I am back home, waiting at the bus stop. Today is Monday, and it is raining, as always. The bus soon came, and the other high school students and I filed onto it.
The bus was more crowded today, but I didn't really care. Every day it was the same boring routine: go to school, sit around bored, come home, and do homework while entertaining my little brother until mom gets home. I normally would just put on old cartoons from Netflix because he liked the way they looked. Again, I didn't care. At least I could talk to my friends while I wait to get it all over with.
"Hey Eva, what's up?"
That was my best friend Jordan, sitting in the row just ahead of me. He always sat there so that he could twist his head back to look at me while we would talk. He would talk to me about a lot of different things, I would mostly listen. I'm not too much of a talker myself, unless I have a snarky comment to add. I also wouldn't call myself goth or emo, but I bet some people would believe it.
"Not much Jo, what about you?" I said back at him. He hated it when people called him Jo, so that's why I did it. It wasn't really a mean thing... he just would get really worked up about it and we'd have a good time with it.
"Hey! You know I-" he said as he had spun around to look at me. He had froze with a pale white face. "Eva... what happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" I retorted back.
"Just, look at yourself..."
I looked down at my hands, but they were now brown and furry. "What." I said under my breath. I turned them over. Where there had been fingers and gray nails there were now canine paws! I felt up at my face. Where there used to be a small nose and mouth, there was now a muzzle and jaw! My long brown hair was gone, and replaced with two long terrifying ears!
"This can't be happening!" I tried to say, but it just came out as barks and growls. By now, I had gotten the attention of most of the bus. People were staring, some pointing! I needed to get out of here! I tried to stand up, but then fell as I realized I couldn't walk straight! I looked down to find that I was covered in brown fur, and my legs were backwards! I got in the aisle of the bus with all the students pointing their phones at me. I could hear the headlines: "monster girl scares classmates!" "Scary dog on bus!" or "Is one of your friends a werewolf?" It was then that I noticed the scary beast in the large mirror in the front of the bus.
And there, staring back at me, was a hideous, brown monster. Long, pointed ears. Large, sharp teeth. Big, black scary claws. My hazel eyes widened as I realized that it was me.
——————————-
"AAAAGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled out as I jolted up out of my makeshift bed.
"BWAAGH!!!" A voice beside me screamed, obviously startled by my loud and sudden awakening. I looked over at Sam, capturing a perfect display of fear on his face before realizing what had happened. He was reading a book while eating an apple, and my shriek had almost choked him!
"Saawveee..." I managed to force out.
"It's okay, it's okay." Sam said, picking up his apple and putting his book away. "I got so involved in my story that I was easily startled." He put his hand behind his head. "But hey, at least we got a word out of you!"
(Huh, I guess we did) I thought. Maybe I am getting better?
"Here," Sam continued. "Try saying a sentence. Say 'Hello, my name is Eva.'"
"Hehw-" I started. "Hehwuw, migh nem ihf evwa." I tried.
"Huh..." Sam thought aloud. "You sound more like an impressed feral does than any normal Pokémon. But then again, you immediately seem to understand me perfectly!"
"Fewuwl?" I asked.
"Yeah... oh! A feral is a Pokémon who... well, I'll point one out when we see one. Maybe you have friends in town looking for you?" Sam cast another glance at me. "Come on, let's go to the marketplace, if you have anyone looking for you, they'd be there for sure!"
——————————-
Pretty soon we were walking through the forest again. This time, I was keen to look for signs that would show me the path to Sam's -err, house. Sam must've seen me looking around, because he started talking again.
"So I came across this forest a while back when I was looking for a place to live. I had found it was far enough away that no one would follow me, and that if they did, they would get lost pretty easily. That's why I live there- no chance of getting robbed, and no chance for an ambush!"
I looked at him, almost afraid of the thought that these colorful little animals my brother was so fond of could be so savage. He must've read my mind, because upon seeing my face he quickly added "But of course I'm just paranoid! No one does this around these parts! You can just never be too sure! Ha ha!!"
