Chapter 92 – Welcome Home

Chapter 92 – Welcome Home While Grandma was busy doing grown-up talk with mommy and Aster, we kept ourselves busy in the kitchen. Grandpa h

Chapter 92 – Welcome Home

While Grandma was busy doing grown-up talk with mommy and Aster, we kept ourselves busy in the kitchen. Grandpa helped us out a bunch by filling one of Grandma’s mixing bowls with water so Horsea could stay outside of his poké ball after which we all enjoyed Grandma’s improved recipe. 

There we were stomachs filled with Grandma’s delicious cookie dough while splayed across the kitchen floor. Even Grandpa couldn’t help himself and snuck off with the dough covered ladle thinking we wouldn’t notice. 

“Grandma’s cookies are the best! Don’t you think so too? Goomy, Bagon?”

“Goo!” “Gooon!” “Sea…”

Horsea could only eat a little since the dough was too sticky for his mouth parts.

“That’s okay Horsea, we’ve saved up enough allowance to get you something yummy at the Pokémart. …Grandpa!!”

“Yes, treasure?”

“Can my friends and I go out to play?” 

“I guess that’s okay. Just make sure to let Grandma know where you are going.” 

“Thanks! love you Grandpa.”

Not really paying attention to what he said afterwards I grabbed both Goomy and Bagon while returning Horsea to his ball and made my way to the store’s entrance. All the while I couldn’t help but notice Grandma and Aster who were stuck in the middle of a grown-up argument while mommy sat behind the countertop trying not to get noticed. Before my hand could touch the door’s handle I was caught. 

“Zinnia dear, where are you going?” “Little sister?”

“Grandma, Big sis! Can we go outside? Grandpa said it was okay!”

Grandma’s demeanor changed into her no-nonsense form as big brother called it.

“And ruin your appetite on snacks? By my reckoning you’ve already cleaned out all of our cookie dough.”

“Horsea’s still hungry so we figured going to the pokémart and… maybe visit trainer school?” 

This time it was Big sister who responded.

“Trainer’s school? Zinnia we only have a day’s worth of time before having to go back to Meteor Village.”

“One day is twenty-four hours, right? That means we can have a sleepover and leave in the morning. Pleaaaaaase big sis I never ask you for anything.”

“This girl… you are always asking me for things. Fine I’ve been gone from the outside world for too long myself. However, one of us will have to go with you.”

“Mommy! I choose Mommy!”

Mommy who had been sitting in Grandma’s quiet corner reacted when I called out to her.

“Me?”

“You have to meet all my friends! So, they know I wasn’t lying when I told them you’d come back for us someday.”

“…”

‘Mommy looks even worse now. Did I say something bad?’ 

“…Yes, please introduce me to all your friends.”

Not waiting another second, I grabbed Mommy’s wrist and led her outside into the outskirts of town or what big brother liked to call the boonies. 

“First stop, the Pokémart! Mommy, can we buy some water Pokémon snacks pretty please? ”

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On their way to trainer school*

The store manager at the Pokémart was very knowledgeable and had the perfect food items in stock for water types. Horsea belonged to a group of Pokémon classified as filter feeders eating very small basic organisms that are hard to see with the naked eye. Which most non-predator water type Pokémon subsist on. Egon had already nerded out to me with all the  important research when gifting Horsea to me, but Aster turned out to be even more knowledgeable and helped me test out Horsea’s specific likes and dislikes.

“Horsea’s so happy! Thanks, a whole bunch for coming with us.”

“It’s nothing. That’s what a mother like me should be doing in the first place. From now on I want you to come to me first whenever something is making you experience any hardship, okay Zinnia?”

“Uhmm… okay!”

Mommy insisted on paying for the Pokémon food, leaving me with enough allowance to buy two standard poké balls. Both of which I hastily sneaked inside my pockets when Mommy wasn’t looking. 

‘Regular poké balls are so much better! I just have to hide these from big sis and the others.’

Holding hands Mommy and I walked to school and for some strange reason she insisted that my Pokémon stay inside their balls for now. The reason being unimportant, something about me not being licensed to have them yet.

‘You don’t need licenses to make friends! That’s dummy talk! I was the first to receive a Pokémon, but everyone made fun of Horsea because he’s a water type. Showing off Goomy and Bagon will shut them up for sure!’

