Nuzlocke Challenge Rules:

You must consider any fainted pokemon dead (also, no using revives or max revives)

You may only capture the first pokemon you see on any route.

It's also been randomized to spice things up a bit: meaning all starters, wild pokemon, and trainer pokemon teams including Gym Leaders have been randomized to a pokemon of similar rarity and strength.

As is with any Nuzlocke, there is going to be death, cussing, and probably light gore in describing the death. Please enjoy, and tell me your thoughts and criticism so I can make this a better story in the reviews if you would be so kind. Also, if you care to do so, I may accept some OCs and use them as characters we meet along the way if I can fit them in there if you would like to submit them. So, enough of me yapping; have chapter 1 of Con Brio.

Clover stared at the trainer card in her hands, unable to believe it was actually happening.

It had a picture of a boy in red that looked a little similar to her, under the name of Aidan Smith. That day she had been drop dead tired, and it showed by the cranky expression. But she really looked like a boy! None of the chubby legs she used to have, and whatever she may have had in the ways of boobs beforehand, was now completely indiscernible from an outside eye.

The age on the card read sixteen was two years older than she actually was, although it was necessary for the plan.

Right, she thought, feeling a little resentful. The stupid plan. As she often did, she wondered why on earth she was even doing it. She had thought originally, that it'd be great to help a friend, but ever since, that friend was a huge ass. He had a reason for it, kind of, she supposed, but that didn't mean she was just going to take it.

Which rang the thought again of why on earth was she even doing this? She wasn't a bad kid- not if she could help it. Her mom was a hardworking single mother and Clover only had the upmost respect for her. Even if they disagreed about a lot of things.

Clover was nervous- of course she was, this was a plan of years in the making, and it was finally happening, in less than 24 hours. She was running away from home for legends' sakes! And why? She barely had a solid reason. Because I pity him? Because it's for a good cause? The only thing she could come up with that sounded remotely okay was that she didn't think it would be wise to let Gary go alone.

This is stupid. She thought, angrily slamming and spamming buttons on her gamecube controller. This is so stupid.

At around 1 am in the morning, squeaks of pebbles hitting her window disrupted her gaming.

So he remembers I exist. That's, well, something, at least. Clover peeked through her blinds and was confirmed in her educated guess. It was Doucheface Mcgee himself.

With all the caution she could muster, Clover tiptoed outside as if she were a meowth trapezing.

"Er… Hey, Clover."

Wow, he even remembered her name. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or annoyed that he had met her so late. "Hey yourself, Gary."

He used to be like a prince- the pride of the Oak household. Now, he was a walking piece of male privates to everyone he knew or met.

His usually bold stature was hunched into himself and he looked guilty- a worn out expression on his features, and he looked so, so tired. She almost felt bad for him. Well, no, she did, but she was never going to admit it. "What's up, Oak? If you're worried about the plan, I'm still doing it. Don't worry about my side of it."

He looked as if he had been shocked speechless for a moment. "Wha- really? You're really going through with it?"

Clover shuffled her feet, wishing she were in her room. "Yup. So if there isn't anything important to be coming out of your mouth or mine, I'm to try to get some sleep."

Gary scratched his neck, looking almost nervous. Well- they had been thinking about this for years. He was at least twice as nervous as she was, probably.

"Thanks, Clover. I- I really mean it."

"Yeah, yeah, save it." She grumbled. "Just… Give this to Daisy, will you? Tell her to give it to my mom when she starts getting worried."

Gary took the thick envelope, glancing at her, and then back. "Of course- I promise. I promise. I'll, um, see you tomorrow then, Clover!"

She sighed. They were really going through with this. It almost felt like a dream, to have Gary acting like his old self. But then again, with all that was coming ahead, she wondered if it was to be more of a nightmare- or if it was even worth it. "It's Aidan, now." Clover threw the words over her shoulder before creeping back inside her house.

"Gramps, I've been waiting here forever!" Gary complained, stomping as Professor Oak dragged the newly deemed Aidan into the Laboratory.

