Luna winced as the cold, clammy, slick feeling of mud from the forest floor squelched under her tiny hooves. Her barrel heaved in and out, as she galloped at full speed, without any clue where she was going. Her eyes darted side to side in a panic. She was looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide. Come on, think Luna!
Her nostrils flared as she bellowed in exhaustion. Behind her the sound of trees toppling over could be heard, while beneath her hooves there were intense vibrations and quaking; it was getting closer. Those eyes. I have to escape those eyes!
Completely focused on finding a place to hide, Luna failed to look straight ahead and slammed head-first into a solid rock face that was covered in vines. Falling, dazed from the impact, she winced as she felt the warmth of blood trickling down her muzzle. She knew however, there was no time to cry about the pain. Looking furiously around, she saw a small crevice, just barely wide enough for her. Problem was, she couldn’t crawl through it, no, she would have to slide.
Staggering to her hooves, her muzzle throbbing in pain, Luna dazedly took two steps back, just as the ground ten-hoof lengths behind her erupted in a spray of soil. The unearthly screech of the beast filled the air. There was no time to think, Luna instinctively ran straight at the rock, letting her body drop to the side as the vines that had burst from the mud reached for her. Closing her eyes, Luna slid into the pitched-black crevice as the vines slammed into the rock.
Opening her eyes, she realized there was no ground beneath her, and Luna plunged into the depths of the unknown. And as the chilling wails of the enraged creature tore through the air above her, they grew fainter and fainter still, before they vanished completely. And still, she fell.
***
Luna felt a strange sensation of warm liquid washing over her after minutes of endless falling. The stinging impact caused her to shakily open her eyes. She was in a pool of water, an underground spring, in the middle of a massive subterranean cavern. Quickly, she struggled to reach the surface of the water. Breaking the Waves, she let out a whoosh of breath and greedily gasped for air, before glancing up.
She noticed the hole through which she had fallen and the sparkling of crystalized stalactites, dripping in the glow of an unknown light source. The entire blackened cavern was slowly lit-up by the strange glow, revealing a miniature island nearby, upon which she could swear she saw three statues.
Painfully, she doggy-paddled her way to the island, her body completely fatigued. Sleep...Must... She was so tired. As she climbed out of the water, her head hit the strangely warm sand, and her eyes closed. So tired...Need...Nap… In her passed out stupor, Luna failed to notice three small figures slowly gathering around her and reaching for her, with little hooves, paws, and tiny leaf-like claws.
***
Hrm...Hngh...Huh? Luna wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious, but as her eyes groggily opened, she was greeted with a strange sight. She was laying, underneath a blanket of woven leaves, with a bowl of fresh fruit, and another one of clear water beside her. Besides the bowls in a ring of stones, a little campfire blazed and its glow filled her with warmth.
She blinked, and tried to sit up, wincing in pain; before noticing a strange binding of seaweed and kelp wound about her midriff, right where the pain was. What in the… Confused, Luna used her magic to pull the bowl of fruit towards her, before cautiously sniffing it. It smelt fragrant, as though it were just picked. Carefully, she examined a berry within and gently nibbled it. It was crisp and refreshing. Delicious! Greedily, she immediately gorged herself on the rest of the bowl’s contents; eagerly plunging her muzzle into the soft, succulent fruit before gulping down the sweet, cool bowl of water. So good.
Her content expression fell from her face as she examined her surroundings. She was in a strange hut, the walls made of vines. Confusion filled her eyes, as a myriad of thoughts raced through her mind. Where am I? How did I get here? Where did these things come from?
She blinked as a little otter carrying a small bowl waddled into the straw hut, humming to itself. Its midriff was light blue and on its chest was a strange-looking shell. Oshawott? Luna watched in silence, sitting there, as the little Oshawott placed the small bowl beside her. As it put the bowl down, Luna could see it was filled with fresh water, and the little Pokemon quickly gathered up the empty one, seemingly oblivious to Luna, sitting there, staring at the happily humming sea otter.
She smiled at the antics of the creature, as it gathered up the empty bowls. It took a few tries, before the Oshawott, stumbling and dropping the wooden bowls, managed to stack both comfortably in its little paws. Concluding its antics at caretaking, and with Luna watching the scene with amused silence, Oshawott turned to leave. It was just before it left the hut that Luna found her voice, calling out to the adorable sea otter, awkwardly.
“Hey!”
Freezing in place, Oshawott’s body trembled as it slowly turned to face the beaming, smiling face of Luna. She continued, though seemed to have a hard time finding the words.
