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Luna and Thief Christmas Special: A Hue of Frost.

July Fourteenth: Twenty Eighteen.

That was the date which rested on Griffin's phone as he'd skim over the screen in the dim light of the Hotel rooms' washroom. Where the water slowly steamed up after he let it run for a while and had just enough water in it to cover her legs. He gently took the shower head from the wall and diverted the water to it. The temperature was hot for him but for a Vulpix it couldn't have been that hot at all, so he began to gently run it over her fur and head while his fingertips ran through her course and thick fur. It astonished him, now that he was dressed comfortably enough, exactly how tangled and hopeless her pelt was. A soft gentle chuckle slipped past his lips and he'd lather the shampoo through his fingers and palms after he gave her pelt a soak. His hands froze before the pressed against her fur more. There was a small memory that lingered between them and like a wall of white before him all he could picture and see... Was the Poochyena that his brother and him found in the woods, one which never went near them. That's what her fur was like... tangled and rough and hopelessly everywhere; twigs and other things clung to it. Griffin remembered that it was his mother, Brother and himself that cleaned that same Poochyena up the first time; that was around this time too. Coming down to the end of an... empty summer which was all that gently raced through his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he'd run his finger tips through her scalp gently and softly, while his finger rolled around her scalp, his thumbs rolled down her cheeks and scratched under her chin. It was all too familiar, the way he did that too. All Griffin felt was the fur which roughly brushed against his palms as he'd lather the Shampoo into her scalp and then down her back - he'd roll his fingertips against it as though to scratch her gently and began to knead it in.

He hardly knew what he was doing, but Luna simply rested her head against the corner of the tub as he'd lather the shampoo into her fur and massaged her back. It was surprisingly hot to the touch; like a fiery hurricane which barely quelled its wind and pyre. That's what he felt against her fur and the soft rise and fall of her breaths. Not a single thought came to his mind as though a small unexpected switch just turned off. Griffin was simply focused on working the soft; fluffy cream into her hide. It had this rich green color which would turn to suds due to the water and moisture... Those were like pillows in the sky on a sunny day. Clouds which covered her head; cheeks... back and eventually he'd work his way down her back and towards her tails. Those were something else to deal with as his fingers gently hooked as he'd run them through each one individually. From time to time he added more of the Shampoo. He could barely catch onto this scent from it... something that resembled either pine or spring; it was hard to tell and so faint that Griffin could barely pick up on it. While holding the shower head he'd run the water over her and muttered ever so gently for her to keep her eye's closed; his single hand would run gently through her fur. He used quite a bit of the bottle; Griffin had no clue how much he needed to use; all he knew was the water had turned from a crisp clean to a murky grey and that left him to wonder if fur just trapped dirt that much.

Griffin only imagined and questioned if Luna had ever really been cleaned and washed like this before. The way how her eyes were shut as though something this simple and easy was heaven for her. That was the look on her face, relaxed... content with the hot water and the soap. The scent of the shampoos' oils and agents. The water ran down her scalp and then he ran it down her back only to watch every little trail flutter across her pelt. As though he watched a web of small rivers and streams against every single strand of red-wood fur now matted down with soapy water. It left him to gently sigh; the entire small room steamed up and it occurred to him that he forgot to turn the fan on... Not that he really cared. He just went for her tails with the head and his hand and gently curled his palms through all of them; following the length of those pushy unkempt sprawls. Her fur wasn't long; compared to Bandits, it was this medium-light pelt of finer fur which grew so closely together it made her look fierce and wild. Yet with the hot water over her... it really showed off her size. Thin; gaunt in some ways, this lop-sided build where her hind legs were stronger then her front. Her shoulders were thin and rounded; as though she spent most of her time running or standing on two legs for whatever given reason.

Griffin knew that Luna never stood on her two legs and whenever she did it was to get his attention, like how she did in Vermillion. Griffin gently ran through her final two tails; his fingers crossed through them softly, tenderly. The fur was uneven in some places as though they got snagged on everything and pulled hairs out. It was the sudden tilt of her head and the way she looked back at him which made him swallow as he'd grab the brush. He had this old wire brush nearby. The kind that was worn and well used, but here he grabbed a shorter rubber brush for her fur. He started at the scruff and made his way down in long strides, the kind that he tried to keep even all the way down to the base of her tails even though Griffin knew that he still needed to get her underside cleaned too. The brush made her back stretch forward and arch as he'd run it through her fur; he kept doing that until it looked straightened out and clean. Then he'd take the tails one by one. Each one was gnarled and knotted and a complete mess to say the least. Griffin remembered the first time he even cleaned a Pokémon's tail. There was this unknown rule of trust when it came to be touching a Pokemon tail; regardless of how long a trainers' Pokemon has been with their owner. So, it left Griffin entirely blank when it came to Luna; they were absolute strangers, a Human and their Pokemon whom had hardly traveled that long together... and she was entirely contempt and calm when he ran the brush through it. The way how it snagged, and he'd tried to find the brush through without causing discomfort. It made him think anxiously about his neck, where the small Vulpix had bit him. The marks were still there, just enough that it broke skin. Enough that it left him to bleed as though she suddenly became entirely feral. Every team has a wild card right? It came to Griffin's mind Is that a good thing? To have a wild card... someone so unexpected and... exciting? Why did you become so wild? He thought to himself without much of an answer. Something that easily made that weight and feeling of being overwhelmed to was over him. Are you here to teach me something? What is it...? Those were the only thoughts which graced Griffin's mind as he'd look over her with curious eyes. Her tangled mess of a fur was soaked down and flat, the rubber brush ran through her hide repeatedly as he'd bring it back down to her tails. Where is the sign? Why would you... stay? Why would any of them? I'm hardly a... trainer. My brother is the trainer, not me. Griffin thought to himself as the brush chased through her tails, it made her flick it out as Luna's amber-brown eyes would skim back to look his way. Couldn't it just be some simple adventure? It was like that in Hoenn. Everything was so simple and quiet, like I was blind to the world and now, out of the blue it hits me with... life? Is this life for people? Being... paranoid of one another? Worried? Is that what I want to learn? It softly came to Griffin's thoughts as he'd gloss over Luna. _Are you... going to teach me what that is... Luna? Is that why you're here, now? Are you going to show me what life is? That maybe... just maybe... it's more then just some empty dream? _

Griffin held his hand and the brush against the side of the bathtub while his lungs filled with hot, steamed air from the scalded water below him. He'd cautiously place his hand against her side. It made her... jolt, as though she suddenly saw Griffin as something... unknown. His hand gently pulled back in this soft sense of fright. I'm that displaced? Emotional? I read that Pokemon could sense emotions beyond what humans can. Griffin heard the thought come to his mind. His palm was outstretched and stiff. There was no comfort suddenly, just emotions which churned and swallowed him whole while he was stuck with the picture of a Poochyena in his mind. Why do... I feel like you're trying to give me something I never had the chance to... have? To watch her grow. To... watch... Her... _ Griffin felt his chest tighten and sting in ways he hadn't felt in a long, long time. It was the sudden flush of fear which left him to hold his breath for just a moment. _It hurts... it still hurts... Just picturing it all. I... can't... Griffin let go of the brush and reached over to drain the water. Luna could only look up at him with curious eyes as she'd watch the water flush around her paws. Griffin felt that little gaze on him as he'd feverishly rub his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. There was a voice that shocked through his head as his fingertips rolled over that one little spot on the back of his scalp. "You have a good head on your shoulders; see! Screwed on tight! It's not going anywhere. So, use it honestly." The voice blurred his vision as he'd went from draining the hot water to drying his Vulpix off with one of the towels. It left her fur a mess, something which he corrected with that rubber brush nearby. Griffin needed to sit down, that feeling of vertigo, one that was all too familiar, rushed over him without any delay and as he'd finish with her fur, or at least the best he could do, Griffin stood up so quickly that all the blood ran from his head to his legs. It left him to see speckles of black and shadows all through his eyes, the sporadic feeling of car-sickness came to him even though he wasn't anywhere near one. That's where his palm gripped against the door frame and he'd take a moment to breathe heavily. My heart isn't racing... but it all... hurts._It pressed against him as he'd wander out of the washroom, his full weight on the wall nearby as he'd glance around the pitch-black hotel room. The light from the bathroom was all that graced the room, left it all to glow as he'd stare at an alarm clock in the corner, one with a standard red LED overlay, the time said it was almost ten at night. He only spent half an hour cleaning her, maybe even less... Griffin heard her paws touch the floor in the bathroom as he took out his phone and headphones. "I just... need a minute... Luna, I'm sorry." Griffin began to say as she'd stall her paw and look up at him. Her single paw was in the air as she'd look into his eyes. They stayed like that for less than a second, but it felt like an eternity to Griffin. _It's like... Marill too... It came to Griffin's thoughts as he took out his headphones and plugged them into his phone. With a wavered walk, he wandered across the hotel room and found himself in this small chair. Luna just stayed on the other side of the room, sat down on her tails - left them against the carpet as Griffin plugged his phone into an outlet nearby and looked through his music library for a song, he thought he had deleted a long, long time ago. It was a catchy little song... a little corny but one he knew nearly by heart. It was a song he heard even out of season... all because of his father. His finger nervously stalled on the play button as his leg seemed to tap nervously against the chair. Griffin just hung his finger over it... read the name repeatedly in this mix of angst and... need. He needed to hear the song. Griffin simply needed to hear his voice again. He just wanted him to tell him, to teach him... as he'd play the song. A pointless, catchy little song would start... one produced back in the seventies. That song... was simply 'December 1963', by the Four Seasons.

November Twenty Seventh; Two Thousand and Seven

---

Griffin remembered snow, that's what was all around them as he'd stand out in the chilly air with a big poofy jacket and an angry; red and tear ridden face. The way how he'd angrily throw the bat he had on the ground always made him remember a certain face. The kind that didn't look at him with anger or disappointment... It was this mixture between a serious face and a grin. "Now there's no reason to get upset." It was a soft voice, one which only left Griffin to get even more upset. "It's stupid! I can't hit it!" Griffin remarked with a red-faced pout "I can't play with it." The man in front of him seemed to smile. He had this partially longer face and dark brown hair. His eyes were this... green color - Griffin knew that eye color. The kind of man that stood almost six feet and appeared as though at one point in his life he was to be athletic. Now he was this well-kept, professional looking older man but... delightfully chubby - the kind that Griffin remembered jumping on or even playfully poking with his finger-tips or palm. He'd always say that it was like jelly. "That's a lot of 'I cant's'" He'd quip gently and laugh a little "Look, alright... are you listening?" He'd begin, and Griffin simply huffed back at him. "Look, I'll help you, but I need you to listen." He'd express, softly... wonderfully. It was this look on his face and the gentle stall which made Griffin wonder if he ever really knew what he was doing because he always had the answers. All the man did was open the bag he had with him and take out a small tee. The kind that would hold the ball up. "I'll teach you how to hit the ball, there's a special secret to it." The man said with a soft chuckle "Alright, it's a special secret." He'd mention, and Griffin remembered how his eyes lit up to that. How he'd pick the bat back up with his face still red and bitter. The Tee stood maybe only a foot and a half high; just high enough that Griffin could hit it with the bat. The man would go along around him and reach over to help him hold it. "Now this bat is a little too long, put your hands further up on it." He'd say and help Griffin's gloves choke up on this small wooden bat. It was some old thing, as though they had it laying around forever. "See, now..." He'd place a leg near his foot "Put your boot against mine, just like that. So, we're going to swing the bat, slowly - just touch the ball with it. Don't hit it." Griffin did, with his Father helping him cross the small wooden bat. It would only touch the ball, barely even move it. "See, just like that. Now we'll do it again." He'd say and helped Griffin learn the form to hit the ball. "Looks like you can!" He commented with a smile "Not much good comes out of being upset and saying all of those 'I cant's'" He'd mention "Now..." His father let go of the bat. "Try to touch the baseball. Just touch it." They kept on doing that, learning how to just line up the ball; like how Griffin saw on TV... that's why they were out there on a cold November day. His father would just watch; that sort of pot-belly tall man with large arms and a clean-shaven face. This shortly cut brown hair and the plume of his breath in the frosty chilled air. It all slowly fluttered and danced in Griffin's mind. A little laugh came from Griffin's mouth, the kind that was still clearly upset with everything that happened before. Where he just couldn't even touch the baseball when it was gently lobbed to him.

"Now go along and try to hit it!" His father expressed and got on the other side where the ball would go. Griffin swung that bat after he brought it back to his shoulders. He hit the ball, and Griffin never felt anything more delightful then just that. He'd excitedly chitter on about it "Alright, alright! Now focus; let's hit the ball again." His father said gently as he bent down to grab the ball out of the snow. Griffin remembered that his father never wore gloves... even in this cold weather. The ball was set back up on the Tee, something that ignited Griffin's eyes in sheer delight and his father got back into a position to catch it. Now Griffin could never get that 'Crack!' or 'Pop!' like sound when he hit it, it was more like this... 'tap' like noise. Regardless of how hard he swung the bat... But the ball flew; it flew a modest few feet away. It was anything but professional, but it was the best thing that Griffin could remember. They both stood out in the cold, snowy weather - a light droplet of white would flutter down around them as the sunshine had flicked through the clouds which rolled above them. The field was more like a small hill at a nearby park which was decorated with lights... or amid being so eventually. It was always odd for Griffin when it came up to this time of year. Especially when his dad was obsessed with Christmas... A Westerner thing; but it was so appreciated in Japan that... he'd say it was always recreated and even better there... then in America. He was just a Japanese-Mexican citizen, whose father was native to Japan and lived in the States before he met his mother. That's when Griffin and Logan's father came back home. He'd set up the ball one more time. "Alright; let's hit this one with your eyes closed... and then we'll go for some hot chocolate!" His father would say with a playful laugh. "So, close your eyes, you've hit the ball every time so far, you can_do it even like that." Griffin nervously shut his eyes and like any child with a wonderful dream he had to picture himself as a league player. The kind of player with a team, the kind that had all these friends and he was bottom of the ninth with all of it on him. So, Griffin breathed. **_He breathed.** that was the kind of peace and rest that made all those little pointless day dreams seem possible; especially when he hit that ball on the little stand in front of him. Eye's closed and surrounded in a world of imagination. Griffin never felt anything more exciting then that, at least here in this memory. Some part of him knew he was still in that dark hotel room with his eyes closed and a silly little song playing in his ears... but he felt like he was there. He felt like he was just there with a little wooden bat in his gloved hands and a happy grin on his face as his dad would pick him up and tell him that he did it. That all he had to do was know that he could. That all he needed was a little guidance and some practice. It was this little shop that they went to after, the kind where he'd just sit in a chair with a little cup that steamed against the hot air... his dad ordered one too.

