Chapter 2: The Paldean Pokemon
After a short five minute or so drive I had finally pulled up to Whitney's house.
After getting out of my car and grabbing the injured pokemon, I quickly rushed up to Whitney's door where she had already been standing after hearing my car pull up.
"Hey Hayden...w...what the hell happened?" She asked once she took notice of what was in my arms.
"I'll tell you after. First, medicine...please, if you have any of course."
"Yeah sure, here." She said as she rushed inside over to one of her big cabinets. "Give it this."
"Holy...a full restore? You sure you're willing to give me this on a whim?"
"Dude, I'm a gym leader...got tons of them for my team after battles and whatnot, so it's not on a whim I promise. Plus, even if it was I would still help you out dummy."
"Thanks Whit, I owe you one." I said as I gently began to spray the full restore all over the injured pokemon to the best of my ability.
After a few seconds, it had begun to move ever so slightly, but nothing much else happened after that before it simply went almost limp again.
"Uhh...I don't think it's working." I said, stating the obvious.
"Honestly to me it just looks like it's extremely worn out, and it may have just fainted from exhaustion. I've been around a lot of injured pokemon over my time as a gym leader after all the battles and all I've been around, so that's just my honest observation from what I see."
"Hmm...yeah I guess you could be right."
"I promise the full restore should definitely help out a bunch regardless. We may just need to let it rest for a few hours until the morning and then we can take it to the pokemon center. Joy will know what to do I assure you." Whitney said, grabbing a blanket and pillow and throwing it onto her couch.
She gestured over to the couch for me to place the pokemon down, to which I did shortly after.
After a few moments of the two of us just simply staring at it together, she finally broke the silence.
"So uh...first question I guess. What the hell even is this thing? I've never even see it before." She asks, dumbfounded as I was.
"I was hoping you'd know...hell, you're the gym leader here, so you have way more knowledge than I. If you don't know it, then I definitely don't. I have a decent knowledge to a certain extent but that's about it." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"About that, why DID you never get into that all those years back when you and Frank used to hang around Ash when we first met? I always thought the three of you would be world champs at some point to be honest with you."
"Hmm...I dunno. Don't get me wrong I think pokemon and becoming a trainer and battling are all cool as shit...but I was always bigger on computers and electronics, hence why I help the professor at his lab when it comes to keeping all those machines working and whatnot. Plus, my job is literally a two minute walk up the road from my house, so it's a win win for me."
"Pff...you and your computers. Still remember all the times you've had to come fix all my stuff in the gym and all for me...ya nerd." She said the last part playfully while punching my shoulder lightly.
"Yeah yeah I hear ya."
"Anyways, second question." She says, turning to face me now. "What the hell ACTUALLY even happened?"
"Alright so get this..." I said before taking the next ten minutes to lay everything out and explain the situation to her.
"Haaahh...sounds like a Team Rocket ordeal if you ask me." She said, visibly getting a little angry. "Bastards tried to steal my miltank one time a few years back on my dad's farm. Luckily as soon as he pulled out his 12 gauge, they changed their mind pretty quickly and ran off."
I just raised my eye in question as the name was one I had definitely heard mentioned before. "Team Rocket? Sounds kinda familiar I think."
"Group of wannabe gang members that try to steal people's pokemon to add to some sort of crazy collection or something...they're pathetic." Whitney scoffed and shook her head. "Bunch of scum if you ask me. They act hard until you overpower them in any way, then they run like a bunch of cowards."
"Yeah that I can confirm. Soon as I pulled out my gun they were gone without so much as a second guess."
"Yep...that's them alright." Whitney said, sitting down on the bar stool in her kitchen.
"So...um...you sure this little guy is gonna be alright?" I asked, pointing over my shoulder at the sleeping pokemon. "I mean, it at least seems to be breathing at regular intervals now so that's good."
"Hm, should be in all honestly. But like I said, we can just bring it to Nurse Joy in the morning at the pokecenter to make absolutely sure, also need to see who's pokemon this actually belongs to...IF it even belongs to anybody. Also, should report it all to Officer Jenny as well since they've been doing a bit of investigating on those thugs as of late...might just maybe help em out."
"Yeah that sounds good to...wait...so do you want me to just like come back in the morning and meet you here or?"
Whitney suddenly faces away from me, a tinge of red forming upon her cheeks. "Well...I mean I have extra blankets and pillows...you could just crash on my couch if you want...I mean it IS pretty late anyway."
"You sure? I feel like I've already burdened you enough just with this." I said, taking a seat next to her at the other bar stool.
"Jeez quit with that will ya? You never bother me like at all Hayden. I offered because I wanted to, I promise."
She gets up from the stool and walks over to the wardrobe pulling out a few blankets and pillows, tossing one set on the couch and the other on the ground.
"Now get your ass on the sofa and get comfy. I'll take the floor...we can both monitor the little guy if need be til the morning comes. Plus, I'd like to at least get a few hours of sleep before then, I HAVE been up like all day."
"Sure, but I'm taking the floor and I'm not arguing. This is your house, the least you can do is sleep on the couch. I'll take the floor." I said as I was already getting under the blankets that were laid out.
