Dad and I entered by the back door of our house and we were greeted by the wafting aroma of Mum's cooking. We were helping to feed the pokemons on our farm while Mum and Vance prepared breakfast. No matter what kind of delicacies I ate during my travels, nothing beats Mum's cooking. She's the best cook in the entire world.
"Oh, back already? Mum should be finishing with cooking the breakfast in about a minute or so."
Vance replied as he expertly set the table while balancing several plates on his hands and arms. Dad and I wisely took a few steps back. This is Vance we are talking about, the walking disaster of Petalburg. Vance scowled as he finished setting the table, clearly knowing the reason why we kept our distance from him.
"Hey, I know I'm a klutz, but do you guys have to make your distrust in me so obvious? I'm hurt."
"Well..." I drawled. "It's either your ego gets hurt or one of us gets hurt when something does happen. I think your ego can take a better beating than us, it's been hurt too many times already anyway, so it won't make much of a difference."
Two heads rubbed against my leg gently as they fought for my affection. I smiled as I patted both heads of the zweilous that Dad had decided to add to his team, even if he is no longer an active pokemon trainer.
We are all glad that Dad had finally decided to move on from the grief of losing most of his original team.
The zweilous, a deino back then, was found by Dad when he was doing business in Unova about three months ago. The deino was starving when Dad came across him by accident and Dad had to capture him in a pokeball so that he can transport him to the nearest pokemon center for treatment. The deino made a speedy recovery, but was unwilling to leave Dad's side when it was time for him to go back home. Dad was conflicted at first given his history with dragons and how it made him lose his team, but he could not bear to leave the deino alone when it looked at him with hopeful eyes. Fang and tropius had taken a liking to the little dragon during the short time they spend with him and encouraged Dad to bring deino back home.
That's how deino got included into our family.
Little deino was curious about everything although he was very timid initially, which is kind of weird given how infamous the temperament of their final form is. Deino was good for Dad and his presence rekindled a little of his passion in pokemon training. Mum absolutely adored deino too and often spoiled him with treats. It won't be good for deino to remain as a deino, however cute it is. Dragons need to grow properly by fighting and releasing their powers, and they cannot do so if they are being coddled. It's why they make such poor companion pokemons for an ordinary citizen but the perfect soldier for a trainer. Dragons that do not grow properly tend to become stress after a period of time and that outcome will not bode well for anyone. Dragons thrive in adversity, but such an environment cannot be found in our family's farm and Dad is too busy with work to train deino properly.
It was where I come in.
At that time I had just finished touring Pacifidlog and visiting some of the gym leaders in their various cities via flight through Snap or Toothless before returning home. Deino was scared of me at first, but little treats of food here and there soon opened him up to me. Dad told me of his concerns. I need to prepare for the upcoming conference anyway and training one more pokemon will not matter to me. He can be the perfect sparring partner for Fuzzy.
I had spent some time after my Sootopolis gym challenge to tour Pacifidlog and see if I can find the Sky Pillar. I had originally planned to stay in Pacifidlog for a week, but I had forgot to account for a factor.
I get seasick easily.
I should have remember the less than pleasant experience during my boat ride from Petalburg to Dewford and from there to Slateport but for some reason it slipped my mind. Pacifidlog is a town that is literally built on the sea itself. The very town floats on the ocean surface and stays in position by the heavy anchors the local populace used to make sure they don't drift elsewhere, it's the only town of its kind in the world. I got seasick within the first hour there and by the second hour, I decided that I had enough and quickly let Snap fly me to Slateport, the nearest city from Pacifidlog.
Too bad I cannot stay in Pacifidlog longer, they have a really nice view of Hoenn's ocean.
I spent some time flying around the various cities to visit some of the gym leaders for some battles and to get personal tips from them on how to handle and train pokemons of their type specialty. I had visited Winona and Flannery, whose tips were very helpful in regards to Toothless. I also visited Wattson, who was surprised at my ongoing attempt to make Fuzzy reach Elite level, but he stated that it is something worth striving for. He was helpful in explaining the mechanics of Magnet Rise to me and Fuzzy, and Fuzzy is now able to fly around effortlessly after months of training even if there is a limit to how long and how fast he can do it. He is nowhere as fast as Snap or Toothless in the air, but pachirisus aren't meant to fly in the first place.
