Pokemon Mahogany

Rhys' hands shook as he fiddled with his ceremonial robes. It was his first-ever pair of ceremonial robes. Today was his tenth birthday, the day he would receive his first Pokemon just like every other member of his clan. In days past a clan member was expected to catch their own first Pokemon> It had eventually become a formal ceremony where the child would have their Pokemon pre-selected by their parents and the village's Pokemon breeders.

He had waited so long for this day and couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities. He could get a Swinub like his uncle, an Absol like his father, a Sneasel like his grandfather.

'Clair said Swinubs isn't cool, but she's dumb. I bet she's just jealous that my family's Ice types counter her family's Dragons!' The youngest Blackthorn had gotten her Horsea last year and had gloated ever since.

Rhys finally managed to put his robes on correctly, smiling to himself.

Only for a knock from the door and a gentle voice to bring him to attention
"Rhys dear, are you ready? It's almost time."

"Yes Mom, I'll be right out."

"It's mother, dear." She said. Her soft voice brought a smile to Rhys' face as he exited the room.

His mother looked down at him with a smile that didn't rise above her painted lips. She was dressed finely as well and carried herself with a grace she perfected over many years.

"Good, now come along, dear. Everyone's waiting."

With that said, she ushered him along, keeping a hand on his back. With every step he took a fluttering feeling ran through his body and demanded he run down the hall at full speed. Rhys resisted that urge, even as he took shaky steps.

As she saw him struggle, his mother sighed. One part was happy at the work he had put in to maintain his composure, another part was tired of raising such a rambunctious and troublesome child.

It was only a short walk, and the pair eventually arrived before the ceremony chamber. Outside, an older man and a Mamoswine waited for them. Each sat beside the great double door that served as the entrance to the ceremony chamber, the man on the left, and the Mamoswine on the right.

"Rhys! How's my favorite nephew?" The man said, waiving to the two of them.

"Great!" The boy said, trying to hold himself together."It's so good to see you Uncle Pryce!"

"It's good to see you two Rhys, I trust you haven't been giving your mother any trouble."

The Mamoswine rolled its eyes. Everybody there but Rhys knew the real answer to that question.

"Nope! I've been on my best behavior, you just see!"

His mother winced behind him at his explosion of emotion. She loved to see his shining face, but he was always a handful. She hoped some responsibility would mellow him out.

"Well, I wish you luck, and don't worry we chose the best Pokemon for you." There was a slight mischievous tinge to his uncle's smile, but only his mother saw it. Rhys' was far too blind to social cues to take notice.

Rhys nodded to his uncle and stood before the large double doors breathing shakily. His mother stood behind him and prayed for success.

"All right, open up. The boys' ready." His uncle called, slamming the flat of his hand against the door.

Then the doors opened, revealing the rest of his family. The room was barely illuminated with candlelight, turning half of the people in the room into shadows. That was fine for Rhys; the only person in that room who he wanted to see was his father. Beyond his immediate family, the shadowed forms of the Blackthorns sat. Lance grinned, Lance's father with an unreadable expression, and Clair looked down at him.

As the smell of incense hit him, Rhys walked forward, his mother following swiftly behind.

In the back of the dim candlelit room sat a raised platform like a stage and before it a single cushion large enough for Rhys to sit on. A pair of thin curtains sat in between them, blocking the view of the stage.

The only thing he could see on the other side of the curtain was an indistinct silhouette that made his heart race. Doubtless, it was his Pokemon, so close, the anticipation was killing him.
"Sit." His father said.

Without even thinking Rhys crossed the room and sat on the cushion placed in front of the stage. He shook as he lowered his head in reverence at the shadow of his future partner, heart beating all the while.

He heard the shuffling of his father's robes as the man raised a hand. At the sound of the gong, the veil was lifted revealing the silhouetted Pokemon.

She was a Sneasel; blueish-black fur, two sharp pointed ears with a short spiked feather gave away her gender, a pair of claws on each hand, and a petite body even for a Sneasel gave away her young age. An elegant, peaceful look graced her face as she held her eyes closed. On one side she was flanked by a male Weavile with an impressive plumage of feathers atop from his head.

Right before the Sneasel sat a black Pokeball sat atop another cushion, shining in the candlelight.

Rhys was in awe. He had seen both Sneasels and Weaviles before, but to Rhys, at this moment she was the most beautiful Pokemon he had ever seen.

