Chapter 1
Clover stared at the trainer card in her hands, unable to believe it was actually happening. It was actually happening.
The card had a picture of a boy in red that looked a similar to her, under the name of Aidan Smith. That day she had been drop dead tired, and it showed by the exhausted expression the boy wore, irritably glaring at the camera. But she really looked like a boy! None of the chubby legs she used to have, and whatever she may have had in the ways of boobs beforehand, was now completely indiscernible from an outside eye.
The age on the card read sixteen, which was two years older than she actually was, although it was necessary for the plan.
Right, she thought, feeling a little resentful. The plan that was miraculously working. As she often did, she wondered why on earth she was even doing it. She had thought originally, that it’d be great to help a friend, but ever since, that friend was a huge ass. He had a reason for it, kind of, she supposed, but that didn’t mean she was just going to take it.
Well, she was, but she didn't have to like it.
Which rang the thought again of why on earth was she even doing this? She wasn’t a bad kid- not if she could help it. Her mom was a hardworking single mother and Clover respected her- a lot. They were a small, attached family that faced everything together.
Clover was nervous- of course she was, this was a plan of years in the making, and it was finally happening, in less than 24 hours. She was running away from home for legends’ sakes! And why? She barely had a solid reason. Because I pity him? Because it’s for a good cause? The only thing she could come up with that sounded remotely okay was that she didn’t think it would be wise to let Gary go alone.
This is stupid. She thought, angrily slamming and spamming buttons on her game cube controller. This is so stupid.
Around 1 am in the morning, squeaks of pebbles hitting her window disrupted her upset gaming.
So he remembers I exist. That’s, well, something, at least. Clover peeked through her blinds and was confirmed in her educated guess. It was Doucheface Mcgee himself.
With all the caution she could muster, Clover tiptoed outside as if she were a meowth trapezing.
“Er… Hey, Clover.”
Wow, he even remembered her name. She wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or annoyed that he had met her so late. “Hey yourself, Gary.”
He used to be like a prince- the pride of the Oak household, her pride as a best friend. Now, he was a walking piece of male privates to everyone he knew or met.
His usually bold stature was hunched into himself and he looked guilty- a worn out expression on his features, and he looked so, so tired. She almost felt bad for him. Well, no, she did, but she wasn't going to admit it. “What’s up, Oak? If you’re worried about the plan, I’m still doing it. Don’t worry about my side of it.”
He looked shocked, speechless for a moment. “Wha- really? You’re really going through with it?”
Clover shuffled her feet, wishing she were in her room. It was chilly outside. “Yes, just like I said. So if there isn’t anything important to be coming out of your mouth or mine, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
Gary scratched his neck, looking a little nervous. Well- they had been thinking about this for years. He was at least twice as nervous as she was, probably.
“Thanks, Clover. I- I really mean it.”
“Yeah, yeah, save it.” She grumbled. “Just… Give this to Daisy, will you? Tell her to give it to my mom when she starts getting worried.”
Gary took the thick envelope, glancing at her, and then back at the paper package. “Of course- I promise. I promise. I’ll, um, see you tomorrow then, Clover!”
She sighed. They were really going through with this. It almost felt like a dream, to have Gary acting kind of like his old self. But then again, with all that was coming ahead, she wondered if it was to be more of a nightmare- or if it was even worth it. “It’s Aidan, now.” Clover threw the words over her shoulder before creeping back inside her house.
“Gramps, I’ve been waiting here forever!” Gary complained, stomping as Professor Oak dragged the newly deemed Aidan into the Laboratory.
When they were younger, it was a place they played in, or generally, thrown out of because they were too loud. Now, it was the blade cutting the two free from the quaint life they had in Pallet Town.
Aidan was too dazed to be really hearing the two of them bicker. She- now he, had an elaborate lie set up; he pretended he was going camping with his friend from Viridian who just came back from Celadon, and he conveniently forgot to leave a note with any specific who, how or when.
It was pretty lucky for him that the elder Oak had yet to recognize him- the old guy had known him since he was born. But then again, makeup did wonders and his eyesight was leaving at a fast pace.
Eventually, Professor Oak gently pushed him to the pokeballs- snapping out of his thoughts, he immediately went to check them out.
Laid out on the table in pokeballs were cleffa, zubat, and a charmander.
The charmander sounded amazingly strong, and dependable. But flashy. And unfortunately for Aidan, flashy was not an option. Charmanders were rare, and a trainer with a Charizard? Forget it, the news would be eating them alive.
Zubat, while inconspicuous, was rather weak. For a starter, it also wasn’t a very good option, since he would have to build a team around it. With no one else for a zubat to fall back on in battle, it would likely die.
