1: The Starly Named Skittle

The young boy walked home with a dirty blue bag over his left shoulder and a bag of candy in the other. As his small fingers tore through the ripped side of the bag containing the multi-colored sweets inside, Luke pulled a single orange Skittle out and popped it into his mouth.

The road he was walking was a quiet dirt path on the outskirts of a smaller grouping of houses outside Mistralton City. Many folks moved out that way to avoid the noise of the largest airport in Unova. Pricing also seemed to be a considerable factor, and the nearby Mistralton Forest provided a perfect example of the old world coexisting with the new one.

Luke's tattered shirt which once depicted a smiling bird named Ho-Oh flowed with the calm breezes of the cold September evenings. The ragged jeans with mud-stained ends stuck to his dirty sneakers, nearly tripping him as he kicked rocks down the path, hoping none talked this time. With each skittle thrown into his mouth, the journey grew less bleak for him. Walking home from school alone for yet another night, he fumbled with the strap on his Marill backpack his mom had purchased for his first year of school. It was five years old now and was nothing more than strings and broken fabric.

Unbeknownst to him, a small creature followed him walking along the ground. The little bird's bent wing signaled an inability to fly properly as it wobbled behind him on unsteady legs. The black and white bird pecked into the air in the direction of the strongly-scented candy, hoping the human it followed would be nicer than the last one.

"Star! Starly!" The chirps the creature erupted into when Luke finally fumbled with his hands and dropped a single orange skittle bounced off of the tuft of hair on the bird's head. Within seconds Starly grabbed the candy with its beak and flung it into the air, catching the small orange candy in its open mouth before appraising the taste. As it struggled to swallow the skittle and coughed, Luke shook his head at its performance.

"You're not very smart, huh?" As he kneeled down, the bird recoiled in fear. Starly was the name of its kind and, though not native to Unova, birds tended to find their way anywhere. Starly in particular were considered pests in most places due to their single-minded nature.

The Starly began taking air into its lungs while puffing itself up to instill fear in the small human. Instead its lack of control left it breathing heavily as it nearly collapsed to the dirt. As it did so, Luke raised his hand above it and slowly brought it down, running it gently over the back of the scared bird. In an immediate reaction to the strange feeling, Starly pecked him hard enough to break skin. The bag of candy hit the dirt as Luke recoiled in pain and gripped his now bleeding finger.

With no candy left to give, Luke stood up and turned away. "Dumb bird." Walking down the pathway to his little home, Luke ignored the sounds of the Starly aggressively tearing the bag apart behind him. The little bird was unable to properly eat the candy, but its overwhelming hunger overrode whatever sense it may have been capable of making.

The road bending several ways through the center of the mini route that winded through the Mistralton Outskirts was home to three young adults who watched Luke's approach with a sinister sense of control. The presumed leader, a lanky thirteen-year-old with daddy's money and a brand new Pokéball shining on his hip smiled widely. "Hey, it's the screaming brat. Hey, hey, screamer!"

Luke felt his blood chill as Jonas, the leader of a small ragtag group of bullies at his elementary school, motioned for him to come over. "I'm going home, Jonas. Don't make me hit you again."

The grin on Jonas's face belied his true rage. A few days ago, Jonas had bitten Luke in a tussle on the playground and Luke had brandished him a brand new black eye. The bruise on his cheek still lay there as Jonas, having just received a present from his father for 'protection', lifted the ball at his side into his outstretched hand. "Father gave me a little gift to make sure you never try that again. Would you like to meet Baron?" With a little swing of his hand, the ball flew towards Luke and out popped a pitch black dog with lines of white across its torso and head. The Houndour laid eyes on what it considered prey and Jonas laughed like he had told a brilliant joke. "Dad received this on a little business trip to Silph Company Headquarters, isn't that neat!?"

The stocky kid standing by Jonas's side grinned wide; his eyes were as small as a Makuhita's but his grin was wide enough to swallow one whole. "Can I show him mine, too!?" Without his leader's approval, he threw his own red and white capsule and out popped a rat that desperately needed a dentist. Jack's deformed Rattata growled in the least possibly menacing way manageable.

