Arthur walked down the dirt path briskly, looking around to make sure that no wild pokemon were coming near him, though Skipper, his Vaporeon, was on high alert. It was only route one, but the pokemon was always fiercely protective of his trainer. Arthur fiddled with his watch and glanced down at Skipper, who let out an excited chirp.

  His daughter’s birthday was coming up, and he knew she had always wanted to become a trainer. Since she was turning 15 this year, what better gift than a starter from the famous professor Arven?

  Arthur ran a hand through his short hair and looked up at a chirp from Skipper. “Oh, we’re already here? Thanks, buddy.”

  The Pokemon research lab was a sight to behold. The large tower rose up before him, but this wasn’t what he was looking for. Instead, he walked around it to a greenhouse where he watched as a few pokemon played. A grey haired man with white streaks through his hair looked up as he walked towards him. “Ah, Arthur, right? I’m Professor Arven.”

  His hair still covered half his face, but he was wearing his lab coat, and a Greedant sat next to him, chowing down on an Oran berry. His green eyes lit up as he recalled the fluffy creature, and walked over to him. Arthur nodded, and shook his hand firmly. “Yes. I’m Arthur. This is Skipper,” He said, nodding to the Vaporeon, “and I believe we have an appointment now?”

  The professor nodded. “Yeah, let me just get them situated before everything goes crazy. The starters have a tendency to be either really shy or really hostile towards people other than me. So just have your Vaporeon out in case anything happens.”

  Arthur nodded, but privately, he was a little nervous. Skipper and him had a beat a few gyms in their day, but they hadn’t fought in a while, so they were a bit rusty. Though, starters weren’t trained anyways, so he probably had nothing to worry about.

  They walked towards the greenhouse. Arthur fidgeted with his watch again and checked the time. 10 am. He had hours until Kenna got home. She had always taken after him with a love for water, especially the open ocean. But she’d been spending less time there after he got her a pokedex and a pokechat. Pokechats were basically phones, but they had a little companion inside them: a porygon, who would stay in her phone and provide advice and generally be a companion. He had regretted buying her it when she stayed in her room for hours on end, just talking to the pokechat and would deny spending time with him, even when it was going to the ocean or surfing, which she used to love. It had been expensive as well… she would throw a fit if he got a refund for it, and even then it was too late to give it back. Lost in thought, he almost hit the door, but the professor waved his hand in front of Arthur’s face, and he jumped, stepping to the side as the door swished past.

  Professor Arven chuckled. “Lost in thought?”

  Arthur sheepishly nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that. Let’s get going.”

  The professor led him down a white hall. Before they entered the actual part of the greenhouse, he stopped and turned towards him. “No pokemon past this point. Please put recall him so we don’t have drama on our hands when we get in there. Snivy in particular acts like a literal queen.”

  Arthur nodded and silently recalled Skipper, who wiggle inside the pokeball. “Don’t worry, it’s just for a little bit.” He whispered to him, and the pokeball fell still. He clipped it onto his belt and they entered the greenhouse.

  Professor Arven walked towards a tall fence with a gate, where a few pokemon were gathered. “That’s Totodile, Chikorita, and Mudkip.” He said, pointing down.

  “They’re usually nice, but Mudkip’s a little terror.” He said, and then sighed when Mudkip spat a jet of water directly into his face.

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  Arthur laughed. “Don’t think he appreciated that. You know, my daughter could use a pokemon to spice her life up like that little Mudkip.”

  Arven raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat. Here, let me get his pokeball.”

  He walked further down the hall into a room, and the pokemon began calling out. “Hey, don’t worry. He’ll be back in a little bit.” Arthur reassured, but they kept complaining. Soon, the noise became a cacophony, and he had to cover his ears. God, it was so loud.

  The professor came out in a split second, walking through the door and glaring down at the three. “Chikorita. I know you started this. No treats tonight.”

