The Tale of Snail/Reading

Prologue
My name is Moon Snail. As for why I am called that... I dunno. I called myself that as a kid, and it just kinda stuck.

Right, so. I am a Zangoose. Now, I know you normally wouldn't expect a Pokémon like me to write an autobiography like this, but... well, lemme explain.

When I was young, I was just like the other Zangooses in my field. Foraging for berries, fighting Sevipers, hiding in the grass to fight unsuspecting trainers... Simple stuff. However, one day, while I was out finding berries, I saw someone. A young, green warlock was carrying a box. He caught my interest for a reason I did not know at the time. I attempted to start a battle with him, but he was preoccupied, and just ran from me. I didn't just give up and leave him alone, however. I followed him the whole way through, eventually finding myself in a large school. This school means a lot to me now, as it's the reason I'm here writing this today.

The warlock walked over to the school principal and set the box down for them. "Principal Rinelm," he announced, "the new staff you ordered has arrived." Rinelm opened the box and inspected the staff. "Hmm, this staff is just as good as it looked," they inquired, "Thank you for delivering this, Lemres." They set the staff down on the table. "And... hmm? Have you made a new friend?"

Lemres was confused by the statement. He turned around, and was shocked to see me. "P-principal, I-I-I never caught them!" he stuttered, "I don't know where they came from!" Rinelm was not worried as he was. They simply approached me and held out a Mago berry. Mago... my favorite berry. It's almost as if they knew... I quickly ate the berry and sat down on the table. "You need not worry, Lemres," reassured Rinelm, "This little guy won't hurt any of us." They started petting me, knowing fully well that I trusted them. "I think we've got a school mascot on our hands."

"Principal, don't you need a Pokéball?"

"...Eh, I dunno. If it comes to it, I'll use one. But for now?"

I started to rub my face up against their face to show my affection.

"...I'm sure we'll be fine."

Chapter 1: Everything has a beginning
...Hmm? Still not sure how I'm able to write this despite being a Zangoose? I guess an explanation would be appreciated.

As Rinelm said, I became the school mascot. However, that's not all I was dedicated to. Sometimes, the wizards would practice beneficial spells on me, such as healing spells and buffing spells. It was nice. That and the berries meant I wasn't planning on leaving any time soon, despite not being caught, technically.

Two years after I first joined, I found a Quilava hanging out outside of the school. His name was Flametail. After socializing for a bit, I grew fond of him, and we became friends. He was originally going to leave after foraging around the building, but he liked me so much that he decided to visit more frequently.

Sadly, not all was well. A few months later... I don't know what it was. It could've been that a berry I ate was bad, or maybe it was a spell going haywire, or maybe it was something about Flametail himself. Either way, I was horribly sick, possibly at the risk of death. I was expecting the class to put me out of my misery. But they didn't. They wanted me to live.

The teachers quickly taught the students how to use curing and healing spells. "If we can heal him from his sickness," they announced, "everyone gets extra credit!" And with that announcement, every studen started to surround me, casting any healing spells they could. And eventually... it worked! I was cured, though I did need to be nursed back to health.

To be expected, I was exhausted for a few days. Thankfully, Rinelm and Lemres checked up on me as often as they could. I do remember the room I was in at the time. It was nice and warm, and I was rested on a cozy blanket. I think Rinelm kept the room toasty with a light bit of fire magic.

One day, I was starting to feel better. Started to move around a bit. I wanted to explore the place some more, but I know Rinelm wanted me to stay put until I fully recovered. Lemres entered the room to check up on us. "Hey, Rinelm," he asked, "How's the Zangoose doing?" Rinelm looked back at him and said "Well, uh, he's doing..." Without thinking, I muttered, "Getting better..."

As to be expected, Lemres and Rinelm both freaked out. They just heard a Zangoose speak english. This was clearly not normal! Rinelm got up and looked directly at Lemres. "Lemres," he commanded, "Look after the Zangoose for a bit. I need to tell someone else about this."

Rinelm left the room shortly afterward, leaving me and Lemres for the time being. "So, uh..." Lemres pondered, "you can... speak?" I lowly replied, "Apparently..." I was as confused as he was. I've been just saying my species name over and over again for 10 years, but just now, I can speak fluent English? Lemres asked "How... how is this possible?" but I couldn't answer. I didn't know the answer.

