Skye picked out her pokeball from her belt, eyes gleaming with excitement. It was finally time. She threw the ball and it landed in the middle of the packed dirt, opening with a hiss. A lucario appeared in a flash of light, punching its fist into its open palm. It was itching to fight, just like its master. Her opponent stood across from her, though their face was hard to make out. What she clearly could see was the magikarp in front of them. Small fry. Lucario could totally crush him. An easy first win!
"Lucario, use-!"
"Skye! Wake up right this instant! You're going to be late for your lessons!" Skye's dream was cut frustratingly short. She groaned and tried to turn over in her bed, but her mother ripped the covers from around her.
"Mom, it's Saturday!"
"And you know you have lessons! Up!" Her mother wasn't a patient woman, and she knew she didn't have long before she started yelling even more. Skye sighed heavily and sat up.
"I'm up, I'm up."
"Five minutes or you're grounded." Her mother stomped out of the room. Skye sighed again.
"I'm always grounded," she muttered under her breath. She quickly got ready though. Anything to stop her mother's incessant complaining. Her mother handed her a small lunch and practically jammed a piece of toast in her mouth when she came into the kitchen.
"I love you. Now don't be late." She kissed the top of her head and sent her out the front door. Skye tried to mumble the same, but couldn't manage it around the toast. She loved her mother, despite her antics.
Skye hurried along to her lessons, watching enviously as the other kids her age ran and played. Well, around her age. Most of the kids that had turned ten were gone already, off on their adventures. The other nine year olds were preparing, either reading up on what Pokemon teams they wanted or playing pretend that they already had them. Not Skye though. Skye was going to 'make something of herself' as her parents had always said. She sighed, realizing that was something she was doing often these days.
Her lessons were as dull and dreary as always. She had absolutely no interest in finances or running a business, but her parents had signed her up, so here she was. Most of the people in her classes were much older, retired trainers or the strange few that didn't have an interest in going on a Pokemon journey. After all, not everyone could or wanted to make a career out of being a trainer. There were still businesses to run and people to manage. Skye had always known that, as her parents made sure that she knew from the time she was old enough to dream. The day she said she wanted to go on a Pokemon journey was the day that her parents started trying to dissuade her. The memories came to her as she sat in class.
"Honey, it's not that we don't understand, it's just not a realistic option. You'll never be able to make a career out of it," her mother had explained when she was four. Skye had been too young to really understand outside of the fact that her parents didn't want her to do it. She had stopped talking about it for a while, but eventually the dream came back up.
"But what about gym leaders?" Skye had asked her father when she was five.
"Gym leaders are very rare. It's not an easy field to get into, and we want you to have realistic options," he had explained. She thought he would understand, but he sounded just like her mother. She let it go again.
"It's just a lot of time you'll be wasting, and we want you to be able to get ahead," her mother said when she was six. How was it wasting time if it made her happy? Skye couldn't bring herself to ask the question aloud.
She stamped the dream down as hard as she could. When she was seven, she started watching tournaments when her parents weren't home. They didn't like when she showed too much of an interest in Pokemon, so she made sure to hide her love.
At eight, her whole world turned upside down when she saw the best movie ever made: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. She was obsessed. She was allowed to watch Pokemon movies occasionally. Her parents were always making sure that she was studying, but they respected that recreation was important too. They even got her a Lucario plush after seeing how much the movie affected her. She slept with it every night, dreaming with all her might that one day, she would catch her own Lucario.
"Skye, are you paying attention?" her teacher asked. She nodded and answered the question written on the board. The teacher had already explained these concepts earlier in the week. It wasn't Skye's fault that the other students needed it repeated for some stupid reason. She bit back yet another sigh. This was part of the problem. Her parents were always telling her how bright she was, how she could be so rich if she just applied herself to the right career. But why couldn't that career be with Pokemon? She knew why, she just hated the truth of it. Her parents had explained over and over again that a Pokemon career was tumultuous at best, a series of haphazard injections of cash that could stop at any moment. Pokemon care is expensive, and you have to win to make money. Losing just one match could be the end of a career, and then what happens to the Pokemon? At worst she would have to give them away. Then she would be devastated and broke.
Her parents had good arguments, she just hated them. She had never done more research on her own. Her parents would be disappointed if she brought home books about it, and she didn't want to talk to the other kids about it. Since she had continued her formal education when her old friends had stopped earlier last year, she didn't really have much in common with them anyway. They were all playing or talking about Pokemon, and she was focused on economics most of the day. Her parents said she would make new friends, not that she had that many to begin with. She knew they had her best interest at heart. She was their daughter, and they wanted her to be successful, but sometimes she wondered if they also wanted her to be happy.
