Chapter 2: Pretty Ugly? Fishy Schemes!

It's been 5 years since I arrived in this world and in that time I'm confident that I managed my time well as I was able to learn the language as well as reading albeit still needs a bit of improvement in the writing department 'symbols are hard to draw'.

(Well, at least I can now understand and talk to people!)

With all I manage to learn in the past 5 years, I can't help but look back to the hardships I went through to get to where I am today.

I still even remember my parent's reaction when I said my first words

.... flashback 4 yrs ago ....

One day my mother and father decided to have a competition to see whether if papa or mama is gonna be my first words, the winner will get the coveted title of the better parent which I think is dumb on so many levels. I really want to say either one to get this over with but I don't want to imagine the possible repercussion if I made a choice from the one that lost so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

The competition for the first words was fine when it started they just repeat the word they want me to say whenever they meet me, simple enough.

However, it soon became a dizzying nightmare because for some reason they thought that action speak louder than words which is true in most cases but I don't think they actually get what it means because along with repeating the word they started to pick me up to get me closer to them and shake me around like a magic 8 ball hoping they will get the word out of me that way.

"Come on Albert say Mama, Mam -ma'

'Shake'

'Alden takes away Albert from Drasna'

"No Albert say Papa, Pap-pa"

'Shake'

"Say mama!"

"No! say papa!"

On the 2nd day, to the best of my ability, I tried to say my first intelligible words in this world because I know I can't handle another round of being a human maraca.

"Al..Ahlya!"

""Ahlya?""

"Kayjam!"

"AhlyaKayjam!"

I tried to 'pull on their leg' since I got really irritated with them and to both their ire my first words were neither mama nor papa but Alakazam! It was not as fluently spoken as I hope it would be but was still understandable.

When Alakazam who was in the room with joseph heard it he gave my parents a smirk as if saying 'I've won' then teleported out

My parents were not too happy with my joke and I think they overreacted when they banned Alakazam from ever entering my room and stopped any further interaction with me in the foreseeable future.

To make it up to them I keep saying either the word mama or papa depending on who was present and I never mention the word alakazam again. It even became a taboo word in the house where Alakazam is now named Cofo courtesy of my parents with it short for Conniving fox and Joseph who seems fine with the name started using it too making it official.

Unbeknownst to us Cofo the Alakazam actually took pride in the name as he considered it a great honor as being the only nicknamed Pokémon of joseph too add to that he is also given the name by the master of his master which in his thought process means that even if his master Joseph names any one of his companions it will be at a lower level than his. (5000 IQ right there)

I feel bad for Cofo at first but when I saw that he is still doing the smug smirk whenever he meets my parent as a taunt to remind them of their defeat, I lost every bit of pity I had for him at the beginning.

Funny enough that Cofo actually learned the move taunt and torment surprising the old butler when he was training with Gardevoir.

At the start the language barrier was a real pain as I could only get the names then after a while, I was able to get snippets of detail in their conversation. It was also great that my parent and the house staff especially Jess started to name the things I point at. Seems to them I was just curious about everything, and when I smile and laugh if I successfully copied the word they said it gave them an idea that I was really happy to learn.

Being able to say and understand a number of words in only 6 months and walk earlier at the 3 months I was deemed a genius. Which I had no clue about because I just did everything I thought babies suppose to do, how am supposed to know when a baby starts walking and talking. Heck, I don't even know how old I was 'in terms of months' at the time it does not help that this is another world, babies may develop faster here for all I know so I just did what I wanted to do at the time.

.... 2 yrs later ....

The language was only a bit of a problem as a toddler as I already can understand the language in a somewhat capacity nothing to brag about but still a great help. However there's another thing that almost made me go crazy, that is Boredom. Being a toddler still greatly limits me on the things I am able to do when alone which is already not a lot, to begin with. At the start, I thought it was an easy fix because of the existence of the TV which can greatly help me pass the time, learn the language and I can also get information about the world.

