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It was a regular bi-weekly Sunday brunch at Wayne Manor. Everyone, excluding Tim who was presently in a meeting of some kind, was there. Even Selina Kyle who had recently been publicly announced as Bruce's fiancé was in attendance. Her two best friends, who were mostly retired and reformed these days, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were there too.
“What Pokémon did Drake use while he was operating as Robin” Damian asked catching everyone in the room a bit off guard with the suddenness of it all.
There was a pause as everyone processed the question. Damian's hostility towards Tim had all but vanished since he helped him acquire his Purrloin Emerald a year or so ago. One could even argue that they’d actually become pretty close since then. Even more so since Tim had decided to officially pass the mantle of Robin down to Damian on his 10th birthday a few weeks back. Though, and Damian would even admit this out loud, they all wished the reason Tim had decided to pass the mantle down was different.
Officially Tim wasn’t retiring from Vigilantism but merely taking some time to focus on becoming an independent ‘adult’ Vigilante. Unofficially they all knew Tim had merely reached his breaking point. Losing his friends, Conner and Bart, back to back a few months ago, less than a month after he’d lost both of his admittedly awful parents, had broken him. And while therapy with Dinah and Harley helped him return to some semblance of normal they all knew that Tim needed a break from the hero life. And, of everyone they knew, he deserved the chance to have a ‘regular life’ so they had elected to support his decision in stepping back even if they had no idea what he'd planned to do instead.
He'd only taken up the mantle of Robin because Jason had asked him to after all.
“I don’t actually know” Dick admitted after a minute “I wasn’t even aware he actually used any Pokémon while out as Robin”
Damian arched a brow at that. Timothy’s Robin file stated, clearly, that he used two Pokémon throughout most if not his entire career as Robin. He had also informed Damian, to his face, that he had intentionally chosen to use two Pokémon while working as Robin because both Dick and Jason had used two Pokémon by the time they stopped wearing the mantle. He had also encouraged, while emphasizing that it wasn’t an actual requirement, that Damian consider following the unofficial tradition.
Even Brown, who’d only been Robin for a few months after an injury had left Tim briefly bedbound, had used exactly two Pokémon while operating as Robin. Cass and Duke both also chose to only use two Pokémon whenever they had been asked to ‘fill in’ as Robin. Though all three continued chose to use three Pokémon each when operating as Spoiler, Black Bat, and Signal.
Both Dick and Jason also chose to use three Pokémon when operating as Nightwing and Red Hood both chose. A fact that may, or may not, have something to do with how Bruce also used three Pokémon while operating as Batman. Honestly, as Tim had said, it was really like a Bat tradition at this point. Two Pokémon when working as Robin but three Pokémon when working as an ‘independent’ vigilante.
The only exception being Barbara and Alfred as neither Oracle or Agent A were field agents and therefore were not beholden to their silly traditions.
Regardless, Damian was intending to use his newest Pokémon, a Blaze Breed Tauros he’d named Bat-Cow, alongside his recently evolved Zweilous, Goliath. Timothy had praised him on the choice, telling him that while Tauros were considered to be particularly difficult to train they were delightful Pokémon. He also said that, if trained correctly, Bat-Cow would end up being an asset for search and rescue missions as Tauros are known to be capable of moving rubble without difficulty. He was even polite enough not to mention how dark Damian had blushed at the praise.
“When I joined he told me he used two like every Robin prior to (and after) him” Steph stated almost absently her mouth half full of the cherry scones Alfred had made for everyone “but thinking about it I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him use them either”
Damian frowned as the rest of their family, and family adjacent guests, began arguing amongst themselves. Even Harley and Ivy had their own theories about everything. The only ones who said nothing were Bruce, Selina, and Alfred. Cass also said very little but that wasn’t particularly noteworthy as even if she knew the answer, and she likely did, she wasn’t one to spill the secrets of others. Or maybe she was just the only one amongst those Damian considered his siblings, including both Steph and Barbara who were around often enough to be close enough, to have enough manners to not speak with her mouth full of food.
“Do you know Father” Damian asked eying the older man cautiously.
Bruce nodded exactly once before continuing his present endeavor of picking at the food on his plate. Selina and Alfred both nodded as well when he turned to face them neither actually answering his question.
Shockingly it was Alfred that spoke first.
“The Pokémon our Dearest Timothy chose to Partner with while working as Robin have both been an asset to this family’s nighttime endeavors and to the hero community as a whole” he explained without actually saying which Pokémon those Partners were.
“Furthermore” Alfred continued warmly “I can assure you that everyone in this room has most certainly met our Dearest Timothy’s Partner Pokémon several times both in and out of costume”
The room fell deathly quiet at that. Bruce was EXTREMELY strict about them not using the Pokémon they Partnered with as Vigilantes while out as Civilians. As they were very much public figures within Gotham, both in and out of costume, it was crucial that they not do anything that could link their civilian identities to their vigilante identities.
