FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I woke up early the next morning, tucked away in one of the cabinets beneath my blanket. I peeked carefully out of the cabinet door and immediately hunkered back down inside the cabinet. Sara was in the kitchen filling our bowls with food, while her mom sat at the table with a glass of berry juice in her hand. Even though I was sure Sara's mother didn't like me too much, that wasn't what had worried me. Not that anything would worry me! I just didn't want to lose the element of surprise.

I moved even slower this time and pushed the cabinet door open the barest of tiny cracks, and stared carefully at the Umbreon also in the kitchen. In my kitchen.

He was sitting patiently up by his bowl and glancing up at Sara. The trainer was talking to her mother while opening a new bag of food and measuring out a portion.

"I saw your progress report. Looks like your grade is slipping in math again."

Sara flinched and looked away from the food. "It's just a fluke; there was a substitute who didn't know the subject, and the entire class bombed the test."

"Mm. Flen said John's grades are still good."

"That's because John cheated and looked up how to do it online."

"It's not cheating to go learn on your own."

"Yeah, but it is cheating to give a Sneasel a cheat sheet of formulas, then have it fog up your sunglasses with the formulas in the middle of the test. I will learn how he taught Book to pull that off, but it's still cheating."

I caught Sara's mom grinning out of the corner of my eye, though it vanished quickly. "Well, regardless, make sure you keep an eye on your own grades. If they drop any further, you'll spend spring break here studying."

"But moooommmm..."

"No buts! You knew the deal; your schoolwork comes first before any trainer excursions."

Sara sighed and nodded. She started to say more, but the Umbreon suddenly stretched out on the floor and whined pitifully. "Fooooooooood..."

Sara giggled and leaned down to scratch at the dark-type's ears. "Sorry Opal, just a second." She focused on the food and quickly finished filling his bowl with food. The Umbreon wagged happily and began chowing down, and Sara grabbed a half empty bag to fill Sonata's bowl up again.

"I'm going to skip the gym after school today, by the way."

"Oh? I thought you were trying to get that Trapinch trained up before the break; are you finally giving up on him?"

"No!" Sara dropped the bag back on the counter, looking suddenly embarrassed. "I-it's not that; I'm not giving up... it's just that Thomas is going to reach a PokeCenter soon and will call; I just want to ask him for some tips."

"Mm. Well, tell him your father and I said hello. And don't get so caught up talking that you forget to do your homework."

Sara rolled her eyes and nodded. "I won't, promise." She leaned down and put Sonata's full bowl next to Opal's, then picked mine up and began filling it up from a different bag.

"Okay." Sara's mother took a long drink from her glass, finishing off the remaining juice, and walked over to the counter to put the glass in the sink. "I'm off to work now. Have a good day at school. Love you, sweetie." She leaned over and planted a kiss on Sara's forehead, who blushed and looked down, then she walked out of the kitchen.

Sara finished filling my bowl with food and set it down beside Sonata's, then reached over to scratch Opal's head. "Gotta go get my backpack ready and head off to school; I'll be back a bit sooner than usual but you should have plenty of time to sleep."

The Umbreon paused between mouthfuls to wag and look up at Sara. "Okay! See you soon; stay safe!"

Sara grinned and left the kitchen after giving him a parting pat, and he went back to munching on the food in his bowl. His tail wagged behind him... making for an excellent target.

I slipped quietly out of the cabinet and skittered carefully towards the dark Pokemon, being careful not to make too much noise as I drew nearer. When I was close enough I opened my large jaws and lunged forwards to catch the tail right as it waved back towards me.

The Umbreon let out a startled "UMBRE!!" as I bit down on his tail... and then my jaws clicked together around empty air. The Umbreon had vanished, disappearing off to who knows where as he fled the kitchen. I grinned in triumph at having chased off the nightmarish beast, and skittered towards my bowl to savor my reward.

Sara came by after a few minutes with a backpack slung over her shoulder. She frowned into the kitchen before grinning down at me. "Good morning Phoenix! I guess Opal's already turned in for the day; have some fun today, okay? We won't be going to the gym today, so don't feel you have to save up your energy for it. Sonata could use some more help moving dirt for the berries, and we'll want all we can get for the gym battle!"

I paused from eating to grin up at Sara, excited by the idea of battling a gym leader. "You got it!"