I decided to just keep looking for any traces of evidence that his home did exist behind us.
After we exited the woods, we followed the main road back to Tarry Town. I wasn't so tired this time, and by the time we arrived in town, I had barely worked up a sweat! (Wow, I guess this body is more efficient or something) I thought to myself.
"Okay, this is the main path." Sam said, leading me into the center of the town. "And this is the marketplace!"
The marketplace was a wide and open area, with tons of wooden stands and shops littered all about in a messy oval shape. There were rows of them behind the first, and rows behind those. The ground was tiled with red and yellow rocks, so faded that they matched the dirt. I also saw some grayish stones mixed in there. I looked ahead and noted how the main path traced right through the middle of the oval. You could easily get lost in here if you weren't careful.
There were also many creatures walking about the marketplace. All were different colors, sizes, shapes... I assume all of them were Pokémon, because of what Arceus told me. I recognized a couple here and there... the blue animal with a plant on his back, some were birds, and I think I saw a pikachu.
We walked around a bit, Sam keeping an eye out for anyone who might be looking for an Eevee, and I just kept looking at all the different things that were around me. I begun to notice that certain market stands had only orb-like things, some only clothing like handkerchiefs and scarves, and some had hats or jewelry. Do Pokémon wear earrings? I wasn't sure. I don't think all Pokémon have ears. I looked over to Sam to see if he had ears, but I saw him in what looked to be a rough confrontation with a purple cobra snake and real big, white and brown bird.
"Hey, what'd you doin' here again, squirt?" The purple snake asked Sam, leaning into Sam's personal space.
"Yeah! We thought you wouldn't have the guts after last time!" The bird said. He was inching closer, as if eager to start a fight.
"G-guys, I-I-I don't want any trouble..." Sam said quietly, backing away.
Although I don't know much about how things work here, I could easily see where this was going. These two bullies were intimidating Sam, seeing how wimpy he really was.
"A'ight then," the cobra pressured, inching even closer. "Then give us some poke, and we'll let ya off... for now."
The bird cackled as they pressured Sam. I had had enough of this. I leapt in front of Sam, growling (I didn't even know I could do that!) at them.
"Oh, is this your little girlfriend?" The bird mocked. "Is she here to save you 'cause you can't save yourself?"
I barked at them, and even though my brain was telling me this was wrong and strange, I knew what they were doing was even more wrong.
"Oh no! Let me guess..." the snake said with a eerie grin on his face. "Is she... a feral?!! Ho ho hah!" They laughed at us. "You couldn't even find a real girl, so you went and found a pet stupid enough to love you!"
"How sad is that?!! Hehehheh!" The bird laughed out.
"Wets goh." I said to Sam as we walked away from the two laughing Pokémon. Sam looked really depressed. I tried not to let him notice I saw the tears in his eyes, but they were there.
After a few minutes of recovering, Sam mentioned that we should look at some of the merchandise, figuring that maybe something could jog my memory. I ended up looking at the various headwear they had in one shop. It was amazing to think that some Pokémon could have two or three heads! They would need matching hats or something like that just if they wanted to look nice! I figured this out because the Pokémon selling the hats was a three-headed ostrich-looking bird.
It was in the middle of all this that a loud cry and a crash sounded behind me. I spun around to see a skull-wearing ghost speed off out of a shop with something in his hands! He was flying off fast, trying to dodge around other stores and get away! But then I saw where he was headed! Sam was turning the corner, leaving a shop... walking right into the path of the ghost!
"Sawvm!!!" I cried.
But it was too late. As Sam spun around to look towards me, the ghost passed right through him, without the item! The item ended up hitting Sam right in the abdomen, knocking them both to the floor. The ghost Pokémon just kept going, regardless of itself dropping the item, and faded away into the crowd.
"Ouch..." San complained as he clenched his stomach. I ran over to help him up.
As Sam got back onto his feet, a voice behind me said "Oh thank you, thank you!" I turned around to find a small purple mouse to be the one thanking us. "That duskull was trying to steal my goods! Thank you for getting them back for me!!!"
