Author: Because the readers demand more chapters! Enjoy the new perspective!
Serah was never any good at making friends.
The first day had been a long one. From getting lost in New Bark town, to being laughed at when she asked a group of girls how to use a Pokeball correctly, her current situation wasn't ideal. Still, saying that she was having fun would be a wild understatement.
This was the first time she could say she had gone camping. Currently, she sat by a toasty fire right by her tent, (it took her nearly an hour to put up) and the trees around her swayed every so softly – the rustling leaves sounded like a whispered lullaby. She didn't find the dark of the night scary at all. She actually preferred it, and chose to sleep outside rather than hole herself up in the trainers' hotel in town. The stars around her made her feel like she had finally left that horrible, sheltered environment her parents had always forced her in.
Early, finite bedtimes.
Forced violin playing.
Straight A's in school "or else."
That was her world…until she discovered Pokemon. Serah found herself reminiscing about the night under her blankets with a Gameboy color and a flashlight. Even though it was a pain to pull off under the watchful eyes of her parents, those few hours she spent immersed in a virtual world of Pokemon was what she looked forward to throughout the day. Now, she was living it…and her stuffy parents couldn't tell her otherwise. Now, if only she could have someone to talk to. Alex could be an option. He was so nice, sincere, and caring...
Serah fished her phone out of her pocket, which she made sure to charge at the convenient charging stations at the hotel earlier that evening. It seemed something, or someone, had hacked in to it. Most of the contacts were simply gone…except for two.
Alex
Home
A silent promise she made echoed in her mind; a vow to depend on herself, and make it through this journey without unnecessary help. With that thought, she clicked off her phone and pulled out her Pokeball.
It was still pristine, its red and white surface gleaming in the firelight. Still, it housed no Pokemon. No friend to keep her company. She hadn't seen anything that piqued her interest throughout the day. It seemed that most people were happy with finding the normal starters, or even the common Pidgey or Wurmple.
A noise out of the dark made her jump. Serah leapt up with her flashlight and pointed it at the trees. In a slow, deliberate 360 degree spin, she surveyed the area around her until the light revealed a small, white figure with bright eyes slipping between the trees and out of sight.
"It's just a pokemon," Serah told herself. At this point, she had to be the only person without one to call her own after a full day. Something had to change, or her journey would never begin.
Taking a deep breath, Serah quickly stamped out her small fire, and after equipping herself with her Pokeball, phone, and flashlight, she stepped into the quiet forest.
The numerous Pokemon cries she had heard during the day had nearly vanished. Now, it was just her and the sounds of her footsteps filling the silent void. The occasional "hoot" was the only other noise, and Serah was willing to bet that it belonged to a Pokemon as well.
Moonlight began pouring through the trees just as she stepped into a clearing. It was empty, save for a very small pine tree, and the Pokemon next to it. It was small – no higher than Serah's knees – and had a green, dome shaped helmet atop its head. The creature seemed to be patting the soil by the sapling, and next to it appeared to be a self-made wooden bucket just large enough to fit in its small arms.
The thing was utterly…adorable.
Problem was, Serah had no idea what it was. Embarrassingly, she had never played the series outside the original blue version, so her knowledge of Pokemon was nil outside of what existed in that game. Still, her phone could give her the answers! Maybe that's why they weren't issued Pokedexes…a smartphone could do the job just as well.
A few finger swipes of a well versed teenager with a phone, and she found it – Ralts.
Something poked her thigh.
Serah yelped and stumbled back into a tree. She had nearly dropped her phone, but in her determined research, she hadn't even noticed Ralts had waddled over to her. It put it small arms up to its mouth and made the smallest whisper of a voice. It reminded Serah of the very trees that rustled around her.
Ralts nodded once, and meandered back over to its tree while occasionally looking back at her – an invitation. Without hesitation, Serah got to her feet and followed.
