Derek looked up at the mountain in front of him, a cold winter breeze blowing across the frigid mountaintop.

“Eevee…”

At the sound of his trusted partner, Derek looked down at Eve beside him before he smiled. With how long they’ve been traveling, it was fitting that they’d be the ones to conquer Mt. Silver! They’ve taken down Team Rocket, caught every Legendary out there, and won several championships! This would be the peak achievement of his life, conquering what people deemed uninhabitable!

“Eevee! Eevee!” As Eve called out in warning, Derek looked up to find a teen standing at the top at Mount Silver. As the teen lifted his cap up to look Derek in the eye, the man grinned before he shouted out-

“Eeeeee-Vee-Vee-Vee-Vee-Vee!”

Derek sputtered in surprise as he felt his face smacked multiple times. He flailed around before a bit, only to open his eyes to find Eve standing on his chest, her front paws poised to strike again. “Alright, I’m up, I’m up!” he muttered, and sat up before he let out a yawn. He fumbled around for a moment, before he finally found his phone and checked the time.

When it boldly told him it was 10:13, he winced at the digital marker. “Well, guess it’s still in the morning,” he muttered, before Eve nudged him with her nose. Now fully awake though, he slipped out of bed and stretched before he walked out. Eve followed beside him as he walked back into the kitchen. Soon, Derek had some soft-yolk eggs cooking on the stovetop, Eevee watching intently as she munched on her apple.

“Alright, I think they’re just about done here,” he said before the toast finally popped out. After he set the pan down, he placed a piece of toast on each plate before he set an egg on each slice. Eve looked up from her snack, and soon began to eat her portion once Derek set it in front of her.

“Well, since we’ve got breakfast served up, I think we should plan things out for today,” he said before he took a bite of his breakfast. Since he didn’t have any PokeBalls or a Pokemon Center to take Eve to, it was hard to determine how healthy she was in comparison to the average Eevee. He hummed in thought for several seconds, before he finished off his breakfast and pulled out his phone and began to search for how to give pets a check-up. It wouldn’t be too hard to find something.

“Alright, stay steady there,” Derek said, and gently pressed on Eve’s paw until her claws were clearly visible. Derek leaned in and checked them for any cracks, before he finally let her paw go. “Looks like your claws are all still intact,” he said, and marked something off on his phone before he tapped her cheek, “Now, open wide for me!”

Eve opened her mouth wide, revealing her pearly white fangs. With her teeth available, Derek shook his phone, before he looked around inside her mouth. “Alright, looks like your teeth are all good, nothing caught or cracked,” he eventually said, and Eve closed her mouth before Derek began to mentally list things off. Alright, that was her weight checked, her height measured, her claws and teeth examined.

“All that’s left is to check your fur,” he told Eve, and placed a hand on each cheek. The Eevee let out a “Vee?” at the contact, before Derek began to gently rustle her fur from head to tail tip. While most of her fur was short-hair, like a common housecat, her tail and mane were thick, like running his fingers through cotton candy.

After a few minutes of examining her fully, he finally tugged his fingers from her fur. “Alright, that’s the last of it,” he said as Eve shook herself, “Overall, you seem to be in good shape. A bit underweight, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a good meal.” As she readied to jump down from the counter, Derek took out some dried mango slices. Eve eagerly snagged them from him, and as she ran over to the couch, Derek began to make notes on his phone.

Thankfully, since Eve had a greater intelligence and a wider diet than dogs or cats, he didn’t need to get her any canned food or beds. All it’d take would be some brushes, nail clippers as needed, and maybe some special dog shampoos… As he considered the last one, he paused before he walked into the bathroom. Flicking the lights on, Derek knelt down and opened the sink cabinet.

After some searching, Derek gave a small cry of triumph when he pulled out a bottle of dog shampoo. “Thank god Anna gave me extras last month,” he muttered, reading how the label said it ‘gave dogs of all breeds a soft, silky coat!’ As he held it up to the light though, he frowned when he saw it was only half-full. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to buy a second bottle as back-up.

He set the bottle on the sink, and walked back into the living room before he pulled out his wallet. “Well, I’m going to get some supplies to help keep you clean and healthy,” he said, which made Eve perk up. As he went towards the door, he had to stop when she ran up to the door. When she looked at him pleadingly, he let out a sigh before he knelt down. “Listen, Eve, I know you want to go outside, but it’s too much of a risk to let you out right now,” he said, earning a whine from the Evolution Pokemon.

