Patricia Greenwood

  —

  I was smiling as I watched my most insane daughter walk off down the road. Pallet Town was safe enough that we didn't worry too much about Team Rocket here, so she could just… walk down the road like any other teenager, and it made me so very happy to see. She loved her two new sisters, of course, but everyone needed some alone time. The way she almost skipped down the road… it had been a long time since she could just be alone, in fact. Mostly alone, Hecate and Cerberus were with her…

  My smile didn't fade as I turned from the front windows and caught the eyes of my other daughters as they sat on the couch, practically covered in half-asleep Rattata and Raticate. In fact, my smile only grew, even as the two of them grew wary.

  "You haven't taken your mid-Circuit tests yet, have you?" They looked momentarily nervous, and I couldn't help the amused chuckle that erupted from me.

  When a child left to Journey, they weren't simply dumped outside of their homes with no support systems. They could be, of course, but even those unfortunate children were required to take tests occasionally to demonstrate that they were still studying in some capacity, if not as much as a dedicated student who skipped their Journey.

  They weren't hard, complicated things, of course. Especially these days, with the Journeying age now thirteen, everything important had already been taught. History, while important, wasn't as important as basic Pokemon knowledge, math, basic science, and literacy of course. A year spent Journeying never cut into a student's plans all that much compared to one who skipped, and looked much better on their record. A few hours a week on their PokeNav's should have been more than enough studying, in fact…

  Still, that meant that these two should have no issues… Erin may have a few issues with the more common, local knowledge, but should be fine with everything else… Probably?

  Probably.

  "No, but I think we still have a month…" I chuckled again as Leaf muttered that, and couldn't help a bark of laughter at Alex's comment.

  "If we can't pass it, then we shouldn't be walking down the street without help, let alone traveling as trainers…"

  "Yes, you should all be fine. It's more of a formality, but still an important one… Now, Erin's going to be gone all day, so what will you two be doing?" They looked at each other, and I rushed to interrupt the obvious answer I saw forming.

  "Not training! You can take a few days off, and Professor Oak gets Leaf tomorrow, anyway." They looked a little lost now, but I had expected that. Most of their time was probably spent training, talking to each other, and maybe on their PokeNav's.

  "I guess I'll see what Hope and the others want to do? Well, Tinkatuff is still busy, and Noivern basically wont stop practicing his flight… We might just go watch some movies, we don't actually watch that much most of the time we stay at Centers…" Leaf looked uncertain, but not nearly as uncertain as Alex.

  "Yeah, I mean… I play games, but I don't have any of my consoles with me, obviously, and I don't have a mobile console. Most games on PokeNav's suck, so I guess… I forgot last night, and they had the kids, but I did kind of want to see what viewing a dream is like… That's tonight and tomorrow, though…"

  I smiled at the sight of the two of them, so unsure of what to do with truly free time after this long Journeying and training, just lazily sitting around instead of rushing to do something… They were also adorable right now, still in their pajamas, covered in sleepy rodents… In fact… I managed to get a good photo before they noticed, too!

  "Mom! Delete that, I basically just woke up!" I ignored my daughter as I noticed Nova enter the backyard looking harried. Not that I blamed her… I liked Dragonair, but she was… strict. I didn't see Splash or Wiggles, so I had to assume they were still getting a talking to…

  Not that it had been unneeded, of course. As it was now, that wasn't a healthy relationship for any of them.

  "Well, I'll ask Nova too, but there's something I have to do today, and I wouldn't mind your help if you have no plans…"

  They looked confused now, but I just smiled.

  —

  —

  Houses got dirty over time. That was just a fact, even when they were fully sealed. Luckily we had plenty of hands to help clean… Hands, minds, and one set of wings.

  My parents' things had arrived today, so we were getting their house into order. It wasn't exactly hard, either. The house Professor Oak had sold me wasn't large at all, in fact it was positively tiny, a kitchen, small living room, utilities room, bathroom, and bedroom being the entirety of it. It still had everything needed to be a house, and it was actually quite lovely, especially with the huge windows in the living room and kitchen. They would get full sun most of the day if they wanted.

  It was cozy, not cramped, and I could tell that they liked it, too. It was also only a two minute walk from my Ranch, practically next door neighbors with Mrs. Maple… She had lightened up around them slightly.

