Story Notes:
When a young boy whitnesses the death of his father and his Pokemon, will he find the strength to overcome or drown in pain.
Chapter 3
POKEMON RANCHER
CH. 3
I sat bolt upright breathing hard, cold sweat beads on my forehead, and wide awake. After I had my breathing under control I looked over at my clock. It wasn't even six in the morning. I looked out the window and not even the sun was showing any signs of coming over the horizon any time soon. I shoved the covers off of me and swung my feet to the ground and hung my head. I tried to remember the horrible dream that I had, but knowing it probably was the one with my dad. So I got up and stepped into my slippers and walked downstairs.
I got myself a glass of water and looked out the kitchen sink window and wondered. Would I ever be able to overcome my fathers death? Would I ever be rid of these terrible night terrors? Who could ever know? So after a few glasses of water I turned and saw my mother just stepping off the stairs. She was wearing a simple white night gown and rubbing her eyes.
"Had another nightmare?" I nodded. She walked over and sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out the other chair and patted it. I walked over and sat down. "It's been quite a while since your last one hasn't it?" I nodded again. "You want to talk about it?" She asked in a motherly concerned way.
"No, but thanks mom." She nodded and rubbed my back. "You know I don't think I will ever really be rid of that day. It's like a scar on your hand. Your remember how you got it when you either see it, or when you move your hand a certain way." With that tears started to form in my eyes. "I just miss him so much." I flopped my head down into my arms and started to cry. My mom rubbed my back and said something to me, but I couldn't hear her over my sobs.
After a while I stopped crying and she helped me back to bed. For the rest of the night I thankfully slept without dreams. When my alarm went off, I reached over and hit the snooze button. I must have hit that button several times, because by the time I looked back at the clock it read seven in the morning.
"Oh shit, I'm late." I quickly ran through my morning routine and ran downstairs. My mother was waiting right by the door with two bags. I stopped when she offered me both bags.
"One for you, and the other for your little friend." I smiled and kissed her on the cheek and ran off to work.
It had been almost six years since that trainer had come to town and killed my father I thought, as my legs carried me to work. I would have to stop off at his grave after work and pay my respects. Work was the same as usual, filling orders of certain supplies and placing the boxes next to the truck that would take them to the appropriate town or city. Once the clock struck 11:00 I quickly ran back to the locker room, grabbed both bags in my locker, and ran off to the river. Once there I looked into the river all I saw were the usual Magicarp.
So with a disappointed sigh I sat down and leaned against the same old tree and proceeded to throw balls of bread into the river. I waited for a while but still there was no sign of the Dratini. I was about to give up and head back when all of a sudden several Magicarps jumped up then quickly swam downstream. My eyes went wide as I realized what this meant and smiled. Sure enough I saw a blue head with a silverish dot on it's forehead slowly rise above the waters surface, followed by a pair of white winged ears, and finally a pair of large black eyes that had a white dot in the middle of them.
The Dratini let out a happy little cry and quickly swam over. It stopped about three arms lengths away and just swam there. I smiled and quickly balled up several pieces of bread and threw them around the Dratini. I let out a laugh when I saw it dart from side to side, trying to snatch up the balls as quickly as possible. After our little game of snatch I took a dare and threw the next ball at the Dratini. It's eyes went wide but opened it's mouth and caught the ball in it and happily cried out.
We spent the better part of 45 minutes there, but to us it seemed like forever. Then I reached into the bag and found that I was down to my last piece of bread. I paused there thinking that this would be a good time to see if I could get the Dratini to trust me a little bit. This time when I balled up the bread I used smaller pieces and threw them in a way that would make the Dratini come closer to get at them. The Dratini played along until it was about an arms length away and would quickly snatch up the bread then quickly dart back to the deeper part of the water. Finally I was down to a quarter of the bread left.
