Kirlia nodded and began performing each move as Alex instructed. Meanwhile, he recorded the session on his phone to catalog her move list.
Name: Kirlia, Expert
Type: Psychic Fairy, Female
Ability: Telepathy
Moves:
Basic: Confuse Ray(Egg Move), Disable(Egg Move), Mean Look(Egg Move), Growl, Disarming Voice, Double Team, Confusion, Teleport, Psybeam, Life Dew, Charm, Calm Mind, Future Sight
Advanced: Shadow Sneak(Priority +1), Hypnosis(Effect Up +1), Draining Kiss(+50% Damage), Psychic(+50% Damage), Heal Pulse(Effect Up +1), Dream Eater(+50% Damage)
Description: Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon. It uses the horns on its head to sense emotions. When it's happy, it dances gracefully, radiating psychic power influenced by positive feelings.
There was no doubt Kirlia was a top-of-the-line Ralts, the product of elite breeding. One of her parents was likely from the Duskull line, given she had all four of their egg moves.
"You've trained well," Alex commented after seeing her Advanced moves.
"I've survived," she corrected through their link.
She was only a few years away from mastering all her moves at the Advanced level, even after Alex supplemented her with TMs.
As a Gardevoir, she was naturally suited for Special Attack and Speed, so Alex chose to lean into those strengths. If she ever got caught in close range, she'd still be able to slip away with Shadow Sneak.
"I think you know how your training will go with me as your trainer."
"Yes. Move proficiency and gaming with Metagross."
By gaming, she meant devising combat strategies and tactics with Metagross.
Alex may have been the genius who used Metagross effectively, but Metagross was the true genius, effortlessly coordinating Alex's Pokémon even when Alex gave only vague commands like "retreat," which actually meant having the slowest Pokémon withdraw first or be carried while the fastest used delaying tactics to cover their escape.
"Excellent. Metagross, I'll leave her in your capable hands."
Metagross groaned in protest, clearly not thrilled until Alex hit his weak spot.
"You don't want to train a new gaming buddy? Afraid she'll beat you and take your place under Rotom?"
"Metagross! (Bring it on!)" he snapped.
"I'll leave you to it, then."
The next day, Alex dutifully fulfilled his Pokemon's request.
First, he had them dig and reinforce a canal wide enough for Gyarados to pass through comfortably, stretching from the small lake at the center of the orchard all the way to the training grounds passing by the front of the mansion. He also hired a construction crew to build several bridges at key points along the canal.
Next, he added a training schedule for all his Pokemon except the Combee. They preferred harvesting honey, so they were left out of the regimen. It was fine since they often had to fight off the local Pokemon in the forest.
The girls' Pokémon were included as well: Nyx's Rotom, Kaia's Skiddo, Vera's Audino, Lina's Miltank, Mira's Dolliv, and Rhea's Tinkaton (Elite).
He also made sure the Eevee egg was being properly cared for in the nursery the girls had prepared. It had only recently been laid, so hatching would still take about a month, especially since Alex didn't know of any item he could grind into powder to accelerate the process. There wasn't an evolution stone for Normal-type Pokémon, after all.
Finally, he took Kirlia out to hunt in nearby nests so she could evolve into Gardevoir much to her delight.
After several angry nests, she reached her final form.
'Now, if only I could get my hands on a Gardevoirite,' Alex thought.
Unfortunately, neither he nor the majority of Elite trainers were capable of acquiring one.
Following up on the pedophile's hard drives, Nyx reported finding nothing they could use to incriminate anyone else. Alex concluded that he had likely missed the real evidence and regretted not putting more effort into searching the place for hidden devices.
A month later, news surfaced on the darknet about a list of pedophiles being identified with evidence and subsequently arrested. The source was likely the missing files.
Unfortunately, Alex had been slow to act. The easy targets had already been taken down by the police and other bounty hunters. The ones that remained were untouchable because they were either powerful politicians, underworld criminals, or Elites with backing.
Fortunately, the new month brought good news as Eevee hatched from her egg.
Alex made sure to be the only one there for the hatching.
"Vee?"
"Hello, little one. I'm Alex, your trainer," he said gently.
"Vee!" she exclaimed before jumping on Alex and running all over him.
She was small and acrobatic for a newly hatched Pokémon, but it didn't take her long to tire out. She settled into Alex's arms, breathing deeply from the exertion.
