Tonight the midnight glow of the full moon had cast a brilliant, silvery blue glow over the city of Viridian. The night sky, freckled with bright white stars, created an especially beautiful scene for anyone lucky enough to be looking out a window at the time. The many skyscrapers of the city, which normally shined brightly at night, had nearly all been shut off, in an effort by the city's leaders to conserve power. What's more, tonight it was peacefully quiet, unlike most nights where the streets of the city were constantly bustling with vehicles and ripe with the sound of car horns. Yes, tonight was the perfect night for a good night's sleep.
Which made it even more annoying to Miles that he couldn't.
The twelve-year-old boy in the bed groaned in annoyance at his predicament. His eyes scanned his cheap one-bed hotel room for the umpteenth time, as if it would somehow cause his insomnia to magically disappear.
The room was certainly not much to look at, but it was passable. Dull, beige-colored walls, a raggedy brown carpet, and a plain ceiling. A wood chair with green cushions sat in the corner of the room, a red backpack draped over it. The chair was next to an unremarkable small wooden table with a lone red and white ball on its surface. A small hallway, adjacent to a door that opened to the second floor of the hotel, led to a single-person bathroom with basic amenities. To his left, an old digital clock with a faded screen rested on top of a worn bedside table, and also on the wall to his left was his only source of light in the dingy room, a generic window.
Truly a room worth admiring.
Miles snapped his head away from the window and pulled the emerald-colored bed covers over his body. He lay his head against the (moderately) soft pillow beneath him, shut his eyes and struggled to fall asleep once more. He got himself into a comfortable position, filled his mind with soothing thoughts, and let the peacefulness of sleep take him. Until it didn't.
"Gah!" Miles reached back and throwing his pillow across the room in frustration.
The pillow hit the opposite wall, making a surprisingly loud thud. Miles' cheeks quickly became beet red, he timidly hid his face behind the covers as he realized the error of his uncontrolled outburst. He quietly hoped he hadn't woken anybody up, getting kicked out of a hotel was the last thing he needed on his first day as a trainer. Once he was sure he hadn't disturbed anyone, he got back to the topic at hand.
Clearly there was some reason why he couldn't sleep, that much was sure. Maybe, he thought, if he found the reason why he couldn't sleep, he could fix it. He ran through all the possibilities in his head. Perhaps he was afraid? He certainly didn't feel afraid, that much was sure. Besides, he was twelve, basically already an adult, he thought. No reason to be afraid.
Maybe he was sick? No, he felt fine, there had to be something else. Groaning, he took one more look around the room. The silent room, of which he was the only occupant. Miles' eyes grew wide as the realization dawned on him. Was that it? He couldn't sleep because he was alone?
He let out a small chuckle. That's dumb, Miles thought at first, why would that be the reason? He had slept in his own room for basically all his life back home in Pallet Town, why would he be unable to sleep now?
Miles paused.
Maybe it was because of his family and friends? Maybe the reason he had been able to sleep so soundly back in Pallet was because he knew his parents, people whom he knew and trusted, were just a few rooms, if not a few blocks away, at most. But now... here, in a city miles away from Pallet Town, and in a building filled with complete strangers...
They were far more than a few blocks away.
Miles felt tears begin to well in his eyes before he forced them back. He was practically an adult, he had to remember that. Besides, now was not the time to feel sorry for himself. He had found the reason for his insomnia, now the next step was fixing it. He looked towards the digital clock. 2:34AM, the clock read in blocky, bright red symbols. He sighed, well, calling his parents was officially out the window.
His eyes inevitably fell on the red and white ball on the table, the Pokè Ball's sleek surface reflecting the moonlight from outside. The Pokèmon the Professor had given him this morning was inside it, Charmander to be exact. Or Somie, as he had called her. He groaned as he remembered his parents pestering him to give the Fire Pokèmon a name, insisting that he would grow a "closer bond" to her if he did, whatever that meant. Miles scoffed as he remembered their words, how could you bond with something that couldn't say anything except its own name?
So at the request of his nagging parents, he relented, eventually giving it a random name that he had come up with off the top of his head. "Somie", a mix of random syllables that sounded good together but ultimately meant nothing. Miles smiled, he had been slightly annoyed at the time, being nagged by his parents to name the Lizard Pokèmon, but now it seemed like a fond and distant memory. Even though it had just happened this morning.
He sighed before getting up and retrieving the ball from it's resting place on the table. He slumped back down onto the bed and examined the ball closely. Maybe Somie could help him sleep? He didn't really know her that well, Miles had only met her during their initial introduction, courtesy of the Professor. After that, he had only let her out of her Pokè Ball in the occasional battle on the way to Viridian. But hey, her name reminded him of his parents and she seemed nice enough in the little time they spent together not fighting other Pokèmon, so... screw it.
Miles lightly tossed the Pokè Ball beside him, there was a blinding flash of light, Miles grunted as he shielded his eyes, he had forgotten about that. The blinding brightness, however, was soon replaced by the warm, orange glow of the Charmander's tail. The fire-type slowly lifted her head from her curled up position, her droopy eyes searching her strange new surroundings for the source of her disturbed slumber. Miles quietly cursed himself for not considering the possibility that the Charmander might have been sleeping inside her Pokè Ball.
Somie's sapphire blue eyes eventually fell on Matt as it scanned the room, "Char?" it asked drowsily.
"Um... hey there," Miles stammered, momentarily forgetting the reason he had even called her out in the first place. He had been too distracted by the light his Charmander's tail was giving off. Its warm, cozy glow filling the dark room, it was almost like being next to a campfire, needless to say it made Miles very sleepy.
The Charmander put on a sluggish smile before meekly waving at her trainer in response to his greeting.
Miles briefly smiled at the cute sight before getting back on track, "Hey uh, listen, I'm having some trouble sleeping and," Miles let out a yawn, "I don't know what it is, but you seem to be helping," Miles tiredly explained to the equally exhausted Charmander.
"So... um, could you... you know... stay? Here? While I sleep?" Miles asked awkwardly, "I mean, you could sleep too if you wanted."
Somie pondered her trainer's strange request for a second before eventually giving a nod in response. Nodding back, the twelve-year-old boy wrapped himself in the emerald blankets once more. Somie paced around the bed, looking for the comfiest area to sleep in, eventually settling in a spot close to her trainer. Sensing himself finally doze off into sweet sweet sleep, Miles reached his hand down to his fire Pokèmon and pet her lovingly on the back.
"Thanks."
The Charmander licked her master's hand in the closest thing it could achieve to a "you're welcome" response.
Maybe you could bond with things that couldn't talk after all.
[A/N]
Let me know what you thought of my first fanfic ever posted to this site! This was just a short, comfy drabble I wrote one night before I went back and proofread it the next few days. Fun fact, I actually do suffer from occasional insomnia, which can (occasionally) be relieved by thinking comfy thoughts, which is partially the reason why I wrote this story in the first place. I also may consider making this into a fully fledged story rather than a one-shot if people show interest in it. Thanks for reading!