Part 3: Useless

(Hey there, the Author here. I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who gives my stories a shot and have enjoyed starting along with me for what I hope to be a long journey. Thank you!)

We Continue…

The first breaths back into consciousness were not the sand, sweat, blood and booze of the factory. It was a familiar and welcome scent of soft grass and luxray hair. What had t woke him up happened again. A soft tap to the head from an all too familiar fist. With a labored groan Kade rolled over to his back, every part of him sore and aching just by laying there. Finally opening his eyes, he looked up to see Croagunk standing above him. With a a big smile and a playful noise.

Two more taps to the head were enough to rile Kade to at least sit up. When he did there was an internal thumping gaining momentum in his head the higher he rose. His eyes only started to barely work as he could make out the picketed fence that lined the large yard he laid in. Not to mention the obvious company he had accumulated.

As if waiting for him to wake up, Pokémon of all different types laid around him asleep as well. A ponyta to his left, along with a coiled arbok and ralts to his right.

The sun began to rise along the coastline. Shedding light onto the fact he already knew to be true, he lost the fight.

Where he had wound up was easy. Picking himself up he checked his pockets finding his phone, along with a wad of cash and his keys. He had told them that if they needed to dump him off somewhere not to do it at his parents’ place. Walking to the back door Kade flipped through his keys as the herd of Pokémon followed him playfully now all fully awake.

Trying two different keys before finding the right one, Kade slipped into the back of his parents’ Pokémon daycare with Croagunk and an empty stomach to fill. He wouldn’t take much from the modest kitchen, just a couple of bites here and there of things they wouldn’t miss. Diving into the fridge he found a tropius banana cake, his favorite, primed to eat. Taking a pre-sliced wedge, he tore it in half and gave the piece to Coragunk.

When he turned to close the door however, his knuckle hit the side of the fridge. Cold metal stinging especially on untreated bruises. But it wasn’t just the physical pain. The sensation sparked a flash of memory.

He was running backwards swinging at the pawniard fusion as it chased him. His strikes hadn’t meant anything.

Chewing the moist and gooey bread he sat with Croagunk in remembrance, and its eventual fade.

The front door of the day care opened.

It had been too long since he had last seen his father to simply be hanging out inside without a warning. Kade scrambled in panic. It was also too late to retreat out the back door without alerting him so Kade simply braced himself the best he could.

First through the door was the daycares mascot, his family’s luxuray. Sniffing kade and Croagunk immediately it ran over with a big welcome. The next figure in the door however was Kades father.

At first, he was shocked, but then, happy. In a reserved kind of way. He carried a large paper bag filled with groceries, In the other a laptop branded with a daycare sticker. He was about Kades height, same frizzled hair but only with years of understanding it, taming it to a plump ponyta tail in the back.

“Hey” His father said with surprise and warmth. But Kade couldn’t feel anything other than the hair on his neck raise on end. “I see you’re still, fighting?”

“Battling, dad”

“N-no, what you do isn’t battling, its fighting. See battling has rules and standards, what you’re doing is just, well, a mess” His father said as he put his things down. Kade had nothing else to say. “Theres a cake in there for you, Tropias bread, your favorite.”

The rest of the interaction could be described as falling amongst a scattering of thumbtacks. Remove yourself slowly, understanding that you can’t simply get up without skewing your own hand.

Kade was always quiet after speaking with his father, even when he didn’t have to be.

Hands in his hoodie pocket he counted the roll of cash he had won losing the fight last night. It was wrong. There was his amount for showing up, sure, but there was also the winners cut. Counting it again he confirmed of his original thought.

The organizers wouldn’t have ever given away this much cash if they didn’t have to. Who brought him home last night?

The street ran with edges of trash. There was little color among any of the buildings leaving that duty to the sky’s stunning gradient. Made could smell the approaching bakery, the only sweet thing about this place. People walking by nodded his way or simply stared forward.

People either knew you or didn’t, no need to muddy the lines when everyone’s hungry.

Rounding the final corner to his apartment Kade heard the beginnings of a street fight. The more he walked however, the more it became apparent the shouting was at the base of his building. Getting a good look at the shouters, it seemed to be some of the organizers from the factory.

As for the people being hassled, he could only see a man in a white coat. Having already decided to deal with whatever was going on here, to spare himself solid sleep, Kade closed the distance behind the organizers without their knowing.

“No Shion, we’re exactly where we need to be” the man in the white coat said.

“What the hell are you talking about ya crazy!” The organizer goon spat out.

“Yeah, we just want the cash you lunatic!” The other goon responded, “watch your hands kid!” He referenced another person Kade could only see the legs of.

Now directly behind the goons, the final person in the group was revealed to be… that smug kid with the Pawniard!

Pokemon Mentioned this part-

Arbok, the cobra Pokémon

Luxray, the gleam eyes Pokémon

Ponyta, the fire horse pokemon

Tropias, the fruit Pokémon

Ralts, the feeling pokemon