by Frosterfree
Last time, Ri and Billy were playing together on the
beach of Seafoam Islands. Ri gave Billy a Nidoran to keep as his very
first pokémon. Billy, having never seen a pokémon so close in his
life, fell instantly in love with his new friend. But his parents are
completely against pokémon and Billy must now choose between Nidoran and
obeying his parents wishes. And now, the story…
It was getting late. They watched the sun set
across the water. “It’s getting late Billy. Do you
think we should head home now?”
“Just another few more minutes Ri. You’ll
miss the best part if you go home now.” Ri nodded and sat back down
next to Billy. They both watched as the sun disappeared below the
ocean. The sky was filled with a magnificent amount of color.
“Oh… It’s so beautiful.” Ri
placed her hand gently on Billy’s. He started to blush.
“I… I’m glad you like it. I used the
sit here and watch the sun set a lot when I was younger, but not with anyone
else, just myself, alone.”
“Mhmm.”
“But now, me and Nidoran can watch it together
forever! Oh, and you too of course, right?”
“Oh, yes, of course. Where are you going to
hide Nidoran tonight?”
“Well, I’ll keep it in my pocket until I get home. Then,
I’ll hide it in my pillow. They’ll never find it there.”
“Ok. Well, thanks for showing me that cool
sunset. I’ll never forget it. I gotta run or I’ll be
late for dinner.” Ri jumped up and began heading back to her house. Billy
was still sitting on the beach with Nidoran.
“Don’t worry about anything Nidoran. My
parents may not like pokémon, but I think they are wrong ‘cause you are the
coolest. I’ll never let them take you away. But if I
want to keep you, I need you to stay inside this ball thing while we are at home
otherwise they might see you, ok?” Nidoran somehow understood. “Oh,
now how does this thing work anyways?” Billy shook the tiny ball
but nothing was happening. Nidoran, being familiar with pokéballs
from before stole the ball from his hands. “Hey, I need to get it
open first. Huh?” Nidoran tapped the button and Billy
watched as the ball expanded.
“Nidoran, nido, nido.”
“Ah, I see.” Nidoran tapped the button
again and was taken into the pokéball. Billy was kinda scared for a
sec but then realized what had happened. “Ok, now I get it. Great.” The
ball reduced its size as Billy picked it up. He placed it in his
pocket and hurried home.
“So son, what did you do today?” Billy’s mom
asked. His dad was reading the newspaper.
“See, another attack just over that silly card game. I
tell ya, those pokémon are ruining our youth today. Back in my
day…”
“Please dad, not another story.”
“What? They aren’t that boring are
they?” Billy and his mom attempted to mask their thoughts. “Hmm,
guess so. Ok, but still, this is getting so out of hand. I’d
rather see you grow up to be doctor or something important, not a pokémon
trainer.”
“What’s so wrong with being a trainer? If
you’re really good, you become famous worldwide!”
“That’s enough Billy. You hang around Ri
too much. She’s a bad influence on you, her parents owning that pokémon
adoption store. Just another marketing scam in the long line of pokémon-related
crap.”
“Stop saying bad things about Ri!” Billy shouted. He
covered his mouth quickly.
“Listen young man. You are my son and
you’ll do as I say. Got it.”
“Yes, sir…” he said softly.
“Billy, we just don’t want you getting involved with
something that is the cause of so many problems. We’re looking
after your safety.”
“I’m ten years old mom, I can take care of myself. I’m
not a baby anymore.”
“But you are still young enough to have to live under
this roof so be respectful. No pokémon, ever. One day,
people will learn it’s just silly to do all that and move on to having normal
jobs again.” Billy could see arguing with his parents was useless
so he ran to his room.
“I’m going to do my homework now. Just
call me when dinner is ready.”
“Ok. It won’t be too much longer.”
Billy closed and locked his door. He started
crying. “It’s not fair. It’s just not fair. Why
can’t I have nice parents like Ri. Her parents understand pokémon. They
don’t think it’s evil. Oh…” Billy reached into his
pocket and pulled out the pokéball containing Nidoran. “Don’t
you worry, they won’t ever find you.” He placed the ball in his
pillow. His mom called him for dinner.
“So Ri, are you and Billy going to see each other
again?”
“Huh? Mom…”
“Hahaha, sorry. You two make such a cute
couple. How’s he doing anyway?”
“His parents don’t want him getting involved with
pokémon, but he’s become attached to that Nidoran I gave him.”
“Well, Billy must decide for himself what he wants to
do. When I was young, my parents wanted me to do other things than
raise pokémon, but that was what brought me the most joy. When they
saw how much fun I was having raising pokémon, they decided to let me become a
breeder. Maybe Billy’s parents will come around.”
“I don’t think so. They are really
against it, and I mean against it. I don’t think they like it that
we hang out together because I’m into pokémon.”
“Well, Billy’s a smart kid. He’ll find
a way to discover his own path. But maybe you should play a small
role in all this. The last thing you need is for his parents getting
mad at you. I agree, they can really be pains most of the time.” Ri
nodded and they ate dinner. Ri’s father was still away on business
in Celadon City, so he wasn’t able to attend dinner with them often.