Letting out a sigh, Derek walked over to the TV before he grabbed the remote on the nightstand. “Listen, I’ll be back in an hour,” he told her, and flipped through the channels before he selected the Pokemon’s Indigo League season, “While I’m gone though, why don’t you watch the Pokemon anime I mentioned last night? It’ll help you get an idea of what people on Earth know of Pokemon…” He paused as he thought for a moment, before he added, “Well, excluding abilities and some other things, but we didn’t know of them at first.”

Eevee gave him a faint glare, but as the familiar theme of the Pokemon opening played, she began to watch in curiosity. As Mew and Mewtwo flew across the screen, Derek snickered at how focused she was, before he walked down to the car.

Derek hummed in thought as he looked between the two brushes he was holding. While the one in his left hand was supposedly “able to make fur even silkier than usual”, the other brush claimed it “could straighten out fur without any issue at all.”

“Damn, which one should I get?” he asked himself, visibly weighing each brush like it would help decide things.

“Could I help you with something, sir?”

Derek looked up from his thinking to find an employee next to him. “Yeah, some help would be appreciated…” he began to say, and glanced down at her nametag before he said, “Ashley.” As he held up both brushes, he told her, “You see, I adopted a stray dog recently, and want to get the right brush for her. However, I can’t tell what version to go with. What’s your suggestion for what to use?”

“Well, it depends on what kind of dog you have,” Ashley said, and took both brushes from Derek before she looked at them herself. “Depending on the breed, you may want a wire brush for longer hair.” As she checked the brand, she frowned before she told him, “However, the PowerPet brand is a bit overpriced - You may want to go with the GrandPaw brand instead, if she’s your first dog, since they’re both more budget-friendly and last longer.”

Derek nodded along with her opinion, before he frowned as he considered the options. “Honestly, she’s got a mix of fur density,” he told her, not wanting to go into heavy detail, “She’s mostly short-haired, but she’s got a very fluffy chest, neck and tail.” He paused for a moment, before he clarified, “Kind of like a mix between a retriever and an Australian shepherd really, but only the size of a beagle.”

Ashley let out a faint awww at the description, before she reached down and pulled up a metal comb and a wire brush. “In that case, you’ll likely want to go with GrandPaw’s Deep Scratcher and Bear Claw brushes. They work great for getting the undercoat out, without causing discomfort to them.” Derek nodded along like he understood what she was saying, before he took the offered brushes and looked them over. They weren’t super-fancy in design, but they seemed to be rather sturdy.

After a short moment of thought, Derek nodded before he put them in his basket. “Awesome! Thanks a lot for the help,” he told Ashley, and checked the contents before he said, “In that case, I think I have everything! Have a good day, Ashley!”

“No problem - Have a good day, and I hope your new dog’s happy with her tools!” Ashley said, and Derek gave a nod before he briskly walked over to the check-out. After he paid for the goods and put them all in two bags, Derek soon drove out of the parking lot and back down Dry Gulch Road. The supplies wouldn’t be perfect, but they should work well enough…

As he pulled onto Sandy Bay Trail, he grimaced at the sight of trash cans already sitting on the curb. “Crap, I forgot that tomorrow is trash day,” he muttered to himself as he pulled inside. After he grabbed the supplies, Derek walked up the stairway and looked around before a sudden cry made him turn to the TV.

“Pikachu, Thundershock!” Ash shouted on-screen, pointing at the Onix binding the Electric Mouse Pokemon. When Pikachu tried to shock the Rock-type Pokemon, Eevee let out a chain of yips when it proved to be ineffective. Derek snickered at how adorable Eevee was acting, before he set the bags down and grabbed the trash.

“Alright, I need to bring out the trash. I’ll be back shortly,” he told the Eevee, who only glanced back at him momentarily before she turned back to watching the TV. Tying the garbage bag shut, Derek managed to clumsily yank it out of the bin before he dragged it down the stairway. Once he dropped the bag in the trash can, Derek hit the garage door button and slowly rolled the bin out to the exit.

