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Chapter Two: The Discovery

by Havoc

Chaz's mind flew into a panic when he realized that the front door was opening. Who the hell was coming in? His parents and sister were gone, off shopping for his birthday party. Now he was sitting on the couch, naked from the waist down, with a Lopunny that had just finished giving him admittedly the best blowjob of his life kneeling on the floor in front of him, traces of semen on her cheeks. This would not look good, no matter who came in through that door.

"Fuck, uh...," Chaz said, thinking fast. "Mimi, run upstairs, hurry!" Upstairs was the best place to go, because she wouldn't have to pass in front of the door to do it. The Lopunny quickly stood up to do what he said. "No, wait! Toss me that blanket from the other couch first!" Mimi passed the blanket to him, and then turned around and made a mad dash for the second floor. Chaz shook the blanket out and lay down on the couch, covering himself. He heard footsteps in the foyer, and remembered just in time to grab his pajama bottoms, which he stuffed underneath the couch. Then he closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

A few seconds later, Chaz could hear a person walk into the room. A hand grabbed his shoulder roughly, shaking. "Wake up, boy," a gruff, elderly voice said.

Chaz opened his eyes, and looked straight up to see a familiar face looking back down at him. It was Micah, his grandfather, on his mother's side. A man far past the prime of his life, he had a thin face that was lined with many wrinkles from many hard years working in the fields of Pinewood. His gray eyes, nearly the shame shade as his hair, possessed little of the warmth with which a man would typically look at his grandson.

Chaz sat up, making sure that the blanket continued to cover the essentials. "Hello, grandfather," he said, keeping his voice at a respectful tone despite the absence of affection that he felt for the man. "You're looking well."

His grandfather grunted. "My daughter told me you were home, so I thought I would come and see what's become of my only grandson." He sat down on the unoccupied couch. "What are you doing, lying about at this hour of the morning?"

"Just taking a little post-breakfast nap," Chaz said.

"In my day," Micah said, "men your age didn't stay around the house and do nothing all day. They made something of their lives."

Chaz took on a bit of a defensive tone. "I am making something of my life," he said. "Just not the same way that you and Dad have."

His grandfather opened his mouth to say something back, but a scratching noise at the front door made him frown and look that way. "What's that?"

"It's probably Todd," Chaz said. "I let him out a while ago. Could you go let him back in?"

Grumbling something about "lazy kids," Micah got up and walked to the door. While he was out of sight, Chaz reached down and retrieved his pajamas, pulling them back on. When his grandfather walked back in, with Todd, the family Ninetales, in tow, Chaz was refolding the blanket and replacing it over the back of the couch. Micah sat back down, and eyed Chaz grumpily.

"So where are my daughter and her husband?" he finally asked.

"Out," Chaz said simply.

"'Out?' What does that mean?"

"It means they're not here."

His grandfather scowled. "Watch your tongue, boy. I..." He trailed off, looking towards the stairs. Mimi was standing there, seeing if it was okay for her to come back down. "What is that doing out of its poké ball?" Mimi shied back a little, and covered herself with her long, fluffy ears, her natural response to harsh words or gestures.

"She has a name," Chaz said angrily. "And you know what it is. So use it." He crossed his arms. "She's not in her ball because she doesn't like it, and I'm not going to force her to do something she doesn't want to do." He beckoned to Mimi. "You can come in here. It's okay."

Tentatively, Mimi stepped into the living room. Keeping as far away from Micah as she could, she sat down next to Chaz. Mimi hated Chaz's grandfather. He had always been mean to her, ever since Chaz had first brought her home and shown her to the family. He had rather old-fashioned views on female pokémon. Such as the idea that they weren't good for very much besides breeding stock.

"So when are you going to make some real use of her?" Micah asked, looking disdainfully at Mimi.

"I...what did you say?"

"She's of breeding age now, isn't she? You should take advantage of her potential before she gets too old. Pokémon Breeders pay top dollar for good breeder females."

Chaz's face flushed. "I think it's time for you to go."

"This isn't your house."

"It's not yours, either."

Micah stood up. "I should give you the whipping your father ought to have given you years ago," he said. "Fortunately for you, some of us have work to do today, so I'll be off now." He began to walk towards the foyer, heading for the door. "I suppose I'll see you again tomorrow night at your birthday celebration."

