A/N: Sorry that this is coming out a couple days late (and by that I mean like a week late), still trying to get back into the swing of things and also wanted to make sure I was completely happy with the chapter before posting it. Enjoy either way.
Chapter 1: Hoenn Beginnings Part 1
It was another bright and shining day in the region known as Hoenn, probably not surprising to anyone due to the region's tropical weather, and the Tailows were chirping wildly like they always did at this time. However, not everyone was feeling the tranquil vibes.
One example of this was a 16-year-old boy; his name was Brendan Ruby. Brendan was a slightly tall pale-skinned boy for his age at 5'8. His body type was thin but still relatively muscular and had thick dark brown, slightly unkept hair which was mostly covered by a white beanie, only showing his sideburns and the hair on the back of his head, as well as pale gray eyes. His clothing, provided by his Mother beforehand due to the climate change they were going through, was a skin-tight red and black t-shirt (with an odd zipper on the collar) and black and dark grey slim fit knee length shorts, as well as a green, turtle shell-like backpack, complete with white and green slip on sneakers.
Currently, Brendan was in the process of moving to the town known as Littleroot because his father, Norman, had gotten a new job as Gym Leader of Petalburg City, all located in the Hoenn region. Previously, Norman was Gym Leader of Goldenrod City in the Johto region, where the family used to reside, but he was replaced by a younger girl, younger than even Brendan, because she was a more popular figure to the citizens of the City and considered to be a better battler than Norman. Another reason for Norman's reassignment was that the previous Leader of Petalburg retired, and left no heir to take over, so the heads of Johto's Pokemon League saw it best to make the decision to relocate Norman.
However, Norman wouldn't be joining Brendan and his mother, Caroline, today in their move; he had to go on ahead to prepare his Gym, making it ready as quickly as possible for any new and awaiting challengers. Brendan had no issue with this though, since he quite honestly preferred it when his father wasn't around and it was just him and his mother. This was likely because not only did his father work most of the time, having very little free time, and even when he came home, made no effort to get to know Brendan, but also when he was home, he was practically always irritated, likely from stress, and that's all Brendan could ever remember from him. According to Caroline, he used to be a kind, caring and even romantic man but that all changed shortly after becoming a Gym Leader.
Brendan was sitting in his seat in a slouched position, head resting on the window, allowing him to see the outside and how much more nature-dominant it was, with all the trees and just general greenery, even spotting the odd bit of wildlife such as Wurmples and Zigzagoons, further proving that Littleroot Town would be a much more quieter place than Goldenrod, which was a nice change for him as he was a fan of the idea of living in the peace and quiet. Through the mirrors on the side, he could see the large, white moving truck following them, even their logo: a tall, purple, muscular, humanoid Pokemon with a very toned body, in a pose that showed it flexing its already obvious muscles.
"Won't be long now, sweetie." Caroline said, noticing her son's bored state with a reassuring smile. Brendan nodded, smiling back simply because he couldn't resist doing so. Caroline was a middle-aged woman, who had brown hair with two pigtails and bright blue eyes. She wore a yellow sleeveless shirt with a white stripe covering her shoulders as well as a brown sash around her belly, an orange skirt and white high-heeled sandals.
She too was glad that they were moving, as she saw it as a chance for Brendan to make new friends, as he had become a bit of a loner recently in Goldenrod; all his friends had either moved away or were off travelling in who knows where, like most kids their age, only making the odd revisit home once or twice a year. She had never asked why Brendan never wanted to join them, seeing it as a touchy subject for the boy, and only assumed that he had no interest in the idea of travelling, much less tackling the Pokemon League as it would remind him too much of his father.
After a short while had passed, a small town was on the horizon, a wooden sign shortly confirming that the town as Littleroot, and it was just as tiny as the two had imagined. The town had around five buildings total, four of them houses, and the other looking like a research lab of some sort, all of which was surrounded in forest, keeping the nature centred vibe they'd been seeing on their journey to the rural town. Caroline took a deep breath and a relaxed sigh.
