A Friend for Life

“Be back before dinner!” The young girl heard her mother shout as she raced out the door towards the forest. She yelled back a quick yes before shutting the behind her. The young girl would always go into the forest for fun. It was recommended to everyone to not venture out of New Bark Town without a Pokemon to accompany you or someone who had a Pokemon, but she never went far. She never got into trouble. She didn’t see the problem with adventuring close to town, she’d always be able to get back if she encountered a problem anyway.

The young girl gave a small wave to Professor Elm before taking her first steps into the familiar forest. Instantly, she could hear the various sounds of the forest. Rattata and Sentret scurried across the ground while the Pidgey flew overhead, their chirping cries echoing through the forest. This is what she loved most about the forest, all of the wonderful and serene sounds about it. She loved being around nature, it made her feel more at peace than anything in the world. She felt a stronger connection to Pokemon and nature then she had ever been able to feel with other humans.

The young girl didn’t yet have her own Pokemon, she wasn’t of age yet. But her tenth birthday was approaching quickly, her mother promising to let her get a Pokemon when she finally became old enough to be trusted with one of her own. Professor Elm had promised to let her choose one of his, he was always happy to help out the young people of New Bark Town. There weren’t many people in New Bark anyway, so there was no problem in giving young people their first problem. Most first timers got their Pokemon through different means, some inheriting them for their parents or some even meeting their very first in the wild.

The young girl had met many Pokemon in her small adventures in the woods, but she didn’t know if any of them could become her very first partner Pokemon. Professor Elm had always told her to be careful of wild Pokemon, many of them were scared of humans and some were just plain rabid. It scared her when she was younger but now, she wasn’t scared of anything. Rabid Pokemon… There was no such thing. It was just useless lies to try and scare children into staying out of the forest unattended. The young girl had learned this on all her adventures through the woods alone.

Hopping over a tree stump, she climbed up onto a large rock, gently sitting down on the mossy surface of it. This area was where she found herself often; she loved to come here and just relax. She loved to play with the wild Pokemon, she thought of them as her friends. Her only friends. She never did get along with the few children who also inhabited New Bark Town. But it didn’t bother her. She didn’t need human friends when she had her Pokemon friends.

It was only a few minutes after she sat down did the Pokemon come flocking, all recognizing the familiar child who visited them so often. A Rattata scurried onto the rock, snuggling close to the girl and rubbing its head against her leg. The little girl giggled, reaching down to pet the small purple rodent. A pair of Pidgey landed on a branch near her, cuddling close to each other. She gave a small wave to them with her free hand, her other one continued to pet the now relaxed rodent by her side. Everyone looked down on Rattatas as weak, but she knew that there was more to Pokemon than battling. They were companions. Friends. Their worth shouldn’t be measured by their strength because even the physically weakest Pokemon could be strong in their own way.

“How are you all today?” she asked, her soft voice flowing through the forest air. She smiled when the two Pidgey chirped happily to answer her question. “I’m glad you’re doing well then,” she responded with a small giggle. The young girl leaned back, stretching out her free hand behind her to keep herself balanced. Her breath exhaled in a small stream as she looked up at the clouds that peeked through the leaves of the massive trees.

Soon, she’d be on an adventure of her own.
Soon, she’d have a team of Pokemon with which she could share an unbreakable bond.

The serenity of the forest was broken when a shrill cry boomed through it, startling the girl and the Pokemon that surrounded her. The Pidgey cried out, flapping their wings and taking flight. The young girl jumped off the rock, landing on her feet as she Rattata copied her movements, standing guard next to her.

“Someone’s in trouble,” she breathed out. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but she knew she had to. If someone- or something – was in trouble, then she knew that she had to at least try to help. She couldn’t ignore it, it wasn’t in her nature. Giving a quick glance to the Rattata at her feet, the young girl rushed into the forest, pushing the leaves away and shielding her face from the attacking tree branches.

The cry sounded out again, calling the girl’s attention. Changing her direction, it was only a matter of seconds before she stumbled into a clearing. As she stepped forward, she saw the unthinkable. A group of Spearow flew around, diving in every few seconds to attack at a small brown ball of fur curled up on the ground. The young girl recoiled in fear, her hands held tightly against her chest. They were Spearow. She knew that Spearow was known for their tempers. They were dangerous and she had never seen any of them in the area before.

What were they doing here now of all times?

“R-Rattata, we have to help,” the young girl stuttered, looking down at the small rodent that cowered behind her. It wasn’t very keen on attacking a group of angry Spearow either. Gulping down her fear, she slowly bent down, picking up a rock that sat by her feet.

She had to help. She couldn’t leave that Pokemon to get killed by the Spearow.

Steadying her feet on the ground, she raised her arm, the rock clenched tightly in her hands. Drawing in a shaky breath, she threw the rock as hard as she could, knocking one of the Spearow to the ground. She heard the injured bird Pokemon let out a cry, calling the attention of the other Spearow to her. The Spearow let out a series of cries before diving down at the girl. She let out a high pitched scream as the first one’s beak hit her, biting down onto her skin with a fierce anger.

“Rattata! Please help!” she screamed, her hands flailing in a useless attempt to beat the bird Pokemon back. The child fell to the ground, her hands shooting up to cover her head as her body curled into a ball, a desperate attempt to shield her small frame from the furious Spearow. What had she done? She should have known better than to challenge a group of Spearow when she didn’t have a real Pokemon of her own.

The sobs began shaking her body as she heard the cry of a Pidgey sound, breaking through the shrieks of the Spearow. Of course! Pidgey were territorial Pokemon. Once they had caught wind of the Spearow in their territory, they were prepared for a fight. No longer feeling the fierce pecking, the child slowly uncurled her body, looking up at the sky through her blurry vision. She could see the bird Pokemon being chased to startling heights by the Pidgey who were trying to drive them out of their territory.

Picking herself up off the ground, she rushed over the ball of brown fluff, gently laying a hand on it. Feeling the unusual touch, the Pokemon’s tail uncurled, revealing a set of sad brown eyes. It let out a small squeak, replacing its tail, its body beginning to shake.

Ignoring the pain in her body, the young girl reached out, gently petting the bloody coat of the Pokemon. She recognized it. It was an Eevee, one of the rarest Pokemon to encounter. It was said that only breeders had availability to this rare species of Pokemon. But here one was, laying badly injured in front of her. She couldn’t understand why one was here; the only thing that made sense was that it had probably been abandoned by its trainer. She heard the fighting sounds come to a still, the Spearow finally being driven away.

“I won’t hurt you,” she said softly. She reached out her own injured arms, gently scooping up the Eevee. It slowly moved its tail, its brown eyes staring into her own eyes. She gave it a small smile, hugging it close to her chest. The Eevee let out a small cry, reaching up its snout to lick her softly on the face. She laughed softly as the Eevee collapsed back in her arms.

She had to get it back to Professor Elm. It needed help. She pushed herself off the ground, turning around to see the group of Pidgey staring at her. As she began walking, the Pidgey took flight, helping guide her out of the forest. She had never been this far in before.

As she walked back to New Bark Town, her gaze was kept on the Eevee in her arms. There was something special about it; you don’t just see Eevee randomly like this. It almost felt like fate. Destiny. She was so close to her 10th birthday, so close to getting her very first partner Pokemon. Deep down she could feel it. She could feel something special about the Eevee and something special between them. She’d heard stories from the elders of the town about this, about that one Pokemon your soul had a bond with. Maybe she was young, but she could feel it. She could feel the bond and the strength Eevee’s soul and her own had together.

She knew already that Eevee was going to become a friend for life.