Mia Storia
A Pokemon Fan Fiction by Browny9
A Glorious Journey's Start, Chapter I
On any given day, the first thing to be illuminated by the sun in Eterna City is the statue in the eastern part of the city. High atop a hill where no one is allowed to build their house- despite it being one of the best places to build a house, I think- the statue sits mostly covered in moss. There's an old man that takes care of the moss once in a while, but I think he's gotten so old that he doesn't do it as often as he used to. The statue itself? It's of two ancient and probably super powerful Pokemon. Their names are Dialga and Palkia.
But who really cares about any of that boring stuff? I mean, the date is March 3! Do you know what that means? Well, let me shine a little light on it: it's my birthday!
Huh? "Who am I?"
My name is Mia, and I'm about to become the world's greatest Pokemon Trainer!
"Mia! Wake up, darling! Breakfast is ready!" A voice called out from beyond my bedroom door. That's when I realized I had been dreaming. Or half-dreaming, since I remember waking up and rolling over in bed. Took me a minute to wonder why I was talking to myself the way I was in my half-sleep. Guess I'm just weird.
But all the same I sat up in bed and stretched my arms high into the air. It was something I enjoyed doing after waking up, especially since there was no longer any bunk above me anymore! I groggily looked up to see the pale white ceiling above, smiled, and then hopped out of bed. Mom always told me not to do that, because it disturbed our neighbors on the floor below. But today was my birthday, so I'm sure the rules were a bit more lax. And if not, well they'd have to figure out it was me in the first place! And I doubt they could do that.
I opened my bedroom door and trotted down the short hall. Past a bedroom and a bath, and into the tiny kitchen-slash-dining room. The smell of freshly baked toast- not made in a toaster mind you!- permeated the area. Not the breakfast of kings (or queens) but I wasn't going to complain. Stuff like toast would be a luxury once I was on the road!
"Happy Birthday, sweetie!" Mom announced once she saw me standing there in my brown Buneary pajamas. I remember being angry when she first bought them for me the year before. Something about them making me look like a kid. But I had since grown very attached to them. She walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep well?"
"Mm-hmm!" I nodded as I sat down.
"You ready for your big day?" She asked, knowing full well I hadn't talked about anything else for almost a month since. What ten year-old isn't just dying to start their Pokemon journey?
"Yup! I still need to go to Sandgem Town so I can get my first Pokemon!" I didn't even need to add that she had to take me all the way there. Much as I begged to go yesterday and stay at a hotel so we didn't have to waste most of today on the road.
"Well, there's been a tiny change of plans about that..." Mom said in that trailing sort of tone that filled me with dread. It's the tone she always adopted whenever plans had changed. And only for the worse.
"What do you mean?"
"I know I said I'd take you, but-"
"MOM! You HAVE to take me! You always took everyone! Well, except for Seth but that's because he went to that school instead!" I screamed out from the table.
"Mia, calm down." Mom instructed in a calm tone. Another tone she frequently adopted whenever I or any of my siblings were out of line. By her reasoning of course. Personally I thought my outburst was well within reason. Still I shut my mouth and slumped in my chair, making sure to look as sullen and pathetic as possible as to earn sympathy points. For what they were worth at this stage.
"There's been a change of plans. Turn around."
With a visible question mark over my head, I followed her instruction. Standing behind me this entire time with a giant smile on her face was none other than Ruby. How many times had this same scenario played out, only for Ruby to yell "BOO!" or something like that just to scare me? Only this time, Ruby standing there was a surprise in itself.
Ruby is my older sister, the oldest of all five of us. She's 16 now, and hasn't been home in several months. So to find her here today of all days was a shock. Of course I leapt out of my chair and into her arms. It was great to hug her after so long. I'd been living alone with Mom for a few months, ever since Lucas left on his own Pokemon journey on his eleventh birthday.
