Chapter 2:
The Gift Realized
A/N: Hey all. So, I've gotten my first batch of reviews for this story asking for more. Well, I'll tell you right now, you're going to get it. Because this story is already finished! HA! How's that for a bombshell? So, from here on, updates will come regularly.
The Pidgeotto charged with a tackle. "Bulbasaur, dodge it!"
Bulbasaur ducked to the ground and the bird's claws passed inches overhead.
Sarah turned back to the two boys. "Luke, get the kid out of here."
Luke nodded and picked up the young lad. He skirted around the tiny clearing and tore down the pathway.
Sarah turned back to the battle. Pidgeotto had turned and was coming in for another tackle. "Vine Whip!"
"Right." Bulbasaur grew his vines and threw them forward. With a flick, they smacked into Pidgeotto's head and sent it face-first into the ground.
"Now throw it."
Bulbasaur wrapped his vines around Pidgeotto's body and threw it against a tree with a grunt. The bird slumped, momentarily stunned.
"Alright. Now's my chance," she said as she pulled out a pokeball. Just then, she noticed something lean and fall out of the branches.
Pidgeotto saw it and squawked loudly. "NO! MY NEST!" It tried to get up, but it was too weak to do anything.
"Bulbasaur, catch that nest!"
Bulbasaur turned slightly and let out his vines. They gently wrapped around the twigs and slowed its descent until it gently landed on the ground.
Pidgeotto finally managed to stand, but it was leaning heavily against the tree. "Don't you dare hurt my eggs."
"Eggs?" Sarah looked into the nest. Sure enough, there were three brown eggs. "Oh, no. I don't want to hurt your eggs. We only came here to rescue that boy."
Pidgeotto and Bulbasaur' eyes popped. "You understood her?!" "You understood me?!"
Sarah laughed. "Uh, yeah. It's kind of a new thing."
Pidgeotto eyed her suspiciously. "Fine. But leave now."
"Of course." Sarah stepped around the nest and jogged away with Bulbasaur close at her heels.
"What's this about you speaking with Pokemon?" the little green creature asked.
"It's an experiment Prof. Oak asked me to do. Pretty cool, huh?"
Bulbasaur smiled. "I'll say."
The two finally made it back to the trail where Luke and the boy were waiting. "What happened?" Luke asked.
"We scared the Pidgeotto off. Let's get this young boy back to his family."
"My name's Brandon," the boy said as they started to walk.
Brandon and Luke fell behind a bit because of Brandon's limp. Bulbasaur, still walking, looked up at Sarah. "Why didn't you tell him the truth?"
Sarah looked down. "I don't think I should tell him just yet. He may think I'm weird or something," she said quietly.
"What was that?" Luke called.
"Oh, nothing," Sarah said back with a smile.
"You know you'll have to tell him eventually."
Sarah looked at her feet. "Yeah, but not yet." She pulled out her pokeball and Bulbasaur vanished into it with a red flash.
It was getting dark when they reached the yellow house. Brandon's family ran out, hugging and kissing. In the midst of it all, the old man turned to the two. "Thank you so much. We are in your debt."
"No problem."
Another man, younger, stood taller and looked at them. "Would you like to stay here for the night? It's the least we could do for two travelers who rescued our son."
"Well, we won't get far in this darkness," Luke said looking at his surroundings. "Sure."
Everyone was herded inside, where the mother cooked up a nice hot dinner.
While she ate, she couldn't help but overhear the Pokemon's conversation. They were in the next room, eating from bowls. Bulbasaur was going on about their battle with the Pidgeotto. When it came to Sarah's little "conversation," she turned back to her own meal. Every other Pokemon looked at her and laughed, saying things like "Yeah right." "That can't be true." "A human that can understand Pokespeach? Good one."
A few hours later, Sarah walked into her room, which was only a one-person guest room. She softly closed and locked the door and let Bulbasaur out of his ball. "Why did you go and tell the other Pokemon about me?" she asked harshly.
"Oh, come on," he replied. "Something like this should be shared, not bottled up."
"The only one we will share this with is Prof. Oak, and that's final. Understood?"
Bulbasaur's face saddened. "Sure."
Sarah suddenly felt guilty. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just I don't want people to find out and think I'm a freak or something." She sat down on the bed.
Bulbasaur jumped up next to her. "No one will think you're a freak. If anything, you'll be well liked because of your gift."
She looked over at him. "You think so?" Bulbasaur nodded, making her smile. "Thanks." She gave her companion a tight hug. "Time for bed," she said as she pulled out his pokeball and called him back. Moments later she was sleeping soundly.
Midnight. The clouds move, letting moonlight shine into the room. In the glow, one would barely be able to make out a soft green hue making its way down Sarah's arm.
The next morning, the two said goodbye to the family and began their walk through the city. As they did, they passed the Pokemon Center. "I've gotta make a quick phone call," Sarah said. "Could you wait here for me?" Luke nodded and Sarah went inside. Nurse Joy was behind the counter, checking something on a notepad. "Is there anywhere I can make a private call?"
The nurse pointed to a hallway. "First door on the left."
Sarah thanked her and went to the room. It was very small and only had a single phone and a chair. She sat down and dialed up Prof. Oak. He quickly answered and his face appeared on the screen. "Why, hello, Sarah. How are things?"
"Great. And I have good news. The pill worked."
