TEEN: Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey (COMPLETE!)

[Juliko]

Ummm...hello everyone. I've been writing fan fics since 2005, and although I've come a long way since then, I still have a lot to learn. But I recently started my most ambitious project yet, a Pokemon fan fic series starring OCs as they go on a journey and learn more about themselves. It's called Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey, and you can read it here on my fanfiction(dot)net account, where you can read my other works as well. I have several reasons for wanting to write this, and I do hope you guys can enjoy it. If not, that's fine too.

Synopsis:
Eleven year old Julia Parisa is a shy but sweet autistic girl who can't wait to have a Pokemon of her own. Having been surrounded by them her whole life, she doesn't know what she'll be when she grows up, but she has plenty of options she can explore. It's just getting her confidence up that's the problem. When her birthday doesn't exactly go as planned, she ends up befriending a shiny pichu she names Hikaru. However, when her sister Amara steals a totodile from Professor Elm's lab, the entire family is thrown in upheaval, as Amara is on the national blacklist for multiple counts of cruelty toward pokemon, and she's been cruel to everyone lately, people and Pokemon. With courage and ambition in her heart, Julia and Hikaru decide to journey across Johto in an attempt to bring Amara to justice. But she winds up getting sidetracked by things she never thought she'd be involved in, such as gym battles, meeting new friends and rivals, Team Rocket's machinations, and learning more about herself in the process, especially about her ability to talk to Pokemon.

All of the main characters are OCs, with some canon characters playing major roles such as the gym leaders, the professors, Team Rocket, etc. I have about thirty chapters planned so far, but four have been written and am working on chapter five as I speak. For those curious, I have reasons for writing this.

1. I read somewhere that the producers of the pokemon anime claim that the girls are basically nothing but eye candy for their young male audience. This is...not exactly the best view of females, so the main characters of my fic are girls so I can empathize that girls deserve just as much respect as boys do, or can be equal to them. Don't worry, I'm not one of those annoying Tumblr feminazis who scream "Offensive!" at everything.
2. I wrote my main character with autism. I'm sure there are many autistic people out there who are sick of the only portrayal of people of autism in the media as just being non-verbal kids who do nothing but not talk, rock back and forth, moan, and throw tantrums. I'm sure others are sick of the genius savants and media that portrays autistic people as being either burdens or only being defined by their disability, nothing else. Autistic people are people, just like us, with hobbies, strengths, flaws, weaknesses, dreams, good and bad qualities, like all humans. I want to empathize this with my fic above all else. I'm autistic myself, so I hope I can do this justice. Let's say this is a story written by an autistic people for autistic people...and others as well!...I think. That didn't sound offensive, did it?
3. Pokemon Hunter J. Yes, she will have a big role in this. Because come on! I'm sure you're all sick of goofy Team Rocket and their antics. A character like J can bring so much to the table, and if utilized properly, a good villain can make a story so much better. Plus she doesn't even appear in the anime after her appearances in certain episodes of Diamond and Pearl! I intend to make great use of her.

So...yeah. Feel free to check it out and leave reviews if you want!

Table of Contents (Currently In Progress)

Chapter 1: Me and My Friend Hikaru
Chapter 2: A Theft In The Pokemon Lab!
Chapter 3: Going Out On My Own
Chapter 4: The Origin of Battling
Chapter 5: Seeing Battles From a Different Perspective
Chapter 6: Eggs, Kimono Girls, and a New Friend, Oh My!
Chapter 7: Save The Slowpoke!
Chapter 7.5: Battling Bugsy, The Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia!
Chapter 8: The Egg Finally Hatches At Daycare!
Chapter 9: Sister Wars At The Golden Metropolis!
Chapter 10: Three's a Very Tense, Dysfunctional Crowd
Chapter 10.5: Battle for the Plain Badge! Whitney's Counterattack!
Chapter 11: Innocenti Family Matters
Chapter 12: I Can Take Care of My Pokemon!
Chapter 12.5: A Swarm at the National Park!
Chapter 13: Amara's In Ecruteak City?!
Chapter 13.5: A Legendary Encounter in Brass Tower!
Chapter 14: A Ghostly Battle!
Chapter 14.5: I'm Friends With My Worst Fear!
Chapter 15: A Light In The Ghostly Fog
Bonus Chapter 1
Chapter 16: Hikaru's Sad Tale
Chapter 17: Miltank and Mishaps
Chapter 18: The Oceans of Olivine City
Chapter 19: Chucking Out Some Dynamic Punches!
Chapter 20: Fading Flames, Forsaken Feelings
Chapter 21: Team Rocket's Thundering Ambitions
Chapter 22: The Ruthless Pokemon Hunter J
Chapter 23: Roaring Thunder, Crashing Skies
Chapter 24: Hikaru Re-Volts!
Chapter 25: Poisonous Problems
Chapter 26: Jasmine The Iron Maiden
Chapter 27: Ending a Double Battle With a Clang!
Chapter 28: Old Friends, Renewed Connections
Chapter 29: Heralding The Heracross!
Chapter 30: A Quarrel Among Friends
Chapter 31: Rampage of the Red Gyarados
Chapter 32: How to Catch a Gyarados Without Really Trying
Chapter 32.5: Infiltration of the Underground Base
Chapter 33: I Dream of Geraldine
Chapter 34: A Trainer's Responsibility
Chapter 35: Geraldine's Goodbye
Chapter 36: The Frozen Heart Thaws
Chapter 37: My Little Ponyta
Chapter 37.5: The Lighting of Friendshp's Fire
Bonus Chapter 2: How Perrine Met Baloo
Chapter 38: A Blizzard of Battles
Chapter 39: Forever Friends
Chapter 40: So Many Sick Days
Chapter 41: Harriet's Confession, Part One
Chapter 42: Harriet's Confession, Part Two
Chapter 43: Radio Tower Siege!
Chapter 44: Conflicts On Different Scales
Chapter 45: Three Trainers and a Spoiled Brat
Chapter 46: Amara's Not-So-Great Escape
Chapter 47: Caiseal's Sorrow
Chapter 48: Kindred Spirits
Chapter 49: Rise of the Dark Nightwingz
Bonus Chapter 3: Violet Seeks The Truth
Chapter 50: The Worst Possible Family Reunion
Chapter 51: His Other Family
Chapter 52: Dragon On and On
Chapter 53: The Final Badge
Chapter 54: Happiness and Tears
Chapter 55: Julia Gets Bugged
Chapter 56: Doing The Right Thing
Chapter 57: The Sisters' Final Battle! Amara VS Julia!
Chapter 58: The Terrible Truth
Chapter 59: Amara, You're My Sister!
Chapter 60: I'm Home
Bonus Chapter 4: A Sister's Grave Mistake
Chapter 61: The Quarrelsome Sisters
Bonus Chapter 5: Anything But Normal
Chapter 62: Fractured Friends
Chapter 63: The Path to the Pokemon League
Chapter 64: It's Way Out of Your League
Chapter 65: What Goes Around Comes Around
Chapter 66: A League of Their Own
Chapter 67: Going Out in a Blaze of Glory!
Chapter 68: The Top Four! Caiseal VS Ethan!
Chapter 69: A Musical Battle! Perrine VS Gervasius!
Chapter 70: Who Will Win? Perrine VS Caiseal!
Chapter 71: The Will of a Psychic
Chapter 72: Going Where The Fairy Flies
Chapter 73: An Elite Beatdown!
Chapter 74: Into The Darkness
Chapter 75: The Final Battle! Perrine VS Lance!
Final Chapter: A Marvelous Journey


Content Warnings:

Spoiler: Content Warnings

• Moderate violence - Mainly in the context of Pokémon battles, including descriptions of blood and wounds.
• Child abuse/neglect, both implied and explicitly shown.
• Animal abuse.
• References to cults, torture, and sexual assault, though everything is implied, not shown in detail.

 

[Juliko]

Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey

Chapter 1: Me And My New Friend Hikaru

On a warm, clear, sun-kissed morning in tiny New Bark Town, sitting on a pink and blue checkered bed was a young girl of eleven, reading a heavy book. The Beginner’s Guide To Raising Pokemon. The girl had fair skin, dark brown hair that went to her chin, curling at the ends, and shimmering green eyes that absorbed everything the book had to offer. They happily soaked up the words in the book, which itself talked about the qualities a trainer needs in order to be a good pokemon trainer.

Sitting on her white book shelf, filled to the brim with books big and small, was a clock shaped like a pikachu. It read 8:20 AM. The warm sun came right into her room, brightening it right up. Unbeknownst to her, a large, pink and white Pokemon came into her room unannounced. The pokemon was bigger than she, shaped like a large egg, with a smaller egg in a pouch on its stomach.

“Bliss-ee!” The pokemon chirruped with a radiant smile.

The pokemon’s cheerful chirp pulled the girl out of her book. “Hi, Blissey!” The girl moseyed over to Blissey and wrapped her arms around her, trapping her in a hug. Blissey simply closed its eyes and put its stubby arms on the girl. “You’re so nice to hug!”

“Bliss-eey!”

The girl took her arms off of Blissey. “So what’s up?”

“Blissey blissey!” The Blissey chirped in a sing-song voice.

“You’re wishing me happy birthday?” The girl’s eyes glimmered with joy as she translated the Pokemon’s words, her hands clasping together. “Thank you! You’re so sweet!”

Blissey jabbered on some more. “Mom wants me downstairs? Sure. I’ll be down in a jiffy!” The girl ran back to the bed, slipped a small bookmark in her book, closed it shut, and darted down the stairs, going right past Blissey. The big pink and white Pokemon simply smiled and followed her from behind at a slower pace. A calendar that she passed had a red circle around a particular date. June 25th, with the words Julia’s 11th Birthday! written in black pen ink right in the middle.

She had gotten herself dressed long before hand so she would be ready right from the get-go. Today she chose a favorite choice of raiment: a periwinkle, short sleeved hoodie with a pocket in the middle covering a sleeveless white top, a pair of light rosy pink shorts, white ankle socks with pink stars on them, and blue sneakers. Already, her nostrils could whiff the sweet, buttery smell of fresh toast right out of the toaster.

She ran right by a large, chubby man with dark brown hair sitting at the dining room table, reading the newspaper with one hand, and holding a mug of black coffee with the other. “Hi Dad!” Julia exclaimed cheerfully.

The bespectacled man looked up at his daughter with his deep blue eyes, soft like a clear lake on a summer day. “Morning sweetie,”

Julia grabbed a banana, peeled its skin off, and scarfed down the insides without a second thought. An older woman with frizzy light brown hair stretching down to her back and pale green eyes greeted Julia with a smile. “Hello, Julia. You’re pretty excited today. Here,” She handed her daughter the toast, and Julia ran to the dining room table with it.

“Why wouldn’t I be?!” Julia chirruped before taking a bite of her toast. “I get my own Pokemon today!! Isn’t this awesome?! Now I get to have a very special forever friend of my very own!” She talked so loud she didn’t notice a girl in the living room, sprawled out on the couch scrolling through her phone. Said girl facepalmed and let out an irritated groan.

“Kassia. Are you seeing this?” Julia’s father asked. Kassia came over and peered down at the newspaper. “There’s more and more cases of Pokemon being taken from their trainers and being sold on the black market. Isn’t this just terrible?”

Kassia’s eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth formed a frown. “It is. Don’t these people have better things to do in their lives than hurt, steal, and sell Pokemon?” She fixed her gaze on Julia. “Have you decided which Pokemon you’re going to get at Professor Elm’s lab?”

“Of course!” Julia rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a photo of a small, pale yellow Pokemon with shiny red eyes and a big green leaf on its head. “Chikorita! It’s the cutest of the bunch!”

Her mother’s smile returned. “I see! Chikorita was my first Pokemon when I was starting out. I guess I can’t say I’m surprised,” Kassia said with a chuckle.

By this time, Julia had finished her breakfast. “I’m gonna go in the ranch so I can tell everyone about it!” Without stopping to put her plate away, Julia burst through the back door without a second thought.

Right in her backyard was a huge, green meadow that stretched out for miles, all encased by a wired fence meant to keep pokemon from escaping. The meadow was overrun with all kinds of Pokemon. Some of the bigger ones were a large yellow fox with nine fluffy tails, a green dinosaur with a big pink flower around its neck, a large yellow sheep-like creature with black stripes and no fur, a bug covered in shiny red armor, a big brown bear with a yellow ring on its abdomen, etc. To the normal child, seeing all these big Pokemon would be somewhat scary. But to Julia, it was as commonplace as waking up every day.

“Morning everyooooone!! Guess whaaaat?!” Julia yelled loud enough for all to hear. The Pokemon all turned their heads to face her, wondering what the hubbub was all about. “I’m gonna get my first Pokemon todaaaaaay!! Isn’t that awesoooooome?!”

It was here that the big green dinosaur approached her, tilting its head to one side. “Manyuu?”

“Hi there, Meganium!”

“Mega mega!”

“Guess what? I’m gonna get a Chikorita at Professor Elm’s lab today!” Julia talked to her mother’s Meganium like they had been friends for years. Then again, they had been. “It’s gonna be so great! I’m gonna have a friend of my very own to play with forever and ever! I’ve always wanted my own Pokemon, and Chikorita’s my favorite out of all the starters, and we can be best friends! Don’t you think that’s great?”

The joy in her voice was unmistakable. All Meganium did was smile and nod like it understood everything she said. “Mega mega.”

“If it’s a boy, I’ll name him Florian. If it’s a girl, I’ll name her either Megan, Chloris, or Midori! How’s that?” Julia asked curiously.

Meganium didn’t say a word. It did let out an odd snorty sound. Julia simply smiled sweetly, like she always did when meeting the Pokemon. She flapped her hands up and down while jumping up and down, squealing like a little kid. “This is soooooo awesome! I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t waaaait!”

The big bear Pokemon wasn’t bothered by her squealing, letting out a big yawn before drifting back to sleep. The yellow fox Pokemon simply smiled and walked to another part of the meadow. The sheep Pokemon simply nudged Julia’s face and cooed as it nuzzled her. Julia couldn’t help but laugh sweetly.

“Hi, Ampharos!” Julia chirruped, stroking Ampharos’s cheeks gently. “I know, right? I’m gonna get a new friend! Isn’t this great?”

CRASH! All the joy was suddenly knocked out of her system by the thundering sound of crashing glass. It made Julia jump at least an inch off the ground, and her eyes got so wide they looked like saucers. All the other Pokemon held their heads up in surprise. The sound of crashing glass wasn’t anything anyone heard every day.

“Get out of my face, you freakin’ piece of sentient trash!!” A shrill, hysterical voice screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Vapooor!”

“Oh no!” Julia wasted no time running back into the house. A blue four legged creature was running all over the house with a look of fear on its face. An older girl of about thirteen with light brown hair tied in a ponytail held a spatula in her hand, chasing it all over. Her ice blue eyes were blazing with rage.

Julia ran into the dining room and saw that one of Kassia’s flower vases had fallen onto the floor, reduced to nothing but large shards. A sentret was quietly poking the glass shard gently, taking care not to cut itself on a sharp edge. Some withered flowers scattered on the floor, and a sunflora picked them up, putting them in the trash can in the kitchen diligently. Next to the sentret was a tennis ball. Julia deduced that might have been what broke the vase.

“Amara! No!” Kassia cried. “Leave Vaporeon alone!” Finally, she managed to grab the girl by both arms and restrain her despite the younger girl’s protests. Amara kicked her legs up and down and screeched. Vaporeon ran into Julia’s arms like a lost child looking for its mother and buried himself in her warm, loving arms.

“It stepped on my Ipod!!” Amara screamed, her eyes red with fury. “I paid a thousand bucks for that thing!!”

“Vaporeon vaporeon!” Vaporeon cried.

“Vaporeon says it was an accident. It didn’t mean to step on your Ipod,” Julia told her.

“I can’t listen to my durn music anymore and it’s all your fault, you idiot!!” Amara screamed. Julia’s hands flew to her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Amara’s yelling pounded on her ears, and despite her hands covering her ears, the yelling wasn’t muffled enough. The sentret and the sunflora stopped to nervously observe the chaotic scene playing out before them.

“Amara! Stop this right now!” Kassia scolded. “You wonder why your trainer’s license got confiscated! This needs to stop!”

Amara pried herself out of Kassia’s grasp and slammed her fist on the dining room table. Julia was quick to take vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora out of the room. “Oh, so it’s my fault my Ipod got destroyed?! My God, I swear you care way more about that spoiled brat and these stupid beasts than you do me! You wonder why I freakin’ hate you so much!!”

“I’m not blaming you for anything! You need to learn to take responsibility for your actions, and you can’t treat pokemon like they’re your punching bags!” Kassia argued, running her hands through her hair. When was this going to end?

“Why does Julia get a Pokemon?! What makes her so freakin’ special?! Why do you care so much about everyone else but me?!”

Julia, vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora all gathered in her bedroom, huddled together. Sunflora had her leafy arms right on Julia’s ears, protecting them from the booming sounds of Amara’s yelling. “Thanks, Sunflora. You’re the best,” Julia told her gratefully. “Sunflora!” The sentient flower chirruped with a forced smile.

The sounds of Kassia and Amara arguing had become a common occurrence in the Parisa household. There was never a day when her mother and sister weren’t arguing over something stupid, and it was mostly Amara starting all the arguments, usually by making a big deal out of something small. She always had a short fuse. She certainly wasn’t like this when she was young. In fact, Amara used to be nice and kind. But all of a sudden, she became moody, rebellious, argumentative, and even cruel. Not just toward people, but Pokemon.

Her sudden change in personality happened after she got her first Pokemon two years ago. It was a totodile. Julia liked that blue alligator pokemon and it's happy, peppy, and energetic personality, and playing tag with it had been a regular occurrence for about a year. One day, out of the blue, Kassia had gone out with her meganium to water some flowers...only to witness a horrible sight: Amara had been beating her totodile with a rock! Luckily, it wasn’t badly hurt, and Kassia’s meganium was able to stop the beating before it could turn deadly. By law, Kassia had to take Amara to the police. That was when Kassia learned the awful truth: this wasn’t the first time it happened. Other witnesses had come forward, saying that they saw Amara kicking and punching innocent pokemon for no real reason, treating them like her personal punching bags.

After going through court sessions and witness accounts, it was decided that Amara be stripped of her trainer’s license and put on the Trainer Blacklist indefinitely. That was a court sponsored document that had names of any ex-trainers who harmed or mistreated pokemon in any fashion, all of whom had their trainer licenses confiscated or exterminated. Amara didn’t get thrown in jail thanks to Kassia paying a fine, but she would no longer be allowed to own any of her own pokemon, and her totodile was taken from her, given to another trainer. The only way she could get off the blacklist was to rectify her behavior, go to counseling or therapy, and promise to treat pokemon better. Amara didn’t do any of these things, nor did she have any intention of doing so, and considering how sour her attitude had become, it didn’t seem like she would be doing anything anytime soon. It certainly didn’t help that she refused to explain why she treats Pokemon the way she does, and to this day she still hasn’t spilled her guts to anyone.

Julia let out a sigh. “I hate it when she gets like this…”

The blue mammal let out an apologetic sob, its long ears pointing downward. Julia forced a smile and stroke his head gently. “It’s okay, Vaporeon. I know you didn’t mean it. I don’t know why Amara’s like this…”

“Sentret sentret!”

“I hear you. I kinda figured she’d flip out on my birthday too, so I’m not surprised.”

SLAM! The sound of a door slamming shut made Julia’s hands fly to her ears once more. This time, it was only for a brief moment. She pitied her poor parents for having to deal with Amara. In her heart, she wished there was something she could do to make their lives easier. But wasn’t it about time she get her Pokemon? She remembered Kassia promised she would take her to Professor Elm’s lab.

Quietly, she went out of her room and walked into the living room, noticing Kassia sitting on the couch hunched over, with her hands running through her scraggly hair. Kassia let out a loud, irritated groan that told Julia that she was in no mood for talking with anyone. She knew that from experience. Julia took a step backward, looking away as she turned around and left her mother in there. Oh well. Maybe her dad could help.

As she expected, Julia found her father in his room, folding shirts and pants on his bed diligently. To think her mother would sometimes complain about how he wouldn’t help out around the house sometimes. “Hey, Dad?”

Her father turned around to find his youngest daughter behind him. “Oh! Hey there, Jules! Sorry about that fiasco just now,” He said as he put down a folded shirt. “How come Kassia hasn’t taken you to Elm’s yet?”

“She’s in a bad mood,” Julia answered, tapping a foot on the floor twice.

Her father rubbed his head with a big hand. “I’m not surprised. If you want, I can--” Before he could fulfill Julia’s request, his big black cell phone let out a ringtone that sounded very much like a race car going at high speed. Since it was at a high volume, Julia’s hands flew to her ears once more. He was quick to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Truman!” The scratchy voice on the other end was so loud, Julia was able to hear it. It was here that sentret and vaporeon peeked into the bedroom.

“Hey, Lawrence!” Truman replied. “Yes. Yes. What?!” Truman yelped, his glasses falling down his nose. “Right now?! Why didn’t you tell me this last week?! I would have delivered it to you right then and there!”

“Sorry. It slipped my mind.”

Truman let out a sigh. The sentret and vaporeon gave each other confused looks. “Alright. I’ll be there in a jiffy. Bye,” With that, he hit the end button and stashed his phone in his pocket. “Sorry, Jules. That was Lawrence. I have to go and deliver some papers to him right now.”

“What?!” Julia couldn’t believe it. “But his house is twenty minutes away from here, and what if my Chikorita gets taken by another trainer?!”

Truman put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, looking her in the eye with a sympathetic expression. It pained him to see his daughter disappointed, especially on her birthday, no less. He wished that Lawrence requested them last week so he wouldn’t have to do this on her special day. “It’ll be alright, sweetie. Elm’s a good guy. We told him about this in advance, so I’m sure he has one just for you. I’ll try to come back as quickly as I can, and I’ll pick you up so we can go to Elm’s lab to pick it up together. Promise?”

Despite his reassurance, Julia could feel doubt gnawing at her heart like an arbok swallowing its prey whole. She was always one to be punctual, to get to any place she wanted to at a certain time, on time, so everything could go smoothly. She hated it when things like this happened, even though she understood that sometimes things like this were inevitable. Besides, if she couldn’t get a Chikorita today, she could always get one tomorrow, or even a week after. “Sure.”

“That’s good. I’ll be back soon!” With that, Truman grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. Julia could hear the motor in his black Mercedes roar as he turned on the ignition, and watched as he drove away.

When the car left, Julia went downstairs to find Kassia in the den, lying on the couch, watching yet another show about soon-to-be brides trying on fancy white wedding dresses. She went into the living room and plopped on the couch. “Just great! This just haaaad to happen on my birthday, didn’t it?!” She hated complaining, and knew it wouldn’t do any good, but she needed to let her feelings out somehow.

She had been looking forward to this day for six months straight. She had planned everything. The time to get there, the pokemon she would pick, the name she’d give it, she even bought two accessories for it with her own money. One was a pink and white ribbon with a darker pink fake jewel on it in case the pokemon was a girl, and the other was a silver and blue ankle bracelet in case it was a boy. Amara just had to ruin it with her yelling. Now some trainer would probably get her chikorita before she could.

Come to think of it, Professor Elm’s lab was just a five minute walk from here. If that was the case...then what was stopping her from going there by herself? She and her family had passed the lab a million times throughout her life, so she knew where it was. If she could try going there by herself, she could go get her chikorita on time, that way Kassia and Truman wouldn’t have to.

It would be that easy. Julia hopped off of the couch right as some pokemon approached her. “Mom’s always telling me I need to do more things by myself, so it’ll be perfect!” She darted into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, wrote something down, and slapped it on the kitchen counter. She grabbed her pink house key and quietly closed the door behind her.

She didn’t get one step past the porch because some pokemon squeaked, catching her attention. One was a yellow and white shrew pokemon, sandshrew. The other was a blue plant with big green leaves on it, an oddish. Another was a purple and white rat, a rattata. Another was a sentient piece of pink and white coral, a corsola.

“Rattata!”

“Sand! Shrew!”

“Odd odd oddish!”

“Corsola!”

“Hey guys!” Julia kneeled down to their level and put a finger in front of her mouth. “I’m going to Professor Elm’s lab to get my friend. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Okay?” The pokemon nodded in unison. With that, she stood back up and walked away. “Here goes nothing!”

Some other pokemon, such as a bellossom, a miltank, and a big blastoise watched as she quietly and contentedly walked away from the Parisa house. “Bella bella!” The bellossom chirped with a bright smile, waving its stubby hand right at her. Julia waved right back before turning left at the sign.

The sound of a soft, gentle breeze echoed in her ears, rustling the green leaves on the big trees, making them sound as though they were whispering. Was this the passing of a god? She couldn’t help but breathe in willfully as she walked, enjoying the tranquility that lay in the air. Her mind cleared, but one thing didn’t change: she was going to get her pokemon today. A large building came into view, with a big sign in front of it reading Professor Elm Lab. This was it!

“Yay! I’m here!” She found herself running toward the building, right as a young girl with flowing orange hair came out the doors with a pokeball in her hand. “Whoa!” Luckily, she saw her in the nick of time and stopped right before she could potentially knock her over. “Whoops! Sorry about that!”

The orange haired girl chuckled. “It’s okay. Are you here for a pokemon, too?” She asked in a clear, pretty voice.

Julia’s cheeks burned. “Uh...Y-Y-Y-Yeah!”

“You have a good one.”

“Y-Y-Y-You too!” With that, the girl walked away, and Julia let out a relieved sigh. “Glad that didn’t last long.”

Now that the coast was clear, she approached the automatic doors, which opened as she was only a foot away from them. She walked inside without a word, glancing at the clean walls, the odd machines that beeped and flashed multicolored lights, the desk that had three red and white pokeballs on them. “Excuse me!” She called out. No response. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

Finally, she saw a man looking deep into a microscope. He was a plain, lanky man dressed in a clean white lab coat, his dark eyes obscured by his thick glasses, and the tuft of brown hair on his head didn’t exactly make him handsome. Julia recognized him right away. “Professor Elm!”

“Yes?” He replied insouciantly, not taking his eyes off of his microscope for a second.

“H-He-Hello! I-I’m Julia Parisa. I live down the road a bend?”

“Yes.”

Julia couldn’t help but be a little confused. Sure, it was nice that he was absorbed in his research, but she couldn’t help but be a little annoyed at his lack of attention. The least he could do was say hi. “Umm...I’m here to pick up my pokemon?”

“Which one?”

“A chikorita? My dad told you about it. Y’know, Truman Parisa? You guys talked and said I could get one today?”

“Sorry. The last one was taken just now. There are no more pokemon left.”

“WHAT?!” She screamed so loud, it was enough to make Professor Elm finally take his eyes off of his microscope. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her at first. But her ears were hypersensitive, and there was no way she could mistake it for anything else. Her chikorita was taken? The pokemon she planned on getting? Gone? Just like that? Perhaps that girl from earlier took it. But it couldn’t be true! She had planned for this for weeks. “Didn’t you have one on reserve or something?!”

Professor Elm stammered, holding his hands up like he was being arrested. “Sorry! By law we can’t put pokemon on preserve. Any trainer that comes in is allowed the option of choosing their pokemon right on the spot. There are no special reservations period,” He explained ruefully.

Julia looked down at her feet with a disappointed look. “Oh. I see. So...are you going to get another one soon?” She looked up, noting the single tuft of hair on his head. She couldn’t help but think it looked like misplaced pokemon hair. Like from an ursaring.

“Hmm…” Professor Elm put a hand on his chin before losing himself in his thoughts for a brief moment. “I do have more pokemon on the way,” He began. There was absolutely no confidence in his voice. “But the shipment won’t arrive until at least another week or so. Airlines have increased their security because of Team Rocket’s schemes, and security teams are investigating any and all packages to make sure there’s no bombs or anything like that.”

If words could be knives that could stab people in the heart until they bled, Professor Elm’s answer pierced Julia’s heart, splitting it in two. “A week?! Seriously?!” Her mind was running in circles. A whole week? Just to get a pokemon? She didn’t think she could wait that long. Was getting a pokemon really that hard? She let out a rueful sigh. Yet another birthday disappointment. “Oh well. Thanks anyway.”

“Sorry, dear.”

Without another word, Julia walked out the door. “Tell your parents I said hi!” He exclaimed. Julia didn’t look at him, nor say goodbye. Now, the pretty trees and flowers didn’t delight her. Once she was on the path, she stopped and let out a wail.

“Awwwwww!! I can’t believe this!!” Julia wailed, falling to her knees. “I should have gotten here earlieeeeeer!!” She cried loud enough to make some hoothoot fly out of their trees. She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about the disappointment. Her birthday wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. She wished she had left earlier. Better yet, she should have planned this out better. But she knew in a way this was inevitable, and he did say more pokemon would arrive in a week, so it wasn’t all bad.

She stood back up and stretched her arms out. “This stinks, but I might as well wait. Complaining isn’t gonna do any good,” She told herself. “Better deal with it.”

Sometimes things like this could be a blessing in disguise. God works in mysterious ways.

Julia had passed by a small rose bush when she heard it rustling rather loudly. She stopped in her tracks, freezing in place. Was it a wild pokemon? Her parents drilled it into her head that if a wild pokemon hopped out of tall grass that she run. Feral pokemon were sometimes dangerous, especially if she didn’t have a pokemon of her own to hold it off. What if it was a big and dangerous pokemon? Fear overtook her, and her feet were glued to the dirt path beneath her sneakers.

She shut her eyes, fearing the worst. “Chu!” A tiny squeak prompted her to open one eye.

Much to her surprise, it was a small pokemon. A dark yellow mouse creature with big ears shaped like diamonds with black tips. It had a black tail, pale pink cheeks, a pointed black neck ruffle around its neck, and small feet and arms. “It’s a pichu!” She exclaimed. The pichu was lying on its stomach, breathing heavily like it had run a marathon.

Upon closer inspection, something was odd. She had read plenty of books to know that pichu normally had light yellow fur, not dark yellow. But that wasn’t the big problem. Its face was purple and pale, and sweat beaded from its face. Its tiny feet were covered in dirt and scratches, and there were fresh scratches on its body, with fresh blood trickling right out.

“Oh my goodness!” The fear morphed into concern as she kneeled down to pick up the tiny pokemon. “You poor thing! Are you okay?” She cradled the tiny pokemon in her arms like a mother holding a baby. Its body was hot to the touch, like fire. The pichu kept taking in huge breaths of air, but its breathing was hoarse. But something about its breath was odd.

It smelled sweet, like honey.

“Poison!” Julia mused to herself. She had read a book about poison type pokemon and how their poison attacks could severely hurt pokemon, or even kill humans. It said something about a poisoned victim’s breathing could smell sweet like fresh honey.

There was no denying it. She needed to get help right away. Her mother could help. She worked at a Pokemon Center. “Don’t worry, little pichu! My mom can help you! Everything will be a-okay!”

Before she could rush to her house, a loud buzzing sound stopped her in her tracks. Once again, fear froze her in place. This time, it really was a dangerous pokemon. A group of large, pale yellow bees with large white wings, big white stingers, and glowing red eyes flew out of the bushes, ready to attack. ‘OH NO!! Beedrill!!’ Julia screamed in her head. With a scream, she made a beeline for the road home. The seven or eight beedrill were in hot pursuit.

Clutching the sick pichu tightly in her arms, Julia tried forcing her legs to carry her back home. She was never one for running, but she knew she had to, for this pichu’s sake. With every step she took, fear turned into adrenaline, shooting right through her body. With every breath she took, the beedrill continued to fly after her, their stingers ready for piercing.

‘Please don’t let them hurt me please don’t let them hurt me please don’t let them hurt me please don’t--’ Julia kept reciting this mantra in her head over and over. The beedrill’s buzzing became louder and louder with every step. The pichu in her arms clutched her shirt for dear life. All of a sudden, Julia’s sneaker ran into a big rock, and with a yelp, she fell right down on the dirt.

Some gravel underneath the path skinned her knee, and her elbows ran right into some rocks. She struggled to get back up, but her legs felt heavy, like someone had duct taped cinder blocks on them. Julia turned around, her eyes widening with fear at the sight of even more beedrill behind her. Their glowing red eyes and their large stingers could strike fear into anyone. Her mouth fell open, and her whole body trembled. Even her hands shook. The pichu in her arms could feel her hands shaking.

Was this it? Was this how her life was going to end?

“Pichu!” Suddenly, the pichu hopped out of her arms despite wobbling. “Piii…” It flung its tiny hands in the air as sparks of yellow electricity flashed around its tiny cheeks. “CHUUUU!!” A big bolt of thunder shot at the beedrill. They all managed to evade the attacks save for one beedrill, who came out of the attack roasted like roast beef.

That was enough for the pichu to completely collapse. “Pichu!” Julia caught it before it could fall down. “You tried to save me, didn’t you?” This Pichu was so brave. Despite being sick with poison, it still managed to find the strength to try and save a complete stranger.

Why couldn’t she be that brave?

She knew there was no way they could fight them off. Despite her efforts to stand back up, two beedrill used their stingers to stab her in the back. “PICHU!” The pichu cried. They didn’t stab so hard that they went through her, nor were they dripping with poison, but it still hurt enough to make Julia fall to the ground again.

Julia squeezed her eyes shut, held the pichu close, and let out a scream.

Someone...help…

“VAPOOOOR!!” A blast of water shot at the beedrill that tried to attack her, sending it flying. Julia opened her eyes to find…

“Mom!”

Kassia stood in a battle stance, with her vaporeon by her side. “Vaporeon! Use Aurora Beam!”

“Vay!” A surge of rainbow hued light swirled around vaporeon’s mouth before shooting right at the beedrill. The beam of light managed to hit three of them, encasing them in big blocks of ice. Julia took this chance to run to her mother’s side.

Knowing this battle was hopeless, the beedrill conceded defeat and flew away, retreating. Julia let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh my God! I thought I was done for!”

“Julia!”

“Mom!”

Kassia threw her arms around her daughter. “Thank goodness I made it in time! You’re safe!” Kassia cried, burying her face in her daughter’s shoulder for a brief moment. She then pulled it out and gave Julia a stern look. “What were you thinking?! You actually went to Elm’s lab all by yourself?!”

“That’s not important right now! Look!” Julia showed her mother the sick pichu. “The poor thing’s sick with poison! I thought maybe you could try and help it.”

“My word!” Kassia took the pichu from her daughter’s arms. The pichu’s body was so hot it was almost burning, like a heater on full blast. “Come on. We’re taking it to Elm’s lab.” Immediately she marched in the direction of the lab.

“Huh?” Julia tilted her head to one side in confusion, but followed from behind. “But his lab isn’t a Pokemon Center.”

“I know, but he has a healing machine we can use,” Kassia explained. “It works just like the ones that Pokemon Centers use.”

It didn’t take long for them to get to Professor Elm’s lab. As soon as Kassia told him everything that happened, he took the pichu and put it in the machine without question or hesitation. Since the pichu was a wild one and didn’t belong to any trainer, it was placed in another room where it was put inside a glass container. The pichu slept contentedly and it glowed in a soft blue light. Julia watched from the window as the pichu slept inside the container.

Already, her heart went out to the yellow mouse pokemon. Even though it was very severely injured and poisoned by those beedrill, as she assumed, it still tried to save her. The odds were completely against it, yet it took the chance. Julia couldn’t believe that a tiny pichu could be so brave, so courageous, so willing to help a total stranger. She could see the scratches on its body gradually disappearing, and it’s face relaxed, so it no longer looked twisted or contorted.

“It’s a good thing you took it here,” Professor Elm suddenly said from behind her.

“Is...is the pichu gonna be okay?” Julia asked shyly.

Professor Elm gave a firm nod. “Everything’s going smoothly, so the pichu should be released in about fifteen minutes tops.”

A smile creeped onto Julia’s face, stretched toward her cheeks. “Thank goodness!” The minute he said that, it felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of her heart. The pichu is going to be okay! “Yes!” Julia jumped up once and twirled around like a top joyfully. She had saved the pichu.

Kassia suddenly approached her. “Julia. Why did you go to Professor Elm’s lab alone? Why didn’t you ask me to take you?”

Julia looked down at her feet, averting her mother’s gaze. “You were in a bad mood. I didn’t want to make you angrier than you already were, and...I got a little impatient. Sorry.”

So that was it. Her daughter just wanted to be considerate and do something herself. Kassia had always been nagging her daughter about doing more things by herself. Perhaps this was good for her. It was definitely good for that pichu. Kassia’s lips curled up and she put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. Did you get your chikorita?”

“No. Professor Elm said there are none left,” She replied.

“I’m going to talk with the professor for a while. You wait here, okay?”

“Yes, Mom.”

Normally when she was asked to wait, Julia would get bored if she didn’t have a book or games with her. Instead, when Kassia and Professor Elm went into another room, all she did was watch the pichu from the window. The scratches on its body had disappeared completely. The color had returned to its face.

Speaking of color, the pichu’s darker coloring was still a strong thought in her mind. Many books she read about pokemon showed pichu being a pale yellow color. No pichu she saw had ever had dark yellow fur. Was this a new species of pichu yet to be discovered? Or just a different coloring that had recently appeared? Julia wasn’t sure, and she figured Professor Elm may not have much answers on it either.

A warm feeling enveloped her heart, morphing into love as soon as the machine beeped. A woman took the pichu out of the glass container, but the pichu suddenly darted out the door. It hopped right in front of Julia, its eyes shining, flashing a bright smile that could light up an entire room.

“Pichu pichu!” The little pichu leaped into Julia’s arms and nuzzled her shirt happily. “Pichu pichu pichu!”

“Whoa! Hi!” Julia exclaimed. The pichu had jumped on her so hard that she almost fell over, had she not maintained her balance. But she had to admit, the pichu’s fur felt nice and soft, and it wasn’t hot to the touch like before. “I’m...glad you’re okay.”

“Pichu!”

“Huh? Am I okay? Sure I am!”

“Pichu chuuu!”

“You’re welcome,” With that, the pichu chirruped as it crawled up to Julia’s face and rubbed itself against it. Julia let out a merry giggle as the pichu cuddled with her. “You’re so cute!” Something in her just clicked. This pichu was quite the adorable little pokemon. It didn’t want to stop nuzzling her, and Julia didn’t mind at all. She sat down on a chair and let the pichu shower her with cuddles.

Perhaps...she wouldn’t have to wait a week for her own pokemon after all.

Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room. “Oh! Looks like the pichu’s all better now!” Professor Elm exclaimed, noting not just the pichu and its dark fur, but the fact that it was sitting in Julia’s arms with a content expression on its face.

“Pichu!” The little pichu squeaked.

“Aww. It’s adorable,” Kassia crooned, stroking the pokemon’s ear with her finger.

“Mom? Professor Elm?”

“Yes?”

“I…” Julia had to get it out. And she did. “I want this pichu!”

“What?!” Both Kassia’s and Professor Elm’s eyes increased in size to the point of resembling saucers, and they couldn’t prevent the ungraceful dropping of their jaws. For a moment they were sure Julia had said something else. However, in the back of their minds, they knew that when Julia said she wanted something, she meant it.

Julia held the pichu close to her. “You heard me. I want this pichu to be my friend.”

“Are you sure about this?” Professor Elm asked, rubbing his head with one hand with a doubtful expression on his bespectacled face. “That pichu’s a wild pokemon, and I was planning on studying the difference in it’s fur color later on.”

“I am sure, Professor.”

“Pichu pichu pichu pichu!”

“What’s it saying?” Kassia asked.

“She’s saying, ‘Don’t worry! I don’t bite! I want to be her friend! She saved me!’” Julia translated before looking her mother right in the eye. “Mom! I promise I’ll take super duper good care of her! She likes me too much already! I’ll do the dishes! Clean my room every day! Do the laundry! Anything!” Julia begged. She hated the subtle whine in her voice, but she couldn’t help it.

Professor Elm and Kassia looked at each other before whispering amongst themselves. Julia hugged the pichu, holding her close. Would her mother say no? Would Professor Elm give her permission? She could see the serious looks on their faces as they whispered in low voices. As much as she liked chikorita, she loved pichu even more, especially this one. Julia closed her eyes, awaiting yet another birthday disappointment. There was no doubt about it. They’d say no.

“Alright, Julia. You can keep Pichu.”

Wait...what? Julia opened her eyes. Were her ears playing tricks on her? “What? Did you...just say yes?!”

Professor Elm nodded. “We’ll let you keep the pichu. Here,” He handed her a red and white pokeball, an item used to capture a pokemon. “If you catch it with this, it’ll be yours for life unless you choose to release it.”

Julia couldn’t believe it. She got to keep the pichu. The joy inside her heart bubbled over before bursting out in the form of a loud cheer. “Yaaaay!! Julia held pichu in the air and spun around, squealing and rejoicing like she had won the lottery. “Thank you thank you thank yoooouuuu!!” She leaped onto Professor Elm and gave him a big hug, right as pichu hopped on her head.

“You’re welcome…”

The little girl let go and looked up at her furry friend. “Isn’t this great?! We’re officially friends now!”

“Pichuuu!” The pichu chirruped. She seemed to like the idea of being her pokemon. Julia held the ball up so the pichu could touch it. The pichu tapped the button with its paw before turning into red light. The ball opened up, and the red light went inside. The pokeball shook for a brief moment, with the button flashing a blinking red light. Soon, the red light disappeared. “Come on out, pichu!” Julia re-opened the ball, and pichu came right back out.

“Pichu!”

“Julia?” Professor Elm brought her back to reality.

“Hm?”

“I have more gifts for you,” Professor Elm held out a silver tray, which contained a small red machine, five small PokeBalls, and a small card with a photo of herself on it, along with other information. “These are your PokeDex, PokeBalls, and your trainer ID. These are essential items that a trainer needs in order to pursue their dreams,” Julia took everything from the tray and examined them carefully. She stashed the PokeBalls and the trainer ID in her pocket.

“Thanks! These are great! I’m a real trainer now!” Julia cheered. Just then, it hit her. Pichu are electric type pokemon. She remembered a story she read once, about a pokemon who, with its electric powers, made light reappear in a dark land, bringing everyone happiness.

Light…

“...Hikaru.”

“Chuu?”

Julia kneeled down and scooped the pichu in her arms. “Would it be okay if I named you Hikaru?” She asked politely, meeting the pichu’s eyes without hesitation. Funnily enough, the pichu didn’t even hesitate and let out a cute, joyful squeak, along with shaking its head in agreement.

“Pichuuuuu!”

“Alright! From this day forth, you’re Hikaru Parisa!” Julia held Hikaru close and nuzzled her fur. Hikaru let out some merry giggles, basking in Julia’s love and affection.

“Thank you so much, Professor Elm. We really appreciate this,” Kassia told him.

“It’s no problem,” The lanky professor replied sheepishly.

“Hey, Hikaru! I wanna show you my house! I’ll race you there!”

“Pichu!”

Julia and Hikaru darted out of the lab quicker than Kassia could stop her. “Julia! Wait!” Kassia called out, but her daughter was already far ahead of her, with Hikaru happily tagging behind. Regardless, her lips curled upward, and a warmth enveloped her heart. Her daughter was growing up fast. Now that she had her very own pokemon, there was a lot more she could learn that would really help her in life. Just seeing her happy like this sent Kassia’s heart aflutter with joy.

Hikaru chased after her new trainer, happy as can be. Julia burst through the door without knocking. “I’m back!”

“Shut up, you brat!” Amara shouted from the living room couch. Still scrolling through her cell phone like usual.

“Amara! Look! I got my new pokemon!” Julia couldn’t help but show Amara Hikaru. “She’s a pichu, and her name’s Hikaru! Isn’t she adorable?!”

The older girl barely even glanced at Hikaru. The tiny mouse flashed a smile, but it faded when Amara got up and stomped away from the couch. “Do I look like I care? You idiots are pathetic,” Amara sneered with a bitter tone of voice before stomping into the kitchen.

“Sorry about her. She isn’t very nice,” Julia told her little friend. “Come on! Let’s go to my room and play!” Both she and Hikaru ran up the stairs.

Amara stood in the kitchen, gulping down a can of cold soda. It did nothing to ease not only her anger, but jealousy. Why was Julia able to get a pokemon and she had to get hers taken away? Then again, she knew the reason why, but couldn’t accept it. In fact, just seeing Julia with her new friend made flames of envy dance in her heart. In her mind, Julia didn’t deserve a pokemon. What made her so special? Why did everything have to always go so swimmingly with her? Amara just couldn’t understand.

She was sick of it. Sick of everything.

***

So...what do you think so far? Any suggestions on how to make it better? Or for future chapters? Any and all concrit is fine so long as you're polite and civilized about it!

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 2: A Theft In The Pokemon Lab!

Having Hikaru in the house made all of Julia’s previous birthday disappointments go away, like they had never been there in the first place. Sure, it stunk that she couldn’t get a chikorita like she wanted, but that was okay with her. Sometimes things in life happen that people can’t control, and the best thing to do was to deal with it in any way she could. Besides, she had already fallen head over heels for Hikaru the minute she laid eyes on her.

A whole week was more than enough for them to cultivate a strong bond. The minute Hikaru entered her home, Julia felt as though the jolly little pichu was truly hers. Her own little friend. One whom she could spend her whole life with. At eleven years old, she could already feel a faint maternal instinct developing. Then again, she had always planned to have a pokemon of her own. Her whole life, she was practically surrounded by pokemon. She read her parents’ books on how to raise pokemon, bought a huge collection of them for herself, and watched her parents raise them like they were their own kids.

Julia was the first to awake on one clear Tuesday morning, gazing down at little Hikaru sleeping right next to her. The little pichu was snug as a bug underneath a small, warm, white and pink blanket she had had since she herself was a baby, right underneath Julia’s pink and blue comforter. Julia knew she loved this little pichu from the bottom of her heart. She was a girl who would protect the smallest pokemon, cry over the terminally sick pokemon who had to go to heaven, and take wounded pokemon to her parents so they could help them, no matter what, even if it meant she’d get scratched and sometimes bitten. Julia stroke Hikaru’s soft, deep yellow fur and knew that this little friend would be far more satisfying than any doll she had ever owned, and she definitely wasn’t any typical pichu. This pichu, Hikaru, was special.

A little later, Hikaru awoke and greeted Julia with a happy chirrup, as if to say, “Good morning!” Right afterward, Julia put Hikaru on her lap and read a book about Pokemon. “See this one? That’s a Gyarados,” Julia pointed to a page depicting a large, blue serpentine pokemon with a big, wide open mouth. “They’re very fierce and easy to anger. In fact, it says here that they can reduce entire villages to rubble if they’re angry enough, and they can go on destroying everything for a month straight!”

“Pichuuuu!” Hikaru found herself shivering in fear, terrified at the thought of such a scary pokemon living on Earth.

“And see here?” Julia pointed to two different pictures. “Here’s how you can tell their gender. If the whiskers on their faces are white, that means they’re girls. If they’re blue, they’re boys. Got that?”

Hikaru nodded without a word.

“Oh! Here’s a pretty pokemon!” Julia turned the page and stopped at one showing a butterfly with large, white wings. “Have you ever seen a butterfree before?”

“Pichu!”

“Of course you have. They’re pretty common,” Julia agreed. “I wouldn’t mind catching one of my own. If I catch a girl one, I’ll name her Papillon. That means butterfly, and it sounds so pretty. Don’t you think?”

Watching from the hallway, Kassia wiped a tear out from her eye. She was never one to cry at things like this, but it warmed her heart to see her daughter so happy, so radiant, so...overcome with joy. Perhaps getting this pichu did prove to be a good thing after all, and to think Julia had been so set on getting a chikorita before. As long as Julia was happy, Kassia was happy, and that was all that mattered. She gently knocked on Julia’s door three times.

In perfect unison, both Julia and Hikaru looked up. “What’s up, Mom?”

“Breakfast is ready, dear,” Kassia told her.

Julia picked Hikaru up and nuzzled her cheek warmly. “I’ll bet you’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“Chuu!”

Neither of them wasted any time getting down to the dining room table and chomping down breakfast. Kassia had taken the time to make a special bowl of brown pokemon food just for Hikaru, right next to Julia’s plate. Of course, that didn’t mean Julia didn’t give her little friend some of her own breakfast, such as a small slice of her toast and bananas. The entire dining room was enveloped in warmth, and everyone smiled upon seeing Hikaru and Julia interact. Except Amara, for obvious reasons.

Amara kept staring at the happy pair with a permanent scowl, her eyebrows furrowed in contempt. Just seeing the two of them together made her sick to her stomach, but more than anything, the blazing flames of envy danced in her heart wildly. Amara pressed her lips together so as to not say anything, but it was hard. Julia kept going on and on about how wonderful Hikaru is. She just wished she’d stop.

“Hey, Amara,” Truman piped up, taking a glance at his older daughter. “I hear you got a B on your history test. Congrats,” He told her kindly.

“It’s no big deal,” Amara hissed in a deadpan tone. “I just happened to know everything, that’s all.”

“How about later on, we go to your favorite restaurant tonight?” Truman suggested, smiling warmly. “I know how much you like their shrimp scampi.”

For the briefest moment, a smile touched Amara’s face. However, it immediately disappeared the moment Julia talked once more. “Is it true that pichu touch their tails and let off sparks as a test of courage?” Julia asked before sipping some water out of her teddiursa themed cup.

“Yes,” Kassia replied after sipping some coffee. “For the most part.”

Truman’s face was buried in the newspaper like usual, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t paying attention. Amara’s hand formed a fist. “I read that even though pichu aren’t good at storing electricity, they get better as they get older.”

“Pichuu!” Hikaru patted its chest with one paw as if to flaunt something. “Pichu chu pichupi!”

“Hikaru says she can use her thunder powers just fine,” Julia said with a giggle. “You little braggart,” She stroke Hikaru’s diamond shaped ear with one hand. “Oh! Hikaru! Exactly what were you doing before you came to New Bark Town? Why were those beedrill chasing you?”

Amara dropped her spoon and an expression of surprise appeared on her face, like Julia asked a really inappropriate question. Hikaru talked as she moved her hands around. “Ohhh. So you wanted get some berries but shocked a beedrill by accident. I can see how that can happen--”

SLAM! Amara slammed her fist on the table before standing up, freezing Julia in place with an angry glare. Julia’s hands flew to her ears, but Hikaru was quick to stand in between the two in a defensive stance. Truman put his paper down, and Kassia stood up in alarm. “Will you stop already?!”

“Stop what?”

“Your whole ‘I can talk to pokemon’ schtick!” Amara yelled. “We all know you just want attention like the little attention hog you are!”

“Amara! Watch your mouth!” Truman scolded, walking over to his older daughter. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but the older girl was quick to push it away.

“Oh! It’s perfectly okay for her to be a straight up freak and get everything handed to her on a silver platter while I can’t do what I want?!” Amara snapped. “I hate you idiots!!” With that boiling rhetoric, Amara stomped all the way up to her room, making absolutely no attempt to hide her contempt.

“Amara--” Truman tried to interject, but his wife interrupted him before he could do so.

“Drop the attitude!”

“You stop treating me like I’m nothing!!” Amara shouted before slamming the door.

Julia’s hands didn’t come off of her ears. Hikaru could feel her pain, so she simply tapped her trainer’s hand twice with one paw reassuringly, hoping to let her know that she’s there. Julia smiled silently. Kassia crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. “Amara hates me, doesn’t she?” Julia asked, her voice low and sad.

“That’s not true, dear!” Truman was quick to pull his youngest daughter into a warm, tight hug. “Amara’s just going through a tough time. She needs to do some growing up, that’s all. Kids her age tend to be rebellious and think they can do anything.”

“Truman. We can’t ignore this, you know,” Kassia told him. “Her behavior’s getting worse. I’m going to sign her up for counseling whether she likes it or not. This can’t go on,” Right then and there, the phone rang. She was quick to answer it. “Hello?”

Julia quietly finished her breakfast without a word, with Hikaru close behind. “Oh! Hi, Professor Elm! How’s your research going? Wait...what? You want her to do what?” Kassia’s voice changed from low to loud and back to low within a few seconds. “Can we...go to your lab and talk about this first?” She asked in a whisper. “Yes. Yes. Alright then. As soon as she gets dressed, I’ll bring her with me. Okay. Bye,” With that, she hung the phone up. “Julia? Get dressed, dear. Professor Elm wants us to come to his lab right away.”

“How come?”

“He says he wants to talk to you about something. Bring all of your trainer essentials just in case.”

With that, Julia got herself dressed and ready. But she had to wonder why Professor Elm would want them to come by so early. She didn’t complain, though. She could bring Hikaru with her, so that was a plus. Once she prepared everything--her PokeBalls, her PokeDex, and her trainer’s license--she, Hikaru, and Kassia were on the road to the lab. It had been a week since they were last there. Kassia was quick to meet with Professor Elm and go into another room to talk with him.

Julia sat in the waiting room with Hikaru resting comfortably on her lap. “Now, we can’t play in here. There’s lots of important things in here, and if anything’s broken or ripped, we could get in trouble,” Julia told her yellow friend gently. Hikaru seemed to understand and nodded.

Right then, both she and Hikaru noticed three pokemon playing in the middle of the room. One was a pale green dinosaur-like creature with big red eyes, green dots lining its neck, and a big leaf on its head. Another was a yellow anteater with a dark blue back with red spots on it, and another was a bipedal light blue alligator. Julia recognized them all immediately.

“Look, Hikaru,” Julia pointed to the three pokemon. “See those pokemon? Those are chikorita, cyndaquil, and totodile!” She thought that Professor Elm might have gotten a new batch of starters just now. He did say that it usually took at least a week for new starters to get sent to him. Julia shrugged. Oh well. Perhaps a new trainer would come and pick them at any time. Besides, as much as she liked chikorita, she would never trade Hikaru for anything else.

Hikaru was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

Before she could zone out, Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room, with the bespectacled professor kneeling to her level. “Hello, Julia.”

Julia didn’t meet his gaze. She just kept looking down at Hikaru. “Hi there, professor. Mom said you wanted to...talk to me?” She asked shyly.

“Yes. May I ask you something first?”

“Sure.”

“Do you remember my acquaintance? Mr. Pokemon?”

“Uhh…” Julia tried to look through her memories. Mr. Pokemon...an image of an old man in a brown suit with a grey beard entered her mind. She had met him once before. Just last year, to be exact. Truman had to visit him to talk some things out with him, but Julia kept her ears covered the whole time. He was too loud, and all she wanted to do was leave. Just being in the same room as him made her feel like all the air was being sucked out of her, but she didn’t dare say anything because she didn’t want to make anyone mad. “Yeah, I remember him. Isn’t he really loud?”

Professor Elm let out a chuckle. “Yes, he can be loud. He likes to exaggerate things as well. But anyway…” The bespectacled professor cleared his throat. “Since you have your own pokemon now, we were wondering if maybe you would like to do me a favor.”

“A favor? Like what?”

“You see, I got an email from him saying he has a pokemon egg he wants me to examine,” Professor Elm told her calmly. “But both our schedules are tied up at the moment. Do you remember where he lives?”

“Yeah. Just past Cherrygrove City, right? It’s right near that big cave where all the geodude and zubat and dunsparce live?”

“Yes! Would you like to go to Mr. Pokemon’s and bring the egg here to me?”

If Julia heard him say he caught a legendary pokemon, she wouldn’t be any less surprised. Her mouth fell open. He was asking her to leave the house and go someplace all on her own. Julia clutched Hikaru tightly, her green eyes wide like saucers. Julia was never one to leave the house on her own. True, she went to Professor Elm’s lab last week, but that was because it was close by and because she was impatient.

Going past Cherrygrove City was another story entirely. Driving through Route 29 usually takes about five minutes tops, but on foot it takes at least half an hour, with Mr. Pokemon’s house fifteen minutes away from there. Since both areas had grassy places where pokemon easily roam, if she were caught in any battles, the trip would take even longer. Julia wasn’t sure if she could do this, and why Professor Elm was asking her about this was beyond her.

“It’s been a week since you received Hikaru,” Professor Elm explained. “Usually, trainers take their pokemon and go on their journey right away. Since you’re more cautious, I want to see if you can handle something like this on your own before doing anything else.”

“So...you just want me to go get an egg and bring it back here?” Julia clarified.

Professor Elm nodded. “That’s the gist of it, yes.”

“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine,” Kassia told her reassuringly. “We don’t need to rush things, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Julia was already lost in her thoughts. Lots of trainers traveled the world with their pokemon. She wasn’t sure if she could do that. For her, being with Hikaru was good enough. But if she went on this errand, she could catch some more pokemon. She could make more friends. She could go to Pokemon Marts and buy whatever she needed, go to Pokemon Centers in case her friends got hurt, gather berries to use, and maybe see and catch new pokemon. Plus, it wasn’t as though Mr. Pokemon’s place was hard to get to. She had seen plenty of signs to get there whenever she and her family would drive past it, and for the most part, it could be an easy trek.

Her mind was made up. “I...I want to do it! Is...that okay?”

“Of course it is.”

“How come?” Kassia asked.

Julia stood up. “I can catch some pokemon while I’m out, right? If I have lots of pokemon with me, I can feel safe on the way there and back, right? Hikaru can come with me!”

“Chupi!” Hikaru added to her argument.

“I’m not sure about this…” Kassia added nervously. “I’m happy you want to do this, but we can easily get there by car. You don’t have to-”

“I want to! Please?”

The bespectacled professor put a hand on Kassia’s shoulder. “Let’s let her go on her own. It’ll be good for her.”

After some more talking, they agreed to let Julia go see Mr. Pokemon and pick up the egg. Kassia was quick to hand her an odd, pink cell phone. “This is called a PokeGear. It’s a cell phone, map, and radio all in one. I’ve already put important phone numbers in it in case you need to call us,” Kassia explained, placing the phone in her daughter’s hand. “We already made a call to Mr. Pokemon letting him know you’ll go to pick up the egg. Just call us if you need anything or have any trouble. Okay, sweetie?”

“Yes.”

Kassia pulled her daughter close and pecked her forehead once. With a quiet wave, she and Hikaru walked on the dirt path away from the lab. Kassia buried her face in her hands, worried about what might happen. She had never seen her daughter go off on her own before. To suddenly be away from her, even if it was for a short while, made her heart feel as though someone was duct taping titanium bricks on it.

A pair of eyes stared at them from a nearby window, fixating their gaze on one of the pokemon. Particularly the totodile.

***

“Wow! Look, Hikaru! There’s so many pokemon!” It had been a while since Julia left, but already she was amazed by the pokemon running about. Sentret and rattata scurrying around. Tiny bird pokemon flying across the sky with the wind beneath their wings. The rustling of the trees sounded like a lofty lullaby, and just a whiff of the spring breeze was enough to revitalize anyone who had an appreciation for nature.

“Pichuuuuu…” Hikaru watched as a small sentret scuttled to a nearby stump, standing on its puffy tail to observe its surroundings.

“Oh! A sentret!” Julia pulled out her PokeDex and held it to face the sentret. The brown pokemon glanced at Julia, but didn’t look or feel intimidated in any way.

“Sentret, the scout pokemon,” The PokeDex announced in a robotic female voice. “It stands on its tail so it can see a long way. If it spots an enemy, it lets out a loud cry in order to warn the rest of its kind.”

“So this is how a PokeDex works. Now let’s see…” Julia pressed some buttons and held the PokeDex in front of the sentret once again. A pink female sign appeared at the corner. “Oh! This one’s a girl! I’m gonna catch it!”

Julia rummaged through her pocket to find a PokeBall she could use. ‘I know the books say I should weaken a pokemon to catch it, but...I don’t want to hurt it!’ She told herself, finally pulling out a PokeBall. “Sentret, you’re--” When she raised her hand to catch it, her mouth fell agape. The sentret had run away. The girl fell on her knees and let out a whine. “Bwaaah! I wanted to catch her!”

With a sympathetic expression, Hikaru tapped Julia’s arm reassuringly. “Pichu pichu pichu…”

The girl stood back up. “Yeah. You’re right. There’s plenty more, so I can catch another one. Plus there’s lots of other pokemon around here. Hey!” She saw some buildings nearby. “That’s gotta be Cherrygrove. We made it!” She cheered.

“Pichu!”

Cherrygrove City was a calm, quaint, and lovely little town a little ways from New Bark Town. Although it was bigger than Julia’s hometown, it had a greater sense of community. Whenever she and her family would drive through it, there was no shortage of people talking to each other or pokemon and kids playing. It helped that the town was known for their cherry trees, which would blossom in pink white blooms during the spring, and they never ceased to be amazing.

On Julia’s left was a Pokemon Mart. A tall white building with a blue roof. For a brief moment, she thought about going inside. She thought she could get some potions in case Hikaru got hurt. But Kassia didn’t give her any money, so that was a no-go. With a shrug, she turned away and looked for the path leading to Mr. Pokemon’s house.

“This is Cherrygrove City, Hikaru. Have you been here before?”

Hikaru nodded.

“It sure is nice, isn’t it? But I like my home the best.”

Once she stepped on the dirt path, a round, blue and white mouse pokemon suddenly shot out of a little pond. “Awww! How cute!” Julia was quick to pull out her PokeDex once more.

“Marill marill!” The pokemon chirruped, contentedly sniffing a berry nearby.

“Marill, the aqua mouse pokemon,” The PokeDex explained, in the usual robotic voice. “Marill's oil-filled tail acts much like a life preserver. If you see just its tail bobbing on the water's surface, it's a sure indication that this Pokémon is diving beneath the water to feed on aquatic plants.” Julia saw a female sign pop up on the PokeDex, indicating it was a girl.

“I’ve gotta catch this one!” Before Julia could pull out her PokeBall, Hikaru charged at the marill with a battle cry.

“Pichuuuu!” Sparks of electricity crackled from her cheeks before Hikaru unleashed a strong bolt of lightning. Before the marill could react, the lightning bolt shot down on it, sending pain all throughout its body. Julia covered her eyes. She wished Hikaru hadn’t done that. Then again, all her books said that in order to catch a pokemon, she had to weaken it with one of her own.

This was her chance. Hikaru knew it.

“Pichu pichuu!” Hikaru commanded, pointing to the fallen marill.

“Alright! I’ll catch it! Go, PokeBall!” With a single swing, the PokeBall flew into an arch before hitting the blue and white mouse. Marill turned into red light as it was absorbed inside the PokeBall, which then fell on the grass. The circle on the center flashed in a red light, and the PokeBall wiggled from side to side.

Julia crossed her fingers and prayed. ‘Please work...please work...please work...’ Finally, a click sound echoed, and the flashing light on the PokeBall disappeared. Julia looked down at the PokeBall and picked it up. Already she could feel her whole body become enveloped with an overwhelming sense of joy.

“Wow! I...I...I did it! I caught my first pokemon all by myself!” Julia stood up and jumped around with the PokeBall in her hand, shouting in her loudest voice possible, “Woohoo!! Yaaaay!! I caught a marill!!”

“Pichu pichu!” Hikaru joined in on her joyous dance, hopping and twirling right along with her. Some trainers admittedly stopped to watch.

“What’s with her?”

“She’s weird.”

“Maybe she caught her first pokemon.”

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Julia didn’t notice, nor did she care. She was just too happy to have caught her first pokemon. “Come on out, Marill!” She opened her PokeBall, and out came the marill from before, who scratched one of her ears with a stubby hand. Julia kneeled to its level to make eye contact with it. “Hello! I’m Julia, and this is my friend Hikaru!”

“Pichu!”

“Mar?” The marill tilted its head to one side with a confused expression.

“Sorry for scaring you like that,” Julia told her apologetically before giving Hikaru a stern glance. “You didn’t have to use Thundershock on her, y’know.”

“Pichu pichuuu!” Hikaru argued.

“Anyway, would you like to be our friend?” Julia asked kindly. The marill’s round eyes sparkled, and it let out a squeal before leaping into Julia’s arms. “Yay! You’re our friend now! Would it be okay if I gave you a name?”

“Mar marill!” The marill squeaked.

“Hmmm...let’s see...since you’re a marill, and marill’s the aqua mouse pokemon...how about Aqua?”

“Mar mar marill!” The marill smiled at the name.

“Alrighty then! You’re Aqua from now on! Welcome to the team, Aqua!” Julia held Aqua up in the air and spun her around, with the blue mouse laughing merrily.

“Marill marill!”

“Oh! That’s right! I can’t forget to go see Mr. Pokemon!” Julia put Aqua down and they went further down the path. Julia decided against putting Aqua in her PokeBall right away. She figured it’d be nice to have a good walk with them and let them get used to her before keeping them in PokeBalls. In her mind, they deserved some fresh air and a chance for some quality time with her.

Julia kept her eyes on the road in front of her, with Hikaru and Aqua following close behind. She passed by a small house, noticed some trainers battling their pokemon rather passionately, and saw some bird pokemon fly to another tree. All of a sudden, she passed by one tree and saw a small green bug pokemon, eating some leaves. The pokemon was about as big as Hikaru, with a big pink antenna, big black eyes, and stubby yellow feet.

“A caterpie!” Julia pulled out her PokeDex a third time, holding it up to the caterpie.

“Caterpie, the worm pokemon. Caterpie have a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odor, and their legs have special suction cups designed to stick to any surface.” Once again, a female symbol appeared on the PokeDex as it hovered over the caterpie.

“Caterpie can evolve into metapod and then butterfree,” Julia mused to herself, pulling out a PokeBall. “This one I have to catch!”

Once again, Hikaru took the initiative. This time, she ran toward the caterpie and threw herself at it, throwing it right off the tree. Before the caterpie could get up, Hikaru blew a soft kiss, and a pink heart floated toward the caterpie. Once it hit the caterpie, it began to wobble and lose its sense of direction. “Hey!” Julia exclaimed. “I told you not to attack any pokemon!”

“Pichu pichu chuuuu!” Hikaru argued, pointing to the caterpie.

“You have a point…” She gripped the PokeBall before throwing it. “You’re mine, caterpie!” Oddly enough, as the ball was thrown, the caterpie didn’t even attempt to move. It just stood blinking at the object coming its way. Like with Aqua, the ball hit the caterpie, turning it into red light. The PokeBall fell to the grass and wiggled, with the red light flashing. After a few seconds, the ball stopped, and the red light ceased.

“Yay!” Julia picked the PokeBall up and held it in the air. “I caught another pokemon!”

Two pokemon caught in one day. Julia couldn’t help but wonder if lady luck was smiling down on her. But regardless, she made yet another new friend, and she was too quick to let the caterpie out of its PokeBall. As soon as the caterpie met Julia’s eyes, it let out a “Maaaao!” sound and crawled on her arm, traveling right up to her shoulder and snuggling up against her cheek.

“Awww! You’re so friendly!” Julia let out a giggle. “Do you want to be friends?”

“Mao!”

“Can I name you Papillon?”

The caterpie nodded. “Mao!”

“Hello, Papillon! We’re friends from now on!”

Like with Aqua, Julia kept Papillon outside of her PokeBall, so all three of her new friends were right by her side. Papillon sat on her shoulder throughout the entire walk. They had to get to Mr. Pokemon’s house and get that egg. No more delays. Thankfully, Julia passed by a sign directing her to his house. Not only that, a brown and red house came within their vicinity, so they were getting close. Finally, they made it on his front porch. A white sign on his door read Mr. Pokemon. Shyly, Julia walked up to the door and knocked on it three times.

“Hello? Mr. Pokemon?” Julia called out.

“Maaaaaoo!” Papillon cried, helping her out.

The door opened, and a man dressed in a brown suit greeted the girl with a cheery smile. Julia had to back up a few steps because he came a little too close to her for comfort. The man’s face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, and underneath his nose was a fluffy grey mustache, with some streaks of hair lining his chin. Probably a small beard. But his beard was bigger the last time she saw him. She assumed he must have shaved it.

“Oh! Good morning, dear child!” Mr. Pokemon exclaimed in an old, crochety voice that was filled to the brim with merry cheer. “Professor Elm called and told me you were coming! Come on inside, lassie! Come on in! Don’t be shy!” He left the door open for her to come inside.

Her body tensed up, and her hands flew to her ears. After all this, he still couldn’t understand the concept of an indoor voice. With a sigh, Julia and her pokemon went inside. She immediately noticed a glass container with a white egg inside of it. The white egg was about as large as Papillon, with red and blue markings dotting its hard surface. The faint smell of soft cookies wafted into her nostrils, but as much as she liked cookies, this was no time for eating.

“This is the egg, right?” Julia asked.

“Yes yes!” Mr. Pokemon placed a tray of fresh cookies on the table, right next to the egg. “Help yourself! My! What lovely pokemon you have!”

Julia kept staring down at the cookies to avert his gaze. “Th-Th-Th-Thanks…” On impulse, she grabbed a cookie and chomped it down. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon grabbed some for themselves. Once she finished, Julia picked up the container and held it in her hands.

“I know a couple who run a daycare center just outside Goldenrod City,” Mr. Pokemon began, weaving a strand of his mustache around his index finger. “They just found this egg out of nowhere and gave it to me.”

“You don’t say…”

“Is it true you became a trainer recently?”

“Yes. Last week,” Julia forced a smile, not once making eye contact. ‘Come on! I have to go take this back to Professor Elm!’ She thought. She wished he’d let her go already.

Mr. Pokemon pulled out a small bag and poured the cookies inside, along with putting in some blue, pink, and red berries. He tied it up with a black bow and handed it to her. “These are for you. There’s berries inside in case your pokemon get hurt,” Mr. Pokemon said. Julia took the bag without question.

“Thank you. I’m...gonna go now…” With the egg and bag in hand, Julia left the house, her pokemon following close behind.

Once she walked a safe distance away, she let out a relieved sigh and slumped on a nearby stump. “Whew! I thought he’d never stop talking!”

“Marill?”

“Mao?”

“Sorry. I’m not exactly the best at...talking to people,” Julia explained. “Plus, he’s really loud,” She said with a hand over her mouth. But she had to admit, it was nice to him to give her the berries and cookies, even if it was for her pokemon’s sake, so it wasn’t as though she hated him. She just wished he’d stay out of her personal space and use an indoor voice sometimes.

“Mao mao maooo…”

Julia smiled at Papillon and stroke her head. “You like him, huh? That’s good.”

They weren’t in any rush, so the young trainer thought it’d be nice to take a break from all the walking. After all, she didn’t want those cookies to go to waste. She gave some cookies to her beloved pokemon and saved two for herself, leaving at least three left. There were two blue berries, two pink berries, and two red berries in the bag as well. Oran, pecha, and cheri berries. They were going to be very useful in the future.

