This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by so few... 
There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these strange creatures. And you 
are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...


Chapter 19 - 


Once the two were outside of the building, Chris walked over to the brush bordering the woods and set down the Rattata,
petting them each as they sniffed around, stopping to rub against both Chris and Kirlia for a moment before they each
went into the woods one by one, leaving the two behind as they nibbled things on the ground along the way. "There...
That feels pretty good..." he chuckled, looking down towards Kirlia who faced where the Rattata went silently, facing
the ground again. "...Hey, don't worry about it..." he told her, suddenly picking her up and setting her on his shoulder.
"...You were upset I got hurt. It was sweet of you... It just happened to go too far... I really do appreciate it at
heart though. I never thought someone would come to care about me so much..." he smiled, going to his rucksack and lifting
it from the ground as he walked off in the direction of the center, watching the sun rising in the distance. "Its just
a shame we have to walk all the way back to the center... Still, that was definitely a night to remember... Ha ha..."


Walking along, he glanced at Kirlia randomly, seeing her expression remaining in the same somber state. Rubbing the back
of his head, he let out a sigh, trying to think of a way to cheer her up after what had happened. Although he didn't even
know what exactly was making her feel the worst out of it all... Him being hurt...? Her turning into... What she did?
Looking around, he suddenly found a large boulder at the side of the path. Sitting her on top, she turned her face side
to side confused as he put his rucksack down and rummaged through it, taking out bandages, cotton, and disinfectant. "So
then... I think I could use some help tending to my face... Who might be willing to help me...?" he asked, with Kirlia
suddenly shooting up with her hand in the air, making loud sounds as if to say "me!! me!!" repeatedly. With a chuckle,
he rubbed her head and told her thanks, carefully teaching her how to take care of his injuries. She learned surprisingly
quickly, and with nervous, shaking hands, she dipped the cotton in the disinfectant, holding it out. "Good! That's how
its done!" he smiled, leaning his face forward until it pressed against the cotton in her hand. Kirlia nodded and pat the
cotton around his face, wiping here and there as he let out a random hiss, Kirlia quickly pulling the cotton away each
time in a panic, not wanting to hurt him. "D... Don't worry. Its just doing its job. But... I think I'm ready for some
bandages now... Want to try?" he asked, handing the small box to her, getting a nervus nod in response.


Teaching her how to open and peel off the paper from the bandaids, she started sticking them randomly all over his face,
trying to put them over the spots hurting him most, until you saw more bandaids on his face than his own skin. Feeling
in the box for more, she tipped it upside down discovering it was now empty. Facing up at Chris, she made a sound as if
to ask how he felt with a nervous expression, and with a chuckle as he felt all the bandaids covering him, he gave her
a rub on the head. "You did great... Thanks for taking care of me." he told her, lifting her up and giving her a hug.
"You've got a great heart Kirlia... Thanks for caring so much..." he told her, suddenly rubbing his nose against hers,
getting a flushed expression in response as she jerked her head back, startled by the new feeling of his nose on hers.
She rubbed the tip of it with her small hand shyly, finally showing a slight smile from having his attention again. With
a nod, he put his things away and resumed his trip back to the center, eventually managing to hitch a ride on a small
truck carrying hay on the back. "Ahhh... Now this is nice... Smell the hay? That's country for ya..." he sighed, Kirlia
smelling the hay and suddenly doing the same, sitting back and kicking her feet happily. Looking down at her, Chris smiled
and ruffled her hair, causing her to shout in irritation and shove his hand away, puffing her cheeks wih a scowl.


