The crowd roared as Scizor landed one final Metal Claw straight into Rhydon's face. It stumbled a few steps backwards before it fell back and hit the ground with a massive thud, spraying dust into the air.
"Rhydon is unable to battle!" declared the referee, then gestured towards Scizor, "Scizor is the winner!"
People jumped to their feet, filling the stadium with a collection of cheers and boos, I even noticed a couple people throwing empty bottles and soda cans onto the battlefield. Today was round 5 of the Hoenn League, and the first battle of the day was just complete. As they showed a replay of the battle, my bedroom door suddenly swung open to reveal my mom standing there.
"What are you doing?" She said angrily, "Get your other shoe on and let's get going!"
I looked down at my feet, I only had one shoe on and hadn't even tied it yet, the battle on TV distracted me. I continued to put my shoes on and my mom turned around and stomped back down the hall. I stood up and grabbed my backpack then the remote to turn off the TV. They were going over the tournament bracket for the remainder of the league, round 5 was today, semi-finals were tomorrow, then the final battle on Sunday. Wish I was there, I had never seen a Pokemon battle in a large league stadium before, mainly because my parents and I lived all the way in the Salterial region and the nearest stadium was all the way in Sparc City, where we held our own special Pokemon League. That's actually what I was going to school for, so I can enter the Dyad-League. Today was Friday, then next week was my last week at school before I could graduate. I had planned on spending the entire weekend planning for my trip to travel the region and defeat all 5 gyms, but there was just one small issue, I didn't even have my own Pokemon yet. All we had was our family Pokemon, well technically it was my dad's. They went to work together almost every day, so there's no way my parents would let me use him. The main reason was the town we lived in, Deverd. It was a small farming town, surrounded by miles of fields in all directions. Farmers took the safety of their crops very seriously to make sure nothing would destroy them, which caused wild Pokemon to become pretty rare around here. Occasionally you'd see a Diglett pop up or a couple of Fletchling flying overhead, but that's about it.
"Andrew, let's go, now." My mom said as she reappeared in the doorway.
She was all stressed out because she was originally supposed to have the day off but ended up getting called in late for work. My mom was a delivery driver, except she used our own car because she didn't want to drive a massive delivery truck. There was apparently more packages today than usual so they needed an extra vehicle, good thing we had our SUV.
I turned off the TV and tossed the remote on my bed then followed my mom outside the house to the car.
"I'll probably be working later than normal today," She said as she got into the car, "And Dad's working the overnight shift so he won't be home until tomorrow morning, which means you'll have to walk home today."
I didn't mind walking home, but if I acted like I enjoyed it my parents might make me walk all the time, so I let out a heavy sigh and placed my head on the seat's headrest.
"Don't start with that crap," My mom said playfully, "If you wanna enter that league you better get used to walking a lot."
I quickly picked my head up off of the headrest, "Okay I know, I was joking, jeez"
We drove in silence for a bit, the only things we could hear was the sound of the car's engine and the radio playing music quietly, until my mom finally broke the silence.
"You still wanna enter that league, right?" She asked.
"Of course I do," I responded, "I've been wanting to enter ever since it first opened."
You see, the Salterial region never had it's own Pokemon League until only a few years ago. Once the Alola region, which is just a group of small islands, held its first Pokemon League, the president of Salterial wanted to start one as soon as possible. A year later a massive stadium was built in Sparc City, the largest city in the region. Salterial was also a fairly small region, we were either the world's smallest region or the world's largest island, so there were only 5 gyms to challenge, but they were not easy. I heard that they were some of the strongest Gym Leaders in the world, and also out of the 4 years that the league has been active that the highest number of people who actually made it to the league was 162, out of nearly 20,000 total trainers to sign-up. But the main reason the Dyad-League is so special is in the name itself. Dyad means "something that consists of two elements or parts." For the Dyad-League, you're only allowed to use one Pokemon. That doesn't mean every battle will just be a 1 on 1 battle, you must use the same Pokemon for every trainer you fight, every Gym you challenge, every round in the league. You can fill out an application at any Pokemon Center in the region, but whatever Pokemon you put down on that paper, you're stuck with. And if you try to change it, you're disqualified. Every Gym Leader will have your information on stand-by and also you will have it downloaded into your phone or Pokedex so everyone will know. Why is it like this? I don't think anyone really knows, maybe it was because we were such a small region or maybe the president wanted people to build a strong bond with their Pokemon...or maybe it would draw more attention to us.