'This is my Sneasel, on my day, the start of my journey, the beginning of Clair and the clan recognizing me as a man, the-'

Rhys' thought process cut off as a black colored Pokeball impacted his face and set him flying onto his back and lying on the floor dazed.

The room was silent as they looked at Rhys knocked over and sprawled on the floor before all eyes were drawn to the assailant. She stood victorious over Rhys, raising a claw in the air as she released a victorious chirp. It took the Weavile standing behind her a second to blink and snap out of his shock, before he promptly rushed forward and slammed the blunt of his claws into the back of the younger Sneasel's head, knocking her out cold.

Behind them, himself, Pryce burst out into laughter as the furious Weavile began to chirp loudly at the Sneasel. Rhys mother put a foot forward as she went for her own Pokeball.

"No." Rhys' Father said, holding up a hand. "Let him get up on his own."

Rhys rubbed his face as he sat up from the floor, stunned as he realized what had happened. The angry chirps of the Weavile echoed in his mind. Beside him, he saw the Pokeball sitting listlessly on the floor. Rhys took the ball off the floor with a shaky hand and looked at his own reflection on its surface. He was red with embarrassment and shock, he could feel everybody's eyes on him, judging him, like worms burrowing underneath his skin. He fought the urge to snarl or frown as he took his eyes off his reflection and looked straight ahead at the Sneasel as it was berated by the Weavile.

Hate, furious hatred overtook him for a moment and he thought that he would throw the Pokeball to the floor shattering it into a million pieces before he left the Sneasel to get screamed at. Instead, he was clutching the Pokeball tightly and tossed it towards the incapacitated Sneasel.

The ball bounced against the Sneasel's head with a hollow, wooden sound, before the Sneasel disappeared into it with a flash of red.

The Weavile's hands snapped shut as the Sneasel disappeared from in between them and turned into a trail of red light that was swallowed whole by the black Pokeball. The Weavile looked at Rhys and the two held each other's gaze as the Pokeball fell to the floor.

The Pokeball wobbled once, a wavering sound echoing around the room.

Twice it wobbled and Rhys felt himself sweat under the gaze of the weavile and his family.

Finally the Pokeball righted itself with a ding and the Weavile retreated to the platform. Rhys heard the footsteps of his father's heavy wood sandals as they beat the floor and the man's shadow towered over him.

"Good." Rhys could hear the smile in his father's voice. "looks like you've caught your first Pokemon. Now you just have to train her."

Rhys already knew that Sneasels had a reputation for having bad attitudes, but as he swallowed his own spit and stood up, he realized how bad-natured they could really be.


Rhys and the Sneasel stood at opposite ends of the room which bore the scars of their conflict. His ceremonial robes laid tattered on the floor. The Sneasel was scuffed, and a bit taken off of her red left ear tuft.

He held her gaze as she leered at him, inspecting the other for weakness as they circled the room.

In an instant, Sneasel disappeared in a flash of movement. Rhys stumbled backward as her feet met his gut, toppling him over. She was on top of him, triumphant, holding a claw in the air as she chirped.

Rhys breathed heavily as she walked up his body, until she sat down on his chest, straddling his neck as she smiled. Rhys sneered back up at her, baring his teeth as she raised a claw. Before Sneasel could scratch his face, Rhys grabbed her head first, sending the Sneasel flying away with a throw.

Once more the two of them stood at opposite ends of the room, panting as they prepared to attack. He waited one moment, then two, and as he predicted, Sneasel vanished in a blur of movement. But this time Rhys moved just in the nick of time and throwing out a punch that caught her as she reappeared.

She spun through the air, then bounced as she hit the floor and rolled into a wall. Sneasel lay there, catching her breath as she forced her up to stand. Rhys and her locked eyes as she stood, waiting for the other to do something. Sneasel ran her tongue along her teeth, feeling them until she found a loose tooth ready to fall out. She tensed her body as she spit it out, the tooth landing on the floor with a trail of blood behind it.

Rhys took the first step, and then Sneasel took the second. The two walked towards each other, a fire behind their eyes.

BAM!

Before either could do anything else, the door to the room flew open. The two froze mid-combat as their fathers stood in the door frame. Rhys' mother was behind them, a shocked expression on her face.

Both of their fathers' sighed.

"We leave you alone for five minutes, and you two are already at each other's throats." The Weavile growled, clicking his claws together as he looked down at his daughter.

Rhys and Sneasel wilted as their fathers stepped forward, looming over them. Rhys' mother stepped forward, brushing past her husband and the Weavile as she retrieved her Pokeball and clicked it open. In a flash of red, a Chansey appeared in the wrecked room.