Literally killing Pidgey with one rock throw but to my dismay, it was almost always turned off. As I understood from the over-exaggerated body movement of Jess, It's bad for my eyes. fortunately, with the permission of my parent, Jess allowed a few minutes of Television per day which I mentally replied with;

(Let me live my life Woman!)

(ohh no ..... I think I'm getting influenced by my father's speech pattern, better watch out for that, or might become a habit.)

I am very thankful for Jess for keeping me company most of the time though due to my parents getting busy with work. And I thought my father Alden was a workaholic with all his business trips but a year ago my mother Drasna was invited to participate in the Battle Chateau which took notice of her skills, there she was able to gain the rank of Duchess in only a years time and now is called every so often to battle.

So instead I try to alleviate my boredom by trying to make a mental note of important events that occurred in the anime as well as in the games. In addition, I also sing songs of my old world. Being in my crib, I like to imagine myself as a sailor at sea with nothing to do but sing my heart out. Luckily my space was upgraded into a toddler bed on my second birthday, on that note for an uptown family the birthdays I had were pretty modest where it was only my parents and the staff.

(Good thing the place I frequent with my coworkers to celebrate or get a drink in my past life has a free to use karaoke machine or else I won't have known or memorized the number of songs that I know, heck I can even sing some of the Pokémon songs from the English dubbed version of the anime and movies. 'I did not sing Pokémon song in the karaoke by the way it was just a bathroom thing')

The singing I've done may sound like gibberish with rhythm to those who hear it since I'm singing in a language foreign to this world so my parents and the staff took nothing of it.

But back on the topic of the Tv, I think it is fine as I don't want to start wearing glasses at a young age even though I know for a fact it won't harm me as long as I'm in a far enough distance. I did not really have any choice in the matter either way though because I already used my ultimate weapon known as the baby method 'crying till I get what I want' but it did not work I repeat it did not work.

Even with the limitations though I was able to get enough info thanks to the old box Tv. First of all, I think I'm in the Kalos region because the shows I've seen usually only present Pokémon which are predominantly native to the Kalos region. This was further supported by the occasional Fletchling I see that usually lands in the window beside my bed. The last curveball that made the home run was the inclusion of Lumiose City in a newscast that suddenly popped up in the middle of a show about how to make the best Spicy Fletchinder wings 'Yes, they eat Pokémon here'.

Even though I never played gen 6 and beyond I still followed the anime up to Pokémon journeys so I was able to remember Lumiose City as the first city of the Kalos region that Ash visited.

The newscast focused on the grand opening of the Prism Tower and the construction of a large Hotel called Hotel Richissime which I discovered later was owned by my Father Alden Ryuma as a business venture for his prediction of the possible meteoric rise of tourism in Lumiose City at the following years. This prediction is based on the plans by the league of increasing the number of available train routes in the different towns and cities in Kalos with Lumiose City as the focal point of all the stations.

With my location figured out, I now need to know if I'm in the anime or game world but that is a lot harder unless I manage to find an anime exclusive person or Pokémon such as Ash and the Crystal Onix. But with the Prism Tower only having finished its grand opening safe to assume I'm somewhere in the past but still in the modern age because of the electronics so that means meeting Ash or any person in exclusive in the anime is a shot in the dark because they may possibly not even be born yet and I don't remember any of the old side characters either.

Then the likeliest option I have is to visit the Crystal Onix which If I remember correctly was seen by a side character's dad when the dad was young. And from what I know Onix tended to live for a very long time, over hundreds of years, unlike the other anime exclusive Pokémon which have some of the same issues as the anime characters.

(I now need to add visiting the crystal Onix in the Orange Islands on my to-do list, 'Sigh' so much to do.)

(But I have all the time in the world, I'm only 2 in this world after all)

Now that I think of it, going to the Orange Islands may not be so hard. As a perk of being in a rich family, If we ever have a family vacation in the future I can put forward the Orange Islands as a prime option. It's not certain that it will happen but I'm sure they will take my opinion into account or else visit the place while I'm on my journey as a trainer because knowing I'm in the past gives me leeway in time before the possible world-ending events start to unfold ... Hopefully.

