I’ve always wanted to go on a Pokemon Adventure of my own but I never really felt like any Pokemon that I came across ever really liked me enough to become apart of my team. It always made me feel… I don’t know. Different. And not in a good way. I felt like I was kicked out of being a Trainer without anyone actually saying it to me. I felt unwanted by Pokemon. The day I was supposed to start my journey, I was 10 years old. Just like any other 10 year old, I was super excited for getting my 1st Pokemon and starting my adventure. My mother accompanied me going to Professor Juniper’s lab. Ohh. I also used to live in the Unova Region with just my mother. Her name is Nancy. Anyways, when I got there, Professor Juniper greeted us with a big smile on her face. She could see the eagerness on my face of meeting the 3 starter Pokemon.
Professor Juniper: Well hello there Matthew.
Matthew: Hi Juniper!
Professor Juniper: Are you ready to pick your starter Pokemon?
Matthew: Mhm!
Nancy: You should have seen him last night. He couldn’t stop talking about today.
Professor Juniper: -chuckles- I don’t blame him. I would be too if I was at his age. Well would you 2 please wait here a moment? I need to go get the PokeBalls.
Nancy: Yes.
Matthew: Yes but hurry please!
Professor Juniper: I will.
Professor Juniper headed to the back of the lab to get the PokeBalls that contained the starters. A couple of minutes passed and she came back into the room with a weird mechanical box with 3 PokeBalls inside. She set them on the table. She pressed a button on the device. It opened up, she took the PokeBalls and threw them up into the air. All 3 of the Pokemon popped out of their PokeBalls and landed right in front of us. I was so excited to see them. I’ve already seen them in person from a distance or on tv but it was a different feeling when you were going to actually own 1 of them. Juniper came up beside me and introduced me to them.
Professor Juniper: I’m sure you know their names already but please allow me to introduce you to them. This is Oshawott, the Water Type Pokemon. This little guy here is Tepig. That’s a Fire Type Pokemon. And this 1 here is Snivy. It’s a Grass Type Pokemon. So go on. Choose your starter.
Matthew: Yes! Hmm…
I thought about it long and hard. I finally made my decision. I was going over to Snivy to choose it. It looked me up and down and then it turned around and seemed to just pretend I wasn’t there. I was quite confused. Juniper and my mom seemed confused as well.
Matthew: W… Why is it doing that?
Professor Juniper: I’m not entirely sure. We have these Pokemon interact with humans everyday so they’re more comfortable with them.
Nancy: So this has never happened before?
Professor Juniper: No. Never. This Snivy is actually very affectionate towards people as well. So this behavior is highly strange.
Nancy: Umm… Maybe choose 1 of the other 2 hun.
Matthew: Ok…
I was disappointed that this Snivy didn’t accept me as its trainer but there were still 2 other starters for me to choose from. After thinking again, I went over to Tepig. I went to go pet it. It sniffed my hand for a couple of seconds and it too turned around and seemed to pretend that I wasn’t there. I was getting frustrated and upset. I LOVE Pokemon. I always wanted 1 since I was a very small child and now the day I was supposed to get 1, they were just being mean to me. I was trying to not cry but tears were welling up in my eyes. My mother took out a tissue and wiped my eyes.
Matthew: I don’t get it. Did I do something wrong?
Nancy: Impossible. You just got here sweetie and they have never seen you before.
Professor Juniper: This makes no sense. We had them interact with humans so we could evade this exact situation.
Matthew: Oshawott?
Oshawott: Osha…? Oshawott. -turns away from me-
Matthew: -starts tearing up and sniffling- It… It did the same thing.
Professor Juniper: Snivy! Tepig! Oshawott! What do you 3 think you’re doing?!
The 3 Pokemon looked up at the Professor but didn’t seem to care that their actions at that point was hurting my feelings. My mom came over and gave me a hug. Professor Juniper also consoled me. She felt horrible about the whole situation. She told me to stay there for a minute. She returned the 3 Pokemon back to their balls, put them back into the device and went to the back of the lab. We waited and she came back with 1 PokeBall.
Matthew: 1 PokeBall?
Professor Juniper: We have a Pokemon here that’s never been used before. It always seems to want to go on an adventure. Since the other 3 for some reason don’t want to go with you, I’m afraid we have to resort to this. I hope you don’t mind.
Matthew: -wipes tears away from my eyes- I-I don’t mind.
