Story Notes:
I had a bundle of fun writing this one, for almost a week solid I might add, so any comments would be awesome.
To find freedom.
For milennia I was the watcher unseen; calmly and quietly watching humanity blossom and grow into what it is today. I have seen wars come and go , I've Seen kingdoms rise and fall, even seen my own kin flee from the approaching dark times. Always I have stayed in the shadows, hiding from mankind's grasp to protect them from my potential. Sadly, no matter how well I hid, I was inevitably discovered.
However, before I can tell you any of that, we must begin.
The conversation lasted all of three minutes, and yet I had already foreseen the young boy's future. It saddened me, to say the least, that one as young as he would soon join those who had already joined Arceus in the afterlife. Even my master of the time, the one who had managed to save me, was unable to rouse me from my sorrow. However, watching the events of the next day unfold as they did brought me back from my brooding depression. That one could show enough compassion and love to another, even after only knowing them a day, to sacrifice her own well being? I had thought it beyond most mortals.
I hoped to see such devotion displayed unto me one day...
And so, another day passed with my only company the children who marveled at the mystery of what Pokemon I could be.
Some thought I was Mew, capable of incredible feats of psychic power.
Others thought me to be Entei, with command over firestorms the likes of which the world rarely saw.
One even thought I was Lugia, the protector of the oceans whose very wing beats could whip up powerful and deadly storms that would shake the very foundations of the world.
In comparison to the truly destructive power of these legends, I am but a mere guppy. I have a legend to rival that of even Lugia, but that, too, you shall learn in time.
At first, I wasted time by casually reading the thoughts of those who visited me; eventually I stopped, bored at their single-mindedness. What did It matter what I am? I live, I breathe, I aspire to be more than I am... Eventually I stopped bothering to even feel them there, too bored by the constant thoughts of obtaining me for their egos.
Over time, I gave up hope.
Hell; over time, I started to resent my visitors.
Life was dreary. I could never leave what I had come to think of as my prison; the small sphere that possessed locks potent enough to keep in even me. There was a price tag on me to boot, if you had to ask, you couldn't afford me, and those who could afford almost anything were turned away. If there was one thing I was certain of, it was that I would not become someone's trophy.
I would choose my owner, not the other way around.
More often than not, I would cry myself to sleep, pushed through depression and out the other side; my crying was simply something that I would do reflexively, having done it for so long that it became habit. I expected my fur to be matted and dirty when I would next be released. If not for finding puzzles in newspapers and in other places, I could swear that my mind would have turned into mush. I was, after my conversation with the young lad the day before, growing desperate. By all accounts except physically, I was dying.
That was the night before.
It was first thing in the morning, and I sensed the store owner enter and open up. Like everything else that went on at the store, it had become background noise, and I practically ignored him as he went about restocking shelves. No-one ever came in at this time in the morning, far too early for even the early-risers.
"So, do you think today is the day?" He asked, polishing the glass case that my prison dwelled within.
'What do you care?' I retorted miserably. 'You trapped me here, the only thing you've got to worry about is how much of a profit you'll make from me.'
The storekeeper seemed genuinely hurt, though I could see the hollowness in the emotion. "Is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life?" He grumbled.
'It is if he is also your prison warden.' I complained. 'You think that keeping me imprisoned in this little sphere is saving my life? A quick buck is all you thought of me.'
"My, how that has turned on me." The man mumbled. "It probably costs me more to keep your display case presentable than it originally cost me to buy the Masterball I caught you in."
I started to tune out. 'That's not my problem now is it? The only thing I have to worry about today is what I'm going to do all day.' I sighed sadly. 'For all I know, I'll probably just cry myself back to sleep like usual.'
I tuned out what he said next. It was something about being used to my current predicament by now, but for the life of me I couldn't care less. He was my captor, yet also my master; by the very contract of my prison, I could not raise a finger against him.
How I wished I could.
Most of the day went pretty quietly. The same crowd of youngsters as always, dreaming of having me in their pockets while, at the same time, not having a single iota of Pokemon knowledge to their names. My brooding, almost suicidal depression was, somehow, emanating from my prison, and eventually the children left. The store owner wandered back over, using the excuse of righting the shelves to converse with me.
"You're not winning brownie points, scaring off my customers y'know." He growled quietly.
'Find a part of me, a single micron of my being that gives a Rattata's ass.' I grumbled. 'Do you have any idea what it is like to be me after all these years? Stuck in this little sphere to watch the world go by every day, possibly for the rest of eternity, with but the smallest scraps of food and water to sustain me? My emanating sadness is but the softest emotion I could be projecting. How about anger? Frustration? Do you have any idea the chaos I could bestow upon you? All because you keep me locked in this small prison.'
"If you hate it so much, why do you not just go with a customer already? You could have spared yourself all this grief years ago!"
I stayed silent for a moment. He was right, I had brought it upon myself to be locked here for all this time; but...
'If you were to be slave to man, would you prefer kind or savage? Gentle or cruel? Fair or selfish? I will not become anyone's weapon, never shall I be tortured for fun. I am no-one's trophy. All I want is someone who will be my companion for as long as they live, passing me down to their children to become the family guardian. I shall decide who I go to, none else!'
The storekeeper laughed quietly.
"You're a fool, and you will probably be waiting here forevermore." He mumbled before returning to the counter.
With words that stung like daggers, he had left me.
It was roughly six in the afternoon, and the afternoon rush had ended. I had, somehow, endured another long day of being gawked at through glass, and my evening meal had been given to me.
Berry bread and water. Yum yum.
I had no more than finished my day's rations than I felt something I'd never felt before. It was growing closer, whatever it was, and it was very out of place. The feeling moved to the front of the shop, and I threw my full attention to the door when it opened.
In an instant, I knew all about him.
His name, his age, his history...
Everything was right.
He sheepishly entered, looking about the store nervously. When the storekeeper stepped up to him, he was shy and polite.
"Hello, lad; what brings you to my humble store? Need something for a partner or pet?"
The boy was reluctant to reply, but carefully I helped form his next sentence for him.
"I... I was told that you had a rare Pokemon on display." He mumbled.
"Ah, the Pokemon within." The storekeeper said, leading the boy over to my glass, plastic and metal prison. "I caught him years ago, but have since lost my taste for training. Many have come to purchase him, but he turns them all away. He says that only the one whom he deems fit will ever acquire him."
'That includes you, you old bastard.' I thought to myself.
The boy, I could see, was skeptical. Two in two days? This was a rare feat in any sense of the word. With a gentle sigh, he turned around to leave.
"Oh? Something the matter?" The storekeeper asked, truly puzzled by his behavior. "Most kids who come in stay for hours to get but a glimpse, yet you've been here to have a good look?"
The boy shrugged. "Why tease myself with what I will never gain?" He asked rhetorically. "I'd never be able to pay for it, let alone pay for it in the long run. I've a thousand Poke-dollars on me and that's all I have, that'd never be enough."
This cynical outlook surprised me. I didn't think he's be so... reluctant.
'Him.' I projected, my psychic voice echoing through the shop. 'Five hundred and no more.'
"What?!" The storekeeper barked. "Five hundred?! That'd never-"
'You dare to deny me, after all these years?' My voice called, louder and angrier than ever before. 'I warned you before, storekeep, I warn once more; Depression is but the feeblest of emotions I can project. Five hundred, with proper Poke-food, no more of this Berry bread crap.'
I could sense the storekeeper angrily think of denying me what, by right, was my decision to make; but he went over the costs in his head, and he couldn't come up with any better alternatives.
"Fine." He grumbled. "Five hundred it is."
The boy, confused, reached for his wallet and fetched out the five hundred, handing it to the storekeeper. I heard the glass case on my prison be unlocked, and soon a small jolt of static electricity surged through me. Finally, I was free!
'The food as well.' I said through the air, before making my conversation privately between me and my new master. 'Please, do not release me until we are back at your home.' I said. 'I would advise taking a quick detour to a Pokemon hospital, but please only on the Restoration machine; I think I require a good bath.'
The boy understood, though he didn't voice out loud, and he was soon handed Poke-food by the storekeeper.
"Well, seeyah pal." He said. "Place won't be the same without you."
'I'm sure you'll find some other way to bring in customers.' I grumbled.
With a quiet goodbye from my savior, we left.
He stayed silent as he walked to the Pokemon Center, I could see that he was contemplating what had just happened to him, not to mention what might happen to him the next day at school. I didn't know what to say to him, I really didn't. Here was my chance to be free of that hell I called an existence, and I had leapt on it so quickly that I never thought of his opinion.
Soon I felt healing waves flow through me. Muscles that had long ago lost their strength being revitalized and my mind being strengthened back to its once proud, powerful self. Again I could see without having to force my mind to interpret the world around me. I was returned to the boy's possession, and he put me into his pocket before walking the short distance back to his home.
When we arrived, I could see how he had never seen me before. The house was a two storey home, semi fresh paint across its front and a very clean car in the driveway. The lawn was freshly mown -by him, according to his memory- and there was a constant, irritating barking. I couldn't make out where it was coming from, however, but it was coming from the house. A few seconds later, another dozen steps, and the front door exploded open, a mass that I could barely make out rushing through the open doorway and tackling him to the ground.
"Yeah, yeah. Hello, Colby." He grumbled, like it was something that happened every day. "I missed you too, you big soppy. C'mon, get off."
The mass of shadow climbed off him before frantically barking and rushing back into the house madly to inform of his arrival back home.
'What' I began, talking within his head again, 'the hell was that?'
He stayed silent, and I noticed a stray thought move through his head.
'I'm sorry if I unnerve you.' I said kindly. 'You can talk to me in any way you wish.'
"... It's quite alright." He mumbled. "Just a little odd. And that, by the way, was my mother's Houndoom, Colby. She was a stray we picked up and have been nurturing back to health."