She watched me eat for a little before turning and leaving for school. I was too busy eating to check, but I thought I saw a frown on her face at one point. She was probably just thinking about how to beat the gym leader, and if Opal and Sonata would be able to handle it. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that I'd be able to handle it.

After finishing my breakfast I went to check on Sonata, but the Cherubi said she was fine and didn't need any more help at the moment. I beamed proudly - Sonata had seemed a little frazzled when I left last night, but apparently I had been such a great help at moving the dirt into the pots that she was caught up. It was an easy thing to do - I could pack a lot of dirt and sand in my mouth, and moving it around was no problem. And here Sonata had been worried I was overpacking the pots last night! I knew it would work that way.

I left the grass-type to her work, which at the moment seemed to be shifting dirt around to get at the seeds deep inside, and skittered back into the kitchen. There didn't seem to be anything else to work on so I retreated to my rug and began to gnaw on my branch. It was a satisfying feeling to dig my teeth into it and feel them grind against the rough surface, and I spent the day daydreaming of the victories that were sure to come while I chewed away.

Sonata came by at some point to eat, her leaves drooped wearily, but otherwise the day went by uneventfully. I tried once again to get up the stairs - I just knew that Umbreon was up there, laughing at how he knew I couldn't get up to that floor - but as always it was too high for me to reach the first step, especially with my large head getting in the way.

Finally Sara came home. I heard her open the door and skittered down the hallway to meet her. "Yay! Gym time!"

I know Sara had said we wouldn't be going, but I was pretty sure she had made that up. Why wouldn't she want to go to the gym, especially with a Pokemon as strong as I was? It made much more sense that she had just said that so I would tire myself out and give the other Pokemon a fighting chance.

So it was a bit of a surprise when Sara shut the door behind her and shook her head. "Not today Phoenix. I have a phone call with Thomas; we need to talk about our plans."

I blinked at her and looked back at the door. "But... gym! There are other Pokemon; they aren't going to fight themselves! Let's go, let's go!" I jumped as much as I could - which wasn't much - and tried to skitter towards the door.

Sara caught me as I tried to push past her, and she turned me around to face back the way I had come. "No. Not today, Phoenix."

I exhaled angrily, ready to try again, but she stepped over me and walked into the kitchen. I followed after her and caught back up as she was opening a book on the table, her school bag dropped on the floor next to it. She heard me cross over the tiles and sighed. "Sonata? Can you play with Phoenix for a bit? I need to do some homework."

I heard the Cherubi moving from the sunroom and grumbled. "Fiiiiine!" I stomped off towards the sunroom and sprawled out on the rough carpet that covered that room.

Sonata didn't need any help still, and the sunroom was pleasantly warm. With nothing to do but look at the flowers - Sonata did have a real talent for growing them, and they were spread evenly before the windows of the room to catch the sunlight - it was too easy to slip into a nap.

I didn't sleep for long - the sun was lower in the sky, but still shining through the window - but I discovered Sonata had fallen asleep by the time I awoke. There was still nothing to do but look at the flowers, and that had gotten boring even before I had woken up, so I skittered out of the sunroom and headed towards the kitchen.

I stopped just outside the doorway when I heard Sara's voice coming from inside. She sounded... angry? But also sad? I skittered a little closer to listen.

"...bite marks in his tail. Big ones! Sonata couldn't have made them if she tried; it had to be from him! I don't even know how long it's been going on; I only saw it today because he fell asleep with his tail hanging off the bed. Otherwise he would have woken up when I tried to look. And now I'm wondering about his food; I thought he just wasn't needing to eat as much since we weren't on the road, but..." She trailed off and sighed.

"Are you sure? Opal would have said something if there was a problem, or just taken care of it himself." The other voice sounded tinny, almost distorted.

"No he wouldn't. You know how he is; he doesn't like causing problems, or hurting me. He knows I like Phoenix; he would have covered it up so I wouldn't get upset."

There was silence for a moment, then the other voice spoke reluctantly. "Yeah... I guess he would."

"And there's still the other problems; he barely listens to a word I say! He ignores anything useful and just charges right at the meanest looking Pokemon he can find. Yesterday he went straight up against an Aron of all things!"

"Ouch. What'd he do, throw dirt at it?"

"He headbutted the thing! And not just once; repeatedly! They kept running into each other until the Aron fainted, and then the Mareep finished him off."