"Thats the Kirlia I know..." he smirked, suddenly taking her hand and holding it gently. "Its great to have you back..."
he chuckled, causing her to face her hand flushing with "eh...? ehh?!!" noises in shy embarrassment. She didn't pull
away however... In fact... She actually inched her way against his side, resting her head against him as she slowly
gripped his hand as well, letting out a happy sigh now that she had him back too, with Chris watching the last of the
sunrise, and Kirlia feeling the morning light against her face. "...Wadaya know? We're already here..." he muttered,
noticing the center poking out from the trees nearby. The driver gave a slight honk, and in response Chris waved his
hand up, lifting Kirlia up under one arm and grabbing his rucksack with his free hand. Counting to three, he stood and
carefully jumped off the truck, making Kirlia scream and flail nervously as he landed on the ground, telling her to relax
with a laugh as he set her down and waved at the driver, who gave a secon honk before speeding along. "Nice guy! That
shaved off a ton of walking!" he laughed, looking down at Kirlia who clutched his pants leg, still startled from being
suddenly lift in the air when he jumped off the truck. "Ahh... Ha ha... Sorry about that... I promise I'll work on my
warnings..." he said nervousy, patting her head as she scowled up at him.


"Come on... Lets go check on Snivy now... And it looks like that officer and those nurses from before are here... I want
you to behave this time... Promise?" he asked her in a soft yet firm tone. Crossing her arms and looking away for a moment,
she finally faced up at him and nodded begrudgingly. Thanking her with a bit of nervous sweat showing, he lifted her onto
his shoulder and walked up to the center, stopping at the door with a deep breath. "No need to worry... No need to worry..."
he muttered to himself, finally walking inside with a hand firmly holding Kirlia by her side as she wrapped her arms
around his head tightly, letting out warning growls as she faced different directions for others to keep back, her teeth
grit in irritation. "Hey hey... Stop that..." he muttered to her, getting a scowl in response. Reaching the counter, he
rang the bell and stood waiting, looking around the empty center. "At least we came so early nobody else is here... It
shouldn't take too long getting Snivy back." he told her, holding her hand again making her blush slightly and calm down
in response. After a moment, one of the nurses poked her head out from the entrance to the back of the center, shivering
as she quietly and cautiously told them hello. "Umm... Sorry about... What happened... See... Kirlia is real sensitive
about... People being mistreated... I guess... Especially when it comes... To me... I had no idea she would react so...
Strongly... Please forgive her..." he said with a bow, telling Kirlia to do the same. Growling in response, she finally
did as he asked and slowly bowed to the nurse on his shoulder. "Please... Can we see Snivy...?" he asked, raising up as
the nurse inched her way out.


"W... We really are t... Terribly sorry... After we had you imprisoned... Kirlia showed us the truth using her psychic
abilities... S... She must have sensed you were being hurt, even from such a distance... We had no intention for that to
happen to you... We reacted without thinking..." the nurse told him in a guilty and nervous tone, bowing to them as the
second nurse slowly walked out as well. "And without hearing you out... We acted based on suspicion... This is a Pokemon
center for people to come to when in need... To punish an innocent person for bringing a Pokemon here in search of help
and care... We cannot say sorry enough..." the second nurse bowed, with Kirlia crossing her arms with her nose up in
irritation. "I... Its fine... I don't h... Hold anything against you personally... But..." he paused, glancing at Kirlia
who now refused to look at the two. They nodded in understanding as they guided him into the back of the center, taking
him into the room where Snivy was kept. "She's still weak... But her health is well enough to travel with you, so long as
you carry her and make sure to tend to her constantly... Are you certain you're up to such a tedious undertaking...?"
the nurses asked, guiding him next to Snivy who slept on her bed. "Yeah... I can handle it..." he told them quietly,
sitting down on the chair next to her. "Thanks to Kirlia, we also discovered what really happened to Snivy as well...
We think... Out of concern for you, Snivy was willing to allow Kirlia to expose her memories to us also..." they said
walking next to Snivy, checking her over.