.... Present time ....

I truly did make most of my time but that's all in the past. Today is my 5th birthday and since I turned 5 today I can put into action operation 'Get that Pokémon' and I already have a game plan. First of all 'the approach', I need to get both of their attention and make sure it sticks and lastly 'the steady attack' which means I need to make my argument sound steadily making them think that they want no .... they need to give me a Pokémon. Easier said than done I know but I'm confident I can pull it through.

I need all this preparation because I learned from Joseph that like in the games and anime it is customary that a trainer starts their journey at the age of 10 as a right of passage but they can get a Pokémon as a companion as early as the age of 8. The kind of Pokémon one can get before the age of 10 is very limited due to safety reasons and is advised to be strictly watched over by the guardian. With me being only 5, I think they may consider me to be too young thus will go against the norm but from what Joseph explained it is not really a law of anything so I may have a chance.

My 5th birthday party was like the ones in the past composing of only my parents and the staff, It was overall a fun celebration with games and a ton of food. But after my birthday party, I slowly walked towards my parent, look them in the eye then ... cried. Crocodile tears were a hard thing to time at first but luckily it worked like a charm.

(At first, I had their curiosity but now I have their attention)

"what's wrong Albert did you get hurt somewhere?"

"Come here, Mommies here 'wipes tears away'"

"What's The problem? it's your birthday you need to be happy or are you sad that the party's over? don't worry you will have one again next year!"

(Did my father just think I'm so stupid to not know how birthdays work?.... well I'm just 5 so it makes sense..... I think. Never mind that, it's time for step 2!.)

" Mom, Dad why are you always not around ....."

""....""

"I'm always alone with no one to play with, I know Jess is here to take care of me but she has other work to do so I don't want to bother her too much (sorry for the call out Jess)'"

" Ahww, we're sorry honey. Dad has a lot of business to take care of and mommy is even being recruited for the position of elite four so we rarely ever see as much anymore"

"You know what to make it up to you, ask daddy and mommy anything we will try to make it happen"

(Ohh my Arceus! did they just give me an easy way out?! Got to chill, stick to the plan and keep on tugging at those heartstrings to make sure it's a home run)

"I want to spend more time with mama and papa"

""....""

"But I know that's not currently possible so ...."

"'!""

"So .... what? you can ask us anything!"

"I want a Pokémon just like mama and Joseph so I can have someone to play with and not be lonely anymore!"

""Ahh""

Drasna 'happy'

Alden 'shock'

"Can't I? 'Puppy eyes turned on'"

"Just like Mama? Albert, you like mommies Pokémon?"

"hmm, they all very cool especially Spikey"

""Ahh""

Drasna 'beaming with Joy'

Alden 'falling into despair'

"Then mama and papa will get you a Pokémon, Won't we my dear Alden"

"But his to youn...."

Drasna 'Stares menacingly'

"... Yes we will, of course we will!"

"See Albert, mama and papa loves you so much don't we Papa"

"Of course we do, But..."

"No buts"

"....."

"Thank you!, Thank you!, Thank you!, Thank you!. I knew I can count on mama and papa!"

"haha of course you can and you know what, give mama and papa 2 months time to get the perfect Pokémon for you"

"Really! ok, I'll wait. Yeeeeesss! my very own Pokémon!"

After gaining their approval I left for my room in a hurry still feeling the excitement of earlier.

(Mission accomplished haha, now I only need to prepare. I can start by reading up on Pokémon more. I wonder what kind of Pokémon they will get me? Will they let me choose one? With the strong connection of my family to dragon-type they may get me one! or not considering my age they may deem it too dangerous as I learned at the start but I do wonder if this counts as my starter or not, well does not really matter to me because I can always catch more Pokémon in the future with my upcoming partner.)

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Alden POV.

