Hello and welcome to all! I am most happy to have you all here for another new pokémon story of mine.
Before we begin I should be transparent. This story has a somewhat alienating premise in that it starts far into the running storyline of one of the main characters, Felix, who has gone through five regions up to this point already, following the anime for the most part. This is set in the anime, a version of it at least.
Thus, there is... definitely aspects to how this story begins that probably won't make the most sense as they rely on things yet to be shown. For that reason, A Trainer's Epoch is a companion story to this one, focusing on non-linear moments and various characterful stuff that adds context to this one. As well as stuff to expand on the cast that this story can't quite do on its own.
If you don't mind learning as we go, then let's get to it!
"HELP!"
The day had begun calmly, serenely even. It was exactly what Felix needed.
"What the hell is going on?"
Quiet the day was. Quiet the morning Solaceon Town enjoyed.
"Whaa! Angie, HELP ME!"
The screaming was a bit much, but it was considerably better than two days ago. That was quite the embarrassing incident, Felix never knew how many crevices honey could get into. He hadn't wished to learn that information either.
"Shake it off, sunshine!" The teal-haired girl shouted, racing after him.
Despite the carrying on, the morning was an honestly good one.
As Felix was tugged along by a tauros, his foot somehow got snared in a strap and the tauros was having a swell old time stampeding back and forth, he desperately tried to right himself.
"STOP, STOP!"
The tauros did not stop.
Fingers met mouth and a piercing whistle rang out. Immediately, the tauros stopped.
"There we go," the newcomer said, walking up calmly with a pail of feed in his hand. "Calmly, gently, that's how you've got to address them," he explained, giving the tauros a pat on the nose.
Felix groaned from where his foot was still trapped. "Could you help me?"
"Good tauros."
"Gabriel!"
Now identified, Gabriel set the pail down in front of the tauros and it immediately began to eat, mooing a pleasant. "Thank you!" Before it dug in.
Its three tails began to wag and flick, whipping Felix in the face several times. He tried to grab one, but the other two smacked him and he gave up.
"Here," Angie laughed, leaning down to grab at his foot. "Didn't twist it off did you?"
"I think yes," Felix grumbled as Gabriel continued to pat the horrible tauros, "but the constant bouncing screwed it back in."
Like a miracle, Felix felt his ankle get released and it smacked down on the ground and he scrambled back, before any other stray ropes magically came to life to snare him.
"You really have trouble with them, don't you?" Gabriel asked, finishing checking over the tauros for any damage and moving onto Felix. He leaned down and grabbed the formerly-snared leg before Felix could get up, forcing him back down onto his back.
He pushed the pant leg up to check Felix's ankle. It was fairly red from the rope constricting it, and Felix winced each time he poked and prodded. "Hm, you seem fine," he said, only surprised that he was still surprised. He'd seen Felix suffer the affection of a bewear and he'd been mostly fine afterwards. Bruised for sure, but nothing actually damaged.
It was surprising how much could happen in three days.
Gabriel mused as he returned to the tauros, almost finished its meal and clearly proud of itself. He shook his head at it, and it averted its gaze from him. He knew Felix would be fine, that bewear incident had nearly given him a heart attack, but Felix had quickly reassured him afterwards. It didn't mean he approved of Felix being dragged around by his ankle.
Or getting squeezed by a bewear.
Or the aggron clubbing him with its tail.
Nor the absol constantly whispering threats to him if he dares run off again.
Even now, Gabriel noticed, that absol still stood close by. Past the fence, into the smaller yard, past that, and under a bit of shade. She sat, staring, watching, waiting.
He understood the paranoia to a degree, but this was excessive.
"How did it happen this time?" Gabriel asked once Angie had gotten Felix standing again.
"Well," Felix began, glaring at the tauros. He wobbled a few times, but Angie steadied him. "I just thought I'd be nice and brush it. Next thing I know." He gestured wildly. "That."
"And 'where' did you brush Tony?" he asked, looking back to the tauros in question. It snorted at him and continued eating.
"What?" Felix frowned and gestured again in an unnecessarily erratic way. A lot of finger motions. "Back from there." He pointed to the rump and Gabriel sighed.
"Tony doesn't like that," he said, and Felix crossed his arms.
"Tony doesn't like anything," he muttered and turned to limp back to Angie's house. Gabriel let him go, as did Angie. Felix probably wouldn't disturb anything else on the minute-long walk.
Actually…
"Better go with him," Gabriel said, nodding to Felix's slowly limping form. "He might get distracted by Zeff again."
"Aaand get electrocuted," Angie finished, laughing while shaking her head. "Again. Hey Felix?" she shouted, running after him. "Don't touch the fence, it's electrified. You KNOW that!"
Felix recoiled from the fence and then pretended like he wasn't about to touch it. "I know. I'm just…" he didn't finish that thought, Angie had that look in her eyes that told him he wouldn't want to finish it.
Gabriel watched them go with a chuckle and moved back to Tony. He took the now empty pail away and let the tauros rush off, kicking up a cloud of dust as he went.
It took a lot of effort to work here: The Day Care Centre run by Angie's family. Yet he'd managed for years before Felix even left on his journey five years ago.
His reckless little brother may have been a proper trainer, but he seemed to be a magnet for the worst kinds of trouble.
All the pokémon being cared for seemed to intentionally be giving him a hard time, Gabriel wondered if he'd need to have some strong words with a few soon. Even Felix's own pokémon seemed to flip between treating him like glass and treating him like a punching bag they could practice on.
"That might not be restricted to Felix," Gabriel thought, rubbing the top of his head. His little brothers ampharos had clobbered him in the head with a frying pan last night. Why? He wasn't entirely sure. Something about thinking he was an intruder and spooking her?
Gabriel couldn't help but think of the giant light on the end of the ampharos' tail. But Mini had been lurking last night, that was probably what spooked her.
Gabriel stifled a smile as he saw Felix get set upon by an aerodactyl swooping down to grab him in its talons and fly off.
Would it be a cause for alarm? Ancient predator swooping down to carry his little brother off? Yes. Yes, it was.
Even as Felix laughed and was manoeuvred around in the air, moving from talons, to tail, to wing, to its back, he tensed. Each moment sent a stab of worry through Gabriel's heart. Felix was not very coordinated, and Gabriel had no idea how he didn't slip off.
Adrien, the aerodactyl in question, was one of Felix's oldest pokémon. Gabriel still fondly thought of seeing it in battle in Felix's final match at the Indigo League.
He couldn't bury the protective instincts, however. Even now. Especially not now.
