Chapter 4: Integrating into the Family
"Mom, Dad, you're back?"
Basalt rolled over in the mud and saw his parents staring blankly at him. His face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
He quickly lifted Drilbur out of the mud pit and explained, "Mom, Dad, don't misunderstand! I'm just… bonding with my Drilbur…"
"Wow, is this your starter Pokémon, Basalt? It's a Drilbur, you can only find those overseas! I've only ever seen one on TV."
Basalt's mom, Mrs. Linda, hurried over to get a closer look at Drilbur, as if she had just discovered a new species.
"Heh, old Martin still has to give me some face."
Basalt's dad, Mr. Cole, had a proud look on his face. The director of the Terrace City Pokémon Institute was a friend he'd grown up with since they were kids. It was a story he could brag about for the rest of his life.
"Chari~"
Drilbur was a bit shy and quickly hid behind Basalt, clutching his pant leg with its little claws, only peeking out with half its head.
Drilbur: ｜д)!!
Who are these people?
Scary!
"Hey, the little guy is quite timid."
Mrs. Linda tried to use her motherly charm to win Drilbur over, but the mole wasn't buying it and refused to come out from its hiding spot.
Looks like I'll have to make a feast tonight, Mrs. Linda thought, a determined fire in her eyes. With my cooking skills, I'll have this little mole singing my praises in no time…
Back inside, Basalt's dad began his daily routine of watering and fertilizing the plants, while Mrs. Linda took ingredients from the fridge and got busy in the kitchen.
As for Basalt, he took Drilbur into the bathroom.
After playing in the mud for so long, both of them were filthy. They had to get clean before dinner, or they wouldn't be allowed at Mrs. Linda's table.
"Alright, you first."
Basalt lifted Drilbur onto the sink counter. The moment he turned on the faucet, Basalt could clearly feel Drilbur's body tense up, its eyes filled with fear.
As a Ground-type, Drilbur was terrified of water.
"Chari~"
Drilbur let out a whimper: o(╥﹏╥)o.
I surrender! Forget dinner… I'm not eating!
I'd rather starve to death and eat sand outside than take a bath with water!
But to Drilbur's surprise, Basalt didn't just stuff it into the sink and scrub it down. Instead, he took a towel, soaked it with water, wrung it out, and then began to gently wipe its body.
"Drilbur, this should be okay for you, right? Just bear with it for a bit."
Basalt had a gentle smile on his face, like the summer sun, which made Drilbur's heart feel warm.
Although there wasn't much water in the towel, it still made Drilbur feel uncomfortable. But the little guy tensed up and endured it, allowing Basalt to wipe its face, claws, body, and its little pink nose completely clean.
After cleaning Drilbur, Basalt wrapped it in a clean, soft bath towel, like a baby with only its head sticking out, and placed it on his bed.
"You rest here for a bit. We'll go eat after I take a shower."
With that, the equally filthy Basalt stepped back into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
"Chari~"
Drilbur: o(≧▽≦)o.
Wrapped in the towel, Drilbur felt warm and very comfortable. Thinking back on Basalt's gentle actions, it began to ponder: Since my trainer is so good to me, shouldn't I train hard and grow up quickly to make him proud?
Maybe tonight, after my trainer falls asleep… I'll go to the back hill and practice, so I can master the move 'Dig' as soon as possible!
…
By the time Basalt had showered, dried his hair, and brought Drilbur downstairs for dinner, the table was already set with five dishes and a soup. There was fish and meat, a well-balanced meal.
"You're lucky you're with me, kid!" Basalt said, rubbing Drilbur's small head.
To be honest, his mom's cooking was second to none.
"Chari~" (﹃)
Drilbur was practically drooling. It had never smelled anything so delicious since the day it was born. In the past, it had only eaten dirt and Pokéblocks. While Pokéblocks tasted fine, they were nothing compared to human food.
However, to become a powerful Pokémon, Pokéblocks were essential, as regular food could hardly provide enough energy to sustain growth and training. Since Drilbur hadn't started training yet, eating regular food wasn't a big problem.
