I do not own pokémon.

This is in second-person present-tense, but give it a chance.


I: Masara Town


The morning sun rises slowly, peeking through the curtainless windows of your bedroom. A ray of golden light alights on your face, but you are asleep. You don't feel it until it lands on your eyes.

As you drift towards wakefulness, you recognize the warmth of the sun upon your eyelids and groan. You don't want to get out of your bed, which is comfortable and soft. You were up late the night before, fantasizing about your imaginary starter pokémon.

Suddenly, you are alert, and your eyes snap open, only to be met with a faceful of solarbeam from your ever-faithful friend Solgaleo. You hiss like an arbo and shield your eyes with your arm, ducking under the covers, but the damage is done. You can't go back to sleep.

You groan irritably and roll over to glare at the glowing orb in the sky, but you can't hold your stare for long. The sun has far more power than yourself, a mere human. You imagine it laughing at your pathetic attempt to impose your will on itself.

"Jerk," you mutter as golden shafts of light dance cheerily around your room, mocking you with their bright smiles and happy faces. You shake your head to clear your mind of woozy thoughts (it doesn't work, but you feel reassured all the same) and stretch, carefully avoiding the sun's fiery gaze.

Pokémon, your mind reminds you as your eyes drift over to the shelf where lies a pikachu plushie (your mother bought that for you-you don't claim to be a stereotypical pikachu fan), I'm getting a pokémon today.

And suddenly you are awake and dressed in comfortable clothes and a soft black jacket, bounding down the stairs with all of the enthusiasm of a growlithe puppy. You smell food- pancakes, bacon, and eggs- and silently thank Arceus for your awesome mother as you slide into a stool by the counter.

"Good morning!" your mom smiles cheerily, reminding you of the sun (but not Solgaleo, who is a jerk), and finishes piling some scrambled eggs on your plate. "Eat up!" she says, "You've got a big day ahead of you!"

You nod in agreement and hungrily and scarf down the provided food, somehow not making a mess. Your mother smiles fondly at your enthusiasm, but you don't see the melancholy glint of nostalgia that enters her gaze. It doesn't take long for you to finish your meal, and by then your mom's expression is back to normal.

You look up, swallowing a mouthful of pancake, and say, "I'm going to come back home as soon as I catch a pokémon that I can fly on."

You know that your mother will be lonely without you, and you plan to catch a pokémon for her. Maybe with a pet, she would be able to endure any boredom that she might find. Masara Town is lovely, but there aren't many people, and it really is rather small.

Your mother looks surprised, but then she smiles gratefully, says, "Thank you, Satoshi," and gives you an extra few pieces of bacon for your troubles. You love your mother. She's great.

"I love you, mom," you remind her, and then grab your backpack, slinging it over your shoulder.

Surprisingly, your mother has tears in her eyes, and she runs over to you and sweeps you up in an embrace. You are surprised to find your own eyes sparkling with tears as well. You hug her back as tightly as you can.

"I'll be back for Christmas, mom," you say, and your voice cracks, "I promise."

Your mother doesn't speak, only hugs you tighter. It is a long time before she finally lets go, her eyes dry, "Goodbye, Satoshi. Dr. Okido is waiting for you."

You hug her again, bid her one last farewell, and then open the door. She's right, it would do no good to be late. You smile at the sun and the docile poppo fluttering through the air, and even the neighbor's dodorio which is a completely unreliable alarm clock due to its apparent laziness.

You begin your walk to Dr. Okido's lab and let your eyes wander over Masara Town. It is a small place, with only a few houses, and surrounded by forest (with the exception of Water Route 21). You read the little plaque in the middle of the town, which has its map description:

A fairly new and quiet town. It's a small and pretty place. Masara is the color of pure-white beginnings.

You've always found that appropriate, and you wonder what the big cities are like. Are they old and noisy? Huge and ugly? That's what the map description seems to imply if Masara Town is out of the norm. You are brought out of your thoughts when you see Dr. Okido's lab.

