Ryan's Story
Hello again. I'm going to take a little jump forward in the story. Nothing is worth mentioning for about 5 months after where I left off. So here goes...
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Aaron was traveling to a town called Ryca. He said we'd be there in about three days.
Ryan woke me up that morning. We were getting ready to leave and I had overslept. I yawned and got to my paws, walking out of the tent. Aaron quickly took it down and packed it away.
"Morning, Delta" he greeted me. I nodded up to him, knowing he wouldn't understand a word I said. He knelt down to me. "You hungry?"
He held a small apple in front of me. I took it from him and smiled to him. I scarfed down the fruit, enjoying the sweet and tangy taste of it. I looked back up to him to try to thank him, but didn't know how. I figured I might as well try something though, so I rubbed the side of my head against his leg affectionately. He reached down and scratched behind my ear.
"You're welcome. Now then, let's get moving."
He started walking off down the path, Ryan at his side. I scurried to follow them and then matched their pace on Aaron's other side. We continued along the path silently for about an hour before Ryan tried starting a conversation.
"Hey, Delta?" he said.
"Yeah, Ryan?" I replied.
"How do you like being with Aaron?"
"It's okay, I guess. I can't really compare it to anything else. He's a nice guy, though."
"Yeah, he is. He's still no Jake though, I'll never forget him."
"What happened with Jake?" I asked curiously.
"Well, Jake was my original trainer. I'm sure you know that seeing as you weren't confused when I said his name. Peter must have told you about him. Anyways, Jake caught me when I was about a year old. I was still a Pikachu then, and Peter was still just a little Pichu. He was only a month old at the time. After Jake caught me, he took me to a Pokemon Center to get cleaned and patched up after the battle. I'm not sure if you know this, but when a trainer wants to catch a Pokemon, he or she has to defeat them in battle first. So after I recovered, he began using me for combat regularly. I became stronger as I gained experience from battle. Eventually, he thought his team of Pokemon was strong enough to face a Gym Leader. They're the strongest trainers around, aside from the Elite Four he mentioned. It was a long fight, but we lost. Kind of an embarrassing defeat for me especially. I had just finished taking down a Starmie, and I was tired. It put up an incredible fight for a water type. The Gym Leader called out an Azumarill to challenge me next. I dropped in a single hit. Sure, I was exhausted, but to fall from a single water gun is just wrong. After that defeat, Jake decided to train us some more.
"This is where my story takes an interesting turn. Jake called me from my Pokeball one night and held a small, glowing, yellow stone in my face. I stared at it, not knowing it was a Thunderstone. He touched it to my skin and I felt a sensation I'd only felt once before. I evolved. I became what stands before you now, a Raichu. The next day, we returned to the Gym, and I easily defeated all of the Leader's Pokemon. I wasn't happy, though. I didn't want to evolve. I began to hate Jake at that time. He evolved me against my will, without even informing me of what he was doing.
"I ran away a few times, but he always found me. The last time I ran away, however, is where I began to take a liking to him. I ran until I came across a pond. It was hot that day, and I felt like taking a short swim. I dove into the water, certain that Jake would never find me there anyway. I came out of the water and sat on the bank, keeping my hind paws in the water. I heard footsteps and looked in the direction they came from. Jake had found me. I knew I couldn't get away from him, so I just sat there. He sat down next to me.
"'Why did you run away again?' he asked me. I looked into his eyes, and was surprised to see a caring and concerned look in them.
"'I just want to get away and be with my family again' I told him, but I was sure he didn't understand me.
"'Family? You have a family?'
"I had no choice but to stare at him for a moment. He understood what I said.
"'How can you understand me?'
"'I've been studying you ever since I caught you. How you speak and behave. I can translate almost anything you say with this new understanding.'
"'Really? That's fascinating, but also a little creepy.'
"He laughed when I said that. He put his hand on my head before speaking again.
"'Now, you mentioned family. Did I separate you from them?'
"'Yeah, you did. My mom and my little brother.'
"'Brother?'
"'Yep, brother. His name is Peter. He'd be about 8 months old by now, and evolved from a Pichu.'