My mom stopped in front of the school's main entrance, I grabbed my bag and opened the door.
"I'll call you in case anything changes" My mom said as I stepped out of the car.
"Okay, I'll just go ahead and call you as soon as school's over." I replied.
I closed the door, waved good-bye to my mom, and headed toward the school's front gate.
The day ended up going by extremely slowly, mainly because my best friend wasn't here today. I sat in my last class of the day leaning my head on my arm staring at the clock patiently waiting for the bell to ring. Once class was finally over at 3pm, I grabbed my bag and headed outside the classroom. When I had gotten down into the main hallway heading towards the exit I remembered to call my mom to see what the deal was with work. I slipped my phone out of my left pocket and dialed her number.
"Hey Andrew," She answered on the first ring, "We still got two whole trucks to unload so I'll probably won't be home until around five"
"And is Dad still working overnight?' I asked.
"Yeah, so just walk straight home and I'll make dinner as soon as I get home."
She ended up telling me a whole bunch of stuff about being careful and to look both ways before crossing the street before we said our good-byes and hung up. I only had to walk home for school a few times in my life, but everytime I did I always went along the outskirts of town. At the edge of town, not too far from my house, was a large open grassy field known as "Battle Park". I had always liked to stop and watch to see any battles that were taking place. It was surrounded by houses except for one side where it pointed out to the main road then out farther into the farmer's fields.
I had walked alongside the outskirts of town for about 25 minutes before I reached the corner of town. Continuing straight would lead into the mountains, turning right would take you out towards the old cemetery, then left would take you down towards Battle Park. I turned left and continued along the sidewalk, a long brick wall on my left divided the backyards of various houses on the block over while there was the road to my right with massive fields just beyond. The fields were just miles of dirt with rows and rows of tiny, shriveled trees that had been picked clean from whatever they had growing from them. As I looked at the hundreds of trees along the road I suddenly noticed a large blue blob underneath one of them, not too far from the road. I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. I thought maybe someone left their jacket lying there, but it couldn't be, it was way too hot and there wasn't anyone around. As I became parallel with the object, I stopped quickly once I realised what it was. I could make out a head, body, four legs and a very long tail. It was a Pokemon. Pokemon don't just come out of nowhere to sleep in the dirt around here, it was indeed very strange. I couldn't tell what kind it was, but I had to find out. I looked both ways before jogging across the street, as I reached the dirt and started moving in closer, I was able to tell what it was. It was without a doubt, a Vaporeon.
It layed there unmoving, it was sprawled out on its left side with it's mouth hanging open and it's eyes closed. It's entire body was covered in dirt and scratches. As I got closer I could tell that it was breathing, but still didn't seem to know I was there. Definitely wasn't asleep, something was wrong. I was able to get right beside it, but once I knelt down in front of it's face, It's eyes flew open and it began to breathe rapidly. I could see the fear spread across its face as it locked eyes with mine, but it still made no effort to move, it was obviously hurt very badly. I didn't know what to do, but I couldn't just leave it there. Then I remembered that there's a Pokemon Center just past Battle Park, not far from here. It had to be helped as soon as possible. I placed my hand on it's shoulder and felt it's body tense up.
"Hey there, it's okay," I reassured it.
I looked up and down its body and noticed that some scratches were older than others, it had to have them for a few days now. It's fins were crumpled up and pointed in all directions. But the worst part was its front left leg, it had become swollen turning it into a dark purple-ish color, I doubt it could walk.
"I'm gonna take you to a Pokemon Center and get you some help, alright?" I said
It continued to stare at me questionly like it didn't understand, or maybe it was just scared.
"There are people there that are going to help you and heal you up, okay?
