Author notes:
1)English is my second language. Forgive me for any mistake.
2)I don't own Pokemon, obviously.
3)I only own the plot for this story and the eventual OCs
4)Pokemon's speeches are "Like this"
Jack spent the rest of the day taking care of the ponyta. The fragile fire-type was too dependent of her human friend to feed her. He would have to do this for the next couple of months until she got big enough to eat another things.
Not that the boy minded watching the horse-like pokemon gallop happily around the spacious backyard. His small pokemon companions also had fun chasing the ponyta around.
Fiona was still to little to be able to talk, but given a few months and she was going to be talking normally like the other pokemon. The boy also wanted to search how to teach a ponyta how to control the flames. He had heard that this kind of pokemon needed the mother to teach the offspring how to do this and this specie also burned those who they didn't trust.
The boy hoped the ponyta would start controlling her flames soon, so she could enter into the house. Touma, Misaka and Hiro were playing all day with the fire-type pokemon.
Despite of the young age, the horse-like creature was quite fast and the others couldn't keep up with her. On foot, anyway. Touma managed to teleport himself near ponyta every time. Because of that their game of tag wasn't so one-sided.
The day passed by quickly and it soon the night came. He didn't want to get inside and let the ponyta all alone, so he had his dinner outside along with his friends. Before eating, Jack fed Fiona with another bottle of milk he had prepared and he was going to give her another one before they slept. Fire-types eat a lot more than the other kinds of pokemon due their fast metabolism.
The boy also refused the tent that the butler offered him. All he needed was a sleeping bag, after all it was a cloudless night. He could see the stars perfectly and he wanted to sleep under them. But, of course, the butler also brought four blue cushions for the pokemon to sleep on. His parents also tried to talk with him about going inside, but Jack insisted that the ponyta cub needed to be watched all the time. It was a bit tiring, even Jack had to admit that, but it was enjoyable to see the horse-like pokemon so happy.
The boy laid inside of his sleeping bag staring at the countless stars. He then moved his look to his pokemon which were lying next to him. The ponyta was already fast asleep on his right. She wanted to sleep really next to the boy, but, unfortunately, the boy couldn't allow it. She could set the sleeping bag on fire by accident.
Jack was quite happy that the ponyta trusted him. He promised himself he would do anything to help her to control her flames. He soon drifted off to sleep
On the next day, Jack woke up feeling something wet on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see it was barely morning and he saw Fiona waking him up by licking him. He was confused at first, but then realized she must be hungry after a night of sleep.
The sky was still a little dark, but the first rays of sunlight could be seen already. The boy yawned and rubbed his eyes before getting up. He was wearing a black shirt and white shorts. He told the ponyta to stay there and not to do any noise. He didn't want for his friends to wake up. They were obviously tired from the day before.
He walked to a table where there was a clean bottle and went inside of the house to pick up some milk. He had asked Alfred to keep the milk in the fridge for him. Surprisingly, the butler was already up. The man was also surprised to see the boy also awake at that hour. It seemed like the boy was quite an early riser and the butler guessed it right.
"May I know what do you need, young master?" Alfred asked.
Jack shrugged and replied: "Please stop it. Don't call me 'master'. It feels weird. I already told you to call me Jack."
The butler smiled, then said to tease the boy a little: "No can do, master Jack. But you still haven't answered me what are you doing here at this hour."
Jack sighed in defeat and decided to just answer the butler: "I'm here just to get some milk for my ponyta. Then I'll mix it with some vitamins so make her stronger. The pokemon doctor taught me how to do it."
The man then suggested: "If you want, I could do it for you."
The boy then shook his head and said: "No, thanks. I appreciate it, but I want to take care of her myself. I was never comfortable with other people doing things I was supposed to do." But before he left he also asked Alfred: "Can I have my breakfast outside? I mean, I don't want to leave my pokemon alone for too long, especially the ponyta cub. She needs a lot of attention in her early months." The boy the reason why he wanted to help the fire-type pokemon. He could relate to her knowing that the parents abandoned her. But like what happened to him, he was also going to help Fiona out with everything he had.
Alfred looked amazed at the boy. Jack was quite different from Justin who always made the butler do everything for him, from getting a glass of water to carrying heavy luggage. He smiled softly and aided the boy with at least giving him the milk he was looking for. The boy thanked the butler and went outside to make the food for his fire-type pokemon.
The boy got out of the house once again to meet a very anxious ponyta cub. Fiona was getting worried already. She didn't like to stay away from him. But she obeyed and waited for him. In her eyes, the boy was her father and she didn't want to feel alone anymore.
"Easy there. Your food will be ready shortly." The boy said with a smile while he gently patted the horse-like pokemon on the head. He then went to a table and prepared her bottle of milk and vitamins.
