Before you begin reading, I'd like to thank Devon2016, ssjzohan, and Uzumaki Kana for Tobi, Zion, and Selene. They're the real mastermind behind these amazing characters; I'm just the puppet trying to write them xD
(Oh, and if my great friend Tyler messages any of you for not liking Mavis, please tell me so that I can scold him. He does that a lot xD)
Pallet Town was considered to be a very beautiful place. Not only was it small and the people were friendly, but the tough family bonds made the town a lot more desirable than most. People were so rude in Lavender Town, and they were too old-fashioned in Fuchsia City; Pallet Town was seemingly perfect, with caring and open-minded people everywhere.
But as Tobi Grey knew very well, absolutely nothing was perfect.
"Get out of my house, right now!"
Evelyn shoved her son through the wooden front door, knocking him straight to the pavement below. Tobi slid painfully across the ground, earning a soft yelp as the stone scratched at his palms. If Evelyn was a different person, she'd immediately bend down to see if her child was alright. If Tobi was a different person, he wouldn't have put up with being violently kicked out of his own home.
But they weren't different people. Evelyn simply glowered at Tobi, while the sixteen-year-old stared at the woman's feet, ashamed of himself for no reason at all.
"Why, Tobi?" his mother questioned, her anger shielding the hurt that welled up in her eyes. "I've always done nothing but provide the best for you, and you've done nothing but stomp on my benevolence, over and over and over again. Don't you realize how hard it is to take care of four kids as a single mother? Why do you continue doing this to me, to our family?"
There were so many things wrong with that tangent. She always provided the best? If ostracizing and shaming her son was providing the best, then sure, she was Pallet Town's mother of the year. Maybe, just maybe, if she could have looked past her own ego and continued to support Tobi's dreams, then they wouldn't even have to be in this situation. He could have passed Professor Oak's test, if she had helped; he could have been a Pokédex Holder.
But no. Because of something as simple as his sexuality, she cut all ties with him — and he suffered because of it.
"I didn't do anything," Tobi mumbled, unable to even look her in the eyes. He wasn't the most confident person, even towards his family. And with her acting like this? He could barely even force himself to speak at all.
Evelyn clenched her fists. "Yes, you did, Tobi. You ruined this family with your . . . disgusting choices. And, you know, I was almost willing to look past that. I was almost willing to let you do whatever you wanted, as long as you didn't disappoint me further. But, you did. You're nothing but a failure, in all aspects of life."
It's not a choice. I didn't choose this. Why would anyone choose this? Tobi suddenly felt the urge to cry — but he wouldn't. Even though his self-confidence was being shredded apart by his own mother, he wouldn't allow himself to cry. He refused to shed a single fucking tear.
It was the least he could do. Not argue. Not defend his point of view. Not even get angry, like he should.
But Tobi wasn't the kind of guy to do that. He was the kind of guy to smile and nod, when all he wanted to ever do was scream and sob. He was the kind of guy to accept a compliment, yet never take them seriously. He was the kind of guy to sit in the background and daydream about the life he could've had . . . if the world was a perfect one.
But nothing was perfect. Absolutely nothing. Not for him, at least. His dad was dead, his family practically hated him, and he was gay. And for some reason, Tobi felt like the latter was what caused everything else. He was gay — and because of that, his life was in shambles.
Evelyn stared at her son, masking the pain she felt behind a stone cold exterior. She just didn't understand, couldn't understand. Her childhood was probably the most traditional one in existence, and the one thing her parents never failed to preach about was homosexuality. It's wrong, they would say. It's against the ways of humankind. And she would believe it, too, because what else could she believe?
So she grew older, holding in those conservative teachings until it became apart of her existence. And when she became a Top Coordinator, married her husband, and began having children, she was resolved to teaching them the exact same way. It would have been her own perfect family — even if her husband was a goofball.
And then Mark died, killed in a tragic rescue mission. A piece of her perfect world was gone. As her two older sons got older and left the house to fulfill their own dreams, so did her happiness. She wanted the best for them, and she wanted them to be as successful as her; the feeling of abandonment, however, never truly went away. And then came the day that Tobi came out to the family . . .
Evelyn couldn't handle much more. Her husband was dead, her children were growing up, and one of them was claiming to be gay? It was all just too much for her — and the strings in her heart eventually snapped, turning her into a ghost of her past-self.