'That explains why I could not see her...' I mumbled nonchalant. 'Talking with me will be easier once I'm out of this prison.'
"You mean your Poke-ball?"
'Yes.'
He seemed to consider this. "I didn't think Pokemon thought of them that way."
I sighed. 'Most probably don't.' I said. 'However I have stayed within this tiny sphere for at least ten years. It is, to me at least, my tomb. While it registers me under your name and makes me yours, I wish not for it to exist.'
"I can probably hide it somewhere safe, far from even your sight." He replied, giving me at least a small glimpse of hope. "For now, let's go get you a bath, and a name."
He walked into the house, closing the front door tight and stepping through into the family room, where his parents were waiting.
"Keller, where've you been?" A female human, clearly his mother, asked. "It's almost seven at night!"
"I went to the Customize shop." He replied. "I was told that there was a legendary Pokemon there, and I went to see for myself. I did my chores, I even did extra."
"... Alright, then." She said. "If that's the case, did you find out anything?"
"Oh, I think I may have done better than that." Keller said cryptically, both of us finding the humor in his response.
He walked out of the room, going to his bedroom upstairs and finally into his bathroom where he locked the door behind him.
"Alright, let's get a look at you." He said as he released me from my prison.
I waited for my materialization to finish before I stretched, feeling every joint in my body ache from disuse.
'It's been too long.' I grumbled telepathically.
Keller, however, seemed to be in a slight state of shock.
'Something wrong?' I asked. 'You were sold a legendary Pokemon, and here I am.'
"Yes." He said. "But I never expected you to be Uxie!"
'What were you expecting?' I asked. 'Celebi? Mew?'
He shrugged. "Just... something a little more common." he mumbled, before screwing up his face and moving to open the window. "Phew, you do smell a little ripe, don't you?" He asked rhetorically. "Just let me fill the bath."
I sighed, moving towards the window so as not to stink up the room so much.
'Sorry.' I said quietly.
"No need to be sorry." Keller replied, stroking my cheek with a knuckle. "It's not your fault that the store owner took such poor care of you." He turned the water off and motioned towards it. "Tell me if it's too hot, Uxie."
'... Could I have a name please?" I asked. 'It may be hard to come up with one so suddenly, but...'
He thought on it for a moment or two. "How about Jasper?" He asked. "It's a type of precious stone."
'That should do fine, my master.' I replied, getting a frown. '... Did I say something... wrong?'
He shook his head, motioning to the water again. "Don't call me Master." He said. "Use my name, Keller."
I tested the water carefully before letting my psychic levitation go and falling into it with a small splash. It was so very relaxing, being in such warm water was making the pains of my joints go away. I gave a contented sigh, and he became curious.
"Why don't you open your eyes and look at me?" He asked.
I gave a gentle chuckle. 'I have the ability to erase the memories of any being with my eyes, which is why I keep them closed. I've tested it before, and it's like amnesia, however it takes a very long time to recover from.'
He moved closer and moved me to a sitting position before running a sponge over my back, causing me to do something I'd not done in years.
I was purring.
His touch, while firm enough to clean me, was gentle and caressing. His methodical hands seeming to wash away my stress and tight, cramped muscles. He used a small container to pour water over my head before he started scrubbing there, carefully washing my face and unique head. He traced a finger along the ridges on my head, finding ticklish spots I didn't know existed before dumping more water over my head to wash away the excess soap.
"You like this, do you?" He asked, scratching a nail down my spine and making me kick a leg.
'Yesssss...' I replied, almost dreamily.
"Well, I've got to wash your front now." He said, turning me on the spot and slapping the sponge to my chest. "Just tell me if I'm being too rough."
Rough? This? The first contact with another living being in years feeling like heaven and he thought he was being rough?
He lifted my arms, cleaning me thoroughly before, gingerly, venturing down.
This is, at the time, what I could sense from him:
The body heat in his face had risen dramatically, and he was sweating a little. He was extremely nervous, not to mention much more reluctant to clean down here than he was anywhere else.
'I am not going to bite.' I said. 'Just be quick, get it over with, and we can go on with our night, hm?'
"I... Yeah." He mumbled. "it's just that..."
'Oh please.' I said, giving my psychic voice an edge to sound like I had snorted it. 'If I don't like it, it's not like I can't stop you. Get it over with, we've not got all night.'
Keller nodded gingerly, scrubbing the sensitive area with as much force as he dared before venturing to my legs, which he was much more industrious on.
'Oh, for Arceus' sake, give me a rag.' I grumbled, taking the offered cloth from his hand and turning around. 'Wash my tails, I'll clean my front.'
He chuckled at how disgruntled I was, but I really wanted to get myself clean again, and I soon felt the sponge being run along one of my twin tails.
For a few minutes, we sat in silence as we went about our separate duties. After I had finished, I waited patiently for him to finish cleaning my tails before turning around and offering my legs.
'Now you can move on to these.' I said. 'And no tickling.'
"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, gently swirling a finger through the light fur between my toes, making me writhe. "No what?"
'I'll get you for that!' I snapped playfully, causing water to spout from the bathtub and into his face. Laughing, he wiped his face dry.
"Guess I deserved that." He chuckled.
'Guess you did.' I mused as he started to scrub one of my haunches. Again, I was purring almost nonstop, a sound that was not lost on him when he scrubbed my feet and toes carefully, getting just the right spots to make me whimper at his sly tickling. He pulled the plug, letting the water drain away before turning the faucet back on and filling a small bucket-like container, which he promptly poured over my head, succeeding in washing any residual soap away.
Gently he lifted me from the bath with a towel, wrapping me up and roughly drying me with it. It was, despite the roughness of his actions, comfortable.
Holding me in one arm, he folded the towel over and put it on the sink top, laying me down on it and taking out a blow-dryer to finish drying my fur. When it roared to life, I jolted a little in shock, not realizing that it would be so loud. Keller didn't laugh or even think that it might have been funny in the least, putting a hand on my back to reassure me.
Moving the hot air across my back, tails and legs, he ran a comb through my fine fur to smooth it back into place and make me streamlined again. He dried the back of my head and neck, continuing with the comb, before turning me over and drying my front, still using the comb to keep my fine fur smooth and silky.
He flicked the blow-dryer off and lifted me into his arms, taking a moment to hang the towel on a hook on the door before unlocking it and carrying me back out of the bathroom.
Now I smelled clean.
He carried me back out of the room down to the family room, what was probably only a short walk, but in that small distance I was rocked into a light snooze. I was awoken by a gentle shaking, and I lifted my head to signify I was awake.
'Sn? Hmm?' I telepathically grunted. 'W'ssup?'
"Jasper, I'd like you to meet my mother and father." Keller said.
With my mind, I looked about the room; noting where the adult humans were and turning my head in their directions. I heard a snuffling, and turned my mind's eye down to find the Houndoom's darkness looming directly below me. Keller knelt down so that she could get a good look of me, and I took the moment to sniff her scent, making her figure form perfectly within my head. She was thin. Not dangerously so, but certainly extremely underweight for her size, and she did, indeed, smell friendly.
"Hello, Colby." I said aloud in Pokemon tongue.
She didn't reply at first, still curiously sniffling at my form before nuzzling my face kindly.
"Hello, Uxie."
"My name is Jasper." I said politely. "It's only fair you know my name as I know yours."
She nodded before moving away, settling at the feet of Keller's mother.
'Hello.' I said telepathically to the room. 'I'm sorry if I drift off, I'm a bit tired...'
"That's quite alright, Jasper." Keller said, standing back upright. "It's time for bed anyways. C'mon, let's get you some sleep. Can you float to my room, or do you want me to carry you?"
Thinking this over alone took a fair amount of concentration, and I shook my head. 'I can barely think.' I said.
"Alright then." Keller said. "Let's go."
He carried me back up the stairs to his room, depositing me gently on a pillow before changing into his pyjamas and climbing in the other side.
"Before we sleep, can you tell me how you were captured in the first place?" Keller asked curiously. I sighed.
'I had been viciously attacked by Team Galactic.' I said. 'And, at the time, I was dying. I can still remember it vividly, being surrounded by Mightyena. That was when the Shopkeeper showed up, and used his Heracross to fight them off. He strode up to me and knelt down next to my fallen body, saying 'do you want my help?' Naturally, I said yes, and he captured me within the Master-ball, taking me to the nearest Pokemon Center to get me healed up. After that, he opened the Custom shop and used me as his crowd-drawing centerpiece.'
Keller seemed to consider this before giving my back a reassuring scratch and flicking the lamp off.
"Thank you for telling me that, Jasper." He said. "It means a lot to me."
'You are my family now, why would I need to hide it?' I asked. 'It's... actually nice that someone knows the story.'
Good night, Jasper." He said, rolling onto his side.
'G'night, Keller.'
My mind, for some unknown reason, picked now to become active. It randomly looked about the house, getting my bearings for me, before finally calming down and allowing me to start to drift to sleep.
"Jasper?" Keller shot. "Are you alright?"
'Sure.' I said. 'Just a little tired. Why?'
"You're... crying."
I hadn't even noticed, having been in the habit of crying myself to sleep for so long that it was background noise.
'I'm sorry.' I said. 'I can't help it, it's practically force of habit after all these years.'
Gently, Keller wrapped his arms around me and held me closer, my head against his chest as I cried reflexively.
"Shh." He cooed quietly. "It's alright."
I was taken aback. I could feel his sincerity, the caring way he felt for me. His heartbeat, strong and calm, felt warm to me, and I drifted to sleep, for the first time in years;
without crying.
