[fic] i wanna be the very best!
Title: I Wanna Be the Very Best!
Author/Artist: chromatic_coma @ animusia
Character(s)/Pairing(s)(in this chapter): Sealand, Wy, Seborga, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, North Ireland OCs
Rating: PG/K+
Genres: Friendship, Adventure
Warnings: Human names, gratuitous Pokémon references, first time writing all of these characters, OCs
Summary: Peter Kirkland is finally ten, and it's time for him to start his Pokémon journey! Thanks go out to windweaver1092 for her immense help with the Kirkland family scene.
Note on the Human names:
Scotland - Breannan
Wales - Liam
Ireland - Finnigan
Northern Ireland - Mary Anne
Taiwan - Mei
Hong Kong - Xiang
I Wanna Be the Very Best!
Peter could not believe he’d been banished to his bedroom. What right did Breannan have to punish him, anyways? Sure, he was Peter’s older brother, and maybe Arthur left him in charge when he went off to join the Elite Four of Pokémon Trainers, but he’d gotten into far worse trouble than Peter ever had.
As Peter lay in his bed, wondering if it would work to blackmail Breannan into shortening his punishment (just a week ago he’d used Arthur’s beloved Sceptile to win a pub brawl), a rock clicked against his window. He looked up in time to see it whizzing away, and his eyebrows furrowed immediately.
He rushed over to the window and pulled it open in time for the next pebble to hit him in the face.
“Ouch! Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Peter peered out his window, rubbing at his tender forehead wound, and saw a little girl outside giggling into her palm. Her pink sweater was sliding off her shoulders, leaving them almost bare, and a backpack was resting on the floor beside her.
“Hey, you’re the one who got me in trouble!”
“No, I didn’t!” she called back happily. “It’s not my fault you tried to steal one of the Professor’s Pokémon!”
“You told me they didn’t have trainers!” Peter shouted back. For a brief moment he wondered if his brothers could hear him, but then remembered how packed their pub was and decided they wouldn’t hear a stampede of Tauros dashing up to their shop, much less the shouts of two kids.
“And they don’t. They belong to the research lab!” The girl laughed again, and then she paused. “Why don’t you come outside and meet me?”
Peter frowned. “Because you got me in trouble, and then you hit me!”
She frowned as well, and put her hands on her hips. Her lips were puffed out, though, and she seemed distressed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please come outside?”
“I can’t. I’m grounded.”
She sighed. “Don’t you boys know how to do anything? Sneak out, dummy!”
Peter pulled his head out of the window and thought about it. From his room he could hear the loud crowd downstairs, drinking, laughing, and mostly importantly keeping his brothers busy. But the girl outside was responsible for his being grounded in the first place, and Peter wasn’t sure he trusted her.
“Why should I come outside to see you?”
“I’ll let you see my Pokémon,” she offered brightly. “But you’ve got to hurry!”
At the promise of Pokémon, Peter agreed, and pulled his shoes on before cautiously opening to the door to his room. There were no noises coming from anywhere on the floor, so he slowly crept down the hall. He used the back entrance to quickly slip out of house, and marveled a little at just how easy it was.
“It’s about time you got here,” the girl smirked when he got to where she was in the back. Peter frowned, but sat in the grass beside her regardless.
“I wasn’t going to rush for someone I don’t even know! Why did you call me out here, anyways?”
The girl shrugged, and finally adjusted her sweater up on her shoulders. “My name is Wy. What’s your name?”
“Peter.”
“See?” she grinned. “Now we’re not strangers anymore.”
Peter scowled, a little annoyed by Wy’s logic, but mostly just annoyed by Wy herself.
“If I get caught out here and get in trouble again, it’s your fault.”
Wy laughed, “You’re such a worry wart! Sometimes you have to go out and have adventures, even if it means getting in trouble.”
Peter mulled that over, and figured that it fit well with his personal philosophy of doing whatever he wanted for the sake of doing it. Perhaps if he used Wy’s words to explain it to Arthur he’d be taken seriously for once.
“Well… are you gonna show me your Pokémon?”
Wy nodded, and pulled her backpack into her lap. From it she started to pull out PokéBalls, and Peter picked one of them up.
“Which one’s this?”
Wy was quick to snatch it back. “Be careful! That’s my Rattata, and he’s the first Pokemon I ever got.”
Peter frowned, but Wy was quick to open the PokéBall and let the Rattata out. It scurried up to her, and when she rubbed it behind the ear it purred.
“Your Rattata acts like a cat,” Peter laughed. “It’s so dumb.”
“He’s not dumb, he’s just a little baby one.”
“You sure have a lot of Pokémon for a kid,” Peter commented, looking around at the pile of PokéBalls in the grass. “How old are you?”
“Eleven,” Wy answered proudly. “And you?”
“Ten…”
“Wait,” Wy started. “You’re ten and you don’t have any Pokémon yet? I thought you were eight or something. Don’t you want to be a trainer?”
Peter scowled. “My brothers want me to wait til I’m older…”
“That’s silly. My brother let me go once I turned ten, because I told him I wanted to.”
