A/N Well, this is certainly a fic that hasn't aged well…so here's a reboot because things have changed and I feel it could be better, so let's give this another try! But before that, here's a disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokémon franchise or anything related to it!
I apologize if I surprised anyone who's still following this story with the suddenly removal of the other chapters, but like…it was something I needed to do. Anyways, let's get on with the summary.
AU Summary: When I was little, I used to look up to my older siblings…now they can just go to hell! I got kicked out of my own house, for crying out loud! All I have now is just a backpack full of items and a Pokémon that I'm expected to train on this journey.
To top it all off, of all the days I had to get kicked out of the house to start my journey, it had to be the time yet another crime syndicate stirs up. Here's to the start of my personal hell. I am a Pokémon Trainer, a title that I am still getting used to, and this is my story…
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When I was young, I always looked up to my older siblings…when I wasn't being a brat. I mean, there isn't much for me to do as the baby of the family. And let me just say, it certainly isn't easy being the youngest in a family of Pokémon Trainers…especially if it's your siblings who were the ones to become better Pokémon Trainers than Mom and Dad.
Thanks for that, by the way…assholes.
I won't say much about my parents, but I will say that they definitely earn my respect. They became Trainers during a time they barely even knew how to speak any of the common languages in the regions they journeyed. Language barriers are nothing to joke about—like ever.
My mother's journey was in the Johto region, thanks to an exchange program at her school. My father stayed in Hoenn. Hoenn, by the way, happens to the region they both moved to with their families when they weren't even ten. Something about the berry business—I don't know, I never paid much attention.
I was never known for having a good attention span anyways…
These two had just a lacking vocabulary and knowledge of the regions they journeyed through and somehow—they managed to become Ace Trainers. Granted, it took years, but still—it really says a lot about them, considering that the class consists of expert and experienced Trainers. It isn't easy being a Trainer after all.
My parents eventually met up again and I don't know the exact details, but after some time, they eventually got married and settled down in Hoenn. It is considered their second home, apart from the place they originally came from.
Shortly after that, they had their first child…my oldest brother, Alvaro.
Alvaro was a Trainer from the Kanto region, having been lucky enough—just enough—to be one of the many children in his school that were chosen to become Professor Oak's Pokédex Holders. Now the thing about the Pokédex is that, nowadays, it's nothing exactly new. Sometimes you get one, sometimes you don't—but back in that day, like during Alvaro's generation, they were still a recently new invention. Alvaro was basically part of a group of beta testers—by the way, early Pokédex? Had a lot of bugs and issues that have been worked out over the years, the first one being its lacking trait of being waterproof.
Alvaro had so many genuine concerns over how fragile the device was, because it took months to get a replacement. It's probably the reason why he chose Bulbasaur as his starter—just to lessen the risks. Not exactly the sort of responsibility a ten-year-old boy should have, but what are you gonna do?
You'd be amazed at what was allowed back in the day and Alvaro certainly has a lot of stories to tell while he was in Kanto. I'm mostly amazed at how he can remember them all when I can barely even remember where the hell I put something I just had in my hand (then again, my memory fluctuates on what it remembers the best). Anyways, my personal favorite happens to be the time that he wrestled a Machop into submission because the little shit stole his wallet. The wonders hunger can make an eleven-year-old child do…
And then at the age of seventeen, my brother managed to do what neither of my parents nor our relatives could have ever imagined…he became Kanto's Champion. How great is that? I tell you what—it's the absolute worst. Thanks to him, my oldest sibling created a legacy in this family that everyone was expected to follow in some way (THANKS BIG BRO, YOU JERK). It might have been unintentional, but the pressure is still there.
My second oldest brother, Eco, went through the same exchange program as my mother did as a child and went to the Johto region. He chose Totodile as his starter Pokémon and even if he didn't become a Champion, Eco did the next best thing—he became a member of the Elite Four. He currently stands at number three. It's probably the most stable career any Trainer could have, right next to being Champion.
A Champion might be at risk at losing their position to any Trainer that beats them, but that doesn't completely strip them of their title. Former Champions retain their titles for life (unless they do something illegal, like violate Pokémon League regulations or something) and end up on a list of stand-ins for current active Champions. By the way, stand-ins are a thing in the Pokémon League—kinda mandatory.
Yeah, for every Elite Four there is in a Pokémon League, there are at least four more stand-ins (per member) to take their place for various reasons that can range from sickness to just vacation time. Eco was originally a stand-in…and then the Kanto-Johto Pokémon League split happened, in which it was finally decided Kanto and Johto should have their own separate Elite Four and Champions instead of sharing them. Though, the same couldn't be said about the Pokémon League building. But eh, what can you do? Kanto and Johto are just so damn close to each other.
