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[Pokémon] By My Side

4
Posts
6
Years
  • Age 28
  • Seen Nov 18, 2017
Hello all, this is my first Pokemon fic in a long time. I'm just looking for something fun to write, so I am planning on doing this fic with regular installments of short (approximately 1000 words each) chapters. They'll start out lighthearted and get more intense as the fic goes on. There will be some heavier central themes such as prejudice/discrimination. Violence and language will be present but kept within acceptable standards, and there will be very minimal sexual content of any kind.

Chapter 1: A Wild Riolu

Elix sat in the principal's office behind his parents. He looked at his shoes, brown leather sneakers, to avoid the gaze of the principal. She was an older woman with an always-stern expression and currently she was standing at her desk and saying "We just don't think Elix is equipped to battle with a Pokémon of his own quite yet."

His father frowned, adjusting the horn-rimmed spectacles that sat crookedly on his face. "Come on, at least let him try," he said. "What's the harm?"

The principal coughed to clear her throat. "The Pokémon League has clear rules about which children are and are not eligible to receive a Pokémon and participate in the junior qualifier. I'm just following the rules here."

"Just because he has autism, you won't give him a Pokémon? Jesus, it's been four years since he should have been eligible to participate. This is his last year in school…" Elix's father looked exasperated.

Elix looked up from the floor, his gaze resting on the prinicpal and then quickly flitting away. "Um," he said at last. "Well, if I catch my own Pokémon, I'd be eligible to participate in the qualifier… right?"

The principal sat back in her desk. "Yes, I suppose," she said.

"Right. Thanks." Elix's father smiled weakly at Elix and stood to leave.

#​

It was a good idea, but Elix quickly found that catching a Pokémon was harder than it sounded in the books, even though he'd read most of the eminent authors on the subject.

First, he had to get Poké Balls. Elix had read that Ultra Balls were the preferred method of catching powerful Pokémon, but when he arrived at the Poké Mart he looked into the glass case containing those coveted black-and-yellow spheres and found that they were a whopping 1200 bucks each. Elix only had 1000.

So he settled for three regular Poké Balls, which totaled 600. Elix spent a few minutes browsing the store, admiring TMs and Max Potions from behind their shields of clear glass. He had always wanted to use things like this. He had so many books on the subject, but he'd never been able to have his very own Pokémon. He'd never been able to participate in a real Pokémon battle, only imaginary ones in video games. Elix didn't have many friends.

Then he paid and left.

#​

The patch of green woods behind the school were supposedly full of Pokémon, but Elix had walked for twenty minutes without encountering a single one. Luckily, he had thought ahead; he retrieved a jar of honey from his backpack. With a plastic knife he began slathering the saccharine goop onto the bark of a suitable-looking tree (the books had advised him to select one with low-hanging branches).

Then he sat and waited, gripping one of the red-and-white Poké Balls in his hand. It felt cool against his palm. It was mid-September and there was a slight chill. He shivered slightly.

Finally, a small bird Pokémon landed in the tree. Elix waited, covering his mouth with his hand to conceal the sounds of his breath. The Pokémon was ordinary, with spiky, earth-colored feathers; Elix recognized it as a Pidgey. It nibbled at the honey. When it wasn't looking, Elix hurled the Poké Ball in its direction.

The Poké Ball landed somewhere in the underbrush behind the tree. The Pidgey let out a startled chirp and quickly hopped away.

Elix sighed and let his shoulders slump in defeat. He wasn't giving up, though; he was prepared to be here all night. Around sundown, he started to put up a tent. He was fumbling with the plastic pieces when he heard an ominous buzzing sound from behind.

Slowly, he turned to face a large Pokémon, yellow with black stripes -- Vespiquen.

The plastic rods of the tent fell out of Elix's hands and onto the ground. He searched his bag for another Poké Ball. The Vespiquen seemed to ignore him.

His fingers gripped the smooth orb and in one swift motion, he threw it at the Vespiquen.

Clunk! It was a direct hit into the forehead of the intimidating bee Pokémon. Vespiquen turned to face Elix before being transformed into a burst of white light and being sucked into the Poké Ball. It trembled on the ground, shaking once, twice…

With a startling popping sound the Vespiquen escaped the clutches of the Poké Ball. It buzzed again, more urgently this time. Elix shivered and covered his ears. Vespiquen floated close to the young man, and he dropped to his knees with his hands still covering his ears.

Then, there was a loud bark. And another. And another, sounding closer this time. The Vespiquen hesitated, and after the third bark it flew away. Elix didn't move. Whatever had scared it away was coming.

He was sitting there, hiding at the base of the tree with his eyes squeezed shut, when something soft prodded his arm. He opened his eyes. It was a small blue Pokémon with small paws.

The Pokémon looked back at him. "Riolu?"

"Oh, um… hello," said Elix. Startled, he adjusted his circular glasses and blinked.

"Ri," said the Riolu, pointing to Elix.

Elix tried to remember what he knew about this Pokémon. Riolu had the power to read auras, thereby reading the emotional states of others. Perhaps it had picked up on his fear and come to his rescue. "Me? I'm fine… thank you," he replied. "I was trying to catch a Pokémon so I could participate in the Pokémon League this year. But…"

"Riolu?" The Pokémon crossed its arms.

"Well, my school won't give me a Pokémon like everyone else, so…"

Riolu seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, then offered its small blue paw to Elix.

Elix frowned in confusion. What was it trying to communicate?

"Riolu!" said the Pokémon, gesturing at Elix's bag.

"You want to help me?" said Elix.

Riolu nodded.

Elix found his last Poké Ball, then looked at Riolu. "You're sure?"

The Pokémon grinned and nodded again. Elix gently tossed the Poké Ball at it. The white light absorbed Riolu, and then the ball shook on the ground -- once, twice, three times.
 

PastelPhoenix

How did this even happen?
453
Posts
7
Years
  • Age 29
  • Seen Nov 20, 2022
I'll first start off with saying that this is very cute, and I wish I caught it as soon as you posted it with how much I like it. It's simple, but in the best way possible. The shortness of it was something I feared would be a detriment when you mentioned it, but I felt the length really added to it. It was a Goldilocks content to length ratio, where some try to stuff too much into too little and others end prematurely and leave you wanting more. This one felt just fine.

I am curious to see how the autism angle plays into it more. I can't comment too much on it right now, with the brevity of the information about the character we currently have, but I will say it does have me intrigued.
 
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