The Girafarig in the bushes lay down next to her newly born foal, which squeaked and snuggled closer to her side. She smiled warmly and began to groom between his ears when an interesting observation came to her that made her pause; every other Girafarig in her herd had pink manes and noses, but her foal had a blue nose and mane. She shrugged it off and continued grooming.
The herd's stallion, and father of the foal, approached the bushes cautiously. He was worried about his best friend and mate, so he called into the thicket.
"Are you ready to come out yet, Tremble?" he asked tentatively, "Are you well?"
Tremble let out a bell-like peal of laughter, which echoed throughout the home plains of the herd. The sudden noise made the stallion rear up in surprise.
"Don't worry, Mottle, I'm fine. As soon as your son is able to walk, we'll come out."
Mottle, convinced that everything was as it should be, smiled to himself in joy. He shook his mane and trotted back to the herd to wait for his mate to appear. The other females in the herd bombarded him with questions about Tremble's well being, but he merely smiled and said that she was fine, and that they would all see the foal soon.
In an hour or so, Tremble's dainty head emerged from the bushes. She turned around, convincing the foal that it was all right, and walked out of the thicket. In a few seconds, a rather shaky, tiny foal followed her.
Mottle gasped, the foal was a Shiny! As he wobbled towards the herd, a barely distinguishable sparkle surrounded him. Mottle was overjoyed and, at the same time, horrified. He knew that humans kept their eyes out for those rarest of rare Pokemon, and would capture them, no matter what stood in their way. Despite the danger, he was overwhelmingly proud to be the father of a Shiny.
He trotted up to Tremble, and they touched noses in greeting. The little foal looked up at him curiously, and squeaked. Mottle laughed lightly, touching noses to the foal as well.
"He's beautiful, isn't he?" said Tremble.
"The most beautiful... a Shiny..." mused Mottle.
"What? What do you mean?" asked Tremble.
"Every Pokemon species has a different color, but it is extremely rare. They're called Shiny's. I saw one when I was just a foal, and asked my mother about it, and she told me what they were." he looked up worriedly and joyfully at the same time, "We're the parents of a Shiny!"
"What's wrong?" asked Tremble worriedly.
"Humans collect Shiny's; they'll capture them at any price, and sell them for money. Shiny's are almost always miserable in their life."
"Oh, no! We'll have to keep him away from humans, then!"
"I'm afraid we won't be able to keep humans away from him for long, he has to live his own life. When he grows up and has to leave the herd, he'll be on his own."
"We'll keep him safe until then, and warn him for his whole life against humans."
Both Mottle and Tremble looked at the small foal, which was now nursing happily.
"It'll have to work..."
Two years later...
"Ruby, Hyper Beam!"
The red Gyarados absorbed energy into his mouth and let it go in a concentrated beam that knocked his opponent, a Snorlax, to the ground. The Snorlax struggled to stand, but fell back, fainted.
"Yeah! Way to go, Ruby!" yelled Tessa.
The girl they were battling sulkily called her Snorlax back, and pulled a new Poke'ball out of her bag. She threw it onto the battlefield, and when the red light cleared, a Ponyta stood defiantly in the middle of the arena.
Tessa called back Ruby, and sent Flame out. 'That evens the odds for her' thought Tessa. She looked worriedly at the scrawny Ponyta and sighed, too many people were challenging her that simply weren't ready for such a test. But she had accepted this battle because the Snorlax was on a high level, and that meant that she had to fight the Ponyta as well.
"Flame, use bite!" she called.
"Ponyta, use agility!" called the other girl.
As Flame speeded towards the Ponyta, the Pokemon suddenly zipped behind him.
"Ponyta, Take Down!"
Tessa watched in horror as Flame was slammed into the ground. She was relieved when he stood back up, mostly unscathed except for a few bruises. The Ponyta, however, was looking very unstable and about to collapse.
"Ponyta, another Take Down!" called the girl.
"STOP!" yelled Tessa, making both the trainer and Pokemon look up.
"What?" asked the girl, annoyed.
"That Ponyta won't be able to stand another Take Down. If this continues, it will get seriously hurt!"
The girl looked at her Ponyta, and back to Flame, and then at Tessa. Her eyes widened, and she ran up to her Ponyta.
