Chapter 93 – Family Reunion

Chapter 93 – Family Reunion There I was sitting inside Petalburg’s Pokémon center with two of my oldest partners crowded around me. Hearing

Chapter 93 – Family Reunion There I was sitting inside Petalburg’s Pokémon center with two of my oldest partners crowded around me. Hearing

Chapter 93 – Family Reunion

There I was sitting inside Petalburg’s Pokémon center with two of my oldest partners crowded around me. Hearing Zinnia’s voice come out of my Xtransceiver caused the two of them to spontaneously burst out of their balls and join in on the dialogue. However, I couldn’t help but feel the happiest I’ve ever been since starting my journey. The very thought that I was only a small stretch of time removed from seeing Zinnia again made me the happiest trainer in all of Hoenn.

“Nineee!”

“No way! I’ll be giving her the first hug. You can have second licks.”

“Nine!”

“…What are you?! Mpff!”

The wayward Ninetales’ tails enveloped my body holding me aloft mid-air. To top it all off Rena even managed to gag me by wrapping one of her tails around my head. Rena’s increased size meant that our roles had reversed. Whereas before I was the one winning out during our frequent play fighting. 

“Nine…?”

“Pfft! How about whoever gets to her first receives the honor?”

“Nine!”

Seeing her tails slowly unwrap as she put me down, I didn’t feel like the loser of our playful disagreement. 

‘Foolish vixen! I’ll just accidentally forget your ball with Nurse Mary at the Pokémon center during a routine checkup.’

We proceeded to enjoy dinner which was made with the fresh berries I recently acquired from the local market. Mr. Briney whose expertise I relied on to get these berries at a cheap price had already left with Peeko in tow back to his cottage residing on route 104. He left us with words of encouragement hoping to see us on TV competing in the Ever Grande conference. Victini, whose help we required to get to Lavaridge Town on time, was still on her playdate with the mother and child Kangaskhan.

My oldest partner holding his impatience in check asked me a pertinent question.

“Came?”

“Once we are finished eating. If Victini isn’t back by then we’ll go back to the gym and pick her up.”

With my proclamation the rest of the team started devouring their food at an accelerated pace. All of them aside from Rena and Numsy have grown curious about my little sister after hearing some of the childhood stories that I shared. Orin, who shared our table but otherwise didn’t partake in our planned mealtimes, was the first to ask what to expect from my sister.

“Laaamp?”

“Yeah, she’s very special and a lot more sociable than myself. Thus far there’s not a single human or Pokémon I’ve seen that didn’t take an instant liking to her.”

“Pent?”

“Who wouldn’t want to play with you? Zinnia’s not biased against ghost types, we've raised her to be better than that.”

As I informed Lampent of all there was to know about my sister’s situation, dinner started winding down with most of my team members just huddling up next to each other for comfort. Numsy and Rena argued throughout who among the two of them could sleep in Zinnia’s room this time with Rena coming out as the clear winner. Throughout our childhood Rena was the one who spent the most time around Zinnia. Primarily because before earning my trainer’s license Numsy belonged to the gym and had to stay there barring the occasional town holiday. This didn’t stop either him or Zinnia from visiting each other but it did cause Rena to become my sister’s favorite.

“Rupt!”

“Alright, I’ll try but don’t expect anything.”

Closing my eyes I dug deep within the recesses of my mind trying to feel out the part that was connected to Victini. I wasn’t psychic by any means of the definition, but I liked to believe that I picked up a thing or two from being in close mental proximity to a mental juggernaut like Victini for the past year. Finding what I was looking for I hesitantly put in my best effort to send out a message.

‘Tini, are you out there?’

“…?”

I could tell Victini got the message but her response was muted as if my mind was a radio with bad reception.

‘My sister called. Zinnia is back in Lavaridge Town, can you come teleport us over?’

“…!!”

This time despite the muddied channel of communication I could somewhat understand Victini’s intentions. It wouldn’t be long until the playdate was concluded. Coupled with Victini’s speed, it was best that I started cleaning up the dishes before she arrived to save us some time.

