Chapter 2: The Lion And The Mouse

"Hello there, Mayor!" An Aggron said to Devin.

"Hello, Mark!" The Raichu said as he waved his paw. "Nice day today, isn't it?"

"Sure is." Mark said back as the Mayor of the town walked down the street with his smiling Pichu, Sparks, and his annoyed Luxio, Bolt.

This was normal for him to do. Walking down the town, normally waving to anyone who gave him a friendly hello. Sparks was also walking normally, however, he was very excited for his first day of being a mailmon, but Bolt was a little on the annoyed side. He was clearly not happy with his mom's 'master plan' to have him like his brother.

There really wasn't any other way, was there? Having him walk to work with him was already difficult enough, but working together! Him and Sparks had never worked together in their lives! Well okay, not never, but this is a summer job, not a game of Pokeball! Plus, it never really worked out in the end.

The only reason why Bolt was a mailmon so that he could make some Poke and buy a few things, and he did enjoy it. It paid well, he got plenty for exercise from it, and it was also the best way to get away from Sparks for a whole day. But now Sparks was a mailmon and now Bolt would have to spend the whole day with him, which didn't help Bolt at all. The best thing about his job just became his worst nightmare.

However, he REALLY didn't want to make his mom or dad mad at him for hating his little brother either, so...

He sighed. It is what it is. But was this really for his best? Did he need to change right now? How long is this going to last anyways? He hoped it wouldn't be that long. Hopefully only a day or so. Maybe a week.

Bolt kept thinking about all of these questions so much, that another thing came to his head...a stone wall.

*THUD!*

His face smashed right into the stone wall. The wall to the post office's to be exact. "Oww!" He mourned. But as Bolt started to rub his face, Sparks fell to the ground, and bursted out laughing. Great.

"HA! Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha! You just walked into a wall! Hahahahaha!" He said crying out in laughter. His father tried to stop Sparks from laughing but, nice try Dad. Bolt could easily tell that he also thought it was funny.

"Sparks, please don't laugh at-heh B-Bolt." He then shakes his head, trying to regain his train of thoughts. "Let's just focus on getting you ready to go with your brother so that you can start delivering our mail."

The two mouses then walked into the office, with Bolt following from behind. "Hey look!" Sparks said as he pointed to a sign. Bolt looked up at the sign.

'We fight for those who can't.' It read. "Isn't that your saying when you were an explorer?" Sparks asked.

"Yes, that's the one." Devin answered with a smile.

"But why is it here? We don't actally get to fight for other Pokemon like you did, do we?" Sparks asked again.

Devin chuckles. "Uhh...no, you don't fight anyone, unless it's a Wild Pokemon, of course. I just put that up there because I'm the mayor, and I thought that it would be nice to have my moto up here. Also, it's a good moto that everyone should remember. Puts a smile on your face knowing that you're being protected." He then stares at it closer and starts thinking. "Now that I think about it, maybe I should've had it say 'help' instead of 'fight'. And it feels weird to see it in a post office."

"Ow..." Bolt said as he rubbed his face again.

"You okay, kido?" The father asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just gonna go get dressed now." Bolt said as he walked towards a room, away from the two mouses.

He continued walking, but then rubbed his face again. The wall had hurt a little more than he thought. He decided to walk to a mirror to see if his face was alright. He walked through the brightly colored hall and then toward the mirror. He then looked at himself.

...

Phew! It looked alright. His fur was a little pushed but he was sure that no one would notice it. It's not like someone would ask him, "Hey, did you walk into a wall today?"

He then looked to his side to see his mailman bag and hat. And he put both of them on. He put the hat on his head, then slid his bag belt onto himself, then he tightened it with his mouth, and then he again looked at the mirror. He took a moment to look at himself with his blue and black hat and his brown belt and let out a small smile. He was proud of the way he looked, but then something hit him in the back.

"Looking good bro!" Sparks said as he also was in his Mailmon clothes looking at the mirror...and on top of Bolt's head.

"Sparks. Get off." Bolt growled.

"Sorry! Just excited! First impression! You know?" He said as he climbed off Bolt.

"I say you both look good." The Raichu said as he walked up toward them. "So, how are you feeling about your first day Sparks?" He said.