“Lucky,” Peter huffed. Wy laughed, and Rattata turned to sniff at Peter’s leg. He nuzzled Peter’s thigh, then looked up expectantly.
“Huh…?”
“He wants you to pick him up. Go on!”
So Peter did, and Rattata happily licked his cheek.
“Aw, he likes you,” Wy squealed. “Wait, that gives me a great idea! You should come with us!”
“Us?” Peter repeated, rubbing Rattata behind the ears. “Who’s us?”
“Me and my friend Seb. We’re traveling together; he’s at the Pokémon Center in Flora City. We came here because there’s a Contest coming up soon I wanna enter.”
“Flora City? But that’s two miles away from here; why did you come to the boring hicks when you were in the city?”
Wy shrugged. “I wanted to see what was out here, I guess. And I met you, so it was worth it, right? Can’t you just ask your brothers to let you come with us? Then we can go to Professor Wang and get you a starter Pokémon, since you don’t already have one!”
The idea was enticing, but Peter knew his older brothers would oppose. And even if he could get the pub owning ones to agree (as he was sure they’d love to have him out of their hair), Arthur would probably put his foot down and say what he always said.
’I didn’t start my Pokémon journey until I was thirteen, and look at me now, a member of the Elite Four. There is no need for you to leave home so soon, Peter.’
Before Peter could tell Wy that it wasn’t going to work, she gave him a look and scooped her Rattata back into her lap.
“If you’re gonna quit before you even try, then you’re never gonna become a Trainer.”
Peter huffed, and made up his mind then and there that he was going to go on his journey with Wy and her friend.
--
“Breannan, I’m going to go be a Pokémon Trainer and I don’t care if you try to stop me!”
Breannan barely looked up from the stew simmering away on the stove at that announcement. His gaze flitted over Peter, and he replied, “Aye, I'm sure. Grab tha' spon and hand it to me, then go feed Boomer.”
The old Arcanine looked up from his corner at the sound of his name, but Peter huffed. He passed his brother the spoon and whined, “I meant it! It's not like you and the others even want me here, so why not let me go?”
Boomer put his head back down, realizing food wasn’t coming anytime soon. “Aaaaarc…”
“Ye know tha's not true. We need a monkey to clean under things because we're too tall. Well, Liam's not tall, but he's still taller'n you.” Breannan shrugged, scooping up a bowl of stew and setting it on the window. “Order up, Liam!”
“I heard that, Bren.”
“Pah.” Breannan finally turned away from the stove and back at his youngest sibling. “Alrigh', now what're ye goin on abou'?”
“Well, I'm ten years old now and I'm old enough for a Pokémon license and it's not fair that you're not letting me go out and be a Trainer,” he snapped, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
“Well, I dunna-“
Before Breannan could finish his thought, the back door flew open and a wild mane of red hair poked in.
“Breannan! We have a situation! Need some muscle!” Finnigan, the youngest of Peter’s older siblings, called. Noticing Peter in the kitchen, he grinned. “Well, hallo Peter. I thought ye left!”
“Ye heard Finnigan, Peter, scooch on outta here.” Breannan grinned, ruffling his brother’s hair. “Don't come home without a bag full of badges or a broken arm!”
Peter stood in shock as Breannan turned out to break up the beginnings of a bar brawl.
“Wait, you mean just like that? Won't Arthur be mad?”
The door was held open by Liam, who walked in with a tray full of glasses.
“Peter's leaving? Feed Boomer before you go.”
Peter was still standing there, trying to figure out if they were being serious, when Breannan came back in, waving one of the men out of the pub.
“Aye, jus' like tha'. Go get yer bag. And dunna worry about Arthur, we'll handle 'im.”
“...You mean to tell that that if I'd just asked sooner, you'd have let me go?”
Mary Anne, who’d been bussing tables, walked in and suddenly grinned, “Oh, he's leavin? Bye, Peter! I'll pack some food for ya!
“...And you're not even gonna ask who I'm traveling with, or anything?”
Mary Anne rushed up the stairs to get some food containers. Breannan called after her, “Grab some potions and antidotes, Mary Anne!” Then he turned to address Peter,
“And no, why? Should we? Yer not cute enough ta'be raped, so…” He shrugged. “Jus' be sure ta call, be careful, all tha'. And feed Boomer!”
“Aaaaarcaniiiiiine!”
Peter blinked, before finally sighing and grabbing the Pokéfood from the cupboard to pour a big heap of it in Boomer’s bowl.
“You mean... none of you is gonna miss me?”
“Arc! Arc!”
“I know you will, Boomer,” Peter murmured, stroking the Arcanine behind its ears. “I meant my human family.”
“Dunna be pouty. Ye know we will. Bu' there's nothin here fer a boy, Peter, except farm work and cleanin Pidgey poop offa everythin,” Breannan started, grabbing two boxes of booze bottles to take out to the cooler in the front. “We've all had our adventures, and now ye need tah have one too. The pub's gettin more business, and we canna babysit ya anymore, and ya dunna need it. You're a man now.”
