My Friend Yellow

I was born in Viridian Forest, like most Pikachu. At first, it was a relatively peaceful forest, where small Pokemon such as myself lived happily. I played with other Pikachu, I snacked on berries, I discharged my electricity whenever I wanted, everything was perfectly fine. But then these strange people in black and red clothes came storming into the forest, bringing huge Pokemon with them. I didn't know what to make of them. Despite my efforts to defeat them, I just wasn't strong enough. My electric attacks didn't work on some Pokemon, like those big round rock Pokemon with a head, arms, and legs, nothing else.

For a fleeting moment, I thought I was done for.

However, a huge flash of light in the sky caught everyone's attention, mine included. It was a sight to behold. Flowers began sprouting up from the grass. The air became much cleaner. The Pokemon became calm, and some of the Viridian Forest natives, such as the Caterpie, Weedle, and Pidgey, began to return and reproduce more. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen, and nothing could match its sublimity.

Things started to go back to normal. But when I went to snack on some berries one day, a rogue Growlithe just showed up and attacked me out of nowhere, obviously itching for a battle. I was never very good at battles, and even though I used all of my attacks on it, I was helpless against it. It was far stronger than I could ever be, and I was easily knocked out by just three tackle attacks. After that, it looked at me with a disgusted look and walked away, like I wasted it's valuable time. I tried to get back up, but my legs ached with pain, and my body was too weak and heavy to cooperate with my commands, so I just wound up slumping to the ground, lying there, weak and helpless.

Then, my long ears twitched at the sound of a voice.

"Hey, Ratty! Where are you going?"

A sweet, clear voice.

My eyes closed right then and there, so I saw nothing, but I could feel the gentle sensation of a nose sniffing my fur. "There you are, Ratty! You shouldn't run off like-oh no!"

The voice became clearer. It sounded like a human girl.

"The poor thing! Don't worry, little guy. I'll fix you up," I felt soft, gentle hands scooping me out of the grass, and I found myself locked in the embrace of a pair of arms.

A warm, loving glow encased me from the inside and out. The wounds on my body seemed to disappear, and I no longer felt weak and heavy. I had enough strength to open my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the face of a young human girl of about twelve, with long, straw blonde hair tied in a swishy ponytail. Her hazel green eyes glistened like the Viridian Forest trees in spring, and she was relatively fair skinned. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt underneath a sleeveless yellow frock, blue pants, and purple boots. Hanging on her back by some strings was a big straw hat with black and purple decorations on them.

She greeted me with a warm, caring smile. It seemed to make her glow. "There! All better now!" Standing next to her was a curious Raticate. "Good job, Ratty!" She stroke the Raticate's ears like she had known it all her life. "You must have sensed she was hurt and took me here. You're such a good friend!"

She turned back at me, her smile unwavering. "Glad you're okay now. It's gotten dangerous around here," She stroke my ear. It felt strangely good. Her hands felt soft and tender, overflowing with warmth. "You take care now, okay?"

With that, she and Ratty trotted away.

At that moment, I should have forgotten about her and went about my way. But a glint in the grass made me look down, and my black eyes caught sight of a small red machine with a pretty blue circle thing on it. She must have dropped it! I sniffed it so I could memorize her scent. I picked it up with my mouth and ran in her direction to give it back to her. Whatever this object was, it must be very important to her.

I followed her scent, but the area around me was huge and spread out, so it was hard for a small Pikachu to run about outside the forest. I saw people bustling about, large buildings, and some Pokemon scuttling about, wild or alongside humans. Were those trainers? I had heard a lot about them. But I needed to focus. I trotted in the direction of her scent.

The city was a little hard to get through and get around, and because I had never been outside the forest before, I have to admit I was scared most of the time. But I knew that if I was scared, I'd lose her scent, and she needed her red machine back. I put my fears aside and followed her scent once again. It was later on that the sun began to set, filling the entire sky with the deep colors of rubies, setting the clouds ablaze. I always loved the colors of the sunset, as they never ceased to be amazing.

My nose led me to a small wooden cabin near the edge of the forest. I could hear the cacophony of merry laughter and human conversation. I recognized one of those voices as the girl who helped me. I leaped on a windowsill and peered into the window. I saw the blonde girl sitting with two people, probably her parents, smiling and laughing as she sat at the dining room table, with a plate of food in front of her. There was a calm, loving air around them that exuded joy and warmth. The window was opened a crack so I could make out some of their conversation.

