They say you never know how much something means to you until it's gone...

Knock-knock! I heard the front door open. The sound of my mother droned from downstairs. I ignored her and the person at the door. After all, it was probably someone else with more of our things.

My mother and I had just moved here to Littleroot Town in Hoenn a few days ago. Our home was small but lively. It was perfect.

I had heard that our neighbor had a son about my age, but I hadn't thought much of it.

I was sitting on my bed, staring at the clock my dad gave me. For some reason, he thought it would be the best welcoming gift. A clock? As a gift?! Seriously, why a clock out of all things?

"May!" my mom shouted from downstairs. I ignored her. "May!" she tried again. "Someone's here to see you!"

I sighed. If I ignored her any longer, she would come up and bring me down. Might as well go down there and see what she wanted.

I jumped off my bed and looked at myself in the mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair, rubbing them back and forth against my head. Once my hair was thoroughly messy, I yawned and rubbed my eyes to make it seem like I had just woken up.

"Coming," I said in a groggy voice.

I made my way down the stairs as slowly as I could.

"Mom, you woke me up..." I complained to her.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Really? It's nearly noon."

"I was tired!" I told her, and then noticed someone standing behind her.

Mom seemed to realize this too and stepped to the side. "Why don't you two introduce yourselves to each other? I'll be in the kitchen making lunch."

She turned to leave and leaned down to my ear as she walked. "Be nice to him, please," she whispered before straightening herself and going to the kitchen.

"Hi, I'm Brendan," the boy said, a small smile on his face. He had neat, brown hair and stony-gray eyes. A hat was rested comfortably atop his head. He wore a red and black jacket with black pants.

I just looked at him. "I don't want to make friends." I grabbed the door and was about to close it when he stuck his foot in.

"Ow..." I heard him mutter, and I cautiously moved the door open once more. "Listen, I'm sorry to bother you. To be honest, I never wanted to come here myself. It's just... my dad told me to come and greet you."

He looked down, and I couldn't help but hear, "He promised me you would be a boy."

"Excuse me? It's not my fault I'm a girl! And besides, tell your dad that I want to be left alone." I again tried to close the door, and again he stuck his foot in it.

"Please," he practically begged. "He keeps telling me I need to make some friends, and you're the first family that has lived in this house for over two years. I'm lonely, and I just want to be around someone else."

I held his gaze. "Come back tomorrow." From the corner of my eye I saw his foot move away from the door.

"Really?" His face was bright with happiness.

"No." And with that, I slammed the door.

He knocked, but I pretended I didn't hear. After about a full minute, the knocking ceased, and I heard his footsteps as he left my house.

"May?" My mom asked me, poking her head from the kitchen. "Where's Brendan?"

"He had something to do," I replied and went back upstairs to my bedroom without another word.

~•~•~•~

I heard the door knock; I heard my mom open the door, just like she had done yesterday.

"May!" I heard her shout after a few moments of silence.

I ignored her. Instead, I plopped down in my bed. "Leave me alone..." I murmured to myself.

Suddenly I felt another presence enter my room.

"Uh... May, was it? Are you awake?" Great. It's that person.

Wait... if he thought I was asleep, I could use that to my advantage. He would eventually leave... right?

"I guess not. I'm sorry." I heard his feet shuffle on the ground as he turned around.

Something hit my back.

"H- Hey!" I shouted and flipped over, smushing whatever it was beneath me. "You don't have to throw things at me!"

The thing beneath me squirmed, causing me to scream. I leaped out of my bed and was left staring at a green reptile in my place.

Brendan covered his mouth as he laughed at me. "It's just Treecko. You don't need to panic."

I stared at him in shock as he moved to my bed and picked up his "Treecko."

"See? It's super friendly." He grinned at me as the creature climbed onto his head.

I glared at them both, not believing that lie for a second. "Then why did he try to kill me earlier?"

"Well... he didn't necessarily attack you."

I rolled my eyes. "And I didn't tell you to leave," I responded sarcastically.

Brendan ignored my rudeness and motioned for me to come to him.

I silently cursed my luck and slowly went towards him. Why, I do not know. I sat myself as far away from him as I could on my bed.

It didn't matter, though, since he scooted nearer to me. "Look." He grabbed my hand and moved it towards Treecko. I screwed my eyes shut, expecting pain from the creature's teeth.

