Humans were… strange creatures.
They didn't evolve. They couldn't use the elements to their advantage. They didn't have any special abilities or powers. They walked with a pair of clumsy legs. Really, it was a mystery how their race still managed to survive.
But, as I had been told as a young Treecko, they were also a race to be feared. It would be unwise for a Pokemon to judge them by their appearances, for the creatures were awfully crafty. And if a Pokemon were to back one of them in a corner, it sometimes could be like awakening a demon within. Most of all though, it was their unpredictable nature that made them dangerous.
Take today, for instance. Three humans- two adult males and one female child, barely out of her toddling days- walked through the dense Fogbound Forest. What was out of the ordinary was that humans never strayed this far from their villages and towns; they wanted to keep as much distance from us as we did them. I watch them from my perch above in the treetops, eying the crude spears the two men carried for protection, and the axes and knives strapped to their waists, before deciding to follow in order to discover what they were up to.
My curiosity is going to be the end of me someday, I'm certain of this.
Eventually, they come to a stop in a clearing almost directly in the middle of Fogbound Forest. Though few humans had the natural ability to understand the dialects and languages of other Pokemon, many of us, including myself, could understand them. "We'll rest here for a while. Lira, sweetie, go search for firewood, will you? Thomas and I will see take care of the rest," says the eldest male.
"Yes, sir," replies the girl, nodding enthusiastically, smiling at the thought of being useful. She scurries off to do her task, her bag- much too large for her- swinging rhythmically at her side.
Once she is out of earshot and we can no longer hear the sound of her feet padding on the ground, the eldest male looks to his second and sighs, "Come along now, Thomas. We can't be here when she returns and need to create as much distance as we can so she won't follow us back."
"Father, is it right to leave her here? She's just a girl," the young man questions, his conscience nagging at him.
"I feel the same, but believe me, with her parents gone sending her out here is a mercy. No one in the village can afford to take care of another child," he places a hand on his son's shoulder, gripping it tightly, "It is better this way, for a Pokemon in these woods to take her swiftly, than for her to die slowly due to starvation back home."
They intend to leave a child for dead? I think disbelievingly. Many humans and Pokemon alike in this dark future were cold and hateful, but something like this seemed beyond cruel to even the hardest of villains. A human, especially one so young and small, had no chance of survival out here alone. She would have maybe a day or two at most before a hungry Seviper or Arbok decided to try and take an exploratory bite out of her.
"Mr. Ratchet! Tommy! Look, I did it!" cheers the girl as she returns from her scavenging, carrying a bundle of sticks in her small arms and snapping me out of my musings. Her smile fades away when she returns to an abandoned clearing, the other two humans no longer in sight. I can see the first signs of fear creeping onto her face- widened eyes, a slightly dropped jaw, her expression a mix of confusion, denial, and sudden loneliness. "Mr. Ratchet?" she called out timidly, backing towards a tree, "Tommy? …Where are you?"
I begin to feel sorry for the creature. Maybe I should jump down and help her; though human, she was only a kid. If I just left her here like this, I'm not certain if I could forgive myself, for doing nothing would seem just as if I condemned her to perish myself. Should I?
No, a voice in my head orders before I can leap to the ground below. How often this occurred, I wasn't certain, but I know that voice just as well as my own, because, well, it is me in a sense. It's the darker part that tries to take control of me as it's done many other Pokemon in this world. It's a voice of corruption and malice. Leave it; it's not your charge. The human will only slow you down and if her own kind didn't want her then she must be a hindrance if not worse. I shake my head, as if that'll make the horrid, yet so siren-like voice go away.
My sudden movement rattles the leaves around me and a frail twig snaps off one of the branches, landing not far from the human below. Gasping in surprise, she drops her collection of sticks and walks into the clearing's center, looking around everywhere for the cause of the sound, "Tommy? Is that you? I don't like this game; I'm scared!"
We both hear a sharp cry of familiar laughter from some ways far off. I'd recognize that noise anywhere; the Sableye. They've heard her yelling. Those Pokemon were nothing more than thugs. Looking down, I see that they've already begun to surround her, preparing to attack her from behind. For what reason could they possibly have to harm a child except just to be cruel? It seemed horrible, even for them.