"Ugh... it was nothing..." Sam replied, still clutching his stomach in pain. "He just... really knocked... the wind out of me..."
"Here," the rodent responded, gesturing us to follow. "Follow me. Bring that item!"
We looked at each other and then followed the mouse. He lead us back to his shop, where he had all sorts of odds and ends. Most of them looked like they were second-hand, or even third! There were also piles of rock, large thorns, twigs, and sticks. I looked strangely over at Sam, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Welcome to my store!" The small mouse said, arms open wide as if to show off his amazing collection. "Rattata's tatta! Odds and ends, things and blings, anything and everything! And it's all cheap cheap cheap!!!"
"Huh." Sam said, glancing his eyes around.
"Now if you'd just return that item..." the mouse said, holding out his paw.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah."
Sam held out the stolen item. It was a dark, purple cloth, looking kinda ragged and worn. The purple mouse snatched it right out of Sam's claws and inspected it. "Hmm, yes yes... just the way it was. Now!" He stood up on his hind legs to get a good look at us. "For this rare item, I will let you both choose one item each from this section!" The rattata pointed over at a small miscellaneous section of the store, and then scurried over to a far larger section to put the cloth back on display and talk to some potential customers.
"Wverd." I said to Sam.
"Yeah..." Sam replied as he rubbed his stomach. "Oww."
We walked over to the miscellaneous collection of random items. There were cds, a few torn scarves, and mostly just junk. Sam picked out a pillow, and I just sat there, staring at the dumb pile. Why am I choosing what trash I want from the garbage pile, when I should be figuring out what happened to me? Sam soon came back over to me.
"Hey, thanks for trying to help me earlier... and then with those other two Pokémon before..."
"Donbt wowwry abuwut idt." I tried to say. "Idt wawf nofing."
After a few moments, Sam nodded his head. "No, no, it was something. I've never really had anyone stand up for me like that before. You don't even know who you are, and you'd still risk yourself for me like that." He smiled. "Tell you what, let me help you find something to pick out."
Sam and I looked for a little while, then a little longer, and eventually we had it down to our last three choices: a cool shiny rock, a torn cloak, or a funny-looking pendant.
"So what'll it be?" The Rattata asked us.
"Not sure yet." Sam started. "Is there anything special about these three items?"
"Well, that rock there is a single gravelrock, that is a torn up agility-up cloak, and that pendant has an Elucide stone in it."
"What's an Elucide stone?" Sam asked.
"No idea." The rat replied. "Just know that it don't work. Now do you want it or not?"
"Uh..." Sam looked over at me. I nodded. "Sure, and also that cloak instead of my pillow."
"Okay." The rattata said as he took the pillow and we picked up the cloak and pendant. "Now ya gonna buy anything else?"
"Uh, no..."
"Then scram!" He waved us out.
We walked around town some more, Sam showing me the bank run by Meowths, the bakery run by a family of armadillo Pokémon called sandshrew, and then the hospital where I met Sam the day before. We stopped in to talk to Tina, and she said that I was likely a feral who had just been impressed by him. Sam asked how I could understand him so easily, and she said "Maybe Eva's just that smart?" After that, we walked towards home.
After walking on the main road for a while, Sam stopped me. "You see that slanted rock over there?" He asked, pointing at a large rock by the side of the path. "That's the marker to turn right and into the woods."
We followed direction, and made our way into the woods. Eventually Sam pointed out a clearing to our right. He said we just keep going straight because that was the marker that we were on the right path. As we went our way, he kept pointing out little natural markers in the trees and on the ground. Eventually I asked "Whiae?" and he told me that it was in case I ever got lost, so I could find my way home.
I really didn't like being seen as a little goober who is less than anyone else, and so all this garbage about me being a feral really was getting on my nerves. On this walk home, I decided that I was going to tell Sam the truth. I would tell him that I was a human, I would tell him that I am intelligent, and I would tell him that I was not some stupid, senseless creature! I would tell him that I need to get back home! Heck, maybe I'll even tell him what Arceus told me! Then he'll have to believe me!!!