Just hot-chocolate with whipped cream on top. The door was nearby them and every time it opened - the snowy and chilly air would flick and whisk the steam all over the room. It was nearly December, and it was already clumped on the sidewalks and roads with a blanket of white. That cup of hot chocolate was still too... toasty for Griffin to drink out of, but the porcelain glass warmed up his otherwise frosty and icy gloves just fine. That was a little part of the fun; having his gloves and his cold little fingers warm up from hot chocolate. His toque over his head - the kind with big white tassels on the end and his hair sticking out at the sides solely because his hair was messy and in desperate need of a cut. He remembered that his dad would mostly look out the window and drink from the cup, already. His hands looked... red. Yet it didn't bother him one bit; that always made Griffin tilt his head. The running joke was always that he had 'Dad hands' since again... they seemed simply invincible. There was no other way to put it. Griffin remembered something, like a big gust of wind which shocked cold air all down his back and the nape of his neck. "Oh; Fletching!" The voice said, and Griffin partially turned his head towards the familiar voice. He couldn't remember exactly their name, they ended up moving for some new family that came in down the road. The name partially came to Griffin's mind... he wanted to say... May or... Brendan... Griffin had to scratch his memories for a name. Norman came up. But he couldn't remember this one neighbor, it was a sort of... blur. "Hey." His dad replied as Griffin sank partially in his chair. "I thought you were out driving deliveries today." "Ah... you know just stopping in for a coffee. Got the little one with you! ..." He'd say and scratched Griffin's toque. "Yeah, I do... I..." There was a curious pause as Griffin could remember this look on his father's face; one that seemed... chiseled with concern. "haven't seen you around for the A.A meetings as of late. You... doing alright?" There was this silence after that. "Yeah. That... all you wanted to ask? I've been doing great! Just busy with running deliveries all over - from Littleroot to Slateport!" Griffin heard the name of the city. "I wanna go to Slateport someday!" He'd interject, and his dad gave a silent laugh "We'll all go down there and see the beach during summer! I promise you that little guy!" He'd say and drank out of his cup. "How's the missus?" He'd ask the man and he'd seem to make a noise. "Well... a little upset; honestly. I mean she's still worried I'll go back to the bottle... at some point. I haven't yet, I should be at the next meeting! I have time off and I'll be able to chat with all of you." He'd say "So how's the older one doing? Last time we chatted; you mentioned he's been going off the handle with wanting to become a trainer." The stranger, to Griffin at least, expressed and his father nodded "Yeah, I can barely watch my shows on the TV; he's so glued to watching the competitions. I don't get it myself... they're... violent in my eyes. Makes me worry I guess." He'd say "I'd honestly hate to see one get hurt, especially when... well it's a Pokemon; they're pets basically, why would you want a member of the family fighting like that? You know?" He'd explain, and Griffin finally got to sipping his hot chocolate, in silence. He didn't understand the conversation at all back then. "You just wanna watch the potato show." Griffin commented as his father began to laugh, and loudly. It made the stranger giggle after a while of his infectious laughter. "I love M*A*S*H. It... used to air when I was younger; just wrapping up. I have one of those satellite setups, so I still get my American shows." He began to laugh. "It's uh... nice to see all those things get resolved in the way they do." His neighbor started to laugh harder after the explanation. "I can see how your son is confused." He'd laugh and mutter "Mash! Potato show, kids... that's too funny." Before he'd look to the till "I should get that coffee and head on out. Those deliveries aren't going to drive my truck for me. I'll see you later, at the meeting - I promise." His father held up a palm to wave the man away and Griffin turned to look at him. It was a person shorter then his dad with black hair. He only had the chance to see the back of his head - it was a neighbor he rarely saw in person. Griffin just sipped his hot chocolate and noted "It's still a potato show..." Which left his dad to grin, this silly little grin as that small cup pressed against his lips. He'd just glance out the frosted window of the small little shop... Griffin remembered it was one closer to Oldale, rather than in Littleroot. There was never much to do out in Littleroot; the town being something so small and backwoods like but filled with all sorts of newer attractions now... In fact; Griffin even went to school down in Oldale when he was younger. Just this little town further away from the beaches and out of view from this wonderful little cove he knew so clearly. The kind where he found all sorts of treasures. The kind where a picture became everything that he held dear. One that he believed in but feared to look at. One... that he couldn't have the fearless pride and desire to show it to the careful, watchful eyes of the world.

Without much of a noise or a sound Griffin just sat there with his little beige cup; drank the sweet and warm liquid from it as it would flutter down his throat and chest. It was wonderfully hot. The way how his entire insides were coated with frost and slowly turned rearward to this warmth that resembled a gentle fire; one that would burn and crackle inside of a mantle back home. His father passed Griffin a small little look before he tussled his toque. "Almost done Griffey?" He'd say, and Griffin gave a big smile "Almost..." He'd reply, and his father would patiently wait for him. That man always did that. Patiently wait for his children, to watch and understand this world beyond himself. To begin every day with the idea of learning something knew about himself. About finding this virtue that only his children could see so clearly; as though it were crystal. The last few sips were always too sweet for Griffin to finish, since all the sugar always piled up on the bottom; there was this change of taste that made him make some face. A face which left his dad to laugh a little "You don't need to finish it all." He'd mention, and Griffin put the now empty cup on the table. "You finished yours!" He explained and obnoxiously clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth; not unlike a Growlithe with peanut-butter. The sugar coated his tongue. That sickly unmixed bitter chocolate which snapped at his taste-buds before quelled with this overpowered flavor of sugar. Griffin would have to wait until he got back into his fathers' small truck for water. Yet they didn't hang around there for long, inside of that small coffee shop near the edge of town... a place that everyone whom passed by it wouldn't look twice. Now Griffin knew it was some broken-down building that was in desperate need of repairs and a new paint job... but back then, it was this special place. The kind that served coffee-cakes and his favorite hot chocolate. Even though not a single cup was ever perfect. That was part of the adventure. Part of the excitement of wondering exactly when the chocolate was finished along with that mysterious reason why his father always looked beyond the window here. Like he wasn't one to just... naturally wait. As though he wanted to go and explore. That's how Griffin saw his father... No different then some invincible explorer. An adventurer... He always had stories to tell no matter the occasion. Griffin remembered being helped up into his truck again even though he fruitlessly said that he could do it. Just like his dad could but the seat was just too high up for him to reach. Naturally, there was a safety seat in the front, but Griffin couldn't blame him for that. It was one of those tiny trucks without any rear room for the cab... their minivan was something his mother used and today was this odd day where he didn't have to work. So he wrote up a note and pulled him out of his class for the one day. It was just some random Tuesday, where his father decided to teach him how to play a little bit of baseball. That was the first memory that played in his mind through the eyes of himself when he was younger. The next came in... without any warning.

December Fourteenth; Two Thousand and Seven.

Friday was a special kind of day, one where the television played video's of Pokemon events and all of these pointless things where Griffin would be coerced to glare at the TV in the midst of trying to do his homework. Logan was Eleven and a half by then; nearly twice as old as Griffin. It was this weird day where Griffin left school because he was feeling... 'sick' again. Logan had walked him home and was already so ahead with his work that he barely had anything to do. That was rare in Japan; the fact that he had an early day from school. Griffin on the other hand was just using it as an excuse to get away from the other students. The Television was loud and annoying and every time there was some familiar name Logan would nearly jump up on his feet and tell Griffin to look. Griffin cared more about his math homework; something his teacher had given him to catch up on even though they didn't need to. Then there was this little test that Griffin failed on top of it. It was a day where he didn't want to tell his father about it. The young boy was scared enough already from being scolded all over. It was only the first grade of school, and Griffin already felt like it all crashed down on him. Logan was already almost ready to enter a higher grade, past his first year of Middle School - something that he was excelling just fine in all fields. Most trainers would have already passed Logan by, yet on top of his normal classes he'd spend all his time with notes and studies and online articles whenever he was allowed on the school's computers. Griffin couldn't idolize his brother... He was naturally envious even though he could never, ever admit that. Logan was intent on having Birch as his Professor, he was intent on finishing his schooling before he started. Birch said yes, and Logan didn't spend a single day away from reading and watching those championships on Television. "Did you watch the finals in Kalos? It was crazy! They have these contests too! Have you seen them? You NEED to watch them Griffin." Logan said bluntly and in this straight forward way. It left Griffin to pout and say "I don't want to! I wanna figure out this!" He remarked, angrily. In that snappy like way which was unlike that of a bite. "Can't you watch this later?" Griffin muttered and pouted as Logan rolled his eyes and said "What!? No way! It's live!" He'd say in reply... There wasn't much of a better place to study, Griffin knew that because the table was uncomfortable to sit on, especially after a long time. Griffin started there and moved to the carpet with one of his binders for a flat surface. The time on this little analog clock looked at him. It was hardly one in the afternoon. School would have been finishing up an hour from now. His mother wasn't here... his father was at work. He was playing hooky from school, something he did as often as he could... something he tried to hide by saying he felt sick. By hiding in the washroom until the staff had to find him. Griffin just looked at all the scribbles on his page and huffed at the work. It all looked correct but that little test told him otherwise. So, Griffin just tried as his brother watched the TV. Got loud about what went on... As though at this point, Logan was entirely oblivious or just didn't know what to do. From time to time, he'd even look out the window as though in wonder. As though to question what, or where, the right answer would lie.

Griffin just got angry and went to find a calculator. "That won't help you learn; just... write out a bunch of times tables - that's how I learned." Logan commented with a giggle as Griffin furiously went to find some fancy little device for help. "Well I can't learn it! I don't get it at all and the teacher isn't any help..." He remarked with this familiar redness in his cheeks... until he went into his father's office to find one.

It was this... blankness which Griffin drew in his mind. As though he couldn't picture what the inside looked like, even here with a familiar song playing in his ears. Just as he pointlessly sat in the hotel room with his eyes closed. Something brushed against his fingers... fur. He knew the texture. It was fur, soft fur... clean fur. Warmth swirled against his hand... and all he could picture was looking back at a beige or wood banister with a little calculator in his hands, and a computer desk in front of him which was under the stairs. The office was behind him as though veiled in a wall of white. A glossy sheen-like void until he reached up to close the door and looked to the front door. It was still closed, and the television still called out everything that was going on. "There's always a dragon type! They HAVE to be the most powerful!" Logan expressed loudly "This really doesn't excite you?" He'd ask Griffin from this small little couch that Logan sat cross-legged on. "There's no way Griff! Even Trevor LOVES this stuff!" Griffin pouted again "Trevor loves those fighting movies..." Griffin expressed, rather gently "it's scary... why watch any of it?" Logan found himself laughing and Griffin felt the embarrassment rush through his face. It wasn't much different then the other students. "It's not scary! It's exciting!" Logan said passionately, as though he were going into some big rant as Griffin walked back to the carpet and laid down; his stomach against it. Their house... has never changed at all over the years. Just the people living in it. In his memory it was this wonderful place that always had something to offer... because of the people there. That single word came to his mind, one that he knew was more important then any other...

Griffin just looked at his page and started to punch in numbers with this tiny, annoying and audible click. It made Logan tap his finger against his knee as he'd watch the finals. He was on the edge of his seat with everything that went on... and only for a moment Griffin glanced up at the Television. It was this... one-sided battle between a Charizard and a Jolteon. Griffin didn't get the whole thing at all; it just looked like some large ferocious beast that was going to rip apart some cute, little Pokemon. That didn't make him feel good or excited; it made his stomach churn. It made him feel bad and guilty. "Why would you let it fight...? It's so tiny... Doesn't that person care at all?" Griffin asked, and Logan seemed to scoff. "Of course they care! They ALWAYS care, Griffin!" Logan began to say "That's what trainers do! That Jolteon wanted to fight with it's trainer!" Griffin pouted and just focused on his math work... the calculator was like this magical thing which left him to punch in numbers and get answers. He just didn't get how or why it came up with the numbers it did. It should have been simple enough but... trying to figure out tens as a unit and things like volume to length... it confused him beyond what he knew. Griffin just wrote down answers, but he knew nothing beyond them. In moments it felt like he was done it; that he finished it and looked over his test. He got so much wrong and when he checked with that fancy little number machine... it made even less sense to him. He'd just rack his young mind which was more distracted with the things said there then what he was taught. That was until the front door opened. Griffin looked at the time... half an hour already passed. "Hello?" His dad's voice came in from the foyer as he'd wander into the living room. The perplexed and confused look on his face said it all and he'd cross his arms. "Alright... Logan why are you home so early? And... Griffey? What's going on?" It was this soft and serious tone of voice that made Griffin swallow. His dad had just put down his tool bag and gotten his boots off. Logan simply muted the Television. "Griffin wasn't feeling good again... S - so the nurse at school told me to bring him home... again." Logan began to say with his voice filled with worry. Griffin wanted to feel... invisible. Smaller then he already was. His father blinked at Logan, but Griffin just tried to focus on his homework. There was this silent little sigh that came from him. Griffin's father never sighed like that and he'd have to take a moment to look out the window as though to figure it out. In seconds it seemed like he did.

