Chapter 2: Skylark and…Bulbasaur?
Skylark panted heavily as he ran, hugging the Pokémon close to him. "Who hurt it this way? Why would they do this to such an innocent looking Pokémon?" Skylark thought to himself. He continued running, trying to ignore his body's cry for a break. As he ran, he could finally see the lights of the Pokémon center in the distance. "YES!" He cried.
After another minute, he was finally at the doors of the Pokémon center. The automated doors moved open as Skylark entered the giant center. A nurse in a light pink outfit with red hair stood behind the counter, playing on her computer. Skylark's footsteps echoed through the center as she looked up. "Hello, and welcome to th- wait a second, what do you have in your hands?"
"It's a Bulbasaur, and he's heavily wounded! Please! Help him!" He gasped for breath as he handed the Bulbasaur over to the nurse, now standing up. She nodded and ran through a door in the back. Skylark could hear her shouts echoing from the back, her shrieks of commands to the other nurses and helper Pokémon. But she was soon drowned out by the sound of Skylark's thoughts.
"I hope it is okay…I'll stay to make sure it is, and then I'll make my way home." Skylark took some deep breaths, regaining his energy and oxygen he lost during the run. After about ten minutes of worry filled waiting, the nurse came out.
"Are you the owner of the Bulbasaur?" She asked politely, a pleasant tone in her voice.
"No, I found it in the woods. It came out and then fainted in front of me." Skylark answered back.
"Oh, I see. Well, in any case, she's doing very well." The nurse eased Skylark's worry.
"That's good." Skylark stood up and started toward the door.
"Whoa, where are you going young man?" She shouted toward Skylark.
"The Bulbasaur isn't mine nor do I want it. Plus, I got school tomorrow." And with that, Skylark wandered out of the building and back onto his dirt path. Now that the Pokémon was safe, he could go home and be at ease with that.
The next day, he woke up in his bedroom, the blinds still closed preventing any form of light from entering the room. He wandered over to his bathroom and undressed. He hopped into the shower and slowly woke up from his half-asleep state before he started to actually wash himself. Afterwards, he got out, brushed his teeth and got dressed in his normal attire.
He made his way downstairs and then hugged his mom goodbye. "Be careful!" She shouted cautiously, as she did every day.
"Yes mom!" Skylark shouted back. He wandered outside but was stopped by the Bulbasaur sitting on their porch. Skylark stared at it for a moment, and then tried to sneak around it. It was sleeping, almost like a baby, but then woke up suddenly.
"Bulba!" It shouted out. Skylark nearly tripped over it due to his shock.
"What are you doing here? I thought I left you at the Pokémon center! " Skylark shouted. Bulbasaur looked at Skylark, unwavering in stance. "What do you want from me?" Still, it continued looking on. "Fine. Just stay here then." Skylark made his way off the porch and down the short path to school. After a minute, he started to hear more footsteps behind him. He turned to find Bulbasaur following him.
"Look, Bulbasaur, I'm not your master! Go back to your original owner!" He shouted. Bulbasaur stared at him, confused. "I only saved you once. I don't want you!" He yelled once more. Again, the Bulbasaur only stared and continued to follow him. Finally, Skylark gave up. "Fine, you know what? You can hang out with me."
"Bulbasa!" It shouted happily. Skylark frowned and continued to move onward toward the academy. At 8:50, Skylark and his Bulbasaur arrived at the gym and took their normal seats. This time, however, everyone stared at them.
"Whoa, he got a Bulbasaur?"
"Does he know how rare those things are?"
"Where would some dude like him find it?"
"Whether it's a rare Pokémon or not, I bet it's as weak as him." Finally, the bell rang and the gym training began. One trainer and his Machop immediately hit the weights, while another trainer and there Pichu went outside to run the track. Skylark just sat there, as usual, and did nothing except contemplate what to do with the Bulbasaur.
"Declan, whatcha got there?" The gym instructor, who had wandered up to Skylark unknowingly, asked.
"Oh, this is some Bulbasaur I found on this dirt road last night. It was wounded, so I took it to the Pokémon center and I guess it followed me home somehow." Skylark explained.
"You gonna keep it?" He asked.
"I have no idea. It doesn't seem to have any owner, so I guess for the time being it is mine."
"Great! Let's start training." The instructor pulled Skylark from where he sat and out onto the gym floor.
"Whoa, hey! I don't want to practice with it! It's just some weak Bulbasaur!" Skylark protested.
"Oh well. Rattata, go!" And just like that, Skylark and the gym instructor commenced in a battle. "Feel free to make the first move, Declan."
"Well…what can it do?" Skylark asked to himself. Bulbasaur had already positioned himself in front of Skylark, ready for battle. Skylark took out his PokéDex and examined the Bulbasaur. "So, it's a level three with 27 HP and it only knows Tackle and Growl." He flipped the PokéDex shut and then turned his attention back to the gym floor. Before they started, someone had already alerted everyone else that Skylark was actually going to fight with his Pokémon.
"Don't worry, this Rattata holds an item that prevents it from leveling up. It's still a level 3, just how I caught it, and it only has about 23 HP." The instructor said.