When they were younger, it was a place they played in- or, generally, were thrown out of because they were too loud. Now, it was the blade cutting the two free from the quaint life they had in Pallet Town.

Aidan was too dazed to be really hearing the two of them bicker. She had an elaborate lie set up; she pretended she was going camping with her friend from Viridian who just came back from Celadon and she conveniently forgot to leave a note with any specific who, how or when.

It was pretty lucky for her that the elder Oak had yet to recognize her- he had known her since she was born. But then again, makeup did wonders and his eyesight was leaving at a fast pace.

Eventually, Professor Oak gently pushed her to the pokeballs- snapping out of her thoughts, she immediately went to check them out.

Laid out on the table in pokeballs were cleffa, zubat, and a charmander.

The charmander sounded amazingly strong, and dependable. But flashy. And unfortunately for Aidan, flashy was not an option. Charmanders were rare, and a trainer with a Charizard? Forget it, the news would be eating them alive.

Zubat, while inconspicuous, was rather weak. For a starter, it also wasn't a very good option, since she would have to build a team around it. With no one else for a zubat to fall back on in battle, it would likely die.

Cleffa was her only option left. It wasn't super effective against anything, but normal types were also only weak against fighting types- not to mention a diverse set of moves which was useful.

With a forlorn glance at the charmander, she grabbed the cleffa, hoping the little one was tough.

Names, names… Aidan wanted to name her pokemon, but what? Clefairies were often associated with outer space stuff… And it was pretty cute, in all its evolutions…

Gary stormed over to the table and nabbed- Aidan flinched. She had hoped, with no luck, that he wouldn't chose the charmander. But who was she kidding? Of course he would.

"C- Aidan! Let's battle, right here! Let's check out our pokemon!"

Enthusiasm lit the boy with energy, fidgeting with a cocky grin, ball confidently in his grasp.

"Oh for legends' sakes… Fine. But be careful, would you two?" Oak groaned, standing to the side to act as a referee.

Aidan tuned out as Oak listed the rookie information- she had gotten the trainer card through a series of tests, of course she had to know all the basic information.

Letting out the new cleffa, she kneeled to talk to the pokemon. "Hi there, little guy."

"Hello! Nice to meet you, Master!"

Aidan wasn't really into the sound of 'master' but hearing Gary's conversation with the charmander start to dry up, she decided it wasn't a good subject for the time being. "Hey, can I call you Fae?"

"Yes, of course, Master! It would be most honorable to receive such a cute name!"

Rubbing her temples, Aidan sighed. "Do you mind a battle? I'm sorry it's right after we met, but-"

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll do my best!"

On the side of the ball, there was a list of moves- presumably what the cleffa knew. Names would come later- Aidan had a bad feeling about the vicious look in the charmander's eyes. Sure, the cleffa had some handy moves- but this was no time to take it easy.

"Use charm, Fae!" Aidan was pretty grateful for having the first move, since she was the one being challenged. Fae did a adorable little dance and winked at her opponent.

Gary's expression was serious- she wasn't sure she had ever seen him like that in recent years. "Clara, use scratch!"

It wasn't like the big screen battles- no flashy explosions, no complicated strategies. It was basic moves and luck, which Aidan hoped really badly that she had. Sure, she was alright to leave home to make sure the guy didn't end up dead, but that didn't mean she wanted to lose.

The move seemed to have done some decent damage- Fae had a cut on her pudgy little arm now. Please use growl, please use growl. The charmander let loose another mean scratch attack, right before Aidan had told Fae to use encore. Shit.

The battle progressed with charms and scratches, and Aidan finally felt it was time to fight back. "Pound!"

"Scratch!"

Aidan was so very glad she had spent some of her saved up money to buy a potion- if she didn't have it, then the battle would've been in Gary's favor.

Quickly as her body would allow, Aidan dumped a potion on her new partner, rolling out of the way as the charmander landed a weak scratch.

The rest of the battle was less scary for the new crossdressing trainer- the charmander had gotten infatuated with the little pink pokemon due to its Cute Charm ability and, giving the cleffa more time to dodge and hit, and eventually, the mild attacks of Fae won through, after what seemed like ages.