Like next-door neighbors…
Could be worse, honestly…my second oldest brother could be my older sister (my only sister). And ohhh, how I wish she took up Pokémon Contests instead of battling! At the very least, with Pokémon Contests, I wouldn't have to worry much about things because it's fairly easy to make a name and fanbase for yourself. But then she decided that they weren't her thing, so she picked Torchic and walked out of the house with her sights set on the Pokémon League.
At fifteen, my sister managed to go beyond what our two oldest brothers did. Not only did she manage to collect all eight Hoenn Gym Badges and reach the Pokémon League, but she also got past the Elite Four and beat the Champion. And it doesn't end there…oh no, she went further than that.
She took on the Battle Frontier after catching the eye of a man named Scott and became a Frontier Brain. Let me tell you about the Battle Frontier—it is nothing like the Pokémon League. It's pretty damn infamous for a lot of the shit it pulls. Although nothing comes close to what my sister puts people through on a weekly basis, forcing Trainers to test their luck against her.
Yeah, she certainly made quite the name for herself once she got the hang of running the Battle Pike. This is both a good thing and a bad thing—good in the sense that she has a lot of people who admire her. Bad in the sense that she's accumulated a long list of enemies that want nothing more than to take her down a few pegs—it's nothing exactly new to what her career entails. It still doesn't make it any less disturbing that she has to shred so much hate mail in a day.
It's a sad, sad day when you can make a drinking game out of the things people write in those letters.
Take a drink for every time some guy makes a sexual comment or insults the Pike Queen Lucy's appearance—not that they ever had chance. My sister is taken and for someone who has had two kids, she is still looking good.
My third oldest brother, Enzo, had a much more modest legacy in comparison to my much older siblings. His journey took place in the Sinnoh region, with Chimchar as his starter. Fun fact about Sinnoh—we actually have family there, like an aunt from our mother's side of the family. So back on that modest legacy—he made it to the Pokémon League, but that's it. He never made it past Aaron of the Elite Four, despite having the better advantage due to his starter.
Let it be known that Aaron is not someone to be underestimated, especially with that Drapion of his. And while Enzo might have not gotten far, he at least made a good friend out of Aaron. It helps that they're about the same age—yeah, Aaron was a rather young Elite Four member. It happens, but it just really says a lot about him, being so young yet so strong.
It's what made Champion Cynthia so special. She ended up replacing the former Sinnoh Champion not long after Enzo gave the Pokémon League a shot. It was what motivated him to give the Pokémon League another try and for the next few years, he spent most of his days training with his Pokémon.
It was around this timeframe that my parents were offered a job in Unova. With not much left to do in Hoenn, my parents decided that moving to Unova would do all of us good. I was born not too long after that, just a couple of months before Enzo turned thirteen—by the way, did I mention that I was the result of an unplanned pregnancy? Because yeah, that's a thing and it's the reason why there's such an age gap between Enzo and I.
Anyways, I spent the first few years of my life going in and out of regions to spend some quality time with my siblings. It all started with Alvaro in Kanto several months after I was born. I don't remember much, except the loud sounds of the crowd. I faintly remember being passed person to person.
Most of what happened is documented in a photo album. In that photo album, there are pictures of Alvaro and me. Alvaro usually had me in a baby carrier, where I was typically sleeping. There are photos where I'm being held by Elite Four members, such as Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance. I was almost a year old when I found picture of myself being held up by Trainer Red.
The then ten-year-old boy was just so confused with what to do with me. Meanwhile, his Pikachu sat on his shoulder, just staring at me. I was laughing in that picture. I don't know why, I just was.
I was later told that the picture was taken on the day Trainer Red defeated Alvaro and became the next Kanto Champion. Of course, Red didn't stick around too long, as he had better things to do…but he did drop by every so often to say hi. He didn't actually speak of course. Red has selective mutism, so he usually communicates via sign language.
He had stuck around long enough to teach me a few words, which is pretty damn cool. What wasn't cool was that things began to get complicated when a string of crime syndicates popped up and started to stir up trouble through a select number of regions. It all started with Team Rocket in Kanto.
I barely managed to miss them, since I was taken to Johto to spend some time with Eco. It still was a bit of a close call, with how close the Kanto and Johto regions are to each other. But for the most part, I was safe. And Team Rocket was eventually disbanded, thanks to Trainer Red and a couple of other Trainers from his hometown.
