This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by so few... There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these strange creatures. And you are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...
Chapter 16 - Malnourished Undertaking
As he made his way quickly through the forest, thanks to Kirlia's guidance, he noticed her expression oddly turning from serious and intent on catching up to the thief, to... Something more along the lines of... Perhaps guilty? Maybe... Sorry...? It wasn't a happy expression to be sure, and as Chris looked at the ground, he noticed the trail Snivy left behind growing fresher and fresher, up to the point where they looked as if it had just taken a step where he was. "Its slowing down I think... And its tracks are looking worse and worse too... Like its stumbling and dragging its feet..." he said quietly, slowing his pace to a steady walk, looking around at the ground. "...Kind of looks like its been falling too. It seemed pretty weak when it came out of the rucksack... Its probably not good for it to use so much energy..." he told Kirlia as he squat down to look at the trails. "Thanks for the help Kirlia... Its not far from here for sure..." he muttered, standing and continuing forward. He came to a point where the foot prints stopped and a trail, seeming as if it had started dragging itself along the ground, appeared.
"...Should be just past these bushes. A clearing is right on the other side..." he told Kirlia, putting a finger over her mouth to signal her to remain silent, getting a nod in response. Slowly making his way along, he carefully pushed his face through the large brush, seeing if it was indeed on the other side, and sure enough, there it was, sitting and weakly trying to open the Pokeball, repeatedly tapping it against its head as its body shuddered from head to toe. "...What is it... Trying to do...?" he mumbled, tilting his head as the Pokemon started crying while bonking the Pokeball on its head over and over again, trying to pull it open with its small hands and teeth. It eventually stood up and let itself fall forward onto the ground, swinging the Pokeball forward and hitting it on the ground with it. As it lay clutching its stolen good, it started to let out loud yet raspy noises while sobbing, and as Kirlia listened along with Chris, she suddenly patted his shoulder she was sitting on, pointing towards the miserable Snivy, getting a nod from him in response. He carefully pushed his way through the brush and stood in plain site, putting his hands in his pockets while watching the small Pokemon start once again trying to bonk the Pokeball on its head and pull it open while laying on the ground curled up.
"...Why do you want to open it so badly? What's the point of it...?" he quietly asked, walking up to Snivy and looking down at it with a calm face, raising his eyebrow. It tried to push itself away from him, shivering all over as tears continued streaming from its eyes, and it once again started bonking itself on the head with his Pokeball. "...All that will do is make you hurt more than you already are. That is a special Pokeball... Sealed shut for a reason... And I don't appreciate you trying to force it open. Something really special to me is inside there..." he calmly told Snivy, squatting down and holding out his hand. "...It doesn't matter what you may be going through, its not alright to steal from someone, no matter the reason. Especially when you never know what the value of something as simple as that may have in the heart of the person you stole it from..." he said as Kirlia faced towards the whimpering Snivy with a sad expression. The small Pokemon shut its eyes and suddenly tried to throw it at him, only flopping it on the ground in his direction instead. "...Sure are weak, aren't you? Thanks for giving it back... Even if you meant to hit me with it..." he told Snivy while picking his special keepsake up and looking it over. "Nothing a little tlc can't buff out... And it doesn't look like it came open at all... Good..." he muttered, asking Kirlia to hold onto it for him, getting a nod in response.
"...Snivy should be right at home in these parts, with plenty of food to spare that suits their diet. Why did you let yourself get in this kind of shape when you've got nourishment all over the place?" Chris asked, sitting down with the small Pokemon as it kept its weary eyes focused on him. "To be so depressed... So run down like this... Who or what caused these things...?" he asked, reaching out to touch the terrified Pokemon. In response, the Snivy reacted in fear and it swat his hand with its tail, slightly cutting his hand in the process. "Tsssss... Asked for that one I guess..." he grumbled, rubbing the cut scowling. "...I got a feeling its more someone than something who made you this way, what do you think Kirlia...?" he asked facing her, getting a shrug then a slight nod in response. Looking back at Snivy, he saw it was having a hard time breathing normally, trying to get up as its eyes seemed as if growing heavier and heavier. Chris shook his head with a sigh, and after a moment, reached out to it and picked it up, standing as he wiped its eyes. The nervous Pokemon didn't take too kindly to being picked up by a stranger however, and started wasting more of what little energy it had by flailing, thrashing its tail around and cutting Chris's face several times as a result. He gave Kirlia a shout to do the thing she did to him, and with a nod she grabbed its tail as it smacked her in the face, suddenly making Snivy freeze wide eyed before being put under into a slight daze.
