January 10th
1997
Wednesday
11:56 P.M.
While Angelina was at school getting her education, her mother decided to take Nick to the neighborhood park for some fun recreation. Ranae figured it was a good idea, since it allowed her little boy to get some fresh air while being out and about. She dressed him in jeans, snow pants, a long-sleeved shirt, snow boots, and a light-blue winter jacket before heading out.
The grass serpeant was pushing the pup on a baby swing using her vines, making sure to only give gentle ones while he sat in the seat. She didn’t want to frighten him by putting too much force into her pushes, otherwise he’d start crying in fear. The swing was suspended by steel chains attached to the main overhead support, stronger than ropes that are commonly seen on many swingsets.
It was quite populated today, with plenty of youngsters having fun in the snow. Some were building snow men, while others were having snowball fights that were supervised by their own parents.
“Weeee!” exclaimed Nicholas. “More! More!”
“Okay sweetie, but not too much!” said Ranae.
“Wahooo!” shouted the pup as his mother pushed him a little more.
This pleasant moment of bonding was interrupted by the sound of a playful jingle being played from a music box in the distance, followed the loud screams of excitement from the other children on the playground. They all began running to the source of the music, snow crunching beneath their boots.
“Well… these children are certainly looking forward to something.” said the grassy serpent as she stopped the swing using her vines to hold it in place. “Want to see check it out, Nickster?”
“Yes mama!” said Nick as he was lifted out of the baby swing by his mother, and placed into his light-blue stroller that was brought for the trip to the playground.
The serpent slithered away from the swingset, pushing the stroller with her vines. She followed behind the children, making sure to listen for any clues that would inform her about the sudden bout of excitement.
“It’s Red Rocket Burgers, I want to get one!”
“Oh boy! I wonder what new burgers they’ve got!”
“Come on dad! Let’s get one before they run out!”
“One of the best burgers in town!”
Ranae was rather intrigued by the name, since the serperior hadn’t heard this name before. It must of been an up-and-coming fast food restaurant in the region. Only one way to find out.
The regal serpent continuously followed the crowd of children and their parents, until they reached the parking lot where everyone else had stopped. In front of them was a large red food truck with a big plastic burger sitting on the roof of the vehicle. Lots of kids and adults were lined up to get a delicious burger. The name ‘Red Rocket Burger’ was painted on both sides of the truck. The serving window has a steel counter below it, containing ketchup and other condiments on it’s surface.
“Ah… so that explains it. It’s a food truck!” said the serperior.
“Food twuck…?” the pup asked.
“It’s a vehicle with a portable kitchen that cooks and sells food.” said Ranae.
A meowth appeared in front of the serving window, and opened it up with their paws. He was accompanied by a man with shoulder-length peri-winkle hair, and a woman with long magenta hair. This trio wore red polo shirts, black pants, and a red and black baseball cap.
The scent of greasy delicious burgers wafted through the service window, reaching the nose of the little fighting-type who began to drool from how pleasant it was. His tail began to wag rapidly, wanting to get a delicious taste of the food they had to offer.
“Hey ya folks! Welcome to Red Rocket Burgers, one of the best and up-coming fast food companies in the region! Dig It!” said the cat pokemon.
“We’ve got delicious burgers that’ll make your tastebuds blast off!” said the man.
“The recipe is crafted by our beloved boss, Giovanni!” exclaimed the woman.
“It sure is, and we came all the way from the Kanto region to expand our franchise to Unova!” said the meowth as he looked towards the other two. “These two are Jessie and James, the best fry-cooks I’ve ever met!”
“And also, the most beautiful I must say!” said Jessie.
“Be sure to form an orderly line so we can serve you adequately, we’re looking forward to cook our delicious burgers for you today!” said James.
“If you’re low on cash, we also take credit cards!” said Meowth.
The crowd formed in a singular and orderly line, with Nick and his mother being the last customers who were in the very back of it. Ranae had her dark-green purse, which was around her neck. It contained five different credit cards, just in case one got lost.
As the time passed while standing in line, the little pup felt his stomach growl while he was drooling. They really wanted to get a paw on one of those delicious burgers.
“Hungwy…!” exclaimed Nick.
“I know sweetie, but its the lunch-rush right now. We have to wait a bit before we get some food.” said the serperior as she grabbed a cleaning wipe from the back of the stroller, and wiped the saliva from her son’s mouth.
“Why?” asked the pup.
“It’s important to have patience, because some things won’t come right away.” said Ranae.
“Oh…” said Nick.
“You may not understand now, but you’ll get it when your older.” said the regal serpent as she watched the line move a bit, being able to slither forward just a bit. They had a while to go before getting to the front.
******
Twelve minutes later…
It was finally their turn to step up to the front and order the food they desired, the menu had quite a variety of burgers to choose from. There was even a kids menu near the bottom, which was convenient for those who were unsure of what to get for their children.
