Poke Savior

By A.J.

The Dursley family prided themselves on being normal. The father, Vernon Dursley, was a large, severely overweight man who hated his nephew. The mother, Petunia Dursley, was a horse like woman with a rather long neck. She used this to her advantage in her daily routine, spying on the neighbors. Like her husband she hated her nephew. The son, Dudley Dursley, was a pig, a severely overweight pig. Not to mention a bully. The neighborhood kids knew to avoid him and his gang or risk getting beat up. In the eyes of his parents he was a perfect little angel. The best little boy in the world. The youngest person in the Dursley family home was named Harry James Potter. Sadly his parents had been killed when he was but fifteen months old, and because no one bothered to check to see if his parents had a will he was placed with his aunt for protection from the followers of the man who killed his parents. What the meddling old man who placed him there didn't take into account was the fact his so-called loving family hated anything which couldn't be considered normal, or at least normal by their standards. No human knew what went on is that house but the animals did. They knew the way the Dursleys' treated their nephew Harry Potter was wrong and wanted to help but everything they tried failed. The only hope they had left lay in the form of seven very special pokemon. These seven pokemon could not be separated and all those who had tried failed. The birds had been watching for them for weeks now, waiting to direct them to the one who might become their trainer.

At number 4 Privet Drive a young child was working in the heat of the day weeding a garden in the backyard. The child in question was a little boy though you couldn't tell because of the oversized rags he was wearing. They were clearly made for someone who weighed three times what he weighed. Thanks to the treatment of his relatives he didn't look his age nor was he the proper height and weight for a four year old child. The pokemon had been watching him as he worked without stopping throughout the long hot day; what they saw about the child pleased them, his treatment however didn't. He knew something had been watching him but he didn't dare try to find whatever it was. His aunt would pitch a fit if he did. His so-called loving family were just sitting down for dinner when he finished. All that was left was watering the garden. If his family wasn't looking he could even get a drink of water, sadly he knew there would be no supper for him, he hadn't finished the garden in time. He stood up and turned to the water hose, suddenly stopping when he saw an eevee beside the outside faucet.

He had never seen pokemon before so his sudden knowledge of the creature in front of him was a little bit unnerving. He had heard about pokemon by listening to the people around him talking about them but he had never been allowed to see them when they came to Surrey with their trainer. His aunt and uncle had told him only normal people were allow to look at pokemon, not freaks like him. The reason for this was they didn't know how sharp the senses of a pokemon were. The eevee by the faucet seemed to be searching for something, something inside of him. Finding whatever it was searching for seemed to be enough to make it leave. He shrugged and grabbed the water hose so he could complete his outside chores, maybe he wouldn't be beaten badly if he finished enough of his chore list. He was nearly done when the pokemon returned with six other eevees. Without knowing how it was possible he knew one of the eevees in front of him was injured.

Six healthy and one injured eevees stood in front of the nameless freak and he was lost as to what to do with them. There was only so much he could do before he sent them on their way, his uncle would kill them if he saw them. His aunt hated animals with a passion surpassed only by the hatred her husband held for them. It was a miracle Vernon didn't kill Ripper when Marge came to visit. All he could do was try to help heal the injured eevee, with luck his aunt and uncle would never find out about this.

"It's okay little ones, I won't hurt you. I can't help your friend if I can't get to him." he said softly. If his aunt and uncle learned there were Pokemon in the yard, they would be horrified. Dudley might be aloud see pokemon but even he knew he would never own one, no matter how big of a tantrum he threw.

There was no trace of fear in their posture as they approached him. It was like they knew something he didn't know. The injured eevee had clearly been taking care of its' wound with the help of the others, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Without knowing how old the injury was there was no way of knowing what had caused it. The look he was given by the injured eevee worried him a little, something about it screamed I trust you to help me.

