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Chapter Text

Nathaniel woke up in a dark and dense forest with the smell of smoke still on his nose. His head was heavy and he felt confused. The boy’s back was throbbing with pain, and large scratches burned along his arms and legs. 

Attached to his hurt back was a large bag, and wrapped in his arms was a little dark fox pokémon, still fainted. He felt his heart ache seeing the fluffy fur of the Zorua, now knotted and burned.

Despite the pain and the bruises that surely were covering his body, he couldn't feel anything broken or severely injured, so he forced himself to sit, still holding the pokémon, and look around. 

Wide, twisted trees surrounded them, holding thick hanging vines. High canopies blocked the sky above letting only little lightframes pass. Some of the most curious pokémon peek into the bushes trying to observe the strangers. But, the boy’s focus wasn’t in any of these, but trapped in the figure at his right.

A large Staraptor was knocked down on the ground and stained with blood. The pokémon had large wounds along its body and a deep cut on its chest. A lot of feathers were spread around, and a pool of blood could be seen painting the grass red. The memories suddenly struck the boy, strangling his breath.

The Wesninski manor on fire. His mother’s screams. All of her pokémon falling down one by one. All to distract his father and his men while her Staraptor escaped carrying Nathaniel away. 

It worked till it didn't. Lola, his father’s right hand woman, noticed the absence of the boy and found them as they prepared to take off.

Somehow they managed to escape, but not unharmed. Nathaniel recoiled as he remembered the moment of the fall. Staraptor dozed off as the pain and wounds of the battle with Lola's pokémon drained the last of his forces.

The bird pokémon tried to land before fainting, but his consciousness went off as soon as they reached the treetops, letting the gravity send them down. 

All Nathaniel could do was to wrap his arms around the Zorua on his lap before the hit on the ground sent him to the dreamland.

Now, he didn’t need to reach the large pokémon to know that he was already long dead. Nathaniel's stomach turned at the thought. He turned to the dark pokémon still wrapped in his arms and couldn't hold the growing worry about the pokémon's health.

“Hey! Wake up!” He said, shaking the pokémon that frowned in its sleepy state. Zorua whined lowly before finally opening his big blue eyes, sending a wave of relief through the boy.

“Hey buddy!” The boy relaxed, opening a soft smile that he reserved for, and only for, his pokémon. 

“Auf!” The pokémon cried back, nuzzling on the boy's chin slowly. They both hurt, but they’ve been through worse and stayed standing. 

The relief didn’t last long though. The smell of blood was thick in the air, pulling the duo back to the situation. Nathaniel was used with cold bodies and fresh blood, both pokémon and people. It couldn’t be different being the son of the butcher as he was. But somehow the pokémon in front of him hit differently.

Not only did the pokémon sacrifice his life so the boy could run, Staraptor had been with his mom since he could remember. It was one of Mary's most loyal pokémon and rarely had been seen without her. Seeing its body like that only made Mary's last screams echo in his mind, and the smell of smoke invade his senses once again. 

He started to count in his mind. He couldn't lose control of his feelings in a time like that. Staraptor somehow managed to drop them in a dark spot of some kind of forest. The thick treetops made for them a great cover, but it wouldn't last forever. 

Nathaniel didn’t know how far from the manor they had reached, for how long he had fainted or how long it took for his father to control the fire on the house and start the search for his runaway son. All information that could make the difference between life and death for them. 

The only thing that he knew for sure was that he needed to start moving and do it quickly.

He took a deep breath and started putting things in order. 

Nathaniel put Zorua in the ground with one last pet and picked up one of the red pokéballs on his belt releasing Growlithe. The pokémon quickly looked around searching for any danger. He stopped a moment when he saw Staraptor’s body, but didn’t long and finished his search turning to his trainer. 

The boy knelt down and the fire pokémon sized up his wounds and licked the one in his knee. It wasn't the worst wound that they had seen by far, but the pokémon couldn’t help feeling bad for his trainer at every scratch or deep cut.

“It's okay, I’m fine.” Nathaniel said petting the pokémon that didn’t look impressed by his comment. “Come on, we need to take care of the body.” The boy continued, getting up.

He didn’t like it, but knew that any trace that they left behind was a track to his father’s men to follow direct to him and his pokémon. His best option here was to burn the body down and hide the ashes. 

Normally it wouldn’t be good to try something like that in a closed forest like that one, but Growlithe knows how to control his flames. With a focused Flamethrower, the pokémon set fire on the body, maintaining the heat till there’s only ashes in the ground. The process didn’t last more than a few minutes, but the trio kept a close watch on the flames till it ended. 

The ashes left a sour feeling in the boy's mouth, but he ignored it. He asked for his pokémon's help and the three of them dug the burned area, mixing soil and ashes until the evidence of the fire didn’t appear on the surface. It left a spot of soil without grass that was still suspicious, so they collected leaves around to cover it. 

It wasn't perfect but would at least delay any search party that may pass there.

Nathaniel, then, took off his backpack, freeing himself of the weight against his aching body, and started to make an inventory of what they have.

First the food. He finds some canned, some protein bars and dehydrated fruits besides some berries and poké food in the bottom of the bag. It wasn't much and a part of it was smashed when they fell, but if they rationed they could make it last till they reach the next city. At least Nathaniel hoped so. He wasn't the biggest enjoyer of hunting.

The redhead placed a part of the poké food on the ground in front of the two pokémon that didn't wait to start eating. He got one of the protein bars for himself and continued his search on the bag.

A town map, an old paper pokédex, three potions (and two broken containers), five repels, water bottles, some clothes, hair dye, contact lens, money, his new documents and his binder with his mother contacts and the location for more money. His belt also carried four empty poké balls along with Zorua and Growlithe’s ones.

Good for a start.

The boy changed his dirty clothes and put on the contact lenses, covering his distinguished blue eyes. He also wanted to dye his hair as he knows pretty well how recognizable he is with his bright red hair showing. But he also knows that, no matter how many times he had trained with his mother, the result of him dying his hair in the middle of a dark forest without any way of seeing himself wouldn’t be good. 

Without other choice he holded his discomfort and put a black cap on the head to cover at least a part of the notorious hair.

