Pixelated_Boombursts
Youngster
- Pronouns
- He/they/xe
I look around for an escape route, only for one of the Starly to come closer as the flock essentially surround us.
“Po- Pokémon?! What's going on?!” Barry yells from beside me, the Starly shriek flapping their wings in aggression.
Maybe the briefcase has something we can use!
I crouch in the grass, trying to open the briefcase. It's locked, with two combination locks on either side.
I try the left, it's open. The right though, is locked, the combination left at 396.
Barry's crouching beside me, shielding his head in case the Starly attack.
We can't escape, they're circling us.
I try 000, the most common combination, likely because it's the default.
Bingo, it pops open.
“Star! Ly!” Uh oh, they don't like that sound.
“Look! These are Pokéballs! Let's battle using these!” Barry says, pointing to the contents of the briefcase.
There, nestled among the myriad of papers, journals, and miscellaneous stationary, are three Pokéballs, with stickers denoting the type on each one.
These must be the three Pokémon beginning Trainers can choose from!
As the Starly fly upwards to nosedive towards us, I pick one up, pressing the button and throwing it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Barry do the same.
“Chim! Char?” The Fire-Type tilts its head, looking at me curiously.
“Introductions can wait! Chimchar, use Scratch!” I say, pointing towards the Starly.
Thankfully, it listens, tail-flame burning brighter as it scratches at the Starly with its sharp claws.
Starly manages to get farther, and points its torso towards us, flapping its wings to use Gust on Chimchar.
Chimchar huffs out a burst of flame, which grows stronger thanks to the wind and temporarily immobilizes the Starly.
It runs back to me, the flames of its tail slowly returning back to normal as I scoop him up, grinning so widely I can feel my cheeks starting to hurt.
Spinning him around in my arms, I yell out, “Alright! Great job, Chimchar!”
The flock of Starly flies away, one of them soaking wet thanks to Barry's Piplup, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Fwaaah!” Barry pants, “Your Chimchar totally rocked! But my Piplup was way tougher than yours!”
“Ha! As if! Besides, we had way more flair!” I flip my hair, a little more dramatically than strictly necessary, but hey! We beat the Starly!
“... They were other people's Pokémon, though… but we had to use them… they won't mind, will they?” He mutters, scratching at his chin as I return Chimchar back to its Pokéball.
“Course not. We were only in that mess to return their briefcase. Professor Rowan is, like, super accomplished and stuff. He'll understand that we meant well!”
I really wish I felt as confident as I sound to him, what if Professor Rowan really is as scary as he seemed…?
“Besides, we have to return the briefcase, anyway. So it's not like we can avoid them.” I shrug, totally nonchalant and not at all like I would be biting my nails if it weren't for the bitter polish.
“You're right. Let's bring the briefcase back. If we get attacked by another Pokémon, we might be in trouble.”
He rushes out, but when I walk towards the Lakefront, I immediately crash into him.
“You go ahead. I know we have to return these Pokémon. They're not ours… but I want to spend some more time with this little guy.”
He looks at his Pokéball, smiling fondly.
I look down at mine— professor Rowan's— as well, the little Fire-Type sticker staring back at me in place of Chimchar.
“We didn't have any choice in using those people's Pokémon, right? But these Pokémon belong to them… they'll want them back, won't they? But this is the first Pokémon I've ever battled with…”
He's right. These were our first Pokémon. That was my first battle.
And now it's over, and we'll have to start our journey later.
I wish I could say something along the lines of “at least I know which one I'm gonna pick”, but… I don't want a Chimchar. I want this one.
This is the Chimchar who listened to me even when he had no reason to. The one who fought the Starly instead of running away…
Wait, Barry and I have just been standing here, silently staring at our Pokéballs.
“I wish I could grow tougher with this little guy…” Barry mutters, uncharacteristically quietly.
“Barry?” I'm worried, I don't… I don't know what to do in this situation. We can't just leave with the Pokémon. That'd make us thieves, and very obvious ones at that.
“I don't feel like talking,” he says, and I'm kind of relieved, “Let's go… are we maybe walking slower than when we went to the lake?”
“... Yeah. We are.”
