POKESPEECH/THOUGHTS:

"Normal speech"

'Pokemon Telepathy/Pokemon Thoughts'

'Normal thoughts'

'Subconscious'

"Pokespeech"

DISCLAIMER: MY COPY OF POKEMON BLUE SAYS I DON'T OWN POKEMON.

"Michael..."

'She's calling me...'

"Michael..."

'Why does her voice still call out to me?'

"Michael?"

'What do you want?'

"Michael!"

'Why do you torture me, even after so long?'

"..."

I found myself chained to a lamppost with countless angry voices screaming for my head.

'Why wont this end?'

"Pokephile!"

'No...S-Stop...'

"You are just the worst kind of person!"

'You don't know my life!'

"Sick pervert."

'You never lived in solitude!'

"A guy like him should be in a cage!"

'You never had people stare at you like you were an abomination!'

"..."

'WHY CANT YOU PEOPLE LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY?!'

"..."

'Arceus...why? Why haven't you put me out of my misery already?'

A frigid wind blew across my feet, engulfing darkness the only thing around me.

'It's so cold...'

"Michael! They're coming! We have to run!"

"There they are! Stop them!"

"Michael! Please dont let them catch up to us!"

'These cruel, unforgiving people casting judgement on one of their own...'

"Michael! Help me! I don't want to die!"

'Go away...!'

"Michael! Michael!"

'Leave us alone!'

"N-no...st-stop! M-Michael! H-Help me!"

'WE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO YOU PEOPLE SO WHY?!'

"MICHAEL!~"

'WHY WONT YOU GO THE FUCK AWAY ALREADY?!'

"..."

'No...more...please, Arceus...'

"..."

The cold steel of a gun barrel pointed at my beloved, amber eyes staring lifelessly at me. her lips frozen in suspension as her body fell to the ground...

"You...promised..."

'Not again...!'

"You...lied...to..me...Michael..."

'A-Arceus...m-make it stop...just put me down already! I have no reason to live! Not...without...her...'

"POKEPHILE!"

'Michael!'

"POKEPHILE!"

'WAKE UP!'

'Just...'

'MICHAEL! MICHAEL!'

'Kill me already...'

'MICHAEL WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!'

Blessed silence greeted my mind for only a few heartbeats, the intensity of which I could feel struggling to keep my body up to par with the incredible amount of stress I had just been through...again.

My name is Michael Kramer, I'm twenty-eight years old and have a beautiful wife and two kids. Ever since our first child came into this world over eight years ago I have been plagued by recurring nightmares. The sensations that come with these have been hitting closer to home each and every night.

That's right, I have had non-stop nightmares for the last eight years. I am beginning to think I pissed off either Arceus or Darkrai but, either way, the strain these restless nights have taken on my body is beginning to show. I have noticeable bags under my eyes and my bones feel incredibly weak when I awaken from a nightmare.

Truth be told, I would rather stay awake than to have even one more of these brutal nights. Alas, the body needs rest...even if it is at the expense of my sanity.

"Michael...are you...alright?"

I gently rubbed my eyes of the residue they had gathered, my heart beginning to cease its constant hammering against my chest. It was always a pain having to steady my breathing so I wouldn't have a stroke or a seizure. Thankfully I had the most important person in my life sitting up right next to me.

"Yeah...just another nightmare..."

I was staring into two spheres of the most heavenly shade of amber and honey. A bob of cyan blue hair reflected the first rays of the morning sun, giving her the appearance of an angel.

"I'm right here, Michael...everything will be ok." She said with voice so gentle that it sounded like the echo of a small bell. Pale arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me in closer until my nose was buried into her right shoulder. The clean, fresh scent of her skin reminded me of a spring breeze just after a thunderstorm.

I couldn't help but let a few tears fall from my eyes the moment she broke our embrace, finding myself thanking all things sacred for the blessing in front of me.

"Lately these dreams have been getting more violent...and they almost solely deal with you..." I had to fight back a fresh batch of tears as fading memories of the gun that killed Jessica in my dream took their time in going away completely. "...the one where we are being hunted down. I thought I had gotten past this." I tilted my head back up to gaze once again into those loving amber orbs, admiring how the waking sunrise leaked through the window to create a sea of dancing light within those precious globes of yellow color. Whenever I looked into those eyes I could feel all my troubles fall at the wayside, the latter of which became nothing more than a mere speck of sand before a mighty ocean.

"It wasn't real though, Michael. I promised you I would never leave your side, just as you promised me...my beloved..."

"I will never break that promise either, Jessi."

Even after twenty years it is still sinking in. After all the heartache and stress i had to endure in my adolescence, I still found it difficult to accept that this perfect being holding me tightly against her body was mine. She was surely a being sent by Arceus himself, no doubt to change my life and to rid me of the pain buried deep within my heart. It was the very pain caused by this world because of who i am.

What had I done to deserve her? Surely there were so many better candidates to choose from. Surely there are others that have experience dealing with adversity of a higher plane than what I had to deal with.

