Chapter 50 - The Year of the Vulpix
After resting at home for a few weeks after winning the Johto League Finals, I decided to begin my new Pokemon journey in Kanto. I decided to let Stantler stay at home with my parents, since Stantler weren't legally allowed to battle outside of the Johto League yet, anyway. I rode Tauros through the same towns I had walked through with Flamefox, Firestorm, and Eevee when we began our first Pokemon journey, just over a year ago. We sure reached New Bark Town a lot sooner this time, since I had Tauros to ride! Instead of 3 or 4 days, it took only a day and a half. After spending one night in New Bark Town, we headed east, for Kanto! I couldn't believe we were actually on our way to Pallet Town, home of Professor Oak! With Tauros galloping me and Flamefox there, we reached Pallet in only 2 days!
Upon arriving in town, I recalled Tauros, and it was just Flamefox, Firestorm, Inferno and I. Pallet Town was a small town, full of quaint little houses, but no Pokemon Gym – reminded me of Crimson Town! I needed to find Professor Oak's lab. I had only seen it once, from the air, when I rode on Ho-oh's back, a few months into my Johto Pokemon journey. I walked up to the door of one house and I knocked. A brown-haired woman opened the door and asked, "Can I help you?" I said, "Yes, my name is Joseph Ehlle. I'm a Pokemon trainer from Crimson Town, and I'm trying to find Professor Oak's house." An 8 year old boy suddenly came running out the door and ran right into me, nearly knocking me down! "Ash, where are your manners? You apologize this instant!" his mother scolded him. The squeaky-voiced, spiky black-haired kid said, "I'm sorry. I just got so excited when he said he's a Pokemon trainer, that I just had to see him!" Then his mother said to me, "You'll have to excuse my son, Ash. He's very excited about Pokemon. He wants to be a Pokemon trainer once he's old enough." I replied, "That's okay. I know what that's like!" Ash said, "Someday, I'm gonna be the world's greatest Pokemon master!" His mother continued, "Professor Oak's lab is up on the hill. You'll see a building with a windmill next to it. His Pokemon sanctuary is on the other side." I said, "I can't wait to see it! All the other Pokemon I caught are there!" Ash was over by Flamefox, Firestorm, and Inferno and petted them. He said, "Wow, you have really cool Pokemon! I hope I have Pokemon like this someday!" I told him, "I have 4 more with me! Want to see them?" His eyes lit up. "You bet I would!" he exclaimed. I released Tauros, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Scyther from their pokeballs. Ash's eyes nearly popped out of his head! He just loved my Pokemon! Then his mother said, "In all this excitement, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Delia Ketchum and my son, of course, is Ash." I answered, "It's nice to meet you." Then she asked, "Before you head to Professor Oak's, how about coming out back for a nice glass of lemonade?" I answered, "Sounds great! Thanks!"
We sat at a patio table in the backyard, while my Pokemon played or slept in the backyard. Ash couldn't get enough of them! "So how long have you been a Pokemon trainer?" Delia asked me. "About a year and a few weeks now. I participated in the Johto League, and qualified to challenge the Elite 4! It was a tough series of battles, but I beat all of them!" She said, "Oh, so you're the trainer Professor Oak told us he was expecting." Ash said, "You must have really strong Pokemon!" I said, "Yes, but strength, alone, can't win a battle! You also need a good strategy." Then he asked, "Have you ever seen any legendary Pokemon?" I openly replied, "Yeah, I saw Ho-oh and Suicune!" He said, "Wow! Cool!" Delia said, "I'm sure he's just kidding around with you, Ash! No one's seen Pokemon like that for real!" I just winked at him.