Turns out, we don't need to. Professor Rowan’s assistant walks towards us, out of breath.
“Whew! You found the briefcase? The Professor would've gone through the roof if he knew I forgot it here, hunh?”
Barry looks bummed out as he places the briefcase in the assistant’s waiting hands.
“Hey, so uh—” they say, sheepishly looking at the Pokéballs in our hands.
“Whaaaat?! Did you guys… did you use these Pokémon?!” The assistant cries out, more panicked than angry.
“Oh man… how am I gonna explain this to the professor?” He sighs.
“We— we didn't mean to!” I say, holding my hands up.
“Yeah! We were attacked by some wild Starly while trying to get it back!” Barry thankfully backs me up.
“What would you have done if you had gotten it back?” The Assistant asks.
Which is when the Professor himself approaches us, “I see, so you used our Pokémon. Let me see them, please.”
Barry’s crestfallen expression definitely mirrors my own as we hand our new friends over.
Then, the professor calls the Pokémon out, and the next thing I know, Chimchar’s rushing towards me.
I scoop him up, “Chimchar! Hey, bud!”
Barry and Piplup are apparently just as gleeful about their reunion.
That's when I notice the introspective look on Professor Rowan's face, and I feel weird and all heavy in my chest at the thought of saying goodbye.
“Hmm…” the Professor muses, “Chimchar and Piplup…”
He straightens up, eyes meeting the two Pokémon, still in our arms, and says, “I see, that's how it is.”
And then he does something totally extraordinary, completely beyond either of our wildest imaginations, an absolutely cray-cray decision that takes even his assistant by surprise.
He hands the Pokéballs to us.
“Lucas!” He says to the assistant, “I'm going back to my lab!”
And then he walks off, leaving Barry and I with Lucas, cradling Chimchar and Piplup’s Pokéballs in our hands.
“Uhh… yeah, of course! Professor, wait for me!” Lucas says, hurrying to follow the professor, but he turns around once.
“You should visit us at our lab later, I think.”
Barry and I slowly turn to face each other, and I'm positive his dumbfounded expression mirrors mine.
“Tory, pinch me.”
“Only if you pinch me.”
“Po- Pokémon?! What's going on?!” Barry yells from beside me, the Starly shriek flapping their wings in aggression.
Maybe the briefcase has something we can use!
I crouch in the grass, trying to open the briefcase. It's locked, with two combination locks on either side.
I try the left, it's open. The right though, is locked, the combination left at 396.
Barry's crouching beside me, shielding his head in case the Starly attack.
We can't escape, they're circling us.
I try 000, the most common combination, likely because it's the default.
Bingo, it pops open.
“Star! Ly!” Uh oh, they don't like that sound.
“Look! These are Pokéballs! Let's battle using these!” Barry says, pointing to the contents of the briefcase.
There, nestled among the myriad of papers, journals, and miscellaneous stationary, are three Pokéballs, with stickers denoting the type on each one.
These must be the three Pokémon beginning Trainers can choose from!
As the Starly fly upwards to nosedive towards us, I pick one up, pressing the button and throwing it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Barry do the same.
“Chim! Char?” The Fire-Type tilts its head, looking at me curiously.
“Introductions can wait! Chimchar, use Scratch!” I say, pointing towards the Starly.
Thankfully, it listens, tail-flame burning brighter as it scratches at the Starly with its sharp claws.
Starly manages to get farther, and points its torso towards us, flapping its wings to use Gust on Chimchar.
Chimchar huffs out a burst of flame, which grows stronger thanks to the wind and temporarily immobilizes the Starly.
It runs back to me, the flames of its tail slowly returning back to normal as I scoop him up, grinning so widely I can feel my cheeks starting to hurt.
Spinning him around in my arms, I yell out, “Alright! Great job, Chimchar!”
The flock of Starly flies away, one of them soaking wet thanks to Barry's Piplup, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Fwaaah!” Barry pants, “Your Chimchar totally rocked! But my Piplup was way tougher than yours!”
“Ha! As if! Besides, we had way more flair!” I flip my hair, a little more dramatically than strictly necessary, but hey! We beat the Starly!
