I smiled as I wrapped my arms around Lyra, my childhood love. She chuckled and hugged me back murmuring softly "It has been too long Elli, two years too many."
I groaned as I pulled back with a snark reply "It's been four years Lyre, you've been gone since we were fourteen."
She smiled sheepishly and I looked her up and down "Your sense of style hasn't improved it seems."
She smirked and adjusted the crop top jacket she had on that went well with her sweatpants "Neither has yours, little Pyroar"
I blushed as I gently twirled showing off my customary dress and leather jacket with my boots "So what are you doing here? Did you come all the way from Wyndon for little ole me?"
She chuckled and gently scratched Spyra under her chin, the small dreepy cooning to the dancer before once again laying on my shoulder, I smiled as I interlaced our fingers with her free hand, afraid she'd leave me again and looked over to my mother to find she had vacated the kitchen allowing us to catch up. I leaned into my childhood lover who gently played with my hair and sighed happily as she murmured "I wanted to be here on your eighteenth birthday Elli, so I finished everything as soon as possible and came as fast as I could. Sure it took four years but I am now one of the only people to graduate from the esteemed Wyndon Dance Studio with honors!"
I smiled in shock as I pulled back to see the proud smile on her face "Th-that's great! I'm so proud of you Lyra!"
She smiled and gently pressed her forehead to mine and we smiled together until someone cleared their throat. I looked up to see my mother holding the package that I had dropped in shock when I had seen Lyra with an amused expression on her face as she said "As much as I would love to let the two of you cuddle and make-up in my kitchen. You have a gift here and I need to make dinner. And I need you to pick up some things for dinner."
I nodded and pulled myself away from Lyra albeit reluctantly and walked over to my mother who handed me the box that I set on the counter before opening it. I gasped in shock as I pulled out a dress and jacket combo, the dress was tan with a denim blue jacket. I smiled as I showed it off to my mother and Lyra who smiled and cheered, Lyra had taken out her phone and was videoing me with a large cheeky smile on her face as I gushed over the clothes "It's beautiful, I love it. It matches my style!"
My mother laughed softly and nodded to the box "I believe there's more dear."
I turned after setting the dress and jacket aside to next pull out a set of overalls and gloves. I giggled as I set them aside with the other clothes "A dress and overalls, that's my style." My mother laughed and bumped Lyra with an elbow who simply blushed
I pulled the last thing out of the box and gasped, it was a brand new phone. I glanced at my mother to see her beaming at me "Happy 18th birthday my dear. You're all ready to start your adventure now." She looked at me tears in her eyes and a large smile.
I set the phone down and wrapped my mother in a large hug and simply held her as we hugged. A few minutes later we parted and she wiped her tears away and kissed my cheek "Now, I will get started making your birthday dinner, I just need some things from the pokemart and I need you to drop an egg off at the Miles Family home."
I nodded as she handed me a list and I gathered the clothes and slipped my phone into my pocket then headed towards my room and quickly put them up before turning to see Lyra leaning against my doorframe gazing at my room with a smile as she remarked "Nothing has changed since I was last here huh?" I smiled as I looked around my modest room to rest on the wall of various pokemon and places with a large name scrawled at the top 'PsuedoGen'.
"No, nothing has. Except us." I chuckled gently "I still plan on running this breeding business, and I think you'll like my ideas hm?"
She chuckled as I grabbed my satchel and cast one last glance at my room before I looked at her "Well, tomorrow the adventure begins then? Our franchise begins."
She laughed and wrapped her arms around me in a hug and laid her forehead on mine and murmured "I missed my best friend, you've gotten so ambitious."
I grinned as I gazed into her eyes and replied "Oh come now, you go off to college basically and don't expect me to change when I'm running a business even if it's just a pokemon breeder ranch."
She laughed gently and I pulled away and grabbed her hand leading her back to the den where my mother's partner pokemon was. I smiled and patted Taka's head who crooned at me and gently bumped her nose against Spyra's who had lifted herself off my shoulder and floated to the ground to greet her mother. I smiled as I turned to see the egg that mother wanted me to deliver and picked it up, then attached the container to my satchel. I made sure that it was safely secured even though the container was roughly the same size as my satchel. I laughed gently when I turned around to see Lyra was hugging Taka and rubbing her head as the two dreepy on Taka's head nuzzled Lyra's cheeks.
I walked over with a smile "Alright Taka, we gotta get going. I'll bring you back some treats alright?"