Fundamentally, she was wrong. But the world wasn't just black and white.
"I can't take this anymore," she whispered, trembling under the rage that began to bubble in her chest. "Leave. Leave this house right now — and never come back. When you prove to me that you aren't nothing more than a useless son, and fix your . . . choices, then I'll allow you back into this home."
Tobi was being kicked out. He was actually . . . He was actually being forced out of his own home. And for what? Because he was gay? Because he failed Professor Oak's exam? Whatever the reason, it wasn't right. It would never be right.
"I . . . I can't . . ." He didn't know what to say. Was there anything he could say? "I'm . . . sorry . . ."
He was apologizing. Tobi was actually apologizing. It wasn't his fault; none of it was his fault; everything that his mother was angry about was all out of his control. And yet, reduced to a boy that could barely keep himself from crying, his insecurities placed on a display and smashed to pieces, apologizing was the only thing that someone like him was capable of.
It was disgusting. The entire situation was disgusting.
"You aren't sorry." Evelyn turned around, turned away from sixteen years of her life. She placed her hand on the bronze doorknob, gripping it like it was her own personal lifeline. Glancing back at her son, she continued. "If you're really sorry, you will promise me right now that you're done with that embarrassing lifestyle. If you do, I'll let you back in."
There was a pregnant pause.
Tobi didn't want to be left alone. There was no way that he could survive in the wild, with no food and no money and a Pokémon that was more of a pet than a battler. He'd die if his mother kicked him out.
But at the same time, Tobi could never denounce his sexuality. It took an unimaginable amount of strength to come out in the first place, and he'd rather die than shamefully go back on what took years and years of mustering up to do. And not only that, but it'd just fuel his family's idea that sexuality was something you could change willy-nilly.
It wasn't; the closet was a dark place that he never wanted to go back to — at least, not with his family holding down the doors.
Tobi looked to the ground. That was all the incentive that Evelyn needed to walk inside the house and slam the door.
Breathe in, breathe out. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't give her the satisfaction of making you cry.
If it meant anything, Tobi would not cry. Not until much later, when he was far away from his mother and far away from Pallet Town. But not now.
The sixteen-year-old boy stood up, dusting himself off, trying to keep his face neutral. It was hard. His heart was hurting, and his throat felt like it was constricting more and more with each second that passed. His mother kicked him out. But . . . But that didn't mean it had to be the end for him. Evelyn probably thought that he'd come crying back, begging for forgiveness. But he wouldn't. Tobi was a lot of things, but he was not a person that carelessly tossed away his pride, over and over again.
His dream was to become a famed Pokémon Trainer. Maybe not the Champion, but . . . but somebody powerful. And since Professor Oak must not have seen anything special about him, this was just the push that he needed. It was a rather rough, heartbreaking push . . . but a push nonetheless.
"I'm going to be okay," Tobi mumbled to himself, inhaling and exhaling to keep his emotions from tearing himself apart. "I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay."
As he walked away from his former home, reassuringly rubbing his right hand against the lone Pokéball in his pocket — Teddiursa — Tobi fought back against the darkening feeling that he would not be okay.
Nobody could have guessed that Zion Volt would be leaving on his own journey across the Kanto Region.
The sixteen-year-old was just so . . . lazy. And not only that, but there weren't many things that Zion was interested in doing. He loved Pokémon, sure, but he hated physical excursion of any kind. The prospect of hard work made him cringe — and adventuring around Kanto was the very definition of hard work.
And to seal the case, Zion's older brother was a retired Pokémon ranger, while his father was a PokéMart manager. There was no trace of Pokémon trainers in his ancestry, and none of his family members ever pressured him to take up the profession. So why, his father thought, is my son suddenly so eager to leave?
"Everything's packed up?" Zhariff asked his son, sprawled across the couch. From this image, people could assume that Zion's laziness came from him, but that wasn't true at all. Zhariff might have been a bit childish, but he was a hard-working man. Taking care of two children by himself wasn't easy.
Zion exhaled, smiling through the nerves that rippled through his body. "Yeah, I think so," he answered. Truthfully, packing everything was a bit too much work for him, so he had his older brother do it for him.