After class, she walked back home, a new stack of homework tucked into her bag alongside her Lucario plush. She kicked at a rock, bored and strangely lonely. She had been around people all day, so she didn't understand where the feeling was coming from. She was fine. Everything was fine. There was no reason to feel so down.
"You look sad," a voice said, making Skye look up. A girl about her age was coming up to her. Skye's gaze was immediately drawn to the drawstring bag she wore in front of her, a Pokemon egg peeking out of it.
"I, uh, hi?" Skye didn't know what to say.
"Yuuki, nice to meet you." The strange girl stuck out her hand, and Skye took it robotically, shaking it as she tried to figure out what this interaction was.
"Skye," she managed to say.
"You okay? You looked sad."
"You mentioned…" Skye was a bit lost for words. Her gaze drifted to the egg again.
"Oh, this is Larvesta! Well, it will be, I guess. They're still growing right now. Do you have a Pokemon?" Yuuki spoke with an enthusiasm that made Skye's heart hurt for some reason.
"No. I'm in school for business." The statement made her feel even worse.
"Eww. Why?" Yuuki asked.
"To get a good career," Skye answered easily. Yuuki gave her a look like she was stupid.
"You're ten."
"I'm nine," Skye retorted, not seeing the point.
"That's even dumber. You're nine. Why are you thinking about a career?"
"Because it's important to think about it early. Otherwise you won't be able to get ahead."
"Who told you that?" Yuuki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"My parents."
"That's dumb."
"My parents aren't dumb!" Skye argued hotly.
"I didn't say they were. I said that what they said was dumb." Yuuki shrugs, making the egg in her pouch bounce a little.
"What do you know!?" Skye snapped.
"Well, most people go on their Pokemon adventures and then get boring grownup jobs after, and I'm sure they have money, don't they?" Yuuki pointed out. Skye opened and closed her mouth. She didn't have an answer to that. She had never thought of it like that before.
"But…my parents said…"
Yuuki shrugged again. Skye heard the chime of the clock in the town square. Her parents would be wondering where she was.
"I have to go. I have homework." Yuuki made another face.
"You do your homework?"
"Well, yeah. You can't get a good job if you don't do your homework." Yuuki actually laughed at that.
"That's definitely not true."
"Of course it is!" Skye couldn't believe this girl. How did she not know anything about anything!?
"All you need to do is pass to get to the next grade, and once you leave school, how would your boss know what grades you got?" Yuuki asked.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Skye stormed off towards home. She had enough of this weird girl.
"Nice to meet you!" Yuuki waved her off with a shake of her head. Skye didn't see it. She was too busy trying to ignore the things she had been told, even as they swirled around in her head.
xxx
Sat down at her desk, Skye struggled to focus. There was no way that stuff was true. When she tried to talk to her parents about it, they immediately shut her down.
"Of course you need good grades! You can't get into a good job without recommendations, and you won't get those from your school unless you get good grades," her mother had explained.
"You need to have a leg up on the competition. A Pokemon journey is just a waste of that time," her father had said when she tried again. Skye nodded understandingly at their wisdom. Of course they were right. That girl didn't know anything.
"She sounds like a bad influence. It would be better not to worry about riff-raff like that," her mother said. Skye agreed. She didn't need someone like that getting into her head.
They ran into each other again a few days later. Skye planned to just walk past her. "You still look sad," Yuuki pointed out. Skye tried to ignore her, but her temper easily got the better of her. She turned back to face the strange girl.
"What do you know?! You don't know anything! You said all that dumb stuff that wasn't true, and you don't know me!" Yuuki raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I wanted to get to know you, but not if you're going to yell at me." Skye deflated. She was never like this. She didn't just yell at strangers!
"Why did you say all that confusing stuff?"
"What stuff?"
"About becoming a Pokemon trainer." It had been rattling inside her head for days. Did Yuuki just forget it? How could she forget saying something so life altering?
"Oh, yeah. I mean, I just said things that were true. I'm not really sure what you mean."
"But they're not! My parents said so!" Skye was so frustrated she actually stomped her foot.
"Your parents don't know everything, you know." Yuuki still had the egg in the pouch in front of her, and it made Skye even more mad for some reason.