You'd think that be the last anyone would hear of Team Rocket. That seemed to be the case until three years later, when Team Rocket made a shocking return in Johto. It's thanks to Team Rocket that the age limit for Trainers would later be raised from ten to eleven.
I'm amazed the age limit wasn't raised immediately after Team Rocket's supposed disbandment. Then again, Kanto wasn't willing to talk about its experience with Team Rocket, keeping it a secret between them and Pokémon League affiliates from Johto. It was the least they could do until Team Rocket popped up again in Johto.
Had Kanto informed the entire Johto region instead of just its Pokémon League affiliates, they could have taken precautions. Whether or not those precautions could have prevented Team Rocket's return is debatable, but Johto wasn't exactly willing to let a repeat of Kanto's actions happen again.
For that reason alone, Kanto and Johto decided to inform the Hoenn region about Team Rocket. It had all been done with good intention. At the time, Team Rocket was nowhere near close to its official disbandment (that is, its actual disbandment) and for the Hoenn region to have been informed about a crime syndicate that had just recently returned three years after its supposed disbandment in Kanto that was currently active in Johto…it was complicated.
Of course, the Hoenn region somehow managed to keep peace, despite the rising paranoia and tension amongst its inhabitants. During that time, I was in the Sinnoh region with Enzo. He was finally old enough to be trusted to keep an eye on me, much to his annoyance. We…didn't get along too well. Enzo was still training to take on Champion Cynthia and here I was, slowing him down and attracting attention with the way I spoke.
The way I spoke happened to be a side effect of what happens when I spend two years in Johto, learning how to speak from Eco. The Johto region has such a distinct accent and dialect that makes it rather easy for anyone to pick up if they spend enough time there.
Lucy found it hilarious when she finally came by to pick me up from Eco. She said I sounded just like Eco and Mom. She had the time of her life seeing her colleagues at the Battle Frontier react to the way I spoke. While the Battle Frontier gets a lot of visitors from people around the world, it was just so jarring to hear it coming from me. They were probably expecting me to talk a bit more like my sister or a bit more like someone from Unova.
It happens. Enzo just wished it didn't have to happen to him. He had no idea why it was I was with him and there came a point that I had to be with him, considering what was going on in Johto with Team Rocket and the rising tensions in Hoenn.
Then it happened.
The Kanto region hadn't been completely truthful when they informed Johto and Hoenn about Team Rocket. Information regarding Team Rocket that was currently known had only been information that was publicly revealed.
The thing about Team Rocket was that they had been active far longer than anyone had initially assumed. The biggest question that the Kanto region was trying to answer is how exactly long this was going, because, for an unknown number of years, Team Rocket had been doing their activity incognito. What was known to the public was activity done after Team Rocket discarded its discreet methods.
The Kanto region eventually found its answer…on the day Team Rocket took over the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City in Johto. Ironically enough, that was also the day Team Rocket had officially disbanded…and, unfortunately, also the day the entire Hoenn region flew into a state of panic. Paranoia became the Hoenn region's main issue, considering the amount of distrust that began to rise within people. Of course, the issue already existed beforehand, but it worsened after Team Rocket revealed information that Kanto had withheld.
People actually began to turn on each other out of fear and it wasn't unlikely for them to harm strangers they deemed suspicious, especially if they weren't native to Hoenn. There was a reason why Hoenn was once considered an unsafe place to visit—which is rather shocking as Hoenn, nowadays, is considered one of the safest regions to raise a family.
At the time, though, it wasn't the best place to raise a family. The Hoenn region was already falling apart in places, due to unemployment issues. My family was only fortunate that they weren't caught up in that mess and that I had been sent to Sinnoh with Enzo just before shit hit the fan.
Hoenn eventually recovered in a few years, but the damage was already done. Due to the way the Hoenn region had reacted to the news of Team Rocket, a different approach was taken for the Sinnoh region. In an attempt to avoid the same large-scale hysteria that had occurred in Hoenn, only certain people in the Sinnoh region were informed about Team Rocket.
These people were Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, and Frontier Brains. Pokémon League affiliates were always the first to be informed. That is just how it is.
There was one year of tranquility enjoyed by the Sinnoh region, despite all that had gone on and was going on in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn—one year in which all Pokémon League affiliates weren't as lucky to enjoy, due to their constant vigilance of the region. Hoenn was nowhere near close to calming down when another crime syndicate started to slowly making its way into the picture in Sinnoh.
