Felix Verity finished combing back the rest of his black hair in the bathroom mirror, the normally untamable mess of fluff brought into submission with careful application of water and gel. Beside him, his mother brushed out the last few knots in Cascade's tails with a wire brush. The Buizel occasionally winced as a particularly matted knot was pulled out, but he obediently kept still. After all, not a hair could be out of place if they were to have any chance with the Kanto Elite Four.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have so much fur," Cascade muttered, rubbing his completed tail with a paw. "It took you less than five minutes to get your hair fixed up but I've been here almost half an hour."

"I can arrange that," Felix replied in the Buizel tongue, green eyes twinkling with mischief.

"What, you'll shave me down? Somehow I doubt that."

"Try me!"

"What are you two going on about now?" Sylvia Verity chuckled. She always got a kick at listening to her son say "Buizel zel buizel" and have himself be understood by his Pokémon and closest friend.

"Cascade wants to try shaving all his fur off," Felix lied.

"Really?" his mother replied, reaching for an electric haircutter.

"H-hey, he's just joking, really!" Cascade stammered, stepping back. Felix laughed.

"Oh, I'm just teasing!" She set the haircutter down. "You like your fur, don't you?" Sylvia scratched the little otter's head as he nodded.

"I like it too," Felix scratched his Buizel beneath his flotation collar with one hand while checking his Pokétch on the other. "Five more minutes…" he muttered anxiously.

"It's a good thing I've finished, then." Sylvia gave a final brush with a flourish. "How do you properly care for a Rapidash caught in the rain?"

"Get it dry with a flame-retardant blanket and feed it high-carb foods for quick energy, ideally sugar cubes or grain-based Pokémon food," Felix replied automatically, quoting a textbook. "It should be warm but not sweltering; a Fire-type has its own fire for a reason. Don't attempt to feed the flames on its mane with kindling-a Rapidash produces all its own fuel internally."

His mother gave Felix a tight hug. "You've grown up too fast, my little boy. Don't you worry for a second!"

"I'm not worried, Mom," Felix insisted, pulling away. "But I do have to get going!"

"Wait!" Sylvia stopped her son, reaching for the green bandana that marked him as a Sinnoh Breeder. With a short thanks Felix tied the bandana around his head and posed dramatically, to Sylvia's amusement.

"Tell me how it goes!" Sylvia said as Felix dashed out of the bathroom, Cascade close behind.

The teenage prodigy entered his room and shut the door, scrolling through the apps on his Pokétch until he activated the built in Holocaster. Promptly at five p.m. he received an invitation to a video call, which he accepted without delay. A blue holographic projection of a screen was cast from the watch, showing video feed of Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance, and in turn presented Felix and Cascade to the Elite Four .

"Hello, Felix!" Bruno said loudly. The brawny man did not wear a shirt and his black, spiky hair was tied back in a ponytail.

"Hello everyone," Felix said, unable to help but grin nervously.

Agatha hummed to herself, analyzing the boy. Her shrewd eyes were set in an elderly face, a clear indication of the wisdom of her age. "How would you care for a sickly Gengar?"

"Let it rest in a dark, humid room. Allow it to siphon the life energy of its trainer and team members, within reason. Peace and quiet are ideal." The words flowed out on their own, without any faltering or delay. All that rote memorization had paid off.

Agatha nodded approvingly but said nothing.

"Why should we trust you with Raphael?" Lorelei said in a reserved voice. Her slender figure was juxtaposed by voluminous orange hair.

"Well, you've read my credentials—"

"Of course we have; we want to hear it from you, boy!" Agatha snapped.

"Yes, of course," Felix nodded quickly. "My name is Felix Verity; I'm a fully certified Pokémon breeder and caretaker, recognized by the National Breeders' Association. I've spent the past several years mastering all forms of Pokémon care, including a full course in the care of each individual Type and a cursory knowledge of specific care for most Pokémon species. Furthermore… I can speak to Pokémon."

"Any Pokémon?" Lance challenged, scratching his spiky red hair.

"Given a couple weeks to learn their language, yes. But I've done my best to expose myself to as many species as possible and I'm familiar with almost all species endemic to Kanto."

