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Well, it's been another three months...I guess I can put the next chapter up. This is an emotional one between the main characters, and I'm glad how it came out. I've grown attached to these guys over the series so far and looking forward to more with them down the road.

Chapter 9 To Give All You Have

Wyatt offered me a ride on Gunny...but...my fear of heights wasn't leaving anytime soon, so I went on foot. Mom had wondered how things had gone, and wondered why I was carrying a diaper in my hands. But I was too fueled to stop, and when she called over to me to wonder why, I told her I had to pick up my Pokemon, much to her confusion.

First thing, when I got to the Center, Joy began by cautioning me. Taking in a Poison type was difficult, no matter the prejudice. The fact that the lizard was wild and made flames with its tail just added more to it. I just countered that, technically, any starting Pokemon is technically wild and had risks; I was bolstered by meeting with Wyatt, and taking 'no' for an answer didn't seem to be in my head now. She sighed and eventually let me have my way. That, and she said the little guy wasn't becoming a huge fan of the medical staff. His poison may not be up to snuff for some time, but he could still singe some fingers and claw like mad at times.

After the previous incident, they had given the Salandit a muscle relaxant or...something similiar that made him much more managable, enough so that even I could go into the room by myself, as I preferred. They had been aiming to get him changed, but he had gotten up and started wandering around, failing rather epically at trying to hurt other things in the room. Apparently, he couldn't really use much of any poison, and his flames were seriously lacking power at this point. Honestly, hearing it made me worried about...

I entered the same room they had kept him in, and I saw him there, at the main cylinder support of the reclinable observation chair. He had his back against it, sitting down in what I could tell from this distance looked to be a rather soggy diaper. He was grunting and growling, looking down at the thing as he tried to pull it off rather ineffectively by the waistband. Given the slight bruise on the side of his face and one arm, I guessed he had been trying to get it off for awhile now, with bad results.

"H-Hey," I said, figuring to announce my presence this time rather than surprise him. On instant, he looked at me, his little claws pulling the waistband of his blue and red, Pokeball print diaper. Well, kind of...quite a lot of them had faded heh. I tried not to smile at it though, and also tried to remember to keep the other diaper in the room (not in a compartment), behind my back.

"H-how are you?"

The lizard slowly let his claws come to his body, the waistband of the diaper going back into place as he let his palms fall beside him. After a few seconds, he started drumming his claws on the floor, the sound echoing in the room.

Tic tic tic....tic tic tic...

I remembered how Wyatt acted with his Pokemon, interpreting their words and body language. I tried to apply it here. Tapping claws, narrowed eyes...clearly not happy about not being able to do what he wanted...yep, hostile...but not as bad as last time. And the tapping...it was like a clock.

Oh...he was waiting me to show why I was here.

"Oh umm...well," I started, walking very slowly toward him, but stopping for a minute or so to test the distance I could get. "They said they're discharging you tomorrow...that means you'd have to...leave."

The Salandit paused its tapping...but then continued a few seconds later, apparently it didn't care about that. Or...maybe he didn't know the implications of what that meant. I knew Pokemon weren't dumb, they were intelligent. but being the wild he is, he may just be unaware of what I was getting at.

"What that means..." I decided to inform. "...is that you'll...be release into the forest again...like...where I found you."

The Salandit stopped tapping long enough to let me hear him scoff at the comment, but I did see him look off to the side really quickly and gritting with the side of his mouth. Then he looked back to me, tapping again.

"I...don't know if that's what you want. I-I mean...I don't know anything about you but..." I started, pausing a few feet away. "What I do know is what I saw...I saw you...alone...nearly dying...is that...is that going to happen again if you go?"

The tapping stopped, and the Salandit stared daggers at me...then looked down at its claws on the floor, seeming to wonder why he had stopped the noise. I figured I had hit a nerve, and, though he might not like it, I decided to prod more.

"What happened to you? I mean...from what Joy told me...Salandits aren't around here, like, at all...and that they're usually subordiante to females," I started, remembering the basics of Salandit knowledge I had picked up. Ya know...thinking on it...

"Actually...it kind of sounds like Salandits give all they have to somebody else right? Do you want to go back to---"

"SALANDIT."