"Can we see her now?" Vera demanded from outside.
"Come in."
The door to the nursery burst open with Vera in the lead, followed by Lina and Mira, who were just as excited to see the new addition.
"She's so adorable." "Hi~" "Hello, little cutie."
Rather than shy away, Eevee loved the attention, making sure to grace each and every one of them with a tail flick as if giving a blessing.
"She's quite the little diva," Mira noted. "She isn't shy either."
"What evolution do you think she'll pick?" Lina asked.
"Flareon," Vera said. "She looks like the passionate type."
"My money's on Sylveon," Mira chimed in. "She's playing Alex like a fiddle."
"Whatever she wants. Once she's strong enough," Alex said firmly. "For now, she needs to eat and rest."
"Here, special Pokéblocks for newly hatched Normal types," Vera offered.
Alex took the Pokéblocks and fed them to Eevee, who accepted them gracefully but refused to leave his arms, even as Vera tried to tempt her away.
"She's definitely Daddy's little girl," Vera commented.
"She's young. She'll make plenty of friends on the farm." At least, that's what Alex hoped.
Eevee took a quick nap after her meal, then panicked and started crying when she woke up and didn't see Alex.
The moment he reached her, she calmed down and nuzzled into him.
From that day on, she refused to leave his side. Even at night, she would sleep in his bed, much to the frustration of Nyx and Rhea.
The only time Alex got any time to himself was when Eevee was asleep.
"This doesn't seem healthy," Rhea said, frowning. "It's like taking care of a child, but it's a Pokémon. What are we going to do about that? It's clearly cuter than us. Alex isn't 'into' Pokémon, is he?"
"No," Nyx replied without hesitation. "Otherwise, we would've already known. He's had plenty of chances with that new Gardevoir."
Alex meanwhile had Eevee demonstrate her moves while he recorded with his phone.
Name: Eevee, Novice
Type: Normal, Female
Ability: Anticipation
Moves:
Novice: Covet, Helping Hand, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack
Description: Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Known for its unstable genetic makeup, Eevee has the unique ability to evolve into multiple forms. Curious and adaptable, it quickly bonds with those it trusts. Its potential lies not in power alone, but in the many paths it can take.
'Female and Anticipation. Did Mom's Espeon have Magic Bounce?' Alex wondered.
Female Eevees were rare, only about 12.5% of the population. Anticipation, meanwhile, was a hidden ability, which meant she inherited it from either Arcanine or Espeon.
'Doesn't matter. She was a gift, like Growlithe. She doesn't have to fill a role. She can be any Pokémon she wants,' Alex ultimately decided.
Even so, he hoped she wouldn't get a weather-dependent ability. Those became ineffective whenever Altaria was on the field, and he preferred to keep his battlefield as neutral as possible to minimize variables.
Imagine a Chlorophyll team running into Altaria and watching their setup collapse.
Still, Alex thought about it and narrowed her possible evolutions down to three, based on her personality and ability: Flareon with Guts, Espeon with Magic Bounce, and Sylveon with Pixilate. The others were either too reliant on weather or did not match her personality.
In any case, Alex fulfilled his responsibility. He prepared an energy crystal for each type an Eevee could evolve into, complete with pictures of the resulting forms and descriptions of their abilities.
Eevee, however, paid little attention. She was too busy playing with the Heal Pulse bullet Alex had given her.
'Like mother, like daughter?' Alex mused.
Sure enough, just under a month later, she evolved while sunbathing on the balcony with Alex, completely at ease. She did not even notice until Alex congratulated her.
Once she realized, she pranced around for a bit, testing her new form before returning to her spot beside him, already bored with the change.
"You know," Alex said, glancing at her, "now that you've evolved, you can start training seriously. How about joining Gardevoir?"
Espeon looked up at him, genuinely considering it. On one hand, training with Gardevoir meant being away from Alex, even if just for a while. On the other, it also meant becoming strong enough to stay by his side in the future, especially when he went out to hunt.
After a long pause, she gave a small nod and trotted off toward Gardevoir, much to Alex's relief. He would have had a hard time explaining the special treatment if she decided to slack off.
In the end, he placed her under Gardevoir's guidance, whose psychic abilities even surpassed Metagross.
With all his Pokémon finally taking their training seriously, Alex focused on his own grind.
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