Their female companion Vivian reels her hand back and throws out her own monstrosity. As the blue and purple bat with the same dental plan as Rattata weakly took flight before him, Luke wondered to himself how punch able they would be. As the Zubat made noises that sounded more like radio signals than actual noise, he remembered they sense things through echolocation.

"Viv, Jack, take the trash out!" Jonas grinned with hatred deep in his eyes for the boy that showed him up. "Dad told me if Houndour burns him, it lasts forever… and that means his crazy dad would act out."

Luke shrugged. "At least you're self-aware what a revolver does at your age."

Jack waved his fat finger forward as he yelled indignantly at nothing in particular. "Tackle!"

The Rattata turned back and just stared at Jack as if it had yet to develop speech recognition. "I said tackle! Go!" When the creature remained still, Jack walked over and pushed it forward. "MOVE!"

Vivian shook her head in sheer disappointment. "Alright, Zubat! Leech Life!"

Zubat managed to rub its brain cells together and lunged toward Luke at an admittedly embarrassing speed as it had yet to properly learn to use its wings. At this point it became clear they had just recently hatched and hadn't actually been in the real world at all yet.

"This is… Wow." As the Zubat finally approached Luke and was within earshot, he screamed as loudly as possible. Zubat shriveled in response and quickly fell to the ground as the sheer decibel volume rendered its sensitive hearing a curse, immobilizing it.

Rattata watched this and proceeded to gingerly climb onto Jack's shirt, refusing to move any further.

"I can't believe it! He's stronger than Pokémon? How is that possible?" Jack's incredulous recoil in Luke's direction infuriated Jonas.

"Enough games! Baron, tackle him like an actual fighter!"

Unlike the minion Mons, Baron charged with force befitting of a devilishly small dog. As it sprang into action and aimed for Luke's legs, his opponent understood how Houndour fight by crippling the limbs of its foes. As Houndour had clearly yet seen actual combat and Luke had been scrapping with these bullies for a while, he knew what to do.

The ten kilometer a mile dog found its forehead impaled on Luke's extended knee as the fearless foe bent his legs and forced his knee in the direction of the single-minded hound. As the blow cracked Houndour in the skull and sent it reeling, a loud yell interrupted the affairs.

"Are we fighting illegally, young Jonas?" The four kids and the two still conscious Pokémon turn in the direction of the young professor walking in their direction. His tired eyes had lines across his cheeks and his reading glasses hung further on one side across his slanted nose, forcing him to push it further up the bridge. His white lab coat hung poorly on the side and his blue-and black checkered collared shirt had several fresh coffee stains as he had sprinted over with his mug still spilling as he ran, earning a yelp of pain every time it burned across his hand.

Jonas pauses as he calls his Houndour back into its PokéBall as quickly as he can. "No, Professor Juniper! I wouldn't dream of that!" Jack fails to grab his own capture device in time as Rattata curls up harmlessly at his feet. Jack's eyes widen as tears glisten in them from the overwhelming cuteness as he lunges for and nearly crushes his purple rat with a bear hug a Bewear could learn from.

Zubat weakly flaps its wings onto Vivian's shoulder before hanging his head low and protects his ears under his wings.

Professor Amos Juniper steps into the light betwixt the nearby trees and shakes his head. "Your father may be able to buy you discount Pokémon at bargain bin prices but owning one doesn't make you an actual Trainer. That was a downright pathetic display in performance and character.

"Amos… Wait up…" Behind him comes trudging a very unlucky man carrying a massive backpack twice his chest size upon his back. His short brown hair shows the first signs of greying and his plain flannel shirt and ripped jeans don't quite match the expensive hiking boots attached to his legs. The man clearly knows the Professor well since no one in Mistralton uses his first name except colleagues.