  I understood it, and I was grateful, but… I really didn't hate them, and quite enjoyed having them around so far. Hopefully they kept it up… I thought they would, though.

  Maddy didn't help us for long, but she helped a great deal. After we opened every window wide, Maddy squeezed inside and practically exploded with wind. Five minutes later no more dust came out, so she saved us a great deal of sweeping and wiping. She also enjoyed the predictable looks of fear on my parents faces when she waddled back outside, of course…

  Not that we didn't also wipe the walls and ceilings down, but that was relatively fast. Alfred and Grace got the ceiling and the tops of the walls while we moved behind them, getting the rest. It didn't take long after that to get their furniture inside and set up, but I soon regretted my offer to also help hang pictures.

  Because they had picture books, too!

  "This is Patricia on her first bicycle, how did that get in this book… Look at her smile, though! We had to take her to the park, our apartment at the time wasn't in a great spot for empty streets. Not that there's many empty streets in Saffron for long, of cour- Oh, listen to me ramble! This is Patricia on her first day of high school! She was so excited to start, but that didn't last, of course… And this is Patricia when she graduated South Saffron High! She was so embarrassed to have her parents there, look at her face! Oh, let me find that one picture, it should be in here…"

  My face was on fire as my mother continued to embarrass me, looking through multiple picture books for something while the girls looked at more! Nova was… I guess politely amused by the whole thing? Alex was thrilled to see all the photos, of course, but Leaf?

  Leaf was taking some vicious delight in this whole thing, happily enjoying my embarrassment, but payback was fair, I guess…

  "Wow, mom, what were these pants? Are those even pants, or are they, like, two tubes?" I deliberately ignored my daughter as she showed me a picture. Those pants had been in style for a season, and a gift, I hadn't wasted money on them, but that photo was apparently forever…

  In fact, I just left after that, to the amused laughs of my family. Really, I should have expected it… I took a moment to simply wander around their property, not that it took me long.

  Petals and two Weepinbell had come along as well and cleared up their yard for them. Not that it was very hard, it was small, but they could easily put in a little garden out back, I guess? I wasn't sure if they had ever grown anything larger than a potted plant before, but it could be a nice hobby for them, right? Not that they'd have the time this year, but maybe next year?

  I should probably get a greenhouse set up, now that I think about it. We had plenty of food stored that we rotated through, and hunting didn't drop off that much during winter, but fresh vegetables were still nice to have. A decently-sized greenhouse, plus Petals' assistance, could produce quite a lot, too…

  …

  They were still going in there…

  Petals glanced inside, up at me and my red face, then back inside once more before she chimed up at me with a wide, amused smile and a giggle.

  "Oh, hush, Petals."

  —

  Erin

  —

  Professor Oak had told me that he had me for almost his entire day, and he had honestly cleared out more than I expected, but some things still required his attention. Most could be delegated, of course, but when his new favorite test subject could wield and read aura? Why skip some things? Why not mix the two, like a simple daily survey!

  So I was staring down a herd of Tauros right now. Ash's herd of Tauros, I assumed, and they did not look happy to see me. I wasn't reigning in my aura in the least, so combine that with my jacket, feathers, boots, and general 'I find you tasty' vibe? I didn't blame them for that at all.

  I was kind of irritated, myself, but this hadn't been that unusual. I was helping the Professor 'stress test' his Ranch, see what happened when I randomly released my aura. Most Pokemon just ignored me as I walked with the Professor, of course, while some ran… these Tauros were thinking about trampling me, though.

  "Professor, aren't those Ash's Tauros?" He nodded, and I was grateful my aura was already out.

  It made the outpouring of love at Ash's name so easy to catch. Love, and anticipation, but surprisingly little loneliness, at least in that brief burst…

  Huh, I guess they all really do love him… Still think he should have released at least most of the herd of Tauros, but… okay then.

  Oh… Oh no…

  I felt my blood pressure begin to rise as I had a horrible thought, my stomach seeming to drop into a dark pit as I looked over at the Professor. My voice was low, quiet, and just a little hopeful.

  "Did Ash leave his Pidgeot at your Ranch? In the anime he left it around here to defend your Ranch from a Fearow…" He looked confused for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

  "No, no, they're here at the Ranch! They also have a bracelet, so it's easy to tell they're a trainer's Pokemon when they go for a flight." I breathed out a huge sigh of relief at the news. I had honestly forgotten about things like identifying gear for trainer's Pokemon of the… farmed species.