I guess now's as good a time as any to clear this giant family up. Mom and Dad (their names aren't important) had five kids. The first was Ruby, born November 11 and is currently 16. She left on her Pokemon journey like any other kid at 10. She's been to a few different regions already, and has even come back home to continue school from time to time. Next is Seth, born September 9 and currently 14. He didn't go on a Pokemon journey like Ruby, and instead went to Elements Academy, a very famous and fancy school in the Fiore region. He only visits during the winter holidays.
Next is Iris, born August 8, and 12 years old. She is on her second Pokemon adventure now, and I think she's in the Kanto region. We talk on the phone once in a while. Then there's Lucas, his birthday's on December 12, and he's 11. He started his journey a few months ago, one year later than usual. He wanted to stay in school a bit longer for some reason.
Finally, there's me! Mia Caelum, now age 10 and born March 3. Today!
That out of the way, Ruby and I sat back down at the table and started having breakfast at last.
"When did you get home?" I asked my older sister.
"Last night. You were already asleep, dummy." She stuck her tongue out at me. I did the same in return.
"Are you going somewhere else? Where have you been already?" I asked, now more eager than ever to learn where my siblings had traveled.
"I just got back from the Hoenn region. I took a ship from Slateport City to Canalave. Didn't think I'd make it here in time for your birthday. I ran really fast to get here, you know!" She reached out and pinched my cheek, something I never liked and she knew. Still I didn't make much fuss.
"Is it still Summer there? I heard from friends at school that it's always Summer down there!"
"More like it's almost Spring. There's a Winter there too, silly. Just not as cold as ours. Lucky you get to start now. It isn't fun to travel up here in the middle of Winter like I did!"
That was the truth. We lived in Eterna City, which was at the base of Mt. Coronet on its northwestern side. Winter always hit us early and left early. The only other city in the region that had it colder was Snowpoint way to the north. There it was always snowy I heard from friends and teachers alike. I had never been there myself.
"Why don't you just tell her already? I have my camera ready and everything!" Mom cut in. She indeed had her camera aimed at me, a large and dusty old thing that was probably half my age. I turned to Ruby, who was smiling despite her best attempts not to.
"Tell me what?" I asked anxiously.
"Fine! I got you a birthday present!" Ruby reached around the back of her chair into her bag and pulled out a (rather poorly wrapped) gift box. She put it on the table in front of me and I wasted no time in tearing off the paper. I could hear Mom snapping the camera constantly, but when all the paper was off the only thing left was a plain brown box. I opened it to find a single item sitting inside. It was a Pokeball.
Only it wasn't like the red and white Pokeballs I had seen on TV or at the stores. This one was red on both sides, with a red button in the center. I picked it up in my hands, feeling that it was heavier than the ones I'd touched (without permission) at the store.
"It's a Cherish Ball," Ruby said, probably noticing how confused I looked. "It's a special kind of Pokeball you can have made in some stores. I ordered it from Azalea Town in Johto."
"Special how?" I asked, wondering if the weight was what made it so special.
"Nothing really special," Ruby answered with her tongue out. "Just a special event kinda thing. And what's more special than my baby sister finally going on her own Pokemon adventure?"
Much as I hated being called the baby sister, I had a genuine Pokemon Trainer item in my possession. I'm pretty sure my mouth was wide open the entire time. And the entire time Mom kept firing off that camera of hers.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Ruby said after a short time.
"What?" I said, snapped out of my daze.
"Open it! The ball isn't the gift, dummy!"
My eyes lit up. I was right after all. There was SOMETHING inside. And there was only one thing you could put inside a Pokeball of any kind. You know, barring jokes like sticking a rice ball inside one by hacking the device.
And that was a Pokemon.
Ruby had gotten me a Pokemon for my birthday. My first ever Pokemon! Was it a Piplup? Maybe a Chimchar like the one Seth picked out? Hopefully not a Turtwig like the one Lucas picked out... I didn't want to have the same starter like him! All these thoughts and possibilities flew by my head as I went to a less crowded side of the living room to drop the Pokeball from my hands and release the critter inside.
