Intense emotions triggered a miraculous evolution, as Eevee Sister began to transform, soaking in the moonlight.
The radiance of evolution immediately drew the attention of Lucas and his friends.
His chopsticks fell with a clack onto the table. Lucas, nearly acting on instinct, stood up. Oranguru and Calyrex were just as quick to react.
"She's evolving! Everyone, keep your distance and don't interrupt Eevee!"
With a commanding gesture of his feathered fan, Oranguru used its Instruct move: the Pokémon crowded around Eevee Sister found their bodies moving away, even before their minds caught up.
Tinkatuff, just regaining its senses, discovered it was now standing over a dozen meters away.
It stared blankly at its own body—being controlled like a puppet was a first. A rather curious experience!
Calyrex, at that moment, was cuddling Cosmog and feeding it the custom golden sugar candies Lucas had prepared.
Listening to Cosmog's cheerful giggles, Calyrex smiled, but its mind was also elsewhere—
It was gathering and channeling the moonlight, ensuring a continuous stream of lunar radiance shone down on Cosmog.
Ever since learning from Lucas that Cosmog's growth depended on both moonlight and sunlight, Calyrex had made it a daily practice for over half a year: nourishing Cosmog, though it seemed like a bottomless pit, absorbing endless energy without growing.
Calyrex was patient—after all, the growth of legendary Pokémon could span decades, even centuries. It was ready to wait.
But as Eevee Sister began to evolve, simultaneously absorbing the moonlight, Calyrex's first reaction was to stop focusing on Cosmog and instead direct all available moonlight to Eevee Sister.
As a result, much of the Paldea region—anywhere not covered by streetlights—was plunged into sudden darkness, as though the moon's light had been borrowed for a moment.
Under this flood of moonlight, Eevee Sister felt as if she had returned to her time inside the Pokémon egg―the closeness, peace, and a touch of the chill brought by moonbeams, all reminiscent of inseparable time spent with her older sister.
A leap in the level of life itself was underway. Bathed in moonlight, her once-weak body grew stronger, her genetic code locking resolutely in a new direction.
From Lucas's perspective, the evolution was vivid: Eevee Sister's body stretched and changed under the combined glow of moonlight and evolution.
Her silver-white fur turned a deep jet black, while bright blue ring patterns appeared on her ears, forehead, legs, and tail.
As the radiance faded, she opened striking eyes—yellow sclerae with deep black pupils, emanating a cool, lunar composure reminiscent of a calm predator.
Gone was the cute, soft look from before—her presence had shifted massively.
Pokémon evolution often brings dramatic personality shifts and rapid psychological growth; researchers have studied it for years.
With both excitement and a hint of hesitation, Lucas asked this now-"Umbreon":
"How do you feel, Umbreon?"
"Byee~"
Affectionately rubbing against Lucas's pant leg, Umbreon made a low, calm call—her new voice carrying notes of composure and coolness, a far cry from the softness of her Eevee days. Yet, she had gained an extra touch of elegance and charm.
Although Umbreon's personality had changed post-evolution, her feelings for Lucas remained—her affection now conveyed with calm poise rather than bashfulness.
Under the moonlight, the blue rings on her body glowed brightly, adding an aura of mystery and coolness that matched the night.
Lucas, astonished, crouched down to examine the markings.
While vacationing in Alola, he'd often seen Gladion's Umbreon, but its golden rings couldn't compare to the brilliant blue rings of his own.
The distinction between normal and alternate colorations was clear.
Lucas had imagined Eevee Sister evolving into either a gorgeous Sylveon or Espeon, thinking, based on her personality, she'd become a shiny Sylveon.
But Umbreon wasn't a bad outcome at all—especially since Eevee Sister was better at learning disruption moves than her clever older sister.
Eevee Sister—now Umbreon—caught her big sister's cautious gaze as she approached. Sister Eevee was noticeably shorter now, her expression a mix of emotions.
She had never imagined her younger sister would evolve first.
Despite the change, Umbreon's affection, trust, and attachment to her sister were unchanged—she communicated all this with a simple, gentle snuggle.
Watching the sisters cuddle, Lucas felt especially happy, nodding toward Oranguru.
The rest of the Pokémon immediately swarmed in, offering sincere congratulations to the newly evolved Umbreon.
…
The next morning dawned, rare sunshine flooding the farm.
Nemona, delivered early by Sebas, stared in astonishment at the two Eevee—Sister Eevee and Umbreon—her eyes shining with surprise.
She already knew Lucas had rescued and cared for these twin Eevee sisters, who always acted in perfect teamwork.
But as of last night, they were both still Eevee. What happened?
Seeing the uniquely colored Umbreon beside Sister Eevee, a thought immediately surfaced in Nemona's mind:
"I want to battle it!"
Nemona's fighting spirit didn't go unnoticed by Lucas. With a sigh, he said,
"You're just in time. I was about to test the new moves Umbreon learned. Want a sparring match?"
He'd originally planned to use Arcanine, but with Nemona here, it only made sense to let her join in.
Nemona's eyes brightened instantly. "I'd love to!"