"Well, they know about this, okay?! You're just a kid!"
"So are you," Yuuki pointed out.
"So? My parents are the ones who told me."
"Mine told me stuff too. Doesn't mean they were always right." Yuuki shrugged easily, and Skye had the ridiculous urge to hit her. She didn't. Why did this girl rile her so much? She had never thought about hitting someone before.
"Of course my parents are right. They wouldn't tell me the wrong thing," Skye argued.
"Not on purpose. But adults make mistakes too."
"No they don't."
Yuuki shook her head. "There's clearly no point arguing with you. Believe what you want, but it's making you miserable." Yuuki started to walk past her.
"You don't know what you're talking about." For the second time, Skye stormed off, childishly not wanting Yuuki to walk away first.
For another week, Skye was tormented by the memories of these conversations. They just didn't make sense. Her entire world tilted as she tried to put together the conflicting information. She barely slept. Eventually, she went seeking Yuuki again.
"Yuuki!" Skye called, finally seeing the girl with her telltale pouch from across the street. Class got out early, so she had some extra free time without her parents knowing about it.
"Hey, Skye." She seemed genuinely surprised to see Skye come running up to her.
"Hi. I wanted to say sorry about before. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."
"Apology accepted." Yuuki smiled. Skye was flabbergasted that the other girl had forgiven her so easily.
"I…uh…was hoping we could hang out. My class got out early, so I have time," Skye said in an embarrassed rush.
"Sure! I know a great spot!" Yuuki took her hand and brought her along. To Skye's surprise, Yuuki headed towards the edge of town.
"Do you have more Pokemon?"
"No, just Larvesta." Skye stopped walking, and for a moment Yuuki pulled on her arm before she realized. Yuuki turned back to look at her new friend. "What?"
"We can't go into the tall grass if we don't have a Pokemon."
"But I do. They're right here." She pointed at the egg.
"That doesn't count!" Skye argued.
"Why? It's a Pokemon."
"But they can't keep us safe! We could get hurt!"
"Could. But won't," Yuuki said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What are you talking about!? Pokemon are dangerous!"
"Well, I mean, they can be. But so can people and we live with them just fine."
"You're being pedantic!" Skye argued.
"Oh, big word." Yuuki clapped and Skye scowled. "Listen, what are the main Pokemon that live around this area?" Skye paused.
"I dunno," she admitted.
"Haven't you ever been out of town?" Yuuki asked, surprised.
"When I was littler, but I don't remember seeing any Pokemon. I was with my parents," Skye said.
"Well, I'll just have to teach you then. There's a ton of kricketots, which aren't a problem at all. There are some starleys, which aren't usually aggressive this time of year, and bellsprout, which, if you absolutely have to, you can kick to make go away." Yuuki ended her teaching with a mumble to herself, "It's weird, the Pokedex said they aren't native here. Must have been a mass outbreak."
"Kick them?!" Skye is appalled at the idea and missed her mumbling.
"I only had to do it once!" Yuuki threw up her hands in defense. "It wouldn't leave me alone and
it tried to poison me!"
"That doesn't sound safe!"
"It's fine!" Yuuki grabbed her hand again and pulled her into the grass. "We're not going far."
"We'll get in trouble if someone catches us!"
"I'm a trainer. They don't have to know I don't have any Pokemon that can fight right now." Yuuki continued to shrug off Skye's complaints as they walked. As promised, they barely walked for five minutes before they got to an opening in the trees. It was a perfect little glade with a stream at the far end. The weather was absolutely perfect to enjoy the dappled sunlight. The grass wasn't overly tall here, and it was obvious there weren't any Pokemon around right now.
"It's so pretty. I had no idea there was anything like this so close," Skye said, her voice hushed as she listened to the quiet sounds of nature.
"Way better than being in town all the time, right?" Yuuki agreed. She let go of Skye to kick off her shoes and sit beside the steam, putting her feet in the cool water. Skye joined her.
"I thought leaving to be a trainer would be so different," Skye admitted after a while of amicable silence.
"How so?"
"Well, the way my parents talked about it, I thought it would be like, getting attacked by trainers and Pokemon all day long." Yuuki laughed.
"It's almost never like that."
"But what about battles and running into wild Pokemon?"
"Pokemon aren't as aggressive as they make you think when you're little. They just say stuff like that so you won't go wandering by yourself and get hurt," Yuuki explained. "And yeah, trainers pick fights if they know you're another trainer, but that's just fun. And with only Larvesta, it's not like anybody tried to beat me up and take my lunch money. They let me go when they see I don't have any battle-ready Pokemon."