"All I can do is clean the area and check on how well the injury is healing. If needed I can bandage it but the only thing I have on hand to use is my shirt. Oh well, I guess my aunt won't notice until laundry day." he said as he used the water from the hose to clean the injury and the area around it. Once the leg was clean he could tell there was nothing to be done but let the wound heal on its' own like it has been doing. "There is nothing I can do for you, now you have to go before my aunt finds you back here. She really doesn't like animals and won't hesitate to hurt you in order to get you to leave. My uncle is even worse, he will try to kill you in order to get rid of you. Hurry now, go on get."

Even though he knew they had heard him they stayed put and explored the garden and backyard. While they might have looked alike clearly they had very different temperaments' from each other. No mater what he did he couldn't keep one of them out of the water. While this was happening another one checked out the plants growing in the yard. A pair of them laid down for a nap in the sun while another pair settled down in the shade. The injured pokemon just sat and watched the backdoor like it knew something bad would happen if the aunt and uncle found out about them. He didn't know what to do. If his aunt saw them he would be in trouble. But he didn't think they would leave on their own. Maybe he would be able to sneak them into his cupboard.

The next several weeks were very stressful as he got to know the pokemon who had claimed him as their trainer without his knowledge. One of his sunbathers he called Citrine because it seemed to like storms and citrine is a yellow gemstone. One shade dweller he called Zoisite because she made him think of zoisite gems when he saw here watching his family. It was like she wanted to cut them up or something, plus she seemed to have razor shape edges. The one who loved to play in the water he called Hauyne, the blue coloring of the stone made him think of water; which perfectly suited Hauyne. The plant lover he called Zandrite because of the many shade of green found within the stone. He called his other sunbather Rubellite because she seemed to like fire. His other shade dweller he called Obsidian after the glossy, black glass formed by obsidian flows caused by volcanoes. His injured watcher he called Moonstone, no other name seemed to fit. The names came from a gemstone and crystal book his family had as a coffee table book. Many times his family came close to finding his pokemon but somehow they never did, somehow he thought Moonstone had something to do with that.

With the start of kindergarten they followed him to school and made as many possible attempts to protect him as they could. However they were hampered by the fact they had to stay hidden in order to protect their trainer from his families wrath. The catch was they weren't alone in their attempt to aid their trainer. The teachers had noticed a few things they didn't like. For one the child didn't know his own name, second he was too small for his age, in more ways then one. And third his cousin was a bully and he seemed to be his cousins favorite target. This all added up to abuse in their eyes and they had contacted the social workers about this but nothing came of it. Then they noticed the pokemon. Clearly the pokemon were waiting on something which meant the child in question was likely their trainer. Suddenly they had another option open to them. The pokemon world and those who dwelled within were very unlikely to allow something like this to continue without interference. Since the call to the social workers had failed it was time for a parent-teacher conference with the Dursley family. Like always the Dursleys did everything in their power to push the blame on their nephew but the teachers were having none of that. They knew the truth, their son was a bully. Though his cousin was his favorite target, no child was safe. Either the Dursley parents taught their son it was wrong to bully others or they called social services and the police about child abuse. The Dursleys had no choice but to comply. They had a talk with Dudley about picking on the other children.

The sounds of the plan falling apart could be heard the next day when the teachers caught Dudley beating up his cousin for no reason the next day at school. Dudley kept saying it was all his fault. Thanks to him Dudley was in trouble with adults for the first time in his life. And just where had a freak like him managed to find pokemon. Didn't he know he wasn't allowed to even see pokemon let alone have one stick up for him. And clearly the child's pokemon had made an attempt to protect him from his overweight cousin to no avail.

One teacher rushed to the nearest phone and called the police and an ambulance. This was not going to happen again if they had anything to say about it. The ambulance arrived several minutes before the police and were told the child they needed to treat was five years old, the person who had beaten him to a bloody pulp was his own cousin. The police were told the same thing when they arrived plus everything else the teachers knew, like how the family had tried to blame their five year old nephew for his cousins actions. The fact he didn't know his own name came up and so did his lack of height and weight. When they brought up the fact they had tried to alert social services about the situation and nothing happened left everyone wondering who was keeping an innocent child in a situation like this. More information was needed but the only one who might be able to give them some answers was on his way to the hospital.