I felt it's body ease up a little and it's breathing began to return to a normal pace, I guess it was gonna let me take it. I carefully slid my hands underneath its front legs and slowly started to pick it up. But as I brought it to my chest and held it on its back, it's eyes closed and it's body went limp in my arms. It's head fell back and it's tail dangled towards the ground. I started to panic, I placed one hand on the back of it's neck to hold it's head up and the other towards the beginning of its tail to keep the other end from dragging on the ground. I took off running out from behind the trees and across the road, good thing there weren't any cars because I didn't bother to check. I had made it to the sidewalk and kept running alongside the brick wall heading to the Pokemon Center. The wall suddenly disappeared as we passed a large grassy field. There was no one there, which was weird because there's always at least one person in the park. We then rejoined the brick wall as we passed by more houses and Battle Park faded behind us. I could now see the bright red roof of the Pokemon Center, it was just a block away.
"Just a little farther, hang in there," I whispered to the Vaporeon that I had clenched in my arms, but I knew it didn't hear me.
When I got to the front doors, I spun around and used my back to push them open. There was no one else here besides Nurse Joy behind the front desk. As soon as she saw me, she walked quickly over to a pair of double doors to the right of the counter.
"This way," She said, holding the doors open.
I followed her down a short hallway, there were multiple doors on each side, all of which were closed. She led me to the very last door on the left side, then she went inside and turned on the lights. Inside along the wall was a small bed covered with a large white sheet that fell all the way to the floor. Next to it was a heart monitor that had multiple wires coming out, some were connected to a small computer next to it and the rest hung loosely in the air. On the far wall in the back was a counter with dozens of drawers full of supplies. And finally there was a small random chair right next to the door, across from the bed. I laid Vaporeon down on it's right side, careful not to move it's swollen leg.
"What happened?" Nurse Joy asked as she grabbed the loose wires from the heart monitor.
"I-I don't know," I stuttered, still trying to catch my breath from running all the way here, "I was just walking when I saw it lying in a field just down the road."
"So it's not your Pokemon?"
"No, I just found it."
She examined Vaporeon's body, drawing her attention towards it's injured leg.
"May I get your name please?" She asked me.
"Andrew," I replied.
She turned around to face me, "Can you go and wait in the lobby for me?" she asked politely, "I'll come get you once I've finished getting Vaporeon checked out."
I just nodded my head and slowly backed out of the room. I glanced back at Vaporeon lying on the table before I headed back down the hallway and into the lobby. The double doors closed quietly behind me. I took my backpack off and sat down on a small sofa near the exit, facing the doors I had just come out of. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked around the empty Pokemon Center. Four ceiling fans spun silently overhead while along the walls were all kinds of posters featuring different Pokemon. There was one right next to me that had Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza on it. But there was one in particular that caught my attention. Along the wall to my left was a row of booths and all of them had windows next to them except for one. Right in the middle of the row a booth had a small piece of wall instead of a window and there hung an advertisement for the Dyad-League. It had two armies of multiple Pokemon, too many to count, charging towards each other. In the background was a silhouette of what looked to be the stadium in Sparc City. It also had words in big bold letters that read "DYAD-LEAGUE, CAN YOU BE THE ONE?" Then it hit me, if I wanted to enter the Dyad-League I needed a Pokemon. Could this Vaporeon be the one? Wait, no, my mom would never let me bring it home. Plus I didn't even have a Pokeball to catch it with. Actually I could go ahead and call my mom now and tell her what's going on. I looked at the clock hanging above the front desk, it was already almost 4pm and just in case she got home early I didn't want her to worry about me. So I pulled out my phone and called her. It rang a couple of times but finally she answered.
"What happened?" She said as soon as she picked-up.
"So, uhh…" I was having trouble trying to figure out what happened myself, "As I was walking I found a Pokemon lying in one of the fields on the outskirts of town, it was hurt so i'm at the Pokemon Center right now, the one near Battle Park."
My mom was silent for a second, then she finally spoke.
"What kind of Pokemon is it?" She asked.
"It's a Vaporeon." I answered.
"Hmm…" She went silent again for a moment, "How long are you going to stay there?"
"I don't know, I don't wanna just leave it here, I wanna make sure it's alright."
"Fine, just be careful, and Andrew listen to me," My heart sank. I knew what she was about to say, "I know you're trying to find a Pokemon, but don't try and bring it home, remember what we told you about Water-Types."
