Chapter Text
Chapter 2
Sunlight, that was the first thing I saw. It shone through the windows and scattered onto the wooden panels on the floor. My eyes fluttered open, and I slowly took in my surroundings. The faint sound of my Rotom phone ringing in the background annoyed me and I reached for it to turn it off. Ann was still asleep, her body twisted sideways and her blankets thrown haphazardly on the ground. Getting up, I started for the bathroom but paused at the foot of my bed, I reached for the jewelry box under my bed and brushed my hands over the cool emerald. Unbeknownst to me, Ann had woken up and now stood behind me. “Watcha doin?” I almost jumped out of my own skin. “O-oh, Ann, you scared me. I was just… Well watch.” I closed my eyes and my hand hovered on top of the necklace. I could swear I felt it warm up and oooohs and aaaahs from Ann confirmed that it was working. After a while, I could feel it starting to dim so I withdrew my hand and closed the box. “Wow… Liko what was that?” That? Oh, it’s really nothing special. It's just a little thing I do every time I move somewhere new, it's good luck for the day.” “Ooo? Luck? Well you’ll need it today, remember? Today is the day we get our partner pokemon!” Right. My partner Pokemon. The more I think about it the more nervous I get, and just trying not to think about it makes me think about it more. As Ann chatted about how she wished she could speed up time to get hers faster, my attention was on one thing only. A friend. My mind raced back to the Mudstale and my thoughts then. How I wish I could have a partner Pokemon? Well, today’s the day. I swallowed, don’t be nervous… just don’t be.
The rest of the day came like a blur, everyone else seemed to feel that way too, it felt like years had passed since that morning and the afternoon. Finally, the last bell rang, dismissing us from the first few lessons and everyone rushed to their respective places. I hurried to the biology lab, where 30 other students waited for their teacher. A rushed teacher I recognised as Mr Elm — my form teacher— entered, carrying a box with a transparent top with Pokeballs placed inside. Mr Elm flumbled out a name list and started calling. Name after name, Pokemon after pokemon being released from their Pokeballs and delighted cries. Ann was called up and she winked at me, mouthing, ‘wish me luck’. I’ll probably need more luck then her. I mouthed, ‘you’ll be great’ back. She came forward and picked the pokeball under her name. “I chose you!” She cried, tossing the Pokeball in the air and pressing the button. The ball released a blue figure. An Oshawott came out, looking momentarily stunned. Ann squealed in happiness and moved forward to hug it, Oshawott reciprocated and jumped to her shoulder. “Liko.” My name, I unsteadily stood up as some students looked at me, “T-that’s me!” I exclaimed, making my way to the front. As I reached the box, the sunlight that streamed in hit one of the Pokeballs reflecting it onto my shoes, “That one.” I whispered, picking it up. I rushed back to my seat, the teacher calling on another student. Holding the ball in my hand, I yelled, “ I choose you!” My voice cracking. A light. Then a green figure standing in front of me. Its fur brushed out, its little green bushy tail behind it. “Oh my god.” I breathed. It was a— “Sprigatito has been registered into your Pokedex. Sprigatito, the grass cat Pokemon, its fluffy fur is similar in composition to plants. This Pokémon frequently washes its face to keep it from drying out.” My Romtom phone very helpfully answered. I slowly approached Sprigatito, my heart thudding. Sprigatito hissed and swiped at me with her claws, I jumped back, clutching my hand, a scratch mark on it, blood was leaking out as Sprigatito hopped off my table and left the classroom. “Class, if there is nothing else, you are dismissed. Grabbing a wad of paper, I pressed it to my bleeding hand. I quickly followed in the footsteps of Sprigatito. “Sprigatito? Where are you?” I saw a green busy tail rounding a corner and I followed it. “Sprigatito… there you are.” I rushed to her side, “Come with me.” She blatantly ignored me and hopped into a bush, I followed fast behind but was still too slow. Where was she? I took in a deep breath, then exhaled, shocked. Was that the smell of Jasmin? Following the scent led me to a wall where the scent disappeared. Taking the hint, I hurried to its staircase and rushed up. This place was an old storage closet, dust everywhere. Finally, I reached the balcony, where I saw sprigatito at the edge. Behind me was a clocktower, probably many years