There's a lot to say about Team Galactic—none of it good. Unlike Team Rocket, Team Galactic was a lot more organized when it came to their goal. Due to their ridiculous appearance, they weren't taken all too seriously during a time that people should have at least raised a brow. This was how they managed to get through that first year without much intervention, save for the efforts of a certain International Police member, who was working hard to gather evidence, and a couple of young Trainers who were caught in the crossfire.
I was long gone from Sinnoh by then, since I was back in Unova so I could start attending school. But that's enough about me, let's shift the focus back on Team Galactic. Like Team Rocket, Team Galactic had already gone unnoticed for a certain period of time, which resulted in a drastic change of climate in the Sinnoh region around the time they had surfaced. There are still a lot of questions pertaining to Team Galactic's exact origins. Neither of which have been answered yet.
It's…a bit unsettling to think about it, especially considering that the entire universe was nearly recreated, thanks to a broken man's desire to rid the world of emotions. I'm honestly glad that I was too young to know any better when that information was given out. I had enough issues as is just being in a school environment.
The shift from being allowed to roam freely to being confined to a school environment was rather jarring for me—especially since it's where my ADHD stood out the most.
I might have gotten into trouble much more often than I would have liked… It was difficult, trying to speak to others when they didn't understand me. I was too used to speaking one language that I didn't want to switch over to another just to have some asshole kid point and laugh at me even more for saying something wrong. To some of my classmates, the Johto regional dialect and accent just sounded so funny to them. Even the teacher laughed a few times, but he meant well and always asked what I mean when I said a phrase he didn't quite understand. I had such a short temper, too, that I just…acted out sometimes. I was quite the troublemaker when my parents had enough concerns as is, because Enzo was still in Sinnoh, working his ass off to take on the Pokémon League again while dealing with Team Galactic at the side.
Their concerns only grew when detailed information about the crime syndicate was given by the International Police. That was the day everyone learned about the threat Team Galactic posed to the entire universe. It was a rather daring move to have revealed such crucial information so publicly—especially considering the widespread hysteria in Hoenn was just starting to die down when shit hit the fan super hard in Sinnoh…and everywhere else by association.
But what can you do when the entire world as you know it is at stake? Haha, it's really a lot to take in… So I'm glad that the only thing in my life that I had to worry about then was just improving my fluency with the language that gave me so many issues. I wasn't alone by then—I finally had friends who stuck around, despite how much of a troublemaker I was. Things were starting to look better for me.
Then Enzo made it past the Elite Four and challenge Champion Cynthia. It happened not long after Team Galactic was brought to an end. It was on live television that I saw Champion Cynthia crush my third oldest brother with her Garchomp. It honestly wasn't that much of a surprise—Cynthia's Garchomp is a fucking monster.
Enzo never had that much of a chance against it, but he didn't cared. He just wanted to challenge Cynthia at least once. And now that he had, he decided that the Battle Frontier would be his next goal. There so much a Trainer could do at the Battle Frontier after all.
As for me, I had to deal with some of my classmates picking on me after they found out that Enzo was my brother. They called me a loser, telling me that I was destined to fail like my brother. It makes me want to laugh now, when I looked back on what happened…they never knew about my other siblings—that my family was anything but losers.
Instead, they just thought that it would be cool to pick on the kid who speaks funny and has an older brother who lost against the Sinnoh Champion. They got worse after Champion Cynthia finally met her defeat at the hands of a Trainer much younger than my brother was. Fun fact about that Trainer: she was part of the group of Trainers who helped take down Team Galactic…but my classmates didn't know that either. It was stupid of them to even pick on me for something so trivial, because stuff like this happens often…but they still did so anyways.
While I spent the remaining years of elementary school dealing with bullies, the Hoenn region was pulling its shit together. When they saw how composed Sinnoh was, despite the impending threats of Team Galactic, it made a lot of people think twice over how they had reacted to news of a crime syndicate that was no more. It made them think a lot…and feel a lot of guilt and shame towards the damage they had done to their own region.
It took quite a lot of time and it was only until recently that the Hoenn region became what is now considered one of the safest and friendliest regions in the world. There haven't been any crime syndicates since Team Galactic…at least, in any region with an official Pokémon League. I mean, there are regions like Fiore and Almia that had their issues in the past with crime syndicates, but they have Pokémon Rangers to handle that. In any case, it's a huge plus for me, since I don't have to worry about people trying to steal my Pokémon…well, at a much higher risk than usual. Just because we haven't had any crime syndicates in a while doesn't mean that all crime has ceased to exist—that's still an issue that varies from region to region.
