When Erik returned home late, his parents were naturally a plethora of emotions, upon returning, he stumbled on his mother and father scrambling around the house as they shouted to each other to find a clue as to where their child had gone and were about to call the police when they noticed the small form of their son.

Instantly, they were at his side as they held him close and thanked every deity, they had prayed that their angel had returned home then becoming furious that he stayed out late and left the vicinity of the park before weeping that they were panicking and feared the worse.

It was no secret that Erik came from a highly emotional family, although he guessed it helped his parents with their jobs as his mother was a theatre actress who often did tragedies, and his father was novelist who wrote with such passion that it was imbued in his work which meant they lived comfortably. Despite their extreme reactions being stark contrasts to his shy and quiet demeanour, Erik always felt comfortable with his parents which was why he removed the hood to reveal his tear stricken face and a wide grin that made them do a double take, it was also why he was prepared for the shouts and cheers they made when he told him they he got his Quirk and only blushed as his mother cooed about him growing up and his father looking at Rotom and the poke ball with interest

He was more than happy to show them Mimikyu after Rotom explained what his Quirk was capable of, Erik worried his mother would pass out from sheer excitement as she squealed about how adorable Mimikyu was, much to her joy, while his father was impressed and curious about how Mimikyu looked without the costume, they then spent the better part tending to his father who experience Mimikyu's Play rough attack and Erik quickly explained Mimikyu's needs.

The attack also prompted Erik to look into Mimikyu's move set, Rotom explained to the three of them that each Pokémon can learn a variety of moves, he looked at what Mimikyu could do and was surprised by his move set. The first attack she used on his bully was shadow claw, he saw what play rough did and there was charm and psychic which Erik wanted to test, however, it had gotten late, and they needed to rest which Erik accepted despite his excitement and made plans in his mind to learn about the types the next day.

The next day came and Erik was excited to train with Mimikyu, he could not stop the smile on his face, his mother was not keen on him returning to the park and insisted he use the backyard to train instead, Erik wanted to argue that he needed to go and battle more Pokémon in order to build up his team, but relented when Rotom popped up again and told him his back yard was connected to a forest, perfect to find more Pokémon. He grew excited and was happy to go, however his mother was quick to grab Rotom and inserted her number into the phone and made it clear that she was to be called the second something went wrong, she also made his father go with him.

This led Erik to his walk in the forest which was mostly desolate with a satchel filled with supplies, Rotom floating beside him and Mimikyu walking beside him along with his father, he peered through the forests and saw nothing, but he could hear different cries of creatures that would not be common in his world, he practically vibrated at the thought of finding another Pokémon to befriend, he stumbled slightly as he tripped over a twig that he did not notice due to his mask. It was another thing that had changed in his life, the hood Mimikyu gave him held a special place in his heart which was why he wanted to wear it, his parents had been unkeen to let him use it, but after learning it was a gift Mimikyu, they relented.

Nzztow, User Erik, it sounds like we're nearing a Pokémon, it would be wise for me to teach you the types before we engage.

Erik pulled his head from his thoughts as his mind registered Rotom's suggestion.

"O-oh, yeah, you're right." He said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head as he forgot a basic part of being a Trainer, his father laughed and patted his son on the back.

Okay! Pokémon come in 18 different types that each have advantages and disadvantages to each type, nzzzt, a basic type matchup is fire, grass and water because Fire types are super effective against Grass types and Grass types are super effective against Water types. For disadvantages, just do the reverse.

Erik took a moment to think about what he was told, it was really simple when it was explained, although he suspected that Rotom was only beginning as the Pokémon hovered over Mimikyu.

Since your starter Pokémon is a dual type, nzzt, the rules get complicated. Mimikyu is a Ghost and Fairy type which means she gets both advantages and disadvantages of the two types, meaning she is super effective against other ghost types and fighting types and Psychic types, but Ghost types are also super effective against her and so are Steel types. Also, as a ghost type, attacks that to physically hit her have no effect also she gains an advantage against Dark types due to her Fairy type-

Erik's head was spinning as Rotom continued, he had expected there to be more, but this felt like he was trying to catch up on a year of learning the night before the exam, he had to stop and gather his thoughts which prompted his father to cut off the phone.

