Chapter 53: Truth Unfolds - I

Florian Town.

It was a small town with a population of a couple hundred people and was four hours of walking away from Pewter City. Surrounded by lush green forest, the town was relatively peaceful as trainers barely visited it due to the lack of attractions.

A few hundred meters away from the town, a slight ripple appeared in space before three humans and a giant metal tank materialized.

"Thanks, Prime." Aeron thanked the Mega Metagross that had helped them cut all the walking they would have to do otherwise.

"Meta."

After it dropped, the three humans, Steven, now called friends, teleported back to Pewter City.

"I can't wait to have a Mega Pokémon." Nessa looked at where the metal tank was a few seconds ago. "But finding Mega/Key-stones can be a hassle."

"Have faith in yourself, and you won't need those," Misty added to cheer up her friend and the dark-skinned girl knew what her friend was talking about.

"Shall we?" Aeron asked, but not before admiring the two girls.

They had decided to dress up since they would meet his parents for the first time. Unlike how they liked to show a bit of their skin, Nessa and Misty were dressed in modest clothes.

Misty wore a light blue knee-length dress, her orange hair was left untied, and Nessa wore a red top with black pants that stuck to her toned legs. She had decided to tie her hair in a bun, which proved to be the right decision since it looked perfect on her.

Once the two girls were done making sure they looked their best, they started walking towards the town, and before long, they reached the main road.

"My house is on the other side," Aeron informed them about the town, and to the surprise of the two girls, he knew almost every shop owner. "Mother made me run errands, and since it's a small town, almost everyone knows each other."

An old lady who ran a flower shop handed him a bouquet, congratulating him on a successful journey. He was the only trainer from Florian Town to have gone on a journey in a long time. Moreover, he had also won a Gym Badge; the whole town was proud of him and was supporting him online.

Nessa and Misty decided to buy another bouquet since they didn't want to meet them empty-handed. They were going to buy gifts in Pewter City, but Aeron had stopped them, saying his parents didn't like expensive gifts. Flowers would be enough.

They took little time to reach the other side of the town, and soon, they saw a solitary house with two people waiting outside.

"Are they?" Nessa asked with a whisper.

"Mum and Dad."

The two girls looked at the couple standing outside the house. Ethan and Sophia. They knew their names, and while they had talked to them over a call, this was the first time they had seen them.

Sophia was in her late thirties, yet she had a graceful figure that would make anyone mistake her for a young woman in her twenties. Being a former trainer had given her a habit of always staying in good shape. She had long black hair that cascaded to her hips with similarly black eyes. She was 5'7" tall, only a couple of inches shorter than Aeron, who was 5'11".

Also a former trainer, Ethan was taller than Aeron by a few inches and muscular. He worked as a Police Officer under one of the Jenny stationed in Florian Town.

The two smiled brightly as the trio got close until Sophia could no longer hold herself and ran toward the group, taking Aeron into her arms. She hugged her son tightly, fearing he would leave her right after she let him go.

"I missed you too." Aeron hugged her back and wiped away the tears threatening to fall from his mother's eyes. "And I brought friends."

"I am Nessa."

"Misty."

The girls awkwardly introduced themselves, and Sophia chuckled when she saw their panicked expressions. She could understand their thoughts and decided not to tease them about it...yet.

"I am Sophia, Aeron's mother." She held the hands of the two girls, making them comfortable in her presence. "Thank you for taking care of him...he can be a handful."

Four of them walked towards the house where Ethan was waiting, and as soon as they were there, he gave Aeron a bear hug before speaking with a slight grin.

"And I thought you would be catching Pokémon."

*Cough*

Aeron coughed at the sudden comment from his father, and the girls immediately had their cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Ethan..." Sophia gave her husband a sweet smile, making him give up on teasing them further. She led the girls inside, letting Aeron and Ethan stay out by themselves.

"I guess you might be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"She isn't so heartless..." Ethan wanted to refute, but even he couldn't believe his words. "Maybe I should not overdo the teasing."

Aeron chuckled before he hugged his father again. "I missed you as well."

The older man patted his son on the back before breaking the hug. His face was now a bit serious as Aeron's visit to Florian Town had made him restless for the last few nights.

"I thought you wouldn't return for at least a year?"

"Something happened, and I..."

