Hey it's Nerdist, sorry this took over a month, hopefully, I can do it faster this time! And I want the chapters to be longer later on. This is mostly backstory and leading up to our first big arc and stuff, no fighting, but there will be plenty the chapter after this! And I must say thank you for all the positive feedback I've gotten, I have gotten so much encouragement and the comments have been great! Speaking of comment it was brought up that Beldum was a rather repetitive choice as I have the name in my tag, but believe me, there is a very important reason beldum was there and it will all be explained later, there is actually a little hint towards that this chapter if anyone can figure it out I will give them a shout out when it is revealed. anywho on with the chapter!

It turns out that 'busy as hell' was a drastic understatement, juggling the several hours of training for Virtue(In which I either encouraged, did homework, or did research), School, and odd jobs around town to help cover the encroaching dent in my budget in the form of the extreme gorging phase that Virtue will go through before her diet restabilizes to only five times her previous intake, which was fairly small so it won't be too horrible. But I am determined to be as independent as possible with the small stipend the league gives out to Trainees, and that will be supplemented when I and Virtue start battling.

Luckily despite The busy schedule, everything worked out pretty well. Virtue took to her training like a Goldeen to water, the most common technique we used was setting eight weights of varying size in a circle around Virtue and her task was to lift as many as she could and orbit then around her for as long as she could hold them, and they all had to be the exact same distance from her body and the same height with no unsteadiness. This was her most important task and it would be the most beneficial. The Weights total up to 210 lbs with the lightest being five and the heaviest being forty-five. Hopefully, this will eliminate the majority of struggles that come from a lack of power in regards to levitation.

Next is simply reflex, agility, and dodging training, which has already shown a multitude of benefits as Virtue was positively hopeless at the beginning, I would throw several rubber balls at Virtue at various times during the day without warning, forcing her to anticipate and dodge and grown faster at dodging. I also had her keep pace with me as I take daily runs, once in the morning and once in the afternoon through the less populated districts of the city. And while grueling for the both of us considering I have never ran so much before in my life, Virtue's stamina and speed grew tremendously, after the first few days she was easily able to keep pace with me, and after the second week she could outpace me completely, we then upped the ante with constantly changing the routes and making unexpected sharp turns, jumps, and zigzags. In the future, I will most certainly add in sprints and laps, but for now, this should work sufficiently.

And in the last week, we added one more thing to our training menu. Which is trying to strengthen her psywave and improve her control of using psychic energy in an offensive way. So she will have a stronger foundation of using it after her growth spurt. And luckily my father's Sandslash Andy is very experienced at pulling up boulders and is easily bribed with watmel berries.

And though Mercy was confused at first and unsure of what to do with the six-foot-tall slab of stone at the edge of the training field she was unafraid to give it her best shot. And I will freely admit. It surprised the hell out of me. Instead of the minor discharge of energy I expected of a complete novice who'd never used the move before, I was instead greeted to the sight of a veritable tsunami of wide messy circular waves of psychic energy flying toward the boulder in a very wide spray with little control, only about half of it actually hit the boulder. The rest impacted the ground with varying in intensity immensely gratifying booms. And the half that did hit the boulder detonated wonderfully sending a small spray of rubble outwards and when the dust cleared we could see that there was a small crater in the center-left of the boulder that a multitude of little cracks spiraling out from it.

Fucking Awesome.

Virtue is looking at the boulder in shock her little black eyes comically wide and they widen further when I grab her and swing her around in joy as I yell out my excitement.

