The long-awaited day had finally come, and Tori so wanted to pay attention. She sat straight-backed in her chair, determinedly ignoring the nonstop jokes Aiden and Hisoka were whispering at her left.
Her focus was fixed forward on the speaker at the podium, but going in and out. The sun reflected off the white-draped stage and dazzled her pale eyes. She inhaled and exhaled, timing her breathing in a way she hoped seemed normal. But her ears were hot. And everything between them was static.
-
That morning, Tori had awoken excited to graduate and thrilled to finally receive her own Pokémon.
Yesterday had been her last day in a uniform. Today, she chose her clothes carefully for the journey ahead; boots up to her knees for the high grass, a comfortable dress for the summer weather, and a scarf, to keep from catching cold.
In the mirror, Tori brushed her long hair. She pulled as much as she could back into a high ponytail leaving bangs to frame the sides of her face. When she looked again, something darted in the reflection of her doorway. Startled, she pivoted on the stool. A child's small hand was gripping the frame.
"James?"
The boy's green eyes watered. His mouth worked once like he was about to say something, but whatever urge he had failed him. His empty hand found the door frame and he pivoted around it out into the hall. Tori heard his steps on the hallway carpet taper off as he left her wing.
What had him so upset? James was a dramatic kid, sure, but he was usually more forthcoming about why.
Tori felt unsettled as she went through the motions of packing up her brush and the last few items in her travel pack. That was everything she needed for the trip to the mountains, she hoped.
Technically, Samuel Oak's trip didn't leave until the following day, but Tori could not spend one more night at home. The closer she got to losing her freedom, the more she yearned for the bits within her reach. So Tori and Hisoka had decided to tell a little white lie and to spend the night before their journey camping out with Aiden. It would be their own private send-off as friends.
The trip and its schedule were both sore subjects with Tori's stepmother. The woman was ceaseless in her efforts to see Tori betrothed. She thought graduation was a finish line, and the time between then and Tori's 18th's birthday just an onramp to the altar. Tori was making an obvious play for more time away from the process, and her stepmother didn't find it charming.
When Tori stepped into the atrium for breakfast, her step-mother's foul mood was tangible. She imagined it like a kind of radiation, scrambling her nerves instead of her cells but just as sure to kill her with enough exposure. Same as it had worn down or snuffed out the lesser joys in her life. Glass walls two stories high let in the morning light that sparkled off crystal stemware and colored panes of glass but found no plants or Pokémon basking in its beams. James sat at one end of the table silently picking at a plate of fruit. His mood seemed much the same as when he'd left her room. Off in the corner next to an open window, their father lounged in an armchair behind an expanse of newspaper. Neither of them noticed her arrival.
"Well…look who's finally joined us, dearest! Aren't we the fools for keeping a schedule?" Tori's stepmother sat at the breakfast table with James, but as far from his sniffling as possible. She scowled and stirred her tea in a way that felt sinister to Tori. Was that a thing? Sinister tea-stirring?
Newspaper crinkled noisily in half and Tori saw the top of her father's hair, a dustier version of James's lavender, parted in the center. He folded the paper again, and his green eyes and mustache came into view. Tori envied the resemblance between her brother and father, especially when she looked at their recent family portraits. She felt a little left out herself, but at the same time, she was proud to reflect so much of her mother in her light brown hair and blue eyes. The older Tori got, the more it annoyed the new woman her father had married.
"Tori, my darling," came her father's bored drawl over the newsprint wall, "Please remind your bee- lov ed mother the eye- tin erary of your little upcoming expedition. And remember, there'll be much to do here when you return."
"Two weeks from tomorrow, according t-" Before Tori could fully answer, there was a clatter of silverware and the sound of a chair scraping the tile. James was on his feet.
"She's gonna leave us!" he shouted. "And it's both your fault!" Swiping at fresh tears, James ran from the atrium. His footsteps carried off down the hall.
Tori looked between the adults to see what they would do.
Her stepmother sipped her drink through pursed lips. "That boy must learn to run properly."
With a shake of his head, her father flipped his newspaper back open. "We'll see you in two weeks, then, sweetest." His fatherly affection came strained, as always these days, through the wet blanket that was her stepmother. "Do take care."
Wherever James got off to, Tori didn't find him before she had to leave for school.
Concern for him ate at her. The enormity of change before her was making her nervous too, her brain volunteering an endless array of half-imagined worst-case scenarios: sudden tragedies... a rabid partner Pokémon... household machinations that would take place in her absence, awful decisions she might return to find made, or the idea of skipping her trip only to find herself equally powerless to negotiate when present...
