June 8th, Wednesday - Lumiose City, Kalos
Box opening out of the way, Acer was quick to get his hands on the red and white capsule housing his first Pokémon. A second later, he released the Pokémon onto the kitchen floor below. Out of the Poké Ball came a red light, which first formed the silhouette of a quadrupedal, frog-shaped creature. Once the flash of red disappeared, its light-blue skin was the first thing Acer noticed as he checked out the Pokémon. Its eyes, which had yellow sclerae, black irises, and white pupils soon found his before it suddenly leaped up onto the kitchen table to take a better look at its surroundings. Around its chest and back was a large mane of white bubbles, which was more than enough for Acer to confirm the Pokémon he saw was real.
"A Froakie!" The ecstatic teen exclaimed like he was a little boy on Christmas after opening his presents and finding exactly what he wanted. Being one of the three national starters of the Kalos meant Froakie was a popular Pokémon among the many citizens of the region. Like many others, Froakie was one of his favorites. He glanced at both of his parents, unsure of what to say or how to thank them. Judging by the looks on their cheerful faces, they seemed content with just seeing their boy happy. They simply nodded, allowing Acer to focus on interacting with his first Pokémon. Meanwhile, Alyssa just watched along as she finished up her breakfast, even letting out Sylvie to watch as a new member was potentially added to their family. The shiny Pokémon watched as Acer knelt down to get as close to eye level as he could with the Froakie before introducing himself.
"Yo, Froakie. I'm Acer. I don't got a nickname for you yet, but nice to meet you! Let's become the strongest together, what do you say?" With eagerness in his tone, Acer then extended a hand towards the bubble frog Pokémon. The Froakie tilted its head to the side quizzically as it looked at Acer, then his hand, before completely disregarding. Acer watched as it looked away, blue head turning in the direction of Sylvie, who stood on the floor near Alyssa. Acer could've sworn he saw a slight smirk on the Froakie's face before it suddenly vanished from his eyesight.
"Huh?" That was all Acer could say as he wondered where the Pokémon disappeared too. The fact that it didn't even seem to acknowledge was concerning. Now it had the ability to just vanish. Acer glanced again at his parents, who didn't seem to bothered by this sudden turn of events. "Bruh. Where did it go?" Acer questioned anxiously as he started to look around the kitchen. It didn't help that he could hear some light snickering coming from the direction of his sister.
"You really scared it off. That's actually hilarious!" Alyssa covered her mouth as she failed to hold off her laughter. Acer had already lost his Pokémon and they hadn't even been together for more than a few seconds. He was about to find out being a Pokémon trainer wasn't as easy as it seemed.
"Shut up!" Along with a glare in her direction, it should've been clear Acer wasn't in the mood for her antics. Although, he was more embarrassed than actually angry at Alyssa. At least the Acer had the help of her shiny Eevee. The evolution Pokémon searched up and down for the Froakie, a bit worried, but also slightly amused by its antics. She could only wonder what its reason for disappearing like that was. Fortunately, Sylvie wouldn't have to wait too long as some clear bubbles suddenly began to fall slowly from the chair above. Looking up, Sylvie watched as the bubbles began popping one by one, with the Froakie becoming more visible as it fell through each bubble before landing in a dramatic landing pose in front of her.
"The fuck?!" To Acer's annoyance, the Froakie suddenly reappeared after nearly a minute of searching for it and the first thing it did was introduce itself to Sylvie instead. At least Sylvie seemed cool about it. The Eevee itself made some replies with some soft chirps to whatever conversation they were having. At one point, Sylvie seemed to laugh as it briefly covered its mouth using a paw for a moment. Acer didn't know what was happening and looked to Alyssa, wondering if she knew, only to find an amused expression on her face.
"Leave them alone, Acer. Clearly, he's more interested in Sylvie than you." She said with another snicker as Acer looked at her with some confusion. It took a second for it to dawn on him and once it did, Acer shook his head before attempting to command his Pokémon.
"Oh hell no. Get back over here, Froakie!"
Hearing the young trainer, Froakie simply looked in his direction and waved Acer off before looking back at Sylvie to continue their talk. Acer just stood there in disbelief after. He couldn't believe it. This cocky ass Pokémon didn't seem to respect him at all! Not only had the Froakie completely disregarded him, but it also appeared to be flirting with his sister's Pokémon as well. Acer didn't know whether to be disgusted or discouraged and let out a sigh. This couldn't be happening to him. Out of all the Froakie in the world, how in the hell did he end up wi this one? Acer could only look towards his parents, hoping they'd be able to console him with some answers.
"Oh, honey, how about you check out its stats on the Pokédex while you wait." His mother spoke up first, offering a reasonable suggestion for him to do lower his frustration. Seeing as he was going to have to check anyways, Acer pulled out his Porygon Phone and logged on to the Pokédex app. Apparently, his parents had already added the Froakie to his account somehow, so Acer was able to already access the information his starter. When Acer finally clicked on summary and saw the page with all of the important information, to say Acer was disappointed would be an understatement. The teen didn't say another word to anyone before he just stormed out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Atlas and Aria exchanged concerned glances before heading to the staircase themselves.
