Chapter 10 "Parent's Week Part 1"

Camp is almost over, and it's finally Parent's week. Mom and Dad already told me that they would be here, and that they might be bringing a special guest along. Not sure who, but it's probably one of my Aunts or Uncles. Apparently whoever it was had a better time of keeping the secret, because even Gary didn't know though his Grandfather laughed when Gary asked him about it.

Honestly, I'm more surprised that none of Gary's old crew tried to start anything. Though apparently they are hanging onto Ethan. They tried to get close to Steven Stone and Cynthia Shirona, but that apparently didn't work out to well for them. Steven didn't acknowledge them, and when one of them tried to insult Lucy in front of Cynthia, she told him he should leave before something bad happened.

Not too surprising, especially with the other information Gary found out. Apparently Steven was getting to skip some of the school years. He had enough of a record already, and he been taking what classes he could ahead of schedule. So the only thing he needed to do before he could start his journey was get the battle and survival classes out of the way. That would only take him maybe two years.

Cynthia had a similar situation going on, but that was only with her Archaeology classes. Apparently her Grandmother is an Archaeologist and has been teaching Cynthia as allowed. No worries there for me, as I don't plan to do the Sinnoh circuit for a good minute.

"Mom, Dad!" I shout as I see them. I run up and hug mom first, with both my parents laughing at me. But it's okay, I haven't seen them in a while.

"So how'd you like the camp kid?" I hear from behind them.

"Uncle Lance! So you're the mystery guest."

"Got it in one. But I am the Champion now, so I had to keep the visit on the quiet side. Too many rough feelings from the past I suppose."

I push past mom and dad for a second to give him a hug.

"You might be the Champion, but it won't be for too long," I say, before looking up at him.

"Just remember you're not allowed to lose until I beat you."

We all laugh and he ruffles my hair.

"Well then, suppose you show me your partner," he says.

"Come on out, Danu," I say, and a moment later, Danu is standing next to me, chirping at my mom and dad. She looks at Lance, but doesn't get too close. Probably a combination of him being too strong and her not knowing him.

Knowing what I know now, I realize that after you get your pokemon to Silver stage, other pokemon can generally tell if a person is a threat or not. And I imagine Lance as a Champion has pokemon that are much higher than Silver stage. So it's doubly understandable that she might be a little leery of him.

"Danu, this is Uncle Lance," I tell her, "He won't hurt you or anything. He's kind of like a guardian for everyone, okay?"

She chirps happily and is at least willing to get a little closer.

"Smart little gal you got there. Most times trainers would have to explain two or three times to get them to understand I'm friendly to them." He takes a few moments to look her over.

"Well she's beautiful. I assume that you've kept her on the diet that I heard your parents say she was on. She might be needing something a bit more soon. I understand that she was undersized and underweight when you got her, but I would have thought she would be slightly bigger by now."

I chuckle, "That might be partially my fault. We've been training since camp started. I've also been mixing up her food a little bit to find more things that she likes. However, she still gets a Miracle Seed every week. And she has become very proficient at the moves we've been training. Not to the Master level of course, but enough that she can use those two moves at will. We've got a recommended training path. I think we'll mix things up a little bit more, but yeah."

He laughs, "It's always good to hear rookies say things like that. Just remember that you can't always guarantee your plan will stay on course."

We talk for a few more minutes before Professor Oak and Gary walk over.

"Hello Lance," Oak says, "I see you're still causing problems in the least suspicious way possible."

Lance laughs, "Of course Professor. If they can't survive for part of a week while I go to my nephew's summer camp parent week, we're in a lot more trouble than I thought."

Oak laughs as well, before saying, "Yes, well we do have some unusual guests this time around, so please no politics."

Lance nods, "None while I am here. Honest. I just want to see the little competition you've got. Also would like to spend some time with my friends and people I consider family."

Oak smiles, "Yes, well your nephew is one of the favorites to win that competition. My assistants have been placing and taking bets all week leading up to this. Nothing outside of the lab of course, and no money is actually being exchanged, but one of my aides used to work at the Pokestar Casino as a bookie."

Lance gives Oak a look. Oak responds, "His research topic is actually rather interesting, but it would be more useful for setting odds. He's trying to quantify different things like attack and defense to add them to the Pokedex."

Lance nods at that and chuckles. "Sorry, just said I wouldn't let politics seep there way in, but you have to admit going from a bookie to a research aide is a bit of a jump."

Oak replies, "Oh believe me when he put his application in I was similarly skeptical. But he's been a great help. Just a little obsessed with numbers."

"Anyway, Arthur is one of the favorites to win. Him and his Chikorita have really impressed all of the adults at the camp. That combined with the determination of the two of them is what really placed them in the top five favorites list. Of course, the top two are Cynthia and Gary. Cynthia is a monster and so is her Gible. On the other side, Gary and his Squirtle are expected to be a tough opponent for most. He's good, but against Cynthia it's still a toss up."

"Then there is Arthur and John. Both have put in a lot of work, but they are still untested in actual battle. So they aren't expected to win, but odds are good they'll place well. Steven Stone takes the last spot. More because his Pokemon will be a hassle for most of the others to deal with."

At this my mom looks at Oak, to which he replies, "Beldum."

Everyone nods, chuckling. Even I know this one. Beldum is one of the few pokemon who only learns one move before evolution. Not that people haven't tried. But the Beldum line tends to be a bit scatterbrained in the first stage. When they evolve into Metang things are a bit better."

The Professor leaves at that point, heading up to the podium to address the parents.

"Welcome Parents! Over the last three months your kids have been learning about pokemon, as well as about the different degrees and careers they can take in the future. Now that all of you are here, we would love to demonstrate some of the things learned, as well as show off a little bit for all of you before we send the majority of you home to start school."

"With that, we have three different events going on. First, we will have a Junior Battle Tournament. As all of the trainers only have one pokemon, the real challenge will be for the trainers to determine if they can continue battling or not. We will also have a Junior Contest and an obstacle course."

"The Junior Contest and the Obstacle Course are not expected to take as long as the battling, so those events will be held today and tomorrow respectively. The Battle Tournament will be held on the day after. For everyone interested, please head over to the Camp Stage, and once everyone is comfortable, we'll begin."

None of us are participating in this one. We just don't have the interest in the Contest scene. Of course, everyone is really looking forward to the battle tournament, but gets why it's not being held immediately.

*****

The Contest went well as far as I could tell. My mom was sincerely impressed and made a couple of notes about some of the performers and their pokemon. Lance also made a couple of notes throughout, but he was kind of being watched by every parent in the building. Some were obviously watching him to make sure he was or wasn't interested in their kid.

Others were watching for reasons I could only guess at. Today was the first time I've ever seen Tierno, Trevor and Clemont not trying to cause any problems. Just respectfully sitting and watching the performances. It all makes sense after I catch them looking at Lance though. I don't know what rumors they've heard about him, but they are scared of my Uncle.

Anyway, the Contest actually became a really close event. Lyra was knocked out in the second round. Her and Totodile are apparently still working on routines and they couldn't get it together. Her score from the first round would have normally saved her, but to speed up the contest they eliminated half the contestants after the second round.

I saw three girls that I didn't know were interested in contests though as the third round started. Serena from Kalos and her Fennekin were the first pair I saw as all the contestants came on stage. Then I saw Lucy and her rambunctious Chimchar. And lastly was Cynthia. She had a Gible with her, and while I was already guessing she might not win, she looked determined.