Nancy: What is it?
Professor Juniper: You’ll see. Alright! Come on out Lillipup!
Juniper threw the PokeBall up into the air and out came the Lillipup. I could already tell that it did have that urge to go on an adventure which made me feel better. I ran over to the little dog Pokemon to pick it up and hug it. But when I came close up to it, it looked at me, turned its back at me and returned back inside of its PokeBall. Everyone was shocked.
Matthew: I… don’t understand.
Nancy: Why are they doing this? My boy loves Pokemon. He would never do anything to hurt them.
Professor Juniper: I don’t… I… This makes no sense. I have no clue what is going on. Never in all my years of doing this has something like this occurred.
Matthew: -starts tearing up again- Pokemon… Pokemon don’t like me…
Nancy: Nonsense hunny! You know Sylveon loves you.
Matthew: Yea but… that’s your Pokemon. I want my own Pokemon.
Professor Juniper: I don’t know what to do. That’s all we have… I’m so sorry Nancy. And to you especially Matthew.
Nancy: It’s ok Juniper. It’s not your fault.
Matthew: …Come on mom. Let’s go home.
Nancy: What? But don’t you want-
Matthew: What’s the point? They don’t want me as their Trainer… Might as well go home and just stay there.
Professor Juniper: Matthew…
Nancy: Well… I think we should go now.
Professor Juniper: Yes. I completely understand. Try to have a good day you 2.
Matthew: Yea… Bye.
And with that, me and mom left the lab. No Pokemon and no adventure. I was very sad. As soon as we got home, I laid on the couch and cried. My mom and her Sylveon tried their best to cheer me up but nothing worked. I was sad throughout the whole day. We tried the whole week for me to get a starter but no matter what Pokemon was in front of me, they would do the same thing. Turn around and pretend to not notice me. I didn’t want to face the reality but it seemed as though my Pokemon Adventure would never happen. For the next 4 years, I stayed at home. It became more obvious to me through out those 4 years that Pokemon for some reason just did not like me, unless they were already owned by another Trainer. Then they seemed to be alright with me. Professor Juniper tried to figure the reason for this but she was unable to come up with an answer for that. By that point though, I had already accepted that no Pokemon would want to be caught by me. Throughout those years however, I could feel some kind of anger come up from inside of me. But I could never let it out for some reason. It was weird but I never let it bother me that much. 1 day, my mom and I were coming back home from the store. We walked past an alleyway and could hear some people yelling at something. Mother and I decided to sneakily go down there and see what was going on. When we reached the end, we could see some people using their Pokemon bully what seemed to be a Mudbray. It was rare to see 1 here in Unova. I didn’t like seeing Mudbray be in such pain and being scared. Mom hadn’t brought her Sylveon with us so we couldn’t battle them. For some reason though, I revealed myself to the group.
Matthew: Hey! Stop hurting that Mudbray!
Male Bully: Hmm. Well what do we have here. A little weakling trying to save another huh?
Female Bully: What are you doing here kid? Get going before we hurt you.
Nancy: Matthew! We can’t take them on! We don’t have Sylveon here with us remember?!
Matthew: But… That Mudbray…
Male Bully: No Pokemon huh? That makes things here interesting.
Female Bully: Ursaring! Shiftry! Focus on them!
Nancy: Ohh no!
The 2 strong looking Pokemon turned their gaze from the hurt Mudbray to me and my mother. I admit that I felt bad for getting ourselves into this situation especially with no way to protect ourselves. But that anger I felt for the past couple of years started to take hold of me. That scary feeling I was feeling just mere seconds ago was now gone and all I could feel was this unyielding rage. But again, I could not release it for some reason. Mother looked at me and could see the complete anger that was written all over my face. She was shocked at the expression.
Nancy: M… Matthew?
Female Bully: Oooo. Soooo scary. The boy can make an angry face.
Male Bully: Is that supposed to intimidate us or something? That’s just pissing me the fuck off.
Matthew: Mother…
Nancy: Y-Yes?
Matthew: May I… let it out?
Nancy: Let loose your emotions?
Female Bully: Alright. This is starting to get ridiculous.
Male Bully: Get ready to beat them up you 2!
Matthew: Mother!
Nancy: Uhh… Y-Yes!
Matthew: -thinking to myself- How strange… Now it feels like I can actually let all of this anger out. This will be interesting.
