Midway through a rather nice poem about the moon on still water, she hears the shrill cries and thumping of a Pokémon battle. (In the park? At this hour?)

...concern?

She bookmarks the book, tucks it into her bag, and approaches with caution.

The battle, such as it is, looks rather lopsided; three fat and aggressive Pidgey are assailing a Litwick with gusts of wind which send its flame ribboning through the night air, while it meeps at them in distress. 

In theory one is supposed to be respectful of wild or unattended Pokemon and not go meddling in their affairs and definitely not get into altercations with them.

In practice, those little meeps.

"Hey! Shoo!" she says, swinging her bookbag at the feathery bullies.

The Pidgey are unprepared for the intervention of a kaiju sixteen-year-old girl with a bookbag! They scatter.

She crouches down by the little candle, trying to make herself small and nonthreatening. "Are you okay?"

Tiny meep.

"Poor thing!" She holds out a hand. "I can... I don't know... I don't have any supplies with me, I've never had to treat an injured Pokemon before... I can take you to the Pokemon center and see what they have to say about you, I guess?"

While she speaks, the Litwick slowly sidles closer to her hand, until its smooth round body is nestled against her palm. It meeps again, more firmly.

Very carefully and tentatively, she scoops it up.

Small cozy meep.

Okay. Pokemon center, anyone?

She knows her way to it; in fact it's just north of the park.

When she enters, the Nurse on duty looks up from a crossword. "Welcome to the - oh dear, you look complicated. Where's its ball?"

"I found it being harassed in a park and I didn't have a ball on me."

The Nurse frowns. "Well... hmm. Does seem to like you."

She rummages through her handbag and retrieves a pink heart-patterned Pokéball, then places it on the counter. "Just tap it with the button and see if it wants in, and if it does you've got a lovely little starter in a Heal Ball, and if not I'll just fetch a Potion and you can set it back out."

The pink ball is charming even though she cannot quite imagine herself... carrying it. (It's so pink.)

She tentatively boops the candle.

Boop! Friend is enclosed!

(Eee...)

The nurse smiles. "Alright, and just press the button one more time to let the dear out? Just so I can check it isn't paralyzed or poisoned or anything, check for Pokérus, all that."

Boop?

Emergence of friend!

And the nurse prods the (now much healthier-looking) friend in a couple of places.

"Healthy and happy, to my eye," she declares. "Bit small, a Litwick's usually about twice that size, but the variance isn't pathological. Did you want to name it?"

Oh no. Such responsibility. Terrible.

But she's hardly going to not name her first pokemon. "Um," she says. "Yes... hmm." She tentatively extends a finger to give the Litwick tiny pets. Come on, think of something. Something that will suit this tiny creature and also the bigger creatures it may eventually grow into. "What do you think of... Starshine?" she asks it, although as soon as the syllables exit her mouth she immediately becomes convinced that this is the worst decision she has ever made and everyone is going to laugh at her including both the Litwick and the nurse.

Affirmative meep!

The nurse nods approvingly. "There you go, Starshine. And have a good evening, miss."

"Thanks, you too." Hesitantly, she scoops Starshine up and perches it on her shoulder, then offers it the Pokeball again in case it prefers that option.

Shoulder friend.

Shoulder friend it is.

She steps outside.

She realizes, as she begins to turn back toward the park (and, past it, the house), that she... doesn't want to go home, actually. She doesn't want to sit down for dinner with Aunt Gail. She doesn't want to speak to Aunt Gail. She would kind of like to exist in a world completely separate from the one that contains Aunt Gail.

She turns in the other direction, and starts walking.

North of Nuvema Town is Accumula Town. It's not much bigger than Nuvema Town, but it's at least got a Pokémart.

She's going to be walking for a while.

That's okay. She has a friend with her. A friend who has no context with which to scold her for her bad decisions.

Then, friend in tow, she will arrive in -

no wait that's a Scraggy, hissing loudly and swaggering towards her, holding up its moulting with both hands. Hiss hiss!

