When the newly hatched Eevees had their fill of milk, they snuggled into Naoki's arms, their tiny bodies warm and soft. One by ohey began to drift off to sleep. Their soft paressed gently against Naoki's legs, and soon a few of them were in a deep slumber.

  The remaining Eevees, though equally tired, leaned against their siblings, nodding off itently. They blinked sleepily, their little heads bobbing with drowsiness. Watg them, Naoki felt his heart swell with tenderness.

  He gently scratched the s of the drowsy Eevees and whispered softly, "Go to sleep."

  In real life, Pokémon hatg was vastly different from the instantaneous readiness seen in games. Newly hatched Pokémon couldn't battle right away. These Eevees were tiny, delicate, and utterly depe, resembling infants.

  Acc to the Pokémon care books Naoki had read, newly hatched Pokémon required ample rest and nutrition. Thankfully, Pokémon developed quickly, with their rval phase sting only about a week before they reached their normal size and strength.

  Ohe Eevees had fallen asleep, Naoki carefully lihem up on a soft b. He began examining their tails to determiheir genders.

  "Male, male, male, female, male, female, female..." Naoki murmured, ting. "Four males and three females! Female Eevees are so rare!"

  sidering the typical male-to-female ratio of Eevees was 7:1, having three female Eevees in a single clutch was extraordinary. Naoki smiled, marveling at his good fortune.

  He turo G and Umbreon, who had been watg over the eggs. "You two will be the leaders of this group of Eevees from now on!" he decred.

  "Bui?!" G blinked in surprise, while Umbreon tilted its head in fusion. The two older Pokémon exged unsure gheir expressions showing their apprehension.

  "You'll get the hang of it," Naoki reassured them. He was about to add something when he suddenly froze. A realization struck him like lightning.

  'Oh no! I asked Indeedee to help with the eggs! Who's watg the chi soup downstairs?'

  Naoki bolted dowairs and into the kit. There, he found Flutter Mane fpping its wing-like appendages frantically, trying to mahe stove.

  Naoki facepalmed.

  "My goodness, sister Indeedee left the soup in the care of someone who clearly has no idea what they're doing!"

  Thankfully, the soup was not ruined. Naoki quickly took over, redug the heat and simmering the soup properly. Flutter Mane sighed in relief, happy to relinquish the task.

  By evening, the Eevees stirred awake. Naoki and the Indeedee siblings fed them another round of milk, ensuring they were well-nourished.

  The curious little Eevees, their bellies full, began expl their surroundings. They sat in a row on the wooden floor, their rge, bright eyes fixed on Naoki, the Indeedee siblings, and Pawmot.

  Naoki crouched to their level, pointing to himself. "I'm Naoki," he introduced warmly.

  "Bui?" the Eevees chorused, tilting their heads in unison.

  Naoki gestured to the Indeedee siblings. "This is the younger Indeedee, and this is the elder Indeedee."

  The younger Indeedee waved enthusiastically. "Aiyee-eee!"

  The elder Indeedee gave a calm, polite nod. "Aiee."

  The Eevees blinked in woheir tails wagging as they chirped, "Eevee!"

  Before Naoki could tinue, Pawmot, Alcremie, and G enthusiastically introduced themselves. The room became a flurry of cheerful voices and names as eaon eagerly tried to befriend the Eevees.

  However, the overwhelming number of introdus left the baby Eevees thhly fused. They tilted their heads, their expressions bewildered. Before long, one or two of them began to whimper softly, calling out, "Buee! Buee!" as they scurried away from the group.

  The chaos quickly spread as the other Eevees followed suit. One darted uhe bed, two squeezed themselves under a et, and the rest scattered through the room and into the hallway.

  Naoki's heart jumped in arm. The corridor ected to the staircase, and he feared an Eevee might actally fall. "Quick!" he called to the Indeedee siblings. "Catch them!"

  The psychic-type siblings exged a knowing gnce. A faint blue light glowed in their eyes as they used telekinesis to gently retrieve the fleeing Eevees, floating them bato the soft b.

  The baby Eevees blinked in fusion, unsure how they had been caught so effortlessly.

  Naoki pced them ba their makeshift , but he realized they had too muergy to settle down. "They've been asleep all afternoon," he muttered. "No wohey're so lively now."

  Deg it was better to let them burn off some energy, Naoki carried the Eevees downstairs and pced them on the sofa. "Go ahead and py here," he said with a smile.

  "Bu-yi!" The Eevees chirped happily. The moment, they cmbered up onto Naoki's shoulders and even onto his head, their tiny paws pyfully batting at his hair.

  Naoki observed the tiny Eevees as they led close to him, seemingly forted by his presence.

