prodigious double take, looking at Lee with barefaced surprise. "Mister Henson?" he asks, his eyes then falling to Shinx. Leo gasps. "Oh my stars, is that…?"

Shinx leaps from Lee's shoulder into Leo's arms in one deft motion, forcing the overall-clad breeder to drop his clipboard with a 'clack!'

"Is this her? Is this little Shinx?" Leo asks again, looking down at the kitten nuzzling her face into his chest with disbelief. "She's so big…"

'Big? She's only now hitting a regular size and weight.' Regardless, Lee smiles in pride. "Yeah. She's certainly grown like a weed, the last few weeks especially."

A laugh bubbles out of Leo's mouth. "A weed? Ain't no weed that can hope to match this!" he exclaims, stroking Shinx's head and earning himself a purr. "I'll be… and here I thought today was gonna be a boring one! How did you bring her back from such a state, Lee? I thought for sure little Shinx was going to spend the rest of her life small and sickly."

Lee rubs his chin, organizing his thoughts. "Nightly physical therapy, a diet rich in protein and calcium, plenty of play time around other pokemon, and her own willingness to go through with it. The last one is the most important, I think. You can't force someone, human or pokemon, to recover from an atrophied condition if they themselves aren't willing to work at it."

"I get the feeling that you're oversimplifying things," Leo replies, smiling. "What brings you back to Slateport? You said you were going to Mauville last time you were here, right?"

"Indeed," Lee confirms. "We've been through both Mauville and Lavaridge, and now the rest of my group is back in… Fallarbor." He hesitates slightly, unsure if he should talk about the Draconid village. "I flew back here with the help of my Corviknight so you could see Shinx's progress, and because I wanted to see about adopting that pair of Eevee you have."

Leo winces. "Oh, the boys? About that…"

'Shit...' Lee turns and looks in the pen of young pokemon all playing about. There is a Poochyena and a Houndour roughhousing, a Meowth dozing in the corner, a Silcoon hanging in a faux tree near the back, and several others, but not a single Eevee in sight.

"A gruff but nice kid all the way in Orre contacted me a few weeks ago, saying he's been looking for a pair of good pokemon who work well together," Leo explains as Lee turns back to him. "When I told him about the brothers, he was interested and wanted to adopt. The boys liked him after a little video meeting and agreed to go with 'em. Either the kid or his parents have some deep pockets, because he put up the money without any trouble."

Lee blows out an exasperated breath. "That's what I get for not calling ahead, I suppose…"

The breeder looks down at Shinx, who is still in his arms.

The kitten blinks sadly back, mirroring Lee's attitude.

"If it's an Eevee you want, I can give you a referral." Leo looks back up towards Lee. "A friend of mine runs a mighty professional operation in Verdanturf. Evelyn is her name. Sweet gal, and a whiz when it comes to working with rare or difficult pokemon. Heck, she advised me through the first couple of days after Shinx was born. She's usually got a few Eevee on hand."

Lee's smile is restored almost instantly. "That would be fantastic."

After passing Shinx back to Lee, Leo bends down and picks up his dropped clipboard. He takes a blank paper from the pocket of his overalls and jots a quick something down, before folding it and handing it to Lee. "There ya go. Evelyn doesn't really like parting with her rare ones unless she's sure a trainer can actually care for 'em. That should convince her to let you adopt."

Lee shifts Shinx up to his shoulders and takes the note, tucking it away into one of his pockets. "Thanks, Leo. I've got a couple of other breeders on my short list, but it's nice to know that one of them is guaranteed quality."

"Merow!" Shinx agrees.

Leo snorts. "Think nothing of it, pal. You two take care now, you hear?"

----------------------------------------

The flight to Verdanturf doesn't take too long, as Corvi flies low and fast. When they touch down outside of a spacious rural residence with a fenced backyard on the edge of town, it's only half past two in the afternoon.

"This should be it," Lee says, looking at the house number on the mailbox. It matches what Leo gave. "Let's go say hi."

After dismounting Corviknight, Lee recalls the great raven to his ball for a rest, then walks up to the large home. Stepping onto the raised porch, Lee reads the sign in one of the windows.

"Greener Pastures Boarding and Breeding Services?" Lee reads with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds premium."