"Wait - that little Trapinch beat the Aron?"

"Yeah! And I think that's part of the problem; it'd be one thing if he lost every now and then and could learn some humility, but he just keeps winning! I think that just makes him even more convinced he doesn't need to listen to me."

The voices went quiet for a moment, and I leaned closer to make sure something hadn't changed. It was obvious Sara was talking about me, and I didn't want to miss out, but I was starting to get confused - did this mean she hadn't been happy? But... I had won; isn't that what was important?

"That makes sense. Have you talked with Flen about it? I'm sure he'll have some ideas."

"No. He's been going on trips lately and is out of town again. I talked to Perry about it and he suggested the double battles, so Phoenix could see how things work out when Pokemon listen, but that hasn't gone anywhere either. And he just gets bored watching other Pokemon fight, or he demands to join in and fight whichever one he thinks is stronger."

"Ick."

I heard Sara sigh and grow quiet for a moment, before she started talking again in a much quieter voice. "Do you want him?"

"Sara!" The voice sounded shocked, but I barely noticed as my own blood ran cold. Had... had Sara just...

"I know, but I don't know what else to do! He's terrorizing Opal and he's worse than useless this way; I can't bring him into an actual battle and have any chance of winning! He's strong, sure, and I like him, and... I want to take care of him, especially with what his father did... but... maybe he would be better off with somebody else? You're finding a lot of stronger trainers out there; maybe one of them will beat him, so he'll learn some humility and obedience..." I heard a sniffle come from Sara as she trailed off.

The voice was quiet for another moment, then sighed. "I... look, maybe I can take him for a little bit. You're going to challenge one of the last two gyms over spring break, aren't you? I can head towards one and pick him up from there, if that's what you want to do."

"Oh, thank you, thank you... I... I think that will help." Sara sniffled again and I heard her shifting in place, followed by a forceful blowing sound into a tissue. "I'm sorry... I know you wanted to talk about that, but I just saw those bite marks and... ugh, there I go again. You! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine! We're helping out in..."

The other voice continued on, but I didn't want to listen anymore. I skittered quietly back towards the sunroom and hid underneath one of the stands for the plants. Sonata was still asleep. I thought about waking her up, but what would I say? Worse, what if she agreed with Sara?

I huddled by the window and tried to absorb what I had heard, tried to understand how everything had gone wrong. It just didn't make sense - why would Sara want to get rid of me? I was her strongest Pokemon after all!

Eventually I heard footsteps going up the stairs and knew Sara had left the kitchen. I crept out from under the stand and skittered back to the kitchen. Sara was gone, just like I had thought, and the kitchen was empty and dark. I crept over to my rug, then slipped into the cabinet with my blanket. I sunk down into it and dug around for the eggshell.

I looked at the eggshell, but... I couldn't think of what to say. If Sara was going to get rid of me, give me to somebody else... how did I even begin to tell dad that? I must have messed up really bad, but I had tried so hard to be strong; all the other Pokemon at the gym said I was a very strong Pokemon. How had that gone wrong? Why... why did Sara want to give me to somebody else? She was my trainer, I was her Pokemon; we were a team, and she was better off with my strength, I knew that...

"Dad... I..." I stared at the eggshell, imagining a mighty Flygon looking back at me. But all I could see was a disappointed one. "Dad, I need help... I messed up."

"What's wrong? Can I help?"

I flinched as I heard an Espeon's voice in my head. I quickly hid the eggshell back inside the blanket, and turned to peek out the cabinet. Clara was at the door to the kitchen - I recognized her; she was one of the gym leader's Pokemon. She was very strong; the first time I had seen her she had fought that Steelix, and had won. Even I hadn't managed that - yet. But... what was she doing here?

I ducked back into the cabinet and let it close behind me. No way could I let such a strong Pokemon like her see I was having trouble.

"Hello? I know you're there. Come out; I'm not going to hurt you."

I barged out of the cabinet and puffed up my chest, trying to look larger. "I know! I'm Phoenix; I'm super strong, and nothing can hurt me!"

There was a musical sound in my head that reminded me of happy giggling. "Hello Phoenix! I've seen you around. You are strong - but why are you crying?"

I blinked and shook my head. "I'm not crying! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the gym?"

