Jake
Scorch and I burst through the front door, a disc in his mouth and various outdoor toys in my arms.
Yup, it was the first day of summer vacation, and we were going to spend it outside.
It was a beautiful day, temperatures in the upper seventies, with the sun high in the sky and very few clouds. The only thing notably missing was a lonely Spearow. Where it would be perched was only a bare branch covered in scratch marks; it hadn't been seen since the day we last visited our neighbor, Smith.
I shook the thought from my head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that—it was time to have some fun!
Dropping everything onto the plot next door, I turned to my companion. "Alright, buddy, what do we do to kick it off?" I asked.
The Growlithe responded by lifting his disc to my hand, his tail wagging excitedly.
"Works for me," I said, taking the item from him.
He sat beside me, watching vigilantly for me to throw the disc. I didn't keep him waiting long; I wound up and gave it a good throw.
It glided through the air perfectly, drifting to neither side as it traveled toward the forest.
Scorch took off like a bullet after it, catching up before it reached the treeline. I watched as he jumped and caught it in his maw.
"Alright, buddy!" I cheered as he brought it back to me to throw again.
Accepting it from him, I quickly wound up again but didn't release it.
Scorch took off again but stopped ten feet out, glancing around confused until he realized what happened.
"Looking for this?" I teased, waving the disc back and forth.
He didn't reply verbally, instead bearing his teeth and growling at me.
"Alright, alright, here you go," I said and threw the disc. He chased it again, caught it, and returned it for another throw.
After many more throws, the toy inevitably became slobbery and difficult to handle; it would dip to one side and begin rolling across the grass whenever I threw it.
"You stink at throwing!" Scorch complained across the plot as it bounced on its side.
"Nuh-uh!" I retorted. "Keep your saliva in your mouth, and this won't happen!"
He snorted, as his mouth was busy hauling the disc back.
Grabbing it again, its plastic surface scalding hot and disfigured where Scorch was carrying it.
"Yowch!" I quickly tossed the ruined lawn toy to the side; it would be discarded later. "Well, that didn't last long."
There were brands made to resist heat from pokémon like Scorch, but he had expressed his disapproval of those time and time again. I somewhat agreed as they were heavier and harder to throw, but that also meant frequent replacements.
With that toy now junk, I reached for another one from the pile. Scorch seemed to be in the mood for fetch, so I grabbed a whiffle stick and a ball. It didn't fly as far as the disc, but it didn't matter much; he was ready to chase anything that moved.
I slotted the ball into the stick and flung it. Scorch couldn't make the catch when it came down, but he got close.
He returned it, and I flung it again. He chased it, but I decided to spice things up this time and ran after him.
Scorch caught the ball and saw me coming at him. He quickly dashed out of the way as I dove at him.
I ate grass, but it was expected. He was too fast; I would never have a chance at catching him.
Getting up, I saw him staring at me with wide eyes, watching for what I might try next.
"Give me that!" I shouted and ran at him again. He took off away from me. We laughed and howled as we chased each other around the yard.
Yup, summer was here at long last.
He wouldn't drop the ball, so I rummaged through the pile and found a rope with many knots in it.
Scorch immediately forgot about his item and ran over to challenge me for mine. He grabbed hold of the other side and began tugging hard enough to nearly pull me over.
I dug my feet and pulled, unable to gain much in the struggle, though Scorch began to growl.
I tugged repeatedly, really giving it my all. It always worried me that I'd pull his teeth out or something, but that never happened. He took everything I gave, trading his growl for a snarl.
Smoke started spilling out his muzzle, and I detected a burning smell. "Easy on the fire fang, buddy; you'll ruin another one," I warned.
Either he wasn't listening, or he didn't care. Once I began hearing the fibers tearing, it was too late.
The rope snapped at the point where Scorch hung on, sending us both reeling backward.
The back of my head hit the ground hard, but other than that, I was okay. Checking on Scorch, he was also fine, shaking loose dirt from his fur.
"And that is why we don't use moves on our toys," I said, dropping the rope.