"She... Wouldn't let Kirlia show me what happened to her when I tried to find out myself... I told Snivy she didn't have
to show anything she didn't want to..." and he suddenly lifted Kirlia off his shoulder, setting her on his lap. "Did
she really give you permission to show these people what happened to her Kirlia...?" he asked quietly yet in a serious
tone. "You know we have no right to do that kind of thing to people without their consent..." he said firmly. But she
quickly shook her head in response, waving her arms nervously as she spoke, convincing him Snivy wanted her to do it. He
let out a sigh and showed a smile on his face, looking towards Snivy as he watched her breathing more normally. "She does
look a lot better... She's still malnourished... But she can breathe better... That's good..." he spoke softly, rubbing
Snivy on the head. As the nurses pardoned themselves, they walked out of the room to allow them privacy, but as they
shut the door, Kirlia suddenly jolted and growled, jumping onto her feet on Chris's lap as her eyes dimly glowed, her
face turning as if to look behind him. "...Don't blame you for the rage." he suddenly heard the officer say, walking up
next to him from where he stood behind the door. "Don't blame you for beating the tar out of me either... I messed up..."
he said, looking down at Snivy. "I got an interview with the nurses... Found out everything they knew... Figured it'd be
worth getting the tar beat out of me a second time to get a report from the guy who found these two first hand..." he
told Chris, holding a small notebook. "...Doubt you wanna talk to a cop who just messed up an innocent man though. Also
wouldn't be surprised if I lost my job..."


Chris sat silently, watching Snivy sleep peacefully as Kirlia trembled in anger, keeping a firm clutch on Chris's shirt
to keep herself calm. "...I found Snivy just half way up the mountain, along the main path just half a days trip by foot.
I had gone to put spring water in my bottles Kirlia guided me to, and when i came back to where I left my rucksack, I
found her in my rucksack, eating some of my food. She stole that Pokeball of mine and ran off... By the time I caught
up, she had worn herself out and couldn't stand anymore... She was hitting herself with it for some reason... Why I can't
say... I coaxed her into letting me pick her up, then took her back to my belongings and gave her a little more to eat.
Wrapped her up in the towel she was in and came here... I remembered seeing a center when I first came to the border years
back to take care of my grandfather in his village just beyond it..." he told the officer, who diligently wrote every
word. "As far as Kirlia... I found her just beyond my grandfathers village... I was out camping, and unfortunately had
a Pokemon pee all over my shoes... I took them into the woods to find some water to clean them with, and that's when I
heard weird sounds. I followed them, and came to a cliff with a river at the bottom. I was just gonna climb down and
clean the shoes, but that's when I found Kirlia... She was still a Ralts though... Once I picked her up and took her
back to my campsite, she was beaten way worse than that Snivy was..." he told the officer sadly, rubbing Kirlia's head.
"...The next day, she showed me a memory. A trainer abandoned her because she was blind. Stomped her Pokeball into pieces
and ordered his other Pokemon to drag her to the cliff and throw her over... That's all I can tell you about them..."
he sighed, facing the officer.


"I... Don't blame you for beating me up a bit... For trying to rub what you thought I did to these Pokemon in my face...
To be honest, I'd probably be the same if I were you... There was also a Buneary who was being abused in Saga City... I
stopped the trainer though and reported him to the cops, took his Buneary to the center and all... I dunno... Maybe its
what I get for being a rat who had someone arrested?" he told the officer, also slightly talking to himself. He looked
down at Chris for a moment, before slowly putting his hand on his shoulder. As he was about to speak, Kirlia sensed his
closeness and suddenly screamed at him, her eyes glowing in rage as she stood, warning him to keep a distance. He quickly
backed away and cleared his throat as Chris calmed her back down, making her sit and relax on his lap as he rubbed her
head again. "...All I can tell ya' is I'm sorry kid. There aren't any charges... If you would like to press any or have
any complaints you would like reported... I'll gladly send them along personally..." he told him with a bow. But Chris
just smiled in response, looking down at Kirlia and shaking his head. "No... I don't have any charges or complaints in
mind... You really care about Pokemon and hate people who abuse them... You just did your job." he told the officer in
a quiet voice, reaching back over to Snivy so he could pet her once more. With a nod, the officer went to the door, taking
a step out before looking back to watch him for a moment. "...Sorry kid..." the officer said, closing the door behind
him, leaving Chris alone with the two Pokemon in silence.