"It's so cool!" Sparks exclaims.

"Come on, it's not THAT big of a deal." Bolt thought.

The Pichu continued. "I always wanted to know what Bolt did as a mailmon and now I'll finally find out! I'll bet we'll see a whole lot of the townspokemon and talk with some of them and...

"Man." Bolt thought, "Is he even using periods now?" As he continued.

"...I also always wondered who else works here and I still have so many more questions!"

"Just keep it in, just keep it in."

Dad seemed to notice Bolt having a hard time with Sparks already, so he interrupts the Tiny Mouse Pokemon. "Whoa, Sparks, slow down. I think we all know that you're a little excited. Just calm down a little, okay?"

"A-O-K!" Sparks says.

"Good." The Raichu said, looking at the Luxio.

"Thank, goodness!" Bolt thought.

They all then walk together down the hall, and into a darker room.

"Hey Dad?" Sparks asked.

"Yes?" His father said.

"What is this room?"

The Dad answered, "This is the room where you'll be taught how to be a mailmon. Mr. Dugito will be here at any moment."

Bolt then pauses and says, "Wait a minute, why do I have to be in here? I already went through this." In a little mad tone.

Devin notices the tone, but keeps it to himself, and answers Bolt. "I'd like for you to stay here for at least a while, you can leave after you've seen some of it."

The Luxio made sure his dad wasn't looking before he rolled his eyes.

After an "exciting" runthrough of what to do as a mailmon, Bolt NEEDED to walk away for a bit. He could swear that Sparks asked more questions than he had the entire school year! Sparks wanted to make sure that he knew what to do at anytime, anywhere, and he couldn't take him asking the simplest questions for much longer, so he asked to be excused, and went straight toward the water fountain.

"Just drink some water, and calm down, that's got to help right?" He said to himself, but it didn't make much sense.

Nothing made sense to him, Bolt didn't know what to do or think. He was trying his best! He really was! But was it him who had to change or Sparks? Because at this rate it seems that Sparks should get a talk too. Sparks is just so annoying with saying things the lion already knew!

Bolt then started to walk away as he kept thinking. If Sparks could change, just a little bit, then maybe that would help a-OW!

Bolt again slammed his face into something...again. However, when he opened his eyes he noticed what he ran into: Another face. Belonging to another Luxio, only this time it was a female.

Bolt recognized her. It was that girl from school, right? She then starts to apologize. "I'm so sorry! I should have known you'd turn around! I'm sorry!" She says to Bolt while she too was rubbing her face.

Bolt just continued rubbing his nose as the female was sweating. He then said, "It's alright. You didn't hit me that hard." Bolt stopped rubbing and looked at the Luxio. "So, you're that girl from school, right? Lucky, was your name wasn't it?"

"Yep, that's me." She said as she started blushing. She smiled, or at least that's what Bolt thought. The way she smiled looked as if something was wrong with her. He wondered if it was because she was worried about him.

"I'm alright you know. In case you're worried. My head's fine. It's been through worse." Bolt clarified.

"Oh y-ya! That's good to hear!" The female Luxio said.

...

...

...

Well, this is awkward. Bolt just stared at her, she's acting so weird. Everything about her right now looked...nervous. I mean, he was the same wreck as well. But why is she here? Bolt had never seen her here. She isn't a new mailmon too, is she?

"So what are you doing here? Is there something you wanted?" He asks.

"Y-ya! I was..." Lucky started to trip over her own words, but Bolt couldn't put together why. "I was wondering...if you were coming to Jack's summer break party tonight?" She managed to finally say.

"Umm ya, I always do." Bolt answered. "It's nice to celebrate the end of the school year."

But even though he said that he was going, Lucky seemed to be a little frustrated. As if she wanted something else or a different answer. Every single word that was added to the conversion felt like years.

"That's good! I'll...see you there...Bolt!" She then turned around and walked away, but she walked slightly faster than normal. Bolt could only stare at the Luxio, puzzled.

So, is she happy that Bolt is coming to the party or is she mad? Why was she acting so weird? And did she really come all this way to ask that one question? The only thing that Bolt could figure out was that was the strangest forty seconds of his life.