"Oh dear," she says. Can she run away? Is running away an option?

Starshine bumps a tiny round cheek against her face and meeps pointedly.

"—really? All right, if you're sure..."

C'mere, Scraggy, this candle wants a word with you.

Scraggy is so ready for a talk! It swings its leg in a low sweeping kick!

...which passes harmlessly through Starshine's form. The Scraggy overbalances and falls in a puff of road dust. An angry meep emerges as it scrabbles back to its feet.

Starshine takes a deep breath and lets out a meep so powerful it's almost more of a BOO!

The Scraggy flinches! It half-heartedly swipes at Starshine with its claws (which, again, pass right through it), but it seems pretty badly spooked.

Time to press the advantage with another spooksome shout!

That's enough for this Scraggy. It scampers off.

(Starshine feels great. Like it's got more Starshine in it. Like it could... do... fire?)

Fire, you say???

Ooh. Fire.

Starshine may now be doing a delighted pyrokinetic happy dance.

Concerning, yet adorable.

No further interruptions come out of the bushes! The remainder of their journey to Accumula Town is entirely uneventful.

They get there around midnight. The lights of the Pokémon Center are seductive; they'll have lodging for weary travelers and their 'mon.

Well, that's good news, because this traveler is pretty weary. (Starshine has by this point dozed off on her shoulder and been gently booped into the Heal Ball to save her the risk of falling off.)

The Nurse on duty shows her to a common room with several sleeping teenagers and supplies her with a sleeping bag and complimentary toiletries.

Flomp.

The first thing she does when she wakes up in the morning is let Starshine out and cuddle her. The world can wait.

Her stomach, alas, cannot. Sighing, she gets up and goes in search of breakfast, bag on one shoulder and friend on the other.

She can get a Kantonental breakfast at the Center or spend a few hundred pokéyen at one of the local diners!

She will go for the free food! Technically she has money, because she had some on her when she spontaneously walked out on her aunt, but it's not very much and she'd rather save it for situations where she has fewer alternatives.

When she's almost done with her breakfast, there's a commotion outside! The tenor of the commotion suggests less of an emergency and more of a minor spectacle.

She hangs back nervously...

...but is propelled forward by Starshine's inquisitive meeping.

"-ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation."

The speaker is tall, and looks... strange. His hair is a pale seafoam green, with styled horns; over his left eye is a red lens; he's wearing a golden robe with purple eye patterns and shining stones woven into it. His voice is loud and well projected, if somewhat shrill.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans only assume that this is the truth? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers. They get pushed around when they are our partners. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"

A murmur from the crowd. Most of them do seem to feel confidently thtat there's no truth to what he's saying.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?"

Someone in the crowd (possibly a plant) says "Liberation?"

"That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."

He vanishes with a pop.

...Chantal is fairly sure she has managed not to oppress Starshine so far what with, as far as she can recall, never actually giving it any commands. She supposes she can't speak for anyone else, though.

Anyway. Perhaps she will... wander around town a bit? See the sights? Pat her tiny shoulder friend?

(Happy meep!)

A boy a little older than her speaks up as she turns to leave. "Your Pokémon - just now, she was saying - hmm. Can that be right?"

He speaks quickly, slurring his words almost too much to be understood, like he isn't used to talking for others to hear.

"Um? Sorry, what?"

"She said you were wonderful. But I wonder... does she really know you, yet? Will she still think so when she does?"

He says it all with a smile, like he's talking about the weather.

thbbbt

So now Chantal has two problems: one, this guy is being really weird and concerning, and two, Starshine just blew him a tiny raspberry and she is experiencing conflicting urges to admonish it for being rude and adore it for being impossibly cute.

He giggles lightly. "But I know humans, little light. We can't always be sweet."

He looks up at Chantal, and his eyes are piercing. "And I wish to see how sweet you are when something is not going according to plan."

From his belt he retrieves a Pokéball, from which emerges a Togepi. "I am N, the king of Plasma," he says grandly. "And I shall battle you."

