Scene 16: Family

Kari Arc

The food smelled delicious as Delia set the table. It had been a long while since Kari last had a fully home cooked meal like this!

"Ash, Kari- can you get the little ones for dinner?" Delia called out into the yard. It was a warm day for February in Viridian City, so Kari and Ash had been playing outside with Wartortle and some other wild Water Poke'mon they had befriended.

"Coming, Mom!" Ash responded. The two said their goodbyes to the wild Poke'mon, grabbed a couple of towels and returned inside. They dried themselves just inside the door, "Auntie Delia, where's my Auntie Cha?" Kari watched as Delia placed the cutlery.

"She should be returning with drinks by now." Delia answered. That's right. They hardly had any groceries now that it was just Kari and her father. They never ate meals together now-a-days, so Kari and Eevee usually ate out, or bought something at the PokéMart. Kari hadn't even remembered what today was until her Aunt Cha and Miss Delia arrived at her home. It was February 14th, Valentine's Day; however, that also meant that it was Kari's birthday.

Kari and Eevee had slept in, only to be woken by the doorbell. They never had visitors, so Kari was very confused when she went to answer. There, on her doorstep, stood her Aunt Cha with her cousins, Sue, Rue, and Liz; Miss Delia and best friend, Ash. They all stood together holding a birthday cake, and that's when Kari realized what day it was. It would be the first birthday Kari would celebrate without her mother- it seemed that Delia and Cha were trying their best to help cheer her up.

Delia returned from the kitchen with a tray of ham, "You two need to go wash up. And go ahead and bring the little ones to the table, please!" The two made their way to the back room. Inside, Kari's cousins were supposed to be taking their late-afternoon naps. In the corner, however, sat Sue playing with a pile of building blocks.

Sue and Rue were just 2years old, they were twins. Kari could always tell them apart, easily, mainly because Sue was the more rambunctious of the two while Rue was normally quiet. It was no surprise that Sue was already awake. Sue looked over as the door opened. Kari put her finger to her lips. Sue turned her attention back to her blocks. Kari crawled over to little Liz who had rolled herself up in a bundle of blankets. Liz was just a year old; Kari was surprised with how little she was! Kari looked over to Ash who had crawled over to where Rue was asleep, he was poking her quietly- "Oh, Ash..!"

As Kari shook her head she noticed Sue and her blocks. She had stacked them up high, but it was completely unbalanced. Before Kari could say anything, the structure began to teeter. Suddenly, Sue's pile of blocks toppled over, right on top of both Rue and Ash. After a moment's silence, Rue burst out crying. Ash tried to calm her down. He tried cradling her and shushing her, but Rue was causing quite the ruckus. Kari looked down and saw Liz stirring. Uh-oh… Liz burst out into a screaming fit. Now they had two little ones bawling and neither of them knew what to do.

"Come on! There, there, Liz!" Kari cooed. She heard Ash attempting to do the same, "It's alright, Rue! Please stop crying!" Wartortle and Growlithe came barreling through the door. Wartortle had scooped Liz out of Kari's arms and began playing with her; meanwhile, Growlithe was letting Rue play with his tail. It was as if they had trained for this. In the arms of the Pokémon Rue and Liz calmed down.

"Phew, "Ash wiped his brow, "Wow, Kari, your Wartortle and Growlithe sure are good with kids!"

"Of course," she had never thought about it, but for as long as Kari could remember, Wartortle and Growlithe had always been there, "I bet they took care of me when I was younger, too!" Kari and Ash watched in amazement as the Pokémon soothed the kids. Back in the kitchen, they could hear Ash's mom, "Children, the food is ready!" Kari stood, "That's right! Come on, Wartortle! Grow lithe! Let's go eat!" She and Eevee led the group down the hall: Wartortle had taken Sue and Rue's hands, while Growlithe carried Liz with Ash's support. The table was set, the food smelled delicious, and Kari was starving! She couldn't wait to dig in!

