Max woke up, like he did most mornings, to the sound of his mother singing Lucy back into wakefulness. The light of morning filtered in through the blinds and with it Max could see the typical tableau, but this morning it felt different. Max’s gaze instead stayed much more fixed on his sister, and in particular on her lower half. Still in only a shirt, as he’d left her the wee hours of the morning, Lucy began to stir and, as always, with a sudden burst came alive.

“Oh today is the day! I can’t wait to get going!” cheered Lucy with her usual energy, though of course with a very particular goal in mind for this day. 

“Well you and your brother have some getting ready to do before you can leave, but yes it is that day.” Said their mother with a kind smile and a glance towards Max. “Breakfast is ready when you are, so let’s try to get up and go. We wouldn’t want to waste the day away sleeping, now would we?”

“No mom” they both intoned, Lucy with gusto and Max with sleep still very evident in his voice.

As usual Lucy was the first out of the room, followed soon after by her mother. “I’ll be there in just a minute,” Max said to his mother as she closed the door behind her with a smile.

Max had been somewhat surprised to find that he still had to contend with a newly woken penis, standing high in the dim light of the room. He supposed that whatever he’d done last night in Lucy wasn’t going to solve his problems. Instead he stood up and started getting dressed for the day.

As Max exited his room and stepped towards the kitchen he heard Lucy say, “Mom my kitty is sore.”

He turned the corner, knowing without a doubt what sight would greet him. Indeed as he entered Max saw his sister sitting in her usual chair, but turned to face the room. Her legs were spread out and one hand was pulling up her t-shirt, the other was rubbing at her vagina. Their mother had just turned and witnessed the same scene, though she appeared much less phased than Max felt in that moment.

“Lucy you need to have a bit more modesty. If you need me to look at something, ask. Don’t just show everyone in the room.” As she said this their mom walked over to see what was the matter. “Were you doing the splits at all yesterday?”

Lucy paused for a moment before saying, “Yeah I was playing gymnastics while you were making dinner.”

“And do you remember what I said last time you ‘played gymnastics’?” their mother responded.

“That I should be careful because I could hurt myself down there,” said Lucy, looking a little dejected. 

“And?” their mother continued.

“Um. Oh, and that I need to stretch so I don’t hurt myself?” asked Lucy.

“Right, we don’t want you to pull a muscle or tear something,” their mom said, now glancing over at Max, who was standing frozen in the entryway. “I think you’ll be fine if you don’t try the splits again for the next few days, but let’s go ahead and get you covered back up. We don’t want to make Max uncomfortable do we?”

“Why would Max be uncomfortable? He wasn’t doing the splits, was he?” Lucy asked, completely misunderstanding the situation.

Their mom giggled a bit before she answered. “No, but it can be awkward for people as they get older to see others naked. It’s not like when you were small, we all have to be modest and considerate of others. You’re going to be going out into the world and not everyone will be as comfortable with your body as you are. You shouldn’t be showing off to anyone who isn’t family especially. That way everyone stays safe and comfortable. Make sense?”

Lucy let her shirt drop as she responded. “Yeah I guess so, but Max is my brother and he’s seen me naked before. Why is it a problem?” 

“Well it maybe isn’t, but think of this moment as good practice.” With that their mom stood up and clapped her hands, “Now let’s get some breakfast in you.”

The sharp noise and dropped shirt brought Max back into the room and, noticing his pants starting to tighten just a bit, he quickly made his way over to the table. Toast and eggs were soon placed in front of him and as he was about to tuck in he felt his mother gently squeeze his shoulder. As he looked up, Max saw her smiling fondly at him. He smiled up at her, thanking her wordlessly for the delicious food. With the moment passed, she stepped away to grab her own food and join them as Max and Lucy tucked in.

The rest of the morning was spent getting the smaller things organized. Max and his mother had already done the shopping and packing necessary to get him and Lucy out on the route, but the personal effects still needed arranging. A little after noon, Max and Lucy were dressed and kitted out with their respective packs. Each had storage for food and water, enough to last a few days in a pinch, though in reality they were never more than a day away from a rest area or pokemon center, each of which was always stocked and ready to assist anyone on their Unova League journey. 

With the packs ready, the family departed for Nuvema Town and Professor Juniper's Lab. This stop was to get Max registered with a Pokedex and a starter pokemon. The three had discussed whether Lucy was going to ask for a starter, but Lucy insisted that she didn’t want one, and would instead be using Speck as her primary pokemon. Max suspected this had more to do with there being no Dark type starter than anything else, but everyone agreed that this wasn’t a bad way to approach the journey, especially with Lucy being younger than your typical League challenger. As for the pokedex, they agreed that it was unlikely that the kids would need 2 on their journey.

