Cobalt Cordiality
That first day working alongside Ash was awkward, they didn’t talk much after their quick little back and forth with each other’s disliked nicknames. Ash showed Gary how to do each job they were assigned. For the most part they were doing the simple, tedious things. They greeted each other quietly when they worked together, or on occasion when they saw each other outside of the lab. Usually that was when Gary was working with Zephyr and Octavian in the outer paddock of the lab while Ash worked on fridays.
Technically, Zephyr and Octavian weren’t under his ownership since Gary wasn’t legally a trainer. However, given the murkiness of the situation, the League had decided that while Gary would not be allowed to carry, he could train with the pokemon so long as he remained within the Lab’s property lines.
The fallout of the altered trainer test results didn’t only directly affect Gary. His mother had been arrested the same day Gary had returned back to Pallet Town. She was officially charged and imprisoned only two days later. Gramps had offered to teleport Gary to Cerulean City where they could visit his mother whenever he wanted, especially since his father had opted to finish out his contract in Almia despite being offered a local posting, which meant he wasn’t coming back to Kanto any time soon. Gary didn’t want to visit his mother though, at least not yet and well it wasn’t like he had seen his father at all in the past year anyways. A little eavesdropping on the gossipy adults around the lab, Gary was able to figure out that his mother was not the only person to bribe a test administrator. Unfortunately he was the only trainer in Pallet town so he didn’t exactly have someone to talk to. Doubly unfortunate when he mentioned such to Gramps when he was moping and now had to sit down every sunday to video call with a therapist.
“How are you today Mr. Oak?” Dr. Hickory asked, his baritone voice just as soothing as it had been during Gary’s first session.
“I’m fine,” Gary answered instinctively. Dr. Hickory chuckled.
“You’d be surprised how often I hear those words,” Dr. Hickory said. “Perhaps we ought to dig right in? When we last talked you told me about your Uncle. How you found yourself split between anger towards your Uncle and affection. In our discussion we agreed that while superficially this was due to your Uncle being the one to discover that your Trainer Test results had been altered, the consequences of which saw you back to Pallet Town. We didn’t dig too deep but you mentioned that your relationship with your Uncle prior to these events had changed. Specifically for the better. Tell me about that.”
“Uh well,” Gary said, shifting on the couch so he sat cross legged in front of the computer that sat on the center coffee table. “I guess it kind of folds into the way I grew up?” Gary said. “I mean I don’t really remember my dad being home much. I’ve seen pictures from when I was like three or four, where he’s holding me or we’re on a picnic. The perfect family pictures you know? I was jealous I guess. I didn’t really realize it at first, but that’s what I was feeling and I did everything I could to make my Uncle, to make Harry feel like he wasn’t good enough for our family. To make him feel like he wasn’t really an Oak, all because I was jealous of the way his dad, Gramps, was always there for him even though he’s an important League Official and has responsibilities to more than just family.”
Their conversation continued in kind and by the end of the hour Gary was feeling just as stripped raw as he had after the first two seasons. At the same time he felt lighter than he had when he’d first sat down. He’d just put his laptop away and made himself a chocolate moomoo milk with some chocolate syrup when Gramps came through the front door of the house.
“Yoohoo! Grandson, there’s a courier here looking for you!” Gramps called. Gary turned to see his Gramps and Sultan, Gramps’ male Gardevoir carrying or in Sultan’s case floating, the distinctive paper bags of the Pallet Open Market full of fresh groceries into the kitchen. Gary ducked underneath the bag that had something wrapped in butcher's paper. “I picked up some Stantler steak and everything for stuffed Touga berry with crusty bread on the side and I could use the help putting it all together. Come back to help once you finish with the courier yes?”
