Chapter Text
The botanic garden, also referred to as the respiratory by Professor Sycamore, was filled with vibrancy, evident by the clear cackling and giggling of joyous Pokemon roaming around. To them, this place was forever a playground and paradise. Sycamore smiled like a father figure to them whenever he and his Garchomp approached to feed them with tasty pallets and fresh fruits. But like usual, a Swirlix with gigantic round red eyes remained meek and refused to get out from the bush she was hiding behind. She timidly had her eyes twitching to scan the vicinity, and didn’t exit from her hiding spot until the loud chomping and munching noises ceased. She then sniffed the lingering aroma and carefully licked the leftover crumbs from the grasses, but didn’t let her guard down, continuing to examine the now empty area to check whether a stout blue rabbit with white bubble patterns was present.
Well, not entirely empty. Just as she was going to take a bite of a small cylinder-looking food, Sycamore approached and picked her up, “Come here, sweetheart. That nasty Azumarill and her kids aren’t present. Also, you shouldn’t be eating leftovers on the floor, they’re dirty.”
“Really?” The Swirlix was uncertain about Sycamore’s claim on the Azumarill being gone, since she had been bullied by the dominating azure rabbit and her mice children for so many times whenever she tried to join the others to help herself, to the degree of her getting quite paranoid and could care less about leftovers being unhygienic. However, being cradled by the kind professor soon soothed her, and within seconds, she was fast asleep.
Sycamore was relieved that the Cotton Candy Pokemon was in her dream wonderland, but his smile soon turned upside down. He couldn’t bear to watch this poor Swirlix getting harassed forever, and simultaneously he had a strong lingering guilt of being unable to fulfill his promise for her. Back when he and his Garchomp first rescued the Swirlix, who was trembling and crying inside a rusted cage, from a deplorable breeding mill, he wholeheartedly promised her to search for a good kid to adopt her and he would protect her too. Yet a few months in, regardless of his bond with her, who always begged him for snuggles and cradling, he knew his laboratory had limited spaces and couldn’t keep her for the rest of his life, even if it meant an emotionally painful goodbye with her until God knows how long. If she ever leaves him, then probably she would be able to explore the wide world and no more Azumarill bully for her own good.
The professor and his Garchomp looked at each other in agreement: maybe they should hold another adoption day for this little cotton candy fella to help her get a new home.
*************
The Swirlix turned herself around and around in circles rather anxiously but also with anticipation while waiting in the wide hall of the lab that would be greeting groups of elated children soon. On one hand, when Sycamore broke the news of going to send her away rather sullenly, she felt quite upset about being separated from him; he had been a kindhearted man and she actually wished to be his partner. On the other hand, she was radiating with tremendous elation- she had always been yearning to seize any opportunity to explore any speck of the world, because she knew how it felt to be confined in a congested cage.
Rays of bright white lights from the outside leaped into the lab’s grand entrance, catching the Swirlix’s attention. Sycamore must’ve opened the doors wide open. Then after a few blinks and zooming her sight at some bipedal silhouettes dashing into the hall, the Swirlix knew her eyes weren’t fooling her—they were actual kids all anticipating to get a Pokémon partner of their own! Maybe she would be an eligible candidate for any of them— nobody could resist the adorableness of a sticky squishy Swirlix, couldn’t they?
“Professor! Where’re the typical Starters? How come we’re getting atypical stuff, like that armless weird dog over there?” One of the kids who was wearing suspenders and sneakers asked rudely and loudly. Swirlix was boggled by his question—how come he wasn’t elated to pick someone different from the bunch, like her, who was a walking cotton puff in front of him? Had she committed a mistake which displeased him?
“Kiddo, don’t insult our Swirlix, please. She just wants to be your friend.” Sycamore explained in hopes to change the boy’s mind. However, the boy remained adamant as he examined Swirlix with his judgemental eyes, and before the cotton puff could brace herself emotionally, he spat, “It looks so gross to me, watching a walking food is abnormally disgusting and I’m not buying a Starter like this one.”
An invisible sickle sliced the Swirlix’s heart into two halves. Disgusting?? She was born like that and it was never up to her choice! More confusing to her was that she had tried to give him a great first impression by refraining herself from drooling onto his shoes. Even though Sycamore immediately intervened by firmly ordering the grouchy boy to leave, her feelings had already been wounded. Despite this, she muttered to herself with sprinkles of optimism, “That’s not a big deal, it is just him being rude and nasty, there are probably more exceptions out there, and I can woo them with my cuteness!”