He could only pray that everything was where it should be.
Zhariff stood up, inspecting his son. Zion had grown up so quickly; Zhariff could've sworn that he was nothing more than a toddler just yesterday, waking him up in the middle of the night with incessant screaming. Zion was nearly as tall as him now — 5'8 — and he looked so much like his ex-wife that it was unbelievable. Unkempt brown hair, green eyes, that sharp nose that Julia took so much pride in . . .
Before he could start getting emotional, Zhariff patted his son on the back, laughing. "You better be safe out there, boy. And get strong, too! If I take my old ass out there and get more badges than you, I'm gonna be very disappointed!"
"You might break your hip by just walking outside, so I'm not too worried."
They both laughed, Zhariff playfully shoving his son. If there was one thing that Zhariff taught Zion, it was to never sugarcoat anything — and so the sixteen-year-old was as candid as possible. Even if it was possibly rude, Zion said it, hence the jab on Zhariff's age.
But truthfully, he wasn't that old.
"Here, take this."
Zion turned around, barely catching the bag that was thrown at him, and barely being able to hold it. It was heavy as hell. Zion's older brother, Jared, smiled at him as he took gentle steps down the stairs.
"You're welcome," Jared said, leaning against the wall, a pair of crutches in his hands. "I packed some food, some random supplies, your phone charger, extra clothes . . ."
As Jared continued naming the endless amount of things that he shoved in the backpack, Zion frowned. He couldn't help but realize that while he was going on an adventure around the Kanto Region, his brother would be a stay-at-home cripple. It just wasn't fair; Jared was an excellent Pokémon ranger, and yet his entire career collapsed because of one failed rescue mission. Jared was stung, multiple times, by a pack of wild Beedrill — and the poison was so strong that it paralyzed his right leg. He would never be able to do his job again.
It just wasn't fair.
And yet, the world never claimed to be a perfect one.
Zion groaned, forcing those thoughts out of his head. "This piece of crap is way too heavy," he complained, dropping the backpack to the floor. "There is no way that I'm carrying this thing all across the region."
"Well, you could always go without it," Jared said cheerfully, smirking now. "Sure, you'd probably starve to death, or starve Pichu to death . . . and it's not that cold anymore, so you might not freeze to death during the night . . ."
"Alright, alright! I get it." Zion sighed, scratching the back of his head. Jared just always had to talk about someone or something dying, and it made Zion unbearably uncomfortable.
Besides, he was already sold when the thought of Pichu starving came into his mind. Zion loved Pokémon of all types, but Pichu was a gift from his brother, as well as his first Pokémon. He had an extremely large bias to the electric mouse.
Zion picked up the backpack, slinging it across his shoulder. It was heavy, but he could deal with that — for a bit, anyway. He then went into his pocket and felt for Pichu's Pokéball, smiling when he felt the smooth surface slide across his fingers. Lastly, he looked around the living room, smiling at the many memories that flooded his brain. The old TV that never worked, the couch that always sunk too low for comfort, the hole in the wall from when his mother . . .
Swallowing down the emotion that began filling his throat, he stared at his father and brother. "Thank you," he mumbled. "For everything. I really appreciate it, guys . . ."
Jared couldn't help himself. "You could always just join the Agency, y'know? Being a Pokémon ranger is a lot more successful than being a trainer, and they'll easily accept you, for . . . obvious reasons."
"I know, but . . . I want to do things my way." Zion smiled a little, his eyes sparkling in intensity. There weren't a lot of things that were important to the sixteen-year-old boy, but this was. He doesn't even know why; two months ago, he just had the insane notion of becoming a Pokémon trainer . . . and here he was, about to leave on a journey that could be the literal death of him.
It was exciting. Scarily exciting.
"If things don't work out, then I'll become a ranger," Zion reassured, quickly. He suddenly wanted to leave before it became too difficult. "But I do want to try and get all eight badges first."
Zhariff nodded, his face uncharacteristically solemn. "We understand. We'll just miss you, is all."
"I'll be back. I promise." And he would. Zion wasn't the type to go off and die. Not only was he too passive to take risks, but he liked to think that he was smart enough to avoid dangerous situations.
