I awake in my room. I'm not sure if I'm still dreaming until I see Cubone. He's still asleep in his crib. Persian is watching from the foot of my bed.
I sit up in bed, and rub the sleep out of my eyes. I just sit and watch Cubone lie there for a while, until I see him slowly awaken. I get out of bed and walk over to his crib. He stands up with his bone club as a support. I laugh as he looks up at me with a big smile and raises his free hand as a gesture for me to pick him up. I pick him up and carry him downstairs to the living room; all the while he is hitting my back playfully with his club as he laughs.
I reach the living room and see Ash and Pikachu already in the kitchen waiting for breakfast. They turn to see me and Cubone when they hear the sound of Cubone's laughter. "Good morning mom! What's for breakfast?"
"You always think about food," I tell him. "Do you want pancakes?"
"Yes please," is his response.
"Okay. Can you hold Cubone while I make the pancakes?"
"Sure." He says as I hand him Cubone. Cubone is immediately cautious of Ash. I watch them for a second before I turn around to start the pancakes. I hear Ash and Pikachu trying to talk to Cubone, but Cubone just sits there in Ash's lap, not moving or saying anything.
I hear no sound behind me after a while, and so I decide to look behind me. I look back just in time to see Cubone hit Ash right between the eyes with his bone club. I couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. I saw Ash slowly falter and sway from side to side before he fell to the ground, taking the chair with him. Luckily, Pikachu reached out and grabbed Cubone before he fell too. I saw Cubone jump down from where he and Pikachu were and land on Ash's back. He laughed as he jumped up and down on Ash's back. I would've stopped him, but I saw Ash smile so I knew Cubone wasn't hurting him.
I just watched him play with Ash on the ground, finally trusting him and Pikachu, until I smelled something burning. I turned around and saw the pancakes completely ruined. I quickly took them off the burner and set them aside for the moment and made some cereal for Ash instead.
Ash barely noticed that it was cereal instead of pancakes. Once he noticed that there was food on the table, he lifted Cubone off of him, and jumped up off the ground and devoured the food in under a minute.
Once he was finished, he got up and, with Pikachu, headed for the door. "Bye mom," he called. "Be back later, me and Pikachu are gonna get some training done today." And then he left.
After he left, I just watched Cubone with Mr. Mime and Persian. Every now and then, Persian would bring that letter to me. I would never read it, but I would always consider the offer in it. Every time Persian gave me the letter, I was tempted more and more to go to Viridian City, but every time I was tempted, I was reminded of the reaction I had the last time I saw him.
I watched as Cubone marched around the room, whacking everything that he passed by. I laughed as Mr. Mime made a barrier to protect himself from Cubone's attacks. Cubone was so full of energy, that I decided that I should take him to the park, the one in Viridian City.
Cubone seemed happy when we left the house with Persian. Mr. Mime stayed behind for Ash. Cubone marched eagerly by my side as we made our way out of town and onto the road that led to Viridian City. But as energized as he was, Cubone quickly became tired and soon his marching came to a halt. He hit me with his bone club on my ankle and reached up when I looked at him. I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way, until we reached Viridian City.
When we reached the city limits, Cubone tensed up, as if he were nervous about something. Persian looks up at Cubone, and tries to comfort him, but Cubone just pulls my arms closer around him, trying to hide himself from Persian. Persian runs away into the city after seeing Cubone's reaction.
I don't chase after Persian, but instead walk calmly into the city to locate the park. I walk around the city, looking for the park, but I could not remember where it is. Everywhere I go, the only thing I notice are the posters for the Pokemon Gym. I quickly walk past a poster, only to see another poster. Each poster I pass, Cubone gets more and more uncomfortable. By the 7th poster, he is struggling to get out of my arms to run away. I had to hold him tighter to me to calm him down.
After I started holding Cubone closer to me, I started trying to avoid the posters, but they were everywhere. I decided to try to go inside a building to better calm Cubone down. The closest building was the Pokemon Center.
As I approach the Pokemon Center, a man and a woman in white uniforms with red R's walk up to me. I recognize them to be Jessie and James of Team Rocket. Now I see why Cubone is so scared, I start to notice more men and women - in black uniforms, but with the same red R - all around me. I keep my composure as I walk past them, into the Pokemon Center. I don't know why I walk into the Center, but I felt like I would be safe inside.
Once I was in, Cubone immediately calmed down. I turn around, expecting them to have followed me in, but they have all just gathered around the outside of the building, looking in at me through the glass walls. Cubone motions for me to set him down, and reluctantly, I do. He walks around me, to the counter where a Nurse Joy with fading pink hair is waiting with a smile on her face. Cubone reaches the bottom of the counter and looks up. He jumps up to try and reach the top of the counter, but cannot reach. I walk to him and pull him up to the top of the counter. Nurse Joy is still standing there, not moving, but still smiling. Cubone stares at her in extreme curiosity. He walks closer to her, and pokes her arm with his bone club. She looks down at him, and the smile fades from her face. She grimaces at Cubone, which is a face I have never seen a Nurse Joy make in my life.
