"It is with great pleasure that I reveal to you the greatest invention. These have been discreetly available inside of Galar, but the time has come to distribute them to the world. These aptly named 'Poke Balls' contain a mechanism to contain the powerful, mysterious creatures we know as Pokemon. These items will prove revolutionary. The applications, limitless. Wild creatures can now be tamed to assist with construction, industrialization, companionship! Note this day my compatriots in the audience, this day will go down in infamy for what we have brought you!"
Revolutionary Exhibition, 1851, Motostoke, Galar
Courtney watched as her son nervously bounced his leg. His light green eyes paralleled this nervousness. She combed through his lavender colored hair with her fingers to try and calm him down.
"What if my application isn't accepted?"
"Felix, they are always very lax with the initial acceptance. As long as you have an endorsement, you should be fine."
"Yeah, but Uncle Devon is a foreigner, what if they don't accept it?"
"I wouldn't worry about it that much," she comforted Felix, "I would just try to spend the day with your friends."
Felix stopped his leg, "It'll just be really awkward because I'll be nervous about the application response."
"All your friends will be nervous too, I'm sure that will give you something to talk about."
He looked up at his mum.
She was always so supportive of his aspirations to become a trainer, even when only 1% of children were actually able to get an endorsement. She was able to convince her brother in law, who she hadn't talked to since his father's death, that he was worthy of an endorsement. It hadn't come lightly and he had had to do a lot to convince him, caring for Pokemon, racing against an Electrode, and weight lifting against a Machamp. It was pretty grueling, but he had done it and submitted his application. Today he was supposed to get a response. Whether or not he was accepted, his fate would be decided on this day.
He thanked his mum and walked outside to meet his friends at the square. Unsurprisingly, Imogen was the only one there.
"Did Jayceon, Nyree, and Essence cancel?" he asked as he walked up.
She glanced at him, "I'm sure they're worrying over their applications like you were."
"Are you saying you aren't worried?" he was slightly taken aback.
"With my grades," Imogen started, "Not to mention my endorsement."
"Yeah, you were lucky," Felix scoffed, feeling jealous, "A distant champion was willing to endorse you. Where was she from again?"
"Unova," Imogen rolled her eyes at her friend's forgetfulness.
"Right…"
As if to save him from this awkward situation, his friends showed up.
"Hey guys," Jayceon sighed out.
"Shut up," Nyree said, "At least try to act upbeat."
"Come on!" Essence attempted to bring the mood up, "You all know the acceptance rate for the initial applications is 95%."
"Yeah, but what if we're a part of the 5%?"
"Let's just go around the square," Imogen got up, dusting off her pants.
They all agreed to walk around buying things to prepare for their possible journeys by Essence's demand.
"Quick Balls are surprisingly useful to new trainers and weak Pokemon," Felix contemplates.
"I think I'll buy some potions," Imogen countered, "Healing is always necessary."
"You all are really optimistic," Jayceon sighed, "You're spending a lot of money and you don't even know if you'll be-"
A huge winged Pokemon slammed in front of them, interrupting Jayceon.
"You five…" the man aboard the Salamence turned to face them, "I believe these are for you."
He reached out with 5 letters in his hand.
"I thought you would deliver them to our addresses?" Imogen questioned.
"I saw you on my flight over and you matched the IDs," the man explained, "Now please open them. I enjoy seeing the responses."
They exchanged a glance. The man's giddiness was leaving a bad impression; it told them that one of them had been rejected. Reluctantly, they opened their letters.
"I...I made it!" Jayceon was suddenly ecstatic, "Seed number 52,050 too! That's nearly top 5%!"
The white background of his generic starter league card and his bright complexion caused his nearly magenta eyes to stand out as he flashed the card.
"Bella's going to be so excited!"
"Bella?" Imogen looked inquisitively at him.
"Didn't you know?" Felix smiled, glad to have a leg up on her for once, "Jayceon got a Salandit for his birthday
Imogen frowned, realizing what he was doing.
"YES!"
Essence's shout surprised them all
"Accepted! Seed 900,340!"
Nyree followed suit, "Kind of disappointing."
She showed the others the number 12,000.
Imogen huffed and the rest dropped their jaws.
"That's amazing! You're above over 900,000 other people!" Essence wrapped her friend in a hug.
Imogen smiled more brightly than any of them had ever seen as she turned the page to face the others.
"What the hell!"
"Oi, language," the man said, waiting for them to be done, looking dissatisfied.
"Number 1! How?" Felix's eyes bulged out of their sockets.
"I told you I'm good," she said, "What, did you doubt me?"
"Congratulations number one," the man leaned forward, "And you, Felix was it?"