"But isn't being a trainer all about battling?" Skye asked.
"It doesn't have to be. You know there's a lot of different things people do with Pokemon right? You can battle,sure, but there are breeders, competitions, sports, entertainment, the list goes on and on. You could even work at a pokemon center. There are so many different things to do with Pokemon."
"My parents have only ever talked about battling," Skye said in awe.
"It seems like your parents don't know very much about the world of Pokemon."
"I guess not all that other stuff," Skye agreed, obviously uncomfortable.
"Being a trainer doesn't have to be your whole life. You can try it and then find something on your journey that makes you happy." Skye looked away, splashing her feet a bit in the water.
"My parents want me to run the family business. They said I'll be happy when I make it bigger and have a lot of money."
"Is that what you want to do?" Yuuki asked.
"It's not about what I want," Skye muttered.
"Why not?"
"Because they said so." Skye shrugged.
"It's your life." Yuuki sounded so matter of fact. Skye didn't understand it.
"But they're my parents."
"So?"
"I can't just not do what they say."
"You're here now, aren't you?" Yuuki grinned. Skye faltered.
"I can't just ignore them. They put me in classes and they raised me and stuff," Skye tried again.
"I mean, it's your decision, but every time I see you, you look miserable. This is the happiest you've ever looked, just being out here in nature. Do you really want to live your whole life in some stuffy office?" Skye slowly pulled her lucario out of her bag. She hugged the stuffed animal and burst into tears, shaking her head. Yuuki hugged her friend to her side, just letting her calm down when she was ready. Eventually, Skye stopped crying. "Nice lucario." Skye rubbed her eyes and smiled.
"I want to have a real one someday. I want to battle with them and have a team of my own."
"Why don't you tell your parents that?" Yuuki asked.
"I've tried so many times. They tell me it's a bad idea, that I won't make it and then I'll have to
give my Pokemon away because I won't have money to take care of them."
"What? That's stupid." Yuuki looked affronted. "It's not that expensive to take care of Pokemon."
"But my parents said…"
"My parents each had a full team they kept and we grew up fine. They're being dramatic. Like, yeah they cost money, but so does a kid. Don't your parents have any Pokemon?"
"Yeah, we do, but they have jobs so they can pay for them," Skye explained.
"Skye, did your parents go on Pokemon journeys?" Yuuki asked suddenly. Skye nodded. "And they have enough money to take care of you and their Pokemon, right?"
"Yeah, but they don't have a lot of money. They want me to be rich and successful and not make the same mistakes they did."
"So going on a Pokemon journey was a mistake?" Yuuki was horribly affronted. Skye flinched.
"I…I guess so." She looked absolutely miserable.
"Listen, do what you want, but living your life for your parents is going to make you miserable forever. If you want to go, just go!" Yuuki smiled. "I'll even wait for you." Skye lit up.
"But my birthday isn't for another two months!" Yuuki gestured to the egg in her lap.
"Larvesta doesn't mind waiting, do you buddy?" she addressed the egg. Skye giggled. "Hey, we better get back." She stood up and stretched. The sun was just beginning to set, washing the little glade in golden light.
"I want to come back here and show this to my own Pokemon," Skye decided.
"Sounds like a plan." Yuuki grinned.
The next two months were a real struggle for Skye. She went back and forth on her decision every day. She wanted to please her parents, but she also wanted to live out her dream. At ten, she would be able to get a Pokemon and start her journey, but the first hurdle was how she would even get one. If her parents refused to let her go, she wouldn't be able to get a Pokemon the traditional way. The idea of stealing never crossed her mind. Obviously she couldn't catch a wild Pokemon without already having one, and she couldn't afford any pokeballs. Maybe she could do some odd jobs to get some money, but she didn't have the free time with her lessons to make that happen.
"At this point, I won't be able to go," Skye bemoaned to Yuuki.
"We'll think of something," Yuuki had said. Skye continued to fret, terrified to speak to her parents. Before she could come to a decision or come up with a plan, her birthday arrived.
"Happy birthday, darling!" her father said as she came down the stairs. She smiled at him as he got up and hugged her. They let her sleep in on her birthday, one of the few days a year it was allowed.
"Thanks, Dad." She hugged him back.