The next morning, Billy woke to a normal alarm clock. “Ohh,
why does school have to start so early.” He got out of bed and got
dressed. Then, he grabbed his books and went into the kitchen for
breakfast. He forgot all about Nidoran in his room.
Ri no longer attended public school mainly because she
had done well enough to qualify for home schooling. The schools in
her area really didn’t teach much about pokémon anyways, mainly because of
Billy’s parents and some other older folks in their village. She
and her mom practiced different pokémon breeding exercises in the mornings
before opening the store. During the day, her mom taught her about
finances and other business concepts.
Billy finished his breakfast and realized he had
forgotten the pokéball with Nidoran. “Oh no.” He ran
back to his room. His parents were waiting inside. “Umm,
I forgot a book in my room.” His father was holding a small
spherical object.
“Are you sure you weren’t forgetting this?” Billy
was paralyzed. His face was white, his hands frozen, his heart
pounding faster and faster. Tears started to fill his eyes. “How
could you do this to us Billy? We told you that pokémon are not
good, they cause young kids to get in fights and make them start trouble. Why
did you disobey us?”
Billy’s eyes searched everywhere. He
couldn’t speak. His mind was racing. Thousands of
thoughts filled his mind of what would happen next. He could bear to
think of what his dad would do to Nidoran. “Daddy, I love my new
Nidoran.”
“NO!”
“Yes. I… I… I want to be a pokémon
trainer. I want be collect different pokémon and become famous. I…
I…” He couldn’t speak another word. Tears were
dripping from his eyes at a steady rate now.
“NO NO NO! This isn’t happening. We
raised you to be a normal child, not some pokémon-loving freak like that girl
Ri.”
“STOP MAKING FUN OF RI!” Billy attempted
to take the pokéball from his father’s hands but was unsuccessful. “Give
it back!”
“No. I told you before. You are
to have nothing to do with pokémon ever, or Ri for that matter, understand.” His
father’s temper was building. Billy’s mother tried holding him
back.
“Look what you’ve done now Billy. See how
mad you’ve made me and your father. Is this what you repay us with,
after all the love and care we give you?”
“Give Nidoran back! Give him back! Give
him back!” His tears flew from his face as he kicked his dad’s
leg. “Give him back to me! Please daddy! I
love that pokémon and I won’t let you take him away.”
“Stop this now. See what this thing has
done to you. You’ve become messed up in the head.” As
angry as he was, Billy’s dad couldn’t bring himself to hurt his own son, no
matter how much Billy retaliated. He only gripped the ball harder.
“Billy stop. You’re not acting like the
Billy we used to know. Listen to your father and look at yourself. You’re
attacking him over a stupid pokémon.”
“Nidoran isn’t stupid! He’s the
greatest thing that’s ever happened to me and I won’t let you take it.” Billy
landed a strong kick to his dad’s shin. He limped slightly and let
go of the ball. Billy quickly jumped up and caught it. “I’ve
found what I want to do in my life. I’m going to become a pokémon
trainer. I don’t care what you say. If you care anything
about how I feel, you’ll support me and let me go.”
His dad recovered. “How dare you. That
stupid girl’s been putting words into your mouth hasn’t she.”
“I TOLD YOU TO STOP TALKING BAD ABOUT RI!!!” Billy
was completely red now. His anger was raging inside him. He
took a book out from his bag and threw it at his dad. “I hate you! I’m
never coming back, NEVER!” He ran out the door with Nidoran’s pokéball
in his hand. He tried to whip the tears from his eyes.
Billy’s father easily caught the book and looked at
the title. “Intro to Medicine,” it read. A tear formed
in his eye. “Oh dear… what have we done?” His wife
tried to comfort him. He looked at the book again. “What
have we done to our little boy…” They didn’t pursue their
fleeing son.
“Ok, so what’s the most important thing in raising a
pokémon, no matter what type?”
“That’s easy, trust.”
“And why?”
“Without trust between the trainer and their pokémon,
the pokémon won’t understand the trainer’s true feeling towards it and
won’t know that the trainer will always be there for it.”
“Very good. You are going to make a fine
pokémon breeder some day. Ok, are you ready for the next…” Her
mother heard someone approaching.
“What’s wrong mom?”
“Someone’s at the door I think.” Ri and
her mom both went to answer the door.
“Billy???” Ri took a quick look at her
friend and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Aren’t you
supposed to be in school now? What happened? Why are you
crying?” Ri’s mother backed away. She knew Ri could
take care of this herself.
“M… m… my parents found Nidoran. Daddy
tried to take him away but I wouldn’t let him. And… so… I…”
his sentence trailed off with his crying. Ri put her arms around him
to comfort him.
“It’s ok Billy. It’s ok…” She
patted him softly on the back. Ri’s mother stayed back and watched
her daughter. Billy was calming down now.
“{sniff}I… I ran away from home Ri. M…
my parents don’t want me to be a {sniff} pokémon trainer, but that’s what I
want to do, not be a doctor.” He had stopped crying and his face
had turned back to a normal color again.
Ri let Billy have a chance to reorganize himself. “It’s
ok. Everything’s gonna be fine ok.”
“Uh huh,” he sobbed. Ri gave him a warm
hug and they sat down at a table in the back room.
To Be Continued…