The sound of the ocean waves soothed my ears. A hard surface sat underneath me, while warm water flowed up and down across my body. My skin radiated heat from the harsh sun rays. An unpleasant pounding in my head made itself noticeable. What the hell happened to me? I cracked my eyes open, quickly slamming them shut, trying to avoid the bright light. After doing this a few more times, my eyes finally adjusted. I lay on a rock protruding from the ocean. As I began to get up, an immense stinging pain rung in my side. My eyes widened as I glanced down to see my tattered shirt, what was left of it, soaked in blood. Trembling hands lifted the torn fabric up, to reveal what seemed to be a fishing spear head lodged through my side.
A small groan passed through my quivering lips. How did this happen? As I stood up shakily, a wave crashed into my rock. The water got underneath my bare feet, causing me to clumsily slip. I cried out when my head hit the rock and I slipped into the shallow water. Fresh blood oozed from the back of my head, staining my fingers as I checked to see where the wound was. Slowly but steadily, I began to trudge towards the shore, keeping my ground each time a wave hit the back of my legs. The fishing spear didn't budge, and I dare not to try and pull it out yet.
Not a single person was in sight when I finally reached the water's edge. I collapsed to my knees, utter exhaustion taking over every muscle in my body. I can't rest now. I need to pull this spear out. Uneasily, I gripped the sharp end, preparing myself for the pain. With all the strength I had left, I yanked the spear out. A blood-curdling scream from deep within my throat echoed through the sky. Completely defeated, I fell over, landing on my good side. Blood leaked at a consistent rate from the wound. Maybe I can just bleed out here. That would be the end of it. No more worrying. I don't even know how I got to be in this state. Whatever happened, it must have been bad.
"Vulpix?" I looked up to see some creature sniffing my face. It was small and had brownish red fur. "Vulpix! Vul!" It licked the tip of my nose. The creature curled up into a ball next to me, putting its back against me and closed its eyes. What is this thing?
I lay there, slowly bleeding out, feeling the life leave my body. My body was numb to its surroundings, except the little creature keeping me company in my final moments. "Vulpix?" I heard someone call from far away. The creature sat upright, its ear twitching. "Vulpix where are you?" The voice got closer. Maybe they can help- A small scream escaped my lips as the creature blew fire from its mouth, into the sky. What the hell is going on!?
In complete panic, I tried backing away from it. A crippling pain shot through my body as tears leaked from my eyes. "Vulpix, there you... Oh my gods." Quick footsteps approached me. "What happened to you?" The voice asked. I opened my eyes slightly, but the blinding sun forced me to close them. Pain began to consume my entire body to the point where all my feeling was numb. All I could feel, was the soft touch of a hand to my cheek. His voice was gentle. "Don't worry. You're going to be okay. I'll get you out of this."
"Here you go, Summer. Your very first Pokemon." Professor Elm handed me the poke ball. "Cyndaquil can be difficult to train. But I am storing all my faith in you. With a strong will and determination, you can do anything."
A throbbing pain tore me from my dream. Pokemon.. I know what they are. I had one. If only I knew what happened. "You're awake!" His loud voice rang through my ears, giving me a splitting headache. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in my surroundings. A dim light hung from the ceiling, casting shadows over the dark blue room. A few pictures were strung up over the walls. I lay on a plush bed, feeling a cold breeze across my abdomen.
My body tensed up as I looked to see that I was only in my sports bra and a pair of white shorts that are not mine. In a panic, I tried to scurry away out of the bed. My side burned in pain, earning a loud whimper. The boy grabbed the nook of my elbow. "Get off! Who are you!? Where am I?" I cried out, feeling utterly exhausted. My eyes squeezed shut, wanting to be anywhere but here.
"You're going to hurt yourself even more! Please, calm down. I'm helping you. My name is Ben, and I'm a Pokemon Ranger. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. You're in the Almia region." His voice was soothing. Slowly, I opened my eyes to look at the boy who had saved my life. My breath immediately hitched at the sight of him. His light brown hair defied gravity, sticking every which way. His dark green eyes shone against his flawless, save for the protruding scar cutting through the last bit of his right eyebrow, tan skin. A petite nose was adorned with small freckles, along with light pink lips.
My mouth froze ajar, as I stared mesmerized by this angelic person. "You're beautiful.." I whispered, barely audible. But he seemed to catch it, as his cheeks grew a dark pink.
Ben smiled cheekily. "I think you may have hit your head one too many times." My hand instantly went to the back of my head. I cringed as my fingertips ran over multiple bumps of thread along a gash. "Our medic is out right now. So I had to do the stitching. The same with your side." He blushed, running his fingers through his hair. My eyes scanned the room and before I could ask he already answered. "You're in my room." He avoided my gaze. "All the other infirmary rooms are taken. Seems that a lot of trainers these days are getting into trouble with evil organizations. Now that I think about it, the crime rate has gone up substantially within the past few years." He walked to a dresser across the room, picking out a black tank top. His cheeks shone pink as he placed it down next to me.
