It's getting rather close to 5 years since I first joined FA, so I thought I'd write a story about my early days on the Island Of Submarine. Enjoy and here's to 5 more glorious years on this site.

Matt is  Blueratmatt. Matilda is his.

Richard is  Blackraptor1

Dustin is  acr. Jasmine is his.

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A long time ago, there was a Buizel named Jake. he was a shiny Buizel, meaning he had goldenrod-colored main fur, with cream-colored secondary fur, blue fins that normal Buizels had, and a white flotation sac.

He had just moved into Submarine Island, and was walking around to try and learn his way around. That, however, didn't turn out to be such a good idea as he became lost. "Fudge..." he muttered under his breath. "I should have waited until i knew my new block before moving beyond it." he decided he'd try to remember what he'd seen before and find his way home that way. it wasn't the best idea, but it was better than wandering around. he turned and began walking back the way he came, or at least remember coming from.

a few minutes of walking later, Jake came to an intersection. two ways he didn't recognize, but there was one he did recognize. there was a cedar tree by the sidewalk that he remembered seeing, but further down, he could see something he didn't remember passing. a big red building that looked like a restaurant. the water-type Pokemon could see a sign on top of the building saying "Ratburgers". "I wonder what kind of food THEY have?" Jake jokingly asked himself. "I think I'll get some food and ask for directions there." he decided. Jake walked down the street to the submarine and walked in.

Ratburgers looked like your typical diner, with tables, chairs, a bar, and comfy booths lining the perimeter of the interior. Surprisingly, there was no one sitting at any of the tables, booths, or even the bar. Jake looked to the counter and saw a tall, Blue-furred Wharf Rat with a red cap and shirt, blue jeans, and brown hair. Jake walked up to him "Hello there." said the wharf rat "You here to order?" "I am." Jake replied. The wharf rat handed him a menu. Jake looked through it "I'll have the fried chicken strips and a side of cheese fries." Jake said at last. "Alright then, just take a seat and we'll bring it to ya." The Wharf Rat said before walking though a set of doors behind the bar which Jake assumed lead to the kitchen. The Buizel turned and walked over to one of the window booths and sat down.

Jake was deep in thought for a while about everything that had lead him up to this point. He had had a good life, and a big family, and not a care or concern in the world for anything but the franchises he liked. That all changed when his mom passed away. His dad remarried a few months later. At first, Jake's stepmother was ok, but then she started to cut everyone from Jake's family out of their lives. Then things began to take a turn for the worst when she started targeting him. He had tried to get help, but those who did come didn't help which made things worse for him. His stepmother had taken almost everything he had, and was delusioned to the point of thinking he was crazy, going so far as to put him in a mental hospital to be evaluated. Jake had been through quite a bit from there up until he turned 18 and was able to leave his home in the south for the quaint little island of Submarine on the east coast. Though he had gotten most of his things back from the stepmother, he wasn't able to get back his family. He sighed sadly as he thought of the home and family he had left behind. He had never had to lift a finger to do much, and doubted he'd be capable of doing so now. "It's hopeless..." Jake thought to himself "Maybe I should just give up..."

As he was thinking, and lamenting, another rodent came up to his booth. She was a mouse with white fur, blonde hair, blue jeans, and a magenta shirt. "Here's your chicken strips and fries." She said as she put the plates for both of them on the table. Jake snapped out of his thoughts "Oh, thanks." he said, before taking the plates and chowing down. By the time he had finished his meal, he forgot to be sad.

Not too long after he had finished, the mouse returned. "Enjoy your meal?" she asked. "I sure did, best meal I've had in a long time." Jake answered. The mouse handed him the bill "Thanks. " Jake said before reaching for his wallet, but his face turned white as his flotation sac when he realized that he didn't have his wallet with him. "I- I don't have any money on me..." he said. The mouse's face turned stern. "You just wait right there." she said before turning to the kitchen. Jake did as he was told. A few minutes later she returned with an equally cross Wharf Rat with her. "What's this I hear about you ordering and not payin'?" he said angrily. "I forgot that I left my wallet at home. I wouldn't have ordered if I'd known." Jake cried "I'm so sorry, I swear I'll work to pay off this bill. whatever jobs you need doing, I'll do them. Please, I don't want any trouble..." He finished "I've already dealt with too much of it..." the Buizel said to himself.

The Wharf Rat and Mouse could see how upset Jake was and their expressions softened. The Wharf Rat look around the diner for a bit before looking back at Jake. "Alright." he said at last "We've got a good amount of dishes to be washed, and the tables and bar wiped. Take care of those and we'll call it even, deal?" "Oh thank you!" said a relieved Jake.

