Smiles Don't Lie

Scatterbug shivered, wrapping himself in another of Sewaddle's leaves. He had journeyed to Unova to visit his friend, but it was considerably colder then Kalos, Scatterbug's homeland. The two had met when bug Pokémon were captured by the dozen in every region to participate in the Bug-Catching competition. All the Pokémon except those in the top three were released, and being small and weak Pokémon instead of Scyther or Pinsir, Scatterbug and Sewaddle were not even captured.

Sewaddle patted his friend on the back. He had tried venturing to Kalos once, but found it ridiculously hot and had asked Scatterbug to visit him in Unova instead. He hadn't realized that the temperature difference would work both ways, and now felt the ache of guilt in his chest. He had tried tucking leaves around his friend to insulate him from the cold, but it wasn't working.

Scatterbug whimpered a little bit as the cold wormed its way deeper into his chest. Sewaddle thought for a moment, then decided it wasn't safe for his friend here. The little hollow where they had taken shelter was well-concealed from humans and larger Pokémon, but the cold permeated the air. Sewaddle guided the other little caterpillar out of the hiding place, careful not to dislodge the leaves that were protecting his friend. Together, they ventured out into the unknown of the forest.

Sewaddle explained the plan to Scatterbug as they walked. "We need to find a human to take care of us. Otherwise, you'll freeze! You're not accustomed to the temperatures here. He glanced down at the ground and added shamefully, "I'm sorry I brought you here."

Scatterbug mumbled an indecipherable response. Sewaddle wondered if he had indeed heard and understood, or was just making a noise. Scatterbug didn't look too good, his large, buggy eyes glazed over and his black body wracked with shudders. His white neck fur had puffed up in a feeble attempt to protect himself from the cold, but it was no use. Sewaddle had lived his entire life in this cold, to the point where he almost depended on it to survive. His green overcoat of leaves and chitin protected him from the chill.

The first human they came across was a young female. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and was skipping along like she didn't have a care in the world. When she saw Scatterbug, her cheerful expression twisted into disgust. "Ewwww! Is it sick? I bet it's contagious!"

She turned and hurried away. Sewaddle felt his heart sink. If they all reacted like that, he would never find Scatterbug and himself a trainer. The next human was a male. He was wide and tall, with a massive beard and a heavy backpack. He appeared scary at a glance, but when he bent over to examine them, his eyes were kind. He didn't take them either, though, stating he used all rock-type Pokémon. This seemed like a feeble excuse to Sewaddle, but he supposed he shouldn't be judging.

After that came two females. One was tall, with long and tangled black hair, and the other was short, with hair that was blonde and curled. They looked very different, yet they walked in perfect synchronization. They frightened Sewaddle, and he dragged Scatterbug into a bush until they had passed. Sewaddle knew he had just destroyed a chance of finding the safe home and kind trainer the two so desperately needed, but those females had looked distant and creepy. They would not have been good trainers.

The next trainer surprised Sewaddle by jumping out of a bush. Sewaddle shrieked in alarm before the man explained himself. "My apologies, little Pokémon. You see, I am a Ranger. It is my job to hide in camouflage until a trainer passes me." He paused to eye Sewaddle's leaves. "Say, you got a nice little camouflage going there yourself! How'd you like to join my crew?"

Sewaddle was about to nod an affirmative when the man added, "Of course, I mean just you. That other Pokémon isn't nearly as good."

Sewaddle stomped away angrily, nearly missing the next trainer due to the red haze clouding his vision. The next one was a young girl dressed like a Pikachu. Sewaddle didn't know why and didn't particularly want to know, but it was evident that she loved Pokémon, and she may well be a good candidate for trainer. The only problem was that she appeared very young.

Her eyes landed on Sewaddle and Scatterbug and lit up. "Pokémon! But Daddy says no Pokémon until I'm ten... sorry little Pokémon."

Sewaddle was upset, but empowered himself by looking at the sorry state of his friend and reminding himself that it was his fault and, by extension, his job to fix it. He pushed on. The next human was an old one, a male. He looked lonely. Sewaddle wondered if he would even be capable of caring for a Pokémon. The man reached down and scooped the two up, looking at each of them in turn. Concern filled his eyes as he lifted Scatterbug closer to his face. "You don't look so good, little fella."

Sewaddle squeaked with joy, catching the man's attention. "Ah, I bet you were trying to get some help for your buddy here, weren't ya?" the man asked, scratching the back of Sewaddle's head in that one spot he could never reach.

Scatterbug nestled deeper into the man's hand, having finally found a source of precious, much-needed heat. The man laughed at the action. "Well hello to you too! My name is Mr. Fuji, little ones. Ah've been alone for quite a few years after a very bad mistake, and you've been the first to forgive me for it," Mr. Fuji chuckled. "I could tell that after my secret came out, trainers stopped coming to my daycare. They no longer trusted me. Perhaps they would have been right not to, at a time, but I have changed. You are better-hearted then many of the people I know, because you could see that. It will be nice to finally have some companionship. Now, let's get you to a Pokémon Center, little guy. I'm not from around here either, and I know the climate takes some getting used to."

Mr. Fuji smiled, and in that instant, Scatterbug and Sewaddle knew they had found their home. This man would love them and care for them. They could see it in his smile, for smiles don't lie.

Targets: Sewaddle and Scatterbug
Difficulties: Easiest and Easiest
Character Count: 6119

 

Claiming

 

@Peaceful Giraffe;
Since you said you didn't mind a short grade, here it is.

First and foremost, sorry for the delay, I was in a bit of an inner debate about how I should grade this and then a lot of stuff happened. Sorry, I'll try my best to not have this happen again.

Plot: It's a bit weak actually, at worst it's a different PoV of the terrible clichéd "walk into a forest and find a Pokémon" and at best it's a story that's midly nonsensical from a more real life point of view - most bugs are known to thrive in heat, specially leaf bugs like Sewaddle's family.

The story also felt rushed but it's understandable and nicely integrated since Scatterbug is sick and they're looking for help. All in all, I know you can do better but I suppose it's good enough for a couple of Easiests.

Description: Your characters were flat, we had minimal description of their appearance and they were quickly dealt with; like for example:

What was the skin color of this person? What was she wearing? How was her cheery face? How about her disgusted face? And so on. Also, something you said here, you prioritized telling eye color above other things like clothing, skin, etc. That's usually a bad idea, for example, try to remember your friends, tell me how many you can remember eye color - and by that I mean be sure, not just guess - and how many can remember skin color, common outfits used, etc.

Also,

Why the everloving f*** is a child without a Pokémon strolling a forest full of dangerous monster?

Grammar & Length: As always, perfect, didn't catch one mistake. The length also checks out but I think you could have made the story larger, to increment the plot and broaden the characters.

Overview: Sewaddle and Scatterbug are captured. You may go ahead and add them to your stats.