Chapter 2: The Journey

(Angel's Pov)

I fluttered my eyes open to the sun shining through my cabin window. I sighed and groaned as I turned the other way wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep...safe to say I'm not really a morning person...well, I'm not even a people person anymore...

How can I be? I was abandoned by not the only the 2 people that were supposed to love me but a goddamn orphanage too. How the fuck does that even happen? You can't just abandoned a kid like that...can they? I mean an orphanage is for kids with no parents...I don't have those so what is so wrong with me that they also abandoned me? I mean what did I do that was so wrong? I don't understand...

I sighed and opened my eyes again before looking around to see all my Pokemon and Guardians scattered around my cabin, sleeping peacefully. I smiled softly looking at each and every one of them. We had my Fennekin, Female Nidoran, Rotom, Purloin, my Zorua who funny enough came from my guardian Zoroark and my Yveltal who was quite big and took up the majority of the room considering he was like 19" ft tall.

I giggled softly before seeing my Guardians huddled up by the front door in case there were ever any intruders or something suspicious going on. You can never be too careful, plus my Guardians are extremely protective of me and my Pokemon...they always have ever since they found me.

I remember it like it was only yesterday when they found me and took me in as their own. I mean given I was about 7 at the time and it's now been a decade later but I can still remember everything that happened that day...I remember growing up in the foster care system. I had a foster mom and dad but usually he worked while the mother took care of me and at least 6 other children...

I don't think they liked me very much given that I was the new baby so when I was a baby, all the attention was on me which I'm sure they didn't like, but my Foster mom did take care of me as a baby...I just don't know why that changed afterwards, after I grew up. I don't know what was so wrong with me that she simply had just given up on me, or why I was so hated.

I mean why me? I was a baby, a toddler who just wanted to be loved and cared for...why was that so hard? Why is it so hard to love someone like me? I mean it was bad enough growing up without knowing who my real parents were and knowing that they had given me up for adoption.

When I was at the age of acknowledging everything around me and having a brain to take in everything and remembering everything. I honestly had no idea where I was. My foster dad was never around and when he was, he didn't want anything to do with us, our foster mom acted like she was the best mom ever but then would punish us if we did something wrong or bad, whenever I tried to hang out with my foster siblings they would push and shove me to the ground and call me mean names and tell me I was so ugly, stupid, unloved and worthless and that my real parents would never love someone like me...

That's when I figured it all out...I was given up and it struck me like a dagger through my heart...I felt so alone, so abandoned and so worthless...I had cried to my foster mom about this and she didn't care...she would shove me away or tell me to grow up and forget about it and forget that I was a child...I was a little girl who just wanted someone to love her...but all those years, all my life I never got that from people...

Then when I turned 7, on my birthday exactly, my foster mom told me she wanted to take me out for a very special surprise...How stupid of me to believe she was finally going to be nice for once. She had packed me a little bag of my things and some extra food, snacks and water and told me we were going to the park...Arceus I was so excited. How naïve of me to think we would have fun and bond and I'd be loved...

She took me to the park where I had played for a good 15 minutes, when I was done, she told me she had something to do and wanted me to stay here until she got back, so I did and well...that was the end of it all. Minutes went buy and I went to play more, I ate whatever food and drinks she packed me not realizing I should have rationed it because Arceus knows I would've never thought I'd get abandoned.

Hours and Days went by and well, that's when I had realized what was going on...I was left alone, abandoned...kicked out from the only place I ever knew that was home even though it was never really a home...I called out her name, I cried, I screamed and begged for her to come back...begged for anyone to come back but no one came...no one cared...

Days and Weeks went by and I was starving, I had no food left, no water. When it'd rain, I'd try to seek shelter under the play structures or the large trees that shielded me away from the cold rain. I'd huddled up with all my clothes on because of how cold it'd get at night and I'd pretty much cry myself to sleep and be so close to death from either dehydration, starvation or hypothermia...whichever one would take me first...

Eventually, I got tired of staying in one place, so I left...I had stolen what I could and ran with what little strength I had left in me. I had no idea how far I've gotten, let alone can even remember how I was ever able to survive that. But once I had figured I was far enough away, I pretty much collapsed and thought that was the end for me...

But the next few days, I woke up to my Guardians making sure I was okay. They talked among each other, made me food, changed me into warm clothes, kept me warm and snuggled by my side for warmth...they had told me what had happened and I was out for almost 3 days...they told me they found me so weak, frail, dirty and cold and dragged me to this abandoned cabin I now call my home.