“Oh! I should call Professor Elm!” Julia rummaged through her pockets to pull out the PokeGear. She could let him know she got the egg without a hitch. She searched through the number list and found Professor Elm’s number. Boy, her mother sure loved to make sure she was prepared. She pressed the call button and held the phone up to her ear. It rang a few times, but no answer came.

“That’s odd. I wonder if he’s busy?”

“Marill?”

“I’ll call him a little later,” Julia tied the bag and stood up with the egg container in hand. “We’d better get back home. I’d love to show you two my room.”

“Marill mar!”

“Maoooo!”

Both Papillon and Aqua loved the idea of seeing Julia’s house. The girl smiled as she walked down the path with a light heart. The morning sun shined in the sky, giving everything a distinct, warm glow, and wildflowers bloomed at every turn. Perhaps going out on her own wasn’t so bad after all. She wished she could do this more often. Maybe when she got home, she could talk it out with Kassia and Truman. After a while, she made it back to Cherrygrove. It was the same as usual, so the walk back should be perfectly fine.

Or so she thought.

***

Shards of broken glass scattered around the remains of a window in Professor Elm’s lab. The bespectacled professor himself laid on the floor face down, his glasses having bounced off of his face. A large, black boot came down on them, crushing the glass beneath her feet. The lens cracked as the boot smashed it deep into the floor. The mop headed man reached one hand out in an attempt to grab the culprit.

“No...why…” He croaked weakly, his voice trembling. His entire body was tense, like a pichu had electrocuted him. A tall silhouette loomed over him, holding a small, handheld taser gun in one hand, and a PokeBall in the other. “Don’t...take it away…”

“Shut up!” A woman’s voice boomed before the silhouette leaped out of the window.

Professor Elm struggled to get up. His legs felt like jello, and any time he moved, he felt as though he were going to fall over. But he had to do something. With a heavy grunt and shaky breaths, he crawled over to a red alarm button on the wall. Clutching to a chair, he used it to stand himself up. With a loud yelp, he bashed the button once, and a wailing sound echoed all throughout the lab. “HEEEELP!!” He shouted at the top of his voice. “Help!!”

A young woman burst through the room, her eyes widening at the sight of Professor Elm’s weak form. “Professor!” She ran to help him up. “What happened?!”

“Call the police!” Professor Elm choked out. “Call someone! Anyone!! The totodile...it’s been stolen!!”

Said silhouette stood in some bushes nearby, holding the PokeBall in her hand. The sirens wailed from inside the house. With a grunt, she pushed her ponytail out of her face. “You belong to me now. It’s about time I finally got what I deserve!” With that, she dashed away from the lab.

Finally, this was her chance to fulfill her dream. Now, nobody was going to take it away from her. She could do whatever she wanted and get away from the house she considered a prison.

***

Truman stood in front of the bathroom sink, his cheeks and chin caked with thick, white shaving cream. He held a deep red razor to his cheek, pushing the shaving cream away, hoping the excess hairs would come off. Soon after, Kassia popped her head in. “Truman? Have you deposited money in Amara’s bank account yet?”

“Yeah, I did. Last week,” Truman replied, examining his face closely. Some hairs had come off. “About one hundred, so that comes to…” He counted on his fingers. “About $10,724.”

“Jeez,” Kassia mused. “You sure do save a lot of money, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Truman put his razor down on the sink to make sure he didn’t scratch himself as he talked. “We have the mortgage to pay, the pokemon to feed, the girls’ college funds in case they need it, the bills, there’s a lot to do! You gotta be smart and thrifty when it comes to saving!”

Kassia found herself chuckling. “That’s exactly what I love about you, dear,” She glanced over at Amara’s bedroom door. “I wonder how Amara’s doing?”

“Last I checked she seemed fine,” Truman looked deep into the mirror. Some hairs were still sticking out from underneath his nose. “I know it didn’t work much before, but try to talk to her, Kassie. Try to understand her. Maybe she just needs someone who understands how she feels.”

“I’ll try,” With this, Kassia left Truman to his shaving. She stopped in front of Amara’s door and knocked on it three times. “Amara? You in there? It’s me,” She announced. “Can I come in? I know you think Mom’s stupid and annoying. I just...want to talk. Just mother-daughter talk, that’s all,” She added. No response. When she knocked again, the door moved inward, leading Kassia into Amara’s room. It wasn’t closed all the way.

Immediately, a red flag shot up in her mind, but she tried to take her mind off it. The minute she stepped inside, she saw the entirety of Amara’s room. The walls were painted a pure white, with some walls covered with posters of shirtless men wearing jeans and who had tattoos on their bodies. Some frilly pillows sat on Amara’s disheveled bed, with others having fallen to the floor. The light purple comforter on Amara’s bed was folded halfway, facing the foot of the bed, indicating that it had been slept in. Kassia always grilled Amara about making her bed. Her white desk was covered with jewelry and cosmetics such as lipstick, bottles of eyeshadow, nail polish, hair scrunchies, etc. Other things lined the desk as well, such as jewelry holders, jewelry boxes, some books (both educational and recreational), a duffel bag full of clothes, etc. Some clothes such as tank tops and skinny jeans were scattered on the floor.

Only one important thing was completely missing: Amara. No Amara, anywhere.

“Amara?” Kassia walked into her daughter’s messy bedroom. Worry began as a small sprout, growing with every glance. Where was Amara? Was she in the house? A gentle breeze from her window made the mother’s gaze turn to a window. It was open all the way, with the transparent curtains floating about. With a gasp, Kassia ran to the window and looked down. Some grass beneath the window had been pressed down, like someone had laid down on it.

This told her all she needed to know. “Amara!!” Kassia screamed. No answer. “Amaraaaaa!!”

His wife’s screams made Truman put down his razor. He grabbed a towel, wiped the shaving cream off, and ran to the bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

“Amara’s gone!!” Kassia yelped, her green eyes wide with a combination of fear, worry, and anguish. Truman knew that look anywhere. “She must have snuck out again!!”

It had become a common occurrence lately. Amara would sometimes sneak out of the house or just leave without saying anything. But Amara never went out the window before. If she was willing to do this much...alarm bells were blaring. “I’ll call the police,” Truman suggested, keeping himself calm and collected. “You search the neighborhood and ask if anyone’s seen her, or go look for her. I’ll catch up with you.”

Without another word, Kassia ran to neighboring houses like her house was on fire. She banged on the doors, surprising her neighbors, asking them all the same question. “Have you seen Amara by any chance?”

“No I haven’t, Kassia.”

“What?! She ran away?! I’ll help you look for her!”

“I didn’t see her, but if I do, I’ll let you know right away.”

“Haven’t seen her. Sorry.”

“I’ll ask around. She couldn’t have gone too far.”

Soon, more people looked around the neighborhood, on foot or by car, searching for the missing girl. Kassia’s heart was suddenly plagued with worry and fear. What if something happened to her? What if she got caught up in the wrong crowd? What if she was lost? Hurt? Kidnapped? Just thinking about the awful possibilities made her feel as though she couldn’t breathe. Truman was outside on the porch with a phone held to his ear. “Officer? My daughter’s gone missing. Please look for her!”

“Kassia!” One woman with blonde hair suddenly ran up to Kassia. “You’re not gonna believe what I heard! Professor Elm’s lab was robbed! I heard him say that a girl Amara’s age with brown hair stole a pokemon!”

Both parents froze, their eyes wide with shock. No. It just couldn’t be true. Could it…?

***

“Welcome to the Pokemon Center!” A pink haired nurse greeted Julia as she came in through the revolving doors, with all of her pokemon following close behind. The nurse was dressed in a soft pink dress with a white apron, cream colored stockings, and pink shoes. A white hat with a red cross mark on it cupped her curly pink hair. Two blissey walked around calmly, observing everything around them.

Julia put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls and handed them to the nurse. “You’re Nurse Joy, right?”

“Yes I am,” She replied in a kind, pleasant voice.

“Can you heal my pokemon, please?”

“Certainly!” Nurse Joy put the PokeBalls on a tray before taking them away.

She had done her research. Julia had always known that Pokemon Centers were good places for trainers to go in case their pokemon had gotten hurt. Of course they would take their pokemon away for a short while. Still, Julia couldn’t help but feel as though she lost something important, like her security blanket. She wished she didn’t feel so anxious about this. They were still in there, and it wasn’t as though Nurse Joy was stealing or hurting her pokemon. She’d get them back in no time.

‘Calm down, Julia. They’re fine,’ She told herself, sitting down on a chair, clutching the egg container. ‘You’re gonna have to get used to this some time. This is what they’re for.’

“Nurse Joy!!” A young boy stormed through the revolving doors in a frenzy, holding an unconscious, injured rattata in his arms. His loud voice made Julia’s hands fly to her ears in fright. “You gotta help Rattata!!”

“Goodness, Joey!” The Nurse Joy exclaimed. “This is the third time this week you’ve come here. I know you’re excited about battling--”

“NO!” Julia stood up in alarm. The despair in the boy’s voice was unmistakable. Not only that, Julia noticed some fresh cuts on the boy’s arms, particularly one on his forehead that was bleeding onto his eyebrow. “Some weird girl just came out of nowhere and beat me and Rattata up!”

Hearing this made Nurse Joy come around the corner to take a closer look at their wounds. She gestured for a nearby blissey to come over and take a look. “My goodness! Blissey? Take Joey and Rattata in the back,” She told her.

“Blissey!” With that, the blissey escorted Joey and his rattata into another room. Another blissey came with a tray in its hands, holding three PokeBalls. Julia could tell they were her own PokeBalls. She put stickers on them to make sure they were theirs. She took her PokeBalls diligently and left the Pokemon Center.

That was when she saw someone she didn’t expect.

“Julia?!”

“A-A-Amara?!”

There was Amara, standing right in front of her. Her long hair was tied into its usual straight ponytail with a purple scrunchie. She was wearing a black tank top, very small, pale blue shorts that did a great job in showing off her legs, and tall brown boots. Her icy blue eyes fixated their gaze on her little sister, and in her left hand was a PokeBall. Julia’s mind was sent into a spiral of confusion, and all kinds of questions were running through her mind. What was Amara doing here? Shouldn’t she be at home? She was sure she was grounded for hanging out with a group of kids she wasn’t supposed to. Why did she have a PokeBall in her hand? Did Mom and Dad know she was gone?

“Wh...wh...what are you doing here?!” Julia blurted out.

“Totodile. Come on out,” Amara said in an icy voice, releasing her totodile from the PokeBall.

Julia clutched her PokeBalls tightly. All she could do was blurt out what came to mind. Even Hikaru seemed confused. “Why do you have a pokemon?! Mom said you can’t have any pokemon anymore! You know that, right?!”

“Shut up!” She pointed an index finger at her frightened sister before shouting, “Use Water Gun!”

Without hesitation, the totodile shot a blast of water right at Julia, sending her rolling on the ground soaking wet. Some bystanders gasped as they watched the totodile send the spout of water at her. Even Nurse Joy came out to observe the chaotic scene. As soon as the attack stopped, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all popped out of their PokeBalls.

“Chuu chuu?”

Letting out a small grunt, Julia got back on her feet. “I’m fine, Hikaru…” She let out some heavy pants before shouting, “What’s going on, Amara?! Tell me! Why are you doing this, and why’d you attack me?!”

“Because I’m done babysitting you. Totodile! Use Bite!” She replied in an icy voice.

Obeying its trainer’s orders, the blue crocodile charged at Julia with its big maw open wide for chomping. Once again, Hikaru took the initiative and let out a thundershock attack, sending a bolt of lightning right at the totodile. The jolt was strong enough to make the totodile fall on its rear. Even Aqua and Papillon went into battle stances.

“Marill!”

“Mao!!”

“Hey! What are you doing?!” The Nurse Joy ran over to Amara and pulled on her arm. “You can’t use your pokemon to attack people!”

“Shut up!” With a grunt, Amara used her arm to shove Nurse Joy to the ground. Two blissey managed to catch her before she could fall, preventing any potential injuries.

“Call the police, will ya?!” A man in a suit yelped. The woman next to him pulled out a phone.

“If that’s how you wanna play it then fine! Use Water Gun again!” Amara growled.

“Hikaru! Dodge it!” Julia blurted out. On cue, Hikaru evaded the attack. “Papillon! Use String Shot!” The little green bug shot a web of white silk all around the totodile, trapping it in place.

“Use Scratch and Bite to break free!” Amara commanded. Totodile used its teeth and claws to rip through the silk thread. Some of it did get on its tongue, and the totodile used its claws to wipe the silk off.

‘No! I can’t...I don’t want to battle! I don’t want to do this!’ Julia thought. Her entire being was frozen with fear and confusion. Too many questions were running through her mind, the biggest of them being...why was Amara doing all of this?

“Marill!!”

A scream pulled Julia out of her mind, awakening her to a horrible sight. Totodile had its teeth digging into Aqua’s side. She had to do something. Her friend was hurting. This was no time for hesitating. “NO!! Aqua! Use Bubble on its face!!” On cue, Aqua unleashed a barrage of bubbles, sending them all right into the totodile’s face. The soapy bubbles stung its eyes, and it squeezed them shut to prevent further entry. Aqua used the opportunity to pull the totodile’s teeth out of her side and run free.

“You won’t beat me!” Amara roared.

“Papillon, use String Shot! Hikaru, use Thunder Wave!” Like before, Papillon spat out a long thread of white silk, wiggling around to make it weave all around Amara and her totodile, trapping them in place. With a piercing battle cry, Hikaru unleashed a small jolt of electricity, shooting it right at them. The jolt was strong enough to render the totodile unconscious, but Amara kept her scowl, staring right up at Julia with nothing but contempt. The electricity didn’t hit her, so she wasn’t paralyzed.

Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all stood in between them, acting like bodyguards protecting their princess. Julia’s legs began to feel like jelly, but she needed answers. “Amara? What’s going on?”

Before anyone could react, Amara pulled out a Swiss Army knife and used it to cut through the web. All of a sudden, she charged at her sister before throwing a fist straight into her face, sending her rolling on the ground. Aqua’s hands flew to her mouth, Papillon curled into a ball in fear, and Hikaru let out a hiss. Not even giving her time to react, Amara pinned Julia to the ground and punched her face three more times, the third time being strong enough to make blood flow from her nostrils.

“Why do you always have to get in my way?!” Amara spat, her saliva flying onto Julia’s face.

Her mind was swirling in a sea of confusion. The odd taste of liquid iron flowed into her mouth as she flew her arm upward in an attempt to fend off Amara. Too bad she was never physically strong, and despite flailing and kicking her legs, nothing she did worked. Some bystanders did try to pry her off, but Amara was too strong for them and managed to force them off without problems.

It was too much. The yelling, the screaming, the ground rubbing against her soaking wet clothes, the blood on her face, the fist making contact...she had to escape, but couldn’t. “GET OFF OF MEEEEEE!!” Julia yelled in her loudest voice possible.

“Chupi!” Hikaru jumped up and bit Amara straight on her hand, digging her teeth into her skin, making her yelp from the pain. That was enough to make Amara stop and release her. Aqua and Papillon stood in battle stances once more, giving her deathly glares, almost as if they were daring her to lay yet another hand on their trainer lest she face their wrath. Hikaru was quick to comfortingly lick the wounds on her face.

Her eyesight blurred. Her head was spinning. Finally, everything went black. The last thing she heard were police sirens wailing in the distance.

***

Julia: Pichu (Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Caterpie (Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot)

Amara: Totodile (Lonely Nature, Water Gun, Bite, Scratch, Growl)

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 3: Going Out All On My Own

It all happened so fast, it seemed as though she had entered a completely new dimension. None of this was supposed to happen.

This was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to go to Mr. Pokemon’s house, get the egg, and take it back to Professor Elm’s lab. Amara was supposed to be at home. She wasn’t supposed to be at Cherrygrove, with a pokemon, no less. Nor was she supposed to battle. Or beat up her own sister. Julia’s face throbbed, and it felt like someone was inflating a balloon inside of it with some kind of radioactive liquid. Questions swam through her mind like hungry sharpedo, the biggest being… ‘Amara? Why? What happened to you?’

“Julia!”

Faint voices echoed in the distance, casting a faint light in the pitch black darkness.

“Julia! Wake up!”

That didn’t sound like Amara. It sounded more like Kassia.

“Pichu!”

The memories came flooding back. Amara beating Julia bloody. Her pokemon trying to protect her. Clutching that egg for dear life. It wasn’t broken...right?

“Wah!” Julia awoke with a start, her eyes flying wide open, taking in a heavy breath. The first thing she noticed was the soft, white blanket covering her legs. Her eyes then locked onto the bandages on her arms. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon were all sitting on the bed with her. A medicinal smell wafted in her nostrils, and the area she was in had clean white walls. She could see things like an IV catheter, a TV on the ceiling, and all sorts of odd machines with too many tangled up cords. This told her that she was in a hospital. Her fingers traced some gauze covering her nose.

Kassia’s relief bubbled over, and before she could control herself, she flung herself onto Julia and wrapped her arms around her. “Julia! Oh, thank goodness!” The force of the hug was strong, almost knocking her back onto the bed. Julia could feel her face pressing against the fabric of her mother’s shirt.

“Mom...crushing...me…” Julia choked out.

“Oh! Sorry!” Kassia got the hint and released her daughter from her grasp. That didn’t stop Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon from leaping on her with loud, relieved squeals, showering her with nuzzles and cuddles.

“Everyone!” Julia squealed, welcoming her beloved friends with open arms, and they took every opportunity possible to jump right in. “Thank goodness you’re all okay!” Tears trickled out from her eyes. Whether it was from sleep or relief, she wasn’t sure. That didn’t matter, though. She was just all too happy to know that her friends were alright.

After she finished cuddling her friends, she gently put them back down on the bed. “What happened to me? How did I get here?” She asked.

“This is Cherrygrove Hospital. It’s connected to the Pokemon Center,” Truman explained, wiping his glasses with his sleeve. “Some witnesses called 911 and the paramedics took you here. Nurse Joy used your PokeGear to call us and told us where you were.”

“I’m so sorry!” Kassia exclaimed, holding her head down to the point where her scraggly hair covered her face. “This is my fault! I should never have let you go to Mr. Pokemon’s house!”

“Mom. It’s okay,” Julia told her reassuringly, holding a hand up. “Amara’s the one who went after me. You didn’t know.”

Truman crossed his arms and nodded. “She’s right.”

One thought entered Julia’s mind. “The egg! It’s not broken, is it?!”

“It’s fine, Jules,” Kassia pointed to a nightstand right next to her hospital bed. There was the glass container, with the egg inside. The shell was completely in tact. Not a scar or blemish in sight. “We’ll take it home from here, and I already called Professor Elm so he knows what happened.”

A sigh of relief escaped from Julia’s mouth. Thank goodness. Truman looked down at his feet with a sad expression. “Julia? Do you mind if we ask what happened?” He asked sadly.

She wasted no time telling them everything: running into Amara in the Pokemon Center, Amara using a totodile to attack her, Hikaru and the others defeating them, and then Amara beating her up in retaliation. Julia had to admit, she was surprised she was able to remember all of this. She secretly thanked her lucky stars that her pokemon were there to protect her, otherwise she would have been way worse off. As she told the story, the expressions on both Kassia and Truman’s faces grew more and more horrified, like they saw a ghost pokemon in a scary movie.

One detail stood out like a sore thumb. “You said...she had a totodile?” Kassia asked, her voice trembling.

“Yeah. She isn’t supposed to have a pokemon, right? Professor Elm didn’t give her one, did he? He knows she’s on the blacklist,” There was just no way. She couldn’t think of any explanation for this.

Her parents looked at each other. “She did it.”

Did it? “Did what?”

Truman cleared his throat. “Julia...this…” He looked as though he didn’t want to tell her what he was going to say, but he knew he couldn’t lie to her. “...There’s no easy way to say this. A pokemon from Professor Elm’s lab was stolen. It was a totodile.”

Stolen? Julia’s green eyes widened. Who would steal a pokemon? From its rightful owner, no less? The surprise in her heart suddenly morphed into anger. To her, anyone who stole pokemon was a terrible person. But the more she thought about it, the pieces began to gradually fall in place. A totodile was stolen. Amara had a totodile despite not being allowed to have any pokemon. It all made a scary amount of sense.

“She stole a totodile?”

Kassia nodded. “We had no idea she would go this far…” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. “I should have seen this coming! I wish I had done something so none of this would have happened!”

Her husband wrapped his arm around his wife and pulled her close. “Kassie. Don’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could have anticipated this.”

“Where’s Amara now?” Julia asked. “Did the police get her?”

“No,” Truman answered grimly. “She escaped before anyone could catch up to her. For all we know she could be anywhere…” Worry tugged at his heart like a hungry pokemon. The whole story was too much for them to bear. Their first daughter stole a pokemon and brutally injured their second daughter for no reason other than anger and aggression. What had happened to transpire these events?

After a short while, Kassia stopped sobbing and wiped her tears. “Sorry, Jules. This is just too much...I’m at least glad you’re safe…”

“Actually, you should be thanking Hikaru and the gang,” Hikaru introduced her parents to Aqua and Papillon, who chirruped happily in greeting. “If it weren’t for them, Amara might have hurt me a lot worse.”

“Chupi!”

“Maaao!”

“Marill!”

Seeing the cheerful pokemon made smiles appear on Truman and Kassia’s faces. Slowly, Kassia krept down to their level and extended her finger out so they could give her a handshake. Both Aqua and Papillon took her finger and shook it gently, happy to be acquainted with her. “They’re cute. Did you catch them yourself?” Truman asked.

“Yep!” Julia announced proudly.

“You’ll be a great trainer someday. They really seem to like you,” Kassia said, extended her arm out for Papillon to crawl on. Delighted by the invitation, Papillon cooed before crawling up Kassia’s arm, resting on her shoulder and nuzzling her cheek. “Wow. Papillon really likes you, Mom.”

“She sure does!” Kassia let out a giggle as Papillon continued to nuzzle her cheek as though they had been friends forever.

“Mao maooo!” The green caterpillar cooed happily, as the peach fuzz on Kassia’s cheek felt very soft and tender. Perfect for cuddling.

After a while, a doctor came and told her parents that although she sustained some bruising and a laceration on her forehead, she was for the most part fine, and was allowed to go home right this minute. To say Truman and Kassia were relieved would be an understatement. Nonetheless, they were more than happy to take Julia and her three pokemon back home. They still had to give the egg to Professor Elm though. Julia decided to take it upon herself and give the egg to Professor Elm in person, since he asked her to do it. When she got in the lab, she handed it to him without a word.

“Huh?” Professor Elm received the egg, his eyes glimmering with delight upon seeing that it was in tact. “It’s a pokemon egg, and it’s in tact! Thank you, Jules. I heard about what happened from your mother,” He said as he put the egg on his desk. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad the egg’s okay,” Julia replied with a smile. “I heard your totodile got stolen. Sorry. My big sister Amara stole it. She shouldn’t have done that,” In her heart, she knew this wasn’t anyone’s fault but Amara’s. Amara broke the rules and should be held accountable for it. Stealing is wrong. She knew this all too well. Still, she couldn’t help but feel responsible, even though she wasn’t there. She figured the bespectacled professor deserved an answer, especially for what Amara must have put him through.

“It’s alright. It’s not your fault. I should have been more careful,” Professor Elm adjusted his glasses. “Glad to know you’re okay though. Thanks for bringing the egg to me. You rest up, okay?”

“I will.”

With that, Julia and her parents made it home, and the young girl spent the entire day running around in the meadow with Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon. It felt great to be able to run around in the grass, surrounded by pokemon. The wind in her hair, the sun shining down on the meadow, the merry smiles of the pokemon she befriended, this was heaven in her eyes. The laceration on her head didn’t hurt at all no matter how much she played. She did have to go inside after a while, since she needed to rest.

She took her friends to her room and decided to pass the time by reading them her favorite books, or showing them pokemon themed picture books. It felt great to be in her room after a rough day, and with her pokemon by her side, everything seemed fine. However, the sneaky beast called worry began to gradually consume her heart like a hungry pokemon. Amara was out there with that poor totodile, probably hurting it like she did the pokemon she was forced to give up. Journeying with that totodile, breaking the rules, battling other trainers, and who knows what else. Julia was sure her sister would do anything without thought of what her actions could do to both the people and pokemon around her. Some part of her was screaming in her heart to go after her. Give her a piece of her mind. Hold her responsible for everything she’s done for the past year.

An answer finally came to mind. Amara was her sister, and a good sister would let them know what they’ve done. Without another word, Julia stood up and darted down the stairs without thinking to bring her pokemon along. She found her parents in the dining room, sitting at the table with their hands on their heads, and blurted out, “Mom! Dad! I want to go on a journey!”

Truman and Kassia turned to look at their daughter with wide eyes. They saw her balling her fists, pressing her lips together, staring at them with a serious, almost angry expression. “What?”

“You heard me. I want to go find Amara.”

“Whoa. Whoa. Back up now,” Truman stood up and put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Is this about the theft? You don’t have to--”

“But I want to!” Julia shouted. “I want to go on a journey and find Amara! I don’t want to sit here and do nothing while innocent people or pokemon are getting hurt!” The two parents could hear the desperation in her voice plain as day.

Kassia stood up and brushed a hand through her hair. “Julia. Let’s talk about this first--”

“I know why she’s doing this.”

“Huh?”

“I know you don’t think so, but I’m sure it’s my fault Amara did what she did.”

“Julia!” Kassia exclaimed. “Don’t say that.”

“Think about it! I get a pokemon and she doesn’t? Of course she’s gonna get jealous!” Julia exclaimed. Kassia and Truman stopped talking. She had a good point. “She hates me and I know it, and don’t tell me she doesn’t because I…” She wasn’t sure what would be a good answer at this point. “...I-I-I just know it!”

People thought Julia never caught on to things like this. Even Amara thought her sister wouldn’t be smart enough to notice. But Julia did notice. She always did. The dirty looks Amara would give her. The bad things Amara would say about her to her friends or anyone who did or didn’t want to listen behind her back, when they thought she wasn’t listening. The angry faces she would make whenever she saw her parents praising Julia for something, like getting good grades or helping around the house. They all thought she wouldn’t understand. But she did, and it hurt to know about it all. Amara always took the opportunity to blame Julia for anything that went wrong in her life.

“Julia. Calm down a little. This is a matter the police are more than capable of handling,” Kassia told her calmly. “You don’t need to take it so personally. Besides, a journey around Johto is too dangerous anyway.”

“Even so, I still want to go!”

Kassia found herself speechless. What could she say at this point? It was clear her daughter was not going to relent. Thankfully, Truman knew what to say at a time like this. “How about your mother and I talk about this first. We don’t need to rush into things right away. Give us some time to discuss this further. Alright?”

Julia held her head down. She was sure they would say no. But at least it was better than nothing. “Alright,” With that, she went back to her room.

***

A beautiful night draped its long cape onto New Bark Town, embroidering the sky with sparkling, jewel-like stars, crowned by a white crescent moon. Julia slept snugly in her bed, her body warm from the heavy blankets holding her down. Hikaru slept right next to her, with one of her diamond shaped ears rubbing against her trainer’s forehead. Papillon curled up in a curly Q shape on one of her purple pillows, snoring soundly. Aqua slept at the foot of Julia’s bed, her body facing the ceiling, with a snot bubble ballooning out of her black nose.

One of Hikaru’s ears twitched, as a sound woke her from her slumber. She sat up and rubbed one of her weary eyes. She could hear something, as her large ears could pick up even the faintest of sounds. Curious, Hikaru slowly climbed down from Julia’s bed and trotted out of the bedroom. The sound of Hikaru’s pitter-pattering feet woke Papillon from her sleep as well. “Mrao?” Her large eyes weary from sleep, but catching a glimpse of the yellow mouse, Papillon crawled down from the bed and followed Hikaru from behind.

The yellow mouse stopped at the bottom of the steps, watching Truman and Kassia sit on the couch together. Papillon caught up and gently tapped Hikaru on the back, catching her attention. “Mrao mrao?” (“What are you doing?”)

Hikaru turned around, not surprised to find the caterpie behind her. “Pichu chuu.” (“I heard them talking and want to know what they’re saying.”)

Papillon tilted her head to one side. “Isn’t that eavesdropping?”

“I think we should let her go,” Truman said. This stopped Hikaru and Papillon’s conversation as they turned to listen. “She’s clearly old enough to go.”

“I don’t know, Truman…” Kassia replied, her voice peppered with hesitation. “She’s autistic, y’know. There’s so much she doesn’t understand, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

Hikaru tilted her head to one side. “Chuu?” (“Autistic? What does that mean?”) She had never heard that word before, and this was the first time someone described Julia like that. It didn’t sound like anything bad. She figured she could ask Julia about it later.

“It’s too dangerous,” Kassia clasped her hands together, folding them so tight her knuckles turned white. “There’s so much that could happen. If something were to happen...I don’t know what I’d do…”

Truman put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Do you remember what she told us at the hospital?” He asked in a low, gentle whisper. “Her pokemon protected her from Amara and the totodile she stole. That shows how much they care about her. That proves Julia can be a great pokemon trainer someday. She loves pokemon. She treats them like family, like we do. You know that.”

She wanted so badly to contradict him. She wanted so badly to keep Julia here, safe, away from all the bad things that could hurt her. Away from the danger. She was still so young. But Truman had a point. Julia would have been far worse off if her pokemon hadn’t protected her. Perhaps sending her to Mr. Pokemon’s place did some good after all. Even so, when Julia said she wanted something, she would do anything to get it.

“Kassie. I understand what you’re feeling. But maybe this’ll be good for her,” Truman told her reassuringly. “We can’t treat her like glass. She knows about hardship. You and I know this better than anyone.”

“She isn’t good with money. What if someone mugs her?”

“I’ll teach her how to use an ATM. I can go to the bank tomorrow and ask them to make an ATM card for her. Plus...I knew she was going to ask this someday.”

Kassia whipped her head up, eyes wide with surprise. “Huh?!”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been secretly saving a lot of money,” Truman confessed, putting a hand on his wife’s smaller one. “I knew Julia would want to go on a journey someday. I started a savings account for her when she was two, and put money in whenever I had extra. If she ever decided to go on a journey, she could be financially secure and use it for whatever she needed, like for pokemon food and potions. If she decided she wanted to do something else with her life, I’d let her use it for whatever she liked,” Truman shrugged once.

Hikaru and Papillon turned to look at each other. They were confused by all the big words they were using, like ATM and financial and savings. What were all of those, and what did they mean? Was it a human thing? They weren’t sure. “I think I put about $12,947 in the savings account.”

It must be confessed that Kassia almost screamed upon hearing that, but she kept her hands over her mouth so as to stop herself from doing so. She didn’t want to wake Julia up. Truman saved that much? She had no idea. But then again, he was always a good father, and whenever something went wrong or if something was coming up, he would always try to come up with some kind of plan or solution, no matter how far away it seemed to be. To him, having a game plan was important.

“I had no idea…”

“Sorry I kept this from you. Also, you’ve seen how she cares for her pokemon. Even the ones she just caught just adore her. We should let her go on a journey. There’s so much she can learn from going out on her own. We’ll make sure she’s properly prepared. Alright?”

“It’s just...I lost one daughter already,” Truman could tell she was referring to Amara and the things she did. His smile turned down into a frown. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Julia too…” He rubbed her back to console her, but he wasn’t sure if it would help any. Amara was going down the wrong path. He knew it. She knew it. Julia knew it. Despite their efforts, none of them could stop her or rectify her behavior. In a way, he agreed with Julia. He hated sitting here, not being able to do anything but worry about her welfare.

As much as he hated what Amara had done, and as angry as he was for her poor choices, she was still his daughter. Amara was their daughter. He held his head up, looking at the bottom of the steps. That was when he saw Hikaru and Papillon looking at them, not even trying to hide from view. “Look.”

“Chu!”

“Mao!” Hikaru and Papillon scuttled over to them and rubbed their heads against their legs, hoping to comfort them somewhat. Their frowns turned into smiles, and Kassia stretched her arm down to pet Hikaru. Papillon crawled up onto Truman’s leg and sat on his lap.

“You’re darling pokemon,” Truman whispered, stroking Papillon’s green body with his large, rugged hand. “Take care of our daughter. Okay?”

“Mao!” Papillon replied, as she understood perfectly.

***

Over the next week, life in the Parisa house was quiet, even pleasant. Julia’s parents would give her chores to do like usual, such as feed the pokemon in the meadow, wash her laundry, put the dishes in the dishwasher, even clean up their droppings. That was the chore she always hated, but she put up with it, as she knew it would be an important part of being a trainer. One day, out of the blue, Kassia came back from a store.

“Julia? I got something for you,” Kassia announced.

Curious, Julia helped her mother put down the bags and take the stuff out. “What is it?” Her mother went through a bag and pulled out a bright pink bag. It was large, round like a PokeBall, and had a white PokeBall design on the center of it, with a big, black velcro strap supporting it. Julia’s eyes widened with delight as she picked it up, looking through it. There were a lot of secret pockets inside where she could put things in, like PokeBalls and her PokeGear. “Wow! This is wonderful! I love it!” She threw it on herself and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Thanks so much, Mom!”

“I’m glad you like it, because you’re gonna need it.”

Julia held her head up. “What do you mean?”

Kassia took in a breath before announcing, “Your father and I have been talking, and we thought about what you said. We decided that...you deserve to go out on a journey.”

Was she hearing things? Julia was convinced they would never let her go. She put her fingers in her ears and pulled out some wax. Maybe she heard it wrong. They said they’d let her go on a journey. “You’re not pulling my leg, right?”

“Nope.”

They weren’t. She knew all too well her parents would never lie about serious things like this. Just the thought of being able to go on a journey with her pokemon made her let out a squeal. Her eyes widened, sparkling with unbridled joy. “Yay! Yay yay yay yaaaaay!!” Without hesitation, she jumped all around the room. At one point she even spun around in the living room.

“Now now. Calm down a little. We need to prepare so let’s go up to your room,” Kassia suggested.

Julia darted up the stairs faster than anyone could catch up. Her pokemon seemed to sense that she was happy about something, and couldn’t help but be happy right along with her. Kassia decided to help Julia pack up for the journey, and even picked out her clothes. As happy as she was about the journey, however, Julia couldn’t help but be a little miffed at her mother’s insistence on picking out her clothes. The girl was quick to throw in some clean underwear and shorts, hygiene products such as toothpaste, shampoo, a towel, toothbrushes, and all of her trainer essentials.

“Mom. You don’t have to do this for me,” She said. “I know how to pick out my clothes.”

“Sorry, Jules. Mom’s always gotta make sure everything’s a-ok,” She replied sheepishly. Julia rolled her eyes and put some clean shirts in her bag. “Don’t forget to change your under--”

“You know I always do!” Julia interrupted, her face turning red like a tomato. Aqua burst into merry laughter, rolling on the bed like she heard a funny joke. Papillon just sighed, and Hikaru hopped on Julia’s shoulder. “By the way, you said you and Dad are taking me somewhere?”

“Yes. To Cherrygrove’s Pokemon Center.”

“You work there, right?”

“Yes. He said he wants to teach you how to do something before we let you go out.”

It didn’t take much to get prepared, and by the time she was packed, Julia was ready. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls and put them in her pocket. Once they were ready, they drove off to the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove. When they got there, Kassia went off to talk to the Nurse Joy there, and Truman escorted Julia to a small silver ATM.

“You know what an ATM is, right Julia?” Truman asked.

“Don’t you and Mom use these to deposit or withdraw money?”

“Yes. That’s correct. By the way, here’s your very own ATM card,” Truman rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a shiny, lime green ATM card. Julia took it in her hands and examined it.

“Pretty!”

“First, you slide it in that slot right there,” Truman pointed to the card scanner. On cue, Julia slid it through the scanner.

“Welcome to the Automatic Teller Machine,” The silver machine said in a monotone, robotic voice. The screen displayed two rectangle shaped buttons, with the left one reading Withdraw and the right one reading Deposit. “Please state your transaction.”

Julia had seen them use it before, and knew what withdraw and deposit meant, so she used her finger to press the withdraw button. It displayed the current balance along with some numbers. “Please type the amount you wish to withdraw.”

“Withdraw forty dollars,” Truman suggested. “It’ll be enough to buy potions and other items like antidotes and paralysis heals,” He added.

Julia typed in the number forty and pressed the withdraw button. Two twenty dollar bills fell out of a slot underneath the screen, and she was quick to grab them. “Your account has been debited $40. Thank you for your transaction.” With that, the screen went back to normal.

“Wow. That was really cool,” Julia mused to herself, stashing the forty dollars in her other pocket.

“Now, I just want you to know,” Truman began. “This ATM card is very important. You absolutely cannot lose it, nor should you just give it to anyone. It is only to be used in case of emergency. You can use it for trainer essentials, but don’t spend it all in one day, and don’t buy any junk you don’t need. Okay?” The girl could tell he was serious about this, so she nodded vigorously. His smile returned. “Good.”

At this time, Kassia approached them and gave Julia a quick hug. “You be careful out there,” She squeezed her just a little tighter. “Be safe. Call us if you need anything.”

Time away from her parents. Going out all on her own. Julia didn’t have any doubts before, but a tiny mote of it sprang up in her heart. “Okay, Mom.”

“No matter what, we’ll always love you, and you’ll always have a home with us,” Kassia told her. Julia could see a stray tear fall from her eye.

“We’re sure you’ll do great,” Truman said. “Pokemon Centers also function as inns. You can spend the night for free, they let you do your laundry, you can order food there, all that stuff. They’re very convenient.”

Kassia let go of her daughter and wiped the tear away. With a soft smile, she waved to her parents before stepping out of the Pokemon Center. Truman waved right back, watching as his daughter turned the corner. They couldn’t see her anymore. Kassia suddenly sobbed into her husband’s shirt. Without a word, Truman stroke his wife’s back. Neither of them noticed some people in the lobby watching them with confused faces, wondering what the heck is going on.

On the other hand, Julia stopped in the PokeMart. Shelves were lined with all sorts of things a trainer could need. Potions, PokeBalls, ropes, PokeDolls, paralysis heals, antidotes, burn heals, ice heals, even some fresh berries in plastic cartons. There were also things trainers didn’t exactly need, like stickers, plush dolls, fiction books, biographies, etc. One set of stickers caught her eye. They were a variety of shapes, like hearts, stars, tear drops, leaves, etc. They were big enough to write on. She pulled the following off of some shelves: two potions, two sets of stickers, and a mechanical pencil.

“Hello there,” A PokeMart clerk said as Julia put her items on the counter. “That’ll be $5.67,” She handed him a twenty and waited for him to get the change in order. He handed her the change and the items she picked out in a plastic bag. “Have a nice day,” Without a word, Julia darted out of the mart and onto the dirt road.

The same road she used when she went to see Mr. Pokemon. This time, she knew she had to go in a different direction. But for now, she just wanted to enjoy the scenery. She thought her pokemon might like it, too. She pulled out her PokeBalls. “Everyone! Come on out!” With that, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all came out of their PokeBalls.

“Pichu!”

“Mraaaao!”

“Mar mar!”

“Guess what? We’re going to travel all over Johto! Isn’t that great?” She told them as she opened the sticker pack, tearing up the plastic wrap. She pulled the pencil out and wrote Hikaru on the star shaped sticker before peeling it off and placing it on Hikaru’s PokeBall. She did the same with a tear drop sticker and a leaf sticker, putting the former on Aqua’s PokeBall and the latter on Papillon’s PokeBall. “See? I labeled your PokeBalls in case they get lost, so I know exactly which ones are mine.”

“Chuuu!”

Some grass rustled beside her. A young sentret suddenly darted out from the tall grass, looking around apprehensively. Staying silent, Julia held up her PokeDex to check its gender. A blue male sign flashed at the corner. It was a boy. She stood up. “I’m gonna catch it this time. Hikaru, use Sweet Kiss on the sentret over there,” Julia whispered quietly.

Hikaru nodded before blowing a kiss at the sentret. Lofty pink hearts floated over to the sentret. Once they made contact, the sentret found itself wobbling around, unable to move without falling all over itself. Its eyesight blurred and as it tried to walk, it tripped on the dirt and fell face first. Julia pulled out an empty PokeBall. “Go, PokeBall!” With a swing, the PokeBall tapped the sentret once, turning it into red light, sucking it right in.

The PokeBall’s center flashed in a red light, wobbling back and forth. Julia crossed her fingers, praying that it catch it. After a few seconds, the red light vanished, and the PokeBall sat still on the ground. Julia couldn’t help but jump and cheer. “Yay! I got a sentret this time!!”

Her pokemon jumped right along with her. “Pichu pichu!” “Maaao!” “Marill mar!”

Julia kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. She was quick to peel off a white, circle shaped sticker and press it on the PokeBall. Already a name popped up in her head and she was quick to write it down. She wrote Neji on the sticker. Hikaru curiously peered down at the sticker, taking note of the name written on it. “Pichu?”

“Yes. I’m calling him Neji. It means spiral, and sentret tails have a spiral pattern,” Julia explained. “Let’s meet our new friend!” She let Neji out of his PokeBall.

“Sentret?”

“Hi there!” Julia greeted it kindly. “Sorry we scared you back there,” She kneeled down to its level. “Would you like to be our friend?”

Neji gave a soft smile before nodding. “Sentret.”

“You’re gonna be called Neji from now on. Is that okay?”

Neji let out a friendly cry. “Tret sentret!” He let out his arms as if he wanted a hug. Julia gave a sweet smile, happy she made a new friend.

“Hey!” A young boy’s voice suddenly pulled her out of her reverie. Julia stood up, with her pokemon gathering around her protectively, even Neji.

Some grass rustled in the distance. All of a sudden, a young boy popped out from the grass. He looked to be about eight or nine years old, at least a foot shorter than she, with messy brown hair hidden away in a backwards blue baseball cap. The boy was wearing a bright yellow shirt with blue cuffs at the sleeves, blue shorts, and blue and white sneakers. Band-aids dotted his legs, like he had scratched them a lot. As soon as he appeared, Julia froze in place.

“You caught that sentret, didn’t you?” The kid asked in a high pitched, husky boy voice.

“Uhhh...yes?”

“Awwww!” The kid complained, facepalming. “I was gonna catch it!”

“Oh. Sorry,” Julia apologized.

“It’s okay!” The kid exclaimed. “There’s a bunch of them around here, so I can catch another one! Are you a trainer?”

“Uhh...yes. I...I just...started out…”

The kid crossed his arms, examining her with a keen eye. “Yeah, you do kinda look like a newbie,” Julia could tell he didn’t say that with malice in mind, so she didn’t think much of it. But something about him looked familiar. The kid looked down at her pokemon, suddenly noticing Hikaru. “Wow! That’s a pichu! Can I look at your pichu?”

“Sure. Just...be gentle,” Julia told him.

“Wow! That’s so cool!” The kid suddenly hoisted Hikaru in the air with his bare hands. “And it’s a different color, too! Awesome!” Hikaru wriggled out of his grasp and hid behind Julia.

“Chuu!”

“You were a little rough,” Julia said.

“Oh,” The kid scratched his hat. “Sorry about that. I’m Joey, by the way!”

Joey. That was his name. That did sound familiar. He was the kid from the Pokemon Center who was confronted by Amara last week. “I’m...Julia,” She mused shyly.

“Hey! Both our names start with the letter J! Pretty sweet, huh? You got some cool pokemon!” He pulled out his PokeBall, showing it to her like it was a trophy. “Wanna see my super awesome pokemon?”

“Sure?”

“Alright! Come on out, Rattata!” A white light appeared out from the PokeBall, materializing into a mouse shaped animal. The light dissipated, revealing a purple and cream colored mouse with red eyes, big teeth, and a curly tail.

“Rattata!”

Without another word, Julia pulled out her PokeDex to give it a look. “Rattata, the mouse Pokemon,” The PokeDex said in its usual robotic voice. “Rattata are very cautious, even to the extreme. Even when they’re asleep, they constantly listen by moving their ears around. They make their nests anywhere they want, will chew on anything with its fangs, and love to forage for food.”

Aqua waddled over to the rattata and offered its hand out. “Marill mar mar!” Rattata didn’t seem too interested, as it crossed its forelegs and turned around, leaving Aqua confused. “Marill?”

“My dad got him for me,” Joey explained with a cheeky grin, crossing his arms proudly. “He’s the awesomest pokemon around! He’s kinda the only one I have though, but he’s different from other rattata!” Julia took a couple steps away from him. “It’s like he’s in the top percentage of all rattata!”

“You...don’t say…” Julia thought nervously. ‘Man, this kid’s really full of himself. I should really get going,’ She told herself. She took her PokeBalls out and made her pokemon go back inside except for Hikaru. “Well, I have to go now--”

“Hey! Don’t go! How about we have a battle?” Joey insisted.

“A...battle?” Something in her snapped.

Joey simply smiled and rubbed his nose with one finger. “We can battle our pokemon and see whose are the strongest! I’m gonna win, though! You do look kinda--”

Anger boiled over. The blood in her cheeks made them burn, and she clutched the strap on her bag. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly shouted, “Absolutely not!!” Joey stopped talking, and his eyes suddenly widened to the point of looking like saucers. “Do you really think I’m gonna put my precious pokemon through something so cruel and barbaric?!” Even Hikaru was rendered speechless. This wasn’t like her. “I refuse to let you hurt my pokemon, nor should you let your precious rattata get hurt!!”

Her eyes began to blur and sting a little. Joey took a few steps back, as Julia snapped at him so much she scared him a little. She balled her fists as though she wanted to punch him for even suggesting that they have a battle. Memories flashed through her mind. Pokemon attacking each other in a room, breaking glass windows, sending flashes all over. A young Julia hiding in a corner, crying into her fists. A large, shadowy figure shaped like a woman looming over her with angry eyes.

“Pichu?” Hikaru’s sweet voice brought her back to reality. When she saw the fear on his face, she darted away, with Hikaru following her.

“Hey! Wait up!” Joey called out, but she had run too far ahead.

She was only able to run for a short while before panting and resting on a stump near a cave. Hikaru caught up with her, giving her a concerned expression. “Pichu? Pichu pi pichu.”

Julia wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing her eyes shut. “Sorry, Hikaru. I don’t like pokemon battles. I refuse to put you or everyone else through them.”

“Pi?” Hikaru tilted her head to one side, looking confused.

“Because they’re cruel, barbaric, violent, and all they do is hurt you and get you in trouble! That’s why!” Julia snapped.

This didn’t stop some pokemon from popping out of the grass, whether to steal her food or attack her. Sometimes there was no choice, so she would have Papillon come out and use String Shot on them so she could escape without hurting them. Other times, Hikaru and Papillon would act on their own and attack other pokemon to protect her, much to her consternation. At one point, a pidgey swooped down to try and attack Papillon, had she not managed to use String Shot on it in the nick of time.

The good news was, Julia had wanted to catch a pidgey, so this was a blessing in disguise. She threw a PokeBall at the trapped pidgey, and it swallowed it up. When the PokeBall stopped wobbling, she and her pokemon cheered. “Yay! A new friend!”

“Pichu chuuu!”

“Marill!”

Julia looked down at Papillon to find something strange. The little caterpillar was spinning silk around itself while glowing in a soft, white light. “Papillon?” When Papillon was done, she had morphed into a green, crescent shaped shell with a set of eyes looking right up at her. Julia’s eyes glimmered. She knew what this was. “Wow! You evolved into a metapod!” She pulled out her PokeDex.

“Metapod, the cocoon pokemon, and the evolved form of Caterpie. A steel hard shell protects its body from predators, and it silently waits for evolution. They prefer to stay very still as their innards are very soft and tender.”

“Metapod!” Papillon chirruped.

“Wow! You evolved!” Julia scooped Papillon in her arms and hugged her tight. Papillon’s new body felt hard yet cool, and she found this to be quite soothing. “I’m so proud of you! You’re gonna be a butterfree before you know it!”

Papillon closed her eyes contentedly. She had no mouth, so nobody could tell what she was thinking. But they were sure Papillon was just as happy as the rest of them.

***

1. I got the ATM idea from Earthbound. I mean, trainers can't really carry so much money on them, right? They need to store it away or get it from somewhere!
2. Yes, I included Joey. I couldn't resist.

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 4: The Origin of Battling

It had been at least two hours since Julia began her journey, and she only managed to make it as far as the end of the path leading to a cave. Caves were dark and scary, and probably full of dangerous pokemon she wasn’t sure she could handle. Since her legs were getting tired from too much walking, she decided to sit down on a nearby rock and take a break. Her feet were beginning to throb, so being able to stretch her legs out and fold them felt like heaven.

Then a thought popped up in her head. Her pokemon might be hungry by now. She was sure she had a bag of pokemon food stuffed in her new bag. Hikaru sat next to her, happily playing with some tiny rocks that happened to be nearby. She looked down at the PokeBall in her hand, the one she used to catch a pidgey with. She hadn’t had the time to check its gender nor its attacks, but a name hatched in her head already. She pulled out a feather sticker and pressed it on the PokeBall, using her mechanical pencil to write a name on it.

“Tsubasa,” She murmured before nodding. Tsubasa was a name she found on the internet. It was an ancient word that meant wings. What could be better to describe a flying type pokemon? “It’s perfect!” Looking down at Hikaru, she asked, “Hey, Hikaru. Are you hungry?”

Hikaru looked up at her with its usual wide eyed stare, those huge eyes full of youth and curiosity. “Pichu,” Hikaru shook her head, but the rumbling coming from her stomach begged to differ.

Julia stifled a laugh. “It’s okay. I have plenty of pokemon food for everyone,” She pulled out her PokeBalls and let everyone out, including the pidgey she caught. The one she named Tsubasa.

Tsubasa was a small bird pokemon, with cream and light brown fur, fierce black eyes, sharp pink talons, and a matching beak that curled slightly at the end. Julia smiled upon seeing her. Oddly enough, whereas everyone else was still chipper and jovial even from the walking they did, Tsubasa always seemed to have an annoyed expression about her.

“Everyone! I’d like you all to meet the newest member of our family, Tsubasa the pidgey!” Julia introduced her friends to their newest addition. Tsubasa simply turned her head away. “Oh! Sorry! I’m Julia. You don’t mind if we call you Tsubasa, do you?”

“Coo coo,” Tsubasa replied tersely.

“Pichu!” With a bright, welcoming smile, Hikaru moseyed over to Tsubasa and extended a hand out. “Pichu pichu!” She squeaked. Tsubasa gave her a stern, annoyed look, extending one of her wings out before suddenly...slapping Hikaru’s hand away with it. “Chuu!” Hikaru cried, holding her hand. Tsubasa simply turned her head away.

“Hey! That’s not nice!” Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn’t even react. “You should say you’re sorry.”

“Coo!” Tsubasa chirped, turning around in order to avert their gaze.

This was a first. All of the pokemon she dealt with were pleasant and well behaved. Perhaps Tsubasa just needed some time. Some friendships don’t always happen right away, and she knew she would have to deal with some slightly stand-offish pokemon some time. She kneeled down to Hikaru’s level and examined her hand. “Sorry about that, Hikaru. Are you okay?”

“Pichu!”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll bet you’re all hungry, so it’s lunch time now!” Julia unzipped her bag and pulled out a bag of pokemon food. The next thing she needed was something like a bowl to pour it in. She rummaged through her bag once more. All she found her clothes, her PokeGear, her PokeDex, her trainer ID, her ATM card, and other essentials. No bowl. “Oh no! I didn’t get a bowl! Awww!” Julia let out a drawn out groan, kicking herself for her carelessness.

She wished she had gotten one at the PokeMart when she had the chance. The next town over was at least half an hour away on foot, and as much as she’d like to just deal with the hunger herself, she wasn’t sure about her pokemon. Then again, pokemon normally find food for themselves. With a sigh, she opened the bag and poured a small amount of it on the dirt. “I don’t have any bowls, so you’re all going to have to share it,” She told them ruefully. “And don’t eat too much all at once.”

The pokemon gathered around the food, happily chomping it down. She made sure to pour enough for them to eat, but not too much so as to completely empty the entire bag. She knew she had to be frugal and use as little as possible so as to save it for later, in case of dire emergencies. If they could get to the next town, she could get the chance to buy some bowls for them to use and get some food for herself at the Pokemon Center. Her stomach growled with an intense roar, begging for food. She didn’t pack any food for herself, but she figured she could deal with it for a while.

After a while, the pokemon finished eating. Julia could tell they were ready to head out again. “Is everyone ready to go?” Her friends replied with cries and chirrups. Julia flung her bag over her back but noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Tsubasa?”

The pokemon looked around. She was right. Tsubasa was gone. In an instant, a giant hand called worry clasped tight around her heart, trapping it inside and refusing to let it go. “Oh no!” Her hands flew to the sides of her head. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no!” All kinds of horrible scenarios were running through her mind.

What if something happened to Tsubasa? What if she got hurt? Kidnapped? Or even killed by poachers? She had to find her at any cost. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost any of her precious friends.

“Everyone! Tsubasa’s missing and we have to find her! Let’s split up and search the area!” She commanded.

On cue, her pokemon scuttled about the area to look for the pidgey. Even Papillon, who normally sits still, bounced off to try and find the bird pokemon. Julia walked around, calling Tsubasa’s name on foot.

“Tsubasaaaaaa!! Tsubasaaaaa!! Where are you?!” She called and called, but no response.

“Pichuuuuuu!”

“Mariiiiiill!!”

“Sentreeeeeeet!!” Neji stood on his tail like any other sentret would, which helped him see a long way.

For a moment, Julia was sure Tsubasa was gone. All of a sudden, a tornado of wind suddenly spiraled up from a few feet away. It was a gust attack. Hikaru’s diamond shaped ears picked it up. She and Julia ran to the source of the gust. As soon as they got there, the tiny tornado dissipated, revealing a slew of injured pokemon such as rattata, caterpie, a hairy yellow bug with a horn on its head, a giant ladybug, and a small plant with a yellow bell shaped head and a pink mouth.

There was Tsubasa, flapping her wings, letting out a hearty laugh.

“Tsubasa!!” Julia stomped over to the bird with an angry expression. “You didn’t just attack those pokemon, did you?!”

“Coo!”

Julia took that as a yes. “You can’t just go up to random pokemon and attack them like that!”

“Coo coo coo!” (“Yes I can!”)

That statement left her dumbfounded. Did this little pidgey just backtalk her? Already she began wondering if she had a rebellious little bird on her hands. But she needed to keep her cool. A good trainer never let their pokemon walk all over them.

She crossed her arms, stomped her foot once, pointed her finger at Tsubasa, and said, “Tsubasa Parisa! There are rules to being a member of this family, and since I’m your trainer, I make the rules, and it’s your duty to follow them! From now on, you are forbidden from battling any pokemon!”

Tsubasa suddenly flew away right then and there, ascending into the sky without giving Julia time to react. “Hey! Tsubasa! Get back here!” Julia ran after the rebellious little bird. That didn’t go well.

Tsubasa didn’t go very far, as she sat on a tree branch and let out a yawn. The frazzled girl managed to catch up, confused by the little bird’s defiant behavior. “Tsubasa! Please! Why are you acting like this? Am I doing something wrong?”

“Coo coo coo coo!” (“Battling is my life!”)

The girl’s mouth fell agape. Battling was her life, she said. She had suspected there were pokemon who loved battling above all else, but she certainly didn’t expect her own pidgey to be one such pokemon. In all the books she read, pidgey were described as being docile, preferring to avoid battles. To confirm it, she pulled out her PokeDex.

“Pidgey, the tiny bird pokemon. Among all the flying type pokemon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. If at all possible, they usually avoid battles, and they protect themselves by using whirlwind and kicking up sand. They have an extremely sharp sense of direction, and are capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.”

Putting her PokeDex away, Julia looked up at Tsubasa and asked, “Why do you like battling so much? Don’t you get hurt?”

“Coo coo coo!” (“I want to be the strongest pidgey ever! I’m not a puny little weakling!”)

“Nobody said you were,” Julia said. “But I don’t like battles, and I don’t want you or anyone else getting hurt.”

Tsubasa huffed before turning around. “Coo coo!” (“Stupid idiot.”)

“Hey! I heard that! Don’t you take that tone with me, young lady!” Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn’t say a word. All of her pokemon looked at each other with worried looks. This pidgey sure was a tough cookie, and a defiant little thing, too. Julia stomped her foot once. “Fine! Be that way!”

Once again, Tsubasa flew off. This time, she didn’t sit on any branches. “Come on!” Julia whined, stomping her foot again in frustration. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls sans Hikaru and ran into the tall grass. Julia had to wonder if she made a mistake in catching Tsubasa. She could easily see that Tsubasa was too tough to handle at this point, but she didn’t want to give up on her. It had only been a short time since she caught her. Surely, she would come around.

“Yeek!” A girl screeched in the distance. Hikaru led her to the source of the scream. A girl with long, dark blonde hair was aghast, as Tsubasa was pecking her chikorita on the leaf.

Julia’s eyes slammed open. “No! Tsubasa! Don’t do that!” She leaped on the bird and managed to catch her with both hands, pulling her away from the chikorita.

“Is that your pidgey?” The girl asked, her voice a combination of both confusion, fear, and anger.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, she is. I’m so sorry!” Tsubasa flapped her wings and talons, struggling to break out of Julia’s grasp. She was too small to fly right out, and Julia’s hands were tight around her body. “Tsubasa! You do NOT go and attack people’s pokemon like that!” She scolded sternly, like her mother would when she would scold Amara. “Say you’re sorry right now!”

The defiant bird cawed and cooed, still flapping her wings. The bewildered girl’s fear morphed into anger. “Control your pokemon, for Pete’s sake! That thing just attacked my chikorita out of nowhere!” The girl yelled. Julia squeezed her eyes shut and recoiled. She wished she could cover her ears, but they were occupied with Tsubasa at the moment. The girl’s words shot right through her heart. All of a sudden, Tsubasa finally broke free and flew away.

“Tsubasa! Come back! You need to apologize!!” Julia yelled.

The girl made her chikorita return to its PokeBall, crossing her arms before sneering, “Wow. Your own pokemon doesn’t even listen to you. You must be a pretty pathetic trainer.”

Pathetic? Julia couldn’t help but be offended. She turned around and shouted, “It’s not like I wanted her to attack your pokemon like that, and I said I was sorry!” She glanced at a round, blue berry lying by her feet, picked it up, and handed it to the girl with a grunt. “Here’s an Oran berry. They can heal your pokemon’s injuries.”

“Whatever,” The girl walked away without another word.

Julia’s shoulders slumped downward, and she found herself holding her head down, staring at her sneakers. She couldn’t believe that just happened. Tsubasa had attacked someone else’s pokemon for no reason, and Julia was blamed for it. In her heart, she did feel she deserved some blame. Tsubasa was her pokemon, and despite her best efforts to make sure she didn’t do things like this, the pidgey didn’t listen, and didn’t seem to want to. Tsubasa was her responsibility. Still, she felt so berated, so exposed, so attacked. That girl even had the nerve to call her pathetic. What did she know? But it didn’t make what she said hurt any less.

Memories flooded back in her mind. Bodiless hands yanked her chin upward with great force, and her fearful green eyes met the glowing eyes of a mysterious black figure. “You’re pathetic! You’re a bad little girl! Stop whining! You’re selfish! A naughty girl who don’t care about anyone but yourself!” Julia shook her head and put her hands over her ears to block it out, but it didn’t work. Hikaru put a paw on Julia’s leg to reassure her, but the dark yellow mouse could tell it didn’t console her.

She hated it. She hated it so much when they did that. Called her names and made assumptions about her right to her face that weren’t true. Amara calling her stupid and annoying when she wasn’t. That girl telling her to control Tsubasa when she rightfully scolded her for what she did. That girl calling her pathetic when she did everything in her power to rectify the situation. That evil figure calling her selfish, naughty, and bad when she spent most of her life trying to be good, kind, and selfless. She took care of her pokemon. Would someone genuinely selfish and bad really go out of their way to care for their pokemon and treat them like family?

No. No they wouldn’t.

“Pichuuu?” (“You okay?”)

“Sorry, Hikaru,” Julia stroke her little friend’s head gently, happy that she stayed with her. “I’m not a very good trainer, am I?”

The yellow mouse vigorously shook her head in disagreement. “Pichu pichu!” (“No you’re not! You did everything you could! That girl shouldn’t have called you pathetic!”)

At least she had Hikaru and her friends by her side. She forced a smile. “Thanks. I appreciate it,” Julia scooped Hikaru in her arms. “Let’s go find Tsubasa, then go to the next town.”

As it turned out, Tsubasa didn’t go very far. She was in a tree picking berries, namely Oran berries and Pecha berries. Whether it was for herself or for the pokemon, Julia wasn’t sure, and didn’t think to ask. She just pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. Those berries would be very useful for her journey, though. But she didn’t even walk two feet before a piercing screech froze her in place.

“Jigglyyyyy!!”

It was close by, too. “What was that?! A pokemon?!” Julia yelped.

“Pichu!” Hikaru darted into the tall grass, with her trainer quick to follow.

It didn’t take long for them to find the source of the screaming, but it was enough for them to hide in some bushes. A round, pink pokemon with pointed ears and large, round, teal eyes was holding its stubby hands over its head, cowering in fear. A man was looming over it with a long rattlesnake whip, his face contorted with rage. He was wearing a black hat, a matching shirt and pants, and tall grey boots and matching gloves, with a big red R emblazoned on the shirt.

Julia didn’t even bother to pull out her PokeDex. The round pokemon tried to run away, but the angry man grabbed it by the ear, yanking it so hard the pokemon fell on its rear end. It was what he did next that absolutely horrified the two. The man held his hand upward, high in the sky, before dropping it down across the poor pokemon’s cheek with a hard crack. The pokemon wailed after the slap, its large cheek red and stinging from the pain. Julia almost gasped, had she not managed to cover her mouth, but her eyes slammed open with horror.

“That’s what you get for trying to run away, you piece of garbage!!” The uniformed man roared, his eyes gleaming with nothing but anger and hatred. There was no sympathy nor remorse. “You’re mine now, and you do as I say or else you’re gonna get a bullet in your head!”

Something inside Julia snapped. This man was utterly deplorable. Slapping a pokemon across the face, calling it a piece of garbage, and giving it orders, completely ignoring its tears. That was the last straw. As much as she hated pokemon battles, she hated pokemon abusers even more.

“Hikaru! Use Thundershock!!” She shouted.

“Piiii!” Hikaru leaped out of the bushes with a piercing battle cry, dropping a small jolt of lightning down on the uniformed man. Electricity surged through every single vein in his body, grilling him to the bone. This gave the round pokemon the chance to run away upon seeing Julia within its vicinity. Its round eyes overflowing with tears, the round pokemon ran into Julia’s arms.

“Jiggly....”

“It’ll be okay! You’re safe now, little jigglypuff!” Julia stroke its back, crooning in a soft voice so as to not frighten it.

Unfortunately, the thundershock attack wasn’t enough to knock out the man in black. He staggered to his feet, reaching for the holster on his belt. Julia saw a shiny black gun on his belt. Her mind was screaming that guns were bad news, and that she had to run. Now. With Hikaru on her tail, she scooped the jigglypuff in her arms and sprinted for her life.

“Come back here you brat!!” The man screamed, holding out his gun, aiming it right at Julia.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Three gunshots echoed through the area, sending bird pokemon flying out of their nests in fear. None of the bullets hit Julia nor the pokemon, but they were definitely loud enough to make her fall to her knees. Seeing bullet casting right next to her sneaker made her shiver, freezing her in place.

The perfect opportunity for the man to grab her by the hair, preventing her from escape. He yanked on her hair so hard, he could very easily pull some strands out. “Jiggly!” The jigglypuff cried. The man then held his gun right at the shivering girl’s face. Julia found herself looking right down the barrel of a black gun.

“This oughta teach you to mess with me, you brat!” The man howled.

“PICHUUUU!!” With gusto, Hikaru flung herself at the man, managing to knock the gun out of his hand. But it wasn’t enough to completely make him fall to the ground, and she herself was too small to do any great damage.

All of a sudden, one of her pokemon popped out of its PokeBall all on her own. It was Tsubasa, and a very enraged Tsubasa, at that. The tiny bird flapped its wings furiously as she dashed right toward the flustered man, pecking on his head with her beak over and over again.

“Tsubasa! Hikaru!”

“Ow! Owowow! Yeowch! Get off me, you little pest!”

It was then that a young girl of about seven or eight shyly moseyed onto the scene. She had pale blonde hair tied in two small braids with purple bows, and her blue eyes were brimming with nothing but worry. Julia took notice of her. ‘Oh no! If that man gets her, he might kill her!’ She thought.

“My jigglypuff! You brought her back for me?!” The girl yelped.

“Wait. This jigglypuff is yours?” Julia asked.

The little girl nodded. “That mean man took her from me.”

So that was what happened. She put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You and jigglypuff go somewhere safe. It’s too dangerous.”

“I already called the police,” The girl told her.

“That’s good!” Julia exclaimed. Her parents must have taught her to do that. That was when they noticed a shadow flying over them.

Silver and red wings reflected the sun’s bright rays, blinding the man into holding a hand over his face. Cold steel clamped down on the man’s back, pinning him to the ground. Looking up, he saw a large, silvery white bird, wings outstretched, staring down at him with shining yellow eyes like those of a predator ready to consume its prey.

“Skaaaaaar!!” The bird roared into the man’s face, scaring him into submission.

A police car wheeled onto the scene, sirens flashing a ghostly red and blue. The driver’s door came open, and out came a blue haired man in a deep blue policeman's uniform, the golden badge on his breast reflecting the sunlight. Hand cuffs in hand, the man walked over to the large silver bird and placed a hand on one of its wings with a smile.

“Good work, Skarmory,” He mused.

“Skarr!”

He looked down at the frightened man with a stern look. “As for you…” He wasted no time kneeling down and slapping the handcuffs on the man. “You’re under arrest,” He gestured for skarmory to let him go now that he was handcuffed. The man pulled him up, dragged him to the police car, pulled a door open, and threw him inside. Another police officer came out from the passenger seat.

“Great job, Falkner!” The man exclaimed.

“Thanks. You can take it from here, Sargeant,” Falkner replied gratefully.

With a nod, the man went in the driver’s seat and pulled away from the scene with the prisoner in his custody. The car disappeared into the distance. Julia looked down and noticed the jigglypuff, gently escorting her back to her trainer.

“I believe this is your pokemon?”

“Yay!” The little girl hugged her jigglypuff cheerfully, relieved to have her back. “Thank you, miss!”

“You’re welcome.”

The jigglypuff took the girl’s hand, and the two skipped away from the woods, happy to be together again. The little girl’s smile was radiant, and that prompted a smile to tickle Julia’s face. She turned to face Falkner and his skarmory. She pulled out her PokeDex to check out his skarmory.

“Skarmory, the armor bird pokemon. In ancient times, people used to hunt them for their feathers, using them to make swords. Even though it's clad in armor and its wings look heavy, they are actually very hollow and light, and they can fly at a speed of 180 miles per hour.”

“That’s a PokeDex, right?” Falkner asked, putting a hand on his hip. “Did Professor Elm give that to you?”

“Ah!” Julia shoved her PokeDex back into her bag, her face turning red like a tomato. “Y-Y-Y-Yes…” She mused shyly. If there was one thing she didn’t like, it was being put on the spot. But he did save her and the little girl from that man, after all. “Th-Thanks for helping us back there…”

Falkner pulled skarmory back into its PokeBall, putting it on his holster. “I’m the chief of police. It’s my job to help those in need,” He said in a low but smooth, rich voice. Upon closer inspection, Julia couldn’t help but assume he looked to be in his very late twenties. But he said he was the chief of police. Weren’t police chiefs supposed to be older than that?

“Coo coo coo!” Tsubasa rested on Julia’s shoulder, cooing.

Julia gave her a stern look. “No, Tsubasa! You’re not battling him and that’s final!”

“Coo coo!” Tsubasa snapped back.

“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady!”

Falkner scratched his blue hair, tilting his head to one side. “You won’t let your pokemon battle?”

“No. I don’t like pokemon battles. They’re cruel, and I can’t stand seeing pokemon get hurt,” She replied matter-of-factly.

“Wow. You’re the first trainer I ever met who hates pokemon battles,” Falkner said. “It seems your pidgey likes battles. Did you just catch her recently?”

“Yes. She’s a bit of a handful, though,” Julia replied.

“You know…” Falkner pointed to a town just down the road. “You’ve probably had a long day. Violet City’s just down this road.”

Violet City. As soon as she heard that name, Julia found herself tensing up like she heard a swarm of beedrill coming her way. ‘No way! Violet City?! No! No no no no no no no!! Anywhere but that!!’ She scrambled through her bag to pull out her PokeGear. There had to be another town nearby. There just had to be. She looked at the map function on her PokeGear. Much to her dismay, Violet City was the only town that was close by. Everywhere else was just too far.

“Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I was kinda hoping I wouldn’t go there…”

Falkner shrugged. “I can escort you there, if you like.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

As much as she hated where she was going, she knew she and her pokemon had to rest. It would be bad if she stayed out in the wilderness and her pokemon got sick and tired. Knowing she had little choice, she followed Falkner down the road to Violet City. Thankfully, it only took them a few minutes to get there, and it was still light out. Julia checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 2:30 PM. She couldn’t believe it. Had she really spent so much time between Cherrygrove and Violet? Her stomach roared, begging for food. Falkner heard it, but didn’t say anything, as he didn’t want to be rude.

Finally, they made it. Violet City was bigger than Cherrygrove, but still had its own kind of character. All of the buildings were made of greyish brown stones, even the Pokemon Center and the PokeMart, giving them an old, historic air about them. A tall, three-tiered tower stood at the far end of town, towering above everything else as though it were boasting about how it could touch the sky. But the building that caught Julia’s attention was a large school building.

The big stone sign on the front read Pokemon Academy, Grades K-12. Pokemon Academy itself was a large building going almost two stories high, still dwarfed by the large tower, with deep purple roofing. At the top of the roof was a large, bronze bell that stood still and dormant, not making a sound. Surrounding the school were several smaller buildings with mahogany roof tiles and stone walls. Some small, fluffy trees were planted in some gardens dotting the school grounds. On the left was a pokemon battlefield, with the white pokeball emblem right in the middle.

Julia cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. She could already smell the old, stony scent of the classrooms and hear voice she wished she didn’t have to hear again. “Chuu? Pichu?” Not even Hikaru’s sweet, comforting voice could pull her out of the nightmare. The bodiless figure from before came back with a vengeance. A hand reached out to grab her.

“Miss? You’re crying. What’s wrong?” Falkner’s voice made the hand dissipate. Julia’s eyes slammed open, and the first thing she noticed was that her cheeks were wet. Wet with tears. She stroke her left cheek with her finger, noticing the tears.

“Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s okay. Would you...like to talk about it?” Falkner pointed to some rocks a few feet away.

Julia shook her head. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she didn’t bother to brush them out of her face. “Alright then. My gym is over there. If you ever want to battle me, you’re more than welcome to--”

“How can you say that?!” Julia suddenly shouted out of nowhere. Falkner took a step back, his blue eyes wide with surprise. “How can you be okay with making your pokemon hurt other trainers’ pokemon?! Do you want them to get hurt?! I don’t know how you people can be okay with...battles!” She spat out the word like it was too terrible to say. “They’re cruel, barbaric, and...all they do is make trouble and hurt the pokemon involved!!” The tears wouldn’t stop.

The chief of police didn’t say a word. He felt she deserved to let her feelings out. Even Tsubasa was silent, listening intently. “I refuse to put my pokemon through such a cruel practice. Why would you even think of putting your pokemon through that?”

“You think battling is cruel?”

The girl squeezed her fists. “Yes. I do.”

Silently, Falkner sat down on a rock. “Can I ask why you hate pokemon battles? You...cried when we passed by the school.”

Julia didn’t even turn around to look at the school. The sight of the purple roof, those stone walls, the bronze bell...all of it made her sick to her stomach. “I...I used to go to that school. In second grade. But my parents pulled me out of there. A teacher was being cruel to me.”

“A teacher?”

She nodded. “I think her name was Mrs. Amoretto. She was really mean. She’d yell at me for no reason, even when I wasn’t doing anything and when I was doing everything she said, and my parents said she made me cry a lot,” She explained. “But...one day, this one kid went into a room where they kept a lot of PokeBalls. He wanted to use the pokemon and battle, even though he wasn’t supposed to. He wasn’t even supposed to be in there. When they didn’t listen, he would stab them with sticks and yell at them. I tried to make him stop, but he wouldn’t listen. All of a sudden, the pokemon went completely berserk, throwing attacks at each other like crazy.”

The memories were vivid in her mind. Four large pokemon were shooting beams of light, flames, and lightning bolts at each other. One beam of light shattered the glass windows, sending shards scattering across both the floor and the area outside the windows. A big white seal with a horn on its head slammed against the walls, sending PokeBalls rolling on the floor. A white and red dog-like pokemon spewed flames all over. A young Julia huddled in a corner for safety, and she could do nothing but shiver and cry. Glass breaking, pokemon howling, people screaming...it was all too much for her to bear. It sounded as though there were continuous explosions raging all throughout the building, and the heat of the flames kept her in place.

“My goodness…” Falkner said, eyes wide from listening to the story.

“Mrs. Amoretto and other teachers came and stopped it. But the kid claimed I did it. I tried to tell them that it wasn’t me, that it was his fault, but…I couldn’t talk very well back then, from what Mom and Dad told me, and...” Her expression went dark and she looked down at her feet. “Mrs. Amoretto...believed him.”

The feelings from that day returned in full force. Her humiliation. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. But for the second grader, organizing all of that into a form everyone could understand was impossible. She remembered the rage on Mrs. Amoretto’s face. Her pearly white teeth clenched together, her sharp eyes, her loud, shrill, husky voice that still made her eardrums feel like they were being torn to shreds, her stinging hands going across her face when she cried after scolding her. She knew for sure: Mrs. Amoretto hated her. She took the other kid’s side and blamed her for everything.

“She yelled at me, telling me I was a bad kid, a troublemaker, selfish, naughty, all that stuff that wasn’t true. I tried to run out of the room, but she kept trying to pin me to the floor. She even hit me a few times when I cried,” Julia continued. “Other teachers stopped her and called my parents. They were really angry. After that, they took me out of school and I never went back there again. I went to a different school in Cherrygrove.”

“I see…” Falkner was at a loss for words. Oddly enough, he didn’t look surprised. Tears came pouring out from Hikaru’s eyes. With a cry, the yellow mouse crawled up to Julia’s shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. A smile returned to her face, but the sadness was still there. Tsubasa said nothing.

Falkner smiled. “She’s wrong. Your pichu clearly cares about you, and I’m sure you’ve been a good trainer to your pokemon.”

“I try to be,” Julia said, stroking Hikaru’s ear. “I love pokemon. I understand them better than I do people. I know this is hard to believe, but...I can actually understand what they’re saying.”

“Really? Prove it.”

“Pichu pichu chupi!”

“Hikaru says she saved me from a swarm of beedrill once.”

“So the rumors are true…”

“Huh?” Julia noticed the tone he used. It was low, like he was implying he knew something.

Falkner stood up, putting a hand on his hip. “It’s been a while...Julia Parisa.”

“Huh?!” She took two steps back, her green eyes slamming open. “H-H-H-How do you know my name?! We...we never even met!”

The blue haired man let out a chuckle. “Actually...you may not remember, but I was there when the incident happened.”

“You...you were?!” She had no idea. She tried looking through her memories to see if he was there. Nothing came up...except for a set of voices. One was Mrs. Amoretto’s. The other one was...Falkner’s.

“Stop! Don’t restrain her! You’re making it worse!”

“She’s my responsibility and I have to discipline her! I told you she was a naughty little troublemaker!!”

“If you think hitting her and screaming at her is going to solve anything, then you’re not fit to be a teacher!!”

It all came so suddenly. She sat down on the rock next to him, losing herself in her memories. “It was Police Appreciation Day at the school that day. I was invited to talk to your class. I even showed you and the other kids my Pokemon. You said that my hoothoot’s favorite food was brown rice. You wanted so badly to play with my pokemon.”

“Did I really?”

Falkner nodded. “I was also the one who saved you from the pokemon duking it out. You were in a corner crying. You were so scared, you were practically shivering.”

“I...I had no idea…”

The blue haired man looked up at the sky. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen. A perfect blue sky. “I arrested Mrs. Amoretto on the spot.”

“What?”

Falkner stood up from the rocks, crossing his arms. “It’s against the law for a teacher to hit, restrain, or mistreat a student, no matter the reason,” Memories of putting the woman in handcuffs and escorting her to the police car played through his mind. Mrs. Amoretto kept ranting and raving about how she was trying to rectify Julia’s so-called bad behavior, but he wasn’t having any of it.

The girl next to him smiled. “I agree.”

“I’m sorry it turned out that way, and I apologize on her behalf.”

“It’s okay. I...I don’t remember much of it, but...thanks...for at least being there.”

Falkner turned around to face her. “It’s okay to dislike pokemon battles. There are many people who prefer living with pokemon and not going on journeys at all,” He closed his eyes. “However, you may think pokemon battles are cruel, but they actually aren’t. Come with me.”

Gesturing for her to come with him, Julia stood up and followed him. It wasn’t hard to figure out that they were heading to one of the buildings next to the school. Julia found herself shivering. Although she was happy that Mrs. Amoretto got arrested for what she did, it didn’t make coming here any less painful. But she didn’t want to make a scene, and she knew that Falkner wasn’t trying to be cruel, so she decided to be silent. They walked into a small library. There were shelves full of books, from top to bottom, very neatly organized.

“Oh! Good afternoon, Chief Falkner!” An old lady with thick glasses greeted him kindly.

“The same to you. Do you have a copy of The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles?” Falkner asked, pulling out a black library card.

“Hmmm…” The old librarian put a hand on her chin, losing herself in thought. “We have a few copies. Hold on just a moment,” She went into the back of the counter, digging through some books. “Ah! There we go!”

She came back to the counter, handing Falkner a very old book. The title read The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles in gold letters. The cover was made of brown leather, and the corners were folded and floppy. Upon further inspection, the pages were old and yellow, with some parts having been ripped, but not too a point where any pages were missing or unreadable. Falkner handed the librarian his card and she scanned it, along with the book.

“Here. It’s due back in two weeks.”

“Thank you.”

With that, he and Julia left the library. He suddenly turned around and handed her the book. “You should read this. It details how pokemon battles came to be and why they’re so commonplace,” Julia found herself dumbfounded, giving Falkner a confused expression. He rented a library book for her to read? Nobody had ever done that for her before. But she figured it’d be rude to reject his offer, so she took the book, holding it in her hands. Despite its old age, it was heavy on her hands, like a big rock.

“It’s one of my favorite books. I think you’ll like it. Of course, if you don’t want to read it, that’s fine, too,” He said. “My gym is just over there,” He pointed to a big stone building next to the PokeMart.

“Gym…” She had read about pokemon gyms in books. “You’re the gym leader, right?”

“Yes. If you ever want to battle, my gym’s always open from eight AM to two o’clock noon. Also, see that tower over there?” He pointed to the large tower at the end of town.

“Yeah.”

“That’s called Sprout Tower. Many trainers train their pokemon there, and the sages there are experts in battling,” Falkner explained. “They see battling as a way to connect with their pokemon. If you want, you should stop by. They may teach you a thing or two about battling that may help you a lot.”

Battling as a way to connect with pokemon...Julia wasn’t sure what to make of that. She had always convinced herself that battling was cruel, barbaric, violent, and did nothing but hurt people and pokemon. She couldn’t picture battling being anything else. But the book she held in her hands detailed the history of battling. Maybe she could read it and learn something from it.

“I’ll think about it,” She answered. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome.”

***

Night fell once more, and Julia had checked into a Pokemon Center, staying at their inn for the night. She laid down on her assigned bed, reading the book Falkner gave her intensely. The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles. The lamp’s light was dim, but still bright enough for easy reading. Aqua, Papillon, Neji, and Tsubasa slept in another bed, all letting out contented sighs and snores. Hikaru, on the other hand, stayed up with Julia, also engrossed in the book despite not being able to read human language.

Julia was engrossed. Not once did she take her eyes off of the book and its dusty, yellow pages. The book began with discussing how pokemon used to fight violently over territory, food, dominance, etc. Their battles would be so violent and so intense that people would end up getting caught in the crossfire. Towns and livelihoods were destroyed, people and pokemon were killed, and they left nothing but destruction in their wake. The pokemon would always kill each other over anything. Understandably, humans got sick of this, and tried to brainstorm ways to rectify the problems the pokemon were causing.

After months of discussion, they came to a potential solution: capture and tame the pokemon and temper their powers to a manageable level. Since there were no PokeBalls back in ancient times, the humans had to resort to measures such as catching them with nets and traps. They had no prior experience with pokemon, so they learned everything through trial and error. Sometimes, pokemon still went after each other, even for no reason, and some pokemon just refused to do anything except attack others. This didn’t stop them from trying.

Some people saw it from a different perspective. Instead of forcing the pokemon to contain their powers, they decided to intentionally pit them against each other, not to kill each other, but just have them let it all out and harness their powers in ways that can be used to benefit humanity and the pokemon. This was the very first pokemon battle ever recorded in history. As it turned out, pokemon battles could be viewed as a sport that would result in monetary gain, and the earliest pokemon trainers domesticated their pokemon and harnessed their powers enough to pit them against each other. Pokemon battles turned out to be a worldwide success, and with all the money they gained from it, the trainers used it to buy things that could restore their towns back to their original states, such as food, lumber, building materials, furniture, etc.

Pokemon battling singlehandedly saved pokemon from killing each other in cold blood. Instead, battles ended when a pokemon was too tired to go on, and killing was outlawed, with indecent battlers either being arrested for a year or fined huge sums of money if a pokemon died in battle under their jurisdiction. Forests, rivers, and lakes returned in full force. Towns and the livelihoods of people managed to be rebuilt. Humans found a way to coexist alongside pokemon, and ever since then, battling became a staple of becoming a pokemon trainer.

“Wow…” Julia gently closed the book shut, placing it on the pillow next to her. “I had no idea pokemon used to be so vicious. So that’s how battling came about…”

“Pichuu…”

Reading that book made new ideas sprout in her head. She always hated battling because she couldn’t bear to see pokemon get hurt. But battling was created to keep pokemon from hurting and killing themselves and others. In today’s world, battling was tame compared to back then. Perhaps Falkner was right. Maybe battling does have its benefits.

She sat up in her bed, not thinking to turn off the lamp on the nightstand next to her. “Hikaru. Would you like to go to Sprout Tower with me tomorrow?” She asked.

Hikaru tilted her head to one side. “Pichu?”

“We’re going to battle the trainers there. I...I want to see their perspective on battling,” Julia replied. “Maybe...maybe they can help me not hate battles anymore…”

“Chuu!” Hikaru leaped into Julia’s arms with a chirrup, which told Julia all she needed to know.

***

Julia: Pichu (Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Metapod (Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot, Harden), Sentret (Male, Bashful Nature, Quick Attack, Scratch, Defense Curl, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack)

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 5: Seeing Battles From a New Perspective

Falkner sat in his office with his eyes glued to the screen, his fingers dancing across the keyboard faster than even he could see. Letters formed on the email he was planning to send to the mayor of Violet City. The email detailed a proposal to make officers attend training classes on how to deal with people with autism, whether they’re the victims of a crime, perpetrators, or just people who have wandered away from their caretakers. His fingers stopped typing as he moved the mouse on the bird themed mousepad, dragging the cursor to the send button.

Click! Off went the email. Falkner smiled with a twinge of hope in his eyes. He hoped this proposal would be put into place. After all, it was his job to make sure Violet City was crime free, but even he knew that even police officers were prone to going against what they’re supposed to do. Falkner could never turn his back on a crime taking place. Whether it was someone littering or someone attempting to slaughter many people, he considered it a sin to turn his back on those in need, even when the fight was nearly impossible to win.

Especially that day, when he had to arrest that teacher right in front of many children.

Julia Parisa...he sure didn’t expect her to turn up again. How she had grown. She was only a small girl when he first met her. A shy, reserved, but still sweet young girl. But the memories of her remained in his memory...and he knew why. The events that transpired that day had changed his views on justice forever, and his view on teachers.

He had always respected teachers. They were the ones who would pass their knowledge down to the next generation. The ones he grew up with had always been kind, helpful, and more than willing to deal with any child, no matter their race, social class, or even whether they had disabilities or not. He hadn’t been to school since his days in the police academy, but the teachers he learned from had been nothing but good to him and others he knew. To the young, idealistic Falkner, teachers deserved all the respect in the world.

What happened to make a teacher resort to not only singling kids out among their peers, but berating them, hitting them, and deeming them hopeless without even trying to understand them or get the whole story? The memory of Mrs. Amoretto’s treatment of little Julia made him sick just thinking about it. But in his heart, he was happy he had been there, otherwise everything might have turned out far worse.

Falkner picked up the cordless phone next to him. He punched in some numbers and held the phone to his cheek. The phone rang three times before someone answered.

“Hello?” The husky voice of an old man answered the phone.

“Elder Li? It’s Falkner.”

“Ah! Young police chief Falkner!” Li exclaimed, his voice brimming with delight. “This is quite unexpected! You haven’t called in months. I suppose you are busy with your work.”

“I am, but it’s worth it. How is everything at Sprout Tower?” Falkner asked as he looked through some papers.

“Everything’s going very well, sir,” Li replied, his tone of voice having lowered somewhat. “The sages have dealt with some fine trainers. I myself have been defeated by a few. Sometimes defeat can be a good thing. After all, failure is what paves the path to success if one is willing to walk on it.”

Falkner let out a chuckle. “When did you get so preachy?” The sages of Sprout Towers had always been diligent in their ways, teaching philosophical concepts to new trainers, sometimes with success and sometimes not so. But he had always respected their philosophies, and wished more people would abide by them. Life would be so much better that way. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m calling. Have you...ever battled any trainers who said they hated battling?”

There was a brief pause. “Hmmm...I’ve met a few back in my day. But that was long ago.”

“Did any of them think that pokemon battles were cruel and barbaric?”

“Not that I can remember, no. Actually, no, I’ve never met trainers who thought pokemon battles were horrible,” Li replied. “I certainly can’t imagine why one would think so.”

“The reason I asked is that I met a new trainer who loathes battling with her whole being, and I think she may benefit from learning about your views on battling,” Falkner explained.

“I see…”

“Does the name Julia Parisa ring a bell?”

“Is that the girl who was being abused by that teacher some years ago? My goodness. I can’t imagine why or how a teacher could do such a terrible thing. It’s a good thing you arrested her.”

“Yes. Clearly, Hester Amoretto could learn a thing or two from you,” Falkner told him sarcastically. “Anyway, she’s grown up now. I told her to go to Sprout Tower and learn about your perspective on battling. If she doesn’t come, that’s fine, but in the event that she does of her own volition…” He paused for a brief moment, thinking about everything she had said to him the night before. “...Will you show her a new perspective on battling? She has a pichu for a partner, and said pichu has a darker coloring than normal pichu.”

There was a brief pause. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll let the other sages know. What does she look like?”

“She’s about eleven I think, with short dark brown hair and green eyes,” Falkner explained. “I’m not expecting her to drop everything she knows right off. Even I know that’s not realistic. But…” He gripped the phone tightly. “...I want her to at least know that battling isn’t about senseless violence or hurting pokemon.”

“I get what you mean. Many trainers I’ve encountered battle for the thrill of it,” Li told him before clearing his throat. “Some trainers think battling is all about fighting and winning and losing. But it’s not as simple as that. It’s a good thing the Federation set strict laws on battling, otherwise things would be far out of control. People like you are also in part to thank.”

Falkner smiled. “I just want to make the world a better place. That’s all there is to it. Thank you for hearing me out, Elder Li,” He said, glancing at a photo on his wall. It showed an old man dressed in a dark blue monk outfit standing next to Falkner in the middle of a park full of people. The two of them were holding small gold trophies in their hands. If one looked hard enough, the engravings on the trophies read ‘For Doing a Great Service To Violet City.’ A white pokemon with red and white markings on its body fluttered next to Falkner, flashing a wide smile brimming with unbridled joy.

“You’re doing enough as it is, Falkner,” Elder Li told him reassuringly with a slight cough. “I’ve never met anyone else who has done so much for Violet City as you have. By the way, how’s your wife?”

A small hoothoot fluttered over to Falkner’s desk with a hoot. “You mean Jenny? She’s doing well. She’s nine months along. We’re going to the hospital next week for the delivery,” He replied. “My father’s watching her for now in case anything happens.”

“My my. That’s wonderful. I’m sure you two will be great parents,” Elder Li exclaimed joyfully.

“I’ll let you go now. Okay? I have some papers I need to go through. I’ll see you later,” Falkner pressed the END button on the phone, putting it back on the receiver.

“Hoothoot!” The hoothoot hooted, catching its trainer’s attention. Falkner smiled and stroke its head gently. Basking in its trainer’s affection, the hoothoot then hopped off the desk.

Falkner looked down at the pile of papers before him, taking a pen and writing some things down. However, the memories of that day replayed in his mind like a tape recorder. Vivid and clear as day.

(flashback)

Falkner stood before a classroom full of children, dressed in full uniform. A young teacher with short, cropped, scraggly light brown hair stood next to him with her arms crossed, wearing a bright yellow office suit consisting of a jacket over a white blouse, a long skirt going down to her knees, dark brown stockings, and black high heels. Freckles sprinkled across her long nose, and she stared at the children with a severe, austere expression, like she dared any one of them to disrupt Falkner’s lecture about his job.

Even he couldn’t help but notice that something felt...wrong about the teacher standing next to him. She gave off a stern, domineering air that seemed to make him feel as though he were being put on the spot. There was no warmth in her expression or being. Something nagged at him, telling him that something was wrong. But he had to focus on his lecture. After all, today was Police Appreciation Day, and the Pokemon Academy invited him here, so he couldn’t break the trust the school had with him.

As he talked about the good and bad of his job, he kept facing the classroom of children before him. There were about twenty kids aged seven or eight sitting at their desks. One little boy was stuffing his finger in his nose and eating the snot. Two girls were looking out the windows they sat next to. Another boy’s eyes were barely closed, and he kept bobbing his head up and down as though he were trying to keep himself from falling asleep. It didn’t help that drool was trickling out of his mouth, right down to his chin. A purple haired boy kept flinging his legs back and forth.

One boy raised his hand. “Yes?”

“Do you ever shoot anybody?” The boy asked.

“Well, our job is mostly to try and talk to people,” Falkner explained. “To make sure they do the right thing and don’t hurt anyone in the process. It’s not always easy.”

Another boy raised his hand. “Yes?”

“Is the gun in your belt real?”

“Yes. Very real, bullets and all. They’re very dangerous if not used carefully.”

“Do you beat people up?”

Falkner’s cheeks burned. He couldn’t believe these kids were so obsessed with asking about nothing but the violence. What were their parents teaching them? He tried to keep his composure. “Being a police officer isn’t about beating people up. There are times when we have to resort to force when the criminals are being uncooperative. It’s not like we like resorting to it, though.”

He did notice one little girl sitting in front, with her hand high in the air. She had short brown hair and green eyes, and was wearing a purple sweater, black jean pants, and pikachu themed sneakers. “Yes? Do you have a question?”

“Um…” The girl’s face was red. “...Do you...ever get scared?”

“Scared?”

“I mean…” The girl stammered, looking down at her feet. “You arrest bad people, right?” She sounded as though she were trying her best to form her words correctly, from the way she kept pausing in between every word. “Aren’t you scared...that the bad guys might hurt you? Kill you? Afraid that you won’t...see your Mom or Dad or wife or kids or pokemon ever again?”

The gym leader found himself speechless. Nobody had ever asked him a question like this before, let alone a girl of such a tender age. He had considered the possibility, but he never let it scare him. Everyone he talked to about his two careers--gym leader and police officer--had always been supportive of his choice, and never tried to persuade him to try something different. Perhaps they had thought about the dangers, but didn’t want to discourage him. In fact, nobody discouraged him from doing what he wanted. Not only that, she sounded as though she was very concerned for Falkner’s well being. She didn’t ask about violence or beating someone up--she asked about whether he was scared.

Falkner’s heart grew soft, melting from the question. With a sad smile, he answered, “Yes. I do get scared. I think about my family and my pokemon every time I’m out on the field. Sometimes I even think about giving up. Sometimes I thought...I might die today. But...I know that if I let my emotions and fears get the better of me, the bad people will get away or do what they want, and people will get hurt or even die if I don’t act quickly enough. I choose not to let my fears take control of me for that reason. I have to do what’s right by Violet City, even if I’m scared, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Right as he finished, the bell rang, and all of the kids dashed out of the classroom with squeals and screams, happy to finally be out of that stuffy classroom. The teacher had gone out as well. Falkner was about to leave as well, but a tiny hand pulled on his sleeve. He looked down to find the girl who asked the last question, looking up at his policeman’s hat with her green eyes. He kneeled down to her level.

“That was a nice question you asked just now,” Falkner told her kindly. The little girl averted his gaze, not looking him in the eye. He didn’t pay it any mind. “Nobody ever asked me that before.”

The girl fell quiet.

“Is something wrong?”

“...M-M-My mom and dad said...that if someone’s doing...something bad...I have to tell a policeman…”

“That’s good. Is someone doing something bad?”

He could tell she wanted to tell him something. She kept balling her fists and pressing her lips. “You can tell me.”

“You won’t get mad?”

“Now why would I be mad?”

Finally, she said it. “Mrs. Amoretto...she hits me sometimes.”

“Hits you?”

The girl nodded grimly. “I do everything she says...and follow the rules...but she gets mad and yells and...says I’m a bad kid. I don’t get it.”

Falkner found himself speechless. He just couldn’t imagine a teacher hitting a child. “When I spell something wrong, she tells the whole class and they laugh. She tells me I’m stupid and dumb…when I told her Billy was cheating off of Allison, she got mad and said I was cheating…” She rolled up her sleeve to show him a large bruise. “She...hit me with a ruler...five times.”

Five times?! The police officer almost lost his balance. How could a teacher do something like this? Then again, why would someone like that even condone it? He had no idea. “Did you tell your parents?”

“I tried, but…” The girl looked down at her feet. “Mrs. Amoretto says I can’t. She says...they’ll think I’m lying and won’t...believe me. I’m scared.”

She had every right to be. The bruise was proof enough. Falkner put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me this. I’ll see what I can do. Don’t worry,” Falkner told her reassuringly. “I’ll make sure Mrs. Amoretto doesn’t hit you or bully you ever again.”

The girl’s lips curled upward into a bright smile. “Really?”

He nodded. “Really.”

“Julia!” Speak of the devil, Mrs. Amoretto came stomping back into the classroom. “Recess has already started! Don’t be badgering Falkner with your nonsense!” She grabbed the girl by the arm and escorted her out of the classroom. “Now scat!” Julia ran out onto the blacktop.

Falkner glared at the woman. She just grabbed the girl and forced her out like she was causing trouble. As far as he knew, it was against the rules to lay a hand on a child like that. “I’m sorry, Falkner. That girl’s one of my more troublesome students in my class.”

“Troublesome?” This was his chance to get information. No way was he going to let it get away.

“My goodness, she’s terrible!” Mrs. Amoretto complained in a scratchy voice. “Her parents go on and on about how she has autism and that she needs certain accommodations, but if you ask me, I think they’re just coddling her, spoiling her rotten, and just plain not disciplining her correctly!” She kept on shrugging her shoulders and talked as though she were a teenage girl whose parents wouldn’t let her have a car rather than a school teacher.

He was no expert on autism, but he knew plenty of people who had autistic kids, and they always told stories about how wonderful they were. Not only that, Julia didn’t look or act like the troublemaking type. If she had the courage to tell him about Mrs. Amoretto, then she was anything but naughty. In fact, just listening to this woman made him feel like he was being suffocated.

“I swear, all that kid does is cause trouble!” Mrs. Amoretto continued on. “She keeps complaining and whining how she doesn’t understand stuff. It’s her own fault for not paying attention or putting in any effort. In fact, just last week she started screaming out of control, and I had to lock her in the next room for two hours!” Falkner’s hand flew to his mouth to keep himself from gasping. In his mind, she was basically confessing to using excessive force on a child.

“It sounds like you’re rather harsh on her,” Falkner said, with a twinge of contempt in his voice.

Mrs. Amoretto didn’t even notice. “Of course! I have to be! Naughty kids like her won’t get anywhere in life without strict, proper discipline! That’s basically why I became a teacher, because parents these days just let their kids run wild and don’t rectify their bad behavior! I won’t raise a generation of slackers and potential criminals. You should know. You’re a police officer,” Falkner cringed upon hearing her say it like that. “Your job is to keep criminals off the street and discipline them.”

‘You seriously consider beating a kid with a ruler five times and locking her in a room for two hours discipline?!’ His instincts were screaming at him to strangle this woman. He really didn’t appreciate being told what his job was by someone who doesn’t know what it’s like. He put his hand on the handcuffs dangling from his belt. Before he could say anything else, screams echoed through the halls.

“Someone get security!!”

“What’s going on?!”

“The Pokemon! They’re going wild outside!”

Falkner and Mrs. Amoretto raced to the scene. There was an area where they kept pokemon in for the kids to interact with sometimes. Behind there was a storage room where the PokeBalls were kept in. When they got there, the place was surrounded with teachers and local policemen, with some police cars in front. Flashes of fire and lightning appeared in the house. One of the windows suddenly shattered, the glass shards scattering down on the ground. One policeman had a purple haired boy in his hand, clutching him by the arm.

“There’s a kid in there!” One man exclaimed.

A kid in there. The pokemon were going out of control. If those pokemon attacked that kid...he had to do something. He pulled two PokeBalls out from his belt. “Togetic! Noctowl! I need your help!” He threw them in the air, releasing the pokemon. Togetic was the white pokemon with red and blue markings on its body. Noctowl was a deep brown owl with a cream unibrow and large eyes.

“Tooooh!”

“Cho-ki-ko!”

With his pokemon by his side, Falkner dashed into the chaotic house. Four large pokemon were battling each other, shooting energy attacks at each other on all sides, taking no notice of anything around them. One attack almost hit Falkner, had Togetic not used Safeguard on him, covering him and Noctowl with a blue dome of light. Sobbing and crying caught his ear, and he turned to his left to find the girl from before cowering in the corner, covering her ears with her hands, crying loudly.

“Noctowl! Use Hypnosis on Venomoth and Arcanine! Togetic! Use Heal Bell on Slowking and Dewgong!”

Noctowl flew over to two of the pokemon before its round eyes glowed in an eerie purple light. When the venomoth and arcanine made eye contact, their eyesight began to blur. Their bodies lost their energy and they found themselves unable to stay awake. Before they knew it, they all fell to the ground, sleeping. Togetic let out a cry as its body glowed in a soft blue light that radiated all over the place. When the light made contact with slowking and dewgong, the anger in their bodies finally simmered down to nothing, and they found themselves wobbling before finally sitting and calming down.

Falkner turned to Julia. “Hey there. Are you okay? Everything’s fine now. You’re not hurt, are you?” Through her tears, Julia shook her head. Falkner held his hand out. “Come with me. It’s okay,” Instead of taking his hand, the little girl practically ran over to him and threw herself on him. He picked her up and gently escorted her out of the house. The chaos had calmed, and the girl continued to cry as he put her down.

“I knew it!” Mrs. Amoretto suddenly stomped toward Falkner with anger in her eyes. “You’re behind this, aren’t you, Julia?!”

“Hey! Back up a little!” Falkner yelled, holding a hand up to make her stay back. “One of your students almost got hurt and that’s your first reaction?!” The contempt in her eyes was all too evident. There was no concern, no care, nothing. Even he found this to be unsettling.

“We found this boy messing around in there, too,” A policeman said. The boy in question had purple hair and was struggling to break out of the man’s hand. Finally, he pushed on it with both hands before finally freeing himself.

“I didn’t do nuthin’!” The boy complained.

“Yes you did!” Julia suddenly shouted, her crying having stopped. “I saw you!”

“Saw what?” Falkner asked.

“She’s lyin’!”

“I saw him go in there!” Julia announced boldly, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

“Nuh-uh! I saw her go in there!” The boy snapped back. “She freed all the pokemon from the PokeBalls and was tauntin’ them all crazy like and throwin’ rocks at ‘em!” He flailed his arms up and down to empathize his point.

“No I wadn’t! You did that! I saw you!” Julia argued back before turning to Mrs. Amoretto. “I saw him do it! I was just trying to...stop him!”

“Nuh-uh! Liar liar pants on fire!”

“You’re the liar! You always lie!”

All sorts of scenarios were playing through Falkner’s head. He could imagine the scene playing out. Julia must have seen the boy release the pokemon from their balls, trying to make them battle. When they didn’t cooperate, Julia stepped in to call him on it, and something agitated the pokemon enough to make them all attack each other. Julia’s side of the story looked more plausible in his eyes. If she had enough sense to tell a policeman about her teacher beating her, there was absolutely no way she could pull this off on her own. She was just too shy, too timid. He couldn’t picture her doing something like this.

The horrible sound of a piercing slap pulled him out of his reverie. Julia cried even harder as Mrs. Amoretto loomed over her, clutching a piece of her shirt, attempting to slap her once more. A red mark appeared on the wailing girl’s cheek. “You wicked little girl! I’m not surprised you did this! Come here! Stop trying to run away!”

Julia pushed the woman’s arm away and tried to run, but Mrs. Amoretto jumped on her like an arcanine, pinning her to the ground. Everyone around them gasped. Some of the other kids burst into tears. Julia tried to get away, but Mrs. Amoretto’s arms were pushing on her tiny body, preventing her from escaping. For a moment, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Even Falkner found himself frozen with horror.

“You’re pathetic! You’re a bad little girl! Stop whining! You’re selfish! A naughty girl who don’t care about anyone but yourself!” Mrs. Amoretto screamed so loud, it didn’t sound like her voice belong to her.

Falkner finally snapped out of it, running toward the woman and placing both hands on her arms in an attempt to pull her off. It took a while since Mrs. Amoretto’s grip on her was so tight. Noctowl and Togetic stepped in to help by using their hands, or in Noctowl’s case, talons, to pry her fingers off of her. Falkner wasted no time pulling her to her feet.

“Stop! Don’t restrain her! You’re making it worse!” He yelled.

Julia ran to another teacher, sobbing and crying uncontrollably. Mrs. Amoretto glared at him before shouting, “She’s my responsibility and I have to discipline her! I told you she was a naughty little troublemaker!!”

Something inside him snapped. He couldn’t believe she was trying to justify her horrific actions. Nobody deserved that. It was clear that Julia wasn’t the one at fault, but Mrs. Amoretto was completely convinced that she was in spite of everything. He couldn’t help himself. He lost control.

“If you think hitting her and screaming at her is going to solve anything, then you’re not fit to be a teacher!!” He wasted no time yanking out the handcuffs and slapping them on the teacher’s wrists. “Hester Amoretto, you are under arrest for child abuse, child endangerment, and unlawful use of excessive force!” He signaled to another officer to let him use his car. Said officer opened the back door and Falkner led her to the car. Without mercy or sympathy, he pushed Mrs. Amoretto into the back seat.

“What are you arresting me for?! I’m doing my job! You should be on my side!” Mrs. Amoretto screeched like a little kid. “That little brat does nothing but make trouble and complain how everything isn’t centered around her!”

“That describes you more than anything,” Falkner sneered without even the tiniest mote of sympathy for this woman. “You basically confessed all of your crimes to me, so I have everything I need to convict you, and if not, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that you never even so much as go near a child ever again!” He shouted before slamming the car door in her face. That was satisfying.

With that, the policemen got inside the car and drove away, taking Mrs. Amoretto with them. Falkner hoped that she would be thrown in the slammer forever. Anyone who abuses their power to hurt and endanger others didn’t deserve any sympathy in his book. Julia still clung to the other teacher, wailing and sobbing. It was understandable, really. Falkner walked over to the teacher.

“Thanks...for intervening. But what should we do now?” The teacher asked. “Are you going to report this?”

“Of course!” Falkner exclaimed. “That should be your job, too! All you did was stand there as your fellow teacher was beating this kid over something that wasn’t her fault!”

The teacher recoiled, squeezing her eyes shut at the yelling. Falkner sighed. “I’ll take her,” He gently took Julia by the hand and escorted her away from the scene. He whistled for noctowl and togetic to follow him.

It was loud out there. Loud with people screaming, pokemon howling, and police sirens blaring. Something inside him told him that Julia needed to go to a quiet place to calm down. He knew exactly what he needed to do: tell the principal about this, report the incident, and call the girl’s parents. They had a right to know what happened to their child. He was not going to let Mrs. Amoretto get away with this. Julia cried the whole way to the principal’s office. Falkner didn’t even knock as he just walked through the door.

An old man with a small beard looked up from his desk. “Oh! Falkner! What’s--” It didn’t take long for him to notice Julia. He let out an exasperated sigh. “Can you make her stop whin--”

“I need to talk to you,” He hissed. Something in Falkner’s voice told the principal that he meant business, and was in no mood for nonsense. The principal fell silent.

Falkner facepalmed. Not even the principal cared to understand what was going on! What was the Pokemon Academy coming to? He kneeled down to Julia’s level. “You’ll stay here for now. It’s nice and quiet. I’ll tell the principal everything, and he’ll call your parents so they can pick you up. Okay?” He told her in a low, calm, soft voice. Frightening her even more wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

Julia nodded but continued to cry. Then he had an idea. Falkner pressed his lips into an O shape and whistled. Togetic and noctowl flew right over. As soon as they made sound, Julia’s sobbing lowered into low hiccups. Then they stopped altogether when she saw the two pokemon in front of her. Julia smiled when the togetic approached her with its own beaming smile. This told Falkner that pokemon were what she needed to calm down.

“These are my pokemon. They’ll stay with you until your parents come,” Falkner said. “Is that okay?”

“Will they be my friends?”

Falkner smiled. “Of course.”

“Yay! Shankuu!” Julia chirruped cheerfully, wasting no time in trapping the togetic in a hug. Noctowl wiped her tears with its large wing gently. Togetic burst into laughter as little Julia nuzzled her happily.

He told the principal everything and made him call her parents. He could tell even he seemed indifferent to the whole situation. Seeing the lack of concern made Falkner’s heart fall to the pit of his stomach. This was not someone he wanted to trust with Pokemon Academy, even if they were on good terms regarding a lot of things. After that, he had gone back to the gym to face some trainers. Even so, his entire view of teachers had been shaken, and would be for the rest of his life.

(end flashback)

“Falkner?” A hand pressed on his shoulder, shaking him awake.

“Whuh?” His police hat fell off of his head, rolling on his desk. He looked up to find a woman next to him. She was dressed in a blue and red police woman’s outfit and had spiky teal hair tied in two low pigtails along with reddish brown eyes.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” She said.

“Oh,” Falkner rubbed his eyes. “Sorry about that. I think I dozed off there.”

“I could hear you snoring all the way from the second floor,” The woman said. “You should go home and rest. You have gym battles tomorrow, right?”

The sleepy man stretched his arms out. “Thanks, Officer Jenny,” The night was still young, but for him, it was time to hit the hay. His office was not the place to do so.

***

People used to say that getting lots of exercise in the wilderness makes it easier to sleep the night afterward. As far as Julia knew, whoever said that was right, because she slept like a log all throughout the night. No nightmares, no tossing around, no waking up at one o’clock in the morning sometimes, nothing of the sort. Once she got herself dressed and ready, she moseyed over to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. She picked out a banana, some yogurt, a bowl of brown rice, and a cinnamon roll. She was happy they sold her favorite vanilla creme flavored yogurt.

As she consumed her breakfast, she watched as trainers scuttled about, whether it was to give their pokemon to Nurse Joy or leaving the Pokemon Center for whatever reason. Maybe they wanted to go the gym and battle Falkner. Perhaps to train at the Sprout Tower. Maybe they were going to their next destination or sticking around to train their pokemon some more. Then it hit her: she needed to call her parents. She didn’t finish her breakfast, deciding to save it for her pokemon.

She walked over to a green visual phone on the wall. She let her pokemon out and let them have the rest of her breakfast. Her pokemon happily consumed it as she punched in her phone number. The screen displayed some static for a moment before an image of Kassia appeared. As soon as she saw her daughter, a hand flew to her mouth like she had seen something unusual.

“Julia! Is that you, dear?” Kassia exclaimed, holding a phone to her ear.

“Hi, Mom. It’s me. I had intended to call you last night, but I was really tired,” Julia told her.

“It’s alright. I’m just so happy to see you and hear your voice. You’re looking well,” Kassia’s eyes were brimming with joy. “Where are you right now?”

“Violet City.”

“Wow. That’s not too far from here. It’s been a while since we’ve been there. Have you caught any new pokemon?”

“Just two, a sentret and a pidgey. I named them Neji and Tsubasa.”

“That’s lovely, dear. I’d put your father on the phone but he had to go to work early today,” Kassia rubbed her hair with one hand, wishing Truman was here right now.

Julia gripped the phone tightly, looking down at her knees. “Mom? Can I ask you something?” Julia asked, her voice quivering somewhat.

Kassia could see the slightly sad expression on her daughter’s face. Moms had a way of figuring these things out. “What is it? You look sad.”

“Do you remember what happened after…” Her throat closed up for a moment. She had the answers she needed, so bringing it up again now wasn’t going to do anything. But her memories of that day had become vague. “...the incident at the school? Y’know, with...Amoretto?” She didn’t use Mrs. to refer to her. Julia considered that woman not a person worth respecting.

Her mother sighed. “I was hoping to forget about that blasted woman…” She mused out loud. “Then again, you were pretty young back then. We sued the school for not treating you right and we won. But your father and I...saw the woman at court and we...kind of lost our tempers with her.”

She definitely remembered seeing her parents argue with Mrs. Amoretto at the courthouse. She always hated yelling. It always felt like her ears would be ripped apart whenever someone raised their voice, even if it was for her sake. In her heart, she knew her parents were yelling to defend her and call out the woman for what she had done. She just wished it wasn’t so loud back then. She had to hide near a court bench so she could get away from the yelling and Mrs. Amoretto.

“The principal fired her, but we couldn’t bear to take you back there,” Kassia continued further. “We transferred you to the school in Cherrygrove because they had better services for you and teachers who had a better understanding of autism,” There was that word again. Autism. All throughout her life, Julia never thought anything of it. She just assumed it was a part of her that made her what she was. She never thought it to be bad. The fact that she was treated badly by a stupid teacher because the teacher thought autism meant the kid did nothing but cause trouble and throw tantrums for no reason...it just put a damper on her mood.

“Did you know that the gym leader of Violet was the one who arrested her?”

“Falkner? Yes! I know who you’re talking about. He’s such a nice man.”

“I...I actually met him yesterday,” Julia confessed.

“Really? That’s wonderful! How is he?”

“Good. He’s nice. He said he was the one who helped me when Mrs. Amoretto was...y’know.”

“Yes. He told us everything. I don’t think anything good would have happened if he hadn’t been there.”

“Mom. I...I’m going to Sprout Tower after this.”

“Sprout Tower?”

“To...To battle.”

If Julia had told Kassia that she met the man of her dreams, her mother wouldn’t have smiled so brightly. Kassia’s eyes widened and she squealed with joy. “Oh my goodness! That’s wonderful! I’m so proud of you!” Soon, she found herself confused and tilted her head to one side to prove it. “But you hate pokemon battles.”

“I know. But he said the sages at the tower have a different view on it. I...I want to see battling from their perspective…”

“I see. You’ve been so convinced that pokemon battles were nothing but cruel and barbaric. You even got yourself hurt stopping some of my pokemon from battling,” Beeping noises could be heard on Kassia’s side of the line. Her eyes widened like someone hopped in out of nowhere and scared her. “Oh dear! My dumpling recipe is ready! I have to go, sweetie. You stay safe.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Brush your teeth, take care of yourself, eat lots of healthy foods, and wear your bra when you go out. Okay?”

Julia’s face turned red at that last part. She always hated it when her mother would bring that up. “Yes, Mom. I know.”

“Bye!” With that, the screen turned black, and Julia hung the phone up.

A new resolve formed in her heart. Perhaps if she battled the sages there, then her hatred for pokemon battles could go away. After all, pokemon battles today were different from those of long ago. She put her pokemon in her PokeBalls and made her way to Sprout Tower. Since it was at the end of town, it took Julia a while to get there. When she got there, the tower seemed to loom right over her, as its large size made her look like a baby ant in comparison. The tower’s walls were a deep shade of chocolate brown, its walls weary from many years of exposure to nature, and its three tiered roofs were a deep violet purple.

Taking in a breath with her nose, Julia opened the doors to the tower and took her first steps inside. The inside of the tower was lit by the natural light of the sun outside. In the very middle of the room was a large wooden pillar swaying from side to side. Standing between her were two bronze statues all carved to resemble bellsprout. Standing next to some stairs was a bald man dressed in navy blue monk robes, with purple prayer beads in his hands.

Julia never liked talking to people, especially not strangers. Family and friends, she was okay with. But she knew that since she was on her journey, she was going to have to talk to people whether she liked it or not. “Umm...excuse me!”

“Yes?”

“Umm...I heard trainers are allowed to battle here on the upper floors?”

“Yes, this is true. Do you wish to engage in battle with the trainers here?”

“Y-Y-Yes…”

“May I see your trainer card?”

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her ID. “Ah, I see. Falkner told us you’d be coming here,” The monk-like man escorted her to some stairs. “Right this way, please. I’ll escort you to the Elder.”

The two of them had to go up three flights of stairs, which weren’t too long, but they made it to the highest floor. Six people gathered at the center of the top floor, with one of them being an old man in his seventies or eighties. The old man, unlike the others, was wearing a navy blue and yellow robe and white sandals. He was bald like the younger monks, but he had fluffy white eyebrows and a matching beard that went down to his chest.

The monk that accompanied Julia bowed before the old man. “Elder Li. Julia Parisa has arrived and wishes to battle us,” The man said.

Julia’s eyes widened in surprise. Once again, someone she didn’t know knew her name. The monk did say that Falkner had told them about her. The old man, Li, stretched his arms out and approached them. “Thank you, Nico,” He looked at Julia, who averted his gaze. “So you wish to battle us sages. We welcome you to Sprout Tower. Some people also refer to it as Bellsprout Pagoda.”

She clutched her bag strap tightly. “Umm...this is my first time battling anyone.”

“I see,” Elder Li said. “We have encountered many new trainers. You will battle Nico first.”

Nico was the monk who escorted Julia up here. “If you can defeat all six of my friends in battle, you can battle me afterward. I want to observe you and watch you learn. Is that alright?” Elder Li explained.

“Y-Yes. That’s fine.”

Julia and Nico stood at least forty feet away from each other, giving them plenty of room for the pokemon to battle. Elder Li stood on the far side of the battlefield alongside his friends. “Trainers, call forth your pokemon!”

Nico pulled out a PokeBall. “Bellsprout! I choose you!” He threw the PokeBall, and out came a plant pokemon with green leaves for arms, a yellow bell shaped head, two small black eyes shaped like circles, and a pink mouth.

“Bellsprout!”

She already knew which pokemon she wanted to use, but pulled out her PokeDex to get information on her opponent. “Bellsprout, the flower pokemon. Bellsprout are carnivorous pokemon that trap and eat bugs, and love hot and humid weather. Their thin, skinny bodies are flexible enough to allow it to sway in any direction, and they can secrete a corrosive liquid that can melt iron.”

Julia pulled out Papillon’s PokeBall. “Papillon! I choose--” Before she could release Papillon, a white light appeared from another PokeBall. Out came Tsubasa, who let out a harsh battle cry. “Uuugh! Tsubasa!”

“Coo coo coo!”

“You want to battle? Okay then,” Now that she thought about it, Tsubasa was a flying type and Bellsprout was both a grass and poison type. Tsubasa had the advantage. If she played her cards right, she could win this battle in a snap. But she didn’t want to get cocky. Anything could go wrong, even with a type advantage. Tsubasa fluttered onto the battlefield, laughing at the bellsprout in front of her. Bellsprout didn’t even say a word.

“This will be a one-on-one battle! With that...battle begin!”

“Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip!” Nico commanded. Long, green vines shot out from the leaves on the bellsprout’s body, flying toward Tsubasa with great speed.

“Tsubasa! Dodge it and use Gust!” On cue, Tsubasa flew past the vines before flapping her wings, creating a harsh gust of wind that could blow anyone away. Oddly enough, the bellsprout’s tiny feet were firmly rooted to the ground.

“Use Acid!” Bellsprout’s yellow head ballooned into a ball before it let out a harsh puking sound, unleashing a torrent of orange liquid. Tsubasa had stopped flapping her wings and had tried to fly away, but the acid fell on her fur. The acid burned her fur, causing her to cry out. Her wings couldn’t support her anymore and she fell to the ground with a small thud.

“No! Tsubasa!” Julia’s hands almost flew to her face. Tsubasa struggled to get back on her feet, not intent on giving up just yet. Once she got back on her talons, she spread her wings out far and wide, letting out a battle cry. “Tsubasa! You don’t have to do this anymore!”

“Coo coo!” (“But I want to!”)

“Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip once more!” Once again, long green vines shot out from bellsprout’s body, charging right toward Tsubasa.

“Use Wing Attack to push them away!” Julia cried out. The tiny bird’s wings glowed in a bright white light, flashing as they collided with the green vines, smacking them away. The vines wound up hitting the bellsprout on its head twice. “Good! Now use Sand At--” She stopped herself as the realization hit her. They were in a building with wooden floors. There was no way Tsubasa could use Sand Attack in this kind of environment.

“Stun Spore!” Bellsprout spat out a yellow cloud of glittering golden dust.

“Use Gust to blow it away!” Tsubasa got the message. The pain in her fur subsided, and she was able to fly upward to evade the golden cloud. Once she was high enough, she flapped her wings up and down with all her might, blowing away the cloud of dust. All of a sudden, bellsprout leaped from the ground, wrapping itself all around Tsubasa to the point where the tiny bird couldn’t open her wings. As a result, the two fell to the ground with another thud.

“Tsubasa!”

“Use Wrap!”

Julia was out of ideas. Tsubasa kept pecking at the bellsprout’s leaves and feet, but the plant didn’t even feel it, or if it did, it didn’t notice nor care. What could she do? She was no expert on battling, so strategies were not her strong suit. Tsubasa had used most of her attacks, and Julia was sure that the ones she could use right now would be of no use. Before long, Tsubasa chirruped before finally slumping to the ground. It was at this point that the bellsprout let go.

“Tsubasa…” Julia’s eyes blurred.

“Tsubasa the pidgey is unable to battle!” Elder Li extended his hand out toward Nico. “The winner is Nico!”

Her heart sank as she kneeled down to cradle the bird in her arms. Tsubasa let out some coos, claiming she could still fight, but even the little bird knew that her body couldn’t take much more. Julia hugged her little friend tightly as the tears flowed. She didn’t notice Nico approaching her with his fellow bellsprout on his shoulders.

“You lost because you hesitated, letting your heart be consumed by crippling doubt,” Nico told her in a low voice. He had intended for it to be gentle, but that didn’t mean his words didn’t hurt in some way. Julia knew he was just trying to teach her something, and for what it was worth, she did learn a lot from this battle. “There is nothing wrong with having doubts. That is a normal part of life,” He explained further. “However, hesitation and doubt can cloud your judgment, and it can result in both you and your pokemon not being able to cooperate in a way that can strengthen your bond.”

At least he wasn’t being malicious about it, she told herself. In her heart, she was at least happy that he wasn’t personally attacking her for her lack of battling prowess. He did make very valid points. Not only that, this was a one-on-one battle, so she still had plenty of pokemon to use against the sages. Crying wasn’t going to solve anything. “Thank you, sir. I apologize for being so weak.”

“Coo coo coo!” Tsubasa suddenly yelled.

“She’s saying I should consider this loss to be a new chance at getting better,” Julia said.

Nico tilted his head to one side. The other sages looked at each other with confused faces. “I was going to say just that. Would you like to battle the rest of us?”

The resolve in her heart hardened like a metapod’s skin, becoming stronger. “Yes. I would.”

“Alright,” Nico stepped away, allowing for another sage to come forth.

“I am Jin. I will be your next opponent,” Jin positioned himself at the battle field.

Julia put Tsubasa back in her PokeBall and released Papillon instead. Papillon stood in the battlefield, unmoving, unbothered by anything going on. Like Nico, Jin also had a bellsprout. “Battle begin!”

“Bellsprout!” Jin made the first move. “Use Vine Whip!”

“Harden!”

The metapod’s skin glowed in a silver light for a brief moment. Bellsprout’s vines slapped Papillon at least four times, but none of them made so much as a dent. After all, the skin of a metapod is as hard as steel. Bellsprout found itself tilting its head to one side. “Bell bell?”

“Papillon! Tackle!” On cue, Papillon charged right at the sentient flower, ramming right into it. Bellsprout was lost in its confusion, leaving it unable to react right away. As a result, the bellsprout found itself being thrown on the battlefield, rolling on the ground.

No more hesitation. “Now use String Shot!” Julia cried out. Papillon bounced on the ground before shooting white webs of silk from the top of its head.

“Use Cut!” Bellsprout sharpened its leaves before slicing the silk web to threads. “Now use Poison Powder!” Like before, the bellsprout’s head ballooned into a ball before it shot out a cloud of purple smoke. This time, Papillon wasn’t able to avoid it despite being able to move.

“No! Papillon!” Julia cried. She covered her mouth so she herself wouldn’t unknowingly breathe in the poison. This was no time to hesitate. “Can you...still fight?”

“Metapod!” Papillon answered with a nod.

“Use Tackle!” Once again, the metapod charged at the bellsprout. This time, it swayed to the left, dodging the attack. “Keep going at it!” Every single time, Papillon threw itself at the bellsprout. Every time, the bellsprout dodged elegantly. At one point, Papillon found itself stopping in her tracks, wincing in pain, probably from the poison. All of a sudden, Papillon glowed in a soft white light. Rolls of skin peeled off of Papillon before disappearing completely.

Julia’s fear morphed into relief. She knew what this was. ‘Oh! I forgot Papillon had the Shed Skin ability!’ She thought. Papillon gave her a nod, telling her this was her time to shine. Julia nodded back.

“Use Cut!”

“Harden, then use Tackle!”

Bellsprout tried to cut through Papillon’s rock hard shell with its sharpened leaves, but nothing it did left so much as a scratch. When the bellsprout stopped to breathe, Papillon took this chance to tackle it, sending it rolling across the battlefield. Bellsprout didn’t even get up. “Bellsprout is unable to battle! Papillon the metapod is the winner!”

Julia thought her ears were playing tricks on her. She actually won a pokemon battle. She couldn’t believe it. The confusion suddenly turned to joy, and she couldn’t resist the urge to cheer and jump up and down. “Yaaaaay!!” Papillon leaped into her arms, allowing Julia to spin around, trapping her in a big hug. “You won, Papillon! You were awesome!”

“Metapod! Metapod!”

Jin pulled his bellsprout back into his PokeBall. “You did well, my friend,” Julia stopped cheering when she saw that. She ran over to him and bowed apologetically.

“I’m sorry! Bellsprout’s not hurt, is it?”

The bald monk smiled. “He’ll be fine. He’s just too tired to battle anymore. You did well.”

Hearing that made the girl’s heart go warm. But there were still four more sages to battle. Julia had convinced herself that battling was cruel and violent. Now that she got to experience it herself for the first time, perhaps there was something more to it. Papillon certainly looked a lot stronger and even happier. “Metapod!”

“Do you still want to battle? If you’re tired you don’t have to keep going.”

Papillon nodded. “Metapod!” (“I want to keep going!”)

“Alright. I won’t stop you. But you better eat this first,” Despite having no visible mouth, Julia gave her cocoon friend an Oran berry so she could get her energy back. Papillon gobbled it up without another word, and before anyone knew it, she was back on the battlefield.

She battled sages Chow, Neal, Troy, and Edmond right afterward. Papillon battled Chow and Neal’s bellsprouts like usual, and despite their using the same pokemon, they used different attacking methods. Chow’s bellsprout knew Sleep Powder and Neal’s bellsprout knew Razor Leaf. Since Papillon knew Harden, and her ability was Shed Skin, she was able to continuously keep the upper hand in battle, and knocked them out.

When the battle with Neal was over, something amazing happened. Papillon glowed in a brilliant white light. She was shining so brightly, the entire floor was lit up. A set of round wings sprouted out from Papillon’s back. Antennae and legs sprouted out from her body as well. Soon, the light dissipated, and out came a purple butterfly pokemon with round, red eyes. One Julia recognized far too well. “Eeeee freee! Eeeee free!”

“Papillon’s a butterfree now!” Julia’s eyes glowed with joy.

The monks all silently rejoiced in Papillon’s evolution. But there were only two more battles to go. Figuring that Papillon needed her rest, Julia switched her with Neji in her battle with Edmond, whose bellsprout knew Flash. The battle was difficult, but Neji managed to defeat Edmond’s bellsprout. Neji wound up losing to Troy’s bellsprout, as it knew Growth, but Hikaru managed to make up for it despite the type disadvantage. She had defeated all six younger monks. Last but not least was Elder Li.

“You have made substantial progress, Julia,” Elder Li said as he positioned himself on the battlefield. “We sages of Sprout Tower view battling as a way for us trainers to bond with our pokemon. To understand them on a level that we cannot outside of battle. All living beings can coexist through cooperation, and battling is no different. That’s why your pokemon managed to win in battle, because they grew to trust you and followed your instructions.”

Julia clutched her PokeBall tightly. He was right. Instead of being repulsed by the battles she engaged in, a warm glow enveloped her heart. The joy on her pokemon’s faces when they won was all too evident. Perhaps battling wasn’t about senseless violence after all. It was a good thing Falkner showed her that book.

“Hoothoot! Go forth!” A brown bird pokemon came out of Li’s PokeBall. It had tiny wings and large, red eyes that looked as though they could see into one’s soul. It was a lot bigger than Tsubasa, but about Aqua’s size. Hikaru hopped onto the battlefield, ready to fight.

“You’re not going to use a bellsprout?” Julia asked.

“Not today. My little friend is keeping my wife company at home,” Li replied.

Troy took up the referee position. “Once again, this will be a one-on-one battle! Ready? Battle begin!”

This time, Julia made the first move. “Hikaru! Use Tail Whip!”

Hikaru waggled its tiny black tail cutely. “Now use Thunder Wave!” On command, Hikaru shot tiny volts of lightning at hoothoot. Since the bird pokemon could fly, it managed to dodge every single attack by flying everywhere.

“Hoothoot. Use Hypnosis,” Elder Li commanded.

“Hoothoot!” Its eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Hikaru managed to squeeze her eyes shut so she wouldn’t be put to sleep.

“Hikaru! Don’t look it in the eyes! Use Thundershock!” There was no way Hikaru was going to lose this battle. Without warning, Hikaru brought down a jolt of yellow lightning. It came so fast, the hoothoot wasn’t able to dodge it this time. Its entire body burned as the electricity surged through its veins. Finally, the shock dissipated, and hoothoot was back in action.

“Use Peck!” Elder Li commanded. Hoothoot flew over to Hikaru and jabbed her beak all over the little mouse’s body. Hikaru kept running to try and evade it, but the hoothoot was just as fast as she was.

“Hikaru! Don’t give up! Bite on its wing and use Thunder Wave!” Julia shouted. Hikaru did as ordered and clamped her teeth on hoothoot’s left wing. Hikaru’s cheeks crackled with electricity, and she electrocuted the hoothoot with a smaller jolt this time. When she let go, hoothoot found itself unable to move. Yellow sparks of electricity crackled all around hoothoot.

“My goodness. Very clever,” Elder Li brushed his beard with one hand. “Hoothoot. Use Confusion,” He told it in a low voice.

“Hoothoot!” Hoothoot’s eyes glowed in a purple light. A purple aura surrounded Hikaru, and the tiny mouse found herself being pulled into the air like she was floating. She flailed her tiny arms and feet to break free, but nothing she did worked. All of a sudden, she found herself being thrown across the battlefield.

“Hikaru!” Julia wanted so badly to go over there and cradle Hikaru in her arms. She couldn’t bear to see her friend getting hurt. But she steeled herself from doing so. If she interfered, the battle would be over, and she kept telling herself that she shouldn’t baby her pokemon or treat them like glass. She had to see a pokemon battle from a different perspective. Much to her relief, Hikaru brushed off the pain. “Can you...still battle?”

Hikaru flashed a thumb’s up. “Pichu!”

“Okay! Now use...Disarming Voice!” As ordered, Hikaru opened her mouth wide, letting out a shrill cry. Pink circles of light, accompanied by dancing darker pink hearts, suddenly bombarded hoothoot into submission. Hoothoot tried to fly away, but the electricity crippling its body made it go numb. Nothing it tried was able to let it evade the attack. Despite not having visible ears, hoothoot’s ear drums rang. “Finish it off with Thundershock!” Once more, a bolt of thunder rained down on the bird pokemon.

The tiny hoothoot fell to the ground, unable to move or battle any further. Troy could see it plain as day, as did the other monks. “Hoothoot is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner, and the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!” He stretched his hand out toward Julia to empathize her victory.

Without a word, Elder Li called his hoothoot back to his PokeBall. “You did well, my friend,” He stood up right as Julia walked up to him with an apologetic look on her face. The same one she had when she won against Jin. “Battling you has been a great pleasure. I must say, your battling style is still developing, but it has a kind of elegance to it.”

“Elegant?” Julia asked, tilting her head to one side. “I can’t see how battles can be elegant.”

Elder Li let out a chuckle. “Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and pokemon test their bonds to build a bright future together. I was your final test, and I must say, you have certainly proven that the bonds you have between your pokemon are strong and full of love.”

“I love my pokemon,” Julia held Hikaru close to her chest. “They’re family to me.”

“As long as you treat your pokemon well, you will become a great trainer. There was a girl who came just before you did, and although she was a skilled battler, she was far too harsh on her pokemon,” Elder Li told her gently.

Strong battler. Too harsh on her pokemon. It came to Julia right away. “Was her name Amara by any chance?”

Elder Li’s eyes suddenly widened with surprise. “Yes. That was her. How did you know?”

“She’s my big sister, and she’s on the National Blacklist, AND she stole a totodile from Professor Elm’s lab, AND she’s not supposed to have any pokemon let alone battle with them AND she should have been reported AAAAND why didn’t you report her?!” Julia suddenly yelled out of nowhere. One of the monks facepalmed, lamenting his error.

The bearded monk closed his eyes, reminiscing on the day Amara had battled him. He remembered watching her harshly scold her totodile for losing a battle with Edmond. When she came back, she managed to beat him despite the type disadvantage. “You are quite skilled, young lady. However, I feel you treat your pokemon too harshly. Pokemon are not tools of war. They are sentient beings with feelings, and you should treat them with respect.”

He would never forget the defiant glare she gave him. “Shut up, you old coot! They’re my pokemon and I can do whatever the heck I want with them! I don’t need stupid old men like you ordering me around! Now go die!!”

Disrespectful. Disgraceful. Intolerable, the way she treated her pokemon and Elder Li. He cleared his throat. “I had no knowledge that she was on the blacklist. Had I known, I would have reported her. I apologize for my error.”

“I’m sorry she said all that bad stuff to you,” Julia said. She knew her sister never did get along well with authority and always back talked them, she couldn’t believe she’d be bold enough to tell an old man to go die. If she ever caught up with Amara, she was going to give her a massive verbal lashing. Nobody deserved to be told to go and die, especially someone as nice as Li. It was bad enough Amara treated Kassia and Truman like garbage any time they so much as said hi to her.

“Tell me...why are you on your journey?”

“I want to track Amara down, give her to the police, and make sure she’s held responsible for everything she’s done!” She announced without any hesitation.

“Hmmm…” Elder Li crossed his arms, ruminating. “While that is an admirable goal, one should go on a journey for their own sake, not for the sake of someone else. A journey is meant to help you grow, see new things, learn from others, and expose you to new sights, smells, and experiences,” He put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I hope you will learn many new things and grow on your journey.”

Julia nodded. “Thank you, sir. I...I don’t think I hate battling anymore.”

Right then, it came to her. She knew what she wanted to do now.

***

Yeah, this chapter got way too long. I thought about putting in her battle with Falkner and other stuff, but that’s gonna have to be saved for the next chapter. It got pretty long, so I didn’t want to drag it out. Yeah, I know, I suck at writing pokemon battles.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Don't you think you overdid it with the teacher abusing her like that?" I know it comes off as melodramatic and even a little unrealistic, but let's face it. Stuff like this actually does happen in real life. I've seen far too many stories on the news where disabled kids are unfairly mistreated by untrained teachers and other authorities, be it with restraints, hand cuffs, or even straitjackets. Many teachers even go as far as to press themselves on kids, pinning them down to the point of rendering them unable to breathe, or even lock them in isolated rooms for hours without end. One kid died from such use of excessive force, and to this day, incidents like these still happen. Many of the victims are non-verbal and are unable to tell anyone these things unless their parents or other kind samaritans get involved.

We can't deal with disabled kids with brute force, hatred, or discrimination, only understanding, patience, kindness, open-mindedness, and a willingness to cooperate with the parties involved. Using unlawful and unethical methods to treat disabled kids is bad, and it needs to stop. It's no better than bullying.

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 6: Eggs, Kimono Girls, and a New Friend, Oh My!

For the longest time, Julia had convinced herself that pokemon battles were nothing but senseless violence that hurt both people and pokemon. If someone told her two years ago that people considered battling as a way to strengthen the bond between people and pokemon, or that battling was more about trust than who was the strongest, she would have strongly disagreed, decreeing that battles were cruel and violent, nothing else. It didn’t help that she had seen news reports on TV showing graphic videos of pokemon being forced to kill each other bloodily for sports, money, and even laughs. She couldn’t believe some people would be so cruel as to treat pokemon as nothing but tools of war, her own sister being one such person even more so.

Going to Sprout Tower had been the best decision she had ever made, even if it was at Falkner’s behest. They showed her that battling wasn’t about hurting pokemon or seeing who was the strongest, but rather a different way of showing the trust between a pokemon and its trainer. For a brief moment, she truly did feel as though she had become one with her pokemon during her battle with the sages, especially Li. She loved her pokemon dearly and held her bonds with them in the absolute highest regard. She thought just that would be enough. The battles she had invigorated her, lighted a fire in her that she didn’t think she had.

Another thing had come into her mind as well. In the deepest pits of her heart, she somehow knew that if she were to confront Amara, she would have to battle her someday. As much as she wanted to avoid fighting or battling with her, Amara wasn’t one to listen to reason. If she couldn’t get it in her head with words, Julia figured she might as well get it in her head through battle. After all, if she was going to go on a long journey, she’d have to battle in order to be strong enough to get through certain parts of life that weren’t going to be easy. Life wasn’t going to just hand everything to her on a silver platter. She learned that the hard way. But a little hard work wasn’t all bad.

After her battles at Sprout Tower, she went back to the Pokemon Center to stay for another night and train her pokemon for a while longer. She even read some more books on battling and its rules and ethics. According to the National Pokemon Legal Rights Federation, killing a pokemon is absolutely forbidden in pokemon battles. If a pokemon has fainted, the battle cannot continue, and if someone uses their pokemon to hurt the fainted pokemon further or does it themselves, they either get arrested or fined at least a thousand dollars. Trainers cannot attack another trainer’s pokemon, be it with their bare hands or weapons such as knives or guns lest they be sent to jail for eight years. Julia was glad someone had the decency to set those rules up. In her mind, that made battling somewhat more tolerable.

“Marill!” Aqua hopped on Julia’s bed right as she was reading the book.

“Can’t sleep yet, Aqua?”

Aqua shook her head. Julia smiled and stroke the blue mouse’s head gently. “It’s okay. I’m not nervous at all about tomorrow.”

“Marill mar!” Aqua chirruped as she wiggled underneath the blankets, snuggling right next to Julia. The girl’s heart grew warm as she put the book down and wrapped her arm around her friend, pulling her close.

“You’re sweet,” With that, Julia’s eyes closed and she drifted off to dreamland.

No nightmares. No flashbacks of Mrs. Amoretto or that awful day. When was the last time she had slept so peacefully? Morning knocked on the door, and Julia was the first to open it without hesitation. She made sure to give back the book Falkner rented from the library and the other books to the Pokemon Center. She stood before the Violet City gym with Hikaru by her side. She pushed the doors open, and with a drawn out creak, they revealed the inside of the gym.

In the middle of the gym was a large battle field that looked just like the one at the school, with the PokeBall symbol and all. Large lights lit up the room, brightening it right up. Falkner stood at the end of the battlefield. He was no longer in uniform, but instead was wearing a blue kimono. Black and red arm bands covered his arms from his wrists to his elbows, and a sky blue cardigan with white cotton balls on both sides covered his back. A white cloth was wrapped around his waist, and he wore tall white socks along with black sandals.

“Ah! Julia!” Falkner exclaimed. “You actually came! I didn’t think you would. I take it you found your answer?”

Julia clutched the strap on her bag tightly. “Umm...I’m not sure. But...I’m hoping to find it here...if that’s okay,” She murmured in a low voice.

Falkner shrugged. “Good enough. I accept your challenge.”

A male referee stood on the left side of the battlefield, holding a yellow flag in his left hand and a white flag on his right. “The battle between Falkner the gym leader and Julia Parisa of New Bark Town is set to begin! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon as per his wishes, whereas the challenger will use all six of his or her pokemon. Only the challenger can switch pokemon during the battle.”

“How come?” Julia tilted her head to one side. “Doesn’t that seem a little unfair? You have other pokemon, right? Like that skarmory?”

“I have plenty of pokemon,” Falkner told her. “But they’re too strong. I have pokemon I use for this gym only so I can put myself at the same level as trainers who challenge me. But I’ll let you know this! Just because you’re a beginner doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you, whether you’re autistic or not!”

That seemed to explain it. Julia found her heart ablaze with some kind of weird feeling. Was this the feeling trainers got when they battled? “I never said I wanted you go to easy on me!”

The referee held his flags up in the air. “Ready? Battle begin!”

Falkner pulled out a PokeBall. “I’ll show you how far we can fly! Pidgey! Let your wings guide you!” A pidgey came flying out of his PokeBall.

Julia looked down at Hikaru. “Do you want to try this out?”

“Pichu!” The tiny mouse scurried onto the battlefield, its round eyes gleaming with courage.

“Pidgey! Use Tackle!”

“Hikaru! Tackle it right back!”

The two pokemon charged at each other, with pidgey descending from the air and Hikaru running right toward it. Their heads collided, and Falkner’s pidgey found itself flying in the air again. Hikaru rolled on the battlefield to regain her balance. “Use Thunder Wave!” On command, Hikaru shot jolts of lightning at the bird, hoping to paralyze it. Since pidgey could fly, it was able to evade every single attack.

“Pidgey! Use Gust!” Falkner commanded. Pidgey cooed passionately before flapping its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind that easily blew Hikaru to Julia’s part of the battlefield. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to knock her out, and Hikaru wasn’t intent on giving up just yet.

Hikaru wiped some sand out of her ears before running toward pidgey once more. Julia commanded that she jump on pidgey and use Sweet Kiss on it. When pidgey attempted a Tackle attack, Hikaru didn’t dodge. Instead, she grabbed onto pidgey’s wing and kissed it right on its cheek. Before long, pidgey was suddenly kicking sand in its eyes and slapping itself with its wings. Falkner didn’t even blink despite the odds not being in his favor. To Julia’s dismay, pidgey still managed to kick some sand into Hikaru’s eyes.

“You okay, Hikaru?” Julia asked worriedly.

The tiny mouse wiped the sand out of her eyes before giving her trainer a thumb’s up. “Pichu!” (“I’m just fine!”) Hikaru’s eyes gleamed with determination.

Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a smile. “Your battling skills are developing nicely. I can see the sages at Sprout Tower taught you well,” He told her. Julia couldn’t help but bask in his praise, but knew the battle was still going on. “But we’re not finished yet! Use Wing Attack, pidgey!”

Pidgey shook its head vigorously, finally managing to get a grip on itself. The tiny bird ascended into the sky, its wings shining in a harsh white light. Hikaru ran as fast as she could, trying her best to outrun the little bird. Unfortunately, to their dismay, pidgey caught up with Hikaru and its wings made contact, throwing the mouse across the battlefield. With a grunt, Hikaru managed to stumble back on her feet.

“Are you okay?!” Julia yelped, her hands almost covering her eyes.

“Pi...chuuuu…” Hikaru grunted, wiping the sand off of her fur.

“You don’t have to battle if you don’t want to--”

“Pichu!” (“I want to keep going!”) Hikaru snapped.

The girl found herself touched by her partner’s insistence on continuing the battle. All this time she wanted to keep her pokemon out of battles out of fear of them getting hurt. The fact that Hikaru still insisted on battling said a lot about her. Elder Li had said it before. Pokemon battles are about trust and believing in her pokemon. She had to believe in Hikaru no matter what. A good trainer always believed in her pokemon.

