A/N

Hiya. This is Corrupted, the story I've set my heart to finishing before the summer ends. I should say, before I begin, that this started as a game I roleplayed out with a friend (kind of), but it has been utterly revamped. Also, due to the nature of my psyche and writing style, I cannot write long chapters. The most I've gone up to is 1,500, and that's a rough estimation. Sorry!

Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon. Just these ideas and characters... and technically, the main character isn't even mine. XD

-A Slightly Abnormal Day-

It was brilliant green. Everything was brilliant green. Even the air seemed green. It was quiet; silent. Every movement blurred the edges of her sight. She couldn't look around, or else it would be too clouded. Water bubbled somewhere. The trickle became a crashing rush. It was too tempting. She turned quickly. Everything misted over.

"Mrr…"

Kim flipped over, reaching up to tug on her ears. She didn't like that dream. It wasn't particularly entertaining, and it was too mysterious. The Pichu rose groggily, the tips of her ears brushing the ceiling. A little dirt crumbled down into her eyes. "Stupid…" The yellow rodent rubbed her face, flattened her ears to the back of her skull, and made her way out of the den. More soil clung to Kim's fur as she dug upwards through the tiny entrance, and she brushed that off when she emerged in the sunlight.

Yawning and stretching with blearily closed eyes, the little Pokemon sank back into the roots of the tree her den was dug out under. "C'mon… Wake up, Kim. Gotta find food today… Gotta eat…" Kim tried to talk herself into having some energy, but it just wasn't working… and it was so peaceful outside…

So lovely…

"I might… just…" Kim yawned, "…go back to bed…" With the warming sun on her face, the Pichu fell into a doze.

"DON'T SLEEP ON THE JOB, KIM!"

A pale-cream blur shot at the half-asleep Pokemon, knocking her off the root and sending her sprawling into the trees. Kim gave a startled screech, shooting up with sparks flying from her cheeks. She relaxed when she saw who it was, and her terrified glare turned unafraid and half-hearted.

Standing barely a tail's length away from her was a Meowth, grinning slyly and looking thoroughly amused. He was considerably taller than Kim, even though he was on all four legs, and he was definitely a little older. Seeing her leer, however weak it was, seemed to amuse him even more. "What, don't like the wakeup call?" The Meowth sniggered, standing on his hind legs and tossing a forepaw around Kim's shoulder. The Pichu made a face, but didn't jolt him off.

He continued as if she had said yes. "Too bad! Time is money, or food, I guess, and we can't have you sleeping the day away!" Finally, Kim responded.

"Can it, Tanner," She snarled, but the threat was lost in her smile, even as she shifted away from him. Kim stretched again, stubby paws reaching toward the sky, tail brushing the ground even though she stood on her tip toes. Tanner kept on grinning, dropping back down to all four paws.

"We're going to the creek today for berries," Said the Meowth matter-of-factly, his curled tail swishing across the ground as he watched his friend stretch. "I have a good feeling about it." Kim paused for a moment with her arms extended in front of her. When Tanner had a good feeling, it usually meant good berries and sometimes something more.

The last time he'd had a good feeling, they'd ended up with more Pecha berries then they could carry a few of those strange berry-flavored blocks the humans made that made Pokemon feel good. "Alright!" Kim agreed enthusiastically. It wasn't as if she had any choice in the matter, anyway. If she said no, Tanner would go alone and get the all riches for himself.

Which he would not feel even a smidgen guilty about, and then he'd rub it in her nose.

With one last pop of her tired limbs, Kim took a deep breath and fell to all fours. "Race you to the creek!" She howled, and then the little rodent was off. Tanner wasted no time in dashing after her, working his legs to the max. His grin was still in place.

Kim was making quick work of the path to the creek, which wasn't too far from her den. She skirted around the many trees, barely slowing down as the shrubbery whipped her face. All was going well until she tried to jump an old, rotten log. It was three times her size, and instead of jumping over it, she smacked into face first.

Laughing hard and a little bit breathlessly, Tanner used the Pichu as a step and cleanly leapt over the log. Not a second later he splashed into the creek. He came up spluttering, soaked to the bone, and waded to the shore. There he sat, looking more pathetic then a wet Poochyena.

"Who's laughing now, huh?" Kim smirked smugly from the top of the log, which she had scrambled to climb once she'd heard the splash.

The Meowth nearly scowled, but his eyes lit up with an idea. He made a running jump and landed squarely on the log, grinning mischievously. "Still me," He whispered slyly before shaking himself much like that soaked, pathetic Poochyena would. It had the unfortunate effect of making his fur puff up so that he looked like a Quilfish, but it was worth it after he saw the look on Kim's face.

She was shocked, obviously, but with water making her fur cling to her skin, she looked scrawnier than a starved Rattata. Kim was also stupefied, something Tanner didn't see much of anymore. Switching between staring at herself and her fluffy friend, the Pichu took a deep breath and promptly burst into loud giggles.

Soon, Tanner joined in because, whad'ya know? They looked ridiculous!

It was only a minute later, when they'd both washed themselves, that the Pokemon could stop chuckling. Tanner was done much faster, probably because of his feline instincts. He got a real kick out of watching Kim use her tongue to clean herself, while said Pichu was only semi-oblivious.

"Well!" Kim popped up, a slight smile still on her face. "Where does this feeling of yours lead us, Sir Tanner?"

The Meowth opened his mouth slightly and thrust his muzzle into the air. He took a deep breath, scenting the area. It didn't take him long to find what had given him the good feeling. "Right this way, Madame Kim," Tanner's tone was much more mocking as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his tail. Leaping off the log, he pressed his nose in between two berry bushes at its base that had been plucked clean. Kim was about to complain, because, really, what use did two bare shrubs have? Then he dug into the rotten wood to reveal an Oran bush, branches drooping with plenty.

The Pichu shut up after that, opting instead to take some sweet, zingy berries from the ever-grinning Tanner. Stomach growling impressively, Kim bit into the Oran berry and received a shock through her system; a shock she quite enjoyed. The pair gathered more of the sweet fruits at their paws and sat down to eat.

Later, when they were done feasting, the two would stuff as many berries as they could into their cheeks and paws and go their separate ways for the day. For now, though, Tanner tucked into another delicious Oran, as did Kim.

Neither of them mentioned the way his tail twined ever-so-slightly around hers.