Pokemon Maroon - Chapter 1

It was late in the morning when the sun shone through Eve's window. The girl yawned and groaned as its light passed over her face, squinting and shading her eyes as she awoke. She turned to the window, then to her room's wall clock. "Wait...what time is it?" she mumbled, sitting up slightly as she tried to better read the clock. Her eyes shot open wide as she read the time. "Ten-forty!? Oh dang it, I'm gonna be late!"
She threw herself out of bed, tearing through her drawers as she got herself dressed in her usual farming gear. As she sat on her bed to get her shoes on she heard her door open. "Mornin' sis." said her brother as he walked in, "Late for somethin'?"
"You know I am you little brat!" she snapped. "Why didn't you wake me like I asked you to yesterday?"
"I tried! Ya decided to thank me by throwin' you're bag at me." He pointed at the edge of the door, where her bag lay doubled in on itself.
She got her shoes on. "Fine, whatever. No sense worrying about it now. Let Ma and Pa know that I'll be back in about an hour, alright?"
"Fine." said her brother as she rushed out of the room and down the stairs.
"Thanks!" she called over her shoulder. Without another word she flew out the door and ran off, her sights on the Pokémon Lab in the distance.


"Professor!" gasped Eve as she burst into the lab. She looked around, smiling and waving at some of the assistants as she made her way to the middle-aged man in front of her.
He looked up at her, his expression deadpan. "Sorry Eve. You came about an hour too late."
Eve straightened herself. "Re...Really?" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. "I'm late again? No Pokémon left?"
"I'm afraid so." he said, gesturing to the empty machine next to her.
She kicked at the floor and leaned back against a wall. "Great. Great. What is this, the fifth time I've come too late?" She shook her head. "Looks like I'm just not supposed to have a Pokémon." she mumbled to herself. She stood back up. "Sorry for wasting your time professor. I've got to get back to the farm anyhow."
"Eve." said the professor after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you stop by the day care later? Say, six o'clock? The Stones mentioned something about needing a helping hand."
Eve nodded. "Sure professor, I'll see about helping them later. Could you let them know I'll be coming down later?"
"Sure." He turned back to his computer. "Have a good day now."


It was about noon when she finally got back to the house. She glanced through the dining room window to see her family already finishing their lunch. Her father caught her eye and nodded towards the back door, turning and saying something to the rest of the family before standing and walking away.
She walked to the back as her family walked out, dispersing out into the farm. She started to walk away as well when she heard a grunt behind her. "You missed lunch." said her father.
"I know. I'm so-" She stopped as she caught a wrapped sandwich he tossed.
"You're handlin' the Ponyta today. Hurry and get your hair tied up before they start gettin' worried." He walked down and gripped her shoulder with large hand, then walked off to the farm as well.
She nodded and ran inside, coming back out a few minutes later with her hair hidden beneath her clothes and a wide-brimmed hat on her head. She ate her sandwich and walked over to the Ponyta corral, whistling as she opened the gate.
A dozen of the flaming ponies came running at her call, neighing with joy as she patted their heads. "Easy there ponies," she said, getting down on a knee and pulling a number of shucca berries out of her backpack. She handed a few of them to each Ponyta, and within a few minutes they were all calm, waiting for Eve's command.
She stood and tapped her thigh, opening the gate to allow the Ponyta to follow her. She laughed as a few of the more daring tried to jump the fence, tripping over the top and falling to the ground on the other side. She helped the foolish foals to their feet, sweeping their coats with a hand before leading them out to graze.
As the Ponyta stretched their legs and grazed Eve wandered about, her thoughts drifting to the professor's request. Why did he want her to go down to help out the Stones? He had plenty of assistants besides her (most that, she hated to admit, were better workers than herself most days), any one or two of which could be sent down to help. Besides, she was only employed by him part-time. She didn't know that much about what he did down there, beyond that he studied how the Pokemon acted and bred when they were brought in by the various trainers, as well as the rumors that he ran experiments of some sort down there.
He'd never ask her to help with something like that, so what else was there? Maybe it was one of those random lessons he was known for giving now and then to those he employed. Again though, those were usually reserved for assistants who worked full time and shared his interests, so that couldn't be it either.
As she thought there was the sound of hoof-steps and static behind her. "Hey Ricky," she said, turning as her brother came over on a Blitzle, "Something the matter?"
"Naw, nothing the matter. I was giving Blitz here some time out of the corral before I get to work and saw you wanderin' over here." He dismounted the Blitzle. "So I'm guessin' you didn't get a Pokemon from the professor?"
