FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My New Best Friend, Chapter 4 : the candy maniac

What just happened? Did...did Alex saved me? Where am I? Everything is so...foggy...thats it! Its fog! But, we are in the middle of summer, there's almost no humidity in town. Where did all this fog come from?"

Rising from the steam, a shadow lifted and made its way towards Riolu. It was a jackal like pokemon. It had a dark black mask just like Riolu, but they weren't quite the same. This figure was way taller than the little pup. Riolu barely reached the jackal pokemon's knees. And this pokemon had cream fur in his torso and a very long blue tail. Scared, the little dog retreated, but felt a tight grip of a large paw pulling him closer. As the bigger Pokemon loosened its paw, Riolu managed to pop the question.

"Who..who are you?"

"That, young one, is something you cant know yet." The low and prepotent voice echoed, and made Riolu shivered.

"Why not!" Asked the doggy. "And where are we anyway!?" Riolu started to sound desperate.

"Because you'll get to know...in the future."

"The future? What are you talking about!? And where are we!?". Protested Riolu.

"You, young one, have established a bond with a human. A very strong and special bond. Cherish it, protect it. Because it will be the most beautiful and happiest thing you'll ever have." Said the bipedal creature.

"Answer my question!" Riolu was growling now.

"Hum...you're a stubborn one aren't you? But I'm sure that trait will help you in your journey with that human...so long young one! The jackal Pokemon turned and started walking away. Riolu tried to run behind it, but soon lost sight of it.

"Who was he? Why was he talking about a bond? God I'm so confused!" Exclaimed Riolu. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Riolu started feeling a stinging pain in his forehead!

"Ouch! God! My head! It aches!" Complained the puppy. Soon enough, Riolus paws, legs, thighs, and even his tail hurt. Riolu started loosing his vision, everything was blurry to him. He started stumbling as he walked foward, and soon fell and fainted, wherever he was....as Riolu started gaining consciousness, the Jackal pokemon spoke one last line.

"Huh, you would think that after all this time...he would recognize himself..."

************************************************************************************************

Riolu started feeling a poking and shaking. He slowly opened his crimson eyes and to his surprise, a human was holding his paw. "Oh Riolu thank goodness, you woke up!" Yelped Alex in a happy and relieved tone.

"Rio? (Where am I?)

"Don't worry sweetie! You're ok now...there's no Jason anymore." Said Alex as if trying to calm down the dog. "You are at the Pokemon center. I brought you here after last night's incident with that bastard. Riolu then felt an annoying pain in his head. He lifted his paw and touched his forehead (yeah, like thats gonna make the pain go away)

"Careful pup, don't push yourself! You had a light concussion caused by the kick that brat gave you yesterday."

"Rio Rio!" (Ouch...it hurts a lot mom!)

"Don't worry, they are taking care of you right now! You'll be good as new in no time! Said Alex. Riolu glanced at the clock. It was 12:36 pm. Had Alex stayed all night with him? Did he really care so much as to loose hours of his previously beloved sleep? Riolu's thoughts were interrupted when Nurse Joy entered the private room.

"Oh! Riolu! You woke up!" Said Nurse Joy happily.

"Is everything ok, Nurse Joy?" Asked Alex. He seemed worried.

"Yes everything is fine with Riolu. I just came here to tell you the visiting hours ended about 45 minutes ago, and I cant keep covering up for you..." Said Nurse Joy

"What? Are you sure I cant stay the night here?"

"I've already been covering for you for a while now, and they already asked me to tell you to go home....besides, I'm sure your parents are worried about you..."

"*sigh* ok, I'll leave. But...could you give me just five more minutes?!"

"I'll see what I can do!"

"Thank you! I'll be out in a minute." Replied Alex.

As Nurse Joy left the room, Alex turned to see a drowsing Riolu, almost falling asleep already.

"Sweetie wake up! I need to tell you something!"

"Rio?" (Yes?) Riolu stared intently at Alex as he grabbed something out of his bag. Alex revealed in his hand a red and white capsule with a black stripe in the center. It was Riolu's pokeball.

