SLAM!
The little girl dashed out of her school building with tears welling up in her eyes, slamming the door right behind her. She was overwhelmed with sadness, sobbing uncontrollably as she ran away.
She ran.
And she ran.
And she ran.
She didn't dare look back, she just kept running. How could they be so mean? So cruel? So heartless?
"Am I really that undesirable...?" The eight-year-old girl sobbed, wiping at her eyes with her shirt sleeve.
She dashed through the empty streets of her small town, making her way to the beach that Vermillion City was built right next to. The wind blew her long caramel hair back as she ran, and her lavender eyes were filled to the top with her tears.
"Are you really that stupid? Everyone knows that Dragon-types don't effect Fairy-types!"
"Hah! You're a moron! An ugly moron!"
"You're worthless. Why are you even here?"
"No one likes you, you know. You may as well go home right now."
"All of us would be better off if you just disappeared off of the face of the earth."
"Worthless!"
"Stupid!"
"Friendless!"
"Hideous!"
"Undesirable!"
"Hiromi Avaron, you're undesirable."
Undesirable. Undesirable. Undesirable. Undesirable. Undesirable. Undesirable.
That same word echoed throughout Hiromi's mind in a haunting way, and the voices in her head just wouldn't stop. They were laughing, laughing at her. They all hated her.
Her classmates all hated her.
They hated everything about her. Her hair, her eyes, how she talked, how she walked, how she laughed, how she cried... They picked on her. They insulted her. They bullied her. They never respected her, not once. Kids are cruel.
Hiromi stopped at a fork in the road, looking left and right. If she went right, that would take her to the beach. If she went left, that would take her back home. Should she go home? Mom and Dad wouldn't be there... They never are. They're always too busy working.
The little girl began sprinting towards the beach, taking the path to the right. She sobbed and ran as fast as her feet would take her. The clicks from her dressy school shoes erupted through the air upon hitting the cobblestone ground, echoing throughout the ghost town. All of the kids were at Trainer School, and the adults were at work.
"Why do they have to be so mean...?" Hiromi mumbled to herself, not even bothering to hold back the tears now.
Pretty soon her feet began running across sand instead of cobblestone, making a crunching sound with each step. The ocean came into view, and the low tide waves were crashing onto the shore. The sun was high up in the sky, signaling that it was around noon.
"I'm never going back..." Hiromi whispered to herself, feeling physically sick from her sadness and despair.
She was never going back.
Never.
Hiromi plopped herself down onto the sand, not even caring about getting her dress dirty. She sat there staring at the ground, quivering her lip. She was trembling from being so upset.
She was so upset that her whole body was shaking.
She began drawing in the sand with her finger tips, spelling out her name. H-I-R-O-M-I A-V-A-R-O-N. She stared down at her name carved into the sand thoughtfully, tears dripping from her eyes. One particularly large tear dropped from her lavender eye, splashing onto the letters. She slashed at her name written in the sand with her hand, scattering the grains of sand everywhere. In its place, she wrote the word: U-N-D-E-S-I-R-A-B-L-E
She buried her head in her arms, folding herself in half across her lap. Her shoulders shook with every sob that escaped her lips, and her shirt became more wet with each coming tear. She could have cried there for hours if she had not been interrupted by the sound of laughter.
"HAHAHA! Yeah! Kick it!"
"HAH! Stupid thing! Get it, Tony!"
"What in the world...?" Hiromi talked out loud to herself, sitting up from the ground. She looked around in a circle, then stopped when she saw a couple of boys standing further down the beach. "I better go check that out..."
Hiromi pushed herself up from the sand and dusted off her skirt, then wiped at her eyes with her sleeve once again. She began walking towards the two boys, and their chatter became more and more distinctive with each step she took.
"It's so weak and pathetic." The older boy, probably around ten years old, scoffed to himself. He had short black hair, but that's all Hiromi could see. Both boys had their backs to her.
"I know, right?" The other boy snickered, kicking at something on the ground. "Why do Pokemon like this even exist, anyways?" He had chin-length blonde hair, unlike the other boy.
"Pokemon?!" Hiromi screamed in shock inside of her mind, completely astounded by what that blonde-haired boy just said. "Are they kicking a Pokemon...?!"
She ran even faster now, and the sound of her running atop of the sand caused the two boys to turn around. Their eyes widened in shock as the little girl approached them, surprised to see anyone else here at this hour. Hiromi peered behind the two boys, seeing a helpless little Magikarp flopping on the ground. It looked battered up and bruised pretty badly.
Hiromi bit her lip, trying to gather as much courage as she possibly could. "Hey! Leave him alone!" Hiromi screamed at them, her voice was shaking. This didn't help her seem confident.
The black-haired boy, who looked to be the eldest of the two, just scoffed and shook his head. "Why? It's just a stupid Magikarp."
