Hey guys. I've been doing a lot lately, nothing but working. But here's a little something different. See, while I tend to argue in my mind whether I'll do a story as a comic, a fanfic, an animation or what have you, sometimes I think I might do something as a fic and revisit it as a comic, which you could expect to be better than the fics, remember I'm working out of my element with prose formated fanfics like this, I came from doing scripts and comics originally. On that note, yes, a good portion of the fics you've read of mine will make it to comic format. But anyway, sometimes when I concieve an idea it comes to me as a comic, usually that or an animation or a game. This is one such story. I originally wanted to make it a one-shot detailing the idea but it's done in a way that does gags that transistion in quick succession. You'll be here one minute, get a comedic line of dialogue and then you'll be somewhere else. In short the way I have this story in my head, it can only work as a comic or animation, some kind of visual media. It simply doesn't work as a fic, therefore, you're only getting the preview I put together.
That being said, let's get this out of the way. I find that in the Pokémon Special fanbase, the Pokémon themselves tend to get ignored or underplayed despite holding more physical and personal importance to the characters than other human characters. Say whatever you want about say SpecialShipping but Yellow's probably closer to Pika than she is to Red(and I also like Special so don't hate me). And Yellow and Ratty have been with each other for two years, living as an owner and pet more than a trainer and Pokémon. So I wondered what they're lives together must've been like in between the RGB chapter and the Yellow chapter. Here's the beginning, enjoy. And as of yet no there is no shipping planned for this story.
_
"Chuchu, you have to keep moving. Don't let them get around you." A blonde trainer yelled to her Pokémon.
"Arcanine." Cued the Viridian City Gym Leader.
The highly trained Pokémon responded by using Extreme Speed to surround it's target and contain it in a small area, circling it and making it impossible to escape.
"Chuchu, thunderbolt." The blonde didn't actually like the idea of having to attack but this was for her Pikachu, and she wanted to try her best. However…
"Dig." The Gym Leader commanded.
Accelerated by Extreme Speed, the dog like Pokémon was in the ground easily avoiding the attack pushing some rock behind it to block its path. And then coming up out of the ground and ramming itself into the Pikachu. The Pikachu went soaring some six or seven feet off the ground. The blonde trainer reached her arms out to try and catch her Pokémon but she couldn't and Chuchu hit the ground. The Viridian City Gym Leader recalled his Arcanine and analyzed how the situation went.
"You need to work more on synchronizing your thoughts with your Pokémon's. To think, three or so years ago you were the only hope against the champion of the Elite Four and now you have trouble beating my secondary team. I remind you that this team is groomed to accurately determine skill levels of trainers and improve their abilities. Really, I could swear I've taught you more than this." He told her.
Meanwhile Chuchu was sitting with a disappointed expression where it had landed, "Don't be too harsh Green." The girl named Yellow said to her friend, "This is Chuchu's second time trying the Gym challenge since I made her lose the first time, and she's very sensitive." She said, affectionately rubbing her face against her Pokémon's, "But thank you for taking the time to go over this with us."
They had done pretty well, in Green's opinion. But Yellow and Chuchu didn't have as much battle training as Yellow did with her other Pokémon. Plus, Green noticed Yellow's Pokémon's levels had actually gone DOWN somehow. Green wasn't even sure how that was possible. He suspected it might have something to do with Yellow's ability to alter their levels by "raising her spirit" and something must've happened to reverse the process. It was actually one of Yellow's more difficult and under used powers so even she didn't know much about it or if that was even the case.
Still, since he was the Gym Leader, he decided Yellow's Pokémon could stand to get more exercise. And her Pikachu, Chuchu, wanted to try and face the Gym's Pokémon a second time. Green was actually present this time, and was able to make an evaluation. In the end, Yellow and Chuchu were able to actually get Green issuing commands to his Pokémon. Normally they were capable of performing on their own, so they were doing better than last time evidently.
"I think we should be getting home now, thanks for everything Green." Yellow said. Green stayed quiet, "Say bye to Green Chuchu, say bye-bye." She encouraged her Pokémon in a babying way.
The small Pikachu gave a meek wave.
"Later." Green said as Yellow headed out the door.
