A/N: This is a story I've been planning out for a while. As it's somewhat slice-of-life, it might seem a little slow at first, but it has an overarching plot that builds up over time. So if you enjoy character interactions, humor, mystery, and a good battle every now and then, well I hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: The Girl and the Eevee

Ice cold rain spouted down from the dark, overcast sky, droplets falling into large puddles littering the muddy forest path below. The heavy rain pelted down on the trees and the lone figure hurrying between them, who went splashing through the puddles, too rushed to care about how soaked her legs were getting, her eyes filled with fear and desperation, her throat dry from her heavy breathing.

"Ohh," she muttered breathlessly, peering down at the damp, brown ball of fur cradled in her arms. A feeble, pained whimper sounded from it, nearly breaking her heart. "Hang on, Eevee…"

The girl caught sight of the hazy profile of a city up ahead on the horizon, looming larger and larger by the second the closer she got. She just couldn't move quickly enough; she needed a Pokémon Center, and fast. Poison drained away at her Eevee's health, and the poor pup had developed a severe fever during their journey. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, resenting herself for getting them into this mess. But she didn't have long to dwell on her guilt. The sound of her shoes slapping against pavement brought her back to the present; the soft ground had become solid road. She had no idea what city she was in, but it didn't matter. Every city had a Pokémon Center. She just had to find out where. She looked around for someone to ask for directions, but the streets were bare; everyone was inside, safe and warm and out of the storm. She had almost given up hope when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye—there was somebody exiting a store up ahead.

"Excuse me!" the girl called out as she ran towards them. She cut through a small park to save time, thinking maybe things were starting to look up. But before she knew it, her foot snagged on a root sticking out from the ground, and she found herself falling forward, her Eevee flying out of her arms. She landed on the ground with a thud, and Eevee landed just out of arm's reach. The figure from the store had noticed, and rushed over to her with his umbrella.

"Are you ok?" he asked, worried. She nodded, pushing herself into a sitting position.

"I'm fine, but my Eevee…" She winced as she tried to move over to it; she had bruised her left arm and ankle, as well as scraped her right knee on the fall. The boy looked over at the Eevee, surprise flashing across his face for a brief moment; he'd never seen an Eevee in real life before. He bent down and scooped it into his arms as the girl tried her best to explain what happened. "S-she was poisoned in a battle and got a fever. And the rain is only making it worse, a-and her Poké Ball isn't working. I was trying to find the Pokémon Center…" The boy nodded in understanding, pulling out a Poké Ball of his own. In a flash of bright red light, he released a Pokémon the girl had never seen before—a strange green monkey with a bush on its head.

"Here, Pansage. Take this." He gently placed the Eevee in its arms. "Bring it to the Center—quickly, but carefully. Nurse Joy will know what to do." The monkey gave a quick nod and ran off.

The boy turned his attention back to the girl. She'd been attempting to brush the dirt off her clothes, though without much success. "You can't quite walk, can you?" he asked. She looked up at him pitifully, shaking her head. He reached a hand out to her and helped her onto her feet. "Hold on to me, ok? I'll help you to the Center." She did as she was told, clinging onto his shoulders for support so she wouldn't put pressure on her left ankle.

"Is this ok?" she asked, noticing him struggling to hold her steady along with his umbrella and grocery bags. He nodded, almost losing hold of the umbrella handle. "Are you sure?"

"I can handle it. Don't worry." Hoisting his bags, he began to lead her forward. The trip was mostly a silent one; the girl was too busy worrying about her Eevee (and her own bruises) to want to talk. And even if she did want to, she wouldn't know what to say. The day had turned out far worse than she had expected.

Nurse Joy was waiting for them once they reached the center. Hastening them inside, she took the girl by the arm and guided her into the infirmary in the back, leaving the boy alone in the lobby. Feeling somewhat relieved, he turned to his Pansage, who was sitting up on the counter of the front desk.

"Thanks," he said, patting it on the head. "You were a great help." The Pokémon grinned as if to say it was no problem. He called it back into the Poké Ball and put it away again. The boy let out a sigh, crossing his arms behind his head as he often did, and made his way to the waiting area. It was all he could do now, sit and wait.

Twenty minutes later, Nurse Joy emerged from the infirmary.

"How is she?" the boy asked, quickly standing up.

"She took quite a fall," the nurse answered. "It was nothing serious enough to need crutches, but she'll need to stay here for the night." Seeing the expression on the boy's face, she added, "But don't worry; your friend will be just fine."

"Um, actually…" He smiled sheepishly. "We, uh, just met."

She nodded in understanding. "I see. But you will come back tomorrow morning, won't you?" asked Nurse Joy. "I'd like to have someone to release her to."

"Oh—um, yes, of course." She smiled in gratitude at his affirmation, and with that, he bade the nurse good night and proceeded on his way home.

The boy pushed his way through the front door, setting his bags down in the entryway and his umbrella up to dry against the wall. Leaning back against the door, he put a hand to his head and let out a sigh.

"Well there you are, Cilan!"

Cilan looked up to see his flame-headed brother striding towards him. He grinned nervously. "Hi, Chili. I'm, er, back."

"It certainly took you long enough," another voice spoke, its owner directing his cool gaze upon his triplet. He tilted his head, his blue hair surrounding it in waves. "You had us worried. I was beginning to regret sending you out in that storm."

"Oh, it really wasn't that bad," chuckled Cilan. "I'm fine." He pulled down his hood and ran a hand over the grass-like tufts of his green hair, hanging up his coat as Chili retrieved the grocery bags.

"Good thing we didn't have him get ice cream," he told Cress, peering into the paper bags. To Cilan he added, "You are now the slowest brother of all of us." Cilan strained an ashamed smile as he followed his brothers into the kitchen.

"What took you so long?" Cress asked him. "And why are the bottoms of these bags damp?"

"I had to set them down…"

"Why?" Chili asked, looking at Cilan like he was some sort of idiot. "It's raining." Cilan sighed, and proceeded to recount to his brothers his strange encounter with the girl and her Eevee.

"An Eevee?" Chili repeated in disbelief. "Those aren't from here!"

"She must be from another region," Cress remarked.

Cilan nodded. "She's staying at the Pokémon Center for now, and I'm going to, um, go get her tomorrow."

"And then what will you do?" Cress prompted. Cilan looked at him questioningly.

"Do you know where she lives, or where she's going, or anything?" Chili asked.

"Well, um, no. We didn't, uh, have much of a conversation." He shrugged. "I suppose I'll just find out tomorrow."