Fuzzy is most probably the first pachirisu in existence to have flight capabilities. We totally deserve an award.
Still, Fuzzy's species is not known for being strong in combat and it showed during his training sessions with deino. Even if deino is inexperienced in combat he still hits a lot harder than Fuzzy does and is able to take a lot more punishment. Fuzzy is still able to defeat him, but after deino evolved, it gets exponentially harder for Fuzzy to beat zweilous in combat. Now, they are both about equal in strength, but it won't be long before zweilous will start to hit a growth spurt in power. Fuzzy won't be a challenge for him for much longer.
Now that zweilous had gained more power, Fang is able to help train and spar against him without any worry of accidentally killing him. Fang isn't exactly good at toning down the ferocity of his attacks and that is why Dad was against the idea of using Fang to help train zweilous when it was still a deino. The same goes for tropius. They may be very gentle usually but the same cannot be said the moment they entered combat. It will take a long time for zweilous to reach its final form. Another thing to note is that their species are also notorious for the amount of time needed for them to evolve into a hydreigon. In fact, their slow growth rate rivals that of the tyranitar species, and is why not many trainers are willing to invest the time needed to raise these creatures. To top it off, they are usually very vicious even to their trainers and had an even worse temper to anything else. There is a lot to be done for a trainer to gain its respect. The combination of dragon and dark typing do not make them the most sociable of pokemon. Zweilous here is an odd case, to be perfectly honest. His temperament is really mild, sometimes even milder than a poochyena and that is saying something. Dad had decided to name zweilous Chewy since he tends to tackle and bite at anything as a deino, a result of being blind at that stage of growth. It's how his species get a feel of their surroundings at that stage of their lives. It surprised everyone that Dad decided to give zweilous a nickname as we know he is the type of trainer who only gave his starter, Fang, a nickname. Dad offered tropius the choice of having a nickname as well on that day, but tropius had refused.
The name Chewy really reminded me of Chewbacca from Star Wars even if they are not even remotely alike.
And on the topic of the growth rate of the tyranitar and hydreigon species, I am pleased to announce that Kratos had finally reached the final stage of his evolution about a week ago. Kratos had grown really fast, which is the result for all the hard work he put in. For every 1% of effort my team puts into training, Kratos puts in 2%, and the results showed themselves when he finally evolved. Just in time for the upcoming conference too.
We are so going to wreck our competitors in the upcoming conference starting in about a month from now. The power spike he gained from his evolution is no joke. Kratos is even able to fight against Vance's salamence and hold his own for a long while, even if he lost in the end. I'm not going to use him until I see a worthy opponent for Kratos in the conference. He will be our team's ace in the hole. Kratos had gained quite an ego after evolving into a tyranitar and now only seek battles to those who can give him a challenging fight. I can't blame him for that, really. He is now the strongest member of my team and his control and mastery over rock type techniques surpass even those of Bigblue and Lily.
Kratos is an absolute menace to go against and I want to make that known to the entire region when he finally makes his appearance in the conference.
Our family sat down to eat our breakfast and some of our smaller pokemons that are able to fit in the house joined in as well. We made idle talks as we shared what had been going on in our lives recently. Vance is taking another short break from his ACE missions and he is sharing the funny things that he had experienced in there.
"-and Terror, the fucking idiot, had to go and blow up the entire-"
"Vance! Language! I taught you better than this, young man!" Mum scolded as she pointed her fork at him. "I understand if you swear in front of your friends during your missions but do not do it in the house, especially in front of your sister!"
I put on the best innocent look I am able to on my face to accentuate Mum's point. Vance sputtered but he pointed an accusing finger at me anyway.
"Mum! Vel swears even more than me sometimes!"
"That's obviously not true." I replied smoothly as I took a sip of coffee. "Macky can prove my case, isn't that right, Macky?"
Macky took a pause from eating his meal and gave an exaggerated nod. Vance had a look of horror at the act of betrayal of his starter and I tried my best not to laugh out loud. Dad wisely hid his face from view as he pretended to read the newspaper, but I can see the slight trembling of his shoulders as he repressed his desire to snicker.
Ignoring Vance's mortified face I continued to speak.
"I will be going out later today. I am meeting a friend over lunch but I will be back before dinner."
