Chapter 2:
Looking Back While Moving Forward
The stone looks the same as it did 6 years ago.
It's never easy coming here to the Lavender Town Pokémon graves; especially when it's your Pokémon that you're visiting; it's been really lonely without Sniff. I see all of these young kids with their favorite Pokémon out on the roads and in the wilderness; battling, joking, playing… everything I wanted to do as a kid. Lately all those lost dreams just make me cry.
After our devastating defeat at the hands of Joey and his Rattata, we tried going back out and battling other trainers to get stronger. We became more humble in our victories; especially in our defeats. However, we suffered more defeats than we had hoped; typically to new trainers from other regions. We tried so hard and learned so much, but none of it truly helped us where we needed it.
At the age of 14, Sniff and I decided to give up the Pokémon League for the life of the traveling merchant. Yeah, it wasn't what we really wanted, but there certainly was a market for it. We'd go to remote spots both on and off the beaten path to help trainers who's Pokémon were too tired to go any further. We'd let them rest for the night in exchange for small things that we could resell to buy more food and medicine. It worked out well for us for a good six years.
That's when Sniff got sick. At first he just seemed tired a lot; then he would eat less and less 'til he wasn't eating at all. The nurses and doctors at each Pokémon Center all ran tests which came back negative. What Sniff had couldn't be found or cured. Later that year I laid him to rest in Lavender town with Mr. Fuji and his family.
I still go out to remote spots to help trainers. I don't have any Pokémon with me, so I use a lot of my money on repels and escape ropes to get around easily. I'm not in it for any profit; I'm in it for my friend. I only visit Sniff when I'm nearby since it costs so much to use the magnet train or Skyla's Transport Service; mostly why I don't visit as much as I do is because it still hurts.
"Thank you again Mr. Fuji. I'll always appreciate what you do for our friends here. Remember, I'm just a phone call away if you need anything," I said as I gave him my usual handshake.
"I should say the same for you, Abel. All of the trainers I talk to mention your kindness out on the roads and I thank YOU for what you do for them and THEIR friends," said Mr. Fuji who motioned to one of the kids to bring him something from the back room.
A little girl emerged from the doorway with a yellow box.
"Here, I'd like for you to take care of this for me. I think it'll do you much good." Fuji motioned for the girl to hand me the box after which she scurried behind Mr. Fuji's legs.
"Aw. Don't be so shy with me. Here, these are for you and your friends." I rummaged through my pack and pulled out three Poke' dolls; a blue Nidoran, a pink Jigglypuff, and a yellow Pikachu doll. The little girl's eyes went as wide as her smile as she scooped up the dolls and went to share them with her friends.
"Mr. Fuji, what's inside this box? It's rather heavy for something so small," I said as I examined the outside for any clues.
"It's a gift that was given to me from a friend I met a long time ago. The gift, however, is something for you to find out on your own," he winked.
I made my way toward the door as it was getting close to the kids' bedtime. Running a Pokémon and child daycare would have to take a lot out of you, but Fuji seemed to do it with such ease. Hopefully I'll learn more from what he does and become like him when I get older.
The sun was setting over Victory Road out in the distance which made Mount Moon look a lot bigger than it does during the day. Luckily, by giving the kids those dolls, there was enough room in my pack to set the box. There wasn't any place that looked like I could open it, so I figured it was a mystery I'd look into tomorrow. Securing my pack, I made my way south towards the Fisherman's Pier; my destination was Vermillion City to catch the ship to Johto.
Sniff and I always wanted to live in the Johto region. We went there once, the year before he became sick. I've put off going there since, but the trainers are migrating out. One I spoke to said something about the Unova Region and some new species of Pokémon being found there. Though Kanto is the place for shopping and the World Pokémon League Championships, Johto is the gate to everywhere else.
Heading along the pier I stop at my usual spot that looks out toward the eastern sea. The moonlight from above sparkles against the water and the lapping waves against the pier are always making for a soothing experience when leaving Lavender Town. Two fishermen come up as usual, Bob and Henry, both have healthy teams of Magikarp that they let play in the ocean while we talk and eat. Bob shows me something else that he caught recently, a Seel. The Poke' ball ricochets off the pier and the red light shone into the water revealing his Seel.
"Nice one, Bob!" Henry and I exclaim, congratulating him on his recent catch. "He seems pretty happy to be with you too." I throw out a few treats for Seel and the Magikarp swimming around the pier.
"Yeah, who knows? Maybe I'll have a lucky catch soon too!" Henry was a bit unlucky in the fishing department, but he was one hell of a cook! He said that he learned some recipes from Brock in Pewter City. A few years ago, Brock and Misty, Cerulean City's gym leader, left on a journey with another kid from Pallet Town; Ash, I think his name was. They've been gone since then and from what I've heard from the news; they've been to every region and have seen almost every species of Pokémon to date.
I had a crush on Misty when I was younger. With all young kids though, I was shy to the point of being mean when it came to girls, and regretfully, I made fun of her just to keep favor with the other kids. Needless to say, I don't talk with them anymore.
As we were talking it up and joking around, we heard a rumble underneath us. The floor boards rattled and the sea started churning; out in the distance, an explosion of water shot high up into the air. The Magikarp and Seel all recalled to their Poke' balls for safety, while I and the fishermen looked to see what was causing it all. From the pillar of water I saw two glowing eyes, "it can't be," I thought out loud. Then, the water pillar exploded out raining water on every one of us, even from that distance. We heard a Pokémon cry like we've never heard before, but the figure was one each one of us knew; Lugia had emerged!
Glistening in the moonlight from the water on her feathers, Lugia cried out like a wolf howls to the moon. She was a spectacular sight; luckily, I had my camera. I managed to take two pictures of her before I heard a voice in my head and dropped my camera off the pier. Her voice is like a tinkling of bells and the crash of a waterfall and soothing like waves lapping the shore.
"You, bearer of the Moonlight Seal; you are the one I have searched for many a cycle."
The fishermen had taken the sense to book it to Lavender Town, while I stood transfixed by the sight of such a magnificent Pokémon.
"Moonlight Seal? What do you mean, Lugia? I have no such item in my possession."
"You carry it with you and it has resonated with your anguish. I come now to fulfill my part of the bargain," she said. She was still out over the ocean, bathed in moonlight, all the while speaking to me directly through telepathy.
"I know of your loss and anguish. I know of your lost dreams and unfulfilled hopes. I wish to help you see your true destiny and to help you turn your sadness into strength." Now her voice transformed into the sound of the ocean itself, as if I was submerged in the water.
My last sight was Lugia's eyes and her glistening feathers before my eyes closed in sleep. I remember waking up on the pier, soaking wet with my camera strapped firmly around my hand. Lugia was gone by then, and the sun was rising over the sea. Not thinking, I grabbed my camera and took some shots of the sunrise.
Why had Lugia chosen to speak with me?
What is the Moonlight Seal and why do I have it?
She's right; I really DO miss you, Sniff.
End Chapter 2