Zion quickly hugged them both. And then, with one last glance at the house, one last glance at sixteen years of his life, he opened the door and walked out into the bright light of Pallet Town. He would miss his little family, a lot, but he wouldn't let his emotions deter him. He had a goal to complete. He had an adventure to go on.
Now was the hardest part. Walking.
"Ugh, I need to catch a psychic type," Zion told himself, groaning. "Being able to float around instead of walking would be awesome." Nonetheless, he forced himself to walk away from his home and towards Pallet Town's exit. He couldn't afford to be lazy if he was going to attain all eight gym badges. It was a far-fetched goal, honestly; the Gym Leaders were tough, and it took a lot of skill and willpower to beat one.
Zion didn't have skill. He barely had willpower. He was simply a normal sixteen-year-old boy with indolence problems and an honest mouth. But . . . But he wanted to try. Becoming a Pokémon ranger was good and all, but a bit of variety wasn't bad, right? Zion just wanted to see how well he could do in the wild.
In the corner of his eye, Zion caught sight of a group of people standing outside Professor Oak's lab. The majority of them were smiling, and some were even laughing. He could see the world-renowned professor himself shaking his head, chuckling at whatever was entertaining him. One of the girls caught him looking — Mavis, though he didn't know — and sent him a rather snooty grin.
Zion ignored it. They must have been the famed Pokédex Holders that everyone was so interested in. Honestly, Zion didn't care about the title, which is the exact reason why he didn't even take the test. Too much work, anyway. He had enough of exams during schools.
After awhile of walking — the bag was beginning to really weigh down on him — Zion eventually took his first step out of Pallet Town. He had been to Viridian City on more than one occasion, sure, but this was different. This was the first step into a world of unknown perils, a world of unlimited excitement, a world that could create and end him.
Zion Volt was officially a Pokémon Trainer. And if he had anything to say about it, him and Pichu would rock the Pokémon World.
. . . But not too much, because that'd be way too much work.
Route One was a fairly peaceful route, where the majority of Pokémon didn't bother to attack unless agitated. And even then, it was rare to find a Pokémon that was to actually be feared. Pidgey and Rattata inhabited the area, with the occasional Spearow and Mankey popping up. The route itself was also a lot shorter than most; an hour by car, and nearly 6 hours by feet. With a mixture of dirt plains and grassy hills, as well as a river and a few trees, Route One was considered the easiest and simplest route in all of Kanto.
And yet, Zion barely spent twenty minutes of peacefully walking — with a mixture of humming one of his favorite songs — before running into another boy, leaning against a tree and crying his eyes out.
Yeah. Route One was peaceful indeed.
"Uh . . ." Zion didn't know what to do. While he was carefree with his family, Zion was fairly quiet around strangers. He wasn't shy, but he also wasn't one of those people who gave random people their everything. Because the world wasn't perfect, and people weren't perfect; people left, without any explanation, and Zion didn't want to feel the pain of having his emotions brutally dropped to the ground.
It already happened once with his mother.
At the sound of Zion's awkward appearance, Tobi looked up, his vision blurred with tears. He promised himself that he wouldn't cry — but after walking through the route and realizing just how long he'd have to go, with no supplies at all . . . It was a bit disconcerting. A lot disconcerting, actually. He couldn't do this. He couldn't follow his dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer with no support whatsoever.
But he also couldn't go back to Pallet Town. He didn't want to be anywhere near that place; it was filled with far too many bad memories. Being practically disowned was just the icing on the cake.
Wiping his tears, Tobi realized that there was a boy in front of him, and immediately felt the heat of shame wash over his face. "I— I'm sorry . . . I . . ." He didn't know what to say; he barely could say anything. Instead, he just buried his face in his hands and sobbed, the thought of embarrassment long forgotten.
"H-Hey, don't . . . don't cry. Why are you crying?" Zion rushed over to the other sixteen-year-old, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He wasn't used to having to deal with crying people, especially crying boys. "What happened?"
"M-My m-mother . . ." Tobi hated himself for crying, hated himself for letting his ignorant mom get in the way of his happiness. But he couldn't stop. It was impossible to stop. "Sh-She . . . She kicked me out. She b-basically d-disowned me."
"What?" Zion was at a loss for words. This guy's mom kicked him out of the house? What Why?
