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The three trainers pushed through the grass and discovered a tree hollow beneath a large oak. Inside sat a Pokemon making soft, distressed sounds. When it noticed them approaching, it didn't flee but simply gazed at them with large, sorrowful eyes.
"Is that an Eevee?" Misty exclaimed in surprise. She was immediately drawn to the adorable Pokemon.
"Pikapi!!"
Pikachu ran forward immediately, but before he could interact with the Eevee, he noticed something concerning. The Eevee had a collar around its neck with a rope attached, tethering it to a stake beside the tree hollow.
"Pikapi??"
Pikachu chirped questioningly, seemingly confused about Eevee's situation. Eevee lowered its head slightly, unsure how to respond.
"What's going on with this Eevee?" Ash approached and frowned when he saw that the Pokemon was tied up.
In this world, while humans used Poké Balls to catch and train Pokemon, it was unusual to see anyone restraining them with ropes—especially a typically docile Pokemon like Eevee.
"Was it abandoned?" Brock wondered, his brow furrowed. Perhaps someone had tied it here to avoid being followed?
"If that's the case, why would they leave food and water behind?"
Ash pointed to two pet bowls nearby containing Pokemon food and fresh water. If someone truly wanted to abandon this Eevee, they wouldn't have bothered providing supplies.
"What's going on here?" Misty said, confused. If the Eevee hadn't been abandoned, who would be cruel enough to tie up such an adorable Pokemon?
Ash knelt down to examine the collar more closely. It had a solid gold tag with an engraving on it.
"No. E-14, Stone Town, Mikey! Look, there's an address written here!" Ash announced. "This is definitely a Pokemon with a trainer. If it were abandoned, this tag would have been removed."
The trainer's name and address were clearly marked on the tag. Anyone truly abandoning their Pokemon would take the tag away—not just because pure gold was valuable, but because they wouldn't want the Pokemon to be returned. With identification, another trainer might discover it and return it to its original owner.
"Oh! So it wasn't abandoned after all?" Misty responded, her tone noticeably conflicted.
"It wasn't abandoned. You sound a little disappointed!" Ash teased, looking up at her.
Both Ash and Brock had read Misty's thoughts clearly—she had been hoping the Eevee was abandoned so she could take it for herself.
"Uh... haha, no!" Misty laughed awkwardly. She had indeed been thinking exactly that but hadn't expected to be so transparent.
"So what should we do now?" Brock asked. "If it has a trainer, maybe they left it here for a reason. It might not be right for us to move it."
"But it clearly doesn't want to be here!" Misty protested. "And isn't it irresponsible to tie it up like this? Now that we know the address, we should take it to find its trainer!"
Misty spoke quickly, with ulterior motives evident in her voice. She wanted to meet this trainer, and if they proved irresponsible, she had no intention of returning Eevee to them.
"I'm guessing you want to take it with you, right?" Ash saw through Misty's plan immediately but didn't argue. "Fine, it's up to you—as long as Eevee agrees."
Misty looked a bit embarrassed, but seeing that Ash had no objections, she quickly knelt down and gently asked Eevee if it would like to leave with them to find its owner.
When Eevee heard Misty's words, its aggrieved expression brightened into a smile as it nodded eagerly. It clearly didn't want to remain tied up in the forest.
After receiving Eevee's approval, Misty immediately untied the rope and eagerly picked up the Pokemon. Eevee didn't resist, obviously wanting to return to its trainer.
Ash sighed quietly as he watched. His suspicions were obvious—Misty's plans wouldn't work out. First, Eevee clearly loved its trainer and wanted to find them. Second, although the Pokemon had been left tied up, someone had provided food and water. A truly irresponsible trainer wouldn't have bothered. There was likely some explanation for why Eevee had been left there.
But Ash kept these thoughts to himself as the three trainers headed into town together. Along the way, Misty tried to bond with Eevee, but the Pokemon was clearly more concerned about reuniting with its trainer.
"We're here—this should be it! No. 14, Area E!" Brock, who was leading the way, checked the map and confirmed their location. When he looked up, he was startled. Misty gasped in surprise as well.
"This is... incredible!"
The structure before them could hardly be called a house. Manor was a more fitting description. Backed against a cliff and mountain wall stood an enormous villa. Within its towering walls spread an extremely spacious courtyard.
The luxury of this residence far exceeded the surrounding houses. Stone Town was clearly wealthy, as evidenced by the neighboring properties, but this manor was on another level entirely.
It wasn't entirely surprising. The Eevee's collar alone featured a pure gold tag—clearly not belonging to an ordinary trainer.
The manor's gate stood open with no guards in sight. The trio walked forward and noticed many people inside. After exchanging glances, they decided to enter and investigate.
Inside, they found not only people but numerous Pokemon as well. It appeared they had stumbled upon some kind of gathering.
"What's happening? Is this a party?" Misty asked, confused, while holding Eevee.
"Huh?" A commotion nearby caught their attention. Ash looked over first, followed quickly by Misty and Brock.
They spotted a boy wearing a vest with spiky golden hair. If Ash hadn't known better, he might have mistaken the boy for a character from another game altogether.
The boy was holding an aqua blue gemstone with a water droplet pattern engraved on it. As they watched, he touched it to a Poliwhirl beside him, and something extraordinary began to happen.