I awoke much the same as I do everyday, but as I slowly came back to consciousness, I became aware of a slight weight on my chest.
I must have thought it was my cell phone because I grabbed it with the intent of putting it on the nightstand. Immediately after grabbing the object I realized it was not my phone.
At first the soft feathers of the Torchic on my chest confused me, until I recollected the events of the previous day.
I looked down at my chest to see the Torchic. My touch must have awoken her because she was looking directly back at me, her head tilted to the side, giving her a "Why did you wake me up?" look.
She let out and inquisitive "Chic?" after a moment. I reached down and pet the top of her head with two of my fingers to answer her query as best I could.
I picked her up as I rose from the bed and set her back down on the bed. I walked over to my dresser and grabbed some clothes before walking to the bathroom to take a shower.
As I entered the bathroom I looked back in the bedroom to see the Torchic, but couldn't see her anywhere. She must have known I was looking for her because she exclaimed "Chic!".
I sighed when saw I her standing at my feet, looking up at me.
"You can't follow me into the shower." I tried to explain to her, although I doubted she understood a word of it.
I carefully entered the bathroom and closed the door as I slipped through it, shutting the Torchic out.
I found the Torchic laying down right outside the bathroom door after I got done taking a shower. I picked her up, set her on my shoulder and, went and gathered the things I would need to go to town.
As I grabbed the Pokéball off the nightstand, the Torchic began to panic and jumped off my shoulder onto the bed and hid behind a pillow.
Mr. Stein told me she doesn't like to be inside a Pokéball, but I didn't think he meant she was terrified of them. 'I hope this doesn't become a problem down the road.' I thought.
I didn't want her to fear me or hate me, so I decided to let her stand on my shoulder as I ran errands, which included buying Torchic Pokéfood, and two small metal dishes for her to eat and drink out of.
I also decided to stop by Mr. Stein's classroom to see what he had to say about the Torchic's fear of Pokéballs on my way back to the dorm.
When I walked into the large classroom, I was happy to see that no one else was other except for Mr. Stein.
As I walked up to his desk, he noticed me and sat up straight.
He greeted me with a hearty "Why, I am quite surprise to see you back so soon Mr. Lee. I take it you have a question about the Torchic I gave you."
"Yeah, she is very afraid of Pokéballs. And I came to see if you knew anything about it."
"I have no idea why she is so afraid of Pokéballs, I don't believe she has had any traumatic experiences with them." he said "If it becomes a problem you could always get a new Torchic."
"No, I don't want to give up on her. I just wanted to see if you knew anything about it. Do you think it will become a problem later?" I replied.
"It could either be a blessing or a problem, depending on how well you handle it. She will be a lot harder to raise without putting her inside a Pokéball sometimes, but a much more powerful bond will form between the two of you as a result."
"Do you think its a good idea raise a Pokémon that way?" I asked.
"Of course, there is no better way! Like I said, the bond between you will be much stronger, and she will end up much easier to handle later on, which is a good thing because Combusken and Blaziken are notoriously hard to raise. I think it would be best to raise her that way, even if she didn't mind Pokéballs." he answered.
"Thank you professor, I think I am going to follow your advice. But I should be going, she hasn't had anything to eat since I've had her and I want to get back to my dorm so she can eat." I said.
"I'm glad I could help Mr. Lee. I am also happy with your choice, I look forward to seeing how you handle it. I think you will be happy with the choice too." He said as I walked out of the classroom.
When we got back to the dorm I set the Torchic down, got her some food and water ready, and placed it in the kitchen. At first she was unsure about the food, but eventually she pecked at it, and in a few minutes she was happily eating.
'I'm getting tired of calling her "the Torchic", I think she needs a real name' I thought to myself as I watched the small bird eat.
"What should your name be?" I said more to myself than to her. She didn't even seem to notice I was talking because she was so focused on the food in front of her.
I went to bed that night in very much the same way that I woke up. I didn't mind having the Torchic sleep next to me as much as I did the night before though.