"WHAT? Unbelievable!" Gary shouted, stomping as he walked up to his charmander and placed it back in its ball. "I picked the wrong pokemon…" He grumbled.

Aidan really wanted to retort back, but withheld. She had won and that was enough. Besides, it was funny to think of his reaction if he had chosen the zubat. She couldn't help but grin at the thought. "Great job, Fae! You were awesome!"

"Thank you, Master!" The pokemon seemed overjoyed, hopping up and down, skipping around her trainer.

Gary shoved a wad of dollars into Aidan's hands. "Enjoy it now, because there won't be a next time." He growled before marching off, purposefully bumping into the winner on the way out. "Aidan! Gramps! Smell you later!"

Smell you later? What are you, five? Aidan picked up her new comrade with a smile, after realizing the tiny pokemon had trouble keeping up with such little legs.

With a fat wallet full of savings and Gary's money, along with a adorable cleffa in tow, Aidan left her home with a smile. No- his home, now. If he was going to play the part, he was going to do it well.

The day had started off nice, it really had. But there were so many tedious battles against the young pokemon of the area. Aidan had been told the wild path to Viridian City was long, but he didn't expect it to take all friggin day! By the time they got to their destination, Fae was practically asleep in his arms and the sun was going down.

First, they stopped at the Pokemon Center, to check out a room and to heal the battered cleffa.

The city was calm as he remembered it being, although part of it was blocked off by a old man and his daughter, who almost hit Aidan with a pan to keep away. Weirdos. Then, he gave a glance to the trainer school, and looked around for any signs of people searching for him-er, well, for Clover, anyway. It was a bit ridiculous, but it made Aidan feel kinda lonely- but it meant his mom was okay and not in panic mode yet.

Deciding it would be good to pick up supplies before there was any amber alert, he stopped by the PokeMart.

"Hello there, are you from Pallet?" was the first thing the clerk said to him. That's rude.

"Er, ye-"

"Great! Take him this package, would you?"

Every single time Aidan tried to buy something, the clerk would only repeat his question with a smile- it was really creepy.

Defeated, the young trainer went back to catch some sleep on the bed waiting for him in the center.

As it turned out, Fae was a extremely clingy sleeper, nuzzling uncomfortably into Aidan's nooks and crannies.

They had slept for a whole twelve hours til noon, and left to give the package to Oak. Aidan wanted to finish as quickly as possible- and check on his mother.

As they entered the town, a unfortunate face met Aidan's view.

"Cl- Aidan, what are you doing here?"

"Apparently delivery g-, er, boy for your grandpa. You?"

"None of your business, loser."

Aidan sighed. There came out the asshole Gary she knew so well. "I'll go with you if you wait up for a moment." He offered, trying to be civil.

"As if." Gary sneered, walking away trying to look cool. It really just looked a little dorky.

Well, he tried.

"Why do you let him talk to you like that, Master? That was certainly rude!"

Fae had managed to clamber up to Aidan's shoulders, making her place homely and quickly. "Eh, it's fine. He was more civil in the past two days than in the last three years. And uh… Would you mind forgetting what I'm about to do?"

"Er… Master Aidan?"

The trainer took a deep, deep breath.

Knock Knock!

And out of the door came Layla Emory, single mother to one. His mother

Thank the legends. Aidan felt a bit of the weight on his shoulders lifted off, seeing his mother in one piece, peachy as ever. "Er… 'scuse me ma'am how's your…" He lost his function to speech once he saw Fae literally in his mother's arms. Oh. "How's your day, um, going?"

"What a adorable pokemon you have here! Oh- my bad. Sorry, it was probably rude to do that, hm?"

Aidan didn't think he'd ever be shy or choke up in front of his parent- most of the time they were bickering or laughing- and now he felt like a bashful three year old. "I uh, don't think Fae minded at all, haha… hah…"

Fae sent him a look saying, what?!

Aidan tried to give a tiny nod, hoping the message of just do something! got across.

