Chapter 1 – Part 4
After having a breakfast of jerky with Growlithe, Steven left his friend to get some much-needed rest in the cavern while he went to take care of a few things. Heading in the direction of the house, Steven wondered if he would even be able to actually go on a journey with Growlithe-he really, really wanted to beat all of the gyms and face the Elite Four! The crackling of leaves underfoot broke the otherwise quiet forest sounds as he pondered on this. He suddenly broke from the forest onto the trail. Across from him was his parents' house.
He walked up to the porch, and after taking off his shoes, opened the front door silently and entered. He walked over to his parents' room and knocked quietly. The door burst open and his father stood there, glaring at him.
"What do you want?" he snarled.
"I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday," Steven said politely, keeping himself calm. "I know I did something wrong-"
"'Did something wrong'?" his father mocked, interrupting Steven. "That, son, is a major understatement. Now you're going to-"
"-but I want to apologize for having broken our one rule," Steven said steadily, continuing like his father hadn't interrupted him. "I know that you hate Pokémon, and that you tolerate me being around them as long as I don't bring any into the house-I know that that had been our one and only rule, and I know that I broke it, so I want to apologize for having brought one into the house, having broken our one rule, and I want to promise you that I won't do it again."
His father was speechless. He stared at his son with an expression of shock, surprise, and disgust all rolled into one on his face.
"And-?" his father said, breaking the silence.
"And I want to know how to make it up to you," Steven answered. "Is there anything I can do for you to make it up to you, dad? Besides not breaking it again, I mean."
His father was silent for a moment. Then-"I'll see if there's anything that you can do for me," his father replied. "-Later," he added.
Steven nodded respectfully, and turned and left the house after grabbing a jacket, and headed for the cavern again…
When he got back to the cavern, he woke Growlithe from his nap.
"Come on, buddy," Steven said. "It's time I start conditioning you to be able to travel quickly. That way we can go long distances without having to stop often."
Okay Steven, Growlithe replied telepathically, getting up and stretching. I'm ready.
Good, Steven said telepathically back.
They exited the cavern and Steven led Growlithe to a decently-sized clearing in the forest. Steven pulled a small strip of red cloth (about 20 cm in length) from his pocket and showed it to his friend.
"We're going to play a game to help build up your speed and endurance," Steven said. "I'm going to slip this cloth through one of my belt-loops on the back of my pants. The goal of this game is for you to take the cloth from me - kind of like a game of tag and capture the flag combined. Got it?"
Growlithe nodded. For the rest of the day, they trained, stopping only a few times. Then, when it got dark out, they went into the cavern and, after Steven gave Growlithe some jerky for diner, they went to sleep together.
The next morning, as Steven led the way to the city, Growlithe was able to keep up a much better pace, thanks to the training the day before. But, instead of going to the convenience store, Steven led his friend to the Pokémon center. He entered, and Growlithe followed.
"Hey Nurse Joy!" Steven called happily.
"Hello Steven," she said, turning to face him with a smile on her face. "What can I do for you?"
"Can I ask you for a favor?" Steven asked.
"Sure," she replied. "What is it?"
"Can I have you watch over Growlithe while I'm at school?" he asked.
"No problem!" she answered.
"You behave now," Steven said, turning to Growlithe. Growlithe barked softly and licked Steven's face as he bent down to say goodbye. Steven laughed.
Then he got up and left for school…