The ground floor of the farmhouse centered on a well-lit living room with a red-brick fireplace along one wall, a walnut coffee table, and three low sofas upholstered in light brown fabric. A doorway on the left led through to the dining room and kitchen. The right side opened into a storage room.
Upstairs were two bedrooms on either side of the landing -- a master bedroom and a guest room. The master bedroom was slightly smaller than expected, and the space it gave up had gone to a modest study. The top floor hadn't been partitioned at all -- it was one open attic, stacked with boxes of various sizes.
While Poco walked Carl through the rooms, he also ran a quick check on the water and electricity. Carl followed along and quietly committed each step to memory.
"Alright then, young Carl, take some time to get a feel for the place." Poco headed toward the front door, then stopped mid-step. "If I'm remembering right, Byrd had a nephew -- Futuro, I think his name was. He used to live in that lighthouse up on Poco Path. Didn't see him at Byrd's funeral last year, so I suppose he's moved on somewhere."
"Futuro?" Carl went still for a second. That's Arven's father's name. Which means by blood... I'm Arven's cousin?
Poco caught the look on Carl's face, cleared his throat quietly, and shifted gears. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it, young Carl. If anything comes up, don't hesitate to come find me in town. My door's open."
"Of course, Mayor Poco. Drive safe." Carl came back to himself and raised a hand to wave him off. Flutter Mane waved one of her side-fins in Poco's direction too: "Fu~ (Goodbye, kind old man~)"
Carl watched the truck disappear down the road, then turned and threw all five of the remaining Poké Balls at once. Five Pokémon materialized in the clearing in front of him.
From left to right: Corviknight, self-declared Chief Flight Officer. Charizard, Head Bottomless Pit and Deputy Flight Officer. Serperior, Chief Camp Architect and Pastry Chef. Gholdengo -- Carl's shiny, Chief Advisor and personal budget sinkhole. And last, Urshifu, Head Chef.
"Garrr? (Are we taking off again?)" Corviknight snapped his wings open the moment he was out of his ball, kicking up a little cloud of dust.
Charizard flicked his tail and smacked Corviknight with it, then looked over at Carl. "Garrr? (When's dinner?)"
"Goka." (What an ordinary place.) Serperior ignored the two oversized idiots bickering next to her and surveyed the farm with quiet judgment.
Gholdengo glanced over at Serperior, whose vine was already curling around Carl's ankle. "Cha. (For now.)"
Urshifu stood with arms folded, eyes moving steadily around the property. "Oowoo~ (So we're finally here.)"
"Everyone -- this is home for the foreseeable future." Carl clapped his hands together, pulling their attention. "The farm's pretty bare right now, but I know with all of you here, that's not going to stay true for long."
All six Pokémon called out at once, and Carl got to work handing out assignments.
"Corviknight, Charizard -- I need you two to scout the area around the farm and take note of what Pokémon populations are living nearby. Head out in opposite directions and report back to Gholdengo in half an hour."
The two exchanged a glance, dipped their heads, and launched off the ground, banking away in opposite directions.
Carl turned to Serperior. "Could you go with Gholdengo and do a full sweep of the farm? I need as complete a map as you can put together."
"Goka~" (Since you're asking so nicely, I suppose I can manage it~) Serperior reluctantly unwound her vine from Carl's leg and turned to leave.
Gholdengo gave a single measured nod, then floated up and drifted after her.
That left just one. Carl looked at Urshifu. Urshifu looked back at Carl. They both smiled at the same time.
"Let's get lunch going for everyone."
"Oowoo!" (On it!)
Carl watched Urshifu pull cookware from the pack with practiced efficiency, and something in his chest loosened a little. "Hard to believe how much time has gone by."
The bond between Carl and Urshifu was, to put it in the most Pokémon-world way possible, fate.
According to Professor Rowan, Carl's mother had found an old family chest in their home right around the time she'd first become pregnant with Carl. Inside were two martial arts scrolls and a dusty Pokémon Egg. Even though Professor Rowan assessed the egg to be long dead, Carl's mother kept it close and cared for it with the patience of someone who simply refused to give up on it.
The egg showed no signs of hatching, even after Carl was born. But from the moment he came into the world, Carl was drawn to it in a way no one could explain -- he carried it with him constantly, wherever he went.
Then, one ordinary afternoon, a miracle happened. A small, gray-furred humanoid creature broke out of the shell. That was the beginning of Carl and Urshifu's story.
Carl watched Urshifu work now, fully absorbed in the task, and found himself smiling without meaning to. He pulled himself together and joined in, getting his hands busy alongside him. What Carl didn't notice was that at some point, the corner of Urshifu's mouth had quietly curled upward too.
Maybe this kind of life was going to be just fine.
Mesagoza. Naranja Academy. Director's Office.
"Director, here is this year's incoming student roster and their full profiles." A middle-aged man with wire-frame glasses, salt-and-pepper hair, and a neat little mustache stood across from the desk and set a folder down with care.
"Thank you, Director Clavell. Please, have a seat." Geeta took a sip of her strong, bitter espresso and then lifted the folder and began reading.
Naranja Academy was one of the oldest educational institutions in the world, and Paldea's foremost training ground for talent. As someone who had devoted her life to the League, Geeta held it in especially high regard. She had come straight here after clearing the backlog of League business, to review the incoming class herself.
"Everything looks good. Go ahead and send out the acceptance letters based on this list." She set the folder aside. "One more thing, Director Clavell -- are there any students from last year's intake you'd consider particularly promising?"
Clavell answered without hesitation. "Do you remember a student named Nemona?"
"The daughter of the Rotom Phone company's CEO?" Geeta thought for a moment. "I recall she moved to Paldea for health reasons. She enrolled in the battling studies track afterward, correct?"
"That's right. According to her battling teacher, this student has a genuinely extraordinary gift for Pokémon battles. He doesn't think it'll be long before he has nothing left to teach her."
"Oh?" A light came on behind Geeta's eyes. "That remarkable?"