“You can do this, Hikaru! I know you can!”

“Pichu!”

“Coo coo!” Falkner’s pidgey cooed, daring Hikaru to see if she could beat it.

“Let’s win this, Hikaru!” Julia exclaimed, her heart ablaze with new resolve.

“Piii!”

“Use Disarming Voice!”

“Piiii!” Hikaru let out a shrill cry, and despite pidgey’s attempts at dodging it, one of the hearts managed to hit its wing.

“Cut through it and use Tackle!” Falkner shouted. On command, pidgey flew through the Disarming Voice, hitting Hikaru right in the face with its beak, canceling the attack. Hikaru rolled on the sand. But when pidgey tried to get up, its body suddenly went numb. Sparks of electricity danced across its body.

“Static!” Julia cried, realizing what had happened. Even Falkner’s eyes were wide and mouth agape. He had completely forgotten the electric mouse had that ability. This was her chance, and she had to take it right now. “Finish it off with Thundershock!”

Hikaru was already on it. She dropped a jolt of lightning down on the pidgey. The thunder dissipated and pidgey’s skin was black from the shock. It was unable to move. The referee got a closer look before holding up the yellow flag. “Pidgey is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner!”

Winner. The joy in her heart suddenly bubbled over, and she couldn’t fight the urge to cheer and jump in the air. “Yay! Our first win!” Hikaru leaped into her arms, letting Julia spin her around. They both knew their battle wasn’t over, but it didn’t hurt to celebrate a little bit. “You did it, Hikaru! You were so great out there!”

“Pichu!”

With a sad smile, Falkner put pidgey back in its PokeBall. “You soared far above the clouds, pidgey. Take a good rest,” He put the PokeBall in his pocket and pulled out another one. “Hoothoot! It’s your turn to fly now!”

A hoothoot popped out of the PokeBall. “Hoothoot!”

“Want to take a break, Hikaru? That pidgey was strong,” Julia asked.

“Pichu!” Hikaru nodded, crawling down to the floor.

Julia kneeled down and stroke Hikaru’s head gently. “You deserve to rest a little,” She pulled out an Oran berry and handed it to Hikaru, knowing she needed to get some of her energy back. Hikaru swallowed the Oran berry whole without hesitation. Julia pulled out another PokeBall and threw it. “Aqua! You’re up!”

“Marill mar!” The water mouse leaped onto the battlefield.

“Battle begin!”

“Aqua! Use Water Gun!” On command, Aqua shot a blast of water at hoothoot, who flew all over the place to dodge it.

“Hypnosis!” Hoothoot’s eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Aqua wasn’t fast enough to move away, resulting in her unknowingly making eye contact with the round bird. She found that her eyes had become heavy, and couldn’t keep them open. Her head became light, and her body wobbled until she fell right asleep.

“Oh no! Aqua!” Julia exclaimed. Aqua laid down on the battlefield, with a snot bubble ballooning in and out, sleeping like it was time for bed.

“Now’s our chance!” Falkner balled his hand into a fist and threw it in the air. “Use Peck!”

Hoothoot flew down toward Aqua and pecked her all over her body, driving her beak into her fur. “No! Aqua! Wake up, please!” Julia begged in a loud, pleading voice. “You gotta wake up!”

“Finish it off with Air Slash!” Falkner cried. Hoothoot’s wings glowed in a white light. With just one flap of its wings, two sickles of white light suddenly flew right toward the sleeping water mouse. Once they made contact, a dust cloud appeared, almost blowing everyone away. Julia was quick to shield her face with her arms, and Hikaru clung to Julia’s leg. When the dust cloud faded, Aqua continued to lay on the ground. This time, the snot bubble was gone.

“Aqua the marill is unable to battle! Hoothoot is the winner!”

Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a proud expression. His hoothoot fluttered back to the ground, hooting and cooing, happy to have achieved such a valiant victory. Julia ran over to Aqua and cradled her in her arms. “You okay, sweetie?”

This time, Aqua woke up. “Marill…”

“It’s okay. You did your best,” She put Aqua back in her PokeBall. “I’ll take you to the Pokemon Center later. You did a great job.”

“Losing and failure can pave the way to success if you’re willing to learn from it,” Falkner said as hoothoot descended onto his arm, begging for pets. The blue haired man stroke his faithful bird gently with his free hand. “In fact, failure can teach you so much more than success ever could.”

Although she was happy that he was trying to encourage her, she wasn’t sure how failure could be perceived as a good thing. She still had plenty of pokemon left to use, and she didn’t want to put Hikaru back out on the field too suddenly. However, she wasn’t sure if Neji could handle it, and Papillon is a bug type, making her weak against flying types. She could definitely satisfy a certain someone’s thirst for battle. “Tsubasa! Get out there and show me what you’re made of!”

Tsubasa flew out of the PokeBall proudly, happy to be able to battle. With this, the battle resumed. “Hoothoot! Tackle!”

“Tsubasa! Tackle it right back!”

Since Tsubasa happened to be smaller and faster than hoothoot, she managed to hit the opponent before hoothoot could hit her. “Keep tackling it!” Tsubasa proceeded to tackle hoothoot in every direction, throwing it around like it was a rag doll. Hoothoot tried to fight back, but Tsubasa kept bombarding it with tackle attacks, not letting up.

“Confusion!” Hoothoot’s eyes glowed in a purple light. Tsubasa found herself frozen in place. Before long, Tsubasa was suddenly thrown across the battlefield, and she would have hit the ground had she not managed to flap her wings right before landing.

“Good job, Tsubasa!” Julia exclaimed. “Use Wing Attack!” Tsubasa charged right at hoothoot, throwing herself against the fat bird. Her wings collided with the bird, throwing it right on the battlefield.

“You can still fly, Hoothoot!” Falkner cried out. “Soar! Use Peck!”

Unlike before, the two birds were on equal footing. This time, Tsubasa was able to dodge the attacks since she could fly, like hoothoot could. Zipping all around the room like an annoying fly, Tsubasa found herself liking this. She could let off all her steam and beat this fat bird to the ground.

“Air Slash!”

“Dodge it!”

Since Tsubasa was awake, she was able to dodge the Air Slash attack as well. Julia prayed that hoothoot wouldn’t use hypnosis. Unfortunately, her prayers weren’t answered. “Use hypnosis!” Thankfully for her, hypnosis didn’t work, as Tsubasa kept flying, making it impossible for hoothoot to land a hit on her. Julia breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come on, Tsubasa! You can do it! Knock it out with Wing Attack!” Julia cried. Tsubasa nodded in agreement. This was the nudge she needed to beat that hoothoot once and for all. With her wings glowing in a harsh white light, Tsubasa charged at the unsuspecting hoothoot with no mercy. WHAM! Hoothoot was thrown against the wall. Since the gym walls were made of stone, there weren’t any dents. At least, not any that a small pokemon would be strong enough to make. Hoothoot’s limp body fell to the ground with a thud.

“Hoothoot! No!” Falkner ran to his partner, only to find the bird unable to move.

“Hoothoot is unable to battle! Tsubasa the pidgey is the winner!” The referee announced.

Tsubasa flew to the ground and let out a hearty laugh. “Coo coo coo cooooo!!”

“Tsubasa! It’s not nice to gloat or insult people!” Julia scolded.

The tiny bird wasn’t fazed. “Coo coo coo!” (“Come on, Jules! I’m awesome and they know it!”) A hand flew to Julia’s face. As much as she liked the victory, she wished Tsubasa would be a little more humble about it. Hoothoot was called back to its PokeBall.

“Wow. I’m impressed,” Falkner told her, putting a hand on his hip. “You’re soaring real high, kid. If you keep that kind of strength up, you can go far.”

Julia scratched her brown hair with an embarrassed laugh. “I don’t know. My pokemon are the ones doing the work. They deserve the credit. I’m just that annoying whiny kid who can’t do much of anything,” She sputtered.

“Don’t put yourself down like that,” Falkner pulled out another PokeBall. “But don’t think you’ve won just yet! The wind is still with us! Go, Pidgeotto!”

A light shot out of the PokeBall, morphing into a large bird pokemon, much larger than Tsubasa. Its fur was a lighter shade of brown than Tsubasa’s and its talons were larger than a pidgey’s. Pink hair grew from the top of its head, forming a crescent shape if observed from the side, and its tail feathers were both pink and yellow, with the ends having notches on them. Its wings were big and long, and when outstretched, it looked as though it could easily trap Tsubasa in a big hug.

“Pijoooooo!!” The large bird pokemon cried.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex to get some information on it. “Pidgeotto, the bird pokemon, and the evolved form of pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution, as they are very territorial and show no mercy when attacking their prey.”

To the casual trainer and to small pokemon, a pidgeotto would be something they would stay away from for the time being. However, Tsubasa was not like normal pidgey. As soon as pidgeotto descended to the ground, Tsubasa pointed a wing at it and started cooing like crazy. Julia was quick to translate it, even though she facepalmed. “Ugh! Tsubasa says, ‘You’re not so tough! I’m gonna beat you bloody! Don’t think you’re so special just because you’re bigger than me!’ Really, Tsubasa?” She had to wonder if she caught the only pidgey in the world who was this boastful.

Pidgeotto let out some chirps, not looking fazed by Tsubasa’s declaration. “Your pidgeotto says, ‘I’d like to see you try, shrimp.’”

“Battle begin!”

“Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack to knock it out!” Falkner commanded.

“Pijo!!” Without hesitation, pidgeotto flew across the battlefield. Tsubasa tried to move away, but pidgeotto managed to catch up. Its large beak slammed right into Tsubasa’s wing, sending her rolling across the battlefield.

“Tsubasa! Are you okay?!” Julia cried. Like before, Tsubasa got back on her talons without a hitch. “Use Gust!” The tiny bird flapped its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind.

“Gust right back at it!” Pidgeotto flapped its wings, creating a stronger gust of wind than Tsubasa’s. As a result, the tiny bird found itself blown away. She was quick to regain her composure, but not enough to avoid another attack. “Use Quick Attack!” Tsubasa tried to fly away, but pidgeotto was too fast for her. Once again, pidgeotto’s beak collided with her, sending her sprawling onto the battlefield. This time, Tsubasa was unable to move at all.

“Tsubasa the pidgey is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner!” The referee announced.

Julia pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. “It’s okay. You did great.”

“Pichu!”

“You want to go at it again? Okay. Just be careful.”

Hikaru scuttled onto the battlefield, her round eyes gleaming with determination. She was going to need it. Julia knew that even if she did have a type disadvantage, size and strength also mattered, and she wasn’t sure if Hikaru would be able to beat pidgeotto. But she had to believe in her. Surely, they had a chance. The battle resumed.

“Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack again!”

The bird ascended into the air before dropping downward. “Hikaru! When it gets close, use Thundershock!” Hikaru didn’t dodge. She wanted to, but she wanted to trust Julia’s instructions. Pidgeotto came closer and closer. Her tiny red cheeks crackled with sparks of electricity just dying to come out. “NOW!”

“Chuuu!” Hikaru didn’t hold back, and unleashed an explosion of thunder. Pidgeotto was unable to avoid it, as it had been flying too fast, leaving it unable to dodge right off. As a result, pidgeotto’s body was consumed by electricity, its feathers burning from the touch.

Once the shock dissipated, pidgeotto flew down toward Hikaru and knocked her away with one wing. That proved to be a mistake, as pidgeotto’s body suddenly turned numb. Its muscles and wings became stiff, and its body didn’t move the way it wanted it to. Static had taken affect once more. Julia knew this was her chance to defeat Falkner. She commanded that Hikaru use Thundershock once more, along with Sweet Kiss to make sure pidgeotto was so loopy it would be unable to battle or attack. Hikaru did what she asked, and pidgeotto found itself slapping itself with its wings multiple times. Julia’s body blazed with courage and determination. She had never felt this way before. Was this what it was like to be one with her pokemon?

She yelled for Hikaru to finish it off with Thundershock. Pidgeotto was struck once more by a bolt of lightning. Despite it attempting to stand up and continue the battle, both of its talons gave out, and it landed in the middle of the battlefield with a thud. The referee walked over to get a closer look. Pidgeotto was out like a light. “Pidgeotto is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner, which means the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!”

Julia fell to her knees. She had won. It didn’t fully sink in. Ever since she was young, she hardly ever won at anything, like contests or games. It didn’t help that kids and people like Mrs. Amoretto had convinced Julia that she would never have a chance at being worth something no matter what she did, even if she worked hard. Now...all of those beliefs had been whacked across oblivion by the baseball bat that was Hikaru’s victory against pidgeotto. Her green eyes, wide with confusion at first, suddenly glimmered with joy. Her cup of happiness was full before, but Hikaru made it overflow by contributing one more drop to it.

“Pichuuuu!!” Hikaru leaped into Julia’s arms with a cheer.

“You did it, Hikaru! You did it!! We won!!” Julia stood back up and spun around, holding Hikaru high in the sky. Falkner pulled pidgeotto back into its PokeBall with a frown on his face.

“For pity’s sake...sorry, Dad. I lost,” Falkner mumbled to himself, lamenting his loss. If Elder Li were here, he would say that failure could teach one more than success ever could. In his heart, he was proud of Julia for beating him. Well, not for beating him, but for finally taking joy from battles. It was evident from the way Julia and Hikaru cuddled and nuzzled each other that they were truly rejoicing in their victory, brought about by their bond. “Oh well. There’s always next time.”

“Falkner!” The girl’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. “Are...your pokemon gonna be okay? We didn’t hurt them too bad, did we?”

A smile appeared on his face, replacing the frown. “They’ll be fine. You battled awesomely. Here,” Falkner dug into his pocket and opened his hand. Julia and Hikaru looked down to see a shiny silver brooch made to resemble a hexagonal set of wings, with a slight opening going down the middle. “In honor of your victory, I present to you the Zephyr Badge.”

At first, Julia just stood there. She was happy that she won her battle against Falkner, but she didn’t really want anything out of it. All she wanted was to see battling from a new perspective. She had read about gym leaders and the Pokemon League, and didn’t find it to be of interest. She had dreams she wanted to fulfill, but the Pokemon League wasn’t one of them. Even so, she knew it’d be rude to refuse the badge. Perhaps she might like to try it out if she could. She slowly took the badge from Falkner’s hand.

Right then and there, a memory came back to her mind. Her seven-year-old self was sitting in the principal’s office crying. Falkner had released two of his pokemon to keep her company and cheer her up. One of them was a white pokemon with red and blue markings on its belly. “Did you...used to have a togetic?”

That was out of the blue. She did say she barely remembered the incident. Maybe seeing the badge triggered something. He flashed a sad smile. “Yes. I used to have a togetic. He was a real trooper, and a good friend.”

“What happened to him?”

“He died last month. Old age combined with kidney failure.”

Julia’s eyebrows furrowed. She had no idea. The sweet white pokemon who made her happy so many years ago is gone now. She looked down at the badge, marveling in how pristine its steel surface looked. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure he’s flying in Heaven with his wings outstretched,” Falkner crossed his arms. “You battled hard. If you keep this up, you and your pokemon will soar as high as you want to.”

She closed her hand into a fist with the badge trapped inside. “Thank you, sir. For everything. I...I don’t hate battling anymore.”

“If you’re interested, the next gym is in Azalea Town,” Falkner explained. “You have to go through Union Cave to get there, though.”

With that, Julia said her goodbyes and prepared for the trip to Union Cave. Now she had another place to go. The contempt she felt for Violet City disappeared, replaced with good memories. Meeting Falkner, battling the sages, the gym battle...she had only been here for a few days but learned so much. She was sure she was going to make good use of it for the future. However, as she left the gym, her PokeGear rang.

“I wonder who that could be?” She pulled it out and flipped it open. “Hello?”

“Julia! Hello! It’s Professor Elm!” The nervous professor on the other line exclaimed.

“Hi there. What’s up?”

“Your mother told me you’re in Violet City. Umm…” He stammered, like he was having trouble putting words together due to being too excited. “The egg you brought back from Mr. Pokemon. One of my assistants is in the Violet City PokeMart with it. We would...like you to hold onto it!”

Julia found herself speechless for a moment before answering. “Uhh...sure. I can do that. How come?”

“I’ve been doing some research on it,” Professor Elm exclaimed, calming down. “It’s a genuine Pokemon egg, and although they can hatch just fine in the wild, according to my findings, pokemon that hatch from eggs that are raised by humans can be stronger than those of wild pokemon. Would you like to raise the egg?”

“Umm...sure. I’d love to,” She answered nonchalantly. It was still sinking in, but she answered so she wouldn’t disappoint Professor Elm.

“Great!” He shouted. Julia pulled the phone away from her ear. “My assistant has spiky black hair and is wearing a white lab coat. He’s easy to spot. He has a big mole near his nose, too. Thank you so much! Bye!” Beep beep beep. With that, he hung up.

The egg...already, the memories of trying to protect it from Amara ran through her mind. This time, it was easy as pie to get it. She and Hikaru went to the PokeMart, met with the assistant, got the egg, and left without a hitch. No interruptions, no interference, nothing. However, when she left, she saw someone that caught her eye. It was a young woman with raven black hair styled in a Mt. Silver style(1), held in place with a gold barrette with a PokeBall dangling from it, wearing a pitch black kimono with yellow PokeBall patterns on it. Wrapped around her waist was a yellow and purple obi, and she donned brown geta sandals and white tabi socks.

Julia found herself stopping in place, frozen by her beauty. The woman’s skin was pale like the moon, and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Resting in her hands was a perfectly round, deep violet, oil paper umbrella with white flower designs painted on it, giving her a regal, refined air. Julia clutched the egg tightly like a mother protecting her child. This was no time to be gazing at another woman’s kimono, beautiful as it was. She was about to leave until the woman happened to glance at her.

“Is that a pokemon egg?”

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, noting the woman’s plump, rosy cheeks. Julia stared down at the egg in her arms, her cheeks burning from being put on the spot. “Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes…”

“My,” The woman spoke in a soft, clear, pretty voice that matched her elegant, proper appearance. “I’ve never seen a pokemon egg before. May I take a look at it?”

Something told her that the woman seemed nice and friendly, and there was no need to be so apprehensive around her. However, the nerves in Julia’s body were all jumbled up into a mess. She wanted to just run and take the egg with her. She needed to go to Azalea Town quickly. At the same time, she didn’t want to be rude. She let out a sigh, conceding defeat. “Okay. But don’t touch it, please. It’s very fragile,” Julia told her firmly, hoping that her tone of voice had an authoritative air about it that would be enough to make her listen.

The woman bent over to gaze at the egg with her gleaming eyes. She tilted her head to one size, examining it closely. “Mr. Pokemon must have found it, didn’t he?”

Julia’s mouth fell open. “How...did you figure that out?”

The woman stood back up and let out a chuckle. “Mr. Pokemon watches our performances whenever he has time, so he tells us a lot about his discoveries,” The woman explained. “I’m a dancer, you see, and my sisters and I reside in Ecruteak City. I’m Zuki, by the way.”

“J-J-J-Julia,” She stammered. That explained it. “Y-Y-Your...kimono is...really pretty.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Zuki replied gratefully, bending down into a graceful bow. “My mother sewed it for me when my pokemon evolved. Oh!” She looked down at her watch. “I must be going. I’m meeting my sister for breakfast at the cafe. It was a pleasure meeting you, dearest Julia. I do hope you will become a great pokemon trainer.”

With a soft smile and a wave, Zuki trotted off to a cafe that was close by. Julia waved back with a shy smile. “She seemed nice,” She said to herself. Adjusting her bag strap, she walked southbound, down the path that supposedly led to Union Cave.

She expected the trek to be tough, like on Routes 30 and 31. However, it proved to be far tougher than usual, with trainers asking her for battles. She figured her pokemon needed some more battling experience if she was going to challenge the Azalea gym, so she decided to accept their offers. The battles themselves were either really tough or took a long time. At one point, a big red ladybug pokemon had flown right in front of her, sitting on a rock.

“Awww! How cute! A ledyba!” Julia watched the bug pokemon sit on the rock. The pokemon was large with a red upper body, and its stomach and face were a light shade of creamy white. It had big, soulful black eyes, six stubby legs resembling round fists, and big black polka dots dotted its back. Julia held up her PokeDex.

“Ledyba, the five star pokemon. These naturally gentle bug type pokemon gather in groups during the cold weather to keep warm. They are very timid and don’t move a muscle when they’re alone. In a group, they’re more active and social. They prefer to communicate with others by emitting an aromatic scent,” A pink female sign flashed in the corner of the PokeDex, indicating that it was female.

Julia put her PokeDex away and pulled out a PokeBall. “I’m definitely going to catch this little cutie!” Hikaru got the message and decided to help out. She commanded Hikaru to use Thundershock on it. Hikaru scurried over to the giant ladybug before it could react. With a piercing cry, a jolt of lightning dropped down on the pokemon. Ledyba’s body became numb as the electricity surged through her body. When the electricity dissipated, the ladybug fell off of the rock, its limp body making contact with the grass with a soft thud. Julia threw the PokeBall without a word. The PokeBall bounced off of the ladybug, and it turned into light before going inside.

The PokeBall wobbled back and forth, the red light in the center flashing. All of a sudden, a light came right out, morphing into the ledyba, who shook its head to shake off the numbness. “Aww! I guess you better weaken it some more,” Julia said.

“Pichu!”

The ledyba opened its translucent wings, ready to fly away. “No! Hurry! Use Disarming Voice!” She couldn’t let it get away. Hikaru let out another piercing cry. This time, pink circles and hearts poured out of her mouth, ripping apart the poor ladybug’s ear drums. The ledyba found itself descending back on the grass with two fists clinging to its two black antennae. Once more, Julia threw a PokeBall at it, and the ledyba was forced back inside. The PokeBall wobbled again. Julia squeezed her eyes shut, praying that the pokemon stay inside this time.

Click! The flashing red light disappeared. “Yay! I caught a ledyba!” Julia jumped up and down with a cheer. Once she stopped, she kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. However, as soon as she picked it up, it glowed in a white light before disappearing into thin air. The smile on her face immediately morphed into a frown. “Wha?! What...what just happened?!”

“Pichuuuu?” Hikaru was just as confused as she was.

“Oh! Mom might know!” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her PokeGear. She dialed her house number and waited for an answer.

“Hello?”

“Mom? It’s me, Julia!”

“Hi, Julia! How’s your--”

“I caught a pokemon just now but the PokeBall disappeared!” Julia interrupted, her voice almost bordering on hysterical. “I’m worried that it might have--”

“Don’t worry,” Kassia told her reassuringly. “We just received it through the transporter.”

“Huh?”

“Professor Elm and I talked about this before you went on your journey,” Kassia began. “He programmed your PokeBalls to make sure that if you ever caught more pokemon than you could carry, they would immediately be transported here to the house for safekeeping,” The worry and hysteria that had caught Julia in its clutches finally released her. She found herself letting out a sigh of relief.

“Ohhhh. I get it,” Julia facepalmed. “I even read about this in my books, too. Sorry.”

“It’s okay! I figured you’d wind up worrying about this, so I’m glad you called. Where are you right now?”

“I’m on a road that’s supposed to take me to some cave called Union Cave,” Julia told her.

“Oh dear. You better be careful then,” Kassia advised, her tone of voice adopting a slightly more serious tone. “Union Cave’s not an easy cave to get through. There’s onix and zubat and sandshrew and everything in there.”

Julia shuddered. She hated zubat with every fiber of her being. Just hearing their names made her freeze in place. “Don’t worry, Jul. Your pokemon will be safe with us. Oh! I better let you go. My soap opera’s getting to a really steamy part.”

That made a chuckle come out. Mom and her soap operas. “Okay then. Sorry for worrying you. Bye! Love you!” With that, she hung up her PokeGear and went about her way.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been out on the road, but by the time she had reached a pokemon center, the sky was draped in a deep blue curtain embroidered with twinkling stars. It must be confessed that she lost a battle to a particularly strong trainer, and as a result, all of her pokemon were too tired and injured to do anything. For a moment, Julia was worried. An eleven year old girl, all alone in the middle of the woods at night with pokemon that couldn’t fight. What if a wild pokemon were to attack? She was sure she would be done for. At the same time, she couldn’t just stay here.

Fortunately, she saw a red roof and bright lights just up ahead. Much to her relief, it was a Pokemon Center. Boy, did she need one. Not only were her pokemon in dire need of care, she was hungry, tired, dirty, and needed to go to the bathroom. Her stomach growled with a harsh rumble, begging for food. Her hair was scraggly, covered with dirt or leaves from some confrontations with wild pokemon. Her hoodie and shorts had patches of dirt on them from falling down, whether from tripping on roots or rocks or from pokemon battles. Not only that, she needed to go to the bathroom really bad. If that Pokemon Center hadn’t been there, she might have considered doing it outside, and she really didn’t want to expose herself. What if there were night prowlers or creepy perverts out there watching? She didn’t want to take that risk.

The first thing she did was race to the bathroom. After that, she gave her pokemon to Nurse Joy. Once they were healed, she jumped in the shower to wash off the dirt and grime. Water racing down her body, dampening her hair...it felt great to finally be out of the wilderness. Never before had she appreciated shampoo and soap so much. She had always taken it for granted, especially since she liked being clean and was never a rough and tumble kind of girl who liked to get dirty or climb trees. Once she was clean, she threw her dirty clothes into the washer, then the dryer. After that, she treated herself and her pokemon to a very late dinner, she changed into her pajamas, and went to bed. She figured she’d go into the cave tomorrow.

***

Morning came, and when she woke up, she called Kassia again to send Papillon to the ranch in exchange for the ledyba she caught last night. She named her Ladybug. But for now, she needed to get through Union Cave. If she didn’t get through it now, she wouldn’t get to Azalea Town by nightfall. There was no doubt about it. She had to get through it.

The cave itself wasn’t anything special. It was dark, but not so dark that Julia couldn’t see where she was going. There were some creeks and ponds around, where some water pokemon played and enjoyed themselves. The ground beneath her feet was quite bumpy. Rocks of all shapes and sizes covered the cave floors, so hardly anyone could walk straight. At one point, Julia slipped on one rock and wound up falling on the ground. Another rock scratched her knee, leaving a small laceration surrounded by dirt. When she sat up, she looked down at her palm. Tiny scratches, dirt, and gravel decorated it.

“Oww…” Julia crawled over to a small pond and stuck her hand in the water. The frigid cold water made a shiver run up her arm, all the way down to her spine. She put her good hand in there and splashed some water on her scraped knee. The skin around her knee was red from the fall, and it felt warm when she touched it.

Hikaru noticed the scrape before hopping up on a rock and licking the blood away with her tongue. “Awww. Thanks, Hikaru,” Julia’s heart grew warm at the kind gesture. “You’re so sweet,” As thanks, she scratched Hikaru under her yellow chin. “I wish I brought band-aids with me. There’s no PokeMart around.”

“Chuu…” Hikaru agreed. All of a sudden, her ears twitched, and the tiny mouse looked up.

“You hear something?”

“Pichu!”

Julia stood up and put her hands behind her ears. At first, she heard nothing. A few seconds later, her ears caught the soft sound of a ringing bell. But there was no way a bell could be in a cave, let alone ringing. The ringing sound grew louder. “Pichu!” Hikaru cried, pointing further down the cave.

The area gradually grew brighter, as yellow light came pouring out. All of a sudden… “Mareeeeep!” A wooly sheep pokemon darted out with a cry. The sheep had a dark blue face, matching legs, cone shaped ears with black and yellow stripes on them, a curly tuft of wooly fur on its head, and a body that was completely covered tail to neck with soft, pale yellow wool. At the end of its black and yellow striped tail was a round, orange sphere that resembled a crystal ball, and it was glowing in a bright light. Wrapped around its neck was a red strap with a silver bell dangling from it. That explained where the ringing came from.

“A mareep! They don’t live in caves,” Julia told herself as she pulled out her PokeDex.

“Mareep, the wool pokemon. Mareep store static electricity in their wool, so touching it will shock you. They usually avoid battle and have mild dispositions. The wooly coat around its body stores a lot of air, allowing it to stay cool in summer and warm in winter.”

“Mareeeep!!” The mareep darted toward Julia before pulling on her pant leg with its teeth. “Mareeep!! Mareeep!!”

“What’s wrong?” Julia asked. The mareep sounded desperate and kept baaing. She tried to translate its frantic words. “Your trainer’s in trouble?” The mareep nodded vigorously. “Do you remember where you trainer is?”

The mareep darted back to where it came from, its silver bell ringing as it moved. “Mareep! Mareep!”

Julia turned to look at Hikaru. “Let’s follow him.”

Hikaru nodded. The mareep made sure not to move too quickly so as to lose sight of Julia and Hikaru, allowing them to see where they were going. Sometimes it stopped in its tracks, looking back to see if they were behind it. A blue bat pokemon suddenly flew past Julia, flapping its large wings. Letting out a yelp, she slipped on a rock and fell on her rear. “Owww!!” She cried before standing back up. The pain from hitting the rock made her rear end throb, but this was no time to worry about that. They continued further.

The tiny mouse’s ears twitched, this time to a different sound. Julia heard it, too. A person’s voice calling out for help. Closer and closer they walked. The more they walked, the clearer the voice became. “Help!! Help!! Someone!! Is anyone there?!” A girl’s voice echoed in the depths of the cave.

Finally, they found the source of the voice: a girl of Julia’s age sitting in front of a large pile of rocks. The girl had bright, wavy orange hair that went down to her lower back, tied in the back with a black ribbon. Her blue eyes were red, puffy, and wet from tears. They were hard to make out in the dark, but the light from the mareep’s tail shined on her face, and the tears reflected it. She was wearing a white blouse underneath a sleeveless maroon vest, a brown skirt, white stockings, and deep brown shoes. Standing next to her was another pokemon, a small, four legged fox-like creature with six curly orange tails, matching the tuft of hair on its head. The pokemon had darker orange fur, soft grey eyes, a cream colored abdomen, and its paws were a deep shade of orangish brown.

“Mareeeeep!” The mareep suddenly darted over to the girl, pointing to Julia and Hikaru with its paw.

“Is everything okay?” Julia asked in a soft voice.

“Oh! Thanks so much, Chirin!” The girl hugged her mareep friend tearfully, referring to it as Chirin. Julia smiled. So the mareep was her pokemon. “I’m sorry to ask this of you…” The girl began. Julia could tell from the way her voice sounded that she had been crying for a long time. Her voice was hoarse, like she had screamed for a while. “But I need your help! I can’t do this on my own!” She grabbed her by the arm, giving her a desperate, pleading look.

“What happened?”

“We were trying to catch an onix,” The girl explained. “But it escaped by digging this hole here,” She pointed to the rock pile. “One of my pokemon fell in, and I tried to get him back, but the ceiling caved in, plugging it up,” Julia’s green eyes widened. A pokemon was trapped in there. “I’ve tried moving a bunch of these rocks but they’re too heavy! For all we know he could be dead!” The girl raised her voice, matching her hysterical state.

“Vul! Vulpix!” The fox pokemon cried, tapping the girl’s shoe with one of its paws.

Julia could feel courage rising in her heart. There was no way she was going to abandon them, even if she wasn’t sure she nor her pokemon had the manpower to help with this situation. She had to do something. “I don’t know if this’ll work, but we’ll help you!” Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. “Everyone! I need your help! Move as many rocks as you can! There’s a pokemon trapped underneath here!”

As ordered, her pokemon began moving rocks away from the pile. Some of the smaller pokemon either moved smaller rocks or worked together to carry big rocks in case they were too heavy. Julia helped the girl carry some of the bigger rocks. She was never one to do much grunt work, and at some points she almost dropped big rocks. Physical strength was not something she truly had, but this was no time to complain about her shortcomings. Her pokemon must be scared, hungry, dehydrated or even dying. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

“Umm...random question,” Julia said as she and the girl carried a big rock on both sides. “Do any of your pokemon know Rock Smash?”

“Yes. My jigglypuff does,” The orange haired girl replied, her voice plagued with doubt. “But we tried that already. It just makes things worse.”

“I see…”

“Vulpix!” The fox pokemon called out.

“What’s up, Kitsune?” The girl ran up to her vulpix friend.

“Is that your vulpix?” Julia asked.

“Yes. I named her Kitsune,” She replied before noticing a hole. “Look! A hole, and it’s big enough for my pokemon to come through!” She dipped her head into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness. Hikaru and Aqua took the liberty of moving some other rocks to make said hole bigger. “Floriaaaaan!! Can you hear meeeee?!” The girl screamed. Julia’s hands flew to her ears.

But she heard another voice loud and clear. “Chikoooooo!” A high pitched voice replied back.

The girl stuck her arms down the hole. “Use Vine Whip on my arms! You can pull yourself up, right?!”

“Chiko chiko!” Julia watched as a figure came closer and closer to the surface. Soon, a chikorita came out of the whole, its vines wrapped right around its trainer’s arms. The orange haired girl was quick to trap it in a tight hug, her tears falling on the pokemon’s leaf. The fear completely disappeared, giving way for unadulterated joy to come bursting right out. The same could be said for the chikorita, who gladly returned the hug.

“Florian! Thank goodness you’re okay!!” The orange haired girl cried, hugging her pokemon so tight she didn’t want to let go. Florian withdrew its vines, letting himself be trapped in the hug, basking in his trainer’s love and affection. “I thought I lost you forever!” The orange haired girl stood up, cradling her friend in her arms. “Thank you so much for helping us.”

“You’re welcome,” Julia told her politely. “It’s no big deal. I’m just happy you two are okay…” She let the sentence drift away as she got a better look at the girl. The light coming from Chirin’s tail made it easier to make out her features. However, the girl looked familiar. Where had she seen her before?

Then it hit her. The girl had a chikorita. “Hey! I remember you!” Although she knew it was rude to do so, she found herself pointing her index finger at the girl in a dramatic manner.

“Huh?” Both the girl and her three pokemon tilted their heads to one side.

“I bumped into you at Professor Elm’s lab last week! You’re the girl who took the chikorita I was gonna get!!” Julia shouted. Had her mother been there, Kassia would have stopped her right away or took her away from the situation at hand.

All the girl did was look down at Florian, then back at Julia. Looking at her made her remember their meeting outside Professor Elm’s lab. “Oh. You wanted a chikorita? I’m...sorry.”

Julia put her arm down. That was a surprise. Whenever Julia would say something that others would consider weird, they would either get mad or laugh at her. Instead, the orange haired girl just apologized calmly. “Well, it’s kinda too late now. Besides, my partner’s right here,” Hikaru crawled up her shoulder, lowering her head for some free pets.

“A pichu?” The girl asked, putting her chikorita and vulpix in their PokeBalls. “But Professor Elm doesn’t give away pichus.”

“I know. But I found this one near death and my mom and Professor Elm nursed it back to health. She just sorta got attached to me after that.”

The orange haired girl smiled. “I see. Hey! I’m on my way to Azalea Town. Do you want to get out of this cave with me?”

“Sure!”

With that, Julia and the orange haired girl went further into the cave. They were careful not to step on any rocks, or potential pokemon like geodude or onix. They did encounter some problems. At one point, Julia almost fell into a pond, but the orange haired girl was quick to catch her by the wrist before she fell in, saving her from getting soaked. Sometimes the orange haired girl unknowingly stepped on Julia’s feet despite Chirin’s light brightening the cave. Other times, Julia either almost went in the wrong direction or bumped into some walls.

“Uuugh!” Julia complained. Her legs began to feel heavy from too much walking. “This cave feels like it goes on forever!”

“I know,” The orange haired girl said. “Huh?”

Finally, they found some light. The oval shaped light of the exit. It was small, and still a ways off, but it was there. “Look!” The orange haired girl pointed to the light at the end of the tunnel. “There’s the exit!”

Without hesitation, Julia and the orange haired girl raced to the exit. The first thing they saw was a magnificent blue sky, with the white sun shining down on them. Since it was so bright, Julia covered her eyes for a moment. The sudden brightness made her eyes hurt, so she closed them for a few seconds before opening them to make them adjust. The light at the end of Chirin’s tail faded.

“We’re out! Finally!” The orange haired girl stretched her arms upward.

“It’s still light out,” Julia noticed. She checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 1:30 PM. “Wow. We’ve been in that cave for hours!”

“I’ll bet,” The orange haired girl said. Then her eyes suddenly got wide. “Oh lord! I never introduced myself, did I?”

“Me either,” Julia opened her eyes, putting a hand over her head to block out the sun. “I’m...Julia. Julia Parisa, from New Bark Town.”

“My name’s Perrine,” The orange haired girl, Perrine, introduced herself. “I’m from Goldenrod City. I’m sure you’ve already met Chirin here,” She stroke Chirin’s head gently. “Want to see my other pokemon?”

“Sure! I’d love to show you mine as well!” Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. Tsubasa stretched out her wings. Neji and Aqua simply smiled warmly. Hikaru waved at Perrine. Ladybug simply latched onto Julia’s back. “These are Tsubasa, Neji, Aqua, Hikaru, and my most recent pokemon, Ladybug.”

“You give them names, too?”

“Yep!”

“I do too! Here are mine!” Perrine threw her PokeBalls in the air, allowing her pokemon to pop right out. First came Florian the chikorita. Second came Kitsune the vulpix. Next were a hoothoot, a jigglypuff, and a small red pokemon with stubby arms and legs, small yellow eyes, and two notched green leaves coming out from its head.

“These are Florian and Kitsune, as you know,” Perrine introduced her pokemon one by one. “That’s Fukuro the hoothoot,” Fukuro cooed in a welcoming manner. “This is Baloo, my jigglypuff,” Baloo gave a graceful bow. “And last but not least is my most recent friend, Fuwari the hoppip!”

The pokemon greeted each other warmly. Hikaru even shook Florian’s foot with its hands. Aqua and Baloo were already running around playing. Tsubasa ignored Fukuro’s attempts to befriend it. Chirin allowed Neji to play with his tail. Kitsune simply stayed by Perrine’s side, content to be away from the crowd. “They’re all cute!” Julia said with a smile.

“They sure are,” Perrine agreed with a nod. “Hey! I think Azalea Town’s just down this road!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Julia was already on the path, with her pokemon following close behind. She held the egg in her arms tightly. “Let’s go already!!”

Perrine simply smiled and followed her.

***

Footnotes:

1. This is a reference to Japanese brides styling their hair in ways that resemble Mt. Fuji. Typically, Shinto-style weddings required brides to wear their hair up with ornamental pins, making their hair resemble Mt. Fuji. Geishas and maiko sometimes wear their hair up in this style as well, but it’s different for everyone.

***

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Sentret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 7: Save The Slowpoke!

“There it is!” Perrine pointed to some log cabins further down the path. The two girls could make out the distinct red roof of a Pokemon Center. They ran past an old well, and they weren’t sure how long they had been running, but after getting through the cave, they had finally reached Azalea Town.

“Finally!” Julia fell to her knees, putting all her pokemon back in their PokeBalls.

Azalea Town was bigger than Violet City, but it had a more outdoorsy feel and look to it. Many of the houses resembled cabins, made out of logs, wood, stone, other things one would find in a forest. Other houses looked like regular houses, some made of brick, some more modern in design with painted walls of varying colors. Some houses had huge piles of wood, logs, or charcoal sitting next to them. Black clouds of smoke billowed out from some chimneys nearby.

“So...do you wanna go in the Pokemon Center?” Julia asked.

“Sure,” Perrine replied with a smile. Julia averted her eyes, but she couldn’t help but find that Perrine had a great smile, showing her pearly white teeth and everything. “My pokemon definitely need some TLC.”

They went in the Pokemon Center together and handed their pokemon to Nurse Joy, who took them in the back room without another word. Perrine and Julia sat at some comfy leather couches nearby, stretching their limbs or just kicking back. Perrine pulled off her shoes, stretching her feet out, even though they were covered by white stockings. Julia could see some faded brown marks at the tip of the stockings where her toes were, probably dirt from being used so much.

“So you said you were from New Bark Town, right?” Perrine asked as she put one of her shoes back on. “It’s really nice. Much smaller than Goldenrod.”

“It is,” Julia replied.

“Have you ever been to Goldenrod City?”

“Only a few times. It’s pretty nice, and big, too.”

“You should totally come by sometime,” Perrine pulled a comb out of her purple backpack and brushed it through her wavy orange hair. “There’s a huge department store where you can get just about anything. PokeBalls, dolls, figurines, books, clothes, pokemon food, all that good stuff,” Julia smiled. She liked big stores where she could find anything she wanted. She made a mental note to check it out if she ever went to Goldenrod City. “I’ve seen the gym leader Whitney in there a few times, too. She really likes dolls. I hear her house is just full of pokemon plushies. Oh!” She put her brush away. “Guess what? The Goldenrod Radio Tower is right across from my house!”

“Radio...Tower?” Julia tilted her head to one side. The radio tower was strong in her memory. A large, tall, black tower that stood tall amidst the sea of buildings, reaching toward the sky with that long antenna.

“Yeah!” Perrine pulled out her PokeGear. “Our PokeGears have radio cards in them that allow them to pick up on towers and play whatever’s being broadcasted. Music channels, talk shows, radio dramas, weather forecasts, all that stuff!”

“Wow. That sounds pretty cool.”

“Do you listen to your radio?”

“No,” Julia held her hands up, her palms facing Perrine. “I mostly use my PokeGear for calling my parents. But sometimes whenever my parents and I go on long drives, we turn on the classical music channel. It’s very soothing, especially after a bad day,” Julia scratched her hair with one hand.

“I love listening to the radio dramas they broadcast on the Variety Channel,” Perrine clasped her hands together, staring up at the ceiling, her blue eyes glimmering. “My all-time favorite is The Bond Between Shooting Stars! It’s based on a novel that came out two years ago, and it’s about this group of best friends who are all autistic but love stars, cartoons, books, and lots of other things, and they have to deal with personal problems in their lives such as fitting in, betrayal, family problems, all that stuff!”

Autistic friends. Dealing with problems. A book. Her original disinterest suddenly morphed into full blown blazing curiosity. Already, her mind was racing with questions. Where was this book? Where could she get it? At the PokeMart, maybe? Or at a local book store? There just had to be a copy somewhere she could read. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly blurted out, “I’m autistic, too!”

Perrine stopped talking for a moment, letting the new information sink in. As soon as she realized she said it, Julia’s face turned red with embarrassment, and she hid her face in her hands. ‘Oh no!! I just told someone I don’t even know that I’m...what if she hates me or thinks I’m retarded?!’ Julia thought. All sorts of scenarios were running through her mind, all of them horrible. For all she knew, Perrine might get mad, leave, and say she doesn’t want to hang out with someone like her. Maybe she might bully her or trick her into doing something that’ll get her in trouble. What if--

“That’s fine.”

What? Julia found herself pulling her hands back to her sides. She could have sworn her ears were playing tricks on her. Perrine did not just say that was fine. “You’re...not mad?”

“No,” Perrine tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I be mad?”

“People often tell my parents I’m a bad kid because of it. Or say that I only do stuff like scream a lot or say it’s just an excuse to do bad stuff--”

“That’s stupid,” Perrine smoothed out one of her shirt sleeves. “I may have only known you for a day, but I think you’re pretty cool. You did help me and my pokemon back in the cave, after all.”

Never before had she heard anything so angelic, so heavenly, so...wonderful. Julia told Perrine she was autistic, and Perrine was okay with it. She didn’t get mad, yell, cast her away, abandon her, make up untrue lies about her, tell her she was lying, or anything like that. She just said it was fine and moved on. Her eyesight blurred for a moment, and she could feel something warm trickling down her cheeks.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” Perrine was the first to see the tears. “Did I say something bad? I’m sorry!”

“No! No no no!” Julia was quick to wipe the tears away. “It’s just...I haven’t had many friends my age...kids used to pick on me...and call me names like weirdo or stupid...teachers were no better.”

All Perrine did was cross her arms. “You’re not stupid or a weirdo. Everyone has baggage. Even I do,” She said cooly, her initial shock vanishing. “Hey. Want to have a practice battle after this? We can do some training before we battle the Azalea gym. How’s that?”

Julia nodded. “I’d love to.”

Once their pokemon were healed, the two girls marched off to a nearby field and had their pokemon engage in practice battles. Julia mostly used Aqua and Neji since she felt they were in need of some battling experience. Perrine used Baloo and Florian. The two girls weren’t sure how long they had been practicing, but by the time they finished, the sky had morphed into a beautiful mixture of orange, blue, and pink hues.

“Neji! Use Fury Swipes!”

“Florian! Block it with Reflect!”

“Chikori!” Florian generated a glass wall in front of him. Neji’s long claws collided with the glass wall. Once they made contact, the racoon-like pokemon’s claws bounced off, and he used his tail to land on the ground without getting hurt. Neji used one of his big arms to wipe some sweat off of his forehead.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Julia advised, walking over to Neji. “You okay, Neji?”

Neji flashed a thumb’s up. “Sentret!”

Perrine put Florian back in his PokeBall. Her stomach growled with a mighty roar, begging for food. “Sounds like you’re pretty hungry,” Julia said.

“Want to go grab some dinner?”

“Sure.”

Much to Julia’s surprise, she was enjoying herself. Perrine turned out to be a fun, talkative, friendly person. As soon as they sat down for dinner, the two of them found themselves talking about many things, such as pokemon, their interests, etc. Julia started by telling Perrine about how she met Hikaru. Perrine kept eating her chicken dumplings, listening to Julia’s tale intently.

“Wow. So that’s what happened,” Perrine said before swallowing a chicken dumpling. She gave a piece to Kitsune so she could have something to eat herself. “You must have been really scared.”

“I sure was!” Julia scrunched up her arms, shivering at the memory of those killer beedrill. “Especially since I’m scared of poison type pokemon!” She thanked her lucky stars that her mother had come in the nick of time, otherwise she and Hikaru would have died from being stung by their drills.

“It’s funny you say Hikaru’s your starter pokemon,” Perrine stroke Kitsune’s tuft of hair with one hand. The vulpix smiled, basking in her trainer’s affection. “Even though Florian’s considered my starter pokemon, Kitsune here is the first pokemon I became friends with.”

“Really? How did you two meet?”

Perrine’s eyes narrowed, staring down at Kitsune. “I...I had an argument with my dad and I ran away. Farther than I wanted to,” An image of herself curled in a ball crying flashed through her mind. She looked as though she were hiding among wooden boxes. “I was upset but...then she just sorta came up to me and snuggled with me.”

“Vuuul!” Kitsune barked, empathizing Perrine’s statement.

“We became inseparable after that. But I had to keep her a secret from Mom and Dad.”

“Your parents don’t like pokemon?” Julia asked before taking a bite of spaghetti. Hikaru helped herself to some breadsticks, taking care to rip them into bite sized pieces so she doesn’t choke.

The orange haired girl ate a gob of brown rice before continuing. “My dad doesn’t want me becoming a Pokemon trainer,” She told her with a grunt. “He wants me to be a ‘proper lady,’ as he says. Piano lessons, dance lessons, flower arranging, sewing, putting on makeup, those boring tea ceremonies…” She took a sip of some water. “I’m just not good at any of that!”

In a way, Julia could tell she seemed like the freedom loving type. She had never seen a proper lady wear a vest over a white blouse or a long brown skirt that exposed her ankles. She wasn’t wearing high heels, nor did she have her nails done either. Julia could relate. She was sure she herself wouldn’t be good at any of those things either. There was one time when she caked on her mother’s lipstick and eyeshadow while she was at work one day, but immediately after she put it on, she tried to wipe it off. The lipstick felt like bitter bubblegum sticking to her lips, making them feel sticky, like she could barely open her mouth. The heavy eyeshadow was exactly that: heavy. Her eyes felt as though they were going to be permanently closed, and seeing herself in the mirror, for a moment she had thought she had become an ugly horror movie monster.

Perrine balled one of her hands into a fist. “Becoming a pokemon trainer has been my dream! But I plan on going farther! I’m gonna win all the badges, get into the Pokemon League, and become the new champion of Johto!”

“Champion…?” Julia took one of the bread stick pieces and threw it in her mouth.

“Of course!” Perrine exclaimed. Kitsune used her teeth to pull a piece of salad out of a bowl. “The champion is the strongest trainer in all the land! The current champion is Lance Cipris. He specializes in dragon types,” Perrine’s blue eyes glimmered. “He’s super cool!”

“I’ll bet.”

“So why are you on your journey?”

“Hm?” Julia’s mouth was full, so she made sure to chew and swallow before talking, as she knew talking with your mouth full was rude. With that, she told Perrine about Amara, the things she did, and the events that led to Julia starting on her travels.

“No way!” Perrine’s blue eyes slammed wide open, and her mouth fell agape. “Your sister’s the one who stole a pokemon from Elm’s lab?”

Julia looked down at her food and nodded grimly. “Sadly, yes. I’m on a mission to find her and bring her to justice.”

The orange haired girl tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. “That’s it? The police can easily do that. Don’t you wanna get into the Pokemon League?” She asked. Kitsune sniffed Perrine’s sleeve, her nose crinkling up and down with every sniff.

“I have no interest in battling,” Julia answered, finishing the rest of her dinner. “I don’t want to be a battler, or even the best trainer in the world. All I want to do is meet lots of pokemon and make friends, and find Amara, too. I love her, really. I just don’t like what she’s doing or what she’s become.”

The two girls were silent for a while. Hikaru and Kitsune hopped off the chairs and sat on the floor, happily chatting amongst themselves. Perrine smiled. “Alright then. We all have different reasons for being away from home. Nothing wrong with that. I’m gonna take a shower.”

“I’ll be in our room.”

The two girls took their showers before getting ready for bed. When it came time for them to sleep, Perrine couldn’t help but notice that all of Julia’s pokemon were out of their PokeBalls, ready for sleeping. Perrine had put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls. There was nothing wrong with keeping them out, but she couldn’t resist the urge to ask. “How come you don’t keep your pokemon in their PokeBalls a lot of the time?”

Julia turned off the lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. “I like spending time with them. I mean, sure, PokeBalls allow for easy traveling and are more convenient, but I like to see their faces, play with them, help them out, and let them do their own thing,” Julia explained. Neji snuggled right up to Julia’s cheek, rubbing himself against her face with a smile full of contentment. The girl stroke Neji’s fur gently, returning the affectionate gesture. “I’ll bet it must stink to be all cooped up in a ball all the time. They deserve some fresh air and wide open space, right? Plus, I just love being with them!”

“Sentret!” Neji chirped, agreeing with her.

Perrine smiled. That explained it. She pulled her pink night gown sleeve forward to straighten it out a bit. “That’s nice. Just be careful when you’re going into places like hotels, restaurants, real posh places, that kinda stuff. Okay?”

“Okay!” Julia had to admit, she wondered if traveling with Perrine would make the experience better. As much as she liked having pokemon for companions, she had been dying to make real human friends for a long time. Perrine was nice and friendly enough, and didn’t make a big deal about her autism, nor did she hate her right off. That was the one thing she kept expecting from people all the time. Where had Perrine been all her life? Before long, her eyes felt heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.

***

Milky morning light illuminated the room, pulling Perrine out of her beauty sleep. Her orange hair came out scraggly, with some of her bangs curling upward to a point where they were facing the ceiling. When she turned around to face Julia’s bed, Julia herself was gone. The bed was neat and readily made, and the pillows didn’t have any wrinkles on them. She stretched her arms out, getting the kinks out of her arms and legs. She changed out of her pink nightgown and into some new clothes this time. Today, she decided to wear a sleeveless brown shirt, a long black skirt that went past her knees, grey stockings, her brown shoes, and the black ribbon she put on the back of her head.

Once she splashed her face with water, she heard the sound of two pokemon battling outside her window. She looked outside to find Aqua and Neji engaging in a training battle amongst each other, with Hikaru, Ladybug, and Tsubasa watching as Julia gave them commands. The white egg sat right next to Hikaru, sitting in the glass container, untouched and dormant. Julia was already dressed. Perrine looked at the clock on the wall. It read 6:17 AM. She couldn’t believe how early it was, but more than that, Julia must have gotten up a lot earlier. She got her stuff together and headed out to the battlefield in the back. Aqua fired a barrage of bubbles at Neji, who used his long, glowing claws to slice them all into nothing.

“Good job, you two!” Julia said, clapping her hands twice. Neji and Aqua ran over to their trainer, nuzzling against her legs as she stroke their heads gently. “You’re getting better every day,” The proud look on Julia’s face was unmistakable.

“Pichu!” Hikaru raised her little hand upward. Julia turned to find Perrine on the battlefield.

“Oh! Morning, Perrine. Sorry! Did I wake you?”

“No. I got up on my own,” Perrine walked over to them and glanced at the pokemon. “Are you doing some training?”

“Yeah,” Julia scratched her head with one hand, giving her an embarrassed chuckle. “I know I said I’m not interested in the Pokemon League, but...I am going to battle the gym leaders.”

“How come?” Perrine asked. This was the first time she had ever met a trainer who was battling the gyms, but said she wasn’t interested in battling or the Pokemon League.

“Well...I used to really really hate pokemon battles,” Julia began. “But the Violet City gym leader and the sages at Sprout Tower taught me that battling isn’t about hurting pokemon. I want to see how others see battling and experience them for myself so...I can be a better trainer.”

Perrine twirled a lock of her orange hair around one finger as she listened, bobbing her head approvingly. “I see. You do look like a pretty gentle and kind person. You should do whatever you want to do. There’s nothing wrong with that,” She told her in a kind voice. Then an idea hatched in her head. “Hey! Here’s an idea! Do you want to have a battle with me?”

The brown haired girl opened her mouth to answer, but Tsubasa fluttered in front of the girl with a big smile, flapping her wings vigorously as she cooed. “Coo coo coo coo!!”

“Hey, Tsubasa! It’s rude to interrupt someone’s conversation!” Julia scolded, grabbing the pidgey with two hands. She pulled her head back up to face Perrine. “Sorry! Tsubasa loves to battle, but she can be a handful.”

“Coo coo coooo!!” Tsubasa chirped, giving Julia an angry glare.

“Anyway...sure! I’d love to--WAAAHH!!” Before she could answer, she felt something slide up her foot. Something slimy and wet. She didn’t look down to find out what it was, she just shook it off her leg and hid behind Perrine. “What the heck was that?!” She cried, shivering like she had been exposed to the cold.

Perrine looked down to find a pokemon staring at them. It was a large, pink creature with curly ears, a cream colored mouth, and wide eyes that looked completely vacant. The creature had four legs, all ending with single white claws, and a long, tapering tail, with the tip being a creamy white color. It didn’t look dangerous at all. “Sloooooow…”

“It’s a slowpoke,” Perrine told her.

“Huh?” Julia stopped shivering and opened her eyes to look upon the creature. She was right. It was a slowpoke. Hikaru and Neji had already approached it with their arms out, all smiles, hoping to befriend it. But the slowpoke didn’t say a word. Hikaru’s ears drooped downward sadly. Neji just scratched his head. She pulled out her PokeDex.

“Slowpoke, the dopey pokemon. Slowpoke uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river, and said tail lets out a sweet, sappy substance that easily lures pokemon to its tail. However, this Pokémon often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge,” A blue male sign appeared on the PokeDex after it finished reciting slowpoke’s information.

“Ohhhh. So that’s what clung to my leg!” Julia popped out from behind Perrine and kneeled before the slowpoke. “Sorry I got scared! You surprised me there.”

“Slooooow…” The slowpoke said in a deep, low pitched voice.

Perrine put a hand underneath her chin, lost in thought. “I know Azalea Town really likes slowpoke, but I haven’t seen any when we first came.”

All of a sudden, Julia stood up. “Perrine! This slowpoke says it needs our help!” She scooped the slowpoke into her arms. “Tell us everything!”

“Wait wait wait. Back up,” Perrine said. “What do you mean it says it needs our help?”

“Slooooow…” Her friend didn’t answer right away, but she kept nodding in response to the slowpoke.

“Got it!”

The orange haired girl found herself stumped. ‘What the heck is going on?’ She thought. None of Julia’s other pokemon seemed to notice, and if they did, they weren’t caring.

“Perrine! This slowpoke says Team Rocket’s here! They’ve been stealing its friends!” Julia shouted.

“How do you know that?”

“He just told me!”

“But you can’t understand pokemon speech!”

A light bulb went off in Julia’s head. She never told Perrine about that. Now wasn’t the time for hesitating. “I can understand what they’re saying!” Perrine could hear the desperation in her voice. But everything she said didn’t make any sense.

“Come on! You’re pulling my leg, right?” The orange haired girl crossed her arms. None of this made any sense to her. Julia looked down at the slowpoke in her arms. In a way, she had expected this kind of response. It was inevitable, as Julia knew full well that there was no human being in the world who could understand pokemon speech. Of course Perrine would think she was pulling her leg. Everyone else thought that as well. She was used to it.

It didn’t make it hurt any less. Just hearing it so often made her feel as though she were an alien that had been thrown on Earth from another planet to fend for herself, with no one she could relate to. A freak of nature, even. Her cheeks burned as she silently chastised herself for expecting Perrine to believe her right off. All the time, she tried to push away the doubt, but it was too strong, and it never budged an inch.

A high pitched scream pulled everyone out of their thoughts. The girls whipped their heads up to find a man in black holding two slowpoke underneath his arms, sprinting as though the cops were chasing him. A little black haired girl of about six or seven was sitting on the ground, crying.

“Noooo!! Slowpoooooke!!”

“Come back here, you thief!!” An old man managed to lunge at the man in black, pushing him right to the ground with a thud. As soon as he fell right on his face, the two slowpoke underneath his arms crawled out at their own pace.

Perrine’s eyes slammed open. Julia was right. Team Rocket was stealing the Slowpoke. They hadn’t talked to anyone else since they got to Azalea Town, so there was no possible way they could have heard about Team Rocket’s machinations unless they heard others talking about it. But the only thing they heard about them from was a slowpoke, and Julia claimed it said that Team Rocket was stealing them. Was Julia telling the truth about being able to understand pokemon speech?

“Get back!” The man in black pulled out a silver gun. The old man grabbed the slowpoke and dashed away, with a little girl following him from behind. BANG! BANG! BANG! Bullets flew all over the place. Some of them almost hit the pair’s feet, had they not managed to evade them. Julia’s hands flew to her ears, and she found herself falling to her knees. The loud bang of the gunshots tore at her eardrums, like someone was setting a bomb off in them.

“Kitsune, go!” Perrine threw a PokeBall, and Kitsune came flying right out. “Use Extrasensory!”

“Vuuuul!” The vulpix’s eyes glowed in a purple light. As the Team Rocket grunt tried to shoot once more, the trigger refused to budge. The entire gun was surrounded by purple light, and it levitated out of the man’s hand. The man let out a scream before landing on his rear, scrambling on the dirt. CRASH! The gun shattered into pieces, with the fragments falling to the ground, bullet casings included. The man found himself shivering in horror, his precious gun crushed to pieces.

The orange haired girl stared down at him with an austere expression, her arms crossed like she meant business. “Next time we won’t be as merciful,” She hissed. The man found himself scrambling to his feet, running away from the scene in a frenzy, wailing at the top of his lungs. After that, Perrine let out a sigh of relief, right as Kitsune walked over to her leg and rubbed herself against it with a content smile. Perrine kneeled down to stroke her beloved vulpix’s head. “Good job, Kitsune.”

“Vul vul!”

Julia kneeled before the two slowpoke, examining their bodies for any injuries. There were no visible bumps, bruises, scratches, or lacerations on their pink skin, so it was safe to say that they were just fine. The little girl ran over to Julia with a wide smile. Julia noted that she was wearing a tiny orange dress with tall white socks, red shoes, and pink ribbons held up her black pigtails.

“Wow! You two were awesome!” The little girl chirruped as she picked up one of the slowpoke. The pink creature was just as big as she was, so Julia couldn’t help but wonder if she would topple over from picking it up or whether it was heavy. The little girl didn’t seem to mind. “Your pokemon were cool, too! Thanks for saving our slowpoke!”

“You’re...welcome…” Julia stammered.

It was here that the girls got a better look at the old man, who kneeled down to pick up the other slowpoke. The man had moderately long, grey hair reaching down to his chin, with his bangs pushed back, mingling with the rest of it. Wrinkles marked his face like a map, with thick, black eyebrows hovering over his stern, grey eyes. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a teal kimono, matching pants, a white belt wrapped around his waist, and grey sandals.

“That sure was dangerous, girls,” The old man told them, holding the slowpoke in his arms like it was a newborn baby. The slowpoke didn’t mind at all, and rested in his arms with a content expression. “You could have gotten hurt or killed. But I will admit, you did save the slowpoke, so we owe you one.”

“It was nothing! Really!” Perrine exclaimed, waving her hand back and forth modestly. Julia took the opportunity to hide behind her. “We’re just glad we got to help, that’s all,” Despite attempting to look calm and modest, Perrine’s insides were doing backflips, not just from almost getting shot, but the fact that Julia was right when she said that Team Rocket was stealing the slowpoke. Her mind was in disarray, scrambling to keep everything together.

“You’re so cool!” The little girl jumped up once, her pigtails bouncing up and down with each movement. “I’m Maisy! That’s my grandpa!” She chirruped in a sweet voice.

“The name’s Kurt.”

“Kurt?” Julia murmured. “Are you the famous PokeBall maker? I’ve seen you on TV.”

Kurt nodded. “Yes I am. But I’m not making PokeBalls at the moment, so if you want some made, you’re gonna have to wait.”

“It’s because of Team Rocket, right?” Julia piped in. “What are they doing here?”

Little Maisy held her head down, staring at her red shoes. Kitsune walked up to her with a smile, putting a paw on her foot. Maisy kneeled down and stroke the fox’s tuft of fur. Kurt clutched the slowpoke in his arms. “Those scoundrels. Slowpoke are the pride and joy of Azalea Town,” He began. “That’s why that well out there is called the Slowpoke Well. They live there, and that’s where we get our water.”

The girls remembered passing by an old, circular brick well with a ladder right before they came to Azalea Town. It was the only well they saw, so they assumed that was what he was talking about. Kurt balled one of his hands into a fist. “But we heard reports saying that were kidnappin’ slowpoke, cuttin’ off their tails, and sellin’ ‘em for easy cash!”

Julia’s eyes widened with horror. “People do that?!” Already, the image of a bad person cutting off a crying slowpoke’s tail with a cleaver entered her mind, blood and all. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head left and right, hoping to force that horrible image out of her mind. It didn’t work. “I had no idea people would do such a thing!”

“I didn’t want to believe it at first either, but I saw them doin’ their thing just yesterday,” Kurt said. Right then and there, some police cars raced by, their sirens wailing and flashing for all to see and hear.

Perrine kicked a nearby pebble and watched as it bounced off of some rocks. “Why would they do that? That’s so cruel.”

“‘Cause they think they can make easy cash off ‘em, that’s all there is to it,” Kurt repeated. “I’m goin’ to the well.”

“What?!” Everyone whipped their heads up with wide eyes, even Maisy. “Grandpa! You can’t! It’s dangerous!” She ran to his pant leg and held onto a chunk of it with one hand.

“I’m not gonna sit here and let those idiots sully our city!” Kurt pushed up one of his sleeves with one hand.

The girls weren’t sure about this. Although they were happy that he cares so much about the slowpoke, they were dubious about whether he could handle it. He looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies at the very least, and his skinny legs and arms didn’t exactly exude strength. Not only that, Team Rocket had guns or pokemon that might know lethal attacks. Should Kurt get hurt or killed, Maisy will lose a beloved grandfather.

In their minds, no child deserved that. Perrine balled her fist. “Can I come with you, sir?”

Julia’s mouth fell agape. “Huh?”

“Vul?”

“You sure, miss?” Kurt asked, scratching his head doubtfully.

“I’m sure. For all we know they could be dangerous,” Perrine told him. Julia fell silent. She seemed to exude a courageous, almost authoritative air about her when she made that statement. Somehow, it felt reassuring to her. “I can help you out if you want.”

Kurt flashed a smile. “I appreciate it, miss. You can come with me.”

“I don’t want you to go!” Maisy cried, clutching her grandfather’s pant leg once more.

“Ummm…” Julia shyly put her hand out. “If you want, I can stay with Maisy so she...doesn’t get lonely.”

“Awww. You dun need to do that…” Kurt’s face turned red from the kind, generous offer. But she did make a good point. Maisy deserved someone to keep her safe, and a pokemon trainer seemed like the best bet.

“You don’t want to come?” Perrine asked.

“Nah. I’ll sit this one out. Just be careful. Okay?”

Perrine nodded. With that, the two ran off to the Slowpoke Well, leaving Julia alone with Maisy and her slowpoke. Maisy gently wrapped her hand around Julia’s, gripping it like she didn’t want to let go. Her tiny, cold hand made a shiver run up Julia’s spine. She never did like other people’s hands touching her own unless she wanted it, but she endured it for Maisy’s sake. The slowpoke and Julia’s pokemon followed from behind as they walked to a log house that was just six blocks away.

The house was a log cabin like all the others, with a mahogany door and square windows made of glass. Piles of firewood wrapped with white ropes were scattered around the property, probably for later use. A stone chimney stood up from the ugly yellow roof, and no smoke was coming out of it. Julia opened the door and Maisy rushed right in. “Are you really a pokemon trainer?”

“Yes,” Julia closed the door behind her right as the pokemon came inside. “I just started last week.”

Picture frames and custom PokeBalls decorated the rooms, giving it a warm, homely atmosphere perfect for a family. On the far right of the room was a big, dark, wooden desk with lots of carving tools on it, most of which were sharp, with the silver worn from use. Some tools had pieces of silver chipped off, leaving only brown spots and rust, accompanying what appeared to be large, colored acorns the size of Julia’s whole fist. Some were pink, green, yellow, and blue. One was opened in half, with the insides having been yanked out, leaving it empty. Hikaru and Neji hopped on the desk to sniff the acorn-like items.

“Those are called apricorns,” Maisy piped in. “Be careful. That’s where Grandpa makes the PokeBalls,” She advised. Julia gently put Hikaru and Neji down on the floor so they wouldn’t knock anything over.

Julia also noticed a picture frame on Kurt’s desk. A dark frame enclosed a picture of Kurt, Maisy, and a young couple, both of whom had Maisy’s hair color, only the woman’s hair was long and curly, trailing down to her lower back, whereas the younger man’s hair was cropped and pushed back. The younger man had a small beard, and the two were dressed in casual summer clothes. “Are these your parents, Maisy?”

“Yep!” She chimed in.

“Where are they now? Do they not live with you?” Julia asked innocently.

Little Maisy’s smile morphed into a frown. “No. They’re in Ecruteak. They’re always yelling at each other and being angry,” She stroke a slowpoke’s head gently with her tiny hand. “I like slowpoke. They just sit around and be happy with anything and everything,” She said in a low, forlorn voice.

Images flashed through Maisy’s mind. Two blurry silhouettes of grown adults waving their arms around, bending over, wagging their fingers at each other, screaming with contorted faces. Little Maisy hiding in another room, curled up in the fetal position, with her fists covering her eyes. “Sloooooow…” The slowpoke let out a long, drawn out yawn.

“Your slowpoke says he doesn’t like it when you’re sad,” Julia chimed in. “Pichu!” “Sen sentret!” Hikaru and Neji agreed.

“Huh?”

The older trainer sat down next to Maisy, with Hikaru and Neji following suit, all smiles. “You say they just sit around and be happy about everything, but your slowpoke says that’s not true,” She pointed to the slowpoke resting in Maisy’s tiny arms. “He says it hurts really bad when people cut off their tails, and that he hates seeing you cry.”

“How do you know?” Maisy tilted her head to one side, lifting an eyebrow, confused.

Julia looked down at the slowpoke. This was the second time someone asked about her ability to understand pokemon. She didn’t like telling people about it. Every time she did, people would always either get confused, not believe her, or think she was lying, like Perrine did just earlier. People just didn’t understand. She wanted so badly for someone to believe her and to not think she was a little liar. But alas, none of those prayers were ever answered. Every time someone told her she was a liar was like a knife was being jabbed into her heart, and then twisted so the blood would pour out of her arteries faster. She squeezed her green eyes shut, agonizing over telling the little girl about it.

Oddly enough, harsh knocks on the door spared her the chance to do so. However, Julia found herself wrapping her arms around both Maisy and the slowpoke. “Open up!!” A man’s voice howled from the other side. Julia held Maisy close, almost squeezing the poor, hapless slowpoke. “You better open up or else we’ll break this door down!!”

She turned to her right. One of the windows was open. “Neji,” She whispered. Neji’s sensitive ears caught Julia’s low voice and he ran up to her. “Listen. Go outside that window and see who’s out there. Don’t make any noise. If it’s Team Rocket, those guys dressed in black clothes with red R’s on them, come back inside as fast as you can. If they’re dressed in blue, its the police. Got it?”

Neji nodded silently before darting out the window. Since they were on the first floor, Neji had no problem sneaking out the window and crawling down to the ground. Very slowly. the little sentret crawled to the front of the house, taking care to make sure his feet and tail made no sound as he walked. The hair on his body stood up, and his ears curled upward, awaiting any kind of noise or danger. He managed to reach the front of the house, but hid behind the other side to watch from a distance. Standing before the door were two men dressed in black Team Rocket uniforms, complete with red R’s emblazoned on their chests.

Behind one TR man was a large, purple cobra that stood taller than the two men. Its sharp eyes stared at the door with predatorial lust, complete with its thin, pink tongue wiggling about. Its long tail curled at the bottom, supporting it as it stood up, and on its body were black markings, along with two red and orange teardrop shaped marks covering sixty percent of its chest. If one were especially curious, it almost resembled a face if viewed from a distance. Neji found himself shivering at the sight of the ferocious looking snake and made a quick dash back inside the house.

“Sentret!” He rolled on the wooden floor, losing his balance right as he came back inside, right before telling them what he saw.

“Team Rocket. I knew it,” Julia’s grip on Maisy tightened. “Be on your guard, you two.”

Purple spikes suddenly shot through the door, leaving a large hole behind. Hikaru was quick to unleash some thundershocks to electrocute them. Neji, despite his fear, was quick to use his long claws to slice the purple spikes into fragments. The two men burst through the door, with the giant cobra right in front of them. A shiver ran right up Julia’s spine. Her green eyes grew so wide they looked like tiny saucers, and she clung to little Maisy like she was a security blanket, unable to stop herself from trembling. Hikaru and Neji stood before the two girls, adopting courageous expressions and battle stances.

“Pichu!”

“Sentret!”

The purple cobra opened its large maw and howled at them. “Chaaaa-baka!”

“Hmph! Just a bunch of kids!” A red haired man exclaimed, crossing his arms.

