The Little Siblings

J.P. Silas had been out shopping for new sleeping hats that went with his socks when he had received news that he had been called up to be a specialized bounty hunter for the P.B.H.S. He had taken the required basic training and gotten through most of the preliminaries, but was still surprised that he had been called up to the main roster so soon. He assumed that you had to be at least eighteen, but apparently that was not the case since he was assigned to the Big Sibling Program.

"Pumpkaboo!" Silas called out as he moved to the back of his old recreational van, enjoying the feel of the retro orange shag carpet under his feet. "I think we're here. You can-woooah!"

He found himself stumbling face first onto the soft carpet and instantly knew what he had tripped on. Pumpkaboo had used her intangibility to appear in front of him before he had time to register. Thinking her trainer was playing a sort of game, the young Pokémon smiled and began jumping up and down on his back. Luckily for Silas, she was only average sized for her species and not super sized like the one he had encountered in a battle last year.

"Alright, alright," he told her, rising to his feet and pushing his shaggy, dirty blond hair out of his face. "That's enough games for now. We need to go inside. Have you seen my grapes or my socks? Either or is fine by me."

"Puuuuu!"

Pumpkaboo floated over to the messy bed and retrieved a pair of socks for her trainer. She was sure to pick out the white ones with the green leaves on them. All of his socks that he owned had some kind of leaf or plant on them. The pair that Pumpkaboo picked out happened to be Silas's favorite pair and it was only right to wear them on such an important day.

"Alright, Baby Boo," Silas started as he put on his socks and shoes on. "We'll actually be sleeping in a room tonight. As awesome as it was living in this R.V. for the last few months, it is starting to get a bit crowded in here...and it kind of smells, so we need to air it out anyway. Let's go!"

Stepping out of the vehicle, the grass-type trainer was met with a modest sized, stone building that appeared to be about three stories. The nearby sign read: "Pokémon Bounty Hunting Services" and confirmed to Silas that he had arrived at the correct destination. Stepping inside with Pumpkaboo floating above him, Silas took a look around the first floor. It basically consisted of nothing but a large, empty room with stairs and an elevator to the north and hallways to the east and west respectively. Silas took out the letter that he had received about the location of the meeting.

Big Sibling Program – 2nd floor:

Room: 204 – Grass, Fire, Water

Room: 205 – Fighting, Psychic, Dark

Room: 206 – Ground, Ice, Steel

"To the stairs...haha!" Silas began laughing before he could finish the sentence. "I couldn't even keep a straight face on that one! C'mon, Pumpkaboo, let's get to the elevator."

Once the two were in, Silas nearly pressed the button but stopped when he saw someone else approaching. She was a young woman, about his age, with jet black hair that reached past her shoulders with the long bangs hanging in front of her shoulders colored a dark red. She had a slim, but noticeably developed body and her pale blue eyes contrasted with her dark skin tone.

However, what Silas really took note of was the fact that she was missing a pinky finger on her left hand and wearing a mostly tattered emerald green neckerchief. The Weavile by her side seemed to share the relaxed, but curious expression that she had on her face.

"Yo," Silas greeted. "Awesome neckerchief. Green's my favorite color."

The girl turned to him and cocked her head a bit before a smile crept across her face.

"Thanks!" she said cheerfully. "I always wear it! I like your socks! What kind of leaves are those?"

"Thanks!" Silas replied. "They're...um, special leaves."

"Oh, okay," the girl said. "They looked a lil like pot leaves to me, so I was jus askin."

"Anyway..." Silas quickly moved the conversation along, extending his hand as he spoke. "I'm J.P. Silas."

"What does the J.P. stand for?" she asked curiously as she shook his hand.

Silas could not help but grin. He loved when people asked him what his initials stood for as he enjoyed coming up with new things to tell them. His real name was actually quite boring, so he liked to spice it up when revealing it to others.

"That's what makes it awesome," he told her. "It can stand for anything you want it to. Jazzy Pink, Justice Peace, Jumbo Pears. Whatever you see fit."