“Alright everyone! Victini is on her way. Let’s get those bowls clean before she arrives.”

“Ninee!” “Rupt!” “Vess!” “Nitan!” “Arf!”

To avoid proving ourselves arsonists, me and the team scampered outside to clean our heat resistant tableware in the proper way. By blasting away all the leftover food bits with controlled flamethrowers. All of my team members had grown strong enough to perform the most signature fire type move aside from Halo who was staring at her own dirty bowl as if the object had wronged her somehow.

“Don’t worry Halo you’ll get there. Why don’t you ask Glove to help you out this time?”

Glove was already waiting in the wings ready to perform said service before I even mentioned it. However, the two of us had agreed way beforehand to give Halo more autonomy so she could grow up to be a responsible Pokémon. That’s why if Halo wanted to accomplish stuff on her own, he wouldn’t insist on doing said tasks for her unless asked.

“Laaar?”

With one fell swoop Glove grabbed a hold of Halo’s bowl and burned it clean with his own Flamethrower before handing it over to me, the one stashing away everyone’s food bowls for later use.

Suddenly I could feel the connection between myself and Victini grow strong enough to the point where I could share my thoughts in a clear fashion once again. 

“I am back!”

An invisible weight landed on my right shoulder clearly informing me that my group’s resident rabbit had returned. Since we were still inside the center’s cafeteria I kept the conversing to a low volume. I could still opt to keep sharing my thoughts mentally, but my mind felt weary after attempting to contact Victini long distance.

“How was your playdate, Tini?”

“Little Kanga showed me all the good spots for playing. We did swings off the lianas and I got to ride on one of the Girafarig. Her mom didn’t let her ride along with me so she had to watch from a distance.”

“That’s a bit… overprotective. Although a Girafarig’s tail has a small brain which reacts purely on instinct. They can bite bystanders without meaning to.”

“We should totally get a ride Pokémon for the team! Not having to do anything, while mommy Kangaskhan was carrying us around, was so luxurious.”

“You’ve finally realized the splendor of riding Pokémon… I concur but that’s not the issue right now. Tini, could you please teleport us back to my grandparents’ house?”

“…All of you?”

Seeing the impracticality of my request I hastily addressed all of my partners who were just as eager as myself to get to Lavaridge on time.

“Tini can’t teleport all of us over at the same time. For now, I’ll need you guys to return to your balls. I’ll let you back out as soon as we arrive at my grandparents’ place, okay?”

The response was a mixture of growls, chirps, bellows and yips which all more or less let me know that they didn’t mind and were happy to stay in their balls for now. As I recalled each of them, one among my team seemed unwilling to return to her ball. Rena gave me this look of suspicion as if I were planning something insidious.

“…Nine”

“I won’t leave you inside to languish while sneaking off to meet Zinnia. Trainer’s honor!”

“Ninee!”

‘Tssssk, so she noticed.’

Victini, who was quickly growing impatient, decided it was a smart idea to pull me along to one of the center’s unused rooms while still invisible. I imagine the scene of an eleven year old kid being dragged off by an invisible force would be more cause of alarm were it not for the fact that enough Pokémon exist that could accomplish similar feats. All the while Rena was following closely behind, giving the other trainers staying at the center the impression the female fox was the one using a psychic move on my person.

“I know a whole bunch about your sister! This is going to be so exciting!”

“Sure, just try to stay under the radar. One of those old fogies from the tribe is undoubtedly with her to make sure she can’t run off.”

Once we found and entered the nearest empty room Victini wasted no time clamping down on my open hand after which Rena didn’t hesitate to join in forming a double paw stack atop of my human hand.

“Here we go!”

Within the blink of an eye, we found ourselves in my childhood room. Which Victini had grown familiar with during our last stay in Lavaridge Town. I had requested my grandparents to leave the room empty so we could teleport inside any time we liked.

“Ninee!!”

“It’s a good thing that Grandma leaves my bedroom door closed. Don’t think you can beat me to seeing Zinnia! Those soft paw pads won’t do you any good against knob handles. Now just stay still as I recall you inside…”

“Vi!” “Betrayal!” “Nine!”