"Alright, alright... Griffin." His dad began to say and Griffin sheepishly, with all the adrenaline in his body hid the test. He left it out... His dad simply tapped his socks onto the carpet. "Are you sick? Are you feeling sick?" Griffin swallowed again and tried to open his mouth. Caught red-handed and without a word to say. "I... I was before... at school." Griffin began to say and looked up to his dad. He really couldn't figure it out, how to look up at him. Griffin just knew that he screwed up as usual. It was just how he always felt, even with the smallest of things. Griffin hid the test under his thin little arms, upset... worried about the look on his fathers face as he'd give this... It was a smile. Griffin knew that much as that large man would just drop a knee. "You know... Not going to school is going to make your homework harder." He began to say, and Griffin just pouted again. It seemed like Logan looked away from the situation and watched the Television which was muted now. It made him sigh and rub his eyes for a moment. "So how about I help you out? We'll go sit at the table and go over it. That'll help make you feel better." He began to say, and Griffin just looked down at his papers. "I didn't do good on the test..." A little laugh came into the air, but it wasn't one directed at him. It was like he just made his smile brighter. "I won't get mad because of that. You've been here trying to figure it out on your own... I can tell. That's all I'm asking for, just for you to try your best. Never forget that, Griffey." He'd comment and tussled his hair. He'd tussle his hair the way that Griffin... Logan... and even Trevor did later in life. "Your head is still screwed on tight, it's not going anywhere. So, let's both figure this out together." He began to say, and Griffin hesitantly got up and moved to the table. It was a table nearby a large window where they had to pass through the kitchen. His father just opened the curtains which covered the window and sat down on a chair next to him. Griffin's face was red with a mix of all sorts of things; he couldn't figure out what to do or feel or say. The first thing he did, was look over his homework... and the test. "I got it all wrong..." Griffin commented, and his dad simply read over it. "Well, no you didn't." He began to say. "The only time you've got it wrong, is when you give up in figuring out your mistakes. There's no reason to get upset for trying. So... how about this question. Well... if you have nine inches of fabric and you cut it into one quarter inches each... how many do you have?" Griffin shook his head. "I don't know..." His dad gave him this playful little look... and pulled out a tape measure - one that was on his belt. He'd stretch it out. "I showed you this before; right?" He'd ask, and Griffin nodded to the sound of his sincere voice. The way how he'd casually say the question as though to talk to a friend "It shows you how long things are." His dad laughed as Griffin talked and said 'yep' throughout it. "So... what do these" He'd point at three longer lines. "Mean?" Griffin had a close look at them. They were like little painted notches that rested on a lime-green yellow tape measure. The entire length was evenly spaced out with these thin and long black lines and these smaller ticks in between. "Well... it's like a pie, right?" His father chuckled in reply "Exactly. So, this" He'd point at the number one. "Is one inch." He'd express, and Griffin looked at the line's again. "And the longer lines are... a quarter, right?" His father nodded "Exactly! So how many of those, make up one inch?" Griffin blinked a little and without any thought simply said "Four." His father nodded "You got that right. So, if you have nine inches... how many of these little ticks are there?" Griffin tapped the table for a little bit... "W - well... you have four ticks... or I guess a quarter in one inch..." Griffin pouted and went for the calculator, but his dad put his hand on it. "You can do it Griffey. You're almost there, just put it all together" His father mentioned, and Griffin looked at the tape measure. He'd even count some of the ticks... and after a while he'd put it down on a piece of paper. It took Griffin a moment until he said... "Thirty-six." His father tussled his hair. "That's exactly right, see. Let's check the calculator." Griffin's father simply punched in four multiplied by nine. Thirty-six. "See bud, you just have to read the question a little differently." Griffin gave a little nod... as they went through the homework. It was all just fractions, decimals and multiplication and division. Eventually... his father took away the calculator and got Griffin to write down a whole bunch of numbers and math questions for himself. Things like seven multiplied by six and six multiplied by seven... those always confused him even though the answers were the same. They spent that time... at least an hour and a half, maybe two hours until a car drove up. This wonderful minivan that made Griffin look out the window. It was this cherry red color with silver metal and hub-caps. Clean and covered in snowy white. Griffin had to nearly dance in his seat completely forgetting his day at school. "Mom's home!" It left his father to laugh gently and rub the back of his head. "Yes she is! Let's go say hi!" He'd say and mention "You can teach her all the things you learned!" He'd comment and got up from the table. There was still a blank sheet of math questions that his father wrote up for him to do. Griffin took a moment to look at them and began to write down answers. He only got about three when his father opened the door... so Griffin ran out to the front door with a piece of paper in his hands. Excited to show his mother that he, with a little help, figured out the answers.

It was another veil of pure white that blocked his view of the outside world. Just the sight of his father with his arms outreached as though to go greet someone with a hug. Someone wonderful... and his voice was just a silent... non-existent sound. He went to greet someone just as perfect as the rest of them. In his fathers' eyes... Griffin solely wondered if that's how he saw them, and that he didn't want any of it to change. It made him wonder, as the song gently played against his ear drums, if that was what his father was... who he was.

How Griffin wanted to be, one day.

There was that gentle rush which fluttered over him as his world just spun as though he was sent through a dream; one where he was falling endlessly. How the days passed so suddenly. Like he just missed it all in a flushed hand of youthful ignorance and bliss. He knew the night before... where they spent the entire time around the fireplace in the living room; one with a gentle cream mantle and a black grate. That day was Christmas eve; a night where Griffin just spent his time listening to stories and eating this kind of soft sponge cake with cream and strawberries after dinner. There wasn't much to say for that night, save for a little clearing in the cloudy night sky which fluttered all sorts of gentle white fairies across a plain of tender and endless velvet. The kind that was fresh and entirely untouched, that was what Griffin remembered he saw when he looked out the window that night and he just curiously thought if his father always saw the same thing. A big, huge world... one with all sorts of unexpected little surprises if he'd solely open his eyes to it. If he had even the smallest amount of courage to look and watch beyond the tunnel that he so comfortably existed within. It was one of those nights where Griffin couldn't sleep thanks to sheer wonder and excitement which led to this morning where he'd foolishly sleep in until ten. Where his brother had to wake him up with a smile and a loud happy voice... the kind that Griffin could easily mimic.

December Twenty Fifth: Two Thousand and Seven.

It was sunny, Griffin remembered that. There was this way how the window in his house began to flicker and glow with a glorious hue of pure white-gold. The trees in the distance were laden from cheery snow and resembled that no different then a cozy little blanket. Every single tree, both covered in fine pines or... barren branches had a blanket; one that was gentle and soft with it's glorious cloudy white. That's what snow was, to Griffin in the least. When all the clouds in the sky decide to fall and kiss the ground below them; gently grace the hard and cold earth in a frosty and wonderful quilt of velvet. A gentle cascade of soft, swirling wind would chase these small bits of snowy pollen across the air as Griffin just spent his time to look out the window. Where a picture frame sat; open to the world.

A picture that was blank to his mind now. Just some photograph which softly and tenderly hovered the shade no different then the ground outside. It was a curtain of white; a blanket... a sheen of fine, painted glass. It was this canvas that Griffin desperately wanted to see in all color yet no matter how much he tried it just fruitlessly stayed it's snowy white. A void in his own thoughts. A hole in his very soul; a place where colors of dark purple and blue should be. Griffin remembered that he got so distracted with the world beyond his bedroom window that Logan had to take his hand. "Everyone's awake already! We've been waiting on you!" He commented and even gave this stern little look "How could you SLEEP IN?" He'd express and enunciate his sentence firmly and clearly. For his age, Logan's articulation was expected to be spot on... yet in Griffin's mind it felt like Logan only did that because Griffin had troubles with some words. Like any other child Griffin's age, there was always one or two... a clutch of a word which they couldn't say. Logan went to open his mouth again, but nothing came out. It was a name he called out - Griffin knew that much but all he did was find himself wandering down the stairs while he held onto the mantle for dear life. It was the height which always freaked him out. A fear that Griffin never grew out of; he couldn't stand heights no matter the situation. Griffin wandered into this bask of warmth where small hushed voices met them. It wasn't any serious conversation that came from the living room. It was far from it, and the moment his feet touched the carpet at the base of the stairs; he'd see his dad wave him over. "Hey Griffey! You're awake" He'd say with a laugh "Here I was thinking you'd still be asleep on the couch!" He'd mention with a little laugh. It's where Griffin fell asleep the night before; they had this long day of going all around the town. Looking at lights in Oldale park was something that they did every single year and with a tired little yawn; messy unkempt hair, Griffin just gave him this silly grin in reply. They had the fire going again, as though they turned off the heat to the house for this month. Griffin never understood that or why they would, but the fireplace was one of the best things he knew from home. It was one of those things where they were all able to spend their time around it... together.

It was his father whom sat on the couch with this little wrapped up bag, the kind with a bow on it. The wrapping was just this simple red and green striped kind... and the bow was a simple white which was tied with a ruby yarn. "Auntie Amalia sent you a gift." His father said, "So how about you open this one first?" His firm arm was outreached as Griffin looked over the package curiously. He knew it was clothes... Auntie Amalia, Griffin and Logan's Tía, always sent them all sorts of clothes. It was her way of telling them to bundle up for the winter. She always used to joke that it was because she wasn't there to make this special tea, she was so fond of. Roselle was the plant she'd make it from.

Griffin never really knew the plant; but it was a red plant - one that let her make this wonderful, awe inspiring tea which made him feel warm inside whenever he had it. Truth was; he had only had it once... this tea which he knew warmed his whole body in ways beyond his understanding. A tea that he experienced with his brother the year before while during a dark, frigid, and arid night overseas. His hands would hold against the present with this look in his eyes which told them that he wasn't all too excited with opening more clothes. Griffin held the wrapper and gently plucked away at the ribbon first... until he'd pull the ruby string. It was just some jacket... One that he knew all too well now. It was something that made his eyes light up the first day he got this jacket and its design. It was the same kind of jacket that a Pokemon Trainer from his mother's home town wore... before they won an international championship. _ The jacket was a simple nylon jacket with neon-like stripes that ran down the arms, and there was a little note with it. One that told him to have a wonderful Christmas, and that when he got older... she had the larger one waiting for him. "She bought two!" Griffin mentioned and held out his fingers with glee "How did she get THIS?" Griffin asked, and it left his dad to laugh a little. His mother simply smiled in reply "It's a school jacket; the high school sells them down there." She'd comment and giggled in reply "It's unlike you to get so excited over Pokemon." She'd comment as Logan looked over the banister. "What's this about Pokemon?" He'd interject from the staircase and his dad waved him over. Griffin was busy looking all over the jacket he got. He didn't turn around to see his brother walk over as he'd hold the jacket close to his face. Griffin let his little green eyes look all over every detail, he'd even smell it. _It smelled no different then their first trip to Mexico. Finally, he'd give Logan a little glance after his older brother tapped him on the shoulder. "I got you something too..." He'd say, and Griffin would glance at a little... simple cardboard box. The kind that someone would put jewelry in. Logan didn't really make any eye contact, and that left Griffin to huff. "I don't like girlie jewelry" Griffin commented, and Logan rolled his eyes; it made his dad chuckle to himself... as though he knew what was in the box already. "Well open it!" His mother replied, "I could use a new necklace after all" She'd express and gave Griffin's father a look; one that made him clear his throat awkwardly. She'd gently shove his arm with her palm and smiled. It was this little... bracelet that caught his eye. She never had one like it before. So, Griffin just took the box and gave Logan this little stuck-out-tongue look and opened it.

What was in the box surprised Griffin entirely. It looked so much like this old tape recorder his dad had but it was smaller... sleeker. A small rectangular box with a tiny LED screen and this even smaller card slot. An SD card slot. "See, it wasn't jewelry... I just know that you like music is all... so I save up some allowances..." Logan expressed, and Griffin just hopped to his feet and ended up giving him a hug. "This is good!" He'd express and laughed "These things are tiny..." Griffin poked at one of the headphone wires. Logan simply gave his arms this little cross and before he could make some smart comment back; their father had suddenly *plopped* this hat over his head. Logan had to reach his hands over to touch the hat. "I ended up around Slateport for work... so, I thought you'd like a cap." He said with a little chuckle "Looks like it's a little too big for your head" Logan took the hat off and had to give it a look. It was this... smoky-black colored cap with green logo on it. A trainers' cap; his trainers' cap. Logan just stared at it with this absurd amount of fire and determination. Something which made Griffin tilt his head in utter confusion. "I'll be catching ALL of the Pokemon!" He remarked to his dad with this wonderful laughter "I bet one day, I'll even catch one that no one has seen before! Just you wait!" It made them all laugh and smile, but Griffin just tilted his head. "Well, if you're going to catch one..." His father began to say as he'd reach into his jacket pocket. Griffin and Logan both had to look at it... They had never seen a real one before. The capsule looked smaller then anything they'd ever seen before; just a small white and red sphere. It left Logan to blink, silently... blindly.