  Taking advantage of the calm moment, Naoki brought out some toys to py with them. For a while, the room was filled with happy squeaks and pyful energy. But as the cloeared eight or nine in the evening, the little Eevees began to tire. Their py slowed, their eyelids drooped, and soft yawns punctuated the quiet air.

  Feeling a bit drowsy himself, Naoki decided it was time to rest. "Let's sleep here tonight," he said, leading the Eevees to his bed.

  However, as the Eevees climbed onto the bed, their attention was drawn to Koraidoing nearby. Their tiny bodies stiffened, and they trembled with visible fear.

  Koraidon eechless. "Raaao?"

  Naoki chuckled softly. "It's Koraidon, your panion. There's o be scared."

  Pawmot chimed ihusiastically, "Pawmot, Pawmot!"

  Despite the reassurahe Eevees remained wary, slowly bag into the safety of Naoki's quilt.

  Naoki watched them with amusement. "Ah, the universal belief—beds keep out all evil. It looks like Pokémon know this too," he teased gently. Turning to the nervous Eevees, he added softly, "It's okay, you're safe. Let's sleep."

  Cuddling into the warmth of the b and Naoki's f presehe Eevees soon drifted off to sleep. Naoki smiled as he watched their tiny forms rise and fall with each breath.

  "They're so small, so soft," Naoki thought fondly. "Pokémoruly at their cutest when they're little."

  ...

  The days passed quickly, and the Eevees began to grow. Their fur thied, their movements became more coordinated, and they developed a lively curiosity about their surroundings.

  During this time, the ranch celebrated Cyclizar's birthday. Naoki anized a party, allowing all the Pokémon to join in the festivities. Cyclizar even got to enjoy a special cake to increase its stats—a rare treat.

  The day after Cyclizar's birthday, the Eevees fully transitioned from their newborn stage, being standard-sized Eevee. While trainers might typically begin training at this stage, Naoki believed it was still too early. They were only seven days old, after all.

  The young Eevees, now more eid curious, began expl every nook and y of the house. Naoki often found them in the most ued pces—uhe sofa, inside cupboards, behind the television, or even in the heati used by Slugma. On one memorable occasion, a startled Naoki entered an Eevee popping out of the bathtub.

  Naoki groaned, running a hand through his hair. "If this keeps up, it'll be chaos," he muttered. He resolved to let the Eevees explore the pasture soon, where they could roam freely and safely under supervision.

  However, until the outdoor space was ready, the Eevees tiheir indoor adventures.

  One bright m, Naoki noticed that the food supplies at the ranch were running low. He decided to head into town to restock.

  In the living room, two of the calmer female Eevees were napping tentedly on the sofa.

  Around the sofa, two Eevees darted bad forth, pying aic game of chase.

  G and Umbreon, sitting calmly nearby, watched the lively little ones with expressions of quiet resignation. They exged a knowing gnce, as if sharing an unspokeiment about the exuberance of youth.

  "Bu-yi..." Umbreon sighed, its tone carrying a maturity that belied its small frame.

  It couldn't help but think back to its own childhood, vihat it had never been this mischievous or proo diving into dusty ers just for the thrill of exploration.

  Elsewhere in the house, three of the most adventurous male Eevees had formed a makeshift "exploration team" and were rummaging through Naoki's "treasure room." This was the room where Naoki stored items like rare storis sent by friends, and other miseous treasures.

  The trio eagerly buried their heads into boxes and piles of items, searg for anything that caught their i.

  Before long, one of the Eevees let out aed squeak, "Bu-yi!" Its cry immediately drew the attention of the other two, who scrambled over to see what it had found. The curious trio peered into a box, their wide eyes fixed on a small colle htly colored stones.

  One particurly curious Eevee reached down with its paw to grab something shiny but lost its footing and tumbled headfirst into the box.

  "Bu-yi!" it yelped, startled by its fall.

  In its scramble, its paw brushed against an e-yellow stone. Suddenly, a dazzling light engulfed the Eevee, and the energy withione flowed into its body.

  The other two Eevees froze in surprise, their mouths open in silent awe as they watched their panion transform. When the light faded, the Eevee was gone. In its pce stood a Pokémon with fiery red fur and a rge, bushy tail—Freon.

  "Bu-yi!"

  The two remaining Eevees squeaked in arm at the sudden ge. Freon, now standing fidently outside the box, turo look at them, its expression mirr their fusion.

  Freon stared down at itself in disbelief, examining its new form. It moved its paws, shook its fluffy tail, and finally opes mouth to let out an incredulous cry: "Bu… Bu-yi?!"

