Your Kind and Kindess!
"Nrgh... stop it Joltik... five more minutes," I muttered as I felt my body shaking. This huge headache rocking my brain is enough of an excuse to stay in bed for a little while longer, even if bed is kind of uncomfortable right now. I don't know what possessed me to sleep in my clothes or without any sheets... or on the ground. Now that I think about it, I don't remember going to bed.
"Are you alright?" somebody asks me. I realize that it isn't Joltik's tiny limbs shaking me, but it feels more like someone his prodding me with their fists. As my eyes open, I find myself face to face with the strangest thing I've ever seen.
"What the heck?" I roll away from the creature next to me and sit up. Whatever it is looks like an albino Ponyta, but with a pink mane pulled into a bun and a nurse's cap placed on her head. "You... what are... you talked and, and, and, ow, and you!" I reach for my Pokedex so I can figure out what I'm looking at.
There is no backpack on my back. I search my pockets, but my Pokedex isn't there either, not even my wallet. I'm relieved to find all my pokeballs are still secured to my belt. I look around my surroundings to see if my stuff got scattered on the path when I fell, but I notice I'm not on the path anymore. I look up and see that I somehow fell down the hill and into a ditch a few feet from the forest. The creature in the ditch with me just stares at me with wide eyes, as if I'm some sort of exotic Pokemon.
"W-where's my stuff?" I ask it. Asking it questions feels kind of stupid, but I do believe it's capable of speech. Information from any source would be appreciated right now.
"What stuff?" the creature asked. I have to decide whether to freak out about the talking Ponyta or the fact my stuff is gone. Getting my priorities in line, I rattle off a frantic list of everything in the odd.
"My backpack, badge case, Pokedex, wallet, uh... hat, and... and." When I realize what else is missing, panic really sets in. "Where's Joltik? Joltik?! Joltik!" I call out for my loyal companion. If he was within earshot, he would have come running by now. I know because he's always in earshot, but for the first time in a long, long, long time he isn't anywhere to be found. I get to my feet and run up to the path. I don't see Joltik or any of my stuff.
"Hey, hey! What are you talking about?" the Ponyta runs up the hill and follows me. "I don't even know what you are. Are you lost or something?" it asks me.
"What am I? I'm a human, of course! The question is, what are you?" I point my finger at the hooved Pokemon. For the first time, I notice the red cross on her flank.
"I'm a pony and my name is Redheart, Nurse Redheart," she says, pointing to herself with a hoof and drawing out the syllables in her name as if I were some sort of savage that had never spoken a word of English.
"Do all ponies talk? I've never seen a talking Pokemon before," I tell her. Redheart scowls at me and turns up her nose. "Do you evolve from Ponyta or something?"
"I'm not a Pokemon, I'm a pony. I thought you were a Pokemon when I found you; I thought maybe you evolved from Machop."
"Touche." I'm glad we've established that I am not a Pokemon. It's at that moment that something else clicked in my head. Redheart is a pony, and I'm looking for a place called Ponyville. "Do you mean to tell me that Ponyville is full of ponies and not humans?"
"Are towns usually full of humans?" Redheart asks. I already knew that the Equestria Region is pretty isolated, but now I see I underestimated just how isolated.
"Where I'm from there aren't any ponies, just humans and Pokemon. Speaking of Pokemon, you haven't seen a Joltik around here, have you?" I ask Redheart, but she shakes her head.
"I found you sprawled out in that ditch all alone. How did you even get there, or even here in general?" Redheart asked. As much as I want to run off and find Joltik as soon as I can, getting help from a Ponyville resident would be very wise. She knows the lay of the land much better than I do and she could help the other ponies understand that I am not a Pokemon. I take a deep breathe and take a seat on the path. Redheart takes a seat next to me.
"I came here to challenge the Ponyville Gym. I hear no one has managed to conquer it yet." When I mention the Gym, Redheart's face morphs into a scowl. "W-what?"
"You're absolutely right; nopony has managed to beat that Gym's stupid challenge! I don't think there's a pony out there who could get through that stupid obstacle course," Redheart told me. "We've been complaining since she opened up a few months back, but she keeps saying her trails are 'committee approved.'"
"Well, the Gym Committee wouldn't approve any sort of obstacle that made challenging impossible. I've been to plenty of Gyms with so called 'impossible' challenges, but people always manage to figure it out. If this Gym is really that challenging, that's just more reason to go." I might sound confident, but I am a little worried. There is no such thing as an easy gym challenge, but the ones with that "impossible" are always difficult. Some of them might just kill you. "What's the Gym Leader like?"