I awoke the next day curled up underneath the bedsheets, using a large portion of what I had as a pillow. It was warm and comfortable, and, for a moment, I wondered where I was. Vaguely I recalled the day before, going over what had happened in but a few short hours in my mind. I didn't other asking myself if it was real, the evidence all around me would make it a stupid question; instead I pondered what would be happening this day. I was pulled from my reprieve quite effectively by a pair of hands wrenching me from the bed. Momentarily I was shocked, scared of this sudden forcefulness until I was wrapped into a single-armed hug.
"Good morning, Jasper." Keller said. "It's almost time for me to leave for school. I didn't want to wake you until just now, you looked too adorable curled up in the blankets."
I gave a yawn, stretching a little and nuzzling into his school jumper. 'Thanks for letting me sleep in.' I said.
"We'll have to see about getting you a basket so that you can sleep as long as you want without me waking you to make the bed." He said, moving the sheets about and neatening the bed up. "For now, would you like to come to school with me?"
I shrugged. 'What else would I do?' I asked. 'However, if you have an exam, I'm not helping you.'
He chuckled lightly. "Damn, there goes that idea." He joked, stepping over to his wardrobe. "Ah well, let's get you into something a bit warmer; we can stop back off at the Customize shop and get you some real clothes on the way home."
'But they charge quite a fair amount for that stuff.' I grumbled as he pulled a small, but thick, jumper over my own head.
"That's alright." Keller replied. "Mum'n Dad have given me a little extra to use. They'll bring the money with them when they come to pick us up."
I nodded a little. I didn't think that they'd put themselves out like that just for me.
On the way through the kitchen, Keller grabbed a couple of packets of Poke-food, putting them into his backpack. From what his mind showed, he intended to feed me with them. Something I was looking forward to.
Eventually we climbed into the car and were off.
From the backseat, I observed the world go by; other kids on their way to school, adults and parents in cars driving to work.
I didn't even notice the Customize shop as we went past.
Eventually, however, we pulled up next to the school, a large three storey building with rolling ovals and even a coliseum for those who had Pokemon to practice in a safe environment, just as the bell rang. Keller extracted us from the car, said a polite goodbye to his mother, and walked up the path to his homeroom.
"Maybe I shouldn't have let you sleep in so long." He mumbled. "We're not going to make it there on time..."
I sighed, and quickly read his mind to see where we were headed before wrapping my tails around him as tightly as I could manage.
'Hold on.' I said, before teleporting us both to his classroom. He clearly hadn't expected it, not until we were standing behind his desk, appearing with a quiet pop. Quickly he sat down so as not to arouse suspicion and pulled one of the packets of Pokemon food from his bag, tearing it open and taking out a piece.
"Open." He said quietly, to which I had no qualms obeying.
Oh, I'd not had food of this quality in years...
He chuckled lightly at my reaction to the food's flavour, seeming to melt as I chewed on it.
"My, you sure like that." He mused.
'I've been eating nothing but Berry bread and water for the last ten years.' I replied, opening my mouth for the next tasty morsel. 'You try it and not enjoy anything else after wards.'
He continued to feed me, the food enough to let me tune out the world, and even the crowd we were gathering, until I felt a pair of hands touch my head that most certainly were not his. I swiveled my head slowly until I was facing this new human.
'Don't touch me.' I said, allowing myself to give off a gentle psychic glow. 'I'm warning you.'
The girl simply chuckled. "He's certainly a cutie." She said. "A little slow on who is top dog, but cute."
Within a second, I knew all about her. She was the pompous princess of a well-off businessman, who had the best of everything. Her father had once come in to buy me for her as a gift, yet another trophy for his little darling. Her Garchomp, given to her by her father, had elevated her through the school's ranks to the top trainer because it had simply steamrolled everything in their way. Inwardly I growled.
'Do not touch me.' I said, louder and more menacing than before. 'I do not want to be touched by someone as selfish as you, it might leave a stain.'
She leaned down until her face was level with mine. I could feel her self-satisfactory smugness emanating from her. "It's a good thing for you I'm not allowed to get my Garchomp to wring your little neck here in class."
'It's a good thing for Garchomp, in that case.' I retorted. 'Else I'd have to hand him his own ass. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat breakfast.' I finished the sentence with extra emphasis, allowing Keller to put yet another piece of food into my mouth. Most of the room laughed at my words, but I could sense the frustration caused in the girl's mind by my words. She went to do something physical when another voice rang out.
"Becky, enough!"
My mind swiveled to the one who had called out, the teacher.
"You are already in enough trouble as it is, do not make me add more." He said. "You're lucky that internal suspension for the next two months is all you get for what your Garchomp did."
Becky grumbled.
"Sit down, all of you. It's lesson time."
Reluctantly, the students all sat at their desks, and I could sense the eagerness to meet me in them all.
The first lessons were over quickly, and we left for recess with the rest of the students. Keller carried me to a small table under a Pecha berry tree, where other students were already sitting and socializing, occasionally picking a berry from the tree to feed to their companions. Like a kid in a candy store, I practically hopped in Keller's lap.
'Please?'
With a quiet chuckle to himself, Keller stood up and picked a fresh berry, sitting back down and putting it into my little paws. I gave him a happy nuzzle before I started to eat. The berry never stood a chance his friends joked to each other, watching as I ate it with all the ferocity of a hungry Luxray.
"Whoa, slow down there, Jasper, you'll give yourself indigestion." Keller mumbled, scratching a nail down my spine and making me arc and purr.
'Sorry.' I said, finishing the berry and cleaning off the pit with my tongue. 'It's been a long while since I last had fresh fruit.'
"Hey, Keller, where'd you get this little guy?" A female asked from across the table.
Before he could answer, I butted in.
'I used to be called 'the Pokemon within.'' I said nonchalant, turning my head towards her. 'I'm sure many of you know of me.'
The kids, to a tee, were all surprised, which I expected. What I didn't expect was the next question.
"Who in their right mind would keep something like you locked up in a Poke-ball?"
I couldn't fathom exactly what she meant, so I pressed the matter. 'Something like me?'
She only gave a small laugh and leaned over the table, scratching under my neck with a nail. "Yeah, something this cute." She mumbled. I shrugged.
'Someone who wants to use me to make a quick buck.' I grumbled, turning my head up.
There was a snap from above as I used my telekinetic powers to break off another Pecha, and I caught it in my paws.
"Don't eat too many of those, or you won't eat any lunch." Keller said behind me, lifting me onto the table and poking my nose. It was now that the girl grabbed my tails and poked a scar.
"What's this?" She asked, trailing it with a finger across the small ruby in my tail.
'It's a scar from when Team Galactic attacked me.' I said calmly. 'I will tell you no more.'
"D... Did it hurt? What they did to you?"
I sighed. 'More than you can imagine.' I mumbled. 'Could we please change the topic? It... is unpleasant to talk about.'
"...Sorry." She mumbled, letting my tail go.
'It is alright.' I said, taking a bite of the Pecha berry, starting to purr at its taste subconsciously. 'Curiosity is for the young, much like size is to a Wailord. You ask questions for knowledge you do not yet possess. Just remember that not all knowledge is free.' I gave a sigh and flicked one of my two tails. 'Some must be paid for with pain...'
The rest of the day went rather smoothly. I was, of course, the center of attention from all students, but I mostly shrugged it off. The second lesson period was English lessons, and I mostly tuned it out. Don't get me wrong, I can read and write English, even a few other languages, I was simply bored with the lesson. There is only so much of a dreary teen drama book that can be read before depression sets in, and I wanted to spare myself the trouble. Instead, I spent the entire lesson with my mind in the class next door, scribbling physics theorems on the whiteboard. I was going well until a teacher walked in and discovered it, at which point I hastily erased it before his very eyes.
I waited patiently for him to leave, but instead he picked up a marker and started to write out a lesson, as if nothing had happened at all.
Lunch came and went, this time with me lying in the sun on the table. It was cozy, and I found myself drifting in and out of a gentle snooze until I was lifted by a stranger.
"So, this is Uxie, hm?" He asked rhetorically.
'That's me.' I grumbled. 'Get outta my sun and leave me alone.'
"No, actually I think I'll be taking you with me back to Galactic HQ, we've been lookin' for you."
These words stunned me for a moment, and I swiveled my view to see Keller pinned by a large Machamp under another nearby tree.
'Humph.' I snorted. 'You can keep on lookin'. You did enough damage to me last time, you shall not get another chance.'
I could feel the presence of other, powerful Pokemon coming to my aid, but I had to buy some time for the teachers to get to us, so, naturally, I did what all Pokemon do.
I fought.
The first mental blow bounced off him, psychic attacks having little effect on a human's brain, but when I pried his fingers open and held him in place, it was as if a darkness had been unleashed within me, and it was all I could do to hold back. I flung him across the courtyard, watching him roll to a stop next to a student's Luxio before turning my furious attention to the Machamp. With all the strength I could muster, I forced a Confusion attack into his primitive mind. He fell like a stone, giving me the space to move quickly over and check on Keller.
He had large bruises around his wrists where the Machamp had held him down, and he was looking extremely flustered.
'Keller..!'
"I'm alright, Jasper." He said, reaching up and rubbing a hand over the back of my head. "Just a little bruised."
I turned my face to the floor sadly. 'I'm sorry, Keller.' I mumbled. 'This is all my fault.'
He slapped me across the back of my head, getting a confused look shot in his direction.
"It ain't your fault, it's his fault." He growled. "I'd never blame you for something that you couldn't possibly have caused."
I stayed silent, sadly eying the bruises on his wrists with my mind. 'All I've been is trouble.' I grumbled. 'First to myself, then to the store owner, and now to you.'
"Hey, we all have our bad days." Keller said reassuringly. "I'll get these handled by the school nurse and be right as rain for next lesson. Heh, you might actually be interested in that."
I gave him a curious face. '...Why..?'
