Loving Family

Chp 1

	The world of pokemon has seen many advancements in recent years. Pokemon, once considered simple wild creatures, are now seen as equal to humans. Recent advancements in science and technology have brought their vast intelligence to light, allowing them to live similar to humans, buying homes, getting jobs, etc. 

	In this world, there is a certain eevee, named Toby. He was just patch the age of maturity for his species, having grown to about two and a half feet tall, the same size as a regular eeveelution. Most eevees chose to evolve, but those that did not grew larger than tiny baby eevees. 

	Toby has been down on his luck recently. His life was pretty good during his childhood. He was born to a single mother sylveon named Shine. He and his mother were incredibly close, and everything seemed perfect. That was, until, shortly before he reached maturity. One fateful day, his mother was struck by a car, and killed. 

	For a while, Toby was in total shock. He went to the funeral, only him and his mother's seven sisters in attendance. He felt like he should cry, or mourn, or anything, but all he could do was sit there, unbelieving that this could have happened.  
 	
	He was soon forced to find a job to survive. His aunts had offered to take him in, but he refused. Jobs for pokemon were still an iffy area, as the lack of thumbs caused many problems in the workplace. Toby found a job in a trainer school, being a training pokemon, used for mock battles and demonstrations. It was kinda fun, though the pay was nothing special. It was enough to get by and didn't require any education so it was perfect for him. 

	Life was tough for him, suddenly thrown into adulthood, and of course, life continued its downhill slide. He was let go from his job because of 'budgetary issues'. No without a source of income, and having been living on the edge, he was dirt broke. He couldn't afford to stay in the small he apartment he had lived in all his life. He was forced to make a difficult decision. As much as he was trying to live like an adult, he needed help.

	He had all his stuff already packed in boxes and ready to move out, no matter what the result was, though he had a feeling that the answer would be yes. Tapping the buttons on his pokemon friendly phone, he used his nose to call the mansion his family owned, where all his aunts lived. It rang once...twice... three times... Toby was afraid they might not answer and then what would he do. He was confused when the fourth ring never came. A few moments later, the familiar voice of his flareon aunt, Ash. She was his favorite aunt as she helped his mother raise him. 

	"Hello?" She asked.

	"Aunt Ash! It's Toby."

	"Toby!" She exclaimed. The sudden burst of volume that entered her voice surprised him. "It's been a while. Why I haven't seen you since... Anyways, how are you doing?"

	"Not too good... I lost my job. I'm calling to ask if I could maybe stay over there until I get back on my feet." 

	"Of course! You're family after all. When do you need to come?"

	"Um... today." He said with embarrassment. 

	"You really shouldn't have waited so long... I'll be there as soon as I can."

	"Thanks a bunch aunt Ash. I'm still at mom's apartment." Toby nosed the red button and hung up. He turned around and gazed over the room. Most of what was packed away were personal things. The only furniture that he actually owned was the television. All the other stuff belonged to the landlord, a gardevoir named Grace. He had been friends with her ralts daughter for a while, but she left to get an education. Humanoid pokemon were in high demand in the workforce, especially specialized ones, like psychic types. 

	About thirty minutes later, he heard a honk outside. He hopped onto the chair next to the window and looked outside to find a pokemon customized truck. Most pokemon were unable to use human tools, such as cars or ovens. However with the advent of pokemon becoming equals, many specially designed everything had started to be produced, allowing pokemon to enjoy all the amenities that humans could, regardless of body type. Toby hurried outside and down the stairs to greet his aunt. 

	As he exited the building, he was face to face with the familiar flareon and his espeon aunt, Dawn. Greetings and nuzzles were quickly exchanged. "I brought Dawn along," Ash explained. "She'll speed up the process."

	"I don't mind. Thanks again for letting me stay over for a little while."

	"I told you, don't mention it. You're family and we take care of family. Let's get you packed up and we'll go home for dinner." Ash said in her motherly, if a little bossy, tone. 

+++

	Using the elevator and Dawn's psychic powers made the moving a breeze. Everything was loaded into the back of the truck. Dawn drove the truck, while Toby and Ash followed in his small car. 

	"So how have things been going?" Ash asked.

	"Meh at best. It's been tough, having to suddenly take care of myself."

	"I know what you mean. Your mother wanted to live on her own, without all of the family's money. I hope you don't blame her..."

	"I would never!" Toby blurted out. "I admire her for that. I wanted to do the same but I need some help right now."

	"There's no shame in asking for help. Everyone needs a little now and then." They were mostly silent until they reached the estate where they lived. This land and house had been in the family for generations. Their family was quite rich, allowing them to live very comfortable lives. His mother had decided to raise him outside of that environment, hoping that he would be a better person for it. 

	Dawn opened the gate, allowing both of them to drive in, before shutting it behind them. She pulled up to the front door while Ash directed Toby to drive over to the massive garage. 

	"Sorry but we don't have any room in the garage, but you can park to the side and it'll be fine." She pointed a paw to where he should park. 

	After parking, they went to help Dawn. The steps to the front door was a ramp, allowing the non psychic types to push the boxes up and into the house. Toby didn't really have enough stuff to have justified the truck. He could have easily moved his stuff alone, though it was harder for pokemon to do things without elevators or ramps. Thankfully most places were pokemon friendly. 