Felix opened the letter, unsure what to think.
"Via the use of 'Poke Balls,' it has been discovered that Pokemon can perform attacks using 'moves' (scientists have been working frantically and already discovered hundreds of these). Unfortunately, criminals have taken to using these 'moves' for dog fighting. Many protests have taken place to try and put a stop to this illegal brutality. Equally unfortunately, the police are unequipped to deal with these. This, we must reluctantly make these dog fights legal. They will be titled 'battles' from now on. Battles in the legal sense will have two opponents pit their Pokemon against each other and they must withdraw their Pokemon if it faints. Children and minors are forbidden from using their Pokemon to partake in battles."
The Bill of Peace and Violence, passed in 1864
Felix fell face down on his bed. He was shocked to say the least.
"I got in," he turned himself over, thinking about his afternoon.
"You got in! Nice job Felix!" Essence congratulated him.
"What's your seed!?" Jayceon asked, still just happy to have made it.
He flipped the piece of paper over to show them.
"49,002?" Nyree exclaimed, "I thought the top 50,000 were reserved for trainers with Pokemon?"
The man laughed, finally pleased, "The boy's loaded with references and one of the best endorsers we've seen in a while, so we were willing to waive that slightly."
"Uncle Devon?" Felix questioned, "What makes him that good?"
"Really? You don't know?" he looked at the children, "Hmm, I guess only certain circles do. Also sorry for lying to you, I had to stay to give you the strings attached with that position."
He took a short pause, "That endorsement would have gotten you much higher on the rankings; however, you have some...family history, that ,ade us have to reconsider. Due to this history, we'll also be keeping a watchful eye on you during your journey."
"Well, I hope you feel properly warned. Now, I have other rejections to deliver so if you excuse me."
He rocketed off on his Salamence, leaving the five in a sort of awkward shock.
"Family history?" Nyree asked, "What does he mean?"
"Is he talking about your father?" Imogen turned to him, "I heard he was famous, but he-"
"Imogen!" Essence shut her up, "You know that's a touchy subject! I know you're number one now, but you should take those feelings into consideration."
"I'd like to go home," Jayceon broke the awkward silence that followed, "I'm sure my parents will be wondering why they didn't receive a letter and I want to share the good news."
"Yeah," Nyree grabbed her stuff, "See you guys tomorrow or at the ceremony preparation next week.
He sighed. He still didn't know what family history the man meant, but it sounded negative. His mother had always described his father as a paragon, a light in the darkness, even the most forgiving man she had ever met.
"When we first met," she had told him, "I was about 17 and he was only 15. I was in a bad place at the time and no one really loved me. I was scoffed at and pushed aside at every turn, but he didn't do the same. We were enemies back then and when he beat me, he didn't turn his nose up, he didn't walk away or spit on me, he reached down where I had collapsed and asked if I was okay."
She wiped away a tear.
"But you were two years older than him?" he remembered he had said.
She laughed and ruffled his hair, "Yeah, I couldn't do anything then and I still didn't like him at that point, but that moment stuck with me for a long time."
He was brought back into the present by a knock at his door. He looked over and saw his mother who stood in the doorway, nervous about his position and what it meant for his future.
"Did you get the letter?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yeah, I did."
She inhaled, "And?"
"I was accepted."
She rushed in and hugged him while he was sitting up, then realized something.
"What's with the face then?"
"The man who delivered the letter, he said a few things that confused me. He said that my endorser gave me a much higher seeding than I received, but that I had a 'family history so I was placed lower and that they would have to keep an eye on me."
There was a moment of silence as his mother released him from the hug.
"Did dad do something? Is that what he was talking about?"
"No," she shook her head, "He couldn't have meant your father."
"Oh," she saw Felix's shoulders drop extremely low in relief.
"So," she said, changing the subject to try and lift her son's mood, "Why don't we go to the breeder to pick out your first Pokemon. I've been saving up for it and Uncle Devon sent a small amount to help with it, so you can be pretty splurgy."
She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. She did so much for him, he couldn't ignore this act of kindness with his thinking.
"Of course," he replied, hugging his mum, "Thanks mum. I love you."
"I love you too," she returned the hug and then left his room.
A/N: I'd say there are a few obvious things, but I don't want to completely conceal things. I'd also like to add that those who recognize some characters, I came up with the names before realizing who they were and decided to just roll with it. Also, the law and act names are made up if you didn't know. I did this purely to try and build up the lore around the story. Lastly, those of you who have read my other stories and are worried about the progress of Formidable or anything else, I've really just lost my motivation for it. I may come back to it at some point, but probably not for a while.