Hi guys! I just recently posted a new story! Unfortunately it's on another site so I'll be leaving a link here:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11596937/1/Pokémon-Caretaker
Summary:
Aura Guardians could save the world but they could not cleanse corrupted aura nor care for the world's numerous Legendary Pokémon. And for that, a Caretaker would take the center stage. The only problem is that a Caretaker being born is rare. Very rare. And if one was to be born, the whole world would turn their attention towards that being.
Rating: T due to future content involving violence and such. ><
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Main Characters: Leaf, Gary Oak, Mew, Pikachu. (Will increase as the story progress.)
WARNINGS: Major AU, OOCness, early Aura usage, possible Pokéspeech, Mary Sue/Gary Stue tropes and such, and slow updates... ><
I'd love some feedback!
For those who don't want to use links:
Pokémon: Caretaker
"Aura; A spiritual energy that all living things possess in the Pokémon world, an essence among all living beings that walks the lands. Very few creatures were aware of these energy and even fewer knew how to properly control and shape things using them. Humans were one such race that were able to, despite the rarity of one born with the natural abilities to control Aura.
They were split into two roles by the Creator; The Guardians who travels and performs good deeds and to ensure the safety of the Pokémon World from evil and the Caretakers whose role was to care and tend the budding world and cleanse the corrupted.
But the Caretakers were rare. There's only a one or two chance per millennium in which a Caretaker would be born for the need for them despite the fact the Creator could create them at will. No, the Creator follows the rules of the world just like any other and thus must let it be or face the consequences.
To ensure that the few Caretakers were to survive and perform their duties, they were assigned a Mythical to look after them and only act when it was the last resort."
Chapter I
The tweeting of Pidgeys outside was muffled by the glassed window looking into a room that would look exactly like any typical ten year old girl's room would look like. The cuddly plush dolls of various Pokémon littered the room from the bed to the pink carpeted floor. Sitting on the bed was a lump hidden under the light green sheets, groaning at the annoying chirping the birds outside and yet remained stubborn to return to the magic land of dreams.
*Plop!*
"Mm…Ten more minutes…" The lump murmured from under her covers only to feel the new weight on her seemed to rise and lightly drop back down on her in a fit of cute giggles. "Please?"
It seemed to relent as it lifted off of her but did not continue its attack…
Wrong!
"Oof!" The lump gasped at the latest assault! She flew her layer of defense off of her, revealing a young girl with glittering emerald eyes and a bout of messy long brown hair that reached to the small of her back. Her cheeks puffed up in mock anger while her eyes shined with playfulness as she faked a glare at her attacker. "Mew!"
The pink cat-like Pokémon floated in front of her, a twinkle of mischief evident in those round blue eyes of hers as she twirled in the air with a small squeal before crashing into the young girl affectionately. Young Leaf Green couldn't be mad at her at all as she giggled from the tackle the cute Legendary used on her.
"Alright! Alright! I'm awake!" Leaf surrendered before she clutched onto the Pokémon and hopped out of bed.
"Mew~"
"And good morning to you too." She replied to the little rascal in her arms. A cute and adorable one at that as she left her room and made her way to the bathroom to prepare herself.
In a few hours, the young Green will set out on a journey as a Master and she couldn't waste another second longer! She must be at Professor Oak's lab as soon as she could! She let Mew wander the house as she prepared in the bathroom before bursting out and heading back to her bedroom to choose an outfit.
"What do you think I should wear?" She asked the Legendary as she picked from her dresser. She pulled out a simple sleeveless shirt in a shade of the Sky attached with a red skirt at the bottom and showed it. "How about this for the first day?"
Mew nodded enthusiastically and looped in the air squeaking to which the young girl smiled at before changing into the chosen outfit and ran downstairs. The scent of breakfast halfway down the hallway made her stomach growl awake as she literally hopped down the stairs two or three steps a time.
"Morning! Yay! My favorite pancakes!" The girl cheered excitedly as soon as her eyes locked onto the steaming breakfast set on the table already.
"Good morning dear~" Her mother's sing song voice from the kitchen trailed into the dining room. "Are you ready to receive your starter?" Her mother's head peaked out from the kitchen doorway with a bright smile.
"Mm!" The young child nodded with a wide grin. She couldn't wait!
"I wished your father was here to see this…He would be so proud of you!" The mother sniffled slightly at the mention of her husband.
"Mhm! And I will make him even more proud!" Proclaiming loudly with confidence, she turned her attention to the food as she hopped onto the seat and dug in, sparing Mew a few bites by feeding her from time to time.
It was really strange, especially so when the Legendary was only visible to her and no one else. It was a little secret shared between them ever since she found the cute little Pokémon in her backyard five years ago. No one knew Mew was here except for her!
Hana Green smiled when she heard her daughter announced her, but it was a wistful one as once her precious little girl picks up her new friend, it would be a while before she could see her again in person. If it was possible, she wished Leaf would just stay here with her but knowing the young Green's personality that was passed on to her on her father's side, the chance was slim to none.
There was no way she would force her. It would kill her to even think of such a thing.
"Mew~" The cat-like Legendary floated around after having her fill with nothing to do. She decided to have a nice little strolled outside and notified the young girl with a little tap on the shoulder with her tail. She liked the peaceful atmosphere of Pallet Town. It was definitely one of those places she would choose to roam around whenever she wants to.
The gentle breeze caressed her pink fur as she glided through the town, the landscape was shaped with rolling green hills, patches of forest between them and sprinkled with houses of lively colors. Beyond it was the endless bluescape of the sea. It was a pretty place with very nice people to boot!
Well… Not exactly everyone.
"Haha! Today's the day I will start my journey to be the number one best!" A boy that was slightly older than Leaf boasted as he pumped a fist up in the air from the roof of the Oak residence near the Greens. Young Gary Oak smirked as he glanced to the side where Leaf lives before he climbed into the window of his bedroom to prepare himself. "I'm gonna show Leafy that she got nothing that could beat me!"
Mew puffed slightly at that as she watched the 'bully' disappear from sight and thought about pranking the young boy but relented after a bit. Back to exploring the town!
With that in mind, she floated away, passing by a group of older girls with the same uniform and holding pompoms running towards the Oak residence with giddy glee. The curious Legendary paused for a moment before her attention left for other things.
She played around on the moving windmill blades atop one of the bigger buildings in town that sat on top of a hill. She always found it fun to sit on them and drop down onto the next one after the blade turned too high to allow her to sit. It somehow never bores her!
The sound of terribly out-tuned humming from below prompt her curiosity as she floated down to see the old Professor walk out of the large building and onto the fields with a clipboard and a pen. He must be doing his morning routine check on the roaming captured Pokémon in the ranch. The variety of them each day was amusingly wide and fun since Mew would often times play with them.
Today, there was a large number of three types that were out in the open with all evolution stages. A couple of fiery dragon-like Pokémon soared the skies above in mock play or battle while smaller versions laid on rocks. Further away in one of the bodies of water crowded a group of large blue turtles teaching or looking after smaller ones. The grassy plains were also riddled with plant-like Pokémon bathing in the sun.
They were the starters of Kanto; The Grass type Bulbasaur and its two evolved forms Ivysaur and Venusaur; The Fire type Charmander along with its own evolution stages Charmeleon and Charizard; Lastly the Water type Squirtle and its two evolved forms Wartortle and Blastoise.
But despite the dominance of the starters, the large ranch was not fully occupied by them. Nearby the sunbathing Venusaurs were a few Eevees which the Professor was walking to. There were several brown roundish shapes among the fox-like Pokémon that weren't there previously and Mew just couldn't help but wanting to know what they were!
She floated closer and her eyes shined with giddiness!
They were Eggs! She twirled around with excitement before floating towards the new parents to congratulate them. Despite her status as a Legendary, the Pokémon that makes contact with her didn't seemed to mind. Of course, they would still hold her in high regards and reverently.
"Mew! Meeew~" The cat-like Legendary flipped in the air before she floated off slightly with a wave of good-bye to which the Eevees returned with their voices before their attention switched to their approaching caretaker.
"Let's see now. It seems like a new generation will be up and about!" The old man laughed and crouched down, petting one of the fox-like Pokémon who seemed to crave the petting as it purred.
Mew decided she should go back to meet with Leaf and promptly left the ranch and made her way back the Green residence. She made it to see Leaf running out on the backyard of her house looking around. She must be looking for her! Mew glided downwards with a slight squeak to get the girl's attention.
"There you are!" Leaf waved and opened her arms to which Mew gladly jumped into with glee. The young girl giggled before she gave the cute Pokémon a light squeeze like a plush doll before she petting her head. "Where have you been hm?"
"Meeew~ Mew!"
"The Eevees at the ranch had what?!"
Without another word or hearing Mew's answer, young Leaf rushed out of the house and sprinted her way down the familiar path towards the Oak Laboratory. Coincidentally, the youngest Oak spotted his 'rival' leaving in a hurry and took it rather heatedly.
"Hey! Leaf Green! Don't cheat to try and get first dibs!" He shouted upon deaf ears as she was too far away. Cursing, he rushed out of his room and out the house in a flash to give chase. "I won't let you get ahead of me even if you're a girl!"
He dashed out the gate, ignoring the rows of cheerleading fangirls who squealed at the sight of him but whined for being ignored, some cooing for the young Oak to come back to no avail. He had to make sure he's always first! Especially when competing with that dummy, Leaf!
What he wasn't expecting was that Leaf didn't go to the lab but instead hopped over the ranch fences beside the lab. It didn't matter! He followed closely and did the same thing.
Huffing and puffing, Leaf finally slowed down slightly as she spotted the professor and the half dozen of Eevees who were supposedly wild. Noticing her approach, the professor turned and smiled. "Ah, Leaf!" And then frowned slightly. "…And Gary?"
"Huh?" She turned to see Gary walking behind her with a smirk. "Oh, hi Gary!"
Somehow this wiped off the smirk on his face. But he was sort of used to it by now. For three years, he'd attempted to get on her nerves which seemed to never ever happen. Whenever he challenged her at something and came up on top, all she would do is smile that friendly and annoyingly warm smile and congratulate him. Same with basically everything and it frustrated him.
He harrumphed, crossing his arms behind his head and walked past her to greet his grandfather. "Yo gramps!"
Professor Oak blinked. "…Good morning both of you. I'm surprised slightly how early you are today, Gary."
"Of course!" His usual smug smirk came back. "I'm not going to let Leafy here steal the first pick!"
"Oh? If you wanted to pick first, you didn't need to run all the way here. I don't mind picking later." Leaf shrugged, making Gary frown for a second before his smirk came back.
"Pffft, nah! That'll just be too easy for me because I know that you'll have a disadvantage!" He clicked his tongue and bragged. "I'll just end up picking the strongest! So I changed my mind, you pick first!"
Leaf's eyes brightened up. "Really? Thank you! You're sweet Gary."
Gary couldn't help but blush, turning his face away to avoid letting her see it. "…Y-yeah."
The Oak elder looked between the two and smiled. "Ah…Youth."
"Did you say something, professor?" Leaf asked curiously and the old Oak shook his head with a chuckle.
"Nothing, Leaf. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on the eggs the Eevees had overnight." He went back to his task only to be interrupted by a squeal as Leaf motioned so fast that it almost looked like she teleported to the group of Eevees.
"Congrats!" She happily cheered as she sat on her knees while the Eevees gathered around her with cute barks and squeals of their own. The young Green had always seemed to generally be loved by Pokémon of all types.
She picked one of them up whose fur seemed much more well-groomed than others and hugged it. "You're a mother now, Ellie~!" The Eevee happily squeaked and nuzzled into the embrace.
