June 3rd

Wednesday

9:50 AM

Nick was sitting on the living room floor, watching his father set up the black mini-truck that he got for his birthday. He recently finished eating breakfast, so he wasn’t going to be hungry for a while. Lonstan was given the day off today while someone else had his shift, being able to spend time with his son. The young pup was currently in his tye-dye shirt and Jeanies diaper. 

The gallade read the instruction manual, which was five pages long. Since there were only three parts to put together, it was very simple to put together. The three parts were as described: the front, the back, and the base section. Both parts had to be inserted and secured on the base through two metal track slides with locking mechanisms.

The little pup watched as his father inserted the front section first, while his big sister watched some cartoons on the television. He wondered when it’d be finished, and asked “Done?” Lonstan looked at his son and replied with “Not quite, sport! It’ll need to be charged after being put together. It runs on a power-pack. After it's done charging, you’ll be able to ride around the house with it!” as he chuckled to himself. 

Nicholas smiled at his father as he looked over to the couch, toddling over to it. He tried to climb onto it with his paws, but didn’t have the strength for it. Angelina glanced over at him and chuckled, using her vines to lift him up into her lap. “There you go, little brother! Let’s watch some TV while daddy sets up your stylish mini-truck!”

The big sister switched the channel over to another one called “Kidz Korner”, which had shows for children up to the age of four. At this time, it was playing an episode of Alphabet Avenue. Nick wagged his tail happily as he let out a few happy yelps, exclaiming “Yay!” as the intro played out before getting to the main episode. While that happened, his father easily secured the back section into place. Now the toy needed a twenty-minute charge before being operated.

“Okay… according to the instructions, the charging cable extends and retracts from the back section with the push of a red button near the plastic license plate.” Lonstan said to himself as he located the button and pushed it. He watched as a black charging cable came out of a square hole from under the license plate, inserting the front plug into the nearest outlet.  

The Black Mini Truck was pretty much set up, aside from it needing to be charged up. It was a roofless toy vehicle with the design of a modern pick-up truck: It had a small trunk in the back for carrying small items, and rubber seats in the front section with a baby blue steering wheel. Colorful illustrations of a gas meter and speedometer were shown to the right side of the wheel. The gas pedals were colored green and red, along with two words that said “GO!” and “STOP!” printed in their respective places with bright white letters. There was also an orange-tinted window with front lights, along with two license plates at the front and back that said “Coolest Baby On The Block!”

Angelina looked away from the television for a moment and saw the toy vehicle fully put together, she was quite amazed at how it looked appearance wise. She’d say to her father “Wow! That is one hip pick-up truck! Nicky is sure to love it!” as the pup turned around and saw it as well. Getting excited as he wagged his tail rapidly. His big sister used her vines to pick him up and place him in the driver seat. The little fighting type looked around, feeling the surface of the rubber seat.

Ranae slithered into the living room, watching as her little boy put his feet on both the gas pedal and brake pedal. She was pleased to see him enjoying himself. 

“Getting ready for a drive, Nick?” asked the serperior in a playful tone. 

“Ahuh!” said Nick as he moved the steering wheel left and right.

“That’s good, make sure to buckle up when you do!” said the mother as she heard a knock at the door. “I’ll get the door, must be one of the neighbors.” The serperior slithered over to the front door and opened it. She'd see a female raichu in blue jeans and a white shirt, holding a gift box wrapped in red wrapping paper. 

“Good morning, Elise!” said Ranae as she looked at the gift box and smiled. “Late present for my son?”
“Morning Ranae, and yeah, it’s a late birthday present since I couldn’t come to his birthday. Where is the pup?” asked the raichu. 

“He’s in the living room, playing around with his new toy pick-up truck. It’s not fully charged up, but he likes it either way and is eager to drive it around.” said Ranae. 

“He’ll love his gift when he opens it!” said Elise. 

While the two spoke between each other, Nick had decided to toddle over to the front door to see who was there. He was curious about the new voice he heard, and wanted to investigate. They were so occupied with their conversation, that they didn’t notice the young pup approaching the front door.

“Momma?” asked the young pup as he looked at the raichu. “Who?”

Ranae was quite surprised, but chuckled in response when her own son asked who she was talking to. She’d lift him up with her vines, showing him to Elise. “Nick, this is Elise. She’s one of our neighbors, and Marsha’s mother.” The electric mouse pokemon cooed at the baby as she went to tickle his cheek, which elicited a giggle from the puppy. 