I calmly walked up to the 2 bullies. They had a smug loom on their face, stepped back and their Ursaring and Shiftry stepped up in front. They looked at me ready to attack. My mom didn’t know what I was doing. She tried to pull me back but the Shiftry fired off a Razor Leaf attack directed at her. She closed her eyes waiting for the attack to hit her but nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked but also horrified to see me have somehow caught all of the leaves… Although, some of them were in my flesh. But I couldn’t feel the pain right now. All I could feel was the rage within my body. The 2 bullies looked on in utter shock and confusion. The male bully commanded the Ursaring to use Mega Punch on me. The massive bear Pokemon ran up to me, made his hand into a fist and launched the attack. Everyone’s eyes widened with even more shock when I stopped the attack with just my hand. I looked up at the beast with a smile. However, it was a demented smile of sorts. 1 that just wanted to hurt people.
Male Bully: What the… What the hell is wrong with this kid?!
Matthew: What’s wrong with me? Nothing at all. Your Pokemon here though… Well…
I made a fist with my free hand and punched the Ursaring in the stomach. The attack sent the bear Pokemon flying backwards until it hit the wooden fence behind the bullies. No 1 could believe what they just saw. Me, a 14 year old boy, was somehow able to not only take 2 fairly strong attacks but I was able to knock out a Pokemon.
Female Bully: That’s… impossible! H-How did you do that?!
Matthew: Honestly? I have no idea. But I haven’t been able to release all of this rage I’ve had in me for the last couple of years. Until now that is.
Nancy: Is it… really because I gave you the go ahead to “let it out?”
Matthew: Seems to be the only answer I have. But for now… I have matters to attend to. -starts walking towards the bullies-
Male Bully: N-No! Stay back! Or else!
Matthew: You just saw me punch a fully evolved Ursaring in the gut and knock it out. You think your empty threats are gonna scare me?
Female Bully: Grrrr! Shiftry, Feint Attack!
The Pokemon obeyed the command that it was given and tried to land the attack. However, I was able to block it and kick it with massive power. It too was sent back flying towards the wooden fence, knocked out as soon as it hit it. The 2 bullies decided that they would try to get their hands dirty instead. With a swift uppercut though, I was able to knocked the young man off of his feet and slam down onto the ground, totally knocked out. The young woman stood there but she had a grin on her face for some reason.
Female Bully: -laughs- Well, that was interesting to see. But I’m afraid this whole freak show ends here.
Matthew: And why is that?
Female Bully: Well you are a boy and I am a girl. You honestly think you’re gonna- Urgh! W-Wha-
Matthew: Yea. I don’t care that you’re a girl. You’ll take a beating too.
Nancy: Matthew… No… My Arceus…
The young woman thought that I wouldn’t hit hurt simply because she was a girl but she was literally sorely mistaken. With a punch to the gut and a kick to the chest, the girl flew backwards, hitting the ground with a loud thud. And with that, not only were myself and mother safe but so was the Mudbray. The Donkey Pokemon slowly got onto its feet, walked over to me and nuzzled my hand. As if it was wanting me to pet it. This was the 1st time ever that a Pokemon had come up to me and not turn its back on me. The feeling of anger I had felt before was now residing and I could feel the happiness coming back within me. My mother came running up to me, hugging me with tears in her eyes.
Nancy: Matthew! What… What was that?
Matthew: I… don’t know. I’ve always had that anger feeling inside of me since I was 10 but I was never able to let it out for whatever reason.
Nancy: Was it really because I gave you permission though that you were able to do all… this?
Matthew: I guess so. I’ve never been able to release it before until now.
Nancy: Well I’m gonna make sure that something like this never happens again.
Matthew: But mom, I… Oogh…
Nancy: Hmm? Matt! What is it?!
Matthew: I don’t feel so… goo-
Nancy: Matt!
I felt my body go limp. I was falling to the ground but I could feel something stop me from falling but after that, I didn’t remember a thing. The next thing I remember was waking up in my room in my own bed. I pondered on if what I experienced was just a dream. But the bandages on my arm confirmed it for me that everything that happened was indeed real. I got up from my bed and went downstairs. Nobody was there so I decided check the backyard. Mom loved her garden. She was usually back there most of the time, working on her garden. My instinct was correct as when I opened the door, I could see my mom digging up the dirt and putting in flower seeds and covering the holes. She turned around and could see me on the porch. She ran up to me and gave me a hug. The 2 of us then sat down.