He let his end fall out of his mouth. "I can't help it; it just happens."
I laughed. "Great, I live with a pokémon that will burn things to a crisp when he gets too excited."
He ignored me and trotted off somewhere.
I simply lay there and admired the blue sky. It was such a special feeling, knowing that you have nowhere to be and nothing to do while society still runs around you. It was the main reason why I chose not to get a job; I had freedom from responsibility for three whole months, and it wouldn't last much longer with adulthood being around the corner. I wasn't sure if I was going to continue my education yet, but I knew I would enjoy my well-earned three-month break while I had it.
Rustling bushes grabbed my attention. I looked to the forest to see Scorch walking and inspecting the forgotten ball we'd played with earlier. He seemed intrigued, sniffing it like he'd never seen it before.
"What's the matter? Do you want me to throw it for you again?" I asked.
He looked my way but didn't respond. He picked up the ball and just… stared.
I pursed my lips. "Are you feeling okay? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Instead of a reply, he dashed away back through the treeline, out of sight.
To say I was alarmed by his strange demeanor was an understatement. "Scorch! Where are you going? Come back!"
I got up and jogged after him, parting the shrubs to see where he'd gone, but the orange canine was nowhere to be seen.
"What, I can't relieve myself without you getting scared?"
I whipped around to see him approaching from the other side of the yard. How did he get there so fast?
"Is it too much to ask to say you're walking off? That was kind of weird, man," I said.
He sat at my feet. "If that's weird, you're absolutely crazy."
I shook my head; he was always running his mouth. "Well, just please let me know; it gives me peace of mind knowing where you are."
"Whatever," he said.
Glancing around, I noticed we were missing something. "What did you do with that ball?"
He tilted his head. "What ball?" he asked.
I crossed my arms. "The one that you ran off into the forest with."
"What are you on about, Jake? I didn't go into the forest," he firmly stated.
"Oh, so another Growlithe that looked exactly like you took the ball and ran away?"
"More possible than what you're thinking because I'm telling you I was in our yard."
He had to have been pulling my leg somehow, but the seriousness of his features eroded my resolve. "I don't know anyone else around here with a Growlithe, and there are no wild pokémon around; who else could it be? The ball is gone, so someone was here and took it."
Scorch sighed. "Alright, so tell me where I went," he said.
I pointed at the bush closest to us. "Through there."
He did his canine thing, putting his nose to the ground and sniffing around.
"Huh," he uttered. "I do smell something, and I can tell you for a fact it's not me."
I became increasingly curious. "Let's follow it."
Parting the bushes, I followed Scorch through the dense undergrowth. He followed his nose and led us further and further in, eventually far enough that we couldn't see the houses through the trees anymore, and we still kept going. Eventually, things thinned out, and we could walk without needing to watch our steps.
Scorch galloped forward. "Found the ball!" he exclaimed.
Sure enough, at his feet was our ball sitting in a bed of leaves.
He took some big sniffs on a nearby stone. "Whatever it was was just here; their scent is all over this rock."
I looked around, but it was just us here; not a single thing stirred, not even the trees with the absence of wind.
"It's like they just… disappeared, the scent trail ends here," Scorch said.
That was disappointing. "Man… oh well. Let's just take that ball and head back."
As soon as I picked up the object, I heard something beside me. I witnessed the rock that Scorch was all over change shape into a ball of black and red fur.
"That's mine!" It yelled and lunged with its claws.
I wasn't fast enough to dodge and got nicked in the forearm, immediately drawing blood.
Scorch ran up in front of me and took a battle stance before it could try anything else.
What was this thing? I'd never seen anything like it before. I examined it more closely now that I could safely: it was a fox, covered in smoky gray fur except its black ruff and red accents on the tips of its stubby feet, two small ovals above its eyes, and the atop the tuft on its forehead.
It came at Scorch for another scratch, but his sturdy frame doubled its size and muscle mass, allowing him to take it easily.
"This is a pokémon we can beat! Scorch, flame charge!" I shouted.
He carried out the instruction dutifully and delivered a fiery tackle to the smaller fox. With Scorch's superior mass, he was able to knock the other pokémon around with ease.
