Anthony gulped at this. He knew it was less likely that he would get rejected; however, knowing that these creatures are intelligent and were given proper dignity by the very code of ethics of the Pokémon world, he couldn't help but still feel tense. However, Zubat doesn't feel anything of the sort; instead, its metaphorical eyes lit up while making a high-pitched happy cry.
Zubat, of course, wanted to be Anthony's Pokémon, after all, as a child and as a Zubat that doesn't have eyes due to its evolutionary decisions a long time ago, the affection and reassurance that Anthony has given it all the time it was injured was the most comforting thing it has received from a stranger.
This decision also came from its parents, as it was one of the lessons they had imparted.
"One day, you will be chosen by a trainer, maybe just as a navigating Pokémon, maybe you will be donated to a laboratory, or maybe you will be released immediately. However, no matter what happens, be sure that you will also choose them."
Zubat remembered such words as it looked at its parents who both nodded immediately in agreement. Zubat smiled before nodding at them, too. It then turned to Anthony, Zubat's friend, and now, its partner.
"Zuu."
Upon hearing the affirmation, Anthony smiled and put his two palms upwards. Zubat knew what Anthony wanted and descended on his palm.
"Welcome to the team, you will be my partner."
Anthony smiled while Zubat cried out, too. Kangaskhan snuggled its head towards Zubat's as the two children again started to play around while their parents and Zubat's trainer looked at such a heartwarming scene with a smile.
_So it was still a child, huh? That means I can still build its foundation quite well before giving it real-life battle experience..._
As Anthony was thinking as such, he suddenly remembered something.
_I don't have a pokeball for Zubat._
Anthony squinted his eyes at this, for even though he can just make Zubat like Ash's Pikachu, Pokemons are called Pocket Monsters for a reason, it's the convenience of how even a Wailord can be put in your literal pockets using such a magical device like a Poké Ball.
"Zubat, I'll go ask my mom for a pokeball for a moment."
Anthony immediately went inside their house while letting Zubat and Baby Kangaskhan play around in a bid to nab some empty Poké Balls in his mother's room; however, just when he was about to enter his foot, his face was met by what seemed like a sturdy wall.
Anthony retracted his face immediately and saw Hana, his mother smiling at him as if already aware of his success, Anthony, as an adult who have spent some time being 'active', feared that his Pokemon might run wild, which would be embarrassing to be felt because of his mother, so he immediately retracted himself away from their hug.
_This is not that kind of fanfiction!_
Anthony shouted in his mind, though Hana seemed to be oblivious of her son's thoughts as he patted Anthony's head and said.
"Good Morning, you seem to be in a hurry, did something good happen?"
Hana flinched at what she had said, as if revealing that she knew all of this would happen, which was immediately caught by Anthony, who had regained his composure. He ignored his mother's shenanigans as he nodded.
"Yes, you see, Zubat, who was previously injured by Baby Kangaskhan, agreed to become my first Pokémon; however, we can't make it official because we don't have Poké Balls."
Of course, even though Hana is a former trainer, her husband is still an active one, so she can't just hug vacant pokeballs around the house, though she's planning on giving Anthony one the day after the Zubat incident happen for him to start catching his first pokemon, Hana decided to buy one just now as she knew that Zubats are relatively easy to tame as long as Anthony gave it genuine care.
"I see, congrats! Also..."
Hana replied and then rummaged through the paper bag she had been cradling all this while, and then pulled out a Poké Ball.
"It just so happens that I accidentally purchased a Poké Ball!"
Anthony looked at her laughing mother and sighed as he felt a weight being added to his head.
"Zuu?"
Zubat looked at Anthony from the top as if noticing that its trainer was talking to someone. Anthony patted the Pokémon in the head using a finger as he replied, as if understanding what Zubat wanted to ask.
"My mom 'accidentally' bought a pokeball, which is perfect timing as you still don't have one."
Hana handed the pokeball to her son as Anthony said such words, and seeing the beaming metaphorical eyes of Zubat, the mother and son duo smiled. Anthony then put Zubat in his vacant hand and then said.
"Here it goes then..."
Zubat jumped excitedly, so excited in fact that it didn't wait for Anthony to do the iconic baseball swing catching sequence, it immediately flew towards the pokeball and bumped its head on it, causing Zubat to turn into a stream of red light and the pokeball to open up, seemingly swallowing the stream.
The pokeball only swayed once before being shut tight.
Partner Pokémon: Zubat has been caught.
Anthony looked at his mother and smiled. This time, he was genuinely happy for catching a Pokémon in the flesh and looked forward to his many more catches in the future. Though, of course, he won't be catching 'em all because no one can do that.
Hana patted her son's head, proud of Anthony for being able to tame his first successful Pokémon. Such a feeling is like when she and Ben, her husband, watched the kid go for his first errand, though soon, his son's eyes flickered.
"Let's show it to Glen."
Of course, he also wanted to brag about his first Pokémon like his friend did.
______________
In a house 3 blocks away from Anthony's house, two pokemons are playing around in a small inflatable pool. One is a green gecko-like Pokémon with its iconic leaf tail, and one is an eyeless blue Pokémon with two long tails.
