Pokemon: A different Ash

Join my p@treon for more chapters

[email protected]/Tempest_29

"That's perfect, brother. Eevee is supposed to be the guest of honor at our party today. Now we don't have to worry anymore," said the middle brother who owned Flareon, looking at the eldest.

"Yeah! Mikey! Mikey!! Come out here quickly, your Eevee has returned!" The eldest brother nodded at this and called out loudly.

"Coming!!"

A young boy of about five or six years old emerged from the crowd. Compared to his three older brothers, he appeared much more reserved and shy.

When Eevee spotted the boy, she immediately leaped from the youngest brother's arms, dashing toward Mikey and jumping into his embrace. Mikey reached out to hold Eevee, but his expression remained troubled rather than joyful.

"Mikey, your Eevee is back—don't lose it carelessly again!"

"That's right! If you lose it again, we're not going to help you look for it!"

The second and third brothers spoke in turn, though their words were clearly empty threats. The affection they had for their youngest sibling was evident in their eyes. This boy named Mikey was their little brother, and this entire party had been organized especially for him.

"So this Eevee belongs to you! We found it tied up in the forest outside town," Misty said, approaching Mikey.

Seeing that Mikey was still a child and didn't seem particularly excited about Eevee's return, Misty couldn't bring herself to scold him, much less compete with him for the Pokemon. However, at that moment...

"Why did you bring it back?"

When his three brothers weren't paying attention, Mikey shot them an angry look, as if he hadn't wanted Eevee to be returned at all.

Misty was taken aback by this comment, feeling confused. Logically, he should be thanking them for bringing Eevee home, right? What kind of attitude was this? If she'd known, she wouldn't have bothered helping.

"Alright Mikey, get ready and come over here!" The three brothers appeared to have prepared something and called Mikey over.

Hearing this, Mikey lowered his head and reluctantly walked toward them. He seemed unwilling, but also appeared to have no choice in the matter.

"What's his problem? I was just trying to help!" Misty muttered.

"The kid named Mikey seems to be hiding something," observed Brock. From his experience caring for his younger siblings, he recognized when children were concealing things.

"Really?" Misty looked puzzled, unable to guess what the secret might be.

"Don't you see? He was the one who tied Eevee up in the forest, then lied to his brothers that Eevee had gotten lost!" Ash explained, noting Misty's confusion.

"Huh? But why would he do that?"

Misty was surprised by this revelation. Thinking about it, how could a Pokemon end up tied to a tree if it had simply wandered off? Someone must have deliberately placed it there.

Considering Mikey's reaction earlier, Ash's theory seemed correct, but what would be his motivation?

"Okay Mikey, you're today's guest of honor. Soon you'll become a Trainer yourself. Now it's time to decide which form you want your Eevee to evolve into!"

The three Eevee brothers stood together with their respective Pokemon beside them, looking expectantly at Mikey, who kept his head down throughout.

"We all evolved our Eevee after becoming official Trainers. Since you haven't become a Trainer yet, evolving your Eevee in advance will give you a head start over where we began!"

The three brothers gazed at Mikey hopefully. Although Mikey was still some time away from being eligible to become a Pokemon Trainer, obtaining a high-level Pokemon at his age would indeed give him an advantage from the beginning.

"Today you'll be participating in your first Pokemon battle, but everyone else will be using evolved Pokemon. There's no way to win with just an Eevee! Make your decision quickly!"

The eldest brother looked around before addressing Mikey again.

They had organized this party and even distributed evolution stones freely to prepare Mikey for his journey. Naturally, they expected him to choose Eevee's evolution path today.

"I...I think the first battle doesn't really matter that much!" Mikey finally spoke up. Though he appeared submissive, he seemed to have gathered enough courage to stand up for Eevee.

"What did you say? Are you serious?"

"Don't be naive! It's embarrassing to lose your very first battle!"

"Besides, whichever evolution you choose will prove which of us three has the strongest Pokemon." When the brothers heard Mikey's hesitation, their expressions grew stern. Hearing this, Mikey lowered his head again and remained silent.

"Pyro! It goes without saying that Jolteon must be the strongest!" The eldest brother, Sparky, declared while looking at the youngest brother.

"Ha! That's just your opinion, Brother Sparky!" Pyro didn't directly challenge his elder brother, but the two suddenly forgot about Mikey and began arguing among themselves.

"Hey! If Mikey has to choose, you should definitely go with the beautiful contest-ready Vaporeon, right?" Rainer, the middle brother, didn't join the argument but instead tried to influence his younger brother's decision.

"Brother Rainer, I..." Mikey lowered his head as he listened, clearly at a loss. Misty, who had been watching this scene from a distance, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Now you understand, right? Mikey probably doesn't want to choose any of them, but he doesn't know how to go against his brothers' wishes. That's why he tied Eevee up in the forest and pretended it had gotten lost!" Ash explained to Misty, who finally understood why Mikey had reacted that way earlier. She realized that by bringing Eevee back, she had inadvertently made things more difficult for him.

"I see—even though they're brothers, they're also fierce rivals! From this perspective, Mikey's decision carries a lot of weight!" Brock observed with his characteristic squinted eyes.

"That's true, but to prove which Pokemon is stronger, you need a fair comparison. What does forcing an evolution choice prove?"

Although Ash's own Pokemon were evolving too, he acknowledged that even unevolved Pokemon had their advantages. After all, reality wasn't like a video game governed by pure statistics—in the real world, Pokemon could grow stronger without evolving.