Pokémon: Starting From Zero as a Legendary Pokémon Chapter 41 41: Eevee’s Evolution Path

"Not failing any Pokémon… that's the real challenge."

The next day, Sora parted ways with the Reggie brothers.

A quiet sense of reflection lingered in his heart, as if he had glimpsed another version of himself.

That was precisely why he had spoken to them at such length.

Without foreknowledge, the limit he might have reached in this life would likely have been the sa as Reggie's.

"Co to think of it… trainers who aren't bound by their Pokémon's love are probably the minority."

Sora thought of Goh—soone who treated Pokémon purely as tools.

Only a person who invested no emotion into any Pokémon could seriously claim they wanted to capture every Pokémon.

"Capture every Pokémon… instead of capturing the ones you truly like."

If he ever crossed paths with Goh, Sora intended to teach him a hard lesson.

Preferably one that would strip him of his trainer qualifications altogether.

In Sora's eyes, Goh's behavior was no different from those collectors in the movies who obsessed over capturing Legendary Pokémon.

"Poné?"

"I'm fine."

Seeing Ogerpon's concern, Sora smiled gently.

"I just rembered soone… rather annoying."

"Poné!"

Ogerpon flexed her small but sturdy arm, proudly showing off her strength.

"Vini~~"

Victini struck a bodybuilding pose as well, as if declaring:

Anyone you dislike, I'll beat them up for you!

"Haha!"

Sora pulled the two little ones into his arms and gave them a playful squeeze.

"Then I'll be counting on you when the ti cos."

"Vini-ni~"

"Poné-ao!!"

With that, Sora continued toward Eterna City, riding atop Bloodmoon Ursaluna.

Buneary and Eevee chased each other across Ursaluna's broad back.

Despite their energetic antics, Ursaluna showed no annoyance. Instead, it carefully adjusted its steps to keep them from falling.

Though its appearance was intimidating, its heart held a deep affection for the young.

Given its age, Buneary and Eevee looked like mischievous little granddaughters in its eyes—deserving extra care.

"I didn't expect an unexpected bonus."

The battle with the Reggie brothers had earned Sora 3,000 Poké Dollars—a pleasant surprise.

It was an unspoken tradition among trainers.

In casual battles:

1v1: the loser usually paid 500 Poké Dollars

3v3: about 1,000

6v6: about 3,000

The amounts weren't large.

In terms of raising Pokémon, they were barely a drop in the bucket.

And getting rich through roadside battles alone was unrealistic.

Sotis Bug Catchers or Youngsters only carried 50 to 100—after several matches, you might not even earn enough for a single Poké Ball.

"Sadly, wealthy trainers are rare."

And those willing to fight a full 6v6 against soone like him were even rarer.

If money were that easy to earn, trainers could simply stand in one place and farm challengers all day.

In reality, once you won too often, word spread that you were tough.

Eventually, no one showed up to donate money anymore.

"Good thing I have Peat Blocks. I don't need to chase other inco streams."

The journey continued.

With Victini's help, Sora eventually located the Moss Rock—the special stone capable of evolving Eevee into Leafeon.

But he deliberately kept Eevee at a distance.

She was still young, and her potential hadn't fully developed.

Evolving too early was rarely a good idea.

Besides, Leafeon wasn't his first choice.

His team already had two powerful Grass-type anchors.

Another Grass-type wouldn't add much value.

Between the options, Sora leaned more toward Glaceon or Sylveon.

Of course, the final decision would belong to Eevee herself.

His plans were only suggestions.

He was not the kind of trainer who forced evolution.

As for Eevee's choice—

"This one is Leafeon, and this one is Glaceon," Sora said, holding her in his arms.

He pulled out his communicator and displayed images of the two forms so she could better understand her possible future paths.

"Eevee~~"

She studied Leafeon first, then shifted her gaze to Glaceon.

At this point in history, both forms were still considered mysterious Pokémon—new evolutions not yet fully docunted.

Yes, even though they existed, they hadn't been officially recorded in the Pokédex.

Sora suspected the reason was simple:

researchers hadn't gathered enough data yet.

Eevee itself was already a rare species.

Despite how frequently Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon appeared in early ani episodes, trainers who owned Eevee-line Pokémon were typically wealthy or influential.

After all, even Ash—throughout his long journey—never actually had an Eevee.

During the year and a half since arriving in this world, Sora hadn't heard of a single confird Leafeon or Glaceon.

Unlike the gas, these evolutions couldn't be triggered by Leaf Stones or Ice Stones.

They required specific environntal conditions—standing near the Moss Rock or the Ice Rock.

The stone-based thod in gas existed mainly for convenience.

Otherwise, Leaf Stones—present since the Kanto era—would have worked on Eevee long ago.

Leafeon wouldn't have needed to wait until the Sinnoh era to appear.

"If you ever decide you want to beco Leafeon," Sora told her,

"then once your foundation is fully restored, I'll bring you back to Eterna Forest."

"The Moss Rock here is the key to that evolution."

"Eevee~~"

But Eevee shook her head.

She wasn't interested in becoming Leafeon.

As for Glaceon…

It looked beautiful—cool, elegant, almost like a graceful older sister.

Eevee wasn't human.

Where Sora saw pictures and traits, she saw two completely different mbers of her own species.

Leafeon felt gentle.

Glaceon felt poised and aloof.

Yet more than either appearance—

What mattered most to her was Sora's opinion.

"Eevee, eevee~"

She chirped softly, trying to convey her thoughts to her trainer.

"Hm?"

Sora paused, then guessed:

"You an… you want to decide?"

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