"Thanks... I owe you one..." he told her, seeing she had the mark of the Snivy's tail across her face now from being slapped for helping the Pokemon. "Ha ha... We better get your face taken care of so that doesn't swell up too... It really gave you a good one..." he laughed, causing her to suddenly smack him for mocking her. "H... HEY!!! That's not fair!! I can't dodge or react or anything with you on my shoulder!! No hitting!!" he growled, with Kirlia sticking out her tongue in response. "I already have scratches all over my face too... Geez..." he grumbled, turning and walking back into the woods with the dazed Snivy in his arm. He took the Pokeball back from Kirlia and let out a sigh, rubbing it against his shirt to wipe away some of the dirt. "At least we got you back grandpa... Now we just gotta make sure this fella' turns out alright..." he said to the Pokeball, glancing at Snivy as it groaned. He had to stop several times to get a grasp on where he was, having to backtrack using his own footprints to find the trail where he left his stuff. However, once he finally found his way back, he also discovered he never bothered to put his belongings away he had tossed out all over the place, and with a sigh he took a few of the clothes and made a bed for Snivy, asking Kirlia to keep it calm and be ready in case it suddenly started freaking out again. With a nod he sat her down next to it while he cleaned up the area, packing his rucksack bit by bit.
"Man... We could have already been most way down the outside of the border if it wasn't for the... Detour..." he said with a sigh, shaking his head as he put the last of his belongings neatly in the rucksack. "We could still make more progress, but with that Snivy in the state its in... It wouldn't be too easy. And we can't leave it behind like that, its bad off enough to... Well..." he paused, looking at his grandfathers Pokeball before setting it in the rucksack as well. "Never mind... We should do something about its weakness though before doing anything..." he told Kirlia, walking up to the two and sitting down with them. "Its really messed up... I just don't get how it could be so dirty and thin living in a forest like this with water and food all over the place..." Chris muttered, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't like thinking the Snivy could be... Perhaps... Suicidal... And whenever it popped up in his head he quickly shook it away, rubbing the exhausted Pokemon on the head, noticing it seemed to refuse to doze off completely, even with Kirlia's influence keeping it in a relaxed state. "...Say Kirlia, that thing you did when you somehow showed me what happened to you before we met... Can you do the same thing with other Pokemon...?" he asked, making her tilt her head and shrug in response. She reached over to Snivy and tried to go inside its mind, but as soon as it felt her trying to do so it quickly shook her hand away, weakly making noises as its head flopped back down onto the bed of clothing, panting while slowly shaking its head as if saying no in a strange way...
"Well... I'm not gonna try to learn anything you don't want me to know then... Be that way if ya want, it'll only make it harder for me to understand you and help you out." Chris responded, crossing his arms while closing his eyes to think. "We should feed it... But its so weak it would choke on most anything probably... And it needs a bath, but using water that's cold would probably shock it too much in its state and do more harm than good... And it could probably use some disinfectant too... It looks beat up a bit..." he mumbled, sorting out a plan in his mind. "Well then... Guess I'll get to work. It can't be helped..." he told Kirlia in a somber tone as he stood, looking down at Snivy while its dazed eyes followed his movements. He went around rummaging through the brush surrounding them to find rocks, setting them in a circle and setting a small amout of tiny twigs and leaves in the middle, lighting a small fire. "That should be enough..." he muttered as he took his two bottles of spring water and poured them into a pot, setting it down on the small sizzling fire to heat up. He took out a rag and some disinfectant, setting the materials down near Snivy, and set off into the nearby woods, picking materials to feed Snivy with.
"Lets see... Some of this... Ah... Those are good... Hmm... And... Touch of..." he muttered, picking at plants and crawling on the ground gathering various ingredients as well. "Ohh... Mushrooms... Might be good... Then... Mrrmm... And..." he continued to mutter, causing both Kirlia and Snivy to watch him with bewildered expressions. He finally came back out after a few minutes with a shirt full of random vegetables and fruits, including some herbs. Going to the pot, he sat down and took out a beater and a cup from his rucksack. "Better to be safe... So I'll just do a little of this... And pour a bit of that... Then... Probably... Kay..." he mumbled, putting various things in the cup, then pouring a touch of water in. He repeated this several times, with each cup of whatever he made being put in separate places on two different plates. Once everything was finished, he picked up the pot with what water remained and sat it next to Snivy, bringing the two plates over as well with a spoon. "Alright then... Lets see if we can't get you fixed up..." he told the nervous Pokemon as it tensed up the closer he got, holding onto its tail as it curled up. He slowly touched its head, causing it to let out a quiet startled noise, and once he started softly rubbing it, Snivy relaxed little by little, eventually looking up at him, although still shivering. He scooped his hands underneath it and carefully lifted it up. "There now... I'm not gonna hurt ya... I made something special that should go down nice and easy..." Chris told it as he scooped some of what he made into the spoon and held it up to Snivy's face, letting it smell the food.