Despite the fact that their family was not a touchy-feely one, and that he and his brothers got on well at best, Peter jumped up and tackled his oldest brother, hugging Breannan tightly around the waist.
“You won't be disappointed! I'll be the best before you know it!”
Breannean laughed, and nearly dropped the crates as he put them down to scoop his younger brother up. When he cheered, his voice carried throughout the pub, “Hey! Everyone! Listen! Peter's going on his Pokemon adventure! Let's all wish him luck, aye?”
Liam whooped, and clapped him on the back, “Atta boy, Peter.”
“Get that boy a drink on me!” one of the pub patrons called out. Liam chortled and whacked him on the head, “Lou, he's TEN.”
“Well, get him a coke then!”
Finnigan helped Breannan set him down on the floor again, and once more Peter’s hair was ruffled.
“Be careful! Call when you can!”
“I've got yer bag all packed, Peter,” Mary Anne grinned, coming back down the stairs and pressing a kiss to her brother’s cheek.
Peter’s eyes were almost watery as he hugged his sister tightly. “Oh man, you guys are awesome! Not as awesome as me, but close.” He laughed, and pulled the bag onto his shoulders.
“Now go on, get. We'll handle Arthur, don't you worry.”
Peter turned around and hugged Breannan as well, and murmured, “Thank you, Breannan. See you soon,” into his brother’s thigh before he took off screaming,
“Wy, Wy! They said YES!”
Breannan shook his head, waving to the brother who wasn’t looking any longer as he left, before turning to the rest of his younger siblings, “What're ye standin around fer? Get back ta work!”
--
Peter was still in shock, even as Wy was leading him up the path to Professor Wang’s laboratory.
“I still can’t believe Breannan said yes… I mean, he’s a cool brother, but he never took me seriously before!”
Wy laughed, “I bet that’s because you whined and acted like a baby before, right?”
“I never whine!”
“Sure,” she giggled. “So, which Pokémon are you going to ask Professor Wang for?”
Peter frowned, slowing his pace as they started up the hill. “I never really thought about it. They’re all so cool! I just want a big, badass Pokémon!”
“Telling the Professor you want a ‘big, badass Pokémon’ is only going to get you a whole load of nothing,” Wy commented. “The number one rule of being a Pokémon trainer is that you’ve gotta respect them. So, come on, pick one! Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander?”
“Um…”
“Oh, look, the Professor’s got visitors!” A girl’s voice chirped, and both Peter and Wy looked up to find two teenagers sitting on the steps of the research lab, lazing around under the Sun. There was and Espeon napping in the girl’s lap, and the boy had an Umbreon sitting awkwardly on his head.
“Put your hands up and state the purpose of your visit,” the boy said lazily. The Umbreon on his head perked up and quirked its head at them, before deeming them boring enough for him to lie back down.
Peter paused, and it was Wy who answered, hands up by her ears, “He’s going to start his Pokémon journey, so we need to visit Professor Wang.”
Both teens sniggered. “My name is Mei,” the girl started, “And this is my brother Xiang.”
“Jake.”
“Just ignore everything that comes out of his mouth,” Mei replied quickly, swatting at him. “And please, don’t amuse him. You don’t have to put your hands up.”
“Who are you?” Peter cut in bluntly. “And can we go see Professor Wang yet?”
Again, the teenagers laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Wy asked, and Mei shook her head.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out when you’re older,” she answered. “The Professor is inside, come on.”
Leaving Espeon on the steps, Mei got up and started up the stairs. Wy jumped up after her, and Peter could feel Xiang coming up behind them; it was strangely unsettling.
And then Mei opened the door and let them into the lab. It was a huge room, with Pokéballs lining one entire wall, each sitting in its own little incubated cup. There were several large tubes, mostly collected around one section of the wall, and a large computer was connected to every contraption in the room.
There was a young woman with a long ponytail sitting at the computer, who Mei stepped up to and tapped on the shoulder.
“Professor, you’ve got guests,” she called. Funny, Peter had known Professor Wang to be a man…
“Aiyah, does this have to be now?” the Professor whined, turning around in his chair to face the two kids. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Peter intently.
“You’re a Kirkland, aren’t you?”
Peter nodded; he was used to being recognized by the very prominent eyebrows that belonged to everyone in his family.
“And you’re a man, right?” he countered, just to be sure. Mei and Xiang hid their faces in their sleeves, and even Umbreon seemed to be laughing. Professor Wang, however, was not amused.
“Of course I’m a man! Hmph, no tact. You’re just like your brothers.” The Professor turned to Xiang and added, “I still don’t see why you’d want to be one of them.
Xiang sobered up quickly, and his lips turned down into a scowl. But before anything more could be explained about that Wy, who’d been growing impatient, cut in,
“Peter wants to get a Pokémon and Pokédex so he can get started on his journey, please.”
“Aiyah, kids today have no patience. I swear…” The Professor mumbled under his breath as he got up out of his chair. He went to search through his paperwork, and looked up with a file.