old. “Sprigatito, there you are, come on, we can sort out diffe—, wait sprigatito are you? Don’t jump!” While I talked, Sprigatito had been crouching down as as I rushed forward, Sprigatito jumped. I leapt forward and just caught her by the hide legs. “Sprigatito, never do that again.” I sighed. Suddenly, I felt I was falling, in my desperate attempt to catch Sprigs, I had fallen off the balcony. Lucky, it seemed my death was not due today as a wild Snorlax was sleeping under there, breaking my fall. It barely stirred as I sled off it. Sprigatito seemed not to be disturbed and kept walking. I followed, careful not to let her run off again. “Sprigatito, come on, don’t make me return you to your Pokeball.” Sprigatito didn’t answer, she just kept padding along. When I realized she wouldn’t respond, I sighed and kept following her. She entered into a bush and I hurried after, afraid she might pull a fast one on me. But she didn’t and eventually led me to a clearing. There was a huge pond with Magicarp, Goldeen, along with Barbroach and Feebas. Mesmerised, I watched, as the sun was set, casting a golden glow on the water’s surface, illuminating every splash and Pokemon there was. While I was mesmerised however, Sprigatito had left. It was only after the sun had fully set that the trance-like state I was in broke. “Sprigatito?” I called out, looking about. But all I saw was trees casting deep long shadows and rocks that might look like a Sprigatito. “Sprigatito?” I called out, louder this time. Then, a soft meowwww sound came from deeper within the bushes. I followed the sound which led me to Sprigatito facing a big rock. She seemed so riled up her fur standing on edge, her back arched. “Sprigatito what are you do—?” Then Sprigatito cried out and his collar started to glow a green colour. I recognised it right away. Sprigatito yelled out. Then, the collar glowed a bright green. And then faded away. Sprigatito let out a sad meow and sat down. “Sprigatito, what was that?” The Rotom Phone answered. “Leafage, a grass move, the Pokemon lets out a barrage of leaves to the opponent." I could tell sprigatito was very upset, probably because she had failed to use it. “Oh don’t worry Spirigatito, don't beat yourself up, I’m sure you were this close to using it. But Sprigatito didn’t answer. Knowing I had no way of moving her, you took out the Pokeball and pressed the button. “Sprigatito, return.” In a flash of white light that consumed her, she returned to her Pokeball and I returned to my dorm room. Returning to the room, I collapsed onto my bed, Ann wasn’t back yet so I quickly whipped up some dinner and filled the Pokebowl with some kibble. I released Sprigatito out, clicking the button but Sprigatito didn’t come out. My Rotom phone floated up, reading out: Pokemon unwilling to exit their Pokeballs cannot be forced to do so. The same is with returning. If the Pokemon does not wish to return, it will not. If a Pokemon enters said stage, it will be the one who chooses to exit. I sighed and sat on the bed. I held the smooth ball in my hands. “Sprigatito, I want you to know that it's not your fault. I placed the Pokeball down in front of the food and sat at my desk. My Rotom phone expanded into the size of an Ipad and I took out a pen. “Day 1. Today, I got my partner Pokemon. Sprigatito. It ran away from me, and almost leapt off the building, I caught it but then we both fell off the building. Lucky for me, a snorlax broke our fall. Sprigatito showed me a really pretty place by the pond, where all sorts of Pokemon can be found. Sprigatito tried to use leafage but failed, now she won’t come out of her Pokeball. Not a very good start but I believe day two will be better. —Liko
I set down my pen and looked back. The food was still untouched and the ball was still exactly where I had left it. Ann still hadn't returned yet, probably out getting lost somewhere. After that, I took a shower and brushed my teeth. “Rotom, what time is it now?” “It’s 8.53pm.” I dressed into my pajamas and started to unpack my things, clothes, toiletries and other things. I periodically checked back with Sprigatito but she still stubbornly refused to exit her pokeball. By now, Ann had returned and she was sleeping soundly, her blanket tossed on the floor. I got into bed but not before I had one last heart to heart with Sprigatito. “Sprigatito, please come out and eat something, it's perfectly ok to feel upset about failing leafage. I’ve definitely failed before too. But I'll always be your trainer.” Setting the ball down, I pulled the covers over me and closed my eyes, drifting to the place of mists and dreams.
