Little Tepig

There are many ways to describe Goldenrod city: the golden utopia, the city of dreams, the golden city, the city of opportunities, and the cathedral of Edo culture. For once, there is something Johto is proud of, its golden soul shines shimmer than that of the Iron decrepit heart of Saffron.

However, one cannot lie as one would admit that living in Saffron is better than that of Goldenrod; Johto's current predicament is just too stubborn for immigrants or those who seek opportunities. It is better for a college student to find a cozy life in a small apartment in Kanto than having a mansion in the middle of Johto.

Despite the problems in the human realm of the socio-economic department, the Pokemon's was worse. With no laws or even proper execution of these laws opened the doors of many inhumane Pokemon trafficking and Goldenrod is the beacon of such Black Market. What made it ironic is that the majority of these trades occur in front of many Pokemon Gyms.

And one of the many victims of this trafficking is a small genuine Tepig, she was from Unova but because of her status of being a 'Pokemon Starter' of the country, many would pay millions to get their hands on this delicate Pokemon.

In the middle of the busy city, park a small tempting van - cloaking the darkness within it. Inside of the van lies 20 cages filled with varying Pokemon from different countries; one had two Munchlaxes, the other had an Archon, and some were either fossilized or Pokemons that any trainer dreamed of. On one of those cages, lies a small humble Tepig, afraid of the events that transpired before and what has yet to come; she was encaged in the core as her captors didn't want her to escape.

There was no hope in escaping…

It curled itself into a ball trying to warm itself from the cold interior of the van; it reminded itself of her mother, being surrounded by her luxurious flare under the canopy of an old tree; such luxury is something that she can no longer afford. There is a common misconception, that fire-type Pokemons don't cry as the watery tears might endanger their life but in truth, they are still vulnerable to such emotions. No one is spared such demeanor.

She closed her eyes, trying to envision her nostalgic feeling, escaping the reality she's in and hoping that she'll escape and come back home. As the darkness covered her eyes, she heard a loud thump, it's as if a door on the front was opened. She then heard the raspy voice of her captors.

"A General Election? Are they kidding me? We had 6 Prime Ministers for 1 year. What the hell is going on in this country?" The driver muttered after hearing the news from his phone.

"Listen Kin, I'm not into politics and all but if this keeps up, we might be worse than Hoenn. Heck, I might just move to Kanto." The other stated.

"I know right. And this Poro Berty guy, who the hell is this guy?"

"I don't know man." He rolled. "All politicians are the same to me; They're like Unknowns - equally useless but physically different."

The driver sighed as he placed his phone at one of the holders under the AC and pressed the ignition.

"Thank Arceus that we found this job, I don't want my family to suffer from the bulshittery we're in." He decided to create a positive attitude between the two; However, both know how inhumane their job is.

"Same, as much as I don't even like it since my daughter loves Pokemon but a guy has to do it for his family." They both tried to alleviate the situation they're in, they hate this job as it opposes their family's principles but if a Beartic resorts to cannibalism to survive, humans are no strangers to such endeavors.

With a simple tap, the iron drawn started to vibrate as it was ready to move; the two fastened their seatbelts as the driver steps on the engine and left their sleepened state.

Moments passed and Tepig felt something was calling her, she couldn't tell what it was but this feeling - it was too significant to ignore. She noticed that her cage started the ruble and saw one of the Archons starts to panic. Everytime it hits its cage, Tepig's lock slowly unbuckles.

She deliberately tackled the cage as well and for every push, one of their captors shouted.

"Quit yapping all of you!"

Tepig ignored such insolence as she continuously barrage the metal bars into submission up until the lock had finally kneeled; she scrambled for her escape, busting it open, her first step into freedom.

In-debt, she scoffed off some flames as a means to help the other captured Pokemon but as she was about to do so, one of her captors saw her. His face was a combination of shock, panic, and anger.

"Stop the car! We have one on the loose!" He shouted.

The Van immediately stopped and the cages slammed to the window between the drivers and the storage, loud car beeps echoed behind them and some were even shouting. Tepig was gouged by the metal rods as soon as the piles of heavy prison cells piled on top of her. She didn't faltered as she used her ember to slowly melt such immure. With dense liquids oozed to the floor, she jumped and ran to the door. The gates of freedom were closed but her captors would ironically be the reason for her escape, the doors were opened, hoping for an easy capture but it was uncalled for.

Tepig leaped out from the vehicle and ran towards the upbringing traffic, the two captors were shocked to see how fast this Tepig was; but they weren't ready to face consequences later on.

"SHIT, the boss is gonna kill us." The driver muttered.

"Figuratively and Literally." He continued.

"SHush it; Keep an eye on the rest, message me where you parked, I'll find that stupid pig." The familiar barraged as he ran and took chase.

Tepig ran down town as she tries to evade her captors but he was giving chase, he was surprisingly faster than what she predicted but with the sudden increase of density of crowd, she saw an advantage.

This flood of human nuances was a protest; it was a crowd that is against the General Election, holding plaque cards and some have speakers to spread their cause. The captor lost track of the pig but he wasn't ready to give up nor even had a choice to begin with. As such, he decided to take the long way.

