Ow, ow... My neck hurts. Ah! My face! I awake to a Shellder relentlessly licking me like I was the last morsel of food in the world. "Puh, pah, puah!!" I grab her and pull her away. I hold her up like an awkwardly large hamburger and look her in the eyes, those which shine with excitement to see what's in store for today. I just... I can't get mad at that face. I smile at her. "You know what, good girl. You make a nice alarm clock, if not an aggressive one."
"Shell shell!" She says, tongue flicking up and down as she does.
I wash off my face and start getting ready, Shellder right by my side. She can float if she wants, or sit on the ground. It's really, really cute when she has to move fast though. She usually just floats a bit off of the ground, but if she needs to catch up she turns around, then starts flapping her shell to open and close it rapidly. I know the PokéDex from the games said that's how they move, but seeing it in real life is unbelievably cute. Dangerous! Control yourself! Your heart can only take so much cute!
It's impressive how much spatial awareness she has, though. Probably due to the combination of being a water Pokémon, along with the unique way she has to move sometimes. She effortlessly dodges obstacles and remembers exactly where everything is. It's truly impressive. Who's a smart girl? You are!
As I pass by a mirror on my way to get dressed, I notice the scar along my back. I take a moment to look at it, a massive line across my back, slightly diagonal. This is a good warning, at least, to not be so reckless. To take a moment to think, and now that I have Shellder by my side, a warning to prepare and train. Noticing that I'm looking at the scar, Shellder hops up, a massive tongue going across the length of the scar. An undeniably adorable attempt to cheer me up.
"Haha, thank you Shellder." I finish getting dressed then pick her up before I leave. "Now, I know you want to stay with me, but I can't keep you out with me." Her tongue droops down in a saddened expression. No, don't fall for the puppy clam eyes! "We're not allowed to have our Pokémon out during class unless the teacher says so, so I have to put you in the ball before class."
Shellder gives one last attempt with big, dumb, cute eyes to sway me, but it will not work! It does not work... Barely. A yawn escapes my mouth as I walk down the stairs to the dining room, Shellder happily sitting on my shoulder with her tongue bouncing every step. As I reach the bottom, my eyes lock onto breakfast: Chansey egg omelette. Yum! Eating things from Pokémon, and Pokémon themselves definitely took some getting used to, but now it's normal to me. I won't say which Pokémon though... It broke my heart when I had to eat them the first few times.
My dad is sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, while my momma puts our dishes onto the table. Staraptor stands on the floor next to my dad, waiting for his portion, and Bellossom dances happily at my momma's feet. She carefully takes each step so as not to accidentally kick the poor Pokémon.
"Do you need any help?" I ask, carefully walking around Bellossom.
"Yes actually, can you grab Staraptor and Bellossom's food? I don't know what Shellder likes, so we bought a small bag of kibble to last her for a few days while we figure that out."
"Oh, Shellder likes salty and sour food!" I say with a smile on my face as I grab the bowls and put them down next to the table. Staraptor lets out a happy trill as he hops on over, and Bellossom does an elegant little spin away from my mother’s legs towards her bowl.
"How'd you figure that out?" she asks inquisitively. "I think I might have something for that... Give me a few minutes, but go get Daisy and start eating. I'll give Shellder some food in just a minute."
I lift Shellder off of my shoulder, and look her in the eyes, "Is that ok with you Shellder?"
"Shellder!" she replies, happily agreeing.
I hold Shellder into my arms as I walk back up the stairs to Daisy’s room. As I go to knock on the door, it swings open, startling me slightly. “Aww hi Shellder!” Daisy grins from ear to ear as she pets Shellder, getting a lick to the face in return. She looks up to me, with puppy Growlithe eyes as she asks, “Can I hold Shellder until we get to school?” I know Daisy has always wanted a Pokémon of her own. Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to pull her away from one when she sees them on the road, much to the dismay of their owner.
“Sure, you can carry her until I have to put her in the ball.” I hand Shellder over and Daisy immediately starts showing off her room.
“Over here is my bed, and over here is my closet, and and…”
I let this go on for a few minutes until I hear my mom yell from downstairs, “Breakfast is getting cold! Hurry up!”
“Come on Daisy, let’s go eat.” I say, motioning for the hallway.
“Fiiiiiiine…” She responds, an exasperated sigh escaping her mouth as she presses it against Shellder, using her almost like a little pillow. Shellder returns the motion with a lick to the face again, straining to turn her tongue back all that way.
As a joke, Daisy licks her shell, and Shellder lets out a surprised “Shell!!!” We let out a hearty laugh as the stunned Shellder looks between us.
“Oh, so Shellder is Daisy’s now?” My mother jokes, seeing Daisy happily carrying her.
“No! Shellder’s still mine!” I quickly respond, puffing out my cheeks. Mother lets out a small chuckle as she brings out another bowl, a blue one specifically for Shellder! I don’t know where she got this, but it has a large, deep, cylindrical area with a thinly-separated bowl for food. This must have been built specifically for water-type Pokémon!