"Same reason I didn't feed you lunch." He said. "I've home-EC up next, Cooking class, and we're making quiche. I thought you might like some."
I shrugged, watching as the teachers rounded the corner and swiftly apprehended the Team Galactic member and his knocked out Machamp.
'I wouldn't want to put you out.' I mumbled honestly.
"Nonsense." Keller said, standing up and pulling me into his arms. "After all, I can always make more than one."
Again I stayed silent, looking anywhere bar his wrists and the damage that had been so easily inflicted upon him. He shook me gently.
"Please?"
A few moments later we were sitting in the Nurse's office next to the library. I wasn't paying much attention, still sitting and brooding in my own self-induced depression. I knew he was currently being attended to by the nurse, I could hear her quiet mumbles and his winces at her touch. Each one only drove me further into my reprieve, back into the deep and painful depression that I had only so recently been pulled from. There was a pop, and I turned my attention to a Gardevoir who had just teleported into the room, sitting at my side.
'Hello, Jasper.' She said politely. 'My name is Mika, I'm the Librarian's Gardevoir, and I'm also the school's counselor.'
I shrugged, turning my attention back unto myself. 'Hi.'
'I'm here because I detected your depression.' She explained. 'I understand that you're older than I, possibly by decades, not to mention far more intelligent, but-'
'Is this going somewhere?' I butted in irritably.
She sighed. 'Stop blaming yourself.' She said. 'It's not your fault that Team Galactic happened upon you.'
'If I weren't what I am, Keller would never have been harmed. I brought this upon him, simply by being in his care.'
'No, stop right there.' She snapped. 'This is not your fault! What a third party does is never the fault of the first or second, especially under these circumstances! He chose to enter the school and attack a student, you certainly didn't make that decision for him; you'd never have made that decision. No, it's not your fault that he did what he did. It is, however, thanks to you that no more harm was done. A Machamp could have done some serious damage, and you reacted swiftly and efficiently to do what you, or any other Pokemon, should have done in that situation; you fought back. Not tooth-and-nail, but with all the force you could muster to protect your master. You didn't go far enough to kill, though I'm certain you could if you wanted to, but you did enough to ensure that yourself and Keller were safe.'
I stayed silent, her sudden lecture swirling in my head and drowning out all other thoughts. I turned her a disbelieving gaze, and she only smiled.
'You're a good Pokemon who was dealt the short straw.' She said. 'Your life, thus far, has been unfair. It's time you took what you have and ran with it; you've a long life ahead of you, make of it what you can. Keller's a good kid, he's honest and fair, and he'd never begrudge someone for something that wasn't their fault.'
She stood up and turned towards the door. 'You have a good day, Jasper.' She said, opening the door and walking out.
I sighed, curling up on the bench top for what little comfort it would bring me, and waited for Keller to return.
I must have drifted to sleep, because next I knew I had the school Nurse looking over me, worry in her mind. I heard Keller's voice call to me quietly and calmly.
"Jasper, c'mon, wake up." He called, lifting me into his arms. "Shh, it's alright, I've got you, shh."
Crying myself to sleep again. I sighed inwardly, hating that I had been driven to such a stupid habit. I felt Keller dry my face with a tissue before holding me close to his chest, just like the night before.
"Is he alright?" The nurse asked.
'I'm fine.' I said. 'I've an old habit of crying myself to sleep, that is all.'
Keller sighed. "He was locked in his Poke-ball for ten years solid, he's not many nerves left." He said. "But that's alright; I'll look after him."
The nurse leaned down and scratched the top of my head with her nails. "You poor little bugger." She said.
"C'mon, Jasper." Keller said cheerfully. "Let's go to the kitchens, I've lunch to prepare."
I nodded for what I could, and he carried me to the kitchen areas.
Keller sat me down at a desk, asking me to keep an eye on his bag, before he went into the actual kitchen area of the large classroom. There were students all around, all following the same set of instructions as Keller, and the smell of flour permeated the air. I, for the comfort of it, curled up on the desk, and was soon accompanied by the Luxio from earlier.
She didn't say much, curiously sniffing at me before curling up on the other side of Keller's bag.
A student, clearly the Luxio's owner, stepped over and tapped the larger feline on the nose.
"Got a friend, have we?" She asked, to which the Luxio simply mewled cutely.
'Don't let the teacher see you touching a Pokemon when cooking.' I warned in her head. 'He'll go off his nut. Wash your hands and claim you simply wanted the flour off them.'
She startled, but when I cocked my head to look at her, she gave a warm smile and did as I advised.
Again I must have fallen asleep, because Keller had me in his arms and was cooing reassuring nothings to me, the words themselves waking me from my slumber.
'Oh for crying out loud, did I cry myself asleep again?' I asked, to which he chuckled.
"Yeah, you did." He said. "But that's alright; most of the students in my class know of you as 'the Pokemon within', and they all understand that you might be all but a little bundle of nerves and sad habits after all that time locked up." He wiped my face dry again, giving me one last, reassuring pet, before putting me on his backpack. "Lunch will only be a little longer, so don't fall asleep again, okay?"
I nodded, giving his hand a contented nuzzle, before he walked back to his cooking area and washed his hands.
I sighed, resting my head on the bag. Again I'd cried myself to sleep, this time letting Keller's entire class catch me in the act, a sign of weakness.
'Don't begrudge yourself for your shortcomings.' The psychic voice of Mika rang in my head. 'We all have our quirks, that's what makes us individuals. The students, especially Keller, understand that you've had a very rough life. If anyone at this school is allowed leeway for their quirks... it's you.'
Reluctantly I nodded, and I could feel her brighten up from the action before she severed the connection.
I barely had time to think over her words before Keller lifted me from the bag, putting me on one side of the desk in front of a fair sized quiche.
"That one is yours." He said, sitting at a chair with a quiche of his own. "This one is mine. Dig in, tell me if it's any good."
I nodded, carefully using a sharp knife to cut it into quarters, for ease, and then took a bite.
Compared to anything else I had eaten recently, it tasted like heaven.
Eventually, as it always must, school ended and Keller stood patiently out on the footpath for his mother, holding me in his arms as I purred contently at his stroking. Physical contact of this extent was always something that I wished to enjoy, never getting the chance by having to hide from humanity. Now that I didn't need to hide any longer, I was enjoying every second of it. The recognizable emanations of his mother moved down the street, stopping in front of us and allowing us to get into the car before we drove off. Idly I watched the world pass by, just as before. We stopped at the Customize shop, where Keller and I got out, not before he was handed a fair amount of money by his mother.
'God I hate this place.' I grumbled. Keller only chuckled.
"Don't worry, we'll only be here for a few minutes and then we needn't come here again." He said, giving me a reassuring scratch along my spine.
Once we entered, it was exactly as I remembered. Not much would change in a single day after all. Keller strode up to the counter, dozens of young faces watching him with jealousy, and deposited me on the marble, removing the shirt he had put on me that morning.
"I would like some winter clothes for Jasper, please." He said.
"'Course." The girl behind the counter, Rachael, said. "I'll just get his measurements."
I knew what was coming, and I stood as upright as I could, allowing her to run a tape measure across my anatomy. She scribbled down numbers before putting the tape away and turning into the store. Keller pulled the shirt back onto my shoulders and lifted me off the counter.
'You don't need to pay until you get the finished product.' I said. 'Wait in a chair and-'
My attention had jolted, and moved to the glass case in which was my prison. Something was different, and I motioned Keller to move closer. When we were at the front, right up next to the strange, changing emanations, I did something I'd not done in decades. I opened my eyes and saw what I didn't want to see.
I saw an egg.
It was small and blue, for the most part, with a large white patch and a triangle in the center of it. I was stunned that the storekeeper would stoop so low.
"Welcome back." I heard his familiar voice call. I closed my eyes again and cocked my head to him. "What brings you?"
"We're here to get winter clothes for Jasper." Keller said.
'Where did you get this egg?' I demanded through the air.
"It was given to me by a friend who breeds rare and exotic Pokemon." He said.
I honestly didn't know what to say. He had managed to get himself an unhatched egg and was using it as his new centerpiece?!
'You had better watch yourself.' I warned. 'The price for this egg should not be too high to stop those who it deserves to go to from being able to afford it.'
"What would you recommend?"
I was ready for this, and I had already been thinking it over. 'Three thousand, no more, no less.' I said. 'It is a wise number. Those with little money will save up to try and afford it, whereas those with plenty of money, who would treat it only as a trophy, will think it not worth their time with such a low price.'
The shopkeeper seemed to consider this for a few moments.
'Besides.' I added. 'If you make it a different Pokemon or Pokemon egg each week, you'll have a constant flow of customers who are simply curious to see what it is.'
He nodded, taking a sticker and marker from his pocket and scribbling down the numbers before putting it onto the wooden paneling.
"Deal." He said.
I smiled happily, and we were called back to the counter.
"Now, Jasper." Rachael said cheerfully. "We've finished your clothes, and have added an extra bonus into the jacket, at no added charge. We hope that you'll have a good life, and we'll miss you." She leaned over the counter, putting a box down on the marble and kissing my forehead. "Take care of yourself. Fifteen hundred."
Keller paid for the clothes before lifting the box from the top with one hand and leaving the store. I was, temporarily, saddened by her words, but when we got back home I felt better.
All along, I had been loved, even though I hadn't known it.
Keller took me to his room, where he removed the shirt I wore one last time and tugged the cold weather clothes onto me. He zipped up the jacket before stopping and looking at the zipper.
"Jasper, open your eyes and look at this." He said.
Reluctantly I did as he asked, looking down at my new clothes.
They were blue and gold, not gold colour, but gold fabric, reflecting the environment in warped ways as it curved around my form. What caught my eye the most, however, was the zipper, a Twisted Spoon made of platinum, with a golden Poke-ball embedded in the handle, the words 'good luck' etched into the bowl.
