Friends Aren't Always Forever

I remember how it all happened...

Waking up in a hospital bed, dazed from loss of blood, sitting helpless to be tormented by the blood curdling screams of my friend as nurses tried to stabilize him.

Jolting from the bed, falling to my knees; too weak to stand, Managing to pull enough strength to pick myself up and get to the room door. And as I opened the door, what I saw brought lump to my throat and tears to my eyes, seeing Ken, being rolled across the hallway in a stretcher, with a white sheet over his body, stained with blood.

It took two nurses and a Chancey too hold me back... The feeling of hatred, and vengeance overwhelmed me as I fell to the floor, crying hysterically.

It’s been almost three months since Ken died, yet the pain is still fresh in my mind. The sounds of his screams in the hospital that day still scrape across my mind like nails on a chalkboard. Now, the only things I have to remember my best friend by are memories of past adventures, and the stains of blood on my Fedora.

I’ve been staying with my old friend Jose in Floroma Town for about two months now, hoping the rumors of the soothing flowers that cover the entire town would help me sooth my pain.

“I can’t believe he’s gone…” I said, sitting in a field of flowers.

“...Why ken, why did you have to go?”

“Why did you do that ken… Why did you have to use it! Why couldn’t you fucking listen to me?! If you listened to me, we would still all be here! Together!” I screamed as I punched the ground in a fit of hatred as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"What am I going to do? Ken just wasn't my friend, he was my Pokemon... my only pokemon.. I'm a horrible trainer..."

the wind picked up, catching the smell of intoxicating wildflowers as the perfume like scent soothed my mind. The air was a bit colder after losing my jacket, but the breeze was actually quiet relaxing. I reached behind me to my backpack and pulled out a small tub of Leppa berries and took and took off the lid. "Maybe some of these will calm me down."

I picked up a one berry and ate it. As I chewed a mouthful of berries, I saw something run by the corner of my eye.

"What the hell was that..?” I asked myself as I quickly looked around me, surveying the wide open field.

"Weird... I could've sworn I saw... Hey! Where the fuck did my berries go?!" I yelled out, when suddenly a small blue Pokémon ran past me, with my tub of berries in its paws.

"Hey! Those are mine you little thief!" I said as I darted after the Pokémon.

I chased after it, trying to keep up. After a few minutes of running, it started to slow down just enough for me to jump and grab it by the leg.

"Gotcha!" I yelled out as I hit the ground.

"Rio!" The blue Pokémon yelled out as it flailed wildly, knocking my hat off in the scramble.

I managed to get a hold on its other leg, stopping it from kicking.

"It's not nice to steal...” I said to the Pokémon, taking the box out its hands.

"Rio! Ro! Rio!" The Pokémon growled as I took the berries, but suddenly, something else growled, It was the Pokémon’s stomach.

Suddenly tears came to its eyes. It just bursted out crying; the poor thing probably hasn’t eaten in a few days.

With a sigh, I quickly took a berry from the box and plopped t into the Pokémon’s mouth.

"What am I going to do with you..." I said to myself. The Pokémon just stared back with piercing green eyes, nibbling on the Leppa Berry.

I picked up my hat off the flowers and put it back on my head and said.

"Come on, I share my berries with you." I said with a smile on my face.

"Riiio!" exclaimed the Pokémon, as its eyes quickly lit up with excitement, than followed me back to where I first was.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally found my backpack, and sat down.

I quickly unzipped my backpack and dumped it out onto the grass, revealing several items, including another tub of Leppa Berries. I opened the tub and sat it in front of the Pokémon with a friendly smile.

"go ahead, eat up! You must be starving." I said as I took my hat off, and placed it on top of my backpack. The blue Pokémon lit up, as it gave off an excited "RIo!".

As I sat watching the Pokémon eat, I began to think to myself.

"What in the hell are you..? I've never seen this kind of Pokémon in my life." Suddenly, I caught a small headache, but it quickly dismissed itself after a few seconds.

"Is this a new species?" I thought as I quickly examined it. Such a strange thing, it was short, about shin high to me; it looks like a dog, but it stood on two legs instead of four, so it couldn't be a dog... Feisty thing too.

My train of thought was suddenly broken by a long "Rrriooo..." that came from the blue Pokémon, laying on its back, too full to sit up.

"Good god, there were at least 30 berries in that box; you probably haven't eaten in days..." The Pokémon agreed with me with a soft "Luuu..."

After smiling at the Pokémon, I heard my wrist watch go off, it was 4:00pm. I quickly packed my bag and fitted my hat back on my head.

"Well, thanks for the company little guy, but I gotta get going now."

"RIO!? Rio! Iu io Rio!" the Pokémon yelled out as it jolted back on its feet.

"What’s wrong? I quickly asked.

"RRiooo!!" the blue Pokémon screamed as it clung itself to my leg. Suddenly, it clicked in my mind; it wanted to go with me. But after what happened to Ken, I don’t know if I could ever train another Pokémon without the fear of death again.. I looked down to my leg, and starred into the Pokémon’s bright green eyes. As I starred into its eyes, a door in the back of my mind opened. And a soft voice called out.

"Train it Ash. Don't let your loss hold back you’re potential. You have talents that trainers only dream of having. Train it... Train it..."

