The Power Of Friendship
-Age, 5-
"Mommy, mommy, look!" I yelled as I went running to my mother, who was sitting in our backyard weeding. It was a nice and sunny day here in Sinnoh, and nobody wanted to be locked indoors that day.
"What is it Stella, sweetie?" She asked over her shoulder as she pulled out a big weed, trying not to get any Oddish in the process.
"He's injured mommy! Can we take care of him until he's better? Please?!" I asked while cradling the injured Zubat in my arms. He was so small! The poor little Zubat had to have been a hatchling from the looks of it. And the poor little thing had a torn wing. My mother had finally turned around to look at me and the little Pokémon in my arms, obviously thinking that it was some other kind of Pokémon.
"Oh, I don't know sweetie. It's just a Zubat." She sighed as she looked at me holding it.
"But MOM! The poor thing is injured!" I complained. I didn't want the little thing to die outside all alone knowing that I could have done something.
"Okay! Okay! Fine!" My mother said, sighing in defeat. She stood up, took her gloves off, and whipped the dirt off of herself. "Let's go and get some supplies to help it heal properly. That sound alright sweetie?" She said to me, and reached out her hand for me, which I took while nodding.
The whole way to the Pokémart, I held my mother's hand in one of mine, and had a firm but gentle grip on Zubat with the other. When we arrived, my mom took me into the store, then left me by the door as she quickly picked what we would need, paid, and then we left. On the walk home, she kept looking at me and shaking her head about actually letting me convince her to help out the Zubat. When we got home, she wrapped up the Zubat's wing carefully after applying what she needed to.
Two weeks had gone by since I had found Zubat injured by a walk path just down the road from my house. Its wing had gotten way better!
"Sweetie," my mother said to me. She was crouching at eye level with me now, "now that its better, don't you think it's time to return it to where it belongs? Back out to the wild?" She said. She was serious about this.
"Wh-what? Why?" I asked, a bit startled by her statement.
"Well," she started, "he isn't really yours. You don't have it in a Pokéball of any sort. So it wouldn't be right to keep this wild Pokémon."
"But he's my friend!" I protested. I was on the verge of tears.
"If you say so Stella." Mom said, she started to shake her head at me.
"If he is still following me when I get home today, then you have to buy me any Pokéball of my choice to capture him properly then." I said, crossing my arms and stomping my tiny foot on the ground. She snorted.
"Alright, you're on. See you later sweetie."
As I was walking around outside with Zubat following me, we heard some laughing off to the right of us. I looked over and there were some older kids pointing and laughing at me.
"What's your guys' problem?" I shouted to them.
"Zubat's are so stupid!" One of them hollered at me.
"Why don't you get a real Pokémon, eh? Instead of that joke!" another yelled. The third was doubled over laughing his butt off.
"You aren't stupid. You are an awesome Pokémon!" I said, turning to Zubat who seemed sad about their words and laughter. "Come on, there's some trees that we can play in for a little while! Let's go Zubat!" I said, giggling with excitement while running away from the dumb kids that were laughing at us.
After a few hours of playing in the forest, dusk started to fall on the busy little town of Eterna City. Zubat was following close behind me as I walked. I stretched a little and yawned as I trudged back to my house as fast as my five year old feet could take me.
"Come on Zubat," I said, my voice sounding like I could fall asleep right there on the road, "not that much further now."
I knew that mom would probably release Zubat while I was sleeping tonight, and that's part of the reason why I don't want to go home just yet.
"It's still following you?" my mom gasped, slightly shocked that a wild Pokémon was still following her daughter home.
"Yes mom." I said, the tiredness fading from my voice completely now. "I told you! Zubat and I are friends!" And it was true. I had made my first Pokémon friend.
The next day my mom had taken me to the store and I had picked out a Luxury Ball for my Zubat, to which everyone was surprised that I wanted that one. I had told them all that I wanted nothing but the best for my Pokémon, and that that's all they would get from me. The absolute best of everything.
-5 years later, age 10-
"Come on Zubat! I know you can do it!" I yelled. We were in Eterna Forest with an objective in mind. And not just any objective, we were on our way to Sandgem Town to talk to the professor about me becoming an actual Pokémon Trainer. "Use Air Cutter! Then follow it up with Bite!" I yelled. Soon after, the Gastly we were fighting had fainted. Another victory, but this time, it was different.
Zubat started glowing a bright light!
"Z-Zubat!" I gasped. "Y-you're—" that's all I got out because now my Zubat was a Golbat. "You evolved!" I cheered, jumping up and down, then ran up to him and hugged my Golbat the best I could. His big wings wrapped around me as if to be hugging me back. I pulled away and whipped away a few tears of pride as I looked at him. "I'm so happy you evolved my dear friend!" I said with a big smile on my face.
I took my backpack off and rummaged through it for a few seconds before pulling out Golbat's favorite treat, a Sitrus Berry. I smiled and held it out for him as he devoured it from my hand with glee.
"You deserve it, my dear friend." I said with the biggest grin plastered onto my face. A few more steps into the grass, and we encountered a Budew. The battle was over quickly, but the surprises weren't over just yet.
Golbat started to glow a bright white.
"So soon?" I asked, a bit surprised by such a quick evolution followed by its first evolution. Under the gloomy light of Eterna Forests tree tops, you could see it. I looked at Crobat, and in that moment when our eyes met, I could see the true friendship, affection, and admiration for me held in Crobat's eyes. I smiled and ran up to the Bat Pokémon that I had cherished all these years and hugged him.
Not long after, we had continued on out path, Crobat out of his Pokéball, following close behind me. Just the two of us, with nothing to lose and the start of our adventure together underway. But for now, we had but one objective in mind.
Get to Sandgem Town to get my Pokédex.