"Ah, smell that fresh air, Brendan. That fresh, new air." She said happily, once again with a smile, parking the car just outside of their new home, prompting both her and Brendan to get out. The house looked humble enough, having two stories to it and a simple yet effective design, complete with a door and a couple of windows on each floor. Caroline unlocked said door, and walked inside, prompting Brendan to do the same.
The inside of the house was just as nice as the outside. The first floor contained an interconnected kitchen and living room, with a set of wooden stairs on the opposite side of the wall where the door was. Even though they had just walked in for the first time, there was still odd bits of furniture lying around, such as a couch, TV, and dining table, and any other essentials you could think of, as well as unopened cardboard boxes scattered around, containing the family's possessions, with more coming in from the movement truck, carried by the same type of Pokemon seen on the truck's logo.
"Why don't you go see your room Brendan?" Caroline suggested. "Your bed and such should be up there by now."
"Aww, I don't get to choose which room I get?" Brendan replied playfully, causing Caroline to smile again.
"Don't worry, it's bigger than your last one. Much bigger, I made sure of it." She assured him, causing the teen, full of curiosity, to head up the stairs. He was welcomed by three doors. From left to right, they were the bathroom, his parent's room and his room.
Walking inside, he saw that his Mother's words were indeed true; his bed was placed in a corner of the room on the wall adjacent to the door, a small desk beside it with a lamp, a small TV opposite to it on top of a currently empty bookshelf, presumably because its contents were still being moved in. Opposite to the door was a desk and chair, a black, closed laptop resting on top, plugged in, and a window above said desk.
At the foot of his bed was a large egg in an orange incubator, a glass section in the middle for said egg to be seen. The egg itself was sat on a pillow for comfort, and had a main light blue colour to it, dark red triangles at its corners and tip, and a beige line going around the middle, connecting on each side with ends that arched down. The egg was being kept warm inside the incubator, and was a gift from Professor Elm, Johto's own Pokemon Professor, as a going away gift, since both he and Brendan had become friends in their time working together on occasion. Brendan wasn't aware of what was inside, however, as Elm was adamant on keeping that a secret.
Brendan looked around his room with content; this would do.
Once acquainted with his room, Brendan decided to head back downstairs to rejoin Caroline, who was currently unpacking some of the boxes containing living room ornaments and kitchen utensils, listening to a local news broadcast on the TV whilst doing so, though not really paying attention to it.
"…but more on that later. For right now though, let's head over to our correspondent of Hoenn's very own Petalburg Gym!" The newscaster announced. The scene then shifted to a formally dressed middle aged man standing outside of a dojo-like building, behind him a moderately large crowd.
"Yes, Jill, I'm standing outside Petalburg City's own Pokemon League Gym, along with many others as you can see here, all waiting for its new Leader to introduce himself." He responded, then giving a brief history on Norman, such as mentioning him being the previous Gym Leader to Goldenrod, until eventually a man emerged from the building's front door. He was a tall, lean, middle-aged man with short black hair with a single fringe at the centre with three edges and dark eyes. He wore a white t-shirt that was covered by a grey and maroon jacket, with the sleeves rolled up. He also wore charcoal trousers with elasticated ankles and pair of geta - dark brown flip-flops with black straps.
"And there's the man himself – Norman Ruby!" The same news reporter exclaimed, as the man in question standing proudly at the centre of the crowd, other news stations shouting questions at him, with him not really replying, except for the occasional low-effort answer.
Brendan and Caroline were both watching the report, Caroline paying attention only when she heard Norman's name get called out. Hastily, she turned off the TV and looked over at Brendan, who was staring at the now blank-screen with a blank expression, but a clenched fist.
Brendan didn't realise that the screen had been turned off because he was too enveloped in his thoughts on seeing his father again. He wasn't angry, more annoyed – annoyed at how confident he stood there to the public, which one may just see as him trying to set a tough and intimidating first impression, but it could also be seen as arrogant, and maybe even evil.
