Today, Mikail had told his parents that he had visited the Bug Club and that he had managed to improve his rank from Bug Catcher to Bug Collector on his first day. After Mikail went to bed, his parents began to talk to each other about what they had just learned.
"Edward, can you believe it? My baby has managed to become a Bug Collector in a single day. Edward, our 4 years old boy has managed to reach a rank that equals my own, and it took him only a single day." Arya said to her husband.
"I know, honey, he told me about it as well, and we both saw the member's card with his rank on it. As unbelievable as it sounds and feels, and believe me I feel the same, it's a fact. A fact that is starting to scare me." Edward answered his wife and she interjected.
"Are you scared of our son?" Arya asked puzzled "For our son. I am afraid for our son." He retorted, before continuing. "He is too excellent, and I am very afraid that his excellence is going to attract unsavory or outright bad attention. I am afraid that someone with evil intentions is going to take an interest in our son, and that I won't be able to protect my flesh and blood from people that are trying to harm him." He stood up and started to pace up and down the living room while pouring out his concerns to his wife.
"Edward, honey, calm down a little bit. I'm sure," Arya tried to calm her husband, but he interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. "At first I was really happy, when he showed his psionic talent, and the high intelligence as well as growing maturity he showed because of it. I mean who wouldn't be happy if their beloved son turns out to be a genius." He began, while he continued his pacing.
"Yeah, I was happy as well, when Mika told us about his discovery of psionic energy. Not to mention his bond with his Natu." Arya voiced her own thoughts on the topic and what she said caused Edward to briefly pause his pacing, he turned to his wife before he resumed his speech.
"The early bond and the number of his Pokemon are points that add to my worries as well. First, he bonded with Natu, and then with all the other Pokemon, he kept finding. The fast bonding can be explained through his psychic as well as aura talent, but his luck in finding all those Pokemon is insane. I mean, come on how lucky does he have to be? While we have not tested their potential, their overall fast growth is enough for me to believe that all of them have either 4- or 5-star potential." Edward said and Arya released a snort.
"Edward, I don't want to hear you of all people complain about luck. He is simply as lucky as his dad. Even if the number of his Pokemon is getting higher and higher, which is impressive. The thing I have been starting to worry about were the regulations on possession of Pokemon we have been breaking, but his little Bug Collector stunt has solved that at least, in case it ever comes up." She interjected.
"Yeah, at least that's been taken care of, but as I was saying before you interrupted me," Edward said before he resumed his pacing. "Then we found out that he is talented in aura as well, which caused me to worry a bit because so much talent could attract the kind of attention we are not ready for. As if that was not enough, his talent in aura turned out to be so great that it kick-started his second maturity phase prematurely, which meant that we couldn't hide it even if we wanted to," Edward let out.
"Well, at least we managed to find some kind of solution for that." Arya tried to reassure her husband. "That we did," Edward confirmed. "We decided to conceal his psychic talent since the result of his aura talent was too obvious to hide, and since only Thorn, as well as his family, knew about it, it was easy as well. Yet, I worry about someone discovering about his tremendous potential. I am extremely proud of him but I worry that he is going to be hurt or abducted by someone if his talent is exposed."
Edward took a deep breath before he restarted speaking. "As if all of that was not enough, our boy turns out to be a prodigy in training Pokemon as well. I mean we saw his little training sessions with his Pokemon, and we saw their fast progress, but I had not noticed just how strong they have gotten. For Arceus's sake, he is 4 and he has managed to gain a rank that is equal to the status of a Junior-Class trainer. Most people are more than 4 times his age before they manage to do that, but he did it at 4, and if what he said about his battles is true, then he is not far from being as strong as Senior-Class trainers."
Here he stopped for a bit before he continued. "And, ..., and don't get me wrong, I am incredibly proud and happy at his talent and success, I really am, but I just can't stop worrying about the consequences that would follow if his talents and achievements were to be exposed." Arya could hear and feel the worry her husband felt and decided to let him get it all off his chest before she tries to comfort him.
"It is my inability to keep my son safe in case his secrets get exposed, and someone stronger than me tries to do something to him, that worries me. Every time I think about the possible negative consequences, my chest tightens and I want to keep Mikail home, hiding him away, without letting him out, until he is older and his excellence does not seem as overwhelming. But I know that we can't do that because we would be stifling our son's potential with our own hands, which would be unforgivable. Not only that, Mikail could start to subconsciously resent us for essentially imprisoning him, and that's something we both don't want." Edward shared with her.
"So, I am more disappointed in my own inability to protect my son in case his excellence is exposed, than I am about his excellence itself. In fact, I am really proud of his talent. It's the possible negative repercussion if they get exposed that worries me. I mean it is my job as his father to protect my son, but I am afraid that I am not strong enough to protect him in case someone much stronger shows up." Edward slumped a bit both in worry as well as a bit in relief after letting out all the worries that had been eating at him lately.
"Oh, honey. That seemed to have been really eating at you, didn't it?" Arya started. "I have naturally been worried about that as well, but apparently not as much as you. Before you shared all that with me, I was more worried about being unable to be a good role model for Mikail, and him slowly stopping to respect me, since he, theoretically, has an equal rank as me now. I was planning to improve my trainer class, and wanted to discuss that with you." She said before Edward cut in.
"Darling, you won't stop being a role model to him just because he became a Bug Collector, and he most definitely will not stop respecting you for that. He loves you and he respects you because of that and your love for him. I don't, for one second, believe that your or his rank will change anything as far as his love, as well as respect for you, is concerned." Edward said and hugged her.
