What a terrible storm. It's been going on for days with no end in sight. I sat at the entrance of a large cave. My home. Red flames danced along smooth, grey walls. Dark eyes roamed over stark white. If my sense of time didn't fool me, it must've been about seven in the afternoon. I couldn't tell from looking outside, though. The sky was just as dark now as it had been all day.
Charizard lay beside me. The cold really did a number on him. That snowstorm better be over soon, or I'll have to head into town and grab a couple extra heaters. Oh, who was I kidding? I wouldn't go to town. I'd have somebody send them to me.
The large, orange lizard let out a hearty yawn, his head wiggling slightly in my lap. I let gloved fingers glide over shiny scales, thinking hard. I should take Lapras and make my way around the mountain as soon as possible. Pokemon, or even trainers could be lost or hurt.
I wouldn't be surprised if somebody was dumb enough to go out and train despite the warnings. Radio's been going crazy, telling everybody to avoid at all costs.
It was rough, pokemon here are at a high level, considering they have to survive in conditions like these.
Suddenly, Charizard's head jerked up. His ears twitched and turned in all sorts of directions. I followed his gaze with mine. He was glaring down the trees just up the hill. Well, I better head there and make sure everything's okey.
Just when I took the first step outside, I could hear what Charizard had probably picked up on long before I did. The closer I got to that assembly of trees, the more certain I became on who those cries belonged to.
Definitely a pokemon. I didn't bother grabbing Lapras. Couldn't afford losing a second. On Charizard, I made my way up that hill. Strong winds made it difficult to fly, but as long as he kept low, we didn't have any issues.
Once there, we landed just atop a small dived in the ground. I jumped to the ground, Charizard's tail-flame melting snow underneath our feet. We edged closer, the cries now ear piercing.
They came from beneath. I shielded my face, tiny ice-shards hitting pale skin, staining cold cheeks red. We had to press forward. Charizard just behind me.
Finally, I could make out the pokemon those cries belonged to. A small, black weasel. Red feathers atop its head gave it away inside a mountain of snow. Weavile, no doubt. Their pre-evolution was indeed native to this place, but I'd never seen a wild evolved form here.
Then, I realized. It wasn't alone. A ball of red lay beside it. Tangled between its claws. I told my pokemon to wait with a gesture, and advanced.
Dark eyes widened at the sight before me. A child. It lay there, frozen, the Weavile cradling its head.
Long, red hair draped over the child's face. I sighed. Well, better get them both outta here.
At first, the Weavile just stared me down with piercing eyes, keeping its trainer's head close. Protecting them. Though, I quickly managed to convince it all I wanted to do was help. After a minute of edging closer, a hand outstretched, the weasel finally let me brush away a strand of hair obscuring the child's face. their skin. Icy. I carried the child in my arms, and heaved them up on my pokemon's back, letting Weavile sit in their lap, while we flew down the hill.
Once in the cave, I carried the child in my arms, their head against my chest. Pale skin had turned a deathly blue. Snow had built up on their eyelashes. Delicate fingers were frozen in a sort of claw-like pose, entangled with my shirt.
The child was still breathing, though, at least. Their chest heaved and sank ever so slightly. I placed them down on my bed. Carrying them was no problem. The kid was light.
As soon as I'd placed them down, I called Blastoise, who - like Lapras, Venusaur and Snorlax - was staring at me curiously from the back of the cave, were my pokemon had slept.
I gestured to him. Formed a bowl with my hands. Soup. He should make me some soup. He understood and stretched, bones cracking, before making his way to the fire.
Raichu was nowhere to be found. I didn't worry, he usually went off on his own. At least, I didn't worry until I heard a cry from the corner.
The yellow mouse held his cheek, toddling away from the Weavile, who had hidden itself in a corner. Strange, it was so attached to the child just a bit ago. Now, it seemed to want to be as far away from the living icicle as possible.
Speaking of which. I sat down on the bed, getting a good look at the kid. Taking in their defined features now, with sufficient lighting, I could say with almost certainty that they were a boy. Also, the "boy" was more like a young man. His stature didn't show it. He was malnourished. Too thin.