“All is fair in love and war!”

Before I could get a clear shot at the Fox Pokémon Rena sped off in the opposite direction jumping through the opened first story window without any fear of injury. Feline Pokémon weren’t the only species of Pokémon who always landed on their feet. Rena’s nose basically guaranteed that she’d find Zinnia first just as I was mentally struggling at this lost opportunity of surprising my little sister, a second traitor revealed herself. 

“Bye Bye Egon.”

Victini, the one Pokémon who understood me best, flew off following Rena’s trail. 

“Come back you!! A first meeting like this has to be done properly!”

While Rena and Victini sped off in search of my little sister, the commotion we caused seemed to have informed the residents that I had returned home. My Grandma’s calling voice bellowed out from what I believed to be the downstairs dining room.

“Egon, is that you dear? Make yourself presentable, we have guests over.”

‘Time to show these Draconids to not mess with my family!’

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Zinnia – POV

“Thank you for waiting. Your Pokémon are fully healed. We hope to see you again.”

“Nurse Mary, do you really hope to see trainers come back with injured Pokémon?”

“No, this is what we are instructed to say back in nursing school. After some time, it has become second nature to me and most of my sisters and nieces.”

Nurse Mary gave me a big hug before waving me off. Having asked her to come have dinner with us she declined saying that her break was almost over and she needed to get back to work. Exiting the backroom door I could see the crowd hadn’t thinned at all. 

‘Sick or injured Pokémon don’t take breaks. Nurse Mary is a really good person.’

As I was passing the corner which directly led home. I couldn’t help but notice the nine tailed fox standing watch in front of the house. 

‘Ninetales? How pretty.’ 

The creamy fox Pokémon turned her head to look at me. What followed completely shattered my expectations. 

“NINEEE!”

“Eh?!”

Somehow I found myself trapped inside Ninetales’ soft fluffy tails while getting bunted every few seconds. Although flattering I couldn’t help but feel like this was in some way me cheating on Rena stopping me from enjoying the nice Pokémon’s unwarranted affection. 

“Hello there Ninetales, my name is Zinnia. I used to live in this house together with my grandparents.”

“Ninee!”

“Umm… are you lost? There’s a Pokémon center right around the corner.”

“…Ninee.”

Somehow Ninetales seemed distraught. That’s when I decided to cheer Ninetales up I used my super-secret tactic even Egon had no clue about, reserved only for when Rena has had a bad day. My big brother’s Pokémon loved getting scritches on her paw pads. 

“What squishy paw pads! Just like…”

“Nineeee….”

“Rena is that you?”

“Nine!”

“I missed you so much!! You’ve gotten even fluffier!”

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POV – Egon

Lured in by Grandma’s calling and the smell of good food I came upon a peculiar scene downstairs. Both my grandparents were present together with one cloaked stranger and their wayward daughter AKA my mother. Her presence, although unexpected, was not an unwelcome one. I have long since grown accustomed to her flighty nature. At the very least it would be easier to convince a close family member like her to let Zinnia stay here on a more permanent basis.

“Mother? And…?”

My best estimate placed her at the cusp of adulthood somewhere between seventeen and twenty years old. The ostentatious cloak made clear as to which secretive village she belonged to, and her attire bore striking similarities to what Tomatoma was wearing the day I first met him. The mysterious Draconid was first to introduce herself.

“You must be the infamous nerdy brother Zinnia keeps talking about. My name is Aster. I am Zinnia’s mentor.”

‘Aster?! This woman must be Rayquaza’s partner.’

“Thank you for looking after our Zinnia. It is nice to know she has someone in that village who supports her dreams.”

I did my best to keep the surprise off my face, but I couldn’t help but feel awed by the fact that the sole woman who held the lord of the skies allegiance was now present in my family home.

“That Rayquaza!!?”

‘Wait, I thought you had flown off?’

“Zinnia’s already standing in front of the house cuddling with you know who.”

‘Dang that fox beat me to it. In any case this woman must have impeccable moral fiber if Rayquaza picked her to be its chosen partner. You can show yourself whenever. The biggest risk to your anonymity in this room is most likely my own mother.’