Not that I have any Pokémon for people to steal—I'm not a Trainer and honestly, I'd rather not be…not with expectations my family has for me. Again, it's unintentional, but the pressure is there and it is really hard to ignore the achievements my siblings have made. It's hard to ignore them when I'm constantly having to keep myself from talking about them whenever I'm being picked on by others who don't know the actual truth about my family.
Its information I can't tell just anyone—my parents went through great lengths to ensure that no one would connect me to my siblings. It was for my own protection, since it would make me an easy target for anyone who has a grudge against any of my siblings. The last thing anyone needs is for someone to travel all the way to Unova just to get to me.
I'm not experienced enough to defend myself like Lucy. I'm just your average kid in their last year of middle school, enjoying their summer vacation. Unlike my siblings, my parents were expecting me to start my Pokémon journey at a much later age due to Unova's age limit.
After Team Galactic, the age limit for Trainers was bumped up again to twelve, though in some places, it's thirteen (but not officially). It's worth mentioning that Unova's age limit differs from most regions as, prior to Team Rocket's reign, it was twelve. After Team Galactic, the age limit now stands at fourteen.
Unova is—how should I put this? It's not a safe place for children to venture out on their own. The region is broad, with a climate that reaches highs and lows depending on the location and the time of the year. The Pokémon can be rather violent and dangerous at times, too. Of course, the same can be said about most regions, but Unova stands out considerably, thanks to its rather high mortality rate amongst Trainers.
People die and Trainers are no exception. Unova's current goal is lowering their mortality rate, considering a good chunk of them are teenagers. You wanna know who else is a teenager? Yo…I just turned fourteen like two months ago and I have no particular interest in becoming a Trainer. I mean, I used to and I certainly was impatient at one point in my life (living in the same town as the region's professor did not help at all) when I found out I had to wait until I turned fourteen.
But now—I just want to play video games. I want to stay in my room all day, eating junk food and doing nothing relatively productive. It's not a healthy life style, but it's what feels most comfortable to me.
It was quite a shock to my parents when I told them that I wanted to stay in school. Like—school's awful. It just is…but I still prefer going to school instead of going on a journey. The last thing I want to do now is go outside into the summer heat. I don't even care if I have summer homework that I'm going to put off until the last second. Nor do I care that I could be excused from all types of schoolwork if I choose to become a Trainer.
Just leave me alone …
The one thing I didn't expect, however, was for my friends to follow my lead and stay with me in this small town. Touko, Touya, Bel, and Cheren are truly great friends…until a few days ago. Everyone, except Touya, left Nuvema Town the instant we got out for summer vacation. I would have appreciated the fact that Touya stayed, were it not for the fact that his reason for staying was because Professor Juniper ran out of starter Pokémon to give.
On one hand, I'm incredibly annoyed. On the other hand—I feel somewhat relieved. Of course, I'm not going to be admitting that anytime soon, so I'll just continue to act as if I don't care.
Even though I actually do care…
So here we are, a few days into my summer vacation, in my room playing a Kingdom Hearts game instead of doing the summer homework I should have been doing. I was really immersed in this rather annoying boss, because guess who decided to spike up the difficulty to critical mode and oh sweet mother of Mew, am I regretting it. I never did have a chance, because the next thing I know, I'm standing outside on the doorstep to my house in the summer heat. I didn't have that much time to react before the door was literally closed in front of my face.
What struck me rather odd was the backpack I was now wearing and the Pokémon that had been placed into my arms…
"Did I just get kicked out?" was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
Click!
The only response I got was the sound of the door being locked.
Click!
And there goes the top lock…ha, never thought I'd actually find that sound discomforting…
"Osha?" a soft voice cried out.
I blinked a few times and looked down at the Pokémon in my arms. It was small and fluffy, with blue and white fur and had a shell on its chest. Dark eyes stared into my own, looking just as confused as I was. I know this Pokémon rather well. It was the Unova region's water-type starter Pokémon, Oshawott—a typical classic.
I remember my mother once telling me that she didn't like Oshawott, mostly because of its appearance. It's sad to say that she's not the first person to have such an opinion. Oshawott tends to gets the short end of the stick…much like me. As for what I think about the Sea Otter Pokémon…I don't feel anything necessarily negative. I rather like Oshawott.
"So you're mine?" I ask, even though I probably wouldn't get that much of an answer.
"Waa?" The Oshawott just blinked.
