“Would you be okay with us adding another member into our little family?”

“Dra!” Tini being the social little Dragon that he was, naturally welcomed any new additions to his life.

It was a little late since she had already agreed to it, but Nina still wanted to get her partner's permission before proceeding. She had taken to treating her Pokemon as family in the same way that the Rockfords did. “I mean I’ve already recognised two strangers as my parents. It’s only right that the Pokemon who will live and fight by my side be treated the same.”

She turned towards Bill and received a nod in return. “Alright, come out Umber. Let’s get the little ones in order.”

The Umbreon that Bill released was his starter, and it showed. The Dark Type Eeveelution had an imposing aura around him, one that would not lose even to an Elite tier Pokemon. A single glance from his menacing blood red eyes was enough to scare most lesser Pokemon into submission.

“Umb,” it cried. That single syllable was enough to get the juvenile Eevees away from Nina and have them line up in a neat pile.

But most of the Eevees, being the cute little rabbit doggos that they are, were still lolling their tongues and wagging their tails as if anticipating treats.

Nina got close to the assembly and knelt down to address them. “Hi everyone, you probably still remember me from yesterday. But my name is Nina, and I’m looking for someone to join my family and go explore the world with me.”

The girl paused to look at her audience, unsure if the perpetually cheerful Pokemon even understood her or not.

“I can promise you plenty of Berries and lots of love.” The mention of Berries got the Eevees to wag their tails with greater fervor. “But if possible, I’d like it if the one joining me was aiming to evolve into either an Umbreon or an Espeon.”

Bill’s Umbreon made a little smirk at the mention of his species, only to click his tongue at the mention of Espeon, which they tend to have a rivalry with.

The choice of the Dark and Psychic Type Eeveelutions weren’t just because they looked cool and were among Nina’s favorites, but also due to practical needs. If Nina wanted to be an explorer there will come times where she’ll inevitably dive into caves or other enclosed spaces. Having a Dark Type Umbreon with her will help in navigation.

Psychic Types, on the other hand, are just useful in general. They can help facilitate communication with other Pokemon and help with tracking, teleportation and so on.

Of course, if none of the outgoing Eevees had either of these aspirations then Nina would be happy to just have any Eeveelution in her team at all. There was also the choice of finding someone on the Pokenet who was willing to do a trade, but Nina was not a fan of treating Pokemon like commodities.

The Eevees just continued staring at Nina, wondering where the Berries were. Some of them seem to have understood a little, but not entirely as they tilted their head in confusion at the yappy little girl.

Nina’s smile faltered a little as she looked towards Bill for help. Only to find that the man was covering his mouth and trying hard not to snicker. She let out a sigh and turned back towards her clueless audience.

“Alright, let’s do it this way,” she said, taking on a sterner tone. “Those aspiring to be Umbreons, please raise your paw.” A handful of Eevees responded. “Good, could all the potential Umbreon move to my left please? Great. Next, future Espeons, please raise your paws as well.”

A number of Eevees responded but not as much as the Umbreon wannabes. The lack of a role model among their leaders probably contributed to the lesser number. Espeons were highly sought after afterall. “Awesome, Espeon babies, please move to my right.”

For the rest of the Eevees, Nina gave them some Berries to reward them for their attention, however brief it may be. Then proceeded to address only the two groups which she had sorted. She fed them as well of course, to avoid any resentful stares.

Once the two sides were sated, she repeated her spiel from earlier. Promising a happy life full of Berries and exploration. “So is there anyone here wanting to join my little family?”

All of them moved forwards to crowd Nina’s lap, but the girl had a feeling that none of them truly understood the implications of what they were doing. It was mostly just a thirst for more Berries. Umbreon seemed to agree as he commanded the Eevees to fall back in line.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The girl looked towards the senior Pokemon with pleading eyes. “Do you think you can maybe explain my request to them? I don’t want the Eevee that I adopt to be unhappy with regret.”

The haughty Umbreon rolled his eyes at Nina and began barking out to the Eevees. Every once in a while, the brighter kids would cry back in response, seeming like they were asking questions. To which Umbreon responded with a few curt “Umbs”.

By the end of it, there seemed to be a whole conference going on as the Pokemon cried back and forth. Some excited, some not so much. At some point, however, Bill’s Umbreon jerked his head up and looked towards the direction of the artificial cave before clicking his tongue.

The senior Pokemon took off into the cave after addressing Nina with a curt “Umb.”

“Er… What just happened?” Nina asked Bill. Only for the man to shrug at her in ignorance.

Not long after, Umber returned, biting onto an Eevee by the scruff of its neck and plopping the Eevee down in front of Nina like he had just gone to get the newspaper. “Umb,” said the Umbreon as he jerked his head towards the newcomer and settled down on the side.

“Something feels different about this Eevee…” After determining that she was a female, Nina carefully approached the Eevee with some Berries in hand. “Hey there, girl… My name is Nina, do you want some Berries?”

But instead of rushing to get at the treats like her peers, she simply stared at Nina with eyes full of intelligence, as if assessing the human girl trying to engage with her.