"'His name is Peter then? What about you, I never knew your name.'
"'I'm Ryan.'
"'Ryan. Well, Ryan, why have you been trying to escape from me? Is it because you want to see your brother?'
"'Partially. I'm also pretty upset with you.'
"'How come?'
"'You evolved me without warning and against my will, Jake.'
"'I did warn you, I held the stone so you could see it before I evolved you.'
"'Yeah, but I had no idea what it was. I've heard of Thunderstones, but I'd never seen one before.'
"'Well, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.'
"'It's alright. There's nothing that can be done about it now.'
"'Maybe there's some way I can make it up to you.'
"He stood up and grabbed my Pokeball from his belt.
"'No! Please don't put me in there. I can't stand being in that thing.'
"He stared at the ball for a second. 'What's wrong. You're not afraid of it, are you?'
"'Actually, I kind of am. Ever since you caught me, I have. I've become a bit claustrophobic.'
"'Really? I never knew that. Well, if you don't want to go inside it, then at least come back with me.'
"I stood up and followed him back to his camp.
"The next day we continued our journey, but he took a different path than he said we should follow. I was suspicious of him, still not trusting him that much. Within a few more days, we reached the forest he caught me in.
"'Go on, Ryan. You're free. Go be with your family' he instructed me.
"'What? You're getting rid of me?'
"'Not getting rid of you, returning you. You said so yourself you wanted to see your little brother. Now, go to him.'
"'But, he won't recognize me like this, and besides, I don't even know where he is.'
"'If you want, I can help you look for him.'
"'No thank you. It'll probably scare the life out of him having a trainer and his Pokemon around him. He probably knows what happened to me.'
"'Well, I want you to go and find him. What you do after that is none of my business.'
"'So you want me to leave?'
"'Yes, I want you to leave, find your family, and live a peaceful life together. I've done enough damage to you and your family. I want to be able to do something good. I can also direct you to a place where you'll never be bothered by trainers again.'
"'Really? No trainers, ever?'
"'I can't promise ever, but they won't be able to capture you.'
"'Where is this place?'
"'You see this road we're on? If you follow it about two miles east, you'll come across a Pokemon Daycare. It's a place that's owned by a human, but any Pokemon can stay there and live there. Now, go find your family, Ryan.'
"He put his hand on my head and smiled at me. I could see a small tear in his eyes as I stared into them.
"'Thank you, Jake. I'll never forget you or your kindness these last few days. Goodbye.'
"'Goodbye, Ryan.'
"I ran off into the forest, desperately seeking Peter and my mother. Along the way I ran into a Jolteon and a Flareon. In case you're wondering, those were your parents, Delta. I knew I'd seen that Jolteon before when Greg brought her to us. They had just moved into the forest, same way as I had. They were released by their trainer to find a home. I asked them if they'd seen a pair of Pikachu, one much younger than the other. They told me they'd seen two Pikachu not too far from where we were. I thanked them and tore off in the direction they told me. Sure enough, I found them. I didn't recognize Peter right away, but my mother hadn't changed a bit. She seemed much more depressed than I remembered, but I assume that was because she lost her firstborn child. I jumped out in front of them.
"'Who are you? What do you want?' she screamed in fear.
"'Mom, it's me, Ryan.'
"'Ryan? You couldn't be.'
"'I am.'
"'If you're really my son, then you'd know his name' she said, pointing at the small Pikachu behind her. "I've never told anyone his name besides Ryan."
"'He's Peter, my brother.'
"'Ryan! It really is you! I've missed you so much. How did you get away?'
"'Jake brought me back here and released me.'
"'Jake?'
"'The human that captured me.'
"'Oh, the monster that screwed up my family.'
"'Oh, come on, mom. He's not that bad. He brought me back here to find you.'
"'Find us? He's here to catch us all!'
"'No, mom, calm down. He's not here. He left me about a half mile away from here.'
"'You sure?'
"'I'm sure. He even told me about a place we could live that we'd never be bothered by trainers again.'
"'No trainers, you say?'