-
When Tori missed a cue to stand, Hisoka jostled her. She looked up to see him studying her with concern.
Out of their uniforms, Aiden and Hisoka gave her a brief feeling of unreality as her brain reconciled the school setting and their casual wear. Aiden was in the same cargo shorts and black Pokéball t-shirt he'd worn all last summer. Hisoka wore a hoodie she hadn't seen before, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. The same dark green as his eyes, a thoughtful match, so a gift from his mom and aunt, she guessed. Glancing around, noone among the graduating students had missed the opportunity to shuck their stiff uniform jackets and neckties.
"Hey, you alright? Dehydrated?"
Tori shook her head, focusing. Hisoka offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet.
"-invite today's graduates to join us behind the stage!"
An explosion of applause.
It was time.
She had longed for the partnership of a Pokémon more than anything, and now it was happening . Would she be doing it a disservice, bringing it into her volatile home? Could she protect it? Would it love her?
"C'mon! That's us." Even Hisoka sounded excited. That cheered her a little.
Aiden looked back at them, grinning, then started shuffling out into the aisle following the person ahead of him. The three friends joined the parade of graduates up the main aisle and around the stage into a large, grassy field. The person on stage continued to address the audience who remained.
Directly behind the stage stood a row of tables among the risers, each set with a display of Pokéballs and manned by the school's numerous Pokémon handlers.
While professors at Pokémon Tech often had a Pokémon partner, there were several hundred more Pokémon on campus that belonged to the school. These were captured or bred, raised, and trained by a staff of researchers who also made academic studies of the creatures.
The Pokémon given to graduating students were usually sourced from litters hatched earlier that spring. Often, students from the Breeding and Hatching programs would receive a Pokémon that they themselves helped deliver.
"Are you ready?"
Tori looked up at Aiden. He was beaming. She felt like she wanted to smile like that. But she also felt an intense, irrational fear rising inside her. It's not fear, it's just inertia, she thought, It's time to put things in motion.
Telling herself that didn't quell the fear, but it let her feel silly enough about it to move past it. Life always wanted to stay the same, and it would make her feel afraid to keep her in her box. Now, maybe too late, she suddenly wanted to kick against pricks.
"Yeah!" Tori smiled widely and rearranged herself to stand up straight.
Around them, the BOMPH!'s and PSSSSSHT~!'s of Pokéballs opening and releasing their contents buzzed in the air, joined by a chorus of cheers and Pokémon cries. The empty lawn was rapidly becoming crowded as more bodies materialized. Friends and family were finding their way behind the stage too, grouping around their graduate to help welcome the new Pokémon into their lives.
In turns, the three friends peeled off from each other and collected their Pokéballs.
By some unspoken agreement, they returned to their small circle before opening them.
Aiden held his Pokéball in two hands in front of his face. "I'm so excited to get to know you," he told it, smiling. His sincerity made Tori smile too. Hisoka smirked and looked away, then down at his own Pokéball.
There were so many smiles today. Tori fed off the joy, letting it be the explanation for her nervous energy.
"Let's say hello to my new friend!" Aiden opened his hand and let the Pokéball roll off his long fingers onto the grass.
"Cubone," he whispered as the white light resolved into a solid form. Its bone-encased head barely cleared Aiden's knee. In one tiny beige claw, it clutched a smoothed bone club.
The Pokémon looked slowly around the ground just near its feet, then sat down.
Aiden paused, waiting to see if the Pokémon would move, then slowly approached it. Carefully, Aiden crouched down closer to the Cubone's height. He turned on the balls of his feet, and sat next to the Pokémon so that they faced the same direction.
In his pocket were some treats for this greeting. He fished a few out and held them in his palm low to the ground, next to Cubone.
"It's nice to meet you, Cubone." Another pause. "I hope we can be friends."
Cubone hesitated just long enough to make Aiden doubt it had noticed him, then leaned forward and sniffed at the treats. A chubby arm darted out and claws closed around Aiden's wrist.
Everyone froze. From where Tori and Hisoka stood, it looked like Cubone might attack. Its bone club could smash their friend's hand. The Pokémon could drag him, snap his wrist, or even bite him. Aiden's eyes were wide, waiting to see what the small creature would do and just how much a strength it could put behind it.
Slowly, the Cubone pulled Aiden's hand up to its masked nose. The bone beak covered Aiden's palm. Noisily, Cubone began to munch on the food pellets.
