3If you don't know the story, you will by the end of this one-shot. This is dedicated to an amazing writer and collaborator and I'll say who he is below. Some of you might know once you see the OCs. I own Vic, Rika, Troy, Lina, Carmen, Daniel and TJ Black. I also own Ciara Ketchum and any other OCs.
A Day with Grandpa
(Asiatic City, Kanto)
'We're here,' he thought as he opened one side so his sons could get out and he could get his daughter out of her car seat. She must've awoken at some point.
"Hi daddy," she said with a giggle. He kissed her forehead before blowing a raspberry on her stomach, eliciting wild laughter.
He scanned the surroundings carefully. Daniel didn't wander off, holding his mother's hand. "TJ," Troy called and found his son climbing a tree. The former six-time champion called out his Lucario to hold his daughter while he grabbed his son.
"Dad, I was just gonna look," Troy Jr. said, trying to sound innocent. His father saw the devious glint in his son's eyes. He let Lucario hold Carmen so he could make sure his son wouldn't do anything reckless anytime soon.
Lina took a quiet breath as Daniel looked around. "It's hard to believe our first choice was sick," she said to her husband. Troy nodded. Lance rarely got sick, but he had been babysitting Clair's son who had just himself overcome the flu. Lorelei was out in the Sevii Islands visiting her family. Greta couldn't come to the phone: her student that she left in charge of the Arena when it wasn't Battle Frontier season told him that she was out in Hoenn, facing Brawly in a battle. Ciara had just had children and Troy knew he'd be asking too much for his protégé. Troy's in-laws were out of town and Scarlett and husband Richard had been the winners of a cruise. While Troy was on good terms with Fuchsia's most notable trainers (Koga, his sister Aya and Janine in addition to Pike Queen Lucy Tanaka), he knew that they too had lives. Of the group, Aya had two children: a son that's a friend of TJ's (Dylan) and a daughter who happens to be Daniel's age. Troy only knew that Janine and Bugsy had a son together and he wasn't sure if they had one or two more children. As for Koga himself, he likely had his hands full as an Elite 4 member. So that only left one option. Troy and Lina were called to Rota to have lunch with the queen and it would also give Troy a chance to meet guardians from other regions. Lina rang the doorbell as Carmen smiled at her father's Lucario.
"Just a second!" the voice called and TJ was practically bouncing. Troy took a deep breath through his nostrils before making his grip on his son's hand a bit firmer. The door opened to reveal a man with graying brown hair and brown eyes. "Well, well. Isn't this a surprise?" he said and Lina giggled.
Troy looked at his three children before locking eyes with his father and then his wife. "You know that it doesn't start until 12:15, right?" Lina asked and Troy nodded.
"Can we come in?" TJ asked before his father could. Vic nodded and Troy tightened his grip on TJ's hand slightly so that the boy wouldn't take off. Due to his heightened senses, one scent Troy could pick up on was that of floor cleaner. "This is so super cool!" TJ practically roared in excitement. Daniel was looking around and Carmen was just busy staring at her grandpa. Daniel noticed several trophies and awards with both his father (and a few he could make out belonged to his grandfather) had won over the years. "Dad, how come we haven't been here before? Are all those trophies yours and grandpa's? Where are grandpa's Pokémon? Grandpa, do you live next door to famous people?" He looked at his father before adding one more question: "Do you guys know Koga personally?"
Vic gave his son a sly smile. "Slow down there, sport. I can answer a few of those. Yes, the trophies are mine and your father's. No, we don't live next to famous people and we do know Koga personally."
Lina ruffled her son's hair. "That, and you've been here before, TJ," she said.
He tilted his head. "I feel like I'd remember a place as cool as my dad's childhood home," he said. Daniel remained quiet.
"It's because you haven't been here since you were oh, I'd have to say your sister's age," Vic replied and offered to take Carmen from Lucario wordlessly. "Your parents had to do some..." how was he going to explain that to the seven-year-old? He wasn't. "Business for a few days way out in Unova, if memory serves," and Troy nodded in the affirmative.
Carmen blinked at her grandpa. "Dada, can I call him papa?" she asked her father. Troy looked at Lina. "Neither of us mind," Troy said and Vic smiled. He had a feeling that none of his children knew about their grandmother, but Arceus above did Carmen look so much like her. While she had features reminiscent of both parents, she also reminded him of her so much. Carmen blinked, unsure what would happen next. Troy was in a bit of a dreamlike state. He wished Carmen would stay this innocent at the tender age of 4.
"Grandpa Vic, do you have any books?" Daniel finally spoke.
Lina held it in not to scowl at her son. "Daniel, we told you to pack the stuff you thought you'd need for at least 6 hours." Sure, it was a lunch, but also a dinner for those who wanted to stay. Basically, the lunch was mandatory. Considering Troy would be meeting up with his mentor again, he knew something would be up.
"Well bud, this might come as a surprise to you," Vic began, grinning at his son who wasn't paying too much attention. "but your father wasn't much of a reader. He didn't start reading until he began as a trainer about 14 years ago."
Troy had heard this, snapped out of it and said, "Hey!" Lina chuckled at her husband's expense. Daniel looked at his father in a mixed look of shock and horror.
"However," Vic said with a smile on his face. "I've got plenty of stories to tell. Look at the trophy case."
'Lucario, keep your hold on Junior so he doesn't smack his face on the glass,' Troy said through aura. Lucario didn't hesitate as TJ made his way to the case. With TJ occupied, Lina crossed that off their little mental checklist they agreed on.
