My brain sent an impulse to my body as Shield charged at me, using Slash. I barely got out of the way to see Shinja coming at me with Acid Spray. I swear, my eyes got super huge around my sockets as I rolled to the right and behind Jocinda, who with Tucker, immediately stopped them from advancing.

"P-Purgy! What are you doing!?" Lyr screamed, surprised.

The boy smirked as he looked at me.

"You can't fool me, Thomas," Purgy said, "Shinja told me you have Pokémon on you. So, come on; let's battle!"

With that statement, Shinja and Shield grunted and advanced closer. Molly and Lyr got excited and looked like they might join in at any moment. I got fearful again; my knees immediately felt weak as Jocinda and Tucker kept their bodies between me and potential pain.

"N-No! Please, wait! You don't understand!" I pleaded.

"ENOUGH," We all heard a bold voice say.

I turned to see Kaname had a serious face. He turned to Purgy and acted like his uncle, being an adult.

"Purgy, tell Shinja and Shield to stand down now," he ordered in a strict voice.

Purgy blinked a few times as he stepped back in shock.

"E-Excuse me?" he asked, sounding quite offended.

"You cannot battle Thomas. He is NOT a Pokémon trainer," he said.

Purgy's face lit up in disbelief as he and his friends turned to me.

"W-What?" he asked.

"It's true," Jocinda joined in, "he doesn't own any Pokémon."

"He isn't even a student at the Pokémon School!" Tucker added.

Shinja and Shield did a double take and looked at each other. Purgy looked at me with confusion. Molly and Lyr slowly calmed down from excitement as their friend shook his head.

"B-But Shinja told me you have a Pokémon's scent on you," he said.

Now, since my friends promised to keep Buizel and Poochyena a secret, they looked at each other trying to come up with an excuse. Me, I had another idea.

"W-Well… you see… the thing is…" Tucker started to say.

"No, it's okay," I said, grabbing everyone's attention, "Let me explain."

So I told the three trainers everything; not just the incident at the school, but the Pokémon stampede incident of Kilyla City. I explained that it had caused me to have fear of Pokémon. While I explained that part, I noticed Shinja and Shield were eyeing me extremely close. I don't think they believed me. In fact, I didn't in a certain way, since Buizel and Poochyena had forced me out of it a bit.

"And so, I brought them back to the alcove yesterday. I haven't washed this sweatshirt yet, so that's probably why they can smell a Pokémon," I finished.

"A Buizel and a Poochyena!" Molly exclaimed, "Oh, wow! I wish I had one of those!"

"Molly, you have a Buizel," Lyr said, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, right. I forgot," Molly giggled embarrassingly.

As Lyr shook his head, Purgy turned to me and said, "If that's the case, then I'm so sorry for letting Shinja and Shield attack you. You see, they may be adults, but when they see a Pokémon, they want to battle and won't take no for an answer. Sometimes, they disobey me, charge right at the Pokémon they see, and demand to have a battle."

I looked to see both of his Pokémon stare at me like I was hiding something. Oh great. Did I have to worry about another person to protect the two Pokémon from? Oh boy….

"Shinja, Shield, return," Purgy said as he returned his Pokémon to their balls.

With that, Lyr and Molly did the same with their Pokémon. After a few minutes of chatting, all three trainers revealed they were going to live with my friends while they were here. We made our way from where we were and into the city. As we got to my house's location, I said good-bye and waved to them as they did the same and departed from me.

-

As I got closer to the door, I went over the top three suspects I had to protect Buizel and Poochyena from.

Number one was Mr. Pepperridge. After that incident in the schoolyard, I wasn't planning on going there with Buizel and Poochyena ever again. To start a battle with kids in the area showed he wanted those two badly. I had to be careful of him when I went back to the school for lunch.

Number two was Skyler. I didn't want to really label him as one YET. But if those stories of him from Tucker were true, I couldn't imagine and live with myself what he'd do to those two if he got them.

And lastly, number three was the duo of Shinja and Shield. If what Purgy said was true, then if those two got even a small glimpse of Buizel and Poochyena, I'd have trouble trying to protect them, especially since they looked pretty strong.

But enough of that. I needed some rest.

Now with them gone for the night, I walked up to the front door. Realizing that Old Man Fellows was still babysitting the two, I knocked on the door. I took the time to take a breath and fix one of the sleeves of my sweatshirt before I yawned. Man, what a good day. Now, I wanted to get to sleep.

The door soon opened to reveal my old friend, smiling. He stepped out, unlocked the door, and then shut it behind him.

"Good evening, Thomas," he said cheerfully, "and how are you?"

I stretched with a smile and said, "Doing great, Old Man. I had an amazing day. We even met three Pokémon trainers."

"Well, good for you," he said to me, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Buizel and Poochyena have been dying for you to come back. They've missed you terribly, God bless them."

I sighed with a smile, "I hope they weren't too much trouble. They didn't drive you insane or break anything, did they?"

"Not at all!" he said, "In fact, the whole day they spent with me, showing me a special surprise they were making."

I blinked at the surprise. A surprise? Who was it for? And what was it? I raised an eyebrow as Old Man Fellows smirked at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Sorry, I can't tell," he said, "I'll just let you find out yourself. I'm gonna head in to my house. Good night, Thomas."

With a smile and a bow, I said good-bye as he walked away from the door and to his own house. He walked out of sight as I was confused. The whole day Buizel and Poochyena were planning a surprise? This I was concerned, but had to see. I opened the door, unknowing that this night would change my life forever.

I slipped inside as I shut the door. I yawned as I locked the door for the night.

"BUIZEL! POOCHYENA! I'M BACK!" I shouted.