In a flash of red, like I'd seen so many times on TV and from my siblings, the Pokemon took form and color before my eyes. It wasn't a Turtwig, thankfully. But neither was it a Chimchar, or even a Piplup. In fact... it wasn't any Pokemon I'd ever seen before.
"What the heck is it?" I blurted out loud. The Pokemon looked up at me, waving its tiny arms about and making a strange sound that sounded like some kind of garbled dinosaur noise like you'd see in a movie. Somewhere between a roar and a growl and a meow? Not to mention when he made that sound, I could see the lines of very sharp teeth in his open jaw. If he bit me, it would hurt.
"And you call yourself a Pokemon Trainer?" Ruby jabbed.
"Not yet. I don't have my ID!" I retorted, blowing a raspberry at her.
"He's a Gible. A pretty rare Dragon type Pokemon!" Ruby stated matter-of-factly.
"Ruby, I thought we agreed on that other Pokemon? You know, the blue one from Hoenn?" Mom pitched.
"The Mudkip? I tried to catch one while I was there, but have you ever heard those things? They're obnoxious like you can't imagine! This one, however," Ruby said, standing by the tiny Gible, "is a super powerful and rare Pokemon!"
"Maybe, but he's not very cute." I sighed.
"Silly baby, you're going to learn right away that cute won't win battles!" Ruby teased, giving me a pat on the head like I was some pet.
"Yeah, well I'll show you! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" I yelled defiantly, pointing a finger at my sister.
"Now Mia, no fighting in the house." Mom ordered. "Take it outside."
"I'll wait for you out by the hill." Ruby accepted, a fiendish smile formed on her lips. "Don't want to lose in your bunny pajamas, do you?"
And for the first time in a while, I felt myself blush and be embarrassed by them.
Ultimately, whether I won or lost the battle, I won breakfast. Because Ruby left the house without eating anything else. I stayed and finished breakfast before getting dressed and running out after her. Nothing fancy in terms of clothes, just my typical school uniform. Figured if something was going to get dirty and torn through adventures and battling, may as well be the uniform, right?
Outside by the hill I could see the statue of the two legendary Pokemon. School had taught me that these Pokemon were never meant to be controlled by humans, but all the same I wondered how famous I'd be if I actually managed to capture one. Would I become a part of history? A Pokemon Trainer capable of capturing a Pokemon that controls space or time? I admit these fantasies and delusions clouded my mind as I prepared for my first real Pokemon battle against my eldest sister. Little did I know there simply was no hope for victory against her.
"Let's keep this simple since you only have one Pokemon. One on one. Fun fact: rules are always stated before the battle begins once you're out on the road. Got it, sis?"
I nodded, and ordered Gible out in front of me. The tiny dragon that honestly looked nothing like a dragon obeyed without question. Ruby released her own Pokemon, one that towered over Gible quite easily. It was an Empoleon, the final form of the Piplup she had chosen as her starter so long ago. I was only four at the time, but I distinctly remembered that day in Sandgem Town when she first received it.
"That's not fair! You're using your best!" I yelled at her.
"I'm using my own starter, just like you. Another fun fact: battles might not always be fair. You've got to adapt! Let's begin!"
Empoleon stood ready, though I was pretty sure the Pokemon knew my Gible wasn't even a challenge for him. Gible also prepared himself for battle, completely oblivious to the fact we were going to lose. Big time.
"Empoleon, use Bubble!"
Without moving from his starting position, Empoleon blew a flurry of seemingly harmless bubbles towards Gible. Prior to the battle, Ruby had let me scan Gible with her Pokedex, so that I knew exactly what kinds of moves he was capable of. Being a newbie Pokemon like his trainer, we didn't have much to work with.
"Gible, use Sand Attack!"
The tiny dragon brandished his claws, hacking away at the grass beneath him to kick up a dust cloud. It helped block out most of Empoleon's attack, but some of the bubbles still managed to strike Gible. They didn't look powerful, but it was enough to send Gible flying backwards towards me. It was a lot like when you see someone so powerful they can just flick at their opponent and send them flying. And we were the ones flying...
