My parents and I were on our way to visit Reggie. He bought a small house just outside of Veilstone with lots of room for his Pokémon. I was around six years old at this time, and was bursting with energy! I hadn't seen my brother in a while since he was always busy on his journey, but now, he had finally settled down back in Sinnoh and I was eager to see him. Spot, my pet Growlithe, had his head out the window of the car, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I laughed. He looked so goofy

"Spot!" I heard my dad grumble. "Head back in the car, now!" Spot heard him and pulled his head back into the car, whimpering slightly. I pet him on the head, making him lick my face

"Paul, don't praise him for that." I heard my father sigh. "He really shouldn't be doing that..."

"Oh, they're both young, honey," my mum spoke up. "Let them have a little fun!"

"They can have fun once we get to Reggie's," he said. "Reggie's got a big backyard! You guys can run around and play with the other Pokémon!" I gasped with excitement

"He's got a lot of Pokémon, doesn't he?!" I asked, bursting with enthusiasm. My mum chuckled

"He sure does," she replied. "A lot of strong ones as well!" she sighed. "Goodness, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh... I wonder if he'll keep going after he beats the Battle Frontier..."

"Honey, you know he won't do that..." Dad spoke up

"Why-" she paused for a moment. "Oh... Right..." she added sadly. "I forgot..."

"Forgot what?" I chimed in. Mum smiled sweetly

"Nothing, sweetie," she told me "You know me and my memory" I chuckled. Mum was pretty forgetful. At that moment, Dad pulled over. He looked over to me and smiled

"We're here!" he announced. Before my parents could stop me, I unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped out of the car with Spot and ran up the porch, knocking ecstatically

"Reggie!" I called out. "We're heeerreee!" No reply. I knocked some more. "Reggie?" I knocked again. Nothing. I stepped back, confused, before I was suddenly flung into the air. I squealed, before the person caught me again. They grinned

"You called?" I beamed

"Reggie!" I exclaimed, giving my brother a tight hug. Reggie chuckled and hugged me back. Spot barked and jumped up onto Reggie's shoulder

"Woah!" he exclaimed. "Hey Spot!" He scratched him under his chin, making Spot growl happily. Mum and Dad finally joined us, pulling Reggie and I into a hug

"Hi mum, hi dad," Reggie said. "I'm really happy you all came"

"Well, we wanted to see how you were settling in," Dad explained

"It's been a little rough, but fun!" Reggie replied. "The Pokémon love the backyard, it's huge! It used to belong to a Pokémon Breeder, there's even a trail that goes to a nearby lake!" My parents chuckled

"Guess you'll be exploring this place," Dad exclaimed. Reggie grinned

"I sure will be!" he replied. "It feels weird staying in one area..." My parents chuckled nervously

"You'll get used to it, we're sure you will" my mum said with a laugh. "Especially if you give us grandchildren, children speed up the 'settling down' process" Reggie rolled his eyes

"Gee, thanks mum..." He groaned. Mum chuckled

"I'm kidding sweetie!" She exclaimed. "You were never a bother to your father and I, and Paul is a sweetheart" She smiled. "Now, why don't we see how your Pokémon are doing?" I gasped

"Pokémon!" I exclaimed, squirming in Reggie's arms. He held onto me tightly and chuckled nervously

"Paul, stop squirming!" he told me. "You're getting heavy, OK?" He turned to our parents. "Are you sure you guys don't want to come in?" he asked them. "I know it wasn't a long trip, but you guys look tuckered out already! I don't want to push you guys, I-I can make you guys some tea or coffee" Our parents smiled hearing Reggie's concern for them

"It's OK dear," mum spoke. "We want to see your Pokémon! We haven't seen them in a long time, not since you entered The Lily of The Valley Conference! And I think Paul wants to see them too." I nodded eagerly. Reggie, while a little unsure, laughed and put me down, before he took us around the back. I ran ahead and gasped with utter delight once I saw all his Pokémon; he had so many! At my age, ones not native to my region were unfamiliar to me, but I immediately recognised what Sinnoh Pokémon he had: a Torterra, a Staraptor and a Bibarel

"Look at all the Pokémon!" I exclaimed happily. Reggie chuckled and knelt down by me

"Why don't you go say hello to them?" he told me. He pointed to Torterra. "That's Torterra. He was my starter Pokémon. He's very friendly." I looked at Torterra as he towered over me. Spot whimpered behind me, but at my age, I had no sense of fear. I walked up to Torterra and carefully pet him on the head