The Espeon stepped into the kitchen and sat on the floor. "I came to say hi to Opal, and help Sonata with her plants. Flen's out of town so it's a slow day at the gym, and there's not really anything to do there." I felt a bit of loneliness along with the voice in my head as Clara spoke, but it faded as she continued talking. "And I see... then... is there something going on, that would bother another Pokemon? Not a strong one like yourself obviously, but maybe a different one?" I felt a hint of amusement at Clara's words, but her eyes looked at me with a helpful expression.

I thought back to the phone call and Sara's words, and looked away. "W-well... it's not bothering me... but... Sara wants to give me to somebody else."

The Espeon blinked and her ears twitched in surprise. "What? Why would she do something like that? Where did you hear that from?"

"She told it to somebody just a bit ago. I think it was on a phone call. She said I was worse than useless... It's not true though! I'm Phoenix; I'm a great Pokemon! Maybe I don't always do what she says, exactly, but I'm still the greatest Pokemon on her team!" I looked back at the Espeon and dared her to disagree.

"Ahhh... I see. You don't do what she tells you to do, when she's battling?"

"N-not always, but that's... the stuff she tells me to do doesn't make any sense! The moves she picks or the targets she wants me to go after aren't the best ones; I'm just picking better ones! I'm Phoenix; I don't need to be held back or wasted on weaker Pokemon! She... she knows that, right? She doesn't need to get rid of me..."

The Espeon's tail twitched behind her as I felt myself choke up inside as the confusion and betrayal rose up inside me. How could Sara not want me? Me? And... if I didn't belong on Sara's team, a trainer who had already earned six badges and was well on her way to the seventh, with only two Pokemon... was... was I really that strong? The other Pokemon all said I was, even Clara had just said it, but if Sara didn't think so...

"Phoenix... she doesn't want to get rid of you. She loves you, just as much as she loves Sonata or Opal. But... she wants to be a great trainer, too! And she needs Pokemon who listen to her in order to do that. She can't help them get stronger if they won't do that."

"But... I don't need anything else; I'm already strong! Sara doesn't need to help me get stronger, and I'm more than strong enough to help her beat any of the other trainers! I'm the mighty Phoenix!"

The Espeon tilted her head and looked at me, as if just realizing something. The jewel above her nose glittered a little. "Phoenix... what does your name mean? Do you know how you were given it?"

I puffed up with pride again, remembering the story Sonata told me. "It's a legend, about a really strong bird! One that could fly forever, and controlled fire. Sara named me after it because of my father; she knew I'd be strong like him, as strong as a Phoenix!"

The Espeon's expression changed, a distant look entering into her eyes. "That's... not really it."

I blinked back at her. "But... Sonata said..."

"Well, okay, it's not wrong, exactly; those are parts of the legend. But it's not all of it. And it's not why she gave you that name; Sara told Flen how she found your egg, and why she picked that name."

"She did? What'd she say? It was after a great battle, wasn't it, where my father fought off a ghost?"

The Espeon sighed a little and got a distant look, as if she was remembering something. "Yeah... Sara and John defeated the ghost out in the desert and ended the snowstorm. When it cleared and the sun came back out, Sara saw your father's body. He had died from the exertion of holding off the ghost's blizzard. Sara had wanted to bury him, because she felt he deserved it. John was a jerk about it like always, and said it was a waste of time, but Opal helped Sara dig a grave for him. While he was digging he found a nest of... he found your egg. When Sara saw your egg she realized what your father had really been trying to do - what he had died doing. That's when she decided to name you Phoenix."

The Espeon grew silent again, and I wasn't sure if that was the end of the story and I was still just missing something, but she finally started speaking again. "I didn't understand it at first either; Flen had to explain it to me too. You're right - a phoenix is a giant bird, and is tied to the ideas of fire and rebirth, so I didn't understand why Sara would pick that name for a Trapinch. You're really strong, but there are other strong creatures out there that have more in common with a Trapinch. And you aren't your father in a new body, like the phoenix of today would be. So Flen dug out a book and read one of the earlier legends of the phoenix for me, before it got caught up in other stories and was changed to fit other ideas."

Clara's tail began to slowly slide back and forth over the tile behind her as she spoke. "In the original legends, in the very first ones, the phoenix wasn't a fire-type. He was just a really strong bird. He could fly all over the world and gather treasures, and would build a nest out of them. Paintings, rich spices, gold, silver, other treasures. He would gather a priceless collection of riches... and one day he would place a single egg in the center of that nest."