"THAT WAS AWESOME! I mean holy Magikarp that was way more powerful than I expected! I mean that probably took a lot of energy out of you, and we'll have to work on focus and control, to regularly get that kind of power. But that was only the beginning of it really! I mean seriously that was only your first try! I mean I know that our exercises helped amp up your stores but that was still way more powerful than expected! If that's your starting output than imagine what'll happen when we actually start training move power! We'll fricking dominate competitively! Your gonna be so awesome! We're gonna be the very best like no one ever wa-"

~Rai stop! I'm dizzy!~ I stop in mild embarrassment and let Virtue go, (no I am not blushing, shut up. I don't blush.) Moving on from that embarrassing scene (It got more embarrassing after I realized my family had been watching when they came to figure out what the noise was) Virtue continued her practice with the move fervently, fully intent on mastering it. And I tried to make myself useful by giving her advice on refining control and power output because throwing out your maximum strength with every attack is incredibly wasteful when not testing strength or trying to up the power. And while we are in fact trying to increase power I want to make sure not to ingrain any bad habits that cause problems later. Also, the Pokedex is incredible when it comes to move information, it has a veritable wellspring of tips when it comes to maximizing move learning and efficiency, and don't get me started on the sheer volume of tutorial video's and clipped of the moves used in battle (Almost as many as the epic fails that are very popular on Sinnoh's Funniest Trainer Fails, or Sftf. A.K.A Jonah's favorite show).

But by the time the month is up the move is refined beautifully and while the power actual strength of the move still varies due to its inherently flawed nature as a transition move, Virtue is getting more and more of a handle on it, and it appears that it soon transition into a full Psybeam. And that is gonna be fun. Anyways a full month passed and then a day, then two….. Then three…. Nothings happened yet and I am a step away from running to the Pokemon Center, then a fourth day passes and it hits... Hits like a damn Wailord using Splash in a Skitty pool.

Virtue starts gorging herself to the extreme, unable to control her extreme hunger, going through several pounds of pokemon food in one meal, and then promptly going to her Pokeball to sleep it off. Essentially the only thing she does all day is eating and sleeping, which admittedly I knew would happen, it still leaves me slightly disconcerted. And I will freely admit that seeing her so lethargic and subdued compared to her bright bubbly self is troubling but I refuse to show my worries, this is a transition phase for my little girl and she is my responsibility. So screw hesitation, I'm going to do my damn best to make sure she gets through this with love and support. I mean if I can't get through this than how the hell could I handle it when it all gets serious, if she gets banged up real bad and has to heal, and any future pokemon that joins us? So yeah, I'm gonna be strong, as strong as I have to be.

The growth spurt takes about six days to finish up and at the end from the 8 inches in every direction, she had been at the beginning of the month to around 20 inches, 8 inches bigger than a fully matured Solosis, and 4 inches smaller than the average Duosion. So yeah she is definitely a big girl, and she still has a bit of growing to do before she matures as fully in this form, so she'll probably be around two feet before she evolves. And while the Nurse did say that it is usually around 150% this huge growth is actually normal because they grow faster than the rest of their species. Normal Solosis take a few months longer to reach their full size, the downside of this is kinda obvious, the physical growth of Regenerator Solosis outpaces their psychic capabilities by leaps and bounds, so obviously, since they lack any limbs to use they must rely on fledgling psychic powers that are not prepared to handle such an increase in mass. And wow…. This mental diatribe is basically just a rehash of everything nurse Joy told me, isn't it? Damn, I need to work on my material. Moving on…..

Anyways we have seemed to have avoided the worst of it as Virtue can move around without too much of a hassle, though it is rather obvious that levitating takes a little more out of her and her stamina needs to be brought up again. But other than that she should be pretty good, I am planning on going to the center tomorrow to get her a quick checkup. But for now.

"How are you feeling V?"

~V?~

"You know, short for Virtue. Like it?"

~Yep!~

"Noted, but seriously, are you feeling okay?"

~I'm pretty good, still getting used to being so big, and I never thought I would ever eat so much either.~

"Yeah, you really were a little glutton weren't you. Ha, well not so little anymore I guess." I had no idea a floating ball of gel could look so adorable pouting. I have been enlightened. Note to self, tease more often.

"Aww don't look at me like that V, and you being bigger just means there is more of you to hug!"

I engulfed her in a big hug, my arms curling around as far as they can around her outer gel membrane, I enjoy to cool and feel as Virtue giggles.

~Yay hugs!~

"Yep, all the hugs." I fall back onto my bed with Virtue as we both descend into a giggling fit. It quickly ends as a rather tense thought runs through my head… Virtue obviously notices my change in mood as she swivels around in her gel to face me.

