Title: Misgivings and Misunderstandings
Author: Korona Karyuudo
Character(s): Jim, Scyther
Summary: A Scyther who gives up hope and a Trainer who brings it back.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon because, if I did, I would not have announced Black and White 2 only a year after Black and White was released. I would've remade Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald for the DS. ::shrugs shoulders::
Dedication: To myself. Because it's my birthday! ::throws confetti:: Happy 17th Birthday me! =P
. . . . .
I am undervalued and underappreciated.
Sometimes I wonder if my trainer even cares.
I was out in the woods, feasting on Oran berries when a Starapter flew at me. I was already hit before I could react and the next thing I knew, a large red and white ball was flung my way. I tried really hard to get out of that contraption, but I failed.
The things that ran through my head were many, jumbled, and incoherent. Would I ever see my family and friends again? Will my mate be in a state of worry? Will my kids grow up well? Who is going to watch over the clan? Will a Dunsparce find my secret stash of Pecha berries? Will a Honchcrow take that shiny thing that I found from the town center? What will happen to me? Yes, it was these kinds of thoughts that plagued me endlessly while I was stuck in that orb.
I'm not sure how much time had passed while I was captive, but one day I was finally let out of my prison.
I was greeted by several different Pokemon, all staring at me differently and trying to capture my attention. I looked around in wonder at the creatures that surrounded me when finally my eyes landed on a human.
He looked strange, because all humans look weird. Their fur is always colorful, always changing, and they are covered in peculiar looking patterns and things. No humans look the same even though they are the same. This human spoke in an odd language that somehow I was able to understand and introduced himself as Jim. He had unusual things attached to him, one of which he held out as a strange voice spoke from it.
The human looked at me and smiled. He seemed nice enough and so did everyone else. He had me battle some of his other Pokemon but I lost each time and had fainted when I took a strong Solar Beam to the chest from a Sunflora. The next day, I tried battling again but got the same results. I wasn't used to this sort of routine. In my forest I was the strongest and others looked up to me. With each loss I suffered from a lowering ego and self esteem. I had begun to view myself as useless.
Jim noticed how I felt and started to give off an aura of frustration. I thought he was mad at me, and it only made me feel worse. Finally, I couldn't take the depressing feelings anymore and shut myself in the capsule, refusing to come out.
The last thing I remember seeing is Jim's sad face as he stared at my place of containment.
It has been a long time since that day. Jim had put me into something called a 'Box' where there were several other Pokemon who felt the same as me. We spent our days cheering each other up and wondering when we would be able to leave this place.
Eventually I lost hope in myself and I lost hope in Jim. I remember him mumbling something that I couldn't pick up on that day he put me in the box. I wish I knew what it was.
All of my trying and all of my effort was for nothing.
I am stuck in here and I don't think I will ever get out.
I am undervalued and underappreciated.
Sometimes I wonder if my trainer even cares.
I was drinking some water from a stream when all of a sudden the box shook. I was recalled into my red and white capsule and a white claw-like hand came out of nowhere and picked me up. Scared and restless I tried to shake myself free but I failed.
The next moments were a blur of movement and obnoxiously loud noises; I got dizzy so I closed my eyes and shut my ears. Finally, when the shaking stopped, I opened my eyes again.
As I look around in amazement the only thought rebounding in my head is, "I'm out of the box!"
Noticing that a strange shadow cast itself over me, I look up and into the eyes of a smiling human. I am shocked and completely unable to move. The human looks like Jim, even though his fur is a different color and he looks a bit older.
"Scyther," the human says, "it's good to see you again."
Alarms go off in my head as I recognize this human as Jim. The same Jim who put me in the box such a long time ago. The one who I thought didn't care about me all this time.
Jim lets me out of my makeshift home and I am able to stretch myself properly for the first time in a while. As I take in the fresh air of my surroundings and watch the sun light up my blades in sparkles, I feel like crying and running away.
What if Jim put me back in the box?
I let the thought seize me in preparation to attack and flee, but Jim quickly senses my feelings and stops me with his words.
"I know you probably hold some resentment towards me," he says, "but I hope you can forgive me for leaving you in there for these last 3 years."
He clears his throat before continuing, "When I first caught you I thought I would be able to properly train you to become powerful and strong, but when you kept losing against my team who was already so strong from having battled gym leaders and trainers constantly, I got mad at myself."
"I was only a 10 year old kid on the start of his journey who boasted that he could become a Pokemon Master quickly. That's why I caught all the Pokemon you met in the box. I thought I could train them all simultaneously and that was dumb. I realized it after I tried training you."
"Scyther," he says after a long pause, "I promised myself that I'd go and become a worthy trainer who would be able to help all of my Pokemon reach their full potential before I could help you and everyone else still in the box. I return and stand in front of you here as that trainer. It might take some time, but will you let me do it?"
Here I am, a Pokemon who, neglected for 3 long years, had given up hope in himself.
Here I am, a Pokemon who, neglected for 3 long years, had thought that he was useless.
And here he is, a trainer who, having neglected me for 3 long years, asks me for forgiveness and promises me a better future than the one I had been envisioning.
He smiles at me shyly and, my eyes lighting up with joy, I barrel straight into him, trying to give him a hug, and knock him straight into the ground. Seeing my reaction, tears start to form in his eyes as he starts mumbling again, things about how he wouldn't be able to live with himself if I didn't forgive him and how he is so happy and excited. He promises to take me back to my forest to meet my family and say hello to my friends and he promises that he'd get me a barrel of Pecha berries and help me find a new shiny thing just in case Honchrow really did steal the other one.
I am finally happy.
All this time I thought he hated me and I couldn't have been more wrong.
Finally at peace with myself, I am excited for what adventure it to come.
I know that with Jim by my side, in a new region with a new team and new experiences to be had, things couldn't be more perfect.
. . . . .
Author's Note: Whelp, that's it! How's that for a oneshot I wrote in 3 hours? Man, it's been too long since I last uploaded a story to this site. I hope you guys like it. As always constructive criticism is encouraged and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this piece. I'm hoping that by writing this oneshot I'll be able to continue writing and eventually make a full return to this site with a kick ass multi-chapter concoction. That's it for today folks!
Till next time~
Torrie =)