No Going Back
The night air was as salty as the surrounding sea. Drapion stared into the dying flames of the campfire and blinked, watching a single twig escape the heat and burn out on the sand. He sighed, not knowing exactly why. His glance shifted to the rest of team AWD, whom were each curled up on their own makeshift nest. Arbok was coiled into what appeared to be an impossible knot but was actually a very comfortable sleeping position for his snake-like body. His forked tongue occasionally flicked out as heavy breaths were exhaled through his nostrils.
He blinked slowly once more and sat upright as he moved his gaze to his other teammate. The amber tint leaving pools of fiery light on her dark coat and reflecting coldly off of her curved claws. She was laying flat on her belly, the crimson feathers that made up her tail standing up at crooked angles. Two feathers of the same color stood on opposite sides of her face as ears, each bent down as she rested. His eyes trailed along her dark outline that would otherwise be invisible amongst the blackness of the night. His purple fangs curled into a ragged smile.
"My Lady Weavile..."
A memory of another childhood friend arose in his mind and caused his grin to fade. "Friend" wasn't a very good term to use in this case. More of an older role-model. A horribly chosen role-model.
"Hey, Shuppet, wanna go play with Igglybuff and-"
"Who are you talking to?"
"Oh... sorry, Banette..."
After Shuppet had evolved, he grew into a whole new attitude. Being at the end of his evolution chain made him feel special, as though he were better than everyone else in the prairie who was not. Anyone who forgot to address him as "Banette" earned a mental label that made them lower than society itself. Drapion was still a Skorupi in those days. After the incident with Igglybuff and the outlaw Armaldo, though, the two split.
"I broke that kid... I took away his only best friend..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Banette, he was an outlaw..."
"But did you see the way he cried?! I'm so sorry, Igglybuff... So sorry..."
Drapion shut his eyes, the image of his former ghostly friend's tear-stricken face coming back to him once more. What happened to Banette after that, no one ever knew. He must've run away, guilt overflowing him. Being as young as he was at the time, he didn't fight the remorse, he gave in.
As a young Skorupi, Drapion left home as well in search of his friend. He never found Banette, but he did find someone else.
"Hey!" the slightly raspy voice called out. "Can you see me?"
A small pokémon with a dark green coat was waving to him at the top limb of the tree. She waved a clawed paw at him cocked her head to the side. "Can you speak?" she asked.
Skorupi nodded and took a step back to see her better. The dark red of her feathery ear and tail contrasted greatly to the cheery bright shades of the Perfect Apples. She took a great leap down, almost missing her footing but with a spectacular landing nonetheless. Another pokémon slithered out from behind the tree, eyeing Skorupi with his slitted yellow vision. "I'm Sneasel. This my partner, Ekans." she said.
"What'sss up?" her accomplice hissed.
"I-I'm Skorupi..."
Sneasel smiled warmly and held out a clawed hand. She had a single Perfect Apple to him. "May I see that?"
"What?"
"That."
"My stinger?"
"Is that what it's called?"
"Yeah."
"May I see it?"
"I guess..."
He lowered his stinger to her reach and watched as she used it to jab the delicate fruit and suspend it in the air. With one hand, she spun it, using the claws on the other to peel away the vivid skin. The peel was in one long curly piece that fell on Skorupi's head. He used his tongue to pull it into his mouth and savor the sweet flavor. Sneasel used her claws to slice the apple evenly into nine pieces. "Why did you come here?" she asked.
Skorupi swallowed the fruit's skin and avoided eye contact. "I ran away from home to find my friend." he said, monotonously.
"Did he leave home, too?" Ekans asked.
Skorupi nodded, remembering when his parents first broke the news to him that Banette was gone.
"Did you think he would be hiding in the depths of Apple Woods?" Sneasel asked with curiosity.
Skorupi looked up at her. "No, I came here to stock up on food for my journey." he explained. "I'm going to Oran Forest right after I gather enough Perfect Apples."
"I see." Sneasel said, pondering his plans. "Where will you start looking?"
"Everywhere!" Skorupi remarked. "I brought a picture of him with me. I'll ask everyone I meet if they've seen someone like this."
From his leather explorer's bag, Skorupi unfolded a painting of himself and a gray ghost-type pokémon in the prairie. Igglybuff's mother had painted the picture herself with dyes made from berries. Ekans and Sneasel looked the artwork up and down. "I'm sorry to say I've never seen him before." she said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Thank you anyways." Skorupi forced a smile of gratitude and carefully placed the memory back in his bag.