Eevee made it home, thoroughly banged up from its Growlithe takedown, right as Luke walked through the door.
"Vee!" It perked up at the sight of him, though the exhaustion was clear underneath the excitement.
Luke scooped it up, stroking its head, expression complicated. "You beat up the landlady's Growlithe?"
"Vee?" Eevee first tilted away from his approaching hand — then paused, visibly thinking it over, before its eyes lit right up.
"Vee!" — yeah, I did!
"You're way too proud of that," Luke said, wincing. "We're probably getting evicted tonight."
Eevee didn't technically wreck the house this time — so why does this feel like a worse outcome?I've offended the landlady directly. Am I sleeping outside tonight?
"Vee (/ω＼)" Eevee suddenly went bashful.
"That wasn't a compliment! Why are you acting shy about it!"
Luke sighed. This one was genuinely on him — poor ownership, plain and simple. Beyond correcting Eevee, some self-reflection was clearly overdue.
Noted. Never leaving these two home alone again. Ever.
"Kojie kojie o(≧▽≦)ツ"* Haunter laughed, delighted.
"What are YOU laughing at, you're not exactly innocent here either!"
Luke rubbed his temples, thoroughly worn down. One Pokémon nearly burned the house down training solo. The other snuck out and put a neighbor's Growlithe in the hospital. Are you two just power-leveling behind my back at this point? What's even the point of me being here?
Then, a small flash of clarity hit him.
"It's not that I don't want to be a Trainer," Luke said slowly, nodding to himself. "It's that being one is genuinely redundant at this point."
The logic checked out disturbingly well.
He looked down at Eevee — a handful of fresh scratches dotting its coat, a few still bleeding lightly. He stroked its head, resigned.
"Pokémon Center. Now. Let's get that patched up again."
"Vee." Eevee ducked its head, letting out a tired little sound.
______________________________
Luke spent the rest of the evening handling damage control like a parent trailing after a troublemaking kid. At the Center, he apologized sincerely to the landlady first and offered to cover the vet bill upfront.
"Ms. Carter, I'm genuinely sorry for the trouble." He hesitated. "If you'd rather find a new tenant, give me a day and I'll have my things packed."
Burned down her property once already. Now sent her pet to the hospital. He couldn't think of a single reason she'd want to keep him around.
"That's really nothing to worry about," Ms. Carter said, shaking her head. "Every place you could realistically rent around here belongs to me anyway, so you might as well stay."
Luke felt briefly touched — then, on reflection, something about that logic felt distinctly off. Is that... actually a comforting thing to say?
"Honestly, I should've had it on a leash, so don't worry about the medical bill," she added, smiling. "I've got soup going at home — bring the little ones by tonight, I'll set some aside."
"Of course, Ms. Carter, we'll be there!"
______________________________
Eevee's injuries were all superficial, thankfully. Worth mentioning: the examining doctor turned out to be the same one Gastly had nearly poisoned back in an earlier visit.
He went pale on sight. "You. Again."
Luke laughed, scratching his head. "Sorry, Doc. Round two."
By the end of the exam, the doctor had picked up three fresh scratches courtesy of Eevee, and finished writing up the chart one-handed, the other now bandaged.
"Nothing serious. Just apply the Potion spray. And — please don't specifically request me next time. My hands can't take this."
"Definitely, definitely, next time for sure."
______________________________
Back home, cradling Eevee, Luke barely made it through the door before it wriggled free and hopped down, shooting him a pointed sideways look.
I let you carry me around in public. Don't push it back here.
Luke switched to grabbing it gently by the scruff instead, deposited it on its brand-new cat bed, sprayed the Potion, and finally exhaled.
"Normal people catch a Pokémon and get a partner. A companion." Luke's expression twisted. "Why does it feel like I adopted a small, angry ancestor instead?"
Complaints aside, he still put together a batch of top-quality Oran blocks for dinner. While Eevee and Haunter ate and roughhoused, Luke finally got a minute to check his messages.
The class group chat was still buzzing over his finals berth. The fan group was threatening mutiny over the lack of a stream, cafeteria supplies apparently running critically low. And in the Master group, Red — quiet for a stretch — had finally resurfaced.