I heard his claws scrape across the floor as he tightened them into fists, hissing his singular word at me, eyes slitted with anger. It was like he was telling me to 'mind your own business!' or some kind of Poke-curse. I stood my ground though...despite the diaper, he did look threatening...but he didn't get up from his position...was he really too weak to get up himself?

I let a moment of silence coat the air, letting the lizard's threatening word(s) dissapate so I could say what I wanted. He may be weak, but he was far more lucid this time. I decided it was a good opportunity to finish my thought...even before I had realized just how impactful it would be when I said it.

"...what if somebody gave to YOU?" I asked.

The Salandit's neck curved slightly, though his expression was still angry. The body language gave him away again. He was confused or interested in what I meant...that was a start at least. I took a few steps closer. I was near the tip of his tail now, limp and unmoving.

"The doctors and nurses here did a lot for you, you know...I get it...maybe it's unusual for you that people helped you," I found myself continuing. I don't know how, but I felt like I was on a roll of realization here. "Maybe...maybe you're just unfamiliar with what that feels like."

The Salandit's slitted pupils went off to the side, not focusing his angry face at me. I was hitting another nerve. A few more steps, and I slowly, SLOWLY, crouched down without the aid of my arms to balance myself. His eyes darted to me as he watched my progress, pupils focused on the level of my head. He didn't try to attack me, or move his body, but he did shift his tail further away from me. I stayed there, crouched near him, giving him a moment before I spoke again.

"When I saw you, I just want to help. I...I think you wanted that too."

"Saaaaal..." the lizard drew out, making it sound like a warning. I sighed, knowing he would make this hard.

"Look...I don't want them to let you back out there...by yourself...giving everything you have for someone else that...that left you to die." The lizard gritted his jagged mouth, turning his head away from me. I saw slight trembling in his neck spine thingies, showing he was agitated. I'm not sure if this was good or not...better to...

"You don't have to g---Ah...ahhh...ahh..."

I gritted my teeth, trying not to regret my action. I had placed a hand on his knee, thinking a physical connection would help. Immediately as I did, he looked down at my hand, and reflexivly swiped with his claws. But not just a pull swipe, his claws were digging into my hand. I tried not to yell out in surprise. It was not...overly painful...but it was like several bee stings at one time. There wasn't any red stuff...but I knew the points had gone through the skin.

I kept my hand where it was, despite the initial pain, and looked at him. He was breathing a bit deeper, more noticably, chest rising and falling. He looked from my hand to my face, several times, then finally to the later. His mouth was twisted in confusion as to why I wasn't moving my hand away.

That was interesting. He had less energy than he did in our last encounter, for sure, but he hadn't regret his attacks against me. This time, thanks to his weakness, he realized I wasn't backing down on whatever my goal was. I don't know if he was angry or afraid of what that my intentions may be...but I realized this was an opportunity.

Do I take it?

His claws were shaking. The one that had it's points in my hand. I could feel it. It wasn't fatigue...it was...hesitation. Did he...regret it this time?

I took the risk. I leaned in, pulling my other arm around his neck into a half-embrace, moving my head beside his. He was startled, claws coming out of my hand, moving his other set of claws up to Scratch at my shirt sleeve, motioning his legs and tail and trying to move his main body. He Struggled a bit, but by then, I pulled up my sore hand, placing it between his neck spines. I took the chance before his desperation led power to his flailing.

"I'll take care of you."

He froze.

I had said the words with such conviction, that, even though I was honest, I was surprised at how much I meant it. Apparently it was so honest that in the moment, the Salandit believed it too. We stayed that way for a few seconds...and I smiled lightly when I heard the hissing noise of water against a towel. Poor guy was so stunned he...

I pulled back slowly, placing both hands on his shoulders and looking at him firmly in the slitted eyes.

"I may not be the best at it. It will be the first time I've done this," I admitted to him, still trying to be honest. "But...I want to help, if you let me."

His crescent eyes were probably widened as much as they could be, stareing at me as if I was some great oddity. He'd seen humans before, or at least Joy and the human staff here, so it had to be what I said.

