Well, here it is. This is gonna be my first solo and major story not to feature Ash as a protagonist. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, now and for a challenge, it's even better. For now, Family is the sole genre and I'm really excited about doing this.
Main characters:
Professor Oak
Agatha
Morty
Other game and anime characters
OCs
A/N: So, here I am. Brief plot of what to expect: Agatha's history (part of it), her encounter with Professor Oak, her adulthood, becoming a grandmother and the real beginning of Morty's story. This prologue is among one of the longest I've ever written. I only own OCs and the storyline. I will only use years because I am applying the real world. This is mostly anime-based, but might have some game elements here and there and depending on things: I might be referencing manga, too. I don't own Pokémon.
Rating and reason: T. Mild language, some blood, character death, craziness and possible fourth wall breakage.
Prologue: Humble Beginnings
(January 15, 1954. Ecruteak City, Johto. Third person P.O.V.)
A blond and a brunette were at their home, waiting for the doctor to come. "How much longer, Magnus?" the brunette asked the blond.
Magnus sighed. "I don't know, Marian. I don't know," he said, giving his wife's hand a gentle squeeze. Just then there was a knock at the door. Not only was a doctor present, but there was also the priest.
Magnus went to the door and opened it. "Dr. Alde. Father Bennett," Magnus addressed both males.
"Hello Magnus," the doctor said, shaking hands with the man. Behind him was a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. "Oh, this is Lorraine. She's ah, going to be aiding me in the process." Magnus nodded.
"Fr., I believe Marian wanted to see you before this happened. Dr. Alde, Lorraine, it's best I talk to you," Magnus said.
A moan of pain was heard and the priest knew where to go. Magnus rifled a hand through his hair. "I don't know if it's actually time. Marian and I have been equally worried. Of course as you know, Peter," Magnus began, addressing his longtime friend by first name. The doctor's green eyes met Magnus's own. Magnus cleared his throat. "Money isn't one of our luxuries and I had a feeling you still did house calls." *
Peter nodded as Lorraine looked on. "Right you are, Mr. Johnson," the young woman spoke. Both men looked at her. "I do believe in what your family is experiencing, sir. I think it's become a bit more common to believe."
It was silent until Peter spoke. "I think you should come in, Magnus. This is your first, correct?" Magnus nodded. About 15 minutes later, Marian had fainted from exhaustion, Father Bennett was doing what he had specialized in and Lorraine and Dr. Alde were still tending to the new life.
Magnus was taken aback once he heard a small cry and he gently touched his wife's hand. "Marian," he gently whispered. "We did it."
Marian was also crying, but Magnus knew his wife was exhausted. "Magnus?" Lorraine inquired. Magnus had given her permission to call him by first name.
"Yes, Lorraine?" Magnus asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"You have a beautiful newborn daughter. Did you and your wife think of any names?" Lorraine asked.
Magnus took a breath. "We weren't sure what would happen, but we agreed on names a while ago," he said as tears came to his eyes.
The priest gave his friend a warm smile. "Well, what's her name?" he asked.
Magnus swallowed. "Agatha," was the short reply.
The new family started out small. Who knew it'd expand?
(The 1964 Kanto League)
"Agatha's Haunter is unable to battle. That means Sammy Oak of Pallet Town is this year's Indigo League Champion!" a referee said.
Sammy Oak had an encounter that led him to stay in Johto for a while. Johto wasn't on its own yet with their league. After getting lost, he met a young girl by the name of Agatha Sugiyama. Agatha was into Ghost and Poison-types, hence her team choices. Sammy's hair had gotten spikier. He now wore a red polo shirt with dark gray pants and black tennis shoes. His Charmeleon he had when he met Ash was now a Charizard. In front of him was a newly-evolved Dragonite.
Across from Sammy, Agatha was wearing a lilac blouse and a pair of white jeans with purple tennis shoes. She was holding her starter, a Haunter. Haunter was at the same level as Dragonite, too. "You did great, Haunter," she said. She made her way to the halfway point after returning Dragonite.
Sammy flashed her a smile. "That was one intense battle, Agatha. Were you planning on staying for the after party?" he asked flirtatiously.
"Yes and I was planning on being with my family. I'll meet you there, Oak," she said as the two shook hands.