The door bears a sign saying 'Please Come In!' so Lee does just that and steps inside, closing the heavy wooden door behind him. Turning back around, he's greeted with a startling sight.

Sitting a little ways away in the entrance to the foyer of the house is a Sylveon, one who stares back up at Lee with a neutral, practically dead expression.

Lee, despite trying not to, tenses slightly.

Sylveon is the rarest of the eeveelutions by a wide margin, and arguably the most dangerous. The strange ways that pure Fairy pokemon look at the world are at odds with the mindset of most others, both human and pokemon, making a Sylveon unpredictable at best. The amount of reliable information about them is only slightly greater than what is available for a Ninetales.

Which is to say, very little. The expression on this Sylveon's face and the disheveled, sickly look of its coat do nothing to inspire confidence, either.

"Hello, there." Lee smiles, steadying his nerves. "Is Evelyn in? I was given a referral by another breeder, and I was hoping to speak to her."

When the Sylveon tilts its head, Lee reaches into his pocket and presents the note given to him by Leo. He steps closer to give it to the Fairy, but one of the Sylveon's ribbons extends out, stretching across the distance and taking the offered note. Reeling its ribbon back in, the Sylveon opens the note and reads the contents with a raised eyebrow.

Upon finishing the note, the Sylveon folds the paper back up, then turns and begins to walk, looking over its shoulder with a beckoning expression.

"Coming." Lee hurries along.

The Sylveon leads Lee through the spacious, if a bit rustic, home. On the way, they pass several bedrooms furnished for pokemon, with appropriately-sized beds, toys, and food bowls as well as decorations that simulate a natural environment, among other luxurious accouterments. Past those doors are several closed ones. On one of the closed doors hangs a sign saying, 'Mother and newborns inside! Please be quiet!'

Past all of that, Sylveon leads the way to a double set of doors leading to the backyard. Reaching up with her ribbons, Sylveon pulls both doors open and steps outside, letting Lee follow.

Stepping out into the sunlight, Lee looks over the huge backyard and feels his jaw drop.

Outside in the huge backyard is a medley of rare and unusual pokemon.

Near the edge of the fence, one Eevee leads a game of tag followed closely by another Eevee, a furious Fennekin, and a green, cat-like pokemon with pink eyes that Lee can't readily name.

Under the shade of a small tree, a Liepard grooms a fussy Purrloin. It takes a moment for Lee to realize that the tree the parent and child are relaxing under is no tree at all; rather, a sleeping Trevenant, a Ghost-type resembling a haunted tree.

In a corner, a self-satisfied Houndoom lies cuddled with a serene Arcanine, one that is decidedly large even by most accounts of their species. Together, the pair watch three Growlithe pups wrestle and play.

In the center of the yard, a shiny Vaporeon and a normally-colored Floatzel both lounge in a small pond, floating without a care.

"Wow…" Lee says with a smile. 'Look at all of these pokemon! No wonder this Evelyn character is so picky with trainers.'

A tiny part of Lee is still a little uncomfortable with the 'breeding sapient creatures' thing, but… 'I guess if you look at it from the perspective of a pokemon, they get a secure home with free food, free healthcare, resources for offspring, and a dedicated vetting process to ensure their offspring can be successful, comfortable, or both.' Lee looks at the fence around the yard, noting how short it is, and how no adult pokemon would struggle to leap it. 'And there's nothing really stopping them from leaving, either. Maybe it's not a bad deal at all?'

The Houndoom beside his Arcanine mate catches Lee staring, and gives the man a smug look, nosing his mate's shoulder as if to say, "Yeah, I'm pretty much the best. What do you think?"

Lee gives the Houndoom a subtle thumbs up and the pokemon grins back.

Behind Lee, the rear door of the house opens and closes, followed by the sound of someone stepping over a squeaky floorboard on the patio. "Excuse me, sir? Can I help you?"

Lee turns to the voice, seeing a small, green-haired boy looking up at him nervously. The boy seems familiar for some reason…

'Oh!' Lee suddenly remembers. 'This kid is Wally. He was a throwaway character back in Pokemon Emerald, but became a rival in the remakes. What's he doing here?'

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"Do you work here?" Lee asks, getting a nod from Wally. "I'm here to see Evelyn on referral from another breeder. Is she in at the moment?"