"Yeah, great," Chaz muttered under his breath. He heard the door slam shut as his grandfather left. Chaz steamed silently for a few minutes. Todd walked up and nudged his knee with his nose, whining softly. Mimi reached out and laid a paw on his shoulder. He put a hand over it. "I really, really don't like that guy."

Mimi gave a soothing trill and hugged him around the chest. She put her lips to his neck. Chaz rubbed a finger underneath her chin, tipping her head up. He kissed her, and she stroked his cheek softly with the back of her paw.

"One of these days," Chaz said, "we'll go someplace where people like him won't be around to bother us."

I can't wait, Mimi thought, dreamily.

---

Chaz and Mimi took it easy for the rest of the day, not feeling especially fond of courting disaster again. They just sat around, enjoying each other's and Todd's company, until the early evening, when the rest of his family finally arrived home. His mother was the first to walk in the door.

"Hello, Chaz," Mena said. "Have a good day?"

"Mostly," Chaz said. "Where are Dad and Rachel?"

Chaz's mother walked into the kitchen. "Hiding your birthday present," she said. "Incidentally, the garage is off-limits until further notice."

"Uh-huh," Chaz said, suspiciously. Several minutes later, his father, Adam, and his sister, Rachel, came into the house. His sister swung by the couch to scratch Mimi's head, swat the back of Chaz's, and beckon Todd to the kitchen for his dinner. Adam sat down on the other couch, his expression suggesting weariness. "Long day?"

"Oh yeah," Adam said. "We had to go to every shop, every little store, and look at every little thing. It's like this every time we go into the city. I bet I could walk through every store with my eyes closed at this point." Chaz and Mimi both laughed, but Chaz's father just closed his eyes.

Dinner was light that night, as Chaz's mother didn't feel like cooking very much. After dinner, she and his father went outside to enjoy the evening air while Chaz stayed inside with his sister and Mimi. They flirted with the idea of pulling out a board game, but decided they lacked the drive for it. So they just sat around and talked instead. Rachel noticed something off in Chaz's demeanor.

"You look kinda down, little bro," she said. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, nothing's wrong, really," Chaz said. "It's just..." He sighed. "Gramps came over today while you guys were gone."

"Ooooooooh...," Rachel said knowingly. She looked at Mimi. "I bet that went well."

Chaz laughed darkly. "I wish the guy had died before I was born."

"You shouldn't say things like that."

"Do you disagree with me?"

"No. But you shouldn't say it." Rachel leaned back and put her arm over the back of her seat. "I bet he had his usual list of helpful suggestions for your life."

"I wish it was just my life he was trying to mess with," Chaz said. "He told me I should send Mimi to a breeder. Seems to think that's all she's good for." Mimi made a small, sad-sounding noise and looked at the floor.

Rachel looked incredulous. "He's still on about that?" Chaz nodded. "I don't believe this. You should say something to Mom."

"What good would that do?" Chaz asked. "She knows I don't like him. All she would say is to not let it bother me, or something like that."

His sister took a slow breath. "Well...maybe that's what you should do, then. It's not like he has any right to decide what Mimi's future should be. That's her responsibility. And yours, of course."

"There is that, at least."

---

The next evening, around six o'clock, everyone gathered in the fields out behind the house to set up for Chaz's party, which would be held that evening. Since this would be his twentieth birthday, a big mark, his parents had planned to go all-out. The party would start around eight o'clock and go until midnight, since his actual birthday was technically not until tomorrow. Everybody had a job they were supposed to do. Chaz's grandfather borrowed a bunch of folding tables from the town hall and went to work setting them up in the field, with tablecloths and chairs. Mena and Rachel were inside the house preparing the food and baking an enormous birthday cake, while Adam was helping Chaz and Mimi clear away brush from the surroundings to make the property more presentable for guests. Chaz thought it was a rather pointless thing to do, since everyone in the town saw the yard cluttered with leaves and sticks on a daily basis anyway, but his father had insisted that it look like they took care of the lawn for the party.