Just as the Swirlix finished encouraging herself, a blonde adolescent girl wearing Mary Janes and a short skirt edged toward her, “Professor, what’s this Pokemon?” The fluffy cotton ball was almost instantly brightened up—she must have been acknowledged as someone worthy to be with a human! Unable to contain her overflowing excitement, she leaped right into the girl’s chest and nuzzled her entire body, hoping that she would win the teenager’s affection. However, within fleeting moments, upon eyeing the teen’s facial expression which was twisted with discomfort, she realised her passion was not being returned…
“Professor, I don’t hate this type of fluff, it’s just that...ACHOO! I have...fur...allergies...ACHOO!” The teen repeatedly sneezed with streams of snots and tears that were leaking from her reddened and swollen nose and eyes, “Do you have any furless options?”
Allergies? Swirlix had no previous knowledge regarding such an abstract concept. She didn’t mean for the poor girl to sneeze this frequently...and she felt tremendously remorseful for her unintentional mistake that she didn’t know whether she could have avoided or not…
As the Professor quickly resolved such a minor setback by guiding the teen to the other part of the sanctuary, the Swirlix was still clinging onto the last lingering glimpses of hope for being adopted. She hopefully thought, “Maybe humans are accepting, they just hadn’t readied themselves for her yet.”
But her optimism didn’t pay off.
The kids who came to the lab afterward not only didn’t get enamoured by her fluffy cuteness, but they also eyed her with much contempt and didn’t even bother to touch her fur, because according to one of them, her fur was sticky and gross. One even spat at her with disdainful eyes. In other words, she had been spurned, only because she wasn’t being deemed as the ideal Pokemon for any novice trainer kid’s Starter.
The sun soon gradually hid behind the horizon, and the sky turned from blue to vermilion. However, in the hall of the laboratory, the poor Swirlix was all alone. She was very tired of watching her other peers, notably the Starters—Fennekin, Froakie and Chespin— being selected over her. She also began to doubt her self worth after witnessing how so many children had snubbed her—“Is it because I look hideous to them? Or is it because they find me a hassle to look after due to my large appetite and my delicate fur? Have I done anything wrong to them in my past life?” The more she thought about the potential reasons of why no human wanted to adopt her, the more of her tears began to overflow, because no matter what reason, them not picking her as their Starter only meant that she would forever be bullied by the Azumarill and her mice children, and that it would make Prof Sycamore sadder each day… “What a burden I am…” she thought despondently while licking her tears off her fur.
Just as she was dwelling in sadness, the Swirlix overheard Sycamore pleading to someone who originally insisted that she wanted a Fennekin and was disappointed that all of the Fennekin were picked. The Swirlix thought this latecomer was just another child who wouldn’t bat an eye on her and continued sulking in a corner. Little did she know that the girl actually changed her mind and was convinced by Sycamore that she could be unconventional by having a unique Fairy type as her partner, as she was keen on this idea. The girl was then led by Sycamore from the outside to the hall, where they found the sulking Swirlix.
“Is it alright? It looks like it is in despair and hasn’t been eating well,” The girl seemed concerned about the poor Swirlix’s state and was quick to discern that she had been starving, although not aware that such malnutrition was caused by constant bullying. Sycamore could only sigh, “I have been giving the best for her and she is happy with me and Garchomp, but the problem is...the other kids keep spurning her only because she isn’t a conventional Starter that they find as ideal. I’m afraid to tell you that the people who dislike her is not only because they are critical of what she looks, but it is also due to them not wanting to take up the responsibility of looking after a Pokemon with a large appetite and is hard to groom for, as Swirlix needs the amount of sugar intake that matches their body weight and their fur is sticky like cotton candy. If this continues, she will be stuck in this lab’s garden and keep getting bullied by an Azumarill and her Azurill and Marill children when I and Garchomp get too occupied…”
Hearing that the actual reason people hated her was that she was really a hassle to look after, the Swirlix started to sob hysterically. Her thought of her being another's burden was affirmed. Nobody was going to adore her anyway…
“May I see her, Professor?” said the girl. The Swirlix immediately ceased crying, but was confused. Why would somebody bother to see a hassle like her? She was just nothing but a walking freaky cotton candy in those kids’ eyes. There was no point for the girl to adopt her. She even sprayed some cotton strings at the girl, believing that it would be best for the latter to give up adopting her anyway.