You walk up to the door and open it without waiting to knock. You know the doctor is expecting you, and he has already expressed his dislike for the elegant knocker on his door, which is shaped like a hakuryu. You wonder why he doesn't just get rid of it if he really hates it that much.

Inside are a few scientists, doing some research on some things. You don't pay much attention to them, instead opting to walk over to where the pokéballs are. There is one on the table, and you wonder what's inside.

You look around and then notice one of your childhood friends sauntering over, Shigeru. He has spiky brown hair and dark, viridian green eyes, and is a bit taller than you are. He claims to be your rival, but whenever he does, you scoff. Shigeru does just as well as you in school, but you both know that he is the better battler. After all, his grandfather is the esteemed Dr. Okido. He has to have inherited something.

"Yo, Satoshi! Gramps isn't around!" he sounds positively gleeful, and you wonder why. Isn't Dr. Okido the one giving them the pokémon? "I ran here 'cos he said he had a pokémon for me."

You are confused, "Well, yeah. He has one for me too. We've known about this for weeks, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, well," Shigeru rubs the back of his hair marriepishly, "I wasn't really listening when he gave us that big speech about trainer etiquette and stuff, 'cos I'd already read about it, y'know?"

"Yes," you fix him with a deadpan stare, and he looks vaguely guilty, "and I was being responsible and chose to listen to him."

"Weeeell, um," he coughs and changes the subject, "I was thinking that maybe we could see the pokémon inside when he wasn't watching, yeah?"

"But what if it's like a gyarados or a kairyu?" you counter, "or a ferocious, evil, little pikachu?"

You both shudder in memory- once, the two of you had snuck into the lab and opened a pokéball, which released a hostile, wild pikachu. It had tried to savage you, and they were saved at the last second by Dr. Okido's own kairyu. You have had a phobia ever since, but Shigeru's is slightly more prominent.

"Okay, okay, maybe that's not such a great idea," he glances at the pokéball fearfully, and you shudder again. You wonder if Dr. Okido will give you both pikachu as starters, "But what if it's, like, some super-badass starter pokémon?"

You think for a second and then consider. If it's a starter, it'll ruin the surprise, and if it's evil, it'll kill them. There's no gain, you think, "There's no gain," you say, shrugging, "I kinda want a surprise, anyway."

"Alright," Shigeru sulks, and you sympathize. You're curious too, but Dr. Okido should be here any minute now.

True to your predictions, Dr. Okido steps inside, looking vaguely ruffled. His robes are slightly charred, and he's holding a pokéball. With a lightning bolt on it. You can guess what's inside, as can Shigeru.

"Oh, no, no, nononononononono no!" Shigeru backs away rapidly, and you pale and try to hide behind him. It's a pikachu, and you both know it. And he's going to make one of you take it.

Dr. Okido laughs at your expressions and puts the pokéball in the pocket of his lab coat. You both sigh in relief and slump to the floor.

"Oh, come on, now, you know I wouldn't do that to you!" he chuckles and dispels your fears. Shigeru offers you his hand, and you gratefully take it to stand up.

"Gramps!" Shigeru suddenly bursts out, "I'm fed up with waiting!"

"Hmm?" Dr. Okido schools his face into an oblivious expression, "Shigeru? Why are you here?" Shigeru looks crushed, and Dr. Okido laughs, "Hey, I'm just fooling with you. Here, I got you a pokémon."

He pulls a pokéball out of his pocket (not the pikachu), and hands it to his grandson, "Satoshi, this one's yours," he gestures to the table with the pokéball on it.

You eagerly pick up the ball and send out the pokémon, and Shigeru does the same. You're shocked when you see the pokémon inside.

It's one of the least common pokémon in Kanto, nearly extinct in the wild. It has soft brown fur and huge chocolate eyes, and long, diamond-shaped ears and an absurdly fluffy tail. It has a ruff of cream-colored fur around its neck, and it is the cutest thing you have ever seen.

