The Pokémon journey begins in Galar

In the end, Yuri's long and grueling capture battle resulted in a draw, with Flapple relying on its newly evolved toughness and repeated use of Twister to wear Eevee down just enough. That was finally enough to get the little fox to willingly stay inside the Poké Ball.

Now, Yuri was cuddling her newest teammate, absolutely smitten.

Unlike most evolutions that become sleeker or more elegant, Eevee retained its plush, fluffy charm. Among all its evolved forms, only the Fire-type evolution kept that cuddly texture warm, soft, and perfect as a pillow. Grade-A hug material.

As Eevee curiously leaned closer to sniff at Moonlight, Marie tilted her head and asked, "So, which evolution are you thinking of for Eevee?"

"Hmm... I haven't really decided yet. They all look so cool!"

Yuri's conflicted expression made Marie chuckle it reminded her of her own dilemma back then. Eventually, she just left the choice to Moonlight and let her partner figure it out.

"Which one's your personal favorite, though?"

"Fairy-type Sylveon! Oh, but Leafeon is super cute too... and Glaceon's so pretty…"

Yeah, it didn't look like she'd be making a decision anytime soon, so Marie didn't press. Eevee still had a long way to go before evolving anyway, and who knew how long it would be before that happened.

Marie glanced at the Pokémon nearby. Sobble was perched on Flapple's back, quietly observing the new addition to the team. Over the past few days, Eevee had battled all of Yuri's Pokémon more than once. They were fairly familiar with each other by now, and while it was too early to talk about forming battle camaraderie, they could at least coexist peacefully.

As for Silk, she was as always stuck to Moonlight like glue. Even with a new Eevee around, she didn't seem the least bit interested, which piqued Marie's curiosity. What exactly was it about Moonlight that attracted Silk so strongly? Her moonlit fur? Or was it something deeper, like Moonlight's psychic presence or spirit?

Too bad Sonia wasn't here. She might've had some kind of research paper on it.

"Alright, food's ready."

Marie called out to gather the Pokémon. Ever since Balu joined the team, the amount of curry she had to cook had basically doubled she'd gone from using a pot to practically needing a cauldron.

Good thing she never considered raising a Snorlax, or she'd have gone bankrupt feeding it.

They were camping out again because now that Yuri had finally caught Eevee, the rest of the afternoon could be focused on preparing for the Gym Challenge the day after tomorrow.

Maybe it was Hop's earlier battle that lit a fire under her. Ever since they left the arena, even though she hadn't said anything directly, Yuri's energy had clearly changed. She was taking the upcoming challenge much more seriously now.

After dividing the curry among the team, Marie finally scooped up a bowl for herself. Just as she was about to sit down, something from the sky let out a high-pitched chirp and swooped toward her.

"Vee-! (Stop!)"

Moonlight reacted instantly. In a flash of Quick Attack, she appeared right in front of Marie, spun midair, and whipped her silver-glowing tail at the shadow diving toward them.

"Chuu-!"

With a loud thump, the dark figure went flying back even faster than it came, slamming face-first into the dirt and embedding itself halfway into the ground.

"..."

Everything had happened so fast. Even Marie, with her reflexes, had barely caught sight of the shadow. She hadn't had time to issue a command, but Moonlight had already resolved the situation on her own.

"Thanks, Moonlight. That was pretty slick."

She knelt down to give Moonlight a head rub and smiled softly. Being protected by her own Pokémon yeah, that felt pretty good.

"Vee~ (No problem~)"

Moonlight squinted happily and nuzzled against Marie's palm, then turned her gaze toward the would-be attacker now stuck in the ground.

"Is that... a Rookidee?" Yuri crouched beside the creature, unsure as she looked at its talons and feathers.

"Yeah, it's a Rookidee. But this one's a lot faster than Hop's," Marie confirmed.

Rookidee wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but this one was easily the fastest Marie had ever seen. Judging from the fluffy down still clinging to its feathers, it hadn't even finished growing yet.

Marie set her bowl aside and walked over. She grabbed the chubby little bird with both hands and yanked it free from the dirt.

"Chuu chuu! (Ack cough what the heck?! Who smacked me?! Come out here! You hear me? Show yourself! Was it you?!)"

The Rookidee spat out a mouthful of dirt, then stood arrogantly in Marie's palm. It turned its head and glared accusingly at the most harmless-looking one nearby Eldegoss, who was just quietly eating its lunch.

"Nya? (Huh?)"

"Chuu chuu chuu! (Don't 'huh' me! Wasn't it you who hit me? Huh? Wait, you don't have a tail... then maybe it was you? Yeah? Was it you?!)"

Marie gave the puffed-up Rookidee a weird look as it picked fights with the weakest Pokémon around. What a noisy little brat.

With a sigh, she cupped her hands and flipped the bird upside down, holding it up so they were eye to eye.

"It was Moonlight who hit you. I know you know that, so don't play dumb. And what was that about diving at me out of nowhere? You better start talking, or I'm planting you right back in the dirt."

"Chuu-chuu! (Whoa now, easy! You're pretty cute, missy. Why not team up with me? You looking for a Pokémon? I'm super fast! Evolve me, and I'll take you anywhere!)"

"..."

Thank goodness Yuri couldn't understand Pokémon speech. This was the first time Marie had encountered a Pokémon with this kind of... sleazy personality. A perverted little bird with a mouth full of shameless pickup lines.

Sure, she'd heard those urban myths about humans falling in love with Pokémon, but at least those stories involved humanoid Pokémon like Gardevoir. This was a bird. A bird.

It was hard enough for humans to judge which Pokémon looked good or bad within a species, let alone between entirely different ones. And the same likely applied in reverse. Pokémon could recognize human faces and differences, but that didn't usually translate into ideas of who was "handsome" or "cute."

The fact that this Rookidee had opinions about her appearance was... unsettling.

Marie's expression shifted into something between disbelief and disdain. Yep, no doubt about it this was one seriously perverted Pokémon.

"Moonlight."

She called softly, and as she let go of the Rookidee, Moonlight's eyes narrowed. A surge of psychic power immediately locked onto the bird midair, freezing it in place.

"Chuu?! (Wait wait no! Missy no, wait, big sis! Let's talk this out! Don't don't don't agh!)"

The little Rookidee flailed, but before it could finish begging for mercy, Moonlight flipped it head-down and slammed it back into the same hole in the ground with impressive precision.

"Alright, let's eat. Just ignore him."

"Huh? What did it say? Moonlight looked kind of mad just now…"

Yuri gave Moonlight a curious glance, then turned to Marie, who had just picked her curry back up. Not being able to understand Pokémon, she had no idea what just happened.

Marie calmly took a bite of her curry and said nothing. Some things were better left unknown.

____________________

NEXT CHAPTER : Rookidee's Talent

(The perverted little bird from before isn't giving up and somehow, he's weirdly charming in his own chaotic way. After begging for curry and declaring his undying love (again), Rookidee gets a chance to prove he's more than just talk. And prove it he does.

With a stunning display of Brave Bird, he literally blows through a tree and knocks himself out cold in the process. Marie, impressed despite herself, begins tending to his wounds.

Next Chapter: Will Marie actually catch this ridiculous but talented Rookidee? Or will he talk himself out of a Poké Ball before she even throws it?)

If you've been enjoying the story so far, feel free to visit my Patreon for early access to advanced chapters and stay ahead in the journey!

[email protected]/yanxx

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