She could guess that this Ralts had planted this tree itself. It was definitely a prime location; an area with rich soil, and the clearing ensured that it wouldn't be choked to death by the other mighty tress around it. She was sure that during the day, it got plenty of sunlight, and this Ralts was its caretaker. Its effort was clearly paying off; the tree was small, but already its developing trunk and foliage looked incredibly supple and healthy.
"You've done…an amazing job, Ralts," Serah breathed in awe. "There's no way I could do something like this."
Ralts bowed in appreciation, and then turned to splash a little water onto the plant with its handcrafted bucket. Again…so adorable.
A shadow suddenly passed over the clearing. Both Ralts and Serah turned to see a large shadow descending from the sky, blocking out the moon until it took shape. Without a doubt, it was another Pokemon, but once again Serah had no idea what it was.
It reminded Serah of a puppet ((hint, hint readers)) with a purple body that looked as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment. Its eyes were downright dementing, and the grin on its face told her that it must be up to no good.
"W-what do you want?" Serah asked. At the same time, Ralts waddled forward and seemed to ask the same question in its small, sweet whisper voice.
The strange Pokemon drifted forward, its eyes not transfixed on her or Ralts, but on the tree behind them. It moved past them, then without warning, possessed the tree.
"That's possible?!" Serah yelled. But already, the Pokemon had begun something devious within the small sapling. One by one, the small pine needles began falling off, and there was nothing she could do. Ralts bright eyes gleamed under its green helmet, and at once, the air around them shook with an incredible vibration that Serah had never felt before. The energy blasted the tree, and shot the purple Pokemon from within the plant to the space before them – a forced exorcism by Ralts' psychic power.
Something within Serah clicked. This was...a Pokemon battle. Pokemon battles were entirely different in real life. This time, she had to fight for something, rather than mindlessly press her treasured "A" and "B" buttons. With her phone still in her hand, she glanced down at the page still open where Ralts' attacks were listed.
"Want to help me out, Ralts?" she shouted, but the Pokemon was already steps ahead of her, using its body as a shield to stop the fiend from entering the tree again. A fierce wind picked up, and the ghost Pokemon shrieked its challenge.
"O-okay!" Serah tried to sound brave, but her voice shook. "R-Ralts, use – "
Without warning, the ghost Pokemon opened its thin mouth and belted out a horrible noise that obliterated Serah's thoughts. She dropped to her knees and covered her ears, her phone falling face down onto the grass. Ralts put its hands on its helmet and pulled it down, its small body shaking with evident discomfort. Serah opened her mouth to speak, but any words that came out drowned in the piercing racket filling the clearing.
The fiend of a Pokemon stopped for a moment, if only to grin at the bedlam it had created. It rose higher into the air and let loose its horrible Screech again, this time directing its energy on the tree. More pine needles began to fall, and it seemed that the whole of it began to shrivel away.
"No!" Serah mouthed. She glanced at Ralts, and at the two red prongs sticking out of its helmet. They seemed to be glowing – some sort of psychic power? Still, how could she even yell out a command when she couldn't even hear her own voice? Again, she had become helpless. She closed her eyes, and the Screech attack became her parents' voices.
"We expect you to be the best – anything less is a failure!"
"You'll never amount to anything if you don't stick your nose in a book!"
"Perfection is the only option!"
Serah screamed as tears welled in her eyes. Just as the pain became too much, a light, cool hand touched her forehead. She opened her eyes; there was Ralts, its head bowed, the two red prongs on its head still glowing. It was shivering, but it didn't seem to be from the Screeching…no, it was feeling what she felt. It saw her parents, and heard the same things she did. In that touch, she could communicate with it, and it with her.
The prongs on Ralts' head suddenly flashed and began glowing with enough light to rival the moon. Serah looked in its shining eyes, and without having to look at her phone, she knew what to do. She stood with Ralts' at her side and shouted their attack to the heavens.
"CONFUSION!"