Sammy went on to meet his parents and Agatha, her parents and brothers Adler and Jerome. "That was great, Aggie!" Adler cheered. Adler was 7 and Jerome was 2. Agatha had a sister, but the girl died of an infection at the age of 5. Jerome would be turning 3 within a few weeks and until Adler's proclamation, was soundly sleeping in his mother's arms.
Agatha took her brother from her mother's arms and gently held him to her chest. "It's okay, Jerome," she said, sending Adler a pointed glare as Magnus went to scold Adler. Marian was just happy for her daughter.
"Allyson would be proud of you," Marian said. (1)
"Ga," Jerome said, placing his fingers in his mouth.
"Sammy asked me an obvious question. May we go to the party, now?" she asked.
Marian smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm. "I think so."
The three made their way out of the stadium.
(During the party)
The Oak and Sugiyama families were enjoying their meals.
"Now we'd like to call up our final contenders," an old man said. Agatha, Sammy and a third trainer made their way onto the stage, having been told that this was a planned part of the evening.
"Way to go!" "Alright!" were among the cheers people made while applauding.
"We have our third place winner, Lawrence Stewart Jr. from Valencia Island in the Orange Archipelago. Give him another hand, folks!" the announcer said.
"It's Larry," the boy grumbled. He had blond hair that was oddly styled and gray eyes. He had on a gray button down shirt, charcoal gray pants, a pair of light brown shoes and a brown jacket over it. Regardless, he accepted his bronze medal as he was awarded 500 Pokédollars. He then walked to the spot that had a 3 in front of it.
Sammy and Agatha were standing side by side. "Better hope your family doesn't embarrass you, Aggie," he whispered in a teasing tone with an equally teasing grin.
Agatha smirked. "I don't get embarrassed easily, Oak," she replied in a whisper indicating that she didn't care what he was thinking.
"Our runner-up is like Lawrence in the fact that she doesn't come from Kanto. Hailing from the nearby Johto region in the not-so nearby city of Ecruteak, Agatha Sugiyama!"
Marian, Magnus and Adler were cheering loudly and Magnus even whistled. Jerome was babbling contently. "Way to go, Aggie!" they said.
While Sammy and some of the other trainers started snickering at her nickname, Agatha closed her eyes for a second. She opened them and with a steely gaze, walked across the stage to receive her award. Sammy huffed at her not being embarrassed by her family's antics. Agatha received her silver medal and 1,000 Pokédollars and stood on the opposite side of Larry. She hadn't faced the boy, but had heard about the rumors that his Pokémon could go up against a legendary. He wasn't pouting anymore, but he still didn't look too happy.
"Congratulations, Larry," Agatha said to the other boy as the lights dimmed.
He noticed and looked at her. "You, too, Agatha. I watched your match and I didn't know who would win. Who would've thought that a couple of foreigners like us would get this far?"
Agatha smiled at that. There had been other participants from the Orange Archipelago and a few from Johto as well, but of the two places, Larry and Agatha were the only ones to get in the top 4.
"We now present our champion Samuel Oak of Pallet Town with this gold medal and 1,500 Pokédollars. Unfortunately, my family was unable to mine enough gold to make a trophy this year. We barely had enough for the medal," League chairman Goodshow said. (2)
There was a roar of applause and the ceremony closed. Agatha and Larry made their exits off the stage and before she could get any further, Agatha was tapped on the shoulder.
"See that machine in the corner?" Sammy asked.
"What about it?" Agatha replied.
"My dad thinks that trading is the key to evolving some Pokémon," Sammy said. "Would you like to help us test the theory?"
Agatha nodded, not caring to ask who 'us' really was. Ten minutes later, she wondered whether she should've asked.
"Guys, dad, this is Agatha," Sammy introduced. Agatha didn't recognize any of the boys.
"Hi," she said.
"My name's Greg Ketchum and I'm Sammy's best friend from Pallet Town," a black-haired boy said; he also had brown eyes. "I started with a Bulbasaur!"
The other boy cleared his throat. He was wearing what appeared to be a black tracksuit with a gray T-shirt under it; he was a brunet (his hair was significantly lighter than Sammy's) with hazel eyes. "Hm. I'm Hank Warren from Viridian City and got my Squirtle from the professor. I guess you could say I was their rival," he said, gesturing to the other boys. Hank seemed different to Agatha and she liked it. (3)
"Ponyta, come here," Sammy's dad said. (4)
"Graveler, out you come!" Sammy said.