Hiromi saw the Magikarp cringe at what the boy said, making her face redden with anger.
"Don't say that about him!" She balled up her fists and threw them down to her sides, steam practically shooting out of her ears.
The blonde boy just laughed at her, something Hiromi had become accustomed to over the years. "Yeah, what Tony said. It's only a stupid Magikarp. Why do you even care?"
Hiromi unclenched her fists and looked past the boys, staring into the eyes of that helpless little Magikarp. It looked a little smaller than your average sized Magikarp, and it had a jagged scar running down its left eye. Just because it was small didn't necessarily mean it was young, just small for his kind. That probably lead to a bunch of other Pokemon picking on him, which would explain the scar. The kids Hiromi's age didn't give her enough credit, she really was smart. She was just a little slower than everyone else when it came to learning type match ups.
She looked deep into the Magikarp's eyes, staring into his battered soul. "Because... Because..." She began losing her nerve, but shook her head and forced herself to spit out the words. "Because someone has to stand up for him!"
Both of the boys laughed this time. "That's dumb. It's just a lame, undesirable Pokemon." Tony, the black-haired boy, kicked at the Magikarp again.
Undesirable.
That word made Hiromi flinch majorly, and her face turned a deep shade of red. "SHUT UP AND LEAVE HIM ALONE ALREADY! HE'S NOT UNDESIRABLE!"
Both boys seemed shocked at her outburst, and the Magikarp just stared up at the eight year old girl in amazement.
Tony just rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel to walk away. "Whatever. Let's go, Jeff. We'll come back later."
Both boys began walking away, leaving the beach. Hiromi moved her eyes from them and back over to the Magikarp, and her angry face melted into a soft smile.
"Are you ok...?" She spoke to the Magikarp, kneeling down next to him.
The Magikarp had what Hiromi assumed to be tears welling up in his eyes, and it continued to flop in place on the ground wearing a blank look. Hiromi scooped him up in her arms and began running towards the ocean, getting ready to splash some water on the fish Pokemon and clean him up. "Don't let anyone ever tell you that you're undesirable... No matter what."
Hiromi pulled out an empty Pokeball from her skirt pocket, rolling it around in the palm of her hand. She was sitting on the sand once again, except this time that Magikarp was lying on the ground next to her. She had cleaned off his cuts and bruises to the best of her abilities, and the little fish Pokemon was feeling much better after being splashed with some water.
"My Parents got me this for my birthday last year. I'm surprised they even remembered it." Hiromi stared down at the red and white ball in the palm of her hand, talking to the little Magikarp. "They said maybe when I was old enough I could try to catch a Pokemon with it, but I don't think I can..."
The Magikarp just stared up at Hiromi, giving her a look that suggested he was asking her, "why not?"
Hiromi sighed, then placed the Pokeball down next to her on top of the sand. "The kids in my class think I can't be a Pokemon Trainer. I don't even get to go on a journey when I turn ten because all the kids with more battling experience get starter Pokemon before me... And at this rate, since we can only give out three starters every year, I'd be fifteen before I get to leave for my journey..."
The Magikarp just stared at her with a blank stare. Well, you know. Since they can't change their facial expression.
Hiromi continued to rant on to the Magikarp who she believed either didn't understand what she was saying or just didn't care. "Everyone in my class hates me... They say I'm 'undesirable.' It's so mean... I really don't know why..."
The Magikarp began flopping on the sand again. Without even looking at him, Hiromi picked up a water bottle next to her and just dumped it on top of him. The Magikarp stopped flailing on the sand, going back to its completely boring state.
"My parents don't even like me. They have big fancy jobs as fancy CEO's for some big and fancy company that I don't even know what it does. They're always working, so our maid takes care of me." Hiromi wrapped her arms around her knees, placing her head on top. "No one cares about me. I guess they're right... Those kids at school, I mean. I really am undesirable..."
The Magikarp kept up its blank expression, then flailed its way over to Hiromi. He flopped his yellow fin onto her thigh. It was a cute gesture, but it also kinda grossed Hiromi out that there was a slimy wet fin trying to comfort her.
Even though she was grossed out, she didn't move the Magikarp's fin. "Thanks, little guy... I needed that..." Hiromi looked down at the little fish Pokemon, tilting her head to the side and wearing a warm smile. "You're not undesirable either, you know."
The Magikarp removed his fin and just stared up at her. Hiromi petted the wet scaly fish, even though it was kinda slippery and gross. Did he like it? Who knows. Hiromi wasn't sure if fish Pokemon liked to be petted. Dog Pokemon liked it, so she was just kind of winging it.
"You might be a less experienced battler compared to other Pokemon that are out there in the ocean, but... You're still special in your own unique way." She smiled at the Magikarp brightly, then stopped petting him. "Who cares if you're not the strongest battler? I think all Pokemon are special, especially you."
