Alrighty! 4th chapter here we go! A bit longer than the last, but still shorter than usual. Also, the story is now going on a weekly upload schedule! Hope you enjoy!


Forging a Deal

"Aurea, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Says Jessica, a joyful tone in reconnecting with an old friend of hers that she hasn't seen in a long time due to the distance between Aspertia City and Nuvema Town. On the other end, Professor Juniper is slightly surprised to have such an early phone call from such an old friend.

"Ah, Jessica! What an early morning, pleasant surprise! How are you doing?" she's equally as joyful to hear from her.

"I'm doing splendidly, thanks for asking. How about you?"

"I'm doing great! Busy as always, you know how it is with Pokemon research. I've always got my hands wrapped up in something. What've you gotten yourself into lately?"

She bites the knuckle on her right hand for a moment, not quite ready to tell her about what it is that she's called her for. "Uhh… nothing much really. Same old same old stuff here, aha. I did get a pay raise recently so now I might be able to enroll Milo in an adult Pokemon Trainer school."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I bet he's really excited about that news! I haven't seen him in so many years and in the back of my mind, I've been wondering how that boy's been doing."

She gasps through her teeth faintly. "Yeah… he's, uhh… he could be doing better. You remember how badly Ryan's death affected him, right?"

"I remember, but didn't you say that you were bringing him to a psychologist last time we talked? What happened there?" slight confusion occupies her tone, and rightfully so. She has no clue of the magnitude his father's death had on him and to her, a simple psychologist appears to be more than enough to help him out.

"I was, but no matter what they tried, they weren't able to fix his condition. The worst part is that I took him to many different psychologists across the region and none of them were able to do anything. The last one we tried outright told me that he's hopeless and too far gone to save, what good is that to me when you're supposed to be the one that's helping him!?" she grits her teeth, recalling that day where the doctor had basically made a declaration of giving up on him since nothing he could do had any effect on Milo. "The poor boy sits in his room all day doing absolutely nothing while I'm out at work, and I worry that I'm going to come home one day, and he'll be hanging by his neck from the ceiling! Aurea, it's horrible and I don't know what to do with him."

She thinks for a moment. "I don't know what I can provide to you that could help him… I'm pretty busy as it is with all the research, not to mention there's been so many new Pokemon that have migrated here over the last few years that the moment I think I've got some free time, it gets consumed by new information about a new Pokemon species that's found a home here and that has to be consolidated and worked on."

Desperate help is heard in her voice. "Please, Aurea, please. I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't want him sitting around all day doing nothing, and we've exhausted all medical options besides insane asylums and mental hospitals, which I refuse to resort to because I won't be able to see him until they're done with whatever they do to him. There has to be something you can do, anything, even if it's for one hour a day, anything is better than the alternatives."

She sighs, her schedule is not open for unplanned decisions. "I-I'm sorry Jessica, I really am. There's nothing I can do, the time I have is taken by everything else. I know we've been really good friends and haven't talked to each other in a long time, but this is something that I just can't help out with at the moment. If research was slow and other duties were taken care of, I'd be more than willing to help."

As much as she doesn't want to resort to it, she doesn't have a choice. "I guess I don't really have much of a choice then, do I? I thought you could help me, I really did. You worked alongside my husband for years and even in the worst of his Pokerus infection, you did your best to try and rig together a cure that couldn't come fast enough before it took him away. If you can find the time back then to do such a hefty thing, I think you can find a way to slot something in here to help his son."

"Jessica, I can't… There's absolutely no way to make this work." She's feeling a little guilty about leaving her like this, but she can't rework her own schedule around that. "I wish you luck in getting Milo on the path of recovery. If I get time, maybe we can arrange for something then, but not now. I have to go, see-" She's cut off.

"No, don't hang up! I… I was thinking of something in the back of my head…"

She's a little annoyed now since she's starting to hold her up from important work, but she's still willing to listen. "Oh really, go ahead, what is it?"