Finally, he checked his new identity. The boy in the ID photo was exactly like him, besides the dark hair. All the information was forged including the new name written below the picture.

‘Neil Josten’. He had chosen the name and, in a rebellious act, convinced the forger Mary contracted to put it on the document instead of the name his mother determined. 

Names have power. And just by erasing his birth one of his mind he already started to feel better in his skin. 

Neil sighed and turned to his pokémon. “Let’s Go.” He said letting Zorua climb on his shoulder and signaling Growlithe to follow him 

“Auf!” “Barf!” The two pokémon cried happily and the group started to walk away.

They spent the next hours exploring the forest, searching for an exit. Neil tried to keep focused on the objective (leave the forest, hide, move as fast as he could from his father), but couldn't help losing track of time as they walked around admiring his surroundings. 

Outside the dark spot where they wake, large trees make room for deep green clearings where the grass pokémon play and rest in the sun. Sentrets bounced around in the bushes. Different bug pokémon buzzed around or hung on the trees. Groups of flying type ones perched in the low branches observing the group pass by. At some point they find a stream full of happy Woopers swimming and playing around in the water. 

Along their way the air was warm, but not suffocating. A light breeze drifts through them, ruffling the pokémon fur and alleviating the boy's cut burns. The smell of leaves, earth and fresh air cleared his senses from the smoke memories. Sun rays illuminated the forest with different shades of green creating a stunning picture. The terrain was mountainous and the trio found themselves going up and down several times along the way, but it only made the boy's lungs burn in the same good way as from when he used to escape to run around the surroundings of the Wesninski manor.

Neil kept his guard up, never fully relaxing, but he couldn’t hold the joyful feeling in his chest from growing. He couldn't remember a moment where he'd felt more free.

He could see the forest effects on his pokémon too. In the beginning, Growlithe had kept himself tight close to the redhead boy, his guard up at all moments. But as the hours passed by he just couldn't hold himself.

 The fire pokémon would glare at the trees, sniff the grass as if the secret of life and death was hidden in it and bark randomly as he had never done before. He would pick fights with the wild pokémon too, coming back to his trainer with his chin up and tail wagging as he had just burned down Nathan himself and not a random Caterpie passing by.

 Zorua didn't even try to control himself. He just jumped from his place on Neil’s shoulder at the first opportunity, starting to wander around. The fox pokémon transformed himself into different forest pokémon, scaring the death of them. He stopped to smell the flowers around, jumping from busch to busch till he almost was poisoned from a Vileplume spore attack, dodging at the last minute. In general, having the time of his short life.

Neil couldn't really complain as he completely understood the feeling of the pokémon. They never went so far from the mansion. Rationally, he knows that that forest wasn’t anything special. It couldn't be much different from other forests of the region and neither can the pokémon around. 

But the atmosphere there was so different from what they were used to. It was grassy soft ground instead of old wood and cold concrete. Shiny and warm sun rays rather than the low artificial lights that illuminated the mansion at night. Refreshing shadows formed by the treetops and not intentionally dark rooms that make goosebumps run up his arms. And happy pokémon cries instead of screams.

It was so relaxing that it was hard to hold the will of staying in this moment forever. And it hurts because he knows that they can’t do it. 

Neil continued to walk till something caught his attention. It was a rusty, decadent, but somehow still standing, metal sign covered in ivy. The writing was barely readable, but with some effort the boy managed to identify the half-erased ‘rt. 45’ printed on it.. 

He cheered up and took the town map in the bag. If the sign was right, then they were closer to Kanto, the neighboring east region, than the boy had thought earlier. 

According to his map they can’t cross the regions directly from where they are as a large mountain blocks the land connection between them. Also, in the southernmost part of the region a large ocean bay interrupts the connection between route 29 in Johto and 27 in Kanto. 

If at least he had a water or flying pokémon they could cruise the distance in less than a day, but as things are now they would need to cross the Deep Forest (as it is known) between the mountain and the bay.

He frowned at the thought. It wouldn’t be easy nor safe. Neil knew his pokémon were strong, they trained day and night for that, but the Deep Forest was known to be a hard challenge even for trainers with years of experience. The pokémon that inhabited there were territorial and aggressive, and the constant fights between them only made them stronger than normal.

Despite that, it was still they’re better option. Zorua still needed to develop his illusions tricks, but the few ones that he already learned could help them to pass unnoticed to the wild pokémon and Growlithe smokescreen could help them escape any unavoidable encounter.

Neil was deep in thoughts and planning. So deep that he didn’t notice when Zorua moved away to a close tree and started licking a yellow spot in it. The honey was sweet in his tongue and, lost in the taste, he couldn’t dodge when a huge punch came in his direction.

The redhead barely had the time to react when the pokémon was sent flying with a loud yelp in his direction. He catched the dark fox by instinct before it hit the grass and immediately darted in the opposite direction of the blow, town map stuffed into the bag without care. The angry roars of the large Ursaring running behind them only hastened his heartbeat propelling his legs.

Growlithe followed the run after launching a big cloud of smoke in the bear pokémon direction to slow its pace. 

In the run he lost his track of direction, the large trees and dense bushes blocking his view of what it’s in front. That way Neil didn't notice the hidden cliff till the ground vanished from his feet. On the good side, they lost the Ursaring. On the bad side, they are falling again.

He saw Growlithe falling next to him and braced Zorua in his arms while they rolled down the hill. The rocks, roots and sticks hit his body creating new bruises, but, luckily, the cliff wasn't as high as it first looked like.

They landed in a clearing at the foot of the cliff, scaring some pokémon there that ran away.

“We need to stop doing that. There are better ways to go down a hill.” The boy said, sitting and rubbing the back of his neck. 

Zorua whined looking at him with sorrowful eyes. “Hey! Don't worry too much, we’re fine, aren't we?.” The redhead said petting the pokémon. 

“Bark!” Growlithe agreed with his head before shaking the dirt that got stuck on his fur along the fall.

Sure, Zorua could be more careful and the boy could hear and feel the spectrum of the screams and heavy hands of his mother correcting their reckless and carefree attitudes. But he doesn’t have in himself the force to correct the pokémon as he was taught to do.