True to her nature, Yellow attempted to talk to the Pokémon she was cradling in her arms, "You know what? I think we did very well." Her powers allowed her to have an empathic conversation with her Pokémon, knowing its thoughts and feelings. This type of interaction was easier with Pokémon than it was with humans because they aren't born with a sense of privacy like humans are, "We were a bit more prepared this time. You know, if Green wasn't there, I bet we would've won."
Chuchu seemed a little bashful and somewhat humbled at the motherly encouragement her trainer was giving her. Yellow and Chuchu continued their "talk" until Chuchu gave a tired yawn. Which Yellow rarely ever saw as anything other than adorable. Still she always knew how to take care of this.
"Aw, you tired Chuchu?" Yellow asked, Chuchu nodded while its face rubbed against its owner, "Okay well don't worry we'll be home soon and I'll lay you down in bed." Chuchu looked up at Yellow's face as if to ask a question, Yellow didn't need her powers to guess what Chuchu was thinking, "Yes, I'll be there when you wake up."
The Pikachu smiled and closed its eyes, resting its head against its trainer.
Yellow got home and, though still cradling Chuchu in her arms, managed to get the door open and made her way to her room. She laid Chuchu down into a small basket bed she bought specifically for Chuchu when she was healing after Yellow first found her. The Pikachu laid so peacefully. Yellow smiled at the sleeping creature. She hurried back downstairs and released the remaining five of her Pokémon.
"Okay, stretch out, have fun and do what you have to do." Yellow told them, "Just don't get into trouble."
She normally had to release her Golem, Golosuke and her Dodrio, Dodosuke on the first floor so they could get out the door. The house was much too small for them and if Golosk were released on the second floor Yellow would probably have to find a new house. She preferred to let them outside to frolic and play in the backyard. They didn't have much trouble getting out the door like they used to and it always made Yellow feel good to know they could take care of themselves. They were followed by Omsuke and Pisuke like they usually were, but Ratty, once out of his Poké Ball, scampered upstairs.
Yellow curiously looked after Ratty and followed him. Once up the stairs, she found him in her room on the window sill staring out at the forest. This made Yellow more curious, especially since the backyard offered a better view of the forest. Rather than using her powers, Yellow decided to simply approach Ratty.
"Hey Ratty?" She started, the rat Pokémon turned and looked at her, "Are you homesick? I can take you into the forest if you want."
Ratty nodded "no" and leaned slightly forward, showing Yellow the top of his head, inviting her to read his thoughts. It was something her Pokémon normally did to help communicate better. She did just as the Raticate wished and discovered that Ratty was just feeling nostalgic that day. He was remembering when Yellow was very young. Back when he was her only Pokémon.
Yellow pulled her hand away and smiled, "That was pretty fun huh?" She said, referencing the things they used to do.
Ratty looked down, his expression didn't change, but still Yellow knew something was bothering him. She used her powers again to see what he was thinking. It brought her back to the day he evolved. She retracted her hand and looked at her Pokémon again.
"Oh Ratty, is that bothering you again?"
Ratty just looked at Yellow, not really reacting at all to her question. Yellow got a look of sympathy on her face, she reached both arms out and lifted Ratty then sat him down on the bed. Needless to say he was heavier than he used to be but Yellow could still hold him without too much hassle.
"Now Ratty, I thought we talked about this. It's not that I don't think you're cute anymore; it's not that you're frightening; I was just shocked by the evolution. I had no idea what happened to you, I didn't know such a drastic change was supposed to occur, and I thought something bad might've happened to you, I mean you just grew like a regular creature before. And the reason I didn't want the others to evolve is just…" She stopped to think to herself, "I still don't know. They aren't too different honestly, and Chuchu doesn't need to evolve. Besides I really like Pikachu. But I've said it before and I'll say it as many times as you need me to." She lifted her arms and scratched Ratty behind his whiskers, "Ratty is Ratty. It doesn't matter me what you look like so long as you're still you." The Pokémon finally perked up, Yellow could sense him feeling better, "That's right. You wanna go outside and play with the others?" Ratty moved to the other side of the queen size bed and laid on its back, signaling it wanted to be scratched. Yellow giggled, "Okay Ratty." She complied.
