Just then, the Gardevoir's form shimmered into existence beside them.
Ralts stiffened and immediately ducked behind Zane, not daring to look at its father.
Zane looked at the cowering Ralts, then at the stern-faced Gardevoir, and was suddenly struck by the strange feeling that he was in the middle of kidnapping someone's daughter.
No, wait, I'm not trying to kidnap Ralts!
The Gardevoir was silent, but Zane guessed it was communicating with Ralts telepathically. He didn't know what was being said, but he could see Ralts's mood visibly sinking lower and lower.
Seeing this, the Gardevoir paused, a look of pain and hesitation flickering in its eyes. It turned its gaze to the human standing before it.
Zane immediately straightened up, his whole body tense.
A voice, impossible to pin to any gender, suddenly echoed in his mind. "Do you wish to take her with you?"
Zane blinked, realizing it was the Gardevoir speaking to him. In the anime, May's Pokédex had described Ralts as the "Feeling Pokémon." It could sense human emotions with the horn on its head. They rarely appeared before people, but they would willingly approach those with positive and cheerful dispositions.
And its final evolution was Gardevoir, a Pokémon that could create miniature black holes with its bare hands and was even capable of Mega Evolution. A Pokémon with that much potential, one that would literally sacrifice its own life for its trainer... who wouldn't want one?
So, Zane answered honestly. "Yes."
The Gardevoir stared at him for a long moment. "You do not have the power to protect her."
It was the honest-to-god truth, and Zane couldn't even begin to argue. He figured if their roles were reversed, he wouldn't entrust his own sweet, innocent daughter to a broke, powerless kid, either.
He didn't respond. The Gardevoir looked back at Ralts and asked, right in front of Zane, "Do you truly wish to leave with this human?"
"Ral..." Ralts hesitated. It could feel its father's emotions: the reluctance, the sadness, and the overwhelming worry.
The Gardevoir let out a sigh, its voice softening. "Then go, and do what you wish to do."
With that, it turned and began to walk away, alone.
"Ral..." Ralts let go of the hem of Zane's shirt, standing frozen, completely at a loss.
Zane felt like the world's biggest villain. But I didn't even do anything!
He sighed, exasperated, and knelt down in front of Ralts. "Your father is really worried about you," he said gently. "That's why he doesn't want you to leave."
Thinking it over, Zane realized the Gardevoir must know that if Ralts left now, they would likely never have a chance to see each other again. Compared to the Braviary's tough love, this was something else entirely. This was a father who wanted to protect his child from everything, to keep her safe by his side for her entire life.
"Ral..." Ralts looked absolutely miserable.
"Go after him," Zane said, trying to comfort it. "Spend more time with your dad. As for me, I live right here. You can come visit me anytime you want to play."
"Ral..." Ralts thought for a moment, then turned and ran in the direction its father had disappeared. After a few steps, it glanced back at Zane, then vanished in a flash of Teleport.
Zane scratched his nose and, with Cramorant on his shoulder, left the riverbank.
"GAH!" the bird squawked dopily.
Zane wanted to cry. If his bird could just listen to a single command, he wouldn't be in this pathetic situation, stressing out over finding a starter.
Perhaps Cramorant heard his silent plea, because that very night, it brought him a Pokémon that would be easy to catch.
Species: Budew ♀
Type: Grass / Poison
Ability: Leaf Guard
Base Stats: 280 (HP: 40, Atk: 30, Def: 35, SpA: 50, SpD: 70, Spe: 55)
Moves: Absorb, Stun Spore, Seed Bomb
Current Mood: Nervous
Status: Tense (It's so scared)
Friendship: 0 (strangers)
Zane stared at the little green creature huddled on his desk and couldn't resist poking it.
Budew, the Bud Pokémon. It evolved into Roselia, a Pokémon notorious for being used by roadblock NPCs in the games, and its final evolution was Roserade, a powerhouse with a 125 base Special Attack.
The Budew was terrified. It looked at the scary bird that had brought it here, its little body trembling with fear.
Zane sighed. "..."
He really wanted to ask Cramorant what it had done to the poor thing.
In an effort to calm the Budew down (and convince it to willingly be caught), Zane put on his most friendly smile and gently picked it up. A pre-evolved Budew was tiny, only about eight inches tall, looking delicate and small in his hands. It had two little yellow-green legs, and its body was connected to the closed flower bud on its head. Its eyes were squinted, making it look a bit like a baby wearing a drool bib.
"GAH?" Cramorant watched the scene, its head tilted.
Wait a minute!
A thought suddenly occurred to Zane. This Budew isn't... someone else's Pokémon, is it? Like that Pikachu?
Before he could even think about catching it, he found a ceramic flowerpot, filled it with clean soil and grass, and "planted" the Budew inside. It was something he'd read in one of the library books: before evolving into Roselia, a Budew is still very young and needs to absorb nutrients from the earth. Besides that, it needed warm sunlight and clean water.
Zane started watering the Budew, trying to communicate with it at the same time. "Hey, little one. Can you understand what I'm saying?"
As the water trickled down, the Budew gradually began to relax. The bud on its head wiggled slightly, a clear sign that it was enjoying itself. Just then, Zane saw its Friendship rating tick up, from 0 to 5.
Huh. So this works? Zane raised an eyebrow.
"Nini~" The Budew, finally convinced that this human wasn't going to hurt it, let out an adorable little cry in response.
Zane had to admit, it was dangerously cute. But he still couldn't understand what it was saying. The next day, he asked Rika if she could check if anyone at the school had reported a missing Budew.
Rika came back with an answer that morning. She sat on his couch, sipping the hot tea Zane had prepared. Her eyes drifted to the Budew, now sitting happily in its flowerpot on the sunny windowsill.
"Your place has changed a lot since the last time I was here," she said with a smile. "It feels much more... lived-in."
"It does?" Zane looked around. He'd only moved some furniture.
"Mhm, it looks very tidy," Rika said cheerfully. "Anyway, I asked around about what you asked me. No one at the school has lost a Pokémon. Are you planning on catching that Budew?"
So it doesn't have a trainer?
Zane's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes! I want to become a trainer, too!"
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