Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Beverly and Nina were the two happiest little girls in the world right now.

“This is your best idea yet, Nins,” complimented the muffled voice of Beverly.

Indeed, after seeing how friendly all the Eevees were, Nina decided to line her body with Berries, allowing the brown furry pokemon to dogpile the girl and feed off her like a trough.

“Oh Arceus, I know I say this a lot, but you may take my soul now. Anything to stay in still fluffy heaven forever,” moaned Nina.

The girl then giggled as an Eevee came close to lick her face, prompting her to gingerly extract her arms to grab hold of the licky Eevee and boost him high up into the sky over and over again, much to the Eevee’s excitement.

“Eeeeee!” Cried the joyful Eevee as he was tossed up into the sky.

“Prof, I think you’ve got a million dollar idea here,” said Beverly. “Eevee therapy — just what a hardworking gal needs to continue slaving away at a Gym.”

Meanwhile Bill was standing by the side and gave an amused chuckle at the antics of his two guests.

After having enough of uppies, Nina lowered the Eevee and buried her face in his fur. Eevees had a sort of musky scent to them like dogs do, but their long fur feels softer like that of a rabbits.

The summer was in full swing and Nina had invited Beverly along for her stay in the Sea Cottage. The peppy valley girl had wanted to go to the beaches in Vermillion City instead, but Nina ultimately convinced her with the promise of Eevees and a more private beach within Bill’s estate.

Nina cleared her throat after extracting herself from the avalanche of Eevees and regaining her sanity. “Sorry about that unseemly display, Professor Bill,” she said in a meek tone.

Bill simply laughed jovially at the girl. “It’s quite alright, my dear. I always enjoy seeing the passion that people show for Pokemon.”

“Tiin!”

“Sorry, Tini. I kind of lost myself there. I didn’t mean to neglect you.” Nina assaulted her jealous little Dragon with boops, kisses and cuddles just to assuage him, much to Tini’s chagrin as he squirmed against his partner's smothering embrace.

“Say Prof, do you ever let anyone adopt one of these cuties?” Asked Beverly in her most suggestive tone.

Bill gave the girl a wry smile. “You’re definitely from the Mizuhana clan alright… The answer is yes, but rarely — less than half a dozen a year. And never as a starter.”

Nina tilted her head in confusion. “Why not as a starter?” She was pretty sure there was a game back in her past life that had an Eevee as a starter, though it wasn’t part of the mainline series.

The professor gave a sagely nod and explained that Eevees in their base form aren’t the most powerful Pokemon and that most beginner trainers have a lot of trouble raising them properly. “Hence why most of them resort to forcing an early evolution. And I believe we’ve already discussed how detrimental premature evolution is to a Pokemon’s growth.”

Both Nina and Beverly gave an understanding nod. Beverly, having come from a long line of Gym Trainers, naturally had access to the treasure trove of Water Pokemon knowledge accumulated by her family over the years.

“So what do you normally give out as starters for your sponsored trainers then?” Asked Nina

“I rarely sponsor beginner trainers. I don’t really need the attention, nor do I have any ongoing projects that require field work. I give out Eevees to trainers I find interesting and worthy,” said Bill, while giving a subtle look to Nina.

The girl pretended not to notice and continued on with the conversation. “So what sort of research are you doing now?”

“An excellent question, and I believe this is also a good time for us to move on to the lab where I can elaborate further.”

Bill’s lab was in the center of his estate and didn’t really look much like a high tech research facility. Rather it was styled like a European cottage, which explained the Sea Cottage Moniker, except its three storey tall stature was also a little too big to fit the definition of a cottage.

Behind the building, was something that looked like a cross between a silo and a lighthouse with a glass domed top, which Bill explained was their telescope. “Not only is it capable of giving us a 360 degree view of our surroundings. We can also focus the lens and use it for stargazing.”

The mention of stargazing turned Nina’s own eyes into stars. “Is it okay if we go see the stars tonight?” She asked, with much enthusiasm.