My mother whom I suspected didn’t expect for me to be here tried but failed to make herself smaller. This odd behavior was telling of two things; firstly that someone has given her the business for being an absent mother, and secondly that those remarks must have gotten through to her this time.

“Hello to you too mother, it is nice seeing you again.”

“Egon… It is good to see you too.”

Trying to skip past the awkward silence I attempted to defuse the situation by switching topics as fast as a Ninjask. I’ve personally never made the attempt to broach the subject of her neglectful lifestyle to the woman personally and I wasn’t about to start now.

“Grandpa, Grandma we’ve already eaten, can me and my partners be excused?”

“Nonsense boy your skin and bones. Come sit and have an extra plate. Your Pokémon can come eat as well.”

Not needing to be told twice I swiped across my trainer’s belt activating the release mechanism on all my currently occupied poké balls except for Numsy’s. The big lug was too heavy for the dining room’s wooden floorboard. 

“Come on out!”

“Vess!” “Nitan!” “Lamp!” “Arf!”

Grandpa and Grandma were already familiar with my line up. However, I was quite sure my mother had not even attempted to look out for how I was doing on the circuit. Both her and Aster were surprised by seeing this collection of foreign fire types. The young woman seemed especially taken by the sight of Halo. My Pokémon knew the deal between me and my mother but I had made it a point to not overly bias them too much. In the wild it was quite common for parent Pokémon to leave their children to their own devices. Childrearing mainly consisted of drilling their offspring’s survival skills before cutting them loose. 

“Everyone, go make your introductions to my mother.”

First up was Glove, the most senior member of the group. The giant ape Pokémon proved himself to be more savvy than expected giving my mother an old military salute bumping his chest with a closed fist. Lampent came next as the ghost type extended his wavy fingerless arms giving her an energetic handshake. Both Halo and Raven followed that up with some playful bunting, careful not to accidentally gore her with their horns. My mother in return humored all of them showing her Lavaridge roots by still having that fondness for fire type Pokémon.

“How precious, you’ve raised them all so well Egon.”

As we were waiting for Grandma to come back with enough food for all of us Aster saw fit to strike up a conversation with me.

“What a rare sight, especially that Larvesta. How long have you had her?”

‘I always figured an isolationist tribe member like Aster wouldn’t be knowledgeable in regard to foreign Pokémon. Guess what I know.’

“Umm yeah, she’s newly hatched around three months old by now, I think? I am still surprised that the Unovan league association let me take her out of the region.

“You have dual citizenship?”

“Yes, I caught all of them in Unova around the beginning of this year’s circuit. That’s also where I captured Zinnia’s first Pokémon. She initially wanted me to try and catch a Deino but I figured such a starter like that would be too much for an unlicensed trainer. Not to mention all the legal implications.”

If my sister suddenly started openly walking around with a Deino that was registered under my name, the Unovan government wouldn’t let me be. Pokémon species like that were considered a major military asset. Such an upset would be the equivalent of selling weapon blueprints to a foreign country.

“Horsea was a fine choice. Although having a Deino around would have certainly warmed her up to the village much quicker. Our Elders have always wanted to induct Unovan bloodlines into our nesting grounds.” 

“Zinnia is coming inside!”

It was at this moment that the sound of a door opening could be heard. Marking the moment that my little sister came back into my life. Zinnia was a fair bit taller than I remembered her being and had lost a good chunk of her baby fat since I last saw her in person. My loveable little sister seemed to be stuck between heaven and hell all wrapped up in Rena’s nine tails.

“Zinnia!”

“Big brother!”

“Ninee!”

Not minding Rena’s cheeky involvement during this tender moment. I braved my Ninetales’ fluffy tails as I gave Zinnia the biggest hug of her life. My little sister smelled like a desert right after it rained just like how I remembered her being.

“You’ve grown bigger! Is that a Dragon Fang necklace?”

“My second Grandma gifted that to me, looks cool right?”

“So, you’ve already entered your rebellious phase… Big brother is still hip enough to be seen together with you, right?”

