this is so dragged out I'm sorry
All the characters are mine
but I dont own pokemon duh
A pair of yellow fennekin ears poked up above the freshly fallen snow followed by the head of a young blond that they were connected to. He blinked a few times and looked around, too numb to notice he was shivering, and then looked down. The little fire type noticed there was a layer of snow covering him and the blanket he had wrapped up in the night before to try and stay warm. He let out a small huff and stood up, almost collapsing back down from the lack of feeling in his legs and feet, but stayed standing and shook out his hair and blanket. The fennekin's attention went up to the wooden roof of their rotting shack, seeing another hole had broken through during the night which had caused the snow access to falling on him and the fire his grandmother had made which had been put out while they slept.
"Grandma?" he called and looked around the only small room of their shelter, a blanket of snow covering the whole area. "Grandma!" Hearing the fennekin shouting caused the delphox to jump up, throwing the snow that had fallen on her off and allowing her grandson to spot her on the other side of where the fire pit was. "Grandmaaa!" he called happily and hurried over, slipping on the snow and falling on her.
"Oh! Goodness Braise did you leave a window open?" she joked as her grandson fell into her lap and she rubbed his shoulders to try and warm him up.
"Nooo! The roof fell in again…" Braise pointed up and her gaze followed, her ears going down as she saw the hole.
"Hmm…okay then." She sighed and helped the fennekin stand before searching the snow for her cane. Braise moved away from her and tried to scoot the snow away from where she was lying with his slipper covered feet. The old delphox found her stick that served as her cane and struggled to her feet, gesturing for Braise to come closer. The younger fire type hurried over to her and giggled when she put a hand on his freezing hair. "If you clear the fire pit I'll make us a fire dear."
"Can you do the other snow if I do?" he asked, getting excited as he looked up at her and watched her laugh.
"Of course."
"Yes!" he cheered and threw his blanket off before practically dancing around to the other side of the pit, getting on his knees and grabbing his stick out from under his thin mattress and holding it against him. "Okay I got it!" he exclaimed and waved for his grandmother to step back, which she did. The seven year old quickly used ember and the small flame melted the snow off of the rocks before it went out, his ears perking up as he broke into a smile and clutched his stick tighter. "It worked again!" he cheered and his grandmother clapped.
"Alright then, your turn to back up." She mused and shooed him so he was standing on his thawing mattress. The delphox looked around the little room before tapping her cane and letting a weak wave of psychic spread from the stick's end, going to every part of the room and picking up the snow before carrying it back out of the hole it came in from. Braise watched with wide eyes and then shuffled over so he was under the psychic covered hole to get a better look, never getting tired of seeing the psychic type moves his grandmother could do. The delphox wheezed slightly as she chuckled at her grandson and then flinched, her free hand going to her head as she lost her concentration and dropped all the snow on the fennekin. He yelped in shock and flailed to get out of it, catching his grandma's attention again and she used psychic to pull him out and carry him closer to her so she could put her blanket around him.
"O-Oh Braise I'm sorry! Here I'll get that fire started for you…" she frowned as she felt him shivering again and quickly waved her cane at the fire pit, fire springing to life in it. The dual type helped her grandson sit in front of it and stroked his hair for a moment before using psychic on the snow again, sending it out the door this time so it couldn't fall back inside. "Once you're all warmed up could you go and get something to patch the roof up with dear?" she asked and looked over at him, watching him nod quickly.
"'Course Grandma!" he said and looked up at her with a smile, trying to stop shivering as he clutched his stick closer. "Twiggy and I know exactly what to get!" The delphox managed a smile and felt his cheeks and forehead to make sure he was warming up before hobbling around the small space and lighting candles, attempting to warm up other parts of the house. Braise watched her for a moment before looking back at the fire, smiling even more as he rubbed the stick in an attempt to make it warmer faster. "Right Twiggy? You remember where we went a few days ago! That plastic stuff works real good for covering holes!" he continued to talk to the object as his grandmother watched with her ears down, a worried look on her face until he suddenly started getting up and hurrying to the door. "I'm gonna go now Grandma!" he said and pulled his thin jacket off the nearby chair and slipped on his shoes, the only piece of clothing he had that wasn't worn and didn't have holes.
"A-Alright dear be careful! Be back before dark!" she called after him as he opened the door and rushed out into the snow covered alleyway, holding Twiggy close. Braise could tell it was around nine in the morning from the amount of snow on the ground that had yet to be melted by the sun, meaning he had more than enough time before night came and the temperatures got worse to get back to his grandmother and help fix the roof again.
