Zoe saw the new kid again, this time on her walk home from school.
It had been raining for pretty much the entire day, so most of the other students had been picked up by their parents as soon as school let out. Zoe, however, wasn’t so lucky. Since she lived only a few blocks away, it didn’t make sense for her parents to spend the fuel to drive over and get her, just so she wouldn’t have to get a little bit wet. Besides, neither of them would be off work this early anyway.
Fortunately for Zoe, the rain had died down to a very light sprinkle; this made her walk home through the wet suburbs tolerable, despite the fact that she had forgotten to pack an umbrella, raincoat, or any kind of rain protection at all.
“Hope my tights don’t get wet,” the schoolgirl muttered, referring not to the raindrops splashing onto her curly black hair, but to the current state of her diaper. The thick, tape-up garment, pink and white with a “Hello Skitty” design across the bottom, had served her faithfully for several hours; after a full day of school, however, it was starting to reach its limit.
Zoe reached a hand under one of the legholes of her black shorts; her eyes widened as she felt wetness - not just on the pink tights covering her diaper, but also soaked into the shorts above.
“Oops, guess it’s too late for that,” she lamented, absentmindedly wiping her hand on the side of her pink backpack. She shrugged. “Well, at least it’s raining, so if anyone sees me, they’ll probably just think I splashed in a puddle or something…”
Zoe looked around; her brown eyes, slightly darker than her skin, scanned the rainy streets. She sighed dejectedly as she confirmed that she was still the only person traveling on foot in the inclement weather. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have minded if someone else had been there, just so she wouldn’t have to be so lonely on the cold, wet walk, short as it was..
As the schoolgirl continued her walk, her mind wandered to the mysterious child she had seen several times throughout the day, who she had dubbed “the new kid.” The few glimpses she had caught of them had been through the window, while she was inside doing schoolwork; each time, the strange kid had been standing out on the empty playground, looking in at the class from behind a weird mask. Zoe had asked around, but no one knew anything about a transfer student, nor had anyone else reported seeing the masked figure.
“So puzzling!” Zoe mused aloud as she stopped for a moment. She bent over and pulled up her white socks, then adjusted the straps on her mary janes, which were a yellow hue matching that of her long-sleeved top. When she had finished, she looked back up.
That was when she saw the new kid.
The small figure, whose upper body was obscured by a blue-and-white poncho, was walking in the same direction as Zoe, about a block ahead of her. Their bottom looked to be clad in nothing but a fluffy all-in-one cloth diaper, its colors matching those of their poncho.
“They aren’t wearing any pants!” Zoe gasped in shock.
No sooner had she said this than the figure spun around, their ornate blue-and-white mask becoming visible as they did so. Upon seeing her, they turned back around and picked up the pace, now power-walking away from her.
“Hey, New Kid!” Zoe called as she picked up her own pace to match. “Wait up!”
The new kid did not wait up, instead breaking into a light jog.
“Wait! I just want to talk to you!” Zoe called, now jogging herself; her big, fluffy pigtails, bound by pink hair ties, bounced with each step. “I’m not gonna hurt you or nothing, I promise!”
The shy stranger was running now, and so was Zoe; she chased them down the rainsoaked sidewalk for a couple of blocks, even passing the turnoff to her street in order to stay in pursuit.
Suddenly the new kid slipped, falling facedown onto the wet pavement with a pained “Ger!” Their mask flew off, skidding a few meters in front of them with a clatter.
“Ohmigosh!” Zoe exclaimed as she ran up to the fallen child. “Are you okay?” She knelt down in front of them, extending a hand to help them up. “That looks like it - “ She stopped, gasping as she saw their face.
Looking up at Zoe were two big, yellow eyes filled with tears; said eyes were set in a sparkling green face, which also had a fierce, fanged mouth.
“Og-her-her!” sobbed the new kid, clearly a hurt and scared Pokemon.
“Aww, there, there,” Zoe comforted, talking as she would to her baby sister, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. Come on, let’s get you off the cold, wet ground, okay?”
The crying Pokemon eyed Zoe’s hand, then her face, then her hand again, before reaching out and accepting help up.
“There we go,” Zoe said as she assisted the small Pokemon to their feet. She could now see that their body was leafy and green, darker than their face; yellow and white flowers popped out in a few places.
“Ponnn…” the Pokemon muttered as they wiped their face with the sleeve of their poncho. They were still sobbing, albeit more quietly now.
Zoe turned around and retrieved the mask. Up close, she could see that it had two gemstones resembling teardrops inlaid in the cheeks. “Oh, your mask is so pretty!” she said, handing it back to its owner.
“Popo!” the Pokemon snatched their mask back, quickly putting it back on.
“You know, I saw you at school,” Zoe said, keeping her voice low. “You looked so lonely, standing in the rain by yourself. Are you…maybe looking for a friend?” She reached her hand back out, this time for a shake. “My name is Zoe. What’s yours?”
The Pokemon lifted their mask, cautiously looking the human in the eyes before reciprocating the handshake. “Ogerpon!”
“Nice to meet you, Ogerpon!” Zoe said with a grin. “Um, is it okay if I still call you New Kid? I like giving my friends silly nicknames.”
New Kid thought for a moment, then nodded, a big smile.on their face. “Pon pon!”