Placing a smile on his face, Gabriel waved to Angie when she turned back with that expression of jealousy and that unique look there was no good name for. He thought of it as her 'Get a load of THIS madman' look.
He knew Angie wanted to fly up there too. She didn't make any demands or requests, however, simply watched Adrien circle in the air a few dozen times. Gabriel quietly returned to his duties. Angie would catch up later, she wasn't exempt from working just because she was the daughter. If anything the expectations for Angie were harder than the ones on him.
Still, the expression Gabriel wore slowly quirked into a real smile as he heard Felix laughing overhead. There was nothing more he wanted than for Felix to always be able to laugh. Even now.
Especially now.
It was another day, and more work had to be done.
Angie wiped some sweat off her brow and looked around, taking note of what still needed to be done. Hay needed to be carted over for a trio of ponyta that they were raising for the time being. Some water needed to be dragged to a stubborn shellos that just wouldn't go into their dam. She had to brush the bewear, that'd be fun.
Maybe Felix could try that out again?
She looked around for the guest on the ranch. Felix was nowhere to be seen. But as there were no cries for help, she was reasonably sure he hadn't tripped onto Zeff or gotten tangled up in Tony's harness again.
The sound of relative silence was still suspicious, though. Angie shelved the immediate tasks to go search for him.
If he was silent, he could be moping around, and that would be just depressing.
"Felix?" Angie yelled. A few pokémon glanced up at the sound but went back to what they were doing afterwards. Angie gave a sharp whistle and continued walking.
Within a few minutes, Luxio came trotting to her side.
"Hey, buddy." Angie smiled, patting him on the head. "Any idea where Felix is?"
Luxio shook his head, and she shrugged. "Mind helping me find him?"
Nodding happily, Luxio trotted along giving a few yips and murmurs to the pokémon around them. He soon turned back to her with that knowing gleam in his eyes, and she nodded. "Lead on."
He'd clearly got a lead on Felix from the other pokémon. Angie nodded her thanks to the diglett and chimchar and ran after Luxio. Might as well get her cardio done for the day.
Luxio led her around the farmhouse and further along. She spotted Gabriel and gave him a wave, Gabriel was too busy carrying a sulking furfrou to wave back, continuing until they passed the nursery.
Now that they had gone so far, Angie could hear signs of Felix.
"Hey," she said, popping out from behind the nursery and startling Felix. He dropped the poffins he was holding, and they all bounced and scattered.
"Dammit," Felix cursed and looked to bend down and start picking them up. All the pokémon that were with him were all staring at the fallen poffins hungrily. "Well… go ahead." He waved a hand and stepped back before the horde chose to eat him too.
Luxio also dashed into the dogpile and snatched some of the valued treats.
"You spoil them, you know?" Angie said, shaking her head fondly as she walked up to Felix.
Felix smirked back. "Maybe," he answered, "I think I don't spoil them enough." He reached over to give his absol a pet behind the horn. She gave him a daring expression, and he did it again. Rolling her eyes, Lilith stalked off. She hadn't gone for any of the poffins.
"AmPHA!" Felix's ampharos, Phoebe, cheered, holding up multiple poffins victoriously. Her arrogance cost her when half of them were levitated out of her grip.
Isolde, the gardevoir, giggled smugly and ran off, Phoebe immediately giving chase.
The remaining three were a little nicer. Luxio had eaten his bounty already, while Felix's scizor ate a couple of poffins delicately. The last one, an umbreon called Shadow, Angie wondered how Felix had come up with such a unique name, gave his last poffin to Luxio.
"They seem a fun bunch," Angie said, laughing as Phoebe tackled Isolde and the two began slapping each other comically, not noticing when Lilith sniped in and stole the poffins away.
Felix grinned, looking up. "Yep," was all he said before he vanished. A full displacement of wind caused Angie to flinch as a shadow blocked out the light for a moment. Felix was snatched up by his aerodactyl, again, and he was lifted into the sky.
Not that she'd admit it. But Angie was impressed. She'd seen Felix trip over pebbles, multiple times even, but with Adrien the aerodactyl he was able to climb his way along the stony skin and wings to get onto the ancient pokémon's back.
Without falling surprisingly.
Which still struck her as odd as she saw Felix trip over a pebble this morning.
She shook her head as Adrien began doing loop-de-loops. Felix was yelling something indecipherable, something that was getting louder.
She frowned as a word reached her. "ANGIE!"
Angie looked up as Adrien came right for her, small eyes narrowed in on her, and Felix was waving and gesturing wildly.
"W-wha?"
With both talons, Adrien grabbed Angie by the shoulders and took off. She did not scream. No one could prove that.
Also didn't yell out, exclaim, or squeak as the aerodactyl went sharply upwards and released her, throwing her into empty air.
She did not scream and flail.
She's going to punch Felix later. That was something she would be doing. It was his fault; she was sure of it.
As Angie did not flail and scream in mid-air, Adrien zoomed forwards, and Felix reached out, grabbing her hands and swinging her onto Adrien's back behind her.
Angie hugged Felix worthy of a beartic and nearly squeezed all the air out of his lungs. Not that she was frightened, never that. She was simply holding on.
"What the fuck?" Angie yelled before yelling further as it was not screaming when the aerodactyl went into a steep dive.
"Hold on!" Felix ordered, yelling over the wind, and she again tried to remove his ability to breathe.
Luxio was making a racket down on the ground as Adrien zipped down, getting so close to the ground that his talons cut several blades of grass. Luxio tried to jump on as well, but only managed to latch onto Adrien's tail.
The aerodactyl snorted and did a spin, causing Felix to scream. Not Angie, though. Never.
Adrien righted himself and flicked his tail up sharply, the dizziness and sudden movement launching Luxio off.
Immediately, he did a backflip in the air and headed for the feline pokemon, giving Felix a face-full of Luxio and nearly knocking him and Angie off.
"Aerooo," Adrien grunted, Angie couldn't understand the words. Felix spat fur out of his mouth and grabbed his nose with both hands. Causing Angie to grab onto Adrien's skin with hers.
"Was that necessary?" Felix asked, and Adrien made a laughing sound before barking something else. "Angie, HOLD ON!"
She grabbed Luxio, who was moaning dizzily, and Felix as Adrien began doing barrel rolls with no abandon.
He swooped forward and passed the house, flying over the day care centre. The two humans and other pokémon were given a reprieve from the high speeds.
"Not going to be sick, are you?" Felix asked. He wasn't sure how Angie was handling this, Luxio was swearing a lot more than Angie was though.