I remember crying.
In two days, I had gone from near-suicidal to beloved companion. Finally, after ten years, I had made the right choice
and started anew.
However, before I can tell you any of that, we must begin.
The conversation lasted all of three minutes, and yet I had already foreseen the young boy's future. It saddened me, to say the least, that one as young as he would soon join those who had already joined Arceus in the afterlife. Even my master of the time, the one who had managed to save me, was unable to rouse me from my sorrow. However, watching the events of the next day unfold as they did brought me back from my brooding depression. That one could show enough compassion and love to another, even after only knowing them a day, to sacrifice her own well being? I had thought it beyond most mortals.
I hoped to see such devotion displayed unto me one day...
And so, another day passed with my only company the children who marveled at the mystery of what Pokemon I could be.
Some thought I was Mew, capable of incredible feats of psychic power.
Others thought me to be Entei, with command over firestorms the likes of which the world rarely saw.
One even thought I was Lugia, the protector of the oceans whose very wing beats could whip up powerful and deadly storms that would shake the very foundations of the world.
In comparison to the truly destructive power of these legends, I am but a mere guppy. I have a legend to rival that of even Lugia, but that, too, you shall learn in time.
At first, I wasted time by casually reading the thoughts of those who visited me; eventually I stopped, bored at their single-mindedness. What did It matter what I am? I live, I breathe, I aspire to be more than I am... Eventually I stopped bothering to even feel them there, too bored by the constant thoughts of obtaining me for their egos.
Over time, I gave up hope.
Hell; over time, I started to resent my visitors.
Life was dreary. I could never leave what I had come to think of as my prison; the small sphere that possessed locks potent enough to keep in even me. There was a price tag on me to boot, if you had to ask, you couldn't afford me, and those who could afford almost anything were turned away. If there was one thing I was certain of, it was that I would not become someone's trophy.
I would choose my owner, not the other way around.
More often than not, I would cry myself to sleep, pushed through depression and out the other side; my crying was simply something that I would do reflexively, having done it for so long that it became habit. I expected my fur to be matted and dirty when I would next be released. If not for finding puzzles in newspapers and in other places, I could swear that my mind would have turned into mush. I was, after my conversation with the young lad the day before, growing desperate. By all accounts except physically, I was dying.
That was the night before.
It was first thing in the morning, and I sensed the store owner enter and open up. Like everything else that went on at the store, it had become background noise, and I practically ignored him as he went about restocking shelves. No-one ever came in at this time in the morning, far too early for even the early-risers.
"So, do you think today is the day?" He asked, polishing the glass case that my prison dwelled within.
'What do you care?' I retorted miserably. 'You trapped me here, the only thing you've got to worry about is how much of a profit you'll make from me.'
The storekeeper seemed genuinely hurt, though I could see the hollowness in the emotion. "Is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life?" He grumbled.
'It is if he is also your prison warden.' I complained. 'You think that keeping me imprisoned in this little sphere is saving my life? A quick buck is all you thought of me.'
"My, how that has turned on me." The man mumbled. "It probably costs me more to keep your display case presentable than it originally cost me to buy the Masterball I caught you in."
I started to tune out. 'That's not my problem now is it? The only thing I have to worry about today is what I'm going to do all day.' I sighed sadly. 'For all I know, I'll probably just cry myself back to sleep like usual.'
I tuned out what he said next. It was something about being used to my current predicament by now, but for the life of me I couldn't care less. He was my captor, yet also my master; by the very contract of my prison, I could not raise a finger against him.
How I wished I could.
Most of the day went pretty quietly. The same crowd of youngsters as always, dreaming of having me in their pockets while, at the same time, not having a single iota of Pokemon knowledge to their names. My brooding, almost suicidal depression was, somehow, emanating from my prison, and eventually the children left. The store owner wandered back over, using the excuse of righting the shelves to converse with me.
"You're not winning brownie points, scaring off my customers y'know." He growled quietly.
'Find a part of me, a single micron of my being that gives a Rattata's ass.' I grumbled. 'Do you have any idea what it is like to be me after all these years? Stuck in this little sphere to watch the world go by every day, possibly for the rest of eternity, with but the smallest scraps of food and water to sustain me? My emanating sadness is but the softest emotion I could be projecting. How about anger? Frustration? Do you have any idea the chaos I could bestow upon you? All because you keep me locked in this small prison.'
"If you hate it so much, why do you not just go with a customer already? You could have spared yourself all this grief years ago!"
I stayed silent for a moment. He was right, I had brought it upon myself to be locked here for all this time; but...
'If you were to be slave to man, would you prefer kind or savage? Gentle or cruel? Fair or selfish? I will not become anyone's weapon, never shall I be tortured for fun. I am no-one's trophy. All I want is someone who will be my companion for as long as they live, passing me down to their children to become the family guardian. I shall decide who I go to, none else!'
The storekeeper laughed quietly.
"You're a fool, and you will probably be waiting here forevermore." He mumbled before returning to the counter.
With words that stung like daggers, he had left me.
It was roughly six in the afternoon, and the afternoon rush had ended. I had, somehow, endured another long day of being gawked at through glass, and my evening meal had been given to me.
Berry bread and water. Yum yum.
I had no more than finished my day's rations than I felt something I'd never felt before. It was growing closer, whatever it was, and it was very out of place. The feeling moved to the front of the shop, and I threw my full attention to the door when it opened.
In an instant, I knew all about him.
His name, his age, his history...
Everything was right.
He sheepishly entered, looking about the store nervously. When the storekeeper stepped up to him, he was shy and polite.
"Hello, lad; what brings you to my humble store? Need something for a partner or pet?"
The boy was reluctant to reply, but carefully I helped form his next sentence for him.
"I... I was told that you had a rare Pokemon on display." He mumbled.
"Ah, the Pokemon within." The storekeeper said, leading the boy over to my glass, plastic and metal prison. "I caught him years ago, but have since lost my taste for training. Many have come to purchase him, but he turns them all away. He says that only the one whom he deems fit will ever acquire him."
'That includes you, you old bastard.' I thought to myself.
The boy, I could see, was skeptical. Two in two days? This was a rare feat in any sense of the word. With a gentle sigh, he turned around to leave.
"Oh? Something the matter?" The storekeeper asked, truly puzzled by his behavior. "Most kids who come in stay for hours to get but a glimpse, yet you've been here to have a good look?"
The boy shrugged. "Why tease myself with what I will never gain?" He asked rhetorically. "I'd never be able to pay for it, let alone pay for it in the long run. I've a thousand Poke-dollars on me and that's all I have, that'd never be enough."
This cynical outlook surprised me. I didn't think he's be so... reluctant.
'Him.' I projected, my psychic voice echoing through the shop. 'Five hundred and no more.'
"What?!" The storekeeper barked. "Five hundred?! That'd never-"
'You dare to deny me, after all these years?' My voice called, louder and angrier than ever before. 'I warned you before, storekeep, I warn once more; Depression is but the feeblest of emotions I can project. Five hundred, with proper Poke-food, no more of this Berry bread crap.'
I could sense the storekeeper angrily think of denying me what, by right, was my decision to make; but he went over the costs in his head, and he couldn't come up with any better alternatives.
"Fine." He grumbled. "Five hundred it is."
The boy, confused, reached for his wallet and fetched out the five hundred, handing it to the storekeeper. I heard the glass case on my prison be unlocked, and soon a small jolt of static electricity surged through me. Finally, I was free!
'The food as well.' I said through the air, before making my conversation privately between me and my new master. 'Please, do not release me until we are back at your home.' I said. 'I would advise taking a quick detour to a Pokemon hospital, but please only on the Restoration machine; I think I require a good bath.'
The boy understood, though he didn't voice out loud, and he was soon handed Poke-food by the storekeeper.
"Well, seeyah pal." He said. "Place won't be the same without you."
'I'm sure you'll find some other way to bring in customers.' I grumbled.
With a quiet goodbye from my savior, we left.
He stayed silent as he walked to the Pokemon Center, I could see that he was contemplating what had just happened to him, not to mention what might happen to him the next day at school. I didn't know what to say to him, I really didn't. Here was my chance to be free of that hell I called an existence, and I had leapt on it so quickly that I never thought of his opinion.
Soon I felt healing waves flow through me. Muscles that had long ago lost their strength being revitalized and my mind being strengthened back to its once proud, powerful self. Again I could see without having to force my mind to interpret the world around me. I was returned to the boy's possession, and he put me into his pocket before walking the short distance back to his home.
When we arrived, I could see how he had never seen me before. The house was a two storey home, semi fresh paint across its front and a very clean car in the driveway. The lawn was freshly mown -by him, according to his memory- and there was a constant, irritating barking. I couldn't make out where it was coming from, however, but it was coming from the house. A few seconds later, another dozen steps, and the front door exploded open, a mass that I could barely make out rushing through the open doorway and tackling him to the ground.
"Yeah, yeah. Hello, Colby." He grumbled, like it was something that happened every day. "I missed you too, you big soppy. C'mon, get off."
The mass of shadow climbed off him before frantically barking and rushing back into the house madly to inform of his arrival back home.
'What' I began, talking within his head again, 'the hell was that?'
He stayed silent, and I noticed a stray thought move through his head.
'I'm sorry if I unnerve you.' I said kindly. 'You can talk to me in any way you wish.'
"... It's quite alright." He mumbled. "Just a little odd. And that, by the way, was my mother's Houndoom, Colby. She was a stray we picked up and have been nurturing back to health."
'That explains why I could not see her...' I mumbled nonchalant. 'Talking with me will be easier once I'm out of this prison.'
"You mean your Poke-ball?"
'Yes.'