"Okay, Rotom, it appears that this lesson will have to wait, my boy seems to be suffering from a touch of brain overload, how about we find a Pokémon and practice battling?" Suggested Vincent who guided his son along the forest trail, he smiled as he watched Mimikyu use her claws to fan Erik's overheating head, he also flinched when the Pokémon shot him a quick glare, most likely as a warning that she had not forgotten what he did.

Rustling from the bush ahead, caused Erik to become aware again as he stared intently as the bush shook more, Vincent noticed his son's sudden focus and tranced his line of vision to the bush.

"Do you see something, son?" he asked, unsure.

"Y-yes, father, that bush is shaking." Erik stated quietly as he pointed at the same bush, they were both looking at.

"Strange, it's completely still from what I can see, this must be your Quirk." Vincent quickly deduced, a proud grin grew on his face, everyone present could only stare as Vincent had pulled out a notebook and was scribbling inside with a furious pace.

The bush rustled more as something small, and green was starting to peer through, Erik watched with bated breath as slowly a small caterpillar like creature wormed its way through the bush and onto the path, it had a yellow under belly with yellow rings long its body that Erik almost mistook for eyes and most notable was the bright pink antenna that come out of its head.

"What Pokémon is that?" Erik asked aloud as he took hold of the Rotom phone and quickly scanned the caterpillar Pokémon who stared at the group with a curious glance.

Caterpie, the worm Pokémon, it's easy to catch, and it grows quickly, making it one of the top recommendations for novice Pokémon trainers.

Erik looked at Caterpie with a smile, he had doubts about how the day would go, however, now he celebrated his luck as the first Pokémon he came across was a good one to help him train, he took a deep breath and turned to his advisor on the world of Pokémon.

"Rotom…how do we do this?" Erik asked, still unsure about the exact details regarding catching and battling.

Time for a lesson in battling. Nzzt, when you want to catch a Pokémon, they may try to fight you which means you have to use your Pokémon to fight back, send Mimikyu to fight the Caterpie.

Erik nodded in understanding as he turned to his partner who looked in anticipation, with a nod, he pointed at the Caterpie.

"Mimikyu, I…would like it if you battled that Caterpie!" He ordered.

The awkward silence, accompanied by the stares he got confirmed Erik's fear that what he just did was not as cool as he hoped, Mimikyu finished staring at her Trainer and jumped in front of the Caterpie who also stared her Trainer in complete confusion.

"Mimikyu!" She declared, grabbing the worm Pokémon's attention and it cried out in anger at the challenge, readying itself for battle.

"O-okay, Mimikyu, hit it with a shadow claw!" Erik ordered.

"Mimi." Mimikyu growled as a long black tendril shot from beneath her disguise and rocketed towards the Caterpie, it panicked at the sight of the attack made to move, but it was not fast enough as the claw zeroed in.

"Kyu!!" The shadow claw slammed into Caterpie, causing it to cry out as it was launched to the side, Erik grimaced at the sound, he somewhat understood that he had to fight, it still made him feel bad that he hurt the little worm.

Caterpie winced in pain before it looked back at Mimikyu and Erik, it quickly shook and started to panic. Suddenly, white string shot out of its mouth towards Mimikyu, it took a second to realise as he cried out.

"Mimikyu, watch out!"

It came too late as the string hit Mimikyu before wrapping her in a small cocoon, her cries were muffled as she struggled to escape her binds, Erik quickly reacted and rushed to his partner, but a small cry caused him to look up and see that the previously fearful Caterpie was now charging at them with great fury. Before he could react, Caterpie bit his ensnared Mimikyu multiple times and launched her straight into Erik who was sent tumbling backwards, much to his father's concern.