As we walked through the streets of Lavaridge Town we eventually came upon the trainer’s school building. Our school was only half the size of the town’s gym and was rumored to be suffering from a Ratata infestation. Which wasn’t true at all. The ratata were properly invited houseguests which we had to sneak in because the teachers kept moving them back outside. This place might be compared to a dump in the eyes of visiting trainers, but it was ours.

“How nostalgic… this is the same trainer’s school Mommy went to when she was your age. You might not know it, but I was elected class president during my time.”

“Stop talking! If anyone found out my mommy used to be a teacher’s pet, they’d pick on me!”

Class presidents are the ones responsible for enforcing the school rules and belonged to the most unpopular group of know-it-alls. Even big brother refused the position when his teacher tried to pass the job off to him during his school days.

Our trainer’s school was a modest place with only three classes worth of children. Egon didn’t neglect letting me know that other schools were far larger with student bodies into the thousands and for some reason my nerd brother got the idea that I should be going to such places when he makes enough money to pay expensive tuition fees. 

After entering the school premises, I quickly walked to one of only four classrooms we had. It was still before lunch break, so Mrs. Patterson was still busy lecturing on about Pokémon biology. Through the windows I could see almost everyone either dazing off or doodling in their notebooks. My two bestest class friends Lavender and Chester looked even more forlorn without me there to cheer them up.

“Mommy you stay here alright?”

“Don’t you want me coming with you, dear?”

“After! Classrooms are parent free zones.”

Following that statement I unceremoniously opened the classroom door and walked in. Mrs. Patterson’s back was turned so she didn’t notice me at first but the same couldn’t be said for my fellow classmates. Exchanging a bunch of secret winks and sniggles I grabbed a hold of our teacher’s back just before she could figure out what was going on. 

“Grab!”              

“Waaaaah!!”

Mrs. Patterson's abrupt wail didn’t stop me from feeling like a winner for managing to get one up over her. This was a comeuppance for all the times she made stay after school for extra reading lessons. It wasn’t my fault that in my eyes printed words fell off paper. While Mrs. Patterson was recuperating from my successful sneak attack, I asked the most important of all questions.

“Did ya miss me Mrs. Patterson?”

“…Zinnia. Don’t ever do that again! But indeed, we did miss you, isn’t that right class?”

“Yess!!” “Yes!” “Yes!” “Do that again!”

“I heard that! You are on thin ice Bobby! …Since my lesson plan has been derailed, the rest of the hour will be devoted to free studies.”

“Yaaay!!” “Yaaay!!”

“Do be quiet! Zinnia and I will have to go over the material that she missed while absent.”

‘Using my last day in Town to study?! No way!’

“Mrs. Patterson! I have been keeping up with my studies while away, honest! My mommy is waiting outside, and I will have to go back with her tomorrow morning.”

“Your legal guardian is here with you? Excellent! Now the two of us can go over how irresponsible she is having you pulled out of school without notice. Do you know the nightmare I had been put through after not seeing you come to school the following day without explanation?! You stay here while I give that woman a piece of my mind. Lavender!”

“Yes Mrs. Patterson?”

“We’ve already moved onto the next book but it’s now your job to fill Zinnia in on what you’ve learned while she was away. That counts for the rest of you as well!”

Mrs. Patterson walked out the door and I was once again left out of the grown-up talk. This time I didn’t mind as much because I had a whole lot of bragging to do in front of my friends. Both Chester and Lavender stood up from their desks to give me a warm welcome home. Chester is a nerdy brown haired bespectacled boy 

“Zinny!! I missed you so much!”

“Me too Levvy! A bunch of exciting things happened while I was gone. There’s a bunch of super-secret stuff that I am not even allowed to talk about.”

“Fufu! You aren’t the only one. Our dads are taking us out to Fiery Path tomorrow. This weekend we’ll be catching our first Pokémon!”

“Chester you too?! What happened to having your parents adopt a Ponyta?”

The brown-haired boy and one of my all-time besties pushed his glasses in such a way that it reflected the sunlight. None of us had the heart to tell him that his habit didn’t make him look cool at all. After meeting with my brother that one time Egon labeled Chester as suffering from eighth grader syndrome, a silly but temporary psychological condition. 

“It was decided that a Ponyta would better suit my sister. I don’t mind, a Slugma or Numel would be more suited to my fiery spirit. At least it is better than having your brother send you a water type Pokémon.” 

“You take that back! Horsea is waaay cooler than any old fire type!”

Once more the rest of the classroom saw fit to join in the debate.

“Water types are lame!” “No way that Horsea is better than our family’s Growlithe.” “Horsea can’t even survive on land!”