“And a bunch of useless pokemon, too,” A blue haired man agreed, until he got a closer look at Hikaru. “Whoa! This pichu’s a shiny pokemon!”

Shiny? The red haired man leaned closer. Hikaru was quick to let off some electricity, making them scramble a few feet back. “Hey! This one’s a keeper! Let’s take the slowpoke and this thing, too! We can make millions!”

Julia’s fear suddenly morphed into rage. They wanted to take Hikaru and sell her for easy cash? All because of her unusual fur color? Kurt was right. Team Rocket was definitely bad. She was not going to let them take her friend away. Not if she had anything to say about it. She stood up faster than Maisy could get down. It must be confessed that her legs trembled at the sight of the large cobra, but she couldn’t let fear consume her. Maisy was counting on her. If she saw that Julia was scared, she would get scared, too.

“Hikaru! Use Thundershock, and Neji, use Fury Swipes!”

“Arbok! Use Poison Sting!” The red haired man yelled.

“Chaaaak!” Purple spikes shot out of the arbok’s mouth. With new zeal in his heart, Neji’s short claws grew in length, growing in a white light as he slashed the spikes into pieces. A bolt of thunder shot right out of Hikaru, hitting the arbok. But it wasn’t enough to defeat it.

“You puny trainers are no match for us!” The blue haired man hissed, twisting his hat. “Now hand over your pokemon, the slowpoke included!”

Julia stood before Maisy, with one arm out. “Over my dead body! Neji! Use Quick Attack!”

“Tret!” Neji raced toward the arbok, shining in a white light before ramming into its body head first. This time, the blow was strong enough to send the arbok out the door. All of a sudden, the slowpoke Maisy held onto wiggled out of her grasp and walked over to the arbok.

“No! Slowpoke! Get back!” Maisy tried to grab the slowpoke and take him back inside, but the pink pokemon wasn’t having any of it.

“Sloooooow…” Its eyes glowed in a blue light. Before long, the arbok’s body was completely trapped in a blue light. No matter what it did, it couldn’t break free. But this didn’t stop it from firing another Poison Sting attack.

The spikes flew right at a frozen Julia, who clutched Maisy for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting her eventual end. “Piiiii!” A shrill cry made her eyes slam wide open. There was Hikaru, lying on the ground, with a spike right next to her. The little mouse’s face was blue and contorted.

“Oh no! Hikaru!”

That did it for Neji and the slowpoke. The light surrounding the arbok faded, slamming right on the ground. What the arbok didn’t know was that it was dropped right on top of the two Team Rocket goons. Not only that, Neji swiped his claws all over the arbok’s face, leaving red marks on it. Julia ran over to Hikaru and pulled out a pecha berry. She was glad Mr. Pokemon gave her those berries back at his house. She held the berry up to Hikaru’s nose so she could smell it. The little mouse’s nose crinkled twice before noting the berry’s sweet scent. She grabbed the berry and scarfed it down whole. Within seconds, the burning sensation in her tiny body disappeared.

Two police cars rolled onto the scene, and police officers stormed around the Team Rocket goons, slamming handcuffs on them faster than they could react. “You’re under arrest!” The policewomen exclaimed, shoving the Team Rocket gang into the police car.

“Sentret!” “Pichuuuu!” Neji and Hikaru cheered and squealed with their arms outstretched, happy that they saved Julia and Maisy. The little girl let go of Julia and looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

“Your pokemon are so great! Thanks for staying with me!” Maisy chirruped.

“No...problem…” Julia was still shivering, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to calm herself down for her sake.

All of a sudden, Neji’s body became enveloped in a white light. Julia, Maisy, Hikaru, and the slowpoke watched as Neji grew bigger, longer, and changed shape. Within a few seconds, the light dissipated, and out came a different creature. Neji was now a fluffy, cream and brown colored creature with a very long, straight body, with the lower half of it covered with brown stripes. His arms were small, with his hands being the same color as the stripes on his tail, but his feet were the same cream color. Small blue eyes exuded curiosity, and two brown stripes went across both cheeks, resembling whiskers. The tips of his sharp ears were cream colored, contrasting with the brown markings on his head.

“Fuuuuurret!” Neji purred.

“Wow! Your sentret evolved!” Maisy exclaimed.

“I know! This is great!” Julia pulled out her PokeDex as Neji scratched his head. Hikaru couldn’t resist jumping on Neji’s back and riding on him, delighted by the massive size difference.

“Furret, the long body pokemon. Furret has a very slim build. When under attack, it can slickly squirm through narrow spaces and get away. In spite of its short limbs, this Pokémon is very nimble and fleet.”

“Fuuuur!” Neji crawled over to Julia to allow her to wrap her arms around him. His brown and cream fur was warm and soft, like Julia’s hair. “Neji! You evolved! You were awesome out there!” Hikaru nuzzled Julia’s cheek as well. “You too, Hikaru!”

***

Not even Perrine and Kurt were safe from Team Rocket as they descended down the Slowpoke Well ladder. They were ambushed by Team Rocket grunts from all sides. Perrine called forth Kitsune, Florian, and Chirin to hold off their pokemon, whereas Kurt managed to give them some punches and kicks, saving slowpoke left and right, carrying them up and down the ladder. It helped that he would also bring some goons up the well for the police to arrest.

Finally, after barreling through hordes of Team Rocket grunts, they made it to the end of the well. A silhouette appeared from the darkness. It was a Team Rocket member, but he didn’t look like any of the others. He had teal green hair hidden underneath a black hat, matching eyes, and his Team Rocket uniform had some yellow streaks on his pants pockets and the collar on his shirt. He was also wearing grey gloves and boots like the others, but his had single red stripes circling around them. Kitsune growled at him.

“So you’re the one behind this whole fiasco!” Kurt roared, balling a fist.

The green haired man turned around, glancing at them with evil in his eyes. “Hmph. I suppose it was inevitable that I have been found out,” The man mused out loud in a deep voice.

“You stop sellin’ our slowpoke right this instant!”

A chuckle escaped the man’s mouth. “That’s no way to talk to Proton, a Team Rocket executive,” He waved his index finger back and forth. Before Kurt could do anything, a fist suddenly pushed into his abdomen, rendering him unable to breathe. Kurt fell to his knees.

“Kurt!” Perrine was quick to grab onto him. Florian and Chirin let out battle cries. “How could you?! You’re terrible!”

All Proton did was shrug and smirk. “I am the cruelest guy in TR as they say, so all you’re doing is adding to my reputation,” He pulled out two PokeBalls and threw them out. Out from the PokeBalls came a purple ball of gas and a blue bat with no eyes. “Koffing! Zubat! Do away with this pathetic girl!”

“Koffiiiiing!”

“Zu zu zu!”

“Thundershock, Chirin!” Electricity shot out from Chirin’s wool, hitting zubat and koffing head on. Florian used Razor Leaf to distract them so Kitsune could use Extrasensory to do some damage. But koffing and zubat were persistent and kept on tackling her pokemon. At one point, the koffing let out some noxious purple gas. Florian wound up inhaling some, and the poison rendered him too weak to battle. As a result, he was called back to his PokeBall. Perrine silently chastised herself for putting him up against poison types, one of a grass type’s many weaknesses.

“Give it up, girlie,” Proton hissed, putting his hands in his pocket, the smile on his face unchanging. “I suggest you leave Team Rocket alone and go play with your dolls.”

“Why? So you can hurt pokemon and people?!” Perrine wiped some dirt out of her hair. “Fat chance! Kitsune, use Flamethrower!” A stream of fire poured out from Kitsune’s mouth, the red flames giving off intense heat. Zubat and koffing dodged it since they could float in the air.

“A stupid girl like you can’t understand our ambitions,” Proton mused. “Oh well. There’s always going to be people who don’t agree with us.”

Before long, both sides were unable to battle. Without a word, Proton called zubat and koffing back to their PokeBalls. “You lost! Now leave the slowpoke alone!” Kurt roared, having regained his strength.

“Fine. I already have what I needed,” Proton passed right by them before giving Perrine a deathly glare. “A small obstacle like you won't be much of a problem for our mission. I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business,” With one index finger, he traced it across his neck, like a knife slitting one’s throat horizontally. Perrine had seen enough crime procedurals to know what that gesture symbolized.

He meant business, and if she crossed him, she would pay dearly for it.

***

Yeah...I had more planned, but I’m moving it to another chapter, which will be called chapter 7.5 instead of eight, since they’re both connected to Azalea Town. I don’t want to drag it out. I swear, this’ll be the last time this happens, I promise!

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 7.5: Battling Bugsy, The Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia!

The first things Julia and Maisy saw when approaching the Slowpoke Well were the myriad of police cars surrounding the area. It didn’t help that there were many armored police officers aiming their guns and rifles at the well. Their bullet shields made it nigh impossible for the two girls to get through whatsoever. But they were able to see police officers coming up the well, taking with them handcuffed Team Rocket goons. Others had slowpokes underneath their arms. Some had their tails cut off. Others’ had their tails in tact.

“Wow. Its so crowded,” Maisy said, her tiny hand gripping Julia’s tightly. “I hope Grandpa’s okay.”

“I’m sure he is,” Julia told her reassuringly. To be honest, Julia wanted to go in there and confirm it for herself before telling Maisy a white lie. She hated giving reassurance over things she didn’t know. But she knew she could afford to let little Maisy be sad. In her heart, she worried about Perrine and whether she was okay, too. Then again, she had more experience as a trainer than Julia did, so for all she knew, she handled herself just fine.

Their worries were assuaged when the policemen scattered, allowing them to see the well. Perrine and Kurt came right out of the well. Perrine’s orange hair was even more scraggly than usual, with her black ribbon practically untied, hanging by one lock of hair by a thread. Her shoes and stockings were wet from the water, making them darker than usual, and some dirt spots dotted her white stockings and white blouse.

“Perrine!” Julia pushed through the dispersing crowd, leaving Hikaru to tend to Maisy. Perrine turned her head to the side upon hearing her friend’s voice. Julia flung her arms around the frazzled, orange haired girl, her soul drowning in relief. “You’re okay! Thank goodness!” Soon, Julia let go, and just put both hands on both of Perrine’s shoulders. “What the heck happened in there? You’re all dirty.”

“Team Rocket gave me and Kurt a hard time,” Perrine began, brushing some dirt out of her hair. “There were so many of them, it’s a wonder Kitsune and the others managed to hold them off,” After that, she kneeled down to pull off one of her shoes, shaking them up and down to push some pebbles out. Pebbles dug into her stockings, rubbing against her skin, and she hated that feeling. “But we managed to save the slowpoke.”

A warm smile tickled Julia’s face. “That’s good. I was worried for a second there.”

“Grandpa!” Her eyes swelling with tears, little Maisy lunged at her grandfather, wrapping her tiny arms right around his kimono.

Kurt let out a hearty laugh. “Maisy, dear! You’re safe. Were you nice to Julia?”

“Yes I was! Are you hurt?”

The old man shook his head. “I’m just fine. Don’t worry about a thing,” He took a hand and rubbed Maisy’s black hair with it, almost messing up one of her pigtails.

Hikaru crawled up Julia’s shoulder and pointed to Perrine’s dirty clothes. “Pichu chuuu!”

“Hikaru! Don’t point that stuff out!” Julia scolded.

“What’s up?”

“Hikaru says you’re really dirty and should take a shower,” Julia told her ruefully. The doubt in her heart from when Perrine accused her of lying rose back up, adding to the fact that Hikaru did something that everyone else perceived as rude. Whenever Julia would point something out, like if someone had a stain on their shirt, a big injury, or a mark on their skin, people would either scold her about it or her parents would take her to the side and tell her it's rude to say stuff to people like that. She couldn’t help but wonder if Perrine was thinking Julia was being rude.

Oddly enough, Perrine let out a chuckle and pulled her black ribbon out of her hair. “Well, she’s right. I do need a shower. Want to go back to the Pokemon Center? We can battle Bugsy later,” Perrine told her. Julia’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it. Perrine was back to her old self.

“Bugsy’s in Ilex Forest right now,” Kurt suddenly interrupted.

“Ilex Forest?” Perrine asked.

“Yes. He’s real big on bug pokemon, and there’s loads of them in the forest, so when he’s not battling trainers, he’s in there,” Kurt explained, pointing to the far end of town. The two girls could barely make out a huge blanket of dark green trees in the distance. “Last I heard he was going there to study the flight patterns of butterfree.”

“I know!” Julia exclaimed, slamming a fist into her hand. “Maybe we can go in there and find him ourselves! We can ask him if he can battle with us!” Perrine and Kurt looked at each other with confused faces before turning back to face her.

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t he be busy?” Perrine asked.

“That, and the forest’s real dense and thick. It’s not hard to get through, but there’s lots of pokemon in there, and there’s lots of bushes, trees, and plants in there. It’s practically a jungle,” Kurt explained.

“Oh,” Julia frowned. Good points.

Perrine forced a smile and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay! We don’t have to rush it!” She told her reassuringly. “Besides, we can always try and see him tomorrow. How about this? After I take a shower, how about we train some more? It’ll be good for when we do get to battle him.”

“Pichu!” Hikaru agreed. The brown haired girl looked back up, taking notice of Perrine’s wildly orange hair. “Sure. That’ll be fine.”

Neither girl minded spending the day together. After all, they had just become friends, so it didn’t hurt to get to know each other better. Team Rocket’s machinations did leave them a little rattled, so being able to relax with their pokemon would be perfect. Like Perrine said, there was no rush. This time, Julia took the time to go to the PokeMart and buy some more things such as bowls and a bag of pokemon food. She made sure to keep the egg with her so nothing bad would happen to it. As much as she liked Perrine, she wasn’t sure if she could afford to leave the egg alone with her. Not only that, there was something else she wanted to find.

“Do you have any books on shiny pokemon and the book called The Bond Between Shooting Stars?” She asked matter-of-factly. That one Team Rocket grunt had said that Hikaru was a shiny pokemon. It had been on Julia’s mind since the attack on Kurt’s house. Perhaps that was why Hikaru’s fur color was darker than normal.

“I’m afraid we sold our last copies of the last book,” The male store clerk explained, pointing to the bookshelves. “But we did receive some books on shiny pokemon. Wait here,” He ran to the books and pulled two out. One of them had a butterfree on the cover, but its eyes were green, its hands and legs were a reddish pink, and its wings were a very pale pink shade. The other book had pokemon on it such as diglett, meowth, and pikachu, all of them different colors.

Julia paid for them diligently, like any good customer would. “Thank you, sir!” Mission accomplished. With her cargo and egg in hand, she returned to the Pokemon Center. She fed her pokemon, rubbed the egg gently, and immediately opened the book on shiny pokemon. The egg rested on her lap as her green eyes absorbed everything the books on shiny pokemon had to offer.

Like with the one Falkner lent her, Julia found herself unable to look away from the book and its pages. It talked about how shiny pokemon had been around since ancient times, only being referred to as shiny because whenever they would pop out of PokeBalls, the air around them would sparkle like glitter as though they were shining. Some pokemon such as pichu could have colorations a few shades darker or lighter than normal. Others could have vastly different colorations. For example, the pokemon charizard is normally orange with blue wings, but shiny charizard are black with red wings. To this day, no one knows why shiny pokemon exist. Some scientists attributed it to changes in the environment or genetic mutations. Neither theory has been explicitly confirmed.

“Whew! All nice and squeaky clean!” Perrine came out of the bathroom wearing different clothes this time. She put on a short sleeved pale green shirt, a long, white, lace skirt, her brown shoes, and black socks. Her hair was tied back into a scraggly ponytail, warm from intense blow-drying. The first thing she saw was Julia reading the book, her expression unchanging. “You must really love reading.”

“I do. Books are great brain food.”

Perrine chuckled as she sat down on the bed. “I’ll bet. But I’m more into fantasy stuff and fiction.”

“Hey! Me too! I tried looking for The Bond Between Shooting Stars but the PokeMart didn’t have it.”

“It is pretty popular.”

“Get this! Hikaru’s what they call a shiny pokemon! This book says so!”

“Hey, umm…”

“Hm?”

The orange haired girl looked down at her feet, her hands brushing against the comforter underneath. “Listen...I’m...sorry for calling you a liar earlier,” She replied in a low, rueful voice.

Julia glanced at Perrine’s pretty lace skirt. Perrine didn’t call her a liar, she just asked if she was pulling her leg, which meant the same thing. Julia just shrugged and returned to her book. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“No. It’s not okay. I mean…” Perrine’s nose crinkled as she closed her eyes. Julia sat up, putting her book down. “Friends should love everything about each other and understand each other, good or bad. I should never have doubted you, especially since you’ve been nothing but nice to me since we met,” Her voice caught in her throat as she clutched a piece of the comforter in her fist.

“Chuuu?” Hikaru tilted her head to one side, wondering why Perrine looked so sad. This time, Julia tried to look at Perrine’s face. She noticed her fluffy bangs parted down the middle, revealing her long forehead. Her nose was longer, more triangular than Julia’s, and her round eyes were a darker shade of blue than Amara’s. A twinge of despair peppered her pretty voice, indicating her regret. Subtle as it was, Julia could hear the rue in her voice, and to her, that was enough.

“You’re right, but I’m not mad,” She told her kindly. Perrine looked up, facing Julia, who briefly looked away. “Nobody in the whole world knows how to talk to pokemon and understand them, and people always thought I was just playing pretend,” Hikaru hopped onto Julia’s lap and hugged the egg, looking up at her with a look that begged for free pets. Julia stroke Hikaru’s head gently, pulling her hand back and forth. “...I’m not lying when I say I can do it, but nobody else can do it, so...I’m not surprised you thought I was pulling your leg.”

“Can you...really understand them? I mean...what’s it like?”

“Well…” Julia lost herself in thought. “To me, pokemon talk like people, full sentences and all. Everyone else says they say nothing but their names. I never noticed the difference.”

“Ohhh,” The frown curled back into a smile, the doubt in her heart finally fading away. “Well, regardless, I believe you. Team Rocket appeared like the slowpoke said. We’re still friends, right?”

“Of course!”

After that, the girls spent the day either relaxing with their pokemon or training for their upcoming gym battle. Perrine was surprised when Julia revealed that Neji evolved into a furret. It must be confessed that Perrine snuggled Neji like a little kid, hugging her and nuzzling her like he was a big teddy bear. Neji didn’t mind at all, as he liked being hugged and cuddled. Of course, that didn’t interfere with their training, as they had to get strong or else they might not stand a chance against Bugsy.

When night fell, Julia found herself unable to sleep. Although she kept herself calm, her insides were doing backflips, and she wanted to cry out of sheer joy. Perrine accepted her. Perrine didn’t shun her for being able to understand pokemon. Perrine believed her. Where had Perrine been all her life? Her cup of happiness was full already, but Perrine’s apology was the final drop that made it completely overflow. Her dream of having human friends had finally come true. Perhaps the angels decided to smile down upon her for once.

***

“So...according to Kurt, Bugsy usually frequents the Ilex Forest,” Perrine noted as she and Julia got dressed. The milky morning light illuminated the room, giving it a warm, cozy atmosphere. Since the walls were a beige color, the room seemed to light up like a lantern. “Let’s take a stroll in there and see if we can find him.”

“Let’s do it!” Julia exclaimed cheerfully. When they left for the forest, Perrine noticed that the girl was smiling real big. Her cheeks were rosy, and she was walking far ahead of Perrine.

“Julia! You’re walking too fast!”

“Oh! Am I?” Julia stopped and walked back to Perrine, backwards. “Sorry! Force of habit.”

“It’s okay. Let’s be careful. Kurt said the forest is dense, so let’s stay close.”

“Okay! This’ll be fun!” Julia chirruped, her face radiating delight. Even Hikaru couldn’t help but look upon her with a confused expression.

“You’re...cheerful this morning,” Perrine mused. “We’re just going to Ilex Forest.”

Julia jumped up once. “That’s exactly it! I never told you, but I actually really love Ilex Forest!” She exclaimed right as they approached the entrance. “My parents and I have been through here lots of times, and...I can’t really explain it, but being in there just makes me all happy, like I belong there.”

‘Belong there?’ Perrine almost dropped her PokeGear, the answer was so sudden and out there. But she didn’t want to put a damper on Julia’s happy mood. Besides, forests usually mean pokemon, and they could catch some while they were in there, so she figured she better make the best of it.

The day immediately turned to night the minute they entered the forests. Sunbeams could still be seen peeking through some trees, with sunspots dancing on the grass, but the green trees were all so closely packed together that the sun seemed to be entirely blocked off. Overgrown bushes and thistles lined the path through the forest and areas off the path. Sometimes they passed by large rocks, some of which had horizontal claw marks on them. To the normal person, this forest would definitely not be a place for anyone to go into without any kind of supervision or safety supplies, as anything could happen.

Perrine looked up at the trees, noting their thick leaves blocking the sun. But as soon as she turned around, she found Julia marveling at almost everything she saw. A hoothoot flying across the path. A group of metapod clinging to a nearby tree awaiting evolution. A little pond where a rattata was seen drinking out of. The myriad of flowers and plants lining the bushes. Her smile was so wide, it was almost radiant, and her green eyes twinkled like the sunspots dancing on the grass beneath them.

Tiny, sunny yellow buttercups sprung up from the ground, begging for sun, their round foliage open wide for sunlight to enter. Fluffy purple clovers and yellow ox-eye daisies stood guard before one large bush dotted with cotton candy pink roses. Snow white water lilies floated aimlessly on little ponds they walked past, with butterfree dancing on the water, sucking the nectar right out of them.

“Wow! Look at all the pretty flowers!” Julia squealed, kneeling down before some purple campanulas.

“There’s lots of them here,” Perrine mused, adjusting the strap on her bag. “Ilex Forest is known for having lots of flowers that grow in and out of season,” She plucked off one white flower and stuck it behind her ear. The stem tickled the back of her ear, but she didn’t mind.

“Look! There’s the shrine!” Julia shouted before running off toward a tiny wooden shrine no bigger than she was.

“Julia! Wait up!”

What the girls saw looked more like a tiny wooden temple sculpture than a shrine. Said tiny temple stood tall, being held up by four wooden sticks. A horizontal perch going across the roof, running parallel to it, stood on top of it as though it were made for bird pokemon to perch on. A hoothoot was sitting on it before Julia’s presence made it fly away. “Hey, Perrine! Have you ever seen this before?”

Perrine stopped in her tracks. “Yeah, I know what that is. Isn’t that the little shrine?”

“Yep!” Julia pulled out an Oran berry and put it on top of the perch. “You know of the legend, right? About how the supposed guardian of the forest lives here?” Her arms stretched out far and wide, like she wanted to hug the sky. “It may not look like much, but it’s very important! In fact, this and Ilex Forest are my favorite places of all time!”

“Uhh…” Perrine raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Hmm...I can’t explain it, really. But both this shrine and the forest are brimming with life! There’s pokemon everywhere! Nobody’s touched this place in years, if what Mom and Dad said about it is true. It’s practically a pokemon paradise!” Julia explained cheerfully, her voice going up an octave the minute she went on her cheerful palavering.

“That’s fine and all, but we’re here to find Bugsy, not go sight seeing.”

“Hm? Who’s that over there?” Julia pointed to a tree nearby.

Sitting on a big branch at least seven feet up was what appeared to be a young boy in his preteens or maybe a little older. He had dark mauve hair going down to his chin, arranged in a neat, tidy style, matching his eyes. He was wearing a green uniform that consisted of a short sleeved shirt, very short shorts, a yellow tie around his collar, white socks with a green stripe going across them, and big brown shoes. Dangling from his belt was a brown leather case, and in his hands was a small notebook. He looked up at a butterfree perched on another tree, vigorously writing something down with a black pen.

“That’s him!” Perrine exclaimed. “That’s Bugsy, the Azalea gym leader!”

Julia cupped her hands around her mouth before shouting, “Hello up theeeeere!!”

No response. She tried again. “We’re trainers!! Can we battle with yooooou?”

Once again, no response. Julia turned to Perrine. “He does hear us, right?”

“I read that when he studies bug pokemon, everything around him is just white noise to him.”

“Excuse me?”

“It means he focuses so much on his studies that he unknowingly ignores everything else around him.”

“Ohhhh! I get it!”

All of a sudden, a white light shot out from one of Julia’s pokeballs. The light morphed into Tsubasa, who cooed proudly, happy to be out of the pokeball. “Tsubasa?! What the heck?!” Tsubasa suddenly flew up toward Bugsy, who didn’t even notice the pidgey flying right up to him.

Julia gasped. She was sure Tsubasa was going to do something that might end up getting Bugsy hurt. What if he fell off the branch? Sure, the tree wasn’t too high, but it was certainly high enough that if someone fell, they could get hurt, or at the very most get falling related injuries. Was Tsubasa going to make him fall? “Tsubasa! You come back down here right now, young lady!”

“What’s she doing?”

The brown haired girl’s hands flew to both sides of her head, not covering her ears. The cheer in her eyes immediately morphed into worry and fear. “I don’t know, but I know it can’t be good!”

Tsubasa flew right up to Bugsy and swiped the notebook from his hands. “Hey! That’s mine!” The mauve haired boy cried, swiping at the naughty pidgey to get his notebook back. Too bad the pidgey descended back to Julia, laughing with the notebook in her beak. Julia grabbed Tsubasa and yanked the notebook out of her beak.

“Tsubasa! We do not steal stuff from other people!” Julia scolded like a stern parent. “That’s bad!”

“Coo coo coo coo!” Tsubasa argued like a defiant child, right as Bugsy hopped down from the tree.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Here’s your notebook back!” Julia handed the notebook back to him, and he took it without a word.

“That’s okay. Is this your pidgey?” Bugsy asked.

Julia facepalmed. “Yeah. Sorry about that. She’s a mischievous little one,” Already, she was mentally preparing herself to be berated, just like with that girl she ran into on Route 31. Tsubasa just looked away, not caring about the situation at all. Oddly enough, he just smiled and put his pen and notebook in the case on his belt.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve dealt with some mischievous pokemon, so I know how you feel,” Bugsy explained kindly. Julia let out a sigh of relief before putting Tsubasa back in her pokeball. Something told her that this little pidgey wasn’t going to stay in there for long. “Are you two pokemon trainers?”

Perrine took the initiative. “Yes, we are. I’m Perrine, and this is Julia,” The latter shyly waved to him with one hand. “We were hoping if we could ask to battle with you in the Azalea gym, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure!” Bugsy rubbed his mauve hair with one hand. “I haven’t battled in a long time, so this’ll be fun!”

“Wait a minute!” Julia suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere. “You’re a gym leader? You don’t look much older than us!”

As rude as she knew this sounded, she couldn’t resist bringing this up. As far as she knew, Falkner looked to be in his late twenties. Bugsy here looked no older than them, so how a young kid like him could be a gym leader was beyond her. She was sure gyms had a lot of baggage for gym leaders to deal with. Money had to be one of them. She was no expert on paying for houses, nor did she know anything about mortgage, but she was sure gym leaders had to use their money to keep their gyms afloat, especially adult gym leaders. Bugsy was a kid.

“Yep!” Bugsy pointed to himself. “I’m thirteen! Azalea gym used to be my mom’s, but she left it to me while she’s out in the Kanto region. Plus, I passed the gym leader exam!”

Perrine clasped her hands together when they started walking out of the forest. “That’s so cool! I hear you’re really smart.”

“But isn’t it hard to take care of a gym?” Julia asked.

“My mom pays for everything. She’s more business savvy than I am,” Bugsy replied, his face turning red like a tomato.

“How come people call you Bugsy?” Julia asked again. “That doesn’t sound like a real name.”

A hoothoot fluttered across their path, cooing as it perched onto a tree. A caterpie crawled up a tree in search of a big flower that blossomed on a branch. “My real name’s Tsukushi, but since everybody knew I loved bug pokemon, they just started calling me Bugsy. That nickname’s stuck with me since kindergarten. I like it, though. It sounds much cooler than my real name,” He definitely sounded thirteen, as his high pitched, boyish voice hadn’t cracked yet.

Perrine couldn’t help but think that Julia seemed a bit too curious. There was nothing wrong with that, but the questions seemed a bit personal, such as his age and his nickname. In her heart, she knew she wasn’t asking out of malice or out of intent to pry, just genuine curiosity. If Perrine met someone with a weird name, she was sure she would have asked about it, too. Bugsy didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he looked happy to talk about some parts of his life, so Perrine decided to keep quiet. She didn’t want Julia to feel bad about wanting to ask questions.

It took a while, but they made it back to Azalea Town. It helped that they weren’t very far from the entrance, so it was easy getting back to town. The minute Bugsy stepped onto Azalea soil, he suddenly turned around and exclaimed, “I just had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!”

Julia tilted her head to one side. “Like what?”

“We should have a double battle!”

The two girls looked at each other. “Double battle?”

“Yeah! You both want to challenge me, so why not do it at the same time?” Bugsy suggested.

Double battles...they had heard of them before. Perrine remembered seeing them on TV when the Johto League was on. There were many different battling styles. Triple battles, rotation battles, inverse battles, there were lots of them. Bugsy did make a good point, and if they both won against him, they would both win badges without having to stay longer. But she knew they hadn’t actually practiced having double battles.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Julia answered.

“I do have some stuff to do, so any time after five o’clock this evening would be fine. Is that okay?” Bugsy said.

“Sure!” Perrine interrupted. “That’d be great! We can practice double battles during that time!”

With that, the kids ran to the stadium behind the Pokemon Center to practice double battles. It turned out to be a little harder than they thought, as they have to command two pokemon on both sides, and have others defend each other from incoming attacks.

***

Finally, five o’clock arrived, and true to his word, Bugsy was at the gym. Julia and Perrine walked right inside, finding that the gym looked to be a self-contained jungle. Thick trees and bushes circled the stadium, with pokemon such as caterpie and metapod scuttling about. “Hi, girls! Welcome to the Azalea Gym!” Bugsy leaped off a tree and onto the battlefield gracefully, like he had done it for years.

“Wow! There’s so many pokemon in here!” Julia exclaimed. She saw some butterfree and beedrill flying about, silently praying that the beedrill not attack her. Other pokemon popped up from the grass as well, such as a pale green, bipedal praying mantis with long, scythe shaped sickles, a big brown pokemon with two grey crescent shaped horns that had smaller horns dotting them, a big blue beetle, and hairy orange bugs with horns on their heads and oval shaped pink mouths.

Bugsy glanced over to a butterfree and the praying mantis pokemon. “Scyther! Butterfree! Want to battle?”

“Eeee free!”

“Scy-ther!” Both pokemon hopped onto the battlefield.

Julia pulled out her PokeDex to check out scyther’s information. “Scyther, the mantis pokemon, and the pre-evolved form of Scizor. Scyther is blindingly fast. Its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective, they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke.”

“Kitsune! You’re up!” Perrine wasted no time getting Kitsune out of her pokeball. The tiny fox let out a battle cry upon being released.

“Alright…” Julia pulled out a pokeball, losing herself in thought. ‘Hikaru and Tsubasa are strong against bug types, so I could use them. But Aqua hasn’t had much battling experience lately. I think maybe this would be a good time to let her let off some steam,’ She thought to herself. With that, she threw her pokeball, and Aqua came right out.

There was no referee, so the battle began right on the spot. “Scyther, use Quick Attack!” Bugsy cried.

“Scytheeeeer!” The green mantis’s large wings fluttered so fast, they almost seemed to be completely invisible. The giant bug itself was quite agile, as neither trainer could call an attack before the mantis lunged at poor Aqua, sending her rolling on the ground.

“Kitsune! Use Flamethrower!”

“Vuuuuul!” A stream of fire poured out from Kitsune’s mouth.

“Butterfree! Use Whirlwind to blow it away!”

“Freeeeeee!” Bugsy’s butterfree flapped its large wings, blowing the flames into nothing. This gave Aqua the chance to get back up.

“Aqua! Use Water Gun on butterfree!” Julia commanded.

“Marill!” Aqua took in a huge breath before shooting a huge water geyser at butterfree, sending the big butterfly rolling in the air. With a flap of its wings, butterfree regained its balance.

“Confuse Ray!”

“Stun Spore!”

Kitsune tried to confuse butterfree, but the big butterfly called forth a big golden cloud of glittering dust. Aqua was quick to use water gun on the cloud so nobody could get paralyzed. But scyther cut through the dust and sliced Kitsune with a fury cutter attack. The attack wound up making Kitsune fall right on top of Aqua, making them lose momentum. But the two pokemon got back up and were ready for more battling. This time, Aqua cutely wagged her tail to distract the two, giving Kitsune a chance to use flamethrower on the two of them.

It was super effective, as they came out of the flames with their skin covered in black burns. But the flames weren’t enough to completely knock them out. Butterfree managed to use Stun Spore on Aqua, leaving her paralyzed. “Aqua, no!” Aqua’s body became almost completely numb, and her muscles tightened up if she so much as tried to stand up. Her stubby arms and legs felt heavy, like someone had put rocks in them.

“Bug types are good with moves that hinder their opponents,” Bugsy said, crossing his arms. “You girls are pretty good if you managed to get this far,” He flashed an unflinching smile. “But don’t think I’ll go easy on you!”

“We never asked you to!” Perrine shouted.

“Aqua! Use Tackle!”

Aqua tried to tackle the scyther, but she tripped on the way down. Bugsy wasted no time commanding scyther to use Fury Cutter on her. Before long, Aqua was completely unable to move, which meant she was out of commission. Julia ran over to Aqua and handed her a Cheri berry to eat. “Sorry about that, Aqua. Are you okay?”

“Marill…” The blue mouse croaked weakly.

Julia put Aqua back in her pokeball. “It’s okay. You did great,” Right then and there, Tsubasa came out of her pokeball again. Oddly enough, Julia didn’t find herself exasperated this time. “Do you want to battle?”

“Coo coo!” Tsubasa flapped her wings vigorously. Julia could see the determination in her eyes.

With that, the battle resumed. “Tsubasa! Use Wing Attack on scyther!”

“Quick Attack!”

Tsubasa’s small wings glowed in a harsh white light as scyther lunged at the tiny bird. This time, the two pokemon collided. Tsubasa’s wing managed to scrape one of scyther’s wings, leaving it sitting on its knees. Perrine made Kitsune use extrasensory on butterfree. This time, butterfree couldn’t escape being caught in a purple light and thrown to the battlefield at least three times. The butterfly tried to get back up, but its tiny body was too battered from the battle. With that, it laid on the ground.

Bugsy put butterfree back in it's pokeball. “I’m impressed with you girls. You only just started learning about double battles, but you managed to beat one of my pokemon. You two exhibit great teamwork.”

Although she liked the compliment, Julia looked down at her feet with a hand on her arm. They had only just met, so she was sure it was only dumb luck that they were winning. That, or Perrine had more experience with battles than she did since she dreams of winning the Pokemon League. But he did have a point. They had beaten one of his pokemon, so they had to be getting somewhere.

Perrine spoke first. “It’s not over yet! Kitsune, use Confuse Ray!”

Two balls of glowing yellow light appeared from Kitsune’s eyes, floating over to scyther. They would have confused it, had Bugsy not told scyther to fly away from it as fast as it could. Even though the green mantis was large in size, it flew faster than either smaller pokemon could see. Its wings made a distinct buzzing sound when it flew.

“Swords Dance, Scyther!” Scyther spun around in a circle, moving so fast it resembled a tornado.

Tornado...a light bulb lit up in Julia’s head. She whispered it into Perrine’s ear. The orange haired girl listened and nodded. Before long, the two girls adopted battle stances. “Kitsune! Use Flamethrower as its spinning!”

“Vuuuul!” Before scyther could stop spinning, Kitsune spat forth a torrent of blazing red flames that consumed scyther from the bottom up. Soon, scyther was trapped in a fiery twister. Even Bugsy couldn’t prevent the ungraceful dropping of his jaw, his eyes wide with shock. The heat was intense, and Bugsy had to back away two steps.

“Scyther! Get out of there!” Bugsy yelled, praying that his scyther was alright. After a while, the flaming tornado dissipated, and scyther came out, but its entire body was covered with black burns, wings and sickles included. With heavy pants and gasps, it tried to walk over to Kitsune and Tsubasa, holding its sickles up. But one of its legs gave out.

“Tsubasa! Finish it off with Wing Attack!”

“Ram into it, Kitsune!”

Both Tsubasa and Kitsune rammed their bodies against scyther, finally knocking it out. There was an eerie silence. Scyther didn’t stand back up at all. With a frown, Bugsy called scyther back into its PokeBall. “I guess I lost. Durn.”

“WE WON!!” Julia found a huge mass glomping her to the point of almost knocking her off her feet. It was a jovial Perrine, who wrapped her arms around Julia and was hugging her tightly. Her warm cheek nuzzled right up against Julia’s peach fuzz and all. Normally, Julia would recoil at someone she didn’t know touching or hugging her. She wanted to get to know them before letting them touch her, but she knew Perrine long enough to let her hug her. Perrine was nice, and this was a reason to celebrate.

“We...we really did it!” Julia cheered, wrapping her own arms around her friend. The two girls jumped up and down like fangirls at a concert. Even Tsubasa and Kitsune got in on it. Tsubasa was cooing like crazy, dancing and flapping her wings, whereas Kitsune just jumped up and down, her curly orange tails bobbing right along with her.

The mauve haired boy scratched his hair, giving them a congratulatory grin, even though his eyebrows were furrowed, making him give off a somewhat sad expression. ‘They must be real good friends,’ He thought to himself. The radiant joy on their faces was unmistakable. Oh well. A loss is a loss, after all. He put his hand in one pocket and walked over to the girls, who, at this point, finally calmed down.

“That was a great battle,” Bugsy told them kindly. “You were amazing.”

“We’re sorry we hurt your pokemon!” Julia bowed before him apologetically. Perrine found herself aghast. Julia was apologizing after a battle? This was the first time she had ever seen someone do that. Then again, Perrine was a girl who didn’t hate pokemon battles, finding them to be commonplace, like any other trainer. This showed her that Julia was far kinder and empathic than she assumed. No, Julia had always been kind and empathic, toward people and pokemon. The kindness she showed her during their encounter in Union Cave only solidified that.

“Jule! You don’t need to apologize!” Perrine exclaimed.

“She’s right. You two won fair and square. Your strength and the faith you had in your pokemon helped you win,” Bugsy said. He pulled his fist out, opening his hand up. In his hand were two red and black badges, with the red part covered with some black dots, making them resemble ladybugs. “Henceforth, here are your Hive Badges.”

Perrine wasted no time taking hers, whereas Julia just gently took it after a few seconds. “Thanks so much, Bugsy!” Perrine exclaimed.

“Yeah. Thanks. Will your pokemon be okay?” Julia said, putting her badge away.

“It’s nothing a trip to the Pokemon Center won’t fix,” Bugsy replied. “I’m glad we got to battle. I guess this means I still have a lot to learn.”

“Do people still call you the Walking Bug Pokemon Encyclopedia?” Perrine asked.

Bugsy burst into laughter. “Yep! They still do!”

“Huuuuh?” Julia gave them both a quizzical look. “People call you that?”

***

The two girls spent one last night at the Pokemon Center before leaving. It was late, and their pokemon were tired, so they figured it’d be best to get a good night’s sleep before heading into the forest. When morning came, the girls headed straight into Ilex Forest. Despite the morning light passing through the trees and the milky sunspots dancing on the grass, the trees were still very thick. It was a wonder any sunlight even managed to come through.

“I wonder why this is called Ilex Forest?” Julia asked herself. Hikaru sat on her shoulder, her body glowing in a soft light so as to light the way. “Why didn’t they just call it Azalea Forest? I mean, there’s so many flowers here, azaleas included.”

“Pichuuu…”

The soft cooing of a hoothoot echoed in the distance. “I read about that!” Perrine began, holding up one index finger. “Ilex is actually the genus name for holly. During the summer, there’s lots of holly plants. I hear that people thought about naming it Holly Forest, but decided Ilex Forest had a better ring to it.”

“Ohhhh. So that’s why!” A grin curled onto Julia’s face. To Julia, new knowledge was always good.

It was here that an orange bug pokemon came scuttling across their path. Said pokemon was slightly bigger than Hikaru, with large claws longer than its face digging into the grass. Round eyes scoured the dirt beneath it, and two red mushrooms with yellow dots on them grew from its back. Perrine’s blue eyes glimmered at the sight of the orange pokemon.

“A Paras!” She cried sweetly. “How cute!”

Julia pulled out her PokeDex and pointed it at the orange bug. “Paras, the mushroom pokemon. Paras has parasitic mushrooms growing on its back called tochukaso. They grow large by drawing nutrients from this their hosts. They are highly valued as a medicine for extending life.” A blue male sign appeared at the corner of the PokeDex.

“They’re cute, but not my favorite,” Julia mused to herself.

“Pichu…”

“Well, I’m catching it!” Perrine pulled out a pokeball and threw it. “Fukuro! Go and use Peck on Paras!”

“Hoothoot!” Once Fukuro materialized, he flitted over to the unsuspecting paras and pecked on its claws repeatedly. The paras tried to run away, with its buggy legs carrying its weight, but the bird pokemon wasn’t going to relent. It slashed its claws back and forth in an attempt to scratch Fukuro, but the hoothoot dodged every attack by flying upward. With a final peck, it knocked paras to the grass.

“Pokeball, go!” Perrine swung her arm out, with the pokeball escaping her grasp. Fukuro hopped out of the way, allowing the pokeball to hit the paras. Once paras went inside, the pokeball wobbled left and right, with the center blinking in a red light. Perrine crossed her fingers, keeping her eyes on the pokeball. Finally, after what seemed to be an agonizing few seconds, the pokeball stopped moving.

“Yay! I caught a paras!” She picked the pokeball up and spun around. “I’m gonna call it Mushi!”

“That one’s a boy, just so you know,” Julia added.

Since Perrine already had six pokemon, Mushi’s pokeball disappeared to lord knows where. Oddly enough, Perrine didn’t seem worried about it. Julia assumed she knew where her pokeball disappeared to. With that, the two girls continued onward. Although the forest seemed like a straight road, everything about it would seem creepy to the normal person. Rows of seemingly endless trees lined the path, their thick leaves blocking out almost all sunlight. Pokemon scuttled about. Some beedrill flew right by, and Julia screamed a little before hiding behind Perrine, right as they appeared.

“Yeek!”

The girls weren’t sure how long they walked. Julia’s feet began to hurt. Her shoes felt rather snug, like they had suddenly become tight around her feet. Her legs burned, and she could feel the weight shifting to the back of her legs with every step she walked. She didn’t dare complain, as she didn’t want to annoy Perrine. Sometimes, Hikaru would hop off of Julia’s shoulder and walk alongside her. Finally, they saw some big rocks and sat down.

“Whew! My feet are starting to hurt,” Julia pulled out some pokemon food and poured it all into two big bowls. She let her pokemon out and they happily munched it all down. Julia clutched the egg in her hands, making sure it didn’t fall out of the container.

Perrine had pulled out a granola bar and ate off a piece, noting that Julia didn’t have any food for herself. “Aren’t you gonna eat?” She asked.

“No. I’m good,” Julia waved one of her hands back and forth, brushing off her concerns. “It’s okay! My pokemon are probably hungrier than I am. Besides, I can deal with--”

Her stomach begged to differ with a thunder-like rumble. Perrine managed to stop herself from laughing by holding a hand to her mouth. “Well, your stomach is saying otherwise. Here,” Perrine rummaged through her bag and pulled out two bananas. “I overheard you say you like bananas, so I brought some with me just in case.”

“Is...that okay?”

“Sure!”

“Wow. Thanks,” Julia took them both and scarfed them down. She wished there was a trash can nearby so she could throw away the peels. It’d be wrong to just leave them here.

“It’s good that you love your pokemon, but it’s just as important to take care of yourself,” Perrine explained.

No trash cans were present, so Julia had no choice but to leave the banana peels at the rocks. Julia hated littering, even if she did occasionally leave little bits of trash around the house sometimes. Thankfully, some caterpie appeared and ate the banana peels happily, so that helped alleviate her anxiety about littering. Without complaint, the girls continued their trek through the forest. Soon, there were no sunspots dancing on the grass anymore. It had become completely dark. Julia clutched her bag strap tightly.

“Whelp. It looks like we’re gonna have to sleep outside tonight,” Perrine sat down and pulled out a large, orange sleeping bag that was big enough to hold two people at most.

Julia froze. “S-S-S-Sleep outside?” Shivering, she found herself lost in her thoughts. As much as she liked Ilex Forest, she was fully aware of the dangers of sleeping outside in the open. She had seen enough shows on TV to know that sleeping in a forest wasn’t like sleeping at home.

“Yeah. It’s too dark to go on,” Perrine told her as she rolled out her sleeping bag. “It’s ten thirty already. We’ll get lost if we grope around in the dark.”

“I...I...I don’t know…”

“Do you have a sleeping bag with you?”

The frightened girl shook her head vigorously. Perrine silently facepalmed. She couldn’t believe it. Julia didn’t buy or bring a sleeping bag with her. “I take it you’ve never slept outside before, have you?”

“No…” Julia groaned. She chastised herself for not buying a sleeping bag beforehand, and for making Perrine deal with her apprehensiveness. “I...I’m scared to sleep outside.”

Perrine held her exasperation inside, knowing complaining wouldn’t do any good. “How come?”

“Because what if some vicious pokemon pop up and try to kill us?!” Julia yelped.

Perrine rummaged through her bag once more, pulling out a grey spray can. She sprayed the area around the sleeping bag in a circle. “That’s why I bought repels, so no wild pokemon can attack us.”

“What if night prowlers or creepy guys come and kidnap us?!”

“You can have your pokemon sleep right beside you,” Perrine told her matter-of-factly. “Pokemon have better hearing than we do, so if there’s trouble, they’re the first to let us know beforehand.”

Some of her anxiety left, but some still remained. Julia still didn’t want to sleep outside. It seemed too risky. But most of all, she preferred the safety of a solid building, the warmth of soft, fluffy comforters, tucked away in a bedroom with doors and windows sealed shut. Sleeping in a forest meant exposing herself to danger and the wilderness. She hated feeling so rigid, so inflexible. She knew she was going to have to deal with this sometime, but didn’t want to think about it. But Perrine did make good points. Perrine pulled out an electric lantern and turned it on.

“This is nice and bright,” She set it down right above the sleeping bag, just a foot away from their heads. “It’ll keep pokemon and people away. If you want, you can sleep in here with me if you want.”

“Is...is that okay? I mean…” Julia stammered shyly. “I’ve never slept with anyone before…”

“That’s fine,” Perrine gently put a hand on Julia’s shoulder. “Sorry about this. You’re probably used to sleeping in a bed. I get that, and that’s okay. This is your first time doing this, so I’m not mad. When I first slept outside, I was scared and didn’t even have a sleeping bag or any of this stuff.”

Julia looked up, her green eyes wide. “Really?”

“Yep. But Kitsune was with me, and I managed to survive. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but sometimes we may have to do things we don’t want to in order to get what we want,” Perrine answered calmly.

She was right. Julia kept telling herself that this journey would be hard. There had to be things she didn’t want to do but had to endure in order to move forward. This was one of them. With a solemn nod, she let all of her pokemon out. She changed into her pajamas behind a tree, as she didn’t want Perrine looking. She hated undressing in front of others. Ladybug slept on top of their sleeping bag, and the two girls found themselves stuffed inside. They were so close together that their skin almost touched. Neji curled right around the girls’ heads, putting himself between them and the brightly lit lantern.

Already, Julia felt trapped. Her body felt trapped inside an alien container, begging for air. She kept tossing and turning. Sometimes she would unknowingly kick Perrine’s legs, or put her hands on her face. It didn’t help that she would shiver upon hearing the wings of beedrill echoing in the air, or hoothoot crying in the trees.

“Ow! Julia, you just kicked me!”

“Sorry!”

“Your hand’s on my face.”

“Oww! You just rolled on my arm!”

“Sorry. This sleeping bag is not big enough for two people, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk in your sleep.”

“You scratched my ear!”

Yellow sun spots danced along their faces, waking them from their sleep. Once they had Perrine’s premade breakfast, which was mostly cold leftovers from last night’s dinner, they went back to walking forward. But purple bags tugged at the bottom of their eyes, making them feel heavy. Their bodies felt sore, like someone had stuffed piles of rocks in them.

“We are never sleeping together in the same sleeping bag ever again,” Perrine groaned.

“I knew this would happen...sorry…” Julia groaned.

Right then and there, a small pokemon leaped out of the grass. It was a small, round, blue pokemon with five big green leaves swaying back and forth on its head. The only body features it had were a mouth, small red eyes, and two small feet. Seeing this cute, tiny pokemon made Julia become alert and wide awake with delight. “Awwww! An oddish! How cute!” She pulled out her PokeDex and aimed it right at the oddish.

“Oddish, the weed pokemon. Oddish often plants its root feet in the ground during the day and sows seeds as it walks about at night, although they can be active during the day if they want to. Its scientific name is "Oddium Wanderus." At night, it is said to walk nearly 1,000 feet on its two roots,” A female sign appeared. Julia pulled out her pokeball.

“Odd odd oddish…” The little oddish walked around aimlessly, watching everything around it.

“I am SO going to catch it!”

Perrine raised an eyebrow. “But oddish is part poison type. Aren’t you afraid of poison types?”

“I liked oddish before I became afraid of poison types, plus they’re nice, so I’m not scared of oddish,” Right as she said that, Tsubasa popped right out of her pokeball, slamming the poor, hapless oddish into a nearby tree with a Wing Attack.

“Odd!” The little oddish cried as it fell to the ground.

Tsubasa put her wings on her hips and laughed loudly. “Coo coo coooo!”

Julia facepalmed. “Tsubasa! Would it kill you to wait so I could give you a command?!”

“Is...your pidgey always like this?”

“Yes.”

Tsubasa turned to face Julia and yelled, “Coo coo coo coo!” (“You want to catch this oddish, right?!”)

“You have a point. Okay then,” Julia threw her pokeball at the oddish. As usual, the pokeball wobbled around and the red light blinked, then the light disappeared. Fastest capture ever. Julia picked the pokeball up and nuzzled it with a warm smile. “Yay! I caught an oddish! I’m gonna name her Blossom!”

The sound of clapping hands pulled the girls out of their victory. They looked up to find themselves speechless. A woman in a purple kimono stood before them, clapping her hands with a soft smile on her face. She looked a lot like Zuki, only her kimono was a light lilac color with reddish purple pokeball patterns on her sleeves, with a darker purple and red obi wrapped around her waist. She had everything else that Zuki had: black hair tied in Mt. Silver style with gold barrettes, geta sandals, and pasty skin.

“You trainers are quite skilled at catching pokemon,” The lady in the purple kimono told them in a low but kind voice. Julia could tell it didn’t sound much like Zuki’s at all. It sounded lower pitched, almost husky, even.

Julia waved her hand back and forth modestly. “No no. It was my pidgey here that did the work, so you’re better off giving her the credit,” Tsubasa folded her wings and stuck out her chest, begging for somebody to praise her.

“Wow! Oh my gosh!” Perrine suddenly ran up to the woman and shook her hand. “You’re Naoko, one of the Ecruteak Kimono Girls! I’m a huge fan! It’s suuuuuch an honor to meet you!!” Naoko’s eyes widened upon seeing this girl shake her hand so roughly, but a smile spread across her face.

“I’m flattered by your kindness, young lady,” Naoko told them.

“I watch tapes of your performances all the time! A couple times Mom even took me to your shows! You’re amazing!” Perrine shouted.

“You...know this woman?” Julia asked.

Perrine gasped, like she heard Julia say that she murdered someone. “You don’t know about the Kimono Girls?!” She shouted loud enough for Julia to cover her ears. Tsubasa simply fluttered onto the girl’s shoulder. “They’re, like, the most well known female dance group in all of the Johto region! The world, even! They dance and perform plays and even sing a little! There’s even an urban legend that they’re supposedly descended from the God of all pokemon, Arceus!”

Everything else sounded plausible to her except the last part. Julia gave the excited Perrine a quizzical look. “That last one cannot be true and you know it.”

Naoko found herself giggling. “Yes. I’m afraid that last part is just a rumor, nothing more.”

“So...exactly what are you doing here?” Perrine asked once she calmed down.

“I actually came here to catch some pokemon,” Naoko explained. “But it seems I wandered in too far, and now I’m lost.”

Julia pulled out her PokeGear, scrolling through the map feature. Ilex Forest showed up on the app, and she zoomed in. A flashing green light showed that she was just a ways away from what appeared to be a black line. “Hey! It says here that we’re almost at the end of the forest!”

“Ohhh! Thank Arceus!” Perrine stretched her arms out before turning to Naoko. “Hey! Here’s an idea! Since we’re almost out, want to travel along with us?”

The woman smiled gratefully, bowing in gratitude. “I would be honored to accompany you.”

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 8: The Egg Finally Hatches At The Daycare!

“Yay! We’re finally out!” Julia was the first to race past the final row of trees, greeted by warm, bright sunshine, and a blue sky with fat white clouds aimlessly floating about. Perrine held a hand over her head to block out the sun, and Naoko simply smiled, following the two girls out. “Woohoo!”

“Coo coo!” Tsubasa chirruped, agreeing with Julia’s sentiment.

“I wonder what time it is right now…” Perrine rummaged through her bag to pull out her PokeGear. She checked the time, which read 10:27 AM. “Wow. We spent about a day in that forest.”

The beautiful kimono clad girl next to them raised an eyebrow. “Did you, really? My, that must have been tough.”

“It sure was!” Julia spun around like a top, with Tsubasa flying around with her, taking in the sun’s warm rays. Perrine simply smiled and stretched her arms out, happy to finally get out of that forest.

“Thank you girls for accompanying me out. I must be going now,” Naoko said. “There’s a pokemon day care up ahead. The old couple that runs it are very good people, and they can help you out,” She added.

“Really? Thanks so much!” Perrine bowed politely.

With a warm smile, Naoko waved to them and walked in another direction. Perrine could see tall skyscrapers from miles away. Tall buildings reached for the sky, as if to say they were closer to heaven than everyone else in the world. One would consider them to be a marvelous sight, but all they did for Perrine was make a creepy monster eat at the skin of her heart, tugging at her. Perrine clutched her chest tightly and looked down. She wished those skyscrapers weren’t so close. It could only mean that she was close to home. Close to the place she didn’t want to return to.

Already, the familiar, hoarse voice of an old man thundered in her ears. “Perrine Sophronia Innocenti!” The middle aged voice roared like thunder. “I will not allow you to jeopardize any chance of a future you have, young lady! You will not become a pokemon trainer and that is final!” Hearing that voice made her physically sick to her stomach, and a contorted, disgusted expression pushed away her sweet smile.

Embarrass the family. What a huge load of crock. She knew it all too well. She wasn’t an embarrassment. She just wasn’t the daughter he wanted.

“Perrine!” Julia’s sweet voice pulled her back to reality.

“Yeah?” Just now, she noticed that Julia had all of her pokemon out. Hikaru, Aqua, Tsubasa, Neji, and Ladybug. The white egg was carefully tucked in Julia’s skinny arms.

“Come on! The daycare’s gotta be up a ways!” She pointed northbound and raced on ahead, with her pokemon happily giving chase.

Without another word, Perrine caught up with Julia, letting all of her pokemon out as well. She figured this would be the perfect time to let them run around and play. They came across a bench that was perfect for sitting, and they plopped their rears down on it, happy to finally be off their feet. Perrine’s shoes began to feel rather snug, and being on her feet so long made her back hurt. The two girls watched their pokemon play happily, sometimes breaking into laughter at their antics.

Chirin let Hikaru sit on his wool, giving him a ride by slowly walking like a mareep would. Aqua and Florian rode on Neji’s back, and he made sure to walk slowly so as to make sure they didn’t fall off. Tsubasa used her beak to pull on one of Kitsune’s tail, and she was quick to bat her on the head with her paw to put the little bird in her place. Fukuro simply sat on a nearby tree, eating some green berries with green leaves on them. Baloo and Fuwari simply ran around in circles, chasing each other happily. Ladybug was content to sit right next to Julia.

Perrine looked down at the egg. “Where’d you get that egg?”

“Oh. This?” Julia stroke the egg gently. “Professor Elm gave it to me. Well, his assistant did. I got it in Violet City. They wanted me to raise it. I wonder if it’ll hatch.”

“It will in due time,” Perrine told her reassuringly. “How long have you had it?”

“The day before I met you.”

“So...about a week or so, huh? I hope it hatches.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Pichuuuu!” Hikaru called out. Julia and Perrine looked up to find Hikaru sitting on Neji’s head. Baloo, Fuwari, Florian, Tsubasa, and Aqua laughed upon seeing the two together. Julia and Perrine simply waved back.

“Ledy…” Ladybug nuzzled up against Julia’s shirt contentedly. Her trainer stroke the ladybug pokemon’s back with one hand, up and down.

“Do you want to go over and play with them, Ladybug?” Julia asked.

Ladybug shook her head no. “Ledyba…” (“No. I don’t want to.”)

“Okay. That’s fine. But they’re nice pokemon, so there’s no need to be scared. Well...Tsubasa can be rather pushy…”

The tiny pidgey gave Julia a shiny-eyed glare that seemed to say, “I heard that!” Florian simply sighed, wondering just what the big deal was. “Chikori…”

It was here that Baloo saw something that caught her eye. She carried her stubby legs up and down as she walked toward the thing that piqued her curiosity. Hikaru saw her leave. Once the pink balloon pokemon was out of sight, Hikaru tapped Julia’s leg with her paw. “Pichu pichu!”

“What’s wrong, Hikaru?” The tiny mouse waved her arms around, explaining what went on. “Huh? Baloo wandered off?”

Perrine’s eyes grew large. She stood up and looked around the area. All of her pokemon were present...except Baloo. A twinge of worry nagged at her heart, but Baloo couldn’t have gone far. “She’s right! Baloo’s gone!”

“Want to go find her?”

“Yes!”

Julia turned to the pokemon. “Everyone! Spread out and find Baloo!”

The pokemon all nodded and scattered. Julia and Perrine kept Hikaru, Ladybug, and Florian by their sides in case wild pokemon popped out. Thankfully, the search didn’t take very long. “Hoppip! Hoppip!” Fuwari called out to them, waving her stubby arm.

“What is it, Fuwari?” The pokemon regrouped, and the two girls caught up to her.

Perrine let out a sigh of relief. An old woman had kneeled down to Baloo’s level, stroking the curly tuft of fur on her head with a warm smile. Baloo was contentedly basking in her affection. The old woman had short but neatly arranged grey hair that cascaded down to her chin, covered by a purple hat. Her kind face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, and she was wearing a purple cardigan over a white T-shirt, long blue jeans, and dirty sneakers. “Jigglypuff!”

“My, aren’t you an adorable pokemon…” The old woman cooed in a scratchy voice.

“Baloo! There you are!” Perrine caught up to Baloo and picked her up. “Why’d you wander off like that?”

“Is this your jigglypuff, Miss?” The old woman asked, standing up.

“Yes. Sorry about that.”

“Jiggly jigglypuff!”

“Baloo says she dropped her hat and was just giving it back to her,” Julia explained.

The old woman chuckled. “Your darling pokemon has such good manners,” She took a glimpse at all of their other pokemon as well. “Actually, all of your pokemon look very lively and well.”

“Thanks, Miss...uh…” Perrine told her gratefully, but realized they didn’t catch her name.

“I’m Eleanor,” The old woman introduced herself. “I run a pokemon daycare up ahead. My, forgive my rudeness, but you girls look like you hadn’t slept or bathed in a while.”

Julia scratched her hair with one hand. It felt stringy and limp, not soft and bouncy like usual. “We just got out of Ilex Forest.”

“I see. If you want, you can come with me to my daycare,” Eleanor told them. “I’m sure the pokemon there would be very happy to have playmates.”

“Wow! Thanks so much!” Julia gave a grateful bow.

With that, the girls and their pokemon followed Eleanor to the daycare. The good thing about this was that it was only a couple blocks away. A large, sunny yellow building came within their vicinity. The pink tile roof gave it a warm, welcoming air. Some small pokemon were playing right outside, with the white fence locked tight so nobody could get out. Eleanor unlocked it and the girls and their pokemon went inside. Some toys such as blocks scattered around the area. Three pokemon happily went down an orange slide before running to play on it again.

The inside of the building looked a little more organized. The orange walls, when the sun came through the windows, made the room really bright, giving it a warm atmosphere. Some small tables and chairs stood neatly in other areas. In other rooms there were shelves full of nothing but eggs. Pokemon eggs. Red eggs, yellow eggs, green eggs, pink eggs, multicolored eggs, eggs with markings on them, it was all eggs. An old man sat on a chair, gently rubbing a green and yellow egg with a dry wash cloth. He had a thick white beard cascading down his chest, but the rest of his grey hair was in tact. He had soft, kind brown eyes, and was wearing a maroon sweater, beige khaki pants, and dirty white sneakers.

“Silas, we have guests,” Eleanor announced.

Silas looked up, his hand stopping on top of the egg. “Ah! Ellie, you’re back early. Now, who are these young ladies?” He smiled and put the egg back on the shelf.

Julia shyly hid behind Perrine. “I’m Perrine, and this is Julia,” Perrine took the initiative and introduced themselves. Julia simply waved at them without a word.

“Pichu!” Hikaru suddenly ran up to the pokemon eggs, sniffing them. “Pichu!”

“Ah! Hikaru!” Julia scrambled over to Hikaru and scooped her right up. “Those are their eggs.”

“My, what a jolly pichu you have there,” Silas said, looking closely at the happy pichu. Hikaru waved at him sweetly. “Hmm? Your pichu has darker fur than usual.”

“She’s a shiny pokemon.”

“Wow. Really?” Silas looked closer. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a pokemon. I’ve heard the stories, but to think they’re real…”

“Girls,” Eleanor interjected. “Feel free to use the shower to wash yourselves off. You must be dirty from walking around in the forest, and your pokemon can play with the others.”

“Oh, thank you so much!” Perrine couldn’t help but fling her arms right around Eleanor, trapping her in a hug. Julia thanked her as well.

The two girls wasted no time using their bathroom. Julia went first, and Perrine went afterward. However, they brought clean clothes with them, so they didn’t need to borrow Eleanor or Silas’s clothes. They were careful not to make big messes, such as splashing water around or scatter their towels. In fact, Julia thought it’d be rude to show up with wet hair and all, so she spent about twenty minutes drying her hair out with the hair dryer, much to Perrine’s subtle chagrin. Once Perrine went inside, Julia found it safe to go out.

As soon as she left the bathroom, something nuzzled up to her leg, and she could tell it wasn’t Hikaru. She looked down to find a small, peachy pink pokemon flashing a bright, friendly smile. Its pointed ears were a dark, chocolate brown color, and its small eyes were brimming with curiosity. Its stubby legs and arms carried its weight, and a rolled up tuft of hair rested on its head, like a jigglypuff.

“Cleffa! Cleffa!” The baby pokemon chirped.

“Awww! Hello there!” Julia kneeled down to pick the pokemon up, cradling it in her arms like a baby. “You’re so cute!”

“Cleffa!” Cleffa nuzzled against Julia’s chin, forcing a laugh to come out.

“Why thank you! I love you too!” She pulled out her PokeDex.

“Cleffa, the star shape pokemon. Cleffa is the pre-evolved form of Clefairy. Their star shape has led some to believe that they reach the Earth riding on shooting stars. Strangely, many Cleffa are often found on nights of meteor showers. When numerous meteors illuminate the night sky, Cleffa can be seen dancing in a ring. They dance through the night and stop only at the break of day, when these Pokémon quench their thirst with the morning dew.”

“That little one just hatched a few days ago,” Eleanor said, gently taking the happy cleffa out of Julia’s arms.

“She’s a cutie,” She said, her cheeks turning pink with delight.

“Your pokemon are this way, dearie.”

“Thanks.”

Eleanor escorted Julia to the play area. Her pokemon and Perrine’s were happily playing with the pokemon in the front yard. She noticed her egg sitting on a nearby table and cradled it in her arms, sitting down on a bench. “Oh! You have so many cute pokemon here! There’s a teddiursa, and an igglybuff, and an elekid, and oddish and aipom and pichu and...oh! Oh! You even have chikorita and cyndaquil!” Her eyes sparkled upon seeing the happy pokemon play. Hikaru was riding on Florian’s back, with them playing pretend rodeo as the other pokemon watched.

“You’re quite knowledgeable about pokemon, aren’t you?”

The brown haired girl looked down at the egg. “I...I just really really love pokemon. I always have.”

“Your pokemon seem to be having fun.”

“They are.”

“That egg in your arms...Mr. Pokemon gave it to you, didn’t he?”

Julia looked up. “How do you know?” Immediately, the realization that Mr. Pokemon got it from a daycare came back to her. This might be the daycare he was talking about. “Oh. Right. He got it from here, didn’t he?”

The old woman replied with a nod. “He was so enthusiastic about it, so we gave it to him. I’m surprised it came back here, though. It must be fate.”

“I doubt it.”

“Chikori!” Florian yelped. Julia looked up to find Tsubasa pecking a poor, crying oddish with her beak, and Florian kept trying to push her away by waving his big leaf around.

“Hey, Tsubasa!” She ran over to the bird and picked her up. As usual, Tsubasa flailed her talons back and forth, cawing like a crow. “That’s not nice! Say you’re sorry right now! We don’t peck other pokemon!” Florian gently consoled the sad oddish by wrapping a vine around him, pulling him close.

“Coo coo coo coo!” (“I need to train so I can get stronger! Stay out of my way!”)

“I-I-I’m so sorry!” Julia apologized, putting Tsubasa back in her pokeball. “My pidgey thinks she can do whatever the heck she wants.”

Despite her efforts not to laugh, Eleanor couldn’t help herself. “It’s alright. We’ve dealt with some naughty pokemon of our own, too.”

All of a sudden, many small pokemon began crawling up Julia’s leg, none of them her own pokemon. “Whoa! Whoa whoa whooooa!” She found herself falling on the ground, being playfully assaulted by tiny baby pokemon, nuzzling her, jumping on her, giving her pokemon kisses, all of that stuff. Julia couldn’t hold back her merry laughter. Some of her pokemon burst into laughter upon seeing the cute scene.

“Help! I’m being attacked by cute pokemon!” Julia cried jokingly. Truth be told, she was enjoying this. To her, being with pokemon was like being in Heaven.

The only one of her pokemon not laughing was Ladybug. The red ladybug pokemon happened to glance at the egg right next to her. All of a sudden, the egg flashed for just a brief moment. It was faint, but the egg glowed in a soft white light for just a second. Eleanor saw it, too. Perhaps the egg’s time to hatch is coming near. Julia was blissfully oblivious to it, as she was too busy playing with the pokemon.

Once Perrine was out of the shower, the girls decided to repay the old couple by helping out around the daycare. As much as she liked playing with the pokemon, taking care of the many pokemon eggs proved to be easier. All she had to do was take a dry washcloth and rub the eggs gently from side to side. Hikaru, Baloo, Florian, and Aqua helped out as well. Even they were enjoying it, sometimes singing little made up songs to themselves as they worked.

Taking care of a huge group of pokemon, fun as it was, was no easy task. Sometimes, Perrine had to break up some fights. At one point, some bird pokemon almost pecked at her, had Baloo not intervened by singing them to sleep. Julia refused to go anywhere near the poison type pokemon except oddish. Understandable, since she was afraid of poison types. Eleanor and Silas understood, and didn’t push the issue. Sometimes, Julia took a break to tend to her own egg, rubbing it with the washcloth.

“Would you girls like to have dinner with us?” Silas offered. “You must be hungry.”

“Sure! Thanks!”

The sky above was orange, streaked with familiar but still stunning shades of rose pink, lavender purple, and deep blue. Eleanor and Silas were so kind to them, Julia couldn’t help but think that nothing she did would ever repay them. She was sure that if Amara were here, she’d yell and scream stuff about Julia being nothing but inconsiderate to them, being an inconvenience to them by taking advantage of their kindness. How could she take advantage of it when they were the ones offering? But she still kept an eye on her egg, wondering when it’ll hatch.

“So, are you two going to the Pokemon League?” Silas asked, taking a bite of some steak.

“I am,” Perrine answered. “Julia’s not into that stuff.”

“It’s true,” Julia added, taking a bite out of some broccoli. All of their pokemon sat on the floor, happily eating bowls of fresh pokemon food. Some soft, soothing classical music played loftily on an old radio that was on a shelf. Julia took a bite out of a crescent roll before giving a piece of it to Hikaru. The tiny mouse shared her piece with everyone, making sure Tsubasa didn’t eat the whole thing.

“You kids are heading for Goldenrod, right?” Eleanor asked.

Perrine stopped eating. She stared down at her steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes with a doubtful look on her face. Goldenrod City...she wished it wasn’t so close by. “Yeah, we are,” Julia answered. “It’s pretty much the only city that’s nearby.”

“But it’s so late now. It’ll be too dark when you get there, and wild pokemon can be dangerous, especially during the night,” Silas explained.

They made good points. “You can spend the night here for tonight.”

“Thanks,” Julia said, finishing her broccoli. “You’re so nice. You don’t have to do all this for us.”

The old couple shook their heads. “It’s no trouble at all. Our daycare is always open to weary travelers.”

Whoever raised this old couple deserved a medal. That was what Julia thought, anyway. They were never angry, suspicious, or judgmental. They just helped them out without hesitation, and had been nothing but kind to them. Julia regretted being so shy toward them earlier in the day. She wished she could stay here forever. But she knew she couldn’t do that. She took them up on their offer, and slept in the other room with Perrine and her pokemon. She kept the egg in her arms in case anything happened.

***

“Julia!”

Shades of green and white dotted the darkness. A faint voice cried out in the distance.

“Julia! Wake up!”

“Pichu!”

“Wha...huh?” The first thing she saw was a flash of white light. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, wondering if it was the morning sun coming through the windows. But she looked down to find that it came from the egg. Perrine and all of the pokemon surrounded Julia’s bed with curious, awestruck expressions.

The egg was glowing. It was about to hatch!

“No way!” Julia scrambled out of bed, holding the egg in her hands. The light felt warm, and it didn’t burn like she expected it to.

The top of the white egg suddenly had a small crack. Said crack grew bigger and bigger. Crack! Went the top of the shell, and the light vanished. Five light yellow spikes popped out of the top of the egg, revealing a mouth and two small, oval shaped black eyes. Two stubby arms protruded from the sides of the egg, and two feet popped out, with two toes on each foot. The rest of the shell stayed in tact, red and blue markings included.