"...You see Kirlia? All three of them feel really bad... And when you think about it... What that officer did... Would
we be any different if we saw how many people abuse Pokemon as he probably does everyday...? Its probably really painful.
For him... And the nurses... They live to see dozens of Pokemon in horrible situations everyday... So... I can forgive
them for making a mistake like that from time to time..." he told her, giving Kirlia another hug and holding her back
against him. "Look... She's waking up..." he said standing and setting Kirlia on the bed next to Snivy. Gently lifting
her head up, he smiled down at her as her eyes slowly opened, looking up at him as she let out a quiet sound as if to
tell him "good morning" with a small smile. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbing her eyes and looking
around, returning her focus to him. But... As she looked at his face, her eyes widened as she tilted her head confused,
touching her own face while making sounds to signal she was asking him "What happened?". In response, he put a hand on
his face with a nervous laugh, asking Kirlia to explain it to Snivy for him. She nodded and did as he asked, and as Snivy
listened, her expression turned sadder and sadder as she lowered her head in shame, being the one who caused his trouble
the most. But Chris quickly shook his hands and told Snivy he was going to be just fine, he was free and was back with
the two of them, feeling better than ever because of this, and he gently picked her up and poked her nose, chuckling as
he pulled Kirlia close to him for another hug, holding the two with a smile.


"This makes me feel better than any medicine... Knowing you'll be alright and having Kirlia with me again. I've got my
traveling companions back, and the path ahead to travel on with you!" he laughed, the two Pokemon facing up at him and
slightly blushing. Snivy tilted her head, causing him to suddenly pause his laughter with a bit of sweat. "Err... That
is... If you WANT to travel with us Snivy! I'd be glad to take care of you until you feel and look good as new! If not,
I'm sure the nurses here would take good care of..." but he was cut off as Snivy rapidly shook her head, rubbing her cheek
against him happily. "...Well then, guess we've got a new friend Kirlia!" he said, giving Kirlia another soft noogie which
aggitated her, making her scowl and puff her cheeks out in front of Snivy. Looking at her expression, Snivy's cheeks suddenly
puffed out as well, but not in anger however, as she suddenly burst out in laughter, pointing at Kirlia and causing her
to flush red and turn away in embarrassment in response. "Aww... Now THAT'S adorable." Chris laughed, suddenly picking
Kirlia up and sitting her on his shoulder. "Come on you two... Lets get out of here. I'm ready to put all this behind us
one hundred percent." he told them, getting his rucksack and heading out back towards the reception area, finding the
officer talking to the two nurses at the counter before noticing Chris and turning away, leaving through the exit.


"He... isn't angry or anything... Right...?" he asked, walking up to the nurses with an eye on the door. "No no... He's
just that way when he feels bad or guilty... He comes off as angry but really he just isn't very good at apologies or
admitting he was in the wrong." the nurses told him, laughing nervously as Kirlia crossed her arms in irritation, her
tongue sticking out at them. As they looked at Snivy and asked how she was doing, she suddenly pulled herself away from
them, clinging to Chris with an irritated look as well. "S... Sorry... Kirlia told her what happened so... She's a bit
touchy too at the moment..." he told them, bowing in apology. "N... No... Its understandable... The longer you stay here
the more uncomfortable they may get... We're really sorry and can't say it enough... These centers should provide the
exact opposite epxerience for people... Please bear us no ill will..." they begged, bowing together in guilt. "N... No!
N... Not at all... P... Please..." he responded, scratching his cheek nervously and embarrassed. The two nurses raised
with a nod, and started bringing out various medications for him, offering them free of charge to help him take care of
Snivy until it was well again. Nodding with a thanks, Chris finally turned and left the center, looking around to decide
which direction to head next.


"Well... Guess we should make a straight shot for the next town... Need to make sure we stay close to people in case
you need any sudden help Snivy." he smiled down at her, getting a slight blush back. With a deep breath of the fresh
air around him, he finally set off to resume his journey, a bump in the road finally behind him as Kirlia sat on his
shoulder, arms crossed in slight jealousy towards Snivy for gaining his affection as well...