pairing: BaekChenLay
length: 3654 words
Part Two: A New Adventure Begins

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“We’re here!”

Lay yawns loudly as he stretches his arms out and feels his back crack loudly after sitting crouched in the back of a moving van for several hours. As he reorients himself, the back of the truck opens and floods the inside with bright sunlight. He rubs his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness, while several hulking Machoke enter the van to begin hauling out the packed furniture. The teenage boy hastily jumps out after a lamp swerves dangerously close to the top of his head and stretches his body once more as he takes in a deep breath of fresh air and gazes at his surroundings.

Littleroot Town, as its name suggests, seems to be a tight knit community encompassed in a forest. There are lush trees as far as the eye can see and the leaves sway gently in the cool breeze that swirls around. There are only a handful of houses built with one larger building down south that catches Lay’s eye. He’s tempted to see what it is first, but then a familiar voice calls out his name and he turns around to see his mother waving excitedly at him.

“Coming, Mom!”

“How was the ride, sweetheart? Not too bumpy, I hope?” his mother asks as she ushers him inside, deftly sidestepping around the busy Machoke who are organizing the furniture around the once-empty house.

“Nope, I was able to nap the entire time,” Lay answers, following her upstairs to his new bedroom. “How long will it take for the Machoke to move in my things?”

“Hopefully not long,” his mother says as she pulls back the sky blue curtains above his bed, allowing rays of sunlight to fill the room. “Why don’t you go out and explore the rest of the town while they finish moving things in? Go and get some Vitamin D while it’s still light out! You were cooped up in the dark for so long,” she points out as they walk back down the stairs.

“You sure you won’t need my help?”

His mother shakes her head and smiles serenely before gesturing to the open door. “Go have fun, sweetie! Just make sure you’re back in time for dinner, okay?”

“Okay!” With that, Lay slips on a pair of running shoes and jogs out of the house. The Machoke are still busy moving furniture from the van to the house, so Lay decides to head south first and see what the large building is.

During his walk, he notices how peaceful the town is and revels in the calm after a tiring journey across regions. Although Lay had been less than enthusiastic about moving in the first place, he’s had time to let everything fully sink in and settle. And after seeing Littleroot Town with his own eyes and breathing in its fresh crisp air, he thinks it wouldn’t be so bad to call this small town home. At the very least, he knows his mother will appreciate how quiet and safe it is, even if he has bigger dreams that lie beyond the trees.

And when he steps up to the front door of the large building, Lay feels his heartbeat quicken. His thoughts are confirmed once he reads the signpost by the door.

Professor Jung’s Laboratory

Even though he knows there’s no way his mother will agree to him getting a starter Pokémon today of all days, Lay can’t resist the magnetic pull of the Pokémon Professor’s laboratory and his hand is automatically drawn to the door handle. Before he knows it, Lay is inside the spacious building and suddenly finds himself face-to-face with two other boys who are aggressively arguing with each other.

“I get to choose first!”

“No way! I got here first, so I get to choose first!”

“There’s no way you woke up early enough to get here before I did!”

“Are you kidding?! You’re the lazy Slakoth who always sleeps in!”

“Then why was no one here when I got here, huh?!”

“Because you’re blind as a Zubat, Baekhyun! I was here first and you know it!”

“But I’m older than you, Chen! Therefore, I get dibs on picking!”

“Um…hello?” Lay tentatively greets the other two and shyly waves at them. “Is Professor Jung here?”

The two boys immediately stop arguing and turn to face the newcomer, surprise painting their youthful faces. Barely a second passes before they rush over to get a closer look at Lay.

“Who are you?”

“What’s your name?”

“That’s the same question, dork!” The boy with high cheekbones whacks the other boy’s shoulder before grinning and saying, “Don’t mind him. Baekhyun never uses his brain in social situations. Any situations, really.”

“Excuse me?! I wasn’t the one who couldn’t find my way out of Oldale Town when the entrance to Route 102 was literally right there, clear as day!”

“Shut up, the trees were overgrown back then!” the boy, presumably named Chen, defensively proclaims.

“Pft, who’s the blind one now?” Baekhyun mutters under his breath before curiously looking back at Lay. “Anyway, you know who we are. I’m Baekhyun and he’s Chen,” he says, sharply poking the other boy’s arm and blatantly ignoring his loud hiss of pain. “What about you? We’ve never seen you in Littleroot Town before and we know everyone.”

“I’m Lay. I just moved to the Hoenn region today with my mom.”

“Cool! Then are you here to get your starter Pokémon too?” Baekhyun asks, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“Is that what you guys are here for?” Lay immediately perks up and sweeps his gaze over the two shorter boys to see if he can spot the precious three Poké Balls that every child dreams of until they turn of age. “Are you Pokémon Trainers?”

