MORE OFTEN than not, when something interesting happened in Nuvema Town, the smallest town in the entire Unova region, the rest of the world didn't find it quite as exciting. However, it was exactly that fuel that fed the fire when Adam White disappeared. The region couldn't believe that the quaint little town was capable of such a heart-wrenching tragedy. The unfortunate event happened so close to home that it affected all of the town's residents. The kids weren't allowed out of the house, and adults seldom interacted with anyone outside of their homes. Even Aurea Juniper, the town's very own Pokémon Professor, and the only reason Nuvema Town was even featured on any maps, shut down her laboratory for new trainers for an entire month—the longest it had ever been closed before.

The day the search parties declared Adam White to be a lost cause, and put an end to their efforts to find him was a sad day, and not just for Nuvema Town. They captured the sorrow on the front page of newspapers all over Unova. The region was in shambles. Nuvema Town had been a symbol of peace, and comfort, but that was no longer a valid description. Adam White was missed by all, and he had landed in the prayers of many.

In that small town sat the loving, mourning White family, distraught from the loss of both a husband and a father. Downstairs sat the newly widowed Erin, and upstairs was their daughter, who was just seven years old. Then, suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

This came as a shock to Erin, surprised that anyone would come to visit at such a miserable time. The neighbors obviously didn't like to leave their homes, much less talk about what happened, and the majority of the region knew how badly she was taking it. She double-knotted her robe around her body, then made her way towards the door, hoping her puffy eyes weren't as noticeable as she believed them to be.

When she arrived at the door and peered outside, her eyes widened in astonishment. This was the last person she would have expected to see, including her deceased spouse.

"Looker?!" Erin gasped, staring at the man in front of her.

"Erin, you know how I feel about you addressing me by my code name," he reminded her evenly. "We're old friends. Call me Robert."

"Yeah... Robert..." Erin trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" Looker asked, looking impatient.

"Oh, that's right," Erin stammered guiltily, opening the door wider. "Come on in."

Looker stepped through the threshold, his stiff body sticking straight up as he strode through the house without emotion, taking a seat at the dining room table without a second thought. Erin carefully pushed the door closed, then claimed the seat beside him.

"So you're probably wondering what I'm doing here..." Looker assumed. He hadn't failed to notice the discomfort etched plainly into the woman's body language; her shoulders were held a fraction too far up, and this little detail caused her to look as rattled as she felt. Erin admitted her feelings with a rough nod in his direction. "Well, Adam's disappearance has left Interpol in a bit of a difficult situation."

"I would imagine," Erin commented forlornly.

"I give you my greatest sympathies, and I hope with every fiber of my being that he's out there somewhere. But as long as he is gone, his job position is open."

"I don't know how to help you there," Erin replied. "I can't exactly think of anyone off the top of my head with his genetic structure..."

A high-pitched "Mommy!" chimed through the room, interrupting the adults' conversation. A little girl, dressed in a long t-shirt and pajama pants came rushing down the stairs. Her long brown hair was secured into two braids, and her lips curled upwards in an adorable, childish smirk. She had natural laugh lines, even at her young age, from constant smiling. However, as soon as she realized that Erin wasn't alone in the room, she became reserved, looking nervous about the man sitting at the table.

"What is it, Touko?" Erin asked, thankful for a way to pause the conversation with Looker.

"Um...may I have a brownie before I go to bed, please?" the little girl asked embarrassedly.

"Of course you can," Erin told her, standing up from her seat. The mother had grown soft in the days passed. She found herself spoiling her daughter out of instinct. She wanted to make sure the little girl wasn't as dispirited as she was. But it all clicked for Erin as she passed a plate containing a brownie from the batch they'd made together the night before her way. She now understood why Looker was here. She gasped loudly, whipping her head over to face him. "You don't mean--"

"Touko, is it?" Looker was already saying.

"Yes," Touko confirmed shyly.

"That's an unusual name. Very pretty, though."

"I don't like it," Touko shrugged, taking a bite of her brownie.

"I didn't like my name when I was little either. You'll like it more when you get older, I promise."

"Okay," Touko murmured, nodding. It was easy to tell that Touko didn't feel comfortable around Looker. She looked desperate to get out of there as soon as possible, and that was exactly what Erin needed in order to properly speak to Looker about this.

"Touko, why don't you eat your snack in your room tonight?" Erin suggested, and Touko immediately perked up.

"But you never let me eat in my room," she noted, a bit confused, although she was over the moon with excitement.

"Well, it's just for tonight. I'll go clean up your plate when you're asleep. Try not to make a big mess, please," Erin told her.

Touko was ecstatic, and leaped to her feet in an instant, ready to bolt up the stairs.

"Can I have a good night's kiss?" Erin asked before her daughter could leave.

Touko returned to her mother's side and quickly pressed her lips against her cheek with an exaggerated, loud smooching noise, then exited the room. Now, it was time to deal with Looker.

"You are not taking my daughter away to become a spy. She's only a little girl!" Erin cried out, just quiet enough so that Touko wouldn't be able to hear her from upstairs, but loud enough to get her anger across to the man.

"Of course not now," Looker said. "But when she's older, maybe she could join the force."

"That little girl has dreams, you know. She has dreams to go on a Pokémon journey with her friends when she gets older. How dare you try to take that away from her?"

"Well she can still fulfill her dreams. But on the side, maybe she can work for Interpol. Just think about it. How happy would she be if her genetics ended up being right? The serum could make her life something right out of a dream!"

Erin hated how compelling Looker's argument was. She couldn't help but remember how Adam had acted when he was first injected with the serum. It was like a blind man seeing the world for the first time. Erin couldn't even imagine how her little girl would react if she was given it, when a grown man acted that way. All of her dreams would come true. Did Erin really want to keep her from that?

Erin stopped herself. "Don't make it seem like there's nothing wrong with this. My daughter is not going to be a member of Interpol just because her father's position is now available. That's twisted."

"You may think it's twisted, but she's our only hope if we want to keep his legacy going," Looker admitted, his face solemn.

Erin was so torn between her natural instincts and the prospect of her daughter's happiness. Sure, she wanted her daughter to be happy all the time, which the serum would definitely provide for her, but she knew that something was bound to go wrong if she accepted this offer.

"You know what?" Looker said. "I'll return when Touko is going on her Pokémon journey. By then she'll be of age to make her own decisions, since this is obviously very difficult for you. Until then, we'll keep to ourselves."

Hesitantly, Erin took a deep breath and agreed. "Okay..."

Looker stood up and headed towards the front door. "I'll see you then," he declared, then exited the house, leaving Erin praying to Arceus that she made the right choice.

🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶

Later on in the night, Erin headed upstairs to check on Touko. Her body was sprawled across her twin-sized mattress, her stomach rising and falling calmly with every unconscious breath she took. Erin admired the child that she and Adam had brought into the world seven years ago. She was a perfect cross between the two of them. She looked just like Erin, with her brilliant blue eyes, oval face shape, and fair complexion. The only significant physical difference between the two of them was Adam's dark brown hair. Past her looks, though, Touko acted exactly like her father. So much, that Erin had often found herself wincing from the similarities as of late. Touko was ambitious, stupidly determined, and had his sarcastic humor, even at a young age. She even retained his familiar goofy grin.

Asleep, she looked so beautiful and at peace with the world. Somehow, looking at her daughter, Erin just knew that she would make the right decision when Looker returned, years later. She could tell Touko was destined to do great things, just like her father.

If only she didn't have to though.

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10/4/15  •  12/29/19