She nodded. "Got there too late. Hey, sorry for yelling at you earlier."
"Don't sweat it." He dragged a hand down the Blitzle's mane, caressing its snout with the other. "Looks like he'll be evolvin' soon. What do they turn into again?"
"Zebstrika. They're supposedly as fast as lightning, and just as dangerous when angry."
"Heh," he said, patting the Pokemon's head, "You're going to be a handful, aren't ya Blitz?" He turned back to Eve. "So, how're the Ponyta? They were actin' a bit restless while you were out."
"They're doing fine now. Letting them graze a bit before I take them out for a run, see how they're doing."
"Watch out fer Ash. She's still a bit weak last Dad checked."
"Thanks for the warning Ri-"
The yelp of a Ponyta cut her off. Without thinking she turned and ran in the direction of the sound, with Ricky and Blitz following close behind. She sprinted as she saw a Ponyta sprawled on the ground, surrounded by the rest of the herd. The other Ponyta stepped back to let her through, their expressions full of worry as she knelt down beside the fallen pony.
It was Ash. She seemed passed out, a bruise covering the knee of her right foreleg. Eve brushed a hand through the young Ponyta's flaming mane and felt her neck, making sure she was still breathing. After reassuring herself she lifted the Ponyta in her arms, careful not to move the injured leg too much. "You think you could round up everyone?" she asked Ricky.
"No problem." he said, remounting Blitz. With a holler he rounded up the Ponyta, herding them off to their corral while Eve took Ash to the stable.

"So how's Ash?" asked Eve's father as she walked through the back door.
"Seems she'll be fine. I bandaged up her knee and put her in her stall to rest a bit."
"How'd she hurt herself?"
Eve shrugged. "I don't know. There wasn't anything around she could have hit her leg on, so the only thing I could think of is something hit her."
Her father shook his head. "No, I doubt that." He leaned against the wall and sighed. "I think we may have to put her down soon."
Eve stepped back. "What? Why?"
"Some sort of disorder or whatever. Your mother and I have tried everythin', but she's just been gettin' weaker by the day. At this rate, the best we could do for her will be to put her down."
Eve let the news sink in. "When?" she asked after a time.
"A few days from now if she doesn't recover." He shook his head. "I'm sorry darlin', but there's not much more we can do."
Eve nodded and looked at the clock. The time read 5:30. "I've got to go. The professor wanted me to help out at the Stones'."
Her father nodded and sat down. "Alright. Just be back by seven for dinner."
"Ok."

The Day Care building was unimpressive on its own, nothing more than a small two-story house where Mr. and Mrs. Stone lived. What made it impressive was the acreage behind it. Numerous Pokémon, such as Torterra, Grotle, Tropius, and Venesaur roamed the land, providing shelter for those left in the Stones' care. There was also a small lake, far away from where most could see it, as well as a small rocky area from where the acreage met the nearby mountain, or so she was told.
Mr. Stone greeted her with a smile as she entered the building. "Good evening Miss Eve," he said, opening the desk gate so she could walk through, "How are you?"
"Fine," she lied, her mind still on Ash.
"Good good. Come on now." He gestured to the door behind him. "We have a lot to do."
"What is it we're doing anyways?" she asked as they entered the acreage.
"What you're going to be doing," he corrected, "You see, there's one certain Pokémon we keep here. He can be very picky at times about who he comes out for, and for the past few days neither my wife nor I have been able to coax him out. Professor Sumac said that you're good with Pokémon, so maybe you can coax him out."
She shrugged. "I can give it a try. Just let me know where and what the little guy is."
"That," he said with a sigh, "Is going to be a problem. You see, the Pokémon is a Zorua."
"A what?"
"A little fox-like Pokémon with the unique ability to change its appearance to that of anything else."
"Wait, so you mean this little guy can turn into, say, a rock, or a tree, or a Pokémon, or even a human?"
"In appearance only. The change is nothing more than an illusion, and if he's disguised as a human you can force him to change back by touching his tail."
"What if he's disguised as a Pokémon or a tree or something?"
The man put a hand to his chin and thought. "It might change if you can get it to laugh, but you'd have to figure out where it is first. The best thing you could do would be to earn its trust."
"How am I supposed to do that if I don't even know where the little guy is?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. You're going to have to figure that out on your own."
Eve sighed and looked over the acreage. "Right. Say, Mr. Stone? Do you think you could let my parents know I'll be back late?"