Tepig continued to run like a stray Pokemon but she heard her tummy grumble; she would desire the tastiest of treats but it would be a heavenly delight if she manages to find a single garbage shot at an alleyway. She, however, couldn't find one but she was already getting tired. She saw a table at a distance, being curtained by a pink cloth while having humbling roses at its vicinity, she decided to hide under the curtains to hide and recover her remaining energy before running away once more.

Like an Opera singer at the end of the show, she ran to the pink veil, and panted. She could hope for some fresh water but her only source of refreshment was her salty sweat. If she could pray, she could hope for the clouds to call for some rain but sadly, the Golden City was abandoned by any divinity.

She wanted to relax for a bit but that leisure was abrupted because a little girl peeked to the curtains and saw the weakened Pokemon. Shocked to see how the little being was forsaken, she shouted.

"Mom! Mom! I've found this weird Pokemon!" She called out her mother.

"What is it dear?" The mother immediately looked at the Pokemon but instead of a worried face, there was fear and shock.

"Honey! Get away from it!" She grabbed her daughter as her maternal blood kicks in, Tepig was startled and ran away once more.

"But mom!" The dismayed girl muttered.

Upon hearing the mother's paranoia, the captor heard her screams and ran towards them. Seeing the Tepig flee from the scenery, he immediately took chase.

Tepig saw her captors on a never ending pursuit; she was dead-locked to her captor's eyes and one of her biggest mistakes is to lock her eyes on her predator. She was subconsciously kicked by an ongoing by-stander, she was thrown to a nearby stairway to the subway. Hitting the cemented stairs one by one until she landed on the flat floor, she was weak - eager to rest - but her captors weren't ready to give up.

She was frail and her bruises were clear; hunger and thirst were clenching her down but fate would be worse if she surrendered to her loaf. She tried to stand up but her body was too brittle, it was a dead-end. She closed her eyes knowing that no matter how she tries to run, she was destined to falter.

"Oh my, are you alright?" An angelic voice echoed through her ears.

She opened her eyes and saw a Gardevoir; she has a worried face and was eager to help such a pitiful Pokemon. She decided to carry the little Tepig into her arms and headed to a large crowd. Tepig was too weak to fight but as the Gardevoir stepped into the crowd of journalists and cameramen pointing towards a single and particular fella.

It was a young boy, tall and slim, it was clear that he's slowly entering puberty but he was too naive to even be a celebrity. He has messy hair with fades on his side, he wore all black, from top to bottom; from his scarf to his shoes. All of which are black, it's as if the light was gone to this silhouette; A shadow to its former self.

"Yoake! Yoake! I need your help." The Gardevoir spoke. Tepig was shocked to hear that a Gardevoir can speak but she reserved this emotion as she was vulnerable.

The boy looked at his urgent Pokemon, seeing her holding a Tepig on a pitiful state. He was shocked by the little Pokemon and immediately acted.

"Excuse us for a bit." He said as he walked towards the Gardevoir, trying to flee from the paparazzi by grabbing her arm and heading to the stairs to surface from the ground of the Golden City.

"What's the matter? ``And Where did you find that?" Yoake asked.

"I just saw her fall from the stairs, and I just feel bad about it. Look at this poor fella." The sympathetic Gardevoir answered.

"Listen Claudine, I know you love helping Pokemon but this Tepig might have a trainer or an owner." Yoake opposed.

"Does this look like a Pokemon being loved by their trainer!?" She contested.

Understanding her side and feeling the pity and depravity of the situation, Yoake allowed his Pokemon to take care of the Tepig. As the two were about to leave the subway, they stumbled upon Tepig's captors.

Claudine felt a menacing aura being radiated by the captor, she can feel the cruelty and villainy that this man brought to the innocent Pokemon; without any second thought, she decided to slide Tepig to the side where the man couldn't see the small vulnerability.

Noticing the oddness from the Gardevoir's face, the captor decided to ask Yoake, whom he asume is the trainer of the Pokemon.

"Excuse me young man but have you seen a small Tepig running around?" He asked.

"Uhh…" Yoake noticed Claudine's face and saw her shake her head.

"No, sorry." The young trainer apologized.

"Alright, thanks." The captor said as he walked away, continuing his search. But as he was about to walk away, he felt some odd suspicious to the trainer's answer.

"Hey… wait a second." The captor stuttered as he looked at the boy once more.

"Aren't you Yoake Katsuragi? The Pokemon Champion of Kanto?" He said in full shock.

"Yup."

"Oh my, sorry for my attitude. My name's Shane" The captor introduced himself.

"Hehe There's no need for an apology."

"My daughter is a big fan of yours, she loves watching you and your Pokemon fight in the arena." He continued.

Yoake was both blushed and shocked after hearing such a compliment; throughout his adventure in Kanto, he wasn't sure of the opinions of others nor they would bother to watch his battles but knowing that there are a lot of fans, he was contemplated.

"Oh really? Well, tell her to keep an eye out. I'm currently participating in the Johto League. She might find it interesting." Yoake stated.

"She will. If you don't mind, can we take a selfie?" The captor asked.

"Sure!"

With a smile and click, both the captor and trainer took a selfie as a form of remembrance, the two parted ways afterwards. Both the trainer and his Pokemon immediately headed to a nearby Pokemon Center to help the dire and frail little Tepig.