"The phoenix is a very strong bird, but like all birds they're very vulnerable as babies. So the egg is very thick and protects the baby as it grows while the adult phoenix continues to gather riches and adds them to the nest. With so many valuable treasures there are a lot of threats that want to steal it and maybe harm the egg, and the father can't protect it all the time and continue gathering more treasure. So the thick shell keeps it safe until the baby is ready to hatch."

Clara's voice had been upbeat as she talked, but it suddenly grew sad. "But the same shell that was too hard for threats to break through is also too hard for the baby to break through. The father will come back to his nest one day and hear the baby scratching at the egg and know it's ready to hatch, but that it can't break through the shell." The Espeon paused again and looked off to the side before her voice continues. "In stories today the phoenix legend is about being recreated - about the same creature getting old and dying, then being reborn as a younger creature. But in the original story it's about dedication and sacrifice. About a creature that put aside its own desires for the benefit of something else. Because when the baby is ready to hatch, the father will hear it trying to get out, and will know that no force can shatter the shell."

"So the father lays down in his nest, among all the treasures he spent his life collecting... and he sets himself on fire. The blaze consumes him and everything he spent his life working on, growing hotter and hotter as it does. The entire nest is destroyed, devoured in an inferno..." Clara's voice grew stronger and more sing-song as she spoke, and I could almost see smoke around me as she described the scene. "...and so is the shell that traps the baby phoenix. The new bird emerges into the world because the adult gave up everything to give it the chance to."

Clara looked back at me with a serious expression. "That's where your name comes from, Phoenix. Not because of your strength - you're very strong, yes. And your father was strong too, strong enough to hold off rain and hail for weeks on end from what Sara and Kirii have told me. But it's not because of his strength that you were named - it's because of what he fought for, not how well he fought."

I sat there, stunned. I had known... I mean, I had known on some level that my father had been fighting the snow and the rain, but... I had never really realized that part of it. That he hadn't been just trying to defeat a challenge, the way I would have been, but that he had been fighting for... me.

I slowly turned and stared at the cabinet that held my blanket, and the eggshell tucked safely inside it.

"It's a tough name to live up to."

Clara's words startled me out of my thoughts. I looked back at her, confused. "What? I'm strong enough to; I can handle it! I can handle anything, even that Steelix! I can handle a name!"

The Espeon smiled back at me. "It takes more than just your physical strength though. It's not just being able to defeat other Pokemon, but about being able to know when not to do that. Or when it's more important to achieve some other goal instead."

I stared at the Espeon like she had just grown a second head. Not defeat the other Pokemon? "What's more important than winning?"

Clara's smile grew. "Oh, lots of things. Maybe instead of just winning against one Pokemon, you change the situation so that the rest of Sara's team can win against all of the opponents. Or maybe winning isn't important at all - your father could have gone off and fought the ghost that was causing the blizzard, after all. Why do you think he didn't?"

I opened my mouth to answer... only to realize I didn't actually have one. I knew my father had been strong enough to fight anything! He had kept the sandstorm going for weeks after all. But... the ghost had kept the blizzard going for just as long. Longer, even. And there had been other Pokemon helping it; the Sneasel John had captured. Kirii hadn't been able to fight it by herself, and had been hurt trying to, from what Sonata had told me. If my father had gone after it... then... he might have been hurt too. And if he had been hurt...

I looked up at Clara as the answer came to me. "Because... he was making sure I was safe. If he was hurt in the fight, or if somehow he lost, then he wouldn't be able to protect me anymore."

The Espeon nodded slowly at me. "Exactly. Sometimes winning doesn't mean beating the opponent. Your father lost the fight against the Froslass - but he still won. He kept you safe, which was more important to him." Clara leaned down and rubbed her head against the side of my face in a comforting gesture. "That's why it's important to pay attention to your trainer. You're very strong, but that strength has to be used in the right way, for the right goals, or it doesn't really help things. There are greater objectives than just doing as much damage as you can. And Sara is really good at focusing on those greater objective in fights. Sometimes the things she tells you might not make much sense, but that's because she's planning further ahead. She might not want you to go against the toughest Pokemon on the field - Sonata might have an advantage against it that you don't. She might need you to go after a Pokemon that would hurt Sonata or Opal, so that they can do their part too. You might not be the one to take out the Froslass freezing over the desert, but you might be the one to hold her off and keep her from freezing everybody else until they can take her down, like your father did. Sometimes that's the more important thing to do."