"Your favorite breakfast is ready!" her mother called from the kitchen. Skye was hit with a pang of guilt at that. Was she really thinking about leaving when her parents were so good to her? She pushed away the feeling as she sat down at the table, where her mother served her french toast and bacon, perfectly crispy, just the way she loved it.
"Thank you." Her parents joined her as she ate. They were surprisingly high energy. They hadn't been this excited about her birthday since she had been really little.
"You seem quiet this morning," her father pointed out. "Aren't you excited for your birthday?"
"Yeah, of course I am," Skye lied. She had never dreaded a day more in her life than this birthday.
"We have to go out for a bit, sweetie, so you go have fun. We'll call you when it's time to come home," her mother says.
"Okay." Skye smiled at that. She wanted to go see Yuuki.
After breakfast, she headed out. Her town isn't all that big, but it's definitely too big to expect to wander around and find Yuuki without any sort of direction. Fortunately, Yuuki was staying at their only inn, so she went there to find her friend. She wasn't sure if her parents were going to monopolize her entire day, so the two hadn't made any concrete plans. She still hasn't introduced Yuuki to her parents. She had a strong feeling it would be a relationship of mutual dislike.
"Hey, look who it is! The birthday girl!" Yuuki had just walked out of the inn. Skye smiled and the pair hugged. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks. My parents said I have a few hours before they want me home to spend time with them."
"Perfect. I've got a surprise for you." Yuuki led her to their favorite spot outside of town. Once they were there, her friend turned and handed her a bag. "Open it." Inside, Skye found five pokeballs. "I thought, what better way to start your adventure than by catching your first pokemon?" Skye looked at her friend with wide eyes.
"But I don't have any Pokemon of my own!"
"You don't really have to. If the Pokemon is low enough level, you don't have to weaken them any more to get them to stay inside. Some Pokemon are looking for trainers anyway." Yuuki shrugged.
"But what will I do with them? I don't have any money, and I haven't told my parents anything!" Skye argued, panicked.
"Well, if you catch a Pokemon, I guess you're gonna have to tell them, aren't you?" Yuuki suggested it like it wasn't the most difficult thing Skye will have ever done.
"I…I don't know."
"You'll never catch that Lucario if you don't start your adventure," Yuuki pointed out. Skye continued to hesitate for a while longer before finally nodding resolutely.
"You're right. Let's go." She palmed a pokeball and the two left the glenn.
"Have anything in mind?" Yuuki asked as they started walking through some tall grass.
"Whatever will agree to work with me," Skye admitted.
"Not a bad idea. No point being picky when you're already in a tough spot."
"Why haven't you done this?" Skye realized.
"I'm picky." Skye bit back laughter. She wasn't surprised. They walked a little bit longer before a Spearow started to trill at them from a nearby tree. Before Skye even realized what she was doing, she threw the pokeball in her hand at it. She completely missed and the Spearow took off.
"Wow, you're way more trigger happy than I thought." Yuuki went to retrieve the Pokeball. No point wasting it.
"Sorry. I got nervous."
"You need more practice throwing too."
"I guess I should have thought of that before doing something so stupid. Maybe I should wait." Skye started talking herself out of it.
"Whoa, hold on. I never said that. You just need a little bit of help, that's all. Maybe we should stick with Pokemon on the ground. Those are harder to miss," Yuuki explained. Skye still seemed unsure. "Listen, if you really don't want to do this, we won't, but I'm not letting you quit just because you're scared. You'll regret it forever if you do that." Skye considered before finally agreeing.
"You're right. Thanks."
"I know." Yuuki smiled and they continued on.
Eventually, they ran into a bellsprout. Or, more aptly, a bellsprout ran into them. It was a feisty little thing, and Skye nearly screamed when she threw the pokeball at it. The little grass type was caught inside the ball and wiggled once, twice- with a flash, the bellsprout was out. It coughed out a cloud of poisonous looking air and ran away.
"I don't think that one was a very good fit for you anyway," Yuuki said after they had finally stopped running.
"I agree." Skye was feeling more and more dejected about her odds, though.
"We can always come back another day," Yuuki reminded her. Skye didn't feel so sure about that. When would she have this much free time again?
"I thought this would be easier."
"I bet it is with a battle ready Pokemon," Yuuki pointed out. Skye sighed.
As their time grew shorter, they started heading back closer to town. While they walked through the tall grass, Skye noticed a leaf that appeared to be bobbing closer to them. She stopped, interested. With a sudden realization, she pulled out her pokeball and threw it just below the leaf. It opened and caught something. With bated breath, she waited. To her shock, with a click, the grass around it stopped moving.