"Crazy." Redheart rolls her eyes and grunted. "If you want to put that madmare in her place, you've got everypony in Ponyville rooting for you."
"Good to know, but before I can challenge the gym I need to find all my stuff! Are you sure I was all alone with nothing around me?" I ask, but Redheart nodded her head. "Great... was I robbed? Did someone... er... somepony pokenap Joltik?"
"We haven't had pokenappers in a long time, and thefts are pretty much non-existent here. There was that one time somepony stole a book from the hospital, but that wasn't a huge deal. If we go into town, I'm sure we can find some ponies who would be willing to help you look around for your things." Redheart's explanation is reassuring, but I can't help but be worried. My belongings represent a lot of time, money and effort I invested; however, there is something far more important than those things.
"First things first, we need to find Joltik. He couldn't have gone far. Will you help me look around?" I ask Redheart. She smiles and stands up.
"On one condition: you've got to tell me your name."
"Oh, sorry. The name's Garret, Badge Enthusiast." We shake hands... or hooves... hand and hoof and start looking around the path. After a solid ten minutes of looking up and down the path and along the ditch, we don't find any trace of him. Redheart is worried he may have wandered into the forest, but I can't imagine why he would wander off all on his own while I was hurt. That's when I figured out exactly where he went.
"You know what? I bet Joltik went to get help!" I tell Redheart. Her face lights up at that revelation, but it was accompanied by a hoof to the face of why-didn't-we-think-of-that-sooner. "Is there a place nearby he could have gone?"
Redheart makes a pensive expression and puts a hoof to her mouth. It only takes a few seconds of thinking before she stamps a hoof down and throws me a big smile.
"I think I know exactly where he went!"
I have yet to meet this Fluttershy character, but I already have to give her props on knowing how to live right alongside Pokemon. Her house looks like it's part of the hill's greenery. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes scamper in and out of warrens and windows. Zigzagoons, Ratattas, and Sentrets ran every which way while Pigdeys, Taillows, and Chatots chirped and sang in the trees. I even saw a Walrien lounging by the nearby river and a swarm of zubats flying about.
Redheart led me around to the back of the house where I saw another pony, this one butter colored with wings, putting out oodles and oodles of chow for all the Pokemon. I was so caught up in watching all the Pokemon gathered around, I forgot that I was supposed to be looking for Joltik.
"Fluttershy!" Redheart called the other pony over. She turned her head and regarded us very briefly, but dropped the bag of food on the ground as she suddenly spun back around to gawk at me.
"Oh my! Redheart! Did you discover a new breed of Pokemon?" Fluttershy asked as she rushed over to me. "He looks so exotic!"
"Wow, thanks," I replied. Fluttershy's eyes went even wider and her wings started flapping faster as she smiled even brighter up at me.
"Oh goodness! He can talk too!" she exclaimed.
"Fluttershy, he isn't a Pokemon. He is a human named Garret and he's a Pokemon Trainer from... not here," Redheart said. Fluttershy calmed down a little, but she still stared up at me as if I were the strange Pokemon she originally thought I was.
"Oh, so you're a trainer?" Fluttershy asked.
"Tried and true. You've got a lot of Pokemon yourself. Are you a professor?" I asked in return.
"She isn't a professer, Garret. She's just takes care of the wild Pokemon around here," Redheart said.
"I'd like to be a professor," Fluttershy confessed. I looked down at Redheart as she poked me with her hoof. The look on her face told me that she wanted me to go ahead and move things along.
"Look, Miss Fluttershy, the reason I'm here is because I got separated from one of my Pokemon. Have you seen a Joltik around here?"
Fluttershy's face lit up immediately. My heart soared at the prospect of having found Joltik so quickly. It had only been about fifteen minutes, but when you spend every waking moment with a Pokemon you miss them something fierce when they're gone.
"A Joltik did show up at my door earlier! Was he yours?" Fluttershy asked. I nod my head. I nod my head so hard I reactivate my headache, but I couldn't care less about that. "Well then, he's right inside!" Fluttershy turned and started leading us towards her house as one final wave of relief washed over me.
"Thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened to him." As we walk towards the little house, I wonder if I'm going to fit inside. Fluttershy nodded and giggled.
