It's really quite a strange feeling to lose someone close to you. The age old saying always burns into your mind, "You don't know what you have until it's gone." Not that I felt I didn't appreciate what I had, but it never really hit me just how hard a loss would be.
People are scum, I mean, we all know that. There are some who look to themselves and nothing else, and the lives affected in their paths make no difference whatsoever. It's depressing, but those people exist. I, like others, felt that I could stop them. Like, someone has to change the world, right?
Well, I am sorry for starting off my story so… morbidly, but it's how it happened. Just bear with me for a little bit longer and I'll tell you how it all started. I need a few more minutes to mourn someone, or something. They call them animals or beast, but I call them friends. Pokémon. Yeah, yeah, over rated, over used; an overly heard phrase. But she was my friend, my best friend. I kneel at her grave, buried deep within Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower, and memories just flood back into my mind. Everyone has a Pokémon close to them, but I can't imagine anyone having someone as close I did. She was the family I never had, the friend I always wanted. Again, I digress. Let's just go back to the official beginning.
The ground was cold beneath my feet. A pair of sandals would have been nice, but I mean, you can't be too picky. My parents did not have enough money to spare for shoes, and I would rather have food. Life was rough, but the most upsetting thing was how alone I felt. I was the odd kid in a crowd, the quiet one at school, the goofy looking one on the street. No one really talked to me and I kept to myself.
I looked quite longingly at the grass around Lavender town: my hometown. I was always told to keep my distance because strange beings lingered out there and it was not safe. I had everything that I needed at home, so there was no point in venturing out… or so I was told. But I just felt lonely. I mean, it's what to expect from a kid who seems to have nothing.
Well, I did something that I probably shouldn't have that day, but I still have no regrets. I went to the Pokémon tower, the largest Pokémon burial grounds throughout Kanto. Walking in the front door hit one with a wave of depression; there were just so many people crying and praying for the safe afterlife of their Pokémon. I wish I had some way to soothe them but I honestly could not connect. I didn't have anyone so close that I would mourn their death, nor had I ever trained a Pokémon.
I wandered about the tower and got some sharp glances from the people visiting, seeing as I was clearly a little too happy to be there. The fact of the matter was that I was quite happy to be exploring somewhere that I shouldn't be; it was a bit exhilarating. Unfortunately, the ground was no warmer inside than it was outside.
I continued to climb the floors of the building until I had reached the top. No one else stood up there, but I felt a little at peace seeing as I wasn't receiving any strange glares and people just left me alone. I sat down in the corner of the room and leaned against the wall, right beside a table. Not a whole lot of decorations sat in the room, but my dark and stained clothing left me somewhat camouflaged in the shadows.
After awhile I dozed off, only to be awoken by the sounds of men grumbling and arguing with one another. I kept my mouth shut, realizing that I was clearly not supposed to be in the room, and listened in on the conversation. The men grouped around wore very strange clothing; a few had on white and black, tight against the skin, and brandishing a large letter "R" on the front, one wore a black suit with his similarly colored hair slicked back to a shine, while the other two wore lab coats and looked to be scientists of some sort.
"You guys are all idiots," the man in black stated aloud.
"What! We are so close, I am telling you!" the scientists retorted.
"Listen to yourself. You are telling me that you can resurrect the Pokémon but you can't see them? That's just the biggest load of crap I have heard. Can you prove it to me? Prove to me that this thing even exists?"
"Well…"
"Well what?"
"We don't know where it went."
"Of course you don't. Why don't you call for it? It does have a name, doesn't it?" the leader demanded.
"It goes by the name of Abby, as far as we know."
"And?"
"Well, it seems to be afraid. It just runs away when we call for it. I can't imagine that it would leave the safety of this tower without someone to guide it. There is no way it even knows where it is." The leader sighed and started for the door to the room.
"Sir!" the scientist called out.
