A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, but it couldn't be helped. By the way, if you're enjoying this, check out my other fics and review them if you get the chance—reviews not only motivate me, they help me improve!


Cole stood in the training room, wearing a pancham-themed outfit with bare feet and facing his adoptive father, his adoptive mother looking on from the sidelines.

"First things first. Let me see your punch; make a fist and give me a good one right in the gut!"

The six-year-old human hesitated. He had been on the receiving end of physical abuse, and he knew he didn't like it. Why would someone WANT to get hit? He certainly didn't want to hurt anyone. David saw his expression, then smiled at him and spoke in as encouraging a tone of voice as he could muster.

"It's alright, my boy. You won't hurt me, and you're not trying to hurt me. I just want to see how strong you are. Don't be afraid..."

The calming tone and soothing words took their intended effect, and Cole mustered up as much courage as he could, making a fist and throwing it at the emboar's stomach. Predictably, it bounced right off with no effect. Cole frowned a bit, but this was quickly replaced by a small grin as David laughed and patted him on the head.

"Well, looks like you got a good amount of muscle for your age, my boy! That was a good one!"

Cole smiled up at his new father before a thoughtful frown covered his face again. He still wasn't sure about this. Maria spoke to him next.

"What's wrong, baby? Go on, you can tell us."

Cole looked at his fist, then released it, speaking quietly. "I don't... I don't know if I can do this... I don't want to hurt anyone..."

The Blaziken walked over to him and knelt down to look him in the eyes. "Fighting isn't just for hurting people; that's not why we do it. The kind of people who use it for that are not good people. Do you know why we do it?"

He tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

She smiled at him warmly. "Remember this, Cole. There are only three reasons to fight: one is to protect others, two is to understand others, and three is to improve others and yourself. There is no fourth reason."

Cole still didn't quite understand, so David decided to elaborate.

"Think about it this way. Remember last night, when we fought off those bad pokemon who were trying to hurt you? That was reason one. We weren't going to just stand by and let them hurt you, so we stopped them before they could. That's how you fight to protect others."

Maria continued with the explanation. "Two is a little more complicated. When you get into a fight, whether it's for a friendly match or to protect someone, your opponent has different reasons for fighting, and those reasons come out in how they fight. If you pay attention, you can see what kind of person they are in how they fight, and if you can do that, once the fight is over you might even be able to make a friend out of them. Our enemies that night showed that they were weak in how they fought; they chased down and tried to hurt those weaker than them, and the moment they found themselves fighting someone who could fight back, they ran. They wouldn't have listened to anything we said. But sometimes, someone else might be fighting you not because they really want to hurt you, but because they're hurting themselves; in that case, you can find out how and why they're hurting, and once it's over you can use what you learned to help make them better."

Cole nodded; this was still a bit complicated, but he was starting to get the picture. "What about the third reason?"

Both Firehearts smiled; David spoke up next, looking at his wife. "Well, that's where this room comes in. Your mother and I spar here at least twice a day, and in the process, we train one another and keep each other in shape. We challenge each other physically and mentally, and in the process, both of us get stronger and better because of it."

He then turned to look at Cole. "But even the people on the sidelines can benefit from this, if the fight is honest. If you fight with honor, you can encourage those who watch you to do so as well; for example, you saw us fighting to protect you last night, and you want to learn how to be able to do that yourself, not because you want to fight or hurt anyone, but so you won't have to feel weak anymore, so you won't have to be afraid, so you won't have to stand by and watch while other people get hurt. That is the purpose of being strong, the real purpose of fighting: to teach other people how to be strong themselves."

Maria looked him in the eye again, the same motherly smile on her face. "You don't have to learn if you don't want to, honey. We'll always love you and protect you, no matter what."

The boy considered this for a few moments before seeing the encouraging smiles on his parent's faces. He smiled and nodded. Cole still didn't entirely understand, but he wanted to at least try. David smiled in approval once more.

"Okay, then, let's see that punch of yours again!"

Cole had to admit, he enjoyed the session; it wasn't anything difficult, and they didn't make him sweat or anything, but their lessons, their kind words and their warm smiles all made him feel good. After a few minutes, though, Cole found his stomach growling. Evidently, his new parents heard it.

"Well, sounds like someone's hungry!" David started to laugh when his own stomach growled as well.

