Summary: "Nowadays, most people in Viridian have gotten used to the almost constant presence of a particularly small and slightly chubby Eevee on Gym Leader Blue's shoulders. They have all accepted it as the new normal, so much so that some people even started thinking the fluffy little thing was his starter, of all things."
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Blue has an Eevee. She's small, she's feisty, and he loves her to bits.
Blue's Eevee
Posted: 03/03/2022
Status: Completed
Author's note: I was only planning to write a little piece about Blue pampering his Eevee and then I accidentally added emotions and a healthy dose of reguri in it by accident.
Whoops.
Enjoy.
Nowadays, most people in Viridian have gotten used to the almost constant presence of a particularly small and slightly chubby Eevee on Gym Leader Blue’s shoulders. They have all accepted it as the new normal, so much so that some people even started thinking the fluffy little thing was his starter, of all things. How ridiculous.
As much as Blue loved his Eevee, she was far from his starter. In fact, he wasn’t even active as a trainer when he got her.
One needs to know a little more about what goes behind the scenes when it comes to the ever-popular Pokémon boxes, those impressive feats of technology that allow trainers to “store”, trade, and release Pokémon. More specifically, in this specific case, one has to know how releasing works.
You see, when a Pokémon is released through the computer (which is highly recommended, as simply leaving a Pokémon out in the wild is considered abandonment, and could get you in a lot of legal trouble), it isn’t directly sent back into the wild. The Pokémon is first sent to its original region’s main Pokémon lab. There, the resident professor and their assistants examine the Pokémon and make it go through some tests to verify if it can even be released into the wild. If it can, then it is released in an appropriate place that has others of its kind. If it cannot, the Pokémon goes through “rehabilitation”, so it is prepared to go back to the wild.
Sometimes, though, rehabilitation isn’t enough. This is especially common for Pokémon who were never in the wild (such as those hatched from eggs) or those who spent a long time living as pets. In those cases, the lab instead puts them up for adoption.
When Blue got a call from the lab, he had just arrived in Kalos and was sluggishly unpacking his suitcase, half-dead thanks to jetlag. It took him a moment to realize his Pokégear was even ringing, and when he did, he almost shut down the device out of spite when he saw the caller ID. He and his gramps had a…difficult relationship. Blue knew he had been a wild, very emotional child, and he also knew Professor Oak was terrible with both children and emotions. It had been a recipe for disaster from the start. At some point, it had escalated to the point where they didn’t speak to each other at all, but with some insistence from Daisy, they accepted to have a talk.
And talk they did. It was tense, it was uncomfortable for everyone involved, but it was at least enlightening. At the end of it all, they had agreed to do better. Now, their relationship was still tense, and they kept contact to a minimum but, most of the time, it was civil.
Blue had agreed to do better so, instead of refusing the call like he was tempted to do, he accepted it and greeted his grandfather with a flat “What.”
(Hey, he still was jetlagged to hell and back. Don’t expect too much of him.)
“Hello Gr— Blue.” Samuel greeted him, almost getting his name wrong again. It seems the professor has always had trouble with the Pallet tradition of using colors as names. He had an easier time with Red because, well, the kid always wore red, it was his favorite color. Blue, on the other hand, almost never wore any blue. His favorite color was actually purple, and he wore a lot of green too. Back then, Blue thought his grandfather was playing favorites, but really, the old man was just confused by all those colorful names.
(One time he had even muttered something along the lines of “It would’ve been easier if you’d been given a more common name, like Gary”, and Blue made such an obviously disgusted face at the suggestion that Daisy couldn’t stop laughing for 10 minutes straight.)
“‘Sup.”
“You sound tired. Are you already in Kalos?”
Blue grunted in confirmation. “Yeah. Jetlag is a bitch.”
“Language, Blue.” He could hear his gramps chuckle on the other end of the line. “Do you have some time right now?”
“I mean, yeah. I was unpacking, didn’t really plan to do anything else but sleep today.” He left his suitcase alone and sat down on the still unmade bed. Samuel Oak wasn’t one for small talk, so there had to be a reason for him to call Blue out of the blue (pun intended) like that. “What’s up?”
