Arata's POV
The stillness broke with a slow exhale. My eyes opened, the world bleeding back in dew on the grass, the sharp tang of morning air, the faint drip of rainwater from the trees. My chest rose once more, then I straightened, rolling my shoulders loose.
Across from me, Caesar stirred. The little dragon's tusks glimmered faint blue before the light faded, smoke curling from his nostrils. He blinked once, golden eyes locking with mine.
"Good work," I murmured. My voice came out quieter than I expected, softened by the silence we'd been sitting in.
He gave a low rumble of agreement, stretching his legs like a cat before sinking back onto his haunches. Meditation together wasn't natural for him, not at first. He'd hated being still, hated waiting. But now? Now he could sit with me for an hour straight, locked in rhythm, his small body trembling with restrained energy that only grew sharper each day.
It was our little secret. My cheat.
I brushed grass from my palms and stood. "That's enough for today. Rest."
Caesar yawned wide, teeth flashing, then padded off toward the low rock formation at the far edge of the yard. It wasn't much just stacked boulders and a sun-bleached log but he'd claimed it as his den, scratching lines into the stone until it looked like some miniature dragon's roost.
Livia swooped low in a lazy spiral before alighting in her own place a stand of thick oaks that towered over the yard. The branches sagged slightly under her weight as she tucked herself in, feathers rustling before going still.
They had both carved out their territories, their homes. Their proof of growth.
I couldn't help the faint grin tugging at my lips. "You've earned it."
The house loomed behind me, windows glowing faintly as dusk settled. I slung my towel around my neck and made for the porch, boots crunching damp soil.
As I climbed the steps, the front door creaked open. Hailey leaned against the frame, her uniform jacket half-unzipped, hair damp from the drizzle. She looked at me for a long moment, unreadable as ever.
"Training?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Just finished."
Her eyes flicked past me, toward the yard where my team had already melted into the shadows of their chosen spots. A small smile tugged at her mouth, quick, almost hidden. "Good. Don't overdo it."
"I won't."
She didn't push further. She never did. Just gave a short nod and moved aside so I could pass.
Inside, the air was warmer, tinged with the faint smell of old paper and Hailey's coffee. The narrow staircase creaked under my weight as I climbed, towel draped around my neck, thoughts circling like restless wings.
Three years.
It felt like both an eternity and a blink.
Caesar had gone from a small, stubborn scrap of scales and teeth into something… more. Bigger than any Axew I'd seen in training books his frame thicker, muscles corded under scales that gleamed darker than before. And Livia gods, Livia. She'd shed her smaller frame two years ago, feathers giving way to the sleek power of a Pidgeotto. When she spread her wings now, she blotted out the sun, larger than even the ranger's mounts.
All of it came back to the same truth. My power.
The meditations, the long nights where I sat breathing with them, syncing with them. Pushing, stretching, weaving something unseen into their bones. Their biology bent under it twisting, growing faster, stronger, bigger than nature ever intended. Almost double their natural size. And still climbing.
Sometimes it scared me. What I was doing to them. But then I'd watch them fight, see the way they carried themselves not just beasts, but partners and the fear would fade. Together.
My boots thudded onto the second floor. My room sat at the end of the hall, the door slightly ajar. I pushed it open.
It wasn't much. A desk against the far wall, computer humming faintly atop it. A bed tucked under the window, sheets tangled from the night before. Bookshelves half-collapsed under the weight of manuals, battle guides, and the occasional adventure novel I never finished. Posters of battle champions and sketched maps Rin had sent me years ago still clung to the walls, curling at the corners.
I dropped the towel onto the chair and flicked the computer on. The screen glowed to life, filling the room with soft blue light. My reflection stared back at me in the glass for a moment sharper cheekbones, a jawline that hadn't been there at eleven. Older. Harder.
A message blinked on the screen.
Vid call Rin.
I stretched back in my chair, rubbing a hand through damp hair as the connection tried to settle. We'd called a hundred times over the past few years quick check-ins after training, long rambling talks when she couldn't sleep, me venting after rough sessions with Caesar. But this one was different. This was the first day in Saffron, the first day she'd been buzzing about for weeks.
The desktop hummed beneath my elbows, the fan clicking in that familiar, uneven rhythm. My muscles ached pleasantly from training, sweat still clinging to me even after the shower, but my head refused to settle.
Her last message flashed in my memory: Don't you dare fall asleep on me. You're the only one I want to brag to first.
I'd laughed when I read it. But now, waiting for the call to connect, my stomach was tying itself in knots.
The screen flickered, static cutting across, and then there she was.
Not the Rin hunched over notes in Pallet, hair knotted messily, ink stains on her fingers. This Rin was lit by Saffron neon leaking through tall windows behind her. Her hair, loose for once, caught the light in a chestnut sheen. She wore a simple sweater, sleeves a little too long, but on her it looked… better than simple. My throat caught.
Oh no. Not again.
"Arata!" Her voice filled the room, bright, alive. "Finally it's working! Okay, wait, wait, I have to show you !"