"Wow. You had quite the adventure, huh, Yellow?" The man bellowed through his laughter.

Yellow? Was that her name?

"It sure was. Wow, it feels so great to eat a home cooked meal again. Thanks so much, Mom," Yellow complimented gratefully.

"I made sure to make your favorites for when you came home. We really missed you, you know," Her mother turned red in response to the compliment, her smile unchanging.

I looked at her plate. I had heard about those foods from other humans, but I had never seen them before. There was one brown, oval shaped things, some sticky yellow things, a small crescent shaped thing that appeared to be bread, and some corn. I heard Yellow say they were croquettes, garlic shells, and crescent rolls. They all smelled really good.

"You brought a nice team of Pokemon with you. You must have trained them well," Her mother stated.

Yellow let out an embarrassed laugh and rubbed some of her hair after she finished a spoonful of garlic shells. "I couldn't have trained them without Green's help. He was the one who taught me about battling and training."

"You'd have learned this stuff a lot earlier had we sent you to school," Her mother piped in, glaring at her husband.

"Come on, honey! A good Pokemon trainer learns by being in the environment, not sitting in front of a desk all day! It's all about experience!" Her husband argued.

Yellow finished her food. "I'm going to go to my room."

"You rest up, dear. You deserve it after such a hard journey."

I found another windowsill and hopped on it. The window was wide open this time, and I was able to see into her room. The walls were covered with crude drawings of Pokemon, such as Doduo, Rattata, Caterpie, Omanyte, and Graveler. There were drawings of humans too, like one with black hair and a red and white cap. There were five PokeBalls sitting on a wooden desk, next to a small, worn out sketchbook and a box of colorful crayons.

Yellow stormed into her room and threw herself on her bed. Her yellow hair was so long it flowed all the way down to her knees, and it looked really scraggly and tangled, like it hadn't been brushed in a while. She buried her face in her pillows, but with my hearing being so acute, I could easily make out what she was saying.

She let out a sigh. "It feels so good to be back in my room...I really missed my bed…"

But then...her shoulders were shaking up and down. Sniffles escaped her mouth before they evolved into sobs. Was she crying? I wondered why. She had no reason to cry. She looked so happy before. "I can't believe...I managed to do all that...I'm so happy to be back...I don't know if I could handle saving the world a second time…"

Saving the world? What did she mean by that? But even so, my heart still went out to her. I hopped on her desk, put the red machine back, leaped onto her bed, and licked the tears off her wet cheeks. They were warm and salty. Her sobs quieted down, and she pulled her head out from the pillows to look at me. Her face was red and puffy, and the sunbeams made the tears on her face glow.

She glanced at the red flower on my ear and smiled. "You're the Pikachu from earlier today!" She sat up, wiped her eyes, and stroke my head. "Umm...thanks for cheering me up. But what are you doing here?" I pointed to the red machine on her desk. I could tell she was trying to put the pieces together. But she put her hand over my head and closed her eyes for a moment. "I dropped my PokeDex and you came to give it back to me? That's so sweet of you!"

PokeDex? Was that what it was called? I smiled, happy that I completed my mission. "Sorry you have to see me like this. I just...went through something really stressful, and I kinda wanted to let off some steam, y'know?"

I nodded. I knew that feeling.

"You're a good little Pikachu. But shouldn't you go back to the forest?"

I shook my head. Something about Yellow was so nice, and she was so kind and sweet. My heart was screaming to be with her. To stay by her side. She made me feel good, feel appreciated. She put her hand on my head and closed her eyes. I wondered if she was trying to figure me out. For a fleeting moment, we just stared at each other.

She flashed her kind smile. "Do you...want to be my friend?"

I nodded vigorously. She was a kind human. All the other Pokemon I knew said that humans were bad. Yellow just couldn't be bad! If she truly was bad, she wouldn't have taken care of me and helped me. I leaped into her arms and nuzzled into her chest. Her warm, kind arms embraced me and she stroke my back.

"I'd love to be your friend. Would you mind if I gave you a name?"

I shook my head.

"Now let's see...Pikki? Nah, that doesn't sound right. Chupi? I dunno. Oh! How about Chuchu!"

"Chuchu!" I chirped.

She closed her eyes. "Okay then! From now on, you're Chuchu. I hope we can be great friends, Chuchu!"

Me too. I wish we could be like this forever. Yellow...I don't know if I can be the friend you desire, but I want to make you happy and be by your side for all time. I want to help you, support you, and be there for you.

I hope we can be friends forever.