FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Leif, are you ready yet?" a voice called from below.

"Almost! Still getting ready."

Lief went around his room collecting a few things. He had already gotten dressed, wearing long red pants, a black T-shirt, a red vest, and black hiking boots; the standard outfit for a young Pokémon Ranger in Unova. He didn't like the look, but it was practical enough. Today was a special day for Leif. It was his tenth birthday. They day he would receive his first Pokémon. Like all trainers, he had been waiting anxiously for this day, imagining all the Pokémon he would catch and dreaming of the battles and adventures they would have.

"Leif, don't forget your rope", his mother's voice reminded, only for Leif to quickly respond with a mildly annoyed, "Yes mom! I know!" He grabbed the coiled rope from a shelf and quickly attached it to his belt. (Ropes were standard equipment for a ranger.) After that he grabbed his shoulder bag and slipped the strap around himself before rushing the side table next to his bed and picking up a single Pokéball. It wasn't just a normal Pokéball though. It was a Nest Ball; a Pokéball used to catch weaker Pokémon with far greater ease. This particular one, though, didn't have the normal green and tan swirl pattern that Nest Balls normally had. Leif had spent hours repainting it so that it was a solid forest-green with a symbol of a white tree just over the center button. Your first Pokémon is normally bred specially by the Pokémon league to be a first Pokémon and is given to you once you reached the proper age, but here in the White Forest of Unova, the people who lived here did things a bit differently. With such an abundance of Pokémon around, when a boy or girl reached the age of 10, they were given a Nest Ball. They then went into the forest to catch their first Pokémon, since the nest ball didn't even require a battle to catch 'most' weaker Pokémon. Painting the ball though, was just something Leif did. He liked to make things his own, and do things his own way. He didn't stand there admiring the ball and daydreaming for long though. He spent long enough dreaming of this day for most of his young life. Today was the day he would catch his first Pokémon!

Leif quickly attached the ball to the spot on his belt and went down stairs. He stepped into the kitchen, finding his mom waiting for him. It wasn't hard to see the family resemblance between the two. They both shared some of the same facial features, and like him, she had long brown hair, but unlike him, she had brown eyes, had on bright red lipstick, and was dressed in her own Unova Ranger uniform, but hers was complete with a large brimmed, red hat. Leif's mother was well known as one of the best Rangers in the White Forest, being particularly skilled in hiding.

"Where's dad?" Leif asked after not seeing him. "I thought he was going to be back from his trip by now."

"He was, but a bad storm formed on Route 16 and he has been delayed. Your father should be here tomorrow, though, and you can show him your new Pokémon then, okay?" Leif nodded while he looked out the window at the forest, going through his plans for today in his head.

"So Leif, are you excited about your first Pokémon?"

"Are you kidding?" Leif laughed. "I just wish I could start my adventure like the other kids did."

"I know, but the Pokémon in the forest have been agitated as of late. I'm sure it's because of those Team Plasma attacks. Keeping the White Forest peaceful is more than the Rangers can handle already. We are going to need your help until things settle down, then you will be free to go on your journey."

Leif understood. There had been many reports of Pokémon fighting each other more aggressively than normal. And with Team Plasma messing things up all over Unova, it was easy to see why the Pokémon stressed.

"I know, I just hate that I have to wait. And with my friends all gone, it's been boring around here."

Leif's mother came up behind him and turned Leif so that he was facing her. "Trust me, the Pokémon you catch today is not like a normal pet. It's a friend, and a partner. You won't be as lonely or bored after today, I promise you."

Leif nodded and smiled, after which, his mother pulled out one of her own Pokéballs and in a flash of blue light, released her Unfezant. "Coo, are you ready?" she asked the quail Pokémon, and she responded with a nod. "Alright Lief, We will see you later today. Coo and I are going to go on our normal patrol so we will be back before sunset. Remember; don't just catch the first Pokémon you see. Only catch a Pokémon that really calls out to you. Stay safe now!" with that, they both left the house.

Well... It wasn't just a house; it was the Ranger Lodge for their town, Littleglade. Littleglade was a small town, if you could even call it a town. It consisted of just a few houses and the Ranger Lodge where Leif lived. He used to play with his friends who lived here, but they all were slightly older than he was and now that they went out on their own adventures, Leif was the only kid in town.