Immediately, I heard a "BUI BUI!" and a bark.

Soon, Buizel rounded the corner with a grin. His eyes shined with glee as he approached me. I was about to pet him when he did something that made me go into silence. He passionately hugged my right leg. I was so taken. He rubbed his face into my leg as he closed his eyes and smiled. I had never seen him this happy before. He had never done that before. Was something different about tonight?

As I watched him hug me, I heard a playful bark. I looked to my left to see Poochyena put his front paws on me, with his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. He sat next to me and moved his muzzle so it moved my hand. He told me he wanted me to pet him. I chuckled as he smiled at me petting his back and head.

I was really taken back. I never saw these two this loving before. They kept smiling at me, like they wanted me to know something. But, my heart felt different. As if I had known these guys all along my whole life, my heart felt different. I couldn't explain it then, and even now it's hard to put in words. It's like I knew something was gonna happen, but I didn't know what yet.

I smiled as both stood in front of me after the hugging and petting was done.

"Okay, you two," I said, "I had a long day today and I'm tired. So, I can't play with you tonight. I need some sleep, okay?"

Suddenly, Poochyena bit at my heel, grabbing only my sock. He then started to tug on it, like he was trying to get me to walk. I was about to ask him what he was doing when I felt and saw Buizel wrap his arms around my other heel and try to pull me with Poochyena. I blinked in surprise as both unsuccessfully tried to move my feet.

"Guys? What are you doing? Are you trying to get me to go upstairs?" I asked.

Both nodded as they kept pulling. Suddenly, my mind got the concept. They were gonna show ME with SURPRISE. I smiled as I stood up.

"Okay, okay," I said happily, "I'll go upstairs. But I need to put on my pajamas first before you show me anything, okay?"

Both nodded happily as they ran upstairs before me, obviously getting the surprise ready before I got there. I snickered as I walked upstairs. I couldn't wait to see what they did. I hope….

-

Coming out of the bathroom with my pajamas on and ready for bed, I took a deep breath as I entered the room. I looked to see Buizel and Poochyena sitting on the bed waiting for me with smiles. Once they saw me, they immediately started jumping up and down on the bed, calling me over to them. I chuckled as I made my way over to them.

I sat on the bed as Poochyena snuggled into me on my left side. What I noticed was behind Buizel was a piece of paper with something on it. He hid it as best as he could from me. Poochyena playfully nibbled on my shirt and pulled on it. I giggled as I saw him pant happily.

"Okay, I'm ready, you two," I said, "Let me see your surprise."

With that, Buizel nodded and grabbed the piece of paper. He walked over to me and sat near my right side. He then handed me the piece of paper.

When I looked at it, it was a drawing in crayons that they had made today. It was a little kid's type of drawing, but it was wonderfully drawn. I loved it as I approved of it, making them both smile and feel proud.

With that, both snuggled into me. The drawing was simple. On the left side were two little heads of a cartoon Buizel and Poochyena. In the middle was a huge red heart. And on the right was a human head.

"Aww, look at this! It's beautiful!" I said, making them happy and their little tails wag, "Thank you! I love it! Let's look at it together, shall we?"

I placed my right pointer finger on the picture near the Buizel and Poochyena head. I smiled as I figured out what it said.

"Let's see… Buizel and Poochyena…" I moved my finger to the heart, "love…"

But as I moved my finger to the human head, I went pale and dead silent. The human was recognizable, but something in my brain couldn't make me get the words. The human drawn on the picture had brown hair and a blue headband…. Sort… of…. Like….

My heart stopped as I struggled to say the words. I started over as I put my finger on the drawing of Buizel and Poochyena.

"B-Buizel… a-and Poochyena… lo… love…."

I was silent yet again as I noticed both of them staring up at me with love in their eyes. They waited patiently for me to say what I meant. But my heart was starting to feel heavy. I was silent as I looked at the human. I knew who it was, but my heart forced me to ask them the question.

"G-Guys…. Who is this… human in this p-picture?" I asked.

I watched in admiration as both slowly took one of their paws and pointed to me. I gasped as I stared at me on the picture. They…. drew me on it. I was… so touched. It was so relaxing and peaceful. It was for the first time I was so touched that I had tears brought to my eyes.

And… now that I think about it, in chapter 10, I stopped referring to Buizel and Poochyena as it and now as he, him, and his. Did that mean that somewhere during then, I started to have… a bond with them?

"B-Buizel and… Poochyena… love…. T…. Th….. Thomas….." I said, making them smile wider, "Buizel and Poochyena… love me…"

I looked at them and asked, "You love me?"

With that, Buizel and Poochyena got right into my chest and hugged me with all their might. I let all the tears fall from my eyes. It was then that my fear of Pokémon had completely shattered permanently. I suddenly smiled the biggest smile I ever had. I looked down at the two Pokémon who had changed my life.

"Well… Thomas loves Buizel and Poochyena," I said, doing something that I never thought I would ever do.

I HUGGED THEM.

I literally wrapped my arms around them and held them close. They snuggled as close as they could and loved on me too. I decided from here on out, these two were mine.

"Guys, from here on out, you guys can stay here whenever you want and as long as you want. I love you two so much," I said as I laid back, "And you guys can sleep with me."

Both gasped with a smile and talked in their Pokélanguage to each other excitedly. They snuggled into my neck as I pulled the covers over us. The light was already off, so we got to sleeping. As I watched the two drift off to sleep, I held them with delight. My life was changed forever. I watched as their little bodies breathed in and out. Their fur felt like a wonderful blanket on my skin. I smiled as I closed my eyes. This was the start of a change of a beautiful story.

-