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“Dogs should be eternal,” his father sighed. Kel could hear his mother sobbing in the background. “I'm so sorry, son”
That was how Kel learned that his beloved family dog Growlithe, Hector, had died of old age. Through a Rotom-phone call. Sure, the Pokémon lived for many, many years… he saw Hero, Kel and Sally go on to their Pokemon adventures, when each one turned 10. Initially, Kel wanted to bring Hector along as his first Pokemon partner but his parents (especially his mother) refused.
“I don't want to be alone! You and your brother will come visit us less often and your father works all the time… please, let Hector stay here.” His mother said when he tried to travel for the first time with Hector. The growlithe whined, but stayed with Ms. Nogueira-Lopez, as a loyal pup. Eventually, when Kel was a teenager and Hero was almost a young adult, their little sister Sally came to the word. When she left for her Pokemon adventure, Hector had his fur less shiny, but still barked excitedly when any of the Nogueira-Lopez children called… Especially Kel, who had an undoubtful special bound with the dog.
Unfortunately, all of the siblings got the news and lived very far away. Kel currently worked as an athlete and a Personal Trainer with his Golem (captured when he was a Geodude, named “Hector 2”), Clobbopus (named “Orange Joe”) and his first Pokémon, an Espeon (named “Dribble”) in Sinnoh, Hero lived with his wife Mari (and their Umbreon, “Mewo”, named by Mari even though she was Hero’s Partner Pokémon) and worked in a restaurant in Kalos and the youngest sibling, Sally, was the first Electric Gym Leader in Johto (with a Jolteon named “Sparky”). All three of them traveled back to Kanto, where their parents still lived.
Orange Joe kept giving light punches on Kel’s leg on their travel, Dribble slept on his lap, purring a bit and Hector 2 was kept in his Pokéball, since he was too heavy and large to be around the train. Kel kept going to a light sleep and waking up, just to see pictures of Hector throughout the years. His eyes watered when he stopped at the last photo of Hector that he received from his parents. The growlithe had more white fur, none of his black stripes and the original vivid orange spots, the color was pale, opaque. Both his eyes were white because of cataract but he still smiled at the camera, his pale tongue out. Hector was just a bit younger than Hero and a bit older than Kel, so he was almost 30 years when he passed away. As far as any of the family knew, he lived as much as any dog Pokémon could live.
Kel looked away from the Rotom Phone when Orange Joe gave him a harder punch on his leg. The Pokémon looked concerned.
“I know, buddy,'' Kel smiled at the Clobbopus. “We're almost there, I don’t want mom and dad getting worried about me.”
“Cloclo!” Orange Joe shrieked happily.
Dribble yawned and jumped gracefully to the floor as soon as the train stopped. They all walked away and Hector 2 came out of his Pokéball when Kel stepped outside. A cold wind touched their skin. It was winter, small snowflakes coming from the sky. It was midday.
“Kel!” A teenager approached him, hugging him. “It’s been so long…”
“Sally, you’ve grown!” Kel hugged his little sister back. Sparky, her Jolteon, jumped of joy when he saw Dribble. “Where’s mom, dad? Hero?”
“Mom and dad are in Pallet Town…” Sally stopped hugging and that’s when Kell could really look at his only sister. It’s been maybe a year since he saw her and she has grown at least 2 inches, even though she was almost 15. She was paler than him, her hair was a bit reddish. “And of course, Hero hasn’t arrived yet. He’ll probably show up around dinner time or maybe tomorrow. You already took so long… Why did you all decide to live so far away!? When Hero and Mari have kids, when will I have the time to visit them? I can’t leave my Pokémon Gym empty for too long! Also, I’m freezing, how can you get used to this!?”
“It’s not that cold…” She sneezed, interrupting him.
“Of course it is! You’re just used to snow since you live in Sinnoh!” Sally sounded so much like their mother, that Kel couldn’t stop laughing
The routes were pretty empty, with a few Pidgeys sleeping in nests in the trees. They soon arrived back at their childhood home. Kel suddenly felt sick in the stomach.
“Mom, we’re home!” Sally said while opening the door, getting her boots out.
The house was cozy as ever, full pictures from their extended family all living in different parts of the world. A big aquarium was adapted so Sally’s Ace Pokemon, Lanturn (named “Luz”), could stay outside her Pokéball but still be around family especially during winter or night time. Sally’s other Pokémon, a Raichu (named “Chu”), came running to greet everyone. Orange Joe and Gollum runned with her to the backyard garden, where they chased each other like children. Mr. Nogueira-Lopez was napping on the couch, in front of the fireplace.
“Querido!” Ms. Nogueira-Lopez came from the kitchen, with arms open. “Oh, it’s been so long…”
“Hey…” Kel hugged her tight. He felt his arms getting weak when he asked: “Where… where is Hector?”
“Desculpa, filho...” His mother started to apologize. “We already buried him.”