"Kadabra, I choose you!" Greg cried.
"Machoke, c'mon out," Hank said.
Ponyta whinnied before puffing smoke out of her nostrils. Agatha enlarged her ball, realizing what they all had in common. She didn't even have to say anything to call out Haunter.
"Now, let me demonstrate how this works. In the other slot is my Kabutops. So when I pull this lever, well, just watch," Sammy's dad said. The four trainers looked on in curiosity. One ball was a regular Poké Ball and the other was a Great Ball. Mr. Oak pulled the lever and then Ponyta's ball was sucked into a gray tube above the machine. On the other side, there was a blue tube above the gray tube and somehow, the tubes were actually touching. On closer inspection, it looked like there was also a curve in there. Then there was a bright, green flash of light (but not bright enough to blind the group) that caused the group to shield their eyes.
The kids didn't look impressed, but Mr. Oak was happy. "Well, that was," Sammy began.
"I see it!" Greg exclaimed. "They switched places. So what's your theory, Professor?"
He smiled. "Glad you asked. My theory is that Graveler, Haunter, Machoke and Kadabra can evolve via trading. I don't know what it is, but I think it's a bit complex for you kids to understand," he said. "Son, Greg, why don't you try it out?" (5)
The boys recalled their respective teammates as the professor pressed a button that repositioned the lever. Sammy and Greg nod. Sammy puts his ball containing Graveler in the slot on the left and Greg puts his ball containing Kadabra on the right. The lever is pulled and the process happens. This time, the light is white instead of green. This surprises the young trainers.
"So now Sammy's ball is in the right slot and Greg's is in the left," Hank surmises.
"Correct," the professor said. "Now, send out your Pokémon."
Agatha hasn't spoken. "The light was probably white because they evolved," she whispered in such a low tone that almost no one heard her. The key word is almost. Hank turned to her.
"You're probably right," he said, giving her a small smile.
"Kadabra/Graveler," Greg and Sammy said. The red flashes faded away.
"Ala. Alakazam," the final stage of Abra said.
"Kadabra, is that really you?" Greg asked, a bit stunned. Alakazam concentrated his psychic energy around Greg and lifted him into the air. "Okay, okay," Greg began. "I believe you. Now can you let me down?"
Alakazam smirked as Hank whispered into Agatha's ear. "Greg's Alakazam would do that as an Abra and stopped after evolving into a Kadabra when Greg did something bold to save him. He saved Kadabra from a couple of poachers. Kadabra was too injured to Teleport," he said.
"Wow. He may not be bright, but he must love Pokémon," Agatha said with a smile. The two then noticed that Greg and Alakazam were hugging.
Sammy silently stared at Golem, whose eyes had been closed. The Megaton Pokémon had probably fallen asleep as a Graveler. "Golem?" Sammy asked, gently waking his partner up.
"Goolemm," Golem drawled. Sammy was beaming.
Hank and Agatha did the same thing and soon enough, they had a Machamp and a Gengar before them.
"Hey there, Machamp," Hank said in awe.
Agatha was stunned. "Gengar, you look amazing," she said.
(Flash forward)
Five years after that, Sam decided to go into the research field like his father. Greg was still trying to become a master. Hank and Agatha were traveling together and dating. Unfortunately, Adler passed away in a car wreck.
Three years later, at the age of 18, Hank popped the question.
"Oh, yes, Hank," she said, ecstatic. At 21, they had their first son, Adlai. At 22, Agatha's mother passed away; Hank's parents had passed when he was a teenager. At 23, they had their first daughter, Allison. At 25, Agatha's father passed. At 27, they had twins: Stephen and Mona.
Sometime after marrying Hank, Agatha noticed that she had lost touch with Samuel, as he liked to be called. Greg, however, had not lost touch with Agatha. In fact, he had a daughter who was Allison's age and apparently, Samuel also had a child.
"That so?" Agatha inquired.
"Yep. A boy named Wyatt," Greg said with a toothy grin. Agatha nodded as they caught up in a café.
At 39, the Warrens became grandparents.
(Ecruteak Hospital)
"Come on Aggie, come on Hanky!" Jerome called. Hank pinched the bridge of the nose as he and his wife tried to keep up with him.
"Better slow down, Jerry. We're not getting any younger," Agatha said. Jerome suddenly stopped.