Though, judging by the face, he must be about my age, maybe a little younger. 15 or 16 was my guess.
He was quite pretty, too. His chin was a little stubbly, and his messy, red hair seemed unkempt. He must've been out here for a long time.
I placed a hand on his forehead. Icy. Poor kid. At that moment, Blastoise came back with a bowl of steaming soup. I took it with a thankful nod, then tilted the boy's head up and placed the porcelain against his icy lips. Kid's gotta eat.
So, every day, for about a week, I fed my new guest, and made him drink lots of tea. Got that wild Chansey, which stopped by every now and again to check up on us, to have a look at him.
We only needed to get the kid fit for a trip down the mountain, then I could hand him over to a hospital. Chansey's 'special mixture' - as I liked to call it – which was essentially just a bit of its egg yolk with some herbs, seemed to do wonders.
Simple, but it worked.
The kid was back to normal skin colour after a day. Still pale, but at least not blue. He moved around a bit. Mumbled. His voice was hoarse, like he's been smoking too many cigarettes. I kept him bundled up in my bed, while I slept on Snorlax belly every night, while snowstorms piled up more and more of the frozen powder outside.
One night, a particularly bad one was keeping the air chill. I hugged Snorlax arm, its fur keeping me warm while we slept. Somewhere around midnight, though, a scream woke me.
I jumped up, almost falling off my pokemon, heart racing. Dark eyes jolted from one end of the cave to the other. Who? Where?
The kid.
I leap to my feet, grabbing a knife I'd used the night before to chop herbs. You never know. That kid could be dangerous. I hid it in the pocket of my coat, then advanced towards the bed.
Everyone else had been woken up too. They watched me, tension between them. I gestured for my pokemon to keep calm and not show themselves yet. Then, one nod towards the burnt-out bonfire made Charizard spew a ball of red flame onto dry wood.
The cave flooded with light. From across the room, I could make out my guest, hands over his face, eyes squinted shut, back pressed against a wall.
I stepped closer, realizing he was shaking like leaves, his fists clenched.
Finally, he adjusted to the flame's flicker, and his gaze immediately caught mine. Those eyes. They were so dark, you couldn't make out a pupil. Much darker than I'd ever seen before... well, that's not true. I had seen those eyes once before, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
The kid stared at me, frozen for a second, before he realized I was taking steps towards him.
Then, his entire demeanour changed in the blink of an eye. He stood up on the bed, chest puffed out, teeth bare. A growl escaped him, hair flying all about his previously peaceful face. Those eyes. Like ink, I could drown in them if I wasn't careful.
They were filled with what was unmistakably cold, bitter hate. Like a wild pokemon being captured. I raised my hand to calm him, but he wasn't having it. Another growl was directed towards me. Deep from inside his throat. I didn't think a person could even make that noise.
"Get away" finally, the kid spoke, and I stopped in my tracks. Didn't wanna get closer. He was like a Growlithe, ready to attack.
"Leave me alone" he snapped, his voice just as raspy as I imagined it would be once it was used more deliberately than aimless mumbling. It sent shivers down my spine. He seemed so familiar. Could he…
For a second, only a second, I thought about getting my pokemon involved. Then, a shadow shot towards us. The Weavile. It hadn't moved for a week, sitting in its corner, refusing to eat. Now, it was right by the kid's side. Keeping its distance, but ready to follow orders.
I took a deep breath. There was only one way to settle this. With a whistle, Charizard was by my side, towering over the kid like the monster he was.
The kid didn't seem impressed. He felt around his waist, until finally, a pokeball appeared in his hand. I didn't notice he had them attached to his belt until now. Crap. Well, now this was gonna be fun. What would a trainer like him have?
Kid must've been a rookie, judging by his age. To my surprise, though, what materialized before us wasn't the standard Gyarados or Furret. No.
He summoned a beast. Feraligatr. It roared, then leapt towards Charizard. The two went down, my pokemon pinned to the floor by his. The blue alligator growled, baring its teeth.
"Aqua tail" left the trainer's lips, and the pokemon's tail liquefied in an instant.
