Quietly, the light-colored Pokémon lapped up the river water, then tilted its head to the side quizzically. The water tasted kind of strange...Not at all like it usually did...
Giving a mental shrug, it lifted off into the air, and flew to the cavern where its babies were being watched over by their father.
The squirming little white bundles were whimpering loudly for attention, and the weak dad was bathing one of the boys with a light pink tongue when he saw the mother arrive. He was looking very sickly and tired, and she concernedly went over to him and nudged him gently with her nose. He opened his mouth, but no noise came out. Instead the father slumped abruptly to the ground with a low thud.
The mother cried out, startled, and prodded insistently at him. She sniffed the air around him frantically in search for a clue, and the four baby Pokémon's whimpers increased in pitch and sound. They could sense that something terrible was happening. They struggled to find the mother's warm body, and when they succeeded they cuddled up against her.
But she suddenly wasn't feeling well herself, and fell to the ground with a moan. Her breathing became labored as she struggled to get air.
The smaller versions of herself poked her demandingly with their noses. They wanted to know what was wrong.
But she was unable to find the strength to tell them. Lovingly and regretfully, she gave her children a final glance before she too fell into dark oblivion.
The motionlessness of their mother confused the quartet, and they again touched her worryingly. They then opened their mouths pointedly, trying to get her to understand that they were hungry. But she was unable to pay them any attention.
For a few days they remained loyally by their parents' cold, lifeless bodies, their strength continuing to deteriorate from lack of nourishment. Their eyes and ears were finally open, but the poor little things were unsure of what to do.
With sad finality, one of them started crawling towards the entrance of the cave.
Her brother mewled at her. [Not 'posed go out. Mommy won' let.]
She wheezed back a reply. [Dey no wake up. Haveta go. Come wit' me.]
The two others slowly made their way to them. One insisted, [Gotta stay. Dey might wakie.]
[Hungry. Gonna find food,] the girl grunted.
[But sis--] the first brother pleaded.
She paid her siblings no heed, continuing her journey to the outside of the cave, her brothers' cries slowly fading as she got farther away from them. She finally came to the end of it, and went out into the light, which had always seemed like a barrier the few times she had ventured away from her parents' bodies.
She squinted, her eyes not used to the brightness of the sun. As they adjusted, a whole new world suddenly unfolded itself around her.
Gone was the dim gray-black view of hard ground. Instead, colors assaulted her vision. Luscious greens, rich browns, bright blues. She opened her mouth in awe, moving forward a bit before suddenly collapsing onto the ground.
Her trip had taken a lot out of her, weak as she was from lack of vital nutrients. She lay gasping for air, black spots dancing in front of her eyes.
Dimly, she was aware of hearing someone speaking in a language she didn't know. And that someone was coming closer.