They headed to the farm's usual practice field, assuming their positions.
"Ee…vee…"
Perched on Lucas's right shoulder, Sister Eevee watched her now-taller younger sibling with concern.
Regardless of Umbreon's new size, Sister Eevee still saw her as her once-fragile little sister—she wanted to protect her, have her stay in the back, using support moves.
Nemona hesitated for a moment, recalling Eevee Sister's frail impression, and, for once, let reason override her battle fever, switching Poké Balls.
"Let's go, Duskull!"
A flash of white revealed a Duskull, its skull-like mask and single crimson eye floating above vaguely humanlike arms, black body and misty cloud-feet trailing behind—a pure Ghost-type she'd caught in Hoenn.
Lucas: "..."
Countering type advantage, again?!
Duskull, a pure Ghost, should in theory be at a disadvantage against Umbreon.
Lucas remembered Nemona's team included another Hoenn Pokémon, but the details escaped him; maybe she'd catch it again after her upcoming Champion's Exam. He'd think about it then.
Thinking of Duskull's typical move set, Lucas's expression twisted for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.
Duskull was weak against Dark-type Umbreon, and Umbreon's power-up from evolution was significant.
He hoped Nemona wouldn't lose heart before her exam, but she was optimistic. It should be fine.
He signaled Nemona to take the first move.
Nemona was used to Lucas always letting her go first. She promised herself that, once she reached Champion status, she'd demand he fight her on even ground.
"Lets' go—Duskull, Shadow Sneak!"
Unlike Psychic Pokémon, whose moves simply don't affect Dark-types, Ghost Pokémon could at least do some damage through resistance.
Duskull's shadow stretched underfoot and instantly shot toward Umbreon, morphing into a clawed specter that struck from behind.
Shadow Sneak was a quick priority move; Umbreon, not known for speed, had no chance of dodging.
But Lucas had never planned for Umbreon to dodge.
"Take it, then rush in—Toxic!"
"Not good! Dodge!"
Nemona watched in shock as Umbreon stood her ground, unfazed by the shadow's attack; her jet-black fur remained pristine.
In a flash, Umbreon closed the distance, slapping a poisonous glob right onto Duskull's mask!
"Dus—!"
Duskull immediately felt the sting of the poison, bubbles of purple foam rising as it retreated.
That's Teacher Lucas's classic Toxic tactic!
I didn't expect Umbreon to know Toxic… I got careless.
From the moment Duskull was poisoned, the outcome was decided.
Duskull lacked offensive pressure, and her main moves barely tickled Umbreon.
Meanwhile, Umbreon had stellar defense and respectable offense—her Snarl almost seemed to rattle Duskull's very soul.
But even Snarl paled in comparison to the variety of status moves Umbreon displayed.
Self-healing Moonlight and Wish, nullifying status moves with Taunt…
As the last of her energy ran out, Duskull actually felt relieved.
Before losing consciousness, Duskull resolved:
"If you can't beat them, join them! One day, I'll master Umbreon's tactics and turn the tables!"
Sister Eevee watched the whole battle in silence.
Setting aside Lucas's expert direction, she was astonished at her sister's transformation.
The frailty of the past felt like an illusion. She withstood blow after blow, her defensive skills impenetrable.
Sister Eevee wondered—if their roles were reversed, could she break through Umbreon's defense?
Could evolution really change her this much?
A longing for her own evolution began to stir inside Sister Eevee.
"Guess I still can't outplay you, Teacher…"
Nemona hugged her Duskull and accepted healing from Comfey as she leaned against the wall, sighing in admiration.
"Hey, that's not dirty play. It's tactics," Lucas replied, gently brushing away dust from Umbreon's fur.
After all, no trick could overturn the match with the right skill set—Duskull wasn't fully evolved and lacked experience.
If Nemona had used her ace, Pawmot, then—even poisoned—even a Terastallized one might have been able to knock out Umbreon.
It helped that last night's evolution let Umbreon absorb extra moonlight and improve her constitution.
No matter how many tricks you have, the gap in power is hard to bridge.
Umbreon was now much stronger than she was as Eevee, but still had plenty of room to grow.
Once Lucas sorted out Umbreon's fur and checked the time—it was close to nine—he handed off the ever-energetic Nemona to Luxray and the others, then took Umbreon and Sister Eevee to the glass greenhouse to check on their sprouting flower seeds.
…
Time flashed by, and soon it was midday.
That afternoon, Lucas planned to take a test drive at Levincia's dealership; the requested car needed time to arrive.
But first, lunch was to be outdoors since energetic Nemona had spent the whole morning training every Pokémon on the farm into the dust.
To avoid overburdening Tandemaus and Oranguru with cleaning, it was best to dine outside before the evening baths.
Nemona and her Pokémon practically inhaled their food, no doubt famished after all their exercise.
Looking away, Lucas caught sight of Sister Eevee, who had seemed deep in thought ever since Umbreon's battle with Duskull.
He was about to chat with her when her chestnut fur suddenly began to glow.
"What...?"
Lucas was stunned.
No way—is it happening again?
…