Hey there- thanks for giving the story a chance. I'm aware that it starts out pretty dang slow... but that's how the game operates, eh? I swear the sass and hopefully your enjoyment picks up as the story continues. Hope you enjoy!
The elevator slowed to a halt, hardly making a sound. Its lone passenger scanned the area, praying she wasn't noticed. The ambiance was no more than a gentle trickle of water and an occasional Pokémon call.
She breathed deeply, and with trepidation, began to walk forward.
Her shoes clunked softly against the floor, seeming thunderous to her now. She cast her gaze down, a large white hat shielding her eyes from view. If she just kept walking, quietly… she'd make it out, unnoticed.
At her side, the duffle bag tremored. The girl risked giving it a comforting pat.
"Don't worry," she whispered, "We're almost there. You'll be alright, Nebby…"
The path began to curve, so she set a hand on the railing on the side, steadying her nerves.
Just a little bit further…
Hurried footsteps broke her out of the calm state, and she couldn't help but turn.
"There she is!" A man shouted, joined by another, "After her!"
The girl gasped, clutching at the bag's strap. Frozen, she could only stare. When the men were within a few feet, she was able to force herself into a desperate run.
"Get back here!" they shouted, making her heart hammer even faster inside her chest. She bolted down the winding paths, so quickly that she lost her sense of direction. There was a fork, she went left—the men were gaining on her.
She skidded to a halt with a cry; a man blocked her path.
He smirked, "And where are you going?"
The girl backtracked a few steps, only for any route of escape to be blocked by other two pursuing her.
She looked back in forth between the two groups, but neither prepared to relent. Instead, they closed in.
"N—No—" She clutched the bag close to herself, shaking madly, "Please—"
One of the men seemed to laugh at her helplessness, and the girl realized she had no chance.
The bag moved even more violently than before, and suddenly, began to radiate a brilliant blue light. The girl watched in amazement, and the men retreated in confusion.
"What is that?" one barked, "What are you doing?"
The girl shook her head vigorously, "I-I don't know—"
A noise like an explosion crescendoed with the light, and then, it burst in a blinding spectrum.
The men shielded their eyes, and by the time they looked back, the path was empty.
The girl, and whatever she had hidden in her bag, was long gone.
-Three months later-
Ms. Mercer stretched, drawing in a deep breath of the island air.
"Ahhh, could anything be more invigorating?" she crooned, "The very first morning under Alola's bright sun!"
Behind her, a meowth squinted, then rubbed at his eyes with a paw.
"Mrrrow," he seemed to disagree, half blinded.
Ms. Mercer laughed, "I'm sure you'll get used to it, Milo!" She turned back to the edge of the wooden porch, facing the scenery with a blissful beam, "I feel like I could stay out here for hours!"
Milo yawned lazily, matching her enthusiasm to the best of his ability.
"Well, that's enough of that—there's unpacking to do!" Ms. Mercer turned back to the meowth, "Milo, go wake up Zayne for me, will you?"
Caught in the middle of a satisfying stretch, he looked annoyed. But soon, an evil glint entered his eyes.
Without any evidence of urgency, Milo strolled into the house, packed with cardboard boxes and bare furniture. A door was cracked open, allowing him access to the brief stairway beyond. He silently stalked up them, whiskers twitching in anticipation. This was his favorite way to start the day.
Milo entered the dark bedroom, curtains snuffing out any sunlight that attempted to permeate it. Against the far wall stood a bed, and on it, a lump was stirring slightly.
"Mrow!" Milo announced boisterously, his head held high with pride.
The lump groaned, and pulled the blanket tighter to itself.
Milo grinned—he would not be dissuaded quite so easily.
Ignored by the meowth, a large shadow in one of the room's corners made a motion with its hand—the curtains flew open with a swift snap, and the light shone in without pardon.
With another more aggravated groan, the lump retreated into a tight ball, completely concealed beneath the quilt. It seemed as if refused to budge, regardless of any measure taken.
But Milo had an ace up his metaphorical sleeve. Lowering to all fours, he crept to the bedside, a predatory purr rumbling in his throat. His tail quivered, fur bristling on end.
Then, he leapt into the air, claws flashing.
"Mrrrrrawwwwrrr!" was his battle cry as he landed squarely on the lump, making every attempt to pin the claws into something soft and vulnerable.
