#1 – Bulbasaur

Slowly, so slowly, I wake. I move each of my legs, every movement sluggish. My nails look longer than they did yesterday. I heard that the growth is the fastest at the beginning. At least, that's what my mom told me. Maybe I'll keep growing like this and I'll be the biggest Bulbasaur ever. Wouldn't that be neat?

My back feels so weird. The seed in my back just started to grow. The flower on my mom's back popped out a seed when I was born, and the first thing I remember is the sensation when she popped the seed into my back. I cannot describe it, it was both pain and relief. It hurt when it was entering my skin, but the relief and feeling of rightness afterwards was so amazing.

Bulbasaur were made to have the seed in their back, she told me. I asked her when did that happen, and she shrugged. The plants and Bulbasaur have been one for as long as anyone can remember. We need each other to survive, so we became one. Ever since then, mothers always put part of their flower into their children, so that way we can grow together.

Now that my plant has started to grow, I won't need to eat anymore. I can, but I don't need it. The only Bulbasaurs who eat are the ones who go around with trainers; do they forget the old ways? That's weird, why would you want to forget what makes you special? We protect our plant, and in return it sustains and provides for us. And, once you grow enough, you get to change, making you bigger and stronger, with your plant changing along with you.

Wait… why was I sleeping? When did it get dark? Who is that coming over here?

The humans came.

Evil ones, with their black suits and their poor brainwashed pokemon. They attacked, destroying everything in their path. I saw them, heard them. They were after our plants, wanted them for themselves. What right do they have to our plants? We have worked for generations to cultivate our plants, they are our trophy, our identity, our namesake.

I hear my family around me roaring, jumping to action, using the vines our plant has provided us with to attack our invaders. But the humans, with their kidnapped pokemon, attack using fire and burn them all to the ground. I see them showing each other the plants they have harvested from my family. As if we were nothing, capturing the living and taking what they want from the dead.

How did they know about us? What do I do? What can I do? My mother ordered me to hide here when the humans came, when can I leave? When am I allowed to help? There's a powder going across our nest, everything feels so weird…

Everyone is gone. Mom found a good hiding space for me. Speaking of mom, where is she?

Once I regain full motion, I sneak out, trying to stay out of the way of the stranger walking around the nest. He is a human, but he isn't dressed like the others were. Those other guys were all dressed exactly the same, so I don't think that he is with them. But, you never know, and I don't want to end up like the others. So, here I am, creeping my way around this rock, ever watching the unknown man, and then I trip and fall face first. My head hits something soft, what could it be?

I gasp. I found my mom. She was guarding my hiding spot. She didn't make it.

I cry, no longer caring about being sneaky. I am the last of my clan, I know it. How am I supposed to live without my mom? My crying alerted the man to my presence. I try to hide behind my mom, until I realize that she won't help me anymore, and start crying again.

"You poor thing. You must be terrified all alone. I heard that Team Rocket had attacked a nest in this area, but I didn't know that there were any survivors. Do you mind if I take you with me? I'm a scientist who studies pokemon, and I'm currently trying to find a good pokemon to help my assistants out. Would you be willing to help me out around my lab? I'll give you everything you need."

I take one last look at my mom, then back at the man. It can't get any worse from here. If he has other pokemon at the lab, I might be able to work with them if he doesn't follow through. I nod.

He smiles, pulls out this red ball, and I'm surrounded by a red light.