"Of course." He whistled. The ground began to tremble, and with a grunt a massive, blue, three-fingered hand burst from the ground, followed by the rest of its body as a Swampert crawled out of the ground. Mr. Stone patted its shoulder and handed the Pokémon a note. "Bring this to Mr. Hill." It nodded and took the note, jumping over the gate surrounding the acreage's front and landing on the road, lumbering away.
Eve watched the Swampert a moment, then turned to Mr. Stone to thank him. When she looked back, however, he was gone. "Mr. Stone?" she called out, looking about the field. She couldn't find hide nor hair of him, and after a few minutes she shrugged it off and wandered deeper into the acreage. "I'll find him later," she thought. What she needed to do now was figure out how to find this Zorua thing.
She sat down on a rock and thought. He said if it was disguised as a human all I'd have to do was catch its tail and it would change back into whatever it looks like. It'd probably be a Pokémon though, or maybe some rock or tree. In that case, he said making it laugh might force it out of its disguise. If it doesn't though…
A Caterpie crawled onto her hand, snapping her out of her thoughts. She lifted her hand in front of her face so the little green bug was eye level with her. It cocked its head at her and started to nibble on her knuckle, bringing a smile to her face. She stood and put the Caterpie on a leafy tree branch. "There you go little guy." she said. She looked around and shrugged. "Might as well see what else I can do around here while I try and figure this out, eh little guy?" she said, petting the Caterpie's body with a finger before walking off into the acreage.

The acreage was larger than she had imagined. Below her stood a valley, surrounded on two sides by mountainous walls while the end of it was blocked by a lake, fed by a stream that flowed down the mountain side. The plain extended into it, up to a forest in its center. As she looked on she could tell it was mostly artificial, created and modified by the numerous Pokémon that lived here, whether permanently or temporarily.
A Torterra walked up to her and grunted. "What's up big guy?" she asked, patting its snout, "Anything the matter?"
The Torterra gave another grunt and nodded, getting down on its knees so Eve could climb on. She shrugged and got on, holding onto the tree growing out of its back as it stood and turned to the valley. As it walked she heard something chirp and flap above her. She looked to see a Farfetch'd struggling in one of the tree's branches, its wing caught in a particularly narrow space. "Now how did you manage that?" she asked the bird Pokémon, spreading the branches apart so it could drop down.  
It ignored her, instead crawling around the Torterra's shell in a frantic search for something. Eve crouched down next to it and tapped its head to get its attention. "What are you looking for?" she asked.
The Farfetch'd looked up at her. Now Eve noticed that it was incredibly pale, the color mostly drained from its feathers. Its eyes were sunken and its beak was flaking, as though it was malnourished. There was also something missing, something she couldn't place. "Your stalk!" she said, finally realizing what was missing.
She looked around the shell with the Farfetch'd, neither of them finding anything. "Sorry little guy, it looks like your stalk isn't here."
The Farfetch'd moaned sadly and shook its head, trying to look again. It weakly tried to push against one of Torterra's rocky growths, failing and collapsing to the ground instead. Eve ran over and picked it up, turning it over in her hands. The Pokémon's breathing was becoming labored, its plumage more faded than before. "Oh heck, this isn't good." she mumbled to herself. Without the stalk it looked like it was going to die, and soon.
She had an idea. "Hey big guy, sorry to stop you, but are there any stalks that grow here?"
The Torterra stopped and knelt down, growling something. After a minute a Chatot flew over. "Hello! Hello!" it squawked, landing on one of the Torterra's head spikes. "Whatcha need? Whatcha need?"
"Do you know if there are any stalks that grow here?" asked Eve.
"Leeks at the lake, leeks at the lake! Have a nice day, have a nice day!" it squawked, flying off.
Eve knelt down on the Torterra. "Did you hear that big guy? Can you take me down to the lake?"
The Torterra grunted and stood up, not moving for a moment. Eve worried that she was going to have to get off and run for the lake, and after a few seconds she prepared to do just that. As she neared the edge however, the Torterra lifted one of its forelegs in the air, throwing Eve back onto its shell.
It stomped its foot into the ground, causing the ground to shake. A second later it released a powerful beam that shot straight down the incline it had been walking, impacting far away. As it hit Torterra dropped to the ground, withdrawing its legs into its body. Eve scrambled over and grabbed the rock-like protrusions growing out of its shell, holding the Farfetch'd close to her chest as she realized what the Torterra was doing.