She looks back up at me, and in the coldest voice a Nurse Joy can make, she says "It took you long enough. Master Giovanni has been waiting for you. I do not see why he would waste his time waiting for someone as pitiful and worthless as you." She quickly grabbed Cubone from the counter with both hands, holding him out as far from her as possible. Cubone struggles for freedom, but her grip is too tight on him, too tight that he drops his club. She turns around and walks toward a door in the back of the Pokemon Center. "Hurry up and follow me. You will learn not to keep Master Giovanni waiting. But seeing as this is your first time, I will just make sure Cubone is punished for you. I'm afraid you will have to watch this too, though."
Two Rocket henchmen grab my arms from behind and push me around the counter to the back where Nurse Joy was. I struggle to get free, just like Cubone, but then stop as I learn that they are too powerful for me to overcome. They do let me reach down to get Cubone's club. I hold it in my hand, making sure that it does not drop, as they push me forward, into the door, and into a strange dark corridor.
We go forward, to the end of the hall, until we stand right behind Nurse Joy, who has stopped in front of an elevator. It opens and light floods into the room. I look around, and see that cages full of different pokemon are stacked around the room. Every cage is filled, and some have pokemon that have no room to move or even breathe. With the light, every pokemon starts screaming for help, which is probably what they have been doing every time that elevator light has enveloped them.
The Rockets push me into the elevator, so that the light can fade from the caged pokemon. When the doors close, there is instant silence. Tears begin to build in my eyes and I cry for those pokemon in the cages, separated from their trainers and their friends. I look at Nurse Joy with utter disgust as she just looks at my reflection from the mirror-like doors of the elevator. She smiles a sarcastic menacing smile at me, and I flinch. I alter my gaze towards the carpet below me. It's a swirl of black and red, and in the middle, there is a picture of the Earth Badge.
Cubone has been silent since his bone club fell, but when he looks past Nurse Joy to me and sees it, he suddenly gets happy and laughs. Nurse Joy looks at him with an evil glare and slaps him. He screams, and grabs the hand that hit him and bites it. She screams and tries to make him let go of her hand, but Cubone clamped down and won't let it go. She starts to throw him against the elevator door, but still he won't let go of her hand. I try to break free again when she does this, but the two grunts were expecting this and hold me tighter, and pull my arms behind my back.
"Stop it!" I yell. She doesn't hear me, obviously mad with pain. I doubt she would even stop if he let go of her hand.
I hear the BING of the elevator as we reach our destination, whatever that may be, and Nurse Joy immediately stops throwing Cubone. The noise of the elevator must have snapped her out of her rage. The doors open, and in front of us stand a Nidoking and Nidoqueen. I realize now that she only stopped because she knew that the two pokemon would be there.
The two grunts immediately let go of me, and back away towards the wall. I just stand still, but Nurse Joy speaks gently to me in obvious pain, "Come this way, please." I take baby steps out of the elevator, noticing all the various sized dents that were made by Nurse Joy on the elevator doors. Nurse Joy walks past Nidoking and Nidoqueen, and the two pokemon walk to me and grab me, replacing the two grunts, which have already closed the doors and went back to the Center.
I look down, partially because I am afraid of looking at my surroundings, and partially because I don't want to see what is ahead of me. I see a fresh trail of blood on the ground, and see that it is coming from Nurse Joy's hand. I silently applaud Cubone for hurting her, but then start crying again, because now, I am almost positive that Cubone is going to be tortured to death by Nurse Joy now.
The only noise that can be heard in this room is the sound of the two giant pokemon's stomping as they marched me to forward. I closed my eyes and just concentrated on the steady rhythm of the stomping; Nidoking's slow and heavier thud thud, and Nidoqueen's faster and lighter thump thump thump. I just listen to the sounds thud thump thump thud thump thump thud. . . The sounds are calming to me, and let my head clear.
I jerk my head up and open my eyes when the stomping stops. I don't see Nurse Joy anywhere, but instead see Persian, sitting atop a brightly lit staircase. The staircase is the only source of light in this room. He bounds down the flight of stairs quickly and nimbly. He jumps onto me, and if it wasn't for Nidoking and Nidoqueen, I would have been knocked to the ground. Persian licks my face, once again happy to see me. I smile, and he jumps off of me. He purrs to the two pokemon, and they let me go. I stagger to catch my balance, and then walk to Persian. He starts going up the stairs, and looks back at me, as if trying to tell me to follow him. I follow. I look back, and see the two pokemon walk back, hand in hand. I try to listen to the thud thump sounds, but they are too far away. I do see them fade into the darkness of the corners of the room, and then they are gone.
Persian purrs again, and I look back towards him. He is at the top of the stairs again, and I hurry to him. At the top of the stairs, there is a door. Persian goes behind me, and nudges me forward with his head. I walk towards it, but stop before it. I slowly put my hand out to turn the doorknob, but then pull my hand away. A chill run through my body, and I realize that I am going to have to go through that door sooner or later, so I put my hand back up and open the door. The door opens silently, once again into darkness. I see a tiled floor from the light of the staircase. Persian goes through the doorway, and I decide to follow. I leave the door open, just in case.
Persian guides me through the darkness, until we find a wall, and a light switch. I flip the switch, and light floods the room. Unlike the last time, there are no cages, and the pokemon in this room are happy and healthy. There are five pokemon in this room, not including Persian. There is a Venomoth, a Rapidash, a Golduck, an Exeggutor, and a Dragonite. I see them all stare at me at the same time, and then they rush me...