NSO Chapter 15

I don't own Pokemon.

Zenith made his way into the kitchen, where his mother sat on a chair at the nearby dining table, drinking a cup of steaming coffee. Zenith's mom was an Espeon called Kelli Schroff. She made Zenith adopt her surname as his own, immediately dropping her late husband's after he passed on. She worked at the Servine Elevens located at the edge of town, mostly working overtime in order to earn as much money as possible. Saturdays were her off days, and she didn't have to go to work.

"Hey, mom." Zenith pulled up a chair of his own to sit at the table. There was a plate of Digestive biscuits on the table, so the Umbreon picked one up and began to bite into it, relishing the taste of sweetmeal. "Any plans for today?"

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine. We both know I can't read your mind."

"Well, at 12 I'm going to that house across the street to meet my friend."

At the sound of the word 'friend', Kelli's perked up, and her two-pronged tail, which was concealed under the table, twitched slightly in both joy and surprise as her mouth widened in a small smile. She hadn't heard that word in a long time.

"So your friend's family's the one that just moved into town a few weeks ago, huh?"

"Yeah. She invited me over."

"That sounds promising. It's been ages since I've remembered you having a friend. How did you two meet?"

Zenith's face flushed red in embarrassment as he remembered how he met Cleo, the incident still fresh and replaying out in his head. Averting eye contact with the Espeon, he muttered, "I just bumped into her in the hallways, that's all."

Kelli's gaze was full of suspicion as she looked at Zenith, the Umbreon staring intently at the biscuit in his paw. She could tell that he was lying, but she was clearly reaching a topic that he was uncomfortable with. She would have to ask him some other time, but for now, it would be wise to change the subject.

"That's nice, Zenith. I'm really glad you were able to find a friend. It'll do you good. My turn," The Espeon's eyes sparkled as she spoke. "There's been this Decidueye that's been somewhat of a regular customer at the store. Comes in after his work hours, we talk for a bit. Yesterday, he invited me on a date, so I won't be cooking anything for dinner today. Feel free to do whatever you like, just tell me first."

"I hope you enjoy yourself, mom."

"You too, Zenith. Just in the right way. I'm going to make lunch. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Thanks."

Finishing off the last of the biscuits, Zenith placed the plate in the dishwasher and headed through a small door next to the kitchen. It led to a smaller, darker, box-filled room. Closing the door behind him, Zenith flipped on a light switch located next to the doorway, The fluorescent light bulb attached to the ceiling flickered and glowed brightly, flooding the room with light. His mom had told him that this room had once contained a car, but it was sold soon after his birth. Now, with the room fully lit, it was possible to see random contraptions and parts strewn all over the floor. In the middle of all the mess was a workbench, with an almost-finished invention on it. It was shaped like a pistol, but there was no slot for a magazine. Instead, there was a Hitmonchen boxing glove attached to its barrel. Removing the Magikarp spring from his utility belt, Zenith worked to attach the bone to both gun and glove. A few tweaks and modifications later, Zenith held a fully functional boxing glove gun in his paws, like the ones seen in cartoons. Looking down on the worn-down glove, the words 'Mach Punch' was scribbled on its white label in his untidy handwriting. Subconsciously, Zenith's eyes flitted to a yellowing newspaper clip that was taped to the wall. The words printed on it were already fading due to its age, but its message was still somewhat readable: Scientists find a way to objectify moves. After searching online and a bout of bargaining later, the Umbreon was able to acquire a Technical Machine for the move for a cheap price. It took him a while, but he eventually managed to infuse the move into the glove. To test out his newest invention, Zenith picked up one of the many drink cans that littered the garage floor and placed it on a box. Aiming the glove gun at the can, Zenith pulled the slide on the pistol and pulled the trigger. The glove flew forward, propelled by the spring to hit the can. With 'Mach Punch' infused into the glove, it was a blur as it hit the can with such speed that not only did it crumple in the middle from the impact, it was launched off the box so fast that it shattered against the garage wall. Satisfied, Zenith was placing the glove gun in an empty box when he heard his mother's voice.

"Zenith! Lunch is ready!"

Pushing the box to one side, Zenith rushed out of the room towards the kitchen, flicking the light off as he did so.

-One lunch later-

"See you later!" Zenith called over his shoulder as he set off towards Cleo's house. It barely took him a minute to get there, since there was only a road separating the two. Like yesterday, the gate still had no sort of locks or latch whatsoever, so he just walked up to the front door and knocked on it.

