The first thing Eevee saw when it opened its eyes from the egg was Ariel's face.
The girl's face was filled with joy and happiness as she lovingly picked it up from the egg and lifted it high into the air.
From that moment on, Eevee considered this girl to be the best partner in the world.
So when Eevee learned that Ariel loved Sylveon, it immediately made becoming a Sylveon its number one life goal.
It kept working hard, constantly battling powerful Pokémon, wanting to grow stronger and evolve into a beautiful Sylveon.
But no matter how hard it tried, it just couldn't manage it.
If it couldn't evolve into Sylveon, Ariel would definitely be disappointed, wouldn't she?
Actually, Eevee was a little scared and worried deep down.
If it evolved into a different form of Eevee, would Ariel still like it?
"Eee..."
Eevee hung its head low, feeling utterly dejected.
It started raining again above Eevee's head.
"Guu?"
Bewear noticed Eevee's condition and blinked, asking a question.
Eevee looked at this big Pokémon in front of it and sadly poured out all its worries and concerns.
"eevee eevee..."
"Guu."
Kawaki stood to the side watching the two Pokémon interact, then observed this Eevee's data.
He noticed something - this Eevee was male.
He had a suspicion and turned to go outside to find Ariel, asking her about this Eevee's personality and usual behavior.
When talking about Eevee, Ariel's face filled with pride.
"Eevee's such a reliable partner!" she said.
"When we first started traveling, we ran into so many dangerous Pokémon on the road! Eevee protected me from all of them and defeated those Pokémon. Don't let its small size fool you - it's actually incredibly strong!"
Kawaki nodded, thinking to himself that this seemed like an Eevee with real talent for physical strength.
Compared to Sylveon, it would be better suited to evolving into Flareon or Leafeon, both forms that excel at power-based attacks.
But this Eevee was dead set on evolving into the cute and gentle Sylveon...
A male Eevee, skilled in physical attacks, with a personality that was likely brave and stubborn.
That kind of temperament wasn't cute at all.
And Fairy-type moves generally contained cute elements. The "Baby-Doll Eyes" that Eevee had just tried to use - no, rather than cute and charming baby-doll eyes, it was more accurately like an intimidating "Leer."
It had gotten the approach completely wrong. There's no way it could learn Baby-Doll Eyes like this, Kawaki couldn't help but think to himself.
"What's wrong, boss?" Ariel asked.
"I think I know why Eevee can't master Baby-Doll Eyes," Kawaki said.
He shared his findings with the customer.
After hearing this, Ariel's eyes widened as she asked, "So does that mean Eevee isn't suited to evolve into Sylveon at all?"
"When it comes to Pokémon training and development, there's no such thing as 'suited' or 'not suited' - only 'wanting to' or 'not wanting to.'"
Even though this Eevee was better at physical attacks, that didn't mean it was lacking in special attack potential. With proper training, even if it evolved into Sylveon, it wouldn't be inferior to other Eeveelutions.
So then, did Eevee want to?
Hearing the boss's words, Ariel couldn't help but start thinking about this question.
All this time, it had been her who wanted Eevee to evolve into Sylveon.
Because she thought Sylveon's appearance was incredibly cute and perfect for participating in Contests.
Kawaki didn't say more. He already knew what Eevee's problem was, and even without his special ability, he was seventy percent confident he could get Eevee to master Baby-Doll Eyes.
Returning to the backyard, Eevee had already hit it off with Bewear.
The little Eevee was sighing and moaning while Bewear patted its back with its fluffy paw.
"I think I know why you can't master Baby-Doll Eyes," Kawaki said.
Hearing this, both Pokémon looked over at him.
"Bewear, please demonstrate Baby-Doll Eyes for Eevee again," Kawaki said.
Bewear complied.
"Eevee, pay close attention to Bewear's movements."
Eevee raised its head and stared intently at Bewear's eyes.
It just felt that the Bewear in front of it was incredibly cute, making it reluctant to attack, and even its body felt soft and fluffy.
A moment later, Baby-Doll Eyes ended.
"How do you feel?" Kawaki asked.
"Vui vui..." So cute!
"Exactly. The key to Baby-Doll Eyes isn't widening your eyes to intimidate your opponent, but rather showing your cute side to your opponent like when you're being affectionate and charming, making them lose their desire to attack," Kawaki said. "Can you be charming?"
Eevee seemed thoughtful, then once again demonstrated its cross-eyed technique.
Kawaki rubbed his forehead.
Forget it, no more delays - he had other things to take care of today.
Golden finger, activate!
This time, Kawaki decided to handle it directly himself.
With a thought, all the techniques and principles for using Baby-Doll Eyes were transmitted to Eevee.
In an instant, Eevee felt like it had suddenly mastered the Baby-Doll Eyes move!
Its eyes lit up, and then a faint pink glow slowly appeared.
Baby-Doll Eyes was successfully executed.
When Ariel and the other two rushed over, this is what they saw.
Her Eevee's eyes were glowing with a soft pink light - the signature characteristic of using Baby-Doll Eyes.
Eevee... had mastered Baby-Doll Eyes!
"eevee!"
Eevee couldn't wait to run toward its trainer and show off the move it had just learned.
"That's wonderful!" Sye and Hyde couldn't help but feel happy for their companion's Pokémon learning a new move.
"Eevee, you did great!" Ariel praised.
"eevee!"
"Congratulations! Looks like your Eevee has exceptional talent! I only explained it once and it mastered Baby-Doll Eyes," Kawaki smiled slightly and said to Ariel.
"Thank you so much, boss!" Ariel's heart was full of gratitude.
However, there was one more thing Ariel wanted to ask Eevee about this visit.
"Eevee, do you want to evolve into Sylveon?" she asked.
"Eevee?" Little Eevee's rising excitement suddenly paused.
Ariel looked at it seriously and asked, "I mean, regardless of whether it has anything to do with me, do you want to evolve into Sylveon?"
"Vui..." Little Eevee didn't quite understand.
"I'm sorry for ignoring your feelings all this time. I've figured it out now - Contests aren't just for cute Pokémon! Even if you evolve into a different form of Eevee, we can still compete together!"
Flareon's bravery and coolness, Vaporeon's elegance and beauty, Espeon's nobility and pride...
"So don't worry and don't feel too much pressure. No matter what you become, you'll always be the most amazing partner by Ariel's side!" Ariel said sincerely.
During this time, not just her, but Hyde and Sye had all felt the pressure on Eevee's shoulders.
To evolve into Sylveon, it had been trying way too hard.
"Eevee..."
Eevee was deeply moved.
But its gaze was more determined than ever before.
Not just for itself, but for Ariel too - it was going to evolve into Sylveon!
In this moment, Eevee's heart was incredibly excited.
In the next moment, under everyone's gaze, an incredibly brilliant light surged from its body.
It was... the light of evolution!