Red: Been training on Mt. Silver for a bit. Teacher Luke, did you catch an Eevee recently?
Convenient timing — Luke had been meaning to ask around anyway.
Teacher Luke: Boss Red, mine's got a rough temper. Any advice?
Red thought back to what Abu had been like pre-evolution and smiled.
Red: Abu used to be pretty withdrawn too. Turned into a total softie once he evolved into Espeon.
Red's Eevee had been through live experimentation under Team Rocket at one point — able to freely shift between Fire, Water, and Electric forms, but at real physical cost, which had left it constantly on edge. Evolving into Espeon had locked its form permanently and, with that instability gone, mellowed it out considerably.
Luke rubbed his chin. Friendship-based evolution, then. That narrowed it down to Sun, Moon, or Fairy forms — all free, conveniently. I'll just print out pictures of all three and let Eevee pick.
Red: For specifics, Professor Rowan out in Sinnoh's your best bet — evolution's basically his whole specialty. I can get his contact from Professor Oak if you need it.
Teacher Luke: No need, already have it.
Red paused, then nodded to himself. Fair enough — a Master-tier Trainer knowing Pokémon Professors across regions checks out.
Red: Even better, then.
______________________________
Closing the chat, Luke dug Rowan's business card out of a drawer.
"Wonder if he'll even pick up," he muttered, dialing.
To his surprise, the call connected almost instantly, Rowan's familiar, stern voice coming through.
"Rowan Research Institute. Who's calling?"
"Professor, it's Luke — from the Orient region. You left a card with me a while back... had a few questions, if you have a minute."
A pause, then recognition warmed his voice. "Luke, was it? I remember you well. Reconsidering the research position, by any chance?"
"No, actually — different matter."
Luke laid out Eevee's temperament and its ability.
"I wanted to know if this could affect how it evolves."
Despite technically having Anticipation, Eevee's read on "potential threats" ran considerably more aggressive than Haunter's ever had. Worth checking with an expert, just to be safe.
"An Eevee with a volatile temperament — that's genuinely uncommon." Rowan considered it. "Would it be possible to bring it in?"
Luke glanced back at the now-napping Eevee and coughed lightly. "Just caught it recently, still pretty skittish around new people — travel might not go well."
"Understood." Rowan nodded. "A video call would work fine, if you're able. I'd like to actually see the little one."
The call connected — a stern, white-haired man with a neat mustache nodded at the screen. "It's been a while, Luke."
"The offer still stands, by the way. I hope you'll genuinely consider it."
"I will," Luke said, nodding, then angled the camera toward the drowsy, still-bandaged Eevee. "These are from a fight it picked earlier today — its idea, not mine."
Rowan studied Eevee's occasionally twitching ears for a long moment. "Hm."
"This one's running Anticipation, but actively seeking out challengers rather than just monitoring for threats..." He nodded slowly. "That's a remarkably strong competitive streak."
"Professor, is that going to cause any problems for it?"
Rowan stroked his beard, smiling. "Quite the opposite. You should count yourself lucky — you've caught a genuinely exceptional Pokémon." A pause. "It's possible your own energy is feeding into this — driving it to keep pushing itself without hesitation."
Luke blinked. Wait, that's a real mechanic?
"Professor, I never wanted to be a Trainer, though—"
"Ha! I'm well aware!" Rowan laughed warmly. "But perhaps this counts as a happy accident anyway."
Luke looked down at the sleeping Eevee and gave its head a gentle pat. It rarely showed affection outright — this, apparently, was its version: getting stronger, relentlessly, as its own quiet form of gratitude.
Haunter drifted over too, mimicking the gesture by poking Eevee's sleeping face, then snickering to itself.
"The bond between the two of you is quite strong," Rowan observed.
Luke coughed, about to reply — when a burst of golden light lit up the far side of the screen.
"Professor, the inscription's been fully deciphered."
The voice was faintly hoarse, and something about it struck Luke as familiar, though he couldn't place it. A tall woman with a cascade of golden hair stepped into frame, and déjà vu hit him hard.
Then it clicked, and his eyes went wide.
The Sinnoh Champion. Cynthia.