It got to its feet and gave Scorch a menacing glare.
"Don't fall for its intimidation tactics; it knows it picked a fight it can't win," I said. "Flame charge again!"
Scorch's fur went ablaze once more as he attacked and hit the assailing pokémon. His speed was picking up quickly, so the charge hit harder than the last, sending it flying.
It wasn't so quick to its feet this time. Its defeat was imminent, and it knew.
"Help!" it cried. "Mommy!"
"Ugh, it's crying now. Scorch, let's finish this quick and get back so I can stop feeling like I kicked a puppy. Ember."
Whatever it was, it was just a cub with little battle experience and kleptomaniac tendencies.
My pokémon built a fire in his chest and let it out as a swift projectile, flying toward the sniveling pokémon. It was on track to hit, but something fell from the trees and took the attack before it could reach.
The ground shook as it fell. It was a large, purple pokémon with wings and big ears. Unlike the fox, I was able to identify this one.
"Holy smokes, it's a Noivern!" I yelled, now unsure of the situation we found ourselves in.
The dragon glared at us. "Your ilk are all the same, attacking little ones and taking them away. Well, this ends now; you're looking for me? You got me, now let's do this."
Its claws began to glow a deep purple as it leered at us; that had to be dragon claw p.
"Scorch, get away from that thing!"
Thanks to his built speed, he was able to avoid the attack by zipping around back, which was great, but I was now left unprotected, face-to-face with a pokémon that could tear me to shreds. I didn't fully recognize it then, but my continued life was at its mercy.
To my surprise, however, it ignored me and looked around, apparently trying to find Scorch again.
This Noivern was acting strange, not at all normal for a wild pokémon.
I saw Scorch trying another ember, but the attack dissipated harmlessly off its hide. It quickly turned around and beat its wings, generating some intense winds.
Scorch couldn't run this time; he lost his footing and was carried into the trunk of a nearby tree.
That looked like it hurt.
With him down, the Noivern pressed forward, preparing to hit him again.
"Wait!" I exclaimed. I wasn't sure what I was trying to do, but anything was better than just watching Scorch get hurt.
Again, the large pokémon deviated from expected behavior and turned my way; its face annoyed, but showing it was listening… was it humoring me?
Thinking back to what it said, I formulated an argument. "We weren't bullying that pokémon; we were just trying to get our ball back that it stole!"
The Noivern turned to face the thieving fox. "Is this true? Did you take something from the humans?" it asked.
"N-no! I didn't take anything, I swear!" it lied, shaking its head vigorously.
"It's lying! The ball is right there in the grass; we just wanted to get it back and leave, but it came out of nowhere and attacked us!" I said. "I got the scratches to prove it, too!"
I presented my arm, from which my blood trickled down from two shallow cuts. The large pokémon inspected it and scowled at the smaller one. "What did I tell you about leaving the forest? This is exactly the reason why you need to stay; you'll brew up all sorts of trouble."
Accepting it was caught, it dropped its charade. "But it's boring! There's no one around to play with; I heard them having fun, and I wanted to have fun, too!" it whined.
The situation having been settled, the Noivern picked up the cub by the scruff and placed it on their shoulder. It dropped its aggressive stance before bowing.
I assumed that was meant to be an apology. "You know, I can understand you. Don't ask me why; I don't have the answer."
It lifted its head in confusion.
"Marco," it said.
"Polo," I responded.
"Well, I'll be; that's something I haven't seen before," they said before rising. "Introductions are probably in order. My name is Lana; what might yours be?"
I thought their voice sounded feminine, but her thick, draconian voice made it hard to say definitively. "Jake, and the Growlithe you were ready to turn into tenderized meat is Scorch. Speaking of, I should check if he's okay."
When we got to him, he was struggling to get to his feet.
"Well, his spine's not broken," I said, earning a glare.
"You are the worst," he spat.
I crossed my arms. "Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. We got some oran berries back at the house; a few of those, and you'll be fine."
"You're crazy if you think I'm walking home; you're carrying me!"