"Okay Twiggy where should we check first?" he asked his stick as he stopped in the middle of the marketplace where he usually got their groceries with the delphox. After pausing a moment and pondering what he imagined he heard Twiggy say he nodded in agreement. "I do think we should check by the water! Maybe some stuff floated in!" he smiled and petted the stick before running through the street, hardly hearing the people yelling at him to slow down as he passed them. Half an hour later he was going down the steps towards the river that connected to the ocean not far off, able to see soggy driftwood and trash scattering the ground that was now almost all free of snow, and quickly got to the water's edge.
"See anything Twiggy?" he asked, turning over a piece of driftwood with his foot. "Yeah I don't either." He frowned and then moved closer to the water, kneeling down and looking around again. "Hmmm…I remember that plastic being around here somewhere…" he trailed off and perked his ears as a dark shadow fell over him. He raised his head and clutched Twiggy tighter as he saw the three pokemon who had hung out with his older brother, the same pokemon who had also been dubbed the bullies for his age group. There was a snubbull, a pawniard, and a phantump. The snubbull had taken over his brother's position as leader once he disappeared. "Well look at that, we were wondering where you ran off to Braise." The fairy type mused as the younger fennekin quickly got back into standing. They were all about two years older than him and much stronger.
"Been looking for you Braise." The pawniard said as he stepped closer and leaned against the snubbull, pushing his hands into his pockets. The fire type looked back for a second to see where he could run but yelped as he came face to face with the phantump, it's dead eyes making Braise shiver before he tried to move to the side but the ghost type grabbed his shirt.
"Where you going Braise? You just got here! Weren't you uh…lookin' for something?" the snubbull asked as he stepped closer, smirking as he saw the fennekin tense up and hold onto his stick. "Was it another stick so you aren't so lonely? Do you even have any friends yet?" he snorted with amusement and poked Braise in the stomach.
"O-of course I do!" he replied. He had a friend who was a chespin that he had met and she wasn't mean to him at all but he knew they wouldn't believe him. He flattened his ears as he heard them all snickering, or all but the ghost type since all he could do was muster up a congested wheezing sound.
"Sticks don't count!" The pawniard shouted with amusement before darting forward and grabbing Twiggy, making Braise yelp in alarm and tighten his grip.
"L-Let go! Don't touch him!" he shouted back and tried to pull it away, unable to get it free. The dark type snickered and yanked it away from the fennekin, watching as he burst into tears.
"Ohh look what you did, you made the baby cry!" the snubbull laughed and moved closer to take the stick from the pawniard who handed it over.
"G-give him b-back!" Braise shouted louder and reached out to grab the stick back but the phantump pulled him away.
"We just want to have some fun with him!" The pawniard said innocently as he pulled one of his knives out of his pocket and stepped closer, raising it and pointing it at the stick.
"No! Don't! You'll hurt him! Stop it!" the fennekin cried and tried to push the ghost type away, tears falling down his face. He felt like he was going to faint and started trembling as he saw the blade inches from Twiggy. He tried to get away one more time before giving up, covering his face with his hands and dropping to his knees as he sobbed. The fennekin flattened his ears, not wanting to hear the three snickering and laughing at him and then the snap he knew was coming from his best friend, but suddenly their laughter turned into startled screaming and he could hear splashing.
His fingers parted as he felt the grip on him loosen and then vanish before he pulled his hands down to look around to see what had happened.
Braise saw the three bullies flailing around in the freezing water, trying to pick themselves up, with another boy about his age with blue hair dressed in old worn clothes with his back to the fire type. The fennekin was able to tell it was a squirtle and he grabbed his arms and rubbed them, still nervous due to the type advantage the stranger had. He didn't know if he was going to hurt him too or not. The squirtle put his hands on his hips as he watched the three others scramble out of the water and run off, shouting about how they were going to get the fire type later.
The water type made sure they were gone before looking at Braise, seeing him tense up even more. He raised his hands to try and seem less threatening and stayed still until Braise raised his ears a little, looking him over. "U-um…d-did you…" he trailed off and the squirtle nodded.
"I don't like bullies…" he replied quietly, the fennekin straining to hear him, and walked a few steps down the water's edge. "And…I know ice beam so…" he picked Twiggy up before it could be washed away and walked over to Braise, holding it out to him. Braise broke into a smile and quickly took the stick from the squirtle, hugging it tightly.
"O-Oh! I'm Braise and this is Twiggy! He's really grateful for you saving him!" he said and held the stick out. The water type looked at it and then Braise, staying quiet for a moment before smiling a little.
"I'm Vapor…it's nice to meet you both." He replied and held out his hand. Braise looked at it for a moment before giggling and giving him a high five which caught Vapor off guard and caused him to giggle a little too.