“Someone released an Eevee recently.” Oak had started.
“Huh, that’s a rare one.”
“Indeed,” Oak agreed, “According to its previous trainer, it was hatched from an egg they were given.”
“A trainer? So why’d they release it? Eevees aren’t the strongest, but they’re jacks-of-all-trades, with all their possible evolutions.” Blue was curious. Eevees were pretty rare Pokémon that were almost never found in the wild due to how skittish they were. They weren’t exactly top competitive material, but the regular trainer would certainly benefit from having one, since they could fill almost any spot.
“That’s the issue. It appears this Eevee…doesn’t want to evolve. Not only that, but it is both too aggressive to be released into the wild, and too unruly to be given to just any trainer.” There was something in Oak’s voice, and Blue narrowed his eyes at the tone.
“You want me to take the Eevee.” He stated. It wasn’t a question.
“Well…yes.” His gramps sounded embarrassed at being caught in his lack of subtlety, despite his best attempt.
Blue sighed and rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache coming. “Gramps. I’m here as a student, not a trainer. I don’t even have any Pokémon with me.”
Indeed, he had left all his Pokémon in his ace trainers’ capable hands in order to give them the regular exercise he wouldn’t be able to give them while studying. Some of them had grumbled at being separated from their trainer, but in the end he managed to make them understand that it would be better this way. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t visit during the holidays, either, so they’d still see each other.
“I know that, Blue. I’m not asking you to take it in as a trainer, but as a companion. And, well…” The professor hesitated a second, and Blue felt justified in his dread when he heard what he said next. “You do have experience with Pokémon who don’t want to evolve.”
More specifically, he had experience with Red’s Pikachu. Another Pokémon that was released for his refusal to evolve and his testy temper. Blue briefly got to help his grandfather and his assistants rehabilitate the Pokémon, with varied results. In the end, he was deemed unfit for the wild, and was given to the one boy who, it seemed, could tame just about any Pokémon : Red.
(Red, the boy who had gone missing a mere month after dethroning him. The boy who became a legend, but also a ghost story to tell misbehaving children. Red, the hero. Red, the runaway. Red, the boy Blue hasn’t heard anything of in over 5 years. Red, who might as well be dead, for all anyone knows.)
As his grandfather had given the grumpy electric mouse to Red, Blue’s gaze had briefly met Pikachu’s. There had been something there. Back then, he hadn’t understood because he was young and full of preteen angst, but now he had a vague idea of what that had been. They had bonded at the lab; Pikachu had probably wanted to go with Blue instead. Sometimes, he wondered how different things would have been if he had been the one with the overpowered Pikachu.
At the very least, Pikachu seemed happy with Red, he noticed when they battled. Then again, Blue doubted any Pokémon could be unhappy under his rival’s training, loathe as he was to admit it.
(He never noticed, back then, the second pair of eyes staring at him insistently, dark with longing.)
This Eevee…its situation was so similar to Pikachu’s back then. Blue couldn’t help it, motivated by both the regret of back then and the potential challenge of raising a difficult Pokémon.
(Thinking about it, a lot of his Pokémon had difficult tempers at first. His Pidgeot had been particularly aggressive, his Alakazam used to straight-up ignore him, his Gyarados, even as a Magikarp, used to randomly slap him with its tail… They had all grown to respect him, but it had been a challenge for sure. Blue was starting to see a pattern there.)
In the end, Blue accepted to take the Eevee in and, a few hours later, the Pokémon had appeared in his box all the way into Kalos. That one neighbor of his, back in Pallet, was right, technology sure was amazing.
As expected, Eevee was a grumpy girl. What was less expected, was just how small she was. Way smaller than the average adult Eevee, but ten times as feisty. Add to that her clear distaste for anything evolution-related, and Blue could guess what had happened. Most likely, Eevee’s trainer, seeing how small she was, thought she was weaker and that she would surely benefit from evolving. Their intentions probably weren’t bad, but Eevee took offense to that anyway and lashed out. Overwhelmed by the aggressive Eevee, the trainer then decided to release her.