"Hey, you okay?" Caroline asked softly, snapping Brendan out of his thought process. He nodded and turned around towards the front door.
"Yeah. Just gonna go out for some air." He responded, opening, going through, and closing the door behind him, wincing at first due to the sudden rays of light being shone directly onto him and the surrounding areas, but quickly regained his composure, soon starting to enjoy the feeling.
He took a look at Littleroot's structure as a whole; four houses, similar in structure to his, placed around a moderately large flower patch in the middle, kind of like a Town monument. The feeling he got from the town's atmosphere was one of peace and tranquillity, which was what he expected, considering that the town was kind of in the middle of nowhere, since it was located in the very south west of the Hoenn region. To put it short, the town's vibe alone was able to make him feel better instantly, practically making him forget why he was annoyed in the first place.
"You too, honey!" A somewhat deep, but oddly friendly, voice Brendan heard from the home next to his. The presumed owner of said voice soon walked out from the open door and closed it behind him. The man was a tall and heavily built man, had short, slightly wavy brown hair, a squarish face with a beard and dark eyes, wearing a navy blue T-shirt under a white lab coat, khaki shorts with a black belt and tan sandals on his feet complete with a brown messenger bag, overflowing slightly with paper. Brendan recognised the man as Professor Birch, Hoenn's own most popular Pokemon Professor, from seeing him on TV and other medias. Brendan decided to walk towards and introduce himself to the Professor.
"Hi, you're Professor Birch, right?" He greeted. Birch, showing no sign of surprise, which ironically surprised Brendan, turned around. He smiled, a tiny bit smugly.
"Why yes, I indeed am!" He bellowed happily. "And who might you be?"
"Brendan." The teen replied simply. "I just moved in next door with my Mum."
"Ah, I see. I forgot you were moving in today." Birch said before extending his hand out for Brendan, to which he gladly accepted, but then to Brendan's surprise again, Birch grabbed the boy's hand with his other hand, and started shaking it, and Brendan as a side effect, rapidly and excitedly. "Then let me be the first to welcome you to this small town of Littleroot, and to the Hoenn region as a whole!"
"Thanks." Brendan responded once he regained his composure. Birch let go of his hand, seemingly not realising how excited he got.
"Say, do you have any plans for the day?" He queried.
"Nah, not really. Was only planning on exploring a bit."
"Why don't you accompany me to my lab then? I could do with a pair of extra hands to help today."
"Alright, sounds fun."
"Great! Come along then!" Birch exclaimed, and the two started walking towards the back of the town, to the building up on top of a raised bit of land. The building itself was very similar to the houses, but instead of a homely feel, it definitely gave off a more technological vibe. Along the way the pair decided to talk a bit.
"So, you study Pokemon and their habitats and such, right?" Brendan questioned. Birched confirmed his suspicions with a nod.
"Essentially, yes." He added. "It all stems from my love of the outdoors, so a job that asks for one to be outside with nature was just a perfect for me, as well as the fact that Hoenn's environment is quite different to the other regions', which I'm sure you've noticed by now being a Johto native." The boy in question nodded.
"Yeah it's definitely a change." He explained. "Not a bad one though; I like the sunshine."
"Well there's certainly a lot of that here, especially in this part of the region." Birch commented, before raising his own question to Brendan. "So, I heard you were well acquainted with Professor Elm, am I correct?"
"Eh, a little bit I guess." Brendan answered. "I did the odd favour for him whenever he was in town, or I visited him, mostly just looking after a Pokemon Egg or two whilst he was away on a business trip or the like."
"Yes, I see…" Birch responded. "I've had the pleasure of meeting the man a couple of times. He's…definitely a unique one, shall we say." Brendan laughed.
"That's one way to describe him." He added, remembering the somewhat awkward, geeky Professor. "I'm sad I won't be seeing him as much, honestly. I'm gonna miss his antics."
