Adamo Amet
patreon
Chapter no.55 Mother and Son part 2
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 17:50:35 +0000 UTC“So cute!”
Delia squealed in delight, clasping her hands together as Austin introduced her to his Pokémon. Her eyes sparkled with warmth, taking in the unique personalities of each one.
Austin, standing proudly, chuckled. “Well, my team isn’t the biggest, but I’m proud of each and every member…” His voice carried a quiet confidence, a sense of pride that ran deeper than just words. “…of my family.”
His gaze shifted toward his Pokémon, and as if on cue, his most problematic yet proud bird was sitting off to the side—Spearow.
The small, sharp-eyed bird sat on a plush pillow, the cone of shame securely fastened around his neck, a precaution from Nurse Joy to prevent any sudden unprovoked attacks.
If looks could kill, the cone would have burst into flames.
Spearow sat there, shoulders stiff, his feathers slightly ruffled in sheer displeasure. His beady eyes flicked toward Delia, narrowing slightly, as if daring her to say anything about his current predicament.
Delia hesitated.
Austin noticed immediately.
He wasn’t blind to how people reacted to Spearow. They saw aggression. A temperamental fighter. Someone unpredictable, dangerous, something to be cautious of.
But that wasn’t what Austin saw.
He saw a Pokémon that wanted respect, not fear.
Austin walked over, crouching beside Spearow.
“This is Spearow,” he said, his tone steady. “My eyes in the sky. The best flying-type in Kanto.” He smirked. “And soon? The best in the world.”
Spearow’s eyes widened slightly.
Then, his chest puffed out.
Austin reached forward, scratching just behind the bird’s angular beak, right where the feathers were softest.
Spearow froze for a brief second—then slowly, instinctively leaned in.
The tension melted from his small frame, his wings drooping ever so slightly, and for a rare, fleeting moment, he looked utterly relaxed.
“I… I didn’t know Spearows could be this adorable!”
The moment she said it, Spearow’s eyes snapped open.
His entire body tensed.
Then, in an instant, he jerked away from Austin’s hand, straightened his back, and turned his head away in the most dramatic, ‘I’m too cool for this’ motion possible.
A perfect, badass pose.
Unfortunately, the effect was completely ruined by the cone.
Austin couldn’t stop himself from grinning, and neither could Delia, who giggled behind her hands.
Spearow side-eyed them sharply.
Delia cleared her throat quickly. “Oh! What I meant was… handsome.”
Spearow gave a satisfied nod.
Austin rolled his eyes and suddenly felt small claws scratching at his pants.
He looked down just in time to see a familiar tiny figure trying to climb up his leg.
Grinning, he bent down and carefully scooped up Rattata, hoisting her up so that her small feet dangled in the air.
“And this little lady,” he said, holding her up with one hand, “is the fastest—“
“Pika!”
“Spear!”
“Horsea!”
A chorus of protests erupted from Pikachu, Spearow, and Horsea all at once.
Austin didn’t acknowledge them.
“—and the most spunky member of the team.”
Rattata let out a triumphant squeak.
Delia cooed. “Oh, she’s precious! How about I make her a little hat? Something cute!”
The moment she said it, the other Pokémon lost their minds.
Pikachu stomped his tiny foot. “Pika!”
Spearow flared his wings aggressively. “Spear!”
Horsea bubbled loudly in protest. “Sseaaa!”
Austin sighed dramatically. “Mom… I think you’re gonna have to make hats for everyone.”
Delia giggled. “Of course, of course!” She booped Rattata’s nose, making the tiny Pokémon’s whiskers wiggle excitedly. “But the first one? That’s for you, my little lady.”
Rattata chattered happily, already envisioning her new look.
Austin set Rattata down and turned toward the small water bowl beside them.
“And now,” he said, carefully lifting up a small wiggling Pokémon, “our newest member. And the future dragon of the team.”
Horsea.
The tiny seahorse let out a cheerful trill, blinking up at Delia with big, innocent eyes.