But the girl looked at her, and soon gushed. The Swirlix was surprised. This was the second person in her life that actually valued her and found her adorable. “She looks cute! I don’t understand how other people wouldn’t take her!`” exclaimed the girl who proceeded to lift the Swirlix up and gave her a good snuggle. The Swirlix blushed and also having gotten tired out due to using most of her energy crying, she let herself sleep in the girl’s embrace.
Sycamore smiled at the sight, now believing that the Swirlix was in good hands. He said gladly, “I guess she’s going to be your best partner and friend throughout your journey as a trainer. You’re going to befriend myriads of new people in the region and around the globe. She may even become one of the strongest Slurpuff in the world, who knows? So, are you going to look after her well, and what nickname are you giving her?”
“Cuddles! I’ll settle with that!” Piped the girl who put a red ribbon with yellow frilly laces and white polka dots onto the Swirlix’s head, “Because she’s the most cuddly Swirlix I have met in the first place, and she would definitely love to share her cuddliness to others around the world!” She then beamed at the professor with a reassuring grin. How bad could things be? Having a Swirlix as a Starter was surely a unique experience and the girl saw nothing terrible would come along with that.
*******************
When the Swirlix—now called Cuddles—woke up from her sleep the next day, the first thing she saw as her first breakfast away from the Professor’s laboratory was a bowl of treats, which consisted of biscuits and candies. Cuddles thought she was dreaming. She had never once eaten a proper breakfast before ever since she was born in the breeding ground, no matter how Professor Sycamore prepared the best foods for her, because they always got nabbed by the Azumarill and her mice children before she could take a bite, and worse it was because she always got beaten up by them so she couldn’t retaliate. But even when the girl, who later introduced herself as Jennie, smiled at her and she knew that Jennie was the one who gave her this kind gesture, she couldn’t help but nervously examined the dining room, because the fact was that she was fearing for the worst—what if Jennie had been secretly owning an Azumarill the entire time, and that presumed Azumarill might try to bully her? She therefore only dared to take small nibbles of her breakfast, which began to concern Jennie. Though Jennie believed that Cuddles was merely going through a nervous phase due to being placed in a new environment, she let it slide.
But things didn’t get any better for both Cuddles and Jennie.
Not too long after having Cuddles, Jennie thought it would be a great idea to strengthen her physically and mentally by taking part in some battles before participating in the gym challenge around the Kalos region. Little was she aware that Cuddles wasn’t even keen on agreeing with this idea and was too timid to even get involved with it. Every instance when Jennie found another trainer that she deemed as rookie as her, she would immediately send out Cuddles to battle them, but alas, Cuddles was nothing but a scaredy-Skitty. Whenever she was commanded to attack, she would instead freeze up which resulted in her getting the Magikarp beaten out of her, or just simply bailed herself out with tears by instantly flying away that Jennie had to call off the battle and chase after her. It always embarrassed Jennie; this Swirlix was in no condition to join the gym challenge with her no matter how eager she wanted to bring her along.
But Cuddles being cowardly wasn’t the only problem Jennie had to face. Things only aggravated when Cuddles began to shred her sticky fur everywhere in the house. Those shreds tended to stick and glue themselves firmly onto any surface such as the walls or the floor, which had become a hassle to clean up. Moreover, Cuddles’ enormous appetite for specifically sweets was starting to take a toll on Jennie’s family’s expenses as sweets were considered something unhealthy that cost exorbitant prices, yet Cuddles needed the sugar intake to match her body weight, which meant that Jennie had to eat a plethora of sweets too. Gradually, Jennie’s parents, particularly her mother, began to get exasperated at Cuddles and chided and chastised Jennie more and more often with long tirades, usually complaining and reprimanding her for getting a Starter that required such a high maintenance like “How come you just take up that offer from the professor when you are aware that Swirlix is a species that only makes more hassle than conveniences?!”. And there was no room for the girl to intercede for the Swirlix, as her mother regarded every explanation as mindless excuses and shot her down every time.
