A Study in Mega Evolution

Epilogue One: Origins

Corina's fourth-grade class was touring Professor Sycamore's lab for a quick field trip. The class stood against the window to look out into the Pokemon Sanctuary. The children were all pushing and shoving to get a better look. Corina smiled as she looked out into the little environment. She'd never seen so many pokemon in an environment before.

Two girls were pressed up against the glass next to her, trying to get the attention of a marill sitting by the riverbed. One of them complained. "Ugh, this stupid thing won't even look at us!"

"Yeah! It should know marill is my favorite. I'm gonna be a water-type gym leader!"

"All right, kids, finish up. It's time to move on." Their teacher began to collect the students.

The two girls began to tap and bang on the glass, frightening the pokemon inside. "Hey! Cut it out! You're scaring them!" Corina protested. The two girls looked over at her and grimaced as their classmates followed their teacher to the next room.

"What's it to you?"

"Yeah, who said you're the boss of us?" They stuck their tongues out at her.

"You're being mean to the pokemon! The teacher said not to bang on the glass like that."

"If you like pokemon so much, why don't you just join them, loser!" One of the girls pushed her backward, and Corina was sent tumbling through the door leading out into the sanctuary.

She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head, aching from being thrust into the door. She stood up, brushed off the dirt, and pulled against the door, but it wouldn't budge. She yanked and pushed, but it was latched shut. Panicking, she ran around to the window, but her class was gone, and the hallway was empty. She needed to find a way back to her class, or else she was going to be in big trouble.

Corina wandered around, looking for another exit from the sanctuary that may not be locked. But as she entered the tree line on the other side of the small river, she became distracted by the pokemon all around her. She'd never even experienced forests like this before, having never left the city. She was so wrapped up in her wonderment that she tripped over an exposed tree root and landed face first in the grass and dirt. Pain shot from her knee as she rolled back over. Through the soil, she could see a nasty scrape on her right knee, a few minor cuts developing on the palms of her hands.

A feeling of hopelessness overcame her as she lay in this clearing all alone. She hugged her knees to her chest and began to sob.

"Hello?" She looked up to see a young boy standing in front of her. He was about her age with tan skin, dark blue curly hair, and bright blue eyes. He was dressed nicely in a short-sleeve button-down and dark blue shorts. He had a Squirtle standing next to him. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking her up and down and seeing her covered in dirt. She sniffled and shook her head.

"Hey, it's okay. I fall down in here all the time, too. It's easy to get distracted." He stepped up to her and held out a hand to help her up. "I'm Leon, and this is Calamity, my pokemon."

Hesitantly, she reached out and grabbed his hand, allowing him to help pull her up. "I'm Corina." She replied quietly.

"Cool, Corina! Come on. I can help you get cleaned up." He led the way back out of the trees. "So, are you here with all those other kids visiting the lab today?" He asked, settling down by the river. The other pokemon began to watch them.

"Yeah, I am."

"How'd you end up out here?" Leon asked, wetting a washcloth and began rubbing the dirt out of her scrape. She winced.

"We were all looking at the pokemon through the window, then I got pushed out of the way and fell through the door. I guess it locked behind me, so I decided to look around for another exit." He nodded, pulled a large band-aid out of his pocket, and placed it over her scrape.