“Peter Kirkland. Your brothers told me you’d be coming ages ago, but when you never showed up I was about to give up on you. What took so long?”
“Arthur,” Peter answered simply. The Professor’s face instantly darkened at the name, and so Peter knew no further explanation was necessary.
“Ah, well. Which starter Pokémon have you chosen?”
“Um…”
Peter hesitated, looking at the three Pokéballs on the table before him. He knew that one of them was a Bulbasaur, one a Squirtle, and one a Charmander… but which one did he want?
Wy came up beside him and squeezed his arm. “Come on, Peter, you know you have one in mind. You have to have; you’ve been dreaming of this day of years, right?”
“Yeah, of course!”
“So, just put the one you always envisioned yourself having!”
Peter frowned. “Which starter did you pick, Wy?”
“I didn’t. My big brother gave me Rattata for my tenth birthday, so I didn’t need a starter.”
“Well, that doesn’t help. And besides, I’ve imagined myself with all three starter Pokémon, so your advice sucks.”
“No, it doesn’t. You’re just greedy,” Wy scowled.
“Don’t start fighting here!” The Professor cut in. “And stop taking so long; I have research to return to. Do you want Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander?”
Peter bit his lip, trying to think as quickly as he could. He knew he didn’t want Charmander, because there was only room for one favorite fire Pokémon in his life and that was Arcanine (plus, he’d gotten burned by a Charmeleon as a child and was turned off to them for life). And Bulbasaur was awesome, but Arthur was the one who’d once been known for his strength with grass-types and the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in his brother’s shadow.
Plus, he did love going swimming.
“Squirtle,” Peter finally decided. “I want my first Pokémon to be Squirtle.”
Professor Wang smiled a bit, “Now, you have to be sure to take excellent care of it. Pokémon require love and training and tending to, just like any other living thing. I trust you’ll take this responsibility seriously?”
Peter nodded fervently, and the Professor placed the Pokéball in his hand. He then reached into a locked drawer, and handed Peter a Pokédex, and 5 more Pokéballs.
“Congratulations,” he started calmly. “You are now an Official Pokémon Trainer. Be sure to call in whenever you have questions, or if you learn anything new. Otherwise, I have nothing more to give you that you won’t find in the world around us.”
“Oh man, this is so cool. Thanks, Professor!”
“Thank you,” Wy chirped calmly, being polite for Peter in lieu of his distraction. Professor Wang laughed and shooed them off with his hand.
“Go on, get out there!” He called, all but pushing them out of the lab. Peter was too excited to notice, and Wy found she could not be mad at the stuffy researcher because Peter’s joy was contagious.
Professor Wang turned around to his two lab assistants with a tired expression.
“Are there any more Kirklands?”
Mei grinned, “Just this one wannabe.”
Xiang swatted her hand away, and Umbreon growled at her. Mei laughed, and Professor Wang collapsed into his seat in relief.
--
“So, where are we going next? Are going to a gym? Can I go get my first badge?! Oh, man, I’m a Pokémon Trainer! Watch out world, here I come!”
Wy sighed, pulling her slipping sweater back onto her shoulder. Peter was loud and obnoxious, and she was starting to already regret inviting him along.
“No, we are going to the Pokémon Center in Flora City, a city which doesn’t even have a gym. I told you, I have a competition coming up and I need to train. You should train Squirtle too, if you want to start catching more Pokémon and winning gym battles.”
Peter deflated instantly. “Yeah, I guess. You said someone was there waiting for us?”
“My friend Seb, remember?”
“Yeah… what’s he like?”
Wy paused to consider him, and answered, “Well, he’s really fun. He’s also very lazy, though. His brothers own the gym in Bellezza City but he’s not really interested in battling. Not that his brothers are either...” Wy giggled, then finished, “He’s traveling around, drawing Pokémon and trying to develop delicious Pokéfood and a whole bunch of stuff too. He’s a good traveling buddy.”
Peter nodded. He was pleased at the thought of having a boy traveling with him; if people just saw him and Wy they might get ideas, and Wy was gross. Well, not personally, but she was a girl and girls were gross by default, or so his brothers had told Peter countless times. But the thought of a trainer who didn’t like to battle puzzled him; even Arthur, the pansiest Pokémon trainer he knew, loved battling.
But a half hour later, when they made it to the Pokémon center and Wy introduced Seb, a lanky brunet sitting in the sun and giving a Shinx (Peter had to consult his Pokédex for that one) a bellyrub, Peter decided the other boy wasn’t going to be so bad after all. When he went to bed that night, it was with high hopes for his Pokémon journey.
to be continued
--
A/N: And that concludes the first chapter of I Wanna Be the Very Best!. I'm not really sure yet if I want to continue this with a linear plot following Peter and his friends, or if I want to do a lot of little drabbles and oneshots for all the characters... perhaps I'll find a way to blend both. Either way, I do want to hear you guys' comments and feedback, and I'd love to answer any questions you might have I hope you enjoyed it!
