NOTE – I have deleted all previous stories for those who were not aware on my account, and PKMN is the only one I will be rewriting for the moment. Updates will take however long, and there will be major chances to the story (and please let me know how you feel about OCs in stories, I don't want to worsen the story with them)
~Story~
Most households had TV, birdsong, maybe even small banter or friendly chatter. Something calm and usual, typical, regular. This specific household… had barking. Loud, annoying, barking. And the fact that it came from such a small creature, seemed to defy common logic. Especially since it wasn't a Loudred.
"Zwei! Wait up!" A voice cheered with the barking as Taiyang sat slumped on the table, rubbing his temples as a cup of coffee rested by his elbow. He glanced out of the kitchen to see blurs of red and brown. He let out a sigh with his head hanging, eventually letting his head drop on the table and letting his arms flop out.
I just had to see an adoption center on my way from the grocery store. Taiyang thought as a young girl with black hair tipped red ran in, followed by a Rockruff as it was causing most of the volume.
"Ruby sweetie, could you and Zwei be a little quieter? Dad has a headache right now."
"Come on Zwei, use Super Rush!"
"Ruby, that isn't a move to any Pokemon."
"Maybe I can discover a new one!" Ruby exclaimed while picking up Zwei and hugging him, wearing a long red blanket as Zwei kept barking.
"Please Ruby, I need some quiet time." Taiyang groaned as he held his head with a quivering frown. Zwei went quiet as they heard the front door open, a young blonde spitting something outside before walking in with dirt-covered clothes.
"Hey dad!"
"Yang, what in the world happened to you?" He asked with an exasperated tone, Yang walking up with a large grin, showing that a couple molars still had to come in.
"The Tauros got me muddy when it came to their bath time."
"Do I even ask why you were working with the Tauros?"
"The lab was shorthanded."
"Yang, honey?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you make a promise to me?"
"Depends."
"Can you get a quiet starter when you go get them Thursday?"
"I can try." Yang shrugged while washing her hands, Taiyang whimpering before hearing a loud raspberry.
"No fair! You can go and get your starter now, I have to wait!" Ruby stomped as she set down Zwei, who raced around her feet.
"Oh don't worry baby sis, you'll get your starter soon enough. Plus, you have Zwei."
"But Zwei's the family Pokemon! He gets to be with all of us. You get to go and see all the starters since you work with Professor Ozpin, you get a head start on picking your starter!" Ruby whined as Yang dried her hands.
"I can't help it you're two years younger than me. You can help me take care of whoever I pick before you get your own starter."
"That's two years!"
"Girls, please, could you keep the volume down?"
"Ruby, I'm sorry, but the rules are rules. You have to be 10 years old to have a starter." Yang stated calmly as Ruby frowned before covering her body with the blanket, waddling out of the kitchen as Zwei tried tugging on her. Yang watched as the waddling figure flopped onto the couch, walking into the living room and poking it as the figure curled up. "Ruby."
"Leave me alone."
"Ruby, it's the rule."
"It's not fair." Ruby mumbled while hiding in the blanket cocoon. Yang sighed as she kneeled on the ground by her sister, resting her arms and head on the cushion with a thoughtful look.
"You know what? I won't get my starter Thursday."
"Huh?"
"I'm getting it on your 10th birthday. That way, we get our starters together. So, it's fair!" Yang remarked as she tapped Ruby again, who peeked from her cocoon with a surprised look.
"Really?"
"Of course! You're my baby sister, I have to look out for you and all our Pokemon!"
"Thank you!" Ruby squealed as she tackled Yang in a hug, causing her to have a giggle fit with Zwei racing around them. "You're the best sister ever!"
"I'm the only sister you know!" Yang managed before both her and Ruby laughed, Zwei scrambling in between them as Taiyang breathed a sigh.
It was far quieter now. Perfect silence would've been nice, but at this point, he could take any kind of silence he could. Silent mornings were replaced with debates on eggs or waffles for breakfast. Afternoons were replaced with taking Zwei for five too many walks. Nights were replaced with bedtime stories and having barking as white noise. But, at least now he could get some peace and partial quiet before getting groceries. Hopefully it'd turn to peace and full quiet. Peace and quiet.
Silence. So welcoming, yet so threatening at the same time. Not a pin dropped nor a breeze rustle as a girl stood silent, her breaths inaudible as only her chest moved. Her feline ears stood high, her index finger twitching on the hilt. A small rush of air caused her whole body to move, standing in a defensive position as the bamboo staff shook in her hold. A Feraligatr snorted down at her as its pupils were slits, being twice her height as her amber eyes glowed with courage.
It growled before trying to strike again, the girl blocking before ducking as a pair of jaws snapped at her head. She pushed back in a tuck-and-roll with a Houndoom skidding by the Feraligatr, both growling to her as she stood ready again. The Houndoom darted around as the girl lead forward, ducking and tripping the Feraligatr before keeping the Houndoom from biting her head. The teeth crunched into the staff as she could feel the hot breath on her face, her ears curling with the yelp as she kicked the smaller off of her. She scrambled before being yanked up, the staff ripped from her hands.
"Feral ral." The Feraligatr sighed as it held her up by her shirt collar, the girl hanging like a kitten as her ears flattened.
"Atlantic, it's one thing to be fighting people, who usually range from 5 to 6 feet tall. It's another to be fighting Pokemon, who are literally adapted to be faster or stronger than humans. You're a giant, how am I supposed to fight back against you?" She asked as the Pokemon set her down, the Houndoom trotting up to her as she scratched their head. "See, Blitz gets it."
"Hound hound."
"He even agrees with me!"
