Okay, this is a new one-shot about Misty's Psyduck.
I wrote this because I noticed there were few stories that foucused on Psyduck so I decided to write one that focused on Psyduck's past. I hope you like the story. It does get very sad towards the middle but has a happy ending.
Pokémon does not belong to me it belongs to its respective creators.
Psyduck's Tale
Psyduck sighed as he stared into the pools water. Most of the lights are off but there's just enough light so Psyduck can see his reflection staring back at him. He wasn't worried about falling in as he contemplated his life, a life no one but himself knows about. Despite the time he's been with Misty, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Tracey and all their pokémon he's never told them his story.
The duck pokémon took a seat near the pools edge not worried about any of the pokémon seeing him as they were all fast asleep. This wasn't unusual behavior for him either, usual he does this every full moon for it holds significance for him. Even when he was traveling he always released himself during the night of a full moon for several hours and return himself before anyone woke up. The few times he was caught he'd just act like himself.
A tear formed in the duck's eye and it gently slipped down his beak and into the pool making a slight ripple. From where the ripple occurred a large shadow emerged from beneath and up came the atrocious pokémon. The sudden emergence startled the duck as he slipped into the pool.
Gyarados gently grabbed the duck by the tail and hoisted him back to land. "Thanks," Psyduck said. However, Gyarados looked at him. Something was off.
"What bothers you?" the sea monster-like pokémon asked. Psyduck was surprised. No one has ever taken his feelings into consideration before.
"Nothing," he lied.
"Duck, I have known you for some time. I know something is not well with you. Please inform me of it," the sea serpent ordered so calmly yet authoritatively.
"I… I don't wish to speak it," he replied, looking out the window. The full moon lit the entire room with its rays.
"Something with the moon holds significance with you. I've been witnessing this for sometime but left it be till now as this was the first I ever felt a tear ripple the water."
Psyduck was stunned. Gyarados has watched him do this every week for the past couple years? As if he read the duck's mind he said, "I have. Now please tell me; I promise that I will keep what you say with full confidentiality."
Psyduck looked at Gyarados for any sign for lies but there was none. The duck sighed. "You promise?" he asked. Gyarados nodded and with that Psyduck averted his gaze back to the moon.
"As you know pokémon are sometimes abused by their trainers from the moment they're caught but for me it all started from before I hatched…"
Psyduck's story (third person)…
The cries of pokémon echoed throughout the run downed warehouse but these weren't cries of common pokémon that made their residence within the city limits; these were cries of several pokémon not commonly seen, living in completely horrid conditions; all these pokémon lived in cramped cages. Some of the cages were so small that some couldn't even stand to their full height.
In one cage rested an ill golduck cradling her little psyduck egg. She had tears in her eyes knowing that he was soon to be taken. "I'm sorry you were born into this," she said to her egg.
"Why?" the un-hatched psyduck asked. His mom couldn't hear him and Psyduck knew this but he loved pretending he could have conversations with her.
Golduck twisted her head towards the direction of the footsteps of two men walking down the line of cages. It was time and Golduck knew it. "Mom, why you place me down?" Psyduck tried to ask her as his mom got up and backed as far from the door as possible.
The men who opened the cage door had a jolteon with them so if she tried anything she'd get zapped. Though the electric type appeared in better condition than the captive pokémon he too showed signs of neglect. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the golduck mother as the men took the egg and shut the door.
"Mom where they taking me?" he tried asking again forgetting she can't hear him. "Mom!"
The men took the egg, along with several other psyduck eggs, to a back room. Psyducks aren't what you call rare but shiny psyducks are. But there's a problem; none of the psyducks soon to hatch are shiny but the men know this and have a plan.
"You have the needle?" one of the men asked.
"Right here," he said handing the needle that's attached to a syringe filled with a blue substance.
"What you doing with that?" Psyduck tried asking the men as the needle was gently inserted into the egg. "What's that?" he asked as the blue stuff was injected inside his egg.
Once the substance was injected and the needle removed with the puncture sight sealed the men returned the eggs back to their mothers. The moment the cage door was closed Golduck immediately cradled her egg. "I'm sorry they did that to you."