Griffin had never heard his older brother get so excited over anything in his life. His hands had to fumble and catch it when his dad gently tossed it over to him. Logan only stared at him with big bright eyes. "H - h... how?" He'd start to stutter, and his father just burst out laughing. "You... need a trainer's card or a Pokedex at least..." His father nodded back at him and replied "I simply told the clerk that we had a problem Pokemon in our neighborhood. He didn't ask questions about it at all. Just let me buy one. Use that to catch a Pokemon no one has ever seen before. Aye Log?" He'd ruffle his hair as Logan gave this scruffy look "T - that's not my nickname..." Then his dad asked "Name off... the first thirty Pokemon in the Hoenn Pokedex." Griffin couldn't even tell how many Pokemon were in that Pokedex, but Logan could name them off like it was nothing. That in itself was something to be envious about; the way how he could do all of these things that Griffin only dreamed he could do. To be and become as impressive as his older brother was. To flawlessly do all these things, these simple little things which Griffin could barely grasp. In perspective, it felt like following his footsteps through a snowstorm... where all he could do was read and watch every imprint where he could never catch up to greet him. After his bout on Pokemon and even their entries his father just stifled a laugh. "See; that is your nickname!" He'd mention with a tender laugh and tussled his hair. "Watch out though... this might float away if you're not careful." His father expressed, and Logan would just grab his dad's arm with both his hands "I don't like that nickname..." He remarked back and stuck out his tongue, something that made his mother giggle. "It's something you're good at! No... It's something you're great at." She'd correct herself "So... why be upset about that?" Logan just pouted but Griffin made a comment... "they make houses out of logs." He'd say, and Logan just put Griffin in this playful headlock; something that made him squeak in reply. "Yeah! Well they make fantasy stories about Griffin's!" He'd remark and ran his knuckles against Griff's scalp before he tussled his hair. Griffin laughed and looked up at his dad as he'd make this wave with another present in his hands... and the world became a void of pure white. He'd find himself back in the hotel room.

July Fourteenth: Twenty Eighteen.

The song had finished right there, just ending... He'd blink for a moment and rest his head against the cushion of the seat. Griffin, now looking around the dimly lit hotel room - where the light from the bathroom peered back at him simply took a moment to glance down at his fallen hand. Luna had curled up against the carpet next to him, he'd gently reach over and pet her fur. It felt wonderfully soft now, fine... warm. That feeling was bewildering. Familiar... it had this word about it that Griffin couldn't express. Why can't I remember... all of it? It's like a dream that keeps repeating in my mind. Griffin found himself looking down at Luna whom simply looked back up at him. He barely noticed that was what he was doing. Griff couldn't think, save for the emptiness in his mind that dared to run more images and pictures; like some outworldy home movie... seeing it all through his own eyes. Is... it worth... going back like this? His Vulpix; that small red-wood colored fox with six straight tails... her pompous little tuft on her scalp which partially covered her forehead simply looked back at him. Like this all too familiar look that he once knew would stare back at him without any warning. Griffin simply looked back at her and smiled... softly; gracefully. It made her eyes light up as though it were something so genuine. That small little gift that he showed her as his gaze made its way to the curtains. For just a moment he'd pull them back before he'd fumble out his phone... and look for that song once more. The entire city came alive in a single, solid breath. The isolation and the world had flicked away while the dark streets - where the sun barely peered through - ignited like small fiery embers on a surface of thin, icy water. The street lamps which casted down this god-ray against pockets of pavement and flickering floating wisps in pairs crossed by the roads in the distance left Griffin to exhale as he'd step out onto this small deck. Griffin simply tightened his nylon-black jacket around him and took a moment to look over the green stripes that fixedly preached against the dark sky. The stars just twinkled against the black knit velvet above him and just for a moment he'd lean against the banister... his breath misty and fogged from the chilly night air. His head casted down to his phone as he repeated the song... One... last time; then I'll... delete it. I will this time.

July Thirteenth: Two Thousand and Nine

Griffin remembered that he looked up at the cloudy, frosted sky above him as he'd pointlessly wander across the wet and cold pavement. It was just... another day; where he'd have his earplugs dug into his head and the music playing gently and quietly as he'd wander down some pointless... Empty... Road. As he'd wander past the old street lamps; the posts... all of them, he'd just focus down the road with his hands in his pockets and a bitter exhale from his mouth. His rucksack on his back and a little tap of his finger left him to flip through his music. That little magical box that Logan gave him had all sorts of his favorite songs on it... And one that he never wanted to hear again in his life. It was just that song which began to play in his ears; one that left him to bitterly rip out his headphones, seconds away from spiking the little music player to the earth. "Hey freak!" A familiar voice called out from behind him... one that left him to roll his eyes and fish his music player into his pockets. He just picked up the pace in anger. Griffin didn't want to already deal with this so soon. It was a few of these ten-year old's that he knew from school. Griffin wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. But they kept on him; right on his heels. "Hey, I'm talking to you" One of the voices said, and quite cruelly at that "Or are you too stupid? I mean based on your grades you must be retarded!" He'd express as the other two laughed behind him "Special freak." One of them said as Griffin just kept his hands in his pockets. A little clenched fist in each of them as they continued to hook behind him. "I don't think I've met anyone so stupid in my life! Did you see his test? He was trying to fix it after class" He'd express "Just sitting all alone at lunch. At least he knows he belongs in a corner!" The voice expressed as Griffin continued to walk down an all too familiar road. One from LittleRoot to Oldale; the wide-open highway-like road with trees nestled on one side and the ocean ahead of him. "Can't even buy lunch! I mean that jacket you have looks cheap as hell too; do you LIVE in a box? Or just under a bridge?" He'd express as Griffin stayed quiet. He didn't really say much for a moment... But it was the cheap-shot like push that left him to hit the pavement; and hard. A few voices just went "Oh!" Like something out of a cheesy film. Griffin just shot an eye back to him and clearly said; without a single beat missed. "Fuck off." It stunned them for a moment, before the one that pushed him over just grabbed his shirt. "What? Learning some special words from your brother? Well don't FUCKING SWEAR" He remarked; yelled in his face "If you think being poor makes you special; then I guess you all belong in that rat-shit country YOU come from." Griffin made a look in reply. "I was born here." He'd reply. "Let go." It was his voice that was straight and narrow... empty and void of emotion. The older kid just grinned; he had this brown and blond wavy hair. The athletic young kid that just had everything, from his shoes to his hat. The kind of kid whose parents had all of it. A nice car; a nice house... Good grades. "Hey hey! Use you're Pokemon!" A voice came in "You might as well; since the freak hates them so much!" The larger kid gave him a laugh and gripped Griffin's jacket tightly.

It was the first time he'd ever been punched in the face - right along the bridge of the nose and the cheek. Just a seven-year-old being roughed up by those bigger then himself. There was a sting; not only where the fist connected but also from his eyes just naturally. A delightful sound came from the larger kid; mainly when Griffin made this sudden shock of a noise; like something was stuck in his throat. "Well come on freak! Where's that shit-talk now?" He'd express and went for another punch One that connected with Griffin's lip. One that cracked it open and left it to bleed... His eye's stung but he didn't do anything to fight back. Griffin simply remembered that wonderful look of glee on his face and this thought that came to his own mind back then. That in the least... it made those kids happy, because whatever they did was nothing compared to how he felt every day. It was the last punch he went to anticipate, to brace against... When the young boy had let him go with this shriek of a sound; this mix of voices came over them as something clamped down on his ankle. Just some pointless, frail and wildly unkempt Poochyena. Griffin remembered that the older boy had stumbled over the Poochyena and hit the ground; he swung a wild kick at it - one that sent it back at Griffin. He only ended up having the small fluffy thing hit him clean in the stomach; as though it were just fated to catch her. He had sat up during the whole mess of things and ended up with this wild Pokemon; her paws against his tummy, a snarl against her jaws. The boy just stared back teary eyed. "Freak!" He remarked and pulled out a Pokeball. His parents were the wealthy kind... the kind that bought Pokemon and sold them at leisure. Griffin just had that Poochyena snarl and snap at the air wildly. It bewildered him... Out of every single Pokemon that would avoid him... even when he left food out in the morning, every morning. This one Poochyena was the first one to ever come close to him. She just blindly jumped into the fray; even when he never asked for it. _ Griffin just felt the thing snarl at the other boys, it was loud enough that it felt like she vibrated... and that's when the Pokeball clicked and flashed open. Who's that Pokemon...? What was that Pokemon? Griffin had no clue, but it was this... blue tortoise. He'd never really seen one before; let alone up close. "If you think you're so tough; which is retarded anyways, then why don't you try fighting my Pokemon you creep!" The kid remarked at Griffin as he'd give a swallow and went to touch the Poochyena. Griffin didn't know what to do here; he was just expecting to walk home; covered in dirt and blood... **_again.** But the Poochyena wouldn't budge... wouldn't move. It just held her ground and all because of Griffin's delay in talking the older boy yelled out at his Pokemon. It wasn't as much of a command or... even a friendly suggestion but it was more of a possessive order. "Use headbutt! I don't care if you hit them BOTH!" He'd just yell in anger... teary eyed. There was a little blood on the Poochyena's muzzle; she bit the boy that hard? It made Griffin feel queasy; it wasn't what he wanted. None of this was; but that strange Pokemon darted across the pavement towards them and went for the tackle. The Poochyena jumped off Griffin and hopped over its head; he had to brace himself with his arms but that Pokemon stuttered and tumbled to a stop. It stopped right at Griffin with this scared look in its eyes. The Pokemon acted like it was terrified of Griffin being hurt. The Poochyena landed to this skid behind the older boy's Pokemon. Griffin still didn't know the name of it even, but he found himself shakenly pushing to his knees. What does it even know? I don't know anything about Poochyena's... it's my turn, right? Isn't that how they work? "Use water gun! Hit it!" Griffin coughed at the sound of the other trainer's command and retorted with anything. "Growl?" Griffin's voice cracked, but the Poochyena simply sharpened its eyes and let out a vicious howl as its fur quilled out savagely. It bared its teeth as the move swung at it and went for a quick jump to the left. That left Griffin drenched from head to toe... and the rest of everyone laughed. He'd just huff angrily and try to figure out anything to do... "Sandattack!" He blurted out, he remembered how Logan talked about how annoying it was - especially when they used it on him. Logan would remark that it wasn't his fault... he just wanted a closer look at some wild pokemon. That Poochyena didn't use sandattack... instead it bolted for the Squirtle. "Dodge it!" The older boy remarked... but the Poochyena halted on a dime; and rotated her angle. It left Griffin to shake. It's... like she's been in these fights before... Wait... didn't the town talk about her? ... Is... she the... one we tried to feed? Griffin's younger voice poked at his mind and memories. That Poochyena danced in his mind; how her tail would effortlessly balance her on those small four paws - the way she'd snarl and growl with that pelt quilled out to make her look larger... monstrous. How she effortlessly protected a stranger. One that pointlessly left out food and tried to feed wild Pokemon as though all he wanted to do was apologize for the fact he was even alive.

It was like watching the world in slow motion. How her paws skidded against the pavement - her tail flicked a roar of dust and sand as though she always kept it at the ready. As though it were something so magical to his own young eyes. Like watching a bandit or a highwayman outsmart the law. As though to say all of it was only what he made it to be. Something that was much, much easier said than done. That Poochyena simply swayed her body one way, like a ragdoll, as the other Pokemon simply sprayed water over her. "Use tackle!" The older boy commented, and Griffin yelped out "Dodge and use bite!" His heart raced against his chest; pounded harshly alongside his ribs. The tightness was... too familiar and painful. That Poochyena didn't dodge the tackle... and took it - chest out and all. It took the blow and followed up to counter That Poochyena bit down onto its shell and Griffin didn't know what to do next. He flailed his little arms around, something that the Poochyena caught onto with her sharp; yellow-moonlike eyes. Her red pupils contrasted them perfectly and her hind legs pushed forward. She was physically pushing the other Pokemon over; all while it bit down on something no different then rock. Griffin's young voice just slipped into his thoughts; his memories. They all simply asked why... Why would a Pokemon like that... fight that hard for someone like him. It was solely the look in her eyes that he read. The fire; this blaze which taunted him... As though he may have found a nose that could guide him through a howling cold wind. Just to follow in a pair of long faded and painfully memorable footsteps. Her shoulders bent as the Poochyena suddenly dragged the Pokemon into her... If there was a move for it, Griffin figured it be called 'Shoulder Bash' because that's what she did just to tumble that Pokemon over. It gave out this frightened yelp and Griffin softly replied with it. The ferocious little thing looked like it was seconds away from jumping onto its stomach. And with claws like that... like razers; that was an image and a fear Griffin didn't want to have come true. Griffin watched her position herself like a massive wolf on a small deer... where its head pushed against her shoulder and she'd do nothing more but casually lie down on it. It looked like a pin... one where the Pokemon shot water from its muzzle fruitlessly - one where it couldn't move at all. It was as though that Poochyena was certified in street savoire faire... If that was an appropriate reference to look at. It left Griffin stumped; was that a move? Was that even legal? The other trainer just yelled at his Pokemon, loudly... obnoxiously - it made its ears fold against its tiny blue skull. All the Poochyena did was hold it down and snarl with a section of its shell still against her fangs. She had bit down on the lip of it - right where it was thin enough to grip onto. Her hind legs were against its chest and paws aimed down at its soft belly. It gave up much quicker then Griffin anticipated. There was this constant amount of distressed crying from it. A horrible sound which Griffin never wanted to hear a Pokemon make... until one of the other boys said "Wow; your Squirtle is a total pussy." That left him to go stiff. "S - shut up! That stupid rabid thing just got lucky!" He'd remark and returned his Pokemon... the laser simply encased the Squirtle and left the strange Poochyena to land her paws on the pavement. She'd simply poof up her fur and snarl viciously... a few barks in reply which made one of them flinch. "Screw this; I'm not getting bit by some rabid Pokemon, I'll see you guys later." One of them said and ran off... The other one simply shrugged "Jeaz, even the 'freak' turned out to be a better trainer... it's not even his Pokemon it's that stupid Poochyena that's breaking into things right?" He'd comment and just walked "Next time at least have the balls to beat him. Loser." The other boy said; he was this steel haired kid with some lanky cargo jacket. The kind that... didn't look like he was from Celadon. Griffin didn't even know him. "Say hi to your bro for me, Griff." He'd comment and wave his hand behind his head... the guy never made any more eye contact as though Griffin just wasn't important enough for it. The last one... the one with a Pokeball simply made a fist on his Pokeball, like he was going to crush the thing. "Couldn't you just be some normal freak? Thanks a lot!" He'd snap and as he did the Poochyena simply snarled and howled at him. it was this frightful howl, like a bellow of sorts that made him stutter his legs and move away. He ran past that one steel haired kid... Griffin tried to remember his name. He knew that his brother talked about someone like him. Someone with the same obsessions that he'd talk to online... he was here? "Steven." Griffin's younger voice came to his mind. "It's Steven... Griffin. You know him... Logan is friends with him."