She had to smile at his reassuring words and returned the hug. "Thank you, honey. I know that you are right, and I know that my worries are most likely unfounded, but I still want to increase my trainer class. My Pokemon are certainly strong enough to qualify me as a Senior-Class trainer. I looked up the other requirements for a class increase after calling you." Arya told Edward.
"Yeah, I remember the requirements from the time I ranked up to Senior-class. The first one is to have at least 6 Pokemon. The second one is to have earned at least 16 B-rank Badges, which is also the number of Badges one needs to gain during one season to qualify for the Junior League. The third requirement is to have 3 Pokemon at the silver stage, and the last one is to have 3 more at the bronze stage. While you fulfill the second and third requirement, you lack a Pokemon to fulfill the first and consequently the last one as well." Edward chimed in.
"I know. As I said I looked it up and found out that I need one more Pokemon, that also needs to be at the bronze stage. Nonetheless, I am determined to upgrade my class, so I am going to catch myself a new Pokemon. After that, I will update my trainer profile." Arya said resolutely.
"Besides, this is also one of the two things we can do to resolve your worries. The first is getting stronger and increasing our trainer-class. This will allow us to gain access to more resources, information, and possibly useful contacts. Us getting stronger will make protecting our boy easier, and networking will make the second option viable. We could try to find a reliable and influential backer, that we believe to be trustworthy enough to back up our son." She expanded and Edward had to nod at her idea.
"You are right, while we could try to appeal to Professor Oak or other influential trainers with a good reputation right now, but we would be unable to guarantee that they would hear us out or even that we would be successful in approaching them without giving up the secret to others in some form. On the other hand, if we keep increasing our trainer class we could approach them or others like them more easily." Edward agreed to Arya's suggestion.
"That's right. So, we need to step up our training. After retiring from active trainer status, we have both slacked in the training of our Pokemon, and while we have both succeeded in meeting the strength requirements for the next class, we could have been stronger if we had trained more seriously. Well, at least I have managed to fulfill the strength requirement for the next class. You told me you were still missing another gold-stage Pokemon." Arya asserted.
"Well, Skye is not far from reaching the gold stage. It should take her no more than 2 months, and once she has done so, I will have fulfilled all requirements." Edward replied to his wife. "Really? You already fulfill all other requirements?" Arya asked astounded because she had not looked up what the requirements for the upgrade from Senior-class to Expert-class were. Neither had he told her the requirements, besides the need for 3 gold stage Pokemon.
"Yep, I have everything else covered. The requirements resemble the ones needed for the Senior-class. The first one is to have at least 6 Pokemon, which is exactly the same. The second one is to have earned at least 16 A-rank Badges, which, like with the Junior League before with B-rank Badges, is also the number of Badges one needs to gain during one season to qualify for the Senior League. The third requirement is to have 3 Pokemon at the gold stage, and the last one is to have 3 or more at the silver stage. I fulfill all of them except for the third one. I am missing the third gold stage Pokemon, but as I said, Skye is going to upgrade soon." He explained, before seriously looking into Arya's eyes.
"Honey, sorry for ranting in front of you, and thank you for listening to me, while I let all of that off my chest. Voicing my worries and now thinking about measures to hopefully solve them, has eased my mind a lot." He told Arya, before hugging her.
"Of course, darling. Supporting each other is part of being married and you have done the same for me many times. As long as we have each other's backs and keep earnestly working towards our goals, I am sure we will succeed. Besides, I love you and you sharing your worries with me only makes me happy, because it shows that you trust me. Even if it took some time, I am happy that you told me your worries." Arya returned Edward's hug and reassured him.
"Thank you, and I love you too." Edward gave her a peck on the lips before he continued. "Hopefully, we will be able to finish everything before the league tournaments start because that could delay our process, by quite a bit. This year both the junior and senior tournaments are happening in the same year, so all bureaucratic procedures will most likely be delayed while the tournaments happen."
"Hmpf, what bad luck. The Junior League season takes 3 years, so the Junior League tournament happens every 3 years. The Senior League season on the other hand takes 5 years, so the Senior League tournament happens every 5 years, which means both events take place in the same year every 15 years. To think that an occasion that happens only every 15 years, has to happen the year we want to upgrade our trainer class." Arya grumbled, and Edward appeased her.
"As I said we should be done way before the tournaments start, so we should be able to avoid the hubbub following it. Skye should reach the gold stage in the next 2 months and I believe you should be able to catch and befriend a bronze stage Pokemon during that time as well, which leaves us with more than enough time to get the whole upgrade thing done." He told his wife.
"You're right. I think so too." Arya agreed with her husband before she asked him a question. "Do you think we should visit one of the tournaments? I am pretty sure Mika would enjoy seeing it." Edward contemplated her suggestion. "That's not a bad idea. We could do that but let's wait a bit before coming to a decision. We don't know if anything is going to happen until then, but it is definitely a good idea." He told Arya.
They once more shared a brief kiss, before they talked a bit about the incidents on Route 4. They decided for Arya to accompany Mikail tomorrow, in case he wanted to visit Honey City tomorrow. As for the day after they would decide that depending on the development of the situation. After that they decided to watch a funny movie, to laugh and relax a bit after the serious talk they just had. Once the movie was over they went to bed, knowing that they would have to be more serious about training from now on.
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