Father Son Outing
Early morning the next day, Ross had decided to wake up at an extremely early time in order to finish preparations for what he would be doing today. While most Pokemon in the forest would be asleep at this time, it opened up the perfect opportunity to bring a certain someone along for the ride especially since he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
The den is still and quiet with the exception of the sound of leaves and grasses being blown outside. Ross quietly gathers a few supplies that resemble that of a fishing pole and some bait in a bucket. Unlike humans, Pokemon can't use a regular fishing pole with a reel properly so instead, a very long line and a super long, strong stick or leek is used as a substitute. He places these things near the entrance of the den and then goes over to where Mint is sleeping.
He gently shakes him, talking to him in a quiet tone as to not startle him. "...hey, Mint… wake up, it's time."
He opens his dark brown eyes and groggily responds. "...it's so early… why… why do I have to get up…?"
"Don't you remember the thing we're doing today? If we're lucky, we can just catch the end of the outgoing tide. C'mon, wake up." Ross says.
Mint yawns and stretches his body out before standing up from the little grass bed he was sleeping in. He rubs his eyes with both paws. "Oh… that's right… we were gonna go fishing…"
"There ya go! Now c'mon! If we hurry, we'll be able to just beat out the end of the low tide!" Ross says, going over to the entrance of the den.
Mint is half-asleep. He's not used to waking up at such an early time and as such, slogs his way over to his father who is now carrying the poles and bait. Ross can't help but smile at his son, even if he's the subject of constant bullying, he's a fine Minccino in his eyes.
The two leave the den and enter the very dark forest. The sun is just starting to rise but hasn't graced the surface with its rays just yet. Compared to the light of day, the forest is a much different place during the night and wee hours of the morning. The welcoming atmosphere is replaced with a rather heavy and somewhat tense feel. The darkness of the sky that can't be seen due to the tree tops creates a more claustrophobic feel than usual and the feeling of being watched is always looming close by.
Ross and Mint have a fair way to go before they reach the end of the path where the ocean waits for them. Along the way, they have a conversation. "So… about yesterday. What exactly did those girls say to you?" Ross asks, curious about what they could've told him that hasn't been said already.
"That girl Patricia said you were a…" he shudders a little and hesitates because of how rude it is. "Y-you were a pussy with a small dick…"
He simply laughs at this, making him confused. "W-what's so funny?" he asks.
Ross looks at him. "Oh those girls… they don't know anything. I laugh because that's not true at all! If it wasn't for me, It's possible you and your mother may not be in the same position we're in right now. You know the work I do is hard but ends up paying off in the end. Like I said yesterday, pay those girls no attention, they know nothing."
Mint stays silent. His father decides to change the subject. "Anyway, I can't remember the last time we went out fishing like this… Feels like ages since we last went!" To his surprise, Mint doesn't say anything so he decides to stay silent.
The two keep walking along the path, nobody in sight in front or behind them. In any other situation, if either of them were alone, it could've been dangerous as rumors have been going around the colony that a bunch of rather violent Pokemon had started to take up residence in Pinwheel Forest. While nobody has the guts to go see for themselves, there have been a few Pokemon who went deep into the forest, only to come back all beaten up or not come back at all…
Fortunately for them, the path to the ocean isn't too long and they arrive only 20 minutes later. The path sharply cuts off and the forest almost instantly turns into a large beach in the matter of a few feet. The two step onto the sand and make their way down to the water, which is starting to come back in, a sign of the incoming high tide. To their surprise, a few other Minccino, Sewaddle, and Cottonee are already there fishing their hearts out as well. To some, this would seem like the perfect opportunity for some friendly competition, but for Mint and Ross, it's more of a potential pain in the butt. They look out over the water and notice how clear and clean it is along with the silhouette of the Skyarrow Bridge in the distance and the skyline of Castelia City looming even further beyond.
"The water is very clean today… could be a good haul with some luck. What do you say, Mint?" Says Ross.
"...I guess…" he says while holding his paws behind his back, a bit nervous due to the surprising amount of Pokemon here at such a time.