Another problem emerged when Jennie returned to school. It wasn’t because of Cuddles being disobedient though. At first, Cuddles would obey Jennie and only arrive at the school gates when school time was over before jumping into Jennie’s embrace, but as time passed, many of the girl’s peers began to throw harsh glares and stares at them. These glares and stares usually came with their contemptuous giggles and snide comments, such as “How come a Swirlix is qualified as HER Starter?” or “This moronic girl has only brought trouble to herself with a high maintenance piece of sticky gum.” Although Jennie always told Cuddles to ignore them and turn them a blind eye, Cuddles knew that the former had actually been taking all these insults to her heart, and this was proven when one day Jennie ordered, “Cuddles, stop waiting for me to leave school and just stay at home. I don’t want anybody from my school to drop comments on us anymore. They’re all having conventional Starters, and even those Pokemon of theirs are sneering at us for being a different pair…”
Cuddles might be simple-minded, but she wasn’t completely ignorant. Deep down, she was aware that Jennie was getting frustrated and she thought, “Have I made the wrong choice of allowing her to adopt me? She seems so frustrated of having to groom and feed me now. She doesn’t even let me go to that ‘school’ to pick her up now. Have I been committing something wrong? Is it because I haven’t been able to battle for her? Am I too feeble for her to look after?” With such self doubt, Cuddles’ faith in Jennie gradually dwindled. She began to think that Jennie wouldn’t defend her from the dreaded species she had a phobia of--the Azumarill line. The more she feared about this, the more she became unwilling to partake in battles even under Jennie’s instructions. No matter how Jennie urged, “Cuddles! Stop holding back! Do you have ears?! I know you are NOT handicapped!” Cuddles just lacked the strength to even land a single attack, even if it was her own fairy type moves. Usually when Cuddles gave in, her Dazzling Gleam only exuded as mere dim sparkles that made their foes mock them with much contempt. The more they got mocked, the less the faith they had in each other.
Their strained relationship finally reached a breaking point. It happened that one day Jennie decided to apply the iron fist. She said, “Cuddles, you are battling for experiences no matter what. Quit being such a coward! I know you have potential other than just digging in my home’s food at the expense of my family’s finances! You are fighting for my Gym Challenge, just please do it for me!” Before Cuddles could reason with her, the girl had already sent her out to face another unfamiliar opponent. But just as Cuddles left her Poke Ball, she froze in horror as she saw the biggest fear in her life...an Azumarill.
Horrors of how the mother Azumarill abetted her mice children to endlessly torment her flooded her already anxious mind. She could never forget their hostile glares and snarls at her when Sycamore and Garchomp introduced her kindly to the other residents of the garden in the lab. Less than moments after she was settled, the Swirlix heard the Azumarill whispering to some other residents and her mice children that Swirlix are annoying creatures to be looked after by humans and awful at battling. Then things only aggravated when the Azumarill started outright nabbing her food one day during breakfast, and no matter how she cried hysterically, the water rabbit only laughed in malicious delight to watch her suffer in hunger and seizing the advantage of the Swirlix being too famished to even fight back, the Azumarill blasted the Swirlix with a hard-hitting Aqua Tail. Afraid of getting hit violently again, Cuddles had never retaliated since then and could only give in when it came to letting the rabbit and her mice pillage her meals. This was what made her malnourished for a long time no matter how much love Sycamore and Garchomp had given her. “Maybe that was why nobody wanted to adopt me on adoption day…”Cuddles thought with a shed of tears, “I have been such a weakling...haven’t I?”
“CUDDLES! Stop hesitating and now attack! I remember teaching you a counter move against water types! Listen to me! There is no way we can be qualified to challenge the bug type gym if you are in this condition!” Yelled Jennie in frustration while her opponent was getting puzzled and fidgeting at the Swirlix’s indecisiveness. Hearing this, Cuddles finally had enough. She turned toward her trainer and screeched with exasperation…
“STOP FORCING ME TO BATTLE WHEN I DON’T EVEN WANT TO! I’M SICK AND EXHAUSTED OF THIS! DID YOU ADOPT ME OUT OF SHEER PITY?! I HAVE BEEN A HASSLE TO YOU, HAVEN’T I! YOU LOATHE ME FOR LOOKING DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER FENNEKIN, FROAKIE AND CHESPIN, RIGHT?! IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I JUST DUMP YOU BEHIND!”