'Now or never', I thought. So I scooted over to the rivers edge and held it close to the water. It looked up at me then down to the bread. "Come on little one, I promise I wont hurt you." The Dratini started to swim towards me and then stop and look up at me then continue swimming. It did this several times until it was half an arms length away from me. Then without warning it quickly darted forward and snatched the bread out of my hand and then darted back to the middle of the river and devoured the bread.
After it had finished it looked back at me and then down at my hand, then back up at me. As if expecting me to have another piece. "I'm sorry but that's all I have today." The Dratini let out a whimper, obviously not happy about not getting more of the bread that it loved. "I know. If you let me pet you, I promise I will return later today and give you more of the bread you love so much." It cocked it's head to the side in what I hoped was consideration. Then like I had another piece of bread it slowly swam back to me. It stopped just a little ways out of reach, then cautiously stretched out it's head. I leaned just a little bit farther out and was able to touch it.
It felt like it was wet rubber at first, then as I was able to finally place my hand on top of it's head it turned out that what I had thought was rubber was actually very small scales that were able to bend a little. After I had given it a good scratch on it's head and behind it's white ears, it dove under the water again and resurfaced at the middle of the river. A sad smile crossed my face. "Well a promise is a promise." I stood up and rubbed my hands on my pants to brush away any crumbs on my hands. As I was about to turn away I looked back at the Dratini and said, "You know if you come with me, I'm sure I could get you all the delicious bread you could eat."
This caused the Dratini to let out a happy trill then it's eyes went wide and it quickly swam up river. "Please wait. I know what your thinking and no I'm not doing this to catch you." The Dratini stopped swimming and turned to look back at me. I walked back and sat down against the tree again. "You see, I don't have any friends and I was hoping that you and I could be friends." It slowly turned around and swam back and slithered up to me. Then it turned it's head down as if to say, 'If you want to, you can scratch me some more'. So I smiled and scratched the Dratini some more. So after a good scratching the Dratini looked up at me and crawled into my lap and started to what I could have sworn was purr.
I let go a happy laugh and started to rub and scratch the Dratini in different places. After a while I could have sworn it had fallen asleep so I followed it's example and fell asleep. I looked up through the sun dancing through the leaves and became sleepy myself. Forgetting about my job I too fell fast asleep.
A little later I awoke to find that it was about an hour later and there was no sign of my newest friend, Dratini. So I got up and looked around only to see that there was no sign of it. Then out of nowhere I heard a screech. I quickly jumped up and quickly ran to where I heard the sound. When I got there I saw a trainer standing on the far side of the river. He was wearing a red bowler hat, with a white shirt and vest, and blue pants. He was pointing to something on my side of the river. I followed his finger and saw a Raichu standing over a quivering Dratini.
"Alright Raiden, one more thunderbolt should finish her." Acting on impulse I quickly ran forward and scoped up the Dratini just in time to prevent it from getting hit with a thunderbolt from the Raichu. The thunderbolt struck the ground tearing up the ground right where the Dratini was. I turned back and looked over at the trainer across the river. "What do you think your doing?" He yelled at me.
"Saving my friend from getting hurt, thats what." I pulled the Dratini close to my chest and turned away from the trainer.
"Hay, where do you think your going with my Dratini?" I stopped and turned to look at him over my shoulder.
"Away from here and you." I turned and was about to head back to the warehouse when I heard.
"Stop him Raiden. I want that Dratini." I looked over my shoulder again to see the Raichu turn to me. Just then I saw it's face scrunch up and sparks jumping from it's cheeks. I quickly jumped behind a tree as the Raichu let off a quick jolt of electricity. The electricity shot towards me, but collided with the tree that I was hiding behind. After that I quickly took to heel and ran off. Not far behind I could hear the young trainer jump into the water and order his Pokemon to trail me.
