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 20 - Lingering Sadness...


Walking along, Chris couldn't help but smile at Snivy as she randomly looked around, pointing excitedly
at various things like the flying Butterfree, a group of Meowth rubbing past them into the brush, even
to a tree which had grown berries. "Ha ha... Excited to be out and about now that you're feelin' better,
huh? You wanna try eating a berry now?" he asked her, getting a rapid nod in response. Kirlia sighed and
shook her head, crossing her arms as she closed her eyes in silence. He walked up under the tree and picked
a few, holding one up to Snivy to nibble on. "Good good... Not bad at all!" he chuckled, watching her face
brighten as she sighed, happy to have something solid in her stomach. "Ya know Kirlia, she's almost as
cute as you are!" he laughed, knowing she was feeling a bit testy and wanting to make her happy as a result.
She jolted and suddenly flushed, her eyes going wide as she smiled embarrassed, waving her hand as if to
tell him to "Stop it!" shyly. "But... I bet you'll have some real competition in that department once she's
all better again! You better keep yourself in good condition too!" he laughed, suddenly turning the happy
Kirlia enraged with a flushed expression. He handed her a berry too, and with a rough yank, she started
munching away at it in frustration, seemingly turning the berry eating into a competition.


"C... Calm down I was only kidding." he laughed nervously, surprised at discovering how sensitive Kirlia
was. "Guess its best I avoid comparing you two then... I could accidentally start a dangerous fire that
way!" he laughed, holding another berry out for Snivy to nibble on as she quietly laughed as well, amused
by how jealous Kirlia was behaving also. Looking at the two, Chris suddenly jolted as a light bulb lit
over his head. "I know what to do! Since both of you will be traveling with me, the two of you should do
some real bonding as well! Lets see..." he thought aloud, confusing the two as he set Snivy on the grass,
putting Kirlia down next to her as he picked and piled berries up on the ground in front of them. "There
we go... Now then! I want you to help Snivy eat for me Kirlia! I have to gather some supplies from the
woods so we have plenty to eat until we reach the next town. In the meantime, while you help her eat, the
two of you can talk to each other and get to know one another! Its important the two of you form a bond
so we can really get along and enjoy the time we spend together. Its no fun if you girls wind up rivals,
right?" he laughed, rubbing them both on the head. "Well... It could be a little funny from time to time,
but I just don't want the two of you to wind up going at each other in the future... It'd make me feel
pretty crummy if I allowed my friends to form something salty between them..." he smiled nervously. Kirlia
scowled with a "whatever" expression as she rummaged through the berries, while Snivy nodded with a smile
and held his hand, shaking it. "Ha ha... Do your best you two!" he nodded, standing as he took off his
rucksack and head into the woods with a few containers.


Remaining where he left them, Kirlia held a berry out to Snivy, accidentally hitting her in the face with
it. Snivy shouted as she rubbed her nose with a pout, causing Kirlia to panic and flail her hands, making
loud sounds as if to say "sorry! sorry!" over and over again. Snivy scowled at her, but couldn't help but
find herself laughing at Kirlia's reaction, and waved her hand in response making sounds telling her "its
okay." as she made sounds to guide Kirlia to her mouth. Holding it out slowly this time, Kirlia suddenly
felt Snivy nibbling on the berry, making her relax and slowly smile as she fed their new companion. Over
time, the two slowly started talking to each other more and more, with Kirlia feeding Snivy berry after
berry, and Snivy weakly trying to lift berries and feed Kirlia as well. Eventually, all the berries were
gone and the two rested on the grass, both rubbing their stomaches with groans and stuffed expressions,
having eaten more than they thought they could handle. Chris finally returned, containers full of random
ingredients for stew, and he tilted his head as he saw the two now both looking sickly. "...You two ate
too much, didn't you?" he laughed nervously, getting a scowl from both of them in response at the same
time. "S... Sorry..." he responded with slight sweat, stuffing the containers in his rucksack. "Lets see.
I think the nurses gave me... Ah! Here we go!" he said with a smirk, sitting next to the two and lifting
them both onto his lap. Putting some medicine in a spoon, he suddenly put it in Kirlia's mouth first, making
her jolt wide eyed and shove his hand away quickly, her tongue shot out of her mouth with a loud shout and
a groan in digust. "Ha ha... That's medicine for ya... Good for your health, bad for your taste..." he
told her as Kirlia snarled at him in irritation, making sour expressions as well from the shudder inducing
taste. Snivy watched Kirlia and tilted her head confused, until Chris suddenly did the same to her and
she reacted the same as Kirlia had, rapidly shaking her head and shuddering all over. "There! Now the two
of you know how each other feel!" he laughed loudly, the two facing up at him furiously with red faces.