She heaves a heavy sigh before nodding and getting under the covers on the sofa. "Fine fine, have it your way. You know now that I think about it...this is the first time you've actually stayed at my place huh?"
"Huh...yeah you're right. First time I think its just been us two as well." I said nonchalantly, setting up myself on her floor. "Anyways, we can talk more and deal with this when the time comes in the morning, but for now I'm about to crash."
She let's out a big yawn, which must have been contagious because I had done the exact same thing right after before pulling off a huge stretch.
"Haaahhh...yeah, guess you're right. Well anyways...night Hayden."
"Yeah...g'night...oh and Whit?"
"Hm?" She said, already somewhat drifting off herself.
"Thanks for all this, you're honestly a great friend. I can always count on you for stuff like this, and I appreciate it all every time."
I lay there for a few seconds but heard no response.
"Hm, she falls asleep faster than Frank does." I said to myself before nodding off shortly after.
After a few hours had rolled by, once the sun had come up and shone throughout the living room, I was up in a flash, not that I really even slept much to begin with.
After shaking Whitney up and getting a few moans and groans out of her, she had finally gotten up herself. She made a quick pot of coffee for the two of us as the injured pokemon was still sound asleep on her couch.
"Poor little guy must have been seriously beat. But he definitely looks a bit better than last night." she said, downing her last swig of coffee. "Anyways, ready when you are."
"Yep." I said, finishing my coffee off as well and setting it down in her sink. "Let's go."
She grabs her things as I gently lift the pokemon from the couch and into the back seat of my car outside with Whitney riding in the passenger seat.
"Oh! Forgot to give this a shot last night." She said pulling out her pokedex as she began scanning the pokemon in the back seat.
"Oh...right, that probably would have helped. I didn't think of it myself since I don't even have one."
"Not even for just in case situations or anything?" She asked, seemingly curious.
I just shrug my shoulders and shake my head. "Nah, Frank has one that he got from his cousin since who's a pokemon breeder. Gave it to him a few years back and he's always kept it just in case I guess."
"Hm I see. Wonder-"
DING* Suddenly the pokedex finishes it's scan before it began speaking.
"Unknown...Pokemon. Not in...databank."
"Oh...wow. Maybe it's a completely new discovery! That would be crazy if so. Maybe that's why those rocket grunts wanted it so badly?" I said, looking towards Whitney for some sort of confirmation.
"Eh...that's possible...but I won't lie, I haven't updated my pokedex in a few years in all honesty. Never really had the need to since I don't really travel or anything. Guess I should probably make a trip to Professor Elm's lab at some point and do that."
We finally pull up to the Pokecenter and park close to the front for easy access.
"I mean...wanna just come with me after we're done here? We can just go together since I literally live right there anyway." I said as I pulled the e-brake and shut my car off.
"Jeez, can't get enough of being around me as of late huh Hayden?" She said playfully as she got out of the car.
"Oh gracious Whitney you caught me, how I long for your presence on the daily." I said sarcastically as I carefully lifted the pokemon into my arms.
"Knew it!" She said, walking up to the door and holding it open for me.
"Yeah yeah, thanks smartass." I said, walking up to the counter to where Nurse Joy was standing.
She takes notice of Whitney walking up from behind me to which she smiles and greets her formally.
"Hey Whit! Had yourselves a battle I'm assuming?"
"Actually, not this time Joy...this is uh...a bit of a different situation." She said, turning towards me and nodding. "Show her Hayden."
"Alright." I replied, laying the pokemon we had wrapped in her blanket upon the table, fully revealing it to Nurse Joy.
Immediately I could see the look of utter confusion roll over her face.
"Is...this yours then I'm assuming?" She asked me, beginning to examine the pokemon a bit.
"Um...no actually. We don't know who it belongs to...IF it even belongs to someone."
She looks up at me even more confused now, before turning towards Whitney.
"It's a long story Joy...we just want to make sure it's alright before we figure out what our next step would even be honestly."
"I see. Well...the thing is...um, we don't usually...or really at all...treat wild pokemon, or pokemon who aren't with their respective owner." She said before turning back towards Whitney. "I'm sorry Whit, but I don't know what to do without overstepping my bounds or jeapardizing my job."
"Aghh...of course...I didn't even think about that." Whitney said, face palming herself a bit.
Joy looks back down towards the pokemon, tilting her head a bit from astonishment. "On top of that...I'll be honest...I've never even seen one like this before, and believe me...I've treated A LOT of pokemon. I've seen it all."
"So...where exactly do we go from here then? I mean is there any way you could at least just make sure it's alright? I'll pay whatever, it's not a big deal." I said, already pulling out my wallet.
"Oh no sir, it's not about the money, it's just..." She trails off as she glances back down at the pokemon once more, seemingly conflicted with what to do.
Whitney must have noticed this herself as she basically used the opportunity to go in for the kill.
She places her hand upon Nurse Joy's shoulder and made her plea.
"Joy, please. Just at the very least, run a quick scan on it...couldn't you just do it really quick? I promise everything will be alright."
Nurse Joy groans a bit, seeming a bit nervous, though after a few seconds she had finally nodded.
"Aright, but I have to make it quick while there's not many people around. Please give me a moment." She said, quickly but gracefully taking the pokemon within her arms and bringing it to the back.