"And I'm sure you will, but hopefully you'll be able to fill that gap with new friends, yeah?" Birch reassured him with a smile, which Brendan returned. Soon after, they reached the lab. Birch took out a key from his lab coat pocket, sticking it in the front door's keyhole, turning it, making a click sound in the door, and opening it. He held it open for Brendan, motioning for him to go inside before him, which the boy did, thanking the Professor on his way in.
The lab itself was unsurprisingly small, as it was a squarish room, but surprisingly very advanced. The left side of the lab contained two desks, one currently with a worker at the front and one without at the back during this moment in time, separated by a quadrant of bookshelves, filled with books and binders, presumably writings about Pokemon and other important subjects that would be helpful to the scientists. On the right was another two desks, the former being the same as the two on the left a PC and notepad on top, whereas the desk at the back was much larger, and had decorated walls, indicating that this was Birch's desk. However, separating these two desks was a large, circular metal cylinder-like table, displaying a holographic map of the region, complete with a couple of machines to keep it powered and running well. At the back of the lab was a large screen, currently not showing anything, but was likely used for presentations. The room itself gave off a pleasant and happy aroma, much like the lab's owner. Birch walked in and shut the door behind him, quickly taking note of Brendan taking in the surroundings.
"I can see you're impressed." He said. "It's not much, but it's enough for us to get our work done."
"No this is…like nothing I've seen before." Brendan disagreed. "Elm's lab was mostly just bookshelves and a little machinery, but nothing like this!" Birch smiled.
"Well, thank you." He thanked, then turned his gaze to the employee who was in the lab with them. He was a slightly thin man, with dark green, shaggy hair, round specs, a lab coat much longer than Birch's as it reached just underneath his knees, a yellow turtleneck underneath and black pants. He was looking intently at his laptop's screen, typing away, and coffee mug with stale coffee inside; he hadn't noticed Brendan and the Professor walk in. "Morning Joshua. Another all-nighter?"
Joshua jumped a bit before he spoke. "Yes, sir! Just about got this report finished about the thing we saw yesterday."
"Excellent, just email it to me once it's done and I'll look over it." Birch responded, as he walked over to his desk at the back and laid his bag on the desk, sitting down at his desk with a relaxed sigh. Brendan followed him. "Usually my daughter May would be here helping out, usually tidying since she enjoys organising the papers for us, but she's got a big day today." Brendan raised a curious eyebrow as he leaned on a nearby desk adjacent to Birch, still stood up.
"Why? What's she got going on, if you don't mind me asking?" He quizzed.
"My little May's starting her own journey today, so is currently preparing for it. She'll be here sooner or later though, to pick out her partner." Birch replied. Brendan could swear he saw a proud smile on the Professor's face as he spoke. "She would've started much earlier like most instead of starting today at fifteen but saw no interest in Gyms since she's not that big into battling. Though I know the main reason she stayed until now was to help out around here, even after I told her time and time again we'd be fine and she could go out and have fun in the world, she just wouldn't listen. Her mind was finally swayed though once she started getting into these 'Contest' things that have been floating about the past two or so years, so she's coming here later today to choose her partner, like all Trainers do when just starting their journey." Brendan nodded; he'd seen some advertisements for Contests, knowing they were a new fad in Hoenn, but never really paid attention to them. "What about you? Ever travelled Johto or any other regions?"
"Nah. Outside of going to New Bark to visit elm, not really. Can't really say it's my thing, honestly." Brendan responded. While true, it wasn't the full reason he didn't want to travel.
"Hmm, that's odd. I would've thought the son of a Gym Leader would've competed in at least one League by your age." Brendan winced a bit, but quickly hid the expression before Birch could see it.
"Those never interested me either. Dunno why, just not all that into Pokemon battling or going for the title of Champion." Brendan explained further. Birch nodded understandingly, though he felt Brendan was leaving a few details out, but decided not to press for more information.
The Professor turned around to his PC and decided to show Brendan a few of the projects he'd been working on and had completed, such as advancements to a device he called a 'PokeNav", a small mobile piece of technology to be used by anyone. The device was a bright yellow and had two screens, along with a few buttons dotted at the side of the bottom screen.