"Fuuuhhh," Angie groaned before shaking her head and smacking her cheeks. "Nope. WOO! Do it again!"
"WHAT?" Felix squawked.
"Again." Angie slapped Adrien's back as the aerodactyl lifted his head, interested. "Faster this time."
"That's a bad ideaaaaahhhh!"
Adrien fell into a pin-drop dive. Felix screamed. Angie did not. Angie, in fact, whooped.
"WHOO-Ahh-HAHAA!"
Adrien tore up some ground with his talons this time but didn't crash. Scared Tony into running though, Felix appreciated that.
They continued flying around for the next twenty minutes until even Adrien was feeling a bit dizzy.
"Okay." Felix gave the tough skin a few hard pats. "Set us down back where we were."
"Dact," Adrien answered and aimed his nose towards the nursery. Felix and Angie waved to Gabriel as they passed overhead, the older human giving a grin and a salute as they passed by.
Adrien slowly flapped and tucked his legs in.
"By the way," Felix began as they did not stop. "Adrien likes to crash land."
Angie grinned, but Luxio said something Felix was glad Angie didn't hear. She didn't need to learn new terms for expressing displeasure.
"Lean in," Felix ordered as he braced his belly and chin against Adrien. She copied it onto his back, and they crashed to a stop.
A gouge in the ground was made, and some rocks were dug up, but a surprisingly gentle experience, nonetheless.
"So that's why there were those craters come from," Angie commented as Felix slid bonelessly off onto the ground. "Thought the miltank were trying something."
She hopped up and bounced to her feet. "WOO! You get to do THAT whenever you WANT? That's so COOL!"
"Volume," Felix groaned, dizzily staggering to his feet as his ears were ringing. Adrien snorted something, rolling over, and Felix allowed himself to fall towards Adrien. It was the quickest way, and he didn't actually collapse on the aerodactyl. He rubbed Adrien's wing joints and talons, hands lighting up with a soft blue glow. Adrien sighed in relief, and Angie pulled a berry out of her pocket.
Luxio followed after her, sliding off and stumbling around drunkenly as he tried to shake it off. He began to chatter something, whatever it was that made Felix snort with laughter.
"What's he saying?" Angie asked, feeding the berry to Adrien.
"Adrien?" Felix asked. "Or Luxio?"
"Both." Angie grinned. "But Luxio first."
Felix smirked at her, glancing over to Luxio as the Electric-type began licking a paw and sparking. "Just saying that he's never experienced something so crazy, how much he loves the ground, and when can he do that again?"
Laughing, Angie jogged over to her partner and lifted him, even as he tried to frown and pretend he didn't enjoy it. "No surprise there!" she said, fishing another berry out. He gave her a look before his frowny façade cracked and he laughed, eating the berry before wriggling out of her hands.
"Lux, lux, luxio!" Luxio said before rattling off a bunch more sounds that Angie heard, and Felix understood. She turned with an inquisitive expression.
"He sure is feeling excited," he said, and she rolled her eyes.
"I could guess that."
He rolled his eyes right back and continued rubbing cold hands against Adrien's joints. "Ahem. 'I can't believe I was just in the air, I could see the whole place from up there, when can we do that again? When? When? When? I feel like I could fight Tony, I'm so energised!"
Angie blinked. "He said like… not that much."
Felix shrugged. "Pokémon say a lot without 'saying' a lot."
"Weird."
"You're weird."
"Look who's talking!"
"Exactly." He grinned and stood up, Adrien rolled back onto his legs, and awkwardly stood up. He screeched something and ran off, pumping his wings but not quite flying.
"Heh," Angie snorted. "His legs are so tiny."
"Leave little-foot alone," Felix joked back. Adrien turned a glare on them, and Felix waved his hands, snowflakes sprinkling off. Adrien snorted and turned back to continue running.
"Thanks for the ride!" Angie shouted, beaming. "That was the coolest thing EVER!"
"Lux, io ux ux lio!" Luxio added.
Angie jogged in place for a bit as Luxio began to run around. "That was seriously the coolest thing, Felix," she said to his bemusement. "Getting to fly around on an ancient predator pokémon! I mean, how is that not the coolest thing ever?"
Felix shrugged, grinning wryly. "You get used to stuff like that," he said, almost laughing at her eager expression. "Especially when you have two pokémon that like to grab you and perform hacky sack with you in the air."
"Hacky sack?" Angie laughed. "You're kidding. You have to be kidding me."
Shaking his head, Felix smirked. "Not in the least. It's why I don't have Adrien and Sahara on the team together often because they always do that. Did come in useful when Arceus was trying to kill us all, but otherwise, it's a bit annoying."
"Now I know you're just fucking with me," Angie snorted, Felix just smiled mysteriously and cracked his spine.
"Sure-sure."
Angie met his confidence with a gleam of her own. She looked to Luxio who was still sparking and hopping in place. "Hey. Fight me."
Felix blinked. "Pardon?"
"Fight me, bitch!"
"Like uh…?" he raised his fists awkwardly, and Angie scoffed.
"Please. I would destroy you." She waved him off. "I mean a pokémon battle! Come on, how long has it been since you had a battle?"
Felix hummed. "Long enough you stand a ghost of a chance I think."
"Oh, ho ho." Angie covered up the minor flinch at the mention of ghosts. "Those are fighting words."
Felix raised his head and smiled. "They are."
He ran off, and Angie quickly pursued, shouting various threats after him.
Felix ran until he found where most of his pokémon had congregated. "Hey Phoebe!" he called, pulling the ampharos out of her pleasant discussion with Isolde. "Angie thinks Luxio can beat you in battle!"
"AmPHA?" Phoebe shouted, standing up and pointing to herself. "Pha am pharos."
"She says 'bring it, bitch.'" Felix translated, standing ready as Phoebe trotted forward and raised her fists in a boxing position.
Angie grinned as Luxio ran forward. He may not have much formal training, but he was one of the premier pokémon to break up disputes at the day care.
Isolde came forward herself, standing in the middle and off to the side. "Isolde likes to officiate," Felix said, and Angie nodded.
"Gard…VOIR!"
"Attract!" Felix called as soon as Isolde dropped her hands. Wasting no time, Phoebe held her paws to her chest, humming as pink energy formed. She created a series of hearts and blew them towards Luxio with a wink.
"Please," Angie scoffed. "Like I haven't seen THAT on a day care. Luxio, Thunderbolt them!"