The two Oaks watched with different reactions. The professor had a lopsided smile of amusement while the youngest Oak could only stare, lost in thought at the sight. He really didn't know what to think about this, most of his mind was literally branding the cute and adorable sight in front of him while a smaller part was neutral and then there's the extremely tiny microscopic part of him who wanted to do better than her… Which fizzled out after a second or two.
It was then he realized something.
"Wait…Ellie? Is that one captured?" Gary asked. "When did we even get Eevees?"
"No, Leaf just named them when they were discovered hiding behind the lab's storage area a year back," the professor shrugged. "…She basically named them herself although she said… That they told her their names…"
"…So they're released into the wild?"
"Yes, they probably are." Then the older Oak frowned. "But they're not to be captured."
"I wasn't thinking about that!" The younger Oak shot back, a scowl. "I'm not a cruel jerk!"
"Well, you do act like a jerk to Leaf." His grandfather pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "For the whole time since you were both babies, she had always been nice to you."
"T-that's…" Shaking his head, he skipped over the silent question and looked back at the pack of Eevees that surrounded the young Green. "Anyway, it's kind of strange. Why aren't these Eevees evolved?"
"Well, that's actually a good question." The professor looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged. "It's not like all mature Eevees are evolved."
"I guess so-"
Gary stopped and his eyes widened in surprise as Leaf touched an egg and it glowed. The egg shape slowly morphed into a smaller and more animal-like figure and then the light faded away, revealing a tiny palm-sized Eevee in its place.
Even the young girl gasped at the sudden hatching of the egg. The young kit shook itself, fluffing out its fur before it looked around and gave a cute squeak as if to announce its arrival to the world. Leaf squealed at the cute site but backed a bit slightly to let the parents take care of it. It was another pair of Eevees that took charge, they groomed the newborn kit gently while cuddling the adorable darn thing and it slightly made her jealous about it.
Gary noticed the slight puffed cheeks on the young Green and a rather faint thought passed through his head.
That looked kinda cute…
"Wha?!" He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Why did I even think something so stupid…" He muttered to himself.
Surprisingly, the new parents of the kit nudged the little one towards Leaf. The young girl could only widen her eyes at such a behavior. Were they allowing her to have some time with the little Eevee?! Usually, any Pokémon with newborns would be overly protective of them, especially wild ones so why?
"A-are you sure?" She asked them, stuttering out of shock.
The Eevees all chorused a happy reply and Ellie nuzzled her slightly.
Leaf was overwhelmed. Sure, she had spent time with them before but it was barely a year! It was really touching and she sniffled slightly before scooting a bit forward towards the palm-sized Evolution Pokémon. It looked at her curiously with a tilt of its head.
"Hey there," the young girl cooed and gently reached out and rubbed the kit's head. "Nice to meet you."
"Vuuiiii~!" The newborn seemed to lean in on the touch with a squeak.
Ooooh! She was this close from giving in to the urge to cuddle the cutie! But she resisted the urge, knowing that the cuddling can come after a while when its body is a bit bigger and stronger. Instead, she stopped rubbing its head and lowered the hand palm-up, inviting the little thing to hop on.
It sniffed the hand and hopped onto it, she could feel those tiny feet as it landed on the palm. Like soft little furry sticks poking on it and tickling the surface of her palm. She giggled and lifted it up and brought it close to her face.
The little Eevee was just a bit away from her nose, reaching forward and giving the young girl a small lick on the tip, getting another giggle from Leaf as she gently pet the small little kit with her other hand. "That tickled!"
"Leaf if you don't mind, I'd like to add the newborns to the list of protection. So I'll need some of their information." The older Oak had stopped about a few feet away from Leaf and the Eevees, kneeling down with his pen at the ready to jot down the details onto the clipboard.
"Okay." She nodded enthusiastically before bringing her attention back to the little Eevee on her palm with a smile. "Shall we start?"
"Vuuiii~" The little kit squeaked.
"This one on my palm is female." Leaf started as she examined the newborn, rotating her hand slightly. "…There's no abnormalities in her fur…"
Gary frowned as he watched his supposed 'rival' assisting in adding the newborn wild Eevees onto the list. Since when did this girl became so proficient in something like this? He continued to ponder why he was even thinking so much about this while only half-listening to what they were saying.
"Gary, you might learn a thing or two from this." His grandfather remarked as he continued writing.
"I'm going to be a trainer and master not a boring researcher, gramps." The boy retorted, snorting as he did so and looked away even if the other two didn't bother looking at him.
"Her name is…" Leaf trailed off and looked towards the kit's parents for the answer.
"Vuuuiii, uii~" One of them replied, ears twitching cutely.
"Deaia." The young girl nodded.
"That's an interesting name." The professor looked up from the clipboard.
"It's a native name for Eevees."
"Hmm?" The old Oak raised an eyebrow for a moment, studying the girl who seemed more occupied with playing with the little kit than answering his unspoken question and sighed.
"That's rich!" Gary laughed from where he was. "What kind of name is that? It sounds so weird! Only Leaf can think of such a name! Ha!"
The group of Eevees glared at the young Oak, some growling with their ears pressed against their heads. Leaf and the professor also glared at him. Thankfully, the youngster seemed to have gotten the message and it was then that he realized the soft whining from Leaf's palm.
The poor little kit looked hurt, her eyes shimmering slightly as a sign before tears would well up and her ears drooped. It could really make anyone feel guilty and Gary was no different. He gulped and looked away, thinking fast on what to say.
Too late!
"Vu…UIIIII~!" The young Eevee cried, one could almost see her eyes sprouting tears like a fountain!
"Ooooh noo…There there…" Leaf attempted to soothe little Deaia, holding her against her chest so that the little kit could calm down by listening to her heart beat.
The method worked as the little Eevee slowly stopped crying as one of her ears pressed against the girl's chest, listening to the steady rhythm.
"There you go." The young Green cooed softly.
Professor Oak turned and scowled at his grandson. "You need to cool off, young man."
"Tch…"
With that, Gary walked away, deciding that he shouldn't waste any more time observing something so boring and do something else in the meantime. He stomped away, passing Mew who was invisible as she floated to her charge.
The group of Eevees perked up as the invisible Mew reached them. Leaf sensed her but decided not to react to it because of the professor nearby and the elder Oak didn't noticing a thing. Leaf had to smile, knowing that she knew about something that the professor didn't was a rather silly fact to be proud of yet here she was, smirking in triumph.
It's human nature.
"It would seem Deaia is a very healthy and lively one! My congratulations to them." The professor finally said, a smile plastered on his face as he got up. "Since the other eggs would probably take more time to hatch, let's head back for a rest shall we?"
"Sure, professor!" Leaf agreed readily, gently placing her palm on the ground so the young kit could jump off.
With an exchange of farewells, the two humans left the Eevees and headed back towards the lab. Mew followed them, still invisible as she lazily drifted behind Leaf.
"So, Leaf." The professor spoke up as they walked into the lab. "Soon, you'll be out on your very own Pokémon journey. Are you excited?"
"Mm!" Leaf nodded and a couple times more, a wide smile on her face. "I can't wait to explore the whole of Kanto and other regions!"
"Oh?" The elder raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to take on the league like many others?"
She shook her head. "No… I don't really like battling."
"I see." Professor Oak nodded in understanding and gave a half-smile. "Well, I guess there are many other goals for a Pokémon Trainer out there in the wide world." Hearing that, Leaf perked up and listened. "For one, there's the Pokémon Contests that are mainly in Hoenn and a few other regions. They focus on performance done by the Pokémon and such."
"Hoenn? My friend lives there!"
"Ah, I remember you and Professor Birch's daughter met when you were younger." The old professor recalled as he looked thoughtful. "You two are still exchanging mails was it?"
"Mhm!" She nodded as they entered a more homey room, the living room to be exact.
He chuckled as he gestured for her to take a seat on the plush couches while he went to brew some tea. The young soon-to-be trainer plopped down on her favorite spot on the light green couch with floral patterns decorating it. Right beside her was an Azurill doll that she had brought over a year ago as an extra decoration.
"I should be receiving a mail soon." She absently said as she hugged the doll. "She's probably going to be starting out with helping his dad in fieldwork or something."
"Hm. That's a really splendid choice!" The professor spoke out from the Kitchen as he boiled the tea. "I just wish Gary was as helpful as her." He added with a disappointed sigh. "Sometimes I wish you were my granddaughter, Leaf." He joked.
"I thought I've been around enough to be an unofficial one~" She piped out, her legs playfully swinging. The old Oak chuckled.
"Indeed!"
"By the way, professor. What else were you going to say about the contests?" Leaf decided to hear more about it, picking up where they trailed off.
"Oh, right!" Professor Oak came back into the room with a tray of tea. "Contests! Aside from performances, there is of course a bit of battling." The young girl frowned at that. "But, the majority of it comes from appearances and such."
Leaf could hardly imagine dressing up any Pokémon… Well, maybe some. She must have had a funny look as the old professor was giving an amused smile. She finally shook her head and pouted. "I don't see the need for a battle."
"Well, I don't really understand it either." The old Oak shrugged. "There are other professions involving Pokémon aside from being a League battler and a Contest coordinator. Like researchers like myself."
"But professor, you were a trainer before this."
"I know, I know."
"Sorry." She said sheepishly. She just realized how rude she was.
"It's okay." The professor waved it off. "Anyway, if a researcher isn't in your best interests, there's also the Rangers Union which helps protect Pokémon reserves and such all over the world."
"I've heard of them!" Leaf lit up. "They save Pokémon and keep those mean hunters away!"
"That's right." He nodded. "They practically take the roles of being heroes to wild Pokémon on a daily basis."
"Mm! They're heroes!"
He chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. Now he really, really wish Leaf was his granddaughter. She was just so knowledgeable for her age and very accepting of anything. She's also really polite which was a bonus and the most important of all was that she was really helpful though he sometimes think the young girl was being too helpful. Sometimes too much of a positive attribute is troublesome and the professor worries her about it.
"Now, now Leaf. Calm down." He took a sip from his cup. "Rangers are still prone to battling so I think it might not be suitable for you." He realized her pouting again. "Not that I mean you're bad at battling. To be really honest, I'm pretty sure you could beat Gary quite easily."
"If I didn't practice early, he probably would've been the one who's better."
"Yes, even though he learns about it, he does not put as much effort into it as you." Professor Oak nodded.
She sighed as she looked out the open window nearby, thinking about what went wrong between him and her. The professor notices this and frowned. He knew why his grandson acts like he does now and he was partly at fault. The Oak family wasn't really well known until he hit the scene, spewing out numerous theories and research papers for the past few decades could really get people's attention.
Not wanting to see the girl sad, he clapped his hands once to get her attention. "Now, where was I before we steered away again…? Ah! Yes, other careers you might like involving Pokémon!"
"There's more?" She asked incredulously. Well, what was she expecting in a world revolving around Pokémon?
"We've talked about League battlers, Contest coordinators, Researchers and Rangers there's actually one that might be to your liking."
She leaned in attentively.
"Breeders."
"Breeders?" She asked in wonder. From that word alone, she could make out what the job description was, but just in case.
"Yes. People who breed Pokémon and take care of them for a living." The professor lectured on. "There's even a sub-category for it which involves daycares specifically for Pokémon."
She giggled at the thought of taking care of baby Pokémon. She always had soft spots for cute cuddly newborns. It fascinates her to think of new life, to hold a fragile life and behold the wonder of bringing them to the world. It was one thing that the old Oak thought was unique among children her age.
"That sounds like something I would do!" She cheerily remarked, giving a light shrug. "But I'm still not sure what I'll do when I grow up."
"It's natural for young people to hesitate." The professor nodded. "There's plenty of time in your journey to think about it."
"Mhm!"