~Rai what's wrong?~ I…. Really don't want to tell her, but we are partners, we are a team. I shouldn't hide things from her. So I decided to confide in her.

"Well tomorrow if everything goes well during your checkup you'll be cleared for battling…"

~And that's a bad thing?~

"No, it's a good thing, it just means we're going to be participating in the battling class at School from now on. And that's not a necessarily a bad thing either! I am just a little worried about how it will go." And honestly? School is where a lot of my problems stem from, and I've mostly shielded Virtue from them, and I haven't told anyone in my family about it. They don't need to worry about me, I'd mess everything up for them. Let them be a happy family without me. Nothing new, besides, people can't be trusted.

I let go of Virtue and sit up, she floats so she is eye level with me and gives me time to gather my thoughts, and is kindly patient.

I raise my head a little to look her dead in the eye as I swallow a little, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Can show you my thoughts? I think it would be easier for you to understand that way."

~Okay Rai-Rai!~ I'm still hesitant, I've put so many hopes into Virtue, what if she doesn't like me? What if she sees how I see myself and agrees? Worthless.

"Virtue?"

~Yes Rai?~

"You might not like me after you see everything."

~Nope!~ She sees my confusion and carries on.

~Rai-Rai is Rai-Rai, and knowing more Rai-Rai is a good thing. You are still you and I like you! So no worries! Now spill!~ I start tearing up a little as a relieved laugh bubbles out of my chest.

"Never change V never change." I take a deep breath trying to steel my nerves.

"Okay let's do this thing." And just like that, I feel Virtue at the edge of my consciousness, asking for more than I have ever shown her, this feels different than just communicating, this is… Sharing…. Sharing in the deepest sense. She is asking for me to share everything that I am, my strengths and weaknesses, my hopes, my fears, my failures, my mistakes. It's absolutely terrifying. I am scared to show her, to infect her with my failings, to tarnish her.

And then along with her plea, I can feel her, so young and bright, so new to this world but so strong, like a star burning so bright that she won't be put out, I feel how little she knows and how ready she is to learn, she isn't perfect. But she is strong. And I see how she sees me, she and I are connected, she came into this world just a few inches away from me, I was the first thing she ever knew, she connected to me in a way she never will with anything else. I am a part of her and she can't hate me anymore that she could hate breathing. And she wants to be a part of me, to know me. I let her in, and she sees my life.

Orion Sinclair's first clear memory is at the age of four, and it is of screaming, his parents in another room shouting incomprehensibly, grating his infantile ears, it hurts and so he curls up and covers his ears, he is scared and wants to be comforted, but when he looks up all he can see are two boys huddling together with the larger comforting the smaller. 'His brothers' his mind supplies, the oldest at the age of eleven almost twelve Sidney is clutching a Pokeball in his hand, gritting his teeth as his scarlet red hair dangles in front of his equally red eyes, and he holds a sobbing seven-year-old Jonah. Neither of them cares about his fear or his whimpering at the enraged shouts of those who should kind, but they bring out the worst in each other, rotting the other with their hate, too consumed to care for the feeling of their children. This is the first time Orion realizes that no one will take care of him, that he can't expect someone to save him from a bad situation, he must rely on himself.

Orion is four and a half when he realizes he is nothing like the other kids his age, they cry so easily, he hasn't cried in months, there is no use to it. The other children don't understand that reading is a good thing, or that a scraped knee isn't the end of the world, or that being told 'no' isn't a horrible sin. They don't understand how important learning how to write is, or that books can give you amazing things. They don't like him because he doesn't like to play, because he is no fun, and doesn't laugh and play and squeal with them. They know nothing. The caretakers at the nursery he walks to alone every day don't understand know why he is the way he is, so quiet, and mature, they tell him to laugh more, smile more, they want him to be hyper and active and be bribed with toys and treats. They don't want to bother to understand that he is alone, that no one at home will care if he cries, or scrape his knee, they won't play with him, so why should anything be different here. They don't realize that books are safe. They don't understand anything.