Fae sent him a dirty look before nuzzling the woman."Uh… Cleffa, cleffa! Clef!"

Aidan had to keep himself from laughing. "Um, do you, um…" The urge to laugh drained from his body when he panicked. The only thing he could think of… oh legends. "Do you have the time right now to listen about our righteous savior and lord, Giratina?"

Somehow, Aidan actually managed to bs his way through the conversation. He didn't expect his mom to actually try to quiz him and question him about grimism- he had lost a whole thirty minutes of his day to that.

"Oh, Aidan, thank you so much for bringing the specialty pokeball, I appreciate it."

Aidan coughed and tried to make his voice a little lower. "It's, uh, nothing, Professor Oak."

"It's, uh, nothing, Professor Oak. Oh, do you have the time to hear about our saiv-"

The mimicked trainer flicked the cleffa's forehead. "Cleffa cleffa, look at me- ow!" Pouting pink small pokemon bit Aidan's finger.

Fae stuck her tongue out. "It was Master Aidan who did it so short not-"

"That's why I asked you to wipe it from your memory!" Aidan complained, giving a pitiful look to his pokemon.

The professor cleared his throat, with a impatient looking Gary glaring from behind him. "It seems you and your pokemon are getting along wonderfully! You really have some talent for training!" Oak loudly congratulated, clapping Aidan on the shoulder.

Gary made his way in front of his grandfather, pissed off. "I've been waiting here for like thirty minutes! Enough about that, what is this is this about, Gramps?"

The professor stepped back with a kindly smile, and grabbed two blocky red electronic devices. "I have a request for you two! I want you two to collect data about all kinds of pokemon on your journey. It's my very own invention. My dream is to-"

Gary snorted. "Blah blah, is that all, Gramps? I have things to do, people to see."

The elder Oak sighed and gave Gary a look. "I want you two to use these high-tech encyclopedias to get data from pokemon you see and catch. That's all I ask in exchange for your pokemon."

"Kay, got it. Smell ya, Gramps. Aidan." He stopped, just for a moment, beside Aidan. He scratched his neck before giving his signature smirk. "I'm sorry to break it to you Aidan, but you won't be necessary for this."

According to the Rules, a trainer can only catch one pokemon- the first pokemon they see on a route. Aidan excitedly searched the route when they encountered a pidgey a while into the search.

"Fae! Let's see if we can catch a new member of the party!" To say Aidan was excited was an understatement- being a trainer had never particularly been a dream of his in the past, but it was still just like out of a movie. Aidan had never done anything really adventure like before, and he was pumped. And he made sure to let Fae know too, hoping to get her into the spirit.

"Won't it be cool, Fae? It'll be so totally cool to have another member!"

Fae, riding on her trainer's shoulder, could only sigh. "Master Aidan, I don't get why you're so excited. Didn't we just met yesterday? How come you aren't as excited about that, Master?"

"Don't call me master." He grumbled, shooting a look at his pokemon. "And it's not that I'm not pumped to have you with me but I don't get to meet new faces too ofte- crap!"

Unknowingly, the trainer had just stepped into a shallow pitfall trap.

"How could you fall in a pitfall trap, stupid Mast-"

Two pidgey flew in and one attacked the duo, the other stealing the fairly empty bag.

"Hey don't take our- ow! stop tha- ow-" A rattata joined the opposing forces, tackling the trainer down every time he tried to stand up.

"Master!" Fae cried, trying to stop the pidgey stealing the backpack.

The other offending pokemon tried to gang up on the small cleffa, all attempting to take the bag away, but were somewhat held off by Aidan.

If this had been a fair fight, one on one against either of the pidgey or the rat, Aidan wouldn't have been worried, but three against one tiny pokemon was completely unfair.

It was a awkward tumble of fighting and scratching and bruising, but it eventually ended with two events. The rattata with its teeth on the trainer's throat, and then, a very angry little ball of cleffa pounding her way out.

"Don't you fucking TOUCH HIM!"