Yeah, after putting it that way, there's no way he'd believe me. And with my current limited speech? Forget it. I'd have to just tell him one thing at a time. I thought about how I'd explain it to him the entire way home.
"Well, here we are!" Sam said as we walked inside. "Home sweet home." He looked around to find everything was in order. "You know, looking back on today's events, let's stick together more."
Sam put the cloak and pendant down on the table. "So, you're probably hungry by now, huh?"
My stomach growled. I hadn't even thought about my appetite! I had so many things going on in my mind, when was the last time I ate? Probably before I existed in this world! I nodded my head.
"Well good to hear! I thought so! Good thing I collect gummis!" He pulled out a crate from a kitchen shelf. It was full of...giant jelly beans?!!
"Each color of gummi represents a Pokémon type," he continued raising a claw in the air. "Gummis taste best if the color matches your own type. They also taste pretty good for the types you are strong against, but terrible for those you are weak against."
"So you being a normal type," he said, digging through the box for a particular gummi. "Would mean a white gummi would be best!"
"Gwummi?" I asked, wondering if he knew what jellybeans were.
"Well, they... uh..." he responded with a gulp. "They also bring up your IQ."
"Owh." I replied, realizing that if I was seen as his 'pet', I should probably comply until I figure out a way to explain everything. And if someone is offering me food that makes me smarter, might as well go for it, right?
Sam handed me a white gummi, and picked out a green one for himself. We then sat down at the table and started eating. He just started munching on his own, and I looked down at mine. Things really are weird here. And a gummi being this big? Normally if I was eating something this large, I would at least have a fork or something. Some sort of utensils. I dug my paw into the white gummi. It was squishy and a little moist, like those really juicy fruit snacks you would get sometimes as a kid. Like fruit gushers.
I grabbed a chunk of gummi. I looked at it, and I felt my tummy grumble like it was telling me to hurry up. (Here goes nothing) I thought. I took a bite.
It tasted... well, like a gummi. But the flavor, it was like a balance of sweet and sour, both perfectly combined to make the taste the most fantastic thing you've ever had and then some. It was so good, I just ate it all up. I stuffed it into my mouth, licking my lips like I had missed something.
Sam watched as I finished the white gummi. He was halfway through his already. "Wow," he said. "When was the last time you ate something?" He got up to grab another gummi for me. "Uh, I don't have many other ones left for your type... how about a gray gummi?"
I didn't care, as long as it was another gummi! He handed me the gray gummi, I took a large bite, and...
Immediately spat it out.
"Bwah! Bwaah! Ble-bleugh!" I spattered as I spat it all out over the table. It tasted like dust! Or oil! But only really really bitter at the same time! Ulgh!
"Sorry! Sorry! I should've known! I thought that 'cause it was like white it would taste good! I forgot gray was for rock types, which you are weak against!"
Sam started grabbing cloth in order to wipe it down with. I picked up the Elucide pendant, which unfortunately got some gray gummi on it. I handed it to Sam as I said "Sorry. I was just really excited to have another gummi."
"That's okay Eva. I know you didn't mean-" Sam froze in his tracks.
I looked up at him. "What?"
He looked back at me, then down at the pendant in his hand. "Say something again." He said to me.
"Uhh... something again?"
"Oh my gosh." He said looking back and forth from the pendant to me. He held it up to me. "This Elucide stone clears up your speech problems!"
"Wait, what?!"
"Yes! Here, hold it!"
I took the pendant from him.
"Now listen: I am saying words in a weird voice! Weird voice! Weird voice! Now hand it back."
I handed Sam the rock pendant back.
"Now, what did I say?" He asked me.
"Uh... 'I am saying words in a weird voice', and then you said weird voice two more times?"
"Yes! That's right!" He put his clawed hand to his forehead. "Wow! I found a rock that translates feral speech!"
"Except I'm not a feral, Sam."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I'm a human."