"Bolt!" He heard a small Pokemon say. Bolt turned around and saw the Pichu, who was being followed by his father. "I'm all set and know everything that we have to do!" Sparks declared proudly.

"Then I guess we're all set to deliver the mail." Bolt said in a slightly annoyed way. Sparks didn't seem to notice this because he immediately ran toward the storage room. Did he even listen to him?

"This is going to be a long day." Bolt muttered.

"Bolt!" Devin said. Shoot! He said that out loud!

Bolt gulped and walked toward the Raichu. "Your mother told me what happened last night, and believe me, I've also noticed your behavior with Sparks, including today."

Bolt looked down. Was it really that obvious? ...on second thought, yes, yes it was.

"Look, we're all family. You know it's wrong to hate your little brother, but me and your mother just want you to give him a chance, he's just a baby pokemon, and as a Pichu, he's energetic, just like I was when I was a Pichu."

He then took a breath, placed his paw on the Luxio and said, "Promise me you'll try your best. You two will be home alone tonight while your Mom and I are at the town's meeting. And I'd like you to not get into a fight with your brother."

"Yes sir...I promise." Bolt said. He then turned around and walked into the storage room to find Sparks. "And I want you to protect your brother from any wild Pokemon!" His Dad called out as he walked away. "I'll see you tomorrow Bolt!"

Bolt smiled. If there was one thing he could fully promise, it was that. He then walked into the room. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He could just be over thinking it. Maybe he could handle Sparks.

It was only one day, after all.

Minutes later, the two brothers were outside walking out of the building, starting their day of delivering mail. Bolt has a few boxes on his back while Sparks had a bag filled with letters. At least his brother was carrying some of the weight.

"So where's the first house, big bro?" Sparks asked.

Bolt took a breath and answered, "Just to Mrs. Aggron."

"Mrs. Aggron." Sparks says. "That's so cool!"

Bolt tried to smile. "Ya, no need to get too excited."

Sparks turned back toward the road. "Right, I bet you do this a lot so you don't get as excited about it."

"I guess so." Bolt said.

"Soooooo, was that Lucky you were talking to?" Sparks asked.

Bolt freezes at the question that came out of left field. "Huh?"

"At the fountain, were you talking to Lucky?"

Bolt was caught off guard by the comment. Sparks saw them...together?! He then shook his head but decided to answer the question just so he could satisfy his brother.

"Yes, it was Lucky."

Sparks then smiles. "What was she doing there? Is she also a mailmon?"

Bolt shakes his head. "I don't think so, she just wanted to make sure if I was going to the party tonight."

Sparks takes a moment to think. "Party? Par-OH! That party! Is that the one that your friend Jack always has after school?"

"Ya." Bolt said sweating. Sparks started thinking again. How many questions could one Pokemon ask in one day?

"Alright, then. Hey, could I ride on your back?"

There it is. "No." Bolt replied firmly as they continued walking. The answer to that question will always be no.

The rest of the day went on and it was... a little annoying. Sparks had really been excited to see everyone. And he took as much time as he had to talk to them, especially about his final grade. Not to mention all of the questions he asked Bolt.

"How much mail do you deliver?" "Do you have friends at the post office?" "Do you talk to people who you deliver mail to?" "Do you deliver our mail or does someone else do it for us? But if he does our's, then who does his?" And many others, and Bolt answered every question, not because he wanted to, but because he had hoped that if he'd answer them then Sparks would soon run out of questions to ask. So far, it hasn't worked very well.

"Can I deliver the next package? It's the lightest one and I promise I won't break it."

Bolt sighed. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

"Yeah!" Sparks jumped in the air, grabbed the small box, ran it towards the house, and rang the bell, hoping that someone would be on the other side. However, no one did, and Sparks ran back to Bolt.

"Funny, Mr. Crustle wasn't home." He said.

Bolt sighed. "That's fine. Everyone isn't always home when you deliver mail. Now let's just-"

"Grr..."

"Huh." Sparks said, looking down.

Bolt, on the other hand, started to spark. "Hold on, stay quiet, Sparks." Bolt knew that sound all too well. It was a wild Pokemon: Any Pokemon's greatest enemy. He then quietly walked forward and listened for the wild Pokemon.