Amos faces his companion and shakes his head in exasperation. "Cedric, if you wanted to go on a journey with your dear Aurea around the world, you need to be better at long distance sprints than that. No wonder she's the one who filled up the new Pokédex so nicely." He pauses and returns his gaze upon us. "Luke, you're quite lucky Billy happened to know just what these three were planning. A tip for the young master; don't discuss your evil plans in the middle of the school cafeteria."

Jack scratches at the back of his head. "Sorry, Mister Juniper. I told Jonas we should leave 'im alone."

"More like you just didn't want your precious baby Rattail to get hurt." Vivian teases him in an instant and the big lug hides behind his hands. "Was I not supposed to say his nickname either?"

Cedric leans up against a tree, using the weight of the luggage to prop himself up against it. "My insides… are killing me…"

Amos sighs and hands him his mug. "Hold this for me." Cedric shouts and tries to balance the cup between his hands so the edges don't burn him any more than they already have. "Good technique."

Jonas finally musters his resolve to launch into a tirade of complaints and thinly-veiled insults. "Did you not see this brute antagonize us and harm my precious Baron!?"

"I saw you sick one of the most dangerous canine Pokémon in existence on a thirteen-year old boy, Jonas. Do you expect me to pity you when you, having the advantage of a six on one, still were trounced like a common whelp?" Amos's biting tone takes a persecuting tone. "If this case wasn't laughed out of any respectable court, you'd find nothing but pity amongst your peers."

"Who goes around hitting Pokémon!?" Jonas exclaims in fervor as he holds Baron's container in his hands. "What if Baron is hurt?"

Amos saunters up to Jonas and bends down to one knee. "My advice is to go to Nurse Joy and ask kindly for healing. A key step in becoming an actual Trainer worth my respect is caring for those under your wing. You wouldn't ever want Baron to turn on you because you didn't treat him like family, would you?"

Jonas feels tears run down the side of his face. "No, I don't want him to hate me!"

"Then you see him get healed. As for my next advice, stop sending him after people." Amos's eyes narrow. "Especially if you're going to lose on top of that dishonorable decision you've erred before."

With the force of Tornadus himself, Jonas sprints down towards Mistralton proper. Vivian and Jack pick up the pace behind them offering vague apologies to Amos and Luke as they leave.

Luke raises his gaze to meet that of his teacher. "I didn't start it this time, Mr. Juniper. I was literally just walking home."

"Amos… Please…" Amos grasps the mug out of Cedric's hand and swigs down the black coffee contained in it.

With a couple of grounds stuck to his lip, Amos wipes it with his free hand and finds a stain on his sleeve. "Of course that had to happen on top of this whole debacle." Placing the empty mug into a side pouch of Cedric's bag, Amos nods in his own acknowledgement of Luke's complaint. "I have no qualms with you defending yourself. I simply worry that your grudges will one day run too deep to be repaired. Besides Billy, you really have little friends to speak of."

"Ever the charmer, Uncle Amos." Luke, Amos, and Cedric all face the newcomer and Luke finds himself standing before Aurea Juniper. Her small limbs somehow manage to maintain the rather large backpack upon her back that presses against her long light brown hair. Her gentle eyes and serious expression belie the wicked grin on her lips. "I hope to be a better Professor to not resort to telling kids they don't have friends."

Amos shyly avoids her piercing gaze. "I didn't mean in that way. I just wanted you and Cedric to hear me out, not see me dealing with this problem I can't solve."

Cedric heaves the backpack off of himself and it crashes down hard enough that several Pidgey and Pidove fly off into the sky due to the noise. "You know, if I was a professor, I'd just give him a friend to protect him."

"Agreed. I hear Pokémon can help people bond in ways they never dreamed of." Aurea adds to the conversation with a chipper voice. She seems to be nearing the end of her school days and Luke finds himself slightly embarrassed at how much younger he is to all of them.

"I don't think handing out Pokémon to every disgruntled and naïve child I see is a good way to get things done." Amos bites back. "Even if I did see the good in that, Luke refuses to take one."

Aurea stretches her legs with freedom of movement at the displaced weight and speed walks over to the young boy in awe of their overwhelming boisterous behavior. "You don't want your very own partner?"