(After Alberts Birthday Party)

I have had many plans for my dear son Albert's birthday party but it is all for naught when only the staff is the guest we ever include. As I did not invite any of my friends who are also sadly my business partners because I don't want to make his special day all about some old guys talking about work and his mom well all her friends are traveling as Pokémon trainers they rarely ever stop in one place for so long and only start to lay down in one place after deciding to start a family.

Ohh yeah about family, well my wife's relatives are all in Sinnoh so it will be pretentious of us to expect them to travel to another region just for a birthday party even if it is our son ..... although we did try once but sadly they had to decline due to conflicting schedules.

But what's worse is the family situation on my side because before Albert was born I was the last living member of my clan. It's not a tragic back story where I killed all my relatives due to politics or something like that as one may expect from the rich but a series of unfortunate events coupled with the already low birthrate in my family. What unfortunate events one may ask? well, they became trainers that's what. As my clan is the last remaining noble family that specializes in dragon types in the Kalos region, all would be trainers started their journey with a mentality that being a dragon type specialist is the only path for them and even with all the knowledge we have in our archives, it ain't enough to compensate for a lack of brain cells because in end wisdom does not equate intelligence.

to add to that I had 3 siblings growing up, where are they now? 1 dead 2 is missing and is presumed dead, every single one of them was an aspiring trainer at their last moments. The one that died did not even last a week and got eaten by a Rayquaza. We can't even blame the Legendary because from eye witness account he told everyone that he will catch the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza which was seen by some locals land in the summit of a mountain. When rescuers arrive they can only recover droppings which is presumed to be my brother due to them containing some of his belongings, thus we had the legendary poop buried in his stead. It brought great shame to our family that one of the possible heirs as the head of the clan thought that he could catch Rayquaza the legendary dragon-type Pokémon in the first week of his journey with a Goomy no less. That's one of the reasons I never started a journey of my own as a trainer but to preserve our heritage I continued my study on dragon types, even now I'm confident I know more about the recorded knowledge on dragon-type Pokémon than my wife which only learned a few in her families records and focused more on learning through first-hand experience.

I am happy to see Albert smile even with just me, my wife, and the staff around. Seeing him grow bit by bit is the motivation I have in increasing our family's financial influence as when the time comes for him to take the mantle of the head of the house I hoped he won't have such a hard time like that of mine.

Although from what that child had shown it seems that my worry is for naught for he is smart, smarter than most of those his age. At the age of four, he was already seen reading books of different genres which include but are not limited to history, culture, geography, and Pokémon.

However, that child never once asks me for anything other than the occasional question about my job and other things that gets his curiosity. My business partners often brag about buying their child new stuff by their request but what am I to get when he never requested anything? So I just get the same stuff but even though he thanks me for it, I clearly see that he has no use for it like the untouched toys we get him unlike the books in our library that he ate up like a Snorlax in an orchard.

That all changed after his birthday party, we were on the way to our room when Albert stood right in front of us crying. At first, I was worried because he may be hurt or something which he was indeed but not physically as I expected.

He came to us with a heavy heart. Let out his inner thoughts and that's where I and my wife were made to realize, we were rarely with him anymore. I was too focused on my work that I fail to notice my son's cry for attention, Even Drasna who already gained the prestigious rank of Duchess is vying for the spot on the Elite 4 was in order for him to have something to be proud about his mother in the future but, in the end, what he only wanted is our presence.

That's where I made the stupid decision to offer him anything he ask for at that moment and low and behold he wanted a Pokémon as a companion. I have nothing against Pokémon as I also grew up loving them but what I don't like is for him to take the path of a Pokémon trainer or being endangered by them. As the last heir to the Ryuma clan, I wanted him to be safe and be an entrepreneur like me.

Receiving a Pokémon may give him ideas on being a trainer in the future so in the very beginning I talked to Drasna about it but unlike me my wife wants him to be a trainer stating that her son isn't an idiot that would get himself killed which I agree with but the dangers still exist. With that, I was forced into agreeing that we will allow him to choose how to live his life and won't influence him unless he himself wants our opinion if he is to be a trainer or not.

( What am I to do in this situation )

Then my wife eagerly accepted Alberts's request, which I also accepted not wanting to let down the first thing my son ever requested from me.

