Staring at this scorched, snarling mass, Luke found it genuinely hard to reconcile it with the soft, adorable Eevee he'd always pictured. Since when does Eevee BITE people?
His expression twisted, right as the little thing scooped up a fistful of sand and, taking advantage of Haunter's momentary distraction, bolted for it.
"Vee--!"
It made it barely a few steps before collapsing in obvious pain, letting out a rough, furious growl of frustration.
Moonlight filtered down through the canopy. Eevee's back leg was bleeding heavily, dark drops soaking into the dirt.
"Honestly, I'm not here to hurt you," Luke said, easing closer.
The filthy little creature shook all over, and with nowhere left to run, bared its teeth, a low warning growl rumbling in its throat.
"Vee!"
"Kojie?" Haunter, curious, reached out to poke it — and got bitten instantly for the effort. It yanked its hand back, face draining pale, both paws pressed to its own cheeks in silent agony.
The Scream, by Munch. JPG.
His uncle finally caught up, hands on his knees, gasping. "Did — did you catch it?"
"Not sure this is even the one..."
Luke looked over the badly injured Eevee, hesitating. Its fur was matted into filthy clumps, the once-soft ruff around its neck singed black, a bloody gash across one hind leg, claws chipped and uneven. Only its dark eyes stayed sharp and alert in the moonlight — which somehow made the whole picture more pitiful, not less.
His uncle swallowed hard. "This can't be the one, right? This little thing—"
"Vee--!" Eevee thrashed furiously, as if personally offended, fury blazing in its eyes.
His uncle stepped back half a pace.
Haunter drifted in front of it instead, blue Hypnosis light already glowing behind its eyes.
"N-no, wai—" Eevee struggled hard, shaking its head desperately, before finally slumping to the ground, drowsy and still.
Luke sighed, looking down at the deeply wary little creature. "Can't just leave it out here like this. I'll take it back with me."
His uncle exhaled, relieved, nodding. "You did good, Luke. Anything you need, just say the word, don't be shy about it."
"I need to get this little one bandaged up first."
Luke lifted the fur at the back of its neck — lighter than he expected. Watching Eevee's breathing even out into something almost peaceful, he murmured, "You've been through a lot up here, haven't you."
Eevee-line Pokémon made popular pets, generally — but abandonment cases weren't rare either. Coat variations mattered a lot to some owners, and Eevee born with naturally aggressive temperaments often got written off as "defective" and cruelly discarded early. Ugly as it was, that was the reality for a lot of ornamental-type Pokémon.
"Kojie?" Haunter pointed at the Poké Ball on Luke's belt, tilting its head.
"Did you SEE how hard it just fought me off?" Luke said, exasperated. "Catch it now and it'll hate me forever."
"Kojie..." Haunter scratched its head, then reached out and poked Eevee's sleeping face — grinning with quiet satisfaction at getting away with it this time.
______________________________
Nearly four in the morning. A hazy dawn crept over the eastern edge of the village, a few Hoothoot drooping listlessly on nearby branches. Luke carried Eevee home, already dreading the logistics ahead.
"Should I just bathe it first?" Luke asked Haunter, half-serious.
"Kojie?"
"Right, forget it, useless question."
He pulled out his phone, instinct pushing him toward the group chat for advice — then remembered the hour. Everyone was almost certainly asleep.
"Red's got that Sun-form Eevee, Abu, but even Abu's never been this feral..." Luke scratched his head. "Who else even has an Eevee? Whatever. Winging it."
He rolled up his sleeves, boiled a pot of water, and dug up alcohol and cloth for bandages.
"System, any medical skill options?"
[Purchase 'Emergency Medical (single-use)' for 500 BP?]
"Single-use? You're really nickel-and-diming a repeat customer here." Luke gritted his teeth. "Fine, buying it."
[Ding — Purchase successful!]
[Remaining BP: 570]
The skill kicked in instantly, understanding flooding in as he tore open the bandage packaging with practiced motion.
"Hold it steady. If it wakes up, hit it with Hypnosis again, got it?"
"Kojie!" Haunter gave a confident thumbs-up.
Carefully parting the matted fur, Luke found a bloody, exposed wound along the lower leg, Eevee whimpering faintly in its sleep.