So why was Tim the exception to this rule?
Jason opened his mouth to question exactly that when the sound of the front door opening stopped him. They hadn’t been expecting Tim for another hour or so but this was perfect. They could just ask him directly.
“Deli” Tim’s beloved Delibird Treasure chirped in the distance confirming it was Tim who had just entered the Manor.
“I know don’t worry” Tim laughed unsurprisingly understanding his Pokémon’s senseless chatter fluently. Honestly at this point half of them actively wondered if Tim actually spoke Pokémon “Alfie probably has your special cookies waiting for you in the freezer so they’re nice and cold just like you like them”
Alfred nodded to himself his chest puffed up slightly at the clear praise in both Tim’s assurance and Treasure’s following excited chirping. He made a batch of Treasure’s favorite Pokè-Grub & Berry cookies every Saturday afternoon before freezing them overnight for the gift-giving bird Pokémon to enjoy at Sunday bi-weekly brunch alongside a cup of either eggnog or hot cocoa. It was a tradition he’d actually started to ensure Tim wouldn’t weasel his way out of attending Sunday brunch but seeing how happy it made Treasure every week without fail warmed his heart.
“Whomever decided scheduleing a meeting for a Sunday morning was a good idea should be admitted into Arkham” Tim joked as he entered the dining room Treasure waddling past everyone to head straight for Alfred “thankfully they decided to call it a day when Treasure decided to start crying”
“Poor birdie got worried we ate his special cookies” Jason asked barking out a fond laugh as the poor Pokémon chirped sadly in confirmation.
“Fret not my Dearest Treasure” Alfred assured the pink Pokémon soothingly as he picked up them up “I would never allow such a travesty to occur under my watch”
The promise earned him another small peep from the tiny bowtie wearing bird while Alfred carried him off towards the kitchen. The dining room remains silent until Treasure’s delighted ‘voice’ rang throughout the Manor informing them that he had been given his beloved cookies. It was also a sign that Treasure, like the rest of their Pokémon, was being fed in the dining room that unofficially belonged to the Pokémon of the Wayne Family.
It wasn’t a hard rule as Alfred had no problem with their Pokémon eating with them. Often times they all ate their meals together in one of the larger dining rooms. But for whatever reason, during Sunday brunch specifically, their Pokémon all chose to eat together in a separate dining room.
It probably had something to do with the fact that Alfred and Jason had taken to making them an extra special Pokémon safe brunch spread every week to ensure they wouldn’t feel left out in the festivities. But who knew for sure.
Either way it meant that they were in the clear to ask Tim about the Pokémon he’d used throughout his time as Robin.
“Timbit” Jason started as he pulled his best friend, sorry Roy, and little brother into a side hug “we had a question for you if that’s alright”
Damian scowled at the blatant show of affection. Amongst them Grayson was the affectionate one but when it came to Timothy, and only Timothy, Todd was the only one amongst their ranks that was still allowed to hug him without warning.
That’s not to say Timothy would ever reject a hug from any of them. Honestly, despite the years he’s spent amongst them, it was unlikely he’d ever fully recover from his childhood touch starvation. He melted like goo whenever hugged. But, after whatever incident that had led to his early retirement, he was incredibly, horrifically, jumpy and needed to be mentally prepared for the physical contact.
Unless it came from Todd.
No, Damian wasn’t bitter about it. He understood that it was a trauma response and that Timothy wasn’t consciously reacting the way he did. He even understood that Todd was an exception as, for whatever reason, his presence never seemed to trigger Timothy's trauma. But sometimes, when alone with his thoughts, he wished he too could still hug his, now legally speaking, older brother whenever the mood struck without worry that moving too quickly could cause the older boy mental anguish.
Not that it mattered right now though. He had a question to ask.
“Drake” he started when the older boy nodded at Todd’s earlier explanation “what Pokémon did you use while working as Robin”
Tim blinked slowly in response to Damian’s question. Partially because it was out of left field and unexpected but also because it was, to him, asinine. They’d all met the Pokémon he Partnered with while working as Robin regularly. Honestly depending on the week they interacted with those two more frequently than they did him. So really it was a rather silly question.
Except, and he realized this far slower than he’d ever admit aloud, it really wasn’t. Because excluding Bruce, Selina, and Alfred no one amongst them had ever actually seen said Pokémon in their ‘natural’ forms. Technically Cass has but she’s only ever met one, and only once at that.
