Disclaimer: I do not own or have any association with Pokemon. This is fanwork and I do not profit from this.
My first impression of Viridian Forest was it was dark. There was just enough light to make out the trees and the ground to a limited extent, but it was overall just a scary, dark place that made your hair stand on end. All the sounds in it seemed to echo, from the shout of nearby battling trainers to the slightest rustle of the grass. It smelled of pine and was chilly. My Pidgey quietly chirped next to me, huddling closer to my face.
"Well, I guess we have no choice but to move forward," I whispered, and gently took a step in the aforementioned direction. I was seriously considering turning back though, and returning to that store to buy a flashlight. However, that option was killed as soon as a loud shriek rang out and my Pidgey took off from my shoulder, flying away.
I stood in silence for a few seconds, just contemplating what happened.
I was now Pokémon-less in a giant, terrifying forest filled with bugs and who knows what, and if I didn't get going within the next five seconds my Pidgey would probably be gone for good.
Swallowing, I took off running in the only direction I heard faint flapping coming from, focused on nothing other than finding my bird.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I did so; there was no way I could survive this forest alone. I needed that stupid feathered thing, if nothing other than to have something to throw between me and wild Weedle.
Thankfully, it wasn't really that long before I found her, a chirping, screaming mess at the bottom of a tree. I fell to my knees and let out a sob of relief as I scooped her up, squinting at her to make sure that it was the same Pidgey I had received two days ago. To be even more certain, I pulled out her Pokeball, recalled her, and then let her back out.
I let out a small sob of relief as I returned her to my shoulder. She had quieted down now, and snuggled into her perch, resting her head against my neck.
I took a few breaths as the adrenaline disappeared from my blood, and looked around.
Nothing was familiar. Just trees and darkness.
I fought back the urge to swear as I turned around in a full circle, trying to remember what direction I had come from. Grass was trampled everywhere as far as I could tell, so that'd be no use. No torn brush and too many footsteps from humans and Pokémon alike to decipher which were mine. I took a deep breath and picked a random direction to walk in.
I mentally berated myself; I could've returned, gotten a flashlight, and then come back to find the Pidgey. She could've defended herself for however long if need be, and it wouldn't be THAT big of a deal if she was gone forever.
Yes, it would, a small voice said in the back of my mind. She's important to you.
Well, that just proves how you, dear conscious, aren't right all the time. There was no way that fluff ball rubbing against my neck means anything to me, I thought back angrily. Remember Bulbasaur? That Pokémon you wanted so much before? Yeah. If you had one of those, you might care. But this thing? Nope.
My Pidgey chirped and my resolve crumbled. Okay, maybe the little thing wasn't too pathetic.
We continued wandering for a while. I guessed we continued moving at a leisurely trot for about an hour, but I couldn't be too sure without the sun overhead. Either way, we had just discovered a river when another shriek rang out, similar to the one we heard at the start of the forest. My hand shot up and grabbed my Pidgey just before she took off again. This time it sounded, much, much closer.
I paused, taking very shaky breaths. The forest seemed to quiet for a second, and nothing else was heard. I inhaled deeply before continuing down my new path by the river. I couldn't tell whether or not I was heading towards the source of the noise or not; it had seem to come from everywhere at once.
It wasn't long before my walk turned to a run, and I plucked the Pidgey off my shoulder to cling it to my chest. I swore I heard an odd sound, somewhat resembling the sound of stones smacking against each other, echo from behind me. I was terrified to the bone; my insides felt like they were frozen as I sprinted alongside the river. I had no idea whether or not I was going in the right direction, but my only thought was to get away.