"Ooh, I like jumbo pears," the girl stated. "But I like lemons better. They're like my favorite food...well really, I like anything sour. Anyway, my name is Raine B. Barkarne. The B is for Burilda. And this is Weavile."

Silas nearly shook Weavile's hand as well, but the claws made him think twice. Pumpkaboo was less reserved and actually floated down to Weavile's height in order to make her prescence known. As they headed to the next floor, Raine revealed that she was also a part of the Big Brother Program as a dark type specialist. Silas did not think that she had the stereotypical personality that went with being a dark type specialist, but that only made her more interesting.

"Well, here we are, everyone," Silas said as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

The first thing Silas noticed was a comfortable looking couch that he knew he would be sleeping on as often as he could. He saw a smaller couch and a few chairs situated in front a large television with a game system attached to it. There were two tables in the recreational room along with an air hockey and pool table. The most important thing however were the snack and drink machines near the entrance to the hallway.

"Oh, yes sir!" he shouted before running over to them and buying a pack of gummy candy and a sports drink.

"Throw two over here!" Raine called out.

Silas threw a gummy into the air and Weavile effortlessly caught it with her mouth. He threw another one to Raine and to his amazement, she was able to catch it in her mouth as well. He congratulated her with a high-five.

"Nice work!" Silas exclaimed.

"I know," Raine replied. "But dontcha think we should be gettin to our meetings before we're late?"

"Yeah, you're right," Silas said. "Pumpkaboo, let's go."

The two trainers and their Pokémon made their way down the hallway until Silas saw Room 204. Raine's meeting room was located across the hallway from his. The two said their goodbyes as Raine and Weavile entered their room. Pumpkaboo took a seat on top of Silas's head.

"Alright...this is it..."

Jack sat on the table and observed the three young trainers that he had been assigned to. He was not impressed, but he had not really expected to be impressed in the first place. However, he was certainly surprised by who and what he had ended up receiving. It was often said that most trainers who were actually willing to sign up for such a dangerous job had few alternatives if they wanted to make a decent amount of money. Still, it was as if Commander March had scraped the bottom of the barrel with these recruits.

The grass trainer was stretched all the way back in the recliner chair and was tossing gummy candies in the air, catching the ones that his Pumpkaboo missed.

The fire trainer was switching back and forth between cheering the grass trainer on and playfully flirting with the water trainer by telling her awful jokes.

The water trainer herself was continuously chewing on gum while tending to her Azurill and ignoring the fire trainer.

At this point, Jack was about ready to take a trip to South Lumiose University and enroll in their medical program. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact that he would be proving his parents right. Straightening himself up, he hopped off the table and was able to get the attention of the recruits when he landed.

"Alright," he began with a sigh. "This is how things are going to go. First, we're all going to introduce ourselves. Basically, you'll talk about yourselves, your Pokémon, and whatever else you think we should know about you. After that, I will tell you about this program, what it entails, and what I expect from you. When all the talking is out of the way, you can go into your rooms and unpack and go to the rec room to meet up with the other recruits. If you're confused, feel free to tell me. There are no stupid questions."

"I have a question," the fire trainer said as he skimmed over what appeared to be a joke book. "What happens when you put a Ditto with a-"

"It breeds," Jack finished. "That joke is older than my grandmother. And clearly I was wrong about the no stupid questions thing. Anyway, I guess I should go first. My name is Jack Brenson. I'm twenty-five years old and a normal type specialist. My parents and older sister are all doctors, but I'd rather receive a lot of money that does not require spending years in school, so I'm here. My Pokémon and I have captured dozens of criminals in our time as hunters and my goal is to eventually make enough money to retire on my own private island. That's basically all you need to know about me. Alright, water trainer, ladies first. Tell us about you."

"Megaira Nyx-Peri," the girl began as she ran a hand through her dark hair. "Meg, if you want to live. I'm a water type specialist. My hobbies include archery, shooting, and mixed martial arts. So as you can see, I'm not really one to be messed with. Oh, and I like to cook and read too, so there's that. Don't really have a particular goal. I just want to see evil assholes get what's coming to 'em."

