Chapter Text
“Hey Birch. Look I know I’ve been off the grid for a bit but I need you to do me a favor. This is Willow. And Echo. Yes, Willow is mine. Yes, Echo is Hertz’s. Things are getting dangerous around here and I can’t exactly take care of them. I don’t have anyone else I can trust with this.
Willow’s birthday was a few months ago. Wasn’t really in a place to check the calendar but if I had to guess it was the 28th or 29th of January. You’re the best Chris.”
-Your first and favorite sponsor
As Birch finished reading the note a light voice appeared over his shoulder “Willow huh?”
Christopher Birch let out a yelp that could’ve come from a Mightyena as his wife giggled behind him. “Arceus above I didn’t even hear you open the door my love.”
“You left it open.” She said as she walked past him and crouched in front of the basket. “Wow this kid is almost a carbon copy of her.”
As Chris joined his wife in front of the basket he got his first good look at the child. A startling amount of familiar dark blue curly hair already sat on the three month old child’s head. Enough so that it almost covered the very aware dark brown eyes that were darting between the two new adults.
Taking up the majority of the basket was a Noibat. It’s been a while since he saw Hertz as its pre-evolution but he doesn’t remember him being this big even right before his evolution. It's wing was tucked right under Willow's chin and it covered her whole body like a blanket.
“She could’ve stopped to say hello at the very least.” Birch sighed as he picked the basket up and turned to bring it inside.
“It did sound like she was in a rush.” Penelope reasoned from her spot at his side.
“Isn’t she alway? The last time we saw her was our wedding and that was two years ago!” He made sure to whisper but knowing how sensitive Noibat’s hearing is and the fact that it wasn’t awake yet he could only imagine it was under the effects of a hypnosis.
“So we are keeping her right?” His wife asked as she dipped into the kitchen. When he inherited the lab from the last professor before her retirement it hadn't been much of a home. It had taken him and Penelope a few years but it felt cozy now.
“Don’t make it sound like she’s a pet. But yes if you’re alright with it I think we should. We’ve been wanting some of our own for a little bit now.” He said as he picked Willow up. The child was still just looking at him. He’s surprised she isn’t crying yet.
“So then this would be a good time to mention my last pregnancy test came out positive right?”
And then Willow took that as her que to start crying.
15 years later
July 10th, 20XX
“The nature of a Nincada’s evolution still stumps many professors. Many believe Shedinja to be a “True” Ghost type because of its innate ability to not get hit by any attack that isn’t super effective and its husk-like appearance. But if that is the case then why do the Ninjask that also appear during the evolution still retain their personality and ability to grow? Many trainers that owned a Nincada before their evolution report that-”
“Willow, get down here! Augustine sent something over that you should take a look at!” My book fell on my face as Dad’s voice startled me out of my studying. Mom got me a book on Ghost types for my birthday this year and with all my other reading piled up I only just now got started on it. Actually if my watch is accurate at all “Just Now” may not be accurate.
“Noiiiiii…” I look up from my watch at Echo who is hanging upside down from the fan on the ceiling. It hasn’t actually been turned on since we moved into the room because he refuses to perch anywhere else. The little drama queen has his wings over his ears. I know how sensitive Noibat's hearing is but we both know that Dad hadn't been that loud.
“Yeah yeah I know, I’ll remind him to quiet down again. Sorry bud.” I reach up and scratch him under the chin before opening my door.
“Oibat! noi noi...” I don’t even bother hiding my giggles as I head downstairs. Such a drama queen. Waiting for me in the lab is my Dad and the twins. They’re all crowding around one of the research tables and no one seems to notice my presence except Mom who is in the kitchen. I make sure to wave to her before going over to see what the ruckus is about.
“What are you three freaking out about?” I ask as I peer over the twins. Brendan and May are only a year younger than me but neither have really hit their growth spurts yet. Dad had seen me coming but the twins jumped at the sound of my voice. They both pouted at me when I chuckled. Despite being two very different people they always manage to remind you that they're twins.
“Ah Willow I’m glad you heard me.” Dad reached over and tugged me to his side. I leaned in and let out a sigh. He’s a very round man and gives the best hugs.
The case on the table catches my attention. At first glance it just seems to be a plain briefcase, but there is a PokeBall etched onto the front. “You said Uncle Sycamore sent me something?”
“Dad won’t let us see it!” “I wanna know what it is!” Points for my earlier case. For brats who don’t get along very well they’re usually on the same train of thought. Though I’m pretty confident I’d get annoyed at someone if they were always talking over me. This time though their excitement over whatever's in the case stops the two from glaring at each other.
I turn an amused look at Dad who rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “Well it’s a present for you so I didn’t want them to spoil the surprise.”
He really is the sweetest. I gesture towards the case. “May I?” After he nods I pull it in and pop the latches open. A gasp escapes from me as my eyes are immediately drawn to the bright red. Resting in the middle slot of the case is a PokeBall.
Notes:
Penelope and Christopher Birch! I couldn't find their first names anywhere so this is what I went with. In this fic both May and Brendan are Birch's kids. And twins!
A new pokemon! This early?? I have plans for how she meets the rest of her team and none of it makes sense for before the first gym and I'd like her to have two Pokemon before that.
Anyway thanks for reading!
Chapter Text
I don't know how long I stood there staring but by the way the twins were also shocked into silence I'm pretty sure it was justified.
“One of Augustine’s sponsors decided to wait another year for their first go through of the circuit so he had an extra Pokemon laying around.” I tuned back into my surroundings as Dad started explaining. “He's a little upset that he won't be able to make it to see you off for your journey so he figured he'd see if the two of you got along.”
“What Pokemon is it?” It's not the most elegant response but I'm too distracted by the feel of smooth metal in my hand. I'm not even sure when I picked it up. I've handled plenty of Pokeballs in my time helping at the lab, and Echo technically has one somewhere in our room, but this feels different. Echo's Pokeball is more for the people around us than anything else.
“Why don't you grab Echo and head to the backyard and meet them? Me and the twins will wait here while the three of you get to know each other?”
I can hear him chuckle behind me as I run back to my room. I curse under my breath as my balance almost fails me on the stairs. I swing open the door and grunt as I get an armful of purple dragon. He’s usually tuned into the conversations downstairs but I can’t help but explain myself. “Uncle Sycamore sent us a potential partner. We’re gonna head down to meet them, but I want your honest opinions ok? We’re partners. I won’t take in another one unless you're ok with it. And that goes for all future possible catches as well.” From his spot nestled in my arms he looks up at me. His hearing along with the fact that he’s been with me since before I could talk means he can usually hear any doubt in my voice, but we both know I’m being completely serious. He grins and chirps his agreement.
“Then let's go meet a new friend.”
Hoenn is known for being one of the smaller regions. That's not to say it's without its cities, with Sootopolis and Lilycove being populated enough to almost rival Galar and Sinnoh’s cities, but I didn’t often visit the bigger cities of the region. Our home in Littleroot has been enough for me with the knowledge I’d travel the whole region some day to experience all the world has to offer. Littleroot is home to only a couple families and not many wild Pokemon visit the area. It’s a quiet town and only the Birch family has any children. Beyond a few retired trainers we have no need for an official Pokemon Center so the lab is usually enough to deal with any injuries.
All that is to say that the lab has a huge area outback away from the sight of any prying eyes. A few years back me and the twins (With the help of a few of the lab’s Pokemon) has flattened out a grassless area and marked out a small battle area about half the size of a standard one. At some point the chalk we had used to mark it out had faded away and we had to beg our parents to help paint out real ones.
As I stepped out into the middle of the field I smiled softly. It was only a few years ago that the twins had me and Echo show off gust for the first time. Me and Echo had been practicing in secret at night with his first Flying move. When we had shown it off we had both been a little eager to finally show off and he accidentally shot a rock through the window of our kitchen. Dad had gotten the angriest I had seen him up to that point and scolded the both of us. He made us promise to only practise if he was around after that.
My phone ringing drew me from my reminiscing. After waving Echo off to fly around for a bit I answered the phone and got comfy on the ground.
“Willow, official Birch lab employee speaking.” I smiled as I heard my uncle chuckle on the other end. Augustine Sycamore had been visiting our family yearly for as long as I could remember. He used to travel buddies with Dad before he moved to Kalos to further his studies in Mega Evolution.
“I thought Birch told you to stop answering the phone like that Willow.” I had gotten in trouble a while back with dad when I answered his phone like that while he wasn’t in the room. Apparently it had been one of the Elite Four asking for advice on how to move some wild Pokemon away from a city they had migrated towards.
“Well this time it’s my phone and I knew it was you. So surely it's fine.” Dad hadn’t been too upset at me considering I was only six at the time and everyone involved had laughed it over in the end.
“Your secrets safe with me Willow. Anyways I hope I caught you before you met Fennekin?” Well there’s that surprise gone. Probably for the best though.
“Yeah you did. What’s up?” I hope he didn’t want them back. I knew from Sycamore himself that he hatched the three Pokemon he would give to his potential sponsored trainers and Fennekin was brilliant. The eventual Fire and Psychic type would give me a plethora of information on two different Type Energies that I hadn’t planned on having on my original team. While Hoenn did have some of the most popular psychic type lines in the world with Gardevoir, Metagross, and Alakazam they were all well studied. Hoenn unfortunately didn’t have a Type Energy expert, or at the very least one that published their work but that didn’t mean people didn’t study the way the three lines used Psychic TE.
“Fennekin are often pretty temperamental Pokemon, but this little one is a bit more prideful than most. I’m pretty lucky one of my sponsors dropped out of the circuit this year, because I’m pretty sure none of my three would’ve been able to handle this one.” He still sounded a little annoyed when bringing up the dropped sponsor.
“Prideful huh?” It’s something I could relate to. I didn’t often like being wrong and could be a bit much when someone proved me wrong.
“When I introduced her to my sponsors she tried to fight them. When she realized neither of them would, she turned her nose up at both of them. I sent her out there because I know you and Echo have done some training and for lack of a better term she's still a newborn. If you can show that you two are strong and have the drive to get even stronger she might take to you.”
The thought of two fresh faced trainers trying to convince a small fox to join them and the little thing ignoring them makes me chuckle. I have no doubt Echo can beat her, but I’m still a bit hesitant. Is it really how I want my first Pokemon beside Echo to join me? Well it can’t hurt to try to talk it out first.
“I’ll see what I can do, professor.”
After finishing up talking with Uncle Sycamore I called Echo down and explained the situation to him. “She’s a child so take it easy on her ok? I know we haven’t been practicing any new moves recently but your Gust is still a lot to handle for a baby.” Echo flapped his wings in annoyance at the idea of having to go easy on anything.
“I know you don’t like going easy but think about it like a practice in control. Having more fine control will open up new options in the future.” It’s like trying to placate a child. His ears twitch while he mulls it over before nodding his head and taking off into the air.
The plan was to release Fennekin and try talking to her before we resort to fighting. I pull the Pokeball out of my Pocket as Echo lands on my head.
“You ready bud?” “Noi!”
As soon as the red line finished turning into a Pokemon the surroundings lit up and an Ember came flying towards me.
Notes:
Hey y'all! This chapter is a little later then I wanted it to be. I planned on working on it over the weekend but kinda forgot Easter was happening.
Two important things this chapter. I bring up Type Energy which is a concept I liked from I Will Touch the Skies. Go read it! Anyways I'll be explaining it more in the next chapter if you don't want to read about it from IWTTS.
My second thing doesn't really count as being important from this chapter but it will be! While looking for maps of Hoenn I couldn't really find one I liked. Until however I found MiscellaneaMaps over on Reddit. Their map of Hoenn is brilliant and I will be using it for this fic. It's not necessary to go look at it because I'll be explaining the route system in depth but it is really cool!
Anyways as always thank you for reading!
Chapter Text
Having a much better reaction time than me Echo manages to disperse the Ember with a Gust before it impacts my chest. Standing in front of us crouched as though ready to dart was a vulpine creature with yellow fur covering its body. Long tufts of red fur stick out of its ears like a second set.
“Fenne!” It looks almost apologetic for a moment when it realizes it shot at a human it didn’t recognize before going back to its glare. From the top of my head Echo chirps scoldingly at it before I reach up and stop him.
“Sorry little one I know it’s weird coming out somewhere you don’t recognize. I’m your potential new trainer so I wanted to get to know each other.” I squat down to get more at eye level with it. Her gaze flickers above me to the purple bat still glaring back at it. “That’s my partner Echo. He’s been with me for as long as I can remember. His species isn’t native to these parts so you probably wouldn’t recognize him.”
“Fenne! Nekin!” The golden fox crouches down even further and wisps of flame peek out the corners of her mouth.
“I’d rather not fight if we don’t have to. I just want to-” “Kin!”
I sigh as I get up. No one can say I didn’t try. “Alright I guess we’re doing this.”
“On the count of three we’ll start ok?” I don’t get a verbal confirmation from either of them but they both nod. Alright then.
“Three.. Two.. One.. Go!”
Immediately on my signal Fennekin shoots three balls of fire out of her mouth in quick succession and they all go flying at Echo who is hovering around three feet in the air.
“Fly up and out of the way!”
Echo dodges up last second narrowly avoiding the Embers as they fly past him. As he levels out around six feet above where he had been the Embers suddenly change course and keep following him. Too stunned to speak I could only watch as they slammed one by one into Echo’s back. I wince as I watch the smoke clear and expect to see my partners back blackened by the flames. None of the lab’s fire types can control their Embers after they leave their mouths. The smoke finally clears but Echo doesn’t seem any worse for wear. He looks disoriented sure but it doesn’t look like the fire did any damage beyond the initial impact.
“Supersonic then send a Gust low! Aim for her legs!” It’s a trick we worked out while sparring with some of the smaller Pokemon the lab has. By flattening the Gust as sending it along the ground we knock them off their feet and damage the legs a bit making any future dodging harder.