"Erik, are you alright!?" He asked as he checked over his son who held Mimikyu close to his chest, Erik groaned as he sat up and looked back to see Caterpie disappear back into the bushes, he would have been disappointed if he was not more concerned at the squirming form of Mimikyu, he tried to tear the web to free her, to no avail until his father managed to rip apart the sticky prison.

"Mimikyu, are you okay?!" Erik asked, frantically checking her for any major injuries.

"Mimikyu" She said calmly, she looked no worse for wear then just being a bit scruffy. Erik was glad that she was fine, he then frowned as he knew that she would have fared better in the battle if he had been faster, he would have continued with his negative thoughts, but a gentle hand on his back brought his out of his head and made him look up to see the caring face of his father.

"Erik, I can see you feel bad about what happened, Mimikyu got hurt and you blame yourself, however, I can also see that she doesn't blame you for what happened." He said, Mimikyu chiming in and nuzzling against Erik to comfort him. "Now, you lost and while it looks like a step back, it's actually two steps forward, right, Rotom?" Vincent continued, turning to the phone Pokémon.

Yes sir, Mr Konrei, nzzt, let's examine how the battle went, you came out strong with Mimikyu's shadow claw and due to it being a Bug type, any attack it had would have been less effective, the surprise is what led to Mimikyu's struggle as did the surprised Bug Bite attack.

Rotom explained, although he was slightly unnerved by the steely gaze that Erik had directed at him, it was one of sheer focus that was unusual in a child, he had kicked his young mind to understand what he had done wrong and think how to plan ahead next time, Erik was silent for a couple of moments until he stood up with Mimikyu in his arms and took a deep breath.

"A-alright, we have more training to do, right buddy?" He said, somewhat confidently, to his partner who cried and gave him an invisible smile.

"Mimikyu!"

Vincent was a man of many words, he had to be if he wanted to succeed as a writer, which was why he always said what was on his mind with others which was how he won over his wife, however, he could see that his son was the complete opposite, Erik was quiet and said little and kept to himself, he hid it well, but Vincent knew his son did not get along with the children his age. It was why Vincent would always be upfront with him about anything, even if his son never talked as much in return, he knew that he appreciated their conversations. That was why when he came home with his Pokémon and proclamation of owning a Quirk, he did not hide the pride he felt and joy as he shouted it out for the heavens to hear, it was also why he could help but admire how Erik and Mimikyu cared for each other, it was evident despite them only knowing each other for a day, the way Erik feared her health and the way she comforted him when he got agitated. It brought a grin as he thought that their meeting was one of fate, a bit cliché but if it led to his son being happier, then Vincent was willing to put up with some clichés.

As they walked through the forest, Erik would occasionally look in awe at the different Pokémon that inhabited the woods, he saw more Bug type Pokémon similar to Caterpie and watched as bird Pokémon of different kinds flew overhead and soared off into the distance, all the while Rotom helped by providing information on each that Vincent recorded in his notebook for later study. They had reached deep into the woods when they stumbled across their next battle or to be more accurate, their next battle dropped on top of them, the Pokémon fell from a tree near them, it was yellow with a red nose and two pointy stingers on opposite ends of its body which put Erik on edge.

"Rotom, what Pokémon is this?" He asked, as the Weedle stared at the group in nonchalance.

Weedle, the hairy bug Pokémon, beware of the sharp stinger on its head. It hides in grass and bushes where it can eat leaves. User Erik, be careful, it's a Poison type which is super effective against Fairy types, nzzt.

At this bit of information, Erik was extremely cautious as he eyed the poisonous worm in front of them, he knew that Mimikyu would need more experience fighting and this was their best chance for a fight before they had to head home for lunch, the deciding factor came in the form of Mimikyu leaping from Erik's arms and straight towards Weedle with fire in her eyes.

"Mimikyu!" She roared.

"Weedle!" it snapped back, wriggling in anger, it took off and bolted straight toward Mimikyu with its stinger glowing a fierce pink colour. Erik's eyes widened and he shouted.