"Gible, rush in and Tackle!"
Already unsteady on his feet, Gible complied and started a dash towards Empoleon. To my surprise, Ruby didn't even order Empoleon to dodge the attack. I watched as Gible crashed into the larger Pokemon, but Empoleon didn't even flinch. Gible did bounce back quite a bit from the impact, though.
"Maybe it's unfair since you don't have a Pokedex of your own, but Empoleon is part Steel type. Stuff like Tackle won't even faze him." Ruby gloated from her end. She could have told me that sooner.
But this was the entire point of the battle. There was simply no way I could hope to win. We could spend all morning trying to topple her massive penguin and fail the entire time. And all Ruby had to do was sit this one out to win by default. Or order Empoleon to yawn on us and we'd lose immediately. Ruby liked to play tricks on all of us just because she was the eldest, and the only one who she was never able to trick more than once was Seth. Picturing my older brother in my mind, I tried to think what he'd do in this situation. However, even Seth wouldn't bother fighting a battle he couldn't win. He'd exhaust his own Pokemon in the process. And since he was efficient to a fault, it seemed the best course of action was just to let Ruby win.
"Fine. You win." I admitted, waving my arms to emphasize the point.
"You're giving up that quickly?" Ruby said with some shock.
"Why bother? I can't win and you know it. You just wanted to see how much I'd try, right?"
Even from a distance I could make out the curve of her lips. She put her Empoleon back into his Pokeball and walked over to me. I did the same with Gible, who looked pretty tired already.
"Saw right through me, huh?"
"You weren't trying very hard." I pointed out.
"Not every fight will be that unfair. But some will be. Winning and losing is all part of the game. Just be careful who you lose to, okay? Never lose all your Pokemon to a single person."
"But I only have one."
Ruby chuckled and gave me another pat on the head. "You'll catch more. Come on, let's get back home. I want to make sure you're all set to leave."
Yeah, it was a bit cold on the surface. But Ruby, despite being mean sometimes was always a big softie. Mom said it was her duty as the oldest sibling, but I knew friends from school who had older brothers or sisters that were just mean to them. Everything Ruby did she did with the intention of teaching us a lesson. Sometimes it didn't work, and sometimes she was probably better off just telling us the lesson than trying to teach it through some crazy plan. But I never saw Ruby be mean to any of us in as long as I can remember.
So I was happy to have her back home. There really was no better way I could think of to starting this Pokemon journey than with my sister at my side.
There were a million things you had to take into consideration when leaving on your Pokemon journey it turned out. Well, maybe not exactly a million, but my initial plan fell woefully short it seemed. And here I thought I did better than Lucas when he left on his journey a few months ago!
Mom had bought me a travel bag for my birthday, and given it to me a few days ago so I could start packing ahead of time. In it, I had packed a couple potions, a brand new town map, a few spare changes of clothes, and my toothbrush. I needed to visit the store before leaving the city to pick up a few more things, but from home I thought I had everything.
Well, there was at least one thing I couldn't get at the store I still needed: my Trainer ID. Unfortunately for me, without it I wasn't allowed to start challenging Pokemon Gyms for badges. So I'd have to travel all the way to Sandgem Town first to get it before coming back home to challenge the local gym. The original plan had been for Mom to drop me off in Sandgem, since it would only take a day's ride by car. But since I already had a Pokemon, I told her I'd go on foot. It would take a lot longer, but it would give me a chance to get used to traveling on my own.
Sandgem Town was way to the south, past the Eterna Forest, Floaroma Town and Jubilife City. And a lot of road to walk between them. I almost changed my mind and let Mom take me, but stuck to my guns in the end. Now nearing midday, I was in my room making sure everything was in order before setting out. And with me checking everything was Ruby.
"If I let you leave now, you'd probably be eaten by the first Spearow swarm to spot you on the road." Ruby sighed as she looked through my bag.