I sighed. "Whatever, you're such a baby."
"Next time, you're fighting the big dragon, and I'll watch," he said, dropping his head to the dirt.
"Wait, hold on, that's not how this works, Scorch," I said, hoping he was fibbing.
Lana could be heard laughing next to me. "Quite the quirky duo, I like you," she said. All the while, the smaller pokémon clung onto her shoulder.
"By the way, what is that pokémon? You never introduced the little brat," I said, pointing them out.
"Brat is right," Lana grumbled, possibly bitter about the incident that unfolded because of it. "This ball of trouble doesn't have a name. He's just a cub, a species known as Zorua. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them. They're native to this nation, but they're good at hiding using illusions."
"Illusions? Is that why he looked like a rock?" I asked.
Lana nodded. "Undoubtedly so."
"Well, if he wanted someone to play with, he could've just asked instead of stealing our stuff!" I complained.
"I disagree; none of this should've happened in the first place because I told him many times to stick close to me and not to leave the forest."
I brought my hand to my chin. "As much as I don't like to defend a thief, I side with him a little. Being confined to a space isn't a way to live; why not let him roam?"
"Because I don't know if you know, but dangerous individuals frequently patrol this forest; they skulk among these trees, searching for us with their tools and pokémon. It matters little that he doesn't like it; his safety trumps fun time," she said.
Hearing her mention people wandering the forest, I immediately lit up. "You know about the people that come through here?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes, they come through almost daily. Their intentions aren't much known, but I know they're looking for me specifically."
"Why? What did you do?"
"Nothing short of existing, but that's precisely the reason. Not to toot my horn, but I am a strong pokémon, and I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of there being a bounty on my head," she said.
Scorch pawed at my ankle insistently. "Don't you be getting any ideas, Jake! They're after her, not you, so let's keep it that way!"
I was about to object, but Lana intercepted me. "Your friend is right. These people are not to be messed with; they're dangerous and are given orders from others even more so."
My lips pursed. "Lana, you talk and act a lot like a human would, you know? Aren't you a wild pokémon? Don't your kind usually live in the mountains of Criag?"
"Yes, and yes," She replied, sitting in the grass; she must've been about to tell a story.
"A long time ago, I was hatched in the nursery of the police headquarters of central Ferta. My life's purpose was to train by and serve the police force under a handler."
"You're a police pokémon? I thought you said you were wild."
"I am. I was released from duty about a year ago by my request," she explained.
That seemed surprising. "You mean they just let you leave whenever you want?"
She shook her head. "Not necessarily. They went through the work to breed us; they wouldn't let us off easy, but there's no use keeping a rowdy pokémon. Me, I served a good term."
She preened the fur of her mane. "I am something over thirty years old by human measures of time, which is approaching old age for my species. As exciting and fulfilling working for them was, I felt the call to begin settling down, so I left to find a home and perhaps a mate in the mountains."
I didn't expect my day to involve being enraptured by the storytelling of a dragon pokémon living in my backyard. It was like we were now living in a fairytale. I wanted to learn more, to glean her knowledge; hear her stories.
"I've never seen a Noivern as a police pokémon; why would they choose your species? Getting a dragon egg and training the hatchling seems like a hassle."
Lana giggled. "Yes, my kind tends to be quite hard to work with, but our potential makes it worth it. For example, I could've opted to subdue you when your Growlithe stopped guarding you, and I would've if you posed more of a threat, but you didn't possess anything dangerous, so I opted to deter you by defeating your pokémon."
"Wait, you frisked me? When did you have time to do that?" I asked incredulously.
"I didn't physically; it's all instinctual. Noivern are able to do that."
Bit by bit, I was beginning to understand.
She stuck out her three claws and tapped each as she went along. "We're fast, we can fly, and we can easily tell if someone is dangerous by just looking at them; we fit the bill pretty well if you ask me."
It was strange to consider a dragon being a member of the police force, almost as odd as them reviving a fossil to use, but the way she puts it makes it seem like a no-brainer.