Luke stares up at Aurea's inquisitive face and finds his heart skip a beat as his internal fear of strangers kicks into high gear. "Would you like being given to someone else even though you're so smart?"

"I… what?" Her response lacks her normal charms as she mulls over his words.

"Amos says Pokémon are like, really smart. Like people smart. So if he just gave me one, isn't that like… kidnapping or something?" Luke asks with sincerity that takes Cedric aback as well. "I mean, I know you mostly catch ones that like you, but I didn't catch them. They didn't choose me. No one does."

Amos strides up next to Aurea and pats her on her back. "See what I mean? Haven't you ever met someone who didn't want to be a trainer?"

Cedric reaches around in his massive pack for a drink as he flops down onto the ground. "He could always be a Pokémon Breeder instead. Make love, not war and all that."

"If you ever hope to follow in my footsteps you can NOT say things like that as a Professor!" Amos nearly breaks the mug and spills the remainder of his drink onto Cedric's lap.

"That was premeditated!" Cedric screams as he hops around and hits himself a little too hard to disperse the hot liquid.

Amos saunters over to the bag Aurea had left on the ground and starts mixing another bowl of instant coffee. "You started as an accident and by Arceus you'll die by one if you keep acting up."

Luke assumes he's found himself amidst an awkward family quarrel and elects to stay quiet. "May I please go home now, Professor?" As he slowly made his way toward the trail home, Amos coughs to regain his attention.

"While I don't necessarily disagree with your stances on the matter, you could at least find yourself a partner in the wild. You going out and roughing up any small creature that attacks you isn't exactly what we want for our youth." Amos thinks back on the multitude of instances where they caught Luke laying waste to whatever varmint was dumb enough to play games with him.

Aurea parts her bangs behind her ear. "I'm sorry? Did you say he fights Pokémon without a proper partner?"

"Just like people, you just hit them in the face hard enough and they stop trying to fight you." In a world where monsters regularly prey on children, he's more surprised they didn't understand him better. "You ever choke a balloon out with its own strings?"

"Okay, let's disregard the combat part for a moment." Aurea finds herself completely thrown off. "You could have a friend to walk with you on scary trips home."

"That's usually when the fighting happens, Miss." Luke tilts his head. "I only get attacked by people during the day."

Amos turns on Cedric and asks him in a serious tone. "Cedric, you've gotten plenty of life experience traveling the world, yes? Have you and Aurea never meet someone sincerely disinterested in Pokémon?"

"Oh, I get lines now?" Cedric jokes at the expense of his brother's rapidly dwindling patience. "I have met very few people who never owned one, much less a young person. I've certainly met people too interested in them, perhaps."

Aurea pauses and jumps toward her father with such force he sends himself reeling. "So that guy was a freaky person after all!?"

"Okay, yeah, not worth asking you, is it?" Amos approaches Luke and shakes his head. "You could at least try to make one friend besides Billy, don't you think? Human or Pokémon, that's your assignment for this weekend. You understand?"

"I'm going to a school to learn basic skills and Pokémon stuff. What part of that requires making friends?" Luke shoots back.

Amos tilts his glasses and gives him a firm smile. "School is meant to teach you to make friends just as much as it is to educate you."

Luke glances over at Cedric and back to Amos. "I guess you became a professor before they required school then, huh?"

Cedric raises his hand. "I like this kid's moxie."

"Shut up, you fossil!" Amos loses his composure briefly before affixing his hair back into its place. "He's insulting your loving brother and you hype him up?"

Aurea asks with trepidation in her voice. "So do you have other friends?"

Amos drops his mug and narrowly catches it. "Of course I don't! I work twenty odd hour days to rein in unruly children and I have to teach school on top of my family affairs!"

"Okay, rude. I'm well-behaved." Aurea pouts.

"That's why you're still both single despite traversing the whole fish-filled sea?" Amos replies with a bitter hint of jealousy at their adventures.

Luke senses the anger welling in Aurea and does what his father always told him to do when someone offended a lady, especially a pretty one.