After the lemonade break, I recalled my 4 Pokemon, thanked Mrs. Ketchum for her hospitality, and walked with my fire foxes and Inferno to Professor Oak's lab. Ash tagged along, asking me all kinds of questions. When we reached the lab, Ash ran in, yelling, "Professor Oak, there's a Pokemon trainer here to see you!" Professor Oak said, "Calm down, Ash! Ask him to come in here!" I walked into the room, and Professor Oak had his back to me. "Hello, Joe, I've been expecting you! I have something for you. Come over here." I walked over to him, and he turned around and deposited something soft and furry into my arms – it was a light tan Vulpix, with a pink bow in the hair curls on her head! "Amber?!?" I asked loudly, surprised. She looked up at me sweetly and cuddled her head against my chin. Then May entered from the next room and said, "Surprise!" I was confused, and asked, "What's going on?" Professor Oak continued, "I have a large favor to ask both of you! I already talked to May about it and now I need to talk to you, Joe." As I stood there, holding Amber, Flamefox hopped up on my back and sat on my shoulders, and was soon nose to nose with Amber. Professor Oak said, "I usually give junior trainers who are just starting out a Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander when they begin their journeys. However, I do like to specialty breed certain Pokemon for select trainers that I feel are special, or for Pokemon breeders who are in need of certain Pokemon. Flamefox is a very strong and powerful Vulpix. So is Amber. The 2 of them would produce more Vulpixes with similar excellent genetics. I would, therefore, like your permission to breed Flamefox and Amber. I know that I'm asking a lot, but would you please consider it?" I was just stunned at first. Then May said, "I was reluctant until Professor Oak told me the other Vulpix would be Flamefox. Joe, they already get along together so well, and they really care about each other! I think they'd make excellent parents! What do you say?" I had to think for a minute. Then I said, "Okay, I'll do it, but only on one condition – I want to stay here for the duration! I want to be here when the pups are born, help to raise them, and personally screen any trainer or breeder that wants one!" Professor Oak said, "If you stay, you'll miss a year of your Pokemon journey. You won't have any badges to compete at the Indigo Plateau for the next Kanto League Championship." I answered, "That's okay! Flamefox is my main Pokemon, and one of my best friends, and I have no intention of leaving him behind!" May said, "I was hoping you'd say that! If you hadn't stayed, I would have!" I asked, "You're not staying?" She said, "I really want to go ahead with my Kanto journey, Joe! And as long as you're here with Amber, I know she'll be well taken care of!" Professor Oak muttered, "Thanks a lot!" May said, "I'm sorry, Professor! I didn't mean anything by that. I know you'd take good care of her, too! But I think it will be better for Amber to have a familiar face around!" I asked May, "But won't you miss her?" May walked over to me and petted Amber, who was still in my arms, and said, "I'll miss her terribly", and she clutched the Vulpix pendant I had given her for her birthday in her hand. Professor Oak said, "You won't have to leave Amber behind for your whole journey, May! She'll be ready to battle again in 5 or 6 months, once all the pups are grown up." She said, "Oh, that's good news! Hear that, Amber? We'll be battling together again in no time!" Amber replied, "Vulpix!" Professor Oak said, "Then it's settled! Thank you, Joe and May!" Flamefox hopped back down to the floor, and I put Amber down next to him so they could play. They were very smitten with each other! Then I said, "I'll have to find a place to stay." Ash said, "You can stay at my house! We have an extra room!" I answered, "Thanks, Ash, but I can't impose on your mother like that!" Professor Oak said, "You can stay right here! I've got 3 extra rooms. My grandson, Gary, sleeps in one, and my lab assistant, Daniel, takes the other, but I'm only using the third one for storage. I can empty it out and you can stay there." I said, "Thanks, Professor! What can I ever do to repay you?" He said, "Just giving me permission to breed your Vulpix is enough!" Professor Oak then took us on a little tour, and showed us the Pokemon sanctuary out back. Professor Oak said, "You can visit all of the Pokemon you've caught so far! In fact, as long as you're taking the year off, why not let out the rest of your Pokemon and let them stay here?" I said, "That's a great idea!" and I released everyone from their pokeballs! Tauros joined a herd of other Tauros that were running around in their corral. Vaporeon joined the other water types, including my Lapras, Golducks, and Gyarados, Jolteon joined the electric types, and Scyther joined the other Scythers. Fearow flew down to say hi. Flamefox and Amber nuzzled each other, as did Firestorm and Inferno. I stood with May, and Ash, and said, "Looks like everyone's having a great time! Someday, when I open my own gym, I'm gonna have a Pokemon sanctuary of my own behind it, and I'll keep ALL of my Pokemon there!" May said, "That sounds wonderful!" Ash said, "Yeah, sounds really cool! Maybe we can battle when I become a Pokemon trainer!" I said, "Of course we can battle someday, Ash! I look forward to it!" Suddenly, another kid, Ash's age, with big brown hair, came along and said, "Hey, Ash! Wanna go play?" Ash said, "Yeah, Gary! Let's go!" Professor Oak said, "Now let's not be rude! Joe and May, I'd like you to meet my grandson, Gary! Gary, meet Joe and May. They're Pokemon trainers from Johto." Gary said, "It's a pleasure! Someday, I'll be the greatest Pokemon master!" Ash said, "No way! I'm gonna be the greatest Pokemon master!" Gary said, "We'll see!" and they both ran off. May said to me, "I'll be leaving tomorrow to start my journey. I'll have Pidgeot with me, so I want you to call me on my pokegear when the pups are due, so that I can fly back here! I want to be here when they're born! I also want to screen any trainers or breeders with you, before they take any of the pups!" I said, 'That sounds fair. But if it's all the same to you, I'd rather just call you every day." Her eyes glistened as she said, "That's so sweet! Thank you, Joe! You are the best friend I've ever had!" and she hugged me. I told her, "You're my best friend, too, May." After that, we walked around the large Sanctuary for a while and visited all the Pokemon I had caught during my year in Johto.
