"How humans ride in these things, I will never know." I said grumpily, feeling another jolt go through my body as the truck bounced. "It's like rolling down the side of a mountain." I said. The back of the truck was dark, the only light coming from a few windows and the tip of a Charmander's tail. I was lying in a steel cage, not wanting to even think about where I was going. After two weeks, the doctors decided I needed something called physical therapy, whatever that was. So they were sending me off to another researcher. His name was some sort of tree…Pine, I believe?
"You want some?" Charmander asked, holding a small brown pellet through the bars. I glared at him. Charmander, a Squirtle, and a Bulbasaur had all been released from their pokeballs because of one of those infernal bounces. They were now chowing down on what had been labeled as 'Pokémon food.' I wasn't so sure it was.
"No." I said, and turned away.
"Fine. More for us." Squirtle said. "By the way, why are you in a cage? Shouldn't you be in a pokeball?" He asked. I glared at him. He was facing the opposite wall, stuffing his face. I growled.
"No." I said. "I refuse to be in one of those things. I, unlike you, was born in the wild." I snapped. Squirtle shrugged and continued eating, which irked me even more.
"You don't have to be so mean about it. He was just asking a question." Charmander said. I turned my glare to him, shaking my head.
"Shut it, Charmander." I snapped and turned away.
"Just leave him alone, Charmander." Bulbasaur said. Charmander sighed and went back to eating. I glared at the wall. I had been at that facility for two weeks, and now I was going someplace else. All I wanted was to leave, to go back into the mountains. That was my home. The truck jerked to a stop, and I heard a car door slam shut. Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander all muttered something and then entered their pokeballs. The back of the truck slid open, and two men were standing there, examining us.
"Here they are, Oak." The driver said. I recognized him. He had tried to coax me into eating some drug laced food that he insisted was medicine. I had bit him on the hand on many occasions. "Watch out for that Absol, he can be nasty." The man said ruefully, rubbing his bandaged hand. I smirked inwardly.
"Well, he can't be that much trouble." Oak said, stepping inside the truck and reaching through the bars to pet me. I pressed myself against the opposite wall and growled. Oak just chuckled and withdrew his hand. "He'll let you know if he doesn't like you, huh?" He said, and turned to look at the food. The driver cursed, seeing it.
"How'd that happen?" He asked. Oak shrugged and grabbed the bag, dragging it out of the truck.
"Don't know. I'll just use that bag first. Would you help me unload?" Oak asked. The driver grunted, and together they began to unload the bags of food. Oak grabbed the three pokeballs containing Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander, sliding them into his coat pocket. When all the food had been unloaded, the two of them turned to me. They grabbed my cage and unloaded me, placing my cage on the ground outside of the truck. I examined my surroundings, my head swiveling left and right as I did so. It appeared to be a large ranch of some sort, with a wood fence surrounding the entire property. I saw multiple Pokémon roaming around, including Pokémon not native to the region. There was an Infernape talking to a Sceptile, and they appeared to be having a heated discussion. I didn't even notice when the truck drove off. Oak leaned down and tapped the steel bars. He grinned at me.
"How's it going?" He asked. I growled in response, and he just laughed. "Oh, come now. Don't be like that. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here." He said. I looked around.
"Where is here?" I mused. Oak chuckled, and I glared at him. "And why do I have to be here?"
"This is my Pokémon research laboratory. You were sent here because of your wound. It might seem healed, but the muscle is still stiff and needs work to relax it. Apparently you let it heal funny because of your stubborn nature." Oak said. I furrowed my brows. Could he understand me? "I bet they didn't tell you that did they? Ah, probably not. I believe that Pokémon are much smarter than most people realize. It's too bad we can't understand you." He said with a wistful sigh. I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you at least seem to have some modicum of intelligence. You appear to be better than those other humans, at least." I said, and pressed against the bars. "Now, let me out, would you?" I asked. Oak nodded, as if he understood. He reached towards the bars, and I could almost taste freedom. As soon as he opened the doors, I would run off into the mountains. He lifted the cage door, and I leapt forwards, falling flat on my face as pain rocketed up my shoulder. I groaned and stood up, stretching my left shoulder. That was just flat out undignified.
"See?" Oak said, clipping something around my neck at the same time. I yelped in surprise and took a step back from him, growling. "Don't worry, it's just a tracer. I can't have you running off. I'd get in trouble." He said. I growled again, and he laughed. "Now how about we get started, huh? Stretch out your leg." Oak said. I stayed where I was.
"No." I snapped. "I don't need your help." I said, and turned around. I started to walk away, but stumbled when I put pressure on my leg. The tightness in the muscle made it almost impossible to move.
"Like this." Oak said, and jerked my leg forwards. I yelped as pain lanced through my leg, and I bit Oak on the hand. He yelled in surprise, jerking his hand away. I glared at him and he laughed. "Don't worry, I get bit all the time." He said. "Working with Pokémon comes with its hazards." He said, and stood up. "Now do you understand what I'm trying to do? I'm going to help get rid of the tightness in your leg. Will you allow me to help you?" I studied Oak curiously. This was the first time a human had asked my permission to do something. I thought for a moment before nodding reluctantly. I would trust this human….for now.