"Ow!" Zayne snapped, throwing off the quilt and sending the meowth flying, "Dammit Milo!"
He landed nimbly, and offered only a smug smile back at her.
"Meow?" he inquired sweetly, his face a mask of innocence.
Zayne hurled a pillow, "Get out of here!"
Milo dodged the projectile with ease, trotting out. But before he left, he stopped at a large Ditto plush beside the door. Looking directly at Zayne, as if inviting her to stop him, he raked a set of claws across it.
"Milo!" she threatened, only to be met with a series of chirps as the meowth scurried to safety.
Zayne growled, rubbing the crust out of her eyes, "I hate that little..." She spotted the still figure in the corner, "Thanks for you help, jerk."
The hypno let out a breath, a scoff of sorts, and shrugged in a "What are you gonna do?" manner.
She scrunched up her face in displeasure, and with a huff and screech of bedsprings, returned to the lazy comfort of her bed.
"Zayne!" her mother called in a musical, cheery tone, "Time to wake up, dear!"
It took a grueling three minutes, but by then, Zayne had hung her legs over the side of the bed. She slouched drastically.
After a moment of inactivity, the hypno "tsked," making her glance up.
"What?"
He simply pointed up to the clock, indicating the late hour of the morning.
"So?"
Her short prompts were only met with a passive shrug. But rather than leave it at that, he took the extra effort to slide forth her eevee slippers.
Zayne smirked, "Thanks Sigmund."
He nodded.
She rolled tiredly to her feet, sliding into the slippers in the process. With a yawn, she gestured for Sigmund to follow her.
"Come on. If I don't get to hide in here all day, neither do you."
Sigmund followed her without protest.
Zayne trudged into the hall, past the spare bedroom, nearly stumbling down the pitiful stairs, and into the living room. She paid little mind to the boxes, packed with the dismembered building blocks of their previous home.
Milo was reigning supreme on a dining room chair, massaging his chairs into the cushion.
"Knock it off," she muttered, shooing him with a hand, "Get."
He hissed his refusal, raking them in deeper.
"Milo, get off—"
"Oh, now what is my little purr baby doing?"
Ms. Mercer entered from the outside patio, smiling as always. It widened when she saw Zayne in all of her disheveled glory.
"Well good morning, sunshine!" She walked forward to hug her daughter, "I didn't expect you to be up this early!"
"Uh-huh." Zayne was immobilized by the embrace, "…What time even is it?"
"Well, it's 11:30—but it's early for you, isn't it?" Once she was satisfied, she knelt down to trap Sigmund in the same manner, "Good morning, Sigmund! How are you today?"
He looked to Zayne, imploring her to interpret for him.
"He says he's good." She offered a quick breath as a laugh, "Didn't sleep though."
Ms. Mercer gave the both of them a knowing smile, understanding the joke.
"Very funny, you two," she said, "Ever since he's been a part of the family, Sigmund hasn't slept a wink—kinda like me, once I became a mother!" She laughed at her own joke.
Zayne just rolled her eyes, "Mm-hm."
Ms. Mercer picked up the now purring meowth and began to scratch his chin affectionately.
"There's my furry little Milo baby," she cooed, "Who's my fluffy baby? You are! Yes you are!"
"He tried to claw my flesh off, a second ago."
"I'm sure he was just playing," her mother assured, "Milo loves you!"
He gave Zayne a smug look.
She glared at him, "The feeling isn't mutual."
Ms. Mercer laughed off the harsh comment and changed the subject, "Aren't you excited, dear?"
"About?"
"About our new home, silly! About all the fun you'll have here in Alola! It's the place everyone is vying to be, you know—a big draw for tourists from all over! Just think about all the new friends you'll make, the new Pokémon you'll meet—it's all so exciting!"
"Yeah," was all Zayne offered, "I bet."
The doorbell rang, catching them both by surprise.
"Oh? I wonder who that is?" She set Milo down on the floor, "Will you get that, Zayne?"
She obeyed without comment, heading towards the door—
—only for it to swing open well before she got there.
"Alola, Mercers!" a man shouted, grinning from ear to ear. He entered, passing Zayne along the way.
Uh. Come in, she internally said. Apparently, he hadn't needed an invitation.