"Acer, what's wrong?!"
Atlas shouted for his son. He received no response. Meanwhile, Alyssa just remained at the table, watching the two Pokémon interact with each other. The Froakie didn't seem to care what was happening in the slightest and continued to engage Sylvie conversation. It was a slightly a bit amusing to watch the two share a back and forth. Sylvie, already being used to the attention, didn't seem to mind the advances the Froakie was trying to make. Judging from its attitude, her brother was going to have his hands full with this one, assuming he even kept it. Glancing towards the stairs as the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down, Alyssa saw that Acer had come down with the backpack for his journey already on his back. He looked ready to leave right this instant.
"Wh-what are you doing, Acer? Why are you leaving now?" Aria was taken aback by their son's reaction. She had an inkling he may become upset if he found out the truth, but not to this extent.
"Don't act oblivious! You both already know why. I should've known! You both couldn't resist giving me a test subject, could you?!" By test subject, Acer was referring to the Froakie, who he assumed to be some experiment from whatever shady dealing they might've been a part of. He was upset at himself for trusting them to this extent.
"What? What do you mean?" His mother questioned in an anxious manner, not seeming to fully understand what he was referring to. Meanwhile, his father just remained silent in the background. Not uttering a single word as Acer went to try and explain his problem with this.
"It's ability is Protean! That's a hidden ability and it's supposed to be rare. This Froakie shouldn't have it unless you bought it off the black market or you bred it in some lab somewhere! It even has camouflage. You know, the vanishing act it did that you weren't even bothered by! You know, I never said anything against your beliefs even though I actually don't care about them. All I wanted was for you guys to at least let me have a regular journey, but you couldn't even give me that."
"Acer, we are letting you do that. We aren't stopping you from seeing what this world truly is like alongside a worthy Pokémon to travel with you."
"There it is again. I don't need you to decide what Pokémon is worthy enough to travel with me. I don't want you guys to interfere at all! Except you already did by giving me this Froakie with these perks."
"Does that really matter, Acer?"
"Yes, I didn't ask for a genetically enhanced Pokémon or whatever that Froakie is."
"Listen, the Pokémon out there are wild creatures. You can't just trust wild animals to join you on your journey. It's too dangerous. Most kids younger than you end up dying out there. Haven't we shown you the statistics?"
"That's like one of the points of a journey. To get stronger. And you are trying to tell me this Froakie will be the one to help me? It doesn't even care. And you know what..." Not wasting another second, Acer walked back into the kitchen, grabbed the Poké Ball on the table, and then immediately returned the Froakie before it could even finish its conversation with Sylvie. "In you go, you little bastard." The Eevee's ears dropped as it met his aqua blue eyes, which seemed as violent as the sea on a stormy night. Alyssa didn't even say anything to her brother and instead picked up Sylvie to comfort her.
"Anyways, I'm done with this. I'm starting my journey right now." Acer stated as he walked back into the sitting room and straight to the door. There he found his shoes, a pair of black high-top sneakers with white soles.
"Honey, well, if you're going to remain adamant about this, then we won't stop you. Right, Atlas?" Looking towards her husband, Aria hoped he could retain his composure for just a while longer. He especially despised when his own children talked down the ideals he held so highly. His own son had essentially spat in the face of his own kindness. Ungrateful for his help. Acer would have to learn then. If he wanted to join the mindless swarm of people ensnared in this system meant to deter them all from what was truly important, then so be it. Atlas simply nodded in response, not wanting to speak another word to his son. Seeing this, Aria then continued to talk. "Alright then, honey. We already deposited some money into your account, so you should be able to-"
"No. I don't need your handouts. In fact, I was going to just release this Froakie, but now I've thought of something better." Hearing that they had given him money was the last thing Acer needed to hear from them. While every trainer and their mother knew it was wise to start with at least a good sum of money, Acer didn't even care at this point. He'd make his own money somehow. Of course, that probably wouldn't make his mother worry any less. The woman was doing her best to maintain her composure and moved closer to him for one last hug.
"Just know this Acer, we all love you no matter what. Please take care. Please don't do anything too crazy." Holding back tears, Aria said her farewell as she felt Acer pull from her. She knew Acer wasn't happy at the moment and hoped he could find it in himself to come to his senses. Maybe this journey was exactly what he needed for him to finally understand their ideals. A mother could only hope. Acer turned around and grabbed the doorknob as he faced the door. He paused for a moment before turning around slightly to see his family through his aqua blue eyes one last time. There was one thing he wanted to make sure they remembered.
"My team and I will reach the pinnacle, no matter what."
With that said, Acer turned around, opened the door, and then walked outside before shutting it behind him. His mother then collapsed to her knees while Atlas just continued to watch the door silently. Alyssa still remained in the kitchen, keeping Slyvie close and comfortable. Lastly, Acer just stood outside, back resting against the door for a moment as he looked up at the clear morning sky.