Seeking answers to some of the many question they had, the police made their way to the hospital. "A five year old male child was brought in earlier today. What can you tell us about him? All we know is that he was beaten by his cousin at school and there is a possibly of abuse in the home involving him as well."

"His cousin may have beaten him but he surely wasn't the only one. This child has been starved for years and he is dehydrated, badly. We know he is five years old but his bones are weak, he is at least twenty pounds underweight, and at least six inches shorter then he should be for his age. He does have a chance to recover but it is going to be a long road. Because he has be starved for at least three years he may never reach his true adult height. His bones will always be weak and gaining weight might be a problem, it's too soon to tell however. Add in the fact his muscles are in horrid shape he might never be as strong as the average adult male." the doctor in charge of the little boy stated grimly. "Some of his medical problems can be fixed now but more will likely pop up later. There is no real way of knowing what will happen to this child. But death is a near certainty if he is sent back to where ever he used to live. One of the nurses found evidence of pokemon on the boy so you should talk to someone who deals with pokemon daily. I can give you a copy of his medical report. If you need us to we will stand by our findings in a court of law. Hopefully we should know more later about his condition."

The teachers had mentioned the boy had pokemon and now the doctor and a nurse backed up the teachers without knowing it. While children in the regions teaming with pokemon might have one as young as five years old, you never heard about such a thing happening in Surrey. Truth be known if anyone in Surrey had pokemon, they only had one. It sounded as if this child had more then one. Surely someone would have said something about this before now. Something like this would have made the news all over England, so why hadn't it? Officer Jenny was the only one who might know something about the pokemon the child owned. Chances were she knew more then they did at the moment. Now they just had to go talk to her about pokemon and their trainers, one of their questions was very simple. How old did you have to be before you became a trainer? Thankfully she should know all of this and could answer their questions. Of course, that was if she was even in.

"Officer Jenny have you gotten any new pokemon in lately? The ones we're talking about would need medical help." one police officer said as Officer Jenny pulled up beside her station house.

"I have but I don't know if they are the ones you mean. Though if you had gotten here any earlier you would have been waiting. Nurse Joy has her hands full at the poke center and needed me to help. Seven eevees showed up today and they aren't happy about something. This is not a good thing. These seven are infamous in pokemon circles about not letting anyone catch them, I guess they want to stay together. If I didn't know better I would say they had a trainer who was hurt but no one has heard anything about them finding a trainer." Officer Jenny said as she lead the way inside to her office.

"Chances are they do have a trainer. We have a five year old male in the hospital with pretty serious injuries. How would pokemon react if their trainer was injured trying to protect them from more injuries?" the officer asked.

"It would depend on how badly both the pokemon and the trainer were hurt. If the injuries aren't that bad then they might be okay with the knowledge their trainer was getting help. But if both ended up in the hospital then things would get ugly quickly. Why?" Officer Jenny asked surreptitiously.

"The child in question has been seen with pokemon, number unknown. His cousin attacked him and chances are if they are his then they tried to protect him. It is doubtful they are at a proper weight right now, and likely in need of proper food. He was starved and if they are his then he might have given them most of his food in order to take care of them." the officer said calmly.

"That would explain things a great deal. All I have to do is tell Nurse Joy the seven eevees in her care have a trainer who has been abused for sometime and their injures are the results the tempt to defend their trainer and a lack of food. If the trainer wasn't eating properly or regularly and giving them part of what he or she had to eat then that would explain why they are weaker then they should be. Plus I have to find out which hospital their possible trainer is in and make agreements with the staff to either move the pokemon or move the child. I don't know if Nurse Joy is going to be pleased with me or want to kill me over this. Still if it wasn't for your information we might not have solved this little puzzle. If the child is their trainer then the eevees will settle down once they are reunited with him. If not then we are back to square one." Officer Jenny said as the police officers sighed in relief.