Instead I felt smooth scales beneath my fingertips. "Huh?" I questioned and tentatively opened my eyes. Treecko was smiling, eyes closed, as Brendan's hand guided mine over its back.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "It is so cool." I turned to Brendan. "Is it yours?"

He let go of my hand, and his smile grew. "No, not yet. But when I get my Pokémon in a few weeks, I want to have Treecko as my partner."

I continued to pet Treecko. "So you two are already really good friends then?"

He nodded.

"Hey." I turned to him as Treecko leapt onto my lap. "You said you would get your Pokémon in a few weeks. Do you think I can have one too?"

He nodded once more. "Yeah! I'll have to ask my dad about it, though."

My mind flashed to yesterday. "Your dad's the one who told you to see me, isn't he?" I frowned, some of my annoyance from earlier coming back.

"Yes, but..." he trailed off.

I stood up, and Treecko fell to the ground. I didn't care and instead looked at the boy in front of me. "Wait, why are you even in my room?" Ugh, why did I not start out like this earlier? Now he thinks I'll be his friend or something like that.

He blinked at me, obviously surprised by my sudden hostility. "Your mom told me to come up here."

I gritted my teeth together. "Well I'm telling you now to leave," I said, my voice cold.

Treecko jumped back onto Brendan's shoulder. The boy looked at me, his face laced with pain and disappointment. He looked like he was going to argue, but thought better of it. "Alright."

He turned and went towards the stairs, his head down. He glanced up at me. "I'll tell my dad you want a Pokémon." And then he was gone.

I stayed still, waiting until I could no longer hear his feet go down the stairs. I sighed to myself as his smile flashed itself into my head. I closed my eyes, wanting to keep it in my memory for as long as I could.

~•~•~•~

I heard the door open and my mom's greeting. I heard the sound of quick steps up the stairs and turned my head to look.

Loud, slower footsteps followed the first. My eyes widened as I saw a blue amphibian-like creature and a yellow bird beside it.

"Kip!" the blue creature called out and smiled.

Brendan came up the steps. My face lit up as I saw him. "Sorry it took so long, but these are the two other starter Pokémon."

It was about two weeks after he had told me his dad would give me a Pokémon, and now here I was, meeting both of them!

"This is Mudkip." He picked up the blue amphibian and set it down on my bed. "And this is Torchic." The yellow bird jumped onto my bed itself as Brendan said its name.

"Mudkip" was a cerulean blue color with orange whisker-like things that came out of the sides of his head. The "Torchic" was a bright yellow color with a little bit of orange on its wings and on the three feathers on its head. It had light brown feet.

"They're both so cute!" I exclaimed, looking over them both. Brendan smiled.

"Remember that you don't have to choose one today; you still have another week before we get our Pokémon officially."

"Yeah," I said, as Mudkip ran to my side and stretched up to me.

"Kip!" it said in the cutest voice ever. Its large eyes blinked at me adorably.

"This one," I heard myself saying, and Brendan laughed.

"Alright, then." His Treecko popped its head from behind his neck, seeing Mudkip and me.

"Tree?" it questioned and jumped down to me as well.

"Looks like you're popular," Brendan joked and came to sit beside me.

I think it's funny, how much trust we had in each other. We had only known each other for about two weeks, and already we were really close friends.

He had come to my house every day at the same time. My mom would tell him I was upstairs, and he would come up with Treecko.

I smiled at Brendan. "I guess so."

He smiled back, and I looked down. The thing was, my birthday was going to be on the next day. I didn't want to tell him, though, in case he began to panic. Knowing him, he would probably do as much as he could to get me a present.

"Is something wrong?" He asked me, concern filling his face.

"No, it's nothing." I looked back at him.

"Alright." He nodded, and suddenly seemed to remember something. "May, come with me!" He grabbed my hand and began to run towards the stairs. Treecko quickly jumped on his shoulder, and Mudkip and Torchic into my arms.

"Wait! Slow down!" I shouted, but he kept running. I eventually gave up trying to reason with him, and let him lead me downstairs.

My mom looked up at us. She smiled to herself before coming to us. "Brendan," she called to him. He froze and turned around.

"Yes?"

"Come with me; I need to talk with you for a moment."

He glanced at me and squeezed my hand for a second before she went to her. Already my hand began to feel cold and I missed his warmth.

I looked down at Torchic and Mudkip instead. "I wonder what they're talking about?" I wondered aloud.

A few moments later Brendan came back to me, a small smirk on his face. "Come on, or we're going to be late." He reached for my hand once again.