Suddenly, images flooded my mind. I no longer felt cold as heat seeped into my bones from a hot desert sun. I wasn't me anymore; I wasn't carrying my Pidgey. I was carrying something small and golden, and wearing a crown. Layers of robes were draped around my shoulders, flying behind me as a cape. People were behind me, yelling and screaming, bearing knives and pitchforks. I instantly knew that they shouldn't be there, for reasons other than the obvious. And it knew too, whatever it was. Something with an ancient presence, that could move with absolute speed and grace. Zigzagged lines crossed its body, and it just turned its eyes on me when-
It all disappeared. I was back in the forest, my feet still pounding against the riverbank. The warmth disappeared; I was still carrying my Pidgey. Something blurs in front of me and I crash into it, full-force, before falling back onto my butt, eyes squeezed shut as I hold my Pidgey closer to my chest. It answers by snuggling closer; it was just as scared as I was.
I sat there for a minute, shaking, before mustering up the courage to crack one eye open, before opening both of them and letting out a blood-curdling scream.
In front of me was some sort of monster, with three orange eyes fixed on me. It had a brown, barrel ball thing for a body with a dark zigzag across its front, with two of those orange eyes spaced apart on it. Black, fork-like arms hug from either side of it, just below giant, green wings tipped with dark red. They weren't normal wings, though; it was as if someone had removed the webbing and skin from them and just left the bones that stuck out, along with the blood vessels connecting them. The same went for the strange limb hanging under the creature. Its third eye sat on a black stalk above its body.
It kept staring at me, and me back at it with morbid fascination. My voice went silent as it hovered closer to me; my mouth remained gaping open, trying to produce some sort of noise.
Another image flashed in my mind; this same creature, once again in a hot desert, bowing down. I was sitting on a throne this time, with giant, fiery insects on either side of me.
The image disappeared and I was once again back in the real world, and this creature was now facing towards the ground, in an awkward sort of bow.
I gulped, closing my mouth. What was I supposed to do now?
The creature didn't move as I stood up and carefully backed away. I stared at it for a second longer before turning my back on it and running as fast as I could away from it.
I didn't see it again for the rest of the day, but I could've sworn that the sound of rocks rolling through caves followed me wherever I went.
I decided that it was evening when my legs were too tired to move anymore, so I set up camp near the river. I couldn't start a fire due to the dampness of everything nearby, and I had to feel around my bag to find a bag of chips to much on, sparing a few for my bird companion. It didn't take long for us to roll out a sleeping bag and drift off to the world of dreams.
Morning arrived with three orange eyes staring me down and the bony, wing-like limbs pinning me down to the ground, and my Pidgey cowering behind my neck.
I was about to scream when images flooded through my mind once again. This time I was still in Viridian Forest, but instead of running away from the monster, I was the monster, chasing after me. I could see myself desperately fleeing, feet leaving hard indentations on the muddy soil. The scene quickly changed, so that now I was chasing someone through the desert. The person was wearing robes that flew behind them like a cape, and their feet barely touched the ground, far more graceful than I was. The scene changed again to show me sleeping on my sleeping bag; my eyes, squeezed shut, sandy blonde hair sticking out in all sorts of directions. Then I saw the person who was running in the desert, sleeping on a giant king bed with silken sheets. Their skin was tan and hair dark, with a serene expression on their face.
I frowned as the scene melted and the creature stayed put. Slowly my fear started to melt away, and was instead replaced by indignation.
"Are you insulting me?" I demanded, glaring at the monster. "Look, just because I don't run like a freaking Rapidash and sleep like Sleeping Beauty doesn't give you the right to make fun of me, you ugly brute!"
A wave of frustration that was most certainly not my own washed over me. I took a deep breath as the creature sent more images to my mind.
This time I was being bowed down to, as I was yesterday when I ran into the creature.
"Okay, so… you're not insulting me," I said as the image dissolved.
The creature seemed to agree.
"…You're… showing me how I can improve myself?"
Disagreement seemed to stab at my eye. I winced.
"Um… Are you planning on hurting me or anything?" Might as well get that figured out now.
The creature seemed to shake its body, similar to how someone would shake their head "no".
"Okay then. Uh, can I get up?"
The creature backed off and I stood up, picking up my Pidgey, who seemed relatively okay other than the terrified expression on her face.
