Rin was fixing her Rasta and pushing the curls back into the mass of a knit cap. Her Cubone stood loyally beside her as she trudged through the grass. The little Cubone, appropriately named Femur, was hitting his club against trees as they walked through the forest. Rin was not dedicated to making poffins or earning badges. She loves cute contests.
However, Rin was weird; her definition of cute is not quite the same as other people’s.
Rin and Femur stopped to rest a second and check the town map. ‘Okay!’ Rin exclaimed, trying to remain excited for her journey home. ‘We are headed back to Hearthome from our visit with grandma in Solaceon…’
Femur nodded ‘Cu-bone!’ he answered, his voice echoing in the skull that was much too big for his head.
‘I think she should move to Hearthome!’ Rin said, she stomped her foot. Startled, Femur jumped up and started marching in circles around Rin. Rin tugged on her Rasta’s little bill once more before charging through the forest.
Now, what really surprised Rin was the small Burmy, scrambling around picking up spare leaves. It surprised her so much, in fact, that she drew back her foot and punted the Burmy back into the treetops. ‘Oh my… did I just do that?’ She said.
Rin shrugged, scooped Femur up in her arms and continued walking. With each step she took, Femur bopped her lightly on the head. Step, bop, step, bop… her entire way home.
Rin got home and dropped Femur and her bag unceremoniously on her couch. ‘Mama, I’m home!’ she called into the kitchen. She tromped up the stairs and switched on her cell phone. Reading her messages one by one, she rolled over onto her bed. Rin sighed deeply and was starting to dose when, WHOMP! Femur jumped onto her stomach and started chanting loudly. Second came Sui who knocked Femur over then sat on Rin.
‘Sui if you don’t get off of me, I’ll beat you up!’ she said, her voice lost its harshness in the last few words though.
‘Pfft’ Sui scoffed, ‘you can’t beat me up, weakling!’ Sui stood and straightened his shirt. ‘I am the almighty Sui! Fear me!’
‘No’ Rin said. She turned from him and crossed her arms.
‘Please?’ His voice grew quiet.
‘No,’ she turned back towards him. ‘You’re rude and stinky.’ Rin reached out and grabbed his top hat, ‘and wear funny hats…’
‘Says the girl in a Rasta…’ Sui muttered, snatching his hat out of her hands.
They stood in silence for a short while, making faces before Rin got a brilliant idea. ‘Let’s play a game!’ she called, already halfway down the stairs. As Rin reached the landing, Sui jumped over her, landing in a heap on the floor of her living room. Sui groaned and rolled over onto his side.
‘What are you lying around for?’ Rin laughed. She kicked him in the side as she headed for the door.
‘You’re a meany face!’ Sui called after her. Femur jumped on his head and bounded after Rin.
Sui scrambled up and made his way outside; he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a PokéBall. He fumbled a second before pressing the button and tossing it into the air. His Chatot, Jayme, flapped her wings desperately before falling, still flapping, into Sui’s arms. ‘Let’s go Jayme! Rin and Femur are already way ahead!’ Sui said. Sui held out his right hand palm upward and Jayme stretched out her wings, Sui set her into his palm and launched her, paper airplane style, into the air.
‘Fear me!’ Jayme called from the air, singing the words loudly enough for everyone in Hearthome to hear. ‘Fear me! Fear me!’
When they reached the secret forest hideaway, Rin had already opened their containment log and was reading comic books. ‘You already got the comic books?’ Sui complained, Jayme landed on his shoulder and screeched a last ‘fear me!’ before Femur threw his club at her.
‘Find food…’ Rin said, waving him away so she could finish the last chapter in her ‘‘PPA pals’’ comic book.
‘Food? Where?’ Sui asked, his head swiveled around as Jayme repeated him. ‘Food?’, ‘Food?’, ‘Food?’ they echoed each other.
‘In the forest, of course!’ Rin laughed, ‘You two are so dense!’
Sui skipped off, chuckling at Rin’s joke. ‘Get it, Jayme?’ He laughed, ‘Dense… Forest… Bahaha! That was clever…’
Static came over Sui’s Walkie-Talkie while he was picking up fallen Cherrub berries, finally, Rin’s voice came in over the speakers.
‘Sui… Sui!’ Rin hissed. ‘There is something scary eating my books!’
