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In his own opinion, Tim Goodman is a pretty boring person. Sure, he’s come face to face with a literal legendary, but in these changing times, he’s hardly the first. And yeah, the whole adventure with his father-turned-Pikachu was pretty wild, but Tim was neither a catalyst nor a hero for that story, despite what Lucy and his dad both tell him. Okay, maybe he’s stepping a little out of the box when it comes to his new hope of being a detective- but honestly, who hasn’t wanted to follow in a relative’s footsteps at some point? So no, when it comes down to facts, Tim is downright boring in both his personality and his day-to-day life, and he’s sure he’s happy that way.
So why is he so disappointed when it looks like things will stay the same?
“I’m sorry, Tim,” Lieutenant Yoshida tells him for what feels like the millionth time, “but you cannot take on work at the precinct without a partner Pokémon. It’s simply too dangerous.” He glances up at Harry, who stands behind Tim’s chair with a hand clasped on his son’s shoulder. Tim can’t see his face, can only imagine the disappointment showing at the moment, but he’s grateful for the hand, the contact. “Honestly,” the lieutenant continues, “I would have preferred you hear this from your father.”
“I thought there’d be an exception,” Harry admits, his voice betraying that it’s not disappointment he’s feeling- it’s guilt. Guilt for what? Tim wonders. Getting his hopes up? “After all, Tim has- he more than proved himself with the whole Mewtwo thing.” There’s no question to his words, and somehow that just makes Tim want to sink into his chair even more. His dad honestly believes in him, and he’s not sure how to live up to that. Especially now that it looks like he won’t even be given the chance.
Yoshida sighs, like this conversation, like his own words physically pain him. In this moment, Tim is horribly aware of his own failure of refusing a partner Pokémon. “I’m not arguing that,” Yoshida says, fully addressing Harry now. “But at that time, he was working with both your Pikachu-“
“Me,” Harry interjects.
“- and the reporter Miss Stevens. Yes, I am aware that was you. On record, however, it was your Pikachu.” Once more, the lieutenant sighs, rubbing his temples. “The whole situation was… disruptive, and while your son’s efforts are appreciated by both those at this precinct, and the wider population of Ryme City, he cannot be allowed to risk the safety of both himself and others by taking on detective work without a partner Pokémon at his side. He has already proven-“
Tim stands abruptly, shrugging off his father’s hand, and Lieutenant Yoshida falls silent. “Y’know, I-“ Tim’s voice cracks, and he has to start again. “I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to explain, Lieutenant, I really do. But I get it. I’m sorry I-“ He can’t really pinpoint the reason, only that he’s sorry. So he simply repeats, “I’m sorry,” before turning and dodging Harry’s reaching hand as he walks out the door of the lieutenant’s office. It isn’t until he pulls the door closed behind him that Tim realizes he’s been holding his breath. It escapes him in a shaky, uneven sigh, so uncomfortably close to the beginning of a sob.
Why is he so upset? He shouldn’t be this upset, he shouldn’t be, but he is and it hurts and he wishes it didn’t.
“Pika~?”
Tim looks down, to his left- and through blurry eyes he sees his dad’s Pikachu, sitting on the short bench just outside Yoshida’s office and looking up at him with inquisitive eyes. Despite himself, despite the ache in his chest that threatens to spread to his throat and strangle him with crying- Tim can’t help but smile at the creature.
“Hey, buddy.” He lets out another sigh, this time a steadying one. “I’m fine,” he says, then, “I’ll be fine.” It’s unsure whether he’s addressing the Pikachu or himself, but either way, it’s reassuring.
Now with his disappointment (mostly) in check, Tim feels he’ll be fine to text the bad news. Motioning for Pikachu to move over, he sits and pulls out his phone. He’s got some messages from Lucy, from Grams, and a missed call from an 800 number. The last alert gets swiped into oblivion, and he unlocks his phone to read the texts.
Lucy: TIM i just realized
tim
tim
show interest in my realization
wait are you in the meeting now
OKAY i’ll just tell you
holmes and watson
that’s us
if watson was. a woman. and better written
anyways good luck in the meetingggggg
Oh, Arceus. Okay. Tim maybe isn’t as fine to text as he thought. He’s dealing with his own disappointment already, not to mention whatever disappointment his father’s feeling. He doesn’t have the energy to add on to it by ruining Lucy’s excitement. He knows he’ll have to, just… not right now. And so instead, he opens up his texts from Grams.
Grams: Proud of you! Call me when you can. I love you!
Yeah, okay, that’s kinda worse. Sure, Tim knows his Grams means it when she says she’s proud, that she loves him- knows that logically, she’s not going to stop either of those just because of the results of the meeting.
But emotionally? It feels like this will be the end of the world.
Luckily, he’s distracted from those feelings by the Pikachu next to him perking up, by the door to the lieutenant’s office opening to reveal his father. Harry, for his part, gives him what Tim’s sure is the most reassuring smile he can muster as he closes the door behind him.
“Hey, kid,” he says quietly, holding out a hand for Tim to grab and pull himself up. Tim’s not proud of the fact he hesitates- look, no matter what they’ve been through, it’s still been a long time without his dad’s presence- but he is a little bit proud of the fact that when he accepts his dad’s hand, the older man’s smile grows just a bit more genuine as he pulls him up. “You doing alright?”
Once more, Tim hesitates. It’d be easier to lie, but that’s not how he was raised, not what he knows to be right. And so he shakes his head, clears his throat to get rid of the held-back tears before he speaks.
“I was-“ Oof, there’s still a bit of roughness in his voice. He tries again. “I was, just… really looking forward to this, you know? And I- I feel like I let people down. Like I let myself down.”