The ponyta rushed to him and started to drink the delicious milk while waving her tail happily. The boy meantime gently rubbed her on the neck and on the head. The pokemon was really enjoying it.
After he fed her, the boy noticed his other pokemon waking up. The nidorino yawned as he opened his eyes and noticed Jack and Fiona already awake. He also saw the empty bottle on his friend's hand, so he thought that Jack has been feeding Fiona. The poison-type wondered how much energy did the horse-like pokemon had. They have been playing the entire day and she already seemed to be fully charged.
Not that Hiro minded. After a good breakfast he would be as good as new. He even waked up Misaka and Touma. These two were heavy sleepers and the nidorino wondered if they could be able to sleep through a train wreck.
After everyone was awake. They could see Fiona approaching them and neighing happily inviting them to play some more. It wasn't like they didn't want to, but they played until near the time they decided to play. They were still a bit tired. They told Fiona to wait a little more that they would play later with her.
The ponyta accepted their terms and it didn't take long until Alfred appear carrying a plate with jack food and placing it on one of the backyard's tables. He then told the boy that he was going to bring the other pokemon food shortly.
Jack thanked him and took a seat to eat. But he decided to wait until his pokemon's breakfast also arrived. He felt it would be unfair to start before them. Fortunately, Alfred came back five minutes later carrying another plate with three bowls of pokemon food.
As he placed them on the ground, he could see that the boy didn't even touch his food: "Is something wrong? Do you want something else to eat, Master Jack? I can talk to the chef."
"No, that's not it. It looks great, but I was waiting for you to bring my pokemon's food before I started eating. Thank you very much." The boy explained himself.
The butler blinked for a while and smiled once again as he saw the boy starting to eat. The butler then went back inside to prepare the breakfast for the rest of the family. It was still quite early and the others didn't wake up so early like the boy.
One hour later, Jack was running around with his pokemon deciding to partake in their little game of tag. Sure he couldn't keep up with the ponyta, but he was having fun. The horse-like creature also was loving it. She loved to run like that.
"Looks like you're having a good time, boy." Said a male voice, which turned out to be John's.
"Good morning, Mr. John." Said the boy stopping to run panting a little.
But seeing his adoptive father, the boy suddenly remembered: "Oh, yes! I completely forgot. Can we go to the orphanage now? I would like to deliver back the bag mr. Jake lent me."
"I'm really sorry for that, Jack. You seemed to occupied taking care of the ponyta that you didn't even bring that subject up. That's why I sent that bag back to the orphanage." John explained noticing how the boy didn't like to hear it.
"What…" the boy said clearly saddened. "But I wanted to visit there…"
The man suddenly had an idea: "You don't need a bag to visit there. If you want to, I could take you there by car. Buuut, you need to put your ponyta in the pokeball. You know why, right."
The boy couldn't deny his father's logic. He then took the pokeball from the chain around his belt, where the boy kept his pokeballs attached to, then he pressed a button enlarging the object. The ponyta didn't like that thing. She gave a few steps behind not liking to be cramped in that tiny object. Jack didn't like doing it either.
He could see that the ponyta was a bit scared of the pokeball and because of that he didn't use it. Instead he had an idea and shrunk the pokeball back and reattached it to the chain on his belt.
"Mr. John, Could we go walking there instead of going by car?" the boy suggested.
The man was a bit unsure: "Are you sure? I know the orphanage isn't that far, but don't you think it's a quite long walk?"
"Not that much. I've walked much longer distances before with Mary and Hiro." The boy replied with a grin.
The man scratched his head for a bit while he wondered about the boy's suggestion. He wasn't very used doing exercises, but he gave in to Jack's suggestion. He thought that the boy only suggested that because of how reluctant the poynta was in getting inside of the pokeball. The man had to admit he never saw a pokemon complaining to get inside of it before. He also had to wonder what Jack was going to do when His pokemon reached to their final evolution forms. A nidoking and a rapidash weren't exactly the kind of pokemon that could walk freely inside of any house.
The man also saw that as an opportunity to talk with the boy for a while as they left the house to walk to the orphanage. The man asked him once again what were the boy's plans for the future. He knew that there was plenty of time before the boy made a solid decision, but he wanted to make sure to widen the boy's future possibilities.
Before leaving, Jack had picked up some food for ponyta and placed them inside of a plastic bag Alfred handed to him. He was going to ask to store some of it in the orphanage fridge to remain fresh.
But before they left, the boy realized he didn't talk to his mother and brother. John then told him that they weren't home anymore, because Jennifer had taken Justin to the school because Justin apparently forgot to deliver his homework yesterday and needed to deliver it before classes today. Jack could see that his father was a bit displeased that his son had forgotten to give the homework on due.
