Pokemon: Book One: The Dark Hearted

Chapter Sixteen ~ Asha and Hex

Asha POV

I closed my eyes and tried my best to remember. "My mother had a trainer, long ago," I told Hex. "He was... He was mean. When my mother met my father and had me, the trainer was really happy to have a Riolu. A few months later he traded my mother away, because he said she was losing her spirit. I was really sad, so when my trainer wasn't looking, I snuck off with my mother's new trainer.

"Soon after, my mother was released into the tundra, and I went with her. It was wonderful to finally be together and free. We could finally be happy." I exhaled. "We lived in the tundra together for a while, even though we didn't like the cold. We just knew that no trainers would come so far into the snow for a Pokemon, and that's why we stayed.

"A year later, a big snowstorm came in. I was scared, because me and my mom were out in the snow, with nowhere to go.

"I held onto my mother's paw and she led me through the snow. We didn't know where we were going. My mother's paw only got colder and colder, and soon she fell to the ground. I was really, really scared, because she wouldn't wake up, no matter what I did." My breathing quickened and my throat tightened. "She was gone."

Hex's eyes were wide. "What did you do?" He whispered.

"I just walked, on and on, with nowhere to go. I thought I was going to die.

"But then, through my aura sense, I saw someone coming. He saved my life, and he brought me to a cave, and I've been living there since."

There was silence for a moment. Then Hex said, "so that's why you didn't talk. Because of your mother."

I nodded, closing my eyes, remembering the feel of her cold paw.

"I'm sorry," Hex whispered.

This time I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I swallowed hard as wet teardrops streaked my face, staining my light blue fur. I wept soundlessly.

Across from me, Hex was weeping too.

Hex POV

A solid week had passed since Asha's visit, and we had become best friends. She was now very lively and open, and responded when I asked her questions, thankfully.

"Humans are evil things," Asha had said after she told me her story. "You can't trust them."

I nodded in agreement. "They are never to be trusted," I said. "They'll always end up betraying us in the end."

"I'll never have another trainer!" Asha said, raising her voice.

"Me neither," I replied. "I've never had one, but I've heard they're awful." I hesitated, then said, "Tell me about them."

Asha lifted her head. "Humans have these things called Gyms, where they make their Pokemon fight."

I flinched in horror.

"The Pokemon are forced to keep fighting and fighting until one of them faints. Then the trainer gets a badge, and the Pokemon gets nothing, even though they're the ones who did all the work." Asha paused to let the words sink in. "That's the sole reason humans have Pokemon- to make them battle. And they have these- these little prisons called Pokeballs- where they isolate their Pokemon when they're not battling."