Bill chuckled. “Of course, the cloudless skies of summer is the best time to do just that. I’ll teach you how to operate the central console when we visit the observatory later. Everyone is welcome to use it at their leisure unless we have some sort of specific research going on that requires it.”

***

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“Oh Arceus! You’re even cuter in person!” The female researcher squealed. She then flashed Bill a thumbs up to commend the man for his initiative in getting the “Dratini Girl” to visit them. “Good work, boss. You’re the best.”

The man in question simply gave an exasperated sigh and clapped his hands together authoritatively. “Yes, yes, I know you’re all very excited, but Nina and Beverly are here today as guests. So please maintain the appropriate decorum.”

The insides of the research lab was a stark contrast to its homely exterior; various evolution stones could be seen contained within canisters with probes attached to them, screens lined the wall showcasing all of the ongoing projects, and all sorts of unknown but sleek looking machinery dotted the space.

The researchers got back to work after a mild scolding from their superior, each wearing a white lab coat denoting their status within the lab. And in keeping with their stereotype, some even had unruly hair and baggy eyes from the sleepless nights they spent working overtime.

In keeping faithful with their desires as trainers, both Nina and Beverly were immediately drawn to the Evolution Stones being studied.

“Is this machine measuring the Type Energy contained within each stone?”

“Very astute, Nina,” praised Bill as he walked over to join the girls. “More specifically we are measuring the discharge rate of Evolution Stones.” He then gestured towards the another line of Evolution Stones that were also hooked up to their respective canisters. “Incidentally, that’s where we measure the absorption rate of Stones against the various ambient Energy Types.”

“Wait, Evolution Stones can lose their charge?” This question was from Beverly.

“They do indeed. It’s a little known fact since most Evolution Stones fly off the shelves once they hit the market. But some of the more ancient clans have been known to hoard Stones for their own benefit only to come back to them after a few generations and find that their treasure has been reduced to mere pretty looking rocks.”

“What a waste,” scoffed Beverly.

Nina raised her hands for a question this time. “Is there a marked difference between a Pokemon who evolves using a deteriorated Evolution Stone versus one that evolves using a fully charged one.”

Bill smiled at the question. “That is indeed the question isn’t it.” The man led the two girls over to a group of researchers in a corner and showed them a screen full of numbers and graphs.

Beverly was thoroughly checked out at the visual noise, but Nina squinted her eyes and moved closer in an attempt to decipher what they meant.

“We have an ongoing experiment designed just to answer that very question you posed,” continued the Professor. “So far the results are too inconclusive to say anything for certain but the preliminary results seem to indicate a positive correlation between the levels of Type Energy in a Stone and the initial strength of a newly evolved Pokemon.”

Nina frowned. “If the results are inconclusive even with all the resources you’re throwing at it, then would this mean that the difference is too marginal to be of note? That is a conclusion in itself is it not? And are we just limiting the sample population to Eevees? If so then is it just the ranch bred ones? Because I would assume that an Eevee that has undergone dedicated training will probably outperform the pampered ones even if the Evolution Stone used is of subpar quality.”

“Nerd.” Coughed Beverly, earning the girl a glare from her friend.

Meanwhile the researchers in charge of the experiment were staring at the surprisingly erudite girl in wide eyed bewilderment.

Bill laughed out, having already been exposed to Nina’s abnormality. “Quite. Everything that you just said and all the doubts you posed are all valid, dearest Nina. But this experiment is but one of many.” The man paused and pointed towards the row of Evolution Stones.

“Consider this,” he continued. “If the outcome of using a subpar Stone is too marginal a difference then what’s the minimum Type Energy necessary to evolve an Eevee. And if there is a difference, at what point do we see substantial enough gains to say, charge a Stone with additional Type Energy just for that extra boost. Given the scarcity of Evolution Stones, this might be a venture worth considering if all a trainer is able to procure was substandard Stones.”

Nina nodded in contemplation. “As expected of a successful entrepreneur, of course he would consider the commercial viability of any research he pursues.” What the professor didn’t mention was that knowing the bare minimum of Energy needed to evolve a Pokemon could also give rise to an industry of artificial Evolution Stone cultivators.