"Spearow don't live in Sinnoh!" I huffed. When I was younger, Ruby and even Seth would tease me, Lucas and even Iris with Spearow. Something about them being very aggressive Pokemon in the wild.
"No, but there are wild Staraptor out there. They're worse than Spearow! Trust me." Ruby said as she finished looking through my bag. "You didn't even pack any camping gear!"
"I don't have any. I was going to go to the store before leaving. Mom gave me a bunch of money for the trip, see?" I reached into the bag and pulled out my wallet. It was almost bursting with newly acquired cash, more than I'd ever handled in my entire life! While I felt rich beyond measure, one look from Ruby dashed away that feeling almost immediately.
"I guess that should be enough..."
"What do you mean?"
"You're not buying pieces of candy for ¥50, dummy. Trainer supplies are crazy expensive! Rule #1 while you're out there: only buy what you NEED."
Suddenly my packed wallet didn't feel so packed anymore. Still, I decided not to let Ruby's critiques get the better of me. I put everything back into my bag and prepared to depart. I'd probably only get as far as Eterna Forest before dark, which wasn't too bad. It wouldn't be my first time camping out there.
Ruby and I went downstairs, where Mom was busying herself in the kitchen. Guess she was a bit more nervous about all this than she let on. When I told her I was ready to leave, she looked almost devastated. As if she didn't know this moment was coming a mile away.
"Are you going with her, Ruby?" She asked my sister.
"Nah, I think she'll be okay. Right, Mia?"
I nodded, feeling more confident than ever. "Definitely!"
"There's just one more thing!" Mom reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a small, red watch. She handed it to me, and I realized immediately what it was.
"A Poketch?"
She nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't get you a Pokegear. They're really expensive these days, something about problems in the southern regions. We can't talk with these, but we can send each other little messages with the Message App!"
I poked at the touchscreen on my new trinket, finding the app she mentioned and testing it on the spot. Mom was the only person I had registered on there, but I was certain I'd fill it with friends and people I met on the road before long.
"Thanks, Mom! I love it!"
Before I could say anything else, Mom threw her arms around me and gave me a great big hug. So big she lifted me off my feet and had me practically in a chokehold.
"I'm going to miss you so much! Please try and keep in touch, okay?"
"I will, Mom." I sighed.
"If you can call me it would be much better, too!"
"Yes, Mom."
"Are you sure you have everything you need? If there's anything else, I can-"
"Mom! It's okay, really." I cut her off, smiling the entire time. "I'll be fine."
The longer I stayed there, the worse it would be. I said one final goodbye to her, and then left the house. Well, house was a weird way to put it. We actually lived in the condominiums, so I left our condo and got outside the building. Ruby followed me the entire way.
"You be careful out there, okay?" She told me.
"I will. Are you going to stay here long?"
"Maybe a few days. I was thinking of going overseas next."
"Oh? Where to?" My eyes lit up. I know I was just barely starting my Sinnoh journey, but already I was dying to see faraway places.
"I was thinking the Kalos region. I'm thinking of getting a job there."
"Wow! Maybe I can also go there when I'm done with Sinnoh!" I beamed.
"Yeah, maybe!" Ruby laughed. "You take care, sis. I'm going to miss you."
"You didn't say that when you left last time~!" I teased. To my shock, Ruby's cheeks actually flushed a bit.
"N-No, but this time YOU'RE the one leaving! If there's anything you need, just let me know, okay? I'll have Mom tell you how to contact me once I arrive in Kalos."
"Okay. Good-bye, Ruby." I said, extending my hand to her. My sister ignored that gesture and embraced me instead.
"Good-bye, Mia."
I won't lie, I had to leave quickly before I started crying. It's not like I wouldn't see Ruby or Mom ever again, but you just can't help it, you know? Now I was truly on my own. And the first stop I had to make was the PokeMart just down the street from our condo. I stepped inside, feeling my heart race just a bit. It wasn't the first time I'd ever been here naturally, but it was the first time I was here shopping for my very own adventure alone!
