The next morning, I awoke to the sound of someone pounding loudly on the door.
"Uuugh… What…? What is it…?" I mumbled groggily, rubbing my head to ease the incoming headache. "Who would want to… visit at this… hour…? Ugh… Forget it… They can come back later…"
I started to yank the blankets back over my head, but I quickly snapped out of it… once I finally realized the potential gravity of the situation.
The one knocking on the door had to be Taro.
And if Taro was here, then Lucario was certainly not going to throw out the welcome mat… to put it lightly…
Panicking, I hurriedly threw off the blankets and scurried to the door. As I did so, I looked around wildly for Lucario, but he was nowhere to be seen. After one final scan of the place, I pulled open the door, just as another round of pounding started up.
"G'mornin' Chelsea! T'day I came to teach ya about tools!" Taro declared, no less than one second after I had opened the door.
"Uh, hi, Taro… and Elliot." Surprisingly, I managed to sound relatively polite as I looked around anxiously for Lucario, thinking that he might pop out any second now to attack everyone.
But he really didn't seem to be around...
"Hi, Chelsea," Elliot greeted, waving shyly.
"Chelsea! Did ya notice the tool box I left for you beside the door?" Taro asked and ambled past me, apparently not even giving a second thought about just inviting himself into the house. But then again, I had only just moved in; it wasn't like there was a lot of mess to hide from them anyway.
"Uh, no…" I acknowledged awkwardly. "When did you bring that?"
He laughed. "Actually, I just left it here the other day… since I figgerd that a farmer might move in someday. These were mah old tools, but I don't got much use fer them anymore... But anyways, would ya like me to tell ya 'bout these tools? Or should I have Elliot shew ya how to use 'em?"
"Uh, that's okay. I think I can figure it out myself... Thanks though."
"Oh-uh… Chelsea, there's a b-boat coming up 'round noon today… Maybe you might want to c-come see?" Elliot sputtered out, sounding rather flustered all of a sudden.
"Um, sure… why n-" I turned to Elliot just as I began to complete that response, but the second my eyes met his, his face flushed a deep red.
Um… seriously? Was he really that unused to conversing with people his own age? I mean, it wasn't like he had been living alone on these islands for years or anything like that…
"Uh…" I decided to try my best to ignore it, "so what do you suppose might show up on the boat today? Supplies?"
"Yeah. That! Or! Perhaps some new islanders! The more the merrier!" Taro beamed, showing off that nearly toothless grin.
"Cool... I'll… be sure to come check it out then…" I nodded and smiled, but was careful to not expose any teeth. Honestly, I hadn't really expected anyone to ever come to visit me at all, let alone this early in the morning… Maybe I should keep breath mints next to my bed…
"Yeah… C-c-cool…" Elliot smiled embarrassedly.
"Oh! Um, Taro, I was wondering something…" I admitted, suddenly recalling the strangeness that was last evening. "Um, have you ever noticed any… uh, you know… strange… creatures around here? Like, I don't know… Animals that are really… different and weird… like ones that are weirdly colored? And really smart?"
"Strange animals?" Taro repeated and scratched his chin rather vigorously. "Oh yes! There's plenty o' strange critters 'round here! Any sper-cific one you was wonderin' about?"
"Uh… well… yeah… actually… I was wondering if you've seen any kangaroos around here?"
"Kangaroos?!" Taro loudly echoed, looking like he might fall over from surprise. "Well, no! I hav'n't seen any of those 'round here! No way!"
"W-what? Why d-do you ask?" Apparently just as surprised as his grandfather was, Elliot flinched as his glasses practically fell off his face from the shock of such a strange question. "D-did you see one, Chelsea?"
"Oh no," I laughed nervously and shuffled my feet uncomfortably, hoping I didn't seem too awkward. "It's just… I'm a little… scared… of kangaroos, so I was just… you know… worried that they might have some here…? Yeah… that's… how it is. Yeah."
"W-well, you don't have to worry, there's n-none of them around these parts, t-that's for sure…" Elliot assured me as he cleaned off a smudge on his glasses with his apron.
Yes, that's right. He was wearing an apron as his normal, everyday clothing. How manly and attractive is that?
