At the outskirts of the Gardevoir clan's territory, a small Ralts—noticeably smaller than average, with an unusual blue-and-white color—sat gloomily on a rock.
Grumble—
Her stomach let out a pitiful growl, protesting its emptiness.
Life in the wild was harsh and unforgiving—even for Pokémon.
And for her, it was even worse.
Born with a rare shiny coloration, a frail body, and an abnormally low reserve of psychic energy, she struggled to survive in the clan.
The other Gardevoir and Kirlia, being naturally kind-hearted, didn't bully her outright, but that didn't mean she had an easy life.
Foraging for food on her own was already a challenge.
As expected, today was another day of going hungry. Her meager psychic reserves had run dry by morning.
She could go out and search for more food, but her psychic depletion made recovery agonizingly slow.
Day after day, she was trapped in this vicious cycle.
"Ralu~"
If only I had unlimited psychic power... or maybe... someone who could share theirs with me…
As Ralts indulged in her little daydream, a sudden rumbling sound shook the ground.
"Ralu?"
Perplexed, she tiptoed onto a higher rock to get a better look.
She had seen large Pokémon displaying grand courtship rituals before, but... this was something else entirely.
It felt more like an earthquake.
Her confusion didn't last long—because the next moment, she saw it.
A stampede of massive Pokémon—Tauros, Rhydon, Kangaskhan—charging wildly in her direction.
And behind them?
A rolling mass of thick, pitch-black smoke.
With her limited experience, she recognized it as a poisonous gas—likely the work of a Poison-type Pokémon.
"Ralu!"
Panic surged through her little body. She scrambled to her feet and dashed toward the clan's main settlement.
By the time she arrived, she wasn't the only one.
Ralts from other areas of the forest had returned as well, all reporting the same thing—
Wild Pokémon rampaging. Black fog spreading.
In other words, the entire forest was under siege.
Their clan was at the center of the forest. It was no wonder Pokémon were instinctively fleeing toward them.
"Garde! Gardevoir!" (Everyone, use [Teleport] to get to the forest's outer edge!)
"Gardevoir!" (And be careful of humans!)
The clan's elder, a wise and experienced Gardevoir, quickly assessed the situation. This had to be the work of those detestable poachers again.
Fortunately, as Psychic-types, they had a simple solution—teleportation.
The order was given.
One by one, the Ralts and Kirlia began vanishing, teleporting themselves to safety.
For most of them, it was effortless.
But for one Ralts, the command was nothing short of impossible.
Because she…
Had no psychic energy left.
By the time she snapped out of her daze, her clanmates were gone.
No one had thought to check if a fellow Ralts had wasted all her energy hunting for breakfast.
"Ralu!"
Heart pounding, she spun in frantic circles, attempting to send out distress signals with the small horn on her head.
But her signal range was limited.
Most of her clanmates were already too far away to sense her cries for help.
And even if a few did sense her, none would be reckless enough to return to this doomed place.
The rampaging Tauros were nearly upon her.
The poisonous fog loomed ever closer.
Ralts squeezed her eyes shut in despair.
She was going to die—either trampled under iron hooves or suffocated in toxic smoke.
Or worse.
She had heard rumors. Humans found shiny Pokémon especially valuable. If she were caught, she'd probably be caged and sold at some extravagant auction house.
She could only pray she wouldn't end up with an especially depraved human.
One second...
Two seconds...
...
Several seconds passed.
By now, she had already imagined her tragic future in great detail—
And yet.
She was still alive.
Even stranger...
The chaotic rumbling had stopped.
"Ralu?"
Cautiously, she peeked open her eyes.
She wasn't where she had been before.
Instead, she found herself on a high, wind-sheltered cliffside, overlooking the entire poisoned forest below.
From this vantage point, she could see it all.
The entire forest was covered in thick, swirling black fog.
Everywhere she looked, Pokémon lay sprawled across the ground, dazed and barely conscious—flying types, ground types, big ones, small ones.
Even the tougher Poison-types were struggling to move.
The once-vibrant forest had become a toxic wasteland.
"Ralu?"
She scratched her head, confused.
How did she get here?
Had she... unlocked some hidden ability?
Just as she fell into deep thought, a grotesque ghostly face suddenly popped up in front of her, tongue lolling out.
"Boo-ha-ha!"
"Ralu!"
Ralts shrieked in terror, fur bristling as she spun to flee—only to slam directly into the legs of a passing human.
Thud—!
The soft, warm little Pokémon tumbled right into Elias's chest, nearly knocking him off balance.
Thankfully, he quickly stabilized himself with psychic energy.
"Haunter, if you've got time to mess around, why don't you go find where Team Rocket is?" Elias said, glaring.
"Boo-ha."
Haunter whistled innocently, turning away as if the situation had nothing to do with him.
Hearing their voices, Ralts—still a bit dizzy from the impact—gradually regained her senses.
She took two steps back, glancing up at Elias before recalling the events just before she appeared here.
It didn't take much to put two and two together.
"Ralu Ralu?" (Did you save me?)
A soft, delicate little girl's voice rang in his head.
Elias blinked.
For the first time, he realized that some Pokémon had seriously nice voices.
If this Ralts became a voice actress in the human world, she'd be a hit.
Unlike the Gym Leader's Psychic-types—whose voices always sounded like they had phlegm stuck in their throats.
"Yeah, I saved you," he confirmed, noticing the lingering tears in her big eyes. Gently, he wiped away the wet traces on her face.
Earlier, while scouting for Officer Jenny, he had noticed the mass migration of every large Pokémon in the forest converging toward the center.
That was when he spotted her—the lone Ralts, frozen in place.
Figuring he could at least save one, he had used his psychic abilities to pull her out of harm's way.
He hadn't even realized she was a shiny.
"Thank you."
She lifted her bangs slightly as she spoke, revealing an adorably soft and fair little face.
"Just doing what I can." Elias waved it off. "I need to go. If you're okay, you should leave too. And don't come back anytime soon."
Now that he had confirmed the poachers were Team Rocket, he had no reason to delay.
It was time to wipe them out in one sweep.
"...Wait!"
Seeing Elias turn to leave, Ralts panicked.
Her psychic reserves were nowhere near enough for a long escape.
If this human left her behind, she'd still get caught!
But…
She had noticed something interesting.
This human seemed to have psychic powers.
If he was willing to share some of his energy with her…
Then she'd be able to escape safely.
Ralts' eyes twinkled with a sly little plan.
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T/N: awww cuteeee