The Magikarp just continued to stare up at Hiromi, still wearing that blank look. That blank look creeped her out at first, but the longer she stayed and talked to the fish Pokemon, she kind of got used to those bubble-eyes staring at her.
"I don't think you're undesirable." Hiromi kissed two of her fingers (on the hand that wasn't previously petting the Magikarp, of course) and she pressed it onto the Magikarp's forehead. "I think you're special in your own way. And even if no one else loves you for who you are... I do."
Hiromi sat down on that beach and talked to the Magikarp for hours. He was the first person (er...first living being...?) to ever not judge her and actually listen. Then again, he was a fish... But the eight year old girl still counted it.
She talked to him about everything. All the details about how she's been bullied, her home life, how she wanted to get out of Vermillion and explore all of Kanto and the other regions out there, the stuff she's learned about Pokemon in Trainer School, her dream of becoming a Pokemon Trainer and going on a journey of her own...everything.
The sun was beginning to go down a little bit, showing that it was in the middle of the afternoon now. Hiromi had enjoyed the majority of her day (except for the beginning of it) Venting to this Magikarp made her feel better. And she knows it's silly... But...
This Magikarp was her only friend...
"Hey, you!"
Hiromi nearly jumped out of her skin at the male voice, and she jerked her head around behind her to look at who it was. Her eyes widened in horror as she spotted those two boys from earlier, and they were back with three more.
"I thought I recognized you." Tony, the leader of the group, stepped up to her. "You're that stupid girl in the next class over from ours." He jerked his thumb to the side, pointing over at the other four boys next to him.
Hiromi stood up from the sand and dusted off her skirt. "Hey! I don't like what you're saying..."
BAM!
Hiromi coughed furiously as Tony threw his fist into her gut, and she dropped to her knees. The other boys, as if on cue, stepped up beside Tony and started giving Hiromi their share of punches. Tony kicked the Magikarp as hard as he could, sending it flying into the ocean. Hiromi tried to scream, "NO!" but she was taking so many punches to the stomach that she couldn't utter any words other than "OW!"
The five boys stood around Hiromi in a circle, taking turns kicking her while she was down. She tried to huddle up into a ball to try and absorb most of the blows with the outside of her body, but they were kicking her so hard that it didn't make much of a difference. She kept screaming and crying for help, but no one could hear her. The Pokeball that was originally sitting next to her got bumped and rolled into the ocean. Hiromi watched it disappear into the water with tears in her eyes, trying to survive all of the blows she was taking. The boys were just laughing, enjoying hurting the younger girl.
"HELP! SOMEONE! STOP IT!" Hiromi let out a pained shriek, trying to get the boys to stop hurting her.
"HAH! You and what army?" Tony sneered at her, placing his foot on her chest and applying pressure to her lungs. He was cutting off her air, making it harder for Hiromi to breathe. "There's nothing you can do to get us to stop teaching you a lesson..."
FLASH!
All of a sudden, a huge white flash erupted from the ocean. The boys temporarily stopped kicking the battered girl long enough to stare at it for a second. They watched the white flash as a huge monstrous roar filled the air, intimidating the boys. They all just dropped their jaws and screamed at the gargantuan Pokemon that emerged from the white light: a very pissed off Gyarados.
"RUN FOR IT!" Tony screamed, making a run for it.
All five boys high-tailed it out of there, making a run for Vermillion City. They all screamed as the Gyarados shot Hydro Pumps in their direction, running as fast as they could. The Gyarados let out its angered cry, scaring the boys away.
Hiromi coughed up a little blood onto the sand, making the Gyarados stop what he was doing and look over at her. His eyes widened in shock, and he bent his long body over until he was two feet away from her face. Hiromi stared up at the Gyarados, but she wasn't frightened. She recognized the jagged scar running down his left eye. She watched as the gargantuan sea serpent drew back and dove into the water while curled up on the sand and clutching her aching body.
A minute passed, and the Gyarados came back shooting straight up from the ocean. He swam over to the shore, plopping himself down onto the sand next to her. He dropped something he was holding in his mouth next to her face, and Hiromi looked to see what it was. She slightly smiled at her lost Pokeball, and laughed a little to see that it was covered in Gyarados slobber. The Gyarados curled himself around her body, licking her face in an affectionate way. Hiromi felt herself starting to bruise all over, but she was starting to feel better. She weakly sat up and hugged the Gyarados' huge head, wearing a content smile with her eyes closed.
"I told you that you weren't undesirable, my little Magikarp."
So I wrote this short story in all of 2 hours last night after battling a Magikarp in Pokemon Y XD... I was inspired by battling a Magikarp... Just wow... I think it's already been established that I'm weird. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this! Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think in the review section below, please~!
Read, review, and enjoy!