After Albert left running to his room happy as can be, I started to talk to Drasna about what we should do.

"I think we should give him a dragon"

"No, I will allow him to have a Pokémon as promised but I'm not allowing him to get a dragon this early"

"Well aside from what to give him you do know you can't stop him from being a trainer, that kid loves Pokémon so much he is already reading training manuals for Pokémon in our archives and outdoor survival guides at the age of 4 so put two and two together you already know what he wants but you just can't accept it."

"I won't say that your wrong but can you blame me? I just want him to be safe"

"but it's not about what you want, is it? it's his"

"Tchh"

"Let's do it this way ill allow him no ... I will support him in his goal of being a trainer, as long as he accepts the Pokémon we give him without giving up on it after the first week but there's another condition"

"He can be a trainer if he wants to whether you give him your support or not because unlike you I will support him either way, the Dragon clan of Sinnoh ain't so poor you know"

"But ill take the bait having an extra source of income from his father won't be so bad for his journey, now what's the catch to something so obvious that Albert won't do?"

"I will choose and give Albert the Pokémon, he also must not know about this deal"

"Call it a woman's intuition or common sense but everything you said is just plain fishy, but sure I have confidence that Albert will take care of any Pokémon you give him however I'll add another condition"

"what?"

"It must be in its first stage, no poison or ghost types and it must be tame"

"Sure, but remember If he does not take it or give up on it after a week it's my win"

After my deal with my wife, I immediately called for Joseph to go to my office as I know that if something needs to be done I could always count on the butler who has traveled the world and gained a very large information network through his friends in different regions.

"You called for me Master Alden?"

"Ahh, yes. No need to do any housework tomorrow Joseph, I have a task for you"

"And what may that be Sir"

"Inform all your contacts from every region that a contest for 1 million Pokedollar to whoever could find and get me a Pokémon that fits the criteria of being the ugliest, dumbness, and overall worthless in the world also make sure it's at its first stage, not a ghost or poison type and must be tame"

"?"

"I'm not joking, I will send you the money tomorrow"

"then ill get it done immediately, Sir"

"Ohh yeah another thing, make sure it gets done within 2 months time and also to be sure, find the worst specimen of its kind"

"Leave it to me Sir"

.... 1 and a half months later ....

It's only a week away till I'm supposed to present Albert his new Pokémon, luckily Joseph already got the main candidate ready and is on his way back to show me what he got and explain the process of how he obtained the specimen. Joseph really did his best to accomplish the mission I gave him perfectly without even asking for the reason for the search.

From what I understood, Joseph first informed all his contacts about the contest and asked all his contact that wanted to participate in the search to send a picture of their candidate within a months time then a poll was conducted with the help of 100 random people who were paid 100 Pokedollar each to choose a winner and it was a landslide of a victory for the number 1 spot with 99 out 100 people choosing it and the other one having trauma experienced in the past to another Pokémon that is included in the list of candidates.

"Good afternoon master Alden I have the Pokémon you requested"

"Well done! Hurry and show it to me"

"Yes, sir"

"Come out Feebas"

'Feebassss'

After Joseph called out the Pokémon, I was faced with a creature so ugly that it can be considered offensive to the eyes. It was a purple flopping fish with irregular spots covering its body and random rips and cuts along its fin which is currently looking like it's in dire need of water

"Alfred, What is that fish?"

"Its a Feebas sir"

'Feeeeeeeeeb...aaaaas'

'slowly suffocating'

"Feebas return"

"It is ugly but I thought I told you no poison types?"

"It's not a poison type, but a pure water type, Sir. Feebas are usually brown in color but when I mentioned the last requirement you asked for to one of my contacts in Hoenn, he immediately looked for and captured this purple one which he said to be the only Feebas he has seen in his life that is not brown in color. He even called it a once in a lifetime freak in its species because he observed that even members of its shoal shun it away due to its appearance"

"Here is a picture of a regular Feebas, Sir"

"It really is ugly but after seeing the purple one it does not look that bad just ..... Shabby looking"

"It well earned its moniker as the ugly Magikarp in Hoenn, Sir"

"Hmm, it does resemble a Magikarp in shape. Don't tell me it evolves into something like a Gyarados?!!"