"Oh, my gosh! Ponyta, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking! I even forgot to tell Snorlax that he did a good job! Can you ever forgive me?" she sobbed
The Ponyta nickered softly into the girl's ear and nuzzled her shoulder.
"She says she will, but right now she needs a good rest."
"What?" said the girl in surprise, "You mean you can understand her?"
"Yeah, Flame taught me." said Tessa, scratching behind Flame's head.
"Oh! Can you tell me her name?" asked the girl.
"It's Smoke." said the Ponyta, still nuzzling the girl.
"Her name is Smoke." said Tessa, "Do you need a lift to the Pokemon Center?"
"Yeah, Thanks!" exclaimed the Girl, "Hey, what's your name? I'm Willow."
"My name's Tessa." said Tessa, hopping on Flames back, "Come on, hop aboard!"
Willow called Smoke back into her Poke'ball and jumped on Flame's back behind Tessa. Soon, they were on their way to the Pokemon Center in Mahogany Town.
"Yes, mom, I know! You've told me a thousand times to stay away from humans!" said the blue Girafarig, becoming frustrated, "I won't go near any, Okay! I mean, I'm old enough to take care of myself now!"
"I know, Blue..." said Tremble, on the verge of tears, "But I'll just get so worried if you don't promise..."
Blue looked at the ground, feeling ashamed at his outburst.
"I'm sorry, mom, I just get so frustrated. I've been told my whole life to stay away from humans, and I know to by now. I know what will happen if I let one capture me. But I promise, I will do my best not to get captured, or be seen, by a human."
"That's all I can ask for..." replied Tremble sadly.
The two Girafarig turned their heads as they heard someone approach. After a bit of rustling, Mottle squeezed through the thick brush beside them.
"Hello, I'm here to see you off, Blue."
"Thanks, dad."
"Remember what we always tell you?" asked Mottle.
"Yeah." said Blue, laughing a little sadly.
"One last thing, never look back. If you look back, you'll only want to come back for the rest of your life. Keep going straight until you can't hear the herd anymore. Am I clear?"
"Very." replied Blue.
"Good. Now be on your way, and remember that we'll always love you. Go!"
Blue ran through the forest, his mother's farewell call ringing in his ears.
"Go, Blue! You were meant for great things, I knew it as soon as you were born! Don't look back, for ahead your future awaits!"
Flame touched down by the Pokemon Center in a cloud of dust. Tessa and Willow dismounted, jumping the last few feet to the ground easily.
"Thanks Flame," said Tessa, calling the Charizard back into his Poke'ball "you can take a rest now."
"Hey Tessa!" called Willow, "Thank you for bringing me to the Pokemon Center, and helping me realize how stupid I was being."
"You weren't stupid, Willow, you just made a mistake."
"Thanks anyway."
"No problem, let's get our Pokemon rested, shall we?"
Willow nodded and they walked into the Pokemon Center. A few people in the corner were showing off their Pokemon, but otherwise there was no one in the lobby. They approached the front desk cautiously.
"Just a second!" called someone from the back room, "I'll be there in a jiffy."
Suddenly, there was a loud crash, like plates falling on the floor. Tessa and Willow glanced at each other, and Tessa leaned over the counter.
"Can we help?" she asked.
"No, no. I've got it." said the voice, "A few dishes slipped, that's all."
The door opened and a rather vexed looking nurse stepped out. She straightened her rumpled dress and smiled at the two trainers.
"Hello, I'm Nurse Joy. What can I do for you today?"
"Our Pokemon just need to be healed, that's all." replied Tessa.
"Okay, I'll take them and put them in the machine. It'll only be a short wait, so why don't you help yourselves to a drink." she said, waving towards the drink machine.
"Thank you." said Tessa.
The two trainers walked over to the drink machine and got two pops. They sat down near the table where the people were showing off their Pokemon.
"My Flareon is the best!" said one boy, "She can easily beat a Cloyster!"
"Oh, yeah? My Skiploom could whip your Flareon any day!"
"Really? You wanna prove it?"
"Yeah, as soon as I get her refreshed, I'll battle you!"
"Bring it on!"
Tessa and Willow glanced at each other. Tessa rolled her eyes, and Willow giggled. The boys in the corner stopped talking and stared at them, just noticing that they were there.
"How about you two? You girls think you have anything that can beat my Flareon?"