Griffin simply looked back at the three of them, and that one young boy before he'd look at the Poochyena. It was still in a weird stance; like it was waiting to run after them. Like it was fighting every single instinct not to, then it turned to Griffin with a tilt of its head. A silly pink tongue rolled out of her muzzle as Griffin, one that made him laugh... One that now made him think of a song that back then only came out in October later that year. A song by a band that he loved thanks to that one song. The look in her eyes that day was that one song for him, a song that ignited his heart for just a moment as he'd scoop her up. To his surprise it ended up leaving him with a little bite... A small bite on his neck, one that just drew blood as though it were a symbol of trust no matter how loosely built. Griffin remembered wandering down the road with her in his arms and had to fight every fibre in his being from running home; built solely on adrenaline and excitement. But here he'd just walk along the road... That cold empty road. Where all he could do was manage to fumble out his lunch box; since again he didn't eat... and fed her everything he had with him. Griffin couldn't stop from hearing the lyrics of that one song... their special song. the music overlapped everything that played in his ears for just a moment. 'Story of your Life' by Five for Fighting. If there was anything that could explain Griffin's feelings... now that he was looking into some window to the past; it was the feeling behind that song. A story of their life; the one of a boy that wanted to wander all over with her. A Poochyena he tried to feed by a cove, one that he left food out for every day without him realizing it. The one that jumped into the fray... and finally, the one he'd carry home while feeding her this small ham sandwich; the kind with cucumbers and a little salt... while the most wonderful thing; a small bite on his neck, showed this weird amount of trust and maybe... Just maybe the slightest hint of a family's love... Something he felt had faded.

It was the moment he walked into the door of his house; or at least walked up to it, when she'd squirm and kick at his arms. "W - wait!" He'd comment and tried to hold her gently "It's not scary! I promise! It's all warm in there!" He'd express but she'd squirm and kick. Griffin solely held on for dear life; or at least that's what it felt like. "There's plenty of food too..." He'd express "So come inside! We don't bite" She stopped squirming... Griffin felt himself tense up "N - Now don't... bite me" He'd mention with this happy giggle, a smile. A purely genuine one, one that had all familiarity to another that spent their time looking out the window and the big wide world beyond it. It was just a simple... small smile; the kind that she had seen once before. While following two small boys whom went to have their lunch in a place of hidden treasure and a sandy, rocky beach that only lay forever in their memories. A cove they used to go to... at the start of every summer. Griffin slowly opened the door even though her ears pinned against her head, the small bask of scents. Overpowering scents... Griffin could feel her tail shiver and shake underneath his arm as he'd walk into the door. He'd slip off his shoes one by one while he held her and simply walked into the kitchen first. His mother was there looking over small envelops while talking to herself. Just... past due bills. So, he went past her and through the kitchen... even though he had to stop. He had to stop to stare at the crutch that became her life. All because of her leg... all because... of a tale that Griffin didn't have the strength, resolve... or courage to remember. The Poochyena looked at it too, her ear twitched as she'd look at the peculiar stick, so Griffin walked through the kitchen and into the living room. There home was funny like that; where the foyer was a small space for shoes; to the left was the kitchen table and the kitchen which resembled this long hallway to the living room and to the right was the staircase and another hallway to the living room. There was a wall in the middle... that room was his father's office. Griffin felt the carpet on his feet as he'd wander to the Television from the Kitchen. If there was a shape for it... it resembled an H. Logan was busy at this small table reading over something. "Logan!" He'd say and proudly held up the Poochyena, it left him to look up... "Hey bro." he said and looked back down... and then he went wide eyed. He stared back up and blinked. "W - wait is that...?" Logan went to stand up but the Poochyena made a worried squirm. "P - put it down; put it down... wait, Griffin what happened? Your lip and nose... are bleeding, god..." Like clockwork there was this shuffle from the kitchen "Wait Griffin? What happened!? Logan!" Their mom called out and Logan was already on his feet. She was already, slowly, walking over. They could here this all too familiar tap of the crutch against the linoleum in the kitchen. When it stopped, she'd blink a few times. "W - where did that...? Wait Griff? Oh my god you're bleeding everywhere." Logan had already left to get anything for it. it ended up being a towel. "I'm fine mom!" Griffin commented "The Poochyena saved me." Logan went a little blank. "What? What do you mean?" Griffin seemed to frown a little as Logan's eyes suddenly contrasted. "Oh, I'm going to kick their ass." "Logan!" His mom cut in from his profanity. "What? It's those jerks from school; they hit you in the face, Griff? I'll put them through a damn locker." "LOGAN!" She snapped and that left the Poochyena to flinch and tuck her tail between her legs. Everyone stalled and looked at her. All she could do was look out the glass door to the back yard. The one that they could see from the kitchen table. Then their mother looked down at the Poochyena first. It took a step back and brushed against the couch... until it took a stance. Like it was going to fight instead of run.

"You stopped them?" She'd say after a moment and the Poochyena flicked on ear up. Their mother tried to lower a leg, and Logan instinctively made his way over. "Y - you shouldn't kneel." He'd comment, and she'd swat his hand away... and knelt as far as her good leg let her before she held out an open palm... underneath the Poochyena muzzle, height wise. All it did was flick both her ears up and slowly wander over to sniff it. The Poochyena sniffed and huffed against her palm before it tilted it's head. "She really did... The other boy used a Pokemon too." Logan gave Griffin a look. "He hit me first and then she bit him... so he used a Pokemon." "What?" Griffin seemed to... It was an oddly sheepish smile that he gave Logan, one where his eyes glanced at the window in the living room. "I think... we may have won a Pokemon battle..." He began to say "His friends told him to use the Pokemon on me... but the Poochyena... that we found at the cove..." "You boys went that far out alone? When?" Logan gently sighed and put a palm on his forehead. "You weren't... Yes, mom we did... It was at the start of summer. We both... just..." Griffin and Logan's mother put her hand on Logan's head and tussled his hair. She never did it just right... but... there was a thought that counted. "I'm not mad... Next time... bring me too." She expressed and let go of Logan's hair. "Now... I guess this Pooch wanted to stay with you?" Griffin seemed to shrug. "Well... I mean the house scared her, I guess. She hangs around since we fed her. I sometimes... leave food out when I walk to school. I used some allowance to buy Pokemon food." Griffin expressed "I hid the bag in my room..." Griffin commented. "None of the Pokemon would eat it though... I guess she did." His mother rubbed her eyes and sighed this tired little sigh. "The two of you..." She'd express "No wonder why there's been a problem Pooch around the town... it was the two of you." Griffin pouted in reply. "Can we keep her? Please?" His mother shook her head no. "There's no way, we can't... afford to keep her." Griffin frowned in reply before he gave a huff "I can get a job. There's a paper route! It goes from here all the way to Petalburg!" Griffin expressed as Logan gave him this curious look. "I mean... there's a bike and I still have an entire bag of Pokemon food so... why can't I? I'll take care of her!" His mother sternly frowned, but Griffin just met her look with this glare of determination. "She'll sleep in my room!" He expressed as Logan blinked a little "I can also get a job Pokemon sitting; it'll be great! I can interact and learn a whole bunch about them!" Logan commented "And there's that silly experiment I tried... remember? With all the shampoo? I still have TONS of Pokemon care products!" Logan expressed "We can both take care of her; you'll never even need to see her!" Their mother just tapped her foot against the ground a little... "I really can't win against both of you, can I?" She'd say and rubbed her forehead. "Alright... alright." She'd say, and both of their eyes lit up. "That's a yes!?" She'd slowly nod and the two of them would both jump with glee. The Poochyena just looked around utterly confused; Griffin was still in the middle of cleaning his face. Luckily the punches were all fictitious... it barely hurt him as much as he thought and certainly not as much as a bite to the ankle at least. "But first... get her cleaned... you both tracked dirt through the house." His mother said, and Griffin looked around. Of course, the Poochyena was caked in who knows? And Griffin's jacket was soaked from the rain... none of it was good for white carpet albeit long faded. It was that day which Griffin remembered so flawlessly. Where Bandit ended up in the Kitchen sink, one filled with clean soapy water and their mother overlooking them from the kitchen with a shake of her head as though it all wouldn't work... But it did. Griffin and Logan never gave up on that troublesome Pooch that ended up with them everywhere. They could travel the world, see the world. Learn it all... Learn of that big wide and mysterious place where all that was needed was an open pair of eyes.

November Seventeenth: Two Thousand and Nine.

It was this day, where Griffin just laid on his bed with his music player... the same one that Logan bought for him nearly two years prior. Already five in the morning and he was busy listening to music. To clear his mind as a certain Poochyena slept on the end of the bed; there was one song by 'Five for Fighting' that he couldn't stop listening to. The entire album that released in October... became most of his life; the way how he'd listen to every song on repeat. With a little stir of his feet; he'd feel the bed weigh down as Bandit woke up. it took Logan and Griffin some time to name her. But it came down to it when a neighbor yelled at them - they called her that... But to be fair; it did involve stealing food out of the neighbor's house. Griffin and Logan was still apologizing about that, and Bandit simply gave the 'little angel' look whenever they did. It always made the two laugh about it after... A knock came to his bedroom door as he'd look to it. "Hey Griff." Logan's voice came through the door "Let's go; it takes like an hour and a half to walk to school." Ever since the day that Griffin brought Bandit home, Logan began waking up early to walk Griffin to and from school... he used to carpool with a friend. He never realized how bad it was for him... but now, Griffin ended up having his older brother with him every day of the week it seemed. That and a friendly little Pooch that would go to school with him every single day, Griffin gave up with trying to leave her home, since it would follow them eventually. She'd end up going for the whole two hours to find Griffin and look through the school window... every day. Needless to say; Bandit grew attached to him instantly. When Griffin moved off the bed Bandit stretched and yawned before she flicked her tiny little mess of a tail all he had to do was open up his arms, as though to give her a hug and the Poochyena always jumped to his chest... then scrambled over him to sit on his shoulders and head. Logan opened the door just to see Griffin and Bandit like that. "You're such a nerd, you know that!" Logan remarked with a laugh. "You both look like Kiba and Akamaru from Naruto... stop being such a weeb or whatever." Logan mentioned and chuckled as Griffin simply huffed "We LIVE in JAPAN." He'd express, and all Logan did was laugh harder. "I know, I know... didn't feel much like that when we got back!" Griffin simply blinked... "Yeah..." Logan gave a little look to the ground and gently tapped his sock against the hardwood. "Tía Amalia..." Logan began to say before he looked to this wardrobe. It was more like Griffin's toy locker then a jacket wardrobe. This jacket... not unlike the one he wore but larger... sat on the handle, neatly. Proudly. "You hung up the jacket she bought you a couple years back." Logan expressed with this somber smile. "T - that's nice. It'll look great on you when you've gotten taller." He'd mention and gave a bit of a sincerer smile. "At least... did you see all the candles? For her...? For everyone?" Griffin nodded "Bandit did too!" He'd mention with a little laugh that awkwardly faded. "I... miss all of them." Griffin expressed, and Logan gently took his brothers hand. Before he'd tug him into a hug. "Yeah... we all do bud." Logan whispered it again, into Griffin's shoulder. "Let's head to school, alright? I'm sure Bandit is excited to have the teacher scold her again!" Logan said with a little laugh and the Poochyena, whom sat on Griffin's head and hair, stuck out her tiny pink tongue. It made Griffin smile and glance up at her as Logan laughed. "Let's go!" Logan expressed as Griffin tucked in one of his earplugs. Logan just gave him a look "You still... have the same earphones? Jesus, I definitely got my moneys worth!" It made Griffin laugh "Yeah! I had to start hiding them, I caught Bandit trying to chew them... I have a feeling that's how they're going to go." ((They did like that... Bandit hid them under the couch. It took them a month to find the chewed-up mess.)) Logan simply gave a laugh and shrugged "Well... keep them in your backpack or something." Griffin playfully put his finger on his mouth as though to shush him. "She can understand everything you say... so it's the first place she'll look." The Poochyena simply gave the 'little angel' look. The one that made them both laugh as they'd take their lunches; the ones that Griffin made last night. Logan gave a surprised or stunned glance as he'd look over the lunch.

