Yellow was leaning on the tree branch, hoping it wouldn't break. The leaves tickled her body. She stretched out her hand towards the berry hanging from the top. However, she couldn't reach it.
"Chuchu, I guess if I hold you by the tail we can do it," she said to the Pikachu clinging to her back.
"Pika Pika", replied the pokemon.
Chuchu climbed onto Yellow's shoulders and walked up her arm, until she reached her trainer's hand. She used her tail for support and managed to rip the Berry off with her mouth. Then she returned to her starting position.
Yellow took the berry and put it in her bag. She had had enough for that day.
"If I hadn't been so rusty it wouldn't have taken so long. Back when I lived here I could do this in a heartbeat," she said to Chuchu.
The two began to carefully descend through the branches of that tree. When they reached the lowest she jumped, falling to the ground on impact.
She pulled herself together.
"Where are Kitty and Sauro?" she asked.
Yellow looked around and there was no sign of them. Only trees and bushes were seen.
The pokemons were right under that tree before she climbed it, however, she couldn't find any sign of them now.
Did they go too far?she thought. She was surprised by the fact since Kitty and Sauro weren't known for wandering too far away from her.
She started walking in search of the pokemon.
"KITTY. SAURO. WHERE ARE YOU? I'VE GOT SEVERAL BERRIES FOR US TO EAT", she yelled wherever she went.
However, the girl got no response.
After a few minutes of walking in the same direction, she rested under a tree, protecting herself from the scorching sun that was at that hour.
"Where did they end up," She said to Chuchu, now clearly worried.
"Pika...Pika..."
Chuchu also had no idea.
Suddenly, she heard a sound from a direction not far away.
Could it be them?
Yellow hurried and ran out to investigate where the sound was coming from.
A boy came running being chased by a group of five Beedrills. He wore a trainer's cap and robes which consisted of jeans and a black shirt underneath a blue jacket.
A pokemon trainer.
He was running awkwardly, almost as if he was groggy, unable to follow a straight path. Then he fell to the ground, passing out.
The Beedrills were about to attack when she decided to act.
"Chuchu, don't let them attack that boy. Use Thunderbolt but only to scare them."
Pikachu nodded. She asphalted from Yellow and fired the electric strike near the pokemons.
Upon hearing the impact of Thunderbolt, the Beedrills flinched and took a defensive stance.
Yellow ran towards where the boy was.
"Leave him alone!", she said, putting herself in front of him.
One of the Beedrills looked at her. She assumed he was their leader. But he wasn't just any Beedrill. She knew that pokémon very well, after all, the two were inseparable friends at the time he was just a Weedle and she was a wild girl from the forest.
"You."
"Yes, it's me. Yellow."
"What's a traitor like you doing here? I thought you were with your own kind. You're not welcome here anymore."
Yellow felt a pang in her heart when she heard that.
"I haven't changed! I'm the same Yellow you've always known!", protested the girl. "What do you want with this boy?"
"The old sage disappeared. And that's not all, there are reports that several pokemons in the forest are mysteriously disappearing", explained the pokemon. "This human is a pokemon trainer, the worst kind of living being in the world. People who enslave and use pokemons as tools of battle. Therefore, a potential suspect."
The old sage?
"How do you know it was him?"
He did not answer.
"You can't assume that someone is to blame for everything wrong out there just by being a human. That's a very prejudiced and simplistic thought, the world is not just black and white as many of you think!"
Even before meeting and living with humans, she was one of them. The experience at the Ray of Light orphanage made her see reality with different eyes. Of course, there were humans with rotten and cruel souls - and how there were - but there were also those who just wanted to help others and make the world a better place for everyone.
"How naive you are... The old sage was right, you are not the same anymore", replied the Beedrill. He turned his back on her. "I'll be sparing this being's life just out of consideration for one day being your friend. But if I see this boy alone around again I won't spare his life. Humans are the scum of this world and, one day, we pokemons will rebel against they."
After the threat, the insects flew away, disappearing through the dense forest.
Yellow wanted to burst into tears, but at that moment, she had to be strong.
The boy was dying, unconscious.
Yellow knelt down and shifted him from side to side. "Are you okay?"
He didn't respond.
She noticed that there were some stingers piercing his legs.
It's poisoned, she seemed to realize.
"Chuchu... I need you to stay here watching him", she explained to Pikachu. "I'll see if I can get a Pecha or a Lum berry for him."
Those berries were known for their healing properties. If she could find one in time, that boy's life would be safe.
Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Yellow took off running, looking at all the trees for the healing berries.
When she managed to find a Pecha tree, she quickly climbed on top of it through the branches until she reached the canopy. She took them and put them in her bag.
If I don't get there on time he will..., she thought as she climbed down from the tree.
This was no time for pessimistic thoughts. She was confident that she could save his life.
When she got back to where he was, Yellow breathed heavily from exhaustion.
"Chuchu?", called Yellow upon realizing that the pokémon was no longer there.
But I left her here watching... Unless... It can't be!. She despaired.
She lowered herself to the ground and placed the berries in the boy's mouth. Then she made the motion with her hands to hold his jaw, forcing him to chew and swallow.
The berry should kick in in a few minutes, assuming it wasn't too late to save his life.
"Chuchu, where did you go?", she lamented while holding her knees with her hands in a melancholy way.
First the disappearance of Kitty and Sauro. Then the confrontation with her old best friend. Now Chuchu. This was getting too much heavy for her in just one day.
Before she knew it, she was crying.
"Hey..."
She heard a voice speak.
Yellow wiped her eyes and looked at the boy who had regained consciousness. He was sitting on the ground, scratching his head.
"You've regained consciousness."
She smiled.
"Why are you crying?" he asked.
"Nothing...", replied Yellow.
"So... Can you explain to me what the hell happened? I just remember being chased by a group of Beedrill and a flash of light before it went dark."
Yellow explained everything that happened.
"I see... I think I escaped by luck."
"You're a pokemon trainer, you should know more than anyone that you have to be very careful when entering a wild pokemon area," scolded Yellow. "Didn't they teach this at your school?"
He turned red.
"Nn-it's not like I'm not careful!" he tried to explain himself. "It's just that my Clefairy was gone and I couldn't leave her behind."
Despite having lived with humans for a long time, Yellow still had a hard time accepting the way they treated Pokemon as if they were just a possession.
She sighed. "Oh, so you too...", she said, realizing the scale of the problem. "My friends Chuchu, Kitty and Sauro also disappeared. And not only that, other forest pokemons too."
The boy closed his hands in a grip.
"I have to get Luna back, whatever the cost," he said with determination.
Yellow got up. "And I Chuchu, Kitty and Sauro." She gave the boy her hands and helped him to get up. He still hadn't fully recovered, so she assumed he would still have his cognition affected for a few hours.
The boy took her hand and got up from the grass.
"Let's get our Pokemon back," he said.
Yellow smiled. She had liked him.
"By the way, my name is Yellow," she said, introducing herself.
"And mine is Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town and future pokémon master!"
That name was familiar to her but she couldn't remember from where.
"Pokemon master..." She covered a giggle with her hand, hoping he wouldn't notice.
Ash stared at her, red. "Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing." Yellow turned away. "Come on, we better start the searching now."
And so the two began to explore the forest of Viridian, looking for any clue that could unravel the mystery of the disappearances of their pokemons.