Torterra kicked itself forward, sliding down its makeshift slide like a rocket. Pokémon screamed as it hurtled down, clearing the way or hiding underground as fast as they could, the Torterra speeding up the entire way. Eve chanced a look ahead, her eyes widening as she saw the end of the makeshift slide approaching fast. "Look out!" she cried at the last second. The Torterra ignored her, plowing into the break in the tracked and skimming forward, bouncing along the ground and knocking off Eve.
She was thrown over the rocky protrusions, seeming to hover above the Pokémon for a second. Then she fell, gravity pulling her into down onto the edge of the shell. She reached an arm back wildly, managing to grasp one of the protrusions while her leg caught the rim of the shell. She caught herself, her back slamming into the shell but nothing more. She looked down, shrinking away from the sight of grassy earth being pulverized beneath them.
She grasped the Farfetch'd closer and pulled herself back up, crawling over and bracing herself against the tree as the Torterra continued to skid and bounce forward. She stood, checking the Farfetch'd to make sure it hadn't been hurt. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the forest approaching, too thick with trees for Torterra to squeeze through. She couldn't tell if the Pokémon was slowing down, and her first thoughts were that he wasn't. She cursed under her breath and hid behind the tree, bracing herself.
Suddenly she felt Torterra hop into the air and hit the ground with a thud. They began to slow down, coming to a full stop at the very edge of the woods. Eve waited a moment to catch her breath and adjust to the sudden lack of movement, then hopped off the Torterra's back. "Thanks big guy," she said, petting its snout, "I can make it the rest of the way."
The continent Pokémon grunted in reply and walked away, leaving Eve alone with the Farfetch'd. She looked down at the bird Pokémon's deteriorating condition, and started to run into the forest. "Just hang in there a bit longer little guy," she said, praying she'd make it.

She plowed through the forest, jumping over roots and dodging trees left and right. The forest grew dark around her as she made her way deeper, making it hard for her to see. She glanced down at the Farfetch'd, its breathing starting to slow. "No," she said, speeding up despite the lack of light, "Dang it ya bird, I told ya to-" She jumped forward, realizing a second later that there was no ground beneath her. "Oh heck," she said, screaming as she fell.
The fall lasted only a few seconds, ending when she dug into the earth shoulder first. She squeezed her arm with the Farfetch'd, checking to make sure it wasn't hurt, then got to her feet. The fall had left her bruised and slightly dazed, but nothing more. She looked up to see if she could climb back up and saw, even with the little light that made it through the canopy above, that the drop was short but steep, too steep to climb back up.
She turned around and tried to find another way out. The lack of light made it impossible to see the ground around her though, and without her sight she wasn't willing to move another inch. She looked down at the Farfetch'd she held, unable to see it but able to tell it was still there, breathing faintly. She shook her head and cursed under breath. "How the heck am I supposed to get out of here?" she mumbled to herself.
Something echoed in the silence. Eve froze and listened, the sound growing louder. It sounded like an echoed hiss, guttural in nature. Then, without warning, the creature was standing a few feet away from her, its pure-white eyes its only vaguely visible feature. She backed away in fear, the creature emitting another hiss as it approached.
Suddenly its back began to glow green, revealing it to be a Parasect. A beam of energy began to spew from the slight gap between its body and the mushroom upon its back. The beam shot at Eve, coiling around her and lifting her into the air.
The touch of the beam burned. It felt as though it were digging through her skin and spreading about like roots, sucking out her strength. She tried to resist, struggling to pull away and protect the Farfetch'd she carried, but nothing she did worked. She felt herself turning pale as the attack continued, her body starting to yearn for collapse.
Suddenly the entire forest was engulfed in another green light, blinding her for a second. She caught a glimpse of the Parasect backing away from her as the beam withdrew back beneath the shell. There was the sound of hoof-steps behind her, the Parasect releasing a cry of pain as a ball of green flame flew over her and consumed the Pokémon, disappearing into the forest before going out.
She looked after the flame as darkness returned to the forest floor, thankful for being saved but horrified of what could produce such a devastating attack. "H-Hello?" she asked whatever it was that had saved her, not expecting an answer.
A flaming green mane rose nearby, seemingly just floating in the air. She backed into the base of the drop, sinking slightly into the moist dirt as the flames floated towards her. As it neared her, the flame actually seemed to snort and shake, the movement reminding her of the Ponyta on her farm. The closer it got, the more it reminded her of the numerous pony Pokémon she had cared for over the years.