"Thanks Joy, you're the best!" Whitney said, turning to me afterwards. "So um...guess we just wait and see?"
"Yep, that's what it's looking like." I said, already plopping down in one of the chairs.
After about 10 minutes or so, Nurse Joy comes back out, beckoning us to come back up to the counter, to which we did.
"So, what's it looking like Miss Joy?" I asked her sincerely.
"Um...might I ask you where you may have found this pokemon...or even, how this situation came about? Just need some info to try and piece together everything after running the scan."
"Uh sure, might wanna get a pen and paper though." I said before I began to explain everything that had happened the night before.
She just stood there, taking in everything I had been telling her, seemingly quite a bit more interested than she had been before.
"Hm...that definitely sounds like a Team Rocket ordeal." Nurse Joy finally said after my explanations.
"That's exactly what I said to him last night." Whitney added in.
"So...with that, do you have some sort of diagnosis?" I asked, still a bit concerned.
"Ah yes, well...after our tests I had phoned Professor Elm to ask if he knew anything after sending the data of the pokemon to him."
"Okay...and what did Elm say about it?"
"So he looked on the national dex, and it turns out it's a fairly new discovered pokemon, maybe within the past year and a half. It's called a floragato, and...here's the part that really confused me. They're native...to Paldea."
As soon as I heard what she had said, my jaw had almost dropped.
"I'm sorry...did you say...Paldea?"
Nurse Joy simply nods before looking me straight in my eyes with the same hint of surprise as I had. "Yes, yes I did."
"I'm no geological expert, but I'm pretty sure that's a whole other continent. How on earth would one of these pokemon get over here?" I said, still flabbergasted by the whole ordeal.
"God damn Team Rocket...I'll bet they stole it from over there somehow and sent it here illegally or something to sell it on the black market or something along those lines." Whitney said, gritting her teeth in anger.
"I mean...that IS very possible for them to do. We also tried to see if she had ever been captured within a pokeball and had her pokemon number assigned to her...and she never has." Joy said, glancing down at her clipboard where one could only assume all of the test results were.
"Meaning, they probably captured it in the wild or something. No number assigned means no previous owner, which I guess is some slight relief given the situation." Whitney stated matter of factly.
"Well damn, I've been saying 'he' all this time...didn't even realize it was a female." I said, feeling a bit dumb now.
"Ya didn't think to check?" Whitney asked half jokingly.
"Jeez, sorry that checking if it had a penis wasn't on the agenda during the time that I literally, oh I don't know, saved it's life?" I said, sarcastically playing back with her.
She just rolls her eyes before turning back to Nurse Joy, "Annnnyways, anything else we should know Joy?"
"Well...the other news is that she had some sort of blue powder caught up within all of her fur. We sampled some of it and found out that it was sleep spores from a Vileplume...but altered in some sort of way to make it seriously potent, hence why she seems to be caught in such a deep sleep."
"Okay, but she's alright other than that I'm guessing? Or?"
Joy just nods at me before looking away a bit disheartedly.
"I don't like that look...what's it that you aren't saying?" I asked her a bit sternly.
"Well...I've already done more than I should have without getting in trouble...but I seriously can't risk doing any more to a pokemon that doesn't have an owner. The most I can do now is pass her off to pokemon wildlife management and they will take care of the rest before most likely sending it back off to it's natural environment."
"Is that seriously the only other option? It already got captured once...who's to say that there's not some crazy gang over there in Paldea that caused all this in the first place?" Whitney said, throwing her hands around frantically before placing them upon her hips.
I silently thought to myself what I had heard in the car on the way to Whitney's house in the first place. There was a part of me that thought that I was maybe just hearing things, but I'm almost positive that I had heard it speak actual words, which would make a hell of a lot of sense in why people like these guys would want it so badly for, but I wasn't about to say any of that out loud.
"I mean, we could administer an awakening and she would probably be perfectly fine...but since it doesn't have an owner and is basically a wild pokemon, we can't risk waking it up in an environment such as this as it would most likely traumatize it. The only way we'd be able to is if we knew for a fact that it was docile and had it's trainer with it, but unfortunately, unless someone suddenly were to claim ownership...we would be unable to-"
"I'll do it then." I said on a whim without even thinking.
Whitney turns and looks to me at breakneck speed with her jaw wide open. "...Say what now?"
Once I realized what I had said out loud, I wanted to mentally punch myself in the face. I don't even know what came over me in the moment, but to some extent it was almost as if something told me that I HAD to do this.
At this point, I had already said the words and I wasn't one to back down.
"I said I'll take her in. I'm not much of a trainer or anything of the sort, but I can officially claim ownership if that's what it takes. I dunno...I kinda feel like she's my responsibility now? If that makes any sense."
Both Joy and Whitney look to one another a bit dumbfounded for a moment before chuckling a bit.
"Wow...who'd have thought you were so responsible Hayden. I'm impressed." Whitney said jokingly.
"Oh piss off." I said, waving her off playfully.
"Well...if you really would fully claim ownership...then you'd be able to buy a pokeball and register her to you and set up your PC profile here now, which would officially make you her 'trainer' even though you don't theoretically have to be an actual trainer if you don't want. It's really all just for the legalities and all before I can allow you to purchase any meds here for her and all. If you're okay with that, we can go ahead and go through with all of that now if you'd like?"