"I was going to destroy it myself when I had the chance...but I though it would help if you broke it." Alex said as he handed Riolu the pokeball. It all seemed surreal to the little puppy. Alex wanted him to break his pokeball...he was actually giving him a chance of being free...Riolu didn't know what to do. He wanted to be with Alex, but he also wanted to be wild and free;no strings attached. After all his time with Jason, Riolu had lost all faith in trainers....what if Alex got mad at him for loosing and punished him? He certainly didn't wanted to go through that again. Suddenly, Riolu heard a deep voice inside his head. It was the jackal like pokemon's voice! And it clearly said:

"Partner up with him! Establish a bond, cherish it, protect it. Because, it will be the most beautiful and happiest thing you'll ever have."

Really not knowing why, Riolu obeyed that voice in his head. He surely thought he was loosing it, but it seemed like the right thing to do. As Riolu placed the ball in Alex's hand, he managed to get a surprised look from the human.

"Riolu....whats this? Don't you want to destroy it?" Riolu shook his head slightly.

"Rio rio!"(no, I wanna go with you!) Alex couldn't really understand the pokemon speech, but he had a good idea of what Riolu meant.

"Sooo, what does this mean? You wanna come with me? You want to be my pokemon?" Interrogated Alex. This time, the emanation pokemon nodded and, despite the aching pain he felt, hugged his new trainer. Everything was unexpected for Alex, but as he returned the loving hug, a group of words escape his lips.

"Welcome to the family sweetie, welcome to the family!"

************************************************************************************************

The next morning, Alex woke up in a hurry. He promise Riolu that he would go and see him first thing in the morning. He had never woken up so fast in his life! He got out of his bed and took a quick shower. After dressing himself up and going downstairs for some breakfast, someone he didn't expected greeted him from his kitchen counter.

"Speaking of the devil! Our Pokemon savior!" Said a familiar voice. A tall handsome man with royal blue blazer, a spiky hat, dark hair an beautiful blue eyes exclaimed as Alex walked in. A blue jackal like Pokemon stood beside the man.

"Riley!? What are you doing here?!" Alex was quite surprised! He hadn't seen Riley since he traveled to Iron Island last summer.

"I heard about you in the news!" Replied the Aura guardian.

"The news? I was on TV?"

"Yes, yesterday's incident with that other guy...what was his name...oh yeah Jason, was broadcast in the late news. I saw how you got into a fight with him and how you saved that baby Riolu."

"Ok...that makes sense...but why did you come? Its not like someone got killed." Asked Alex

"Well, in reality, I wanted to give you...what should I call it....a piece of advise." Said Riley.

"Advice? What advice?"

"About Riolu! Im assuming you're keeping it."

"Well...yes...I'm keeping him..." Alex said shyly.

"Anyway, the thing is that, that Riolu, according to what I saw on the newscast....he was quite abused by his past trainer..."

"Yes I'm aware of that...but don't worry, the Pokemon Protection Institution is going to take care of him." Suddenly, Alex's mom interrupted.

"Wait! The PPI got involved?" Interrogated the woman.

"Well yeah..." Riley said lightly, like it was an obvious statement, "Jason is an abusive trainer...and they found some "torture equipment stained with Pokemon blood in his house...he could even loose his Pokemon."

"Thats despicable and terrible!!! How awful!" Yelped the worried mother.

"Yes I know! But could we please talk about something else...just hearing his name makes me angry!" Alex punched his fist on the counter.

"Sure, what I was saying, is that Riolus are quite difficult creatures to raise. They seem cute and easy, but they are very needy and require a lot of attention. The reason I came here, was to give this..." Riley pulled put a small booklet from his blazer and handed it to Alex.

"Whats this? A guide?" Alex read the tittle. It went something like this: "Aura pokemon guide: how to raise your Riolu!"

"Its a book that tells you everything you need to know about Riolus and their species. I know it sounds a little over the top, but trust me, it will help you a lot. It certainly helped me when I had to take care of my little buddy!" Riley glanced at his Lucario as he returned a serious glare and a quiet growl.

"Sorry to say it like this...but I think I can handle a puppy..." Said Alex with a cocky tone.

"You're gonna regret those words kid. Riolus are different than any other puppy. They take a lot of time and patience to domesticate, but if done correctly...well...they can be amazing." Riley once again glanced at Lucario, and this time the jackel smiled in returned. "Just...read the book...and if it doesn't help, you can always return it."

