My school has this contest every year where students must write a creative piece (poem or prose) about nature. I'm hoping this qualifies! 
This, or Any Other World
This story takes place in the town of Joko, four hundred and seven years ago. It’s a quaint little town nestled in the middle of a forest. I’m not exaggerating; this town was literally in the middle of the forest. Trees surround the town on every side for miles, and there was a single road that went straight through the city, and then branched off into smaller roads for neighborhoods, stores, and whatever else the people needed. But alongside that interesting fact, there was one other abnormality in this town. It was inhabited by pokémon, as well as people. Now, before someone gets all bent out of shape about this, let me explain. The reason pokémon are in this story isn’t simply to entertain myself. They’re here to prove a point.
The pokémon of Joko were nice, peace loving pokémon. They were really just like animals were to any normal town. The reason they never ventured outside the Joko forest was unknown. Most assumed that they were kept there by some magic curse, but some believed that they just liked it there. Whatever the reason, the pokémon stayed there, every season of every year. Some only appeared in the winter or summer, but there were always pokémon around, playing with the town’s children, living in the woods, and some even worked alongside humans in their everyday jobs. But soon, these friends that were always taken for granted were about to teach the citizens of Joko a lesson they’d never forget.
It was mid-summer. Pokémon who thrived during the summer, such as the six-tailed fox pokémon vulpix, and the small tiger-colored dog pokémon growlithe, were seemingly always around. Children played with them in and out of the forest, and adults watched, smiling from the comfort of their own homes.
It was also very hot during these times. Since so many pokémon who could control, absorb, and produce fire were running around, the heat of summer was intensified. A team of scientists were working with their pokémon to try and fix the heat problem. Unfortunately, they succeeded. They found that using the poisonous blob pokémon, grimer, they could plant them at various locations in the forest and actually have them absorb some of the heat around them, therefore making a cooler atmosphere. The scientists were regarded as heroes, and everyone marveled at the simple solution.
It wasn't until about a week later that they realized the easy way out isn't always the best.
The first person to notice something odd was a sixteen year-old boy named Colin. Colin loved pokémon, and went out into the forest to play with them almost everyday after finishing breakfast. He walked out to his usual spot to meet pokémon, a clearing with a big crooked tree overhanging a river, and noticed something odd. No pidgey were singing, and there were no wurmples or caterpies crawling around on the ground. Spotting a brown blotch in the river, he walked forward to see what it was. His throat filled with bile as he beheld a dead vulpix lying in the riverbed. He looked along the river, wondering who in the world would do such a terrible thing. When he looked upstream, he saw a muk (what grimer evolved1 into) splashing happily in the stream. A sticky purple substance was oozing out of the creature and filling the water. The gentle flow of the river brought the deadly toxins to right where Colin was standing.
“That must have been what killed the vulpix!” Colin thought out loud. He hurried back home to tell his mother what he'd seen. She was just as appalled as he was.
Without a moment's hesitation, they headed over to the lab of the scientists who'd concocted the twisted plan. Colin's mother banged on the large, metal door of the facility, and a rather scrawny guy in a white lab coat opened it.
“Hello.” He sniffed and pushed his glasses up. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, you certainly can!” Colin's mother started. “You can go out into the wild and get back every grimer you placed out there!”
The scientist looked taken aback. “I'm sorry, wha-”
Colin cut him off. “Those grimer you put in the wild! They're evolving into muk and killing other pokémon! Please! You have to stop them!”
The scientist rolled his eyes and said, “Look, we knew the grimer were going to evolve. That was our plan all along! It's quite ingenious actually.” Colin and his mother stared dumbfoundedly at the beaming scientist. “By making the grimer evolve, they absorb more and more heat particles, and in turn make it even cooler! You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure what you saw was just a coincidence.”
Colin was starting to get mad. “What I saw was no coincidence. The vulpix looked young and healthy. It was your poison that killed it, and I demand you do something about it.”
The scientist scoffed and said, “We're making it cooler, so what if a pokémon or two gets hurt in the process? Pokémon die. It's a fact of life. Now get out of here before I call the police for trespassing.” The door slammed with a loud boom, making both Colin and his mother jump.
They both stood there for a moment, and then silently headed home. Colin was doing some very heavy thinking. There's no way that can be right! He thought, pokémon are our friends! We should do everything we can to save them! But despite his strong feelings, he decided to just leave the matter alone, figuring it'd go away in the winter.
It didn't though. Apparently, the losses hadn't been great enough to be considered abnormal, so the grimer and muk were left there during the winter to help the citizens of Joko keep warm. After that winter, everybody started noticing something was wrong. Less and less pokémon were appearing everyday, and pretty soon it was rare to see one. Colin felt a sick feeling in his gut, as he knew he could have stopped this.
At the next town meeting, the discussion of why the pokémon were disappearing was the main topic of discussion. No one even thought for a second that the grimer may have evolved. But Colin knew. And now, after all these avoidable deaths, he was finally going to do something about it. Without a word, he got up out of his seat, went to the front of the room, and told the townspeople everything.
“Everyone, listen up. I know that these recent deaths have been a shock to us all, but I think a bigger shock is knowing that someone as young as I am could have stopped this way before it got to this point. I know why our beloved pokémon are dying.” He pointed a finger to the scientists who were trying to sneak out of the room. “That's our problem. The grimer they've put into the wild have evolved into muk, and are poisoning rivers, food, and even the air our friends breathe. I knew about this a while ago, but I left it alone, figuring tampering with our ecosystem wouldn't hurt us this much. Turns out I was wrong.” He took a break, and a cold silence filled the room as people absorbed what he'd said. Colin finished his speech by saying, “Sometimes, letting nature run its own course is really just the best way to live. In this... or any other world.”