Neil’s body was aching from the two falls and the long walk in the forest, but he forced himself to get up. 

Right in front of the trio was another sign, this time clean and shiny new, with the written ‘rt. 46’. 

Neil asked for the pokémon to keep the guard up this time as he took the completely crumpled, but still readable, map. 

According to it, they still can reach the Deep Forest if they cross New Bark Town at east and turn north. 

Neil frowned with the description of the city on the back of the map. He didn’t need to know the town to recognise it as a regular small city. Few houses, few people. Anything new was a big thing and anyone that arrives in the town became gossip. In other words, the worst place for a runaway.

The problem is, apparently,  there’s no way back from route 46 to 45 besides climbing the hills, which they can’t do without proper equipment or some pokémon help. That means that they’re only path is through New Bark.

He sighed. And he was beginning to think he had at least a little luck.

“Zorua, it's time for your trick” Neil said, turning to the dark pokémon at his feet.

The dark pokémon cried seriously and closed his eyes concentrating. A dark aura surrounded him and the air around oscillated like a mirage.

Zorua, and its evolutionary counterpart Zoroark, are rare and skittish pokémon. That means that, besides all the conjectures and rumors around the dark pokémon, very little is truly known about them. 

There are few reports of protective Zoroark and their packs, living harmonically with other pokémon, hidden from the curious trainer's eyes. And the same amount of tales of blood tasted lone pokémon that uses their tricks to lure unaware trainers to their deaths. 

The consensus is that they are mysterious pokémon that can use different illusion tricks to hide and hunt. 

While Zorua are shapeshifters that can transform itself into different types of people and pokémon, Zoroark can, furthermore, make elaborate illusions shaping not only their own form, but also its surroundings. Creating living dreams and nightmares. Changing routes and trails around to confuse stalkers. Making illusions so intricate that it seems solid reality. Everything in a blink of an eye.

In resume, highly powerful, elusive, cunning pokémon.

Actually, till now, no one, neither the responsibles, knew how a Zorua’s egg ended up mixed with the others in the smuggled cargo from the Unova region that was sent to the Wesninski manor a few years ago.

But it was there, looking exactly the same as the others. So, that Nathan remained completely oblivious to the golden gift that he had just given to his son till it was too late. Both trainer and pokémon quickly became inseparable and fought fangs and knives to remain that way.

So, for the ones that may be interested, here goes some true facts about Zorua. 

They tend to live in small nuclear family packs where the youngers leave to find mates and start new packs.

These pokémon were hunted down multiple times throughout history for both greedy trainers and superstitious people. Because of that, they now tend to hide in the darkest forests of Unova, but some curious invidious still cross human paths when they leave to explore.

Normally, Zorua really can’t do other tricks besides transforming themselves. Learning to create and manipulate illusions is an ability as hard as to comprehend it. The power to make out immaterial things in reality and the concentration to maintain it are barriers that only Zoruaks can fully overcome.

That said, put a Zorua in a stressful environment, train it to exhaustion, threaten his trainer’s and his own life and, apparently, It can actually learn a trick or two.

That’s how Neil's Zorua, among other few tricks, learned how to change other people's appearance. Not the whole body as with his own form, but change a few features here and there and he could make a person unrecognisable. 

It was a powerful trick back then, and it's an amazing tool now, but it needs to be used carefully. The main thing about illusions it's concentration, and breaking it at any point means that the illusion is as good as gone. 

That means that, as powerful as it is, this trick was also a double-edged sword. If Zorua loses the illusion control in the middle of a city like New Bark, Nathan would be in their necks in a matter of hours.

It’s a risk that they can handle now. After all, all they need to do is cross the city unnoticed. Maybe buy a thing or two for the dangerous journey. It can’t be that hard, right? 

Chapter Text

Andrew woke up like always, with the sound of Bee in the kitchen preparing their breakfast and the loud footsteps of his brother stomping around the house. 

He didn’t stay in bed for long. Another dreamless night made it easier for him to get up and start the day. It’s been years now since Bee’s Musharna had been devouring both his dreams and nightmares, giving him the peaceful nights that he had long stopped to wish before her.

At his side Pawniard was already up and waiting for him. Andrew lightly tapped his knuckles on the pokémon's helmet as a greeting and they both went down the stairs.

The house’s first floor consists of a kitchen and a living room divided only by a counter. The room walls and furniture are colored with warm earthy colors and the large windows around illuminate the cozy ambient. A psyduck clock hangs on the wall besides some photo frames and pokémon trinkets filled the shelves around the space. 

One shelf especially was reserved for Bee’s glass statue collection. Pokémon from all kinds of regions were represented there, but the bright spot was reserved for the family pokémon. There it rested, without a spot of dust, a Kirlia, a Slowpoke, a Musharna, a Pawniard and a Herdier, all side by side.

 Andrew enjoyed the familiar sight while passing in the counter direction. The smell of fresh pancakes filled his senses as he sat on his usual spot.

“Good morning.” Bee greeted putting a cup of hot cocoa in front of him. Musharna, at her side, set a plate of pancakes to fly with a mystic blue glow and placed it on the table with a sleepy cry.

“Morning.” He responded, taking the cup in one hand and passing one of the poképoffins on the table to Pawniard.

While eating he watched as Bee murmured a song and made more pancakes. Kirlia held the bowl with the dough beside the woman and Slowpoke kept sleeping in a pillow in the corner, his snores filling the room.

Andrew's eidetic memory could bring him thousands of mornings just like this. But somehow, somedays, he’s still impressed with the domesticity of it all. After all, the memories of his early childhood, when he hadn’t had any of these, run as fresh as these new ones. 

Andrew was discarded as an unnecessary copy on the day he was born. He spent years alone, both being thrown aside without a second thought or paying a high price in the few moments he was noticed. 

Then Bee came.

At first he ignored her. To Andrew she was just one more name on a long list of people that, soon or later, would send him away. But she made a point to prove him wrong. 

Bee cared for him. She learned what he liked and what he didn’t without him saying a thing. Gave him the space to talk and to not do so, a room with a single key for him to use as he wanted and choices that she respected. She gave him a home that he already believed wasn't for people like him.