Ms. Mercer matched his smile, "Alola, Professor Kukui!"
This region's professor? Zayne hadn't taken much time to look at him when he'd entered, so she glanced up to do so.
"Alola, cousin!" he greeted, slapping her on the back, "You must be Zayne, yeah?"
Two things rendered her speechless. The first was the slap on the back; it was probably not as gentle as intended. In fact, he'd succeeded in knocking a good half of the air from her lungs.
The second was slightly less jarring, but only just. The professor sported a well-worn white lab coat… and no shirt.
That wasn't to say he necessarily needed one, but…
…
To prevent the fail of her poker face, Zayne managed to force out a low "Yeah."
Kukui put a hand on her shoulder, jostling her in a friendly manner, "The jet lag hitting you, coming all the way from Kanto?"
It's apparently not the only thing hitting me.
"Just a bit," Ms. Mercer answered for her, "We arrived yesterday."
"Yeah? Hope you don't mind me letting myself in like that, Mom—and you can just call me Kukui, yeah? We're all family here in Alola!"
Zayne narrowed her eyes at the excessively friendly tone. Her eyes flicked to the professor's hands to test her suspicions: silver ring on the fourth finger. Looked like a wedding ring. Hopefully her mother's own ring would prevent any… misunderstandings.
Her mother seemed oblivious to Zayne's sudden standoffish mood, "Of course! Why, I still remember seeing you battle the Indigo Gym Leaders back in Kanto all those years ago, you know! I've been in love with Alolan Pokémon ever since, so I finally decided to come here myself!"
"Oh yeah," Zayne added, "I remember that." Her smirk widened a bit, "Didn't do as well as you thought you would, huh?"
Kukui wasn't offended like she'd half hoped: in fact, he laughed.
"Ha! If you wanna put it nicely! I was supposed to be there researching Kanto moves and all! Thought I knew a thing or two about battling, but those guys proved me wrong!"
Okay, now *that's* putting it nicely. I watched you get your ass handed to you, dude.
"But hey now, I stopped on by to get you, Zayne," he said, changing the subject, "We gotta shake a leg and get to the next town over—the Island Kahuna's waiting to meet you."
The heck is a kahuna? was the question that came to mind, but the one she verbalized was "Why?"
"Nah, I ain't spoiling it for you! You gotta come with me and find out for yourself—" He stopped short, glancing down at her in full, "That is, maybe after you've ditched the fuzzy slippers, yeah?"
She felt a rush of blood to her cheeks, and attempted to cover it with sarcasm, "Nah, I was thinking of keeping them. Adds to the whole "just woke up" vibe."
Kukui just laughed, "You're not wrong."
Zayne left the living room, shutting her bedroom door swiftly behind her to change.
Her mother had gone ahead and bought them new clothes from the region—so they could "fit in," as she explained. Zayne hadn't even bothered to look at them.
She threw on clothes, then took a second to see herself over. Her face contorted in… unease.
"Dear god, why is this so short?" She tugged at the green shorts, but they fell back into place in the upper half of her thighs. The islandy shirt was large and baggy, tied in the front, though it wasn't quite big enough to hide the embarrassingly short shorts. It was also yellow, covered in colorful flowers.
She was not a fan of yellow.
"Why."
The shoes were fine. She ditched the purse for her usual black backpack. Because she wanted to carry things larger than a single cylinder of chapstick.
There was something weird and red at the bottom of one of the boxes; she took it out to examine it.
"… Is this supposed to be some sort of hat?" she muttered aloud, and tried it on—only to immediately remove it.
"It's a giant flower," she commented, "How about no."
She ran hands through her hair instead of brushing it, and looked at herself a final time.
"Good enough."
She left her room and headed towards the living room, but paused before entering. Kukui and her mother were talking, so she hung back to see what she'd hear.
"So he'd simply give my girl a Pokémon?"
"I'd put money on it, yeah! Usually it's for kids who wanna get their first Pokémon and start their island challenge and all, but I'm thinking old Hala wouldn't have a problem with it."
Zayne frowned, Mom, no. I told you I don't want—
"Hey! So this is a Kanto hypno, right? How you doing, cousin?"
Touch my hypno and you are dead.
"Yes, this is Zayne's Pokémon, Sigmund! He was her starter."