"Right! Well, see ya then! Work hard, young missy!" Taro practically shouted at me before he began to walk away.
"B-bye Chelsea…" Elliot waved.
"Yes, later!" I gave a single wave and quickly shut the door.
After taking a moment to lean against it and take a deep breath, I took a quick sweeping glance of the house, wondering where on earth Lucario was hiding. But he was still nowhere to be seen.
"Um… Lucario…? Are you… hiding somewhere…? Please tell me you aren't dead or lost or playing some kind of trick on me…"
No answer.
"Please?"
Nothing.
I cautiously approached and knocked on the bathroom door. Maybe he was in there.
After a few seconds of waiting, there was still no answer. I carefully pushed open the door, only to find out that he wasn't in there either. Huh. Maybe that meeting with him last night was all just some kind of crazy dream. Or did I really hit my head so hard that I'd be able to conjure up something as realistic as that Lucario in my own mind?
I shuddered. Having a mind that plays tricks on you like that would be just plain freaky. Maybe I did need to see the doctor after all…
Wait, did they even have a doctor here?
An odd mental image of Taro wielding a stethoscope popped into my mind.
Uh, no… that wouldn't work… At least I hoped it wouldn't…
Shaking my head wildly to get rid of the image, I begrudgingly admitted to myself that it seemed there was nothing I could do about it for now. Crazy or not, I'd have to figure out how to continue to live my life somehow...
So, I carefully closed the bathroom door and began to freshen up for the day. After all that was taken care of, I headed for the kitchen to fix up a quick breakfast. Finding hardly anything besides soup cans and rice in my bag, I decided to munch on my last few slices of bread. I ate them as they were, not wanting to start up the oven just to make a few pieces of toast.
As I finished it up, I found myself staring at the refrigerator. Obviously, I hadn't put anything in there yet. Maybe if there was something in there… it could provide proof that Lucario really did exist; that it all wasn't some sort of dream or mind trick. So I pulled it open to discover that the fridge was empty, save for a few small buckets. Within these buckets were what looked like berries.
Berries?
Lucario had to have put them in here. There was no other explanation. They sure were odd-looking though; I had never really seen berries before that were that large and that blue. They were too big to be blueberries, and too blue to be oranges, so… what were they? I leaned in to sniff them, and they surprisingly smelled more mild than sweet. Which was pretty strange, considering I had expected for berries to be rather sweet tasting…
I sighed. Well, no better way to get it all off my mind than to get to work. I headed over to the tool box and pulled out the hoe, axe, and hammer. Today I was going to prepare the land for planting seeds. It was only the start of spring, and I wanted to get to planting right away to maximize my potential crop output as much as possible. True, I had no idea where I could even buy seeds and whatnot, but I supposed I could always ask Taro about that later. Right now, I just had to get the land cleared. However, the second I stepped foot on the fertile land outside and raised my hoe, I faltered.
Wasn't this technically Lucario's land? Did I even have the right to farm it?
…I wasn't so sure.
After a few minutes of mental debate, I decided to just do it. I doubted Lucario would care; it would mean less work for him to have to do anyway. And not to mention…
I glanced over the land, scanning the area carefully. The whole place was practically covered in weeds, dead tree stumps, and loose stones. It looked like Lucario hadn't done anything with it in years. And this is what I came here to do. If Lucario didn't like it, well… then I supposed I'd have to either work out a deal with him or leave to find work on another farm.
So I set to work, hoeing the land, clearing away any rock rubble with my hammer, and chopping up any spare wood with my axe. It wasn't easy work, but I didn't sign up to do anything easy. After a few hours, I managed to clear up a decent sized plot of land that I supposed would be a fair enough size for me to work with this year.
Chelsea?
I practically jumped out of my skin at the sudden 'sound' of a voice in my head. "Whoa! Lucario? You… scared me…!"
Really? Are you that paranoid?
"Um... no… I just… I'm just not used to voices in my head, I guess."
Well, I suppose that's a good thing, he remarked, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. It shows that you aren't crazy.
"Yeah… I guess so." I laughed embarrassedly.
You're been busy… he remarked suddenly, now standing beside me and observing the ground before us.