My hands are already by my ears when Echo’s mouth opens as loud as possible and he screams. I know it will get the attention of my family inside but I want this over with as fast as possible. The scream is so loud and unexpected that the Ember Fennekin had growing in her mouth disperses and she claws at her ear with one of her paws. Immediately after the screeching stops Echo is flapping his wings hard and sending bursts of air along the ground. They impact with Fennekins legs and send her tumbling to the ground.
“Are you done yet?” I yell across the field. Echo has landed back on my head huffing in exhaustion. We really needed to get him working on his stamina. On the other side of the makeshift arena Fennekin shakily gets to their feet. After taking a few tentative steps she makes her way over.
She’s looking up at me and Echo with something akin to pride. As I’m about to ask the little scamp what she’s so smug about, the back door of the lab bursts open and my entire family spills out of it. Dad is holding a potion in each hand and jogging towards us. Fennekin darts between my legs and hides behind them aiming her glare towards my family.
“That was awesome!” “Is that your new Pokemon?” Brendan and May catch up and pass Dad as they rush towards me.
“Why on earth was your first instinct to battle!?” Dad’s slightly out of breath as he makes it to us. I can feel Fennekin press closer to my legs as we get swarmed. I look down and catch her eye and pat her Pokeball in silent permission. She gazes up at me for a minute with a calculating look in her eyes. She nods just as my mother catches up completing the group. A beam of red light absorbs her back into her ball as I look up at my family.
“We had a few things to work out. Sorry for spooking you all.” I reassure my dad as Echo chirps his agreement from my head. My own little echo.
“She looked hurt. I brought potions for them both.” He still looked slightly frantic but had calmed down considerably.
“I think she’s still a little rattled from the new environment. I’ll heal her after this.” I grab both potions from his hand and shove them in my pocket.
“I didn’t know Ember could be used like that!” Brendan shouts from my side. Echo claws at his ears at the loud noise. I know after that scream his ears would be sore even with his natural protections but he's still being dramatic.
“Neither did I, little dude. I’ll tell you all about it in a written report.” I joke as I ruffle his hair.
Mom clears her throat and gives us all a joking stern look. “You all ran away from your lunches. All three of you give Willow some space and come back inside.” I give her a grateful look when the three turn away from me. She winks at me before going back to looking at the twins.
“But Mom, we wanna meet Fennekin!”
“No buts. She obviously needs a minute alone with Willow. You can meet her when they’re ready.” She puts a hand on each of the twin’s shoulders and guides them inside with Dad in tow.
When they all are behind doors Echo hops off my head and hovers around my waist. He taps the pocket with the potions in it. “Oh no I’m so sorry dude. I totally forgot you got hit with everything going on.”
I reach for one of the potions before using around half of it on his back.
“Noi Oi Bat?” He chirps up at me from the ground. He's looking at his back now completely void of even a bruise in confusion.
“It is weird that Ember didn’t do much in the way of burning you.” I look down at the Pokeball on my belt. I unclip it and send Fennekin out. As the yellow fox materializes her feet fail her and she crumples to a heap on the ground with a quiet groan. Knowing that she’s probably still disoriented from the supersonic I still rush to her side with both potions out. The front of her front legs have a spattering of light cuts along them from the gust. I can’t help but feel proud and a little annoyed at Echo. I told the brat to go easy. I finish off the potion I used on Echo’s back and start the second one on her when she finally comes fully around. She blinks up at me twice before making it to her feet, batting away the potion. I could still see a few cuts littering the fur on her legs but I let it go for now.
“We need to talk.” She looks up at me with none of the pride I thought I saw on her earlier. She is however still looking at me without her glare so I count it as a win.
“We’re all a team here. Partners and such. I’ll treat you with respect and take your opinion into account but I need you to listen to me in return. Do you know the basic idea of Gym Challenges?” I keep eye contact with her the entire time. Her eyes narrow at the listening to me part but she nods in confirmation at the Gym Challenges.
“You want to get stronger.” I don’t word it as a question but I wait for her to nod before going on. “Me and Echo want to go the whole way. I need to be stronger to continue my research and Echo wants to be able to protect me.” I wait a moment to let the information sink in. I know I can talk pretty fast when I get going.
“Kin?” She tilts her head in a questioning manner. I think for a moment before responding. Me and Echo can understand each other pretty well but we’ve known each other for as long as either of us can remember. A shiver of excitement goes down my spine at the thought of another partner to study and get to know.
“You… Want to know more about my research?” I ask slowly. If that is the case it feels out of character for what I know of the vulpine so far.
“Fenne!” She nods excitedly. She's really cute when she isn’t glaring at you. I go to answer but before I can Echo chimes in from my head.
“Noi! Oibat?” Fennekin looks taken aback for a moment before shaking her head violently.
“Fenne! Nekin!” She glares up at the purple dragon type lounging on my head. It was times like these that I would pay to be able to understand Pokemon. The debate went back and forth a couple more times before I felt Echo settle on my head. Fennekin seemed a little more sedated but a spark of determination was now visible in her eyes.
“So you want to know about my research?” I speak a little slower hoping to not break the tentative truce between my partners. A firm nod from Fennekin leads to me getting comfy on the grass next to them. Pushing my luck I gesture towards my lap hoping to get her close enough to heal the injuries on her legs as I talk. She hesitates for a moment before scooching slightly closer. I take what I get and start explaining TE to my new partner.
“Does she always have to be so reckless?” Christopher sighed as he and Penelope watched from the windowsill as Willow chatted away with a Pokemon who attacked her not even an hour ago. His adoptive daughter always had a way with Pokemon and calming them down, but her methods of doing so always led to her throwing herself and Echo into danger. He also had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t always for the Pokemon’s benefit. Willow had a curiosity streak a mile wide and a need to understand anything that caught her eye. She hoarded knowledge like she needed it to survive.
Penelope looked over at her husband. Ever since Willow and the twins entered their lives they both had grown a tad bit protective though her husband took it a whole step further. “Children will be children. I know you worry, but we both know how stubborn she is. Took after Charlotte in that regard. It won’t stop until it goes poorly for her. We just have to hope that her partners will be strong enough to pick up the pieces after. Don’t act like you and Charlotte weren’t the same when you started your journey.”
And it was true. When Christopher and Willow’s mom, Charlotte started their journey together they thought they were invincible. It had taken almost losing her to realize they needed to get their act together.
“Don’t blame me for wanting to protect our children from the same mistakes we made.” Penelope chuckled at her husband’s petulant response.
“We both know that she’s strong enough to handle it. And I don’t think she’ll be alone for long. Our little girl has a gravity about her. She may not be the most charismatic but she has that draw to her. Same one Charlotte had.” Christopher finally stopped watching Willow in the distance.
“Lets hope it doesn’t bring her crashing down.”
A Study into Type Energy
By Charlotte Branch
Many people believe that Pokemon harness magic to do their bidding upon the world and while that may be somewhat true it's not entirely accurate. In fact the way Pokemon interact with the world can be studied as a science. Pokemon use moves in battle. That's a simple fact, but what many don't know is that they don't need to! Sure a Emboar that uses ember can look the exact same as a Magmortar doing the same, but have you ever seen a Ninetails or Chandelure use Ember? The mastery those two species has over the move is extraordinary. A practiced Ninetails can shoot an individual Ember from each tail and control each one independently from one another. A Magmortar on the other hand? I'm sure with enough practice a Magmortar could control an Ember post firing, but why would it when it can fire it at the speed of a Zebstrika and hot enough to melt a Metagross on contact. So how can one move be so different between two different Pokemon? It's because of trainers. We need to be able to strategize with our Pokemon so we describe actions with words. But in reality Pokemon have been doing this longer then humans have been around and they sure as legends didn't come up with "Ember". It's about a Pokemon's belief in how they use their Type Energy. A Magmortar uses his Fire TE with the intent to BURN MELT DESTROY. A Ninetails will see the same move and scoff at the inelegance of it. They shape the Fire TE to be GRACEFUL CONTROLLED ELEGANT. But in the end it's how we trainers label the same move. Now most high level trainers will assign different names to better suit unique moves once their Pokemon masters their TE enough. Now we talked a lot about Fire TE there but there are a lot of fire moves to go over so lets...
Notes:
I couldn't help myself. I started writing this chapter immediately after posting the last and had to post it.
So! Our protagonist, like me enjoys studying. They enjoy knowing the what and why of things. But they love seeing how Pokemon use moves, and because of that how they use TE. Know now that Willow will also be experimenting with different moves and such with her Pokemon. Everything is an opportunity to learn in her eyes.
Another thing. There's a bit from IWTTS that I really enjoyed. How exposure to TE will change a trainer. This is only here as a warning to those that really don't like manipulation of humans like this. It's not often going to be intentional or even that intense, but it will be there.
I will be starting to put a blurb of text at the end of the chapter that goes into detail the mechanics of the Pokemon world. It won't be necessary to read after this chapter I just think they're fun to write. This one was to somewhat explain Willow's main research interest.
Anyways as always thanks for reading!
Chapter Text
After the battle days started flying by. Following our talk outside Fennekin finally allowed me to heal her legs the rest of the way, and I introduced her to the family. She didn’t seem impressed with Brendan and May’s fawning over her and didn’t stay out of her Pokeball in front of them for long. We spent a week after that just getting to know each other outside of training, but I could tell that both of them were eager to start. And I was too! It just kept reminding me of how close I was to leaving my family in Littleroot and not seeing them for an unknown amount of time. That and the fact that I had to have a talk with Dad that I couldn’t keep putting off.
I huff out a sigh as I sit up from where I had been lounging in my bed. Better do it while I’m thinking about it. Both of my Pokemon look at me with curiosity in their eyes. “Don’t worry guys I’m just going to go talk with Dad. I’ll be right back.”
The two of them start talking between themselves as I make my way downstairs. While me and my parents have never really talked about it I’ve always known they expected me to start my journey with a sponsorship from the lab. In almost every region the lab was funded directly by the League to study and research the local and invasive Pokemon. In return for the funding the League expects the labs to sponsor a batch of three trainers every few years. Sometimes that would be people the League pushes forward or trainers with exceptional skills.
Sponsorships are a big deal for trainers and the lab sponsorship spots are fought over by many new trainers every year. With the resources and knowledge of a lab behind your back it’s a given you’ll make it far in the circuit even if it is your first year. I know Brendan and May are taking two of the spots next year, and they’re both smart kids. They know they’ll have to deal with accusations of favoritism for a while before they can prove themselves. Not only do I not want to deal with accusations of favoritism, which will be made worse by my adoption status, I also don’t want to be directly tied to the lab.
With a lab sponsorship you’re expected to continue your journey past the league and continue working in that region to further help the lab’s studies. Studying Pokemon is what I want to do with my life, but to be limited to one region feels suffocating. To further my own research and learn all there is to Type Energy I’ll have to learn from so many different trainers and Pokemon.
So with all that in mind I won't be able to accept Dad’s sponsorship offer in good conscience. I make my way down the last few steps and into the living room. As is usual Mom is standing in the kitchen reading by the windows there. She likes the way the sun filters into the house through the windows and can usually be found reading and basking in the light. Her head turns my way as I make my way over to her.
“Hey Mom. Is Dad around? I had something I wanted to talk to you two about.” It’s not common knowledge, but Mom actually co-runs the lab with Dad. She just stays out of the limelight due to not being as good with the higher ups as Dad is.
She looks at me for a moment before smiling and answering “Well that's not concerning at all.” She winks at me while she says it but I can tell she’s a little concerned. “He should be in the study. We can go meet him together.”
Mom has always been taller than the rest of the family. She always jokes that the twins got Dad’s height, but if the way they’ve been growing this last month is anything to go by they won’t be shorter than him for long. I can’t help but wonder how tall my biological mother is considering I’ve been as tall as Dad is for the last few months.
We make our way to the study where Mom and Dad usually keep all the official paper business so they don’t make a mess of the rest of the house. Dad is sitting behind the single desk typing away at his laptop. He grins when he sees us walk in, but something on Mom’s face seems to clue him in that something is wrong. I didn’t want this to turn into some somber affair so I rushed to cut in before either started panicking.
“It’s nothing that bad! You guys are ridiculous.” I sit down on the couch they keep in their office while Mom makes her way around the desk to wrap an arm around Dad’s shoulder.
“You came down looking like you were heading to your own funeral hun. It’s hard to expect this to be a nice conversation. Is this about your upcoming journey?” She’s sitting on the arm of Dad’s chair now and leaning into him.
“If it is, you know we’ll be with you every step of the way Willow. You’ll have anything the lab can get you.” Dad cuts in quickly. He looks worried still and I feel a stab of guilt at what he said. He’s so genuine about it that I almost don’t want to turn him down.
“That’s what this is about. You both know I’ve loved helping out at the lab these last few years and getting to study and learn, but I want more. I can’t be limited to one region like you guys. If I want to further my studies I’ll need to travel. I can’t accept a lab sponsorship.” I rush to get out the last few bits letting a bit of the worry I feel seep into my words. I hadn’t been able to meet either of their eyes while I was talking but I glanced up to see their reactions. Dad seemed to be about to say something but too stunned to get it out but Mom seemed like she expected something like this.
“Christopher, don't look too shocked. We both knew something like this was coming. Charlotte was the same way.” Mom ran a soothing hand down Dad’s back. He seemed to come back around, but my mind was on something else.
I couldn’t help but blurt out “Who’s Charlotte?” Even though I knew deep down the only thing that made sense I didn’t want to believe it. My question seemed to shock both my parents. They thought I knew I realized. They looked at each other with wide eyes and Dad looked close to tears.
“We thought we had told you.” Dad whispered when he turned back to me. I could feel my left leg begin bouncing under my hand. I clenched my hand into a fist and stopped the bouncing. It couldn’t be what I thought. There's no way they wouldn’t have told me. I know all of us can be a bit distracted, but this is too big for them to have forgotten.
Mom actually did have tears welling up in her eyes. “We had meant to tell you last year when you started preparing for your journey. The Gyrados incident must have pulled us away before we could.” A Gyrados had been sighted by Littleroot Port and both of them had been summoned by the League to help resolve things peacefully. Even with the help of the League an angry Gyrados would have destroyed the port.