He is also four and a half when he learns that Pokemon are the most important part of life. People rely on them for everything! Food, protection, power, transportation, allies. He didn't think he could ever get an ally in this world. But all proof points to that when you get a pokemon and can get them to trust and respect you you can rely on them for life. He doesn't trust Sidney but he can see how much he cares for his Starter Mightyena and his little Seedot, and how much they care for him right back. Orion wants that, he wants beings that he can rely on freely, he wants to be a trainer, to be the very best, and to not be alone.

He is five when his parents' divorce, his mother wins custody. He hates that word, 'wins' like he is a prize to be won. Especially since neither really pay attention to him, and his father eaves, moving to Sinnoh. And when he goes to the airport we are there to see him off. For once not fighting his parents just look at each other and nod, they have worn each other out and now they are tired, they just want this to be over. Before he boards, he says farewell to the children, first Sidney, who is clutching his newest team member, a young and crafty Murkrow. Father gives him words of encouragement and A smile, they hug each other and Sidney is crying, he doesn't want Father to leave, he hugs Father hard. Jonah doesn't fully comprehend what is going on but he does understand that Father is leaving he is upset but starts laughing when father picks him up and spins him around, they hug each other fondly, Jonah doesn't want to let go until Sidney grabs him and holds him. Sidney and Jonah are very close. When father reaches Orion he crouches until he is eye level with the little five-year-old who meets his gaze calmly and dry-eyed. Marcus Sinclair seems stunned at the intense blue eyed stare of his youngest, a hardened and crystallized version of his ex-wife's eyes stare back at him. The man reaches to hug the child but is surprised when Orion flinches, Marcus seems shocked, who knows, maybe he realized that Orion is completely unused to an affection of any kind. Sidney and Jonah have each other and usually ignore him, and mother and father only remember him enough to feed him, and if he is lucky to buy his clothes. (They remember the other two because Sidney has talent as a trainer and Jonah requires more attention. The forget about Orion and the horrible little voice in his head says it is because he is nothing. Worthless. ) Marcus seems to realize that in fact, he has not actually hugged his son in years, well before Orion could possibly fully remember. And he looks hard, really looks, perhaps for the first time, at his youngest, he probably sees the tangled and knotted faded red hair of the child who had to teach himself how to bathe properly and brush his own teeth and wash his own clothes. He probably sees the ratty shorts and tee shirt on the verge of falling apart, and the shoes with holes in them, he definitely sees the skin covered of dozens of scratches and scrapes never bandaged and never taken care of, he sees the pocked scars of bug bites no one ever told Orion, not to scratch. He might be seeing the face carefully wiped of any emotion because no one would care if he showed any anyways, he might see the child who is stick thin and has bags in his eyes because no one reminds him to eat or helps him fall to sleep. He might just possibly see the child hardened into stone by neglect that barely knows his father as more than the man who screams at the woman. He might see all of this and realize that he knows nothing about his son. He might see all this and get up and board the plane in silent regret without saying a word. He might never realize that this moment simply reaffirmed that you can't count on humans, but when the Murkrow escapes Sidney's arms and rub Orion's cheeks he reaffirms that Pokemon are trustworthy.

Orion is six when children try to bully him, they don't seem to like the quiet kid who never gets a wrong answer, or get upset, or react to pretty much anything, they try to steal his money(He hides what little he has). They call him names (They don't bother him, he has read far worse, no one tells him not to). They push him down and hit him (Pain has never really bothered him, he is good at cleaning cuts and scrapes). They tear his clothes and try to take his things (He is good at sewing and they learned not to touch his things the hard way). When they try and get him in trouble with the teachers through any means the teachers simply shrug or tell him off, they just accept the quiet, smart, supposedly problem child and move on. Or give him detention, it doesn't really bother him. Just more reading time. And when they move to Foretree from Rustboro when his mother gets a better teaching job offer the cycle repeats itself. It doesn't matter, Orion is nothing, you can't hurt nothing.