"Yeah I know." I sighed.
I told her good-bye and put my phone back into my pocket. I then put my head in my hands and let out another long sigh. I really needed a Pokemon, and this could be my only chance in a while.
Another 15 minutes passed by before the double doors in front of me swung open.
"Andrew," Nurse Joy called to me, "You're welcome to come back here now."
I immediately jumped up, grabbed my backpack, and followed Nurse Joy back down into the room where I had left Vaporeon. It was still lying on its side on the bed, but now it had a few suction cups on its chest and side with wires that connected it to the heart monitor. There was a large white bandage wrapped around the leg that had been swollen. Most of the scratches on it had been cleaned off but a few of the newer ones were still visible. I stood at the edge of the bed, I could hear Vaporeon breathing shallowly.
"She had no life-threatening injuries," Nurse Joy suddenly said as she pulled up a report listing everything about this Vaporeon on the computer, "Her leg wasn't broken or anything, but had gotten twisted pretty badly."
I kept looking back and forth between Vaporeon and the computer screen.
"So will it-, she, be alright?" I asked.
"She'll be fine, although it will take a day or two for that leg to fully heal." She stood up from the computer and joined me at the edge of the bed, "You brought her here just in time, I don't wanna think about what would have happened if no one had found her. It's so strange to find a Water-Type just lying out in the middle of nowhere like this."
Like I said before, Deverd was surrounded by miles of fields on every side, there were no nearby places for a Water-Type Pokemon to live. There were no oceans, lakes, rivers, or ponds for them to live. We both stared at Vaporeon in silence for a few seconds before Nurse Joy stepped away from the bed.
"She should wake up in just a few more minutes now," She said, "Or if you'd want, since she's not your Pokemon, feel free to leave, I can take care of the rest."
"I'll go ahead and stay." I said quickly.
Nurse Joy smiled then headed towards the door, "Go ahead and wait in here, I'll be right down the hall." She then disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
I stood there for a moment before I sat in that random chair next to the door. I looked back up at Vaporeon, I noticed her tail and fins were twitching slightly, she was probably gonna wake up soon. The room was extremely quiet, the only source of sound was the heart monitor beeping eerily. I pulled out my phone to check the time, it was already past 4:30.
"What am I doing here?" I thought to myself, "I already can't bring her home, what's the point of staying?"
But I couldn't convince myself to get up, it felt wrong just to abandon her at the Pokemon Center then leave. I then stopped to think, what brought us here in the first place? What was a Vaporeon doing all the way out here? And what had happened to her? I guess that's why I wanted to stay, these questions had to be answered. Since I was just sitting there, I decided to get some more information on this Pokemon. I opened the Pokedex app on my phone and searched up "Vaporeon". I turned up the volume a little as it read the entry outloud. I listened carefully as it told me all the cool abilities that Vaporeon's have. Can turn into water, can sense rain, seemed like a pretty neat Pokemon to have around. But suddenly my ears were drawn to a different sound, I paused the reading and heard that the heart monitor was beeping more rapidly. I looked up to see Vaporeon staring right at me with wide eyes. We both stared at each other unmoving, I could hear Vaporeon's heart rate continue to pick up speed. I didn't know what to do, do I call for Nurse Joy? Do I stand up and say "hi"? But before I did anything stupid, both our heads snapped towards the doorway as Nurse Joy walked in.
"Ah, you're awake," she said as she grabbed a small flashlight off the counter. She stood at the edge of the bed and carefully pulled off the wires that connected Vaporeon to the heart monitor.
Vaporeon didn't act very scared, but I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't trust either of us. Nurse Joy held Vaporeon's head still as she shined the flashlight in her mouth and eyes.
"Can you sit up for me?" she asked when she had finished.
Vaporeon slowly got up into a sitting position, she was about to curl her long tail around her front legs when she noticed the large white bandage covering one of them. Nurse Joy began to thoroughly examine all over Vaporeon, checking her fins, body, tail, legs, and paws. Nurse Joy then walked over and reached into one of the drawers on the counter then pulled out a stethoscope. She placed the metal disk onto Vaporeon's chest as she started to check her breathing. Vaporeon was cooperating very well and I could tell that she was growing less wary.