"We have the contact information you need. We came here straight from the hospital. One of the nurses found evidence he has pokemon. The doctor in charge of the case told us to talk to someone who about pokemon." one officer said.

"Thank goodness that will save some time. What can you tell me about their possible trainer. I need to know as much as possible so I can give Nurse Joy the needed information." Officer Jenny said with a frown at the name of the hospital.

"The child is in poor shape and will need a great deal of help in order to recover. And I don't mean just physically, I mean medically. Most of the information we have indicates the child's guardians have been abusing him for years. We told you the child a five year old male, he is twenty pounds underweight, six inches shorter then what he should be, malnourished, dehydrated, weak bones, hell the doctors aren't sure his bones will ever recover, possible weight gain problem, and unlikely to ever reach the average strength of an adult male or average height for an adult male. Don't bother to pity the guardians because his cousin was severely overweight and apparently quite the bully. His cousin seemed to be his favorite target according to their teachers. He will need a good home with a solid financial footing to pay for his medical bills. One with pokemon would be best. There is no way a judge is going to leave him where he is." another officer said, while shaking his head.

"Oh dear, I guess it's a good thing all the big names in the pokemon world will be coming here. I can't tell you who will be coming because I don't know but I do know they won't leave those eevees or their possible trainer were they are without a fight. A very big, very public, very dirty fight. When they hear about the abuse he suffered things will get dirty add in the fact he is a possible trainer and they will get ugly. We are going to have a mad house on our hands." Officer Jenny said as she got on the phone with Nurse Joy at the poke center. She would be happy to know why the seven refused to claim down at least.

"Nurse Joy this is Officer Jenny I might know why those seven eevee refuse to calm down. It looks as though they have a trainer. And as it happens he is in the hospital as well. Their injuries might have been caused by a bully, and I don't mean the pokemon kind either. Their possible trainer is a little five year old boy and the bully in question is his cousin. You can thank the regular police for this information. I'm going to try to make agreements for them to be reunited to see if he is their trainer, while keeping them under medical care."

In Pallet Town

"This just in, the pokemon world is in shock today as the news spread about seven infamous eevees and their trainer. Every well known trainer we spoke to was stunned to learn about this. Lance of the Elite Four in the Indigo League had this to say 'Those seven finally found a trainer?! Why are we just now hearing about this? And just what to you mean when you say they have been abused along with their trainer? Who would do such a thing?'. Sadly we don't know the answers to Lance's questions at this point in time but we do know some of the people who are going to check this out. Several pokemon researchers including Professor Oak, several gym leaders from around the world, and some of the most famous names in the trainer's circles.

What little information we have states the seven eevees found their trainer in Surrey, England. Not a place any of us do a lot of visiting too, trainers visit even less. I checked with many pokemon experts and they all stated there are no pokemon in England except those who get taken there by their trainers. So how did seven eevees without a trainer end up in Surry, England?

We managed to speak with Professor Oak before he left and he had this to say 'If the report is true then we have a real mess on our hands. If their trainer is a child like the report says then who should raise him? How old is the trainer? What does this person know about pokemon? These are just a few of the questions we need answers to. And according to the report the trainer has some major medical problems. Which raises several questions by itself. Combined, heaven help us. Because someone has to. We can't let that trainer raise those pokemon without some sort of help.' Professor Oak did raise some good questions. Sadly we can't answer these question either. This is Sally Owen for Pallet Town news signing off."

"Thanks for coming with us Mom. I'm worried about those pokemon and their trainer. Who knows what they have gone through." Ash Ketchum said to his mother.

"We might have a lot of questions but so will the little boy we are going to help. And I want to know who placed him there without checking up on him." Mrs. Ketchum said in a sharp tone of voice.

"You really think it is a little boy Mrs. Ketchum?" Gary Oak asked from beside Ash.

"Call it a mother's intuition. I just know he has been abused. I mean look at him. He is far to skinny and tiny. Those eevees must have done their best but they could only do so much. Now we are going to have to help them all." Mrs. Ketchum said sharply.