	The mansion itself was a large building, even by human standards. It wasn't as large as a human mansion would be, the ceilings being much shorter due to the residents heights. In the center of the entry room was a large wooden staircase that led to the second floor. The stairs were much shorter than usual ones, allowing four legged creatures to use them comfortably. Hanging just above the stairs was a ornate ice sculpture chandelier made of never-melt ice. 
	
	They gathered the boxes next to the stairs. The building did not have an elevator, as the resident psychic type was more than capable of ferrying things up and down. "So Toby, how about you and I take a tour? The last time you were here, you were a little pup." Ash asked her eevee nephew.

	"Sure. Aunt Dawn, are you sure you don't need any help?" Toby said, looking to his espeon aunt.

	"I'll be fine dear. Go ahead and enjoy yourself." She said, her split tail waving him on. 

	To the left of the stairs was a spacious dining room with a low table and stools for pokemon. Past that was the well stocked kitchen, where Night the umbreon was preparing dinner for that night. She was busily working, preparing a special meal, so they did not disturb her. For her lack of thumbs, forcing her to push things around with her paws and hold specialized utensils in her mouth, she was working quickly and efficiently. 

	To the right of the stairs was a large living room, with a huge TV and just off the side was a small exercise room with a couple of treadmills and exercise balls. Dew the Leafeon was trotting on one of the treadmills at a low speed, watching Volt the Jolteon fix a disassembled one while listening to the radio. Greetings were exchanged before Toby and Ash moved on.

	Outside of the mansion was the garden that Dew kept, another building they kept for storage, and an indoor pool, where Breeze the Vaporeon was most likely at. Ash led Toby upstairs to the bedrooms. There were nine rooms in total, one for each resident and two extra. Ash showed Toby to the office room, where a few computers were set up, telling him he was allowed to use them as he liked. Inside was Frost the Glaceon, her flag like tail waving happily as she browsed the internet. She led him back out and to the spare bedroom that used to be his mother's room. Dawn had already brought all the stuff up, so Toby started arranging things as he liked, getting her help to move the more cumbersome things around. Ash left to take care of things. Soon the room was arranged as he liked.

	His personal items were stored away or placed where he liked. His TV was placed on the dresser so that it could be watched from his bed. There was a stool next to the window, allowing him to hop up onto it to look out, or move the curtains. He had a wardrobe with a mirror and stool for easy grooming as well. He didn't require a much storage as humans, due to not wearing clothes, so his room wasn't too packed with furniture. 

	Ash returned shortly after. "Hungry?" She asked.

	"Is dinner ready?" Toby responded. 

	"Yes it is. I'm starved so let's eat." Ash led Toby down to the dining room, where all his other aunts were already seated, save for Night. She came out of the swinging doors of the kitchen pushing a cart with eight covered plates on top. The large plate's lids had clips on the side, helping Night to pick them up without spilling anything. She pushed the cart past each family member and gave them their plates. When everyone had one, she joined them at the table. 

	The table was set up with Ash at the front. Down the left side was Volt, Dew and Frost, and down the right was Dawn, Night and Breeze, with Toby smack in the middle. 

	Toby was quickly bombarded with questions from his seven eeveelution aunts. Every once in a while he had a chance to breath and take a bite, but most of dinner was spent filling them in on his life. 

	Toby retired to his room once he was finished eating. He hopped up onto his bed and turned on the TV. His relaxation was broken by a knock on his door. "Come in." He yelled and Ash pushed open the door and entered. 

	"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked gently.

	"No. What do you need?"

	"Can I sit?" She asked, pointing to the bed.

	"Of course." Toby said, getting a little nervous that he was gonna get some bad news.

	She hopped up onto the bed and extended a paw, a collar like object wrapped around it. "This is for you."

	Toby was in shock. The object she was holding was a pokemon translator, capable of allowing any human to understand a pokemon wearing one. "Are... you sure? These things are crazy expensive."

	"Yes. We were originally going to give it to your mother but... I think you should have it now." 

	"I... I don't know what to say... Thank you, I guess." 

	"You're welcome. It was nice to see you again. Feel free to stay as long as you need to." She told him as she was leaving, turning and taking the door handle in her teeth and pulling it shut. 

	Toby looked at the collar lying on the bed. The collar was brown leather and there was a paw sized box in the middle. On the back was a button, that when pressed would clasp it, sizing appropriately to the surface. On the reverse was a similar button, that undid it. He knelt down, putting the base of his ear on the translator. He pushed it down with his paw, causing it to close around his ear gently. It wasn't tight enough to restrict his hearing or cause pain, but it would take some effort to make it slip off. Satisfied with the look, he removed it and carefully carried it to his mirror and placed it next to it. 

	He had a big grin on his face as he left his room to take a shower before bed. Upon his return, his fur fluffed from the water, he found his bedding a mess. He had only sat on top of it, but it looked like someone had un-tucked them in his absence. No one was here anymore, so he paid it little mind. He climbed into bed, took a bit to lick his fur straight, crawled under the light covers with only his head sticking out and drifted off.