They reach the water and the waves are calm and gentle. There are what appear to be a few pods farther out but they'll be able to easily reach it no problem. Ross takes a quick look at the surface of the water and puts the bait on the side. "We're probably not gonna need it this time, but if we want, we can still use it."
He places his pole on the ground and unravels the line on Mint's pole before handing it off to him. Mint takes it and casts his line out by bringing it behind his back and swinging the pole forwards. The line goes out real far and lands right in the middle of the pod. While it seemed like a normal cast to his father, it was anything but normal for him since he put some residual anger from yesterday into it and used it as strength to cast. His father pats him on the back a few times.
"Damn… that was really far! Good job!"
Mint stays silent and holds the pole firmly, waiting for a bite which will probably take a while since fish don't always go for it immediately. While he waits, he looks at the other Pokemon who are here right now, two Minccino, three Sewaddle, and one Cottonee. They're all minding their own business and this puts him at ease a little bit but one of the Minccino strikes him as odd. he's seen him before but can't quite remember him since he can only see part of his face. It doesn't matter too much though because he'll finally not have to worry about being picked on and instead, he can enjoy his time with his father, something he hasn't done in years.
Ross finishes unraveling his line and proceeds to cast it out. He accidentally overshoots the pod by a few feet and lands behind it. "Whoops! Guess I used a little bit too much there!" he starts tugging on the line to pull it into the pod and then waits there for a bite.
Mint cracks a slight smile. For the first time in a while, he's happy. None of the worries or stress from his day to day life are present and everything is perfect. This is the way he wants it to be, nothing less and everything more. Sadly, when they return home, everything will go back to the way it was and the pain will start all over again.
A very touchy thought pops into his head, and even though he knows it isn't the best time to bring it up, he wants to know since it was mentioned yesterday. "...Dad, can I ask you something?"
Ross nods. "Go ahead, ask away."
"Why… why did mom…" he stops himself, too nervous to say the rest. Ross immediately knows what he's talking about.
"Oh… about that. You see, it's very hard to explain. I'd rather not talk about it but I'll say that mom lost sense of who she really loved during those moments in time." he says, looking towards the ground.
"...is that why you and mom aren't on the best of terms?"
He nods slowly. Mint looks back to his pole. "...sorry if… if that made you upset dad…"
He waves it off. "What are you talking about? That's in the past! Look at what we have now! We're fishing for the first time in years, there's nothing to be sad about here!"
He's right. What had happened is nothing but history and he should be looking towards the present and the future, but for Mint, that's nothing but pain and sadness. Behind them, the sun has finally risen to grace the world with its life-giving rays, revealing the crystal clear, blue water.
Suddenly, Mint gets a strong tug on his pole that slightly surprises him. "Oh! I've got one!" he starts to tug on the pole and slowly walk backwards.
The other Pokemon nearby notice this and start to watch. Mint suddenly gets dragged back towards the sea. Whatever he's hooked is very strong but he's fighting back with just as much strength. Ross encourages him. "Atta boy! Keep that pole tip up and keep constant pressure on them! Tire them out and you've got it in the bag!"
Mint grunts and struggles to pull the fish towards the beach, it's putting up a very big fight but despite that, he's still holding on strong. His pole is bent from all the tugging on both ends. It's possible that if both sides use all their might, the pole may snap in half.
He tugs real hard this time and brings the fish closer and closer to the beach. "C'mon…! C'mon…! You're not getting away!"
The fish he's hooked jumps out of the water for a moment, revealing just how big it is. His father's mouth drop wide open upon seeing it. It's massive! The other Pokemon around him see it too and some of them begin cheering and clapping, while the rest don't do anything. Mint fights this beast hard but is starting to tire out. The fish jumps out of the water once again quite close to the beach this time. Seeing this, Mint uses every bit of strength he has and attempts to drag the fish ashore. This doesn't end that well, because the fish apparently thought of using all of its strength to try and get away again. The amount of force exerted on the pole is far too great for it to handle and it begins to crack. Even though this fish is very strong, Mint is just a little bit stronger and manages to outlast it, pulling it ashore but at the same time, causing his pole to snap in half. This causes him to fall on his back in the sand.
