A Pokemon Fanfiction
I sensed a mix of emotions coming from Laura. She was proud that I won, but she was also ashamed that she just stood there. It was heart-breaking. I get the feeling it was her first battle with Bilby. I still can’t get over how goofy that name is.
She couldn’t stop crying and kissing me. She held me tight in her arms and rushed me to the Pokemon center. I appreciated it. I hate traveling in a Pokeball. Nurse Joy handled me quickly and soon I was all healed up and ready to go. I grew a couple levels by fighting Bulby. He must have been pretty powerful. I think I was roughly level five when I fought him. I must be around level ten by now.
Current level is seven. HP is 20. Attack is 17. Defense is 14. Special Attack is 12. Special Defense is 14. Speed is 17. Nature is Adamant. Characteristic is Alert to Sounds.
Jeez! I was really hoping I grew more than that. Maybe I was below five?
Bulby, no matter how ridiculous his name, was a tough Pokemon, and he had a trainer that was serious about Pokemon battles. And after going to school with Laura, it was apparent that she was not as serious as I would have thought. She froze during the battle. She just stood there and took the abuse from that jerk. I’ve got to raise her confidence. If we’re going to be a team, she needs to learn how to take charge and become a competent trainer. How am I going to do that?
Nurse Joy handed me back to Laura. Her tears were gone, and she seemed a lot happier. Maybe she had some time to think things over.
“Rowdy, I’m so glad you’re better!”
Rowdy?
“I hope you like it. I thought it fit since you took on Bilby all by yourself,” she said, wiping a tear away. “Some trainer I am, huh?”
She’s about to cry again. I bark and wag my tail. I don’t want her to be upset. I want her to move on. I’m better now and that’s what matters. She scooped me up into her arms, thanked Nurse Joy, and carried me out of the Pokemon Center.
She didn’t speak much on the way back. It was a bit unsettling because she didn’t have her usual exuberance. I felt weird doing it, but I licked her arm, hopefully, in a comforting manner. I can’t figure out what she’s thinking. I was always bad at reading people.
I could see our house. The setting sun made the sky orange and all the shadows darker. Laura opened the gate and placed me on the ground. She rummaged in her schoolbag and pulled out her keys, but before she could open the door, Hiker Mark opened it.
“Laura! How was your last day of school?”
She dove into his chest and gave him a big hug. I could hear sniffles and sobs coming from her. I really wasn’t sure why she was still crying. I was fine and we won her first Pokemon battle. What was her deal?
I looked up to the window, on the other side of the door. The Purrloin was sitting on it, her tail dangling from the edge, her eyes steady, fixed on Laura.
She noticed I was staring and stood up, stretched, flowing from shoulders to rump bending the way cats do. She leapt down and approached me.
“Good job in the battle today.” Her expression was bland. I couldn’t tell with this cat, though I couldn’t tell with humans either.
She must follow Laura around everywhere to be this informed, and is very adept at moving without being seen. I didn’t pick up on her scent the entire time; maybe I just didn’t know what she smelled like. I was becoming accustomed to a lot of smells since I came to this world.
She picked up her right paw and started grooming her dark, purple coat. I approached and took a sniff, not really knowing what I was doing, but maybe I would become more aware of her presence in the future. This startled her into a hiss.
“Whoa, calm down. Just smelling you. You have a habit of sneaking around and I want to know what you smell like.” That sounded so creepy coming out of my mouth.
She smelled like tree bark and pollen and something else, maybe just cat. I had a cat growing up, and she reminded me a lot of how it smelled back when I was a kid. The Purrloin relaxed and went back to grooming herself. “She doesn’t really want to be a trainer, you know?”
She said this between licks. I looked up to see that Laura and Hiker Mark had already disappeared inside the house. “How do you know what she wants?”
“I watch her,” she said.
“That’s, honestly, a bit disturbing,” I said, thinking about my past life as a voyeur, I blushed.
The Purrloin ignored me. “She thinks she wants to be a trainer, but she’s only giving into peer pressure.”
I thought about that for a moment. “Doesn’t every child dream of becoming a Pokemon Master?”
The Purrloin stared into my eyes. She seemed very strong and intelligent. It gave a lot of credit to her assertion. I wanted to know what her level was.