"She's perfectly healthy," Nurse Joy said as she took off the stethoscope, "I don't see a reason to keep her here any longer, so have you decided?
I stood up, "On what?" I questioned.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot to ask," She said, "I can't just release Vaporeon into the wild around here, especially while her leg is still injured. So I was wondering if you'd be able to take her with you."
"You mean like, keep her?"
"I guess that'd be up to you and Vaporeon."
Me and Vaporeon both turned to look at each other, she had no expression on her face but her bright purple eyes seemed to stare right through my soul. I know what my mom had said earlier, but I couldn't let this opportunity slip past me.
"Yeah I could take her, my house is just a few blocks away anyway."
"Great!" Nurse Joy said and turned around and slowly picked-up Vaporeon, Vaporeon let out a small squeak in surprise.
I put on my backpack and Nurse Joy handed me Vaporeon. It wasn't until I was actually holding her when I realised how big and heavy of a Pokemon she was. It was also uncomfortable because the fins on the side of her face and neck kept jabbing me in the eyes and mouth.
"You're gonna need this," Nurse Joy said and handed me a small first-aid kit, "There's a potion and some extra bandages in there, spray the potion on her scratches before bed and change her bandages in the morning."
"Okay, thanks for everything." I said as I took the first-aid kit.
"Just doing my job." Nurse Joy led us out of the room and back into the main lobby, "You two be careful, and try not to walk on that leg." she told Vaporeon and patted her on the head, "Come back if you need anything."
I thanked Nurse Joy again and she held the door open for us as we headed out of the Pokemon Center. I only took a few steps before I stopped at the corner of the building and set Vaporeon on the ground so I could put the first-aid kit in my backpack. Once I put my backpack back on I knelt down in front of Vaporeon, I guess now was the time to properly introduce myself.
"Hi, I'm Andrew." I said, trying to sound as friendly as possible. Vaporeon stared at me and mimicked her name in greeting.
"Does your leg still hurt?" I asked.
Vaporeon looked down and lifted her injured leg in the air before placing it back down, trying to put pressure on it. She stopped as soon as it touched the ground then looked up at me and nodded. I had already agreed to take Vaporeon with me, I decided that it would be best just to carry her all the way home.
"Well, here's the plan," I started, "My house is only a couple of blocks away, if you want to come with me would it be alright if I just carried you there?"
Vaporeon didn't respond and instead just stared off into the distance. She was still a bit hesitant, she was gonna need more convincing.
"It's up to you," I told her, "But I don't wanna leave you just wandering around here while you're hurt. You can come back with me and lay on my bed, I'll get you some food and water, you can rest there and stay as long as you want. My parents are really nice and if you want to leave as soon as you're healed up, we can take you somewhere with plenty of water or anywhere you want, does that sound good?"
Vaporeon looked back at me for a second then she nodded her head. But when I picked her back up again her fins immediately blocked my face and stabbed me in the eye, again.
"Alright, this isn't going to work," I said as I set her back down and put my hand on my eye, "You think you could like, ride on my backpack and hold onto my shoulders?"
When I had regained my vision back I knelt down again and helped Vaporeon as she climbed up my back and grabbed onto my shoulders with her paws. She layed on my backpack and I took the things used to tighten the shoulder straps and tied them around her waist so she wouldn't slip off.
"Comfortable?" I asked.
Vaporeon squeaked in approval above me and we set off for my house. I was ready to go home, it's been a weird day so far.
We walked the entire way in silence. As I turned down my street I could barely see my house in the distance, and something was in the driveway. I frantically pulled out my phone to check the time, it was 5:16, which meant my mom was already home. I knew she wasn't going to be too happy when I came home with a Vaporeon on my head even after she specifically told me not to bring it home. I started to walk a bit slower so I could try and come up with a good excuse. Somehow Vaporeon was able to sense something was wrong because she brought her head over my shoulder to look at me.
"Everything's fine," I reassured her, "You see? That's my house just down the block, with the white SUV."