"Oh! Yeah, I hope you don't mind…"
Like I said yesterday, it doesn't matter to me what you do here. Just don't bother me, and everything should be fine. So… he folded his arms over his chest, if you're planning to grow crops, then why did you decide to leave that stump there in the middle in your little plot? Haven't you got around to using your axe?
"Uh…" I scratched my head sheepishly, "actually… it's because I couldn't quite chop it up… I'm not very skilled at this, so… you know… I figured I'd just leave it until I've bought some better tools or until I've gotten a little stronger… or something…"
Where is your axe?
"Over there. Why?"
Lucario said nothing as he seized the axe and proceeded to chop up that large stump into useable boards of wood.
"Wow; thank you! You're so skilled! Where did you learn to get so good at this?"
It was… once my job.
"…You were a woodcutter?" I asked, dumbfounded.
No. I was a slave.
I faltered, unable to think up a response. Was he really? Who would have subjected him to that? Only now was I starting to realize why he had been so harsh to me yesterday… But really? Keeping kangaroos as forced laborers… You'd think I would have heard of that before… Cruelty towards animals wasn't exactly allowed to be swept under the rug anymore… But then again, I had never even known that blue colored kangaroos existed before yesterday… Obviously, something had slipped between the cracks.
But Lucario didn't seem to want to dwell on the matter. Are you finished with this work now?
"Uh, n-no… I mean, I-I've still gotta… put away all this wood… I was thinking I could probably use it later for lumber, or something…"
I'll help you. Then we can go inside and eat something, hmm?
"Really? Um, yes; I mean, sure thing. Thank you." I nodded, probably longer than was necessary. "I, uh… Yes…"
Still a bit lost in thought, I hesitated for a moment and watched Lucario pick up practically all of the spare wood in one load.
"Ah! Wait a second!" I exclaimed, much louder than I had expected.
Unfortunately, this seemingly random outburst nearly caused Lucario to drop everything he had gathered. Looking frustrated, he tossed it all back to the ground and fixed me with a glare.
"I'm sorry, but I just thought of something! Really important! I mean, of course there aren't blue kangaroos! That's…! They must've…!"
What are you going on about?! Just spit something out already!
"It all makes sense now!" I continued frantically, still jolted by my own realization. "They forcibly dyed your fur, didn't they? The crazy things people do to make their animals stand out from everyone else's! I mean, really!" I gasped as an even worse possibility took root within my mind. "Oh my…! These spikes! How did they…! What have they done to you!"
A slight shove on my arm broke me from my panicked state. Hey. Listen. I appreciate the outlandish concern, but this is my natural state. No one has gone to such absurd lengths to alter my physical appearance… There would be no point in that.
"Oh."
I had been hoping to make a more intelligent sounding response, but… it was really too late for any of that now.
Now are you coming? Or are you just going to stand there and watch me do everything?
Apparently he had already gathered up his load once again, all while I had been standing there, spacing out. "Oh! ...Y-yes… I'm sorry…!" I quickly shook my head to get rid of those excess thoughts and frantically gathered up the rest.
After that had been taken care of, I followed him inside the house.
"Um, so… where were you all morning anyway?" I wondered aloud. "I was starting to think that meeting with you yesterday was all a dream or something… Oh! Did you go for a walk, maybe? It is a pretty nice day today… I bet it would have been fun."
I was out. That was all he said, and I took it he wasn't keen on saying much more.
"Oh. Okay… Well, you want me to fix us something to eat again? Anything in particular that you'd want?"
Actually, I'd like to share something with you this time.
"Uh…? What…? You're for… real?" I was left feeling a little dumbfounded… once again.
He gave me a rather nasty look. Here I am offering you a favor, and all you think is that I'm kidding around?
"No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" I exclaimed hurriedly. "I just… well, I wasn't expecting for a kangaroo to be able to…"
He seemed to be ignoring me now, heading over to the stove and turning it on.
"What?! How did you-! But you're a kangaroo! How did you figure out how to use the…!"
Oh, I'm just full of surprises… Lucario stated blandly as he brushed past me to take out one of his pails from the fridge.
"Okay…" I replied weakly, suddenly realizing that I was just standing there awkwardly. So I moved closer to the counter and watched him as he dumped the contents into a large bowl. "But where did you learn how to cook?"