"I think she's in the newborn ward," Wally answers, seemingly unsure. "Miss Lopunny gave birth a few days ago, and she's a new mom, so Miss Evelyn has been watching her and the babies closely."

Lee nods. "Perfectly understandable. Do you know when she might be available?"

"Umm…" Wally looks away, watching several of the pokemon play in the yard. "I'm not too sure. I would go check for you, but I'm not allowed in the newborn ward yet…" He looks down at Sylveon, who has been watching the conversation with a blank mask. "Miss Sylveon, can you check for me please?"

Without a word, Sylveon rises and steps back inside, closing the doors behind her with a click.

"Is she always so dour?" Lee asks, watching Sylveon walk deeper into the house through the glass doors.

Wally's sigh says everything Lee needs to know.

Before the silence can stretch into something awkward, Lee clears his throat and addresses Wally again. "You seem awfully young to be working here, bud. What brought you here?"

The young boy puffs himself up. "I want to be a real pokemon trainer, one who can help the people he loves when they need it. I'm working here with Miss Evelyn to save up some money and get started."

Surprised, it takes a moment for Lee to formulate a reply. "Huh," he begins, slipping his hands into his pockets. "That's a lot of resolve for a kid your age. What started you down that path?"

Wally grimaces slightly. "A friend tried to help me and my Kirlia a while ago, going so far as to steal for us. He was a good person, but he was hurting real bad and not making good decisions at the time. It felt… Bad. Bad, that we couldn't do anything for him, or stop him from making those bad decisions." Wally looks up, and there is fire in his icy blue eyes. "We're going to be strong for the people who can't be strong themselves."

One of Lee's pokeballs wiggles, but when he looks down his belt, the wiggling has already stopped.

"That's heavy stuff, kid," Lee says, meaning every word. He looks up at the afternoon sun. 'Being strong for the people who can't be strong themselves, huh? Not a bad goal, honestly.' He shakes his head. "I realize I never asked your name. I'm Lee Henson. A pleasure," Lee says, holding out a hand.

Wally's resolve wavers, replaced with a nervous child once more. "Oh! I'm Wally, sir. It's nice to meet you too." He takes Lee's hand and gives it a shake.

Lee smiles and releases the kid's hand. "Say, Wally? You said you have a Kirlia? Are they a male or female?"

"Male, Mister Henson," Wally answers, brow wrinkling in confusion. "I'm hoping that we can get a Dawn Stone and evolve him into Gallade in a few years."

"In that case – " Lee shrugs off his backpack and unzips it, digging a cased TM disk out, "– I have something for you. I don't know if Gallade can learn it, but take this."

Eyes so wide that they almost pop out of his head, Wally gingerly takes the disc case labeled 'Focus Energy.'

'Of course, Octillery would learn Focus Energy the night after I placed the order.' Lee's smile is just a touch sour. 'And then Grovyle learns it from Octillery in a single afternoon, making the TM useless. Gah.'

"Mister Lee…" Wally breathes, clutching the present. "Are you sure? TMs are really expensive…"

"Positive," Lee replies and nods, zipping up his bag and putting it back on his back as he does so. "I don't need that one. I'll consider the favor repaid if you do good on your promise to be a great trainer, okay?"

The fire returns to Wally's eyes, and he nods. "You can count on me."

Just as they finished their conversation, the back door of the house opens once more and out steps Sylveon, followed by a smiling, mature woman of perhaps fifty years of age, who Lee inspects with a critical eye. 'So this is Evelyn?'

"You must be Lee!" the woman exclaims with a wide grin. "I'm Evelyn, and let me welcome you to our little slice of heaven!" she says, her curly locks bouncing with each word. "I understand that you're looking to adopt."

Lee gives the woman a smile in return. "That I am. It's nice to meet you."

"Ha!" Evelyn laughs. "Honey, the pleasure is all mine," she says with a flirty wink.

'I'm so glad that Ninetales is still asleep.'

"Now, let's see who we can add to your family," Evelyn continues, reaching out and lightly taking Lee's arm. "Let's get ourselves sat down and talk."

The pokemon breeder, with Sylveon on her heels, leads Lee over to a patio table surrounded by wicker chairs. After everyone is sat down and relaxed, Evelyn addresses Wally. "Wally, can you run inside and bring some drinks out? Our visitor looks thirsty."

