Good Company

Christian's mom opened the door and the two greeted each other with a long hug. He greatly surpassed her height, as he was quite tall (taller than William). She pulled his face down to kiss his forehead and ruffle his blonde curls before she turned her attention to her two guests. "William, Katy! It's so good to have you! I'm Sam." She stretched her hand out with a genuine smile. Katy and William took turns shaking her hand and saying hello and happy Thanksgiving.

"We brought some wine," said Katy, holding up a bottle of one of her favorite merlots. "Hope that's okay."

"That's perfect, dear, thank you so much!" Sam took the bottle then ushered everyone inside.

It was a cozy little house. It was only one level and they walked through the laundry room to reach the living room where everyone sat down either on the couch, the loveseat, or the armchair that was available—everyone except Christian who went straight for the pantry for a snack. Katy barely noticed the Toxel sitting beside the fireplace; it was so quiet and still. It sat there with its feet and tongue sticking out, almost like a decoration that blinked occasionally.

"So, William! I've heard a lot about you!"

"I'm sorry," he retorted.

Sam laughed. "All wonderful things! Christian says he hasn't been able to beat your Charizard yet."

"Not yet. Though his Infernape and Arcanine are very well experienced Pokémon. Ripley's just a little more seasoned I think." William nodded.

"What about your Ralts? Do you battle with it?"

"Uh, no. She, uh… she's not really mine, she just… likes me a lot for some reason."

"Probably because of your Special Ability!" said Sam.

William shot a look at Christian who shrugged. The older man cleared his throat. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"We all need a Pokémon to just hang out with. That's what my Toxel is to me! I used to be a trainer but I've retired now."

"You're too young to retire from being a trainer," William said.

Sam cackled. "You're too sweet!"

"Stop flirting with my mom." Christian said adamantly.

William gave a mocking look back to the blonde and shrugged.

"What about you, Katy? Are you a trainer, too?" Sam directed her attention to her other guest, positioning her light brown hair over one shoulder. She was beautiful.

"I am. I actually have a Charizard too, but I've not battled Christian."

"Not yet! But we're gonna!" Christian pumped his fist in the air. "Katy's not a Deviant, so she has a really balanced team!"

This was a marvelous compliment to receive in Katy's opinion. She actually sat up a little straighter at hearing it. "Thanks," she giggled.

"That's fantastic! I've always been partial to Poison types myself," said Sam, putting a delicate hand to her chest.

"Can I ask if you're an acid Deviant?" said William.

"I am, as a matter of fact!"

"Back in the day, Mom's top Pokémon were her Nidoking and Dragalge. She could wipe the floor with any trainer with just the two of them!" Christian crossed his arms proudly.

"That's really great," Katy spoke up, "I hear Dragalge are kind of hard to train."

"It was a challenge, but she did really well once we gained each others' trust." Sam nodded happily.

"This one has a heck of a Lucario." William pointed his thumb at Katy. "Best one I've ever seen. In person or on the Internet."

And that was probably and even greater compliment. Katy was beginning to blush.

"Really? That's quite rare! Congratulations to you!" Sam stood up. "I hope you don't mind my opening that wine now," she said with a little giggle. "Would everyone like a glass?"

"Yes, please," Katy said, shifting on the couch a little.

Christian went to throw away the wrapper from his cereal bar and Katy could hear Sam whispering to him about William's busted lip and black eye. The son explained William had been in a duel recently. Sam paused and whispered something back about how he shouldn't participate in duels because they were dangerous. Katy looked to William.

He was looking at the Toxel and the Pokémon was looking at him. "Bah," it said in a croaky little voice. William stretched out his hand and flexed his fingers at it. The Toxel got up and waddled over to him before sitting down next to his ankle, closing its eyes to let him pet it. He inhaled and looked up to Katy. They exchanged gazes as Sam continued quizzing Christian to make sure William was all right. William began to smirk.

Katy smiled back at him.

That night, Katy slept in the guest bedroom and William slept on the couch. She slept very well in the large, comfy bed. She'd gotten too used to the cots in the Pokémon Centers, or worse her sleeping bag she carried around with her.

The next morning, Sam made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, but Christian surprisingly didn't have any. He insisted that he was saving room for the Thanksgiving feast.

By eleven o'clock, everyone could smell the turkey. It was simply intoxicating. Even Katy's stomach was growling when the hash brown casserole came out of the oven. She was looking at all the fall decorations in the quaint home when Sam announced that it was time to eat. William had been helping her in the kitchen for most of the morning, so he was the first to sit down. The Ralts climbed into his lap and was just barely tall enough to see the top of the table. Christian took what Katy assumed to be his usual spot at the table and rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"I don't know if Christian told you both, but we have a bit of a tradition at Thanksgiving. While we eat, we go around the table and tell either what we're thankful for or one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions or memories." Sam grinned to her guests.