Their conversation was interrupted by the abrupt shutting of a door down the hall. Gary stepped into the room a moment later, hands in his pockets as he strolled up the stairs. Leaf tilted her head curiously. She was expecting him to snidely greet them but nothing came.
"Where is he going?"
"I hope he's not going to use my work computer to play browser games again…" The professor muttered with a frown. Unfortunately, that was probably the case like all the other times.
"Oooh, by the way, professor!" Leaf turned the conversation again.
"Hm?"
"I noticed how rowdy the forest on the other side of the ranch had become." She said worriedly. "And I haven't seen as many Pidgeys since last week…"
"I noticed it too." He nodded, his expression slightly serious. "I might actually know the cause of it."
"What is it—"
The lights went off, cutting her question as the sound of something electrical from outside faded away. The muffled yell of frustration from Gary upstairs echoed down to the room they occupied and the two of them flinched slightly.
"W-what happened?" Leaf stuttered out. At least the sunlight was still strong outside, giving the room plenty of light.
"Hm…"
"Gramps! What happened?!" Gary shouted as he ran down the stairs.
"I'm not sure— don't run down the stairs!" The professor scolded as he got up. "I believe the power cables to the lab is having trouble…" He walked out followed by the two soon-to-be trainers.
They exited the back door of the lab and turned around a corner where the cables would enter the house through a transformer. The power came from the small solar-power station just a few miles away that powered the whole of Pallet Town.
"Hm…There seems to be some damage to it…" The old Oak inspected the cables, noting the ripped rubber protection and the slightly mangled wires inside.
"Professor!" Leaf called as she crouched down nearby. "There's tracks here!"
"Hm?" The professor stood up and walked over to her with Gary in tow who looked at the damage with mild interest.
Mew floated above them curiously, still cloaked with Leaf being the only one to see her at all. She was slightly excited, it felt like what one of those novels Leaf kept on her bookshelf about solving a mystery or crime and locating the suspect. She wondered what could come up next!
"These tracks are leading towards the storage shack." Professor Oak muttered as he studied the tracks. They were still fresh.
Leaf was already ahead, walking towards the shack that was big enough to hold two cars inside. The storage was quite worn down as it was barely used now that the lab's equipment and capacity had improved over the years. What was left inside were probably not very important or very old tools and equipment.
The white paint on the building was faded away, revealing some of the original pale brown of wood used to build the building. The door's dark green paint had been eaten away over the decades with blotches of steel grey. The door itself was slightly open as if someone had forgotten to close the door but the tracks leading into it says otherwise.
"Be careful, Leaf." Professor Oak warned. "We don't know how dangerous this could get…"
"Tch. As if something this small could be dangerous." Gary gestured to the tracks. They were indeed quite small.
"When something is small, it doesn't mean it's harmless." The older Oak frowned at his grandson.
"Fine then. I'll prove it's nothing to worry about!" The young Oak huffed and marched his way to the storage, pushing past Leaf rudely.
"Hey!"
He ignored her complaint and pulled the door wide open with a cringe-worthy creak. The light outside brightened the indoors of the worn down building, revealing piles and shelves of junk ranging from Pokéballs to old dusty gardening equipment. It was like a miniature garbage dump housed in.
At the very back was a furry ball of yellow that. There were visible marks of injury on its back and was breathing with difficulty. It snapped its head towards the sound of the door abruptly swung open with fear and wariness in its eyes.
Gary smirked as he entered, his sight on the 'culprit' of why the computer he was on was suddenly off. The injured rodent shivered as he got closer.
"Gary! What are you doing?!" Leaf shouted as she reached the doorway. She looked appalled at what the young Oak was about to do.
"I'm dealing with the problem." He answered as if it was obvious. He picked up the injured rodent by the scruff of its neck.
"Stop! You're hurting it!"
"So you're the reason why my game was interrupted…" Gary muttered in annoyance, as he lifted the yellow Pokémon who fearfully looked back with its round dark eyes.
"Put it down!" Leaf pleaded as she ran towards him.
"Or what?"
"Or—"
"CHHHUUU!"
It was too late. The Pokémon suddenly flashed and its entire body was covered in yellow lightning, zapping the young Oak and lighting him up like a Christmas tree.
"GAAAHHH!" He cried out and released the rodent but Leaf was just close enough to catch it into her arms.
"P-pika pi…" The mouse looked up weakly.
"There there…" Leaf cooed as she held the Pokémon close. Now that there's a moment to spare, she realized the small Pokémon was not exactly one of the locals within the surrounding forests. Its natural habitat was actually a few miles away beyond the next city, Viridian Forest.
"My, a Pikachu?" The professor crouched down to look at the Mouse Pokémon. "What is a Pikachu doing here?"
The Pikachu looked around, its cheeks sparking a bit. It was still shivering, it didn't take a psychic to feel the wave of fear and wariness from the electric mouse. Leaf glanced at its tail and confirmed its gender to be a male since females' tails have a notch at the end.
"Pika…" He weakly reached a paw up, his eyes showed desperation and his tone became pleading.
Leaf bit her bottom lip as she got up. She didn't exactly know what was going on. All she knew was that she had to go out. With the Pikachu in her arms, she rushed outside leaving a still recovering Gary and the surprised professor behind.
Why do I feel just as desperate as him?
She ran across the ranch, the other Pokemon looked up at her as she did so. Mew flashed beside her, now visible as she flew beside her desperate charge. Leaf barely noticed it as she hopped over the fence and made her way down one of the many paths in town.
Pallet town itself didn't have their own Pokémon Center. But they do have someone who specialized in Pokémon medical treatment. She rushed down the path that went down along the Cliffside overlooking the bay. Near the bottom where the land meets the ocean was a two-story log cabin and a wooden dock.
Leaf immediately sprinted the last bit of distance and pounded on the door, hoping the person living in there was inside.
The door opened.
"Blissey?" It was a Pokémon with a body that was shaped like an egg. Her short stubby arms kept the door open as she blinked at the abrupt visit from the local 'nature girl'.
"Who's at the door," came the voice of a young woman. The owner of the voice walked into view with an intrigued look as she examined the visitor and recognized her. "Leaf? What's wrong?"
"Doctor! Please! Help him!" She gestured at the injured Pokémon in her arms with a frantic look on her face.
The doctor's expression hardened to seriousness as she turned around. "Blissey, lead them to the bed and prepare the emergency equipment."
"Bliss!" Blissey nodded and led the young girl in. Mew was outside the cabin, sitting on the roof as she looked up at the sky.
The doctor had short, wavy Magenta-colored hair that just touched her shoulders, sporting a black turtleneck and olive jeans. She immediately grabbed a white lab coat and pulled it over her shoulders, quickly wearing it and tapped a switch on the computer that took up a good quarter of the first floor. The screen flashed to life with a hum.
Her blue eyes quickly focused on the patient that lied on the medical bed and began tapping on the computer.
"Authentication complete, welcome Doctor Miyamoto." A masculine monotone voice announced as the screen began to load something.
"Glenn, I need a scan on the injuries of that Pikachu. It looks quite serious." She said as she pulled on a pair of surgical gloves.
"Scanning…" The bed glowed a faint red. "Multiple fractures, heavy bruises and a first-degree burn."
"Was he burned by a fire-type?" The doctor asked the young girl.
"N-no…I'm not sure…" Leaf shook her head. "Maybe it was after he chewed on the cables behind the lab…"
"It must've been that then." The older woman concluded as she gently examined the bruises, causing the Pikachu to wince. "The lab's one of the most advanced property in town which means it takes up a lot of power. He must have thought he could take in the electricity to revitalize himself but overcharged."
She touched one of the larger bruisers and the mouse instinctively shot a lightning bolt to no effect against the doctor's gloves. The woman frowned. "His voltage is weak as well…The power must have escaped while he was burnt."
"Is he okay?!" Leaf asked worriedly. "Can you heal him?"
"He's currently really beaten up…" Doctor Miyamoto muttered, continuing her physical examination on the injured Pokémon. "But it's not so serious as to threaten his life. I should be able to get him back to full health by tonight." She looked towards her assistant. "Blissey, hand me a moderate charger."
The pink Pokémon immediately handed the doctor a pair of wired clamps. "Blissey!"
Receiving the small clamps, she quickly pinched the red cheeks of the mouse. "Blissey, turn the power on. 15%."
The assistant did just that and the red cheeks began to spark.
"This should help him. His voltage will be back up to optimal after a bit. I need to get to work on fixing up his fractures. Glenn?"
"Yes doctor, the recovery system is active." The monotone voice of Glenn replied.
"Good. I'll work on patching up the bruises." The doctor grimaced. "What would've caused this? It looks almost as if he was pecked by a hundred birds…"
The bruises weren't shaped to look like the usual ones caused by blunt physical blows. They were grouped and delicately small. Whatever it or they did, the blows didn't hit hard enough to penetrate the skin, fortunately.
"Leaf, you can sit down and wait for now." The doctor said as she worked on bandaging the mouse Pokémon. "I'll be with you after I'm finished."
"O-okay…" The young girl gave one more worried glance and walked to sit on a couch in the living area of the first floor.
She had visited this place many times but not as often as Professor Oak's lab, but it was frequent enough that the doctor here was very familiar with her. She would often bring wild injured Pokémon to heal and the doctor herself was all too happy to help. After all, she didn't become a Pokémon Physician for nothing.
But none of those injured Pokémon had suffered as much damage as that Pikachu. It may not have been life-threatening but it was close.
An hour later, the doctor finished with dealing with the bruises and sighed in relief. She took off her gloves and let her AI and assistant finish the rest. She sat down on the opposite couch and looked at the young girl who still wore that worried look.
"I've never seen you this worried before." Doctor Miyamoto leaned back. "What happened?"
"I-I don't know…" The younger girl shook her head and looked down. "It's just… For some reason, I felt really desperate when I caught him from falling…"
"Hmm…?"
"But I'm sure it wasn't my own feelings… It felt like it came from Pikachu himself… It's the first time I felt like this…"
"I can tell." The doctor lazily crossed her arms and looked back at the medical bed on the other side of the room. "I could see that desperate look on his face while I was patching him up." She turned back to the young girl and smiled. "You have a special spot for Pokémon, you know?"
"Mm…"
"Doctor, the patient's fractures are nearly completely healed." Glenn reported.
"Thank you, Glenn."
"You're welcome, doctor."
Doctor Miyamoto relaxed and leaned back a little more, letting herself sink into the soft plushness of the couch. "I feel so lucky to have some of the latest tech here…"
"You did say you're friends with someone high up in research and development, didn't you?" Leaf also calmed down a bit, deciding to talk about something to pass the time.
"Yes, an old friend I met a few years ago in a science convention." She had an amused twinkle in her eyes when she recalled the meeting. "It was… Interesting to say the least."
"Oh..." Leaf trailed off and glanced back at the resting Pikachu.
"You can stay here if you want." The doctor shrugged, knowing the sweet young girl was too concerned to leave.
"I guess…"
"Heck!" The older woman chuckled. "Young lady, you've stayed over so many times that I had to set a second room just for you so you could stay whenever you want!"
Leaf had the decency to blush at that. "…Sorry…" She murmured sheepishly.
The doctor merely shook her head with a smile.
"Doctor, a call from the Oak Lab."
"Patch it through, Glenn."
A screen near the two lit up and the face of the old Professor flashed on. "Doctor Miyamoto! Is Leaf at your place?"
"Yes, I'm here professor." Leaf answered for the doctor as she approached the screen so he could rest easy.
"Thank goodness." The old Oak seems to relax a little. "You scared us quite a bit back there."
"Sorry…"
"It's alright. I know how frantic you could be when you find an injured Pokémon." Then he frowned slightly. "But to be honest, you were overreacting a bit more than usual for that Pikachu. Speaking of Pikachu, how is he?"