"I don't know if you knew this, but my husband promised my son that, when he was of age, he'd give him his first Pokemon and together, they'd embark on a wonderful journey. He promised him that he'd be there to help him if need be and wanted him to become the champion. He never got to fulfill that promise and it's the reason why he's the way he is… It broke his heart and shattered his dreams so bad that he refuses to let anyone or anything heal the wounds that've stuck with him since that day. Last night, I managed to get him to talk to me, and I asked him about what he thought about Pokemon and he said he's fine with them."

"So, are you saying you want to give him the opportunity he lost? Ryan was more than just an exceptional assistant, he was an accomplished trainer that you don't come close to measuring up to."

"You must've forgotten about it, didn't you?"

She's confused and her tone shows hit. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know… that extremely difficult tournament?"

"OH! How could I forget that!? I'm sorry, that was really rude of me to have said… you and Ryan were exceptional in that aspect, but you still don't have any means of making this come true. Unova's gyms and the trainers that populate it are ruthless, he wouldn't stand a chance unless he had some really powerful Pokemon backing him up from the start."

"I thought about that too, but I don't know what to do… he's had no exposure to high levels of stress and anxiety in the last 7 years and I doubt he'll want anything to do with being social towards other people." she taps her fingers on the back of the phone slightly, fully aware of the potential problems this could cause.

She realizes something that will completely ruin the entire purpose of this idea. "Jessica, if that's all true, what do you think he'll do if he ends up losing? If that stresses him out to the point of a panic attack, it could cause major issues. He may not want to continue after losing, thinking he's not good enough to accomplish such a goal. The whole point of this journey from what I can tell, is to make him have some sort of purpose to keep going in life. Something to distract him from his losses while showing him the potential he has if he starts looking on the bright side. Unless you have some powerful Pokemon for him to use that will obey his command, it'd be extremely difficult for him to make any progress."

Her tone becomes confident, she knew this would be an issue and has a plan for it. "It's alright, I thought about all of this before calling you, so just leave it to me. If you're interested in knowing what I'm planning to do to make this a reality, I hope you'll help me after all is said and done because this is the only thing I've come up with to end this problem he has. I could easily pitch in with something else to sweeten the idea for you too, what do you say?"

"Alright then, lay it on me." Her curiosity is tickled, even though her busy schedule makes this impossible, the least she can do is listen to her ideas.


While Jessica talked to Professor Juniper, Milo decided to get himself dressed in a comfy, blue and pink striped, long-sleeve, fuzzy sweater, black jeans with a couple ripped seams on the knees, navy blue shoes, and silver glasses. He didn't wear his glasses last night because he knew he wasn't going to be up for a long period of time anyway, plus he was too lazy to put them on. Not this time though, and if one didn't know he wasn't going anywhere special, it looked as if he was about to hit the town and be social for once. Fat chance of that happening, he had no plans on being social with other people, he was going to go visit his best friend, and from the corner of his eye as he finishes fixing his hair to not be a mess by brushing it, he stares out the single window in his bedroom, his sneaky means of getting out of the house without her knowing. He's done this many times in the past, and since he knows how to climb the nearby pine tree a few feet outside of his bedroom window, he can use that to get back on the roof and slip inside without worry of being caught or punished. The reason behind this is simple: his mother demanded to know what he was doing late last night when he went out without any notion of where he was going or what he'd be doing, so he wants to completely avoid that altogether.

