"Mr. Baishi," Valen asked as they walked, "do you happen to have any Tangela eggs?" It was an odd realization, but his complex Nurturing theory pointed to the strange, vine-covered Anima as its most suitable subject.
"Tangela?" The guide paused, searching his memory. The Nursery's public catalog didn't list them. They were rare this far north, and frankly, unpopular. Why would a young Summoner-to-be be interested in an Anima that was neither cool nor particularly powerful in the current meta?
"I'm afraid we don't have any in stock," Baishi said apologetically. "But we could place a special order. It would likely arrive within a week."
"That's alright. Let's just see what else you have," Valen said, a wave of relief washing over him. The choice being made for him was a small mercy; he'd been struggling with the idea of starting his journey with an Anima he found so unappealing.
He had other options. His Grass-type plan could be adapted for a Bellsprout or an Oddish. But as they walked, a deeper uncertainty took root. He was a complete rookie with zero practical experience. Was it wise to gamble his entire future on an untested, potentially dangerous theory he'd cooked up from the memories of a video game? Real-world Nurturing wasn't as simple as grinding levels.
Perhaps a different strategy was in order.
In his mind, he had narrowed his options down to three distinct paths. Path One: The Theorist. Stick with the Grass-type plan. It was a high-risk, high-reward strategy built on his unique knowledge.
Path Two: The Pragmatist. Choose a Bug-type with psychic potential, like a Caterpie or Venonat. They were easy to raise and evolved quickly, offering a fast track to a respectably powerful partner for the Ordeals. But this was also a gamble; in this reality, a Butterfree or Venomoth rarely developed psychic abilities naturally. He wasn't sure he had the skill to unlock that potential himself.
Baishi led them through the spacious, climate-controlled rooms, gesturing toward incubators holding eggs of all shapes and sizes.
"Here we have Nidoran eggs… and these are Meowth…"
Then he stopped before a display of small, cream-colored eggs. "And this," he said with a flourish, "is an Eevee egg."
"Eevee is a Normal-type, widely considered the most adaptable of all Anima," Baishi explained. "It's our most recommended option for new Summoners. They are docile, easy to raise, and possess four known evolutionary paths—Fire, Water, Electric, and Grass—each one a significant boost in power. For success in the Ordeals, an evolved Eevee offers the highest probability of success."
He gestured to a nearby case of gleaming stones. "We also sell the requisite Evolution Stones. If you purchase one today with the egg, we can offer a five-percent discount."
Valen tuned out the sales pitch, his eyes fixed on the egg. This was his third path.
Path Three: The Visionary.
He knew what Baishi—and the rest of the world—did not. Eevee didn't have four paths. It had at least eight. He had already confirmed that the Anima League's official Bestiary of 702 species made no mention of Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, or Sylveon. It wasn't surprising. With only a few decades of research, humanity had barely scratched the surface of the Anima world. Countless secrets, like the evolutions of Slowpoke or the mysterious transformation of Feebas into the beautiful Milotic, remained undiscovered.
In this world, an Eevee itself wasn't very expensive; its docile nature made it more of a house pet than a battler. The real cost lay in the Evolution Stones—rare, non-renewable resources harvested from Secret Realms, their prices inflated by Guild monopolies. Bundling them with the eggs was a clever business tactic.
But that was their mistake. They saw Eevee as a creature that was only as strong as the stone you could afford. Valen knew better. Eevee was one of the most profoundly underrated Anima in existence. The evolutions that required no stone at all—only friendship, time, and specific conditions—were just as mighty.
"You seem to like that one," his father observed, noticing how long Valen had been staring. "It's a good choice. Don't you worry about the cost. We can afford an Evolution Stone."
Valen looked up, startled. "No, it's not that…" How could he possibly explain? If he chose Eevee, buying a stone would be a colossal waste of money. But telling them
why would mean revealing a secret he couldn't afford to share.
The classic three-choice problem. He couldn't hesitate any longer.
"Can we look around one more time?" he asked.
Baishi obliged, guiding them past the Bug-type eggs, then the Grass-types, and finally, back to the Eevee. Its shell was a beautiful cream color, adorned with soft, brown, cloud-like patterns that felt calming to look at.
He had tried to be rational, to weigh the risks and probabilities of each path. But in the end, as he looked from one potential partner to the next, he found his decision was being swayed by the simplest, most human factor of all: aesthetics. The Eevee egg was beautiful. And the Anima inside it was, to his mind, even more so.
Looks, he supposed, really were everything.
His eyes met the swirling brown pattern on the cream-colored shell. His final decision was made.
"This is the one."