"I'm getting a bit worried," Delia strapped Liz into her high chair, "Why isn't Cha back yet?" Kari helped Sue into a booster chair, "I can go check, Auntie Delia! The PokéMart is just down the street." Reluctantly, Delia allowed Kari to leave.

She put on her shoes and made for the door. Just outside, on the porch, Kari could hear voices. She peered over the railing: Auntie Cha stood there, drinks in-hand, but she wasn't alone. Her father was there as well. They seemed to be arguing.

"Celeste told me all about your little 'business opportunity,' Giovanni. But from what I've heard, there was a lot that you never told my sister!" Auntie Cha did not sound happy. Giovanni just stood there. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Robbing banks and Stealing Pokémon!? How could you call yourself a trainer!?" The longer Giovanni remained silent, the angrier Cha seemed to get. "Team Rocket doesn't exactly have the type of model citizens that Kari ought to be looking up to…!"

"Where are you getting at with this, Cha?" Giovanni questioned. Cha looked him straight in the eyes, "What I'm trying to say is that I don't think Kari should be raised in this kind of environment, Giovanni." He didn't seem at all pleased, "How dare you-"

"I'm sorry, Giovanni, but it's the truth." She stood firm, "I know you're hurting, after what happened to my sister… But you have to think about Kari! She's just a 6year old little girl, she should be around a family that will pay her the attention she needs and be able to grow up in a happy environment- not this!"

" 'Family'?" Giovanni never took his eyes away, "You mean your broken little family that you can barely hold together?" He smirked, "Yes, Celeste told me all about your little family matters as well. If I remember correctly, you and husband have recently divorced and you plan to be moving away in the next month?" Cha seemed almost too shocked to answer, "H-How do you…?"

"Team Rocket does a lot more than what you've heard rumored, Cha. Now as for your request," He took a step towards her. He was almost a whole foot taller than her. "I am the only family Kari needs. She is my daughter, and I will raise her here in her place of birth, however I so choose." And with that, he turned and climbed the porch steps towards the front door. Kari quietly edged her way into the dark porch corner so that she wouldn't be seen. Giovanni stopped with his hand on the doorknob, "Oh, and Cha… I would kindly appreciate it if you never again questioned my parenting choices." Without looking back, he turned the knob and entered the house.

A minute passed in silence, then Cha followed him inside. Kari sat quietly, taking in everything she had just witnessed. Her Aunt Cha wanted to take her away, but her father refused to let her go. In a way, it made her happy. For the last few months, she and Giovanni had barely spoken to one another. Kari was starting to think he was angry with her, or worse: now that her mother wasn't around, that maybe her father just didn't want her anymore… But that wasn't the case. Her father did love her still!

She stood and wiped the couple of tears that had begun to trickle down her face. She should go inside before they all started worrying. As Kari stepped inside, Giovanni came rushing over, "Kari! Where were you?" He looked angry with her, but Kari couldn't help but smile, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I was just looking for Auntie Cha at the PokéMarket." She wrapped her arms around his neck, "But I'm alright. Don't worry, Daddy, I'm not going anywhere." Giovanni looked confused. From the kitchen, Kari could hear Delia calling for them. Kari responded, "We're coming, Auntie Delia!" She ran past her father and joined in on the birthday feast, leaving him with a dumfounded look on his face.

Every now-and-then, Kari would catch her Aunt Cha glaring daggers at her father; however, after they all sang "Happy Birthday" and Kari blew out the candles, she couldn't help but feel at least a little happy. She thought back to her 6th birthday the previous year…

Her mother always went all out on the decorations and the food. They would spend all day as a family playing games and just enjoying being with each other. She remembered her mother's smile and the way she would give her however many kisses that were on the candle that year. Kari looked down and counted 7… Seven kisses she would never get from her mother this year…

Aunt Cha passed out the cake. Kari accepted her slice and dug in. Sure, she was grateful towards Aunt Cha for caring for her so much, but her father was right. Now that her mother was gone, Kari couldn't imagine living anywhere without him. He was her father, her family, and she couldn't dream of living without him.