"Ok thanks, I'm sure a little bit of reading wont hurt me" said Alex softly.

"Thats the spirit! Well see ya later!"

"Wait! You're not staying in town?

"Now I gotta get back to work..."

"Oh ok...well see ya soon! Said Alex.

"Bye! Lets go Lucario!"

"Luca!!" The jackal Pokemon followed its master wagging his tail in happiness.

************************************************************************************************

It was midday and the sun was shining bright in Canalave city. In the Pokemon Center located in the central avenue, a tired Riolu was just waking up from his sleep. The little puppy opened his eyes to find himself alone in a room, laying on a giant bed.

("Huh? Mommy?...guess he went home...") Riolu was quite bored...Alex had ordered him a private room, so no other pokemon were around for him to talk to. The good thing was that he received the best service, and his room was very luxurious. The blue dog glanced at the nightstand and spotted a black remote. He reached his little paw and started playing with the control. Nothing happened at first, but when he pressed a light green button, the TV went on! Riolu was startled at first; he didn't know were the sound was coming from. But he soon realized it was just the television. An ugly woman was shown in the screen and the words "Aggressive outburst at the Theatre Festival" were projected bellow. But before Riolu could understand what was going on, Alex entered the room.

"RIO RIOLUUU!" The puppy launched himself into Alex's arms; but soon started whining as the pain settled in his body. He wasn't ready to move so quickly, but he really didn't care. He was just happy Alex had come to see him.

"Careful! You're not completely healed yet! Exclaimed Alex. Riolu tilted his head down and nuzzled his trainer in the chest. As Riolu and Alex embraced on a hug, Jason's image was shown on the TV. Upon seeing this, Riolu started trembling and gulping. Alex almost immediately tried to calm him down.

"Shhh, dont worry sweetie...everything's fine,that brat wont bother you again. I took care of him! Ok, so calm down....are you hungry? Do you want something?" Alex almost acted like his own mother. Riolu simply nodded as his tummy started growling for food. "Ok I'll be right back". As soon as Alex left the room, from his bag, a pokeball popped open and a bright flash of blue light came out. A familiar penguin Pokemon took form from the bright light.

Pokemon-speech:

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here! A little injured Riolu isn't it! Prinplup started sounding very cocky.

"What do you want?" Replied shyly the puppy.

"I want nothing from you! Im just here to warn you!" Replied Prinplup

"Warn me? What are you talking about?" Riolu was very confused.

"I heard you joined our team! How dare you returned to my master when you left him! Is that what he is to you! Just a human from whom you will take advantage?!?!"

"WHAT! No! First of all. He left me! He made me go! And second of all, I don't want to take advantage of him! He's my mom!

"NO HE'S NOT!"

"YES HE IS! HE TOOK CARE OF ME! Riolu wanted to hit Prinplup, but he knew that was a stupid idea...

"Regardless of what you think of him...don't you dare cut me out of the picture, you filthy pup! " Prinplup smirked.

"What do you mean?" Riolu had a concerned look on his face...

"It means, that if you take my spot in this team....you will be VERY sorry!"

As Prinplup finished that last sentence, Alex entered the room carrying a tray with some food on it. "Here you go sweetie!" Alex placed the tray on Riolu's lap and started spoon feeding him when he noticed Prinplup.

"Prinplup? How many times have I told you not to get out of your pokeball! Return!" Alex pointed the capsule at the penguin, and a red laser shot from the center of the ball. Soon, Prinplup disintegrated into the red light and was "imprisoned" in his ball. When Alex put Prinplup's pokeball away, he turned to Riolu and continued feeding him.

"Oh I forgot to tell you! Nurse Joy said you can return home tomorrow morning!

"Rio!?!?" (Really? I can go home!?)

"And also! We are going on a journey around Sinnoh too! Are you exited?

"RIII!!! (YESSSS!!!)

*chuckles* "I'lll take that as a yes!" Riolu finished his meal (which wasn't that bad, but he stilled preferred Alex's food) and started cuddling besides Alex.

"Sweetie?"

"Rio?"

"I need to go and prepare some stuff for the trip. But you take some rest ok? I'll come for you tomorrow morning." Riolu nodded and calmly stayed in his bed as Alex exited the room. He watched the human walk away in the hall as he started dosing off.

