Sunlight was the thing that woke me up today as I woke up to an extremely bright light. My window was above my head on the bed, so it just beamed right in my eyes. I groaned as I pulled the sheets over my face. I looked at the clock: 9:00 exactly. I wondered why I had gotten up so early; I might as well sleep in. I didn't have to start my day until over a half an hour...

Suddenly, I flew the covers off me. That was right! I was going to check on Buizel and Poochyena today!

I quickly threw on my usual outfit. After I tied my headband, I grabbed my backpack and grabbed the usual breakfast sandwich. I shoved it all in my mouth as I ran out the door, locked it, and ran to the beach as fast as I could.

I was panting for air as I landed on the soft sand of the alcove. I looked around and began to investigate the area as I gripped my backpack tight. I checked carefully around where I had come from and the ocean line I could see. I saw absolutely no sign of either of them.

Then, an idea popped into my head; the rock that I hid behind led to the area I first met them. I walked behind the rock and began looking. Soon after I scanned the area, there they were. Buizel and Poochyena were on the same grassy spot I had left them earlier. They were asleep, snuggling together, wrapped in the blanket I left. They were so cute. The potion was still there, but it looked like they had eaten all of the Oran berries I gave them.

I thought, "Ah, good. They're safe and okay. Well, time to head on back and start my daily talk with the old man."

But just as I began turning away to leave, Poochyena let out a huge yawn and snuggled Buizel. However, it slowly opened its eyes and looked out towards the beach: right where I was standing.

Suddenly, its eyes opened wide and gasped. Its tail wagged as it took its two front paws and placed them on Buizel.

"Poochy!" it yelled, trying to wake its friend up by shaking it.

Buizel's eyes squinted as it slowly got up and gave an annoyed look at Poochyena. It looked confused as its friend kept on looking at my direction and pouncing from its front paws. Finally, Buizel turned its head and saw me. Its eyes opened wider as both of them started smiling at me. They immediately stood up as Buizel waved to me.

"Bui bui!" it yelled, inviting me over.

I walked over with a smile on my face. I crouched in front of them as they stood on the blanket. Both were looking directly into my eyes and smiling, obviously very excited about me being back.

"Good morning, you two," I said in a soft and relaxing tone, "Did you guys have an awesome sleep last night?"

Both nodded as I said, "Good. I just wanted to come and check on you to make sure you are okay."

Buizel then turned to Poochyena and said, "Bui! Bu Bui Bu!"

Poochyena nodded as it grabbed the potion bottle with its mouth. Buizel wrapped the blanket and folded it. While it was doing that, Poochyena handed me the bottle.

"Are you... giving this back to me?" I asked surprised, "I gave it to you for your needs. Are you sure you don't need this?"

Poochyena nodded. I could tell, by the way, before I asked that; their scars were completely gone, like nothing ever happened. I asked, because I just wanted to confirm my suspicion.

"Okay," I said, as I took the potion from its mouth, unzipped my backpack, and put it back in.

As I turned back to them, Buizel was handing me the nice folded blanket.

"No, no, no," I said to them, "I gave you that blanket as a gift. It's yours now. I don't need it more than you do."

Buizel gasped as it looked at Poochyena. Both seemed surprised I didn't want my favorite blanket back. But, again, that was a guess at the time. I didn't really understand Pokémon at the time.

"Well, I am glad that you both are okay. I just wanted to check up on you two. I'm going to head out now," I said as I began to reach for my backpack.

Poochyena whimpered softly. I turned my head towards its direction as it ran past me. I turned my back to Buizel and my backpack as Poochyena started running and pouncing on the sand. It crouched low to the ground as its tail wagged violently. It smiled with playful eyes at me as I chuckled.

"I wish I could play with you," I said with a smile, "but I can't. I have a bunch of things to do. I'm already late to meet with someone."

I turned and reached for my backpack to see that Buizel was zipping it closed. It looked at me and grinned. It slowly picked the backpack and handed it to me.

"Aw, thank you," I said, praising Buizel.

For a reason, it seemed to really like that.

I flipped my backpack over my shoulder and said, "Okay, you two, you guys go on and find a safe spot to live in from now on, okay? Make sure you stay together and be good. Bye-bye."

I began walking to the woods. However, something didn't feel right. I kept on walking, but I could hear other footsteps on the beach.

Oh, no! Did someone come to the beach and was attempting to capture Buizel and Poochyena?

I quickly turned around to look. I scanned the area carefully, but found no humans anywhere. I looked down, and there was only Buizel and Poochyena. ...Strange. They were the same distance away from me when I started walking. How were they not further away?

I shook it off and shrugged. Probably, it was nothing. I continued on my way. When I just got to the woods edge line, I heard the footsteps again. Then my brain finally figured it out. I turned around and my answer was correct. Buizel and Poochyena were following me.

I crouched down to their eye level again and asked, "Buizel, Poochyena, you two aren't honestly thinking about following me into the city, are you?"