"I see, have fun then." Dad replied as he finally revealed his face from behind the newspaper, his face the very picture of serenity despite me knowing how he must be dying to laugh from our little act earlier.
"You have a social life?" Vance questioned as he helped himself to a huge serving of bread and bacon.
"Yes. Unlike you, I have a social life outside ACE missions and Flannery."
Vance sputtered even harder and this time, it got my parents' attention as his face turned redder than Flamel's flames.
"I'm full." I said as I got up from my seat and took my plate with me to the kitchen sink. Time to leave the living room which will soon turn into an interrogation chamber. I have no problems throwing Vance under the bus in this kind of scenarios. Besides, Vance and Flannery are so cute together. Dad and Mum will love her, especially Mum. I have no idea that my brother and Flannery are a thing until I accidentally caught Flannery making a private call during the stay of my visit with her. She had put the phone on speaker as her hands were full trying to help scrub her torkoal's shell clean. Imagine my surprise when I heard Vance's voice on the other end of the phone.
Perfect blackmail material.
Vance had called and pleaded me to help keep a secret from our parents for the time being as they only just got together. I had extorted many promises of benefits from him although I made no real moves to claim them. He should be glad that I kept their relationship a secret for as long as I did.
Ah well, let's leave my family alone for a little while. I foresee that they will be a little busy for the next hour or so trying to grill the details out of Vance. I felt my shadows moved and I discreetly passed a pecha berry from the kitchen's cupboard into Macky's waiting paws, a reward for him taking my side in the conversation earlier. Macky let out a giggle and disappeared with his treat. Rena sighed but didn't say anything. Kel just seemed unbothered while Fuzzy continued to munch on the remainder of his breakfast before giving a squeak when he is done.
Hmm... I have about two hours or so before I'm scheduled to meet him. Might as well get started on the newest novel I bought from the bookstore. Liza had stated that it was a good read. My pokemon seemed to feel a little lazy today as well if Fuzzy's drooping eyes are any indication. I think he had just entered the beginning stages of a food coma. They don't feel like they want to train today.
Reading it is then.
"Hey Vel! Guess what! I-"
Vance pushed opened the door to Velda's room unannounced but whatever he was saying was cut short as he saw the state of undress his sister was in. She is standing in front of the mirror near her wardrobe in only her panties as clothes were strewn about the bed behind her. She was obviously contemplating what to wear when she visits her friend later for lunch. Her sister had started to undergo puberty a few months back and her growth spurt is obvious, especially her chest, so suddenly seeing her naked is a little... weird. Vance suddenly realised that Velda is no longer the little girl that used to follow him around.
She is growing up.
"Uh... I will..." Vance slowly made a motion to leave her room and close the door behind him. Velda's glare looked like it can freeze the entire region and he really do not want to risk her wrath right now.
Too late.
A short burst of controlled psychic powers from Rena had Vance thrown out of Velda's room and the door slammed shut with force that seemed to shake the entire house. Macky's howling laughter can be heard even though he cannot be seen. Vance groaned as he get himself off the floor. Rena wasn't exactly very gentle with him.
"What did you do this time?"
Hanna questioned her son the moment he appeared back in the living room. Griff was typing something on his laptop and he also stopped to listen to what Vance is going to say.
"I may...uh..."
"He just entered my room without knocking. I was changing my clothes when he entered."
Vance jumped at Velda's words, who had somehow sneaked up to his back unaware. Velda looked cross as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. Vance took the chance to see what his sister had chosen to wear. Velda is wearing a one-piece sleeveless maroon dress that he was sure he bought for her about a year ago at Slateport. It is nothing formal, but not overly casual either. Velda loves wearing dresses whenever she's not out in the wilderness, but she rarely wore this out because she treasured it so much. Usually she only wore something like this if their family was visiting someone or if they know someone will be visiting their house for a formal visit.
"Didn't anyone teach you to knock before entering? Especially before entering a lady's room?"
Griff merely shake his head before returning to do whatever he was doing and Hanna pinched Vance's ear in a death grip as she dragged him away for another round of lecture, ignoring Vance's protest of pain.
"Bye Dad." Velda said as both father and daughter ignored Hanna scolding Vance in the background, who is cowering in fear at how his mother tear into him mercilessly with words. They had a brief hug before Rena strode back into the house with numerous pokeballs floating alongside her, which Velda received and put them somewhere accessible on her person.