"LuuuXIO!" he roared, sending a stream of focused electricity to blast the Attract particles to pink dust. With nothing stopping the charge, the Thunderbolt continued for Phoebe.
"Arms up!" Felix said, holding his own arms up in a vertical guard. Phoebe immediately copied him. "Tail down!" Her thick tail smacked against the ground, orb at the end shining, before Luxio's electrical attack struck her.
Phoebe grunted slightly from the shock, but nothing more until he was out. "Show him the full-power Thunder!"
Phoebe grinned and rotated her arms and lifted her tail. Luxio started back, she seemed unphased by his attack. The air began to smell like ozone as Phoebe unleashed the storm, knocking Luxio off his feet and almost off the battlefield.
"Shit!" Angie cursed, running to Luxio. "You alright?"
"Luuh," Luxio groaned but got to his feet before she reached him. "Luxio!" he said determinedly. Angie paused and nodded.
"Okay, Luxio-"
She cut herself off when something else hit Luxio. Hearts.
"Oh… shit." She turned back to where Phoebe was grinning, and Felix held that infuriatingly satisfied look on his face. She knew he was merciless in battle, she enjoyed watching her pushover of a friend be so brutal. Being on the other end of it was suddenly less fun.
"Luuh…" Luxio groaned, wobbling.
"Now Signal Beam!" Felix yelled as Angie called.
"Snap out of it! Use Crunch or Iron Tail! Luxio!"
He frowned and began to blink and shake his head, but not fast enough to avoid a multi-coloured jet of light hitting him right between the eyes. Luxio staggered and seemed to lose coordination completely.
"End it however you please," Felix said, and Phoebe smiled and debated for a moment. Cruel or classy? Flashy or practical?
She decided in cruelly flashy and lit the sky up with electricity, bringing an overdramatic lightning bolt down on the status-struck Luxio and removed what little sense remained in his head.
"That's enough now," Felix said as Angie ran for Luxio.
She reached the smoking, sparking, crumpled form of her partner and pulled him into her lap. "Hey buddy?" she asked, and he coughed some sparks out. "You did great."
He muttered something dissatisfied, and she debated going to find his pokéball. Like in their battle, Felix was already moving on to the next action and startled her as he kneeled down.
"Need a berry?" he asked and Luxio growled a response. "No then." He palmed a potion to Angie who began to sprat it over Luxio. "Nice work breaking the Attract," he offered, but neither of them responded.
Sensing he should back off, Felix stepped away to thank Phoebe.
"Great work out there," he said, and she nodded and turned away. He grabbed her arm and paused her. "I'm serious, Phoebe," he said, noticing her expression change as he didn't let go. "Come on." He pulled her into a hug, Phoebe sighed but didn't pull back.
She didn't hug him back either.
"Ampha," she muttered, pulling away. He let her go this time and nodded to Isolde. She made her way as casually as she could to Phoebe and the two walked off together.
"She'll be okay," Felix said to himself, very quietly.
"Who will?" Angie startled Felix this time, he jumped not hearing her growing closer.
"Oh, jeez, Angie you scared the piss out of me!"
She snorted at him. Luxio was walking again, he said something a little more polite to Felix before walking off.
"You know?" Angie began, watching Luxio stumble his way off. "I'm glad you're a strong trainer, or I'd be completely embarrassed."
"I've been training for years," Felix said, uncomfortable with the somewhat praise she was offering him. "And Phoebe is very tricky to face if you're not prepared. Or a Ground-type. Or a girl pokémon, actually."
Angie scoffed and shook her head in bemusement. "Yeah, you have." She sat down and looked out over the day care fields. "I haven't really been doing much. Went to summer camp a few years, I didn't go last year though."
"Because of the ghost that tried to eat you?" Felix asked. Angie gave him a look, before shrugging.
"What do you think?"
"That."
"Oh, shove off."
He smiled and looked to where his pokémon were. Phoebe and Isolde were together, thankfully. Lilith was sleeping in the shade, and Adrien was resting in the sun. Tyson and Shadow were just talking, although he couldn't hear a word of what they were saying.
He thought about what Angie had said.
"How come you never went on a journey?" Felix asked, not looking at Angie. He had a feeling she wouldn't like it if he looked at her. "The year I left. I… thought you'd be heading off too."
"We don't ALL leave when we're ten," Angie answered, then rethought that. "Or eleven."
Felix nodded. That was true, after all. She was sitting right beside him.
"I guess… it was just never the right time," Angie said after a pause. "There was always something to do. Do more school. Help with the day care. Learn how to survive. Always a reason to stay. Now I'm old."
"You're younger than me," Felix protested.
Angie grinned at him. "Exactly. You're old too."
He scoffed and she laughed.
Felix licked his lips. He remembered something, years ago when he first set off on his journey in the first place.
Keira had suggested he say goodbye to Angie, even though they hadn't spoken much for the last couple of years. He almost did it, almost asked her when she'd be leaving as well. But lost his confidence. Keira hadn't said anything about it, but he knew she wanted to.
Even if she and Angie didn't get along, she was always insisting he maintain human connections.
"Is now the right time?" Felix heard himself asking. He turned to face Angie. "Because…I have to go back to Kalos. I have to find all my stupid, wonderful, pokémon since they ran after me. But…I could use a friend. I can even teach you how to be a trainer!"
Angie raised her head, meeting his eyes.
Something exploded behind them and anything Angie was going to say was lost as Felix jumped and ran after his troublesome pokémon who had touched a turtonator too many times. As in, at all.
By the time the situation was resolved, the sun had set, and Felix was too tired to remember what he had asked.
Angie, however, had not.
"I think I'm going to go to Kalos with Felix," Angie said to her parents after Felix had staggered off to Gabriel's home and to bed. Gabriel, who was doing the dishes, nearly dropped the plate he was drying.
Her mother smiled, and her father maintained a stern look. "Looks like I'll be having a chat with him tomorrow," he grunted, not budging when his wife slapped his arm.
"This'll be good for her," she hissed, turning back to Angie who looked amused. "This will be good for you!"
"I know you must have been waiting for this," she began, but her mother was already hugging her.
"You'll always be my baby girl," she whispered, and Angie leaned into the embrace. "I'm so proud of you."
"I'll just be giving him a father to boy chat," her father muttered, eyes falling onto Gabriel who quickly returned to doing the dishes. "Hmm."
Angie's mother released her and sat her down to talk. Gabriel finished doing the dishes and quietly bade his goodbyes, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.
Phoebe's eyes cracked open.