"Wow... you like made a bento box?" He'd mention, and Griffin nodded "Yep! I've been practicing since summer started earlier this year. Forty days isn't really a long time... I can't believe that the states have them go for like... three months. I'd be SO BORED." Griffin expressed as Logan smiled. "You could be like... a world-famous chef someday." Griffin giggled as they packed everything and got their shoes on "I'd rather build houses." Griffin expressed and began to walk out the door... it took him a moment to notice that Logan had stopped; dead in his tracks. "Well come on bro! You said it takes like two hours to walk." Logan nodded and gave a little laugh "Yeah... you'll build everyone the best. Griff..." Logan commented and blinked before he put his hands in his pockets... yet before they even got to the highway Logan went to tussle his hair. Griffin did the same and ended up petting Bandit, something that made him give this stupidly happy grin. "Another Tuesday! I swear Bandit gets super clingy on this day of the week!" Logan smiled "Kind of weird... since you met her on a Monday." Griffin gave a silly smirk "Well her first breakfast I made was on Tuesday!" Griffin expressed and reached into the side pouch of his bag. "Speaking about it..." He'd end up reaching this small bit of kibble to her mouth "Even... Pokemon food?" Griffin nodded in reply "I've been trying... it's hard to get the whole thing right - I made something like a weird fruit cake the first time... it was gross... but Bandit loved it." Griffin expressed and smiled. The sun was barely up, and because of that Logan took out this small flashlight from his pocket. Luckily it wasn't raining... "Oh oh! We got early enough to see the sun rise!" Griffin mentioned but Logan just stayed quiet and held his flashlight... Before he cheeringly held it under his chin. "But this is when the Cloakless Mimikyu strikes!" Griffin simply laughed and giggled before he adjusted the flashlight. "Good to know it hides right underneath your chin!" Griffin mentioned as the music played in one of his ears. Bandit's ear twitched to the sounds... to the songs. It was like this 'feel good' playlist of songs he made. They never really changed that much, it only grew with all sorts of wonderful songs. Bandit only flicked and twitched her ears to a song that played as they wandered down this empty large road. It was about half an hour in when Logan stopped at a point in the road. Griffin continued to walk past him. "Hey Logan! Find a Mythical creature?" Griffin mentioned with a giggle, but he was just busy intently staring at... well nothing in particular. "It's called trees! I know! I was scared when I saw them the first time too!" Griffin commented confidently. Having a Poochyena on his scalp did just that. As though the Pokemon just naturally kept his mind from floating away. Logan caught up shortly after with his hands in his pockets and a little giggle on his face. "Sorry; sorry. I guess... I thought I saw something... rare." Logan mentioned, and Griffin turned his head to look at Logan. He... didn't look Griffin's way. "Let's get going! We'll be late for school..." Logan expressed as all Griffin could see was the smoky mist from his breath. The walk was at least... more then five and a half miles. They didn't have anyone whom could drive a car, but the entire town from LittleRoot to Petalburg knew them. It was utterly impossible not to, as long as you lived in the town for at least two years. Griffin simply fed Bandit more kibble as they walked down the frosty road; he wore this all too familiar padded jacket... toque and that nylon jacket underneath and he knew that if Bandit got too cold; she'd just burrow underneath his clothes and poke her head out of his nylon jacket. Griffin and Logan did nothing more but talk amongst themselves in the chilly dark November morning; where the sun barely pierced through the sky... and Oldale town looked over them in the distance; right as the sky began to glow.

The only thing they didn't have was a bus root going through Littleroot; at least for school. The normal bus always ran a full hour later, and even though they could have changed to a closer one, this was the school they grew up in. Just another school like any other. Eventually Griffin walked towards the front as Logan gave him a wave. "Alright; have a great day! And keep Bandit out of trouble!" Logan expressed "If ya wait for me; we can... grab some hot chocolate after." Logan mentioned. His middle school was further down the road and Griff watched his brother walk down the sidewalk and turn to wave to him. "I'm off at Three; as always!" He'd call out as he'd make his way down the sidewalk through Oldale. There wasn't much to say about Oldale. Just that the old road nearby - that estranged highway was a bus route, one which wasn't impatient with other drivers going to and from Littleroot and Oldale. It would be the sort of route which starting trainers overlooked... but then again, there wasn't any tall grass to venture through. All Griffin did was walk through the door, take his shoes off at a cubby and wandered the hall. It was a two-story school - longer; not taller. Unlike a middle school where the stairs would curl around, this one was a straight, minor staircase at the end of the main hall. Griffin was on the second floor... the staff had gotten used to his Poochyena, since it caused more problems without Griff being there with her. Not a single one of them dared to take her away... dared to openly question it. Dared to try a Pokeball even though she was wild. He was the only student out of all of them that had a Pokemon with him just... out in the open. The first class he had was his favorite. It was an English class, specifically to learn English and frankly; it was a class that Griffin exceled at. It was easy... For that he had the best teacher. Someone who taught him to speak English at an early age. Spanish came after from his Mother. Madre... Griffin stepped into the classroom easily twenty minutes early and sat down. Put his bag down and opened it up to get his books ready; his Poochyena simply waited until the bag was empty... save for a few blankets which he left, folded up inside of it. She'd simply huff at him; it was this huff that told him he should hang it on the back of his chair and Griffin did just that. She'd simply climb onto the back of his chair; which left him to laugh. "Get some extra sleep okay?" He'd mention with a smile and petted her cheek "We'll have a big day ahead of us..." Griffin expressed as she'd make a little yip and climbed into his rucksack. Griffin knew that in the next little while... after the bell and the classes started, she'd be fast asleep. "You're here early." It was the voice that nearly made him jump out of his chair. He was hardly aware that the teacher had been behind the wall of the classroom, right next to the door... as though he waited for his top-grade English student. "S - sorry sir." Griffin expressed in English and the teacher simply nodded. "That's alright Fletching... how do you say Teacher in Spanish?" He'd ask, in English. "W - well there's a few ways but it's based on context. Docente... Maestro. Profesor." Griffin named off the first three that came to mind. "It's very similar to English." The teacher ended up walking to the front. He was this thin man in a pair of dress pants and a white dress shirt with a black tie - nothing all too particular. "I'm surprised that you.... Out of all your classes are... fluent in English. An A... of all things." The teacher began to write something down on the board. "Not only that; you can read exceptionally well... albeit your writing is sloppy. Especially Hiragana." He began to write down words on the board. First the symbols for Teacher in English... and then Docente and Maestro in English text... and then he followed with the word in Hiragana and Katakana. "I'd like you to copy what's on the board." "S - sir?" Griffin began to say and pulled out a pen and paper.

"I... had an idea... to... help you with your writing. So, since you're normally here early in the morning, I figured I could help you with correcting your writing and helping it be cleaner." He began to say "I want you to write the words I write, ten times each. Specifically, the Hiragana." He expressed, and Griffin tilted his head but wrote it down anyways. The Teacher... Docente... Sensei... Ky?shi... Shish?... all words for teacher or instructor... Leader. It was all based on context and structure. Griffin just filled out the list... He filled out an entire sheet of paper. It made him give it this little glance as he practiced. One that felt... teary eyed. He knew what it looked like. Griffin knew exactly what the sheet looked like. "Now... How do you say Brother in Spanish?" The Teacher began. "Hermano" Griffin replied blankly and the teacher nodded before he wrote it down on the board, in English and then followed the rest in Japanese. Words like Kyoudai... Aniki... and many others. He wrote them down too, as neatly as he could. "And mother?" "Madre..." Griffin replied, and they filled out even more. Okaasan... Ofukuro... Kaachan... The teacher gave a little breath. "And lastly... Father." Griffin simply swallowed with a bitter shock in his throat. "Padre... Engendre... papá..." The Teacher wrote them all down... and it was just a cycle. Otousan... Tousan... Oyaji... Touchan... "What do all of them have in common?" Griffin sniffled. "T - they... all don't have... ruder prefix's... I think." The teacher nodded, partially. "They're all based off of respect, which ones are the politest?" He'd ask, and Griffin stuttered. "Okaasama... O - or Chichi Ue for... father." The teacher simply rubbed his eyes for a moment. "You haven't done anything wrong... Griffin. I simply wanted to show you the prefix's, about being polite and respectful when referring to one's own and another. That is something I want all of our students to learn; you're already miles ahead of them regarding that." The Teacher erased what was on the board and gave him a small look. "How... about you take a free block for the morning... Griffin? I'll write down a note to ensure you're not bothered." "B - but English is my favorite class..." The teacher simply gave him this small look. A perplexed yet firmly concerned look.

"I think it's for the best, the students don't need to bother you first thing in the morning. Head towards the library and do other work instead. You'll have no homework tonight from me." The teacher expressed as Griffin awkwardly and gently took a hold of his bag. Bandit made a small squeak of a sound as he'd softly pad it on his back and grab his books. He'd simply make his way to the library... this small box of a room with desks in the middle and a librarian whom bitterly gave him a look. He knew her... that was his neighbor or at least one of them. A very... specific one. "Library is closed first thing in the morning. Except for book drop returns." She'd express, an elderly woman who crossed her arms... but in moments the English teacher made his way into the room; with a note. "I let him here." He'd say and handed Griffin the note... she'd only huff in reply and went back to the front desk... in view of the rest of them. She'd return to some book that she always seemed to read... while Griffin put his books down, opened up his math book and looked over his work. The papers from that morning sat on the desk too... They looked no different than the times tables he and his father worked on... the method he adopted from him.

Griffin's entire school day ended up in the library, except for lunch where he let Bandit out. Needless to say, everyone at the school was jealous of him; of the one student that had his Pokemon at school and at the same time they hated the fact that he never showed it off, or got it to perform any interesting or cool moves. All Griffin did was play with her, feed her... pamper her. They'd say she was the weakest Poochyena of the bunch but... She beat the only other Pokemon at the school that students had, and he didn't want a rematch any time soon. That story got around like wild fire, so for at least a while, Griffin was isolated from them all. But this time he wasn't alone. There would be these hushed whispers about him... the weird kid... the homeless kid... the freak. There wasn't a single nice thing to say about a child that looked utterly different and acted different from them. He was simply born different or decrepit in their eyes. But in Bandits... that was a different story entirely.

Before Griffin knew it, he was standing outside of his school as all the students ran by him. Griffin stood with his Poochyena at his side where people just kept their distance - as though he had a meter-long stick in every direction. There would be more hushed whispers about him... from all over. Yet Bandit just burned away every word with a single gaze, and then his brother showed up with a wave, dressed in his school uniform and a big grin on his face. "Hey bro!" He'd call out, there were some middle-schoolers with him; it made Griffin swallow nervously. "H - hey!" he mentioned back and just sunk against the wall, he hadn't ever seen them before. "Wait... that's your brother? And he's got a Poochyena!? That's awesome!" One of them said and his nerves just shocked themselves. "Yeah! That's the Pooch I keep telling you all about." "Wait... that's her? She's so... tiny! Oh my god... it's like a stuffy!" Bandit twitched her ears and growled at the stranger. It made him recoil with a 'whoa.' "And she's... definitely a fighter. No wonder why that other kid lost... We'll see you later Log!" Griffin tilted his head as Logan waved them off "I thought you... hated that nickname?" Griffin brought up and Logan shrugged. "It just stuck! You know what's nuts? That guy LOVES anime..." Logan frowned a little for a moment before he'd laugh "I can't get away from it..." It made Griffin chortle. "W - well I only watch the good ones..." Logan seemed to shrug in reply to Griffin's logic. "I guess... welp ready for some food? I mean two hours walking home is nuts! We could take the bus if we eat" Griffin just nodded in reply as Logan tossed an arm his way as though to follow him. As though he were some adventurous paladin that called out 'Onward!' it made Griffin laugh a little, since he was stuck to his imagination and plenty of math corrections for the whole day. It was as though nobody wanted him in their classroom today... "Today was weird..." Griffin commented as they walked down the sidewalk and Bandit began to scamper up his pant leg... up his poofy jacket and onto his shoulders. She just held his brain-cap down firmly and flicked her tail. It made some of the students from his school that were walking their direction to stare. "They do that?" A voice mentioned in the background and then there was a hushed whisper "No seriously! It's just like... that's neat! I want one to do that too! Like... a Pikachu or a Zigzagoon!" They commented as their friend tugged them away. Mentioning something about staying away from the crazy kid. Griffin just reached into his pouch and held up a little bit of kibble. The Poochyena turned her head away from it. "How much have you fed her today?" Griffin tapped his thigh with a finger "I... don't know" He'd say "I may have gotten bored in the library... after I finished or at least I think I finished my math... I ended up feeding her and trying to draw..." He'd express "They're really bad..." Logan giggled "Well, put your mind to it, you can build anything." Logan mentioned and lightly tapped Griffin's arm as they wandered down the road... past a home. "Hey... remember that old broken-down house in Petalburg? The one on the outskirts?" Logan expressed, and Griffin shrugged "Not... really? I mean it wasn't anything special." "Well I mean it WASN'T but now the people that live there planted all these trees and flowers and stuff. It looks beautiful - you don't even KNOW how beautiful. I just don't know the tree. And there's so many... not only that the outside has been cleaned up like nuts. It honestly looked like a crack den before..." Griffin giggled at the word... "That is bad... Like the ones on TV on those police shows?" Logan rolled his eyes "Yeah, like those ones... I can't believe I had to explain that to you... why weren't you in bed?" Griffin made a face "Why weren't YOU in bed?" Logan giggled and shrugged a little as he opened the door to an all too familiar place... A place that served adventurous hot chocolate. It was... walking in the door which made Griffin blink a little and grab Logan's sleeve. "W - wait... here? C - can't we go to that... other shop?" Griffin began to say, and Logan blinked a little. "W - well this one is the closest to the bus route... if we miss it, we'll have to wait another hour..." Logan began to say and simply looked towards a park in the distance... on that regularly dressed itself up for winter. It was a far way out... far enough that it be worth the drive... Logan meekly cracked out a smile. "We... both can get hot chocolate." Logan began to say and awkwardly nodded "I... think it's worth getting it from here... like how we went to the cove during the summer... remember? We both met Bandit after all. That's... worth something right? For us?" Griffin anxiously tapped his foot on the sidewalk and walked into the shop. That special... pointless little coffee shop. The kind that would sell sandwiches and small treats... and hot chocolate on a cold day. Logan just stood at the line and smiled to someone behind the counter. They'd welcome him and he'd go to order. "Extra whipped cream?" He'd ask but Griffin just stared out the window... aimlessly. Just towards a table nearby the front door. He shook his head no however; after just a little while. "Two regular hot chocolates... and two sandwiches please, the whole grain." Logan pointed to one of them and as he did... Well it went white for Griffin. "I'll cover that for you both." A voice... a white spectral - a ghost looked them over. One that Griffin couldn't see, couldn't breathe around... One that gave Bandit a very... very curious stare. It was a man, perhaps middle aged; stocky build... But Griffin couldn't see anything save for a silhouette. "Two young boys running around at this time of day" He spoke with this utterly friendly laugh "They're bound to enjoy a warm cup; and with Christmas around the corner I'd hate for you two to spend all your money beforehand."_The voice explained. It felt confident and reassuring... kind... **_And completely awkward to boot.** His hand outreached to pet Bandit... she simply pinned her ears back and stilled her tail as his hand gently reached over Griffin's scalp. A ghost... That's all he was. "A Poochyena that does this? It's rare. It means she's protective... loyal. Those are good traits. Respect them and she'll respect you, young man." Logan simply chuckled in reply "I've never seen you in town before... are you from around here?" "No... I'm from Mexico Griffin only felt his whole world glitch as though he were in some crackle of thought. Logan went to reply yet it all became a freeze-frame, one that left his memory to slowly flicker and flash...

