A Cherished Bond- Chapter 1
It was a warm spring afternoon in the Sinnoh region. The air outside was nice and perfect, the best it had been in four long months. The final layers of snow had finished melting about a week ago and the grass was nice and fresh, a brilliant green. Outside, Starly could be heard with their singing chirps.
I lived in a small cottage on a secluded route that sat not too far from Mt. Coronet. My house had a single route that travelled up an incline to a level plot of land that held my house and a few other things. My house sat about fourty yards from a cliff face that could be scaled using Rock Climb. My house faced north. There was a waterfall to the east, a small forest to the south, and the path mentioned before to the southwest. Directly on the side of my house to the west was a small path I had put in about a year prior that led up to and surrounded a beautiful garden of flowers I had bought. In the forests that lay to the south, many Pokemon loved to live in peace.
The day started out like any other, and nothing particular seemed out of the ordinary. I was sitting on my couch, which was located a yard and a half from my TV (which hung on the wall) and a foot or so from the glass coffee table. I took a sip from my glass which contained a nice mixture of Oran berries and Qualot berries; a mixture of my own design. I then set my glass back on the table and continued to flip through the channels, trying to find something to watch. I swore as I flipped through the same six channels over and over again; living in a secluded place right next to Mt. Coronet didn't give you a lot of options when it came to television. I finally settled on a program highlighting old contests that had taken place around Sinnoh and sighed.
"This is the life of a retired Pokemon Trainer?" I asked to no one in particular. I glanced to my left and saw the pictures that hung on the fireplace. They always wrenched my heart when I saw them, because they reminded me of the way life used to be, of my old companions. We had been through a lot together, though I had never managed to snag a single gym badge. I had to force myself to look away every time, but this time I just couldn't. I grabbed the remote without looking and pressed several buttons before finally hitting the power button, shutting the TV off. I set the remote back in its place on the couch and stood up. I walked across the polished oakwood floor and over to the dark fireplace which held the pictures of my old team. I had taken a picture with each of them, and then a final one with all of us in it. I had organized them so that the individual pictures surrounded the team picture.
I sighed as the pain that filled my heart came back. It happened every time I saw them. I reached out and gently lifted one off the wall, holding it a few inches from my face. It was a picture of me and my Electabuzz, which I had named Gonzap. I didn't know where the name had come from, but he looked like a Gonzap to me. Gonzap and I had been closer than the others, probably because he was my very first Pokemon, and I had been sad to see him go. He didn't die, but after the day we took this picture, I never saw him again... just like the others. The others in my team included a Lapras named Lana, a Staraptor named Apty, an Aggron named Ryptor, a Kabutops named Yakushi, and a Crobat named Crona.
I stared down at the picture of Gonzap with hurt in my heart. I knew why they had to go, but why? It was a question I had found myself asking every single day. As I continued to stare, my eyes widened as I saw a clear liquid start to drip down the glass frame. I hadn't even realized I was crying. I quickly wiped off the case and set it back on the wall. I then wiped my eyes and went to sit back on the couch, but something stopped me. It was a sound, a sound I had never heard before. It sounded like an angry howl, filled with bloodlust. I was frightened, but at the same time this noise compelled me to do something. I quickly put on my shoes and leapt across the floor, crossing the length from the living room to the front door in four or five strides. I grabbed the door handle and threw the door open, not bothering to close it after I jumped through. I looked around for the source of the noise, and in the forest I could see blasts of fire spraying this way and that. My eyes widened and I bolted into action, running madly toward the sources of fire.
Houndooms, I thought to myself as I ran at full-sprint toward the forest. They were probably hunting a poor defenseless Bidoof, or maybe even a Shinx, which I had seen once while exploring. I ran at full speed toward the forest, seeing the tree-line approach quickly. I braced myself and jumped over the bushes that lined a small section and quickly made my way to the path that had naturally formed through the forest. I looked to a space slightly to the right and to the front of me and I saw a bright flash of flames shoot across a few trees, no doubt singeing the side of the tree that I couldn't see. I looked toward the source and found that my suspicions were correct. It was group of Houndooms, and they were no doubt hunting something, but what? I jumped over a tree root and ducked around a corner, colliding with one of the Houndooms. I stumbled backward and fell, wincing. I opened my eyes to see four Houndooms staring at me and baring their fangs. They approached me and I slowly stood to my feet, knowing I couldn't beat them in a fight.
I backed up slowly, my hands raised in a submissive manner, but they were only edged on even more. One of them barked and the other three opened their mouths, orange flames building up in their mouths. My eyes widened with fear and I dove behind a tree and into a bush, avoiding the flames that would've no doubt ended my life. I quickly stood and began running, hearing the snarling of the Houndooms behind me.
Now would be a good time to have some Pokemon, I thought to myself in anger. I ran through the trees, the Houndooms still blowing fire at me. I hid behind a tree as a plume of fire shot passed me to my left. I was panting, my stamina nearly depleted. I had to get out of there, I had to get them off of my tail somehow. At that moment I jumped as a Houndoom jumped right next to me, snarling at me. I jumped back and sprinted toward the edge of the forest. I sprinted at full-speed, occasionally looking behind me to see if the Houndooms were still following me. They were, and I looked back in front of me just as I fell down a ditch, scraping my arms and legs on the way down to the bottom. I lay there in pain and fear as I heard the Houndooms approach. Their barks and snarls got louder and louder with every second, and I feared the worst. However, they jumped over the ditch, not even looking down to see me.
Did they not notice me? I thought in confusion. I didn't really care, I was just happy to be alive. I stood up and brushed the dirt off of me, my blood running down my arms.
"Damn, that's gonna need treatment when I get back." I said to myself as I examined the wound. I looked at the edge of the ditch and climbed out with relative ease. When I was free, I looked around for any signs of the Houndoom and found them caught in a gigantic web.
