Cole

Cole was not born like many Pokèmon. They were never a baby and they never had to worry about what they were meant to do. Created with purpose built-in, Cole knew from the moment their conscious booted up, they were meant to watch over the home of their inventor, a Metagross - an eccentric man, kind but so very busy, absolutely absorbed into his work. Maybe to an unhealthy degree but Cole did not recognize this, it was all they'd ever known. The thought had occurred to them briefly how no other people ever seemed to visit and their inventor never answered his phone but they didn't think much of this either. Though Cole worked, they did not get tired and they conversed with their inventor regularly. They learned about reading, writing, chess - it was all very fun! Occasionally, they saw he would let slip bouts of sadness, of things he missed - people he missed. Cole would ask about it but he would only laugh and pat their head, tell them it was nothing they needed to concern themself with. And so they did not!

Years passed, the longer they existed, the more their joints rusted and creaked but he was always there to fix them up good as new! Unfortunately, his body was a machine far more nuanced than theirs and when it started to break down, they felt helpless to repair it. Tending the garden turned to prepare meals, helping him up out of bed in the morning and down the steps. Eventually, they got rid of the steps altogether and moved his workshop to ground level.

But then something miraculous happened! Another person arrived at the door, a young man that looked quite a lot like their inventor! He asked a lot of questions, Cole allowed him in. They'd not seen their inventor cry before that day but after it, the boy did not leave. A second person in the house - a new person from the outside to talk to! It was all Cole wanted to do, he had so much to say and they loved to listen to it - even losing track of time and falling out of their schedule sometimes, something that never happened for them! Their inventor must have seen how excited they were. He must have been thinking about a lot. Cole tried to console him. He seemed to appreciate it, one day handing them a pamphlet for - an island?

The inventor gave them an offer, an option. It was one that Cole did not understand. He seemed sad. Cole could not fix it, just like they could not fix his bedridden body. That made Cole... sad. He tried to explain to them, apologize to them - he felt he had been holding them back, saw how excited they had been to learn about the outside world. It made them happy when he told them he cared about them very much. They were not sure how they felt when he told them they could go. Go to that island - step out somewhere small and safe to start to get a feel for the world. They were not certain. Who would take care of him? Help him? His son would, and they could call when they wanted to, come back any time if they decided they wanted to. What did they want? They asked him but he said he would not answer that for them anymore.

And so, for the first time, Cole decided what they wanted. And they wanted to go out and see the world!