With that in mind, he put his plan in motion.
Little by little, Blue managed to win over the distrusting Eevee. It started by letting her roam in his apartment freely, not once forcing her back into the Pokéball, as she didn’t seem too fond of the device (just like a certain Pikachu he knew). Since he was in the best region for this, and had money to spare, he started giving her various poffins, testing out which she preferred (Pecha-flavored were her favorite). She was difficult about where he was allowed to touch her, but she always purred happily when he scratched her chin. She was also very particular about the state of her fur, and he learned how to brush it just the right way.
Before he knew it, he had graduated and Eevee had become a spoiled house pet. Oops.
When Blue returned to Kanto and his gym in Viridian, he started training Eevee along with his main team. Not because he was planning to actually do battle with her, oh no.
She’d just gotten a tad too chubby, and really needed the exercise. (He only had himself to blame for that, he did spoil her rotten.)
She obviously wasn’t a fan of that, at first. But she trained anyway, just a little…
It was then that they both learned that, while she wasn’t a fan of battling, she loved training.
One time, Blue was sorting through the various items he’d accumulated during his travels. He had all his evolution stones aligned in a neat line, and added the mega evolution stones he had obtained in Kalos to the line.
In the corner of his eyes, he saw Eevee, silent, her fur bristling as she glared at the stones.
He scratched her chin just right with a smile.
“It doesn’t matter if you evolve or not,” he told her, “so long as you’re happy with who you are.”
She made no sound, then, but her bright eyes told him his words had reached her.
(A voice, in the back of his mind, told him his words were probably aimed at himself as well)
Eevee almost never battled against other trainers, preferring to nap on Blue’s shoulder instead while his actual team did the battling. When asked about it, Blue just said she was his pet who just so happened to like watching battles on occasion.
Sometimes, though, when he was facing particularly arrogant trainers who thought they were hot shit even though their Pokémon clearly didn’t respect them as trainers, she gracefully jumped down from his shoulders and fought them herself.
Eevee was prideful, just like him. But, just like him, she hated people who jumped past the line of pride and right into total arrogance.
(Blue had been arrogant in the past, after all. Then again, he had also been very insecure. A living contradiction.)
She didn’t like battling, but it didn’t mean she was bad at it. Those trainers were always swiftly humbled by that tiny, overpowered Eevee.
As a gym leader, Blue’s job isn’t to steamroll his opponents like a champion would. His job is to instruct and to test whether his opponents know what they’re doing. He has specific teams based on how many badges his opponent has, has to follow gym regulations (no items except on high-level battles, and even then only one full restore is allowed). He teaches young children how to safely catch their first Pokémon. Teaches specific training techniques to trainers, based on their knowledge. Goes into schools to warn kids about Pokémon-related safety. Add to that all the paperwork, and the rare errand from Gramps, and Blue’s days are quite busy. Still, he likes his job, as tiring as it can be sometimes.
One day, three kids come see him from Johto. Of the three, only the younger two, a boy with an impressive Typhlosion and a girl with a bulky Azumarill, actually want to fight him. The third, a slightly older girl with light blue hair, says she’s only there to supervise her juniors.
Considering how hyper they both are, Blue can certainly understand why.
He beats both kids.
They take it well, defeated but not discouraged, and eat up his advice like holy gospel.
They come back. Multiple times.
At one point, the boy, Ethan, actually manages to beat him. The girl, Lyra, laughs off her defeat.
“You’re pretty strong, huh, mister Blue?” She says with a smile.
“Drop the “mister”, it makes me feel old.” He complains half-heartedly as he gives out the Earth badge to Ethan.
“Compared to us, you’re, like, ancient. Even more ancient than Kris!” Ethan pipes in.
“Hey!”
“Alright, I’m taking back your badge.”
“Wh— hell no! I won it fair and square!”
They share a laugh, and Blue can’t help but think it’s been a long time since he felt such at ease with people.
