I eye Master longingly. I know that he doesn't want to do this. I'm his partner, after all. We've been through so much together; we've conquered all of the gyms, we've defeated the elite four, and he's become the champion of Kalos... We've even defeated Team Flare, and in the process, saved the world. Between all of that, I helped him catch new partners, and he fed me pokepuffs, and petted me, and played games with me. He's my world, and I thought that I was his, too. That was until he told me that he has to send me away.
I want to reason with him. I want to tell him no, and that he can't just send me away, after everything that we've been through together. But all that comes out is:
"Phox!"
Master balls his fists. "Delphox, don't make this any harder than it has to be. Look, I don't want you go either, but we have no choice. This is what the player wants, after all."
My ears twitch. The player was the one who took us on all of our adventures. The one who helped us worm our way out of all of the tight spots, and tough battles we went through... But he was also the one who made us run around for hours near Geosenge Town, searching for a female eevee. He was also the one who thought that it was a good idea to save in Team Flare's hideout, leaving Master out cold, while surrounded by genocidal men in orange suits. He was also the one who soft-resetted one hundred times, because he wanted me to be shiny.
The player is rather unpredictable, to say the least. He can be a very useful ally, or he can be a cruel, callous puppeteer... And he's being the latter today.
"Phox!" I cry out. I'm more worried about the player hearing me, than Master. I want to stay. I don't want to go, and leave master here, in our game. If the player has even half a heart, he'll understand that... Won’t he?
"You're gonna to Pokemon Bank," Master explains, "And from there, you're gonna go to someone called, 'Sun'. I'm sure that he'll take good care of you."
"Phox, delphox!" I continue. I don't care about this, 'Sun'. He wasn't the one who chose me, the one who took me on his journey with him. I have no bond with this, 'Sun'. I don't want him. I just want Master.
At my reaction, Master swallows hard. He turns around, apparently unable to face me. He removes his hat and shakes, clutching it as if he's talking to it, and not me.
"I hear that Alola's nice," he says with a steadily breaking voice, "You'll have a great time there, Delphox. Sun, sea, and sand... It won't be like Kalos, huh."
Alola does sound nice. I want to go, but... I want to go with Master. Can't the player send Master to Alola, too? Can't he go to Pokémon Bank? Can't we go to Alola, and adventure, just like we did in Kalos?
Master lets out a quiet sob. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve, before turning to face me once more.
"This is it. Goodbye, Delphox," he whimpers, getting my pokeball out of his pocket, "I'll never forget you. Promise me you'll be good for Sun, ok?"
I get out my stick. I smack the pokeball out of his hand. I don't want to go, not if I can't be with Master. I'll stay here, in eternal slumber with him, never to be played with again, if I have to. I don’t care if our game cartridge gets lost, and collects dust somewhere in the player’s house. I don’t care if the player wipes us out and starts anew; if that means that Master and I will both end up dead, at least we can still be together.
"Phox!"
Master picks up the pokeball. "Delphox, this is what's best for both of us!" he cries out, "Look, I can't go with you! I'd do anything to go with you, but I'm stuck here, ok?! I'm doomed to rot here in this game alone, but you aren't! You can go to other regions, other games, and you can keep living!"
He's sobbing now. I go to his side, and try to hug him, try to wipe his tears. He pushes me away, and threatens me with my pokeball. He holds it out shakily, knowing that he can beam me inside, and separate me from him at the touch of a button. I cry out desperately, begging the player to let me stay...
Master, at the verge of a complete breakdown, says, "Return," and that's the last that I ever see of him.
When I next awaken, I'm on a beach. The sand beneath my feet is silky smooth, and the sea air is fresh and salty. This is Alola, I’m sure of it.
I look around. There's a bunch of pokemon that I've never seen before, ones I don’t recognise from Kalos, and a boy wearing a striped top. He comes to me, offering his hand out. He tells me:
"Hi there, Delphox! I'm Sun, and I'm your trainer!"
His smile is as bright as the sun for which he is named, but there’s no warmth in it. His voice is so high, so sing-song, and sickly sweet, not like the warm, gentle voice that Master had...I hate it. He's my trainer now. But he's not Master. He'll never be Master.