"Arceus above, you are adorable," you gasp, and then the little thing snarls at you ferociously, "hey, hey, sorry!"

You look over at Shigeru, who is petting his own eievui with a goofy grin. She loves the attention and butts her hand against his, while your eievui stands in front of you proudly, like a guard growlithe.

"Wow," you grin at your pokémon, who hesitantly copies your expression. You laugh, "hey, not to insult you or anything, but you're so cute that your opponents will probably have trouble attacking you."

Your eievui puffs up proudly as Dr. Okido explains, "It's an evolutionary tactic. Eievui aren't very powerful, so they use their cuteness as a weapon instead. Surprisingly, their ability is not Cute Charm, but either Run Away or Adaptability, or even Danger Premonition, which is a hidden ability and rather rare to have. Here, have a pokédex."

Satoshi received the Pokédex!

You receive a strange red box, which you assume is the pokédex, and Dr. Okido tells you how to use it, "Put the button on your pokéball to the scanner," he pointed to a little indent that was pokéball-button-shaped, "and click the A button."

You obliged, and the screen on your pokédex lit up.

Kanto #133: Eievui, the Evolution Pokémon.
Type: Normal.
Abilities: Run Away, Adaptability, Danger Premonition (Hidden Ability).
Height: 0.30m
Weight: 6.5kg
Egg Group: Field
Gender Ratio: 87.5% male, 12.5% female.
Its genetic code is unstable, so it could evolve in a variety of ways. There are only a few alive.
Evolutions: Showers (use Waterstone), Thunders (use Lightningstone), Booster (use Flamestone).
Would you like to view your eievui?
Yes No

You select yes, curious. The screen blinks to a new section and has a space for a picture. You quickly snap an image of your eievui. Then you notice a space for a nickname.

"Hey, what's your name?" you ask, wondering how it will respond.

"Vui!" it declares, stalking over to you with the same haughty elegance that you recognize in persian to see the screen of the device in your hands. You make room.

"Vui it is, then," you nod, and type that into the empty box, "I'm Satoshi," you add, absentmindedly as the pokédex chimes, and you scroll down.

"Eievui," it acknowledges.

Nickname: Vui.
Species: Eievui.
Level: 5
Abilities: Adaptability, Danger Premonition (Hidden Ability).
Height: 0.25m
Weight: 5.5kg
Gender: Male.
Moves: Covet, Helping Hand, Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Captivate*, Charm*, Curse*, Detect*, Endure*, Fake Tears*, Flail*, Natural Gift*, Stored Power*, Synchronoise*, Tickle*, Wish*, Yawn*.
*signifies move inherited from parents (egg move).

You are surprised to find that your eievui- Vui, you remind yourself- has a hidden ability. You decide to ask Dr. Okido how he got an eievui with a hidden ability if they are really so rare, "Dr. Okido? Why do you have two eievui? Aren't they supposed to be rare?"

"Yes indeed!" Dr. Okido says, "I only have them because I, as well as the scientists in the lab, are breeding eievui so that we can bring them back from near-extinction. We have a lot, so I figured that we could spare two for some special new trainers, and I managed to find two with hidden abilities. We also managed to breed several egg moves onto them- mostly because we had to breed the one eievui that we found with another pokémon in order to begin the breeding process, and we took advantage of it."

"Hm," you nod, and then notice Vui below, butting its- his- head against your leg. You crouch down, and then find yourself with an armful of purring pokémon. You stroke him carefully, remembering his earlier behavior, but he only responds by pressing into your touch. You can't help but smile as you rub the fur on the top of his head, messing up his fur.

Vui suddenly hooks his claws into your shirt and climbs onto your shoulders and then on top of your head, making a nest out of your black hair in revenge. You chuckle fondly as the cute little thing looks around from atop his perch.