"Now isn't that something," Lance replied, grinning. "How about Dragonite?"

Felix chuckled anxiously as the champion produced a tall, bulky dragon from a Pokeball. "It's been a while, so I'm a little rusty. Excuse me, Dragonite, could you say 'The quick red Vulpix jumped over the lazy brown Herdier'?"

Dragonite looked to Lance who nodded. Dragonite proceeded to repeat the phrase in his own language as Felix listened closely.

As the Pokémon finished, Felix replied unsteadily in the same tongue, "How… how is this my speaking?"

The dragon's eyes widened. "Good! But did you mean to say 'How is my speaking'?"

"Yes, thank you," Felix nodded. "I have only did speak with Dragonite a few times before earlier."

Dragonite smiled. "You're doing quite well, especially for a human! Where did you learn to speak to Pokémon in the first place?"

"It has always been an… instinct? Power? Talent! It's always been a talent of mine; I was only born with it, I guess. Since then, whenever I've met a new Pokémon I've done my best to learn their language."

Dragonite chuckled.

Felix tilted his head. "What is funny?"

"You're learning extremely fast. Already your accent is improving and you're stumbling over your words less. I'm just so impressed with you!" In the background the Elite Four watched with rapt attention.

"Oh, I was just rusty at first, that's all," Felix insisted. "It's all coming back to me now. You don't really forget the languages you learn, after all."

"Yes, you do," Lance said, grinning madly.

"I beg your pardon—" Felix began in the Dragonite language before switching to English. "Sorry; what was that, sir?"

"If you don't use a language often, you forget it. That's how it always goes… when did you last talk to a Dragonite?"

"A couple years ago, I think…" Felix recalled. "It was a big event because my parents were commissioned to breed a couple Dragonite and we hardly see Dragonite here in Sinnoh so we were all excited, so I ended up learning the language from them."

"How long did you have to learn?"

"A couple months, but I spent most of my free time talking to that Dragonite… so maybe one hundred hours or so?"

"He's already fluent," Dragonite said.

"I know. I was listening." Lance replied in English.

"You can understand Dragonite too?" Felix exclaimed.

"Of course I can!" Lance laughed. "I'm Dragon-type, you know! But talking back in his language, especially without Dragon typing? That's something special."

"Thank you, sir," Felix gave a quick bow.

"Felix, I want you to convince me that we should choose you and not a professional, more experienced breeder," Lorelei instructed.

"Yes, ma'am. I believe I would be a good fit for him mostly since we're the same age and I have yet to go on my own journey. More than be a tutor, I can be a friend."

"His childhood friend Malcolm Thrones will also accompany Raphael," Lorelei countered.

"I, see…" Felix faltered.

"Do you really think this guy wants a babysitter following him around?" Cascade spoke up.

"That's a good point!" Felix smiled and looked back to Lorelei. "My friend Cascade said he doubts Raphael would want an adult following him around everywhere and telling him what to do; isn't the point of a Pokémon Journey to learn independence and self-reliance? Besides, my only price for this is the opportunity to go on a journey with Raphael at all; a breeder would probably charge a lot over the months it would take to complete Raphael's journey. Furthermore, wouldn't it reflect poorly on you that Raph has his hand held every step of the way? Using me would be a lot more… subtle, you could say."

Lorelei smiled. "Good. I believe you've made a compelling argument. Do the rest of you have any concerns?"

"If Lorelei says you're worth it, then you're worth it," Bruno said with a grin.

"He doesn't look very strong as a sparring partner," Agatha huffed.

"Do you have a better idea? Besides, I bet he'll pick up battling real quick given how well he can communicate with his team," Lance argued.

"If I may speak for myself," Felix interjected, "while I don't battle very often, my use of the Pokémon language keeps me from telegraphing my moves. Raphael will have no way to know what I'll do, making me inherently challenging."

Agatha hesitated, but slowly nodded. "We'll arrange your flight to Kanto shortly. Bring along only what you need for your journey; expect to leave sometime next week."

Cascade's eyes widened. "Does that mean…" Felix said softly.

"Yes, boy, you're hired," Agatha replied curtly. "Now get going! You've got a long road ahead of you!"