"Have fun." Griff replied as he patted Velda on the head dotingly. "Do I have to be worried about boys anytime soon?" He teased.
"I am meeting a boy, but it is not anything you are insinuating." Velda replied absentmindedly as she moved towards the front door to put on her shoes. "He told me he will be passing by Petalburg and so we decided to meet up. He's been very helpful in giving me tips on how to train Rena's psychic powers." Velda stood up straight as she waved back at her family in farewell before releasing Flamel the moment she got out of the front door, totally oblivious at how Griff and Vance now stood in silent shock and frozen at where they are currently standing. Vel jumped onto Flamel's back in one swift motion and they watched her as she disappeared around the corner with her pokemons and out of sight.
"Hello? Earth to Griff and Vance?"
Hanna waved a hand in front of her husband's face while Macky took the chance to smack his trainer at the back of his head, eliciting a pained cry from him. It did broke them out of their stupor.
"Come to think of it, I had never seen Vel dressed up so nicely before." Vance muttered as he adopted a thinking pose and his eyes narrowed.
"Vel almost never dressed up for anything." Griff agreed with his son's opinion as Fang walked to his side, tongue rolling out of his mouth playfully. "She never fails to dress fashionably, but never will she take the extra time to dress up unless it's necessary. She's the most practical person in the entire house. Unless..."
"She said she was meeting a boy. Could it be..."
"Now look here. The both of you." Hanna said as she rolled up a newspaper and bonked both father and son on the head. "Velda can meet whoever she wants as long as they are her friend. I know both of you are protective of her especially when it comes to boys, but she's old enough to be making her own decisions. She's nearly thirteen!"
"But Mum." Vance said as the serious persona from his ACE identity started to surface. "Vel is meeting a boy. She dressed up to meet a boy."
"I didn't stop you from seeing Flannery either, didn't I? Speaking of her, when are you going to invite her over?"
"This bears investigation, dear." Griff said as he closed his laptop in a deceptively calm manner and took the hat from the clothestand nearby and wear it on top of his head. "This is our little baby girl that we are talking about. And if any boy dares to, Arceus forbid, hurt her..."
Vance's gallade appeared at the same moment with the pokeballs containing the rest of his team. Both Griff and Vance exchanged a look that seemed to convey thousands of words in a single glance as they both strode through the front door with purpose, gallade and Fang behind them as Macky's cackling trailed along. Hanna sighed and returned to sort through the list of goods the farm is scheduled to purchase for the next month. Holly floated beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her trainer's shoulder.
"I swear, sometimes it feels as if only the women of this house are the sane ones." Hanna muttered under her breath just enough for her companion to hear and she can feel her partner's amusement through the telepathic link they shared. "You will expect Griff to be the reasonable one here, but the moment Vel is involved, all form of common sense seemed to be eaten up by a horde of gyarados."
Chewy, who was resting by her feet, perked up at the mention of food as Hanna absentmindedly scratched the area between the neck and the back of their heads with one hand, making sure to give equal affection to both heads lest they get jealous with each other.
"Like father, like son."
'Mistress. They have been following us for a while now.'
'I know, just let them be. They are just being irrational. We will lose them soon enough.'
'If you say so.'
Fuzzy snickered from where he is perched on my shoulder and Kel rolled her eyes. Rena had gotten good enough with her psychic powers to maintain a two way link between me and several members of my team. She is still unable to extend her reach to encompass the entire team, but she will get there soon enough. I still cannot understand what the rest of my pokemons who are connected to me via the telepathic link is trying to tell me though, it comes out as a muddled heap of jumbled thoughts and words. I guessed that it may be due to how different humans and pokemons think, and that only psychics have a sophisticated enough mind to constantly switch between the thinkings of both humans and pokemons and are thus able to converse with us. I can sense the emotions of what my pokemons is feeling with the two way link if they are connected to me mentally via Rena, although it was disorienting at first feeling several emotions at once from different members of my team.
I signaled Flamel to stop when we reached our destination and I jumped down from his back. Flamel gestured for me to return him to his pokeball, he doesn't like the smell of this place. I run my hands along his neck fondly as a show of affection before I recalled him and entered the rustic cafe which I would be meeting my friend here. Kel and Rena followed after me and Fuzzy remained content in his position on my shoulder.