I wasn't sure what to think anymore and just stared into the darkness of the kitchen. I didn't feel hurt or betrayed anymore, just... confused. Had I been wrong all this time? So determined to be stronger, that I had been... weak?

I thought back to the fight yesterday that Sara had talked about, the one against the Aron. The one against the Aron and the Mareep. I had thought Sara had been disappointed because I had lost, and because the Mareep had been able to take me down... but... had it been because I just hadn't listened to her? That she had been working on a bigger plan than I had realized?

I remembered the Wartortle. He hadn't done much in the fight - just one attack on the Aron, and then... what had happened to him? There had been some electric attack from the Mareep after his attack, and then... I tried to think, but I couldn't remember him doing anything else in the fight.

If I had focused on the Mareep, like Sara had told me to do, would the Wartortle have done more in the fight? Electric attacks didn't bother me, but maybe they would hurt a Wartortle. Had Sara known that? Had she told me to go after the Mareep so the Wartortle could keep fighting with me?

That would have made the fight easier... not that I wouldn't have beaten the Aron, but... if the trainer had another Pokemon after the Aron, I wouldn't have been able to fight it very well. Had that been something else Sara had thought about?

"Phoenix? Are you okay?"

I slumped down onto the rug, still trying to understand. Everything had been upended, even my own name. It wasn't a name of strength after all, it was...

No. It was still about strength. Just... more strength than I had known before. My father had been strong, really strong, and not just physically. He was strong enough to fight off the ghost's blizzard... but he was strong inside too. It would be easy to run away. Or run towards it, like I had always done up until now. The story about the phoenix was about being stronger than that, stronger inside.

Or at least that's how I was going to think about it. And no way was I going to turn out to be too weak for my own name!

I grinned up at Clara, even though I still felt conflicted and even hurt about what I had realized. Part of me wanted to cry at the thought, and at what I had learned of what my father had done... but no way was I going to cry in front of Clara. Or anybody. I was Phoenix! I was strong physically, and devoted, and I was going to prove it to Sara. I would do such a good job of proving it that she wouldn't even dream of giving me away again! And I couldn't do that by crying, could I? "I'm great! Thanks, Clara!"

---

"Clara? Are you okay? I felt pain from down here..." Opal appeared from the shadows and glanced towards the Espeon, then towards the sleeping Trapinch.

"I'm fine. Phoenix is just... having a hard time right now." The soft blanket glowed slightly and pulled snug around the sleeping form as Clara tucked him in with her psychic powers.

"Oh. I can help; just give me a second..." His rings started to glow, but Clara stepped forward and nudged against his side to interrupt him.

"No, Opal. He'll be okay, he just needs a little time."

The Umbreon frowned and looked towards Clara uncertainly. "But... he's hurting..."

Clara smiled softly and nodded. "I know. But sometimes that's good. It'll help him grow, and become a better Pokemon for Sara. A little hurt now will save him from a lot more later. Trust me."

Opal hesitated, looking back and forth between the two Pokemon, then nodded slowly. "Sara's been having trouble with him... you're surethis will help? She's been trying to ask Flen for help for a while now..." The Umbreon slowly walked towards the door from the kitchen so their voices wouldn't wake the Trapinch.

"I'm sure. He'll be better tomorrow, I promise."

"Okay. How have you and Flen been, anyways? He's been taking a lot of trips out of town - what's that been about?"

Clara grumbled under her breath as she followed after the Umbreon. "I don't know. Flen won't tell me, and he hides it if I try and look in his mind. And he has no problem with bringing the rest of our team along; he just won't let me come with him. I think it's something for the gym, some surprise he doesn't want to ruin before it's ready. Nobody else knows what it's about either; they're kept in the Pokeball the whole time."

Opal's rings glowed a little as he grinned back at the Espeon. "Ahh... that makes sense. He did feel a little sad the last time I saw him; maybe he's found something new to add to the gym that will help cheer him up."

Clara brightened a little in the dim room. "I hope so! It'll be good to see him smiling more. And he always has the best surprises." Twin chiming sounds softly rang through the air as the two Pokemon hopped up the stairs, leaving the Trapinch alone with his dreams.