"Okay then... What's your name?"

"Uh... Moon Snail?"

"Moon Snail! I like that name!"

Lemres and I started to become friends. Very strange friends, sure, but still friends. Talking like a human was weird, but it certainly felt nice. "You like sweet food, right?" Lemres asked. I nodded in response. "So do I! Wanna try some of my sweets?" I nodded enthusiastically. He handed me a donut. I was a bit confused by it, since it didn't look like a berry at all, but I ate it anyway. It tasted amazing! I bet it was made by Lemres' own hands. "You like it?" he beckoned. I nodded, my mouth still full.

"I can see you getting along with the class quite well."

Rinelm met up with the student Udel, who was a good expert on the biology of Pokémon. Heck, I bet he's what helped Rinelm learn how to take care of me. "Udel, I hate to bother you in the middle of class," they peeped, "but I have some... interesting things to say, regarding the Zangoose." Udel nodded amd followed them into the halls. "So uh..." they faltered, "The Zangoose... he's recovering quite well..." "Well, what's the problem, then?" beckoned Udel.

"But... he can talk now."

Udel just scratched his head and sighed. "You must be talking out of your forklift pantry, Rinelm!" he monotoned, "Pokémon can't talk, everyone knows that."

"But this one can! That's the oddity!"

"I don't believe you..."

"Well, seeing is believing. Lemme show you."

Shortly afterwards, the two entered the room Lemres and I were in. Udel slowly walked up to me. "Well," Rinelm prompted, "talk to him!" He crouched down to my level, and hesitated a bit before saying "Hello, Zangoose." I responded with "Heya!" Udel looked incredibly shocked, as to be expected. "You're not lying..." he marveled. Rinelm nodded. "Do you have any idea why this happened?" they asked.

Udel thought for a bit, but came up with a thesis. "Has any other Pokémon entered the school?" he asked. "Well, not that I know of..." they responded. "Then perhaps the magic we used got to his head, giving him human intelligence," he concluded.

"That doesn't sound too far-fetched. Perhaps if we find another Pokémon, we can test this thesis."

"Yeah, THEN it'll sound Farfetch'd."

Rinelm groaned. "Welp, shall we look for one?" they suggested. Udel nodded, and they both walked out of the building. I looked out the window to see what they were doing. Udel was placing down berries to bait out a Pokémon. He put down a Pecha berry, a Rawst berry, and a Leppa berry. With that last berry, none other than my friend Flametail walked out to eat it. Udel captured him with a Quick ball.

The two walked back inside and into my room. Udel dropped the Quick ball and let out Flametail. "So, Lemres, care to help us?" they both requested. Lemres nodded. "Should I cast another healing spell?" he asked. "Right on," they answered. The three all casted a healing spell on the Quilava for as long as they could hold it. Udel faced him and asked "Can you talk?" Flametail didn't answer. "Perhaps the Zangoose could coax him..."

I walked up to Flametail. "Do you feel anything?" I asked. He answered with "Not that I can tell." He gasped and covered his mouth. "Did... Did I just..." Udel grinned and faced Rinelm. "Looks like we have our answer!" he stated. "Fascinating..." admired Rinelm. Udel set the Quick ball down. "Now that our research is complete," he said, "I guess we can release the Quilava now." Flametail gasped and huddled up against me. "Does the Zangoose... know this one?" Udel pondered. "I'm not gonna bail on my best friend here!" Flametail exclaimed angrily. I felt a bit embarrassed, but I could see that he really wanted to stay. "In that case..." Rinelm declared, "You are free to roam the schoolyard. Just don't burn anything!" Flametail cheered and danced in circles.

I was fascinated by what the wizards were doing. "I wanna try some spells!" I bubbled. Rinelm considered this statement for a bit. "So... you wanna be a student?" they offered. "Yeah! Yeah!" I cheered. "Well then, starting now..." he motioned, "Starting today, you are now an official Sundew student!"

I was so excited! The first ever Pokémon to do spells! Not just moves! Human magical spells! This was gonna be a fantastic time!

But little did I know, it wouldn't have been all perfect...