"So you made them run away with just an ice beam?! Wow! I never thought a squirtle could learn that move!" the fennekin exclaimed looking excited as he clung to Twiggy. Vapor turned a slight pink from embarrassment and rubbed his head.
"O-oh well...I dunno…my daddy taught me it when I was four…and it was actually two ice beams…"
"Either way! Gosh Vapor you're so cool! A-and nice!" Braise praised and the squirtle blushed a deeper pink as he looked away.
"I-I dunno about cool…but thank you."
"Oh we need to go…we need to look for some plastic paper stuff!" Braise exclaimed and waved before turning, heading towards the stairs.
"Um…you mean tarp?" Vapor asked and Braise stopped, looking back at him.
"Tarp?"
"Yeah…it's plastic…comes in blue and black usually…"
"Yeah that!"
"I've got some at my house…do you want it?"
"Your parents won't mind?" Vapor shook his head after hearing the fennekin's question.
"No…we have a lot of extra since my Daddy works on a boat." He said and walked past him, going up the stairs and gesturing for Braise to follow which he did. The fire type rambled about how he was grateful to the squirtle and asked him question after question, the water type only speaking to answer them, and listened to everything the other had to say even if it made little to no sense to him. Soon they stopped in front of a small wooden house on the other side of the market place, the shelter only twice the size of the one the fennekin had. Vapor opened the door and went inside, grabbing Braise's arm and pulling him inside after him.
"Daddy?" Vapor called as he shut the door, looking around. Braise's eyes went wide as he looked around the little room, seeing three doors before heading towards one. The squirtle grabbed him by his jacket to stop him. "That's my mommy and daddy's room…" he pulled him to the door on the other side of the room. "This is my room…you can go in there if you want." Vapor said before letting him go and heading out the backdoor, calling for his father again. The fennekin watched him leave and then looked around the room again, seeing a few framed pictures on the mantle above the shoddy fireplace. He wandered over to them and looked them over, all of them being of Vapor and what he guessed where his parents. Braise was staring up at them when he heard the door open and he quickly looked over, clutching Twiggy closely just in case, but then relaxed when he saw Vapor walking towards him.
"Braise…these are my mommy and daddy!" he said and waved to the two adult blastoise coming inside. The man was tall and well built, almost bumping the ceiling with his head, and the woman was two heads shorter and much thinner. The two older water types made Braise a little tense again and he moved behind the squirtle a little.
"H-Hello…" he managed to say and Vapor's mother smiled and stepped over to them.
"Oh my goodness look at you! What a little cutie you are!" she nearly squealed and got on her knees, brushing the fennekin's bangs away from his eyes to see his face better. Braise stared at her before giggling a little and flattening his ears. "Come look at him Seidon!"
"I see!" the tallest water type chuckled as he came to his wife's side, crouching down so he didn't seem so intimidating. "Vapor also said you needed this right?" he asked and held out a folded piece of black tarp. Braise's ears shot up as he saw it and quickly took it from him.
"Yes! Oh thank you! Now I can help Grandma cover the roof!" he said happily, looking pleased and not noticing the worried looks on the two adult's faces.
"Cover the roof?" Seidon asked and the fennekin nodded.
"Yeah! The snow made a hole in the roof again." He said and looked down at the tarp with his head tilted.
The two blastoise exchanged a look with each other before the man patted the fire type's head. "Well in that case why don't I go and fix the roof for you?" Braise's eyes went wide as he heard him and he looked up at him.
"Y-you'd do that?" he asked, sounding amazed and then gasped happily when he saw Seidon nod.
"Vapor and I will go and help you and your grandmother." He said and patted Vapor's head who smiled and nodded too. "Would you like to go now?"
"Wait! Take some fruit back with you dear!" Vapor's mother said and quickly got to her feet, hurrying out the back door. Her husband rolled his eyes and chuckled, waiting for less than a minute before she rushed back inside with a basket full of fruit in her arms. "Here you go Braise, feel free to keep the basket too!"
"Thank you Brook, can you get the rest of the seeds planted?" the larger blastoise asked as he hugged his wife with one arm, taking the basket with his other hand.
"Of course! Go help Vapor's little friend." She smiled and kissed him before going back outside through the back door.
"Alright boys, lead the way Braise." Seidon said and Braise smiled before hurrying to the front door and going outside, Vapor following him closely. The three went through the marketplace, Braise talking to Vapor again as the squirtle stayed quiet and listened to him. Braise stopped once they were half a mile from the marketplace and slipped down an alley, stopping and looking back when he heard Seidon call his name. "Are you sure we're going the right way Braise?" he asked and the fire type nodded.
