Pichu and Shieldon

It was a gray, dismal, and hot evening. Rain poured down, but did little to alleviate the city's heat. Giving a sheen to the old brick buildings, the water came down into the alley and flooded its asphalt ground. Various piles of garbage were piled along one wall, including a number of cardboard boxes. He had taken shelter there during the storm. The Pichu sensed no lightning in the storm and the puddles were growing deep for him, so it all unnerved him.

He had been born not too far away, not too long ago. But then some terrifying Pokemon had attacked him and his mother. Driven to madness from some sickness, patches of the Pokemon's fur had been torn out, with red sores covering its body. The Pichu had gotten away; his mother had not been that lucky and was killed. What could he do now? He wasn't sure.

Earlier, he had come into this alley because something smelled good. He had been very hungry, so he went after it even though he had to tear through a plastic trash bag to get to it. Now his stomach felt bad and this rain had come. This was a miserable day; he wished his mother was there to help him. She'd never be with him again, though.

The cardboard box cracked. Looking up, the Pichu saw that the top was bending even more. It had all turned dark in being soaked, the middle part growing thin. Then it failed, dousing him with the rainwater that had collected on top.

Squealing, the Pichu rushed out of the box, sparks trailing behind him. Now what? There were other boxes in the alley, but if one broke, the others might too. He could try hiding under a porch but last time he tried it, a rather burly human had come out with a broom and yelled at him until he left. Perhaps a tree might provide some shelter.

"There you are," a human voice said. "Pichu, stay there."

Sending off sparks in fright again, he turned around and saw a woman that towered over him. She wore a large green rain coat with an equally large hat. Over her shoulder, she carried a large white net. And under that coat, she could be hiding anything. She was probably dangerous. With her was something that seemed like some ancient nightmare, a Pokemon hiding behind a dark oval shield of steel, watching him with indecipherable eyes. That gave him the sign that they were definitely dangerous.

The Pichu dropped down on all fours and ran away, water splattering every underneath his small paws.

"Shieldon, get ahead of it." She came running after him, her rubber boots making larger splatters along the way. But even scarier was the strangely quick four paws of the Shieldon, doing its best to get ahead of the little yellow Pokemon.

Frantic, the Pichu slipped and stumbled, but immediately got back up and kept running. His stomach complained about the sudden movement when it was feeling queasy in the first place. Thinking over the area he knew, he could only come up with a little park that was down another alley and across the street. That place would have trees, where he could escape the rain and this strange enemy.

But his slip had given the Shieldon enough time to catch up with him. The creature gave a strange ringing bark, its face shield vibrating at the sound. The Pichu had to attack him or get attacked… but he didn't have that good of a control over his static. He had to succeed, though. Had to. He thought of the storm's missing lightning and tried to get enough electric power to shock the Shieldon.

It worked! A large spark shot out from him to the unarmored body of the Shieldon. Grunting, it began to fall behind him. The Pichu then mustered up the energy to go faster, rushing out of the alley and across the sidewalk.

When he jumped from the walk to the road, he landed in a large puddle and slipped. His face briefly was under water as he tumbled onto his back on slightly higher ground. For a moment, he wasn't sure what he was doing; his head hurt that much. He finally threw up and stayed there, shaking. He wasn't going to make it to safety.

The Shieldon appeared on the sidewalk, looking down at him briefly before stepping gingerly into the road. It waded through the puddle to him and stopped there, glancing around. Feeling that he was going to get eaten, the Pichu closed his eyes. But while the Shieldon did bite him, it was gently and in order to pick him up off the ground. The odd Pokemon then walked over to a slant in the sidewalk and carried him out of the road.

"Good, you got him." The woman in the large green coat came over to them, kneeling down to pat her Pokemon's back. She took the Pichu in her hand, then the Shieldon gave one of its ringing barks again. Just then, a large truck came driving by, not too fast, but enough that they had to step back to avoid getting splashed by water. It could have run him over… but these two could be looking to kill him, like his mother had been killed.

Tensing, the Pichu released a shower of sparks again. But they didn't touch the woman. Between her rain clothes and the leather gloves she was wearing, the electric jolts wouldn't do anything. They could do whatever they wanted to him and he couldn't fight back. Briefly, the Pichu thought of trying to charm his way out of captivity. But all his energy had left him and his body felt awful.

The woman spent a minute looking him over carefully. "You're too young to be out on your own," she said, rubbing his left ear. "Especially not with the infections we've got spreading among the feral Pokemon around the city. But it looks like you just ate something bad today. Let's get you back to the pound and give you a better check-up. Come on Shieldon."

Giving an affirmative response, the Shieldon trotted alongside its Trainer, keeping an eye out for any of the dangerous infected Pokemon. The Pichu wasn't sure what she meant, but she was being gentle with him. Were they nice people then? But they had seemed so scary.

Back through the two alleys, they came to a quieter street. There was a large van here, with lots of strange panels in its side. The woman put her net down in order to lift one of the panels, revealing a cage. Twisting the latch, she opened it and put the Pichu inside. "Just a short while in here, little one, I promise. Then you'll be okay; you might even get a good home soon. Rest for now." She then latched the cage shut again and pulled down the panel.

The Pichu looked around the dim cage. There was a towel in back, a bin of water on one side, and nothing else. Being as soaked as he was, the Pichu had had enough of water for some time. But the towel was dry, so he crawled over there and lay down. What was going to happen to him now?

He wished his mother was here to tell him.

...

Pichu Leaf Green entry: It is not yet skilled at storing electricity. It may send out a jolt if startled or amused.

Shieldon Diamond entry: A Pokemon that lived in jungles 100 million years ago. Its facial hide is extremely hard.

Remember to adopt your next Poke... I mean, pet, yeah! Adopt your next pet from your local pound.