I shifted slightly, grabbing the tank top he handed to me and pulled it on over my head. "Trainer.." That sounds so familiar. Why can't I figure any of this out?
An awkward silence spread between us. Ben cleared his throat and suddenly snapped his fingers, startling me slightly. "What's you name?"
My name.. what is my name? "Here you go, Summer. Your very first Pokemon." Is that it? "Summer..?" I whispered to myself.
"Summer. That's a nice name. Wanna tell me why you were half bled out, lying on the beach?" His voice was soft as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. He is very personal. It's quite interesting.
Not even I know how I got to be on that rock. I remember absolutely nothing from the time I opened my eyes. Ben looked at me, waiting patiently. "I can't remember." My voice was raspy.
He seemed to consider this. "Well you did hit your head really hard. And from the looks of it, it happened more than once." More than once.. My last final attempt of struggle was futile... Icy water hit me like a thousand knives... Just as I took a breath, a wave crashed down on top of me... Sent me crashing into some unknown object...
"A boat.." He looked at me strangely. "I was pushed off a boat." Any amusement that he might have had, quickly vanished from his face.
"P-pushed?" Ben's voice was quiet. "Do you remember why?"
I thought for a few seconds. Everything is so hazy and mixed around. "It's too difficult." My hand made its way to my forehead, wiping the cold sweat from it. To be perfectly honest, I don't know if I want to know what actually happened. It seems to be pretty bad. What could I have done? Am I an outlaw or something?
A loud intercom call interrupted my thoughts. "Ben Costa to the conference room. Ben Costa to the conference room."
He sighed slightly. "I'll be back soon. Please try and get some rest." He gently caressed my cheek, "You're safe here." My heart fluttered in my chest at the touch of his skin against mine. My eyes followed him to the door, watching him intently as he shut it softly.
A weight lifted from my chest. He makes me feel so flustered. I don't even know the guy, yet I feel like we've met before. Maybe we have. It isn't like I can remember anyway. The important thing now is getting out of here and figuring out what happened to me. Why was I pushed off that boat? Could it have been that I was the individual doing bad things? I'd like to think I wouldn't do something like that but how could I know? First things first. Get out of this bed.
Finally, I made it outside. Getting out of that bed was probably the hardest thing I've done since waking up on that rock. Okay.. maybe that's an exaggeration. Pulling that fishing spear head out of my side fucking hurt.
The Ranger Union was crowded with people, making it difficult to go unnoticed. Not having any shoes didn't help the cause. My side is still stinging in pain from random people bumping into me. The only problem is now I have no idea where to go from here. I can't even remember where I was headed on that boat or who I was with. "Vulpix!"
I turned my attention down to the small fox Pokemon. He looked up at me, nudging my leg with his head. "What is it, boy?" I asked softly, kneeling down slowly to pet his head. His ear twitched slightly. He began to growl, facing the forest. I scanned the treeline, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Vulpix pushed his head against the back of my leg, trying to get me to go forward.
"Vulpix, Vul!" He said frantically. Why does he want me to go into the forest? No harm in seeing what he is freaking out about. I followed the Pokemon into the forest slowly, gripping my side carefully. As we traveled deeper into the forest, I began to hear Pokemon cries.
As quietly and carefully as I could, I jogged to a tree, hiding behind it. Vulpix followed in suit, leaning against my leg. I peered ahead of me, to see a bunch of men and women in black uniforms attacking Pokemon. The red 'R' on their chest reminds me of something.. gods why can't I remember? The Pokemon wouldn't fight back. Why are these people doing this? It's barbaric. Vulpix growled, running out from behind the tree. I gasped, wanting to stop him but not wanting to risk being seen. Vulpix bit one of the men's leg. My heart pounded as the man kicked Vulpix off, sending his Pokemon to attack. I began to back away. I need to find someone who can help.
My body collided with something, causing me to stumble slightly. I looked up at the Pokemon, causing something in my brain to trigger at the sight. "A Salamence.." I said softly. I've seen this type of Pokemon before. The Salamence growled at me as he sniffed my face. After a few seconds he stopped growling and nudged his head on my arm. "What is it?" He looked over to the brutal battles ahead of us, nudging me again.
He lowered his body to the ground. Salamence is right. I have to stop this before it gets out of hand. Hopefully help will come. In a familiar motion, I swung one leg over the Pokemon's back, easily mounting him. "Let's go."
Alright, hopefully you all enjoyed. Sorry it is kinda short but finals are coming up soon and I'm loaded with work. Thanks for reading. -A