As he walked by, what few townsfolk there were stopped their normal routines for a moment and waved at him and wish him good luck. There was nothing out of the ordinary until he came to the last house on the far end of town. The boy stopped as if he was afraid to walk into some sort of invisible wall or boundary. The house was old, one of the first homes to be built in Littleglade, and one that Leif never liked walking by. None of the kids did. In this creaking old shack, covered in cobwebs lived a women who had been nicknamed, 'The Spider Lady'. Her real name was Fia Aren, but she was the creepy old woman who lived with Spinarak and Ariados and made clothing from their silk. She always had this ominous vibe about her that just made you feel unsettled. The parents and other adults insisted she was just a nice old lady, but Leif and the other kids couldn't help feeling a little afraid of her and her.

"You're ten already, hmm?" came a wizened voice from behind, causing Leif to just about jump out of his skin. He turned and saw the Spider Lady standing there.

"Oh, h-hello Mrs. Aren," Leif stumbled, trying to be polite. "Yes, I'm about to go catch my first Pokémon."

The Spider lady was wearing an old, ornate red robe and a bandana on her head. She also had large golden hoops hanging from her ears and had webs clinging to her clothes and hair. On her shoulder sat one of her Spinarak; the small spider Pokémon appeared to be eating a piece of Pokémon Food. The mysterious woman smiled and held out what looked like a small spray bottle with a red liquid inside. It was a potion used to heal a Pokémon's minor injuries. "A birthday gift," she explained, gesturing for him to take it. "It was Spinarak's idea." She gestured to her shoulder with an unsettling smile.

Surprised, Leif took the Potion and looked at it for a few seconds before putting it in his pocket and looking back towards the Spider Lady. "Thank you. I'm sure it will come in handy."

There was a sudden change in the Spider lady's behavior, and she suddenly starred directly into Leif's eyes so deeply it was if she was looking straight through him, it took all of his self control just to stay put and not run away. "The time has come. Your journey may not start today, but your adventure does. Stay calm and think quickly, and he will live." Without even giving Leif a chance to say a word or even react, she left, cackling as she disappeared into her house. As you can imagine, Leif was absolutely dumbfounded. He had no idea what she was talking about. With little else to do, he shook his head and decided it was best to forget the crazy woman and continue what he was doing. He had a Pokémon to catch!

Leif left town quickly to avoid any more strange events and started off heading northwest. The White Forest's massive white trees, tall grass and green bushes were already alive with life, and sounds echoed all around. He could hear all sorts of Pokémon, and couldn't help but wonder if one of those many voices would belong to his Pokémon. It wasn't ever hard to find Pokémon in the White Forest. It was well known for having one of the greatest varieties of Pokémon in the world with Pokémon from every region. On top of the great white trees, he could hear the songs of Pidgey and Starly. In the tall grass he caught glimpses of Nidoran and Shinx. And when he passed by a small pond, he even saw an Azurill and a Wooper playing. None of them really 'called to him' like his mother mentioned though, so he didn't disturb them. Leif didn't have any particular Pokémon in mind, but he knew that when he found the right one, he would know. Hours eventually passed, and he enjoyed the time watching the Pokémon, but he still couldn't find "the one". Eventually, he started getting hungry and decided to take a break to eat.

Leif didn't have any food with him, but being the son of a Pokémon Ranger, he could easily find edible berries, especially in such a fertile forest such as this. Leif sat down by an Oran bush and plucked a few of the round, blue, berries. Oran were a strange fruit. They were very healthy, and had an odd mix of flavors that made them hard not to like. As he ate, his thoughts drifted into the future and what he might become. He had thought about it in the past, but there were so many paths he could choose. Pokémon battling is amazing and fun, but I think Pokémon breeding would be great too. And then there are all the mysteries surrounding Pokémon. I could be a researcher, or an archeologist like Dad. I could even be a Coordinator. He had plenty of time to think. Until the attacks from Team Plasma slowed down, he had to help the Pokémon here, and who knows how long that would be; years? Leif sat at the bush, eating berries for a while, just daydreaming about who he would become and what was in store for him.

"Aaaaabraaaaa!" Leif heard out from the distance, ending his reverie and making him jump to his feet. He waited to see if he could hear it again. "Aaaaab!" It came again. Leif already knew it was an Abra; that much was obvious. They were not uncommon in the White Forest, but they almost always teleported away before you could do more than blink, and they rarely ever try to draw attention to themselves. With the amount of attention these cries would attract, Leif guessed that this Abra was in trouble. Leif started running towards the desperate cries of the Pokémon, unsure of what he would find, eventually skidding to a halt as he reached a glade. In the glade was the Abra that was making the noise. It was already beaten up quite a bit, and not in good condition. Also in the glade was the Abra's attacker, its evolved form, Kadabra. Leif stood there in shock as he watched the Kadabra lift the already battered Abra into the air with his Psychic Attack, Kadabra's purple mental aura surrounding the smaller Pokémon before throwing him against a nearby tree. Without stopping, it lifted the Abra from the ground and threw him into another tree and injuring the Abra further. Leif wanted to do something, but a Kadabra was a powerful Pokémon, and without a Pokémon of his own, he would stand even less of a chance than this Abra.