"Yeah? Pretty cool first choice—kinda off the wall from the Kanto starters, isn't he?"
"Oh, that's a long story— There you are, Zayne! I thought maybe you'd gone back to bed!"
She trudged out of the hallway, doing her best to stuff her hands in the insultingly small pockets.
Professor Kukui was playing with Milo, who was putting on a friendly façade for company. Sigmund stood nearby, having seen her long before she entered. He stared at her, already knowing what was on her mind. She didn't acknowledge it.
"Well, don't you look ready to take on the world!" Ms. Mercer beamed at her, "I'll be sure to have everything unpacked and cleaned up by the time you come back."
The mountains of boxes made her doubtful, "Sure mom."
Kukui let Milo roll out of his lap, brushing off the excessive meowth fur as he stood, "Looking stylin', cousin! Let's get going to Iki Town, yeah?"
"Sure." She nodded back to Sigmund, "C'mon Sig."
Ms. Mercer followed them all the way to the door, waving them off.
"Bye sweetie! Love you!"
Zayne offered a brief wave, not looking back.
The moment she stepped off the porch, she squinted in the bright light. The surrounding area was radiantly green with all sorts of plants, the heat from the high sun as overbearing as its light.
Kukui had headed towards a path to the right, so she followed after him without picking up her pace.
He stopped where the path began, waiting for her to catch up to him.
"Your mom sure is excited about you getting out of the house, huh?" he joked.
"Yep."
"How's this place compare to Kanto? Weather wise?"
Zayne tugged at the strap of her backpack, mostly avoiding his eyes, "Hot."
"Ain't that the truth—once the breeze gets going, you won't even notice." He readjusted the brim of his hat, "Let's cut up through here to get to Iki Town, yeah? We wanna get there before night!"
Regardless, her pace remained the same. Sigmund kept at her side, looking less at the scenery than he was up at her.
She caught the focus, "What?"
He shrugged.
"Yeah. It's different, huh?" Zayne kicked at the dirt path, lowering her voice, "What were mom and him talking about a new Pokémon?"
It was expected—he frowned at her, knowing the question could very well lead to complaining.
She made a gesture with her hands, in defense, "Fine, I'll leave it alone."
Kukui had slowed down considerably, not wanting to walk several feet ahead of her.
"I met Sigmund, there," he said, "We got some drowzee and hypno here in Alola, too. They like to keep to themselves mostly, and laze around: heard they're pretty scary deals in Kanto?"
"Yeah, kidnapping kids and all," she answered.
"Yikes." He grinned nonetheless, "Nah, our hypno don't do much of that. We got a whole 'nother slew of Pokémon to terrify people."
She doubted he was joking, "Yippee."
As they neared another branch in the path, a young boy ran up to Kukui, practically bounding forward.
"Oh yeah, look there!" He gave the kid a hair ruffle, "What'cha need, trainer?"
"Professor! Professor! Can you recommend another new Pokémon move for me sometime?" The boy hopped eagerly, "Please?"
Kukui bent down to see the kid eye to eye, "Why? You already know which moves you wanna use, yeah?"
"Sorta… Lassie should learn bite in a little while!"
"See? You already got a plan! So you come battle me when you've got that move down, yeah?"
"Okay! I'll do that!" The boy ran off with a smile.
Zayne raised an eyebrow, Is everyone in Alola this obnoxiously cheery?
Sigmund gave her a look. It was supposed to be chastising, but she knew in a sense, he agreed.
Finally, after ascending a set of stone steps, they made it to something resembling a town. It was small, filled with a few sparse houses, centered around a square wooden deck: an arena of sorts. Behind the town was an enormous, dense forest.
"Here's Iki Town for you!" Kukui introduced, "This is the town where folks come to worship the Guardian Deity that watches over Melemele Island: Tapu Koko."
That's new. Guardian Deity?
Instead of explaining, Kukui seemed to be searching around for something that wasn't there.
"Huh? What's going on here?" He looked around a bit more, "We were supposed to meet everybody right here, yeah." Kukui crossed his arms, thinking, "Might be back on Mahalo. Huh."
Kukui turned back to face her, "Hey Zayne, how about you do me a solid and help me find the kahuna? I'll hang back here, to make sure ol' Hala doesn't slip away from us a second time."