“All of you…! Me and Horsea will take on any and all challengers! If we win then all of you have to admit that my Horsea is the best starter Pokémon!”

Lavender couldn’t stop herself from trying to de-escalate the situation.

“Calm down Zinnia. Don’t you know that Lavaridge stands synonymous with fire type Pokémon? Even your brother started off with a Numel so stop being weird and go catch a fire type of your own!”

“Hmpff! I have already decided to only train dragon Pokémon. As for fire types… I’ll consider catching a Charmander or Turtonator.”

Every single one of my classmates dreamed of partnering with their very own Charmander one day. So me admitting to being interested in training one got most of them to back off my case. Leaving me, Chester and Lavender to our own devices once more.

“What’s a Turtonator?”

“My brother says they’re these turtle Pokémon that live over in Alola. Their special move is blowing up the shells on their back. I haven’t seen one yet, but I like to imagine they look a bit like Flannery’s Torkoal. I’ve learned a lot about dragon type Pokémon while away let me tell you!”

“Zinnia… let’s start studying like Mrs. Patterson told us to.”

“What…? No way! I thought we’d be playing with Horsea until Mrs. Patterson gets back.”

“We’ll get in trouble! Don’t you want to earn your trainer’s license early? If the association finds out about Horsea…”

“Horsea’s officially my brother’s Pokémon so there’s no problem. Brother says that the league only intervenes when unlicensed trainers mistreat their partners or start catching dangerous Pokémon.”

“Gulp* Dangerous?”

“Gyarados, Salamence but really those Pokémon are just misunderstood sweethearts!”

For some reason both Lavender and Chester were looking at me like I had just told them something outrageous. 

“Zinnia, as your friends we forbid you from attempting to catch any of those Pokémon!” 

“Teehee! Too late.”

“You didn’t…”

“You know how I told you two that my Daddy is part of a super-secret order of dragon trainers? Well, I wasn’t just staying over there doing nothing. While I was away, I got inducted as well!”

“No way!” “Figures…”

“Ssshh! Not so loud, it’s super-secret, remember? There was this whole festival, and I’ve bonded with two other Pokémon. That’s three more Pokémon friends than anyone else in class has, impressive right?”

“You should totally do a show and tell!”

“That’s a terrible idea; she’s not even allowed to have one Pokémon! if Zinnia shows off with two additional ones there’s going to be a riot. Do you remember what the girls did when Stacey showed up with that Eevee?”

Lavender as expected was totally in my corner, but it seemed I had to reconsider Chester’s positioning on my best friend ranking list.

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Free studies period ending*

Mommy eventually came back carrying a whole load of school books. According to my teacher the load she was carrying comprised all of the material I had missed plus anything I would need to take next year’s licensing exam. As Mrs. Patterson reconvened class I took this opportunity to give everyone a quick hug before we had to move on to the next stop on my special visitation checklist. 

“I’ll really miss you Mrs. Patterson! Please be my license proctor next year just like you did for Egon.”

“That’s… the proctors are usually allotted by chance, but I’ll see what we can do. Don’t think you can take it easy though! I’ll be just as strict as any other teacher during the assessment. Be sure to ask your brother for assistance, that boy broke the town’s record by taking the test one year early and getting a perfect score.”

“…I’ll try.”

Waving the class and Mrs. Patterson goodbye, the two of us headed back up the road in the direction of our house.

“Are we heading back home already sweetheart?”

“No, not yet! I still want to see Nurse Mary and show her how well I’ve been doing. As our family physician she’s sure to want to give me lots of head pats for taking such good care of Horsea after giving him his checkup.”

“Mary is still working at the local Pokémon center? Her Chansey helped deliver both you and Egon. Your brother only wailed only very briefly while it took a lot of effort on Chansey’s part to stop you from crying.”

“Please stop talking Mommy!”

But she didn’t stop no matter how much I pleaded. That’s how we arrived in front of the Pokémon center with me covering my ears as she went on to share every terrible detail. Somehow being able to pester me like this helped Mommy climb out of the gloomy state she had been in ever since we arrived at Grandma’s bakery. This horrid recounting forced me to leave mommy on the street as I weaved my way through the crowd of trainers waiting in line at the Pokémon center.

Mary’s clinic was situated right next to Grandpa and Grandma’s home and when the two of us walked in the first thing I noticed was the pretty pink hairdo of my fourth most favorite non-family member in the world. The one who had helped Egon gift me my very first Pokémon. 