“Hello madam, welcome to Red Rocket Burgers! What can I get- oh my goodness!” said the meowth.
The normal-type cat was surprised to see the little pup, since they hadn’t seen a riolu like him before. Especially being raised by a grass type serpent. Which made him and his mother unique customers. The serperior smiled and chuckled a bit, she wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction at the current time.
“Surprised by my son?” asked Ranae.
“Yeah… I don’t usually see many shiny pokémon!” the cat pokemon replied.
“We adopted him from Blisswood Orphanage, his original mother abandoned him. He doesn’t really cause much trouble.” said the serperior.
“Sorry to hear about that, deadbeat mothers like that don’t deserve to be a parent.” the meowth said as he got out a notepad and pen. Getting ready to take their order. “Now… what I can get ya two?”
“Let me see…” said Ranae as she perused the menu. “I’d like to order the Rocket Bacon Cheeseburger with a small fry, and for my son… get him two small Oran-Berry Burgers. Something that’d be able to eat with his two cute small teeth.”
The little pup giggled as the cashier wrote down the order, smiling down at the fighting-type who sat in the stroller. He was happy to see the baby being raised by a great mother. Even if she was different. Once finished, he’d tear the note paper from the pad. The mother handed them her Green Diamond Credit Card, using her vines.
“Thank you, let me just scan this real quick…” said the cat pokemon as he swiped the credit card through the electronic payment system, handing it back afterwards. “There ya go, your delicious grub will be coming up!”
“Thwankies!” said Nick.
“You’re welcome, kiddo! I’m sure you’ll love it!” said meowth as he went into the kitchen, and placed the order on a magnet clip.
“Alright, our last order for today!” said James.
“Let’s see what our final customers want…” said Jessie as she read over the note. “One Rocket Bacon Cheeseburger and two Small Oran-Berry Bugers. Let’s get these burger cooked and fabulous!”
“Do your best, you’ve all done such a good job so far!” the cashier exclaimed.
“Thank you, Meowth. This is why the boss loves you!” said the man.
The mother and her son waited by the serving window for their food, being closer to the serving window intensified the pleasant scent that was coming from the food truck kitchen. It made the little one feel relaxed, fast-food aroma therapy in a way.
When the meal was finished being cooked in the kitchen, it was brought out on a medium-sized paper tray by the woman with magenta hair.
“Thank you dear, have a pleasant day.” said Ranae as she grabbed the food tray with one vine and held onto the stroller with the other. Slithering over to the picnic area in order to consume their meal. Once a table was found, they sat down and began eating their meal. The pup was placed on a booster seat, so he could reach his food.
Within the first bite of his first small burger, Nick was surprised from the delicious greasy flavors that were touching his tastebuds. He let out some little yaps as he began to eat his meal faster, his tail wagging rapidly. His mother was a bit shocked at the speed he was consuming his food.
“Hold on honey! Slow down a little…!” said the regal serpent as her son stopped eating his second burger.
“Why momma?” He asked.
“If you eat too fast, you’ll get indigestion sweetie.” said Ranae.
“What’s thwat?” the pup inquired.
“It’s pain or discomfort in your stomach, which makes it difficult to digest food.” said the mother.
“Ohhh…” said Nicholas.
The fighting-type youngster returned to eating his burger, at a slower speed since his mother didn’t want him eating too quickly. Despite how delicious and savory it was.
When lunch was finished, the serperior brought her son back over to the swingset and placed him back into the swing he sat in before. She gently pushed the pup with her vines, watching as her little boy giggled while swinging up and down.
“Weeeee!” the pup shouted. “Wahoo!”
“Want to be pushed a bit more?” asked Ranae.
“Yes pwease!” Nick replied.
“Okay, just a little more.” said the regal serpent as she used her vines to push the swing a bit.
Fifteen minutes later…
The pup’s suddenly felt a terrible and uncomfortable stinging in his stomach, which ruined the wonderful time he was having at the park. He was whining while kicking his legs around.
“Owww…” said Nicholas.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” the mother asked.
“My tummy…. It hwurts!” exclaimed the pup.
“It must be indigestion, this is what I warned you about honey. I’m sorry that I didn’t do so sooner.” said Ranae as she sighed while taking her little boy out of the baby swing, and placing him down on a light-blue blanket she had set up by the stroller. “I’ll grab a bottle of Antacid Juice from the stroller storage, it’ll help you feel better.”
The grassy serpent slithered over to the stroller and searched through the little storage section for the bottle of Antacid Juice, while hearing her son whining loudly and shuffling about while laying on the blanket. It was a sweet dark-purple liquid made from Oran Berries and White Antacid Powder, made for helping small children when they had trouble digesting their food or had eaten too fast.