My ancestors taught me while I was sleeping… he told me with the same bored tone.
Was he joking or… being serious?
I honestly couldn't tell by his moderately focused face what he meant by all of that. At the moment, he seemed preoccupied with his work of mashing up the berries. After he was finished crushing them all up, he poured out all the juices, skins, and pulp all together into one big old pot. He set the pot on the stove and let it simmer for a while. He fumbled with the knobs on the oven with a strange sort of expertise, as if he had been doing this little routine for a while now.
It doesn't need much heat to taste good. Lucario suddenly informed me.
"Um… what are those berries? I've never seen anything like them before."
Oran berries. They're my favorite, actually.
"Wow… It's kind of funny… I never really expected that a kangaroo like you would eat berries… I guess I assumed they only eat grass or something…"
He sniffed indignantly. Grass is for Miltank.
"Miltank?" I repeated. "Who's that?"
He chuckled. You claim to want to be a rancher and you've never even heard of Miltank… You've much yet to learn.
"…What? So who is it, the ranch dealer? Or is it… What?"
You'll see eventually… Lucario shook his head and smirked, as if he were dealing with a silly little child.
I frowned. "Okay..."
I assume the city must be a rather sheltered place. You don't seem to know much of anything of the outside world.
"I thought I knew things…" I frowned once again, "but obviously, school was even more useless than I thought. I mean, talking blue kangaroos… you think they'd have mentioned that somewhere in a textbook or something… I mean, I did take biology… and I actually passed, without knowing that animals like you even existed."
Why do you always refer to me as a… 'kangaroo?' I've told you before that I am Lucario.
"Well, yeah… I know that's your name. But kangaroo is something different. That's like… what you are, I guess…"
No, you don't understand. I don't have a 'name' like you do. Lucario is what I am. That is my species... so to speak. It's not… 'kangaroo'… I don't even know what that is, to be perfectly honest.
"What? So you're saying that a Lucario is a type of animal?"
Not an animal. A Pokémon, he corrected.
"What is a Pokémon?"
Lucario laughed. You really don't know much of anything…!
"Hey…! Don't laugh at me!" I cried. Though I had to admit, the sound of his laughter was kind of pleasant. It was better than yelling at me...
Eventually his laughter died down, and we were left in silence, save for the slight bubbling of the pot.
"So… you really don't have a name?" I asked quietly.
Lucario is fine by me. There are no other Lucario on these islands, so there won't ever be any confusion.
I was about to ask him how that could be true. He had to have parents, at the very least. How could he truly be the only Lucario around? But something about the finality in his tone made me hold my tongue.
It's ready now. Lucario announced, breaking the silence.
"So, what do you call this dish, berry stew?" I asked as he poured some into two bowls. Unlike me, he didn't spill a single drop.
Well, I haven't ever put much thought into naming it…
"Oh, but you have to! Especially if you're the one who made up the recipe!"
Lucario paused, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and slight surprise on his face. Well… fine. If you're going to be that insistent about it, I'll call it berry soup.
"Et voilà! It's a brand new recipe!" I couldn't help but smile.
You're a moron… But he managed a small smile in return as he handed some to me.
"Um… Thank you. It smells really great…" I informed him before sampling it. "And it tastes even better!"
He didn't reply and lowered his head to begin eating his share. It didn't last long, but I did manage to catch sight of a small smile before it disappeared.
We ate mostly in silence, since it was so tasty that I didn't bother to try to come up with anything to say. I just wanted to eat! Especially after all the work I had finished this morning…
But after I finished, I couldn't help myself anymore. "So Lucario, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?"
Meditate, he responded shortly, fiddling with his now empty bowl.
"Oh. That sounds… enlightening…"
I inwardly cringed. Enlightening? Really? That's all I could come up with?
Apparently unconcerned with any of that, Lucario looked up at me suddenly. Have you seen all of the islands yet?
"Um, no, not really... Actually… I haven't even thought about doing any sight-seeing around here yet…" I admitted sheepishly.
Maybe I could show you around?
"Oh, I'd love to, but… I already agreed to meet up with Taro and his family on the beach in a few minutes or so… Would you like to come too?"
No, he said darkly, his prior friendly expression entirely vanished.
"Um, sorry… I guess I just wanted to let you know about it…"
How long are you going to see them?