The next day, May left for her journey while I began my stay at Professor Oak's lab. She decided to take Redfur, her Growlithe, in place of Amber. Anyway, I finally met Professor Oak's lab assistant, Daniel, who was a really nice kid. Staying at Professor Oak's was a real learning experience for me, and I got to spend a lot of time with my Pokemon – ALL of my Pokemon! Just because I was taking a year off didn't mean I had to give up training them. I trained different Pokemon every day. Staying at Professor Oak's gave me the rare opportunity to be able to train every Pokemon I had ever caught, not just the 6 in my party. Flamefox and Amber continued courting with each other. He slept with her every night. I missed his little warm body curled up on my chest in bed at night, but Firestorm and Inferno made up for it, and stayed with me every night. I was able to take my Pokemon out to battle wild Pokemon occasionally, too, sometimes as far as Viridian Forest! Flamefox and I even caught a Tangela, which were native only to the wild areas near Pallet Town. Ash's mother was very hospitable and often invited me, Professor Oak, Gary, and Daniel over for dinner. Ash just loved having me around, and hanging out with my Pokemon. But I noticed he and Gary were getting more and more competitive with each other as the year went on. I called May every day, as promised. She was doing well on her Pokemon journey. She caught quite a few wild Pokemon in the first few weeks and already won herself a Boulder Badge in Pewter City. Plus, she started having her new Pokemon sent here, to Professor Oak, instead of Professor Elm, so I got to see each of her new Pokemon as they were caught!
In a month or so, I called May with the big news! Professor Oak did some tests, and it was positive - Amber was pregnant! She was so thrilled that she flew back to Pallet Town just a few hours later to give Amber, Flamefox, and me a big hug! She was doing very well on her journey, and she visited with all of the Pokemon she'd caught so far! It was nice to be able to help Professor Oak take care of May's Pokemon as she caught them. May visited frequently now, and made sure Amber got lots of protein, carbos, calcium, and iron. We also got a surprise visit from Martin, Pryce's son, who brought Amber a present – some of his homemade Pokemon chow. She loved it, and it was extra vitamin fortifed, so it was really good for her. Martin wanted to be notified once the pups were old enough for trainers, because he wanted one. We didn't even need to screen him – we both knew he'd be a good trainer for one!
It would be 3 months before Amber gave birth, but I'll never forget that morning! Professor Oak ran upstairs to wake me, shouting, "Joe, it's time!" Firestorm, Inferno, and I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. I exclaimed, "May! We have to call May!" as I fumbled with my Pokegear. Professor Oak said, "Relax, I already took care of that! She's on her way now!" We ran to Professor Oak's lab, where Amber was, in a soft blanket in her basket, in labor! Flamefox stood by her for support. Gary and Daniel stood by, and Daniel asked, "Is there anything we can do, Professor?" He replied, "Get me some clean towels, Daniel, and hurry!" He dashed out of the room to get them, accompanied by Gary. "Any minute now!" Professor Oak said, kneeling down by Amber and Flamefox. May and Ash burst in the door and May asked, "Did I miss anything?" I answered, "No, not yet." Daniel and Gary returned with a stack of towels! "That's a little more than I need, but thank you boys!" he said. Gary said to Daniel, "I told you it was too many!" Professor Oak said, "Never mind, you two. Now please, everyone calm down so that Amber doesn't feel more stressed than she is." We all waited, and soon, the births began. Professor Oak said, "You're doing fine, Amber" as he gently stroked her fur, while May and I stood there, holding hands. "Six pups!" Professor Oak said. "Six!" May and I exclaimed, looking at each other. Then he said, "Wait, she's not done yet!" Soon, he said, "8 pups! That's all of them!" I exclaimed, "Eight!" Then I looked at Flamefox and said, "Way to go, boy!" He looked at me with his eyes closed, and his front right paw behind his head, and said, "Vulpix!" Professor Oak cleaned off the pups with some of the towels. They were so tiny! Amber started licking each of them, and she looked exhausted! Professor Oak said to us, "Congratulations! You're both grandparents!" May and I both laughed, then ran over to see the pups. "They are sooo cute!" May exclaimed. Each pup had only one white tail, as expected. "They all seem perfectly healthy" Professor Oak said. May and I were both just mesmerized by the whole experience. Amber fell asleep with the pups, as did Flamefox. Firestorm and Inferno slept in front of them, as if to protect them. They wouldn't let anyone, except May and I, and Professor Oak, near them! Professor Oak said, 'We should let them rest now" and we all left the room. May said, "That was wonderful! Oh, I want to be a Pokemon breeder so badly now!" Professor Oak said, "Well, you're off to a good start! Now, the pups will need to nurse with Amber for a month. By then, they'll have their sight, hearing, their tail will begin to split, and they'll be ready for baby Pokemon chow!" I asked him, "How long can we keep them?" He replied, "They'll be old enough to find trainers for in 6 months." May and I looked at each other, and I could see we were each thinking the same thing – we wanted to keep all of them! But a breeder has to learn that you can't keep all the pups. At least for now, they were all ours!