The screen jerked as she swung her laptop around, giving me a dizzying tour: the neat bed she'd clearly fussed over, books already stacked high on her desk, a pinboard full of half-pinned notes. On the shelf sat a paper Poké Doll, folded with the same careful hands that used to fix my homework margins when I scribbled too fast.
Then the screen steadied, her face reappearing, cheeks flushed from moving around. "Well? What do you think?"
I smirked, propping my chin on my palm. "Looks like you've already taken over half the building. You've been there, what, five hours?"
"Six," she shot back, mock stern. "And you should've seen the stares when I hauled in all my journals. Everyone else brought, like, two suitcases. Me? Four crates of notes."
"That sounds about right." I laughed, shaking my head.
Her expression softened, pride slipping through the cracks in her usual calm. "Yeah. I did it."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward, more like the kind that carried weight. Then she clapped her hands, her eyes shining.
"Okay! I need to tell you everything."
And she did. The words tumbled out in a rush, like she'd been waiting all day for someone who would actually listen. Her new dorm mates one from Johto, one from Hoenn seemed more invested in makeup tutorials and a midnight party she went to. The campus itself, ancient, with stone halls that echoed when you walked them alone. And the labs lined with technology she'd only ever seen in research journals. She was drinking it all in, and she wanted me to drink it in with her.
I leaned back, letting her voice fill the quiet of my room, letting her brightness wash the fatigue out of my bones. This was Rin brilliant, steady, the kind of person who didn't just adapt, but thrived wherever she landed. She wasn't trying to impress me. She wasn't posturing. She was just sharing her world, unfiltered, the way she only ever did when it was the two of us.
Every so often she dropped a detail that caught me off guard. "Remember that move analysis you and Caesar helped me run? That paper's the one that got me noticed here." Or: "I showed one of my professors Livia's air pattern data. He said it might change how we think about certain type interactions." Each time she said it, I felt a quiet pride warm in my chest. Proof that what we'd done together mattered not just to me, but to her.
And even as I grinned and teased back, my thoughts kept looping, snagging on things I didn't want to admit out loud. The way her hair caught the light from her dorm window. The way her lips curved when she got too excited to hide her smile. The faint circles under her eyes, proof she'd stayed up far too late reading again. She was confident, beautiful, and I was sitting here like a fool, fighting off the same rush I thought I'd buried a liftime ago.
Puberty round two? Apparently unavoidable.
Not that I hated it.
I knew what this was a crush, simple and stubborn. And I wasn't ashamed of it. She was my friend first, someone I respected deeply, maybe even more than myself some days. If attraction tagged along with that? Fine. I could carry both without letting it wreck what we had. The world we lived in didn't judge much on that front anyway when survival and population weighed heavier than convention, nobody wasted time on taboos.
She leaned back then, finally pausing, brushing a dark strand of hair behind her ear. Her tone softened, eyes flicking toward the screen like she wanted to make sure I was really still there.
"Anyway," she said. "I wanted you to be the first to know. And also… there's something else."
My heart skipped.
"Go on."
She hesitated, then exhaled. "My birthday's next week. You should come to Saffron. I mean if you can. I'd really like that."
The words lingered between us, warm, tugging at something deep in me.
I nodded slowly, careful to keep my grin in check. "Yeah. I'll be there."
Her face brightened, relief mixing with excitement. Then, as if she'd been saving it as an extra hook, she added, "Mira will be there too you remember how she always wanted to explore Saffron? She said she wouldn't miss it for the world. So, you kind of have no excuse."
I snorted. "Oh, so this is a trap. Invite reinforced by Mira."
"Obviously," Rin said, smug. "You think I was going to let you wiggle out of it? No chance."
I chuckled, but inside I was already marking the date, already turning over possibilities of how I'd make it work. As she launched into another tangent this time about the café she'd found that served Johto-style soba, or how her professors were already assigning three weeks' worth of reading, I let myself watch her more closely. The sheer, unguarded joy of someone finally standing on ground they'd dreamed of for years.
The call stretched on a little longer, talk of schedules and travel routes, the easy chatter of two people who knew each other too well. But when we finally hung up, the glow of her image lingering on the dark screen, I leaned back in my chair and covered my face with both hands.
The screen went black.
For a long moment, I sat there, fingers slack on the keyboard, the faint hum of the computer filling the silence. Rin's laughter still echoed in my ears, soft and warm, and the ghost of her smile wouldn't leave my mind.
I exhaled hard, trying to shake it off. Get it together, Arata. She's your best friend. Don't make it weird.
The floorboards creaked outside, followed by a soft knock.
"Still awake?" Hailey's voice carried through, low, steady, that unhurried drawl she always had when she wasn't on duty.
I rubbed both hands over my face before answering. "Yeah. Door's open."
The hinge squeaked as it swung. Hailey leaned against the frame, arms crossed, hair pulled into the lazy bun she favored at night. Even in the dim light, her eyes were sharp, scanning me in one sweep.
"You're flushed," she said, voice flat but knowing. "What'd she say?"
I groaned. "You were listening?"