As he placed the can on the curb though, he stilled when he heard a clatter of bottles and boxes on the other side of the nearby fence. “Fucking possums must’ve gotten in the bins again,” he muttered, and stalked back into the garage. Grabbing a nearby broom, he stomped back outside before he reactivated his phone’s light. “Alright, come here, you trash rats,” he growled, and circled around the fence.

As he lifted his phone up, he spotted his neighbor’s trash can on its side with something rattling the insides. “Alright now, get out of here!” he hissed, and smacked the broomstick on the bin several times.

“Zi-zi-zi-zi-zi!” something shouted at the noise before a small, spiky-haired animal darted out of the trashcan. When it came to a sudden stop, Derek turned the light on it. However, when the brown and tan creature spun around, his breath hitched as its masked gaze narrowed in anger. “Ziiiig-zag!” the Zigzagoon growled, and scratched at the ground.

“Ah, shit,” Derek gulped, but quickly backed up when the raccoon Pokemon began to charge at him. Rapidly backing up, Derek swung his broom at the Normal-type to scare it away. However, the Zigzagoon charged unimpeded, and when the broomstick got close, it drew its head back before it snapped the shaft in one blow of its head.

Stifling a curse, Derek dropped the shaft and ran towards the garage, the Zigzagoon following closely behind. As he neared the entrance into the garage, he heard a cry of “Zigzagoon!” before something grabbed the back of his shirt. He stifled a scream, and began to spin around to try dislodging the Pokemon.

Several seconds passed as he tried to get Zigzagoon off, but as he slowed down, a sudden pattering made him stop before a pair of brown blurs flew off his back. Turning his back to the garage, Derek couldn’t help but gawk when he saw Eevee get back up and glare at the Zigzagoon, who was looking rather peeved that it was intercepted.

Looking between the two, Derek coughed slightly before he looked down at Eevee. “You’re really willing to fight for me?” he asked the fox-like Pokemon. When she gave a brief nod, he grinned at the possibility of what was about to happen before he cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s do this!” he exclaimed, lowering his voice slightly to keep from alerting the neighbors, before pointing a hand at the battlefield, “Alright, Eevee, let’s start things off with a Quick Attack!”

“Eeee-vee!” she exclaimed, and a white glow began to emit from her before she rushed forward. Eevee’s body momentarily vanished from Derek’s sight before she struck Zigzagoon at frightening speed, launching it back several feet. Rather than dying from the blow though, the raccoon Pokemon flipped back up before it darted at her in a zig-zag fashion.

Eevee drew wary as it drew closer, trying to discern which direction the wild Pokemon would go. As she tried to dodge to the right though, Zigzagoon lunged in the same direction, intercepting her and knocking her prone.

Derek hissed at the impact, and glanced around as he tried to recall what moves Eevee could use. “Quick, get back up and use Bite!” he cried out in encouragement. However, Eevee only gave him a look of confusion as she stood back up. Derek cursed at his mistake, but as the Zigzagoon began to charge her again, he called out, “Use Sand-Attack to blind him, followed by a Tackle!”

Stumbling into a battling position, Eevee spun around and kicked up a spray of mud and dirt that the Zigzagoon ran into. The raccoon Pokemon let out a cry of shock at the wave of debris, and tripped over its own feet as it shook its head. With the Zigzagoon distracted, Eevee crouched down before lunging forward, striking the wild Normal-type again before launching herself up and coming down for a diving blow to the prone Pokemon.

Stepping away, Eevee let out a noise of contentment when the Zigzagoon didn’t get up. As she trotted back over to Derek, he glanced at the Zigzagoon laying on the ground and let out a sigh of relief. When a growl rose from the Pokemon, he tensed with concern, before he saw its belly visibly rumble. Derek let out a grumble, but approached the Zigzagoon before he knelt down next to it.

“Listen, Zigzagoon,” he began to say, earning looks from both Eevee and the Pokemon at his feet, “I startled you, you attacked me, and now, we’ve beat you. However, you’re clearly hungry. If I got you some real food, do you promise not to attack me?” Eevee looked shocked that Derek would offer that, but the Zigzagoon looked up with wide eyes at the offer, its tail eagerly wagging.