“Last year? You were going to tell me the name of my mother that you apparently knew well enough to know that we’re the same way when I was fifteen?” I couldn’t stop myself from shouting.
“Willow please, it's more complicated than that. You know we wouldn’t have kept this from you without reason.” Dad had wiped his eyes and was trying to meet my eyes. I couldn’t look at him though. Now that I was thinking about it, it made sense that my biological mother knew the Birches. Everyone who lived here had been here longer than I had been alive and it didn’t make sense to bring a child to someone's doorstep unless you knew them.
Now I was angry with myself for never asking. “You had no right to keep this from me!” I was still yelling. It’s as big a shock to me as it is to them. According to them, even as a baby I didn’t yell. Growing up with a partner that had sensitive hearing made me hyper aware of how loud I was being. I just didn’t care enough right now. I could feel a tear run down my cheek and I was mortified. I hadn’t cried in years. It wasn’t for some weird reason like being too good to cry, I just hadn’t had a reason to. I shot to my feet and ran from the study. I vaguely registered them yelling my name, but I was already at the stairs.
When I entered my room I almost tripped over Fennekin in my haste. Both her and Echo were looking at me in concern. I barely register in the pain as I fall to my knees and wrap them in my arms.
“We’re going for a little walk ok? I need a bit of fresh air.” I keep them both in my arms as I get to my feet. Being on the second floor makes sneaking out a little harder, but my room was the only one which meant there was a lot of roof around my window. I slide it open and climb out after setting my Pokemon down. They’re both looking even more concerned now, but I need to get out of the house. I make my way over to the shortest part of the roof and climb down. My bare feet hit the grass and the back of my brain registers the dampness. It was later in the afternoon and the grass was cold and wet with the humid weather. Fennekin gracefully hops down next to me and Echo follows shortly after.
My brain shuts off as I make my way toward the treeline of our backyard. I don’t know how long I walk before Fennekin nudges my leg. I collapse next to a tree and bury my head in my hands. Both of my partners make noises of concern and Fennekin forces her way into my lap.
“Mom and Dad kept something really important from me.” I take my head from my hands and start running my hands through Fennekins fur. “They know my real Mom. Or knew I guess. I didn’t really stick around long enough to ask.” Echo’s eyes blow open in surprise and Fennekin tilts her head up at me in confusion.
“Oh I guess I never told you. Sorry love I don’t really think about it often. I’m adopted. It means that I’m not biologically related to either of them and my real mom is out there somewhere.” She seems to think it over for a minute before yipping in confusion again. Echo seems offended enough at the question that I think I get the gist of it.
“Yeah honestly I don’t know why I’m reacting like this either. I never asked and I don’t really care either. Sure I’d have liked the information sooner, but I consider both of them to be my real parents.” Fennekin and Echo seem to accept this and both settle back down, with Echo taking his place on my head.
“I was talking to them about my journey. I think Mom knew, but Dad thought that I was going to be taking the sponsorship from the lab. I don’t want it. It feels like a restriction and expectation that I won’t be able to fulfill. Also deep down I guess I didn’t think it belonged to me. Our lab isn’t the biggest and can really only fulfill three sponsors at a time.” A full body shiver runs through me. Warmth spreads through me from my lap and I look down at the yellow bundle of fur I’m holding.
“Thank you. With Brendan and May getting two slots next year that means that if I took it no one from outside the lab would be able to have a slot. It’s not really fair to people who want to prove themselves, you know?” I sigh and lean back against the tree. I’d been thinking about this for a while. It’s hard for trainers to make money on their own, but not impossible. With the allowance I’d been getting for the last few years and the fact that I don’t really like spending money I’d have a good starting point. Finding places to stay wouldn’t be too bad considering Pokemon Centers had free rooms for trainers that were doing the gym circuit, and if it came down to it I would always have camping supplies on me to spend the night on the routes.
“Though I will have to make sure I can always feed you two. Gonna have to put you guys on a diet soon or you’ll starve in the middle of a route.” They both start shouting protests, but I go back to thinking. I’d be doing my best to start them on Vitamins soon as well. Vitamins are the healthiest way of boosting your Pokemon’s abilities. The most efficient way of doing it was adding one or two of them to a Pokemon’s normal meals with the amount varying for the size. Any more than two and you’d get diminishing returns.
I reach up and pull Echo down into my lap alongside Fennekin and chuckle at them. “Well you two make it pretty easy actually. We’ll want to get you both on Calcium and Carbos.” Vitamins work best when enhancing a stat that Pokemon are already good at. Over the years I’d done plenty of research on the Noibat line and in the last week crammed as much information about the Fennekin one as I could. Both are speedy special attackers, though the Fennekin line could also benefit from Zinc for their special defense.
All three of us tense up as an unnatural chill falls over the forest. Shadows coalesced by the tree across from us into a canine shape materializes. I relax as the lab’s Mightyena comes into view. It takes a moment to analyze us before barking and starting to walk back towards the lab.
I look down at the Pokemon in my lap who are still glaring at the dog Pokemon walking away from us. Squeezing them to my chest in something akin to a hug I stand and start following the Dark type.
“Time to face the music I guess.”
Caring for your Pokemon
By Koma Drams
Chapter 7: Diets and Vitamins
With so many types of amazing Pokemon in our world we can’t expect them all to eat the same things. Some Grass types can photosynthesize, and can live off of just that, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for them. Steel types eat metal to strengthen their already tough exteriors, but you wouldn’t want to feed them rusted scrap metal would you? The beginning of this chapter goes over what to expect from different types of Pokemon, but you should purchase a book on each type explaining the methods for caring for them…
Vitamins are an important part in making a Pokemon even stronger in battle and keeping them generally healthier. There are five types of vitamins you should be paying attention to. Protein for Attack, Iron for Defense, Calcium for Special Attack, Zinc for Special Defence, and Carbos for Speed. Now it’s important to know how much you should be giving your Pokemon. This depends on how much your Pokemon eats and that varies from Mon to Mon.
When starting your Pokemon on Vitamins you should consult a professional such as a Nurse Joy at any Pokemon center or a Professor at a lab. Now how to decide what vitamins to give your Pokemon? There’s a max amount of vitamins you can give a Pokemon before making it sick instead of healthier, and you’ll need to split the maximum among all the vitamins you're giving them. Only using one will give you diminishing returns very quickly, and three makes the results take too long to form to be meaningful. So you should almost always use two different vitamins per Pokemon, targeting their best stats.
Notes:
Sooooo... I don't know how I feel about this chapter. If I do end up editing it in any meaningful way I'll make a note of it in the next chapter.
People you trust keeping information from you always sucks and I tried my best to show that.
Our protagonist obviously hasn't fully processed this information yet and is avoiding it by making plans.
Anyways as always thank you for reading!
Chapter Text
On my walk back to the lab I realized two things. The first being I ran a lot further than I thought and my feet still had no protection. The second thing is arguably more important. I ran away to think and did none of that. At least not about the situation. Everything I planned could’ve happened anytime in the future. The time I had to think about what I would say to my parents was very quickly running out.
I don’t exactly think I was in the wrong. Sure running away might have been over the top, and probably did more harm than good. On the other hand I can’t believe they didn’t tell me. Sure I hadn’t thought much about my biological parents in the past, but that was only because I thought it wouldn’t lead me anywhere.
The clearing of our backyard comes into view. My hands grow damp and my breath catches in my throat. I still have no idea what I’m going to say. Will they be upset? I’m about to leave anyway, but they’re still my family. Regardless of how upset I am about this, I'll always love them. Shouting becomes audible as I grow nearer. All of my family comes into view and I stop at the edge of the clearing. Brendan is pacing back and forth shouting at our parents and May has her arms crossed nearby. Dad is sitting on the edge of the steps with his head in his hands similarly to how I was in the woods. Mom is standing next to him head down. Brendan in the middle of his pacing is the first to notice me and immediately shouts my name. May meets my eyes and her whole body sags in relief.
Before I can say anything two sets of arms wrap around my middle. May is shaking quietly and Brendan is full body sobbing. “We thought you were gone.” Brendan is barely audible from where his face was buried in my shirt. A small smile stretches across my face.
Not knowing what else to say I let out a quiet chuckle. “I wouldn’t have made it far without my shoes, you dummy.” It has the effect I hoped for. May giggles from her spot on my left and Brendan pauses in his sobbing to look up at me in mock betrayal. The effect is enhanced by the red eyes and leftover tears. Unable to help myself I wrap my arms around them and squeeze before looking up at where my parents were. Both of them looked a decade older than when we talked in the office.
Looking back down at the twins I hug them close once more before whispering “Can you two give us a second. I need to talk with Mom and Dad.” Brendan looks like he’s about to complain before May starts pulling him away. Our eyes meet again and she still looks concerned.
“You guys can head up to my room. I’ll be up in a minute. I promise.” She smiles before pulling at a still complaining Brendan. He manages to send one more dirty look at our parents before being pulled inside. I’d have to talk to him about that. This wasn’t all on them. I finish making my way into the backyard and the soft grass is a blessing on my feet compared to the undergrowth of the forest. I look up at my parents and start to apologize.
“I’m sorry-” “We’re so sorry-”
Me and Mom blinked at each other before all three of us let out a tired chuckle. I motion for them to go first while still trying to figure out what I’m going to say.
“Me and your father have no excuse. Regardless of the circumstances around it we never should have kept this from you. You mean the world to us Willow. You and the twins. We know that no one's first year is without its mishaps, but we can’t help but worry.” She takes my hands in hers and continues. “Your biological mother leads a dangerous life and left you with us for a reason. We’d like to think we’d have heard of her death, but honestly Willow we don’t know if she’s still alive.”
My heart plummets. I knew this was a possibility with never having even heard of her but it still pains me to hear. Something must have shown on my face because Dad quickly stepped in. “Charlotte is the strongest trainer I’ve ever met, Willow. We started out on our journey together. We both grew up in Petalburg you know? She took one look at me and Mightyena, who was only a Poochyena at the time and basically adopted us.”
“You knew her since you were my age and not once did it occur to you to tell me about it?” I asked sharply. I hadn’t meant to keep bringing it up but it kept getting worse.
Mom cut in. “Let us explain Willow. I grew up with Charlotte. We first met when we were ten. She had moved in from Kalos with a Noibat on her shoulder and a determined grin already plastered on her face.” At the mention of a Noibat, Echo perked up from where he had taken his perch on my head. Fennekin had hopped up to my shoulder and draped herself around my neck like a scarf.
My parents grinned at his reaction. Dad continued from where Mom left off. “Her Noibat was named Hertz. Charlotte devoured knowledge like she was starving. She was like you in that regard. Hertz and her took the gym circuit by storm. Me and Penelope stopped after our third badges to start working for the lab, but Charlotte couldn’t be stopped.”
Mom grinned as she continued. “She kept in touch with us, but we kept up with her battles online. The way she commanded her Pokemon was like an orchestra with her as the conductor. She was a fan of music almost as much as she was a fan of battling.”
Their smiles dimmed a bit and Dad took over again. “She made it all the way to the end of the tournament. She had decimated every opponent up to that point and might have beaten the previous Champion if it weren’t for Steven Stone.”
My eyes grew wide at the mention of the current Champion. “She fought Steven Stone?” I didn’t keep up with much high level battling, but I did know that no trainer had made it past all Elite Four members since. The winner of last year’s tournament, someone named Devin supposedly made it all the way to Drake and only lost to his Salamence due to a poor type match up.
Mom laughed out loud at the question. “It was Steven’s second year in the circuit, and the one he became Champion during. Not only did Charlotte fight him, she fought him down to his last Pokemon. She made Steven Mega-Evolve his Metagross. No one had even known he found a Metagrossite.”
A sad look crossed my father’s face. “Charlotte hasn’t been in touch because she’s now one of the League’s best trainers. She got pregnant with you without realizing it and had to go into hiding while on her mission. When we found you on our doorstep you had been three months old.”
My brain was having some trouble computing all this new information. Biological mother is a badass trainer who’s doing some secret mission? Check. My parents haven’t heard from her since she dropped me off here? Check. I supposedly remind my parents of my badass mother? Check.
“Do you have any pictures of her?”
My parents smiled and led me back to the study.
I stared down at the picture frame that seemed to be shaking. My hands, I distantly realized, were trembling and I couldn’t seem to calm down. Giving up on trying to calm down I finally took in the photo. In the center of the photo sat three teenagers with their arms around each other's shoulders. On the right was Dad with less laugh lines around his eyes and instead of his Mightyena he had a Poochyena sat in front of him. It’s tail was wagging so fast all the camera had caught was a blur. His eyes had been closed and a smile stretched across his face. If it hadn’t been for the obvious height difference I wouldn’t have known it wasn’t taken recently.
On the right was Mom. Her black hair was longer in the photo then it was now, making it a little past her shoulders. She had an Ekans coiled up around her legs looking fast asleep. Nowadays Arbok could often be found in a similar position on the porch. Unlike the other two in the photo her gaze wasn’t focused on the camera. It was instead turned to her companions with a fond look and a soft smile.
Finally in the middle of my parents was me. Or that’s what I thought at first. It's scary how much I resemble her. Her hair was the same dark blue mine was, though instead of the long braid I kept mine in, she had it up in a ponytail. That’s where the similarities end though. My smile had never been as big as the one stretching across her face and her eyes were round where mine had taken a more almond shape.
What had finally made the tears that had built in my eyes finally fall was the purple bat that made its home on her head mirroring Echo’s favorite perch. Her Noibat was slightly smaller than Echo, but the annoyed look on their face was the same as Echo’s. I don’t know how long I stared at them before Dad’s voice startled me out of my thoughts.
“We have something else for you. It had been in your basket with you and Echo. There’s also the note she left us if you want to read that too.” In his hands was a unraveled note and a sealed envelope.
“Can I bring these up to my room?” I’m not proud of the way my voice wavers as my hand reaches out to grab the papers.