Wally nods and heads off. "Yes, Miss Evelyn!"

As the back door shuts, Evelyn shakes her head flippantly. "If only there were more courteous young men like that. What a doll, that Wally," she sighs. "Okay, honey. What kind of trainer are you? And why are you looking to adopt?" she asks, visage growing serious.

"I'm first and foremost a Lab Trainer and researcher under Professor Birch," Lee says, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his intertwined hands. "I'm competing in the gym circuit for independent funding and exposure, and occasionally take on law enforcement duties as dictated by necessity. As for why I'm looking to adopt, I want to add one last pokemon to my roster, and I would prefer having one that is both capable in a fight and potentially help with my research on the nature of Type Energy. I would like an Eevee if any of the ones in your care find me agreeable."

Evelyn nods slowly, digesting the words with care. "I see… If it's an Eevee you want, then you've put thought into what you want them to evolve into, haven't you?"

"Umbreon and Vaporeon are my top two picks," Lee answers. "I wouldn't be upset if my hypothetical Eevee changed their mind later, but one of those two is who I really want."

"Yet, you wouldn't be entirely satisfied with that," the breeder says matter-of-factly, leaning forward. "Is there another quality you're looking for?"

Lee has to hand it to the woman sitting across from him. She is damn good at reading people. With a sigh, he nods in confirmation. "Yeah, you're right. In an ideal world, I would like a decent fighter, someone to help with research, and someone who has some healing capabilities. Me and my team have been in some nasty situations before, where immediate medical attention beyond what I myself can provide would have been appreciated."

Evelyn narrows her eyes and crosses her arms, thinking to herself.

For a minute, the only sounds are the pokemon playing in the yard, then Evelyn turns her eyes to Sylveon, who is sitting on the ground and watching the exchange. "Sylvy, can you go see what's taking Wally so long, please?"

Sylveon raises an eyebrow, but stands and goes back inside the house as requested, looking for the boy.

Once the door shuts, Evelyn returns her attention to Lee. "Lee, Leo said that you fixed up his poor little premie Shinx. Can I see her?"

'Where is this going?' Lee wonders. He takes Shinx's ball from his belt and lets it pop open, depositing a Shinx-shaped mass of light on the table. When the light fades, a confused Shinx is left behind.

Evelyn's gasp is quiet. "Goodness gracious…" she murmurs. She reaches a hand out gently, and Shinx gladly pads forward, nuzzling her head into the offered palm. "It's like nothing was ever wrong with her…"

When Shinx grows bored of the halfhearted petting she receives, she pads back across the table and drops herself into Lee's lap, sitting and setting her chin on the table to watch.

Rubbing the fingers that were just caressing Shinx, Evelyn nods firmly, seemingly more for herself than anyone else. "Lee, I have a proposition for you."

A proposition? Lee narrows his eyes. "I'm listening."

"I want you to take my Sylveon."

Of all the words that could've come out of the woman's mouth, those were not what Lee was expecting to hear. "What?" he asks, narrowing his eyes even further and tilting his head. "Are you serious? Why?"

The pokemon breeder's mouth is drawn into a thin line, and she takes a deep, calming breath. "Trust me, this ain't something I'm asking because I want to. I'm asking because I have to. Sylveon is dying here, Lee. Don't act like you haven't seen it, how unkempt and unhappy she looks."

Lee frowns. "I suppose she did seem a bit out of sorts, but I'm no expert on Fairies."

A humorless laugh finds its way from Evelyn's mouth. "Who is? I know I'm not. There are maybe two dozen Fairy masters alive—but I'm getting off topic here." She looks down at the table and clenches her hands, telling Lee just how much she doesn't wish to continue. "Honey, Sylveon used to be one of my breeding mamas before she evolved. She's been part of this ranch since the beginning thirty years ago, and she ruled the place as the Queen Beedrill. Then she evolved…"

"How did her evolution cause this?" Lee asks, leaning back and gently stroking Shinx across the back.

Evelyn reaches her hand up and runs it through her curly hair. "Sylvy got sweet on some hired help a year back. He was a nice young man, and so good with the young ones. Poor Sylvy was smitten, and followed him around everywhere. He didn't know any better, and pampered her, paying special attention to her, just treating her like a princess, really. To him, it was all innocent." Evelyn's face takes on a tired look. "I can't blame him no matter how hard I want to. No one knew just how seriously Sylvy was treating it until she evolved for him, turning into a Sylveon."

