Chapter 25
"Well… here it is…," I grinned. "Technically it's my aunt and uncle's, but they gave it to me to use anytime I'd like to use it." I loved my house; it is two-storey, white panelling with red bricks on the sides and a beautifully crafted front door – I carved the door myself.
"So you own it?" Marie asked.
"I guess you could say that!" I nodded. I found the secret key that was hidden inside a fake rock. "Found the key!" I grinned and immediately unlocked the door. "Come on in!" I said happily. "Make yourself at home!" I grinned again and looked around. Everything was still in place: the staircase looked fine; the nice expensive coffee table was still in the same spot near the green couch, like last time. Except the fact that dust was starting to collect everywhere, the very expensive TV looked all right. I tapped my foot and noticed that the wood floors were okay too. "Everything seems all right…" I mumbled to myself while walking to the kitchen.
The fridge, microwave, stove, oven, sink, everything really looked okay there, too. I walked to the bathroom… the brown marble sink was fine, and the faucet wasn't dripping. Even the nice white tub and its faucet weren't dripping either. "Phew…" I sighed in relief. I walked up the stairs and looked in all of the empty rooms with just beds, nothing on them since no one's here. They were okay too. Even the painting I painted about twenty years ago looked cool too. I looked outside the window; it overlooked a huge lake. I walked back downstairs and took off my shoes; I then sat down on the couch. I looked to see that everyone had fallen asleep. My cell phone started to vibrate though, so as fast as possible, I left the room and went into the kitchen.
"Hallo[1]?" I answered. "Ja, ja, das ist 'Looker'[2]. 'Apollo' ist identifiziert worden[3]. Berichterstattung über zero-zwei-eins-drei.[4] 'Apollo' ist bis zu seinem alten schmutzigen Tricks wieder[5]. Auf Wiedersehen[6]," I hung up. I walked back to the couch and sat down to see everyone sleeping peacefully.
I decided to sleep too… little did I know I was sleepwalking again. "Ugh…" I woke up in the middle of the living room floor.
"Dad…? Are you okay? You were sleepwalking." Stan shook me.
"Oh… for how long?" I asked groggily.
"Only a few seconds and then you tripped and landed on the floor."
"Is he OK?" Marie blinked. The two helped me up.
"This is becoming a bad habit, I need to see a doctor about this," I groaned. I looked over to see Jasper and Jade sleeping like lumps on a log. "They sleep so soundly – I wish I did," I grinned.
"So… Sie kennen Deutsch[7]?" Stan looked at me.
"Ja… ich kenne Deutsch[8]." I nodded. "I'm fluent in German." I grinned.
"Wow… nice…," everyone mumbled. Jade and Jasper finally woke up.
"Look who finally decided to wake up," Stan mocked sarcastically.
"Ooops…" Jade and Marie said.
"Hey granddad, if that's an HD TV, can we watch a movie?" Jasper grinned.
"Well… I'm afraid I don't have very many here… but we can look." I smiled. I opened up the huge walnut cabinet, a very cabinet I made myself. "Do you guys like The Last Lapras?" I grinned. "I love this movie."
"Yeah, it's one of my favourites." Stan nodded. Everyone else agreed.
"Ahh… I'm glad I got to watch a movie with my family!" I grinned and patted Jasper and Stanford on their heads (since I was sitting between them). "Anyway, is anyone hungry…? I mean, there's nothing to eat in this house… I haven't been here in two years."
"Right, do we have to eat out again?" Marie asked.
"Not if I go to the store real fast." I grinned. "Say… there's a lake in which you can go swimming if you want!"
"Ooh…," they all uttered.
"So, I'll be back in an hour." I grinned.
"Bye!" They all replied.
I had finally made into town. "Wonder what I should buy them for dinner…"
Stan's POV
"Wonder what we'll have for dinner?" I thought aloud while swimming around in the lake. I saw a couple of fish swim by. "Fish sounds good."
"Yeah… it does!" Jade grinned. "I agree."
"It does sound nice…" Marie mused.
"Yeah…" Jasper nodded. We all peacefully floated on the water while our Pokémon played tag or something like that.
Émile's POV
I had finally made it to the front counter and finally paid. "Thank you very much." I grinned while paying for everything. "Cannot believe I just spent $75.00 on groceries…" I thought. "Well… I hope they like it…" I smiled and walked out of the store. "Go Sceptile." I threw a poke ball on the ground and a giant, green and red lizard materialised. "Can you please help me?"
"Sceptile… (Yeah, sure thing…)."
"Thank you." I smiled again and handed him some of the plastic bags. I looked over to see a young woman walking with a young man. "Wonder why she looks vaguely familiar…" I noticed that they were almost near me.
"Can't wait to battle Brock tomorrow afternoon; it'll be awesome!" the young woman said. She looked similar to Lucian, except the opposite sex. She had brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a dark blue shirt and black jeans. She was wearing glasses too. What struck me as odd was her limping, as she was using a cane.
