Chapter 2: Humans
#3 of The Journey
_Authors note: I would like to apologize if the story (what little there's been) has seemed bland. Through the course of writing it (working on chapter 6 now), it has truly "evolved" from something I was half assing my midnight thoughts into. To something that I've become emotionally attached to. I'll do my best to make it as easy to read as possible, as I know that was an issue with the last chapter. _
I walked along a dirt path, looking for trainers to beat. On a full stomach, I could usually go on without eating for a day or two before I had to refuel. Recently, however, I've had to spend more time foraging for food in the wild as people have grown less trusting of me. Whenever I went into a shop I was always very clear (through telepathy if not through gestures) that money is money, and it doesn't matter who it's from. But for whatever reason, people started to lose their respect for pokemon and didn't want anything to do with us. There were still those who didn't ask questions and even those who were happy to see wild pokemon interact with "regular" society. This had no importance to my journey but I always pondered over the actions of humans, they always confused me.
I found a young girl, ten maybe, fresh from the city with her first pokemon. She seemed rich, as she was carrying a rather shiny handbag. Humans always seemed to think shiny things were valuable. She threw her ball at me, not knowing that she had to weaken me first, and gave that same confused expression everyone does when they try to capture me as the light bounced off. I still had some money, enough for a light meal but it wasn't enough keep me going for as long as I needed it to. So i wagged my finger in protest to the capture, and showed her my money that I intended to wager. She was puzzled at first, but after a few seconds she understood. She proceeded to send out her pokemon, a squirtle.
"This will be fun," I thought to myself. Aside from being an easy match, this would also be perpetuating an old rivalry. Acting instinctively I thought this would be a good time to teach the grunt a lesson, "don't mess with the chars." It was over before it started. The squirtle made a move right for my tail (something that was always popular with water types), if you could call it a move. This foe was so weak that it seemed like he shot a squirt gun at me. I moved a few inches for the dodge, gave him a little scratch across the shell, and next thing you know he was down for the count. The girl was angry, she reached into her bag threw some money, the pokeball, and stomped off. Leaving her squirtle unconscious on the dirt road.
In her anger she didn't realize what she threw, $1000. This would do me well, very well. It could last me a good three months if spent on food alone. I was excited for sure but I was more amused at the fact that I had just received three months worth of food in worthless paper. I collected it all the same, and put it in my pouch. I got so distracted from the money that I had completely forgotten that a trainer had just abandoned her pokemon on the road. I couldn't just leave him there, he had a long life ahead of him. I picked him up, and started to carry his unconscious body towards the nearest town, a half mile away.
It wasn't that bad of a walk. I spent most of the time thinking of what to tell him what happened if he woke up. Was the time wasted? Depends on how you value your time. I arrived at the city with a few eyes upon me, but nothing more than that. There was a map outside the city limit which had informed me that the city's pokemon center was located near where I was entering. I walked in, a little weary as I had still not eaten.
Nurse Joy yelled out, "get a stretcher, and bring out jynx we're gonna need a translator.
"No need for that," and nurse joy jumped.
"You're psychic?" she said in a bewildered tone.
"Yes, but I think you have more important matters to attend to. His trainer left him in the street after I beat him in battle, along with his ball." I handed it to her. She brought it to one of her machines, and a picture of the girl popped up.
"Thank you very much for this, his trainer will be put on battle probation for a month." I gave the squirtle to the chanseys who proceeded to put him on the stretcher.
"When he wakes up, tell him I did this in a manner of good faith between rival families." Would it end the conflict as a whole? No, but it would for him, and that was all I cared about.
"I'll see that it's done, are you okay? You don't look so good." My hunger was starting to catch up with me.
"I haven't eaten in a couple days but I plan to buy some food with the prize money I won."
"Don't be ridiculous! we have plenty of food here."
"I don't want to impose."
"You just saved this pokemons life, it would be wrong of me not to repay you." People have always wanted to repay me for my acts of kindness, what has the world come to where one can not simply do a good deed, and have it be understood.
"Very well" I couldn't exactly deny free food in the state I was in. It was a good meal, specifically designed for fire types. I was tired so I went to make my way out of the center.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality nurse Joy."
"You're leaving now? It's night time, you can stay in a bed here."
"I've never stayed in a bed, I truly never want to. I understand the idea of it, but I never want to go to sleep where I don't have the feeling grass on my back, or a fire on my belly."
"You seem very intelligent for a pokemon, plus a psychic. I've never heard of any psychic charmeleons in all of my studying."
"You'll find life is full of sounds you don't hear," and with that I walked off.
I proceeded to buy two potions from the mart at the center, and walked out the front door. I started to make my way back onto the trail which had led me here, but something was different this time, I was being followed.