  Chikorita let out a sad wail, hanging their head. “Anyways, here’s his pokeball. I’ll get him registered with you for now. Make sure to stop by your local trainer register to get your daughter signed up and him transferred to her.”

  “Will do. Thank you, professor.” He said politely.

  Arven shrugged. “It’s my job. You can head out by yourself, I don’t want these delinquents screaming at the top of their lungs again.”

  ——————

  Arthur drummed his fingers on the table. Kenna had gotten back a little while ago, and all he had to do was go and talk to her about becoming a trainer. Why was this so hard? They hadn’t really interacted much the past week, sure, but she was his daughter, for Arceus’s sake.

  Slowly getting up from his chair, he sighed and walked towards Kenna’s door. She had decorated it with stickers. A lot of stickers. The entire door was filled with stickers, mostly of Vaporeon and other water type pokemon. He heard her voice talking to… probably the pokechat.

  “So, Sticker! How are you doing? Good? That’s great! I’m fine, thanks for asking. Yeah. Yeah. Dad wants me to go on this giant journey and see a bunch of stuff. I don’t really know if I want to. You think it’s a good idea? Well, I don’t have a pokemon. Yeah. I guess so. You’re right. He probably wants me out of the house…”

  Arthur listened for a bit more, but it was just her going on about Skipper and the pokemon near their house. Sighing, he released Skipper for moral support. Skipper let out a trill, and watched as he knocked on the door. “Hey, Kenna?”

  Kenna stopped talking immediately and he heard footsteps. The door swung open and his mouth dropped open. She was wearing a shirt with Vaporeon on it, and her dark hair was tied in a bun. She actually had her glasses on, which she said made her look silly. She was wearing blue shorts, and sandals. “What?”

  He smiled. “You’re wearing the glasses I bought you.”

  Her blue eyes narrowed. “Well, I can’t really see well without them. What do you need?”

  Arthur bit his lip. “I was… thinking about your birthday present.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Is it.. a new surfboard? Shoes?”

  He shook his head, a smile growing on his face. “Nope. We’re heading out, come on.”

  Kenna narrowed her eyes again in confusion, but followed him out.

  ——————

  Kenna was confused. Her dad had said absolutely nothing about a birthday present. She thought he forgot. He seemed really distracted that morning. Maybe it was to plan whatever her birthday surprise was?

  Her dad had a grin on his face. “So… here we are.”

  Kenna groaned. It was the trainer facility. “Dad, I already told you I don’t want anything to do with being a trainer. Pokemon are cool, I guess, but…”

  Her dad deflated instantly and sighed. “Well, I guess I can hand back the Mudkip Professor Arven gave me for you, then.”

  She froze. “YOU GOT ME WHAT?!”

  The people on the street gave her a few glares, but she ignored them. “You got me a rare pokemon? A STARTER?”

  Her dad shrugged. “I mean, I’m just going to give him back because you don’t want to be a trainer.”

  “Wait, wait. Where did you even get a Mudkip?” She asked excitedly.

  “Professor Arven. He put an application online and I filled it out for you. You got in, by the way, as you can tell.” He smiled.

  Then her dad looked down. “Well, I’ll have to give the Mudkip back now.”

  Kenna opened her mouth, then hesitated for a second. “Ok, ok. Fine.”

  Her dad reached out and hugged her. “You‘re going to love this, Kenna. I promise.”

  —————————

  Skipper watched her. His trainer was hugging the kid so hard he thought she might burst. To travel again… He may be around 10 years old at this point, but Skipper still had the same thirst for adventure that he had when he was an Eevee kit, and Espeon was still- No, best not to think of that. There was a reason he tried not to. Well, he tried at least. Skipper always thought about him when he wasn’t busy, which is why he always tried to be.

  He slowly walked towards his trainer, and while he was busy hugging Kenna, he snatched the pokeball from his belt, and tossed it till it landed at the feet of the girl. She stared down at it, and let go of her father.

  “What does Skipper want, dad?”