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Izuku's sandals hit the pavement roughly, making a little pap, pap, pap sound as he ran.
He didn't understand why Kacchan was being so mean all of a sudden. It was like one day they were best friends, and the next Kacchan thought he was, what did Kacchan say? 'As useless as a Basculin in a dessert?'
Why would his best friend say something like that? And why did all of the other kids laugh? And why didn't the teacher say anything? Wasn't she supposed to tell Kacchan he was being mean, to make him stop calling Izuku super mean names, to make Izuku feel better and stop crying?
He didn't understand at all, so Izuku ran.
No-one stopped him from running away from the playground his school group was at.
He ran as long as he could, until his legs got tired and sore, so he stopped. He had stopped in a place he didn't recognize at all. The crumbling, graffiti-coated buildings surrounding the boy made him cry a little more, tears leaking out of his already red-rimmed eyes.
He didn't want to get attacked by any wild Pokémon
or bullies
roaming the streets.
It was getting dark out. He wanted to go home to his Champion Cynthia-plastered room and All Might-themed bedspread. He wanted his momma's warm hugs and tasty food and soft smiles and her ' don't worry, Izu, it'll all be okay, mama's here .' He wished he had remembered to charge his phone before school so he could call his momma.
Most of all, he wanted to know why Kacchan was being so mean to him for no reason at all- was it because Izuku didn't have a Pokémon or a Quirk yet? Why was that so bad? What was wrong with being a late bloomer, or having trouble with finding a partner? Kacchan's Cyndaquil burned him just like Kacchan's Quirk did, his Ember and Scratch mixed with Kacchan's Explosion making Izuku have to take up the nurse's time at least once a week, now even more often. So it should've been fine that Izuku didn't have either.
…it probably was that, huh? Izuku knew he was a smart child, especially for a five-year-old- his mama and teachers told him all the time. He was surprised it took him this long to figure this out.
Izuku's cries turned into heartbroken sobs as the sky darkened further, the stars in the sky obscured by the smog of the city.
…and then-
"Mikyu?"
A quiet, curious chirp seeming to come from the dumpster next to him startled Izuku out of his fugue. He held very still, not making a single sound. Izuku, like every other child, knew that while Pokémon were amazingly cool and could be super friendly, many were still wild animals and shouldn't be messed with.
"Kyu, mimikyu. Mikyu…" The Pokémon chattered, an eerie aura emanating from the unseen creature.
Then, with the quiet sound of fabric shuffling against the ground, the Pokémon emerged.
A bobbling head atop a soft yellow-colored cloth body, adorned with painted-on cheeks and a jagged smile. Something dark and flowy peeked out from under the fabric, the rest of the creature obscured by the worn-looking disguise. Izuku had never seen a Pokémon like this before, not even in the countless books and videos he'd consumed in the hopes of gaining a Pokémon partner of his own.
One of its… limbs? Reached out to snag a half-eaten Persim berry out of a torn garbage bag hanging out of the dumpster, still not spotting Izuku's frozen form. It pulled the berry under its cloak, and ate it. Or at least, it sounded like it ate it from all the chewing noises the creature made. The seed in the middle was spat out, and the Pokémon attempted to scavenge another snack out of the garbage bag.
It was there that Izuku made a fatal mistake.
The young boy attempted to pull out his phone to look up what the unfamiliar Pokémon species was, when it fell out of his hands and clattered to the ground.
The Pokémon's head jerked in Izuku's direction almost unnaturally, the two of them staring at each other- one in fear, the other in… something. The creature's emotions were unreadable underneath its cloth body.
It shifted, its head tilting to the side as it made another strange chirping sound. "Kyu? Mimi?" It seemed to ask.
What was it saying?
"I-I'm sorry," Izuku stuttered out, his clammy, tear-slick hands trying and failing to pick up the phone again. "I d-don't u-u-understand what y-you're trying t-to ask…"
The Pokémon chirruped again, seeming to see that he didn't understand its… language. "Mimikyu? Mikyu… kyu, mimi…"
A dark appendage slithered toward the young child's hand, the rest of his body stock-still, teary eyes closed in anticipation of another attack-
The claw-like hand-thing grasped his fingers and held them gently, the texture smoother and cooler than Izuku would think. The Pokémon let out a soft croon, as if trying to get him to calm down, stroking his wild green curls with more shadowy claws as the child cried.
Minutes later, Izuku felt much better than he had all week. "Thank you, mystery Pokémon… I'm sorry you had to do this f-for me… I'm such a crybaby." He self-depricated, rubbing his tender eyes.
A shadow-limb smacked him in the face, not hard enough to hurt but just enough to snap him out of the oncoming spiral. "Mi, mimi kyu! Mimi!" The Pokémon shouted.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head with a hand, apologizing. "S-sorry, I-"
Another smack!
