bloogum

I shifted a bit in my cage to make myself comfortable, or at lease, more comfortable than I was. I got up and turned around, facing the group of Pokemon in the far corner, all asleep.

I thought about a lot of things in that cage. Why did the Blastoise want to make friends? What did he want from me? What does selling mean? Was it better than this? Where were Mum and Dad? What were they doing? Surely they were worried about me by now.

I gazed up at the ceiling. There were no windows in this room, so I couldn't tell what time of day it was. Where were they? I closed my eyes tight. I wouldn't cry, I wasn't like Mum, I wouldn't cry. Instead, I blasted a cold ice beam at the ceiling. That let out a lot of my frustration. My throat was freezing, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered any more. Nothing.

"You okay, buddy?" I dropped my ice beam and looked for the source of the voice. It was the Blastoise. He was looking a little worried.

"Wha'dyou want?" I ordered, then continued letting out frustration on the ceiling. It was too high to reach, but I bet Mum could do it easily. Where was she anyway?

"I-I was just wondering what was wrong. Y-You woke us up, and I thought something w-was up." He stepped nervously over to the cage.

"Wha'dyou care?" I demanded, boaring my ruby eyes into his skull. He was even more nervous now. Maybe he thought I was going to beam him.

He came up and wrapped his hands around the bars, looking worriedly into my eyes. I continued to look down on him. "I d-don't know," he stuttered. I loved the effect I could have on people, "I just thought-"

I hissed at him under my breath, "Go away."

"I-I, um, okay, but uh-"

"Now."

He dropped his hands from the bars and sighed. I turned from him and resumed beaming the ceiling. He tried talking to me again, but I ignored him.

"I just thought you might like to be free," I heard him mumble as he walked off, head down, "but if you're going to be like that..."

I stopped beaming. "How d'ya mean free?" But the Blastoise kept walking. "Stupid animal," I muttered, and returned once more to the ceiling.

My trainer woke me the next morning. "I'll give you one last chance, and if you don't do what I want, when I want, or if you try again to escape, then I'll sell you. Got that?"

I shot an aurora beam at his feet, only a weak one, but enough to annoy him. I glared up at his angry eyes, a snigger on my face. "Whatever you say, oh great one," I sneered, before being reduced to the confines of the ball.

I was released in the same big room, but this time I was in a small circle of the electric Pokémon who had been there the day before. What did he want me to do this time?

"Okay, Articuno, target practice," he sneered, "only this is slightly different, you're the target. These Pokémon will try their hardest to shock you to the ground, otherwise they'll get no dinner." He said the last bit more to the electric Pokémon than to me. Mum had told me that Sapphire had done something like this, only they had done really weak aurora beams, and not been punished for not making a hit.

"GO!" screamed the trainer, and at once the sparks were flying. I flew up to the ceiling and dodged the bolts of electricity as best I could, but it wasn't easy. I ignored the order he gave me about not escaping and made a head for the wall. I shot a powerful sprayed ice beam at the wall.

But this time he knew what I was doing, and he beamed me down. I was released almost immediately.

"This is your last chance, Articuno!" He was sounding like he had a stick shoved up his bum and his face was bright red. "Once more and I'm selling you! GO!"

"Oh shut up," I hissed, flapping up into the air and avoided the flying electricity streaming from the Pokémon below. I had to come up with another plan for escape, he knew I'd always try that.

I flew to the opposite end of the room and drifted slowly to the ground, but not landing. I aimed carefully and began glowing. I narrowed my wings, lowered my head and sped forward so fast it would make a Pidgeot look slow. The electric Pokémon didn't know what was coming. A few meters before I hit, I powered out a formidable ice beam, spraying all the Pokémon in all directions.

I veered left and knocked the trainer over. I held in the ice beam and threw an even more powerful one at the wall. The rocks cracked and burst. I swooped around and came at it again, attacking with another ice beam. This time the rocks shattered into dust. I swung around to make sure my trainer was still on the ground, shrouded him in mist and made for the wall.

I burst through the hole and into the clear, fresh, bright air. This time, I was really free. I didn't stop to savour the moment, just flew on as hard and as fast as I could go. I kept flying for hours. I never wanted to see that trainer ever again.

I would never have to see his horrible, sneering face ever again, never do his stupid training drills, never be shocked, never be caged. And never be bugged by that annoying Blastoise ever again. I was free.

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