Chapter 18 - Goodbye Tauros

My Pokemon and I proceeded, as planned, through the grassy routes between Ecruteak and Olivine Cities. I continued to ride on Tauros' back with Flamefox. Firestorm, Vaporeon, and Jolteon seemed to have their own little posse. Scyther, as always, flew above us. We had seen lots of wild Pokemon along the way, even some wild Vulpixes! I didn't try to catch any more Vulpixes, but it was fun to see Flamefox and Firestorm play with them. Anyway, as we continued ahead, part of me was dreading where we were going. This was Tauros territory, and I couldn't help remembering the promise I made to Tauros after we left Cherrygrove City - "Someday, I'll return you to your herd." That herd would be up ahead somewhere. Tauros had been a valuable asset to my team, not to mention a great friend, bodyguard, and an excellent mode of transportation. I would really miss him when the time came. But for now, I just wanted to enjoy the ride.

In the middle of the long route, we came across a farm. I could see a bunch of Tauros and Miltank in fenced-in corrals. The farmer was outside and saw us. He ran over to me and said, "This is quite an impressive Tauros you have here. He looks very well trained." I replied, "Thank you" and dismounted from Tauros. Then the farmer said, "I wonder if I could trouble you to help me. My best Miltank is sick in the barn. I need some berries to heal her, but my help is off today, and I don't want to leave the farm unattended. Do you think you could look for some berries for her?" I answered him, "Sure! We'll be glad to help." So my Pokemon and I set out, even further ahead. We found an area full of bushes and shrubs, and soon found an entire row of berry bushes. I got off Tauros again, and started picking, filling up a small basket the farmer had given me. Just as I was almost done, I felt the ground rumbling. I looked up to see a stampede of wild Tauros heading our way, tails whipping in the air! "Uh oh! Everyone run!" I shouted. We all started to run except for my Tauros, who stayed put and "mooed" at the approaching stampede. They slowed down. My Pokemon and I stopped to see what was happening. The herd approached Tauros and they acted like old friends. My Pokemon and I walked back over to Tauros and I could see we were in no danger. This must have been the herd Tauros came from! Several of them approached me and sniffed me, then walked on. Tauros seemed to be telling them that I was all right. He seemed so at home with them. I continued to pick berries while he grazed with them. When the basket was full, I went over to him and said, "We have to get these berries back to Miltank, Tauros. But do you want to stay here for a while?" He looked at me, then at his herd, and seemed genuinely torn. I said, "It's okay, Tauros. You can stay here. We'll bring the berries to the farmer and then come back, okay?" He nodded, then continued to graze with his herd.

I felt kind of funny walking back to the farm. My other 5 Pokemon walked with me, but it just didn't feel the same without Tauros. We reached the farm in about an hour. The farmer saw me carrying the basket full of berries and said, "Thank you so much! Bring the berries into the barn." I followed him inside the barn, with Flamefox and Firestorm. The Miltank was lying on her back. I walked up to her and held a berry in front of her face. She looked at it, then ate it. I gave them to her one by one, and soon, their healing qualities took effect, and she was back on her feet. Then she gave me a big hug, squeezing me hard. "Easy, Miltank!" I said, as the big pink cow was crushing me! The farmer laughed, and said, "She's very good natured. She's just showing you how grateful she is to you for making her feel better."

Afterwards, we all returned outside, including the farmer and his Miltank. The farmer said, "I noticed you didn't return with your Tauros." I replied, "Yeah, he found a wild herd and is hanging around with them." He said, "I kind of figured that. It's a tough thing, returning a Pokemon home after you've trained it for so long." I asked, "Do you really think he'll decide to stay with them?" He replied, "Most likely. Tauros are herd animals and he belongs with his herd." I could feel my heart sink to my stomach. Flamefox and Firestorm could see how upset I was when they looked into my eyes, and they rubbed against me. I then said, "Well, we better go back to that herd. We had fun helping you, though." The farmer said, "Well, Miltank and I appreciate your taking time to help us. If you're ever in the neighborhood and you need some healing milk for your Pokemon, feel free to stop in! Good luck with your Tauros dilema." I replied, "Thanks", then said to Miltank, "I'm glad you're feeling better." She walked up to me and gave me another crushing hug. "Thanks Miltank" I managed to say.

