The morning sun peaked over the horizon and the Pidoves were singing as Adriano found himself once again waiting for Edward to show up. The veteran trainer had parked himself outside the Pokemon center, watching the people in the large garden located down the road. A young couple was sitting on a park bench, tossing treats to Duckletts floating merrily on the pond. A trio of kids were running around, waving sticks at each other and reenacting the Pokemon battles they had seen on TV. An old lady was sitting on a stool with a Stoutland at her side, sketching one of the bush sculptures that were dotted around. The scene was nostalgic, reminding Adriano of better times. But really, he asked himself, how often had he really stopped and looked around, lived in the moment, instead of just charging ahead at the next challenge.

From the depths of the park, a dust cloud was rapidly growing closer, tossing up leaves and pushing people out of the way. As the cloud grew near, Adriano was able to make out the cause, a sprinting Edward. With Purrloin easily keeping pace and Oshawott dragging behind, exhausted, the trio came to a screeching halt in front of him.

“Sorry I’m late! I was up super late last night and overslept!”

Adriano hefted himself up and patted Edward on the shoulder.

“It’s fine. Let’s get inside and give your Dad a call.”

Nodding in relief, Edward led the way inside. The Pokemon Center was quiet, with only the two store clerks, the nurse, and one other trainer waiting off to the side. Adriano habitually checked if the second floor was open, but it had been boarded off. A yellow sign stated ‘Closed for Repairs’. Edward glanced around as well, unsure as to where they were going. Getting the kid’s attention, Adriano led him off to one of the booths lining the left side of the room. With a nod to the nurse watching them suspiciously, he closed the door and locked it.

“Alright, you can call Cedric now. Let him know we’ve reached Striaton City.”

Edward gave an affirmative noise and powered on the machine. Appearing as a television with a keypad underneath, the video call device was useful for trainers that needed a reliable connection to contact people. It was considered somewhat old-fashioned, Xtransceivers were rapidly becoming more popular among younger folk. Speaking of which, didn’t Edward already have an Xtransceiver? Adriano cast a surreptitious glance at Edward’s wrist as he fiddled with the keypad. ‘Well, whatever. Cedric probably meant to use the video call device anyhow’.

As Adriano finished his line of thought, Edward had finally managed to figure out how to work it as Cedric’s face appeared on screen. The Pokemon researcher was as smiley as ever, greeting the two of them.

“Edward, Adriano! How have you two been doing?”

Edward replied excitedly, face flushed with excitement.

“It’s been awesome! Me and Adriano have been having so much fun! Get this, there were these two bad guys blocking the way, but we took care of them in an instant! And look at this!”

With a flourish, Edward presented Niki to Cedric, the Purrloin squirming uncomfortably in the kid’s grip.

“Wow! Edward, that’s really great!”

Cedric gave his godson a thumbs-up.

“Have you caught any other Pokemon yet? How is Oshawott getting along with them?”

“Oshawott is doing fine.”

Adriano frowned slightly as Edward lied to Cedric’s face, but held his tongue.

“They’re all getting along and doing fine. It’s just Oshawott and Niki though.”

Cedric hummed thoughtfully before turning his attention to Adriano.

“Glad to see you are doing fine. Thanks for lending Edward a helping hand.”

“No problem Cedric, I’m sure anyone who was passing by would have helped out.”

“I see. Anyways, Edward?”

The kid had been petting Purrloin when he heard his name being called.

“Yes?”

“Has Adriano been treating you well? You two have decided to travel together, right?”

Adriano opened his mouth to answer but Edward beat him to the punch.

“Yep! Adriano’s been teaching me! Turn’s out Audino is suuuuuper strong! I still haven’t been able to beat her!”

Cedric’s face softened slightly as he relaxed. Typing away at something off-screen, Adriano felt a buzz coming from his pocket. As he gave Cedric a questioning look, the professor just gestured with his chin before grabbing Edward’s attention. As the two discussed something about Purrloin’s nutrition needs, Adriano stealthily reached into his bag and checked out the source of the noise.

Pulling it out, his Pokedex calmed down once he had flipped the power switch on. Checking the recent notifications, Adriano subconsciously nodded at the deposit amount. 5,000 for the battle, and another 3,000 for the three nights the duo was technically travelling together. Adriano raised one eyebrow at how exactly Cedric knew the exact day he and Edward had defeated the grunts before deciding that it didn’t matter. Also deciding not to inform Cedric that Edward had spent two of those nights in a hotel, he gave the man on the screen a subtle nod. Noticing the gesture, Cedric winked back before wrapping up his conversation with Edward.

“And that’s why you should never attempt any invasive treatments on your own! Just turn them over to the nurse and she’ll take care of it. Well Edward, it’s been nice talking to you, and I wish you luck on your journey! Give me another call when you have a few more gym badges and I’ll send you something nice!”

“Thanks Uncle Cedric! I’ll get all the gym badge to show you!”

Cedric chuckled.

“I look forward to it! Now then, this paperwork won’t do itself! Have fun you two!”

With a click, the video call went black and Adriano gave a stretch before getting Edward’s attention.

“It’s still early, let’s get some lunch and then go check out the Gym.”

“Sounds great! I hear they have a great restaurant somewhere around here.”

Adriano did his best to suppress his smile before nodding to Edward.

“Yeah, I know which one you’re talking about. It’s actually just next door.”

“Great! Let’s go!”

‘Hmm’. Adriano thought. ‘Maybe this will be the setback to make Edward take things seriously. But either way, his reaction should be pretty good….’ With a sinister laugh, the senior trainer followed the kid out into the light and towards what should prove to be a most interesting lunch.