I spotted Tate the moment I walked into the cafe.
"Tate!"
I greeted enthusiastically and immediately plopped myself down on the seat opposite him. Tate returned a small smile at me.
"Hello, Vel. How have you been?"
"You know, the usual. Training and stuffs." I said as we both took a look at the menu to see what they have to offer. Kel and Rena made themselves comfortable on the floor beside me and Fuzzy jumped down onto the table top and chattered excitedly to Tate's chimecho who is floating beside him. "How about you and Liza?"
"You know, the usual. Training and stuffs." Tate imitated my earlier tone which earned him a roll of my eyes. "Liza wanted to come along but it's her turn to get stuck with gym leader's duties this month. She wasn't very happy about it."
"Tell me all about it. She was on the phone for two hours yesterday night just to complain about it." I replied as we wrote down our orders and handed it to a waiter nearby. "What are you doing here in Petalburg anyway, if you don't mind me asking? Or is it some super confidential league stuffs?"
"I'm afraid so." Tate admitted as the waiter returned with our drinks for both us and our pokemons. Fuzzy greedily drank the sweet berry juice, unlike Rena and Kel who took sips from their bowls with more grace. I saw a tendril of my shadow sneaking up out of Tate's sight to stealthily steal a biscuit when his attention was on me. Dolly have been around Macky for way too much. "I need to meet with Norman personally for some league related issues, that's all I'm able to tell you. Sorry about that."
"It's fine, I understand. My brother is in ACE and he goes off on these kind of missions all the time." I waved off Tate's concern. "I'm just glad you remembered to visit me when you dropped by Petalburg."
"Of course I will." Tate retorted before he lowered his voice into a whisper while pretending nothing is wrong. "By the way, do you know that there are two people following you? I sensed them tailing you ever since I picked up on your psychic signature. They are behind the building across the cafe over there, no doubt watching us."
Dad and Vance sure failed at being subtle, don't they?
"It's just my Dad and brother being overly paranoid about me meeting a guy my age, don't worry about it. They are not as subtle as they think they are. Rena sensed them even before we reached here. They can be very protective of me, which is sweet of them, but they need to realise that I am growing up."
"I can tell." Tate said in his usual dry voice when he turned sarcastic or if he went into 'I can tell, captain obvious' mode. "My parents are the same for Liza, but she scares off any boys that got too near to her simply by being her."
"Are you sure that you had no part in it?" I teased. I know how older brothers tend to think and act around their sisters, I have one after all.
A solid and resolute "No" was Tate's reply but his body language gave him away. I pretended not to see through his denial, it's more amusing that way as I watch him squirm uncomfortably under my questioning gaze.
This is going to be such a fun afternoon.
"Can you get a visual?"
"Negative, Dad. My vision of the target is being blocked by Vel's body and that window is the only window that I can use to spy on them. How about you?"
"Negative as well, my vantage point is too unsuitable for further observation. Any closer and my position will be exposed. We have no choice but to wait."
Vance lowered his binoculars as the distance between Vance's eyebrows narrowed slightly. He ran through the possible options in his mind that could possibly help them find out the identity of the mystery guy that his little baby sister is meeting. This adversity is good. He chose a spot where he can easily observe anything outside while making it hard for anyone else to observe him simply by having Velda sit opposite him, effectively preventing anyone else from getting a good view of him. There is only one window that is suited for them to observe Velda and their target from afar. The only other possible way was to walk in through the doors of the cafe but Velda would not be pleased if she found out that they had been tailing her. She was already furious at him for walking into her room while she was changing. If she found out about him and Dad tailing her, she would undoubtedly sic a very gleeful Kratos on him in addition to bribing Macky with pecha berries to make his life miserable for an entire week. The traitorous ghost had never been on his side if Velda is involved.
Both Vance and Griff put on some simple disguise as they walked through town while tailing after Velda, their ACE training kicking in full gear as they used whatever knowledge they learnt from their time there to help in their endeavour to protect the youngest of their family from the shadows. It's frustrating, that no matter how they tried, they can't seem to get a clue on who this mystery person is. What kind of guy is Velda interested in anyway? Just who managed to catch her attention? Is that guy a sporty type? Or a bookish type? Maybe someone who had bested Vel in a pokemon battle?