“We will be, once Professor Jung lets us choose our starters,” Chen smugly answers. “And I am gonna be choosing first, because I was here early, unlike this Slowpoke here.”

“I already told you, I was here first so I get to choose first!” Baekhyun screeches again.

Before the two boys can start arguing again, Lay quickly asks, “Where’s Professor Jung then? Wouldn’t he know who got here first?”

Baekhyun and Chen both go silent as they try to recall the Pokémon Professor’s whereabouts. Seconds tick by with no answer from either boy.

“…Baek, was Professor Jung here when you got here?”

“…I dunno, was he here when you got here?”

“We have to go find him again, don’t we…”

“Yeah, I think so…”

“Uh, is everything okay?” Lay asks in confusion as the two boys make their way to the door and push it open.

“Professor Jung is…a bit of an airhead, to put it politely,” Chen says with a lopsided smile. “Whenever he’s out doing field research, he forgets about everything else.”

“Including the most important day of our lives!” Baekhyun exclaims, waving his hands wildly in the air. “We’ve only been waiting for this moment for our entire lives! If we don’t find him, we’ll have to wait another day! That’s twenty-four whole hours! I don’t think I can handle another second without my very own starter Pokémon!” He then dramatically flops to the floor like a deflated balloon.

“C’mon, doofus, the longer you lay here, the less time we have to find Professor Jung before we have to go home,” Chen says, nudging his friend with his foot. As Baekhyun pushes himself up off the ground, Chen looks back at Lay and jerks his thumb behind him. “You wanna come with us? We can ask Professor Jung if you can get the third Pokémon.”

“Yes! I mean, if it’s okay…” Lay shyly looks at them again, hyperaware that he’s just a stranger to these two boys.

“The more people searching for Professor Jung, the better! C’mon!” Baekhyun grabs his left hand while Chen grabs his right and the trio takes off, making a beeline towards Route 101.

Lay barely has any time to take in his new surroundings when he suddenly hears a shrill shriek from the distance.

“Help! Somebody, please help me!”

“It’s Professor Jung!” Baekhyun points at a man wearing a white lab coat over a blue shirt and khaki shorts who is trying to flee from a wild Poochyena that is ferociously snapping his jaws at the Pokémon Professor.

“Professor Jung, run towards us so we can distract it and you can get away!” Chen shouts.

“But I can’t put you kids in danger either!” the Pokémon Professor shouts back. “Grab my bag! It’ll help!”

Lay spots a brown messenger bag on the ground near the tall grass and instantly dives for it before any other wild Pokémon can suddenly spring up to snatch it away instead. He plunges a hand inside and grabs a round object that causes his heart rate to nearly hammer out of his chest.

But there is no time to savor this moment.

Before he can fully comprehend what he’s doing, Lay tosses the Poké Ball into the air and yells, “I choose you!”

With a flash of red light, out pops a Mudkip who lets out a high-pitched squeak and tilts his head to curiously observe his new surroundings. Poochyena instinctively pauses and loudly sniffs the air before turning his head towards the new Pokémon, letting out a low growl.

Before the opposing Pokémon can launch the first attack, Lay shouts, “Mudkip, use Water Gun!”

And the Water-type starter Pokémon immediately blasts a stream of water from his mouth at Poochyena, who yelps as he staggers back from the unexpected force. He quickly shakes the water from his dark fur before snarling and charging at Mudkip to Tackle him to the ground. Mudkip squeals as he painfully skids across the ground and Lay clenches his fists as he glares at Poochyena, who lets out a triumphant bark.

“Mudkip, are you okay?”

The Water-type starter Pokémon pushes himself up off the ground and lets out a chirp as he faces Poochyena once again, stance firm and strong now that he knows what the opposing Pokémon is capable of.

“Alright, let’s hit him with another Water Gun! Go, Mudkip!”

Mudkip firmly plants his feet on the ground before rearing his head back and releasing an even stronger stream of water from his mouth, directly aimed at Poochyena’s gray chest. The extreme force knocks the Dark-type Pokémon off of its feet and it stays down this time, having completely fainted from losing its last few Hit Points.

“Oh, thank Arceus, you saved me!” Professor Jung gushes as he hightails out of the tall grass to the safer side of Route 101 where the three boys are standing.

“No worries, happy to help,” Lay bashfully says as the adrenaline from the earlier battle slowly dissipates from his body. Part of him can’t believe what just transpired, even though he’s still tightly clutching an empty Poké Ball in his right hand.

“Whoa…”

Both Baekhyun and Chen’s eyes sparkle with amazement as they stare up at Lay, whose blush deepens as he looks down at the grassy ground.

“That was awesome!” Chen shrieks.

“You never told us you were a Pokémon Trainer!” Baekhyun exclaims.