The device was planned to have three main apps for three different purposes; DexNav, an app used for finding specific species of Pokemon using their specific strand of DNA; BuzzNav, a news station app for staying up with current real-world events; and the TSS, or Trainer Search System, which was an online chatting service for Trainers to use and stay in touch with one another no matter where they were in the world, and being able to arrange meet-ups or have simulated battles with one another.
Everything Birch said amazed and interested Brendan, since he himself was a fan of technology, like most boys his age were. During their talk, Birch had spoken a little about May, feeling comfortable enough around Brendan to do so, making Brendan almost excited to meet the girl, which he felt weird about since he'd never been excited to meet someone before in his life, at least not in recent memory.
"Alright, let's see…" A brunette girl began, speaking to herself whilst looking in her fanny pack. "…Pokeballs, a map, Potions, spare clothing…Yep, sounds good!" She finished, zipping it up and sliding it to the back of her person, so it wouldn't get in the way.
She took a look in a nearby fullbody mirror to check if she looked good. She was a girl of medium height with slim with long, thick, mouse brown hair, styled quite unusually; tied into a small bun at the back, with a side fringe falling across her forehead, but the main majority of her hair was in the shape of an upside-down V. Her eyes were grey-blue, and she had pale white, soft-looking skin. She wore a scarlet tank top with a black undershirt, white short shorts with black lycra mini-leggings underneath, yellow and black ankle boots with orange soles, a red and white bandanna/kerchief and a yellow-and-green fanny pack, tied around her waist. This was May Birch, the fifteen year old daughter of the region's very own Professor Birch, and today she was beginning her journey as a Pokemon Trainer.
Saying a quick goodbye to her room, she darted excitedly down the stairs to find her Mother in the kitchen, washing dishes from breakfast, listening to a news broadcast about Petalburg Gym's new Gym Leader or something; May didn't really pay attention.
"You all set to go sweetie?" May's mother asked.
"Uh huh. I double, even triple, checked!" May replied, clearly raring to go. Her mother giggled.
"Well alright then, off you go to your Father." She told her. "But at least spare a moment to give your Mum a hug first?" May playfully sighed but submitted to her mother's wish anyways, giving her a tight and loving hug for about half a minute, before her excitement took over again and she almost sprinted out of the house.
"Alright bye Mum!" May said just before she got out the door, closing it behind her. She looked directly in front of her to the lab on the hill, knowing that that was where she had to go next, thus started sprinting again.
May was full of excitement.
May was full of adventure.
May was…about to crash into someone?
She tried to stop herself, but to not avail, bumping into a woman who looked around her own mother's age, though she couldn't be too sure as the only glimpse she got was the woman's brown, styled hair and bright clothing before falling to the ground.
"Oww…" May said, rubbing her head where it hurt.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The woman exclaimed, lending out a hand to May, which the girl took.
"No, no, it's my fault too." May protested. "I wasn't looking where I was going, so sorry about that…uhh…" She stood up straight, dusting herself off, and looked at the properly to see who she was speaking to but was surprised when she didn't recognise her. "Oh, I don't believe we've met before. Are you visiting Littleroot or something?" The woman laughed slightly.
"No, I just moved here with my husband and son today. Just decided to get take a break from unpacking." She said, causing a look of realisation appeared on May's face.
"Ohhhh right! I forgot that was happening today!" She said. "I'm May, the girl from next door to yours."
"I'm Caroline." The older woman replied. "It's nice to meet you May."
"Oh, thank you!" May commented. "It's a pleasure to meet you too." Caroline smiled.
"Have you met Brendan yet? He came out here for a bit of fresh air earlier, so I was wondering where he'd gone."
"No…don't think I have…" May responded. "But I'll let you know if I do see him." Caroline nodded, a bit disappointed but she chose to hide it. "I'd love to chat some more but, uhh, I've gotta be somewhere and I'm sorta late so I'll see you later-ish, if that's alright?" Caroline nodded, smiling.