“Of course you can sweetheart. If you want to talk about anything, me and your father are always here.” I hug them both before rushing up to my room. I could hear the twins behind the door with Fennekin occasionally chiming in. A pang of guilt rushes through me when I realize I hadn’t noticed her absence. Slowly opening the door I peek my head inside to see what was going on. May was laying on my bed with Fennekin curled up on her chest. Brendan was in a similar situation but sprawled out on my carpet with his hands in the air talking animatedly about something.
“What are you two talking about?” Neither of them spooked at the sound of my voice like I was hoping and they both smiled up at me.
Brendan answered first “We were talking about what type of Pokemon we want! May’s jealous of you and Fennekin even if she won’t say that, and I want a Water Type!”
“Brendan just wants a Water Type because I want a Fire Type.” May said from her bed, eyes still on Fennekin. The fox preened under the attention and leaned into the hand on her head.
“That’s not true! Water Types are just really cool! You watched the Circuit Tournament with me. Devin’s Gyarados literally washed away the rest of the competition!” Brendan had sat up now with an accusatory glare sent and his sister.
“Nia’s Volcarona almost beat his stupid Gyarados by evaporating all the water! Her Sunny Day was so hot that the spectators could feel it through the barriers! Apparently the Hypno that teleported in to set up a second was the one from Leader Tate’s personal team!”
I’m sure if it weren’t for the day I was having my jaw would be on the floor. I know I admitted to not keeping up with the Circuit Tournament, but those are two seriously powerful and rare Pokemon. The twins kept bickering in the background as I sat on the edge of my bed. A smile started to spread across my face.
“You two want to catch me up on last year’s tournament? I figure I should learn who my competition will be when I make it there this year.” Both of my siblings look at me with smiles on their faces.
“I’ll go grab my laptop! I have all the best battles saved!” Brendan is already out the door before I can respond. May meets my eyes and we stare for a moment before we both break into giggles. Regardless of who my biological parents may be, this is my family. I set the letters from my mother on my desk and told myself I would read them later.
The following week was awkward. I tried my best to act normal around my parents, but with the stress of the journey coming up, and the lingering anger, it wasn’t easy. The twins spent a lot of time up in my room talking about the Circuit and what trainers to look out for. There were a few first years that they told me about. Steven Stone’s younger brother was turning sixteen this year so he would be eligible to start, even though no one has seen him battle. If that was true then I was definitely interested in meeting him. I wanted to see how I held up to other first years and the brother of a champion would be a good test.
With August only a couple days away I would be heading out soon. I didn’t want to fall behind and there was no place to sign up for the Circuit in Littleroot. I’d been packing my bags the night before leaving when Dad knocked on my door. Things hadn’t grown much better between me and my parents since that day and I felt horrible about it. Here I was about to leave home for the first time and I couldn’t even spend the last days with my family without ruining it.
When I opened the door for him I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. I returned to my spot on my bed and he pulled the chair from my desk to sit across from me. Neither of us could meet each other's eyes and we sat in silence for a while. I was feeling strangely vulnerable without my Pokemon. They were both outside with the twins. My mind started spiraling. Was this it? Was he finally going to get upset at me for running away? He’s already proven hes good at taking his sweet time with these sort of-
“Willow.” Dad’s voice cut through my thoughts. I don’t think I’d ever heard him that tired before. My eyes shot up to meet his eyes and whatever I was going to say got lost when I saw his face. He was smiling, but it was a small sad thing, and his eyes were welling up with tears. His eyes dropped before I could get a read on what he was thinking.
“I know it’s too late to fully fix things before you go. Me and your mother are aware that saying sorry again won’t change anything for the better. Even if we’re not related by blood we still raised you. Still know the way you think. You haven’t really processed anything yet have you?” I feel myself growing upset again. I know the way he said it is because he’s trying to be straight with me, but it's not what I need.
“Processed what Dad? The fact that you waited sixteen years to tell your daughter that you knew her real mom? But you didn’t even tell me! Mom let it slip on accident! Would you two have even told me before I left? We look similar enough that someone would have recognized me! Supposedly we act similar enough that I remind you of her! Surely at some point you saw me from the back with Echo on my head and confused me for her? It didn’t occur to you whenever that happened that I knew nothing?” I had gotten up at some point in my rant and started pacing around my room. “How am I supposed to process the fact that I can’t trust the people that raised me Dad? How am I supposed to process the fact that I have a well of information on my mother that I can’t even tap into, because who knows what's real at this point?” I finally turn to meet my father’s gaze. He looked shocked. Like he was expecting me to just admit that I hadn’t processed things and fall into his lap in tears.
I might have a week ago, but I let these feelings stew too long without thinking about them. The plan was to continue to ignore them so I wouldn’t blow up on my family and leave them thinking I hated them. But I couldn’t stop now.
“I’m more curious as to why Dad. Did you not trust me with this information? Did you think the first thought in my ten year old mind when hearing information about a person I didn’t know was going to be to run off and find them? Abandon my loving home in search of a person who abandoned me?” I had stopped pacing by now and I knew there were tears streaming down my face. I had never been a loud crier. Most of the time I wouldn’t even realize I was even crying before someone pointed it out to me.
It was silent for a moment while I waited for him to answer me. All I wanted was the truth. A reason for him to have kept this information from so I could forgive him. I couldn’t logic my way into forgiving him if he didn’t give me anything to work with. When he looked up and met my eyes I realized I had been right. He had expected me to abandon him.
“You really thought that…” My voice had barely been above a whisper. Not once in my mind since learning of my mother had I considered going after her. If what they told me about her was true she would have come back if she could have. I slowly sat back down on my bed. “You didn’t trust me.”
It was a hurtful realization. My mind went back to the things they said in the lab. The look on their faces when they told me the last they’d seen her was at their wedding and she hadn’t even said goodbye. My anger returned tenfold as I realized exactly what had happened. “She abandoned you and you were scared of me doing the same thing. You couldn’t even see me as my own person. All you saw was her.”
Dad went to start disagreeing, but I interrupted him by standing up. I walked over to him and looked him straight in the eyes. My brain refused to register the hurt that I saw there. “Tell me I’m wrong. Lie to me again Dad.” When he said nothing I scoffed. I reached behind him and grabbed Echo and Fennekins Pokeballs off the table and grabbed my backpack from where I had finished packing it on my bed. I had over packed on food and would be fine surviving on the route for an extra night. It took Dad a second to realize what was happening, but by the time he got up and called my name I was halfway down the stairs. Mom was standing at the bottom and had obviously been listening in.
“Are you going to try to lie to me too?” I still hadn’t gotten control over my anger and it came out sharper than I had intended. My anger dissipated for a moment when she winced, but it came back when her head hung with guilt. When I walked past Mom to the front door I heard Dad finally reach the bottom of the stairs. With my brain on autopilot I put on my shoes and tossed on a coat. Even still neither of them were trying to defend themselves.
When I pushed open the front door, the severity of the situation finally dawned on me. I was leaving for who knows how long and this is how I was leaving our relationship. The thought of staying flashed through my mind, but I knew there was no point. The time we had left wasn’t enough to fix things fully anyways.
I paused though anyways. In my mind I knew I wasn’t ok leaving things like this. I hesitated, but when Mom went to speak I rushed to go first. I knew if I let her start talking I wouldn’t be able to leave. “I love you guys. So much. You're still my parents even when I’m upset with you. But I am upset with you. And it hurts knowing that even if you weren’t consciously thinking it, you saw me as a replacement. I’m leaving. Route 101 doesn’t have the best signal so I’ll message you when I reach Oldale.” With that I shut the door.
It’s when I make it out the front door when I realize that my Pokemon and the twins will probably be out back. Walking back through the house now would be too awkward so I make my way around the house. I hope Mom and Dad will be too busy talking to each other to figure out where I’d be. In the backyard May and Brendan are laying on the ground stargazing. May notices me and takes in my gear on me. Luckily for me my brain wouldn’t let me pack without double checking everything worked and I had been trying on one of my traveling outfits to make sure it fit.
“I thought you were leaving in the morning?” May’s voice seemed panicked and I immediately felt bad. The twins didn’t deserve to be caught up in this. Echo didn’t seem worried and neither did Fennekin. Echo had most likely overheard what was happening and explained it to Fennekin. I loved my Pokemon. Echo knew I had to handle that on my own and waited for me. What a sweetheart.
The twins had gotten up and made their way over to me. I pulled both of them into a hug when they got close. “I love you both. So much. I’ll visit whenever I get a chance and I’ll let you know when my gym battles are so you can watch. Don’t be difficult for Mom and Dad while I’m gone. Legends know I’ve given them enough to worry about tonight.” I could feel the front of my shirt grow damp when they both nodded into my chest. A soft smile crossed my face. What a trio we made, crying all the damn time. I pushed them both away and crouched down to meet their eyes better. It ended up making me a little too short considering I was only a little taller than both of them. I placed an arm on each of their shoulders. “I’ll visit whenever I can, ok? And I’ll call often. When Echo evolves and I can get my flying license my first trip will be right back here.”
Brendan reached up and wiped his tears away. When he met my eyes again he grinned. “You’ve got it make it to the end alright? I won’t have my older sister set a lousy record to beat.” I matched his grin and used the hand that was on his shoulder to ruffle his hair. When I turned to May there were still tears streaming down her face.
She didn’t bother wiping her tears away before speaking. “You’ll stay safe right? Keep Fennekin or Echo out at all times on the routes ok? Actually you should always have one out. They’re both small enough to be allowed out in cities. And you’ll text us whenever you have a signal right? I expect daily updates. Actually you should just install one of those tracking apps on your phone so I can-” I cut her off with her own hair ruffle and a chuckle.
“If it makes you feel better we can do it before I leave. Have some faith in your big sister. She’s known to be pretty smart.” The brats share a skeptical glance at that and I dig my hands into their heads a little harder then I had been. “Here show me which app I should install so you can be a little stalker.”
After saying goodbye to my siblings and ushering them inside I turn to both my Pokemon. I met both their gazes before asking “You guys ready for this?” I get a determined chirp from both of them and smile.
I can feel my parents' eyes on me from the window, but I don’t turn back. My adventure has just begun and I can feel a pull in my chest. Whatever's out there, better get ready because I’m going to take this Circuit by storm.
Notes:
Longest chapter yet! Which considering this chapter was only 4,000 words isn't saying much but still!
Hopefully now that we're past what I guess is the introduction things will flow a little smoother and the chapters will be longer.
While I'm not the happiest with the last chapter and the beginning of this one, I don't think I'll be changing anything. If I mess with it now I'll just make it worse.
Anyways as always thank you for reading!
Chapter Text
I immediately regret leaving when I did. Not because of the way I left things with my parents, even if I was considering turning back to apologize. No it was because it was almost fucking midnight. I wanted to make it a good distance away from Littleroot, but it’s not like I took any naps during the day. To put it simply I was exhausted.
When I found a clearing a little off of the path that I considered good enough I was just glad I couldn’t still see Littleroot. The cold weather that would come with the Autumn months hadn’t rolled in yet, and the night didn’t seem like it would get much colder so I decided to forgo a fire for the night.
I laid my sleeping bag down on the ground and laid down on my back. Fennekin took her usual sleeping spot curled up on my chest and Echo perched upside down on a nearby tree branch. I smiled down at the fox laying on me. As long as Fennekin keeps being this cuddly I won’t need a fire even when it gets colder. A thought suddenly occurs to me and I reach out and pet her. “We need to figure out a name for you hun. First thing in the morning.” It was practically one long yawn, but the little vixen perks up at it. I smile at her and lay my head down. Sleep takes me quickly after that.
I woke to the sound of a flock of Taillow in the distance. My gut clenched as the memories of the night before came back to me. The nerves I felt over travelling alone twisted my gut into knots. The last month had been hard and nerve wracking but actually being out here alone was even worse. Hopefully being up and busy will make it easier to handle.
I lift my head to take in my surroundings. Fennekin was a little distance to my left cleaning herself and Echo was still perched on his branch, not yet awake. The clearing goes a little further into the forest than I had originally thought. A fine place to talk to my team.
“Alright you two, gather round. We have some things to discuss during breakfast.” I say to my two partners while I pull the stuff for breakfast out of my pack. According to my watch it was already eight in the morning, but I didn’t mind getting a later start considering the night I had. As I pour some kibble into the two bowls I set out I hear Echo grumble sleepily from his spot on the tree. “If you don’t come over here I’ll let Fennekin eat your food.”
I had started getting lost in my thoughts when Echo chirped and glared at me pointedly. I struggled to think of what he could possibly want, but when he gestured towards his food then back at me I felt a little silly. Reluctantly I pulled out a granola bar. I had the stuff for oatmeal, but with the nervousness I still felt about travelling alone, I didn’t think I’d be able to sit still long enough to boil water on my travel stove.
As we all enjoy our breakfast I appraise my Pokemon. We had a few glaring problems I wanted to go over, and said as much to my team. “Currently we have a hard time against Rock Types and with Roxxane and her Rock types so early on our route it feels important to address that. We’ll probably be fighting Norman and his Normal Types first for your guy’s first gym battles, so that will be a good test to see where we’re at.” It’s not that I was dismissing Norman, we just didn’t have a glaring weakness to him like we did to Roxxane, and I was confident in my Pokemon.
I was actually worried about saving Norman for later. Many trainers starting on our side of Hoenn would travel through Petalburg, but not fight Norman. People think that just because he uses Normal Types he would be easiest to fight later, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Around your seventh badge Gym Leaders would start using a couple Pokemon from their personal teams instead of the normal gym trained ones. I don’t know much about the Gym Leader’s personal teams except for Norman’s Slaking.
The twins had told me horror stories of trainers starting from Oldale and just straight up skipping Petalburg until their eighth badge and getting sweeped by his Slaking. Slaking were notoriously hard to train and even harder to use in battle, but when you managed it they were absolute beasts. The problem was that Norman’s Slaking had a sadistic streak a mile wide and enjoyed wiping the confident looks off of trainers' faces.
All that was to say we were fighting him first. I also knew that as of right now Fennekin wasn’t battle ready. Sure her Embers were a sight to see they also didn’t pack the punch the move should have.