"Wait, where are we going? What are we going to be late to?" I asked him, but my words were wasted as he continued to pull me along.

"What did my mom want to talk to you about?" That seemed to slow him down.

"Uh... nothing?" His answer sounded more like a question.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "You are the worst at lying."

"It was nothing important." He turned away for a second before continuing to walk, although his pace was a lot slower than before.

"By the way, we're going to my father's lab. I want you to meet him."

"Oh, okay." I was still confused.

He glanced down, and seemed to realize that his hand was still around mine. "Sorry." He said quickly and moved it away. I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

He led me to his house and opened the door. "Dad!" he shouted as he came inside.

"Brendan?" a man asked, coming into view. He wasn't exactly... the skinniest, but I could somehow tell that he was Brendan's father.

"Who's this?" he wondered, looking at me.

"Dad, this is May, the girl I was telling you about. May, this is my dad, Professor Birch."

"Woah, your dad is the Professor?" I couldn't hide the amazement in my voice. "That's awesome!"

"Heh, thanks," Brendan said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

He then winked at me before going to his father. He whispered something in his ear and then turned to me.

"May, I just remembered that I have to go get something," the boy said, smiling at me.

"What is it? Can I come too?" I asked eagerly.

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. And besides, it's quite a long distance. I probably won't get back until late tonight."

What could be so important that he won't be able to get back until tonight? "Okay..." I told him slowly.

"I knew you'd understand." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He looked like he was about to say or do something else, but turned away before then. He ran outside and I saw him get his bike before riding it.

I noticed that he had left Treecko behind. "Wait!" I shouted, and ran out of the building. "Brendan, you left Treecko!"

He didn't seem to hear me as he kept pedaling on, faster and faster.

"It's okay," Professor Birch told me. "Where he's going, he doesn't need a Pokémon."

I nodded slowly. "Alright..." somehow I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

I was about to go back inside his house when I noticed another creature in the path where Brendan had gone.

There was a large blue-and-white Pokémon. It turned its head to me, and its ruby-red eyes seemed to glow.

Its gaze sent shivers down my spine, and I hurried back inside.

"So, May." Professor Birch's voice broke through my worries. "Brendan and I have been thinking for a while, and we both agree that you should have a Pokémon now."

"Really?!" I said in disbelief. "Wait, what about Brendan?"

"Don't worry." He smiled at me. "He will get his Treecko when he comes back tomorrow."

I nodded slowly. "Alright..." I didn't entirely believe him, yet I didn't know why.

"Do you know which one do you want?"

I nodded and looked at both Mudkip and Torchic. Mudkip jumped up and down excitedly as my gaze met its own.

Professor Birch handed me a Poké Ball and I leaned down with it in my hand. "Mudkip?" I asked it. "Would you like to be my partner Pokémon?"

It nodded eagerly and hit the Poké Ball with its forehead.

The ball wiggled once, twice, three times before it was still. Stars shot up from it.

I gasped and smiled. "Mudkip! Come on out!" I shouted, releasing my blue amphibian from its Poké Ball.

I picked up Mudkip in my arms and turned to Professor Birch. "Thank you so, so much!"

I ran towards the door, and Professor Birch watched me. I waved at him before opening the door and dashing out.

The strange Pokémon from before was gone. It was just as well; I didn't want to see it ever again.

I ran to my house and opened the door. "Mom!" I called out. "I have a Pokémon!"

"You do?" She came out in front of me. "Which one?"

I showed her Mudkip. "Look!"

"Oh..." she frowned slightly. "I thought you would get that yellow bird-thing."

I shook my head. "I wanted Mudkip. Isn't it cute?" I stretched it out closer to her.

She backed away. "Yes, very..."

My eyes narrowed at her. "It's fine if you don't like it- I do." I smiled. "Let's go, Mudkip!" I ran to my room.

About three hours later, I was left staring out my window. I kept thinking about Brendan; his smiles, his laugh... him. He's coming back tonight, I kept telling myself. You'll see him tomorrow...

Yes, tomorrow, my birthday...

~•~•~•~

I woke up and stretched. I glanced at the clock and smiled to myself. Brendan would be here in about ten minutes! And plus it was my birthday!

I changed my clothes and then went to Mudkip. "Wake up!" I said to it and poked its head.

Its eyes opened slowly. "Kip?" It asked, still tired.

"Come on, I want to surprise Brendan!" I said to it and picked it up. It let out a squeak of protest but I carried it downstairs anyway.