With that being said, Cuddles threw off her ribbon with her body’s might, and quickly flew off in streams of tears. Jennie was shocked for a moment, and when she recovered upon seeing the ribbon, which she immediately picked up from the ground, she shouted in guilt, “CUDDLES! I am so sorry! Please don’t leave me!” It was too late, as the Swirliz had already left her vicinity…
“For a fellow trainer who owns a peculiar Starter like me, you two really lack the sync,” Scoffed the opponent while his Azumarill smirked in agreement. There was nothing Jennie could say to retort them, and she could only stare at the ribbon she once gave Cuddles with much regret.
Because he wasn’t wrong at all.
***********************
Sycamore was whistling jovially as he watered the flora of the lab’s botanic garden, with Garchomp happily watching him enjoying himself. He still remembered how glad he was when Cuddles was adopted by Jennie. That Jennie seemed to be an aspiring trainer and that Cuddles needed somebody who was accepting of her like this girl did. “Maybe those two were on their journey of participating in the gym challenge with a bunch of new Pokemon friends,” he mused and continued watering his flowers happily.
It wasn’t until Garchomp nudged Sycamore with its rough skin to alert him that somebody was banging loudly outside the lab. He was uncomfortable with Garchomp’s gesture at first, as its skin really scratched his a bit and that he was indulging himself with the flowers, but he still decided put down the sprinkler for a while to check on the person who was frustratedly banging their hand or even their head onto the doors. “Hope they won’t get a concussion if they are really knocking the doors with their head…”muttered the professor.
But just as Sycamore and Garchomp opened the doors, their eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Sycamore even stuttered, “Cud...Cuddles? What...what...happened? I...thought...you...and...Jennie...were...getting...along...well? Where...is...your...ribbon...from...her?”
Hearing how the professor worried about her, Cuddles bursted into tears and leaped into his arms. She knew she was going to disappoint him with the fact that she had a fallout with her trainer, but she still honestly admitted the harsh truth as she couldn’t keep it inside her fluffy but tiny body any longer…
“I broke up with her...professor!!!! BOOOHOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”
Sycamore and Garchomp didn’t speak a single word and only listened to poor Cuddles’s wail. Perhaps they were too staggered to know that the Swirlix had abandoned her new life, or they just wanted to let her vent as much as she wanted. They let Cuddles spill out everything about the conflicts that happened between her and Jennie, and they were upset to know that Jennie had been pushing her too far. However, as Cuddles started to tell them about the battle that she forfeited not too long ago only because of the opposing Azumarill that had invoked her greatest fears, Sycamore knew that it was about time for him to give her sage advice. He said, “Cuddles…I understand how hurt you’re feeling, but I need to ask you something.”
As Cuddles listened to the professor, he asked, “You kept saying that you think Jennie doesn’t want to care about you anymore because of the clashing perspectives and feelings between you and her. But the reason behind why you said that…is it because you actually like her very much?”
Cuddles was speechless at how perceptive Sycamore had been. She had been trying to avoid divulging her honest feelings to others due to having lived in a deplorable breeding ground where she constantly got hostilely barked at by the guarding canine Pokemon and the owner of the breeding ground. This was also the same reason for why she cared too much about Jennie’s opinions on her, because of how the bully Azumarill kept badmouthing her regarding her lowly background whether it was in front of her or behind her back, which caused many other Pokemon to distance themselves from her. Yet, this defence mechanism had prevented her from telling Jennie how she had been feeling the whole time. It made Jennie unable to understand how she really felt and kept pushing her to do things she wasn't even prepared for. Maybe Jennie didn’t mean to upset or disrespect her after all…
If only she had been braver to tell Jennie that she had a fear of Azumarill or to say that she wanted to do something to ease the latter’s burden…
“But...what should I do, Professor?” Cuddles sheepishly asked, “She may think that I’m such a huge coward because I ran away from her and refused to let her know how I have been feeling until that moment…is she going to loathe me forever?”
“Cuddles, I think you can ponder why Jennie gave you this lovely name in the first place. Take your time to think about it, every name has its underlying meaning and it does require some time to fully understand it,” Sycamore gently stroked her.
However, just as Cuddles was going to contemplate the meaning of her name, someone believed otherwise and scoffed, “Cuddles? What a lame name! Hahahahaha! Turns out some kid from the outside named that inferior Swirlix with a name that you can randomly pick from the wet market!” Cuddles, Sycamore and Garchomp swerved their heads to the direction of the squeaky yet condescending voice, and it was no surprise that…the voice belonged to nobody other than the bully Azumarill.