“How can something this cute turn into a ferocious dragon?”
Austin muttered under his breath, “Tell that to Game Freak.”
Horsea twitched at that—then, without warning, sprayed a small jet of water straight at Delia’s face.
“Ah!” Delia yelped, stumbling back as drops of water dripped from her blouse.
Rattata squeaked indignantly, as if saying, See?! Horsea’s a future dragon!
Austin, meanwhile, was holding back laughter.
Delia sighed, pinching her earlobes. “Alright, alright! I apologize! I don’t know much about Pokémon, but I’m sure you’ll become a beautiful dragon. And when you do? I’ll throw you the biggest party ever!”
Horsea released a few happy bubbles, clearly forgiving her.
“See? She gets me.”
Austin smiled before glancing around.
“…Where’s Vee?”
Pikachu pointed toward the bathroom.
Austin narrowed his eyes. “Vee, come out. I have someone special I want you to meet.”
“…Um.”
Austin frowned. He walked over, pushed the bathroom door open and a roll of toilet paper slowly unraveled onto the floor. There, in the middle of the absolute disaster zone, sat Vee.
Or rather Umbreon completely wrapped in toilet paper. It was everywhere—around his tail, tangled in his ears, draped around his neck like a ridiculous scarf. And, of course, he had a chunk of toilet paper hanging from his mouth, which he was very actively chewing.
Austin sighed deeply.
“And this,” he said, “is Vee.”
Umbreon paused mid-chew.
Austin folded his arms. “The biggest troublemaker on the team.”
Umbreon slowly looked down.
Delia covered her mouth, laughing.
Austin exhaled, stepping forward and carefully untangling the paper.
“But I love him,” he murmured.
Umbreon lifted his head slightly, blinking in surprise before softly nuzzling into Austin’s hand.
Delia watched the entire scene unfold, a gentle warmth settling in her chest.
She didn’t say anything.
She just observed.
The trust. The love. The unspoken understanding.
And in that moment, Delia Ketchum knew she had nothing to worry about.
Her son was growing into a fine young man.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The rest of the day had been a blur of activity. With the tournament gaining more traction, Austin had found himself busier than ever.
Delia had proven to be an absolute powerhouse when it came to selling T-shirts. Her natural charisma and enthusiasm had single-handedly doubled their sales, charming passersby and trainers alike. And, of course, his marketing strategy had worked brilliantly.
A Pikachu in a buff Pikachu T-shirt?
A Rattata sporting a tiny cap with her own face on it?
The kids loved it. The media ate it up.
With the local Cerulean news covering the tournament, the event had begun gaining massive popularity.
At least fifty trainers had signed up, some even bragging about how they had traveled from Vermilion City just for the prize money.
Austin, sitting at a makeshift registration table, was scribbling down trainer Ids onto the official league documentation.
Everything was running smoothly.
BANG.
The sudden slam of a palm against the table jolted Austin from his paperwork.
His eyes flicked up.
Standing there, grinning like he had just won the lottery, was Gary Oak.
“I caught it!”
“…What?”
“A Magikarp,” Gary said, grinning wider.
“…Okay?”
Gary’s eye twitched. “What do you mean, okay?! Don’t you get it? Now I can do my own research on Magikarp!”
Austin sighed, already sensing where this was going.
“So what exactly,” he said slowly, “are you planning to discover, Professor Gary?”
The sarcasm was palpable.
Gary, however, missed it entirely.
“I’m glad you asked!” He crossed his arms, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I’m gonna research how Magikarp can breathe out of water.”
Austin stared at him for a long moment.
Then, without looking up, he casually picked up another entry form and continued writing.
“Already been done.”
Gary blinked. “What?”
Austin didn’t even pause. “That research was conducted by Professor Quincy T. Quackenpoker in 1973. Published in The International Journal of Aquatic Pokémon Studies.”
Gary’s jaw slightly unhinged. “…You’re making that up.”
Austin finally glanced up, giving him a flat look.
