A/N- Hello everyone and welcome to my first published story. I'll try to keep this author's note short. First of all, updates will be slow, I'll be lucky to get a chapter a month. Second, Trygve's name is pronounced "Trug-VAY", just wanted to clear that up before confusion set in. Next is a big thank you to my beta Coconut Soldier, could not have done this without her, well I probably could have but it would have been much worse. Anyway enough of my rambling let's get on with the story.

Summary- Ann and Cathy, a pair of twelve-year-old twins from Hoenn, move to Kanto with their Plusle and Minun to embark on their first Pokémon journey. They team up with seventeen-year-old Trygve, a native of Sinnoh who recently joined the Trainer Mentoring Program. Together they will encounter new friends, difficulties, and hilarious happenstances. Will Cathy ever catch a shiny? Will Ann admit her crush on the enigmatic "Red"? And will Trygve retain his sanity? Probably not, but stayed tuned anyway in the less than epic tale "Charges".

edit: mixed up which twin wanted the shiny, which twin had the crush, and what pokemon they owned respectivly. fixed now

Ch. 1 Let's Meet Our Contestants

"Cathy and Ann, female twins, arrive at Professor Oak's at eight in the morning, on the thirteenth." Trygve ran through what had become his personal mantra since receiving his first assignment two weeks ago.

"Mellissa Polaski was originally assigned the Hoenn twins mentorship, but due to… unusual circumstances, she is unable to do so." The director of the Trainer Mentoring Program- Sinnoh Division picked up a folder and sighed as she continued, "Normally we wouldn't allow a mixed-gender team, not to mention pairing a rookie mentor with adolescent twins, but you are literally the only one we have available for the next four months. So despite my initial reluctance, it is with the committee's and my approval that I assign you, Trygve Larsson, the mentorship and the responsibility that implies of Annamarie and Catherine Ode. Do you have any questions?"

Trygve stood and took the folder containing all relevant information on the twins.

"Only one. When do I leave?"

Now as he approached the road leading to the Professor's Lab he mentally double-checked his equipment: wilderness survival kit, rope, knife, first aids kits (for both humans and Pokémon), spare Pokéballs, enough food to last three people for a week, and few other necessary items that one would need for a wilderness expedition.

Once again, he thanked the geniuses at Silph Co. for developing their miniaturization storage system. First used to make Pokéball storage easier, it quickly expanded into every facet of every field. Unfortunately, the process remained very expensive, so it was still limited to large organizations such as Silph Co., the Pokémon League, and the relatively recent TMP.

Satisfied that everything was in place, he reached an arm back and nudged the Vaporeon sleeping on his pack.

"Wake up Nicole; we're almost at the Professor's"

The Vaporeon stirred as she yawned herself awake. She then opened eyes and proceeded to glare at him from those black almond shaped depths for waking her before the sun had even crested the treetops.

"Hey, don't blame me. Oak set the meeting time and we need to be early to make a good impression for our first assignment."

Nicole lifted her head and asked "Va?"

"OK, fine, my first assignment, but you're part of this thing so that means getting up when everyone does, even if it's only me right now. Besides, is it my fault that you stayed up till two in the morning looking at the full moon? Also, I think it's time to get down; you're not as light as you once were. "

She shot him another glare, but leaped off the backpack to trot along the ground beside him. They walked along in silence for a few minutes as she sulked and he contemplated what lie ahead. Once Nicole had gotten over her irritation, she broached a question to her trainer.

"Vava, Vap?"

Trygve furrowed his brow at this and answered, "Maybe, with any luck we'll be able to find Pokémon as strong as Emp or Gnasher. Kanto is home to the Dragonite family and I have the proper clearance to train Dragon-types."

Trygve received Emp as a Piplup from Professor Rowan when he first began his Pokémon journey five years ago. Highly intelligent, his strategy and insight into battling helped Trygve defeat several strong opponents. Gnasher was the last Pokémon caught as part of his team, right after he earned the Icicle Badge is his hometown of Snowpoint City. In contrast to Emp's intelligence, Gnasher relied on pure strength to win, and he possessed enough power to win against anyone he encountered until facing Trygve's highly trained team. By the time they reached the Sinnoh Region Tournament the two of them were easily the strongest on the team, and a nearly unstoppable combination on the field.

Unfortunately, he was only allowed to bring one previously trained Pokémon with him, and since as a mentor the expectation was for him to teach about bond between humans and Pokémon rather than battling, he chose to bring his closet companion Nicole, rather than his strongest battler. Nicole had been given to him as an Eevee for his eighth birthday, and since then they had become the closest of friends and companions.

They finally reached the gates in front of the lab and Trygve pressed the call button on the intercom. He saw the red light illuminate to indicate the camera was on but the screen remained blank. There was a rustling of papers as the Professor tried to clear away the piles of on his desk. He soon appeared and blinked in surprise at who was at the gate.

"Ah yes, you must be Trygve, the trainer mentor. To be honest, I'm a little surprised, you're early. Almost everyone who comes here is late, but anyways you're here, so come on in, we have some matters to discuss before the twins arrive."

The gates opened with a creak that gave testament to the amount of trainers that had passed through them over the years. Trygve entered and was soon seated across from the Professor. They made small talk for a while and finalized the bevy of paperwork required for mentoring. It wasn't long until they were wrapping up the final details.

"Since the girls already have some experience raising Pokémon, they will not be receiving any one of the three traditional Kanto Starters," Oak said. "Therefore they will choose from a collection of Pokémon here at the lab. These are Pokémon that I have used in my research over the years and some have expressed a desire to be trained rather than released. You will choose one as well, as both a personal thank-you for becoming a mentor and to demonstrate to the twins how to train a Pokémon more or less from scratch. These Pokémon have never officially been trained, but will find them a bit more compliant than the Wild Pokémon you've trained before. I believe that covers just about everything, so if you don't have any questions, I have a group of Psyduck that require my attention."

Trygve stood up and shook the Professor's offered hand. "No sir, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you've done for the world of Pokémon, and for entrusting me with the training of one of your own Pokémon."

"Think nothing of it, my boy. I was part of the council that nominated you for this assignment. I know you're a highly capable young man who won't do anything foolish. Besides, if I couldn't even trust you with the training of a Pokémon, how could I trust you the mentoring of the twins. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must attend to those Psyduck. Do you mind waiting here for Missus Ann and Cathy's arrival?"

He nodded and sat down again as the Professor left. Fifteen minutes later, he and Nicole were still waiting for the twins' arrival. They sighed simultaneously, and after a few moments, Trygve decided that he needed to break the ice.
"Betcha half-dozen poffins that they don't show for at least another half-hour, you game?"

"Va."

"Sweetness. Now hand-tail seal the deal."

He extended his hand to where she lay on the table and with a watery smack they finalized the bet. Looking down at his watch, he noticed that it was almost nine, and despite his earlier rebukes to Nicole, he was tired. A quick nap couldn't hurt, and the Professor would likely be busy in his lab until at least early afternoon. Twins weren't scheduled to arrive until ten, so a little shuteye would do him good in preparation for the introductions, and with that, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.