“Nurse Mary! Nurse Mary! It’s me, Zinnia.” 

“Oh my! Please wait just a moment dear. Let me take care of this young man’s Pokémon first.”

“Hmm?”

In my excitement I seemed to have disregarded the growing line of trainers looking to have their Pokémon’s ouchies mended. The one in the very front of the line didn’t seem to mind but that would surely change if I took any more of Mary’s time. 

‘Whatever, I’ll just play crayons with my friends until she’s done.’

This Pokémon center had a play corner with picture books and children’s toys. Mary had that built in just for me and big brother so that she could keep working and have us be close by at the same time. Many a day the two of us just sat there while Grandma and Grandpa were off making a living. Egon mostly reads the available medical journals like a nerd while I kept busy playing with Rena.

“Come on out everyone!”

“Gooom!” “Sea!” “Gon!”

“Nurse Mary is too busy to give you three a medical check up right now. Let’s do colors!”

“Gooom…” “Sea…”

Both Goomy and Horsea didn’t have hands and as expected weren’t as enthused at the prospect of not being able to contribute to my next great work of art. All of them knew how important my drawings are to the family. With both Egon and Grandma insisting that each one of my drawings be put up on the fridge. 

“It’s okay if you don’t have hands, Horsea. We could still use your unique talent to produce ink to turn the papers black. That way we get to use white crayons for the first time. Goomy you'll be on glitter duty! Your slime is perfect for making things stick to the canvas.”

“Goo!” “Sea!”

It was at this moment that Mommy managed to get past the crowd and enter the center properly. Despite me quickly pulling a blanket over ourselves I wasn’t quick enough to avoid being seen.

“Sweetheart, don't run off like that! You had mommy worried!”

“Stay away! There will be no more embarrassing stories!”

“I just wanted to…”

“Horsea, be ready to fire.”

“Sea!”

Mommy threw her hands up in the air in a clear sign of surrender. While we had her within firing range the villainous woman tried begging for mercy.

“I am sorry Pumpkaboo! I thought you would be happy to know more about the day of your birth. How about we all forget this bit of unpleasantness and go have dinner?”

“Willow?”

Mommy turned around and came face to face with Nurse Mary who had just finished helping that last trainer. Peering behind her I could see Chansey had taken over manning the counter. Mommy seemed taken aback by Nurse Mary’s presence, however.

“…Mary.” 

With both of them acting weird I took it upon myself to get things rolling.

“Nurse Mary! Look at my two new friends, aren’t they the cutest?”

“Gon!” “Goom!”

“What is this? A Goomy and Bagon you must have put in a lot of work to get these two to become your partners. How about the five of you come stay in the break room for now? The center is too crowded right now. I can give your new partner Pokémon a quick look over at the same time.”

“Don’t I have to wait in line for that? Line skippers are the worst, you know?”

“I am officially taking my break. It doesn’t count when I do this in my free hours.”

“Yay! You are the best Nurse Mary.”

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A short while later*

Mommy was back home with Aster, Grandpa and Grandma at first she didn’t want to leave me alone but Nurse Mary guaranteed that she’d send me their way as soon as my partners health check-ups had been completed.

“Bagon here seems to be in excellent health. No signs of cranial fractures which is the most common malady seen in his kind. I am happy to say that this one is in perfect condition. Do make sure to keep Bagon away from ladders or other high up places.”

“I’ve learned all about taking care of Bagon back in my new second home! My new mentor made sure that I know everything there is to know about dragon types.”

“Gon!”

“Horsea is showing no signs of dysecdysis which means it is spending the correct amount of time within open waters. While Goomy here seems to be doing just as well. However…”

“What is it, Nurse Mary? Is Goomy doing okay?”

“There is an odd mineral buildup of what I assume to be Nickel or Iron in Goomy’s epidermis. Have you been feeding her any strange additional supplements per chance?”

“…Maybe”

“…Zinnia, you can tell me anything.”

“You can’t tell anyone, pinkie promise?”

Nurse Mary huffed for a bit before extending her pinkie finger locking the appendage together with my own. The reassurance proved to me that Nurse Mary could keep a secret.

“Big brother had a theory that goomies are capable of evolving into an ancient variant of Sliggoo under the right environmental conditions. We’ve been adding Iron powder into the water of her inflatable pool.”