The lab visit was rather short. Professor Juniper was out on a research expedition, so one of the lab assistants helped the family get sorted. First was the provision and registration of Max’s new Pokedex. It was a newer, smaller variety, that in other regions would house a rotom, though Unova had not yet made the switch to poke-powered dex’s. With the registration complete and a quick overview of functions provided, it was time for Max to select his starter. Again, this took only a moment, as Max had gone in knowing what he would pick. When presented with the three choices special to the Unova region, Max selected a Tepig to be his partner. Max had no real intention of battling with his starter and instead chose the small, fire pig for its cute looks and gentle attitude. Max had read that Snivy could be very high maintenance, and that Oshawott were notoriously prone to fighting, both traits that Max felt were better avoided given his own interests. 

With their business concluded, Max and his family returned to their home. It was still early afternoon and there was plenty of daylight ahead of them. As the car pulled to a stop in the driveway, Lucy, who was always more subdued on car rides, shot out the door and into the house, calling for Speck as she went. Max made to follow her, but his mother stopped him.

“Would you mind waiting here a moment and chatting?” She asked and Max sat back down, closing the door as he did. “I want to make sure that you have a recording of my voice so that Lucy can sleep. It's really important that you make sure you have your Pokedex with you and that you and she both go to sleep at reasonable times.” 

Max nodded as he passed his mother the Pokedex. His mother opened a recording app that Juniper’s assistant had stated was normally used to record pokemon cries and quickly sang Lucy’s go-to-sleep and wake-up songs, making each of them a clearly named file. She went ahead and set the wake-up file as the default alarm tone so that it would be easier to access. Then she handed the Pokedex back to Max.

“Is there anything else you need Mom?” asked Max, sensing that she had more on her mind than Lucy’s sleep.

“I just realized this morning that you have grown up so much” she started, looking Max up and down. “You used to be so small and it was so easy to take care of you, but now you’re growing up and I still want to be there with you every step of the way. You’re going to have all kinds of wonderful experiences on this trip, and you’re going to learn amazing things about yourself and the world you live in. I can’t wait to hear about all the fun adventures you have and all the interesting people you meet along the way.

“I know I can’t always be there to help you, and I know that you are more than ready for this. I guess I just wanted to say two things. First, that I believe in you and know that you’ll take great care of yourself, your sister, and your partners. And second, that I want you to seek out every experience you can while you’re out on the route. This is an important time and you should embrace that. I remember I met your dad while I was on my journey. That was one of the most important moments of my life, and I never would have had it if I hadn’t been open to trying new things and going new places. So I want you to promise me that you will take care of yourself and your sister, and have just the best time you possibly can out there. Can you do that for me?”

Max was suddenly overcome by emotion and he could only manage a small, “Mhmm” and a nod of the head. As he sat there in the passenger seat, Max felt the need to hug his mother and so he reached out and wrapped his arms around her torso.

“Oh honey, there’s no need to be sad. You’ll do great out there, I just wanted you to know how proud I was of you” his mother said squeezing Max back from the awkward angle of the driver’s seat. Max sniffled a little and shortly composed himself. “Alright,” his mom said, “let’s go in there and get ready, you want to make good time today, right?”

With that the two exited the car and went to join Lucy, who was already putting her pack on in the entryway. Max let out his Tepig, which he’d decided to name Sparky, and gave the cute ‘mon a quick tour around the house. Speck joined them, seeming to get to know Sparky as they walked around. When they arrived in his room, Max noticed Sparky’s nose perk up. The little snub-nose seemed to lead the way as the ‘mon walked directly over to Lucy’s bed and began pawing at the bedpost. Surmising that it wanted to get up and not seeing any reason not to help out, Max lifted Sparky’s stout, little body up onto the still chaotic sheets. Once on the mattress the little pig made a b-line for the spot where Lucy’s puddle of fluids had collected the night before. Before Max could do anything to stop Sparky, the ‘mon had plunged its nose into the sheets and appeared to be having a grand old time with whatever smells remained. In the moment of realization, Max had his first clear look at the pig-mon’s rear and noted a pair of tiny black testicles. With this information quickly cataloguing itself in Max’s mind he reached out and scooped up his partner, who squealed in gentle protest. It was then that Max heard his mother calling from the front door and he, along with Sparky and Speck who walked along making quiet noises to one another, back to join Lucy and his mother.

Max could tell from Lucy’s sniffling and a small wet patch on his mother’s shirt front, that she’d had a similar conversation with their mother. Now it was time for the last minute doting and directing. Max and Lucy each had to recite their home phone, as well as a short list of emergency numbers they could use in case of an emergency. After that they went over the travel plan for the first two days and, once she was satisfied, their Mom hugged them both.

“I know I don’t need to say this again, but I love you both and am so proud of you. This is a big step you’re both taking and I want it to be a fun one that you remember for the rest of your lives. Dive head first into new experiences. Explore every corner and crannie you can find. And most importantly, be true to yourselves and your goals. Now go out there and make us proud!” And with that she stood up and opened the door. Lucy and Speck were the first through, with Max a few paces behind them.

