Vanessa's grandma love to recite quotes, one of her favorites goes like this: 'Instead of worrying about things you can't control, focus on how you can react'. Although, the girl was usually fond of her grandmother's pieces of wisdom, she still doubted her ability to apply them to her life.
Right now she was standing still in front of address Andrew had sent her, she was on time as always, but weirdly enough she could feel the pit in her stomach now that the only thing left to do was ringing the doorbell. What frustrated her more about this was that this wasn't new. Not really. She had presented her papers and seminars in front of dozens of students, teachers and professors back in the Academy. She had attended parties with her grandmother that in the audience were the most influential people in all of Kanto- sometimes even from different regions. Still, she discovered that there was a different kind of nervous one could get when meeting a friends' parents for the first time.
"Gas..." Shade softly said from her shadow.
"I know..." She replied, shaking her head and find the resolve in her, "thanks for the support, buddy. And please... no scaring anybody this time, ok? I will introduce you when it's time."
All she got was a wicked cheeky giggle in response before she pressed the button of the doorbell.
It only took a few seconds before the door was blast open, startling her. There were two kids looking at her with grinning smiles and shiny eyes.
"Look, she is real!" The little boy exclaimed as gasped dramatically.
"She is pretty too!" The little girl added jumping in excitement, before a look of clarity crossed her face and she pointed her little finger at Vanessa, "Hey, how do you know our big brother?!"
"Yeah! What do you want with our big brother?!" The little boy quickly joined her in concern.
Vanessa was caught so off guard that all she could do was stammer and blink in confusion.
"Kai and Lila, you better not ging the guest a bad time!" A loud female voice exclaimed from inside the house, making the kids freeze on the spot. They could her her steps approaching and soon enough, the owner of the voice was standing behind two very guilty-looking kids. She looked apologetically at Vanessa and said with a warm smile, "You must be Vanessa, the friend Andrew invited for dinner, right? I'm his mom, Helena Lockwood, and this are the twins, Kai and Lila."
Vanessa looked at the woman dumfounded, before awkwardly cleaning her throat, "Yes-huh-I... It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lockwood," She looked at the children again, they were both looking warily at her, eyes full of concern, she quickly introduced herself to them, "Hi... I'm Vanessa. I'm a Pokémon Trainer and I am challenging the League this season. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The little boy blushed and the little girl shot her a glare, both didn't say a word back and ran back inside, leaving her not knowing what she did wrong to warrant such a reaction.
Mrs. Helena sighed in exasperation looking at where they ran off too before saying softly to her, "Don't mind the twins, ok? They knew Andrew wanted to go off on a journey, but now that it's actually happening they are feeling protective and confused... they don't want him to leave."
She finally understood why they were treating her that way and nodded her head silently, unsure of what she could possibly say after that.
"Oh, come on in, honey!" Mrs. Helena suddenly say pulling her gently inside, "Dinner is almost ready, Andrew is upstairs in his room but he should be here shortly. The twins insisted on him telling them about how he captured his Nidoran and he got delayed. Would you like some tea while we wait?"
"I would prefer some water, if that's fine, Mrs. Lockwood?" She replied, feeling more at ease now that the first impact was subsiding.
"Sure thing, we can get to know each other while we wait for the boys," The older woman said, before adding cryptically, "Andrew has been unusually mysterious about you, dear."
The girl offered her a strained smile, mentally beating herself up for making a case of keeping her identity hidden before and the message Andrew got from that. Now she looks suspicious!
By the time, Mrs. Helena came back with water, she was seated at their dinner table, facing a pair of twins looking at her like she was the reason for all the wrongs in the world and now she had a concern mother to deal as well. The only comforting thing was that she could feel Shade's presence, so in away she was not alone in this mess.
The older woman loudly cleaned her throat, making the kids flinch, before adding gently, "They want to say something to you for earlier."
The little girl had a look of utter defeat and the little boy's ears were turning pink at a visible pace.
"Sorry."
"Yeah, sorry for being rude."
Vanessa thought about it for a moment before offering the two a smile in return, "Apologies accepted. No hard feelings, ok? I-I am an only child-It's always just been me, so I don't really know how this must feel for you. What I can guarantee you is that I am not responsible for your big brother's decision and for what is worth I intend to be a good friend to him as well."
"We know..." The boy hurriedly said looking very sorry, "Big bro told us that he asked to go with you. It's just that..."
"We wish he could stay..." The little girl added looking down.
Their mom shot her a genuinely grateful look, before speaking with the kids again, "Your brother is going out to chase his dream. He promised to call every week. And Dune will keep him safe too, so- let's all be happy for him and grateful he found a friend to keep him company, right?"
The twins shared looks of understanding and finally nodded at their mom.
"Good," The woman said, looking pleased. She turned her attention back to Vanessa and ask, "can you introduce yourself for us again, dear?"
Right... time to clear the air, the girl thought to herself.