"Hm," I pondered. "You didn't quite make it to the mountains; they're about an hour south of here by car. What brings you here?"
"Well," she said, looking to the Zorua, who had fallen asleep. "I did make it there, but more of these people were, as they called it, 'harvesting' the local pokémon population. Instead of just sitting there, I saved this little one and flew off, garnering their attention, which is why you see them around here."
"They're here because they're looking for you?" I asked, the gears turning probably visible on my face. "You're pretty good at evading them since you're standing here in front of me."
She nodded. "I've been hoping that they would've forgotten about me after a while, or at least thought I'd left, but they keep coming back in greater frequency, with more equipment and pokémon." She nervously preened through her white mane. "I'm not sure how much longer I can go without being detected here, and if I'm being honest, I'm running out of options that aren't trying to run them off."
"Why not try?" I asked.
Lana smiled warmly. "Honey, I'm confident in my abilities, but I can only handle so many at once; staying low is a much better alternative."
Our conversation was interrupted by a low growling. "If you don't mind, the Growlithe that got hurt trying to protect you would like to get home and rest," Scorch complained.
Oh, right.
I walked over and scooped him up. "Sorry buddy, I got caught up, didn't I?"
He said nothing and chose to pout instead.
"I should go and take care of him. Maybe we could meet again?"
She didn't seem opposed. "If you can find me, I would be happy to. I prefer this area; it's far from the main trail and close enough to the residentials that they don't come around as often."
"Sounds good," I said before Scorch hit me in the face with a paw. "Agh, alright, we're going…"
"Don't forget your item."
The ball was still on the ground. I bent over carefully with my heavy load and grabbed it. "Thank you," I said.
I maneuvered us through the bushes and soon found ourselves back out of the woods. Scorch remained silent as we walked into the kitchen after I struggled with the front door.
Placing him on the floor, I grabbed a bag of oran berries from the refrigerator, poured them into a bowl, and set them down for him to eat. He took his time with each berry, strange considering how he usually was with food.
Let's see what the damage is. I knelt and touched his back, where he collided with the tree. Scorch growled when I would touch a big area. I thought he was being a wimp; he must be hurting.
I got up and dug through one of the cabinets. In the back were some old potions that had been in there for Arceus knows how long. When we would go outside, Scorch wasn't usually the one that got hurt.
Hopefully, they were still good. I grabbed one and returned to his side. He had berry juice all over his face from eating while lying on his side. Apparently, oran berries have properties that encourage healing in pokémon. It was curious, but I was content knowing I'd probably never understand.
Tearing the cover off the nozzle, I pointed it at Scorch's back and pulled the trigger as per the instructions. A vaguely purple liquid sprayed out and seemed to disappear on contact with his fur.
I kept applying the medicine until the bottle was empty, which was discarded. Unsure if it helped, I reached out and lightly touched him again. Unlike last time, he didn't make any complaints.
When he finished with the bowl, I threw it into the sink and wiped his face with a wet cloth.
"Bleh," he spat when I accidentally got the rag in his mouth.
"Sorry," I said, finishing the job. "There, clean face. Now, can you walk?"
Scorch got his feet under him and pushed himself off the floor. He took a few wobbly steps before sitting back down. "It still hurts," he said.
"Hmm, I guess it'll take some time." I scooped him up again and carried him over to the living room, setting him down in his spot on the couch.
"What do you want to watch?" I asked, grabbing the remote on the end table.
He pondered for a bit but decided quickly. "Let's see a movie!"
The TV was tuned to the channel that ran movies at his request. It looked like one just started maybe fifteen minutes ago.
"There. Doesn't look like you missed much." I set the remote down and made to walk away.
"Where are you going?"
Turning around, I saw him gazing at me expectingly.
I gestured in the direction of the front door. "Back outside; you'll be fine in here by yourself."
"What if I fall on the floor?" he asked.
I put a hand on my hip. "You're not going to fall on the floor unless you throw yourself off the couch."
"I'll do it, and it'll hurt bad," he said almost as a threat.
"That's not how a guilt trip works-"
"And it could all be avoided if you sit down and watch a movie with me."
