brother of mine

The wind whipped through the trees as the lucario pokecat made his way towards the trainer’s hut. It hadn’t been a very eventful day, but he had been walking a lot, and right now he really wanted to lie down and rest. Maybe he’d get up and train later, but for now all he wanted was a nice, warm bed.

Suddenly he heard a pounding of pawsteps behind him. Hoping it wasn’t a Rocket trying to rob him or something, Lionel swung around and braced himself for impact. He saw a flash of orange fur before he was knocked to the ground and trampled by the cat.
“H-H-Hey!” he yowled, trying to get the cat’s attention. He seemed like he was in a hurry, but Lionel wanted to find out why he was going so fast, just in case he was shifty. The tom stopped in his tracks, huffing and puffing.

“Yo, can I help you?” he said calmly, turning around. “I’m kind of in a hurry.”
Lionel saw that the tom was a torchic, and swallowed. He had the type advantage. I’ve got Bone Rush, though, Lionel thought, trying to reassure himself.
“Uh, uhh, yeah, w-well,” he stuttered, “H-Here on Cianwood, trampling people is kind of, uh, f-frowned upon. Y-You know?”

The torchic laughed. “Hah, yeah, I know. Did I run you over? Sorry, dude.” He shrugged and trotted over to Lionel, grinning happily. “My name’s Haru. I’m in a bit of a hurry, so excu—OH MY GOD!”
Haru lunged forward and grabbed Lionel’s collar, much to the lucario’s surprise. The fire-type’s good-natured grin had transformed into a look of shock (or was it awe?), and it made Lionel nervous.

“P-Paws off!” He mewed, putting his paws up to the brown collar. “That’s a family heirloom!”
Haru nodded quickly and backed up. He looked like he was breaking out into a cold sweat, but Lionel couldn’t be sure.
“D-D-D-Dude, this is a r-really weird question, b-b-but are you my m-mom?” Haru stammered, wide-eyed.
Lionel was taken aback. “What are you talking about?!” He screeched. “I’m clearly male!” He decided that Haru was really weird.

“Wh-where did you get that c-collar, then?!” Haru exclaimed.
“My mom gave it to me.”
“Your mom?”
Lionel scowled. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“…By chance, she wasn’t from a little island full of your kind, was she? A, uh, queen?” Haru moved forwards a little, his expression showing that he was processing the new information.
Lionel’s frown faded. “H-How did you know that? I thought you were fire type, not psychic.” The two toms stood in silence for a moment before Lionel moved forwards, eyes narrowed.
“I want you to tell me what the hell is going on,” Lionel said, suddenly confident. “Who are you?”
“I told you,” Haru said, “My name is Haru!”

“Well, yeah,” Lionel retorted, “But who are you?”
“…I don’t know what you’re asking me,” Haru said. Lionel sighed, wondering if he was ever going to get anywhere with him. It had been a long day, and he didn’t want to put up with this.
“How do you know my mom?” Lionel asked, trying to be gentler.
“She… might be my mom, too,” Haru said quietly.

Suddenly the torchic brightened a little. His smile returned, and he put a pawn on Lionel’s shoulder.
“Hey, you know what this means?” He chirped, “We’re brothers! Brotherrrrrsss!”
“Wh-what?” The lucario muttered, “I only have a sister, though.”
“Not anymore, bro!” Haru laughed cheerfully and gave Lionel a big hug. “Besides, look at all the evidence! It’s irrefutable!”
“What evidence?!” Lionel said. In truth, he liked the idea of having a brother, but could he really trust this Haru guy?

“It’s—oh, I’ll tell you the whole story later,” Haru said, “Listen, I gotta run, ‘cuz they need me at the fields, but look, from now on we gotta look out for each other, you dig? ‘Cause we’re brothers and stuff. We’ll go out for dinner later, andmaybegetalittlecandyafterwardsbecauseIreallylikecandy, ok?”
Lionel was dumbstruck. Do I really have a brother? He thought. This is all so sudden… The only reply he could manage was a short nod.

“Alrighty, brother-of-mine!” Haru said. He was obviously very enthusiastic about this whole thing. “I’ll see you at 8 o’clock sharp! Seeya!” With that, the orange tom ran off in the direction of the berry fields, humming a song.
Lionel was left on the path as he watched him leave.
“Uhm… ok?”