Relief broke out across Aiden's friends' faces.
"Did you guys think he was going to eat me?"
"Yeah, for a minute there," Tori replied honestly.
Aiden chuckled. "Cubone, you're a sweet one, aren't you?"
The Pokémon still hadn't released his wrist. It finished the food in his palm, then dropped its arm onto its stomach, pinning Aiden's hand to its chest, and closed its eyes. The trainer let his new Pokémon hold on.
Over Aiden's head, Tori and Hisoka exchanged looks. Tori gestured for Hisoka to go next and took a step back to open up some room.
Hisoka tossed his Pokéball underhand. It arced at waist height and landed softly in the grass. The sphere split in half, overflowing with white light that expanded and bulged into a shape familiar to any Pokémon Tech student who spent time in the school gardens.
"A Bulbasaur!"
Tori thought she heard a note of relief in Hisoka's voice. He'd be super familiar with Bulbasaur from his elective classes, and the short, be-bulbed Pokémon were known for their docile nature.
Every Bulbasaur had a unique pattern of spots. This one had a recognizable rectangular splotch right between its bulging eyes, like a patch over the bridge of its snout. Its stubby front legs and thick haunches supported its wide head at the front and a squat, green flower bulb on its back.
There were no sharp ridges or teeth on this round little bean-seed.
Of course, a Bulbasaur would eventually become a much bigger Venusaur, capable of razor leaves and vine whips...but that would be after a lot of work. Tori thought the Pokémon type and the teachability of its evolution progression would suit Hisoka quite well as a trainer.
The Pokémon also seemed pleased with its new partner. As Hisoka approached it in a slow crouch, similar to the tactic Aiden had used, it reacted.
From either side of its squashed bulb, green vines burst forth. They moved under the creature's control, stretching towards Hisoka and winding about his outreached arms, then around his chest and waist.
"Wuah!"
Bulbasaur yanked Hisoka off his feet.
Aiden startled, reaching for his friend from where he sat, but Cubone didn't release his other arm. Tori put a hand on her seated friend's shoulder, encouraging Aiden to let Hisoka sort this himself.
Pulled onto his knees and eye-to-eye with Bulbasaur, Hisoka seemed unsure what to do. He'd dropped the treats he was holding and he couldn't move his arms much anyway.
"Uh, he-hello!"
Bulbasaur tilted its head to the side in a way that suggested curiosity, slowly blinking big, red eyes. Then it opened its mouth, revealing a huge tongue. Hisoka realized what was coming a moment before the wet mass struck out and dragged across his face.
"Baaahlb!"
It seemed delighted, swaying back and forth a few times and waving Hisoka by the torso like a child would a doll.
Was a Bulbasaur actually too aggressive for Hisoka? It was a silly thought, but Tori was relieved just the same when the vines holding Hisoka loosened and her friend was able to regain his feet.
"Alright there?" called a familiar voice.
Arden was hitching across the field towards their group at an uneven pace, aided by a set of crutches. Following at his side, his Sandslash looked up at him often, radiating concern for its wounded trainer. On his right was a cheerful woman with a round face and bouncing shoulder-length curls, his significant other Mabel. Behind them, looming benevolently, followed Snorlax.
"Congratulations to you all!" Mabel cheered as they pulled up to the group.
Arden took both crutches in one hand and used the other to rub the sore spots under his armpits. Mabel put a steady arm around Arden's waist and he relaxed into her support.
Apparently no longer concerned with supervising his trainer's stride, Sandslash walked up to Aiden and Cubone.
"Hey, Sandslash. This is my new partner, Cubone." Aiden introduced the Pokémon to each other no differently than if they were people.
Sandslash leaned into Cubone and took a few sniffs. It clicked its teeth and reached out with a clawed hand to pat Cubone gently on the head. Cubone's stubby tail began to wiggle in the grass behind it.
"You like that, Cubone? Thanks, Sandslash."
Arden's Pokémon huffed happily and returned to its trainer's side.
"You already look like a good pair." Arden smiled down at his brother and Cubone.
Snorlax bellowed in agreement, pressing its paws to its cheeks as if it found two adorable.
"You too, Hisoka," Arden said.
Hisoka was sitting with Bulbasaur mostly in his lap, but just by looking Tori couldn't be sure if Hisoka wanted it there. His arms were wide over his head and Bulbasaur was tapping his palms playfully with its vines.
"Where's your Pokémon, Tori?" Mabel looked around Tori's feet, then up in the sky above her.