“I’m not…” Lay admits, still staring at the ground.

“Well, if you aren’t already, then you should be now!” Professor Jung cheerfully says, gesturing to Mudkip who smiles up at Lay and lets out another squeak. His head fin and orange gills wiggle as he totters over to the teenage boy before plopping his small body directly in front of him. “Mudkip seems to really like you and your teamwork earlier was impeccable, so I have no doubt you two will be able to form a long-lasting partnership. He’s yours, if you’ll accept him.”

“Wait, really? You’re giving Mudkip…to me?” Lay’s eyes drastically widen as he gapes at the Pokémon Professor.

“Think of it as Mudkip choosing you, just like you chose him earlier,” Professor Jung says with a wink as he points at the empty Poké Ball in the teenage boy’s hand.

“Oh, wow… Thank you, Professor! Thank you so much!” Lay crouches down and opens his arms wide to give Mudkip a warm hug. The Water-type starter Pokémon nuzzles his cheek and yawns before falling asleep in Lay’s embrace, utterly worn out from his first official battle against a wild Pokémon. “And thank you for being a winner out there,” he tenderly whispers to the young Pokémon.

“No fair! What about us, Professor?!” Baekhyun whines as he and Chen begin to crowd around Professor Jung. “You promised we’d get our first Pokémon today!”

“Yeah, and you said whoever arrived at your lab first got dibs on picking!” Chen reminds him with a pout. “Is there another Mudkip, so we can actually have three choices to pick from?”

“I’m afraid not, Chen,” Professor Jung apologetically replies. “The other Mudkip that hatched with this one are in a preserve. Since starter Pokémon are quite rare, we don’t give away more than one each a year to maintain their populations.”

Both boys suddenly turn to each other, sparks crackling in the air as they stare the other down, now armed with the new realization that one of them won’t even get to have a choice.

Sensing the chaos that’s about to erupt, Lay quickly hugs Mudkip even closer to his chest, trying to cover him as much as he can.

“I’m choosing first—” Baekhyun and Chen simultaneously shout.

“Correction, neither of you are choosing,” Professor Jung firmly states as he holds out the remaining two Poké Balls in front of him. “Just like how Mudkip over here chose—I’m so sorry, I don’t think I ever caught your name.”

“Lay,” the teenage boy helpfully supplies.

“Ah, nice to meet you, Lay,” Professor Jung says with a wide grin. “Anyway, just like how Mudkip chose Lay, we’re going to let Torchic and Treecko choose who they’d like to travel with.”

“But Mudkip didn’t choose Lay!” Baekhyun petulantly points out. “Lay picked his Poké Ball first!”

“Even though Lay did choose his Poké Ball, Mudkip didn’t have to accept him after the battle,” Professor Jung explains. “Mudkip decided on his own that Lay was worthy to be his Trainer and we’re going to allow the other two the same choice.” The Pokémon Professor’s voice grows stern as he continues, “Trainers need to be mature and conscientious of their Pokémon’s feelings. If you boys can’t handle that, then maybe you aren’t ready to be Trainers yet.”

“No, no, I’m ready!” Chen immediately proclaims, thumping his hand on his chest.

“Me too! Please, Professor, we really wanna meet them!” Baekhyun adds, pressing his hands together in a desperate plea.

“Alright, then stand back a bit so we don’t overwhelm these two after I call them out.” Once there is enough space in front of him, Professor Jung tosses the two Poké Balls into the air and two jets of bright red light hit the ground.

Moments later, a feathery Torchic and a lithe Treecko languidly blink up at the rest of them, both Pokémon clearly still in a daze. Torchic wobbles on his claws, swaying as he takes a few steps, before planting beak-first into the ground. However, Treecko’s tail happens to be resting where Torchic’s beak lands and the Grass-type starter Pokémon lets out a shrill yelp before rounding on the Fire-type starter Pokémon. And in seconds, a fight erupts between the two, forcing Professor Jung to recall them before either one gets hurt or even faints.

“These two…don’t quite get along with each other,” Professor Jung sheepishly explains. “But to keep things fair, we’ll have them both out at the same time. I’ll explain what they need to do as soon as they’re called out, so you boys just hang back a bit, okay?”

Lay mildly thinks to himself that Torchic and Treecko’s bickering reminds him of two other boys, and he has to suppress his laughter as Baekhyun and Chen anxiously nod in response to the Pokémon Professor.

“Okay, let’s try this again!” Within seconds, the two remaining starter Pokémon are called from their Poké Balls. Before they can resume their earlier fight, Professor Jung scoops them up and speaks to them in a low, soothing voice. A wave of calm instantly washes over them and they nod obediently after he finishes speaking. Confident that they won’t misbehave, the Pokémon Professor sets them on the ground and points at the two boys, who are diligently following their instructions as well and staying back, although Lay can see that they’re itching to rush forward.