Tobi nodded, not knowing why he was relaying this information to a complete stranger, but not having the willpower to stop. "I-I failed Professor Oak's exam thing, a-and she just . . . she just . . ." She just couldn't handle dealing with a son that was both gay and a failure. But Tobi couldn't say, wouldn't say that.
Not again, Tobi thought, sniffing, trying to control his rampant emotions. Coming out to Nathan was a mistake. Coming out to my family was a mistake. I'll never do it again. I'll never, ever do it again.
It was bound to be a dark, torturous life . . . but it was a life that he'd have to live.
Zion, on the other end, was suddenly furious. If there was one thing that he sincerely cared about, it was family. He believed that family should always be there for each other, no matter what. He believed that family should support each other, no matter what mistakes occurred . . . because they were family, and they were supposed to love each other through thick-and-thin.
And the fact that it was Tobi's mother who kicked him out made it even more personal. Zion's mother randomly abandoned his family about seven years ago, and it never got easier. Zion could relate to Tobi, and it pained him.
"Your mom is stupid," he said, grabbing Tobi's shoulder and looking him straight in the eyes. Tobi bit his lip, trying to keep himself from crying even more. "Seriously, just because you failed that dumb test? I didn't even take that thing. If she's going to treat you like this, then . . . then you don't need her. Kinda blunt, sure, but it's true."
Tobi didn't know what to say. At school, he'd constantly be complimented on his looks, but never did a stranger ever say something so encouraging to him before. It was nice, and confusing, and just enough to make the tears stop leaking out of his eyes.
"And you know what?" Zion felt something overcome him, something powerful and fiery that pushed past his typical indifferent personality. "You just need to prove to her that you can become a kick-ass Pokémon trainer without Professor Oak's help! When you do, she'll be begging you to come back."
If Tobi was going to accept her back into his life, though, was another question for another day. For now, Zion felt justified in his advice, and Tobi was absolutely blown away. Because Zion was right. Evelyn didn't deserve Tobi's tears. Nobody did. He was going to follow his dreams, and he didn't need anyone other than himself to do it. And Teddiursa, of course.
Wiping his tears away, Tobi's eyes hardened, an unreadable expression crossing his face. "Y-You're right," he said, before allowing a small smile to grace his features. "You're right. Thank you so much . . ."
Zion backed away, allowing the shorter boy some space. "No problem."
He could feel his typical persona seeping back into his body, a lazy grin planting itself on his face. Now that that surprising situation was over . . . what now? Leaving this guy all by himself seemed a bit too harsh, even for Zion. But it was pretty reckless to simply join up with someone he didn't even know.
That's when the weight of his backpack reached it's peak, and Zion just couldn't bear to hold it anymore.
"Hey, um . . ." Zion took the bag off of his shoulders and held it out. "Do you want to carry this for me?"
Tobi blinked. ". . . Sure?"
And just like that, it seemed that they'd be travelling together.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you — Nobody — too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! They'd advertise — you know!
Selene Mas, as usual, began reciting this simple poem in her head. It always helped her whenever she started feeling . . . weird. And by weird, she meant irrefutably stupid, because there was nothing more illogical than what she was doing now. Standing in front of Route One, three Pokéballs in her pockets, a ridiculous goal in her ridiculous mind.
The poem itself connected to Selene on a personal level. Everyone wanted to be someone special, someone admired, someone world-renowned — and yet, the writer of the poem made it clear that she was a nobody, and that she was proud of being one. Fame was too depressing, too public, too stressful. Being a nobody was the best life, and the writer knew that, yet she didn't want it to become public knowledge because that would just turn her into a somebody.
Selene wanted to be somebody, which was one of the reasons that she was doing this. But becoming a somebody would be leaping out of her comfort zone, and Selene didn't like the thought of that. Her boring, textbook-reading, mundane life was working perfectly . . . so why, then, was she trying so desperately to change that?
It was confusing. Very, very confusing. So confusing that she was about to personally break away from her dull world and step into the color of becoming a Pokémon trainer.
She was so conflicted, the methodical side of her brain fighting against the emotional side. That's why, as she stood in front of Route One, a few simple yards away from the bustling Viridian City, she recited the one poem that would help collect her thoughts.
How dreary — to be — Somebody!
How public — like a Frog —
To tell one's name — the livelong June —
To an admiring Bog!