“Ouch!” My eyes snapped open, at first I couldn’t see anything at all, but when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Sprigatito on top of me. “Sprigatito?” I asked, sprigatito jumped off as I sat up. The pale moonlight shone in through the window, the curtains blowing in the breeze. I got out of bed, curious as to what Sprigatito wanted. The meal I had set out was finished and I smiled. Whew, at least sprigatito ate. The sound of scratching drew my gaze to the door where sprigatito was scratching at. “Meow, meow meoooow.” “Ok, ok I get it. Stop damaging the wood.” Walking over to the door, I carefully and slowly opened it. Sprigatito leapt forward and rushed out, leaving me to chase after her. “Sprigs, wait!” But she didn’t listen. By the time we slowed down, we were at that same old storage building. Sprigatito leapt up the side of the wall, leaving me to climb the stairs. When we reached the balcony, Sprigatito was waiting for me, sitting patiently, the old clock tower behind us, its old hands ticking. I sat down next to her. “Sprigatito?” Sprigatito meowed and she looked to the sky, her nose pointing up. I looked up and saw the moon in all its glory, shining a soft cool glow down on me. It looked so big even from here, I lay down, basking in the soft glow. “Even if I reach as high as I can and jump as far as I can, I’ll never reach it, never be able to even touch it.” I reached my head up and clenched my fist. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll never try.” I looked at Sprigatito. Her pink eyes staring back at me. “I know what you want, Sprigatito.” After that, I got up. Sprigatito had shown me something that I had always known but never knew had been in me.
I cleared the bushes, Sprigatito behind me. Finally, we reached the clearing, where I had found Sprigatito trying to use leafage. “Meow…” she growled. Her eyes fixed onto the rock and her back arched, her fur stood on end. “Wait sprigatito, not yet.” Sprigatito calmed down but still remained on alert. If we ever want to master this, we need to calm down. Sprigatito did as told and took her ground. She then closed her eyes, arched her back and used her power instead of anger. “Yes sprigatito you can do it.” I encouraged. You can do it SprigsThe leaves around her neck started glowing green before she hissed and expelled her energy. Green leaves shot out of the leaves by her neck, attacking and scratching the rock. “Yes! Sprigatito you did it!” I knelt down and sprigatito leaped up and I caught her mid air. Sprigatito hopped off me and twirled back, facing the rock. She summoned leafage again, more leaves this time, at least 30, and shot them at the rock, each leaf hitting it at full speed. “Yes!” My grin widened and I hugged sprigatito, unable to contain my excitement. “Who’s there!” A sharp voice cut through the silence and I froze. The sound of rustling and footsteps rang closer and I dove into the bushes, returning sprigatito into her Pokeball. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot and shuffling came nearer and nearer…Then, a light illuminated the spot we had just been standing in. In the darkness, a figure emerged, wearing a uniform and a badge shining in the moonlight, a night guard. A few leaves still clung to his uniform and a flashlight was in his hand. “Huh, weird. I thought I heard voices.” He paused, shining his flashlight around. I held my breath even though I knew that holding your breath had nothing to do with being seen. He walked forward and shouted out again, “I repeat if anyone is there, please reveal yourselves” Nothing but the hoots of wild Hoothoot “Must have been a wild Pokemon.” He muttered after the long silence. He stayed a moment too long, then spun on his heels and left. I stayed concealed in the bush, frozen by what had just happened. Then, after a few minutes, I slowly crawled out of the bush and started back to my dorm. I didn’t release Sprigatito until I had closed the door to my dorm. Sprigatito meowed, equal parts happy and relieved. Diving into my bed, I pulled the covers over me and closed my eyes, falling into a deep slumber. For the next few days, the same routine followed, we were normal students in the day but at night? We were sneaking out late and practicing leafages. During a lesson, I learnt that all starter Pokemon come with the move scratch. During our nightly training, I used the move scratch and sure enough, Sprigatito went through with the move. The rest of the time was training scratch by having Sprigatito shooting leaves in the air and using scratch on them. Or at least trying to. The sun was shining on my face, I squinted then sat up. The curtains were swaying in the wind, the sun rays shining through, the sky and tint of orange as it bled out into the deep navy blue of the night sky. Ann was still asleep, somehow able to withstand the light shining in her eyes. In these 4 days, our dorm room truly became a sight to behold. In my side of the room, the place was pretty clean, stationary arranged, clothes hung out my window, clipped on a bamboo stick, the clothes dripping wet. On Ann’s side, there were sticky notes of reminders and small doodles, clothes were haphazardly folded and the stationary was free and loose. Sometimes, like today, I would venture into the realm of Ann to clean up the mess. As I folded the