The man's expression changed back to a more friendly one and then told Jack to try do his best and never get late with homework. He also told him he should work hard to make his dreams come true and asked once again about the boy's future plans. The boy, once more, had to admit he was a bit unsure. He wondered if he was going to become a pokemon doctor, or a pokemon raiser or even a pokemon breeder. He didn't know why his adoptive father was bringing up that again.
The man whistled at the boy's suggestions also saying that whatever he chose for his life he should dedicate all his heart into it because he would certainly become successful.
The boy blushed a bit with that and thanked the encouragement. John also told him that if the boy wanted to practice about how to raise or breed pokemon at the farm he was more than welcome. He also reminded the boy that, at the school he was going to attend, he was also going to learn how to properly take care of injured pokemon. He also said that he could even learn new things at the farm and even think of other possibilities for the future.
Jack thought about that while his pokemon listened with attention at the conversation between the two. Hiro told Fiona that she was going to meet the place where he was born, where he, Touma and misaka met and also the place where Jack grew up.
The ponyta listened at the nidorino talking, and she was quite interested in meeting that new place. She also didn't know what orphanage meant. Unfortunately, she couldn't speak very well yet, so she kept her doubt for a latter occasion.
Misaka and Touma were also looking forward going there. Touma, who had woken up very well and even played without any problems with the ponyta that morning, was feeling that annoying clutch in his chest once more as they walked to the orphanage. Misaka asked, concerned, if the abra was feeling that again. The psychic pokemon gave a positive answer, but then said it might be just tiredness for pushing his body too hard after playing so much with a hyperactive ponyta.
Misaka didn't smile at the joke attempt of the abra. It wasn't funny to begin with, but even if it was, she wouldn't have anyway. She remembered what the doctor had said, but she was still worried about her friend. She decided to keep a close look at him just to be sure.
It didn't take long until they reached the Grandfist Orphanage. When they got there, Jack and his pokemon looked at John. The man smiled and knew what the boy intended to ask: "Don't worry, kiddo. You can go visit your friends. I'll let you have fun. I'll be back at 6:00 p.m. to pick you up for dinner, okay?"
The boy nodded happily as he replied: "Okay. Thanks!"
John then said ruffling his son's hair: "Alright, then! Have some fun!"
After saying that he turned back to his house. He was already sweating while the boy was fine. The boy noticed the drops of sweat on the man's forehead and felt guilty for making him walk like that. He wondered if his father would allow him to come there by his own on the future, after all, he wouldn't be alone, his pokemon friends would be there to make him company and also protect him.
When he got inside of the orphanage, he immediately saw Jake talking to some younger kids. When the man spotted Jack, he raised an eyebrow at that. He remembered how he received the bag from one of John's employees on the day before. The man was expecting the boy to deliver it and not send someone else to do it for him because the man knew that Jack never like to let others do the hard work for him. Jake then told the kids to go inside of the house and go back to their classes. The kids were trying to skip the classes, but they were being lectured by the man.
"Good morning, Mr. Jake!" The boy said with a smile. "Sorry for not delivering the bag myself. Mr. John ended up sending it back by accident."
Jake was quite relieved to hear that. For one moment he feared that the boy's behavior was changing, but then he realized something in what the boy had just said. "Mr. John? Don't you mean 'dad'?" the blond man spoke confused.
The boy then replied looking away: "Well…Mr. John was really nice to me and let me call him like that until I was comfortable enough to call him my father. Ms. Jennifer was also agreed with that."
Jake smiled warmly hearing that: "Looks like you got yourself very good parents. So did you came here to visit?"
"Yes. I hope I'm not sounding like an ungrateful person, but this place is more like a home to me than Mr. John's place." But then he shortly added: "Please don't tell this to Mr. John."
Jake just laughed light heartedly as he said: "Don't worry, kiddo. Most of children feel this way when they're adopted." Then the man moved to the boy and patted him on the shoulders. "It's nice to see you again. Are you going to stay here for lunch? I also see you have a new pokemon."
"Yes, I'll stay here for dinner. Her name is Fiona. She's still a small cub. Mr. Told me he was going to pick me up at 6 p.m.. Is it alright for me to stay here for this much? I hope it won't be of any trouble." the boy asked.
"Of course it isn't any trouble. By the way, Mary is here as well." Jake said with a small grin as he saw the boy's surprise look.
"Really? Doesn't she have school at this hour?" He asked.
"Yes, but shouldn't I be asking you this same question?" the man said with a playful grin.
"Well, I was enrolled at the Pokemon Raising School and I'll start there on Monday."
Jake whistled at that. "Why don't you go inside of the house and talk to her yourself."