In response, Tori held out her Pokéball. Her hands were clammy, and she could see the sweaty fingerprints she was leaving on the red chrome. She could feel attention turning towards her, and she hurried to act before she accrued any more suspense.
Tori dropped to a crouch and placed the ball on the ground in front of her. She reached out and, with a trembling finger extended, pressed the button. The Pokémon emerged.
"Brrrrrt?"
"It's a..."
The creature was a ball of fur, cream-colored with oversized black ears atop its head and an explosion of fine whiskers framing its face. Its tail ended in a curl, colored a darker brown like its hind feet, as if someone had held the small creature by the waist and dipped it in chocolate. Huge eyes peered up at Tori. She looked back down at it, her face reflecting in the gold oval in the center of its forehead.
"A Meowth!" someone said.
"...Meowth," Tori said, mostly to herself, as she held the Pokémon's gaze. Its eyes were white with vertical pupils expanding steadily after narrowing in the sudden daylight.
Slowly, the Meowth blinked. When it opened its eyes, Tori mimicked the gesture, closing her eyes slowly in a way she hoped demonstrated trust.
She felt fur beneath her fingers and her eyes shot open. Meowth's front paws were on her thighs and it was pressing its head up under Tori's open hand.
"Oh!" Her heart swelled. It was such a forward act of affection. She felt hot tears burgeoning the corners of her eyes and blinked them back before anyone could notice. "You're so cute…" she whispered, stroking the fur between its shoulders and scratching lightly behind its ears. The feline Pokémon began to purr.
A shadow fell over Tori and Meowth. She looked up, still stroking the kitten.
"James!"
Her brother stood beside her, eyes already wide and locked on her Pokémon. Directly behind him, Hopkins the butler along with one of James's nannies hovered like Beedrill over their charge.
"You got a Pokémon!" James squatted next to Tori and slowly put a hand out to the Meowth.
"Be careful, James."
Tori's warning wasn't necessary. Meowth sniffed at the boy's tiny fingers, then put its whole face into the boy's palm, nearly forcing him to pet it. The siblings laughed.
The anxiety that had built up all day inside Tori, like sand that filled the space in her lungs where air should go, had trickled away.
She was laughing and James was there and her friends too, and it was good. It was a perfect moment. Tori leaned over the Meowth in her lap and placed a kiss between its ears, hoping no one could see her face, and that she'd started, at the peak of her laughing, to cry. Meowth just purred harder.
"Young master Hisoka, your mother is here, awaiting you beside the platform." Hopkins nodded down at the boy still extricating himself from his Bulbasaur's vine games.
"Thank you." Hisoka gathered up his Pokémon under the front legs and tried to lift. "Oof." He was successful, but with great effort.
Bulbasaur went wild. It croaked in what sounded like laughter and thrashed its vines.
"Wo-ahh!" Hisoka wobbled from one foot to the other, trying to regain his balance. When he did, he placed Bulbasaur down gently. Immediately, the screeching croaks stopped. Instead, Bulbasaur began to whine and paw at Hisoka's shins, as if it wanted to be picked up again.
"Uh..Ok. How about you just follow me?" Hisoka took a few mock-running strides. Bulbasaur bounded alongside him.
"We'll come too!" Tori called out. Discreetly, she wiped her eyes. Then she secured Meowth with one arm and used the other to push herself up.
James picked up Meowth's Pokéball off the grass and offered it to her. Should she put Meowth back into the ball? The little creature was so warm in her arms.
"Thanks, James." She took the ball from him and tucked it awkwardly into the crook of her arm, next to the Pokémon.
A few feet from Tori, Aiden and Cubone were mobilizing. Aiden helped pull the little Pokémon to its feet, in part because it still clung so fiercely to his hand. The height difference between them though meant Aiden had to stoop as they walked. He looked like a father holding hands with his child, Cubone clinging to its bone club like a kid would to a stuffed toy.
Chatting and laughing in small asides, the growing group walked back towards the stage and tables. A majority of the students still lingered on the grass, showing off their new partners and even engaging in battles at the edges of the field. Near the stage, professors mingled with parents and graduates. The ground here was paved court and sidewalk, safer terrain for those on wheels or with fancier footwear.
"Mom! You came!" Hisoka hurried up to a pale woman in a wheelchair parked next to one of the now-empty tables. She was flanked by her sister, Hisoka's Aunt Hilda, and their Kadabra.
He leaned in to hug her. Bulbasaur, hot on Hisoka's heels, rushed up to the wheelchair apparently intent on doing the same.