"Mimikyu, dodge it!"

"Mimikyu!"

The poison jab flew past Mimikyu as she jumped to the side, Erik felt a sense of elation, but gasped as Weedle shot out a familiar string that once again mummified Mimikyu.

"Weedle!!" Roared the bug Pokémon as it charged at the trapped Pokémon with anger, preparing to hit with another poison jab, time seemed to slow down as Weedle was about to hit.

"Mimikyu, bust out with shadow claw!"

"Wee?"

"Kyu!!"

The webbing was torn to shreds as a tendril of shadow erupted from Mimikyu who cried out in triumph, the blow smacked Weedle back and slammed into a tree that shook violently, it groaned as it struggled to stand back up, feeling dizzy from the impact.

User Erik! Nzztow's the time, quick, throw a Poke ball!

Erik stumbled as he understood what he needed to do, it felt so rushed, he thought the battle would be more drawn out, he controlled his thoughts and summoned a Poke ball to his hand, he got as close as he felt he could and took aim, rearing back his arm, he had laser focus and did his best to ignore all distractions. He threw the Poke ball with all the power he could muster and watched as it managed to sail through the air towards the weakened Weedle, as the ball soared to the target, Erik allowed himself to take in his surroundings which included the shuffle of the branches of the tree where something fell, crying out in shock as it fell to the ground, straight into the path of his Poke ball. He watched as the small creature crashed in front of Weedle with a cry before the ball smacked into it on the head, much to its confusion.

"Phan?"

It was too late as it glowed red and it vanished into the Poke ball which closed and landed on the floor, it shook once, twice, thrice and it clicked shut, confirming the capture of this random Pokémon, although no one celebrated as everyone was shocked and stupefied by the sheer odds that this would have happened.

Uhm…congratulations? You caught a Phantump, his data is being added to the Pokedex.

Even Rotom was unsure as he notified his user about their new addition to the team, he quickly pulled up information on the Pokémon before floating up to his stunned user and showed him the Pokedex entry, to his relief, Erik grabbed him and took a look at the entry.

"Phantump, the stump Pokémon, a Ghost type and Grass type. These Pokémon are created when spirits possess rotten tree stumps. They prefer to live in abandoned forests." Erik read aloud, turning a shade whiter at the start, it was unnerving to know he caught a possessed tree stump, it also made him question who died in the forest for him to be able to find one in the first place.

"Oh dear, spirits possessing tree stumps, how unfortunate." Vincent commented, sharing similar thoughts to his son and he gave the forest a wary look, wondering about the other souls lingering around.

According to some records, the spirits were children who perished in the forest.

Both father and son froze with that news, one filled with horror and anger that only a father could feel while Erik was horrified and thought, how could a child die out here, it had been desolate for the longest time, it made no sense to him, Rotom coughed to grab their attention, more importantly his user, hoping the next part would help.

They sound like children, in order to lure people to them, it's trying to make friends with them.

Erik blinked at that and looked to Rotom who gave him a sad look, his brain went into overdrive as it looked for what the Poke phone was implicating, it took him a moment before he looked at Mimikyu who had been awfully quiet during the whole ordeal, Erik understood what he needed to do. Without a word, Erik picked up the poke ball and pressed the button, the ball opened and out shot the familiar blue light which quickly vanished revealing the confused Phantump.

"Phantump?" He wondered as he looked around until his eyes fell on Erik who knelt close to him, his eyes held sadness as he could see the innocent confusion that Phantump had as he stared at him.

"Um...h-hi, I'm Erik, this is Mimikyu and my father, I accidentally caught you...sorr- "

"Phantump!!"

Erik was sudden sent flying off his knees and landed on his back by Phantump's sudden tackle, Mimikyu and Vincent flinched and moved to help Erik, but they stopped as they watched Phantump jump up and down on Erik's chest with his small wispy black arms in the air.

