"Grandpa, I'm fine leaving it with you, but is your security up to it?" Gary asked.
Security at Professor Oak's Laboratory had always been something of a problem—even Team Rocket's raids couldn't be fully guarded against.
Gary didn't know how important this Eevee actually was to Team Rocket. If it mattered enough to them, they might well attack Professor Oak's Laboratory. They wouldn't dare do anything to Professor Oak himself, but they'd certainly have the nerve to steal a Pokémon.
"You're underestimating your grandpa. My Dragonite is very strong," Professor Oak said.
"Alright, then once Eevee is healed, I'll teleport it over to you. Grandpa, study it carefully. Maybe you can find a way for my Eevee to evolve by examining this one," Gary said.
Gary's Eevee couldn't evolve. Although it could master moves that normally only its evolved forms could learn, it remained unable to evolve—a genuine flaw.
Gary was very curious whether the electronic device Team Rocket had been researching could make his own Eevee evolve.
"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll bring in Professor Blaine to research it with me," Professor Oak said.
"That would be perfect."
With Blaine on board, Gary believed they could crack the secrets of this electronic device quickly.
After ending the call with Professor Oak, Gary went back outside, found Timmy, and sat down next to him.
"Timmy, I've called your parents. They'll be here soon," Gary said.
"Yeah."
Timmy nodded. He was clearly a little afraid to face his parents now—after all, he had stolen money from home.
"Don't worry, I'll explain the situation to your parents. But how's your foot doing?" Gary asked.
"It's okay. I can stand up at least, but it still hurts when I walk," Timmy said.
"That's good—at least nothing's broken. Next time you run into something like this, remember to go to the police. Understand?" Gary warned.
"I know. But Brother Gary, what are you going to do with Eevee?" Timmy asked.
"I've already spoken with my grandfather. I'll leave Eevee in his care, and once I'm sure Eevee is completely fine, I'll return it to you," Gary said.
"Your grandfather?"
Timmy looked uneasy. He had hoped Gary himself would look after Eevee—he was a little worried about this grandfather he'd never met.
"My grandfather is a very famous person. You'd know him too," Gary said.
"I'd know him? Who is he?" Timmy grew even more curious. How could he possibly know Gary's grandfather?
"My grandfather is Professor Oak. Have you heard of him?" Gary said.
"Oh!! Professor Oak—the Professor Oak who talks about Pokémon on TV every day?" Timmy exclaimed.
Gary felt a bit awkward. Professor Oak was indeed very famous, but in the eyes of children, he was best known for his Pokémon segments on television.
"Yes."
Gary nodded in confirmation.
"That's great! Then I'm not worried anymore," Timmy said.
Gary smiled.
The two of them then waited for Eevee's treatment to finish.
Even after Eevee was healed, it remained asleep. Since Gary needed to explain things to it beforehand—so as not to interfere with Professor Oak and Professor Blaine's research—he had to wake it up.
"Eevee, get some water and wake it up," Gary said.
"Vee."
His Eevee nodded, a layer of water coating its tail. With a gentle flick, a few drops of water landed on the sleeping Eevee's face.
Feeling the moisture on its face, the Eevee woke immediately. When it opened its eyes and saw Timmy and Gary, it was thoroughly confused.
It had clearly been fighting Team Rocket—how had it fainted, and why had it woken up somewhere else entirely? And more importantly, Timmy was right beside it, and those bad guys were nowhere to be seen.
"Eevee, you're awake!"
Timmy stroked Eevee's head and told it everything that had happened after it fainted.
"Vee."
Learning that Gary was the one who had saved them, Eevee called out to him in gratitude.
"Eevee, I know Team Rocket experimented on you. It must have hurt every single time you were forced to evolve," Gary said.
"Vee!"
Eevee nodded frantically.
Eevee had once trusted Team Rocket, but after the experiments began, it realized just how cruel they truly were. They didn't care about its pain at all—they simply demanded it evolve, over and over.
Every evolution brought agony. And even while it was still suffering, the moment it was revived, they would demand it evolve again. Every day had been torture.
"My grandfather is a famous professor. He can help relieve that pain. Once you're completely cured, I'll send you back to Timmy. Do you agree?" Gary asked.
"Vee!"
Eevee was happy, but when it looked at Timmy, reluctance crept in. Even though they'd only been together a few days, Eevee had already decided that Timmy was its Trainer.
"Eevee, go with Brother Gary to Professor Oak. Professor Oak will cure you completely, and we'll see each other again soon," Timmy said.
"Vee."
Hearing Timmy say so, Eevee agreed.
To further reassure Timmy, Gary contacted Professor Oak through the video call on the transfer machine right in front of him.
Seeing Professor Oak in person put Timmy more at ease, and Gary also gave him the number for Professor Oak's Laboratory.
That way, whenever Timmy missed Eevee, he could come to the Pokémon Center and check on it through a video call.
"Come on, Timmy—you should be the one to catch Eevee." Gary took out a red-and-white ball and handed it to him.
Timmy took the Poké Ball and froze completely, his brain short-circuiting, his face full of confusion.
"Eevee is your Pokémon, so naturally you should be the one to catch it," Gary said.
"Okay!"
Timmy looked at Eevee and asked, "Eevee, will you be my Pokémon?"
"Vee!"
Eevee nodded firmly. It had long since decided that Timmy was its Trainer.
"Alright! Go, Poké Ball!" Timmy gently tapped the button of the Poké Ball against Eevee's head.
In a flash of light, the Poké Ball opened and drew Eevee inside.
Eevee didn't resist at all. The ball's indicator flashed red just once before going still. The capture was a success.
"Haha! I caught Eevee!"
Timmy broke into an innocent grin.
Then, Timmy personally sent Eevee's Poké Ball to Professor Oak's Laboratory through the transfer machine.
On the other end, Professor Oak received the Poké Ball and promised, "Timmy, you can rest easy. I'll take good care of Eevee for you, and I'll send it back the moment it's fully cured."
"Yes! I believe in Grandpa Oak," Timmy said with a firm nod.