Aidan didn't think he had ever seen something so little so angry before. Angry didn't even really cover the half of it- completely enraged, really. She just kept punching and slamming and doing everything within her power to hurt the rattata- the pidgey were smart enough to fly away from the danger, leaving the backpack.

While Aidan was pretty embarrassed he couldn't even keep off a rattata, he was more concerned for it at this point than Fae.

"Fae, you can stop now-"

"NO! I'M GOING TO KILL-"

The trainer tried to keep off the pink pudge of hate to calm it down but it was thoroughly pissed- although, at what, was now the question considering the rat could no longer move ever again.

"You already killed it, Fae. It's… not going anywhere. It can't hurt me anymore. Calm down." Aidan really wasn't sure if he was supposed to be so flattered that someone got so mad on his behalf, or terrified about what had just happened. He never really had many friends, and sure he had been bullied a bit, but he never complained about it in fear of worrying his mother.

He grabbed the now quiet pokemon in his arms and walked for a while in silence, deciding that they weren't going to get anything done from sitting there. Maybe he would have to condition Fae to be less protective or something- that actually made him pretty curious… "Hey, Fae. If you don't mind me asking… Why are you so protective? We barely met yesterday."

Fae jumped up and stole his hat basically covering up half of the little pokemon, and seemed to press herself into him, trying to be smaller, as if trying to disappear. "I… Master Aidan… Life in the lab wasn't too bad. Oak played with us and fed us well, but we were a little trapped. We never met anyone else besides the aides. I've been told my whole life what I would be and do- protect my trainer. With my life if need be." Aidan wasn't entirely sure he liked the sound of that- but he was glad he was able to let Fae see the world, even if it wasn't much. "You're nice, Master. And I don't mind being with you- it's quite fun. You're very silly and a little stupid and too nice, I think, you are soft. Even if it's not much, you've given me a lot and I want to protect you."

Aidan stopped in his tracks. He set the confused cleffa on the ground, and moved the hat so the cleffa could meet him eye to eye when he kneeled.

His hair was so short and choppy, and he was still unused to the feeling of having virtually no hair. It was itchy. But, even more so, it drove to the point that this was his life now. Out with Clover and in with Aidan, the pokemon trainer.

"Look, Fae. You're tiny. You're a baby pokemon, and barely beginning to grow. Let me at least try to protect you, will ya? You're going to be too cool for a trainer like me pretty soon." Aidan smiled at the bashful stature of the little cleffa, reminded of his meeting with his mother earlier. If Aidan had to be put in a similar situation with his mother, he thought he might just act exactly like Fae. "We're friends, not a servant and master. Equals. Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, master. Equals an all that."

Legends, it was going to be a while before Fae dropped the master part, wasn't it?

(Enter: Elliot the Shellder lv.2, at Route 22, West of Viridian.)

I scooted closer to the noise, secure in my hiding spot in the bushes and brambles. I willed myself not to tremble as I saw a young trainer- one of the boy things, but short and not yet in much puberty. A pokemon smaller than I was with them- it was pudgy and cute and the only thing that I could think of that looked a bit like it would be a jigglypuff.

They certainly didn't seem scary, but I couldn't underestimate them.

The trainer had just pitched a tent, wiping off sweat from their brow as they sat down, next to the cleffa who was tending to a transportable human invention for cooking.

I could practically hear my mother's words in my ears. Don't you dare trust humans! She would say, cursing a storm, rocking back and forward in her shell. They slayed your father! She would break down in tears, ice cicles sliding down her face as she howled and murmured ideas of revenge.

I didn't trust humans one bit. And if I was strong enough, I would venture to hunt down anyone associated with my father's death- but I was a weakling. A runt, and had little in the ways of anything- even in food or adequate protection to sleep peacefully- the pokemon west of Viridian city weren't all that strong, but they were mean.

I scooted a inch closer, intrigued by the cleffa beating up the trainer.

"Master Aidan, will you STOP TRYING TO TICKLE ME!"

The terrified trainer was trying to scramble away, but little was working. "Ow- I did- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you just looked really cute laughing! WHY ARE YOU STILL- ow I bith meh thongue- NOTH THERE!" This continued for some time.