Two weeks later:
I groaned and stretched out my body. The tightness in my shoulder was still there, but it was barely noticeable. Oak had helped some, but most the time he just let me do my thing. I had learned more about the humans than I really wished to while I'd been here, but one fact stuck out above the rest. I'd been caught. The doctors at the other facility apparently thought it necessary to catch me while I was out from sleep powder, and had also neglected to mention that. I sighed and rolled over, basking in the sun, listening as Totodile approached me.
"How's it going, Absol?" He asked. I sighed.
"How does it look like it's going?" I said, opening one eye to look at the small blue crocodile. He shrugged and grinned at me.
"Looks like you're being lazy for once." He said. I stood up, glaring at him.
"Hmph. Think what you like." I said, and trotted off. He was the only Pokémon on this ranch that refused to leave me alone. I had always been more solitary than most, and preferred it that way. Not that I don't enjoy company every once in a while, but being around others tends to get taxing. My horn began to tingle and I looked around, alarmed. I relaxed a little when I realized that a natural disaster was not, in fact, imminent. Then a girl screamed. I recognized it as a young human, and heard the buzzing of Beedrill. I sighed. Great. Bug Pokémon. And for some reason, I felt inclined to help.
"You hear that?" Totodile said running up. I ignored him and raced off in the direction of the scream. If I was right, and I usually was, they were about a quarter of a mile away, to the southwest. I raced down there, noting that the tightness in my shoulder had all but disappeared, and no longer hindered me. The girl came into view; she was sitting in a ditch, covering her head with her arms, attempting to protect herself from the ten Beedrill swarming around her.
"KILL." They buzzed. I sighed. Beedrill were worse than Ursaring, and not nearly as reasonable. I charged a razor wind and fired, knocking back at least five of them. The rest turned towards me menacingly.
"So, tell me. Why would you be attacking this girl here?" I asked calmly. They circled me, flitting around above my head.
"INVADED OUR NEST. KILL. KILL." They buzzed. I sighed.
"Well, you know humans. They're stupid and clumsy. As much as you might want to, you can't hold it against them." I said. The Beedrill just buzzed angrily, dive bombing me. I leapt backwards, avoiding the first strike. "Hey! Watch it! I'm just trying to help!" The Beedrill ignored me and continued their attack. "Fine, if that's the way you want to play." I growled, and fired an ice beam. Three Beedrill fell to the ground, frozen, and the rest backed off.
"KILL." They said.
"No kill. Back off, unless you want another ice beam." I growled. The Beedrill listened this time, and fled into the trees. I sighed and walked over to the girl. "Come on. Get up." I said. The girl stared at me dumbly, and then it hit me. This was the same girl I had saved from Ursaring. "You just attract danger, don't you?" I said, and walked over to her. She slowly stood up, brushing off her shirt.
"Th-Thank you." She said. I nodded and looked around nervously. My horn was still tingling. I sniffed the air, and peered into the trees. For some reason, I couldn't detect what was making my horn tingle. I frowned. What was going on? "A-Are you ok?" The girl asked, touching my side. I leapt to the side, away from her hand, resisting the urge to bite. My horn was still tingling, and it was telling me….
"No way." I muttered, and walked up to the girl, who was looking at me fearfully. I examined her closely. If I was right, then it was her that was making my horn tingle. I could practically hear my father yelling at me. Some places, objects, or even humans and Pokémon radiate danger. Disasters of all kind usually follow in their wake. If you find one of these dangerous objects, stick with it. It is your job to warn others of danger, and by doing so, you protect others from unnecessary harm. I sighed. I hadn't really paid attention back then. And not once had it occurred to me that he was serious.
"April! Are you ok?" Oak said, running up. Totodile was running with him, I assume that he had gotten Oak. April nodded.
"Y-Yes. Thanks to Absol. I was getting attacked by Beedrill after accidentally stumbling into their nest when he saved me." April said. Oak sighed and shook his head.
"You get into more trouble than any other person I've met. Anyways, what are you doing out here, April? Where are your parents?" He asked. April looked at the ground.
"Well….I, uh, I was coming to see if I could maybe get a Pokémon." She said. Oak raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "I-I thought maybe that going on a journey would be fun and a good experience. Everyone else is going on one…" She said quickly. Oak sighed.
"I'm sorry, but I just gave Parker the last Pokémon I've got for trainers." Oak said. "However, I've got another batch coming in next month, so you should be able to get one then." He said. April sighed and kicked at the ground. I sighed and took a step forwards.
"Fine. I'll go with her. That Charmander just wouldn't shut up about going on a journey with a trainer, so I'm curious as to why he'd be so excited about it. Besides," I said, glancing at the girl. "I'd like to keep an eye on her." I said. Oak stared at me.
"You want to go with her?" He asked.
"What, are you stupid? That's what I just said. Now let's do this before I change my mind." I said, hoping I wouldn't regret this decision. I was sacrificing my freedom here, and I hoped it would be worth it. Oak looked at April.
"Is that ok with you?" He asked. April looked at me nervously and nodded.
"Y-yes. As long as it's ok with him." She said. I groaned and looked at her, deliberately nodding. It was the only way to get her to understand.
"I was the one to offer." I said. She smiled and looked back at Oak, who was smiling at me.
"Alright! Then let's get it all squared away. Come with me back to my lab." Oak said. We followed, and I walked next to April. I glanced at her. She seemed timid and defenseless, which I hoped wouldn't be a problem. I sighed and shook my head. What was I getting myself into?