I'm not sure how useful that information was, I doubt she knew what an SUV was. But she still looked on ahead, staring at every house, car, and trashcan along the road. In the middle of trying to make up an excuse to bring Vaporeon home, I couldn't help but wonder how calm she's been about everything that happened today. When I had finally reached my house I went ahead and walked across our front lawn, since most of our grass was dead anyway. As I approached the front door and reached for the doorbell, I hesitated for a second, my mom was gonna be so pissed. I couldn't wait any longer, I rang the doorbell then took a step back as I waited for my mom to open the door. I heard the door unlock and the knob began to turn. The door opened to reveal my mom standing there. She had a smile on her face for a split second but it quickly faded as she stared over my head and saw Vaporeon.
"Andrew…," she sighed, "What did I tell you about bringing it home?"
I felt Vaporeon's grip tighten on my shoulders, "I know, I know, but Nurse Joy said she couldn't release it into the wild while she was still hurt, and you know Water-Types can't survive around here."
My mom sighed again and moved out of the way to let us inside. I headed straight down the hall and into my room and untied Vaporeon from my backpack then set her on my bed. As I threw my bag on the ground and started to take off my shoes, Vaporeon gazed curiously at the walls. There were multiple shelves full of toy cars and little Pokemon figures. My bed was in the back right corner and next to it was a small black dresser that had my alarm clock on top. Across from the bed was a TV with a much larger black dresser to it's left. I went over to Vaporeon and spread out my blanket so she could lay down. She sniffed at it for a second before she spun around in a single circle and slowly layed down, stretching out her injured leg. I could see how tired she was, she could barely keep her eyes open.
"I'll be right back." I told her and headed out of the room.
I went back down the hall and into the kitchen where my mom was, I wanted to make sure she wasn't too mad at me. Her back was turned and she was standing over the stove stirring something inside a pot. I was trying to think of what to say, but my mom beat me to it.
"You know Dad's not gonna be happy when he's see's you brought home a Water-Type." she said without turning to look at me.
"I know," I replied, "But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just-"
My mom cut me off, "I know you were just trying to do the right thing, and you did."
She stopped stirring and walked over to me, "So are you gonna introduce me to your new friend?"
My mom followed me back into my room and when I opened the door Vaporeon was lying on her side with her mouth hanging open, similar to how I first found her. Fear and worry quickly spread through my body as I rushed to the side of my bed. When I got by her side I could hear her breathing very loudly, but it didn't sound like she was struggling. Then I realized she was perfectly fine. She was asleep, and snoring.
"But I was gone for less than a minute…" I said and put my hands out in front of me.
"She's probably extremely tired," my mom said from behind me. "Just let her sleep, I'll say hi when she wakes up."
I stood there for a second before I went and headed out of the room. I took one last glance at Vaporeon before I turned off the light and closed the door.
My mom and I both ended up sitting in the living room together while we ate dinner and watched TV. I told her everything that happened when I had found Vaporeon lying in that field. A little over an hour had passed now, so I decided to go in and check on her.
"You should take her some food and water." my mom called to me before I went down the hall.
I turned back around and headed into the kitchen then opened one of the cabinets and pulled out two bowls. I filled one up with water from the dispenser on the refrigerator and the other with some Pokemon food. I walked slowly down the hall, trying not to spill ethier one. I had the place one on the ground so I could open my door. My room was completely dark and when I had turned on the light Vaporeon was in the exact same position, still snoring. I put both bowls on the floor next to the bed then attempted to wake her up.
"Hey, Hey!" I whispered, doing my best not to scare her.
I shook her on the shoulder a little and eventually her eyes slowly blinked open and she lifted her head to look at me.
"I brought you some food and water."
Vaporeon looked over the side of the bed and noticed the two bowls. She immediately tried to jump down off the bed but I grabbed her and helped her down so she wouldn't hurt her leg any more. She went straight to the one with the food and slammed her face in it and began to scarf it down, getting crumbs everywhere.
"Would-ya slow down?" I said, trying not to laugh, "I don't know how to give Pokemon the heimlich maneuver."