The raccoon Pokemon shakily stood back up as it got ready to walk into the garage, only to pause and look back across the street. Derek looked in the direction Zigzagoon was facing, but when he failed to see anything, he asked, “Is there something over there?” The bristly Normal-type began to make noises and gestures, but when Derek gave him a look of confusion, the Zigzagoon snorted before running across the street and out of sight.

Derek blinked in confusion as the raccoon Pokemon jumped into some bushes, mind whirling with what he might’ve missaid. Before he could voice his concerns though, the short, spiky figure of Zigzagoon returned, its mouth full carrying something. The raccoon Pokemon trotted up to Derek, and set a trio of small red-and-white spheres on the ground in front of him. As the Pokemon ran back across the street again, Derek knelt down and picked up the marble-sized objects. Pushing down on the button sticking out, Derek soon let out a noise of surprise when it expanded into a clearly identifiable Premier Ball.

Derek began to giggle in shock as he rolled it around in his hand, the cumulation of all the events starting to seep in. As the Zigzagoon came back over, now with a purple Potion bottle in its mouth, he couldn’t help but ask, “How much did you even find?” The Zigzagoon let out a scoff, and said something to Eevee before the two ran off to the bushes. Within a few minutes, the two Pokemon had finished stacking a pile of 30 items in front of Derek, ranging from some more Pokeballs and some Full Heals to even a pair of Ultra Balls and shockingly, a gold nugget the size of a dime.

“Geez, you’re just a top-tier treasure hunter, aren’t you?” He commented as he picked up the gold nugget, weighing it in his hand before he grabbed a small box and dropped everything inside. As he stood back up, he waved to the group before telling the Pokemon, “C’mon. I’ll make some chicken breasts for you two.”

After the three got back inside, Zigzagoon watched intently as Derek set the ingredients on the counter before he soon had several chicken breasts sizzling on the stovetop. Once the meat began to cook, Derek got out some more apples before he set one down in front of each Pokemon. “Here you two go,” he told them as he set the plates down. The Zigzagoon immediately tore into the fruit with a passion, and Eevee enjoyed her own apple.

As the two chowed down, Derek sniffed the air before he lightly grimaced. “Looks like we need to take care of a few things after you guys finish eating,” he commented, and turned the heat on low. With the meat taking longer to cook, he left the kitchen area, earning some looks from Eevee and Zigzagoon as he walked over to the door next to the bedroom.

Stepping into the bathroom, Derek turned the water in the bathtub on before he flicked the plug’s switch down. As the tub slowly filled up, Derek opened the cupboard by the sink before he pulled out the bottle of dog shampoo.

“Didn’t expect to use it so soon,” he muttered as he poured a line of shampoo in the tub before he walked back out of the bathroom. As he approached the two Pokemon, the Zigzagoon licking its plate clean, he commented, “Alright, if you two are done eating your apples, let’s get you cleaned up before lunch!” The Pokemon made a noise of surprise at this when he lifted both Pokemon and the supplies up and carried them into the bathroom. As he set the two in the foaming water, he turned the faucet off before he grabbed the dog shampoo.

Zigzagoon let out a noise of shock as he poured some shampoo on it, but as he began to deeply scrub the Pokemon’s fur, it began to growl in contentment as he cleaned out dirt from deep in its fur. As his hands moved down to rub the Normal-type’s belly though, Derek froze when he felt something hanging underneath, which caused Zigzagoon to growl. “Whoops, sorry about that,” Derek told him, immediately moving his hands back up to clean the Pokemon’s back.

After several minutes of cleaning the raccoon Pokemon, he moved onto cleaning Eevee, who squirmed slightly at his cleaning grip before relaxing as he rubbed behind her ears. Derek spent a few more minutes cleaning her, he lifted the fox-like Pokemon out before wrapping her in a dry towel. he rubbed the Pokemon’s body up and down with the towel, and as Eevee curled up in the towel, he then grabbed Zigzagoon out of the tub and began to dry him off.

Once both were mostly dry, he set both down next to each other, then he reached under the sink. When he pulled a hair dryer and the Bear Claw brush out, the two Pokemon looked at him with suspicion before he began to blow hot air over them. Both of them soon began to coo in delight as he dried them off, the hair dryer blowing the rest of the moisture away. As they nearly got dry, he began to brush both with the brush to separate any clumps.