This, or Any Other World
This story takes place in the town of Joko, four hundred and seven years ago. It’s a quaint little town nestled in the middle of a forest. I’m not exaggerating; this town was literally in the middle of the forest. Trees surround the town on every side for miles, and there was a single road that went straight through the city, and then branched off into smaller roads for neighborhoods, stores, and whatever else the people needed. But alongside that interesting fact, there was one other abnormality in this town. It was inhabited by pokémon, as well as people. Now, before someone gets all bent out of shape about this, let me explain. The reason pokémon are in this story isn’t simply to entertain myself. They’re here to prove a point.
The pokémon of Joko were nice, peace loving pokémon. They were really just like animals were to any normal town. The reason they never ventured outside the Joko forest was unknown. Most assumed that they were kept there by some magic curse, but some believed that they just liked it there. Whatever the reason, the pokémon stayed there, every season of every year. Some only appeared in the winter or summer, but there were always pokémon around, playing with the town’s children, living in the woods, and some even worked alongside humans in their everyday jobs. But soon, these friends that were always taken for granted were about to teach the citizens of Joko a lesson they’d never forget.
It was mid-summer. Pokémon who thrived during the summer, such as the six-tailed fox pokémon vulpix, and the small tiger-colored dog pokémon growlithe, were seemingly always around. Children played with them in and out of the forest, and adults watched, smiling from the comfort of their own homes.
It was also very hot during these times. Since so many pokémon who could control, absorb, and produce fire were running around, the heat of summer was intensified. A team of scientists were working with their pokémon to try and fix the heat problem. Unfortunately, they succeeded. They found that using the poisonous blob pokémon, grimer, they could plant them at various locations in the forest and actually have them absorb some of the heat around them, therefore making a cooler atmosphere. The scientists were regarded as heroes, and everyone marveled at the simple solution.
It wasn't until about a week later that they realized the easy way out isn't always the best.
The first person to notice something odd was a sixteen year-old boy named Colin. Colin loved pokémon, and went out into the forest to play with them almost everyday after finishing breakfast. He walked out to his usual spot to meet pokémon, a clearing with a big crooked tree overhanging a river, and noticed something odd. No pidgey were singing, and there were no wurmples or caterpies crawling around on the ground. Spotting a brown blotch in the river, he walked forward to see what it was. His throat filled with bile as he beheld a dead vulpix lying in the riverbed. He looked along the river, wondering who in the world would do such a terrible thing. When he looked upstream, he saw a muk (what grimer evolved1 into) splashing happily in the stream. A sticky purple substance was oozing out of the creature and filling the water. The gentle flow of the river brought the deadly toxins to right where Colin was standing.
“That must have been what killed the vulpix!” Colin thought out loud. He hurried back home to tell his mother what he'd seen. She was just as appalled as he was.
Without a moment's hesitation, they headed over to the lab of the scientists who'd concocted the twisted plan. Colin's mother banged on the large, metal door of the facility, and a rather scrawny guy in a white lab coat opened it.
“Hello.” He sniffed and pushed his glasses up. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, you certainly can!” Colin's mother started. “You can go out into the wild and get back every grimer you placed out there!”
The scientist looked taken aback. “I'm sorry, wha-”
Colin cut him off. “Those grimer you put in the wild! They're evolving into muk and killing other pokémon! Please! You have to stop them!”
The scientist rolled his eyes and said, “Look, we knew the grimer were going to evolve. That was our plan all along! It's quite ingenious actually.” Colin and his mother stared dumbfoundedly at the beaming scientist. “By making the grimer evolve, they absorb more and more heat particles, and in turn make it even cooler! You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure what you saw was just a coincidence.”
Colin was starting to get mad. “What I saw was no coincidence. The vulpix looked young and healthy. It was your poison that killed it, and I demand you do something about it.”
The scientist scoffed and said, “We're making it cooler, so what if a pokémon or two gets hurt in the process? Pokémon die. It's a fact of life. Now get out of here before I call the police for trespassing.” The door slammed with a loud boom, making both Colin and his mother jump.
They both stood there for a moment, and then silently headed home. Colin was doing some very heavy thinking. There's no way that can be right! He thought, pokémon are our friends! We should do everything we can to save them! But despite his strong feelings, he decided to just leave the matter alone, figuring it'd go away in the winter.
It didn't though. Apparently, the losses hadn't been great enough to be considered abnormal, so the grimer and muk were left there during the winter to help the citizens of Joko keep warm. After that winter, everybody started noticing something was wrong. Less and less pokémon were appearing everyday, and pretty soon it was rare to see one. Colin felt a sick feeling in his gut, as he knew he could have stopped this.
At the next town meeting, the discussion of why the pokémon were disappearing was the main topic of discussion. No one even thought for a second that the grimer may have evolved. But Colin knew. And now, after all these avoidable deaths, he was finally going to do something about it. Without a word, he got up out of his seat, went to the front of the room, and told the townspeople everything.
“Everyone, listen up. I know that these recent deaths have been a shock to us all, but I think a bigger shock is knowing that someone as young as I am could have stopped this way before it got to this point. I know why our beloved pokémon are dying.” He pointed a finger to the scientists who were trying to sneak out of the room. “That's our problem. The grimer they've put into the wild have evolved into muk, and are poisoning rivers, food, and even the air our friends breathe. I knew about this a while ago, but I left it alone, figuring tampering with our ecosystem wouldn't hurt us this much. Turns out I was wrong.” He took a break, and a cold silence filled the room as people absorbed what he'd said. Colin finished his speech by saying, “Sometimes, letting nature run its own course is really just the best way to live. In this... or any other world.”
