"Come, come, everyone, let me introduce you to someone. This is Sieg, he's from…"
Matthew trailed off just as he was about to finish, then turned his head to glance at Sieg.
Sieg quietly thought to himself, Trying to dig into my background again, huh?
Very well then, let them think what they want.
"I come from a small island on the sea, and I'm currently traveling through the Hoenn region, challenging gyms and aiming for the League tournament."
Sieg gave a faint smile as he addressed the group.
Besides Matthew, there were also a pair of twins and the girl who had earlier admired his Eevee with such affection.
They stood in a small circle, and judging by their well-tailored clothes and the quality of their Pokémon, Sieg could tell they were all affiliated with the League. Most likely, they came from upper-middle-class families and had resources to back their journeys.
Faced with someone like Sieg, who was also a League-affiliated Trainer, they naturally viewed him as one of their own, different from the ordinary Trainers they tended to look down on. And so, they were more than willing to accept him into their group.
"Sieg, you're really lucky you ran into us. If you had been fooled by some lowly commoner, that would've been a disaster," one of them said casually.
Their conversation made no attempt to hide their disdain for ordinary Trainers. Sieg, however, didn't respond. He simply listened in silence.
Still, they clearly found him quite interesting, especially after Sieg had mentioned that his Eevee came from a gym.
"Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg, seems to think quite highly of me. He signed an investment agreement with me, and little Eevee was one of the key Pokémon involved in that deal," Sieg said calmly, noting that each of them also had an Eevee following behind. He no longer saw any need to hold back.
Leverage, this was something Sieg had always excelled at.
Instantly, the others looked at him with envy, especially Matthew.
He finally understood why Sieg's Eevee seemed so well-bred. It was a matter of genetic advantage.
Anything from a gym was bound to be top-quality.
One of the twin brothers asked, "So Sieg, did you come here to evolve your Eevee into a Leafeon?"
Sieg shook his head.
"Not quite. I was just curious about this Moss Rock and wanted to take a look. Little Eevee only hatched recently. It's not ready to evolve yet."
"Eevee, ee~"
Little Eevee peeked out from behind Sieg, timidly eyeing the larger Eevee companions nearby.
After some casual conversation, Sieg learned that they had all come here with the same goal: to evolve their Eevee. They had decided to camp here and train, waiting for the right moment.
"I see. So when raising Eevee, using fresh wind grass combined with spring water to clean its fur can help it relax and smooth its coat…"
"And Honeyfruit can actually enhance Eevee's intelligence, giving great results…"
Once they confirmed that Sieg was also a League-affiliated Trainer, any lingering distance they felt vanished. They fully accepted him into their circle.
The five Trainers sat together and discussed their respective Eevee training methods. Each had their own unique insights.
Sieg listened carefully. He genuinely gained a lot from the exchange. After all, every Trainer had a different perspective. There was no such thing as a perfect method, only the most suitable one.
Each Pokémon was an individual, and there could never be a one-size-fits-all training approach.
To train a Pokémon properly, one had to consider its unique traits. Blindly copying others or sticking rigidly to tradition would never yield the best results.
Before they parted ways, the five of them exchanged summaries of their experiences with Eevee training, then returned to their own tents.
Night fell. Lying inside his tent, Sieg reflected on the discussions from earlier.
"So, the rain is expected in a few days. Once it passes, a large number of Shroomish will appear. That's what they're really waiting for, isn't it?"
Sieg gave it a moment's thought. He was in no rush to reach Rustboro City anyway, so he might as well stay here for a few days and wait for the rain to pass.
He slipped into his sleeping bag, ready to get some rest.
Only to find that little Eevee wanted to snuggle in too.
"Eevee, ee~"
The little Pokémon burrowed into the sleeping bag, its fluffy tail wagging gently above the surface, its body trembling slightly.
Sieg's large hand gently stroked its soft fur, finally calming it down.
"So, you're still afraid of the dark, huh?"
Sieg smiled softly as he continued to comfort it.
Since there were dozens of tents nearby, the group had already agreed on rotating night watches, so Sieg could sleep soundly without worry.
The next morning, Sieg slowly woke to the sound of clattering and clanging from outside.
"Ah, they're making breakfast."
He pulled out a bottle of nutrient solution and a bag of cream bread, casually beginning his meal. When it came to food, Sieg had never been picky. As long as it filled his stomach, it was fine.
After preparing food and Pokéblocks for his Pokémon, Sieg began to pack up his tent.
"Taillow, use Aerial Ace!"
"Shroomish…"
"Get up! Show some backbone!"
Some Trainers were already doing morning training, and their Pokémon battles quickly drew the attention of most people around the camp.
Sieg strolled through the campsite with little Eevee in his arms.
"Eevee, ee~"
Still half-asleep, Eevee looked drowsy, snuggling lazily in its Trainer's embrace.
A familiar figure approached. It was the scholarly man with the glasses from yesterday's conversation, Matthew.
As he came closer, he proposed, "Sieg, are you interested in a mirror match between our Eevee?"
Sieg's eyes flickered slightly as he looked down at the Eevee in his arms.
"Gladly."
He agreed without hesitation. It was a good opportunity to train Eevee's mentality. After all, it would have to fight in the future.
It couldn't just remain a pampered pet forever.
"Eevee, ee~"
Though Eevee didn't seem particularly eager to fight, it wasn't resistant either. There was no fear in its eyes.
Maybe it was because it had followed Sieg on the road and seen battles already?
A mirror match between two Eevees was bound to be eye-catching. As one of the most popular Pokémon, seeing them fight, especially in a mirrored showdown, attracted quite a crowd early in the morning.
"Eevee, do your best, okay? This is your first real battle," Sieg said softly, stroking its fur with gentle encouragement.
"Eevee, ee!"
With a flash of determination in its eyes, little Eevee leapt confidently onto the battlefield.
The two Eevee faced each other from a short distance, staring each other down.
Sieg's Eevee was noticeably smaller in size compared to its opponent.
"Tackle!"
Both Trainers shouted the same command simultaneously.
Eevee's move pool was limited at this early stage, so there were only a few basic attacks available. Despite the high interest, this match was more of a friendly scuffle between kids than a serious battle.
When the two Pokémon collided, Sieg's Eevee was clearly at a disadvantage due to its smaller size and lesser strength. It was knocked back immediately, its once-fluffy fur now stained with dust, which made the cleanliness-loving Eevee visibly irritated.
"Swift, now!" Sieg called out sharply.
Eevee jumped up, its tail sweeping behind it as a flurry of glowing stars shot out, dazzling and bright, soaring toward its opponent.
With the Adaptability ability paired with a same-type move bonus, the attack packed quite a punch.
"Block it with Sand Attack," Matthew said calmly, pushing up his glasses.
Though the power of the Pokémon in this battle was nothing impressive, the sight of two beloved Eevee hopping and darting around made for quite the entertaining spectacle.
"Well done, let's call it a day here," Sieg said, just as Matthew nodded in agreement.
After all, it was just a friendly match. There was no need to go all out or aim for winning and losing.
Just as the surrounding spectators were about to disperse, Matthew's Eevee suddenly burst into a brilliant light.
The radiant glow connected with the giant Moss Rock near the campsite.
As the light faded, a beautiful Pokémon with a fresh, leafy fragrance appeared in its place.
Leafeon!