Nimh

During the next few days, Wally waited anxiously for Nimh to arrive. His aunt and uncle were glad to see him so energetic again, but were worried the letter could be a fake. After all, Nimh had been believed dead for three years now. What if it was just some crazy fan, or a trainer trying to get his guard down so they could beat him?

Finally, a loud whoop from somewhere high above him caught his attention. He stared in surprise as a Dragonite swooped down, accidentally bowling a few trees over.

“Dangit! I thought I told you to be more careful!” The Dragonite offered an embarrassed hoot in response. Wally watched in awe as a familiar figure slid off the dragon’s back, smoothing his clothes out. The Champion gulped. Nimh had certainly changed...

He was much taller now, and wasn’t as scrawny as he had been as a boy (not that he was particularly scrawny back then either...). He looked like someone who had been through a few trials, and had ultimately won. He was incredibly attractive.

“Hi Wally!” The younger trainer snapped out of his daze, blinking a bit.

“Hi. I uh... I got your letter...”

Nimh flashed him a brilliant smile. “I know. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be out here waiting for me right?”

“Right.” Wally smiled sheepishly at him. “So um... did you visit your parents first? They were devastated when the police told them you were dead...”

“Oh, heh, not yet. I want to surprise them.” He winked.

“You’ll do more than that, you’ll give them heart attacks! How would you feel if you thought they died and they suddenly came back??” Nimh only laughed.

“Why, I’d be ecstatic. Here.” He held out a wrapped box. Wally took it curiously and slowly worked his way through the wrapping without ripping a single ribbon or piece of paper. Nimh was amused.

Wally opened the box. Inside were some interesting items. “What are these?”

“I got you a few new Pokémon. I kind of figured you haven’t caught anymore except those on your team when we last battled, soooo.....” He pulled a green and tan ball from the box; a Safari ball. “Most of these are rare Pokémon. This one is a Chansey.” He released it from the ball. A regular Pokéball was next. “This one’s a Porygon- it took me forever to get enough coins to buy it.” Wally smiled. “Let’s see... Oh, this one’s empty- it’s a Masterball. Best kind you could get. I managed to collect a few so I thought I’d share. And this...” He pulled out a worn-down Ultraball. “This is one of the Legendaries, Kyogre.” He released the Pokémon, and Wally’s eyes widened. He recognized that Pokémon.

“That’s...”

“Yeah, he was on my team when I challenged the Elite Four.”

“And you want me to have it??!”

Nimh grinned. “Of course. No Pokémon Champion should be without some ultra-rare Pokémon, ya know? And this was the first one I caught. I want you to have it.”

“Wow... Thank you...”

The Pokémon were all returned to their balls and placed back inside the box. “Oh yes, there was one other thing...” Nimh suddenly remembered.

“What?”

The white-haired teen grinned. “I was wondering if you’d like to come with me and find new challenges. I don’t think I’d ever be able to just stay in one place the rest of my life, I seriously don’t know how you stand it, and I want to show you the rest of this world.”

The green-haired boy stared. He had always wanted to travel and see what lay beyond Hoenn, but his health had taken a sharp turn downhill again so that was out of the question. But if there was someone else with him, someone who could take care of him if he became ill, maybe then he could go. He smiled. “I’d really like that. But first, you have to tell me all about your adventures!”

Nimh laughed as he was dragged inside.