Vance's earphones sounded with his Dad's voice again as they communicated through phone call in real time, leaving their call open without ending it so that it works like a handheld walkie talkie.
"Heads up, the target is making a move to leave together with Vel. I will circle around to the back door just in case, you watch the front."
"Roger that."
Vance looked through his binoculars once more and continue in his attempts at spying. He still cannot get a good enough visual. A chimecho just happen to levitate and position himself in such a way that it blocked his view of the guy's face and Vel is beside him, blocking his view of the guy's body. All he can tell is that the mystery guy is only slightly taller than Velda by about a head.
The both of them turned and disappeared out of sight as they walked further into the cafe.
"Dad, they are leaving by the back door."
"Roger. I'm in position. The target cannot hide himself this time. My vantage point is perfect from here."
Both father and son waited in the hot and cruel sun for another fifteen minutes before they realised that something is wrong.
"Dad? You see them?"
"They haven't exit the building yet. Maybe they went to visit the restroom?"
"It's been fifteen minutes. Requesting permission to switch to infiltration tactics."
There was a short pause on the other end of the line.
"Permission granted. Be careful not to get spotted."
Using the years of experience he had under his belt and squeezing every drop of knowledge about infiltration tactics Vance strolled into the cafe and looked every part of another customer. He politely waved off the approaching waiter and his eyes quickly scanned the small cafe for any signs of Velda and her 'friend'.
There were none.
He quickly walked towards the back of the cafe where he had saw them disappeared to and checked the restroom along the way. It is a simple cubicle shared by both genders and only one person can be in it at any one time. It is empty.
Shit, the both of them had given them the slip somehow.
Vance hurriedly exit through the back door and talked to Griff.
"Vel and the target disappeared! They had given us the slip somehow. I suspect a possible usage of teleport."
Vance heard his Dad swore under his breath. It is obvious that they had committed an amateur mistake. They are experienced ACE operatives who are fully trained and one of the top fighters of their generation! How did they not take into account the possibility of teleportation?!
Vance saw his father walking up to him with a concerned expression.
"Call Vel to ask her where she is." Griff spoke in a commanding tone that brook no argument. "She may be mad at us later, but better safe than sorry."
Vance was conflicted for a split second, but ultimately decided that he rather sacrifice himself for the greater good if it meant that his little sister is safe.
The call was soon picked up after a few seconds, but the person at the other end of the line is someone which they will never expect.
"Hello?"
"Mum?!"
"Yes, it's me." The voice of Hanna spoke over the phone. "Vel just returned home about fifteen minutes ago and is now helping me outside in the farm under the hot sun while I'm stuck at home helping your Dad sort through the paperwork. Tell him that if he does not get back here in a minute he will be sleeping on the couch for the entire month. And you, young man, will have something very fun to do as well."
With the reflexes that only a highly experienced ACE operative can manage, Vance ended the call while simultaneously calling out his gallade and mentally commanded him to take him and his Dad back home straightaway via teleportation. They appeared in a pop in their living room just as Velda entered through the back door, carrying a crate of pokemon eggs and raising a questioning eyebrow at them. She is still wearing the same maroon dress she wore out earlier.
"Where have you guys been to? Do you know how hard it is for Mum to do all these alone?"
"Uh... Well... You see, there was... um..."
"Fang had gotten wind that there might be a problematic arbok lurking in the area." Griff said smoothly to cut Vance off and preventing him from exposing what they had been really doing. "You know how they love to steal and eat pokemon eggs. So we need to hunt it down, find its nest, chase it out, stuffs like that. You know it." Griff said while gesturing with his arms. "Gave us the slip though."
"An arbok."
"Yes, an arbok." Griff nodded his head in confirmation and subtly elbowed Vance to get him to play along.
"In Hoenn."
"Must have swam its way here somehow." Vance shrugged as he tried his best to act all nonchalant about it.
"Disregarding the impossibility of that given how far Hoenn and Kanto are geographically apart from each other, somehow an ex-ACE operative, together with the current second-in-command of an ACE company, is unable to catch it." Velda continued as she put the crate down, pointing to each of them in turn while she listed off the flaws in their explanation.