“I have a few things I want us working on. And a few things to test out first. Fennekin can you fire off an Ember and hold it in place?” The fox Pokemon thought over the question for a moment before walking a little ways off without an answer. I was about to comment on it before she fired off a single ball of fire. It flew a few feet before slowing down, but before it stopped fully and dissipated. This happened a few more times before she got one to stand still. I made my way over to it, but when Echo saw what I was doing he flew in front of me and blocked my path forward.
“Relax, bud I just wanted to see how hot it was. I’m not going to touch it or anything.” He glared at me for a moment before flying off to the side to watch. I sighed to myself before moving forward again. What was with everyone doubting my intellect lately? From the angle I was approaching at I could see Fennekin with her teeth clenched. This obviously wasn’t very easy for her so I hurried along. I made it up to two feet away from it before I could even feel the heat.
See I had been thinking about why Echo hadn’t had even a scorch mark on him after his quick battle with her. I had come to two possible conclusions. The first and most unlikely one was that she was going easy on Echo. Both my partners are prideful little brats though and I highly doubted that that was the case. The second one was that the Embers just weren’t very hot to begin with.
Now that I was this close to the little wisp of flames I confirmed that it was the second one. A sudden thought came to me, but I put it to the back of my mind. I didn’t want to ruin her focus quite yet. I backed up a few feet, until I could no longer feel the heat of the flame before asking my next question. “Can you increase the heat of it hun?”
A growl came out of the vixen’s mouth before the fire suddenly doubled the size before immediately petering out. The sudden heat I felt rush towards me made me smile. So it was possible for her to increase its potency before it goes out. I motion her over to my side. She’s panting by the time she gets there, but I have one more thing I want her to try before she takes a break. “You think you have enough in you for two more?”
Her eyes narrow in determination before yipping her confirmation. I can feel a grin beginning to form. “Alright you see that tree over there? Send a normal Ember at it.”
The Ember that she sends makes a small black mark on the tree, but beyond that nothing really happens. She looks at the mark in disappointment before looking up at me in confusion. I grin down at her. “Now do the same thing, but add the temperature increase that you did before right before it impacts the tree.”
The confusion on her face slowly morphs to mirror my grin. She tenses up before shooting an Ember at the same tree. I’ll need to talk to her later to see if she could make an Ember without gathering the Fire TE in her mouth. The wisp flies through the air and just before impact expands. Even from fifteen or so feet away we could hear the splintering of wood and the cloud of smoke that came with it.
It only took a second for the slight breeze to clear away the smoke to reveal the damage beneath. Where before there was only a small black mark, there was now a blackened dent in the tree about the size of a fist.
I let out a noise of excitement before looking down at my second partner. Her eyes were wide in amazement staring at the damage she dealt. When her gaze shifted to me her face shifted into something akin to the pride I saw after our first battle. It only lasted a moment before her features turned tired and she collapsed on her side.
My face shifted to worry for a moment before she let out a soft fox-like laugh, which turned into her own shout of excitement. I found myself laughing on the soft grass beside her.
I reach over to stroke her soft fur. “You take a few minutes to recover hun. When you feel ready to start practicing again you should work on doing that with two at a time. Hopefully the increase in number will help speed up your growth in power and control. We’ll be here for another hour or two so take your time.” She let out a small noise of confirmation and I went over to where Echo was watching us.
“You ready to get on with your own training little dude?” He chirped in agreement before taking his spot on my head. I’ve had a few ideas on how I could keep Echo’s training going. The first and most obvious was to keep him working on gust and increase his control over Flying TE. I admit that for the long term this option is probably our best bet, but I was worried about our short term. More specifically Roxanne.
The Rock Gym Leader worried me. Echo’s Flying Type moves and Fennekin’s Fire Type moves would do next to nothing to the tanky Rock Types. Echo had Absorb, but we had put almost no time into training it, and all Fennekin had right now was Scratch. I was hoping to get her started on Psybeam soon and that would help, but I don’t know what to do with Echo’s moveset.
I had considered the option of getting him to practice his Supersonic to the point it could shatter any rocks that were thrown his way, but the shrapnel would still damage him. Another option was for him to learn Screech, but that would really only weaken the opponent’s vulnerability to physical attacks.
So we were going with what I considered the funnest option. Most people would consider me crazy, but I was confident we could do it. “Alright Echo we’re gonna be doing some experimenting.”
So when people think of Pokemon using noise based attacks like Supersonic and Screech they don’t really acknowledge the fact that they’re Normal Type moves. Sure Noibat are naturally loud enough to cause damage, but even then I think they’re instinctively infusing the noise with Normal TE. So what does this have to do with training Echo, Willow? Well I’m so glad you asked. If Echo can infuse his sound attacks with Normal TE which he has no actual practice in channeling then surely he could find a way to either add Flying TE to it or completely replace it.
That’s not going so well. At first Echo had seemed excited at adding some substance to his screams, but after the first few attempts we had both lost a little enthusiasm. His first attempt at adding Flying TE was to add it alongside the Normal TE while he was charging it in his mouth. This led to both TE’s bursting in his mouth making a very loud sound very similar to a burp.
His second attempt of the same thing led to a small Gust going off in his mouth. It was nothing a potion couldn’t fix, but it did remind us of how dangerous this could be. I sat down to think for a bit after that one.
Could it be an issue of combining TE? Can they not mix the way that we’re trying? But that wouldn’t make any sense. If it is the way it works there has to be a way without it. Maybe he could attach the Flying TE to the sound after it leaves his mouth? Even if that was the case I’d be asking him to catch sound, the second it leaves his mouth. Regardless of if it’s possible it would take time to practice which we don’t have. The realization strikes me then, that I’m trying to reach too high too fast.
I reached over to where Echo was sitting next to me to pull him into my lap. “Sorry bud, I’m asking too much from you too fast aren’t I?” He wiggles around in my arms until he can meet my gaze, then shakes his head in disagreement. He really is the cutest. “We’ve just started out, and I’m already asking you to be able to catch sound. I got excited by the prospect of creating something special for the two of us, when you only know four moves.”
That seemed to stump him for a moment before he looked up at me in determination.
“Noi!”
I smiled down at my first friend. “You’ll get it eventually? Look at us, haven’t even fought our first real battles yet and we’re promising to master sound.” I stand up and hold him out in front of me. “Well I’d be a shitty trainer if I didn’t believe in you. But we’re not there bud. We need to build up our foundations so we have something to fall back on when my crazy ideas fail us.”
He squawks in offence at that last bit. I giggle and set him down. “I’m a bit crazy, bud. But you know that. For now I think you should work on Absorb.” At that I see him wither a bit. He isn’t the best at channeling the Grass TE even if he’s done it in the past, and that makes him antsy. “You already have the basics of the move down. I did a little bit of research into the moves you have and supposedly Absorb can be used on any living thing including plants. If you can master taking from plants then taking from our opponents should be no big deal right?”
He still doesn’t seem too impressed at the idea, but I trust him to listen. “We’ll be leaving in a bit so you should come work on it by camp. You can work on a tree Fennekin isn’t busy burning to a crisp.”
When I made my way back to our original camping spot I was greeted by the sight of her standing stock still with three Embers surrounding her small frame. Suddenly all three shot forward as one towards the same tree as before, which held a few more small dents. As the three wisp like Ember’s grew close to the tree they all suddenly doubled in size and exploded into the trunk. The resulting smoke cloud was almost twice the size as the one from her first attempt.
I was about to congratulate her when the tree started creaking and suddenly fell forward. The three Embers hitting the same spot had caused enough damage to knock the tree down. We sat there in stunned silence for a moment before I turned and grinned at her.
“I think I’ve thought of a name for you hun.” Her eyes flicked to mine from where they had been locked on the tree, morphing from wonder to surprise. “What do you think of Wisp?”
My response was an armful of yellow fur and sloppy licks to the face.
That final blast took a lot out of Wisp and she wanted to rest in her Pokeball before we got back on the path. While Echo started working on Absorb I made my way over to the fallen tree. It had taken a few of Wisp’s Embers before falling so the majority of the tree was a splintered mess, except for the branches near the top.
While I was examining one of the slightly burnt sticks, I heard Echo shout out. Without really thinking about it I shoved the stick I’d been looking at in my pocket and rushed back to the campsite. My eyes quickly scanned the area, but everything seemed fine. When my eyes landed on Echo he was gesturing down the path we had traveled last night.
“What’s going on bud? Do you wanna go back?” Instead of answering me directly, Echo glared down the path. When I turned to see what he was looking at, my eyes shot up. Walking down the path towards us were two people that I didn’t recognize. A blonde girl that looked around my height was talking animatedly with a tall and lanky black haired boy. They both seemed to be my age, though it was difficult to tell from this distance. I could just now make out the blonde’s voice, which given how close I was to them, means she wasn’t talking as loud as her gestures would imply she was.
The tall one noticed me first and for the first time interrupted his partner to point me out. Her eyes took a moment to find me, but when she did her smile grew. She waved excitedly at me and not knowing what else to do I gave a small wave back. As she took her partner by the hand to tug him along, my mind started to wander. The two definitely weren’t from Littleroot, and none of the families at Littleroot Port had any children old enough to start their journey this year. That meant they were foreigners, and even if I knew other regions Pokemon well enough to use that as an indicator neither seemed to have theirs out.
My mind continued to wander as they grew closer. It was pretty clear one if not both of them were trainers, with the boy having two visible Pokeballs on his belt. I smiled a bit when I saw they were on his left side. Not many left handed people went out of their way to get belts that held your Pokeballs on your favoured side. Dad found mine for me at one of Littleroot Port's markets while he was dealing with the Gyrados, and brought it back as an apology for being gone so long.
I was startled out of my thoughts when I realized both the trainers had made their way directly in front of me. The girl was looking at me in concern, and I figured she must have said something I didn’t catch.
“I’m so sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?” I cringed a bit at my question. Way to make a first impression Willow. The girl’s smile returned at my question. I was startled at the pale blue of her eyes. Not many Hoenn natives had blue eyes, which was another point at them being from another region. Her blonde hair was practically dazzling in the late morning sun. It was cut pretty short, ending right by her ears framing her face perfectly.
“I was just introducing us! I’m Lexi, and this grump is Percival! You’re Willow right? We were told we might catch up to you.” Her smile never left her face, but my eyes drifted over to Percival. The first thing that caught my eye was his hair. It was long enough that even though half of it was up in a bun it was still flowing a few inches down his shoulders. He had nodded at me in greeting when Lexi introduced him, though his gaze had focused above my head. I finally registered the familiar weight on my resting on my head, though I don’t know exactly when Echo had made his way over.
“We weren’t expecting to see you till later in the day though.” Percival’s voice was smoother than any teenagers had any right to be. His eyes were back on mine, and my cheeks flushed a bit. His eyes were the same shade as his partners, but his gaze was intense and focused. When he raised an eyebrow at me I figured he wanted an explanation.
“Me and my Pokemon decided to use the morning to train. We left late last night so we didn’t make it very far, and decided to use the safety of being close to town to have an easy rest.” I had lifted Echo off of my head and held him to my chest. “This is Echo. He’s been with me since I was a baby–”
“He’s so cute! What is he? I’ve never seen a Pokemon like him before?” My brain took a moment to sort through the interruption. I hadn’t been prepared to interact with people again so soon after my departure.
“He's a Noibat. He’s not from this region originally. They’re mostly found in the Kalos region.” I smiled fondly down at the bat in my arms. “A long way from home, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”
“Was he the one to do that?” Percival had gestured at the fallen tree Wisp had been practicing on. His voice was still calm, but I could tell he was trying to judge Echo’s strength. My grin widened at the thought of a battle with another trainer. I had trained with the lab’s Pokemon in the past, but the thought of testing our skills against someone my age had me excited.
“No, that's the handiwork of my newest Pokemon. A Fennekin. She hatched from an egg a few months ago so her endurance isn’t the best yet. She's resting in a ball right now, but she’ll be better by the time I’m back on the road.” I couldn’t keep the proud tone out of my voice when I mentioned how old she was.
Percival looked at me appraisingly. “We should travel together. Me and Lexi are new to the region, and don’t exactly know what to watch out for.” I couldn’t help myself from staring. I knew that it was a possibility that Lexi would ask, and I had been preparing myself to let her down assuming that Percival didn’t want anything to do with me. He didn’t seem to be a people person, and from the look on Lexi’s face she didn’t seem to have expected it either.
She recovered quickly though. Quick enough that I wasn’t even sure I had seen right. “You totally should! I love him to pieces, but traveling with just a family member can get so boring!”
That answered that question. They didn’t look like siblings, but my only examples of siblings were the twins, so my view was a little skewed.
I considered saying no anyways, saying that I hadn’t left Littleroot unless it was to go to the port, so I wouldn’t even be a functional guide. All of that was true, but so was one glaring issue that had been apparent when I woke up this morning. I wasn’t good at being alone. My mind wandered too much and if it hadn’t been for Echo I wouldn’t have even remembered to eat breakfast.
“I’d love to, but I do have to warn you. I’m not familiar with the region outside of knowing what Pokemon inhabit this forest, and I overthink a lot and get stuck in my head. Though I’m sure you’ve noticed.” My eyes flickered between the two as they seemed to have a silent conversation. When Lexi nodded at Percival my nervousness melted away. Until I was faced with the idea of travelling with people, I didn’t realize how desperate I was for it.
“If we’re travelling together you should meet our Pokemon!” The seriousness surrounding the two melted away as Lexi’s smile returned. Now that I was talking to her I realized that I expected most of her sentences to be said with the same enthusiasm as Brendan. And for the most part they have been. The only difference was the volume. Where Brendan shouted most of the things he said, Lexi never went above a normal speaking volume.
When Lexi started reaching behind her I expected her to pull out a Pokeball. Instead she pulled out a pink thermos and opened the lid.
“Milcery come on out! We’ve met a new friend.” My heart skipped a beat, and my cheeks grew hot at the label. Percival didn’t seem phased at the mention of being friends so I let it drop for now. Not that I didn’t like these people. They seemed decent enough. It just felt so quick. I still feel off balance from everything that's happened these last few days. Months even.