The Chansey blinked as it took in its surroundings, waving to Rhys' father as his mother continued on. He didn't resist as his mother picked him up and sat him down in her lap, commandeering the last remaining chair in the room.

"Chansey." Rhys' mother commanded, spurring the pink blob to action.

The large pink Pokemon responded with a happy chirp, placing its hands together and firing a Heal Pulse at Rhys and then the Sneasel.

Rhys looked himself over as his scratches and bruises disappeared. The Sneasel felt around her mouth again, feeling where the new tooth had grown.

"Now, Rhys, and you too Sneasel." His mother stressed their names. Her pink hair frayed at the edges as she spoke. "Neither of you are going to hurt the other, or you're in big trouble, understand?"

"Honey." Rhys' father said, stressing the word.

Rhys' mother looked between her husband, and the impatient and angry Weavile and sighed. "Yes." With that said, she opened her Pokeball, retrieving her Chansey. Rhys hopped off of his mother's lap, landing on the floor with shaky legs as Sneasel stood up.

His mother exited the room without comment. Her robes flowed behind her as she closed the door on her way out, leaving the two children to their punishment.

Rhys' father shook his head as he looked away from the door and to his son. "Rhys Mahogany, do you believe your actions here to be inspiring to me, ennobling to our clan, or in any way honorable."

Rhys looked down at himself and his tattered robes, then to his father, the Sneasel, the room, the Weavile, and then back to his father. It was so slow his father could practically see the gears turning in his head.

"No, father."

"Then why did you get into a fight with your Pokemon?"

"She-"

"I do not care who started it, you should have handled yourself better!"

"Sorry, father." Rhys bowed at the waist. "She was being disobedient and tried to scratch me so I-"

"I don't want excuses for your behavior either."

Rhys held himself back from baring his teeth and speaking. 'I wasn't making an excuse for myself, I was explaining why I did it.' He knew that would only cause his father to talk more.

"Why did you want a Pokemon in the first place? What do you want to do with your life?"

Rhys thought about that for a second, trying to track down the source of his earlier excitement. Clair was constantly talking about the Horsea she got every time they played together and she was spending less time with Rhys. That and he wanted to impress his father, but he felt admitting that out loud was embarrassing.

"To beat Clair and become a man."

"And?"

There was a beat of silence in the room. Rhys hadn't thought of anything more. 'Does he just want me to say something to make him happy?'

"Live a long quiet life and die peacefully at an old age surrounded by my family?"

His father's eyes narrowed. "Not incorrect, but not sincere. You just heard someone say that and told me it so I'd be happy."

"Yes, father."

"Well, it didn't work." Rhys went back to looking down at the floor, trying to hide his face as he gritted his teeth.

'What does he even want from me, why won't you smile, get really angry, show something, anything.' Of course, he already knew what his father wanted. He was just furious even at the man's always stoic demeanor which had never even looked at Rhys with a smile.

"And you, Sneasel?"

Both her and Rhys' father looked down at her, small even for a Sneasel, her short red ear twitching with embarrassment. She looked up only for a moment and half-grumbled, half-chirped out something that barely sounded like an apology.

"Clearly both of you direly need more discipline, perhaps we should throw you two into the ice path immediately. Test your mettle against a real challenge."

Rhys sweat as he kept his head pointed towards the ground, only moving his eyes to see the similarly pale expression of the Sneasel next to him.

The Weavile made a sound that was half-growl, half-chirp. Rhys didn't know what he said exactly, but it sounded like he was half in agreement.

"Then they better shape up. Otherwise, we'll have to make them regret failing us." The Sneasel's father chirped, causing the Sneasel to wilt even more.

"Either way, you'll be going to the Ice Path eventually, how about one week?"

Rhys and the Sneasel nodded, knowing they didn't have another choice.

"Now, what are you two going to do?"

Rhys shook, as he brought his gaze up to meet his father in the eyes, trying to hold himself still. He swallowed, then turned to his partner beside him and bowed.

"Sneasel." Rhys' voice had become calm, monotone as he bowed to her. "I'm sorry, you're my Pokemon and I should treat you with more respect."

His words were insincere and rehearsed, with almost no understanding on each others' part.

The Sneasel chirped awkwardly in response, nodding her head before remembering to bow.

Rhys' father clapped his hands together. "Good, first steps are important with matters like these." Rhys could still feel his father's gaze on him judging, and he thanked him for being merciful. "If you two are going to be partners for life, you might as well figure out how to live with each other."