"Well," I informed the creature, "I have to get to the next city to deliver mail. I'm certain you're here for a very important reason, but I gotta go. You can come with if you want, and I can keep trying to guess what you want, but I wouldn't keep your hopes to high. I suck at guessing games."
And with that, the monster that I had spent all of yesterday running from became a somewhat-companion as I packed everything up and looked for some sign to inform me of which way to go. It took some wandering, but I eventually found a somewhat-worn down path.
My Pidgey eventually grew accustomed to the beast hovering next to us and started chirping at it after a while. The creature responded with some sort of growl, just like the noise it made yesterday that sounded like rocks clacking against each other. They got in a rather animated conversation while I thought about what it could possibly want.
"Um… any more hints?" I asked a while later, when my Pidgey had fallen back asleep.
A feeling of desperation washed over me, and another vision stabbed its way into my mind.
The person from the desert was sleeping again, but it seemed as if there was something else there. Not human, not Pokémon, but very much living. It was invisible, but definitely there. It was something sought after, but found in everyone, in many different forms. It was warm and fuzzy, but cold and betraying.
I had a strong feeling it was love.
Then the picture changed and I saw myself walking through the forest along the riverbank, a panicked expression on my face. Fear was visible all around the walking me, but around whatever I was watching, there was love again.
The images dispersed and I was walking again, side-by-side with the creature.
"You love me?" I asked, slightly disturbed.
The creature seemed to sag.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
The creature shook itself.
"No?"
It bounced up and down and shook at the same time.
"Okay, I have no idea what that means," I explained in frustration, kicking a nearby rock.
A picture of a puzzle piece invaded my mind before quickly disappearing.
"A… piece. Part of a puzzle. Um…" I thought about it. "You love part of me?"
The creature growled.
"I'll take that as a no… You love me, and that's part of the reason you're here?"
The creature stayed quiet for a while before shaking itself. Nope.
"Well, let's get a few things straight. You loved that one person from the desert?"
A nod of agreement.
"Romantically?"
It shook itself.
"Platonically."
Another nod. I sighed in relief; the other way would just be creepy.
"You love me?"
It shook itself again.
"I'm the opposite of the person you loved?"
It shook itself.
I gave up for the time being and we walked (or flew) in silence. The forest didn't seem quite as dark today, and I started to notice all the bugs crawling around in the trees. I easily identified Metapod hanging from tall branches up above, waiting to evolve, along with the occasional Weedle munching on leaves and berries. I was careful to keep my distance from the poisonous caterpillars, though. I had heard more than enough horror stories of trainers poisoned in the middle of Viridian with no medicine to keep them going. I subconsciously reached down to my messenger bag, where I knew there was all the healing equipment I needed to stay strong.
A few hours later I stopped for lunch, and poked my Pidgey to wake her up. She squeaked and happily fluttered down to my lap as I dug through my bag for food, coming up with some bread and nuts, which we shared. The other creature disappeared, presumably to find a meal of its own. That was more than fine with me; the last thing I needed was to have it staring me down while I ate.
I allowed my mind to drift as we rested, just the Pidgey and me. The creature following us must be some sort of psychic Pokémon, if the images were anything to go by. I faintly remembered some sort of painting done on some similar creature from my humanities class. The painting was an example of Pokémon art from some other region, except for the colors was different or something like that. It probably came from a desert, too, if the memories were anything to go by.
Well, I had never heard of a flying psychic Pokémon that lived in a desert, so I supposed I might as well give up trying to figure out what it was.
I packed everything up and returned my Pidgey, who had started pecking at the ground, to my shoulder and continued on my merry way down the path. The creature was nowhere in sight, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
We continued on for another half hour before said creature came swooping down from the trees and tackled the both of us to the ground, causing me to scream before realizing who it was. My Pidgey glared up at it as if to say "Really?" before snuggling into my head.
I was really starting to wonder why that stupid bird liked me so much.