As Torchic and Treecko begin circling Baekhyun and Chen, carefully analyzing the two boys, Lay sidles up to Professor Jung and whispers, “What happens if they both choose the same Trainer?”

“I already explained to them that they can’t make the same choice. They’re going to have to work together to make sure their choices don’t overlap, which will be a good exercise for them,” Professor Jung whispers back with a soft chuckle.

With that, they both turn their gazes back to the four in front of them, who are currently staring at one another with laser focus. Baekhyun is noticeably fidgeting where he stands while Chen remains unmoving, seemingly relaxed compared to the other boy. But Lay can see how his shoulders are tensed up, how his arms are locked by his side in an effort to keep himself from scooping up both Pokémon and leaving none for Baekhyun.

Meanwhile, Treecko picks up a long blade of grass and sticks the end of it in his mouth as he silently surveys the two boys in front of him, while Torchic waddles in circles around both, occasionally pecking their shoes and letting out high chirps. Every time Torchic comes close, Lay can see the instinctive jolt from either boy to kneel down and pick him up, but they instead show remarkable restraint and remain still as they were told.

And then, Treecko makes his first move and begins padding towards the boys. Torchic notices and immediately starts wildly flapping his wings, showcasing his nervousness over the Grass-type starter Pokémon choosing his Trainer first. Not wanting to waste even another second, Torchic suddenly flies into Baekhyun’s arms, causing the boy to fall on his back from the force, while Treecko deftly jumps up and neatly lands on Chen’s shoulder.

“Well, it seems like it’s settled! You all have your starter Pokémon now!” Professor Jung cheerfully says. “I’d say that went well, considering all things. Don’t you, Lay?”

The teenage boy nods, still carefully cradling Mudkip in his arms.

“I’m sure you boys want to get used to having a Pokémon now, so why don’t you all go home and show your parents your new family members?” Professor Jung suggests as he packs up his messenger bag and slings it across his body. “I think I’m done with field work for today, so I’m heading home myself. But tomorrow morning, I’d like to see you three with your Pokémon, since there are some things I’d like to go over that I wasn’t able to today.”

“Yes sir, we’ll be there bright and early tomorrow morning!” Chen exclaims, giving the Pokémon Professor a sharp salute.

“We just need to bring ourselves and our new pals, right?” Baekhyun asks as he stands up from the ground, dusting his pants with one hand and holding Torchic with the other.

Professor Jung nods as he begins leading the trio out of Route 101 and back to Littleroot Town. “You’ll get everything else you need during our meeting. Anything else, you can get from your families afterwards.” Once they arrive in the small neighborhood within Littleroot Town, Professor Jung gestures towards each of their homes and nods. “See you tomorrow, boys! And thank you again for saving me, Lay! I can tell you have a very bright future ahead of you,” he says, grinning widely.

“Thank you, Professor! See you tomorrow!” Lay answers, gratefully smiling back at him.

“Bye, Professor!”

“See ya soon, Professor!”

Baekhyun and Chen then turn to Lay, proudly carrying their new starter Pokémon just like he is.

“Tomorrow, the three of us should battle each other!” Baekhyun excitedly proposes.

“You’re gonna be the first to lose,” Chen predicts with a smirk while Treecko nods in agreement. The Grass-type starter Pokémon sticks his tongue out at Torchic for added measure.

“As if! Torchic is gonna roast Treecko into pieces with his type advantage!” Baekhyun shoots back while the Fire-type starter Pokémon squawks in agreement.

All of a sudden, Lay hears his mother calling his name and he turns around to find her waving at him.

“Did you make new friends already, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, I did!” he quickly answers, causing the other two to halt their argument at once. “This is Baekhyun and that’s Chen!”

“Well, invite them over for dinner, okay? The Machoke finished moving everything, so we’re ready for guests!”

“Okay!” Lay turns back to the other boys and sends them a lopsided smile. “So, uh, dinner at my place?”

“Yes! Free food!” they shout with glee.

“But you guys have to promise me you won’t fight in front of my mom,” Lay warns as he begins herding them to his new house. “That goes for you two as well,” he adds, staring pointedly at Torchic and Treecko.

“We promise,” Chen hastily agrees before sharply elbowing Baekhyun. “Right?”

“Yeah, we’ll be on our best behavior!”

“Great! Then come on in,” Lay says, sweeping his free arm in front of him as they arrive at the door.

It’s been a chaotic first day in Littleroot Town and he’s still processing everything that’s happened in such a short span of time. But one glance at Mudkip, who is stirring awake as the delicious aroma of dinner wreaths around them, and Lay instantly knows that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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