"Stay close," Mother urged me, "The grass is a dangerous place."
I sighed in protest, though ran to catch up with her, my bushy tail bobbing behind me in the tall grass.
"They search for us," Mother whispered, "I hear them running, calling out for us, leaving the oddish and bidoof they encounter fainted in their wake."
I shuddered at the thought: being caught by one of the humans, enslaved, to perform their every wish, to give my whole consciousness to them. Worst of all, to be evolved: my whole DNA rewritten, would I even remember who I once was? I wrapped my tail around that of my mothers, seeking comfort in her soft, warm fur.
"You wouldn't let me go, would you?" I squeaked, burying into her side.
She stroked my head with her tail, running it over my small body and cupping my face with the tip. "Of course not," She promised, her voice soft. "I'd never let anything happen to my little girl."
I could relax then, and she found a place for us to sleep by the base of a tree, just off the forest path, licking my fur clean as I curled up beside her. The night was warm but not sticky; a pleasant breeze winding through the trees and lifting my fur as it blew by gently. The sky was cloudless and the stars shone down on us in the darkness, twinkling softly.
"Make a wish." Mother purred as a shooting star flew by.
I yawned and closed my eyes, wishing for new friends to play with. Silently, mother wished for our safety, so that she may keep her promise.
The hairs on her back prickled as she sensed the danger, her whiskers vibrating slightly as the human crept through the grass. Her eyes widened, alert, looking to her sleeping cub. Stay quiet and hope not to be seen, or wake me and run? The trainer walked backwards and forwards, one way then another, seeming to have no direction. He's hunting, she thought to herself: this one wasn't just passing through. She wrapped her tail around me, lifting me onto her back, but I slid off in my sleep, unable to hold on.
"Wake up!" She called, trying not to rouse the trainer's attention.
I rubbed my sleepy eyes, "What is it?"
"Trainer." She begged, her eyes wide with fear.
The adrenaline surged through my body through seeing my mother so afraid.
"Run!" She demanded, leaping forwards to make a path through the grass for us.
Looking back, she watched my first ever battle begin, wishing she could take my place.
"Go Azurill!" The trainer squealed with delight as she spotted me. "Now, easy does it."
A light blue pokemon stared at me, bouncing on a ball almost as big as it was, which also seemed to be attached to its tail. It looked to the human, waiting for instructions.
"Water gun." The human ordered confidently.
The pokemon jumped up obediently, and took a deep breath, before blasting water from its mouth and drenching my coat. The water hit me forcefully, knocking me backwards. They both watched me then, waiting for my retaliation. My fur was wet, and my body sore. I felt tired, but glancing over at my mother I knew she wouldn't let me give up so easily. Then I remembered the berry she'd given me earlier, and the advice she'd given me along with it. I shook it from my fur where she had buried it away and nibbled at it from the ground. It made me feel stronger, ready to retaliate. Bracing myself, I jumped into the unknown, throwing myself at the strange blue pokemon with everything I had. But the Azurill barely flinched, looking to its trainer for the next instruction.
"Hmm, better make it a bubble this time." The trainer commanded. Barely a second later, spheres of water were pounding my face and body, splashing as they touched my fur, the stream of bubbles seeming relentless.
In the bushes, mother wished for me to faint. Until I do, she can do nothing to help me, and I was in the gravest of danger. But the berry had kept me awake, just barely. Slowly, I lifted myself from the ground where the bubble attack had knocked me onto my side. The bubbles had made me dizzy, and the Azurill in front of me jumped up and down on its ball, blurring as it moved. I knew what was to come, and that I was defenceless to stop it. With all the energy I could muster I growled angrily at the trainer who had interrupted my childhood, who would take me from my mother. He didn't care, and a blur of red and white was hurled toward me, tapping me on the back and opening, sucking me in with great force.
Inside was dark, and I felt so alone. I trembled, afraid, pushing against the walls desperately trying to get back to mother. To my relief, the ball gave way, opening again and releasing me. I tried to run to the bushes and into my mother's arms, but another ball hit me on the head as I moved. This time I had no energy left to fight, and could only make the ball rock slightly back and forth as I shook with fear. As the ball sealed shut, locking me inside, I heard a howl in the forest: my mother, her promise broken.
Chapter 2
The adrenaline wears off as my captor carries me far away from my home, the pokeball that holds me knocking and bumping against the contents of the backpack it's been dropped into. I wonder if I'll ever see my mother again, and where this girl is taking me, what she has planned for me. I think of my mother's stories; of humans who take pokemon from the wild and brainwash them into doing whatever they ask. They use them for their own desires, whether that be for good, for evil, or just for fun. I close my eyes and imagine what's in store for me, but soon end up fast asleep.
I wake up feeling great, a buzz of happy voices audible outside of my pokeball; human and pokemon voices alike. I long to know what's happening outside of the ball imprisoning me. And I don't have to wonder for long, the trainer emptying her backpack and releasing me (along with her other pokemon) into the bright lights of the pokemon centre. I quickly scan my surroundings, hoping miserably to see something of comfort.
"Hey, Eevee." My captor greets me as I pop from the ball. "I'm your new trainer, Kira."
She doesn't look frightening at all: a patch of shaggy yellow fur on her head, damp from the rain, held to her head with some kind of purple sticks. Her skin, like all humans, hangs from her body in different colours; blue on the bottom, green on the top, concealing her body and hands. 'Stay away from humans' my mother had warned me, 'big, clumsy creatures than balance on two legs and stomp through the forest, squashing everything in their path with the special coverings lashed to their feet'. Kira's feet are no exception, black and white skin tied onto her feet with white vines I've never seen before. She stares at me with ice-blue eyes. "Want to meet your new friends?"
The blue pokemon that hurt me bounces over merrily on its tail, smiling. I step away from it nervously, looking for protection.
"No need to worry," Kira reassures me, "We're all on the same side now."
I don't really understand, but nod at the Azurill obediently and he bounces away, jumping into a fountain across the room and beginning to play. I watch a little, confused by his sudden gentle nature. Another pokemon walks toward me then, an orange lizard with a flaming tail and a broad smile.
"Charmander." He introduces himself, holding out a paw for me to shake. I take it timidly and he smiles wider still, shaking my paw enthusiastically. "Charmander." He repeats happily.