Maria chuckled at her husband in response. "It seems we could all use a bit of food... Oh! I have an idea!"

She turned to look at Cole. "Why don't we all go out for lunch today? There's a great place to eat nearby! Would you like to try it out?"

Cole grinned eagerly. He'd never had much to eat before, and he had definitely not been outside his old house that often, let alone gone out to eat!

"I guess it's settled then. Come on, my boy, I'll even give you a bit of a ride!" David knelt down with his back to Cole, who happily climbed on to the emboar's shoulders, giddy with anticipation.


The weather outside was sunny and bright, with a blue sky, fluffy clouds, and the dazzlingly brilliant green of trees and grass in the summer. Even so, despite his initial excitement and the thrill of seeing the world from his new father's shoulders, Cole found himself nervous once they arrived at the restaurant. He'd never been around this many people before, let alone a place so full of pokemon! A bellossom approached, a tray in her hands.

"Oh! Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fireheart! Would you like a menu, or should I just set you up with the usual?"

Maria shook her head. "Please, Shirley, call us by our first names. As for the food, I think we'll want a menu this time; after all, we have a new mouth to feed, and he's never been here before!"

Shirley looked at the small human child, who was shyly hiding his face behind David's head. She smiled at him, a slight chuckle escaping her lips. "Ah, I heard you'd adopted a human. He's adorable! What's his name?"

David smiled and turned his head to the boy. "Shirley Bloom, meet Cole Fireheart! Don't be shy, my boy, say hello to the nice lady!"

He carefully looked up at the bellossom, his voice quiet and nervous. "H-hello..."

His initial fear started to vanish as she smiled back at him. "It's very nice to meet you, Cole! Don't be afraid of little old me, your mommy and daddy and I go way back. Let's get you guys a seat, shall we?"

The family sat down at a table outside the restaurant, and began looking at the menu. Cole looked over it in utter confusion before speaking quietly in an embarrassed tone.

"Mommy, daddy, could you choose something for me?"

Maria looked at him. "Why, can you not decide?"

"I can't read..."

The couple frowned sympathetically; the poor child hadn't even been taught how to read at this point in life. Scooting her chair over next to him, Maria pointed to an item on the menu. "Okay, see that word there? That spells 'curry'. Remember that food we made for you last night? That's the word right there!"

Cole nodded and smiled at the memory of his first real meal. "Show me another one, mommy!"

"Of course, honey. Now this one means 'sweet', this one 'spicy'..."

The food was quite delicious, and Shirley was just as nice and friendly as David and Maria. On the way home, the family stopped by a store and purchased a few children's books, where several other pokemon met him for the first time. Evidently the Firehearts were well-known and well-liked in the town, and the people they knew were friendly and warm. Cole was still terribly shy and didn't speak up often, and found himself burying his face in the back of David's head more often than not. Even so, he enjoyed the nice words and friendly greetings.

Upon getting home, David gently set Cole down on the couch in front of the fireplace, after which both he and Maria sat on either side of him and began to read to him, helping him to recognize various words and letters as they went. With every successfully repeated sentence, they complimented him, eliciting a smile from his face. He liked this feeling; he had almost never smiled in his life before being adopted by David and Maria, and yet he found himself smiling practically every time they spoke to him. They were even teaching him how to read—something he never would have thought would happen. All in all, he was starting to feel right at home here.

A few hours later, he found himself struggling to stay awake, and allowed his parents to hold his hand as he walked to his bedroom. They tucked him in, but before they could turn the light out, Cole spoke up.

"Mommy, Daddy, could you read to me some more tomorrow?"

Maria answered in a sincere tone. "Of course, honey. We'd be happy to."

"Well, my boy, I'm glad to see you so eager to learn. Now do us a favor and get yourself some shut-eye. Tomorrow's another big day, kiddo!"

The two left the room, turning the lamp off and closing the door, leaving Cole alone with his thoughts. Last night, he was all set to run, but all of a sudden, he found himself never wanting to leave. As he drifted off, his last thoughts were how he couldn't wait for morning.


Once again, writing this chapter put a huge smile on my face. I've never really written "cute" before, but as it turns out it's pretty therapeutic. I hope it warms your heart as much as it does mine. Please leave a review if you can!