"Grrrr..."

Wait a minute. That sound is coming from-

Bolt looked behind him, and saw that it was just Sparks rubbing his stomach. "Bolt, I think it might be time for a lunch break. I'm a little hungry" Sparks said with his ears down.

Never mind. Bolt took a sigh of relief and walked back to Sparks.

"So, heh heh, where do you go for lunch as a mailmon?" Sparks asked.

"Just by the dock." His brother replied.

"You mean at Armaldo's Dock Cafe?"

Bolt nodded. "That's the place."

"Yes! That means we'll be by the ocean! I'll race you there!" The tiny mouse then turned into a bolt of lightning and raced off.

"SPARKS! Wait!" Bolt then ran after his brother. How much energy does one Pichu have for a single day?!

"So that's two Perfect Apples, two Organ drinks, one small and one medium, and two Blue PokePuffs. Correct?" An Electabuzz waiter said to the Luxio.

"Yes, that's correct." Bolt replied.

"Alright, I'll call you when we're done with your order. Oh, and thanks for the package!"

"Ya, no problem." Bolt said.

The Electric Pokemon then walked away from the Luxio and towards the kitchen.

"Alright Sparks, the order's in...Sparks?" Bolt then started to look around, and saw his brother by the edge of a fenced cliffside. Bolt walked up to him.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked.

Sparks turns to him and says, "Just looking at the sea. You can see a lot of things from here."

Bolt looked toward the sea as well, and he did see many things across the ocean.

Sparks started to point out some of the Pokemon. "There's some Wingull, some Slowbro that's laying down on the shore...hey, what's that?" Sparks points to a ship that's by a dock.

"Sparks, that's just Feraligatr's ship." Bolt says.

Sparks turns toward Bolt. "Who's?"

Bolt gives Sparks a look. "Wait, you're a know it all. Wouldn't you know about this?"

"I only study types of Pokemon and their moves." Sparks said as he put his paw on his forehead.

Bolt sighed. "Feraligatr is a Pokemon who makes a business by going out to sea and trading with other Pokemon, he normally appears here to deliver goods to Armaldo. See?" Bolt says as he points to the Pokemon by the ship.

Sparks looks down. "Oh ya. I do see that. Look at all those boxes! I wonder how many boxes those are."

"And I wonder how long it takes to load those all up." Bolt chuckled. "I'd never want that job."

Sparks then looks to the side of the ship. His ears go up and his eyes sparkle. "IS THAT A LAPRAS?!" He yelled in excitement.

Bolt looks back toward the boat, and notices the turtle. "It is. Huh, never seen one before. I can only assume that you haven't seen one either?" Bolt goes to look toward Sparks, only to see no one there.

Reality then hits him like a Milktank's Rollout. "Oh, no." He quickly looks down and his worst fears are correct when he sees Sparks running toward the ship.

"Sparks! Get back here!" Bolt yelled. But either Sparks couldn't hear Bolt or he really wanted to see that Lapras, because he was still running towards the ship. Bolt then starts running down the stairs.

"Seriously, how much energy does he have?" Bolt thought as he went down the stairs.

"Is that everything?" An Armaldo asks.

The Feraligatr looks at a paper, and then starts counting the unloaded boxes. "Four boxes of Perfect Apples, fifteen gallons of Milktank milk, one box of candied berries, and two boxes of Water Gummies. Yep, I think that's it."

The Armaldo hands the Captain a bag of Poke and says, "It's a pleasure doing business with you like always." The Feraligatr smiles and then turns around. "Alright guys! Let's put down the sails! " The Captain called out to his crew.

"Aye aye, Captain Gator!" A voice calls out.

"So, how's it been lately with you. Gone anywhere new?" The store owner asks.

Gator chuckles. "Well, I do have one order that'll take me someplace a bit dangerous."

"Where is that?" The Fossil Pokemon asks.

"Just at Red Currents."

This makes him raise his eyebrow. "Really? Isn't that place a bit too dangerous? I mean, it got that name for a reason you know. What do you need to get there anyways?"

The water type turns toward the Armaldo. "Oh nothing much...a Pichu?"

"A Pichu?"

