So, um, I guess I caught my first Pokémon today! I owe you an explanation. I was at the cove. I figured maybe I could catch some fish or even just find a bunch of edible seaweed to dry for dinner. I was waiting just at the shoreline, staring out into the depths to see what kinds of seaweed I could identify. I knew eventually I would have to actually wade in and start swimming, but I was kind of trying to adjust to the water's temperature first. So I was pretty much still. And then I felt something bump into my leg.

I flinched. And then IT flinched. And it spat out some vile-smelling fluid as a warning, but it didn't look like it really wanted to hurt me. It just looked really freaked out. "U-Um... I have a c-couple berries in my pack. D-Do you w-want one?" I asked it quietly. It just kind of stared at me expectantly, so I slowly and softly set my backpack on the ground next to it. It leaned in and started to scour around for my snacks. I used the opportunity to use my Pokédex.

Wimpod, the Turn Tail Pokémon. A Bug and Water type. From beaches to seabeds, Wimpod live in all kinds of places. They eat anything, even if it's rotten. Nature's vacuum cleaners!

I was intrigued. It seemed pretty cowardly, but like... I kinda empathize with that. "C-Can I p-pet you? Or is that not allowed?" It looked up at me warily before nodding, so I gently stroked their back. I was surprised to find that this was plating, not skin. "Ah, I g-guess I should've f-figured out that you're an a-arthropod by your name and the fact that you're a b-bug type. D-Do you have f-friends you got separated from? I could h-help you find them."

"Wimpod," it responded dejectedly, shaking its head.

"Me neither. I gotta c-catch dinner. You can s-stay with me for the n-night, if you want," I offered. "I'll be right b-back. I h-have to go d-deeper in."

After a while of scavenging and stabbing fish with my spear, I've gotten a good amount of stuff. I lucked out and found some Umibudo that I wouldn't have to dry, but I also set up my laundry line to hang some kombu and wakame. In the meantime, I set up a fire and deboned and cooked up some fish.

The Pokémon made noises of confusion. "Oh! Um, r-right. I h-have a home, but it's qu-quite a long ways from h-here. I go out into the w-wild a lot, d-doing weird stuff like this. S***, I haven't even i-introduced myself yet, h-have I? Sorry, I d-don't spend a whole lot of time with P-Pokémon, so I don't r-really know how to act. I'm Daichi Mochizuki."

It bumped its head into my leg. "I-Is that... affection? Are you a-angry? Hungry? S-Scared? Damn, this is hard." It seemed to laugh at my confusion, and I couldn't help but laugh, too. Then it kind of... left. "Where are you g-going, bud?" I asked, tailing it. It waded a short ways into the ocean and tugged out a trail of seaweed out with it. "B-Bud, that kind has a l-lot of carrageenan. It's a t-type of carb that we c-can't really digest all that well. You d-did great though!" Despite my warning, it gulped it up. Oh, right. It's considered nature's vacuum for a reason. That's really handy, actually!

"M-Must be nice, g-getting to eat whatever. I h-have to be all s-selective. I used to m-make mistakes and wind up in a l-lot of trouble."

"Wimpod?"

"Yeah, like this one time I was out in the d-desert. I knew that cacti were e-edible and a g-good source of w-water out there. But I d-didn't know that Peyote cacti are hallucinogenic. And n-nauseating. And v-vomiting is a one-way ticket to d-dehydration in the desert. I th-thought I would die."

"Wimpod," it expressed sadly.

"Yeah. I was terrified. But hey! Here I am four years l-later, s-still kickin' it! And that c-cactus would be n-no match for you!"

It made a sound of pride, and I smiled at it. "C-Could you h-help me dig a deep hole? I c-could use a r-refill on w-water, and I don't have a desalting kit, so o-ocean water won't w-work. I'll have to settle for ground water."

It used its claws to dig like a madman. The two of us manage to hit water in only a few minutes. "You're r-ruthlessly efficient! Amazing!" I admired. I heated up some rocks on the fire, dropped them into the hole, and placed a cloth over the opening so that the steam would get caught in the cloth. Then I simply wrung the water from the cloth into my canteen. I offered my hand for my new pal to high-five me, and it whacked its claw against my open palm.

I hadn't expected to become so fond of them. Most of my interactions with Pokémon were either hostile or too brief to be meaningful, but this Wimpod actually seemed to like me. And it did seem to be excellently built for the type of life I lead.

"H-Hey... I n-never suspected I might o-offer this. To anyone, actually. I f-figured I'd just go solo, cause t-taking care of someone else would be d-difficult. But... Do you wanna c-come with me p-permanently? Y'know, b-be my partner? I can p-protect you from p-predators!"

"Wimpod!" it squealed with excitement.

"G-Great!" I lit up. And then it dawned on me. "F***, I don't have any Pokéballs, because I n-never planned on catching anyone. S-Stay right here!! I'll be right back! I swear!!!"

Not even bothering to pack anything up, I sprint off with all my strength to find a shop. Hopefully, this'll reassure my new friend that I'm not planning on abandoning him, since I just up and left all my stuff. I zoom into the Poké Mart and frantically slam some coins down on the counter.

"Woah! Are you okay, sir?" the cashier asks, flipping her long, dark hair. She looks about my age and has a Sewaddle on her shoulder.

"I need a P-Pokéball. No wait! M-Make that a Great Ball, I h-haven't weakened it at all! W-Wait, make that three, in case it f-fails! S-Sorry for my r-rudeness, I've just n-never caught anything before and I'm k-kind of all over the place!"

"Kid, calm down. You're gonna be okay. Take a deep breath. In. Out." I obey, closing my eyes.

"I just r-really want them to not get s-scared. I don't want them to th-think I left."

"Sir, they'll be fine. Here're your Great Balls. Have a nice day. And maybe come show me, when you've caught them?"

"S-Sure, I can do that. Th-Thank you very much!" I ran out, Great Balls in hand, to where my new friend was waiting. "H-Hi again! You ready?"

"Wimpod."

"Good. I'm glad." I sit down right beside him and softly fling a ball at them, not enough to hurt but enough to make it activate. Even though I've never caught one, I know how this is supposed to go. It wiggles. One. Two. Three. CLICK!

"It worked! It a-actually worked! Incredible!" I gasped delightedly. "Okay, um... l-like this. Wimpod, come on out!" The ball opened and out came my friend. "This is n-nuts! I n-never thought I'd do this!"

"Wimpod!"

"Aww. I'm g-glad I met you. Now I-let's get you to a Pokémon Center." They scuttled up my shoulder. It was a really weird, tingly feeling, but nevertheless, it seemed comfy, so that's what mattered. I made the short trek to a center and got them taken care of. Turns out, my new friend is a gal pal!

I returned to the Poké Mart to show the nice cashier.

"Congratulations on your first Pokémon! Wimpod, congrats on getting a new trainer!"

"Wimpod!" she cheered, curling around my neck. I giggled from how much she was tickling me.

And that's how I caught my first Pokémon. Once I wrap up this current expedition, I can go home and show her off to Mom and Dad! I'm sure they'll be surprised!