Sycamore had enough with the crap of that Azumarill. “JUST SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU UNGRATEFUL PARASITE!!!” He finally lashed out at the water rabbit, “You thought you have some sort of privilege in this place only because you’re not from a breeding ground? What the heck is wrong with you, leeching on my resources when other Pokemon need them and always teaching your two children to bully other Pokemon from a less desirable background? Everyone has a name that holds a special meaning, and it is not determined by YOU!!! Garchomp and I have enough of your vicious antics to Cuddles and the others, and I’m counting down to three for you to get out of this lab and never return!” Cuddles was shocked to see the professor having enough with the Azumarill but had the will to actually not tolerate her garbage. She wished she had the courage to fight against the other Azumarill that she fled from before she fell out with Jennie.
Nonetheless, the Azumarill wasn’t deterred by the professor’s stern anger. Instead, she laughed at him with much contempt, “So what, you mere human? You’re just being too nice to us and think that everyone deserves something called a better fate. I’m so disgusted to remember when you introduced this stupid walking ball of stickiness to us and said be more open minded to her only because she was less lucky than us for having a filthy background. I thought this lab was about adopting the more fortunate ones like me and my children and providing us a luxurious life, not to coexist with other rancid lowly Pokemon from around the region or even the globe! Oh, and don’t you try to bluff me with your gross Garchomp, because I know he is only slightly less shitty as the Swirlix! At least he doesn’t have a nickname that is picked from the wet market!”
The professor turned around, as if to stop, calm down, and think of a new plan. As for Cuddles, she watched the professor she respected and loved with much concern, knowing that the ungrateful Azumarill would do something to harm him for defending her. It felt like almost an eternity before Professor Sycamore turned around, once again in his calm and professional self.
“If I can’t make you behave properly like all the other Pokemon in this lab. Then I know someone who can,” he began.
The Azumarill was instantly ticked off by his response, “YOU UNLOVING SON OF A B*! I’m better than everyone else in this lab-”
“Let me finish,” said the professor, sternly. “You always say you’ll make a good addition to a trainer’s team? Well, I think you’ll be getting that wish.”
But the Azumarill was more provoked than ever, “I CAN CARE LESS ABOUT THE FREAKING GIBBERISH OF YOURS, SYCAMORE!!!!! I AM GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOUR GROSS GARCHOMP WHO IS IN CAHOOTS WITH THAT STINKY SWIRLIX OF YOURS AND FIND AN ELITE THAT CAN BEST YOU ONE DAY!!! Challenge me with him who has a four times weakness against the one and only me, bastard! Without you two, the Swirlix is basically a scum!”
Garchomp was ready to make a move again, but Professor Sycamore waved him down. Clearly, he had a better plan in mind. He then whispered to Cuddles, “I’m calling Siebold from the Elite Four to your rescue.”
“Are you hearing me, Sycamore?!” shouted Azumarill.
“Say, Garchomp. You think Siebold would enjoy having another Water type to his team?” the professor asked, seemingly sounding rather casual.
However, the Azumarill overheard what he said before he picked up his phone to dial a number. She actually had some fear for the serious Water type specialist, so she decided to not let them use him as someone to let Cuddles get off easily. Before Sycamore and Cuddles could react, Azumarill suddenly bashed Garchomp with a super effective Play Rough…
“GARCHOMP!!! NOOOOO!!!” Wailed Cuddles as the water rabbit mercilessly attacked the land shark who didn’t have any chance to retaliate. She and the professor could only watch the Azumarill pummel him into a pulp. No matter how Sycamore yelled at the rabbit to stop, the latter had no intention to obey him and instead watched Garchomp suffer in joy, probably believing that beating him up could undermine Cuddles’s courage to fight back against her.
Simultaneously, Jennie started frantically searching for her Swirlix, clutching the latter’s ribbon in her hand, and looking through every nook and cranny in the urban areas, and had asked countless people about the Swirlix’s whereabouts. After she recovered from her shock, she realized how much she wanted to apologize to her beloved Starter. To her, this Swirlix was her first true friend, as she had been a lonely kid who was socially awkward and unable to socialize with her peers. Cuddles was just like her, a social outcast. When she saw poor Cuddles being alone, she instantly empathized with the Swirlix, and simply wanted to be Cuddles’s best friend.
