Always, always, always Arthur had trouble making friends. Francis didn't count, either. He was more of a nuisance than a friend, anyways.
"Ah, Mon Cher," he always said, "isolation will make you bitter and cold. Maybe if I visited more often..."
"No!" Arthur huffed in annoyance. "No such thing!"
"Then get yourself a little Pokémon friend, non?" Francis wagged his finger at the smaller child. "A little imp to match yo-"
"GO AWAY." Arthur slammed the front door on Francis' face. There was a grumbling from the other side, muffled by the pine of the door. He didn't care that the only person willing to hang out with him was hurt. Nope. Not at all. Not in the slightest...
"Okay, fine, you can come in," Arthur said with a huff when he opened the door again. Francis bounded in and made himself at home.
"So," he purred to his green-eyed companion, "What kind of Pokémon should we get you~?" Francis seemed intent on helping Arthur out with this. "Something graceful and beautiful, to counter you with your clumsy and terrible ways?"
"H-hey!" Arthur stuttered, "If you insult me again, I'm just going to kick you out and you can forget about coming over here ever again. Why do you insist I need a Pokémon?" He crossed his arms and frowned across the table at Francis.
"I think it would be a nice change for you," Francis replied sweetly, "and it would get that stick out of your ass."
Arthur frowned deeper. Francis must have taken notice, because his attitude turned one-hundred and eighty degrees.
"I'll even let you borrow Remy." Remy was Francis' unbelievably snooty Delcatty. Francis had gotten him for his eleventh birthday as a Skitty. It enjoyed lounging around and doing absolutely nothing but loiter around Arthur's home, hissing at the boy if he dared come near.
"That thing hates me and you know it, Francis," Arthur said flatly. "It makes a point of clawing up my leg and trousers if I so much as look at it."
Francis laughed as if Arthur had just told a joke. "Oh, Mon Cher, that's just his way of saying he likes you. It'll be fine, trust me." He stood up, grabbed Arthur by the shoulder and forced him to go outside. "Come! We're off to make you a better person!"
"This is stupid. I don't need to find a bloody Pokémon to have a friend. I'm perfectly fine by myself."
"Oh, come now, just because this is your first time doesn't mean you can get cold feet. Just take the pokeball with Remy in it and let him stretch his legs."
Arthur looked down at the pokeball in his hands. The exterior was worn down with time and use, deep scratches and rough patches all over it. Hesitantly, he threw the ball, releasing the Pokémon to the elements. The ball returned, surprising Arthur a bit, and where it should have landed was a lithe, cat-like Pokémon. It stared daggers at Arthur.
"Well," Arthur said, "Now what?"
Francis laughed behind his hand, "You're such a virgin with this."
"Don't that word out of context!"
"Just search the tall grass for a Pokémon, then, with Remy's help, catch it. Simple." Francis still had a crooked smile on his face, trying his very best not to laugh.
Arthur put on a "game face" and looked at Remy. "Okay you fleabag, you're going to help me get a Pokémon to get Francis to shut up. Okay?"
Remy yawned and sat down on his haunches. It didn't look interested in helping Arthur at all with this task.
Leaving the Delcatty where it was, Arthur trekked a few yards into the grass, looking in crevices, the hollows of trees and under rocks. Eventually he found a meowth lounging in the sun on a rock.
"Aha!" Arthur said in a harsh whisper, so it wouldn't become startled and run away. "Remy! Remy come here!"
Remy stayed put, cleaning its fur from any dirt that managed to get on its coat.
"For the love of- You stupid thing! Get over here now!"
Francis called out to Arthur. "Be kind to Remy, or he won't listen to you!"
The meowth looked up from its perch. It felt no rush to run off, enjoying a few more moments of sunshine.
"Francis, it's just a stupid animal! It's not like it can tell I'm being mean." The comment shocked both Francis and his Delcatty. The Pokémon hissed loudly at Arthur, who didn't see a problem with what he said.
"You apologize to Remy! And me! That was very rude of you to say." Francis looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"But it's true." Arthur resisted the urge to comment on his friend's girly emotions. "It's just a stupid Pokémon. And it's yours. And it hates me."
"He probably hates you because you're so mean to him," was the reply. This started a back and forth argument between the two. Arthur was so caught up in it he didn't notice the meowth leaving the scene.
"And another thing- Hey, where'd the meowth go?"
"It left because of your loud mouth," Francis sniffed. "This wouldn't have happened if you just apologized to Remy and me."
Remy nodded in agreement with Francis, eyeing Arthur with contempt and dislike.
"I'm not apologizing to that deplorable creature and I don't see why you want to make me," Arthur shot back. For good measure he decided to kick dust up at the Delcatty.
Remy, in anger at its fur being coated in dust and grass, hissed loudly at Arthur, leapt into the grass, and scared off any nearby Pokémon. This included several rattata, a plusle, and even a group of clefairy and clefable. It then made a show of sauntering past Arthur with the expression of triumph.
"Why you little—" Arthur held his tongue and clapped his hands together. "Right, then. I guess you can't help me get a Pokémon. Let's go home, yes? No need to waste time here."
Francis shook his head and extended his hand out for Remy's pokeball. "Fine, fine. We'll try again tomorrow."
Arthur handed over the pokeball, and the Delcatty was returned. Francis left quickly and without a word; he was very upset with Arthur. Oh, well, they'd patch things up together between them later tonight.
Sighing, Arthur slowly made his way back home, taking a different route than Francis had. He stopped altogether when a loud snuffling came from behind a rotting stump.
"Hello, what's this?" Arthur questioned, stepping toward the sound. He peered around to find a lone Cleffa, cowering behind a clump of weeds.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your family?" he asked, making the small creature wail in shock and tremble even more. "Did that nasty Delcatty scare off your mates?"
The Cleffa looked up, bewildered. Why wasn't this predator attacking?
"Strange, it's nowhere near a full moon tonight. I wonder why there was a troop of your kind mucking about. I doubt you can find them now." Arthur crouched down and held out his hand to the star-shape Pokémon. "Here, I'll take care of you. Would you like that?"
The Cleffa looked backwards, then to Arthur's hand. After a long pause, it toddled over to the hand and hugged up against it. Arthur then picked up the Cleffa and inspected it.
"Huh, you seem pretty old to be a Cleffa. Late bloomer, hm? I am too." The Cleffa squeaked and flailed its arms in understanding. "We can be late together, yes? My name's Arthur."
It then occurred to Arthur that that Pokémon needed a name of its own. "What should we call you?"
The Cleffa shrieked and wriggled in excitement. It had heard that Pokémon became partners with humans all the time, and they went on adventures and had fun and—
"Roger."
What.
"That sounds like a perfect name, right?" Arthur asked. The Cleffa's expression was flat. Roger? Really? It couldn't really complain, though. This human was taking on the responsibility to care for the abandoned Pokémon, and what's one poor name choice over a lifetime of comfort and housing?
Arthur looked satisfied, in the very least. "Let's go home."
Home. Roger liked the sound of that.
Pokémon introduced
REMY
Delcatty – Lv. 26
SASSY nature
Moves:
Attract
Sing
Captivate
Double slap
ROGER
Cleffa – Lv. 14
TIMID nature
Moves:
Pound
Sing
Sweet Kiss
Copycat