I've had this story on the back burner for a while, and as a result I built up a pretty decent backlog before I started posting.
I was never all that patient.
So I decided that, instead of doing the sane thing and pacing myself so that I can keep writing and maintain a backlog in case of unexpected hiatuses, I'm just going to post my backlog quickly and build up the story at a more rapid pace.
I don't anticipate being able to keep this pace up forever. But for now, I'll be able to keep this schedule going for at least a couple weeks.
Utter, impenetrable darkness was Meditite's only company. Reaching out, she touched a smooth, curved surface that extended all around her. She could not see, could not smell anything but a stale emptiness, and though she could still hear the sound of the forest it was oddly muted, as if she were underwater. She barely even felt that her wounds from the fight with Snover no longer existed.
Panic was beginning to set in; she was trapped, completely at the mercy of this Trainer, and would, if Ekans's tales were any indication, likely never see her home again. Her life in the forest was gone forever, everyone she knew or had ever known was gone forever-
Meditite forced the panic down, knowing it would do her no good, and instead began to rack her brain for all of Ekans's stories. The Poison-type Pokemon had been fond of sharing her tales from her life as a Trainer's Pokemon, possibly to flaunt her status or possibly as a warning.
A phrase now came to Meditite's mind, a phrase that Ekans had been particularly fond of. There are good Trainers, and there are bad Trainers, the phrase went. A good Trainer can be your greatest ally, but a bad Trainer can be your worst nightmare.
So which one was this Trainer? Was this kind of forced capture normal among Trainers? Or was it an oddity, a sign of a bad Trainer?
Then again, if it was a bad Trainer, what could she do?
No panic, Meditite reminded herself once more. She concentrated, and as she had often done in times of stress, she sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.
As the time passed, she heard first the crunching of something stepping on fallen leaves, most likely the Trainer judging by how the noise stayed somewhat constant for a while. Then it was replaced with a more hollow crunching, sounding somewhat like the pebbles at the edge of a river, and that went on for a few minutes before it paused for a moment. A creak, a few more crunches, and then a slam.
"Marcus!" an unfamiliar voice called. "Welcome back! How did it go?"
"I caught a Pokemon," said the Trainer. So its name was Marcus; Meditite paused her meditation long enough to store that in the back of her mind.
"Oh, amazing!" said the second voice. "Well? Let's see it!"
The next moment, Meditite had to blink as the darkness receded and the sudden influx of sunlight blinded her for a moment. She put a hand to her brow, hiding the sunlight from view, and her vision slowly was able to make out her new surroundings.
She was sitting on a hard surface that felt like stone but smoother, part of a gray line that stretched out in front of her and, as a quick glance around told her, behind her. To the sides of the line lay stretches of grass and bushes, and around that stood an edifice made up of what appeared to be tiny leafless birch trees, interconnected and, just like the gray line, too smooth and regular to be natural. In front of her, another edifice rose, as tall as the surrounding trees, colored the same white as the interconnected not-trees.
In front of the large edifice stood four figures. Two more Trainers, both of them even larger than Marcus, and a Pokemon that Meditite did not recognize; a four-legged one with a sleek purple-and-tan body.
There was a moment of silence.
Then the purple-and-tan Pokemon looked up at the Trainer next to him. "Pet me," it ordered.
"Ooh, a Meditite!" said one of the Trainers, the one who had been speaking earlier, as it reached down to scratch between the purple-and-tan Pokemon's ears. "Don't see many of those around. You have to come inside and tell us all about it!"
"Scamper and Puffball will help your new friend get acclimated," the other Trainer piped up.
"Okay," said Marcus, stepping past Meditite and heading inside after the other two Trainers.
The purple-and-tan Pokemon sighed contentedly. "Well then. I'm Scamper, this is Puffball, and you must be Marcus's first catch. Meditite, was it?"
"Yes, that's me," said Meditite.
"Ah, yes, I think I remember your kind," Scamper remarked. "You're, what, Fighting/Psychic?"
"Yes," Meditite said, slightly unnerved. Questions about her typing were not uncommon, but they'd always seemed borne out of curiosity, not hostility. Scamper, on the other hand, looked almost like he was appraising a potential meal.
"Well, I'm just a Normal type myself," said Scamper. "I'm a Delcatty. You probably don't see too many of those around here. Oh, look, Puffball's arrived."
That was Meditite's only warning before she was blindsided.
"Hi!" said an excited voice. "I'm Puffball! I like you, but you smell weird! Are you from around here? Are you a wild Pokemon? What's your name? You look really interesting!"
Meditite twisted to gaze up at a rather large fluffy white Pokemon that did not look at all like that voice should have been coming from it.
"That's Puffball," Scamper said with a chuckle on the edge of his words.
"I'm Meditite," Meditite said.
