The life of a Rattata is not usually a pleasant one. Nor is it for any Pokémon perceived as 'weak', 'useless', or 'unwanted'. Set in the not-so-distant Johto, this is a story of a young trainer and a team of such Pokémon, and their journey to the top.

"talk"

'thought'

"Pokédex"

Chapter 2: Training Day at Cherrygrove

Burrow's POV

'Mmmmmnnn? Morning, was it morning already?' My mind lethargically woke up as I noticed the sun streaming into the room. I began stretching my limbs, paws crinkling the sheets below me as I arched my back. '… Sheets?' my mind blanked at the thought. I froze, suddenly aware of my location. 'Not good, not good, NOT GOOD. This was a human place. What happened to my den?' Panic filled my mind as I began to struggle out of the bedding. Claws tearing at the sheets I only managed to get more entangled.

"Burrow I brought your breakfast~" Spencer sang as he slammed open the door. I was so startled that I lost my balance and fell off the bed flailing, sheets and all. 'NOISE DANGER, HUMAN DANGER' my instincts screamed as I ran under the bed dragging the torn up bedding with me. My trainer stood there dumbfounded. Seemingly confused on whether or not to laugh hysterically or freak out after seeing me dive bomb off the bed. In the end I suppose he couldn't help it and started to laugh. Hearing the noise I became furious. 'HE'S LAUGHING AT YOU, MOCKING YOU!' my mind roared. Spencer forced himself quiet and came to check on me under the bed. "Burrow are you okay?" he asked still giggling. As soon as he saw me backed into the wall all the humor drained from his face. I looked at him putting hate into my glare. My lips were curled back in a vicious snarl as I let loose an unmistakable warning growl. "Burrow?" Spencer questioned again voice wavering. I paused at his tone. 'Regret?' the irrational part of me said otherwise 'HUMANS LIE! HE LIES! THEY HATE YOUR KIND' I paused to reconsider, 'No, not this time.' I looked at Spencer again; his hair a mess, body petrified staring at me. His eyes were pleading at me to be all right. 'No I will not let my instincts control me. Not like this, not with Spencer'. At that moment I came to an important decision. I would break the rules, deny my instincts, all for the hope of trusting my trainer.'

Spencer's POV:

Burrow crawled towards me, huffing a bit, but looking overall calm. I honestly have little to no idea what just happened. I must have done something wrong. One minute I was getting Burrow breakfast the next he was flailing and I was on the receiving end of a death glare. "That's right breakfast" I said stunned. "I forgot. Burrow come and eat your breakfast I want to be out before eight to get some serious training done!" Excited for the day ahead I grabbed the bowl and gave it to Burrow. He looked at me critically, and then started eating furiously, coating his muzzle with berry juice. "Yes well while you do, uh 'that', I'm going to pack up" I said slightly disgusted by Burrows eating habits.

Ten minutes later we were out the door with Burrow resting comfortably in my arms. He denied the Pokéball again today leaving me to wonder how much dislikes the thing. I gazed down at him again, readjusting my arms so I could pet his fur. 'He has such amazing fur' I mused. Fine dark purple hairs lay flat against the creature. The feeling was almost indescribable, silkier then down feathers on bird Pokémon. I ran my fingers against his back lightly, not wanting to bother Burrow. It seemed I had nothing to worry about though, because the little Rattata was busy. Having not seen Cherrygrove yesterday, Burrow was swiveling his head back and forth sniffing the air trying to take in the whole city. He looked almost as mesmerized as I was before, entranced by the city. 'The city is quite beautiful isn't it?' I thought to myself as I gazed longingly at the diminishing seaside. 'But today is not about relaxation, todays a training day'.

When we arrived at route 30 it had just turned nine. I was ecstatic to have the whole day in front of us.

"Alright Burrow listen up!" I exclaimed setting him down on the grass below. "Today is all about teamwork. Since we're both new to this I don't expect much, but I do want us to work as hard as we can. We're going to battle the wild Pokémon on the route to gain experience." I paused a moment to look through my bag for my standard issue Pokédex. Burrow continued to watch me curiously. "According to this, the route is mainly filled with bug and bird Pokémon." I crouched down to burrow raising the Pokédex parallel to him. "I'm just going to scan you okay? We need to see your moveset."