"Yes, let's do it." I said with a bit more of a proud nod now as I felt like I was actually doing something good.
"Okay great! I'll need your id to register your account on the trainer pc and get her a pokeball of your choice so you can get her registered to you!" She said, pulling up the necessary stuff on the pc for me to fill out.
"Okay, sure thing." I said, handing her my id.
After handing her my info and a few minutes of setting everything up, I had gotten myself officially registered as a trainer.
"There we go, all set! Here...this one is on me. I'll chalk it up to Whitney owing me a favor if need be." Joy said as she handed me a pokeball.
"Hey don't decide that on your own!" She said jokingly.
"Um, actually...I think I'll keep her out of the pokeball. Is there any way you can still register her to me without like...'capturing' her?"
Nurse Joy raises an eye before finally nodding and smiling. "Sure, I can manually set her up a register number if that's what you want. It's just that people usually catch a pokemon with a pokeball officially before ever bringing them here...but this is a bit of a different case I suppose so it's okay."
"Yeah, let's do that. Also...I'll administer that awakening myself when I get home. Like you said about the whole being in a different environment and freaking out or something, I'd rather not put that on y'all. If it happens, let it be to me. I can handle it myself if it does."
"You're...sure about that? I mean we are trained professionals and-"
"Joy..." Whitney interrupted. "I'm pretty sure it'll be okay if he wants to do it himself. He's a tough guy, but caring. I got my faith in him."
"Aw, you DO care." I said, in a cutesy sarcastic tone.
"Don't ruin it you ass." She said, glaring at me with eyes at half mast.
"Okay then, very well. I'll clean all of the powder from out of her fur and then you can take her with you. Once you get home, one full administration of the awakening should have her up in no time at all."
"Alright cool. Thanks again for all this Nurse Joy." I said, bowing my head a bit out of respect.
"Sure thing. Any friend of Whitney's is a friend of mine!"
With that, she disappears once more into the back room for about half an hour before finally releasing the floragato to me. Once we had left, I gave Whitney a lift back home before heading off to my house to deal with the matter at hand.
I had shot the guys a text to make sure they had gotten back to their houses before I came home as well to avoid any awkwardness as I decided that I'd explain everything to them at some other point in time. Once I arrived, I walked in, tossed my keys and wallet onto the coffee table, set her down on the couch and pulled the awakening from out of my pocket.
"Man...I hope this is gonna work out right." I said to myself, glancing down at the peacefully sleeping pokemon. "Well...here goes nothing."
I spray the entirety of the bottle, which wasn't very much in all honesty, evenly upon her fur until the bottle was empty just as Joy had told me to do. Once It was empty I tossed it into the trash can and awaited patiently.
Within 10-15 seconds, I heard a few audible groans before her eyes began to open.
I swallowed hard, as I wasn't really sure what to expect. What came after...
I definitely couldn't have been even remotely prepared for.
As soon as her eyes fully opened and she took notice of me, she let out a loud gasp and shot up onto her feet, hissing at me as she showed her claws.
But that wasn't the part that got me...it was what came after.
"Guess the first time wasn't enough huh?! You need me to put another scratch on your-huh?" Suddenly she looks at my face directly before a look of utter confusion overtook her. "Hey...you're not the guy who took me!"
My mouth was hanging wide open for a few seconds as I tried my best to gain my composure. There was a literal talking pokemon standing in front of me...talking to me directly...with actual words. I mean, I know this has been known to happen in some cases for psychic pokemon to learn to speak through telepathy and also some fairy pokemon learning actual speech and all, so I could only assume this pokemon had to be part psychic, or a fairy type...though it looked like neither to me which only succeeded in confusing me further.
Finally I found the strength to snap out of my shock and muster up a conversation.
"Uh...holy shit...so you really did talk back in my car..."
She continues to have her guard up, claws still out and still showing her teeth a bit.
"Where's Mama Gertrude?! Where am I?!" She said, almost shouting at an impressive volume coming from such a small pokemon.
"Okay um...look I'll do my best to explain what I can, but first of all...can you put those things up? I want you to know I'm not your enemy, I promise. You can use your abilities or whatever you need to to even see if I'm lying if need be...pretty sure you guys can do that and all from the stories I've heard."
"What? Abilities? What are you talking about!?" She asked, clearly confused.
"Uh...your like...psychic powers or whatever?"
She just raises an eye and I could tell that she was ever so slightly lowering her guard.
"Psychic...powers?"
"Yeah like...reading my mind? Can't you psychic types do that? Unless you're a fairy...and if that's the case I guess you can't which makes sense."
She just stands there, dumbfounded, and remains silent as if waiting for me to clarify.
"Huh...if you aren't a psychic or anything...do you mind if I ask how you learned to...well, you know...talk?"
"Why should I tell you? I don't even know you!"
Although I could somewhat understand her caution around me, I could feel myself getting just a tad annoyed. It was almost like arguing with a kid.
"Look I told you, I'm not your enemy! Hell, I'm the one that saved you from those two guys whom I could only assume took you from your Mom!"
"Oh, right, and I'm just automatically supposed to believe you? Somebody who I've never seen before or even know at all?"
