The next week flies by, everything seems to happen around me rather than me engaging with the events. I withdraw from the junior tournament as as much as I would like to continue its too much to deal with currently. Due to my withdrawal Alvin is given a bye into the next round even after I had beaten him, he goes on to win his semi final and final to secure the Junior Championship although I don't really care in the large part. Grandma comes to collect me from the school the day after it happened, I spent the evening with Ryan and Daisy, they just sit with me as I try to process the news. The first time I see Grandma both of us just burst into floods of tears, all Grandma can do is apologise while I can barley even whimper out a sentence. The funeral happens about a week after Moms passing, it a nice service or as nice as it can be. All the towns folk come out, they all pay their respects, Ryan, Daisy and Louise all attend too. As soon as Louise sees me she pulls me into a tight hug and doesn't let go of me for a good 5 minutes. My Aunt Catherine who is my Dads sister attends briefly, she pays her respects before returning back to Paldea, she speaks with me briefly but I don't really take in what she says, I barley know her and its one of the few times I have ever met her. Grandma and I are then met with the new mayor of Ayapan who had taken over from Mom a few years back. They had been appointed the executor of Moms will. It had been agreed that in the case of Moms passing that Grandma even though not blood relation would become my legal guardian until the age of 18, Moms wordly possessions including the house would be passed in legality to Grandma to hold until I was 18 when it would be passed to me. Any money in her bank would be placed in a trust to be held until I was also 18 at which point the funds would be released to me. Mom insurance had also paid out alongside Dads and Mom retirement plans which funds had be placed into the trust also to be released when I hit 18. The day passes and people retreat back home. Ryan and Daisy stay the longest just listening to Grandma babbling about stories of me in my youth or Mom. Eventually its just myself and Grandma left at their grave, it had been part of the funeral plan for them to be buried together. It gave some solace to everything to know that they are back together now. We return back to the house after this, Grandma says she going to cook us a nice meal along with Farfetch'd as we had barley eaten a proper meal since it had happened. I nod before pushing open the back door into the garden. I throw up everyone's ball, they appear with lots of stiffness, I had kept them here in their balls all day. It had been a hard week for them too, I had left them all with Professor Oak at his ranch, it was the longest we had all been apart since I had started my journey. The Professor had said that they had barley eaten anything or interacted with the other Pokemon. They all call out happily as I release them, Jolteon goes to jump to my shoulder before I hold out my hand to stop him. I take a deep breath before bowing to them all

"I'm sorry that I pulled out of the tournament! You all worked so hard to win and I let you down!"

I feel my eyes fill and drip to the ground as I stay bowed, I feel a warm feeling wrap around me as I am pulled towards the ground, I look to see a long green vine from Venusaur wrapped around me, Poliwrath grabs me into a hug, Jolteon jumps to my shoulder burying its head into my neck, Starmie and Ninetales huddle around my legs, Blastoise and Dodrio being the biggest wrap there arms and wings around the group. They all squeeze tight on me and I feel myself release again flooding in tears

"Than Tha Thank you! For everything!" I cry as I push back against them

They release me and I wipe away at my face

"I will make it up to you I promise, we'll all battle again soon but for now, I'm going to need a little break"

That little break turned into two months, it was the end of the summer months so school was out for the summer break, I spend most of the days just wandering around the town picking up stuff for the house or groceries, the townsfolk are kind but I do feel an overwhelming feeling of pity each time I interact with one of them. I train with the guys every so often, I can't say I really feel committed to it but it good to put them through their paces. Ryan calls by along with Daisy every week, he's adamant that I should re register to enter the junior tournament once I feel up to it, I kind of just smile and agree half heartedly.

"Jacqueline, Ryan, could I speak to Dustin alone for a second?" Daisy questions smiling to Grandma and her partner

"Of course, in fact Ryan, I could do with some muscle in the back" Jacqueline says brushing herself down

"Uh sure" Ryan says a little perplexed as Espeon jumps from his shoulder to the sofa next to me

They both exit out the back, Daisy pours some more tea from the pot sitting on the table between us

"Where this pot from? Its beautiful" She says turning it in her hand

"Uh its from one of the orange islands I think, Mom was gifted it as a present when one of the islands leader visited"

"Oh really? So cool" Daisy says before setting it downside

She smiles before taking a sip, she sets herself after putting it down, she crosses her leg resting her elbow on her knee tapping her chin

"Its okay to be sad Dustin"

I baulk slight at the abrupt statement

"Uh yeah I know"

"And you are allowed to talk about being sad, with all of us too. Its the best way to heal"

"I suppose"

"You know, both my parents aren't here any more too"

I look to her and she smile weakly at me

"I'm sorry"

She shrugs

"You don't need to apologise, I'm sure you are sick of hearing that yourself" She says with a laugh

"A little yeah"

"When my Dad died, I'll be honest I didn't mind, he wasn't the nicest person, but when Mom passed I was beside myself for weeks. I held myself up in my room at home for weeks, dumped all my Pokemon at Professor Elm's and just ignored the whole world"

"How did you get out of it?"

