"Then it's settled," said my trainer. "You complete this Pokédex for me, and I'll give you your very own Pokémon!"
What? I wondered, hearing him from inside my Pokéball. Who was he talking to? And more importantly, what was he talking about? He had no Pokémon to give! Unless he was thinking of giving up Charmander or Squirtle...
Or me?
"Go ahead and pick one," my trainer said.
"What? Why him first?" I recognized his grandson's voice.
"Be patient, Gary, you'll get one, too."
I felt a shift, which I recognized as the feeling of my ball being picked up. "What's in this one?" said an unfamiliar voice. Fear suddenly struck me. Certainly, my trainer wouldn't give me to someone he barely knew... right?
My trainer explained to the stranger how to release me. I found myself looking up at my trainer. I guess I couldn't call him that, considering he never trained us anymore. Still, he was familiar to me. I'd watched him go from an energetic trainer to an old man, and even if he couldn't train anymore, I was happy with him.
But he looked happy now, as he was giving us up. How could he be happy?
I turned to face the stranger, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw. He loomed over me, towering, terrifying.
"Wow!" he nearly shouted. "He's so cool!"
"It's called Bulbasaur," said my trainer. "They're friendly, but they can be pretty shy, too."
The boy looked as if he'd done something wrong. "I'm so sorry if I scared you, Bulbasaur," he said, sounding a bit sad. I stared at him, not believing my ears.
"So, you want Bulbasaur?"
"Yes," said the boy instantly, smiling at me and my trainer.
"Take good care of him for me," said my trainer, his voice sounded slightly pleading.
"Don't worry, I will! I always will!"
Maybe this boy wasn't so bad after all.
...
He took me everywhere, he didn't lie to my old trainer. Even when he caught other Pokémon - Raticate, Geodude, Haunter - I was always in the lead. I kept getting stronger, evolving once and then once more, growing closer to my new friends and my new trainer.
One day, he told us he was leaving. Even though he said it was only for a while, that he'd come back to get us, the four of us were still afraid, especially me.
After a few weeks, we began to worry.
"Venusaur, what if he doesn't come back?" asked Haunter.
"He will come back," said Geodude.
"He won't, will he?" said Raticate, frantic. "He doesn't want us anymore!"
"Of course he'll come back!" I shouted. "He promised. We just need to wait a bit longer."
He kept his promise. We found ourselves in a new place. It was unfamiliar to us, but we were with him. We were safe. And we had more new friends - Meganium, Noctowl, Slugma. We were at home again. Everything was back to normal.
...
And then it happened all over again, Meganium and the other newer Pokémon were worried, but we reassured them. But months passed and no one came for us. Slugma was the first to leave, then Noctowl. Our attempts to persuade them to stay were useless. Meganium stayed a while longer, but then she gave up as well.
"He'll be back," I told my three remaining friends. "He came back last time and he will again." I would never admit to them or to myself that I barely believed my own words, that I was slowly losing hope.
Graveler gave up.
And I waited.
Raticate went after him.
And still I waited.
Haunter told me to forget about him, and he left as well.
And I waited.
And I waited.
And I waited.