I remember once wanting to own an Oshawott, much to the joy of my sister's current husband—wait…
Where did they get this Oshawott?
Professor Juniper was out of viable starters to hand out.
And what is in this backpack?
I had too many questions I needed to answer, so I set Oshawott down onto the porch and took off the backpack I was wearing. I made a face when I looked inside and saw a pair of running shoes. I wasn't at all surprised to find that, underneath those shoes, was a folded piece of paper and a stack of neatly folded clothes.
I know what's going on…
And there, on the folded piece of paper that was left for me, was an explicit confirmation from my sister (of course it's from her).
/You took too long, so I decided to get Mom and Dad to give you an incentive. Go on your journey… You can finish school later like your brothers, for now…just get out of Nuvema Town and live a little.
I packed your backpack a few days back in advance and Mom should have given you a reasonable amount of money in your wallet—look to the small, outer pocket on the right of your backpack for it. You have been given the latest Trainer backpack, by the way…be glad. When I was your age, all I got was a Torchic and a belt bag./
…
I rolled my eyes. That is so like Lucy to do! Just bringing up the things she and our brothers didn't have when they were my age…er, when they were younger than I am. Can you imagine that there used to be a limit in item space? Neither can I, but that's not the point I'm trying to make!
"What else is she gonna bitch about next?" I pray to Arceus that she never finds out I said that…
/I have also provided you a Starter Pokémon. Say hello to your new Oshawott! Be gentle, it's only three-months-old and packs a bigger punch than the usual Oshawott./
I glanced at the Oshawott at my feet. It was currently playing with its shell, looking relatively harmless and adorable. Not what I'd expect from a Pokémon that is said to pack a bigger punch, but hey, that's what some people say about Azumarill and that thing is a monster…with the proper training and to go a step further than that, breeding.
Breeding is such an interesting subject that both fascinates and infuriates me… There are just so many issues—but I digress. Let's see what else Big Sis has to say…
/If you're wondering about your medication, don't worry about it—I got Mom to handle it. Your medicine is located in your backpack's medicine case. You have enough to keep you going for five months until your next refill. Just go to any Pokémon Center for a refill and you're good. Don't worry about paying for it…Dad's got you covered./
Well, I guess that means I don't have to worry too much about managing my ADHD. I mean, it's not as difficult as it was when I was younger. But I still tend to act up every once in a while, due to my impulsivity.
/Now, if you're still in front of the house reading this letter, just wait a bit. Touya should be on his way to get you. I managed to convince Mom to let him tag along with you for the time being—just until you reach Striaton City. You should be wearing the X-Transceiver I got you for your fourteenth birthday. If you're not, too bad—you're not allowed in the house until you get going on your journey.
Good luck and hopefully, you'll lose some weight… Or at the very least, get some much-needed exercise. You really worry me with your current lifestyle…
Love,
Lucy/
Haaa, how typical of Big Sis—though, to be fair, she does make a point about my current lifestyle. I don't know why she even bothered making a comment about my weight, considering that she knows I don't give a damn that I'm overweight. It's not as if it's anything new—I've always been rather chubby. The only issue I have with that is when I can't fit into my clothes—ohhh, I better be able to fit into the clothes in this backpack.
That explains the comment, then.
It's not the first time she's sent me clothes that didn't fit because I managed to gain some weight without her knowing. And I'm hoping that this isn't the case for the clothes in my backpack—that would make my situation suck even more. The fact that Touya is coming along is both reassuring and frustrating.
I mean, it's reassuring to not be alone (never mind that I now have a Pokémon with me), but it's also frustrating to not be alone either. I'm an introvert—I need time alone to recharge. And with the way Touya is now, he can be rather draining. I know it's not his fault that he's like this (it was never his fault), but I have my limits.
Though, I guess the same can be said about him… It's not my place to talk about what happened to him, especially since I don't have all the details—just the gist of it. All I can say is that he's still healing. He's a lot more sarcastic than usual, with an aversion to sudden touch. He can come off as rude at times, but I'm already used to that sort of behavior from Cheren (who's a bit too frank for his own good).
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Out of all of my friends, it's Touya who I'll have by my side, even though I get along better with Bel. Then again, Bel's situation is rather different from any of ours. She left Nuvema Town on her own terms after her father refused to let her go on her journey.
Bel's father isn't a bad guy—he's just too overprotective for his own good. Grant it, he has his reasons and the experience to have such concerns for his daughter. Even so, it wasn't fair of him to deny Bel the chance to try. So Bel ran away from home after an argument with her father escalated into a shouting match (they live close by my house, so I heard them). The two are so much more alike than one would think, it's almost sad…
Before she left Nuvema Town, Bel dropped by to say goodbye. She was crying, saying that it was funny that leaving home could be so easy.