Purrloin current level 12. HP is 34. Attack is 26. Defense is 22. Special Attack is 26. Special Defense is 22. Speed is 30. Nature is Calm. Characteristic is Thoroughly Cunning.
Well, she’s stronger than me. Perhaps a new team member for Laura? Since she likes her already, it’s not a bad idea.
“You’re looking at my stats?”
How did she know?
“You’re not from around here, are you?” she continued.
“Are you from another world?” I asked. It was incredible that I wasn’t alone here, that she possibly had been a person before too. What were the odds? I was so happy my tail started wagging.
“I’m from here,” she said.
“Okay. You can see stats too?”
“The smart ones can. I just didn’t think you were one of them.”
My tail stopped wagging. “So, what is your point about Laura? What makes you think she doesn’t want to be a Pokemon master?”
“She was worried about you. She hated watching you fight and getting hurt. She’d rather not battle at all, but she knows that it is the only way to achieve the goal that she set for herself.”
“All right. I think her being worried is pretty typical of a Pokemon trainer, but also isn’t Pokemon battling a big part of this world? Taking on the Gym Challenge? Going to the League Tournament? Pokemon have been used for battling for generations.”
The Purrloin blinked.
I sighed. I really hated talking to this cat. “Welp. I’m going to go inside and eat dinner. Good night!”
I trotted up the wooden steps and woofed and pawed at the door. Laura opened the door, still in her uniform.
“Come in you two. I have food for you,” she said, cheerfully. She must be feeling better now. Wait. What?
The Purrloin proceeded through the doorway and into the kitchen, like she’d been there before. I can’t help but feel annoyed by this.
“Rowdy, I’m glad you made a friend. Purrloin visits often. She likes it when I scratch her back.”
“Does she now?” Of course, Laura only heard a series of Rockruffs and barks.
The Purrloin looked back at me, her eyes still cool and emotionless. I followed Laura into the kitchen. It was well lit with white and blue linoleum tiles. Quartz and Geode sat next to their dishes, eating the little brown nuggets of Pokémon food given to them. Laura grabbed a blue bowl and placed it in front of the Purrloin. I smelled burgers. I doubted that I would get one, but I may paw Laura’s leg and see where that gets me.
“Look Quartz and Geode! Purrloin is here tonight!”
She sat a red bowl in front of me. Pokemon food is no hamburger and fries, but it isn’t awful. I stick my face in it and chow down. The Pokemon are not talkers. Quartz does wave her little claws at Purrloin and Geode nods. I never really learned much about them while I was with Hiker Mark in the cave. Maybe they weren’t interested. We only spent a couple of days together before Hiker Mark brought me home.
Hiker Mark reclined at the table. He must have scarfed down his food.
“Papa! You ate before I could sit down!” Laura scolded.
“I couldn’t help myself! It was so good!”
I was surprised at how fast she cooked them. I wasn’t outside for that long. There were some bugs in this world for sure. I looked up from my dish.
“So, you come here often?” I asked Purrloin.
She glanced at me and returned to eating.
“Why don’t you join our team?” I spoke. “I think you and Laura get along well enough, and you’re pretty strong.”
She stopped for a minute and looked like she was considering it.
“You wouldn’t have to stalk her all the time. You could just hang out,” I said, finishing my bowl.
I may not like her, but she was loyal to Laura. That was a good start. I would need to somehow steer this ship if Laura was going to become a Pokemon Master, and Purrloin wasn’t a bad Pokemon. When I looked at her stats before, I noticed she was a dark type. She would be very useful against psychic types when we inevitably came across them.
“I don’t see the point,” said Purrloin.
“Why not?” I said, a bit irritated.
“You just want to take her on the Pokemon League Challenge. While I admit she thinks she wants that, eventually she’ll figure it out and come home, and I’ll be here waiting for her.”
“I plan on taking her to the top, cat!” I bared my teeth at her. “She won’t be home for a long time.”
“Oh? You think you’re strong enough to carry her and a team?”
“I do.” I don’t know what she meant by that. Laura had graduated from trainer school; she couldn’t be hopeless. And to top it off, I was ridiculously strong. Overcome would be my trump card in our first battles, at least until I could help Laura create a team. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that though. It’s not like I could talk to her.