"Don't worry Mom we plan to. One of the main things I want to know is how those eevee got to England in the first place. I thought ships were checked before launch." Ash said with a frown.

"They are but not as thoroughly as they need to be it seems. However in this case that might be a good thing. Without knowing all the facts I don't even want to think about what might have happened if those eevees hadn't done what they did." Gary said sadly.

"I agree Gary. I just received a copy of the possible trainer's medical report. The amount of damage this child has suffered makes me wonder what sort of people live in this part of the world. Thankfully pokemon manage to prevent most of these things from happening in our part of the world." Professor Oak said with a frown and a dark look in his eyes.

"How bad is it Gramps, really?" Gary asked softly.

"This child will never be strong enough to become a trainer to any more pokemon then the ones he might already have. Chances are he will need help for years to come. While most children are starting to grow independent he will need adults to help with everyday things. Other trainers, if he is one, will pity him because he won't be able to handle pokemon other then the ones he already has. They won't understand the need to be gentle with him, if they do understand they won't be able to keep from hurting him when they are feeling playful." Professor Oak said shaking his head sadly.

"Then he will never be able to become a professional trainer but there are other things he will be able to do. His medical condition might hold him back in some areas but there is no reason for it to slow him down." Ash said with a smile while his mother looked at him proudly.

"Do you know his name Professor Oak?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

"This is the saddest part. His school records say his name is Harry James Potter but the teachers at his school aren't sure this is his real name. He doesn't know his own name." Professor Oak said shaking his head sadly.

"Then we should give him one. There is no reason for a child not to have a name. We might not know what his parents named him but there is no reason for us to not give him a name." Ash stated.

"I agree with you Ash. All children should have names." Gary said as they turned to look towards England.

The room in the hospital was quite except for the beeping of the machines hooked up to a little boy sound asleep in the bed. Seven eevees were sleeping all over the bed with him. The sight was enough to make the staff and patients smile at the scene in the room. The only thing ruining the picture was the machines the little was hooked up to. No one was incapable of not stopping and smiling in the doorway, not even Nurse Joy who was there to check up on the eevees. She still had trouble believing those seven had chosen an abused little boy to be their trainer. He would never be able to train other pokemon, his body would never be able to handle the stress. Point in fact his body was not capable of handling most of the medicines which would help him get better faster.

"Couldn't help yourself could you Nurse Joy?" a doctor asked softly.

"Not any more then you could. Did you have any luck?" Nurse Joy asked.

"None, thanks to the Dursleys' he will never be able to handle most modern medicines. His body will reject them violently and in the process cause even more damage. We have to be careful with herbal medicines as well. There is no telling just what sort of things his body will do with herbal medicines. At this point I'm not even sure if he will be able to walk again." the doctor said sadly.

"He will. I know he will. Those seven would never have chosen him other wise. He will never be able to train other pokemon but he will walk again. They will make sure of it." Nurse Joy said softly. The look in her eyes saying just how sure of this she was.

"May be but they can't help him now." the doctor said.

"What makes you think they aren't already helping him?" Nurse Joy asked as she went about her duties.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked sharply.

"They are with him keeping him company, letting him know he is not alone. Their presence is helping him. He will fight for them just like they will fight for him. He already knows they will go to the ends of the earth for him. What makes you think he won't do the same for them? A true trainer isn't measured by the number of pokemon you have but by how loyal and loving your pokemon are. Gym leaders are good examples for true trainers, they are among the best. But I have heard about a trainer who is a great trainer but this trainer admits to knowing he has more to learn about pokemon. But his pokemon are some of the most loyal around. This little boy will be a great trainer for those seven. These seven pokemon will always help him." Nurse Joy said as she left the room.

"Amazing. Maybe this sort of thing will be helpful in other parts of the hospital." the doctor said as he left.

Vernon Dursley had been waiting for this chance for days. The freak had ruin his life and his family's life. Clearly he had to pay, and Vernon was just the person to make sure he did pay. Ignoring the machines keeping track of his nephews' condition and giving him the medicines he could safely take and the pokemon sleeping all over the bed he walked into the room to teach the freak a lesson he would never forget.

