AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Hello everyone! I guess its been a while, hasn't it? Exactly a year ago, on the 30th of December, 2023, I published the first ever chapter to my first ever book, kickstarting my journey with writing. Even if it was just a year, I feel like I have been writing for a very long time, though I suppose I don't get to say that yet, do I? I began writing because I wanted to feel seen, to feel appreciated, to know that I can do something, feel good about it and be "praised" for it all at the same time. "Blue Tears" was the book that started it all, and even if it was never finished, the intent was there, and the only thing that stopped me was exhaustion. I never finished "Blue Tears" (or at least its first edition) because writing chapters that long was something not meant for me at that time. It helped me understand that to build larger worlds, to become better at something, you have to practice. And so, I had to essentially abandon ship and start anew, hoping that maybe someday I'd be able to come back to this story and finish it for real.

And today is that day. Mark my words, as this time, "Blue Tears" will have an ending! On a side note, all the chapters posted in the original will be split into multiple parts so that everything that was there in the initial story can be here as well. For example, chapter 5 might be split into 3 parts for the sake of continuity. With all that said, I'll see you sometime in the future- hopefully next week. Ciao!

What do you think happens to a lonely egg in the middle of nowhere? You would think that it gets abducted and eaten by some predator, or fails to hatch because of the lack of warmth from their parents. However, on rare occasions, these eggs actually hatch on their own, despite their lack of... well, anything. If an abandoned egg hatches, then it means that the creature inside was bound to live.

Just that happened on a lonely hill in said middle of nowhere, where a small, blue egg with a black patch on its top seemed to reside peacefully. It survived a spring, a summer, a fall and a winter, before finally deciding that it had spent long enough trapped in the fragile casing. And so, the cracks on its shell began to grow with each day.

And each day, the egg would shake violently, as if whatever was inside was desperately trying to claw its way outside. And eventually, it succeeded in doing just that, as one fateful day, a pair of black, little legs emerged from the bottom of the egg, standing up on their own and immediately beginning to panic.

The egg ran around like a headless chicken, scared and confused as to what's happening. Not long after that, however, it ran into a roadblock- literally. Having hit a tree, the shell slowly peeled off of the baby waiting outside, as it burst out with a gleeful smile on its innocent face.

It looked around, awaiting someone to come and greet them, and yet... nobody did. They were completely alone, on top of a cold hill overlooking the dense forest that surrounded it from all sides. The only thing that was there to greet the newborn was a harsh and chilly wind, that nearly knocked it off its feet. That, and the unseen feeling of some kind of fluid encompassing him all around, as if he was underwater.

It was lonely. Nothing here to welcome him, nobody to hug him, and certainly nobody who would teach him how to walk properly. Then again, he just sprinted around the small mountain like a maniac... Frist things first, he should inspect himself. He just had a gut feeling that getting to know his own body would help him along the way if he's really alone.

And so, the baby stretched its arms out in front of itself, inspecting them thoroughly. They were completely blue, with either of them having small, steel-like bumps right at the tip. His eyes wandered down, looking over the same legs that just carried him to freedom and broke him out of the egg. All black with no discernible features; in other words, a solid pair of kickers.

He had a tail, that's for sure. Otherwise he wouldn't feel the ground moving under him and behind him, or the crunchy leaves that it swept up. His head swiveled right to left and left to right, feeling as something hanging from either side of his head swung along with his head. He instinctively grabbed them and immediately regretted it, letting out a bark of pain as he squeezed the appendages.

Strange... Even if it wasn't clear for him at that time, he was definitely a riolu. And just like any other from his species, he was curious. Curious about the world he was born into. Curious about what laid beneath the thick crowns of the trees that he overlooked. He just wanted to get up and sprint down the hill to immediately explore!

However, first things first, he'd need to learn how to get up. It was easy enough when he was an egg, simply because he didn't need to think about it. It was just something that he did. Although, now that he needed to focus on getting up and balancing himself... Safe to say it was tough at first and required a few trials and errors (as well as many faceplants).

Though the more he tried, the more determined he grew to actually accomplish his goal. And the more times he failed, the more his heart burned with determination to conquer this (literal) small step to greatness! And eventually, he succeeded, taking his very first wobbly step... and immediately falling forward and beginning to tumble down the hill.

