Yup, I am starting another long fanfic. But this idea came about after receiving a prompt for a drabble about Coco and Romeo in a Pokémon AU and I just… I loved how the drabble turned out. So I HAD to expand on it and make this.

Dedicated to itsajoshyboy on Tumblr for giving me the prompt that started this off! Thank you so much, dude! Also, it's thanks to an Anon's suggestion that this fic has such an adorable name!

This is going to be a lot of fun, y'all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokémon.

Hello there!
Welcome to the world of Pokémon.
People here call me the Pokémon Professor.
This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon.
For some people, Pokémon are pets.
Others use them for fights.
Myself...
I study Pokémon as a profession.
So, tell me.
What is your name?

"Romeo!" a familiar voice rang out from downstairs. "Romeo! Time to wake up!" There was a brief stillness, within which a young, dark haired boy flipped over in his bed - patterned with fire Pokémon from all over Kanto and Johto. He buried his face under his Charmander-shaped pillow, pretending to have not heard his name.

"Come on, Romeo!" the owner of the voice tried again. "You gotta get your chores done! Or do you not want to go to Pallet Town with me this afternoon?"

The boy bolted upright, eyes shooting open and all pretenses of sleep forgotten. "Coming, Dad!" he shouted, throwing his blankets off.

A raucous laugh echoed upstairs. "Yeah, that's what I thought!" Macao teased his son. "I was about to have Arcanine drag out of bed if you weren't up in a couple minutes!"

Romeo did not doubt that. It wouldn't be the first time he'd woken up to the large, fiery canine Pokémon slobbering in his face, determined to lick the sleep away. And if that didn't work, he really would take a gentle hold of the boy's pajamas with his fangs before yanking him out of slumber and his warm bed. Arcanine knew no mercy.

Scrambling off the mattress, Romeo quickly dug through his dresser. What was he going to wear?! This was the first time his dad was letting him tag along to the sleepy little town south of his home in Viridian City. He was going to meet the mysterious Professor for the first time! Although his father had worked for the man as long as they'd lived in the city, Romeo had yet to meet his father's employer. So he wanted to make a good impression... but whatever he chose might end up getting ruined on the long walk there.

Glancing out the window, Romeo thought he could make out dark clouds in the distance. He hoped it wouldn't rain on their journey. Nothing smelled worse than damp Arcanine.

"Romeo!" his father called again. "What, did your bed eat you or something? I have breakfast! Let's go, let's go!"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" he shouted back. Giving up, he through on his set of chores clothes. It wasn't like he couldn't come back and get changed before they headed out. Romeo started heading towards his bedroom door, but paused upon spotting his Charmander pillow on the floor where he'd accidentally tossed it in his rush to get up. He sighed, and walked over to it. Picking it up, he placed it at the head of his bed, sitting upright. Romeo smiled at it, before turning and leaving his room.

Once he had made it downstairs, Romeo greeted, "Good Morning, Dad." A soft whumph emanated from the direction of the dining table, and Romeo grinned at the sight of fluffy fur sticking out in all directions from beneath the piece of furniture - doing nothing to hide the Legendary Pokémon. "Good Morning to you too, Arcanine!"

A large, furry tail thumped happily on the other side of the table.

"Morning!" Macao returned, poking his head around the corner. "About time you joined us!" He gestured towards the table. "Sit down already; we all have a long day ahead of us."

"Sure thing, Dad." Romeo pulled out a chair and sat down. As he did so, a bark came from beneath the table. He leaned over in his seat, staring into the bright eyes of his father's trusted partner Pokémon. Arcanine had been with his father even longer than they'd lived in Viridian, before Romeo himself had been born, and even before Macao had met Romeo's mother (who was now happily divorced from her husband). If Macao's tall tales were to be believed, he and Arcanine had once traveled far and wide across Kanto with his old friend Wakaba and his partner, Wheezing. Until they met their respective wives and settled down.

Arcanine let out another whumph.

Recognizing the plea for attention, Romeo reached under the table to ruffle the Pokémon's fluffy head. His fur was incredibly soft, and Romeo had spent many a rainy afternoon snuggled into Arcanine's fur. Romeo loved Arcanine with all of his heart and soul. The Pokémon was as permanent a part of his life as his father was, and just as precious and irreplaceable.

"I hope you plan to wash your hands before eating," came the wry tone of his father.

Romeo yelped in surprise, and tried to sit up. Bashing his head into the underside of the table, he yelped again, this time with Arcanine singing in accompaniment. He winced and withdrew, rubbing the back of his skull.

Macao's eyes twinkled merrily at his son. "Well, I can't say that I don't understand the urge to pet him." To prove his point, he reached under the table to scratch Arcanine's back, the Pokémon letting out pleased noises. All attention was good attention, as far as Arcanine was concerned. "That being said, don't let him fool you. He's already had his breakfast. He doesn't need ours, too."

From beneath the table, Arcanine let out a heavy sigh.

Romeo let out a laugh. "Got it!"