"Several fractures, bruises and burns. Nothing I couldn't fix though." The doctor answered this time. "But if Leaf had come here later than an hour or two, the wounds would have taken their toll on Pikachu. It's a miracle that he had endured so much injuries."
"He's a resilient one." The professor nodded.
"By the way professor, how did you fix the power cables so fast?" Leaf glanced at the nearby wall clock. "It's barely an hour since I left."
"Oh! I had my trusty Dragonite give the lab a bit of power…" The lights at the Oak labs flickered in the background. "…But I don't think it would last long…" The old Oak scratched his head worriedly. "I'm afraid you and a few others would have to wait until tomorrow to start on your journey. I already have a technician on the job in fixing the cables as we speak."
"It's okay, professor." The young girl shook her head with a small smile. "I'm not really in a hurry even though I am a bit disappointed."
"I wish Gary was as mature as you, Leaf." The professor sighed wistfully with the frustrating shouts in the background from the mentioned boy.
She giggled, she imagined the boy whining and shouting immaturity all over the lab. It would be funny to watch. It was quite the contrast to how Gary acts when in school where he shows off and acts cool when he did it a few times when they were together on one of those silly 'adventures' on the outskirts of the town. Like that time he failed to chase down a Rattata. Instead, after Gary tripped, the little purple mouse climbed onto Leaf's shoulder and giggled with her.
She smiled sadly. She missed those times.
"Leaf?"
She blinked. "Huh? Oh! Did I miss something?"
"Nothing my dear." The professor decided to wave it off. "I'll contact your mother to let her know you're staying at doctor Miyamoto's house."
"Thank you, professor."
"Not a problem!" The screen blinked a bit. "Oh no, I think I should leave now. I will see you tomorrow, Leaf."
"Yes professor." She nodded. "See you tomorrow!"
With that, the old Oak ended the call and the screen blinked out. All while Leaf was talking to the professor, doctor Miyamoto had got herself a cup of coffee and a hot chocolate for the young girl. Leaf accepted the cup gratefully and they sat back down to enjoy their beverages.
"You have a long time to wait." The doctor spoke up. "You don't have to stick in the house all the time."
"Yeah. I'll take a walk or something later." Leaf nodded as she took another tender sip. "Ouch!"
"Watch it." The older woman chuckled.
Night came by pretty slowly. Luckily, Leaf had Mew to pass the time during the day as they walked along the coast and played in the shallow forests. The local wild Pokémon came out to play with her as well. She had always been very in tune with the wilderness surrounding Pallet.
The sun was setting, shooting an orange glow into the Cliffside where the doctor's cabin was located. Leaf sat by the docks and watched as the sky changed colors. From the daytime sky blue to a pretty pink and purple and finally nightly dark blue.
Stars started to twinkle as the sun tipped under the horizon. The moon took its place high up in the sky, basking the whole of Kanto into a peaceful twilight.
"Meww~"
Leaf turned to see Mew floating just a bit behind her. She smiled and beckoned her to sit on her lap which the legendary happily obliged and plopped herself down, waiting to be pampered. The young girl giggled and stroke Mew's fur, feeling the softness of it on her palm.
"I wonder what happened earlier…" She murmured, looking up. "Why did I feel so…Worried?"
Mew didn't answer her, she merely opened an eye to look up at her.
…
"Mew…" She looked back down at the legendary on her lap. "…I always wondered why you chose me and why I've had this…Feeling every time when I'm with Pokémon. I'm not saying I don't like it, I love it…" She trailed off.
The cute legendary tilted her head to the side, both eyes open now.
"I just don't know why it's me." She leaned back a bit, her arms supported her from the back. "I'm nothing really special… At least I don't think I am."
"Mew!" The cat-like legendary floated and tackled her lightly, nuzzling her playfully."
"Hey!" The young girl laughed, trying in vain to fend herself from the assault of affection.
"Me-ew~" Mew purred and looked at Leaf in the eyes. "Meeew~"
They spend a second looking into each other's eyes before Leaf broke contact and sighed. She laid down and stared into the star filled sky. Leaf knew that the legendary wouldn't just choose her for the fun of it. If so, she wouldn't be sticking to her like glue.
"It's getting late, Leaf!" The doctor called from the house.
Mew flashed invisible a second earlier and Leaf got up and walked back towards the cabin. "Coming!" She looked at Mew who floated beside her, transparent but still there nonetheless. "I wonder if Pikachu's okay."
"Mew~" Mew squeaked.
With that, she gave the invisible legendary an affectionate hug and went in. Mew flew up and decided to take a nice night flight around the area.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"They're coming!"
Who is this?
"Keep running, don't give up!"
Why are they running?
"Brother! I'm tired!"
Why are those eyes so diluted in fear?
"Come! Grab my paw!"
Why was there so much mixed emotions? Desperation? Sadness? Wariness? Fear?
"B-brother! Are you okay?!"
The pain…
"I'm fine! Hurry! Come on!"
Everything is blurring away…
"They're gaining on us!"
…Tears…
"Don't look back!"
There's whimpering…Who's whimpering?
"B-brother! EEEEAAAHH!"
"NO!"
She watched as a Pichu reached desperately for her, tears in its eyes pleading for her to reach it. But she couldn't move, she could only see.
A yellow paw reached out to grab on but missed and the Pichu was taken away by a giant bird.
"NOOOO!"
"NO!" Leaf shot up from her bed, screaming. What… What was that? Her heart was beating twice as fast and cold sweat adorned her face.
It was a dream yet it felt too real to be just a dream. She shook her head and got out of her bed. Mew was already up, concerned at the young girl's abrupt wakening. Leaf smiled reassuringly and looked out the window, realizing that the sun was just about to rise.
"I'm thirsty…" She murmured and got out of the bed.
She went downstairs with Mew trailing behind her and made a beeline to the kitchen area on the ground level of the cabin. Pouring herself a cup of warm water, she moved to sit at a sofa and enjoyed the warmth being washed down her throat and into her being.
It was one of her more favorite part of the morning, to feel the warmth of a cup of warm beverage spread throughout her body. Not that it was cold when it was in the middle of Spring.
*Rustling*
She perked up at the noise coming from the medical area of the place and gasped. Pikachu was already half-way across the room and heading towards the door leading outside when she shot up to follow him. The yellow Pokémon warily looked behind him to see Leaf following him and picked up speed.
"Wait!"
He hesitated, wincing as he felt pain shoot from his right hind leg when he stopped for a second, losing his balance slightly before he felt something gently supporting him. He let out an electric shock by instinct, fearing that whatever it was that was touching him was a threat.
Leaf grunted as she received the shock, her teeth gritted tightly but she didn't flinch away. Instead, she used her other arm and picked up the still recovering electric mouse as gently as her static-filled body would allow. Pikachu became much more violent as the shock intensified.
"Please…" The young girl pleaded through clenched teeth, gently embracing the Pokémon. "Don't be afraid, everything will be okay…"
Mew knew the young girl didn't want her to interfere, she floated nearby with genuine concern in her round blue eyes. She knew Leaf liked to handle situations regarding Pokémon without the aid of anyone but it really hurts the legendary to see her in pain like this. Only the young girl's firm determination prevented her from interfering.
It didn't take long before the electric shock stopped, but the Pikachu didn't stop there. He aggressively attempted to shake out of the young girl's grasp before biting onto her arm, drawing blood. Weak as he was, his strength was still exceptionally strong.
"Uuk!" Leaf winced in pain from the bite but held herself together. She could still sense the turmoil of feelings from the mouse Pokémon in her arms.
Anger, desperation and fear.
Desperation and fear.
Confusion.
The electric mouse hesitated as he released some of the force he used to bite into the young girl's arm. He was still on guard but he realized what he did. The scent of something burnt filled the air and the sound of heavy breathing could be heard just above him.
He looked up worryingly to see the trying face of a ten year old girl panting in pain. But her eyes showed concern.
Concern for him.
He immediately felt guilty. Extremely so.
He recognized her as the girl who saved him. He could vaguely recall how the young girl had ran for help without any reason to do so. And now here he was, not only did he shock her, he wounded her. It was then when he tasted iron and looked down to see a small trail of blood from where his teeth sunk in.
Still she held on. Gently.
She tightened her embrace on him slightly. Her voice gentle and caring. "Everything is fine…"
"Pika…" He worriedly squeaked, releasing his hold on her arms and licked lightly at the wound he caused. This wasn't like him to harm someone like this.
Leaf didn't take long during their little chase to realize just what she had dreamt of. It was a memory. A very sad and recent one too. And she could link it back to who the owner of those memories was. She didn't question how. All she knew was that she wanted to help the little mouse in her arms.
There was a split second blue glow between them that hardly registered to the two.
"You were separated from your sibling, weren't you?" She gently asked.
"Pi…"
"You can't find your sibling alone…" She let the Pokémon go. Pikachu hopped out and turned around with a worried and apologetic frown. "…I'll…" she winced and grabbed her injured arm. "I'll help you."
"Pika pi! Pi!" The mouse Pokémon protested.
Leaf shook her head, assuring him it was okay. "Let me help you."
"Mew-ew~" Mew worriedly approached the young girl, startling the two. Pikachu was speechless as he watched the legendary fret over the young girl like a mother.
"It's okay Mew." She tried to prove so but failed when she winced again at the legendary's touch.
Not convinced, the pink cat-like Pokémon breathed a silvery breath over the bite marks, magically closing the wounds as it brushed it. Pikachu stared in wonder before he realized what he had done, he cowered when Mew turned to him.
Mew wasn't pleased but she wasn't a violent Pokémon at all. She was one that was easy to forgive and was very understanding. She approached the mouse Pokémon and gave him a pat on the head, giggling when Pikachu winced at the touch.
"Mew~" She twirled in the air and landed on Leaf's head with a plop while Leaf pouted at the legendary. She really doesn't like being helped by her but she really can't deny it either. She was reluctantly grateful.
Leaf turned back to Pikachu who was still cowering and sighed. She picked him up and gently hugged the poor frightened Pokémon. "Calm down, Pikachu. She won't do anything…"
"P-p-pi-pika…" It was actually slightly funny to see the little guy shiver with comedic horror.
But they couldn't stay like this forever. Leaf's expression turned serious as she gently set the little mouse down. "Pikachu, please show me the last time you and your sibling was."
That snapped Pikachu's horror to something else. He nearly forgot why he was here! How could he!? Leaf could feel anxiety in the yellow mouse as tiny sparks were flashed from his red cheeks. He quickly squeaked for them to follow and dashed away.
Leaf followed as they ran back up the Cliffside and across the town. Mew had decided to track them from above, shapeshifting herself into a Pidgey and cooed as she flew a few meters in the sky. The sky was just beginning to shift to morning colors when they had reached the forest.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gary wasn't one to wake up as early as this. Ever since that incident that happened yesterday, he had been… Restless. He had spent most of the day pondering what exactly happened and why he felt guilty when he was, still recovering from shock, watching Leaf take charge of that rascal of a Pokémon.
He laid on his bed with his arms crossed under his head, staring up at the ceiling and watched as the light began to change the color of it.
Then a shadow caught his attention.
He sat up and looked out the window and spotted Leaf running after the Pikachu they encountered yesterday. The mouse's wounds seems to have healed for the most part of it as it dashed down the path, heading towards the nearby treeline.
Leaf was right on its tail with a look of concern. That expression again… It's been dominant on her face since yesterday and Gary found himself irked about it. He actually missed her cheery smile…
He had to leave.