he just pointlessly stared out at the city with the patio door open. He could see the plume of his breath in front of him as he'd glance at Celadon from a distance in wonder as though to explore his mind ever further. The song just ended... but Griffin had to lie to himself. He just had to... So, Griffin repeated the song one... last... time.

December Twenty Fourth: Two Thousand and Nine

Snow. It unfurled like little ringlets of ash-ridden paper as they fluttered down to the ground. Griffin found himself surrounded by lights... the park in Oldale Town. His brother was with him, helping their mother along the park's walkway as Bandit stared up at him. There was this little whine that got caught up in her throat. Griffin didn't want to be here. He didn't want to go... And now all he did was find himself staring up at a cloudy sky where the moonlight peered through with these aura-like ringlets around it as though someone threw a rock in clear, starry-lit water. The tree's around him swayed as a soft chilly wind cut through his fingers. They burned with this... feeling of cold-heat and blood. Clearly red from them being out as though his body just rejected the idea of keeping them warm in the chill of a frosted night. Like a waning candle, one where its wax had all but burnt out. That was the definition of this month... every year. That was this season and will forever be that for Griffin.

Even though it never was always that way...

The colors flashed and danced in the starry night sky as the world encircled and spun around him. The vertigo left his feet to feel like jelly and his hands to shiver and quake in the cold, relentless wind. Strangers passed by him in excited chatter; overlooking him as though he were nonexistent. Bandit bit at his jeans as though to make him move but he refused to budge... Standing in a spot where he once imagined a stadium. One filled with cheering people... with friends... family. Where it all rested on him and for once... For fucking once... he could do something right. All he did was feel the wash and the world spin and spin around him, the urge to crumple to the ground crossed his mind. He wanted to do just that, until Bandit began to bellow out at him. It made him flinch just for Griffin to see her with her pelt puffed out... eyes wide... ears folded down and her tail stiff and stuck in-between her legs. "I'm okay. I'm okay..." He'd say and wiped his nose against the sleeve of his jacket. "I'm just cold... that's all." Griffin expressed and made this smile. That smile didn't reassure her at all, in fact she'd make this gruff snarl of a sound and tugged at his jeans with her large canines. She tugged and tugged at him and he'd finally move for her. Bandit refused to let go of his pant leg, as if to guide him through the cold. There was no sweet music, no sound in his ear. Just the chatter of the world around him. This overwhelming chatter which endlessly washed over him with these sudden thoughts of worry. The kind that told him the entire world was willing to just... walk out. But Griffin knew that couldn't be true, because he stared at the only thing that never seemed to. A small Poochyena which refused to let his leg go. One that whined at him in worry, one that in every direction told him to go. Without her... Griffin wouldn't know what to do. So he'd sluggishly follow and tread along in the snow with his enflamed and quaked hands. The fingers were red, painfully red yet he couldn't feel anything but that familiar tightness in his chest - the swell in his cheeks and the sting in his eyes which left his entire world a glossy glow of colors and shadows. "See... we'll light candles for each of us. There's plenty." Logan's voice came to him... an entire world away where they stood at this cemetery. A mound of dirt with a town with them in silence. "Can you help me do that... Griffey?"

It stung his eyes even more as he'd blink from the sharp pain that swelled from them only wondering endlessly what tomorrow would bring... "Hey bro... how you are feeling?" Logan mentioned after Griffin finally caught up. "I want to go home..." He'd mention, and Logan blinked for a moment "Your hands... did you forget your gloves?" He'd take his off and Griffin shook his head no. It made Logan narrow his eyes. "You don't get a choice, Griffin." Logan remarked "Jesus you'll lose your fingers like that." He just went to reach for his younger brother and all Griffin could do was push him. Griffin pushed his older brother hard enough that he'd land in the snow. "I don't want them!" Griffin choked out "I don't WANT TO BE HERE." He yelled and loudly at him. Bandit uneasily jolted and folded her ears while backing off. "Just leave me alone..." Logan simply made this face... his got red "I won't just do that you idiot!" Logan remarked back... he left his mother down the trail when he saw Griffin hanging behind. "You'll barely be able to feel your fingers again; now just take my gloves you..." Logan bit his tongue as he got to his feet and tugged the sleeve of Griffin's jacket. He simply flailed in response, driven solely by... He didn't even know how to describe it. "I don't want them!" Griffin remarked "STOP ACTING LIKE DAD BECAUSE YOUR NOT!" Griffin simply screamed at him, in the middle of the park where all the chatter around them stopped. Logan just blinked; he blinked quietly and held onto Griffin's puffy winter jacket as tightly as he could. There was just this silence between them for a moment. "I know that... Griffin. I know that." He'd say firmly... maturely, even though Griffin could see the gloss in his eyes. "I'm still your brother though... I'd never get mad at you without a good reason and I know I'm a major pain in the ass but I'm your brother." "I don't want you to be!" Griffin replied shortly. Quickly. "So, let GO!" "What? So, you can run off into the woods? It's minus seven for... I'm not letting you do that!" Logan remarked, and Griffin simply called out... "Bandit!" He mentioned with a little whine and she simply went wide eyed and looked between them.

She just looked back and forth; utterly confused. All the Poochyena did was look back and forth as her paws fumbled, and her tail flicked spasmodically in every single direction. "Let go Logan!" "No!" Logan snapped back at him and tugged against his jacket sleeve. Then Griffin bitterly called out something simple... Something easy. "Bite!" Griffin called out but the Poochyena stayed "Don't listen to him, he'll hurt himself out there!" Logan expressed as Griffin kept flailing. It went back and forth... back and forth until the Poochyena finally had enough. There was sand attack... but without sand it was more like a snow attack. All she did was frantically dig as fast as her little paws could muster and drench both in snow. It left them both to tumble to the ground. Covered nearly head to toe in a frost of white; she'd make this... growl that Griffin had never heard her make and in his mind, he swore that she turned around and barked 'Cool it!' Or something cheesy like that. It just left him to look up at the sky... at the snow... at all the lights around them. Logan simply huffed and spat out a collection of white fluff and fog. "I hope that doesn't become a thing..." He'd express, and Griffin chuckled with his head spinning. "At least it wasn't yellow..." It made Logan frantically pad at his tongue as though he second guessed it. That left them both to giggle and laugh for minutes on end until they just both ended up looking at the snow above them. The green tree's which had their branches weighed down and a small chuckle which came from Logan. "She... found a way out of it." Griffin blinked as the snow touched and kissed his cheeks and eyelashes "What do you mean?" He'd ask after a minute "From choosing... she found a way out of it." Logan began to laugh "It's maybe a good thing she isn't obedient... what about those headphones? Find them yet?" Griffin shook his head no and Logan smirked "I'll buy you a new pair someday." He'd exhale a plume of white fog after he talked. "Hey... I get it. I'm not... dad. That's why I carpool to school or at least... used to. I... didn't want to go down that road anymore." Griffin coughed a little "Well why don't you?" "You, bozo..." Logan replied with a grin "I stopped carpooling for you... obviously." Logan laughed a little more "I'm your brother. It's just a thing brothers are supposed to do." Logan said and gave this little guilty look. "I got this weird phone call the other day... to our home phone." He started to say "It was this... Pokemon Professor. One that said he was looking for a trainer." Griffin looked his way. "What?" Griffin began to say, and Logan nodded "Yeah... Professor Ayumu. I had to google him, I've never seen anyone with so many recommendations in my life. He has honors in the Pokemon League... came out of nowhere too. I thought it was a scam but... I checked with every Pokemon Center and... everywhere. Even Birch knows him." Logan started to say "Ayumu is offering to take... me as his trainer..." Griffin coughed a little more "What? When?" Logan shrugged against the snow as they both just looked up to the clouds. "I don't know... I told him that I'll think about it. That I still had so much that I need to do here... he said 'call me anytime. I'm open until... at least October next year. The sooner the better.'" Logan mentioned, and Griffin gave a little pout in reply. Logan just continued to talk... "It'll... fix everything if I win a league. All the money problems - I've done the math; if I never eat anywhere expensive or... sleep at motels or hotels I can save up... god... at least a million, and that's in Poke... It's worth as much as Euro... I could... easily pay for mom and you... Bandit." Griffin coughed a little more and Logan looked his way. "Are you okay?" Griffin nodded in reply "The snow got stuck in my throat..." That made them both laugh... as Bandit stuck an ear up between them. They gave her this look and all she did was stick the tip of her tongue out of her muzzle; tilt her head and flicker her ears with big wide eyes along with her tail. The 'littlest angel look' Which left them both to laugh even harder while all she did was wiggle her little tail and bark. "We need to get mom." Griffin nodded back "Yeah..." Logan took off his gloves first and handed them to Griff first... he put them on by the end of it. They were... ridiculously warm. As Logan grabbed Griffin's hand and Bandit gently followed behind them. "Don't look too glum... it's Christmas." Logan mentioned with a smile "So... that's something to be happy about... we still have mom and I'm not going anywhere. Even if I do, I'm still in Hoenn, I can always bus back and say hi!"

Griffin only replied with a hum and a nod as they found themselves back at the house. It was... cold, empty; a neighbor dropped them off and told them to have a wonderful winter. Truth be told, they didn't have any gifts to really share that year... there was no 'one present on Eve's night' or... even a tree. All the did was have Griffin cook them all dinner with what they had; ate; watched television by the fire and waited for tomorrow. Griffin... wasn't excited about the next day, in fact he went to bed very, very quickly; with Bandit by his side while lost in tired wonder. Scared of where his brother would go... what he would do... How his journey could make him into a trainer or... have him realize that it's nothing more but an empty... wishful promise.

December Twenty Fifth: Two Thousand and Nine.

Griffin woke up before the sun even came around the bend and with some annoyed yawn; he looked out to the window where his red-oakwood dresser sat in his room. One with a picture frame that faced against the wood, then understand something clearly freed at last from its hidden chains and binds. All he did was sigh and stretch in his bed before he tossed off the already messy covers. In some lazy way, at one-point Griffin was proud to keep his room spotless but that had long passed by now. Bandit rolled onto her back to show off her belly. It was this fluffy grey belly and she'd open her eyes and rolled out her tongue as though she immediately expected - or demanded - pets. Griffin couldn't say no to that, he never could whenever she offered them. Her fur was incredibly soft now; thanks to all the cleaning products Logan had. He always knew of the best ones and he never got distracted with those fancier ones... the kind that were just some fashion statement. Griffin simply ran his fingers against the fur on her belly as he took this friendly little glance out the window. The trees were laden with snow; everyone resembled a mountain peak as though he had the entire world to look at from outside of his window. A sharp little yawn slipped out of his mouth and Bandit replied with the same; showing off her large canine's and fangs. It made Griffin grimace. "Talk about morning breath..." He'd say with a giggle and that made the Poochyena tilt her head... twitch her ears... Oh look! It's the littlest angel again! Griffin only chuckled endlessly with that and picked her up. She infamously scampered on top of his head as he'd wander towards the bathroom and turn on the light. Bandit instantly growled at the strange appearance of a wild Poochyena! Yet Griffin knew that it was her reflection and after all this time... he believed that she did too. It was like this little motivation ritual they had by now and he went to brush his teeth. There was no need for a shower; he had one last night... so he'd simply go to brush his... Poochyena? He never could get to his hair with the way she sat on his head! So, he'd just let his hair stay wild and untamed - it had this audacity to stick to his scalp not unlike that of Ducklett fluff. As Griffin looked at himself in the mirror; Bandit made a clear and obvious tilt of her head to the left as though to observe herself or the other Poochyena in the mirror. Or it was to make a joke of how humans did that. Griffin barely knew and made an obvious yawn as he'd leave the bathroom and made his way to the stairs. He was just casually on the first step - without holding on - when he realized the height. Sure it was getting smaller and smaller as he grew but it was STILL HIGHER then HIMSELF. It was Bandit that barked at him and left him to scramble for the banister to hold on for dear life. There was...