When she spins around and spots them, she screams at the top of her lungs, the shrill cry piercing the typically still air. She starts running and they chase her in hot pursuit, swiftly gaining. A part of me- which part, I am not certain- causes me to follow. It would only be a matter of moments before they had her.
Somewhere along the way, she injures herself. She runs, but with a limp, one leg trying to drag behind her. As luck would have it, she makes it to the face of a cliff, crawling into a crack and out of reach of the Sableye. As many of them as possible shove an arm into the crevice to yank her out. Through the laughter, I can hear her sobbing fitfully; a sad, gut- wrenching sound. She was trapped and she knew it. Any attempt to leave her hiding place, no matter how long she waited, and at least one of the Sableye would have her. I could see it in their crystal eyes that they were determined to get to the girl.
I act without thinking, jumping them from behind and firing an Energy Ball at the nearest Sableye. Because of the suddenness of the attack, he's unable to see it coming and defend himself. The power behind the blast sends him soaring forward to smash his skull into the rock face, collapsing on the ground in a heap.
I soon have the attention of the other five. Two of them lunge towards me and unleash their Fury Swipes. I jump out of the way, leaping back into the trees for cover, and watch with a sly grin as the pair slams into each other instead. Although strong in numbers, the Sableye were rather easy to pick off once they had been separated, or if they had no real leadership amongst the group, such as with these. Compared to the agents that commanded the, they weren't worth the dirt and rock they so often groveled on at Dialga's feet.
The other three attempt to form a sort of one-mindedness in the next attack. One of them uses Shadow Sneak upon the branch I stand on to make it fall and I with it, while the other two use Astonish at the same time at me as soon as I land. I manage to avoid the first strike, but the second hits dead on, causing me to grunt as I fall forward on my hands and knees.
"Master Dusknoir will be pleased if we catch this one," one of the Sableye chuckles to him comrades,
"Hey, since the Grass-type wants the human too," another inquires, "maybe we shouldn't go ahead and finish her… Maybe we should bring her back with us as well."
"Don't be stupid! We have our orders!"
"Not from Masters Dialga or Dusknoir, and if the human is important enough to kill, then shouldn't we-"
"Shut up! I'm not going to risk getting mangled for your dumb ideas!" The others begin to murmur in agreement with the first, "Let's just get Grovyle while he's down! Now!"
I keep up the act, staying very still as four of them approach and surround me, the last one heading over to retrieve his knocked out friend. As soon as they're within range, however, I make my move, using Leaf Blade to slice through them, catching them off guard. Very soon indeed, four more unconscious forms rest at my feet.
The one remaining spins on his heel to face me, his arrogance and laughter caught in his throat and replaced by panic. I stride over to him, the appendages on my arms still glowing a bright green, and he backs away, tripping over one downed Sableye in the process.
"N-now hang on!" he stutters, scooting backward along the earth as his voice quickens in pace, "Y-you'll regret this, G-Grovyle! You don't want risk Dialga's wrath any more than you already have, do you? Think of what you're doing? H-helping out a human! We're just doing our job is all- just business."
"And what if that human is my business?" I ask, toying with him with the lie, "Do you really think I'd let you have her?"
"Y-you're crazy!" The Sableye gazes over to his fallen allies and then eyes the ground. I realize what he's doing all too late, lunging for him just after he's already burrowed into the dirt and retreated who knows where. I hate that he escaped me, but there is no use chasing after him now.
"Cowards," I scowl, glancing down at the newly created hole in the earth before looking around at the strewn about groaning bodies, "Cowards, the whole lot of you."
A soft, low whimper draws my attention back to the crevice in the wall. The human child was still inside. Peering in I can see her with her back turned to the opening, balled up to get herself more room, almost out of reach, clutching something tightly in her arms as she sniffled. Shaking my head, I reach in with one arm to try to get her out. My arm being longer than the Sableyes', I easily clasp her shoulder. "Alright, the coast is clear. You should be fine now." She very likely has no idea what I'm saying, but speaking to her may calm her nerves and perhaps also help to rationalize my own sanity for getting involved in the first place.