He seemed to consider this. "I didn't think Pokemon thought of them that way."
I sighed. 'Most probably don't.' I said. 'However I have stayed within this tiny sphere for at least ten years. It is, to me at least, my tomb. While it registers me under your name and makes me yours, I wish not for it to exist.'
"I can probably hide it somewhere safe, far from even your sight." He replied, giving me at least a small glimpse of hope. "For now, let's go get you a bath, and a name."
He walked into the house, closing the front door tight and stepping through into the family room, where his parents were waiting.
"Keller, where've you been?" A female human, clearly his mother, asked. "It's almost seven at night!"
"I went to the Customize shop." He replied. "I was told that there was a legendary Pokemon there, and I went to see for myself. I did my chores, I even did extra."
"... Alright, then." She said. "If that's the case, did you find out anything?"
"Oh, I think I may have done better than that." Keller said cryptically, both of us finding the humor in his response.
He walked out of the room, going to his bedroom upstairs and finally into his bathroom where he locked the door behind him.
"Alright, let's get a look at you." He said as he released me from my prison.
I waited for my materialization to finish before I stretched, feeling every joint in my body ache from disuse.
'It's been too long.' I grumbled telepathically.
Keller, however, seemed to be in a slight state of shock.
'Something wrong?' I asked. 'You were sold a legendary Pokemon, and here I am.'
"Yes." He said. "But I never expected you to be Uxie!"
'What were you expecting?' I asked. 'Celebi? Mew?'
He shrugged. "Just... something a little more common." he mumbled, before screwing up his face and moving to open the window. "Phew, you do smell a little ripe, don't you?" He asked rhetorically. "Just let me fill the bath."
I sighed, moving towards the window so as not to stink up the room so much.
'Sorry.' I said quietly.
"No need to be sorry." Keller replied, stroking my cheek with a knuckle. "It's not your fault that the store owner took such poor care of you." He turned the water off and motioned towards it. "Tell me if it's too hot, Uxie."
'... Could I have a name please?" I asked. 'It may be hard to come up with one so suddenly, but...'
He thought on it for a moment or two. "How about Jasper?" He asked. "It's a type of precious stone."
'That should do fine, my master.' I replied, getting a frown. '... Did I say something... wrong?'
He shook his head, motioning to the water again. "Don't call me Master." He said. "Use my name, Keller."
I tested the water carefully before letting my psychic levitation go and falling into it with a small splash. It was so very relaxing, being in such warm water was making the pains of my joints go away. I gave a contented sigh, and he became curious.
"Why don't you open your eyes and look at me?" He asked.
I gave a gentle chuckle. 'I have the ability to erase the memories of any being with my eyes, which is why I keep them closed. I've tested it before, and it's like amnesia, however it takes a very long time to recover from.'
He moved closer and moved me to a sitting position before running a sponge over my back, causing me to do something I'd not done in years.
I was purring.
His touch, while firm enough to clean me, was gentle and caressing. His methodical hands seeming to wash away my stress and tight, cramped muscles. He used a small container to pour water over my head before he started scrubbing there, carefully washing my face and unique head. He traced a finger along the ridges on my head, finding ticklish spots I didn't know existed before dumping more water over my head to wash away the excess soap.
"You like this, do you?" He asked, scratching a nail down my spine and making me kick a leg.
'Yesssss...' I replied, almost dreamily.
"Well, I've got to wash your front now." He said, turning me on the spot and slapping the sponge to my chest. "Just tell me if I'm being too rough."
Rough? This? The first contact with another living being in years feeling like heaven and he thought he was being rough?
He lifted my arms, cleaning me thoroughly before, gingerly, venturing down.
This is, at the time, what I could sense from him:
The body heat in his face had risen dramatically, and he was sweating a little. He was extremely nervous, not to mention much more reluctant to clean down here than he was anywhere else.
'I am not going to bite.' I said. 'Just be quick, get it over with, and we can go on with our night, hm?'
"I... Yeah." He mumbled. "it's just that..."
'Oh please.' I said, giving my psychic voice an edge to sound like I had snorted it. 'If I don't like it, it's not like I can't stop you. Get it over with, we've not got all night.'
Keller nodded gingerly, scrubbing the sensitive area with as much force as he dared before venturing to my legs, which he was much more industrious on.
'Oh, for Arceus' sake, give me a rag.' I grumbled, taking the offered cloth from his hand and turning around. 'Wash my tails, I'll clean my front.'
He chuckled at how disgruntled I was, but I really wanted to get myself clean again, and I soon felt the sponge being run along one of my twin tails.
For a few minutes, we sat in silence as we went about our separate duties. After I had finished, I waited patiently for him to finish cleaning my tails before turning around and offering my legs.
'Now you can move on to these.' I said. 'And no tickling.'
"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, gently swirling a finger through the light fur between my toes, making me writhe. "No what?"
'I'll get you for that!' I snapped playfully, causing water to spout from the bathtub and into his face. Laughing, he wiped his face dry.
"Guess I deserved that." He chuckled.
'Guess you did.' I mused as he started to scrub one of my haunches. Again, I was purring almost nonstop, a sound that was not lost on him when he scrubbed my feet and toes carefully, getting just the right spots to make me whimper at his sly tickling. He pulled the plug, letting the water drain away before turning the faucet back on and filling a small bucket-like container, which he promptly poured over my head, succeeding in washing any residual soap away.
Gently he lifted me from the bath with a towel, wrapping me up and roughly drying me with it. It was, despite the roughness of his actions, comfortable.
Holding me in one arm, he folded the towel over and put it on the sink top, laying me down on it and taking out a blow-dryer to finish drying my fur. When it roared to life, I jolted a little in shock, not realizing that it would be so loud. Keller didn't laugh or even think that it might have been funny in the least, putting a hand on my back to reassure me.
Moving the hot air across my back, tails and legs, he ran a comb through my fine fur to smooth it back into place and make me streamlined again. He dried the back of my head and neck, continuing with the comb, before turning me over and drying my front, still using the comb to keep my fine fur smooth and silky.
He flicked the blow-dryer off and lifted me into his arms, taking a moment to hang the towel on a hook on the door before unlocking it and carrying me back out of the bathroom.
Now I smelled clean.
He carried me back out of the room down to the family room, what was probably only a short walk, but in that small distance I was rocked into a light snooze. I was awoken by a gentle shaking, and I lifted my head to signify I was awake.
'Sn? Hmm?' I telepathically grunted. 'W'ssup?'
"Jasper, I'd like you to meet my mother and father." Keller said.
With my mind, I looked about the room; noting where the adult humans were and turning my head in their directions. I heard a snuffling, and turned my mind's eye down to find the Houndoom's darkness looming directly below me. Keller knelt down so that she could get a good look of me, and I took the moment to sniff her scent, making her figure form perfectly within my head. She was thin. Not dangerously so, but certainly extremely underweight for her size, and she did, indeed, smell friendly.
"Hello, Colby." I said aloud in Pokemon tongue.
She didn't reply at first, still curiously sniffling at my form before nuzzling my face kindly.
"Hello, Uxie."
"My name is Jasper." I said politely. "It's only fair you know my name as I know yours."
She nodded before moving away, settling at the feet of Keller's mother.
'Hello.' I said telepathically to the room. 'I'm sorry if I drift off, I'm a bit tired...'
"That's quite alright, Jasper." Keller said, standing back upright. "It's time for bed anyways. C'mon, let's get you some sleep. Can you float to my room, or do you want me to carry you?"
Thinking this over alone took a fair amount of concentration, and I shook my head. 'I can barely think.' I said.
"Alright then." Keller said. "Let's go."
He carried me back up the stairs to his room, depositing me gently on a pillow before changing into his pyjamas and climbing in the other side.
"Before we sleep, can you tell me how you were captured in the first place?" Keller asked curiously. I sighed.
'I had been viciously attacked by Team Galactic.' I said. 'And, at the time, I was dying. I can still remember it vividly, being surrounded by Mightyena. That was when the Shopkeeper showed up, and used his Heracross to fight them off. He strode up to me and knelt down next to my fallen body, saying 'do you want my help?' Naturally, I said yes, and he captured me within the Master-ball, taking me to the nearest Pokemon Center to get me healed up. After that, he opened the Custom shop and used me as his crowd-drawing centerpiece.'
Keller seemed to consider this before giving my back a reassuring scratch and flicking the lamp off.
"Thank you for telling me that, Jasper." He said. "It means a lot to me."
'You are my family now, why would I need to hide it?' I asked. 'It's... actually nice that someone knows the story.'
Good night, Jasper." He said, rolling onto his side.
'G'night, Keller.'
My mind, for some unknown reason, picked now to become active. It randomly looked about the house, getting my bearings for me, before finally calming down and allowing me to start to drift to sleep.
"Jasper?" Keller shot. "Are you alright?"
'Sure.' I said. 'Just a little tired. Why?'
"You're... crying."
I hadn't even noticed, having been in the habit of crying myself to sleep for so long that it was background noise.
'I'm sorry.' I said. 'I can't help it, it's practically force of habit after all these years.'
Gently, Keller wrapped his arms around me and held me closer, my head against his chest as I cried reflexively.
"Shh." He cooed quietly. "It's alright."
I was taken aback. I could feel his sincerity, the caring way he felt for me. His heartbeat, strong and calm, felt warm to me, and I drifted to sleep, for the first time in years;
without crying.
I awoke the next day curled up underneath the bedsheets, using a large portion of what I had as a pillow. It was warm and comfortable, and, for a moment, I wondered where I was. Vaguely I recalled the day before, going over what had happened in but a few short hours in my mind. I didn't other asking myself if it was real, the evidence all around me would make it a stupid question; instead I pondered what would be happening this day. I was pulled from my reprieve quite effectively by a pair of hands wrenching me from the bed. Momentarily I was shocked, scared of this sudden forcefulness until I was wrapped into a single-armed hug.
