Tales of Trading: Draze
My original trainer gave me the nickname Draze. I suppose it suits me well. The others never had a problem with it. But even if they did, a pokémon's nickname is unalterable once the said pokémon is no longer in the custody of its original trainer. My OT called me Draze, and Draze I will be called, forever. Even when my time comes to enter Elysium, when my body is taken to the Tower, my trainer will have DRAZE engraved onto my tombstone.
I don't know what SAMMY would have named me had I been his from the beginning but I am curious. SAMMY's starter pokémon wasn't a charmander like me; he started out with a squirtle whom he nicknamed Sprite. What would he have named me? I ponder this quite a bit because SAMMY was such a better trainer than CJ. How would I have turned out? What if I had been SAMMY's and Sprite had been CJ's?
CJ, you call me out to battle for the first time. My foe is a squirtle, the very one whose pokéball has been on the table beside mine. I know this squirtle. We are friends. You want me to hurt my friend?
Why, CJ? Why do you want me to hurt my friend? Oh, you don't like the other boy do you? Squirtle's trainer. Gary, is that his name? Gary tells squirtle to tackle me; I think he wants to take your money, CJ.
Why are you hollering at me, CJ? Fine, I'll scratch squirtle if you will please be quiet. I will hurt my friend if you will stop yelling at me. This is just a game, right? This is just pretend, right CJ? I will play this game and scratch squirtle if you really want me to, CJ.
OW!!! Squirtle tackled me. I'll scratch him with my claws! HA!!! He didn't like that. Hey CJ, can we stop this game? I don't think squirtle is enjoying it very much. No? Okay, I'll growl at him for a little while. What? You want me to hurt him some more? Fine. Okay. If it means that much to you.
Hey CJ, we won! Aren't you happy? Hey, I'm tired. Can you give me the potion you have in your bag? No? Well can we visit your Mom? No? But I just won, CJ. I just won!
My health is dangerously low. Squirtle and I didn't enjoy that battle; it was too close. Great. You want me to battle a wild rattatta. I don't WANT to! I'm TIRED! Fine, I'll battle this stupid rat…
I blacked out? I don't remember that! Why are you so angry with me, CJ? I tried. I scratched the rattatta but it tackled me. Don't be mad. I'm feeling better now that we're at your Mom's house. Can we stay here for a little while longer? No? Okay…
A male Nidoran, a mankey, a pikachu, a geodude, and a clefairy have joined our party. I am a charmeleon now but you don't use me for battling very often. You were so upset when it took a while to beat the Pewter gym leader. It really hurt when you yelled at me while I was in the pokémon center recovering from trauma caused by the Cerulean leader's starmie. I am a fire-type; what did you expect? Why are you yelling at me? Don't call me weak! I could've died, CJ! Is that what you want!? Do you want the flame on my tail to go out!?
You pay more attention to your other pokémon than to me. I am easily the strongest of us all yet you put me in this horrible Box all by myself. You won't let me go to Day Care; it would actually cost you money, wouldn't it? I don't want to be alone…
You let me out of the Box! Where are we going? Who is that? Are you TRADING me, CJ? Why!? Who is this? I don't want to go, CJ!! Don't make me go!!!
CJ's charmeleon was traded for SAMMY's gyarados
I don't recognize the other pokémon in this party. A wartortle, a dragonair, a pidgeoto, a raichu, and a gengar. Their original trainer is called SAMMY. Where is CJ?
I ask the others, "Where is my trainer, CJ?"
"I do not know any CJ, I know only a SAMMY. SAMMY is our trainer" responds the dragonair softly. "SAMMY is our trainer and we are his pokémon."
"My trainer is CJ. Look, CJ 00036!"
"That is the ID number of your OT, your first trainer. SAMMY 01944. That is SAMMY's number", says the pidgeoto. "SAMMY has five badges already!"
That is pretty impressive. CJ only had two… What am I thinking about? CJ has only two. There is a familiar flash of light. I open my eyes; I have been released from the captivity of my pokéball. A wild oddish is before me.
"Draze, use ember!" This command is spoken by an unfamiliar voice. I whirl around to see, not my CJ, but another boy. This must be SAMMY. The boy gives me an encouraging smile and nods toward the oddish, repeating his first command.
And to my surprise, I comply. Hot embers are shooting out of my mouth at the wild oddish. The scent of burning leaves reaches my nostrils; it is wonderful. The oddish looks enraged; it sends out dark purple spores at me!
