Abby felt a prod at her side and moaned. She rested her head on her arms and felt her eyelids begin to droop...
"Abby!" a voice nearby whispered harshly.
Abby's senses rushed in and her level of alertness rose. She pulled out a pad of paper and acted as though she were taking notes. Her teacher was droning on about last night's assignment which she had stayed up late trying to complete. She glanced at her paper which was neatly covered in an assortment of light sketches.
One of them caught her eye; it was a mixture of abstract letters that floated around her page. She had never seen the pokémon and wondered how the image had come to her. She studied it closely. They were black with large white eyes that could sight her in a crowd and know everything about her.
The teacher dropped silent which immediately caught the attention of her detached students. Near the edge of the desks appeared a red and white ball, a PokéBall. Abby eagerly snatched it and scanned over the text and the bottom of the ball. "Girafarig, psychic type."
"As you will notice on your desks, you have each been given one pokémon. You may recall noting the pokémon you were interested in earlier this month.
Abby brought the ball to her face and curiously turned it in her palms. She came across a button and without further thought, pressed it. The ball opened and a white light emitted from within and a form began to take shape inside. Beside Abby stood a giraffe looking animal who cautiously slit open her eyes and anxiously peered about. She was half yellow, half brown with pink spikes down her back and little white antlers on her head. The animal neighed softly and rubbed her head into Abby's chest.
Other students around the room proceeded to do the same and a wide array of pokémon leapt from their balls. Abby tagged her pokémon and burst through the door and into the field. She slid on the grass and fell to the ground. Girafarig trotted up to her trainer and nuzzled her.
Abby sat up and saw a herd of students charge out of their classrooms. She searched the crowd until she found her sister who was already bounding toward her. Perched on her shoulder was a yellow pokémon with black-tipped ears.
"Abby! Who'd you get?" her sister asked as she plopped herself on the grass.
"This is Girafarig," Abby said gesturing toward her pokémon. She gazed at her pokémon thoroughly and raised her eyebrows. "But I think Girafa suits her better."
Leen nodded. Her pokémon landed stealthily on the ground and cautiously sniffed Abby. "His name's Pichu. Isn't he cute?" Pichu raised his head and hopped back to Leen.
Abby lied on her hands and gazed beyond the field. She seemed to be lost in her surroundings until Leen interrupted her silent contemplation.
"I'll be right back," Leen said as she sprinted toward the playground.
Abby sighed and patted Girafa on the neck. She tensed and neighed but this time, it seemed to have a touch of apprehension. Abby looked to see what her source of fear was and noticed a student seated on the grass not far from her.
She knew him right away, his distinguishable features and cold eyes. She had always stayed away from him even though she barely knew him Travis, with his gray-slate eyes and silver-toned hair had a foreboding presence. She shuddered but because of her pokémon's reaction was compelled to watch him.
He sat silent for some time and from deep inside, Abby hoped that Leen would not be returning shortly. Suddenly, a small black creature appeared behind Travis. He whirled around to face the pokémon. A thought struck Abby; it looked exactly like the drawings she had sketched earlier that day. He didn't talk, but something was getting to their minds as the mysterious pokémon floated before Travis. Travis nodded his head periodically as if to indicated his understanding to a statement.
Abby blinked momentarily and the pokémon had vanished. She looked in every possible direction but there was no trace.