"Uh, sure," she unenthusiastically agreed, "His name's Hala?"
"Yeah. You can't miss 'em—he looks just like a kahuna!"
Zayne waited for an actual helpful piece of advice, but got none. She frowned.
"Thanks."
With Sigmund at her side, she walked further into the little village, glancing around without much excitement.
"Small," she mused.
Zayne approached the wooden deck in the center, finding it painted like an area for battling. She tested one of the steps, and finding it sturdy, climbed up on top of it.
Sigmund had stopped at the bottom, staring at something unseen.
She scoffed, thinking she knew what he was implying, "No, I'm not going to try to break it like I did with those crates in the power plant. Jeez."
He shook his head, and pointed back towards the forest. Zayne followed the gesture.
A girl, dressed all in white, was walking up the pathway that cut between the trees. After a few steps, she nearly stumbled, then steadied a duffle bag that dangled at her side.
Zayne looked back to Sigmund, "What about her?"
He blinked.
"Why the heck do you want me to stalk her?"
Sigmund huffed; she was missing his point.
"You want me to stalk her because she gives you a weird feeling? What the heck are you talking about?"
This was going nowhere. Sigmund walked a few steps towards the trail, then glanced back at her.
"Alright. Not like we have anything better to do, I guess." She rejoined him, "We'll stalk the weird girl."
They approached the head of the trail, and Zayne read the sign next to it: The Ruins of Conflict.
"Nice welcoming name," she commented. She didn't want to admit it, since this wasn't her idea in the first place, but she was curious now. The ominous name only fueled said desire for mischief.
The trail slowly ascended a hill, concealed from the outside by the dense trees. Every few feet, it was bordered on either side by a stone statue. It was cylindrical, with an intimidating face carved in the front.
"I need one of these in my room," she told Sigmund, "Sure-fire way to keep Milo out."
He smirked.
"No, I will not just shut my door. Why would I want to solve a problem so easily?" After she'd made the comment, she added, "Remind me to just shut the damn door, tonight."
As they walked on, Zayne spotted the tail end of a white dress, rounding a bend in the trail.
"…you can't come out! We'll get in trouble if anyone sees you!"
Zayne stopped, but heard nothing else.
"… You hear that?" she asked.
Sigmund nodded.
"I take back what I said about not wanting to stalk her," Zayne told him, "Come on."
By the look on his face, she could tell he was beginning to regret the choice, but he stayed by her nonetheless.
They snuck up the rest of the trail, keeping an eye out for the girl. It wasn't long before they found her; she was standing at the edge of a rickety wooden bridge, suspended over nothingness. She held onto her giant white sunhat, back to them.
"N-no! Nebby!" she cried out towards the bridge. Zayne could spot a few spearow circling around the bridge, screeching and diving towards an unseen target.
Zayne was more interested in the girl, and edged forward slightly, doing her best to be heard without speaking up.
The girl's head turned slightly, then in full to face her.
She had to be younger than Zayne, at least by a year or two. Her long blonde hair was nearly the same color as her white clothing, blending into her pale skin. It all served as a backdrop to her striking green eyes, currently widened in panic.
Zayne just blinked, "… Uh. Hey."
The girl seemed to take a step back, "… Ah…"
"What? I'm not going to bite."
She squeezed the strap of her duffle bag, "…H-help… Please! Save Nebby!"
"Nebby?"
The girl stepped aside to reveal the bridge in full. Near the center, a small blue Pokémon Zayne had never seen before was huddled in fear, crying out. The spearow were dive bombing it relentlessly, making it flinch away, though it didn't attack.
Zayne cocked her head, "What the heck is that?"
"P-please!" the girl insisted, "I-I'm too afraid to go out there!"
"Alright," she responded passively, approaching the bridge- then she actually examined it.
Indeed, the bridge appeared less than reliable. Wooden planks were askew or missing altogether in some places. The water below was rushing quickly, interrupted by large, jagged rocks.
"… Well then." Zayne was beginning to have second thoughts, "Um…"
Sigmund had taken a single step out onto the bridge before Zayne grabbed his arm.
"Whoa whoa, hey!" she shouted, "Where do you think you're going? I'll do it."
He huffed in disagreement.