"You have to remember that Jerome has the mentality of a five-year-old at times because of his condition," Agatha said in a whisper.
"Should the readers know that the writer of this fic is actually basing your brother's condition on one of her uncles?" Hank asked in a whisper.
ZIP IT, MISTER.
Hank and Agatha shuddered before catching up with Jerome. There was a long hall and Hank and Agatha sweat-dropped. Jerome took a few steps. "We're here," he said, pointing to a door. Room 363. The door was opened a crack. Jerome knocked on it anyway. "Adlai, Mae, I'm back," he said. Through the crack, Hank felt like he was staring into a mirror.
Adlai Warren was a spitting image of his father, but you could clearly see exhaustion in the new father's expression. "Hi mom, dad," he greeted tiredly.
"Adlai, please sit down," Agatha said sternly. Adlai didn't even protest as he sat in the chair. Hank, meanwhile had made his way to his daughter-in-law.
Mae's blonde hair was tied back. Her brown eyes showed some exhaustion as well. "Hello, Mae," Hank said as he kissed her on the forehead. Agatha was already looking at the little blue bundle in the bed.
"We named him Mortimer. Mortimer Turner Warren," Mae said to her mother-in-law as he began to fuss.
Agatha's maternal instincts kicked in and she gently scooped up the baby and cradled him in her arms. "Ssh," she whispered. "It's alright, little Morty," she soothed. At the shortened name, he hiccuped before cooing at his grandmother.
"Six pounds, eleven ounces," Adlai piped up. He had been drinking some tea, which was provided to him. It was common in Ecruteak.
"Eighteen inches long," Mae added. Hank offered her some water.
"How has the press been?" he asked. Over the years, the Warren children became famous trainers. Adlai followed his father and trained Fighting-types. Allison began training Ghost-types. The twins had picked different types: Stephen chose Dark-types and Mona chose Poison-types.
Jerome huffed. "It's the reason that Adlai called me in the first place. There have been so many reporters, it's unreal!"
Agatha was enjoying every second with her grandson. "Jerry, have you held him?" He nodded. Agatha smiled at her husband.
"What?" Hank asked.
Agatha chuckled. "Hank, wouldn't you like to hold your new grandson?" she asked. Hank straightened up.
"Yeah. Just let me stay seated. All that walking we did and then running to keep up with Jerry was a bit tiresome," Hank said as his wife walked over to him.
Agatha gently placed Mortimer in Hank's arms. "Hi Mortimer," he said as a smile came to his face. "I'm your grandpa," he said as he gently rubbed the baby's cheek. Mortimer cooed.
Agatha had made her way back to her son and daughter-in-law. "I think 'Morty' suits him for a nickname," Mae said tiredly. It was a silent agreement.
(Four years later. Warren residence –Adlai and Mae's house– 2:15am)
"Hehe. Let's give this place a little smoke," a masked man said as he enlarged a Fast Ball. He threw it silently. An Electabuzz materialized as the man opened the circuit breaker.
(Inside)
There was a lamp plugged in next to Mae's nightstand. There was also a floor lamp that was currently unplugged in the master bedroom. Little Morty only had a nightlight that gave off a purple hue. He wanted to be just like his aunt Allison and his grandma. He wanted to train Ghost-types!
One Ghost-type in particular was in Morty's room, but where?
(Back outside)
"Let's get this started. Electabuzz, Thunder Punch," the man said. Electabuzz complied and there was a bright light from the master bedroom. The man took that opportunity to recall Electabuzz and flee the scene.
(Inside)
The damage from the punch had first affected the electricity, causing a blackout. Then, leftover sparks made their way to the plug of the floor lamp, igniting it as the remaining sparks multiplied and danced around the room.
Meanwhile, in Morty's room, the four-year-old was sound asleep, unaffected by the smoke alarm. "Mis," a little voice called. This was a Misdreavus that Morty had befriended.
"Drea. Misdreavus," Misdreavus said. 'I need help,' it thought. It looked to the little boy. 'Sorry, Morty,' it thought as it prepared an attack.
Three blocks down, an adult man was making some tea to get him to sleep. His dirty blond hair had been a mess. He had a variety of Pokémon with him. "Rill!" an Azumarill said, covering her ears.