“Who’s a cute puppy, who’s a cute puppy!? You are, yes you are!” said Elise as she gently scratched his head. Nick wagged his tail with excitement as he looked at the box in her round hands, curious about it. “This gift is for you, little Nick! I’d love to babysit you sometime!”  The raichu put the gift down in front of the pup, watching as he quickly unwrapped it. 

The pup lifted the top of the box and reached inside of it with his right paw, he felt something soft and velvety that intrigued him. He’d grab onto it with both paws and lifted it out, it was a Togepi Pillow! 

Nick let out a few happy yelps as he hugged it tight and gently pushed his face against it, he’d say “Soft…!” in response to describing how it felt when it touched his face. 

“Awww, he likes it!” said Ranae as she watched her son approach the electric mouse and hugged her legs, a way of thanking her for the gift. 

“You’re welcome sweetie, I am glad you love it! ” said the raichu as she gave him a gentle pat on the back. The pup let go of her, and toddled back to his mother while holding the pillow in his arms. While looking him over, she noticed that the toddler was wearing a denim-style diaper. A brand that she was able to recognize. “Rocking those Jeanies diapers?”

“He sure is, they are very stylish and comfortable!” said the serperior. 

“They are a popular brand after all,” said the raichu. 

“Would you like to come in for some coffee?” asked Ranae. 

“I’d love to, but I need to do some chores at home, and go shopping later. Have a good rest of the day!” said Elise as she turned around and walked away from the house.

“Have a good day!” said Ranae. 

The serperior slithered back to the living room as her son toddled alongside her, Angelina was currently watching some television with her own father. She sighted Nick with the Togepi pillow and said “Awww, that is so adorable! Who got that for you?”

“It was a gift from Elise, she wasn’t able to come to Nick’s birthday and brought him that pillow as a late gift. He really loves how it feels on the surface.” said the serperior. 

“Soft! Soft!” exclaimed Nicholas. 

“That’s great Nick! Now… Do you know what sound a car makes?” asked Angelina as she got off the couch and went over to him.

“Sound…?” asked the young pup as he titled his head to the left. 

“It goes Vroom-Vroom!” the snivy said to him.

“Oooh!” said Nick as he dropped his pillow and toddled over to his toy truck, pressing a red button that opened the doors. He hopped into the driver seat and turned the steering wheel to the left, all while pressing his foot down on the gas pedal. “Vroom-Vroom!”

Angelina and her parents giggled as they watched Nick play around on the toy vehicle, while it was being charged. Off to the right side of the wheel was a lit-up indicator that signaled if the device was charged, low on battery, or currently charging. It was now orange to indicate that it hadn’t finished with the process yet.

Ranae thought about what her son could do while waiting for his toy vehicle to charge, that’s when she got a wonderful idea! It was a good solution that’d keep the puppy busy!

“Angie, dear. Why don’t you take your baby brother out on a stroll?” asked the serperior.

“Mother… that is a hip idea! He’ll be able to get some fresh air while also seeing the neighborhood!” said Angelina as she ran upstairs to go prepare a diaper bag with supplies. Nick watched as her big sister left the living room, he was actually excited about going on a stroll.

Minutes later, she arrived downstairs with a diaper bag filled with a couple of Jeanies diapers and baby wipes, making sure to grab a spare bottle of baby formula to put into it. Angelina then grabbed the black stroller from the closet near the kitchen, and returned to the living room. 

“Looks like you’re ready to head out,” said Lonstan as he picked up Nicky and placed him in the stroller, buckling him in afterwards. “Have a good time, sport! We’ll meet up with you two later!” 

“Ready Nickster?” his big sister asked.

“Ready!” said the young pup. 

“Alright, off we go!” said the snivy.

Angelina made her way out of the house, making sure to close the front door on the way out. She then pushed the stroller along the sidewalk, making sure to walk at a normal speed. The pup looked around and saw a yellow triangular street sign, it had a rose with a police cap on it. Below the image said “This neighborhood is patrolled by Rose Squad, report any suspicious activity!” 

“Rose?” asked the little fighting type. 

“Asking about the Rose Squad? I’ll tell you about them: they are a small police squadron assigned by the city to keep the neighborhood safe. The unique aspect about them is that they have pink and blue sirens on their cars, along with wearing red uniforms with rose badges.” said Angelina.

“Rose… rose… rose sqwad?” said Nick as he attempted to speak the word. 