Cleaning the yard up meant that Chaz and Mimi occasionally ventured into close proximity with his grandfather. When that happened, they acted as though Micah didn't exist, while at the same time they could feel him glaring daggers at them. Around seven thirty, everything was coming together nicely, and a few early guests were starting to trickle into the yard. One of them was the mayor, who instantly found Chaz and wished him a happy birthday. He was carrying a carrot as a treat for Mimi, which she reached for impulsively, but Chaz snatched it before she could lay a paw on the orange vegetable, giving her a "we are so not going through that again" look.

Since Pinewood was such a small town, naturally everyone was invited to the party, and Chaz wasn't disappointed. The whole town turned out for the celebration. He spent the evening in conversations with people he had known since he was a little kid, and it was a lot of fun to be able to spend time with them again and reminisce, even if lots of the conversations included his mother coming up and telling an embarrassing story about him from when he was little. Mimi tagged along with him, acting a little shy. She wasn't as comfortable around the rest of the townsfolk as Chaz was, having not grown up around them.

The food that Chaz's mother and sister served was fantastic, and all of it had been produced by the town. Fresh beef from the meat farmers had been ground up to make some pretty amazing burgers, and those were supplemented by fries and a number of dishes concocted from berries. But what everyone had been looking forward to was the cake that had been placed on a table in the middle of the dining area. The cake was made largely out of Rawst and Pecha berries, with a whipped frosting made out of Cheri berries. Since it was made out of all-natural ingredients, even Mimi was able to have some of it. After the cake was gone, various people got up and went to where Chaz was sitting to offer some more personal birthday congratulations. Then Adam stood up to offer a short speech for his son to commemorate the occasion.

"Tonight is a very special night for my son, Chaz," he said. "At midnight, he'll be two decades old." Adam looked down the table at his son. "I know he thinks that's old, but once he's twice that, like me, he'll know better." There was light laughter all around. "Seriously, though, I'm pretty proud of my son. If someone had told me twenty years ago that Chaz would grow up to be a Pokémon Trainer, I would have laughed and said that there was no way. This family is made up of farmers and has been for generations, and like all of my predecessors I thought it always would be. But we were all dead wrong. Chaz became a trainer, and I don't know that I've ever met anyone who was a better trainer than him." He looked over at Rachel, sitting a few seats down from himself. "And my daughter, too, won't be following in my footsteps. She's made her decision for her life, and it's time I came to terms with that. So it looks like I'm going to be the last man of the land in this family. And I couldn't be prouder to be that man, just as I couldn't be prouder of Rachel and what she's doing with her life." Rachel's eyes teared up, and she dabbed at them with her napkin. A few seats up from her, Chaz's grandfather was turning red with anger, apparently having not anticipated what his son-in-law was going to say.

Chaz's father continued with his speech. "So, I guess I just want to say that I think Chaz is doing great for someone so young. He proved to me that you can be a success doing something other than what your parents have done, and our family is grateful for it. Apart from giving this town a little bit better of a window into the world, he's introduced us to Mimi, someone who I know is like a second daughter to my wife, Mena, and a good friend to Rachel." Mimi looked a little taken aback at being referred to by name, and as eyes turned to her the Lopunny sank down in her chair. Chaz coaxed her back up, though, and she adopted a shy smile. "I guess I should wrap this up before you all fall asleep, so I'll just say Happy Birthday, Chaz, and to everyone else, enjoy the rest of the night!" People clapped and Adam took his seat again.

After a little bit, people began to get up from their chairs. Some of them gave their final congratulations to Chaz and excused themselves to go home, but others stuck around to commemorate his actual birthday at midnight, forming small groups and talking amongst themselves. Rachel came up to Chaz and gave him a hug and a "Happy Birthday" as well, before going back into the house to go to bed. At one point, around eleven o'clock, a man and a teenage boy approached Chaz and Mimi. He remembered them as David, one of the town's dairy farmers, and his son, Joey.

"Happy Birthday, Chaz," David said, a smile on his face. "This is a big one, eh?"

"That's what everyone tells me," Chaz said wryly.

David looked at his son. "Your parents have been telling Joey here all about you while you've been gone." He laid a hand on Joey's shoulder. "My son's been trying his hand at training pokémon for about six months now. He's only fourteen, but I think he's got promise. Joey's got something he'd like to ask you." David nudged the young man. "Go on, son."

