What a surreal day. I couldn't believe I was doing this. And with my parents out of town, this was all the scarier. I thought about calling them, but I doubted they would appreciate me taking a random stranger into my care. Especially when he said his name was "Fleshpiercer". Luckily he seemed to adapt to the name of "Pierce" well.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. A similar incident occurred when I used to live in Hearthome City. Many years ago when I was little, I found a young boy a bit older than myself at the time lying face-down in the snow. I yelled and he didn't wake up. I ran to get my mother and we took him into our home for the night. The next day the police came and took him back to his parents. He had apparently escaped being kidnapped. The poor kid was all the way from Sunnyshore City. He got back just fine but we never heard from him again.

I wondered if Pierce had also been taken against his will. It would explain why he was shirtless in the middle of winter. He refused to answer any of my questions. Whenever I asked him something he would simply hang his head low and refuse to answer me. Eventually I gave up trying. He sat in the chair all day, staring blankly at the fireplace.

Later I grew hungry and decided to fix some dinner for the two of us. Spaghetti was one of the few things I could cook well so I made that. I put it down in front of him and he seemed shocked at what I gave him. After he cautiously took his first bite, he began to eat it rapidly. It was the fastest I had ever seen someone eat. He seemed like he hadn't eaten in days, which could've been possible. I sat down and ate my noodles. A few minutes later I decided to try to get some answers from him.

"Alright, buddy," I snarled trying to be intimidating. "I want some answers here. Where are you from?" He didn't answer. "I said where are you from?!" He grabbed his necklace before replying.

"If you're trying to frighten me, it's not working," he told me. I growled. I let him in my home and give him food and all he does is sit there avoiding my questions. Out of anger I snatch his plate away from him.

"Hey! That's mine!" he protested.

"Actually, it's mine. I made it. And you're not getting it back until you give me some answers."

"Fine, let me think," he sighed. Pierce clutched the charm around his neck again and closed his eyes. I observed his face while he was doing this. His expression kept changing as if he wasn't sure of something.

"Ok, I'll tell you some," he finally promised. "But where I'm from things are much different. It may be shocking to someone like you so I don't want to make a scene." I ignored the "someone like you" part and agreed. I could respect a need for privacy.

"I'm not sure how far I travelled to get here," he explained. "But it can't be too close. Where I'm from, Pokémon are feared. My peers and I loathe them." What he said sounded stiff, as if he were reading from a script.

"Did you come overseas?" I asked.

"No, by foot," he answered with hesitation. I replied with a strange and skeptical look. He looked down at the table. 'Was he serious?' I thought.

"How did you come this far with just a pair of shorts?" I questioned. "You're not even wearing shoes! And why, for that matter?" Pierce didn't say anything. He clutched the necklace around his neck. "What is that?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" he replied, holding up the necklace. There was a decently-sized brown stone on it. "I'm not sure. I guess I've just always had it. It helps me... think." 'I wish I had something like that right now.' I was confused. He seemed to be dodging questions about where he came from.

"Please answer my other question now," I demanded. "Why on Earth were you trudging through the snow with no winter protection whatsoever?" He once again clutched the stone on his necklace. Once again, his expression changed constantly as if he was having a disagreement with someone. He sat there silently for several minutes. I eventually got tired of standing and pulled a chair up next to him. Eventually he opened his eyes and spoke.

"I was in a hurry," he said. "I needed to escape." I gasped lightly, but I wasn't surprised. I figured that some sort of abrupt emergency was involved. It only made sense.

"Why did you need to escape?"

"I was in a bad place."

"What kind of place, Pierce?" He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to talk about it." I decided that it would be best to drop it. At least, for now. I led him to the guest room where he would be sleeping. He quickly crawled into the bed. He must have been exhausted. It was like he hadn't slept in a bed for over a decade.


The next morning, I came downstairs to see Pierce sitting in the chair, still wearing nothing but the pair of shorts. He was hunched over and clutching his head.

"Pierce? Are you ok?" I asked cautiously. He slowly turned his head up to face me. He opened his mouth to speak but instead of words coming out, vomit emerged. I jumped backwards. I ran into the kitchen and got a plastic bag for him. He took it and continued to puke in it. I glanced at the carpet. Luckily, there wasn't a lot. But I was still panicking. I had no idea what was wrong with him. 'Was my cooking from last night really that bad?'

I was torn out of my thoughts by the sound of the doorbell. 'Oh, no,' I thought. 'Wait, it must be Emily! Maybe she can help!' I rushed to the door and opened it to a blonde girl. She was tall and thin with green eyes and a top-brand purple coat. Yup, that was my best friend Emily. A lot of people thought of her as a "basic white chick". She may look that way on the outside, but really she's a genius. ...Sometimes.

"Hey," she said. "I'm off work today so I thought I'd-"

"Emily! I need your help!" I blurted out, interrupting my best friend. "Did you bring Cindy?"

"Yeah, of course," she scoffed. "What kind of trainer would leave without her best tank Pokémon?"

"Listen to me!" I begged. She could tell I was serious and silenced herself. "There's a boy in here. He's sick. Please, I need Cindy to heal him! He's throwing up!"

"Ok, I'll see what I can do," she said putting her serious face on. She reached into her purse and grabbed a Poké Ball. She released a large pink Pokémon from the white and red sphere. Cindy the Blissey followed Emily into the living room.

"Cindy, Heal Pulse!" Emoly commanded. Cindy crested a small ball of energy and launched it at Pierce. "Now use Aeromotherapy." An incredibly soothing scent wafted throughout the room. Pierce began to calm down. Soon he looked a lot better. He turned around in his chair, looked up at the Blissey that had cured him, and then immediately fainted while clutching his necklace. 'What is with that thing?'

"So, new boyfriend?" Emily teased. "How perfect that your parents aren't home. How was the 'Netflix and Chill'?" I rolled my eyes. 'Great. Now I have two sick people to deal with.'


Hi! Sorry this chapter was super short. I was going to add more but it's been so long since I last uploaded a chapter so I decided to save my ideas for the future. Nonetheless, I hope to make things more entertaining. Next chapter I'm planning on throwing in a comedic scene and a way to get to know Emily. The following chapter I plan on revealing more about Pierce's past. Also I've decided to do away with telling you who's POV the story is being told from. It's kinda tacky and interrupts the flow just a bit. I'll leave it to you guys to figure that out via context clues and such. Thanks for reading!