A green and yellow blur shot out of the door, catching Zenith completely by surprise as he got tackled in the chest, sending him and his assailant sprawling across the front lawn.

"Cleo! Zenith's here!"

Zenith tried to get up, but realised that the grass around his paws had bound his limbs tightly to the dirt, and they were so deeply rooted that no amount of tugging from him could them free. However, looking at the Leafeon that now stood triumphantly on his chest, green tail wagging joyfully, he found it hard to stay mad at Cliff.

I don't even think he knows that he's doing this. I mean, if he knew, he'd definitely be teasing me about this, right? Also, were you caught by surprise too, Dialga?

Nope. I knew it was gonna happen. Just wanted you to know how your life would have gone if I wasn't part of it.

… Screw you.

The front door opened once more and Cleo stepped outside, trying to stifle her laughter as she took in the sight of her little brother pinning down the Umbreon that was twice his size.

"Hey, Zenith. Glad you could make it. Seems like you received a very warm welcome from Leaf. Please come in."

Cleo held the door open, and Cliff leapt off Zenith to race back into the house. As the Leafeon did so, the blades of grass seemed to loosen their grip, and Zenith managed to pull himself free.

"Thanks for the help back there. Did you know your brother could do that?"

"I do, and so does mom, but he doesn't. He's kind of oblivious to his powers. Since you're now free, I guess I can officially introduce you to the Torrent residence. Come on in! My sister's going to arrive soon!"

From the window of her bedroom, Kelli watched the Vaporeon escort her son into the house. The Vaporeon- Cleo, wasn't it? -was too far away for the Espeon to read her thoughts, and she had no idea what Zenith would face in that house. But she knew one thing.

"That Leafeon knocking down my son? That was hilarious. Thank Arceus I got that on my phone."

Inside Cleo's house, the Vaporeon was leading up the flight of steps that had been cordoned off during his previous visit. The house had undergone a complete transformation. Its walls had been given a new coat of snow-white paint, a stark contrast of the fading yellow walls Zenith had seen yesterday. In the living room, a new rug had been set in place, and it covered the entire floor. Pictures had been hung on the wall, showing the same four Pokemon: Mrs Torrent except for a few differently coloured textbooks. Even the large tub of water in the corner of the room was blue as well. Cleo sat on her bed, swaddling herself in the blue blankets, while Zenith plopped himself on the bamboo floor, enjoying the coolness of the wood.

"If you don't mind, can I point out something about your surname?"

He noticed the Vaporeon stiffen slightly, her grip tightening on the sheets, but she nodded, acknowledging and approving his request.

"I mean, it fits you, but it feels weird that your mom's a Flareon with the name Torrent. No offence."

"Her original surname is Pyre. But after she married my dad, she used his surname as his own… until now." Her answer came in a brief, clipped tone. "Then again, your surname is Schroff, so I don't think you should be nitpicking my mom's." Sensing hesitance at the base of the bed, she spoke up first as she saw Zenith slowly open his mouth, knowing the question before the Umbreon could ask it. She had seen him staring at her family photos with a puzzled expression on his face, and he had been on tenterhooks around her ever since, as if finding the correct moment to ask a sensitive question.

"It's about my dad, isn't it?"

An awkward pause, and a small nod.

"B-but if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine by me."

"I think it'll be better if I tell you directly. Who knows what lies and gossip you could dig up on your own," Cleo took a deep breath as if to compose herself before resuming. "He was a good dad. But on the day mom came home with the news about her promotion, he left in the dead of night, with no trace. We have no idea if he's even alive or not. At least, that's what mom tells us."

Cleo was met with stunned silence from Zenith. On the outside, the Umbreon seemed quite calm, but internally, he was fighting to keep his several negative emotions in check. He felt guilty, for making Cleo reveal such a topic to someone outside her family. She really must have trusted him a lot to share the details of such a recent, touchy incident, and he swore silently never to break that trust. He felt anger, at a dad who left a loving family. He had grown up without one and knew how much damage it could do to many aspects of a Pokemon's life. But for one to just vanish from a family of four, without any sort of note or trace, leaving loving members to continuously worry about his whereabouts and state?

What kind of father does that?

Just as Zenith was about to express his thoughts to Cleo, he was interrupted by two loud, sharp honks from outside the large house.

"Oh! My sister's here!" Cleo jumped off her bed, dragging the Umbreon along in her excitement as she dashed to the front lawn.