"Well…Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" Skylark shouted unenthusiastically. Bulbasaur obeyed and ran toward the Rattata. Rattata took a blow from the Tackle, and surprisingly took it hard. It dropped about 9 HP!
"Goodness Declan, your Bulbasaur is stronger than I expected." The instructor commented. "However, it's my job to challenge you. So, Rattata, counter-attack with a tackle!" Rattata moved in to deliver a hard tackle, but Skylark yelled just in time for Bulbasaur to dodge. Bulbasaur did so and easily dodged the Rattata's attack.
"Now, Bulbasaur, Tackle him!" Again Bulbasaur ran forward and tackled the small Rattata and sent it flying a few feet. Rattata was now at 10 HP.
"Whoa, his Bulbasaur is beating down upon the instructor's Rattata." Someone commented.
"Barely anyone beats the instructor on the first try."
"It took me two tries before I could finally beat the instructor, and Skylark's almost done with it without a single HP lost." At last, it finally hit Skylark. This was his chance to prove himself amongst all of his enemies. It was his chance to start his journey. A fire burned inside him like no other. He had the fire of a true Pokémon trainer. Fate had looked upon him and had given him the gift of a Bulbasaur. And now, he was about to prove himself great!
As the sudden epiphany distracted Skylark, he failed to notice that the instructor had Rattata deliver a harsh tackle into Bulbasaur. His HP dropped nearly 10 points, and he was now at 18 HP. "Bulbasaur!" Skylark shouted, suddenly filled with concern for his Pokémon. "Are you okay?"
"Bulba!" It shouted with pride.
"Glad to hear it!" Skylark commented. "Let's finish this battle! Tackle the Rattata!" At the sound of the command Bulbasaur sprinted off and attempted to tackle the Rattata. However, it jumped out of the way in time and delivered a quick but weak tackle into Bulbasaur's side. Bulbasaur then dropped another four HP, and was now at 14.
"Rattata! Tackle again!" The instructor yelled.
"Dodge and then tackle Rattata!" Skylark shouted. The events played out into Skylark's favor, and Bulbasaur gave Rattata a fatal tackle. Rattata was now down to 2 HP, and it only needed one more hit to faint.
"Rattata! Tackle once more!" The instructor shouted.
"Bulbasaur! Listen well! Tackle him head on!" Skylark commanded. Bulbasaur, without hesitation, started to run toward the already in motion Rattata.
"Is he crazy!? They're both going to get hurt!" One girl shouted from the audience. Skylark hadn't been paying attention, but nearly everyone in the gym had gathered to watch Skylark fight, even Celia.
"Crap, Skylark's going to hurt his first Pokémon being stupid." The instructor thought. "Rattata! Stop tackling!" The Rattata obeyed. "Good, now it won't hurt both of the Pok-"
"Keep tackling Bulbasaur!" Skylark shouted. Bulbasaur delivered the hardest tackle of the whole battle into Rattata, causing Rattata to faint. Rattata now lay on the ground, not moving, passed out. For the first time in the past two years, someone had beaten the instructor on their first try. Before Skylark celebrated, his PokéDex dinged. He flipped it open to find that Bulbasaur had grown a level! He was now a level four Pokémon.
The audience was deathly silent, shocked at what they had just witnessed. "He…he won the battle?" Someone whispered. One of the members started to clap, and slowly everyone else joined in a small round of applause. Skylark smiled, and turned his attention to his Bulbasaur. His dream had just begun, and his face beamed with excitement.
Later that day, after the gym session and Bulbasaur being healed at the Pokémon center, Skylark ate his usual lunch outside, alone, but this time with Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was out in the grass, rolling around happily and munching on the grass. "I guess I need to buy you food don't I?" Skylark laughed to himself. "I can't believe it. I actually have a chance to do everything I want to now…all because of this little Bulbasaur." Skylark continued to munch down on his own food when suddenly Celia showed up.
"So, Declan, you actually got yourself a Pokémon?" She said to him. He looked up, shocked, and then out at Bulbasaur. Her Cyndaquil was in its Pokéball, and she had already finished her lunch. "Got a name for your Pokémon? Or even a Pokéball for it to stay in?" Skylark shook his head. "You don't know a single thing about raising a Pokémon, do you?"
"Nope…" Skylark said silently. "But it can sure fight!"
"It? You don't even know the gender?"
"Well, I think it's a she…"
"Whatever Declan. Listen, I don't know where you found it or why you were able to defeat the instructor on your first try, but don't you dare think you could beat me and Cyndaquil, got it?"
"Hey," He stood up. "One day we will be able to take you on and beat you. Not only that, we'll win a thousand tournaments ourselves!"
"Oh you think so? Well, I've been the tournament champion for about a year now for this school, don't you dare think you can change that!"
"We'll just see about that!" Skylark shouted. She smiled a really friendly but aggressive smile, and then walked away.
"Yeah, I guess we will see then." She shouted back at him. He smiled awkwardly, and then frowned.
"I could beat you easily…I mean, it'd help if I didn't like you or anything but oh well!" He nearly shouted. He grabbed his mouth, and then noticed she kept walking, either ignoring the comment or she didn't even hear it. "I will beat you one day!" Skylark shouted at her.