Lee gets a cold feeling in his stomach, already suspecting where the story is going to go.

"That ranch hand, he knew what that meant. He had a fiancée, and he didn't want an obsessive Fairy in his life mucking that up," Evelyn continues. "He came to me saying that he's got to quit, and that's the last I saw of him. When Sylveon found out, she… She didn't take it well."

"Shit…" Lee mutters, leaning back and pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to stem the coming migraine.

Sylveon is one of the handful of pokemon that would not exist without human interference, considering an Eevee can only really evolve into one by reciprocating human affection… And because of that, they have a depressing tendency to die of a broken heart if a trainer can't properly provide for their emotional needs. Researchers and breeders have all tried to figure out why, but the completely illogical nature of Fairies only yields muddled results in the face of conventional science. The only thing anyone can agree upon is that a Fairy's emotions must be directly tied to their physical health.

The reason Sylveons are so rare is not from lack of trying.

'For Sylveon to have lasted a full year…' Lee thinks, rubbing his forehead.

"Evelyn," Lee slowly begins, lowering the hand rubbing his brow. "I really appreciate the vote of confidence in my abilities as a trainer, but I don't think I'm the best pick for Sylveon. Remember, I did say that I'm an active battler, and sometimes face mortal danger. I sympathize with the plight Sylveon is going through, but I can't risk the rest of my team with a potentially unstable ally."

Surprise flashes across Evelyn's face, as if she didn't expect pushback. "My Sylvy isn't a pushover, and she even knows Wish, so she can do first-aid like you're wanting. If that's not enough, her ability is Pixilate," she shoots back. "You know the one? It makes all Normal moves into Fairy–type."

Lee narrows his eyes. That is a bit more tempting, but ultimately he's forced to shake his head. "She sounds wonderful from a purely statistical view, but my point on the potential instability still stands. I have serious concerns about Sylveon butting heads with my Ninetales. Like many Ninetales, she has..." Lee hesitates, trying to think of a better phrase. "She has possessiveness issues," he finally admits.

Out of curiosity, Lee silently probes Ninetales' mind, only to find the vixen still asleep.

Evelyn is quick to respond. Smiling mirthlessly, she says, "Honey, I don't think you need to worry about that. After such heartbreak, Sylvy's refused to look at any male, human or pokemon, the same way again. I talked to a Fairy expert after weeks of false starts, and you know what I was told? Sylvy is going to pine after her first love until the grave."

A shiver runs down Lee's spine.

"That doesn't mean that she has to be miserable, though." The breeder leans forward, reaching across the table and taking one of Lee's hands in her own.

Her grip is shaky and weak.

"Please, Lee. She can't stay here, not with so many bad memories tainting the place!" the woman begs, her composure beginning to break down. "My baby needs to go out and find a new reason to live! I wish I could make it all better for her, but I can't! I've been sitting here, biding my time and hoping she would work her way past it so I didn't have to let her go, but I've waited far too long! Every morning, it's a little harder for her to get out of bed, and it's all I can do to get her to choke down one meal a day!"

Lee's face screws itself up into a grimace as guilt gnaws at him. "Evelyn…" Dammit, there really is no good way to answer. "I…" Lee stops himself short again. "I want to help, I really do, but why me? Am I really the best choice?"

"I don't know." The answer is immediate, with the woman reaching up to wipe at her moist eyes. "I can't afford to wait any longer, though. I want her to go to a good, talented trainer who will treat her kindly, one who will give her a rich life, and you're the first trainer that happened by that I feel confident about."

Lee sits back and looks down at Shinx.

The kitten stares back with wide, yellow eyes, unnerved by the tense atmosphere.

