Art by myself! I know I'm terrible, but making that was pretty fun! Enjoy!

(30 Minutes Later)

We went back into Dan's house, as I repeatedly ran my fingers through my hair, which now only went to my chest area. It hadn't been this short since I was like 7, and it felt nice. I looked at a clock on the wall, the hands pointing to 5:30. I involuntarily sighed out loud, as this was the time that we would be sent back to our cells after our work was done when I was a prisoner.

"So, you done working for the day," Dan asked with a smirk on his face. "Y-yeah, I would be, if I hadn't run away." "Well, we still have things to do. We haven't even eaten dinner yet." I felt my stomach rumbling inside of me at the mere mention of food, so I just nodded.

"Well, what would you like to eat," Dan asked me. "I-I don't know any meals. When I was a prisoner, I just ate whatever they gave us." "Well, come here, I'll show you what we have." He directed me into the kitchen, to a large cabinet filled with all kinds of food I had never seen before. All sorts of fruits, vegetables, and other stuff, the sight of which made my mouth water.

"Well, I see that you're impressed," Dan said before laughing at what I was doing. "It all looks so good. How do you decide what to eat?" "Well, I just make what sounds good. So, how about macaroni and cheese?"

"Mmm, sounds good," I said, the thought of food making me hungrier than I truly was. As Dan was making dinner, I took a look around his apartment, stopping at a bookcase. It was filled with multiple books, about a wide array of things. One book caught my eye, one that was called "Pokémon Training for Dummies." I tried to read it, but I didn't know how to. I put the book back, making sure I knew where it was. I was interested in becoming a trainer someday, and I figured that the book would help me learn.

(30 Minutes Later)

"Jasmine, dinner's ready," I heard Dan call from the kitchen. I stopped looking at the things in the bathroom and go to the table, where a black pot was sitting in the middle, with two plates next to it. Dan was sitting at the table, so I took a seat next to him. "Well, feel free to serve yourself," he told me.

I grabbed a plate, grabbed the ladle in the pot, and dished myself a helping. I took a fork and scooped up a few of the shells. I put them in my mouth, and finished the helping almost immediately. The taste, the warmth, the gooey cheese, it was one of the best things I had ever eaten.

"Whoa, there, Jasmine, you need to slow down." "Never, this is one of the best things ever made! It's certainly the best thing I've ever tasted," I said with my mouth full. "Well, you should chew slowly. Then it will taste even better."

"Nothing could make this edible gold better. Stop lying, Dan." "Just try it, you'll be surprised." I rolled my eyes as I gave myself another serving. I tried chewing my food more slowly, savoring each bite, and almost dropped my fork on the floor.

After swallowing, I told Dan, "Arceus above, you're right!" "I told you, Jasmine, chewing slowly makes anything taste better." We finished our dinner, before I asked him about his books. "So, I was wondering, could you teach me how to read?" "Well, I'm not that good of a teacher, but I know someone who could help. We'll have to fly there, though."

"Wow, we get to fly? Awesome!" He grabbed two blue, white, and red Great Balls, and lead me down and out of the building. "All right, Jasmine, get ready to meet my Pokémon!" Dan sent out his two Pokémon, both of the same species. They were birds, with brown feathers all around, white feathers on their stomach. Once we I had seen these Pokémon flying over the skies of Sinnoh while I was running, but I only ever got brief glimpses. This was my first time seeing one up close.

"Jasmine, these are Bonnie and Clyde, my Staraptor. Now, I will warn you, Bonnie is a bit unfriendly towards strangers." "No, it's fine. No harm in trying, right," I asked as I approached the female Predator Pokémon. I slowly moved my hand towards her head, gently petting her crest.

:Bonnie, I'm Jasmine, and I would like to ride you. Will you let me?: The Staraptor flapped it's wings at me, knocking me over. "Bonnie, heel," Dan told his Normal/Flying type, which moved away from me quickly.

"I'm sorry Jasmine, are you hurt?" "No, I-I'm fine. Just a little startled, that's all." I picked myself up and straightened out my hair. "I assume I should ride Clyde?" "Yes, that would be for the best. Clyde will be friendlier towards you."