************************************************************************************************

The next day:

Alex was at the counter of the Pokemon Center presenting his ID and papers so he could take Riolu home. After 15 minutes, the discharge process was completed and Nurse Joy handed Alex Riolu's pokeball. "Have a nice journey! Screamed Nurse Joy as Alex walked out. "Thanks have a nice day!" Replied Alex. Once outside in the street, Alex tossed Riolu's Pokeball in the air and let him out. The blue puppy was happy to see The human and to be out of that crowded ball.

"Rio!" The pokemon chirped happily.

"Hi sweetie! Ready to go traveling?"

"RIO RII!" the pokemon started jumping happily. He got a little dizzy but it was ok.

"Jaja, chill little pup! We aren't hitting the road just yet...I need to go buy some medicinal food for you...but after that we are free to start our journey!"

"Riolu!" Riolu was a little disappointed. He wanted to travel besides Alex, but he guessed he could wait a couple of hours.

************************************************************************************************

It was 4:00pm and Alex and Riolu arrived at the Pokemart. The grocery store was full of food, potions, pokeballs, dolls, and what mostly caught Riolu's attention: candy! Alex head towards the pharmacy inside the store. For what he knew, Riolu was behind him all the time...but that wasn't the case. As Alex ordered the special food, the little dog had wandered off. Curiosity was too much for the pup, he obviously had to see what the store had to offer. The aisles were filled with big amounts of food, potions, chips, sodas; but nothing really felt appealing to him....until he got to the Chocolate section.

Riolu's eyes got lost in all the candy, the kisses, the M&M's and all the chocolate bars you could imagine. The smell was making him crazy!!! He had to have a taste!!!! Riolu carefully grabbed a bar wrapped in a dark envelope. In golden letters the words read "Dark Chocolate, the best treat!" Cautiously and trying not to be seen, Riolu opened the wrapping and took a big bite off the chocolate bar. He was very exited to try something that smelled so delicious...but to his surprise, the chocolate tasted horrible!!!

"Ughh!! *spits out the chocolate* eww! Thats too bitter, its awful!" The puppy cried to himself. Very disillusioned, Riolu continued walking when another candy caught his attention. This time the chocolate bar read "sweet cream!" Telling by the picture in the wrapping, the chocolate was a milk chocolate. It definitely looked delicious! Looking doubtfully, Riolu thought to himself:

"Well....another try wouldn't kill me...besides, it says "sweet" in the cover..." The puppy tore the wrapping and took a bite once again, careful not to take a huge bite this time around. However, this time, the chocolate was......... DELICIOUS!!! the puppy felt it melt inside his snout and all the sugar rushed through his body. He soon grabbed another...and then another....and then another...after just 2 minutes Riolu had eaten 6 chocolate bars! He was halfway done with the seventh, but stopped when his stomach started aching.

"Ugh...I feel so heavy and sooo energized at the same time....ouuuu my head's spinning like crazy!" The Puppy sat for a while, waiting for his pain to calm down a little. It was not getting better, but something;more like a smell, was "calling him". It was a "strong" and "heavy" smell. With a lot of work and trouble, Riolu managed to get up on all fours. He started following the smell. Sniffing and sniffing everything on the aisle, like a real dog. As he got closer to the smell, he got more eager. He even pushed a Vulpix out of his way! After one minute, Riolu had found his prey: it was meat! (Oh oh! Here we go again!) Out of nowhere, Riolu just dug in!!! He jumped right into the meat section and started munching, chewing and gulping down chunks of raw meat. The juicy flavors of the glorious food turned on Riolu's tasting cells. He had never tried something so incredibly addictive and satisfying in his whole life! Not even the chocolates putted up a fight against the meat! Riolu was in cloud nine, but soon had to be pulled down into Earth when a worker spotted the dog destroying the food.

"HEY! YOU DISGUSTING PEST! GET OUT OF THERE!!! screamed the worker. But Riolu didn't listen, too busy swimming through rivers of meat. The worker made an attempt to grab the puppy...but again, it was useless. Outraged, Riolu bit the worker in the arm for trying to grab him.

"YOU STUPID BASTARD! SOMEBODY CALL SECURITY!!!!

(Oh oh...things are about to get messy....)

************************************************************************************************

Alex was waiting in line to receive his order.

