"Your father and I have been talking."

I could feel the excitement building up in me. Even so, I had to make sure to point out, "He's not my dad."

The thin, black-haired man with round, thick glasses standing beside my mom frowned at me, and then looked at her, still frowning. He had a look like a kicked Lillipup. It made me want to give him a hug. Almost. Not enough to do so. "… Your father—"

"He's not my father," I reaffirmed. Still, I smiled. I would consider hugging the man when my mom announced what I knew she was going to announce. It was a long time coming.

"… Fine," my mom said through an exasperated sigh. She seemed relaxed. I guess he must have accepted what would be from now on. "Randall and I were talking about what you asked us, and we've made a decision."

Yes. Here it comes, my dream come true!

"You're not allowed to be a Pokémon trainer."

"… what."

"You're too young and you shouldn't be wandering around with Pokémon yet. I don't care if all the other ten year olds are doing it. If they were all jumping off a bridge, you wouldn't join them, would you?"

"Well, mom, is there a Pokémon at the bottom waiting for me?"

My mother stared at me. "That's not funny, Olivia."

"What you said isn't funny either! I've been good and doing my chores, and, and…!"

"… chores? What chores? You're not supposed to do chores, we have housekeepers and butlers and maids for that." My mom looked at Randall. He coughed softly.

"Well, Susan, she was delivering papers for me at work and keeping my papers organized." My mother looked ready to let her mouth loose at him. He quickly interjected, "BUT! I said she'd have a better chance of getting her first Pokémon, not that she could go off on a journey to be a trainer, and definitely not that she would be guaranteed her first Pokémon."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. "But I… I did all that stuff… for my first Pokémon… and you won't even give me that?"

My mother shook her head. "Out of the question."

"Not out of the question! I want to know why!"

"You're too young. You're inexperienced with Pokémon," My mother explained. I'm sure if I glared at her any harder she might actually become paralyzed. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure mothers are resistant to paralysis from their daughters.

"I have no experience with Pokémon because you wouldn't let me have any experience with them. In fact, neither of you would."

"Because you're not ready yet. One day you will be. Maybe when you're an adult. But you're ten years old, and that's too—"

"How old were you when you had your first Pokémon?"

I knew the answer. She knew I knew the answer because she flushed and said, "That's not important, we're talking about you, not me."

Randall opened his mouth to interrupt. My mother and I both turned to him and shouted at him, "YOU KEEP OUT OF THIS!" He backed down quickly. We returned to glaring at each other.

"I gave birth to you, I take care of you, I feed you, I give you a roof over your head, I make sure you live a comfortable life, I look out for your well-being, and this is how you repay me? Mouthing off at me?" My mother asked a bit loudly.

"Yes but you never get me the things I actually want!"

"Whose fault is it that you ask for things I can't get you?!"

"Can't? You mean won't! Buying a Pokémon from a breeder is easy for you!"

"Yes, I mean won't, and it's not happening. That's final."

A moment of silence followed my mother's words as they began to weigh down on me. She admitted it. She wouldn't get me a Pokémon. She wouldn't let me become a trainer. That's all I wanted to do, my whole ten years of life, be a Pokémon trainer, and she wouldn't let me.

"I dislike you," I said to my mother, and then to my stepfather, "and I just hate you." With that, I turned and stormed out of the house. As I left, my mother called out to me,

"Arceus, you're just like your birth father, walking away, what a surprise!"

This only propelled me into a run. I wanted to get away from my mom and her husband. I wanted to run away from this terrible place with terrible people. So what my family was well to do. We were living far from where I spent over half of my life and I was far from the sea, and all the Pokémon and scents and foods I had grown knowing and loving. Sure, the airport let us import whatever we wanted, but it wasn't the same. There was something to be said for freshly caught Basculin, baked, or freshly caught Shellder made into clams on the half shell. Or my favorite, Octillery calamari. Not the frozen junk shipped halfway across the region in a package.

No. Not halfway. It was the whole width of Unova.

What if I never saw Wailmer bobbing on the waves again? As much as I thought Wingull were annoying, what if I never go to see a Wingull again? I found myself missing Wingull so much that if one were to appear in front of me at that I might actually kiss it.

This made me run even harder, until I crashed head first into someone.

"Oof," went a voice above me.

Whoever it was, I went to swerve around them and mumbled a quick, "Sorry."

That was until their big hands went on my shoulders, gently weighing me down and keeping me in place. "Where are you going in such a hurry, Liv?"

I looked up at Perry, my face soaked with tears. I had never thought I would ever be so grateful to see him before this moment.