As it turned out not all of the pokemon were sleeping, they had been worried something like this might happen. So they took turns keeping an eye on things. Moonstone was on duty when Vernon came in. It was clear the man was up to something involving their human. The others would be jealous he got to be the one who dealt with the man.

"Wake up freak. Time for your punishment." Vernon said as he grabbed his nephew's throat.

Moonstone stood up and growled letting Vernon know someone else was in the room with him and the freak. With the freak trying to remove his hand and the beast growling at him Vernon knew he time to punish the freak would be short. He backhanded Moonstone knocking him into one of the other eevees and waking more of them up. They started growling and using Tackle on him while Moonstone started glowing. The machines were making enough noise to make Vernon tighten his hand around his nephew's throat. He was going to make sure the freak never bothered his family again.

When Moonstone finished glowing an espeon with a scar on its leg stood where an eevee with a scar on its leg stood. Using Confusion Moonstone forced Vernon to release their trainer and sent him flying into the wall out in the hallway. Shocking several people who were on their way to help. Knowing Moonstone would keep Vernon away from their trainer the other pokemon did their best to help him regain his breathe.

"What is going on here?!" Ash Ketchum shouted as he took in the scene around him.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. The machines in this room started going off in a dangerous manner causing us to rush over here. When we got here we saw a man fly out of the room and hit the hallway wall." one nurse said sharply.

"This room contains pokemon and their trainer. The trainer is injured, clearly the pokemon were protecting their trainer from a threat. Which leaves me to wonder why there are no guards on this room to keep people who don't need to be in there out?" Gary asked pinning the nurse with a sharp look.

"This is the first I have heard about any pokemon. And there is no need to guard this room because the patient is just a child." the nurse said.

"Just a child?!" Mrs. Ketchum cried. "That child has been abused by the family taking care of him. The chances of the man pinned to the wall is one of his abusers is very high. Pokemon don't attack for no reason. Leaving me to wonder if you should even be in this career."

"I agree. I tried to get guards but the higher ups said there was no reason for guards. I think they will think differently this time around." a doctor said. "We will be talking about what you said at a latter date."

"I think it is safe to say the child is the trainer of the seven eevees and one of those eevees have evolved. Nothing else could explain this mess any better. If this man is one of the abusers then he got off lucky. Pokemon don't like to see their trainer hurt and will do everything in their power to protect their trainer." Professor Oak said looking at the man pinned to the wall.

"Ash and I are going to check on the child. Do you think you can handle things here Gramps?" Gary asked as he lead Ash through the people to the door of the room in question.

"Sure Gary. It might be best to keep the number of people down until he is a little better." Professor Oak said with a slight smile at his grandson.

"Hello there little guy my name is Ash Ketchum and this is Pikachu on my head. The man beside me is Gary Oak and this is Umbreon. They are pokemon, just like the ones on your bed. In fact Umbreon used to be an eevee just like most of your pokemon. Did you give them nicknames or just call all of them eevee?" Ash asked gently.

"The one with a scar on its leg is Moonstone. This is Hauyne, Zandrite, Rubellite, Citrine, Zoisite, and Obsidian." he said softly.

"Those are some good nicknames. Why did you call them that?" Gary asked.

"Hauyne likes to play in water, Rubellite likes fire, Citrine likes storms and electricity, Zandrite likes plants, Zoisite makes me think of zoisite gems and razor sharps edges, Obsidian likes to be in the shade, and Moonstone is always watching." he said with a smile at his pokemon.

"Makes sense to name them after gemstones. Now I have been thinking about this since we heard you don't know your name. How about we name you Evan playing off the number of pokemon you have, seven. What do you think?" Ash asked as Pikachu got to know Moonstone.

"I like it. It feels right." Evan said as he watched his pokemon interact with Pikachu and Umbreon.