"I think I caught it. I caught one!" Skye shouted, pumping the air with her fist.
"What was it? I didn't even see anything!" Yuuki was clearly impressed.
"I think I know, but I want to check to make sure." Skye cautiously went up to the Pokeball and picked it up. She looked at it before pressing the button to open it. Out popped a chikorita, who looked around curiously. "Hey, little guy! I'm Skye. It's nice to meet you!" Skye crouched down and smiled brightly. Yuuki pulled out her Pokedex, letting Skye hear the information on her new Pokemon.
"It's a girl," Yuuki announced.
"Girl!" Skye couldn't stop smiling. Chikorita was uncertain, but she went up to Skye and sniffed her fingers. Seemingly satisfied, she rubbed her face along Skye's leg. "Welcome to the team! I'm Skye. You're actually my first Pokemon, but I'm sure we'll make new friends. This is Yuuki, she's my best friend." Chikorita trills at Yuuki.
"Best friend, huh?" Yuuki smiled and knelt down. "Nice to meet you Chikorita. You better be good to my best friend, you hear?" Skye giggled and pushed her, knocking her onto her butt.
"Don't listen to her Chikorita, I'm sure you'll be great."
Absolutely elated, the newly made trio (plus the growing Larvesta) made their way back into town. Before they made it though, Skye kneeled down again to talk to Chikorita.
"We're going to go on our adventure soon, but I need to get ready at home first. You don't mind waiting a bit, right?" Chikorita shook her head, making Skye smile. "Thanks." She recalled her new Pokemon, and the girls continued walking.
"Happy birthday, Skye," Yuuki said once they made it back to the inn. "Let me know how it goes. You've got this." Skye nods resolutely.
"They can't stop me now. I have my own Pokemon." The Pokeball at her hip wiggled. "But can you hold onto her for now? I want to talk to them first without them knowing. They won't listen once they see it."
"Okay." Yuuki took the Pokeball Skye handed over. "I'll take good care of her."
"I know." Skye smiled before turning and heading back home. Once she made it, she was surprised to see her parents so obviously waiting for her inside.
"Oh good, you're home! We have a big surprise for you!" Her father jumped up from the couch, too impatient to wait any longer.
"Oh, uh, dad, I was actually hoping to talk to you guys," Skye tried to say.
"We can talk later. Surprise first!" He pulled her along, and a surprised laugh escaped her as he brought her to the back door. "Open it!" Her mother had followed behind them. Skye opened their back door, leading to the backyard. After all, he wasn't wrong. Their talk could wait.
Sitting alone in the middle of the yard was a lone pokeball. Skye had been biting back her hope at all this excitement, but when she saw the pokeball, she squealed with delight. They're going to let her go! She'll be able to go on her adventure!
"Oh my gosh!" She rushed forward and picked up the ball. She looked back at her parents, who were now outside. They nodded encouragingly, and she pressed the button on the ball. A flash of light, just like in her dreams blinded her for a moment, and suddenly before her was a tiny baby Riolu.
"Oh…my…gosh!" Skye picked up the little Pokemon and hugged him to her. The pup let out a small squeak and snuggled into her warm embrace. "He's perfect!"
"He just hatched from his egg a few days ago. We were keeping an eye out on this batch," her mother explained. Skye couldn't help herself as she started crying.
"Oh, sweetie." Her father came to hug her again.
"I just…I just thought…" She struggled to get the words out as she cried.
"We thought about it too, and we want you to be happy. Since you've been doing so well with school, we thought that you had earned your own Pokemon. We can watch them while you're busy with class," her mother said. Skye felt like a cold bucket of water had just been dumped over her head. Her happy tears morphed into despondence. They were never going to let her go, and now she had two Pokemon to take care of. What was she going to do?
Riolu was the one who comforted her enough to slow her tears. The little pup tapped her cheeks with his paws and she couldn't help but giggle.
"You are just so cute," she murmured. She had only known him for a few minutes, but she would die for this innocent creature. She would never let anyone take him away from her. If she had to run away to make sure of that, she would. If a trainer made her run out of money, she would starve so he could eat. She would never give him up.
But would her parents really take him away? They gave him to her because they wanted her to be happy and successful. Why would she spit in the face of that? They were safe and comfortable here, and she had what she wanted. Why would she go against her parents and change that? She was so confused.