She reached a tentative hand out as it came within her reach, her palm out like she did for her family's Ponyta. The flame bowed and brushed against her palm, neighing as she brushed it. She could feel the shape of the head beneath her hand, the bend of the neck to a powerful torso and back. It was a Ponyta, its mane green and skin black like its eyes.
"Can you help me?" she asked, "I need to get to the leek stalks, fast!" She didn't hear a reply, but she did feel the Ponyta turn beneath her palm and bump one of its rear legs against her hip.
She hugged the Ponyta's neck and said, "Thank you," before mounting it. She leaned forward and used her free arm to support herself, yelling "Eeyah!" as the Ponyta dashed into the forest.

They made it to the leeks within minutes. Eve placed the Farfetch'd next to one of the plants and tore off a stalk. The Pokémon grabbed at the stalk with a death grip and held it close, cradling it like a child. Slowly its color returned, as did its strength. It stood after a moment, eating the stalk and grabbing a new one. It made a happy chirp and hugged Eve, then flew away with the new stalk in its beak.
"Hello!" called Mr. Stone from the forest as the Farfetch'd disappeared behind the canopy. He came out riding a normal Rapidash, a Houndoom at his side. "There you are! How are you? Did you manage to find our Zorua?"
She shook her head. "Sorry Mr. Stone, but no. I've been mostly helping a Farfetch'd get a new stalk. Found the little guy dying on a Torterra's shell-tree if you can believe it! He's fine now though."
"That's good." He dismounted the Rapidash and walked over. "Anything interesting happen on the way?"
She chuckled. "A bit. I had a lot of help getting down here from the Pokemon.  The Torterra with the Farfetch'd on it actually made a make-shift slide down here and shot itself down to the edge of the forest. Almost crushed me on the way too!" she laughed.
"Yes, I saw the rubble he left in his wake. Quite inventive of him I must say."
"It surprised me pretty bad, that's for sure. Not as bad as when this little guy popped out and saved me from a Parasect though." She petted the black Ponyta. "Went over and incinerated the bug with a bright green fireball." She looked back at Mr. Stone. "Why is this one black anyways? It's not a natural color for them as far as I know, and I've never known any fire-Pokémon to have green flames."
He looked over at the Ponyta. "Ah, that would be the professor's Ponyta, Thanatos.  He's...well, I think the professor is going to want to discuss that in private, along with everything else."
"Wait, what everything else?"
Mr. Stone smiled. "Don't worry, you'll know soon enough." He remounted the Rapidash and gestured for Eve to do the same with Thanatos. "Come on now," he said as she mounted, "Let's get back before dark falls completely."

They made it to the day care in record time, meeting Professor Sumac outside the back door. "Welcome back my friends," he said, shaking hands with Eve and Mr. Stone, "Come let's go inside. We have a lot to talk about."
They nodded and dismounted. "Thank you again for saving me," Eve said, hugging Thanatos' neck. Thanatos neighed and returned the hug with its neck, walking over to the Rapidash and Houndoom as Eve joined Mr. Stone and the professor.
"He's a good Pokémon," said Sumac, holding the door open for Eve as she walked in.
"He is. Why does he look like that though?"
He smiled. "I'll explain in a moment."
Mr. and Mrs. Stone were waiting for them in the living room. "Eve dear, hello," said Mrs. Stone, "How are you?"
"Fine ma'am," she said with a smile, sitting across from the elderly couple.
"Good good. What about you professor? Everything fine with you as well?"
"As good as usual," he said. He stood with his arms crossed behind his back, facing the end of the table between the Stones and Eve. "Now," he said, talking to Eve, "I'd like to compliment you on finding my Zorua."
Eve shook her head. "Sorry professor, but I wasn't able to find the little guy. I was too busy trying to help a Farfetch'd I found on a Torterra."
He turned to Mr. Stone. "My friend, did you lie to me?"
"No sir, I'd have to say she got the Zorua to come out of hiding, in fact I'd say he greeted her a few times."
Eve turned to the day care man. "What are you talking about? I didn't see any little fox!"
Both Mr. Stone and the professor began to laugh. "What's so funny?" asked Eve.
"You do remember what I said about Zorua, right? That they're known as 'Illusion' Pokémon?"
"Yes, I remember. What, was the little guy following me around the entire time?"
"Yes, yes I was," said Mr. Stone, standing up. He jumped in the air, his body suddenly blazing white, warping, and suddenly, standing on the table in front of her, was a little black and red fox-like Pokémon. "Nice to finally meet you," he said telepathically, walking over to Eve.
"Well I'll be a Mankey's uncle! You were Mr. Stone the whole time?"