“The reason why I want Cuddles to battle...it’s not because I want to fulfill my personal entertainment…” She thought with much guilt when she recalled the reason why she adopted Cuddles in the first place, “I only want to see her become a stronger and happier little fluffle puff, and when every battle is over, I want to cuddle her with the warmest hugs ever...to affirm our friendship…” Thinking of how Cuddles flew off in a sad way made her want to cry too. If only she could find where Cuddles currently was as soon as possible, then they could possibly rekindle their friendship…
Just as she was losing hope, Jennie heard screams and shouts from the lab when she ran past there. Her intuition alerted her that something was going wrong for the professor, and she then remembered that it was the same place that she adopted Cuddles from. It was no doubt that Cuddles would return there to seek counseling from the professor who she had bonded with. So Jennie decided to muster up the courage and open the lab’s doors, hoping to apologize to both of them, only to find out…
“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! What happened to Garchomp?!!!” The girl was beyond jarred by the mess in the main hall of the lab, especially when she saw Garchomp moaning in agony and Cuddles trembling. She was just going to apologize and didn’t ask to witness a crime scene. As for Professor Sycamore, he didn’t know how he should explain to the shocked and puzzled girl, because if he said anything, the Azumarill would definitely push her luck to finish both of them and Cuddles off with her super powerful Play Rough. He really didn’t know at first that all the leeching she had done in his lab really boosted her so significantly.
It wasn’t until Jennie asked, “Wait...is that the Azumarill you had been mentioning?” Cuddles knew she couldn’t withhold her worst fear from Jennie anymore. As for the Azumarill, she sneered at the young trainer with disdain, thinking that she was foolish enough to adopt someone as “substandard” as Cuddles, and plotting that finishing Cuddles in front of her would totally falter her love for the Swirlix.
“What can I say? Only the BEST Pokemon get to go with a trainer! I should’ve been the one to be chosen!” Azumarill shouted. “This will show you just how subpar you really are!” Before Cuddles could comprehend what was happening, the water rabbit had already launched a powerful Hydro Pump from her mouth, and Cuddles was too terrified to even fight back, until…
...the human girl suddenly tackle-grabbed her, and rolled onto the ground with her between arms, barely missing the pump of water. And most importantly, she realized Jennie wasn’t afraid of the water rabbit at all, as instead the latter looked at the Azumarill with firmness she had never seen before. Then Jennie admitted the truest things that she had been hiding inside her chest to Cuddles in front of the Azumarill, “I BELIEVE EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE TO BE CHOSEN BY A PERSON WHO LOVES THEM. And it is not based on their background. I don’t care where Cuddles come from. I don’t care how people scoff at her name. And I want to tell Cuddles I’m sorry for letting her down…”
Jennie then turned to her Swirlix and divulged everything to the latter, “Cuddles...I’m so sorry for pressing you so hard, not knowing that you haven’t overcome your fear of the water rabbit. I just hope to see you grow stronger. From the moment I met you, it seems to me it is fated. I know you want to battle, it’s just that I didn’t realize you still haven’t gotten ready with it yet. And about telling you to stop waiting for me at the school...it is because I was too afraid of how people think of us. I have been an outcast, and I don’t want you to be discriminated against by the other humans and Starters for being...different.” She proceeded to pick up Cuddles and give the Swirlix a huge hug, “The reason why I named you...is because I want you to be able to befriend others with your warmth and friendliness. I know you are a kind hearted being who desires for friendship. I hope that you can cuddle as many friends as possible on our journey...as a cuddle means accepting them as part of our family…”
Hearing such sincerity from Jennie, Cuddles finally realized why Sycamore let Jennie adopt her. She had been a kind person who just wanted to share the love to other Pokemon who might be lonely, hurt and helpless. Like Jennie, she wanted to cuddle others to cheer them up too. If she continued running away from Jennie, she wouldn’t be able to cuddle anyone she would become friends with in the future...let alone the girl who had been caring for her the most. She should be apologizing to Jennie too…
“I’m sorry too…” Sobbed the Swirlix, “I didn’t mean to abandon you like that...because I don’t want to ever lose a great friend like you in my life! It was just that I was so afraid of losing you, that I began to mistake you as trying to hate me when you stopped wanting me to wait for you and also getting disappointed at me for not willing to partake in battles...that I forgot to tell you how I have been feeling the entire time...I really hope that you can forgive me for being so dumb! You’re always my best friend!”