"Yes, yes, don't let me keep you any longer."
"Alright, cyaaa!" May shouted as she started running to Birch's lab again.
She reached the lab not even a minute later, where she stopped and, after catching her breath a bit, knocked gently on the door, but still loud enough for one to hear.
"Ah, that must be May!" The brunette heard from inside the lab, recognising the voice as her Father's. Her suspicious were confirmed when he was the one to open the door seconds later. "Heyyy, there's my favourite girl!" He exclaimed, arms open wide for a hug, which she gladly accepted.
"Hi Daddy, sorry I'm late!" She replied, still hugging Birch tightly.
"Ah, pay it no mind." Birch reassured her, stepping away from the door to let May in. "Brendan here helped me pass the time, come on in and meet him." He motioned to the teen male still at the back of the room. The two locked eyes for just a second, pale grey meeting deep blue, and they both felt this weird sensation at the exact same time. Not a bad sensation, not at all, but an incredibly good one. Brendan shook his head slightly, knocking him out of the trance-like state he was in, thus getting May out of hers too.
"Uhh, h-hi…" The boy said shyly, looking away from May slightly.
"Y-Yeah, hi…" May replied, just as if not then a little more timidly. Birch looked at the pair, confused, and laughed; he had a feeling he knew what was going through the teens' heads but decided to just leave that as a suspicion.
"Oh, come on, I know teens your age usually have mood swings but it's usually becoming suddenly irritated, not nervous!" He commented. "What happened?" May sighed, slightly irritated at her Father's words.
"Sh-Shut up, Dad!" She retorted, before taking a deep breath to calm down. She then walked over to Brendan, who was still looking away slightly, staring at the floor, and held her hand out for him to shake. "I'm May, you're Brendan, right?" She wanted to hug him for some reason but felt that that'd be a bit weird for a first-time meeting.
"Yeah, that's me. How'd you know?"
"I bumped into your Mum on the way here. She was looking for you, y'know?" Brendan looked a bit guilty; he had been out for a decently long time at this point.
"That would be my fault." Birch pitched in. "I've been keeping Brendan here, talking about our lab work and such." May giggled a bit.
"Okay, yeah, I can definitely believe that." She joked, earning a defeated sigh from the Professor, whilst she leaned on the same desk as Brendan, standing next to him. He perked up though remembering why May was here.
"So, then sweetie, are you ready to choose your partner?" He asked, his eyes lighting up quite a bit.
"Mhmm, and I've known for a long time, too." She replied. Birch smiled excitedly, and reached into his bag, pulling out three spherical objects with bright red tops, white bottoms, a black line going around the centre, and a white button to show the front. These objects were more commonly referred to as Pokeballs, and they were used to house captured Pokemon for Trainers when travelling and for battling.
The Professor placed the three Pokeballs on a table in front of them, giving each one the same amount of space between the other, pressing the buttons as he did, making a bright white light emerge from them, each one becoming a different creature.
In the leftmost Pokeball, was a small, green, bipedal reptilian Pokémon. It had yellow eyes with long, narrow pupils. Its hands and feet each had three digits covered with tiny spikes. Its stomach and throat were red, and it also had a line across on its stomach resembling a pouch. It had a large, dark green tail with two separate lobes. The creature stood coolly, its arms folded and had a serious look in its eyes. Brendan took an odd liking to this one, though he wasn't really sure why. It looked cool and even strong, sure, but he felt something a bit more towards the creature, and it looked like it was the same, as it stared back at the boy.
The Pokeball to the right of that released a small, chick Pokémon with stubby, downy, yellow wings. Its body was covered with orange feathers, as well as there being an orange and yellow crest on its head that resembled a flame. Its two thin legs and short beak were a light brownish yellow, and the feet had three toes in front and one in the back. It stood innocently, flapping its small wings happily whilst it chirped, its gaze focused on May, with her smiling back.