The Screech stopped, and at once, the entirety of the forest went still. Ralts' pure voice broke the silence, and with it, a tremendous wave of energy exploded form the red prongs on its head and blasted the puppet Pokemon suspended above them. It flew, up and away above the horizon of the tree line until it was out of sight.
Serah watched its dark silhouette until she knew it was gone. Exhausted, she slumped to the ground. Had she imagined it? That attacked didn't come from just Ralts. Somehow, she helped fuel the psychic power, even if it was a total accident.
A sweet whisper voice made her open her eyes. Ralts smiled at her, its small hand on her cheek. It seemed to be making sure she was okay. After nodding, it waddled over to the tree and tried its best to patch up the sapling that had been devastated by the ghost Pokemon. Overall, it hadn't taken much damage; a small pile of pine needles rested at the base of the tree, but otherwise, it looked just as healthy as before the assault.
Crawling over to the plant, Serah couldn't help but admire how much time Ralts had dedicated in taking care of it, and protecting it. Like…like a true Mother and Father. Without realizing it, tears began spilling from her eyes. A drop fell from her face, but to Serah's surprise, Ralts caught it. It looked up at her from beneath its helmet, its pink eyes gleaming in the silver moonlight.
"I know…" Serah began, her voice barely useable after shouting out her attack. "I know that you've taken care of this tree for so long. It would be wrong of me to ask you to abandon it and travel with me. So…thank you so much for battling with me. I…still have a lot to learn." She smiled, but Ralts didn't.
It frowned, then looked at the young tree it had parented. Ralts shook its small head, then looked back at Serah with a smile on its face. It put both of its hands on her arm. It had clearly made its choice. Even though it couldn't speak like Serah could, she could feel a sort of link – a psychic one perhaps – that bonded them when they touched. She couldn't tell exactly how it worked but…it was speaking to her. Not with words. No, it was more like…a series of mental images implanted in her mind that told a story. Ralts told her that the tree was strong enough now. It could live on its own. There's no way that Shuppet (So that was its name!) would ever come back to bother it – especially after getting its butt kicked.
Ralts winked at the end of its message, and another tear – one of joy – slid off Serah's face. Her Pokemon didn't catch it this time. No, it fell onto the mound of soil, and became yet another drop to feed the young, thriving sapling.
...
Blinking in the morning sunshine, Serah could feel just how little sleep she had gotten. Her ears still rang from that horrible Shuppet's Screech attack, and somehow her mind felt woozy – perhaps from that combined psychic attack? Letting out of groan of early morning fatigue, she rolled over to her side to look at her Pokeball – the same Pokeball the Ralts has happily agreed to jump into after last night's shenanigans.
It was open. Ralts had let itself out.
Serah was suddenly very awake. She bolted up from her sleeping bag, stuck her head out the tent's open flap…and breathed a sigh of relief. Ralts was awake, and doing something very curious. It almost seemed to be in a trance, spinning around clumsily on its two ill fitted legs. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Serah peered closer, and stifled a giggle. Dancing. Her new friend was trying to dance.
Somehow, probably through some innate psychic ability, Ralts must have known it was being watched. It stopped and turned at her, its pale cheeks turning a bright shade of red. It must have known it was a horrible dancer, and it was caught in the act of trying anyway.
"Oh, don't worry!" Serah exclaimed as she crawled out of her tent. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, and the dark trees from last night were turning green with light's first touch. A tepid breeze cut through the forest, lifting her bedhead out of her face so she could see her new friend more properly. Ralts still looked like it didn't want to dance.
Finding her balance, Serah met her Pokemon by the campfire and kneeled down. "Come on! I'll dance with you!"
The color from Ralts' cheeks faded, and instead, its small lips curved into a smile. Serah took its tiny hands, and ushered it into pirouette, making sure to help her friend remain balanced.
Today was going to be a good day.
My soundtrack while working on this: Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - Eterna Forest \\\ Pokemon Black2/White2 - Battle! Champion Iris
The second one was definitely motivating in writing Serah's battle with Shuppet. Anyway, until next time! (Hopefully not too long.)