"Phan, phan, Phantump!" He cheered as he continued to jump up and down in clear joy, much to Erik's bewilderment as his plan to attempt to comfort the presumed upset Pokémon was clearly unneeded, it was Mimikyu who acted first as she quickly shuffled to her fallen partner and waved her shadow arms to grab Phantump's attention.

"Phan?" He asked, looking at Mimikyu.

"Mimi, Mimikyu, Mikyu?" She asked in confusion, Phantump smiled at the question.

"Phantump, phan, tump, Phantump!!" He declared, pointing at Erik with a smile on his face.

"Rotom, can you translate what they are saying?" Vincent whispered as he and Rotom stood by and watched the two Pokémon speak atop his son who still looked confused about the situation.

I can give a rough translation, nzzt, the Pokémon and language don't always blend together so well. I believe Mimikyu asked Phantump why he was so happy and Phantump replied it was because he had a new friend.

Vincent felt his heart clench as he listened to the translation, he recalled what the Pokedex had said about Phantump and to hear it was so happy about having a friend, he had to control his fatherly instincts as he watched Phantump happily talking to Mimikyu like a friendly child.

"What else are they talking about?" He asked.

Well, it seems Mimikyu is telling him about Erik, you and Mrs Konrei, Phantump seems happy to be part of a family.

Vincent broke at that and appeared behind the stump Pokémon with such speed that both Mimikyu and Rotom did double takes as the unassuming man had suddenly developed athletic prowess, he grabbed Phantump with his hand and hoisted him into the air, throwing him up.

"Up we go!!" He said with a grin, prompting Phantump to cry out in joy as it waved its small arms and let itself fall back down into Vincent's kind arms, who repeated the throw as he tossed Phantump up again, bringing out more childish laughter as the small Pokémon enjoyed the fatherly act.

Erik came out of his stupor as he watched his father and Phantump have the time of their lives, it warmed Erik's heart to see the new addition to his team get along with his father, he also noted how much Phantump acted like a child, he would have continued his awe if not for his vision being filled by a familiar ragged form.

"Mimikyu!" Cried his partner as she hopped on his chest, he was confused at first before Mimikyu used his claw to gesture at Phantump and his father then pointing at himself and herself.

"You want me to do that with you?" He asked with uncertainty.

"Mimikyu!" She cheered, smiling before being picked up in Erik's small arms as he slowly stood up off the ground, he smiled despite his hood and prepared himself to toss her up, taking in a deep breath, he threw her up with all his might and watched as she soared above his head, crying out in joy.

"Phan!"

Mimikyu looked over to see Phantump had joined her in the air, the two Pokémon relishing the affection they each felt, until Phantump sailed higher than Mimikyu as she quickly plummeted towards the ground, with a cry Erik scrambled to catch his partner as he had not anticipated how he would catch her and for his mistake he received his partner crashing on his head and knocking him to the ground again. He gave a small cough as he looked to see Mimikyu on his back, giving her own groan at the rough landing, despite the stinging he felt, Erik let out a quiet laugh as he looked at his partner.

"D-don't worry, we'll work on it, okay?" He told his partner who nodded with her fake head, enthusiastically, much to the amusement of everyone present.

Thus, their trek into the forest came to an end as they soon made their way home, while it did not go entirely as Erik would have like, he was still pleased to have found another friend to care for, his father seemed to have become quite attached to Phantump as he continued to hold the small Pokémon who nestled in his arms as they went home. His mother was no different as she cooed over the stump Pokémon, doubly so when she learned of his origins, acting motherly over him as she hugged and doted over him, not that Phantump would complain as he loved the affection he received from the two adults. The family would spend the rest of the day playing with their new member, when night came, they ate dinner together while his mother cooed at how adorable Phantump looked as he munched into his plate of summer berries, eventually they two Pokémon went to their Trainer's room where he went to sleep, with the comfort of his two Pokémon resting with him. All sharing sweet dreams of a wonderful future ahead of them as another step was taken in their journey.