My Pokemon and I walked for another hour, and returned to the berry bushes, where Tauros and his herd were still grazing. We sat in the grass and watched them. I couldn't believe this might really be goodbye. I remembered how we first met Tauros in battle, and we stopped him from rampaging Cherrygrove City. He was so docile after that, at least, with us. But if we were ever threatened, he turned back into his menacing self to protect us. I had grown so attached to the big guy. Anyway, as it got dark, I set up camp for the night. I tried to eat, but I was too upset. I tried to hide my feelings from my Pokemon, but they saw right through me. Flamefox and Firestorm cuddled up to me by the fire, as did Vaporeon and Jolteon. Even Scyther was comforting, in his own way. Eventually, we all drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the herd was still there, some grazing, some sleeping, and some drinking from a pond, where Vaporeon was swimming around. I started to pack up. Tauros saw me packing and he ran over to me. "Hello my friend" I said to him, and scratched under his horns - he always liked that. "You want to stay here, don't you?" I asked him. He looked back at his herd. "It's okay, I understand. I want you to know you've been a great friend and an excellent battler. I always enjoyed riding on your back, too. You sure saved me a lot of travel time that way." This was the point where I started to break down. As tears rolled down my face, I continued, "I remember when you saved us from that Onix. I was really worried about you after it beat you up, but I was so glad when you recovered. You've always been there for me, ready to protect me. I'll really miss you, buddy!" At that, I wrapped my arms around his brown, furry mane and hugged him for a long time, my tears getting his fur all wet. After I let go of him, I said, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to mess up your fur" and I wiped away the tears from my face. He licked my face, and I petted his mane one last time, then said, "Go back to your herd, Tauros. I'll miss you a lot, but you should be with your own kind." At that, I turned away and said, "Come on, everyone. Let's get going!" My Pokemon walked with me, except Scyther, who flew, and we headed south, towards Olivine City. I looked back every once in a while to see Tauros just standing there, watching us leave. Eventually, he walked back over to his herd and began to graze with them. I was happy for him that he was back with them, but my heart was broken. I was going to miss him terribly.

Without Tauros, the walk seemed to take forever. Flamefox and Firestorm walked to either side of me for moral support. I had to stop once in a while to just sit down and cry, hugging my Vulpix and Ninetales. This was very difficult for me. I knew it would be hard on me when Tauros left, but I had no idea I would take it this hard. Eventually, I got back up and pressed on, remembering that I did it for Tauros, and he was home now. Around sunset, I set up camp for the night again. I did not sleep well, but the presence of my Pokemon was comforting.

The next day, we reached a dry, rocky area. We had to climb down a rocky embankment. I carefully climbed down, holding onto protruding rocks along the way. When we reached the bottom of the embankment, some of the rocks that I had grabbed started to give, causing an avalanche. We ran out of the way as the rocks came rolling down the slope. The avalanche just missed us, but when I looked back, one of the giant boulders stood up. It was a Graveller, and it didn't look too happy! "Sorry about that" I said to it. It didn't accept my apology, and picked up another big boulder, which it hurled at us, doing rock throw. We all jumped out of the way, and the boulder smashed on the ground. "Vaporeon, use water gun!" I commanded. She shot a stream of water from her mouth at the Graveller, which it took at full force, and she knocked it out. "Good job, Vaporeon!" I said to her. Just as I reached for an empty pokeball, another big boulder rolled down, then another and another, until there were 10 of them. They stood up to reveal themselves to be 5 Gravellers and 5 Golem. "Uh oh" I said. All of my Pokemon were weak to rock types except for Vaporeon. "Use water gun on all of them, Vaporeon!" I shouted. She tried hard, and managed to knock out 2 of the Gravellers and a Golem, but one of the Golem used rollout, and rolled quickly at Vaporeon. Before she could hit it with water gun, she was struck, hurtled into the air, and crashed to the ground. I recalled her to her pokeball and shouted, "Run!" The reamaining Golem rolled at us as we ran away from them, while the Gravellers continued to hurtle boulders at us, which we dodged. We ran into a more open, grassy area, and they were right behind us. This looked bad. Suddenly, I heard "mooing" coming at us from straight ahead. It was Tauros, leading his herd into battle! The Golem stopped rolling and stood up. As Tauros ran past me, I leapt onto his back. "Okay, Tauros! Use earthquake!" I shouted. He reared up on his hind legs, and crashed his front hooves to the ground, opening a chasm under the rock Pokemon, which they fell into. When they climbed out, I yelled, "Everyone, tackle!" The entire herd of Tauros followed our lead as we ran at the rock Pokemon, and they ganged up on them. The rock types all rolled up and quickly rolled away in the opposite direction. Rock types may be strong against normal types, but when its 7 versus 30, it would seem they'd rather roll away!

After the Gravellers and Golem were driven off, I got off Tauros and said, "Thank you, Tauros! You saved all of us once again!" and I hugged him. Then he looked back at his herd and "mooed" at them. They looked at each other, and they started to "moo" back to him. Then he looked at me, motioning for me to get on his back. "Don't you want to stay with your herd, Tauros?" I asked him. He looked into my eyes, and I could see that the answer was no. "You'd rather battle on my team?" He nodded, and "mooed" loudly. "You just made my day, Tauros!" I said, and gave him another big hug, this time crying tears of joy. I guess after battling on my team for so long, he decided he'd rather battle and get stronger than stand around and graze all day. He was part of OUR "herd"! I let go of his mane, wiping my tears away again, and he once again licked my face. "Thanks, Tauros" I said to him. Then I mounted up on his back and Flamefox hopped up with me. "Top speed, Tauros! To Olivine City!" I exclaimed. He reared up, then took off, running ahead, as I held onto his brown mane. His herd seemed to be cheering us on as we ran ahead. Soon, they were too far away to be seen. Tauros was a true friend, choosing to stay with us over his own herd. I looked forward to our many battles ahead.