Remove yourself from the splash zone. Hide in the nearest shelter. When it is safe, perform an SAR for the survivors. Search and rescues could only be authorized once the storm had passed.

As Aurea turns to yell at Amos, Luke sprints down the trail, never knowing if he would see his professor alive again.

As he picks up the pace down the forest trails, a little varmint continues its hunt.

After a few minutes of exhausting sprinting, Luke arrives at the front door to his admittedly beaten down house. The haphazard roof was simply a plate of sheet metal pressed against another to loosely cover the flat wooden roof that had been made into a makeshift attic. The broken tree swing hung in the front yard untouched, left destroyed by empty promises of fixing it tomorrow. The old vehicle in the front yard was the only pristine item to be found in this broken home as it shined in the last rays of daylight.

Before Luke can walk in, a throaty chirp rips him from his daydreaming and he turns to find the mighty Skittle-stealing Starly slyly sliding sinisterly and slowly sneaking closer to its prey it has stalked. Luke about faces quickly, causing the poor bird to flutter its wings aggressively before covering its face with one. The Starly has a very unique small mark on its body on its left side. A little circle of blue feathers gives it the appearance of a badge of sorts and it reflects the light just right to stand out on its little body.

As it bravely pokes its little bird feet ever closer, Luke notices it has severe damage on one wing and likely can't fly. With his free hand, he grabs one of those disgusting school sandwiches and rips the bread off of the PB and J. Luke accidentally hits the Starly square in the beak with it but it catches the bread and rips it apart.

"You're a candy thief, huh? You are what you eat so I guess you're Skittle now." With one hand stretched out, Luke places it on top of the dorky strand of hair sticking out on Skittle's head. Skittle steps back and glares at Luke as if it could threaten him somehow.

Luke shakes his head. "Sorry. I'll leave you alone then." Luke leaves the disgusting sandwich on the ground and heads to the front door, pulling open the solid steel door and slamming it shut behind him.

Skittle looks around at the vehicle and the grass surrounding the acreage in front of and behind the house. Unable to smell the scent of another Pokémon, Skittle efficiently destroys the sandwich and clambers up the swing to reach the branch it proceeds to methodically place twigs and leaves in.

As Luke hits his alarm clock hard enough for most to shatter, he proceeds to whine for about fifteen minutes before getting dressed in two. With his torn backpack in hand, he steps outside and begins walking to school. He notices a small bird's nest on the swing's tree branch and wonders to himself if Skittle was squatting on their property.

On the road about halfway to school, Luke stops upon hearing rustling and kicks out at a bush. "Ow!" A boy Luke's age steps out rubbing his nose. His short brown hair has been made to spike up though it's barely an inch long and a ponytail contains his long hair in the back. His plain orange shirt and blue jorts give him a typical Youngster fashion look as he grins at Luke. "I told you! You can't just knock freckles off of my face no matter how hard you hit."

"I just haven't gotten strong enough." Luke bites back as his friend slugs him in the ribs. "Billy's freckles have been removed in a surprising new technological development!"

"Oh, is that so, Professor? How did they achieve results?"

Luke reports back in a fake news voice. "It seems if you hit someone hard enough, they can not only lose freckles, but travel through time and space."

"Is that true, Richard?"

"Yes, indeed. I once hit Jonas so hard he woke up two hours later in a hospital. He just ended up there."

"Amazing! Maybe with this technology, my friend Luke won't be late for class anymore."

"No can do, Bob. His dad has tried before."

Billy pauses at the awkward joke. "So… We should hurry."

As the two friends bicker and banter down the pathway to Mistralton Trainer School, a not-so-hidden bird tracks them by their loud voices.

Outside of the school gates, they find them facing their ultimate foe. Jonas has Baron out and several of the other kids are gazing upon him as if he was Arceus himself. "That's right. My father went on a business trip and gifted me this champion here."

In the corner of the area, Vivian was carefully affixing a ribbon to her Zubat with the name 'Fluffy' written on it. "Why did you name it Fluffy?" Another girl asks her as she places her hand on Zubat's head and it curls up against it.