He was lucky that there were many trees and stray bushes, otherwise he would've picked up enough speed to actually smash into something and probably die. But, like mentioned earlier, he didn't, instead stopping on said trees and bushes and the eventual rock. It wasn't long before he reached the bottom of the small mountain, with a vast forest stretching out before him.

Riolu's eyes wandered to the left, then to the right and saw... nothing. He expected somebody to be waiting for him there, and yet nobody was... He would've been left disappointed, if not for the sudden flutter of heavy wings behind him and a loud screech that pierced his ears like a spear would the ground. Turns out he wasn't alone after all...

The Emanation Pokemon immediately turned around, trying to catch a glimpse of the stalker, yet only seeing as a solitary feather floated down to the ground, with its owner nowhere to be found. It was black, with white dots all over it. A beautiful feather, if anything. Riolu got closer, taking slow and cautious steps as the small plume slowly made its way down, landing right by his feet.

Curious, he picked it up and gave it a stroke, feeling how smooth and how delicate it was- just like him. He decided to stick it behind his ear for future use, were he to find the feather's owner; getting to know someone who might have seen his parents somewhere was a good idea, after all. And it's not like he had a better plan anyway.

With his sights set on finding his mysterious follower, the little riolu began marching forward into the unknown forest, determined to seek and complete his goal, even if it would take him months or years to do so.

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And just like he had anticipated, days began passing by rather quickly during his stay in the wild jungle of a forest. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into a year. A full year had passed after his birth on the small mountain he decided to call the 'Lonesome hill'. During that time, he found no leads on his primary target, but learned a few new tricks to help himself during his time in the thicket.

Skills like climbing trees to scour for food had proved to be particularly useful, letting him not starve for days upon days before finding a plentiful bush with still ripe berries that haven't been eaten. Not many pokemon can climb up trees, and even fewer know how to pick the right kinds of berries.

Another useful thing he had learned in the wild, is that the strange waves of invisible water that he feels around himself all the time are called aura, and that its something that he'll have to grow used to very soon. Why? Riolu doesn't know that, he assumed the hermit that told him this was just playing a trick on him!

People can look old and wise, but most of the old people that he had met before were just simple elderly pricks that were hanging on to life by a single thread, while also making others' lives as miserable as they can before their departure to the other world. It sometimes felt like they had made a pact with something to torture as many souls as they can in exchange for something...

Still, whatever this 'aura'thing was, it was annoyingly persistent. Riolu could be doing fine, having no problems at all, when suddenly WHAM!-A giant headache. Besides the pain, he would also oftentimes hear voices of other pokemon around him; more specifically, their thoughts. He didn't know how it worked, or why it worked, but it freaked him out all the time.

Imagine talking to your friends about something, when you suddenly begin to hear their internal monologue, judging you. Most of the times it was enough to make Riolu turn around and walk away. "If they criticise me so much, why don't they say it to my face?" he thought to himself many times.

More importantly, it seemed like not everyone had noticed that a newborn had just suddenly appeared in the thicket one day. Parents abandon their children all the time, especially if they're in the wild, supposedly. It seemed as if this thought was universal to everyone, being the first thing that he ever heard from the people that wanted to help him.

Those that did figure out he was lost and needed help, Riolu would often just away from, may that be because they mistreated him, had bad intentions or if he could see that they would not be able to take proper care of him. Those that he didn't run away from however, kicked him out after a day or two, usually because he was so big compared to most of the pokemon that lived in the forest.

He would of course voice his concerns, but with no parent around to teach them how to form simple sentences... It was difficult. And he wouldn't talk at all during his time in the forest, opting to point at things he wanted others to see and barking whenever he wanted their attention.

Eventually, he'd learn how to make himself simple shelters using whatever he had at hand, since it wasn't guaranteed that people would let a stranger inside their home and let them sleep there. And even then, sleeping inside of hollow trees while being barely covered by some leaves he found on the ground wasn't great.

Riolu also had quite the reputation in some parts of the wild, with many pokemon going as far as to call him a hero, even if it was an over exaggeration. He simply liked to help others in need with very simple tasks, like gathering berries for them, finding a lost trinket, or rescuing pokemon that had gotten lost in the lush flora.

And he would always prevail. He would always do what he was asked to, never expecting anything in return but always getting something- the warmth that their kind smiles brought to his heart. That was enough of a reward for him. The simple feeling of having done something kind and brought pleasure to someone felt so rewarding that he would often think about it for days.

