"Journey of the Unchosen."

Chapter 2

"Against everything and everyone."

As if somehow sensing that he noticed her secret, the girl turned away from the Bulbasaur and hugged her knees.

"I thank you again for rescuing me…uh-" She left the sentence unfinished because the poor child had no way of knowing the name of the Pokémon that saved her, since Bulbasaur hasn't said a word since they escaped the water.

"Bulbasaur!" The green dinosaur 'mon replied happily, if a bit breathlessly.

She giggled, a soft sound echoing through the forest like gentle bells.

"Oh so you're a Bulbasaur, huh? Well then, I'm pleased to meet you Bulbasaur, my name is Celia." The newly named Celia turned to him with a grin.

"'Saur! Bulba! Saur! Saur!" Regaining a bit of his strength, the grass monster practically yelled his enthusiastic greetings, happy to finally find someone interested in meeting him.

Celia giggled again.

"So, my little savior, where is your trainer?" She asked throwing a stone in the river. "After all you're one of the three starter Pokémon Professor Oak has to offer, it's unlikely that any of your kind resides nearby for you to be wild and I'm sure you're just as wanted as your two counterparts."

Bulbasaur's smile faded and he let out a sad miserable version of his name, hoping it will be enough to convey his predicament.

"Oh…you don't have one, do you? That's a shame…such a noble and brave Pokémon should have been fought over by kids, not left alone."

Bulbasaur nodded his head in agreement and the pair sat in comfortable silence once more, before Celia let out a sad snicker.

"You probably are not surprised that a kid like me ended up half drowning in a river, giving my…condition." A pebble was thrown into the rapid waters. "I probably didn't realize I was walking straight into the river, instead of on the bridge and simply fell in." Her voice was soft though there was a hint of anger hidden in it. "But that's not what happened! I was walking the proper road home when those…hooligans made their Pokémon 'Tackle' me over the bridge." She sniffed and rubbed the fallen tears away with her already damp sleeve. "They…they laughed at me and called me names b-because the Professor w-wouldn't give me a Pokémon, saying it would be too difficult for me to care for a living being when I can't even seem to be able to take care of myself." Tears rolled down the pail cheeks. "They never gave me the chance to prove them wrong…"

"'Saur…" The grass Pokémon cooed, stretching out one of his 'Vine Whip' vines to wipe away the tears not wishing to see the poor girl cry anymore.

Celia smiled through her sadness and gently touched the vine on her cheek.

"Thank you, Bulbasaur. I feel better now that I know you're on my side."

The grass Pokémon puffed up his chest with pride and loudly announced his agreement with her statement.

Of course he's on her side! They are practically sailing in the same boat against the cruel sea also known as the Rest of the World. They might as well go against it together.

Celia giggled again.

"Seems to me that I just gained a new guardian, hmm?" She asked teasingly while petting her savior on the head, to which the Pokémon just purred in happiness of getting his biggest wish granted. "Well then, my new friend, how about I give you a proper name?"

Bulbasaur's heart nearly stopped. He was getting a name! A real name! The moment was so surreal to the grass Pokémon that he wished that, if this was all just a dream, he wouldn't ever get up!

The girl placed one hand under her chin, looking quite deep in though for two long minutes before breaking the silence.

"My grandma once studied Japanese and, when I was little, she once told me her favorite word in that ancient language was 'Ani', meaning 'brother'." Celia recalled with a smile on her face and a distant look in her unseeing eyes. "Back then it was obvious she wanted me to call my big brother Richard by that name, so I did everything I could think of to avoid ever using it." She shook her head, probably sensing the questioning look on Bulbasaur's face. "We…were never really close." She explained. "He's 8 years older than me so…you can imagine how the age difference prevented us from ever truly connecting."

The grass starter couldn't really relate since he never had siblings, but he nodded his head under her palm in understanding anyway.

Celia smiled sadly and petted his head gently in thanks.

"Even though me and Dick (Richard) will never call each other by our Japanese nicknames…" She then picked him up and looked deep into the pocket monster's eyes with her own milky-white orbs. "Would you become my guardian angel, my protector, my brother and…my Ani?"

Bulbasaur, now named Ani, never wished that he could talk more than now, so he could yell the word "YES!" On the top of his lungs for everyone to hear.