Orion is seven when Sidney really notices him, mother has been drinking quite often and Jonah sticks to his specially trained Abra like glue, Sidney has been going out more and more often, battling frequently, and winning often, his team fully evolved and well trained, he goes one day to a tournament and promises Mother that he will back late at night. Mother nods and drinks from her flask. And a few hours before Sidney is expected home mother is passed out in bed and Jonah is curled up with his Abra. Orion is awake reading a book, he doesn't sleep much. And so Orion is the only one awake to hear when the lock is broken, and he is a smart child, who is also very pessimistic and paranoid, he knows what to do in moments like this. He sneaks into his mother's room and grabs two of her pokeballs with butterfly markings on them, her Beautifly, two of her Pokemon that like Orion and listen to when he practices battling. He sneaks into the living room and sees three men ransacking the place and none have pokemon out, stupid of them, lucky for him. He brings them both out at once, and the flash of light startles the men. Orion does not hesitate to order the Pokemon to use stun spore and string shot and they hit two of the men, incapacitating them, the third charges at Orion dodges the two butterfly. Orion once again does not hesitate and rams his fist into the man's groin, he falls to his knees and the Pokemon immediately stun and wrap him up. Orion puts them together and has the Beautifly tie them together then reapply the stun spore whenever it appears to be wearing off. He also remembers to search for weapons and pokeballs, they have three regular pokeballs three knives and a gun. Orion was lucky. And while he waited for Sidney to come home he pets the Beautifly and praises them with a smile on his face and then gives them Pokeblock as a reward. Pokemon are always the greatest, he loves them. And when Sidney finally comes home well past midnight he is stunned by the sight before him. He quickly takes the three men to the Police center and when he returns he talks to his brother for more than just a passing by. He is stunned.

"Are you okay?"

"I am perfectly fine, I am not harmed." Sidney seems off-put by his brother's completely calm and stoic voice he usually does his best to use with people, it usually gets them to leave him alone.

"What you did was extremely reckless"

"Yes it was, I was sloppy and lucky I was not harmed, I will not make the same mistake in the future." It's at this point Sidney gets angry and yells.

"You could have died! Why don't you care!?" Orion is getting frustrated and his brow furrows, his first change in expression during the exchange

"Why do you care?"

"I'm your brother, it's my job to care!" and now it's Orion's turn to get angry and yell, he doesn't know why he is, he almost never gets angry

"Well, that's never been enough of a reason for you before!" Sidney's face becomes covered in confusion.

"Wha-"

"You've never given a damn about me before so why start now?!"

"That's not tr-"

"Name one time. One Arceus damned time you have ever cared about me! Or helped me! Comforted me! Or noticed I wasn't there! Or worried about why I was covered in bruises, or why my clothes were ruined! Name one time where any of you actually cared for me! Cared for me like you care for Jonah. Give me one time!" Sidney's face is ashen as he stumbles back, unable to speak.

"I thought so, now start acting normal and forget I exist, it's easier that way." Point made Orion goes to his room bare of anything but the books he has managed to acquire over the years. And a bed and mattress he salvaged after the move. He falls asleep ignoring the burning in his eyes and chest and holds on to his truth. You can't rely on people, they will always disappoint you. You can only trust pokemon. Sidney avoids him like the plague after that.

Orion is eight when his Mother starts getting truly sick, her back failing, and her drinking more and Sidney is definitely sick of dealing with all of this, the sixteen-year-old leaves with the promise to send money from his winnings, and he does monthly, that doesn't change the fact that mother can barely work, or that Jonah can't function on his own, despite his three pokemon. Orion picks up the slack, he has to. He cares and cooks for Jonah, mother, and the pokemon. Makes sure that Jonah goes to school, that appointments are made for Mother and Jonah (he has never been to a doctor, never needed to) the house is cleaned, bills are paid and does his school work on top of it all. He can manage, just two more years until he can be a trainer, just two more years.