His hair all fixed and neatly brushed, he places his hair brush down on his desk with his left hand and walks over to his door, his left hand coming up and rotating the locking mechanism to lock the door, a means of keeping his mother from entering if she should try to. He then walks over to the window and using both of his hands, releases the latches holding it down and pulls it up as high as it can go. The crisp, late fall, early morning, Unovian breeze instantly invites itself inside, rudely pushing into his face to intrude his room though he doesn't mind it at all. He climbs through and ends up on the roof, though he pulls the window almost fully shut so his room won't become freezing and allow him easy access back inside when he's done. Now on the roof, he simply walks to the edge, grabs the siding and drops himself onto the ground cleanly, not putting any stress on his body in the process since he can't afford to put himself in the hospital, though he's done this many times and mastered the art of getting down from the roof of his house due to the frequency of this act. He quickly runs out of the backyard since he knows there's a few windows where his mother could see him if she chose to look out of them, but he doesn't know that she's occupied with Professor Juniper, so he gets off scot-free.

He quickly makes his way down to the gate where Route 19 awaits him and he dashes straight through it, in one end and out the other, not giving the gate attendant any time to talk to him and comes to a screeching halt once the forever familiar route presents itself to him. Last night, he saw a couple Pidove flying in the sky overhead and from the corner of his eyes, saw a couple Patrat pop up out of the tall grass lining both sides of the dirt carved path in front of him. Today, a couple Purrloin chase each other around in plain sight, an Unfezant, a Pokemon that's rare to see out here, flies gracefully high in the sky, and from a nearby lake jumps a Red and Green striped Basculin from the bone-chilling cold water. A lively day on this route is normal in the late-fall, most of the Pokemon here aren't affected by the brutal temperature change, not even snow will stop them from doing whatever it is they want. He walks carefully along the path, heading towards the forest in front of him to find his best friend, who is surely waiting for him deep within.

It takes a couple of minutes, but he comes across the beautiful clearing that has become a second home to him by this point. Unlike last night, Mew isn't sleeping in the big tree that towers over the environment, instead, she's actually in the small lake 20 feet in front of the tree, apparently taking a bath or the equivalent of a bath to her. He doesn't even have to say anything or make a sound to let her know he's shown up, because she turns her head to look over her right shoulder and notices him immediately. Her baby blue, shimmering eyes dilate with excitement upon seeing him and she soars up out of the water as fast as she can, violently shaking her fur out to dry herself off quickly before diving down headfirst towards him. "MILO!" Her cutesy, playful voice echoes across the forest and her slightly damp fur flings sparkling drops of water off as she rapidly falls towards the one human she loves with all her heart.

He looks up at her straight in the eyes, a very faint glimmer comes off his eternally fatigued pupils and a miniscule smile sits on his face as both of his hands come up to catch her softly. She falls into his hands, and he absorbs what would've been a hefty tackle if it was from anything that wasn't her, hugging her gently in the process. "Heyya Mew, sleep well?" he asks, a soft, calm tone coming from him.

"I didn't sleep too well, I was worried that I wouldn't get to see you again since you said you couldn't stay very long last night. But you're here! You didn't get in trouble!" She presses her left cheek into his fuzzy sweater, gently rubbing against it.

"I told you everything would be okay, see?" he gently pats her back with his left hand. "But I don't think we'll be able to go anywhere today."

She pulls off the sweater, her eyes bending to show her disappointment in hearing that. "What do you mean? You said you'd take me somewhere I've never been next time you came to visit…"

He sighs long. "Mew, I know you love playing and going to new places, but I'm not really in the mood to do that today. While I had breakfast, my mom kept bothering me about doing something with my life." his tone changes, a flick of annoyance in tow as his eyes pan over to the right and take on a sharp, frustrated glare. "I really wish she'd just leave me alone to figure it out myself. I don't need her help, she's been no help anyway."

She wiggles out of his weak grip and floats a few feet back. "I see… So that ruined everything for you this morning." she points her right paw into the air and he looks at her in response. "Forget about what she said, you do what makes you happy! Nobody has the right to tell you what you can and cannot do just because they don't like it, it's not their life that's changed by your decisions unless that choice involves being a part of their life."