Shigeru walks over just as you go cross-eyed trying to look at your eievui's tail, which is dangling in front of your face, and laughs. You scowl at him playfully and watch, amused, as his eievui bats at a loose thread on his pants.

"Yo, Satoshi, what did you name your pokémon?" he asks as you try to move the tail out of your face and are rewarded with a vicious hiss from your comfortable pokémon.

"Vui. That's what he said his name was, anyway," you respond, and then ask, "What's yours' name?"

"I'm calling her Blacky," Shigeru declares, and you notice that Blacky's eyes are far darker than Vui's- almost black. Abruptly, Shigeru asks, "Do you want to battle?"

Shigeru wants to fight!

"Hm?" you are caught off guard by his sudden question, but quickly school your features, "Oh, sure. One on one?" you ask jokingly.

Shigeru snorts and pulls out Blacky's pokéball, "What do you think?" and then shouts, "Go, Blacky!"

Shigeru sent out Blacky!

Blacky jumps down, chirping cutely. She doesn't look very tough, but you know you can't underestimate Shigeru. She rolls over onto her back and twists around to try and get her tail.

"Vui!" you say, and suddenly, your cute little pokémon is a ferocious demon-beast of the forest, snarling evilly and crouching down in a battle position. Blacky squeaks fearfully and scuttles back.

Go! Vui!

"Blacky, Fake Tears!" shouts Shigeru.

Blacky suddenly starts crying fearfully, and its very convincing, except you think your eievui is a sadist. Vui's grin only turns sharper, and he hisses ferociously.

Enemy Blacky used Fake Tears! It doesn't affect Vui… Vui's Sp. Atk rose sharply! Vui used Leer! Blacky's defense fell! Vui used Growl! Blacky's attack fell!

You frown. Vui doesn't know Leer. Your type that into your pokédex.

Shigeru looks confused, but shakes it off, "Blacky, Tackle!"

Blacky charges forward in a straight line, heading straight for Vui. She narrows her eyes in concentration and fixes Vui with a vicious glare. She's suddenly slower, but there seems to be far more strength in her attack.

Enemy Blacky used Curse! Enemy Blacky's speed fell! Enemy Blacky's attack rose! Enemy Blacky's defense rose! Enemy Blacky used Tackle!

Vui neatly side steps Blacky, hissing again.

Vui avoided the attack! Vui used Growl! Enemy Blacky's attack fell!

Now Shigeru was thoroughly confused. You watch as your pokémon attacks without needing any orders, proudly. Only experienced pokémon are able to do that, or wild ones. Besides, Vui knows his battle style better than anyone else, and you aren't about to intervene.

Shigeru catches himself as Blacky looks back at him helplessly, "Erm, Blacky! Tail Whip twice, then Tackle!"

Enemy Blacky used Tail Whip! Vui's defense fell! Enemy Blacky used Tail Whip! Vui's defense fell! Enemy Blacky used Tackle!

Vui suddenly puffs up and jumps high into the air, latching onto the ceiling. He glares at Blacky and growls so viciously that she stops in her tracks.

Vui used Bounce! Vui used Leer! Enemy Blacky's defense fell! Vui used Leer! Enemy Blacky's defense fell! Vui used Leer! Enemy Blacky's defense fell! Vui used Growl! Enemy Blacky's attack fell! Vui used Growl! Enemy Blacky's attack fell! Vui used Growl! Enemy Blacky's attack fell!

Vui begins to prepare to kick off from the ceiling and slam into Blacky with all of the power and speed of a raging sihorn (not very fast, but extremely powerful).

Blacky's eyes widen fearfully and she whimpers pathetically.

"Blacky, use Endure!" Shigeru shouted desperately.

Enemy Blacky used Real Tears! Vui's attack rose sharply! Enemy Blacky used Endure!

And then Vui comes down. There is a miniature explosion.

Vui used Bounce! Enemy Blacky endured the hit!