Author/Artist: chromatic_coma @ animusia
Character(s)/Pairing(s)(in this chapter): Sealand, Wy, Seborga, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, North Ireland OCs
Rating: PG/K+
Genres: Friendship, Adventure
Warnings: Human names, gratuitous Pokémon references, first time writing all of these characters, OCs
Summary: Peter Kirkland is finally ten, and it's time for him to start his Pokémon journey! Thanks go out to windweaver1092 for her immense help with the Kirkland family scene.
Note on the Human names:
Scotland - Breannan
Wales - Liam
Ireland - Finnigan
Northern Ireland - Mary Anne
Taiwan - Mei
Hong Kong - Xiang
I Wanna Be the Very Best!
Peter could not believe he’d been banished to his bedroom. What right did Breannan have to punish him, anyways? Sure, he was Peter’s older brother, and maybe Arthur left him in charge when he went off to join the Elite Four of Pokémon Trainers, but he’d gotten into far worse trouble than Peter ever had.
As Peter lay in his bed, wondering if it would work to blackmail Breannan into shortening his punishment (just a week ago he’d used Arthur’s beloved Sceptile to win a pub brawl), a rock clicked against his window. He looked up in time to see it whizzing away, and his eyebrows furrowed immediately.
He rushed over to the window and pulled it open in time for the next pebble to hit him in the face.
“Ouch! Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Peter peered out his window, rubbing at his tender forehead wound, and saw a little girl outside giggling into her palm. Her pink sweater was sliding off her shoulders, leaving them almost bare, and a backpack was resting on the floor beside her.
“Hey, you’re the one who got me in trouble!”
“No, I didn’t!” she called back happily. “It’s not my fault you tried to steal one of the Professor’s Pokémon!”
“You told me they didn’t have trainers!” Peter shouted back. For a brief moment he wondered if his brothers could hear him, but then remembered how packed their pub was and decided they wouldn’t hear a stampede of Tauros dashing up to their shop, much less the shouts of two kids.
“And they don’t. They belong to the research lab!” The girl laughed again, and then she paused. “Why don’t you come outside and meet me?”
Peter frowned. “Because you got me in trouble, and then you hit me!”
She frowned as well, and put her hands on her hips. Her lips were puffed out, though, and she seemed distressed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please come outside?”
“I can’t. I’m grounded.”
She sighed. “Don’t you boys know how to do anything? Sneak out, dummy!”
Peter pulled his head out of the window and thought about it. From his room he could hear the loud crowd downstairs, drinking, laughing, and mostly importantly keeping his brothers busy. But the girl outside was responsible for his being grounded in the first place, and Peter wasn’t sure he trusted her.
“Why should I come outside to see you?”
“I’ll let you see my Pokémon,” she offered brightly. “But you’ve got to hurry!”
At the promise of Pokémon, Peter agreed, and pulled his shoes on before cautiously opening to the door to his room. There were no noises coming from anywhere on the floor, so he slowly crept down the hall. He used the back entrance to quickly slip out of house, and marveled a little at just how easy it was.
“It’s about time you got here,” the girl smirked when he got to where she was in the back. Peter frowned, but sat in the grass beside her regardless.
“I wasn’t going to rush for someone I don’t even know! Why did you call me out here, anyways?”
The girl shrugged, and finally adjusted her sweater up on her shoulders. “My name is Wy. What’s your name?”
“Peter.”
“See?” she grinned. “Now we’re not strangers anymore.”
Peter scowled, a little annoyed by Wy’s logic, but mostly just annoyed by Wy herself.
“If I get caught out here and get in trouble again, it’s your fault.”
Wy laughed, “You’re such a worry wart! Sometimes you have to go out and have adventures, even if it means getting in trouble.”
Peter mulled that over, and figured that it fit well with his personal philosophy of doing whatever he wanted for the sake of doing it. Perhaps if he used Wy’s words to explain it to Arthur he’d be taken seriously for once.
“Well… are you gonna show me your Pokémon?”
Wy nodded, and pulled her backpack into her lap. From it she started to pull out PokéBalls, and Peter picked one of them up.
“Which one’s this?”
Wy was quick to snatch it back. “Be careful! That’s my Rattata, and he’s the first Pokemon I ever got.”
Peter frowned, but Wy was quick to open the PokéBall and let the Rattata out. It scurried up to her, and when she rubbed it behind the ear it purred.
“Your Rattata acts like a cat,” Peter laughed. “It’s so dumb.”
“He’s not dumb, he’s just a little baby one.”
“You sure have a lot of Pokémon for a kid,” Peter commented, looking around at the pile of PokéBalls in the grass. “How old are you?”
“Eleven,” Wy answered proudly. “And you?”
“Ten…”
“Wait,” Wy started. “You’re ten and you don’t have any Pokémon yet? I thought you were eight or something. Don’t you want to be a trainer?”
Peter scowled. “My brothers want me to wait til I’m older…”
“That’s silly. My brother let me go once I turned ten, because I told him I wanted to.”
