FicWad

I awake to the sound of a knocking on my front door. The sun had yet to come up, but the early morning Pokémon were awake and chirping softly outside, but go silent at the caustic noise coming from my house. Blearily, I move to roll out of bed but find that Tempest, the Raichu, and Tinsel are lying atop me. Hop growls grumpily at my movement next to me but begins stretching to get up. Then, I hear the front door handle jingle, the door open, then close with a distinctive snap.

I shoot up from the covers and knock the two still sleeping Pokémon off of me unceremoniously, suddenly wide awake by the unexpected noise. Hop jumps off the bed, arches her back, and hisses protectively at the doorway, readying to run out the door and attack the surprise intruder.

"Shh," I quiet her, "stay here and protect Himiko." I point to the still sleeping form of my niece, curled in the many tails of Sardee, my Alolan Ninetales, in the spot where Kabir usually sleeps. Sardee's head was up, and she was staring at me too, blue eyes alight with awareness and glowing brightly in the dark room, but she remained completely still so as not to wake the child. My Delcatty gives a defiant growl and moves to the door with me, refusing to listen to my instructions.

The Pokémon downstairs begin stirring, and I hear a few angry grunts. Then, there's a loud yelp of surprise from a man as I hear Garbee, my fire-type Ninetales, tackle the early morning intruder with a call of attack. I hear Bead, my normally kind-hearted and friendly Leafeon growl furiously at the mysterious man as well.

If Bead is on the defense, then whoever just came in really is a threat, I think to myself, fear rising in my gut.

Grabbing my robe, I cover my sleep ware and swiftly sneak out the bedroom door with Hop by my side. I look up the hall, away from the stairs, to see Burnet poking her head out of the spare room and looking down the passageway in surprise. Placing a finger over my lips, I shush her from making any noise. She slips silently across the hall to me, and I instruct the blue Sylveon to go to my visitors' room to protect Lei along with her Munchlax.

"Phone the police," I whisper to Burnet in the darkness. "And stay up here with the children."

"Absolutely not. I can't let you go down there alone. What if he's armed? What if he has Pokémon of his own to battle with? What if more people are waiting?" She whispers back, staring at me and looking ready to defend just as fiercely as the Pokémon. Her phone is in her hand, the police are already dialed, on the line, and listening silently to us talk, but she looks prepared to take on an army if need be.

"It's alright. I've been taking martial arts nearly all my life," I say, hoping she's as convinced as I am scared. Of course, it's not a lie, but I had always hoped I would never have to use the training my whole family started in my childhood. "I'll be fine. Besides, I have Hop and Garbee. They are my strongest Pokémon on this team. I need you to stay up here to protect the children."

She stares for a moment but nods and agrees without another word. I hear her whisper the situation into the receiver to the operator on the phone. I turn around, sneak my way down the stairs and round the corner to the waiting trespasser.

Muffled grunts can be heard from the intruder, and I see Garbee laying on top of a man, stuffing his mouth with a tail and growling angrily, red eyes glowing fiercely in the dark living room. Though I couldn't see much of the man past the large Ninetales' thick, writhing tails and body, I could see the creature's claws were extended and digging threateningly into the man's bare skin on his arm. Bead was holding up his stiffened tail to the man as well, sharpened edge dangerously close to the intruder's throat.

I look towards the stairway to see the two Incineroar and Melmetal from my neighbor's home standing defensively in front of the stairway, teeth bared, ready to attack or defend. Burnet most likely instructed them to provide me with extra help should the need arise.

I take a deep breath, fists clenched tightly, and begin to speak; "I-I should inform you," I stammer. "That I am h-heavily trained in martial arts."

I hope the shaking in my voice is only in my head and not detectable to this detained man, I think to myself.

"It would be wise for you to stay where you are, or you will have to contend with all the Pokémon and me as well." Thankfully, my voice sounds a bit stronger as I continue my speech, but I'm still terrified and wholly unprepared for the oncoming situation. No amount of training can fully prepare someone for an incident like this.

I hear the man grunting louder, trying to speak to me through the mouthful of fur, but Garbee pushes more heavily onto his chest, causing his words to falter as the breath from his lungs is forced out by the old Pokémon. I reach clumsily over to a lamp and switch it on with shaking hands, finally flooding the darkened home with much-needed light. I still can't see the man, who was entirely covered by the tails and body of Garbee though I could see him squirming under the fiery Pokémon.

I steel myself, and I creep closer with clenched fists, instructing Garbee to uncover his face so I can see who the intruder is. I ready myself for the man to jump at the first sign of a possible release, standing in a wide stance, clenched fists by my hips, and bouncing on the balls of my feet. When my Ninetales moves his tail, I feel a rush of relief, shame, irritation, and joy all at once flood through me.