"I'd be worried too, seeing as he's so tiny. I'd hate to see him get hurt," she says. Fluttershy seems like she really cares for the well-being of all Pokemon. I don't know too many humans who would open their homes to a strange Pokemon, let alone flocks and swarms of wild Pokemon.
"Nah, you don't need to worry about Joltik. He might be small, but he's a tough guy. He can battle with the biggest of them!" I tell her. Fluttershy stops for a moment in front of her door and faces me.
"Oh... a-are you sure that's okay?" she asks.
"Fluttershy, I think the guy knows his Pokemon," Redheart replied. Fluttershy didn't look like she believed her. She put her head down and started shuffling her hooves. We all just stood on her stoop while Pokemon chirped in the background.
"Uh... are we going to go inside?" I asked, but received no response. Fluttershy just continued to avoid eye contact with Redheart and I. Maybe it's because I don't know her, but this is pretty abnormal behavior.
"Fluttershy, just give him back his Pokemon," Redheart said with an edge of agitation.
Fluttershy made a squeaking sound.
"Could you repeat that?" I asked, leaning in closer so I could hear. She squeaked once more, but I still didn't hear her. Redheart and I put our ears right next to her face.
"One more time?" Redheart asked.
"No!!!" Fluttershy shouted with the scariest look I've seen on anything's face, knocking me and my pony companion onto our respective butts. She looked angry for just a moment longer, but her features softened as she cowered back down. "I mean... if that's okay with you."
"Actually, it's not okay with me," I said as I got back up. "Joltik is my Pokemon, so you don't have any right to keep him from me." Fluttershy cowered down even more and moved towards her door.
"Oh, okay, I'll just go get him for you," she said just loud enough to be heard. She put a hoof on her doornob, but that's as far as she got. Fluttershy suddenly stood up straight and turned back to me. She looked me dead in the eye. "No, I can't do it. Battling is far too dangerous for that darling little Joltik."
"Look I don't have time for this." I pointed a finger at Fluttershy and stood over her. "Just give me my Pokemon back!" Intimidating her wasn't working. She kept eye contact and stood fast, even if her knees were visibly shaking.
"Just give Joltik back, Fluttershy," Redheart said as she stepped up to join me. "He's a trainer, so I'm sure he knows what's best for his Pokemon."
"Yeah! I know what I'm doing," I tell Fluttershy. "I'm good at battling! I would never let any of my Pokemon get seriously injured."
"W-well... prove it!" Fluttershy said, stamping her hoof on the ground. I swear I heard her apologize to the ground under her breath. "How do I know that you're a reliable trainer?"
I struggle with an answer. I could show her all the Gym Badges I've earned, but I don't have those with me right now. If I had my supplies, I could show her I keep plenty of medicine on my person at all times. If Joltik were here, she could see how close the two of us are.
"If you want to see how reliable of a trainer he is, why not battle him?" Redheart suggested. That thought had crossed my mind, but Fluttershy seems like such a pacifist I don't think she'll accept.
"... F-fine!" she stammered out.
"Really?" I guess I'm going to have a Pokemon battle with a pony. I wonder if this is going to be history's first pony versus human Pokemon battle.
"Alright, this is a two on two battle between Garret and Fluttershy! The first to knock out both their opponent's Pokemon is the winner! There will be no substitutions!" Redheart announces. She became our self-proclaimed referee in this battle.
Fluttershy and I stood at either end of her grassy yard. Our battlefield was wide and flat, so it's pretty standard stuff. Fluttershy's wild Pokemon friends are our only spectators. Some of them are wearing pony masks, but I'm trying to pretend they're not because it's seriously creeping me out. Fluttershy is joined by a Buneary she referred to as "Angel". From the few snapshots I've seen of his behavior, I don't know what part of him merits that name. With that peeved expression and his constant, impatient thumping of his foot he reminds me more of some of my middle school teachers. Although, seeing Fluttershy with her favorite Pokemon just makes me pine for Joltik.
"Oh... we're starting? O-okay! I'll go with, uhm, Deerling! I mean... if that's okay-"
"Throw the Pokeball!" Redheart shouted, causing Fluttershy to panic and hurl her Pokeball into the air. Before it fell all the way down to earth, it stopped and popped open. Fluttershy's Deerling, sporting a healthy, pink spring coat, appeared on the field.