The tiny pokemon let out a high pitched yawn. “Chokiiiii…” As soon as it opened its eyes, the first thing it saw was Julia. The girl’s beaming face brought forth a smile, and the pokemon cheered happily. “Choki choki kriiii!”

“Awww! How cute!” Julia couldn’t resist the urge to hug her new friend. Perrine pulled out her PokeDex and pointed it at the egg pokemon.

“Togepi, the spike ball pokemon. Togepi is filled with an energy that makes people happy. When treated well, Togepi shares this energy with others, but when it comes near a human with an impure heart this energy quickly disappears, leaving Togepi exhausted. An ancient proverb claims that happiness will come to anyone who can make a sleeping Togepi stand up,” A pink female sign appeared on the corner of Perrine’s PokeDex.

“It’s a girl?” Perrine asked herself. “But Togepi are usually boys.”

One look at Julia and the togepi told Perrine that she didn’t care. The brown haired girl was just too happy with her new friend to mind. Julia held togepi close to her heart, and the egg pokemon returned the affection by happily cooing and waving its tiny arms. Hikaru hopped onto Julia’s lap and held out a hand. “Pichu pichu!”

Without even the tiniest hint of hesitation, the togepi leaped out of Julia’s arms and shook Hikaru’s arm before glomping her. Soon, togepi was running around the room, chasing Hikaru, Kitsune, and Fuwari around. “Choki choki chokiiiiiii!”

“She is sooooo adorable!” Julia cooed, watching her new friend play. Perrine could swear she saw hearts fluttering around her. “And I know exactly what to name her!”

“And...what’s that?”

“Tokiko!”

“Toki...ko?”

“Yep! It sounds like she says tokiko when she talks!”

Right then and there, Tokiko waddled up to Julia, stretched her arms out, and cooed, “Choki!” Just hearing that tiny voice coo made Julia’s heart completely melt. “Oh my gosh! She called me Mommy! I’m not kidding you! She thinks I’m her mom! What do I dooooo?!” Tokiko leaped on Julia’s lap and hugged her...or at least, her abdomen, showering her in affection. Julia did the same.

“What are her attacks?” Perrine asked.

“Oh! Right! I’ll check!” She pulled out her PokeDex and searched through Tokiko’s attacks, but she found herself completely flabbergasted. “Whoa.”

“What’s up?” Perrine took a look.

Tokiko’s attacks were the following: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss. “What?! No way!” Perrine exclaimed, at first thinking the PokeDex was playing tricks on her, or was malfunctioning. Technology didn’t lie. “Togepi shouldn’t be able to know those kinds of moves until it's evolved! Or at the very least until it’s older!”

Breakfast could wait, as the first thing Julia did upon changing her clothes and arriving at the dining room was show Eleanor and Silas her new friend. To say they were stunned would be exaggerating, but their eyes were wide and their mouths agape at the sight of the pokemon. “How adorable! What a cutie pie,” Eleanor couldn’t resist stroking Tokiko with her finger. Tokiko returned the gesture by shaking her finger up and down with both arms.

Tokiko proved to be quite a special little togepi. When wondering what to feed her, since she was still a baby, Tokiko helped herself to some of Julia’s yogurt and crescent rolls. Everyone was shocked, thinking she could only drink liquids for the time being. Not only that, when Tokiko wandered to the slide, wanting to play with some pokemon, she managed to climb the steps and reach the top all by herself without fear, sliding down with Hikaru and Aqua. She even managed to keep up with the other pokemon.

What really cemented Tokiko as a special pokemon was when she saw Tsubasa picking on the poor oddish again. Without a word, she simply walked over to Tsubasa, and...rammed her head into the poor, hapless pidgey, sending her flying across the front yard. Florian managed to catch her by using his vines, preventing any potential injuries.“Whoa! Did...did Tokiko just use...Headbutt?!” Everyone was aghast, Julia especially.

Enraged, Tsubasa flew right to Tokiko and began a tirade of bird cooing. “Coo coo coo coo!” (“You dare to attack me, you little runt?!”)

Keeping her sweet smile, Tokiko simply said, “Choki choki kriiii!” (“You were being mean, so I had to teach you a lesson.”)

“Wow...Tokiko’s...awesome…” Julia mused to herself.

“Yeah. Really,” Perrine agreed.

Eleanor smiled. “Isn’t she so lively?”

“Indeed,” Silas added with a nod.

It helped that Tokiko was quite the social butterfree, too. She already got along well with all of the pokemon. Even Ladybug warmed up to her, and the two found themselves playing in the dirt and rolling around. Julia joined in as well, as she loved playing with her pokemon. Eleanor and Silas simply watched as the pokemon frolicked and played to their heart’s content. Perrine knew that they couldn’t stay here forever, as much as she wanted to keep away from Goldenrod City. They had to get going. When noon came around, the kids prepared to leave.

“Thanks so much for having us, Eleanor and Silas. We really appreciate your kindness,” Julia told them gratefully.

“It was a pleasure having you here, kids,” Silas told them with a hearty laugh. “You girls be careful out there, and have a safe journey.”

With that, the girls left the daycare, happy to be out on the road. Hikaru and Tokiko were outside of their pokeballs, chasing each other happily, basking in the warm sunshine. A gentle spring breeze made everyone’s hair float in the wind. However, none of this was enough to dispel the anxiety nagging at Perrine’s heart. It ate at her chest like a hungry totodile, ripping away at her deepest, darkest secrets. With every step she took, she felt that she was going back to the trap. The gilded cage the man set up just to keep her locked away.

It didn’t matter what he did. None of what he did would dissuade Perrine from her dream. She didn’t want to go back to that gilded cage, adorned with jewels, beautiful clothes, warm food, and things she just couldn’t do no matter what. All those rules, all those lessons, all the yelling, all the disapproval...she thought she had escaped all of that. He never gave her what she wanted. He decorated the cage more and more every day, giving her new trinkets and baubles. All failed to impress her. Gold. Silver. Diamonds.

No, she did not want those, beautiful as they were. She wanted to run about in grass thickets, through deep forests, trek through harsh mountains, surrounded by pokemon.

“Perrine?”

“What?!”

Julia stopped in her tracks, turning around to face her friend. “Is something wrong?” She tilted her head to one side out of concern. “You look sad.”

Concern. That was what she had always wanted. Someone who cared. Someone who cared enough to listen. Why had she hidden it all this time? Perrine balled her fists. “Sorry, Jules. The truth is...I don’t really want to go back to Goldenrod,” She confessed in a low voice. Hikaru and Tokiko stopped playing, realizing that the girls stopped on the road.

“Why not?”

“I ran away,” Perrine began. “I had to apply to be a trainer in secret. My parents...I told you about how they don’t want me becoming a trainer, right? No matter how I explained it to them, they were set on keeping me at home,” She balled her fists once more. “I...I’m not the child they want. They want a kid who plays piano and dresses in flashy gowns and wears makeup and is perfect in every way. A little socialite, if you will. I can’t be that kind of kid. I saw missing person posters when I left. If I’m spotted in Goldenrod, Mom and Dad are sure to find out...and they’ll be mad, too.”

The orange haired girl expected her friend to dismiss her concerns. Oddly enough, she didn’t. She just kept quiet and listened intently. Even Hikaru and Tokiko stopped to listen. When she finished, Julia simply said. “I know how you feel. Y’know, before I met you, I was afraid of going to Violet City.”

“Really? How come?”

Julia told Perrine about her experiences in the Pokemon Academy during the second grade, especially about Mrs. Amoretto’s machinations. Perrine found herself aghast. “No way! A teacher did that to you?! My God!”

“I know, right?” Julia agreed. “She got arrested, but ever since then, I hated pokemon battles with all of my being. But I had to go back there recently, and I had no choice. I had to go through it in order to move forward. I didn’t want to go back to that place,” A smile curled up on her face. “But when I did go back, I learned so much! I went to Sprout Tower, learned that Falkner was the one who arrested her, and got to see that battling isn’t about senseless violence, but a way that pokemon express themselves and the bond between them and their trainers.”

“Wow...I had no idea…”

Julia put a hand on her shoulder. “If you’re scared to go back to Goldenrod, that’s okay. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. But you do have to admit, it’s the only city we can go through in order to move forward. There aren’t any other towns on the map,” She explained.

Perrine sighed. A very good point. There was just no avoiding it. But the doubt in her heart slowly began to dissipate. Julia told her about the worst experience of her life. That had to take courage and a truck load of strength. But upon going back, she made new, much better memories. She had overcome her fear. Perrine balled her fists. If Julia could do it, perhaps...Perrine could settle things with her parents once and for all. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

“No. I’ll go,” Perrine announced, her eyes blazing with determination. “A good pokemon trainer doesn’t let fear get the best of them.”

Julia flashed a thumb’s up. “That’s the spirit!”

Hikaru imitated her. “Pichu!” Tokiko did the same. “Choki!”

“You’ll be there, so maybe it won’t be so scary…” Perrine confessed.

“That’s one way to put it. Hey! You said the department store is really cool, right? Maybe they’ll have The Bond Between Shooting Stars There!” Julia exclaimed, running ahead of the girl at full speed. Hikaru and Tokiko gave chase.

“Hey! Wait for me! Jeez!” Perrine laughed as she chased after her friend. She was ready to face her family.

What the girls didn’t know was that a boy happened to overhear their conversation from about ten feet away. The boy had curly, bushy brown hair framing a set of green eyes like Julia’s but were a darker shade. He was wearing a pale green short sleeved shirt over a long sleeved white one, with black and white wings parallel to a black and white circle. It wasn’t a yin-yang symbol, as the line separating the two colors was perfectly straight, not in a wavy motion. He was also wearing beige khaki pants with large pockets on them, and solid grey shoes. A brown pokemon with a large skull on its head stood next to him, holding a bone in its left hand.

“So that orange haired girl has parent problems too, huh?”

“Cubone!”

“Hey, Mallow. She seems pretty cool. Want to try and make a new friend?”

“Bone bone cubone!”

***

For those of you wondering, don’t worry. Tokiko will definitely not be useless and do nothing but sit around in Julia’s arms.

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain).

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

Pokemon At Professor Elm’s Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)

 

[System Error]

All right, so let's formally review this thing!

A good way to segue into this is talking about the plot...and well. It's an adaptation of HGSS, that one specifically given the presence of the Kimono Girls and Proton. Adaptations aren't the most unique concept, so there's not much to say one way or another on this front. Of course since they're not silent protagonists we're dealing with here, we see different reactions to things, like Julia's unique reason for heading to Sprout Tower or Perrine being the one to crash the well. Not much to say about the world, either. At present, it's more or less the Pokemon world as we know it, with a couple additional things (Cherrygrove's school, for example). Johto isn't the most unexplored setting, but it's one of the better ones so no complaints. What you have worldbuilt with I've liked, such as the Origin of Battling. That was a neat touch, I felt.

Characterization is your strongest point, I'd say. You do a good job of getting me invested in the characters and actually caring about them. There is some bias on that part I'll get to when it's relevant, admittedly. Because of the fic's nature, some of the characters fill the roles of canon characters. Namely, Julia is the protagonist and Amara is the rival. The latter is an interesting take on the rival. She has clear-cut motivations that are more rooted than her canon counterpart. I can't help but wonder if there's more to her than being a rebellious teenager who hates her younger sister for getting more attention than her. Who beat her Pokemon with a rock once when she was younger. We didn't get a chance to see her in Azalea though, so no updates since the first few chapters. Also, she's apparently one of the strongest teenage girls ever.

As for Julia herself, I feel you're doing a good job with her. Being autistic myself, there's some traits about her I can look at and go, "Hey, that's just like me!" Loud noises in particular stood out, which I hated for the longest time (circumstances forced me to adapt) and someone else I know still does. She's relatable in some respects, I guess is what I mean. Of course, like you said, everyone's unique with their own hobbies, dreams, strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. Like I haven't gone through anything nearly as bad as she did myself, but I've heard the stories. That aspect of her has been handled really well IMO. Looking at the rest of her character besides the potentially touchy stuff, she's well-rounded and unique. Certainly like the narrative says, it's rare you see a character who has no interest in battling, or after development, having more benign reasons behind wanting to get involved with it (bonding!). Her battling style when it comes to catching new Pokemon, also stands out. She's generally likable, and props to having a sort-of theme going on with her nicknames so they have purpose. I feel what a character nicknames his/her Pokemon can really add to/reinforce the character, and (most of) hers show she puts a great deal of thought into them.

I'm a bit leery at her special ability. It certainly fits her, but being the only person in the world (at least that is known of) who's able to understand Pokemon is kinda...eh. It's interesting giving the Pokemon voices, at least, and you'll definitely be able to have fun with it with antagonistic Pokemon. Just need to watch how you present it, because others might not view it a positive light at all. Same for Hikaru the shiny Pichu, though that's already been offset to an extent by handling it well in not immediately pointing out its uniqueness and actually turning it into a downside in how it could be a target for theft.

It's a bit too early to give a conclusive opinion on Perrine. She's going on a journey in spite of her parents' wishes, and appears to be from the upper class. Also, she has a strong resolve, or at least a lot of nerve to sneak out on her own. That's about all we know at this point, and she's about to meet a potential new friend who has parental issues too. Only thing I feel I should bring up is the friend dynamic. I'm not quite sure how to put it into words, but something about how easily it came together nags me. At any rate, it's too early to give a conclusive opinion on that too, especially with the aforementioned third friend potentially entering the mix.

For the supporting characters, Julia's parents are all right. Pertaining to Amara, I do have to agree with her in how they came across as focusing their attention more on Julia rather than her. Which may well be the point! They're good enough characters for the purpose they serve and I liked how they have a clear past of their own, creating the setting of their Pokemon ranch. You do refer to them by their first names in a few unfitting contexts, only odd thing I noticed about them. As for canon characters. Definite props for using Adventures' version of Falkner as a police officer. I'll again give a specific shoutout to Lance's last name. Too many fics seem to go with a double name pun, and so that reference was a nice breath of fresh air. You're handling them as a whole a good way, giving them just the right amount of attention and expansion, while staying true to their original forms.

Proofreading could be better. I'm not one to be hung up on this sort of thing like it's a total dealbreaker, but there's enough to make a note of. Inconsistencies with your capitalization surrounding Pokemon names are particularly consistent. I do like the tone of the fic, and things you put in like the religious symbolism. However, the narrative occasionally comes across as strange, and in rare cases the character tone/narration tone bleed into the other. An example from the latest second-to-latest chapter is "Mushi’s pokeball disappeared to lord knows where". Formatting was odd in some of the earlier chapters, such as with the flashback scene or a couple time transitions, but you seem to be handling that better as of the latest chapter.

In response to the fic's mission statements...I somehow don't doubt #1. It's almost as though Showcases are them taking that to the literal extreme, heh. Been over #2 partially in talking about Julia, and again being autistic myself, I don't find anything offensive. #3, well, you've done a good job of writing Team Rocket as not goofy so far. J has yet to be introduced, but if Team Rocket is this nasty, I'm looking forward to seeing how she raises the bar.

Nothing else comes to mind at the moment. Hopefully nothing slipped my mind. All in all, I'm enjoying and liking this fic so far. I'm glad I decided to read it, since it's been very worth it to do so. Will definitely be keeping up with it, and looking forward to seeing future installments!

 

[Juliko]

Glad you liked it! I have a lot of plans for this story (have 55 chapters of the Johto arc planned out so far), and I plan on addressing some issues you pointed out. As your reward, heeeeere's chapter 9!

***

Chapter 9: Sister Wars At The Golden Metropolis!

Goldenrod City was a bona fide metropolis in every sense of the world. The whole city seemed to shine with golden light. It didn’t help that since it was sunny out, the light would reflect off of glass windows, blinding the girls every now and again. People of all ages bustled about, running to and fro. Parents with kids, business people, police officers, young couples, school children, all kinds of people went about their day, going wherever they were going.

Skyscrapers lined most of the city. Seeing them from the ground made Julia feel like a baby ant, they were so tall. Most of them had rows of glass windows in neat, straight patterns, going across them both vertically and horizontally. Train tracks went horizontally across the center of the city. A large, black radio tower loomed over the entire city, boasting its grand height and large scale. As much as the girls wanted to go sightseeing, they needed to check into the Pokemon Center and get their pokemon healed.

Julia, on the other hand, was all too excited to call her parents and let them know how she was doing. The first thing she did upon entering the center was pick up the video phone and call her parents. Neji and Tokiko watched curiously as the static appeared on the screen. Perrine hid her bundle of hair underneath a large beige hat and put on a pair of sunglasses. Finally, the screen flickered before Kassia’s face appeared.

“Hi, Mom!” Julia exclaimed.

A beaming smile appeared on Kassia’s face. “Hi, Julia! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? How’s your journey been going?”

“Hehe. It’s been a little rough, but it’s been fun, too!” She replied. “Hey! You know that egg Mr. Pokemon gave me to give to Professor Elm? Guess what? It hatched! Look!”

Julia picked Tokiko up with one hand, holding her close to the screen so Kassia could get a good look. Tokiko chirruped cutely and waved her little arms up and down to greet her. “Awww. Is that a togepi? It’s adorable!”

“I know, right? She’s a keeper!”

“Choki choki!” (“I’m a keeper!”)

“I named her Tokiko!”

“Are you going to show Professor Elm? I think he’ll be happy to see her.”

“I will right after this. I wanted to show you first.”

“Fuuur?” Neji peered over Julia’s shoulder to look into the screen.

“Is that a furret? He’s cute!”

“Yep! This is Neji! He used to be a sentret but he evolved when we were in Azalea Town. He’s a sweetie pie,” She stroke Neji’s head gently, and the ferret pokemon basked in her affection. “Oh! By the way, would it be okay if you transferred the oddish I caught over to me?”

“Of course, dear. Not a problem,” Kassia said. Papillon fluttered onto Kassia’s head. “Freeee!”

“Hi, Papillon! Have you been a good girl?”

“Eeee freeee!” Kassia stroke Papillon’s head gently. “Your butterfree is a doll. She helps me out with my cooking and keeps me company when I’m home alone. Anyway, which pokemon do you plan on sending over?”

Julia turned to Neji. “Hey, Neji. Want to hang out with Papillon and meet my parents and their friends?”

“Fur!” Neji nodded.

“I’ll send Neji over, if that’s okay. He’s nice to hug and cuddle,” She put Neji in his pokeball and placed it in a silver transporter. A white light consumed the pokeball, and it disappeared. Another one appeared, bringing with it a pokeball that didn’t have a sticker on it. “Got her!”

“That’s good dear,” Papillon flew away, and as soon as she left, a frown turned Kassia’s smile upside down. “By the way…”

“Hm?”

“Have you...run into Amara?”

Julia’s smile faded, and she looked down at Tokiko. “No, I haven’t. We just got to Goldenrod, so for all I know she could be anywhere.”

“Same here. The police are searching everywhere, and your father’s been asking her friends if they’ve seen her,” Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Julia. This is all my fault…”

“How so? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Choki!” Tokiko tried to butt into the conversation, but nobody heard her.

“It’s just…” Kassia stammered. “I don’t know...how all of this happened. First it was Chanel’s death, then everything that happened with her other friends, then being put on the blacklist...I feel like I missed a chance to make things better, and now she’s on the run because of me. She’s my daughter! I should be helping her! I wish...I wish I could figure out why she’s doing this.”

Julia fell silent. She knew how her mother felt. The change in Amara’s entire personality and demeanor felt like a switch was flicked on. Overnight, Amara had gone from cheerful and amiable to bitter, defiant, and rebellious. She remembered the days when Kassia would help Amara with her homework, or bake cookies for them whenever her friends would come over to play or hang out. Amara even stood up to bullies who were picking on Julia, and even played with her most of the time. But there were times when Amara just wasn’t herself. Julia remembered seeing Amara in her room, screaming and crying for an entire day, not leaving her room even once. She had gone over to hug her, but she continued to cry and howl.

Perhaps Amara acting out wasn’t just about Julia after all. “Is that your mom?” Perrine thankfully broke the silence by peering into the screen.

“Oh? Who’s that, dear?”

“Oh! Mom, this is my friend Perrine. I met her in Union Cave. Perrine, this is my mom, Kassia Parisa,” Julia introduced the two of them.

Kassia’s beaming smile came right back, brighter than ever. “Oh my gosh! You made a new friend?! That’s so wonderful, Julia! It’s nice to meet you, Perrine!” The sadness in her voice was completely gone, like it had never been there.

“Same here,” Perrine gave a simple wave.

“Julia?”

“Hm?”

“I know this sounds strange, but would it be okay if I talked to Perrine in private for a moment?” Kassia asked.

Talk about out of the blue. Kassia had only just met Perrine and already she wants to talk to her on the phone. Perrine removed her sunglasses so Kassia could get a better look at her. Julia figured Kassia wanted to talk to her about some things. As sudden as it was, she didn’t see anything wrong with it. Plus, it’d give her more time to play with Tokiko, and a chance to put a sticker on her oddish’s pokeball. “Sure, I guess,” She handed the phone to Perrine.

With that, Julia couldn’t hear anything from Kassia’s side at all. She didn’t mind, and played patty cake with Tokiko. After that, she pulled out a flower sticker, stuck it on the oddish’s pokeball, and wrote Blossom on it. Blossom was the oddish’s new nickname. A new friend...Julia held the pokeball close and nuzzled it with her cheek. “Come on out!” She opened the pokeball, and the little oddish came right out.

“Oddish?” Blossom looked around curiously at its new surroundings. Julia smiled and kneeled down to her level.

“Hi there! Would you like to be my friend?”

The plant pokemon smiled. “Odd!”

“Choki!” Tokiko waddled over to Blossom and greeted her with a warm hug. Blossom cooed contentedly, basking in the egg pokemon’s unbridled affection. Soon, the two of them were playing and rolling on the floor.

“Jule? Your mom wants to talk to you again,” Perrine called out.

“Oh! Thanks!” She left Blossom and Tokiko to play by themselves. Perrine smiled and walked over to them to make sure they didn’t wander off.

Julia said goodbye to Kassia before signing off. But there was one more person she needed to talk to. She dialed another number. The screen flickered for a bit before materializing, and it showed Professor Elm. “Hello? Is that you, Julia?” He asked, adjusting his thick glasses, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

“Hi, Professor Elm!”

“Ah, it is you! How’s your journey going?”

“Great! Hey, you know that egg you had your assistant give me? Guess what? It hatched!”

“Wah!” Professor Elm practically fell off of his chair. He climbed back on his seat and gave Julia a wide eyed expression of surprise. “It...it...it really hatched?!”

“Yep!” She turned to face Perrine, Blossom, and Tokiko. “Tokiko! Can you come here, please?” Tokiko waddled over to Julia without hesitation. The girl picked Tokiko up and held her to the screen for the bespectacled professor to see. “Here she is! She’s a togepi, and I named her Tokiko! Say hi, Tokiko!”

“Choki choki kriiii!”

“Wow! So it's that pokemon!” Professor Elm exclaimed, scratching his hair to keep it together. “So it's true! Some pokemon are born from eggs!” He adjusted his glasses once more. “There’s a lot of research to be done. Thanks so much, Julia! I was right to give the egg to you! You’re helping unravel pokemon mysteries for us!”

Julia let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I don’t think I’m doing all that much…” Tokiko didn’t seem to mind. She just trotted back off to play with Perrine and Blossom. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know this, so I’ll let you go, okay? Bye!” With that, she hung up the phone.

The orange haired girl put her hat and sunglasses back on. The chances of someone finding her were too high, and she couldn’t risk being found. “Want to go to the department store? There’s lots of good stuff in there.”

“Sure!”

The Goldenrod Department Store’s selection was as big and varied as the building it lived in. The first floor contained mostly trainer essentials, such as potions, full heals, pokeballs, etc. Julia only bought a few potions and full heals in case anything happened. The second floor contained items more in the entertainment caliber, like books, board games, videos, video games, etc. Julia knew exactly what she wanted, and much to her surprise, a book caught her eye. It had a dark blue cover on it, with shining white stars on it. Six black silhouettes gazed upon them longingly.

“The Bond Between Shooting Stars!” She wasted no time grabbing it. “I finally found it!” It was only eight dollars, so she was easily able to pay for it. Whether it would fit in her bag was another story entirely. Something caught Perrine’s eye as well, but it wasn’t a book, video, or any merchandise.

A missing person’s poster latched onto the blue walls. It had a picture of Perrine on it. Have You Seen This Girl? The poster read in big, bold, black letters. It had most of her personal details on it: her full name, Perrine Innocenti, wavy orange hair, blue eyes, wearing a maroon vest, a white blouse, a long brown skirt, white stockings, and brown shoes. Eleven years old, height 4’11, weight 76 pounds. Phone numbers lined the bottom of the poster, along with a reward of a whopping one million dollars to whoever finds her.

Those numbers were all too familiar to her. They were her parents’ house and cell phone numbers. With a grunt, she turned away from the poster. She caught Julia buying some more stickers and some accessories for her pokemon. Perrine smiled. How could Julia be so absorbed in everything she did and not care about the world around her? She wished she could be that oblivious when she wanted to. Oh well. This was time to have fun, so she figured she might as well make the best of it.

“Look, Perrine!” Julia showed her faithful friend some cute, sparkly accessories. “I found some cute accessories my pokemon can wear! I’m definitely putting this flower barrette on Blossom, this light blue bubble ribbon on Aqua, and I think this pink hat would look absolutely adorable on Tokiko!”

The third floor was mostly clothes. The girls figured they could use some new clothes, but nothing too fancy. Pokemon journeys often resulted in people getting dirty. But it didn’t hurt to try something nice on. Julia wasn’t one for fashion, as she just bought whatever felt comfy and gave her body some breathing room. Perrine was more into pretty dresses, but nothing too flashy or proper. At one point, Perrine came out of the fitting room wearing a pale green dress that went just above her ankles, with short, white lacey sleeves. “Wow! You’re really pretty!” Julia exclaimed.

“Thanks,” Perrine pushed some hair behind her ear. “My mom says I look great in green.”

Unfortunately, as much as Perrine wanted to, she didn’t buy it. This was a pokemon journey, not a party for noble aristocrats, she reasoned. “Can I ask you a weird question, Julia?”

“Sure. What is it?” Julia gently placed a red flower barrette on Blossom’s weed. Blossom smiled the whole time Julia put it on her weed, kicking her tiny legs up and down.

“Sorry if this sounds rude, but I’ve never seen you wear a dress or a skirt,” Perrine said. “Why is that?”

“I hate dresses and skirts,” Julia answered matter-of-factly.

“How come?”

“No real reason. I just don’t,” Blossom nuzzled Julia’s arm happily, thanking her for putting the barrette on. “I like looking at pretty ones, yes, but that’s it. Skirts and dresses make me feel...exposed. Pants and shorts are the way to go for me. Besides, what if creepy perverts see my underwear and make fun of me about it for the rest of my life?!” Her hands flew to her cheeks as she imagined the awful scenarios that could play out. Boys laughing at her, pointing at her, calling her names related to her underwear… “I don’t want that happening to meeeeeeee!” She cried.

Perrine facepalmed. This was the first time she had ever met someone like Julia. Still, everyone had things they liked and didn’t like, and Julia was no different. “It’s okay. I feel the same way about high heels.”

Julia’s hands descended back to her sides. “You hate high heels, too?”

“Yeah! I can’t walk in them for the life of me!” Perrine exclaimed. “But my dad did make me take classes on how to walk in them.”

All she got in response was a quizzical look from Julia. “There are classes on wearing high heels?”

“Yep. My dad even made me take what they call etiquette classes. Basically I have to learn how to eat, drink, walk, dress, and talk like a rich lady.”

“Those exist?!” Julia had no idea there were such things as etiquette classes. Life as a rich girl didn’t sound easy at all.

“Yes they do.”

The girls decided they had enough of the department store for today, so they went down the escalators and left. However, they did stop to buy some food for both themselves and their pokemon in case they got hungry, such as bread rolls. Outside was as lively and bustling as ever. Perrine kept her sunglasses and hat on, hoping nobody she knew would see her.

“Quil…”

A high pitched voice from below caught their attention. Julia looked to her left to find a small pokemon wandering about. A light yellow ant eater-esque pokemon about Florian’s size walked around on its large legs, with its stubby arms carrying its weight. It’s back was a navy blue color, with orange spots on its back. Wrapped around its neck was a red choker with an orange, flame shaped jewel dangling from it. “Quil!”

“Awww! A cyndaquil!” Julia exclaimed. Perrine pulled out her PokeDex to examine it.

“Cyndaquil, the fire mouse pokemon. It's a timid creature that often curls up into a ball. When threatened, it flares up the flames on its back to scare off enemies. When it's angry, it can produce powerful flames, but when it's tired, it has trouble producing fire and suffers from incomplete combustion.”

“Quil?” The cyndaquil looked up to find Julia kneeling down to its level.

“Hello there. Are you lost, little one?” Julia asked in a low, soft voice so as to not frighten it. The cyndaquil looked at her with a quizzical expression at first before sniffing her with its long nose.

“Quil…”

“Oh, so you wandered away from your trainer and got lost,” Julia said. Perrine loomed over Julia’s back to get a closer look. “Don’t worry! We can help you find your trainer.”

“Quil? Cynda!” The cyndaquil’s voice was quite high pitched. It cheered once but it didn’t jump.

“So what’s your trainer like?”

“Quil cyndaquil...quil quil…”

“So his name’s Caiseal Brownstone, has yellow hair and is wearing a green shirt and beige pants?” The cyndaquil walked into Julia’s arms, giving her permission to pick it up. Warm to the touch, Julia basked in the fire pokemon’s soft fur. The fire mouse nuzzled its nose against Julia’s chin, briefly tickling it, forcing a giggle out of her. “We’ll find him for you!”

“Cyndaquil!” The little fire mouse squeaked with a smile. Perrine loomed over to stroke its nose and said, “I figured it’d be lost. You don’t normally see cyndaquil out in the wild, and it has a choker on its neck.”

“This cyndaquil’s a boy,” Julia clarified.

“Well, how about we take him to the Pokemon Center down the street?” Perrine suggested. “They’re pretty good about helping trainers reunite with their pokemon.”

“Good idea.”

Goldenrod City was huge. Gigantic, even. It could be very easy for a trainer and a pokemon to be lost here if they were separated. Perrine made a good point. Even though the cyndaquil gave them a good description of his trainer and a name, they couldn’t just wander around the city. It would take far too long. It didn’t help that people and pokemon were bustling to and fro, so nobody would really notice a lone cyndaquil on the streets. The Pokemon Center was the only option.

It didn’t help that the Pokemon Center was about twenty minutes away on foot. The girls knew they had to deal with it or else the cyndaquil and its trainer wouldn’t get reunited. The sun beat down on the city, and Julia put her hand over her eyes to block it out, not that it did very much. Her legs began to hurt from all the walking. Finally, the Pokemon Center was within their vicinity. However, they didn’t even get to go inside.

“Apollo!” The hysterical voice of a young boy pulled them out of their minds. The cyndaquil in Julia’s arms perked up upon hearing the voice.

“Quiiiiil!” It let out a shrill cry. Julia wished she could cover her ears, but she was too afraid to let go of the cyndaquil. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and deal with it. Thankfully, the cyndaquil leaped out of Julia’s arms.

“Apollo! You’re okay!” The cyndaquil ran right up to a young boy of about the same age as the girls. He had a thick head of bushy, curly dark blonde hair the color of gold, just like the city. The worry in his blue eyes completely vanished once Apollo hopped into his arms. He was wearing a light green shirt over a long sleeved white one, beige khaki pants, and solid grey shoes. Apollo nuzzled the boy’s apricot colored cheek with a cry, and the boy laughed happily.

‘So that’s his trainer, huh…’ Julia thought to herself. Was this Caiseal Brownstone? Apollo was happy to see him, and he responded to his nickname, so it had to be him. Her heart grew warm upon seeing the happy reunion. However, the happiness was short lived when she could feel the blonde haired boy glaring at her.

“I can’t believe you!” He suddenly shouted.

“Huh?”

“You stole my cyndaquil!” He marched right up to Julia and peered right into her face. He was so close to her that their noses almost touched.

Stole his cyndaquil? Julia found herself flabbergasted. Where in the world did he get that idea? She found the fear in her heart morphing right into anger. “No, we didn’t!” She shouted loud enough to make him back off. “We found him in front of the department store! We were just trying to give him back to you!”

“Cynda cyndaquil!” Apollo squeaked as if to convince his trainer that Julia was telling the truth. The boy looked at the two girls with a surprised expression, which soon softened into a remorseful one.

“Oh. I see. I’m sorry,” The boy replied in a lower, softer voice. “I was a little on edge, that’s all. Team Rocket’s been lurking around.”

“We get it,” Perrine said. “So this is your cyndaquil, right?”

The blonde boy nodded. “Yep. His name’s Apollo. You’re pokemon trainers, right?”

Perrine nodded. “I’m Perrine, and that’s Julia,” Julia waved at him shyly from behind her friend.

“I’m Caiseal,” (Pronounced Cash’l) The boy replied. “Hey! Do you want to battle with me? I’m itching to get some training in before I battle the gym leader here.”

How could Perrine refuse that offer. She gave Caiseal a look full of determination. “I accept your challenge. Don’t think you’ll win, buddy.”

***

Before they knew it, they were at the Pokemon Center. Behind it, to be more precise. A sandy battlefield stretched about fifty feet long, with Caiseal on one side, and Perrine on the other. Julia sat on a bench away from the battlefield, with all of her pokemon watching, Tokiko included. Caiseal was the first to pull out a pokeball. “I’ll go first! Hey, Geo! Batter up!”

A light popped out of his pokeball, and out came a bumpy, brownish grey rock pokemon with large eyes, a mouth, and two muscular arms protruding from its sides. “Geodude!”

“A geodude…” Julia pulled out her PokeDex to check it out.

“Geodude, the rock pokemon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks. They are often found on mountain roads with half of its body buried in the ground so it can observe mountain travelers. Proud of their sturdy bodies, they bash against each other in a contest to prove whose is harder.”

“I don’t even need to think about this one! Go, Florian!” Perrine threw a pokeball out, and Florian came bounding right out.

“Chiko!”

“Geo! Use Rock Throw!”

“Florian! Dodge and use Vine Whip!”

“Geoduuuude!” Rocks materialized from thin air, and Geo used his muscular arms to throw them at Florian. Since Florian was smaller and more agile, he was able to swiftly dodge the rocks. Once he saw an opening, he shot two vines from two of the dots around his neck right at Geo. He wrapped them around Geo’s arms.

“Twirl’em and whirl’em!” Perrine shouted. Florian spun around twice before throwing Geo across the battle field.

“You can do it, Geo! Use Rock Polish!” Geo rubbed itself against the sand.

“Razor Leaf!”

“Chiiiiko!” Florian swung the leaf on his head twice before sending a barrage of sharp green leaves right at Geo.

“Tackle it!” Unfortunately, Geo managed to evade the attack. Having become more agile, Geo charged at Florian and rammed his body against him, sending Florian bouncing on the battlefield.

“Chiko!”

“Florian! You okay?” Perrine cried. The tiny leaf pokemon stood back on his feet, giving his worried trainer a nod. “Alright! Use Razor Leaf again!”

“Rock Throw!”

Both pokemon threw their attacks at each other. This time, the leaves not only managed to cut through the rocks, but leave some dents on Geo’s body, sending him rolling on the dirt. “Chiko!” Florian cheered, finally landing a hit on that pesky sentient rock. Geodude managed to brush off the injury, floating right back in the air as soon as he was knocked away.

“We can do this, Geo! Use Tackle again!”

“Use Vine Whip to block it!”

As soon as Geo came close, Florian slapped the sentient rock across the face with his vines. Despite Geo putting his arms up to defend himself, the force of the vines was strong enough to send him rolling right toward Caiseal. He wasn’t injured, but Caiseal could tell Geo was struggling to get back up. Caiseal kneeled down to Geo’s level and put a hand up. “That’s enough! You win!”

“Oh…” Perrine and Florian found themselves dumbfounded. Did Caiseal just finish their battle early? Caiseal put Geo back in his pokeball and walked over to Perrine. “You’re a great battler, Perrine. You really got me there.”

“Same to you,” Perrine told him. “I think that’s enough for now.”

Caiseal turned to face Julia. “Hey! You wanna battle, too?”

“No thanks!” Julia called back. “I’ll train a little later. I’m in no rush!”

“Well, I want to battle Whitney already,” Caiseal mused to himself, kicking a stone into the sand.

Julia tilted her head to one side. “Whitney?”

“She’s the Goldenrod gym leader,” Perrine explained as Julia came over to them. “We don’t have to battle her today. We can just watch Caiseal battle her and see what her battling style is like,” She suggested. Julia couldn’t help but notice that Caiseal was eyeing her. She couldn’t tell if it was curiosity, contempt, or genuine interest.

“Sure. That’s fine.”

“Pichuuu!” Hikaru squeaked.

“Marill!”

“Coo coo!”

“Ledy…”

“Chokiko!”

“Odd odd!”

“See? Everyone’s game,” Julia said.

After that, they were out on the road. Julia’s pokemon all stayed together so they wouldn’t get lost. Hikaru sat on Julia’s shoulder, and Tokiko in her arms. Tsubasa and Ladybug flew right behind her, whereas Aqua and Blossom just walked beside Perrine. Caiseal kept staring at the happy pokemon with an odd look, like he had never seen them outside before. But they weren’t hurting anybody, so he decided not to make a big deal out of it.

“So...what’s this Whitney person like?” Julia asked.

“I hear she became a gym leader just recently, like Bugsy,” Perrine explained calmly. “She’s only seventeen, but she’s really strong. She’s often called the Beautiful Dynamite.”

Caiseal folded his arms behind his head. “I hear she’s a massive crybaby, and a colossal ditz, too.”

The gym came within their vicinity. It was shorter than all of the other buildings surrounding it, but it had a distinct glamor to it that the kids couldn’t quite describe. It actually looked rather simple, with plain white walls, a sunny yellow roof, and some pink, yellow, purple, and orange flowers planted in front of it. “Well, here we are!” Perrine exclaimed. She pushed the heavy doors right open…

Only to come face to face with a pink haired girl and a cow pokemon falling right in front of them with a massive thud. The kids were quick to back away so they wouldn’t get hurt. The woman in question had rosy pink hair tied in two spiky pigtails with yellow hair accessories, matching her eyes. She was wearing a short sleeved white shirt with red sleeves and yellow buttons, a red bracelet on her right wrist, blue shorts that went down to her knees, black socks with teal stripes on them that went up to her knees, and red and white shoes. The pokemon that fell next to her was a large, pink cow with a round body, and its head looked to be covered by a black hood, but it was actually its fur. Two small white horns protruded from its head, it had a round white belly with pink utters dangling from it, and it had black feet. Its thin tail was yellow, with a black ball right at the end of it.

“Stop! Please, stop!” A man’s voice cried. “You already won!”

“Owww…” The woman grunted as pain shot through her arm.

“Are you okay?” Julia was quick to help the woman up, careful not to exacerbate any pain the woman might have.

“Sorta. Yeah...oww…” She put a hand on a fresh wound on her arm. It wasn’t large, but blood trickled out of a scratch past her elbow. But she pushed some hair out of her face and helped her pokemon up. “Mil-Mil. Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Mil…” The big cow mooed, looking up at the woman with its tired blue eyes.

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex this time. “Miltank, the milk cow pokemon. Miltank produces very nutritious milk, a perfect drink for reviving sick Pokémon. Miltank are very even tempered and prefer not to battle. It is said that kids who drink Miltank's milk grow up to become hearty, healthy adults. Miltank gives over five gallons of milk on a daily basis. Its sweet milk is enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike. People who can't drink milk turn it into yogurt and eat it instead.”

“Alright! I won! Where’s my Plain Badge?”

The voice made a shiver run down Julia’s spine. She knew that voice anywhere. The one voice she was hoping to run into, yet at the same time not run into. “...Amara?”

There she was, standing before the pink haired woman with her usual scowl. Standing next to her was a tall crocodile pokemon. It looked like the totodile she stole, but at the same time, it didn’t. It must have evolved. Amara didn’t notice Julia, as she was too focused on staring the pink haired woman in the face, icy scowl included. Amara held her hand out with her palm open. “I beat you, Whitney. Give me that Plain Badge,” She hissed condescendingly.

All Whitney did was wipe some sand off of her face before giving Amara a similarly stern, solemn expression. With that, she simply stated, “No.”

Amara’s ice blue eyes turned wide like saucers. She had a look on her face that made her look as though she got an F on an important school test. “No?! I freaking defeated you, Whitney! If a trainer defeats a gym leader, they HAVE to give them a badge!!” She roared, stamping her feet on the floor like a bratty child.

Caiseal found himself speechless. He said that Whitney was a crybaby and a ditz, but she didn’t cry even once. Whitney kept her stone faced look. “We gym leaders have a right to refuse to give badges to trainers who act and behave in a reprehensible manner, which you just did,” That was when she raised her voice. Julia covered her ears, but she stayed to watch Whitney tear her sister a new one. “You basically confirmed to me that you are an incompetent pokemon trainer!”

“I-I-Incompetent?!”

“Yeah, I said it!” Whitney shouted, crossing her arms. “You waltz into my gym, assault me and my miltank without even so much as asking me for a battle, pummel me and my pokemon even AFTER you won, and not only that, verbally abused your poor bellsprout for losing to Mil-Mil!” There was no mercy nor sympathy in her eyes. She was going to lay it on her good, and she wasted no time doing so. “A good pokemon trainer never calls their pokemon worthless, nor do they treat them like war machines!”

If words could be knives that cut right through people’s hearts, Whitney’s words did just that to Amara. The brown haired girl was so shocked, she couldn’t speak. “You do whatever the heck you want and won’t hear any argument no matter what. You don’t consider the feelings of the people or pokemon around you, and you throw a tantrum when nothing goes your way!”

“Whoa,” That was all that came out of Julia’s mouth, and it was in such a low voice that Amara didn’t hear it.

Whitney stroke Mil-Mil’s head gently, keeping her stern gaze on the flabbergasted Amara. “You have no right to be a pokemon trainer if you choose to behave that way, and I won’t waste a Plain Badge on someone like you.”

That was the last straw. Amara found herself seeing red. She kicked Whitney right in the stomach with a roundabout kick, sending her to the ground, falling right on top of Julia. A silver, square shaped badge fell out of Whitney’s pocket. Amara wasted no time bending down to pick it up. Whitney struggled to grab it, but the pain in both her stomach and arm rendered her unable to move. Julia was aghast. How could Amara treat a gym leader like that? She balled her fists.

Amara was about to walk away when a hand coiled around her arm. She looked down to find an enraged Julia staring right up at her. “Put that badge down. Now.”

“Aww! You again?!” Amara pried Julia’s hand off of her arm. “You actually followed me all the way here?!”

“Yes! Yes I did, and you shouldn’t treat her like that!” Julia shouted.

Perrine and Caiseal looked at each other with confused expressions. Something clicked in Perrine’s mind. Julia told her that her sister was named Amara. Was this the same Amara? They talk as though they clearly know each other, so they just had to be sisters. Amara snapped back, “Mind your own business, you brat!”

“No! You stop hurting people and pokemon!”

“Ugh!” Amara groaned. “What’s it gonna take for you to shut your hole?!” She sent the crocodile pokemon out against her.

Caiseal used his PokeDex again. “Croconaw, the big jaw pokemon, and the evolved form of Totodile. Once it bites down, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. If that happens, new fangs quickly grow into place. Because the tips of its fangs are forked back like barbed fishhooks, they become impossible to remove when the have sunk in.”

Not only that, Amara threw two more pokeballs out. A bellsprout and a beedrill came flying right out, taking on battle stances. Julia shivered. Poison types. She backed away five steps before releasing all of her pokemon. At first, the creatures were confused as to why they were all out, but seeing Amara’s pokemon made them go into battle stances. Hikaru stood before all of them with her tiny arms outstretched. “Pichuu!”

“I’m gonna win this time, and you’re gonna stay the heck outta my business!” Amara sneered, her attitude unchanging.

Tsubasa made the first move, and slammed into bellsprout with a strong wing attack. Beedrill attempted a poison sting attack, but Hikaru electrocuted it with thundershock to protect Tsubasa. The pidgey and the pichu high fived each other. Croconaw charged at them with a growl, its large, sharp toothed maw ready for consumption. It didn’t count on Blossom sucking out some of its energy with Mega Drain. Even Tokiko got in on the battle by throwing herself into Croconaw’s chest, making him roll on the concrete. Ladybug let out a shrill cry as her body flashed in a bright white light, causing everyone, even Amara, to cover their eyes with their hands. Or in bellsprout and beedrill’s cases, their leaves and stingers.

“Be careful!” Perrine shouted. Caiseal helped set Whitney down on a nearby bench before pulling out some gauze.

“Beedrill! Wipe them out!” Amara screeched. Beedrill buzzed right toward Julia with its stingers ready to penetrate her skin. Hikaru wasn’t going to have any of this. The tiny mouse leaped on beedrill’s body and used Thundershock on it once more. It wasn’t enough to completely knock it out, and the beedrill threw Hikaru off of its body.

“Blossom! Use Stun Spore!” Julia cried, covering her face with her hands.

“Wash it away with Water Gun!” Amara screamed.

A sparkling yellow cloud billowed out of Blossom’s leaves. It didn’t get very far, as the croconaw washed her away with a water gun attack. Ladybug and Blossom both got caught in the watery geyser and found themselves swimming toward Julia. The two pokemon tried to get back up, but their bodies were too weak to go on. Julia recalled them back to their pokeballs. “Thanks, girls. Sorry you had to go through that.”

“Why are you being so stupid, Croconaw?!” Amara screamed. “Beat them!!”

“Hey! Don’t talk to him like that!”

“I can talk to them however I durn please! Use Bite!”

“Tokiko! Extrasensoryyyyyy!!”

Tokiko’s eyes glowed in a purple light. Before croconaw could dig his teeth into whoever he came into contact with, his body suddenly went numb. A purple light surrounded him, and he was elevated a couple feet into the air. Before long, he was thrown against a tree. Tsubasa wasted no time flapping her wings up and down, creating a strong gust of wind that blew beedrill and bellsprout away...but not before bellsprout successfully knocked Aqua out with a single razor leaf attack. Julia was quick to recall Aqua into her pokeball.

Whitney pulled out her PokeGear and immediately called the police. “Hello? This is Whitney Blanche. Please help. A girl named Amara is attacking another kid, and she hurt me and my pokemon,” She whispered in a low voice so no one could hear. Mil-Mil’s ears perked up, hearing every word of the conversation.

“Three down, three to go…” Amara mused to herself.

“Amara! Please, stop this!” Julia screamed, her voice going up several octaves. Hikaru, Tokiko, and Tsubasa all stood before their trainer like knights protecting their beloved princess, glaring at Amara with eyes blazing with determination. Obstinance. Defiance. But Amara could see a strange kind of warmth in their upward glares.

Their eyes shined like stars.

Just like...hers…

“Amara! Hurry up, you silly Swanna!” A young girl’s voice echoed in her mind. It wasn’t Julia’s. It had a lighter, more cheerful sound. A silhouette flashed through her mind before vanishing. A single tear trickled down Amara’s cheek, dropping off of her chin.

“Chanel…”

“Huh?”

“Defeat them all!!” Amara screamed at the top of her voice. A blast of water spiraled out of croconaw’s mouth. Leaves shot out from bellsprout’s arms, flying toward the three pokemon like frisbees. Glowing white needles shot out from beedrill’s stingers.

A dust cloud exploded, covering the area. Everyone covered their eyes. Dust flew right past them. It took a few minutes for it to fade, but when the dust cloud dissipated, croconaw, bellsprout, and beedrill were panting, gasping for air. Tsubasa, Hikaru, and Tokiko were all laying on the ground, covered in scratches and bruises. “Hikaru! Tokiko! Tsubasa!” With a scream, she ran over to her fallen friends, cradling them all in her arms. Warm tears trickled out of her green eyes, falling onto her friends.

But she wasn’t crying at her defeat. She had been defeated before, so she had gotten used to losing in battle. No, it was something else…

Amara stood over her sister. “You’re pathetic.”

“Alright! That’s enough!” Perrine threw herself in between the two girls. “You’re her sister! Why would you treat her like that, and how can you treat your pokemon like they’re nothing but war machines?!” She shouted, her blue eyes blazing with anger. To think she thought her father was bad.

“Stay out of my business, prissy! I’m doing whatever I want, and you idiots should know your place!” Amara screamed back.

Julia stood up, giving her older sister a tearful yet enraged glare. “Tell me, Amara! Why are you doing this?! What did I ever do to you that was so bad?!”

CRACK! Amara’s thin, spindly-fingered hand struck Julia across the face, leaving a stinging red mark. The slap wasn’t strong enough to knock her down, but to the younger sister, it still hurt. Hikaru, Tokiko, and Tsubasa would have retaliated had they not been defeated. Perrine’s hands flew to her mouth, her blue eyes huge with horror. Even Caiseal and Whitney were speechless. How could someone treat their sister like that?

“You’ll never understand…” Amara hissed, her voice dripping with contempt. “Someone like you will never understand my pain!”

Sirens wailed in the distance. Ghostly red and blue lights flashed from a ways away. Amara pulled out a purple ball from her pocket and slammed it on the ground. A huge cloud of grey smoke consumed the entire area. Everyone kept coughing and holding their hands to their mouths in order to keep from inhaling it. Once the smoke dissipated, Julia looked around anxiously. Perrine, Caiseal, Whitney, and Mil-Mil were still here.

Amara, on the other hand, was completely gone, her pokemon included.

***

“Uuuuugh!” Amara slammed her fist onto a nearby tree with a growl. Some tree bark dug into her fist, but she barely felt it. Croconaw, bellsprout, and beedrill all cowered in fear at the sight of Amara’s blatant anger. Amara didn’t stop there, either. Using her thick boots, she kicked the tree three times, kicking off some more tree bark.

“I hate this! I hate it I hate it I hate it!!” She screamed petulantly, falling to her knees.

“Bellsprout?” Reluctantly, the timid bellsprout tried to approach her. Its beady black eyes were filled to the brim with concern. When it tried to touch her arm, Amara glanced at it before slapping it across the face, knocking it to the floor.

“Get out of my face, you worthless piece of garbage!!” Amara shouted. The hapless bellsprout ran over to croconaw and bawled in its chest. Croconaw sighed and stroke bellsprout’s back with its paw. Beedrill simply buzzed.

Amara leaned against the tree she was abusing before sliding to the grass. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a crumpled picture. It had two girls on it, one of which was a younger version of herself, with her hair down and wearing thick glasses. Her teeth were quite large, and she was wearing a beige sweater, a purple skirt, white socks, and black and white sneakers. A totodile flashed the peace sign in the middle with a bright smile. Next to the totodile was another girl with pretty brown skin, curly raven black hair that stopped at her ears, held up by a baby blue headband with a bow on it. Said girl was wearing a short sleeved white shirt underneath a purple dress, black socks, and blue sneakers. The word BFFs was written on Amara’s corner in pink marker.

Tears spilled onto the picture. Amara held it close as she sobbed. It was all she had of her.

“Chanel…”

***

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes).

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

Pokemon At Professor Elm’s Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)

Caiseal: Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), and Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl)

Amara: Croconaw (Male, Lonely Nature, Bite Water Gun, Scary Face, Ice Fang), Bellsprout (Male, Modest Nature, Vine Whip, Growth, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder), and Beedrill (Male, Hasty Nature, Twineedle, Fury Attack, Poison Sting, and Tackle)

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 10: Three’s A Very Tense, Dysfunctional Crowd

The police had arrived the moment the smoke from the smoke ball faded. Some local officers talked to the kids and Whitney, took their statements, and an ambulance escorted Whitney to the hospital, which was far away from the gym. The kids offered to go with them, feeling guilty about the whole fiasco. Julia, especially. She didn’t say a word throughout the entire ambulance drive. She put Tsubasa and Tokiko in her pokeballs but left Hikaru out. Hikaru could see the sadness in her eyes and put a tiny paw on her hand.

“Pichuuu. Pichu pichu pi…” Julia knew exactly what the tiny mouse said. She gave a soft smile and stroke Hikaru’s head gently.

“Thanks, Hikaru. You’re sweet,” She said. Caiseal glanced over to the two of them. For a moment, he assumed that he saw hearts fluttering between them. The love and affection that exuded from them was almost overwhelming. He looked down at his fists, which were clutching his pant legs.

Once they got to the hospital, doctors examined Whitney’s injuries. There was a Nurse Joy there who took care of their pokemon. Sometimes hospitals kept Nurse Joys with them in case trainers who were hurt had pokemon with them who also needed immediate attention. Thankfully, Whitney’s injuries weren’t serious, and all she needed was some light stitching on her arm. The kids didn’t have any injuries, but waited to see if they could visit Whitney. When they saw a doctor come by, the kids took the chance to ask her.

“Doctor? Is...is Miss Whitney going to be okay?” Julia asked.

“She’s alright, dear. She’s in the recovery room right now if you want to visit her,” The handsome doctor told them with a kind smile. “It’s just down the hall on your left,” He pointed down the hall, and the kids walked down there without hesitation.

When they went inside, the first thing they saw was Whitney sitting on a bed with her arm wrapped in white gauze. She beamed upon seeing the kids. “Hey! You’re the kids from before! Hi there!” She waved at them and smiled like she had gone out with friends. Like nothing happened. Julia couldn’t help but find her cheerful demeanor rather unsettling. She was assaulted and bullied by a trainer yet wasn’t angry?

“I-I-I-I’m sorry about what Amara did!” Julia apologized, bowing before the pink haired woman.

“Whoa whoa, back up. Amara? You know her?”

“Yes. She’s my big sister,” Julia confessed.

Caiseal’s eyes grew wide with shock. “Your sister?!”

“She’s on the National Blacklist, but she stole a totodile from Professor Elm’s lab,” Julia explained. She told Whitney everything while apologizing for her actions. Julia knew Amara should be the one apologizing, but she wasn’t here. If she was, she was sure she wouldn’t take responsibility for her actions. Julia felt it was only fair that Whitney deserved some form of an apology, even if she knew it wouldn’t do much. “I don’t blame you if you’re angry or sad or upset.”

Whitney crossed her arms. “The only thing I’m upset about is that she took the badge when she clearly doesn’t deserve it,” She exclaimed. “But it’s okay! I’m not mad at you...uh…” She found herself lost. She had forgotten to ask for their names. “What’s your name again?”

“Julia Parisa.”

“I’m Perrine. Nice to meet you.”

“Caiseal’s the name.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re all okay,” Whitney told them cheerfully. She held up her gauze wrapped arm like she was displaying muscular prowess. “I’m not gonna let this get me down!”

The kids all looked at each other dubiously. Whitney could tell they were conflicted over something. “If you kids want to battle me, it’s okay! I’m not so hurt that I can’t partake in gym battles!” She told them reassuringly, her cheerful voice unwavering. “But my pokemon are hurt, so it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Fine with me,” Caiseal walked over to Whitney with his dark green eyes gleaming with determination. “Because I came to challenge you.”

“Great!”

Since Whitney’s injuries weren’t too serious, she was discharged a few hours later. However, although she was given the okay to continue gym battles, she was advised not to let anything happen to her arm lest the stitching come undone. Afterward, the kids all went to a local cafe to eat. The sweet smell of delicious chocolate cake wafted in the air, and it made Julia’s mouth water just from sucking it up with her nostrils. Soft, classical music played on the radio on the counter. Perrine, Julia, and Caiseal all sat by a window so as to watch the scenery.

“So...you’re Julia right?” Caiseal asked.

“Huh? Uh...yeah,” Julia stammered sheepishly.

“Is that Amara girl from earlier really your sister?”

Julia looked down at her chocolate cake. “Yes, she is,” She took a big piece off with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth. The sight of that made Caiseal glare at her.

“Exactly how old is she?” Perrine asked.

“Thirteen.”

The music from before changed into another symphony, something more somber, befitting Julia’s irritated and guilt-ridden mood. She looked down at the rectangle-shaped table beneath her. Yellow prickly spots from where wood was scratched went across the top. They were small, but to the keen eye, they were very noticeable. Seeing them was just too unsettling, as everything else on the table was perfect, without any scratches or nicks in sight.

Perrine remembered something Julia told her back in Azalea Town. Perhaps this would be a good time to bring it up now. “She’s the reason you’re on your journey, right?” Her friend nodded as she took another bite of some chocolate cake. The silky, sticky chocolate danced around in her mouth, bathing itself in her saliva, dirtying her teeth. Julia didn’t care. She loved chocolate, and she could always brush her teeth when they got to the Pokemon Center.

“Okay, seriously?!” Caiseal suddenly shouted out of nowhere, pulling both girls out of their reveries. Both of them turned to face him, their eyes wide with surprise. The blonde boy was suddenly staring at Julia with a severe look in her eyes. Julia looked away, not wanting to face him. Seeing him look at her like that...it reminded her too much of Amara when she would yell at Julia over stupid stuff. “You’re only going on a journey just so you can teach her a lesson?!”

“I-I-I...yes...sorta...well...” Julia muttered, wanting to say more, but Caiseal cut her off.

“That’s just pathetic!” He shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Some of the cups clattered upon being shook by the slamming fist. Julia managed to keep her plate from falling off the table. “My God, are you really this stupid?! You should only go on a journey for yourself, not for someone else! If you spend your whole life chasing someone, you’ll only think you exist for other people! You’re basically chasing her all over Johto! That doesn’t make you a trainer. It makes you weak...and a joke.”

“Caiseal!” Perrine scolded before slamming a foot on his sneaker. The blonde boy cringed as he clenched his teeth. Pain shot through his leg, and it was strong enough to silence him. “That’s enough! She’s been through enough already! She doesn’t need you yelling at her like that, and who are you to act like you know what’s best for her?”

“Come on! She’s devoting her entire journey for a stupid reason! You saw how that girl treated her! She doesn’t look to be one to listen to reason! I say forget her! It’s not worth it!” Caiseal argued.

“Whatever happens between them is their business,” Perrine snapped. “And that’s for Julia to decide, not you.”

It was here that Julia finished her cake and stormed out of the cafe, leaving Perrine and Caiseal all alone. “See what you did? You scared her!” Perrine scolded. “Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. You and Julia are no different, but don’t treat her reasons like they don’t matter. You don’t see me yelling at you for why you’re going on your journey, now do I?”

This was what made Caiseal finally fall silent. Perrine left the cafe to go check on Julia. Caiseal stared down at his empty plate, a wave of guilt drowning him. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out some money. He felt it was only right to pay for the food since he caused this mess. Raising his hand, he exclaimed, “Waiter! Can I get a check, please?”

Julia stood at the front of the cafe, sobbing softly. Warm tears slid down her face, and she made absolutely no attempt to wipe them away. People were running to and fro, taking no notice of the crying girl. Car horns, pidgey calls, people talking amongst themselves, tires screeching against the concrete...the noises all seemed to melt into each other. She could tell them apart just fine, but she wished they would just be quiet. Already, she yearned to return to her warm, comfy bedroom. Her mother’s comforting arms. Her father’s bad, goofy jokes. The warm, grassy meadow where the pokemon frolicked.

Two of her pokeballs opened on their own, and out came Hikaru and Tokiko, looking up at her with concern in their eyes. “Pichu?” “Choki?” Julia kneeled down to pick them up, scooping them in her arms. “Hey, girls. Sorry. I’m...not a very good trainer, am I?”

“Pichu pi chupi!” (“That’s not true! You’re a great trainer!”)

“Choki choki!” (“Don’t be sad! Tears don’t suit you!”)

Her frown morphed into a sad smile as she buried her face in their fur. “Thanks. You’re both so sweet. I don’t know where I’d be without you,” The tears finally stopped. “Hey. You know what? I hear there’s a pokemon hair salon around here. They cut your hair and make you look and feel nice, and they wash your hair with shampoo that makes you smell nice. Would you like to try that some time?”

Hikaru smiled and stretched her arms out. “Pichu!” (“That sounds great!”)

“Choki kriii!” (“I wanna smell nice!”)

“Jule!” Perrine came out of the cafe, noticing Julia with Hikaru and Tokiko on her left. “Hey there. You okay?” Julia nodded, hugging Hikaru and Tokiko gently. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what his deal is.”

“It’s okay. We did just meet him, after all…” She let that sentence drift away before starting a new one. “...Is it bad to go on a journey for someone else?”

“Hmmm…” Perrine crossed her arms and ruminated. “I don’t know. He does have a point about doing stuff for your own benefit, but insulting you about it was uncalled for.”

Julia looked down at Hikaru and Tokiko. Their happy, innocent smiles made the hurt from before instantly fade away. “I...I just want Amara back...I want to be a good sister and help her…” She mused loud enough for Perrine to hear. “I don’t want to sit around and do nothing...is that so bad?”

“I don’t think it's bad at all. You love her, right?” Perrine replied gently. “I don’t like the way she treats you, and I think she should go to jail, but she’s your sister, so saying that stuff isn’t really my place,” She wasn’t sure how Julia could continue loving her sister, even after seeing everything she did. Julia did tell her that Amara was mean, but for a moment, she thought she was exaggerating. Seeing Amara pummel her earlier made Perrine completely regret ever doubting Julia.

“I do love her…” Julia mused. “But...at the same time, I hate her. I hate that she treats my Mom and Dad like garbage. I hate that she yells a lot, beats her pokemon, treats me like I’m everything wrong with her life, the way she treats other people...I can’t stand it!” She stamped her foot once. “I know! That sounds terrible! I get it! But…”

Julia knew what she wanted. She wanted the old Amara back. The nice, friendly, kind, outgoing, and cheerful Amara. The Amara who would help her with her homework, show her how to be nice to pokemon, introduce her to her friends and let her hang out with them whenever they would come over, stand up to bullies who picked on her. The Amara who was nice to her, treated her like she mattered, and never picked on her for stupid stuff, even if they did squabble sometimes, like over the computer, or who would get the last piece of cake in the refrigerator, all those things. The Amara who loved her family, friends, and pokemon.

“It’s okay,” Perrine told her gently. Her friend didn’t need to deal with more yelling.

“She’s not the only reason I’m here…”

“Hm?”

“There’s a lot more I want to do when I grow up…” Julia began. “I...I want to do lots of things. I want to make lots of friends, write books, make TV shows, draw pictures, take care of lots of pokemon, go to unseen places, and...lots of stuff!” She sputtered. “I guess...Amara was the thing that helped me leave the house.”

“She motivated you to pursue your dreams,” Perrine clarified. “That’s wonderful. I know she’s your sister, and whatever happens between you two is your business, but...I still want to hang out with you. Is that okay?”

Julia smiled. “That’d be great. You’re...the first friend I ever really made.”

“Am I really?”

“Yep. I did know some kids in my neighborhood, but we were just too different. Everyone else just made fun of me.”

“They’re stupid. They just never saw how wonderful you are.”

It was here that Caiseal came out and joined them. “Hey there. I paid for everything, so we’re good,” He told them. Perrine could see some guilt in his eyes, but she kept a stern expression. “Look, I…” He rubbed his hair with one hand. “I’m sorry for going off on you like that. That was stupid, I know.”

Julia looked away. She wasn’t sure if she could forgive him or not. This was the second time he yelled at her, the first being accusing her of stealing Apollo. Perrine felt the same way. “So why are you on your journey?” Perrine asked.

Caiseal looked down at his shoes. “I...I don’t really...want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine,” Perrine crossed her arms. “I don’t insult people’s reasons for going on a journey,” With that, everyone left.

***

The next day, Caiseal was at the Goldenrod City gym, standing at the left part of the battlefield, with Whitney right on the other side. Both of them stood firmly with their arms crossed. Julia and Perrine sat on some bleachers, with all of their pokemon joining them. Yes, ALL of their pokemon, both Julia’s and Perrine’s pokemon, out of their pokeballs. The referee stood at the side of the field.

“The challenge between Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod City gym leader, and the challenger, Caiseal Brownstone, will begin in a moment!” The male referee exclaimed. “The challenger can use six pokemon, and is allowed substitutions! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon!”

“Come on out, Mallow!” Caiseal threw a pokeball. “Show her what you’re made of!” The white light morphed into a small, bipedal pokemon with a golden brown hide covering most of its body, including the dorsal horns on its back. It had a light brown, egg shaped belly, one claw on each hand, and two long nails on its toes. Covering its head is a large skull with two rounded horns on the top, with hollow cavities revealing its triangular black eyes. Resting on one of its hands was a bone.

“Cubone!”

Julia pulled out her PokeDex. “Cubone, the lonely pokemon. It wears its mother's skull as a helmet--for this reason, no one has ever seen its face. It sometimes sees its departed mother's face in the full moon, which causes it to grow sad and cry. The stains on the skull are tracks of its tears. When it cries, the skull shakes and emits a mournful sound.”

Mallow simply spun the bone around like a baton before positioning himself in a battle stance. Whitney smirked before pulling out a pokeball. “He’s cute. But my pokemon’s just as cute! Hey, Fur-Fur! You’re up!”

A furret appeared on the field. “Fuuurret!”

The referee raised both flags. “Battle...begin!”

“I’m making the first move!” Caiseal boasted. “Mallow! Use Bonemerang!”

“Cubone!” Mallow threw the bone across the battlefield like a boomerang. It spun around faster than a spinning top. But Whitney’s furret dodged the attack simply by hopping to another side of the battlefield. The bonemerang returned to Mallow’s hand.

“Fur-Furt! Use Agility!” Whitney cried. With a cry, furret ran all around the battlefield, glowing in a harsh white light. Furret didn’t come anywhere near Mallow.

“Use Headbutt!” Mallow threw himself at the furret, charging at it with its skull ready for bashing. But no matter what he did, furret kept evading the attack. It was understandable, as furret’s speed had increased considerably upon using agility.

“Quick Attack!” Furret charged right at Mallow, ramming his head right in his belly. The force was so strong, it sent Mallow flying in a perfect arch before he rolled on the battlefield.

But Mallow didn’t give up. He stood back on his feet and rolled away in order to dodge yet another Quick Attack from furret. Once furret got close enough, Mallow rammed into furret with a Headbutt attack, sending furret rolling on the battlefield. With a grunt, furret got back on its feet and opened its mouth wide. A dark purple and black blob of energy materialized into a sphere, and once it was fully formed, furret spat it right out.

“Block it, Mallow!” Mallow nodded and held its bone up like it was a baseball bat. When the Shadow Ball attack got close, Mallow smacked the ball with its bone, sending it flying across the battlefield. A cloud of sand exploded, consuming the field. Furret coughed and covered its mouth with its paws. Even Whitney had to take cover.

“Fur-Fur! Hang on!” Whitney cried out.

“Alrighty! Use Headbutt!” Mallow raced through the sand cloud, charging right at furret. Despite being agile, some sand got into furret’s eyes, and it was unable to see right, leaving it wide open. Mallow bashed his head against furret’s body. The force was strong enough to make furret fly across the battlefield. When the dust cloud finally faded, furret was lying in front of Whitney, unconscious.

That told the referee all he needed to know. “Furret is unable to battle! The winner is Mallow the cubone!”

“Alright!” Caiseal pumped his fist in the air, jumping up once with a cheer. Mallow raced toward Caiseal and leaped into his arms.

“Awwww! My cute little furret lost!” Whitney whined before putting furret back in its pokeball. “It’s okay, Fur-Fur. You battled great,” She put Fur-Fur’s pokeball back and took out another one. “You’re strong, Caiseal.”

“I have to be,” Caiseal said.

“Cubone!” Mallow held up the bone in its hand in agreement.

“Wow…” Julia mused, holding Tokiko in her arms. “Mallow knocked that Shadow Ball back like a baseball. Maybe he should get a career in baseball.”

“Choki!”

“Not only that, using it on the battlefield knowing that furret isn’t affected by ghost type moves. That was a sneaky trick, but a clever one, too,” Perrine agreed, holding Fuwari in her arms.

“Hoppip!” Fuwari chirped.

“Don’t think you’ve won yet, Caiseal! Meow-Meow, time to batter up!” Whitney threw a pokeball on the field, and out came a cream colored cat pokemon. The tips of its hindpaws and curly tail were a light chocolate brown color, and it had two whiskers on each cheek, with two more popping up from its head, holding an ovular, golden charm on its head. The cat’s large eyes gleamed with intent to battle.

“Meoooow!” The beige cat pokemon meowed in a scratchy voice, like a cat nearing the end of its days.

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. “Meowth, the scratch cat pokemon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle, but it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping. When it sees round objects, it plays and loses track of time. Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light.”

Caiseal looked down at Mallow. “You want to go at it again?”

The skulled pokemon nodded, his grip on his bone tightening. “Cubone!” Mallow hopped out of Caiseal’s arms, back on the battlefield.

“Battle begin!”

“Hey, Meow-Meow!” Whitney mused with a cute wink. “Be a good little girl and use Sand Attack on that little cubone, will you?” She donned a puppy eyes look. “Pleeeease?”

“Meow!” Meow-Meow dug his feet into the battlefield and began kicking up streams of sand.

“Evade it!” Caiseal yelled. Mallow ran around Meow-Meow, managing to avoid the sand. “Now use Leer!” Mallow gave the beige colored cat a stern, almost chilling glare, making him resemble a monster that loved to eat meowth for breakfast. The meowth flinched at the glare, losing all motivation to use Sand Attack.

“Meow-Meow! You can do it! Use Fury Swipes!”

“Block it with Bone Club!”

The meowth’s claws grew long before glowing in a white light. With a hiss, meowth jumped in the air, ready to slice and dice Mallow like he was noodles. Mallow saw the attack coming and blocked every scratch and slash with the bone. Meow-Meow’s claws collided with the bone every time, never leaving so much as a dent. Mallow blocked every scratch, predicting the cat’s movements like he was a professional swordfighter.

“That’s the ticket, Mallow! Now use Headbutt!”

Mallow held his head back, ready to bash it right into the cat…

“Screech!”

“MEOOOOOOOW!!” All of a sudden, Meow-Meow let out a loud, piercing scream. White vibrating rings shot out of his mouth, sending Mallow rolling on the battlefield. Everyone, including Whitney, had their hands covering their ears. Julia let out a pained cry as she squeezed her ears with her hands in a futile attempt to block out the sound. It didn’t work. Meowth’s screech made her ears ring, and the very sound of it felt as though her ear drums were being slashed to shreds with no mercy. All she could do was hide under the bleachers and curl into a ball.

“Mallow! You can do this! Headbutt again!”