Nancy: I’m so glad you’re awake Matt.
Matthew: How long have I been out for?
Nancy: 4 days.
Matthew: 4 days?!
Nancy: Yes. You gave me quite a scare. After that whole ordeal though, I’m not surprised you’ve been out for this long.
Matthew: I remember feeling my body go limp and falling to the ground and then something stopping me. But after that, I don’t remember a thing.
Nancy: Not much happened after that. I had you carried back here, I bandaged up your arm and laid you into bed so you can heal from your injuries.
Matthew: Wait. How did you get me back here? No offense but you’re not strong enough to carry a limp body back to the house. It’s almost an hour away where we were!
Nancy: Well luckily for me and you, we had some help.
Mom whistled out loud. In seconds, I could hear something running towards us. Out further in the garden, I could see a figure coming closer and closer to us. When it got closer, I could see what it was and it made me smile. It was the Mudbray that was getting bullied from the other day. It ran up onto the porch and instantly tackled me onto the ground, rubbing its head on mine and in my hands. I was glad to see that it was ok but I didn’t know why it was still here.
Matthew: -chuckles- Ok Mudbray. I’m happy to see you too.
Mudbray: Mudbray Mud!
Matthew: I’m surprised to see you here though.
Nancy: Ohh yes! Mudbray here actually caught you before you hit the ground. It offered to help carry you back to the house despite it too being injured. But I helped it get better. It’s all healed up.
Matthew: But why is it still here? I thought it’d go back to the wild by now.
Nancy: Well… this might sound crazy but I think it appreciates you saving it that day. I think… I think it wants to stay with us. Well, more like with you.
Matthew: It does? Do you really think so?
Nancy: I do. It’s been by your side almost 24/7 since you fainted. I think you found a really good partner here.
Matthew: -chuckles that leads into teary eyed laughs- Mudbray… do you want to be my Pokemon?
Mudbray: -shakes its head yes- Bray Mud Mud!
Matthew: -wipes tears away from my eyes- Ohh! I got the perfect ball for you buddy.
I ran into the house and up the stairs in my bedroom and looked around in 1 of my drawers and finally found the PokeBall I wanted to have my 1st Pokemon in. I rushed back downstairs where Mudbray was patiently waiting for my return. I pulled out the ball, which was a Friend Ball.
Matthew: Alright buddy. You ready?
Mudbray: Mudbray! -shakes head yes-
Matthew: Ohh wait! Before that, let’s give you a nickname. Hmm… How about… Muddy. Do you like that name?
Mudbray: Mudbray Mudbray!
Matthew: -chuckles- Good. Alright Muddy. Here we go.
I took the Friend Ball and gently bopped the top of the head of Mudbray. The Pokemon went inside of the ball. It shook for a couple of seconds but then stopped, which signaled that the capture was a success. I looked down at the ball smiling. I finally had a Pokemon of my own. It wanted to be around me. I was so happy. But it was about to be less happy when my mom spoke to me.
Nancy: Ohh hunny! I’m so glad you caught your very 1st Pokemon. Honestly, I think you 2 will make a very good team.
Matthew: Thanks mom. I think we will too.
Nancy: But… we can’t ignore what happened the other day. We do need to talk about it.
Matthew: Yea… I know.
Nancy: What happened out there? None of that made ANY sense! You were able to defeat 2 fully evolved Pokemon AND they were pretty powerful!
Matthew: I know. I have no clue how that happened though. I just… All that anger from years of not having a Pokemon I guess caught up to me but-
Nancy: But you never let it out until I gave you permission to let it out. Why?
Matthew: I have no clue mom. I have no idea.
Nancy: -sighs- Well all I know is that I’m never gonna have you do that ever again.
Matthew: What?! But what if something like that happens again?!
Nancy: We’ll get out of it but in a different way. What you did was scary Matt. And you beat up a young woman. Not saying she didn’t deserve it but… Well you know.
Matthew: I know. I have no idea what came over me. But I can’t lie… It felt really damn good to get that out. But something tells me that that feeling will surface again.
Nancy: And we’ll make sure that it won’t ever happen again. I promise you it won’t.
Matthew: Well ok… If you say so. -thinking to myself- I still think if it’s needed again though that it should be allowed. Although, I wonder. Does it have to be mom or can anyone give me permission and it happens?
POKEMON TEAM!