What Am I?

Masterless

Vulpix was put in a muzzle and a small metallic cage, while Gastly was shoved into a flask. The gym leader, Misty, and her Pokemon were tied up and thrown onto the floor of the truck the grunts had trapped them in. Team Rocket was driving them to one of their horrid headquarters…or that’s what Jen’s Pokemon thought.

        “Vulpix, did you see what happened to our master?” Gastly asked after a while of silence. He had been captured and taken to the truck moments before Vulpix had helped Jen break through the ice.

        Vulpix gazed at him sadly, and turned away before he could see the tears streaming down her face. The images of Jen disappearing under the ice with the look of both terror and anger on her face burned in the little Pokémon’s mind.

        “Vulpix? Our master is coming for us, right? She’ll save us from Team Rocket.”

        “Gastly,” Vulpix said through her muzzle, “shut up. She’s not going to save us.”

        Gastly flinched, completely taken aback by Vulpix’s harsh words. “W-Why? She’s our master, our trainer. Why would she let Team Rocket take us? Doesn’t she care about us at all?”

        Vulpix was quivering now, trying her hardest not to let Gastly hear her sobbing. She had considered herself to be emotionally stronger than Gastly was, which meant if she was this emotionally distraught, then there would be no way of comforting him.

        “Oh…so she really is like our previous master.” Gastly said glumly after a moment of no reply from Vulpix.

        The little fire fox’s ears perked up and she glared at Gastly. “She is nothing like our last master! She saved me from the ice. Her voice, I could hear her in my mind as clearly as I can hear you. She told me to use firestorm. And once I broke through, she lifted me up onto the surface first. Our last master would have never done that!”

        “Then…what happened? Where is she?” Gastly asked eagerly.

        Vulpix bit her lip to keep from crying out as she explained. “Those…those bastards grabbed me and…pushed her back under. She tried to get back up, but…” She couldn’t finish. She was a sobbing mess now.

        Gastly began to feel lightheaded as he took in the new information. “No, no, she’s not dead. She’ll come for us. I-I know it, Vulpix. She’ll come. You’ll see.”

        Vulpix laid her head down on her front paws. “Keep hoping, Gastly. Keep hoping…even if there is no hope to be had.”