Yes, how dreary, how public, how . . . bad. This was bad. This was a bad idea that would give nothing short of bad results.
She needed to turn around and go back home to her father, who would condescendingly comfort her on failing her so-called dream before it even began. Becoming a Pokémon trainer was impractical, as he never failed to tell her. Continuing her studies and becoming someone of real status was the best possible route to take. She was just being childish.
But I'm not, she thought, shaking her head, forcing her close-minded father out of her thoughts. I'm not. I really want this. Selene knew that continuing life as her father wanted her to would not be what she sincerely wanted. Becoming a Pokémon trainer . . . Her life would change so much. But would it change for the better, or for the worst?
It was a risk, and Selene never took any risks. She was logical, and treated everything like a pass-or-fail test. That's why this sudden desire to become a Pokémon trainer was confusing, foreign, and extremely uncomfortable. That's why she continued to recite that certain poem in her head, to convince herself that the lifestyle of a Pokémon trainer was not the lifestyle for her. That's why she was frozen in front of Route One, too conflicted to take another step forward.
Turn around. Go back home. Apologize for upsetting my father. Get back to studying for school. This is all just far too risky for you, Selene. Snap out of this spell!
But for once, Selene really wanted to take this risk. She really wanted to be somebody, no matter how exhausting and uncomfortable it'd be. She didn't want to break out of this spell of becoming a Pokémon trainer — because for the first time in a very long time, thinking of her future made her sincerely happy.
It was confusing. Selene didn't understand why she felt such emotions to such a "barbaric" sport, as her father would say. But . . . But she could at least try, right? She at least knew that it'd haunt her forever if she never even gave this a chance.
With a soft sigh, Selene took a small step towards Route One, and then another step, and then another one. Before long, she was practically sprinting through the grass, her eyes darting to and fro beneath her red bifocals. She was doing this. She was actually doing this!
First, she needed to find and capture a Pokémon. Her father refused to buy her one, based on his idea that she'd eventually give up, so finding one in the wild was the only option that she had.
Any Pokémon would do, too. She wasn't picky. She couldn't really afford to be picky.
"Okay, so . . . come on out, you guys." Selene stopped running, standing at the top of a particularly high hill. She didn't want to get too far from Viridian City.
Looking around, her brain worked on a way to successfully capture her first Pokémon. She didn't have much experience with the creatures; the only ones that she ever interacted with were the Chansey in the Pokémon Centers, or the miscellaneous Pokémon that travelled with their trainers. Her father was a very strict man, and therefore banned her from seeing and interacting with the creatures unless absolutely necessary. So her knowledge on them were very limited — which depressed and excited her at the same time. Selene wasn't used to not knowing things, but she loved learning new things.
So this little expedition might have to be improvised, she thought to herself, frowning. Selene was a master at rationally thinking things through; improvising anything wasn't one of her strong points. But . . . But she'd have to do it.
Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of two Rattata, jumping around each other in apparent glee. It was . . . cute? Shaking her head, Selene went in her pocket and clutched a single Pokéball, every muscle in her body tensing. This was it. She needed to catch that Rattata.
That's when one of the Pokémon saw her looking, glasses shining, infamous Pokéball in it's hand. This certain Rattata knew a bit about the world, and knew about the infamous Pokémon trainers that would come through and capture his species. He didn't want to be one of those unfortunate Pokémon; as far as he knew, they were abused and starved, and he didn't want any of that. Giving a look to his mate, he gestured towards the female human . . . and that was all the incentive needed for them both to charge into a mad sprint.
"H-Hey, wait!" Selene wasn't expecting this. Usually, she'd just tilt her head and think through her options. But she couldn't do that this time. She needed to move without thinking — and fast. "Wait, R-Rattatas! Hey!"
She chased after the two Pokémon, running as fast as her under-worked legs would go. Selene wasn't used to physical excursion at all, and therefore lacked the speed and stamina needed to catch up. Did she know this? No, not really. So with as much energy as she could muster, Selene continued to chase after the Rattatas, not knowing that they were getting farther and farther away with every second.
"P-Please! I'm just— I'm just trying to—" To capture them? Enslave them in a small ball and force them to fight for her? Selene didn't know the right words to say, so she just kept her mouth shut and continued running.