"We suspect it may have a companion that knows Teleport. It just disappeared into thin air. We almost had it too."
"Both of you have dark types. And nothing gets away from Fang's nose."
Fang gave a bark of agreement from beside his trainer.
"Must be a very talented psychic companion." Griff said as he removed his hat and placed it on the clothestand. "Might explain how the arbok got here in the first place."
"When did you reach home?" Vance said as he tried to divert Velda's attention away. Velda gave them a look of disbelief for the explanation they gave, but didn't press on as she handed the crate of pokemon eggs over to Vance.
"About 15 minutes ago. My friend teleported me back home and dropped me at the front door since it's too hot to be walking around in this weather. He's sweet like that." Velda said as she passed by them to help Hanna, who had walked into the living room carrying a huge stack of papers with Holly.
"Oh, who is he?" Vance asked and he can see his dad's ear perking up subtly to gain any insight on the mystery person their little baby girl was meeting.
"If you two have so much free time on your hands." Hanna stormed over to dump a stack of papers into her husband's arms and Vance quickly scurried away with the crate of pokemon eggs towards the hatchery to escape the impending wrath of the matriarch of the house. "Then surely you can help with this."
Griff made the correct choice when he walked towards the dining table to put down the stack of papers and started to go through them under his wife's scrutinising gaze. As a result, both he and Vance missed how Velda and Hanna exchanged knowing smirks and high-fived each other behind their backs.
Griff grumbled in the safe confines of his mind. Now he won't be able to sleep peacefully for the next few days. Just who had been seeing his little baby girl?
AN: I wasn't planning to write anything for this story until my semester is over, but I have some time on my hands now since it is the start of my recess week and some of you guys were asking for more interactions between the members of the Vera family. I think I deserve a break from the hell known as school. I had read the previous chapters of this story and I cringed so hard at the number of grammatical mistakes. I think I had improved though after writing another two Fairy Tail stories (check out my profile if you are interested) although this problem will likely never truly disappear. English had never been my strong suit.
You guys have Gildenth and his story, Dreaming of Family, to thank for the appearance of this chapter. I had just found his story recently and I got hooked at how he writes about the world of pokemon, although it is mainly his (I assume he's a male from the username) plot that had me gripped. Admittedly, it's not the best story I have read about pokemon, but it is still very interesting regardless. From what I can see, he actually produced 15 chapters in about 10 days? Wow. 193k words in total too. That beat even my record when I first started writing IJWTTW and I thought I was hardcore back then. I wish I could write as fast as him.
It was when I was reading his story that I found the motivation to get off my lazy ass and write something for IJWTTTW. His story gave me the much needed inspiration and rekindled the love I have for my very first story I have ever written. So here's a special shoutout to him. If you enjoyed reading his story as well, do support him. It's not easy for him trying to write something of such a large scale, really.
The next arc is the Pokemon League arc. I have some ideas in mind on what kind of pokemons Velda will be facing, but I want YOU to tell me on what kinds of pokemons you want her to face. I cannot promise you that I will use all of your suggestions since I have some ideas already in place, and some pokemon are simply hard to write due to their limited movepool (*Winona's battle* *cough*), but I will take your suggestions into consideration. You can for example, suggest Vel to face a Poison Specialist and list out the poison types you want to see her fight against. A generalist works too. Just keep in mind not to suggest too many OP pokemon that are overused in FF since it will be boring, everyone will know what to expect. If possible, try to think of powerful but underused pokemon that are often overshadowed by the more popular ones. That will be fun to write about.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try to start on IJWTTTW again when I'm able, but things have been very hectic for me. Things will only get busier. There will be noticeably slower updates on my stories except for RC since I had already written everything out, I just need time to edit the remaining chapters and then post it.
Until then, ciao!
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 12, Female, Pokemon Trainer, Reincarnated Soul (to be kept a secret until the day she dies again)
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
Griff Vera, Age: 42, Male, Owner of Vera Pokemon Breeding Farm, Husband to Hanna Vera (formerly Springfield), Father to Vance and Velda Vera
Pokemon on hand:
1) Mightyena (Fang), male
2) Tropius, male
3) Zweilous (Chewy), male
4) Ninjask (deceased)
5) Ludicolo (deceased)
6) Zangoose (deceased)
7) Ursaring (deceased)