Chapter 1:  A Gift from the Stars (Part B) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

Dashing out of the labs with a look of joy on my face, it quickly faded as 
Bryan was in the way again.  
“Hey ‘Capture! Just as a goodbye present before I leave, I thought I’d whoop 
your butt in a Pokémon Battle.”  
He stopped his sentence and quickly covered his face.  
Turning around, I saw Officer Jenny walking back into Blossom’s, I knew what 
was up.  
“I bet it was you who stole that Pokémon.”  
“So you figured it out.  My family will hate me more than they already do if 
they find out.  How about we play for keeps? If I win, which I most undoubtedly 
will, you say nothing, if you win, very doubtful, I’ll stop bullying you!”  
“Its a deal!”  
I didn’t think of the consequences of letting him get away with this should I 
fail, he tortured me so much when he had the chance.  
The opportunity to stop it forever was too much to pass up.  
“You’re on Bryan, you may have been able to push me around before, but now I’ve 
got a Pokémon friend to protect me!”  
With that we released our Pokémon at the same time.  
He had a Growlithe, and I had my Staryu.  
“Grooowwwwllll!”  
“Tay-u!”  
I decided to give the Pokédex a try, it would have to be used often to record 
all the entries.  

“Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon.  This Pokémon is known to be used by the police, 
watch out, this Pokémon is extremely loyal to its trainer.”  
“Staryu, the Starshape Pokémon.  This mysterious Pokémon is said to regenerate 
any limbs lost in battle.”  

I couldn’t believe my luck and smiled, “Fire Pokémon are weakened by Water!”  
I knew a lot about Pokémon attack moves and type differences, but I used the 
Pokédex anyway to fulfil Blossom’s wish, but also it didn’t hurt to brush up on 
knowing your opponent.  
“Staryu! Water Gun!”  
Staryu looked back at me.  
“Please?” I pleaded.  
It fired at the Growlithe, but it quickly leaped up.  
“Growlithe! Use Bite!”  
Leaping faster towards my Staryu, I could only hope this worked.  
“Quickly Harden!”  
A shining light formed around Staryu and gold sparkles covered my Pokémon, then 
the Growlithe struck jamming its teeth into Staryu, the armour broke and Staryu 
fell back.  
“Don’t give up! Tackle!”  
It charged forward while Bryan’s Growlithe was recovering, it was a good thing 
Staryu didn’t flinch.  
“Water Gun!”  
Staryu fired, and it connected, I had won!  
“Ha!” laughed Bryan.  
I stopped and looked at his Growlithe, it had barely been damaged.  
“But how?”  
“In just one day, I’ve found ways to boost Growlithe’s stats by far, I told you 
my training was better than yours! Finish it Growlithe! Ember!”  
The blast of fire hit my Staryu hard, and it collapsed.  

“No! Staryu!”  
I jumped in and shielded my Staryu before Bryan could do any more damage.  
“Ha! I win, guess I get to keep on whooping your butt, and you’ll keep my 
secret, or else, I will hurt you and everyone you care about.”  
With that he recalled his Pokémon and ran away.  
I sat there holding my Staryu, questioning my studies.  
There’s no way his Growlithe could become strong enough to resist water in just 
one day.  

I decided to hold onto Staryu rather than stuff it in a Pokéball, and carried 
it to the Pokémon Centre.  
On the way I saw my old friend Emily, she was slightly older than me and my 
closest childhood friend before I went to Pokémon Tech, but she had always 
e-mailed me through that period.  
“Tetsubo!” she yelled, “I’m glad I got a chance to see you before you left!”  
My face lit up, I hadn’t seen her in years, due to our different timetables and 
my being away.  
She had a perfect figure, long green hair tied back by a red hairband, she was 
wearing a tight green sleeveless top, a beige skirt and black boots.  
She gasped, “Your Pokémon, its hurt.  How could that be?”  
“I ran into the class bully, his Growlithe dumbfounded me.”  
“That's too bad, still, don’t give up, no one’s perfect and no one wins all the 
battles.”  
“I’m sorry Em’ but I’ve really got to get this Staryu to the Pokémon Centre.”  
“Maybe I can help, Lucky, Go!”  
She released a large pink Pokémon:  A Chansey.  
“Chansey!”  
I quickly scanned it.  

