Chapter 128:
Eevee had run away yesterday.
It was hungry today.
Being overly curious, it couldn't stand the daily routine of Energy Cubes and the constant selection by people.
It didn't want to be chosen. What if the Trainer who picked it wasn't good? Wouldn't it be trapped in a "devil's den"?
The thought of this possibility terrified it.
So, it teamed up with two of its friends and, while the caretakers weren't paying attention, slipped away.
For the first hour, Eevee was ecstatic, seeing things it had never seen before:
tall buildings, all kinds of Pokémon walking with their Trainers, and all sorts of delicious food.
By the second hour, it felt lost.
Those delicacies didn't seem to be for "stray" Pokémon. They required something called "money,"
and since it didn't have any, it couldn't eat them.
This made it miserable.
Back at the Breeding House, it never had to worry about food.
But after the fourth hour, Eevee became frightened.
It had lost its two friends.
The sheer number of people, coupled with their lack of experience and the curiosity of its two companions, meant that after only a short while, the other two had disappeared.
On its first night out, as the sky darkened, Eevee grew even more scared.
The sight of crimson eyes and the playful gazes of Meowth in the city's shadowy corners filled it with terror.
Furthermore, it couldn't find its way back,
so it could only run...
but it didn't run for long.
The temperature plummeted, and a light rain began to fall...
which then turned into a heavy downpour.
Eevee regretted running away with its two companions and felt uncertain about its future.
Hunger and the cold gradually gnawed at it.
Finally, it spotted a building that looked like a Breeding House, and a spark of hope reignited.
"Just a little further... just a little further..."
Braving the torrential rain, the little Eevee took one step after another towards its imagined "sanctuary"...
Hayashi Kaede holding Vulpix, walked to the storefront, puzzled, and opened the door, but there was nothing outside.
Just as he was feeling confused,
he felt something tug at his trouser leg.
He looked down.
A soaked Pokémon, resembling a drowned plush toy, lay sprawled on the ground, weakly tugging at his pants. "Eevee..."
"Eevee..." (Help...)
"Huh?"
Hayashi Kaede's concern spiked upon seeing the Pokémon below. He quickly scooped it up and carried it into the shop.
He toweled its fur, blow-dried it, wrapped it in a warm towel, and finally fed it some leftover Emerald Green Cabbage juice from yesterday.
After completing the entire process, Hayashi Kaede breathed a sigh of relief and took a good look at it.
It was undoubtedly an Eevee, and a small one at that, about half the size of a normal Eevee.
Its fur, now dry, was fluffy and glossy, its ears soft, its tail a slightly darker cream color, and its neck ruff was white. Its nose was a pale pink.
It was clearly a carefully bred Eevee, not a wild one.
*'Did some careless Trainer lose it, or did it sneak out on its own?'*
Two thoughts flashed through Hayashi Kaede's mind.
He then searched Eevee's body.
But after a thorough search, he found no identification tags or marks.
In desperation,
Hayashi Kaede could only use his [Eye of Exploration].
[Pokémon: Eevee]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Anticipation]
[Aptitude: Purple]
[Individual Values: HP (19) Attack (20) Sp. Atk (21) Defense (21) Sp. Def (20) Speed (25)]
[Strength: Lv. 8-9]
[Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, Quick Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes]
[Friendship: 30 (So warm...)]
[Pleasure Value: 40 (Survived...)]
"...Such a tiny Eevee?"
Hayashi Kaede picked it up and saw it still hadn't woken up. Just as he was about to check if anything was wrong, its eyes fluttered open.
They were large, round eyes, pure black, resembling polished obsidian.
Hayashi Kaede breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you awake?"
"Eevee?"
Seeing that the one holding it wasn't a familiar Breeder, the Eevee was stunned for a moment, then quickly panicked. "Eevee? Eevee!"
(You're... who are you?)
"I'm the owner of this Breeding House. You're quite smart, little one. You knew to find a Breeding House at a time like this. If you were somewhere else... well, actually, if you were elsewhere in Aogiri Town, other residents would probably bring you to me anyway..."
Hayashi Kaede used his calming aura to soothe it.
"Eevee?"
The little Eevee was confused.
Its memory was still stuck on the moment it thought it had found the Breeding House.
Why was the environment so different from what it had imagined?
"Here, let me recap for you."
Hayashi Kaede carried it to the door. "You collapsed right here, soaking wet and burning with fever. Then I brought you inside and treated you. Do you remember now?"
"Eevee?"
After hearing Hayashi Kaede's description, Eevee's mind quickly recalled everything.
But then, it suddenly remembered its two companions and couldn't help but anxiously cry out to Hayashi Kaede: "Eevee! Eevee?"
(Huh?) Hayashi Kaede frowned, "Wait, slow down..."
But Eevee's expression grew more anxious, "Eevee... Eevee..."
(Outside... there are two more... my friends...)