An hour had passed before Professor Oak and Delia went to find Tony. When they located him, Tony had his forehead pressed up against Charizard's forehead. The gesture between pokemon and trainer was one that neither would have had expected anyone else to understand. For a while, nobody said a word. Delia and the pokemon professor waited until Tony was willing and able to speak with them.
"This is the pits. Even after all these years, I thought I was finally over it and suddenly I find myself hurting deep inside again. Sometimes I just really hate having emotions."
"Losing someone you love does hurt, but that is a part of life. Before you start on your long overdue journey, come and talk with me. I've something to ask of you."
"Right." Tony said with a nod before Professor Oak retreated to his laboratory.
Delia stood there and at first seemed interested in the scenery that filled the vast expanse of the field behind Professor Oak's laboratory. Her attentions then turned to Tony and Charizard, though she didn't say a word. The silence was broken moments later when Tony couldn't stand the feeling that he was on display for her to stare at.
"Well?" Tony snapped.
"Nothing." Delia replied quickly as she turned her gaze elsewhere. With a nervous smile, she asked cautiously, "Have you decided which gym you were going to challenge first?"
"I was thinking maybe the one in Viridian City as it was the one I remember wanting to challenge first when I first got Charizard as a Charmander." Tony said with a sigh after realizing that he probably shouldn't have snapped at Delia.
"I bet it'll be interesting for you to take a tour around Viridian City to see all that had changed since you moved."
"Yeah, I guess..." Tony replied with a shrug. He really hadn't planned on staying in any city or town long enough to do anything but challenge the gym leaders and/or heal his pokemon when necessary. "What about you?"
"Me?" Delia asked. "I'm not usually into traveling, but..."
"But what?" Tony inquired after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"I was... Well, I'd understand if you say no, but may I come along with you?" Delia blurted out unceremoniously.
"What? You want to come with me on my travels even though it'll probably be nonstop battling and training pokemon every step of the way?" Tony asked incredulously.
"Yes. The past few weeks were enlightening and besides, I still cook better than you do." Delia said with a smile.
"So, what are you saying? That I couldn't even boil water?" Tony said coolly.
"I... No, that's not..." Delia stuttered, mortified that she quite possibly sealed her fate.
Before anything else could be said, Charizard snorted a blast of hot air in Tony's face as if to say, "You can't even start a camp fire without my help, much less even worrying about heating up some water."
Tony's jaw dropped. Charizard had a point there. Tony was bad at cooking, even though he tried his hardest to practice.
"You're right." Tony sighed while looking at Charizard. Turning his attention back to Delia he said, "If you really want to come, it's fine with me."
"Wonderful. When the time's right, we can head off." Delia said with a joyful smile.
The sound of an approaching vehicle caught their attention. Once the vehicle was parked, a man got out of the driver's side first, followed by a woman several years his senior, a woman closer to his age and a little girl not more than four years old dragging along a well loved Clefairy doll.
"So, who wants to bet that Pop is here?" the man said in a way that indicated that they all had no doubt what so ever that the person they came to see was indeed at the laboratory.
"Who are they?" Tony wondered idly.
"Professor Oak's family. The professor spends so much time here studying pokemon that they usually have to come and visit him from time to time."
"Hmm." Tony turned his attention back to his pokemon. Family relationships was still a touchy subject for him. "It'll be another day or two before we head out. I need to gather some supplies first."
That evening Tony was introduced to Professor Oaks's family over dinner. The older woman was the professor's wife, Carolyn. The man was Professor Oak's son, Jerome, though everyone called him Jerry. Jerry's wife Robbie - which was short for Roberta - smiled and nodded at Tony before wiping up some spilled spaghetti sauce from her daughter, May's shirt.
Two days later, Tony double checked the supplies as he filled up the newly bought backpack. He even made sure to get several pairs of socks and underwear at Delia's insistence, much to his chagrin. Satisfied that he had the essentials, Tony made his way back to the professor's laboratory.
"Tony, what brings you here?" Professor Oak said over his shoulder as soon as Tony entered.
"Well, you wanted to see me before I left Pallet Town." Tony replied.
"Ah, yes. Indeed I did. You see, I spend so much time studying various pokemon that I'm afraid my Seaking is going to get bored quickly. I discussed the matter with Seaking and came to the conclusion that traveling is in its best interests."
"But what..." Tony interjected.
"What does this have to do with you? That should be obvious. I want to give Seaking a chance to go places other than to Professor Elm's Laboratory in Johto."
"I... don't know if I'm the best choice to travel with. I've already told you what happened between Chikorita and Charizard." Tony shook his head.
"How about a battle? I haven't done it in a while, and it'll be good to see your skill as a trainer. If you win, Seaking's all yours. If I win, Seaking gets released and if you choose to, you can attempt to capture it, though it'd probably mean another battle."
"Sure, but I won't go easy on you." Tony said with a smirk as they walked outside.
"I don't expect you to..." Professor Oak replied before releasing Seaking from its pokeball.
"Chikorita, let's go! Use vine whip!" Tony said as he tossed up the pokeball containing the plant pokemon.
Chikorita's vines shot out towards Seaking before Chikorita had even landed.
"Horndrill, Seaking." Professor Oak said calmly.
"What? Chikorita, be careful. Use Vine Whip to keep clear of the attack!" Tony called out.
"Chiko!" Chikorita exclaimed as it dodged Seaking's attack. In a burst of inspiration, Chikorita grabbed Seaking's pectoral fins with its vines and made as if it was going to throw Seaking but Tony's next command changed its course of action.
"Bring it in close and finish it off with Magical Leaf!"
Before Professor Oak could tell Seaking to counter the attack, the battle was over. Seaking fainted due to the close range attack.
"Well now..." the professor said with a grim smile. "That was something indeed."
"It was too easy though. Chikorita had a major type advantage." Tony replied.
"True, but it also has a trainer that can adapt quickly. Even if you had used Charizard, I believe the outcome would have been the same." Professor Oak recalled Seaking into its pokeball.
"Probably. I did train under Falkner back in Violet City. If I didn't also sit in and watch other trainers battle him, I wouldn't have picked up on that particular tactic... Though it's the first time I've had a chance to actually pull it off." Tony said with some thought.
"All the more reason for Seaking to go with you. I'm sure that you'll learn even more about water type pokemon than you currently know now." Professor Oak commented as they walked back into the laboratory.
"I see your point. Well, as soon as Seaking is okay, we'll head off."
"We?" Professor Oak inquired, as he placed the pokeball into a compartment of a wall sized machine. Instantaneously, the machine came to life and started humming as it began to heal and revive Seaking within its pokeball.
"Yeah. Delia wants to come along." Tony replied.
"I was sure she was going to stay here in Pallet Town." Professor Oak said, a bit unsure of what Tony just told him.
"I had assumed the same thing until she and Charizard convinced me otherwise. What else could I do? I can't say that it was boring to have her around and besides, Charizard knows me better than I know myself at times." Tony said with a slight chuckle.
A series of beeps alerted Professor Oak that the machine was done. Retrieving the pokeball from the machine, he handed it to Tony.
"Here you go. Seaking is completely healed. I have a feeling that things will be interesting on your journey."