"You are not alone."
Rain, rain, I really hate rain... I need to find shelter quickly! I never would have thought going to visit my familial mother's grave wouldn't even start, thanks to the rain!
Great! A Zeraora who looks to be about my age standing under an umbrella! A Mythical in a puffy band jacket just casually standing out in the streets of the town, what could possibly go wrong?
"Excuse me, sir?" I asked, "May I stand under your umbrella?"
"Sure," he responded. How soft-spoken he is, even with his odd accent. It's kind of cute.
Well, at least I'm dry now. I didn't think it'd rain today. A little bit of silence until he broke the tension.
"Do you come here often?" He asked.
"I'm new here," I explained, "But my familial mom lived here. She passed away, so I'm visiting her."
"My condolences," he replied, "Oh, and just so this isn't awkward, I'm 17, how old are you?"
"I'm starting my second year of high school here," I said, "So I'm also 17."
"Ah, so then we're okay," he replied.
"...what kind of things do you like?" I asked, suddenly.
"Music... martial arts... cooking?" he responded.
"I like cooking too, despite the... well, difficulties as a Sneasler. I'm not the greatest, admittedly."
"Maybe I could teach you a bit?"
"I'd love that, but I gotta see my mom."
"You can take my umbrella, I don't mind standing in the rain."
"Oh, thank you, stranger... whats your name?"
"Ryoichiro. Ichibangase Ryoichiro*."
"I'm Mako Ebina. Nice to meet you, Ryoichiro. I've heard of a human musician with the name Ichibangase, and I've heard that she's a genius."
"Ah, that's my older sister. She's a bit crazy."
"A Zeraora and a human? How does that work?"
"I've been in the family since day one, but I'm not sure if it's an adoption type thing."
"That's confusing, but oh well, Ichibangase-kun, I'll be seeing you whenever. Here's my phone number."
"Oh, thanks. This so we can contact each other better?"
"Yup! You wanna meet here tomorrow?"
"Sure. I'm free tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye, Ichibangase-kun!"
"See ya, Ebina-san."
I gave him a warm smile. What a cute boy, I like him. I went to see my mom's grave, said a few words to her, and then left for home. I saw Ryoichiro, completely drenched, run to a house, quickly bursting through the door and then closing it.
I arrived home later.
"Hey, Mako," my older familial human brother Tsubasa asked, "Whos umbrella is that? Did you go buy one?"
"I was close enough to the cemetery," I explained to him, "A Zeraora boy named Ryoichiro gave it to me."
"Wow, only a week here and you've already made a friend, and school hasn't even started yet..."
That wouldn't be for long, as school started the day after. I had tried my new school uniform on 3 days prior and it fit. Thankfully they make school uniforms for Pokemon now. Oddly enough.
I waited outside the classroom until Ms. Yamada, my homeroom teacher, called me into the classroom to introduce myself. Immediately, I noticed Ryoichiro, sitting in the back corner (the seat at the window).
YOU ARE READING
Pokemon, Hello from The Heights: Seen by the Sneasler
Fanfiction(original art on cover by @rome_nomi on Twitter https://x.com/rome_nomi/status/1490411123547455497) Moving from the northernmost region of the little island country in the east to the heart of said country, the 17-year-old Mako Ebina and her family...