“Yes Gramps,” Gary said as he headed towards the front door. It would be best if he hurried before Gramps got wild and decided to stuff the deliciously spicy Touga pepper berries with the uncooked Stantler, or gods forbid tried to stuff the Stantler with the stuffed Touga in an unholy turducken fashion. “Hello, I’m Gary, Gary Oak, Gramps said you were looking for me,” Gary said as he stepped onto the front porch were a young woman wearing a Hoenn League Official uniform. She was pretty but Gary much preferred the less bright navy blue and dark red with small white detailing of the Kanto uniforms to the bright yellow and cobalt blue that was the Hoenn League Official uniform.
“Hello Mr. Oak,” the young official said. “I’m one of the official couriers of the Petalburg Gym in Hoenn. I am here on behalf of Gym Leader Norman Masters, for a,” she paused and gave him a smile. “Important delivery.” She swung the bag on her back around revealing it to be an egg chamber bag. She opened the bag and motioned for Gary to take the egg. Gently Gary reached in. The egg was heavier than he expected, oblong and smooth like all field eggs. At first he thought the egg was mostly black but when it caught the light of the slowly setting sun it revealed that it was actually a very dark blue. There were specks of silver and bronze almost like ash floating away on smoke dotted the egg.
“It’s beautiful,” Gary said, pulling the egg in close to his chest.
“It was an honor to courier it,” the official said. “I do need a signature to confirm that you’ve received the parcel.” Gary used the stylus to sign almost on autopilot, eyes almost locked to gaze on the egg. “Have a good day now.” Gary barely even noticed as she released and mounted a Pelipper, flying off as he turned to enter the house the pokemon egg cradled lovingly within his arms. He walked into the kitchen still in a bit of a daze.
“Ah I thought I saw her carrying an egg case,” Gramps said. “Let’s have a look.” Gary most certainly did not want to give the egg up, even for a moment. Instead of handing it off to his grandfather he simply turned to let the kitchen light catch the egg showing off its rich dark blue color, and its silver and bronze speckles. “Well it certainly has a unique coloration. The blue and silver are most certainly from Cassidy, Norman’s Houndoom, that bronze though, it's reminiscent of Goldfyre’s gold and perhaps a nod to the shared fire typing between the two. The greatest question however, will be if the cub will be of the Dark Pokemon line or the Puppy Pokemon line. Field eggs hatch seven to eight days after they’re laid, so your baby pokemon will be here quite soon. I had already ordered everything you’d need to take care of a baby field pokemon. Due to their mammalian nature there will be a bit more involved care than your Uncle Harry had to do with his little twins. Pokemon are very intelligent and your pokemon will display that but you will still need to provide a certain standard of care. I expect you to ask if you need help, understand?” Gramps asked.
“Yes Gramps,” Gary said gently stroking the egg. “I promise to ask if I need help, I swear.”
“Good now help me with dinner and we can break out that chocolate fudge ice cream I’ve been saving from the freezer,” Gramps said. “Besides, we have some more to talk about.” The conversation that Gramps alluded to held till they were cleaning up after their dinner. The steak had been perfectly cooked and although Gary had been wary of the syrup
You’ve been sleeping on the couch, but that was only meant to be temporary. I spoke to your Uncle when we first discovered this situation and realized it was not one that would come to an easy end. He was happy to give up his room. I wanted to give you a room of your own however. While you’ve been in the Lab I had a few workers move the things from my office out to new homes. I very rarely work from home anyways, and the filing cabinets were easily relocated to my office at work. I thought about having them move your bed and stuff from your room at home, but I didn’t want to make it seem as though you had lost your old home so I got you all new furniture and had the room painted. I did steal some of your bedding and moved some more of your clothing, but this weekend we’ll go over and grab anything that you want into your room over here,” Gramps said, as he put away the last cup after Gary dried it. The egg sitting atop another dry towel where Gary could see it. Gary was silent, just taking it in. He didn’t even realize the agony his grandfather must be feeling, waiting in the growing silence for Gary to say something.
“Can I see it?” Gary asked, blushing a little at the sudden relief on Gramps’ face.