"I almost expected my dad to follow me out…but he never did. I waited a few minutes, but he never came out. It's like he thinks I'm not being serious…but I am. So I wanna say goodbye, because I don't know when I'm coming back."
She left after hugging me. And the next day, I got a visit from her father, asking me if I had seen her. I couldn't exactly lie, but I doubt what I told him would even help. He was advised by Professor Juniper not to do anything rash, since it would discourage Bel from ever returning home.
It's a complicated situation, one that I still have trouble processing—even more so, now that I've been kicked out of my own home. God, why is this happening to me?
"Sweet Arceus, I don't need this right now…" I crumpled up the letter in my hands and stuffed it into my backpack. I pulled out the running shoes and put them on after getting some socks on me. I've never been more thankful to find a pair of socks in this new backpack of mine.
It was just as I was tying my shoelaces that I got a face full of Oshawott. The little otter thing decided that my face was rather interesting and started patting me on the cheeks. It was rather cute…
"I'm guessing you're the spawn of my brother-in-law's Samurott?" I think her name was Genevieve…
Oshawott looked at me with a perplexed expression on its face. "Waa?"
I laughed and patted the Pokémon on the head. I shouldn't expect a three-month-old Oshawott to know this. I could have probably worded that better, too…but I digress. That reminded me…
I hooked my hands underneath the Oshawott's arms and lifted the Pokémon off the ground. I held them up high in the air, my gaze directed at them. "You're my Pokémon…"
"Shaaaa!" it cried out in awe.
Words cannot describe the emotions I'm feeling. It's almost overwhelming… I don't know if I'm happy…or sad, because I just got kicked out of my own house. I mean—I can't go back until I've gone on a journey. And that could take a while.
But I'm not alone, I realize as I took the moment to give my Oshawott a hug.
"Hey!" a voice called out.
I turned around and spotted a boy my age in the distance. He had brown eyes and short brown hair…much like me, though my hair is much more of an unruly mess and a much darker shade of brown. He was dressed in clothes that were appropriate for traveling, though I did eye the blue jacket that was tied around his waist, as well as the black t-shirt he wore, like…in this weather? Really?
"Do you have a death wish, Touya?" A white t-shirt would have been so much better than black.
"Maybe," he replied as he pulled out a baseball cap from his satchel. It was nearly identical to the one he currently wore, only the blue Poké ball design was blue instead of red. "Here, I got you something—to commemorate your first day as a Trainer."
He put it on for me, giving my Oshawott a few pats on the head afterwards before smirking and doing the same to me. I normally wouldn't have accepted such a gesture, since I know he did that purposely to mess with me. But I don't really care—I'm just so happy to have a baseball cap. I really just love the way it looks.
I know it's just a cap. But it's honestly the highlight of my day, apart from the Oshawott in my arms. I'm enjoying what I can, despite my current situation.
"By the way, here's your Trainer card and Pokédex." Touya was about to hand me a blue card and a device of the same color, but he noticed that I already had my hands full with my Oshawott. So he turned me around and unzipped my backpack, which is where he then stored the card and device. Afterwards, he zipped up my backpack and turned me around for a second time so that I was now facing him. "There we go."
"Thank you!" I smiled at Touya, not feeling annoyed whatsoever with what he did (he could have at least asked, but nah, I don't care about that). "Now what?"
Touya thought for a moment…and then shrugged. "Just so you know, Touko chose Oshawott as her Starter too."
I blinked. "Really? Oh…what did you get?"
Touya blinked again and pulled out two Poké balls. He pressed on the buttons in the center of the capsules and released two Pokémon. One was a reptilian snake-like grass Pokémon and the other was an orange and black pig…
"You got a Tepig and a Snivy?" I asked. "Whoa…"
Touya nodded. "Yeah, the Snivy's female and the Tepig's male…what about your Pokémon?"
I looked at my Oshawott and laughed nervously. "Well…I honestly don't know."
And I don't feel like checking, either, since I'm not even sure how to tell a male Oshawott from a female Oshawott. Shit like this is complicated, man…
"So do they have any names?" I knelt down to get a closer look at the Snivy and Tepig.
"Actually—I was gonna go to you for that," Touya admitted. "Now… Give me some names."
"I didn't hear a please." I looked up at Touya with a sly smile.
Touya's expression was blank and in a monotone voice, he said, "Please."
