A Lillipup's Love {2015 PKMN Watties}

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Thank chuuu Grenineon (twinsie <3) for the deep and thought-provoking cover!

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I think I fell asleep somewhere during the wee hours of the morning, because the next thing I knew, my cage was being carried by someone. With panic seeping through my veins, I frantically looked around me.

My surroundings were shrouded with darkness.

Trying to see how the person who was carrying me looked like, I tried to twist my head at an awkward angle and look upwards. Unfortunately my vision was blurred, and tears sprung in my eyes, all because of the cool mist my surroundings were emitting.

Where were we, anyway? Since I couldn't see, I had to rely on logical conclusions. It was cold, it was dark, and a person whose arms were nothing like Hardy's muscular ones were carrying my cage.

I could only think of one thing: I was outside the room. The room where my life had revolved around.

I had mixed feelings--exhilaration, fear, excitement, nervousness, and anxiousness. Whoever had carried me away was obviously a Pokémon Thief. I mean, who else would sneakily get a Pokémon from the pound without Hardy's permission?

Try as I might though, I couldn't see whoever had taken me. Feeling frustrated and afraid, I began to bark as loud as I could, knowing fully-well that I could catch lots of attention through barking.

But this only made the human run faster, making the cage sway even more and making me dizzier. I stopped barking and put my paws over my head, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

I could only wait helplessly as the strange human continued to carry me, all the way to who-knows-where.

Just before I lost consciousness I did a silent prayer to Arceus, hoping that whoever this person was wouldn't hurt me in any way.

Starting a Pokémon journey'd sound nice.....

Them my vision darkened.

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When I came to, I found myself lying on a bed. Yes, a bed. The experience was so rare for me that I quickly jumped off, afraid of what the bed might do to me. Having been taught to sleep on the hard ridges of a cage, I wasn't sure what to make of a comfy thing like this.

My heart beating like crazy, I quickly backed away from the bed, watching it intently, afraid of what it might do to me. As I backed away, I felt a cold, smooth surface behind me. Whipping around, I saw what resembled a door.

This was a door, right? I had no idea anymore. Being locked up in that room, I could only see glimpses of the outside world when Medicham comes and boasts about her experiences.

I eyed my surroundings warily, from the tall thing on four legs in the corner, a big black rectangle with lots of buttons below, and a huge, brown square that held lots of books.

This was all too much for me to take. And not to mention the floor. I looked down uncertainly at it, the smooth and slippery exterior too rich for my tastes. I shuddered involuntarily. I was too used to cold and hard. Why change to cozy and soft?

Suddenly, the door opened and I found myself running away, yipping, towards the four-legged thing which I guessed was a table, running underneath it.

All I saw from my position were two purple boots, both dirty and smudged with mud. They hardly moved, except for a twitch, and I decided that the human who was wearing these was waiting for me to come out.

So I did. Not out of curiosity or anger, but because I wanted to prove to myself that at least I was brave. Brave enough to come out from under this table like a courageous little puppy.

However, the moment I saw the owner of the boots, I yipped and ran back to my hiding spot.

I'm not used to seeing other humans except Hardy.....

I heard the girl laugh, although it wasn't as mean as Medicham's or Aggron's. It was an amused laugh.

"Please do come out," I heard her say. "I don't want to hurt you, really."

As if I would believe her that easily. My mother's words came back to me like a thousand warning bells.

'Never trust humans so easily.'

I barked out my protest, trying to sound brave as I did so. Unfortunately I only ended up sounding like an injured Pachirisu.

I heard the girl sigh wistfully. "Look. I'm sorry if I stole you from the pound. It must be the only place you know as home, isn't it? But I had to."

I listened intently on what she said, although I had the fierce urge to correct her. The pound was not my home.

But what sense would it be if I barked out the words? She's a human. She can't understand me anyway.

"But," she continued, not caring in the least if I was listening or not. "I overheard two men talking about some poor Lillipup about to be slaughtered in the pound somewhere in Rustboro. I was mortified. So, I came all the way from Littleroot Town to save you."

My heart stopped beating for a millisecond. I was about to be slaughtered!? I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe evenly, but I couldn't help it. Two fat tears formed in my eyes.

Soon enough, I was sobbing, great, big tears falling down my cheeks. I let out a series of whimpers and put my paws over my head. I couldn't help it; I was about to have the same fate as my mother if it wasn't for this girl.

"Oh, come on." The girl's voice was filled with remorse and guilt. "I'm sorry for telling you that, Lillipup. I just thought I'd let you know."

Then I felt two hands closing in around me, and I realized she had crept down quietly and had now gotten ahold of me. I tried to wriggle my way out from her grip, but I couldn't. Not when I had lost all my strength.

Pretty soon I was cuddled up against her chest, and she was walking out of the room we were in. I continued crying, not caring that I was doing so while I was cuddled against a girl I didn't even know. For all I knew, she could've been lying about the whole slaughtering thing, an excuse just to be able to get my trust.

But you know what, reader? I did trust her, almost involuntarily. I trusted her without a single thought. I trusted her without even stopping to think it over.

I trusted her as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Acknowledging this gave me a whole series of emotions--fear, nervousness, curiosity, and anger. I was afraid of this realization, that it was so easy to get my trust. I was nervous because, now, I was in the hands of a stranger. I was curious because I never experienced this before. And I was angry at myself for giving in so easily.

Where was the wall that I had built ever since I came to the pound?

Where was the coldness that I usually directed at everyone I saw?

And more importantly, what was so special about this girl?

...

And that was how I met Rachel. My savior. My princess. My Trainer. My hero. My heiress. My strength. My light. My hope. The one I promised Arceus I would never leave, even if it meant losing my life in return.

That was how strong my love for her could be.

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