"I mean...when you put it that way I guess not but...I don't know how else I could show you that I'm not a bad guy!"
She starts to open her mouth as if to retaliate before a loud sound reverberated within my living room.
It was her stomach.
I raise an eye at her and let out a sigh before getting up from my couch and walking into my kitchen. "Hungry?"
As soon as I stood up, she had immediately gotten back into her 'at the ready stance' as I walked past her. She kept a close eye on me and faced forward towards me the entire time, never letting me out of her sight.
"W, what are you doing? I'll scratch your eye out if I have to, I promise!"
I shoot her a look with my eyes that says 'really?' before opening my fridge and pulling out some steaks.
"Scratch my eye out, and I won't be able to see to cook for us. So probably not the best idea."
"Cook? Why would you-"
"Last time I checked, when someone's stomach talks out loud like that, it usually means they're starving. Unless of course I'm mistaken, which if that's the case I can just pick this back up." I said, faking like I was about to put the food back in the fridge. "So I'll ask again...you hungry?"
She looks away a bit from embarrassment and let's out a defeated groan before finally nodding.
"See how easy that was? Now, I'm assuming you eat steak, yeah? Unless you've never had it before, that is." I said, pulling the packs open and laying them both on the cutting board.
"No I...um...I've had it before." She said, her guard somewhat lowered once again momentarily.
"Alright cool. I've uh...never really cooked for a pokemon, save for my best friend who gave some to his lopunny. She's probably the only one who's actually eaten he or I's food before, so I'll do my best." I said, pulling out a knife from the kitchen drawer.
As soon as she had seen the knife she let out a loud gasp and jumped right back into fight or flight stance.
"Ha! I knew you were bluffing! You're trying to get me to let my guard down so you can use your shiny weapon to!-"
"Steak knife."
"...W-what?"
"It's a steak knife...to cut the steak." I said, waving it around cockily before slicing her steak into bite sized pieces.
She remains quiet, glancing at the knife as I finish cutting her steak before tossing it into the sink once I was finished.
"See?" I said showing the front and back of my hands to her. "Unarmed."
After a few moments, she slowly but cautiously makes her way into the kitchen, still keeping a bit of distance from me understandably.
Once I was finished with the cutting, I pulled out some steak seasoning from my cabinet to season the steaks with.
Yet again, though not as much as before, she puts her guard up a bit.
"Tch...what, now you're gonna try poisoning me?" She said a bit angrily, though not as hardgoing as before.
"You know, that would make sense if I would only be putting it on your steak, but as you can see I've put it on both...so I guess I'd be poisoning myself as well, which would be pretty stupid." I said, setting the seasoning bottle down on the counter. "Do you know how to read by any chance?"
She looks up at me before glancing back at the bottle, nodding ever so slightly. "Mostly...why?"
"Well go ahead then, read what it says. I'm not lying to you, here."
She takes the bottle into her paws after a few seconds and begins to read aloud.
"S...teak...seasoning...with...lemon zest and...pepper?"
"Correct. Have you ever had seasoning on any of your food before?" I asked her genuinely, as I was new to every bit of this.
She just looks up at me and nods, and her claws finally retracted as well which was at least some bit of a good sign that she was at least starting to show some form of trust towards me, which was a start at the least.
I pull out my cast iron pan from my cabinet and throw it onto the burner, turning it onto medium heat before turning back towards her.
"Alright, then it's not poison, as I said. Next question...when you ate steak, how did you like it cooked?"
She looks up at me, genuinely confused as to what exactly I was asking.
I just heave a small sigh before thinking on how to word it better for her.
"It's like...I mean...do you want it like kind of raw in the middle with it just barely cooked on the outside or like...uhhh."
I could tell that she wasn't really catching on to exactly what I was saying so I basically just gave up trying to explain.
"Know what...medium rare it is for both of us." I said, tossing her steak bites onto the pan first.
The meat begins to sizzle as soon as it hit the pan, filling the room with a pleasant aroma.
I could see her sniff the air a bit which caused her to perk up a little.
"Heh...smells good huh? Look I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I can cook a mean steak, which you'll see here shortly."
After about a minute or so in total, I pull the pieces of meat out of the pan and onto a plate for her, setting the dish right in front of her.
"Know how to use a fork? Or would you rather just use your paws or?"
She glances at it momentarily before looking up to me with eyes at half mast.
She still didn't trust me it seemed.
"Suit yourself. I'll eat it if you don't want it."
I quickly took one of the pieces from her plate and tossed it into the air and caught it in my mouth, chewing briefly and swallowing, showing her afterwards that I really did eat it all.
"Damn, that was good...outdid myself if I say so!" I said playfully before tossing my steak on the pan next.
She pauses briefly for a few moments before finally, but cautiously, taking one of the pieces and examining it in her paw before finally eating it.
Needless to say, her face said it all and I was quite proud of myself with the result.
"Heh...you totally liked it." I said, poking a bit of fun at her.
She turns away a bit from embarrassment before muttering something under her breath.
"Huh? Did you say something?" I asked her genuinely.
"I said...why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me...and I don't know you...what's your motive here?" She said, popping another piece of steak into her mouth as she spoke.