And then, when she finally figured out that she could never catch up to the two Pokémon, she threw caution out the window and tossed the Pokéball as far and hard as she could muster. And lo and behold, the item hit one of the Rattata right in the head, opening up and sucking the creature into the Pokéball in a flash of red. The female Rattata looked at her shrinking companion in horror.
Selene, seeing the Rattata actually in her Pokéball . . . started cheering. "Yes! Yes, I did it! I actually did it!" She began jumping up and down, unbeknownst to the fact that her Pokéball was frantically shaking to and fro. "I actually . . . I actually did it! On my first try, too? Th-This is almost implausible!"
And then the Pokéball burst open, releasing the angry male Rattata. The female creature looked at her friend in happiness, while the male Pokémon gave his companion an almost reassuring grin. He was free to live another day.
Selene stared at the Rattatas, mid-cheer, blinking profusely. What? When the two Rattata then turned their gazes towards her, anger in their eyes, she snapped out of her shock and took a few steps back.
"I-I'm sorry . . ." Selene continued walking back, her fear skyrocketing with every step the Rattata duo took towards her. "I didn't mean t-to do that . . ."
Run, Selene.
Selene ran.
The two Rattata gave chase almost immediately — and just like that, the tables were turned. Selene was running away from a duo of bloodthirsty beasts that wanted nothing less than to chew her apart — or in this case, a pair of Rattata that just wanted revenge for nearly being scared to death.
Usually, the two Pokémon would have caught up and bit at the girl's feet. But the fear gave Selene an extremely large boost in speed, and so she ran and screamed and waved her arms around . . . until the two Rattata eventually felt pity for the poor female human, and left her alone. But Selene didn't stop running. No, the only thing that she could envision was her body on the grassy ground, large bite marks all over her arms and legs. Rattata weren't really known to do that to humans, but did she know that? No. And so she ran, and ran, and ran, her feet pounding against the ground and her heart beating way too fast to be healthy.
And that's when she tripped.
Selene fell flat on her face, her glasses flying off. Because she was running in the grass, the fall didn't hurt as much as it could have . . . but still, she let out a loud whine as her body smacked against the ground, and her arms skidded across the dirt.
"This is just great," she grumbled, panting, her eyes watering in defeat. "Of course this would happen. I'm going to end up killing myself at this rate."
Her shirt was ruined, but she tried not to care too much about that. It wasn't like she wore expensive things anyway; unlike the majority of girls, Selene wore simple baggy clothes, because why care about being stylish when you've spent the majority of your life inside?
Selene squinted at the blurry world around her, patting the ground for her glasses. "Come on," she mumbled, panic growing in her chest. She needed her glasses; Selene was absolutely blind, and there was no way that she could find her way back to Viridian City without them.
But she couldn't find them. No matter how hard she looked, Selene could not find her glasses. The panic was at full level now, and she crawled around on all-fours, rubbing her palms against the grass to somehow touch them. No, no, no, no, no—
"Pi!"
Selene almost screamed at the sound of a Pokémon standing in front of her, not even a yard away. The sixteen-year-old jumped, backing away, squinting at the creature that almost made her shit herself. From what she could see . . . it was brown, and small, and had feathers? A Pidgey?
"Pi! Pidgey!" The Pidgey jumped closer to the girl, making her tense up even more. But then, in the mouth of the bird was . . . her glasses! The Pidgey found her glasses!
"Oh my— Thank you so much!" Selene quickly grabbed the bifocals from the bird Pokémon, wiping them against her shirt before placing them on her face. The world immediately shifted from a blurry mess of green and blue to magnificent quality.
The Pidgey regarded the human coolly, staring at the female with brown eyes. Truthfully, the bird didn't know why she decided to help the human. Was it because of pity? Probably. She saw the entire fiasco with the two Rattatas — and to say the least, she was ashamed that any species could be so weak. And then seeing the human lose her glasses? Pidgey wasn't the most compassionate of her kind, but she had to admit that that was a pathetically sad sight.
Selene stared at the bird, wondering why it would help her so randomly. She didn't understand Pokémon; she barely understood regular people. But . . . But here it was, watching her, studying her. What was she supposed to do?
