The Fire in the Rain



We had been walking all day, having not taken a break or stopping for rest. It was like my boy was being driven by something, only this is how he has always been ever since our paths had first crossed so many years ago. I let out a soft bark to catch his attention, who looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.
Only 14 years old and yet acted like he was twice that his age. He is my trainer, my friend and my biggest worry. He stopped walking and just stood there looking at me. Almost like he was trying to figure out a puzzle, until with a sigh he nodded his head slowly.
“I understand, Arcanine, but we need to keep going. We have at least another hour of light left and I want to get as close to Lake Valor as we can.” He argued, face stern and determined.
I let out a soft whimper, walking over to him and gently gave his chest a soft nudge with my nose.  My boy reached up and gently scratched behind my ear, making me hurr softly and return his affection with another gentle nudge to his chest again.
“Alright boy, we’ll find a place to rest for the night.” He said, though I could tell he was a little annoyed. I didn’t think anything of his annoyance; if I wasn’t here I know he would have kept walking until he had passed out. My boy always needed me to pull him back and tell him, in my own special way, to stop and rest.
 
We walked for another ten minutes before coming across a small inlet in the side of a rock formation. It would provide us with shelter and keep the heat of a fire. I padded over to the back of the inlet and laid down. I watched my boy carefully, my warm amber eyes never leaving him for a single second.
My boy’s name is Daniel; he did have a last name but it has been forgotten, having abandoned it shortly after he and I left on our own path and leaving it, along with other things, behind us both. He came over and patted the top of my head before heading outside, though staying in my line of sight. I watched him as he collected leaves and some wood from a fallen tree. Once he had collected a sizeable pile, he came back in and dumped the pile in front of me, I let out a soft breath of fire, setting it alight and releasing a wave of warmth into the cave. This made my boy smile, though only for a second.  Daniel threw his bag against the wall and then walked over to me. Taking a seat and leaning against my chest, I knew he was grateful for the warmth of my body and the softness of my fur against him.
This was how we spent most nights. My boy leaning against me until he either made something to eat or fell asleep from exhaustion. Sometimes he would talk out loud, not knowing that I always listened, but I think he just needed to voice his thoughts most of the time. He kept so many things hidden away in his mind. They weighed him down, I could see it constantly on his face and in the way he looked at me and others.
 
“When we get to the Pokémon centre tomorrow, we’ll rest for a couple of days before moving onto Lake Valor. I want to get in some training before we move onto the next Gym,” my boy said before coughing harshly. Instantly I became worried. He had been coughing rather badly for the past couple of days. I leaned forward and gently gave his cheek a lick and a soft whine to show my concern for him.
“I’m…… I’m ok, Arcanine, just a sore throat. Most likely because of all the yelling I did during those matches this past week. which you were wonderful at, by the way,” Daniel said as he rubbed the top of my muzzle. I looked at him with concerned eyes, a whimper escaping my lips as I nuzzled his chest.
My boy looked at me, giving me one of those smiles that I had come to learn meant that he wasn’t telling me the whole truth. Deciding not to let this one go I nudged his chest again, a little more forcefully and let out another whimper.
“Arcanine quit it ok, I’m fine. Now just leave me alone.” He snapped at me before standing up and taking a seat next to his bag. He pulled his knees to his chest and held them there with his arms. My ears laid flat against my skull and I lowered my head down onto the floor. I hated it when he snapped at me. Surely he knew that all I had was his best intentions at heart? Why couldn’t he open up to me?
 
That question wouldn’t be answered today as a flash of light from outside was soon followed by the loud rumble of thunder, announcing the arrival of a storm . My boy instantly leaned up and looked around. I knew what this meant and I let out a loud whine as I stood up, backing away from my boy. Daniel sighed as he reached into his bag and pulled out my Pokeball.
“I’m sorry, boy, but you know my rules. If there is a thunder storm I want you inside your Pokeball. That way you won’t get wet; you are a fire type after all,” he said as he pointed it at me and smiled again.
“See you later, boy.” Daniel said to me before I saw a red light and then darkness.
Being inside a Pokeball is not exactly a bad thing. For when we go into them we are able to live in our dreams and memories. I hated being in it. I hated being separated from my boy and the memories and dreams I had always made my heart break each and every time.
 