"Yeah… this will be interesting! I bet your Buizel will evolve after battling him," the young man said happily, chuckling. He was tall, with long blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a turquoise t-shirt with khakis. He appeared to be helping Luca walk occasionally.
"I bet he will evolve, Phillip." Luca grinned.
"I hope so, Luca!"
I was about to pass by them. "Hi there." I waved.
"Hey!" the two called and waved back.
"Cool Sceptile." She nodded. "I'm Luca." She held out her hand and I shook it.
"I'm Phillip." He held out his hand and I shook it, too.
"Thank you. Nice to meet you; I'm Looker," I smiled. "I shouldn't give out my real name just yet…," I thought. "I hate to admit, but I have to go now. I have a family to feed." The two looked at me funny.
"Family…" the two mumbled.
"I suppose you're welcome to come to dinner with us…" I hesitated. I was not sure what to do; I did not want to be rude.
"Wow… that'd be great, thank you!" Luca smiled. "Could we be of assistance though?" she asked.
"Nah… I got it, thanks anyway." I nodded.
We finally made it back to the house; we all walked to the backyard. The four were just floating or relaxing in the water. I thought that they would have fun, but I guess not.
"Hey guys." I smiled. "We have some company that will join us for dinner, if that's all right with you."
The four sat up and grinned. As if, they knew them, or expecting dinner! I wondered if they did know them.
"I hope you don't mind if we join in!" Luca grinned. "I'm Lu…ca…" She looked at Stanford. "Stanford… is that you? No way!" She blinked.
"Haha, yes it is!" He grinned.
"I'm Phillip, but you guys can call me Phil." Phil smiled. The two took off their clothes and jumped into the water. I noticed they had swimsuits on under their clothes.
"I'm going to make dinner; you guys have fun, all right?" I smiled and walked off.
Stan's POV
"Luca! I haven't seen you since that one time Lucian was in the hospital because of that Weavile that nearly killed him…" I gasped.
"I know, right? I haven't seen you or Marie lately." She nodded.
"Hey Luca… how have you been?" Marie grinned.
"Good, and who's this?" She looked at Jade and Jasper.
"I'm Jade, Stan's cousin." She smiled at Luca.
"I'm Jasper, and Stan's my daddy." He grinned and looked at Luca, too.
"You know them, Luca?" Phil asked. "Interesting."
"Yeah! We met when my brother Lucian was in the hospital. I wish we could have met elsewhere, sadly." Luca shrugged. "Oh, well…" Luca shut her eyes and ignored everyone.
Émile's POV
"Phew… I'm exhausted…" I cut up many vegetables; I had accidentally cut my finger. I wrapped my finger up carefully. "I sure hope they like this chicken noodle soup." I cut up some carrots. I decided to use a chopper for the onions, for obvious reasons, so my eyes wouldn't water. I sighed in relief. "Now, to tell them that it's done!" I grinned brightly. "I'm sure they'll be happy."
I quickly walked outside and thought about Luca and Phil. "Not sure if I fully trust Luca and Phil…" I thought long and hard on the way there. "Maybe I should investigate them more." I nodded. "Hey guys!" I called while walking to the lake. "Dinner is ready!" I looked over to see Stan and Luca battling each other. "Oh?"
"Gible, use Dig!" Luca commanded.
"Quick Tibby, Dark Pulse!" Tibby was too fast for the Gible, the purple and black energy swallowed up the little squatty dragon. It fell to the ground and got back up while glowing white.
"Whoa… it's evolving…" I mumbled. The short, squatty dragon turned into a sleek, dinosaur-like dragon complete with long fins, dark blue body, red upper belly and whitish-grey underbelly. It looked very intimidating. "Cool, haven't seen one of those in a while," I said aloud.
"Ooh nice Luca!" Stan grinned.
"Wow… that's cool!" Jasper eyed it.
"Oooh…" Jade and Marie uttered
"Come on, let's get some dinner!" Phil grinned.
"Yeah!" They all agreed and returned all of their Pokémon. I smiled.
"Come along now." I waved my arm. We all walked in. I drooled as I stepped in, and yes, my own cooking makes me drool all the time. "Maybe Luca and Phil aren't such a bad persons after all…?" I thought. We all sat down, as usual, they complimented me.
"Dad… this is incredible… I don't think I've tasted anything this delicious yet!" Stan grinned.
I blushed slightly. "Why thank you!" I grinned.
We all had dinner, Phil and Luca had to go (turns out they were doing the same thing as us! We may actually see them again along the way), I made myself hot tea and lied down in bed; I told the kids that they could watch a movie or TV if they wanted to. I heard the sound of rain.