"I don't... want to?" she tries.

Suspicious meeping.

N's Togepi chirrups at Starshine inquisitively. N himself laughs. "Do you intend to keep your Pokémon on your shoulder forever, never letting her feel the thrill of battle?"

"No!" she says, flustered. "I just don't know how to battle because I've never done it before! And anyway what matters is what she wants!"

...oops, she gendered the Pokemon. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Never mind, moving right along.

She turns her head slightly to address Starshine. "Do you want to fight the weird boy and his Togepi?"

Further suspicious meeping. (Also, reassuring face-pats.)

He faces Starshine. "It's not a trick, little light. I just want to see how you battle."

Meep meep MEEP meep meep.

He frowns, for the first time so far. "I apologize. It may have come off the wrong way... I am used to talking to Pokémon, not humans; this language has too many ways to lie. I meant only to say that I wanted to surprise her with a battle."

Starshine pats Chantal's face again and meeps at length.

He nods and turns to Chantal. "I apologize for freaking you out," he says formally. "It was unbecoming of a king. I must learn more of etiquette. And I will not judge you for your inexperience in battle."

"...thank you," she says, as graciously as she can manage. Did Starshine just stick up for her? Either that or this guy is just crazy, but... but... but she thinks perhaps she has a friend. Oh no, she is cared for, what does she do.

...honestly the thing she most wants to do is ask him how he can talk to Pokemon like that but she has no idea how to even begin to formulate the question.

Starshine meeps acknowledgment and hops down from Chantal's shoulder.

The Togepi opens by waving its stubby little arms and summoning a gust of pink, floral-scented air, which wafts into Starshine with not inconsiderable force. 

Ow!!

Oh yeah well what if Starshine LIGHTS YOU ON FIRE, what THEN.

The Togepi chirrups in alarm! Then it blows Starshine a kiss, which impacts her like a backhand slap. 

...BOO?

The Togepi wobbles on its stubby little feet and meeps its submission.

N picks up his 'mon and strokes its headfluff. "There there, ma coquille. Congratulations, Starshine... and you, trainer."

He takes out his wallet and hands her a ¥1000 bill. "Your reward for a battle well fought."

"I really just stood there," she protests, accepting the bill. As she tucks it away, she informs Starshine, "This is your money."

Starshine first meeps graciously at N and Togepi, then meeps inquisitively at the money as it disappears into Chantal's purse.

"Your trainer can explain it better than I," N laughs. "My Sages have tried to explain the phenomenon many times, to no avail; I only know that it is given out after battles."

"...I don't really... know how to understand Pokemon the way you seem to. I'm not sure I could answer any complicated questions."

He frowns.

"Oh. You can't either? I thought since she likes you so much..."

"I wish I could! It seems really useful! I want to be able to talk to my friend!"

Meep meep meep MEEP meep meep. Meep!

N's brow furrows. "What is... a hug."

...perplexed and concerned headtilt?

Emphatic meeping. Tiny blobby hands attempting to drag Chantal toward N by her shoelaces.

"...I can infer that you want me to demonstrate but I think I would like to demonstrate in a slightly different way first in case demonstrating comes as a surprise."

She crouches down to Starshine level and holds out her hands.

Starshine snuggles into them with a dreamy meep.

N looks perplexed.

"...so... it is one of the things you do to make a Pokémon happy?"

"Humans can also hug other humans." She scoops Starshine onto her shoulder and straightens up. "I think Starshine wants me to hug you, though you'd apparently know better than I would." (Starshine meeps affirmatively.) "I cannot promise that you will like it as much as Starshine does, but I can try if you want."

N straightens up and breathes deeply. "...yes. I need a broader well of experience to draw from if I am to be King. Hug me."

This is going to be the most awkward experience of her life, but Starshine was very emphatic. She will hug the boy.

N is completely rigid. He twitches at the physical contact; when her hair brushes against him he shivers violently. He hesitantly places his hands on her back, then removes them immediately.

After a few seconds, he stammers "You - um - I think I have been hugged. Sufficiently."