Once they assured me that I was okay now, they all were so worried about me because of how small I was. They asked me what happened so once I had a little strength back, I told them and well, since then they've been raising me as their own. Keeping me clean, fed, clothed...they saved me, they kept me alive...I literally wouldn't be here if it weren't for them and I can't thank them enough for literally saving my life.

They've given me everything I've never had before...Whenever I was sad, they'd cheer me up and snuggle with me, whenever I was cold they would all cuddle with me, whenever I had nightmares, they would hold me and sing me to sleep. We were a real family, my family. We all had food together, bathed together, slept together. They'd go out and steal just for me to keep me happy and alive...They celebrated my birthdays and took me to places they'd think I'd enjoy...they were my everything...

By the time I was 10, I wanted to be a pokemon trainer and have lots of new friends to talk to and play with. My Guardians allowed it, so they took me to the nearest city where I was able to get my very first pokemon which was my Fennekin and then I had caught all my other friends along the way...The story behind my Yveltal is a pretty heartfelt story I think.

Once I had gotten my Fennekin, apparently I was a pretty curious child and loved exploring so I accidentally wandered from my Guardians one day and found myself a cave. Of course me being me got curious and wandered inside and that's where I found him sleeping.

I wasn't going to let an opportunity like this pass because when do you ever get the chance to not only see but try and capture a legendary pokemon? Not often, so I threw my pokemon at him and gave it everything I got but when he beat my pokemon in a second, I got sad...like really sad, I felt like such a huge failure and it reminded me of everything that happened in my past and what my foster siblings had said to me and it hurt a lot and once I started crying, I couldn't stop...

I guess Yveltal felt so bad and yet so drawn to my misery and felt so heartbroken that he allowed me to capture him. He tapped my pokeball with his nose and he stayed with me ever since. I guess for a Pokemon who's so big and considered the pokemon of destruction that he felt misunderstood and when I came along, he saw something in me that others didn't and he didn't want me to be treated like he normally is and well, he's been my best friend ever since...He gives me so much love and affection and protects me from anything at all cost and I can't thank him enough for all he's done for me.

I hadn't realized I was reminiscing for that long, until I felt someone tap my nose. I blinked a few times and let out a huge breath I didn't realize I was holding in. I looked around seeing almost everyone was awake now which made me smile softly. They all looked at me curiously and worryingly which made me sigh a bit. My Zoroark barked at me, "I'm okay really. I was just remembering when you guys took me in" I said,

They looked at each other and smiled softly which made me sigh as I sat up and rubbed my face tiredly. I looked at the time seeing it was a little after 10am which made me yawn a bit seeing Zoroark walk to the little kitchen area and make me some coffee. I smiled a little as my pokemon hopped on my bed which made me giggle "morning everyone" I whispered, I'm not much of a talker these days unless it's to my family, I haven't been around actual humans in a little over a decade because well, no one can be trusted so why would I bother?

My pokemon engulfed me in hugs which made me laugh a bit "wow, you're all so chipper in the morning" I stated, they looked at me and nodded which made me smile "Shall I make us all some breakfast?" I asked, they all cheered as I laughed before hopping out of bed stretching and yawning once more.

I opened up my curtains and windows to let the morning sun and cold breeze through my cabin so I could get more light and air since it does tend to get a bit stuffy with 10 pokemon plus a human so. Everyone went ahead and played around as I looked through my fridge and cabinet to see what we had left for food...I know we have been running low for a while, but there's only so much food and things we can steal in a day without getting caught or tracked and the first town is already a couple miles away so who's to say how far the next one is?

I sighed and felt Arcanine nudge me which made me look to see him holding the bowls and pokemon food on his back and head. I smiled softly and thanked him as I placed the food bowls on the counter and dumped whatever was left of the pokemon food we had. I frowned a bit "Guys. We're gonna need to go shopping soon. I will make you a list of we need after breakfast okay?" I stated,

My Guardians nodded before Zoroark handed me my coffee which made me smile and pat his head given he was a good 2 inches taller than me...curse being short sometimes, "Uh Zoro could you get out the eggs, bacon and bread for me please?" I asked, he nodded and got out the ingredients and washed off a plate, pan, butter knife, fork and spatula for me to cook myself some breakfast.

I smiled and thanked him as he went ahead and got started while I set the bowls of food on the floor "Breakfast everyone" I said, they all cheered and rushed over to chow down which made me giggle as I set my Guardian's food on the table for them. They all thanked me which made me nod as I sipped my coffee and went over to help Zoroark.

