A Late Start

Ferals

"Woah, Silas, you okay, buddy?" I called out, rushing over to him. I put a hand on his back to let him know I was here. he let out a low growl, his gaze concentrated on the bushes in front of him. A pale orange streak cloaked in fire burst through the bushes, charging straight at us. I grabbed Silas and dove to the right, taking us both out of the way. The flames died down and the creature underneath became visible dark orange fur patterned with black stripes covered its body, its eyes seemed to glow a pale red, the lighter tufts on the creatures head and tail still slightly ignited from its attack. The pokemon stood up on its four legs, standing about twice Silas' height. Its face was caked in an expression of pure rage. It was a Growlithe and a feral one at that. Similar to regular wild pokemon but far more aggressive and almost impossible to train, feral pokemon were part of the reason it was dangerous to be out of town without pokemon of your own, afraid of nothing and vicious. more than willing to fight to the death, no one was exactly sure what caused pokemon to go feral just that they were more common the further away from civilisation you got. I took a slow breath as a placed Silas back on the ground.
"Think you can handle it, buddy?" He looked at me and gave a nod before turning back to his assailant and digging his feet in behind him. I looked over and saw Ethan, hands on his belt ready for a fight. knowing he'd back us up if things went south I took a step back to let Silas do his thing. Growlithe had begun to charge at Silas once more, cloaking itself in fire once again. Silas managed to dodge this one on his own, Landing a kick with his back legs as he sidestepped the charge, however, the Growlithe had turned around and bit him before he could regain his footing. In return he headbutted the creature as hard as he could, breaking the grip and setting himself free. Without skipping a beat Silas tackled the growlithe, sending it reeling backwards. Before it could strike back Silas had cloaked himself in the same white light from earlier, charging at it even faster and colliding once again in the blink of an eye. I could see he was getting tired but so was the Growlithe, I knew that Silas was the weaker of the two based on how they were trading blows but ferals were much more frenzied tending to just take attacks instead of trying to avoid or move around them.
"Silas catch!" I called out, tossing one of the berries I still had on my person towards him. he caught it in his mouth, instantly rupturing the skin and swallowing the small blue sphere, that should give him enough energy to last the fight. The Growlithe had since gotten up and spat out a small fireball. Silas was too distracted to dodge it and took the full brunt of the attack. He shook his head, putting out the small fire on the top of his head and focused again on his opponent. Both Pokemon just stood there staring at each other, Silas was first to move, Charging once again towards the Growlithe, white light engulfing him as he struck the growlithe once more, breaking its stance and sending it hurtling back towards the bushes. covered in dust and scratches the creature tried to stand once more before collapsing again. unlike the Patrat from earlier its eyes were closed, but it was still breathing. Ethan came running over once he was sure the battle was over.
"Holy crap, you guys okay?" he asked, leaning down to check on the feral pokemon. Silas nodded at him, smirking but I could see he was exhausted, barely able to hold himself up.
"I'm okay, that was pretty intense though," I said back "So what's the deal with that one?"
"It's a Feral, they don't faint like most other pokemon, He's out cold though."
"What do we do with it?"
"Ferals are really dangerous to people, especially new trainers and those without pokemon of their own, we can't just leave it here, normally people just..." he trailed off.
"You don't mean they, kill them do you?"
"Yeah. many people see them as too dangerous, and since they can't be trained it's the only option to stop them from hurting others," deep down I knew this was the case, but I didn't think I could accept that yet.
"Couldn't we just.. take it further into the forest? somewhere people won't run into it as much."
"No, if it was here then it probably uses these bushes as a source of food. It'll just come back," we were interrupted by a rustling through the trees as someone else burst through the forest into the clearing
"Are you kids okay? I heard the commotion and came running," She called out in a smooth voice. She was dressed in a dark red coat with a handful of pokeballs and a Radio on her belt.
"Yeah, this Growlithe just attacked us," Ethan said back, quietly.
"It just attacked you, did you provoke it somehow?"
"It's a feral ma'am," I told her quietly
"Damn, this close to the City? you two... take care of it?"
"No, it's just unconscious, I don't think I could... you know," she looked at me with a face of understanding.
"Right, you two should get out of here, I'll take care of this one okay?" Ethan and I exchanged glances but we both agreed,
"Silas, come on. Let's head back to town buddy." He walked limply back over to me, I decided to pick him up gently, let him rest on the way back."