"Hi Torterra!" I told it. "My name is Paul, I'm Reggie's brother!" The Torterra smiled and nuzzled me. I giggled and gave him a hug. As I did, I suddenly felt Torterra lift me with his head, flipping me onto his shell. I cautiously stood up, holding onto the stone on its back, getting a good look of the garden. Reggie's other Pokémon were looking at me, many were smiling and some were even waving. I waved back at them

"Hi!" I shouted to them all. I saw Reggie and our parents below. "Look at me!" I told them. "I'm on a Torterra!" They all laughed

"Be careful up there!" Reggie shouted to me. "Torterra is strong, but he's also sensitive." I nodded. As I began to walk around on Torterra's back, I noticed my parents walk into the house, assuming they were getting some tea or coffee, so I paid no attention to their absence. They got tired easily after all. I walked close to the tree on Torterra's back and noticed a few Pokémon in there! There were three Starly and about two Cherubi nesting in the tree. I looked at them, confused

"Are you allowed to be here?" I asked them. They all gave me a blank stare, which I returned. At my age, I thought they weren't allowed to be there, so I got up to tell Torterra about it. As I did, I must've stepped on a sensitive spot, because Torterra suddenly stomped his foot, grumpy with something. I lost my balance and screamed as I fell. Before I hit the ground however, someone caught me. I opened my eyes and saw Reggie had saved me. He gave me a worried look

"Paul, are you OK?!" he exclaimed. I smiled

"Yep!" I replied. He smiled, but then gave me a stern look

"You need to be more careful, OK?" he told me. "Pokémon are our friends, but they hold much more power than us. We must treat them with care." I nodded as Reggie put me back on the ground. I walked up to Torterra and hugged him once more

"Sorry Torterra..." I said sadly. Torterra only nuzzled me again, making me smile. Spot came along and barked, making me jump

"Spot!" I scolded him. Spot began to sniff Torterra, before he licked him. Torterra only gave him an odd look. I heard Reggie laugh behind me as he knelt down and petted Torterra

"Don't worry Torterra, Spot is friendly," he told him. "He's just a little odd, like my brother"

"Hey!" I exclaimed. Reggie chuckled and tussled my hair lightly

"You're a good odd," he told me. "That means there's no one else like you in the world. You're your own person Paul, you'll be a very unique trainer." I beamed

"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was!" I exclaimed. "I wanna travel all the regions and everyone will know me!" Reggie smiled and tussled my hair once more. I giggled and tackled him to the ground, with spot joining the dog pile. Reggie laughed, hugging us both, which I returned. I was really happy we came to visit him. I rarely ever saw him... He's such an amazing brother. Even today, I still look up to him, but back then, I wanted to be him. I wanted to travel everywhere and be the best trainer I ever could be, just like him. He was amazing in my eyes, my role-model, and while I've become my own person now, I still think Reggie is a great person, I couldn't ask for a better brother. I was really happy back then, satisfied with visiting him every so often while living with our parents, who I loved

... But that all changed in an instant...

For the rest of the day, I continued to play with the Pokémon, laughing happily as I interacted with all of them. I did get a few attacks launched at me from the ones I startled, but I was a resilient kid: a paralysis or a bit of poison didn't harm me that much, and I was healed almost instantly by my brother, who had a ton of Full Heals on him. I continued to play with the Pokémon, until Reggie called me inside for dinner. I looked up at the sky, only now noticing the sun setting. I didn't think we were staying for dinner... I rushed inside, Spot trailing behind me. When I entered, I scanned the room for our parents, but they weren't here... I looked outside the window and noticed their car was gone...

"Where's mum and dad?" I asked my brother. He shrugged

"Not sure," he replied. "I think they went to the Department Store..."

"Will they be back soon?" I asked him

"I hope so..." he responded. "For now, I've cooked some dinner for you" He handed me a small bowl with some soup in it. "If you're careful, you can sit in the lounge room and eat there." I nodded. Carefully, I took my dinner and sat on the couch, my bowl balanced in my lap. Reggie soon joined me with his dinner in one hand, and a bowl full of Pokemon food for Spot. He put the food down on the ground with Spot digging in, before he turned the TV on for us to watch

"Sinnoh, NOW!" the TV boomed. "We're here LIVE in Hearthome City, where the next big contest is set to start! We have many young competitors eager to earn their ribbons, but who will come out on top tonight? Find out RIGHT NOW!"

"Boring!" I shouted. Even at that age, I never understood the appeal of contest, and still don't today. The only time I have sat down to watch a contest was whenever I saw Ash's friend competing... Dawn... I think her name was Dawn. I was never interested in her contests, but I was intrigued on what she would do, wondering if she had learned anything from Ash, so I would occasionally watch her contest performances. One time however, I saw Ash compete in a contest, and... I was, confused, to say the least...