"Huh? Oh no. That's a Screech, no doubt," he said as he turned off the stove and grabbed the other 5 balls on his belt which he had put on over a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
Five blocks down, the attack was barely being heard by human ears. Inside, Gengar was losing it. The ball wobbled off the nightstand, hit the button, enlarged and opened. (6)
Back with Jerome, he had already enlarged (and tossed) each sphere and was making his way out with Azumarill.
"Fer," his Feraligatr said.
"Lithe/Zor," his Growlithe and Scizor said.
"Pom/Fiig/Aar!" his Aipom, Girafarig and Ursaring called. He had more than 6 Pokémon in total.
"Scizor, fly to Agatha and Hank's house. Wake them up however you have to," Jerome said. "The rest of you, come with me!"
Jerome was no firefighter, although his Pokémon knew Rain Dance and thank Ho-oh, he had a Water-type. They arrived at Adlai's house and sure enough, the place was ablaze and Morty was awake.
"Help!" he cried, his voice (even at the top of his little lungs) only reached Growlithe, but that was enough. Growlithe barked at Jerome.
"Morty's awake. Alright. Girafarig, Ursaring, come with me. Feraligatr and Aipom, I want you to use Rain Dance until backup arrives," Jerome said and all obeyed.
Girafarig galloped up the stairs to Morty's room whereas Ursaring and Jerome had parted to the master bedroom. Ursaring began firing short bursts of Rain Dance.
(With Morty; speech translator on)
"Help us, please!" Misdreavus continued.
"Stop, stop. I'm here and I'm not alone," Girafarig said as she entered. Morty stopped shouting as Girafarig was there. Help had arrived.
"Let me help put this out," Misdreavus offered. Girafarig shook her head.
"No," she said. "I have to get you two out of here and then help my master get the boy's parents."
Morty couldn't understand what the two were saying, but he didn't like it. "Please, save my parents," he begged.
(Speech translator off)
That was all Girafarig needed to hear. Without another word, she used Psychic to carry Morty and Misdreavus (who the boy had grabbed out of fear) out of there as fast as she could to make it outside.
By that time, Hank's Machamp, Primeape, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Poliwrath and Heracross made it and almost all of them were using Rain Dance. Scizor had also joined, but Poliwrath was combining his water attacks with Feraligatr's. Agatha and Hank were keeping a watchful eye out for any of them. Soon, they saw a yellow blur prancing in between the Pokémon and said blur appeared in front of them.
"Misdreavus/Morty," Hank and Agatha simultaneously said. Hank grabbed Morty and Misdreavus. Agatha's Arbok, Zubat and Gengar were also helping. Gengar, however stopped at the sight of Morty. Gengar had also taken a liking to the boy as a wild Gastly appeared.
The two chatted in their own languages and Agatha understood. "We'll tell him when he wakes up," she said to Hank. She looked at Girafarig. "Go back to Jerome. We have Morty and Misdreavus. They're both safe," she said. Physically, anyway.
(Inside with Jerome and Ursaring)
Jerome didn't like that his nephew had such a long way from his bedroom to his and his son's or the fact that he slept with the door closed. He coughed. "Ursaring, break the door down by any means," he said before coughing some more. Girafarig had also sped inside and met up with them.
Meanwhile, he tried reaching his niece and nephew. "Adlai, Mae," he said, shaking Adlai. He took Adlai's pulse and his heart skipped a beat. It nearly stopped when he took Mae's. 'They had a long life ahead of them,' he thought as he looked at their bodies. He squeezed his brother's hand and cried. He then leaned over to kiss Mae on the forehead. He grabbed their trainer belts and then collapsed from smoke inhalation. Ursaring and Girafarig exchanged glances and it was easily decided that Ursaring would carry Jerome out as the house continued to burn.
By this point, the fire department had showed up and even the local Nurse Joy had as well. Medics were ready to treat anyone and rush them to the hospital and Agatha was with Morty as a doctor checked him over. Hank made his way to the large group of his family's Pokémon.
"Hank," a firefighter said to him. "Where are the parents?" Hank shrugged as Girafarig emerged, Ursaring holding Jerome. Someone got Jerome on a gurney and he came to.
"Hank," Jerome said hoarsely. "I, I was too late. I couldn't save them. Give these to Nurse Joy."