"That's great!" Puffball cried. "Wait, are you Marcus's Pokemon? Did he catch you? How did it feel? I remember when I got captured, and I was really scared at first, but then they were so nice to me. I got caught by Sarah, that's Marcus's mom, and she's really awesome. Oh, have you met Scamper? He's awesome too! Did you know he once beat-"
"Puffball, I think Meditite needs room to breathe," Scamper pointed out.
"Oh, sorry, sorry," Puffball said. "I'll go and see what James and Sarah and Marcus are up to."
"That would be great," said Scamper, and Puffball obediently retreated.
Meditite sighed in relief, and then it became a sigh of exasperation as Scamper turned back towards her. "So what can you do?"
"I can punch," Meditite said. "I can use Psychic energy."
"No Fighting, though?" Scamper asked.
"I haven't needed it," Meditite said.
"Want to battle?" Scamper asked.
Meditite hesitated. "I…"
Scamper's gaze softened. "Look, I get it," the Delcatty said. "You're probably scared, kinda want to just be left alone. But the thing is, you're gonna have to get used to this. I know I may not look like much, but as Puffball was about to say, I have beaten Gym Leaders before. I can give you some advice, tips on what to do. But I need to see you fight first. You in?"
Meditite sighed, knowing that as much as she disliked the Delcatty, he was right. "Sure."
"Okay, then," said Delcatty. "Let's start. Show me-"
Meditite rushed forward and buried a fist in his grinning face.
"Not bad," Scamper grunted as he stumbled. "Double Paw Strike!"
Meditite's follow-up fist met a surprisingly strong paw, and then another paw slapped her across the face, sending her to the ground.
"Not bad at all," said Scamper. "Not bad at all. You're quite strong. I think, actually, we should just stop. Just lie down."
Meditite clenched her fists, and then unclenched them. Scamper was right. Why were they fighting? They were friends, weren't they?
"Yes," said Scamper faintly. "We're friends. Of course we're friends. Why would friends fight?"
Meditite relaxed. Of course they were friends.
"Yes, just let's lie down and forget this ever happened, hmm?"
Reasonable. Meditite sat on the ground. Scamper was her friend. He wouldn't let any harm come to her. He would protect her. Meditite's head rested on the stone-
And then she snapped open her eyes to see Scamper's paw on her neck.
The Delcatty smiled widely. "Nice nap?"
"What did you do to me?" Meditite scrambled away from Scamper, surging to her feet and getting into a defensive stance.
"It's my Ability," said Scamper. "Cute Charm. With just my words, I can influence others into doing what I tell them to do. You took a little longer than I expected; truth be told, that wasn't bad for an unevolved Wild Pokemon like yourself-"
Meditite heard no more. "Psychic Blast!" she roared, anger filling every word.
Scamper's eyes, bright and shining, suddenly clouded over. Meditite knew this; it wasn't something that happened often, but once in a while, Psychic Blast would strike an adversary's mind in such a way as to cause momentary confusion and therefore uselessness.
It was never expected. But she would never hesitate to take advantage of it.
Meditite charged. Two fists hammered the Delcatty, and then an uppercut to the chin sent him stumbling backwards. "Psychic Blast!" A surge of psychic power drove into Scamper's side, and Meditite leaped once more, fist drawn back-
"Single Paw Strike!"
Unfortunately, a swift paw batted her out of the air.
Meditite landed hard, gasping in pain. She rolled to her feet to see Scamper standing strongly despite punishment that would have felled most Pokemon back in the woods. At the very least his grin was gone.
"Hmm," said Scamper. "I can see why Marcus chose you. If I'd kept up my Ability, though, you would have fallen instantly."
"What is an Ability?" Meditite asked, curiosity winning out over fury.
"It's a special power," the Delcatty explained. "Every species has a different one, sometimes multiple, and every Pokemon has the potential to get one. It takes experience, and quite honestly, you can't control when you get an Ability. But once you do get it, it'll feel familiar. Like you've had it all your life."
Meditite glared at Scamper. "If all Abilities are like that Cute Charm thing-"
"Hey, firstly, they're not," said Scamper. "I've seen Abilities that increase damage resistance, boost power, even control elements…"
"Look," said Meditite, "I don't-"
"And secondly, if you think what I just did to you is unique, think again," Scamper growled. "You're going to encounter Pokemon out there who will do worse. You won't be encountering many Pokemon with Abilities for a while, probably, but there are quite a few Pokemon who will do whatever it takes to win. All I'm saying is, you gotta be prepared for that."
"All right," said Meditite. "Just…never do that again."
"You asked for advice," Scamper defended.
Meditite opened her mouth for another retort, and then Marcus stepped back into view. "Hey, Scamper," he said. "Hey, Meditite. How are you doing?"
"Pet me," Scamper demanded, flopping on his side.
"Do you always do that?" Meditite demanded.