Our small group was reunited, and continued in silence. It wasn't very long before we reached a gate leading out of the forest.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a week-long journey?" I asked nobody in particular as I pushed it open. I guessed I had found some shortcut or something. Beyond it was an oddly familiar route, which was just a quick walk down before I reached a city.
Not Pewter City.
Viridian City.
"Moltres!" I swore, glaring at it. "I went in the wrong freaking direction!"
The Pidgey on my shoulder flinched at my shouting before angrily adding its outraged chirps. I had a feeling it actually had no idea what was happening, though.
The creature next to me let out a humored growl as I stomped around, cursing and swearing. I had wasted two entire days for nothing.
"Well," I said once I finally calmed down, "I suppose I might as well bring a flashlight this time around."
The city was just as I remembered it; though this time I wasn't staying half as long. I got a lot of odd stares, though, probably because of the creature with me. Nobody said anything, but I could tell it made them uncomfortable. That was completely understandable, of course, as the thing was by no means beautiful and made the oddest noises as we walked around. It wasn't long before we reached the traveler's shop, which I entered just fifteen minutes before they closed.
They didn't have much for flashlights, so I just grabbed one that would recharge itself if shaken.
The cashier regarded me with some interest as I handed it to him.
"And that'll be all?" he asked, clicking something on the computer.
"Yeah. That's it," I answered.
"If you don't mind me asking, though," he said as the receipt printed, "where'd you get that Sigilyph?"
"Sigilyph?" I asked, slightly confused. "Wait; is that what that thing's called?" I pointed at the creature floating behind me.
"You didn't know? Yeah. They come from Unova. They're supposed to be ancient guardians of some desert castle there or something," the guy explained. "Except for they aren't usually that color. I think it's shiny."
"Shiny?" I asked, even more astonished. "Seriously?" I wheeled around to stare at the creature with even more wonder. "You never bothered to tell me this?"
The Sigilyph seemed to shrug.
"You communicate with it?" the cashier asked, even more impressed. "And you didn't even know it was shiny, a Sigilyph, or anything?"
"Well, I knew it was psychic," I explained. "And we don't really talk. It just sends images and stuff to me."
The guy seemed really, really impressed now. "Can I buy it from you?"
Okay, that caught me off-guard. "What?"
"Can I buy it from you?" he repeated. "It's rare enough to find a Unovan Pokémon outside Unova, let alone a shiny one. Psychics are also rare, no matter where you are, making this an insanely valuable Pokémon."
I shrugged, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable. "Well, it's not really mine…"
"It seems to like you enough. You can easily catch it and then sell it."
"Yeah, but…" I really wasn't sure what to say. If it was as valuable as this guy was making it seem like, I could probably quit this stupid job here and now and just bring the money I got from the sale home. But something just didn't seem right about getting rid of the odd creature. "Um… Can I think about it?"
"Sure. You'll be in town tomorrow?" the guy asked.
"Well, I don't think it's smart to return to Viridian at night, so yeah. I'll stop by tomorrow morning if I decide to take up your offer, okay?" I left before he could even respond, the Sigilyph right on my heels.
We hurried back to the Pokemon Center, and I all but forced our way up to the healing counter. It was rather busy now that it was evening again, with trainers all scrambling to check out a room.
"Nurse Joy?" I asked nervously. The kind, pink-haired lady smiled down at me.
"Yes?"
"Um, my Pokemon don't need to be healed, but… I have a question," I explained.
"Sure."
"What Pokemon is this?" I asked, pointing to the Sigilyph. I had to be certain.
"Honey, I believe that's a Sigilyph. A shiny one, to be exact," she said.
I paled slightly. "Okay then. Do you know anything else about them?"
She nodded. "Sigilyph are native to Unova's desert resort. They were the guardians of the ancient Relic Castle. Some of them befriended royalty, but their main purpose was to defend. Right now they identify as psychic and flying type."
"Okay then… Thanks." With that, I proceeded to check out one of the few remaining rooms for the night and escape to the comfort and quiet of the small area.