“Almost got it, Nickster. You’re really starting to pick up new words, I am proud of you little brother!” said Angelina as she pushed the stroller down the block. Each house had a different color painted on them, which made it easier to identify which house belonged to whom. The sound of pidoves flying from above accompanied the peaceful stroll through the neighborhood.

Five minutes later…. 

Angelina and her little brother made it across twenty-two blocks, and stopped for a moment to take a breather. They were right next to a community playground: It contained three large playsets, a merry-go-round, and a large picnic area for those who want to have picnics or any kind of event. 
“That was quite a walk… at least I got good exercise out of it!” said the snivy as she took her little brother out of the stroller after unbuckling his safety belt. Allowing him to look around a bit and stretch his little legs. As the pup looked around, he’d see a boy and a  pokemon approaching in the distance, staring at them with intrigue.

When they got closer, it was revealed to be a familiar young boy in black curly hair with round glasses. He was wearing an orange polo shirt with black stripes on the sleeves, along with black cargo shorts and black slip-on-shoes. Across his left shoulder was an orange sash with badges on it. He walked aside a growlithe wearing the same clothing, pulling an orange wagon that contained cookies. 

“T-t- t- t- Tom! Tom!” exclaimed Nicky happily as he wagged his tail and toddled over to his playmate that he hadn’t seen for a year. His big sister followed behind him with the stroller, making sure that he didn’t stray too far.

Tom heard Nick’s voice in the distance as he got closer, stopping in place for a moment as he adjusted his glasses. He hadn’t seen the pup for a long time since he was adopted a year ago, especially that snivy that used to be an intern at the orphanage.

“Miss Angelina? Nicky?!” Tom asked. 

“Wait… is that the pup you told me about before?” asked the growlithe.

“Yes Devin… it is!” said the boy as he watched them get closer. “It appears my friend has learned to walk, well toddle that is… but it technically counts!” 

When these two finally got close to them, the pup quickly toddled over to Tom and gave him a big hug while wagging his tail with excitement. Giving off some happy yelps as well. The boy smiled while accepting it, pleased to see that his friend was doing well. His big sister was pleased to see him reuniting with one of his friends from the orphanage. 

“Nicky…. It’s good to see you again! I’ve missed seeing you around!” said the boy as the pup let go of him. Nick looked at the badges on his sash, and was rather curious about them. “Ah, you’ve noticed my badges! You see Nick, I am part of a program called the Growlithe Scouts.”

“The Growlithe Scouts?” asked Angelina.

“Ahuh, it’s a really cool program for kids up to twelve years old!” said Tom as he wiped his glasses with his sleeves. “My father owns the program, and our motto is: Setting good examples for the purpose of Fire Safety! Be brave! Be informed! Have fun in a safe manner!” 

“We also do cool activities like crafting stuff from wood, learning to bake cookies and sell cookies, and even how to properly use a fire extinguisher. It’s so exciting!” said the growlithe. The pokémon then realized that he hadn’t properly introduced himself, and chuckled to himself. “Before I forget, allow me to introduce myself: My name is Devin, I’ve been told about you Nick. You’re the adopted orphan that everyone at the orphanage loved so much.”

“He sure is, my little brother is a bit energetic at times.” said the snivy as she chuckled to herself. “So tell me… would it be possible for Nickster to join in as well?”

“Let’s see, if I remember correctly… Ah yes, I remember! There’s a sub-group within the program called Pup Scouts, it’s for younger children before they get transferred to the Growlithe Scouts. They have badges like us, but there’s only eleven in total compared to the amount you can earn in the main group. I think Nick would definitely enjoy it!” said the boy. 

“That’s really groovy, how old does he have to be?” asked Angelina.

“He’s got to be at least one year of age to qualify, and he has to pass a test of sorts. Don’t know what it is,” said Devin.

“One year old, well I’d say he’s already qualified for the most part. He had his first birthday yesterday, isn’t that right little bro- oh!” the snivy said as she noticed her little brother drooling over a box of cookies. It seems that he could smell it from outside the box, it was quite the pleasant aroma. He was staring at it while the others were conversing about the Growlithe Scouts. The cookies were Vanilla S'more flavored. 

The growlithe went over to him and asked “Hungry kiddo? You could ask your big sister to get you a box.” Nick looked over at Angelina with his puppy dog eyes, the grass snake chuckled at his little brother and his way of asking her to get a box of cookies. While the pup could talk, he didn’t know the polite way of asking for something.