The pups grew up so fast! May spent a lot of time flying back and forth between her Pokemon journey and Professor Oak's lab, to see the pups grow up. In a month, they had their sight and hearing, and they ran around outside with their parents, Firestorm and Inferno. Their tails were beginning to part, as well! Firestorm played the role of uncle all too well – not only was he very overprotective of his little nieces and nephews, but he let them climb all over him and pull on his mane and tails, and let them ride on his back, as well! May, Ash, Gary, Daniel, and I, and even Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum, had a lot of fun raising the pups! It was a most enjoyable Spring and Summer.
The pups reached 6 months all too quickly, and now that they had 6 tails each, the time was coming to find trainers and breeders for them. I don't know who took it harder – me and May, or Amber, Flamefox, Firestorm, and Inferno. We had a little timeout with our fire foxes and Flareon. I said to them, "I know this is rough, guys! But think about all the good times we've all had together! Imagine how much joy your children will bring to their new trainers and breeders." May said, "We're gonna miss them as much as you, but we'll make sure the people who get them are going to take good care of them." Our fire foxes reluctantly gave in, and soon we would be visited by prospective new Vulpix owners.
Of course, our first trainer interested in a Vulpix was Martin. We let him pick the Vulpix pup he wanted from the litter. He picked one up, and she seemed to take right to him. Kat and Slash seemed to like her, as well. Flamefox and Amber seemed content that Martin was getting one of their children. Martin told us that a Vulpix would really help him to catch more ice type Pokemon. While he was there, Professor Oak said, "I've gotten all kinds of research updates from Professor Elm about Sneasels. If it weren't for all the red tape involved, we could include Sneasel in the worldwide Pokedex pretty soon." Martin asked, "How long do you think it will take?" Professor Oak answered, "Well, Sneasel will probably make the Johto Pokedex by the end of the year, but probably won't be in the worldwide Pokedex for another few years. I'm sorry, Martin." He said, "Well, that's buerocracy for you! Oh well, the Johto Pokedex will be a big step in the right direction!" Then he said to us, "I thank you both, Joe and May, for letting me have one of your Vulpix pups. And thank you, Amber and Flamefox! I promise to take good care of her." I replied, "You're welcome, Martin. It was the least we could do. After all, you let us each have a Sneasel." He said, "It's too bad you can't use them in official battles yet. Oh well, once they can be, I think you guys will find them to be very useful!" He seemed quite pleased with his Vulpix as he left. He said, "Feel free to stop by and visit me at the Ice Cave anytime, you guys!"