"You can live me," I told him, deciding to pitch positives. "In a house that's nice and warm, you don't have to stay outside. You don't have to hunt for food either, me and mom will...we'll make sure you never starve. No predators either, all the Pokemon here are cool to each other. I think...I think you can be happy here," I told him.

The lizard's pupils went every which way, as if searching for reason behind what I was saying. It made sense...he really didn't know the concept of these things...to NOT have to worry about such things on a daily basis. To know that those needs might be satisifed, to live rather than survive...it was like a overload; a foreign concept that he never thought of.

He started breathing heavier, looking down at himself, stareing at some point on his wet padding. I gave him a minute or so to process, wondering how he would take this. If I were him, it would sound good to me...but I wasn't. It was a two-way thing. I may want to try and have such a thing as Wyatt had with his Pokemon...but I wanted him to have a choice too.

He didn't say anything, just darted his eyes to different spaces before him, not concentrating at all. It was like any energy he had in his limbs was transferred to his brain to figure out the most preferrable option. I was unsure whether to make a move or not...the pain in my hand a reminder of the first attempt. Still, it had made progress.

"What do you have to lose?" I decided to offer, tilting my head a little to try and see his downcast eyes better. He glanced at me, stareing firmly. EIther it was something he couldn't argue with, or this was that pride thing Wyatt had talked about.

He looked away from me, turning his head to look at nothing. "Sa...ndit..." he muttered through a clenched mouth. I...guess that was a yes?

"Ok," I decided to say, chuckling a second at his reluctance to be more open. "I'm...going to pick you up right now...is that ok?"

"Sal?" the lizard questioned, one eye darting to me.

"Did you want to get up yourself?" I asked, testing my early guess. He...didn't move from the position, growling out the side of his mouth. Yep, I was right. He may have been pulled out of the terminal condition...but he had used up whatever bits of energy he had with his (not) popular tantrums, as the scorch marks in the room, and the purple of my hair, were a reminder of.

I took my hands off his shoulders, and I noticeably spotted he decided to regard my motions during it. "You're pretty out of it...but umm...just to make sure, you're not going to try and burn me or...gush purple stuff at me again are you?"

"Salan..." the lizard scoffed.

"Promise?"

"Sal..."

"I mean it, do you?"

"....Salaaand..." he groaned, rolling his thin eyes in annoyance.

"Ok, just making sure ok?"

I paused for a moment, remembering something in my hand that the Salandit had not noticed, and I had forgotten. Quickly, while he looked away in annoyance, I reached up with my occupied hand, laying the plastic package on the observation table. Then I reached over cautiously, putting my hands under his arms. He glanced at me when he felt my touch, and I went slower, making sure to look between what I was doing and gauging his expression.

He felt warm, but thin. I guess the Fire-type just made him naturally that way, but the thinness worried me. I heard when people got old, their bones got more brittle...which is why it was difficult for them to sit down and get up. I guess the same might apply here, which is why I went extra careful...ironically like I guess you would handle a baby heh.

I tried to focus, making sure my movements were careful but not overbearing. I made sure I had him firmly, but not too tightly. I pulled him up slowly, hearing the crinkling of his diaper's settled mass as it followed its wearer a few seconds behind. I backed up as I rose him higher, already feeling he was heavier than the first time I held him...

The reason was obvious, but I think he first regarded it when I cleared the underside of the chair and held him up to my level, both of us watching as his diaper sagged between his legs with the added pound or two he had soaked it with, accompanied by a huge crinkle. His tail dangled below it, a portion near the base hitting against the swollen mass like it was a bell chime.

I suppose now was as a good a time as any to mention that bit...

"Sal...an...dit," the lizard remarked, maybe cursed, through clenched teeth, as if he just realized that I was witness to his only attire's current state.

"Hey hey buddy it's ok," I told him, smiling a bit at his slight blush. "I'll...be taking care of that too."

"SAL?" the Salandit questioned, shooting me a look. Then it looked to the diaper, then to me again. "Salan!" he told me, growling.

"You...do realize that diaper looks like it could leak right?" I asked him with a smile, thinking he was commenting that he didn't need the things.