I think about Master, rotting alone in Kalos. I'll never get to be by his side again. I cry.
Sun reaches out to comfort me, but I push him away. I don't want him...
I want Master...
I just want to be with Master...
I want to reason with him. I want to tell him no, and that he can't just send me away, after everything that we've been through together. But all that comes out is:
"Phox!"
Master balls his fists. "Delphox, don't make this any harder than it has to be. Look, I don't want you go either, but we have no choice. This is what the player wants, after all."
My ears twitch. The player was the one who took us on all of our adventures. The one who helped us worm our way out of all of the tight spots, and tough battles we went through... But he was also the one who made us run around for hours near Geosenge Town, searching for a female eevee. He was also the one who thought that it was a good idea to save in Team Flare's hideout, leaving Master out cold, while surrounded by genocidal men in orange suits. He was also the one who soft-resetted one hundred times, because he wanted me to be shiny.
The player is rather unpredictable, to say the least. He can be a very useful ally, or he can be a cruel, callous puppeteer... And he's being the latter today.
"Phox!" I cry out. I'm more worried about the player hearing me, than Master. I want to stay. I don't want to go, and leave master here, in our game. If the player has even half a heart, he'll understand that... Won’t he?
"You're gonna to Pokemon Bank," Master explains, "And from there, you're gonna go to someone called, 'Sun'. I'm sure that he'll take good care of you."
"Phox, delphox!" I continue. I don't care about this, 'Sun'. He wasn't the one who chose me, the one who took me on his journey with him. I have no bond with this, 'Sun'. I don't want him. I just want Master.
At my reaction, Master swallows hard. He turns around, apparently unable to face me. He removes his hat and shakes, clutching it as if he's talking to it, and not me.
"I hear that Alola's nice," he says with a steadily breaking voice, "You'll have a great time there, Delphox. Sun, sea, and sand... It won't be like Kalos, huh."
Alola does sound nice. I want to go, but... I want to go with Master. Can't the player send Master to Alola, too? Can't he go to Pokémon Bank? Can't we go to Alola, and adventure, just like we did in Kalos?
Master lets out a quiet sob. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve, before turning to face me once more.
"This is it. Goodbye, Delphox," he whimpers, getting my pokeball out of his pocket, "I'll never forget you. Promise me you'll be good for Sun, ok?"
I get out my stick. I smack the pokeball out of his hand. I don't want to go, not if I can't be with Master. I'll stay here, in eternal slumber with him, never to be played with again, if I have to. I don’t care if our game cartridge gets lost, and collects dust somewhere in the player’s house. I don’t care if the player wipes us out and starts anew; if that means that Master and I will both end up dead, at least we can still be together.
"Phox!"
Master picks up the pokeball. "Delphox, this is what's best for both of us!" he cries out, "Look, I can't go with you! I'd do anything to go with you, but I'm stuck here, ok?! I'm doomed to rot here in this game alone, but you aren't! You can go to other regions, other games, and you can keep living!"
He's sobbing now. I go to his side, and try to hug him, try to wipe his tears. He pushes me away, and threatens me with my pokeball. He holds it out shakily, knowing that he can beam me inside, and separate me from him at the touch of a button. I cry out desperately, begging the player to let me stay...
Master, at the verge of a complete breakdown, says, "Return," and that's the last that I ever see of him.
When I next awaken, I'm on a beach. The sand beneath my feet is silky smooth, and the sea air is fresh and salty. This is Alola, I’m sure of it.
I look around. There's a bunch of pokemon that I've never seen before, ones I don’t recognise from Kalos, and a boy wearing a striped top. He comes to me, offering his hand out. He tells me:
"Hi there, Delphox! I'm Sun, and I'm your trainer!"
His smile is as bright as the sun for which he is named, but there’s no warmth in it. His voice is so high, so sing-song, and sickly sweet, not like the warm, gentle voice that Master had...I hate it. He's my trainer now. But he's not Master. He'll never be Master.
I think about Master, rotting alone in Kalos. I'll never get to be by his side again. I cry.
Sun reaches out to comfort me, but I push him away. I don't want him...
I want Master...
I just want to be with Master...