"'Yep. I think we should go so we never get split up again.'
"Just then, a pack of Growlithe appeared behind me. I turned around to see the largest one, their leader, staring me in the face. They attacked us. I was able to fight them off, but not before they did something I'll never forgive them for. Just like you, my mother was killed by a Growlithe. I'm assuming the same one from the description Beta gave me before she died.
"I reintroduced myself to Peter after our mother died, telling him about what happened while I was with Jake. He was glad to see me again, even though he didn't really know me. He filled me in on what was going on since I was gone. It seems our mother got on that Growlithe's bad side a few days before. She got into a fight with him for taking food from his territory.
"We decided to go to the Daycare the next morning. And I'm sure you can figure out the rest" he finished.
I stood there, taking in his story. I looked up into the sky and was surprised to see that it was late in the evening.
"I hate that Growlithe so much for what he's done. If I ever get the chance, I will make him pay" Ryan said abruptly.
"Make him pay? You want to kill him?" I asked.
"Make him suffer. Let him feel the pain that we've felt."
"Wow" was all that I could say. Ryan was on a quest for vengeance. I figured it would be in my best interest not to upset him.
"This looks like a good spot. Why don't we set up camp here, guys" Aaron said to us. Ryan and I both nodded to him.
He stopped and Ryan sneaked up behind him. He stealthily grabbed the three Pokeballs on his belt and set them on the ground. Aaron began to pitch the tent as Ryan opened the three balls. Catherine, Greg, and Peter materialized before us. Aaron looked over his shoulder to see them.
"What's going on? I just had the balls on my..." he felt along his belt, the Pokeballs no longer there. He sighed. "Ryan, at least let me know if you're going to do that."
Ryan jokingly pointed at me sitting on the ground while trying to make himself look innocent. Aaron laughed and continued his work.
"Ry, did you snag us from his belt again?" Greg asked him.
"Kind of."
"I see. Well, Delta, how are you feeling today? You still feel sick?" Peter asked me.
I had been taken ill a few days before then. A mild case of 'PokeFlu', which is the equivalent of Influenza in humans, except that it's not contagious. Peter had treated it with some medicine that he convinced Aaron to buy at the last city we visited. I had overslept that morning because I was still sick the night before, so I hadn't gotten any real rest until late that night when it cleared up.
"I'm feeling a lot better now, Peter, thank you" I told him.
"That's good to hear."
Greg and Catherine were having a conversation amongst themselves on the opposite side of the camp. They'd been becoming good friends. I wasn't sure what they were talking about and I thought it best not to interrupt them to find out.
Aaron finished setting up the tent and walked inside of it. Greg and Catherine followed him.
"Why don't you go inside and get some sleep, Delta" Ryan said.
I yawned softly in response before I too went inside. Peter and Ryan stayed out of the tent. I laid down in a corner, trying to fall asleep. Peter came into the tent, looked around for a second, then walked over to me.
"Ryan told you about our mother, did he?" he asked.
"Yeah, he did."
"I miss her so much. I'm sure you feel the same way about yours."
"Yes, I do miss her, but I didn't know her that well. I was separated from her when I was just two weeks old. I miss Gamma as well. I wonder if he's doing alright..."
"I'm sure he's fine. He's got Jenny to look after him. Don't worry." He yawned. "Oh, I'm tired. I'm going to get some sleep, I suggest you do the same. Good night."
"Night, Peter."
He walked to the adjacent corner to mine and fell onto his belly. I could hear him snoring almost immediately. Ryan walked into the tent right after and saw him. He walked over to him and sat down. He gently stroked one of his paws up and down his brother's back. Peter shifted a bit in his sleep. Ryan looked over to me.
"Good night, Delta. See you in the morning" he said, then removed his paw from Peter's back and laid down next to him and closed his eyes.
I followed suit and rested my head on top of my forepaws. My eyelids covered my eyes and I drifted off to sleep.