“It might be easier to just introduce them” Tim said after a minute of standing around awkwardly. He typed something into his phone and then, a minute or two later, two individuals entered the room “allow me to formally introduce you to Alvin Draper and Caroline Hill”
Alvin was the tallest of the three and could be best described as a dude. He wasn’t overly handsome or noteworthy in any real way but he also wasn’t unattractive or particularly boring either. He was just an incredibly average guy in jeans, a leather jacket, and a pair of sunglasses.
Caroline was, technically, the shortest of the three but thanks to the heels she was wearing she stood about an inch taller than Tim. She was fairlu pretty but, much like Alvin, wasn’t noteworthy in any real way. She was really just a pretty enough face that wasn’t particularly memorable in anyway.
“While we were originally trained to be field operatives” the man, Alvin, explained in a voice slightly deeper than Tim’s own but remarkably similar in speaking pattern “we specialize in ensuring the family secret does not end up exposed”
“Between the three of us we can successfully impersonate everyone within this room and several other prominent Heroes within the Justice League, the Titans, and Young Justice” the woman, Caroline, explained their voice higher than Tim’s and Alvin’s but still following the same identical cadence.
Everyone in the room, excluding Bruce, Selina, and Cass, blinked in confusion. But, before anyone had the chance to ask any follow up questions, both Alvin and Caroline shared a look before winking playfully. Then, in a puff of smoke, their appearance shifted and two Zoroark took their place. One, Alvin, a regular Zoroark with the traditional black fur and red accents while the other, Caroline, was a Hisuian Zoroark with white fur with almost pink accents.
“As you can see” Tim continued smiling at the Pokémon warmly “both Alvin and Caroline are Zoroarks. I was given Caroline’s egg when I completed my training with Lady Shiva while Alvin’s egg was given to me after I finished my training with Selina. Though they ironically enough hatched together while I was on a mission off planet with Young Justice”
“I’m older” Caroline teased her voice unchanged despite her new more Pokémon appearance “though Alvin did manage to evolve before me”
“Wait, hold up” Dick interrupted the beginning of what would likely be an argument between the two Pokémon as his brain decided to focuse on something mentioned earlier “when did you train with Lady Shiva Timmy”
There were some murmurs at that. Cass’s mother was an incredibly dangerous woman and not one someone should be seeking out for training. Especially not someone who’d been as green as Tim in his early days as Robin.
“That would the fault of me and Master Bruce I’m afraid” Alfred explained reentering the dining room on silent feet “our Dearest Timothy struggled to adapt to the training regimen used in the early days by both you and Master Jason”
“And Tim overheard us talking about it one night after training” Bruce continued flashing the man that was practically his father a warm smile “the next thing either of us knew he was in Paris being trained by Sandra before returning to Gotham to finish his training with Selina”
Tim nodded. It had been a rash decision based on a misunderstanding. He’d misinterpreted Bruce and Alfred’s conversation and assumed they were going to fire him. Which, to him, meant he wouldn’t be allowed to stay friends with Jason and would likely be forced to give up Treasure. So, to avoid what that, he reached out to Lady Shiva while pretending to be Bruce. And then spent the next 3 months or so training in Paris while pretending to be at some posh ass finishing school.
Then, upon his return, he sought out Catwoman and learned from her as well for another several months while pretending to be at photography camp. Somehow he’d also managed to be gifted two Zorua egg which he hatched, and eventually evolved, in the process. He also managed to set the groundwork for Cass’s eventual addition into their family so he didn’t regret it at all. He did occasionally wish it hadn’t taken damn near half a year to clear up the misunderstandings around everything though.
“How did ya manage to teach ya Zoroark to speak so well though” Harley asked speaking up for the first time “the few Pokémon I know that can speak all still sound off or whatever”
Tim and his two Zoroark laughed at that. He didn’t really do much regarding that actually. While Zorua don’t have vocal cords capable of human speech Zoroark do. And while they don’t often see a reason to develop them they are all fully capable of learning to speak if they so wish it.
“We grew up listening to Tim speak” Caroline explained after a moment’s hesitation “he rambles a lot while concentrating”
“When we evolved and gained vocal cords capable of replicating human speech we decided that we would learn to speak with him as well” Alvin continued equally as fond as his sister “so we taught ourselves enough to ask for assistance in learning”
“They assisted in teaching me to better understand the Pokémon Language in return” Tim added smiling at the two Pokémon beside him as he confirmed the family's long time theory that he could actually speak with Pokémon “and now between the three of us we can understand, read, and speak 62 or so different languages”
Bruce whistled at that. He was already aware of that information as he read Tim’s regularly updated linguistic reports as they came out. That being said it never stopped being an impressive fact. Tim and his two Zoroark each understood between 30 and 40 languages a piece. Of those languages they each could read, write, and speak about 25 or so with at least some degree of legitimate fluency. And not all of those languages were human either as Tim was better at Kryptonian than Clark and spoke regularly with Kara using it. Furthermore Alvin spoke Martian, both Green and White, fluently enough to converse with both J’onn and M’gann. Caroline was also quickly approaching fluency in Tameranian and spoke with Princess Koriand’r and her brother regularly. All three also seemed capable of speaking Czarnian like the 'Main Man' Lobo.