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
 
Six years ago I was just a stray Growlithe wandering through the forest that was near Floaroma Town, scavenging for food and keeping away from the human populace. One night when I was walking between the trees, sniffing around for a scrap of food,  I heard the sound of crying coming from someplace near to where I was. Deciding to investigate, I slowly made my way in the direction I believed that the crying was coming from.
What I came across was my boy, obviously smaller and younger back then. Only eight years old as far as i could tell and he was huddled against the trunk of a tree. I stayed hidden and watched him. There was no one else around, the only scents I was getting were of a couple of Pokémon that were nearby, but there weren’t any humans as far as I could tell.
The boy’s clothes were way too big for him and covered in dirt. From what little of his skin I could see, I was horrified to see deep and angry bruises on them. Some looked old while others were still developing.  I stayed hidden in my spot for nearly two hours before I could no longer listen to his crying anymore.
 
I stepped out and slowly began to crawl my way towards him. Stopping a few feet away, I laid my head on the ground and let out a soft whimper. The boy looked up and saw me, not scared, not intrigued, he simply looked at me for a minute before burying his head back into his knees.
I made my way a little closer to the small human. The boy didn’t look up, but I kept stopping every now and then until I was in front of him. Reaching forward and I gently nudged his leg. The boy looked up at that, looking down at me as he wiped away his tears.
“H….hey there boy….” he said in a small voice. I gently nudged him again and let out a soft whine. The boy looked at me and slowly began to reach forward, his hand stopping every few centimetres, almost afraid to touch me, until his hand rested between my ears and he began to give me a gentle stroke.
“I… I’m sorry boy….. b…but I don’t have any food for you.” He said in that small and frail voice. I pressed into his hand and hurred softly. Having never been petted by a human before, I found it oddly relaxing.
“Your fur is so soft…. And warm…. I…. I didn’t know there were any Growlithe here in the sinnoh region.” The boy stated as he dropped his knees and sat cross-legged, leaning forward as he continued to stroke my fur, giving a gentle scratch behind my ear, which made me whine a little in enjoyment and my tail begin to wag.
 
“Are you all alone?” he asked, looking around, as if he was expecting a trainer or possibly another Growlithe to come along. I looked up at him and gently shook my head from side to side with another whine, only this time it was a whine of loneliness.
“I’m sorry to hear that…. If…. If it helps…. I’m all alone as well,” he stated, looking at me for a bit, like he was trying to make his mind up about something. I looked up at him and gently began to lick his palm, just enjoying the company of the young human, and seeing him begin to relax a little around me.
“P….please…. don’t bite me….” he asked in a shaky voice as he reached down to me and gently wrapped his arms around my waist. Pulling me into his lap where he began to run a hand along my spine.  At first I was scared, not knowing what the boy was going to do. But when he settled me comfortably in his lap and began to stroke me, I rested my head on his knee and my tail wagged a little faster.
 
“It’s…. It’s ok boy…. We… we can keep each other company.” Hearing that made me bark softly, my tail swishing even faster, gently batting his side as it did. I don’t know how long we were sat there but we stayed silent, listening to each other’s breathing while the boy stroked my fur and commented on it’s softness and warmth.
It was so nice and pleasant that I fell asleep in his lap. When I awoke, the boy was gone. I let out a howl and listened to see if he would respond, but when he didn’t I lowered my head. That boy had shown me kindness without wanting anything back. I needed to find him again, to pay him back and because something told me he needed help just as much as I did.
I began sniffing the air around me, homing in on his individual scent. Once I had it, I began to follow it, beginning my search for the boy I had come across by chance.
As I look back on the events that had brought us together, I soon began to feel that it hadn’t been chance at all. Something had brought us together; two lonely and searching souls, looking for someone to be there for them.
 
My train of thought was interrupted as I felt the familiar feeling of being called out.
 