After searching for the medicine for over four minutes, she realized that a terrible mistake had been made: It was left back at the house, sitting inside the refrigerator to cool. The instructions for making it required refrigeration for at least five minutes, and had forgotten to take it out of the fridge before leaving.
“Oh dear… not good… not good!” said Ranae quietly as a sweat-drop formed on her head. She gently slithered back over to her son to give him the bad news. “I’m sorry sweetie, but I forgot to bring the medicine…”
“But… my twummy rweally hwurts!” shouted Nick.
“Don’t worry, we’ll go back and I’ll give you the medicine from there. I’m sorry sweetie, I should’ve remembered to bring it with me.” the regal serpent said.
“Maybe I can help out…” said a female voice off to the side.
The pup looked behind him and saw a female bayleef with a medical bag on her back, she was wearing dark-green medical scrubs with the name ‘Julie’ stiched onto the front shirt. His tail wagged a bit because he remembered this pokémon during his time in quarantine from being infected with the Oran Berry Flu.
The mother was curious yet relieved at the same time, she didn’t have any other options besides going home. Maybe she didn’t have to if this stranger had a solution to the problem. The serpent looked towards her son, who’s mood changed slightly from seeing the Bayleef.
“It’s them!” shouted Nick while holding his stomach.
“Who is it?” asked Ranae.
“Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Julie and I was actually assigned to taking care of the children that were quarantined during the Oran Berry Flu Outbreak. Your little boy was one of the infected I helped care for.” said the grass-type pokemon.
“Pleasure to meet you, Julie. Right now… my son has a bad case of indigestion and I forgot the Antacid Juice at home.” said the grass serpent.
“Oh… I’m sorry to hear about that, I have something that might help.” said Julie as she used her vines to reach into the outer pockets of the medical bag, pulling out two white chewable tablets. “These are Antacid Fiber Tablets, I always carry some on me incase me or someone else has digestion issues. Go ahead and take them!”
“Thank you so much, you’re kindness is appreciated!” said Ranae as she took the tablets using her vines and placed them in front of her little boy.
“Huh?” asked Nick as he stared at the small white tablets, gently taking them from his mother.
“It’s medicine honey, it’ll help you feel better.” said the mother.
The pup popped them into his mouth and began chewing on them, discovering the bitter taste they had. He grimaced quite a bit, wanting to spit them out.
“I know it has a bitter taste, but it’ll help your stomach. I promise!” said the bayleef.
Nick swallowed the tablets, coughing a bit from the taste itself. The little baby felt the stinging pain in his stomach alleviate a bit, which lessened the discomfort. The leaf pokemon smiled and gave the fighting-type a friendly pat on the back with her vines.
“Good boy, now you’ll feel better in thirty seconds. Those tablets will help relieve any blockage or other problems in your stomach and digestive tract.” said Julie.
“I better prepare the changing mat.” said Ranae as she used her vines to pull out a portable blue changing mat, placing it right next to the blanket she set up.
The pup didn’t exactly know what the bayleef meant by blockage, but he’d find out soon enough when the sound of gurgling was heard in his stomach. Right as his tail flagged high up. This happened twelve seconds after taking the medicine.
Nick took a squat and waited for the inevitable call of nature to happen. Julie wasn’t too shocked about this since everyone’s body reacted differently to medicine supplements.
“About to fill your diapers, kiddo?” asked Julie.
“Mushy time!” said Nick.
FRRRRRRRT! BLORT! BLRT! CRINKLE! SMURSH!
The back of his diaper bulked up and extruded outwards from underneath his snow pants, sighing in relief after his business was finished. Nick had a dopey grin upon his lips, no longer feeling the stomach pain after filling his padded undergarments.
“It’s changing time, my little fighter!” said the grassy serpeant.
“Yes momma!” exclaimed Nicholas.
“Alright, I’ll leave you folks alone now. Glad I could be of assistance!” said the bayleef.
“We appreciate it, thanks again!” said the mother.
The serperior laid her son on the changing mat and quickly worked on changing him into a new diaper, making sure to clean his bottom with silky baby wipes. This took a little longer since he was quite messy, and it required many cleaning wipes.
Once she was finished with the diaper change, she disposed of the used one in the nearest trash bin and used some hand sanitizer to clean her vines. Making sure to reclothe her little boy in his outfit.
“Momma?” asked Nick.
“You want to go on the swing one more time?” Ranae inquired, taking a guess at what her son wanted.
“Ahuh!” said the pup.
“Okay son, one more time before we go home!” said the serperior as she chuckled.
The grassy serpent picked up her son and placed him into the baby swing using her vines, giving him a gentle push to start things off. She was pleased that her little boy didn’t have to suffer for long. It comes to show that mistakes can happen to everyone, and that it’s not a bad thing if it does. We all need a helping hand at times in order to solve problems.
