Chapter 6: The Plan

Philip woke up the following day, still drained from energy. He was throbbing in pain from all sides of his tiny body, and his red bowtie was now ripped up. He tried to open his eyes, but only managed to open one because he had a black eye. He looked around and found himself lying in a crowded place with a lot of junk. I'm in a dumpster…? He didn't know how he got there, but he figured he should get out of there before something unfortunate happens again. But for now, he was glad he was alive.

Just then, someone opened the lid of the dumpster. It was a Linoone in a trash collector uniform. Philip realized that it was noon because it was really sunny outside, and the sun was hurting his vision. He tried to shield his eyes, but his arm was in pain from Tyranitar's Crunch and he flinched. The Linoone was surprised to see another Pokemon in the same dumpster; Philip is the 10th Pokemon he has found there in the last two months.

"Hey, are you alright, buddy?" Linoone asked. He was a very sympathetic Pokemon, and each time he found a beaten up Pokemon there, he'd always find a way to help out. Philip tried to answer, but he was in so much pain that he just laid there. Linoone was getting worried. "Hold on, guy," he said as he carefully lifted up the hurt Karrablast. "I'm gonna take you to the PokeCenter, alright?" He took him in his dump truck, laying him down and buckling his seatbelt carefully. Philip blacked out again, still severely hurt from the unfortunate encounter he had yesterday.

…

"It's no use," John told Amelia, "We don't know where he is anymore. We've spent a good amount of time looking, but he's simply not there." They were up almost all night and part of the morning looking and asking around for Philip. They didn't find any trace of him, and they have now returned to the jewelry store. The two Pokemon were really worried for their dear friend. What if he's not in town anymore? What if the Tippers did something drastic to Philip? They didn't want to think about it, but their worry just grew by each passing second.

They were hopeless and silent for a few minutes until the store phone rang. It was an old-fashioned copper telephone that Philip had in his family for years. John knew about this and it just reminded him of Philip and got him even more upset. He waddled over to answer the phone. He carefully picked it up and answered softly.

"Hello? How can I help you?"

"Is this John or Amelia?"

John was now interested where this is going. Trying not to get his hopes too high, he affirmed he was John.

"Ok, well, I found your friend Philip in a dumpster and took him to the Pokemon Center."

"Really!?" John was emotionally excited and jumped a little at the news. Amelia looked over towards his direction, wondering what was going on. John responded with shimmering eyes and a big smile.

"Yeah. He's doing okay right now, but he asked me to call you guys to let you know he's alright."

"Thank you so much Mr. …"

"Fred."

"Mr. Fred. Thank you! We'll be right over!"

John hung up and rushed over to Amelia. "They found Philip!" he squealed with emotion. Amelia's amber eyes lit up, her flame swaying a bit from the news.

"They did?"

"Yeah! He's at a Pokemon Center right now!"

"Then we better go see him now!"

They both rushed out of the store, John struggling in locking up because he couldn't hold his key straight from all the excitement. "Come on come on come on!" Amelia encouraged him. Finally he managed to lock the door and they both went running towards the Pokemon Center.

…

"I called your friends," Fred told Philip. "The guy who answered was all excited and said they'll be here right away. Philip smiled, now feeling better than a few hours ago. "Thanks, man," Philip said. "I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come around."

Philip was on a very comfortable hospital bed wrapped up in white sheets. He had bandages and a cast on his left arm. He also had a piece of meat over his black eye. Fred was nice enough to stay with him a little longer until his friends arrived. Philip told him he should go back to work to avoid consequences with his boss, but Fred explained that this was not the first time he was involved in this situation, so his boss understood.

When Fred brought Philip in, a Chansey he knew checked him in right away. Fred tried to explain the best he could of what happened, Philip groaning in pain in his arms. Chansey gave him antidotes and lots of healing potions and such. It was excruciating for Philip, but now he's glad it's all over.

Fred and Philip were in the middle of a conversation when the same Chansey knocked on their door and opened it. "You have some visitors," she told Philip, and walked away. A few seconds later, John and Amelia rushed into the room and began to cry. They were so happy to see Philip again, safe and sound.