"No you do not weigh less than I do," she retorted, "Don't try that."
Sigmund frowned, then made a recognizable gesture with his hands.
"Fine." Zayne sat cross-legged before him, "It's one-two-three-shoot, got it?"
The girl was standing behind them, confused, "Um—"
"Hold on," Zayne shot back, eyes never leaving the hypno, "Alright: rock, paper, scissors, shoot—goddammit."
He started to stand before she stopped him again.
"Best two out of three."
Sigmund rolled his eyes, not bothering to sit again; he beat her a second time.
Suddenly, something clicked in Zayne's mind.
"Wait a minute—you're using your powers to cheat, aren't you?" she accused. Without waiting for his response, she took matters into her own hands and approached the bridge.
Zayne took a step… and it held.
So she took another. Then another. Then a few more.
Only when her confidence returned did the first plank creak under her weight.
Zayne hopped back, heart leaping into her throat. She became acutely aware of the myriad of rocks below. Any one of them would easily impale her head or chest, if she plummeted just right.
"Oooooookay then," she breathed, "How about we just step over that plank there…"
The next was sturdy like the rest, but she didn't let her guard down again.
Her pace slowed significantly, tension rising with each step that didn't result in a fall. The faulty plank that would kill her was there somewhere, she was sure of it.
Why the hell am I even doing this? she internally groaned, It's *her* weird Pokémon, she can save it herself.
"D-don't fall!" the girl called out, rooted to the solid ground before the bridge.
Zayne couldn't help but shoot a glare back, "Thanks for the tip!"
Sigmund was clutching one of the bridge's posts like a lifeline—he looked like his heart was about to give out. Zayne offered him an unconvincing smile, then continued to walk.
As she neared the commotion, the spearow showed no sign of letting up their attack. Zayne held onto the bridge's wooden handrails, then lowered to a knee. She held out a hand to the blue Pokémon, beckoning it forward.
"C'mere, buddy," she tried to coax, "I'll getcha out of here."
It tried to obey, but was dissuaded by a swooping spearow, and backed into its former place.
Zayne growled, "Oh for the love of—" She considered cutting her losses and returning to the beginning of the bridge. But instead, with another growl, she released the bridge's handrail.
She crawled forward, on hands and knees, just evading the spearow's talons. She could distinctly hear planks creaking and groaning under the movement, but willingly ignored it. Once she was within arm's reach, Zayne swept up the Pokemon, holding it beneath her.
The spearow refused to relent—they just chose a new target.
Zayne felt a slash across the back of her neck, making her flinch.
"Hey!" She swatted at a diving spearow, "Back off!"
The entire bridge rollicked, and Zayne tucked in her head protectively.
"Shit shit shit…." She whispered. What the hell now?! I'm not crawling back with these things trying to gouge my eyes out!
She was struck again, and again. The entire flock of spearow prepared for another onslaught of attacks.
The felt the bridge begin to tremor lowly, then more severely. A bright light had begun to shine from the Pokémon beneath her, making Zayne start to roll off it in shock.
"What the hell—"
With a sudden burst, the light exploded—as did the surrounding section of the bridge.
It happened within seconds; first there were planks beneath her, then there weren't. She was free-falling.
Zayne's mind rushed to preserve itself in any way possible: pointless grabbling for aid, flailing. There was nothing.
The only conscious action she had time to take was to reach out and take hold of the blue Pokémon, pulling it to her chest protectively. She twisted in the air, trying to turn onto her back, but only made it to her side.
Guess this is it, was the strangely calm thought that entered her mind, If I could do it all again… guess I'd help less people. Since this is what did me in, apparently.
Why couldn't I have died in something other than these stupid shorts?
Then, when she was inches from the water, a flash of electricity erupted in the sky. Faster than anyone could track, something bolted down towards Zayne, catching her by the arms, then just as suddenly shot back up into the sky.
The rapid change of direction made her head snap forward, jarring her vision. The next thing she knew, she'd been lowered to the ground, much less dead than she'd expected.
Zayne remained in the fetal position, mind scrambled and rushing to catch up with her.
Sigmund rushed over, planting himself between her and a figure only a few feet away. She had enough sense to glance up at it—and found herself no less confused than before.