"I dunno. A few hours maybe, if that…" I shrugged. "Hey… Maybe afterwards you and I could sight-see? I'm sure meeting up with them won't last until dark. We'd still have plenty of time, if you still wanted to."
Agreed. Once you're finished meeting with them, come back here and let me know. I'll be happier to show you around after all those humans have finished up with all their commotion anyway.
"Okay, I think I've got to… yeah! I need to head off now. I'll see you right after I get back then!"
Trying to make up for lost time, I rushed down to the beach. By the time I approached the fairly tiny dock, Taro and his family were already waiting. I could see the boat was already well on its way as well.
"Hey! There you are! Finally!" Natalie exclaimed.
As soon as I drew close enough, she punched me on the arm, just like the first time we had met. She was way too strong to be doing that so much…
"Hey, everyone… Sorry I'm a little late…" I mumbled as I rubbed my arm.
"Chelsea!" Elliot's face flushed red right away, and he took a small step backward, as if my sudden appearance had completely thrown him for a loop. "Almost thought you m-might not make it…"
"Oh hello, Chelsea!" Felicia, Elliot and Natalie's mother, spoke up, giggling cheerfully. "You look so nice today! You're such a cute girl! Just like Natalie!"
"Ugh… Mom…" Natalie groaned. "Why do you always have to be so-?"
"Quiet!" Taro called out, stamping his cane repeatedly on the ground to silence Natalie's grumblings. "Quit yer silly yappin'! They's a comin'!"
Just then, the boat reached the dock; the first one off the ship was a small boy who bounded right up to our small crowd.
"Hi people!" he cried out jubilantly. "I'm Charlie!"
"Charlie, please…" a man called out calmly as he made his way off the boat. "Oh… my… Hello, everyone. It's nice to see so many people here today…" he said softly, looking a little surprised to see us all just standing around waiting.
"Hallo! The name's Taro! And this here's my fam! And Chelsea too!"
After we had all briefly introduced ourselves, the man opened his mouth to speak, "My name is Chen. I have decided to run a small shop here with my son."
"You're going to run a shop?" Natalie asked excitedly. "Here? Even though it's the middle of nowhere! Thank the Harvest Goddess!"
"Yes, I wanted to escape the pressures of the city and lead a new life here with my son. I have a feeling he'll grow up happy and healthy here."
"No doubt about that!" Taro agreed with a grin. "There's plenty o' room fer the tykes to run about! The both o' yeh are gonna be real happy here; I can feel it in mah trick knee!"
"B-but how are you going to run a shop with no merchandise? The ship only c-comes once a week…" Elliot pointed out.
"Not anymore," Chen smiled. "The captain and I have made an agreement. He's going to come every day now."
"That's wonderful news!" Felicia clapped. "These islands will be bursting with energy before we know it!"
"Um… Are you going to sell any seeds?" I asked, moving a bit closer to this new potential shop owner.
"Of course," Chen turned to me and nodded. "We'll set up shop starting tomorrow, so please feel free to stop by!"
After a little more chatting, we finally got around to showing Chen and his son Charlie to their new place. Judging by the old, decrepit sign resting on the ground before it, the building had once been a shop, so it really seemed to be perfect for the two of them. Inside, just behind the main room, rested a small, yet cozy, living space. They seemed pleased with it, and everyone really seemed rather glad that the island was starting to prosper.
It was only a small step towards posterity, of course, but Taro began saying (over and over again) that having such a shop would surely help pave the way for more and more new residents. This was a prediction that everyone clearly wanted to come true. Well, except for me… in a small way… mainly because I was fairly sure that this news was going to upset Lucario. He had really seemed pretty freaked out yesterday when he thought that Taro was shepherding in loads of people... And now, it kind of seemed like his worries were coming true...
But really, Lucario seemed to be starting to get along with me well enough. I mean, it hadn't taken him all that long to start tolerating me… I think. So why should anyone else be any different? Why should it matter how many people showed up, especially if they all turned out to be honest people looking for a decent living? After all, I thought that so far we were blessed to have rather pleasant and warm-hearted people living around here... Maybe we wouldn't have many troublemakers moving in, and Lucario wouldn't have any need to start freaking out again... Right?
