Sorry for taking so long. I don't own Pokemon.
Amy sighed blissfully as she and Snivy made their way down Route 1. Bianca and Cheren had already run on ahead, talking about having a Pokémon catching contest. Amy had no desire to force a Pokémon to come with her, so she ignored the contest as she made her way to Accumula Town.
Amy had let Snivy out so that the Pokémon could enjoy playing in the grass. She didn't mind and Snivy either played in the grass or rode on her shoulder and Amy was free to enjoy the field that surrounded her.
She didn't count on nearly being bitten of course as a small, dog-like Pokémon dove out of the grass at her.
Amy dove out of the way and Snivy appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of its trainer and hissing menacingly. The creature kept snarling and trying to bite but kept back from Snivy. Amy whipped out her Pokedex and quickly scanned the creature. "So you're a Lillypup are you?" She asked it. She looked around, trying to locate the source of its aggression.
Looking back, she could see a small incline in the ground where a larger, possibly evolved Lillypup, which she remembered was called a Herdier, was barking quietly and whining as she stood protectively over other pups.
Suddenly understanding, Amy stood up. "Lillypup," She told it, "I know we got to close to your nest. You're one of the older pups and you're just trying to keep your pack safe. But I'm no threat and your mother is worried about you. Do you think you can let us past and we can leave you alone."
The Lillypup paused, slightly comprehending and considering her words. But it looked back at the small nest and turned back to Amy, growling as it leapt.
Snivy tackled it out of the air before the small Pokémon could touch Amy. Hissing, Snivy darted from left to right, tackling the Lillypup from all sides. The small dog was no match and lay there, quivering as Snivy finished the battle with a Vine Whip.
Amy looked stunned at her Pokémon. She hadn't expected that much speed, nor had she expected Snivy to have learned Vine Whip so quickly. Snivy didn't wait for Amy however as it went and picked up the Lillypup and carried it back to its mother.
The Herdier wasted no time, giving the Lillypup a nip on the nose and berating it. It flinched away and winced as it did so, the pain from the battle now apparent. Snivy nodded once and started to leave.
Amy called it back. Snivy paused, confused as Amy approached the den. It ran up, trying to stop its trainer but Amy crouched down and held out one of her very few Potions. "This will sting going on but it will heal your pup," Amy told the mother. "Might I heal its wounds?"
The Herdier looked at her suspiciously but didn't act under Snivy's gaze. Amy reached forward and ignored the quiet growl Lillypup gave as she sprayed the Potion over it. The Pokémon whimpered at the stinging medicine but the swelling of its wounds went down almost immediately. Amy nodded, stroked its head and stood up, with Snivy hopping on her shoulder and looking back confused.
The Lillypup struggled to stand up. It looked back at the human, confused and wondering. Looking at the Herdier, it saw its mother nod and Lillypup nodded back. With a short yip, it ran after Amy as fast as its wounded body could carry it.
Amy was a little surprised when she reached Accumula Town. It was fairly small, not that much bigger than Nuvema Town. Lillypup was walking beside her, sniffing everywhere as a wave of scents washed over them both. Snivy looked around with disgust at all the buildings, as if wondering how humans could live in them.
Amy met Snivy's look with a smile. "We don't survive very well without houses in winter," She told Snivy, "And I seem to recall you enjoying the comforts of Professor Juniper's lab." Snivy shrugged and looked away.
Cheren and Bianca were arguing as they stood beside the Pokémon Centre. Amy sighed as she walked up. "What's wrong this time guys?" She asked as Lillypup bound over.
Both Bianca and Cheren stared at her. Cheren sighed. "Well, looks like she wins," He told Bianca. Bianca nodded
"Won what?" Amy asked.
"The catching contest," Bianca answered matter of fact. Tepig, standing beside her, nodded. "Cheren and I both failed to catch anymore Pokémon. You caught Lillypup so you won."
Amy looked at Snivy and Lillypup, slightly confused. "But I didn't catch any," She replied. "Lillypup decided to follow me after Snivy battled with it and I healed it. I offered to let it come along if it wanted."
"Did it end up in a Pokeball?" Cheren asked. Amy nodded. "Then you caught it. Here, Bianca and I agreed this would be the prize." He handed her a small bottle.
Amy read it and was surprised. It was a Hyper Potion. "Where did you guys find this?" Amy asked shocked. One of these bottles cost almost half of their travelling budget.