"It was going to be a Woobat, but once I got this little guy, I couldn't return him." Vivian scratches under Zubat's mouth and it chirps approvingly.

Jack must have been a sight. The biggest kid in the grade was affectionately feeding his Rattail a cob of corn and watching it chew the sides of it off like some kind of machine.

"I can't believe Jonas's dad bothered to get them all one." Billy sounds exasperated. "Now they'll be twice as bothersome."

Luke clicks his tongue. "Trust me, the ones those two have just hatched. They're way friendlier than they look."

Billy's raised eyebrow tells his suspicions outright. "Did you hit them?"

"I didn't have to. That one, though…" Baron sniffs the air and glances over at Luke before pressing his nose in the dirt in deference. "He kneed-ed some attention from me like Jonas does."

Amos manages to approach the duo without making a sound and firmly reprimands them. "Almost late again, are we?"

"Sorry, Professor Juniper." Billy steps up to apologize for the both of them. "I was actually the late one this time."

"Did your father get you that gift he promised you?"

Billy glances over at Luke before nodding. "Yeah, I was going to keep that a surprise. Thanks for ruining it."

Amos smiles awkwardly. "I….I futzed that one up didn't I?"

"Futzed?" Luke asks aloud to not one answer.

The school announcement bell rings out and everyone in the courtyard gathers together. Luke ends up standing next to Billy and a shorter boy with a bowl cut and an open laptop typing away.

"Taba, you have to put that down." Billy whispers over.

Taba adjusts his glasses and the sun makes them glint into Billy's eyes. "When they can tell me something I'm not yet knowledgeable about I'll set my research down."

Professor Amos stands in front of thirty students and makes a grand proclamation. "Today is a momentous day for you young folks. Today is the last day of your primary education. After today, you will be firmly separated into two schools." No one said a word and the tension held the throats of every child in that field. "Tomorrow you will be given a choice. You can remain in typical education and begin learning a trade to carry you on. I know Mary-Beth is planning on entering the restaurant business. Jakob is intending to become an oceanographer. The rest of you may not yet know what role you hope to play, but that is where Mistralton General Trade Secondary School will elevate you to the place you best fit."

Billy motions over to Luke. "Have you decided yet?"

"No talking!" Taba shushes them both before his friend can answer.

"For those of you seeking a general education in the realm of Pokémon, you must steel yourselves for the next level of courses. Over the next month, you'll be given several tasks, tests, and trials to overcome. Your performance during those exercises will determine your placement in professional training schools." Amos looks around at all the fresh faces, knowing the risks they would face. "This is a much more rigorous experience. It's likely at least one of you won't live to see your dream of becoming a Master. Discuss things with your parents and make the right choice for you. I know some of you seek the glory of heroes and leaders like old Alder, but please understand how lonely it can be at the top."

Jonas steps forward to once again steal the spotlight. "My father Alistair Marco Alterra is a leading member of Silph Company's prestigious Defense Team. If any fool dares to test my patience in the field, let it be known you will face nothing but the best. We're not just competing for some rinky-dink backwoods school like this."

Luke rolls his eyes at his unbearable gloating.

"Mistralton Academy for Ace Trainers is the only place I see fit to continue my education. Those of you that dare to follow that same dangerous path better take it seriously." Jonas scans the crowd and gives Luke and Billy a glare. "Fools like my brother will just get themselves killed."

Amos nods in agreement. "Normally, I'd discipline you speaking out of turn, but it's perfectly fair advice. Ryker Alterra went missing on a scouting mission in his first year there when I was still new to teaching. Our students ran afoul of a group of thugs calling themselves liberators and we ended up losing several students. It is mistakes like those that lead me to my second announcement."

"A second announcement?" Taba adjusts his glasses. "Now you have my attention."

"I am retiring this year to return to working at my Pokémon Laboratory in Nuvema Town. I will oversee this last batch of students and then turn it over to my brother Cedric to hold the reins until they recruit someone more… permanent." Amos notices several of the children whimper and tear up at the thought of this. "If nothing else, perhaps my niece Aurea will one day whip you kids into fighting shape."