Katy didn't show it, but she didn't care to be put on the spot. From the look on William's face, he didn't care much for it either.

"I'll start," she said, carving the turkey and serving William first. "I'm thankful for my little family which includes my son, my Pokémon partners and Christian's dad who couldn't be with us today; he's celebrating Thanksgiving with his family. We will see him for Christmas though."

Katy nodded with a polite smile. It really seemed like she loved her family, even if it was a little broken. Her smile transformed from polite to sincere when she saw the Toxel climb up into Sam's empty chair.

"I'm thankful for my health, my house, my income, and my talent." She moved Toxel into her lap so she could sit down.

"What's your talent?" Katy asked.

"I'm a painter." She gestured to the art that hung in the kitchen, a fall piece of a Pumpkaboo and a Gourgeist together in a pile of pumpkins and gourds.

Katy gasped. "You are talented! That is so good!"

"Thank you, dear! Would you like to go next?"

"Um… sure!" Katy cleared her throat and spooned herself some green beans. "I'm super thankful for my mom and dad. They are… always incredibly supportive and they helped me become a trainer. Which leads me to say I'm thankful for my Pokémon partners and my ability to venture forth and make a fun and exciting life for myself. I suppose I'm also thankful for my health. I wouldn't be able to have an adventure without it." She smiled to end her speech.

"Lovely, honey. All right, kid. What about you?" Sam nudged her son and took a bite of mashed potatoes.

"My favorite Thanksgiving memory is when I was in elementary school and mom met these underprivileged parents at a parent-teacher conference—"

"No, don't tell that story!" Sam slapped at him with her napkin.

"And they smelled like—really bad, okay? No running water, no Water Pokémon, no water Deviants, so we're talking a whole family who didn't shower. Mom invites them all over for Thanksgiving! And you see the size of our kitchen. It's small. And these people, bless their hearts, are just reeking to high heaven."

"Christian!" Sam covered her face, already blushing.

"So here's Mom, using her napkin like this every five seconds," Christian demonstrated by holding his napkin under his nose and barely patting his lips, keeping it there for a long time. Katy covered her mouth to laugh. "And then she goes, 'I got a great idea! It's a beautiful day outside! Let's all go eat on the patio!'"

"Hahaha!" Katy couldn't help but cackle.

"It's like freakin' twenty degrees outside. The little one is eating with her coat on and she can't get the fork to her mouth because her coat is so big. The kid who was my age was sitting there with his teeth chattering. I mean you can practically see your breath."

Sam hung her head and kept her hands over her face.

"Mom sent them home with all of our leftovers, and then as soon as they left, she sprayed the house down with deodorizer, opened all the windows, and continued to freeze me to death. I'm a fire Deviant, I get cold super easy. She kept the windows open for like three days, I shit you not."

"Language!"

"Oh my God," Katy caught her breath. "That's hilarious! But seriously, that was a really nice thing you did." She nodded at Sam.

The mother's face was still bright red. "Well, thank you. They really didn't have two pennies to rub together and I felt so terribly for them. I wanted to do something. It wasn't enough but it was something. But… bless them, they did smell so bad." Sam set her Toxel in the kitchen floor and stood up. "I bet I have something else you're going to be thankful for young man." She left the kitchen and came back with a Great Ball in her hand. She offered it to her son.

He slowly took it, meeting her eyes. "This is my birthday present? You got me a Pokémon for my birthday?"

"I did. Happy early birthday, baby." She nodded for him to open it up.

Christian smiled and pressed the button on the Ball, letting it crack open. Light leapt out of it and into the floor and when the light broke away, in its wake stood a small Litleo with a little flaming tuft on its head. "Roo!"

The blonde lost his breath and put his hands in his hair. "Oh my God! OH MY GOD! MOM!" He leaned down and picked up the baby lion and hugged it to his chest.

"Her name is Kiara. She's level nineteen I think. I hope she's what you wanted."

"She's PERFECT!" He squeezed the fuzzy Pokémon until it let out a little squeak. "I love her SO MUCH! Thank you, Mom!" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." She sat back down and so did Christian with the Litleo in his lap.

William chewed his turkey enough to talk. "Pyroar makes a great, loyal partner I've heard. That's gonna be a great Pokémon."

"She's already a great Pokémon," Christian tickled the top of the Litleo's head, which it enjoyed immensely. "Okay, Boss, what about you?"

"Um…" He finished chewing his bite and swallowed it so his mouth was empty to speak. "I guess I'm… I'm thankful for… for good company." He nodded and pursed his lips.

Everyone else was silent, wondering if he might say more. But Katy realized that what he said was enough. It warmed her heart more than anything else that had been said so far, actually. He was thankful for his Pokémon partners and his traveling partners. Truly thankful. She couldn't help but smile at him. She was thankful for him, too.