Meanwhile, Daniel found his way to a chair, took the bag off his back and searched for a book. Once he had it, he opened it and proceeded to read. Two down, one to go. Lina was talking to Carmen, making sure she would be comfortable with all the males. Troy slung an arm around Vic's shoulder. "Carmen is going to be the least of your concerns. If Junior or Daniel set her off," "Lemme guess: she inherited her mother's short fuse?" Troy nodded. Vic easily freed himself of his son's hold, only to slap him on the back.
"Don't worry about a thing you two," Vic said to Troy and gaining his daughter-in-law's attention as well. "Go ahead and say your goodbyes and then enjoy your outing."
Lina looked at Troy and pulled out her Pokégear. She nodded and they said their goodbyes, Troy returning Lucario. Once they were out, Vic smiled. "Grandpa Vic, what's that gargantuan trophy say?" TJ asked, turning away from the case and he noticed Carmen walking up.
"That's a big word," Daniel said, briefly looking up from his book, "even for you, TJ."
TJ let out a growl and replied, "Yeah, well. I hang out with some people who have a bigger vocabulary then me. Joel just so happens to be one of them."
Daniel decided to have some fun. "So, what does it mean?"
Carmen turned to her other brother before looking at TJ. "Well duh," TJ began, rolling his eyes. "Joel said that his mom's Espeon is gargantuan compared to Lucian's Espeon. It's true, too," TJ said folding his arms.
Daniel gritted his teeth. His brother was right, he just didn't want to admit it. Especially because TJ made that comparison. "Her Feraligatr and Metagross are bigger than their species. Well, Feraligatr is, that much I know," Vic chimed in.
This piqued Daniel's curiosity. "How do you know that, grandpa?" he asked.
Vic smiled. "Well, it was before any of you were sparkles in your parents' eyes," he said before looking at TJ and doing the math. "Actually, just you two. TJ's sparkle was formed already. Anyway, your father's mentor came over and I asked to see her starter Pokémon. She said that if I thought that was something, then I should've seen her when she was younger."
"So, she's kip-tic?" Carmen tried.
TJ patted her on the head. "Cryptic," Daniel politely corrected and thought of Rebekah's little quiz for him. He checked his bag and found it. He made his way to the table whereas TJ asked if anything else was off limits.
Despite being a widower for many years, Troy's children were young and likely didn't know that their grandmother passed away. He had many pictures in there and he didn't want to answer questions.
As Vic gave his grandchildren (despite Daniel's initial reluctance) a tour of his house, Daniel thought of something. He held back a growl. The boy wasn't 8 yet and TJ's argument for most things was, "Because I'm older." This time, it was, "I'm faster than you."
TJ closed the door and once he had his suspicions confirmed, he opened it only a crack. "Oh, and if you were looking for a hard surface, the only thing that isn't messy or laid out with pictures of Dad when he was starting out as a trainer is the wall. Even that has posters."
Daniel grunted and asked his grandfather if there was a place he could write. The boy hadn't been paying attention.
-About an hour earlier-
"Daniel Richard Joel Black, are you packed yet or are you asleep?" Lina practically roared at her son. Carmen had been packed faster than him and Troy noted that it usually took them longer to leave with Carmen being the youngest. There was that one time for Halloween, but that was a different story.
Daniel was looking for his bag of writing utensils which he kept thoroughly organized and out of reach. He must've left them at the table. "Crud," he muttered. He hated himself for using colored pencils right now when he was color coding things. Carmen. TJ wouldn't take them. Well, he would, but they'd be back within his grasp right now. He shook his head. Why did his parents have to have another child? Weren't they happy with just two? He could've pondered this further, but his mother's voice disrupted his thoughts.
"Daniel, you have from five to one to be at the top of the stairs or else I'm coming up there, young man!" she hollered.
Daniel began to scramble as she counted. It was 3 by the time he turned off his light and 2 by the time he closed his door. He checked to make sure the bathroom light wasn't on. "One," Lina said, folding her arms as she looked up to see her son with his backpack only half on. He didn't go through his double checking, but figured nothing was left behind.
-Present-
Vic was able to show his grandson a place to write and he explained that it was for a report. He was in a small trainer's school. "Are those your Pokémon?" Carmen asked curiously as she looked outside to see Victor's team. Troy mirrored his father.
Victor Black had a Blastoise, a Pidgeot, a Tyranitar, an Arcanine, a Jolteon and an Aerodactyl.
Meanwhile, Daniel was titling his paper, "A Day with Grandpa. ...by Daniel Black," he murmured quietly.
A/N: while I am a day late, this is my spiel. If you are reading this and it's already September 12, then this is still relevant. …for me, anyway. On September 12, 1994, my mom's father died. It wasn't until this year that I learned that my grandfather's death was out of the blue. Anyway, I lost grandma seven weeks later. Cherish your grandparents. Be lucky you have them. This is dedicated to my amazing collaborator: MadDogLucario96.
To those who are reading this and you live in the US (or you're somewhere else in the world and pay attention to this stuff), Hurricane Harvey I believe has ran "his" course. Hurricane Irma is apparently heading my way. I know I don't update frequently, reply to PMs and reviews that often, but this is just a head's up. I don't know if we'll have to evacuate, but I really hope not. Anyway, if after Irma passes and I still haven't updated, …well, for the 3 of you this applies to, if you're friends with me on Facebook, send me a message to make sure I'm okay. If you follow me on Twitter ( ACESPELLER67) and I'm not following you back, it's probably because I don't have Twitter on my phone anymore. …also, to DM me on Twitter, you have to be following me and vice versa.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. I don't have anything else to say other than to r and r, fave (this story, me or both if you want) and follow (this story, me or both if you want). Also vote and ask.
Until next time,
~QUEEN
PS As far as the weather goes, it rained pretty much all day yesterday.