"Ab... ra..." the smaller Pokémon pleaded, but the Kadabra was cold. He didn't even respond to the Abra or even look at him with anything but rage. The Kadabra lifted him high into the air once more before hurling him towards another tree. Leif flinched, almost feeling the Abra's pain as it made contact with the wood. The sickening crack of bone was a terrible thing to hear. The Abra fell to the ground with a thud and laid there, unmoving. The Kadabra huffed and slowly left the glade and out of sight, his anger seemingly quenched for now.

As soon as the coast was clear, Leif ran into the glade and up to the Abra to check his wounds. The injuries were severe. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, but Leif was certain from watching that fight that there were more life threatening injuries that he couldn't see. The most obvious wound was the one on Abra's head from that last throw, and Leif knew he had to stop it from bleeding.

The Spider Lady's words suddenly rang in Leif's mind and he took a deep breath to calm down before getting to work. He quickly pulled out the potion that the Spider Lady gave him and emptied it onto the Abra's head. It wouldn't help much for a wound this bad, but it did stop the bleeding.

With the first goal completed, Leif ran over to the trees and broke off two long branches. He placed them under Abra in a 'X' pattern and used his rope the secure the Abra to them so that he moved as little as possible. There was no Pokémon Center for miles, but his home, the Ranger Lodge had much of the same supplies and devices that a Pokémon Center had just for this sort of emergency. Leif dragged the makeshift stretcher behind him, heading back towards Littleglade as fast as he could. Abra was not really all that light, it was still and long way back to Littleglade, and Leif was tiring out quickly. Lief lowered the makeshift stretcher gently to the ground and thought about his situation. He needed some way to make Abra easier to carry.

Some way to... His eyes opened wide as an idea hit him like a rock to the head and he quickly took his Pokéball from his belt and held it to the unconscious Pokémon. A red light surrounded the abra and then he was pulled into the Pokéball. It instantly clicked. The Abra was in no condition to struggle against capture. Leif didn't know if the Abra would have wanted to be captured, but this was its best chance of survival. Now, with no stretcher or Pokémon to drag behind him, Leif took off towards town once more. As the sun set, Leif caught sight of the town. He ran past all the houses, ignoring the greetings and confused looks from the neighbors, and strait towards the Ranger Lodge. Bursting through the door, Leif found his mother waiting for his return and sipping a cup of tea.

"Leif! You're back! Did you ca-"

"No time to explain mom!" Leif pulled out the Pokéball and held it out to her. "This Abra is hurt badly! If we don't do something..."

His mother nodded and without a missing a beat, rushed to the back of the lodge where the Medical Room was with Leif right behind her. The Medical Room had many devices for healing Pokémon, and shelves stocked with tools and medicines, just for emergencies such as this one. On one side of the room were a few machines that looked small hospital beds, but they had glass covers and places for monitoring equipment.

"Release the Abra here." His mother directed, and Leif obeyed without hesitation. He held the Pokéball out and the beam of blue light shot from the ball to the 'bed'. As soon as the Abra could be seen, his mother started examining him, trying to figure out what she could do to help. "This is pretty bad." She commented, and ran over to the shelves to grab some supplies. Leif starred at the injured Abra, hoping to himself that he had gotten him here in time. Much to Leif's surprise, one of the Abra's eyes opened, and he looked towards Leif. Leif was amazed. Abra are almost always asleep. Very few people ever get a chance to see what an Abra's eyes look like, and this one's eyes were a bright blue. Leif scooted a little closer, and whispered gently to him, "You're going to be ok. I promise." Hearing his words, the Abra closed his eyes, and drifted off into unconsciousness once more.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Abra survived that night on Leif's tenth birthday, and healed up quickly, though there was some permanent damage, and a scar on the Abra's head. For saving his life, the Abra was more than happy to be Leif's first Pokémon and was eventually named Kepler. In the years that followed, Leif and Kepler kept busy with their Ranger duties, helping Pokémon and people alike. Team Plasma had also been defeated, not once, but twice by two different trainers! It was a while before the Pokémon in the White Forest started to calm down, but when they did, it was finally time for Leif to set off his journey that should have happened when he was ten.

