Tia tests out her latest tweaks to the Moon Ball while searching for a very special Eevee.
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Tia crouched behind a large rock, staring intently at a faraway group of Eevees. She pulled an Oran Berry from her pack and threw it over to the Eevees, hoping one of them would find it appetizing enough to come closer. A small pile of Moon Balls lay near her feet.
She took a quick glance at the Pokedex, specifically the Dex Tracker, which said she had seen over 250 Eevees in a row, and sighed.
She had spent the last three days tracking Eevees all over Mt. Rose, and catching them to test out her latest tweak to Kurt’s Moon Ball – the ability to catch any Pokemon that evolved with a stone, rather than just Moon Stones. Really, catching any Eevee, at full health or at low health, would do.
But it wasn’t just any Eevee she was looking for. On the first day of her search, a beautiful silver Eevee had appeared, and Tia absolutely HAD to catch it.
It was then that she discovered one of the most useful features of the Pokedex – the ability to track a certain Pokemon by scanning their footprints. Then they would appear more often, until they were almost swarming.
Tia caught a movement from the corner of her eye, and she turned to see one of the Eevees munching on the Berry. Her heart leapt. It was the shiny, silver Eevee! She carefully threw another Berry near the Eevee and hoped it would come closer.
She had debated bringing out a Pokemon to battle the Eevees before catching them, but the swarm was so skittish they would probably run away rather than battle. Even so, she kept a Poke Ball on her, just in case.
The shiny Eevee finished the second Berry, and Tia tossed over a third. When the Eevee looked close enough, she threw a Moon Ball.
Tia watched nervously as the Moon Ball wobbled, once, twice, three times… then broke open. Frantic, Tia quickly picked up another Moon Ball and threw it, capturing the Eevee again. The Moon Ball shook once, then clicked shut.
“YES!” Tia shouted, and whooped loudly. She laughed and carried on until, suddenly, she remembered where she was – in the middle of nowhere with no one but Eevees for company. She looked around, eyes narrowed, then carefully picked up the Moon Ball.
She set up her laptop, plugged a cable into the Ball, and waited as the capture data flowed in.
Eevee
Level 5
Gender: Female
Evolution: Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone
Capture Rate: 3.9
Tia nodded. The average capture rate she was getting was roughly 3.5 out of a maximum of 4, so this capture was on the high end. And the Eevee was female! That was a rarity.
She unplugged the Ball and looked at it, smiling. She couldn’t wait to start training her.
Tia's Moon Ball modifications reference the QoL changes made in the Crystal Clear rom hack: Moon Balls now have a higher catch rate for Pokemon that evolve with any Evolution Stone. The Pokedex got a substantial overhaul in Crystal Clear, with one of the new features being the Dex Tracker, which among other things, allows you to easily chain for shinies. Mt. Rose is an area exclusive to Crystal Clear, located just outside Blackthorn City.