  I might have some gripes about Ash, at least the Ash from the early anime, but I still liked the kid, of course! I was really glad that Maddy hadn't killed his Pidgeot, though… and then possibly brought it to mom…

  That would have been so horrible…

  "Maybe see how close you can get while releasing your aura before they start threat displaying? Right now they're just glaring." Professor Oak sounded so damn intrigued… but he knew I would be fine, they wouldn't actually attack someone accompanied by Professor Oak…

  It still didn't feel great having a herd of Tauros glaring murder at me, feelings of wanting to trample me to death loud and clear, no matter that they wouldn't!

  Why did I decide to do something nice?

  Why?!

  —

  Nova

  —

  After we finished helping Ms. Greenwood's parents I separated from them on our way back. I didn't have a destination, I was simply wandering around town, spending time alone, just… thinking. Thinking about the conversation I'd been a part of earlier…

  Dragonair had been… intense. The issues in my team had either been that obvious to an outside observer or someone talked… but either way, she hadn't been impressed. Not by Splash and his reluctant attitude while still staying and battling, not by my 'lack of a spine' while still utilizing Splash in battle, not by Wiggles for never saying anything to either of us about the whole situation… She was most mad about that, actually, and hadn't wanted to hear my defense of Wiggles.

  It made sense, though, right? Wiggles just wanted friends, and her two best friends didn't get along? It was… easier to ignore it as long as it didn't cause a huge issue. If I was going to be a Dragon Tamer, though… I couldn't have a Pokemon that acted like Splash, and Wiggles would need to get a bit more… 'serious' no matter what…

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  I was still stunned by my sudden good fortune, but I wasn't complaining, even with the currently-unresolved situation waiting for me back at their Ranch. Something had needed to happen for years, honestly, but as much as Splash was to blame… I had let him act like he did. I did it for Wiggles, yeah, but I hadn't set my foot down when I had the chance initially…

  I found myself really hoping that he stuck around, though. Wiggles aside, I did like him. Some parts of him. He could be fun, I guess? I'd spent years with him, years as I watched every other teammate fail to keep up with me. I… wasn't the best trainer, honestly. I wasn't bad, kind of good if I was being realistic, but not great. Six years, two teammates, and a single top sixteen placement to show for it…

  Still, I wasn't about to change my career plans, especially not if I was going to get training from the Blackthorns! They had a reputation, sure, but I had looked it up last night. Generally, the kind of training I would be getting for free would require either quite a bit of payment, or a period of service. Not military service, of course, but they would put you to work… sometimes as Gym trainers. There had only been three recent accounts on the PokeNet that I could find, and while it had been harsh, it seemed like it would be worth it…

  It was apparently one of the easier ways to join Clan Blackthorn other than through marriage, as well. The entire structure of the Clan made my head hurt a little, but I had noticed that last night when I looked it up. You were the lowest rank of Clan member, but… it made sense that it cost that much money or your time. They had to trust you before you were given that opportunity… and I'd gotten it through sheer luck, my request finally granted one morning at a Pokemon Center.

  Not that I planned on joining Clan Blackthorn. Even if they turned out to be much cooler than I had heard, I still didn't like the idea of 'Clans' in general. I understood why they existed, both in the past and today, but still… It was kind of weird, I guess? I mean, no judgement, it just felt odd from an outsider's point of view. I guess I would get a front-row seat for it soon, though?

  I found myself enjoying Pallet Town as I meandered around. It was an odd town, though, to me at least. I had grown up in a slightly smaller town, only around three hundred people, but we had walls! There were none here… this was one of the safer areas in Kanto, though. Not much out here was large, dangerous, or Stampeded. I doubted there was anything to disturb aquatic species other than the ferry to Cinnabar, and I bet that wasn't an issue.

  It made everything feel a bit more… spread out, I guess? It was a pleasant, open town, and I found myself relaxing a little more as I drew closer to the Greenwood Ranch… Actually, did it have a name? Like, an official name?

