The racoon boy

A Shinx tells the story of how me meet his best friend

It was a rainy spring day, dark clouds still covered the sky. A Shinx had been stuck instead all day, hoping that it would stop soon so he could go out and play. But instead he was made to do his chores for the day. It was evening by the time he was finished, carrying a bag of shopping back, counting the items and money he had to make sure he got it all right. If he forgot a berry again he wouldn’t be allowed any cake for a month!

Just to make sure he took the bag wrapped around his body off and began counting the contents for the third time on his way back home.

Berry’s? Check.

Flour? Check.

Seeds? Che… as he moved stuff in his bag to find it, something off in the distance caught his eye. In one of the empty, muddy fields was something blue, but he couldn’t make out what it was. Quickly packing everything back he wandered over to the gate of the field to get a better look.

Not waning to enter the field he tried to focus his eye to see better, Shinx are meant to have better eye site, especially when they evolve, he had read that somewhere. But it was still just something blue he couldn’t make out.

Eventually curiosity got the better of him and he opened the gate and walked in, regretting it as he felt an unpleasant feeling under his paws. Mesh was not going to be happy when he got back. As he got closer the blue started to become more recognisable. A Riolu! But what were they doing? There went any in town. And face down in a field? This only made him more intrigued in the stranger.

Come to stand by the side of the unconscious Riolu, regretting doing this more and more has his paws sunk into the mud. ‘Think! What did the guild books say about this? They had to say something.’ he thought to himself. Slowly he placed a paw on the Riolu’s shoulder and slowly rocked it back and forth.

“Uuurrrrr” The Riolu muttered out as there face came out of the ground.

“Hey are you ok?” the Shinx asked. Slowly the Riolu turned his head, slowly opening his one of its eyes.

“Puppy.” Came slurred out of his mouth

Shinx stared at him in bemusement “What! I’m no puppy.” The tip of his tail began to glow with electricity. He wasn’t a puppy no more.

“Huw? Did you just say something puppy?” The Riolu rub his head. Clearly still not with it

“I’m not a puppy!” The Shinx shouted back with annoyance. The glow getting bright as electricity began jumping around his fur.

That’s when it hit the Riolu “TALKING DOG TALKING DOG!” This seemed to wake the Riolu from its daze. “Please don’t bite me. I don’t want rabies.” The Riolu skittle backwards putting his arms up to defend his face from the magical talking puppy “W-wait, you can talk?” lowing his defences to reveal the look of complete confusion on his face.

“What? Of course I can talk. And I’m no puppy!” The Shinx was getting more agitated the more puppy was mentioned.

“But-but-but dogs can’t talk!” The Riolu was filled with too much shock to be thinking straight, falling over the words as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing

“Yes I can! Are you ok? Did you hit your head on something in … this… field… of mud? Oh wait, did you get attacked by someone?” The Shinx has completely changed mood from this. The sparks going away has he began to wag his tail.

“I… I… don’t know” The Riolu replied, looking down at his blue paws. Becoming comply fascinated by them. As if they were never his before.

“You don’t know. Do you know your name at least?” The Shinx twisted his head to the side at the Riolu.

“Umm, its…. I think its Danny” He answered, poking at the bumps and the back of his hands.

“That a good name, my names Zach.”He smiled at Danny, hoping he was ok after all. “And do you remember what you were doing here?” This could be the Shinx change at last! He had heard the story of pokemon finding another that had forgotten their names too many times to count.

“N-no! I don’t remember anything!” Danny stared to panic again, staring off into the distances with a face of shock. No history, no friends, no family. Nothing but his name.

“Oh. Oh! I read about this. It’s called, umm, am-nee-sure? I think. Umm so if you don’t know what you’re doing do you want to come back with me? It’s pretty late now. We could ask the guild to help you. Oh maybe we could make a team to get your memory’s back! A-a-and you can stay with me!” Get him to the guild was the first step in Zach’s newly formulated plan. Step 2 is to become a team with him. Step 3 can come latter.

“Guild?”

“You know, The guilds. you give them a request and they will help you. They can help you get your memory back” And help him get onto a team. This was too perfect for Zach

“Sssuurree I, guess?” Danny shrugged, He didn’t have anything else to go on and no idea what this guild was. At least the magic talking puppy seemed nice.

“Yessssss. I’m making a team. But we going to have to do that tomorrow so you can stay with me for tonight. Oh before you do come back you might want to wash off some of that mud. You see I live with Porygon and she really doesn’t like dirt. Or anything in the wrong place, or at the wrong time.” Now realising how late he was going to be after helping Danny “There’s a well we can use on the way so we don’t get shouted at.” Zach was ashamed that he was going to be late and dirty, again. But if this was his chance to become a guild member its what he had to do.

“Ok then” Danny Finlay got off the ground, and wobbly started to follow Zach of of the field. Only to find himself face first in the dirt again.

“Do you need some help?” Zach leaned down to Danny as he picked his head up again.

“Please”

The two of them headed off down the path toward Zach house, Danny struggling to walk on unfamiliar feet. Zach pestering him at all time he had no hope of answering. Were do you come from? What your family like? What moves do you know?

Before long they had reach an opening in the path which split off to serval houses circling around a well in the middle. Over turned bucket by its side with a rope attacked to it handle “Do you mind pulling the bucket out? I can never get it over the edge without spilling it”

Danny began lowering the bucket into the well, but unable to see the bottom he decided to let the rope slide into the well until he heard the splash of the bucket hitting the water. The rope slipped more before he stopped it all falling in. “Too close.” Slowly he begin lifting bucket out.