"S-something wrong, Chelsea?"
I looked up from the ground, startled from my own thoughts. "Uh… oh, I'm fine! It's nothing really!" I laughed nervously and hurriedly started to walk away. "I guess I'll just be going now, if that's okay…"
"Now just where do you think you're going!" a voice sounded out.
"Huh?" I turned around to see Felicia with a scary, downright evil-looking expression on her face. And, after seeing how she was always perpetually happy up until now, this sudden change was certainly enough to make anybody lose their nerve. What could have possibly… happened to her?
The look on her face instantly changed to one of pure joy exactly one second later. "You haven't stopped by our house for tea yet!"
"O-oh… uh…" I had to take a second to recover from that. "I'm sorry but… I really have to get back to the farm… I have to… get back to work, you know… Um, yeah… that's it…"
"Oh… that's too bad… Well, next time, okay?" Felicia smiled softly, waving.
"Um… sure! Bye... for now!" I waved back and headed off for the farm, suppressing the urge to run far, far away.
As I approached the house, my apprehension towards Elliot's mother finally started to wear off; now I was left feeling eager for Lucario to show me the rest of the islands. From what I had seen so far, everything really seemed very nice, especially the air quality. No graffiti, no random garbage lying about, no filthy or boarded-up windows… Well, there certainly were a few abandoned buildings about, but that mainly seemed to be due to a lack of inhabitants, not a lack of care. Well, I really didn't think there were any gangsters or drug dealers lurking about in the rubble... at the very least…
"Hi, I'm back!" I called out happily as soon as I stepped inside the house.
Looking up from his seat on the floor, Lucario just made a face at me.
Oops... I had forgotten he had said he was going to be meditating while I was away...
"Um! I'm sorry…! I totally forgot you were…! Um! Uh, are you ready to take a look around the islands now, or should I come back later?"
Sure. Let's go, he said softly, rising to his feet and stretching lightly. He didn't say anything more, so I couldn't gauge as to whether or not he was still annoyed with me about the interruption.
"Um… I'm sorry…about…"
I know. You said that already, he pointed out, heading for the door. Let's go.
I followed him until we reached the bridge leading back to town, where Taro's family (and now Chen's as well) lived. Once we reached that boundary, Lucario paused and looked rather hesitant.
How fast can you run?
"Uh… I dunno… sort of fast… maybe…?" I answered dumbly, not quite used to answering such a random question so abruptly.
Lucario shifted his wary gaze off of the houses in the distance for a moment to take a look at me. I see... So you're very slow…
"Hey! I am not slow!" I insisted.
Prove it. Lucario smirked and took off, becoming nothing more than a blur of blue speed.
"What the-? How the heck did he-? W-where'd he go?" I sputtered.
But obviously, no one was going to answer any of these questions, so I just took off running in the direction I believed Lucario had gone off towards. Then I finally noticed him at the other end of the island, waiting for me.
Extreme Speed comes in handy whenever I need to get past the humans' dwellings, he told me, stretching again with a small smirk on his face.
"Extreme… Speed?" I repeated blankly. "What is that… some kind of… drug?"
Do you know how to swim? Lucario suddenly asked, apparently deciding to ignore my question in favor of gazing down at the ocean below us.
"Uh, yeah… but I'm not jumping into the ocean or anything, okay? I'm not crazy… and that's something someone crazy might want to-"
It's hardly far at all, Lucario declared, pointing over at the nearest island. You should be able to make it with no trouble. I know I've swum much farther than this before. This? It's nothing.
"Okay… I don't… I don't even…"
What? You don't even what?
"I… Well…"
Hesitantly, I looked over the distance between the two landmasses, but I found myself instead staring into the depths of… The water was so… deep…
Look, it's easy. Lucario spoke up, sounding frustrated and annoyed. Here. Let me show you how it's done.
What? Really? Was he just going to dive right in? Like a freaking lunatic? The water was so tumultuous; if there were any sharp rocks jutting up from the depths, no one would be the wiser…
"No! Don't-!"
I hurriedly reached out to grab him, but Lucario ducked away from my grasp before I even had the chance to touch him.
Without another word, he just dived right in, as if it were a swimming pool.
"Lucario!"