"Welp, sucks to be them." I said shrugging and made my way back the way I had come, hoping to find the Pokemon they had been hunting. I made my way back to the path and followed it deeper into the forest, looking all around for any sign of the Pokemon.
Finally, I came to a clearing where I found something that amazed me. Before me there was a circle of cleared forest ground about thirty feet in diameter, with a Pokemon in the center. The Pokemon was humanoid, I discovered, with what appeared to be a white dress and green skin. I rushed forward and kneeled next to the Pokemon, looking over her body and discovering the many wounds that covered her body. She had cuts and bite marks all over her arms and legs, blood dripping from each of them. She held her left arm with her right and her eyes were closed from the pain. Her face was distorted with an expression of agony. As I looked at her, I couldn't help but think that she looked very beautiful. I reached my left hand out slowly and gently touched her shoulder, avoiding any wounds. She seemed to ache all over, since she winced at my touch; either that, or she was traumatized to the point that any contact at all frightened her.
"Are you alright?" I asked her. She gradually forced one eye to open and looked at me, her scarlet eye gazing at me. She opened her mouth slightly and whispered something I couldn't make out at first.
"I'm sorry?" I asked her.
"H-help... Me." She repeated. I nodded reached for one of her legs. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I lifted her legs with my left arm, lifting her torso with my right and using my knees to stand up. She rested her head on my chest and closed her eye again, breathing steadily as I carefull carried her out of the clearing. I slowly walked through the forest, hoping to avoid an encounter with the Houndooms that caused this. Occasionally I would stumble over a tree root and Gardevoir would wince with pain and I would apologize. Finally we made it to the edge of the forest and there were no Houndooms in sight.
"Don't worry, you're safe now." I said to her. She managed a weak smile and I carried her into the house. I set her on the couch gently and went into the kitchen to grab a few rags and a bucket. I carried the rags into the living room and set them on the table and carried the bucket outside to fill it with water. When I had done that I lit a fire and heated the water to a warm temperature and set the bucket next to the Pokemon, which was laying on the couch with her eyes closed from the pain. I kneeled next to her and grabbed a rag, dipped it into the bucket, wringed it out and gently placed it to a wound on her right shoulder. She winced and a faint cry of pain came from her mouth and I eased the pressure.
"I-I'm sorry..." She said opening one eye to look at me.
"Shh, don't be sorry. I'll have this cleaned up in no time, but you may feel pain." I said to her. She nodded and braced herself as I placed the rag to her skin again. I gently wiped away the blood and the rag quickly stained red. I dipped it back into the warm water and wringed it out again, gently placing it to Gardevoir's wounds again. Once again she winced, but she seemed to be handling the pain much better than before.
"Let me know if the pain becomes too much, okay?" I told her. She nodded and I resumed treating her wounds. I steadily worked my way down her right arm, cleaning the cuts and bites she had on that side of her torso. Then, I gently lifted her up and turned her over, setting her back down on the couch with her right side facing upward. I dipped a fresh rag into the bucket, setting the other rag on the table, and began cleaning the wounds on her right shoulder and arm. I worked slowly, making sure to clean up all of the blood before moving on to the next wound.
Finally I managed to clean up her torso and I made my way down. I blushed slightly as I gently lifted her dress aside, exposing the wounds that had been covered by it. I looked up at her and saw that she was looking at me, her eyes half closed. I could tell she was exhausted.
"I'm sorry, but I have to clean your legs too." I said to her, apologizing for having lifted her dress.
"It is... Alright..." She breathed. I could tell that all of her strength was gone. She continued to watch me as I cleaned the rest of her wounds. By the time that I had finished, she could barely keep her eyes open. When I was finished, I continued to kneel by her side, looking over her wounds and trying to remember if I had any bandages. I looked up at her and she was gazing at me with exhausted eyes. I patted her left hand, which dangled slightly off the couch while her other arm rested over her chest.
"You can rest now, if you'd like. I'm going to get some bandages and wrap up your wounds so they don't continue to bleed." I said to her. She lightly nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing but remaining present. I silently stood and walked out of the living room, which had a wide arch that ran along the ceiling to separate it from the rest of the house. To the right was a doorway that led to a flight of stairs which went up to the second floor. To the left was a small hallway that led to the kitchen and beyond that, the supply room. I turned left and made a beeline for the supply room, where I hopefully kept my bandages. I opened the door and flipped on the light, scanning the shelves for any bandages. Finally I spotted them and grabbed them, looking them over for a second before stepping out of the closet and shutting the door behind me.
I quickly made my way back into the living room and I found her sleeping silently, not making a single sound. I kneeled beside her and began to unravel a length of the bandages. I gently lifted her right leg so as to avoid hurting and/or waking her. I blushed again as I placed the end of the bandages between her thighs and began to wrap her right thigh with the bandages. I worked slowly so as to avoid waking her, though it took considerably longer. Finally, after an hour and a half of working very slowly, I managed to finish bandaging her wounds. When I was finished I look up at her face to see if she was still sleeping and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that she was. I looked at the clock and it read six-thirty, which meant it was time to start preparing dinner. I stood and walked into the kitchen, my mind wandering over the events of the day.
"I'm no medic," I said to myself as I began to open cupboards and pull out things I would need. "I'll probably have to take her to the Pokemon Center as soon as possible." I placed a pot in the sink and filled it with steaming hot water and left it there as I turned on the oven. I lit the left backburner and grabbed the pot of hot water and placed it on the lit burner, letting it sit there to boil. I then looked to the doorway and thought some more.
"On second thought, let's see how her condition is by tomorrow." I said as I returned to the pot. Little did I know that tomorrow would bring a day I would never forget.