Ross runs up to the fish to make sure it doesn't accidentally flop back into the ocean. He yells happily. "Oh ho! You sure bagged a big one this time Mint! Get over here and see your prize!"
Mint picks himself up off the sand and goes over to him. The fish is bigger than the two of them put together from the top of their head to their feet. He's happy about getting this fish but something within him makes him extremely angry for a split second and he slaps the flopping fish hard in the face. This causes it to stop flopping around and Ross becomes confused as to why he would do that but ignores it and drags it far away from the ocean.
He comes back and asks him. "What was that all about? Was slapping the fish necessary?"
Mint shakes his head violently for a second to snap out of it before responding. "I-I don't know… seeing it flop around like that just made me really angry for some reason…" he looks at his left paw which has a bunch of scales on it thanks to slapping the fish.
Ross frowns. "Was it because it reminded you of something those girls said?"
He shakes his head. Ross is left without an answer. He shrugs. "Oh well. Look on the bright side, we got a massive fish thanks to you. Talk about getting super lucky!"
Mint mumbles under his breath. "Wish I was lucky enough to be normal like everyone else, then I wouldn't be upset all the time."
Ross hears him but doesn't understand what he said. "Come again?"
"N-nothing! I said nothing…"
They turn their heads to see the three Sewaddle from earlier coming up to them. They seem pretty impressed with the catch. "Hey, that's quite a banger your son got there!" says one of them.
Ross nods. "You bet! I'm so proud of him!"
The three take a good look at him. Mint averts his gaze and holds his paws behind his back, hoping they won't say anything to him. A few drops of sweat form on the top of his head and he fidgets around slightly in the sand. They smile at him but he doesn't smile back.
"Your son has mint-green fur. I thought the only other fur color a Minccino can have is pink?" says the second Sewaddle.
Ross explains. "Well, me and my partner didn't know what to think of it at the time when he was born, but now I say that we were blessed with a very special gift and he's perfect the way he is now. He just has a few self-confidence and social issues, but that's okay because we still love him no matter what."
"He does seem different than the other Minccino that come down here to fish. The obvious fur color is one but everything else you've said is also quite different. Most of them are friendly while he seems… shy." the third one says.
"It's because he's been bullied and picked on by the others in our colony for having a different color of fur. The other Minccino that are around his age don't really like him even though he did nothing wrong to him. Just yesterday, he ended up tail slapping one of them in the face."
They all seem interested in this. "Wow, really? He of all Pokemon did that?"
Truth be told, Mint isn't the sort that looks like he'd whack someone in the face for bullying them especially after being told that he's shy and socially awkward but if yesterday has anything to say about it, it's that he's more than capable of putting the hurt on someone if he wanted to.
The three Sewaddle want to know more. "What exactly caused him to attack?"
Ross breaks into the full story that Mint told him and his mother at dinner time last night. Meanwhile, Mint has no desire to be social or get involved with the conversation so instead he goes over to where he broke his rod and begins to pick up the remaining pieces. While he does this, one of the other Minccino come over to him. They talk to him.
"You're Mint, aren't you?" he says. This grabs his attention and he looks up to see who it is but his heart drops to the bottom of his stomach when he realizes who he's looking at. The Minccino that stands in front of him is Patricia's dad, Brian. The timing of this couldn't be any worse after what he did to her yesterday.
He speaks with aggression in his voice and an equally angry expression, getting up in his face. "My daughter came home yesterday with a nasty mark on her beautiful face and she told me that you hit her. I've had some issues with one of your parents in the past but never with you but now it's personal. If you touch my daughter ever again, I will hurt you in the same way you hurt her. Understand?"
Mint shows no emotion or fear towards him despite being scared out of his mind deep down. "Touch me and you'll be the one lying on the ground, not by my hand, but by his hand." He motions with his head towards his father.
Brian doesn't care. "I don't care about your father, he means nothing to me. This is about you and my daughter."
"T-then tell your daughter to stop bullying me if you don't want her to get hurt again!" he responds with an attitude.