Orion has just turned nine (Another year with no gifts) when the social worker comes and is appalled with what they find, a child running a household, even if mostly successfully. Apparently, a neighbor had enough and called Child Services. Within a month Orion and his brother (Pokemon included) were manhandled over to his surprised Father and essentially stranger Stepmother in Sinnoh. Not one peep from Sidney the entire time. They took the two in and tried to make them feel at home and get them adjusted. After Jonah got used to the change he embraced the love and care completely, loving it and them. Orion, however, wasn't nearly so easy. His father treated him as something broken and fragile and kept trying to force him to open up, accept help. Kept trying to force affection on him. Charlotte tried hard too, to force him to be normal, act like a child, cry, scream, and rage like a child in his situation should do. They tried to force him to go to a doctor, to sleep more, eat more. Orion just wanted to be left alone(Except for pokemon), why couldn't they see that. He has always been alone! You can't trust people! They'll ignore you, leave and fall apart! He has never been a part of a family! Doesn't know how! Besides, it's his fault the old one fell apart, he wasn't good enough. He was nothing and no one loved him. He would just ruin anyone who tried. They were better off being happy without him. And Jonah deserved a good family, and that wasn't Orion.

He was close, so close to being a trainer! Almost ten! That important number and he can finally rely on something! Be part of a family! Be loved! He could care for them and not ruin them!

School was different now, he coasted before on good grades, but now he was obsessed and excelled with a fervor, devouring knowledge at a disturbing rate. The other kids hated him even more than the last batch. He was an outsider, an outcast outsider who didn't know his place, and they thought the worst of him and spread all kinds of rumors. And as much as he refused to acknowledge it they were right, there was something wrong with him. He was nothing.

And then he turned ten and aced the hell out of the trainee exams and Virtue came into his life. The little ray of sunshine, someone he could love unrepentantly and rely on, he could trust pokemon, he could have her as a family, true family. He could actually be happy and smile and laugh, and be free. Marcus and Charlotte were absolutely shocked at every turn to see how much he cared for Virtue, but even still he couldn't get to close to them. You can't rely on people.

No one at school has ever seen Virtue, he has kept her hidden and secret. None of the other students know what kind of pokemon she is. But he is afraid if they see her she will realize, he is nothing, that she will leave, and he'll be alone again.

~Never Rai-Rai! Ne-never e-ever. I will never leave you!~ Virtue is sobbing into my chest and I am crying too, tears are falling down my face as I clutch her. She saw, she saw all of it, and she still won't leave me. I love her I really do. I take me a while before I can finally speak.

"I am sorry you had to see that." Virtue shakes herself.

~I'm not. I learned more about you, it's just not fair! It's not!~

"What is?"

~Everything! It wasn't your fault you shouldn't blame yourself!~

"But it was! I couldn't handle it!"

~It wasn't your responsibility, it was going to happen either way! You were the victim! And you are not nothing! You are mine. My Rai-Rai." I am sobbing now because I can hear those words and believe them. Really believe them. Because I can trust Virtue and only Virtue, and I believe her words, for once, finally. I am not alone. I hold her until the tears dry again

"We're a team, right?" Virtue wastes no time bouncing back to her cheerful, bubbly self.

~Yep! We're a team Rai-Rai! And a family!~

"That's right my sweet girl we're a family, and we are going to handle school together aren't we."

~Yep me and you! Always!~ Always.

5198 words and we get a little insight on Orion's past and understand why he is how he is, and the oldest brother is revealed as *Gasp* a canon character!(Again character tags made it a little predictable.) And I just wanted to say Orion will be far from perfect and has a flawed outlook on life that will stay with him for a while, even as Virtue tries to help him open up. It will be a wild ride.

Anyways next chapter will hold. Virtue's great reveal and first battle, the perspective of other people and how they view Orion, and Orion getting his ass kicked by his stepmother. All great exciting and happy things. (Probably)

Also if you ask a question in the comments I will strive to answer at the end or beginning of every chapter, and I probably also message you about it.

P.s. check out Happiness by Pious Mage it is a fantastic OC pokemon fanfiction that gave me a love for Murkrows.

-Nerdist out