"BAHHH!"
Suddenly, Bulbasaur was in the air. Its flat feet tread air uselessly and its vines floundered.
"Abby, it's okay! Abby, this is Bulbasaur, my new Pokémon!"
Bulbasaur whined as if to add emphasis.
Abby was glowing with psychic effort. It rotated Bulbasaur slowly in the air before them, looking it over from all angles, then lowered it gingerly to the ground. Once Bulbasaur got traction again, it hurried behind Hisoka's legs and peered out fearfully at the Kadabra.
"You've all got a lot of training ahead of you," Arden said, smiling good-naturedly at the three new trainers.
Hisoka went red in the cheeks. Aiden didn't, but he looked thoughtfully down at the tiny claw he held. Tori too felt suddenly aware of how she held Meowth in her arms, coddling the creature like her little brother when he was a baby.
"I can't believe you've all graduated! It seems like not that long ago, Tori and Hisoka, you were two kids running half-naked through the sprinklers… Look at you now!" Hisoka's aunt crowed.
"Oh, Hilda, don't, you're making them blush! They're adults now, they don't want to remember that." His mother reached back and gave her sister's hand a light whap!
"And Aiden, so handsome. When you moved here, you were skinny as a Bellsprout. Ooh, I can't believe how you've all grown!"
The friends exchanged pained looks, gritting their teeth under the commentary. Hisoka's aunt seemed about to continue when Professor Larch and her Chansey approached the group. Hopkins and James moved closer to Tori to make room in their circle.
"Ah, three of my favorite students!" Prof. Larch sounded cheerful. It was generous of her to call them her favorites in front of their families. "I'll be missing your passion in the classroom," she said, looking at Tori, "and your good humor," turning to include Aiden and Hisoka. "You always came ready to absorb the lessons. I hope they serve you well on your research trip and beyond."
"Thank you, Professor," the graduates replied, bending forward at the waist to show gratitude and respect.
She nodded directly at Hisoka. "With that Bulbasaur and your aptitude, I expect great things, Hisoka. And Aiden," she continued, "that Cubone may require more from you than just battle training."
Aiden looked down into Cubone's upturned face. He released its claw and put his hand on the back of its skull-encased head, pulling the small creature in towards him. The Cubone wrapped its free arm around Aiden's leg and leaned in.
"Tori."
Tori stood up straight.
Prof. Larch searched Tori's face. "I hope this Pokémon can help you reach your true potential." The older woman glanced towards the servants around her little brother James. Her meaning was clear - she didn't think much of the padded and gilded obstacle course awaiting Tori.
"Now...get off the school grounds and go enjoy yourselves."
"CHANNsey!"
"Yes, do remember to grab all your things!"
Smiling and waving, Chansey and Prof. Larch took their exit.
As they pulled away from the group, the circle continued to fracture. Hisoka received his travel pack from Abby and knelt down to speak privately with his mother.
With some urgency, Arden and Mabel pulled Aiden into conversation as well. Their group started to amble towards the car lot, but Aiden waved for Tori's attention. When he had it, he held a hand up to the side of his mouth and mouthed "SEE YOU TO-NIGHT", pointing at the ground to emphasize the last word.
Tori and Hisoka had lied about their trip starting tonight, and Aiden didn't want to give away in front of the other families that the three were actually planning on camping together instead.
Tori nodded emphatically and waved at Aiden. When she turned back to the rest of the group, she noticed Abby rolling its eyes. The Pokémon looked toward her and she felt its humor.
"Miss Tori." Hopkins was holding out Tori's backpack and bedroll. He helped her into it so she didn't have to put her Meowth down. Once it was on, Tori crouched down to speak to James.
"Thanks for coming to see me off." Tori couldn't help but project at her brother, willing him to feel some of the optimistic energy she felt, not just the melancholy he was oozing. She knew from her own experiences though that emotions didn't work through osmosis. The best solution was for time to pass and her to come home again. He would be fine on the other end.
Tori reached out with one arm to pull James into a hug, squashing Meowth between them, and planted a kiss on the side of her little brother's head. He held onto her arm a moment, then stepped back from the hug, wiping at his eyes.
When Tori stood up, their maid held out a basket. "Some food, from the kitchen. It's nothing fancy, but we wouldn't want our young miss to go hungry."
Tori accepted with sincere thanks, her arms now full.
As goodbyes wrapped up and families cleared the field, Hisoka and Tori found each other again. The evening sun to their left and their shadows stretching off to the right, the pair and their Pokémon set out.