Buizel smiled and folded its arms as Poochyena panted and its tail kept wagging back and forth. They both nodded as they walked closer to me.

No way was I going to let them follow me into the city! It was too dangerous. I wasn't a Pokémon trainer, so I couldn't put them in Pokéballs if things got dangerous. I had to tell them straight on. I sighed, and then closed my eyes.

I opened them and said, "Guys, I know you want to come with me, but you can't. The city is a very dangerous place. You guys could get lost in there, because it is so big. Plus, there are some people if they saw you, they would try to capture you. And since I am not a Pokémon trainer, I would have to step back by law and let them attack you. You guys can't come. For your own safety, please, just stay here."

Poochyena sat down, itched its ear with its hind leg, and then tilted its head as Buizel simply groaned and put its paws on its hips. They kept looking at me, expecting me to give in and let them come. Believe me, I wanted them to be happy, but I just couldn't risk people like Mr. Pepperridge or a traveling trainer I didn't know getting their hands on them.

"No, guys," I said in a firmer tone, "You need to get moving and find someplace to live."

I reached around their bodies until I felt their hind ends and then turned them around to face away from me.

"Go on, shoo," I said nicely as I pushed gently, forcing them from me.

They both skidded to a halt and walked a few steps, but then just turned right around and walked right back in front of me. Their faces showed they were annoyed and upset about not being able to come. They closed their eyes and shook their heads 'no' at me. Buizel folded its arms as Poochyena sat in a proud manner. Then, with a "Bui" and a "Chy", they raised their heads in a pouting manner, like children disobeying their parents.

I simply sighed and put my face into my hands. I let a huge groan out; I was starting to get frustrated and annoyed.

"This must be what is like to have children," I joked in my head as I quietly chuckled to myself.

I knew their reason for being upset, but they had to listen. I got close to their faces as they opened their eyes.

"Listen," I said in a gently manner, "I know you really want to come, and I understand your frustration. I really want you to think about this, though. I want you to stay here, because I care about you two."

They looked at me and tilted their heads in confusion.

"Yes, yes," I said, "I worry about you getting hurt. So, in order to stay safe, you have to stay in the woods. Okay? Do you understand me?"

Both of them looked at each other and then nodded reluctantly.

I asked, "Are you two angry at me?"

Both of them looked back at me and shook their heads. They slowly walked up to me and snuggled their heads against my chest like last time. I did not want to leave them hanging like I did when I just said 'it was all right', I had to comfort them. So, I put my hands on their backs and patted them. They sighed in happiness; I guessed they liked that.

"Okay, then," I said standing up and grabbing my backpack, "I'll see you guys off."

I watched them beginning to walk away from me away to the rock I mentioned earlier. They turned around and smiled at me. They waved and said 'good-bye' in their Pokélanguage. As I said good-bye and waved back, they walked behind it.

I smiled and took a deep breath. They would be fine. I instantly remembered Old Man Fellows as I looked up to the sky. I quickly turned around and hurried into the woods.

As I rushed past people in the city, I just couldn't get the feeling of Buizel and Poochyena's safety off my mind. I mean, they were okay, but I just felt like they would get into trouble if I wasn't around. What if someone hurt them? What if they called out for me and I couldn't hear them? The thought scared me as much as seeing them in the city. I didn't want them hurt. Then, I thought to myself: why did I get so worried about Pokémon in one day? Something was very weird and I couldn't figure out what was going on in my head or my heart.

Suddenly, a chill went up my spine. I felt like somebody was following me. I quickly stopped and looked behind me. I saw cars pass by, people waiting to cross the road, buildings, and other various things in the park I was near. The only thing odd about it was the people waiting to cross the street were staring at something I couldn't see near the walk/stop sign.

"Probably waiting for the sign to turn, I suppose," a thought said, going across my mind.

But, I didn't see anyone following me. I shrugged it off and went on my way.

Finally, I had reached Old Man Fellows' house and knocked on his door. Hopefully, he wasn't mad or hurt that I was late, I thought. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps approaching the door. It opened and there was Fellows in his usually attire. He looked surprised, but had a smile on his face as I bowed my head in apology.

"Thomas," he said rather surprised, "I am shocked. You're late for the first time in three years for our daily chat."

"My apologies, Old Man," I said urgently, "There's something I had to check on. It was something 'personal', if you would."

"Hey, no harm, no foul," he said, "We can start a little late. But before we do, you should check your backpack."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I said, completely oblivious.

He folded his arms and replied, "Well, what do you think I mean? Don't you think you look pretty silly with a blanket hanging out of your bag?"

I started to say, "Did you say a blanket? What in the-"

Suddenly, I stopped and realized what he meant. I quickly took off my backpack and put it on the ground to take a look. It was the orange and white blanket I gave Buizel and Poochyena! Its end was hanging outside the zipper. I couldn't believe I didn't catch that. But, why was it in my backpack? How did it get there?