“Yes, yes of course,” Gramps said, attempting to usher Gary out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the third and top floor. Gary resisted long enough to grab the egg before letting his Gramps all but pull him up the stairs. The man was pretty strong and spry for an old guy, and Gary soon found himself standing in the attic room that had once served as an overly large office area for his grandfather. The wood stain on the slanted roof panelling was still the white oak color it had always been brightening the space, but the walls were no longer the neutral soft gray. Instead they were a pastel shade of teal with dark prussian blue baseboards. The light colored hardwood was covered with a variety of soft rugs to keep one’s feet from getting too cold in the winter months even as the sun's rays, let in by the chateau floor to ceiling windows on either side of the room warmed the floor directly. A desk was set up in front of the left side of the north facing window, it was a simple thing with drawers on the left side and a space where the matching chair was pushed into. It was blue so light it was almost white. The blue theme was easily understood when one looked at the bed. It was circular, set in between the railing of the stairs and the window tucked into the right corner so that light still easily spilled into the room. The bed itself was Squirtle themed, the mattress serving as the belly with the head board designed to be the Squirtle’s head and the footboard a wood carved and painted wave of water as though the Squirtle was emerging from the sea. There were several bookcases where Gary could see pokemon and gym leader figurines he recognized from his own home, a dresser that was painted the same color as his desk, and several bean bags in the corner.
“I love it,” Gary said, walking slowly to the bed where he gently placed the field egg on the light tan coverlet making sure it wouldn’t roll off. When he was certain it was safe he turned and threw himself at his Grandfather. Stumbling slightly the older man caught him and hitched him up so he was holding him totally as Gary hugged him as tightly as he could.
“I’m glad you love it,” Gramps whispered into Gary’s hair. “And I hope you know that I love you very much.”
________
“Ash! Ash! Look look,” Gary called upon entering the lab on Tuesday, the other boy not having been in on Monday. The egg was in a wrap on his chest, just peeking out enough that the gold and silver speckles caught the light. He had not let the egg out of his sight once since he got it. Even when he showered the egg was where he could easily see it through the clear shower curtain, in the sink, a fluffy white towel protecting it from the hard porcelain.
“Woah!” Ash’s eyes widened when he saw the gorgeous pokemon egg. “It’s beautiful, where did you get it?”
“My Uncle promised me one of the eggs from a breeding contract he made for Goldfyre,” Gary said. “The dam was a shiny Houndoom. I don’t know what pokemon it will be but I think it’s going to be extraordinary.”
“Do you think it will be shiny too?” Ash asked, drawing even closer.
“Well a Houndoom’s primary color is black and a Growlithe primary color is orange. The egg might look black but look at it in the light,” Gary said as he shifted the body wrap he used to carry the egg on his chest a little more revealing the primary color of the egg to be dark blue.
“It’s blue!” Ash exclaimed, “Can I touch it?” Ash asked, reaching out gingerly.
“Yeah, just be gentle,” Gary said. “I know pokemon eggs are hardy and tough, hell Octavian nearly made me poop my pants when he rolled it on the ground yesterday. I introduced him and Zephyr to Hellfyre yesterday. Figured even if they’re still in an egg they ought to know their new family member.”
“You named the egg already? And Octavian is your Squirtle right?” Ash asked.
“Yup, and Zephyr is my Pidgey,” Gary said.
“Oh it’s really warm!” Ash said, surprised as he touched the egg.
“Of course!” Gary said. “All pokemon eggs but the three types of water eggs are warm to the touch, this might be a field egg but it's from two fire type pokemon. Plus according to the pedigree papers both sire and dam have the egg move Overheat, likely the pup in this egg will as well.”
“That’s awesome, and field eggs always hatch pokemon that can start training after two months right? Maybe we can train together? Pikachu doesn’t really like to listen to me all that much but I gotta learn how to battle with him if I ever want to be a good Pokemon Trainer,” Ash said.