It was tall, orange and black, almost feathered, with… a yellow shell for wings? It was hard to describe it any other way. Its eyes stared past Sigmund and bore straight into hers, relentless.
She blinked, unable to speak.
Sigmund wasn't messing around- he held out an arm in front of Zayne, urging the Pokémon to back off. He was fully prepared to fight.
The Pokémon let out a shrill cry, electricity dancing along its body in ribbons. With that it shot into the sky once more, disappearing in a flash.
Zayne blinked a few more times… then lied out across her back.
Sigmund stared down at her, concerned.
"… Dude. I almost died." Her tone was flat, without inflection, "And was saved by a… giant, electric… chicken thing."
The blue Pokémon hopped out of her arms, almost oblivious to the trouble it had caused. Zayne didn't bother to sit up again, staring at the now empty sky.
A moment later, the girl appeared in her line of sight, upside down.
"Are… are you okay?" she asked.
"Fantastic," Zayne answered shortly.
The girl frowned, "… Forgive me. I'm so grateful to you, for helping us out of that—"
"It's fine," she cut off, sitting up, "Don't worry about it."
The blue Pokémon chirped, floating around the two of them.
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" she told the Pokémon, "You tried using your powers again, didn't you? Oh, Nebby… you know what happened the last time you did that."
"Pew!" it replied, interested in other things. It flew up to Sigmund, chirping in quick succession. The hypno eyed it with interest, then offered a wave.
Satisfied, Nebby floated elsewhere, then stopped at a spot on the ground.
"Pew!" It turned to the girl, trying to get her attention, "Pew pew!"
"Did you find something?" she asked, and approached the area herself. She knelt down to pick up the object, concealed from Zayne's view.
Sigmund had helped Zayne to her feet, eyeing her sternly.
"What? I'm fine, aren't I?" she replied, but his expression didn't soften.
The girl moved to stand in front of her, a hand extended.
"Here. I think this stone must belong to you."
It was placed into her hand: a rock. But a shiny rock. It sported the worn-down remnants of an emblem, but not of anything she could recognize. Somehow, it seemed warm.
"… Thanks." She flashed it back at Sigmund, a skeptical expression on her face.
Still determined to be angry with her, he didn't acknowledge it.
"Um, do you think—you could keep this a secret?" the girl hesitantly asked, "I mean, seeing Nebby and all… We could get in a lot of trouble."
Zayne's interest spiked, "Oh yeah? Why?"
The girl seemed to draw into herself, threatened. Her pale cheeks glowed pink.
"Um, I-I—"
Zayne just scoffed, "I'm joking. Yeah, I didn't see anything."
Her reassurance did little good, and the girl called the Pokemon to her, "Nebby, back in the bag."
It offered another pew, unwilling, but did as she asked.
The girl turned on a heel and began to head for the path… but stopped.
She glanced back at Zayne, seeming hesitant again.
"… I… I know it's too much for me to ask this, after all you've already done," she prefaced timidly, "But… do you think you could see us back to the village? I'm worried about more wild Pokémon attacking us, or… or something."
Zayne shrugged, "Sure. Doesn't look like I'll be going the other way, anytime soon." She gestured back to the demolished bridge with a wave.
The girl nodded once, curtly, "Thank you." Without waiting, she turned her back and began to walk forward again.
Sigmund silently rejoined Zayne's side, without looking up at her.
She held up the stone a second time, "You sure you don't wanna see my sparkly rock reward?"
…
"It's cool. Totally worth almost drowning."
…
She reached down to scratch the collar of fur around his neck, something he loved, and he did his best to resist.
"Come on, Sig. Let's finish stalking the girl you wanted us to follow in the first place," she teased.
He huffed, but he complied.
After a few feet, the girl abruptly halted in her tracks.
Zayne followed in suit, saying nothing.
Stilted, the blonde girl spun around, her cheeks renewed with pink.
"Um. And I know you didn't ask. But. Um." She stammered horribly, "B-but—my name is Lillie!"
…
"… Alright. Cool." Zayne raised a few fingers in a wave, "Zayne."
Lillie jerked her head down in a nod, then hurriedly resumed walking.
Zayne and Sigmund shared similar glances, but neither voiced their thoughts aloud. They didn't need to.
Thank you again for reading! I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for the story and characters, so don't hesitate.