Within 15 minutes, Adlai and Mae Warren were pronounced dead at the scene. Within another 30, all of Adlai's Pokémon were also deceased, but returned regardless. It might've been a miracle that Mae's Pokémon (a male Jellicent, Sableye, Banette, Froslass, Dusclops and Lampent) all survived. Mae had originally been from Unova and adored Ghost-types. Her Cofragigus had passed away in her early days as a trainer from a powerful Venoshock and it was unexpected that she would be joining her partner. (6)
The Pokémon took the loss of their trainer hard.
(Speech translator on)
"She's gone," Dusclops said.
"This wasn't an accident," Lampent said. "Nor was it by a Fire-type."
"How do you know?" Froslass said icily. – (no pun intended) –
"Lampent is part Fire-type," Sableye defended calmly.
"Whose side are you on?" Dusclops asked, furious.
"Knock it off!" Jellicent bellowed. "Mae is gone and we can't stop that. My curiosity has me. Lampent, continue."
Lampent did. "Electric moves (if given enough power) can cause an electrical fire. I think Mae would want us to take care of her offspring."
Jellicent and the others agreed.
"Wait," Froslass said. "The boy has a Misdreavus and a Gastly."
"So?" Jellicent asked. "He'll need more than them to keep him company."
(Speech translator off, two days later. Unnamed funeral home in Johto)
Sam and his wife Marie came with their son, a young boy named Blue. Greg and his wife Kathryn came with their twins Delia and Red. Agatha was seated for a while. Jerome, Hank and Morty were all wearing black and Morty was quiet for the most part.
"Go on, say it," Sam chastised. Blue had spiky hair and brown eyes. He had complained over the car ride about going to Johto. They were strangers, why should he care? Morty stood up for the umpteenth time (or so it seemed; the four-year-old could only count so high) and looked at the adults.
"Thank you for coming," he said. He looked at the boy across from him, who appeared to be a few years younger. (7)
"Uh, you're welcome," Blue started nervously. "I guess." Blue stared at the caskets. After the fire had been put out, the bodies were hardly recognizable and dental records were used to identify the bodies.
"My name is Mortimer Turner Warren," he said for again, the umpteenth time that day to extended family and trainers his parents had battled across their journeys. "I go by 'Morty' cause it's easier to say," he added.
"My name is Blue. Blue Oak. My dad knows your grandparents. Right, dad?" Blue asked. He looked but he saw his father with the other adults. However, the Ketchum twins made it to the other boys.
"I'm Delia," Delia introduced. Red nodded and was even wearing a red tie in contrast to Blue's blue tie.
Morty raised a brow at the boy. "I'm Mortimer Turner Warren, but I prefer 'Morty' and that's just what I was telling Blue," Morty explained, trying to be loud enough. Red made hand gestures to Delia and was also moving his lips.
Morty could hear a faint whisper, but oddly, he could barely make out what the black-haired boy was saying. Something the lines of "twin brother," "younger by a minute" and, well, Morty couldn't quite make out the last part.
Delia smiled at her brother and signed for him to stop. "This is my younger twin brother, Red. We're a minute apart and he said not to ask why mom and dad named him Red," she said.
Morty was stunned and for a four-year-old, had quite the vocabulary. "You're deaf?" he asked. Red nodded. Morty's shoulders slumped. "I appreciate you and your sister, you too, Blue for coming here." (8)
"Sure," Blue said, unsure of what else to say.
Red signed more to Delia. "I agree. It's nice to meet you, but if we had the choice, we wouldn't be meeting here," Delia said, an edge of competitiveness in her voice. Red placed a hand on his sister's shoulder.
The kids chatted (and Delia translated) for about another ten minutes before the celebration of life happened. After the burials were done with, the Warren family returned home. As Hank opened the door, he gave a tired smile to the trainer inside. He had his back to the family, but the adults knew who he was. He had brown hair that was beginning to gray and it had gotten shorter. "Jerome," Agatha said to her brother in a whisper. "I want you to carry Morty to Stephen's old bedroom." Jerome nodded and kept his sleepy nephew over his shoulder.
"Pryce, I can't thank you enough for coming here," Hank said. The trainer stopped and stood up.
"Sheila and I just got back into town and the door was unlocked," Pryce began. "We were both saddened to hear the news."
Agatha nodded. "Pryce, how would you, Sheila and your children like to come over for dinner?"
Pryce smiled warmly. "I'd love to. Let me get Piloswine from out back," he said.