"...okay," she says, letting go immediately. "Sorry."

Mournful meep.

N unruffles himself. "You did as I requested! Thank you. I must go now and heal my Togepi, but this has been a most informative encounter. You will see me again, I assure you."

Then he strolls off without waiting for Chantal to say goodbye.

(As he leaves, he may hear some faint meeping behind him.)

Well That Just Happened.

...she is feeling very disoriented now, and thinks that the proper solution to this is to find a park and sit on a bench and read poetry to Starshine until she's all straightened out inside.

No one will interrupt this activity! She can sit, indeed, on a bench in the very park that Ghetsis was ranting in.

Starshine, with some clarifying questions from her human, is able to communicate that she is fascinated with this business of the word sounds being extracted somehow from marks on paper and would like to learn more.

So now Chantal is sitting on a park bench teaching her Litwick to read, a completely normal activity which is definitely not going to get her any weird looks and is not at all causing her to be anxiously hyperaware of passersby and how they are directing their attention. But Starshine asked, so.

Most of the passersby seem to find this activity adorable!

Their regard is still deeply uncomfortable but she supposes she'll take it.

Learning!!!!!

....yeah. That. That's why.

A boy who must be at least two years younger than her is peering at her.

"Hello!" he says, in a Kalosian accent. "Does your Litwick like when you read to it?"

"Um!" she says. "I. Um. Yes. She does. That is definitely an accurate description of this activity." Oh no she gendered the pokemon again. She keeps doing that.

"That is good! I love Pokémon, they are such - such little people, you know? Mon feunnec, viens - it might be nice if they were easier to train, I suppose -"

A snowy white Fennekin makes its leisurely way over and hops onto the bench. "Feu," it says, nosing Starshine inquisitively.

Starshine meeps chattily, attempting to explain to this new creature the goodness of the flat place where sounds live.

"Pah."

Why would you need a flat place for sounds. That is what Trainers are for.

But some of the sounds are PRETTY! And some of the sounds are INTERESTING! And some of them can even be both!

She tugs gently on her human's sleeve and attempts to convey an instruction.

"Oh—um—did you want that one poem again—?"

Emphatically affirmative meep.

"Okay."

She flips to the appropriate page and reads, holding the book where Starshine can see and pointing to the words as she reads them, only mildly mortified by doing this in front of another human.

"Mmr."

The Fennekin will acknowledge that this is a pleasant kind of sound for a Trainer to be making. It curls up, tail twitching.

"That is a lovely poem," the boy says when she's done. "Milou, would you not rather sit on my lap - of course you would, silly thing - um - I am Tintin. What is your name? Since our Pokémon seem to have introduced themselves already."

"I'm, um. This is Starshine," she transparently deflects. No, come on, be reasonable. "...and I'm Chantal. I guess."

"...you guess?"

"—sorry, it's not that I don't know what my name is, it's just—I don't know—"

Human is distressed. Starshine will deliver tiny pats.

"...thank you, Starshine."

"...do you not like your name? I did not like my name. So I called myself Tintin."

"...I don't know... how I would find a name that I like any better."

"I liked the sound of Tintin. I liked that it is short, and it has a rhythm. Moreover I liked that it is a name for a boy."

"I... don't think I would like a boy's name. Yours is nice but I don't want it."

"I did not say you should be named Tintin! But it is a shame to use a name that you do not like. Perhaps I will simply call you friend."

"...okay."

Oh good. The human is less distressed. Triumphant pats.

Hmf. Milou nuzzles its trainer competitively.

It is good when the human friends are happy!

A girl runs past, crying. "My poor Pokémon!"

"What was that?" Tintin asks her.

She turns to them. "Those - those Team Plasma people - they took my Buneary!"

Tintin stands up abruptly, causing Milou to be catapulted to the ground and complain loudly. "They what?!"

"They told me - they said they were testing the relationships between Pokémon and their trainers - and they said she hated me and I didn't deserve her -" The girl is now crying entirely too hard to be understood.