Charizard was taken aback, just like me, when a blow hit him in the face. Water trickled down his scales, burning up on hot skin. I let out a hiss. That must've hurt. He could take it, though. Charizard struggles to get free from the other pokemon's grasp were cut short by the next command.
"Go for the tail" the trainer ordered.
My eyes widened only slightly. If the flame on Charizard's tail extinguishes, he dies. I pulled my cap down, hiding the glare I shot towards the kid. He knew what he was doing.
I only gestured once, and Charizard immediately understood. This was an opponent we have to take seriously.
So, he broke free, soaring up to the top of the cave, leaving Feraligatr staring up in shock. I gestured once more, and the lizard dove down, head ramming into the other pokemon's belly. Feraligatr was thrown against a wall, bones cracking.
Even now, after all those years of battling, I still flinched when a pokemon, any pokemon, got hurt. Not this kid. His face was expressionless. A strand of hair fell into his face, and he stretched out his hand towards me. "Finish it off and take care of him"
Despite the command, Feraligatr was locked. Pressed against the wall, squealing in pain when Charizard's teeth bore into its neck. If the kid wouldn't stop attacking, his wounded, defenceless partner would die.
"What the hell?" a curse escaped the kid. "Finish him off, useless bastard" he reminded me of a toddler throwing a tantrum, with his face red, arms crossed. Though, he was capable of much more than you'd expect from a child. I could see it in his eyes.
He was about to draw another pokeball, when two vines swiftly grabbed his arms. He struggled, cursing through his teeth. Charizard let off Feraligatr at my command, and the alligator fell motionless to the floor.
"Let go" the kid screamed, trying to bite at the vines.
Venusaur was clever, though. She made sure to keep her little plant-appendages away from him as much as she could.
I stepped closer, now that he was kept in check, and looked him up and down. Weavile glared at me, but didn't stop me from standing face to face with the kid. He had his head down, breathing hard, exhausted from struggling, hair falling in his face.
When he looked up, his eyes met mine, and I shivered.
Didn't let him notice, though. I just glared at him with the same intensity. He spat me in the face. I sighed, wiping his saliva off my cheek, not fazed at all.
"Go away" he yelled again. "Let me go, bastard"
His struggle picked up again, but Venusaur wasn't gonna let him get away, only tightening her grip, surely bruising up his pale skin.
I shook my head, then turned and strolled towards the back of the cave. Could feel his eyes bore into me, follow my every step.
Quickly, I grabbed a notepad and a pen, then returned to him.
[Calm down] was written on the first page in black marker. I held it up so he could see. The kid's gaze didn't leave me at first, before gradually wandering towards the paper. His eyes narrowed. Either, he was far-sighted, or he couldn't read well. It took him some time to decipher the words.
After a minute, he spat me in the face again. "Don't tell me what to do" a growl left his lips. I shook my head, wiping the spit off again and writing on a new page.
[I found you frozen in the snow, and took you in so you could recover] it said. He looked at me like I was stupid.
"Yeah right"
[I ain't joking, kiddo. You were almost dead]
He still didn't believe me. "Let go" he simply snapped.
[Only if you don't attack anyone]
The kid hesitated, then finally, gave a reluctant nod. I gestured towards Venusaur, and she let him fall onto my bed. He kept his word. Only sat there, glaring up at me, arms crossed.
[What's your name?] I wrote. [Mine's Red].
Teeth bare, he spat. "None of your business, bastard"
I shook my head once more. [Okey, but nameless people don't get food.]
"Food?" he jumped, his eyes on me. A second later, though, the redhead sunk back down, looking away. "I don't need food. I don't need it"
It was as if he was trying to convince himself, so I just shrugged, then turned and walked away, strolling towards the little metal container and lifting the lid. A mouth-watering smell filled the room. Those leftovers from yesterday's dinner would still taste great.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed him staring.
A smile and nod his way let him know there was enough for him to eat. I filled a bowl for myself, sat down cross-legged and took a sip of the soup. Just minutes later, the kid was standing near, staring down at me.
"Silver" he growled.
I smiled up at him, raising an eyebrow. He hesitated for a second, not sure if he couldn't decide if he should oblige, or if he genuinely wasn't able to read my expression.
Then, he finally repeated himself.
"My name is Silver"