I did the same thing to Clyde, gently petting his crest while talking to him telepathically. :Dan says that you're friendlier. Please don't be as rough as Bonnie.: The Staraptor nodded and squatted a bit, as for me to climb on him. Dan and I mounted the pair of bird Pokémon, and we took to the skies.

The ride was short, but I was thrilled the entire way. To be able to soar through the sky was truly magical to me. We were headed to a place called Twinleaf Town where one of Dan's friends would teach me how to read. But, as we were flying over Route 201, I heard something calling for help. *Someone, please, I need help. I can't go on. I need a medic.*

:Clyde, I need you to fly down to the route. I hear someone in need.: Clyde gave me a strange look, but still followed my orders. He descended to the route, slowing down as he approached the ground. When he landed, I hastily got off and tried to find who was making the distress call.

*No, red-haired girl, don't leave me behind. Please, I'll die without your help.* :Hey, where are you? What do you see of me?: *Wait, you can hear me? Um, I can see your back.*

I turned around and saw a pair of soft yellow eyes looking at me from under a bush. I approached the creature, crouching down to get a better look at it. I held my hand out, and the small, puppy-like Pokémon moved up a bit to sniff it. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, so I grabbed him out from under the bushes he was under. As I pulled him out, the light of the sun began to show the Pokémon's fur, black from the stomach area down, around it's neck, and on it's tail, blue from the stomach area up, and yellow around its ears, front ankles, and at the end of its tail.

:Hey, it'll be okay. I'm here to protect you,: I told the Pokémon. I ran my fingers over his leg, causing him to recoil in pain. *Oh Arceus, it hurts so badly! Why, oh why?*

:Oh no, I'm sorry. May I take a look?: *O-okay. Just, be gentle, please.* I set the Pokémon down on it's stomach and checked it's legs.

I found that his right front leg, which I had just noticed had been shaking more than the others, had a bad burn wound on it, with the flesh under the yellow fur being a charred black. :Oh no, what happened? What caused this?: The Pokémon looked away, his face filled with pain and regret. He began to sniffle, before looking back at me.

*A-a Houndoom did it. It was what caused this to me. I still remember what happened. I was just running through the forest with my friends, when I bumped into a Houndoom. He was mad that I had been so inattentive, so he had another Pokémon pin me down, and he spewed his fire on my leg. A burn from a Houndoom can never heal, so I'm stuck with a crippled leg for the rest of life.*

I gasped, the sight of the burn now etched into my mind. *I used to be the fastest of my friends, but now, I'm just a crippled Shinx, with nothing to live for. I used to dream of adventuring across the region, but now, I only dream of being owned by someone. I used to be proud of who I was, and had no regrets, but now, I only have regrets, and...and...*

The Shinx was now crying it's eyes out, so I resumed holding it, making sure to avoid it's burn. :Hey, hey, it'll be alright. I don't care about your battling abilities. I just don't want to see you in such pain and misery. You deserve happiness, like all things do, and I would like to help you find it.:

The Shinx looked me in the eyes, before burying his face in my arms. *Yes, I would like that! Please take me with you!* It was at this point that Dan had found me and landed. "Jasmine! Are you alright? Why did you do that? How did you do that?"

:So, if I'm your new owner, I should give you a name. How about Rusty,: I asked the Flash Pokémon in my arms. *Yes, I like that l name.* I turned around to face Dan. "Dan, this is Rusty, and he's my new Pokémon."

~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~

Word Count: 1595 Words

And thus, Rusty has become Jasmine's first Pokémon. Shinx has always been an underrated Pokémon to me, so I wanted to give it some limelight.

Also, Jasmine and Dan are not a couple. Jasmine's 14, Dan's over 20. Just wanted to throw that out there.

So, who else do you think will be on Jasmine's team? I'm interested to see your guesses. Just a fair warning, there will only be one Pokémon that I've used in one of my stories before, meaning that Pokémon like Bagon, Eevee, Magby, and Elekid are out of the question.

Well, you guys take care, I've got a chapter to write. I don't want to say anything, but, characters from the games. Happy Reading!