The air was still and quiet as the sun pounded down on the large and flat grasslands. A cool breeze lightly played with the green blades, giving relief from the hot sun. The sky was a light blue and there was not one cloud to be seen. It was peaceful, until- "Woo-hoo! Yeah!" A girl's shout rang out over the prairie followed by a thunderous rumble in the earth. A stampede of Ponytas and Rapidashes stomped the once calm grasses flat, a girl running beside them. The blonde haired girl seemed to be racing the majestic beasts, stumbling and slipping right next to the herd, keeping an amazing pace. Though the pokemon didn't seem to really be trying, being as they could have left the girl in the dust by now, the girl was doing her best to stay with the horde. She finally fell on her face and rolled on her back, laughing and panting. The herd came to a stop and one of the beautiful flaming horses, obviously the stallion of the group, walked over and breathed into the girl's face, his eyes shining with victory.
"You won again, Zanzibar! Ha, I'm just not fast enough!" The Rapidash reared with a rejoicing neigh. This ranch was one of the girl's favorite places to visit. She had known Zanzibar since he was a Ponyta and watched him evolve before her very eyes. It had always been the girl's dream to have her own pokemon, so she spent as much time as possible with all pokemon possible. She was close to the pokemon here, but this ranch was privately owned and all the pokemon here was owned by the family and they had no intention of giving any of their pokemon away.
Riding on the stallion, the blonde haired girl covered the ground back to the ranch house within twenty minutes. She hopped off the Rapidash, her large, leather strapped goggles falling over her dark blue eyes. She reached up and replaced them on top of her head before dusting off her black jeans and heading inside. It was time for lunch and she was starved. She was treated as one of the family because of how close the girl was with their main stallion, and when ever she visited there was always a room open for her to stay.
"What's for lunch, y'all?" The girl perched herself in a gorgeously crafted wooden chair. A young woman with stark black hair tied back in a bun strode out of the kitchen with a warm smile. "Zoe, head upstairs to your room before you eat. There's a package up there."
The blonde haired girl looked confused before getting up and heading upstairs, her gray and white tennis shoes echoing off the wooden floor. Once upstairs, she found the package wrapped neatly by her room door and it was addressed to her, from some professor guy. She brought it into her room and opened the brown packaging paper. Inside the box was a pokeball, a pokedex, and a note. She picked up the note and read it aloud:
"Dear Zoe,
I have watched you for a while- well that's not creepy at all.... And you are in need of a pokemon partner. Your connections with such creatures are just incredible, and the pokemon I chose for you would hopefully be a perfect match. Within this box, as you may have already seen, is a pokedex, useful for collecting data, and a pokeball, in which resides your new partner. He is very bashful and not trusting of many, but I believe you have the ability to gain his trust, and in turn, his love. Treat him well, for he will be with you the rest of your life.
And on a side note, I want you to go on a journey. This journey is to fill up the pokedex with data you collect from catching wild pokemon. There are so many out there, and I need your help to record them all.
~Sincerely,
Professor-
and it's smudged..... I don't care who this professor guy is, but if he pranked me... " She trailed off, not really sure what she would do except cry. She wanted her own pokemon so much that it hurt. Zoe reached into the box slowly with her gloved hand, and picked up the pokeball, shaking uncontrollably. As soon as she pulled it out, it opened with a bright flash, blinding the girl. When the girl's vision returned, the pokemon was no where in sight. Zoe truly believed she was played for a fool when she could not see the pokemon. All she ever wanted was a pokemon partner, and looking at the empty pokeball, she could feel her heart and dreams shatter. How does that to someone? It was the cruelest thing she ever heard of. She then heard a noise under her bed and crouched down to see what it was. Against the wall underneath the bed was an eevee, shivering and growling at her. "Shh.... It's okay....I won't hurt you.... I promise...."
"Vui!" It barked at her then growled some more, shrinking against the wall. Zoe pulled away with a sigh before laying down on her belly on the ground. She pulled off the glove off her right hand, stuck her head into the crack between the bed and the floor, and slowly reached towards the eevee. Every time the eevee barked or snapped, she pulled her hand back some, but kept reaching towards it. When she was close enough, the eevee bit her hand, drawing a small amount of blood. Zoe flinched, but kept her hand still. "It's okay.... I won't hurt you.... I understand you're scared and you don't know me, but I would like to get to know you.... " The eevee hesitated, its ears pricked. It seemed about ready to let go of her hand before it bit down harder and started growling again. She recoiled at the pain but kept trying to get it to come out. "I don't know if someone hurt you before, but if you give me a chance..... I'll prove I'm different. ... I'll protect you, not harm you....."
This time the eevee actually did let go and cautiously walked out from the darkness of the under bed side. She pulled her hand and head out and sat up, cradling the injured hand in her other one. She smiled slightly, a smile that said she would keep her word. "Feisty, aren't ya...? Well, I'd still will protect you, if you let me. ..."
"Vui...!" The eevee turned its head away as if to say it didn't need anyone. Zoe sighed. "Okay, one step at a time. Hey, can I at least give you a name?" The eevee looked back before reluctantly nodding. "How about Shadow, since that's were you first dove when you came out."
"Vui." The sound was that of acceptance, not the barks of anger from earlier. It wasn't acceptance of the fairly tanned girl before him, but of the name. He actually seemed to like it.Now that his ears were up, Zoe could see a slit in his left one, giving her an idea as to why he doesn't trust very easily.
Zoe bandaged her hand and went back downstairs, Shadow following far behind, slowly. Just as she expected, she was questioned and fussed about because of her still bleeding hand. Shadow stayed a ways away, softly growling at everyone. Once the blonde haired girl explained, she made some pokemon food for her new partner and set it down a good distance from the others. He ate facing everyone so he can keep an eyes out. His ears swiveled in every direction and his tail lashed from side to side. It will take a while for him to trust Zoe, and she knew it. But she couldn't give up on him after a few minutes of knowing him. So after lunch, she planned on trying to gain a bit more trust from him.....