“Yeah they’re slow to mid range for maturity. Faster than rock and ice pokemon certainly but slower than normal pokemon who sit in the center of the slide line,” Gary said, shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously. “But uh, you heard in the news that a few people were arrested for bribery of League officials and tampering with official government documentation, yeah?”
“Yeah I heard, and your mom was one of those arrested. I’m sorry,” Ash said.
“I’m not,” Gary blurted, before bursting out into a moment of hysterical giggles at the look of surprise on Ash’s face. “Sorry the therapist my Gramps is making me see is encouraging me to be more honest about how I feel,” Gary said. “But yeah I kinda can’t um be uh,” Gary winced. “Ihaventpassedmytrainerstestandcanttakemypokemonofftheproperty,” Gary got out in a quick burst.
“I have no idea what you just said,” Ash said laughing.
“I kinda didn’t pass my trainer test. I didn’t know until my Uncle figured it out and now I can’t take my pokemon off the lab property because they technically aren’t mine until I pass the trainer test in April and I’m studying but I get distracted when I try and read and next thing I know I’m looking into the migratory mating pattern of Wailords, which did you know that they move in pods that can have up to seventy adult Wailords and Wailmer in a single pod?” Gary asked, knowing that he was trying to avoid the main topic a little.
“Oh Gary,” Ash said quietly.
“Ommfph,” was all Gary was able to say when the air was suddenly squeezed out of him by Ash wrapping himself around him in the tightest hug Gary had ever experienced.
“Your test,” Ash said when he pulled away, “That was the official record your mom tampered with, wasn’t it?” Ash asked.
“Yeah, she bribed an official to ensure I got a pass mark on my second test when I didn’t actually pass,” Gary said.
“I didn’t pass my first test, you know,” Ash said. “And I only passed my second one because they let someone else read the questions to me and then they wrote down the answers when I told them the answer.”
“You can do that?” Gary asked. “Wait, why would you do that?”
“You know when we were younger, and uh,” Ash scratched the back of his neck. “Actual friends?” It was said more as a question than as a statement and Gary immediately felt bad.
“Better friends,” Gary corrected, biting the bullet and letting go of his pride and arrogance a little more. After all, hadn’t he been so excited to show his once best friend the egg his Uncle had given him? “Because I’m still your friend but I was a pretty bad one for a while.” The grin Ash gave him was worth it.
“Better friends then,” Ash said. “Anyways you know how I used to say all the letters danced when I tried to read?”
“Yeah I remember,” Gary said. “I used to read the new entries to the Kantosian Pokedex to you so that you could learn about the new pokemon with me because it took you too long.”
“Well I guess we should have told an adult?” Ash had phrased it as a question but Gary knew that it wasn’t really one. “I got diagnosed with dyslexia, and also ADHD last year. The attention thing that you talked about sounds kinda like the ADHD part of it. I have all the papers at home, or really my mom does, maybe we can look at them and see if it sounds right? If you get diagnosed they can give you things to help when taking the test, like with me. I got a reader, and more time, but I didn’t need it since it didn’t take me as long to get through the test with someone else reading it for me.”
“You think it would help?” Gary asked skeptically.
“The Joy that made the diagnosis said that having a learning disorder is like walking around with a foot in a cast; you can do it, maybe even well, and it might not even hurt, but you’re still hurting yourself in the long run and you probably can’t keep up with everyone who doesn't have a broken leg. Getting a diagnosis and using the tools that are offered is like wearing a walking brace on top of the cast, or using crutches. You might still be a little slower than everyone else but now you can keep up without injuring yourself even more,” Ash said.
“Okay,” Gary said. “Today when we’re finished here we can look right? Do you think your mom might let me stay for dinner? Does she still make that really good chili?”
“Yeah of course, and she even taught me how to make it, her secret ingredient is coca powder!” Ash said grinning. “Now let's go feed the Ponytas.”