"First, I would like to apologize. I believe it was my fault that Andrew had been so reluctant to speak about me, but that was never meant to be a secret," She explained firmly, before continuing "I'm Vanessa Sayre from Lavender Town. I'm a Pokémon Trainer and I am challenging the circuit this season with my team. My mother passed away when I was born and my dad is working in Hoenn, he is a scientist and researcher. My grandmother is the CEO and founder of Sayre Industries and my grandaunt is the Elite Four Agatha. I am aware of what that means, but I want people to respect me as trainer for my own achievements, not my family's. I must have given Andrew the impression that this was supposed to be a secret, but it really isn't."
For the first time since she arrived, she saw genuine shock at Mrs. Lockwood's face. The twins didn't look much better, not that they had any reaction until she mentioned her grandaunt Agatha.
"Wait, your know the Elite Four Agatha, the scary ghost lady?!" The little boy exclaimed and gasped.
"I understand why big brother was so excited now..." The girl added, looking at Vanessa like she suddenly started understanding her.
"That boy!" Mrs. Lockwood eyebrow was twitching, murmuring darkly as she looked at the stairs in the corridor nearby, "how could he kept that as secret?! I would have prepared better for this!"
Vanessa had the decency to look embarrassed too, before she shook her head and explained, "I'm thankful for the invite, please don't be mad at him. I'm sure your food tastes fine."
Mercifully, before the situation could get any more awkward than it already was, Andrew finally came down. Trailing behind him was a really tall and muscular middle aged man, he had a beard and blond hair in the same shade as Andrew and his siblings, but his were greying. He was definitely the father.
"Sorry for the delay, I was super busy!" The boy said to her, looking worried. He then pulled his dad in front of her, "This is my father, Bruce Lockwood. That is my mom, Helena Lockwood, those are my siblings, Kai and Lila. Family, this is Vanessa, my new friend and future companion."
"She told us, dear. She told us everything...." His mother said with a tone that promised him consequences.
"Dad, big brother didn't told us Vanessa was related to the scary ghost lady from the TV!" Kai exclaimed to his dad pointing accusatorily at his brother.
"Big brother is a meanie!" Lila said to add insults to injury.
"Wait, what did I do?!" Andrew asked, looking positively lost.
"Ah, so you're the famous Vanessa," Mr. Lockwood said with a heart laugh didn't really minding his youngest boy, taking Vanessa's hand for a handshake. "My son told me how you beat him and Dune to a pulp in a battle and how he decided to travel along with you and... what his name again? Shade?"
"Famous?" She asked in reflex, as she shook the huge man's hand, before shaking her head in denial, "... that's not exactly what happened, he did a good job, I just had more experience."
"She is humble too! I like her already!" Mr. Lockwood announced to his family.
Andrew looked mortified, "Dad!"
"Honey, come with me, help me serve dinner. Leave the kids talking! Now!" Mrs. Lockwood said smiling politely to her, before dragging the man away with her.
Seeing the couple leave, Vanessa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"I told you they could be... overwhelming..." Andrew offered her, looking a little embarrassed.
"It's fine, don't worry," She said dismissing him with a smile of her own, even though she felt mentally drained. "Your parents are very sweet."
"We are are sweet too!" The smallest boy said, before looking conflicted, "... right?"
Lila, looked over between her brothers and rolled her eyes, "... boys."
"Yeah, your siblings too," Vanessa added chuckling at the little boy's antics.
Andrew looked at her grateful, but then he asked in concern, "Did my mom interrogated you while I was away?"
"No," Vanessa answered truthfully, "I told her who I am, you don't have to worry about this. It's fine."
"So, that's why you mentioned Lady Agatha?" He asked his little brother.
"Yeah, she is super scary!" He said in affirmation, nodding his head vehemently to make his point.
"You're in trouble now, big brother. Mom is mad you didn't told her," The little girl added, looking at him very unimpressed.
Andrew suddenly blanched.
Not wanting to get back to this topic any further, Vanessa decided to tell him the big news, "I found my third team member."
"Wait what? Where? I mean, when?!"
Before she could respond, the parents came back, quickly setting the table and the food. All she could do was stare at them. Mr. Lockwood looked like a huge puppy that was scolded by his owner, and was now very polite and quiet. Mrs. Lockwood was all polite and apologetic, every now and then shooting her eldest a betrayed look. Andrew was blushing helplessly under the scrutiny, but remained quiet.
"Hey, can you tell us what your Pokémon are?" The little girl, Lila, asked, not unkindly just curious.
"Yeah, tell us!" Her twin said, quickly helping his sister.
The patriarch of the family, suddenly cleaned his throat, "Don't bother the young miss, kid. She is our guest."
"It's all right," Vanessa shook her head, and smile, trying to reassure the parents and the kids. She then looked down and asked, "Want to introduce yourself?"
Without missing a beat, a family floating ball of gas shot out of her shadow and with a big smile, said, "Gasstly Gasss!"
"Gh-Gho-Ghost!" Kai jumped in his chair and pointed at the grinning Gastly in horror.
"Don't make a fuss, brother!" Lila complained as she starred at Shade with an awed look.
