"Please..." a sorrowful voice cried out loud, "You have to..."
Thousands upon thousands of raindrops splattered the world below, creating a melancholy melody as a female Pokemon held a severely wounded Pokemon in her arms. Tears ran down her face; Despite the pouring rain, anyone could see her crying heavily as her tears seemed to glow in the rain, as if her tears were more than mere drops of water. In the midst of this dark night, she held the young Pokemon's head towards hers.
"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ears, not knowing whether or not he could hear it, "I'm so sorry... This wasn't supposed to happen... Not like this." She kept repeating herself, saying "I'm sorry" over and over again like a broken record, as if each time she said it would help the situation, as she cradled the young Pokemon. As she realized that he hadn't been moving this whole time, she hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around him like a boa constrictor, as she screamed out of the top of her lungs louder than the rain, louder than the thunderous roar, louder than the crack of lightning:
"Just... Please... Wake up!"
[Chapter 1 - Fateful Encounter]
"Ah!" a Squirtle cried out as he awakens, his heart beating his chest like a drum as he frantically looked left and right, trying to make sense of his whereabouts: He is in the middle of a train in the middle of a sea of water heading towards his destination. As he had taken a moment to clam himself down, much to the delight of the other Pokemon riding along, he realized that he must've had a bad dream as he fell asleep listening to his new Jigglypuff CD as his headphones still hung on his ears, still blaring out the infectious pop songs Jigglypuff puts out.
"Must've been a horrible nightmare," the Squirtle rubs the back of his head as he starts to wake up more, "It's too bad I can't remember any of it." He tries to recall the nightmare, trying to think back about what it was about or what happened, but nothing came to his mind other than the fact that it was at night and raining. As the Squirtle looks outside the train, he sees that it is also raining outside as he notices the raindrops hitting the huge hunk of metal of a ceiling, causing it to echo throughout the train, which is probably why he put on the headphones in the first place.
Or maybe it was because it was so depressing: The dim lighting of the train made it feel so dark and empty despite being packed full of other Pokemon, and because it was so packed with Pokemon, there really wasn't much room to move about, which meant that the train was devoid of any energy. Not only that, the fact that it echoes so easily means that any conversation at all would be quickly killed before it even had a chance to get started.
Thankfully, the trip isn't going to take much longer as the train conductor spoke over the intercom system to alert the Pokemon that they'll be arriving to their destination, Pokemon Square, soon, causing all the other Pokemon to wake up and start getting ready to get their belongings. As the Squirtle grabbed his bag below his seat, a picture of a group of Squirtles fell out, prompting the Squirtle to pick it up. As he picks it up, he looks at it, faintly smiling at his old Fire Squad group, to which he was the leader of, before shoving it back into his bag as the train slows to a stop in order to allow the passengers off.
The Squirtle walks off the train, taking in the sights of the new city: The city was big and shrouded in neon lights everywhere, a stark contrast to his smaller, less flashy city. As he looks around, he smiles at the thought of being able to explore it, though that time must be cut down significantly as he arrived late at night considering that the train was delayed due to a fierce Gyrados attack in the sea. Nevertheless, he puts on his headphones and simply walked in a direction that he wanted, searching for anything that drawed his attention.
It wasn't long before the flashy diner dubbed the "Rare Candy" caught his eye, prompting him to walk in. Despite the fact he hadn't had a bite to eat since the train ride, he's actually not hungry for food, but rather, he's hungry for a place to just hang out for a little. When he walked in, he sees that the place was packed with dozens of Pokemon from Pikachus to Pichus, Marills to Ledybas, and more, practically leaving no table empty. As he arrives, he was instantly greeted by a Lilligant waitress carrying a tray of sweets to a nearby table.
"Hello there," she smiled. "You can take a seat over there," she mentioned as she pointed to an empty booth next to a large window overlooking the city streets. The Squirtle did as he was told, taking a seat and patiently waiting for service, though it didn't take long until the Lilligant who directed him came back. "Sorry for the wait," she apologized as she pulled out a notepad, "As you can see, we're really packed tonight and we're short-handed."
The Squirtle took a look around and saw that she was right: The only other waiters and waitresses was a female Oddish running back and forth, a male Bulbasaur seems to be carrying four plates with a single Vine Whip, and a Psyduck who's running around in circles, seemingly confused.
"Oh no, that's okay," the Squirtle acknowledged, "I can see that this is a popular place. I mean, I've never seen a diner filled with so much Pokemon, especially outside of a dinner rush."
"Maybe it's because of the food," the Lilligant answered, "We have some of the finest chefs in the city."
"Maybe it's because of you," the Squirtle replied.
"What, who me?" the Lilligant blushed.
"Well I'm not talking about him," the Squirtle pointed at the Psyduck who, in the midst of confusion, hurt himself by running around back and forth until he smacked his face on the wall, much to the laughter of the other Pokemon; Even the Squirtle and the Lilligant chuckled a bit.
"Sorry to say," the Kirlia started off, "That, as much as I love compliments, I'm engaged to be married." She held up a ring signifying this.
"Aw, can't say I'm not disappointed," the Squirtle said jokingly, though not without some truth.
"Anyway," the Lilligant asks, "What would you like to order?"
The Squirtle wasn't hungry, but he thought that it might be rude to walk into a diner and not at least order something; With a quick glance of the fancy decorated menu, he simply said one of the most basic of items: "One cup of coffee with Moomoo Milk."
The Lilligant jotted down his order and left to go fulfill his order, though not without being asked to come to another table...
As the Squirtle puts on his headphones again as he patiently awaits his drink, he takes a look at the television showing the Pokemon News Channel hosted by Meowth as they covered the news story about the Gyrados raging at the sea. Although he couldn't hear it, he could see the damage it caused through a myriad of pictures, though he didn't pay much attention before diverting his attention to the outside streets and flashing neon lights.
As the Lilligant came back with his order, the Squirtle took off his headphones and awaits as she picked up a cup of coffee and placed it on the table. "One cup of coffee with Moomoo milk..." she told him as she picked up a SECOND item, "And one strawberry sundae."
The Squirtle was confused. "Um," he pointed at the sundae, "I didn't order this."
"I know," the Lilligant replied, "SHE did." The Lilligant pointed to a Gardevoir sitting all alone in a booth in the opposite end of the diner, enjoying a strawberry sundae.
"Now correct me if I'm wrong," the Lilligant asked as she seemingly accuse him of doing wrong, "But isn't the GUYS supposed to buy the GIRLS something?"
"Yeah, I know, but, as much as I hate to turn down a gift," the Squirtle pointed out, "This is gotta be a mistake."
"Nope," the Lilligant answered, "She specifically said to 'give this to the Squirtle who walked in.'" She took a long look around the cafe before mentioning, "And that's you."
"I still think it's a mistake," the Squirtle tried to reason, "I mean, I just moved here. I just got off the train! There's no way we know each other!"
"Well," the Lilligant dragged him out of his seat, "Then use this opportunity to get to know her!"
Before the Squirtle could react fast enough, he was already up and at 'em, being dragged towards the mysterious Gardevoir sitting alone at her table. As the Squirtle drew closer and closer, he didn't realize that this encounter would change his life forever...