"Well... As the saying goes, there's warmth in the world, and it's better to travel in company. Now it's just us, Pikachu and the partners in the Poké Balls."
"Pika～Pika～"
Pikachu ran into the bushes.
"What's up, Pikachu?"
Pikachu stopped in front of a tree - hole where a Pokémon was tied up.
"This is an Eevee. But why is it here?"
Eevee touched the tag around its neck with its front paw.
"Let me see... Stonton Town E - 14 Taichi."
"Huh? Isn't Taichi the one from Digimon? Has he switched to training Pokémon?" Xiaoyan suddenly remembered the plot of a cartoon from another world.
At this moment, Pikachu slapped Xiaoyan twice, telling him to be serious.
"Got it! Anyway, let's help it find its owner first."
Xiaoyan untied the rope on Eevee and let it lie on the hat on his head.
"Let's go, Eevee, Pikachu!"
———————————————————————————————————————————
"We're here, Taichi's home." Xiaoyan and his group walked up to a luxurious villa.
Eevee immediately jumped off Xiaoyan's hat and ran into the courtyard.
"Wait for me! I want to meet this Taichi guy."
Xiaoyan then followed Eevee in.
"It seems like there's a banquet going on here." As soon as Xiaoyan entered the mansion, he forgot about Eevee and walked towards the table in the middle filled with delicious food and started to eat.
"Hey, the guy with Pikachu on his shoulder over there."
Xiaoyan was called out by a voice.
"Yes? What's the matter?"
"My younger brother's Eevee was brought here by you, right?"
A red - haired man walked over with a kid holding an Eevee.
"Could it be... your younger brother is Taichi!?"
(Xiaoyan realized that they just had the same name but were different people.)
"Yes! Thank you... for bringing Eevee back. Actually, today is an important day for my younger brother's Eevee."
At this moment, two other people walked over.
"Taichi, what's your decision? It's better to evolve it into a Jolteon," said the yellow - haired man, showing his Jolteon to Taichi.
"No no no... Vaporeon is more elegant," said the blue - haired man, also showing his Vaporeon.
"Taichi, choose the powerful Flareon," said the red - haired man who had just talked to Xiaoyan, and a Flareon popped out behind him.
"This..." The little boy named Taichi looked a bit at a loss.
At this time, Xiaoyan called out his Umbreon. Since Umbreon was black, Xiaoyan's hair also turned black.
"Benefactor, is this Pokémon also one of Eevee's evolutions?"
The red - haired man noticed Xiaoyan.
"Yes! Eevee can evolve into more than just Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon. There are many other evolutions. This one is an Eevee that evolved with a Moon Stone. It's called Umbreon."
At this moment, many people at the banquet focused their eyes on Umbreon. Umbreon felt a bit embarrassed and hid behind Xiaoyan.
"Brother... actually I..."
As soon as the little boy Taichi spoke, the three elder brothers turned their eyes to him.
"Surely it's Jolteon, right?"
"No! It's my Vaporeon."
"You're both wrong. It's Flareon. Taichi, just say it!"
Taichi hugged the Eevee in his arms even tighter.
"Actually, I don't want Eevee to evolve. I like it the way it is now."
"What did you say!? Evolution can make Pokémon stronger. An un - evolved one is just a weakling."
At this moment, Xiaoyan clearly couldn't stand it anymore.
"You're wrong! A Pokémon's strength is related to the bond with its trainer."
"Then let's have a battle and see!" The red - haired man challenged Xiaoyan.
"Okay! I accept!"
"Go and prove him wrong, Flareon!"
Instead of calling out his Pikachu or Umbreon, Xiaoyan grabbed a Poké Ball beside his pants.
"I'm counting on you, Bagon!"
After Bagon was called out, it danced happily.
"It seems to be just a kid. But let's not hold back. Flareon, use Ember."
Flareon spat out a fireball towards Bagon.
"Bagon, dodge!"
Bagon jumped into the sky.
"Now! Flareon, use Flamethrower."
Flareon used Flamethrower on Bagon in the sky.
"Bagon, use Headbutt!"
Bagon rushed down from the sky, used Headbutt to deflect the Flamethrower and successfully hit Flareon.
"Flareon!!!"
The red - haired man's Flareon fell to the ground, while Xiaoyan's Bagon was unscathed and won the battle.
"Well done, Bagon!" Bagon danced in response to Xiaoyan's praise.
"Maybe I was wrong. I just blindly pursued Pokémon's evolution and forgot about the bond between me and it."
The red - haired man carried his exhausted Flareon and walked up to Taichi.
"Sorry... Taichi. We've been forcing you to evolve Eevee and ignored your and Eevee's feelings."
"It's okay. You did it for my own good."
"Taichi..."
The four brothers hugged each other.
"Okay! It's about time for me to continue my journey. See you if we're fated to meet again."
Xiaoyan was about to turn around and leave.
"Wait!"
The red - haired man called out to Xiaoyan.
"Thank you for teaching us these things. If you don't mind, pick a few Evolution Stones from the table over there."
The red - haired man pointed to the piles of Evolution Stones on the table in the middle of the venue.
Xiaoyan's eyes lit up at the sight.
"Then I won't be polite!"
Xiaoyan grabbed all kinds of Evolution Stones and stuffed them into his bag. At this moment, Umbreon bit a stone and gave it to Xiaoyan.
"The look of this stone... Could it be!?"
Xiaoyan looked at Umbreon. It seemed to like this stone very much. Then they would take it.
Before long, Xiaoyan's backpack was filled with Evolution Stones.
"Well, see you if we're fated to meet again!"
Xiaoyan said goodbye to the Eevee brothers and continued his journey.
To be continued...