  I entered through the visitors center and found an old couple in there on a couch watching TV, a heavily scarred Houndour laying between them. They idly waved at me as I passed, and I returned it. I guess those were some of the residents Mrs. Maple had mentioned…

  When I walked into the Ranch, though, I found Splash leaning against the wall next to the door there sullenly, arms crossed. He frowned at me, then beckoned me forward as he began walking. I followed behind him, not entirely sure I was ready for this conversation…

  Especially as he brought me to the pond, Wiggles and a Hypno there. Splash could talk to me, but not translate for Wiggles at the same time, it took some concentration…

  Damnit, now we had to talk again…

  —

  Erin

  —

  "How about a non-physical Move? I understand your reluctance to even test a Tackle, but surely something intangible wouldn't have the same risk?"

  I frowned in thought, because he wasn't wrong. I was honestly terrified of breaking myself, but…

  I sighed heavily and turned towards a small target along the wall here in the 'exam room'.

  "Fine, but I'm just going to see what happens… Hecate, be ready to heal me just in case, but this should be fine…" I felt her agreement as I concentrated deeply.

  Using a Move was… weird. Something like Screech was simple, basically just aura infused air, same as that Roar, but the Fury Attack that really freaked me out? Once my arm was in motion, once I flipped a switch, once the Move started? I was not in control of my body… It could be trained, I realized that, but it still felt… weird. Odd. Almost restrictive, mechanical, limiting.

  Kinda ticklish, too, for this one at least…

  I took a deep breath and slowly let it out a few times before I drew in a huge breath and held it briefly.

  Then I pushed some of my aura into my breath. Not my voice, my breath itself.

  The Dragon Breath that sputtered across the room was… More pitiful than any Move I had ever seen used, honestly, and that included day-old Pokemon. Still, it had been the barest smidgen of my aura, I wasn't lightheaded, and I felt no pain. That was a success!

  I felt my elation grow as I briefly embraced my inner edgelord, imagining myself Flying while spewing breath attacks. Can't get a Charizard? Become the Charizard!

  Then Professor Oak shattered my idle daydreams.

  "Wonderful! Now, let's see how fast you can do it before it loses coherence, then how large before it becomes unstable!"

  I… was being nice! I had volunteered for this fully aware of what I was signing myself up for…

  As I practically whistled out a wisp of a Dragon Breath, however, I was really regretting that decision…

  —

  Leaf

  —

  I frowned as I stood on the top of the garden hill, arms crossed. Frowning, but not angry… yet. I mean, I understood it! Really I did!

  Noivern was still a bit much right now.

  He was ecstatic to finally Evolve, of course. That was easy enough to tell, he had unfortunately been very vocal about it, but he was also… mad. Mad that he had to… put some effort in to get used to his new body, I guess?

  It wasn't exactly rare for a Pokemon's personality to shift a bit when they Evolved. Their entire physical body changed, so it made sense, right? Most of the time the changes were small. Even with her burning need to craft a larger, stronger hammer, Tinkatuff hadn't seemed to change very much. A bit more anger, but it wasn't bad anger, more like… frustration. Her temper was a bit shorter, sure, but she still liked to cuddle, and she still liked the thought of giving gifts…

  Noivern had changed a decent bit, however. His laziness was still there, but now? His temper was much worse than it had been before, especially considering he hadn't had much of one… He seemed more driven to train despite his laziness, too. Training like aerial maneuvers with his new, much larger body…

  "Noivern! Just stop for a few minutes and come here!" He glared at me as he once again swooped around the hill, narrowly avoiding more than a few of the small trees, and I glared right back.

  "Okay then, if you're going to act like a brat, I guess I have to change what I was going to name you!" He stopped flapping for a moment in shock, and that was a bit of a mistake… Luckily he didn't break anything in himself when he crashed into the ground one level down the hill, he was much sturdier these days. He did break some bushes, though, so I got the feeling he was going to get a talking to at some point….

  I smiled as he flew back up to land in front of me, reaching out to pull him into a hug. He was taller than me while hunched over on his claws! He was a big Noivern, but I think his dad had been a bit bigger… or had that been his mom? He was still young, though, so he would probably put on another foot!

  "You might be a bit annoying to deal with… well, a bit more annoying to deal with, these days…" His glare was piercing. "...but I'm so happy for you. Now, I did come up with a name for you, but maybe we can go see Tinkatuff first? That way everyone can hear? Actually, hold on… Let's wait for tonight, that way everyone can hear, not just us?" He huffed a little, but nodded and bent down like he was about to launch himself, and I cleared my throat with a wide smile.

