Daniel was happy with his Mothra. His mom had been teasing him about receiving a powerful dragon, like the great Ghidorah in his father’s stories. He was a bit bummed that it wasn’t his, but the queen of monsters was a great alternative.

  He held her Pokeball like a priceless treasure in his hands. Her Nest ball felt warm in his hands and would gently rock on his palms. With a nervous breath, he clicked the button to release her.

  Red lightning shot toward his bed before the oversized larva manifested. The furry thing stared at him with wide eyes, filled with curiosity and wonder. She then looked around his room.

  The walls filled with superhero posters, the still connected laptop on his desktop, the pile of dirty laundry on a corner… Her eyes snapped onto the clothes, and she stilled.

  “Hi! I’m your new trainer!” Daniel was proud his voice didn’t crack, the nerves were getting to him.

  The Larvesta glanced at him one last time before she was overcome by instinct. She launched with her tiny legs and landed on the clothes, burying herself in the piles of cloth and synthetics.

  “Lar! Lar!”

  She exclaimed, feeling much better now that she was in the safety of a pseudo-cocoon.

  “What- No! Not in the clothes! You’re going to smell!” The boy panicked, already feeling the consequences of not dealing with the pile.

  Daniel tried his best to unearth the furry thing from his laundry, but she would squirm and trash until he had to let her go. She even used a string shot to seal her entrance and bind the clothes into a deformed ball.

  “Mom’s going to kill me…” The teen muttered, feeling defeated.

  “Where’s your Pokemon?” Aidan peeked from the door. He looked at both sides to make sure they were alone and whispered. “Bitch.”

  “Fuck you, Aidan.” Daniel gave his older brother the middle finger and tried to disentangle the sphere. “Where’s yours?”

  “Oh, we’re doing greeeeeat.” He said with a smug expression, fully entering the room. “Ghidorah and I are going to rule the world, mark my words.”

  The boy was taller than him by two heads. Instead of taking after his mother, as Daniel did with his pink hair, small nose, and narrow jawline, he was like their dad. Aidan’s face was more squared and was sprinkled with freckles. His long, white hair cascaded on top of his shoulders.

  “Yeah? Then why the fuck are you not wearing the clothes you had this morning, eh?” Daniel answered with a smirk. “He burned them down, right?”

  “We bonded over our love for flames and destruction.” Aidan hesitated before answering.

  “Mom’s going to be mad at you, and you know dad is not going to do shit to protect you.”

  “Shut up!” Aidan growled.

  “Make me, bitch.”

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  Before his older brother could react, Daniel tackled him into the wall and ran away from his room, clothing ball in hand. Aidan only took a moment to reorient himself before chasing after him.

  Their apartment inside the upper district was big enough to be considered a mansion. 4 stories high, dozens of spacious rooms, an enormous yard with outside access, and several automata that took care of it.

  The brothers weaved through the attendants, Pokemon, and their family members as they laughed. Sometimes they would jeer at each other, intensifying the chase for several seconds before falling back to their previous pace. His Larvesta cheered from the inside of her cocoon, peeking out of a small hole between the fabrics.

  Their race ended when a sudden pressure in their chests made them trip and fall. The sphere rolled a couple of meters before stopping at the feet of a woman. Her face was set to a frown, disturbing her otherwise porcelain features. Her pink hair neatly formed a set of loops, betraying her ancestry to any onlooker.

  “Hi, mom…” Both teenagers said in a defeated tone.

  “Children.” She whispered and shook her head. “What did I say about running inside the apartment?”

  “Only do that in the yard.” They both chorused.

  She gently flared her psychic aura, lifting the sphere from the ground with her power. With a flex of her will, it untangled itself and set free a very smelly Larvesta. She cradled her before the larva could panic, soothing her with scratches in the belly.

  “What did I tell you about your clothes, Daniel?” She arched a brow at the younger one.

  “That I should clean them regularly…”

  The older one smirked at his misfortune.

  “What about you, Aidan? Where are the clothes that granny bought you on your birthday?”

  Aidan coughed, as it was now Daniel’s turn to smirk. Their mother sighed heavily seeing their antics. “You three are going to be the death of me someday…”

  With another flex of her power, she put both teenagers on their feet again. She gave the Larvesta Daniel, ruffling her fur one last time.

  “You two are wondering why you received the Pokemon you did.” She stated. “Your father made a mistake.”

  “Eh?” Both echoed their confusion.

  “We can make the switch now before any of you seriously train your Pokemon.” She nodded at them. “Well?”

  “I mean…”

  “Still…”

  Both showed apprehension at her request. On Aidan’s part, the little dragon already burned several of his outfits and made a mess in his room. Still, he felt a connection to the little troublemaker. His heart felt complete with the little Deino. Even more, Aidan already promised to conquer the whole world with him.

  On Daniel’s side, it was a similar enough story. Even if the little Larvesta wouldn’t be as strong as his brother’s eventual Hydreigon, he couldn’t bear part with her. The frankly adorable noises she made when he scratched her were melting his heart. And despite their earlier scuffle, he felt ready to nurture her into an elite.

  Seeing their concerned expressions brought a smile to their mom’s face. She shook her head one more time and ruffled their hair.

  “I’m glad that you already feel that way about your Pokemon.” She nodded. “Don’t worry, I won’t take them away.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Aidan said with a resolute expression.

  “Thanks, mommy…” Daniel whispered before hugging her.

  “Now, both of you need to clean up your rooms.” She hugged both, even if the older one protested. “I won’t tolerate it anymore.”

  “Yes!” The brothers echoed, breaking out of the hug.

  “Daniel, I need to talk to you.” She grabbed Daniel’s sleeve. “Aidan, I hope there’s not a speck of dust or ash by tomorrow, understood?”

  “Yes, mom!” Aidan nodded vehemently before running away.

  After his steps faded out in the distance, Megan joy stared at her son. Daniel could feel the weight of her aura on top of him. Even Mothra stilled, afraid of drawing her ire.

  “Daniel.” She said after a moment. “You know that Aidan is adopted.”

  “…Yes…” He answered nervously.

  “I know his mother will give him something similar, now that your idiot of a father switched up your starters.” She sighed heavily. Her eyes glowed light purple as a Pokeball materialized in front of her. “This is grandma’s gift. She wants you to carry your last name with pride and be your very best.”

  Daniel gingerly took the Pokeball as his mother grabbed the Larvesta. After pushing its button, another red light shot out before an Audino emerged. She was small, barely reaching his waist, and still had baby fat on her cheeks. The Pokemon stared back at him with a gentle smile.

  “Audino!”