“…Iron? Hmmm… I’d be much more assured if Goomy here gets a weekly checkup to assess her overall health while participating in this experiment. For now, the Iron seems to be safely held within the outer layer of her skin but that could change at any time.”

“I believe in my brother and so does Goomy.”

“Goom!”

“Then please take this. I’ve some idea of your situation so make sure to keep it hidden from view. You wouldn’t want your very first cellular device to be taken away by technophobes.” 

There held in between Nurse Mary’s hands was an older model Pokégear, the same one I’ve seen her use countless times while she was housesitting us. I’ve always wanted a pokégear of my own, but both my Grandparents and brother thought it was best that I didn’t use communication devices like this one before being licensed. Something about turning into a shut-in with no social skills glued to the screen while playing Angry Tailows.

“For me?!”

“This gift is for missing out on your birthday. I would also sleep better knowing that you could call me during emergencies.”

“I’ve always wanted a pokégear! And it’s even a pink one! Thank you very much!”

“Best to keep this a secret from your mother. I don’t know if she or your father would let you keep it. Now, if you look in the contacts list, you’ll notice I left two numbers inside. One is for my own new pokégear and the other is your brother’s cellular number. You can call him right now if you want to.”

“Really?!”

“Your brother stopped calling the center phone ever since your parents decided to take you back to their village. However, a good nurse has an eye for detail. I promised myself to record his number if you ever made your way back to Lavaridge again.”

Holding up the Pokégear I could see that the device had four basic functions. Just like the models that I got to mess around with when borrowing one from my friends back at school. 

“Zinnia this Pokégear can help you tell time, holds a map, has a functioning radio and of course lets you call others so long as you have their number.”

“I am going to call big brother right away! He’s going to be so surprised!!”

Taping the green button right underneath Egon’s name I waited with bated breath. It has been a really long time since we last spoke to one another and I still had yet to give my nerdy brother a big thank you for giving me such an amazing present. As the ringing sound went off I tightened my grip around the pokégear as if the device would suddenly stop working during such an important moment.

“…Hello, who is this?”

“It’s me, Zinnia! Did you miss me, Egon?”

For a short moment, things turned eerily quiet at the other end of the line, that’s when big brother started losing it.

“Zinnia! Did you manage to escape?! Where are you? Big brother is coming to save you!!”

We could hear scrambling sounds as if something seemed to be clawing and scraping against a hard surface. Mary and me both could hear the sounds of the lowing and the sharp yips of both a fox and bovine Pokémon.

“MERUPT!!” “NINEEE!”

“Numsy! Rena! I love you too!”

That’s when Nurse Mary made her attempt to deescalate the situation.

“Let’s just all calm down. Zinnia is safe and sound with me at the Pokémon center.”

“Nurse Mary? So, you are at the Lavaridge center. Okay! Just hold on, I’ll be there within the hour. No wait! Thirty minutes tops.”

“Idiot brother! You should be focusing on Pokémon training. The conference is less than two weeks, you know?! Are you going to embarrass me by not winning it on your first attempt?!”

“Just being able to see you makes us stronger! After our little sister battery is recharged, we’ll become unbeatable.” “Ninee!” “Rupt!”

It made me happy hearing Rena and Numsy loudly agree with him. Their commotion on the other end of the line was followed up with a question from Nurse Mary.

“Oh my! Only thirty minutes? Egon must be really close to Lavaridge Town. Have you been training up on Fiery Path?”

“Not at all we are currently in Petalburg City. We still need to earn our eighth gym badge and leader Nelson streamlined the challenging process for those with seven badges so we’ll make it just in time. I’ve managed to catch a psychic Pokémon who has gotten very good at teleportation. My partner is off doing her own thing but said that she’ll be back in time for dinner. I am expecting her to come back around at any moment.”

“A new capture? Make sure to introduce her to the both of us. It’s always a good thing to make friends with a psychic type Pokémon.”

“Ahem! We decided to keep her presence in my team lowkey, but I’ll make sure to introduce you. Zinnia, have you been doing well with mother and her husband?”

“Un! Daddy is busy most of the time, but Mommy always makes time to play with me every day.”

“Have you been brushing your teeth twice daily? How are your studies coming along?”

“Quit it, Egon! I am a big girl now, one year away from earning her license!”

“That doesn’t matter. You’ll always be my little sister, even when you become a hundred years old.”

Despite my super serious proclamation of independence the detractor in the room made herself known. Nurse Mary just couldn’t help herself and started teasing me while praising Egon.

“Fufu! What a reliable big brother.”