“Silly puff,” Jennie kindly ruffled the Swirlix’s fur, “You’ll always be my best friend no matter what.” She then noticed the Azumarill who was already puffing and hissing smoke from her nostrils, and decided to help Sycamore to put an end to the rabbit’s reign. She asked the Swirlix, “Cuddles, it is time to face your fear. I believe in you.”
Such encouragement from Jennie really reinvigorated the faith that Cuddles had for her. Suddenly, the Azumarill’s threatening glare became insignificant to her when Jennie was there to support her. She now knew that the water rabbit was merely trying to huff and puff like a big bad Mightyena who actually didn’t have any true friend to help them prevail the greatest challenge. With the rekindled faith in her trainer, she listened to the latter’s instruction…
“Cuddles, Energy Ball!!!!!”
“NOOOOOO WAYYYYYYY!” Screeched the Azumarill who had already lost her cool, “I’m not allowing a walking piece of dirty cloud to trounce me like this! I am still gonna blast you to faraway with my Hydro Pump!”
But just as the Azumarill inhaled and tried to unleash a pump of water, Cuddles was faster than her. A ball of grassy energy was generated by Cuddles, and as the Swirlix exhaled, the grassy energy ball was soon charging quicker than the Hydro Pump. The Azumarill could only watch in horror at the fact that the Swirlix that she despised the most actually had a counterattack against her the whole time…
And Sycamore watched in awe as there was a loud “KABOOM” that later sent the water rabbit flying across the hall and rendered her unconscious. Cuddles had finally overcome her greatest fear. He then gladly watched both Jennie and Cuddles share a heartfelt hug and that Jennie placed the ribbon onto Cuddles’s head again, before he recalled Garchomp into his Poke Ball for a well deserved recovery.
He had been right the entire time that they would be best friends forever.
*****************
A few years later…
“Hey Jennie, hey Cuddles, how’s everything going with your bunch of teammates? I heard that you have expanded your squad after you won the championship,” Sycamore greeted both Jennie and Cuddles gleefully, noticing the many Poke Balls Jennie was carrying around her belts.
“So true, and it has added on much of my expenses haha, Mum is getting annoyed about that,” Jennie responded. She then nudged Cuddles to tell the latter to release their friends from their balls, hoping that Sycamore would be proud of the friends they had encountered along the way.
Watching each Pokemon friend of Cuddles was released one by one, Sycamore beamed, his upward crescent on his face was from ear to ear. He couldn’t believe that Cuddles really travelled and trekked in several regions with Jennie as her best friend, and had already formed their very own teams with different kinds of Pokemon they had met along the way, ranging from Sinnoh and Unova to Alola and Galar. As Cuddles introduced them enthusiastically, Sycamore knew that the snacks that he prepared earlier for their arrival wouldn’t be enough, but he didn’t mind as long as Cuddles was content with her life right now. At least he had managed to yank the Azumarill to Siebold and her Azurill and Marill children wouldn’t dare to bully Cuddles anymore.
“So, Cuddles,” the professor then casually asked, “with all these friends you have, will you continue to cuddle all of them and share your love and happiness with them to the rest of the regions?”
“Of course!” Squealed Cuddles, “But of course spreading love requires tons of energy and stamina, and since I’m getting famished after playing with all of them just now…” She then gluttonously eyed at the stashes of snacks and before anyone could react…
...She eradicated all of them within a blink of an eye, leaving bits of crumbs on the ground.
Immediately, Kung Fu the Mienfoo descended into a fit of rage, “YOU SELFISH LITTLE GLUTTON! I'M GONNA TURN YOU INTO A COTTON CANDY IN A MINUTE! AHHHHHHHHH!” And before his wife Sila the Sneasel could placate him, he had already given chase to the Swirlix, who naughtily flew off while he continued throwing fits. Sycamore, Jennie and the other Pokemon friends of Cuddles could only watch and smile wryly, while Garchomp who just arrived at the scene was completely confused by the anger of the Mienfoo.
But Cuddles wasn’t affected by Kung Fu’s rage. Instead, she was glad to have him and the rest, especially Jennie, as her greatest friends.
Because as long as she got to cuddle them as her family, she would be happy no matter what.