I didn't stop running until the warehouse was within sight. I took a quick look down and saw that the Dratini was curled up in a ball and had terrible scorch marks all over it's body. I knew that I would need to get this Dratini some help. So thinking fast I turned towards the Pokemon center, then thought that the trainer would probably think that I would head there to get it healed. So I decided on the next best place, professor Cent's office/home.Chapter End Notes:Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended
CH. 3
I sat bolt upright breathing hard, cold sweat beads on my forehead, and wide awake. After I had my breathing under control I looked over at my clock. It wasn't even six in the morning. I looked out the window and not even the sun was showing any signs of coming over the horizon any time soon. I shoved the covers off of me and swung my feet to the ground and hung my head. I tried to remember the horrible dream that I had, but knowing it probably was the one with my dad. So I got up and stepped into my slippers and walked downstairs.
I got myself a glass of water and looked out the kitchen sink window and wondered. Would I ever be able to overcome my fathers death? Would I ever be rid of these terrible night terrors? Who could ever know? So after a few glasses of water I turned and saw my mother just stepping off the stairs. She was wearing a simple white night gown and rubbing her eyes.
"Had another nightmare?" I nodded. She walked over and sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out the other chair and patted it. I walked over and sat down. "It's been quite a while since your last one hasn't it?" I nodded again. "You want to talk about it?" She asked in a motherly concerned way.
"No, but thanks mom." She nodded and rubbed my back. "You know I don't think I will ever really be rid of that day. It's like a scar on your hand. Your remember how you got it when you either see it, or when you move your hand a certain way." With that tears started to form in my eyes. "I just miss him so much." I flopped my head down into my arms and started to cry. My mom rubbed my back and said something to me, but I couldn't hear her over my sobs.
After a while I stopped crying and she helped me back to bed. For the rest of the night I thankfully slept without dreams. When my alarm went off, I reached over and hit the snooze button. I must have hit that button several times, because by the time I looked back at the clock it read seven in the morning.
"Oh shit, I'm late." I quickly ran through my morning routine and ran downstairs. My mother was waiting right by the door with two bags. I stopped when she offered me both bags.
"One for you, and the other for your little friend." I smiled and kissed her on the cheek and ran off to work.
It had been almost six years since that trainer had come to town and killed my father I thought, as my legs carried me to work. I would have to stop off at his grave after work and pay my respects. Work was the same as usual, filling orders of certain supplies and placing the boxes next to the truck that would take them to the appropriate town or city. Once the clock struck 11:00 I quickly ran back to the locker room, grabbed both bags in my locker, and ran off to the river. Once there I looked into the river all I saw were the usual Magicarp.
So with a disappointed sigh I sat down and leaned against the same old tree and proceeded to throw balls of bread into the river. I waited for a while but still there was no sign of the Dratini. I was about to give up and head back when all of a sudden several Magicarps jumped up then quickly swam downstream. My eyes went wide as I realized what this meant and smiled. Sure enough I saw a blue head with a silverish dot on it's forehead slowly rise above the waters surface, followed by a pair of white winged ears, and finally a pair of large black eyes that had a white dot in the middle of them.
The Dratini let out a happy little cry and quickly swam over. It stopped about three arms lengths away and just swam there. I smiled and quickly balled up several pieces of bread and threw them around the Dratini. I let out a laugh when I saw it dart from side to side, trying to snatch up the balls as quickly as possible. After our little game of snatch I took a dare and threw the next ball at the Dratini. It's eyes went wide but opened it's mouth and caught the ball in it and happily cried out.
We spent the better part of 45 minutes there, but to us it seemed like forever. Then I reached into the bag and found that I was down to my last piece of bread. I paused there thinking that this would be a good time to see if I could get the Dratini to trust me a little bit. This time when I balled up the bread I used smaller pieces and threw them in a way that would make the Dratini come closer to get at them. The Dratini played along until it was about an arms length away and would quickly snatch up the bread then quickly dart back to the deeper part of the water. Finally I was down to a quarter of the bread left.
'Now or never', I thought. So I scooted over to the rivers edge and held it close to the water. It looked up at me then down to the bread. "Come on little one, I promise I wont hurt you." The Dratini started to swim towards me and then stop and look up at me then continue swimming. It did this several times until it was half an arms length away from me. Then without warning it quickly darted forward and snatched the bread out of my hand and then darted back to the middle of the river and devoured the bread.