"Professor Juniper dropped it," Bianca told her. "I tried to give it back but she said to keep it. I figured that it would make a good prize. Anyways, just take it. It'll be useful later."
Amy hesitantly took the Hyper Potion. Why not? It wasn't as if the Professor wanted it that badly she would have taken it back from Bianca. Slipping it into her bag, Amy looked around the small town. Glancing at the massive crowd gathering by the Pokémon Centre, Amy asked her friends, "What's going on over there?"
Bianca and Cheren turned around and looked at the gathering crowd, surprised. "I don't know," Cheren admitted. "But there certainly is a large group gathering."
"Let's go take a look," Bianca suggested as she stumbled over with Tepig
Cheren sighed and rushed after her, which caused Oshawott to stick its head out for the first time as it blearily looked out of Cheren's hoodie. "Sorry," Cheren told it, "But we have to catch up with Bianca." Oshawott sighed but straightened and rubbed its eyes, a little annoyed at being woken from its nap.
Amy rushed after her friends, somewhat belatedly because she didn't expect them to run off and needed to round up Lillypup who wanted to sniff out the contents of a garbage bin. When she caught up, she found her friends near the edge of the crowd, staring at a group of people in grey robes and gloves all standing around one man.
The man was tall and wide, with gray and green hair that stood in an odd shape over his head. Most of his body was hidden by a massive brown cloak but his face was clear, showing one red eye and one almost mechanical one. He was the one speaking to people, the one drawing everyone's attention.
"...Perhaps Pokémon aren't happy being trapped in their Pokeballs." He was saying. "Are we being selfish to keep them captive? Is it for our joy, not theirs?"
His voice sounded sincere but Amy was confused. How could Pokémon be unhappy being caught? It wasn't as if humans chained the Pokémon to themselves. Pokémon could leave whenever they wished, regardless of the Pokeball that held them.
Amy's attention wandered from the man who was speaking to the other members of the crowd. The one that stood out was a boy, also on the edge and listening with a bored look on his face. His face was hidden by a cap, but he was tall and lanky and also bore green hair that stuck out of the back of his hat in a ponytail. His hair however, was a light grass green as opposed to the ugly vomit green of the speaker. Amy was more curious about the boy than she was the speaker, but when he saw her looking, Amy looked away and listened to the speaker once more.
"…And I, Ghestias, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, thank you all for your time and hope you will consider my words." With that, Ghestias bowed and left, his followers flocking behind him. Everyone watched the group go before breaking into their own little packs and muttering to themselves over what they heard.
One group, which had a small group of mothers and toddlers, had one little girl ask her mother, "Mommy, are we going to let our Pokémon go?"
"No way," A little boy told her before her mother could respond. "We can't let our Pokémon go. Think about how lonely we'd be." The mothers didn't respond to their children talking, they simply talked amongst themselves.
Cheren shook his head, disgusted. "How could people listen to him," He snorted. "Believing that we are imprisoning Pokémon, as if they don't have a choice. Pokémon are our partners and capturing them gives us a way of understanding and living in harmony with them."
"Was that what that man was talking about? Releasing our Pokémon?" Amy asked.
"Yes of course. Weren't you listening?" Cheren asked. Amy ruefully shook her head, having been staring at the boy with green hair for too long.
"In a way, they are right about catching though Cheren. We don't give Pokémon a choice in who they get as a trainer and there are some bad trainers out there." Amy told him. "And I don't enjoy forcing a Pokémon to come with me."
"You didn't force Snivy or Lillypup," Cheren pointed out. "And by your argument, no one should have children because there are some bad parents. Trainers are not necessarily good people or bad people. People are people and we have laws to protect the treatment of Pokémon the same way we have laws to protect children."
Amy did agree with this. Lillypup, hearing the conversation, gently pressed its nose against her leg. Smiling, she reached down and gently pet the Pokémon. "Yeah, I can understand that. And look at our Pokémon. I can't imagine not having Snivy or Lillypup with me and I just met them. Yet that Team Plasma seems to think that Pokémon would be happier without humans."
"People will think of weird things." Cheren said. "I just hope they don't convince too many people to release their Pokémon. Feral Pokémon that were trained by trainers can be dangerous. They don't fear humans and are happy to come into towns to look for food. People who don't know any better or aren't prepared could be hurt by them and the Pokémon's likely to be hurt too."
Amy didn't have a chance to reply before she heard someone suddenly walk up behind her. She and Cheren both froze as a raspy voice spoke to them.
"Their voices. Let me hear them!"