Suddenly, I remembered how Poochyena grabbed my attention away from Buizel and my backpack, wanting to play with me. Buizel must've put it in the backpack when I wasn't looking. That's why it was zipping it closed when I turned to grab it! But why would they do that?

Of course! They wanted me to come back and give it to them, so they could play with me!

I said softly to myself, "You gotta be kidding; they didn't..."

Suddenly, I realized I spoke out loud and quickly stopped in my tracks by covering my mouth. Too late; the old man heard me and became interested.

"'They'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "Who's 'they'?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," I said, trying to avoid the conversation.

"My boy, you should know me by now," he replied, "When I want to know something, I don't stop until I find out. There's no such thing as just 'curiosity killed the cat' in my book. To me, it's 'curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back'. You might as well come clean."

I closed my eyes and let out a big sigh. BUSTED.

I stood up and said, "Well, it's not anything wrong or illegal, so don't get worried, but..."

So I let it all out, about the voice in my head, finding two Pokémon at the beach, cleaning them up, the handbook Kaname gave me, and so forth. However, I did NOT tell him the names of the two Pokémon. I made sure of that.

"So, I checked on them this morning. They gave me back the potion, but I told them to keep the blanket. Then I said good-bye, and watched them leave, although they really didn't want to. One of them distracted me from the backpack before I left, so the other one must've put it in there again, so I could come back and play with them," I finished looking at the blanket.

Old Man Fellows put his right hand to his mouth as he said, "Hmm... I see. Tell me, Thomas, about these Pokémon..."

I looked back at him as he looked left and right slowly, and then back at me, asking, "Were they a Buizel and a Poochyena?"

My eyes widened as I took a step back and gasped. I was shocked.

"Wha? How did you know? Did you follow me? Or do you know them?" I asked urgently.

He walked up to me and said, "Neither, but..."

He motioned me closer to him.

As I came close, he said in a voice that only us could hear, "Keep your voice down as I tell you this," giving a quick glance around and back to me, "There's a Buizel and a Poochyena that have been following you since you got here. They're hiding behind the garbage can that's right behind you."

My eyes widened as I said, "Are you pulling my leg? I watched them walk away into the woods."

"Oh, really?" he whispered, stepping back.

He said aloud, motioning me to stay quiet and play along, "Well, Thomas, I'll let you inside. But, first, I have to take care of my garbage. It'll only take a second."

He then began walking towards the garbage can. I turned around, completely confused as if to what he was doing. He began to reach down into the can, almost grabbing the bag inside of it. But, suddenly, he bent down behind it in a flash and reached his arms down like he was swooping to catch something.

"Gotcha!" he said.

Suddenly, I heard a "Bui!?" and a "Chy!?"

I was totally speechless when he stood up and walked towards me; he was holding Buizel and Poochyena around the ribs in his arms! Both of them looked around completely stunned and afraid, not even knowing what just happened.

"What the?" I said, trapped between the emotions of anger and fear, "What in the world are you two doing here?"

Both of them looked at me and nervously smiled. They closed their eyes as their tails started swishing happily.

"I watched you from my upstairs window, Thomas," Fellows said, "They were following you the moment you stepped into the city. They used your blanket to keep you in their sights the whole time. They planned this from the start, probably right as you came to check on them this morning."

"But, it couldn't be!" I protested, "Could it?"

"Well, I have three good reasons," he said, "to prove my case. One, I am holding them right here. That's physical evidence if I've ever seen it. Two, you said that Poochyena distracted you from your backpack and then you saw Buizel zipping it closed. You may not have seen or paid attention to it, but it slipped your blanket back, so they both could follow you without getting lost in the city. And lastly, you claimed they left in the woods. Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" I said, completely embarrassed, "I watched them walk off myself! I said good-bye and watched them leave!"

The old mad raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Well, where and how exactly did they leave?"

I stepped back and thought aloud, "Well, I said good-bye and so did they. They began walking behind a huge rock and then I began to go and-"

Suddenly, I stopped. I clenched my teeth shut behind my lips and looked up into the sky. I put my right hand on my forehead.

"They hid behind the rock and waited for me to leave, and then they followed me," I said, finally getting the picture.

"There you go," Fellows said, "Looks like these two little scoundrels are pretty smart and clever."

Buizel and Poochyena chuckled as both of them smiled.

I walked over to them and said in a disciplining manner, "Guys, it's not funny! I told you to stay in the woods, and you totally disobeyed me. You put yourselves into a huge dangerous situation. What if I wasn't there and you got hurt? Why would you do something like that?"

Buizel simply said, "Bu," and lowered its head in shame.

Poochyena lowered its ears and whimpered, "Chy," in a high and sad tone.

"Hey now," Fellows said, grabbing all of our attention, "no need to get angry at anyone. We're all friends, right, Thomas?"

"Old man?" I asked.

"Come now," he said, setting Buizel and Poochyena down, "let's all have a good time in my house, all right? It would be rude to force them to go back to the woods now, especially on their own. Let them enjoy a good chat with us. Juice is on me."

All four of us then entered his home as he shut the door behind us.