"Okay, then…" Jake said scratching his head. Hen he turned to his pokemon. "Hey, guys why don't you go to the backyard for a bit and play with the other pokemon?"
The ponyta didn't like the suggestion. She didn't want to stay away from the Jack. She rubbed her muzzle against the boy's right hand and licked it to show she didn't want to get separate from the boy even if it were for just an hour or so.
Jack's heart saddened a bit seeing that. "I promise I won't take too long, Fiona. After I talk with Mary for a bit, I'll go to the backyard. I promise."
Fiona didn't like this 'Mary' person already. She only accepted that the boy's attention should only be given to her and the other three pokemon.
Hiro then managed to convince Fiona to go with them. He also told her that she was going to meet with other pokemon and they would all have some fun there. Still a bit reluctant the fire-type pokemon went with them.
Both Jake and Jack watched they leaving. The boy looked somewhat worried and hoped the ponyta would behave in his absence. "You got yourself one more pokemon who cares a lot about you."
"Looks like it. I'll be going to see Mary now, okay?"
"Have fun." Jake said. But the boy didn't saw his satisfied smile when he got inside of the house.
When the boy got inside of the house, he looked around for a while and he found Mary at the kitchen alone. She was picking up a bag of pokemon food because she was going to offer some snacks to the pokemon at the backyard. When the girl turned and saw Jack, she let go of the bag and ran to hug him.
"Jack! It's so nice to see you. Dad told me that you were adopted. I wished I were here at that hour. How are you doing?" She asked after breaking the hug.
The boy stood there still a bit shocked from her reaction, but he hugged her back and replied: "I'm doing great. They're very nice to me. How are you doing? Why aren't you at school now?"
"I'm doing great! I had a little stomachache this morning, but I'm doing fine. I guess I got too nervous…" his friend said with a smile.
"Really? Don't you think you should be resting?" the boy asked concerned.
"I'm alright now. I never skipped classes before and I can keep up with what I lost today, besides, my folks thought I might not feel too well for the rest of the day, that's why they called the principal to tell why the reason why I didn't appear today. What about you? Why aren't you in school now?"
"I'm going to the Pokemon Raising School! Mr. and Mrs. Grandfist enrolled me there! I'll start my classes on Monday." he said.
The girl tilted her head in confusion. The boy, realizing that, explained to her the same thing he had told Jake earlier.
"I see. I hope you can get used to them and accept them as your family quite soon! By the way, I was about to take some snacks to the pokemon." She said.
"Alright! But before we go, can I put his in the fridge? I don't want my ponyta's food to spoil." He said.
"Your ponyta? Did you get another pokemon?" She inquired.
Jack then explained everything that happened at the farm and also with the doctor to his friend.
At the backyard. Hiro, Touma and Misaka introduced Fiona to the other pokemon. The horse-like pokemon was more interested in going inside of the house. But her three companions managed to prevent her from doing so.
After partially giving up, the ponyta decided to have some fun and wait for Jack while she played with the others. The pokemon at the orphanage were very friendly to her.
But before they started to play, Misaka asked her psychic friend: "How are you feeling, Touma?"
The abra then answered truthfully: "Much better actually."
"Really? That's odd…" she said scratching her head. "Maybe you should rest for a while."
"Nah! I feel great!" but then seeing how serious Misaka was, he added: "But I promise you that on the first symptom I'll lay down and rest, okay?"
"Fine…But don't overdo." She said.
The abra agreed and they went to hang with their friend at the orphanage. It has been just a few days, but they wanted to know how Jack was doing. After all, Jack was always taking very good care of them.
Hiro explained everything as he glanced at the abra every now and then. He overheard everything Misaka and Touma talked. He didn't know why the abra had such odd condition. He was keeping a close eye on both him and Fiona. Especially, the ponyta. After all he had to explain to the other pokemon to not get too close of the fire on her body, because she couldn't control it very well yet.
After a few minutes, Jack and Mary showed up at the backyard. The two kids wanted to feed the pokemon while also have fun along with them. Fiona instantly didn't like to see her so close of Jack. She was feeling a little jealous because she couldn't do it herself without accidentally hurting him with her flames.
That was a quite memorable day for the boy and he looked forward finally being able see his best friend more often. The day passed by quite fast and when the boy was about to leave with his father, Jake told him he was more than welcome to visit them whenever he wanted.
Jack thanked him and went to his house alongside with his pokemon. The boy was really looking forward his classes. John noticed that and asked his son what was the reason of such happy expression. The boy then explained everything as they walked back to the house.
The only downside of it was that the pain on the abra's chest was there while they walked back to the house, but faded away once they reached their new house's backyard.
End of chapter 8
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review.