Samson sat in his room, cleaning his pokéflute. He found it buried more than a month ago and spent his spear time cleaning it. The outside was easy, cleaning the inside took patience and care.
After removing the swab, he smiled and began playing it. He didn't really have a love of music but he always enjoyed trying new things. It sounded perfectly in tune so he gently put in in his bag.
His bedroom door swang open and his little friend came rushing in. "Chimchar! Chimchar!"
He looked at his phone and saw it was almost 10 o'clock. "Damn it, I'm late!"
He practically ran out the front door, followed by his starter.
For nearly two years, he'd put off becoming a Pokémon Trainer. His step-mom, Samantha, convinced him to think carefully about what he wanted. This had come from a sudden want to become one that came from nowhere. Over those years, his desire came and went, but now he was curtain about wanting to be one.
"Professor Willow!" He called out, approaching the building. "I'm so sorry I'm late."
"No problem." He said, smiling. "Come on, they're waiting for you."
Wait, what? Samson didn't think he'd heard right, why would anyone be waiting for him?
The two talked and Willow explained that over the last few weeks, he'd shown incredible skill and had drawn the attention of Willow's assistants.
The first assistant he met was Blanche. His step-mom was a member of Team Mystic, she always taught him to act carefully and make the right choice. Having inherited psychic powers from his mother, Amber, he could sense Blanche wasn't exactly a woman. He sensed feminine energy coming from her, but most of the energy was more neutral.
"Hello, Samson." Blanche greeted. "You've shown quite the skill with your Chimchar."
"Thank you. If I may ask, are you a woman?"
Blanche smiled, appreciating his directness and honesty. "No, I'm non-binary. The pronouns they/them best suit me, but I use she/her on occasion."
The two discussed type matchups. Though he needed to think about his answers one or twice, he didn't get any wrong, even when they tried to trick him with Inverse Battle typing.
"You're very smart. I would be glad to welcome you if you were to join Team Mystic." They said before he moved on.
The second assistant was Spark. His mother was a member of Team Instinct, she was always kind to him and taught him the value of always being yourself.
"Hey there." He greeted. "You and your Chimchar seem pretty close."
"Thank you, sir. I've cared for him since he hatched."
That got Spark's interest. They discussed about how he takes care of Chimchar. Samson talked about some strange habits, but Spark noticed Chimchar's reaction to the attention.
"You two really are close. I'd love it if you joined us, but you should only do so if it feel right. Got it?" He said before leaving.
Samson wasn't used to this level of attention. He was feeling a little uncomfortable, but Candela helped with that.
"Well if it isn't the golden boy!" She said with a lot of energy. She was brimming with such passion that it was infectious. He heard from his father, Dorian, how passionate she was but seeing was believing. He made sure to remind Samson that whatever happened, the winner of a fight usually had the bigger gun.
"I liked how you pushed your Chimchar, showed plenty of guts."
Just like the other two, she wanted to talk to him. This time, it was about what Pokémon he wanted. She was interested in his answer of a Machamp/Alakazam duo.
"You've got a good eye for strength. Join Valor, and I'll help make Chimchar into a tough Infernape." Then she left.
When he and Willow were alone, Samson told him how strange it was to be wanted by all three.
"Trust me, it's not that unusual. Despite how people think, they usually see something they like in everyone. It's more unusual when only one of them is interested."
Willow left Samson to think over his option, ensuring there was to pressure.
He wandered the lab, watching all the other Trainers signing up to join the different teams. It was difficult for him to decide. For Samson, it wasn't just about which ideology to follow but also which of his parents to side with.
After almost an hour...