With that, the Buizel got to work. He started with the dishes and was able to get them done quickly thanks to his water gun. And he was also able to wipe down the tables and bar just as quick. The Wharf Rat and Mouse were impressed.

"I've gotta say, you did a really good job with the dishes and cleaning." The Wharf Rat said once Jake had finished "I'd say you made up for your bill and then some." "Thanks." Jake said "maybe I could come back tomorrow and do the same thing I did today?" "You mean dining and working for us instead of paying? Eh, I don't see why not, especially after how good of a job you did today." The Wharf Rat replied. "Sweet." Jake replied "I'll be back tomorrow then." "Sounds like a plan." replied The Wharf Rat. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Jake, I just moved here." Jake said. "I'm Matt, the owner of Ratburgers." The Wharf Rat replied. "And I'm Matilda." The Mouse added "I'm Matt's wife and the main manager here." "Nice. Ok then Matt, Matilda, I'll see you again tomorrow." Jake said. After getting directions back to his street from the couple, which he was surprised to find was nearby them, he left Ratburgers and set off for home.

The next day, Jake arrived back at Ratburgers. He washed some more dishes, wiped the tables and bar, and even decided to sweep around. Once he had finished, He was served another plate of chicken strips and plate of cheese fries. After he finished, Matt walked up to him. "You've been doing a pretty good job with the cleaning that needs doing." he said "You just moved here, correct?" "Yes, Just before I discovered Ratburgers." Jake answered. "Well, how would you like to become an employee here?" Matt offered. "I'd like that very much." Jake said. "Excellent, you can start next week." Matt replied. "Thank you so much." Jake said ecstatically.

Jake started that next week, and for the next several days, he worked hard doing the dishes, sweeping, mopping, and wiping down many surfaces. Matt and Matilda were impressed and so were the others that worked there and lived with them on the second floor of the building. Jake soon got to know Richard and his family, and was surprised to find out that Matt had more than one wife. He also met friends of Matt's outside of Ratburgers like Dustin Woodfox, and his girlfriend, Jasmine.

One day, Jake was on his break when Matt walked up to the booth he was sitting in and sat down next to him. "You've been doing very well." Matt complimented "Have you worked a job like this before?" "Yes. Though it wasn't for a restaurant, it was for this traffic maintenance facility back... home..." Jake said before he stopped. "Is something wrong?" Matt asked. Jake thought for a moment. On one paw, he had only known Matt for a few weeks, but on the other, he felt that he could trust the blue rat. "Yeah..." Jake answered. He then told Matt about his old life. about how his mom had died, about how his stepmother took his family away from him, and about how he had left his old home in the hopes of getting a fresh start somewhere else.

"I miss my old home, and my family..." Jake said sadly as he tilted his head down and closed his eyes. The Buizel then felt something wrap it's arms around him. He opened his eyes and saw that Matt had been the one to hug him. Jake couldn't hold back anymore, he pressed his face into Matt's shirt and cried. They stayed like this for quite some time, with Matt rocking him slowly. Eventually, Jake calmed down and the tears stopped. "Thank you Matt..." he whispered. "You've been through a lot." Matt replied "It seems like you really needed some comfort." "Yeah, I did..." Jake said. "I miss my old life, and my family, now i may not ever see them again..." They remained silent for a moment, until Matt spoke up. "Maybe we could be your family?" he offered "I can be like a brother to you, look after you, and help you if you need it. Would you like that?" Jake didn't need to think about it "Yes." he said. "Thank you so much. For everything." "No Problem, Bro." Matt said. The two then embraced each other in another hug, the first of many bro hugs they would share.

After parting, Jake spoke up again. "Now that I'm getting a fresh, new start, I think I'd like to change my fur colors to go with it. Are there any places I could do that?" he asked. "There's this dye place called "Color Cosmos" south of here." Said Matt "You could try there." "Thanks, I certainly will." Jake replied.

The next day, a Buizel walked into Ratburgers. This Buizel had aqua blue main fur, icy blue secondary fur, blue fins, and a white flotation sac. When Matt saw the blue Buizel, he was surprised. "Is that really you, Jake?" "It sure is." Jake replied "I went to Color Cosmos and got my fur dyed. The best part is that this dye is permanent, So I'm now in my favorite color forever." he added happily. "Epic!" Matt said before he pulled Jake into another bro hug. For the first time in a very long time, Jake was happy. On that day, he decided that there was no place he would rather be, than with his new family and friends, on the Island of Submarine.