Winter Break was over and the first week of school had gone by just as quickly. Now that Crescent was allowed to leave the house, the Pokemon had spent nearly every waking moment in Sammy’s shadow. Once the initial excitement over seeing a live Pokemon in the classroom had died down, Miss Brunch had announced that any other child whose family owned a Pokemon would also be allowed to bring it to school. Of course that was provided it was registered (as a pet), could actually fit in the classroom, and wasn’t disruptive. That had quelled enough of the attention on Crescent where he felt comfortable actually staying in the schoolhouse. By the next day there were two others that joined him; a Meowth and a Sentret.
Sammy had initially feared that a fight might have broken out, but the cat-like creature was far too plump and docile to care much and the Pokemon from Johto too terrified. Much to Sammy’s pleasure, Crescent took all of this in stride and even went so far as to comfort the shivering Johtoian. The Sentret, named Scout, and Crescent took up shifts near the window by the door and spent most of their time perched upon a bookshelf staring into the courtyard. Princess the Meowth simply lay in front of the woodstove basking in the warmth until lunchtime where she would creep from group to group begging for scraps.
Occasionally, Miss Brunch capitalized on their presence by bringing one or two up to the front of the classroom as a visual aide. Crescent continued to be well behaved during these sessions, although he refused to let anyone actually touch him. Little growls and nips towards too inquisitive fingers let all of the children know that they should only look.
Grant and his cronies simply stayed away, avoiding Sammy, Aggie, and Crescent whenever possible. Last year’s incident had clearly shaken them to their core, and whatever happened during the parent to parent meeting had resulted in a sharp decline in bullying overall. Aggie was still socially ostracized, but the overt teasing and backhanded comments had more or less stopped. Sammy, on the other hand, was viewed as something of a hero to the younger kids and he often spotted them trying to convince each other to approach him. Aggie’s constant presence was a fantastic deterrent, and he was grateful for not having to answer their questions.
In an almost similar fashion, the adults in town didn’t comment on Sammy’s honor guard as they walked home. Aggie on his left and Crescent on his right, they made for quite the trio as they moved along the main road.
“Hey, Sam?”
“What?”
“Have you ever thought about what you want to do when you grow up?”
Sammy blinked. “Um, I haven’t really thought about it too much. Guess I always assumed that I’d be working on the farm after Grandpa died.”
“So, you don’t got any bigger dreams now that you’re a Trainer?”
“Not really.”
“Well, that’s dumb.” Aggie laughed as she punched him in the arm. “Trainers are rich, Sam. They’re the richest people around unless you’re one of them business people. All they gotta do is beat up a Pokemon or two and BAM.” She smacked her open palm for emphasis. “You’re rolling in the dough.”
“Why do I care if I’m rich or not? I got everything I need.”
“What about a car?”
“I can drive a tractor.”
“Cars are faster!”
“So?”
Aggie’s face screwed up in frustration. “Well, what about when Crescent gets bigger? Miss Brunch was telling us how much more he’s gonna eat after he grows up.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Crescent chittered a laugh at Sammy’s feet as he puffed himself up to look as big as possible, fur and spines poked out in every direction. An attempt at walking on only his hind legs failed, sending the Pokemon tumbling into a snowbank by the street. Squealing in mock terror, Crescent pulled himself out and shook the snow onto Sammy’s boots.
Sammy laughed at his antics. “Aggie, we live on a farm. We got food.”
The girl kicked at a pebble morosely and fell silent although Sammy could tell she was still thinking. They continued to walk until they reached the doors of their destination, a Dagashi shop. Before entering the doors of the snack shop they collectively kicked the snow off their boots and coats. As they slid the door open, their eyes lit up as the promised display of new treats lay before them. It was a good thing they had not stuck around after school to finish watching the kickball game, once the rest of the children arrived nothing would be left of the display.
“Hey there kids, what’ll it be today?” The owner of the shop had a massive grin on his face as he spoke. “I see you’ve spotted the new limited edition Umaibo. Let me guess, five for each of you?”
Aggie’s grin mirrored the owner’s in a more ravenous fashion. “Better make it ten!”
“Aye aye, miss. Twenty teriyaki burger Umaibo comin’ right up. You sure you don’t want the Natto flavor instead?”
Sammy shuddered. “No thank you.” He had tried them once, but had gagged and vowed never to try them again. He just wished the owner would quit trying to pawn them off on them. The row had barely been touched since it was first stocked well over a year ago.
“Suit yourselves. Here you kids go… oh, and a little something for your pet.”
Loot in tow, the children and Nidoran trundled back into the cold outside and began ripping into the puffed corn snacks. As they savored the salty sweet crunch, Aggie finally spewed the question that had been brewing in her mind along with a spray of crumbs.
“What about that Encyclopedia thing you’ve been reading?”
Sammy paused in his feeding of the Natto Umaibo to Crescent. Apparently the pungent flavor was not lost on the Nidoran as he happily munched on the treat. “What about it?”
“You looked so excited when you were telling me about it. I thought it was boring as hell, but it was the most I’ve ever heard you say all at once. What if you did that that job that finds out the stuff that gets put in books like that?”
“A researcher?”
“Yeah! Yeah, that!”
Sammy mulled it over as Crescent devoured the last of the disgusting corn puff and dodged the attempted lick to his face. He could smell the natto on Crescent’s breath and recoiled. He definitely didn’t want that on his face.
“Huh. Maybe. I mean, I guess it could be kinda fun.”
Aggie’s face was beaming with pride as she shoved another Umaibo into her face.
“Hey, Aggie, how many of those have you had?”
The girl’s crunching stopped as she turned and began to run down the street.
“Hey! Get back here! I paid for those, at least let me have the rest!”
----------------------------------------
Sammy shared Aggie’s idea with his family later that night.
“I dunno, Sammy. Never was much for book learnin’ myself so I’m not so sure what would go into getting a job like that.” Roger Oak sighed as he leaned heavily on his elbows on the kitchen table. “I suspect it’d cost a pretty penny too. We make out alright, but I’d have to go over the books to see if we could save up enough to afford schoolin’ for somethin’ like that.”
Sammy forced himself not to look as disappointed as he felt. “It was just an idea, Grandpa.”
“Now look. I didn’t say you couldn’t do it. I reckon if we look at everythin’ you’ve done since gettin’ here and how well you get along with that Blaine boy that it shouldn’t come as a surprise. All I was sayin’ is that it may be harder than you think.”
Paul chimed in, stretching his arm above his head in a yawn. “My sister’s seeing a guy who goes to that new University that opened up a few years back over in Celadon. Maybe I can ask him about it?”
Emotions threatened to overtake Sammy.
“Hm. Good a lead as any. That’d be right helpful, Paul.” Roger stood and began clearing away the dishes. “Don’t get your hopes up too high Sammy, but if it’d doable I’ll start savin’.”
Sammy excused himself from the table and rocketed down the hall to his mother’s room, no longer trusting himself with his excitement. Laughter preceded him from the kitchen as both men began to discuss the plowing plan. As Sammy burst through the door, he crowed out.
“Mom! I know what I want to be when I grow up!”