"Oh, Philly!" John cried as he glomped Philip. "We were so worried about you, man!" Philip smiled. "Hey guys," he said wearily. "I'm still here." He looked toward the Linoone. "And it's all thanks to Fred." John and Amelia turned around to see the Linoone smiling at the attention Philip was getting. "It's what good people do," he shrugged. John and Amelia were a bit embarrassed because they did not see him there. They went over to introduce themselves.

"Well, Philip," Fred said as he got up from his chair. "I better get going. It was nice meeting you." He shook Philip's good arm. Philip smiled at the friendly man. "Thanks for everything." Fred smiled at the three small Pokemon and quietly left the hospital room without saying anything else.

As soon as the door clicked shut, John and Amelia turned their attention back at Philip. Philip was still a bit weak, but seeing his friends made him feel much better inside.

After all the emotional commotion was over, Amelia decided to talk about something important. "Philip?" she asked. Philip looked at her. "Yes?"

"I know everything…"

Philip's eyes widened as he blushed a bit. "…About what?"

"About your store… About what happened a year ago…"

Philip breathed a bit easier. "Oh," was all he managed to say. He looked at John, asking with his eyes about his decision of telling her about this touchy subject. John replied back with a face as if he was saying "I had to".

She looked down, trying to hide her face. "I didn't know… you went through so much," Amelia's voice broke a bit. Philip felt bad at Amelia's sadness. He didn't know it affected her that much. He put his tiny cast hand on hers. "Don't take it so hard," he assured her. "I guess… that's just how life rolls." Amelia looked up at him, her eyes shining and about to burst into tears. Her bottom lip was slightly quivering, a sight that broke Philip's heart. At the moment he ignored his physical pain and shared Amelia's emotional pain. He then surprised himself by embracing her in a hug, forcing himself to wrap his arms around her without grunting. He closed his eyes and allowed the moment to sink in. She didn't hesitate in hugging him back, her face resting on his tiny shoulder. Philip felt his face get hot as a blush flooded his face. Philip opened his good eye and looked at john, who was trying to mind his own business to give them their own time. Philip signaled John over, and soon they were all in a warm and comforting group hug, everything silent except the low volume of the television's static screen.

…

"Thank you, Nurse Chansey," Philip said as he shook the kind nurse's hand. He was finally checking out of the Pokemon Center.

"A pleasure!" Nurse Chansey said. "I'm glad I can be of service. Now, off you go!"

Philip, Amelia, and John waved goodbye at the nurse as they made their way out of the center. Philip still had some bandages on, but his cast was off. He inhaled deeply, feeling free and happy. He missed the freshness of the air.

"Let's take you home," John said. Philip nodded as he told them where he lived. He lived about three blocks from the center, which from his store was four blocks. He lived in a small brown brick house. It had a small chimney, two blue windows, and a blue door. It was between two big houses, which stood out from them both. John and Amelia helped Philip get there by carefully holding on to his arms.

"Here we are!" Philip said once they stood in front of his house. He pulled out a yellow key to unlock the door. When they stepped inside, it smelled like pancakes and syrup, and it was warm and cozy inside. Philip closed the door and they all sat down on comfy blue couches. John noticed he didn't have a television, which was something that people nowadays can't live without. There was a bit of silence until John broke the ice.

"Philip," he said, putting his tiny hands together in a professional manner. "I hope you learned from all of this to not go after bad guys by instinct." Philip looked down a bit. "Yeah, I have," he admitted. "I won't do it again."

"So you said that guy you saw was Gold Rush?" Amelia asked. Philip nodded. "He's the guy that set my store on fire. I thought I could get him this time—''

"But you didn't," John reminded him.

Philip rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Luckily I know where he's hiding now, so all I need to do is figure out how to strike back."

John jumped off from his seat. "Whoa there! You barely got out of there alive. You're obviously weaker than those guys you fought back there. You can't just go back there like it was nothing!"

"Yeah," Amelia added. "You'll probably end up in an even more critical condition than now."

Philip thought about it. "True," he said. "But what should I do, then?"

"You just relax and rest for a good amount of time until you heal up completely," John said as he placed a blanket on Philip. "I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Philip complained. John put a hand up. "Hush!" he said. "Enough of this! Now, I'm going to make you people some tea, if you don't mind." And with that, he made his way toward Philip's kitchen, leaving Philip and Amelia alone once again.