Vaporeon took her face out of the bowl, finished chewing the current mouthful she had, then switched to the water. I sat up on my bed and watched as Vaporeon continued to eat then looked at the alarm clock on my dresser, it was 7pm! I had forgotten to watch the rest of round 5 of the Hoenn League! I frantically reached for the remote and turned on the TV, it was still on the same channel before I had left this morning. Round 5 was already over but they were going to show a rerun of today's battles and it was just about to start. It started off with the same fight I had already seen with Scizor vs Rhydon, so I wasn't paying much attention to it, but Vaporeon was. I looked down and noticed that the food bowl was empty and Vaporeon was sitting down with her eyes fixed onto the TV. She focused on the screen and studied each move the two Pokemon used.
"You can sit up here and watch," I said and patted on the bed next to me.
Vaporeon's concentration broke away from the TV for a second as she turned and jumped up on my bed, and I didn't even have to help her. She sat next to me and we both watched the rest of the battle together. We watched the rest of the tournament for hours. For some of the battles we would bet which Pokemon would win and Vaporeon would beat me everytime, she sure knew a lot about battling. During the commercials we would talk, and argue, about the battle and my mom eventually walked in when she heard both of us yelling. Mom and Vaporeon both properly met for the first time. Vaporeon surprisingly wasn't nervous at all, I think all her fear about us as strangers was gone now. But that would change tomorrow when she would have to meet my dad, and our other Pokemon. When the rerun of round 5 ended with a spectacular battle between a Mightyena and a Steelix it was already 10pm. I could see that Vaporeon had grown tired and her eyes had turned red from staring at the TV for the past three hours. I was tired too, it would be best if we both went to bed especially after a long day like this.
"I still think that Steelix should have won." I said as I turned off the TV. Vaporeon looked at me and shook her head.
"Why, do you know how to battle?"
She nodded confidently, I got my phone and opened the Pokedex app. There was a scanner on there where I could check her stats and moves. I pointed my phone at her and a few seconds later a picture of a Vaporeon appeared along with a diagram and a list of her moves and abilities.
"Water Gun, Tail Slap, Shadow Ball, Acid Armor, and Water Absorb," I said as I read down the list, "Not bad."
I actually had no idea if these moves were good or not, I've never actually battled with a Pokemon before. I turned my phone off then connected it to it's charger on the dresser. Then I realized that Vaporeon was going to need a place to sleep since it would probably be awkward if she slept on my bed with me. I was thinking about just getting a blanket then putting it on the floor when I remembered the old bed our other Pokemon used to use was still in the closet in the hallway.
"Hold on," I told Vaporeon then headed out of the room.
I went into the hall and opened the thin closet door and inside was a massive pile of extra blankets and pillows. It didn't take long to find the bed. The outside was a dark purple and the inside used to be white but now looked more like a light grey. I dusted it off then carried it back into my room.
"Here you go," I said and tossed it on the floor in front of the dresser next to my bed.
I helped Vaporeon down and she limped over to the tiny bed and started to sniff it. While she was checking that out I grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants from the larger dresser next to the TV and went into the bathroom, which was right next to my room, to change then said goodnight to my mom. When I came back Vaporeon was lying in the bed curled up with her nose tucked underneath the tip of her tail. I closed the door and was about to turn off the light when I saw my backpack on the ground then remembered the first-aid kit.
"Oh shoot," I said then started to rummage through my backpack, Vaporeon lifted her head to look at me, "I almost forgot about that potion."
I opened the first-aid kit then pulled out the little purple bottle. I went over and kneeled down in front of Vaporeon and she slowly sat up.
"Alright, this might sting a little." I told her and she looked away from the bottle. "Ready?"
She nodded her head without looking at me and when I squeezed the trigger I could see her wince in pain as I carefully sprayed all around her body and tail. The liquid dried almost instantly and I stood up and put the potion away. Vaporeon looked over herself before she laid back down. Once I saw she was comfortable I turned off the light then stumbled across the room in the darkness. I had made it to my bed without stepping on Vaporeon and practically threw my head onto the pillow because I was so tired. I rolled over onto my back and I could hear Vaporeon shifting around in her bed.
"If you need anything let me know." I whispered.
She cheeped from below to tell me she heard me. I rolled over onto my left side facing the wall and pulled the blankets over me then closed my eyes and slowly drifted off into sleep.