"No, not a Pichu!" The Captain clears up. "There's just one running behind you." The Armaldo turns around, and sees the same Pokemon dashing straight at them.

"Hello!" Sparks cries out to them.

The Armaldo picks up a box and walks around the Pichu, while the Captain smiles at Sparks. "Hello there, small Pichu. What brings you to my ship?"

Sparks takes a rare moment to caught his breath, and then says, "I wanted to see your ship! It looks amazing! Oh, and the Lapras, too!" With sparkling eyes.

The Captain laughs. "Kid, you remind me of my younger days. Sure! I can show you the ship if you'd like-"

"SPARKS!" Another voice calls, though this time more rough. The two Pokemon turn to see a tried Luxio aporching them. Bolt paints up to them, and he takes a moment to catch his breath also.

After he does, he turns to Sparks. "Sparks! What are you doing?! You can't just run off to a ship just because you saw a Lapras!" Bolt turns toward Gator. "I'm very sorry, sir, my little brother gets way too excited way too often." Bolt then grabs Sparks by his ear and says, "Will juss be on hour way back now."

"You don't have to be sorry!" Gator assures Bolt. "I've had many children come up to me asking to see my ship."

Sparks pulls his ear out from Bolt's mouth and walks in front of him. "He was actually going to show me the ship and the Lapras. You wanna see too?"

Bolt stops. Does he...what?

"Come on! It'll be cool! We have nothing else to do anyways. We're on break." Sparks says with his eyes sparkling.

Bolt puts his head down. He didn't want to admit it, mostly because that would be losing to Sparks, but this was a real big ship after all, and he would be lieing if he said he never wanted to see it.

"Okay, if you're alright with it, mister." Bolt says in a defeated tone.

"I'd be happy to!" Gator answers. "Come on." Gator walks along the dock. Sparks follows, but he can't stop looking at the ship...or smiling. Bolt follows behind them, with a slight sense of amazement coming out from him as well, but he tries his best to hide it.

"My name's Captain Gator!" The Feraligatr introduces himself to the two Pokemon. "And welcome aboard, 'The Aqua Jet'."

"I'm Sparks! And this is Bolt, my brother." Sparks says, while still looking at the ship.

"Brothers huh, that's nice." Gator says.

"So how big is your ship?" Sparks asks.

"It's about as long as a Whalord and as tall as four Aggron!" The Captain explains.

"Wow..." Sparks says with has mouth wide open.

Bolt, for the first time in a very long time, can't help but ask a question too. "So...how many crates do you think you can carry on this thing?"

Gator puts his head on his chin and thinks for a second. "You know, I'm not sure about that. I may have to ask my crew about that! I'm sure they'll have an answer."

"How long have you had this ship?" Sparks says.

The Water-Type stops thinking and smiles. "This ship has been with me for over five years!"

"Wow!" Bolt says. He never would have guessed that this ship had been here this long. He then stopped, did he really just say that? How-how long has it been since he's felt like this? All curious and happy? Was it way back when he was a small Shinx?

He then stops. And he starts feeling his little Shinx self inside of him. "Did I really change?" Bolt wonders. His mother's words come back to him. Did he really get an ego when he evolved? He looks at himself on the water. And for the first time in his life, he questions if he really did change.

Was this...all his fault?

He's then interrupted when he hears the ship suddenly rock back and forth.

"What's going on?" The Water-Type mummers.

"Captain!" A sailor appears out from the ship. Bolt recognized the Pokemon as a Timber. "It's the Lapras again! She's trying to shake the ship and freeze our crew!"

Gator sighs. "Not again." As he runs toward the back of the ship.

Bolt can't help, but smirk. "Hmm, this might be fun." He thinks to himself.

However, Sparks can't help but worry. "I hope the Lapras is okay." He thinks.

The two brothers then race down the dock to catch up with the captain, who is growling under his breath.

Message from the boss:

That's it. You guys here are all caught up with my series. Feels good to finally give all sixteen chapters a breath of fresh air.

Sadly, as I've stated in TFA, I'm on hiatus, and I'm aiming to come back some where in August. Until then, feel free to leave a review, favorite, and follow the story, as I'm still around. And check me out on DA if you like.

I see you guys later.

-Best Wishes, RedFlames01