She cooned as she slowly rose and floated towards the kitchen where I heard my mother greet her before I saw her walk out of the kitchen with a smile "All ready? Well, get going before the Noctowl start flying."
I smiled and kissed her cheek before I grabbed Lyra's hand and we hurried to her car, my little dreepy floating along with us with a chirp. I checked the time then glanced over at Lyra while we climbed into her sedan "It's 11 pm now, we should be able to make the Millers before 12 then hit the shops in Motostoke. They may not be as good as Wyndon but they'll be enough for us to gather supplies for the trip. And we should talk about where we're going."
Lyra laughed gently as we started driving, the ranch was on a long dirt road that showed the expanse of most of it. We were one of the biggest ranches in Galar in terms of land but since my dad passed, it was just me and my mom so we didn't take on too many pokemon, we were situated on the Motostoke outskirts so we got decent visitors from those passing by the mines and the city.
I interlaced my hand with Lyra's who gave me a loving smile as we drove and gently stroked Spyra who was curled up on my lap. I laughed gently as she bumped my hand with her head and chirped softly as I remarked "You're getting so big Spyra. Soon I won't be able to hold you."
Lyra chuckled "Haven't you had her since you were ten? Shouldn't she be at least a Drakloak?"
I shook my head as I corrected her "Actually I was nine. And Spyra has no need to evolve. Drakloak and Dragapult evolve when they realize their innate sense of caring for other pokemon, especially young dreepy. Taka didn't evolve from a dreepy until I was born, and they've been partners for years. But once a dreepy evolves into a Drakloak, that feeling explodes causing them to want to grow bigger and stronger to protect their dreepy. So soon after a Drakloak evolves, they experience a rapid growth surge, some faster than others but normally it takes a couple of months. It all depends on the dreepy though. I've heard that the bigger the dreepy, the bigger the dragapult. But Taka was small and she's still at least 8 feet, that's more than enough to ride, although it depends on the pokemon"
Lyra gazed over at me with adoration in her eyes as she smiled then nodded her head to the front "We've made it to Motostoke Ell, you can continue to fill me in on details as we shop huh?"
I blushed as I picked Spyra up and we climbed out of the car "Alright but you still haven't shown me your partner pokemon."
She chuckled and from her coat pulled out an ultra ball "Fine fine, meet Batik"
With a flash and the sound of metal on metal, her pokemon showed itself. A skarmory, the iron bird was just a bit taller at 5'7 compared to my 5'5 height and I giggled as it chirped at Lyra who patted its beak with a proud smile.
I smiled as I gently held my hand out towards the iron bird who looked at me with weary eyes before gently pushing its beak into my hand, I smiled as I scratched under it which made it make a sound akin to a purr but more sharp sounding.
I laughed gently before patted it with a smile then grabbing Lyra's hand and started for the homes. "Let's hurry before the lunch rush so we can shop."
It didn't take us long to find the Millers household mostly due to the little boy that came barreling down the lane as soon as he saw us. I smiled as he exclaimed, "Are you from Grand View Fields?!"
I nodded and he quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me along as he babbled about how the egg was for him and his parents had wanted it to be a secret birthday present for his birthday in a couple of days but he had walked in on the conversation and the surprise had been spoiled but he was still excited.
I laughed gently as I glanced at Lyra who had an amused expression on her face as we hurried to the boy's home. As soon as we had gotten to the house the boy had bolted inside and soon an older gentleman came to the door with the boy close behind as he spoke "Ah, you must be from the ranch, I see you have the egg. Come in come in."
He ushered us in with a friendly smile and I looked around, it was a modest two-story family house, there wasn't much else to say. I carefully unclipped my satchel and set it on the couch then smiled as I saw the boy was watching with large eyes and bouncing in anticipation. I motioned him over "Nicholas, right? Do you have the pokebed?"
He nodded as he dashed off and soon appeared again with a medium-sized pokebed that was stuffed with extra blankets and pillows. I smiled as I pulled the incubator off my satchel and set it on the couch clicking some buttons and doing final checks. I stretched as I pressed the release button and it opened up letting out a blast of hot air, I smiled as I looked over to where Nicholas had set the pokebed up and nodded then turned to see the older gentlemen who had introduced himself as the father of Nicholas and a beautiful lady that had introduced herself as Nicholas's mother
"The egg should hatch between now and a couple of days, the incubator slows the hatching process down so we can deliver it to the owners in time. The pokebed should work for keeping the egg safe until it hatches, although I am not sure what type of pokemon it is. So, I have included a booklet for new trainers on how to properly raise pokemon depending on their types and specifications. There is also a catalog included so that you may order type-specific items for your pokemon. And I think that's all, once you sign this, the egg is all yours!" I smiled as I handed a sheet of paper to the father who nodded with a smile before quickly signing it and handing it back.