“Lucky,” Peter huffed. Wy laughed, and Rattata turned to sniff at Peter’s leg. He nuzzled Peter’s thigh, then looked up expectantly.
“Huh…?”
“He wants you to pick him up. Go on!”
So Peter did, and Rattata happily licked his cheek.
“Aw, he likes you,” Wy squealed. “Wait, that gives me a great idea! You should come with us!”
“Us?” Peter repeated, rubbing Rattata behind the ears. “Who’s us?”
“Me and my friend Seb. We’re traveling together; he’s at the Pokémon Center in Flora City. We came here because there’s a Contest coming up soon I wanna enter.”
“Flora City? But that’s two miles away from here; why did you come to the boring hicks when you were in the city?”
Wy shrugged. “I wanted to see what was out here, I guess. And I met you, so it was worth it, right? Can’t you just ask your brothers to let you come with us? Then we can go to Professor Wang and get you a starter Pokémon, since you don’t already have one!”
The idea was enticing, but Peter knew his older brothers would oppose. And even if he could get the pub owning ones to agree (as he was sure they’d love to have him out of their hair), Arthur would probably put his foot down and say what he always said.
’I didn’t start my Pokémon journey until I was thirteen, and look at me now, a member of the Elite Four. There is no need for you to leave home so soon, Peter.’
Before Peter could tell Wy that it wasn’t going to work, she gave him a look and scooped her Rattata back into her lap.
“If you’re gonna quit before you even try, then you’re never gonna become a Trainer.”
Peter huffed, and made up his mind then and there that he was going to go on his journey with Wy and her friend.
--
“Breannan, I’m going to go be a Pokémon Trainer and I don’t care if you try to stop me!”
Breannan barely looked up from the stew simmering away on the stove at that announcement. His gaze flitted over Peter, and he replied, “Aye, I'm sure. Grab tha' spon and hand it to me, then go feed Boomer.”
The old Arcanine looked up from his corner at the sound of his name, but Peter huffed. He passed his brother the spoon and whined, “I meant it! It's not like you and the others even want me here, so why not let me go?”
Boomer put his head back down, realizing food wasn’t coming anytime soon. “Aaaaarc…”
“Ye know tha's not true. We need a monkey to clean under things because we're too tall. Well, Liam's not tall, but he's still taller'n you.” Breannan shrugged, scooping up a bowl of stew and setting it on the window. “Order up, Liam!”
“I heard that, Bren.”
“Pah.” Breannan finally turned away from the stove and back at his youngest sibling. “Alrigh', now what're ye goin on abou'?”
“Well, I'm ten years old now and I'm old enough for a Pokémon license and it's not fair that you're not letting me go out and be a Trainer,” he snapped, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
“Well, I dunna-“
Before Breannan could finish his thought, the back door flew open and a wild mane of red hair poked in.
“Breannan! We have a situation! Need some muscle!” Finnigan, the youngest of Peter’s older siblings, called. Noticing Peter in the kitchen, he grinned. “Well, hallo Peter. I thought ye left!”
“Ye heard Finnigan, Peter, scooch on outta here.” Breannan grinned, ruffling his brother’s hair. “Don't come home without a bag full of badges or a broken arm!”
Peter stood in shock as Breannan turned out to break up the beginnings of a bar brawl.
“Wait, you mean just like that? Won't Arthur be mad?”
The door was held open by Liam, who walked in with a tray full of glasses.
“Peter's leaving? Feed Boomer before you go.”
Peter was still standing there, trying to figure out if they were being serious, when Breannan came back in, waving one of the men out of the pub.
“Aye, jus' like tha'. Go get yer bag. And dunna worry about Arthur, we'll handle 'im.”
“...You mean to tell that that if I'd just asked sooner, you'd have let me go?”
Mary Anne, who’d been bussing tables, walked in and suddenly grinned, “Oh, he's leavin? Bye, Peter! I'll pack some food for ya!
“...And you're not even gonna ask who I'm traveling with, or anything?”
Mary Anne rushed up the stairs to get some food containers. Breannan called after her, “Grab some potions and antidotes, Mary Anne!” Then he turned to address Peter,
“And no, why? Should we? Yer not cute enough ta'be raped, so…” He shrugged. “Jus' be sure ta call, be careful, all tha'. And feed Boomer!”
“Aaaaarcaniiiiiine!”
Peter blinked, before finally sighing and grabbing the Pokéfood from the cupboard to pour a big heap of it in Boomer’s bowl.
“You mean... none of you is gonna miss me?”
“Arc! Arc!”
“I know you will, Boomer,” Peter murmured, stroking the Arcanine behind its ears. “I meant my human family.”
“Dunna be pouty. Ye know we will. Bu' there's nothin here fer a boy, Peter, except farm work and cleanin Pidgey poop offa everythin,” Breannan started, grabbing two boxes of booze bottles to take out to the cooler in the front. “We've all had our adventures, and now ye need tah have one too. The pub's gettin more business, and we canna babysit ya anymore, and ya dunna need it. You're a man now.”
