Chapter Thirteen

Tangled up in the vines along the river's sides a boy groaned in pain. His eyes fluttering open groggily, his ears were ringing. As ruby eyes caught sight of the water before him and the sight of an unconscious young Gyarados, he noticed how cold his body was as a foreign panic fought to engulf him. He quizzically tried to follow the feeling, as he found his limbs far to stiff and tangled to move.

His eyes searched around him looking for something. The yellow mouse that was normally beside him gone. He felt his heart clench as he hoped that merely meant the mouse had escaped instead of having drowned.

In honesty, he was surprised he hadn't himself. He'd never learned to swim, something like that required a teacher the risk was to great instead he had learned to make himself float. It made more sense then flailing as he'd seen other kids do, but it seemed that under the influence of their panicking mind they were unable to comprehend that. It had been one of many moments when he'd been grateful for his lack of feeling.

Thinking such he was startled when one of the vines around his arms slipped, however in moments another vine replaced in. Eh. He took a closer look at the vines keeping his head above the water, they were slicker and smoother then real ones and they had a small bulb like tip at their end. Pokémon. A voice in his head said. These were indeed the vines of Grass Type Pokémon.

He tried to listen but his ears were still ringing. He must have hit his head. But he could barely make out soft cries from above him. His eyes dropped a bit, the cold was getting to him. He struggled to keep them open, he couldn't lose consciousness now. Suddenly he was startled by bright red light indicating a Pokémon captured which was followed by the two bright flashes of what he recognized as Pokémon being released from their Pokéballs.

He tensed. Someone was here. His originally sluggish mind was spinning rapidly weariness and relief fighting against the foreign panic that was surging through him. His eyes searched the water for the Pokémon released and his mind jumped when he felt something push up underneath his arms. His eyes snapped down to look at the creatures in the water holding him up, a Staryu and Goldeen. Pain pulsed through his head from the unfamiliar panic racing through in, almost immediately his mind trying to push it out, growing sluggish.

The panic seemed to grow as he fought against it. The pain continued as it slipped into his head from somewhere. Numb. Numb. Numb. Numb. Numb. He chanted in his mind as he searched. Anger rushed through him, his own this time, as he found the panics source. CALM DOWN! His mind screamed at source.

He sighed in relief as the pain dulled into a soft throbbing, his mind once more the quiet and calm place he knew. He tensed a bit as he felt someone wrap their arms around his as he was being lifted from the water through the efforts of a human and Pokémon. Thankfulness filled him that he had his backpack on as he felt it scratch against the sharp rocky river walls.

As he vaguely felt the ground, he was pulled into someone's chest as the vines slowly unraveled and released him. His body was tingling in exhaustion and numbness from the chilly water. Against the warmness of the the strangers chest he fell asleep in relief as he whispered, "Thank you...."

— — • — —

Along the shore of a small lake that was connected to the river leading to Route One, and the river from up the mountain, sat a young preteen, a fishing pole in hand. She wore a yellow tank top showing her midriff, red suspenders, blue denim shorts that stopped at her thighs and red sneakers with yellow lining and white laces. Her short orange hair tied into a side ponytail with a blue elastic band. Her viridian green eyes and fair skin reflecting the shimmering the water. One could just barely make out the blue swimsuit she wore underneath.

The Star Shaped Pokémon cried out in determination. Misty smiled brightly as she looked over towards the river leading to Route One. It was about time they return to Vermilion City, they had gotten what they came for.

BANG!

Staryu and her jumped in surprise at the loud sound. Misty watched in shock as a large towering thunder struck something by the river. Her eyes grew wide, there weren't any native Electrics Types in this forest, it was one of the reasons she decided to start here. So it must be a trainer. A loud roar sounded from the same direction and Misty's nerves jumped in fear at the roar she would always recognize. Gyarados.

She returned Staryu, grabbing her bag and jumped on her bike. Despite her fear towards the serpent her Gym Leader instincts kicked in. Someone was in trouble, she needed to help them. She peddled with all her might cursing the rouged terrain in her hurry as she flew off her bike after hitting a tree root. She didn't bother getting back on. She could see the cause of the Thunder. A small yellow mouse, she recognized as a Pikachu, was panicking by the edge of the river cliffs. She had to push aside her awe at the sight of the small group of Oddish and Bellsprout as they held onto something with their vines. The Pikachu looking pleadingly at them. She sprinted forward and peering over the edge she saw why.

Pulled against the current of the river, by the wall of the river was a boy who seemed barely conscious. And before him an unconscious Gyarados. She shivered she didn't want to think about what would happen if they remained there when the creature woke, but as she looked at the creature and thought of the wrath it'd bring on the forest she threw a Pokéball at it. She saw a vine slip from the boy and she realized the Grass Types were getting tired far to weak to pull the boy out of the water. Without hesitation, she ignored the still rocking Pokéball and sent out Staryu and Goldeen.

"Staryu, Goldeen help hold up that boy so I can grab him!" Her Pokémon obeyed. She was carefully trying to lay against the rock close enough to reach him when she saw the panicking Pikachu who seemed to panic even more when it saw her suddenly become quiet as it moved away from them.

She shook her head reaching down carefully to wrap her arms around the boy. She could feel how much colder this water was compared to the water in the lake. With careful speed she pulled the boy out with the help of the Grass Types, who quickly scattered as soon as the boy was out.

She took off the boy's backpack before pulling him into her chest hoping it would warm him up. She smiled relieved when she heard the soft hoarse whisper from the boy. "Thank you..."

She watched in concern as he passed out in exhaustion. She dug through her bag looking for anything to keep him warm. She was startled when something burst from the water, sighing in relief when it was just her Staryu. However as she saw the Pokéball balancing on one of its legs, she felt conflicted.

She'd talk to the boy about it once he woke up. Until then, she returned Staryu and Goldeen. Lifting up the shockingly light boy, she started into the woods hopping to get away from the water which could contain more Gyarados even older then the one the boy encountered. She was vaguely aware of the small mouse that followed her that seemed between concerned for its trainer and wanting to electrocute her.

Finding a nice place, she started with undressing the boy changing him into the strangely dry clothes in his backpack. Once he was in dry clothes other then his trousers which she couldn't bring herself to change, she set up the boy's sleeping bag and slide him in it as she went about starting a fire. She held back a smile when the mouse slipped into the sleeping bag as well cuddling against its trainer.

Once everything was done and she finished setting up her own sleeping bag, she watched quietly as the sun started to set. She had hidden the Pokéball for the Gyarados deep in her bag, the thought of the creature in it bringing back horrible memories. Still she was glad she didn't have to watch a repeat of the disaster in her youth. Changing into her pajamas, she slipped into her own sleeping bag and hoped the boy would be awake in the morning.