I stuffed the paper neatly into my satchel then put it on and turned to the family who was watching their son gently cradle the egg as he moved it from the incubator to the pokebed. I scooped up the incubator and took one last glance at the happy faces of the family before taking my leave with Lyra in tow.
I interlaced my hand with hers and smiled as Spyra crooned next to me and Batik screeched softly as I murmured "Seeing the smiles on people's faces. Makes my day."
Lyra chuckled and did a mock hurt impression as she covered her heart "And I didn't already? My heart."
I giggled as I swatted her chest gently and pulled her along "Oh shush you, now come on everyone let's go shopping! I wanna get my hair done before dinner tonight!"
Spyra chirped happily and Batik shivered his feathers with a clack of his beak as we headed to the Pokemart. I waved to the cashier who smiled when he saw me "Well well look what the Meowth dragged in! How've you been beautiful?"
I chuckled and shrugged "Afternoon Timmy, I've been great. We're just here on an errand from my mom. Here's the list. You can put it in my satchel"
I handed him the list that mom gave me and he saluted "Alrighty, Medi! Up and at 'em!"
I watched as the list floated out of his hand and into the palm of a pokemon that appeared from underneath the counter. A medicham, who waved at me silently then started to pull things off the shelves and in the freezers psychically. I leaned into Lyra who smiled and hugged me then gently placed her chin on my head and asked " So how do you two know each other?"
I blinked slowly then tilted my head up to look into her eyes and laughed gently "Is that jealousy I hear? You are adorable Lyre. But you don't have anything to worry about, my heart is yours. And to answer your question, he's the main supplier for the ranch."
She huffed softly as she blushed and I grinned before setting the bag of groceries into my satchel as Lyra spoke "Oh! Do you have anything for starting pokemon journeys? Not the gym challenge but just like general kits or stuff like that?"
His face scrunched up in a sort of thinking pose before he looked at Medi who just stared back before he shook his head "We don't really have kits or anything like that but I'm sure Medi here can figure out what you're looking for."
She nodded and I watched as Lyra and Medi locked eyes and the latter's eyes started to glow a faint blue. They broke eye contact and Medi gave a firm nod with a hum as it started to pull items from the shelves again, I smiled as I quickly checked my satchel over then slung it onto my back as I thanked Timmy "Thanks for the help Timmy, put the balance on the farm's tab."
He laughed as he nodded "Sure, oh and here! A birthday present from me and Medi." He tossed a Pokeball that I caught and looked at with surprise as I replied "A luxury ball? These are like 3000₽!"
He laughed gently "Happy eighteenth Ellion"
I smiled at him then took Lyra's hand as we quickly finished up and walked out, greeted by Batik and Spyra who had decided to stay outside, the later was practicing her battle moves on Batik who just shrugged them off and I laughed softly "Come now Spyra, you can take her down!"
Lyra chuckled "Mm Batik is a mean sky predator, but come let us finish our shopping, and before I forget, Batik come here dear."
The bird hopped over to his trainer who chuckled and pulled something out of her bag and started to tie it around her neck, I smiled as she finished and looked at her handiwork with a proud face "Oh my, a shed shell darling? You plan to battle or race hmm?"
She glanced back at me and grinned "You think you're the only one that's been busy my dear? Now on to the salon!"
I laughed as the four of us started for the hair salon. We passed various people and their pokemon and I smiled as Spyra darted in and out of our legs before we finally found the salon. We walked in and I was greeted by the familiar smell of hairspray and the noise of various hairdryers and water. I smiled until Spyra shivered under the gaze of the Nicket that was laying on the counter by the receptionist. I scooped her up and gently stroked her headpiece as her shaking slowly stopped and we were greeted by the receptionist with one of those fake cheery voice "Hi! Welcome to our salon, how can I help you?"
I smiled and nodded "Hi! I called earlier and made an appointment, one Ellion Grandview."
The lady smiled and nodded as she tapped away on her computer and replied "Alrighty! You're right on time, Rochelle will help you at booth two, right over there"
I smiled and went towards the booth that was empty and sat down before being greeted by a hairdresser who introduced herself as Rochelle and asked "So what are we doing today?"