Despite the fact that their family was not a touchy-feely one, and that he and his brothers got on well at best, Peter jumped up and tackled his oldest brother, hugging Breannan tightly around the waist.
“You won't be disappointed! I'll be the best before you know it!”
Breannean laughed, and nearly dropped the crates as he put them down to scoop his younger brother up. When he cheered, his voice carried throughout the pub, “Hey! Everyone! Listen! Peter's going on his Pokemon adventure! Let's all wish him luck, aye?”
Liam whooped, and clapped him on the back, “Atta boy, Peter.”
“Get that boy a drink on me!” one of the pub patrons called out. Liam chortled and whacked him on the head, “Lou, he's TEN.”
“Well, get him a coke then!”
Finnigan helped Breannan set him down on the floor again, and once more Peter’s hair was ruffled.
“Be careful! Call when you can!”
“I've got yer bag all packed, Peter,” Mary Anne grinned, coming back down the stairs and pressing a kiss to her brother’s cheek.
Peter’s eyes were almost watery as he hugged his sister tightly. “Oh man, you guys are awesome! Not as awesome as me, but close.” He laughed, and pulled the bag onto his shoulders.
“Now go on, get. We'll handle Arthur, don't you worry.”
Peter turned around and hugged Breannan as well, and murmured, “Thank you, Breannan. See you soon,” into his brother’s thigh before he took off screaming,
“Wy, Wy! They said YES!”
Breannan shook his head, waving to the brother who wasn’t looking any longer as he left, before turning to the rest of his younger siblings, “What're ye standin around fer? Get back ta work!”
--
Peter was still in shock, even as Wy was leading him up the path to Professor Wang’s laboratory.
“I still can’t believe Breannan said yes… I mean, he’s a cool brother, but he never took me seriously before!”
Wy laughed, “I bet that’s because you whined and acted like a baby before, right?”
“I never whine!”
“Sure,” she giggled. “So, which Pokémon are you going to ask Professor Wang for?”
Peter frowned, slowing his pace as they started up the hill. “I never really thought about it. They’re all so cool! I just want a big, badass Pokémon!”
“Telling the Professor you want a ‘big, badass Pokémon’ is only going to get you a whole load of nothing,” Wy commented. “The number one rule of being a Pokémon trainer is that you’ve gotta respect them. So, come on, pick one! Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander?”
“Um…”
“Oh, look, the Professor’s got visitors!” A girl’s voice chirped, and both Peter and Wy looked up to find two teenagers sitting on the steps of the research lab, lazing around under the Sun. There was and Espeon napping in the girl’s lap, and the boy had an Umbreon sitting awkwardly on his head.
“Put your hands up and state the purpose of your visit,” the boy said lazily. The Umbreon on his head perked up and quirked its head at them, before deeming them boring enough for him to lie back down.
Peter paused, and it was Wy who answered, hands up by her ears, “He’s going to start his Pokémon journey, so we need to visit Professor Wang.”
Both teens sniggered. “My name is Mei,” the girl started, “And this is my brother Xiang.”
“Jake.”
“Just ignore everything that comes out of his mouth,” Mei replied quickly, swatting at him. “And please, don’t amuse him. You don’t have to put your hands up.”
“Who are you?” Peter cut in bluntly. “And can we go see Professor Wang yet?”
Again, the teenagers laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Wy asked, and Mei shook her head.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out when you’re older,” she answered. “The Professor is inside, come on.”
Leaving Espeon on the steps, Mei got up and started up the stairs. Wy jumped up after her, and Peter could feel Xiang coming up behind them; it was strangely unsettling.
And then Mei opened the door and let them into the lab. It was a huge room, with Pokéballs lining one entire wall, each sitting in its own little incubated cup. There were several large tubes, mostly collected around one section of the wall, and a large computer was connected to every contraption in the room.
There was a young woman with a long ponytail sitting at the computer, who Mei stepped up to and tapped on the shoulder.
“Professor, you’ve got guests,” she called. Funny, Peter had known Professor Wang to be a man…
“Aiyah, does this have to be now?” the Professor whined, turning around in his chair to face the two kids. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Peter intently.
“You’re a Kirkland, aren’t you?”
Peter nodded; he was used to being recognized by the very prominent eyebrows that belonged to everyone in his family.
“And you’re a man, right?” he countered, just to be sure. Mei and Xiang hid their faces in their sleeves, and even Umbreon seemed to be laughing. Professor Wang, however, was not amused.
“Of course I’m a man! Hmph, no tact. You’re just like your brothers.” The Professor turned to Xiang and added, “I still don’t see why you’d want to be one of them.
Xiang sobered up quickly, and his lips turned down into a scowl. But before anything more could be explained about that Wy, who’d been growing impatient, cut in,
“Peter wants to get a Pokémon and Pokédex so he can get started on his journey, please.”
“Aiyah, kids today have no patience. I swear…” The Professor mumbled under his breath as he got up out of his chair. He went to search through his paperwork, and looked up with a file.