He got up and took a Pokéball with a teardrop mark on it from the top of his desk and paused. There was a second one as well. This one, however, had a leaf insignia. He grabbed it too and quickly left. He actually didn't bother changing since yesterday so he allowed the thought of changing clothes pass by and ran out of the house, giving chase to his former childhood friend.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11596937/1/Pokémon-Caretaker
Summary:
Aura Guardians could save the world but they could not cleanse corrupted aura nor care for the world's numerous Legendary Pokémon. And for that, a Caretaker would take the center stage. The only problem is that a Caretaker being born is rare. Very rare. And if one was to be born, the whole world would turn their attention towards that being.
Rating: T due to future content involving violence and such. ><
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Main Characters: Leaf, Gary Oak, Mew, Pikachu. (Will increase as the story progress.)
WARNINGS: Major AU, OOCness, early Aura usage, possible Pokéspeech, Mary Sue/Gary Stue tropes and such, and slow updates... ><
I'd love some feedback!
For those who don't want to use links:
Pokémon: Caretaker
"Aura; A spiritual energy that all living things possess in the Pokémon world, an essence among all living beings that walks the lands. Very few creatures were aware of these energy and even fewer knew how to properly control and shape things using them. Humans were one such race that were able to, despite the rarity of one born with the natural abilities to control Aura.
They were split into two roles by the Creator; The Guardians who travels and performs good deeds and to ensure the safety of the Pokémon World from evil and the Caretakers whose role was to care and tend the budding world and cleanse the corrupted.
But the Caretakers were rare. There's only a one or two chance per millennium in which a Caretaker would be born for the need for them despite the fact the Creator could create them at will. No, the Creator follows the rules of the world just like any other and thus must let it be or face the consequences.
To ensure that the few Caretakers were to survive and perform their duties, they were assigned a Mythical to look after them and only act when it was the last resort."
Chapter I
The tweeting of Pidgeys outside was muffled by the glassed window looking into a room that would look exactly like any typical ten year old girl's room would look like. The cuddly plush dolls of various Pokémon littered the room from the bed to the pink carpeted floor. Sitting on the bed was a lump hidden under the light green sheets, groaning at the annoying chirping the birds outside and yet remained stubborn to return to the magic land of dreams.
*Plop!*
"Mm…Ten more minutes…" The lump murmured from under her covers only to feel the new weight on her seemed to rise and lightly drop back down on her in a fit of cute giggles. "Please?"
It seemed to relent as it lifted off of her but did not continue its attack…
Wrong!
"Oof!" The lump gasped at the latest assault! She flew her layer of defense off of her, revealing a young girl with glittering emerald eyes and a bout of messy long brown hair that reached to the small of her back. Her cheeks puffed up in mock anger while her eyes shined with playfulness as she faked a glare at her attacker. "Mew!"
The pink cat-like Pokémon floated in front of her, a twinkle of mischief evident in those round blue eyes of hers as she twirled in the air with a small squeal before crashing into the young girl affectionately. Young Leaf Green couldn't be mad at her at all as she giggled from the tackle the cute Legendary used on her.
"Alright! Alright! I'm awake!" Leaf surrendered before she clutched onto the Pokémon and hopped out of bed.
"Mew~"
"And good morning to you too." She replied to the little rascal in her arms. A cute and adorable one at that as she left her room and made her way to the bathroom to prepare herself.
In a few hours, the young Green will set out on a journey as a Master and she couldn't waste another second longer! She must be at Professor Oak's lab as soon as she could! She let Mew wander the house as she prepared in the bathroom before bursting out and heading back to her bedroom to choose an outfit.
"What do you think I should wear?" She asked the Legendary as she picked from her dresser. She pulled out a simple sleeveless shirt in a shade of the Sky attached with a red skirt at the bottom and showed it. "How about this for the first day?"
Mew nodded enthusiastically and looped in the air squeaking to which the young girl smiled at before changing into the chosen outfit and ran downstairs. The scent of breakfast halfway down the hallway made her stomach growl awake as she literally hopped down the stairs two or three steps a time.
"Morning! Yay! My favorite pancakes!" The girl cheered excitedly as soon as her eyes locked onto the steaming breakfast set on the table already.
"Good morning dear~" Her mother's sing song voice from the kitchen trailed into the dining room. "Are you ready to receive your starter?" Her mother's head peaked out from the kitchen doorway with a bright smile.
"Mm!" The young child nodded with a wide grin. She couldn't wait!
"I wished your father was here to see this…He would be so proud of you!" The mother sniffled slightly at the mention of her husband.
"Mhm! And I will make him even more proud!" Proclaiming loudly with confidence, she turned her attention to the food as she hopped onto the seat and dug in, sparing Mew a few bites by feeding her from time to time.
It was really strange, especially so when the Legendary was only visible to her and no one else. It was a little secret shared between them ever since she found the cute little Pokémon in her backyard five years ago. No one knew Mew was here except for her!
Hana Green smiled when she heard her daughter announced her, but it was a wistful one as once her precious little girl picks up her new friend, it would be a while before she could see her again in person. If it was possible, she wished Leaf would just stay here with her but knowing the young Green's personality that was passed on to her on her father's side, the chance was slim to none.
There was no way she would force her. It would kill her to even think of such a thing.
"Mew~" The cat-like Legendary floated around after having her fill with nothing to do. She decided to have a nice little strolled outside and notified the young girl with a little tap on the shoulder with her tail. She liked the peaceful atmosphere of Pallet Town. It was definitely one of those places she would choose to roam around whenever she wants to.
The gentle breeze caressed her pink fur as she glided through the town, the landscape was shaped with rolling green hills, patches of forest between them and sprinkled with houses of lively colors. Beyond it was the endless bluescape of the sea. It was a pretty place with very nice people to boot!
Well… Not exactly everyone.
"Haha! Today's the day I will start my journey to be the number one best!" A boy that was slightly older than Leaf boasted as he pumped a fist up in the air from the roof of the Oak residence near the Greens. Young Gary Oak smirked as he glanced to the side where Leaf lives before he climbed into the window of his bedroom to prepare himself. "I'm gonna show Leafy that she got nothing that could beat me!"
Mew puffed slightly at that as she watched the 'bully' disappear from sight and thought about pranking the young boy but relented after a bit. Back to exploring the town!
With that in mind, she floated away, passing by a group of older girls with the same uniform and holding pompoms running towards the Oak residence with giddy glee. The curious Legendary paused for a moment before her attention left for other things.
She played around on the moving windmill blades atop one of the bigger buildings in town that sat on top of a hill. She always found it fun to sit on them and drop down onto the next one after the blade turned too high to allow her to sit. It somehow never bores her!
The sound of terribly out-tuned humming from below prompt her curiosity as she floated down to see the old Professor walk out of the large building and onto the fields with a clipboard and a pen. He must be doing his morning routine check on the roaming captured Pokémon in the ranch. The variety of them each day was amusingly wide and fun since Mew would often times play with them.
Today, there was a large number of three types that were out in the open with all evolution stages. A couple of fiery dragon-like Pokémon soared the skies above in mock play or battle while smaller versions laid on rocks. Further away in one of the bodies of water crowded a group of large blue turtles teaching or looking after smaller ones. The grassy plains were also riddled with plant-like Pokémon bathing in the sun.
They were the starters of Kanto; The Grass type Bulbasaur and its two evolved forms Ivysaur and Venusaur; The Fire type Charmander along with its own evolution stages Charmeleon and Charizard; Lastly the Water type Squirtle and its two evolved forms Wartortle and Blastoise.
But despite the dominance of the starters, the large ranch was not fully occupied by them. Nearby the sunbathing Venusaurs were a few Eevees which the Professor was walking to. There were several brown roundish shapes among the fox-like Pokémon that weren't there previously and Mew just couldn't help but wanting to know what they were!
She floated closer and her eyes shined with giddiness!
They were Eggs! She twirled around with excitement before floating towards the new parents to congratulate them. Despite her status as a Legendary, the Pokémon that makes contact with her didn't seemed to mind. Of course, they would still hold her in high regards and reverently.
"Mew! Meeew~" The cat-like Legendary flipped in the air before she floated off slightly with a wave of good-bye to which the Eevees returned with their voices before their attention switched to their approaching caretaker.
"Let's see now. It seems like a new generation will be up and about!" The old man laughed and crouched down, petting one of the fox-like Pokémon who seemed to crave the petting as it purred.
Mew decided she should go back to meet with Leaf and promptly left the ranch and made her way back the Green residence. She made it to see Leaf running out on the backyard of her house looking around. She must be looking for her! Mew glided downwards with a slight squeak to get the girl's attention.
"There you are!" Leaf waved and opened her arms to which Mew gladly jumped into with glee. The young girl giggled before she gave the cute Pokémon a light squeeze like a plush doll before she petting her head. "Where have you been hm?"
"Meeew~ Mew!"
"The Eevees at the ranch had what?!"
Without another word or hearing Mew's answer, young Leaf rushed out of the house and sprinted her way down the familiar path towards the Oak Laboratory. Coincidentally, the youngest Oak spotted his 'rival' leaving in a hurry and took it rather heatedly.
"Hey! Leaf Green! Don't cheat to try and get first dibs!" He shouted upon deaf ears as she was too far away. Cursing, he rushed out of his room and out the house in a flash to give chase. "I won't let you get ahead of me even if you're a girl!"
He dashed out the gate, ignoring the rows of cheerleading fangirls who squealed at the sight of him but whined for being ignored, some cooing for the young Oak to come back to no avail. He had to make sure he's always first! Especially when competing with that dummy, Leaf!
What he wasn't expecting was that Leaf didn't go to the lab but instead hopped over the ranch fences beside the lab. It didn't matter! He followed closely and did the same thing.
Huffing and puffing, Leaf finally slowed down slightly as she spotted the professor and the half dozen of Eevees who were supposedly wild. Noticing her approach, the professor turned and smiled. "Ah, Leaf!" And then frowned slightly. "…And Gary?"
"Huh?" She turned to see Gary walking behind her with a smirk. "Oh, hi Gary!"
Somehow this wiped off the smirk on his face. But he was sort of used to it by now. For three years, he'd attempted to get on her nerves which seemed to never ever happen. Whenever he challenged her at something and came up on top, all she would do is smile that friendly and annoyingly warm smile and congratulate him. Same with basically everything and it frustrated him.
He harrumphed, crossing his arms behind his head and walked past her to greet his grandfather. "Yo gramps!"
Professor Oak blinked. "…Good morning both of you. I'm surprised slightly how early you are today, Gary."
"Of course!" His usual smug smirk came back. "I'm not going to let Leafy here steal the first pick!"
"Oh? If you wanted to pick first, you didn't need to run all the way here. I don't mind picking later." Leaf shrugged, making Gary frown for a second before his smirk came back.
"Pffft, nah! That'll just be too easy for me because I know that you'll have a disadvantage!" He clicked his tongue and bragged. "I'll just end up picking the strongest! So I changed my mind, you pick first!"
Leaf's eyes brightened up. "Really? Thank you! You're sweet Gary."
Gary couldn't help but blush, turning his face away to avoid letting her see it. "…Y-yeah."
The Oak elder looked between the two and smiled. "Ah…Youth."
"Did you say something, professor?" Leaf asked curiously and the old Oak shook his head with a chuckle.
"Nothing, Leaf. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on the eggs the Eevees had overnight." He went back to his task only to be interrupted by a squeal as Leaf motioned so fast that it almost looked like she teleported to the group of Eevees.
"Congrats!" She happily cheered as she sat on her knees while the Eevees gathered around her with cute barks and squeals of their own. The young Green had always seemed to generally be loved by Pokémon of all types.
She picked one of them up whose fur seemed much more well-groomed than others and hugged it. "You're a mother now, Ellie~!" The Eevee happily squeaked and nuzzled into the embrace.