It was a skillset that had proven to be an asset both within the field and without.
He did wish it wasn’t so difficult to tell the trio apart though. Thanks to the training Alfred had proved the trio in disguises and impersonation he’d lost count of how many times he’d gotten Tim, Alvin, and Caroline mixed up. He was usually pretty good at recognizing Caroline as she struggled with how soft her voice was but she’d gotten significantly better in recent months. Alvin and Tim however were virtually indistinguishable when they chose to be.
And Diana forbid he ever mistake any of them out loud. Last time he did Alfred served him cauliflower with every meal for a week. He despises cauliflower, always has and always will.
“I’m sorry we never said anything” Tim apologized startling everyone “the three of us have been switching around for so long that we tend to forget that not everyone is aware that there are three of us”
Damian scowled visibly as Alvin and Caroline took a human form eerily similar to Timothy’s own. Looking at them closely now that he was aware of the fact that they were different people he could see the evident differences between them but one could be forgiven in assuming they were triplets. Yet he was willing to bet money that both Alvin and Caroline actively chose to have those barely discernable differences.
With a laugh the two Zoroark, Alvin and Caroline, returned to the forms they’d entered in. Staring at the trio again, now knowing who and what they were, Damian couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the three of them. Both Caroline and Alvin had Timothy’s nose. And while Caroline had Timothy’s smile Alvin had his cheekbones and hair color. They were different, the three of them, but also not really. One could easily mistake them as cousins or even siblings at a glance even now in their more distinct forms.
“Do they ever replace you for family functions” Jason asked putting everyone’s fears out into the open.
Both Zoroark’s frowned slightly before shaking their heads. Jason visibly relaxed slightly at the denial but waited for them to speak.
“We do not” Caroline assured him softly “though occasionally we do tag along with Tim when we know theres going to be good food or unavoidable trouble”
Steph gasped as memories of her last birthday flashed through the groups mind. Tim had been weird that day, more so than usual, and she’d accused him of being body snatched multiple times. But if her assumption was correct than these Zoroark just swapped places with Tim throughout the day.
“Tim had a fever” Alvin admitted with an apologetic shrug “we hadn’t noticed until after arriving for your party and spent the day trying to get him to actually sleep”
“In the end we gave up trying when the second bottle of night quill didn’t manage to knock him out” Caroline teased laughing fondly at the memory.
Everyone laughed, and relaxed, at that. The two Zoroark continued to tell various stories of when they’d tagged along to events, or filled in at work so Tim could attend events like Damian’s art show a few weeks ago. From there they worked into stories of various events they’d gotten to attend because Tim filled in for them.
“What will you do with Drake choosing to step down as Robin” Damian asked hesitantly after a while.
There was a pause as the trio considered the question. And then there was another pause as they considered whom should answer first.
“I’ll be continuing on with the League under the moniker Crow” Alvin replied choosing to answer first “helping to ensure secret identities are maintained and all that while also working as a translator when needed”
Caroline and Tim nodded in agreement both clearly aware of the Zoroark’s intentions.
“I on the other hand just finished earning the license required to become a Pokémon Therapist” Caroline began picking up seamlessly after her ‘brother’ “I’ve taken a job at Leslie’s clinic where I’ll be working to help Pokémon work through both physical and mental trauma”
Tim, Alvin, Bruce, and Alfred smiled softly at this. They were all incredibly proud of Caroline for managing to be the first Pokémon in Gotham, and the second in history, to successfully achieve such a feat. And they were all looking forward to seeing where her budding career would take her.
“What about you Tim” Bruce asked looking his, legally speaking, newest son in the eyes “have you decided what it is you intend to do now that you’ve decided to take a break from Vigilantism”
Jason fought the laugh that bubbled to the surface at their dad’s choice of wording. He’d very intentionally called Tim’s ‘retirement’ him ‘taking a break’ to ensure he knew the option of returning to the field remained open. Intentionally ensured he didn’t accidentally ostracize their flightiest bird by implying that he couldn’t change his mind in the future. There were a million better ways Bruce could've worded it but none of them would've been quite on brand for their emotionally stunted father.
“I have actually” Tim responded catching everyone off guard “that's actually what my meeting was about”
“I was asked to represent Gotham in the Pokémon League’s upcoming National Competition”