"Does there have to be a reason for me to be nice to someone? Plus, when I first stumbled upon you, you were definitely in a bit of a pickle. I just so happened to see what went down just in time and I decided to act on it and save you."
She continues glaring at me, unconvinced as she continues eating her steak piece by piece.
I heave a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I began to feel more and more defeated.
"Look...call it a hunch or a sign or whatever, but something just told me to pull over and see what was going on last night while I was driving, and then the rest is history. You don't need to have an ulterior motive to help someone in need, be it person or pokemon, in a situation like that. It's called being a good person."
"Good person huh? That's the same thing those people said to mama when they first...when they..."
She started trailing off a bit, effectively catching my attention when she had stopped talking so suddenly.
"When they...what? You talking about those guys I saved you from?"
She began to tear up a little as she frantically shook her head.
I turn the stove off for the time being as eating was starting to become less worrisome for myself. I felt terrible hearing her voice begin to crack like that and I could see she was clearly in pain speaking on the matter.
"Whoa whoa hey hold on...you don't have to force yourself to talk about it if you don't want to. Look...I know we just met and you're overly cautious around me due to what happened to you, and I get that...trust me. I would be the same way if it was I in your situation. But just know...if you'd like to tell me your story or tell me a bit about yourself, I'll listen to whatever you have to say...I promise."
She sniffles ever so slightly as she wipes a single tear from her cheek with the back of her paw before nodding to acknowledge me.
"Just saying, sometimes it's better to talk it out and get it off of your chest, but I understand if you don't want to say-"
She shakes her head a bit frantically, effectively stopping me in my tracks. "No...I'll...I'll tell you."
For the next half an hour, she began to explain to me everything that she could remember that had happened to her up until this point, and honestly the more she spoke, the more terrible I felt for her...and the more angry I was getting over it all.
There were parts here and there that she would have to stop on briefly to catch herself from bursting into tears, which added even more to the effect of making me feel worse for her, and angrier at the same time.
Finally after she had stopped and told me everything, it had taken me a solid five minutes to process everything before I finally spoke up.
"So...let me get this straight...your 'mama' as you say, was actually just your caretaker who owned this pokemon nursery and breeding ground...and she actually would teach the pokemon there to speak? And that's where you got your knowledge of speech from?"
She simply nods as she finally finishes her last bite of steak. "Yes, that's right. There were only five of us there, and we all knew how. I was newest member of their family at the time when I was first taken in by her. I was still at my first stage when she first found me around the big mountain."
"The big mountain? I'm guessing that's where you told me was the furthest point of your past that you remembered?"
She just nods and remains silent, finally seeming to relax around me a bit.
"So technically...you've never met your real parents then? Like you're actual pokemon parents?"
"No...never. Mama Gertrude taking me into her care is the furthest point that I can remember in my first stage."
"Hm...I'm guessing by first stage, you mean before your evolution."
"Yes, that's what I believe what you would call it."
"So then...this must actually be your second form...or maybe even your last? I mean, I'm not familiar with your type unfortunately so I don't even know. Unless you know yourself of course."
"Are there no others like myself anywhere around here?" She asked, seemingly surprised.
"Nope, as far as I know you're the only one. You're kind is native to what's called the Paldea region...pretty far ways away from here. Only accessible by sea or air, so I'm assuming one of those ways is how you had to have ended up here." I said, standing up and grabbing her plate for her and washing it, turning the stove back on finally to finish cooking my food.
She hops up off of the couch and actually follows me into the kitchen, signifying that I must have been at the least building up some small form of trust.
"So these guys who you said came to 'adopt' you from your caretaker...were they different than the guys I saved you from?" I asked, flipping the steak in my now hot pan.
"Yes, different people. When they came...they said they took an interest in me and that they knew about some of my talents and wanted to give me a nice home to live in for their children...then as soon as we left, I remember them throwing some sort of powder on me and I fell into a really deep sleep. Next thing I remember, I was with the two people who you say you found me with."
"Hmm...that stuff they tossed on you must have been seriously potent to knock you out for that long. I just don't understand what their motive behind any of this could have been. Some kind of pokemon underground illegal smuggling type deal or...I dunno." I said, taking my steak off of the stove to let it rest for a bit.
"All I remember hearing when I first woke up was something to do with them saying I'd make them rich because I could talk while putting on a performance and doing my magic and-" All of a sudden she hurriedly covers her mouth with her paws as if she had said something horrific.
"Magic?" I said, raising an eye at her. "What do you mean magic? That what you meant when you said talents?"
She looks away in total shame and embarrassment, lowering her ears as if she felt depressed.
"Great, now you're gonna want to capture me too. Fantastic." She said, throwing her small arms up in defeat.
"Okay, first thing...I have no idea what you're getting at. Second thing, why on earth would I 'capture' you? Didn't I literally just save you from that actually happening? I'm telling you, I'm not that type of guy."
I grab my plate and a knife and fork before going to sit back down on my sofa, placing the plate on the coffee table and looking back over towards her. "So with that being said, can you like...do magic tricks or something? Is that what you were saying?"
She lets out a little sigh before nodding.
"Y-yeah...kind of. But it's stupid." She said, slowly walking back over towards me before sitting on the other side of the sofa, still keeping a tad bit of distance.
