The Isle of the Heart

Hop rummaged through the bag again, counting the treats that were crammed inside. It had really been a great day.

He had woken up that day to find a pile of gifts at the end of his bed, a note on top of them from his brother who apologised for having to leave early but would return home that evening for him, and left him the gift of a branded T-shirt he had been talking about months prior.

When he went downstairs his parents gave him the usual greeting and an extra special breakfast that made his mouth drool from just the sweet scent of honey soaked pancakes.

Despite giving him the day off, Sonia had popped by his house later on, stating she was giving him some much needed homework only for him to realise she had craftily bought him a first edition journal book as a gift instead.

And then after lunch Victor had dropped by saying he was needed urgently, and one taxi ride to Hammerlocke later revealed he had been escorted by his friend to a gathering of the gym leaders, who all passed on their wishes and a bag of cakes and sweets as a collective gift for him.

So far it had been the best birthday he could recall.

"Man, these look so good!" Hop commented as he dug his hand in, feeling the sugary, flaky surface of one of the cakes brush off with ease "I wanna eat them now! But I bet there's a cake waiting for me at home right?"

"I can't say," Victor replied with a smile "You'll just have to wait and see".

Hop grinned back but retrieved his hand, wiping it against his jacket "I'll wait, I don't wanna ruin my appetite before eating my cake! These can probably last a couple of days right? I'll store them and pace myself".

"Sure," Victor glanced out the taxi window and added "Actually, I have another present for you".

"I really shouldn't eat anything before we get back!"

"It's not food," Victor leaned forwards to reach his bag, unzipped it and rummaged around. After a few moments of digging about, he pulled out a small paper bag with a blue and red stripe design on it, and held it out to Hop "Here, happy birthday".

"Ah, thanks!" Hop took the bag, cradling it within his palms, and studied it. After staring at it for a few moments, he looked up at Victor "Can I open it now?"

"Of course".

Hop carefully peeled back the flare sticker that held the bag down, unfolded the lip, and put his hand inside. Immediately he came across something cold and plastic, he curled his fingers around it and fished it out into the light.

In his palm he held a small Charizard figurine, with a short metal chain and clip branching out from the top of its head. Its orange paintwork gleamed back the dreary afternoon light, and the Pokémon held a ferocious pose as if it were about to strike out.

"A Charizard?" Hop queried and held it up to examine the craftsmanship.

"Not many people are selling Leon merch anymore right?" Victor stated "I happened to find someone selling these and thought you might like to clip it to your phone. You always have to have everything Leon".

"Aha, I guess I do," Hop held a sheepish smile as he held the Charizard in his palm again. He couldn't deny he still had a lot of the merchandise his brother had brought with his reign, and he couldn't deny he strived to have every last one of the merchandise, but it was a little embarrassing to still admit that, even to his friend.

Still, the thought that Victor saw a small keychain and thought of Hop, knowing he'd do anything to have it, made him a little giddy. It might have been the best present he got that day.