I sighed. He was being difficult; I wondered if he knew I wanted to go back outside just to talk to Lana again. "Scorch…"
"Jake, I fought a dragon for you; the least you could do is watch a movie with me," he firmly stated.
He had a point there, I supposed; not many pokémon like him would've stood up to one like Lana. "Fine, but I gotta go pick up our stuff at least; we don't want anything to get stolen again."
He didn't seem happy about it, but he relented. "Just hurry up; we'll miss the movie."
"Alright, I'll be quick," I said, refraining from telling him we could rewind it if we really wanted to.
Back outside, I gathered up our pile of junk and hauled it all back. In the case of the disc and the rope Scorch ruined, they found their way to the trash bin to be taken out next week.
I glanced at the forest. Lana was in there, and she had answers to so many questions I still had. The temptation to disobey Scorch and find her again was powerful, but I thought better.
There would be another time; I returned to our house.
I could hear Scorch whining the moment I opened the door; patience was not one of his strong suits.
"Relax, I'm coming!" I hollered.
I entered the living room and took my spot on the sofa next to Scorch.
"You were thinking about ditching me and going to see that dragon, weren't you?" he asked in annoyance.
"What? No!"
How did he know?
I quickly turned to the TV to see an ad for the supermarket. "See? Commercials. I bet I got back just in time for the show."
He held a look with me suspiciously."They just started; you missed that whole segment," he said.
"Oh," I said sheepishly. Did I really take that long outside? "Well, uh, what movie is it?"
"The one with the kid that stumbles across a pokémon society."
We'd seen this one a few times before; we'd probably seen most of the films this channel runs at least a few times.
"Do you like it?"
Scorch bobbed his head, pondering his answer. "It's alright," he responded.
I thought about the movie; what a strange concept. "Do pokémon societies exist in real life?" I asked.
He turned his head to stare at me. "What a stupid question, of course they do," he said.
"Really?" I asked, shocked by his answer.
His stare morphed into a scowl. "Jake, I've lived with you all my life; how would I know?"
Oh, right. Stupid.
"Well, uh, I don't know what you do when no one's around. How do we know you don't have some secret life?"
"Ah, yes, a secret society of pokémon within human civilization, a perfect location, if you ask me, not to mention there's no trace of wild pokémon anywhere," he said.
"Hey, we just talked to some, you know, plus Smith's garden does attract pokémon he claims to be wild, so it could be true!"
"Oh yeah? How many were there?" he asked, his voice challenging.
I scratched my head as I tried to dig up a number. "There were probably about six or seven of them in there that I saw, so those goons didn't completely clean out the forest."
I felt the change in energy Scorch was emitting; I was about to hear it. "You don't honestly believe that, do you?" he asked.
The way he delivered that rubbed me wrong. "I do, actually. I can put two and two together in that the wild pokémon are going missing, and there are poachers wandering around in our backyard. I don't see what your problem is."
"My problem is that you're going to get yourself killed. Is it really that hard to understand? You're not some hero, Jake; you're a school kid. That Lana said they were hunting her, and frankly, she beat me pretty handily. If those so-called poachers are looking for her, they're obviously prepared to fight her. If you poke around and get yourself in trouble with them, I don't think I'll be able to help you."
"Scorch, this is obviously a problem, and either no one is aware or no one cares. If no one else will do it, why can't I at least try? Someone's gotta do something."
The pokémon's ears pulled back, teeth bared. "Could you please stop disregarding me and listen? Those people are dangerous! Deal with it like any normal person would; report it. Dad will be home in a couple hours; tell him."
My face must've displayed how unconvinced I was; Scorch's face softened. "Please, I don't know if it's ego, boredom, or what, but you can't keep going down this road. I'll do whatever you want; just please don't talk to Lana ever again," he begged.
He knew she had the knowledge I needed and resorted to this to stop me. Admittedly, it hurt to see him feeling like this was what he needed to do, but this problem can't be ignored any longer. What if they started coming out of the woods? If they weren't satisfied searching for more wild pokémon and started stealing some from people?