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Ryan told me quite the tale that day. I learned much about his past from his story, about his life with Jake. Hearing his story made me want to meet this person. He seemed like an interesting and kind human to be around. Anyways, I'm getting a bit tired. I'll see you later. Good night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aaron was traveling to a town called Ryca. He said we'd be there in about three days.
Ryan woke me up that morning. We were getting ready to leave and I had overslept. I yawned and got to my paws, walking out of the tent. Aaron quickly took it down and packed it away.
"Morning, Delta" he greeted me. I nodded up to him, knowing he wouldn't understand a word I said. He knelt down to me. "You hungry?"
He held a small apple in front of me. I took it from him and smiled to him. I scarfed down the fruit, enjoying the sweet and tangy taste of it. I looked back up to him to try to thank him, but didn't know how. I figured I might as well try something though, so I rubbed the side of my head against his leg affectionately. He reached down and scratched behind my ear.
"You're welcome. Now then, let's get moving."
He started walking off down the path, Ryan at his side. I scurried to follow them and then matched their pace on Aaron's other side. We continued along the path silently for about an hour before Ryan tried starting a conversation.
"Hey, Delta?" he said.
"Yeah, Ryan?" I replied.
"How do you like being with Aaron?"
"It's okay, I guess. I can't really compare it to anything else. He's a nice guy, though."
"Yeah, he is. He's still no Jake though, I'll never forget him."
"What happened with Jake?" I asked curiously.
"Well, Jake was my original trainer. I'm sure you know that seeing as you weren't confused when I said his name. Peter must have told you about him. Anyways, Jake caught me when I was about a year old. I was still a Pikachu then, and Peter was still just a little Pichu. He was only a month old at the time. After Jake caught me, he took me to a Pokemon Center to get cleaned and patched up after the battle. I'm not sure if you know this, but when a trainer wants to catch a Pokemon, he or she has to defeat them in battle first. So after I recovered, he began using me for combat regularly. I became stronger as I gained experience from battle. Eventually, he thought his team of Pokemon was strong enough to face a Gym Leader. They're the strongest trainers around, aside from the Elite Four he mentioned. It was a long fight, but we lost. Kind of an embarrassing defeat for me especially. I had just finished taking down a Starmie, and I was tired. It put up an incredible fight for a water type. The Gym Leader called out an Azumarill to challenge me next. I dropped in a single hit. Sure, I was exhausted, but to fall from a single water gun is just wrong. After that defeat, Jake decided to train us some more.
"This is where my story takes an interesting turn. Jake called me from my Pokeball one night and held a small, glowing, yellow stone in my face. I stared at it, not knowing it was a Thunderstone. He touched it to my skin and I felt a sensation I'd only felt once before. I evolved. I became what stands before you now, a Raichu. The next day, we returned to the Gym, and I easily defeated all of the Leader's Pokemon. I wasn't happy, though. I didn't want to evolve. I began to hate Jake at that time. He evolved me against my will, without even informing me of what he was doing.
"I ran away a few times, but he always found me. The last time I ran away, however, is where I began to take a liking to him. I ran until I came across a pond. It was hot that day, and I felt like taking a short swim. I dove into the water, certain that Jake would never find me there anyway. I came out of the water and sat on the bank, keeping my hind paws in the water. I heard footsteps and looked in the direction they came from. Jake had found me. I knew I couldn't get away from him, so I just sat there. He sat down next to me.
"'Why did you run away again?' he asked me. I looked into his eyes, and was surprised to see a caring and concerned look in them.
"'I just want to get away and be with my family again' I told him, but I was sure he didn't understand me.
"'Family? You have a family?'
"I had no choice but to stare at him for a moment. He understood what I said.
"'How can you understand me?'
"'I've been studying you ever since I caught you. How you speak and behave. I can translate almost anything you say with this new understanding.'
"'Really? That's fascinating, but also a little creepy.'
"He laughed when I said that. He put his hand on my head before speaking again.
"'Now, you mentioned family. Did I separate you from them?'
"'Yeah, you did. My mom and my little brother.'
"'Brother?'
"'Yep, brother. His name is Peter. He'd be about 8 months old by now, and evolved from a Pichu.'