'A Sylveon would shut down Dragons, which is useful considering where I will be for the next few weeks.' Lee closes his eyes and tries to see the pros and cons from a neutral place. 'A Fairy also provides resistance to Dark and Fighting. Wish works a bit differently than from the games, and is more along the lines of a generic healing ability, so that would be nice. Pixilate would also be wonderful to study. That might reveal some interesting relationships between the different types of TE. If I remember correctly, Sylveon is also deceptively bulky when it comes to defense, especially when it comes to taking energy attacks. On the flipside…'

He frowns. 'On the flipside, there is a whole lot going on here. Sylveon has a lot of baggage which… I guess isn't unusual for my pokemon. Geez, that's a bit of an unpleasant realization. Is Octillery really the only normal one around here? I also don't have much personality-wise to gauge from Sylveon. I really don't want to take her in only for her and Ninetales to maul each other.'

'If she behaves, then I will as well.'

The telepathic words are groggy as Ninetales slowly returns to awareness in her pokeball.

Lee sighs in relief. 'Did you have a nice nap? I was just about to wake you to ask your opinion.'

The vixen grumbles slightly. 'My sleep was pleasant, yes, though your introspection woke me. No matter, I suppose, if you were about to wake me anyway.' Pausing for a moment, Ninetales scans through Lee's most recent memories, and the man can practically feel the frown on her face. 'Let it never be said that the dilemmas this team faces are not interesting.'

'What's your take on the matter?'

As the fox thinks over Sylveon's plight, Lee is silently surprised to feel a pang of sympathy from her. The irritation at potential competition for his time is far more mild. '…Perhaps it would be best to bring Sylveon into the conversation. As you told Leo regarding Shinx, one cannot become better if they themselves do not wish to be better.'

Lee smiles. 'Sounds like a good idea.'

'I would like to be present as well.'

'Easily done.' Lee reaches for his belt, unclipping both Shinx's ball and Nine's ball, before pointing one at the tense kitten in his lap. "Why don't you take a rest, baby girl? Sorry for stressing you out with all the adult talk."

Shinx doesn't protest, so Lee returns her to her ball and puts it back on its magnetic clip.

With his other hand, Lee releases Ninetales, setting her next to him with a flash. Once the light fades, Lee turns back to Evelyn, who is sending Ninetales a wary look. "Since this is such a big decision, I want Ninetales to sit in on it. Is that okay?"

"No problem, honey…" Evelyn replies, looking between Lee and Ninetales with a calculating eye. A sudden realization seems to hit her, as it's visible on her face. "Oh. Telepathy? Well, I certainly get your concerns now."

'How did she…?' Ninetales shakes her head.

Lee smiles thinly. 'We both moved our eyes in-sync, and she noticed.'

The fox pokemon huffs.

"Anyway," Lee continues, "At Ninetales' suggestion, I want to include Sylveon in this conversation. I don't think it would be a good idea to suddenly spring it on her. It could just make her resentful of both of us."

Evelyn nods and laces her fingers, leaning back tiredly in her chair. "That's a good idea."

After a moment of waiting, both Wally and Sylveon reemerge from the house, with Wally carrying a pair of tall glasses filled with a yellow liquid and ice cubes. "I'm so sorry about how long it took!" the boy apologizes, sheepishly setting the drinks down before Lee and Evelyn. "We were out of aspearade, so I juiced a few Aspear berries and made a fresh batch."

"Don't you worry your cute head about it, Wally," she replies, a smile returning to her face. "Could you go check on the big laundry machine in the basement? We need a few minutes to talk, and those bed covers are probably due to be dried."

"Yes, Miss Evelyn!" Wally dutifully turns back around and walks back inside.

In the meantime, Lee lifts his glass of aspearade and gives it a sip, finding the refreshment pleasant. The fresh made kind is definitely better than the canned stuff in corner stores.

Across the table, the pokemon breeder takes a swig of her own drink, wetting her throat for the unpleasant conversation to come. Setting the glass down, she gives her Sylveon a smile. "Sylvy, my baby, I've been talking with Lee here, and he's quite the trainer! Traveling around, taking on the gyms, seeing all sorts of new things…" She pauses and gauges her pokemon for a reaction.

She gets nothing in return. Sylveon's blue eyes stare blankly back.

"…And I think, Sylvy," Evelyn continues, picking each word carefully, "that… that this would be a really good opportunity for you. You're hurting here, so I'd really like it if you went with Lee and his pokemon. What do you say? Can you do that for me?"

That elicits a reaction. Sylveon's face twists into hurt, and a growl begins to build in her throat. Her ribbons, which were placidly limp, bend themselves into zigzags.