And for months he refused to believe. He screamed and broke her things. Ignored her for weeks and pushed all the buttons he could find trying to make her show her true colors. 

In the end she kept doing what no one had done for him before. Listening, talking and waiting. Things that look so simple and somehow aren’t, but were what lead them to build the relationship they now have.

“Andrew! Where did you hide my sneakers?” Aaron screamed, interrupting his thoughts. Andrew took a sip of his drink and raised an eyebrow for his brother.

“Who said that I hid it?” 

He totally did it and, by the increasingly red face on his brother's face, they both knew it.

The missing sneakers weren't the first thing to disappear from Aaron’s room in the last few days. Aaron had been a pain in his ass the whole week. 

Apparently, Abby thought that would be an awesome idea to give to Aaron and his girlfriend “more responsibility” at the Pokémon Lab. It’s been a few years since the couple started to study under her guard and now they’re receiving new tasks from time to time.

The most recent one was to organize the Starters Choice of the two new trainers registered. Or, in other words, babysit three baby pokémon till the new trainers arrive to make the “most important choice of their lives”.

It was a simple task. Watch the pokémon, feed them, and prevent them from setting fire, cut or drown each other. Easy. But somehow that put Aaron in a bitchy mood even worse than normal, which, in turn, made Andrew wish he went back to being an only son. Bee wouldn’t agree with any drastic measure so hiding random objects it is.  

Aaron was clearly about to shout at him when his Herdier passed for the door between the backyard and the kitchen, muddy sneakers in his mouth.

“Oh, looks like Herdier found them.” Bee said.
“And they're all dirty!” Aaron complained. 

“Nothing that can’t be cleaned. Eat your breakfast while I take care of it.” She responded, leaving to the backyard with Kirlia to get rid of the mud.

Aaron sat murmuring and still glaring at Andrew that fully ignored him.

“If I’m late to the Starter's Choice I’m blaming it on you.” Aaron said, taking his own plate of pancakes. 

“What a surprise.” Andrew finished impassively receiving one more annoyed glare of the brother.

Once upon a time and jabs like these would lead to a whole violent fight between them. Thankfully this time was in the past.

It was a few months after Andrew and Bee finally learned how to live together that Aaron showed up. The twin brother Andrew had never even known that existed up till that day.

Their dead weight of a mother had died from an overdose and Aaron ended up in the foster system. At this point Andrew had already given up on anything related to his biological family, but Bee insisted on letting this door open for him and, when they received the news, she asked him what he wanted to do.

After some hesitations he agreed  to meet his brother, but firmly repressed any feeling of hope, want, expectation or anything related that the encounter could bring. He already knew that those things only lead to disappointment. His brother apparently hadn’t learned this lesson yet. 

Aaron's expectations on Andrew as a brother didn’t long a week before they fell apart. Then all that remained was rage. 

Aaron was enraged for the years of abuse of the one who should care about him the most. Furious for the loneliness that crept under his skin when he could have had a brother all of this time. He was absolutely mad with the mess of sadness, angriness, confusion and relief he had become after the death of his mother. The boy was a time bomb of grief ready to explode and Andrew was the closest target.

When the twins weren't ignoring each other they were fighting. Add two protective pokémon to the equation and it's hard to tell how the house kept standing after that. 

Bee gave time to them. Helped Aaron to deal with his emotions and with all that he had been through. Kept Andrew close reaffirming that she wasn’t giving up on him, on neither of them. And managed to make the two twins talk, really talk, not just throw their own pain in each other.

It took time, and they faced a lot of bumps along the way. Some days it seemed like they're stuck trying to stick unfitting pieces of glass back together just to endlessly cut themself over and over. But the two brothers did care about each other, more than they're willing to admit, so they kept trying.

In the end the three of them managed to build a family. Definitely not perfect. Full of fights and disagreements. But with strong bonds of protectiveness, care and, mostly, unspoken love.

Nicky came as a bonus, "find your long-lost twin brother and get a free annoying cousin. No taxes applied". 

When the boy had barely turned twelve he took the first opportunity he got and started a lone Journey in Kanto. He never reached the regional Elite Four, but fell in love both for the region and for the handsome young gym leader he met. The boy spent his teenage years there, travelling and enjoying the fresh, passionate relationship.

The soft hearted boy also took the first train back to Johto as soon as he heard the twins story. He headed to New Bark and there he stood till he managed to both guarantee that the twins were well cared for and that they would keep contact. 

Andrew pretended to be utterly annoyed with the cousin's presence but couldn't help to feel impressed by the stubbornness and insistence of him. 

Now, though he still lives in Kanto, Nicky still visits every now and then and calls the twins at least once a week (what they all agreed after Andrew ignored Nicky’s daily calls for two months straight).

The boys were about to end eating when Bee came back bringing the, now clean, sneakers. Aaron immediately shoved the rest of his pancake on his mouth and jumped from the table, putting on his shoes, tacking his bag and going to the front door. Herdier followed happily right behind.

“Hurry Andrew! We’re late!” In fact, they weren't even close from being late, he was just too excited to notice. 

He also didn’t need to wait for Andrew. He wasn’t one of the students in the lab and, that way, didn’t need to participate in the event. But Aaron wanted him there, Andrew wanted to be with him, and they both had already overcome the phase of denying this.

That doesn’t mean that Andrew wouldn’t insist on annoying his brother. It’s his role after all. So he made a point of delaying his last sips on his sugary drink and cut the rest of his pancake in pieces even smaller than normally. 

Pawniard at his side kept eating till only two poképoffins lasted at the table. He, then, skewered the two sweets on his hand blades to eat on the way. Only after that the duo got up to leave.

“Take care.” Bee greeted Aaron from the door as the boy still waited in the yard glaring at the street and tapping his foot on the ground.

“And Andrew.” Bee called before he left. “Cover the hole in the garden for me when you come back.” She completed, smiling. He made a salute with two fingers and left the house heading to the pokémon lab with his brother.

—

When they arrived Aaron immediately ran to his girlfriend's side, the scowl of the morning replaced by puppy eyes. Andrew holded an eye roll. 