With heavy grunts, Mallow dug his bone into the ground, keeping himself from being blown away by Meow-Meow’s screech attack. Finally, the piercing noise stopped, and Meow-Meow was unarmed and defenseless. Oddly enough, Whitney was smiling and had a hand on her hip. Caiseal was sure he and Mallow could beat Meow-Meow easily. It was a normal type, and Mallow, being a cubone, was a ground type. Surely Mallow could--

“Tsk tsk tsk! Don’t ever underestimate a gym leader!” Whitney waved her index finger three times before shouting, “Water Pulse!”

‘Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-WATER PULSE?!’ Caiseal was speechless. Even Mallow was unable to move. Unfortunately for them, that gave Meow-Meow the perfect chance to attack them. A sphere of water materialized in Meow-Meow’s arms. He jumped high in the air, at least eight feet, before shooting the watery sphere right at Mallow. It came so fast, Mallow wasn’t able to dodge it. As soon as the water ball made contact with Mallow, waves consumed the battlefield. Meow-Meow hopped back onto the sand gracefully.

Mallow had collapsed, its body wet and battered. The referee held up a red flag in Whitney’s direction. “Mallow the cubone is unable to battle! The winner is Meow-Meow the meowth!”

“Alright!” Whitney jumped into the air once with a cheer, holding her hands in the air. Meow-Meow just sat there licking his paw.

Having recovered, Julia sat back on her spot on the bleachers. “No way! Meowth shouldn’t be able to know Water Pulse! It’s impossible! It’s not even a water type!”

“Actually, it is possible,” Perrine piped in.

“Hoothoot!”

“Jiggly!”

“How so?” Julia gave Perrine a quizzical look.

“There are special tutors that help pokemon learn certain moves that normally they can’t learn from normal battling,” Perrine explained.

Caiseal heard everything, already having pulled out another pokeball. “Viole! You’re up!” Out came an oddish, very much like Blossom.

With this, the battle resumed. Whitney commanded that Meow-Meow use Scratch attack. The furry meowth charged at Viole with his claws ready for scratching, but as soon as he got close, Caiseal commanded that Viole use Stun Spore. A sparkling, golden cloud billowed over the entire battlefield. Everyone covered their mouths except for Meow-Meow, who had unknowingly inhaled the dust. Before long, his limbs became numb and tense. Anytime he tried to move, his muscles would ache, refusing to respond.

“Noooo! My sweet little Meow-Meow!” Whitney exclaimed.

“Use Acid!” On command, Viole shot out a stream of puke colored acid. It spilled all over the place, bubbling like boiling lava. Some of it got on Meow-Meow’s face, and upon making contact, it burned the poor meowth’s skin. Unable to battle anymore, Meow-Meow collapsed on the ground.

“Meowth is unable to battle! The winner is Viole the oddish!”

Without a word, Whitney put Meow-Meow back in his pokeball as Caiseal and Viole cheered happily, rejoicing in their victory. “You’re good, Caiseal.”

“I’m gonna beat you for sure!” Caiseal boasted.

“Oddish!” Viole echoed his statement by jumping up once.

Whitney pulled out another pokeball. “Think again! You’re up, Mil-Mil!” This time, the miltank from before appeared from her pokeball. The referee commanded that the battle begin like usual. “Use Rollout!”

“Miiiil!” Miltank curled itself into a ball and rolled right toward Viole, knocking him right out.

Caiseal recalled Viole. “Go, Apollo! Use Smokescreen!” Apollo spat out a billowing cloud of black smoke that covered the entire battlefield. However, before the fire mouse could land an attack, Mil-Mil suddenly rolled out from the cloud and sent Apollo flying, knocking him out as well.

“Aaaaargh!!” Caiseal rubbed his hair with his hands. Whitney simply smiled and crossed her arms, watching as Mil-Mil didn’t stop to even so much as give her opponents time to even attack. Caiseal sent out three more pokemon, Geo being one of them. As usual, Mil-Mil knocked every single one out, without stopping. It was clear who won this battle.

“The winner is Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod gym leader!”

“Hooray!” Whitney jumped up and down like a little kid who received desert. Her miltank ran up to her, trapping her in a warm hug. Whitney wrapped her arms around Mil-Mil and nuzzled her with affection. “You were awesome back there, Mil-Mil!”

Julia, Perrine, and their pokemon were all speechless. That miltank basically knocked every single one of Caiseal’s pokemon out like they were bowling pins. It never even gave them time to attack. “Whoa. She’s...really good,” Julia said, holding onto Tokiko tightly.

“Choki…” Tokiko agreed.

“We’re really gonna have to plan this out if we’re gonna win against her,” Perrine said.

Caiseal recalled his last pokemon before letting out a howl, stomping his foot on the ground. “I can’t believe I lost!!” He shouted loud enough for all to hear. Julia’s hands flew to her ears. With a grunt, he stomped right out of the gym.

“Awww,” Whitney mused out loud. “I wanted to encourage him to battle me again next time…”

***

The blonde haired boy sat in the lounge of the Pokemon Center, waiting for his pokemon to be healed. Lost in his misery, he kept asking himself why. Why did he lose? Her miltank was definitely one factor: it managed to wipe out every single one of his pokemon without even trying, and with just one attack, no less. Perhaps knocking it out of its Rollout attack would be a good strategy. But how would he be able to go about it? That was the question. Looks like he was going to have to stick around and do some training.

“Ummm...Caiseal?” He looked up to find Julia and Perrine looking down at him. “Are you...okay?” Julia asked shyly.

“I guess,” He looked over to Nurse Joy’s counter. “My pokemon are being healed at the moment,” He said tersely.

“Umm...it’s okay if you don’t win the first time!” Julia stammered. “Everyone loses sometimes! Even I do! If you work hard and try to study your opponent, you’ll be able to win next time!”

Caiseal flashed a smile. “Thanks for the encouragement. I’m gonna train after this. You girls are battling her later, right?” He said.

“We plan to have a double battle with her,” Perrine said, wrapping her hand right around Julia’s. It must be confessed that her brown haired friend was surprised at the sudden gesture, but not in a frightened way. Perrine’s hands were warm and soft, like Hikaru’s fur. “Watching you battle with her really gave us an idea of what her battling style is.”

“You be careful.”

“Caiseal Brownstone!” A Nurse Joy called out from behind the counter. Caiseal ran over to see what was up. “Your pokemon are fully healed!” He took his pokeballs back without complaint.

“Come on out, everyone!” He let all of his pokemon out of his pokeballs. Four of them were Mallow, Apollo, Geo, and Viole. Two others were a light blue creature with a tail, no arms, purple spikes on both sides of its large head, small black eyes, a big smile, and a round tail, while the other one was a black crow with red eyes and a yellow beak. Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine them.

“Wooper, the mud fish pokemon. Wooper usually live in cold water. However, it occasionally comes out onto land in search of food. On land, it coats its body with a gooey, toxic film.”

“Murkrow, the darkness pokemon. Feared and loathed by many, it is believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters. It will even try to steal rings from women.”

“Wooo-pah!”

“Murkrow!”

“These are my pokemon. You’ve already met Mallow, Apollo, and Geo. The oddish is Viole, this wooper here is Flippy, and this sassy little murkrow here is Ravenclaw,” Caiseal explained, introducing his pokemon one by one.

“They’re so cute!” Julia crooned.

That was when Perrine had an idea. “Hey! If you want, you can train with us! Is that okay?” She exclaimed.

Caiseal beamed. “That’d be awesome! Thanks!”

***

Sorry, guys. Ran out of inspiration, so next one’s gonna be chapter 10.5 so as to not drag this out. I really need to get better at planning these. Not really proud of how this chapter came out.

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes).

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

Pokemon At Professor Elm’s Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)

Caiseal: Cubone (Male, Lax Nature, Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, and Growl), Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl), Oddish (Male, Quirky Nature, Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Sweet Scent), Wooper (Female, Jolly Nature, Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Mud Bomb), and Murkrow (Female, Hardy Nature, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Haze, and Dark Pulse).

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 10.5: Battle For The Plain Badge! Whitney’s Counterattack!

“Flippy! Use Mud Slap!”

“Dodge it, Tokiko!”

As the sun set across the horizon, the sky was once again being painted a luscious orange color, streaked with soft blues and lofty pinks. But neither Caiseal nor Julia noticed, as they were still training on the Pokemon Center’s battlefield. Flippy the wooper spat out balls of sticky brown mud before slapping them with her tail, throwing them right at Tokiko. Much to Caiseal’s chagrin, Tokiko was dodging them all easily. Sometimes she would roll away, sometimes she would just run, and other times she would jump high in the air. Not too high, at most about three feet.

“Good job, Tokiko! Now use Headbutt!” Julia called. Tokiko gave a big smile before running right toward Flippy, her head ready for headbutting. Flippy cried and ran for her life, but Tokiko, being small, proved to be faster. Once the spiky egg pokemon caught up...BAM! She rammed right into Flippy, sending her rolling on the sand.

“Woopah!” Flippy fell on her tail with a cry.

“Come on, Flippy! Get up! You can do it!” Caiseal exclaimed, flapping his fists up and down. Encouraged by her trainer’s kind words, Flippy stood back on her stubby feet despite having no arms.

“Woopaaaah!” Right before everyone’s eyes, Flippy glowed in a radiant white light. Some of the pokemon had to cover their eyes, it was that blinding. Julia did the same. Flippy grew bigger and taller, soon matching Caiseal’s height, right before going up another foot. Once the light faded, out came a different creature. Flippy had transformed into a large, light blue pokemon with long arms and legs, with three fingers and toes on each. Her spikes had completely disappeared, replaced with a wavy dark blue fin going down her spine, ending to her tail. Following along the fin was a wavy purple stripe, and two small dots hovered over its mouth.

“Quaaaaagsiiiiiiiire…” Flippy yawned in a lower pitched, almost whispery voice. She sounded like she wanted to take a long, peaceful beauty nap.

“Wow!” Perrine clasped her hands together in awe. “Flippy evolved into a quagsire!” She pulled out her PokeDex to examine her.

“Quagsire, the water fish pokemon. The Quagsire make their home in clean, fresh water lakes. Quagsire are covered by a slippery layer of skin, making this Pokémon especially difficult to handle. Quagsire have an easy going nature and don't care if they bump their heads on boats and boulders while swimming. It hunts for food by leaving its mouth wide open in water and waiting for its prey to blunder in unaware. Because the Pokémon does not move, it does not get very hungry.”

“Awesome! She’s so cute!” Julia wasted no time running over to Flippy and wrapping her arms around her. A cool, slimy sensation covered her arms and shirt, but it wasn’t in any way sticky or icky, so Julia didn’t mind one bit. Even Tokiko got in on it, though she was only able to hug the tip of Flippy’s tail. Flippy flashed a big smile and embraced Julia back, relishing the hug.

“Hey!” Caiseal yelled, giving Julia an austere look. “I didn’t give you permission to hug my pokemon, and we’re not done training yet!”

“Quaaaaaag…” Flippy let out a long, drawn out yawn.

“Flippy says ‘I’m done training. I love hugs!’” Julia cried out, letting her hair stick to Flippy’s oily skin.

Caiseal gave Julia a quizzical look, wondering if she made that up. But Flippy didn’t seem to mind, and had a content look on her face. It was clear that she liked being the center of attention. Fuwari floated on top of Flippy’s head, sitting on it and smiling sweetly. Flippy didn’t even notice. Caiseal let out a sigh before smiling. Flippy did deserve a break from all this training, after all. She was always a jolly little pokemon.

“Alright then,” He looked down at Mallow. “You ready for some training, dude?”

“Cubone!” Mallow spun his bone around like a baton before gripping it again.

Julia kneeled down to Aqua’s level as she pulled Tokiko away from Flippy. “Hey, Aqua! Do you want to have a go at it this time?” She asked.

“Marill maar!” Aqua chirruped and got into position. Caiseal and Mallow did the same.

“I’m making the first move! Mallow, you use Headbutt!”

The cubone charged right at Aqua, with his head lowered and ready for bashing. “Dodge it, Aqua!” Aqua did as ordered and leaped away from Mallow like Tokiko did, via jumping around, rolling, or doing cartwheels. “Use Water Gun!” Aqua shot blasts of water out from her mouth. Copying Aqua’s dodging style, Mallow jumped around or did cartwheels whenever Aqua would try to shoot water at him. Every time the water hit the ground, the blasts would leave behind small holes about the size of Aqua’s body.

Holes...Julia stared at them intently. Immediately, an idea flashed in her head. Her insides were doing backflips, and a torrent of words began forming in her throat, dying to push right out of her mouth. “Use BubbleBeam!”

“Maaar!” Aqua shot a barrage of fast moving bubbles at Mallow. Since he stopped to breathe after doing so much dodging, he was unable to evade it. The bubbles overwhelmed him at every turn, and the water soaked his body to the bone. “Okay, we’re done!” Julia stormed over to Perrine.

“Whoa!” Julia came up to her so fast that she got really close to Perrine’s face, making her recoil a bit. “You might want to back up a little.”

“Oh! Sorry!”

“What’s up?”

“I have an idea of how we can defeat Whitney!” Julia whispered in Perrine’s ear, too restless to not let this information go to waste. Caiseal sprayed Mallow’s elbow with an orange super potion, watching as the girls gossiped.

“Ooooh. That sounds like a good idea. I made up something we can do too,” Perrine whispered in Julia’s ear this time.

‘I wonder what they’re planning,’ Caiseal asked himself as he finished spraying Mallow. The girls were nodding, waving their arms, letting their pokemon join in on their conversations, flailing their legs up and down, clasping their hands together, stuff like that. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if they could possibly defeat Whitney. If he lost to her, then he was sure the possibility of them losing to Whitney was just as high.

Although he had to admit, he thought Perrine to be quite a good trainer, and beautiful, too. Her orange hair the color of the sunset, her ocean blue eyes, her poised demeanor, her motherly nature...everything about Perrine exuded a kind of warmth about her. It helped that she was quite smart, and seemed to be mature for her age. He smiled upon seeing Perrine snuggle Fuwari and Chirin warmly, like any kind mother would.

On the other hand, he wasn’t so sure about Julia. She was nice enough, and he could see from the way she interacted with her pokemon that she loved them dearly, but he was sure that kindness could only go so far. She certainly acted and behaved like a naive little girl who knew nothing about the world. Just hearing the fact that she’s on a journey for tracking down her sister...it just made him snap. To Caiseal, a journey was for oneself, not for the sake of someone else. He couldn’t help but question if Julia was really a good pokemon trainer. Something about her just seemed bothersome to him, but he wouldn’t dare say that in public. Not in front of Perrine, especially after the way she scolded him for yelling at her at the cafe. Her pokemon liked her well enough.

“I think that’s enough training for one day,” Perrine said, stretching her arms outward. “Anyone up for dinner?”

Julia’s stomach growled lightly. “Definitely.”

“Sure. I could go for some grub.”

With that, the kids went inside to order some food. The kids were careful to prepare some food for their pokemon so they could have bites to eat. However, Caiseal noticed Julia giving Tokiko and Hikaru some cut up pieces of meatballs from her spaghetti. He found this to be unsettling. “Why are you giving your pokemon people food?”

“Huh?” Tokiko had already scarfed down her piece of meatball. “They like it. What’s wrong with that?”

“I give Florian and Kitsune grilled dumplings all the time,” Perrine added, taking a bite out of some chicken. “It’s their favorite. Fuwari even likes brown rice,” Florian rubbed his head against Perrine’s arm, snuggling up against her. The orange haired girl smiled and stroke her friend’s leaf with her hand gently. It was here that Ravenclaw snuck a piece of broccoli off of Caiseal’s plate, swallowing it whole. Caiseal didn’t even notice.

All of a sudden, a loud, rattling sound rattled the entire restaurant area, along with the sound of breaking plates. Julia’s hands immediately flew over her ears as everyone turned to look and see what caused the loud crash. A silver tray lay upside down on the floor, with remnants of food and broken plates scattered all around. Ketchup melted into the broccoli and corn, turning them an ugly shade of reddish orange. Alfredo noodles were contaminated by the dirt on the floor left behind by many a dirty sneaker. A broken glass caused soda to spill all over the chicken. A young waitress in a black dress and white apron scrambled all over to try and clean up the mess, pulling out paper towels.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” The waitress exclaimed as another waiter came over to wash the mess with some paper towels. “I’ll ask the chefs to make new ones for you, and it’ll be on the house!”

Caiseal wasn’t bothered by the mess, annoying as it was. But seeing Julia with her hands still on her ears didn’t look normal to him. “Why are your hands still on your ears? Take them off. It makes you look weird,” He said.

The next thing he knew, he felt something kick him on the shin. It was Perrine’s brown shoe. Her shoe sent pain right up his foot, and he clenched his teeth together to keep from screaming in pain. “She’s sensitive to loud noise, and it’s not weird,” She hissed in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

“Pichu!” “Choki!” Both Hikaru and Tokiko echoed Perrine’s statement, annoyed by Caiseal’s lack of understanding of her condition.

Once the fiasco was done and over with, the kids returned to their rooms. Julia and Perrine shared a room, whereas Caiseal had his own room, for obvious reasons. Perrine sat on her bed as Julia took a shower, absorbed in a new book she had just bought called ‘All You Ever Wanted To Know About Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome But Were Afraid To Ask.’ She had intended on researching autism for a while, but never got around to it until now. This was her chance to try and get to know Julia even better.

She poured through that book, taking in all of its information. The more she read, the more she realized that many of the traits autistic people often displayed, she saw Julia display. Fear of loud noise, rocking back and forth, flapping hands, an intense obsession with routine, fixations on things or events...Julia did all of those things. So they weren’t just personality traits after all.

None of this made Perrine think less of her, however. Autistic or not, Julia was still the kind, sweet, compassionate girl who loves pokemon, reading, and classical music. She was still the girl who took the time to help her and Florian back in Union Cave, when no one else would. So what if she was autistic? It wasn’t as though she was some brain sucking alien from outer space sent here to kill everyone. She couldn’t believe all the stigmas and stereotypes that autistic people were subjected to upon reading about them.

Lack empathy and affection, caring only for themselves? Please. Julia was the most empathic, affectionate, and emotional girl she knew. If she didn’t display empathy or affection or cared solely about herself, she would never have become friends with Perrine or even stopped to help her when she needed it the most, and she certainly wouldn’t care for her pokemon as much as she does. Flaps her hands and rocks constantly? Not all the time, only when she was anxious and needed to calm down. Throws tantrums all the time? Absolutely not! Julia never threw a tantrum once in the time she knew her. Causes trouble? That described Amara way more than it did Julia. A savant who was a genius at a certain skill? No, that didn’t sound like Julia at all. She was smart, yes, and knew a lot about pokemon, but that was it, nothing more.

“Whee!” Julia found herself bouncing on the plushy bed with her wet hair tied in a white hair towel. “We’re gonna try and beat Whitney tomorrow!” Hikaru, Tokiko, and Blossom jumped on the bed with her.

“Odd oddish!”

“Pichuuu!”

“Choki choki kriii!”

“Hey! Perrine! You remember our strategy, right?”

Perrine nodded, her eyes seldom averting their gaze. “You know I do. Let’s win that Plain Badge together.”

“Oh yeah!” Julia noticed the book she was reading. “Did you get that just now?”

“The book? Uhh...yeah, I did. Do you want to read it?”

“Not right now,” Julia replied. “Oh! Some brochures!” She grabbed some brochures from the nightstand and browsed through them. Aqua and Ladybug peered over both of her shoulders to get a good look. Even Fuwari joined her by hopping on her head. “Ooooh. It says they’re holding a Bug Catching Contest at the National Park soon. I wonder what that’s like?”

“How about we check it out after we battle Whitney?”

“That’d be great!”

***

The moon glittered in the sky, accompanied by her beautiful stars. Julia and Perrine slept peacefully, lost in dreamland, surrounded by all of their pokemon, who slept alongside them. However, Ladybug found herself awakening at the sound of a soft breeze coming through the window. It was opened wide enough for a pokemon to sneak out of. Since they were on the first floor, the window was about two feet above the ground, making it easy for one to jump through it without getting hurt. Ladybug opened her wings and flew out the window.

Ladybug’s buzzy wings pulled Fuwari out of her beautiful dream. She woke up early enough to see Ladybug fly out the window. The tiny pink cottonweed hopped out of the window and floated on the grass. Thankfully, the ledyba was only a few feet away, staring longingly at the round moon. What could she be doing up this early? Fuwari wasn’t sure, but she was going to find out. Ladybug wasn’t running away, nor did it look as though she intended to.

“Hoppip? Hop hop hoppip?” (“Ladybug? What are you doing out here?”) Fuwari asked in a cute, sweet voice.

Ladybug said nothing, continuing to stare at the moon. The pink cottonweed noticed a sad, longing look in her eyes. “What’s wrong? You look sad.”

“Ledyba ledy ledyba…” (“I’m a weakling.”)

“What makes you say that?”

“I can’t battle very well. I always lose. I can’t meet Julia’s expectations,” Ladybug buried her face in her white fists, even though she wasn’t crying. “My family always said I was a puny, worthless little runt....and they’re right!” Ladybug shook her head sadly. “I’m scared of everything, I don’t like talking with others, I can’t fight to save myself...I’m sure Julia hates me.”

Touched by Ladybug’s sad words, Fuwari put her stubby hand on the ledyba’s arm. “You’re not worthless or a weakling. You’re a great pokemon, and Julia loves you. I’ve seen the way she talks to you and the others. She loves you all dearly, no matter what.”

The pink cottonweed had a good point. Ever since Ladybug had been captured, Julia had been nothing but nice to her. She always thought humans were bad, and stayed away from them to avoid trouble, but Julia and her friends were different. Fuwari smiled and continued on. “I’ve seen humans who care only about strength, and yell at their pokemon when they lose battles. I’m glad Julia and Perrine are nice and don’t care about that stuff.”

“That’s true…”

Fuwari began flailing her arms, hopping up and down. “It’s okay! It doesn’t matter if you’re strong or weak! I’m not very strong, but Perrine doesn’t mind. To them, we’re their precious friends.”

A smile creeped upon Ladybug’s face. Fuwari was right. Strong or weak, they didn’t care. Their pokemon were their friends, and that was what was important to them. Ladybug balled her fists and looked up at the moon, this time with a determined look in her eyes. “Even so...I want to make Julia and my friends happy…I’m not strong, but that’s okay!”

“Choki!” (“Hello!”) It came as a surprise to them as they found Tokiko trotting right up to them. “Are you two having a nighttime party? Can I play, too?”

***

The next morning, Julia and Perrine stood together on the left side of the battlefield, facing Whitney, whose arms were crossed. The pink haired woman’s eyes were gleaming with intent to win. They could see it. For Julia, Whitney’s determination to win felt like a suffocating aura coming from her very being. Caiseal sat on the bleachers, surrounded by Julia and Perrine’s pokemon. Interestingly enough, Aqua and Fuwari weren’t with them.

Two hands joined together, intertwining, giving each other strength. “You ready, Jules?”

“I am,” An odd feeling surged through her being. At first, she was confused, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was. Confidence, the very thing she thought she could never have.

“This is my first double battle!” Whitney exclaimed as she pulled out two PokeBalls. “You better get ready, girls! Fur-Fur and Mil-Mil! Come on out, sweeties!” On cue, her beloved furret and miltank popped right out.

“Aqua and Fuwari! You can do this!” Both girls used their free hands to throw their pokeballs, and Aqua and Fuwari came bouncing right out.

Caiseal gave them both a quizzical look. “Seriously? A marill and a hoppip? They’re crazy…” He mused to himself. Marill and hoppip were relatively weak pokemon. Furret was fully evolved, and miltank was strong. In his mind, there was just no way those girls would be able to stand even a shadow of a chance against them.

“Ready?” The referee raised two flags in the air. “Battle begin!”

“Fur-Fur, you start off with Sand Attack!”

“Fuuur!” Fur-Fur kicked her legs into the battlefield, kicking dirt in the air.

“Fuwari! Blow it away with Fairy Wind, and make it a big one, too!” Perrine commanded.

“Hooooppiiiiip…!” Fuwari floated in the air, the two weeds on her head spinning like the propellers of a helicopter. A sparkling pink cloud came spiraling right out of the weeds, blowing the sand attack away. The pink gale suddenly ran past Fur-Fur and Mil-Mil, hitting them head on.

“Hm! Good move!” Whitney said. “But we’re just getting started! Mil-Mil! Rollout, let’s go!”

“Mil-Mil!” The big miltank immediately rolled into a ball, charging right at the two smaller pokemon.

This was their chance to put their plan into motion. In their hearts, they prayed that it work. “Aqua! Dodge it with Water Gun!” Julia called out.

“Marill!” Aqua shot a blast of water at the ground, pushing it so that she would fly up in the air. Mil-Mil rolled right into the geyser but didn’t stop rolling. Fuwari was able to float away.

“Keep using Water Gun! Shoot that water everywhere!”

“Marill maaar!” Aqua began shooting blasts of water everywhere. With every blast, she left behind large, miltank sized holes in the battlefield. Soon, the entire stadium was covered with them. All of a sudden, Mil-Mil got caught in one hole, pulling her out of her Rollout attack.

“Whoa!” Whitney’s eyes widened.

“Now’s our chance!” Perrine shouted. “Fuwari! Use Bullet Seed to keep it from getting out!”

“Hoppipipipipip!” Fuwari took in a huge breath of air before suddenly assaulting the helpless miltank with a barrage of tiny, glowing yellow seeds. They came so fast, Mil-Mil was unable to dodge them or even so much as put her hooves up to shield herself from them.

“Fur-Fur! Use Fury Swipes to knock them all away!” Whitney cried. On command, her furret threw herself into the fray as her claws extended farther than normal. Once her claws grew out, the furret swiped at the glowing seeds, either cutting them to ribbons or knocking them onto the sides, protecting her friend from further damage.

Caiseal couldn’t take his eyes off of the battle. It had only just started, but the determination coming from both sides was blazing passionately. Even the pokemon’s eyes were glued to the battle, their mouths falling open in an ungraceful manner. Perhaps he had underestimated them. Those two small pokemon could easily lose, yet they were putting up quite a fight.

“Use BubbleBeam!” Julia cried. Aqua inhaled deeply before spitting out a storm of round, rainbow colored bubbles at the furrets feet. Since Fur-Fur’s claws were facing upward, that left her lower body open for attack. As the bubbles popped upon making contact, Fur-Fur’s feet burned. Mil-Mil took the chance to climb out of the hole she was trapped in.

“We’re not giving up! No way!” Whitney balled her fists. “Mil-Mil! Use Stomp on that marill!”

“Miiiil!” With zeal in her heart, the giant pink cow lunged right at the blue mouse with one of its large feet ready for stomping. Aqua was quick to dodge. Since she was smaller and lighter than the pink cow, she evaded the attack easily.

“Fuwari! Jump on Mil-Mil’s face!” Fuwari flew right onto the cow’s muzzle. “Use Sleep Powder!” The weeds on her head spun around, causing a sparkling green cloud of powder to billow right out. Mil-Mil shook her head vigorously, managing to throw the tiny cottonweed off of her face. Unfortunately, her nose inhaled a scent of the power. Before long, her head began to feel light, and her eyes became heavy.

“Furret!” Fur-Fur was quick to cover her nose with her arms so as to not smell the power. It was too late for Mil-Mil, as she fell to the battlefield with a thud, completely unconscious. A big, drippy nose bubble came ballooning out of her nose. Aqua couldn’t resist the urge to laugh.

“Awww noooo!” Whitney whined, with her hands on both sides of her head. “Mil-Mil’s sleeping like a log!” As much as she hated to admit it, she was in a big pickle.

“Great job, girls!” Julia exclaimed.

Aqua and Fuwari turned to face their trainers and cheered. “Marill!” “Hoppip!”

Then it happened. Fuwari suddenly became enveloped in a harsh white light. She soon grew to about Aqua’s size before the light dissipated. Her pink fur had turned a soft, light green color, with the weeds on her head having blossomed into a big flower with sunny yellow foliage. Her pointed ears turned round and floppy, like those of a dog, and her red eyes were brimming with cheer.

“Popo! Popo!” Fuwari squeaked in an even higher pitched voice than usual.

“Oh my gosh! Yay!” Perrine found herself jumping up and down like a little kid. “Fuwari evolved into a skiploom!”

Julia pulled out her PokeDex, holding it over Fuwari as the green pokemon danced alongside Aqua. “Skiploom, the cottonweed pokemon. This happy-go-lucky grass-type has a flower on its head which opens and closes depending on the temperature. For that reason, this Pokémon is sometimes used as a thermometer. It floats in the sky to soak up as much sunlight as possible by spreading the petals on its flower, and to get closer to the sun.”

“Awesome, and right in the middle of our battle, too!” Julia exclaimed as she put her PokeDex away.

“We’re not done yet!” Whitney shouted. “Fur-Fur! Use Quick Attack!”

Since Quick Attack increased the pokemon’s speed, Fur-Fur was able to knock both Aqua and the newly evolved Fuwari out. Not to a point where they had fainted, but the giant ferret did leave some decent damage on the two.

“Careful, Jules,” Perrine whispered. “Miltank may still be asleep, but her furret is just as strong. Don’t let your guard down.”

Julia nodded silently. The tension in the room was thick enough that a scyther could slice it with its sickles. Even Caiseal’s eyes were glued to the action. “Bubblebeam!”

“Bullet Seed again!”

Once Fur-Fur stopped to rest, Aqua and Fuwari fired their attacks, stopping it from taking a moment to breathe. That was when Whitney commanded Fur-Fur to use Fury Swipes, and not just to slice and dice the barrage of bubbles and seeds. Once the attacks had ceased, Fur-Fur charged right at Fuwari and scratched her repeatedly with her long claws. “Popoooooo!” Fuwari tried to float away, but the ferret was able to jump at least ten feet and slammed on the green grass type pokemon with its claw. As a result, Fuwari slammed right onto the battlefield, her eyes swirling all around.

“Fuwari the skiploom is unable to battle!” The referee exclaimed.

“Oh no! Poor Fuwari!” Julia looked upon the fallen skiploom piteously. “She worked so hard…”

With a sad smile, Perrine put her beloved friend back in her pokeball. “You did great, Fuwari. I’ll treat you to your favorite cupcakes later.”

“Fuwari likes cupcakes?”

“Yeah, especially those chocolate ones with green frosting and flower sprinkles,” Perrine turned over to the bleachers. “Hey, Baloo! Want to take on this giant ferret?”

The pink balloon pokemon’s round eyes sparkled with delight. “Jiggly!” With a cheer, Baloo hopped off the bleachers and trotted over to the battlefield, giving Aqua a reassuring high five to assure her she wasn’t alone.

The battle resumed. Fur-Fur was still tough to handle despite being at a disadvantage with Mil-Mil still sleeping. This time, plan B was set in motion. Since Whitney wasn’t allowed to switch Mil-Mil out, Aqua took the chance to blast the sleeping cow with Water Gun and Bubblebeam, all at once. At one point, Mil-Mil managed to wake up, and would have defeated them had she not been so woozy and had she not fallen face first into another hole. Aqua took the chance and tackled the pink cow so hard, she made Mil-Mil fall on her back, leaving her unable to battle.

“Mil-Mil! Noooo!” Whitney whined.

All of the pokemon on the bleachers began cheering, jumping, and flailing their arms up and down. Hikaru jumped up and down, encouraging Aqua and Baloo to keep going. Tokiko and Ladybug simply shouted at them to win the battle no matter what. Everyone else simply shouted words of encouragement. Caiseal found their enthusiasm to be charming, if a little annoying.

“Alright! Let’s finish this! Aqua, use Bubblebeam again!”

“Baloo, use Wake-Up Slap!”

Aqua shot bubbles at the giant ferret’s eyes, making them sting from the piercing soapy feeling. Once she covered her eyes, Baloo hopped right up on her face and began smacking her with two stubby hands, left and right. The pain from the repeated slaps stung the ferret’s cheeks. Finally, Fur-Fur couldn’t continue, as her legs gave out, burning from too much running around. Fur-Fur collapsed on the battlefield, with Aqua and Baloo in battle stances. The referee looked closer and raised a flag in the younger girls’ direction.

“Furret is unable to battle! Aqua and Baloo win, which means the victors are Julia Parisa of New Bark Town, and Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City!!” The referee announced.

“Yay! We won!” The girls joined hands and jumped up and down. Baloo and Aqua did the same, only they danced around their beloved trainers, joining them in their rejoicing. All of their pokemon ran off the bleachers, performing their happy dances.

Whitney called Fur-Fur back into her pokeball. “You were great. We lost, though. It’s okay. It was a fair fight,” With a smile, she walked over to the happy girls and their pokemon. Once they calmed down, she said to them, “Great job, girls. You really kept me on my toes.”

“Ehehehe…” Julia nuzzled Aqua in her arms, giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead. “All we did was think up a strategy. The pokemon were the ones that gave it their all, so you should be giving them the credit. You and your pokemon were great, too.”

“Is your arm okay?” Perrine asked.

The pink haired girl held her arm out like she was displaying some muscle. “It’ll be a-okay! I see a lot of potential in you girls. Keep it up, and you’ll win the Pokemon League in no time!” She dug through her pocket and opened her palm to reveal two square shaped silver badges. “In honor of your victory, here’s your Plain Badges!” The two girls took the badges gratefully. “You’ll be great trainers. You treat your pokemon with all the love in the world. A good trainer always puts their pokemon first. By the way…” Whitney got a closer look at Perrine. “Forgive me if this sounds rude, but aren’t you the girl that went missing some time ago?”

“Urk!” Perrine’s body stiffened. Caiseal walked over to them, curious. Julia just cradled Aqua in her arms.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Whitney began with a shrug. “But there’s missing posters of you everywhere, and your picture is all over the news. I hear your parents are pretty worried.”

“Please don’t let anyone know I was here!” Perrine begged, clasping her hands together. Baloo, Florian, and Kitsune all looked at each other with confused faces. “My parents...don’t want me becoming a trainer. I ran away from home so I could be a trainer.”

“I see…” Whitney scratched one of her pink pigtails with one hand, wondering what she should do. “I don’t want to lie to anyone. Maybe it’d be a good idea to just let them know you’re okay? I mean, for all I know everyone might think you’ve been kidnapped or killed by some creepy child murderer. Trust me, I’ve seen stories like that on TV.”

Although she wasn’t sure what she should do, Perrine decided to take Whitney’s advice into consideration. However, she wasn’t sure if she could face them. More than anything, she wanted to stay the heck away from them. They said their goodbyes to Whitney and went to the Pokemon Center to get their friends healed up. Caiseal was the first to bring it up. “So you ran away from home, huh? I don’t blame you.”

“Yeah.”

“So...are your mom and dad, like...I dunno...abusive?” Caiseal asked. “Do they hit you or beat you?”

“Hey!” Julia exclaimed. “It’s rude to ask personal questions like that! She might not want to talk about it!”

“Shut your trap!” Caiseal snapped back.

“No. They’re not,” Perrine hissed, clutching the fabric of her skirt. “They just don’t want me becoming a pokemon trainer. They’re pretty adamant about it.”

Julia gave Perrine a quizzical look. “What does adamant mean?”

Caiseal rolled his eyes before answering, in a condescending tone, “Adamant means if you have an opinion or idea about something, you stick to it no matter what and never change your mind,” Julia noticed the disappointed look on his face, like he expected her to know what it meant. “Jeez, you must be really--”

“Zip it!” Perrine hissed. ‘Man, what is this guy’s problem?!’ She thought. As much as she liked the extra company, she couldn’t help but notice Caiseal’s odd behavior toward Julia. Chastising her for doing something she usually does, for not knowing certain things, looking at her with disgust like she was an ugly Trubbish...she was liking him less and less every time he opened his mouth. What was he even doing hanging out with them anyway? Didn’t he have other things he needed to do? She figured he didn’t know about autism. Perhaps she could explain it to him later.

Once their pokemon were healed, the kids decided to head to the grassy areas of Route 34, just outside the city. Not so far that they would get lost or be out of the city’s vicinity, but just enough so they could easily go back without problems. The kids let their pokemon out so they could play. Hikaru and Tokiko chased each other around, running and laughing happily. Perrine sat on a stump, brushing Kitsune’s fur and tail with a brush she kept with her. Ladybug slept in Julia’s lap, basking in her trainer’s affection as Julia stroke her body with one hand.

“Chuuu!” “Choki kooo!” The two baby pokemon ran around like little kids, happy to be able to run around in the warm sunshine. At one point, Tokiko tripped on a small rock and fell face first on the grass. “Pichu!” Hikaru ran over to try and help her up, but oddly enough, something else did it for her.

Standing before the yellow mouse was a pink pokemon about Mallow’s size. Its fur was a cotton candy pink color, with some of its skin coming loose to drape over its legs, making it resemble a dress. Said loose skin had four light blue spots dotting it, with a matching ruffle around its neck. The pokemon’s floppy ears were black at the ends, its feet were a beige color, and it used its stubby arms to carry Tokiko up from the grass, holding her upright.

Oddly enough, Tokiko didn’t even cry. Since she was still a baby, one would expect Tokiko to cry after falling on the ground, but the togepi proved to be quite a tough little thing. Tokiko looked up at the pink pokemon with a big, bright smile and chiruped, “Choki ko!” (“Thank you!”)

“Snub snub snubbull,” The pink pokemon told her. (“You’re welcome. Just be careful next time.”)

“Hey, look!” Julia exclaimed. “A snubbull! How cute!” She pulled out her PokeDex, watching as Hikaru and Tokiko conversed with the pink pokemon.

“Snubbull, the fairy pokemon,” Julia couldn’t help but think that snubbull looked absolutely nothing like a fairy, even though it was technically classified as a fairy type pokemon. “Although snubbull’s grumpy face makes it look gruff and frightening, it is actually a kind, caring, affectionate, and even cowardly pokemon. They don’t like to battle, and prefer to scare their opponents rather than fight. Because of their playful nature, devotion, and loyalty, it is popular with women. They also have a sensitive sense of smell, and can smell things like smoke from a thousand kilometers away.” A pink female sign appeared on the PokeDex, signifying that she was a girl.

As soon as snubbull heard Julia’s voice, she walked over to Julia, hopped on the stump she was sitting on, and poked at the PokeDex with her stubby hand. “Snubbull…”

“Do you want to look at it?”

“Snub!” Snubbull nodded, her floppy ears flapping right along with her.

“Here,” Julia handed the snubbull the PokeDex. “Just be careful. It’s very fragile,” The snubbull sat down next to her and stared at the PokeDex with her small eyes, never averting her gaze. Perrine and Caiseal came over to look at the pink pokemon.

“Awww! It’s so cute!” Perrine crooned, her blue eyes twinkling.

“I hear they’re pretty strong,” Caiseal piped in. “But they’re usually found around Olivine City. What’s a snubbull doing here?”

The snubbull handed the PokeDex back. Then she dug through Julia’s bag, pulled out a pokeball, tapped it, and allowed itself to turn into light as she was pulled inside. The pokeball wiggled left and right for a few seconds before the blinking red light disappeared. Everyone’s jaws were agape. “Wow. Looks like I just made a new friend.”

“Pichuuu!” “Chokiiii!” The two baby pokemon cheered, happy that they could spend time with their new friend.

The pokeball disappeared, but that didn’t stop Julia from announcing out of the blue, “Saoirse! That’ll be her name!”

Perrine and Caiseal gave her a quizzical look. “Saoir...se?”

“Yep! I’ve always wanted to use that name! Oh! There’s a ditto! I’m gonna try and catch it! Come on, Blossom! Wanna catch it with me!” Ladybug flew off of Julia’s lap once she stood up.

The weed pokemon cheered happily. “Oddish odd!” The two of them trotted into the grass to search for that ditto. Perrine returned to a stump and brushed Florian’s fur this time. The leaf pokemon cooed upon feeling his fur being brushed, basking in Perrine’s affection.

“You like getting your fur brushed, don’t you?”

“Chikori…”

“Yo, Perrine.”

“What’s up, Caiseal?”

Caiseal sat on the ground, right next to Perrine. The orange haired girl could tell he had a serious look on his face. That meant he had something to say to her. What could it be? Florian didn’t have a care in the world, as he lost himself in his dreams as the brush stroke his fur. “I’d love it if we could go on a journey together. We both wanna win the Pokemon League.”

“Sure! That’d be great! You, me, Julia...it’ll be awesome--”

“Actually, I say we ditch her.”

Ditch her. Those words made Perrine’s warm, motherly smile morph into a confused yet disappointed frown. The warmth in her eyes disappeared, now gleaming with anger. “Why do you say that?”

“Come on, you’ve seen the way she acts, right?” He began. “She’s just gonna hold you back and slow us down. She’s freakin’ weird.”

Perrine put Florian down before suddenly yelling, “Absolutely not! She’s my friend and has done so much for me. I really don’t appreciate you talking about her like she’s some kind of brain sucking alien from outer space out to suck the joy out of my life!” She balled her fists. All of her pokemon stopped to watch her scold him, wondering what was going on. “What is your problem?! She’s been nothing but nice to us, yet here you are asking me to ditch her because you don’t like her! If that’s how you’re going to be, then tough luck! I’m not going with you.”

“I’m baaack!” Julia came right back, and the conversation stopped. Blossom was panting, her big leaves drooping downward. “Man, that ditto was strong! I didn’t even get to pull a PokeBall out and it just escaped!”

“It’s okay!” Perrine chirruped, her smile returning. Caiseal’s eyes widened at the sudden change in mood. “There’s plenty of ditto around here, so you can always--”

“...Perrine?!”

The voice of a middle aged woman suddenly stopped their conversation. Perrine turned around to find a woman standing right behind her. Said woman looked to be in at least her late forties or early fifties, with auburn hair tied in a round dango bun, covered by a lavender hat. A matching shawl wrapped around her shoulders, concealing a long sleeved brown dress that went down to her knees. The woman was also wearing black stockings, brown shoes, a ruby ring on her left ring finger, and sapphire earrings. She looked like the perfect rich socialite. The woman’s blue eyes teared up upon seeing the orange haired girl.

“P-P-Perrine! My stars, it is you!! My sweet little Perrine!!” The woman cried hysterically before throwing herself on the smaller girl.

Caiseal and Julia looked at each other with confused faces. Who was this woman, and how did she know Perrine? In a flash, an idea popped in Julia’s head, and it was confirmed as quickly as she thought it.

“...Mom?!”

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 11: Innocenti Family Matters

Perrine’s mother?! And she was here?! In the flesh?

Julia and Caiseal were silent from the shocking revelation. They had heard from Whitney that Perrine’s disappearance was hot on the news, but not once did they ever think they would run into Perrine’s mother right away. Perrine seemed just as surprised as they were, her face stuffed in her mother’s shawl. Warm tears dripped on her sleeves as her mother’s shaking body embraced her.

“Perrine...my dearest Perrine…” The woman cried on her shoulder, her voice hoarse from crying. “...I thought I would never see you again…” The first thing Perrine noticed about her mother was her perfume. Lavender perfume. She had watched her mother spray it on herself all the time whenever she would get ready for the day. She was surprised she had forgotten it so quickly.

Soon, her mother let go and put her hands on her shoulders, bearing a warm, tired smile. “You’re alive, sweetie. Thank goodness…” She noticed the pokemon beside Perrine’s feet. Vulpix, chikorita, jigglypuff, skiploom, mareep, and hoothoot. All of them stared at her with confused expressions. Fuwari simply chirped “Popo!” and waved her tiny hand at her. “You have pokemon. I see...so that’s why you left…”

Perrine said nothing. She just stared at the light purple shawl around her mother’s upper body. The woman then noticed Julia and Caiseal watching the scene unfold. “Hello there,” She greeted them kindly, in a soft voice. “Are you two her friends?”

“Yes, we’re her friends!” Both Julia and Caiseal stammered in perfect unison. It took them looking each other in the face for them to realize it.

The woman smiled. “I am Rocio Innocenti, Perrine’s mother,” Rocio introduced herself. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

“It’s...no problem at all, Mrs. Innocenti!” Julia stammered, waving her hands back and forth modestly.

The orange haired girl balled her fists. She could see Rocio moving her mouth in an attempt to say something, probably to dissuade her from her journey. No way was she going to give up. “I don’t care what you and Dad say,” She began in a strong voice. “I’m going to fulfill my dream and win the Pokemon League no matter what.”

She expected her mother to contradict her, or convince her to drop it. Oddly enough, she didn’t. She simply said, “Would you like to come to the house for a while? Eduardo’s been worried sick about you. He wants to see your face again.” Her voice was soft and kind, albeit a little hoarse, like she was getting up in years.

Perrine wanted so badly to decline. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with her father. Then she remembered Julia telling her about her experiences at Violet City. Perhaps, now that she was a full-fledged trainer, she could convince him that it was too late to change anything...that he could see how far she had come and let her go. The last time it happened didn’t go so well, but a lot had happened since then. It wouldn’t hurt to try again, right?

“Alright. I’ll go. But Julia and Caiseal are coming with me. Is that okay?” Perrine told her.

“That’s fine. You’re probably hungry,” Rocio took Perrine gently by the hand. The smile that spread across her face upon feeling the warmth of her daughter’s hand was unmistakable. Julia could tell Rocio was all too happy to finally see her daughter again. The pain of her disappearance must have been absolutely terrible. She found herself imagining what would happen if one of her pokemon disappeared, or even died. The thought was too awful to think about.

“We’re here!”

Caiseal and Julia’s mouths fell wide open. Neatly trimmed hedges and bushes lined the front yard, surrounding a large marble fountain depicting a vaporeon spitting water out of its mouth. An orange brick mansion that was the size of an onix loomed over the front yard, with the entrance being supported by four Corinthian style columns. Large glass windows covered the walls, all of them paired up with black shutters. Butlers and maids dressed in black and white stood at the entrance as they welcomed Rocio, Perrine, and their guests inside.

“Welcome back!” The butlers and maids bowed before them, not moving even once as they walked by.

“This...this is your house?!” Julia yelped in such a loud voice, Caiseal had to back away a step. She had even caught the attention of the butlers and maids.

“Yeah, this is my house,” Perrine deadpanned.

The interior of the mansion was just as glamorous, if not more so. Almost everything from the ceiling, to the walls, to the tile floors were a pristine snow white color, with the exception of the mahogany brown doors and stairs that led to the second floor. The stairs and balconies were lined with black railing with intricate, curled designs resembling vines of grass pokemon. A man sat on a large red chair before an empty fireplace, dressed in a pure white tuxedo with a shiny black tie and patented leather shoes. The man looked to be in his late forties, with new wrinkles tracing the edges of his mouth, and straight black hair neatly done in a rich man style, framing his chocolate brown eyes. A small mustache stood in between his nose and the top of his mouth, and a small beard came out from his chin.

“Eduardo, my dear! Perrine has come home!” Rocio announced as soon as her eyes caught the man’s figure. Perrine looked away, staring down at her shoes.

“Girl! I didn’t know you were loaded!” Caiseal exclaimed in a lower voice.

“Yeah, I’m loaded. So what?” Perrine hissed, like she thought being a rich girl was a bad thing.

Eduardo stood up and looked down at Perrine with a soft look on his expression. This left Perrine speechless. She had expected to see his usual cross, austere expression, the one he would always give whenever she disobeyed his orders. Yet, here he was, kneeling to her level, wrapping his large arms around her, and pulling her close, just like Rocio did. The tangy scent of bamboo cologne assailed Perrine’s nostrils.

“Perrine…” The man’s voice was old and hoarse, showing his age. But there was a kind of warmth to it. “I’m so glad you’re back…”

‘Yeah right,’ Perrine thought to herself bitterly, wearing a defiant expression. ‘You’re only happy I’m back so you can subject me to more stupid piano lessons and boring tea ceremony lessons...all you want is for me to be your perfect little lady!!’ Already, she wished she was back in the wild, catching pokemon and showering her friends with love. She could see her father possibly scolding her for running away, taking measures to ensure that she would never leave the house, and probably signing her up for etiquette classes, all that stuff.

“Chiko!” Florian chirruped out of nowhere, drawing Eduardo’s attention. He let go of Perrine and saw the pokemon. Chikorita, vulpix, jigglypuff, hoothoot, mareep, and skiploom. Like with Rocio, Fuwari waved her hand at Eduardo and cooed happily, just to be friendly and say hello. But all that got out of Eduardo was a scornful glare. Fukuro glared right back, and Baloo found herself hiding behind Kitsune, frightened by the man’s domineering glare.

“There’s a lot we need to discuss, Perrine,” Eduardo said, glancing at the two kids behind her. “Are you two her friends?”

The kids both nodded vigorously. Caiseal’s stomach let out a rumble. He looked down at his shoes to keep from facing Eduardo. He looked over to his wife. “Rocio, dear. Tell the cooks to prepare dinner. I’m sure these kids haven’t had much to eat,” He told her in a calm voice.

At least five cooks prepared a grand feast for the Innocentis, Julia, and Caiseal. They had even prepared pokemon food for their pokemon, setting big bowls on the floor for everyone to eat. Perrine found herself speechless. This was very unlike Eduardo. As far as she knew, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with pokemon. Even having them around was forbidden. Why did he make the cooks prepare pokemon food for them? Lots of thoughts were going through Perrine’s mind, none of them optimistic. Was this just an attempt to win her favor so he could keep her here? Or was he just keeping up appearances? Regardless, she ate the rich steak quietly. She had to admit, she missed this steak, the rich corn, and the drippy mashed potatoes.

Both Julia and Caiseal could tell that Perrine was not fond of being here, not even a little bit. All they did was eat quietly, not wanting to make a scene. Even Rocio and Eduardo had serious looks on their faces. An old butler poured some wine into Eduardo’s glass. Caiseal turned to Julia and noticed the way she held her utensils. Instead of holding them with her palms facing up, she was holding them with her palms face down, grasping them like she was a child that had just learned to grasp things. Somehow, he found this to be unsettling, and wasted no time bringing it up.

“Why are you holding your utensils like that?” Caiseal asked loud enough for everyone to turn their attention toward him.

“Huh?” Julia looked down at her hands. “No real reason. I always hold them like this. Is...that bad?”

Caiseal glared at her. “Why can’t you hold them normally?” He asked in a condescending tone.

“Knock it off, Caiseal,” Perrine interrupted. “She’s fine. She’s not hurting anyone, so zip it.”

“What she said,” Julia piped in. With that, she went back to eating the steak.

The tension in the room was understandably thick. The pokemon didn’t notice, as they were too busy helping themselves, but everyone could tell the Innocenti family was serious. Eduardo set his wine glass down. “We were very worried about you, Perrine. I had called the FBI and had them search for you,” Eduardo told her. “I guess I should have expected that you had run away.”

“Ed, can’t we talk about this later?” Rocio asked. “She just came back, and she’s probably tired. Don’t push it, please.”

Perrine finished her food quickly. “I’m done. Can I show Jules and Caiseal my room?” She stood up and walked away without even waiting for a reply. Julia and Caiseal got the message, finished their food, and followed Perrine up the stairs. The pokemon did the same. Eduardo let out a disappointed sigh as he put a hand on his face.

***

“Whooooaaaa…!”

The kids knew Perrine was rich, so they had expected her to have a fancy bedroom, but the room itself was nothing like they had imagined. Pasted all over the salmon pink walls were posters of various gym leaders, three of which were Falkner, Bugsy, and Whitney. Others showed a red haired man with a cape, accompanied by a big, cutesy-looking orange dragon. The wall above Perrine’s bed resembled an old church painting, depicting angels rising into a golden cloud that shined light down on them. Mountains of pokemon plushies scattered all over the floor. Pikachu, togepi, marill, oddish, hoppip, many pokemon plushies.

Also dotting the walls were various movie posters, all of which depicted nothing but ninjas. Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas! Sitting on a maroon coffee table was a chess set, with white and black chess pieces. A king had fallen on the white rug on the hardwood floor. Florian, Kitsune, and Baloo wasted no time leaping on Perrine’s bed and bouncing on it, laughing joyfully. Chirin simply sat next to the mountain of pokemon dolls. Fukuro flew over to a large mirror above Perrine’s desk, marveling at his reflection. “Hoothoot!” (“Man, do I look great!”)

“THIS is your room?!” Caiseal exclaimed, marveling at the painting above her bed.

“Yeah. This is my room. Make yourselves at home,” Perrine told them as she put the King back on his throne on the chess set. “If you want, we can play some chess.”

“I stink at chess,” Julia replied. “But wow! Your room is soooooo much nicer than mine! You even have a canopy thingy!” She pointed to the lacey, transparent canopy dangling over her bed. Skiploom draped part of it around herself, pretending to be some kind of fashion model.

“Chuuuu!” “Choki!” “Odd oddish…” “Marill!” Even Julia’s pokemon agreed that Perrine’s room was to die for.

“Cubone cubone cubone!” (“Pheh! It’s so girly! Caiseal’s room is way cooler!”) Mallow exclaimed petulantly, crossing his arms. Apollo just sniffed Chirin’s fur with his long nose.

“Perrine?” Eduardo’s voice made the kids and pokemon turn right around. He stood at the entrance with a strong posture, glaring right at Perrine. The orange haired girl glared right back. “I wish to talk with my daughter in private, kids. You’d best--”

“I know what you’re going to say, Dad!” Perrine interrupted before he could finish. “I’m not gonna stop being a pokemon trainer.”

“It’s not proper for a lady to interrupt--”

“See?! This is what I mean, Dad!” Perrine exclaimed. She hated the whiny tone that consumed her voice, but she just couldn’t help it. “It’s always about being proper or keeping up appearances or being a lady with you! Don’t you ever think of anyone else besides yourself?!”

That was when Eduardo raised his voice and stomped on her floor with one foot. “That is enough, Perrine!! This defiant behavior of yours absolutely cannot continue!!”

Julia let out a squeak, her hands flying to her ears as she fell to her knees. It took Perrine’s attention away from her father as she ran and kneeled to her level. “You shouldn’t have yelled. She’s autistic. She hates it when people yell,” She told him in a calmer, gentler voice that still had a barbed edge to it.

Both she and Eduardo fell silent. Even Caiseal was speechless. Eduardo finally calmed down, uncurling his fists. “...Just like your Aunt Mao…” This statement made Julia’s ears perk up. Aunt Mao? So...Perrine has an autistic relative? That was a first. Eduardo’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I--”

“We’re done here,” Perrine escorted Julia out of the room, with Caiseal and the pokemon following behind.

The kids and the pokemon found themselves in the backyard, which was just as large as the front yard. It looked more like a meadow, with nothing but green grass stretching for miles, kept inside by a black fence. The three kids sat on a bench as most of the pokemon ran off to play. Julia clutched Hikaru and Tokiko in her arms tightly, like if she lost them, she would just break down. Perrine could tell that she looked to be on the verge of crying. She was happy she got to get her away from the bad situation before Eduardo made it any worse.

“So...do you…” Julia whimpered, still hugging Hikaru and Tokiko. “...really have an autistic aunt?”

Perrine looked up at the cloudless blue sky with a wistful look. “Yep. Mao Borgia. She’s in Unova right now. She was the one who inspired me to become a pokemon trainer.”

“How so?” Caiseal asked, kicking a pebble into some grass.

The orange haired girl watched as one tiny, wispy white cloud floated across the sky, blocking the sun for just a moment. “She actually understands me, and doesn’t expect me to be perfect. She likes me for me. Mom and Dad...they hate the fact that I’m not the daughter they want…” Perrine began. “She was a really good trainer. In fact, she was even the champion of Johto at one point.”

“WHAT?!” Caiseal and Julia screamed in unison. “The champion?!”

“Yep! She’s awesome!” Perrine chirruped with a smile. “Not anymore, though. But she’s still the coolest gal I know,” Her smile morphed into a frown. “But she and Dad don’t get along. Whenever she would come over, they’d always argue...sometimes, Dad would just get angry at me for no reason…”

(flashback)

A seven year old Perrine sat before a large, shiny, black grand piano. Her tiny, shaking fingers tried to press on some keys, imitating the movements of the old woman next to her. Eduardo simply stood at the entrance, watching with a curious yet scornful glare in his eyes. However, she just couldn’t get it right.

“Perrine!!” Eduardo shouted loud enough to make both the girl and the old woman flinch. “Your playing is an absolute disaster!!”

“Eduardo, sir!” The old woman stood up, alarmed by his behavior. “Please, she’s only learning the basics. Don’t be so harsh--”

“It’s your job to teach her!” He yelled, wagging his finger at the old woman like he was her father.

Warm tears streamed out of Perrine’s eyes, dripping onto the milky white keys. “I’m sorry, Daddy…” She whimpered in a trembling voice.

“Go on! Teach her again, from the top!” He yelled, forcing the woman to return to the piano. He shot a fierce glare at Perrine. “And no slacking off, Perrine! This is for your own good!”

He did everything he could to keep her occupied, signing her up for private lessons on just about everything. Violin, math, etiquette, tea ceremony, flower arranging, traditional dance, sewing. It was all too much. She just couldn’t do it. Her legs would throb and cramp from sitting in one position for so long. Her hands couldn’t hold the violin properly. Needles would prick her fingers every time she did even a single loop around yarn. All the high heels she was forced to walk on would make her trip and fall, sometimes even break a heel.

One day, when she was about ten, a door was slightly open, and the loud sounds of two voices arguing came out from it. One belonged to Eduardo. The other belonged to a woman. “Mao! What do you think you’re doing?! All Perrine talks about now is becoming a pokemon trainer!!” Eduardo screamed. Little Perrine didn’t dare go inside, as she knew her presence would only make things worse. She didn’t want to exacerbate the argument.

“That’s what she wants, and I don’t want to stop her from fulfilling her dream, unlike you,” A woman, probably her Aunt Mao, replied in a stern yet calm voice.

“I knew it! You’ve been putting ideas in her head behind my back, haven’t you?! I knew it was a bad idea to have you come over!”

“You’re being ridiculous, little bro.”

“Unlike you, I want to keep my daughter safe! Being a trainer will only get her killed!”

“See, Ed? You wonder why Perrine doesn’t want to deal with you. All you wanna do is keep her in some glass box her whole life. She’s not a baby, y’know.”

“You don’t know anything about my daughter!”

Silence. Then, out of nowhere, “Get out. Don’t come here anymore. You’re a bad influence on her.”

A shiver of ice ran through Perrine right then and there. Her father was kicking her out of the house. Forbidding her to ever come again. Why would he do that? No, she already knew the answer to that. Already, she saw her world crashing all around her. “Ed, this needs to stop. You can’t keep clinging to the past forever.”

“It’s your fault they’re gone!!” He roared, slamming a fist into the wall. Perrine ran into her room, not wanting to hear anymore.

“You’re the one that caused it, Ed. Stop scapegoating me,” Aunt Mao snapped right back with venom in her voice.

The orange haired girl watched as her aunt left the Innocenti premises. There was just so much pain swirling in her heart. Confusion. Anger. Frustration. Resentment. First her father intended on keeping her locked in the house for God knows why, and now he’s forbidding Perrine from seeing Aunt Mao. The very fabric of her life was being torn into shreds. She couldn’t let him get away with this. As soon as Aunt Mao left, Perrine was quick to barge into his office. “Why did you kick Aunt Mao out?!”

Eduardo put down his pen. “Perrine, it’s not proper to barge into--”

Not proper. The sound of those annoying words made her cringe. Proper this, ladylike that. What else was he going to chide her for? “I can’t believe you just kicked her out like she was garbage! She’s your sister!!”

Her father stood up. “I’m sorry, Perrine. It’s for your own good. I know you love your aunt, but I’m afraid she is a bad influence on you.”

Bad influence? To Perrine, her Aunt Mao was a lot of things, but she was by absolutely no means bad. There was just no way. “How so?! Because she actually likes me for me?! Because she doesn’t make me do all this stupid stuff you made me do?! Because she actually treats me like I matter?! Because she doesn’t try to keep me here all the time?!”

Eduardo left his desk and walked over to his angry daughter. The defiant look in her blue eyes was unmistakable. It was the same look that Aunt Mao would give him sometimes. “You cannot behave this way, Perrine. She feeds you stupid ideas and continues to spoil you. You must become a lady--”

“Come on! Do you realize how stupid you sound?!” Perrine interrupted once more. “I can’t become a lady! I don’t even want to! I’m sick of all this! Sick of everything! What’s wrong with wanting to become a pokemon trainer?!”

A large, rocky hand struck her cheek. Although it wasn’t strong enough to send her falling to the floor, the sting was still painful. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. “Perrine Sophronia Innocenti. You will never, EVER talk of becoming a pokemon trainer! I can’t believe you...want to pursue something so barbaric!! Why can’t you be obedient?!”

Barbaric. Of course. He would always say that whenever she would talk about becoming a trainer. The tears finally came out. No longer could she hide her anger. The injustice of it all took hold of her, and an all-consuming fury seized her whole. “I FREAKING HATE YOOOOU!!” With that, she stormed out of the room. He had expected her to run to her room, like she always would. Contrary to his expectations, she went running out the front door.

Run. That was all she wanted to do. Run. Find Aunt Mao. Convince her that she isn’t a bad influence. More than anything, she wanted to go live with her. Learn everything she could about pokemon, gym leaders, how to become the champion of Johto, everything. She would train hard, love her pokemon, and be the best in all of Johto, possibly the world. Screw her father! He wasn’t worth it in her eyes.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she had ran farther than she ever did. The screech of a rattata, whose tail she accidentally stepped on, brought her back to reality. It bit her hard on her shoe with its big teeth, but it wasn’t enough to cut through it. After that, the rattata crawled into a rusty silver trash can. Brown rust spots dotted it. She stopped to take in her surroundings.

None of it was in any way like the neighborhood she knew. Abandoned houses lined the streets. Roof tiles had fallen off, some being completely broken, shattered into pieces. Multicolored graffiti covered the glass windows and chipped paint. Trash was everywhere. Everything from candy wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic cans, and even glass shards were all over the place. Perrine couldn’t walk one step without stepping on something. At one point, white gum latched onto the bottom of her right shoe. Gold bullet casings shone in the sunlight. Some houses were completely boarded up with big wood squares or rectangles.

Yet another shiver of ice ran through her. Where in the world was she? This wasn’t a place she had been to before. She had no idea something like this was even here. How far had she ran? Fear began to gradually seize her. She had heard the stories, but she never expected to be in a place like this. She stopped at an abandoned dark blue car, with its hood still open. One of the windows had been broken into, with glass lying around on the leather seat. Perrine glanced at one brick house, with orange graffiti on one part of it reading BUY CRACK AND METH HERE, with a cursory arrow pointing to a basement window.

‘Oh no...I’m really lost…’ She thought, slumping to her knees. The gravel dug into her white stockings, already leaving brown marks on them. This time, she couldn’t hold the tears back. Perhaps she would never fulfill her dream of becoming a trainer. Some druggie would probably find her, stab her with a knife, or shoot her, or sell her to someone, and leave her for dead. She had no phone, so there was no way she could call her parents, and there were no pay phones around either. Finally, she found herself bawling loudly.

It was all she could do. She couldn’t fight, as she didn’t know any martial arts skills, or any self-defense skills for that matter. What could she do? She thought she was done for. She figured she might as well accept her fate and let it all out.

“Vul?”

A tiny voice pulled her out of her spiel. She looked down to find a small pokemon cautiously approaching her. A small fox, with reddish orange fur, brown paws, and six round, fluffy, bright orange tails, matching the tuft of fur on its head. Its grey eyes watched Perrine curiously yet cautiously. “What’s a vulpix doing here?” She asked herself in a low voice. “Umm...hello.”

“Vulpix!”

The vulpix came closer, sniffing Perrine’s hand with its small nose. Before long, it stuck its tongue out and gently licked her hand. This brought a smile back to Perrine’s face. “What are you doing in a place like this?” She asked. Vulpix came closer, this time it jumped on Perrine’s lap.

“Vul!”

“Did your trainer abandon you?”

The vulpix looked down at Perrine’s skirt sadly. Perrine returned the affectionate gesture by stroking the tuft of fur on its head. “Now what stupid idiot would abandon a cutie pie like you? It’s dangerous around here,” Soon, the vulpix reached up to Perrine’s face and licked her tears away. “Aww! That tickles! You’re so sweet!”

“Vul!”

“Would you...like to be my friend?”

Its response was rubbing its head against Perrine’s chest. To Perrine, this was a good enough answer. “I’d love to be your friend.”

(end flashback)

“Ohhh! So that’s how you met Kitsune!” Julia exclaimed. Caiseal was so absorbed by Perrine’s story that he didn’t say a word. Kitsune herself sat on Perrine’s lap, like she did back when they met in the slums. “So how’d you get back home?”

“Someone found me and took me to her house. She called my parents and they picked me up. But I managed to sneak Kitsune into the car and…” Perrine stroke Kitsune’s fur once more. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

“How did you get to be a trainer?” Caiseal asked.

“About two months ago, I applied to get a PokeDex and a trainer card. When my card came in the mail, I knew I had to take this chance,” Perrine explained. “So Kitsune and I went all the way to New Bark Town so I could get them. I wasn’t expecting to pick out one of the starters, but I couldn’t reject Professor Elm’s kindness, plus I wanted a chikorita anyway. I knew Mom and Dad would never let me be a trainer, but I left anyway,” She balled a hand into a fist. “I want to be a good trainer. See the world and become the champion, no matter what it takes.”

“You’re not the only one with parent problems,” Caiseal piped in.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t wanna go into details,” Caiseal began. “But let’s just say I’m an unwanted kid.”

“Huh?!” Julia suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tokiko’s gone!”

What the kids didn’t know was that Eduardo watched them from his study. Unlike before, he didn’t have the same stern, disappointed look in his eyes. Instead, he turned his attention to a framed picture on his desk. It showed five children, four boys and one girl. The girl was holding a chikorita in her arms. A dark skinned boy was flashing a large smile. One of his teeth was missing. Next to the framed picture was a newspaper article detailing an onix wreaking havoc on Azalea Town. Three children died in the rampage.

Jean Wheatley, 13.
Dejour Hoode, 13.
Malcolm Thomas, 13.

The article also detailed two kids escaping. Siblings Mao and Eduardo Innocenti. “My friends…” He mused to himself in a low, sad voice before burying his face in his arms. His shoulders hunched up and down as though he were sobbing. “I don’t want to lose Perrine...like I lost you…”

“Choki!” A tiny, squeaky voice pulled the man out of his thoughts. He looked down to find a tiny togepi waddling into his study. This was a first.

“My word…” He stood up and kneeled before the tiny, smiling pokemon. Wasn’t this one of Perrine’s friend’s pokemon. He saw that brown haired girl release it from a pokeball, so this little one must be hers. “What are you doing here?” The little togepi had a cursory bouquet of purple wild flowers in her arms. Probably from the backyard.

“Choki choki!” Tokiko took one of the flowers and handed it to the large man before her. It was odd that such a small pokemon wasn’t afraid of a large man towering over her. He could easily crush her. This little togepi didn’t look the least bit afraid. Taken aback by the little one’s kind gesture, he began wondering. Maybe, just maybe...pokemon trainers weren’t bad after all? He used two fingers to take the flower out of Tokiko’s arms.

“Thank you, little one. You are very kind.”

“Choki!” Tokiko cheered happily, as if to say, “You’re welcome!” Even Eduardo couldn’t stop the smile that tickled his face from appearing.

“Tokiko! There you are!” Julia rushed into the room and cradled the little togepi in her arms. “You shouldn’t wander off like that. You should tell me if you want to go somewhere,” She told her. The girl tried to keep a kind but still authoritative tone, hoping she didn’t come off as too harsh. “Sorry about that, sir.”

“It’s quite alright, miss,” Eduardo said.

Julia was about to leave, but a bloodcurdling scream made her freeze in place. Eduardo stood up in alarm. “That came from downstairs!” Both he and Julia rushed down to the entrance...only to find some of the butlers and maids unconscious except for one.

“Master! Call the police!” A young maid cried before a large arbok smacked her across the room with its tail.

“What’s going on?!” Perrine yelled as she and Caiseal arrived on the scene.

“Chaaaaa-baka!” An arbok howled at them. Perrine could make out someone wearing black clothes, with a red R emblazoned on his shirt. Green hair protruded out from underneath his hat. She recognized that green hair.

“Proton!”

“Children! Get back!” Eduardo commanded in a booming voice. Caiseal was quick to run through the house in an attempt to find a phone.

“Hm, so this is the Innocenti estate, eh?” Proton mused in a condescending tone of voice.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?!” Eduardo yelled.

“Dad, don’t!” Perrine grabbed her father’s arm worriedly. “He’s part of Team Rocket!”

“Tokiko! Use Extrasensory!” Julia commanded with her eyes squeezed shut. Tokiko’s eyes glowed in a purple light as the arbok was suddenly levitated into the air. Before long, arbok was thrown right at Proton, who simply took one step out of the way as the purple cobra rolled onto the front yard.

“Children! Come with me!” Eduardo grabbed both girls by their hands and dragged them from the scene, with the pokemon following suit. The man’s grip was like iron, his large hands wrapping around the girls’ arms so tight, it felt like their arms were being suffocated. They all ran downstairs into a basement, and found themselves crammed into a small bathroom that could barely fit three people. It was a wonder that all of Perrine’s pokemon were able to fit in there, right along with them.

“Where’s Caiseal?!” Julia yelped, clinging to Hikaru like a lost child. “That Proton guy might hurt him!”

Perrine tugged on her father’s sleeve with a desperate, pleading look. “Dad! Please, let us go out there and fight them! It’s the only way!”

“No! Absolutely not!!” Eduardo roared. “I refuse to let you go out there and get killed!!”

“Dad! Come on! We’re trainers! We can beat him! I’ve done it before!!” Perrine shouted.

“No you can’t!” The girls could tell the older man was just not having it. Even in this desperate situation, he wasn’t going to budge one bit. This was not the time for arguing, but what else could they do?

“We know what we’re doing! Please, Dad! Let us fight them!”

BANG! BANG! “Chaaaaa!” Arbok’s head banged against the bathroom door.

“Father knows best!!” The door came flying off. Kitsune was quick to fire a stream of flames at the giant cobra, making it back away. Eduardo took the kids by the hands once again and pulled them away. The pokemon once again followed suit. All of a sudden, both the arbok and a large blue bat pokemon surrounded them on both sides.

“Sweet Kiss on both of them!” Julia commanded. Tokiko made kissy noises before pink hearts floated over to both enemies. Unfortunately, the arbok sliced them with its tail, and the big blue bat flapped its wings vigorously, making them disappear.

“Choki…” The fear on Eduardo’s wrinkled face was unmistakable.

Proton smirked, taking great pleasure in seeing the unadulterated fear on his victims’ faces. “Arbok, use Poison Sting. Golbat, use Air Slash.”