"Pfft, alright!" It was fun messing with Touya sometimes. I mean, it's only fair since he messes with me, too. "Okay, I got a good one for Snivy…let's call her Ivy! Ya know, like from Batman—Poison Ivy!"
Snivy looked at me weirdly as just replied with a cool, "Sni."
Touya tilted his head to the side as he looked at Snivy. "I think she likes it, though I wonder why you didn't go with Pamela instead."
Pamela Isley is the real name of Poison Ivy, but I kinda forgot about that. "I was a bit too quick on that, but still—Ivy fits."
"Okay, what about Tepig?" Touya gestured at the Fire Pig Pokémon.
"Ganon." I didn't even need to think twice about it either.
"Te?" Tepig looked questioningly at me.
"Why am I not surprised?" Touya sighed as he tugged down on his baseball cap. "So what about you—what're you naming your Pokémon?"
"I think I'll name them Kairi…" I always liked that name, especially since it was the name of one of my favorite characters from Kingdom Hearts. It was also a gender-neutral name, so I feel it works pretty well since I don't know if my Oshawott is male or female.
"Shaaa!" Oshawott made such a delighted sound. It seems it likes that name…good.
I turned my attention to Touya and stood up. "So…you're supposed to be going along with me?"
"Just until we get to Striaton City…unless you want me to stay?" Touya was smirking.
I scoffed. "Thanks, but no thanks…I can take care of myself—"
"And that's why your sister requested me to go along." Touya was rather smug.
I scowled at Touya. "I hate you."
Touya laughed. "Okay, let's change the subject…do you wanna get going already?"
"But don't we have to have epic rival battles at the beginning of our journeys?" I smile sheepishly at Touya as he looked at me funny.
"You're stalling me, aren't you?" Dammit, he saw right through me!
"Yes…no…shut up!" I'm out of ideas!
Touya stared at me for a few minutes. I stayed silent. He wasn't going to get me to talk…
…
…
…
"Okay, I am! Just stop looking at me like that! It's like you're staring into my soul!" I can't believe he got me to talk…by just staring at me. Still, those eyes—they stare into my soul. I feel so exposed…
"See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Touya grinned. "Now let's get going…"
"But I don't wanna leave~!" I closed my eyes and whined, stamping my foot for a good measure.
Touya stared blankly at me and returned his Pokémon back into their Poké balls. Seconds after he stuffed his Poké balls into his pockets, he grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me along.
"We're going." And that was that.
Nothing seemed to want to go my way today. There might have been some upsides, but that still doesn't change the fact that got kicked out of my own house. It finally set in and what I'm feeling is so much annoyance and rage. I feel betrayed…because I trusted my family and this is what they do to me.
I used to look up at my siblings when I was little…now they could just go to hell. I'm not even sure if my brothers were involved in this situation, but like I care! I got kicked out!
…
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A/N Man, I have a lot of things to say, like…I wrote this fic during the second half of my junior year of high school. Looking back at it now, it really hasn't aged that well, so I wanted to change that, because I have a lot more ideas in store for this fic. It might take me a lot longer to even get to them, but hey, no one ever said that writing was easy.
Life certainly hasn't been easy for me, so I'm trying to get by. School's been kicking my ass and just last month, a friend of mine committed suicide, so I'm rather…yeah… Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and say hello to our currently nameless OC!
It's funny, the original concept for this story was derived from a webcomic called Manly Guys Doing Manly Things. There is a Pokémon Trainer named Jared in the story and he was looked at by his parents as a disappointment because he didn't quit school when he was ten to become a Trainer.
He finally became a Trainer when his mother forced him to mow the lawn and guess what? There were Pokémon on that lawn. Yeah, you have to read the comic yourself because really, it's much better that way.
Anyways, my OC was kind of based off of him…but like most ideas, they develop into their own thing. Let's see where this story will take us this time, now that I've decided to reboot it to fit with recent games. It's a bit AU-ish at this point, but hey, what can you do? The one thing that changed is that OC's siblings were finally given names and YEAH, OC's older sister IS Pike Queen Lucy from the Battle Frontier. Ahaha, yeah, that's a thing...don't take it too personally.
If you guys want me to make a pdf of the original fic, I'll make it, but just saying—I'd rather you just stick with this one, since this is the one I want everyone to see. There's so much I have to fix and adjust, but again, if I get enough people asking for it, I'll do it. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Do feel free to say something—anything. I appreciate what readers have to say, so long as it isn't about updates.
So until next time! KD out! XD