"Maybe." Her lips curved, not quite a smirk, not quite innocent either. She slipped inside, dragged my desk chair around, and sat facing me. "So.. what do like about her? "
My jaw dropped. "How the hell... ?"
"Please." She flicked a hand, dismissive. "You're always restless when you call her. And now you're redder than a Cheri berry. Not hard math."
I slumped back in my seat, glaring at the ceiling. "I hate how observant you are."
"That's literally my job," she said, tilting her head with that maddening calm. "So. You going?"
I hesitated. "…Yeah. Probably."
"'Probably,' huh?" Her tone was dry, teasing without being cruel. "You do realize when a girl personally invites you to her birthday in another city, it usually means something."
Heat crept up my neck again. "She's a friend."
Hailey arched a brow. "Uh-huh. Your friend. The one you call every week. The one you share your training logs with. The one who just gave you a whole dorm tour like you were already part of her new life."
I threw up my hands. "Why do you always have to make things sound like… like that?"
"Because it is like that." She leaned back, lacing her fingers behind her head, smirk widening. "You're fourteen, Arata. Hormones are unavoidable. You think I don't notice you turning into a tomato every time Rin smiles?"
"I'm not " I stopped, groaning again.
I muttered something unintelligible and looked away. The teasing burned, but underneath it, I caught a flicker of something gentler in her eyes. Pride, maybe. Worry, definitely.
Before I could argue back, Hailey's tone shifted, lighter no more, but steady, deliberate. "Speaking of growing… there's something I need to bring up. Official business."
That pulled me upright. My hands stilled on the armrests.
She tapped her fingers against the chair, as if weighing how much to tell me. "You're fourteen now. Which means you qualify for the trainee ranger program."
I frowned. "Wait… I thought I wasn't allowed to have any Pokémon until sixteen. Isn't that the law?"
"It is," she admitted with a short nod. Her lips quirked, almost wry. "As for how you can have Pokémon legally? Nepotism. Trainee licenses are only open to immediate ranger families, It's basically the League saying: 'Sure, your bloodline's proven itself enough, we'll bend the rules.'"
I shifted uncomfortably. "…So this trainee thing would let me make them mine for real?"
"Exactly," Hailey said. "Provisional license. You'd get three official slots. Your name, your ID. No more borrowed loophole."
The thought hit hard. My own license. Livia, Caesar… and maybe a new partner, officially mine. My chest tightened at the possibility.
But the weight of her tone kept me grounded. "What's the catch?"
"There are strings," she said, voice firm. "Trainees don't get to coast. You'd be on-call for minor distress signals stray Pokémon, lost hikers, light escort duties. Not the heavy stuff. But real work, real responsibility. People counting on you."
I hesitated, rubbing the back of my neck. "That's… a lot. Honestly, I was still focused on trying for the Pokédex program. If Pallet Labs backs me, there's not much that can go wrong "
Hailey raised both hands in mock surrender, palms open. "Yes, I know. And I believe in you, Arata. You and your team? You're capable more than capable. If anyone deserves the Pokédex slot, it's you."
Her expression softened, a rare flicker of earnestness breaking through her usual calm. "But this could be a backup plan. Think about it. Right now, you're not supposed to own a Pokémon until sixteen. What if the Professor or the League takes one look at your record and says, 'Sorry, loopholes don't count'? This license would lock it in. Make Livia and Caesar legally yours. No one could take them away."
That hit deeper than I wanted to admit.
Her smile curved into something sly. "So yeah. It's unfair, plain and simple. But honestly? I don't care. Do you?"
I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head. "Do I look stupid?"
Her grin widened, sharp and pleased. "Didn't think so."
The room fell quiet again, her words lingering heavier than the silence.
Finally, Hailey stood, stretching her arms over her head until her joints popped. "Sleep on it. No rush. We'll go through the forms if you decide yes."
I nodded, still turning it over in my head.
She moved to the door, hand already on the frame. Then she glanced back, grin tugging at her mouth half fond, half wicked. "Oh and for the record? If you do go to Saffron, you better pick a decent shirt. Rin's not going to want to introduce her 'best friend' looking like he rolled out of bed."
I grabbed the nearest pillow and lobbed it at her. She ducked out with a laugh. I was about to relax when her head poked back in, eyes glinting. "Oh.. before you leave for Saffron, remind me to give you the 'birds and the Beedrill' talk."
My whole face heated. "Hailey... no."
She raised her brows innocently. "What? You're at that age. Unless… you've already been looking at things on the PokéNet you shouldn't?"
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "No! I live with you, remember? Believe me, I've seen worse."
That shut her up for all of two seconds before her laugh came roaring back, bright and unrestrained, the sound of someone who'd gotten exactly the reaction they wanted.
"Goodnight, Arata," she managed between chuckles, finally disappearing for real.
Alone again, I sat staring at the dark computer screen. Rin's smile lingered in my mind. Hailey's words pressed against my thoughts.
Three Pokémon. Ranger trainee. Saffron.
My world was starting to open.
And I wasn't sure if I was ready to step into it… or if I couldn't wait another second