Brian pushes him and he falls back onto the sand, dropping the pieces of his rod. Brian stands over him and his shadow falls on him. "That's for giving me an attitude, learn to respect your superiors you brat. Next time it'll be one of your limbs that gets broken. You understand? You touch my daughter again and I'm coming after you." he then takes a piece of his bait from his bait bucket and throws it in his face, splatting bait fish guts all over him.
He walks away. Mint wipes the guts off his face and body and stands up. As much as he hates Brian for that, he can't really do anything about it. He's older and much stronger than him and picking a fight with an adult Minccino would only create 99 more problems in his life. Even so, he hopes that he will at least have the courtesy to tell Patricia to not bully him anymore. He doesn't dwell on it for too long because he's dirty now and wishes to go home to clean up. He picks up the pieces of his pole and goes back to his father.
"So yeah, he was trying to defend me and my partner's name. He's probably like that because of me. I told him to always take good care of his friends and family members which apparently includes us as well." Says Ross, finishing up the story.
The three Sewaddle agree with Mint's choice of action. "In a sense, I want to say that it was a double edged sword. He's defending his parents' name and showing that he won't take more of that crap." says the first one and the other two agree with him.
"Yeah, nobody should be allowed to just walk all over someone like that. It's not right!"
"They deserve what they had coming for them for sure. Hopefully they learn their lesson."
Mint comes up to Ross and taps him on the shoulder. He looks over at him and notices a rather fishy smell coming from him along with bits of bait guts on him. "Oh, did you fall into the bait bucket or something?"
"No… I just want to go home and clean up." he says with an annoyed tone, then hands him the broken rod.
"Huh… alright, at least we got the one big fish. It'll account for at least 3 nights of dinner easily." Ross says as he pulls his line in, places his rod on the sand, and then goes over to pick up the fish. He points to his rod and the bait bucket. "Can you carry those for me Mint?"
He nods and grabs said items. The three Sewaddle wave good-bye to them and they walk down the path back towards their home. Along the way, Ross asks him a question. "You didn't really give me an answer before, but how did you end up with this fishy smell and all that weird, slimy stuff on your fur?"
Mint sighs. "I don't want you to cause any problems, but do you know Patricia's dad?"
His expression changes to be serious. "Do I know him? I've beat his ass is a better way of describing it. Was he here?"
He nods. "Mhm. He threatened me while you were talking to those Sewaddle. He said that if I hurt Patricia again he'll do the same thing to me. I told him that if he tried to hurt me you'd be the one to put him on the ground. I then told him that won't happen if he tells Patricia to stop bullying me and then he pushed me into the sand and threw a piece of bait fish at me."
Ross clenches his right paw into a hard fist. "Who does he think he is? That brat of a kid he's got bullies you on a daily basis and while I tell you to ignore them, you have a point in saying what you said to him. It's called being a good parent, making sure your kid doesn't get into trouble or cause any. Guess he doesn't remember the ass whopping I gave him 15 years ago." he looks Mint in the eyes. "Listen buddy, if he ever touches you again, you run and get me. Ok? He can hit me all he wants but if he so much as places a finger on you, he's fucking dead." his tone is dangerously aggressive and dead serious.
He nods. "Okay."
Ross then picks a chunk of guts out of Mint's fur, grumbling to himself about Brian and how he'll smash him into the ground if he does anything stupid to his precious son. Mint can't help but giggle. His father and him are very much alike in that they'll pummel anyone who dares hurt the ones close to them. He turns to him and even though it's not the best idea, he gives him a hug, which, although very smelly and slimy, he reciprocates. It's moments like these that bring pure joy and happiness into their rather heavy lives. When they get home, Emilia is very impressed with the fish that Mint managed to land. Although she gets very upset when they tell her about what happened with Patricia's dad and what he did, she doesn't care too much. If anything, today was just marking the start of a very good day for everyone, even if there were a few bumps in the road.
PD: How about it so far? I'm really enjoying how this story is shaping up. I got big plans for it, and you'll just have to see for yourself in the next chapter! Seeya then!
