Zorua's Silence

There once was a mother who had lost her child. His name had been Zach, and he was only four years old when he disappeared into the Pinwheel forest. His mother was distraught and searched for him day and night for nearly twenty years. Her husband had left her, claiming he couldn't live with a woman stuck in the past. He told her that he missed Zach just as much as she did, but they both needed to move on. He'd been missing for twenty years, after all, and the man was lonely and sad. But the mother didn't pay any attention. She let him go without a word, only continued to stare out the window of her small apartment in Castelia city.

Her friends sometimes visited. They sat on the couch and watched her, sharing hushed words every so often. Many times they tried to draw her away from the window, but she would simply look at them, eyes glazed and far away, and say "No, I'll stay here. Zach will be coming soon and I don't want to miss him." Worried and defeated, the mother's friends would leave, promising to visit again soon.

Then one day a tiny knock came at the door. The mother rose from her chair and went to answer it, fervently hoping it was her lost son, returned from his playing in Pinwheel forest. She opened the door and looked down on a small child. His hair was red, his skin was grey, and he had a small, fluffy tail, but he looked like her dear, lost Zach. The mother snatched the boy up, crying and scolding and laughing all at once. She had lost all concept of time long ago, and the fact that it had taken twenty years for her child to return and he was still very small didn't make any impact on her joy at seeing him. Her four year old son had returned.

The mother sat Zach on the couch and told him to wait there while she made him a sandwich, then she watched him eat and watch cartoons with all the love in the world. The sun sank below the horizon and the mother put Zach to bed, kissing him on the top of his head and telling him to have the sweetest dreams. She turned out the light and went to her own bed for the first time in twenty years.

She slept soundly and woke up in a terrific mood, singing as she made breakfast for her darling child. She went to the dining room with a plate of scrambled eggs in her hands, and Zach was waiting for her, a wide grin on his face.

"Hello, my dear," she said cheerfully to him, setting down the plate. "Look. I made you breakfast."

Zach didn't say anything, but simply tilted his head to the side. The grin on his face stretched even wider, and his bushy tail flicked from side to side. Mischief flared in his green eyes.

---

The mother's friends came by later and knocked on the door. When they didn't get an answer, they went in to see what was wrong. One of the friends, who was from Nuvema, had brought her young daughter, a new trainer with two Pokemon and a Pokedex. She had been thinking that maybe her little girl could tell the mother stories of her travels and cheer her up.

They searched the entire apartment, but only found a small, foxlike Pokemon. It was grey, with red tufts of fur and green eyes. It smiled at them mischievously and yipped. Excited to see a new Pokemon, the young trainer knelt down in front of it and pulled her Pokedex out of her backpack. It buzzed, and an automatic voice began to speak:

''Zorua - It changes into the forms of others to surprise them. Apparently, it often transforms into a silent child.''