"So, you befriend royalty?" I asked the Sigilyph as I sat on the bed. I shed my jacket, hat and bag and gently placed my Pidgey on my bed.
The psychic nodded in agreement.
"Does that make me royalty?"
It shook itself vigorously.
"Wow, that makes me feel great about myself," I said sarcastically. "Why are you following me then? Do I have some connection to that person you showed me?"
It seemed to shrug.
"Do I remind you of them?" I asked.
Bingo. The Sigilyph nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay… I'm not exactly sure how I remind you of them, considering they were uber-graceful and stuff, but… Onto a different subject. Can I sell you?"
The Sigilyph let out a low growl.
"I'll take that as a no, then," I said awkwardly. "How'd you end up over here anyways?"
Visions immediately started to attack my mind. Suddenly I was in the Desert Resort, except it wasn't like it was before. There was a constant sandstorm, and it seemed as if there were a bunch of statues glowing nearby. Part of what looked like a wall stuck up nearby. Sigilyph, different colors from the one that was with me, were flying down a path, all letting out mournful moans in the saddest voice you could imagine, as if they were just echoes of the past. It continued like this for quite a while before a helicopter beat down and landed nearby. People in dark clothing hopped out, and released what I recognized as Electabuzz and Mareep, who let out electric shocks, knocking out a lot of the Sigilyph. A zap hit me, knocking me out.
A new story came up. Now I was in a dark building, surrounded by metal and concrete. I was being lead away by the dark-dressed people.
Then, suddenly the scene changed. I was outside, but still confined. Desperation filled me; I had to escape, to guard the royalty, the ancient city. I felt the call of the Sigilyph around me and together we all broke free from our chains, taking to the sky at once. The dark-dressed people below could do nothing as we flew out together.
We flew for hours before a helicopter appeared, and we all scattered. I found Viridian Woods and chose to hide there.
It all melted away and once again I sat on the bed, staring at the creature in front of me.
I took a moment to process all of that while my Pidgey hopped into my lap.
"So… poachers?" I asked.
The Sigilyph shook.
"That's what it seemed like. Something similar to poachers?"
A shrug.
"Then I'll go with that. But that sucks though. Are you still trying to return to your city?"
A nod.
"I don't know if I can help you with that. I'm kinda confined to Kanto for the time being," I explained, gesturing to my messenger uniform.
The Sigilyph sagged and hovered over to me, gently resting one of its odd wings on my shoulder.
"You can still travel with me though. I can't do much for you, but we'll see what happens, okay?" I said, reaching out to stroke its body. It was cool, and felt like dried leather. It seemed to be satisfied by that and floated away.
I laid on the bed in silence for a while, gently stroking the Pidgey on my chest. I thought about my journey so far, and absently wondered if everyone else went through such insane events too.
I remembered the little boy I battled on my first day; that felt like it happened a week ago, when in reality it had just been two days.
He had recommended I name my Pokemon.
I looked down at my Pidgey, who had fallen asleep on my chest, and sighed. I still hadn't gotten around to that, had I?
I felt myself drifting off to sleep and figured I should see if I could do that tomorrow.
Okay, semi-long A/N here. I am seriously proud of myself; I got majority of my studying in yesterday for finals, and just skimmed through everything today, so I think I'm good to go, which left me hours of nothing-time. The, ka-bam! Writing inspiration in the form of my dog sleeping on the deck! (Yeah, I don't get how it works either.) So then I was able to write out this chapter, which actually reached a semi-decent length, and introduced probably one of my favorite characters in it. Though I'm wondering if I'm moving too fast through the storyline... I mean, there is a LOT to go, but I was planning on dragging out the relationship building between the main character and the Pidgey a bit longer, but then I realized that I'm going to have to name the Pidgey SOON or it's going to be awkward referring to her by a different name. Then, of course, Sigilyph kind of gets in the way of all that beautiful bonding time... I dunno. I'm trying. I'll get better as I write more, I promise.