"We have some questions for you about what life was in your former home. You don't have to answer them but they would help us help you." Gary said as he scratched Obsidian behind the ear.

"Okay." Evan said softly.

"What was your average day like when you weren't in school?" Ash asked.

"Aunt Petunia would wake me up to make breakfast and let me out of my cupboard, once breakfast was done I did the dishes and started on whatever chores my aunt had lined up for the day. If I had done a good job and finished all of my chores yesterday then I got a slice of bread and a glass of water for lunch after making lunch for Dudley if not then I washed the lunch dishes when Dudley was done. Did more chores after lunch until it was time to start dinner. My uncle would decide if what I had done was good enough for dinner or not. If my chores weren't done then I got punished. I was locked up in my cupboard at eight o'clock at night." Evan said much to the shock of Ash and Gary.

"You mean to tell me those people are your family?" Gary asked in a shocked tone of voice.

"I think so. But I don't really know. I don't look anything like my aunt." Evan said calmly.

"We'll look into it for you. But I can tell you that you will never be going back to them again. What did they tell you about your parents?" Ash asked slowly afraid of what Evan would say.

"My parents died in a car crash." Evan said sadly.

"We'll look into that as well Evan. There is no reason for you not to know how your died if they really are dead." Gary said kindly.

"But chances are your parents are dead. Because if they aren't then something is wrong because I don't think they would have willingly let you go." Ash said quickly.

"One last question. Who is the man out in the hallway?" Gary asked.

"My Uncle Vernon." Evan said yawning.

"Go to sleep Evan it will be alright." Ash said as they walked out.

"Did you boys learn anything?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

"More then we thought but less then we hoped. Professor Oak did you check into the background of the little boy while we were talking to him?" Ash asked softly.

"Yes I did. His name is just what is says on school records, maybe, and his parents are dead. The family he was with is his last living relatives. Why?" Professor Oak asked.

"How did his parents die?" Gary asked.

"They were murdered." Professor Oak said quietly.

"Then they lied to him. Evan was told his parents died in a car crash. What's more we found out what his day is like when he's not in school. They have him doing things no five year old child should be doing. Mom they make him cook for them and don't let him eat what he has cooked." Ash said with tears in his eyes.

"Come here baby. Let me hold you. Things are going to get better for little Evan. He is never going back to those people. You know I won't let that happen." Mrs. Ketchum said harshly.

"The man in the hallway is his uncle, a man name Vernon. His wife is name Petunia and their son Dudley. Those three have to be punished for what they did." Gary said.

"Don't worry about that. Plans are already being made to punish them. Does he have any bright spots after staying with them for so long?" Professor Oak asked.

"His pokemon. Gramps he named them after gemstones. It was Moonstone who threw Vernon out of the room. Moonstone evolved to protect its trainer." Gary said with a small smile.

"An espeon eh. Well he'll have his hands full then. Something his new family will have to take into account. This has to be the first time a pokemon has had to evolve to protect its trainer. But something tells me it won't be the last." Professor Oak said with a smile.

"Are you okay Ash?" Gary asked shocking Ash.

"Don't do that Gary. You scared me." Ash said looking at Gary. "And the answer is I don't know. How could they do that to a child Gary? What sort of people treat a child in such a manner?"

"I don't know Ash. There is no way of knowing what made them think treating Evan in such a manner is okay but at least he is out of that place now." Gary said looking at Ash with a thoughtful look on his face.

"He may be out but the damage has be done. I had hoped the damage wasn't bad enough to keep him off the trainer circuit but even if he rode in a car there is no way his body could handle it. What does that say about the people who raised him Gary?" Ash asked sadly.

"I don't know Ash but I do know he will never be alone. We will be there for him." Gary said without thinking.

"What do you mean by that Gary?" Ash asked.

"Will you marry me Ash? And take Evan in as a foster child to see if we fit as a family?" Gary asked on bended knee.

"Of course I'll marry you Gary Oak. Evan will start as our foster child but I think we both know he will be our son before the year is out." Ash said with a huge smile on his face.

Poke Savior