PokeVentures - Honorable Hoenn - Yokai Backstory

Honorable Hoenn - Part Nine

"Yokai!" I wake up to someone violently shaking my shoulder and yelling in my ear. "You need to wake up! Now!"

I sit up and glance over at Maxwell, who is panicking beside my bed. "The hell are you yelling about?"

"The kitchen is on fire!"

It takes me a few moments to register what he said before I just out from the blankets. "Well don't just stand there we need to put it out!" I run out before he can respond, finding the stove, sink, and icebox engulfed in flames. The red and yellow, ghostly entity lick up the wooden walls. "I'm not sure what we can do!"

"Well do you have any pokemon that can help? I have one." Maxwell says as he walks up beside me. "My Crawdaunt has waterfall. But if the fire eats through the walls it would be nice to have someone fighting the flames from the other side."

"No, I only have dark types except for Arcanine and Jolteon. I've never trained water types."

"Then I hope waterfall is enough to take care of it."

"Well hurry because the flames are almost touching the ceiling!"

"Right! Crawdaunt, I need your help!" He throws a dive ball into the air, releasing a large crustacean between us and the growing kitchen fire. "Use waterfall on the fire until it is out!" I back away a little, remembering well the day the same pokemon had attack me and Cameron in the forest. "Are you scared of him, Yokai?" Maxwell asks with a confused look.

"What? N-no!" I scowl a little and look away, embarrassed by my stutter. "I just don't like Crawdaunts a lot."

"There's a story behind that! I wanna hear it!"

"My house is on fire Maxwell! It can wait!"

"Oh. Right." He gives me a pout and turns his attention to the giant crab-lobster drowning the hungry flames. "Almost done, Crawdaunt. Just a few more spots."

When the loyal pokemon finishes, his trainer returns it to the blue and white ball it calls home. "Thanks, I guess.." I say with a pause. "I'll have to start cleaning that up tomorrow."

"Let me help you. I've built my own house by Meteor Falls so I know how to fix it."

"Really?" I give him a surprised look. "I thought you had.." I pause and stutter a little before I can finish my sentence. "somewhere to go...?"

"They can wait." He turned to me with a soft, caring smile that made my mind go blank. "I'd rather stay and help you."

I sigh and give him a hug. "Thanks. We'll get started in the morning."

"Yokai wake up!"

I groan and roll over, only able to mutter my response. "The last time you told me that the house was on fire."

"I'm bored let's start fixing the house."

"Go play with the Absols."

"Come with me then!"

"I want to sleep."

"But that's boring!"

"I'm tired."

"And I'm bored!"

"Maxwell..."

"Yokai..."

I let out another frustrated groan before sitting up and half glaring at him. "Next time you're sleeping I'll wake you early and see how you like it.."

"It's not even that early!" He grabs me arm and yanks me out of bed, basically pulling a yelp right out of me. "Come on!"

"For Arceus' sake Maxwell okay!!" I remove his hand from my arm and fix my tank top and sweatpants so my stomach isn't showing before I follow him into the basement.

When we enter the dim cave he turns to me. "Say, Yokai... Why were you scared of my Crawdaunt?"

I stop in my tracks and gulp, stuttering out a weak excuse. "They just look scary to me...?"

"You're not scared of anything though. So tell me the truth."

I twiddle my thumbs in front of my and look towards the floor as I slowly explain how I took a crab hammer to the head in order to protect my Absol. I then add on that it is the damage from the hit that causes my glitchy talking pattern and random mind-blanks. "I never want to see another one of those things again.."

"You took the hit for your Absol? Cameron is the one with the scar on his nose, right?

"Yeah. That's him alright." I smile weakly.

Maxwell approaches said Absol and kneels in front of him. "You are so lucky to have a trainer like her, who would do something like that for you." His smile lit up the cave despite the lack of light and I watched in shock as he hugs Cameron and pets the curly hair on his head. "You and all the other Absols here are so, so lucky."