A loud robotic voice filled the air, "Rattata the Rat Pokémon, Cautious in the extreme, it can adapt to almost any environment. Specifics: This Rattata is LV 3, ability Guts, Moveset Tackle, Tail whip, has a rash Nature" "Well okay then Burrow, lets tackle the world into SUBMISSION!" I roared dramatically. Burrow seemed to give me a flat look. Ignoring him I scanned the grass, "Lets start with that guy" I exclaimed pointing to a wild Caterpie.

Burrow's POV:

Our training seemed to last forever. I grunted as another Pidgey slammed me into the ground. 'Damn Pidgeys' I groaned to myself. Body quivering, I struggled to stand myself up. It had been less then an hour and Spencer has had to rush me to the Cherrygrove Center seven times. My dirt-encrusted coat was lined with scratches. My breath was both heavy and irregular as I stared down our newest opponent.

"Burrow use tackle!" Spencer commanded. 'Why do I listen?' I thought while charging at my opponent. 'He has been wrong before.' I crashed into the Pidgey knocking the bird over. Relentless it stood back up. "Okay one more should do it, Burrow tackle NOW!" Spencer shouted, feeling victory in hand. 'That's right' I thought, charging again. 'I have been wrong on more occasions then Spencer. The times I have ignored him were also the times I got hurt the most.' I grinned victoriously as the fallen bird conceded defeat and disappeared into the forest.

"Way to go Burrow!" Spencer praised me. "That's 13 wins to 7 losses! By the end of today you're going to be so much stronger" Spencer was beaming. 'He was proud of me?' A warm bubbly feeling rose up inside of me, and suddenly I wasn't so tired. I was ready. Spencer must have noticed my change in stance, because he impossibly looked even happier then before. "I'm glad you got your 2nd wind buddy" he exclaimed, "Lets get stronger, together."

Five Caterpie down.

Another three Kakuna defeated.

The occasional Pidgey.

Three more trips to the Pokémon Center.

And even a wild Spinarak, decimated.

It seemed like every moment, every battle brought us closer, binding us together with both victories and defeats. I can remember hazily our trips to the Center. Thin arms holding me tightly, as Spencer rushed to get me seen and healed. Feeling his small form maneuvering through the pedestrians. 'Battling's different with a trainer' I mused, 'in the wild it's for survival, your wounds are never taken care of. With trainers battling for fun.' I felt the trill of accomplishment after knocking a wild Weedle down with my newly learned Quick Attack. 'Yes I thought, fun'

Twelve more Caterpie,

Nine Weedle,

Seven Metapod,

Nine Kakuna,

Eleven Pidgey,

And three Spinarak

All defeated.

Two more trips to the Pokémon Center.

I laughed exuberantly. 'This is the most fun I had in ages!' For the first time in my life I felt something other then useless. 'I'm not useless' the revelation hit me as I knocked down another Spinarak. 'I have a purpose. Not to hide, not to be condemned by a trainer, no my purpose is…' I glanced back at Spencer; his eyes were lit up with a mix of fiery determination and delight. His body was caked with dirt, dust, and sweat. He smelled atrocious. 'Yes my purpose is to protect this kid; to protect that light in his eyes'. It was scary how fast I came to befriend him. I feared humans so much. I still do. It's just so hard to fear Spencer. I took more damage from a Pidgey before I could defeat it.

I lost count of how many Pokémon we defeated after that.

There were no more trips to the Pokémon Center.

It was nighttime now. The stars shone in the sky like diamonds, and the moon was a beautiful crescent. Spencer and I lay there on our backs, unmoving. I sighed happily as a breeze ran over us. I am ashamed to say at this point I almost smelled as bad as Spencer. Letting out an amused hiss, I turned to him. We were both exhausted, wearing matching grins still high off all the excitement.

"We did good today didn't we?" Spencer commented into the night, "Your like what level 14 now? That's a good eleven levels you grew!" I nodded an affirmative at Spencer. Although I grew fast today I also knew it wouldn't be this easy next time. The opponents will get stronger and smarter with the guidance of trainers.

I saw spencer's eyes wander back up to the sky. "Burrow I'm sorry about laughing at you this morning, It was mean." I was shocked. 'Spencer was apologizing?' I let him continue. "I may mess up sometimes, I can't promise I'll be perfect, but I will try for you okay Burrow?" I voiced my acceptance with a small gurgle. "We should be getting back now" he said reaching down to pick me up. I didn't protest as he rearranged his hold. "Tomorrow Burrow, we'll get past route 30, battle some trainers and go to Violet City. How does that sound?" I let out a tired but pleased screech. "Okay buddy, lets go home."