The lights of the facility were off but the full moon gave plenty of light tonight. Golduck was sleeping with her egg rested in her arms when suddenly the egg began to glow. The light awakened her and standing before her was a blue psyduck, the result of the blue substance injected while he was still developing.
"Mom?" Psyduck asked. She nodded.
"Hello my son?" she greeted her son with a loving embrace.
"Mom, why you crying?" Golduck broke the embrace and she smiled.
"Son, do you see the full moon?" she asked. He looked out through the giant hole in the ceiling.
"Yeah; it big!" he exclaimed.
"Well, you were born under the full moon and that's very special."
"How?" he asked.
"For duck pokémon it symbolizes the promise of adventure and true friends. You're destined for great things," she explained. She looked at her son and coughed.
"Mom okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," she lied and coughed. "Son, will you promise me something?"
"Sure?"
"When ever you look at the moon please always remember me and what I told you because I won't always be there," she said.
"Why? You here now."
"I know my son, but please promise."
"Me promise." Golduck smiled before her eyelids became too heavy to keep open. "Mom okay?"
"I am my son. But it's time for bed. Now please go to sleep."
"Okay," Psyduck sighed. Once she sensed Pysduck's eyes were closed Golduck continued.
"Always know I love you and goodnight."
"Night Mom."
The sun's rays awoke the sleeping hatchling from his slumber where he realized that he was alone. "Mom," he called. "Mom, where you are?"
He looked into a neighboring cage to see a saddened arbok. "Excuse me sir, where Mom?" he asked the cobra pokémon. The snake looked away.
"She has a new home," he replied trying to hide the tear in his eye trying not to sadden Psyduck.
"But why she not take me?"
"It… It was not her choice," the arbok replied and finished it there.
Two weeks have passed and most of it was spent battling infections from poor living conditions and the unsterilized needle that gave him blue feathers. As a result of the infection and poor treatment his swim bladder, vital for nearly all water pokémon, was damaged beyond repair leaving him without the ability to swim.
Once he recovered from the infection the men sold Psyduck to a rich couple wanting to give their kids a shiny psyduck. During this time he kept the promise he made to his mom, when staring at the full moon he always thought of her. He would always wonder why she'd left him but never had an answer. But now he was happy that he'd found a home where he had love and a family.
But after the first year of living with the family he had his first molt which revealed yellow feathers not blue. Psyduck was surprised by this but the family was angered by being scammed. The next thing Psyduck remembered was waking up in the middle of a city park in HopHopHop Town where he was eventually found by a Nurse Joy. Three days later he saw these three trainers talking with her.
Something seemed different about them, especially the redhead. So when Nurse Joy let them take him he went without much hesitation and when the girl dropped her poké ball the choice was his: walk away or allow capture. Tapping the ball twice he was sucked inside where his adventure was to begin…
End of Story…
"… and from that moment on I went on all these adventures through Kanto, Orange Archipelago, and Johto. And I really did get to live out my destiny to travel and make great friends," Psyduck finished the story. Psyduck gave a low sigh. "And during that time I finally understood what Arbok meant."
The story actually brought tears to Gyarados's eyes which Psyduck didn't see as he was still too focused on the moon. "Every time I look upon the moon I can still see her face with the knowledge knowing that I made her proud and that I made my friends proud."
"I'm sorry you went through that," Gyarados replied. Psyduck smiled and, for the first time, averted his gave from the moon and looked at the atrocious pokémon with a smile.
"Thank you for listening, it felt good finally being able to tell someone. Well, I better get back to my poké ball before my mom finds out."
At that Psyduck waddled off leaving Gyarados to smile to himself realizing that Psyduck has grown to consider Misty as his mom and submerged himself back into the pool. Misty doesn't replace Psyduck's mom but she does fill the hole in his heart. Psyduck gave one more glance at the moon and smiled. The memory of his mom and the love he felt in that short time he had with her will always be remembered.
"I know I made you proud and I will always remember you."
So what did you think of this one-shot? Please let me know and thank you for reading.