Turtwig and Staraptor

The road winding around Mount Coronet was rocky and dusty. The old pick-up truck kicked up a tall plume of dirt behind it. Trying to see more of where he was, a small brown Turtwig climbed onto the bench.

His captor, a blue-haired man in a silver and blue jumpsuit, picked him up and set him back onto the floor of the truck bed. "Stay down there, squirt."

He stretched his head out of his shell. "Where are we going?"

However, the grunt didn't care enough to know what the Pokemon was saying. He kicked the Turtwig back. "Keep it quiet. You're going to assist on a very important mission."

"Like what?"

"You'll be a big help," he added, then yawned and stretched his arms up. "Unlike before. You ought to be grateful that we're giving you this opportunity to become important."

Turtwig waved his forepaw in the air. "Important how?"

"Your last owner was a twit, leaving his PC account unsecured, then just stuffing you in a box and leaving you there to rot. You'll be of better use with us."

He couldn't be sure of that. He didn't know what had gone on since he last saw the boy who had chose him. Certainly, there was a time gap of several days that he hadn't realized were gone by. Had he been abandoned? More importantly, how was he better off with these losers?

The driver snorted. "Like it's going to live through the process. Don't get too attached to it."

"Of course I know better than that." He rubbed his eyes and slumped down against the cab. "They'd better be grateful for all the hard work we did getting a hold of this one. **** **** lazy admins, expecting us to work all night, then drive all day."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Sheesh." He grumbled under his breath a bit longer, then closed his eyes.

Turtwig waited a moment, then crept up and nosed the grunt's shoe. He was asleep. The young Pokemon decided that if he was going to make his escape, he'd better go now. Looking around the truck bed, he tried to gather a plan.

Between his short legs and bulky shell, it would be hard to climb up on anything. But if he made the effort, he could get up on the edge of the truck bed. Turtwig started with the angled part of the wheel cover. After pulling himself onto that, he could stretch up and hook his front legs onto the edge. From there, he lifted himself to look over the edge.

Due to the slope and the winding nature of the road, the truck was going fairly slow. He was facing up the mountain, so he might be able to make it. His back legs flailed for a moment until he got one propped against a hook. Then he pulled and pushed himself up and over the edge of the truck.

Ducking into his shell quickly, he let it absorb the impact of falling onto the rocky road. His momentum made him roll over a couple of times, thankfully ending with him upside up. His sprout got bent up a little, but that could fix itself in a few days. He then remained in his shell while the dust plume passed over him. Some of it slipped into the cracks and made him sneeze. The Galactic grunts kept on going.

It took a few minutes, but the air and dust settled back down. Turtwig peered out of his shell. The road appeared empty. He brought his head out further and looked around. This was a desolate area, all craggy. There were plants growing, but they were harsh weeds that defied the tough landscape. Although the road was in decent condition, there were no other signs of human habitation. He was on his own now.

Deciding to locate some place with water to hide, Turtwig started walking along the road. This place seemed arid, so he might have to travel some ways. Downward seemed like a better choice, even though that meant he was headed in the same direction as the truck.

"Sccrrriiiiii!"

Hearing that intimidating shriek, he froze. Next thing he knew, something snatched him from above and took off into the air. The ground dropped away at a sickening pace. Turtwig felt like his head was spinning.

A minute later, he was dropped onto a small ledge. The large black and gray bird that had swiped him landed next to him. She had a large crest over her head that seemed like a great feathery knife. She clucked proudly. "Hello, dinner."

His mouth felt dry with fear, but he still managed to squeak out, "Um, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say back, so hello."

Startled, the Staraptor ruffled her feathers. "You're not supposed to say anything! Sheesh, are you trying to make me lose my appetite or something?"

That did seem like a good idea, to him anyways. "Sorry. It's just, it's like my mom says. Some days the world is like a big happy meadow and other days everyone is out to eat you."

"Can't argue with that." She leaned down and sniffed. "You smell dirty. I'll have to wash you off first."

He shook his head. "Oh, no, that's normal. My shell is made up of dirt."

"What?"

"Yeah, it's packed dirt that I've accumulated all these days. I've made good progress; don't you agree?"

She gagged. "Eww, that's disgusting. On second thought, I don't think I want to eat you."

"What, am I not good enough for you?" he teased.

"I didn't think that you were a dirt clod. So anyhow, sorry for snagging you for dinner. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

"What can you do?"

Staraptor stood up proudly and patted her chest with a wing. "I can beat up anybody you'd like! Doesn't matter if they're ten times bigger than me. I'll cream 'em good. That's because my kind are the strongest birds ever."

Turtwig wasn't too sure of that, but it seemed better not to argue. "No thanks, I don't need anybody turned to cream. Are there any human towns around? I'd like to figure out what happened to mine."

She pointed off to the west, down the mountain. "Sure thing, there's a nice one over that way. In fact, they got one of those Gym places that likes green grassy sorts. You could get a job there."

He perked up to this news. "Really? That'd be great. Can you fly me there?"

"Sure thing, dirt clod. Oh, and you might want to close your eyes if that little flight earlier nearly made you sick."

Staraptor picked him up again, then flew Turtwig to Eterna City Gym.

-Next time: Gardenia chews out Turtwig's former Trainer.

Not really, but that would be funny.

…

Turtwig Diamond entry: Made from soil, the shell on its back hardens when it drinks water. It lives along lakes.

Staraptor Pearl entry: The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokémon.

By this point, I had gotten Pokemon Pearl for myself. So I knew these two better. This is a reverse from my earlier Torterra and Starly story, obviously. Turtwig itself had some kinda boring entries at the time. I haven't checked since Platinum, so there might be better ones.

I always wondered how Galactic got energy from evolution. It sounds very bad for the Pokemon.