Within the main lab of Professor Birch's laboratory, a happy Mudkip skipped in circles around Alden's feet. Meanwhile, Torchic preened its orange feathers while standing close to May's ankles. Alden showed a fairly casual demeanor with his hands resting on his head, but May fidgeted nervously while casting anxious glances between Torchic and the Professor standing in front of her.
Although bulky and rotund underneath his lab coat, Birch actually looked fairly muscular despite his weight, almost like a heavyweight lifter who hadn't gone to the gym in a few years and let himself go. The extra weight in his face gave him a very kind and approachable face, though.
Bending over to take a closer look at the Mudkip and Torchic that Alden and May used in their battle, Professor Birch rubbed his chin and said, "These little ones seem to have taken a liking to both of you. That is fantastic. Feel free to hang onto them and raise them as your own Pokemon."
A sigh of relief slipped from May's lips. She hadn't even realized she was holding her breath.
"Thanks, Uncle Birch," Alden said, though his lips rose into a knowing grin.
"No problem. Hope you both make a good team in the future. Do either of you want to give a nickname to them?"
"I'm not very good at coming up with names, but how about Chic?" May replied while giving Torchic a questioning look.
"Torchic!" Torchic replied, its gaze confident.
"Alright! Chic it is! Together, we'll become the greatest partners," May confidently stated, hands on her hips in a pose that Chic the Torchic tried to copy despite not having arms yet.
Meanwhile, Alden looked down at Mudkip, who in turn raised its little head to look at him. Mudkip tilted its head, then yipped happily, completely oblivious to whatever was happening.
"It's a male, right?" Alden asked.
Nodding, Birch explained, "Indeed. In general, the starter species dictated in the various regions are decided due in part to the low ratio of females of the species, thus making it easier for them to integrate with a trainer rather than compete among their own species. It's quite rare for a female one to end up with me like Torchic there, though."
Chic chirped confidently.
Alden chuckled upon picking up on the little orange chick's attitude that basically conveyed that it thought it would become the best Blaziken regardless.
Mudkip, though?
Alden looked down at its clear and pure bean-like eyes.
Gender? What's that? Will it make me stronger?
Chuckling, Alden said, "From now on, your name is Murk."
Murk the Mudkip blinked once or twice, then beamed a happy smile and nodded with extra vigor. It happily bounced around Alden's feet, now feeling extra super duper powerful after receiving a name from its human. Of course, it was only its imagination. The little guy was just excited. Maybe on a sugar rush.
Professor Birch raised a brow at the nickname that Alden chose, but then smiled, looked back and forth between Alden and May, and asked, "Do the two of you have any goals you would like to achieve now that you have your own Pokemon?"
"I'm going to become an official League Trainer and collect all eight badges in eighty days!" May boldly asserted.
Professor Birch raised his brows, then steeled his expression and, in an encouraging tone, said, "That is a tough timeline, but do your best."
"Why eighty days?" Alden asked.
"Uh… hehe," May rubbed the back of her head and chuckled in a slightly embarrassed manner before answering, "It's from a promise I made with some friends when I was younger."
Ever so briefly, Birch glanced over at Alden after hearing that, which Alden instinctively noticed. Although not as pronounced as with the Pokemon he encountered so far, he picked up on some subtle surface level emotions of the two people in front of him.
'This feeling… Birch looked at me as though I'm one of the friends she's talking about? May seems to have no idea, though. Weird.'
Setting that in the back of his mind, Alden decided to figure it out later.
"So, what about you, Alden? I know you love Pokemon as well, but you've always been quiet about your desires," Birch asked in a careful tone, obviously navigating eggshells with his choice of words.
"Well, I'd like to meet Rayquaza at least once."
*COUGH*
Caught off guard, Birch hacked a few times.
Puzzled by the response, May tilted her head and asked, "Who's Rayquaza?"
"Cough, cough- Ahem. Um, maybe you've heard of it before in Hoenn legends as an ancient protector of our Region, but at this point, it is mostly legends, though it is certain it at least existed at one point. You may still hear legends of it if you visit places like Sootopolis or Pacifidlog. You might even hear of it from the reclusive Dragon Clan people if you ever encounter one of them."
Unable to contain his curiosity, Alden asked, "Speaking of Legendary Pokemon, I've read that there could potentially be multiple of each one. Is there any truth to that, Professor?"
Raising a brow, Birch hesitated for a moment before answering, "That's… a bit out of my area of expertise, but during one discussion I had with Professor Oak from Kanto, he proposed a theory based on recorded encounters with certain Mythical Pokemon that it could be possible for there to be more than one of certain ones, particularly the well-documented appearances of Suicune. Whether that applies to something like Rayquaza is unknown, but perhaps possible."
"Interesting."
"Either way, even encountering a Mythical or Legendary Pokemon that shows up on occasion like Suicune is an event that could be counted on one hand every decade," Birch concluded with a light sigh.
"Huh. So, that's a super lofty goal, then," May concluded. Her blue eyes focused on Alden with a hint of admiration.
"Lofty is one way to put it," Birch mumbled while running a hand through his short dark brown hair. "So, Alden, any other goals besides that?"
"I'd like to adventure and try everything, honestly. Then, I'll find and befriend all of my favorite Pokemon and maybe challenge the League at some point."
"Keeping your options open, eh?" Birch replied, his smile wide, obviously believing this to be far more achievable than encountering something like Rayquaza.
"Do we have to register with the League to challenge gyms or anything?" Alden asked while considering offhanded lore he occasionally heard from friends or read online.
Nodding, Birch said, "Indeed. Normally, you could register at a Pokemon Center or any of the Gyms, but I can do it from here for the two of you and cover the application fee."
"How much is it?" May asked. Her eyebrows narrowed.
Birch gave a casual wave and answered, "Not much, honestly. The league wants as many people to challenge gyms as possible, so it stays fairly accessible."
Before the two youngsters could say anything else, Birch added, "Since I'll need a bit of time to order Trainer Cards for the two of you, and you now have Pokemon of your own, how about the two of you go on a small adventure and meet up with my son Brendan? He headed north of Oldale Town to assist me in gathering some habitat data, so you two could visit with him and get a taste for exploring with your new Pokemon. What do you say?"
May nodded and said, "Sure. Sounds like fun."
In contrast, Alden inwardly thought about beelining for Route 102 to search for a Ralts instead. As such, he raised a brow and mumbled, "I dunno…"
Suddenly, Alden felt a hand grip his shoulder.
"You'll go and visit Brendan, right?"
Alden blinked and looked directly into Birch's smiling face. Although the smile looked the same as before, his eyes looked dead serious.
'He's not going to take no for an answer.
"...Alright, then."