Amelia went over towards Philip and tucked in his blanket. Philip felt all warm and fuzzy inside, and this time he knew why. Amelia looked around and saw a record player. "Do you mind if I put some music?"

"Not at all," Philip smiled. Amelia smiled back and went to look for a record to play. Then she found one that caught her attention and blew off the dust of the paper slip. She carefully took out the record and placed it on the player. She wound it up and placed the needle on it, and soon the sweet sound of waltz music filled the house. It happened to be one of Philip's favorite songs and it set the mood perfectly. He closed his eyes and smiled, letting the music flow.

He opened his eyes to find John holding his cup of tea. "Thanks," he said as he took his teacup with his good arm and drank it. He liked his tea hot. The first sip relaxed him tremendously. "Yeah…" he sighed with satisfaction. "You make a mean tea, John." John smiled and bowed. "Why, thank you!" he said, and handed over Amelia's cup.

They were all blissful and snug in Philip's little house, until Philip brought up the subject again. He put down his teacup on the small coffee table before he spoke. "Maybe my grandpa can help me out…" he thought out loud.

John and Amelia looked at each other with uncertainty. "You just won't quit, huh?" John said.

"I can't quit!" Philip protested. "Don't you see? This could be my only chance to give him what he deserves!" He lifted his bandaged arm up. "Justice must take its place here!" Then he whimpered a bit as he brought his arm down.

"How about this," Amelia spoke up. "We can help you out if you promise you'll do your part in getting better. Then we can go visit your grandfather." She walked up to Philip and stuck out her tiny hand. "Deal?"

Philip half smiled at her, thinking that this idea wasn't bad at all. "Deal," he said as he took her soft hand in his. He quickly glanced at John and saw that he was excitedly giving him two thumbs up, and he blushed a bit. Once Amelia turned back around, John returned to his natural state, holding in a smile.

The rest of the day was spent with good conversation and everyone was having a simply good time. There was laughter and such as the hours passed by, and John finally got to know Amelia better. Soon it was nighttime, and John suggested that he and Amelia can spend the night there. Philip liked that idea a lot; it was nice to have company around. John called his Petilil wife and Amelia called her parents to let them know of their plan. "Looks like Delilah won't have her Sugar Daddy tonight," John said playfully. Everyone cracked up at the random remark as they set up the blankets on the floor. Philip decided to spend the night on the floor, too, so he set up his own space with a lot of effort, Amelia and John helping him in the process.

Soon, they were all tucked in, but they couldn't sleep. Amelia turned off her flame, but being under a good amount of blankets kept her warm. She was in the middle of the two boys, her eyes glowing as they were wide awake. She liked how inviting Philip's house is, the way it smelled like breakfast all the time. She sniffed the air deeply once more, loving every moment of the syrupy smell. A few moments passed by, and Amelia soon realized she was the only one awake as she heard the gentle snores of her two guy friends. She looked at John, who seemed like he was whistling instead of snoring. She smiled, knowing now that he was a good guy. Then she looked over at Philip, who was still wrapped up in some bandages, but not as much as before. She began to study his face, noticing how calm it was. She has seen other Karrablast with angry expressions embedded on their faces, but she had never seen one as calm as his. She stared some more, not realizing she was inching closer to him. She then traced her finger around the bandages of his arm, counting them along the way. A few seconds later she realized what she was doing and blushed. She looked at Philip's face for a brief second and scooted back to her spot and turned the other way. She was glad Philip was asleep.

Right when she turned around, Philip opened his eyes – his black eye healed up a bit – because he felt a light soft touch on his arm and wondered what it was. He looked to his right to see Amelia's back facing him. It felt like her hand, he thought. But why would she do that? That's something he wouldn't expect from her, but something he would dream up, or in most cases, something that comes up in soap operas. But not now. Not ever. Because this was reality. But just the thought of the possibility left him smirking like a fool. He rubbed his bandaged arm, wondering if Amelia had touched it or not. Philip smiled once again before closing his eyes and falling asleep. He had a feeling he was going to have a pleasant dream tonight.