She was making her usual bakery stop for breakfast. She was wearing her usual pink bow. She was going to take a while once she reached the counter, and she was going to order the same thing she always did. Everyone, including Vail, recognized these facts. Despite the deep desire for adventure, change, and experimentation she had, nobody—including her—expected the plain-looking Eevee girl to ever be able to fully shake how utterly unremarkable and predictable she was.

But today, as she stood in line, people stared. They stared like they'd never stared at her before, as if she were Moltres flying into town in a beautiful burning gown...or an Alolan Muk walking in fresh from their job at the dump without having swallowed an air freshener. Their eyes hovered behind her as she sat waiting for the ten or so Pokémon ahead of her in line. Vail noticed, but she was also busy wondering if, finally, she should try the cinnamon-swirl bread loaf. It didn't surprise her that most Pokémon staring were psychic- or dark-types. She wasn't shocked that a few fighting-types were scratching their heads in confusion. Vail did her best to act as if nothing was different at all, even though she could feel her own shadow warping and morphing behind her. Eventually, she reached the counter, the blush on her face still present. "Hi, Jackie," she greeted the Pignite behind the counter. "Can I get a...uh....oh, so much looks good."

The bakery assistant blinked, staring past the Eevee as she thoughtlessly grabbed the two plain muffins she'd already set aside for Vail and began packing them into a bag.

"Oh, I guess I'll just have my usual...again," the Eevee sadly sighed, as she always did.

"Sure thing, Vail," the fire-type pig mumbled distractedly, handing the bag over as Vail slid a couple of coin in exchange. "And your...hungry-looking friend?"

The shadowy, formless figure grinned madly, pleased beyond words Jackie noticed his ghostly tongue slurping over his lips. Vail's ear twitched and the corner of her mouth turned up in an embarrassed smile. "...friend? It's just me," she commented, "...like usual."

"Right," the Pignite tittered nervously. "Uh. Well...would the person behind Vail like to order?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll find something they like," the Eevee mused, grabbing the bag in her mouth and walking off. The spectral presence that warped and distorted her shadow followed, and nearby morning shoppers could've sworn they'd heard a stomach grumbling from the empty air. But it was just a plain Eevee to many eyes...a plain Eevee and a force that finally brought a little unpredictability to her life.

---

I have a lot of Pokémon characters. I have a huge adoration for Pokémon-inhabited worlds like those of the Mystery Dungeon series, and I made a ton of characters for it. Ari the Delibird, Rosel the Smeargle, Uriel the Audino, Jackie the Pignite, Percy the Wartortle, Delany the Popplio, Shanta the Espeon, Farris the Vulpix, Jolt, Juce, and Jule the Pikachus, Runfar and Feyra the Arcanine, Eve the Deerling, Heth the Houndoom, Janet the Floatzel...and that's just the ones I remember of the top of my head! But the two, without a doubt, that survived the most potently to become main characters are Vail and Koki. And...until I wrote a story early in this profile with them? They had nothing to do with each other. And now they're fantastic together and I love them so much. The plain Eevee who, unable to evolve, searches for new experiences wherever she can despite her own tendency towards routine...and the mischievous event-planning Gengar that loves nothing more than to feed on negative emotions while watching positive ones build in unsuspecting targets. <3

You would think finding an artist to commission for Pokémon would be easy, huh? It took me forever to find one, though! And oh geez did I find an amazing one. Monstersheltie/Camille knocked this out of the park. The mood and expressions are perfect, their bows look fantastic, and, well...it's basically exactly what I wanted from their first piece of art! I'm so happy Vail and Koki finally join my cast of arted major characters.

Give some love to the post in the artist's gallery: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/40255734/

Art (c) Monstersheltie
Koki the Gengar and Vail the Eevee (c) Myself