“What?”
“Hector was too frail, Kel…” Sally tapped on her brother’s shoulder. “It was for the best… You would’ve suffered even more.”
“But I wanted to say goodbye, see him for the last time.”
“We know, we know! But don’t worry, we buried him in our backyard garden.” Their mother gave them a small, weak smile.
Kel tried not to look like a mess. He felt both anger and guilt build up on his chest but his rational side made him take a deep breath. His parents were old, Hector’s death was sudden, even if they knew that he was senile. Kel initially thought that Hector would be buried in Lavender Town, that was what he deserved.
“Can I… Go see him?”
“Of course, I’ll show you.” Sally went outside and Kel followed her.
It was pretty easy to see where Hector’s body was buried. There was less snow in that spot than any of the area around it and there was a small picture of him and Kel, on the day the middle child went on his Pokémon journey.
“Mom said it was the best picture of Hector.” Sally said when noticed that her brother was staring at the photo. “I wish I could’ve seen him this young and full of energy.”
“Yeah… I’ll miss him…”
Dribble and the other Pokémon came closer to their Trainer, looking saddened to see them so depressed. Dribble and Sparky in particular were suffering the loss as well, since they interacted with Hector when they were eevees.
“Kel! Sally!” Ms. Nogueira-Lopez shouted from inside the house. “It’s cold, don’t stay outside for too long!”
“I’m going inside, I’ll help mom with lunch.” Sally sniffled. She clearly was trying not to cry and Kel thought that him, her and Hero were like this: they didn’t like to worry anyone with their emotions.
“Okay, go ahead. I need a few more minutes alone with him.”
“Sure, take all the time you want. The cold doesn’t bother you, anyway.” She poked him, trying to cheer him up before going inside. Her Pokémon followed.
Kel picked up his backpack and took out something he bought before traveling: a small candle. He lightened it and put it on the ground, next to their photo.
“You know, I wanted to light this candle for his tombstone on Lavender Town.” He explained to Hector 2, Dribble and Orange Joe. “To honour him. Since it’s snowing a bit, I feel like he would love a bit of heat. He was a fire Pokémon, after all…” He looked directly at the ground, trying to picture Hector as his younger self, sleeping comfortably like he used to next to the fireplace. Yeah, that was an image he could get along with. “Goodbye, Hector… You’ll be missed. You’d love to travel around the world, I’m sorry we couldn’t do that…” Since he was (almost) alone, Kel allowed himself to cry. His Pokémon tried to console him.
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Afterwards, when Kel calmed down, he went inside the house. The rest of the day passed by quickly, with Sally and Kel helping with the food and their mother being grumpy and saying things like ‘you’re doing it wrong’, ‘Misericórdia’ and ‘Hero would’ve done this the right way’. Mr. Nogueira-Lopez eventually woke up from his nap and talked a lot with his two kids: about their jobs, on how much he misses them. He rarely spoke about Hector and that made Kel feel both frustrated (like it was a taboo topic to talk about their beloved dog) and glad (he wasn’t emotionally stable to talk so freely about Hector right now). Soon it was night time, almost midnight, and Hero showed up.
“You should’ve said something! Why did you come alone? Where is Mari?” Kel said.
“Nonsense, there aren't any dangerous Pokémon around Pallet Town and I was with my Pokémon, relax.” As soon as Hero said this, Mewo the Umbreon walked inside the house and cheerfully joined their siblings Dribble and Sparky. His Snorlax (named “Cookie”) and Blissey (named “Rose”) were probably on their Pokéball, since they were so large. “Mari stayed home, someone had to take care of the restaurant. Where’s mom and dad?”
“They’re sleeping, Sally as well.”
“I see…” Hero put his backpack on the ground and sat on the couch. He stayed silent for a bit. Since hitting his thirties, Hero has had a few hair strands graying, making his charming and wise personality more apparent. “How are you, Kel?”
“I’m fine.”
Hero looked at his brother’s face and became serious… which was not usual.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“It’s okay to cry, you know? I’m worried.”
“I’m fine, really.” Kel smiled but soon became serious as well. “Do you want to see him?”
“Wait, I thought we’d have a funeral in Lavender Town…”
“Yeah, me too. But mom and dad wanted him closer. He’s buried in the backyard.” Kel tried not to sound angry.
“Wow, that’s… Huh, I don’t know what to think.”
“At least he’ll always be close.”
“I guess. Well, I’ll see him.” Hero looked pained.
They left their Pokémon inside the house (they were already sleepy so they didn’t look sad about not going outside in the cold) and went outside. Kel followed his big brother, preparing for grief to take him over once again, but they weren’t prepared for the sight of the backyard.
“W-what?” Kel gasped.
There was a small grayish dog sleeping next to the spot where Hector was buried. It was curled exactly how Hector did when he slept. With the sound os Kel’s gasping, the dog seemed to wake up (it was hard to know, since its eyes were covered in fur), the face looking towards the brothers. As soon as the Pokémon ‘looked’ at Kel, his tail started to wave and it ran to him, barking very excitedly.