“Since Umber retrieved you from the cave, am I right to assume that you’re looking to evolve into an Umbreon?” The Eevee shook her head.

“So an Espeon?’

“Vee,” she nodded.

“That’s cool. I think Espeons are great. And I’m actually looking for one to join my family, alongside Tini over here.”

“Tiin~”

“My dream is to go out and explore the world — to touch upon unknown mysteries, and meet with new Pokemon and people along the way. Does this sound appealing to you?”

The Eevee tilted her head slightly, as if considering Nina’s words.

“Eevee eev e.”

Nina tilted her head towards the sky as she tends to do when she was thinking, trying to decipher the Pokespeak. This particular Eevee wasn’t very expressive in terms of body language so it was hard to understand her.

Thankfully Tini came to his partner’s rescue as he began yapping and gesturing at the Eevee. The little Dragon had always been very expressive, but ever since assimilating into human society and getting involved in performances, his body language has been elevated to a whole other level. To the point where Nina had no issues having simple conversations with him.

From what Nina was able to gather, it seemed like her partner was telling Eevee all about their adventures and day to day life, along with what sort of person Nina was and their plans for the future.

Tini was effectively trying to appeal to the stoic Eevee, who simply sat there and listened intently. Occasionally the little brown fluff ball would shoot back with a question, only for Tini to do a little slither and tilt before answering. The Eevee seems to be quite the tough little cookie because Nina could see Tini visibly panicking at some of her questions.

Then once everything was done, the Eevee went back to staring at Nina. The girl did a nervous gulp at the sudden scrutiny and held out her hand.

“So yeah… As you can see, Tini is very friendly and so am I. We’d be happy to have you if you’re satisfied with us.”

The Eevee looked down at Nina’s hand before unceremoniously plopping her paw on the girl’s palm — Nina had to hold back from squealing at the feeling of paw beans in her hand. At the same time, Tini let out a cheer and moved in to passionately nuzzle his cheeks against Eevee’s.

Eevee seemed a little annoyed as she passively endured the overwhelming physical affection, but not necessarily in a spiteful way. If anything, it was more like how Nina felt when someone messed with her hair or when someone was dealing with an annoying sibling.

“Welcome to the family, Eevee.” After deciding that her new Eevee has probably had enough of Tini’s affection, Nina lifted the fluff ball away from him and gently settled the Pokemon in her embrace. “Since you’re aiming to become an Espeon, why don’t we name you Espy? I’m not very imaginative when it comes to names so let me know if you want me to come up with something else.”

“Vee,” replied Espy in an indifferent tone. It seemed like she did not care what she was called so they ended up settling on the name.

“By the way,” Nina turned towards Bill’s Umbreon. “Is Espy one of your children, Umber?” Based on what she’s observed so far, Nina had a hunch about her lineage, which the Umbreon confirmed with a snort and a nod.

“Oh… Is this the one you were telling Hikari about? The little Shellder?”

“Shellder?” Asked the confused Nina.

Bill nodded. “Yeap. As you can tell, little Espy here is smarter than the average. Which unfortunately, resulted in her having trouble making friends. She’s a bit introverted and is as tight as a clam. Hence, Shellder.”

“E!” Espy cried indignantly, seeming to take offense at what Bill had said.

“Umb!” Argued Umber in return, causing Espy to puff up her cheeks in defiance at her father.

“Oh gosh she’s so cuuute! Seems like we’ve got a prim and proper lady in our hands.”

Bill chuckled at the Pokemon. “We were planning on doing some tests on her to measure her intelligence but I suppose this is fine as well.”

“Are you sure?” Nina frowned. “Not only is she Umber’s brood, but she’s also female. I don’t want to impose more than what’s reasonable.”

Eevee was one of those species where the population is disproportionately male. It was one of the factors contributing to their endangered status. With a female Eevee, a trainer could potentially open up a ranch and start breeding Eevee of their own. They were so valuable that people were willing to do heinous things just to obtain one.

“We can still do the tests, it’s not like you’re moving somewhere far away. Keeping a rare talent like Espy confined within the ranch will only result in unhappiness. Best that she go off and explore the world with you.” Nina agreed and promised to come by the lab on a regular basis to let the researchers measure Espy’s brain activity.

“Although, I do understand your concerns. So we’ll keep her registered with Sea Cottage for now and have her assigned to you as a loaner until you’re strong enough to protect her on your own. Say… when Tini evolves? That way we can take legal action on your behalf should something unforeseen happen.”

Nina nodded, thankful for the Professor's thoughtfulness. “I promise I’ll pay you back someday, Professor. Whenever you need an errand girl, just give me a call and I’ll come running over.”

Bill smiled. “Oh please, again with the formalities. You can thank me by reporting on Espy’s development and being the best trainer you can be. Though I might hold you to your promise as well. There are times where I need representation but am indisposed. I have other trainers who I’m affiliated with of course, but they’re all well established names in their own right.”

After hammering out a few more details, Bill excused himself to the next agenda in his schedule and Nina returned to Beverly. “Bev’s gonna freak out when she learns about Espy,” grinned Nina, still a little salty about her friend’s snoring.