Chris had actually gone through the trouble of thoroughly grinding and blending its food up, separating everything accordingly, with the various fruits on one plate, and the herbs and vegetables on another so the tastes wouldn't mix. Snivy weakly looked up at him in response, and Chris gave him a smile. "Just eat... Alright?" and in response the Snivy looked back at the spoon and slowly opened its mouth. "Atta' fella... Good..." he calmy replied, tipping the spoon against its mouth so its contents would slowly flow inside. Snivy rolled the food around in its mouth for a moment before swallowing, letting out a quiet yet happy sigh while rubbing its stomach. "Good... Good! Looks like you can manage this just fine then..." Chris responded, giving it another spoonful as Kirlia made her way up to him, holding onto his side and facing up. He continued to quietly feed Snivy little by little, with its weary eyes slowly showing a slight spark of life deep within them again as it ate, now relaxed and content as Chris took care of it. Kirlia closed her eyes and leaned against Chris's side, with her horns glowing dimly unbeknownst to him. With a smile, she absorbed his emotions into her mind, feeling his tender heart... And as she absorbed what it was feeling in her mind, it was like a stream of honey bled from his heart and oozed into her, making her heart flutter like butterflies in an open field under the sunlight. She couldn't help but let out a happy and peaceful sigh, as while Chris fed Snivy with his hands, he was also feeding Kirlia with his heart at the same time, making them both feel safer... Happier... And deep down... All the more full of life and warmth...
She suddenly gave him a hug, causing him to jolt and look down, finally noticing her next to him. "K... Kirlia...? Its hard to feed someone while another person is holding onto you ya know..." he told her with a slight blush, not sure why she was suddenly being so affectionate towards him. She backed away, rubbing the back of her head with an embarrassed laugh, sitting down beside him with a smile from ear to ear. He blinked at her confused, and with a shrug, finished feeding Snivy. "There now... Two plates worth of food, down the hatch... You feel a little better...?" he asked, with Snivy looking up with a dreary and sickly tone still covering its face. But it suddenly gave him a small smile, letting out a weak and crackly sound in response. He gave Snivy a smile nonetheless and nodded. "Well... That's enough for me... Now lets get you cleaned up..." he said, suddenly getting the rag and dipping it in the warm water left in the pot next to him. He gently and soothingly cleaned it off, wiping clean every inch he could until its body looked nice and fresh again. But as he bathed it, he also discovered the Snivy was a female, and couldn't help but chuckle quietly. "Whoo boy... Hope you behave less persnickety than Kirlia does from time to time..." he thought to himself. However, he could feel nearly every bone in her tiny body due to her malnourished state. He kept a smile on his face nonetheless and held Snivy up in the air. "There... You look amazing now! All clean with a happy stomach... Feels good, huh?" he asked, with Snivy looking down showing a slight smile, letting out another quiet and raspy sound.
"Well... Now that you've eaten and had a bath, lets get those little injuries taken care of and see if we can't get you to take a nap. We'll take good care of you while you rest..." he told Snivy, laying her back on top of the bed of clothes. He took the disinfectant and some cotton and started tending to her body, getting random sqeals in response with her eyes welling up with tears, squirming in pain as he burned her cuts and scrapes. "I know, I know... I promise its gonna make you feel better. Just try to manage..." he told her as he asked Kirlia to drag his rucksack over, taking out bandage rolls to wrap Snivy in. Once he was done, he pet her on the head until she stopped crying, Snivy looking over her body now covered in bandages, feeling her full stomach and clean skin. Snivy looked up at Chris and slowly rested her head, her eyes finally closing to rest as tears streamed from them as she allowed herself to seep at last, the trembling gradually subsiding until she lay still, breathing with some difficulty as before, but definitely better now.
"...Hope we can find out what in the world happened to her Kirlia. This... Its just unbelievable... With the kind of place its in around here, Pokemon like Snivy should be healthy and happy as can be..." he spoke in a quiet tone, rubbing her on the head as he looked down at the sickly Pokemon now in his care as well. "Say... You kind of have a hobby when it comes to singing... Huh Kirlia...? Think you could maybe give the fella a lullaby to sleep to...?" he asked, with her facing up in surprise. Tilting her head, she made a sound as if to ask... "Lullaby...?" and he nodded. "Yeah... Something people sing to make someone feel relaxed... Something that makes them sleep peacefully... Can you do that?" he responded, with her smiling and nodding in response. Lifting her up and sitting her on his lap, Chris rubbed Kirlia's head as she started making soft, sweet, and gentle noises in a melodic tone, slowly swaying from side to side on his lap while the Snivy's tears slowly stopped and she began to show just the smallest smile while resting before them.
"Thanks Kirlia... Good job..." he told her, hugging her and suddenly giving her a kiss on top of her head, doing so in a strangely subconscious manner without thinking about it, looking back at Snivy without paying his action any mind. Kirlia's eyes went wide as could be and her face seemed to glow so brightly you'd think her head was about to burst, but she shook it off and kept singing, pushing what happened into the back of her mind as Chris continued to hold her and rub her head as thanks.