"Can Riolu and I spend some time together in my room?" Skye asked.
"Of course, honey. You should get to know your Pokemon. It's a big day," her father agreed. Skye nodded and went to her room. She needed to think.
xxx
Yuuki didn't hear from Skye for a week. Skye ignored her messages and calls, and Yuuki cursed herself for never finding out where her friend lived or went to school. There weren't even that many schools! Yuuki was nearly frantic. What if her parents had hurt her or something?! Why else would she have dropped off the face of the earth?
Of course, there was another reason, but it was one that Yuuki refused to face- not without proof. She would find her friend and let her explain what happened. She certainly wasn't about to blame a possible victim.
Poor Chikorita was very confused. She paced the room of the inn when Yuuki let her out. She was surprised the Pokemon had such a strong impression of Skye after only having met her for a few minutes, but Chikorita was certainly loyal.
"I'm sure she'll come by any minute now," Yuuki said, trying to cheer herself up as much as the Pokemon. "She must just be busy getting ready to go, like she said." To her utmost surprise, there was a knock at her door. She jumped up and nearly tripped over herself in her rush to open it. Outside stood Skye, her head down. Yuuki had a sinking feeling in her gut that was growing steadily stronger.
"Skye! Come in!" She ushered her friend inside, but Skye didn't move.
"I don't think I should come by anymore," Skye said, her voice breaking.
"Skye, please come inside," Yuuki tried again. Skye shook her head. She still hadn't made eye contact.
"I'm sorry, Chikorita, but I think it would be better if you stayed with Yuuki," Skye said, addressing the increasingly confused Pokemon who had run over to see her. Chikorita looked at her with a tilted head. "I'm not going to be a Pokemon trainer. You should go adventure with Yuuki."
"Skye, let's talk about this," Yuuki said. Skye shook her head and turned to leave.
"There isn't anything to talk about."
Yuuki had had enough.
"Like hell there isn't!" Yuuki grabbed Skye by the collar of her shirt and hauled her inside of the room, closing the door with a sharp snap behind them. She pushed Skye up against the wall, the younger girl utterly shocked by this sudden change. "You think I'm just going to let you leave without any kind of explanation!?" Chikorita made an angry sound similar to a growl, trying to get between the two girls. "I'm not gonna hurt her, but you should be mad too. She was just going to abandon you without saying anything! If she's going to dump us like we're trash, she's at least going to explain why!"
Chikorita paused at her words and backed off, just sitting and watching. Skye couldn't choke back her tears any longer. "Oh, now I get the water works?" Yuuki finally let her go and Skye sank to the floor, hiding her face against her thighs as she hugged her legs. Yuuki impatiently waited. There was no point trying to get anything out of her (now possibly ex) best friend while she was crying this hard. Eventually, Skye calmed down.
"I don't think you're trash," Skye finally said.
"Then stop treating us like it." Yuuki crossed her arms in irritation.
"I didn't-" Skye hiccuped. "I just wanted to be a good daughter!"
"If being horrible to your friends is what being a good daughter means, you need to rework your priorities."
"I can't be a trainer!"
"Why?" Yuuki sighed heavily.
"Because my parents got me a Riolu!" Skye blurted out. Yuuki paused.
"So?" Skye's head shot up and she looked at Yuuki like she had grown a second head.
"So my parents got me what I wanted! They want me to be happy, and I am happy with Riolu! I can't risk throwing that away and making my parents miserable just by going on some stupid trip!" Skye ranted, getting louder and louder.
"So you're just going to throw me and Chikorita aside because your parents got you a better friend?" Yuuki asked darkly.
"That's not what I said!"
"No, that's what you did. I don't care that you don't want to go with us. I care that you caught Chikorita and just abandoned her. I care that you decided that my friendship wasn't worth keeping because you got what you wanted. Just get out." Yuuki turned away. She was done dealing with this girl. Months wasted just to get her heart stomped on.
"It's not like that!" Skye jumped up, absolutely horrified.
"I don't know what else it could be like. Now leave."
"Please, Yuuki, I didn't mean it like that!" Skye tried to get in front of her, but Yuuki continued to turn away. When she realized that Skye wasn't leaving, she recalled Chikorita and left the room herself. Skye let her go, realizing that she wouldn't get through to Yuuki like this. She curled back up on the floor, sobbing.