After it had finished it looked back at me and then down at my hand, then back up at me. As if expecting me to have another piece. "I'm sorry but that's all I have today." The Dratini let out a whimper, obviously not happy about not getting more of the bread that it loved. "I know. If you let me pet you, I promise I will return later today and give you more of the bread you love so much." It cocked it's head to the side in what I hoped was consideration. Then like I had another piece of bread it slowly swam back to me. It stopped just a little ways out of reach, then cautiously stretched out it's head. I leaned just a little bit farther out and was able to touch it.
It felt like it was wet rubber at first, then as I was able to finally place my hand on top of it's head it turned out that what I had thought was rubber was actually very small scales that were able to bend a little. After I had given it a good scratch on it's head and behind it's white ears, it dove under the water again and resurfaced at the middle of the river. A sad smile crossed my face. "Well a promise is a promise." I stood up and rubbed my hands on my pants to brush away any crumbs on my hands. As I was about to turn away I looked back at the Dratini and said, "You know if you come with me, I'm sure I could get you all the delicious bread you could eat."
This caused the Dratini to let out a happy trill then it's eyes went wide and it quickly swam up river. "Please wait. I know what your thinking and no I'm not doing this to catch you." The Dratini stopped swimming and turned to look back at me. I walked back and sat down against the tree again. "You see, I don't have any friends and I was hoping that you and I could be friends." It slowly turned around and swam back and slithered up to me. Then it turned it's head down as if to say, 'If you want to, you can scratch me some more'. So I smiled and scratched the Dratini some more. So after a good scratching the Dratini looked up at me and crawled into my lap and started to what I could have sworn was purr.
I let go a happy laugh and started to rub and scratch the Dratini in different places. After a while I could have sworn it had fallen asleep so I followed it's example and fell asleep. I looked up through the sun dancing through the leaves and became sleepy myself. Forgetting about my job I too fell fast asleep.
A little later I awoke to find that it was about an hour later and there was no sign of my newest friend, Dratini. So I got up and looked around only to see that there was no sign of it. Then out of nowhere I heard a screech. I quickly jumped up and quickly ran to where I heard the sound. When I got there I saw a trainer standing on the far side of the river. He was wearing a red bowler hat, with a white shirt and vest, and blue pants. He was pointing to something on my side of the river. I followed his finger and saw a Raichu standing over a quivering Dratini.
"Alright Raiden, one more thunderbolt should finish her." Acting on impulse I quickly ran forward and scoped up the Dratini just in time to prevent it from getting hit with a thunderbolt from the Raichu. The thunderbolt struck the ground tearing up the ground right where the Dratini was. I turned back and looked over at the trainer across the river. "What do you think your doing?" He yelled at me.
"Saving my friend from getting hurt, thats what." I pulled the Dratini close to my chest and turned away from the trainer.
"Hay, where do you think your going with my Dratini?" I stopped and turned to look at him over my shoulder.
"Away from here and you." I turned and was about to head back to the warehouse when I heard.
"Stop him Raiden. I want that Dratini." I looked over my shoulder again to see the Raichu turn to me. Just then I saw it's face scrunch up and sparks jumping from it's cheeks. I quickly jumped behind a tree as the Raichu let off a quick jolt of electricity. The electricity shot towards me, but collided with the tree that I was hiding behind. After that I quickly took to heel and ran off. Not far behind I could hear the young trainer jump into the water and order his Pokemon to trail me.
I didn't stop running until the warehouse was within sight. I took a quick look down and saw that the Dratini was curled up in a ball and had terrible scorch marks all over it's body. I knew that I would need to get this Dratini some help. So thinking fast I turned towards the Pokemon center, then thought that the trainer would probably think that I would head there to get it healed. So I decided on the next best place, professor Cent's office/home.Chapter End Notes:Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended