I woke up the next morning feeling a bit overwhelmed.

There was a lot that I needed to figure out today, and I wasn't sure where to start. I really needed to catch Apollo, but the only way I'd feel comfortable doing that was if I had a way to keep him out of his ball overnight. I'd never liked the idea of keeping Pokémon in a ball more than absolutely necessary, and I didn't want to deprive him of his time enjoying the moon.

I tried to think of workarounds; maybe he could Teleport onto the roof of the orphanage for the night, but that would leave him completely vulnerable to flying-type predators. He would be much safer in the woods where he had the cover of trees and shrubbery to shelter him while sleeping.

Things would be easier if I could just gain access to my mother's inheritance now. While likely not much, surely it should be enough to afford a cheap tent and some basic supplies, then I could just camp out in the woods and feed myself without needing to return to the orphanage.

There was also Miss Augustine to consider. I currently relied on her to feed me, and if I decided to not come back before sunrise as she had instructed, I was likely to lose my newfound freedom and access to the computer for research.

I sit in my bunk bed gritting my teeth, feeling my anger flare. I hated this feeling. I felt trapped, dependent on others, and held back by arbitrary rules. The Hoenn government setting the age of adulthood so high and not allowing me access to my rightful inheritance, the League no longer having any exemptions such as the youngster license, then of course Miss Augustine's rules. The logical side of me knew there were valid reasons for all of it, but I still felt wronged.

I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, pushing my anger aside. Dwelling on it wasn't going to help; I needed to find a solution.

One possibility was to secretly do some work using my newfound freedom to earn a bit of money, but it would be hard to do without Miss Augustine finding out. I also doubted I'd make anywhere near enough to buy a tent, and it would mean not meeting up with Apollo until much later in the day. That was absolutely unacceptable to me since I'd made a promise to be there by noon at the latest, and I wasn't about to break it.

I could also try to take out a loan somehow, but since I was a minor I'd have to find somebody willing to do it 'unofficially'. There was absolutely no way I was asking Miss Augustine for money; she already struggled to keep this orphanage running and feed everyone, and she would be paying for the privilege of letting me break her rules.

Norman was a possibility. He'd offered me potions and antidotes to get through Petalburg Woods; perhaps he had some spare camping supplies laying around that I could pay him back for later, or maybe he'd even be open to giving me a small loan, with interest obviously. It would spit in the face of my desire to be independent, but I'd be willing to suck up my pride if it was the only way.

There was also the risk that if he declined my request, he'd tell Miss Augustine of my plans to essentially run away, which would also be an issue. If he somehow agreed to give me what I needed, there was a chance Miss Augustine found out he'd been the one to help me, since he was truly the only other person in Petalburg I knew at this point. I'd be damaging their relationship, and I didn't want to ruin things for any other future orphans who shared my dream.

Even if I had the means to run away, it would likely come back to bite Miss Augustine. I'm pretty sure she would be required to report it, and although I doubted that it would affect my ability to get my license or inheritance there was also a chance she got in trouble for it since she was my caretaker.

I could try being honest with Miss Augustine; tell her my situation and see if she had any ideas. I was almost certain she didn't have a tent or sleeping bag laying around, and a large part of me also doubted that she would even consider lifting the Pokémon restriction or turning a blind eye to me running away, but the odds weren't exactly zero.

"Breakfast time!"

I finally got out of bed, deciding that thinking about it anymore wouldn't help. I needed to start taking action.

One thing was for sure; I was going to capture Apollo today one way or another, even if I had to burn bridges and go hungry to do it.

After finishing breakfast I put my shoes on and made a dash for the door, deciding that I could start by making a trip to the Pokémart to price things out. Then maybe I could try finding a job or talking to Norman; they were the best options I really had.

"Mr. Ingram! What have I told you about running indoors?"

I froze and turned to see Miss Augustine standing with her arms crossed, giving me a glare.

"Sorry, just lots to do today." I apologized with a slight bow.

"Have you caught a starter yet? You only have three days left."

"A lot can happen in three days." I noted, my mind thinking of how Apollo could be captured by somebody else or fall victim to a predator in that time, which only strengthening my resolve to capture him today.

"I find it extremely hard to believe you've been spending every day in the woods and haven't found anything to catch. There are Pokémon around in abundance. Sure there isn't anything you want to tell me?" She asked with suspicion, arching an eyebrow.

I took a deep breath, thinking about how I wanted to answer. I was very tempted to lie, but I currently had a mess of problems with no clear solution in sight, and most of my ideas would end up negatively affecting Miss Augustine in one way or another. Despite her abrasive personality and lack of support of my chosen lifestyle, her heart was in the right place and she always made sure us orphans were taken care of, so I felt indebted to her. She was also making a point to constantly check up on me the past few days, which was not normal behavior for her.

She was a good person, and I was moments away from walking out those doors and doing something that would surely hurt her in one way or another.

I'd made up my mind. It was going to be a big risk, and there was a chance I'd regret it, but I'd regret it more if I started my new life burning the one person left in this world who had cared for me. I gulped before replying. "Miss Augustine… Can we talk privately in your office please?"

She looked me up and down critically for a moment before nodding slightly and leading me into her office, shutting the door behind her. She took a seat behind her desk and gestured for me to sit, which I obliged.

She leveled me with a stare, tapping a finger against the desk in a clear indication for me to start talking. I took a deep breath to calm myself and compose my thoughts.

"Miss Augustine… I'm in a really rough spot, and I honestly don't know what to do…" I began, eliciting absolutely no reaction from her as she waited for me to continue. I was beginning to doubt this decision, but it was too late to turn back so I pushed through.

"I've found a starter, but I can't catch him in good conscience just to keep him in his Pokéball every night for the next few days."

She hummed to herself for a moment before raising a brow at me. "Firstly, a Pokéball isn't some sort of prison. Surely with all your research you know this. I hear it's actually quite comfortable, probably even more than sleeping outdoors."

"He's young, and extremely fond of the moon. I'm afraid he could get depressed if he's locked away at night."

She shrugged, "Why not just capture it and let it stay out in the forest overnight? Doesn't seem that complicated to me."

"Again, he's young. We've been doing some training, but he can't exactly defend himself. He's highly vulnerable to predators."

Miss Augustine sighed, looking a bit exasperated. "Mr. Ingram, I will not allow you to have a Pokémon roaming my orphanage. If that's what you're asking, then –"

"I know, that's not what I'm asking for." I quickly cut in. "I want to camp out in the woods with him. I'd be able to help keep him safe, and I sort of need the practice before going through Petalburg Woods anyway."

She gave me a hard glare, her eyebrows furrowed. "You know I'm responsible for your safety, at least for the next few days. If anything happened to you, it would fall on me. You've chosen a lifestyle likely to get you killed someday, but it won't be happening under my care."

I nodded, "I know, but I've been spending all day out in the woods. Nothing has threatened me, only my partner. As long as I'm around Pokémon seem to leave us alone. You know most in the area are rather weak and docile. They know not to attack humans."

"Yes, but nighttime is also a very different story Mr. Ingram. You seem to think attacks never happen, and that's simply incorrect. They are indeed rare, but not unheard of. There's also the small matter of you not having any supplies for an overnight stay outdoors."

I nodded slowly, considering my next words carefully. "That's true, and I can't receive any inheritance until my birthday. I… I was considering asking Norman for a favor, or a small loan."

Miss Augustine looked me up and down, studying me closely. "Why didn't you simply use your newfound freedom to do some work around town?"

"I didn't think you'd approve and figured you'd probably find out," I admitted, surprised by the suggestion. "But regardless, I wouldn't have enough by the end of the day for what I need." I explained, deciding to simply leave out my promise to Apollo to return by noon as it didn't seem relevant.

"You see this as a situation that needs to be resolved today?" She asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

She hummed, "I can appreciate that you didn't sneak off to work; you're correct that I wouldn't have approved and likely would have found out one way or another... May I ask why you haven't asked me for this loan?" She asked with what I felt was a hint of accusation.

