𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟰: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿

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「𝚁𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝙿𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.」

「Tarsal ressent les émotions des gens grâce à ses cornes. Ce Pokémon se montre rarement, mais il arrive qu'il s'approche d'une personne s'il la sent dans un état d'esprit positif.」

「ラルトスは 頭の ツノで 人の 気持ちを 感じ取る。人前には めったに 姿を 現さないが 前向きな 気持ちを キャッチすると 近寄る。」

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~15 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭~

February 13, 2019.
Denali Region
City of Anchorage: Huffman District, Cottonwood Ward

On his way back from his average job to his average home in an average neighborhood in the only city in which he ever really lived, Randi was in a generally content mood. The snow crunched beneath his boots as he breathed in the cool, crisp air. He had walked this route for years, but something struck him as odd this time.

>> I was walking through the neighborhood as I felt a strange feeling, as if I was being watched. I had recently come from a volunteer event advocating for abandoned Pokémon and was feeling generally upbeat. As I was happily strutting down the sidewalk near the Huffman roundabout, there was rustling in the snow-covered bushes, sending the white powder streaming to the ground. Branches cracked. Suddenly, a Pokémon tripped out of the bush and planted on the sidewalk. It had the standard appearance of a 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘀, a white drape-like body the size of a human child of about three, with a bowl-cut-green-haired head crowned with two little pink horns. It started following me around like a lost child.

《Raaaaa-lts.》

When it looked up and revealed its sweet little ruby-colored eyes, my heart melted instantly. A cute little girl Ralts had appeared! She basically became my shadow as she followed me home. I gave her a quick physical examination as I had learned at the university to check her health. She seemed to be in good spirits and great health. I began fostering her.

I called the lab, asking Spruce to put out a notice if anyone was missing a Ralts, as despite being a Psychic Pokémon that thrives in urban areas, they are so rare to appear before humans in the wild. He notified Pokémon Centers and police kiosks around Anchorage. A police officer, Jenny, conducted an immediate search and found no Ralts reported missing. So, the Ralts may have been be wild, but why would a wild Pokémon follow me?

February 14, 2019.

>>Valentine's Day. A dreaded annual ritual in which I used to sit at home and mope, is now completely occupied.

The little Ralts had stayed up late with me last night, curiously watching the moon and stars. She had jumped in excitement when we caught a glimpse of a glimmering meteor. She kept becoming captivated by the Moon. She seems to have a particularly unique personality for a Pokémon.

It was my day off, but having found the Ralts, I drove to the university anyway. I made the difficult decision to take the Ralts in my car unsecured as I didn't want to leave her unsupervised at home, as she has become very attached to me and would likely stress if left alone. I had no child car seat or a Pokéball. I put her in the back seat and drove with extreme caution as the roads were icy.

The staff at the University Pokémon Center found no identification or registration for the Ralts, and didn't detect any Trainer ID nanoparticles from any known model of Pokéball. It was clear that no one was coming for her.

I named the Ralts 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗯𝗲, after a goddess of the Moon. The diety was worshipped by a Near Western ancient civilization that revered Psychic and Fairy Type Pokémon. As an undergraduate, I had read of the 3,000 year old civilization's beliefs of the sanctity of the night and their creation mythology regarding the Moon as the Creator. The Ralts, thoroughly enraptured with the Moon, earned the moniker.

Unable to use Pokéballs to catch Pokémon as I have no active Trainer registration, I bought a car seat for Phoebe to keep her safe. She would laugh and clap her hands whenever I buckled her in. I had to cut a small hole in the back of the seat to fit one of her horns. She seemed very happy with this arrangement.

I felt a curious pattern of thoughts that seemed different than my normal thinking, giving me the feeling that I could not leave Phoebe alone; she had to be with me at all times.

Phoebe and I bonded. We walked together, ate together, told stories together. We played, worked, and slept together. The new thinking patterns advanced into a sort of telepathic connection; the Psychic Pokémon has developed a direct connection to my mind via her power. I haven't felt this since travelling with Mew ages ago. My relatively solitary life has been turned upside down.

So it is settled. Fifteen years after giving up my Pokéballs, vowing to never Train again, I will resume my Training. Though to be a Trainer again, I may have to face things from my past that I would rather not. But I must. For Phoebe.

After registering at the Pokémon Center, I bought a nice shiny red Pokéball for Phoebe. She leapt with elation as she dove toward the ball, catching herself on her own volition. Of course, I immediately brought her back out. This little girl was my buddy, after all.

Nearing middle age, I don't exactly fit the traditional Trainer mold. Nevertheless, I sense a very strange feeling that Phoebe and I are on the cusp of a new journey yet to begin.

***

AN: Part 4 of the protagonist series to catch this blog up with the current project. Welcome back to the story, Phoebe! The drawing is a redux of a greyscale graphite drawing I sketched a few months ago before I started getting serious with colour. I changed the speed limit sign to km/h because I believe the Pokémon World is truly an international place, and I want to appeal to a global audience!

As you might have guessed, I am somewhat multilingual. I know some Japanese and a limited amount of French. 日本語で少し話せます。Je parle très peu le français.

I don't know quite enough of the languages to fully translate my story from English and keep from altering the tone and feelings. I could almost do it in Japanese.

There are many more parts to go, which means many more drawings. Keep following as Randi starts his new Pokémon journey and Phoebe continues to grow in life experiences!

J