Ratty kicked his foot with enjoyment. Yellow absolutely loved her Pokémon to the point where she was more parent than trainer. And while Chuchu was the current baby of the group, Ratty was Yellow's first Pokémon, and the bond they shared is what instilled Yellow's behavior towards her Pokémon in the first place. Yellow scratched Ratty's stomach until he rolled over and drifted into sleep. Yellow pulled the covers out from under him and up over him, and she smiled sweetly.
_
Five years earlier.
A small nine year old girl walked in the front door to her humble abode, "It's in here." She said to a small purple creature she was holding, "I'm sorry I couldn't show you around earlier. But I had to take care of the boy that helped me catch you." She pushed the door closed behind her with her back and set the purple rat-like Pokémon on the floor, "Take a look around, I want you to get used to it but don't wander off too far I don't want to lose you."
The Pokémon walked around and sniffed everything it went up to. It was behaving surprisingly well for a freshly caught Pokémon. Not that the girl could tell, despite liking them and her empathy with them, she didn't understand very much about Pokémon. She tried to remember the name of the kind of Pokémon this was. It took her a minute but eventually she remembered it was called "Rattata". The Pokémon sat down after a minute and observed its surroundings.
She walked up to her new friend, "I'm sorry." She said, grabbing its attention, "This must all be very new to you. Truth is," She kneeled down "I'm all alone here so I need a Pokémon to help me get by. But if you get homesick I can take you for a visit to the forest." The Pokémon didn't respond at first, the girl reached her hand out and a strange, glowing sensation occurred, "So you didn't really have anyone like a friend in the forest? That's sad." The Pokémon recoiled a bit, confused as to how his new trainer obtained that information, "That's my gift." She explained, "I may not look like it but I was born in the forest too. Because of it, I can read Pokémon's minds, memories and feelings." The Rattata didn't seem too surprised; after all, humans did all kinds of exotic things Pokémon could only attempt to do, it wasn't too strange for him, it's just that it was specific to this one human, "Is there anything you need?" She asked, reaching her hand out to read the Pokémon's thoughts again, it was hungry; the blonde smiled "Let's go into the backyard." She said.
She guided the Pokémon with her hand to the back door. In her yard was a large tree that was growing some berries. She took the time to pick some fresher ones from a low hanging branch and turned to where she last saw her Pokémon only to find that it had moved and had started eating some that had fallen on the ground. She just smiled and left the new berries next to him, which he quickly moved on to as soon as he finished chewing the berry he'd already found. The Pokémon eating was a really cute thing to see in the girl's judgment.
"That's a good Ratty." She mumbled petting the creature on its head, "Hey maybe I should call you that. Would you like that? Ratty?"
The Pokémon looked up briefly as if it wanted to respond. The Rattata hadn't been with this trainer for too long so it hadn't learned to utilize any body language that it and its trainer could both recognize such as nodding. So the blonde read its mind again. As a matter of fact, it didn't mind. The Rattata had never named itself before so it had to take a minute to fully grasp the concept of a name, but this human that showed kindness to him could call him whatever she wanted.
Pokémon adjusted to change better than most humans did, so "Ratty" as he was now called, didn't care too much about the new surroundings and name. It's not like he gave up much anyway. And if ever he did miss the forest, his new, mind reading trainer had already agreed to take him whenever he wanted in addition to getting him food whenever he needed it so he wouldn't have to scavenge as much. It was a pretty good deal on his end. The blonde smiled sweetly; happy with how well things were going and how comfortable her new Pokémon was with all of these new things in its life.
"Do you remember my name?" She asked. Upon reading Ratty's mind, she learned he didn't, after all he'd only been told once, "That's okay, things got pretty hectic with what happened to that boy. I'm Yellow."
_
Well there you have it. In my mind, Ratty should act more like a rat or a mouse until he's been with a trainer long enough to become more relaxed and adjust his body language to better match human body language, which would probably make him more dog like. Dogs make good companions because they're body language is very similar to ours. I also tried to add some of the facts about the biology and behavior of Rattata from the games. They're surprisingly hard to care for. You'll see more of that once this comic is off the ground. I can't say for sure when that'll be but if it's been three years from now, assume it's too late. I also think I may've made Yellow a little too affectionate to be in character but it's at least believable if nothing else. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving(ish time of year) everyone. ^_^