Vui then tackles the quivering creature, and poor Blacky faints.

Vui used Tackle! Enemy Blacky fainted!

The pokédex chimes.

Vui grew to level 6! Satoshi defeated Shigeru!

Shigeru's eyes are wide, and he hits your pokémon with a flat, "What."

You gape in awe at Vui, who you're now convinced is Mew in disguise, and he stands proudly in the empty space (the pokéball automatically calls back a pokémon before fatal damage is done).

Shigeru looks faint as he holds out a handful of money, and Dr. Okido looks shocked.

Satoshi got $175 for winning!

"Vui, are you secretly Mew?" you ask, feeling a little bit stupid, but wanting to clarify all the same.

Vui shakes his head and then bounds over to you, leaping into your arms, "Vui, eieeee, vui-vui!"

"Sorry, I don't speak eievui," you sigh regretfully, and then look over at Dr. Okido, "Um, did I break any rules?"

"Oh, no, no, it's just…" Dr. Okido looks somewhat sheepish, "I've never seen an eievui with such high stats before."

Then Shigeru explodes, "Holy Arceus! Eievui aren't supposed to be able to learn Bounce! Or Leer! And forgive me if I'm wrong, but holy fuck, that eievui is strong!"

Dr. Okido looks at Shigeru disapprovingly for his coarse language but doesn't correct him, "If you could send me notes on your eievui's development, I would appreciate it. You can do that via pokédex."

"Okay," you say, still stunned, and nod, "Can I go to Route 1 now?"

"Oh, yes, most certainly," and suddenly, he is normal again, "Well, off you go, kids! Go catch yourself some pokémon! Here are some pokéballs to get you started. Your maps should be installed in your pokédexes."

Dr. Okido hands you and Shigeru five shrunken pokéballs each and shows you how to store them inside of the digital space in your pokédexes. You zap the pokéballs with the tiny laserbeam, and suddenly, they are gone.

Satoshi received five pokéballs! Shigeru received five pokéballs!

You start to walk out the door, but Shigeru grabs your arm. You look at him, confused, as his face suddenly colors and he mumbles something quietly.

"Sorry, what? I didn't hear you," you ask, and he speaks up, his skin returning to its normal shade of apricot.

"Um, can I come with you? I mean I know we weren't planning to travel together, but I think it would be safer and more fun with a friend…" Shigeru looked somewhat uncomfortable, so you save him.

"Sure! I was actually about to ask you that," you say. You're not lying, but you were only considering how different the journey might be with a partner.

"Oh, good," he sighs, relieved, "I was worried you were going to say no and I was going to embarrass myself."

He pulls out his pokédex and touches Blacky's pokéball to the button, and he clicks on the item section to get to the medicine compartment, where he stores potions and revives.

Shigeru used a Revive! Blacky recovered from fainting. Shigeru used a Potion! Blacky's health was restored.

He tosses Blacky's pokéball and the little eievui comes out, looking a fair bit bewildered. Vui hops over to her and croons concernedly, while Blacky looks startled but then recovers from her temporary fear of him. The two almost immediately engage in a game of tag.

"Looks like they made up," Shigeru comments, and you nod. Vui may be a sadistic, ferocious little monster, but sometimes he's okay.

You look at the sky, and it's settling into late afternoon. "We should get going," you say, and start off towards Route 1, Vui, Blacky, and Shigeru all tailing behind you.

It's an adventure, you think, suddenly gleeful, and it's going to be awesome.

And you and both your human and pokémon friends set off into the sunset, but not really, because you're heading north.


Masara Town- Pallet Town

Arbo- Ekans

Satoshi- Ash

Dr. Okido- Professor Oak

Poppo- Pidgey

Dodorio- Dodrio

Hakuryu- Dragonair

Marriep- Mareep

Kairyu- Dragonite

Eievui- Eevee

Sihorn- Rhyhorn

Shigeru- Gary