“Gary,” he said, “I spent days researching major scientific studies on Magikarp to see if anyone had ever documented a Dragon Rage-capable one. Do you really think I wouldn’t have come across something as basic as respiration studies?”
Gary’s eye twitched.
There was a beat of silence.
“…Well, whatever,” Gary huffed, crossing his arms. “I’ll just do research on something else.”
Austin smirked, returning to his paperwork.
“Uh-huh. You do that, Professor Gary.”
“Okay, sign me up.”
Austin raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
“The tournament, obviously,” Gary said.
“You’re serious?”
Gary scoffed. “Of course I am. I’ve already beaten Brock. This’ll be easy money.”
Before Austin could respond, a loud buzzer echoed through the gym.
Gary immediately went on alert, his hand instinctively reaching for a Poké Ball. “What’s that? Trouble?”
“No. It means someone defeated Misty.”
Gary stiffened. “Wait—what? So… the tournament’s over?”
Austin sighed, setting down his pen. “It means the winner moves on to the second round.”
Gary’s confusion was visible, so Austin leaned back, deciding to spell it out for him.
“See,” Austin began, “the tournament is divided into two sections. The first round is where trainers fight Misty. If they win, they qualify for the second round—the actual tournament.”
“Wait… so fighting Misty wasn’t the tournament?”
Austin smirked. “Nope.”
Gary’s immediate scowl told the boy exactly what he needed to know.
“Oh,” Austin said, “you thought fighting Misty was the whole thing, didn’t you?”
Gary’s huff was all the confirmation needed.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gary muttered. “I’ll just win the whole thing.”
Austin chuckled, sliding a registration form across the table. “Well, good luck with that, Professor Gary.”
As Gary scribbled down his details, Austin went back over his mental checklist.
The main appeal of this tournament was simple: money.
A solid prize pool ensured that high-level trainers from other cities were showing up, thinking they had a shot at easy cash.
But in reality?
This tournament was about more than just money.
Austin had structured the competition so that Round 1 forced every trainer to battle Misty which meant that Misty racked up legitimate wins, boosting her battle record to apply for the gym leader position and Round 2 became a battle royale between the best trainers—where Austin himself could enter.
And if he entered?
He’d win which meant he kept the prize money.
Austin bit back a smirk.
This whole tournament was a money-printing machine, and he wasn’t about to lose a single cent of investment.
And on top of all that Damien was bringing Charmander straight to him.
It was almost too perfect.
Almost.
Because, of course, nothing in life was ever that easy.
“Excuse me.”
Austin looked up to see a furious-looking teenager, around fifteen, stomping toward him.
“Yeah?” Austin said, already bracing himself.
The guy scowled. “My wallet got stolen.”
“…Stolen?”
“Yeah!” The teen ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I was talking to this girl near your T-shirt stand—she was super cute, right? I was gonna buy her a shirt ‘cause she liked one, and then—“ He gestured wildly. “—boom! My wallet’s just gone!”
Austin sighed.
Of course, life couldn’t just let him run his tournament in peace.
No.
There always had to be something.
Because, apparently, in reality, success wasn’t a straight road—it was a twisting, turning mess full of problems.
And right now?
He had a pickpocket to deal with.
Comments
Muhammad Hasnain
That's the thing, he didn't set it up. Misty and her sisters did on paper anyways.
AnonymousJohn
I’m pretty sure entering a tournament that you set up yourself is… very illegal.
Aiden Steinman
The pickpockets probably Green wanting to make some quick money based on her already being in the vicinity of cerulean city.
Aiden Steinman
Love how the stories are continuing, especially with having Austin bonding with Ash's extended family, though I'm a little confused on how he's integrating into it so well when he's in reality a complete stranger.
Epwydadlan
See you have me in a twist. I'm either expecting James Jesse and co. To pop off with something dumb, even though they'd probably make more money just working the event, or a tm to get stolen and the police to lock the whole city down. Not a pickpocket... Though it could lead to the tm being stolen... Great chapter! Can't wait to see Magikarp evolve or Spearow get better.