After only a few minutes, Derek finally turned the hair dryer off, the Pokemon’s fur having turned light and fluffy, and knocked the few rocks into the trash. “There we go. You’re both nice and clean now,” he told them, and removed the towels from them before he headed back into the kitchen. As the Pokemon eagerly followed, he turned the heat back on, then flipped the meat over. As the breasts began to cook in earnest, Derek looked at the Zigzagoon’s stash before he picked out a Premier Ball and a PokeBall.

“So, Zigzagoon, Eve,” he began to say, causing both to look up at him before he expanded the PokeBalls to full size, “I know I already asked Eve, but Pokemon aren’t exactly common around here. As such, what would you say to becoming my Pokemon? I won’t be aiming to be the strongest trainer, but-”

Zigzagoon didn’t bother to wait for Derek to finish, and smacked the PokeBall with his nose before he vanished inside. With her fellow Pokemon caught, Eevee shook her head and gave Derek a warning glare before she pressed the button on the Premiere Ball. In a flash of red light, she vanished into the red-banded Pokeball, and Derek held a baited breath as the two balls shook in his grip.

When they finally came to a stop, Derek let out a manly squeal of delight and held the Pokeballs up in the air. “Alright, I caught a Pokemon!” he exclaimed, reveling in the excitement of the catch. As he began to calm down though, he began to notice a faint scent in the air… Something smoky?

“Oh shit, the meat!” he exclaimed, and dropped the Pokeballs on the counter. Derek frantically flipped the smoldering breasts around, trying to fix the burnt mess, before he finally poured a slightly burnt chicken breast on each of three plates. He dropped the burnt pan in the sink, and as a stream of water made the pan sizzle, he placed a quartered apple on each plate before he finally pushed the buttons on the PokeBalls.

“Here you two go,” Derek said once the two popped onto the table, and pushed a plate over to each of them, “Sorry that they’re a bit burnt, but I got caught up talking to you.” Zigzagoon paid him no mind, and happily scarfed down the food on his plate, while Eevee ate at a more sedate pace.

With both Pokemon occupied eating, Derek began to chow down on his own breakfast. Surprisingly being the last one to finish eating, Derek dropped his plate in the sink before he glanced at Zigzagoon and Eevee. “You know, since I caught you now, Zigzagoon, I should probably ask: What would you say to being given a name?”

Zigzagoon seemed to become ecstatic at the idea, and ran around in circles, like a remote car on turbo. Derek snickered when the raccoon Pokemon finally flopped on the ground, his tail still wagging nonstop, before he knelt down. “Well, since you’re so eager for a name, how about Indiana, or Indy for short?” Derek asked, and rubbed the Pokemon’s belly as he told him, “Since you’re such a little treasure hunter, I think it’d be fitting you have the name of the world’s best explorer.”

When Zigzagoon let out a series of happy yips, Derek snickered and ruffled the belly of the newly christened Pokemon before he froze at the sound of a sudden alarm coming from the bedroom. Derek ran into the other room as the alarm grew louder to find his phone. As he flipped it up, he winced at the alarm’s label.

“Shit, I didn’t realize it was so close to 3 o’clock,” he muttered, before he threw a light hoodie on. As he stumbled back into the dining room, Derek grabbed his backpack before he looked at Eve and Indiana. “Listen, I need to get going to my college classes now,” he told them, but as they gave him wide-eyed, pleading looks, he let out a sigh. “Alright, I guess I can bring you guys with me, but you’ll have to stay in your Pokeballs until I let you out, okay?” he asked.

When Indiana and Eve gave nods, he let out a sigh before he grabbed their Pokeballs and recalled the two Normal-types in a red flash. As he shrunk the balls down, Derek dropped their balls in the backpack before he glanced around. “Let’s see, I have textbooks, charger, phone, notebooks, pencils…” he verbally listed off, and glanced around in thought. Was there anything he was forgetting? As he glanced at the TV, a soft ding made him glance at the Switch plugged in…

“Oh, right, the Smash Bros tournament!” he piped up, and sprinted over to the TV. As he pulled the Switch out though, Derek paused before he looked over at Indiana’s finds. He knew he had only encountered two Pokemon so far, with how big the Iron Springs campus was… After a moment of indecision, Derek reached in and threw the other six Pokeballs into the bag before he grabbed his keys and ran outside to his car.