“Dummy! No matter how nerdy you get, I'll just become stylish enough for the both of us.”

Feeling the gazes of my Pokémon and the room’s other occupants I put a stop to the reunion hug not due to my own embarrassment, but I could tell that Zinnia was reaching her limit. Even though we were surrounded by friends and family, a preteen girl could only handle so much. 

This was when Numsy’s poké ball  began to shake. My oldest partner’s patience was growing thin; he rightly believed that it was now his turn to pamper Zinnia. Sensing the outburst coming I excused myself from present company to go ahead and release him into our backyard. In a flash of light my largest boy materialized on top of the garden’s sole patch of grass. 

“Ruuuupt!”

“I know but you can stick your head in from the window. That way you won’t miss out on anything.”

That’s how our current situation has come to be. With Numsy participating in our dinner conversation from the opened windowsill and occasionally being served a morsel off my plate. All my other Pokémon seemed content to take up their own respective spots in the room. 

Zinnia, like all Lavaridge kids, was quite accustomed to seeing camerupt walk around but I could tell she still made it a point to act all surprised to make Numsy feel special.

“I missed you too Numsy. Now that you are a big and strong Egon will have to rely on you to make it to the conference. Show ‘em what for!”

“Came!”

Our new houseguests were sufficiently distracted by my partner Pokémon. Their exuberant personalities doing much to alleviate the awkwardness of having dinner with Aster and my mother. At the same time Victini was watching on, invisibly, from the rafters strangely hesitating to join in on the merrymaking.

‘What are you waiting for?’

“This is my shot to meet Rayquaza! I have to make a good first impression!” 

‘Please don’t. I really don’t want to get involved in the events surrounding that Pokémon.’

“Don’t be scared, Egy, I will protect you no matter what! The two of us should help wherever we can!”

‘Hmm Zinnia does seem to care about Aster… If it’s to make her happy then I guess we can help out a little bit. We’ll limit our assistance to the sharing of sensitive information helping the Lorekeeper avoid some of the future pitfalls.’

“Okay! I’ll start!”

‘What are you…?!’

“Vi Vi Vi?” “Hello, my name is Victini. Would you like to be my friends?”

Victini revealed herself hovering just above the dinner table having found her confidence she did so in her usual energetic manner. My grandparents, having already met Victini, weren't surprised in the least, not so much the other people in the room. Zinnia, Aster and strangely enough my mother exhibited the same type of behavior we had come to expect from a woman’s first time meeting with the adorable little gremlin.

“Wooow!” “Cutie!!” “Kyaaa!”

Zinnia was already climbing on top of the table before Victini could get another word in edgewise. Zinnia’s was in fact the most measured response amongst the three with my mother squealing like a girl half her age and Aster unintentionally revealing her fondness for cuties. Before the little fire rabbit got grabbed, Grandma put a stop to the commotion using one of her superpowers. A menacing aura could be felt emanating from our elderly caretaker, one that Zinnia and I have grown to fear over the years. As if struck by lightning both Zinnia and Mother stopped what they were doing with my little sister evacuating back into her dining chair.

“Zinnia sweetie, what have I told you about climbing on top of the furniture…?”

“That Mankeys get no dessert.”

“That’s right, the same goes for you too Willow. Honestly a grown woman acting like a little girl because of one Pokémon. Victini dear, why don’t you go ahead and take the rest of my plate?”

“Yummy!”

Victini, not needing any further prompting relocated herself to Grandma’s side of the table. Stuffing her mouth full with Grandma’s Razz berry jam. Grandma didn’t miss the opportunity to give my distracted Pokémon plenty of head pats much to the chagrin of those she just chastised. Zinnia finally couldn’t take it anymore and went on a tangent.

“That’s unfair Grandma! And you!”

“…Me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about catching THE Victini? That’s major news, you know?!”

“Vi?” “You know me?”

“Sure, I do! Every night big brother tells me bedtime stories about all kinds of amazing Pokémon.”

“Vi Vi!” “That’s right, I am pretty amazing!”

