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Do no harm but take no BS. That’s my motto.
I have always been loyal to my trainer ever since he first picked me up, cuddling me to his chest. I was a timid little thing back then, scared of everything and everyone, but I could tell that this person was good. This person was right.
That feeling slowly dissipated as our journey continued and we were met with failure after failure. My trainer was strong, but not strong enough; though we always thought we were one step ahead, it quickly turned out to be wrong. But my trainer never gave up, pushing us all further and further until we were exhausted. He was probably exhausted, too, but none of us bothered to think about that.
Champion. It’s a word that holds a lot of bad memories. Champion was what our trainer wanted. We wanted it too and we worked hard for it, but we always failed and the word champion soon became meaningless. What was champion, anyway? Why should we care? We just wanted to be happy, but it seemed our trainer didn’t care.
Eventually, we stopped, and it was a huge relief. Our trainer let us all out one day, face visibly streaked with tears. That’s a day I will never forget. He told us to go, that it didn’t matter anymore, that he had treated us wrong and he didn’t deserve us.
One by one, they left. Alakazam was the first to go, bowing briefly to my trainer before vanishing. Exeggutor quickly followed his lead, stomping off laughing. Gyarados stayed, hesitant, and then dove into the ocean and swam off. Arcanine stayed, loyal as always, and Pidgeot, being a close friend of Arcanine’s, stayed as well.
I, too, was about to leave, eager to run away just like my ability told me to, but one look at my trainer’s face told me I couldn’t do it. In that moment, he wasn’t the bitter trainer who sought something we could never accomplish. He was the young child who hugged me to his chest and told me we could be something great.
So I, too, stayed.
We traveled all across the world, riding ferries, catching trains and buses, backpacking through deserts and forests. I will not lie and say I was always happy. I missed our old teammates; I missed Alakazam’s gentle wisdom, Gyarados’s cheer and determination, Exeggutor’s odd ramblings. But although I wasn’t always happy, I was peaceful. There was no longer the pressure of champion or our trainer’s rival hanging over our heads.
Rival. That’s another bad word, something you shouldn’t mention around Arcanine, Pidgeot, or I. Rival is a presence in the back of our minds, the feeling that we’re not good enough, never good enough. Always one step behind. It holds the same stigma as champion for us. Rival is a silent kid with dark hair and ruby eyes, who held everything we ever wanted and more.
Rhyhorn (and later Rhyperior) was the first new teammate we’d had in ages and we were all happy to welcome him. He was stubborn. Angry. And deeply afraid. The first time we saw him, he tried to charge Pidgeot, who luckily managed to dodge in time and our trainer subdued him. He warmed up to us soon enough after evolving, which took a lot of effort but was certainly worth it. Rhyperior is one of the rougher members of our team, but has a kind heart.
Ferroseed was caught soon after. She was a mischievous little thing and enjoyed latching onto Arcanine’s fur, forcing our trainer to pry her off. None of us really liked her at first, since she seemed careless and eager to hurt others. Rhyperior (Rhydon at the time) was the only one willing to be with her, since her iron spikes couldn’t damage him too much. Working with Ferroseed was something none of us liked, since she had a tendency to hurt more than help you.
It was only until our last teammate, Corphish (later evolving into Crawdaunt) hatched that Ferroseed became more bearable. Our trainer received the Corphish egg from a breeder and hatched her fairly quickly, helped by Arcanine’s warmth. She was a proud little thing, eager to battle, and Ferroseed soon took over as Corphish’s mentor. They weren’t the best at battling together at first - Corphish being overly aggressive compared to Ferroseed’s defensive nature, both of them too stubborn to change their styles - but with some help and a lot of effort, they became less stubborn and better at teamwork. Ferroseed evolved first into Ferrothorn, and Corphish evolved into Crawdaunt soon after. They both care about everyone on the team, but it is obvious that they are closest to each other.
By now, everyone had evolved. Everyone, except me. I was nervous that my trainer would try and force me to evolve, but he didn’t seem to care and continued to show me affection as always.
We were battling a young trainer in Kalos when it happened. I had just won a close battle with an Espeon and was being cared for by my trainer when I felt something change. It wasn’t an ordinary level-up, that much I knew.
“You’re evolving?” I remember my trainer saying, but I was too busy concentrating on what was happening. My body grew larger and stronger. My fur changed from ordinary brown to a shade of off-white, with pastel pink accents. Ribbons sprouted from my body, intertwining around my trainer’s arms. I could feel everything now; joy and pride, bursting from my trainer in spades, shock and amazement, from the kid we just defeated, even the muted feelings of excitement and curiosity from my teammates in their Pokeballs.
Sylveon are known to be very peaceful and kind. A part of that is because of the fairy-typing; most fairies are very sweet creatures save for a few exceptions such as Mawile. But, like all stereotypes, it does hold an element of truth. I believe whole-heartedly in the kindness of trainers; my own trainer is one example. Many other trainers are kind as well. They truly do care about their Pokemon and their Pokemon care about them as well.
But despite our kindness, we still have claws and teeth. My trainer is the most important person in the world to me and if anyone tried to hurt him, I would gladly blast them away with a Moonblast. So you can imagine how I felt when our rival’s Pikachu tried to attack him.
I try not to hurt people or Pokemon. As long as you are not hurting anyone, I will stay out of it. But I know my rival, and I know his Pikachu. I can sense emotions, and in that moment all I felt from that little rodent was pure, unfiltered, rage.
He would have electrocuted my trainer, I know that. The sparks flying between his ears, the fury brimming in his little body, the electricity gathering at his cheeks. It didn’t take much to put two and two together.
I didn’t hit Pikachu that hard, of course. Fierce as he is, Pikachu is very frail and it was Red’s Pokemon. My trainer cares about Red, and Red cares about his Pokemon so hurting Red’s Pokemon would hurt Red and hurting Red would hurt my trainer, which is exactly what I do not want to do. But at that moment? I didn’t even think.
One medium-power Moonblast was all it took. Of course it hung on; Pikachu is just as stubborn as Rhyperior. But it was very weakened. In that state, I doubt it could even fire off a Shock Wave. Hard-headed as always, Pikachu tried to sit up and attack my trainer again, but I shot it down swiftly.
Do I regret attacking Pikachu? No. Why would I? Perhaps if I waited a bit, it would have been fine. But I don’t really care. Pikachu was a threat to my trainer at that moment and I stopped it. No harm done.
Do I regret my journey with my trainer? Absolutely not. Despite our more than rough start, he still cared for me and my teammates. Our journey may have been rather turbulent, with many ups and downs, but in the end I am proud to say that my trainer is the Green Oak.