"I'm gonna go the Pokémon route just to keep seeing Professor Juniper a little longer!"

"I don't want to say goodbye!"

"Life moves on and so do we. My dad went through this back when Ambrose retired twenty years back."

"Why did he have to retire, anyways? Alder's STILL our champion."

"Alder's son didn't get killed in the crime wars that happened. I think his nephew is still out there hunting those guys down."

As the other kids talk amongst themselves, Billy turns to Luke. "I'm sorry, Luke. This is where we part ways."

Luke pauses for a moment. "You… You're leaving me? You and Amos both…?" The façade he normally puts on crumbles away in the face of such existential loneliness. "I…I-I won't even know anyone anymore. I…"

"It's the paths we choose, Luke." Taba tries to reassure him in his own way. "Some of us are meant for greatness, some for mediocrity. You should choose your own path unhindered by those around you."

"But that's all I have going for me is the people around me. I'm just being abandoned?" Luke feels his heart tear.

Billy shakes his head. "Hey, it's not abandonment! This is my dream, Luke. I swore I'd grow up and be a Champion of a region. I can't hold myself back over you not making friends besides me. It's not fair!"

Luke can't find it within himself to argue and departs from the crowd of kids, seating himself in a corner furthest away from the other young decision makers.

Billy reluctantly walks over to Jack and Vivian who are both coddling their new friends as he shows them his new love ball. With a flip of his wrist, he unveils the surprise his parents had scrounged enough money to buy for him and he loses focus as he excitedly talks about his first partner Pokémon. Luke doesn't see what it is through the crowd and reclines on the bench to the point of tipping over.

Before he ends up doing just that, a firm hand pulls him back up and Luke finds himself standing before a tan girl with light red hair and bright blue eyes giving him a confused look. "You trying to fall and get hurt?"

"I… No, I'm just…" Luke can't bear to greet the stranger properly and hides from her gaze. "I just want to be alone."

The girl sits next to him and he catches a glimpse of her outfit which resembles the sky's varying hues of blue in a body suit of sorts that clings to her skin. Wondering who dresses up with their entire stomach and legs exposed, Luke can't imagine how cold she must get. "You know, I thought maybe the brooding loner all by himself in the corner might want that, but is that what's best for them?" The girl pauses for a second. "Oh, my bad. My name is Skyla. My grandfather is the Gym Leader here in Mistralton. He'd be here to pick me up but he's out on a flight right now."

Luke perks up. "He flies?"

"Planes, yeah. My family runs the Mistralton Airport if you didn't already know. I mean, the biggest one. I'm sure a city this big has more somewhere." Skyla shakes her head. "Are you worried about which path you'll take?"

"Not particularly." Luke responds earnestly. "I don't like the idea of fighting. I get forced into fights with Jonas all the time. I feel bad for all the Pokémon who feel the same."

Skyla's eyes light up. "You know, I never think about that too much. I mean, generally people don't force Pokémon to fight that don't want to, but it must be rough. Imagine wanting to fight but you have a Trainer that refuses to let you. Do you run away and do what you want or stay and live a lie?"

Luke tilts his head. "Surprisingly observant for an airhead in the clouds, huh?"

"Hey, I'm going to be the greatest pilot in Unova one day!" She sticks her tongue out and traces the movements of the others discussing what to do on the field still. "Grandpa Miles has trained me for years on the physic…physical re…requisites…"

"Requirements."

"Yeah, that. I'm strong enough to do it. I just need to be tall enough to… reach all the buttons." Blushing a little at her own admittance of personal failures, she quickly returns to her bubbly demeanor. "They say I'm already a good Trainer, too."

Luke sighs at that. "Adults always lie about how special you are. You still end up feeling bad about yourself."

Skyla places an arm around him. "Okay, so talk. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I just wanted…" Luke stops himself. "No, I'm not falling for it." He tries to remove himself from her grasp to no avail. "Hey, let go!"