As Lucy ran down towards the street, and the sidewalk that would take them on to Route 2, she turned and waved at her mother, shouting her farewells. Alongside her, Speck let out a whooping bark. Max also turned as he walked after his sister to wave to his mother. He could see her in the doorway, one hand over her mouth and the other waving to them. Max noticed her shoulders shaking just a bit, but even as he registered this he turned and walked down the street after Lucy.

The small group, Max, Lucy, Speck, and Sparky, made their way to Route 2 in only a half hour or so, the pace having slowed somewhat as Lucy’s initial burst of speed wore off. They trekked through the Route wondering at the abundance of wild pokemon around them, but for today at least, they let the pokemon be and instead got used to being out in nature without a parent around to ferret them from one location to another. After a few hours walking they came across a camping sight that was maintained for League travelers. The two kids had agreed to spend their first night there, a spot that they had visited before with their parents when they were much younger. Having arrived at their first landmark on the journey, Max and Lucy began setting up their tent. Once the structure was in place, a simple matter thanks to the streamlined structure that had been made to simplify set up to the point where any child could do it, Max and Lucy set to playing with the newest member of their family.

Sparky was an immediate fan of Lucy, and had spent much of their walk, thus far, puttering along between Max and Lucy. Now that they had settled down, Lucy amused herself as Max looked on by wiggling around a stick for the orange pig to chase. After a short while, the ‘mon seemed to lose interest and instead snuggled into Lucy’s lap. Max noted that the Tepig had gone in snout first and appeared to be snuffling around in his sister’s crotch, but Lucy was laughing and rubbing at the little ‘mon’s sides and did not seem to pay any attention to what the Tepig was doing. Again after a bit, the four traveling companions decided to make some dinner and turn in for the night so that they could begin to make good time the next morning.

Max returned Sparky to his pokeball for the night and entered the tent behind Lucy and Speck. Lucy flipped the small electric lamp hooked to the apex of the tent and illuminated the room that would serve as their home for the next several months. The tent was a bit crowded with all three, but they had enough space for both sleeping bags and, at the end of the day, they’d spent almost a decade sharing a room anyways, so Max figured this wouldn’t be too different. As Max zipped the tent up behind him, he heard Lucy start to speak.

“Max? Um, I know Mom said that I shouldn’t make you uncomfortable, but I get so hot at night. Do I have to sleep with my pajama bottoms?”

The question sent a jolt through Max, ending in his pelvis, but he tried not to react visibly. Instead he turned to face Lucy. “Well, um, I don’t really mind you not wearing pants at night. Um, it was just... surprising to see you in the kitchen is all” Max said, and as he did so Lucy’s face lit up.

“Oh thank you thank you, I just hate wearing these to bed cause I get so muggy!” As she said this, Lucy turned to face her sleeping bag which left her back to Max. As he sat there on his knees, just a few feet away from her, Lucy hooked her thumbs into her waist band and pulled down her pants. It was a fluid motion, one that left her bent at the waist, and also with her bottom spread wide for Max’s viewing pleasure. Not having expected quite this level of familiarity. What a few days ago would have been, at most, mildly embarrassing now left Max coughing and stiff as a board. Lucy turned, now shielding her soft, intriguing parts from Max’s view to see what was the matter.

She began to reach out to him, but Max waved her away. “Khhh! Hm, sorry,” said Max as he got his breath back under control. “I’m fine, just something went down the wrong pipe. I’ll be okay in a second.”

Lucy still looked concerned, but moved over to her sleeping bag and lay down. Max, for his part, crawled over to his bag and got in still clothed.

“Why aren’t you taking off your clothes?” Lucy asked.

“Um. I will in a moment, just wanted to make sure everything fit in here” Max responded.

Lucy giggled, “We already checked at home, remember?”

“Yeah I know, just wanted to double check now that we’re out here” Max said, snuggling down into the concealing sleeping bag.

Lucy shrugged and began to unzip the side of her bag, opening it up so that it much resembled the cast aside sheets she had at home. Max, in turn, began stripping off inside the safety of the sleeping bag, his hard penis now helpfully out of view of Lucy. Max knew it wouldn’t really matter to her, but wanted to avoid having to answer any questions about his body, when he’d so recently, and without her knowing, found out so much about Lucy’s. He wasn’t entirely sure why he felt so compelled, but his mother’s words about modesty and comfort from this morning still rolled around in his mind.

Now comfortably in the nude and with Speck situated alongside Lucy, Max reached up and flipped off the overhead lamp. Next he turned on the Pokedex screen and set an alarm for the next morning. Finally, with a last goodnight exchanged between the siblings, Max began playing his mother’s soft crooning voice. In moments he heard Lucy’s breath slow and deepen. With the song concluded, Max turned off the screen and rolled over. The general excitement of the day quickly overcame Max and he found that he was quite exhausted. With thoughts of tomorrow’s adventures swirling around in his head, Max drifted off to sleep. The last thing he heard before dreams took him was the sound of Speck’s large tongue licking at something in the dark.