"A-ah, alright… I w-wont say sorry then, mystery Pokémon!" The five-year-old said brightly. The Pokémon seemed happy at this, and continued foraging for food in the garbage.
Then, Izuku had a thought.
"U-um, if you w-want, my momma makes s-some really tasty P-Pokémon food… and we also have a bunch of berries in the fridge… so you don't have to d-dig through garbage to eat? So, u-umm, would you… l-like to come with me to my house? If you want, you don't h-have to, why did I even ask-"
The Pokémon smacked his forehead, then made another chirp, this one sounding more like an agreement. "Kyu, kyuu!" Its head wobbled, the long 'ears' of the costume flopping back and forth with the movement.
Izuku smiled, standing and wiping the leftover tears from his eyes. His hand was still being held by the soft, cool shadows of the creature. Then he realized- he had no idea what Pokémon this was! Ms. Kurana always said that it's polite to ask for someone's name, how could he be so rude!
"Hey, u-um, what's your name?" He asked the Pokémon nervously. "I-I'm Izuku, M-Midoriya Izuku."
"Mi, Mimikyu!" The Pokémon chirped in response.
"Oh, are you a… 'Mimikyu?'" Izuku asked. The Pokémon bobbed its head, making the child smile. "It's really nice to meet you Mimikyu! I've never been so close to a wild Pokémon before… you're super friendly!" The boy chattered.
He remembered- he still had to get home! Momma was probably so scared, her partner Kirlia too!
Izuku looked around, recognizing even less of the area in the dark.
"M-Mimikyu, d-d-do you know any m-moves that can m-make light? It's really d-dark, I-I can't see anything…" He asked, trepidation in his small voice.
The Pokémon seemed to think for a moment, before conjuring a small, azure flame in its claws- Will-o-Wisp, Izuku recognized. "Th-thank you v-very m-m-much! Now we can go home!" The boy smiled.
…
The two meandered their way toward more familiar territory, the Mimikyu lighting Izuku's way. It took longer than it would have in daylight, but eventually the newly-formed duo made it back to the Midoriya family home.
Izuku's small knock was answered by his mother frantically ripping the door open, immediately pulling her son into a hug so tight he could hardly breathe.
"M-momma! I can't breathe!" The boy wheezed, his Pokémon friend chirruping angrily at his mother.
"Ahh, Izu! I was so worried, where were you?! It's nearly midnight, where have you been?!" The woman shrieked, hurriedly scanning over her son's entire body, looking for any scrapes or bruises.
Izuku nervously gulped. "U-umm, I j-just w-w-wanted to go for a w-walk, b-b-but I g-got l-l-lost… I made a f-friend th-though!" He said, a smile stretched across his freckled cheeks.
The Mimikyu made itself known then, clinging to the leg of Izuku's shorts with a shadow-limb and making an odd humming noise. "Mim… Mikyu?"
"Oh my Dragons , you finally found a Pokémon partner, Izuku! I'm so happy for you!" Inko burst into tears at this, embracing her son and the Pokémon.
Izuku gaped. He didn't even think about that! Would Mimikyu even want a partner, let alone one
as useless as
like him?
…
So he asked, once his mother pulled away and led the two inside, Izuku retreating to his room with his newfound friend.
They sat on his All Might comforter, the Regional Champion Cynthia pillows making a comfy cushion for the Pokémon.
"Mimikyu, c-can I ask you a q-question?" The child stuttered.
"Mikyu?" Chirped the Pokémon.
"Umm… w-would you, maybe… like… like-tobemypartner!" He blurted.
The Pokémon didn't say (or chirp) anything, so Izuku continued.
"I-I've never met a P-Pokémon like y-you, y-y-you're s-so friendly and y-you l-like me, and I-I… P-Pokémon d-d-don't really l-like me a l-lot, so I just w-wanted to a-ask… y-you don't have t-to… t-t-to…"
The boy trailed off as Mimikyu wrapped him in darkness, imitating the hug Inko had given him. "Mim! Mimikyu!" It chirped enthusiastically. "Mikyu! Mi, Mi-Mikyu!"
"Y-y-you… y-you do?"
The Pokémon bobbed its bulbous head in response, and Izuku burst into happy tears, hugging his new partner back.
"Th-thank y-y-you! Th-thank y-you so m-m-much Mimikyu!" He cried. "I p-promise I'll be the b-b-best t-trainer ever , f-for you!"
…
The next morning, Inko's Kirlia found the duo sleeping in Izuku's bed, curled around each other in his comforter, the ghost-type purring in its sleep.
She smiled, and let them sleep in a bit longer.
…
Thus, an unlikely bond was formed between the two outcasts, beginning the boy and the ghost's unwavering friendship that would carry on throughout their journey.
And so, the start of Izuku's Pokémon journey began.