X-X-X-X-X-X-X
 
I shook myself and stretched a little as I once again found myself in the same cave, sun streaming through the opening, indicating that I had been in my Pokeball all night. My boy was sat against the wall, a blanket wrapped around him as he yawned.
I walked over and began to sniff him over, checking to see if he was OK and that nothing bad had happened to my precious boy. Daniel looked up at me and smiled weakly as he reached up and began to softly scratch behind my left ear.
“I… I’m OK, boy…. Just a little tired.” I heard him say as I laid down next to him, his body felt freezing cold to me. This made me shuffle all the closer, trying to warm him up with my body heat. My boy seemed to understand what I was trying to do, leaning against my chest as he ran his fingers through my fur.
“T…thank you boy” he whispered softly as he began to cough again. Even more harshly than he had the previous night. My worries about him grew even more. I did a quick sniff of the air; there were no residual scents of food that he may have cooked. I could only guess that he hadn’t eaten.
 
I let out a soft whimper and looked back at Daniel. But he had already fallen asleep, his body shaking a little as I gently nudged him, trying to wake him up.
“F…five more minutes Arcanine… please” He said in his sleep as he rolled over, facing away from me and pressed against my side even more, I could only guess as an attempt to stay warm from my body heat. I knew my boy was ill; that was the only explanation for his actions, not to mention the coughing and his temperature. I began to try and think of what I could do. I didn’t want to leave him here on his own... That was when I had an idea. I brought my head around and lowered it to his belt that held 5 other pokeballs. Gently I pressed my nose against one and in a flash of light Daniel’s Luxray appeared before me.
She looked at me and then at the form of our sleeping trainer.
“Arcanine, what’s wrong?” she asked as she laid down next to me, her body now pressed against Daniel’s other side.
“He’s ill, Luxray, he hid it from me despite how many times I tried to get him to rest or take it easy. I can’t do anything so long as I’m trying to keep him warm. There is a Pokémon Centre nearby; I’m going to run there as fast as possible and bring help back for him. I promise you I will back as soon as I can,” I explained quickly.
 
Luxray looked between me and the boy before she nodded her head.
“I understand, Arcanine. Hurry back! If I need to get him warmer, I’ll just bring out some of the others,” she said as, using her tail, she gently repositioned Daniel so that he was leaning against her side and not mine.
I stood up and shook my body, looking at my boy and letting out a whimper as I bent down and gave his cheek a soft lick.
“I’ll return as soon as I can, my boy, I swear to you,” I promised him, earning a slight smile and a sigh of relaxation from him.
“Run fast and safe journey Arcanine.” Luxray said as she then focussed her attention on caring for the human. With a last look at him I turned and ran out of the cave, immediately turning the way we had been going yesterday and sprinting off as fast as I could.
 
Trees passed by me as nothing but green blurs, my eyes focussed ahead of me, my nose constantly checking the air for the scent of other humans. Daniel had said that the Pokémon centre was nearby, I just needed to find it. As I ran, I began to berate myself for not catching on sooner that my boy had been ill. I thought he would have told me if he wasn’t well, but then again that human was more stubborn than a Gyarados.
Yet, that still caused issues between the two of us. There were days in which I felt like we were brothers, that we knew everything about the other and could do the smallest of things to make the other smile, but then there were days when I looked at my boy and saw a total stranger. Each time that happened I felt so alone inside, like he was in a place he wouldn’t allow me to follow him into. 
The scent of humans filled my nostrils and I instantly zeroed in on it. It had to be the pokemon centre. At last a little bit of luck! I changed direction quickly and followed my nose, running towards the salvation I needed. I didn’t know what I would do when I got there, as I would need to tell them somehow that my trainer needed help. If there was a chansey at the pokemon center, like there normally is, then that would help out a lot, but I couldn’t worry about ifs at this moment in time. I was focussed on one thing and one thing alone. 

As I ran towards what i hoped was my boy’s salvation, my thoughts once again turned to the events that brought the two of us together. Like a whisper on the breeze, my mind returned to events that had passed, my mind’s way of helping me deal with the worry and concern I had for the human that I had travelled with ever since I had been nothing but a puppy, lost and alone. 