Aaron and Katelyin had met in the lab and, since the first meeting, Aaron had fallen. He didn’t stop talking about her for weeks. Then he stopped talking at all, lost in thoughts of declarations and unreciprocated feelings and ruined friendships. And, finally, the girl took the initiative and kissed him, ending Andrew’s torture.
Andrew didn’t mind her at first. Then he despised her. 

He hated the impact of her on Aaron. Loathed her doings and undoings. And, though he denied that it even exists, loathed the growing feeling in his chest, the voice inside his head that kept saying that he was going to lose his brother to her and that there's nothing that he could do about it.

And now, after long, long years (and longer talks with Bee) he came to a reluctant respect for her and her relationship with his brother. 

Katelyn and the Pachirisu in her shoulder waved at him and Andrew nodded in response. The squirrel pokémon then leaped to the ground and started jumping and prattling with an excited Herdier.

“Well, looks like everyone’s already here. Good morning!” Said Abby coming into the room followed by a happy Chansey. “Now, where’s the protagonists of today?” She asked, smiling.

Katelyn and Aaron immediately went to her, taking the woman to the Pokémon Garden while chatting about how they growed since the eggs' eclosion. Andrew followed half listening half looking at the different types of pokémon around.

The New Bark Town Pokémon Lab wasn’t as big as others around, but Abby, and the researchers before her, made a point to reserve the backyard area for the pokémon living there. 

Bordered by a white fence, the place was a large grassy area with a small pond in the middle where the water pokémon usually play. Trees and bushes were spread around creating refuges for the shyer pokémon and, in a corner, it stands a small playground where the more sociable could play.

There was a great variety of pokémon interacting there. Some of them were from the different comportamental researches of the laboratory, others from trainers that didn’t have the space to attend to their necessities and others more are just wild ones that like the peaceful space. 

It was by pound that the three baby pokémon they were looking for were when the group arrived. 

A small Totodile swan happily spraying water around, a peaceful Chikorita rested on the border of the pond enjoying the warm sun and fresh water and, standing away, a Cyndaquil watched the other two, scowling to the water.

The fire pokémon was the first to notice the approaching humans crying happily and running to them. The movement caught the attention of the other two that didn’t long to follow.

Katelyn and Aaron took a step forward greeting the pokémon and distributing berries between them. 

Taking advantage of the distraction of the trainers, Pachirisu sneaked to Katelyn’s bag, took a berry for herself and quickly leapt back to the ground. 

The pokémon was about to eat the fruit when Herdier made an approach presenting a pair of pitiful puppy eyes to the other one. The electric pokémom hesitated, looked back and forth at the berry in her small hands and at the puppy pokémon and, then, shoved the whole fruit on her mouth.

The big puppy eyes of the Herdier quickly gave place for a skeptical look at the puffed cheeks of Pachirisu. Pawniard giggled at the scene and Herdier started to growl at him but, before a fight could get into place, Abby spoke.

“Well, it looks like everyone's healthy and happy. Good job you two!” Abby praised the couple of trainers. “And for the little ones, all ready for your big start?” She turned to the pokémon on the grass.

“Chiko!” “Dile! Dile!” “Cinda!” They responded happily.

“Awesome! So, let’s get back inside. The new trainers must be here any minute now.”

And so they did. Back at the lab, Aaron took Katelyn to revise all the details of the event. The three baby pokémon started to play, chasing each other in circles around the place and Abby approached Andrew.

“Kevin left a message for you on the computer.” She didn’t say that he could listen or not, Andrew never did anything that he didn't want to do.

“Didn’t know that you had been promoted to a carrier Chatot.” he responded and she let a small laugh pass through her nose.

“I didn’t see a reason to not pass the note.” She finished and he didn’t respond.

Andrew had been ignoring all of Kevin’s communication attempts for the last few weeks. Since the obsessive asshole started his Journey to beat the Elite Four he has been bothering Andrew to follow him on a trip of his own. The boy insisted that Andrew is wasting his and his pokémon potential (that last comment guaranteeing for him a ripped pillow directly from Pawniard) and Andrew insisted on telling him to fuck off.

New Bark Town is a small, hidden, unimportant city, but it was where his family lives so it's where Andrew would stay too. It’s simple like that. There’s nothing for him following Kevin’s delusions of grandeur.

He had just finished his thoughts when the laboratory door was open with a bang. The two new trainers entered the room laughing and arguing about who had won the race between them. 

‘Two acquaintances then’ Andrew thought. ‘Great. It means that we’re probably gonna have a battle after that.’

And he was right. 

Katelyn started with a discourse about the importance of the connection between pokémon and trainers and how they had to think carefully about their choices right now. 

Aaron stood besides her nodding and finished the talk presenting the three pokémon. The boy and the girl in front of them bounced on their feet excitedly the entire time and, as soon as he finished, they jolted directly to their new buddies.

The boy went to the Totodile, squatting down to the pokémon that started to bounce side to side crying excitedly with the huge jaw open in a large grin. Meanwhile, the girl got the Chikorita in her arms spinning as they both giggled. 

They took a moment to appreciate the forming bond, but, as soon as they got the new pokédex and left the lab a battle started. The girl and her Chikorita were victorious by a tight margin.

One pokémon had left. 

Standing in the middle of the laboratory with a pitiful posture and staring at the door stayed the Cyndaquil. 

Katelyn and Aaron were celebrating the successful event, Abby got caught watching the new happy duos of pokémon and trainers, but, since the choice was made Andrew eyes were locked on the fire pokémon.

He watched as the pokémon realised that he’s the one getting behind. As he saw his two companions, the ones that were with him since birth, went away. As he stood in his first position, alone. 

Andrew’s jaw clenched.

The two trainers went away laughing and Abby finally noticed the tense atmosphere. She went first to the small pokémon.

“Well, looks like you're gonna stay with me for a little longer.” She said facing Cyndaquil that didn’t react, keeping the sorrowful face. 

Oh and how Andrew could relate. It’s been years since Bee gave him a home, a place that he didn’t have to fear, that he didn’t have to wait to be taken from him. But he still remembers how it was before. 

He remembers the multiple couple visits, the constant feeling of rejection, the loneliness that crept into your bones till you believe that it makes an indivisible part of yourself.