“H-hey!” Kel fell on the ground when the dog jumped on him and started to lick his face. “Hey buddy, where is your trainer?” Kel giggled, he was very ticklish.
“Kel…” He heard his brother talking, but didn’t look at him. “Is this where Hector is?”
“Yeah… There’s a picture and a candle on where he is!” Kel explained, trying not to giggle. The dog was adorable and unusually happy to see a stranger.
“Well, there’s a hole in the ground and it’s empty.”
“WHAT?” Kel stood up quickly and the Pokémon followed him.
Indeed, there was a hole in the ground and there was only the picture of young Kel with the growlithe, that looked like it fell down. Kel quickly grabbed the picture and started to look around, shocked.
“Where’s Hector!?”
“Kel…”
“We should wake up mom, dad and Sally! Maybe call Officer Jenny…”
“Did you say that you left a candle for Hector, right?”
“Who cares about that? We need to find Hector’s body and-”
“Kel!” Hero interrupted him, "Look at the top of the head of this dog that hasn't stopped jumping out of joy since it saw you!”
Kel looked and there it was: the exact candle he lit up earlier. He was so confused a few seconds ago that it didn’t compute on his brain that this strange dog had a candle on his head.
“W-wait…” Kel stuttered. The dog continued to jump and Kel noticed it acted exactly like Hector when he was excited.
Hero took out his Rotom-Phone and scanned the dog.
“Greavard.” The Rotom-Phone started: “A Ghost type Pokémon. It is said that a dog Pokémon that died in the wild without ever interacting with a human was reborn as this Pokémon. This friendly Pokémon doesn't like being alone. Pay it even the slightest bit of attention, and it will follow you forever.”
“Well…” Hero smiled, tears of joy forming in his eyes. “I guess the saying isn’t 100% accurate.
Kel started to sob. Greavard barked, concerned and licked his face and with the cry, Kel started laughing as well.
“Hector, I missed you so much!”
Hector barked happily.
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On the next day, Kel and Hero explained how Hector came back to life as a Greavard to the rest of the family. All the Pokémon were a bit confused, but quickly played along with Hector who had the energy now of when he was a small puppy.
“Maybe if Hector was buried in Lavender Town, he would never have resurrected as Greavard.” Kel said to his parents. “We researched a lot about Greavards before going to bed and their natural habitat is the snowy parts of Paldea. If he was in Lavender Town he’d probably become a Ghastly or a Haunter and the Pokémon Tower is filled with them… We would never recognize him among them.”
Ironically, what seemed a cold and harsh decision of their parents made Hector resurrect as a Pokémon very close to what he was in his previous life. Maybe the candle Kel put on the ground also helped Hector’s transformation. Also, as Kel stated, being winter could have helped as well.
“I’m just glad he’s back.” Kel included and petted Hector’s back.
“Woof!” Hector barked.
The Nogueira-Lopez celebrated by having a big lunch. All the Pokémon (besides Luz) were in the backyard, playing.
“It’s so good to have him back.” Their mother said, while she did the dishes in the afternoon. “Now our home has its loyal protector again.”
Kel nervously looked at Hero. He smiled, trying to calm him down.
“Actually, mom…” Hero started. “I think Hector should be with Kel now.”
“What!?” She stopped washing the plate in her hand and looked with wide eyes at her eldest son. “Tá maluco, filho? Hector always lived here, it’s his home!”
“Mom, please… I couldn’t bring him to my Pokémon journey before, I got this second chance!” Kel said.
“Besides, in our research we found out that Greavards usually makes people who are exposed to him for many hours feel light headed and even sick if you are fragile.” Hero reasoned. “He's a Ghost type now and drains people’s life energy sometimes. Kel is young and athletic, he’d probably not feel anything like this.”
“Yeah and Kel lives in a cold place, Hector would be almost in his natural habitat.” Sally pointed out.
“They have great points, mi amor.” Their father said, smiling at their children.
Kel smiled at his siblings and father. He felt so grateful that they realized how much it meant for him to live with Hector. Ms. Nogueira-Lopez sighed, defeated.
“Alright… You can keep Hector… But you need to promise me that you’ll call everyday and keep us updated! And bring him over when you visit.”
“I promise! Thank you so much!” He hugged his mother tightly, lifting her up in the air and kissing her on the cheek.
On the next day, Kel with Hector, Hector 2, Dribble and Orange Joe took a train back to Sinnoh. The greavard looked through the window and barked at the waving old couple that had him as a loyal dog for many years.
“I hope you like your new home.” Kel said to Hector when he started to cry when Ms. and Mr. Nogueira-Lopez weren’t on sight anymore.
“Woof!”
Even though it was just a bark, Kel knew that Hector was extremely happy.
As he was.