Joey looked nervous, but he stood up as straight as possible. "I was...I was wondering if you'd battle me," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "My Dad says I'm good, but I want to see how good I really am by battling someone like you."

Chaz rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "How many pokémon do you have right now?"

"Just one," Joey said. He pulled a poké ball from his pocket. "I can't go too far away from home on my own yet, and so I only get to travel with Dad when he goes into town." He grinned. "But soon I'll be old enough to go out by myself, and then I'll catch all kinds of pokémon!"

"I'm sure you will," Chaz said. He gestured at the poké ball in Joey's hand. "Show me the one you have right now."

Joey pressed the button on the poké ball and released his pokémon. Out of the shower of luminescence appeared a four-legged, blue and yellow feline. Chaz recognized the pokémon as a Luxio, a female, based on the patterns of light and dark blue on her hind legs. The Electric-type wagged her tail and looked at Chaz and Mimi curiously, her head tilted to one side.

Chaz nodded approvingly. "Looks like a fine pokémon," he pronounced. "Does she have a name?"

"Her name's Amaryllis," Joey said. "But most people can't remember it, so I call her Amy for short."

"Well, nice to meet you Amy," Chaz said, kneeling down and holding out a hand for the Luxio to sniff. Amy smelled his hand, and then meowed in a friendly fashion, evidently deciding that he posed no threat. "So, a battle's what you want, eh?" Chaz looked at Mimi. "What do you say, Mimi? Care for a go?"

Mimi stifled a laugh. That was the phrase Chaz usually used when he had something very different in mind. She overcame her moment of mirth, and nodded simply. If this boy wanted to battle, she was certainly ready to show him and his pokémon what she could do.

"All right, then," Chaz said, clapping his hands together. "Let's go over to the other side of the yard, where there's a little more open space."

They went to the side of the yard that was unoccupied by chairs and tables. Some of the guests noticed what was going on, and migrated over to watch. Eventually, the whole party had shifted to where they were. Joey's father stood behind him, his expression suggesting confidence in his son. Adam and Mena walked up to Chaz, and Chaz turned to look at his parents.

"Mom, would you mind running and getting me a chair?" he asked.

His mother looked surprised. "No, but don't you want to be standing up?" she inquired. "You're having a battle, after all."

"I don't need to do anything," Chaz said. "Mimi knows what to do." His mother went and brought him the chair, and Chaz sat down, crossing his legs and putting his arms behind his head. "Do your thing, Mimi."

Mimi tossed a confident look back at Chaz, and then looked back at her opponent. Joey was bending down, talking to Amy, presumably offering her some advice before the battle began. She took a moment to look around the crowd. They were all gazing her way, expectant. She felt a little embarrassed, but knew the feeling would pass once she was in the middle of fighting.

Joey stood up, ready to begin. "Go, Amy!" he shouted. "Start it off with a Tackle!" Amy ran at Mimi, moving at a pretty fast clip.

The Lopunny watched her opponent head her way, waiting for her to get close. When Amy was just about to collide with her, she jumped up into the air and spun around over the Luxio's head. Suddenly facing empty ground ahead of her, Amy scrabbled at the slippery grass to stop herself, and managed to halt her charge. When she turned around, she caught a Jump Kick from one of Mimi's powerful legs right in the face. Amy was knocked back a few feet from the stunning blow, but she recovered admirably and ran back at Mimi.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Joey ordered next. Amy charged up her electricity and sent a brilliant bolt of lighting for Mimi. Moving quickly, Mimi dodged another attack, but she didn't move quite fast enough. Some of the residual shock from the blast hit Mimi's flank, singing the fur on her tail and causing pain to shoot up her back. She tripped and hit the ground face first. Amy took the opportunity to leap at Mimi and clamp her jaws onto her left arm, crushing with a Bite attack.

Choking back a cry of pain, Mimi drew her right fist back and clobbered the side of Amy's head with a Dizzy Punch. Amy released her arm, howling and shaking her head, trying to clear the dizziness that she was undoubtedly feeling as a result of the punishing attack. Mimi seized the moment and followed up with a Focus Blast, a move that usually resulted in the end of the fight whenever she used it. Surprisingly, Amy shook off the disorientation from the previous punch and moved out of the way before the attack could connect.

