Chapter 3
"Ronan! Your sister is here!"
Ronan hurtled down the stairs two at a time at his mother's call, fingers crossed behind his back. "Please have a Riolu, please have a Riolu..."
His sister Janine was standing in the kitchen, chatting cheerfully with his mother. Both were almost identical to him; the same ice-blue eyes with the same mischievous sparkle, the same rounded face, the same blonde hair - although his was cut short and clumsily spiked atop his head. Ronan's eyes were drawn immediately to the bulge in Janine's pocket, which she was casually covering with one slim hand.
"Hi, Janine," Ronan said.
The girl turned and smiled warmly at him. "Good morning, Ronan. You're up early."
"What did you expect?"
Janine's smile widened. "Are you ready to meet your new friend?"
"Yeah!"
Janine's hand slipped inside her aqua jacket, drawing out a red and white sphere. She tossed it casually from hand to hand, then pressed the single white button with her thumb. The ball opened along the hinges, releasing a blinding burst of white light that arced down toward the floor, forming itself into a small shape.
The light faded into pale brown and cream fur. A small rabbit-like creature crouched on the floor, its forepaws clinging to its long cream fur, its head ducked, and its round black eyes blinking up nervously at Ronan. Both ears were tucked tight to its head.
Ronan gazed at the Buneary, disappointed. After a moment he crouched down and extended one hand. "Hi- OW!"
The rabbit's ears had unfurled rapidly, slamming into Ronan's hand. He recoiled, rubbing his red palm and glaring at the Pokemon. It tucked its ears closer to its head, still watching him fearfully.
"He's a little timid," Janine apologized. "He responds better if you use his name, though. I named him Jackson."
The Buneary perked up at the sound of his name, and turned to look at Janine. Ronan stared incredulously at her. Not only had she captured a male Beneary for him, so that when it evolved he would have a Lopunny that broke the female stereotype, but she had also given it a ridiculous name.
Ronan sighed and held out his stinging hand again. "Hello, Jackson."
Jackson turned to face Ronan, twitching his nose cautiously. Ronan reached forward slowly and Jackson edged forward, finally letting his new trainer touch his head. Slowly he relaxed his ears, letting them stand up from his head and showing that he wasn't going to attack Ronan again.
Janine beamed. "See? You've made a friend."
Ronan wasn't so sure, even when Jackson followed his new trainer back up to his bedroom to collect his bag. The Buneary continued to keep his distance from Ronan the whole time.