"Okay, I'll see your Deerling and raise you a Venomoth!" I hocked my Pokeball into the ring, releasing my own Pokemon onto the field.
"Begin!"
"Venomoth, Sleep Powder!"
Venomoth flapped his wings harder, gaining altitude and releasing a cloud of blue powder. He took off towards Deerling with a trail of the sleep inducing substance trailing behind him.
"Oh, Deerling, get out of the way! I mean, uhm, only if you want to."
Deerling must have wanted to because it took off as the cloud encroached upon it's position. Venomoth adjusted it's flight and chased after it, but there was no way the cloud of powder was going to fall on the Deerling.
"Okay Deerling, use Double Kick!" Without turning around, Deerling skidded to a halt and reared up its hind legs.
"Venomoth, get out of the way!" Venomoth banked up and out of the way as Deerling fired two kicks. The kicks only connected with air as Deerling staggered to regain it's footing. "Get in there and counter with Poison Fang!"
"Ack! Deerling use Charm!" Fluttershy shouted. Deerling spun around and looked up at Venomoth as he swooped down. With Deerling's back turned to me, I don't exactly know what kind of expression it was wearing, but when Venomoth saw it he stopped dead in his tracks! "Tackle!"
"Look out, Venomoth!" My warning didn't do any good. Venomoth, sitting wide open in front of Deerling, took the full brunt of the tackle. "Venomoth, counter with Leech Life!" Venomoth righted itself after being hit, and swooped at Deerling. Without room to run away, Deerling couldn't stop Venomoth from digging his fangs into its neck.
"Oh, no Deerling! Get away from him!" Fluttershy called. Deerling struggled to get free, but Venomoth held fast as he drained the little Pokemon's vitality. Deerling didn't get away until Venomoth drank his fill and backed off.
"Don't waste this opportunity! Finish it with Gust!" I called. Venomoth obeyed, flapping his wings and whipping up a violent windstorm. Deerling was still to close to get away and found itself swept right off its hooves. It flew through the air for a couple of yards before crashing down right in front of Fluttershy.
"Eep! Deerling are you okay?" It was obvious to everyone and everything present that Deerling was not okay. It didn't even try to get up as I lay on its back in a daze.
"Deerling is unable to battle!" Redheart called.
"Alright! Good work Venomoth!" Venomoth turned and buzzed happily. He landed on the ground and gave his wings a momentary respite while Fluttershy returned Deerling to its Pokeball.
"I'm so sorry, Deerling. You did so well, it's my fault that we couldn't win. There, there. You'll get a nice big, helping of dinner tonight for all your hard work." Fluttershy continued to baby-talk to the Pokeball until Angel reached up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh, right, next Pokemon. Uh, I'll go with Butterfree!" Fluttershy tossed another Pokeball into the arena, releasing the biggest Butterfree I've ever seen onto the field.
"Holy smokes! What do you feed that thing?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing special. He's just a big boy," Fluttershy said, more to the Butterfree than to me. Looking around, I realize there are a large number of Butterfree. Something tells me the one in the ring is the cream of the genetic crop. "Now Butterfree, use Psybeam!"
"Venomoth, get outta there!" My warning came not a moment too soon as a shining beam of crackling energy shot from Butterfree's eyes. Venomoth took to his wings before the beam arrived at his position. "Now counter with Poison Fang!" Venomoth flew towards Butterfree with his fangs filled to the brim with venom. Buttefree tried to get away, but Venomoth was just a bit too fast. Venomoth's fangs dug into Butterfree's side and stuck there until Butterfree managed to wiggle free.
"Butterfree are you okay?" Fluttershy asked. Butterfree's response was to land on the ground for a moment with sagging wings. "Oh no! Did he poison you?" Butterfree turned around and nodded at her.
"Things aren't looking very good for you, are they?" I called to Fluttershy. She shut me up with a glare that could make an Ursaring turn tail.
"This isn't over yet! Butterfree, use Captivate!" Butterfree flew into the air and started a very impressive acrobatic performance. It was indeed captivating, but a pointless endeavor.
"Ha! Your Butterfree and my Venomoth are both males! That attack won't... work... on him?" It came to my attention that Venomoth had taken to watching the display with very wide eyes. "Venomoth? What're you doing?"
"Now Butterfree! Use Psybeam!"
There was no escape for Venomoth this time. The stream of energy hit Venomoth dead center. The attack knocked him out right out of the air and sent him crashing into the ground in front of me.