“That Bulbasaur was strong too. You defeated it, that makes you stronger, right? Believe it or not, that was Bilby’s first trainer battle too. He often wins by intimidation and bravado. Though he is inexperienced, most of his classmates never choose to battle him, because of his fierce temperment. I will admit that Bilby’s Bulbasaur is a well-bred Pokemon with very good stats. You were both at level six.”
I bared my fangs. “So that proves that I am strong, cat!”
“Manners,” said Quartz.
“No fighting in the house,” said Geode.
“How about I fight you then?” I said, ignoring the others.
“What would that prove? I’m stronger than you. I have more experience fighting than you. Though, I admit, you have an excessive number of abilities. Very troubling and hard to predict.”
“That’s right, cat!” I said, “I have a lot of abilities that will allow me to win against you and any other Pokemon Laura and I come across!”
“And she will cry over each one,” said Purrloin, “Not wanting to hurt anyone, and feeling bad when she does. Even worse when one of her Pokemon are hurt. Her heart is too fragile for this.”
My barking grew louder as I cursed at Purrloin. Quartz and Geode tried to settle me down, both embarrassed by my colorful language. Of course, Purrloin was unfazed by any of it and that made me even more angry.
Laura picked me up and tried to calm me down. “Rowdy, what’s gotten into you? Is Purrloin causing trouble?” Laura smiled.
“I’m gonna murder that cat!” I barked, twisting and turning in Laura’s arms.
“Papa,” said Laura, “I’m leaving tomorrow to start on my journey. I’m taking route 111 and heading to Franklin. There should be a gym there.”
Hiker Mark nearly fell out of his chair. “So soon, Lala? You just graduated. Perhaps a little training with dear-ol-papa… like about five more years?”
“Papa! I’m not a kid anymore!” she said.
Lala? I snickered. I felt for Hiker Mark. After the battle this afternoon, Lala didn’t stand a chance out there, but I would be along for the journey and would keep her out of trouble. At least as much as I could. I barked at Hiker Mark to let him know this, but I doubt he understood a word I said.
Purrloin swished her tail back and forth, irritated that I would be encouraging Laura and Hiker Mark. I grinned maniacally at her. She was welcome to come along, and if she gave me any trouble, I’d eat her. I laughed to myself.
She hissed at me, and jumped, claws out careening towards my face. Can’t say I didn’t deserve it.
Laura stumbled and held us both by the scruffs of our necks. We were helpless now, but steadily glared at one another, daring the other to blink.
“Rowdy is really strong, Papa!” Laura insisted. “He’ll protect me and help me form a strong team.”
“See?” I woofed at Purrloin, pleased with this outcome.
Purrloin rolled her eyes and rowwed loudly.
Hiker Mark contemplated for a moment. It was a hard sell. He knew Laura better than I did, and I was beginning to understand why everyone underestimated her so much. Still, she had me, and with my unstoppable abilities, we would definitely become the next League champions.
“Alright, Laura. I guess when I was your age, I also went on my first journey,” said Hiker Mark after a long pause, “You can go, but I want you to make a deal with me: you will call me every night, and after you get four badges, you must come home and battle me. Do we have a deal?”
“Deal!” Laura smiled.
“I’m serious, Laura,” he insisted, “This isn’t going to be easy. You can’t come home until you’ve earned four badges. You understand?”
She hesitated. “Of course, Papa. I can do that. With Rowdy I can definitely get four badges.”
“Good,” he said, “I’ve got something for you. Wait here.” He got up and left the kitchen to go to his bedroom. Laura put us both on the floor. Purrloin turned away unhappy about Laura’s new deal with her dad. I, on the other hand, was ecstatic to get away from this darn cat! At this point, if she comes with us, I will eat her. I’ve honestly had enough of her neigh saying.
Hiker Mark came back from his room with a poorly wrapped present. Laura hopped up and down in anticipation and Purrloin couldn’t stifle a smile from Laura’s excitement. Laura hugged Mark and opened her present. Inside were six Pokeballs, six potions, and three antidotes. “Route 111 is full of poison types, so be careful on your journey.”
He sniffed hard and I turned away. I didn’t want to see Hiker Mark cry. Laura set the gifts on the table before giving her dad another hug, “Don’t cry, Papa! I’m coming back with four badges and then I’m going to beat you in a Pokemon battle!”
“I can’t wait,” he said.
I was about to start crying, but I began to hear a weird beeping noise. On the table one of the Pokeballs had activated and Purrloin had disappeared.
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