Mom was there. "You're up early," she commented.

"I wanted to greet Brendan when he came in," I told her.

She nodded slowly, a smirk forming on her face. "Alright, sweetie. Happy birthday, by the way."

I grinned. "Thanks!"

She handed me a cup of iced coffee, which I gratefully took. I kept an eye on the time as I slowly drank my beverage.

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Twenty.

I tilted my head, confused as to where Brendan might be.

"Mom, I'm going to Brendan's house," I told her.

She nodded. "Okay. Make sure to bring him here; I have something to show him."

I nodded. "Bye, Mom!" I shouted as I ran out the front door. Mudkip followed, trying its hardest to keep up. "Sorry." I reached and picked it back up.

I must've been grinning like an idiot when I finally got to Brendan's house. I knocked on the door.

No answer.

I tried again.

Same result.

I peered through the window, and saw that the house was completely dark; no trace of anyone or anything.

"Where is everyone...?" I wondered aloud to myself.

Mudkip suddenly let out a terrified cry.

I turned around and saw the Pokémon from the day before staring at me. Its ruby eyes glinted the color of blood in the morning sunlight.

I stared at it, too terrified to move. It blinked once and beckoned for me to follow.

I glanced around myself before taking a step towards it.

Before I could get any further, my mom's voice called out to me. "M-May, come here!"

I glanced back at the blue and white Pokémon, but it was gone. Sighing, I went back to my mom.

"What is it?"

She was crying. "May, I am so, so, so sorry!" She wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"What? What is it? What happened?" I was confused.

She closed her eyes and brought me in front of the tv. She turned it on, and I saw that it was on the news. I watched.

"...Last night, at around 9 PM, a young boy was hit by a car in a hit-and-run crash. Eyewitness reports say that-"

I heard something scratch at the window. I looked out, and saw the Pokémon from earlier. "Sol!" It cried out and fled. Without thinking, I ran after it.

I ignored my mother's calls for me to come back. I ran after the Pokémon, only just now realizing I had left Mudkip behind.

I didn't really care much; I knew I had to follow this Pokémon.

It led me to the north, and I charged after it blindly.

I began to get tired after a while of running, and the Pokémon came back just long enough for me to hop onto its back.

Together we bolted north before the Pokémon eventually turned east.

We turned back to the north again and eventually the Pokémon began to slow down.

It lowered itself to the ground so I could get off. I did, and began walking again. The Pokémon stuck by my side, and I soon noticed red-and-blue lights ahead.

Huh? I came closer to get a better look.

I noticed Professor Birch and another woman, who I guessed was his wife. They were holding each other close, the woman crying into his chest with everything in her.

Several officers were around them.

"What happened?" I asked one of them.

"There was a hit-and-run crash last night. A boy was killed."

"Oh... What was his name?" I asked out of curiosity, my heart aching a tiny bit.

The officer said something to Professor Birch, and he nodded.

"His name was... Brendan," he told me.

Wait, what...? "Brendan?" I echoed in disbelief. Tears stung in my eyes.

"No! He can't be dead! No!" I wailed in pain. My body shook and I collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

"No! No! No! No! No!" I pounded the earth with my fist, as if that would bring him back.

This is all my fault.

I screamed at the loss of my best friend. An officer tried to calm me down, but I ended up punching him in his face.

"Bring him back! Please! I'd do anything! Just bring him back!"

My screams of agony carried throughout the air.

There was nothing I could do.

It's my fault.

~•~•~•~

That was exactly a year ago. It's my birthday again today. It's also the day I found out that Brendan was killed. No one ever found the driver of the car from that night. I also never saw that one Pokémon ever again- Absol.

On top of it all, I had given up my dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Mom took care of Mudkip now, as I was still too grief-stricken to care for it nowadays.

I wonder if life is really worth living. I could've stopped him- should've stopped him- but I didn't.

Mudkip looked at me worriedly but I pushed it away. It looked down, worried, before going downstairs to my mom.

Brendan... everything about him... I loved it all. His hair, I imagined it as soft and silky, and his hands, warm and comforting.

My gaze fell to a package in my hands. It was something my mom had given me last year for my birthday, and I still have yet to open it.

She said it was from Brendan. This is what he had tried to get me when he was killed.

I was never going to open it.

Everything was taken away from me when he left.

He didn't deserve to die- it should've been me! I stared at my hands in silent pain and loss.

They say you never know how much you miss something until it's gone.

Oh, how true that is.