  One of the Eevees cautiously approached, reag out with a small paw to poke at the tuft of creamy yellow fur on Freon's forehead. Freon blinked, feeling a strange sense of uandile within it. The energy from the stone had not only transformed its body but also unlocked new geiowledge.

  'Oh! That's it!' Freon thought. 'I've evolved—and now I use fire moves!'

  Excited by the realization, Freo out aed cry. "Buee!"

  The other two Eevees tilted their heads in fusion. They looked from Freon to the box and back again.

  "Buey?" one of them asked hesitantly, as if seeking firmation.

  "Buee!" Freon nodded enthusiastically. It gestured at the stones in the box, indig that the mysterious transformation had been caused by the e-yellow stone.

  Intrigued and eager to experiehe same ge, the two remaining Eevees scrambled into the box. Each selected a stohat seemed to resoh them—one blue and shimmering, the other yellow and crag faintly with energy.

  As soon as their paws touched the stohe room lit up again. Brilliant beams of light enveloped both Eevees, their small forms abs the stones' energies. Their bodies began to ge, growing sleek and streamlined.

  When the light faded, Freon stood face-to-face with its two transformed panions. One had bee a Jolteon, its yellow fur spiky and bristling with electricity. The other had evolved into a Vaporeon, its smooth blue skin adorned with fins and a crest.

  "Bu-yi!" Freon excimed, staring i its brothers.

  Jolteon and Vaporeon exged curious gnces before looking at Freon. They seemed just as surprised by their transformations.

  "Boo-ee-boo!"

  The newly evolved Freon, Jolteon, and Vaporeohrilled with their transformations. Brimming with excitement, they bolted out of the room, eager to show Naoki their new forms.

  When Naoki returo the ranch, his arms full of grocery bags, he immediately noticed something unusual. The living room, which should have been full of pyful Eevees, now had three unfamiliar Pokémon: Freon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon.

  Naoki's eyes widened in fusion. "What... happened here?"

  The trio of evolved Pokémon rushed over, tails wagging and eyes sparkling as they excitedly reted their adventure.

  "Buee Buee!" (We went on an incredible adventure and found magical stohose stones made us stronger and turned us into these forms!)

  Naoki tilted his head, perplexed. Thankfully, Calyrex was nearby, watg TV, and promptly traheir words via telepathy.

  Upon uanding their story, Naoki groaned, ping the bridge of his nose. "An adventure? You mean rummaging through the ste room?"

  He looked at the three mischievous Pokémon with exasperation aly flicked their foreheads with his fingers. "You little troublemakers!"

  The three brothers, however, immediately put on sad, guilty faces.

  "Bu-yi..." (It's because you never let us go outside to py. We didn't mean any harm...)

  Naoki froze, their words hitting him like a bolt of lightning. He bit back the scolding he'd been about to give. They weren't wrong. He'd kept them indoors out of fear they might wander off a lost outside the ranch.

  After a moment of silent refle, Naoki let out a long sigh. "Okay, fine. From now on, you go outside to py—but only within the fenced area of the ranch."

  "Buyi?!" The Eevees' eyes lit up with joy.

  Naoki nodded firmly. "But listen carefully! You must never leave the fenced area. If you wander off, you might enter danger and won't be able to return home. Promise me you'll stay safe."

  The Eevees exged nervous gnces but quickly nodded. "Bu Yi!" (We promise!)

  With a smile, Naoki opehe door, and the group of Eevees poured out into the open fields, G and Umbreon leading the way to keep an eye on them.

  Freon and Jolteon immediately began rag each other across the grass, their new forms filling them with boundless energy. Vaporeon, driven by instinct, sprioward the ranch's tral ke and dove into the water, creating pyful ripples on the surface.

  The remaining Eevees scattered throughout the ranch, expl their surroundings with wide-eyed wowo found themselves drawn to the flower fields, where bee buzzed busily among the blooms. Another pair wandered into the vegetable patch, their witg curiously as they ran along the rows of crops.

  Two others made their way to a shady fruit tree, where they flopped onto the soft grass and basked in the cool autumn breeze.

  Naoki stood at the door, watg the se unfold with a sense of relief. "Hah," he sighed tentedly. "They'll be happier this way."

  He mentally took stock of the Eevee evolutions he now had. Water, Fire, Electric, Ice, and Moon were already ated for. That left Grass, Psychid Fairy forms to plete the lineup.

  "Leafeon should be simple," he mused aloud. "Just a Leaf Stone or a spot with strong grass energy, like near a Mossy Rock, will do the trick."

  But when it came to Espeon and Sylveon, things weren't as straightforward.

  "Espeon will need a high bond with me and must evolve during the day uhe sun," Naoki noted. "Sylveon... it'll o learn a Fairy-type move and also develop a strong bond."