Kai looked helpless at his sister and pouted, obviously wronged!
The parents were shocked at first at the sudden appearance, but their scare was short-lived. They must have remember just who she was related to.
"This is Shade, the friendly ghost, my starter," The girl said, introducing her partner. "Don't be scared, he is harmless."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shade, "Mr. Lockwood said with a genuine and relaxed look, looking at the mischievous pokémon.
"He is very... energetic," Mrs. Lockwood added a little unsure, but very polite. "It's a pleasure to meet him."
"Gasss!" The floating pokémon said impassively to his trainer, before he approached the kids making funny faces.
"Huh,I mean- not harmless- just very friendly and... popular," She corrected herself. "My second and third pokémon were both recently caught. Less than two days to be honest. The second one is a Magikarp, I call her Kaika. I got my third just hours ago, her name is Cleo, she is a clever Meowth, found her here in Viridian right after I parted ways with Andrew."
"Wait! You caught a Meowth?!" Andrew asked excitedly. "Really?"
"Can we meet her too?" Lila asked in a wishful tone.
"No. I can't. She is being checked my Nurse Joy to see if she is alright, so... maybe in the future?"
The little girl was visibly disappointed, but Shade was more than enough to distract the kids.
"Forgive me for asking, but that's quite the team you're building, right?" Mrs. Lockwood asked, "...those are intriguing choices. It's not everyday I see a trainer willing to train pokémon from different types."
"Mommmm... you can't ask that!" Andrew said in a whiny tone, begging his parents.
"I was thinking the same thing actually," Mr. Lockwood said agreeing with his wife though he looked bashful. He was now looking at the girl with newfound respect and concern. "When my boy told me about your battle and how well you trained your Gastly and after learning where you're from I thought it was a natural choice. But... the other two are so... unexpected. Please don't take these old couple's curiosity as an insult."
"I think is fin-!" Vanessa quickly tried to assuage them, but was interrupted.
"How about you guys just keep up when her matches are aired in the TV or uploaded in the PokéNet like everybody else?" Andrew said, defusing the topic.
"You're going to show up on TV?!" Kai exclaimed looking at her with excitement. "This is so cool!"
"Ah, yes-yes," Vanessa said, a bit overwhelmed by the collective attention of the Lockwood Family on her again. "This year's league will have some of the matches uploaded in the PokéNet, nothing so fancy, just trainer forums. Now that the PokéNav is getting popular the League decided to propose this, but it's not mandatory. If trainers don't wish to expose their teams or publish their matched before the actual League is aired on TV they don't have to," she explained, before carefully adding, "I haven't made up my mind about that yet."
"Mom, can we have a PokéNav?!" Lila almost jumped at the revelation.
"Yeah, we need to call big brother!" Kai nodded with intensity at the sentiment. "The Center is sooooo farrr wayyyyyy!"
"These kids!" Mrs. Lockwood eyebrow twitched, even if her smile remained polite as ever.
Mr. Lockwood suddenly laughed again, a boasting laugh that made the kids follow and his wife to relax. Vanessa herself felt more at ease after that. The man said, "Don't worry kids, I already bought two, one for Andrew and one for us. He promised to call us every week so all it's fine!"
"We'll have a conversation later about how to behave in front of our guests..." Their mother informed the twins.
Those in response blushed furiously in embarrassment realizing what they've done.
After that things finally got into place and Vanessa didn't felt so drained anymore. Shade quickly conquered the affection of the twins. The adults didn't seem so wary and waking on eggshells with her anymore and Andrew looked very glad the dinner was going fine. He eventually told her more about his Nidoran and she told him more about the circumstances of the capture of Cleo. No talks of training or strategies just yet, but merely comments on how the day had been very eventful.
Hours later, after making a point she didn't had to stay over for the night, she was back at the Hotel. She had gotten Cleo back from the Pokémon Center, all was fine with her, beyond her nutrition being quite poor. Nothing that some days of proper feeding and training couldn't fix. Nurse Joy may or may not have exchange knowing amused looks with the other nurses when she was describing Cleo's behavior.
All in all... her time in this city was coming to an end. She had done what she wanted to do and... gotten a lot more than she to get in this place. She found a companion, a friend beyond Ash and Misty. She had met Kaika and Cleo and made precious memories already.
Still, the show must go on.
The next morning she was set to meet up with Andrew at the northern border of the city and after that they were set to cross Viridian Forest, and most importantly. Most importantly, this meant training time for everyone! She was excited to see what her team could accomplish before they got to Pewter!
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Author's Note:
Hello, everyone! I sincerely hope you're liking this story so far and I've only recently found time to dedicate to this fanfiction. Hahaha, I've also decided to rewatch the Pokémon Anime so that's a long road ahead.
I wanted to politely ask you some feedback. Are you liking it so far? Are you excited to see how this story will go? This project will take some -a lot, actually- time and effort to develop and write and I'll need some validation to be honest ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ.
Anyways, I'll TRY to update at least once a week now - no promises!
With love,
The Deathly Prince.