"Welcome to the PokeMart!" Came the typical greeting from the store clerk. He was a teenager that I'd known longer than I can remember. He was a year older than Ruby, and had started working here a couple years back. His name was Charlie, and for the longest time Ruby had a secret crush on him.
"Hey, Charlie!" I greeted in return, a smile on my face from ear to ear.
"If it isn't little Mia! What can I do for you today?"
"Stop calling me 'little'! Today's my birthday, you know!" I puffed out my chest proudly. "I'm here to buy some things for my Pokemon journey!"
"Really?! So you're already ten years old? Man, time flies! I remember when I came here to buy stuff for myself for the first time. Need any help?"
I shook my head. "Nope! I know exactly what I need to buy! I'll be right back!"
I trotted into the store with my head held high. Charlie had often helped me pick out whatever I needed to buy, on the off-chance Mom sent me grocery shopping. I wasn't very tall- despite being ten now- so a lot of the items were out of my reach. Whenever I'd reach for a shelf that was too high, he'd chuckle, grab what I needed, and then ruffled my hair. How many times did I see strawberry blonde locks obscure my vision because of it?
But this time, I was able to reach everything I needed. Well, most everything. Though I could reach the sleeping bags if I stood on my tip-toes, I'd probably cause a mess if I pulled at them, being all packed together on the shelf. So I left it for last, gathered the rest of the items on my mental checklist, and returned to the counter.
"This everything?" Charlie asked when I placed my basket before him.
"Not everything. I need you to get me a sleeping bag off the shelf."
He laughed a bit. "Still too short to reach them, huh?"
Despite feeling my cheeks heat up, I maintained my composure somehow. "Actually, it's just a bit too heavy for me to carry. Plus, it's your job to help customers, right?"
"Sure is. Why don't you show me which bag you want, Miss Caelum?" He added in an all-too-cheery tone.
Ignoring that, I led him to the aisle and picked out a light blue bag from among the various colors. Once it was in his hands, he instead offered a pink or light purple alternative, which I turned down. I hated purple, and while pink was a super cute color, I didn't want to overdo the girliness. My bag was already pink, a color choice I wouldn't have gone with had Mom taken me shopping for it.
Charlie rang me up for everything, and I paid like any customer would. I did notice how much lighter my wallet felt afterward, but kept it to myself. After stuffing everything into my bag (which nearly caused it to explode), I slung it over my shoulder and made for the exit.
"Hey, Mia," Charlie called out just as I was walking out the door.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful out there. And here!" Without warning, Charlie tossed something at me. I reacted quick enough to catch it, it being a Pokeball.
"Happy Birthday. This one's on me." He said with a wink. Again I felt my heart race a bit and my cheeks flush.
"Th-Thank you. Good-bye!"
West of Eterna City was Route 205. One of the largest routes in all of Sinnoh, smack in the middle of it was Eterna Forest, dividing the road into two different sections. West of the city was the smaller of the two, with a pond between the city entrance and the forest. I'd often come here with my sister Iris and sometimes with friends from school. Mom never liked us coming here alone, especially since wild Pokemon could show up near the pond. A rickety old wood bridge cut right through the pond, and always you could find fishermen sitting on it with their lines in the water. Even I had gone fishing here once with my Dad. We only ever caught Magikarp, though.
Sadly, I didn't have a fishing rod with me, so my hopes of catching even a Magikarp were null. But there was a bit of tall grass between the pond and the forest, and I did have a Pokeball in my hands courtesy of Charlie. Now was the perfect opportunity to catch my first ever Pokemon. After crossing the bridge to the other side of the pond, I reached into my bag and pulled out Gible's Pokeball. I released the Pokemon, and once he had materialized, he looked up at me.
"How you doing, buddy?" I asked the small critter.
His response was a soft growl or gurgle. Despite my urge to pet him, one look at his sharp teeth made me think otherwise. I knew he wouldn't bite me, but I was still more than a bit scared of the possibility.
"We're going to try and catch a new Poke-friend. Are you ready?"