Our next interview was with 2 young, up and coming Pokemon breeders, who were also good friends with each other. Suzy, a young woman with long blue hair, and Zane, a young man with long, brownish-blonde hair. We sat down at a table in the room with the pups, Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm. Suzy said, "Zane and I have known each other since we were kids, and we've always known we wanted to be Pokemon breeders." May said, "Same here! That's my dream after completing the Pokemon League here in Kanto – to finally be able to go into Pokemon breeding." "It seems to me you already have" Zane commented. May smiled, and said, "I suppose that's true." Suzy said, "We both want to go into Vulpix breeding, and we hear that yours are real champion material!" I said, "That's right! Flamefox and Amber are a couple of the strongest Vulpixes you'll ever see! And Firestorm, who is Flamefox's brother, is also very strong!" Suzy went on, "My philosophy on breeding is to bring out a Pokemon's inner beauty." Zane said, "I have a different philosophy. I think that a Pokemon's outer beauty is the most important factor." Suzy said to him, "We never could agree on that point." He said to her, "You're so old school, Suzy. When are you going to realize that outer beauty is most important?" Suzy just sighed at him. Zane seemed to have an attitude and I didn't like it. I said to them, "I need to discuss something with May. We'll be right back" and I motioned for May to come with me to the next room. May said, "What's wrong? Suzy seems ideal!" I responded, "I agree! But I don't know if I like Zane. He just seems a little… I don't know, too competitive, I guess. I just don't like his attitude." She said, "He's just got a different idea of breeding than Suzy. He does seem a little rougher around the edges than Suzy, but I still think they'd both be perfect caretakers for our Vulpix pups!" I said, "Ultimately, it's up to Flamefox and Amber." I asked them, "What do you think? Are Suzy and Zane okay to take care of 2 of your pups?" They looked at each other, and seemed to agree. We returned to the room and said, "Congratulations! We decided both of you would be ideal caretakers for our Vulpix pups." Suzy and Zane both thanked us. They each took a male Vulpix from the litter. Suzy picked one that I wasn't sure would take to her, because unlike the other pups, he only trusted May and I – he was pretty much a one person Vulpix. Suzy ended up being the right person. She went on to open a Pokemon Salon on Scissor Street in Celadon City, and her Vulpix won all kinds of awards. Zane eventually evolved his Vulpix into a Ninetales, and he, too, went onto successful ventures. Eventually, the both of them opened a breeding center together in Johto, but that was years later.
Another female pup went to a young trainer named Neesha, and another male pup went to a gym leader named Rudy, from the Orange Islands League. They both seemed like they'd take good care of the pups. With every pup that was taken, Amber and Flamefox would give them a nuzzle and a lick goodbye. It was almost heart-breaking, but it also made us happy that one of our Vulpix pups would bring joy to another trainer or breeder, the way that Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm had made us so happy. Anyway, we were left with 3 pups. Professor Oak said we could keep them if we wanted, unless another request came. In the meantime, May returned to her Kanto journey and brought along Amber. Pokemon battles helped Amber to get her mind off the departure of her pups, and this way, May could have Amber ready to compete at the Indigo Plateau when the time came.
It so happened that one day, I got a phone call from Mr. Murphy, my old teacher at Crimson Town Pokemon Academy. I asked him, "So what's new." He said, "Remember Bobby, the little boy whose life was saved by your Bellsprout?" I answered, "Yeah, I remember him." Mr. Murphy said, "Well, he's very attached to Bellsprout. He's going to begin his first Pokemon journey in a few months, and he really wants Bellsprout to be his first Pokemon. I told him that I'd have to ask you, since you left Bellsprout with us to be the school mascot." I said, "That would be fine with me! Bobby can take Bellsprout with him, if that's what he really wants!" Mr. Murphy said, "That's awfully kind of you! But this brings up another problem. Now we need a new mascot! I was thinking, since Crimson Town is so close to the Brushfire Woods, which is home to some powerful wild Vulpixes, and since you and your Vulpix are the town heroes for winning at the Johto League, that a Vulpix would be an ideal mascot!" I said, "I agree! Think the kids would like one of our Vulpix pups?" He replied, "They'd love it! Actually, they're the ones who wanted me to call you about it, once everyone found out about your venture into Pokemon breeding." I said, "I'll discuss it with May, but I'm sure she'll agree!" Not only did May agree, but the both of us travelled all the way back to Crimson Town in Johto to hand deliver Brushfire, the school's new Vulpix mascot, named after the very woods his father and uncle came from! They had a huge ceremony for us at the school, which was attended by all the big town officials, and my parents! Bobby was there, too, and couldn't thank me enough for letting him take Bellsprout! The kids just loved Brushfire, and they were going to take turns taking care of him every day. I also chose Brushfire because he was the most playful of the pups, and he just loved the kids! I knew he would be happy here! While we were there, we visited Flamefox and Firestorm's clan and brought along Flamefox, Amber, and Brushfire so they could at least see one of the pups. Of course, Flamefox's parents just loved him, and the elder gave him his blessing.
So, we were left with 2 female Vulpixes, who we decided to keep at Professor Oak's until I opened my Pokemon Sanctuary someday! May, Amber, and her other Pokemon went on to score many victories in Kanto, capture many more Pokemon, and win all 8 gym badges! When she participated in the Kanto League championships, I was there, in the front row, along with Flamefox, Firestorm, Inferno and Professor Oak to cheer her on! May, Amber, Fierymane, Redfur and her other Pokemon blew away the competition! She was this year's champion, and went on to defeat the Elite 4, just as I had done a year or so ago!
(The character Daniel is Dan Grant from the Pokemon fanfic, "The Journey to be a Master", which was posted at the old Psypoke Forums years ago, but sadly has been lost somewhere in the aether of the internet.)