This next tale is one that most people have heard. One that is necessary (in my opinion at least) to tell to children as a cautionary tale. To help them understand this world a bit better the ugliness must be revealed to them. Only then can the beauty be properly appreciated. This is not to say that one should traumatize their child of course, but it helps no one to shelter them to the point of isolation, in fact it can be very harmful to the child to do so.
As in most things, balance is key. One I too had trouble finding this in my own parenting.[1] In fact one can see this story as the ideal in parenting. Neither too harsh but not too coddling either. The simple statement of truth but with a softer edge that fiction can bring. Stories in general (in my opinion) are necessary in raising moral children. As a great mon once said, “Stories do not tell children Monsters exist. Children already know that. Stories teach them that Monsters can be beaten.”[2]
This story is about two pokemon, a collared pokemon and a wild one, both children. They become friends but the friendship ends when reality comes between them. The origins of this story are likely based on the personal experience of many pokemon over the years. Children being trusting and naïve can and will make friends wherever they see fit and this can end poorly, with no fault on either side.
I believe it is this relatability that makes this story so popular. It doesn’t so much serve as a warning as it does a reminder that there are always factors we might not think about when we enter a situation and to be wary for them. Now there are of course plenty of counter examples to this particular scenario but I will discuss more at the end. Now then, on with the story.
In a small town, a young rilou was lonely. He was the youngest pokemon in the village and few older children wanted to play his games.[3] Because of this, the rilou spent much time in the woods near the town. He was always careful, watchful, and mindful of his parent’s warnings. He was once more in the woods, splashing in the small stream just downstream of where collared would get water, when a loud splash was heard around the bend.
Curious, the rilou made his way down to a deeper part of the stream and hid in a bush along the shore. He waited a moment before sticking his muzzle out and looking for the source of the noise. He saw nothing for a moment then water burst onto the shore. Out of the water, drenched coat dripping water, was a young electrike. With a snap of electricity the sodden fur puffed out and the mon shook itself off.
The lack of a collar let the rilou know this was a wild mon, and he should keep his distance. He made to leave when he snapped a branch in his hand. The electrike was on the young mon in an instant. Teeth bared when it noticed the collar on the rilou’s neck.
“Oh!” it said in a light voice. “Sorry I-” The electrike got off immediately, “You scared me”. It finally managed defensively. The rilou was calm, surprised of course but not scared. The electrike did look sorry.
“It’s ok,” He said, “I get scared too.” The rilou rubbed his collar and shrugged, “What were you doing?” He asked.
The electrike shrugged as well, “Washing a bit, I don’t like dirt.” The rilou nodded to himself. Then, children were wont to do asked the most important question.
“Wanna play with me?”
The electrike startled at this, “Really?” Causing the rilou to smile,
“Yeah, I know the best place for tag.” He said, running up and smacking the electrike’s shoulder. “Your it.” The two children play like this for the rest of the afternoon. And the next day, and the next. A week goes by and the children became close. They talk and romp and laugh. They even spar “Like grown-ups.” The rilou didn’t tell his parents, not wanting to worry them or worse, tell him he couldn’t see his friend.
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Of course, like most friendships it faced some harsh weather. When the rilou went to meet his friend, the electrike had just finished a hunt.[4] When the rilou entered the clearing he saw his friend, jaws clamped over a squirming rattata. The electrike did not notice his friend, as the rilou was stunned into silence. Though the rilou had eaten meat[5] on occasion he had not hunted himself, nor knew where meat had come from.
The rattata dies with a soft rattle, and the electrike finally looks up to see his friend. It smiles, flecks of blood on its teeth.
“Hey,” It says, “Want some?”
The rilou just stared at the dead mouse pokemon, “Why did you do that?” He asks quietly. The electrike just looks confused. He hunted, got his meal. This was normal for him.
“What?” It said. It looked at the rattata. “I hunted, I know it’s not very big but we can share.” When the electrike looked back it saw his friend crying.
“Why?” the rilou sobbed. He was scared now. His friend killed someone. He killed it, why? The electrike was just confused.
“I was hungry?” it asked, “Why are you crying?”
The rilou looked away from the rattata, at his friend, “Because you killed it!” he screamed. The electrike stepped back, then growled.
“So what? I was hungry!” It screamed back. The electrike was hurt. His friend was screaming because he wanted to eat?
The rilou yelled back “Would you kill me too? If you got hungry?”
The electrike took another step back, the growl went silent. The words hit him like a sucker punch. “No” he whispered.
“Liar!” the rilou screamed and he ran home. The electrike didn’t move. He just lay down and cried, not understanding why its friend hated it so much.
The rilou made it home and ran into his mother, telling her everything. It took several hours before she managed to calm him down and explain, but it was too late.
When he went back to the clearing the electrike was gone, the rattata was still there, untouched. He never saw the electrike again.
I remember telling my son this story, and his first words were “That rilou’s a jerk!” But I don’t think that’s accurate. We know the rilou was young. He wasn’t told where meat comes from so when he was confronted with that information it scared him. I know very few children who react well to being scared. Truthfully, I put the blame on the parents for not informing their child about this pretty important facet of life.
People take different things away from this depending on their views of the world. One might use this tale as a reason why relations with predators and prey don’t work. Others might say that the way to avoid these situations is to help children become more tolerant of predator’s needs.[6] To both I call foul, Children, especially younger children are already the single most tolerant people I know.
The don’t care what species you are, they have no negative experiences to affect their view of their peers, they have no biases formed nor prejudices developed. They only know if someone is nice or mean and that is it. And friendships between predators and prey, wild and collared, what have you are perfectly fine, and in fact should be encouraged because of the diversity of thought it can bring to a pokemon.
No, if anything this is why children must be given truth the moment they can understand it. Had that rilou understood where meat comes from, and we know he is of the right age as his mother explains it to him at the end, then the fight would have never happened the way it did. I have no doubt that the rilou would have had a negative reaction seeing death for the first time but perhaps the friendship wouldn’t have been burnt so badly.
It is not a happy tale by any means, but an important one for both parents and children alike.
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[1] Can’t relate.
[2] G.K. Chesnaught
[3] Exhibit A for why I never had children, heartless mites.
[4] Perhaps self-evident but electrike and manectic are both carnivores
[5] The rilou/Lucario line is omnivorous
[6] Because it is.