Victini’s only weakness is honest praise and like a combee to honey the fire rabbit forwent snacking off Grandma’s plate and joined Zinnia’s side of the table. Where she was promptly grabbed and fawned over. Since Zinnia was seated next to Aster and my mother the two of them also got their licks in poking and prodding the fire type while my little sister had Victini in a bewear grip. 

“Tell me more about your adventures, big brother! Victini isn’t the only mythical Pokémon you’ve come across while in Unova, right?”

I could tell that Aster and even my mother’s ears perked up after Zinnia dropped the word mythical into the conversation. The young Draconid woman especially gave me a scrutinizing look as if to pry even more secrets from me. Which confirmed to me that I wasn’t being let off the hook and that she'd be having words with me in a more private setting later. 

“Well… not in Unova. Although I’ve heard one of the locals mention encountering a member of the forces of nature once.”

“Which one?!”

“Tornadus. According to the hermit I spoke to, its mere presence invoked harsh winds. I am also quite sure the Unovan league association is well aware and keeps track of their location at all times.”

“Really?!”

“It would be kind of hard not to. Whenever they’re out and about it is usually at the epicenter of powerful weather phenomena.”

The casual demeanor with which the two of us spoke about encountering legendary Pokémon seemed to bewilder Aster who eventually couldn’t resist joining in.

“I am not as familiar with foreign Legendary Pokémon. Zinnia, why don’t you elucidate big sister about this little miracle right here.”

‘Big sister?! This woman…! Zinnia only has one true sibling and it’s me!’

While I was coping with the fact that Zinnia’s mentor was shameless enough to try and occupy the big sister position, the dragon type specialist took the opportunity to grill Zinnia for more answers.

“Victini is extra special! But… brother made me pinkie promise to not share my knowledge on various secret topics without his say so.”

“And that’s very wise of him. We in the tribe keep similar rules as you well know. But family doesn’t keep secrets from each other, right little sister?”

Victini was too occupied with being pampered to take offense at the prying of her secrets, but Grandma seemed to have heard enough.

“Oh? I didn’t know we had another granddaughter. Does this mean that from now on we can visit little Zinnia whenever we want?”

The question seemed to have caught Aster off-guard as the woman struggled to come up with an adequate answer.

“Maybe…? Those who marry into the clan are given full rights as a full-fledged member of the village able to come and go as they please. Their extended family on the other hand… I could call for a vote to tweak the rules a little bit.”

“Yaaay!! Really?! No kidding big sis Aster?”

‘Organizing a sham wedding is now off the list.’

“Noted and registered.”

Zinnia looked at Aster and then back at me tilting her head slightly as if asking for permission. A quick nod on my side let her know I was okay with her sharing some of what she knew.

“A Fire and Psychic type, Victini is a Pokémon who produces an infinite amount of energy which it can share with others, powering up its friends in a pinch. There’s also something about always winning but I forgot… Did that turn out to be true Egon!?”

“Vi! Vi.” “Hey, I am right here! You can ask me anything.”

“Sorry Victini.”

“Viiii! Vi Vi.” “Hmpff! For the record I can do all those things and more. Egon has never once lost with me at his side.”

“What are you talking about? Yes, I did.”

“Vi Vi!” “You still got the gym badge, so it counts the same as winning!”

Over the course of my travels it did occur to me that I never once lost against trainers who I deemed to be at a comparable level of skill as myself. Passing trainers looking for a quick match did on occasion eke out a win against us when mustering Pokémon on a higher plateau of skill. I myself didn’t count those encounters as a loss even when I had to pay out money because it brought my team such valuable learning experiences. 

Me and Victini’s open candidness did much to even further warm our guests to her presence and soon enough she was passed around like a stuffed toy so that both women had the opportunity to fondle those fluffy ears. I myself was stuffed so I took this opportunity to secretly pass my plate through the window letting Numsy’s proportionally larger stomach take care of my leftovers. It was after this point I thought it prudent to ask Zinnia another question.

“Zinnia, have you already opened my birthday present?”

“Oh, that’s right! Grandma?”

“We kept Egon’s gift in your room. Don’t forget to wash your hands!”