I smiled as she straightened my long dark hair out "Surprise me"
It took a good couple of hours for the hair appointment and I smiled as I all but skipped out of the salon with Spyra happily trailing behind me and Lyra laughing gently "I think it looks beautiful don't you think?"
I twirled to see Lyra following me with a large smile as she answered "It suits you. And your unique style my dear."
I laughed as I twirled my hair onto one side and smiled. Before it was dyed, it was a dark brown but now it was the color of an ash tree, with hints of purple and white dotted throughout it. My bangs were side-swept and overall my hair was in a side-swept wave fashion, I looked amazing if I do say so myself.
I smiled as I stretched and grabbed Lyra's hand before we started to walk hand in hand towards the parking lots, and I checked the time '6 pm' we were right on time. We climbed into her car and started on the way home. I leaned against my seat and smiled at Lyra who simply chuckled and soon we were on the way home. I heard screeching and glanced out the window to see Batik flying next to the car with a happy gleam in his eye. I grinned as I glanced at Lyra with a smile "Punch it, baby!"
She grinned with a gleam and I felt her speed up as Batik screeched before flapping his wings a couple of times and took off. I laughed as I stretched and laid back with a smile on my face and my hand intertwined with the love of my life and sped through the countryside with Batik flying around and over us. We drove for another ten minutes before we pulled into the driveway of the ranch and Batik landed on the hood of the car with a screech and Spyra crooned back at him happily. I scooped her up and got out of the car and walked towards the house hand in hand with Lyra. I smiled gently as we walked in to be greeted by my mother.
She hugged us with a smile and said "Have fun dears? I just finished dinner"
We nodded with smiles and set our bags down as I said "Yea we finished, do you like my hair?"
She laughed and nodded "I like it, it suits you, my dear."
I giggled "That's what Lyra said too!"
She smiled and we helped her set the table and soon we were all sitting down at the table enjoying the meal, Lyra was on my right and Mom was on my left. Spyra, Taka, and Batik were stuffing themselves with the pokefood mom had cooked, it was basically the same but had different additional spices that were made for pokemon. Mom had made grumpig chops with mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots. I was halfway finished with my current plate when Mom cleared her throat and wiped her mouth with a tissue as she asked "So my dear, what are your plans with the ranch? Your father left it to you in his will and I know you wanna remodel the ranch."
I almost choked on my food as I cheekily grinned at her with a small smile "Whatever do you mean mother?"
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I relented "Well, I just wanna redesign it to be fair. Instead of us simply being a breeding ranch where trainers and families either leave their pokemon here or we ferry eggs to the cities. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but I think we'd see more business if we bred specific pokemon and turned the ranch into more of a business ranch instead of a small family-owned ranch that people mainly use for gifts to their kids."
Lyra smiled and gently bumped her knee against mine as mom contemplated what I said and I continued to eat when she responded "So what pokemon then?"
I smiled "Psuedo-legendaries and maybe even legendaries themselves. We could breed them firsthand and get our name out there then turn the ranch into a pokemon sanctuary protected by the pokemon that we breed."
She smiled and nodded as she gently set her fork down "I assume you leave tomorrow then?"
I bit my lip a bit as I nodded and a few tears came to my eyes "Yea, I want to catch the first ones firsthand, whatever it takes."
She nodded then looked to Lyra and asked "And you? I know you said you wanted to participate in the Pokemon Grand Prix. But is that all?"
Lyra shook her head before interlacing her hand with mine "No, I want to do that yes. But I belong at Ellion's side. And that is where I will stay if she will have me."
I blushed deeply at the look in her eyes and shyly nodded "I'm so lucky to have someone as amazing as you my love"
She smiled as my mother cleared her throat with a smile "Then it is decided. You two lovebirds will leave tomorrow and until you return with the pokemon you wish to breed. I will start to rebuild the ranch, your father would be disappointed in me at the state of the ranch. After all, your father left it to you, my dear. Happy birthday."
I smiled largely with my mouth agape as I looked at my mother with tears in my eyes and jumped from my chair to give her a hug, we both smiled as I pulled her into a hug and buried my face in her neck as I mumbled "Thank you so so so much. You're the best mother anyone could ask for!"
She chuckled as she rubbed my back and replied softly "Oh please, I'm mediocre at best. Now, let's finish eating so you can go make your father proud after all you've made me the happiest mother ever."