Chapter 01

Born to be wild?

What a sweet, enticing scent my Vileplume friend sent around us. Me and my sister had just narrowly escaped a pack of wild houndour. They were angry, because we had found their berry supply and, well, we didn't know it was there. Eevee's brown and cream pelt was a bit ragged and burned at the tips, having been hit with an ember attack. She took a deep breath as the burns began to disappear. “Thanks, Vileplume, for the aromatherapy.” She said politely, her ears slightly lowered.

“You're more than welcome, Eevee.” Vileplume said. She was like our mother, after Jolteon was caught by a trainer. I resent trainers for that, but there were so many tales of how well their trainers treat their Pokemon. If I had to be caught, I hope for a good human. “What about you, Pale? Do you have any burns?” Pale. My fur is nearly white, white around my neck and tail-tip, unlike my sister, so to keep us from getting mixed up, Vileplume calls me that.

I looked up at her and smiled. “No, we were lucky, and far away when we noticed them coming.” I explained. I liked Vileplume, she was almost as close to me as my sister. She had raised us since just a week after we'd hatched. We weren't troublemakers, Mom and Vileplume taught us not to do bad things on purpose, it was all an accident, really. This whole mess. Jeez, I felt guilty, because the whole mess isn't even just the berries. I felt like everything was my fault. I was the one who smelled the berries and brought Eevee there. I was the one who hurt my little sister with my synchronoise attack, even if it was by accident. I was the one who chased Shinx down the hill and ran into the trainer who caught mom. Obviously, I'm a bad guardian, just making things worse for everyone, all the time.

Vileplume smiled. “Well, I'm glad you're both okay.” She said. I smiled back politely, but by the way she looked at me, I guessed that it didn't reach my eyes. The flower Pokemon looked at my sister. “Eevee, go lay down and calm yourself for a few minutes, I need to talk to Pale.” She said, glancing at me gently. Eevee nodded, then went off a little ways to rest beneath a young Oran plant. Vileplume started walking, so I followed. I felt like I was in trouble, so I held my head low, my tail brushing the ground, and my ears limp and hanging next to my cheeks. Vileplume looked at me after a moment. “Why do you always look so guilty, and like your in trouble, Pale?” She asked me.

I looked down at my paws and kept my pace steady. “I smelled the berries, Vileplume, but I brushed off the scent of houndour as if it wouldn't do us any harm.” I confessed. “Eevee said she was hungry, so I went in search of the berries, and she followed me, then she got hurt...” I shook my head. It was all my fault, everything was my fault, always. I glanced at Vileplume, expecting her to tell me off for it, but, as usual, her stare was calm and kind.

“Pale,” She began. “You are young, you make mistakes, you always will, but you learn from every mistake.” She walked close to me as she continued her speech. “All you have to do is forgive yourself for your mistakes, then you can move on and become better.” She told me. She didn't tell me it wasn't my fault, so it was my fault. She just said that I will make mistakes. Forever. What use am I if I make mistakes all the time?

I shook my head and shut my eyes. “But, Vileplume, how can I keep forgiving myself when all I do is hurt others?” I looked up at her blue and red form. “And why do I have Synchronoise, when it can only hurt Eevee? I don't want to be made to hurt her!” I cried. Vileplume opened her mouth, but a crashing sound made us both stop and look up. A human fell through the bushes, but he quickly caught himself before falling on his face. He quickly righted himself, then looked at us curiously. His eyes shifted from Vileploom to me, then his lips twisted into a grin.

“Pale, run!” Vileplume cried as a white light flashed and an Ampheros appeared. The human grunted something, and Vileplume went flying as Ampheros punched her with a ball of electricity twisted around her fist. I froze in fear as the Ampheros began to move to finish Vileploom off on the order of her trainer. I... I couldn't let this happen.

“No!” I cried and leaped between the Ampheros and my foster mother. The electric Pokemon paused, glancing at her trainer. The human grinned and spoke another command. His Pokemon looked at me and I lowered my head to get ready for it. She raised her head and a ball of white light appeared before her maw, then she looked at me and the signal beam was fired. It landed directly at my feet, sending me flying back from the powerful attack.

I landed heavily and groaned as I felt my side slam into a rock. I growled and twisted around to glare at the Ampheros. I wasn't even touched by that move, and I was hurt pretty bad from it. I had to shake it off and protect Vileplume, though. I just had to. Vileplume, on the other hand, had been hit directly, and looked knocked out. I felt my legs get weak, my heart sped up, and I almost fainted. I won't. I can't. I need to fight them off, to protect Vileplume and Eevee. I told myself silently. I didn't know very many good moves, but tackle would have to do. I jumped forwards and went to tackle Ampheros, but as I made contact, I simply bounced back, my opponent only stepping back slightly. I felt useless as I stared up at the trainer's Pokemon, looming above me.

The human shouted again, and Ampheros charged for only a second before sending an attack at me. The electricity was impossible to dodge. Shock ran through my body, at first it made me gasp and my limbs shook, but then my body tingled and my fur bristled against my will as I fell. My heart sped up and it was hard to breath. My limbs weren't responding, they just twitched uselessly. I would have cried out in the painful and helpless situation, had I even been able to utter a sound. I shut my eyes tightly to ward it off. I could only think, as my heart fell, how I had failed so miserably. At least Eevee was safe.

I opened my eyes as a figure loomed over me, silver eyes curious, but there was something in them that gave me a bad feeling. He pulled out a round device, with a top of red and bottom of white. He looked at it for only a moment before tossing it at me. It didn't hit me, though I flinched, instead, before anything else, I felt myself being pulled. I didn't have time to react as I found myself in a round, hollow place, lit in red light, barely big enough for me to stand in. I still couldn't move, but I struggled, pushing the sides and crying out as I found my voice. I tackled a side, but to no avail. Then, as suddenly as I found myself on the hollow ball, there was a red flash and I fell asleep.