My eyes tear up slightly at the thoughtfulness. My mother notices and quickly finishes filling the bowl portion with Aspear berries and kibble before patting me on the head. “This is all I had that’s sour, hopefully she likes it. Could you have Shellder fill the tub part with water?” She asks as she puts it down next to the table.
“Of course!” I sniffle, then carefully take Shellder from Daisy, “Shellder! Use Water Gun (carefully).” I whisper the last part to her as an accurate stream of water fills the tub. Daisy gives Shellder a little clap as it finishes. “Good girl!”
As I place Shellder into the water, she lets out a proud “Shellder!” then takes a moment to relax in the water. While Shellder seemingly doesn’t need to live in the water all the time, it’s much more comfortable for them, and they need it at least every other day to keep from drying out. I learned that from Nurse Joy while I was in the Pokémon Center!
We all enjoy our food together, talking and laughing. I’m glad that my parents feel better now. I know I terrified them earlier… Seeing them return to laughter brings me joy. Afterwards, I’m forced to lift the comfortable and adorable Shellder out of her water. I’m sorry! I hand her over to Daisy, who proceeds to ignore the water dripping from Shellder and happily hugs her.
As we leave the side door, I turn to wave at my momma and dad, “Bye! Have a great day!” I say with a smile, holding the door open for Daisy before leaving.
“Bye Riles, take care of Shellder.” my dad says with a smile as he waves back. “Now, about those trees…” he questions with slight vexation as he turns to my momma.
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The crisp, clean air of Floaroma Town fills my nostrils. I never had this privilege in my past life… a life that feels so distant. As I’m distracted in my thoughts, Drew sneaks up on us and gives me a shock when he suddenly pushes against me.
“Oh mighty Slayer of Tentacruel! How dost thou doest today?” He says with the most awful Hisuian accent I’ve ever heard.
“Oh stop, I got my butt kicked! But hey, something good did come of it:” I say as I gently lift Shellder from Daisy’s arms and show Drew, “her.” A smile fills my face as I get my chance to show off Shellder before giving her back to the pouting Daisy who has yet to be sated with her daily quota of Shellder holding.
Drew rolls his eyes, “Yeah, some stupid little bottom-feeder.”
“You take that back!” Daisy and I yell at him, Daisy stomping her foot in the ground and spooking Shellder, “She’s adorable!”
The three of us bicker back and forth until we make it to school, where I unfortunately have to put Shellder into her ball. “I’m sorry girl.”
She lets out a sad “Shellder…” as I put her in it. Come on, this is already tough as is! I’d love to be able to bring Shellder around everywhere with me outside of her ball.
As we sit down for class, for once, my attention is solely focused on the teacher. Our teacher, Mr. Hal, has an unsettled expression as he keeps looking at me between teaching. “Riley, is something the matter?” he eventually asks.
“Nothing, just learning!” I say, writing notes for practically the first time in my life.
“About… Pokémon behavior?” A confused look crossed his face, as if he’s questioning whether I’m tricking him. “Very well…” He eventually returns to teaching, discussing how to tell why a wild Pokémon is being aggressive. For once in my life, I’m actually taking notes. I feel a stare from behind me, but I ignore it.
After class, I finally get to go to my elective class! A smile crosses my face as I think of cooking for my cute little Shellder! As I walk into the classroom, I see several people I’ve never seen before. They must be from different home classes. I notice an empty spot at one of the counters next to a girl with flowing, green hair whose color and shine is reminiscent of leaves glistening with morning dew.
“Hi, I’m Riley! Is this spot open?”
The girl jumps a little bit at my sudden appearance, but gives a soft smile, “Of course! Nice to meet you, I’m Chrysanthemum! But you can call me Chrys.” Her voice is chipper and bright, yet soft.
After a few moments of idle chatter, I discover a few things about Chrys. Her sister is Rose, the most popular girl in the whole school. She’s even an established trainer, with two Pokémon of her own; she has a Shinx and a Marill! Though, she’s more interested in Pokémon contests than battles. Her biggest dream is to become the most prolific contestor and compete at Hearthome. From how she talks and rambles on about her sister with such a bright look in her eyes, it’s obvious she cares deeply for her sister, and her sister cares deeply for her.
After a few minutes, the conversation is cut short by the teacher getting the class’ attention. “Alright class, today we will be learning about the differences between different types of PokéBlocks, the most basic treats for our adorable Pokémon! But first, we have a new student.” The teacher, Ms. Pepper, waves her hand to my general direction. “Please tell us about yourself and why you chose cooking.”
A slight nervous tightness enters my throat. I’ve never been great at talking to crowds, usually forcing myself to speak through the nerves. “Ah, my name is Riley, and I chose to learn cooking for my Shellder that I caught…”
“Oh? That’s intriguing, not many kids your age have their own Pokémon. Would you like to show your Shellder to the class? Maybe your Shellder could even help guide you to what food they prefer as you cook.” She gives implied permission to let my Pokémon out. Don’t worry Ms. Pepper! My Shellder is very well behaved and I won’t squander this opportunity!