Eventually, Skye picked herself and went home. She hid herself in her room, crying with Riolu. She had to hide her emotions from her parents or they would ask questions she didn't have the energy to lie about.
xxx
For days, Skye mechanically went through the motions of her life. She went to her lessons, did her homework, rinsed, and repeated. Yuuki's words came to her unbidden, on repeat in her mind. You're just going to throw me and Chikorita aside because of your parents?
"No wonder I didn't have any friends. I'm an awful person." She wallowed with Riolu whenever she had free time. She had to spend a fair amount of time taking care of him; her parents had informed her that he was the runt of the eggs. He had barely been strong enough to hatch, and the breeders hadn't been sure if he was going to make it. There was no way that he would ever be a battling Pokemon. He was still so small. Her parents had been proud to tell her that they had gotten him at a good discount. Their words made her feel small too.
She turned on her tv and found a live battle to watch. She left it on mute to avoid her parents hearing. Riolu started watching too, utterly captivated. She giggled. He was the only light left in her life. To her surprise, Riolu hopped off her bed and started trying to fight along, throwing his little paws in a shockingly good punch.
"Riolu, we're not trainers. We're not going to be fighting anyone," she chided him gently. Watching him was hurting her heart. Riolu ignored her and continued his practice, punching nothing. She let him be.
More time passed and the longer she let things be, the harder it was for her to consider trying to find Yuuki. She didn't know why she was even thinking about it; Yuuki was obviously gone. Why would she stay in this sleepy little town any longer? There was nothing holding her here anymore. There wasn't even a gym. She hoped that she kept Chikorita. Thinking of the cute little Pokemon was so heartbreaking.
Every day, Riolu would pester her until she turned on a tournament and the pup would train by himself. His punches were now glowing with energy, and he was eating more than ever when he finished.
"You're getting so much stronger," Skye marveled. He was getting stronger and she was stagnating. "Do you want to battle like that?" she asked him. He nodded resolutely and put his paw on her cheek. "But we can't!" Tears fell down her face. "I can't just leave." He puts both his paws on her cheeks and looks deep in her eyes. They look at one another for a long while, and despite not saying a thing, she feels like she can really understand him. "This is no life. I have to figure out my life on my own."
She stood up, Riolu in her arms. "We don't have any money, but we'll figure it out. After all, Pokemon centers are free. If we win a match, we can even make some money! I don't know what will happen if we lose and don't have any money though." She cringed. "I don't know about this…" Riolu yipped at her. "You're pretty set on this, aren't you?" She smiled at him and he nodded. "Thanks. I couldn't do it without you." She hugged him to her. "Now, do I tell my parents or do I just go?"
In the end, she just couldn't bring herself to leave without saying anything. She sat before her parents, absolutely terrified.
"You what!?" Her mother wasn't yelling and that almost made it worse.
"I want to go on my Pokemon journey."
"Honey, where is this coming from? We've told you time and time again that this isn't the right path for you," her father explained.
"I know, but I want to figure it out for myself."
"This is coming from that girl, isn't it? I saw you hanging around with her. She looked like a ruffian. She was the one putting all these silly ideas into your head, wasn't she?" her mother asked.
"Yuuki isn't like that! She's a good friend! I'm the one who hurt her."
"What do you mean?" her father asked.
"I- It's nothing. I just want to try."
"This is a waste of time. You're not going," her mother tritely attempted to end the conversation.
"I…" Skye took a deep breath. "I wasn't asking."
"Excuse me?!" Her mother stood up, and despite herself, Skye flinched. Her parents had never hit her in her life, but she had never disobeyed them like this before. Her mother faltered at her child's reaction. "Skye…" She sighed heavily. "This is ridiculous." She sat back down. "Your father and I need to talk about it. Go to your room." Skye practically tripped over herself to run back to her room. She was forced to wait an agonizing half an hour before her parents called her back out.
"We've discussed your request," her father accentuated the last word and Skye flinched again. "You may go." Skye began to light up. "On one condition." She paused. "You get one chance to defeat the first gym leader. Just one. If you lose, you're coming home." She blanched. That isn't fair.
"But Dad-"
"That's the deal." He crossed his arms, not budging. "You have two months to play around, but if you won't take this seriously, you need to come home and get back to work." Her mother got up and handed her a backpack. Inside, she found an envelope filled with cash.
"And you'll be paying that back when you're home," her mother said sternly. Skye nodded numbly. Could she really do this?
"You had better get a good night's rest and make sure you're packed. Your two months start tomorrow," her father said. What had she just gotten herself into?