"'His name is Peter then? What about you, I never knew your name.'
"'I'm Ryan.'
"'Ryan. Well, Ryan, why have you been trying to escape from me? Is it because you want to see your brother?'
"'Partially. I'm also pretty upset with you.'
"'How come?'
"'You evolved me without warning and against my will, Jake.'
"'I did warn you, I held the stone so you could see it before I evolved you.'
"'Yeah, but I had no idea what it was. I've heard of Thunderstones, but I'd never seen one before.'
"'Well, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.'
"'It's alright. There's nothing that can be done about it now.'
"'Maybe there's some way I can make it up to you.'
"He stood up and grabbed my Pokeball from his belt.
"'No! Please don't put me in there. I can't stand being in that thing.'
"He stared at the ball for a second. 'What's wrong. You're not afraid of it, are you?'
"'Actually, I kind of am. Ever since you caught me, I have. I've become a bit claustrophobic.'
"'Really? I never knew that. Well, if you don't want to go inside it, then at least come back with me.'
"I stood up and followed him back to his camp.
"The next day we continued our journey, but he took a different path than he said we should follow. I was suspicious of him, still not trusting him that much. Within a few more days, we reached the forest he caught me in.
"'Go on, Ryan. You're free. Go be with your family' he instructed me.
"'What? You're getting rid of me?'
"'Not getting rid of you, returning you. You said so yourself you wanted to see your little brother. Now, go to him.'
"'But, he won't recognize me like this, and besides, I don't even know where he is.'
"'If you want, I can help you look for him.'
"'No thank you. It'll probably scare the life out of him having a trainer and his Pokemon around him. He probably knows what happened to me.'
"'Well, I want you to go and find him. What you do after that is none of my business.'
"'So you want me to leave?'
"'Yes, I want you to leave, find your family, and live a peaceful life together. I've done enough damage to you and your family. I want to be able to do something good. I can also direct you to a place where you'll never be bothered by trainers again.'
"'Really? No trainers, ever?'
"'I can't promise ever, but they won't be able to capture you.'
"'Where is this place?'
"'You see this road we're on? If you follow it about two miles east, you'll come across a Pokemon Daycare. It's a place that's owned by a human, but any Pokemon can stay there and live there. Now, go find your family, Ryan.'
"He put his hand on my head and smiled at me. I could see a small tear in his eyes as I stared into them.
"'Thank you, Jake. I'll never forget you or your kindness these last few days. Goodbye.'
"'Goodbye, Ryan.'
"I ran off into the forest, desperately seeking Peter and my mother. Along the way I ran into a Jolteon and a Flareon. In case you're wondering, those were your parents, Delta. I knew I'd seen that Jolteon before when Greg brought her to us. They had just moved into the forest, same way as I had. They were released by their trainer to find a home. I asked them if they'd seen a pair of Pikachu, one much younger than the other. They told me they'd seen two Pikachu not too far from where we were. I thanked them and tore off in the direction they told me. Sure enough, I found them. I didn't recognize Peter right away, but my mother hadn't changed a bit. She seemed much more depressed than I remembered, but I assume that was because she lost her firstborn child. I jumped out in front of them.
"'Who are you? What do you want?' she screamed in fear.
"'Mom, it's me, Ryan.'
"'Ryan? You couldn't be.'
"'I am.'
"'If you're really my son, then you'd know his name' she said, pointing at the small Pikachu behind her. "I've never told anyone his name besides Ryan."
"'He's Peter, my brother.'
"'Ryan! It really is you! I've missed you so much. How did you get away?'
"'Jake brought me back here and released me.'
"'Jake?'
"'The human that captured me.'
"'Oh, the monster that screwed up my family.'
"'Oh, come on, mom. He's not that bad. He brought me back here to find you.'
"'Find us? He's here to catch us all!'
"'No, mom, calm down. He's not here. He left me about a half mile away from here.'
"'You sure?'
"'I'm sure. He even told me about a place we could live that we'd never be bothered by trainers again.'
"'No trainers, you say?'
"'Yep. I think we should go so we never get split up again.'
