I didn't often see my father. He worked as a police officer in Violet City during the day. When he arrived home, I was often already asleep. He'd come in and ruffle my hair a bit to make sure I was asleep. All that ever did was wake me up. "Goodnight, dad" I would say groggily.
"Goodnight" he would respond. He was never a man of many words, entirely unlike his father, an accomplished writer who owned the Pokémon Day Care and Breeding Center in Goldenrod City. It was living in that environment growing up, and having a father who seemingly cared for his Pokémon more than him, that made my father grow to dislike the idea of Pokémon or Pokémon training. In fact, up until that night, my father had scoffed whenever I said I wanted to be a trainer when I grew older. My mother was supportive, my father was not. Regardless, I always longed for his acceptance.
"How do you think it's going?" I shouted; my head buried in my knees. "I have to wait another four years to start! Why does this have to happen?" I started crying again. I had just stopped a couple hours earlier, and now I was a fucking waterfall all over again.
"That's what I'm here to talk to you about", he said with a sigh. He inched closer to me and rested his hand on my head as he had done nearly every night for my entire life. The keychain attached to his blue police uniform jingled in an also similar fashion. This was an emotion I had never heard in my dad's voice; sadness. I perked my head out from between my kneecaps, now curious.
"Your mom and I talked about it… and I finally gave in. I just want you to be happy, Sean, and I really think it's a good idea," he said. I could see tears gleaming in his eyes. Real tears. My dad was one of the most solid people I've ever seen, even to this day. "If you want, and I really mean this, you can live with my parents at the Breeding Center for a while." He said. Before he even finished the sentence, I jumped on him and hugged him like I had never done before. Even more tears poured from my eyes, probably leaving a permanent wet mark on my dad's uniform. The opportunity to learn all about Pokémon firsthand from one of the greatest breeders in the country, my grandfather, had just landed in my lap. My dad left the room, and I packed my things. All redundancy aside, I was still crying like a fucking two year-old.