Leif once again ran about his room, collecting different things and getting dressed as his mom yelled at him not to forget thing this and that. Leif himself had also changed in this time. He was older, taller, had shoulder length hair that he kept tied up, and had a new outfit that he had made himself just for his journey to fit his style. He now wore a white tee-shirt with a forest green zip-up vest over it. The vest had the same design as his Pokéballs always did; a white tree. He also wore cargo pants of the same color. He also now had a new brown leather satchel that he kept most of his supplies in over his shoulder.

Kepler, his Abra, also had his own 'outfit'. Since Leif carried Kepler around on his back most of the time, preventing Leif from using a backpack, Kepler wore his own small backpack, though his mostly contained things for Pokémon, like the Pokémon food and potions. Kepler also wore a brown leather, fingerless glove on his right hand that had an Everstone embedded in it. Ever since that day, Kepler had been terrified of evolving and wanted to stay an Abra forever. To make Kepler happy, Leif gave him his Everstone glove, so Kepler wouldn't have to be afraid that he would evolve by mistake.

"You ready Kep?" Leif asked his friend.

"Abra ab!" Kepler responded before hopping onto Leif's back like a Abra backpack of sorts. The two then headed downstairs to find Leif's parents. They found Leif's father near the door waiting for them, but his mother didn't seem to be around. Unlike Leif, Leif's father, Wally, had bright orange hair. He did have the same deep green eyes that Leif did though. He wore a brown button down shirt, khaki pants, and glasses. He definitely looked the part of an archaeologist.

"Where's mom?"

"She's uh... Well she was here a second ago." Kepler tapped on Leif's shoulder and pointed up, but before they had a chance to look, Leif's mother dropped from the roof scaring them both and causing them to stumble back. It was times like these when having a mom that was a master at hiding was not the most fun thing to have around.

Leif's dad laughed. "Carmen, you about gave us a heart attack."

"Oh, don't be such a baby." She responded, then turned to Leif and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Are you and Kep ready to finally go out on your own?"

"We were ready years ago!" Leif said excitedly.

"Well the town is ready to say their goodbyes outside, so I don't want to keep them waiting, but you are bringing Nomi right? Think I could say goodbye too real quick?"

Leif nodded and reached for one of the Pokéballs on his belt. With a flash of blue light, he released his Togepi, Nomi. Leif and Kepler had found the little Togepi during one of their Ranger routes. Her mother had been scared off by another Pokémon, so Leif took her in, Nomi becoming his second Pokémon. Leif's mother picked the little egg Pokémon up and kissed the top of her head. "Grow up big and strong for Leif, okay cutie? Show him just how brave you are!"

The Togepi beamed at Leif's mother cheerfully responding with a cute, "Togi togi!" Nomi was handed back to Leif, and his parents gave their last goodbyes before they left. Outside, Leif, Kepler, and Nomi were greeted by every face in the village, each wanting to wish him good luck, say their goodbyes, and even give a going-away gift or two, but there was one person that caught Leif's attention.

The Spider Lady walked over to Leif, this time with one of her Ariados walking beside her. Since that day, Leif had a lot of respect for the creepy woman. She often would say strange things to him that turned out true and helpful to him, just like the day he met Kepler. He was sure she had some sort of foresight, but had no real evidence of it. The Spider Lady handed Leif a bundle of green cloth, and Leif looked to her questioningly. "It's a traveling cloak made from Ariados's silk. It's the most durable cloak you will ever find. May it serve you well in your adventures ahead."

Leif unfolded the cloak, to find that besides it being the same green as the rest of his outfit, it also had his white tree symbol on the back. It was perfect. Leif smiled, and sincerely thanked her. He put Nomi and Kepler down for a moment while he put it on. It even had a hood, though Leif left it down for the time being. Once Kepler and Nomi were back on Leif, they waved to everyone and were finally off.

Leif held Nomi as they walked for a while, letting the Togepi enjoy the scenery, but the little Pokémon eventually grew tired and Leif returned her to her Pokéball for some rest. "Abra ab abra?" Kepler asked as his trainer placed the ball back onto his belt.

"Where are we going? Well we are first headed across Marvelous Bridge to Nimbasa City to fight our first Gym Leader. But before that I want to check something out."

"Ab?" Kepler asked curiously.