“Sorry Nick, I don’t have any money to buy you anything. Also… I don’t think it's healthy for you to have cookies at your age.”  said Angelina as her little brother sighed in disappointment. She knew how to wipe that frown off his face, the grass snake reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a bottle of baby formula, it was oran-berry flavored. The little fighting type smelled the scent of oran-berries, happily toddling over to his sister as he gently took the bottle from her. Drinking it down slowly.

“I wish I was a baby again, wouldn’t have to worry about bathroom breaks.” said the growlithe as he chuckled. “But, we all grow up eventually.”

While they conversed, both Ranae and Lonstan arrived on the scene with the mini pick-up truck. It was charged up and ready to go. The father honked the truck horn, which got the pup’s attention instantaneously. The little toddler quickly finished his bottle of baby formula, and dropped it on the ground. He toddled over his parents as his big sister picked up the empty bottle while giggling.

“Hey sport, your truck is charged and ready to be driven!” said the gallade as he picked up his son and placed him in the driver seat, buckling him in. The little fighting type pressed his left foot further on the gas pedal, watching as the toy vehicle slowly began to ramp up in speed. 

“Woah… that is a cool mini pick-up truck!” said Tom.

“Yeah, I’ll be honest, I am a little jealous!” said Devin as he chuckled. 

Both of them watched as the pup honked the horn and turned towards the park entrance, increasing the speed of the toy vehicle as he rode off. He was having a good time while giggling all the way! Tom was happy to see that his friend was having the time of his life!

“Hold up Nicholas, don’t leave without us!” said Ranae as she slithered after her energetic little boy.

“Don’t go speeding off, sport!” said Lonstan as he followed behind his wife.

“Oh Nickster, you energetic little pup!” said the grass snake as she followed her parents. 

The two looked at each other and chuckled, it was rather funny to see the riolu speeding off towards the park. It wasn’t a bad place to be driving it around since it had a lot of open space. As much as they wanted to stick around, they had cookies to sell. 

“Well… let’s head on out! We’ve got cookies to sell!” said Tom.

“Yeah, and the earnings go towards the funding of the program.” said Devin.

They headed on their way down the sidewalk, making their way towards the next house to try and sell their cookies to help fund the Growlithe Scouts program.

As Nick drove his mini pick-up truck around the open grass areas of the community park, he heard his stomach emit an audible gurgling sound as he took his left foot off the gas pedal, slowly coming to a complete stop. The pup lifted his padded rear a bit as his tail hiked up. Clenching his little fists as he prepared for the inevitable call of nature. 

“Mmmmpghhh! Nnnngh!”

FRRRRRRT! BLORT! BLRRRT! PHLORP! SMURSH!

The fighting type pushed a few sizable loads into the back of his diaper, feeling it protrude outwards as it got lumpy and saggy from the mush being deposited into it. His parents and big sister arrived in time to see the pup finish his business, giggling as they watched him sigh in relief with a dopey smile across his face. He then sat down in the driver’s seat as he heard his diaper squish against it. The pup said in response “Mushy….!” as he relaxed.

“Smells like someone needs a diaper change!” said Ranae as she gently picked up the pup using her vines.

“Goodness sport, you really went a lot!” said Lonstan as he chuckled.

“Well… he’s a fighting-type after all! I’ve seen him make big messes like this before!” said Angelina. 

“Time for a pit stop, you little stinker!” said the serperior as she chuckled. Nicky giggled in response as he was taken to the bathroom in the community park to be cleaned up and changed into a new diaper. His mother didn’t want him getting a diaper rash after all!

Once the pup was changed into a new diaper, he was taken out of the bathroom in his new Jeanies diaper and placed back in his mini pick-up truck, buckled in by his father. He was happy to be back in the toy vehicle, wanting to drive it around more. 

“Want to drive home, my son?” asked Ranae. The little pup nodded in response as his big sister giggled in response and gave him a gentle pat on the head. 

“Alright then, but you have to follow behind us so we don’t lose you!” said Angelina. “Okay?”

“Okay,” said Nick.

“Very good sport, now follow us!” said Lonstan.

The family head out of the community park, and right back down the sidewalk where they previously came from in order to make their way back home. Nick followed behind them slowly in his toy pick-up truck, smiling from ear to ear as he pressed down on the toy horn to give it a good honk!

Angelina was thinking about asking if her little brother wanted to join the Growlithe Scouts, but she figured that she could always ask him another time. The most important thing was that Nick was able to enjoy the stroll he was given, especially since he was able to reunite with his playmate Tom.  That’s all she cared about right now, the happiness of her little energetic brother.