The ampharos yawned and sat up from where she had rolled away from the bed and glanced around. It was dark. Very dark. Too dark to see anything more than smudgy shapes.
Something gnawed at her, and she decided a snack was in order.
She stood up carefully and began to creep out of the room. Somehow she stepped on every creaky floorboard and knocked her knee against a wardrobe. A few grumbles and coughs came from the coalition of sleeping pokémon scattered around the room, but no one got up or said anything.
Phoebe had some trouble with the doorknob, her paws had next to no gripping potential for something so slippery and jangled it a little to open it up.
She glanced behind her, the orb on her tail had flickered a few times. No one was roused so she slipped out. Once Phoebe had closed the door, everyone besides Felix sat up.
"Should I go after her?" Isolde yawned, rubbing her face.
"Make more noise and you'll lose the noisemakers," Lilith hissed from the bed. Felix mumbled something and turned over, everyone tensed. He sighed and relaxed, gripping onto Lilith's fur and snuggling in, letting his pokémon relax.
Shadow yawned, the rings of the umbreon lighting up in a soft glow. "She might need some alone time," Shadow suggested before a piercing scream ripped through the house, followed by a ringing thwonk.
Everyone jumped.
"What-what-what?" Felix demanded, sitting up in a panic. "What was-" Lilith immediately knocked him right back out and scoffed as Isolde and Tyson went running out.
Shadow remained with Lilith.
"Did you… just knock him out?" Shadow asked, quietly. From the window, Adrien knocked with his jaw. "It's fine big guy," Shadow said, "they're checking it out."
Adrien pulled back to return to the roof as Lilith shrugged and nestled back down. "He yanked my fur," she said, giving Felix the evil eye.
Shadow sighed.
Isolde and Tyson ran through the house as quickly as possible, nearly running into the homeowner as he too was checking out the scream.
"My apologies," Isolde said, once she spotted Gabriel. The human held an expression of great alarm.
"Let me check this out," he said, but Isolde shook her head.
"Phoebe she…" she trailed off and tried to do pantomime to convey who had yelled out. Gabriel frowned as the gardevoir in front of him snapped some stylish poses and generated a glowing ball of energy.
"Phoebe?" he asked dubiously, and Isolde nodded rapidly. "Okay. I heard it from the kitchen."
Tyson took off once the area was given, big claws smacking into things. Isolde quickly joined him, lighting the way until Gabriel just turned the lights on.
Tyson gave an awkward laugh as Gabriel came forward and led them to the kitchen. They opened it to find Phoebe holding a frying pan as well as she could, which wasn't very good, and eyeing everything.
"Oh thank the legends!" Phoebe squealed as they came in. "I came down for a cookie and a drink and a DEMON was in the house!"
Isolde took the frying pan away from Phoebe as Gabriel glanced around, letting the pokémon chatter on.
"It was black and spiky and had gold bits I think. It was a Bug-type I think, it was the creepiest thing ever, but it just disappeared!"
"Shh, shh-shh," Isolde soothed. "You're fine, Phoebe, it might have just been a trick of the light, or uh…dark. Maybe a bad dream, come back to the room."
"I didn't get my cookie," Phoebe sniffled, and Isolde paused. Before she could turn to find a way to ask, Gabriel was already pressing a delicious treat into Phoebe's paws.
"Here," he said tiredly, smiling at the surprised ampharos, "you look like you could use this."
Phoebe gave a watery smile and nodded, devouring the cookie in moments.
"Let's go to bed," Tyson suggested, and Phoebe let herself be led back. Isolde gave a curtsey as thanks to Gabriel before vanishing with the rest of the pokémon.
Gabriel stood in the kitchen a few moments longer, examining the cookie jar.
"You really spooked her, you know?" he said to the empty room. There was no response. "Guess she spooked you too. Goodnight." He set the cookie jar back down, lid undone, and walked back to bed.
The next day felt like it came in a blink. Felix woke up with a bruise and a headache, neither of which was explained, and he didn't bother to ask.
Lilith and Shadow were easily roused, and Adrien was already circling the house like a gargantuan carrion beast.
Tyson proved resistive to being woken up. Felix tried to pull him up, but the scizor was completely dead to the world and was dropped. He might have bent the floor but didn't wake up.
Phoebe and Isolde were left to wake up at their own pace.
With the smell of breakfast cooking from below, Felix left the door open to tempt his other pokémon out, they all eventually stumbled their way into the kitchen.
Felix smiled at the sight of Gabriel wearing a frilly apron, one he had bought for his big brother a few years ago, and Gabriel smiled back.
"Morning," he said, flipping a pancake. There were already stacks of them waiting. Being that they were exceptionally rude beasts with no manners, Lilith, Shadow, Phoebe, and Tyson descended upon the pancakes with no hesitation.
Isolde, at least, had the common curtsey to stand by Felix and stare disapprovingly at the carnage before them.
Only, Isolde was salivating. "Go ahead," Felix sighed, and Isolde leaped forward to join them.
"Food?" Felix looked around, hearing Adrien's rough voice. By the window, a large eye peered in hopefully. Felix gathered a plate mostly untouched and stepped out to the backyard. Adrien panted happily and Felix gave him a brief pat on the nose before stepping back and tossing the pancakes up.
The ancient pokémon snapped them up with no mercy.
"Still a bit big to get in the house," Felix said, and Adrien whined. He patted him again.
"Roof slippery," Adrien muttered between pats. "Fell. Almost. Three times."
"You're alright," Felix laughed, and Adrien snorted. He acquired more pancakes for the aerodactyl before heading in.
Adrien followed, unmindful of bumping into everything feasibly possible.
"What are your plans today?" Gabriel asked, setting some food down for Felix as Adrien began to try and nose his way into the feast.
Felix poked at the pancakes with a knife, not quite finding the energy to eat them. "I think I'm going to spend today preparing to leave," he answered after a moment. He wasn't looking at Gabriel. "I can't leave my pokémon in Kalos forever. They MUST be getting into trouble, and the longer I linger the harder it'll be to find them."
Gabriel nodded and rested his hand on Felix's shoulder. "Hey," he said, getting Felix to look at him. "It's been great having you around, even if the circumstances are bad, but I get it. I'd be kicking you out if you kept eating my food anyway!"
Felix smiled and laughed a little. His pokémon paused for a moment, the briefest guild flashed through their minds, before delicious food beckoned, and they went back at it. Felix turned to smile and shake his head at them.
"Don't know how they are going to deal without your cooking," he joked, smiling fondly.