My eyes widened and I hesitated. "It seemed… Highly inappropriate. You have so many others to take care of, and it's not as though you're well funded. I also have no idea when I'd be able to pay it back. My mother's inheritance could be next to nothing, and I'll need to spend everything I have on traveling supplies anyway."

She nodded, "You are correct that I can't afford to loan you money, I just wanted to hear your reasoning. Let me ask you a question Mr. Ingram; do you know how I'm able to keep things running around here?"

I tilted my head a bit, not sure where this was going. "Donations? Funding from the Hoenn government?"

Miss Augustine nodded, "Correct on both accounts. I assume you are aware that donations don't always come in the form of money? Did it not occur to you that through all my years of running this orphanage, some of those donations might have included the supplies you need?"

I blinked, feeling a bit caught off guard. Of course it had occurred to me, but I'd just assumed things like that got sold since there wasn't really a need for them and I never saw anything like that around the orphanage.

Miss Augustine sighed, "Mr. Ingram, I must say; as intelligent as you are, you seem to have a bad habit of overanalyzing and complicating things. I'm well aware that you are a bit… untrusting of people, and perhaps you don't hold me in high regard, but I always do my best to provide for the children under my care and to set them up for success once they leave these walls. It's why I contacted Norman, and why I made special accommodations for you to prepare for your journey. Although I'm limited in the help I can provide, I will not send you out into the world completely unprepared."

I'm pretty sure I looked like a Magikarp, as my eyes were wide and my mouth was hanging open in shock. I was having a hard time processing what was happening, as I hadn't expected Miss Augustine to be so understanding. If half expected to be scolded, but she was being surprisingly helpful. She seemed willing to help, but I still wasn't fully clear on how this would resolve my current situation. She'd made it clear that Apollo was not to be released in the orphanage, and that she didn't have any intention of allowing me to sleep in the woods while still under her care.

She huffed, waving her hands dismissively. "Wipe that dumb look off your face Mr. Ingram, it's unbecoming."

I flushed a bit, straightening my posture and adopting a more neutral expression. "Sorry, I'm just trying to process all this. So… What does this all mean? Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate any help you can provide, but I still don't see a resolution for my problem…" I trailed off, causing Miss Augustine to palm her face in exacerbation.

"Once again, you're overcomplicating a rather simple solution Mr. Ingram." She let out a deep sigh, pulling out a drawer on her desk and rummaging through it for a moment before pulling out a folder with some papers inside. She then stood up and walked to the door, opening it and gesturing for me to follow her.

I tilted my head a bit, feeling extremely confused.

She rolled her eyes, looking a bit annoyed. "You've done enough talking and thinking, come on. We have places to be, and I have things I need to do later, so don't dawdle."

My brows furrowed as I tried to think of what she was planning, but I obeyed. I stood up and left as Miss Augustine led me to the front door.

"Children, I'll be back soon! Jessie, you're in charge, make sure Albert takes his medicine and don't let anybody skip school! Nobody is sick so no excuses!" She bellowed, gesturing me out the front door.

"Yes ma'am, you can count on me!' I heard from behind me as the door closed. Miss Augustine began to walk down the streets of Petalburg as I followed close behind, anxious to see what she had planned.

The first place Miss Augustine led me to was city hall, which confused me greatly. I was sorely tempted to verbalize the many questions swirling in my mind, but I decided to keep them to myself. She seemed borderline annoyed with the situation, and since she appeared to be helping me I decided not to push my luck.

She ordered me to sit in a chair in the lobby as she went to have a discussion with the clerk. After a couple of minutes, she was led into a room, and I sat anxiously in the lobby, my hand in my pocket fidgeting nervously with the Pokéball.

It took about five minutes before the door opened and Miss Augustine waved me over impatiently.

I found myself sitting in a very nice office that had multiple file cabinets, full bookshelves, and a nice wooden desk. There were chairs situated on our side of the desk, and on the other side sat an older man wearing robes I assumed to be some sort of judge. I sat in one of the chairs next to Miss Augustine, and the man gave me a nod in greeting as he slid a document in front of me along with a pen.