"Just then, a pack of Growlithe appeared behind me. I turned around to see the largest one, their leader, staring me in the face. They attacked us. I was able to fight them off, but not before they did something I'll never forgive them for. Just like you, my mother was killed by a Growlithe. I'm assuming the same one from the description Beta gave me before she died.
"I reintroduced myself to Peter after our mother died, telling him about what happened while I was with Jake. He was glad to see me again, even though he didn't really know me. He filled me in on what was going on since I was gone. It seems our mother got on that Growlithe's bad side a few days before. She got into a fight with him for taking food from his territory.
"We decided to go to the Daycare the next morning. And I'm sure you can figure out the rest" he finished.
I stood there, taking in his story. I looked up into the sky and was surprised to see that it was late in the evening.
"I hate that Growlithe so much for what he's done. If I ever get the chance, I will make him pay" Ryan said abruptly.
"Make him pay? You want to kill him?" I asked.
"Make him suffer. Let him feel the pain that we've felt."
"Wow" was all that I could say. Ryan was on a quest for vengeance. I figured it would be in my best interest not to upset him.
"This looks like a good spot. Why don't we set up camp here, guys" Aaron said to us. Ryan and I both nodded to him.
He stopped and Ryan sneaked up behind him. He stealthily grabbed the three Pokeballs on his belt and set them on the ground. Aaron began to pitch the tent as Ryan opened the three balls. Catherine, Greg, and Peter materialized before us. Aaron looked over his shoulder to see them.
"What's going on? I just had the balls on my..." he felt along his belt, the Pokeballs no longer there. He sighed. "Ryan, at least let me know if you're going to do that."
Ryan jokingly pointed at me sitting on the ground while trying to make himself look innocent. Aaron laughed and continued his work.
"Ry, did you snag us from his belt again?" Greg asked him.
"Kind of."
"I see. Well, Delta, how are you feeling today? You still feel sick?" Peter asked me.
I had been taken ill a few days before then. A mild case of 'PokeFlu', which is the equivalent of Influenza in humans, except that it's not contagious. Peter had treated it with some medicine that he convinced Aaron to buy at the last city we visited. I had overslept that morning because I was still sick the night before, so I hadn't gotten any real rest until late that night when it cleared up.
"I'm feeling a lot better now, Peter, thank you" I told him.
"That's good to hear."
Greg and Catherine were having a conversation amongst themselves on the opposite side of the camp. They'd been becoming good friends. I wasn't sure what they were talking about and I thought it best not to interrupt them to find out.
Aaron finished setting up the tent and walked inside of it. Greg and Catherine followed him.
"Why don't you go inside and get some sleep, Delta" Ryan said.
I yawned softly in response before I too went inside. Peter and Ryan stayed out of the tent. I laid down in a corner, trying to fall asleep. Peter came into the tent, looked around for a second, then walked over to me.
"Ryan told you about our mother, did he?" he asked.
"Yeah, he did."
"I miss her so much. I'm sure you feel the same way about yours."
"Yes, I do miss her, but I didn't know her that well. I was separated from her when I was just two weeks old. I miss Gamma as well. I wonder if he's doing alright..."
"I'm sure he's fine. He's got Jenny to look after him. Don't worry." He yawned. "Oh, I'm tired. I'm going to get some sleep, I suggest you do the same. Good night."
"Night, Peter."
He walked to the adjacent corner to mine and fell onto his belly. I could hear him snoring almost immediately. Ryan walked into the tent right after and saw him. He walked over to him and sat down. He gently stroked one of his paws up and down his brother's back. Peter shifted a bit in his sleep. Ryan looked over to me.
"Good night, Delta. See you in the morning" he said, then removed his paw from Peter's back and laid down next to him and closed his eyes.
I followed suit and rested my head on top of my forepaws. My eyelids covered my eyes and I drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ryan told me quite the tale that day. I learned much about his past from his story, about his life with Jake. Hearing his story made me want to meet this person. He seemed like an interesting and kind human to be around. Anyways, I'm getting a bit tired. I'll see you later. Good night.