We were both quiet on the way back to town, It was already past lunchtime and Ethan had offered to buy lunch at one of the local cafes. by the time we got there Silas had recovered most of his energy and had started walking behind me. we sat outside so I wouldn't have to recall Silas and were even able to get something for him, a special salad designed specifically for Pokemon, he was incredibly excited to eat something other than the stuff we had at home.
"Hey, Lexi, you alright? you've been kinda quiet since we left the forest." Ethan asked while we waited for our lunch.
"Yeah, I guess. Just a bit shaken up after everything, like... I know that it's just part of life and obviously, it's not uncommon. I mean I eat meat almost every day. but seeing it, having to... to do that myself, It's different." I felt my voice trail off even as I spoke.
"Hey, I get it. we've all been there, I still remember the first time I encountered a feral," he shivered "It's not easy to just, deal with."
"Maybe I'm not ready for this after all."
"Don't be silly Lexi, this is the part of training that they don't teach you in school. Nobody is ever really ready for it until it happens. It's why they always tell Kids not to leave the paths, Stray too far from safety and you get to see, well. the ugly parts of training."
"Guess you must see this stuff all the time huh?"
"What? God no, only like 4 maybe 5 times since I started going off the paths. Always leaves me feeling uncomfortable after the fact," His voice turned vaguely sarcastic. "Welcome to the world of Pokemon... it's not all sunshine and rainbows."
"I hope I don't have to get used to this feeling."
"You don't, trust me, I still haven't."
At this point, the waiter had come out with our food setting the two plates on the table, and a smaller bowl on the floor for Silas. We both thanked him and he went on his way. After we had finished Ethan picked up the conversation again.
"Hey, Lexi, I'm sorry it turned out like this today, I never expected to see one so close to town."
"It's not your fault Ethan, I just need to process what happened today. At least Silas seems okay after everything," I glanced down at the fluffy silver creature at my feet, happily grazing on his salad.
"Yeah, I guess that's true. Hey, if you don't wanna go out on that trip I offered, I get it."
"No, no, I still want to go."
"You know that survival skills include finding your own food and hunting right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"And you're okay with that?"
"Not really. But I'm gonna have to face it sooner or later. I'd rather it be sooner."
"I guess that makes sense. Don't push yourself too hard though Lexi. Silas needs you, a pokemon is only as strong as its trainer."
"I know, Ethan. I'll be careful not to push too hard alright?"
"Thank you, now, you're sure you're ready to come on that trip?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Okay, if you change your mind please let me know okay? we don't have to go if you're not ready to."
"Jeez, you sound like my mom. I'll be fine, I swear."
"I'm just trying to look out for you Lexi."
"I know you are and I appreciate it. But I can take care of myself okay?"
"Alright, alright, fine. but I'm not gonna stop worrying about you until you show9 me you can handle it alright?"
"I guess that seems fair."
After we had finished lunch I decided to head home, I needed some time alone.

I had been laying on my bed staring idly at the ceiling for what I could swear was an eternity. I had lost all sense of time, gazing Everlong into the void of thought. I occasionally felt Silas nudge my dangling hand, or jump onto the bed with me, but I was too far gone to react in any way. A million miles away, yet still right here. I had killed that creature, even if I wasn't the one to take its life, I was the root cause. Part of me refused to come to terms with that fact. I pictured its face, scowling at me while we fought remembered its every motion in vivid detail, Silas' cry as he was knocked from the bushes, the streaks of fire darting towards him, One fighting for its life, the other to protect me, both were hurt and now one was dead. I imagined its body, twitching momentarily during its transition beyond life, the woman from earlier covered in the remnants of its final breath, finding eternal rest somewhere just out of sight, falling victim to decay from other wild creatures. the images and scenes both historical and fictitious ran through my mind over and over again, a neverending loop. Deep down I knew I would have to confront this situation again, no matter how much I hated it. It was only a matter of time, I hadn't even started my journey yet and I already had second thoughts. One encounter was this harrowing for me and god knows how many more are yet to come, what might happen next time if I can't bring myself to it? There won't always be someone else there to do it for me.