The thought of someone stealing Scorch… I knew I had to do something.
"I'm sorry, Scorch, but that's a promise I can't make," I said softly.
Any response I was expecting didn't come. Instead, I watched as he curled into a fluffy ball facing away from me.
"Scorch?"
"You know how I feel about it," he said coldly.
No more words were exchanged between us that afternoon.
I was warming up some dinner when I heard the front door open. Surprisingly, it was my mother.
"Hey, Mom, you're home early," I said, tapping the microwave. It still had another minute to go.
"Hi, sweetie," she said, dropping her handbag on the table. "Yes, I am home early; I've had a rough day, and they let me go early."
"Uff, sorry to hear that, Mom."
She waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry yourself; it happens sometimes. Some things we just have to accept as facts of life."
Thinking she could use something to do, I stopped her before she left the room. "Hey, since you're here, could you take a look at Scorch's back? He was playing with some of the neighborhood pokémon, and things got a little rough."
Emily nodded. "I sure can. Have you done anything for him yet?"
The microwave beeped, briefly interrupting the conversation. I opened the door and removed the enchilada. "Yeah, I applied one of those old potions and fed him a bowl of oran berries. He seemed to be doing alright afterward, but I'm not the vet here; you are."
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, but I'll take a look," she assured before heading toward the living room.
I didn't tell her he'd be there; she knew him well.
Sitting down at the table, I dug into my dinner. Scorch was still upset, judging that he wasn't here begging me for my food.
When I finished, I didn't know what to do. It was still bright outside, but I decided not to go out. Instead, I headed to my room and turned on the TV; too bad there wasn't anything interesting on.
I sat there staring at the screen, stuck in a state of wanting to do something but not knowing what. I despised it; it was a big waste of time.
Eventually, Emily came in and sat Scorch on the foot of the bed. "He looks okay. Like you'd said, there was a bruise on his back, but nothing a pokémon can't tough out; it'll likely be gone by morning," she explained.
"I was surprised those potions were still good," I said.
Emily put a hand on her chin. "I am, too, but I think the low-grade potions are supposed to last longer than the higher-grade ones; something to do with the preservatives hampers the healing properties, I think I'd heard," she said before shaking her head. "Still, we should throw those out and replace them."
"Put 'em on the list!" I said with enthusiasm.
She smiled. "I'll put 'em on the list—oh hi hun, didn't hear you come in."
Henry appeared from around the doorframe. "Silent!" he said in a playful manner only dads could before turning serious. "And I didn't expect you home; everything alright?" he asked her.
"Just one of those days," she muttered.
"Aw, I'm sorry; you can't save them all," Henry said and hugged her.
She accepted gratefully. "You know it's just something I'll never get used to."
I knew a lot of kids my age would complain about their parents being tender in front of them, but I found it very endearing to see how much they cared for each other. It was better than the alternatives, that's for sure; I was lucky.
"Why don't you head to bed? I want to see the little man."
Emily nodded and stepped out of sight, leaving me with Henry. "This is another thing I didn't expect to come home to: you inside, lying on the bed. What's up with that?" he asked.
"Tell him," Scorch barked, not picking his head up.
Henry looked his way and smiled. "Well, hello to you, too, you lazy mutt!"
I turned to Henry and shrugged. "Eh, did enough outside today; just wanted to wind down inside," I said.
I could literally feel Scorch seething; my foot closest to him suddenly felt a few degrees warmer; he was pretty agitated.
"Nothing wrong with that, I suppose," Henry said. He paused and took a look at me. "What's with that face? Is there something wrong?"
I shook my head, trying to be convincing. "No, just tired after an exciting day and ready to rest up for another one tomorrow."
Henry nodded; it was unclear if he was buying it. "Alright, I'll leave you to it, then. If you need me, I'll be in the shower."
With that, he turned and walked in the direction of their bedroom.
I glanced once more at Scorch, but his stonewall held firm. Whatever was going through his head, it came out as heat. Lying under the covers was now uncomfortable the room had become so warm.