"Dad mentioned a few years ago that there was shrine of some sort discovered nearby. It was found about the same time that the White Tree Hollow appeared. The etchings on the wall apparently make it seem like a wishing well of sorts. When the trainers from ancient Unova were first starting out, they came to this shrine and placed their hands on the stone in it for good luck or something. I figured since we are just starting out, we might as well get some good luck, right Kep?"

Kepler nodded and answered with "Abra!"

Leif could tell Kepler was excited. Since it took this long for Leif to get out on his own, they had years for nothing but Ranger duties and training. But training is still not as good as the real thing. "So Kepler, we should probably think of a strategy. From what I hear, the Nimbasa Gym Leader is an Electric type user. We are going to ha-"

Leif stopped mid sentence as he heard the sound of a snapping twig behind one of the trees. Before Leif even got a chance to ask if anyone was there, someone jumped out in front of Leif. He had blue shorts, a yellow T-shirt, and a backwards blue baseball hat. He yelled, "I LIKE SHORTS! THEY'RE COMFY AND EASY TO WEAR!" then threw out a Pokéball before Leif could even say, "What?" A Raticate was released, it's shiny light-brown fur, perky whiskers and sharp teeth were signs of how well cared for the Pokémon was. Leif by now had figured out that this trainer wanted to battle, but this was not really a great way to ask. "

Before we battle, we should at least introduce ourselves. My name's Leif. What's yours?" The trainer rubbed his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. I just get a bit excited sometimes. My name is Joey, and this is my Raticate. He is in the top percentage of Raticate!" Leif smiled and gave him a two finger salute of sorts. "Alright Kepler, are you ready?" In a flash of blue the Abra had teleported from Leif's back, in front of the two trainers. To most, Kepler just looked sleepy or bored, but Leif could tell that he was rearing to go.

"Raticate, start this off with Hyper Fang!" The large rat lunged forward at a impressive speed towards Leif's Abra. "Kep, Teleport, then use Psychic!" Leif called out, quickly followed by a flash of blue light as Kepler did as asked, getting him out of harm's way and appearing behind his opponent. Then, before Joey could react, the Raticate was lifted into the air, surrounded by a blue aura. Kepler hurled the rat towards a tree a nearby tree, smirking due to how easy the fight seemed.

"Raticate, jump off that tree, and use Quick Attack!" To Leif and Kepler's surprise, the Joey's Pokémon turned in the air so his feet softened his impact, it then jumped towards Kepler at blinding speed. Kepler was struck head on by the Raticate, not being fast enough to avoid the attack. Both Pokémon jumped back, creating some distance between them. Kepler was breathing a little harder. Leif knew that any damage done to the Abra was a bad thing. Abra were not known for their durability.

"Kepler, use Double Team!" With a nod the Abra glowed for a moment, followed by three copies of him appearing.

"Raticate! Quick Attack them all!" In an instant, the rat charged through each copy, each one disappearing after the next, but none of them were real.

Leif smiled at the confused Raticate and trainer and called out. "Now, Kep! Ice Punch!" Kepler came up from behind before either the Raticate or its trainer could react, and threw a good right-hook with icy-blue glowing fist. It did some damage, but the rat still had a lot of fight in him.

"Use crunch!" Joey called out.

Leif acted quickly. He couldn't let Kep get hit by a Dark Type move. "Kep! Dodge and use teleport!" As the rat closed in, its fangs ready, the Abra quickly jumped to the side and rolled out of the way before disappearing in a flash of blue. Joey looked around, trying to figure out where the tricky Abra had gone. "Ice Punch!" Leif called again; Joey soon finding out where Kepler had gone as he dropped down from the trees, his gloved fist glowing.

"Dodge it Raticate!" he called, and the rat tried to move out of the way. It was too late. Kepler managed to land his punch on the rat Pokémon's leg, and a layer of ice formed, rooting him to the ground. "Finish it with Psychic, Kep!" The blue Aura surrounded the Raticate once more, and it was lifted into the air, breaking the ice as it did. This time, instead of a tree, Kep threw his opponent strait into the dirt. When the dust cleared, the Raticate was knocked out cold. "Good job, Kep!" Leif picked up his abra and gave him a hug before putting him back in his rightful spot as his 'Backpack'. Turning to Joey, who was tending to his friend, Leif offered a hand. They shook hands, and smiled.

Having been given the reward money, the two parted ways, and Leif and Kepler continued on their way to towards the Musharna Shrine, wondering what else they would see on their adventure, and unaware of what was to come.