I blink in surprise before my face contorts into an expression of annoyance when she simply pushes my hand away. Unfortunately for both of us, I don't have time to try to coax or wait her out. Any minute now, that Sableye that got away could return with reinforcements, perhaps even Dusknoir, Dialga's top agent, himself. I still didn't know what they wanted with the girl, but I had a fair enough price on my head as it was. All of us who opposed Primal Dialga's rule, even those just rumored too, did. The Sableye I can easily take care of, but an agent like Dusknoir on my tail isn't something I want to risk, especially while having to guard someone who would prove practically useless in battle. I reach in further and tug at the tangled mat of brown fur on her head.
She puts up more of a fight than I expected in something so small, struggling and screaming with a vengeance. It's as if I'm trying to keep hold of a riled up Ponyta, bucking and thrashing madly. I blame her sudden source of strength on her ever growing desire to survive this mess. Maybe I should've let the Sableye get her, I think as I place my feet against the rock face to steady myself and pull back, for just long enough to see how much of a fight she'd give them before keeling over anyway.
Finally, I'm able to yank her out and she topples out of the crevice, falling on her side. I stand over her, examining the creature up close that I just saved while trying to catch my breath front the recent fights. I admit, she's not as terrible as most other Pokemon describe humans to be. In fact, she seems downright harmless, too weakened, hurt, and scared to do anything. I stand corrected on my past deduction; she wouldn't have even lasted a few hours. Perhaps it is because she is only a child- their more terrible traits may only come in adulthood- but in no way, shape, or form does she appear like some viscous killer to me. In fact, she seems pretty ductile and gentle.
After a long moment of staring at the earth, she looks up at the scene around her, gasping at the Sableye. I see her begin to quiver and thinking she may be going into some state of shock, take a step closer. Her head snaps back to look behind her, right at me, and she starts screaming once more. "N-no… No!" The human uses one hand to move herself away from me and the other is lifted feebly in front of her face, as if that would protect her from an attack. Looking in her shining with unshed tears eyes, I see fear in its rawest of forms.
I wonder for a second or two while she's so afraid of me until I realize what I must seem to her; a monster. I'm still tense from battle and paranoia. The appendages on my arms are still glowing from my Leaf Blade attack, but I quickly stop them once I see this. And surely she's smart enough to fit two and two together; her first attackers are all knocked out and now I'm here, standing over them all. She must know that if the Sableye were a threat to her, I'm an even worse one.
Slowly, trying to calm down and appear as harmless as I can, I reach out a hand for her to take, kneeling on one knee, but instead of accepting my offer to help her up, she seals her eyes closed and flinches. This action then makes me discover what this child has that has drawn me so; she has my empathy. She's a little kid left all alone with no one to turn to. And I understand how terrifying that can be. Although I was older than she when I left to be on my own, my parents were hard to make certain I didn't fall to the ruin that was the world, shaping me into a survivor. I learned that hope was a delusion, friendship wasn't eternal, and trust could very easily be a death trap. I had a family, yes, but I took care of myself.
But she doesn't know how to survive, too young to have learned all she needs. She can only run and hide, wishing for help that would never come.
I lift her up and hold her comfortingly, despite the voice screaming in my ears to go before I made a mistake that could cost me my life. The thing is though, once she is in my arms, it's as if the voice never existed at all. It goes silent in an instant, giving me a feeling of peace I've never known. Was this a gift the child had or an ability her race knew that Pokemon were unaware of?
It's as if she's frozen in place. She holds her breath, her eyes wide and wild in fright, but she doesn't try to get away, only understand. I run on hand over the back of her head, letting her lean against me and rest her head on my shoulder. "It's alright; you're safe now," I say softly, "As long as I'm here, no one will ever harm you. I promise."
And then she starts to cry fitfully, letting everything welled up inside her out. She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. I feel her shift in my hold as she puts more of her weight on one side than the other and know her injury must now be getting to her. I feel myself smile- truly smile, something I rarely ever do, as another new feeling fills the emptiness of my heart and flows through my body and soul; warmth.
Little did I know it at the time, but that was where a friendship I never thought possible began.