I saw her next shortly after I had gotten my driver's license. Your first car is a big thing. It is a milestone on the road to adulthood. So, there I drove, my own little sedan, sunroof open, pretending like it was a convertible, cruising around like I was king of the world.

She sat peacefully by the road. Her full coat gleamed, soft and white like the summer clouds.

“Ouah...”

Her deep ruby eyes sparked with intelligence

“Ooh!”

Her long powerful legs ended in soft white paws.

“Purrrrr”

Those paws were tipped with sharp claws, sharp, like obsidian daggers, which meant that she could be a serious opponent, if necessary.

“Purrr-hurr!”

One thing I felt certain of...

“Ouaa?”

She had to get great reception, with those cellular antennas sticking out of her head and rear!

“Nurra!”

Hey, I was a teen, what do you expect, Shakespeare?

Anyways, I'm not entirely certain exactly what happened next. I thought I saw the shadow of a Pelliper fly overhead. Something hit the windshield and I think I overreacted. They tell me the accident was fairly spectacular, and I was lucky that I didn't get hurt worse than I did. The car came to rest in a shallow pond, the water lapping at the roofline. I'd have drowned, but something pulled me free from the wreck.

As I lay in the hospital room, I looked out the window. Night had fallen, cloaking the world in peaceful rest. The moon bathed the countryside in a bright silver glow. I saw her peering right into the window of my room, like a ghost with ruby eyes. For a moment our eyes met and she was gone.

I felt no fear. She was not there to terrify me.

I felt no animosity. She was not there to challenge me.

I felt no shame. She was not there to judge me.

What I felt was... It took me a moment to think back on all the past disasters that had come into my life, and one common thread weaving its way among them all.

A lilting purr wafted its way back to my ears over the night wind. I knew what I had to do.


pokemon belong to Nintendo / Gamefreak