He barked at me and pointed to the little kitchen table for me to sit down which made me smile "That's very sweet of you Zoro but you don't have to cook for me" I said, he barked again saying it was his pleasure and that he's older than me and still my guardian which was true but I am 17 now and practically an adult now but he was stubborn so I could never argue with him.

I went ahead and took my seat at the table and sipped my coffee as my pokemon and Guardians ate their breakfast with delight. I smiled softly as I could remember every day I had caught all my new friends. Fennekin was from Professor Sycamore's Lab, she turned out amazing.

My very first catch was my female Nidoran who's still a tiny, cute little thing but don't underestimate her tininess and cuteness because she's strong as hell and is not afraid to prove that. My next catch was my Purrloin I found just wandering the forest and battled with my Fennekin. She was a tough, sassy little thing, but I had won and caught her as well...very tsundere I will say and is still salty about losing to me.

When I was found by my Guardians, there were a Growlithe, Arcanine, Zoroark and 2 Zorua that found me that day. Once they had helped me and whatnot, that one Zorua pretty much never left my side, she cuddled with me and made sure I was protected and warm the entire duration that I was unconscious...

She's a little on the emotional side but when I woke up, she started to cry and begged me to catch her so I did and now not only is she forever by my side but if something happens to me, she will get upset and start to cry...she's very sweet and cute I will say.

Last but not least I found my Rotom in the same cave I found my Yveltal. Once I had caught him, Rotom came along and found me and started to play tricks on me because well, he's the trickster after all. It took hell of a while for me to catch him but thank Arceus I did cause he sure does know how to make me laugh even when I don't want to.

He likes to play tricks on everyone but he's sweet most times he just likes to make sure I get a good laugh because ever since I woke up and realized everything that happened, it was a rough couple of weeks of me crying myself to sleep, nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks, anger, pain, sadness...

It was hard but my pokemon nor Guardians ever judged me or treated me so badly because of it...they allowed me to feel what I needed to feel and hugged me so tightly so I could feel their love and their warmth...Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today and I couldn't be any happier now that I have them here with me.

I was snapped from my thoughts by Zoroark setting my plate of food in front of me. I smiled and thanked him as I sipped the rest of my coffee before digging in. My Guardians had dug in as well which made me smile as we enjoyed this breakfast together like a family...Nothing made me happier.

Once breakfast was over, my pokemon and Guardians helped me clean-up which made me thank them. They were all super helpful whenever it came to doing chores because well, shits gotta get done in order to keep this cabin from rotting down. Not to mention without getting spotted or hunted, my Guardians will take some of my pokemon to help steal the things we need and because most are small they can either be a great distraction or easily slip away.

Once the dishes were done, table and counter was wiped down and floor was swept. I grabbed a piece of paper and pencil from one of the junk drawers and wrote down a list of things we needed. Pretty much basic essentials, pokemon food and later we can take a walk through the forest and find some fresh berries. That would be fun huh? I smiled softly before walking up to Zoro and handing him the paper of things we needed.

He smiled at me and put his paw on my head before giving me a thumbs up signaling that he's got this. He let Arcanine, Growlithe and his Zorua know before just him and Arcanine headed out. I waved, "be back safe please" I said, they nodded and barked which made me smile "I love you too" I said as they headed out to get everything we needed.

You live with these guys for a decade it gets pretty easy to understand what they're saying...I mean I was raised by pokemon; I don't know how dense you'd have to be to NOT understand a word they're saying ya know? Be kinda rude not to. Once they headed out, I needed a shower and get ready for the day.

I sighed a bit and stretched a bit before heading to the bathroom to take a shower. I turned on the light which flickered a bit because well, this is an old cabin afterall so some things do wear down after time but nothing me and my family can't fix. I turned on the water and pulled up the tab for the shower and waited a couple minutes for the water to heat up.

When it was, I stripped from my pj's which was nothing more than a large button up flannel my pokemon had stolen and my undergarments. I don't really care much for fashion these days because who do I have to impress myself to? What's the point? Whatever size my pokemon can steal, I'll take what I can get it. Once the water was finished heating, I hopped in the tub and let out a sigh in relief as the hot water felt nice on my body.