"Yep, as well as the Caterpie, Chatot, and Parasect. Thanks for helping me up to the leaves by the way. They were delicious."
She chuckled and petted the Zorua. "Anytime little guy, and it's nice to meet you too." She patted his head and held out an arm. The Zorua smiled and jumped on, clambering up her arm and curling up on her head. "You're a clever little fella, aren't you?"
"He is," said the professor, "He's also very good at telling a good person from a bad person."
"And you're really good!" said the Zorua, nuzzling the top of her head.
"Well thanks little guy." Eve said. She looked up to the professor. "So what's all this about professor? Seems there's more going on here than just finding this cute little guy." She scratched the Zorua laying on her.
"There is." Sumac walked over to the wall behind him and leaned against it, crossing his arms in front of him. "Tell me, how much do you know about my work?"
"Your work?" Eve scratched her chin. "Well, I know you're a Pokémon professor, so you do a lot of research on them."
He nodded. "That's the basic idea of what I do. To be more specific, I research Pokémon genetics and the effects of cross-breeding."
"So wait, you mean, Thanatos out there's one of your experiments?" she asked, a tinge of disgust in her voice.
"Yes, to a degree. His father is the Houndoom you saw earlier while his mother is the Rapidash, both of which chose each other without my intervention. Now, I'm not one to say I'm above intervening with Pokémon relationships in order to further my research, but from what I've seen my intervention would be unnecessary anyways. Pokémon are thinking creatures after all."
"You're right about that. So, what is it your telling me for?"
"You see, this and a number of other examples have shown to me that this sort of thing is not unheard of in the Pokémon world. Unfortunately, I'm a bit too tied down at the lab with my research and experiments and such to further explore this development. What I need is someone trustworthy to go out and search for other Pokémon like Thanatos. Someone like you, perhaps?"
"Wait...are you asking me to go out into the wild and search for any odd Pokémon that doesn't fit in with the rest?"
"That would be right. Now keep in mind, you aren't going to be the only one doing this sort of thing for me. A friend of mine is already out keeping our databases up to date on what he's been able to find, and I'm sure there's other people who can be trusted with other areas of my research. You, however, will be the only one who's going to get this very special honor." He reached into his lab coat and pulled out a small, rectangular, red device. "This is a fully updated pokedex, constantly updated with additional information as such is found"
Eve took the device in her hands. "I've heard of these things. Aren't you only supposed to give them out to exceptional trainers or something like that, since there aren't many of them?"
"That's true. This is one I made and filled out myself during my time as a trainer. It's not an official one, like those my better Professor Oak gives out, but it has all the same basic information. It works like a touch screen, showing moving images of any Pokémon in its database. It can also scan new ones, as well as add to the current database. So, what do you say?"
Eve rolled the pokedex in her hands. "It's sure a tempting offer professor, but it's not like I can just walk out on my family. There's...we've got some stuff to settle up on first. Besides, I don't have a Pokemon."
The professor nodded. "I understand. Still, if I can solve the latter problem, would you like to do this for me?"
"Well, I guess," said Eve, "Maybe."
"I'll let you think about it." He stood up and gestured to the door. "In the meantime, I think I owe you these."
From the doorway emerged the real Mr. Stone, carrying in his arms a white egg with strange red and blue markings on it. He handed it over to the professor and smiled at Eve. "Nice to see you Eve." he said, taking a seat next to his wife.
Before Eve could speak the professor told her to stand and come over. "Do you know what this is?" he asked.
"An oversized egg?" she said hesitantly.
"Close. It's a Pokémon egg. More specifically, a Togepi egg. It's also your first owned Pokémon, if you want it."
Eve's jaw dropped. "A...A....You're just giving me a Pokémon?"
"You've come by for the past seven years since you were first old enough to train Pokemon. You've worked with them daily for most of your life and learned about them from your work with me. You've taken classes and completed the test with flying colors. More than all that, Zorua considers you a good person. You've earned this." He handed her the egg. "Care for it well, Eve."
"I-I will professor! Thank you!" She hugged the egg tight to her chest.
"I know. Now come. I'll walk you home."

They left minutes later. Eve walked next to the professor, the egg clutched in her arms and a thousand thoughts running through her head. What should I do? Where should I go? What's going to happen to the farm if I leave? What's going to happen to me if I don't? She looked to the starry sky above, hoping to find an answer in its maze of lights. She found none, and merely continued her walk with her emotions in conflict.
Her future was open, but she herself was blind.