Cleffa was his only option left. It wasn’t super effective against anything, but normal types were also only weak against fighting types- not to mention a diverse set of moves which was useful.
With a forlorn glance at the charmander, he grabbed the cleffa, hoping the little one was tough.
Names, names… Aidan wanted to name his pokemon, but what? Clefairies were often associated with outer space stuff… And it was pretty cute, in all its evolutions…
Gary stormed over to the table and nabbed- Aidan flinched. He had hoped, with no luck, that he wouldn’t chose the charmander. But who was he kidding? Of course he would.
“C-er, Aidan! Let’s battle, right here! Let’s check out our pokemon!”
Enthusiasm lit the boy with energy, fidgeting with a cocky grin, ball confidently in his grasp.
“Oh for legends’ sakes… Fine. But be careful, would you two?” Oak groaned, standing to the side to act as a referee.
Aidan tuned out as Oak listed the rookie information- he had gotten the trainer card through a series of tests, he already had to know all the basic information.
Letting out the new cleffa, he kneeled to talk to the pokemon. “Hi there, little guy.”
“Hello! Nice to meet you, Master!”
Aidan wasn’t really into the sound of ‘master’ but hearing Gary’s conversation with the charmander start to dry up, he decided it wasn’t a good subject for the time being. “Hey, can I call you Fae?”
“Yes, of course, Master! It would be most honorable to receive such a cute name!”
Rubbing his temples, Aidan sighed. “Do you mind a battle? I’m sorry it’s right after we met, but-”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll do my best!”
On the side of the ball, there was a list of moves taped on- presumably what the cleffa knew. Bonding would come later- Aidan had a bad feeling about the vicious look in the charmander’s eyes. Sure, the cleffa had some handy moves- but this was no time to take it easy.
“Use charm, Fae!” Aidan was pretty grateful for having the first move, since he was the one being challenged. Fae did a adorable little dance and winked at her opponent.
Gary’s expression was serious- Aidan wasn’t sure he had ever seen him like that. “Clare, use scratch!”
It wasn’t like the big screen battles- no flashy explosions, no complicated strategies. It was basic moves and luck, which Aidan hoped really badly that he had. Sure, he was alright to leave home to make sure the guy didn’t end up dead, but that didn’t mean he wanted to lose.
The move seemed to have done some decent damage- Fae had a cut on her pudgy little arm now. Please use growl, please use growl. The charmander let loose another mean scratch attack, right before Aidan had told Fae to use encore. Shit.
The battle progressed with charms and scratches, and Aidan finally felt it was time to fight back. “Pound!”
“Scratch!”
Aidan was so very glad he had saved up money to buy a potion previously- if he didn’t have it, then the battle would’ve been in Gary’s favor.
Quickly as his body would allow, Aidan dumped a potion on his new partner, rolling out of the way as the charmander landed a weakened scratch.
The rest of the battle was less scary for the new crossdressing trainer- the charmander had gotten infatuated with the little pink pokemon due to its Cute Charm ability and, giving the cleffa more time to dodge and hit, and eventually, the mild attacks of Fae won through, after what seemed like ages.
“WHAT? Unbelievable!” Gary shouted, stomping as he walked up to his charmander and placed it back in its ball. “I picked the wrong pokemon…” He grumbled.
Aidan really wanted to retort back, but withheld. He had won and that was enough. Besides, it was funny to think of his reaction if Gary had chosen the zubat. Aidan couldn’t help but grin at the thought. “Great job, Fae! You were awesome!”
“Thank you, Master!” The pokemon seemed overjoyed, hopping up and down, skipping around her trainer.
Gary shoved a wad of dollars into Aidan’s hands. “Enjoy it now, because there won’t be a next time.” He growled before marching off, purposefully bumping into the winner on the way out. “Aidan! Gramps! Smell you later!”
Smell you later? What are you, five? Aidan picked up his new comrade with a smile, after realizing the tiny pokemon had trouble keeping up with such little legs.
With a fat wallet full of savings and Gary’s money, along with a adorable cleffa in tow, Aidan left home with a smile.
The day had started off nice, it really had. But there were so many tedious battles against the young pokemon of the area. Aidan had been told the with path to Viridian City was long, but he didn’t expect it to take all friggin day! By the time they got to their destination, Fae was practically asleep in his arms and the sun was going down.
First, they stopped at the Pokemon Center, to check out a room and to heal the battered cleffa.
The city was calm as he remembered it being, although part of it was blocked off by a old man and his daughter, who almost hit Aidan with a pan to keep away. Weirdos. Then, he gave a glance to the trainer school, and looked around for any signs of people searching for him-er, well, for Clover, anyway. It was a bit ridiculous, but it made Aidan feel kinda lonely- but it meant his mom was okay and not in panic mode yet.