"Good morning, Jasper." Keller said. "It's almost time for me to leave for school. I didn't want to wake you until just now, you looked too adorable curled up in the blankets."
I gave a yawn, stretching a little and nuzzling into his school jumper. 'Thanks for letting me sleep in.' I said.
"We'll have to see about getting you a basket so that you can sleep as long as you want without me waking you to make the bed." He said, moving the sheets about and neatening the bed up. "For now, would you like to come to school with me?"
I shrugged. 'What else would I do?' I asked. 'However, if you have an exam, I'm not helping you.'
He chuckled lightly. "Damn, there goes that idea." He joked, stepping over to his wardrobe. "Ah well, let's get you into something a bit warmer; we can stop back off at the Customize shop and get you some real clothes on the way home."
'But they charge quite a fair amount for that stuff.' I grumbled as he pulled a small, but thick, jumper over my own head.
"That's alright." Keller replied. "Mum'n Dad have given me a little extra to use. They'll bring the money with them when they come to pick us up."
I nodded a little. I didn't think that they'd put themselves out like that just for me.
On the way through the kitchen, Keller grabbed a couple of packets of Poke-food, putting them into his backpack. From what his mind showed, he intended to feed me with them. Something I was looking forward to.
Eventually we climbed into the car and were off.
From the backseat, I observed the world go by; other kids on their way to school, adults and parents in cars driving to work.
I didn't even notice the Customize shop as we went past.
Eventually, however, we pulled up next to the school, a large three storey building with rolling ovals and even a coliseum for those who had Pokemon to practice in a safe environment, just as the bell rang. Keller extracted us from the car, said a polite goodbye to his mother, and walked up the path to his homeroom.
"Maybe I shouldn't have let you sleep in so long." He mumbled. "We're not going to make it there on time..."
I sighed, and quickly read his mind to see where we were headed before wrapping my tails around him as tightly as I could manage.
'Hold on.' I said, before teleporting us both to his classroom. He clearly hadn't expected it, not until we were standing behind his desk, appearing with a quiet pop. Quickly he sat down so as not to arouse suspicion and pulled one of the packets of Pokemon food from his bag, tearing it open and taking out a piece.
"Open." He said quietly, to which I had no qualms obeying.
Oh, I'd not had food of this quality in years...
He chuckled lightly at my reaction to the food's flavour, seeming to melt as I chewed on it.
"My, you sure like that." He mused.
'I've been eating nothing but Berry bread and water for the last ten years.' I replied, opening my mouth for the next tasty morsel. 'You try it and not enjoy anything else after wards.'
He continued to feed me, the food enough to let me tune out the world, and even the crowd we were gathering, until I felt a pair of hands touch my head that most certainly were not his. I swiveled my head slowly until I was facing this new human.
'Don't touch me.' I said, allowing myself to give off a gentle psychic glow. 'I'm warning you.'
The girl simply chuckled. "He's certainly a cutie." She said. "A little slow on who is top dog, but cute."
Within a second, I knew all about her. She was the pompous princess of a well-off businessman, who had the best of everything. Her father had once come in to buy me for her as a gift, yet another trophy for his little darling. Her Garchomp, given to her by her father, had elevated her through the school's ranks to the top trainer because it had simply steamrolled everything in their way. Inwardly I growled.
'Do not touch me.' I said, louder and more menacing than before. 'I do not want to be touched by someone as selfish as you, it might leave a stain.'
She leaned down until her face was level with mine. I could feel her self-satisfactory smugness emanating from her. "It's a good thing for you I'm not allowed to get my Garchomp to wring your little neck here in class."
'It's a good thing for Garchomp, in that case.' I retorted. 'Else I'd have to hand him his own ass. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat breakfast.' I finished the sentence with extra emphasis, allowing Keller to put yet another piece of food into my mouth. Most of the room laughed at my words, but I could sense the frustration caused in the girl's mind by my words. She went to do something physical when another voice rang out.
"Becky, enough!"
My mind swiveled to the one who had called out, the teacher.
"You are already in enough trouble as it is, do not make me add more." He said. "You're lucky that internal suspension for the next two months is all you get for what your Garchomp did."
Becky grumbled.
"Sit down, all of you. It's lesson time."
Reluctantly, the students all sat at their desks, and I could sense the eagerness to meet me in them all.
The first lessons were over quickly, and we left for recess with the rest of the students. Keller carried me to a small table under a Pecha berry tree, where other students were already sitting and socializing, occasionally picking a berry from the tree to feed to their companions. Like a kid in a candy store, I practically hopped in Keller's lap.
'Please?'
With a quiet chuckle to himself, Keller stood up and picked a fresh berry, sitting back down and putting it into my little paws. I gave him a happy nuzzle before I started to eat. The berry never stood a chance his friends joked to each other, watching as I ate it with all the ferocity of a hungry Luxray.
"Whoa, slow down there, Jasper, you'll give yourself indigestion." Keller mumbled, scratching a nail down my spine and making me arc and purr.
'Sorry.' I said, finishing the berry and cleaning off the pit with my tongue. 'It's been a long while since I last had fresh fruit.'
"Hey, Keller, where'd you get this little guy?" A female asked from across the table.
Before he could answer, I butted in.
'I used to be called 'the Pokemon within.'' I said nonchalant, turning my head towards her. 'I'm sure many of you know of me.'
The kids, to a tee, were all surprised, which I expected. What I didn't expect was the next question.
"Who in their right mind would keep something like you locked up in a Poke-ball?"
I couldn't fathom exactly what she meant, so I pressed the matter. 'Something like me?'
She only gave a small laugh and leaned over the table, scratching under my neck with a nail. "Yeah, something this cute." She mumbled. I shrugged.
'Someone who wants to use me to make a quick buck.' I grumbled, turning my head up.
There was a snap from above as I used my telekinetic powers to break off another Pecha, and I caught it in my paws.
"Don't eat too many of those, or you won't eat any lunch." Keller said behind me, lifting me onto the table and poking my nose. It was now that the girl grabbed my tails and poked a scar.
"What's this?" She asked, trailing it with a finger across the small ruby in my tail.
'It's a scar from when Team Galactic attacked me.' I said calmly. 'I will tell you no more.'
"D... Did it hurt? What they did to you?"
I sighed. 'More than you can imagine.' I mumbled. 'Could we please change the topic? It... is unpleasant to talk about.'
"...Sorry." She mumbled, letting my tail go.
'It is alright.' I said, taking a bite of the Pecha berry, starting to purr at its taste subconsciously. 'Curiosity is for the young, much like size is to a Wailord. You ask questions for knowledge you do not yet possess. Just remember that not all knowledge is free.' I gave a sigh and flicked one of my two tails. 'Some must be paid for with pain...'
The rest of the day went rather smoothly. I was, of course, the center of attention from all students, but I mostly shrugged it off. The second lesson period was English lessons, and I mostly tuned it out. Don't get me wrong, I can read and write English, even a few other languages, I was simply bored with the lesson. There is only so much of a dreary teen drama book that can be read before depression sets in, and I wanted to spare myself the trouble. Instead, I spent the entire lesson with my mind in the class next door, scribbling physics theorems on the whiteboard. I was going well until a teacher walked in and discovered it, at which point I hastily erased it before his very eyes.
I waited patiently for him to leave, but instead he picked up a marker and started to write out a lesson, as if nothing had happened at all.
Lunch came and went, this time with me lying in the sun on the table. It was cozy, and I found myself drifting in and out of a gentle snooze until I was lifted by a stranger.
"So, this is Uxie, hm?" He asked rhetorically.
'That's me.' I grumbled. 'Get outta my sun and leave me alone.'
"No, actually I think I'll be taking you with me back to Galactic HQ, we've been lookin' for you."
These words stunned me for a moment, and I swiveled my view to see Keller pinned by a large Machamp under another nearby tree.
'Humph.' I snorted. 'You can keep on lookin'. You did enough damage to me last time, you shall not get another chance.'
I could feel the presence of other, powerful Pokemon coming to my aid, but I had to buy some time for the teachers to get to us, so, naturally, I did what all Pokemon do.
I fought.
The first mental blow bounced off him, psychic attacks having little effect on a human's brain, but when I pried his fingers open and held him in place, it was as if a darkness had been unleashed within me, and it was all I could do to hold back. I flung him across the courtyard, watching him roll to a stop next to a student's Luxio before turning my furious attention to the Machamp. With all the strength I could muster, I forced a Confusion attack into his primitive mind. He fell like a stone, giving me the space to move quickly over and check on Keller.
He had large bruises around his wrists where the Machamp had held him down, and he was looking extremely flustered.
'Keller..!'
"I'm alright, Jasper." He said, reaching up and rubbing a hand over the back of my head. "Just a little bruised."
I turned my face to the floor sadly. 'I'm sorry, Keller.' I mumbled. 'This is all my fault.'
He slapped me across the back of my head, getting a confused look shot in his direction.
"It ain't your fault, it's his fault." He growled. "I'd never blame you for something that you couldn't possibly have caused."
I stayed silent, sadly eying the bruises on his wrists with my mind. 'All I've been is trouble.' I grumbled. 'First to myself, then to the store owner, and now to you.'
"Hey, we all have our bad days." Keller said reassuringly. "I'll get these handled by the school nurse and be right as rain for next lesson. Heh, you might actually be interested in that."
I gave him a curious face. '...Why..?'
"Same reason I didn't feed you lunch." He said. "I've home-EC up next, Cooking class, and we're making quiche. I thought you might like some."
I shrugged, watching as the teachers rounded the corner and swiftly apprehended the Team Galactic member and his knocked out Machamp.