Finally, the rightmost Pokeball revealed a small, amphibious, quadruped Pokémon. It had a blue body with a light-blue underside, as well as has a large head with a blue fin on top and a light-blue tail fin. It also had black, beady eyes and orange, star-shaped gills on its cheeks. It tilted its head, seemingly confused at its surroundings.
"This is Treecko, the Grass-type," Birch began, naming the Pokemon from left to right. Treecko gave a slight affirmation nod hearing its name. "Torchic, the Fire-type," Torchic chirped a bit louder, still happily, "and finally, Mudkip, the Water-type." Birch finished, Mudkip still looking very confused. Birch then turned to the pair. "These are the three starting Pokemon that trainers typically choose from as their first partner." He then turned his gaze to May. "Which one will you choose?"
"Well…" May began, getting up from her slouched position and walking towards the table. "…while they are all great picks, and I wish I could take you all with me, I have to choose only one, so…" She stood in front of Torchic, kneeling down a bit to pat the Chick on its fluffy head. "How about it, Torchic?"
"Tor! Chick Chi!" Torchic chirped, very ecstatic about being picked, earning a pleased laugh from May. Treecko shrugged, not minding being left behind, whereas Mudkip still looked around confused; someone should really help this poor thing.
"I had a feeling you'd pick Torchic!" Birch spoke. "You two do have a bit of a history, after all." May nodded.
"Yeah, we do. It's kinda what helped me settle on who I should pick." She explained, before picking up Torchic's ball, holding it in front of the Chick Pokemon, allowing it to hit the button with its beak.
"And here is your very own PokeDex!" Birch continued, picking up a small, red, device in the shape of a rectangle with rimmed and smoothened edges, a squarish screen in the middle, a power button in the shape of a Pokeball, the 'button' on the ball being the actual power button, and two green diagonal buttons on the right. "This device will allow you to catalogue any and all current info-"
"Information on Pokemon in the Hoenn region that we as Trainers encounter just by scanning the creature with the censor on the back." May interrupted, finishing Birch's sentence. "I know, Dad, I've used this thing like a thousand times already." Birch sighed defeatedly again.
"B-But I like doing the explanations…" He whimpered, his usually bellowing voice now sounding very depressing. May felt a bit guilty but knew that he'd get over it soon. Brendan laughed at the interactions between the two, making May smile too, though she hid it by looking away from him, but turned to him when a thought crossed her mind.
"What about you Brendan? Are you choosing a partner today?" She asked, her eyes glistening, hoping his answer was yes. Brendan looked at the girl, slightly surprised and a little embarrassed.
"Uh, no, not really. I just came to visit." He responded. He felt his sink when May's usually, at least to him, glistening eyes lost a lot of their shine, and her expression saddened.
"O-Oh, I see…" She said, sounding very disappointed, her gaze shifting to the floor a bit. She didn't know why him saying no made her sad. She'd only just met the boy after all, why should it matter if he didn't want to start at the same time as her, allowing for them to maybe be travelling buddies? Especially since, again, they had just met, and she didn't even know him outside of a name and appearance.
Brendan, on the other hand, wanted to change his answer to yes so badly, but he also didn't want to lie to the girl. Like May, he didn't know why seeing this girl get so sad bothered him more than it really should, but he still felt like he should at least try to make amends.
"I'm sorry…" He spoke, trying to make the situation at least a little redeemable. "I've just…never really been that keen on the idea of travelling with Pokemon."
"No, it's…it's fine." May told him, raising her head up a bit. Of course, it wasn't fine, but she wasn't exactly going to shout at Brendan for his decision, even if she wasn't all that fond of it for a reason she wasn't even sure of herself.
By this point, per May's mental prediction earlier, Birch had indeed perked up and brought over five much smaller Pokeballs to May.
"I know I don't need to explain this to you, but these are some spare Pokeballs as a starting point for you to go out and capture new Pokemon whilst you're out journeying." He stated, handing them to May, which she accepted and thanked him for. He noticed that she looked sad and, having heard the conversation she just had with Brendan, and gave her a reassuring rub with his thumb on her arm, which didn't make Brendan feel any better, so he pulled his beanie down a bit lower in shame.