(He doesn’t think of the last time he genuinely laughed with someone. He doesn’t think of black hair, of deep, oddly expressive eyes. Does not think of silent smiles and signed teasing.)
On his shoulder, Eevee croons.
Lyra keeps training and regularly visiting him at his gym. Sometimes she battles him, sometimes they simply talk. She tells him about how Ethan is actually the freaking champion of the Johto league. A detail they had all failed to mention before. Speaking of, the boy regularly drops by his gym, sometimes for rematches, but mostly just to hang out. Seriously, what’s with these Johto kids and loitering in his gym?
As it turns out, Ethan is looking for more challenges, the over-achieving brat, and Blue is pretty much the strongest trainer he’s ever fought, so he keeps coming back despite already having the badge.
He mentions it to Daisy, who in turn tells their grandfather, who then tells Blue that he can send the kid his way. Something about giving him authorization to train on Mt. Silver. Well, if what he’s heard of the place is true, then Ethan will surely get the challenge he seeks. Let’s just hope the kid doesn’t get hypothermia on the way.
Ethan did find that challenge, and he storms Blue’s gym (again) to enthusiastically tell him all about the guy who absolutely whooped his ass in battle, at the top of the mountain, who he then re-challenged multiple times until, finally, he won.
“Too bad I didn’t get his name. He was really into maintaining that “dark and mysterious” persona of his and didn’t peep a single word. Not even while battling, can you believe this?!”
“Not even when battling? Not a word?” Blue immediately catches on that detail. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Eevee looks up at him quizzically as she feels his hand stop petting her.
“Nope. He kinda just looked at his Pokémon, sometimes he whistled. That’s a super cool technique! I hope he can teach me!” Ethan is ready to go down another battle-focused tangent, but Blue’s mind is elsewhere.
He only knows one person who trains his Pokémon that way.
He extracts more information from Ethan, and prepares himself for the trek up the snowy mountain. When it’s time to leave, he takes his strongest team and clips all six Pokéballs on his belt…and finds himself facing a dilemma.
Eevee is sitting on his supply bag, staring at him insistently.
“No.” He tells her.
She yips. Yes.
“No.” He repeats, then elaborates. “It’s freezing up there, and the wild Pokémon are rumored to be very aggressive.”
She yips again, unyielding. Her big eyes are full of determination and her small body is sitting straight. She’s coming, he has no choice in the matter.
… So he brings her. He hides her in his thick winter coat, so they keep each other warm, “six Pokémon only” law not forgotten, but fully ignored. He’s going on a damn death mountain. There is no police there to arrest him for having too many Pokéballs on his person.
He finds who he expects at the very top of the snowy mountain.
He is much bigger than the last time they had seen each other, much bulkier. His clothes are a mess, clearly too small for his body, with random holes here and there. The tip of his fingers are a worrying red, an indication of possible frostbite. He doesn’t seem prepared for the weather up the mountain. And yet there he is.
He’s alive.
Red is alive.
On Red’s shoulder, Pikachu squeaks in delight. The temperamental mouse had always had a soft spot for Blue, it seems.
(Unbeknownst to him, the same was true for his trainer.)
Against his chest, inside his coat, he feels Eevee snuggle against him, reacting to his erratic heartbeat.
Red refuses to come down unless Blue beats him.
So they battle.
Blue knows if Red has been spending all those years atop that mountain, he and his team must have become incredibly strong. No, more than that. By now, they must have become unbeatable.
But Blue is on a mission.
As they battle, Blue realizes something.
Red’s team is the same as back then, they have simply become much stronger. On the flip side, Blue’s own team has changed to better fit his current occupation as gym leader. There are some familiar faces to Red, but half of his team is different (the others enjoying some well-deserved vacation with Daisy and Gramps), and even his battle style has changed. He has become less reckless, more calculating.
He realizes that, despite everything, he has a chance to beat Red by catching him by surprise. Red doesn’t know his new way of doing things.
So he lets out his Exeggutor against Red’s Blastoise, confident that it can take at least one hit.