"that .... I'm not too sure about sir"

"It's a simple yes or no answer, what's this about not so sure"

"Sir, from my research Feebas is considered so ugly very few trainers even take the time to look at it much less have the thought of training it. Even Pokémon researchers who are well known to be in pursuit of any and all knowledge about Pokémon ignored its existence"

"So to say it does not have an evolution?"

"Not one I know of Sir"

"Last question is it truly dumb?"

"A very Dumb Pokémon sir. I was told that Feebas can easily be captured using any old rod but the purple one was just picked up by the fisherman because he said it looked dazed like a slowpoke, took 10 seconds for it to realize it's out of the water"

"I have never seen such a perfectly imperfect Pokémon till this day. Ok, I've decided this is Alberts new Pokémon"

"?"

Joseph 'confused'

"Mind me saying Sir, but I don't think a Pokémon such as this is a good match for the young master"

"That's the point Joseph"

"You lost me, Sir"

"It's on a need to know basis so it's understandable"

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Albert POV.

(2 months later after the birthday party)

It's been a harsh 2 months of waiting but it's finally here, It's the day I'm getting my very first Pokémon! It's a bit sad when they told me that I don't have the option to choose and that it's a surprise but it doesn't matter, I'm sure a family with so many available resources could get almost any Pokémon for the right price.

In the past months, I did a lot of studying about which type of food is best suited for which type of Pokémon and Pokémon grooming. Since I don't know what Pokémon I will be given I just studied everything at my disposal in the end which was quite a lot but I was really surprised to learn some random facts that were included in some books like a Magikarp can actually leap over a mountain but loses this quirk after evolving.

"Look who's bright and early, must be very excited for your first Pokémon aye champ"

"I'm really excited, I even slept late last night thinking of which Pokémon I could possibly get"

"Ohh really ... well no need to wait any longer, come follow me to the lake."

After walking a few minutes we reached a beautiful lake with crystal clear water. It was an amazing sight no matter how many times I see it. But I remembered I did not come for the view but to meet a new friend, which I already guessed must be a water type that is aquatic in nature for a need of a body of water to be present.

"So ready to see your new partner?"

"Yes! I was ready 2 months ago"

My anticipation was really booming at the moment, different aquatic Pokémon flashed into my mind.

(Is it a Horsea?, Skrelp?, maybe something exotic like a Spheal)

"Come out and introduce your self"

'Feeeebas'

(Ohh my Arceus, it's a freaking shiny Feebas!!!!!)

"Yeeeessssssss!!!"

I know my family was loaded but to give me a shiny as a starter Pokémon and a Feebas no less which is not even found in this region! Make me wonder how much is spent to get this thing?

" I mean uhum, Hi Feebas I'm Albert and I will be your new trainer"

"...." '10 seconds later'

'Feebaas!?'

(So its a bit slow but patience is a virtue especially with something that's gonna be golden later)

"Yes, I'm gonna be your trainer. So what you say, partner?"

"...." '10 seconds later'

'Feebas! feeb! feebasss!'

After a short pause, Feebas burst into excitement and jump out of the water, and tackled me on land where I quickly caught it and raised it up in the sky to show the world its scaly glory

"I will train you up to be one of the strongest Feebas there ever was and show to the world your great beauty for strength is beauty! It's a promise"

'Feebasss!!!'

(Well as how first introductions usually go in this kind of situation, I'm obliged to give a cringe motivational speech while doing a dramatic and memorable pose so in the future this little guy can have something cool to look back to and have an overall goal in mind.)

Meanwhile, without me noticing my mother arrive after being teleported by Cofo and joined my father on the sidelines in watching the weird spectacle that is happening right in front of them.

After a while, my mother then approached my father and whispered

"Looks like it might be my win"

......