"I know, but… She's right in one aspect: I can't keep doing what I've been doing." he looks down at his right hand, bringing it close to his face, staring at his palm for a second or two before closing it up into a fist. "I just can't let go, it was something I really looked forward to and it was all taken away from me with nothing that I could do to stop it. It was my dream, and I wanted to make that dream come true with my dad." he drops his hand to his side and looks down at his shoes, his eyes closing a little. "He would've been so proud to know his son became the champion of this region, but then…" he stops talking, completely falling silent.

"Then… then what?" she tilts her head to the right and drops her paw to her side, waiting for an answer.

"Then… I wouldn't have met you, and what if he was meant to die anyway? If I became the champion… would anything be different after he died?" a single, light reflecting tear forces its way out of the side of his right eye and drops out, quickly falling to the ground and hitting the cold-hardened dirt below.

She notices this and floats up to his face and grabs under his chin with both her paws, lifting it up. "I don't think thoughts like those really matter, because that's not the reality you're living in, is it?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"I think your father would be happy to know you've become great friends with me. I don't think he'd be happy to see you constantly wallowing and living your life day by day without any clue of what to do with all this sadness. You might not know what you want now, you may simply want a void and silence, but I know, one day, you'll come out of it with something that you have a deep, hidden passion for." she gives him a smile sunnier than the sun itself, a radiant shine comes off her slightly damp face. She doesn't want to see him sad and lost like this, but she knows that he'll get himself together one day.

"It's not a crime to not know what I want. Maybe you have a point, but my mother… she needs to give me space and time."

"And that's when you can come here and play lots with me! I'll always be here for you like I said when I made that promise many years ago to you."

He chuckles faintly. "And you surely kept that promise well after the fact. I'm still surprised you've stayed with me even though I've come to you for so many things."

She giggles and blushes slightly. "Well, it's what a good friend does. No matter what the problem is, I'll always be there to help even if I don't know what I'm doing or what to do!"

He smiles again, slightly more than before. "Thanks, Mew. I really appreciate everything you've done for me." He reaches into his left pocket and pulls out a rather interesting looking toy made for Pokemon. "Now, think you can catch it this time?"

She takes on a mischievous look. "Catch it? Pah! I'll fly around the world with it!" her tail whips back and forth rapidly as he winds it up for a few seconds before tossing it up into the air where it immediately takes off and tries to escape her clutches. She flies quickly after it, trying her best to catch it.


"So, now you understand how I plan to circumvent all these issues?" Jessica says, wrapping up a very long and detailed explanation on what her plan is to make Milo's unfulfilled promise come true.

"It's… it's going to take a hefty effort from all fronts to make this happen. People will expect to get something out of this, we can't just tell them to do all of that and not get anything out of it." Professor Juniper has worry in her voice. "Even then, do you have any guarantee they'll all agree to this?"

She's confident in her plan. "Oh, don't worry. People may not agree, but once a decent sum of money is waved in front of their faces, they'll change their mind and consider it. It's a shame, I shouldn't have to use capital to persuade someone to help out a great cause."

"I hope you know what you're doing… But uhh, OH! Don't let that Pokemon touch that! S-sorry Jessica, I've got to go right now. I'll call you back when I can and tell you if it can be done, you know, with the Pokemon you requested."

"Alright, take care!" She presses the end button on the phone and puts it back on the charging cradle it was sitting in before she picked it up. She sighs and then looks at the cablebox on the TV stand and notices that if she doesn't get herself ready, she's going to be late for work. "Oh shoot, I didn't even see how long I was on the phone with her! Crap, I hope I can make it in time… Virbank City, please have your boats on schedule to bring me to Castelia earlier than intended!" She hops off the couch and sprints for the stairs to get to her room and get dressed for work. In the back of her mind, she's extremely pleased to have Professor Juniper on board with the idea she proposed to her. All that remains is to get as many people as possible in on this plan and hopefully, Milo will be willing to do it.


The plan is quite intricate, but what exactly does it entail? Find out next week! For now, review and review all you like. Seeya!