Tessa, fighting spirit riled, stood to her full height, which was a full seven inches taller than the boy, and looked down at him menacingly.
"Easily!"
"Well then! How about a battle once I'm finished with his Skiploom?" quipped the boy, undaunted by Tessa's confidence.
"You're on!"
Tessa stood outside the Pokemon center, facing the boy and his Flareon. She hesitated, deciding which one of her Pokemon to use. This Flareon was indeed powerful, but it was reckless also. She remembered what the boy had done to the Skiploom before, and her anger flared even hotter.
"Ruby, go!" she shouted, throwing the Poke'ball.
Ruby once again made a grand entrance onto the battlefield. The boy smirked and laughed.
"You think that just having a Shiny will win you this battle? Hah!"
"I think nothing of the kind! I'll win this battle with talent, unlike you did before!"
The boy narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"Flareon, use Bite!"
"Ruby, dodge and use Twister!"
As the Flareon ran towards Ruby, Ruby fired a powerful tornado from his mouth. The Flareon was caught and spun helplessly in the center.
"Flareon, use Smog!"
The Flareon emitted a black smoke, which clouded the battlefield and lowered visibility dramatically.
"Flareon, Zap Cannon!"
Tessa's stomach clenched. Ruby would take six times the damage if such an attack hit! There was a huge flash of yellow from inside the smog cloud. Suddenly, a golden ball of electricity flew out of the smoke and dissipated in the air. Tessa breathed a sigh of relief; the attack hadn't hit.
"Ruby, use Twister to clear the smog, then use Hyper Beam!"
The smog began to swirl and condense into a huge black tornado. Soon, the battlefield was visible, and so was the Flareon. Ruby gathered energy in his mouth and let a beam out that hit the Flareon directly. The Pokemon flew backwards and landed in a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the Flareon lay on the ground, fainted.
The boy gaped at his Flareon. Then glared in anger at Tessa.
"You may have been able to beat my Flareon, but you'll never beat my Tyranitar!"
He threw a Poke'ball into the field, and a huge Tyranitar stood menacingly on the battlefield.
"Hey, we agreed to only have a one on one battle!" yelled Tessa.
"Agreements change, girl." smirked the boy.
"Okay, then." said Tessa to herself as she called back Ruby, "Flame, Go!"
"Tyranitar, use Crunch!"
"Flame, fly to avoid it!"
Flame flew above the Tyranitar, where its Crunch attack would be useless. He waited for Tessa's next call.
"Flame, use Fire Blast!"
"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"
The two attacks met halfway in the air. Tessa and the boy waited in grim silence to see which one would overpower the other. The attacks went back and forth for what seemed like forever, but the red fire from Flame's Fire Blast suddenly cut through the Hyper Beam, dissolving it like smoke, and engulfed the Tyranitar beyond. The blast resulting was incredible, and both trainers had to shield their faces from the flying debris. When the dust cleared, the Tyranitar was lying flat, knocked out in only one hit. Flame flew easily above it, unscathed by the blast.
"What!" shouted the boy as he called back his Tyranitar, "You couldn't have beaten him! He was my strongest Pokemon!"
"I just did." said Tessa calmly, "You should get your Pokemon healed before they sustain any permanent damage."
The boy stormed into the Pokemon Center as Tessa high-fived Willow. Tessa ran up to Flame and hugged his neck.
"Great job, Flame! You did it!"
Flame chuckled happily.
"No thanks needed, that boy needed to be taught a lesson. He was way too overconfident, and so were his Pokemon."
Willow walked up to Tessa and Flame joyfully.
"Great job, you guys!" she said, then her face fell, "I just got a phone call, I have to go to Azalea Town to meet my sister, but I'll see you again someday"
"Yeah, we'll be around..." said Tessa sadly, "Remember, raise that Ponyta up a few more levels, and maybe I'll give you a rematch someday!"
"I'll be sure to!" said Willow happily, "Bye!"
Tessa waved, watching her go. When Willow was out of sight, Tessa turned to Flame.
"She was a great friend, wasn't she?"
"Yeah..." replied Flame.
"So, now that that battle is over, what should we do now?"
"The Lake of Rage isn't far from here, why don't we go visit where Ruby used to live?"
"Sure! But first, you guys will have to take a rest at the Pokemon center."
"Will do! I'm tired from that battle, and I'm sure Ruby is too."