"Yeah! It's just back here!" he said and waved, turning and continuing to walk before he saw the adult grab Vapor's hand and pull him close as they followed after him. Braise wasn't able to tell but the alley was off putting and dangerous looking to anyone with a sound mind. The fennekin looked back again to make sure they were following and he stopped at the door to the small shack he had ran out of almost three hours before, opening the door and peeking inside. "Grandma?" he called and flattened his ears as he saw the delphox laying on the floor, unconscious. "Grandma!" he shouted and dropped the tarp and Twiggy before running inside and dropping to his knees next to her. Seidon dropped the basket and let go of Vapor when he heard Braise and rushed past, almost breaking the door off as he opened it again to get inside.
"Grandma get up! It happened again!" Braise whined and shook her shoulder, making her jolt awake and look around. "You okay Grandma?" he asked and helped her sit up, picking up her cane that was nearby and placing it on her lap.
"Hmm? O-Oh yes Braise I'm fine…" she mumbled and patted his head before tensing up and pointing her cane at Seidon as he got to their side.
"N-No Grandma! They're my friends!" he whined and grabbed the shoulder of her dress, pulling on it to get her attention. The blastoise raised his hands to try and seem like he wasn't a threat.
"Honest Ma'am, my son and Braise met and they both ended up at our home. I came to make sure he got back safely and I came to help you fix your roof." He said calmly before smiling and holding out a hand to help her up. She narrowed her eyes at him and looked from his hand to his face before hearing her grandson whimper again and she sighed.
"Th-thank you…" she mumbled and took it, struggling to her feet. Vapor made his way over, carrying Twiggy and the tarp, handing the stick to Braise who took it and clutched it against his chest like he had a sudden panic attack, and he held the tarp up to his father.
"Grandma! This Vapor!" the fennekin said happily and pushed the squirtle forward who dipped his head to her, trying to seem respectful and not wanting to upset her like his father seemed to have done. The delphox slowly relaxed as she saw him and she patted his head.
"Nice to meet you…" she said before looking at the blastoise who introduced himself after. Braise smiled happily as he looked from each person then remembered the fruit and hurried back to the door and picked them up, going to put them away.
After his grandmother and Vapor's father discussed how the tarp was supposed to go over the roof and it was put up the blastoise and squirtle left, the two younger boys agreeing to meet together at the fountain at the market place the next morning. "Seems like you were busy today weren't you Braise?" his grandmother mused once they had gone and she shakily sat down in the wooden chair by the little table where they usually ate together.
"I sure was! I made a new friend!" Braise giggled happily as he picked his blanket up and put it around his shoulders, shuffling over to sit in front of her with his stick laying in his lap. She let out a wheezy chuckle and stroked his hair, moving his bangs away from his eyes.
"That's great dear…you deserve them…" she said quietly and smiled more as he beamed up at her and snuggled more into the blanket. The dual type opened her mouth to say something else but stopped as she coughed and put her other hand on her head, catching the worried look on her grandson's face. "It's alright Braise, they just need some help again is all." She stroked his hair again until he calmed down.
"Gosh…those voices sure need a lot huh?"
"Well dear, not everyone can talk to them so they get lonely you know."
"I know…I know how they feel." He lowered his ears and looked down at Twiggy, petting him slightly with a hand. "I wouldn't ignore them, I'd make sure they know they have someone!"
"Such big words for a little guy." The delphox mused sadly and tugged on a small piece of his hair to get his attention. He pouted and looked up at her again.
"I mean it Grandma!" he whined and she smiled a bit more.
"I know dear…now you must be hungry! How about you get me that fruit and I'll cut it up for you."
Braise's tail wagged slightly with excitement before he scrambled to his feet, hurrying to the little cupboard where he had put the basket of fruit.
oh look again I'm using the bottom to clear facts up that I can't explain in a fic because I can't write it for shit
-mainly for the people who I roleplay Braise with
His older brother is thought to be dead, his body wasn't found their parent's but they still had his 'burial'
The three pokemon who bullied him along with his brother kept it up because they were upset that they lost their friend, and blamed Braise for it so they wanted to make him hurt more (cliche yeah whatever)
He never really told anyone that he was picked on (so his grandmother didn't know, only his friend Elyan and then Vapor)
Braise's grandmother was able to see ghost types as they were before they died, actual ghosts, and hear voices like Braise can now (it runs in his mother's side of the family but she never showed symptoms of the ability they have)
She dies about two years after Braise and Vapor meet from pneumonia, Vapor and his parents take Braise in
Vapor's parents die from pneumonia also when they're twelve and already on their journey to put together a battling team, but Vapor and Braise go back before they finally do die and are at their sides when they finally leave so Vapor has no guilt relating towards their death like Braise has towards his parents. At this time Fringe and Chomper are on their team.
that's all I got so far