Arbok opened its large maw, shooting white needles at them. The golbat flapped its wings once, and blue sickles came flying at them. They would have hit them, had Tokiko not glowed in a white light. Soon, a glowing green bubble consumed everyone, rendering the attacks completely useless. The green bubble was big enough to completely encase everyone inside, the other pokemon included. “Wow! Tokiko, you just learned Protect, didn’t you?!”

“Choki!”

“Oh lord...we really are trapped…” Eduardo stammered, his body trembling with fear.

“We don’t have to be!” Perrine shouted. The arbok slammed the bubble with its tail. The golbat tried to slice through the bubble with its wings. They didn’t leave even so much as a dent. “Come on, Dad! Let us battle them! We know what we’re doing! Please!” Perrine begged, her voice going up an octave.

“No you don’t!”

That did it for Julia. As much as she tried to stay out of their business, as her parents drilled it into her head that she should never meddle in someone’s private or personal business...she had to intervene. “Yes she does! She’s a good trainer! She was the one who stopped Team Rocket from stealing the slowpoke at Azalea Town! She’s already won three badges already! That should tell you how capable she is, Mr. Innocenti!” She shouted.

“Vuuuul!” Kitsune echoed Julia’s statement.

“No!” Eduardo shouted. “No no no no no no no no no! I know my daughter! I know what she does every second of the day!” He counted his fingers. “All of her activities, all of her internet...I don’t know what kind of influence you have on her…” Julia squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Did he really have to put her on the spot. “But she is not some barbaric hooligan, and I refuse to let her get herself killed!!”

“YOU DON’T KNOW ME AT ALL!!” Perrine finally shouted at the top of her lungs. “This is what I freaking hate about you, Dad! All you care about is you, you, you, you, you! Stop trying to protect me and make me into some glass porcelain doll you can show off to your coworkers and friends! I’m not some robot you can manipulate to do your bidding!! Didn’t it ever occur to you that all you’re doing is trying to keep me in a glass box all the time?! I’ll never be the perfect lady you want me to be! You’ve been absolutely nothing but suffocating my entire life, and I’M SICK OF IT!!”

This time, the golbat bared its fangs. “Oh, for the love of Arceus! Tokiko, drop the bubble!”

Julia got the message. She kneeled down to the egg’s level and whispered something. Tokiko nodded obediently and made the bubble dissipate, but not before making it bigger so as to push the arbok and golbat away. “Kitsune, use Flamethrower on arbok! Fukuro and Chirin, use Confusion and Thundershock on golbat!”

Their pokemon nodded, and carried out Perrine’s commands with flying colors. The flames danced all around arbok, burning its skin. The golbat was struck by Chirin’s thunder, its body jerking from being electrocuted. Fukuro’s eyes glowed in an eerie red light, trapping the helpless golbat in place as Chirin electrocuted it. “Baloo, use Disarming Voice on that green haired rocketeer over there!” Baloo made a spiral of red and pink hearts fly right at the man. This gave them the chance to escape into the backyard.

Wailing sirens caught their ears. Men dressed in blue uniforms stormed into the house. Three of them managed to catch four rocket grunts. Eduardo sat down on a bench. His large face was a mixture of fright, confusion, frustration, and possibly many more emotions none of the kids could make out. Eduardo wrapped his arms around himself, hugging himself, or maybe he was trying to protect himself from everything going on around him.

“Is that...how you’ve always felt?” Eduardo murmured weakly. “Have I...really been too controlling?”

Perrine didn’t mince words. “Yes! Yes you have!”

“Perrine!” Even Julia was taken aback by her friend’s bluntness. She wished she could be that upfront.

“Dad...I always thought...you hated me...for not being perfect…” Perrine confessed, her small voice trembling. “All those things you made me do...the things I could never do...sewing, tea ceremony, piano...I had thought you saw me as a big mistake…”

“What?! A mistake?!” Eduardo stood up, his eyes having gotten large, like saucers. “No no! Perrine, I...you’re not a mistake! You’re my daughter! I...I just…” He scratched his hair with one hand. “I just wanted to be a good father. To protect you. I can’t believe...I made you feel so...worthless…” He sat back down, taking in everything his daughter told him. “I...I need some wine…this is just too much…”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry I made you and Mom worry. Really, I am,” Perrine balled her fists tightly once more. “I just wanted to go out and fulfill my dream. I want to see the world and do great things.”

Eduardo didn’t say anything after that.

***

Despite the police’s efforts, Proton was nowhere to be found. It was assumed he had escaped. But they were able to tell the Innocentis that Team Rocket were intent on stealing their money and their estate. For what purpose, nobody knew. Thankfully, the butlers and maids were taken to the hospital, and nobody else was hurt. Caiseal was the one who helped the police catch the other grunts with the help of his pokemon.

Rocio and Eduardo offered to let the kids spend the night here, since they figured they might have been tired from both their journey and the burglary. When night fell, Perrine took a shower. Once she got out, she was surprised to find her mother sitting on her bed with a soft expression, holding Kitsune in her arms. “Mom.”

“Your friend is adorable,” Rocio crooned, petting Kitsune’s fur gently. The little fox basked in the older woman’s affection. Perrine sat down next to her.

“She is.”

“Of course. You have taken care of her for a long time, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve had her since you were trapped in the slums, right?”

Perrine stood up in alarm. “How did you…?!”

“I came home early one day and heard you talking to her,” Rocio confessed. “You were telling this little one how happy you were that she comforted you that day. You were so happy. Happier than you had ever been,” The woman looked down at the little fox with a warm smile. “I didn’t want to separate you two. I knew it would hurt you terribly. I understand why you ran away, and...I’m not mad at you for wanting to fulfill your dream.”

“Mom…” Perrine was taken aback by her mother’s confession. Rocio knew she had Kitsune that whole time, and not once did she tell anyone about it. Not even Eduardo. True, her mother was more sensitive and caring than Eduardo was, but as far as she knew, she also didn’t like pokemon trainers.

“Personally, I still don’t approve of the choice you made,” Rocio began. “But...as a mother, your happiness is important to me, so...as long as you’re happy, you can go on your journey. I have no right to hold you back. After all, you were going to leave the nest sooner or later, so I figure why not.”

“Mom…” Perrine couldn’t help herself. She wrapped her arms around her mother, and Rocio hugged her back. She had no idea her mother felt this way. Perhaps coming back here was a good idea after all. If Julia hadn’t suggested it, Perrine would have avoided them entirely. Now, she learned so much after coming back.

She was only going to learn more the next morning. After breakfast, Eduardo gestured for Perrine to come to his office. For once, she didn’t disobey. Eduardo sat down at his desk, with Perrine sitting in front of him. “So...what did you want to talk about, Dad?”

“Perrine...I want to apologize,” Eduardo told her in a warm, gentle voice. This was quite unlike him. Perrine’s mouth fell open. “You’re right. I have been far too controlling. I should have been more sensitive and caring, like Rocio. All I wanted was for you to have a good life. A secure future, where you could thrive and be happy and secure. I was afraid...that you becoming a pokemon trainer...would destroy any semblance of a future you had. But even then, I was too harsh on you.”

The orange haired girl listened this time. She was so sure Eduardo would continue to be harsh and scold her for what she had done. For a moment, she thought an alien had come to Earth and replaced him with a nicer clone. “I should have tried to understand you. I should have let you do what made you happy,” Eduardo pulled a newspaper clipping out and handed it to Perrine. She skimmed over it, noting the names Mao and Eduardo. Her aunt and father.

“Truth be told, I had wanted to become a trainer myself, like Mao. She had gotten her first pokemon the day before, and she was elated. I didn’t get one, because Mother and Father didn’t trust me. They were right. It happened when your aunt and I were silly little children…” Eduardo began.

(flashback)

“Come on, guys! It’s this way!” Four boys of about thirteen raced down the edge of Union Cave. An older girl of fifteen years raced after them with just as much enthusiasm. The girl had sunny blonde hair tied into a French braid, tied up with a pink ribbon, and her hazel eyes gleamed at the chance to have her first pokemon battle. She was wearing blue overalls over a yellow shirt and dirty brown sneakers. A chikorita kept close, never straying from its path.

“Hey, Mao! Catch me if you can!” A young Eduardo teased, chasing his friends.

“Come on, Ed! Quit it!” The girl with the braid--Mao--shouted back. “And tell Jean, Malcolm, and Dejour to slow down a little!”

The three rowdy boys didn’t slow down one bit, and had already reached the trees where the end of Union Cave stood long before Eduardo and Mao had. Eduardo was a small boy back then, with scraggly black hair that would always cover his blue eyes, no matter how much he would brush them. “Whoa! Hey, guys!” One of the boys, Dejour, called out.

Eduardo and Mao stopped to listen. “What is it?”

“You gotta come check this out!” Dejour motioned for them to come closer. Mao, Eduardo, and the chikorita finally managed to catch up. The five kids were standing before a large onix, curled up in a swirl shape, sleeping in front of the cave entrance contentedly. Its body rose and fell with every loud snore. Mao covered her ears, inadvertently pushing up her pink hat.

“It’s a real life Onix, dude!” The orange haired boy, Jean, exclaimed, marveling at the onix’s large size.

“It’s huuuuge! That oughta be my first pokemon for sure!” The dark skinned boy, Malcolm, shouted.

“Shhh! You’ll wake it up!” Mao hissed, putting a finger to her mouth.

Eduardo scratched his hair. “Man, this thing’s blocking the entrance. I wanna catch a sandshrew already…” He moaned. The kids had come to the cave to try their hands at catching their first pokemon.

“I think we should go back,” Mao mused out loud.

All four boys whipped their heads around to give Mao surprised expressions. “What?! Come on, Mao!” Eduardo screamed. “You’re the one who suggested we come here in the first place!”

“That was before this onix came along!” Mao explained. “You know how dangerous these things are. If you disturb it, it’ll go crazy, and it could destroy Azalea Town! Heck, it could even kill you all!”

Malcolm kicked a pebble at the onix’s hard skin. It didn’t leave a dent, nor did it wake it in any way. “What? You too chicken? Bok bok bok!” He folded his arms and flapped them like a chicken would flap its wings.

“I’m serious, guys!” Mao shouted, appalled by their lack of understanding of the situation. “You don’t wanna mess with an onix!”

“Quit being such a stick in the mud, Mao,” Eduardo said as he pulled out a bottle of water. “You really are stupid.”

“Don’t you dare, Ed!” Mao lunged at her little brother to yank the water bottle out of his hand. She knew all too well that onix didn’t like water. But Jean and Dejour held her back by holding onto both her arms.

“Splash it! Splash it! Splash it!” Malcolm chanted. Jean and Dejour joined right in. “Splash it! Splash it! Splash it! Splash it!”

Encouraged by his friends’ chanting, Eduardo undid the cap on the water bottle. With a swing of his arm, water came cascading out of the bottle, splashing right onto the onix’s sleeping face. Big mistake. That was all it took for the onix to shoot right awake, and it let out a mighty roar. “RUN!!” Mao grabbed Eduardo and pulled him away from the enraged onix. Jean, Dejour, and Malcolm scrambled after them, their eyes all wide with undiluted fear.

Rocks came piling down. A dust cloud consumed everything. Mao and Eduardo were weighed down by something heavy piling up on them. Everything went black.

The next thing he knew, he found himself in a white hospital room, tucked underneath a snow white blanket. Gauze covered both his arms, and a stream of it had wrapped around his forehead. He wasn’t able to bend his leg, as something hard was wrapped around it. A minty, medicinal smell assailed his nostrils. The first thing he saw was rectangle shaped fluorescent lights hovering over him, blinking. Dark and light.

“Ed! Little bro! You’re okay!” Mao buried her face in her hands, sobbing. “Thank Arceus! I thought I lost you forever!”

“Mao…?” Little Eduardo wriggled out from underneath the blankets, sitting himself up to get a better look at her. “Where am I?”

“The hospital. Someone saw us get hurt and called 911.”

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re on their way. You’ve only been out for about an hour,” Eduardo noticed the bandages wrapped around Mao’s left leg and right arm. A pack of gauze was taped to her forehead, and her braid had come completely undone, leaving pale brown her hair a tangled, scraggly mess.

But three people were missing, and they both knew it. “Where are the guys?” Mao squeezed her eyes shut and looked away, unable to respond. Her cheeks were red, and the fluorescent lights revealed the drying tears. He looked up at a window and saw two people talking to a doctor. A dark skinned woman with black hair tied in a bun was holding her husband’s hand. “Hey! That’s Malcolm's mom!” He exclaimed with a smile. Maybe she came to pick him up. Maybe he was...okay?

The doctor shook his head silently, with a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes. A piercing scream echoed throughout the hospital chambers, loud enough for even the kids to hear it, as their door was open. Malcolm’s mother fell to her knees like she had been hit, clutching her husband’s sleeve for dear life, wailing like a dying animal. A shiver of ice ran through Eduardo’s body.

It couldn’t be true. They just couldn’t be…

“Ed. I’m sorry...they’re gone…” Mao whimpered.

It had to be a lie. This had to be some terrible dream. A horrific nightmare. Of course he would wake up in due time. Wasn’t it about time he woke up? No. The gauze on his body proved it. Of all the days he knew Malcolm’s mother, he was sure she was never one to cry. She was always jovial, with a smile on her face like a sunflora. The sound that came out of her mouth didn’t sound as though it belonged to her. High heels stomped against the tile floor as Malcolm’s mother burst through the door. Eduardo froze as soon as they made eye contact. Rage. That was all he saw in her eyes. Absolutely nothing but undiluted rage.

“YOU!!” She stomped over to the hospital bed. “You did this!! My son is dead because of you!!”

“No! Mrs. Thomas! Please!” Mao threw herself in between the hospital bed and the hysterical mother.

“Bring my child back!! Bring him back!! Bring them all back!!” She wailed with contempt in her voice.

“Mrs. Thomas! He didn’t know what was gonna happen!” Mao explained. “Please, don’t be mad! He didn’t mean it, honest!”

Hearing Mrs. Thomas’s words was like a thunderbolt striking in a clear blue sky. The weight of what happened piled right on him, like the world was on his shoulders. His weak body trembled. The screams of his friends echoed through his mind.

It was his fault.

No. No no no. It couldn’t be. He shook his head vigorously to force those awful feelings out. Jean, Malcolm, and Dejour weren’t dead because of him. Already he was telling himself that they didn’t die because of him. How could he possibly deal with this? Where were his mother and father? Before he could stop himself, he suddenly shouted, “Yeah! It was your fault, Mao!”

Mao’s fault? Both Mao and Mrs. Thomas turned to face the tearful Eduardo. Even Mrs. Thomas stopped yelling at this point. “Little bro! You know that’s not true!” Mao exclaimed.

He tried everything to deny it. Denying everything. Denying his own part in it. He couldn’t accept it. Why not make Mao take the fall for it? After all, she got a pokemon and he didn’t. She was the smart one and he wasn’t. Why couldn’t something go wrong in her life for once? “You splashed the water on that onix!! You killed my friends!!”

(end flashback)

Warm tears trickled down Perrine’s face, dripping onto the newspaper clipping. She looked up and saw Eduardo at his desk, silently crying, letting the tears flow. This made her speechless. Not once had she ever seen her father cry in all her years of living. She didn’t think he ever could cry. “I...I had no idea…”

“Losing my friends…” Eduardo’s voice caught in his throat, giving it a sad tone. Even he seemed to be surprised by how utterly broken he sounded. “...hurt me more than you could ever imagine. But I couldn’t accept that I had gotten them killed, so...I blamed your aunt for it. Yes, that was how utterly stupid I was, Perrine! In fact, I still am stupid!”

The pieces came together in Perrine’s head. All these years he was strict with her...he was trying to dissuade her from becoming a pokemon trainer, all in an attempt to keep her safe, like he couldn’t protect his friends. She knew it didn’t excuse what he did, but at least now she had some answers. “I was a prideful child. I never liked to accept responsibility for anything, so...I tried to make Mao take the fall for it. That’s why...we don’t get along, even now,” He put a hand on his head, letting out a tired sigh. “My parents didn’t know what to do with me. I went to counseling, therapy...everything. I even went to a different school. I was...so scared of pokemon after that. I studied hard to be what I am today...I tried to move on. I tried to forget about them. But then Mao left…”

“You became a pokemon trainer?! Even after what happened?!”

“Yes, I did. What’s wrong with that?”

“Have you no remorse for what happened to them?!”

“I’m doing this to honor them! Unlike you, I know how to move on. I made my peace with them.”

“When I found out Mao went on a journey anyway...I hated her for leaving. I thought I had lost someone yet again to pokemon...I didn’t even go to her coronation or congratulate her when she became the champion…” More sobs escaped his mouth. “I blamed her for years. My refusal to let go of the past...made me the terrible person you see before you. Every time I saw her...I saw my friends dying...and I couldn’t bear it. There’s no excuse for the way I treated you and her.”

Perrine fell silent. Her father had never told her any of this. “I...I appreciate you telling me all of this. You...didn’t have to.”

“No. I needed to,” Eduardo stood up, his body shaking from the awful memories flooding his brain. “I have to. I can’t...run away anymore. I can’t keep protecting you and blaming Mao for something that wasn’t her fault. The whole thing was mine. I can’t keep blaming others for it anymore. Only I can carry my sins on my shoulders.”

“You talk like you’re serving the death penalty.”

“Seeing you with your friends and pokemon...looking so jovial, so alive...finally made me forget my hatred,” Eduardo told her. Even he couldn’t deny it. Perrine loved pokemon, and would continue to do so, no matter what. Perhaps it was time to finally accept it. He kneeled before Perrine and said, with a kind expression on his wrinkled face, “Your mother and I were talking, and...Perrine. Go on your journey.”

Perrine’s eyes widened. Did he just say that she thought she heard. “I was wrong to treat you the way I did. It scares me that...you’re going out all alone. It’s a parent’s job to pull you back when you get in over your head. But even I know I can’t protect you forever. I was selfish, Perrine. But I won’t be selfish anymore,” He wrapped his arms around his daughter and pulled her close. “You are my most precious treasure, Perrine. I won’t stop you from fulfilling your dream, anymore. Go and be the best pokemon trainer you can be. No matter what, you’ll always be my daughter…”

That was when it hit her. All this time, she kept her heart stiff and cold toward them, so she could survive the harsh journey and the life ahead of her. Suddenly, everything felt melted and soft, and the tears returned. She cried into her father’s tuxedo, ruining his tie, not that either cared, and both felt a warmth and comfort that they hadn’t felt for a long time.

Caiseal watched from a crack in the door. Despite the heartwarming scene before him, all he felt was disappointment. Apollo and Mallow looked up at him with concerned expressions, wondering what was going on in his mind. This was a happy occasion, so why wasn’t he happy, they asked themselves. “Durn. I thought I could relate to her…” He turned around, recoiling at the scene unraveling before him.

A voice he didn’t want to hear came back into his mind, screaming, “I wish you were never born!!”

“Quil quil!”

“Cubone!”

“Yeah. I should have expected this,” Caiseal scratched his arm with one hand. “Oh well.”

About a few hours later, the kids were ready to return to the wilderness. Rocio walked over to Perrine and said, “I talked to Professor Elm earlier. I arranged for all of your future pokemon to be transferred here, so we can take care of them ourselves. That way, if you ever come home, you can play with your friends.”

“I appreciate it, Mom. Thank you,” Perrine hugged her mother.

Julia looked over at Caiseal and said, “It seems everything worked out!”

“Yeah. It did,” Caiseal replied sheepishly.

“Choki!” Tokiko chirped in agreement.

“Be careful, Perrine. Call us if you need anything,” Eduardo told her.

“I will.”

“Oh,” He looked up at Julia, who held Tokiko in her arms. “You’re...Julia, right?”

“Uhh…” Julia looked down at Tokiko, focusing on the yellow spikes on her head to avert Eduardo’s gaze. “Y-Y-Y-Yes?”

“You and Caiseal seem like good kids. Take good care of my daughter. Would you please?”

“Uhh...sure! We’ll try!”

“I have something for your little friend here,” He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small, shiny, glistening silver bell, the size of a marble, with a red string holding it up like a necklace. A small, pale yellow ribbon matching Tokiko’s skin sat on top of the bell. “It’s for you, little togepi.”

“Choki!” Tokiko grabbed the bell so fast she almost dropped it. Julia was quick to grab it.

Eduardo smiled, marveling at the little pokemon’s grateful expression. “It’s a soothe bell. They help foster a bond between a trainer and the pokemon wearing it.”

“Wow...thank you, sir…” Julia wasn’t sure what she did to warrant this, but Tokiko seemed happy, and she figured it’d be rude to refuse his kindness, so why not. “Say thank you, Tokiko.”

“Choki kriiii!”

“If you ever plan on going to another gym, there’s one in Ecruteak City,” Rocio announced. “Morty, the gym leader, uses--”

“Ghost and poison types. I know, Mom,” Perrine said, giving both her parents one final hug. Julia froze, her stance becoming rigid at the mere utterance at the word poison types. “Thank you both. I love you.”

“We love you too, Perrine.”

With this, the kids left the Innocenti mansion with light hearts. Perrine found herself skipping along the golden roads with a radiant smile. Coming here had been a good idea after all. Now, her resolve was stronger than ever.

***

Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Protect).

Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), and Snubbull (Female, Gentle Nature, Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, Scary Face).

Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Skiploom (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)

Pokemon At Professor Elm’s Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)

Caiseal: Cubone (Male, Lax Nature, Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, and Growl), Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl), Oddish (Male, Quirky Nature, Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Sweet Scent), Quagsire (Female, Jolly Nature, Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Mud Bomb), and Murkrow (Female, Hardy Nature, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Haze, and Dark Pulse).

 

[System Error]

More reviewing! Wow, a rarity for me. But now that the secondary characters have gotten more screentime, it kinda feels right to do so.

I figured out what was bugging me about Perrine. She's a good character, but as far as the friend dynamic is concerned, it feels she's almost too idealistic a friend for Julia. Caiseal is the opposite, he's essentially a foil who's bothered by every little quirk of hers, so much so that I'm going to guess he has something of own, maybe obsessive compulsive disorder. I'll get to him proper in a bit. But so far as their interactions with Julia, the two are basically black and white, night and day. It's not something that's bad short-term, but the whole "Julia can do no wrong"/"Julia is weird" bit might drag on long term. Just a small preemptive concern.

Learning about Perrine's family and extended family does give insight into why she would act as such, so it's not as though it's unjustified. Her aunt Mao 100% explains why she'd not mind Julia in the slightest. For her parents...her mother didn't get that much exposure. But to be honest, I wasn't expecting her father to be a person with a troubled past that caused him to seal himself away from Pokemon. It was a pleasant surprise to see something dark in a fic that's not excessive or forced, so well done there. Ironically, he and Julia kind of have something in common in that regard. They even used the same term to describe Pokemon training, "barbaric". Also, I was not expecting Perrine to be a ninja person.

Like with Perrine before, it's still too early to fully judge Caiseal. I definitely find him more interesting than Perrine. Can't really describe it well, but I guess the best way I can put it at present is that he's more expressive and has more opinions than her. His little crush on Perrine is cute, and shows the kind of women he's interested in. There's quite a few small details that are there to be picked up about him, such as him expecting people to know what Adamant means when you're 11, or being very much a kid himself in ways despite being opinionated against people who act that way. Being unwanted by his parents is interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the exact nature of it is. Like, what kind of motivation would his parents have to even have that kind of opinion?

Other bits...the new twist with Amara gives some insight to her character, albeit in a way that just raises more questions. I was expecting her to show up because Azalea Rival, and she did, just a bit later than expected. I like how she trains less Pokemon, but because of this focus, they're individually stronger. Good job implementing Team Rocket a bit more. I felt the Innocentis should've had like security or something, but given Eduardo's opinion on Pokemon, it's not too unreasonable that they don't. And Julia herself, despite her initial unease at getting into them, is actually proving to have a strategic mind when it comes to Pokemon battles, as evidenced by the Whitney encounter. That's one way of stopping a Rollout of Doom(tm).

That's about it for now. At least, all that I can think to comment on. Keep up the good work!!

 

[Juliko]

I figured out what was bugging me about Perrine. She's a good character, but as far as the friend dynamic is concerned, it feels she's almost too idealistic a friend for Julia. Caiseal is the opposite, he's essentially a foil who's bothered by every little quirk of hers, so much so that I'm going to guess he has something of own, maybe obsessive compulsive disorder. I'll get to him proper in a bit. But so far as their interactions with Julia, the two are basically black and white, night and day. It's not something that's bad short-term, but the whole "Julia can do no wrong"/"Julia is weird" bit might drag on long term. Just a small preemptive concern.

Ahhhh. I see. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try and rectify that in later chapters when school isn't bombarding me with tests and homework and papers. Do you have any suggestions on how to make Perrine a bit more flawed? I already have plans on Caiseal becoming more used to Julia in later chapters.

It was a pleasant surprise to see something dark in a fic that's not excessive or forced

It's funny you say that, because many people tell me whenever I make a story dark, it comes off as excessive and forced. I'm glad I did something right for once! *hugs*

 

[Juliko]

Chapter 12: I Can Take Care of My Pokemon!

Eduardo Innocenti sat at his desk, writing on some important papers. A beautiful night sky, cut in a square, came through his window, with the stars shining brightly, just like usual. After what seemed to be hours, he put his pen down and straightened the papers out by tapping them on the desk. “That should do it,” He looked over to a family photo. A mahogany frame held together a picture of himself, Rocio, and a ten year old Perrine standing on a balcony, overlooking a beautiful, sparkling ocean.

A smile pushed the corners of his mouth upward. How was Perrine doing, he wondered. She had left for her journey just this afternoon, after they finally managed to work things out. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, he finally felt at peace. With both himself and the demons he tried so hard to push away. The dread he used to feel had finally decided to leave. Then again, it was he who finally pushed it out. But there was still one thing he needed to do.

Mao. He looked at a framed picture on his wall. It showed a woman in her thirties wearing blue overalls over a white shirt, brown boots, and a pink hat on her head, surrounded by pokemon, holding a large trophy with a tearful smile. Multicolored confetti was flying all over the place. Even the pokemon had jovial smiles on their faces. Eduardo smiled at the picture. Normally, he would look upon it with disgust. Now, those days were gone.

Still...he couldn’t help but yearn for the chance to talk with Mao again. Any time they did talk, all they did was argue and fight, no matter the situation. In his heart, he knew Mao didn’t deserve that. No more running away this time. He picked up the phone, punched in some numbers, and held it up to his ear. Three rings echoed in his ear before a female voice answered the phone. “Hello. This is Mao Borgia.”

“Big sister? It’s your little brother, Eduardo.”

“Eduardo?!” Mao screamed so loud he had to pull himself away from the phone. After a brief period of silence, she calmed down. “You never call me,” She replied, her voice adopting a slightly scornful tone. “What do you want? Make it quick, because cross-region calls are a dollar a minute.”

“Mao...I...I want to apologize.”

“For what?”

“Everything. From that day. For...blaming you for it. Everything I’ve done to you since then. I...I should never have been so stupid.”

“Yeah, you were kinda stupid,” Eduardo flinched at the comment. As much as he appreciated Mao’s honesty, he wished she wasn’t so blunt sometimes. But then again, she was never one to hide her true feelings, unlike him. In a way, he liked that about her. She was upfront, and always straight with people.

“You never deserved the treatment I gave you. You’re not a bad influence. Everything I said to you…” Eduardo paused for a brief moment, letting his remorse do the talking. “...it describes me more than anything.”

Silence. Then… “Ed. I...I don’t know what to say…”

“You have every right to hate me. I’ve been absolutely terrible to you. I should have respected your decisions. Also…” For the first time in a long while, pride enveloped his being. “I’m proud of you. For having been the champion.”

Another silence, until, “Thanks, Ed. I...I appreciate it.”

“You’re a wonderful sister.”

“You’re a good little brother, even if you can be more stubborn than a ponyta on speed.”

Eduardo couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “That’s true.”

“How’s Perrine?”

“She’s doing well. In fact...she went on a pokemon journey.”

“Really?!” Mao exclaimed, her voice adopting a jovial tone to it. “That’s wonderful! Wait, you actually let her go on one?”

Eduardo explained everything to Mao. It took about ten minutes to fully tell the whole story, but Mao listened like the good sister she was. “I wish you had told me this stuff sooner, Ed!”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m glad to know she’s alright, and...thanks for being a dad to her for once. I’m sure she really appreciates that.”

“She does. I was selfish to hold her back for so long. Also...Mao?”

“Hm?”

“I know this sounds sudden, and you’re probably busy, but...would you...like to come visit Johto sometime? We could go out to lunch together and catch up on old times. I’m sure...the boys wouldn’t want us to be angry forever.”

Once again, silence. This time, it was a good silence. “I’d love to, Ed! My schedule’s kinda tight right now, but I’ll see what I can do. There’s no way I can reject that offer. I can’t wait to see you again. Hey, maybe I’ll run into Perrine and see how she’s doing! Where is she now?”

“I heard she’s heading to Ecruteak. If you want, I can give you her PokeGear number.”

“That’d be wonderful. Thanks, little bro.”

Finally, he was at peace. For real, this time. The last of his demons was finally kicked into oblivion.

***

Caiseal lay down on a grassy meadow, watching a gloomy grey sky loom down on everything with interested eyes. Then again, it wasn’t really the sky, as the big clouds had completely blocked it off. Not even the tiniest little sunbeam could break through those thick clouds. A gentle breeze made the grass blades dance and sway, pushing some of his blonde hair into his face. The merry sounds of pokemon laughter livened the gloomy atmosphere around him, not that he really noticed.

On the other hand, he did notice something during his time with Perrine and Julia: traveling with company was different than traveling alone. Well, he didn’t travel with kids his own age, just with pokemon. Still, it was an odd experience. He hadn’t known them very long, but other the few short days he spent with them, he had already learned a lot about them. One such thing being Perrine coming from a rich family, her intense love of ninjas, her aunt being the former champion of Johto, and wanting to be a champion like her. Smiling at the thought of Perrine being a champion one day, he silently wished her luck. He had many friends during his school days, but none of them were rich or had famous relatives. Still, Perrine herself was her own person, being outspoken yet polite, kind to everyone, though quick to scold him when he said something about Julia.

Julia...the boy wasn’t sure what to make of her. He looked over at the girl in question. “There you go, Saoirse! You got it!” She had left Aqua with her parents and exchanged her for her new friend, Saoirse the snubbull. Said snubbull rubbed herself against Julia’s cheek happily. “That tickles! You like to snuggle, don’t you?” Julia said with a merry laugh.

Not even Caiseal could prevent a smile from tickling his face. He wondered if he was wrong for constantly putting her down, even for stupid things like the way she held her utensils. He could see from the way she interacted with her pokemon that she was kind to them, treating them like family.

“Cubone?” Mallow’s concerned voice drew Caiseal out of his reverie. He sat up and stroke his friend’s skull gently.

“Hey there, Mallow. You doin’ okay?”

“Cyndaquil!” Apollo rolled on the grass, right toward Caiseal, uncurling as soon as they made contact. Caiseal cradled Apollo into his arms and nuzzled him.

“Be careful, little guy. I don’t want you getting hurt,” He told the little anteater kindly.

“You got him from Professor Elm’s lab, right?” Julia’s voice suddenly made him turn his head around. Saoirse, Hikaru, and Tokiko all looked at him with curious eyes.

“Yeah, I did,” Caiseal replied sheepishly. “Do you...want to hold him?”

“Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Apollo crawled over to Julia and sniffed her hands to see if she was safe. Soon, Julia cradled the warm, fluffy cyndaquil in her arms. Little Apollo squealed happily at Julia’s warm touch before the girl made her fingers dance across his belly. “Ooooh. I didn’t know you were ticklish, Apollo!” Julia crooned as Apollo giggled uncontrollably. Hikaru found herself laughing at the adorable sight. Tokiko just found herself approaching Mallow with a bright smile and a little wave. Mallow sheepishly returned the gesture by waving right back.

Soon enough, Julia could tell Apollo had enough and set him back down. “Aren’t you just the cutest thing!” She ruffled Apollo’s head with one hand. The anteater smiled, silently basking in the girl’s affectionate touch.

“So...how long have you been a trainer?” Caiseal asked as Apollo sat on his lap. Mallow had put his bone down to hoist a happy Tokiko in the air, like a parent would do for their child.

“For a short while, I guess. I think...about a month? I haven’t really counted,” Julia replied as Saoirse hopped on her lap, begging for pets. The girl caved in and stroke the pink bulldog’s fur with one hand back and forth. “What about you, Caiseal?”

Caiseal looked over at Mallow, who happily rolled on the grass with Tokiko. “I’ve had Mallow since I was nine. But I guess you could say I became an official trainer for about two months,” He replied in a soft voice. “I notice you don’t have one of the Johto starters. Why is that?”

“It’s kinda a weird story,” Julia began right as Blossom waddled over. “I wanted to get a chikorita, but Perrine got to the lab before I did and took it. But then I found Hikaru near death, and my mom and I took her to the lab to get healed,” The memory was strong in her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if fate had brought her and Hikaru together. Hikaru let out a “Chupi!” at Julia’s recounting of the tale. “She just got attached to me...and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” She picked Hikaru up and nuzzled her cheek against her friend’s tiny red one. “She’s my adorable friend! Then again, all of my pokemon are!”

“Pichuuu!”

“Oddish?” Blossom cooed for Julia’s attention.

“What’s wrong, Blossom?” Julia turned around, wondering what was up. Blossom held up one of her feet, which was red on the front. “Oh, did you hurt your leg? Hang on. I think I have a potion in my bag,” Julia gently put Saoirse down on the grass, dug through her bag, and pulled out a potion. “This’ll sting a little, but it’ll make your foot all better,” She sprayed the potion on the wound. The plant pokemon squeezed its eyes shut and let out a small cry, as the spraying substance felt as though she was being stung by beedrill stingers. “There! All better!”

When Blossom opened her eyes, she looked down at her foot. The injury was completely gone. “Oddish!”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Julia stroke the big leaves on her friend’s head kindly.

Caiseal smiled. “You really do love your pokemon, don’t you?”

“Of course! I’ve lived with them my whole life!” It was here that Flippy laid down on the grass, letting out a long yawn. Saoirse and Hikaru jumped onto Flippy’s belly to try and sleep on her. Since Flippy’s skin was slick and oily, they fell right down as soon as they got on. “You love your pokemon too, right?”

“Heck yeah!” Caiseal suddenly exclaimed. Julia put a hand over her ear to muffle the sound, but she could tell he was serious. It wasn’t as though he was yelling, especially not angrily. “By the way,” He said in a lower voice. “Where’s Perrine at? She’s been gone for a while.”

Julia scratched her hair with one hand. “Didn’t she say she was gonna investigate some weird tree blocking the roads?” As soon as she said that, an odd voice echoed through the air.

“Sudowoodoooooooo!” Something resembling a human sized tree suddenly ran right past them. It suddenly ripped on a rock and fell on the grass, face down. The pokemon was a tall, brown thing with small yellow spots dotting its body, with stick-like arms with large, round, green fingers at the tips. Protruding from its head was a Y-shaped forked branch, and it stood back on its forelegs. It had two small eyes and a mouth, both of which were consumed with fear.

“Whoa! What’s that pokemon?” Caiseal was quick to pull out his PokeDex and examine it.

“Sudowoodo, the imitation pokemon. Although it camouflages itself as a tree in order to avoid being attacked, its body is actually more like a rock than like a plant, and because the forelegs remain green throughout the year, the Pokémon is easily identified as a fake during the winter. It hates water and disappears whenever it rains,” A blue male sign flashed in the PokeDex.

“Chiko!” A green vine shot out of Florian’s neck, wrapping right around the frightened sudowoodo. Perrine came flying out from some bushes with a pokeball in hand.

“Use Razor Leaf to weaken it!” Perrine commanded. With a swing of its leaf, Florian threw three large leaves at the rocky tree. The leaves managed to leave two dents on the sudowoodo’s hard skin. The rocky tree smacked the vine coiling around its body to break free, but they were flexible, and Florian wasn’t intent on letting it go.

Then an idea hatched in its head. The sudowoodo used one of its legs to sweep at Florian, kicking him across the face. The force was so strong that Florian fell to the ground, and the vine was forced to release it. With that, the sudowoodo took the opportunity to escape. The kids stood up to try and grab it themselves, but the sudowoodo was too fast for them, having disappeared into the horizon.

“Awwww, man!” Perrine fell to her knees, gasping for breath. “I was so close to catching it, too!”

“Chiko!” (“You said it!”) Florian shared Perrine’s sentiment.

“What was that all about?” Julia asked.

“I wanted to catch that sudowoodo,” Perrine explained once she caught her breath. She even had a PokeBall in her hand ready to catch it.

“Chikori…” (“I’m sorry…”) Florian looked down at the grass with a rueful expression. Perrine stroke the leaf on Florian’s head. “It’s okay, little guy. He was probably too strong for us anyway. We can catch one next time.”

“I guess we should have helped you,” Caiseal said.

“No no. It’s okay,” Perrine interjected.

Although Perrine didn’t catch that sudowoodo, it wasn’t the end of the world. Florian seemed to understand, and was happy that Perrine wasn’t angry with him. After this, Florian went off to play with the other pokemon. Julia did the same, leaving Caiseal and Perrine alone together. The two couldn’t help but notice that Julia looked absolutely radiant when she was among the pokemon. Rolling with them on the grass, playing with them, hoisting them in the air, tickling them...the smile on her face was as bright as a sunflora’s golden foliage. Seeing this made Caiseal smile as well.

He looked over to Perrine. “Ummm...can I ask you something?”

“Sure. Go ahead. What is it?”

“Back at your mansion,” Caiseal began. “You said...that Julia was...autistic or something,” The word sounded so alien to him. So unfamiliar. He felt he needed answers. “Exactly...what does that mean?”

Perrine gave him a quizzical look. “You really want to know?”

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

It must be confessed that Perrine wasn’t sure if she could trust him with this information. Considering how he had treated her since they met, the orange haired girl wondered whether he deserved to know. Even if she did explain it to him, it could go three ways: he would be willing to understand and work with her quirks, completely forget about it and go back to treating her like she usually did, or take it up a notch and be even worse. But maybe, just maybe, he was genuine in his curiosity. Maybe he wanted to understand? Maybe he wants to be friends?

The orange haired girl shrugged. Oh well. She might as well explain it to him. “Julia has something called autism. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I will tell you this,” Caiseal could hear the no-nonsense tone in her voice, like she wanted him to keep this information in his mind and take it seriously. “It’s not a problem. It’s not like it’s something that needs to be cured. Her brain just works a little differently from ours. That’s all,” She told him in the most direct manner possible.

“So...is she, like...really super good at math? Or counting cards?” Caiseal asked.

“No. Not that I can see. I’ll have to ask her later. I hear people say those are stereotypes, though,” Perrine answered. “I know she hates it when people yell,” She turned her gaze to Caiseal. In no uncertain terms, she told him, “You’ve done plenty of it.”

The shame that overtook him upon hearing that comment was instantaneous. He looked down at his shoes. “She’s not stupid, nor is she doing stuff to embarrass people or annoy you. My aunt is autistic...my aunt the former champion of Johto.”

“Whoa! Seriously?!” He yelped. He had known that Perrine’s aunt was a former Johto League champion. She had told him and Julia that. But he had no idea she was autistic. “That’s...awesome…”

“Cubone!” Mallow agreed with a nod.

Perrine wasn’t done yet. “If you want to travel with us, that’s fine. But if we’re going to be friends, you’re going to have to respect the decisions we make or the people we hang out with, Julia included. I mean it when she says she hates yelling. It won’t help her learn stuff. Trust me, I’ve been there. If you do anything skeevy, bully her, call her names, say she’s in the way, or do anything to her, you’re hitting the road,” She stared right into his eyes. “Got it, buster?”

Caiseal nodded in agreement.

“Good. She’s been nothing but nice to me since we met, and I don’t appreciate people dissing my friends. Would you like it if someone dissed you or your friends?”

“Nope nope nope,” Caiseal shook his head to empathize his answer.

Loud music suddenly pulled them out of their conversation. It was Julia’s PokeGear, playing loud rock music. “Whoops! Sorry!” She was quick to press the button that turned the volume down.

“What the heck was that?” Caiseal asked.

“Sorry!” Julia apologized again. “I just wanted to try out the radio function on here, and it started playing this loud rock music…” Once the volume was down, Caiseal and Perrine found themselves at ease, their initial shock disappearing. The kids could make out the lyrics easier with the volume down. Guitar riffs and roaring drum beats crackled through the PokeGear’s speaker.

“The cruel sun shines down on me,
With its piercing, burning light,
It’s the worst kind of stigma,
The misery is too overwhelming for me to bear…
This barren world, reduced to ruins,
On its surface I tread with my calloused feet,
It’s all too much, I can’t see anything anymore…
Withering...Smoldering…
Oh God, please save me from this cruel world!
Please give me even the tiniest beam of light!”

“Who’s singing this?” Caiseal asked, staring down at the PokeGear with a confused, almost disinterested expression.

“I don’t know. But I have to admit, it sounds cool!” Julia added. One of her feet was tapping up and down in time to the beats. Not even she could control it, not that she cared.

“Eh, to me it sounds kinda depressing…” Perrine mused.

As the kids were absorbed in the music, Saoirse sat on the grass, straightening out the red ribbons on her ears. Julia had bought them for her recently, and Saoirse fell in love with them as soon as they were put on. However, she happened to notice Tokiko walking off. None of the other pokemon noticed, as they were too busy playing by themselves to notice.

A shiver of worry ran through the bulldog pokemon’s body. What if something were to happen? She had to get Tokiko back. She couldn’t risk something happening to her. With a grunt, she stood up and ran after the waddling egg pokemon. “Snubbull snubull!” (“Tokiko! Wait! Please come back!”) She called out. But Tokiko was out of sight.

***

“Dangit!” A woman stomped through some thick grass, inadvertently scaring off some small pidgey. A round black hat concealed the rest of her pale brown hair, and her eyes were gleaming with irritation, with some bags holding them down. She was wearing a long sleeved black dress going down to her thighs with a bold, crimson red R emblazoned on the breast, tall grey boots, and matching gloves. “We’ve been stuck in this forest for three days now! When am I ever gonna get a shower?!” Some bush leaves got caught in her hair. With a whine, she yanked them out.

“You know what the boss said, Margeaux,” A man exclaimed, using a machete to swipe at some trees. He was dressed in a different uniform, consisting of a pure white jumper with the same red R on the shirt, light grey boots and gloves, a white hat, and a silver belt with some PokeBalls and a whip attached to it. The man’s spiky jet black hair protruded out from underneath his hat, and his brown eyes were devoid of any kind of compassion. “If we don’t find any rare pokemon, we’ll be kicked out of Team Rocket!”

“I get that, Yannick!” Margeaux snapped before running her hands through her scraggly hair. “Uuuuugh! Good God, are we EVER gonna find anything worth stealing and selling?!”

The white clad man cracked his whip. “If we don’t, I bet some naive trainers would give my beautiful whip great pleasure…” He sneered with a smirk curling upward in a skeevy, lustful manner. A shiver ran through Margeaux’s spine.

Margeaux pulled out some shiny black binoculars and looked through them. “I am so done with this…” She groaned, seeing nothing so far. First, it was some pidgey eating some berries. Then it was a caterpie climbing up a tree. Some metapod sitting around waiting for evolution, a stantler running across the plains, a togepi and a snubbull running around.

Wait…

“Hey! Yannick! Check this out!”

“Hm?” Yannick crawled over to the woman as she handed him the binoculars. He looked inside to find himself gazing at a lone togepi, happy as can be, just waddling around without a care in the world. A snubbull with red ribbons on its ears gave chase.

“A togepi and a snubbull…” Yannick mused to himself. “They’re fairy types, right?”

“Yeah!” For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on Margeaux’s face, lighting it up like it had never been lit before. “They’re the new type that’s hot on the news! I know togepi are really really rare pokemon, too!” Excitement peppered her screechy voice. To Yannick, it was just white noise. “If we sell them to J, she might consider raising our salaries!”

Yannick’s gaze locked onto the two fairy type pokemon. Yet another lustful smirk painted over his face. The ribbons indicated that the snubbull belonged to a trainer, not that he cared. No, Team Rocket didn’t care if pokemon had trainers. They didn’t even see pokemon as...well, pokemon. He was already seeing dollar signs that just screamed “Ka-ching!”

“Eeeeyep. Boss J is going to love this indeed,” Yannick mused to himself.

Speaking of said togepi and snubbull, Tokiko stopped in the middle of a meadow to look around. All she saw were grass and trees going on for miles. Some large bird pokemon soared overhead, taking their sweet time in floating on the gentle breeze. “Choki!” (“There they are!”) A bouquet of soft pink flowers caught the spike ball’s attention. Apple shaped flowers, complete with cotton candy pink foliage spread outward as though they were welcoming the sun’s warm rays, stood out from beneath a large oak tree.

With a chirp, Tokiko waddled over to the flowers. She was sure her friends were going to love them. It helped that they smelled nice, too. She wasn’t sure how else to describe the lofty scent that caressed her non-existent nostrils. Before she could pluck one of the flowers off, Saoirse came running. “Snubbull snubbull snuuuub!” (“Tokiko! There you are! What are you doing here?”)

Tokiko turned around, tilting her head to one side. “See-See? What’cha doin’?” See-See was Tokiko’s new nickname for Saoirse.

“Looking for you, of course!” Saoirse exclaimed before kneeling down to the innocent togepi’s level. “You shouldn’t wander off by yourself. There’s lots of dangerous pokemon around here.”

“I just wanted to get these flowers for everyone,” Tokiko told her. “They’re so pretty. I think Hikaru would like them. Julia and Perrine, too!”

Saoirse crossed her arms, giving Tokiko a stern expression. “I know, and that’s nice, but you need to be careful. Who knows what pokemon or people could be lurking around.”

“Sowwy…”

The pink bulldog stroke the spike ball’s head gently with her stubby hand. “It’s okay. Get the flowers and let’s go back. We don’t want Julia to be worried. She might cry if she finds out we’re gone,” Saoirse told her. Tokiko would have grabbed the flowers and left right away, had she not seen a large net looming right over them.

“LOOK OUT!!” Tokiko screeched in a piercing voice before her eyes glowed in a purple light. The grey net suddenly froze in the air. Saoirse found herself shocked at the sight of the net. It was large enough to cover them both. Once Tokiko felt the coast was clear, the purple energy around the net disappeared, and it plopped onto the floor.

Unfortunately, they weren’t out of the woods. As soon as Tokiko put the net down, a steel cube came rolling toward them. Saoirse grabbed Tokiko by the hand and tried to pull her away, but blue energy came shooting out, trapping them both inside a glowing cube. “We got’em!” Yannick rejoiced with enthusiasm peppering his voice.

“Oh no...what do we do?” Tokiko chirruped.

Saoirse held Tokiko close. “I don’t know...but Julia will find us…”

***

“Think it’s time to hit the road?” Perrine asked as she put her pokemon back in their pokeballs. “We might be able to get to Ecruteak if we hurry.”

“Good idea,” Caiseal agreed, having already put his pokemon away. Julia agreed as well, and put her pokemon away as well...except she noticed two were missing. Right then and there, a shiver of fear ran through her body.

“Saoirse? Tokiko? Where are you?” Julia cried, cupping her hands over the sides of her mouth.

“They’re not here?” Perrine asked.

“That’s strange...they were just here a minute ago…” The beast called worry was growing in size. Although she was calm right now, already she felt the need to flap her hands, which she did. It didn’t calm her down one bit. In fact, it only provided the beast with more fuel to consume her.

“I’ll go look over there,” Caiseal said.

“Saoirseeee! Tokikooooo!” Julia shouted loud enough for her voice to echo in the wind. Perrine searched underneath bushes, around trees, and even asked some passing trainers. No sign of Tokiko and Saoirse anywhere.

“This is so weird,” Perrine said. “They couldn’t have gone far--” As soon as she turned around, she saw something that rendered her silent. Julia was flapping her hands up and down wildly, pacing around, looking past the meadows with huge tears streaming right down her eyes.

“TOKIKO!! SAOIRSE!!” The girl screamed far louder this time, her voice almost bordering on hysterical.

“Jule!” Perrine slammed both hands on her friend’s shoulders. “Don’t cry! It’ll be okay! We’ll find them!” None of what she said consoled her friend one bit. “I’m sure they’re alright--”

“NO!!” With a scream, she pushed both of Perrine’s arms off. Even the orange haired girl found herself aghast, taking two steps back to get out of her personal space. This was quite unlike her. Now, Julia was outright glaring at her friend with her green eyes a distorted combination of both sadness and rage. “How do you know, huh?! How do you know Tokiko and Saoirse are alright?! Oh, that’s right? YOU DON’T! That’s what! They’re not even YOUR pokemon!” Perrine took yet another step back, her eyes widening in fright. What had come over her? “Don’t you dare say you’re sure about something when it’s undoubtedly and categorically clear that you don’t know a thing!!”

“Hey! Calm down, will you?!” This time, Caiseal threw himself in between them. “Screaming at the top of your lungs isn’t going to do anything! Take a deep breath.”

A light shot out of one of Julia’s pokeballs. Out came a very determined Tsubasa, who looked right up at Julia with sharp eyes. “Coo coo coo coo!” (“Stop your crying! We gotta find them, pronto!”) She pointed her wings at Julia, then at the sky, to empathize her point.

She had to admit, both Caiseal and Tsubasa were right. As much as she wanted to cry, Julia knew this wasn’t going to do anything. Her pokemon came first. In her mind, a good trainer would take action. Reluctantly, she wiped her tears away. “Tsubasa,” She began in a shaky, trembling voice. “Can you fly around and see if you can find Tokiko and Saoirse from the air?”

“Coo coo!” (“Way ahead of you!”) Tsubasa had already ascended into the sky by the time Julia finished her order. Caiseal and Perrine looked at each other before nodding and threw pokeballs into the air. Both Fukuro and Ravenclaw came flying right out.

“Hoothoot!”

“Murkrow!”

“You guys! Go and look for Tokiko and Saoirse!” Caiseal exclaimed. “As soon as you find anything, let us know right away!” With nods, the two birds went in different directions, hopefully to cover more ground.

“We should keep looking, too,” Julia suggested.

With this, the kids split up looking for the two fairies. Despite keeping herself calm for her pokemon’s sake, it was hard to bottle up all of those emotions. Fear, sadness, despair, hysteria, and the urge to just scream. When she was like this, even walking was painful for her. Her heart raced a million miles a minute, like it was going to explode into pieces. She stayed with Caiseal and let Hikaru out so the pokemon could try and smell her scent. Most pokemon had a stronger sense of smell than humans.

Caiseal could tell Julia was struggling to keep herself together. He remembered Perrine telling her about autism, and that Julia had it. It didn’t necessarily change his opinion of her, but it did explain a lot of things to him. Even he was bothered by her hand flapping and worry for her friends, he felt it was justified this time. He wanted so badly to scold her for letting her pokemon wander off, but refrained from doing so, knowing it wouldn’t do any good for either of them.

“Pi?” Hikaru’s nose crinkled up and down. “Pichu! Pichu pi!”

“What’s up, Hikaru?”

The yellow mouse hopped over to a set of footprints. One set of them was small, shaped like two large grains of rice. The other set of footprints was bigger and more circular, with three round toes. “Footprints!” Julia kneeled down to Hikaru’s level to examine them closer. They faced Julia’s direction, facing east. No doubt about it. “These are Saoirse and Tokiko’s footprints!”

“Pichu pichu!” (“Their scent is strong! They went that way!”) Hikaru pointed toward a dirt path.

“Let’s go and take a look,” Caiseal said. Julia nodded in agreement.

As for the birds, they soared all over the place with their wings outstretched, looking everywhere for the two fairies. So far, they saw nothing. But something caught Tsubasa’s eye. She perched down on a tree and saw a set of houses made of stone. Years of exposure to nature left nicks and cracks on the stone walls. Some weeds and grass grew from some cracks. Two people, both wearing Team Rocket uniforms, were dragging a glowing box behind them. Saoirse and Toki were inside.

“Step on it, Yannick! We can catch some rare pokemon in here, too!” Margeaux shouted. The glowing box shook as Tokiko repeatedly rammed herself against the glowing walls. None of it left so much as a dent, but the tiny egg pokemon continued to slam the walls with every ounce of energy she had. Not even a crack from Yannick’s whip was able to make her stop.

“Cease your defiance, stupid fairy!” Yannick roared as he cracked the whip at the glowing box. All Tokiko did was glare at him with a look that said, “I’m not afraid of you!” All Saoirse did was cover her eyes with her stubby hands. “You’re lucky we’re making a pit stop here at the Ruins of Alph. When we’re done here, you’re gonna be sold off to J in no time!”

Tsubasa heard every word. Her feathers ruffled with rage, right as Fukuro and Ravenclaw descended next to her. “Murkrow murkrow!” (“Did you find them?”)

“Coo coo!” (“Yeah! They’re over there! Those people caught them!”) Tsubasa pointed her wing at the glowing box. Yannick stared down at the captive pokemon with a stern glare, not taking his eyes off of them one bit.

“Hoothoot hoothoot!” (“I’ll go and let the kids know!”) Fukuro pointed his wing at himself before wagging it in front of the other two birds. “You girls stay here and make sure Saoirse and Tokiko don’t get seriously hurt. Watch their every move!” She told them.

Tsubasa stretched her wings out. “Good, because I want to kick their behinds so hard they’ll go flying on Arceus’s doorstep!!” Tsubasa cooed loudly before Fukuro took off.

Exasperated by her boasting, Ravenclaw simply shook her head. “I swear, you’re the only pidgey I know who’s this arrogant.”

Julia and Caiseal followed the footprints, but found that they stopped at a certain point. “Aw man. They stop here,” Caiseal said. Out from the bushes came Perrine, whose hair was covered in leaves.

“Did you find them?”

The younger girl shook her head. “No,” Julia could tell from the way Perrine looked down that she didn’t have any luck on her end either. The dreadful feeling she thought she had pushed out of her body came creeping back in, morphing straight into guilt. “This is my fault. I...I should have put them in their pokeballs…” The tears came back this time.

“Hoothooooot!” Fukuro cooed as he flapped right in front of the kids.

“Did you find them?!” Perrine yelped.

Fukuro gave a nod and gestured for them to follow him. The kids swallowed their guilt and followed the young owl. They had to sift through some bushes before arriving at the stone houses. “What is this place?” Julia asked. The scent of aging stone and fresh grass wafted through the air, and it had a sort of mysterious feeling to it, like there was something here. But they couldn’t figure out what. But all the kids knew was that this was where Fukuro led them, and Saoirse and Tokiko were sure to be here.

“Hey! I know this place!” Caiseal exclaimed. “These are the Ruins of Alph!”

Perrine gave the scraggly haired boy a quizzical look. “Ruins of Alph?”

“I read about them in a book once,” He explained as the kids stopped at the entrance of one stone house. Julia touched one of the stone walls to feel its texture. Like normal rocks, they were hard and bumpy, with her fingers catching some of the gravel. “These ruins have been around for thousands of years, probably since the Earth was created,” Tsubasa and Ravenclaw returned to their trainers as they arrived. Caiseal sent out Apollo to light up the inside of the stone house.

As they went inside, the corridor stretched farther than they could see, even with Apollo’s flame lighting it up. Perrine found herself trembling. “These ruins...they’re kinda creepy…”

“Really? I think they’re kinda cool,” Julia replied matter-of-factly. All of a sudden, she and Hikaru stopped. The yellow mouse’s ears twitched. “Guys. Wait. Do you hear that?”

At first, Perrine and Caiseal didn’t hear anything. After taking a few more steps, faint human voices echoed in the corridor. On one of the walls, a large hieroglyph glowed in a soft purple light before a black and white pokemon popped off.

“This is great! This is so great! Margeaux, do you know how happy J will be if we take these to her?!” A man’s voice exclaimed.

“I know, Yannick! We’ll get a raise for sure!”

“Chokiiiiiii!”

Julia heard the cry. It was Tokiko for sure. Caiseal donned a serious expression. “We’re not wasting any time. Apollo, use Ember!”

“Quiiiil!” Running down the corridor, Apollo shot forth a barrage of tiny orange flames. Margeaux and Yannick were quick to evade the attack. One of the flames managed to hit the box trapping Saoirse and Tokiko, particularly the grey one. The flame broke it into pieces, and the glowing walls trapping Saoirse and Tokiko inside disappeared into thin air. Seeing the kids before them was enough to make the two fairies run right toward them.

“Saoirse!! Tokiko!!” The fairies leaped into Julia’s arms, and she laughed and cried, embracing her two friends like she had been separated from them for centuries. “You’re okay!! Thank Arceus!!”

“Hey! Those are our property!!” Yannick roared with a crack of his whip.

Property. The word made nothing but rage run through the kids’ veins. Team Rocket. Of course they thought pokemon were their property. Even so, thinking of them like that was just too cruel. Degrading, even. What gave them the right to think pokemon were property? To talk about them like they were inanimate objects with no feelings?

“You’d better stay out of our way!” Margeaux threw a pokeball, and out came a teal pokemon that looked like an oversized pine cone. Yannick threw a pokeball and out came a humanoid pokemon with grey skin, red eyes, and three tan horns on its head.

“Machop! Use Karate Chop!”

“Pineco! Use Tackle!”

“Tokiko, knock them all out with Dazzling Gleam!”

“Apollo, use Ember again!”

Apollo began the fight by shooting tiny flames at the pokemon like before. The pine cone, Pineco, dodged them all by rolling all over the place before hitting the fiery anteater with its body. Machop swiped at little Tokiko with one hand, trying desperately to land even the smallest hit on her. Since Tokiko was small and agile, however, she successfully evaded every attack by hopping around one one foot like an experienced ballet dancer. Once Machop stopped to catch his breath, Tokiko’s body glowed in a radiant pink light that blinded him and the Team Rocket goons.

More black and white pokemon began peeling off of the walls, not that anyone paid any attention. “You kids messed with the wrong crooks!” Yannick roared. “Machop, use Low Kick!”

“Maaaachop!” Once Apollo stopped bombarding Margeaux and pineco with Ember, machop knocked Apollo off his feet with one kick. Tokiko tried to headbutt the grey creature, but pineco headbutted her right back, sending her flying. Tsubasa lost her patience as she flew over to the Team Rocket goons and pecked their faces over and over. Tsubasa even went as far as to pull on their cheeks with her beak.

“YEOOOOOWCH!! Scram, you pesky bird!” Yannick cracked his whip at the little pidgey, who evaded it like it was as easy as sliding on the ice.

Normally, Julia would scold Tsubasa for this, as she had done so before. In this case, however, she didn’t say a word. In fact, she smiled gleefully as she watched Tsubasa torture the Team Rocket goons. In her mind, anyone who dared to refer to her precious pokemon as property deserved Tsubasa’s wrath. Despite being adults, they weren’t people who deserved any kind of respect from her.

“Quiiiiiil!!” Apollo let out a shrill cry, scaring the pineco and machop into covering their ears. Julia did the same. However, Yannick was not deterred. He loomed over the fiery anteater, his whip raised in the air, ready for lashing.

A shiver of fear ran through Caiseal’s body. If that white clad man lashed his pokemon...No! He couldn’t let Apollo get hurt, or even die! “APOLLO!!” The blonde boy leaped in between the whip and the anteater. Yannick didn’t even hold back. Julia could only fall to her knees with her hands over her ears as Yannick’s whip lashed Caiseal’s back.

“Caiseal!!” Perrine yelled.

The whip sliced the back of Caiseal’s shirt open. The boy laid on top of the frightened Apollo as the burning sensation ran through his back. Margeaux found herself frozen in place, eyes wide with fear and jaw open, unable to breathe. Yannick stared down at the boy with an icy stare. “You made a mistake in getting in my way, you stupid child,” Yannick whispered with a growl as he made the whip descend down on the boy three more times. Each time, Caiseal let out pained cries.

“STOP HURTING HIM!!” Julia wailed. Margeaux looked away, disgusted by the sight.

All Apollo could do was stare at Caiseal with fright. Caiseal was letting himself be hurt for Apollo’s sake. Already, the anteater’s mind went back to that fateful day, when Caiseal came into Professor Elm’s lab. He didn’t even look at totodile or chikorita. The first thing the two saw was each other. Caiseal didn’t even so much as glance at anyone else.

Caiseal had held his hand out for Apollo to sniff. “Hey there, little guy. Would you like to be my friend?”

The anteater thought his ears were playing tricks on him. Every time a trainer came by, the anteater had hoped they would pick him. But they always picked either the jolly totodile or the gentle chikorita, and it wounded his heart every time. Every night, Apollo would cry himself to sleep. Nobody picked him. He was sure nobody wanted him, a mousy, timid little cyndaquil, and yet...here Caiseal was, choosing him like it was the most normal thing in the world. Apollo didn’t hesitate, and leaped into Caiseal’s arms without a second thought.

“Can I give you a name? It’ll make you feel more...individual, y’know? How about Apollo? Like the ancient God of the sun?”

God of the sun. Apollo. He took to it within seconds. Apollo was absolutely perfect. That was when he vowed to become strong. To shine bright like the flames on his back. Like the sun, even. Shine a light on the darkness and make everyone happy, especially Caiseal.

Fear morphed into anger. Blazing flames, like the sun, his namesake. How dare this evil man beat his trainer? Apollo’s rage made his body glow in a white light. He crawled out from underneath Caiseal and slammed right into Yannick, sending the whip right out of his hand. But the light didn’t stop shining. Apollo’s body grew longer, stopping at Caiseal’s waist. His arms and legs increased in length, and the light dissipated. Apollo still looked like...well, Apollo, but his eyes were open. Fiery red eyes shined like the flames on his neck and rear end. He still had his yellow and dark blue fur, but he gained longer arms, legs, and a set of pointed ears. Yannick took two steps back as the flames on Apollo’s back blazed.

“Lavaaaaaa!!” Apollo hissed.

Even Julia was pulled out of her fright. Caiseal stammered as he got back on his feet with a bright smile on his face. “Apollo! You evolved, buddy!”

Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. “Quilava, the volcano pokemon,” Julia couldn’t help but think Apollo looked absolutely nothing like a volcano. Volcanoes were large mountains that spewed fire, and Apollo was not a volcano. To her, Apollo looked more like a large gopher. Who classified a quilava as a volcano, anyway? “Its body is covered with fire-proof fur and can withstand any Fire-type attack. Quilava keeps its foes at bay with the intensity of its flames and gusts of superheated air. This Pokémon applies its outstanding nimbleness to dodge attacks even while scorching the foes with flames.”

Before long, Apollo’s body became consumed by red hot flames. The giant gopher rolled toward Margeaux and Yannick, sending a trail of fire their way. Yannick and Margeaux were quick to dodge it, but pineco and machop weren’t so lucky. Apollo came so fast, the two were unable to dodge. Both machop and pineco were thrown against the hieroglyphed walls.

“Awesome! You learned Flame Wheel!” Caiseal cheered as Apollo returned to his side.

“Quila!”

“Don’t think you’ve woooon!!” Yannick roared, pulling out his whip once more. Julia flung her arms around Perrine. Tokiko and Apollo adopted battle stances once more.

Then it happened. Yannick’s body froze. A purple light surrounded him, Margeaux, and their pokemon. “Unoooooooown…” High pitched voices drew the kids to the walls around them. Black pokemon with huge white eyes surrounded the two Team Rocket grunts, their irises glowing in purple lights.

“What’s...going on…?!” Yannick croaked.

“It’s...these pokemon!” Margeaux hissed.

“Machop!”

“Pineco pineco!!”

Neither of them stood a chance. All of them were consumed by light before they disappeared. With this, the battle was over. Julia looked up to get a better looked at the pokemon that came to their rescue. They didn’t look like anything special. They looked more like oversized letters with one eye. There were six of them shaped like the following letters: A, O, D, W, I, and P.

“Did you...save us?” Julia asked. The A shaped pokemon nodded before squeaking, “Unown!”

Caiseal pulled out his PokeDex to examine them. “Unown, the symbol pokemon. Unown have the power to perceive the feelings of other creatures, including human beings. Because of their very timid and careful character, Unown do not want to go out to the external world. This Pokémon is shaped like ancient writing. It is a mystery as to which came first, the ancient writings or the various Unown. Research into this topic is ongoing but nothing is known,” The PokeDex didn’t display any gender sign.

“Thanks for helping us out,” Perrine said as the L-shaped unown floated into her arms. “You’re so cute!”

“Unoown!” The D shaped unown squeaked.

“This one says they don’t like it when people come in to capture them or mess with the ruins,” Julia explained.

“Wait, what?” Caiseal raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Just go with it,” Perrine advised.

The unowns floated around and squeaked in high pitched voices, as though they were telling them something. Julia listened intently, without interruption. “They want us to leave the ruins and not tell anyone about them. They don’t like dealing with people,” Julia bowed before them. “We apologize for trespassing. We’ll leave you guys alone, we promise.”

With this, the letter shaped pokemon returned to their places on the walls. Caiseal kneeled down to Apollo’s level and stroke his head gently. The gopher smiled, basking in his trainer’s affection. “Thanks, buddy. You’re the best.”

“Caiseal!” Julia looked at the welts on his back. “You might need a doctor. Those look painful.”

“Nah. This is nothing.”

“I’m serious! You might bleed out!”

Julia dragged them out of the ruins, as per Unown’s wishes, and looked around to see if any hospitals were nearby. “Julia. I’m fine. It’s not as bad as it looks,” Caiseal said. “And what was that earlier? You acted like you knew what the Unown were saying.”

“That’s because I can understand what pokemon say!”

“Huuuh?”

Perrine whispered, “I’ll explain later,” Even so, the fact that Saoirse and Tokiko were safe was good enough for them. Still, questions lingered in Caiseal’s mind.

***

Random fact: Caiseal is named after Caiseal Mor, an Australian/Irish fantasy novel writer and musician, who happens to be autistic. The name Caiseal is Gaelic for “great stone fort.”

Julia’s Party:
Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)
Ability: Static
Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip

Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)
Ability: Serene Grace
Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect

Tsubasa (Pidgey, Female, Naughty Nature)
Ability: Keen Eye
Attacks: Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack, Tackle

Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)
Ability: Intimidate
Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face

Ladybug (Ledyba, Female, Timid Nature)
Ability: Early Bird
Attacks: Tackle, Comet Punch, Flash, and Safeguard

Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain

Perrine’s Party:
Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)
Ability: Flash Fire
Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack

Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)
Ability: Overgrow
Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder

Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)
Ability: Leaf Guard
Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder

Chirin (Mareep, Male, Adamant Nature)
Ability: Static
Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Tackle

Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)
Ability: Cute Charm
Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round

Fukuro (Hoothoot, Male, Sassy Nature)
Ability: Tinted Lens
Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice

Caiseal’s Party:
Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)
Ability: Lightning Rod
Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl

Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)
Ability: Blaze
Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen

Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)
Ability: Damp
Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam)

Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)
Ability: Super Luck
Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze

Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent

Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)
Ability: Sturdy
Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl

 

[Beth Pavell]

So. I was kind of hesitant to start on this because, well, I'm not a fan of Hunter J. I have my reasons, but for the time being I won't go into them. In any case I thought I'd at least give Chapter One a go to retain my Best Reviewer Crown

Technical Accuracy/Style
Technically, I didn't notice any howlers. I think your style has got to the point where it'll mainly be practice and reading that will improve it. However, a few things I can point out. First things first - the general tone is kinda melodramatic. Between Julia's energy, her sister's rage and the very anime-esque Beedrill ... well, for me it was a bit much. It's hard to put this properly into words, but the melodrama made the whole chapter a bit breathless. Which brings me on to the pacing. I'm usually an advocate of journeyfics taking their time with the first few chapters. What this needed, I think, was a natural pause somewhere. The narrative flows on without a break from beginning to end, and coupled with Julia's energy especially, this was kind of taxing to read in on sitting.

Aside from that, your word use is pretty good, if a bit purple at times. Try not to fall into the fanfic trap of thinking of everyone's basic description as Age/Hair/Eyes, particularly if you're writing supporting characters, and especially if they're only briefly interacted with. Sometimes you double up on information where you don't really gain anything from doing so, like here:

reading a heavy book. The Beginner’s Guide To Raising Pokemon. The girl had fair skin, dark brown hair that went to her chin, curling at the ends, and shimmering green eyes that absorbed everything the book had to offer. They happily soaked up the words in the book, which itself talked about the qualities a trainer needs in order to be a good pokemon trainer.

The book's title already tells us what it's contents are, so you could do without telling us again. Worth bearing in mind too, that at first I thought Kassia was the sister, since Julia's dad uses the name right after the sister's appearance and you don't make it clear that he's referring to the mother. It's a little odd that in the narrative you refer to them as Kassia and Truman, since the chapter is following Julia's viewpoint - I would find Mom and Dad a neater fit.

Setting
Overall, it's ok. I can see you've tried to fill in the gap left by the franchise as whole when it comes to blatantly abusive trainers. The general process as you explain it seems plausible to me. New Bark Town is kind of a pencil sketch, since you only really have the Parisa household as a location. I'll wait to see what you make of the world before I say more on that. Final note, you can afford to just use pokémon names instead of short descriptions. This will speed up action or surprise no end. I argue it like this - most, if not all, of your readers will be aware of all the canon pokémon. If you were writing in a setting on Earth you wouldn't usually describe a bee, you'd just say "bee". The same can go for pokémon if you need it to.

Story
As I said above, I have no problem with journeyfics taking a while to get out of the door. Too many rush from brekkers on the tenth birthday to the lab to "Bye Mom!" - all in the space of about two thousand words. There is something rather anime-esque about the starter here, what with it being a Pichu, running out of pokémon and the Beedrill attack. You at least make an attempt to explain why a lab could run out of starters, though I'm still not sure I really buy it.

Characters
I wonder if Julia's energy will get annoying. The whole "Oh my God, time to be exciteeeed!" routine is probably going to need some balance lest it get tiresome. Aside from that, there's not a lot I really want to pick up on, since it's the first chapter.

Final Thoughts
Mostly stylistic stuff then, which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. I generally don't like to make too many judgements about character and story on the strength of one chapter alone

 

[Juliko]

Yeah, I will admit, it does have a lot of problems. I'll try and rectify those when I can, though school's taking up a lot of my time. Thanks for taking the time to check it out though! Feel free to check out the other chapters if you want. If not, that's fine, too.

There is something rather anime-esque about the starter here, what with it being a Pichu, running out of pokémon and the Beedrill attack.

There's actually going to be a solid explanation for the Pichu's appearance in a later chapter.