Miss Augustine impatiently tapped at the bottom of the paper, where I saw multiple signature lines with two of them already signed with what I assumed was both of their signatures. I cast a look of confusion towards her, which the older gentleman seemed to pick up on.

"Daniel, was it? Miss Augustine has informed me of your intentions, and has agreed to release custody of you. Based on your records, along with the information Miss Augustine has provided me, I have deemed you eligible for emancipation. Although performing an emancipation mere days from becoming an adult is unusual, it seems to be in both of your best interests so I'm happy to oblige. By signing this document, you are releasing Miss Augustine of all custodial responsibilities, and will be recognized as a legal adult in Hoenn. There are some limits and exceptions, but based on my discussion with Miss Augustine the only one you need to concern yourself with is that this doesn't affect the requirements to get a trainer's license from the League, which is its own independent entity. In the past there was the youngster license, but that program has long been terminated and they no longer recognize emancipated adults as eligible for a trainers license. The good news is that upon your emancipation, you are eligible to receive any inheritance left behind for you. My records indicate that your mother Patricia Ingram's account holds 2,311 credits, and ownership of that account will be transferred to you as her beneficiary. Do you have any questions?"

I stared down at the signature line, completely at a loss for words as I tried to process everything. I hadn't even known that this was a thing, and I was honestly a bit rattled at how many problems this solved. For all the research I'd done on Pokémon, the region and the League, I'd never heard the term emancipation outside of history class, and even if I had I would have never thought that Miss Augustine would have agreed.

"I… No. No questions. Thank you, both of you." I said shakily, picking up the pen and scratching my signature. I pushed the paper across the desk towards the gentleman and set the pen down, taking a deep breath to calm myself. It took a few minutes for the man to scan the document and punch a few things into the computer, during which I stole a glance at Miss Augustine. She was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought, but I could have sworn there was the faintest hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

I thought back to our earlier talk in her office, and realized that maybe she was right. Although I liked to think of myself as independent and capable of solving my own problems, I had assumed a lot of things I really shouldn't have and worried about this much more than I needed to. I had been willing to lie and damage relationships to figure things out myself, because I saw it as the only way.

This experience had been extremely humbling, and I decided that I should try letting other people into my life more often. Although being independent was important to me, it didn't mean that I needed to push others away or view things as me vs the world.

The man reached into his desk and pulled out something small I couldn't quite make out and inserted it into a slot on a device connected to his computer. After a few more moments of typing, he pulled it out and slid it across the desk to me, and it was then that I realized it was a card.

"All done! Ownership of your mother's account has been transferred under your name effective immediately, which you can access using this temporary card. It serves as both identification as well as access to your new bank account. Since you plan on becoming a trainer very soon, this is just a temporary one. Most trainers attach their account to the Pokédex they receive upon registration for a trainers license, so you'll soon find this card unnecessary. In addition, Miss Augustine is now absolved of all responsibilities relating to your care and safety. Congratulations Mr. Ingram, you are now officially recognized as a legal adult in the great region of Hoenn!" The man announced cheerfully as he stood and reached out a hand. I stood as well, taking the offered hand and shaking it vigorously with a huge grin and a slight bow of thanks. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Miss Augustine give a slight nod as she stood and offered me a few gentle claps of congratulations.

We were let out of the office and Miss Augustine led me out of city hall, apparently taking me to our next destination.

I couldn't help it; once we were out of the building I threw myself into a hug, thanking her. She quickly pushed me off and scolded me, telling me not to do that again, but after I apologized and we continued walking I could see that she had the first full, real smile I'd ever seen on her face.

Our next stop was a collection of storage units on the outskirts of town. She led me to one and unlocked it with a key, and I was shocked to see stacks of assortment of items. It took us a little bit to move things and sort through it, but eventually I was given a old tent, a worn but perfectly usable backpack, a rolled up sleeping bag that seemed to have a couple of holes that had some down feathers of a bird I couldn't even attempt to identify poking out of it, a small water filter, a dented thermos, a lantern, a firestarter, a small shovel, a utility knife, a few metal bowls and utensils, a tarp, and some nylon rope. She explained that she always kept donations that she thought may be useful for survival situations, in case the worst came to pass. After thanking her profusely and stowing or hitching everything to the backpack, we moved everything else back into the storage unit and she locked it back up.