  One full of anticipation.

  "Maybe I could get a ride…? Think of it as strength training?" His flight was stable already, when he wasn't trying to push himself into crazy acrobatics… aerobatics?

  —

  Erin

  —

  Why did I think being nice to Professor Oak was a good thing? Maybe I should just walk the hell out of here, just tell him no and… Okay, no, I said I would do this, and I don't break my word… here…

  Arceus as my witness, though, I will not do this easily again, and I don't see myself volunteering at all in the future…

  "So you can't read minds, but you can sense emotions? Like an Empath can?" I shrugged.

  "No, I don't think so? Controlling my aura is like… stretching my mind out, sure, but that's a bit of a side effect of how I even have control over it. My mind is aura, or a good deal of it is… So the terminology is similar, but when I stretch my aura out, it's more like touching someone with…" I frowned in thought.

  I had obviously explored my aura abilities. I was, uhh, mature enough to admit that I was a bit of an edgelord, and being in this world where unique fashion statements were just a fact made it sooo much easier to indulge myself. Not that I had, not really. Yeah, my jacket was dark, and so were my boots and headband, but… Okay, I looked slightly edgelord-ish, especially with the bracers, but I was not taking them off, and I could have been so much worse…

  My aura, though? No way in hell I wasn't practicing as soon as I figured out that I could. It had always been hard to describe the sensation of using it, though.

  "It's like, my will itself that touches them? Not my mind, more like… what powers my mind? There's no mental bridge, because it's not mental, it's… aura. What even is aura?"

  Professor Oak looked excited briefly, that familiar look I had seen in teachers everywhere right before they launched into a lecture, but only for a few moments. Then he frowned.

  "Really? We don't know. It's not lifeforce or type energy, but it directly interacts with everything in the world, including lifeforce, even if the effect it has is miniscule in most ways. There are dozens of theories, of course, but in the end we just… don't know. Honestly?" He looked frustrated as we sat in his office. Frustrated, and slightly dejected.

  "Even with your help, I honestly haven't seen anything today that helps to understand aura in any real way. There were things to quantify about your usage of aura, but not about aura itself." Damn, now I felt bad about how reluctant I still felt about this whole thing… Still.

  I cleared my throat and leaned back in my chair. He needed to clean his desk, I almost couldn't see him… That was me being short and the tall stacks of books, honestly, not just my joyous battle with verticality.

  "Anyways, so no, I'm not an Empath. They can always hear and feel emotions, I have to reach out to do the same thing unless it's a strong burst of emotion." Professor Oak continued to write down notes, then looked up at me curiously.

  "When you move your aura, you can control it almost like an extension of your mind, correct?" When I nodded his whole face lit up.

  Mine did not light up.

  At all.

  "I can think of one more test, today…" I managed to stop myself from groaning, but it was hard.

  I just want to go home!

  —

  Patricia Greenwood

  —

  Dinner that night was far calmer than the last. There were no children running around, so tonight it was a relatively calm, quiet dinner out back. Soon enough it would be too cold to eat outside with everyone… Maybe I should make a 'living room' area in the Barn so that everyone could join, same as out here? There were couches in there, of course, but when that many Pokemon used them frequently, they became… worn down, and there were no tables…

  Maybe I should just turn one of the rooms into a kitchen area? We could put the table right next to the door, actually…

  "Hey Noivern, ready for that name?"

  The question cut through the idle conversation after dinner like a Flash in a dark cave. All eyes turned towards Noivern, standing there hunched over. Well, he had been hunched over on his claws the way his species normally did, but at Leaf's words he reared back. The screech was thankfully stopped before it ever started as Tinkatuff jabbed him with her 'new' hammer.

  It was only half-done, apparently, little more than a long handle right now. I knew she could 'mold' metal relatively quickly, but apparently her hammer needed to be built, as much as possible, the old-fashioned way at first. I would look it up later, because that sounded more like a her thing, not a Tinkatuff thing… She had still been persuaded to come to dinner tonight, and I guess this was part of it, considering her looks at Noivern before this. It had been hard enough getting her to eat last night…

  Noivern continued to look an odd combination of angry, proud, and calm even now, glaring at Tinkatuff. His Evolution was overdue, honestly, but it was quite the change! His size aside, his entire demeanor now screamed predator, whereas Noibat, including Joy watching the proceedings with a jealous-yet-happy look, were so unassuming that despite seeing how devastating Joy could be in battle, I could never feel that faint thrill of 'danger' from her that I felt from him.