"Venomoth? Are you okay?" Venomoth buzzed a little and managed to get back into the air, but it was obvious he couldn't afford another hit. Across the ring, I could see Fluttershy's Butterfree starting to slow down a little as well. The poison was no doubt taking its toll.
"Let's end this quickly, Butterfree! Use Gust!" Fluttershy called.
"Not so fast! You use Gust too Venomoth!"
Both of the bug Pokemon began flapping their wings with admirable vigor. A windstorm was picking up in and around the battlefield, causing a few of the smaller spectators to topple over. It was impossible to tell how the battle of the winds was going, but even if it was at a stalemate at the moment there could only be one winner. Butterfree, fighting both the poison and Venomoth's attack, couldn't keep up his offensive any longer. As his attack died down, the winds from Venomoth's wings blew him back to his trainer.
"N-no! Butterfree!" Fluttershy didn't even wait for Redheart to call the match before she rushed out to tend to her wounded Pokemon.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! The victory goes to Garret and Venomoth!" Redheart called. "And might I say, that was a pretty exciting battle."
"Ha, ha! I knew we could do it! Way to hang in there Venomoth!" Venomoth landed and buzzed in relief. He turned and looked up at me expectantly. "Oh... sorry buddy. Somebody stole all my supplies. I can't heal you right now." Venomth's wing drooped, disappointed by the inconvenient break in routine.
"Uhm... pardon me." The meek Fluttershy stood before me, staring at the ground and drilling a small hole into the ground as she shuffled one of her hooves. Her Butterfree stood by, nibbling on a Pecha Berry. "Well, you and Venomoth did well... and,,, uhm, I guess, I mean, if it's okay with everypony, I'd just like to say... because I mean-"
Fluttershy was interrupted by Angel clearing his throat rather loudly.
"Oh, sorry... I mean, I'm sorry for keeping Joltik from you. I guess I got too worried. I... I don't really know that much Joltiks. If you're his trainer, I guess you really do know best," Fluttershy said, making it clear to me that she is indeed remorseful. It's hard to be mad at her anyway. I mean, these ponies aren't Pokemon, but they are cute little things.
"I can tell you know your stuff when it comes to caring for Pokemon. If you didn't, I don't think all these Pokemon would hang around you," I tell her, gesturing to the large and diverse gathering of Pokemon around her house. "I can't fault you since you were just concerned about his safety, but Joltik is my friend. Would you really keep two friends apart?"
"No! I wouldn't dream of it," Fluttershy responded. "So... I don't have any problem giving him back. I trust you'll treat him right." A pair of Furrets bounded up to Fluttershy, holding a large jar between the two of them. Inside the jar was a familiar ball of yellow fuzz.
"Joltik!" The Fluttershy unscrewed the top of the jar and let him out. Joltik hopped out and took up his rightful place on my shoulder, almost like he'd never left. "I missed you buddy!" I gave him a scratch under his mandibles while he rubbed his head against my neck.
"Congrats you two," Redheart said. I turned to her and gave her a thumbs up.
"I wouldn't have found him without your help. I don't know how to repay you."
"Not so fast there. Your other stuff is still missing, so don't thank me until we've found it all." Redheart stared at my thumbs up for a few seconds before I realized she probably didn't know what the gesture meant. "After that, you can go to the Gym and give the Gym Leader there what for!"
"You're going to challenge the Gym?" Fluttershy asked. "But, no one has even reached the Leader yet."
"So I hear," I reply. "Sounds like it's a real problem. Do you know anything about the Gym Leader? I think I'm going to need all the help I can on this one."
Fluttershy thought for a moment.
"She's crazy," she responded with the same, mild tone she usually used. "But I would love to help you take her down a notch! I at least owe your Venomoth a nice big bowl of food. He did so well in that battle," Fluttershy said as she stroked Venomoth's abdomen. He perked right up at the mention of food.
"Honestly, I'm a little hungry myself. I don't supposed you ponies can cater to a vegetarian, can you?" I asked.
"Oh, lunch would be no trouble at all. Again, it's the least I could do," Fluttershy said. We all turned and headed for Fluttershy's house. Despite my situation, my spirits are very light.
"We can head into Ponyville and see if we can't locate your things after lunch. Sound like a plan, Garret?" Redheart asked.
"Sounds like a plan to me." At that time, there was no way I could have known the excitement and frustration that awaited me in Ponyville.
