[ON INDEFINITE HIATUS] Alolan Adventures: An Original Pokémon Story

24. Mail

Snow's POV

     "Check your mail," Snow's big brother said, and then abruptly hung up. She sighed, resisting the urge to fling the light blue Rotom Phone to the ground. She walked out to the sidewalk, opening Professor Kukui's mailbox. Inside was a thick envelope, addressed in neat block letters to Snow. She walked inside, the envelope dangling from her fingertips, as if she didn't want to hold it.

     The story of her distaste of her big brother was a long one. After Snow's parents died, her big brother took care of them for a few years, but he got tired of always having little kids following him around. So as soon as Snow left for her Pokémon journey, he left Axol to be taken care of by one of his assistants, while he took on the world of Pokémon medicine, eventually becoming an extremely famous and extremely rich Pokémon doctor. After starting a business over multiple regions, Axol and Snow were forced to move to the Alola region.

     She called for Axol, who hopped down from the loft, where he was arranging his collection of vintage GameBoys. She sliced the top of the envelope with her thumbnail, slipping out some minimized Poké Balls and a bunch of papers that looked like legal documents. She read the documents first, and gasped: They were the will of her mother and father.

     "Mom," she whispered, brushing her mother's will. Axol took their father's will and read it carefully.

     "They left their Pokémon to Be-I mean, our big brother." he said. "But here are the six Pokémon they had." Snow took three of the random Poké Balls, too scared to expand and send out the Pokémon, her memories drifting by like feathers on the wind. A pink Jellicent, floating in a fish tank. A Lucario, helping her reach the shelf. And a Oricorio, singing her to sleep. She read a paragraph in her mother's will.

     In case of any emergency of my death, I want all my Pokémon to be sent to my eldest son, Benson. If that is not an available option, I want all of my Pokémon to be sent to my second oldest child, Snow. My Jellicent, Oricorio, and Fomantis should protect my children at all costs. That is what I chose when I became a Trainer: for my Pokémon to protect all the people I love.

     A tear dripped down Snow's cheek. As she read on, she wiped it away, and expanded the Poké Balls. Axol took the other three and at the same time, both brother and sister threw them in the air. From Snow's Poké Balls, she found their father's Lucario and Alolan Dugtrio, and their mother's Fomatis. From Axol's Poké Balls, he found their mother's Jellicent and Sensu style Oricorio, as well as his father's Cufant. They all embraced, memories flooding through them like water in a river.

     "Here are all the legal documents for the transfer of these Pokémon," Snow said. But when she reached the back of the envelope, there was an extra slip of paper. "What's this?" When she pulled it out, it was a check, with a sticky note on it.

     Get a house.

      Snow gasped at the number on the check. It was certainly a large one.

     "Ummm, Professor? I think we're moving out."

Time skip: a month later

     From the money that Benson had given to Axol and Snow, they had moved into a house along the shore of Mele'mele Island, not too far away from Professor Kukui's place. Axol had his own room now, where he could line up his GameBoys on the walls and plug his N64 and Wii into an old TV that Professor Kukui had given to them. Snow had her own room as well now: the master bedroom. The only decoration was an old family photo in a frame on her nightdesk, Benson clipped out neatly. It showed Lotus, their mother, and Marshal, their father, with their Fomantis and Lucario, standing behind Snow, her Eevee in her arms, and Axol, love in their eyes. The walls were a stark white, whereas Axol's room was painted an eye-scorching neon orange. 

      Snow flinched when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, and smiled. It was Gladion. She answered the phone.

     "Hey," she said with a smile, even though Gladion couldn't see her. 

     "Congratulations on the house. How did you even manage to buy it?" he said through the phone. Snow sighed into the microphone.

     "It's a long story. Basically, my big brother gave up on my parents' Pokémon, and sent it to us with a check for a lot of money." she said. Gladion let out a noise of thought. 

     "Wow. That's weird." he said. "Anyways, can I come over?" Snow smiled again.

     "Anytime." she said. In ten minutes, a knock sounded on the door. Snow ran downstairs, opening it. Gladion had a flower crown in his hands, so detailed and elaborate that it looked real.

     "For you," he said shyly. Snow gasped, as Gladion placed it delicately on her head. She threw her arms around him.

     "Thank you thank you thank you," she said. "I love it. It looks so real!" Gladion laughed and stood back. Snow beckoned him inside and closed the door.

     "Your brother's Dragonite made it for me. Around a month ago, your little brother bothered me for a day, and he made the first one for me, but I asked it again and it made another for me this morning." he said. Dragonite popped its head out of the kitchen, an apron on. It let out a noise of happiness at Gladion and then ducked back into the kitchen, singing while cooking. Gladion chuckled at the orange Dragon Pokémon as Snow led him around the house in a sort of tour.

     "It's insane, this house. I'm 16 and I live alone with my 14-year old brother. How crazy is that?" she said. Gladion nodded.

     "Your big brother must be rich," he said. Snow visibly stiffened, and Gladion knew that he had gone too far. But after a second, she just shrugged.

     "Yeah. I guess," she said quietly. "Anyways, should we paint this part? We still have a lot of money left over because this house is relatively small." Gladion input his opinion, and they moved on. 

     After the entire house had been shown to Gladion, Snow had an idea.

     "You. Me. A battle," she said. "After all, the next Pokémon League is coming up, and I'm determined to win." Gladion immediately stood up straighter, adrenaline coursing through his veins. After his second place last year, he needed to win this year. A battle with Snow would be good training for him.

     "You're on," he said.