She take a deep breath

"Its hard I won't lie, it will take time and it will hit you every so often that they're gone, however with people around you for support"

"Well, I just don't want to burden people with my feelings" I say interrupting her

She stands up and takes a seat next to me, she pulls my head into her nape and rest her chin on my head

"At no point will you be a burden to anyone young man"

"Thank you, I'm sure Ryan probably wishes he got another student now though"

She pull her head away and shoots me a confused look

"Are you kidding? You're are all he talks about currently, about how he going to get you back training Pokemon asap"

"Really?"

"Of course, you are his protege as he says" she says with a laughing

"Protege?" I question

I feel her nod

"Yep, you should have seen him when you Starmie beat Alvin's Slowbro, he was going wild"

I gulp to keep the emotions down

"Thank you, you and Ryan have helped me and Grandma more than you can imagine"

She pulls away and look down at me with a smile

"You more than welcome, we just want you both to be able to get back to as best as you can. Me and Ryan will be here for the pair of you. You just need to find that thing to help pull you out of your stupor"

"Well, I still would like to go to Johto and do the gym challenge, I've caught 131 Pokemon in Kanto now so I would like to try and get as many Johto as I can too"

"Sounds like a plan, I will speak to Uncle Charles if you like to get your license sorted out"

"Sure and thank you again"

"No problem" She says ruffling my hair

"What do you mean his license has been rescinded?" Grandma shouts

"I'm sorry but, his license has lapsed. After his withdrawal from the junior competition it valid for a month after and that has passed" The lady attendant on the video phone says

"But Mr Goodshow was having it personally arranged" She responds

"I'll take over here" A snotty looking man says sitting down at the desk on the video phone

"Who are you?" Grandma sneers

"Lucius Botty, the secretary of the PBL, unfortunately it is stipulated in the conditions of the contract signed so the license will be rescinded, you can reapply once Damian hits 17"

"Its Dustin first of all, surely we can appeal this?"

"You may but it will be costly if you are rejected"

"We will appeal, send me the documents required" Grandma says with determination

Grandma has all the documents signed off and a date for an appeal hearing is set, it will be held at the end of the week. Grandma gets in touch with Mr Goodshow regarding the process, he advises that I will have to make a case to a board of three, one would be the snooty man who was on the phone to Grandma, the second would be the coordinator of the junior scheme and last would be Mr Goodshow himself. The next few days pass really fast, the nerves and grief all mix into one, I barley eat for the days up to the hearing mostly just sleeping. When we finally get to the day, Grandma bundles me into her car, she plays old songs we used to listen too when she was taking me to school, she tell me constantly about how things are going to fine. We make it to the bureau finally. The same lady who was originally on the phone welcomes us in, she is a little weary of Grandma before Grandma takes her hands and bow apologising profusely for her conduct which the young lady accepts. We sit in the lobby for a short while, the whole place is very corporate and plastic, feels very satanised and not welcoming at all.

"You're in meeting room three, if you like to head in everyone is almost gathered" The lady calls

"Thank you" Grandma says standing up catching a hold of my hand

"Everything will be fine Dusty" She calls smiling down at me

I nod and we proceed in

"I hope all goes well" The reception calls out

Grandma pushes open the door and it a smallish room, there a thick brown table set in the middle of the room. There are three seat on the side away from us, two occupied. In one sits Mr Goodshow who smiles warmly to us both before immediately jumping up greeting us. He then takes up his seat again, the lady in the other seat stands and shakes my Grandma's hand.

"Hi Dustin, I'm Martha its lovely to meet you finally" She says with a wide smile holding her hand out to me

I take it and shake.