"Do not mistake this as me kicking you out because I don't want you. Don't you dare ever think that." Evelyn's eyes grow misty again, and despite how quiet her words are, the commotion in the yard stops as all of the pokemon watch pensively. "Look at yourself, Sylvy. You're letting yourself waste away. If I could keep you in my arms forever and fix what hurts you, I would, but every day you stay here you die a little more!"

Sylveon flinches, but despite being told in plain English, she still doesn't seem to understand. Her ribbons pull themselves into more rigid zigzags, and her growl turns into a snarl, one unfitting for a cutesy, pink creature.

"You need to go, Sylveon!" Evelyn insists, standing from her chair and growing more emotional. "I won't let you sit here and torture yourself! Please, I want you to live and be happy!"

The breeder gets a hiss in reply.

'This doesn't seem to be working…' Lee watches the back-and-forth with some frustration.

Ninetales is silent, but Lee can feel her brain working, watching both the pokemon breeder and her pokemon argue. 'Perhaps you should step in, Lee. I don't foresee this ending on its own. Both of them are too emotionally charged.'

Emotionally charged.

Lee blinks as an idea comes to him. 'Nine, be ready to help if need be. I have a bit of an idea.'

'Typically one should approach dangerous situations with a whole idea,' Nine quips, but nonetheless, she stands and takes a protective step closer to him.

'Just like your pyrokinesis was a little tidbit from the game pokedex that no one knew…' Lee begins, standing out of his chair and crouching down '…How well-known is a Sylveon's touch-based empathy? Did this Sylveon ever get the opportunity to use that empathy before she was heartbroken?'

Both Evelyn and Sylveon watch Lee kneel down to Sylveon's level, and Sylveon growls when Lee slowly reaches out, stopping halfway to her.

"I really believe that Evelyn means what she says, Sylveon," Lee begins, keeping his voice low and gentle. "She cares so much about you, and it's tearing her apart. Can you take my hand? Maybe I can put it in a way you understand."

The Fairy looks at the extended hand distrustfully. Instead, she looks over Lee's shoulder to Ninetales.

The fox replies with a warm purr deep in her throat.

With great reluctance, Sylveon extends one ribbon out and wraps it around Lee's hand with a featherlight touch.

Taking a deep breath, Lee exhales and prepares to muster everything he has for the coming conversation.

"Evelyn loves you like you wouldn't believe," as he speaks, Lee closes his eyes and imagines the face of each of his pokemon, each one smiling at him. Warmth and meaning blooms within him, and the ribbon around his hand flutters.

"If you died, the pain of your death would never go away," he continues, his veins growing cold when he remembers the sleepless nights after the disaster on Mount Chimney, and how Ninetales' life hung in the balance. "She just wants to do what is right for you, even if it hurts her. Love is strange like that."

Lee hazards a look through his eyelids, and Sylveon is intently focused on him.

"My pokemon and I, most of us relate to the loss of something precious like you do," he says, his memory cycling.

Grovyle losing his home.

Corviknight losing his trainer.

Lee losing everything.

"Some of us never even knew the precious thing we lost."

Shinx living without her mother.

Ninetales living without an identity.

"But…" Lee smiles and closes his hand around the ribbon in his grasp. One by one, the struggles he and his pokemon have faced flashed before his closed eyes, and each time, they came out of it stronger and closer than ever. "That doesn't mean you can't find something new to live for, you get what I mean?" He opens his eyes and looks at Sylveon.

Wide blue eyes leaking tears stare back in disbelief.

Taking deep, shuddering breaths, Sylveon breaks her stare and looks down at her other three ribbons. Slowly, almost unsurely, she reaches one out to a watery-eyed Evelyn.

Without hesitation, the pokemon breeder takes the ribbon in her hand, and the instant she does Sylveon stiffens, fresh tears springing into her eyes. Lee can scarcely imagine what Sylveon must be feeling from the woman.

"If you want to try the 'new lease on life' thing," Lee finishes with a smile. "We're willing to help. Friend in need, friend indeed, and all that, right?"

The Fairy sniffles and shudders, tearing her eyes away from her trainer of thirty long years to stare back at Lee. With a shaking breath, she nods, the ribbon around Lee's hand tightening.

Lee squeezes back, sealing the deal and securing his sixth pokémon.