Back at the now Maple residence, Caroline had come back in after her walk outside, and went back to unpacking. She was almost done now, with only a few boxes left and the house looking more like an actual house one would live in.
She was calmly humming to herself, filling in the kitchen utensils draw with the remaining knives and forks as she heard a short but loud knock at her front door. Feeling she knew exactly who it was, she placed the final utensils inside the draw, shut it, and made her way to the door and opened it, to find that her suspicions were correct.
It was Norman.
"Oh, hi honey!" Caroline exclaimed, hugging him. "I wasn't expecting you to be home today." Norman hugged back, but not as passionately as his wife.
"Yeah, me too." He responded, his voice very tired and also annoyed. Caroline stepped aside to let him in. "Huh, looks good." He commented, looking at the room slightly before slouching onto the couch.
"I've been unpacking all day so I'm glad you like it!" Caroline added. Norman grunted as a response.
"Where's Brendan?" He asked, an annoyed tone clearly in his speech, something Caroline noticed instantly.
"He's out." She replied. "Don't know where but hopefully he's found a friend."
"You mean he's out fooling around instead of doing something with his damn life." Norman argued. "Useless fucker." Now Caroline was annoyed.
"Norman, I've told you not to speak about your son like that!" She retorted. "I know you're upset that he has no interest in following your path and inheriting the Gym when you eventually retire, but that's not his fault!"
"Then who's is it, huh?" Norman fought back. Caroline was about to speak but he spoke first. "Mine? Is that what you're gonna say?" Caroline didn't respond, only closed her mouth. "Of course it is. It's my fault that Brendan has no taste for battle, because clearly I've had the time to teach him that way, and clearly you couldn't have helped me out with it."
"Excuse me?" It was Caroline's time to fight back now. "I did try, y'know, by making him watch some of your battles whilst you were on the job, but guess what? He didn't want to, and do you know why?" She paused for a second to catch her breath, her eyes watering a little. "Because he didn't know the man he was supposed to watch, and because that same man made no effort to get to know him, and still hasn't. And don't give me the bullshit of 'I work a lot, so I don't have much time to myself' because you know that you still have the odd day off and there are times in which you can come home like now or during the day, even back in Goldenrod, so you've had plenty of time to talk with him and have you? No. Maybe once or twice, but never put in the full effort that a Father should. So, honestly, I can't blame him for not wanting to follow in your footsteps, because I know I wouldn't!"
Norman looked at Caroline angrily. So angry he even considered going over there to hit her for talking to the man that pays for the roof over her head, the food she eats on the table he bought that way, though decided against it, because deep down he still loved the woman, and did want the best for her. But what did she know, he thought; she'd never worked a full day in her life, and especially not a job as demanding as his, which needs you to be available at pretty much any time of day. So what if he hadn't gotten to know his son as much as he should have? He still works his ass off daily to provide for his family, so Brendan should be thankful for that. In truth, he hadn't spoken to his son properly in quite some time, might have even been years by this point, so he wasn't fully convinced that what Caroline was saying was indeed what the boy thought, so made a mental note to ask Brendan once he came home, if he ever came home – he didn't even know that. He kept his thoughts to himself, though, as to not cause any more ruckus, fearing that people may hear, and his reputation ruined if it were found out he had trouble in his own home so instead just turned away from Caroline, focusing on the TV, not bothering to apologise for his words against Brendan, because he still believed he was right.
"What's for dinner?" Norman asked, his voice much quieter now.
A/N: I know it's a bit short and not much really happened here outside of character introductions, scene setting and all that, but it's still just the first chapter so can't reveal too much. In truth this and the next chapter were all just gonna be one big chapter but decided against it since if that had happened then not only would this be an even later upload, but it was also be stupidly long for a first chapter. Don't fret, though, next chapter will have a biiiiit more action in it, even if it's still technically a 'Prologue'.
Be sure to Follow/Fav to stay updated on future posts!