Out of the thermos floated out a small Pokemon that was seemingly made up of a blob of cream. I was startled when two white eyes appeared on the mass of liquid. When Lexi caught my gaze on the thermos she explained “She likes the cold of the metal.”
“Cery? Milcery?” The unfamiliar Pokemon floated close to my face and flipped upside down mid air.
“Hey there. I’m Willow, and this is Echo.” As I lift my Pokemon up further in my arms, I realize that I forgot my Pokedex on my table at home. I curse under my breath before focusing my attention back on the Pokemon in front of me.
The cream Pokemon giggled at Echo and a tendril of cream poked out of the mass near his face as though to poke him. When it got close enough Echo opened his mouth, and before I could stop him licked the hand.
Before I could apologize Milcery started giggling even harder sending ripples across their body. “Haha you should see the look on your face! Don’t worry Milcery doesn’t mind.” Lexi’s laugh is cute. A blush rises to my cheeks at the look on her face.
My mind grinds to a halt at that. I don’t even notice Echo wiggle out of my arms to fly around with Milcery. First I get made into a mess over Percival’s eyes, then Lexi’s laugh makes me blush? Ignore the fact that I don’t know anymore than them about my own region. I shouldn’t have agreed to travel with them because I’m apparently a disaster around people my own age.
Seemingly not noticing the crisis I’m going through, Percival reaches down to the Pokeball on his belt. “Bronzor, come on out. We’ve got someone new traveling with us.” I calmed down enough to pay attention to the form that appears from his Pokeball.
The first thing I noticed was the deep blue, only a shade or two lighter than my hair. The second was the almost mechanical groan that emanated from the Pokemon when it opened its eyes. It almost looked annoyed at being sent out before its eyes focused on me. The disc-like creature stayed by its owner's side, but tilted forward in my direction in a very similar motion to Percival’s nod in greeting to me.
“This is Bronzor. He’s been mine for a few years now, and doesn’t like being washed.” Despite what Percival says, the Bronzor seemed to almost shine under the light. Milcery and Echo had made their way back and Echo chirped his greeting to Bronzor. “Bronzz…” He almost drawled out his greeting in the same mechanical groan as before.
“Well I suppose all that leaves is Fennekin, unless you two have a second Pokemon?” I asked, making sure I wasn’t interrupting their introductions. When both of them shook their heads I released Wisp.
The yellow fox brushed against my legs before looking up at the new faces. “Wisp this is Percival and Lexi. Their Pokemon are Bronzor and Milcery.” I barely got out my introductions before Lexi squealed.
“Oh she’s so pretty!” She crouched down and reached a hand out. “May I pet you?”
Wisp seemed to think about it for a moment before looking up at me for permission. When I nodded my head, she butted her nose into Lexi’s outstretched hand. While Lexi fawned over Wisp for a bit I took the time to analyze the two.
The two of them had very different. From what I could remember from my research into caring for Psychic types Bronzor was Psychic and Steel Type. My first thought of Milcery was Ghost Type, but I quickly realized it wasn’t the case. It wasn’t mentioned in the book Mom had gotten me, and she didn’t carry the chill that was rumored to follow Ghosts.
“She’s a Fairy Type.” I jumped at Percival’s voice. When I looked up at him in confusion I could see the corners of his lips quirk up. “You really weren’t kidding about getting lost in your thoughts were you? You were muttering and I caught the bit at the end.”
The blush that had been dying down returned with a passion. “I’m sure you two met my parents when you passed through Littleroot? I don’t exactly want to be a professor, but I do love learning. I can get a little distracted when thinking because of that.” I wasn’t about to tell two people who were practically strangers about my research, but I couldn’t keep zoning out without giving them a reason.
Lexi had stood back up while we were talking, and bumped my shoulder with hers with a grin. “Well I dunno about you two, but I’m ready! No point in burning daylight right?” And with that she jogged back to the path before turning back to us. “Hurry up! You two may as well be Slowpokes with how slow you are!”
When I turn to Percival he’s smiling fondly at Lexi. The look brings a smile to my face. “Well we don’t wanna lose her right? Let’s get going!”
Notes:
New friends and more Pokemon!
I meant to post this chapter earlier, but left it in my drafts instead of fully posting it... Oops!
Don't have much to say about this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed!
As always thank you for reading!
Chapter Text
“Ugh it’s so hot here. How do you live like this Willow?” I can’t help but laugh at Lexi’s complaint. It had been overcast these last few days, but since this morning the sun had been glaring down on us.
“It’s actually quite nice out right now. You guys are lucky you didn’t come out during the summer.” As I’m saying that I take another look at my companions. Both were wearing long sleeves though Lexi had rolled hers up when we started travelling.
“It gets hotter around here!?” Lexi puts the back of her hand to her head and gasps. I laugh again at her theatrics.
“Don’t worry too much. This should be the last hot day of the year.” Tourists often only visited Hoenn in the Autumn or Spring months because of how extreme Winter and Summer are.
“Actually now that I think about it, where are the two of you from?” I’d been wondering about it since meeting them.
The two shared a look I couldn’t decipher before Percival spoke up. “We came here from Sinnoh.”
My eyes widened in surprise, but it explained Lexi’s complaints. Sinnoh was a much colder region in general than Hoenn. What didn’t make sense however was choosing Hoenn. Considering the distance between the two island regions even if they had made the whole trip on a fishing boat the trip would’ve cost more than a little money.
Before I could stop to think my mouth was moving on its own. “That’s a pretty long journey just to get to Hoenn.” I cringed at my words. Even if it was worded as a statement the underlying question was clear.
As the apology was falling from my lips Percival waved me off. “Don’t worry about it, I’m aware it's more than a little strange. My family had issues with the way I wanted to live my life, so I took matters into my own hands and left. Lexi followed me when I ran off, and came up with the idea to travel here.”
Lexi’s sudden laughter cut off my second apology before I could even open my mouth. “Percy is giving me too much credit. I was going to run out behind him, with nothing but Milcery’s thermos. It was really all my Mom. When I had gone to run after him she gave me the money to buy our tickets over here.”
My eyes darted between the two. “So… you two are cousins?”
I almost smacked myself in embarrassment. It seems like I couldn’t stop being an idiot around these two.
Once again my apology was cut off by Lexi’s laughter. I even caught a chuckle from Percival. “Yes we’re cousins. Our mothers are sisters.” Percival’s voice was as smooth as always even through the grin on his face.
“Though I’m way cooler than either of Percival’s siblings. Actually I think we met your siblings in Littleroot Willow. The twins?” Lexi had stepped in front of me and started walking backwards while talking.
A smile stretched across my face at the mention of Brendan and May. “Oh you met the twins? I’m adopted, but yeah we’re family. Are you the youngest of your siblings Percival?”
Percival’s grin dropped at the question. “You should call me Percy. Percival is a mouthful. But to answer your question I am in fact the youngest. My sister is older by three years. My brother is six years older.”
Before I could answer, a noise from ahead drew our attention. I was starting to get sick of getting interrupted. On the path ahead of us were three Pokemon. A Zigzagoon slowly getting circled by two Poochyena. The Zigzagoon looked badly injured, barely able to stand. Without thinking about it I released Wisp in front of me.
As the fox took a moment to get oriented I reached for Echo’s Pokeball. Wisp wouldn’t be able to take out both of the Dark Types before they made it to us, and she wouldn’t stand a chance in close quarters.
“Wisp get them away from Zigzagoon with Ember. Don’t bother with power this time, just distract.” As Wisp starts charging up Ember I release Echo.
“Echo get up high and prepare a Gust. Fire it off when the Poochyena start coming at us. Aim to trip.” Noibat takes off without hesitation.
A low powered Ember finds its place in both canine’s sides and they turn to face us.
“When Echo lets off his Gust I want you to shoot two Embers at each. Don’t aim for the head. No reason to leave them unable to get away.” As I finish giving my orders to Wisp I hear a shout from behind me.
“Bronzor, Confuse Ray! Target the one in front!” I turn my head to see Lexi and Percy with their backs to me facing another three Poochyena. They were around ten feet away and making their way closer. Floating between the two groups were Bronzor and Milcery. Dark purple energy started swirling in front of Bronzor before shooting out in a beam at the closest Poochyena.
The attack didn’t seem to do any damage at first, but the Dark Type stumbled a bit before continuing forward. Before I could do anything to help I heard the howling of wind behind me. As I turned back to my Pokemon I heard Lexi shout out a move to Milcery.
I finished turning just in time to see the small explosion of the combined power of four Embers slam into the two advancing Pokemon. The ground around them was littered in small gashes and I knew both my Pokemon had increased the power of their attacks when they realized we were surrounded.
“Wisp one more barrage! Aim to knock out! Echo the other side needs help. Gust, but make sure to avoid our friends!” I was starting to panic now. Packs of Poochyena didn’t often hunt this close to the route.
Before the smoke cleared from the last barrage another four made impact. I didn’t even need to look at Wisp to know she didn’t have the energy for another one of those in her. The three she used to take out the tree this morning had been enough to take her out and she's already shot eight full powered ones.
When the smoke cleared I was shocked to see one of the Poochyena still standing, hovering protectively in front of its fallen friend. Its hackles raised as it growled at us, and I was worried it was going to attack. Instead it raised its head and howled before awkwardly picking the fallen Poochyena up by the scruff of its neck and darting into the woods. From the sighs of relief from behind me I could tell the same had happened with their group.
I lift Wisp into my arms before turning to my friends. Before I could take in the state of their Pokemon, I suddenly had a pair of arms wrapped around me. Wisp yelped at the unexpected crushing.
“Willow, you were amazing! You reacted so quickly!” It was hard to make out the blonde’s words from where her face was buried in my shoulder. My eyes met Percy’s and he nodded.
“Truly impressive if not a bit reckless. I’ve never quite seen Embers used in the way your Fennekin did.” His voice was still as passive as before, but I swore I could see a bit of respect in his eyes where there hadn’t been before.
I could feel a blush rise to my cheeks at the praise.
“It really wasn’t that impressive. I almost got you two hurt going in like that without thinking!” My voice raised at the end as the severity of the situation fell over me. If those two hadn’t found me this morning I would’ve had to deal with the five Dark Types on my own.
Lexi had taken a step back before putting her hands on my shoulders and locking her gaze on mine. “Hey don’t say that! Those three that ambushed us had obviously been following us for a while, and you managed to help with them as well as the two you were fighting!”
From the look on Percy’s face I could tell he didn’t fully agree, but my mind returned to the reason I engaged with the Poochyena in the first place.
Lexi yelped when I shoved Wisp into her arms. I turned back down the way we were heading my hand already reaching around to grab a potion from the outer pocket of my bag. The Zigzagoon was lying on the ground where the Poochyena had been circling and I dropped to my knees next to it. My eyes were scanning it for damage when I felt Echo drop down next to me. I hadn’t noticed him after the fight, but he must have been following the pack to make sure they had really left.
I sighed in relief when I saw the only real damage was a shallow gash in its side. It closed up after a few sprays of the potion, and I stood up as the Zigzagoon slowly regained consciousness.
I could hear my friends approach from behind, but my eyes were locked on the Pokemon in front of me. When its eyes finally opened and locked onto me it shot to its feet and wobbled a bit. It looked up at me with uncertainty, before rushing into the underbrush.
“Ungrateful little thing huh?”
“Be quiet Lexi.”
“What it’s true!”
I laughed at my friends' antics before turning to face them. “It's fine Lexi. Most wild Pokemon don’t like staying around humans. Are both your Pokemon alright?”
Percy nodded his head. “Your Noibat managed to disperse what I think was a Dark Pulse with his Gust before it hit Bronzor.”
I look down at the bat standing next to me before picking him up and hugging him the same way I had with Wisp earlier. “I’m so proud of you bud.” My eyes raise to look at Wisp who was still in Lexi’s arms. “Both of you.”
“As touching as this all is, can we get back on the road? I’d rather not camp around here after making all that noise.”
Wisp had been too tired to walk after the fight so she returned to her Pokeball. Echo had decided to stay out and fly in the skies around us to keep a lookout for other wild Pokemon. Neither Bronzor or Milcery had taken any hits so they were floating closer by.
We had passed over Route 101’s river and would be approaching the split between Route 101 and Route 105 any minute now. Route 105 would lead straight to Petalburg City where Norman and the first gym I’d be doing would be. If you continued on 101 you would eventually make it to Oldale Town which is where I was originally planning on heading.
The split in routes came into view just as the sunset began painting the sky pink, and I suggested we set up camp there. When we each had our sleeping bag set up we huddled around a fire Wisp had lit for us.
I looked down at the soup Percy had put together then over at his bag. How did he fit the ingredients for that in there? My gaze rises to look at my two companions before asking “Did either of you have a plan on where you were going?”
Percy ran his hand along the back of his neck before answering. “We had asked around at the port and everyone said that the Professor in Littleroot would be able to give us more information, but when we got there all he said was that we should continue on this route to get to Petalburg City.”
Lexi chimed in when Percy finished. “Your siblings were actually a big help! They told us that when we reached the city we had to sign up at the Pokemon Center there and they would give us a Pokedex and lodging.”
I nodded along as they spoke. Usually Dad was better at giving information to new trainers, but he must still be upset over me leaving.
“That’s all true, but they left a few things out. The Pokemon Centers do give free lodging for trainers and serve breakfast and dinner. I’m sure you know that they also heal your Pokemon for you?” As I speak both of them nod along.
“What no one told you is that there’s a gym in Petalburg and they will only go down to having two Pokemon. If you only have one you’ll be fighting a two versus one battle.” When I mention the gym they both lean in to listen.
I continue where I left off. “If we take a left here and go down Route 105 we’ll reach Petalburg in a day or two. Not a lot of time to catch a Pokemon and train it up.”
Percy cuts in “I’m sensing a but coming up.”