X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

I had spent a full day following the scent of the boy whose lap I had fallen asleep in. I had wanted to catch up to him sooner, but my empty belly and lack of energy prevented me from doing so. I followed the scent into a small little town that was surrounded by fields of flowers. I had never been to this place before. I was in total awe at its beauty and the fresh smells from multiple species of flowers.
It was truly beautiful, yet I brought my thoughts back to my goal, my nose homing in on the scent of the human that I had met in the woods. His scent was faint, yet I could easily follow it to the source.

As I made my way through the town, I kept to the walls of the buildings, not wanting to be seen by any trainers. I was always afraid of getting caught (not that I hadn’t thought about it), I just wasn’t really ready to be teamed up with a human; yet now I began to think about what it would be like to be this boy’s pokemon. He had been so nice to me, not to mention I had enjoyed the petting and stroking. The feeling of his fingers running through my fur made my tail sway behind me. Even now that memory made me smile. 
Yet, at the same time, it confused me, the way I was beginning to feel so strongly for a boy I had barely met. Maybe it was because he reminded me of myself and I felt sorry for him, just another lonely soul looking for a friend. Or was it something else? No matter what, something inside was urging me on to find the boy and try and cheer him up. 
Following his scent was pretty easy and it lead me towards the outskirts of the town. Every now and then somebody would point at me. Scared that I was going to be captured, I quickly ran off and hid for a few minutes, waiting patiently until I felt that it was safe again, making my short trip to the human boy’s location even longer then it should have been. 

By taking it slow and keeping as quiet as I could, I came to what I assumed was the home of the boy I met. It was a small little place on the outskirts of town, surrounded by trees that nearly made it hidden from the prying eyes that were on the main path that lead into town, but the boy’s scent was strong here. 
Playing it safe, I made my way around the back of the home, trying to see if there was anything I could stand on to look inside. The garden around the boy’s home was immaculate. There truly was nothing out of place and it seemed very pleasant; that was until I heard the sound of raised voices coming from inside. I couldn’t hear what was being said but it didn’t sound friendly. That was when I began to grow concerned for the boy. Despite not knowing him, he had shown me kindness. The least I could do was show him some in return. 

I did two full circles of the house before I could identify a place that I could look through the window. I just needed to hop onto the bins near it, only I was scared that I would fall off and alert them to my presence. Taking a deep breath, I jumped up onto the bins. There was a soft rattle, but nothing that would be heard from inside. Sighing in relief, I looked in through the window. What I witnessed next shook me to my core and still haunts me to this day. 

Inside I saw the boy who had been kind to me, but he was crying, sitting on the floor in fear as his father yelled and screamed at him. I didn’t understand what about but his face was red with rage and the boy was scared, frightened of his own father. I had always thought before that human parents were protective and kind to their children. Never before had I witnessed something like this before. A low growl emanated from my throat as I watched on. 
The father continued to yell at the boy as he shied away. I tried to listen what was going on, but I couldn’t hear anything, so I stood frozen, horrified, unable to make sense of it. The boy began to speak back, trying to defend himself from what I could tell. The father just shook his head and began to yell again, making the boy cringe and try to back away from him. His father wasn’t to let him get away; he reached out and grabbed his arm tightly. The boy began to try to pry his father’s hand off his arm. The father began to shake his son a little. Carrying on with his rant as the boy cried and tried continued in his efforts of trying pull his fathers hand free. 
I could feel tears running down my furred cheeks as I watched this, my heart breaking. How could anyone with as kind a heart as this boy deserve this sort of treatment? That was when it happened, when my life changed (in my opinion it changed for the better). The father held his son’s arm tight as he brought his free hand back and struck his son across the face, making him fall to the floor. In that instant my world fell apart. In my mind I was floating in nothingness yet something tethered me to the ground. Something held my stable footing. It was was this boy; he was now the center of my world. 
With a deep growl I pulled back and launched myself through the window, shattering the glass as I went to the rescue of he who was now my whole world. 

End of Part 1