"Miltank Droppings," I exclaim breathily, with more annoyance now than fear, dropping my hands and collapsing onto the couch in relief. "Kukui, what in the name of Arceus do you think you're doing, sneaking into my home like that? I nearly died of fright."

Garbee shifts slightly, and Bead lowers his tail at the sound of my voice, no longer defensive. Hop stops growling and drops the fur along her back.

"A-ha ha!" He laughs with a strained voice. "I wasn't expecting such a welcome." He says breathlessly.

I realize why he's struggling and address my Ninetales. "It's alright, bud; it's Kukui; don't you recognize him? Come on, get away and let him up." I say, walking over to the group and helping the young man to his feet.

Garbee gives an angry snort but stands, swishing his tails irritably across Kukui's face, clearly annoyed at the interruption in his sleep and the surprise intrusion. Bead sits down and begins licking his ruffled fur, not usually the type to fight and eager to return to a calmer state. Though Hop has lowered her fur, she continues to growl, angered as well by the man.

Kukui and Ash's Incineroar walk over to the man and greet him happily along with Melmetal, followed by the descending footsteps of his wife, Burnet. She runs up to him with a gasp and gives him a squeezing hug out of joy.

"Arceus almighty, Kukui, you frightened us!" She says, laughing in relief.

"So it seems, but I knew I'd find you here." He says, placing a hand behind his head and scratching it in embarrassment while addressing his wife. "I'm sorry about that." He apologizes to us; then he turns to address my Ninetales, Leafeon, and Delcatty, "Please forgive me for disturbing your sleep and causing you so much trouble," he says, bowing respectfully to them.

Bead gives a chirp and walks over to rub his side along Kukui's legs, effectively informing the man of his forgiveness. Hop huffs at him and sits by my heels, refusing to make eye contact. Garbee, still enraged, spits a puff of flame from his nose and snaps his head to the other side, not as easy to sway as the Leafeon. I pat the fiercer Pokémon on the head and give a small laugh, my voice and hands still shaking from the encounter.

There's a flash of police lights outside the house as Officer Jenny and a squad of cars pull up and prepare to enter the home. I glance at them from the window and rush out to them to explain the mistake.

"I see," the blue-haired officer says with a laugh. "Well, Kukui, I've told you several times that barging into people's homes is going to get you in trouble one of these days." She scolds lightheartedly.

"Yes, I certainly seem to have put myself into quite a situation." He replies, laughing as well. "I was nearly shredded by Ninetales," he says, holding up his arm and showing the scratches he received from the claws of Garbee and then pointing to the three Pokémon in question. "And I think Sashi here was about to come after me too. I didn't know you could fight! Had I really been an intruder, I'd wager a bet and say this house is rather well protected." He laughs again.

"Maybe not as protected as you think," I throw in, "Just because I know martial arts, that doesn't mean I'd be able to defend anyone with how frightened I was. Though," I add, looking to my Pokémon, "had you resisted, I'm quite sure you would have had your floor mopped by these three."

I scratch the heads of Delcatty and Ninetales again while Leafeon walks up to Officer Jenny to give a curious sniff to her partner, Gumshoos. He receives a quick pat on his head from Jenny and a few of the other waiting officers as he walks up to them as well.

"Although, Bead may have just required you to pet him until you expire." I chuckle while watching the overly friendly Pokémon. We all laugh at this for a moment.

Officer Jenny waves to her crew, and they begin returning to their vehicles. "Well, if there's no problem here, we are going to head back to the station. Don't be afraid to call again if you ever need to. Have a good day." She says, climbing onto her bike. We all wave the crew off and head back inside to the rest of the household.

"Kukui, where is Kabir?" Burnet asks, looking around as we enter the home.

I cringe slightly and wince, already guessing what his answer will be.

"He's still resting at the hospital," The man answers cheerfully, "but I know he had all his PokeBalls with him, so I asked to be discharged so I could bring them back. You have a lot of Pokémon here to care for on your own." He says, giving me a knowing glance and reaching into his pockets.

"Ah, yes. Thank you." I say, taking them from his hands.

"You didn't get discharged just to do that, did you? You should have stayed at the hospital and got some rest yourself. Who in their right mind would release an injured patient this early in the morning?" Burnet scolds.

"I talked to Doctor Ōpūnui before I left, and he gave me the all-clear," Kukui says, holding his hands up defensively. "I promise. You can call the hospital and ask him yourself if you want." He adds when she continues to glare at him, unconvinced.

"Honestly, you and that father of yours." She grumps, already calming down, and a smile flickering across her face.

"Alright, you guys, it's too early to start the day but too late to go back to bed. How about we make some breakfast and relax for a bit." I say, stopping the friendly fight between the two. My own shaking hands and pounding heart were finally returning to a normal state. They agree, and we head into the kitchen to make a nice large breakfast for all the Pokémon and people.