Martha is the coordinator of the Junior Trainer scheme in the Kanto and Johto region, rather than just allowing trainers to wander off into the wilderness with no support the scheme was set up as almost like an emergency service, they deal with all kind of situations ranging from the small like a trainer going slightly off route to the major a young trainer going missing or being injured. They have small team of trainers similar to route trainers in Alola that they can deploy to help aswell as being closely connected with Pokemon Rangers that help protect the wilderness and Pokemon of the local area. She has short blonde hair pulled into a bun atop her head, she wear a long white coat and black trouser along with large brown boots along with a shiny round stone necklace.

"We will get this all sorted out don't worry" She says with a wink before settling back down

"Well I suppose we are just waiting on Lucius" Mr Goodshow says just as the door bursts open

"Apologies for my lateness was sorting out a rather large issue, shall we start promptly" Lucius says throwing down a case file on the table

"Really I'm not so sure why this has been booked for the full thirty minutes this seems very an open and shut case, Master Rodgers did you or did you not voluntarily withdraw from the junior tournament?" He says darting eyes up at me through his brow as he whip the file open

"Uh we uh I Uh" I stammer out

Grandma puts her hand on my knee.

"Yes he did, because his Mother died. I cannot quite believe that as a committee, you would look to punish a young man over this" She spits at the man in the middle of the table

"So you acknowledge that he willing withdrew?" The man questions coldly

"I think we all acknowledge that it was Dustin's choice to withdraw" She answers

"Then there we are, the license is revoked, I'm not sure why this got to this stage of appeal. The appeal should have been immediately rejected, I suspect it may be somewhat nepotism" He barbs looking down at the file before shutting it

"Shall we vote then?" He says turning to the other two on his side of the table

"Lucius" Mr Goodshow growls at the man

He rolls his eyes

"Fine, boy did you manage to get any character statements?" He questions looking at me

"His name is Dustin" Grandma says firmly with fire in her eyes

He gulps before holding his hand out

"Um yes I did" I say pulling out three sheets of paper and handing them out

As part of the process it was asked to provide character statements from people I had met on my journey. I had only managed to get two, one from the Nurse Joy in Pallet Town and the Police Officer from Lavender Town where I had gotten Squirtle.

"Oh so you were the trainer to help drive those hunters out of Lavender?" Martha questions

"Yes Ma'am"

"Oh well you have my thanks, that saved me a lots of headaches" She responds with a soft smile

"I don't think that says much to benefit Dustin more of a criticism of yourself" Lucius bites

Martha darts him a look before Mr Goodshow coughs

"Well this Nurse Joy has nothing but good to say, to help for no benefit at such a young age is commendable"

"Right shall we come to the crux of the issue" Lucius quips

"Young man, as a collective representing the PBL you have our deepest condolences that your mother is dead however as an organisation we cannot have one rule for one and one for another, there are plenty of young trainers who have been through hardships in there personal life who have had to withdraw and they have not been allowed to regain their licenses"

"I see" I coo

The door once again bursts open and everyone head dart to the opening

"Sorry we are late, Lucius you really have got sort the Corviknight parking around here" Ryan quips as Daisy moves into the room

"Excuse me this is a private meeting you cannot just barge in" Lucius shouts smacking his hands on the table

"And as you know Lucius as Dustin mentor I should have been notified of the time and place for this meeting so I could attend, however I was not notified was I?" Ryan bites back

"I sent an email" He scoffs

"Could I see some proof of that please?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Proof, I would like proof you sent an email to notify me"

"Perhaps later"

Daisy takes a seat next to me and smile at me

"You okay Dustin?"

I nod tears slightly full

"So first off I believe Ryan you have some references you managed to gather?" Daisy says looking up at him

"I do indeed"

Ryan takes out a whole folder from his bag and passes Mr Goodshow and Martha the sheets before slamming the folder in front of Lucius

"These references are from two Pokemon professors, all 8 gym leaders and the current champion of the Kanto region. They all give testament to how skilled a trainer Dustin is but also how much of a fine young man he is"

"Well this is quite the resume Dustin, there even one from Paul" Martha says with a laugh before earning a darting stare from Lucius

"This is impressive however it doesn't stop the fact that rules are rules" Lucius says

"Interesting you say that" Daisy says butting in

"Why are you here sorry?" Lucius says before getting a dig in the ribs from Mr Goodshow

"Do not talk to my niece like that" He growls

Daisy smiles

"Well Lucius as I am sure you haven't forgotten I am one of the leaders of the Pokemon Conservation site Dustin has been sending Pokemon too, he is a key asset and hard working member of our community so I have probably more interest in being here than you, so may I continue you now?"