"Milou, viens ici. Nous allons chasser." Milou comes to heel. Tintin turns sharply to Chantal. "My friend, will you come with me? These Plasma people, whoever they are, need badly to be taught a lesson."

Chantal looks down at Starshine.

Starshine looks up at Chantal.

Simultaneous decisive nods.

"We're coming," she says, scooping up her friend and following Tintin.

"Do you have anything that your Buneary touched a great deal - a held item, or something like that?"

The girl sniffles and offers up a Soothe Bell.

"Excellent," Tintin says decisively. "Take us to where she was taken, and Milou will find them."

The girl leads them down the road a ways, then indicates that this was where Team Plasma took her Pokémon. Milou sniffs the Soothe Bell and follows the Buneary's scent to a nearby cave.

Tintin gives Chantal a questioning thumbs-up.

Chantal is very uncertain about all this, but is ready to follow Tintin wherever adventure may lead them.

Milou pit-pats into the cave, and Tintin follows.

"Team Plasma!" he calls out in an echoing voice, hands on his hips. "You will either relinquish the Buneary you took from that little girl, or we will beat you down and take her."

Milou flares, revealing two dumbfounded teenagers, one male and one female, standing in front of a small pile of Pokéballs. "...which one was the Buneary?" the girl asks the boy.

"I'm not sure it matters?" he hedges. "Let's beat the kids and get out of here before the actual cops show up." He takes a ball off his belt and releases a Zubat. She nods, and releases a Poochyena.

Starshine meeps aggressively and hops down from Chantal's arms.

Milou squares up beside her. He faces off against the Poochyena, nudging her with his nose in the direction of the Zubat.

The battle which follows is brief but intense. Milou proves to be just as capable of setting things on fire as Starshine, and if anything even more enthusiastic about it. The Zubat tries repeatedly to poison Starshine, eliciting not much overall effect. Milou and the Poochyena are even worse-matched; it keeps harrying him with savage bites, which he dodges with grace and precision while blasting back with blasts of fire and floral scent.

Starshine is nervous and cautious at first, but grows bolder with continuing success.

Milou defeats his opponent first; the Poochyena yelps mournfully as it collapses, then withdraws back into its Pokéball. But Starshine's foe the Zubat isn't far behind.

"Now give us the Pokémon you stole," Tintin says flatly. "Unless you'd rather deal with the police."

The teens look at each other, mildly panicked. "Ghetsis would -" the boy starts.

"Ghetsis isn't here," the girl says. "This crazy kid is, and could set us on fire. Let's cut our losses."

She kicks the pile of Pokéballs, sending them scattering in all directions, then runs. The boy runs after her.

Starshine leaps after a single stray Pokeball and manages to stop it from scattering, but it is nearly as big as she is and she can't grab a second one.

"Bastards!" Tintin calls after the fleeing Plasma. "Make better choices!"

Then he sets about collecting the Pokéballs where they have landed. "Clean-up, clean-up," he mutters, half singing. "There is always clean-up after adventures."

Chantal helps.

Once they have the balls collected, Tintin hefts his newly filled bookbag over his shoulder. "I shall take these to the Pokémon center, if you have no objection? They should be able to connect the 'mon to their rightful owners."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Would you like to come with me? I intend to challenge the Gym of Striaton City for my first Badge, and if you would come with me I think we would make an excellent team."

...she smiles shyly. "Okay."

Tintin leads them back to town, chattering merrily. Along the way there are a few battles with wild Pokémon, none of which particularly bear mentioning except...

...a small blue Bug-type 'mon, which buzzes an angry challenge.

"Oh, is it not darling! That is - a Cutiefly, but its coloring... is it shiny? No, the shiny is pink... I want to catch it, do you mind terribly?"

"Fluffy..." she murmurs, then ducks her head in embarrassment. "I, um, I don't mind at all."

Milou harries the Cutiefly until it looks significantly more bedraggled.

Then Tintin tosses a Pokéball. It rattles a few times, then falls silent.

"Victory!"