A few hours passed and Morty was wearing different clothes: a black T-shirt with purple pants, white tennis shoes and a purple headband. He was playing with Pryce's youngest child, who was only a few years older than him. (9)
"Seems like you two had fun getting to know each other, hm?" Agatha asked.
Morty lit up. "Yeah, Nana, we did," he beamed. The brunet next to him was quieter and merely nodded.
"You'll have to excuse Dan," Sheila said in a whisper to Agatha. "He's a bit like his father, but does well with other children around his age." Sheila smiled at her son and in a normal tone asked, "Did you like meetin Morty's Ghost-types?"
Dan's amber eyes landed on his mother. "Yeah," he said slowly. He smiled. "There's even an Ice/Ghost type, Mom. Her name is Froslass."
"Why don't you boys wash up and then help set the table, hm?" Agatha inquired. Pryce's other children were inside and doing different things.
"Race ya," Dan said as Morty soon gave chase.
The adults were pleased with the boys' energy. Dinner came and went and soon enough, it was bed time. "Uncle Jeroome," Morty whined. "Do you hafta go?" he asked.
Jerome sweat-dropped at his great-nephew's action. He rustled the boy's hair and said, "I do, bud. Sorry. I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Morty nodded. "Good," he said tiredly. Morty went to the other side of the house, but then remembered that he wasn't at his house anymore. He slowly went up the stairs.
"One of us will be up to read you a story and tuck you in when you're ready, Morty," Hank called. Hearing this, Morty zipped up the stairs.
He went into the same bathroom that he used earlier. He grabbed the toothpaste tube and his toothbrush. "Careful," he said as he unscrewed the lid. Plop. Morty had a small smile on his face as the cap popped onto the sink. He slowly squeezed some toothpaste onto his Gengar toothbrush. (10)
Morty proceeded to brush his teeth. Midway through the alphabet song, he realized he didn't fill the cup with water. 'Oops,' he thought. An idea popped into his head. He turned on the sink and took his time in tiptoeing on the stool. He craned his neck and was about to place his mouth under the running water when,
"Mortimer Turner Warren, don't you dare!" Agatha's voice threatened. "Do I have to come up there?" However, Morty had lost his balance, hit his mouth and fell. A yelp of pain was soon heard after.
Downstairs, Agatha was shaking her head. "Just like Adlai," she said.
"I'll go check on him," Hank offered, having already changed into his evening wear.
"Grab the first aid kit," Agatha mentioned. Hank nodded and made his way up the stairs. Sure enough, Morty was against the wall, there were a few spots of blood and the water was still running.
Hank took a breath as he wordlessly opened the first aid kit. He placed a piece of gauze in Morty's mouth. "Bite down on it or press your finger on it," he said. Morty did so as a tear streamed down his face. Hank turned off the water and cleaned up the blood which thankfully hadn't dried. Hank also managed to locate Morty's tooth and placed it in a piece of gauze. Morty was soon shirtless like his grandfather and Misdreavus phased through the wall, picking up the garment with Psychic. Within minutes, the mess was clean and Morty was being escorted to his room.
He tried to open his mouth, but his grandfather gave him a stare. There were various Ghost-type posters on the wall. Hank successfully got his grandson into a pair of Sableye boxers with a white tank top with an Odd Keystone on it. There was the ghostly outline of a Spiritomb, too. "Tilt your head back and open wide," Hank said. Morty complied and Hank got the gauze out with delicate ease.
For the first time since hitting his mouth on the faucet, Morty spoke. "Papa, where's my tooth?" he asked. He then noticed his grandfather's other hand.
"I thought I'd hold onto it. You're just like your father," Hank said with a chuckle. Morty took off his headband.
"How?" he inquired.
"Oh, just in the fact that you both hit your mouth on the faucet, had one of us come and get you and lost at least one tooth," Agatha said at the doorway.
"Nana," Morty began, but found himself at a loss for words. He placed his finger on his chin. "I hafta tell you and papa something. I didn't get the chance to today."
"What's that, dearie?" Agatha asked.
"Last night, I saw something bad happen. I was there and I couldn't hear words come out of my mouth, but I didn't know what it was," he said. "Is something wrong with me?"
"No, champ," Hank said.
"How about I tell you a story?" Agatha offered. Morty thought this over and nodded.
"Tell me how my mommy and daddy met," he said as he laid down. Agatha smiled.
"Well, your father was out on the road on his journey to a region called Unova," Agatha began.