“... They were other people's Pokémon, though… but we had to use them… they won't mind, will they?” He mutters, scratching at his chin as I return Chimchar back to its Pokéball.
“Course not. We were only in that mess to return their briefcase. Professor Rowan is, like, super accomplished and stuff. He'll understand that we meant well!”
I really wish I felt as confident as I sound to him, what if Professor Rowan really is as scary as he seemed…?
“Besides, we have to return the briefcase, anyway. So it's not like we can avoid them.” I shrug, totally nonchalant and not at all like I would be biting my nails if it weren't for the bitter polish.
“You're right. Let's bring the briefcase back. If we get attacked by another Pokémon, we might be in trouble.”
He rushes out, but when I walk towards the Lakefront, I immediately crash into him.
“You go ahead. I know we have to return these Pokémon. They're not ours… but I want to spend some more time with this little guy.”
He looks at his Pokéball, smiling fondly.
I look down at mine— professor Rowan's— as well, the little Fire-Type sticker staring back at me in place of Chimchar.
“We didn't have any choice in using those people's Pokémon, right? But these Pokémon belong to them… they'll want them back, won't they? But this is the first Pokémon I've ever battled with…”
He's right. These were our first Pokémon. That was my first battle.
And now it's over, and we'll have to start our journey later.
I wish I could say something along the lines of “at least I know which one I'm gonna pick”, but… I don't want a Chimchar. I want this one.
This is the Chimchar who listened to me even when he had no reason to. The one who fought the Starly instead of running away…
Wait, Barry and I have just been standing here, silently staring at our Pokéballs.
“I wish I could grow tougher with this little guy…” Barry mutters, uncharacteristically quietly.
“Barry?” I'm worried, I don't… I don't know what to do in this situation. We can't just leave with the Pokémon. That'd make us thieves, and very obvious ones at that.
“I don't feel like talking,” he says, and I'm kind of relieved, “Let's go… are we maybe walking slower than when we went to the lake?”
“... Yeah. We are.”
Turns out, we don't need to. Professor Rowan’s assistant walks towards us, out of breath.
“Whew! You found the briefcase? The Professor would've gone through the roof if he knew I forgot it here, hunh?”
Barry looks bummed out as he places the briefcase in the assistant’s waiting hands.
“Hey, so uh—” they say, sheepishly looking at the Pokéballs in our hands.
“Whaaaat?! Did you guys… did you use these Pokémon?!” The assistant cries out, more panicked than angry.
“Oh man… how am I gonna explain this to the professor?” He sighs.
“We— we didn't mean to!” I say, holding my hands up.
“Yeah! We were attacked by some wild Starly while trying to get it back!” Barry thankfully backs me up.
“What would you have done if you had gotten it back?” The Assistant asks.
Which is when the Professor himself approaches us, “I see, so you used our Pokémon. Let me see them, please.”
Barry’s crestfallen expression definitely mirrors my own as we hand our new friends over.
Then, the professor calls the Pokémon out, and the next thing I know, Chimchar’s rushing towards me.
I scoop him up, “Chimchar! Hey, bud!”
Barry and Piplup are apparently just as gleeful about their reunion.
That's when I notice the introspective look on Professor Rowan's face, and I feel weird and all heavy in my chest at the thought of saying goodbye.
“Hmm…” the Professor muses, “Chimchar and Piplup…”
He straightens up, eyes meeting the two Pokémon, still in our arms, and says, “I see, that's how it is.”
And then he does something totally extraordinary, completely beyond either of our wildest imaginations, an absolutely cray-cray decision that takes even his assistant by surprise.
He hands the Pokéballs to us.
“Lucas!” He says to the assistant, “I'm going back to my lab!”
And then he walks off, leaving Barry and I with Lucas, cradling Chimchar and Piplup’s Pokéballs in our hands.
“Uhh… yeah, of course! Professor, wait for me!” Lucas says, hurrying to follow the professor, but he turns around once.
“You should visit us at our lab later, I think.”
Barry and I slowly turn to face each other, and I'm positive his dumbfounded expression mirrors mine.
“Tory, pinch me.”
“Only if you pinch me.”