"Do YOU like doing it?" I asked her, finally beginning to chomp down on my steak.
She pauses for a moment to think before shrugging her shoulders. "Well...I...yes...yes I do."
"Mnokay ven." I said with a mouthful of steak before finally swallowing. "Then that means it's NOT stupid, it's your passion. If you're passionate about something, then screw what anybody else thinks."
She looks up at me and I could see a new light in her eyes. It was easy to tell that she wasn't used to this type of small praise. "You...think so? Mama used to tell me the same thing..."
"No, I know so. Tell you what...you show me a little something..." I said, reaching into the drawer next to the couch, pulling out a deck of cards. "And I'll show you a little something of my own...deal?"
She raises an eye and perks up a bit when she notices what I had. "Wait, you know a card trick?!"
"I know a few actually. Used to be really into magic as a kid and...well...I mean, I still like it if I'm being honest. Might be a little rusty though, haven't done too many tricks in years, so you can laugh at me if you'd like."
"No, I won't laugh!" She said, raising her voice in excitement.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself a bit as I was already seeing a completely different side to her.
"Alright then...well...you're up first. Show me a little something, whatever you want is okay with me."
She taps her chin for a few moments, pondering before smirking a bit.
"Okay, got one!" She said before pulling the flower from her coat of fur and showing it to me. "See the flower? Keep your eye on it kay!"
"Alright, got it, I'm locked onto it." I said, absolutely staring the thing down now.
"Heh...you sure about that?" She said as she made a quick motion with her paw, causing the flower to disappear instantly.
I made a slightly amused face and nodded, giving her a little clap. "Hey that wasn't bad at all."
"Not finished...why don't you check your hair?" She said with a huge smirk on her face as she pointed at my head.
I cock my head back a bit in confusion as I ruffled my fingers through my hair a, pulling out the same flower she had just had before and holding it within my hands, staring up at her with a raised eye afterwards.
"Um...tadaa?" She said nervously as I held the flower within my hands. "S-sorry, I knew that was kinda stupid like I said."
"Actually, that was pretty damn impressive if I had to say. Like...actually, really impressive. You didn't even go near my head, so clearly your sleight of hand is fairly top notch. Bravo, seriously." I said, handing her back the flower.
She takes it before looking up towards me with a confused look on her face. "Sleight...of hand?"
"Mhm." I said with a nod. "That's what that type of magic is called. Tell you what, since that's what you did, I'll do a sleight of hand trick myself. Cool with that?" I asked her.
She smiles and nods, resting her paws in her lap as she awaits. "Sure!"
"Alright. Ahem...go ahead and pick a card, but don't show it to me." I said, fanning out the cards in front of her. "Let me know when you got one memorized. Don't forget it when you do!"
She looks through the cards momentarily before finally choosing one and nodding. "Okay, got it!"
"Alright, keep it memorized ok?" I said, shuffling the deck for a minute before finally straightening it out and holding it at the ready in my hand.
"You ready?" I asked her with a smirk.
"Yup!" She said excitedly.
I quickly throw the deck of cards into the air to where they all scatter in front of her before quickly reaching out and snatching one single card from the air.
I could tell that she hadn't seen this before because she was completely taken aback just by the fact that I managed to grab a single card from the air.
I slowly and suspensefully turn the card around to face her and her eyes began to light up once again.
"This your card?" I asked with a proud smirk as I already knew the answer from her facial expression.
"Whoa...that was so cool! Can you teach me that?!" She asked, scooting a lot closer to me than she was before out of sheer excitement.
I smiled and laughed to myself again before nodding, enjoying this different side of her. "Sure, I'll teach it to you sometime. Long as you stick around for a bit that is."
As soon as I had said that, she began to think for a moment before another wave of sadness had seemingly washed over her. "I...I don't know...I still don't even know where here is...or if I'll ever see Mama again...maybe...maybe she doesn't even want me anymore..."
Her head hung low from pure depression as she began tearing up again, and I couldn't help but feel distraught, though I did my best to cheer her up.
"Hayden, by the way." I said, breaking the silence.
"H-huh?" She asked, sniffling a bit and wiping away a few tears.
"My name." I said extending my hand out towards her paw. "What's yours?"
She glances down at my hand and at first I was unsure if she even knew what the gesture meant, though that was quickly debunked when she finally reached out and shook my hand ever so slightly. "It's...it's Maya. My name is Maya."
"Maya? That's a pretty name...suits you well honestly. Can...I tell you a little something Maya?" I asked scooting a bit closer to her.
Surprisingly, she allowed it without hesitation before nodding and wiping away a few more tears. "Sure."
"I think I can relate to how you feel pretty well. See...when I was about 16 years old...my Mom and Dad were on a trip away from the house, celebrating their 15th anniversary. I stayed by my best friend's house for the weekend, and I couldn't WAIT for them to get back after they told me that they were buying he and I some souvenirs and stuff like that from their trip...but unfortunately-"
I ended up having to stop for a second due to me unexpectedly getting a bit choked up, even though it had already been almost ten years since then.
"Is everything okay?" Maya asked, seemingly concerned.
I heave a heavy sigh and clear my throat, finally ready to press on.