His dad lets go, then, before bringing his own hand up to grasp Tim’s shoulder again. It’s a steadying hold. “Tim. You didn’t let anyone down, okay? If anything, this is an opportunity, a chance to look at all of your options before jumping into something.”
“Pika!” chimes in Harry’s Pikachu, and Tim can’t help but let a grin start to grow. Just a little bit.
“See?” Harry says proudly. “I think Pikachu agrees!” His arm makes its way around Tim’s shoulders entirely, and he pulls his son into a half-hug as they start to walk, Pikachu quickly following behind. “Now, let’s go get a coffee, and we can look at those options of yours.”
________________________________________
It’s only a couple days later that Lucy reopens the subject, as casually as she can- which, to be fair, isn’t very casually at all. They’re at a little café she claims to be the best in town, both poring over their menus as Psyduck worries at the straw wrapper from Lucy’s lemonade.
“I’m thinking…the Appletun pie,” Tim muses. “Have you had that?”
“Sure,” Lucy answers in a way that isn’t an answer at all. “So when are you getting a partner Pokémon?”
Tim only sighs at first, not even looking up from his menu. For some obviously insane reason, he’d expected Lucy to respect his choices and drop the subject, but no. “I don’t need a partner, Lucy.”
She actually laughs at that, prompting Tim to look up at her incredulously. There’s a bit of a moment where she sounds like an anime villain, but he decides not to call her on it as she quiets down and looks at him like he’s missing something obvious. “Yes? You do.”
“Really don’t.”
“Really do.” She reaches across the small table to grab tightly onto the one hand not holding his menu. He is definitely not blushing at that, nope. “Tim, be real. You’re lonely.”
“Thanks for that,” he mutters.
“You want to- You know what? You’re welcome. Someone had to say it.” Even if Jack beat her to the punch. “Anyways. You want to be a detective, right? And you can’t, because you need a partner. Getting a Pokémon would fix both issues!” She looks at him, almost pleadingly. “C’mon, and then Psyduck could have a buddy!”
Tim clenches his jaw, cycles through his thoughts- and sighs. “Okay first of all, I’m not having my Pokémon be friends with your pet bomb.” Lucy grins triumphantly, squeezing his hand even as Psyduck lets out a protesting cry. But Tim realizes his own wording, and rushes to fix his mistake. “That’s if I get a Pokémon, which I’m not going to. I don’t- I don’t even know where to find one! Or choose one! Or get one to choose me!” Okay, maybe there’s more to it than just ‘he doesn’t want one.’ And Lucy obviously realizes that, as she releases his hand (he’s definitely not disappointed about that, nope) to pull out her phone.
“Okay, honestly, the best Pokémon are gifted. And I know a breeder in Kalos, so-“
“That is halfway across the world.”
“And?” This time, her smile is softer, her touch more brief as she gives his hand a quick squeeze. “C’mon, I’ll take care of it. Trust me.”
He wants to say no. He really does.
But does he really?
“Okay,” he relents. “But about that pie…”
________________________________________
It’s a week later that Tim opens the door to his father’s apartment to find it dark. There’s a cold fear that runs through him, remembering the last time he found it like this. Shifting the bag of Oran berries to one hand, he desperately fumbles for the light switch, and hits it, revealing-
“Surprise!”
Tim does not shriek. He does not drop the bag of berries. He definitely does not scare the living daylights out of Lucy’s Psyduck.
Okay, maybe he does all of those thi- Wait, Lucy’s Psyduck?
And there’s the Psyduck in question’s trainer, desperately shushing her Pokémon before he decides to explode. And there’s Harry, laughing so hard Pikachu’s almost falling off his shoulder. And finally, there’s Grams, visibly clutching her pearls on the decently sized screen of Harry’s tablet.
“What is this?” Tim asks, voice still a little high. “It’s- My birthday isn’t for another two months!”
All his focus falls to Lucy as she stands from her crouch. More specifically, all his focus falls to the Pokéball in her hand, which she’s holding out to him. His dad’s stopped laughing by now, and Grams has let go of her pearls, and, and-
“Meet your new partner,” Lucy says proudly.
And he’s scared.
But his dad is there. But Lucy is there. But Grams is (sort of) there. He’s not alone, and that fact gives him the strength to reach out and take the Pokéball into his own shaky hold.
He presses the release button, and honestly? He can’t quite believe what he sees.
“We wanted something with potential,” says Harry.
“And something cute,” says Grams.
“And something as special as you are,” says Lucy with shining eyes.
“Ee-vie!” cries the silver Eevee, bounding towards Tim to jump into his waiting arms.
He’s been chosen, finally. And things are changing.
epilogue
“So,” Tim muses, watching Eevee paw at his case notes, ”I’m pretty sure we’re not getting anywhere else tonight. How about we take a break?” Eevee looks curiously up at him, and he can’t help but grin at her. “Yeah, I know, you’re a workaholic. But I’ve got caa-ake!” As he speaks, he pulls the treat in question from behind his back, and watches his Pokémon’s eyes light up with love.
After setting it down gently for Eevee to devour, his attention shifts to a notification on his phone. It’s from Lucy, and the smile on his face only widens. “It’s my girlfriend,” he announces, voice a sing-song, and goes to respond-
There’s a light. Where is the light coming from?
“Ee-vie!”
Tim turns back to face his Pokémon, eyes wide. It’s a happiness based evolution, it’s gotta be, there’s no stones. What time is it? Arceus, he loves his Pokémon either way, but an Espeon would be so cool, cooler than an Umbreon, right?
There’s-
She’s-
“SYL-VEE!”