We made our way back to the orphanage, where I packed my few belongings. I grabbed a couple pens and my latest notebook, which mostly consisted of notes on the various routes and cities of the region but was largely empty, and I tossed out the rest. I mostly wrote things down to help me commit them to memory, and there wasn't anything of particular importance in there that I felt was worth carrying around the region. It was all stuff you could find online, and once I was a trainer I would have access to the terminals at Pokécenters.

I considered doing some last-minute research on the computer, since all the kids were at school by now and it was free, but the only thing I really wanted to research was Apollo's telepathy, which I knew was going to be a complicated topic that wasn't something that I would be able to do in the short amount of time I had before I needed to meet up with my partner.

With a tattered backpack on my back containing everything I owned, I filled up my thermos with water and went to find Miss Augustine, who ended up being in her office doing some sort of paperwork. The door was open, so I stepped into the doorway and gently knocked on the frame, getting her attention.

"Ah, Mr. Ingram. All packed up I see. I assume you'll be on your way then? If I recall correctly, you have a starter to catch."

"I do, and yes I'm ready. I just wanted to say bye, and thank you again. You've done more for me than I could ever repay." I said sincerely, offering her a deep bow. I'd always respected Miss Augustine, but needless to say my opinion of her had risen significantly after today. I felt like I'd seen a side of her that she rarely allows others to see, and I couldn't help but view her in a new light.

"I suppose that means you won't be returning after getting your trainers license?" She asked with a raised brow.

I shrugged, a bit awkwardly. "I don't really have anybody here I care to say goodbye to, other than you. I'll get my license first thing in the morning on my birthday, then immediately set out towards Petalburg Woods. I have half a mind to just leave now and register in Rustboro, but then I wouldn't be able to do any trainer battles or catch a second Pokémon, so I think I'll just camp out until then."

She gave me a considering look before nodding. "Well then, I wish you the best of luck Mr. Ingram. You know I'm not one to keep up with anything related to Pokémon or trainers, but if you find yourself in any televised tournaments or anything of the sort, do let me know and I'll make sure the children get to watch. Although I'm not a fan of children journeying across a region filled with dangerous terrain and creatures, it's good for the kids to see somebody like them accomplishing things in life. Despite your low chances of success, I do hope to see you succeed in all that you wish to achieve."

I offered another deep bow, restraining the overwhelming urge to run across the room and hug her again. "Thank you. Please take good care of the kids and yourself; I'll try to visit someday, and hopefully I'll be in a position to pay you back for all you've done for me."

She snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "You don't owe me anything Mr. Ingram, and I hardly have time for all the children I've cared for over the years to stop by unannounced. But if you find yourself being successful, we could schedule a visit with the children. I'll never turn down an opportunity for them to meet a role model who can give them hope for the future, even if I personally disagree with the profession."

"No promises, but I'll do my best." I replied with a grin, to which she nodded and began waving me off.

"Go on then, shoo. I suspect you have much to do, as do I. Do your best not to die out there, Mr. Ingram."

I turned to leave before pausing in the doorway. I looked back at Miss Augustine, who had already resumed going through her paperwork, before offering one last word of parting.

"Thanks for everything you do Miss Augustine. I hope I can make you proud."

She scoffed, not looking away from her paper as she waved her hand at me again, shooing me away.

I turned and left, walking out of the orphanage one final time. As I closed the door behind me, my heart swelled with the gravity of the moment.

This was it, what I'd been waiting for. I'm finally free and fully independent. The world was at my fingertips, and in just three days I'd be an official trainer on my journey.

I took off down the road, running past a pair of Zigzagoon who seemed to be playing tag as I headed east towards the clearing where Apollo was hopefully waiting for me.

It was almost noon and I had a promise to keep, as well as a partnership to solidify.

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