He didn't know why, but whenever others around him were sad, he was sad too. When they were happy, he followed suit. Riolu used to think it was simply because he was easily influenced by others, but the longer he stayed in the forest, the more apparent it became- he could feel their emotions. Literally.

Aside from being able to occasionally hear others' thoughts, this whole 'aura' thing supposedly let him feel the emotions that the people he talked to could feel. Sometimes it clouded his eyes, sometimes it made his sense of agency collapse, and if the emotions were negative, they were usually enough to make him cry.

Could you blame him though? He was still considered a small baby by many (even if he was old enough not to be) and still has a lot more to learn from the world around him- especially emotions!

One particularly sunny day, Riolu was listening to a small caterpie rant about their siblings and how they left him the moment they evolved into butterfrees. He could swear than any minute longer and he would've been asleep, when a sudden cry for help pierced his ears and immediately woke him up.

The small bug didn't seem to hear anything, getting mad at him as he rudely interrupted him and got up, his ears standing upright as he listened for the shriek again. And there it was, coming in from the Sun's general direction. He smiled sheepishly at the worm pokemon and bowed apologetically before sprinting off to the distress call.

His small legs moved so fast he could feel his thighs burning up from the friction, and his feet weren't doing so well either. Splinters and thorns everywhere as he ran through bushes and shrubs, but he didn't stop as the calls for help got louder and louder.

Finally! This was a chance for him to become the hero that everyone was calling him! A chance to prove himself and his strength! A chance to become a real manly man, just like the one he had envisioned himself being one day! A big, strong and handsome riolu, with arms the size of tree trunks and ready to help everyone, just for the sake of it!

Maybe he could even-

Before he could finish his thought, the ghastly screams seized and he was met with the silence of the forest. A root stopped him dead in his tracks right as his foot got caught on it, tripping him and making him tumble forward a fair distance. It didn't help that the area was slightly sloped, which meant that he went farther than he could imagine.

He squealed and pulled on some stray flowers, desperate to at least slow himself down before he would land on a sharp rock, but nothing worked. Eventually, he would stop rolling with the help of a fallen tree, which neatly blocked the path forward like a barricade. For once in his short life, the small riolu was thankful to hit something.

But surprises didn't come to a stop like he had, because when he looked up, he saw the talons of a mighty bird embedding themselves in the log and loudly scratching them. Two feet, both with two pairs of razor sharp, teal claws- two on the front and two on the back. The bird's legs were covered by a long cloak made of black leaves.

Some of them had white spots on them, creating a sort of mesmerising pattern, looking like stars in a night sky. Higher up was a blue hood, being the same colour as the talons, with a bright red cross-shaped lead on the chest. Two additional leaves hung down from the hood with what appeared to be vines; limp and blending in with the rest of the leaves. A big, white feather sat atop the bird's "crown".

Its head began to slowly move down, no features of their face visible aside from their teal beak and sharp, orange eyes that drilled into Riolu's soul like a diglett would into the ground... In a moment's notice, the smaller pokémon fell silent and was paralysed out of fear. They just seemed so big, so scary...

Having never experienced such intense fear in such a short period of time, the small riolu felt weak, collapsing onto the muddied surface and closing his eyes, as if he was going to sleep just like any other night. Some stranger called out to him, but it was too late. He had already fainted by then, taken by the dark void.

He's never felt so calm before... so relaxed... and so cold. He was practically freezing. Riolu's fur stood on its end as he felt the cold, harsh wind gently caress him, sweeping back his fluff. He's never felt this before either. He was so used to the warm and sometimes humid air that this cool and crispy breeze was a very pleasant reminder that nothing in this world is the same.

And that was a good thing. Without variety, people would look the same, berries would be tasteless, there would be no colours, and more importantly, he wouldn't be himself. He wouldn't be the hero that they call him now. He wouldn't be as creative as he is now, or crafty for that matter.

Variety is what makes him him,and what makes them them.It was strange for Riolu to get so psychological about something so simple, but its not the first time that it happened. He always had a tendency to overthink simple things and ponder about their meaning- like a leaf's, or a fish's.

Though, right now is different. He thought he was going to die, so maybe that was what sparked his unusual thoughts? It was strange to think about, and very tiring for the little riolu. He could go for a nice nap right about now... Yeah. A small bit of sleep never killed anybody... Right?