The two Oaks watched with different reactions. The professor had a lopsided smile of amusement while the youngest Oak could only stare, lost in thought at the sight. He really didn't know what to think about this, most of his mind was literally branding the cute and adorable sight in front of him while a smaller part was neutral and then there's the extremely tiny microscopic part of him who wanted to do better than her… Which fizzled out after a second or two.
It was then he realized something.
"Wait…Ellie? Is that one captured?" Gary asked. "When did we even get Eevees?"
"No, Leaf just named them when they were discovered hiding behind the lab's storage area a year back," the professor shrugged. "…She basically named them herself although she said… That they told her their names…"
"…So they're released into the wild?"
"Yes, they probably are." Then the older Oak frowned. "But they're not to be captured."
"I wasn't thinking about that!" The younger Oak shot back, a scowl. "I'm not a cruel jerk!"
"Well, you do act like a jerk to Leaf." His grandfather pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "For the whole time since you were both babies, she had always been nice to you."
"T-that's…" Shaking his head, he skipped over the silent question and looked back at the pack of Eevees that surrounded the young Green. "Anyway, it's kind of strange. Why aren't these Eevees evolved?"
"Well, that's actually a good question." The professor looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged. "It's not like all mature Eevees are evolved."
"I guess so-"
Gary stopped and his eyes widened in surprise as Leaf touched an egg and it glowed. The egg shape slowly morphed into a smaller and more animal-like figure and then the light faded away, revealing a tiny palm-sized Eevee in its place.
Even the young girl gasped at the sudden hatching of the egg. The young kit shook itself, fluffing out its fur before it looked around and gave a cute squeak as if to announce its arrival to the world. Leaf squealed at the cute site but backed a bit slightly to let the parents take care of it. It was another pair of Eevees that took charge, they groomed the newborn kit gently while cuddling the adorable darn thing and it slightly made her jealous about it.
Gary noticed the slight puffed cheeks on the young Green and a rather faint thought passed through his head.
That looked kinda cute…
"Wha?!" He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Why did I even think something so stupid…" He muttered to himself.
Surprisingly, the new parents of the kit nudged the little one towards Leaf. The young girl could only widen her eyes at such a behavior. Were they allowing her to have some time with the little Eevee?! Usually, any Pokémon with newborns would be overly protective of them, especially wild ones so why?
"A-are you sure?" She asked them, stuttering out of shock.
The Eevees all chorused a happy reply and Ellie nuzzled her slightly.
Leaf was overwhelmed. Sure, she had spent time with them before but it was barely a year! It was really touching and she sniffled slightly before scooting a bit forward towards the palm-sized Evolution Pokémon. It looked at her curiously with a tilt of its head.
"Hey there," the young girl cooed and gently reached out and rubbed the kit's head. "Nice to meet you."
"Vuuiiii~!" The newborn seemed to lean in on the touch with a squeak.
Ooooh! She was this close from giving in to the urge to cuddle the cutie! But she resisted the urge, knowing that the cuddling can come after a while when its body is a bit bigger and stronger. Instead, she stopped rubbing its head and lowered the hand palm-up, inviting the little thing to hop on.
It sniffed the hand and hopped onto it, she could feel those tiny feet as it landed on the palm. Like soft little furry sticks poking on it and tickling the surface of her palm. She giggled and lifted it up and brought it close to her face.
The little Eevee was just a bit away from her nose, reaching forward and giving the young girl a small lick on the tip, getting another giggle from Leaf as she gently pet the small little kit with her other hand. "That tickled!"
"Leaf if you don't mind, I'd like to add the newborns to the list of protection. So I'll need some of their information." The older Oak had stopped about a few feet away from Leaf and the Eevees, kneeling down with his pen at the ready to jot down the details onto the clipboard.
"Okay." She nodded enthusiastically before bringing her attention back to the little Eevee on her palm with a smile. "Shall we start?"
"Vuuiii~" The little kit squeaked.
"This one on my palm is female." Leaf started as she examined the newborn, rotating her hand slightly. "…There's no abnormalities in her fur…"
Gary frowned as he watched his supposed 'rival' assisting in adding the newborn wild Eevees onto the list. Since when did this girl became so proficient in something like this? He continued to ponder why he was even thinking so much about this while only half-listening to what they were saying.
"Gary, you might learn a thing or two from this." His grandfather remarked as he continued writing.
"I'm going to be a trainer and master not a boring researcher, gramps." The boy retorted, snorting as he did so and looked away even if the other two didn't bother looking at him.
"Her name is…" Leaf trailed off and looked towards the kit's parents for the answer.
"Vuuuiii, uii~" One of them replied, ears twitching cutely.
"Deaia." The young girl nodded.
"That's an interesting name." The professor looked up from the clipboard.
"It's a native name for Eevees."
"Hmm?" The old Oak raised an eyebrow for a moment, studying the girl who seemed more occupied with playing with the little kit than answering his unspoken question and sighed.
"That's rich!" Gary laughed from where he was. "What kind of name is that? It sounds so weird! Only Leaf can think of such a name! Ha!"
The group of Eevees glared at the young Oak, some growling with their ears pressed against their heads. Leaf and the professor also glared at him. Thankfully, the youngster seemed to have gotten the message and it was then that he realized the soft whining from Leaf's palm.
The poor little kit looked hurt, her eyes shimmering slightly as a sign before tears would well up and her ears drooped. It could really make anyone feel guilty and Gary was no different. He gulped and looked away, thinking fast on what to say.
Too late!
"Vu…UIIIII~!" The young Eevee cried, one could almost see her eyes sprouting tears like a fountain!
"Ooooh noo…There there…" Leaf attempted to soothe little Deaia, holding her against her chest so that the little kit could calm down by listening to her heart beat.
The method worked as the little Eevee slowly stopped crying as one of her ears pressed against the girl's chest, listening to the steady rhythm.
"There you go." The young Green cooed softly.
Professor Oak turned and scowled at his grandson. "You need to cool off, young man."
"Tch…"
With that, Gary walked away, deciding that he shouldn't waste any more time observing something so boring and do something else in the meantime. He stomped away, passing Mew who was invisible as she floated to her charge.
The group of Eevees perked up as the invisible Mew reached them. Leaf sensed her but decided not to react to it because of the professor nearby and the elder Oak didn't noticing a thing. Leaf had to smile, knowing that she knew about something that the professor didn't was a rather silly fact to be proud of yet here she was, smirking in triumph.
It's human nature.
"It would seem Deaia is a very healthy and lively one! My congratulations to them." The professor finally said, a smile plastered on his face as he got up. "Since the other eggs would probably take more time to hatch, let's head back for a rest shall we?"
"Sure, professor!" Leaf agreed readily, gently placing her palm on the ground so the young kit could jump off.
With an exchange of farewells, the two humans left the Eevees and headed back towards the lab. Mew followed them, still invisible as she lazily drifted behind Leaf.
"So, Leaf." The professor spoke up as they walked into the lab. "Soon, you'll be out on your very own Pokémon journey. Are you excited?"
"Mm!" Leaf nodded and a couple times more, a wide smile on her face. "I can't wait to explore the whole of Kanto and other regions!"
"Oh?" The elder raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to take on the league like many others?"
She shook her head. "No… I don't really like battling."
"I see." Professor Oak nodded in understanding and gave a half-smile. "Well, I guess there are many other goals for a Pokémon Trainer out there in the wide world." Hearing that, Leaf perked up and listened. "For one, there's the Pokémon Contests that are mainly in Hoenn and a few other regions. They focus on performance done by the Pokémon and such."
"Hoenn? My friend lives there!"
"Ah, I remember you and Professor Birch's daughter met when you were younger." The old professor recalled as he looked thoughtful. "You two are still exchanging mails was it?"
"Mhm!" She nodded as they entered a more homey room, the living room to be exact.
He chuckled as he gestured for her to take a seat on the plush couches while he went to brew some tea. The young soon-to-be trainer plopped down on her favorite spot on the light green couch with floral patterns decorating it. Right beside her was an Azurill doll that she had brought over a year ago as an extra decoration.
"I should be receiving a mail soon." She absently said as she hugged the doll. "She's probably going to be starting out with helping his dad in fieldwork or something."
"Hm. That's a really splendid choice!" The professor spoke out from the Kitchen as he boiled the tea. "I just wish Gary was as helpful as her." He added with a disappointed sigh. "Sometimes I wish you were my granddaughter, Leaf." He joked.
"I thought I've been around enough to be an unofficial one~" She piped out, her legs playfully swinging. The old Oak chuckled.
"Indeed!"
"By the way, professor. What else were you going to say about the contests?" Leaf decided to hear more about it, picking up where they trailed off.
"Oh, right!" Professor Oak came back into the room with a tray of tea. "Contests! Aside from performances, there is of course a bit of battling." The young girl frowned at that. "But, the majority of it comes from appearances and such."
Leaf could hardly imagine dressing up any Pokémon… Well, maybe some. She must have had a funny look as the old professor was giving an amused smile. She finally shook her head and pouted. "I don't see the need for a battle."
"Well, I don't really understand it either." The old Oak shrugged. "There are other professions involving Pokémon aside from being a League battler and a Contest coordinator. Like researchers like myself."
"But professor, you were a trainer before this."
"I know, I know."
"Sorry." She said sheepishly. She just realized how rude she was.
"It's okay." The professor waved it off. "Anyway, if a researcher isn't in your best interests, there's also the Rangers Union which helps protect Pokémon reserves and such all over the world."
"I've heard of them!" Leaf lit up. "They save Pokémon and keep those mean hunters away!"
"That's right." He nodded. "They practically take the roles of being heroes to wild Pokémon on a daily basis."
"Mm! They're heroes!"
He chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. Now he really, really wish Leaf was his granddaughter. She was just so knowledgeable for her age and very accepting of anything. She's also really polite which was a bonus and the most important of all was that she was really helpful though he sometimes think the young girl was being too helpful. Sometimes too much of a positive attribute is troublesome and the professor worries her about it.
"Now, now Leaf. Calm down." He took a sip from his cup. "Rangers are still prone to battling so I think it might not be suitable for you." He realized her pouting again. "Not that I mean you're bad at battling. To be really honest, I'm pretty sure you could beat Gary quite easily."
"If I didn't practice early, he probably would've been the one who's better."
"Yes, even though he learns about it, he does not put as much effort into it as you." Professor Oak nodded.
She sighed as she looked out the open window nearby, thinking about what went wrong between him and her. The professor notices this and frowned. He knew why his grandson acts like he does now and he was partly at fault. The Oak family wasn't really well known until he hit the scene, spewing out numerous theories and research papers for the past few decades could really get people's attention.
Not wanting to see the girl sad, he clapped his hands once to get her attention. "Now, where was I before we steered away again…? Ah! Yes, other careers you might like involving Pokémon!"
"There's more?" She asked incredulously. Well, what was she expecting in a world revolving around Pokémon?
"We've talked about League battlers, Contest coordinators, Researchers and Rangers there's actually one that might be to your liking."
She leaned in attentively.
"Breeders."
"Breeders?" She asked in wonder. From that word alone, she could make out what the job description was, but just in case.
"Yes. People who breed Pokémon and take care of them for a living." The professor lectured on. "There's even a sub-category for it which involves daycares specifically for Pokémon."
She giggled at the thought of taking care of baby Pokémon. She always had soft spots for cute cuddly newborns. It fascinates her to think of new life, to hold a fragile life and behold the wonder of bringing them to the world. It was one thing that the old Oak thought was unique among children her age.
"That sounds like something I would do!" She cheerily remarked, giving a light shrug. "But I'm still not sure what I'll do when I grow up."
"It's natural for young people to hesitate." The professor nodded. "There's plenty of time in your journey to think about it."
"Mhm!"
Their conversation was interrupted by the abrupt shutting of a door down the hall. Gary stepped into the room a moment later, hands in his pockets as he strolled up the stairs. Leaf tilted her head curiously. She was expecting him to snidely greet them but nothing came.