"You can go if you talk." Her tone takes a commanding presence and Luke sweats as she presses him. "So you don't like fighting. Pokémon Breeders don't fight. They raise the children of Pokémon and study how they grow. Some people use them in contests and even more do jobs alongside them. You could even be a Ranger and protect the wild ones."

Luke fails to free himself from her iron grip and desperately wonders what her training regimen must be. "My experience with wild ones leaves me wanting, personally. I've had balloons try to kidnap me. I've had tapirs try to put me to sleep. I had to fistfight a giant bee once. Not. Interested."

Skyla leans back. "Okay, so what? You going to drop out altogether and join a gang?"

"I just…" Luke struggles to find the right words. "I don't particularly want for things. Being famous or rich just doesn't interest me."

"Okay, so… Hey, I have an idea." Skyla formulates a dumb plan in her head. "If you figure out what you want to do, I'll help you find people to be friends with. I know most of the people in this grade, actually."

Luke clicks his tongue. "Even if I chose the Pokémon route, I'd have to pass tests I'd never be able to accomplish. I just know it."

Skyla thinks to herself. "Okay, how about this? If you make it in to the same school I do, I'll take you somewhere fun. My friend Elesa can get us tickets to Nimbasa City's amusement park real easy. It'll be a date!"

"Don't casually offer to date strangers."

"Do people normally date people they know?"

"Well, no, but I could be like, a murderer or something."

"Murderers tend to have people skills."

Luke's eyes widen. "Great, you're the murderer here. Is that how Amos feels?"

Skyla jumps to her feet and turns to Luke. "Well, what do you say? If you win, you get to go on a date with the next Gym Leader of Mistralton. If you lose, well… I'll still be your friend and I can just fly to your house."

"Just because there's enough space on my parents' land for you to put a plane down doesn't mean you should."

"Then build me a landing zone." Skyla teases back.

Overhearing them, Jonas approaches the duo. "I wouldn't waste time with this violent thug, young lady. He's a known ruffian in these parts."

Skyla gives him the most devilish grin. "You know you have your heart set out on this goal to be the best Trainer, right?"

"Yes, I do." Jonas takes a pause midsentence as he detects yet more uncouth language incoming.

"If my grandfather taught me anything, it's that you can never grow alone. My best advice to you is to be kind to others, Jonas." Skyla waggles a finger at him. "Notice how our Champions never act like you. They learn humility. They lose over and over and over, but you know what? If you keep getting up, you're not the loser, are you? You're just getting closer to where you want to be."

Jonas counters. "Yes, but if the people that beat me also continue growing and also are generally adept at improving like I am, how do I catch up to someone working as hard as me?"

Skyla hesitates for a moment. "Grandpa never taught me that one."

"It's elementary, my dear." Jonas quotes a book he read as he espouses his defining belief. "Clearly some people are more gifted than others and, should they apply themselves equally as one on the bottom rung like that young man there…" Jonas points to Luke and continues on. "They will always know victory."

"I hope you do succeed, Jonas." Luke replies earnestly. "If you achieve your dreams, you can tell me if it was worth pursuing any in the first place." With that he returns to the bench and withdraws himself from the conversation entirely.

Jonas clicks his tongue. "For once he's playing nice? Well, I won't be bested by him in manners either, will I?"

Jack pumps his fist in the air. "You finally can win one, Jonas!"

"Quiet you!"

Luke trudges home alone that night. Having told Billy he wanted to be alone, Luke finds his way through the winding woods on the way home with a broken backpack and a broken will. As he finally reaches the steps to his house, Luke sees the lights off and knows he'll have to microwave dinner again. Dad was probably stuck at the mechanic's shop again and his mom probably made dinner early before resting up.

When was the last time they had even eaten together…?

Tomorrow Luke would set himself up for failure. He knew that. He also knew he'd rather die trying to keep his friend than live without them. That was the thing that meant the most to Luke in that moment.

If he had known then what would have happened, would he have ever chosen to go?