I looked down at my feet and saw my fairly thin body...I can't tell you how sickly I looked days after I ran out of food that day...I was so hungry and thirsty that it not only hurt so bad but it literally brought me to tears. I was barely able to walk, barely able to breathe and move without my lungs and body hurting. I was so weak, I thought I was literally going to die...I mean sure, I begged for it.

Hell, I fucking pleaded for death, but I managed to gather what strength I could and ran away and once I got far enough, once the adrenaline finally ran out, my head and heart throbbed that I thought I was literally having a heart attack. My breathing was so heavy that I couldn't get the air back into my lungs, my vision began to go dark that the world started to spin and my body trembled so hard that it ached every muscle and bone.

Finally what had felt like an eternity, I passed out. I had thought I died honestly, but I didn't have any dreams or anything or saw this light that people usually see when they die. All I saw was nothing but darkness. I thought that was it, this was forever but a few days later, I woke up and was in a cabin, bathed, clothed, with these pokemon surrounding me. They looked worried and concerned about what had happened to me...But I was too weak to talk, too weak to move let alone think.

But they took care of me, Zoro and Arcanine who's the main leader and my main protectors, they fed me till I got my strength back and once that happened, I told them everything that happened and well, here we are now, 10 years later...It's crazy how much time had passed and how far I've come along and it's funny because it was Pokemon that got me here...not people.

Once I was finished with my shower, I turned off the water, hopped out and wrapped a towel around myself. I took a deep breath and sighed before heading to my room to see that my pokemon had laid out my clothes for me which is what they've been doing for me since first living here...then again I was still a child so I get why they would want to help but I'm 17 now...I guess they still see me as child which is sweet and all but I'm an adult now...which is crazy to say really because I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far.

I chuckled a bit to see their proud smiles on their faces, "Guys you didn't have to do this ya know. I am very capable of picking out my own clothes" I said, they cried out their cute noises which made me smile as I walked up and pet their heads "Well, it's sweet regardless, thank you" I said, they smiled which made me shake my head a bit before drying off and hopping in clean undergarments and the clothes they picked out for me which was blue ripped jeans and a basic cropped black long sleeve shirt that hung off my shoulders a bit.

I smiled softly before drying my hair and putting on a simple black beanie. Once I finished getting dressed, I headed out of my room to see the front door opening as my Guardians were back with groceries. I smiled softly and helped Zoro and Arcanine with the groceries, "Was everything okay?" I asked, he nodded which made me smile softly and pat his and Arcanine's head before we unpacked the groceries.

After that, I looked at the time seeing it was now a little in the afternoon which made me sigh as I looked outside seeing the sun was bright and there wasn't even a cloud in the sky...perfect sunny day I'd say. I smiled softly before looking over at my pokemon to see them doing their own things, "Hey everyone. Why don't we go for a walk and pick some fresh berries huh? See if we can find anything that'll be great for cooking? Then maybe take a dip in the lake afterwards?" I suggested,

Everyone cheered which made me smile as I slid on my shoes that were luckily by the door. Fennekin and Zorua hopped on my shoulders as Nidoran climbed my back and sat on top of my head which made me giggle softly "Ready everyone?" I asked, they cheered and nodded which made me smile as we headed outside for the first time today greeted by the warm, soothing sun and fresh, cool air.

I took a deep breath as Yveltal stretched out his wings and screeched a bit before taking off into the sky to stretch not only his wings but his body because god knows that Cabin is big enough for him but definitely not enough to stretch. I smiled softly as we began to take a walk through the forest. It was not only filled with so many berries but pokemon too.

From Caterpies to Pineco's to Butterfree's and Beedrill's too. So many pokemon from all the over the place...it's extraordinary really. I guess ever since being raised by pokemon and having nothing but pokemon by my side, it's helped me see somewhat of a brighter light for them. I mean back in the orphanage we were never allowed pokemon.

If anything my foster family was so against them and that they were nothing but ugly and disgusting, no good creatures who deserved to stay outside...god they were such assholes for no reason...How stupid and naive of me to think I'd be loved by people like them...At least now I know I'm loved and that's by pokemon...how ironic really.

I shook my head a bit before my Guardians and pokemon picked some berries they thought would great for either eating raw or for cooking. I don't know much about cooking since I was never really taught anything, but my Guardians pretty much showed me everything. They taught me how to read and write better, they would pretty much homeschool me and steal books from the library on how to do basic math and such.

I was taught how to do laundry, cook what was available and easy at the time. I was taught how to tell what berries were good for cookies and what they were, was taught how to catch and train pokemon...I mean hell, they taught me everything I needed to know now more than any person ever could.