I give him a look at the interruption. “A lot of trainers skip over the gym in Petalburg so even if we get there a little later we’ll still have no trouble finding a spot. My original plan was to head to Oldale which is the same distance away, but down the right instead. There’s a Route between the two that isn’t as well maintained as these two, and there will be more time and wild Pokemon to train against.”
Percy seems to be thinking it over, but as soon as I finish speaking Lexi starts. “Why do trainers skip over the gym in Petalburg? Is the Gym Leader there super strong?”
I chuckle a little at Lexi’s question. “The Petalburg Gym specializes in Normal Types, and because of that people think leaving it till last means leaving the easiest gym till last.”
At that Lexi lets out an uncertain chuckle. “I mean are they wrong?”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “I don’t know how it works in Sinnoh, but out here when you get to your seventh badge the Gym Leader will start using Pokemon from their personal team.”
“Sinnoh Gym Leaders do the same.” Percy confirms from the side. I nod at him and continue.
“Norman, the Petalburg Gym's leader, has had the spot for almost more than a decade now. The fights he has with people on their eighth badge are almost all private, but the seventh badge fights almost all end with him winning. Out of all the Gym Leaders in Hoenn he has the highest number of wins in the seventh and eighth department.”
At that both of their eyes widen in surprise. I smirk at their reactions. “On the other hand, he has the lowest win rate of the first, second, and third badge group.”
“So your plan is to start with him after training on the route between Oldale and Petalburg?” Percy asks, his brow furrowed in thought.
I nod in agreement. “I already have two Pokemon for the fight so I’m fine, but the two of you should work on finding one between here and there. Don’t rush it though! Catching the first Wurmple or Lotad you come across will only lead to regret down the road.”
It was one of the first things Dad had told me about his journey. He had caught his Poochyena against its will and it took him until his second badge to earn its trust back. There are also horror stories online where a trainer will catch a Pokemon to help beat a gym then abandon it after it serves its “purpose”.
“I think that your plan is probably for the best, Willow.” Percy’s voice cuts through my thoughts and I focus back on the conversation.
I clap my hands together then stand up. “Then it’s settled. We’ll continue down 101 until we reach Oldale then sign up for the Circuit.”
When they both voice their agreement, I turn and release Wisp from her ball. She seems all better now, and when I open my arms from where I had gotten into my sleeping bag she leaps into them and snuggles close.
I let out a yawn as I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. My eyes wander our makeshift campsite. Percy is up and boiling water on the fire. Wisp is laying in his lap, happily accepting his head scratches. Lexi is still snoring softly in her sleeping bag, and Echo is nowhere to be seen. When I step out of my sleeping bag Percy sends a small wave my way before turning his attention back to the boiling water.
After I’m finished rolling up my sleeping bag I make my way over to the fire. The sun hasn’t fully risen yet, and the morning chill is creeping into my bones so the fire is a nice way to wake up. Percy’s hair is down from the bun he had it in last night, and is flowing down his back. I risk running a hand through my own hair and hiss when I find it knotted. Sometimes I wish I had straight hair.
“Where did you get the water?” I’m not as familiar with the area as I probably should be, but I don’t remember a water source nearby that isn’t Route 101’s river.
“Your Noibat showed me a nearby creek when I asked if he had seen one. After he showed me though he flew off.” Percy whispered as he poured said water into a travel mug. He pulled out an ornate box from his backpack, with leaves engraved on the sides.
He looks back my way. “Do you drink tea?”
“I don’t mind green tea, but I’m more of a coffee drinker.” Mom had gotten a shipment of different teas from Johto last year, and we’d slowly been making our way through it with afternoons on the porch.
“Would you like some? I have an extra mug around here somewhere.” He wasn’t looking my way so he didn’t see the flash of surprise cross my face. The tea in the box looked expensive enough to not be offered so easily.
A voice from over my shoulder makes me jump. “You should say yes. He likes sharing his tea, and I’m not a fan.”
My head swivels around to see Lexi rolling up her sleeping bag. Her blonde hair is slightly flat on one side from where she’d been sleeping on it.
“I love you no less, even if your lack of taste is disheartening.” Now that Percy is speaking full volume, a slight rasp that wasn’t audible before makes itself known.
“If you have an extra mug, some tea would be lovely. Thank you Percy. Was Echo nearby when you woke up?” I asked while holding back a yawn, making the last few words hardly eligible.
“He was circling above. As far as I’m aware your two Pokemon took shifts keeping an eye out last night. I’m planning on seeing if Bronzor would be willing to join them tonight.” Percy also had to hold back a yawn as he spoke.
“Man I knew Percy wasn’t a morning person, but I’m surprised you aren’t either Willow.” Lexi had sat beside me, close enough that our knees bumped together.
“I just didn’t sleep well. First day nerves, you know?” I bumped my knee into hers and grinned. “I hadn’t been expecting such a big battle so early.”
Percy poured water into a second mug he pulled from his bag. He cleared his throat before speaking. “It was definitely unexpected. Up until then we had only seen a few Wurmple on the route between Littleroot and the port.”
That sounded closer to being right. Many of the powerful Pokemon preferred staying deep in the forest where they didn’t have to deal with trainers all the time. The pack of Poochyena weren’t powerful enough to be monitored by any nearby rangers, but it was still strange to see them by the route.
As I’m thinking, my stomach growls drawing the attention of my two companions. Wisp let out a chittering that vaguely resembled laughter from where she now sat next to Lexi. Lexi grinned at me and Percy let out a chuckle.
“Let's heat up some of that soup.” He said, still chuckling.
While we had been eating Echo had shown back up and tucked himself under my arm while I ate. I took a moment to pour him and Wisp some food.
I look up at my companions. “The route ahead is uphill for about five miles, but it levels out for a while. There are a few Rock and Ground Types that make their home at the top.” The hill ahead is probably the most dangerous part of Route 101 mostly because most people’s starters have a tough time getting past the bulk of Rock Types.
My statement didn’t get a response, but both trainers looked at the route ahead with consideration. As we finished packing up our makeshift campsite my eyes drifted to the path then back to my Pokemon. If Lexi or Percy picks up a Rock Type while we’re here I’d have to see if they’d be willing to help me test out tactics for Roxanne.
“Willow, let's get going! We’re burning daylight!” Lexi had her hands cupped around her mouth to shout even though she was only a small distance away. Percy is standing next to her a little down the path putting his hair up in the half bun it was in yesterday.
“Yeah, yeah I’m on my way.” I chuckle to myself as I jog to catch up to them. The first day of my journey has passed and the second is just beginning.
Notes:
This chapter is shorter than the last, but I'm pretty happy with it. The next one should be up on Saturday.
First real fight scene and our protagonists crushed it! Surely this won't make them overly confident later on...
As always thank you for reading!
Chapter Text
Many of the most traveled routes in Hoenn are well looked after by the Pokemon League and the rangers of the surrounding area. This part of the path was clearly more well traveled than the length we had already walked. We had only made it a mile up the hill before a small building came into view.
“Do people often live on the routes out here?” Percy asked. I laughed and pointed to the bulletin board just in front of the building. There were a few sheets of yellowed paper that we couldn’t make out yet, but the important bit was the Pokeball design on the top.
“This is a ranger station. They’ll usually be on either end of a dangerous area so they can respond to issues quicker.” As I was explaining, a young man wearing the green uniform and cap had stepped out of the building. His eyes widened slightly when he saw us. We kept walking towards the building while he turned and shouted something inside.
When he turned to greet us a smile stretched across his face though it was a little sheepish. “We weren’t expecting trainers for another week when the Circuit officially started so we don’t have anything set up fully yet. The surrounding area has been a bit more dangerous this past year so we have some orientations for new trainers being set up.”
I knew from Dad that the part about the area being slightly more dangerous was true, but I had no idea it was to the point of needing orientations for new trainers. It could explain the Poochyena we had encountered.
“Does that mean we won’t be allowed to continue?” Lexi asked, a somewhat accusatory tone in her voice.
A gravelly voice spoke up from behind the young man. “Well before we let you go forward we’ll have to give you the rundown of what's been going on.”
Standing behind the man was the older woman wearing the same uniform. Her grey hair was tucked into a bun that poked out the back of her cap. Her blue eyes scanned us over before she turned around and started walking back towards the building. Before she walked inside she whistled twice in quick succession. Me and Echo flinched at the sound.
From the forest nearby heavy dual wingbeats could be heard. All the heads in our small group turned towards the sound just in time to see a large purple shape burst from the trees and settle by the woman. The red glow of a Pokeball surrounded it before I could make out what it was, and the woman walked inside.
The man who had originally greeted us chuckled and started walking. “Well let's get going. If we do this fast enough you should be able to get to the top of the mountain before night falls.”
I turned to meet Percy and Lexi’s eyes and raised an eyebrow. Lexi shrugged and Percy nodded and we followed the ranger inside.
The main lobby had a small counter with a bell on it, and a door behind it. To the left was a staircase that turned to the right so I couldn’t get a better look at the top. Off to the right was a pair of open doors, but other than a few plants the lobby was empty.
“Is it just the two of you at this station?” Percy asked the man who was leading us. He laughed at the question before waving the group through the first door on the right. Inside was a large room with a large whiteboard and desk at the end and a few stacks of chairs lining the walls.
“No, there are two others that are here with us full time. Pim and Henry are out on the route right now trying to move some angry Pokemon away from the path. I’m Allan by the way. The grumpy one is Haven.” Allan had moved to the front of the room and started rummaging through a drawer on the desk.
While he was looking Lexi pulled three chairs over from one of the stacks and set them out. I smiled at her and sat down. As we got settled the sound of someone knocking on wood came from behind us. Leaning against the doorframe was the lady from outside with a stack of papers in her hand. Haven was what Allen said her name was.
“I have the reports here Allen.” As she spoke she wandered over to Allen’s side without sparing us a glance. When she got to the desk she set the reports down and looked us over. “What are three trainers doing coming out here from Petalburg this early?”
I frowned at her assumption, but it was a valid one. Littleroot and its port weren’t the biggest around so having foreigners coming from there didn’t make sense, and anyone familiar with the area knew that neither area produced enough children to have three trainers in one year.
“I’m actually from Littleroot. These two-” I glanced over at Percy before continuing. When he nodded I started speaking again. “These two came here from Sinnoh. None of us have our Pokedex and haven’t signed up for the circuit yet. We’re on our way to Oldale now to sign up at the Pokecenter there.”
Haven’s eyes narrowed in my direction. “Littleroot huh? It’s been a while since I’ve been back home, but I don’t remember a family that would have had a kid your age.”
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t seen her before, but if what she said was true, a while back would’ve been over fifteen years. “I live with the Birch family. They adopted me when I was a baby.”
A pang of hurt and guilt shot through me at the thought of my family. I’ll have to check if they get service here before we leave. I don’t think I’m ready to call them, but I should send a text to them.
Haven’s eyes widened at the mention of the Birch family. After looking me over her eyes widened even more. “Well I’ll be.” I had trouble hearing the whisper under her breath. Another flash of emotion floods me, but this time its anger. It's probably my stupid luck, but the first adult my parent’s age I meet recognizes me.
While I would love to talk to her about Charlotte I don’t want to hold up Lexi and Percy any longer than necessary so I hurry to speak. “So what do we need to know before moving forward?” I can feel the looks from both of my companions, but I keep my eyes on the rangers.
Allan seems to understand what I want and starts explaining what's been happening in the surrounding area. I let out a sigh of relief and settled further into my chair to listen.
At some point during Allan’s explanation Haven had left the room though I was too engrossed in what he was saying to really acknowledge it. Apparently a strange migration season had happened and a few herds of Pokemon that made their home in the desert had settled on the hill.
A group of Trapinch was around, but as long as we kept our eyes out on the ground for their holes we wouldn’t have any issues with them. The big concern was a group of Ryhorn being led by a Rhydon. That was the issue that the two other rangers from this station were dealing with.
Recalling the events of yesterday I spoke up as he finished explaining the rest of the local species. “Uh I don’t know how important this is, but yesterday right before the Route 101 river, we were attacked by a group of five Poochyena.”
Allans eyes furrowed in concern. “Are the three of you alright? We have medical supplies on hand for both people and Pokemon.”
Lexi laughed and leaned back in her chair. “We’re all good. We managed to scare them off before they managed to land a hit on any of our Pokemon.”
With a sigh he picked up the reports and a pencil. “Well that's good I suppose. I’ll add it to the report, but considering that part of the route isn’t travelled much we might not get to it for a couple of weeks. Could I ask you a few questions about the event?”
“Yeah that shouldn’t be an issue. What do you want to know?” I hadn’t expected to have to talk about it, but it wasn’t like I regretted how I handled it.
“You said there were five Poochyena in a group on the route? Without a Mightyena leading them?” I couldn’t place the tone in Allan’s voice, but the doubt was clear in his words.
“Well I guess we should start from the beginning. We were walking down Route 101 from Littleroot and it was around midday. On the path ahead of us were two Poochyena attacking a Zigzagoon, and I had my Fennekin fire off some Embers to get their attention away from the Zigzagoon.” Allen’s eyes widened a bit in surprise before focusing in on Lexi who had started speaking.
“While Willow was handling that three more of them came out of the woods nearby trying to ambush us from behind. Me and Percy’s partners managed to distract them with the help of Willow’s Noibat long enough for Fennekin to take down the other two, making them all retreat.” At the end of her explanation Lexi seemed out of breath. When she got into it she really didn’t stop.
By the time Lexi finished her story Allan looked suitably impressed. “Well if you're all telling the truth, it should be taken care of. Poochyena that don’t have a Mightyena leading them often won’t hunt near areas that they’ve been scared away from.”
I let out a sigh of relief at that information. In my mind I knew that the lab would be able to handle it if worse came to worst, but knowing no one else would be in trouble was a weight off my shoulders.
“Even still I should probably write this stuff down. Feel free to stick around if you have any more questions.” With that said Allan got to work writing down the details.
While Allan was writing Percival leaned forward. “May I take a look at the reports for the Trapinch colony?”
Allan barely looked up from his writing before sliding forward some papers from the stack. Lexi shot Percy a teasing look, but he ignored her. Right before I could ask what that was about, Haven's voice spoke up from the doorway.