Gabriel grinned back before the smile slipped and he looked right into Felix. "Since you're going soon, I think it's a good idea to take your pokémon to the Lost Tower."
Felix, who had been taking a bite, felt his appetite vanish. He still ate the bite but pushed the plate away. Gabriel frowned at him, noticing his little brother's pokémon had stopped eating as well. There were pancakes remaining.
Felix took a breath, held it, and then exhaled. He looked back to his pokémon, eyes settling on Phoebe most of all. She also had completely lost her appetite.
"Yeah," he said, giving a nod. A few of them nodded back. He swallowed and turned back to Gabriel. "Yeah, you're right. I… I'll do that. Today."
Gabriel nodded back and gave him a comforting smile, squeezing his shoulder once before standing up to clear the dishes. A few pokémon snatched the last pancakes, but the mood of the room had shifted.
The little brother ended up helping his older brother with the dishes in silence, thinking about what to do. He hadn't been back to the tower since the day he had arrived, since Angie found him crying at a headstone and took him back to the day care.
He felt bad, realising that despite his pokémon being here for as long as he had, he hadn't even suggested taking them to Keira's grave or even telling them where it was for them to visit themselves.
He debated calling Rowan and asking if Alice and Minerva would like to come as well. But discarded that idea. They hadn't really met her before, and neither had Shadow but he was already here.
"Okay," Felix said once the dishes were done, and the cushions were straightened and there was no putting it off any longer. He looked at his pokémon. Isolde sitting with Phoebe in the kitchen, Phoebe hadn't wanted to move.
Adrien who had gone back outside, but was looking in.
Shadow and Lilith who were nestled together, and Tyson stood around Gabriel.
"Everyone," he called, louder, "let's go."
Gabriel watched them go. He considered offering to go with them, but this was something more personal for them. He had visited Keira's grave several times already, having alternated with Angie with delivering flowers to the headstone each week before Felix arrived.
He worried for his little brother. Worried for his pokémon, especially the ampharos. Felix hadn't said anything since he'd gotten back about what had happened, but Gabriel remembered the first time he had come back. To organise the burial.
Felix himself didn't seem to remember much of that time, but Gabriel remembered it with crystal clear precision, as much as he didn't want to. His brother's near-constant emotional breakdowns yet being completely numb otherwise to everything else was not a happy time.
More people than Gabriel had thought came by, even Cynthia had stopped by to check on Felix. He barely seemed aware they had even been there. The emptiness in his brother's eyes scared him more than anything, then he had disappeared without any trace.
Just the lightest remain of Ghost-type energy, which only scared them all the more.
Gabriel watched as Felix walked off, head held up but shoulders somewhat slumped. Felix was doing a lot better now since his pokémon had gone to Kalos and tracked him down and saved him from what took him. An aegislash, he heard.
He still worried.
Gabriel sighed and looked away. The day was beginning and so he needed to go to the Martin's day care and begin work.
He locked the door and went out.
Felix felt his legs were made of lead, but he kept walking. Adrien flew above him and the rest of his pokémon all walked around him like a bubble wrap protecting him from the world.
Solaceon Town was a lively town, but he had been seen going about with his horde for the last few days, so most locals didn't give him more than a passing look. Besides Adrien, the aerodactyl was watched carefully.
A few trainers eyed him as he went, but Felix assumed he had an expression of complete avoidance on his face as none of them challenged him to a battle.
That or Lilith was scaring them off. She was behind him so he couldn't be certain she wasn't miming violent threats to everyone.
The town faded into trees and the quirks of civilised land were drowned out by the omnipresent wildness of Route 209.
He had walked this path more times than he could imagine. So many of those times were with an energetic riolu by his feet.
This time he was accompanied by the distant beats of two large wings, the clack of pointed feet, soft thumps of two quadrupeds, footsteps that were almost the same as his, and the drag of a tail against the ground.
Felix stumbled over a stray pebble or poky stick, but Lilith lashed out and grabbed the back of his shirt with her horn. She poked a hole in it in the process and nearly slashed it open, but overall avoided damage
Phoebe was slowing down a little and he heard her speak to Isolde. "Maybe I could catch up with you guys?"
Isolde shook her head. "We've got to do this."
Phoebe sighed but let herself be led on as Isolde took her paw in her hand.
Felix swallowed nervously. He wasn't entirely sure why. He couldn't be sure how they'd all go once they were at her grave. He himself hadn't completely broken down until he was there, the week he didn't remember notwithstanding.
He imagined Shadow would be alright. The umbreon hadn't properly met Keira, only witnessed her in her final violent moments. He had heard a lot about her, he was sure, from the others. Lilith too was difficult to figure out, but he was a little worried.
Tyson and Isolde he thought would cope. Adrien was another concern, no one with him knew Keira as long as he did, but Adrien was next in line. If Diego was here he'd have to revise that.
Felix's head hurt as he thought of finding all his wayward pokémon and then bringing them all to her grave in groups. They deserved to say goodbye but thinking of it was overwhelming.
His head was still pounding as they walked. Each blink seemed to leave them in a new place. Walking the path. Moving onto the overgrown trail. Avoiding a spinarak. Standing in front of the tower. Entering the tower. First floor. Second floor. Third floor. Fifth floor. Eighth floor.
Keira's grave.
The mismagius he knew did not lead him to her grave this time. He could never forget where it was.
Felix brushes some imaginary dust off the stone headstone before his fingers wandered, tracing down over to the words etched into it.
He still wished he could remember the time he spent organising this. Gabriel told him he spoke some words at the gravestone, but the memory would not come to Felix.
He knew she'd snort at him and tell him he was being stupid for dwelling so heavily on words, but she wasn't here to tell him that anymore.
Felix stepped back from the grave to let his pokémon draw closer. No one seemed sure exactly what to do. To those with firmer senses, the Lost Tower smelled of death covered with flowers, a most distressing scent.
Isolde was the first to come straight up to the grave. She traced the same letters Felix had and mouthed what they meant. Nathan had been teaching her some human written language before everything went to hell, so she could make some of it out.
Adrien was next. He was large and bulky to bit fitting inside the graveyard tower, having awkwardly walked up all the stairs and beating his tail against the walls.
"Keira was strong," he rumbled, looking down at the grave, "I'm glad I didn't eat her."
Felix laughed. He covered his mouth immediately, eyes widening, but the sound carried. Somehow, the pearl of laughter wasn't out of place in the graveyard. The others smiled a little.
"She was stubborn," Isolde said, finishing staring at the grave. Her smile was deep and sad, but not as bitter as it could have been.