That's when she remembered the bulge in her pants and quickly took out the second-to-last Pokéball. The Pidgey tensed at the sight of it, but Selene tried her hardest not to seem too antsy. She couldn't afford to lose this opportunity. The mere prospect of looking for more Pokémon almost made her cry.
"Hey . . . Would you like to journey with me? I . . . I don't really know how to take care of myself, as you probably just saw, but . . . but you really helped me out, and I do need a first Pokémon." Selene outstretched her hand, the Pokéball shining in the sunlight. Her eyes were practically begging the Pidgey to accept, but she wouldn't verbally beg. Yet. "I promise to take care of you, a-and I promise to . . . love you? I don't— I don't really know . . . This is all just too confusing."
Selene's brain felt like it was going all over the place. She wasn't usually this flustered, but this world was turning out to be a very crazy one — and crazy was unpredictable. She didn't know what to expect anymore. And that scared and excited her. She was finally — if only a little — becoming the type of person that she wanted to be. Outgoing, adventurous, fun.
Pidgey cocked it's head to the side, visibly scrutinizing the human girl. Did she really want her to join her? Pidgey did not want to be enslaved to a pathetic human such as herself. She was far above whatever caliber the human girl considered herself on.
And yet, Pidgey always secretly wanted to get away from this uneventful route. She wanted action, and adventure, and a chance to get stronger. Would the human girl actually be a suitable partner? It was a risk . . . but Pidgey did love the rush of taking risks, as she did whenever she messed with a lone Spearow or Mankey.
If it came down to it, Pidgey would train the human girl to be a decent trainer. And if that didn't work, then she'd just leave.
"Pi! Pidgey!" The bird Pokémon tapped its beak against the center of the Pokéball, opening it. Pidgey was instantly engulfed in a flash of red, and then it was sucked into the red-and-white contraption.
Selene gasped, dropping the ball to the ground. Did that . . . Did that just happen? Unlike the last time, she wasn't going to start celebrating just yet. She studied the Pokéball on the ground, waiting, counting down the seconds until it was safe to touch it.
When the ball didn't move, and there was no indication of the bird Pokémon trying to escape . . . Selene couldn't stop the giant smile from gracing her features. "I did it!" she exclaimed, grabbing the Pokéball and holding it towards her chest. "I did it! I actually— I actually caught a Pokémon!"
This wasn't a dream. She had truly done it; she was slowly, but surely, getting closer and closer to a life that constantly intrigued and mesmerized her. She was finally doing something that she wanted, rather than what her father wanted for her — and she was succeeding at it.
Selene Mas was becoming a somebody.
Firstly, that little poem used in Selene's part is not mine whatsoever. It's my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson, so yeah. Just making that clear. I'm nothing but a lowly fanfiction writer lmao
Anyway . . . erk. 7k words? I actually hate myself. I LITERALLY COULD NOT HELP BUT GO OVERBOARD THIS CHAPTER, AND IT SHOWS. THIS CHAPTER LITERALLY REEKS OF TRY-HARD. sigh. whatever. I know that this chapter was a tad bit emotional, but please note that this is just intros. I'm not going to make every single chapter this emotional and sad. And secondly, I do realize that the characters' relationship with their Pokemon is not being closely focused on. Since this is intros, I'm trying to focus a bit more on the characters, but I promise that I'm not going to neglect the literal entire point of this story. The Pokemon will be focused on later, but not right now.
(watch how the next chapter i write is literally all in the pokemons' point of view lmfao im such trash okay)
But yeah, I'm extremely iffy on this chapter for a lot of different reasons . . . but whatever. I just hope that you guys enjoyed this. Constructive criticism is always nice! (I do know that I use italics far too much, and I'm gonna be working on that too)
If you DID like this chapter, please review! Actually, no - even if you didn't like this chapter, you will review me. RIGHT NOW. /gets ran over my multiple trucks
But seriously, though, I really do appreciate all of the amazing reviews that you guys have been leaving me. 55 reviews and only 4 chapters? That's just amazing, and I'm extremely grateful. Keep it up, and I'll do my absolute best to make these chapters as amazing as possible!
okay yeah i'm done. i'm not gonna tell you guys the next 3 characters that will be introduced because i'm a huge tease ehehehe (and because i lowkey dont even know myself)
Bai!