"I cannot believe how inefficient these people are...Ive been waiting for that worker to bring the food for over 15 minutes now and Im the only customer...."just as Alex got the special food for Riolu, a shocking announcement was made through the speakers:

"Attention security! Your services are needed in the meat section, aisle 17. An undomesticated, wild Riolu is destroying store property. Cleaning assistants please present yourselves in aisle 17, meat disaster, IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

As soon as the announcement was finished, Alex turned back to find out that Riolu had wandered off. "OH MY GOOOOD IM GONNA KILL THAT DOOOOGGG!!!!" screamed Alex furiously.

************************************************************************************************

Riolu was still munching down all the food when he felt a tight familiar grip grabbing his waist. He felt he was being pulled away, so he tightly grabbed the railing and wouldn't let go!

"DAMIT RIOLU!!! LET....GOOO....OF...THE....RAILING....NOW!!!!!" Alex had raised his voice and was scolding the little pup, tugging on him with each word but Riolu still wouldn't listen to him. He just kept eating and eating...as Riolu felt he was being pulled harder and harder, he started growling and barking!

"RIOOOO RIIIII WAUFFF RI WAUFFF!!!!!!!!!!!"

"ENOUGH WITH THIS NONSENSE! LET GOOOOOOO!!!!! Alex had never been more furious in his life! Not even when Ponyta burned his final history essay the day before it was due...

Since pulling was not going to work, Alex grabbed Riolu's pokeball and called the puppy to return. Riolu may have been too concentrated on the meat to follow orders, but that didn't mean he couldn't dodge the red laser. Attempt after attempt, jump after jump, Riolu swiftly dodged every laser his pokeball sent towards him. All of this got on Alex nerves. He couldn't control himself and out of nowhere, the human exploded. As an effect of his anger, Alex strongly slapped Riolu hard on the cheek. This was the puppy's cue that he was doing something wrong.

"Rio!!!???" (Why did you do that mom!It hurts!)

In that millisecond that Riolu was distracted, Alex quickly grabbed the puppy by the waist and pulled it to his arms. "You're in BIG trouble pup!" Were the first words Alex told Riolu.

"Here, take this!" Alex handed a couple of poke dollars to a worker next to him."I hope it covers for the mess this guy made!" Alex proceed to grab his stuff and sprint down the aisle and out the store.

************************************************************************************************

Outside the store and many meters away:D

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! WHY DID YOU WANDER OFF! AND WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO GO BY YOURSELF! WHAT THE FU*K WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU ATE THAT MEAT!? DO YOU HAVE ANY FREAKING IDEA OF HOW MUCH MONEY I WASTED BECAUSE OF YOU!??!?!?!?!? YOU ARE IN SOOO MUCH TROUBLE! JUST WAIT UNTIL I FIND A PUNISHMENT FOR YOU!"

Riolu had his head down,looking at his feet...just..listening to his trainer's scolding...it was only a matter of time until Alex beat him up...

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?"

"Yes mom...I'm listening...and I'm sorry...I really am!!!" Of course, apologizing was useless since Alex couldn't understand him. Riolu had no choice but to cry silently.

"OH AND DONT COME CRYING TO ME! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID THERE WAS TERRIBLY WRONG!"

"Rio...*crys*.... Rio riolu!...*cry*.." (im sorry I really am!) As Riolu started crying harder and harder, the thoughts of Jason's beatings came to his mind. The way he swinged that bat. The way Riolu coughed blood on the bed sheets. Riolu couldn't take it anymore and started running away!

"Wait! Riolu were are you going!?" Alex followed the pup,which led him to an abandoned alley. The pup had crawled into a corner and was sobbing hysterically. It made Alex feel bad for him...he knew he was too harsh on him...and he knew he didn't like it when he screamed. Alex slowly got closer to Riolu. He made sure to cover every single "escape space" so Riolu wouldn't run again.

"Hey...um...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have screamed at you....I was too harsh..."

"*sobs*...Rio?...*sobs*"

"I really am sorry...could you forgive me sweetie?"

Riolu made a slight nod and stopped crying. He then felt Alex's hand wrap around him as he lifted him up and pulled him closer. Alex then nuzzled Riolu in his tummy and tickled him, earning a laugh from the pup.

It was the cutest laugh of them all.

(To be continued)