Andrew knew that he’s projecting his own feelings on the pokémon. But it didn’t stop him from asking. “Can I take him?” 

Abby turned to him and hesitated. “I think that Cyndaquil would be very lucky to have you as a trainer. Unfortunately I can’t do such a thing. You already have a pokémon and the Pokémon League made me responsible to join these ones with new trainers.” She stopped for a moment thinking in the best words to say.

“If I can assure you of two things let me say that, Cyndaquil will receive the best treatment we can give here and, as soon as a new trainer is registered, he will get a trainer of his own. We're gonna take care of him.” She spoke seriously and Andrew believed in her. She never had given him a reason to not do so up till now.

Nodding, he took a berry from his bag and squatted, giving it to Cyndaquil that was being consoled by Chansey. The pokémon looked a little better, but sadness still dug its claws into him. Andrew hadn't much to do about it, but he spent more time in the lab that day, watching as the fire pokémon tried to find a place for himself in the yard.

—

Cyndaquil feels terrible, horrible, miserable. 

The pokémon tried to be happy for his siblings as they went away with their new trainers, but he couldn't avoid the loneliness that crept in him. 

He attempted to snap out of it and play with the other pokémon around, but he already had a bad reputation for, accidentally, setting fire on some Hoppips before, and the others pokémon around tend to avoid him. The sparks and smoke that escaped through his back while he hiccuped sadly didn’t help either.

Trying to get back to normality, he climbed on his usual spot of the yard fence to observe the different pokémon and trainers around. 

He watched a florist watering her flowers along with a happy Marill, an old woman strolling with a Snubbull and a little boy playing with his caterpie in the square. 

A man in a suit ran in front of him with a slowpoke in his arms,.the tip of documents showing at the edges of his briefcase. A woman in a nice summer dress ate a sweet pie with her eevee sitting on a bench. 

Cyndaquil spent the afternoon watching the happy trainers and their pokémon. His anguish growing at each hour.

The worst was to see the battles in the arena besides the laboratory. Commands were made with confidence by the trainers and the pokémon responded with the best they had. Sparkles, flames and earth flew around in the field as pokémon and humans tested their connection and abilities. And Cyndaquil craved it.

He didn’t hate his life at the lab, but he didn’t like it either. The humans were gentle, but occupied and couldn't give him the attention he wanted. 

He wanted what his friends got. He wanted a trainer. Somebody to care for him, to fight and laugh besides.

When the sun set and the people around retreated to their homes Cyndaquil turned his face to observe the forest next to him. Resolution grew in his chest.

He didn’t have anything keeping him here, not anymore. 

So, under the stars and the moon, he left the garden without a sound and entered the dark forest, hoping for an opportunity of a new start.

Chapter Text

The sun had just spotted on the sky when the news reached the twins house. Aaron started freaking out immediately. Andrew's heart ached but he didn’t acknowledge it. They both ran to the pokémon lab that was a mess of his own. 

Abby was pale in worriness, her Chansey trying, unsuccessfully, to calm her down. Katelyn and Pachirisu were heading the searches in the yard and the other employees helped as they could, but none of them could find the fire pokémon that went missing on the night before.

“We searched the whole garden. There’s no sight of him anywhere!” Katelyn reported when she saw the twins approach. 

“Did you already search inside the lab?” Aaron asked, holding her hand lightly in comfort.

“Nothing either.” She looks every time more disturbed. “I’m so worried! How could he disappear without a sign to be seen?!” 

“Calm down, we're gonna find him.” Aaron said, trying to think of a place where the pokémon could be hidden.

“And in the forest?” Andrew asked after a moment of silence. The couple stared at him.

“What?”

“Did somebody search in the forest?”

“He barely hatched from the egg! The lab is everything he knows. Why would he go to the forest?” Aaron interrogated with a frown.

“If he’s not here, he must be somewhere else.” Andrew stared at his brother who didn’t look convinced.

“Andrew has a point.” Katelyn said her mind racing in thoughts. 

“Here, I got the pillow where Cyndaquil usually sleeps. Maybe Herdier could follow his scent?”

“Good idea!” Aaron exclaimed and Andrew's eyes rolled.

Herdier barked and smelled the pillow starting to sniff the grass around. He followed the particular smoke scent till it reached the fence where he started to bark at the trainers.

“Well, it looks like the forest it is.” Katelyn said and Andrew didn’t bother to say a thing.

“Andrew and I are going to bring him back. Could you stay here in case he comes back by himself?” Aaron asked and Katelyn buffed. 

“I’ll organize the mess around here. Be careful.” She responded.

“I will.” They smiled fondly at each other. 

“Hey! Andrew! Wait for me!” He yielded to his brother who got sick of the couple and had already crossed the fence and headed to the forest with Pawniard and Herdier.

And to the forest they went. 

—

Somehow, Neil was unable to even get to the city before the trouble reached him. And all because of a single pokémon.

It started like this. 

Zorua, Growlithe and him were crossing the forest, heading to New Bark Town when they noticed a commotion of angry Spearows flying around a small spot on the grass. Curious, they approached only to see a small pokémon curled in himself being attacked by the horde. Flames burst from its back in an attempt to protect itself from the attacks, but were already starting to fade.

Neil didn’t think too much before commanding his partners to attack the Spearows and his pokémon hadn’t trouble at all scaring the group away. In fact, the whole thing lasted less than a minute, but it was enough to put stars in the younger pokémon's eyes.

First, confusion gripped Cyndquil as he heard the cries of the Spearow around him become more frightened than aggressive and their attacks against him disperse. 

Then, he raised his head and faced in awe as a blast of flames (that made his own ambers look less than a party trick) crossed the sky. A pulse of shadows completed the attack scattering the braver Spearows away till all of the group went flying away.

Cyndaquil looked, amazed, at the two pokémon that with two simple moves dispersed the whole horde of territorial Spearows and, standing a few steps from them, their trainer. 

He stared as the small boy smiled and congratulated his pokémon with pets, Zorua happily climbing back on his shoulder. 