Deciding it would be good to pick up supplies before there was any amber alert, he stopped by the PokeMart.
“Hello there, are you from Pallet?” was the first thing the clerk said to him. That’s rude.
“Er, ye-”
“Great! Take him this package, would you?”
Every single time Aidan tried to buy something, the clerk would only repeat his question with a smile- it was really creepy.
Defeated, the young trainer went back to catch some sleep on the bed waiting for him in the center.
As it turned out, Fae was a extremely clingy sleeper, nuzzling uncomfortably into Aidan’s nooks and crannies.
They had slept for a whole twelve hours til noon, and left to give the package to Oak. Aidan wanted to finish as quickly as possible- and check on his mother.
As they entered the town, a unfortunate face met Aidan’s view.
“Cl- Aidan, what are you doing here?”
“Apparently delivery, um, boy for your grandpa. You?”
“None of your business, loser.”
Aidan sighed. There came out the asshole Gary he knew so well. “I’ll go with you if you wait up for a moment.” He offered, trying to be civil.
“As if.” Gary sneered, walking away trying to look cool. It really just looked a little dorky.
Well, he tried.
“Why do you let him talk to you like that, Master? That was certainly rude!”
Fae had managed to clamber up to Aidan’s shoulders, making her place homely and quickly. “Eh, it’s fine. He was more civil in the past two days than he's been in the last three years. And uh… Would you mind forgetting what I’m about to do?”
“Er… Master Aidan?”
The trainer took a deep, deep breath.
Knock Knock!
And out of the door came Layla Emory, single mother to one. His mother.
Thank the legends. Aidan felt a bit of the weight on his shoulders lifted off, seeing his mother in one piece, peachy as ever. “Er… ‘scuse me ma’am how’s your…” He lost his function to speech once he saw Fae literally in his mother’s arms. Oh. “How’s your day, um, going?”
“What a adorable pokemon you have here! Oh- my bad. Sorry, it was probably rude to do that, hm?”
Aidan didn’t think he’d ever be shy or choke up in front of his parent- most of the time they were bickering or laughing- and now he felt like a bashful three year old. “I uh, don’t think Fae minded at all, haha… hah…”
Fae sent him an alarmed look, glaring at him as she struggled in the mother's arms.
Aidan tried to give a tiny nod, hoping the message of 'just a little longer' got across.
Fae sent him a dirty look before nuzzling the woman.”Uh… Cleffa, cleffa! Clef!”
Aidan had to keep himself from laughing. “Um, do you, um…” The urge to laugh drained from his body when he panicked for a conversation starter. The only thing he could think of… oh legends. “Do you have the time right now to listen about our righteous savior and lord, Giratina?”
Somehow, Aidan actually managed to bs his way through the conversation. He didn’t expect his mom to actually try to quiz him and question him about grimism- he had lost a whole thirty minutes of his day to that.
“Oh, Aidan, thank you so much for bringing the specialty pokeball, I appreciate it.”
Aidan coughed and tried to make his voice a little lower. “It’s, uh, nothing, Professor Oak.”
“It’s, uh, nothing, Professor Oak. Oh, do you have the time to hear about our saiv-”
The mimicked trainer flicked the cleffa’s forehead. “Cleffa cleffa, look at me- ow!” Pouting pink small pokemon bit Aidan’s finger.
Fae stuck her tongue out. “It was Master Aidan who did it so short noticed-”
“That’s why I asked you to wipe it from your memory!” Aidan complained, giving a pitiful look to his pokemon.
The professor cleared his throat, with a impatient looking Gary glaring from behind him. “It seems you and your pokemon are getting along wonderfully! You really have some talent for training!” Oak loudly congratulated, clapping Aidan on the shoulder.
Gary made his way in front of his grandfather, pissed off. “I’ve been waiting here for like thirty minutes! Enough about that, what is this is this about, Gramps?”
The professor stepped back with a kindly smile, and grabbed two blocky red electronic devices. “I have a request for you two! I want you two to collect data about all kinds of pokemon on your journey. It’s my very own invention. My dream is to-”
Gary snorted. “Blah, is that all, Gramps? I have things to do, people to see.”
The elder Oak sighed and gave Gary a weary look. “I want you two to use these high-tech encyclopedias to get data from pokemon you see and catch. That’s all I ask in exchange for your pokemon.”
“Kay, got it. Smell ya, Gramps. Aidan.” He stopped, just for a moment, beside Aidan. He scratched his neck before giving his signature smirk. “I’m sorry to break it to you Aidan, but you won’t be necessary for this.”
Aidan let out a puff of laughter, making eye contact with his childhood friend. Both sides were challenging the other for a moment, and they were making a new contract now in bonds of competitiveness; in their new rivalry.