“And to your questions about the Eevees. A very good point, one that even my fellow subordinates fail to realize.” The subordinates in question lowered their heads in shame.

“The qualitative difference posed by a trained Eevee should not be overlooked. In fact, I hypothesize that any marked improvements from using a high quality Evolution Stone would be better reflected when used on a trained Pokemon. Hence why we’re doing this experiment in phases. With the ‘pampered’ Eevees, as you called them, being the first phase.”

Nina nodded in understanding. “Thank you for entertaining my questions, Professor. I didn’t mean to undermine anyone. I’m sure my question was simply too shallow for any of the professors here to consider.”

Bill chuckled. “Please, just call me Bill. And don’t worry about the egos of anyone here. I’m not such a poor judge of character that I would hire anyone insecure enough to hold a grudge against a child. If anything, I’m sure they’re pleased that anyone at all is interested in their work.” And as if on cue, the researchers all nodded in unison.

“And speaking off, let me show you an experiment that you’re definitely going to take interest in.”

The next station that they were brought to had screens showing what appears to be a pack of Eevees being led by an Umbreon.

“Is this a live feed of wild Eevees?” Asked Nina.

Bill shook his head. “Not quite. This is actually a section of the ranch that we cordoned off to emulate the environments of a wild forest to the best of our ability. Can you guess what the theme of this research is?”

Nina gasped in realization. “You’re experimenting with rewilding Eevees…”

The professor once again gave an approving nod. “Indeed. A few years ago we asked some of the more experienced Eeveelutions in the ranch if they would be willing to lead a group of newborns into this area to live a more ‘natural’ lifestyle with the ultimate goal being to relocate them at some point if at all feasible.”

“What’s the point?” Asked Beverly. “Are we secretly running out of Eevees or something?”

“A good question. What do you think Nina? What would you say the ‘point’ of this experiment is?”

Nina fell into thought. When she first heard about the way Eevees are bred in captivity, she immediately thought about dog breeders in her old world and how obsessed they are with purity. Often to the detriment of the animals in their care.

“To ensure that the genepool does not collapse,” she answered. “Ranch bred Eevees risk becoming too inbred over the course of several generations. But Eevees in the wild will have a chance to mate with other Pokemon which will help to invigorate the genepool and maybe even result in some born as interesting variants or with a unique moveset. It also helps to prevent complete annihilation of the species in the event of some disease that a specific genepool is vulnerable to.”

“Excellent answer!” Exclaimed Bill. Nina did not hold back on showing off her advanced brain knowing that was exactly what the Professor was after. Thoughts of potentially acquiring an Eevee of her own motivated her.

“At the moment, Eevee breeders avoid the issue by holding exchange programs with other ranches. But this is not sustainable in the long term. It is important that we find a way to rejuvenate the wild Eevee population as soon as possible.”

He then explained that the first step to their plans was ensuring that the Eevees could actually survive in the wild. To that end, the team would impose stress tests on the various packs they have roaming around such as sending a hive of trained Beedrills to attack them or occasionally limiting their food sources and so on.

“But don’t you worry,” assured Bill, in response to the girls’ frowns. “If ever an Eevee is in danger, our personnel will step in and extract them in lieu of ‘death’. In fact some of the young ones you interacted with today used to be part of the experiment.”

As it turns out, the biggest challenge to rewilding Eevees was their inability to take care of their young. Generations of breeding has all but eroded their parental instincts since they’re already used to humans taking care of their babies in their stead.

“What a sad state of affairs…” Lamented Nina. “Is it also possible that Eevees have difficulty living in the wild due to their evolution being dependent on external catalysts? I can’t imagine it’s easy to find Evolution Stones out in the wild. Not to mention the human dependent Evolutions like Sylveon.”

Bill smiled. “Well you see, there are different theories on how Eevees evolve in the wild. One is the gradual accumulation of ambient Type Energy and the other is…”

Beverly rolled her eyes and wandered off to the break room, not willing to endure all this nerd talk any longer as the esteemed Professor answered her junior apprentice’s inane questions one by one.