"Where is he going?"
"I hope he's not going to use my work computer to play browser games again…" The professor muttered with a frown. Unfortunately, that was probably the case like all the other times.
"Oooh, by the way, professor!" Leaf turned the conversation again.
"Hm?"
"I noticed how rowdy the forest on the other side of the ranch had become." She said worriedly. "And I haven't seen as many Pidgeys since last week…"
"I noticed it too." He nodded, his expression slightly serious. "I might actually know the cause of it."
"What is it—"
The lights went off, cutting her question as the sound of something electrical from outside faded away. The muffled yell of frustration from Gary upstairs echoed down to the room they occupied and the two of them flinched slightly.
"W-what happened?" Leaf stuttered out. At least the sunlight was still strong outside, giving the room plenty of light.
"Hm…"
"Gramps! What happened?!" Gary shouted as he ran down the stairs.
"I'm not sure— don't run down the stairs!" The professor scolded as he got up. "I believe the power cables to the lab is having trouble…" He walked out followed by the two soon-to-be trainers.
They exited the back door of the lab and turned around a corner where the cables would enter the house through a transformer. The power came from the small solar-power station just a few miles away that powered the whole of Pallet Town.
"Hm…There seems to be some damage to it…" The old Oak inspected the cables, noting the ripped rubber protection and the slightly mangled wires inside.
"Professor!" Leaf called as she crouched down nearby. "There's tracks here!"
"Hm?" The professor stood up and walked over to her with Gary in tow who looked at the damage with mild interest.
Mew floated above them curiously, still cloaked with Leaf being the only one to see her at all. She was slightly excited, it felt like what one of those novels Leaf kept on her bookshelf about solving a mystery or crime and locating the suspect. She wondered what could come up next!
"These tracks are leading towards the storage shack." Professor Oak muttered as he studied the tracks. They were still fresh.
Leaf was already ahead, walking towards the shack that was big enough to hold two cars inside. The storage was quite worn down as it was barely used now that the lab's equipment and capacity had improved over the years. What was left inside were probably not very important or very old tools and equipment.
The white paint on the building was faded away, revealing some of the original pale brown of wood used to build the building. The door's dark green paint had been eaten away over the decades with blotches of steel grey. The door itself was slightly open as if someone had forgotten to close the door but the tracks leading into it says otherwise.
"Be careful, Leaf." Professor Oak warned. "We don't know how dangerous this could get…"
"Tch. As if something this small could be dangerous." Gary gestured to the tracks. They were indeed quite small.
"When something is small, it doesn't mean it's harmless." The older Oak frowned at his grandson.
"Fine then. I'll prove it's nothing to worry about!" The young Oak huffed and marched his way to the storage, pushing past Leaf rudely.
"Hey!"
He ignored her complaint and pulled the door wide open with a cringe-worthy creak. The light outside brightened the indoors of the worn down building, revealing piles and shelves of junk ranging from Pokéballs to old dusty gardening equipment. It was like a miniature garbage dump housed in.
At the very back was a furry ball of yellow that. There were visible marks of injury on its back and was breathing with difficulty. It snapped its head towards the sound of the door abruptly swung open with fear and wariness in its eyes.
Gary smirked as he entered, his sight on the 'culprit' of why the computer he was on was suddenly off. The injured rodent shivered as he got closer.
"Gary! What are you doing?!" Leaf shouted as she reached the doorway. She looked appalled at what the young Oak was about to do.
"I'm dealing with the problem." He answered as if it was obvious. He picked up the injured rodent by the scruff of its neck.
"Stop! You're hurting it!"
"So you're the reason why my game was interrupted…" Gary muttered in annoyance, as he lifted the yellow Pokémon who fearfully looked back with its round dark eyes.
"Put it down!" Leaf pleaded as she ran towards him.
"Or what?"
"Or—"
"CHHHUUU!"
It was too late. The Pokémon suddenly flashed and its entire body was covered in yellow lightning, zapping the young Oak and lighting him up like a Christmas tree.
"GAAAHHH!" He cried out and released the rodent but Leaf was just close enough to catch it into her arms.
"P-pika pi…" The mouse looked up weakly.
"There there…" Leaf cooed as she held the Pokémon close. Now that there's a moment to spare, she realized the small Pokémon was not exactly one of the locals within the surrounding forests. Its natural habitat was actually a few miles away beyond the next city, Viridian Forest.
"My, a Pikachu?" The professor crouched down to look at the Mouse Pokémon. "What is a Pikachu doing here?"
The Pikachu looked around, its cheeks sparking a bit. It was still shivering, it didn't take a psychic to feel the wave of fear and wariness from the electric mouse. Leaf glanced at its tail and confirmed its gender to be a male since females' tails have a notch at the end.
"Pika…" He weakly reached a paw up, his eyes showed desperation and his tone became pleading.
Leaf bit her bottom lip as she got up. She didn't exactly know what was going on. All she knew was that she had to go out. With the Pikachu in her arms, she rushed outside leaving a still recovering Gary and the surprised professor behind.
Why do I feel just as desperate as him?
She ran across the ranch, the other Pokemon looked up at her as she did so. Mew flashed beside her, now visible as she flew beside her desperate charge. Leaf barely noticed it as she hopped over the fence and made her way down one of the many paths in town.
Pallet town itself didn't have their own Pokémon Center. But they do have someone who specialized in Pokémon medical treatment. She rushed down the path that went down along the Cliffside overlooking the bay. Near the bottom where the land meets the ocean was a two-story log cabin and a wooden dock.
Leaf immediately sprinted the last bit of distance and pounded on the door, hoping the person living in there was inside.
The door opened.
"Blissey?" It was a Pokémon with a body that was shaped like an egg. Her short stubby arms kept the door open as she blinked at the abrupt visit from the local 'nature girl'.
"Who's at the door," came the voice of a young woman. The owner of the voice walked into view with an intrigued look as she examined the visitor and recognized her. "Leaf? What's wrong?"
"Doctor! Please! Help him!" She gestured at the injured Pokémon in her arms with a frantic look on her face.
The doctor's expression hardened to seriousness as she turned around. "Blissey, lead them to the bed and prepare the emergency equipment."
"Bliss!" Blissey nodded and led the young girl in. Mew was outside the cabin, sitting on the roof as she looked up at the sky.
The doctor had short, wavy Magenta-colored hair that just touched her shoulders, sporting a black turtleneck and olive jeans. She immediately grabbed a white lab coat and pulled it over her shoulders, quickly wearing it and tapped a switch on the computer that took up a good quarter of the first floor. The screen flashed to life with a hum.
Her blue eyes quickly focused on the patient that lied on the medical bed and began tapping on the computer.
"Authentication complete, welcome Doctor Miyamoto." A masculine monotone voice announced as the screen began to load something.
"Glenn, I need a scan on the injuries of that Pikachu. It looks quite serious." She said as she pulled on a pair of surgical gloves.
"Scanning…" The bed glowed a faint red. "Multiple fractures, heavy bruises and a first-degree burn."
"Was he burned by a fire-type?" The doctor asked the young girl.
"N-no…I'm not sure…" Leaf shook her head. "Maybe it was after he chewed on the cables behind the lab…"
"It must've been that then." The older woman concluded as she gently examined the bruises, causing the Pikachu to wince. "The lab's one of the most advanced property in town which means it takes up a lot of power. He must have thought he could take in the electricity to revitalize himself but overcharged."
She touched one of the larger bruisers and the mouse instinctively shot a lightning bolt to no effect against the doctor's gloves. The woman frowned. "His voltage is weak as well…The power must have escaped while he was burnt."
"Is he okay?!" Leaf asked worriedly. "Can you heal him?"
"He's currently really beaten up…" Doctor Miyamoto muttered, continuing her physical examination on the injured Pokémon. "But it's not so serious as to threaten his life. I should be able to get him back to full health by tonight." She looked towards her assistant. "Blissey, hand me a moderate charger."
The pink Pokémon immediately handed the doctor a pair of wired clamps. "Blissey!"
Receiving the small clamps, she quickly pinched the red cheeks of the mouse. "Blissey, turn the power on. 15%."
The assistant did just that and the red cheeks began to spark.
"This should help him. His voltage will be back up to optimal after a bit. I need to get to work on fixing up his fractures. Glenn?"
"Yes doctor, the recovery system is active." The monotone voice of Glenn replied.
"Good. I'll work on patching up the bruises." The doctor grimaced. "What would've caused this? It looks almost as if he was pecked by a hundred birds…"
The bruises weren't shaped to look like the usual ones caused by blunt physical blows. They were grouped and delicately small. Whatever it or they did, the blows didn't hit hard enough to penetrate the skin, fortunately.
"Leaf, you can sit down and wait for now." The doctor said as she worked on bandaging the mouse Pokémon. "I'll be with you after I'm finished."
"O-okay…" The young girl gave one more worried glance and walked to sit on a couch in the living area of the first floor.
She had visited this place many times but not as often as Professor Oak's lab, but it was frequent enough that the doctor here was very familiar with her. She would often bring wild injured Pokémon to heal and the doctor herself was all too happy to help. After all, she didn't become a Pokémon Physician for nothing.
But none of those injured Pokémon had suffered as much damage as that Pikachu. It may not have been life-threatening but it was close.
An hour later, the doctor finished with dealing with the bruises and sighed in relief. She took off her gloves and let her AI and assistant finish the rest. She sat down on the opposite couch and looked at the young girl who still wore that worried look.
"I've never seen you this worried before." Doctor Miyamoto leaned back. "What happened?"
"I-I don't know…" The younger girl shook her head and looked down. "It's just… For some reason, I felt really desperate when I caught him from falling…"
"Hmm…?"
"But I'm sure it wasn't my own feelings… It felt like it came from Pikachu himself… It's the first time I felt like this…"
"I can tell." The doctor lazily crossed her arms and looked back at the medical bed on the other side of the room. "I could see that desperate look on his face while I was patching him up." She turned back to the young girl and smiled. "You have a special spot for Pokémon, you know?"
"Mm…"
"Doctor, the patient's fractures are nearly completely healed." Glenn reported.
"Thank you, Glenn."
"You're welcome, doctor."
Doctor Miyamoto relaxed and leaned back a little more, letting herself sink into the soft plushness of the couch. "I feel so lucky to have some of the latest tech here…"
"You did say you're friends with someone high up in research and development, didn't you?" Leaf also calmed down a bit, deciding to talk about something to pass the time.
"Yes, an old friend I met a few years ago in a science convention." She had an amused twinkle in her eyes when she recalled the meeting. "It was… Interesting to say the least."
"Oh..." Leaf trailed off and glanced back at the resting Pikachu.
"You can stay here if you want." The doctor shrugged, knowing the sweet young girl was too concerned to leave.
"I guess…"
"Heck!" The older woman chuckled. "Young lady, you've stayed over so many times that I had to set a second room just for you so you could stay whenever you want!"
Leaf had the decency to blush at that. "…Sorry…" She murmured sheepishly.
The doctor merely shook her head with a smile.
"Doctor, a call from the Oak Lab."
"Patch it through, Glenn."
A screen near the two lit up and the face of the old Professor flashed on. "Doctor Miyamoto! Is Leaf at your place?"
"Yes, I'm here professor." Leaf answered for the doctor as she approached the screen so he could rest easy.
"Thank goodness." The old Oak seems to relax a little. "You scared us quite a bit back there."
"Sorry…"
"It's alright. I know how frantic you could be when you find an injured Pokémon." Then he frowned slightly. "But to be honest, you were overreacting a bit more than usual for that Pikachu. Speaking of Pikachu, how is he?"