"Treecko! Tre!"
"Zuu! Zuu!"
Zubat and Treecko circled each other while using their hands and wings, respectively, to splash each other with water.
"Aww..."
Glen, with Anthony beside him, smiled, adoring the cuteness of the two pokemons. The two friends are currently alone in Glen's house's backyard while their moms are both preparing lunch, and of course, Anthony immediately introduced Zubat to his friend.
"That's my partner Pokémon, Zubat. It's a Pokémon that was severely injured by our baby Kangaskhan and needed immediate medical attention. Me and my mom nursed it back to health, and luckily for me, when I asked it to be my Pokémon, Zubat agreed."
Glen, who was beaming at the sight of the two baby Pokemons that both will surely become strong once they evolve, nodded at this. Glen doesn't care if a Pokémon has a strong lineage, though it is cool to see rare ones, Glen will goad at it as long as it's a Pokémon. This will surely make Glen have a hard time when he becomes a trainer, as he would be Ash-like and wouldn't even choose a Pokémon with a good growth foundation.
As Glen replied, Anthony remembered that Ash took such a captivating strategy to the Masters 8 tournament, so it's not like it's a particularly large problem.
"I see... it's a good thing your mother is a retired trainer and associate field researcher and gave you first person knowledge about Pokemons as well as a lot of books about them, that means you can properly give it supplements and the best training method, as for my dad, he's a Breeder II who only have little application knowledge, says that I have to use a Pokémon's description to train it properly."
Anthony looked at his friend upon hearing this.
"Well, that's how it works, you know, Zubat is notoriously known for their group's Supersonic + Leech Life combo, so I just have to train it to be faster and more agile so that it can use combos like that alone. Of course, that's not all that there's to it, but you just have to follow Treecko's elongated descriptions to properly train it."
Glen nodded at this seriously, though he still found advantage in having a retired trainer in your house. He knew that what his friend had said was true, and soon, he replied.
"If we both train officially and become strong in the future, let's have a Pokémon battle."
Anthony smiled at such a reply, not even thinking about his friend's advice, just like how he remembered Glen.
"Sure."
Just as Anthony and Glen made such a casual promise, the voices of their mothers were heard.
"Boys! Lunch is ready!"
Glen and Anthony looked at each other and then called back their pokemons to their side. Treecko perched itself on the shoulder of Glen while Zubat was using Anthony's head as its resting spot. Well, Swablu and Zubat have the same color (though different shades), so Anthony thought that it's close enough.
"Zuu!"
"Tree!"
Treecko and Zubat greeted their respective mothers of their trainers; the two ladies also greeted the two little ones as they went to the dining table of Glen's house. In the table, the two mothers pressured Anthony to tell how did he caught Zubat, Anthony immediately yielded.
After lunch, the two families started to watch TV shows. Glen and Anthony were soon bored by such shows who doesn't include Pokémon battles or even just Pokémon Contests, so they continued their playtime with their pokemons while Hana and Glen's mother started to talk about Hana's trainer days.
Without the 4 noticing it, the sun had long hung low, and it was time for the two visitors of the Shoebill household to go back to their house.
"Zuu! Zuu!"
While Anthony and Hana were walking, Zubat cried out in joy while looking at Anthony's eyes from its head, using its wings as hands to hold itself in its trainer's forehead. The social Pokémon is happy to have made a new friend. Hana and Anthony looked at the small Pokémon before Hana spoke.
"Zubat is still a child and still has a lot of potential to grow; it's not surprising that it can make a lot of friends and forgive quickly. As long as you train it early well, I'm sure it will become a very strong Pokémon."
Hana looked at her son before continuing.
"If you want, I can give you a training plan while you implement it."
Anthony was shocked to hear this, not remembering his mother having any small Pokemons at all; however, Charizard, being a very good Flying-type Pokémon, made Anthony realize that maybe Charizard was also trained rigorously by his mom. Anthony thought long and hard about his mother's offer; however, in the end, he shook his head and said.
"Thanks, mom, but no, I can and want to do it myself... though you can revise my draft for me."
Anthony was of course enticed by being assisted by one of the most prominent retired trainer of all Kanto (according to her), all of her experience will entail that the moment Zubat exited her training regime, Zubat would have become a very strong pokemon that's cut above its peers and will be even stronger upon evolving into a Golbat and Crobat, however, if Anthony made his mom do all the work for him, it will feel like Zubat was borrowed or gifted to him instead of being his pokemon.
Not to mention, Anthony knew that his mom was the promoter of the tough love implementations like letting him take care of Zubat alone, so he knew that Hana would surely get unsatisfied if he agreed to such a request. Lastly, again, Anthony is confident of his own ability to make Zubat the annoying speedster that it is.
As Anthony replied, Hana and his son reached their home with her having a satisfied smile.
_See, I told you, old man, fostering independence at a young age is the way to go..._
Such were Hana's thoughts before she replied.
"I see, then I'll watch you and Zubat from now on to be the very best that no one ever was. I hope you can be a better Field Researcher and trainer that your father and I will be proud of."
Anthony looked at his mom as she said such words before nodding slowly, and the two then went to walk towards their room.
_That fucking song exists in this world?_