Marcus stooped down to pet Scamper, who gave Meditite a smug glance. "Hey, it works."
Meditite looked pointedly away from the Delcatty.
"We're gonna be leaving tomorrow," Marcus said. "You can stay out here and do what you do for now. Tomorrow, though, we'll be traveling."
"Fine," Meditite said, even though she knew Marcus couldn't understand her. With a nod, Marcus stepped back inside.
"Huh, leaving already," Scamper said. "Sarah didn't get to leave until three months after she got me. I was bored out of my skull by the time we finally left the house."
Meditite continued to ignore Scamper.
Finally, Scamper seemed to get it. "For what it's worth, I understand," the Delcatty said. "When Sarah caught me, she took me away from my family, and I was pretty terrified. But her mother had this old Noctowl, and he did exactly what I just did. Greeted me, insulted me, beat the crap out of me, and then told me exactly this: this is how reality works. But it doesn't have to be. When you've been at this for as long as I have, you'll have lived through plenty of moments like this, moments where you fail, where you feel the worst you'll ever feel. But there will also be great memories, fun battles, and you'll meet all sorts of exciting and new Pokemon. And in the end, you'll look back and you'll realize it was all worth it."
"And was it?" Meditite could not help but ask.
Scamper grinned. "If it wasn't," he said, "I wouldn't be saying the same thing to you. You'd best get some rest; if you're leaving tomorrow, you'll need it." With that, the Delcatty ambled over to a nearby sunbeam, flopped down on the grass, and began to snore.
Meditite shook her head and sat down herself, slipping deep into meditation. Scamper's actions still rankled in her mind, but his advice also stayed with her, joining Ekans's stories in the well of her mind.
She had to admit, she would be glad to get away from the Delcatty.
Her last thought, before she slipped from meditation into sleep, was that this was, like it or not, her life now. As Scamper and Ekans had both said, there would be difficulties. But with acceptance of that came looking forward to what would happen next.
The forest, her friends and enemies in there, would be forgotten, replaced with new friends and new enemies. Gone were the days of uninterrupted meditation; here would lie excitement and adventure.
She could not deny that she was, in a way, looking forward to it, even if it was somewhat of a forced thing. Tomorrow, her new life would truly start.
Tomorrow, she'd go out with Marcus, and find out what kind of Trainer he really was.
Meditite opened her eyes to the sight of a very fluffy vision-obscuring cloud with a wet black nose sniffing her face.
"Oh, hi, you're awake!" Puffball cried. "So, sorry about talking your ear off the other day, I do that sometimes. Anyway, my name's Puffball, and I think Scamper already told you a lot of stuff, but I'd say you really need to remember that being a Trained Pokemon is really fun! There's lots of excitement, and grooming, and fun battles, and grooming, and friends, and excitement, and grooming-"
"Puffball," Meditite groaned, "what are you getting at?"
"Sorry," said Puffball. "What I'm saying, basically, is don't feel too sad about it. Because fun times are just around the corner! Just, you know, a word of advice before you go. That's all. Really. I mean it-"
"Puffball," came the voice of Scamper.
"Coming!" Puffball retreated, and at last Meditite could see again. Her eyes instantly beheld Marcus standing in front of her, along with the other two Trainers - Sarah and James, she recalled their names were - and Scamper, looking surprisingly wistful.
Meditite stood with a groan caused by her muscles aching; it had been stupid to fall asleep on this hard stone, she now realized.
"Oh, look, she's up!" Sarah noted. "It is a she, right?"
Marcus pulled out a small rectangular object in answer, colored a bright shiny red, and held it up towards her. A pause. "Yep, seems so."
"Well, now that she's up, when are you heading out?" James asked.
"Probably as soon as I can," said Marcus. "Won't deny, I'm excited."
"I can't believe you're going away already!" Sarah positively squealed, wrapping her arms around Marcus. "It feels like yesterday when you were in diapers!"
"Sarah, I think he should be on his way," said James. "That said…Marcus, have a good time. Be safe. And don't get into too many unwinnable fights."
"I'll be sure to do that, Dad," said Marcus. "Well, Meditite? We've got a long way to Couriway City, and I'd like to get there before nightfall."
Meditite had no idea what Couriway City was, but she nodded anyway.
"Great," said Marcus. "I'll put you in the Pokeball, and-"
"Actually, word of advice?" said James. "Let her travel out of the ball from time to time, okay? It'll help build trust."
"Got it," said Marcus, already walking away from Sarah and James.
"Good-bye!" chorused the other two Trainers.
Meditite began to walk after Marcus. She cast a glance over her shoulder as she went, and saw Scamper staring after her. The Delcatty smiled; his expression wasn't quite filled with warmth, but at least it wasn't like yesterday's appraising, almost hungry look.
Meditite shuddered slightly and hurried after Marcus, the goodbyes of James and Sarah echoing in her ears all the way into the woods.