“Um...I...Thank you.”
What happened next, Luna never understood. Its eyes grew wide, the face of the Oshawott flushed with a bright red as a blush spread across its cheeks. It tossed the bowls up, turning, and darted through the grass door, loudly squeaking.
“Osha! Osha, Oshawott!”
Luna barely had time to blink, before two grassy vines burst through the opening, wrapping around her and immobilizing her. She watched as a tiny pig and a slightly-taller snake-like being with two small legs entered the doorway.
The pig was small and orange, it had a black band around its barrel and seemed to be chiding the strange snake, from which the two vines emanated from. Is that a Tepig? Luna watched the Tepig’s snout flare as it berated her assailant, emitting a cloud of smoke and embers from within.
The snake-like creature was focused on her, however. Its eyes were narrowed, as though trying to appear tough, and rolled its eyes at the Tepig’s chastising tone. It turned to look behind it, where Luna could see the Oshawott cowering.
“Snivy?”
The trembling Oshawott merely whimpered a response at the cold tone.
“Osh.”
The Snivy rolled its eyes again and another vine appeared from its back, this one slapping the Oshawott on the back of its head.
“Snivy!”
Luna was at a loss for words, as the vines holding her were retracted and the Tepig turned to look at her. It seemed apologetic and its voice was oddly feminine.
“Te-Tepig.”
Luna smiled at the adorable gesture the Tepig made and grimaced as the Snivy turned towards the Tepig and gave a mocking tone.
“Sni- Snivy! Snivy, Sni vy Snivy.”
Luna blinked in disbelief. What did she just say? The Tepig was preparing to reply when Luna stamped her hoof.
“I can too, understand you! Why would you say such a thing? Of course I understand you! After all, you’re speaking P...on...ish..”
Her voice trailed off as the two starter Pokemon stopped arguing to stare at her in surprise. The Snivy cautiously addressed her.
“Sni?”
Luna blinked and still a little shaken by the situation, herself, responded.
“Yeah, r-really.”
The little Tepig became excited and began to squeal happily.
“Te-Tepig-Tep! [ Chosen! She’s a Chosen!]
Luna was unsure what it meant, but whatever it was had an immediate effect on Snivy's mood. The hardened eyes of the small serpent softened and welled with tears. Sniffing, she seemed resolute in keeping her voice even as she replied.
“Sni-vy. Snivy Snivy, vy sni.” [Seems so. I need some air.]
Before another word was uttered, the Snivy turned and ran from the hut, pushing past the Oshwatt, tears streaming from her face.
Completely bewildered, Luna turned to the Tepig for an explanation. The look on the pig’s face was grim as she explained.
“Tepig. Te-te Tepig Tepig…” [Serpentia. Out of the three of us, she’s the only one that actually had a trainer.]
“Wait, she had a trainer? What happened? Where are they?”
Scuffing a hoof and looking down, the little pig took a deep breath before explaining the events that had led to Serpentia, the Snivy, being abandoned.
“Pig, Tepi-Tepig Tep-Te, Tepig…” [Every starter dreams of being picked by a trainer, what we call a Chosen. For Serpentia that was no exception. She was delighted when a young boy chose her, a few years ago. The two grew extremely close and were inseparable, though the young boy had a heart of gold.
To get out of these woods, a Chosen must be tested by trial, a fight against the forest’s guardian. Only then could they prove they were worthy enough to proceed on their journey. The trial tests the bond of Chosen to Poke’mon.
The little boy panicked when he learned that the trial resulted in the death of the losers. He didn’t want her hurt, so he put her in her Poke’ball and left her in this grotto. He vowed to return, but like so many Chosen, failed to subdue the guardian.
When we found the Poke’ball, we let her out and followed her as she raced to his side, but it was too late. All that was left was the crumpled, mangled form of the boy that had been her trainer.]
Luna looked to the grass-woven door.
“So is she looking for revenge?”
***
In a cavern beneath the lake the Snivy sat, her back to a large pile of rocks, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to yell, to scream, but it wouldn’t matter. None of that would bring him back to her. The stones were piled around a crudely made marker; of woven grass and branches. Carved into the marker was a single name: Jason.
In the darkness she sat, her vines extended and holding a worn, rusted, and cracked Poke’ball. Why? Why wouldn’t you let me help you?
***
Luna paused and considered the possibility. Those tears, that pain. Luna knew what it was like to lose the chance for closure, to never be able to let go of the past. What she had wanted to tell her sister, what she never said. She whispered.
“Some scars never heal, do they?”