"S...al..." the lizard started to yell, then spluttered out his cheek, looking away. Couldn't argue that one could he?

I smiled, deciding to test what Chansey and Gunny had did when I met with Wyatt. Using the Salandit's diverted look to my advantage, I quickly pulled him close to my chest, moving one hand to his back, and the other to the sagging bottom of his diaper, heaving the mass upward to squelch against his rump.

His reaction was immediate, but his rebuttal was too slow, and his weakened state made him too vunerable. He was in the process of turning his head when he felt me moving him, but before he could speak or growl at me, his head was already against my chest, his purple slits growing wide as he was not expecting this movement. His mouth gaped, but then cringed with a shiver down his body as he felt the warmness of the diaper against his rump and tail base as I pushed both his back and bottom.

"S...ss...ss...ss..."

I smiled as I hugged the lizard tightly to my chest, noticing his widened eyes stareing straight ahead and the rest of his limbs frozen in the confusion of what I had done. He tried to say words, but it seems he was at a loss to what to say about this.

"It's ok little buddy. As said I'll take care of it for you...you don't have to feel bad for being a leaky little lizard heh, because you're my leaky little lizard," I said, patting his warm diaper, cutting off his attempts to say something.

The whole 'my' thing felt a little weird. I didn't say to mean I 'owned' him like a pet or something...more like he was my friend, which I hope he understood. I also wasn't worried about the diaper leaking...these medical ones hold a LOT apparently...given how much heavier he was heh heh. Then again, who ever heard of Poke Poofs leaking anyway?

I removed the pressure from his back, letting him move if he wanted. He didn't for a while, head against my chest, feeling his breath on my shirt. After a long while, he pushed against my chest with his frail-feeling hands, looking up at me with an angry face I was actually worried to see. He stared me, mouth clenched, shoulders flexing with tight breathing. I thought he might flare up and...

...then his breathing slowed, his mouth relaxed, and the angry expression lessed. His crescent eyes shifted, furrowing in an expression that said 'are you for REAL?'

I moved my left arm away to wrap above his tail and around his waist, his diaper's wet mass falling from him again with a plump crinkle. With the other hand, I slowly petted his bald, scaley head.

"I meant what I said ok? I'll take care of you," I told him. His mouth slowly gaped, eyes narrowing in confusion, stareing at my chest as if...as if he was considering to lay his head back there.

"What do you say buddy? Ready to go to your new home?" I asked him, lowering my head a little to be more level with his. He looked at me, and after a few long seconds, gave a simple, direct nod, his confusion not leaving his face.

"Alright heh heh. Oh...right," I remarked, smiling as I walked closer to the observation chair, looking at the item I had left there. When the Salandit figured to look at what I was concentrating on, he saw the diaper in plastic that Wyatt had given me.

"S...al?"

"Color gave it away huh? Yeah buddy, that's one for you."

"S...sal?"

"Heh heh, guess we'll see," I said, shifting a bit to pick the diaper up, trying to balance having it with my Salandit. Surprisingly, he feebly reached out for the package...so I let him hold on to it. It was thick, but not too heavy, so if he held that and I held him, we were good.

I turned and started out of the room, watching as he seemed to take interest in the diaper he, hopefully, would be wearing later. Maybe he was looking to approve it first or something.

Whatever the reason for that was...I was more focused on what I had just done. I...succeeded I think. Sure, he was obviously confused and uncertain about this whole thing. As confident as I was on wanting to try and bond with him, I had a few feelings like that swimming about...which I guess was good, I could relate to him that way. But still...I had managed to convince him to come with me...I was so happy....

"Ok buddy...I'll sign you out and I'll show you your new home...and...get you a diaper change heh."

---

So much has happened since then, remembering everything that followed was difficult, but I recalled a few things...

Like how he had seemed insistant on exploring every nook of the house when we arrived...which meant every few minutes he was hiding in some place, maybe to call his own little nook, that I had to look for him. Thankfully, he had avoided getting changed, so I just had to follow the smell of wet diaper that was slowly enveloping the house.