The huffy cleffa was the first to notice me, to my dismay. "Eh?" She grinned, giving me a similar look. "If you don't have business with me or Master, beat it, kid."

I thought the trainer was going to dismiss the situation or agree- but they laughed. "Fae, you're not very good at being threatening." The other pokemon started to make a retort about the trainer's questionable puffy eye, but it was cut short, instead becoming loud noises of protestation when he kneeled before me.

"H-hello there, mister trainer." I squeaked meekly, trying to shy away father into my shell. Up close they looked friendly, but I wouldn't be fooled so quickly.

They smiled and quieted the cleffa gently, covering up my view of it. "Would you like to eat with us, little guy?"

For the entire quarter moon, they stayed in the area, the cleffa fighting wild pokemon to become stronger and the trainer reading a lot of books. The trainer, despite the many arguments with their companion pokemon on the subject, always left some food out for me, even when I was watching from far away.

In all honesty, I was beginning to become worried for the trainer. They were naive and a bit stupid- I was benefiting from it, but they were so kind, it made me feel intensely guilty.

One day, while the trainer- er, Aidan, was washing up in the pond, I decided to confront the cleffa who I had learned was named Fae. The pokemon beat up her trainer far too much, and it was the least I could do to get the guilt off my shoulders- well, figurative shoulders.

"F-Fae!" I called out at the familiar campsite, sucking in all the courage I owned. I wasn't very strong- I had rarely ever fought before and really, 'fought' was a generous term. It was more like I was beat up- but I wouldn't mind getting a little roughed up to pay my dues.

The pokemon put the pan she had been scrubbing down. "What is it, you pathetic clam?"

I could feel my heart panic, and I had to force myself to rationalize. If I was about to be killed, the trainer would save me, right? Right? "I-I'm a shellder, not a clam! And stop beating up Aidan! It's stupid and it isn't nice at all."

"Nice?" She scoffed, putting her tiny hands on her sides. "Master Aidan is an idiot! He's going to get himself killed, so I have to make him think about what he does and show him what's wrong! He's too nice, and that's exactly what will get him killed!"

I swallowed, starting to tremble. I had to stand my ground! "St-st-still, Fae! That's too m-much, you know! You should be ni-nicer!"

She looked deadly unamused, with a raised brow promising she was pissed off. If I hadn't been trembling before hand, I was shaking violently now, but somehow I still was able to talk like I had some courage. "Why don't you join the team and protect Master then, you stuuupid clam?" She sneered, and I could feel her looking down on me.

Maybe it was because I was angry and wanted to prove a point, but my next words shocked both of us. "Maybe I will!"

Why on earth had I thought it was an okay idea to get involved with a human? I could picture my mother screaming at me, with an anger beyond words. I had betrayed her just now- but I wanted to do something for the trainer- even if this was more than I wanted. I hadn't meant to join or anything like that- I had just liked the company they had presented- but I wasn't a mon' to go back on my word. Ever. It was about my only good point.

And my next move was also quite stupid- was the boy rubbing off on me?- I tackled the cleffa.

Needless to say, Aidan had to pull her off me. He told me to wait after apologizing for her behavior- and being me, I followed them at a safe distance.

"Why are you so nice to the stupid shell, Master Aidan?! I don't understand! He's weak and pathetic and-"

For the first time since I had met the two of them, he actually sounded irritated. "Fae." He growled firmly, staring her down in an uncomfortable kneeling position since she was so small. "Listen: I'm grateful you want to protect me. I am. But I want you to understand- it isn't bad to be friendly sometimes. If you don't, someone might not be when you need it the most, okay? I want you to think ab- shit!"

Fae had landed a jab to the human's shin- before I could stop myself, I was tackling Fae again. "Fae, stop!"

She evaded the attack easily- but I was not prepared for the water works when I turned around to look at her.

"Stupid Master Aidan!" She screamed, falling to the ground. "Y-You're so naive and defenseless, and I'm s-scared you're going to die every time I t-take my eyes off you! Don't make me c-care about you just to go away so easily! I s-still have nightmares a-a-about that stupid rattata, and I refuse to let you die, okay?!"