“Chansey, the Egg Pokémon.  This rare Pokémon is gentle and kind-hearted, they 
share their nutritious eggs with others if they see an injured creature, 
Chanseys are said to bring happiness to their trainer.”  

Not wrong there, Emily always seemed very happy.  
“Lucky, let’s help Tetsubo’s Staryu with a Soft Boiled special!”  
The Chansey raised its arms and blue sparkles of light drifted from its egg 
into my Staryu healing it a little.  
“Now it shouldn’t be hurting so much.  I’ve got to meet some friends soon but 
I’ll stick around until your Pokémon gets better...”  

Later on, while my Staryu was resting, Emily and I caught up on old times, she 
was just what I needed.  
I was rarely truly happy, I always had my head in the books and I was always 
referring to my studies.  
She enlightened me a little with her laid back charm and her ways of making 
people feel better when they were down.  
We probably wouldn’t date though, in case it all fell apart and ruined our 
friendship.  
I doubted she'd see anything in me anyway.  
“Do you have any other Pokémon?”  
“Uh huh, an Electric-type, a Grass/ Poison-type and a Flying/ Poison-type.”  
“Which ones?”  
“That would be telling! I’ll surprise you with that the next time we meet.” she 
teased.  
“But we’re going different ways.”  
“You’ve gotta have a little faith, I’m sure our paths will cross again.”  
“How come you nicknamed your Chansey?” I asked Emily.  
“How would you feel if I called you Boy all the time? Calling Pokémon by their 
species is all fine and good if you're familiarising yourself with them but a 
good nickname can show you really care for it.”  
“Good point.  I should give my Staryu a nickname too, it’ll make it unique.”  
“Tetsubo.  Your Staryu is just fine now.” said the sweet voice of the nurse, 
she wore a white outfit and hat and had short pink hair with two strips at the 
sides that made her look like her hair was tied in a bow.  
“Thank you... er... “  
“You can call me Nurse Joy.”  
“Thank you Nurse Joy.”  

Emily and I stepped out the Pokémon Centre.  
“Well, that's it.  I have to go now.” said Emily.  
“Are you sure? It’d be really nice to travel with you.”  
“If you’re going to be a Pokémon Master, you have to take your first steps with 
only you and your Pokémon, we’ll see each other again...” she said, before 
dashing off and joining a group up on the hill, I thought about chasing her but 
I had to say my goodbyes to my other friends and family, plus the Safari Zone 
trip tomorrow.  

Returning home, Mom and Dad were already asleep, my room felt very lonely after 
being around Emily that day so I decided to spend a night outside under the 
stars just like I used to as a kid.  
Staring at my Pokéball, it felt right to let Staryu run free tonight.  
“Star!”  
“Staryu, I’m sorry I let you get so hurt today, I put my selfish desire of 
getting rid of that bully overcome the needs of you.  I acted before thinking 
of the consequences...  I’m a poor excuse for a trainer...”  
Lowering my head in shame, I felt a soft touch on my arm.  
“Staryu?”  
My Pokémon was comforting me.  
“Aren’t you mad?”  
Staryu acted out what it wanted to say and lay on the floor, sprayed some water 
on itself then shook it off standing up straight.  
“You’re saying... you’re happy, cos I took you to the Pokémon Centre so fast, 
is that it?”  
It nodded.  
“Oh Staryu...  I thought you wouldn’t want to be trained by me after that...” I 
explained, wiping a tear from my eye, and then giving Staryu a soft hug.  
Blossom was right, Pokémon make very good friends.  
“Staryu...  I was thinking, do you want a nickname, something I can call you 
instead of what you are?”  
Staryu thought for a moment then nodded.  
“You do?”  
Surprised, I quickly thought of a name that suited what Staryu was, but 
something that sounded cool and maybe something to scare creeps like Bryan.  
I checked the Pokédex for Staryu’s evolved form to give me some ideas.  

“Staryu evolves into Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon using a Water Stone.”  

It was beautiful, a pale purple mixed with blue, a bigger gem in the centre and 
a second set of points on its back.  
“A Water/ Psychic...  How about Twinkill? Like the old nursery rhyme but with a 
play on words and when you someday evolve, you’ll get a second set of points, 
how about it?”  
Staryu leapt into the air and spun around happily.  
“Twinkill it is then...”  
I spent the rest of the early night getting to know my Pokémon as it would be 
my closest friend...  

End of Chapter 1B  

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