Arcanine let out a second, heart-heavy sigh, which only made the humans laugh more.

The table was already set with very simple breakfast fare. It all looked delicious, though. Trying to pull his seat closer to the table, he found himself unable to, blocked by Pokémon fluff.

"Hey, Arcanine!" Macao grouched at his old friend. "Are you gonna move anytime soon?"

Thump, thump, went the Pokémon's tail.

"I guess we're just gonna have to eat hunched over. Or move to the couch."

In the end, they stayed at the table. Every once in a while, Arcanine attempted to cajole one of the pair into giving him a portion of their meal, but they were long since wise to the Pokémon's wiles.

As Romeo began to clean up the dishes, the phone hanging on the wall began to ring. The boy glanced up, but his father waved him off. "I'll get it. You keep cleaning the dishes." Shrugging, Romeo rinsed the plates and set a couple of dishes to soak. From beneath the table, Arcanine was radiating waves of betrayal since Romeo had not given the plates over to him first for a quick tongue scrubbing.

"Conbolt residence," Macao said into the receiver. "Oh, hello. Yeah, I saw that, and I was worried if... No, no it's no problem."

Romeo couldn't help but wonder who his father was talking to. Not for the first time, he wished they could afford one of those phones that had video screens as well.

Macao nodded as if the other party could see him, anyway. "I got it! I'll pass it along. This really sucks though; he was looking forward to meeting you today. Well, take care, and we'll see you tomorrow, weather permitting." He hung the phone back on its wall mount, hand resting there for a long moment. Then Macao turned to face his son with a sheepish look on his face. "Hey... Romeo... I know you were all excited to see the Professor and his lab this afternoon, but..."

The youth's heart abruptly dropped.

"But I'm afraid that there's a big storm rolling it. Since it's gonna be such a nasty one, we'll have to wait it out before we make the journey to Pallet town. Or at least, you'll have to wait."

Setting down the plate he was washing, Romeo stared up at his father with hurt shining in his eyes. "Dad! You promised!"

His hands held up in surrender, Macao nodded. "I understand, and you're right, I did. But it'll be too dangerous out there."

Romeo dried off his hands with a dish towel. "Not too dangerous for you! You'll still be working, right?"

With a helpless shrug, Macao explained, "I'm a Ranger, kiddo. It's my job to get people and Pokémon to safety when stuff like this storm rolling in happens. Besides which, I'll have Arcanine and Wakaba and Wheezing watching my back out there. You don't have a partner Pokémon yet, son. So I can't let you come along. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."

"Because I don't have a partner Pokémon?!" Romeo snapped. "You're the one who wanted me to wait, instead of getting one when I turned ten! I'm thirteen now, Dad! Most of my friends have already gone off to have adventures with their Pokémon! And yet, I'm still stuck here!"

Macao sighed. "Well... your mother..."

"Lives all the way in Cerulean City, remember?" Romeo pointed out. "She doesn't have a say in this. I'm technically an adult now. Big Sis Lucy is gone, Big Sis Wendy moved to Johto, and Big Bro Natsu left a long time ago, too."

It was clear that Macao was having trouble reining in his temper over his son's words. There was a pulsing vein on his forehead, and the cords of his neck were tightened. "Romeo... Lucy was seventeen before she left, and Natsu was eighteen. Not to mention that that was seven years ago, son. The world's a different place."

"How would I know that, if I've never gotten to see it?" Romeo wanted to know.

"You're just going to have to take my word on it."

Romeo made a loud, frustrated sound in the back of his throat.

Resisting to roll his eyes at Romeo's temper tantrum, Macao stated, "The Professor won't be in Pallet town anyway. With a storm like this, he's going to be out in the thick of it, observing Pokémon. So there'd be no point in us stopping by his lab in the first place."

The dark haired boy threw his towel onto the counter. "Whatever, Dad. I'm going to the store - we're out of milk and eggs, right?"

Macao warily watched his son stalk towards the door, suspicious of the teenager's actions. "And toilet paper. Be sure to be back before the heavy rain sets in, alright?" Thunder rolled in the distance. Those clouds were definitely moving in. And fast. "Which looks to be fairly soon."

"I got it, I got it."

With that, Romeo walked out the door, and stalked off in the direction of the general store.

Sighing, Macao glanced at Arcanine. "He's growing up too fast, old pal," he confided in his partner. "Before I know it, he's going to be ready to take on this world without me. I don't think I'm ready for that."

Arcanine huffed quietly in agreement, thumping his tail once, twice, and then falling still.

And so it begins. This story is kind of post-Ash's journey, but at the same time, it's parallel to both the games and the anime. I dunno. Mostly based on the idea of Silver and Gold, but beginning in Kanto instead of Johto. So there won't be any Pokémon that appear after those games… sorry. I am so far behind in these games, I just wanted to stick to writing what I know. Also, since there's a whole new generation being exposed to the early games for the first time, I thought this might be fun for them!

I am largely winging this fic, by the way. Only a couple of arcs are planned out this far. So it'll be an adventure for us all!