There was a hushed conversation from the living room and it made Griffin's eyes glow. He couldn't care about the banister. He couldn't care about the height, not when those voices came from the living room. Griffin nearly leapt down the stairs; slid against the tile in the foyer which nearly left him to trip over a collection of shoes and ran into the living room. "D..." He was about to say it yet... went completely silent. This older gentlemen with these brown-bluish eyes gave him a curious look... and Bandit gave this curious growl at a peculiar Raticate that was by his side. "There's one of the young boys now!" He mentioned with a wonderfully infectious smile, and that's when Logan ran past him as though to leave him in the dust. "Abuelito! Abuelita!" Logan called out and stalled himself when he got up to Corey. Yet before Logan could give him a hug; Corey nearly put him in a headlock "What? Think your Grandpapa is too old for a hug like that?" He'd say with a laugh as Logan ended up giggling... The old man gently racked his knuckles against Logan's hair as though it were some frat-boy greeting card. Their mother, whom was sitting down on her chair... Dad's chair... in the living room simply laughed and giggled. "It's a bit of an odd present... but Abuelo and Nana have decided to stay in Japan for quite a while." Their mother expressed as Logan gave a friendly smirk and a grin "That's awesome!" He commented and looked over to Griffin. He was just pointlessly standing there. "It's great Griffin! Come say hi!" Griffin stalled and gave a little nod as he wandered over. Corey simply walked over to him and nearly picked him up in a hug. "H - honey you'll throw your back out!" Martha commented in worry; she was more distracted with their mother and speaking to her, but Logan went to give her a hug too. "And who's this fluffy little beast?" Corey asked, and Bandit replied with a gruff snort which made him chuckle... and then he pulled out something Griffin had never seen before. "Is that candy?" Logan looked over too. "Wait... you have...? That's Pokemon Candy? Those are hard to get!" Corey laughed "And I only have the one too." Corey mentioned and opened the little wrapper. It was this small ball... it looked hard, but it had this tootsie-pop look to it nearly; like it would be chewy in the center. He held it up to the Poochyena. But Bandit only sniffed it, gave it a lick and made this face as though it seemed sour or gross. She refused to eat it and that left Corey to look a little dumbfounded. "Huh... what a weird Yeen." Corey commented "Almost every Pokemon I've met devours these. It just disappears right away." Corey brought it up to his eyes and checked his glasses. "It looks okay... Raticate?" He'd lower his hand down to the ground and the Raticate sauntered its way over and sniffed the candy. Then it nearly ate it right off the bat. All the Raticate did was tilt it's head at the Poochyena. "Welp; that's about enough conversation! I bet you both want to open some presents!" Corey mentioned and brought out three small boxes. One of them was... It was just a simple cardboard box labeled to Griffin by a certain person that he barely had the chance to talk to. Griffin looked at that box beyond any other and Corey simply handed it to him. "Chale gave it to us when he heard we were coming down here. Said it was a gift for you!" Corey expressed. Chale was one of Martha's sister's son's it would make Chale a cousin. He was this young boy that lived on this ranch that specialized in berry crops which were solely unique to their region. Griffin went to open the box... A very simple hat; one like Logan's but this one was a little more... special. It had the logo of a certain school down there and it called out their team name. Manyena. They were this odd reginal variant of Poochyena's and Mightyena's... they looked similar but knew different moves and most importantly; they were like Pokemon on stilts! It was a bewildering thing, but Chale always told him it was so that they could see over hills and tall grasses... and that they LOVED the berries they grew, from the paste to the dried grinded herbs. They ate all of them if they had the chance. The males had this... wonderful mane; hence the name... the females were these tall short-haired canines with narrow snouts and longer ears. Griffin had only ever seen one; a male. It bristled out it's mane, like how Bandit does with her fur as though to make it look larger. That was the symbol on this hat; like a silhouette in a special shade of green - one that matched the jacket he wore. Griffin was so busy staring at it that Logan simply *plopped* it on his head while he adjusted his cap.

"Look at us! We'll both be like a brother trainer duo!" Bandit replied with a huff to Logan's little spree on it... Being so rudely pushed from Griffin's head and replaced with a hat didn't make her feel all too happy. She'd even try to climb back on, but that hat wasn't all too comfortable... It made Griffin giggle as her little paws went all over his head, shoulders and neck "There's the smile! I was waiting for that!" Logan commented happily as Corey gave a box to Logan. He just looked at it and thanked Corey before opening it up. He blinked a few times to start. "What... is it?" He'd ask and pull out this weird little device. Corey seemed to shrug; it was a device with a flat screen much like a phone but... it wasn't anything like a phone. "Well... It's a PokePilot. They were huge back in the day. It's... basically a Pokedex. See; look." Corey turned the device on and it would boot up after a moment with an audible chime... then Corey held it no different than a television remote and showed the screen on it to Logan. It scanned the Poochyena on Griffin's head; the one that scampered about to find a new spot; in fierce competition with his new hat. Griffin just started with 'Give me a sec... I'll take it off; I'll take it off..." Corey gave a little laugh "See; it tells you all the information you'd need on Pokemon; it just doesn't have all the fancy do-dads that a Pokedex does. Like Moves and other intense information. It just tells you what it is, what it eats, and what it's known for or what it does. You can search up a lot on Pokemon with it." Corey began "In fact; it uses a similar operating system to a Pokedex; but a PokePilot you can program yourself." Logan studied the weird device closely, as though it were some entirely new and confusing thing...but it was just some old chunk of electronics with a poor resolution screen, and even made this weird buzzing sound whenever the screen was on. Griffin just looked at the funny little device "It looks like one of those pager thingys." Corey chuckled "well, it's not... really; and it's not quite like one of those smartphones either." He began to say but Logan held up the device towards Raticate. It simply froze and looked at him with its curious little paws flickering at the air as though to claw at something. All it did was show him what it was, even though Logan was already a Pokedex in himself... A log... "This is PERFECT!" Logan commented gleefully "I can go out and fill in all sorts of cool things! I'll be like... I'll be like an actual professor!" Logan expressed "I'll need to show it Birch!" Logan brought up and that left his mother to giggle "Not today honey... he's bound to be busy; you know how he gets." She began to chuckle, and Martha picked up the last box. "I know it's not... much; but it's for both of you." Griffin and Logan both gave each other a look as they opened this peculiarly large box. It was one filled with two bats; baseball bats, bubble wrapped together. They an aluminum steel kind like the fancy ones at the bike shop... Two gloves; one of which was this light brown-tan color and the other one resembled dark cherry-wood. There was a small box of balls... they weren't like soft balls at all - not like the big yellow-lime ones that Griffin used to hit... These were professional ones... small, sleek and perfectly rounded. An iconic white with red stitching.

Logan only took one look at them and then tugged Griffin's sleeve "We HAVE to!" Logan expressed, and Griffin only flinched in reply "Have to what? ..." Griffin asked reluctantly as Logan grabbed one of the mitts and a ball. He'd simply give this silly little grin. "We have to play with the older bat first! Let's go outside! Griff!" Logan never gave him a choice... there was this way how he'd take Griffin's hand, bring him to the Foyer with Bandit scrambling around his shoulders and the way he'd just take the gloves from the banister. Logan... never looked back as he got his shoes on and only commented "It's out front... still." Corey made a little sound from the living room and mentioned for them to have fun. The conversation just turned hushed and almost sour immediately. "I put a tarp over it... one from the garage; it's still a mess. I should've put it in the garage I guess but... I didn't want to move it, you know...?" He began to say as he'd messily slip on his shoes and opened the front door. There was this odd nostalgic stumble he did, Griffin remembered that. It was just this way he did when he was younger... when Griffin was too young to understand it. Just an older brother that got too excited to see his fathers truck roll up in the driveway... the way how he didn't pay attention to the divider underneath the door. Logan caught himself by tossing his arms out wide while and hopping on a single foot... he'd end up making this loud yelp of a sound and flailed his hands until he stopped falling over. It made Griffin laugh loudly, he had to hold his sides against his puffy jacket. Logan simply stiffened his legs and straightened his back out. He looked like... well he looked like an upright log. Logan simply looked behind him and smiled before he went towards this one tarp that was underneath the edge of the house. It was this... tattered blue tarp that was covered in dirt and footprints. As though it were just left there, away from the rain and the snow. Like the entire world left it untouched and abandoned it. Underneath was nothing more then a simple old wooden bat. It was a large bat, like one that grownups could hold and play with. It ended up with Griffin holding an all too familiar bat in his gloved hands. The clouds hadn't entirely over casted the sky above them and it left this rare glow of sunlight to shimmer down him as he'd pointlessly stared up at the sky. Logan even took... dad's glove in his hand - the one that was too big for his little hands, the one that... dad never wore. As though it just came naturally for Griffin and Logan's father to show his hands for what they were. To show those scars... To show the meaning behind them.

To hide a past, neither of them would ever truly understand.

Logan softly lobbed the ball after Griffin got into position. His hands gripped the bat in a chocked-up way... And it was just too easy to miss it. Effortless to miss the now sleeker and smaller ball. Griffin had to blink and adjust his toque while he went to grab the ball again. It was a small... small thing that just fit snuggly in his hand when he stretched out his fingers; unlike the big yellow soft-ball; that one he needed both his hands to carry it. He'd drop the ball and tapped it with the bat. It really didn't go that far... the ball was surprisingly heavy as it would clunk to the ground. Logan picked it up as Griffin got back into spot. He did everything... everything his dad showed him, and he still missed that smaller, heavier ball. He didn't even touch the ball with that bat. He never got close... and there was this flush of red that ran through his face... a pout on his lip and a Poochyena, whom long jumped off his head while he swung the bat around. She sat on the front steps of the house; her claws were against the concrete. Griffin kept trying... and trying... It didn't work, at all. "You got it bro." Logan said with a happy smile. A genuine of one he could make._Griffin just got bitter and tightened his fist on the bat. "I can't hit it..." He stuttered the words out as Logan blinked a little and took a moment to give a little sigh. It was like he looked out to the world, lost in all of it to find an answer. Griffin simply watch Logan drop the ball. "Well... how about I help you out. _"That's a lot of 'I cant's'" His dad's voice cut into his thoughts. "I'll teach you how to hit the ball, there's a special secret to it." It came along again... the whole day just slithered into his mind but... They didn't have a tee to put the ball on, instead... they had their Grandfather check up on them. All he could see was two brothers, an older one that held the bat over his younger brothers' hands and placed his feet so that his brother could line himself up. As he corrected Griffin's mistake... guided him towards an answer. "Well, no you didn't... The only time you've got it wrong, is when you give up in figuring out your mistakes. There's no reason to get upset for trying" Corey simply stepped out into the snow; this look wool coat - a scarf around his neck and tucked into his jacket. He picked up the ball. "You both ready?" Corey asked, and Logan nodded confidently. "Of course we are!" He'd comment even though Griffin nervously went to say no. Corey simply lobbed the ball...

_The only thing Griffin really got for a gift that year... was the best gift of all. It wasn't that 'tap' sound he got when he hit that baseball with his brother. But it was a crack that sent the ball past their Grandfather, a ball that got lost in the woods with this wonderful swing. One that made him feel as though, in the bottom of the ninth, he truly hit a homerun. The best gift he could ever ask for in his life...

Was solely being able to show... and say something he was proud of to his father; even though, for just a moment... it was through Logan's eyes. It was a gift more perfect then them all... one that he had every single day and it all revolved around the simplest of words. _ Their day ended with some homemade hot chocolate and a television show that ended back in the eighties...

July Fourteenth: Twenty Eighteen.

Only the chilly wind flicked his jacket across his skin as he'd stare at the song on his phone... and finally peeled his eyes away from the city to look behind him. Luna watched Griffin closely and tilted her head in such away that it reminded him... of his bathroom mirror; the one he stood in front of every morning. It was that small thing which left him to question himself as he stared intensely at his phone. The cracked screen made it appear as though a spider of some sorts were trapped beneath the glass... the hue flickered across his face as he pointlessly looked at some... stupid song that he just couldn't get out of his head from time to time. The kind of song that he'd here from time to time. The one, that at one point, brought a smile to a certain face... Or two... Three... Four. Griffin simply clenched his phone and looked out at the city again as it was illuminated in a still picture of colorful hues and sparkling little diamonds the size of stars. Of course... I listen to one... dumb song and... I spend all my time thinking about... all of it. He just tossed this curious little glance Luna's way; by his foot. She stood on her hind legs and pushed against him as though to get his attention; as though he had to pay attention... That he simply had to breathe and focus. Keep his eye on it. Griffin only stared at his phone as a small... insignificant drop touched the screen and a small set of paws pushed against his shin. _All she did was tilt her head... and stick her tongue out.

It was nothing like a little angel, it was more like a confused... friendly look. One that made him blink and touch something on his phone with a firm tap of his finger. _

A breath... **_and a picture of something beyond himself touched his mind... As though to tell a story of their life. One of a young trainer and his rather troublesome Vulpix crossed his thoughts but Griffin imagined something more. Something that revolved around one... pointless little word to try and explain them all. A word to explain a dream as empty as following a brother through a snowstorm... Or a voice of a father heard on Christmas day; but it was gift of a word that meant more and more whenever the time was lent and repaid in full.

Family._**

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