“Willow, can I talk to you for a moment? Got some things you might want to see.” I looked over to my companions, but Percy was too focused on the reports in front of him to notice. Lexi smiled and waved me off.
Well if the conversation was what I thought it was it would at the very least be interesting.
Haven hadn’t said a word since we left the orientation room, only leading me out of the station and up the route a bit. Eventually she came to a stop and pulled out a frame from her pocket. With the hand that wasn’t holding the frame she rubbed the back of her neck.
“You are Charlotte’s kid right? This would be awkward if you weren’t, but I’d still have something for you.” Despite what the older ranger said she actually seemed relaxed. Now that we were this close, she was at least a head taller than me. I smiled up at her.
“Yeah I am. Though I’ve only known for a month.” My smile drops at the reminder.
Haven’s eyes narrow in disbelief. “A month? I thought you lived with Chris and Pen.”
When she says the nicknames for my parents my eyebrows shoot up. The only person I’ve ever heard speak that casually of my parents was Uncle Augustine. “Yup. Took them fifteen years to tell me.”
Before I could finish speaking Haven threw her hands in the air and began to pace. “Legends above those fucking airheads. Wouldn’t be able to keep track of each other if they didn’t live in the same fucking house.”
A giggle tumbles from my lips before I could stop it. It was nice to see someone share my opinion on my parents. Haven continued to rant under her breath for a bit before she looked at me again. After a moment of staring we both chuckled.
After a second of that, Haven continued speaking. “Well if they didn’t tell you about Char I doubt they told you about me. I’m a year younger than your parents. All three of ‘em actually so I didn’t get to go with them on their first circuit, but I grew up with Pen and Chris in Littleroot.”
I couldn’t help but stare at her grey hair. Neither of my parents had started greying yet and they were a year older. When Haven started chuckling again my eyes snapped back to her face, and I let out an embarrassed squeak.
She waved off my apology. “Don’t worry about it brat, I get that reaction a lot.” She tugged on a loose strand of her hair hanging in front of her face. “I got it from my Ma. Fully grey before I was out of my thirties.”
A sad smile crosses her face, before she shakes her head and continues. “Well enough about me. I overheard you tell Allan that you have a Noibat. Get the sucker out here and I’ll tell both of you about your parents.”
With the go ahead I pulled out Echo’s ball and clicked the button. The purple bat flew in place for a moment scanning the environment before landing on my head. Haven’s expression softened at the sight before she pulled out her own Pokeball.
The flash of red light was bigger than I had ever seen dwarfing even my height. When the rest of the flash dispersed it left behind the large purple shape she’d whistled for earlier. Resting on the ground with its dual wings folded by its sides was a Crobat.
Haven’s voice pulled me out of my admiration of the large bat. “This is my partner. Caught him as a Zubat in my backyard with one of Char’s Pokeballs.”
A low rumbling noise came from Crobat as he butted his head into Haven’s side. The noise nearly doubled in intensity when Haven’s hand started scratching his head. My eyes ran over his dual wings.
My mind started racing with ideas. “He’s brilliant. A Flying and Poison Type right? What’s his max speed? With two sets of wings it must take a lot of control to use Flying TE to boost his speed. Can he-”
“Haha slow down kiddo. I forgot how fast those Branch brains work. We can talk about Crobat’s abilities later.” Haven said through her laughter. My face flushed in embarrassment, before putting together what she said.
“Branch?” Another obvious answer, but I still held out hope that my parents wouldn’t have kept this sort of information from me. Though from the look of murderous rage on Haven’s face it was a misplaced trust.
“Those airheads… Yeah that’s Charlotte’s last name. I figure you took Birch then?” Haven was clenching and unclenching her hands as she spoke.
“Yeah I’m officially Willow Birch. Though Willow Branch is a bit on the nose don’t you think?” I said, laughing towards the end. Would’ve been on the tree theme Pokemon professors seemed to have going on though.
Haven laughs alongside me for a moment before sobering up. “Yeah, but Char was always like that. Named her Noibat Hertz if you would believe it. Anyways I have some stuff for you. Here's this.” She said as she handed over the picture frame she’d been waving around.
I took the picture from her and turned it towards me. The frame had a thin layer of dust coating as though it had been sitting in the same spot for a while. Inside the frame was a similar photo to the one Mom and Dad had shown me, but with three girls. In the corner was Penelope who seemed to be holding the phone in one hand and with the other holding up a peace sign. Her hair was cut to the length it is nowadays, but she didn’t seem much older then the photo she showed me.
In the center of the photo were the other two girls. Sitting on the other girl was who I assumed was Haven. Below her sprawled out in the grass was Charlotte who seemed to be laughing trying to push Haven off of her.
“I’ll need that one back, but I’ve made a copy for you. It's back at the station, but I can give it to you before you leave.” Haven’s voice pulled me out of my observation.
I have to force myself to look away from my mothers and up at Haven. I smile up at the woman before throwing my arms around her. Echo flies off of my head at the sudden movement and chirps angrily at me from above, but I’m too invested in the feeling of the taller woman’s arms around me.
Haven’s hands find their way to my shoulder and she gently pushes me off. There aren’t tears in my eyes, but I can feel the start of them. The ranger clears her throat and smiles awkwardly down at me.
“Sorry kid, I’m not too big on touching.” I wipe my eyes just in case before looking back up at her.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll probably be super embarrassed about this later. You said you’d have something for me even if I wasn’t Charlotte’s kid?” My voice wavers when I say my mom’s name, but I keep my eyes locked on Haven’s.
Her eyes soften, but she seems to accept the conversation change. “Yeah, this ones a bit more useful.” As she's speaking she reaches into one of her back pockets. From it she pulls out a small white card, with a phone number on it. I glance up from the card and raise an eyebrow at the old ranger.
“Don’t give me that look kid. When that Noibat of yours evolves he's going to be big enough for you to fly on. Char’s was just barely, but yours is a solid amount larger and you seem a little shorter than your ma. He’ll be just fine carrying you around.” While most of this wass information I had known none of it explained the card. Haven seems to read what I’m thinking from the look on my face and continues.
“The flight schools out here will barely know what to do with you two let alone have a saddle for a Noivern. I was with your mother when she was learning how to fly and let me tell you, it wasn’t a smooth experience.” Haven’s smiling at the end of her explanation and I can’t help but grin.
My mind connected the last few dots before Haven could finish. “This is your number! You’ll teach me to fly Echo when he evolves?”
Haven’s grin widens at my excitement. One of her hands reaches out and ruffles my hair. “Not only will I teach you, I’ll even make a saddle for the two of you. It took me, your mom, and the two airheads a few months to figure out the design, but we eventually got it. I still have the blueprints on my laptop.”
I’m almost positive at this point there are visible sparkles in my eyes. “You really will? Can I help you make the saddle?”
Her laughter startles me out of my questions, and she reaches out and hands me the card she’d been waving about.
“Why else would I be giving you my number, kid? I’ll be handing over the blueprints themselves when the time comes.” She says while leaning into her Crobat’s side. With the two that close the height of the bat became abundantly clear. Haven was at least a few inches taller than me, so with Crobat being only slightly taller than his trainer he had to be at least six feet.
I look over to my own purple bat. Originally I had figured he would be around my height when he evolved, but if he was bigger than normal, he may be even bigger than Crobat
“We should head back to the station so I can grab you that photo, and you and your friends can get out of here. The next good camp area is at least a four hour walk.” Haven made a good point, but I didn’t want to leave yet. Haven was the first adult I fully trusted to not lie about my mother.
My feelings on the matter must have been visible on my face, because Haven’s arms wrapped around me again without me even noticing her approach. “Don’t worry kid, my number isn’t just so you can tell me when Noibat evolves. You seem like a sweet kid, and I’m essentially your aunt twice over. You can shoot a message my way whenever you feel like it.” I could feel the air from her words brush through my hair.
Between the hug, and the permission to get to know someone who was basically family, the tears that had been threatening to fall since the picture finally let loose.
After a few moments of silently crying into Haven’s chest her arms tightened once more before releasing me again. She holds eye contact for a bit before leading me back to the station.
I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand and call out for Echo. Instead of landing on my head though he flies into my chest, and does his best to wrap his wings around my torso. When I manage to catch my breath from the impact I let out a weak giggle. Scooping him up into my arms is easy and I hold him close for the rest of the walk.
Percy and Lexi are waiting outside of the station. Percy seems lost in thought, but Lexi is talking animatedly with Allan who was standing with them. Allan is the first one to notice us, but Lexi isn’t too far behind and waves both her hands over her head when she sees us.
Lexi’s excitement jolts Percy out of his thinking, and he sends us a single wave. I smile at my friend's excitement and throw a small wave out. As soon as I’m within range Lexi throws her arms over my shoulders and gives me a tight hug.
Four hugs in one morning had to be a new record for me, and I couldn’t say I hated it. I had always been a very tactile person with the people around me and I had missed this. The twins had always been fine with me leaning on them, or giving the occasional quick side hug, but unless they were emotional they didn’t go out of their way for touch. The less said about my parents right now the better.
I relaxed into Lexi’s arms before whispering in her ear. “What brought this on? Did something bad happen while I was away? I wasn’t even gone ten minutes.” My tone was mostly joking, but I was curious. We’d only known each other for a day, and this was already the second hug she’d given me.
She chuckled into my shoulder before whispering back. “You looked like you could use one. I’ll also never turn down an excuse to hug.”
I let out a groan and my cheeks warmed in embarrassment. Surely my eyes weren’t that red. I barely cried.
Lexi separated from me with another laugh. A hand touched my shoulder and I turned to see Haven gesture towards the door.
“I’m gonna grab the photo for you. Stay here for a sec.” She didn’t wait for me to respond before heading inside. After watching her go I look towards Percy and raise an eyebrow.
“Did you find the info you were looking for?” I had wanted to ask about why he wanted the reports on the Trapinch colonies before I left, but I hadn’t had a chance.
If Percy was surprised about my question he didn’t show it, but I could've sworn I saw him blush a little. Lexi’s teasing look from when he first asked for the reports returned and she answered before Percy could. “One of the character’s in an old comic he used to read had a Flygon as his ace, and he’s wanted a Trapinch ever since.”
Now the blush on Percy’s face was fully visible. “The Flygon line is a respectable one and I would’ve been interested regardless of my past.” His voice remained steady as he spoke, but his words seemed rushed.
Lexi leaned in and poked his cheek before he could bat her hand away. “He’s just a big softie. He’s had his team planned out since he was a kid.” That wasn’t too surprising, but the fact that Flygon was one of them was. As far as I was aware they weren’t a native species to Sinnoh.
Percy’s voice took on a slight defensive tone. “I don’t have my team planned out. I just know a vague list of types I want and Flygon happens to fit it.”
I laughed at the two of them before thinking about what Percy said. It didn’t seem like he wanted specific Pokemon, but the way he worded it was odd. Saying he had a list instead of ones he wanted specifically meant he was fine with type overlap.
When I snapped out of my thinking it was to twin smirks on the Neverway’s faces. Blood rushed to my face as I flushed in embarrassment. I’d been thinking out loud again. That wasn’t going to slide in Pokemon battles.
“I’ll save you the trouble of thinking it over Willow. Flygon are often known for their ability to summon intense sandstorms. Having one on my team means eventually figuring out how to work around that.” Percy’s voice seemed nonchalant, but I could tell this meant a lot to him.
Knowing what Pokemon you wanted going into your journey was a blessing and a curse. Having such strict restrictions meant that if you didn’t go out of your way for Pokemon that fit the criteria filling out your team took a lot longer. On the other hand, your final team usually ended up being more synergistic.
I’d never put much thought into what my final team would end up looking like. I know I don’t want another Dragon because of the supposed hassle they end up being when they’re fully evolved, but I don’t think Echo will give me too much trouble. Another Flying Type might happen naturally just because of how common of a typing it is, but there are very few pure Flying Types so the diversity wouldn’t be an issue.
I didn’t have the same concerns with Wisp though. The way the Fennekin line used Fire and Psychic TE was unique enough that another user of either typings would be fascinating to compare with.
Beyond that though I guess the goal was as much type diversity as possible to study as possible. Of course I don’t think I have it in me to turn down a Pokemon who wants to join me so who knows what will end up happening.
I look over Percy for a moment before speaking up. “So Ground, Steel and Rock Types for you?”
He nods in confirmation. “There are a few specific other Pokemon I wouldn’t be opposed to, but that is the general gist of it. I know of a few species in the desert of this region that I think I’ll look for.”
That was probably in reference to the Sandshrew line if I had to guess, but it could be anything.
The noise of the door opening behind us drew our attention away from the current conversation. Haven was approaching us with what seemed to be a large book. When she stopped in front of me she held it out. When I took it from her I stared down at the brown leather cover. It was blank and unblemished. Flipping open the front revealed the same photo she had shown me earlier taped to the first page.
“Me and your Mom kept our own scrapbook of photos. Figure I’d give you a blank one I had lying around.” Haven’s voice seemed distant in my ears. I mumbled a soft thank you without looking up from the photo.
“You three should get going. If you start walking now you should make it to one of the better clearings near the top of the hill.” Allen’s voice spooked my stupor. I had forgotten that he was out here with us. When I look up at Haven she nods.
“It’s for the best. Keep me updated on your journey, kid.” Her voice sounded rough. Not trusting my own voice I inclined my head in the rangers’ direction and turned away. Our hug in the forest had been enough of a goodbye for me, and I didn’t want to embarrass either of us in front of my companions.
I heard my companions mumble their thank yous and goodbyes before their footsteps fell in line on either side of me. With our eyes on the path ahead we left the ranger station behind.
Notes:
Sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. Busy things have been happening in my life, and I wanted to take a step back from this to make sure I knew where it was going.
The next chapter will be coming out in the next couple of days, and the next one should be coming soon after that. After those two I'll be going back to what is hopefully once a week.
As always thank you for reading!
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Peepot on Chapter 1 Tue 22 Apr 2025 12:28AM UTC
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