clothes, Ann twisted and turned, the bright light finally registering in her. But instead of waking up, she pulled the covers over her head. Ah Ann. Sprigatito was asleep too, her little self under my bed, next to my jewelry box. That cat really has a taste for money. After somewhat cleaning Ann’s side, I got up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. It wasn’t much, just some fried eggs and kibble for Sprigatito. I, of course, gave Sprigs some of the eggs. Ann and coined it the egg tax. I called it greed. When Ann finally stirred at around 8, we had breakfast together and Sprigatito nudged Oshawott awake and Ann gave him some Kibble. Together we left the dorm and took our first class of the day. Battle class. This was actually our first real battle class, yesterday was just safety guidelines and the day before that was icebreakers. Today we were being paired up. Ann and I paired up together and took our spots. As we were the first to come in, we were the first to battle. Taking our places, we faced each other as Sprigatito and Oshawott were released. “Three… Two… One!” “Sprigatito! Use leafage!” Sprigatito’s neck of leaves glowed and at least 20 leaves shot out. “Oshawott! Use, err… use water gun?” Ann wavered slightly. Oshawott shot out a stream of water, knocking some of the leaves down, but the rest of them cut through the stream and a few connected with Oshawott. He stumbled, taking a step back. “Oshawott! Use water gun, again!” Oshawott shot out another stream of water, arching through the air. “Sprigatito! Careful!” She pounced forward, able to escape most of the water stream, but some connected and sprigatito yelped. “Ha! That’s not all we’ve got! Oshawott! Use tackle!” Oshawott leapt forward, bracing for impact. “Sprigatito! Use scratch!” Sprigatito’s claws appeared, and as Oshawott was fast incoming, Sprigatito scratched at him, knocking him off course. Oshawott tumbled onto the ground, spirals in his eyes. “Oshawott is unable to battle. The victory goes to Liko and Sprigatito. We won… we won! My face broke into a huge grin and Sprigatito was evidently happy too by the way she jumped up. “OH MY GOD!! Liko! Where did you learn that?? I need tips bro.” Ann walked over, her face a mix of admiration and sheepishness. “Ha, nowhere specific.” That was a lie but what could I say? Oh, just from sneaking out every night and training by the lake, what about you? “Well, you have to teach me some tips! You're amazing at this!” I smiled as Ann started talking about her and Oshawott. Sprigatito trailed behind them, clearly proud of herself.
As I begun to make my way back to my dorm, someone approached me. He couldn’t be any older than 15 or 16 but he had an unusual air of sophistication about him, maybe it was something about his suit. His hair was two different colours, black and grey. I watched him from the other side of the doors as he approached the lady at the front desk. “Hello, my name is Amethio. I would like to see a particular student, I have all the necessary paperwork right here.” He gave the stack of papers he was holding to the lady. She looked it over, flipped a few pages then nodded. “Very well then, this student you would like to see, Liko correct?” The person, Amethio, nodded his head. “Alright then, follow me, let me bring you to her—” Then, she spotted me. “Oh Liko! What a coincidence! This man right here would like to see you, do you know him?” I stepped forward, my stomach twisting, something about him made me feel uneasy. Sprigatito, who was I carrying, started hissing at him. “Oh Sprigatito, don’t do that to this… nice… young man.” Looking up, I met his eyes. Cold and unforgiving were his purple eyes, his gaze pierced into mine, I felt like flinching but I stayed calm and flicked my eyes down. “Would you like anything, sir?” Amethio nodded and took out a letter. “I believe this is for you, your grandmother sent this. She is requesting about the necklace. She would like me to return it to her.” No way. “Of course, my necklace is at my dorm though, would you please wait for me?” Amethio nodded and I hurried away, almost dropping Sprigatito in the process, my mind starting to spiral, like Oshawott's eyes in the battle. No no no, grandma would never ask for the necklace like this? What note? She’s never sent me a note before, this is wrong, she would never send some random man to ask for the necklace. I stumbled into my room, rummaging under my bed before I finally pulled out the box containing the necklace. My hands trembled as I unboxed it. There was my necklace, glinting in the setting sun. No way I’m giving my necklace to some random man, even if grandma asked for it. I stared at the necklace, in a trance. Knock, knock. “Miss Liko, are you alright in there?” I jumped, the box flying out of my hands and the necklace falling on the floor. “Y-yes, just a moment.” I scrambled toward my necklace and snatched it up and hung it around my neck. I could hear the impatient tapping footsteps of Amethio right out my door. I pushed the window open and climbed out onto the small balcony right outside. Don’t look down. I knew that being on the third story meant I was high in the air. Climbing onto the roof I knelt there and panted. Below me, Amethio called my name again. Hearing no reply, he barged into my room. The room was empty. “We got a runner.
.”