Chapter Two
Bonds of Trainer and Pokémon
The next morning, as the sunlight began to light up the window, Absol finally woke up after his recovery. He looked around, quite confused by where he was. Then he turned and saw Astrid, the girl who had worked so hard to try and help him, still there.
Absol, fascinated by Astrid's purpose in staying there, stood up and went over to her. He saw she was still asleep, and lay down right next to her, letting her dangling hand lay over his head.
When Nurse Joy began turning on all the Pokémon Center's systems for the day, she stopped by the room Absol and Astrid were in and was amazed at what she saw: Absol, a wild Pokémon, laying next to Astrid as if he was hers.
She didn't even bother turning the light on, and continued on down the hallway.
After a few more minutes, the sunlight finally hit Astrid's face, waking her. She was confused where she was for a minute too, and then she remembered. She felt the fur under her hand and looked down to see Absol laying right beside her. She smiled.
"Now I see…" said Astrid, "It was fate that brought the two of us together."
She lovingly rubbed Absol's head, which also roused him. The two sat and just looked at each other for a few minutes, and then both headed towards the lobby side by side.
"It looks like Absol has made a full recovery," said Joy, "But more than that…"
Joy reached under the counter and pulled out an empty Pokéball, and sat it on the counter.
"I have a feeling you two have formed quite a strong bond," said Joy, "It's rare to see this kind of bond so soon after meeting."
"Do you really think so?" asked Astrid, as she and Absol looked at each other.
"Yep, I do," said Joy, "If Absol wants to be your Partner, I can register that you did receive a Starter Pokémon too."
Astrid stared at the Pokéball for a minute, then picked it up and held it out towards Absol.
"How about it?" asked Astrid, "Do you want to come with me and be my partner? My friend?"
Absol stared at Astrid for a moment, quite intrigued by this girl. Many trainers he had seen were different, he had no interest in them. But she was something else, he felt a bond with her that he'd never felt before. He looked again at her cheery expression, and made his decision.
He reached up his paw, hit the Pokéball, and went inside willingly. The ball clicked, and it was done.
"Yes!" screamed Astrid in joy, "I finally have a Pokémon of my own!"
"That's great for you," said Joy, "Now, I will register you as an official trainer, and give you these."
Joy reached under the counter and pulled out five empty Pokéballs and a Pokédex.
"Wow, thank you Nurse Joy," said Astrid, "You have no idea how long I've dreamed of this day!"
"You're very welcome," said Joy, "Also, I want to tell you some of the features of that Pokédex. Not only does it contain data on all known species of Pokémon, it functions as a Translator, you official Trainers License, and even a type of GPS!"
"Wow, it's just amazing!" said Astrid, "And before I go any further, Absol come on out!"
Astrid threw Absol's ball high into the air, and it popped open releasing Absol from it, before falling back into her hand.
"Absol, you and I are going to be the best," said Astrid, "Both as a team and in our Friendship!"
Absol looked at Astrid and barked a reply happily, and in that moment both were almost of one mind. Then Astrid remembered something…
"Oh no, I just realized how long I've been here!" said Astrid, "My Mom's gotta be worried sick!"
Astrid made a break for the door, with Absol right on her heels. She stopped and turned to say one last thing to Nurse Joy.
"Again, thank you for everything," said Astrid, "I'll stop by again one of these days."
"Good luck," said Joy, "And safe travels wherever you go!"
With that, Astrid and Absol started their trip home, at quite the quick pace. It was near noon when they finally arrived home, and while Astrid entered calmly, Absol entered quite nervously.
"Don't be worried," said Astrid, "This is my home, and so it's your home."
Astrid looked around for her mother, but saw no sign of her. She took a look out back and saw here feeding her Altaria.
"Hey Mom," said Astrid nervously, "Sorry for coming home so late, I can tell you why later."
Her mom turned and faced her, with an angry scowl on her face. That suddenly changed to a nice smile, which surprised Astrid.
"I figured something had held you up," said her Mom, "When I called the Pokémon Center and they said you weren't there yesterday."
She saw the Absol behind Astrid, nervously watching from a distance.
"I'm guessing you got your 'Starter', didn't you?" asked her Mom.
"Well, that's part of the story," said Astrid, "I'll tell you about it inside."
Suddenly there was a large growl, which was coming from Astrid's stomach.
"You haven't had anything to eat since yesterday have you?" asked her Mom, "Come on, I'll fix you up some lunch, you must be starved."
Absol had finally started feeling comfortable in the house, and it too seemed hungry.
"Don't worry, I have plenty of Pokémon Food for you too, Absol," said her Mom.
She and Astrid headed back inside to help prepare the food, while Astrid finally told her Mom the story.
PostScript: As I Stated in Mystery Dungeon - Legendaries Unite, I've Been Quite Busy These Past Weeks With Other Things, so I Haven't Uploaded. Starting This Week, I'm Going back on a Schedule: One Mystery Dungeon a Week, One Astrid and Absol Every Two Weeks. Hope You All Enjoy This New Chapter!
-S. Keldeo