"Boring?" Reggie asked me. "You know mum used to compete in contests back in the day." I grumbled

"But they're all about being pretty and showing off your Pokémon's cuteness or smartness!" I scoffed. "It's weird..."

...And ironically, I continued to watch. Even after I finished my dinner, my eyes were glued to the TV. Anything to do with Pokémon and trainers I would watch as a child, including this, despite disliking contests. Eventually, I grew tired of the contests. I yawned, and before I knew it, I fell asleep...

...

I woke up to someone sniffling. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, looking around. I expected to be home in my bed, or in the car on the way home, but I was still at Reggie's house... He had put a blanket over me and slid a pillow under my head while I was asleep. Spot had also joined me, napping on my feet. I slowly sat up and noticed it was still night time, the moon high in the sky now. Midnight... If I was still at Reggie's house, then where were mum and dad? I looked around some more and noticed Reggie by the kitchen. He had his back turned, a crumbled note in his palm... He was shaking as I heard him sniffle. I gasped

Was Reggie crying?

This was the first time I had ever seen my older brother cry before... It felt weird, and... wrong. I teared up myself, immediately wanting him to stop

"Reggie?" I called out. Reggie immediately froze. He didn't turn around. "Are you OK?" I cautiously asked. Reggie stood still for a moment, quickly wiping his tears away and shoving the note into his pocket, before he finally faced me

"Y-Yeah..." he murmured. "I-I'm fine... Go back to sleep..."

"I'm not tired," I replied on impulse

"It's late, Paul," he told me sternly. "You need to go to sleep..."

"Where's mum and dad?" I asked. Reggie froze once more. He turned away for a moment, covering his mouth with his hand, possibly to stop his sobs. I gave him a concerned look

"Reggie?" I asked. No reply... "Reggie, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing..." he replied. "Paul, go back to sleep, now..."

"I'm not tired..."

"Now, Paul!" I flinched a little from his sudden aggression, whimpering slightly. He noticed my frightened look and sighed, walking up to me, before he sat down beside me. "Sorry..." he said. "I didn't mean to scare you... I'm just..." he paused before he sighed. "I'm just overwhelmed right now... Stressed out..."

"About what?" I asked. Once again, Reggie looked away from me. I got on my knees and tugged his sleeve. "Please tell me" I asked him. "Is it about mum and dad? Are they OK?" Reggie squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, thinking over his reply to me. It must've been tough for him to come up with his answer for my naïve, six-year-old self... I didn't know at the time, but now I know how truly painful it was for him to tell me... I only waited for him to speak. My gaze stood on him for what felt like forever. Finally, Reggie let out a sigh and opened his eyes. He looked at me and picked me up, plopping me on his lap. I only looked up at him. He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke;

"... Mum and Dad are gone," he told me. I cocked my head to the side

"Gone?" I asked. "Are they... Did they-?!"

"No, they're not dead," he assured me. "They're fine..." he sighed. "They... They left..."

"... Will they come back?" Reggie shook his head sadly

"No..." he spoke quietly to me. "They're never coming back... They're not coming back to pick you up, they're not coming back to visit us... They're gone..." I only looked at my brother letting the information sink in. Our parents were gone... They left us... Abandoned us, just like that... I didn't think it was possible, but then I remembered:

"He's got a lot of Pokemon, doesn't he?!"

"He sure does. A lot of strong ones as well! Goodness, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh... I wonder if he'll keep going after he beats the Battle Frontier..."

"Honey, you know he won't do that..."

"Why- Oh... Right... I forgot..."

"Forgot what?"

"Nothing, sweetie"

I teared up. They were planning this, they had been planning this the whole time. They were planning to leave me at Reggie's house and never come back for me, never come back for us... I started to sniffle slightly

"Paul, I'm so sorry..." Reggie said to me, also tearing up. "I-I'm so sorry this has happened... I-I don't know why it has, it's just..." He stopped in mid-sentence as I began to cry, large tears rolling down my cheeks. Reggie carefully pulled me into a hug as I sobbed and hugged me tightly, which I returned. It's all I could do in the moment. It had happened so suddenly, it hit me so hard... It was so much to take in out of nowhere... Our parents were gone. They abandoned us. I was in Reggie's care now, forever...

"Shhh..." he cooed as I cried. "It's OK... It's OK... We'll make it through this, I promise... I promise I'll look after you..."

"I promise I'll never leave you..."