"Aren't you the gentle soul?" Jack remarked dryly. "At the very least, you seem like the only one with a bit of common sense so far. Alright, fire trainer, you're next. Introduce yourself."

"I go by Raptor!" the fire trainer said cheerfully.

"Of course you do," Jack replied. "Proceed."

"I'm a fire type specialist," Raptor continued, picking up the speed in his voice. "I love my girlfriend, Caitlin. I also love junk food, green apples, mornings, terrible jokes, myself, talking, and hearing myself talk. Also-"

"You know what, Raptor?" Jack interrupted. "When I see a guy like you, I think that it's better if some things remain a mystery. It...uh, helps when you're out there tracking down criminals. Alright, grass trainer, it's finally your turn. See if you can wow me. You have some tough competition..."

The grass trainer stood up and stretched before he began speaking. Pumpkaboo remained in the seat obviously focused on eating what was left of their candy.

"J.P. Silas," the grass trainer started. "Silas is what most people refer to me by. I'm a grass type specialist. I became one because I always thought that grass Pokémon totally got the rough end of the deal compared to fire and water types and I used to garden a lot with Grandma when I was young. So in a way, I kind of want to prove their worth. I collect colorful sleeping hats and socks with different designs on them and I like grapes and special brownies. As for why I'm here, well I just want enough money to buy a greenhouse."

Jack nodded his now aching head, thankful that all three of them were done introducing themselves. However, he now found himself intrigued rather than just annoyed with the new trainees. Words were wind and he knew that he could learn more about them from observing rather than forcing them to speak.

All three were eccentric, but they were eccentric in different ways, ways that could possibly be of use when on the hunt. Even if they were short on people, new recruits still had to pass basic training and the fact that all three of them apparently did was a testament to their abilities regardless of their personalities.

Meg was the most 'normal' one of the three, but that was not saying much. She was slightly tall for a young woman and she had a slim, but toned build that backed up her earlier claims. Her personality was less like a flowing stream and more like a raging storm which could help or hinder them on missions. Still, she was a water specialist and Jack knew she would be able to adapt with help from the other two. Raptor could rile her up when it was time to fight while Silas could calm her after a capture.

Everything about Raptor was strange save for his physical appearance. He was tall, well-tanned, and had light brown eyes. The fact that he looked normal made him stand out even more. He dressed like a hobo complete with slacks and an off-white shirt under a beat-up black over-coat covered in patches and pockets, along with a bowler hat. Jack had stopped him from speaking mainly because the boy would go on forever, but also because his actions would tell Jack everything he needed to know. If anything, the fire trainer could potentially be the most dangerous of the three.

Silas was a bit of a middle ground. He was slightly eccentric and had slacker tendencies, but there was definitely something more there, specifically once he started talking about grass Pokémon and his desire to prove their usefulness. Meg and Raptor were obviously fighters. Jack was certain that they would lose out on the majority of the hunts if it were just the two of them. Having Silas as the mediator would keep everyone on the same page and help prevent mistakes that could be life threatening.

"Alright," Jack said. "As you already know, we are bounty hunters. We hunt down anyone with a price on their head. Usually, this is done individually, but due to circumstances that have cropped up over the past few years, the Big Sibling Program has been instated to help with the growing number of outlaws. For the big sibling, i.e. me, this supposedly helps me with having some back up when dealing with more than one outlaw at a time or if I just don't feel like going on a mission. For the little siblings, i.e. you, this helps you gain experience and prevents you from being killed since you'll have someone skilled training you. The only thing I expect from you is for you to do your job and don't get in the way of my money. Now, training begins tomorrow at noon. You three will be battling me in a triple battle, so I suggest you get to know each other while you're meeting the other recruits. Dismissed..."

A/N: We finally got this done. It would have been out sooner if we hadn't spent the beginning of summer basically recuperating from a exhausting semester. Anyway, looks like things are jumping off now that Jack has met his rather odd little siblings. On top of that, we'll be meeting the other ones next chapter as well, so there's even more to look forward to.

Adios!