"ENOUGH! You don't have anything to show. I am cutting funds for this operation. March back to Silph Co. and tell them we are through. I do not want to hear from you again." He left the room with the men brandishing the "R's" on their shirts, and the few scientists inside stared blankly at one another with worried expressions on their faces as if to say, "what now?" They exchanged some sighs and left promptly, unsure as to where to go next. I sat in the corner and dared not breathe too loudly until they had completely vanished from sight.
Here's where I make a move that I still ponder the validity of. I called out. I called out for… Abby. I sat for a few seconds and grinned to myself. I was a little foolish to expect it to work, seeing as the scientists had just claimed to have attempted to do so multiple times already. I slowly stood up and walked towards the exit to the room but I was stopped. Something was clearly in my way but I could not figure out what; it was like a mime's trick. I held my hand forth and felt a strange tingly sensation cover the skin's surface. Immediately I pulled my hand back and clenched it into a fist. I rubbed my arm to make sure that feeling was still there, but stared at the empty space that seemed to barricade my path. My mind clicked sense together and I called out again.
"Abby?" I asked. A soft curr responded and I felt the tingling slowly roll up my arm. I wanted to be afraid but in all honesty, I just couldn't pull myself to feel any sort of fear. I did not feel endangered and I was far from ignorant of what could be happening.
I continued through the doorway and it let me through that time, but the tingling stayed by my side. A smile eroded over my face and I used my other arm to try to touch the entity. I could feel the strange phenomena through the palm of my hand, but it was oddly comforting. I scratched at its head as if it was a cat and I heard the soft curring once again. It was alive, just like me and the men who were in the room just moments ago. And for once, it trusted something. I cannot say why it clung to me, but – quite simply – it did.
The remainder of the walk down the building gained just as many strange looks as ever, but I did not care. I had a friend beside me that time.
I didn't know whether or not it would be appropriate to try and introduce Abby to people. She was clearly fairly shy, or at least afraid of the men from Silph Co. who had been in the Pokémon Tower, and I figured people would just call me insane if I tried to talk to them about her. But what could I do? Pretend that the revived Pokémon didn't exist? She did, I knew it. But no one else would. Do I even want to risk letting people know about her? What if Silph Co. figures out and tries to take her back? Perhaps I could just stall until the company's project goes under, being without funds from the strange man in the black suit.
My pace slowed significantly as I came close to the front door of the Pokémon Tower. I could still feel Abby brushing my side gently. I had no idea if she was just clinging on to me as I walked, or if it was more like a soft nuzzling to reassure me of her presence. Regardless, it felt good, and I had no intention of pushing her aside, even if the tingling sensation was a bit strange.
Approaching doors, I was stopped once again by the strange cold wall. I mean, I knew that it was Abby, but she seemed startled by something other than my presence. I tried to reach out and pet what I assumed to be her head, but she shied away and my hand just passed through the air. I stood there and felt quite silly – waving my arms around at nothing – but I was used to being stared at, so I didn't stop.
Despite ducking away from my gentle hand, Abby continued to block the entrance of the building from me. I pondered her actions and the words I had heard from the men earlier. They seemed convinced that she was still in the Pokémon Tower, simply too afraid to leave on her own will. So I did what I felt was most appropriate, and tried to soothe her. I couldn't stay in that graveyard forever, so better sooner than later I suppose.
"Shhh..." I whispered. "It's ok Abby, nothing is gunna hurt you out there. I will be with you. I promise." A pause pursued before I felt Abby nudge me from behind, towards the door. I giggled and held out my hand, as if guiding a child of my own across the street. Shortly afterwards I felt her grasp in my fingers. It was tight and I could even see the indentation on my skin from where she clung. The whole thing was so surreal, paranormal, but to a blissful kid who spent most of their time alone, I was just happy to have a friend. Together, we walked out of the building, and into the world of Kanto, seeing it in a totally new light than from when I had entered.
Fair Use Disclaimer: This story is for strictly for entertainment purposes only and is entirely for nonprofit. Many characters, places, and concepts are Nintendo's copyrighted material that comes straight from games of the Pokémon series, and I do not own the rights to any of them.