Five minutes passed and Morty was trying to fight sleep. "I think someone's getting sleepy," she said.
"Nuh-uh," he said before letting out a big yawn. "'m not tired," he muttered.
Agatha tutted. "Too bad," she said. "The tooth Clefairy doesn't come to you if you're awake." (11)
"The tooth Clefairy?" Morty repeated. Agatha told him and he started to get excited. "Goodnight, Nana. Tell papa I said goodnight, too," he said.
Agatha got herself off of the bed. "Of course, dearie," she said as she gave him a goodnight kiss on his forehead. She brought the cover up to his chin. "Sweet dreams," she said. She flicked off the light, setting off the night light in the room. It was a lighter purple, but Morty didn't care.
Agatha made her way down the stairs and to the master bedroom. "It seems like yesterday we were empty-nesters," Hank said.
"I know, dear. Morty said 'goodnight' and I told him how Adlai and Mae met," Agatha said as she made her way to bed.
Tomorrow would be a longer day: Adlai's Pokémon would be laid to rest in Lavender Town, Kanto.
A cliffhanger? Not to me, anyway. Well *winks* you know the drill!
(*) Doctors made house calls in the 1950s.
(1) Allyson is the first name of Agatha's English VA: Allyson Johnson. Agatha's daughter Allison is named in a reference to her late aunt.
(2) I'm not exactly referring to Charles Goodshow (who Ash meets in the anime), just the last name. I would've put Charles, otherwise.
(3) Hank's attire is based off of the Cooltrainer [they were called this up until Hoenn] class from the original games. I just added some twists to it.
(4) Ponyta was just the first Pokémon to pop to my mind when I was writing that specific scene and I stuck with it.
(5) I had a scientific and mathematical explanation for it and… who am I kidding? No, seriously. I had something in mind, but I didn't know how to explain it.
(6A) You don't think it's possible for that to happen? Imagine you're trapped in a ball and you hear something unpleasant. It's possible, you know! (6B)Morty has these Pokémon in the later games. I killed off Cofragigus to set the muse and because Cofragigus is only one of two Ghost-types to scare me.
(7) While Morty appears to be a few years older than Brock in the anime [give or take], he's probably an adult. So he's like 2-3 [4 at the most] years older than Blue.
(8) Four-year-olds have more of a vocabulary than people think. I would know. One of my theories as to why Red doesn't talk: he's deaf. I don't know how you'd incorporate sign language into a game. Red is [in this case] gen 1 artwork, making his hair black. Delia keeps her maiden name and Ash's father is pretty much up to your imagination.
(9) Morty's generation 2 clothes. It's never stated how many children Pryce has and I gave him 4.
(10) Think of a toothbrush with Gengar stickers on it or something of that nature.
(11) S/o to Toadettegirl2012, who came up with the term in the first place.
A/N: So that's a doozy of a prologue. I was going to break it into two parts, but decided against it. Credit to PokemonScarletVersio on deviantART for the artwork of Lawrence III when he was younger. I know Lawrence III is a villain in the second movie (one of my favorite movie villains), but I wasn't sure what color his eyes were. I Googled him and found the artwork of him. I just used it and made that his father; Lawrence II/Lawrence Jr. Oh, Hank. Breaking the fourth wall and it's only the prologue. Okay. Jerome's "condition" is loosely based off of one of my uncles. PM me for the full details, but here's the basic bit: he got the oxygen cut off to his brain at birth resulting in mental retardation. That's right. I love my uncle and mental retardation is a real condition. So Morty is known as the "Mystic Seer of the Future" or something like that in the games. None of this is mentioned in the games elsewhere, nor is it brought up in the anime. Morty's clairvoyance is however discussed/brought up in the Adventures manga. Morty's clairvoyance will also be a key in this story. Agatha does have an Arbok in the games and a Golbat, but it had to be a Zubat at some point. …Hey! Did you spot any references with the character's names? I mean, other than Allison. There are a couple (name wise) and brownie points and a shout out if you guess them all before chapter 10. Also, the alphabet song is A, B, C, D, etc. I put that there in case you might not know what I'm talking about.
As always, R and R, F and F, vote and ask! Bye!
``Eagle
PS Greg said that Sam had a son named Wyatt and I never addressed him as such. Don't worry, I'll touch base on that in chapter 1. Also, the story's main theme for now is going to be Family and then it'll change throughout the story.