"Unfortunately, they died in a car accident. They were both on their way home from their trip, and got hit by a drunk driver. The impact immediately killed the both of them and...I feel like a part of me has been missing ever since."
"Hayden..." She said, taking my hand into her paw with care. "I'm...I'm sorry."
I just scoff a bit before giving her a reassuring smile and ruffling her fur a bit. "Don't be, it's not your fault. Just wanted you to know that there was someone you can share your pain with. Heh...you know...it's crazy to me. The only person who even knows this is my best friend, whom I've known my entire life, yet here I am...telling it to a pokemon whom I've just met...who can even talk back to me about it...life is crazy sometimes I guess."
She looks away for a moment before looking back up to me, staring into my eyes for the first time.
"Do you miss them?" She asked in a caring tone.
"I do every day. I've just gotten to the point where I've learned to live with it is all. You just have to move on from it eventually and accept the facts. But I'll tell you one thing, Maya." I said, staring her right back into her cat like pupils. "I promise I will get you back to your home if it's the last thing I do."
She looks up at me as tears begin welling in her eyes.
"Y...you p-promise?" She said, holding out her smallest finger on her paw.
I mentally chuckle a bit, taking in the fact that not only did she know what a pinky promise was, but that it had to have been something that she was taught by her caretaker and that it obviously meant a lot to her.
"I promise you." I said, pinky promising her with a very reassuring nod.
After we let each others pinkies go, she immediately latched on to my abdomen and gave me a tight squeeze, which definitely caught me off guard a bit, though not at all in a bad way. Feels like just twenty minutes ago I was seen as her enemy, so this newfound trust definitely made me feel good.
After a few moments, I gently hugged her back, which also in turn even made myself feel a bit better after everything we talked about.
Briefly after, she finally let go, turning away a bit from embarrassment after she had realized what she did.
"S...sorry to grab you suddenly like that...I just..."
"It's okay." I said putting a hand up to effectively stop her. "Sometimes all someone needs is a really good hug. Plus, it made me feel good too, so thank you."
She finally smiles a bit and nods. "Mmhmm!"
After having our little talk and me picking up all of the food and washing dishes and all, I had made a few phone calls to a few people to explain the newfound situation and start the hunt for Maya's caretakers.
Needless to say once I had called Professor Elm and asked for us all to meet at his lab tomorrow morning, he had immediately been intrigued and agreed pretty quickly seeing as calling him urgently like that isn't something that I normally do. I had also made my call to Whitney to update her and also to Frank and Brett as well to fill them in on what had even happened last night in the first place.
They were both completely dumbfounded and pretty much didn't even believe me at first since it was literally right after they had left, though I had convinced them later on and promised that they'd get to see for themselves soon.
A few hours had passed by after showing her a small tour of my house and getting her somewhat settled in, even though I was completely unsure of how long she would actually be with me in the first place. We watched a bit of tv, I showed her a few more card tricks and she had done the same for me showing me a few more of her tricks herself all to pass the time.
I had made the two of us some dinner once it had gotten late and when we were done with that, I set her up on my bed and made her as comfortable as possible while pulling out a blanket and pillow for myself on my floor next to my bed to get set up to call it a night.
"Are you sure you're okay sleeping all the way down there?" She asked me, genuinely concerned.
I give her a reassuring nod as I fluff my pillow up a bit before laying my head upon it. "Yes, I'm fine I promise. Make yourself comfortable, please."
"Well...okay then."
A few moments of silence had passed by before I could hear her shuffling around on the bed a little.
"You okay up there?" I asked her.
"Yeah...your bed is really comfy. I'm...I'm just used to sleeping with my brothers and sisters in our big bed we had...it feels weird sleeping by myself is all."
"Yeah I know what you mean. You get used to the comfort of having your loved ones so close like that, I could imagine that you would feel weird if it was suddenly taken from you."
"Yeah...Um Hayden?"
"Hm? What is it?"
Maya pauses for a brief moment before finally saying what she needed to say.
"Thank you again...for everything today. Saving me...taking me in...helping out in finding my mom...I've never had a stranger do such nice things for me...not since mama took me in for the first time. It's...nice...really."
"Well...what can I say? I try to do the things I feel is right and...well, I'm pretty convinced now that fate had somehow brought this upon me. It's like it was my calling I guess you could say...hahah."
I could hear her scoff a little bit and laugh up on the bed before peeking over the side at me. "Well, I'm thankful for it all. I really hope that we find my mom, I miss her already."
I smile and nod, reaching my arm up and ruffling her fur once again to reassure her. "I won't quit until I do. I pinky promised you remember?"
She smiles and nods before crawling back out of view and shuffling around a bit to get comfortable once again.
"Goodnight, Hayden."
"Mhm...night Maya. Sleep well. Wake me up if you need anything ok?"
"Mmkay." She says in the midst of an audible yawn.
After a few moments of silence, I roll over onto my side, letting out a sigh of exhaustion as I feel a sudden wave of guilt rush over me.
"Could I really pull this off and find her mom? Can I really make this a reality for her, or am I stretching this and making some type of false promise that I can't even fulfill?" I said to myself as I tried my best to get comfortable.
I lay there for the next two hours, wrestling with my own thoughts before I had finally drifted off to sleep, leaving those worries for the morning time.