Surprisingly, the first time changing him didn't go so bad. Sure, as soon as I got it off him, he started to dodge around me to prevent me from getting the new one on. But...his initial rush for the new experiences had taken its toll and he eventually tired out. Couldn't even manage a spark when I diapered him back up...though I think he got to appreciating how a fresh diaper felt. Actually, he looked quite good in the new one that Wyatt had made for him, and even HE seemed to take a moment to regard it, which I never forgot.

Oh boy, the first dirty diaper...that was a nightmare...I may have a few old bruises from when he kicked and slapped me with his tail. He certainly wanted to make it as difficult as he could for me...as if he were testing my commitment. Well, soiled padding or not, I was going to prove him wrong...even that meant I had to use two pairs of glove, an operations mask, and an umbrella...don't...don't ask.

I had an idea about the eating thing, which seemed to be something easier for him...at first. I started with natural stuff that you didn't have to cook to eat. Natural berries, fruits, vegtables, gauging what he liked, I went with that. Unfortunately, if I stored extra in the house, he'd sneak around at night and raid the pantry on a daily basis. I swear, I nearly wanted to spike him down by the diaper before bed...he certainly wouldn't be able to stretch the diaper enough to rip it.

Then I moved on to the cooked stuff...and surprisingly, he adapted to that really quick. Maybe it was the Fire-type in him, but he enjoyed cooked food even more, and was eager to try new things, though my repitore, as said, was limited. Still, he liked it...and I do remember a moment where he used his tail-fire to Ember up eggs for breakfast...that was a time that foreshadowed how we would end up, and gave me hope.

For the first few months, he didn't want to leave the house, even if I said we would be together. He would find some small space and just hiss at me, his purple eyes glareing at me from the dark. It was almost like he feared that if he left the place, he wouldn't ever come back. Initially, I guess, it was the idea of losing shelter and food. It was the survivalist in him, I guess, that made him reluctant. I took it as a good sign, though, and didn't aim to push him. Though that meant possibly leaving him alone...leaving him to his own devices at that early stage didn't seem like a good idea. So, I only went out when I had to...and tried my best to help him work up the courage for an outing...

At first, the steps were small. I carried him out the front door...and he impaled his claws into the door frame and wouldn't let go. But, after several encouraging sessions, a few promises, and distracting him with a pizza slice from my favorite bistro, our first time out started.

At first he didn't seem to notice much, till after he stopped stuffing his face with bread and cheese. But when he did, he ducked low into my travel bag, which was big enough that he could do so, peeking between the zipper flap that he closed and parted when he wanted to see what was going on. Spotting large Pokemon or possible former-predators, he zipped the bag closed for a minute or two. On occassion I heard him growl to himself, as if he hated seeming uncertain about this, or showing his fear.

Eventually, though, when we got further into town, and I paused a few times at rest stops to encourage him to look around, he got a little braver. It must have been weird for him, peeking out from the back and seeing what he did.

A wild lizard seeing other Pokemon and humans together. I saw the confusion on his face, which at first I thought was simply his bewilderness at the concept...and then I thought further. It made sense. The concept of me, a human, careing about HIM must have been so foreign to him. Humans may have just been creatures he avoided till now...and his only interaction had been me and the Center staff. He was seeing, for the first time, loads of diapered Pokemon, like he now was, living together...happy.

Wow...I just wanted him to get out of the house...I didn't realize how much this could help him.

He was seeing it. Seeing the POSSIBILITY.

From there, things got progressively, if slowly, better. When we went out, I took him further and further into the city, to the places I knew well enough. Showed him my favorite eating places, hangouts, and even showed him where I had gone to school and, from the outside, where that padding on his rump was made heh.

Soon, we'd visited the places I was familiar with...yet even in my whole life, I hadn't gone EVERYWHERE in the city...hadn't the need to really. But...now, with him, we explored them together. It was a bunch of little adventures for the both of us...and made us grow closer with each step we took.

We still had a full life ahead of us. Sure, I was still figuring out, exactly, what my future was going to be But hey, now I have a little lizard to help me figure it out...after we finish that next game level, chow down on meatbuns, and laugh ourselves silly at those hilarious Pokemon contests till I have to change said-lizard's wet diaper.

All in a day's friendship heh heh.