“You know the drill, big guy.” Is all he says, and Red has no way to predict what the tall Pokémon does next.
It uses Trick Room.
If he can’t beat Red through sheer power alone, then he’ll at least make sure he can attack first. Considering the odds and stakes of this battle, Blue refuses to play fair.
Red’s eyes widen the slightest bit, and Blue knows he’s caught him off-guard.
Through the confusing haze of the Trick Room, Red’s usually speedy Pokémon are slowed down. This doesn’t make the fight a sudden walk in the park, of course, but it does help even out the odds.
One by one, Red’s Pokémon fall, but so do Blue’s. They’re neck-and-neck, both refusing to back down. Before Exeggutor falls, he makes it set up one last Trick Room.
Finally, they’re both down to one Pokémon each. Pikachu joins the fray, and as he reaches for the last Pokéball on his belt, Blue freezes. He sighs, gives up on the last Pokéball…and starts zipping down his winter coat.
Red’s utter confusion at the sudden undressing is pretty hilarious, and gets even funnier once he sees a small Eevee jump out of Blue’s coat and onto the battlefield. Tiny, yet ready to fight the world if necessary. She and Pikachu stare each other down. Red and Blue do the same.
Both small, yet powerful, unevolved Pokémon jump towards each other. The last round has started, the one that will determine the outcome of the entire battle.
Exeggutor’s last Trick Room is still in effect. Eevee attacks first. Sand Attack.
Blue hadn’t been playing fair, and he still isn’t planning to. They had agreed beforehand that their only limitation during this fight was that they couldn’t use items. Now, Red’s overconfidence will be his downfall, as Blue uses every dirty trick in the book.
Blue knows this particular Pikachu very well, and he knows that he is speedy and hits hard. So, his best strategy is to make sure attacks don’t land in the first place.
Of course, while Eevee is not typically a battle Pokémon, she still underwent training, and knows a bunch of useful moves.
Notably, she knows Dig.
A ground-type attacking move.
As the cloud of snow settles around their improvised battlefield, the results aren’t immediately clear.
Both Pikachu and Eevee are struggling to stand, exhausted, and, finally…
Pikachu flops down in the snow, too tired to continue.
Both trainers are silent for a few seconds, then…
“Holy shit! You did it!” A huge smile breaks on his face as he swoops down to take Eevee in his arms and give her a big smooch on the forehead. “We did it, princess! We really did it!”
As a gleeful laugh escapes Blue’s mouth, Red gently takes the exhausted Pikachu in his arms and looks in his rival’s direction.
Blue’s smile is absolutely stunning. So much so that he almost forgets he just lost.
Almost.
Red’s pride will take a while to recover, but, he thinks, seeing Blue’s cheeks flushed with happiness and hearing the joy in his voice is worth it.
He’s so enamored that he doesn’t immediately notice Blue approaching until he’s in his personal space, a nostalgia-inducing cocky grin adorning his face. Pikachu has climbed back on Red’s shoulder, tired but seemingly satisfied with the workout.
“You’re coming down, Red.”
Red doesn’t really want to, but a promise is a promise. Although…
“Trick Room and Sand Attack. That was low.” He signs, the tiniest bit put-out.
“I simply made use of all my assets to ensure my victory.” Blue singsongs, still giddy about his victory. He tilts his head ever so slightly to look at Pikachu. “Though you used yours as well.”
Blue steps in closer and leaves a small kiss atop Pikachu’s head. Pikachu makes a delighted little squeak, while Blue’s Eevee, still in her trainer’s arms, yips in jealousy at seeing him give affection to any other Pokémon.
(Where did he find her, anyway? She’s such a powerhouse for such a tiny, slightly chubby Pokémon.)
Red’s heart starts beating erratically, flustered by the close proximity, something that Pikachu definitely notices, if his suddenly smug look is anything to go by.
Red is not jealous of the two small Pokémon for getting kisses from Blue. Nope.
He isn’t.
…
Okay, he is.
Red pulls Blue’s face towards his own, and brings their lips together.
Eevee throws a jealous fit.