“Just keep pulling the bucket almost at the top. You know, if it was raining that could have washed off most of the dirt, but then all the shopping would bet soggy and Mesh wouldn’t like that.” Zach look the his bag on the ground, the bottom getting socked through, he hoped the flour wasn’t there. “Well, you should use the water first. You were lying down in the mud after, I’ve only got my legs to do” Danny placed the bucket down and splashed some water on his face and rub with his hands. After blinking a few time he reached down to wash his arm when he stopped and just stared into the water

“Danny? Is everything ok?” Zach looked at him, wondering what could have frozen him still. The water couldn’t have been that cold?

“I look like a racoon!” He continued to look wide eye into the buck, at what he had become

“A what? You look like Riolu to me”

“A racoon. Y-you know. The trash ones. With the thing over their eyes?” He panicky gestured with his hand his face markings.

“Is that like a gang of Trubbish?” Zach asked, tilting his head in curiosity. He new that Trubbish looked like rubbish, but them being called a raccoon was new.

“No it’s an animal, like you!”

Zach was getting more confused “Like me? I’m blue like you but I don’t look anything like a Trubbish”

“No not like, its like….” he wasn’t sure how to describe something he could barely remember “Ah forget it, I’m just getting confused”

The two Pokemon spend the next half an hour trying to get as much off them as possible, But for Danny it had gotten too deep, and all this water was just making him shiver. So they decided it was good enough and headed for a house with a perfect white fences and pink wall, little hints of blue around.

Zach opened the white door making sure to wipe his feet on the way in. “Mesh I’m home!” Zach shouted as they entered. The house was immaculately clean with plush pink carpets, Cream cabinets with fancy plates on them. A dresser next to the door had a small paining on it with what must have been Zach when he was a puppy next to something that didn’t look real. A pink and blue bird made out of blocks of some sort.

“’You are extremely late NAME:[Zach], what were you doing dear child?” A Proygon can round one of the corners wearing an apron and had a feather duster stuck to her side.

“I found a new friend. Is it ok if they stay with us for a while?” Zach hoped up next to her, face gleaming with innocents and glee. Real puppy eyes.

“Oh wonderful, of course they can stay for a while now let me see this new friend of yours. INTERPUT HANDEL AT 0x44495254590a! Friend was nullptr. OH MY WORD! YOU TWO ARE FILTHY! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IT HAS NOT BEEN RAINING FOR THE PAST 13328 SECONDS. NONONO THIS WILL NOT DO! OFF TO THE WASHROOM WITH YOU BOTH!” Her voice had changed from that of a sweet old lady to one of a computers from the 90s, something that Danny had a feeling he remembered. Moving her head and body around in jerking motions.

“We tried our best but I knew this was going to happen.” Zach sided “She going to be like this for a while. Come-on ill show you around.” He lead Danny past Mesh who was saying just random number and letter with the occasional word about cleaning or dust without really looking at anything.

“She gets like this with anything dirty, dusty or out of order. I cant count the amount of times I’ve had to brush the floor when I’ve come in. It can be a hassle but at least she makes my coat shine,” Zach gave a pose to shove off how it gleamed in he light. Danny on the other hand looked like he spent all his life trying to be as mangy as possible. “I’m sure she will cook something good now that you’re here, at lest better than her normal cooking. You can introducer yourself properly at dinner. And then tomorrow we can start a Team with the guild! Oh I can’t wait!” He started hopping from paw to paw in excitement.

Danny began fighting with his own paws, feeling like a complete stranger with the only person he knows. “you sure they can help me?”

“Definitely!” He smiled back

“… and with that I want to thank you all for another great year. Thank you” Zangoose had just finished with the last of the speeches. Not like they were any different form the previous years, Zach’s story finished with perfect timing too. Danny had put his hand over his face in shame from it, despite begging Zach to stop telling it. I don’t get why he was so shamed of a raccoon? What it some sort of slur from were he originally came from?

“Why do you have to tell them about the racoon part?” He muttered from under his paws.

“That was the truth and that how it shall be told,” Zach replied, seeming proud in telling everything. Had he not herd of keeping thing between friends? I know enough about Bard to ruin his life if thing got out, and he probably knows something about me to do the same.

“So you don’t know where you came from or why you were in that field?” Felicia asked. She was almost in tears from that story. There wasn’t even anything sad in it.

“No, no idea. I only remember my name. Whatever knocked me out in that field did a really good job of it too, heh.” he was trying to make it not sound as bad as that was.

“Right. Well I’d love to stay and chat but now that Zangoose has finished his speech I can’t risk being not at the stand any longer. Guess I’ll see you two around!” I say as I start to make my leave, I’m sure ill see then again, Felicia will probably drag them around now. Zangoose was already come off the stage. It wouldn’t be too long now before he started making his rounds again. I should hurry back.

“Do you two have anywhere to stay for the night?” Felicia shyly asked them. She was falling for them without a doubt.

“Well, no. We were hoping your guild could let us stay” Danny admitted rubbing the back of his head. They had come all this way and didn’t have a place to stay. I hope they at lest brought camping gear.

“YAY SLEEPOVER! Charlie, you should join us too! It would be like when we were all on yellow again.” Felicia started to almost dance on the spot, jumping from one foot to the other, her tail waging like mad.

“I’m not having that stinky cheese boy get stuck in our room” Ronnie interrupted, she was annoyed at the thought of me being in the same room as them, for one night. Gee thanks “Think how bad we will smell after that. ech”

“Well, listens you lot sort it out ok? I need to be going, like, right now. Oh, and if you see Brad tell him I’m still waiting on those doughnuts!” I saw Zangoose starting to head back round the stands again. If I was lucky I could make it look like I never left.

“That smell was him?” Zach asked.

“He’d been stinking up the whole guild the last few months, Zangoose had him make this cheese as a punishment. He knew he wouldn’t survive on one of the treks he normally does as punishment,” Ronnie informed them.

“Thought something smelled weird…”