"There is no one I would rather have as my mate, Michael. Stop selling yourself short..."

She was staring into my eyes with the same intensity that a lover would exude. All the compassion and tenderness one could find inside a living being was directed solely at me. Nobody else would do for her. It was such a great feeling, the tension being ripped from my heart, replaced with pure joy and blissful euphoria. My mind tingled pleasurably and, at some point, my right hand made its way down her body until it enveloped her chest spike.

Yes, I was in love with a Pokemon.

While love, in its purest form, is something to be cherished, there are those who stray from what is considered "normal" in society. Such love is considered dangerous and taboo by the masses, a kind of love not meant to be performed and deemed immoral in the eyes of society. Ironically, there was a time when love between humans and Pokemon was considered pragmatic.

Royalty and leaders were regularly seen bonding with their pokemon in ways that true lovers would do. As time marched on, however, the ways of old began to fade and crumble on the endless sea of time, never to be part of the cycle again. It all started with a single case...a single report that a human had contracted a rare virus that only inhabited pokemon. A storm of debate was created and, within a few weeks of the infamous "Pokerus Report" local government had all but banned human-pokemon relationships.

Despite the controversy surrounding interspecies relationships, no one really changed their ways. It wasn't until about fifty-five years ago, when the first public execution of a "pokephile" was broadcast, that the world began to accept that such love was taboo.

Word spread like wildfire after that and many trainers who were in a relationship with their Pokemon either fled their homes or released their Pokemon, the latter being done to "clean" the taint left behind.

Was it fair to banish interspecies relationships? Was it truly hurting the world as a whole? Was there a disease being passed down from such love? What if it was merely a platonic relationship? What constitutes "love" between a Pokemon and its trainer? How do you determine what is "allowed" as far as caring for your Pokemon is concerned? What if the Pokemon or trainer is in danger and that line is crossed trying to save one or the other?

These and so many other questions were left unanswered, the majority instead electing to weed out this form of bonding as if it were the most unholy of things ever created. There were arguments for both sides and many argued that there were never any links to negative consequences due to humans bonding with pokemon. In the end, those in power used their influence to intimidate all who tried fighting the system and, as a result, easily won over the perceived "minority."

As time marched on, human and Pokemon engaging in relationships became one of the worst crimes you could commit. Those who had murdered innocents received a lesser sentence than those who engaged in Pokephilia.

Through the controversy surrounding pokephilia there was one question that had yet to be asked. It was inevitable, then, when that very question was asked by none other than a trainer starting her journey.

"What do the Pokemon think about this?"

It was a very important question. The sole purpose behind the change was supposedly to protect Pokemon and prevent something bad from being transmitted to humans. Not a single one of the supporters of the law confessed to owning a pokemon of their own. If it was such a horrible thing for the Pokemon, and caused so many problems for them, then why has there been no accounts of Pokemon even contributing to arguement?

For years this question was looked past in favor of stricter rules regarding the treatment of Pokemon, all in a vain attempt to steer the conversation away from the ones who started the whole mess. Guidelines, from proper methods of raising Pokemon to balancing their nutrition and keeping them in shape; All of these rules only served to try and cloak the most important part of raising pokemon.

That was the bond one made just from being around their trainer.

The bond between trainer and Pokemon is one built solely on trust and comradery, seeing each other through the toughest of times as well as rejoicing in the moments that etch themselves into ones mind forever.

To some, Pokemon are friends, to others they are partners in battle. We play with them, live with them, experience life together with them and engrain our very soul with their own. We share the same air and eat the same food. We comfort each other when we are down and take joy in each others good times. We make memories on and off the battlefields and make new friends along the way. In that aspect, Pokemon are more human than they are given credit for.

Yet the act of loving a Pokemon is deemed taboo and harmful to the well being of a Pokemon. While this may hold merit in some aspects, it was never revealed what the Pokemon thinks of such a rule. Why must there be a right and wrong way to bond with their trainer? Conversely, why is there a right and wrong way to bond with Pokemon? It has been done for centuries and nothing has changed, until now.

With the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer limited, the true strength of that bond is lessened. The trust is harder to obtain and emotions are kept locked up inside trainer and Pokemon alike. Eventually these emotions reach the breaking point and negative feelings manifest between them. These feelings evolve into distrust and hatred and, in a few unfortunate cases, ended with either the trainer or Pokemon ending the others life or breaking their bond utterly.

This twisted irony only raised more red flags and, for a brief period of time, the idea of interspecies relationships with trainers and their Pokemon could have made a comeback. In the end, though, the intimidation factor of power-hungry lobbiests opposed to such a union far outweighed any sort of benefit that could have been created.

Yet, had it not been for her, I wouldn't be alive today. Had it not been for her I might have never discovered the good in this world. If it had not been for her I would have been alone with not a friend to my name. If it had not been for her I might not ever have found love, or the benefits that come with it.'

Which makes me ask a question of my own: "how can something be wrong if it has done nothing but good for both trainer and Pokemon?"