"Raligatr."
"I'm a kid, I still need to learn before I'm a master."
"Gatr, raligatr!"
"You try learning how to fight off someone without basic superpowers and you get back to me."
"Having trouble with the bojutsu training, Blake?" A softer voice asked as all three looked over, Kali standing with some snacks and water as the girl sighed.
"Yes." Blake grumbled while walking over towards her mother, who set the tray down as Atlantic and Blitz raced to eat up the Pokemon food. "Atlantic keeps grabbing me up while Blitz actually set the mode to medium difficulty."
"Atlantic just wants you to be strong."
"I'm a kid!" Blake groaned before faceplanting her head on her mother's stomach, Kali patting her head before tilting her head up.
"Blake, I know you don't like learning how to fight, but with recent events around Faunus, it's best you know how to defend yourself. Atlantic and Blitz aren't always going to be around to protect you, and your team will have some time before they can defend you easily. You just have to be ready." Kali explained as she sat her and Blake down, Blake leaning on her mother as she hugged her close. "Atlantic is headstrong, like your father, he has difficulty sometimes understand people don't advance fast like he did. At least I'm not asking you to be the governor of Menagerie." She remarked as Blake weakly laughed, looking back up as Blitz and Atlantic were snacking.
"How did you end up with Pokemon like that, mom?"
"It's not like I learned how to defend myself. I lived in a time where there weren't major threats to Faunus, so I didn't have too much fear of the world. But I still wanted strong Pokemon to help keep me safe, and that's how I got Atlantic. Then, around the time me and your father were planning on having children, we both knew that we'd need another guardian to keep a closer eye on you. So, Blitz joined the picture, since your father doesn't have the time to manage Pokemon."
"Do you think I'll have Pokemon like that when I get my starter."
"Maybe. You might get Pokemon that are stubborn and don't listen to you at first. They could be cheerful and not want to fight. They could even just be lazy and not want to interact. It's not like you choose what the Pokemon is like, you just choose what the Pokemon is. That's why you become a trainer, you learn with your Pokemon and grow." Kali continued as Blitz padded up to them and nuzzled Blake, making her smile as she held his head.
"Hey mom?"
"Yes Blake?"
"Do I have to get my starter immediately?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that. Well, I just think that it would be better to focus on one thing at a time. So, finish my bojutsu training, start and at least pass my kendo training, then I become a trainer and get my Pokemon, and grow with them. Is that something I could do?"
"…It's your life Blake, you choose what you want to do." Kali sighed as Blake glanced to her, Kali's ears tilted with a weak smile. "I can't stop you from choosing actions in life, I can only assist. Just don't wait until it's too late." She added before kissing Blake on the head, making her purr lightly as her ears flicked around. Blitz licked her cheek as she laughed, hugging him close as Atlantic wandered outside.
"Where's Atlantic going?"
"Probably for his afternoon swim. Which reminds me, we have to head out to the town square and talk with some of the businesses for sponsors. How about you come along? It'd let you look around the place and get some fresh air."
"That sounds nice. Maybe we could see Aunt Sienna?" She asked in more excitement as Kali laughed.
"We'll see what we can do."
"What if we street performers this time around? Do you think they'll play music or sing?"
Kali snorted as Blake crawled into her lap for a hug, continuing to rant about the vibrant streets of Menagerie as Blitz listened happily. She talked mostly about the vocal performers. How many would sing with their Pokemon accompanying them. Some had whole bands with instruments, others had just their voices and nothing else. The songs might've been cheerful, riveting, intense, or sometimes calming and peaceful. Some having voices of angels.
"And I held your hand through all of these years. You still have all of me." A young girl sang as she stood beside a piano, an older girl resembling her playing as an Alolan Vulpix rested on the bench by her. She took a large breath as she kept her eyes closed, knowing if they opened, they'd be met by an icy glare.
"That's enough for today. Weiss, you need to go get your starter today. Winter, your fencing tutor will be here in an hour." Jacques stated before turning and walking away, Weiss waiting to here a door close before opening her eyes.
"You did very well, Weiss. You're really learning how to control your vocals." Winter remarked as she stood up from the bench and walked towards her sister. "Snowflake!" She called before whistling once, Snowflake sitting up and padding over to the sisters with a happy look.
"You did great on the piano." Weiss murmured while partially hovering by Winter.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I'm stressed over picking my starter."
"How come? There's many to pick from."
"But every Schnee has gotten a Water-type starter, and it seems that they have to actually be visibly strong for it to be considered strong and easily welcomed." Weiss grumbled while leaning on Winter, who hugged her close with Snowflake brushing to her leg.
"Father will be father, and he'll be strict. Don't worry, about the only thing we really have to worry about, is Gunther sleeping when father gets mad at us. You know how Gunther cares about us." Winter explained as Weiss smiled, Winter whistling once before a Beartic peeked out from the living room. "How about Gunther goes with you when you go get your starter?"
"That'd be nice." Weiss murmured before walking towards the Beartic. "Hey Gunther, do you want to go to the lab with me?" She asked while standing on her toes, Gunther growling happily before picking her up in a hug and making her laugh. "I think that's a yes!"
"That's good. We'll see you two whenever you get back." Winter waved bye as Gunther did the same, Weiss holding his paw as they walked out the front door.
Snowflake let out a bark as Winter laughed from her reaction, before going back to the piano and beginning to play again. Snowflake hopped up on the bench as she laid on Winter's leg, making the older smile as she stayed focused on the music. The Vulpix looked at her hands with high ears, soon letting out small howls to the music while standing up. Winter laughed as Snowflake sung to her music, music filling their viewing room as it was near barren.