He nods his head

"Thank you" She says sarcastically as Ryan hands her another file

She flips it open

"So there was a case two years ago where a young lady by the name of Gabrielle in Sinnoh, her Father was in a terrible skiing accident in the middle of her junior tournament. She withdrew from the competition and not only regained her license three months later but also was allowed to use her previous badges to enter the junior tournament again rather than earning badges all again. So where were the rules for her?"

"Well you see Ms Cynth" Lucius starts

"And also in the case on Monty Jenkinson in Unova, his Grandmother and Grandfather went missing in the woods near the Giant Chasm and he left the tournament to join the search, not only was his license renewed he was given prize money he would have earned the tournament for finishing 15th another thing Dustin has forfeited to the PBL in the current circumstance" She continues

"Also, there are two trainers from Johto twins Michael and Francis who both withdrew when there Father died and they were in the semi finals meaning that the whole tournament had to be abandoned"

"Enough!" Lucius says slamming the file shut

"So you would accept that there is precedence for this?" Ryan asks with a gloating tone

"Young man, your license will be renewed as long as the other two members of the committee agree"

"Aye" Mr Goodshow retorts

"I do" Martha adds

"The license will be issued, please visit the front desk on the way out, meeting adjourned" He says swiftly picking his things up and looking to exit

"Um sir" I stammer out

He look to me with a dull sharp stare

"Thank you" I say bowing my head slightly

He rolls his eyes before exiting

"I still want proof of that email!" Ryan shouts out the door as he leaves

"Douchebag" He calls under his breath as he shuts the door

"Thank you both" Grandma says shaking Mr Goodshow's hand before grasping Martha's

"Don't worry" Martha calls out

"This was always going to be the outcome, myself and Martha had already decided"

"Really?" Ryan questions

Daisy looks up to him with disdain

"Did you really think these two would vote against it? We only did this to show up Lucius as an asshole"

"Oh, well that's good then, can I take that seat by the way" He says pointing the now vacant seat

Mr Goodshow nods and he waltz up and plops himself down

"Right then, now for the most important business" Ryan says pulling another file from his backpack

He hands it to me and Grandma, I go to open it and he stops me

"Ah not yet I want to talk to you about this first"

I nod as does Grandma

"So, Dustin my plan was to speak to you about this after the tournament. Along time ago, after I won the first world championship, I sat with my Grandma the lady you met. We sat and talked, she did the normal thing and spoke about her journey, her trials, tribulations and everything in between. As normal things quickly turn to talking about my Grandad and she told me me about something he had wanted to do before he passed" He says before beckoning towards the files to open it

I flip it and emblazoned on the front is a stylised logo of an M and B.

"What is it?" I question

"He had always wanted to set up a scholarship of sorts, which young trainers could use to help them strive to the top. He always told me that back in his day, so many younger trainers would have to stop training because they didn't earn enough to keep going. He always said these were the trainers lost to time. So with my Grandma's help I have set up the Maurice Brookes Foundation and Dustin quite frankly it would be my honour if you would be the first recipient of a scholarship" He says with a big wide smile

"I don't know what to say" I stammer out as I flip through it

There's so much information in the docket as I flip through, access to Tms, berries, ability patches you name it, access to education, the ability to do remote classes at anyone academy of my choice

"Obviously it has to be okay with you too Grandma?" He says turning to Grandma

I turn to look and I see floods of tears running down her face as she tries to hold herself together

"Thank you" she chokes out stopping herself from breaking down

"Oh don't be silly, no time for tears" He says jumping up and hugging her

"Quite right" She says releasing herself before nodding and turning to me

"Dustin whatever your choice, you will always have my full support"

I look down to the docket again, before I feel Daisy place her hand on my arm

She smiles and nods to me

I stand up and look to Ryan

"Yes, I accept"

"Right not too much farther buddy, sorry we couldn't get the train direct to New Bark, Mareep on the rail or something" Ryan calls as he walk ahead

"No worries I used to the walk now" I shout out happily hitching my backpack up

"Ah there it is!" He shouts darting his way up the road

I look up to see the lab, it quite small in comparison to that of Professor Oak but it white and sleek, more futuristic than rustic. I catch up to Ryan who is met on the doorstep by a middle aged man who greets him happily

"Ah then you must be Dustin, pleasure to meet you, I am Professor Elm"

NEXT TIME...JOHTO BEGINS