They taught me how to live and survive and even through all my bullshit, all my trauma, all my anger and lashing out rage...they stayed by my side. They didn't yell at me, nor hurt me...They comforted me like any fucking child should've gotten but no, instead I was left for dead by people who couldn't give a shit about me.

I let out a small sigh as my Fennekin and Zorua rubbed against my cheeks which made me smile softly, "I'm okay. Thank you" I whispered, they nodded as we continued to walk through the forest and pick some delicious berries. Pretty much what you need to know is the basics of what berries are what and what they taste like.

There's A LOT of berries where we live and a lot look the same and some are mostly geared towards pokemon but mostly some can be used for cooking if you don't have certain ingredients and or spices to make the food pop. Now, I'm no chef or food expert, I just know what cookbooks tell me and know how good some of this shit can taste.

Like for example, a Hondew Berry was round and green with yellow dots on it. By itself it has an unusual taste but most people like it. When said dots are bulging, that means it's ripe and ready to eat. Kelpsy berries are a blue kinda kabab looking berry that is good raw but once brought into cooking can bring out a lot of flavors. A Leppa berry is really fun because it's full of so many flavors and it's so easy to eat because it's not dry.

A Lum berry is more of a well-balanced berry because it's not sour despite it being all green and looking like it would be sour, it's really healthy for the pokemon to eat because of the nutrients that are inside. Oran berries are blue that are mainly eaten by pokemon but can add some good flavors to cooking.

There are a couple berries that are very spicy if you like spicy things. Most of the time they can only be eaten by Fire type pokemon to help enhance their fire-type moves but with cooking it adds a lot of spice to it. There are some berries that are very sour and not really eaten much by pokemon or used in cooking because well, who wants a sour dinner?

Some can be very, very dry but usually not awful tasting. Some berries are super sweet and tasty and great for everyone. Some can be bitter but usually you can combine a lot of these thinks to make a pretty good meal to balance everything out...It all just depends on what you like and can find out in the wild...You'd be surprised with what you can find and make food out of.

Once we had gathered enough berries to probably last us a lifetime, we headed back to the cabin where we stores the berries in either the fridge, freezer or cabinet depending on the berry and sighed a bit "who's ready for a dip in lake?" I asked, everyone cheered which made me giggle as I headed to my room and changed out of my jeans and into some shorts. I took off my shoes and beanie before heading outside seeing everyone running around and playing my Yveltal still getting some sun and flying around in the air.

I took a deep breath and walked outside barefoot feeling the cool grass between my toes and beneath my feet. I smiled softly as most my pokemon hopped and played in the water while my Guardians relaxed under this big shady tree we had in the shade. My pokemon called me over which made me laugh as I walked over and dipped my feet in the lake. It wasn't a very big lake, but it was nice to bathe my pokemon in and really nice to use during the summer.

Hell, when it'd freeze over during the winter, we'd all go out and ice skate...It was so much fun...I have so many happy memories here...But I think the one thing that'll always break my heart is knowing that this won't last forever...I'll either die first or my pokemon and Guardians will and I know that's such a downer and sad thing to say but it's the truth...

None of this will truly ever last forever and if I lose everyone? Then what will I do? Who will I become? I won't even know if I'll be able to live with myself after that...how can I? They gave me everything when I had nothing...what do I do without them? I haven't had human contact in over a decade...I can't just go out and make friends and find somebody to love me...

The earth and the world has decided that fate for me already from the moment I was born, how do I not know that if I find people, they won't go out and do the same thing that's happened to me? It scares me honestly...the world and life scares me...

I was snapped from my thoughts by my Zorua and Guardian Growlithe nudging my legs. I blinked a few times and sighed as I looked down a bit seeing them looking worried and concerned. I smiled softly and crouched down to pet their heads, "I'm okay. Thank you. Go have fun. I'm gonna go sit with the others" I said, they nodded and licked my cheek as a kiss which made me giggle as they ran to play.

I sighed as I went over and took a seat next to my Guardians who smiled and kissed my head. I took a deep breath and saw my Yveltal swoop down into the water splashing everyone which made us laugh a bit. I smiled and leaned against Zoro while petting Arcanine's head, "Thank you guys, for everything. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you" I said, they smiled and cuddled up next me as we enjoyed this beautiful day and nothing made me happier.

(Wow long chapter. Hopefully it'll hold you off for a while. ENJOY!)

(5400 Words)