There are too many falling down upon me; I soon discover that they are poisonous. I feel energy sapping away from me; this feels horrible. I am only grateful that this is a mild poison but the thought doesn't make me feel much better.
"Draze, use ember again! Trust me!" Trust? That's a funny thing to say… Despite the dreadful feeling in my being I spew smoking embers from my mouth once more.
CURSE YOU, ODDISH!!! I don't enjoy feeling sick. Maybe I'll faint and wake up in a pokémon center. I hope so…
The scent of burning leaves enters my nostrils again; now I just want to faint. Faint and wake up without poison. The Joys are usually nice. I hear the oddish let out a piercing scream and I know that my foe has fainted. I wish I was as lucky.
The boy SAMMY is approaching me; I wait to be returned to the comfort of my captivity. Nothing happens. SAMMY is smiling at me again.
His smile quickly fades and he reaches into his bag and rummages around for something. He pulls out two items I don't recognize. The first is a small vial filled with some sort of liquid. The other is some sort of bottle filled with another kind of liquid.
SAMMY hands out to me the small vial first. What am I supposed to do with that? I guess this trainer notices my confusion.
"This is an Antidote. It will cure the poison in your system. And this, this is a Soda Pop. It will give you back your energy." The boy trainer tells me.
Should I take these things from this small trainer? I look at him and laugh. I could char him into nothing if I wished. He is by far the smallest of all of the human trainers I have seen since my days at Professor Oak's lab. Should I trust this SAMMY?
The ghastly feeling in my being won't go away! I reach for the Antidote and Soda Pop, not caring too much about this smiling trainer with five badges who is handing them to me. I drink the foul antidote and am glad that its effects are working quickly. The Soda Pop is also much appreciated.
"Great job, Draze!" cheers small SAMMY. With that he returns me to my pokéball in his party.
How does he know my name? My attacks? Why did I fight for him? He is not my trainer; why would I obey him? Is it because he has badges? Why am I here? Where is CJ?
"Nice job", comments the wartortle. "I am Sprite. I was SAMMY's first pokémon."
"I think a fire-type should have done better than that!" scoffs the gengar. "After all, that was just some wild oddish. It wasn't as if this charmeleon had just taken down oh, say me!"
The pidgeoto cuts in, "That's Kozmik, don't mind that ghastly ghost too much. Welcome to the party. My nickname is Talon. I Fly just about anywhere SAMMY has been. Which is just about everywhere in Kanto! Anyway, you're not so bad, considering your level and everything."
"Considering my WHAT!?"
"Hey, never mind that! Everyone's just excited because you're new, okay? It's not your fault you're weak!" interupts the raichu.
"What do you know? I'm not weak! Who are you to tell me I'm weak?" I ask angrily.
The raichu pauses for a moment before responding. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just; it's just that you're not as strong as everyone else. You're alright, don't get me wrong! But your level isn't as high as say mine or as high as Drameous's. I bet you could probably give Sprite a real battle, though."
"Taylor, you're just being arrogant again! Just because you find practice with Sprite so easy doesn't mean that everyone should! Draze is a fire-type, remember? Sprite would drown the charmeleon easily!" says Talon.
"SHUT UP! I CAN'T THINK WITH ALL OF THIS NOISE!!!"
Everyone is quiet. Unable to stand it I whisper, "Who was that?"
"Drameous", everyone hisses in unison.
Drameous? The dragonair who spoke so softly earlier? These pokémon are strange.
CJ, where are you? When are you coming to get me? Well, I guess this is better than being in a Box. I've never been the weakest pokémon in a party before. Are SAMMY's pokémon lying? Are they really so strong? Why did you trade me CJ? Do you like your new pokémon more than you like me? I know you can't hear me but I wish that you could.
I don't want to think that CJ has forgotten me or abandoned me. I wonder when I will get to return to him. When will I return to my trainer and take my place as the strongest pokémon of the team? Am I stuck here with SAMMY forever?
I reflect on this for a while. SAMMY doesn't seem to be so bad. I think about the Soda Pop I had earlier and can't help but think that he must be good. I don't think I'd mind staying here where there's Soda Pop to drink, strange pokémon who talk too much, and a small, smiling trainer who asks you to trust him. Sounds kind of nice.
Author's Note: I have ideas for more chapters involving different trading scenarios besides the whole from bad trainer to good trainer sort of thing. I really would appreciate feedback. Just a review like: okay or stupid or hated it would be great. I would like to know what people thought about this. I need to know if I should scrap it!