"Huh, it's raining," I mumbled to myself. I slowly caught a few Zs, while dreaming of nothing, sadly. I heard a loud noise and woke up to the sound of a thunderclap. "Whoa… what time is it?" It was 11:03. "Oh, all right then." I got up. "Dammit… I would do anything to pee in a bag…" I groaned and walked to the toilet. As usual, it quite hurt. "Argh…," I groaned. I then slipped on my slippers and walked to the living room where everyone was, except they weren't; but I did hear someone in the kitchen.
"Where are they?" I thought. I walked to the kitchen to see that they were drinking wine.
"H-hey D-dad… d-do you want s-some?" Stan stuttered.
"Uhh… no thanks…" I hesitated.
"C-come j-join us…" Marie stuttered as well.
"Y-yeah…" Jade was stuttering, too.
"All of you guys are stuttering… and you're drunk." I wasn't sure what to do. "I-I don't drink very often… but since you guys are pressuring me, why not?" I hadn't gotten drunk in over fifteen years. Stan unsteadily poured me a glass. "Thank you…" I sipped. "Ahh… I haven't had Chablis wine in a while now," I grinned. There's a thing about Chablis: it's a white wine that's very acidic, and it rather has a 'flinty' flavour whenever it ages; it's also one of the longest living wines. I looked at the bottle, it was dated 1989. I fell asleep, half-drunk on the living room floor.
"Ugh…" I groaned while waking up. "I must have sleepwalked," I grunted while getting up. My back popped like crazy while I got up. "Oh weh… how come no one helped me…," I galumphed to the kitchen. "Ugh…" My head was pounding excruciatingly. "Haven't had a hangover in a while," I groaned. I felt a little dizzy. "What can I have to breakfast…?" I mumbled.
Stanford snuck up on me and hit me on the back hard. "HEY DAD!" He grinned. I groaned.
"Hey there…" I rubbed my head. "I have a really bad hangover… something I haven't felt in about fifteen years."
"Aww… it's okay, Dad, how about we have fun today, and hopefully it will take your mind off of it?" he asked. I looked at him and he grinned even wider than before.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." I patted him on the back. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"Anything you can whip up." He nodded happily.
I smiled again. "All right."
I decided to give them my speciality – blueberry pancakes with pure maple syrup. I quickly whipped them up, as everyone else filtered into the kitchen, staring at me like a pack of Mightyena. As soon as they were done, they were gone in less than twenty minutes. I wasn't one to eat quickly, but I was hungry.
"Once again, this was amazing…" Stan sighed in relief.
"Uh… t-thank you," I hesitated, blushing slightly.
"Why do you deny that you are a good cook?" Jade blinked.
"Hmm…" Marie nodded.
"I agree," Stan and Jasper both said, while they looked at me.
"Oh… I'm not denying it; I just think that there are better cooks out there than me… that's all…" I felt ashamed.
"Dad… it's all right…" Stan looked at me, his frown slightly turning into a smile. "I think you're the best cook in the world. "I've been to hundreds of restaurants in my life, but I don't know if I've ever tasted anything as unique as what you cook." His smile was wider. I furrowed my brow and smiled slightly. "So please don't think like that, because it's not true. I must have gotten my love of food from you…" Everyone nodded at what he said.
"T-thank you…" my scowl turned into a smile. "I appreciate that."
I walked upstairs to my bedroom to get something. "Here it is… all of my Hoenn badges…" I grabbed the case and blew off the dust. I looked at all of them. They were still beautiful and shiny, as if they were a day old, despite being over twenty years old. Stone, Knuckle, Dynamo, Heat, Balance, Feather, Mind and Rain badges. Even after all of these years, I remember their names.
I walked back downstairs, carrying the case carefully as possible.
"So what's your surprise?" Jade asked while I walked back into the kitchen.
"Here." I set the case down on the table. "All of my Hoenn badges."
"Ooh…" They all oohed and ahhed.
"Dad… we need a serious battle…" Stan smirked.
Nevertheless… I was ready, no matter what. "Fine, let's step outside."
[1] HAH-low; hello.
[2] YAH-YAH, DAHS IH-st LOO-kar; Yes, yes, this is 'Looker'.
[3] AH-paul-low IH-st EE-den-tih-fit-siert vor-DEN. 'Apollo' has been spotted (or identified).
[4] BE-rict-stah-toong eww-BER ZEE-roh TSV-igh EIN-z DRY. Reporting on zero-three-one-two.
[5] IS-t BISS sue zie-nem ALL-ten SCHMOOTZ-ig-gen TRICKS vee-DEHR. 'Apollo' is up to his tricks again.
[6] OWF VEE-dehr-zane. Goodbye. (This is a formal way of saying it.)
[7] ZEE ken-EN doystch; You know German? – 'Sie' is a more formal way of saying 'you', like to a teacher or an adult/someone older than one.
[8] Ich = EECH; Yes, I know German.