"Aeron, Mum is calling you both inside." Nessa peered her head from the main door and looked at the father-son duo who were busy chatting.

"Mum?"

"Hohoho."

-0-

Aeron, Nessa and Misty had reached Florian Town early in the morning.

Sophia decided to cook the best breakfast for the trio before she showed the girls around the house. It was followed by Aeron having to suffer through his mother playing a video of his childhood and a slideshow of the photos when he was little.

"It's a canon event." Ethan patted him on the back, and while his actions seemed like he was trying to support his son, there was a teasing tone in his voice that Aeron did not miss.

Later, the older couple decided to introduce the girls to their Pokémon living on the recently purchased land after the previous owner decided to sell everything and move to Orange Islands.

Both of them had six Pokémon in their roster, and each one of them brought a wave of surprise to the girls.

Ethan had Ninetales, Rhydon, Gengar, Machamp, Vaporeon and Raichu. On the other hand, Sophia had Alolan-Ninetales, Onix, Gengar, Pidgeot, Jolteon and Nidoqueen.

While they were impressed by the strengths of every Pokémon, the beauty of two foxes mesmerized them the most and now they wanted to have one on their roster as well. They had tried to talk to them; however, besides Aeron and his Pokémon, the two foxes did not pay attention to the two girls, leaving them a bit depressed.

The three young trainers decided to release their Pokémon as well, which caused quite a commotion since the presence of two titans, Gyarados and Drednaw, attracted much attention from the twelve older Pokémon.

Soon, everything calmed down before Nessa's Pidgey flew with Sophia's Pidgeot. Horsea and Wartortle followed Vaporeon into the lake. They were quickly joined by Gyarados and Drednaw, who made sure to enjoy the water since their trainers were mostly travelling on land. Growlithe and Larvesta accompanied the Fire/Psychic fox.

Abra was still sleeping in Aeron's embrace while Axew had decided to challenge Onix to a battle.

While the Pokémon were enjoying themselves, Sophia brought them snacks and coffee before asking Aeron about his journey. He decided not to say anything about the Viridian Forest incident since it might freak out his mother.

He made up a different story about how he met Nessa and Growlithe, but he did not hide anything else. Once he was done with his narrations, Ethan and Sophia asked the same of the two girls, who were happy to share their stories. The older couple was surprised by their two Pokémon, which were as strong as their own despite being so young. Nessa told them about Galar and her modelling career, while Misty talked about her obsession to be the greatest Water-type Trainer.

"Shall we have dinner?" Sophia looked at the sky, which had now turned dark. "Can you bring some fresh vegetables?" She asked her husband and Aeron while taking the girls back home. Their Pokémon were exhausted from playing the whole day and were soundly asleep. They decided not to disturb them, and they were all safe under the care of Ethan and Sophia's Pokémon.

"What brought you back to Florian Town?' Ethan decided to ask the question that had been disturbing him after they were all alone.

Aeron walked beside his father and steadied his mind before asking. "Do you know anything about Psychic and Aura?"

Ethan's steps halted as he looked at his son, and with a face filled with genuine confusion, he said, "What are they?"

Aeron's heart skipped a beat when he heard that answer, and since his Aura was working at full drive, he could sense Ethan's emotions, and there was no trace of any lie in those words.

"While I was travelling..." The Duskborn paused as his fears were proving to be true. "I awakened some powers that are not...seen in...general populace."

Ethan looked at his son with a serious face before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha. I did not know you could joke like that." He shook his head before adding. "Did you watch the new Ariadosman Movie? Because..." His words suddenly stopped coming out of his mouth. His mind tried to figure out if he was seeing reality or illusion.

Right before him stood his son, his eyes no longer black but purple with blue stars twinkling in them; a slit seen in the eyes of Dragon-type Pokémon appeared in his two eyes. More surprisingly, the huge boulders behind Aeron were now floating in the air.

"Dad..." Aeron spoke again, his voice cold and seeming to echo within the silent night. He asked a question that Ethan feared his son would never ask. He asked something that Ethan did not wish to answer. He asked about something Ethan and Sophia had been keeping a secret, which they had decided to take into their graves. He asked...

Ethan's body trembled as the deep-cold voice of his son entered his ears.

"Am I...adopted?"