As that voice faded, my heart melted as I said, "Hey... Would you like to be my Pokémon..."

"Rio!! Rio! Io! Rio! Lu!" The blue Pokémon jumped with excitement.

"Then it's settled... But something’s missing..." I thought out loud.

"Lu?"

"Hah, that’s right; you need a name." I never was really good with names so I tried as hard as I could to think of a name.

"How about... Ben?"

"Rio!" The Pokémon exclaimed as it shook its head.

"uhhh... okay... how about... Roy? ...MIkey?"

"Rrrio!" The Pokémon looked like it was getting frustrated, when it finally hit me.

"Oh! You're a girl, aren’t you?" as soon as I said that, she showed a smile, and agreed with a loud "Rio!"

"Aww fuck," I thought to myself. "I don’t know any girl names... What the hell am I gonna do now!" When suddenly, like a light bulb flickering on, a name came to mind.

" how about Delilah?"

"Riolu!" her eyes quickly lit up with excitement, she loved it.

"Hah, alright then Delilah, its settled. Now, want to head back with me to the house?" I asked as I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder. As she agreed with a quick "Luu!"

The hole that Ken's death made was suddenly filled, and for the first time in three long months, I felt whole again...

For the past couple of months, Delilah and I trained in the backyard of Jose's house. It was a rather big yard for the compact size of the house. Covered in beautiful grass and lots of trees, it perfect for training in. But, after figuring out Delilah only knew a few attacks, I Decided to try and teach her to fight, and use her attacks to defend herself.

“Use force palm!" I called out to Delilah, as she ran full speed at a small tree, fist cluched. "Rio!!" Delilah yelled as she punched at the bark of the tree, shattering it into pieces.

"What the fuck?! How the hell did you do that!!" I exclaimed, completely dumbstruck. In my five years as a trainer, I've never seen a Pokémon break through a tree with such power.

"That was amazing Delilah!" I said as I raced towards her, when suddenly, I caught another headache, but it was worse this time. A lot worse. The pain stung my head was full of hot irons, making me fall to my knees in agony. As soon as it came, it dismissed itself. I stood from my knees, rubbing my eyes that stung from the sweat. As Delilah walked next to my side and huggled my leg, trying to comfort my pain.

"What’s with these headaches?" I thought to myself. Every day they keep getting stronger and stronger. I stared at Delilah, she looked like she was about to cry, "aww Delilah, what's wrong?" I asked as I picked her up and cradled her in my arms, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Riiio! Ro ro Rio!" she Replied.

I looked cluelessly at Delilah and said, "Well, I don’t know what that means... Are you hungry? We could take a break, if you want?" Delilah then rose and lifted her arm and showed me her paw, which had a large splinter in the middle of it.
"Oh my god Delilah! That looks terrible! C'mon, let's go inside and fix you up, okay?" I said, walking back towards the house. As I walked through the backdoor of the house, passing through the living room, almost stopping in front of the television I left on before going outside. I carried Delilah to the kitchen, sat her on the counter, and flipped the lights on to inspect her splinter.

"Well, it's not as bad as I thought," I said as I tried to use my nails to pull the splinter out. Delilah fought back, flailing from the pain with a loud "Rrrrio!!"
"Well if you just....Hold...Still!" I said trying to hold Delilah down, when suddenly Delilah’s palm started to glow a bright blue, when out of nowhere I was thrown into the wall in a flash of light, and fell face first to the ice cold linoleum floor.

"Delilah," I said, "what... the... fuck was that!!" I yelled gasping for air, as I got up to my knees, wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth. The blast was strangely powerful, making my joints burn, and my fingers numb. As I stood from my knees, out of nowhere a voiced called out. "Ash." The voice scared me, as me and Delilah were the only two in the house when it called out again, "Ash."

I looked over towards Delilah, who was still sitting on the counter. "...Did you hear anything Delilah?" When suddenly, Delilah jumped off the counter to the floor, and with a loud "Riooo!"
her whole body started to glow. "Whoa, she's evolving!" I exclaimed as I stood, blinded as the light filled the room. As quickly as it started, it stopped, an kneeling in front of me, with piercing green eyes, an dark blue fur, was something I’ve only seen once in my life.

"Delilah? ... You're... a Lucario..?" I said stuttering. As I stared into her eyes, another headache followed shortly after, but this one was different, more dull than sharp, with a ringing sensation. Like a bell, but softer. Suddenly the headache stopped, and I could hear a soft voice in the back of my mind calling out towards me.

"Hello, Ash," the voice called. A feeling of fear filled the air around me, trying to figure out the owner of the voice.

"Who's there dammit! Who are you?! Where are you?!" I screamed as I covered my ears to try and stop the voice. As I screamed, I felt something grab my hands and place them in front of me. "You’re in front of her," the voice called out. I opened my eyes to meet Delilah's in front of me. Staring into her eyes, hands in her paws. "It's me,"

"D...Delilah..?" I said, as my heart skipped a beat.

"It's okay Ash; it’s me, calm down." The feeling of terror instantly filled my mind, causing me to start screaming hysterically. I broke my hands from her paws and bolted from the kitchen into the living room, where I tripped over the coffee table in the middle of the room, causing me to fly over the top and landed face first onto the hardwood floor.