The professor's face lit up. "That's fantastic! Any side effects?"
"None so far."
"Excellent. But I'd like to wait a few more days, just to make sure nothing else happens. Call me back at the end of the week."
"Sure. And could you tell Mom I'm doing fine?"
"Absolutely. I have to be going. Good luck."
"Thanks, Professor." Sarah hung up the phone and the image faded. She quickly walked back outside and she and Luke continued on to the woods. Sarah realized she hadn't seen any of Luke's Pokemon yet. "So, Luke, what Pokemon do you have?"
"I started out with a Pikachu and caught a Pidgey and a Spearow."
"That's pretty cool." They continued on for a bit in an awkward silence. "I should probably catch another Pokemon for myself before we reach the next gym."
"Well, this is a good place to do it. There's supposed to be a lot of bugs that are easy to catch."
"Bugs? Gross."
No sooner had she said it then a Weedle dropped in front of her face. She froze and almost let out a scream. The bug simply looked at her face in a curious kind of way. "What's that you said about bugs?" it asked her.
She quickly jumped back and threw out her pokeball. "Bulbasaur, get rid of that bug!"
Bulbasaur jumped out with a flash. "Sorry about this little guy." He threw out his vines and smashed the Weedle against a tree. It slumped against the tree, stunned.
"Aren't you going to capture it?" Luke asked. "Weedle are pretty strong once they completely evolve."
"Oh, I hate bugs." Sarah pulled out a spare pokeball. "But I do need more Pokemon." She held back the orb and threw it low. It struck Weedle in the head and sucked it inside. Then it fell and began to shake as Weedle struggled to break free, but it was too weak. The ball slowed to a stop and sealed, completely capturing the bug inside. Sarah went over and picked up the pokeball. "Welcome to the team, Weedle."
Later that day, before it turned dark, they decided to have a training session. Sarah first called out her Bulbasaur. Luke called out his Pikachu. "Let's rumble!" it called out.
"It's female." She was able to tell by the voice, though what it was she wasn't able to tell. "We're gonna cream you."
"Ladies first," Luke said from the other side of the field.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf."
Bulbasaur jumped into the air and swung his flower forward, releasing a swarm of leaves.
"Pikachu, dodge with Quick Attack."
The mouse vanished in a swift flash, dodging the rain of leaves. Then it appeared to Bulbasaur's side, charging in fast.
"Bulbasaur, jump and use Vine Whip."
It obeyed and jumped out of Pikachu's path. At the same time it flung its vines down into Pikachu's passing head, slamming it into the ground. The mouse tumbled several yards and landed on its head before falling to its stomach. It let out a groan. "Man that hurt."
"Great job, Bulbasaur. You can take a rest."
It turned her way and started to walk over. "What? But I was just getting warmed up."
"It's time to let Weedle have a chance." She threw out Weedle's ball. It landed lightly.
"Come on out Pikachu," Luke called. It jogged over to his side. "I choose Pidgey." He threw his own ball and the flying bird appeared in mid-air. "I hope you know that birds are extremely effective against bugs."
Sarah almost swore under her breath. "This isn't going to be easy." She instantly began to think out a plan.
"Pidgey, use Peck."
"Weedle, dodge."
The bird swooped in close and thrust its head forward several times. The tiny bug rolled from side to side, dodging each swipe.
"Good job, Weedle. Now use Sting."
After stopping from its roll, Weedle threw itself forward and its horn grew purple. With a crash the needle struck under Pidgey's beak and the bird fell back.
"Now String Shot on its feet."
Weedle spit out a string of webs, which wrapped around Pidgey's feet and stuck it to the ground. The bird struggled to get free, but couldn't.
"I think that's enough," Luke said as he walked onto the field. He went over to Pidgey and helped it pull away from the webbing.
Sarah walked over to Weedle. "Great job, Weedle." She was about to reach down and pet it, when suddenly the yellow bug glowed yellow. She shrieked and jumped away. "What's going on?"
Luke looked in awe. "It's evolving."
"Really?" They watched for a few seconds as the body molded into a new shape. It slowly faded and instead of a Weedle stood a Kakuna. "Awesome! My first evolution!"
"Not really. Kakuna aren't really worth anything until they evolve."
Sarah glared at him. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Nope. But don't worry, they evolve really fast."
She looked back at the bright yellow pod. "Let's hope so."
Everyone gathered around the fire for the meal. All of the Pokemon were gathered in a huddle, and Sarah couldn't help but pet each one as she laid their dishes down. She and Luke enjoyed a nice warm stew and crawled into bed.
Sarah was sleeping softly when she was suddenly awoken by a sharp pain running threw her body. She gasped as her entire body screamed out. Her whole body cringed. Then it was over, as suddenly as it had started.
She gently rolled out of her sleeping bag and sat on the cool grass. The moon was full overhead. "That was weird." she thought as she reached up and scratched behind her ear with her foot.
"Wait." She froze. How could she be scratching her head with her foot? She slowly turned around and froze. She wasn't scratching with a foot; it was a paw!
She looked at her back and was shocked again. There was a massive flower on her back.
With a scream she ran off into the woods. She was so terrified she didn't notice that she was running on all fours. She burst into a clearing and almost went into a stream. Her face hung over the edge of the water, letting her see her reflection in the moonlight. Complete terror took over her as she saw her face.
She was a Bulbasaur!