"Now, I will give you two the rest of the day to yourselves. You are free to traverse the mansion grounds as you see fit. Good day."

Rhys' father turned on the spot and opened the door, exiting the room to leave with his wife who waited outside. The Weavile lingered a moment longer, before closing the door and departing in the direction opposite Rhys' father.

Now alone, Rhys and the Sneasel were left to collect their thoughts.

'Right. I'm not giving up on this relationship, I'll make it work for the sake of my family!' And of course, for the sake of his own pride.

Rhys and the Sneasel looked at each other, the flame that was behind each other's eyes earlier had gone out. Only leaving quivering embers. Both of them sighed.

"So, what do you say, partners?" Rhys asked, his voice wavering as he kneeled down to offer Sneasel a hand.
Sneasel's red ear twitched slightly as she gave him a skeptical look.

"Eh? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The Sneasel grumbled under her breath, clicking her claws together. 'Just like her father...' She looked back and forth, before reaching forward and taking Rhys' hand in her own.

"Good?"

The Sneasel chirped in agreement. It looked like the both of them would have to try their best, or else.


They went to the training yard first; it was most obvious spot of the innumerable locations within the Mahogany Manor. A vast complex of rooms and buildings now weathered with time, leaving only half of its luster undisturbed.

Above, birds flew through the sky as the sun looked down at Rhys and Sneasel from its zenith. A distant yellow eye shone rays of light down through the light gray clouds that filled the sky.

The courtyard was stone, and in its center, an area was indented into the floor, filled with various training equipment. Wooden dummies, target practice, pits, areas for climbing, and a series of wooden panels that looked like a maze. From the second floor of the surrounding building, shadowed figures watched the two, but neither Rhys nor Sneasel gave them any mind.

Rhys had gotten his backpack and laid on the edge of the area where he sat. He held a pencil in one hand and a notebook in another as Sneasel sat next to him.

"So, Mom always tells me to make a list of things when I don't know what I want to do first."

Sneasel nodded but didn't look at him, kicking her short legs as she sat on the rim of the arena.

"So we have: Beat Clair, pass the Ice Path challenge, become better partners, catch more Pokemon, impress Dad, and... Anything else?"

Sneasel looked over at the notebook, and frowned. His handwriting was nearly illegible, even her handwriting was better. She rolled her eyes and grumbled something out.

Rhys' nodded at that, not really understanding what she had said, but making his own assumptions. "Okay, we have to beat your dad in a battle and figure out what you can do. Is that right?"

Sneasel face palmed, turning towards the courtyard's exit.

"Hey." Rhys reached out grabbing her by the arm. "I'm trying my best. You have to try to!"

She thought about it for a moment, trying to weigh the pros and cons, before sighing. Reluctantly she heeded Rhys and turned around, only taking a moment to look at him before hopping down into the arena.

"So!" Rhys stood up, looking at Sneasel from above. "You used Quick Attack on me earlier, what else do you have?"

One by one, Sneasel went through the moves she knew. Vanishing in an instant to appear as a dummy and attack it, firing out a bullet of ice in a flash that crashed into another, leering at a target before cutting deeply into it with a scratch.

"Okay, you can use Scratch, Ice Shard, and Leer." He still felt embarrassed from earlier, but this small amount of progress distracted him from that. "Clair's Horsea is a water type, so it won't be until it evolves until a Kingdra."

Sneasel looked back up to him as he started talking to himself, her ear twitching in annoyance.

Rhys looked down at the type chart he had drawn in his notebook. 'Is there something I'm forgetting? Dragon resisted water, grass, fire, electricity, and fire. Water resists water, fire, and steel... yeah, that looks right.'

"Okay, if we're going to beat Clair one day, we're gonna need a grass type as well," Rhys says, proudly looking down. "But Ice Path has a lot of ice types, so a rock, fighting, or fire type could help on that front."

Rhys got quiet for a moment as he tapped his pen against the notebook, thinking about what to do next. Sneasel started making her way back to him, only for Rhys to burst into action.

"We're not gonna make any progress here, come on Sneasel!" He said, stuffing his notebook and pencil into his backpack, stopping only to wave to Sneasel

She rolled her eyes, an annoying excitable person like Rhys was the exact opposite of what she wanted. If she was going to be stuck being some crazy kid's Pokemon she may as well try her best, so she can live in the lap of luxury. At least that was her reasoning.

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Pub: 01 Jun 2025 20:47 UTC

Edit: 02 Jun 2025 22:53 UTC

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