The trainer looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "Oh, Fae, I'm sorry. I didn't…" The rest of the evening had been spent in a somber mood, little being said at all.

The cleffa even went to bed early, saying thank yous and please, even to me.

Both the trainer and I were baffled by it, discussing it when enough time passed and then we deemed it safe she wouldn't hear.

Aidan sighed, stressed out by have little idea what to do to help his starter. "Ahh, I'm her trainer and I'm supposed to know what to do to make things better, right? Legends, I'm pathetic." The trainer held his face in his hands, so still as if he were made of stone.

I hoped my pessimistic attitude hadn't affected Aidan. "Uhm… How long have you two been together?" I questioned, trying to keep his mind from dwelling too much.

He didn't move to look at me, hands only tightening on his head. "A little over a week, I guess? It's felt like longer, honestly."

That was a bit of a surprise- the two of them got along pretty well, and the cleffa was extremely clingy to have only known the human for a week or so. "Fae is really attached to you already. Isn't that a good thing?"

It was only a fraction of an inch, but his shoulders relaxed a little bit. "That's true, but she's been pretty attached to me from the beginning, really. I think it was more of her upbringing though, Shellder. She's been raised her whole life to protect my role as a trainer."

"Hey, this is Fae we're talking about! She wouldn't care so much about just anyone, you know, it just shows that she cares about you and is really worried about you!" I felt good about this one- that this would be at least somewhat helpful in cheering Aidan up. It was weird, to see him down, when he was usually smiles and laughs, even when being beaten up.

Or not. He curled into a tight fetus position, and from the little bit that I could see of his face, he looked about to cry of all things. "It's only because I'm pathetic, Shellder. I was almost killed by a rattata on our second day- a rattata, for legends' sakes. She's right about everything she says, you know- I'm pathetic and weak and-"

I said things like this to myself practically every moment I breathed but I wasn't going to stand for Aidan- no, my trainer to talk about himself this way. If he was going to be strong enough to kill my dad's murderers, he was going to be something better than this. "Shush, Aidan! You're my trainer, and her trainer, and you should be proud of that, so chin up!"

He fell out of his curled position and, awkwardly splayed out on the ground, looked shocked beyond belief. "When did this happen?!"

"Just now!" I barked with strength I didn't usually have.

"R-really? Are you sure, Shellder?"

I was fidgeting in my shell, nervous, but excited. "Y-yeah, of course! But, on one condition."

He nodded seriously, crouching to be at my level. Didn't that ever hurt his back? "Of course."

"You have to get both of us strong enough to take my dad's murderer, okay?"

"You bet!" He grinned, face now lit up with his usual positivity. "Oh, hey! This will probably make Fae really pleased!"

I gagged. "You think so? I doubt that. I think you being there and telling her you're going to get strong will make her much happier."

His pleasant expression doubled with delight, smile stretching from ear to ear. "Really? You think so?"

I scooted closer to nudge his ankle as we started to move to the tent. "Of course, Aidan. And if not, I'll protect you."

Finally, he laughed at that.

Looking at my trainer, he was weak. Small for a human boy, from what I knew. Hardly muscular. Not the smartest, and more than enough naive for the time being. But seeing him happy was contagious, and even if he didn't have potential as a trainer, I was happy to follow him. He was cute in almost a growlithe sort of way- much cuter than Fae, for sure.

I couldn't make a conjecture of any way that our team would turn out- it was as likely to end up dead as it was to prosper, and it wasn't like to do either- but being snuggled by his warm body, and with Fae's foot uncomfortably close to my face, I felt like it would be okay to be this way for now.

Team Line-up:

Fae the Cleffa, lv. 7

Elliot the Shellder, lv. 2

Death Box: N/A

Location: West of Viridian City, Route 22.

Next Time: Aidan and co. find a new friend in Route 2 and tackle the Viridian Forest! Beware, all ye who enter. Fear the Bug-Catchers! Thanks for reading today, folks!