Gible nodded as if he understood me perfectly. Pokemon weren't dumb animals, but this level of understanding was still a bit shocking to me. I looked into the tall grass before us, suddenly a bit hesitant to go in. While it was most common to encounter bugs like Wurple or even a Kricketot, once in a while you'd find something like a Dustox. Mom and Dad always warned us to stay away from those. I looked back at Gible, who was ready to follow me into the grass. Would he be able to take on a Dustox?
Suddenly, the grass in front of us started rustling. I didn't even have to go looking for a Pokemon it seemed. I took a step back, while Gible instinctively took a step forward. From the grass emerged a Pokemon, a small brown fuzzy one. It was a Bidoof, its adorable buckteeth almost shining in the daylight. When I was little, Iris and I once carried a Bidoof back home. Only for Mom to get angry with us and make us release it back in the wild.
The Bidoof looked at Gible, cocking its head ever so slightly. My Pokemon looked back at me, waiting for me to issue a command.
"Gible, use Tackle!"
There was a glint in his eye, and Gible rushed the Bidoof. Sensing danger, the brown Pokemon scurried back into the tall grass. Gible followed him in, and within seconds I couldn't see either of them.
"Gible? Where are you?" I called out, hearing more rustling grass ahead. Without thinking twice, I followed the Pokemon into the grass. The grass reached up to my chest, causing my legs and arms to itch as I wade through it.
"Gible? Come back here! Gible!"
But no matter how much I called out to him, Gible wouldn't growl to let me know where he was. Had he abandoned me? This close to the start of my journey and already I'd lost a Pokemon? My first Pokemon?
As my mind cycled through this, I tripped over something in the grass. Falling face first onto a soft cushion of grass blades, I looked back to see what had tripped me up. It turned out to be another Pokemon, this time a Cascoon. When Dad warned us to stay away from Dustox, he also told us to avoid Cascoon, which could evolve at any moment into a Dustox. And as my bad luck would have it, my tripping over the Pokemon caused it to start glowing. Mesmerized by the sight, I remained motionless as the Pokemon morphed into a new, larger and winged form. A Dustox emerged from the cocoon of the former evolution.
"Help! Gible!" I cried out, my legs failing me at this critical moment.
The Dustox fluttered above me for a moment, when from the tall grass something a shade of dull blue leapt out and crashed into the Dustox. It was Gible! The bug Pokemon tried desperately to remain in the air, but Gible had locked onto the critter with his giant mouth! The Dustox let out a buzz of some sort as it continued to try and shake Gible off.
"Gible! Let him go!"
Though he appeared reluctant to do so, my Pokemon obeyed my command. And just in time: Dustox began to loose some kind of purple powder from its large, green wings. This was the reason why Dad warned us to stay away from these Pokemon.
"Run, Gible!" I shouted, darting past the bug and back toward the forest entrance. I looked back a couple times, making sure Gible was right behind me, and to check for the Dustox. Surprisingly, the wild Pokemon did not chase us.
Once we were out of the tall grass, I stopped to catch my breath. Gible didn't look the least bit winded. In fact, he looked eager to keep fighting! I knelt down in front of him.
"Did you lose the Bidoof?" I asked.
Gible nodded, looking a bit disappointed in himself. I smiled, and without thinking patted him on his head.
"It's okay. We'll get another chance," I assured him. That's when I realized I had dropped something back in the grass.
"Crap! I lost the Pokeball Charlie gave me! Aww, man!" I yelled, stomping my foot a few times. I had bought a few more, but it still sucked to have lost one like that. As if sensing my anger, Gible toddled up to my leg and passed his tiny tongue over it. My frustration melted away into giggles. I sighed and knelt back down to Gible's level.
"Thanks, buddy. Guess I just have to be more careful next time."
I put Gible back into his Pokeball, and turned my attention back to the forest behind me. It was always packed with wild Pokemon, including the likes of Dustox. Once I went in, I'd have to be extra careful. And just to be safe, I kept Gible's Pokeball handy. Anything could happen in the forest once the sun set.