The Pokemon Philosophy

[Isabelle]

Lopunny is running at top speed through an endless abyss. She didn’t know what she was running from, but the fear in her heart was real, so she kept going. She felt a presence behind her. While still at a full gallop, she cautiously looked over her shoulder, and stared directly into two red eyes, accompanied by an evil grin.
‘Gengar!” She wasn’t quite sure if thought or stated.
She used the speed boost trick to gain some distance from the monster, but soon the ground gave out to a sudden drop of elevation and she found herself flung airborne. A found second in the air was eventually impeded by oncoming earth as she hit the ground hard and tumbled to a stop.
Her head spinning, she looked around to get oriented with where she landed. Within her field of view was a tiny rustic village a mile or so from where she was, and a sign that read “Welcome to Mimilop!” Focusing on the village, she saw strange looking people populated it, but she couldn’t piece together what they were, like something in her mind was holding her back.
But before she could ponder it any further, she jolted her head behind her to see the Gengar face 10 feet from her. It quickly closed in, surrounding her in its vaporous body.

She jolted awake in bed, screaming. Her breath heavy, she could feel her heart beating hard against her chest like as if it were trying to escape. It took her minute to notice where she was and for real world logic to set in again. Her breathing slowing, and her heart starting to regulate, she took a minute to relax.
But as she began regaining her senses, the ache from her fists started to become apparent. The pain reminded her of the night before, and the weight of those feelings started to press against her again. She felt tears well up again, but she wiped them away. She couldn’t afford to cry again; at least not now.
She was quiet when she ate breakfast with the Gorons. They noticed pretty easily that something was up, but didn’t bother to ask; it was clear she just wanted to be with her thoughts. It was good she ate, as she had been ignoring the pain in her stomach. She wondered if she ignored hunger so often because she’s so used to being fed on a regular basis: either by the energy of the pokeball or from her trainer giving her food. She’d need to learn how to feed herself eventually. Thanking the Gorons for the meal, she solemnly made her way to the back exit, anticipating another full day of beating up a dummy.

Climbing up the mountain, she saw Medicham was meditating on rock again. She approached him.
“Medicham? I’m here for my training.” She said to him.
However, he didn’t saw a word.
“Medicham? Are you ok?”
She walked up to him and looked him in the face. He was in deep focus, cut off from the world around him. She figured she must have caught him at a bad time. She politely sat down in front of him, and waited.
Almost an hour passed and she was still waiting. Finally, his eyes suddenly flickered open.
“Welcome back,” she said.
He looked down at her, a little surprised. He blinked in a confusion, before a moment of realization came across his face.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I took so long. I was in the Astral Realm.” He said straightening himself out. Spotting Lopunny’s confusion, he continued. “That’s the world where dreams go. It’s kind of like Dream World from our universe. It’s a good place to focus and train yourself.”
She thought at first that he was making excuses for sleeping in, but then she notice a bleeding cut on his chest. He notices it to.
“Oh, looks like I got nicked a little bit in there.”
“I’ll go get help!” She yelled, jumping to her feet. However, Medicham signaled to stop her.
“That won’t be necessary. Instead, do me a small favor.” He begins, smiling. “Close your eyes, and focus on the image of me being bandaged up. Keep that up for a bit.”
Obediently, she closed her eyes and pictured him with his wound sterilized and a bandage securely in place. She opened her eye again to see that he still was bleeding.
“Try again, this time, keep focusing on it.”
She did it again, imagining that cleaned and covered up wound. She cycled that image again and again in her head, until she felt something inside her happen. She ignored the feeling and kept going, fearful that she would interrupt whatever Medicham was hoping to happen.
“You can open your eyes now.” He said.
She looked forward to see that Medicham’s wound was bandaged up. She looked confused.
“In today’s lesson, you will learn an art that only primes could know. We call it ‘summoning.’”

He walked her up the hill and into the orchard again. She looked confused at him.
“But… What about my punches? Shouldn’t we be working towards getting-” she started, but she was interrupted.
“Those will return to you in due time. This is a good lesson to learn while your hands are still recovering.” He said. “Not to mention, a far more important one considering it’s essential to your survival.”
He sat down, she followed suit.
“Now, without closing her eyes focus on your favorite food.”
She thought about those pink Pokepuffs her master used to feed her when she was younger. She imagined a full bowl of them. Suddenly, a ball of multicolored light appeared out of her. This surprised her so much, she almost lost focus, but she kept on going. She did recognize it as the ball Omni showed her when she first arrived in the Omniverse. The ball slowly took shape. It turned into the bowl of Pokepuffs, just as she had imagined.
“Primes can summon whatever they could possibly need. This an ability of all…” He said, but he stopped.
Lopunny was standing there with her mouth open, gleefully anticipating something of Medicham.
“I’m not going to feed you.” He said. She gave him a puppy-dog look. “Fine, but only once.”
He picked up one of the Pokepuffs and lifted it up to her already open mouth. She quickly munched on it right from his hand until it was all gone. She gives out a coo of pure joy.
Medicham sighs.