"She was tenacious," Tyson said, stepping forward as Isolde stood back. His large pincers weren't for delicately trailing letters he didn't understand anyway.
"She was brave," Shadow said, quietly. He wasn't sure if it was his place to say anything, but he had heard many stories about Keira. She was always brave in them.
Phoebe stepped back, tears filling her eyes. "Sorry," she squeaked and turned around. She ran off as fast as she could that wasn't risking her smacking into any graves.
"Phoebe!" Felix called, but she didn't stop.
"I'll go after her," Isolde said quietly and took off in a similar run, holding her dress. Felix watched them go sadly, Shadow and Tyson also looked over to where Phoebe had run off to. Adrien stepped back as Lilith walked past the grave and to Felix.
He looked down as the absol jabbed him with her scythe. She was looking firmly ahead, not at his face.
"She was a selfish, crazy, bitch," she growled. Shadow gasped at the disrespect, said at Keira's grave no less.
Felix reached down and gave Lilith a soft stroke on the head. She sighed and stepped the last step forward, burying her face in his belly. Felix continued to pat Lilith in silence, slowly sitting down. She wouldn't look at him but didn't look away.
Isolde raced after Phoebe, more comfortable speeding up in the staircase than through the graves. "Phoebe!" she called, slowly but surely catching up to the slower pokémon.
Phoebe was much bulkier than she was, being an ampharos to a gardevoir. But she was quick when she wanted to be.
"Go away!" Phoebe shouted back. "Just let me leave, I've got no right to be there with everyone. I'll see you back at the house or day care or Kalos or something. Please."
Isolde reached her and gently grabbed onto the ampharos' arm, not bothered by the rubbery texture of the furless sheep.
Phoebe slowed down as well until the two were just standing on the steps between floors. She bent her head and sniffled.
"It's my fault."
Isolde grabbed her in a hug from behind. "It isn't," she insisted, Phoebe barked a laugh. "Phoebe. You saved her. You stopped her from killing Felix. You let her remember who she was. You know that awful monster was going to kill us all."
"He wouldn't have done anything if I didn't snap Keira out of it," Phoebe protested weakly. Her lip wobbled before she broke into tears completely.
Isolde slowly rubbed her back. "You saved her," she said. "You saved Felix. Everything that followed was going to happen, either way, at least he's okay and she died as herself."
The gardevoir held the whimpering ampharos until she was sure she could stand on her own. Even then, Isolde didn't let go.
"Come on," she said and began to lead Phoebe back up. Phoebe didn't protest, just tried to wipe her eyes.
"Sorry I'm such a mess," she said as they neared the top. "You're always having to run after me."
"It's what friends are for," Isolde replied. Phoebe managed a watery smile.
They entered the eighth floor and Isolde led Phoebe back over. The ampharos paused a little at Lilith in Felix's lap but looked away when the absol glanced over with a slightly more murderous expression than usual.
She felt eyes on her and for once didn't love it. Phoebe still faced the headstone where the remains of her friend and idol were buried.
"She was our friend," Phoebe said. It felt right to continue the theme of the others, she sadly looked at the grave. Isolde was wonderful as always, but Phoebe still knew she wasn't ready to move past it.
Keira had been inches from killing Felix, she wasn't stupid. She knew she had saved his life. She just wished Keira hadn't been so rash afterwards, but she always had been. That's who Keira was.
Felix bent his head, tears falling onto Lilith's fur. She didn't appreciate it but didn't pull away. They all stood or sat in pensive silence, thinking and remembering.
"I didn't know," Felix spoke up suddenly, catching everyone's attention, "what I was doing when I first started. Keira was always there to point in the right direction or explore the wrong one together. I became a trainer because she wanted to be the strongest, not because I did. I don't know what to do without her, but first, we're going to go to Kalos and find everyone else."
His pokémon nodded. All thirty of them had decided they wouldn't stand around in Rowan's lab and wait for their trainer to appear. Twenty-eight of them left for Kalos, and only Alice and Minerva remained behind to try and coordinate them.
The six here were the ones who had managed to find him, but twenty-two pokémon were still wandering Kalos. Alice and Minerva had gotten into contact with Tania and Bastion already, to alert them Felix had been found. But the others were a lot harder to reach.
Humans took curiosity when a pokémon tried to use phones after all.
Felix knew he had to head to Santalune City first. Tania had kept her pokémon in line and close by. Bastion only had one other pokémon with him, the others he was now tracking down to get them into one place.
And Santalune was a gym town if his foggy memory held firm. He instinctively reached for his badge case, but he wasn't carrying it with him. There were only two badges in it, retrieved while he was under the control of the pokémon that had taken him to Kalos in the first place.
"We'll be right by you," Shadow said, coming up to rest against Lilith. She allowed it with a huff.
"Thank for you coming after me," he said, quietly. "And I'm sorry for leaving in the first place."
"Do you want more scars on your chest?" Lilith growled. "Stop bringing it up. Let's just move on."
He smiled slightly and scratched her along the ear. "Alright. Let's get back to town and start pulling what I need together. I'll ring Professor Rowan and see if the others have got any new word."
"What about that other pokémon?" Phoebe asked quietly as they all took one more look at Keira's grave. "The braixen. Delphim, right?"
"Right," Felix answered, frowning. "Right… I really do need to speak with him. Damn, I've been slacking off too much here."
"Recovering isn't slacking off," Isolde said without pause. "But yes. You probably should speak to him, he seemed quite shaken."
"Seeing Lilith cut that aegislash to pieces would do that," Tyson muttered. She grinned at him with much too many teeth.
"Speaking of him," Phoebe said as they began to descend. "I'm thinking he probably needs some time on the time, and…well, I need some time off."
She felt eyes on her again but didn't cringe. "Please, I can girl around with Alice and Minerva and…just take some time."
Felix nodded. "Okay. If you need to, then that's okay." Phoebe smiled at him, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
The day passed in a flash as Felix ran around town, figuring out exactly what he needed. His previous backpack was in a terrible state and so he needed to buy a new one. Food and water and supplies were needed in three separate places.
He needed to stock up on berries and treats and medicines. With most of his pokémon out in the wilds, he was worried they'd be hungry. As well as a little worried about what they would be doing to stave off that hunger.
A great many of them were rather uncommon pokémon to see wandering in a place like Kalos, so he feared trainers would be trying to capture them. Impossible, since they were all keyed to a pokéball back at Rowan's lab, but still worrisome. Having to fight off trainers would not be fun.