'I wouldn't want to put you out.' I mumbled honestly.
"Nonsense." Keller said, standing up and pulling me into his arms. "After all, I can always make more than one."
Again I stayed silent, looking anywhere bar his wrists and the damage that had been so easily inflicted upon him. He shook me gently.
"Please?"
A few moments later we were sitting in the Nurse's office next to the library. I wasn't paying much attention, still sitting and brooding in my own self-induced depression. I knew he was currently being attended to by the nurse, I could hear her quiet mumbles and his winces at her touch. Each one only drove me further into my reprieve, back into the deep and painful depression that I had only so recently been pulled from. There was a pop, and I turned my attention to a Gardevoir who had just teleported into the room, sitting at my side.
'Hello, Jasper.' She said politely. 'My name is Mika, I'm the Librarian's Gardevoir, and I'm also the school's counselor.'
I shrugged, turning my attention back unto myself. 'Hi.'
'I'm here because I detected your depression.' She explained. 'I understand that you're older than I, possibly by decades, not to mention far more intelligent, but-'
'Is this going somewhere?' I butted in irritably.
She sighed. 'Stop blaming yourself.' She said. 'It's not your fault that Team Galactic happened upon you.'
'If I weren't what I am, Keller would never have been harmed. I brought this upon him, simply by being in his care.'
'No, stop right there.' She snapped. 'This is not your fault! What a third party does is never the fault of the first or second, especially under these circumstances! He chose to enter the school and attack a student, you certainly didn't make that decision for him; you'd never have made that decision. No, it's not your fault that he did what he did. It is, however, thanks to you that no more harm was done. A Machamp could have done some serious damage, and you reacted swiftly and efficiently to do what you, or any other Pokemon, should have done in that situation; you fought back. Not tooth-and-nail, but with all the force you could muster to protect your master. You didn't go far enough to kill, though I'm certain you could if you wanted to, but you did enough to ensure that yourself and Keller were safe.'
I stayed silent, her sudden lecture swirling in my head and drowning out all other thoughts. I turned her a disbelieving gaze, and she only smiled.
'You're a good Pokemon who was dealt the short straw.' She said. 'Your life, thus far, has been unfair. It's time you took what you have and ran with it; you've a long life ahead of you, make of it what you can. Keller's a good kid, he's honest and fair, and he'd never begrudge someone for something that wasn't their fault.'
She stood up and turned towards the door. 'You have a good day, Jasper.' She said, opening the door and walking out.
I sighed, curling up on the bench top for what little comfort it would bring me, and waited for Keller to return.
I must have drifted to sleep, because next I knew I had the school Nurse looking over me, worry in her mind. I heard Keller's voice call to me quietly and calmly.
"Jasper, c'mon, wake up." He called, lifting me into his arms. "Shh, it's alright, I've got you, shh."
Crying myself to sleep again. I sighed inwardly, hating that I had been driven to such a stupid habit. I felt Keller dry my face with a tissue before holding me close to his chest, just like the night before.
"Is he alright?" The nurse asked.
'I'm fine.' I said. 'I've an old habit of crying myself to sleep, that is all.'
Keller sighed. "He was locked in his Poke-ball for ten years solid, he's not many nerves left." He said. "But that's alright; I'll look after him."
The nurse leaned down and scratched the top of my head with her nails. "You poor little bugger." She said.
"C'mon, Jasper." Keller said cheerfully. "Let's go to the kitchens, I've lunch to prepare."
I nodded for what I could, and he carried me to the kitchen areas.
Keller sat me down at a desk, asking me to keep an eye on his bag, before he went into the actual kitchen area of the large classroom. There were students all around, all following the same set of instructions as Keller, and the smell of flour permeated the air. I, for the comfort of it, curled up on the desk, and was soon accompanied by the Luxio from earlier.
She didn't say much, curiously sniffing at me before curling up on the other side of Keller's bag.
A student, clearly the Luxio's owner, stepped over and tapped the larger feline on the nose.
"Got a friend, have we?" She asked, to which the Luxio simply mewled cutely.
'Don't let the teacher see you touching a Pokemon when cooking.' I warned in her head. 'He'll go off his nut. Wash your hands and claim you simply wanted the flour off them.'
She startled, but when I cocked my head to look at her, she gave a warm smile and did as I advised.
Again I must have fallen asleep, because Keller had me in his arms and was cooing reassuring nothings to me, the words themselves waking me from my slumber.
'Oh for crying out loud, did I cry myself asleep again?' I asked, to which he chuckled.
"Yeah, you did." He said. "But that's alright; most of the students in my class know of you as 'the Pokemon within', and they all understand that you might be all but a little bundle of nerves and sad habits after all that time locked up." He wiped my face dry again, giving me one last, reassuring pet, before putting me on his backpack. "Lunch will only be a little longer, so don't fall asleep again, okay?"
I nodded, giving his hand a contented nuzzle, before he walked back to his cooking area and washed his hands.
I sighed, resting my head on the bag. Again I'd cried myself to sleep, this time letting Keller's entire class catch me in the act, a sign of weakness.
'Don't begrudge yourself for your shortcomings.' The psychic voice of Mika rang in my head. 'We all have our quirks, that's what makes us individuals. The students, especially Keller, understand that you've had a very rough life. If anyone at this school is allowed leeway for their quirks... it's you.'
Reluctantly I nodded, and I could feel her brighten up from the action before she severed the connection.
I barely had time to think over her words before Keller lifted me from the bag, putting me on one side of the desk in front of a fair sized quiche.
"That one is yours." He said, sitting at a chair with a quiche of his own. "This one is mine. Dig in, tell me if it's any good."
I nodded, carefully using a sharp knife to cut it into quarters, for ease, and then took a bite.
Compared to anything else I had eaten recently, it tasted like heaven.
Eventually, as it always must, school ended and Keller stood patiently out on the footpath for his mother, holding me in his arms as I purred contently at his stroking. Physical contact of this extent was always something that I wished to enjoy, never getting the chance by having to hide from humanity. Now that I didn't need to hide any longer, I was enjoying every second of it. The recognizable emanations of his mother moved down the street, stopping in front of us and allowing us to get into the car before we drove off. Idly I watched the world pass by, just as before. We stopped at the Customize shop, where Keller and I got out, not before he was handed a fair amount of money by his mother.
'God I hate this place.' I grumbled. Keller only chuckled.
"Don't worry, we'll only be here for a few minutes and then we needn't come here again." He said, giving me a reassuring scratch along my spine.
Once we entered, it was exactly as I remembered. Not much would change in a single day after all. Keller strode up to the counter, dozens of young faces watching him with jealousy, and deposited me on the marble, removing the shirt he had put on me that morning.
"I would like some winter clothes for Jasper, please." He said.
"'Course." The girl behind the counter, Rachael, said. "I'll just get his measurements."
I knew what was coming, and I stood as upright as I could, allowing her to run a tape measure across my anatomy. She scribbled down numbers before putting the tape away and turning into the store. Keller pulled the shirt back onto my shoulders and lifted me off the counter.
'You don't need to pay until you get the finished product.' I said. 'Wait in a chair and-'
My attention had jolted, and moved to the glass case in which was my prison. Something was different, and I motioned Keller to move closer. When we were at the front, right up next to the strange, changing emanations, I did something I'd not done in decades. I opened my eyes and saw what I didn't want to see.
I saw an egg.
It was small and blue, for the most part, with a large white patch and a triangle in the center of it. I was stunned that the storekeeper would stoop so low.
"Welcome back." I heard his familiar voice call. I closed my eyes again and cocked my head to him. "What brings you?"
"We're here to get winter clothes for Jasper." Keller said.
'Where did you get this egg?' I demanded through the air.
"It was given to me by a friend who breeds rare and exotic Pokemon." He said.
I honestly didn't know what to say. He had managed to get himself an unhatched egg and was using it as his new centerpiece?!
'You had better watch yourself.' I warned. 'The price for this egg should not be too high to stop those who it deserves to go to from being able to afford it.'
"What would you recommend?"
I was ready for this, and I had already been thinking it over. 'Three thousand, no more, no less.' I said. 'It is a wise number. Those with little money will save up to try and afford it, whereas those with plenty of money, who would treat it only as a trophy, will think it not worth their time with such a low price.'
The shopkeeper seemed to consider this for a few moments.
'Besides.' I added. 'If you make it a different Pokemon or Pokemon egg each week, you'll have a constant flow of customers who are simply curious to see what it is.'
He nodded, taking a sticker and marker from his pocket and scribbling down the numbers before putting it onto the wooden paneling.
"Deal." He said.
I smiled happily, and we were called back to the counter.
"Now, Jasper." Rachael said cheerfully. "We've finished your clothes, and have added an extra bonus into the jacket, at no added charge. We hope that you'll have a good life, and we'll miss you." She leaned over the counter, putting a box down on the marble and kissing my forehead. "Take care of yourself. Fifteen hundred."
Keller paid for the clothes before lifting the box from the top with one hand and leaving the store. I was, temporarily, saddened by her words, but when we got back home I felt better.
All along, I had been loved, even though I hadn't known it.
Keller took me to his room, where he removed the shirt I wore one last time and tugged the cold weather clothes onto me. He zipped up the jacket before stopping and looking at the zipper.
"Jasper, open your eyes and look at this." He said.
Reluctantly I did as he asked, looking down at my new clothes.
They were blue and gold, not gold colour, but gold fabric, reflecting the environment in warped ways as it curved around my form. What caught my eye the most, however, was the zipper, a Twisted Spoon made of platinum, with a golden Poke-ball embedded in the handle, the words 'good luck' etched into the bowl.
I remember crying.
In two days, I had gone from near-suicidal to beloved companion. Finally, after ten years, I had made the right choice
and started anew.