The fire pokémon revisited the feeling back in the lab. Watching his siblings get paired with their new trainers and the duos on the town. The envy and the desire. He thought about the hope that made him head to this forest in the first place and started running.

Neil was about to follow his path when the fire pokémon put himself in front of him and started to jump, crying excitedly. Neil just looked at him for a moment and shrugged.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome.” He said bending down to leave a pet on the pokémon head and passed through him without a second thought.
Cyndaquil buffed, smoke coming out of his snout, and ran again, stopping one more time in front of the trainer and crying louder than before as if complaining. 

Neil just stared at him confused. Cyndaquil puffed out his cheeks annoyed and threw himself at one of the hanging pokéballs on Neil’s belt. 

Neil saw the sudden movement in his direction and dodged, looking skeptically to the pokémon that had just fallen with its face on the ground. It hadn’t looked like an attack.

The pokémon on the ground started to cry loudly, big tears coming out from his tiny eyes. Neil and his pokémon looked at each other without knowing what to do. 

The boy looked to the path ahead. He could just ignore this strange pokémon and follow his path. For some reason he decided against it. He couldn’t have imagined that his actions would have consequences.

“Hey, stop crying. What’s the matter?” He asked, crouching down in front of the pokémon.

Cyndaquil still sobbed but his eyes were still fixed at the pokéballs on Neil’s belt. The boy noticed and took one in his hand. 

“You... wanna come with me?” He asked doubtfully. The eyes of Cyndaquil immediately sparked and he started to jump, agreeing with his head.

The boy stared at him stunned. And then, he stopped to think. He didn’t recognize the pokémon in front of him. He took a while to find the entry on his paper pokédex. When he finally got to it he read: ‘Cyndaquil. The Fire Mouse Pokémon. It is timid, and always curls itself up in a ball. If attacked, it flares up its back for protection.’ Well, it doesn't look quite impressive.

Neil’s journey would be dangerous. Yes, he needed more pokémon to help him, but he can’t see how this one could do it. And he didn't want to get the pokémon only to see him die. 

“Sorry, I don't think that it is a good idea.” He said getting up and guarding the pokeball again. The excitement left Cyndaquil immediately, his face felt and small tears formed in the corner of his tiny eyes. Again, he looked utterly miserable. Neil was impressed by how expressive the pokémon are. 

“You… don’t have another place to be?” He asked, looking around. The forest was dark and silent and, shrunken as he is now, the pokémon just looked… lost and lonely. Cyndaquil cried more. The boy’s heart ached, but he tried to ignore it.

Then Zorua stepped in. The dark pokémon approached Cyndaquil, nuzzled him lovely and turned to Neil. “Auf!” He said glaring at his trainer that didn’t have trouble understanding what he wanted.

“Seriously?” He asked with a raised brown. “You know as much as me the danger that we’re facing." The pokémon stood still and they both had a staring match. Then, after a moment, Neil sighed. Well, one more Pokémon couldn't hurt, could it?

“Fine!” He said taking back the pokéball in hand. “But I’m warning you. I’m not a regular trainer, this is not a journey and it will be very dangerous.” He said seriously to the fire pokémon. 

If he actually listened to the warning it is hard to say. The fact is that the pokémon cried happily and didn’t wait to jump to the pokéball, reaching it this time.

The pokéball swang in Neil’s hand. And swang. And swang. And then emitted a loud noise signalling the successful capture. 

Neil just had the chance to put the pokéball back on his belt when he was suddenly knocked to the ground by a violent Tackle.

His breath went away and he saw stars. The fear and the adrenaline bolted under his veins as his vision focused again and he expected to see the ice blue eyes of his father in front of him. He was shocked one more time when he faced two pairs of identical angry golden ones.

Growlithe was the first one to recover, sending a huge Flamethrower in the attacker's direction. Pawniard was quick to dodge with a jump back. Growlithe and Zorua stepped in front of Neil making a barrier between him and the newly arrived twins.

“Release the Cyndaquil you stole right now!” Aaron demanded. Pawniard clanged his hand knives in accordance and Andrew stood still glaring at the other boy.

The twins had rushed down the woods when they heard Cyndaquil’s cries echoing in the forest. They had just reached the other group when the capture sound of the pokéball echoed in the forest. Andrew and Pawniard didn’t stop to think before acting.

“Stole?!” It was the only word that Neil managed to say, his lungs still compressing trying to recover the air they expelled.

“Cyndaquil belongs to the Pokémon Laboratory of New Bark Town. Release him now!” Aaron said, trying, and failing, to be diplomatic.

The fear in Neil was long gone leaving only anger behind. 

He didn’t know who these maniac twins were, what Cyndaquil was doing in the middle of this forest or what he was doing at a lab for starters. But he found the pokémon alone and being attacked in the middle of a dark forest. If these boys were the responsibles for the pokémon they weren’t doing a great job.

Moreover, Cyndaquil chose to be with him. It must be a stupid decision and they may have just known each other for some minutes, but Neil wasn’t letting these two strangers take any of his pokémon without a fight.

 He looked at Zorua confirming that the illusion was still working on and got up. Then, the battle started.

“Growlithe, Flamethrower! Zorua, Dark pulse!”

The twins didn’t get behind. “Pawniard, dodge and use Slash.” “Herdier, Body Slam!”

The pokémon responded to the calls. Pawniard barely dodged the blasting flamethrower in his direction, the flames heating his metal armour and slowing his movements. He attacked the fire pokémon with his hand knives. Growlithe was able to dodge the first strikes, but received a large cut on his side. Neil gritted his teeth with his pokémon. 

“Fire fang!” He yielded and growlithe took advantage of the opening in the other pokémon's posture to bite deep in his shoulder, embers dripping from his mouth and burning the other pokémon armor. Pawniard emitted a painful cry and released himself jumping back and retreating. Andrew glared angrily at the duo.

On the other side of the field Herdier was hitted directly by the Dark Pulse emitted by Zorua but recovered quickly and rushed in the dark pokémon direction, trying to hit him with his body. Zorua dodged and waited for the next move, his attention divided between the battle and keeping the cover on his trainer's face. Herdier tried another strike and the dark pokémon dodged.

While the attacks crossed the forest Neil evaluated the situation. His pokémon were in advantage in the battle, but he didn’t know what cards the twins had up their sleeves. He also didn’t know how long Zorua could handle his illusions if the battle kept up like that. He made a decision.

“Growlithe, Smokescreen!” “Zorua, Dark Pulse!” His pokémon cried in response. 

The next movements flew quickly throughout the arena.
Zorua dodged one more time of Herdier and sent a blast of shadows horizontally to try to move away both Herdier and Pawniard. The two pokémon were hit and thrown away, but Herdier quickly recovered. 

Standing firm on the grass the dog pokémon sent a precise Swift that hitted Zorua directly. Zorua cried  and his illusion faded. Neil tensed up noticing one of the blonds narrowing his eyes at him. 

Luckily, at this point the blast of smoke that Growlithe released had already covered a good part of the arena, thickening with each passing second. Neil was already ready to run. Andrew wouldn’t let him go so easily. 

“Pawniard! Follow them! Agility!” He said between greeted teeths as he blindly ran in the direction where he last saw the other boy.

Pawniard did his part. As he was the closest to the other boy, he still could see his silhouette through the smoke. Speeding his path, he sent a Slash into the boy's direction hitting his bag instead of him. He tried another blow, but was hit by a burst of flames on his side that sent him flying till he hit a large tree.

Andrew hesitated for a second, but he strayed from the path and moved to reach his fallen pokémon. Pawniard was dizzy and warmed up by the blow, but besides that he was fine. Looking back at the forest, both the smoke and the boy had vanished in the air.

Aaron cursed at his side, kicking the earth around. 

Andrew got up with Pawniard and examined the area around. On the grass he saw some random objects, probably fallen from the boy's bag after Pawniard cut it. 

He approached it finding a berry, a potion and, much more interesting, a trained ID. He caught it. ‘Neil Josten’ it said. The picture was exactly the same as the runner, or at least how he pretended to be.

The blond boy couldn’t see straight through the smoke but his eidetic memory kept repeating the scene in his mind. This “Neil” face started to blur like he was under water and, then, in a second, he changed. So slightly that even repeating the scene in his head was hard for Andrew to precise exactly what had changed.

Two things stuck with him though. The boy's sharp, analytical eyes (despite being blurry with anger and anxiety) and the hint of curly red hair coming out from under the black cap.

Andrew couldn’t help but wonder. Who was this strange boy? Even before he fled he had ‘runaway’ written all over him. So why did he refuse to return Cyndaquil and risked his disguise in the confrontation? What was he doing in the middle of that forest? Andrew knew everyone that lives in New Bark and Cherrygrove city and he’s sure that had never met the boy or anyone similar to him.

The blonde kept the ID in his own bag without showing it to Aaron. The redheaded boy was a mystery and Andrew swore to himself that this was not the last time he saw him.

—

Neil lost the count of the time he had runned. He had called his pokémon back to their pokéballs and hadn’t stopped running since then. When he finally did he was tired and thirsty, his legs were trembling, but he managed to get to a small cavern before collapsing. He leaned against the cave wall trying to catch his breath back, the Zubats watching the visitor curiously.

Zorua got out of the ball as soon as he noticed the absence of movement. He watched his trainer with worried eyes and climbed on his lab nuzzling Niel’s hands encouraging the boy to pet him. 

Niel could still hear his heartbeats pumping inside of his head, a mix of the intense exercise and the adrenaline in his veins, but tried to focus on the fur below his hand. When he finally managed to keep actual thoughts he started counting down, grounding himself.

It took a moment, but when he finally calmed down he took a bottle of water and drank it, almost choking in his desperation for the liquid.

After a final deep breath his thoughts finally came back to flow normally and he released Growlithe and Cyndaquil from their pokéballs. He relievedly noticed that the cut on Growlithe wasn’t as bad as had first looked like and his pokémon didn’t seem to carry any other major wounds. He took a time to spray some potion on the cut even so.

Fully healed, Growlithe quickly left the cave to take some firewood, coming back some moments later with a large log in his mouth. Cyndaquil followed him returning with a small stick in his tiny arms that he happily placed above the log. Niel and Zorua had stayed in the same place as before, enjoying the silence.

Growlithe light up the small bonfire and they all gathered along, heating up. Neil took the berries in his bag and distributed them between the pokémon. 

Cyndaquil was seated beside Growlithe. The dog pokémon sent a light ember to the berry in front of him, toasting it before starting to eat. Cyndaquil tried to mimic him, but ended up burning down the fruit until it turned into charcoal. Neil giggled and Growlithe buffed toasting one more berry for the smaller pokémon. Later Growlithe can teach him how to better control his flames.

The group spent the day there. Neil studying his map and planning their next steps while the pokémon played and explored the rock galleries around. 

When the moon finally set up in the sky, a light rain started to fall outside the cave. The sound of the drops hitting the ground lulling them to sleep.

“Welcome to the team.” Neil said to Cyndaquil as they settled down. The pokémon immediately lit up and bumped excitedly into him that giggled. 

They slept on the cave floor, curled together, sharing the heat with each other. When the morning came Neil called Growlithe and Cyndaquil back to their pokéball, gathered his things and left the place with Zorua on his shoulder.

The rain had already stopped, but tiny raindrops still rested up on the vegetation making the forest glow in the sunlight. Above them, crossing the sky with its colours, was a large rainbow. Neil stopped to admire it as he had never seen something like that before.

Then, he noticed the shiny colours moving. 

He frowned, trying to look better. When his vision finally adjusted to the bright lights he finally saw it. A huge, astonishing pokémon, flying below the rainbow. His feathers shone, reflecting the seven colors of the rainbow and his great wings beat slowly and steadily as if the wind bent to its will.

For one more time in the last few days Neil was completely stunned. 

He watched amazed as the pokémon went away, Zorua on his shoulder reflecting his emotions. In a moment he even saw the pokémon looking directly at him, but dismissed it as a trick of the light.

Later, he would search on his entire paper pokédex and didn’t find a thing about the mysterious pokémon. But, as his adventure progressed he would be constantly reminded of the joyful feeling that filled him with the vision and the hope of a future for him and his pokémon that finally found a place in his heart.