The Crazy, Red Cat

Pokémon Idea 2 - [M(T)PJ: New Beginnings]

It was late in the day when I came across a strange boy. Well, I can hardly call him a boy — he was my age, or maybe a year or two older, after all, and I was no longer a child. He wore simple clothes, a simple baseball cap, and was fairly tall, with light green hair and eyes. His hair was long, much longer than mine, and was bushy or thick after the low ponytail it was tied in. He, unlike other people our age, carried no Pokéballs, or he hid them.

Many young people in Castelia City had wanted to battle, to prepare for the gym. I was willing to oblige, and Luxray loved the thrill of battle. She only lost once, being so experienced, and I was at the Pokémon Center when I met the odd, green-haired stranger.

Only half the Pokémon on my party were out of their Pokéball, as Charizard and Venusuar were too large and would take up too much room while we waited for Luxray to come back from Nurse Joy's Audino. I was listening to them, and I tried not to say long responses that let on my ability to understand them, but I guess I wasn't as secret as I had hoped when the stranger wandered over.

We greeted each other, and I started to introduce my Pokémon, before he interrupted me. "Could I greet them myself?" he asked politely.

I was surprised, but I saw no harm. "Uh, sure."

The first odd thing was that he seemed to understand them. Lucario was the first one he addressed, and when Lucario asked a question, "What's your name?" the stranger smiled.

"My name is N, for short, Lucario. Nice to meet you."

Lucario seemed vaguely surprised, and glanced in my direction. Persian was gazing at N curiously as he greeted Persian. "He can understand us?" the cat Pokémon asked me after responding.

"I can," N answered. He looked at me. "Can you understand your Pokémon?"

I didn't want to answer, and I got a bit nervous. "She knows us," Serperior offered, saving me from lying or being suspicious, and drew his attention. "And that is good enough for us. You are the second human to understand our speech."

N looked back at me without a word, as if he was testing the truth. "I understand my Pokémon. What he says is true," which was partly true. I had known them long before the Ditto DNA, and could more-or-less get the idea from their tone, body language, and a short game of charades.

"Very interesting," N mused. "You care for them a lot, then?"

I gave a half-smile. "I like to say, 'You fight my party, you fight me,' I assume you can get your answer from that."

"Yes, I can," N said, chuckling a bit. "And what is your name, then?"

I considered saying Pearl or Ruby, but I decided against it. "I'm Crystal," I said, offering my hand. "Nice to meet you, N."

He took my hand and we shook. He then seemed to notice the array of Pokéballs attached to my PokéBag. "You have at least two others," he commented.

"I do, I have six to my party. One is being healed, she had some fun battles today. The other two are large Pokémon, so until Luxray is all good, they agreed to wait in their Pokéballs."

At the mention of battles, the faint smile of N's faded a bit. "Oh. I had hoped you didn't participate in Pokémon battles."

Not participate in battles? "Many people do. It creates a bond and trust between Pokémon and trainer. Plus, Luxray loves the competition. She hasn't had a good battle in a while, and was so enthusiastic when trainers asked to battle. She even offered to fight," I added.

"Did she?" he asked doubtfully. "May I wait with you and ask her?"

I shrugged. "I mean — if you want, sure."