"Several fractures, bruises and burns. Nothing I couldn't fix though." The doctor answered this time. "But if Leaf had come here later than an hour or two, the wounds would have taken their toll on Pikachu. It's a miracle that he had endured so much injuries."
"He's a resilient one." The professor nodded.
"By the way professor, how did you fix the power cables so fast?" Leaf glanced at the nearby wall clock. "It's barely an hour since I left."
"Oh! I had my trusty Dragonite give the lab a bit of power…" The lights at the Oak labs flickered in the background. "…But I don't think it would last long…" The old Oak scratched his head worriedly. "I'm afraid you and a few others would have to wait until tomorrow to start on your journey. I already have a technician on the job in fixing the cables as we speak."
"It's okay, professor." The young girl shook her head with a small smile. "I'm not really in a hurry even though I am a bit disappointed."
"I wish Gary was as mature as you, Leaf." The professor sighed wistfully with the frustrating shouts in the background from the mentioned boy.
She giggled, she imagined the boy whining and shouting immaturity all over the lab. It would be funny to watch. It was quite the contrast to how Gary acts when in school where he shows off and acts cool when he did it a few times when they were together on one of those silly 'adventures' on the outskirts of the town. Like that time he failed to chase down a Rattata. Instead, after Gary tripped, the little purple mouse climbed onto Leaf's shoulder and giggled with her.
She smiled sadly. She missed those times.
"Leaf?"
She blinked. "Huh? Oh! Did I miss something?"
"Nothing my dear." The professor decided to wave it off. "I'll contact your mother to let her know you're staying at doctor Miyamoto's house."
"Thank you, professor."
"Not a problem!" The screen blinked a bit. "Oh no, I think I should leave now. I will see you tomorrow, Leaf."
"Yes professor." She nodded. "See you tomorrow!"
With that, the old Oak ended the call and the screen blinked out. All while Leaf was talking to the professor, doctor Miyamoto had got herself a cup of coffee and a hot chocolate for the young girl. Leaf accepted the cup gratefully and they sat back down to enjoy their beverages.
"You have a long time to wait." The doctor spoke up. "You don't have to stick in the house all the time."
"Yeah. I'll take a walk or something later." Leaf nodded as she took another tender sip. "Ouch!"
"Watch it." The older woman chuckled.
Night came by pretty slowly. Luckily, Leaf had Mew to pass the time during the day as they walked along the coast and played in the shallow forests. The local wild Pokémon came out to play with her as well. She had always been very in tune with the wilderness surrounding Pallet.
The sun was setting, shooting an orange glow into the Cliffside where the doctor's cabin was located. Leaf sat by the docks and watched as the sky changed colors. From the daytime sky blue to a pretty pink and purple and finally nightly dark blue.
Stars started to twinkle as the sun tipped under the horizon. The moon took its place high up in the sky, basking the whole of Kanto into a peaceful twilight.
"Meww~"
Leaf turned to see Mew floating just a bit behind her. She smiled and beckoned her to sit on her lap which the legendary happily obliged and plopped herself down, waiting to be pampered. The young girl giggled and stroke Mew's fur, feeling the softness of it on her palm.
"I wonder what happened earlier…" She murmured, looking up. "Why did I feel so…Worried?"
Mew didn't answer her, she merely opened an eye to look up at her.
…
"Mew…" She looked back down at the legendary on her lap. "…I always wondered why you chose me and why I've had this…Feeling every time when I'm with Pokémon. I'm not saying I don't like it, I love it…" She trailed off.
The cute legendary tilted her head to the side, both eyes open now.
"I just don't know why it's me." She leaned back a bit, her arms supported her from the back. "I'm nothing really special… At least I don't think I am."
"Mew!" The cat-like legendary floated and tackled her lightly, nuzzling her playfully."
"Hey!" The young girl laughed, trying in vain to fend herself from the assault of affection.
"Me-ew~" Mew purred and looked at Leaf in the eyes. "Meeew~"
They spend a second looking into each other's eyes before Leaf broke contact and sighed. She laid down and stared into the star filled sky. Leaf knew that the legendary wouldn't just choose her for the fun of it. If so, she wouldn't be sticking to her like glue.
"It's getting late, Leaf!" The doctor called from the house.
Mew flashed invisible a second earlier and Leaf got up and walked back towards the cabin. "Coming!" She looked at Mew who floated beside her, transparent but still there nonetheless. "I wonder if Pikachu's okay."
"Mew~" Mew squeaked.
With that, she gave the invisible legendary an affectionate hug and went in. Mew flew up and decided to take a nice night flight around the area.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"They're coming!"
Who is this?
"Keep running, don't give up!"
Why are they running?
"Brother! I'm tired!"
Why are those eyes so diluted in fear?
"Come! Grab my paw!"
Why was there so much mixed emotions? Desperation? Sadness? Wariness? Fear?
"B-brother! Are you okay?!"
The pain…
"I'm fine! Hurry! Come on!"
Everything is blurring away…
"They're gaining on us!"
…Tears…
"Don't look back!"
There's whimpering…Who's whimpering?
"B-brother! EEEEAAAHH!"
"NO!"
She watched as a Pichu reached desperately for her, tears in its eyes pleading for her to reach it. But she couldn't move, she could only see.
A yellow paw reached out to grab on but missed and the Pichu was taken away by a giant bird.
"NOOOO!"
"NO!" Leaf shot up from her bed, screaming. What… What was that? Her heart was beating twice as fast and cold sweat adorned her face.
It was a dream yet it felt too real to be just a dream. She shook her head and got out of her bed. Mew was already up, concerned at the young girl's abrupt wakening. Leaf smiled reassuringly and looked out the window, realizing that the sun was just about to rise.
"I'm thirsty…" She murmured and got out of the bed.
She went downstairs with Mew trailing behind her and made a beeline to the kitchen area on the ground level of the cabin. Pouring herself a cup of warm water, she moved to sit at a sofa and enjoyed the warmth being washed down her throat and into her being.
It was one of her more favorite part of the morning, to feel the warmth of a cup of warm beverage spread throughout her body. Not that it was cold when it was in the middle of Spring.
*Rustling*
She perked up at the noise coming from the medical area of the place and gasped. Pikachu was already half-way across the room and heading towards the door leading outside when she shot up to follow him. The yellow Pokémon warily looked behind him to see Leaf following him and picked up speed.
"Wait!"
He hesitated, wincing as he felt pain shoot from his right hind leg when he stopped for a second, losing his balance slightly before he felt something gently supporting him. He let out an electric shock by instinct, fearing that whatever it was that was touching him was a threat.
Leaf grunted as she received the shock, her teeth gritted tightly but she didn't flinch away. Instead, she used her other arm and picked up the still recovering electric mouse as gently as her static-filled body would allow. Pikachu became much more violent as the shock intensified.
"Please…" The young girl pleaded through clenched teeth, gently embracing the Pokémon. "Don't be afraid, everything will be okay…"
Mew knew the young girl didn't want her to interfere, she floated nearby with genuine concern in her round blue eyes. She knew Leaf liked to handle situations regarding Pokémon without the aid of anyone but it really hurts the legendary to see her in pain like this. Only the young girl's firm determination prevented her from interfering.
It didn't take long before the electric shock stopped, but the Pikachu didn't stop there. He aggressively attempted to shake out of the young girl's grasp before biting onto her arm, drawing blood. Weak as he was, his strength was still exceptionally strong.
"Uuk!" Leaf winced in pain from the bite but held herself together. She could still sense the turmoil of feelings from the mouse Pokémon in her arms.
Anger, desperation and fear.
Desperation and fear.
Confusion.
The electric mouse hesitated as he released some of the force he used to bite into the young girl's arm. He was still on guard but he realized what he did. The scent of something burnt filled the air and the sound of heavy breathing could be heard just above him.
He looked up worryingly to see the trying face of a ten year old girl panting in pain. But her eyes showed concern.
Concern for him.
He immediately felt guilty. Extremely so.
He recognized her as the girl who saved him. He could vaguely recall how the young girl had ran for help without any reason to do so. And now here he was, not only did he shock her, he wounded her. It was then when he tasted iron and looked down to see a small trail of blood from where his teeth sunk in.
Still she held on. Gently.
She tightened her embrace on him slightly. Her voice gentle and caring. "Everything is fine…"
"Pika…" He worriedly squeaked, releasing his hold on her arms and licked lightly at the wound he caused. This wasn't like him to harm someone like this.
Leaf didn't take long during their little chase to realize just what she had dreamt of. It was a memory. A very sad and recent one too. And she could link it back to who the owner of those memories was. She didn't question how. All she knew was that she wanted to help the little mouse in her arms.
There was a split second blue glow between them that hardly registered to the two.
"You were separated from your sibling, weren't you?" She gently asked.
"Pi…"
"You can't find your sibling alone…" She let the Pokémon go. Pikachu hopped out and turned around with a worried and apologetic frown. "…I'll…" she winced and grabbed her injured arm. "I'll help you."
"Pika pi! Pi!" The mouse Pokémon protested.
Leaf shook her head, assuring him it was okay. "Let me help you."
"Mew-ew~" Mew worriedly approached the young girl, startling the two. Pikachu was speechless as he watched the legendary fret over the young girl like a mother.
"It's okay Mew." She tried to prove so but failed when she winced again at the legendary's touch.
Not convinced, the pink cat-like Pokémon breathed a silvery breath over the bite marks, magically closing the wounds as it brushed it. Pikachu stared in wonder before he realized what he had done, he cowered when Mew turned to him.
Mew wasn't pleased but she wasn't a violent Pokémon at all. She was one that was easy to forgive and was very understanding. She approached the mouse Pokémon and gave him a pat on the head, giggling when Pikachu winced at the touch.
"Mew~" She twirled in the air and landed on Leaf's head with a plop while Leaf pouted at the legendary. She really doesn't like being helped by her but she really can't deny it either. She was reluctantly grateful.
Leaf turned back to Pikachu who was still cowering and sighed. She picked him up and gently hugged the poor frightened Pokémon. "Calm down, Pikachu. She won't do anything…"
"P-p-pi-pika…" It was actually slightly funny to see the little guy shiver with comedic horror.
But they couldn't stay like this forever. Leaf's expression turned serious as she gently set the little mouse down. "Pikachu, please show me the last time you and your sibling was."
That snapped Pikachu's horror to something else. He nearly forgot why he was here! How could he!? Leaf could feel anxiety in the yellow mouse as tiny sparks were flashed from his red cheeks. He quickly squeaked for them to follow and dashed away.
Leaf followed as they ran back up the Cliffside and across the town. Mew had decided to track them from above, shapeshifting herself into a Pidgey and cooed as she flew a few meters in the sky. The sky was just beginning to shift to morning colors when they had reached the forest.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gary wasn't one to wake up as early as this. Ever since that incident that happened yesterday, he had been… Restless. He had spent most of the day pondering what exactly happened and why he felt guilty when he was, still recovering from shock, watching Leaf take charge of that rascal of a Pokémon.
He laid on his bed with his arms crossed under his head, staring up at the ceiling and watched as the light began to change the color of it.
Then a shadow caught his attention.
He sat up and looked out the window and spotted Leaf running after the Pikachu they encountered yesterday. The mouse's wounds seems to have healed for the most part of it as it dashed down the path, heading towards the nearby treeline.
Leaf was right on its tail with a look of concern. That expression again… It's been dominant on her face since yesterday and Gary found himself irked about it. He actually missed her cheery smile…
He had to leave.
He got up and took a Pokéball with a teardrop mark on it from the top of his desk and paused. There was a second one as well. This one, however, had a leaf insignia. He grabbed it too and quickly left. He actually didn't bother changing since yesterday so he allowed the thought of changing clothes pass by and ran out of the house, giving chase to his former childhood friend.