At the dinner table, besides Basalt's parents, there was also a blue, tadpole-like Pokémon. Its body was a sphere with a white belly that had a black spiral pattern on it.
It was the Water-type Pokémon—Poliwag.
Poliwag was his mother's Pokémon, responsible for watering their orchard.
His father also had a Pidgeotto, which handled pest control during the day and used its "Keen Eye" to guard the orchard at night, so it wasn't present for dinner.
In this world, Pokémon were already integrated into every walk of life. It wasn't strange for every adult to be able to get and raise a Pokémon. The construction industry had Machoke, the medical field had Chansey, the police force had Growlithe, firefighters had Squirtle, and the power industry had Magnemite…
However, Basalt's parents weren't professional trainers, so even though they had raised their Pokémon for many years, they weren't particularly strong. Poliwag still hadn't evolved.
"Poli~" (^-^)
"Chari~" (o^ω^o)
Poliwag took the initiative to say hello, and Drilbur responded in a friendly manner. The two little ones were now acquainted.
"Here, Drilbur, try some of my braised pork!"
Mrs. Linda enthusiastically placed a piece of meat in Drilbur's bowl. After eating it, its eyes instantly turned into little stars (☆ω☆), and its affection for Basalt's mom went UP! UP!
Just like that, Mrs. Linda gave Drilbur more food than she gave Basalt, making him wonder for a moment who the real son was.
By the time the meal was over, Drilbur had been completely won over by his mom. It was even curled up in her lap, acting cute… It had no shame!
The little foodie declared, "I don't need my pride. As long as there's good food!" o(^▽^)o
And so, Drilbur smoothly integrated into the big family, beginning its new, happy life.
…
Around 10 PM, Drilbur was already fast asleep, wrapped in its towel, but Basalt was still scrolling through his phone.
I am the champion of staying up late!
Sleep is for the weak! Never going to happen!
Ping!
A new message popped up in his Senior Year (Class 1) group chat.
Leo (Class President): "Summer vacation is almost over. Has everyone gotten their starter Pokémon yet?"
Chloe: "I got mine! The goddess has arrived, all you ugly creatures make way!"
A photo was then uploaded. It showed a small, pink, star-shaped Pokémon with little red circles on its cheeks.
Lily: "Wow, it's a Cleffa! It's so, so cute!"
Anna: "What an adorable Cleffa, I want one too! But my Pokémon is super cute as well…"
After saying that, Anna also uploaded a photo, this one of a small Pichu sleeping with a little scarf on.
As more messages pinged, more and more people were drawn into the conversation. The girls all started posting cute pictures of their starters: Vulpix, Eevee, Igglybuff, Azurill—you name it. The theme was clear: the cuter, the better.
Basalt snorted at this. He felt that none of these girls' starters… could actually fight. They probably couldn't even handle a single Scratch from Drilbur before running back to their mommies in tears.
With Pokémon, being able to battle is what matters, okay? (▼へ▼メ)
With the girls showing off, the boys couldn't be left behind and started announcing their starters as well. The boys' tastes were more varied: Nidoran♂, Zubat, Meowth, Mankey, Ekans, and many more.
One of the boys even challenged everyone to a battle tomorrow, and the atmosphere in the group instantly heated up.
After everyone had been chatting for a long time, close to 11 PM, the class president, Leo, spoke again: "Alright, since school starts tomorrow, remember to bring your Pokémon to school so they can meet each other! It's getting late, everyone get some sleep!"
With that, Leo went offline, and his profile picture turned gray.
"School starts tomorrow?"
Basalt was dumbfounded. But after thinking back, he vaguely remembered that this was indeed the case. Although his memories had merged, his old habits hadn't changed. He had completely forgotten that he was now a high school senior.
"Guess I should get to sleep then!"
Basalt quickly turned off the lights. In the darkness, he… scrolled on his phone for another hour before finally going to sleep, satisfied.
"Chari~"
Not long after Basalt fell asleep, Drilbur's eyes snapped open…