I happily let Shellder out, jumping at any opportunity to get her out of that lonesome ball. As she springs out, she lets out a happy “Shellder! Shell Shell!” A few kids gasp in surprise, but the response is relatively mild. Shellder isn’t usually looked upon highly in Floaroma especially, but I still love her nonetheless!
“She’s adorable!” Chrys chirps, a smile spreading across her face as she gives Shellder a pet on her shell. After a few moments, she jumps back, “I should have asked first, sorry…”
“You’re fine, Chrys!” A small chuckle escapes my lips as I start petting Shellder, myself.
The teacher clears her throat loudly, “Attention back here!”
The class was just what she described, a lecture on different types of Pokéblocks, and even uses Shellder as an example of natures and how a Pokémon’s personality can affect their taste in Pokéblocks! She confirmed my theory that Shellder is probably a relaxed nature, as she absolutely devours sour Pokéblocks. I love me some sour food too; we make a great pair, Shellder!
After class, Chrys walks with me to the school entrance, bombarding me with question after question about Shellder who’s wrapped in my arms, massive tongue flopping with every step as her eyes explore this unfamiliar environment. Chrys really seems to love Pokémon. Well, who wouldn’t in this world? But she has an especially avid love for them. Maybe she’ll become a breeder or an amazing trainer in the future? Who knows!
Along the way to the entrance, we run into Daisy and Drew, who seem to be arguing about whether a Tentacruel or a Cloyster would win in a fight. Obviously, Cloyster easily destroys a Tentacruel!
“Oh hey it’s Slayer and Bottom-Feeder!” Drew yells out at an annoying volume. Daisy slaps him upside the head, and he lets out a loud “OUCH!” as Chrys starts to nervously laugh.
“Ah Chrys, this is my sister Daisy and my childhood friend Drew.” I motion towards them, Shellder’s eyes following my hand as she seemingly smiles. It’s hard to tell since her main body is extremely dark. I guess it’s some sort of camouflage for underwater.
“Childhood? But you’re a kid too!” Drew laughs in response.
“Nice to meet you two,” Chrys says with a hesitant curtsy, “I’m Chrys.”
“I’m Daisy and this is Doofus!” Daisy chuckles as she points to Drew.
“Hey! My name’s not Doofus! It’s Drew!”
Chrys’ stiff shoulders loosen as the two joke with each other. Hopefully she can befriend Daisy and Drew.
After I get back home, it’s time for dinner! Momma decided to try out some curry recipe she found from another region! She even made cute little mini curries for the Pokémon! Staraptor gets sweet curry, Bellossom gets a bitter curry, and Shellder gets a salty and sour curry! My momma is really thoughtful!
The curry was absolutely delicious, and afterwards I bring Shellder with me out to the edge of town. I can’t go into any routes, but I can train near the forest border! “Alright Shellder, today we train!” As I pump my fist into the air, Shellder lets out a happy trill.
“Alright Shellder, today we work on your movement!” Shellder can float seemingly magically, but it’s quite slow compared to what she can do in the water. Our plan is to use Water Gun to propel her backwards!
We start with small bursts. I stand behind Shellder to catch her, and she lets out a short blast of water to fly backwards! So far so good, so let’s try something a little more! I move diagonally to Shellder, and have her try to turn while shooting to move in an almost circle-like motion. With a confident “Shell!” she blasts backwards and… completely misses me. It’s ok, Shellder! We can’t master this in one day! Shellder and I practice until sunset nears, Shellder getting about a 10% success rate. Improvement!
As we walk back I ponder what to work on next. Maybe verticality? I’m worried about Shellder slamming into the ground though. Maybe we could get some sort of cushion? I’ll have to ask my parents!
As I walk to bed, I run into my dad walking into his room. “Oh, Dad! I have some questions!”
“What is it… kiddo?” He lets out a long yawn, just walking to bed to sleep after getting a glass of water.
“Do we have any spare pillows I could use? Shellder likes to sleep under mine, but it’s very uncomfortable… Also! Could we get some sort of cushion or mattress for my training with Shellder? I don’t want her to accidentally hit the ground too hard.”
“Training? This early on? Ambitious,” he lets out a small, yet tired, chuckle, “You can use a pillow from the guest room. I think we have another one we can replace it with. I’ll talk to your mom about the cushion though, I’m sure we could find something. Anyways, get to bed, it’s late.”
“Goodnight Dad!” I happily say as I start skipping towards the guest room. This used to be grandpa’s, but now we just use it for when relatives visit. I walk in and grab the nearest pillow on the bed, making my way to the door. Before I leave, I turn to face the bedroom. A melancholic smile escapes my lips as I slowly close the door.
“Shellder! I got you your own pillow…” My voice trails off as I notice Shellder already nestled under my pillow. “Shellder! I got me my own pillow!” Shellder lets out a happy little snore as I cuddle up with her, careful not to pull off the pillow she’s hiding under.