  Very faint, honestly. It was more an acknowledgement than something I felt at this point, really.

  Leaf smiled widely and walked to him. She hugged his head for a moment, and even though it didn't disappear, the simmering anger there died down quite a bit as he smiled for a moment. Just a moment, then he frowned, like he somehow didn't enjoy affection now that he had Evolved. He wasn't angry at Leaf, either. Some dragons embraced their anger as a source of power, like Hazard, but Noivern already had good control over it, probably because he hadn't had much before. Wukong was practically placid these days, in fact…

  Leaf pulled back and gave him a gentle smile.

  "So I've had a hard time naming you. At one point I almost had a talk with you, did you know that?" He just huffed and shrugged, because why would he care? "Well, obviously I never had that talk with you, because lazy or not, you fight hard, and do train… even if I have to practically harass you into it sometimes." He did not look ashamed at all as he smirked at her.

  "You left your colony to have an easier life, right?" He nodded, frowning, and Leaf laughed. "Well, you should have known just by Erin's aura that we weren't exactly normal trainers! Still, you don't really have any true goals, right? Or really, you didn't?" Another nod. "Well, now you do. I haven't asked, actually, but I assume getting stronger is part of it…" Another nod, and he was looking confused as Leaf practically rambled.

  She shook herself a little, giving him a wide smile. A wide, slightly uncertain, yet hopeful smile.

  "Sorry, I had this whole speech thought up, but… You want to stick with me for the long haul, right? Not just this Circuit, but for years at least?" After a long moment Noivern gave her a serious nod, and she laughed lightly.

  "See, I get the feeling your answer would have been different a month ago. Am I right?" He nodded again, looking completely unashamed, and she hugged him again briefly. She held onto his shoulders as she pushed herself back, talking directly to his face.

  "It feels like whiplash! Remember how I had you take off so you didn't snap my neck or something? Same principle, I would not have expected such a sudden change." Excuse me, what?! I could fill in the blanks, Leaf went for a flight, but…

  That is not the way to find out! She could have worded that much better, as well!

  Noivern rumbled out a growl of amusement at the statement, though, and nodded.

  "So how does Whiplash sound to you? You also like to whip into your opponents…" Leaf looked nervous about her suggestion, but Noivern?

  He looked stunned for more than a few seconds, eyes blinking slowly. His head tilted to the side a few times before he shrugged and nodded. He didn't look unhappy, though, so I assumed he actually liked his new name and just didn't want to show it.

  Leaf squealed a little and brought Whiplash in for another hug, this one quite a bit stronger… and longer lasting. He didn't throw her off, though. He just glowered at her unrelentingly, not that she cared in the least.

  I smiled at the sight, happy for both of them. She had let his name go for far too long, honestly. Now it was just two more… two fae, but fae that I trusted, odd as the thought was. I trusted multiple fae, including a Morgrem…

  Erin stood from the table and rolled her head around, and I felt my blood pressure begin to rise immediately. She looked too happy with what she was about to do, and that was usually a problem…

  "So, Wukong, you seem pretty in control of that rage of yours… Ready for that test?"

  I felt my stomach drop, but when I frantically glanced at Wukong he was shaking his head? What?! Not that I was complaining! I didn't want to stifle him, but… I wanted him to be sure that he would… keep going.

  Erin didn't look all that surprised. In fact, she looked happy!

  "Good! That shows some impressive self control, obviously… Oh? That means you can see an end goal, I'd say. Just don't put too much into your hand when you do, okay?... Really?! You thi-" Her mouth clicked shut as she sat back down, face going red. Unfortunately for Erin there were multiple psychics here who could translate an aura conversation unfolding in front of them, who were delighted to share… Hecate, specifically, enjoyed it this time, smiling widely at Erin.

  ""Wukong says he adult, not to worry. Instead, worry about self and childish actions. Erin have history."" Her amusement was very strong as she sent that, and I couldn't help the giggle that burst from me.

  Luckily, I think it was drowned out by the laughter from everyone else.

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