"Ha ha! Sorry, sorry... I know medicine sucks. But trust me, you really will feel better soon!" he told
the two, rubbing their heads as he looked over some of the other medicine meant just for Snivy. "But...
I'm afraid I have just a few other things for you to take Snivy... We gotta make sure you stay in a good
condition." he told her, with Snivy showing a depressed and groaning type of expression in response. But
with a nod, she took several spoon fulls of various medications, her face twisted inside out by the time
she finished them. "Alright... Good girl! You took it all without stopping! I'm proud!" he told her, and
he carefully lifted her up and gave Snivy a kiss on the cheek, wiping her mouth with the bottom of his
shirt. "You keep that up and you'll be able to run all over the place and do whatever you want soon enough!"
he laughed, with Kirlia fuming as she turned her face away, having heard Chris give Snivy a kiss, whilst
Snivy simply flushed brightly with wide eyes, frozen like stone from the affection. "Ha ha. Sorry, if that
too much?" he asked, with Snivy rapidly shaking her head shyly in response, letting out a quiet gulp as
Kirlia stuck out her tongue, facing away yet again. Looking at her, Chris rubbed the back of his head in
confusion, laughing nervously. "I can't win for losing here, can I?" he asked, watching Kirlia pout and
poke her cheek, wanting a kiss too. Sweating nervously, he sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek as well,
causing her to smirk with her head held up once again. "Whooo boy..." he sighed, shaking his head with a
smile. "A handful and a half... You two..." he chuckled, suddenly holding them both cose against him in a
warm hug, the both of thm slowly turning red as they held him in response, smiing shyly.


"Alright alright, enough of this! We should get going!" he laughed, standing with his rucksack back over
his shoulder. Looking down at the two, he smirked and picked them both up in each arm, carrying them both
as he walked along, the two blushing equally with wide smiles. As the small Snivy looked up at him, she
thought about how nice he was, caring and tender... Yet she suddenly began thinking of her past experience
with a trainer, who was the same, and with a sigh as she looked down with a frown, Chris glanced down and
tilted his head. "Something wrong Snivy?" he asked, gently bouncing her in his arm to try cheering her
back up. Jolting, she looked up at him wih a nod, smiling again with a happy noise. Eventually, in his
other arm, Kirlia fell fast asleep, curling up against him with a peaceful expression that made Chris smile
from ear to ear with a blush. "C... Cute... Too... Cute..." he murmered, lifting her up slightly to rub
his sheek against her head, but looking at Snivy, he couldn't help noticing how sad her expression kept
turning, laying on her stomache in his arm while looking towards the ground. "...Hey, what's on your mind?"
he asked, continuing his stroll. "Looking up at him for a moment, Snivy shook her head with another smile
before facing the grund again, the smile quickly fading once more as she dived back into her thoughts.
"...Something's really getting to her. Is it something that happened before we met maybe...?" he thought
to himself, looking ahead as he noticed a large town far in the distance, poking up over the trees.


"Well... There's our next destination!" he told Snivy, nudging her slightly so she would look up, hoping
to see her excited behavior from before. As she glanced over the horizon at the buildings, she suddenly
faced him and curled up sadly, letting out a sigh in response and causing him to finally stop. "Snivy...
Are you feeling sick...? Bad memories...? What's the matter?" he asked, pressing her to give him some sign
as to what was wrong while Kirlia woke up in his other arm, stretching with a yawn and a happy "hello!"
sounding noise. Getting no response from the two, she tilted her head and made a concerned noise, making
Chris face her with a nervous laugh. "Snivy isn't doing so good suddenly... She's been looking really sad
since you dozed off... I can't tell if she's ill or if something's on her mind though..." he told her in
a concerned tone as he walked to the side of the path and set them down, removing his rucksack as he joined
the two with his legs crossed. Whispering to Kirlia, he asked her if she might know what was bugging their
suddenly saddened friend. Facing in Snivy's direction, Kirlia suddenly pointed at her own head repeatedly,
motioning to show what was bothering her was in her mind. "Nothing physical...?" he asked, Kirlia shaking
her head no in response. "Mmm... I can't really be of much help if I don't know what's bothering her...
The nurses said she showed them something... But as far as I go... I'm clueless... And it would suck if I
asked Snivy to show me what happened to her a second time..." he said with a sigh, resting his cheek on
his hand as he went deep into thought, trying to figure out a way to help Snivy.


But as he sat troubling himself over the matter, Kirlia suddenly started talking to Snivy, and after a
moment, pulled on Chris's sleeve to get his attention. "Eh...? Whats up?" he blinked, startled out of his
train of thought. Kirlia walked up next to Snivy, pointing at her and him, motioning for Chris to come
closer as she sat with Snivy. "...Okay, so... What are we doing exactly?" he asked, laying down with his
upper body supported up by his elbows. As Kirlia looked at Snivy, the sad Pokemon nodded and rested her
head on the ground, closing her eyes as Kirlia placed her hand on her head. Facing Chris, she held her
other hand out towards him. "So... She... Wants to show me now...?" he asked, blinking surprised. She
nodded in response, so Chris leaned his head forward against her hand, closing his eyes as well. "Okay
then... Do your thing Kirlia... I don't want eiher of you to push yourselves doing this though..." he
reminded them, both Pokemon nodding as Kirlia suddenly tilted her head back, facing the sky as her eyes
started gloing brightr and brighter, until slowly... Suddenly...


A bright flash surrounded the three of them, and like before when Kirlia showed Chris what had happened
to her, he stood before Snivy, back when she was fit and healthy...