He went to the Pokémon Centre with Phoebe and sent her over in favour of Delphim. The braixen immediately clung onto his leg and would not let go. Walking around with a braixen on his leg slowed him considerably.
"Delphim. Delphim. Delphim please, people are staring," Felix pleaded, but Delphim wouldn't let go.
"I had no idea where you went, Master!" he whined. "I didn't know if that absol had hurt you anymore. I completely failed to protect you, I won't let you get hurt again, Master."
"You…you don't have to call me that," Felix said, very uncomfortable. "Felix is fine."
Delphim blinked at him before chattering on, ignoring that without thought.
Felix sighed and waited for Adrien to pick him up so he could at least be flown with a dead weight on his leg rather than walk.
A few people chuckled at the sight of a frowning trainer being carried the talons of an aerodactyl while a braixen clung to his leg.
With Felix around, that wasn't the most unusual sight to be seen in town anymore.
Eventually, his needs brought him to the Martin's day care. The sun was beginning to kiss the horizon and he knew the place would be closed. But he knew them and comfortably stepped into the family home. Delphim had been taken away by Isolde to speak on matters of decorum.
It took almost four seconds before doom approached.
Hector Martin had been waiting for Felix to show up.
"Hello Felix," he said, head raised and eyes hard.
Felix immediately felt like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "H-hello Mr Martin."
He put his hand on Felix's shoulder. Unlike when Gabriel did it as a form of comfort and strength, Hector's grip was ironclad and unyielding.
"Come."
He followed until he was led into the sitting room where Anna Lyn Martin also sat, waiting.
This was a set-up. Something had been planned. He needed to whistle for Adrien or Lilith or someone to come and save him. Gabriel was here wasn't he? Felix debated crying for salvation.
He was sat down as the two parents stared him down.
Felix wasn't sure what he did, but he was sorry.
"So," Hector began.
"I'm sorry," Felix said, deciding to be pre-emptive.
Anna giggled. "Don't be too worried, Felix," she said, calming him slightly. "You're not in trouble. Hector just has to be a dad."
"Don't ruin this," Hector asked, partially warning partially pleading. She apologised and let him get on with it.
Clearing his throat, Hector said. "It has come to my attention that Angie will be joining you in Kalos." That was news to Felix. "And so it is best we have a chat."
"Pardon?" Felix blinked. "Angie is coming with me?"
Hector and Anna also blinked.
"She…didn't ask you?" Hector asked, his voice strained. He looked up. "ANGIE?"
Something thumped from above.
"N-no it's fine!" Felix insisted, trying to wave them down. "I invited her, but she didn't answer because we got distracted when the turtonator blew up and everything went to chaos yesterday."
"Oh, okay." He breathed a sigh of relief before his eyes hardened again. "Back to it. You are a good kid, Gabriel speaks the world of you, the news does. Everyone. But you are also a teenage boy and so you are the enemy."
His eyes became merciless pits of doom. Felix was caught in that gaze of doom, and he'd experienced Arceus trying to explode him and everything else.
"I will have you know," Hector continued, "that Angie is my princess and while she is the toughest member of the family if you hurt her I hurt you. Anything you do to her, I do to you. Understand?"
"You don't have to worry," Felix insisted, chuckling awkwardly. "Seriously. Angie is like a sister to me, and I…uh, well it's fine."
Hector narrowed his eyes further.
"Understood."
Hector nodded. "Good. Now, not that I don't trust you two, but I don't trust either of you. You will not be going alone."
With that dramatic proclamation, Gabriel slunk out of the kitchen door, looking most put-out.
Felix gaped at him.
"Mr Martin has instructed me to accompany you and Angie to Kalos," Gabriel said, eyes downcast and voice monotone.
"G-Gabe?" Felix asked before he beamed a blinding grin of pure happiness. "Seriously? You're going to become a trainer, FINALLY?"
Gabriel snapped his head up. "Absolutely not," he said, dampening Felix's joy. "I'll be accompanying the two of you through Kalos, but I'm not becoming a trainer."
Felix nodded swiftly, mind already racing and perked up again. "Still! It'll be great to have you around, Gabe. I thought about asking if you'd come to Kalos with me, but figured you'd be too busy working here?"
He finished that with a question, looking to the Martin's. Both nodded.
"It'll be interesting without Angie OR Gabriel," Anna admitted.
"We can hire some workers on, however," Hector finished. "There are some young kids not going on journeys that could use a starting bit of honest work."
Gabriel himself nodded to that. It was part of the reason he had, reluctantly, accepted this. For the good of the community. He always knew the Martin's were a little sad he never became a trainer, but he hadn't anticipated such sneakiness.
He would be ready in the future, however. He nodded to Angie as she snuck up on a smiling Felix.
"So," she said, startling Felix and causing him to jump, "ready to take Kalos by storm?" she was wearing the most stereotypical trainer gear he had ever seen.
Blue trousers, red and black hat with a blue symbol, and a black top. It looked suspiciously similar to the get-up that Ash had worn through Sinnoh.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you wearing?" he asked, Angie glared back.
"None of YOUR business."
Gabriel shook his head at the pair as they began to criticize the other's fashion choices. He really did need to meet that Ash kid, Angie had yammered on about him enough over the last year to necessitate a talk.
He waited until Angie was ready to start breaking legs to stop the two of them. Felix laughed and slung his arms around both of them and pulled them together, clunking their heads.
"I've never travelled with another human for very long before," he said, grinning at them both. A shadow of worry passed over his mind, shaped like a lightning bolt. He shook the burgeoning concern away and focused on the here and now.
It didn't take long before Delphim found him and was back to clinging to his right leg, nearly toppling him. Angie laughed, Gabriel smiled and helped him up, while Isolde came in looking for Delphim.
"Kalos is going to be interesting," Felix said, face smushed against Delphim's furry chest while he chattered on about the ordeal he had just gone through.
He had expected to go with no one but his pokémon, but his childhood friend and also his big brother was coming along for the ride. He shared a look with Angie and nodded. Already they were plotting.
Gabriel could sense it. He also knew he couldn't stop their fiendish plans and resolved to be ready for them.
Tomorrow would be fun, and Felix laughed without weight for the first time in months.
And so that's it. A little heavy near the end. This story is predominantly a more light-hearted story, but Felix has been through some shit as we'll see in A Trainer's Epoch. This IS technically a sequel, so many things won't make sense without at least some reading of the previous story once it's far enough.
Other than that, I hope you all enjoy! ChaosPulsar and I have been working on this story and its characters for a while. Go check him out, he's got some stories himself that could use some attention!