“Peter Kirkland. Your brothers told me you’d be coming ages ago, but when you never showed up I was about to give up on you. What took so long?”
“Arthur,” Peter answered simply. The Professor’s face instantly darkened at the name, and so Peter knew no further explanation was necessary.
“Ah, well. Which starter Pokémon have you chosen?”
“Um…”
Peter hesitated, looking at the three Pokéballs on the table before him. He knew that one of them was a Bulbasaur, one a Squirtle, and one a Charmander… but which one did he want?
Wy came up beside him and squeezed his arm. “Come on, Peter, you know you have one in mind. You have to have; you’ve been dreaming of this day of years, right?”
“Yeah, of course!”
“So, just put the one you always envisioned yourself having!”
Peter frowned. “Which starter did you pick, Wy?”
“I didn’t. My big brother gave me Rattata for my tenth birthday, so I didn’t need a starter.”
“Well, that doesn’t help. And besides, I’ve imagined myself with all three starter Pokémon, so your advice sucks.”
“No, it doesn’t. You’re just greedy,” Wy scowled.
“Don’t start fighting here!” The Professor cut in. “And stop taking so long; I have research to return to. Do you want Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander?”
Peter bit his lip, trying to think as quickly as he could. He knew he didn’t want Charmander, because there was only room for one favorite fire Pokémon in his life and that was Arcanine (plus, he’d gotten burned by a Charmeleon as a child and was turned off to them for life). And Bulbasaur was awesome, but Arthur was the one who’d once been known for his strength with grass-types and the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in his brother’s shadow.
Plus, he did love going swimming.
“Squirtle,” Peter finally decided. “I want my first Pokémon to be Squirtle.”
Professor Wang smiled a bit, “Now, you have to be sure to take excellent care of it. Pokémon require love and training and tending to, just like any other living thing. I trust you’ll take this responsibility seriously?”
Peter nodded fervently, and the Professor placed the Pokéball in his hand. He then reached into a locked drawer, and handed Peter a Pokédex, and 5 more Pokéballs.
“Congratulations,” he started calmly. “You are now an Official Pokémon Trainer. Be sure to call in whenever you have questions, or if you learn anything new. Otherwise, I have nothing more to give you that you won’t find in the world around us.”
“Oh man, this is so cool. Thanks, Professor!”
“Thank you,” Wy chirped calmly, being polite for Peter in lieu of his distraction. Professor Wang laughed and shooed them off with his hand.
“Go on, get out there!” He called, all but pushing them out of the lab. Peter was too excited to notice, and Wy found she could not be mad at the stuffy researcher because Peter’s joy was contagious.
Professor Wang turned around to his two lab assistants with a tired expression.
“Are there any more Kirklands?”
Mei grinned, “Just this one wannabe.”
Xiang swatted her hand away, and Umbreon growled at her. Mei laughed, and Professor Wang collapsed into his seat in relief.
--
“So, where are we going next? Are going to a gym? Can I go get my first badge?! Oh, man, I’m a Pokémon Trainer! Watch out world, here I come!”
Wy sighed, pulling her slipping sweater back onto her shoulder. Peter was loud and obnoxious, and she was starting to already regret inviting him along.
“No, we are going to the Pokémon Center in Flora City, a city which doesn’t even have a gym. I told you, I have a competition coming up and I need to train. You should train Squirtle too, if you want to start catching more Pokémon and winning gym battles.”
Peter deflated instantly. “Yeah, I guess. You said someone was there waiting for us?”
“My friend Seb, remember?”
“Yeah… what’s he like?”
Wy paused to consider him, and answered, “Well, he’s really fun. He’s also very lazy, though. His brothers own the gym in Bellezza City but he’s not really interested in battling. Not that his brothers are either...” Wy giggled, then finished, “He’s traveling around, drawing Pokémon and trying to develop delicious Pokéfood and a whole bunch of stuff too. He’s a good traveling buddy.”
Peter nodded. He was pleased at the thought of having a boy traveling with him; if people just saw him and Wy they might get ideas, and Wy was gross. Well, not personally, but she was a girl and girls were gross by default, or so his brothers had told Peter countless times. But the thought of a trainer who didn’t like to battle puzzled him; even Arthur, the pansiest Pokémon trainer he knew, loved battling.
But a half hour later, when they made it to the Pokémon center and Wy introduced Seb, a lanky brunet sitting in the sun and giving a Shinx (Peter had to consult his Pokédex for that one) a bellyrub, Peter decided the other boy wasn’t going to be so bad after all. When he went to bed that night, it was with high hopes for his Pokémon journey.
to be continued
--
A/N: And that concludes the first chapter of I Wanna Be the Very Best!. I'm not really sure yet if I want to continue this with a linear plot following Peter and his friends, or if I want to do a lot of little drabbles and oneshots for all the characters... perhaps I'll find a way to blend both. Either way, I do want to hear you guys' comments and feedback, and I'd love to answer any questions you might have I hope you enjoyed it!