Aero took a deep breath as today was the day he would be leaving Lumoise. He already had his things pack as he stared at his room, it would be the last time he would be seeing it in for a while. He never left his home like this before and was a little nervous. His parents would miss him, which he was sure of. They were waiting for him near the entrance of his home to see him off.
His parents had sent for a cab to bring him to the gate for route five, already paying the driver beforehand. Aero would've done it himself but his mother told him to save his money for something more important than for cab fare.
"I'm all set," Aero announced as he came into view of his parents, a soft smile on his features as he knew this was goodbye. His mom already had tears in her eyes as she gave her son a big smile. His father on the other hand wasn't emotional as his wife, instead, he was keeping a straight face as his only son was going to be off on his own without their support. In reality, he was crying on the inside.
"You're really set on moving to Camphrier Town, aren't you." His mother stated as she looked up at her son's features.
"Yeah, I'll, hopefully, get to the hotel by nightfall. I'll be fine, mom." He told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm eighteen, I'm an adult now. I'll make sure to stay in contact. I'll just be a town away." He tried reassuring his mother who still had tears streaming down her face.
"But with no pokemon to protect you!-" His mom started before her husband cut her off.
"Evaline, he'll be fine with or without pokemon." He told her as he walked over and placed a hand on Aero's shoulder, looking him in the eye and just gave him a nod of approval.
Aero smiled back at his father before giving both of his parents a hug. "I'll miss you guys." He told them before hearing the sound of a car horn, urging him to hurry up. "I gotta go, bye mom! Bye, dad!" He told them as he let go and grabbed his bags and hurried out of the door as his parents waved him off.
The eighteen-year-old would continue to wave to his parents as the cab drove further and further away until they were out of sight. Once he could no longer see his parents or their home he sat back into the seat of the cab and watched as the buildings went by and listening to the bustling noise of the city.
"So kid, why are you going to Camphrier anyhow?" The driver asked, trying to spark some conversation as it would take a while to get to the other side of the city to get to the Gate that leads to route 5.
"Well, I plan at working at the Pokemon Daycare down on route 7, it's my dream to work with pokemon," Aero answered honestly.
"If you want to work with pokemon so much, why not become a trainer? You'd be able to work with multiple pokemon that way."
"I'm... Not the battling type, nor do I have the pokeballs to do so." Aero replied. "Do you have pokemon?" He asked.
"Yeah, a Gogoat. Had them since they were a little Skiddo. They're at home with my wife and daughter." The man told him, Aero noticing the smile on their face when talking about his family.
"Sounds nice," Aero replied before staring out the window once more, the conversation ending.
The sun was in the center of the sky by the time he saw the 'Route 5' engraved on the stone gate. Aero got out of the cab and thanked the driver as he headed through the gate. This was the first time he was leaving Lumoise and he could already feel the anxiety gnaw at his stomach, but overall he was excited to be doing this.
Once he got to the other side he couldn't help but feel in awe at how green everything was, a drastic change compared to the big city. He could already see a skate park in the distance as he followed the dirt path.
The closer he got the more he could see, there were kids hanging around there, skating around and laughing with tiny pokemon playing along. He couldn't help but smile at the sight as he continued his way. The mere sight of those tiny pokemon made him more excited to start working at a daycare for them. He couldn't help but imagine what the building would look like and what pokemon were already there, big or small.
As soon as Aero made it over the first hill he was already exhausted, he looked back and could barely see the skate park in the distance, he didn't realize how long it was to get to Camphrier by foot. He couldn't see the town yet, but what he could see was another hill, bigger than the one he just finished.
Aero had to take breaks as he kept walking up the hills, though he was glad those were the only ones on this route. Now that he was on a straight path he was able to keep on going without the exhaustion he got from climbing hills with his luggage in his arms. The only obstacle he had left was going through some tall grass without getting ambushed by pokemon.
While he traversed the tall grass he heard a type of croaking sound causing him to pause. He waited to see if the noise was just from his imagination but he heard another croaking sound. It almost sounded like crying in a way causing his heart to ache. He didn't recall what pokemon made this type of sound but he knew he couldn't just leave it crying, it might be hurt or worse.
He had to bend over to have a good look in the grass as he searched for the pokemon, crying. Eventually, the cries led him to a small Gulpin surrounded by tiny egg shards. It must've recently hatched but he couldn't see any other Gulpins or Swalots nearby, who would leave a helpless hatchling all alone like this? The crying continued, snapping him out of his thoughts as he moved closer and setting his stuff down.
"Hey, it's okay, don't cry." He told the baby Gulpin as he slowly reached out and picked up the pokemon. The croaking continued as Aero sat down and held the Gulpin close, petting the baby gently as to soothe the pokemon.
"Shhhh shh sh sh shhh, it's okay. You're safe now, no need to cry." Aero continued until the baby finally quieted down causing Aero to smile at the Gulpin.
He never expected to come across a pokemon so soon, especially in this type of circumstance. He could already tell the baby was hungry as it started sucking his finger trying to get something from it. Aero wasn't prepared to take care of a baby pokemon so he wasn't sure what to do. He would have to hurry to Camphrier if he wanted to feed the pokemon since he couldn't just leave it to fend for itself.
"Yes, I know you're hungry. I don't have any food on me right now, don't worry we're going to get you something to eat." He cooed, standing up, and placed the Gulpin in his jacket, peeping from under his neck as he picked up his stuff from the ground.
Repeatedly Aero made sure the Gulpin wouldn't fall out of his jacket as he hurried to Camphrier. The baby already started to croak-cry as Aero kept going. It hurt his heart and his ears to hear the baby upset but he couldn't do anything to calm it down with nothing to feed the hatchling.
"I know, I know, we're almost there." Aero cooed as he could feel his legs starting to ache from all the walking and he could already see the sun falling closer and closer to the horizon. It would be night soon and he wasn't sure if any shops would be open for him to buy something for the baby Gulpin.
As the evening approached Aero finally made it to town, feeling exhausted as he headed to the pokemon center. The woman behind the counter heard the doors open and smiled before seeing Aero, looking exhausted and a tiny Gulpin crying in his shirt.
"Oh, dear!" She said getting out from behind her station and hurried over.
"Do you... Have food... For baby..." Aero asked, panting as the nurse led him to one of the couches.
"Of course, we're sure to have berries here, just wait here." She told him as Aero nearly collapsed on one of the couches and took out the Gulpin.
"Don't worry." He let out a yawn as he looked down at the Gulpin. "You'll be fed soon and your tummy will be all nice and full." He smiled tiredly at the Gulpin as it just stared at him from squinted eyes and puckered lips.
Aero was the first to look away as the woman came back with a little basket of berries, the Gulpin immediately perking up and croaked eagerly. Aero smiled and thanked the woman as he took a berry and held it for the Gulpin to eat.
The baby opened its mouth wide and swallowed berry after berry until it couldn't eat anymore. It wasn't soon after that the baby nuzzled closer to Aero and fell asleep.
"Thank you." He told the woman again as he held the Gulpin close, letting out another yawn as he couldn't keep his eyes open a minute longer.