"It ran on THIS?" Luke muttered. "Tougher than it looks."
He could only manage basic disinfection out here — actual stitches would need a real Pokémon Center. Even so, the sight of bone peeking through the wound made him wince.
"Vee..." Eevee whimpered softly, eyes shut, its grimy little face pinched with fear even unconscious.
Luke stroked its head gently, trimmed away the blood-matted fur, and dabbed the wound with an iodine-soaked swab.
"Vee!!" Its eyes shot open, thrashing weakly to get up.
"Kojie!" Haunter licked it once, Hypnosis flaring blue in its eyes, and Eevee went rigid and dropped straight back into unconsciousness.
"Still not sticking." Luke wiped sweat off his brow. "Pin it down harder. Paralysis, Hypnosis, whatever it takes."
"Kojie!" Haunter nodded eagerly.
The sun crept higher. By the time they finished, both Luke and Haunter were soaked in cold sweat, letting out matching sighs of relief. Eevee had woken and been hypnotized back down three separate times during the process, snapping at any opening it got. If Luke hadn't dodged fast enough more than once, he'd probably have needed his own trip to the hospital by now.
"That was way too close," Luke muttered. "Is this what a malpractice lawsuit feels like from the inside? Terrifying."
Wound finally dressed, Luke laid out a blanket on the floor and settled Eevee onto it — even tying the leftover bandage into a neat little bow, for good measure, after flipping it over briefly to confirm: yep, female. Bow was fair game.
______________________________
By late morning, the grimy Eevee was still out cold. His uncle stopped by at one point, circling it in open fascination. "Never would've guessed something this small had a bite that strong."
"Bite move, probably," Luke said. "Some of those other cuts look like it's been in real fights up on that mountain."
A wild Eevee packing an actual learned Bite move, with clear combat experience under its belt — Luke found himself genuinely curious what kind of environment had shaped a temperament this sharp. Just to be safe, he kept his parents at a distance and left the care duties entirely to himself and Haunter.
"Vee..."
Not until after lunch did a visibly hungry Eevee finally crack its eyes open — greeted immediately by two faces looming over it at an angle: one human, one Haunter.
"Oh, you're up," Luke said, leaning his head companionably against Haunter's.
"Kojie kojie!" Haunter did its best impression of a friendly smile.
Eevee shrank back against the blanket, baring its teeth in a low, wary growl.
"Vee?!"
Then, without warning, it let out an unexpectedly adorable little cry — and, favoring its injured leg, scooted itself more than half a meter backward, putting distance between itself and the bowl of fresh Pokéblock sitting nearby, made with berries from the village chief's blender — genuinely higher-grade than Luke's own setup.
This, notably, was Luke's very first perfect-quality Oran block.
"Want to try it?" Luke asked, hopeful.
"Kojie kojie (﹃)" Haunter nodded, wiping away a steady stream of drool that refused to stop.
Eevee kept its teeth bared, flattened defensively against the ground, poised like it might lunge at any second.
"Alright, alright, we'll look away." Luke raised both hands, backing off. "We're heading out — but don't you dare sneak a bite while we're gone."
"Vee!" Eevee turned its head away sharply, radiating pure disdain for the offer.
Haunter cast one last longing look at the full bowl, practically weeping. If you're not eating it, at least let ME—
Before it could finish the thought, Luke had already dragged it off. The two of them ducked behind a low brick wall outside, peeking through a gap.
"It's really not going to eat?" Luke frowned. "That's master-tier craftsmanship going to waste."
"Kojie (;Д`)" Haunter, still crying softly, clearly wished it could trade places with the Eevee right about now.
Then — a faint rustle from the yard. Crunch, crunch — small, careful chewing sounds.
Luke's eyes lit up.
After waiting just long enough to be sure, he kicked the yard gate open.
"Vee?!" Eevee's head shot up out of the bowl, face a perfect mix of pure shock and wounded innocence, mouth stained bright red with berry juice.
It opened its mouth, seemingly ready to offer some kind of explanation — then thought better of it, dove straight back under the blanket, and buried itself completely.
"Vee vee!! (〃＞dish＜)"