Sui plucked the Walkie-Talkie off his belt loop and held it closer to his face, ‘What’s it look like?’
‘I think it is a Pokémon, Sui.’
Sui sighed and popped a berry into his mouth. ‘Yeah, but what’s it look like, Rin?’
‘Purple…’
‘And…’ Sui prompted.
‘Red eyes…’
‘And…?’
‘And tiny hands… just come see!’ Rin said, she sounded panicked and Sui could hear Femur chanting in the background. In his mind’s-eye, Sui could see Femur walking in circles around Rin as she crouched behind a bush and whispered into her Walkie-Talkie.
When Sui got back, he spied a Venonat in the middle of their clearing. ‘Well… Rin’s never really liked bugs…’ said Sui.
He walked up to the Venonat and looked down disapprovingly. ‘Now, Venonat, it is not nice to scare Rin’ He said, ‘because then she calls me and I’m not nice to Rin-scarers…’
‘Just move it away from the books!’ Rin called from behind her bush, ‘Like… over there!’
Sui looked over to where she was pointing, across the clearing, at the waste bin. ‘This isn’t trash, Rin!’ Sui said, squinting at her. He flicked the tip of his hat up and glanced down at the Venonat. ‘Well, V. Boss lady says to throw you away but I’m not mean…’ Sui reached down to pick the Venonat up. The Venonat bit him!
Sui snatched his hand away and started screaming profanities. ‘Whatever!’ he screamed. He snatched the fluffy Pokémon by its antenna and slapped it. ‘Bad Venonat!’ he yelled, and with that he dropped it and kicked it, like a soccer ball, back into the forest.
‘What on earth did you do to that innocent Venonat!’ A booming voice yelled from behind Sui, he turned to see the bushes rumble and shake as someone made their way into the clearing.
Sui shrunk a little, holding his injured hand to his chest.
Out of the large bushes stepped a girl. She stood firmly with one hand on her waist. With her other hand the girl flipped out a badge.
‘I am Kei! I am a Pokémon Protective Agency Junior Officer! What were you doing to that Venonat just now?’ Kei said. The smart-mouthed young girl flipped her PPA badge closed and crossed her arms. Her Vulpix, Pyre, snarled.
‘Nothing…’ Sui muttered, his Chatot landed on his shoulder and started repeating what he had screamed to the Venonat.
‘You know…’ Rin said, stepping out from behind her bush. ‘My favorite thing about Jayme is that she can rearrange that so it rhymes and becomes a song…’ Rin pat Jayme on the head gently.
Kei turned red and it looked as if steam were coming out of her ears. ‘You said that… To a poor Venonat?’ Kei yelled.
‘Hey look,’ Rin mused. ‘That rhymed too!’
Kei stepped forward on her right foot and pointed at Sui. ‘Pyre, use Flamethrower!’ She commanded loudly, her voice boomed through the forest as her Vulpix breathed in heavily. Out from his small, round muzzle a flurry of red flames sprung, enveloping the two strange trainers and their Pokémon.
In addition, over Kei’s booming you could hardly hear the whisper of Rin telling Femur; ‘Femur, baton twirl.’
The flames spun and wrapped around the bone as Femur spun his club in the air. He threw it up and the flames dispersed.
‘Wow…’ Rin sighed, ‘Now, wasn’t that stunning… We need to team up in a contest sometime, Kei!’
Kei furrowed her brow and slouched her shoulders. ‘Yeah, maybe…’ she sighed.
‘Awesome!’ Rin cheered. ‘Can’t you just hear the crowds screaming our names, Kei?’ Rin laughed, twirling and bowing for a pretend audience. ‘Kei and Rin! Kei and Rin! Kei and Rin!’ She chanted. Femur bounced up and down chanting, ‘Cu-Cu-Cu-bone!’
Jayme even started up the chant, ‘Kei and Rin!’ She cheered.
‘But what about our routine, Rin?’ Sui said.
‘Oh! I am sorry Kei our routine must be canceled. I work with Sui, he is my contest partner!’ Rin said.
Kei tried to hide her sigh of relief. Kei slammed her fist against Sui’s head before leaving. ‘You hurt a Venonat again and you get a ticket!’ She called over her shoulder as she stalked off towards Hearthome.