Joey looked excited. "Good, Amy, now use Discharge!"

Amy let sparks crackle along the length of her body, and then a torrent of electricity cascaded towards Mimi. She ducked low to the ground, and the majority of the energy passed over her body, although she still felt a painful tingle all along her back. Before Mimi could move, Amy was already charging at her again. Mimi was ready for her this time. When Amy was feet away from her, she jumped up and landed on the Luxio's back. Amy gave a shocked mewl and bucked, trying to toss Mimi off, but the Lopunny dug her paws into her fur and held on. Mimi hit Amy right between her shoulder blades with a Drain Punch, siphoning away a good chunk of her energy. Amy began to tire, and she became unable to support Mimi's weight. She stopped running and her back legs gave out underneath her.

Ready to end the fight, Mimi got off of Amy's back. She watched as the Electric pokémon struggled to get back on her feet. After considering the moves available to her, she stood right next to Amy, and then simply fell on top of her. She used her body weight to form a medium-strength Pound attack. After that, it was all over, and Amy lay on the ground, obviously beaten.

The cheers from the assembled party guests were deafening. Grinning broadly, Chaz got up from his chair and walked over to Mimi. "Great job," he said. "I knew you could do it." She looked up at him, a little tired, and smiled back.

Joey came up, crestfallen. He kneeled down beside Amy. "I'm sorry," he said to her. "I shouldn't have put you through that."

"Don't say that to her," Chaz admonished him. "She gave a good fight. Never apologize when your pokémon give it their best." He knelt down beside Joey and checked Amy out. "Take her home and keep her off her feet for a few days. She'll be fine." He patted the younger boy on the shoulder. Joey returned Amy to her ball, and then walked away to rejoin his father. While the observers began to drift away, Chaz looked Mimi over. He parted the fur on her arm where Amy had bitten her. Although there was a distinct bite mark on the skin underneath, there was no blood. He also looked over the fur on her tail, which was a little messed up from the shock but otherwise fine. "You don't look any worse for the wear, Mimi. I bet you're tired, though."

Mimi nodded, giving a soft trilling sigh of weariness. Chaz led her back to the other side of the yard, where the rest of his family was. His grandfather was staring at him and Mimi with the usual disdain, but this time Chaz could've sworn he also saw a hint of grudging respect in the old man's expression. He gave him a cocky smile, knowing that Mimi had just challenged Micah's preconceived notions about female pokémon.

The party went on until midnight, when, after a final rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song, the last of the guests finally trickled out of the yard. Chaz felt a little relieved when they were gone. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate that the whole town was willing to turn out to commemorate his birthday, but he felt a little silly nonetheless. He kind of felt like his parents had made a bit too much of a to-do about it.

Now the family set about cleaning up after everyone. Adam brought all of the trash cans out of the garage and they set about clearing away the party cups and plates and the table coverings, as well as all of the half-eaten food that was left over. When that was done, it came time to break down the tables and the chairs.

"Chaz, dear," his mother said. "We could use another pair of hands. Could you go and get your sister for me?"

"Sure," Chaz said. He went back into the house, and looked around the living room for Rachel. She wasn't there, so Chaz went to her bedroom door. He put his hand on the doorknob and started to open it. "Hey, Rachel, Mom and Dad need your helWHAT THE FUCK!"

Rachel was on her knees, leaning against her bed, not a stitch of clothing on her body. In itself, a rather shocking thing, but the biggest shock was what she was doing. Or rather, who she was doing. Todd was lying over her back, his front legs gripping her waist, humping away at Rachel in all his Ninetales glory.

Chaz and Rachel both stared at each other for a few seconds, their mouths open. Todd stopped what he was doing as well, realizing that something was very wrong. Everyone was just frozen in place, like they were on a DVD that had jammed in the player.

"Uh...," Chaz said stupidly. "I...um..."

Rachel grabbed a sheet to cover her front. "Chaz, get out!" she hissed. "Get out and close the fucking door!"

Chaz hurried out, slamming the door behind him. He walked shakily into the living room, and sank onto one of the couches. His mind was still catching up to what he had just walked in on.

Well, he thought. I guess now I know why Todd sleeps in her room.