Bulbasaur was surprised to find the house was little more than a cave in the side of a hill. It was a modest place, with little in the way of furniture. The door, the floorboards, and the ceiling were constructed of unpainted but slightly blue wood, sanded and coated to reduce the risk of splinters. Several straw mattresses lined the back wall while a large, round table stood as the room's centerpiece. Lining the walls were hand-drawn pictures of various Pokémon, including Chikorita and Absol.
Sitting atop small, plain tables were even smaller pottery lamps with lit wicks protruding from them, which gently illuminated the room with their discrete flames. Those candles, along with the two small, glassless windows at the front entrance, were the only apparent light sources. The only place darker was the downstairs which, according to Absol, was a place of rest for those in desperate need for sleep and solitude, or a library for those that were neither.
If the number of mattresses was any indication, the place housed a little over half a dozen Pokémon. Considering its size, this would have made accommodations rather cramped if everyone were in the same room. But thankfully, most the other residents were busying themselves elsewhere, and would likely return later. The only ones still around were Chikorita's parents, who greeted Bulbasaur without any indication of surprise, almost as if they were expecting another guest in their home.
Her mother, a Pokémon resembling a long-necked dinosaur looked down at him with a friendly smile. Large, pink petals around her neck shook as she spoke. "New friend?" the Meganium asked.
"Yup!" Chikorita said, standing next to him proudly, as if showing him off.
To Bulbasaur, it made sense Meganium would be the mother of Chikorita: Chikorita, like many other Pokémon, could evolve into a larger, more powerful version of themselves after several tough battles. After evolving twice, a Chikorita would grow to become a Meganium. What struck him as odd, however, was her father. Rather than being a Chikorita or evolution of one, he was a bulky fire dragon known as Charizard. He even had a long tail with a small fire on the end of it, which was producing smoke as any flame might. It was a miracle their wooden interior was still intact.
Charizard gave a hearty laugh. "You a traveler, buddy?"
"I... guess so," Bulbasaur said with an uncertain grin, hoping he wasn't coming off as too weird.
"I found him asleep at my thinking spot," Chikorita explained. "He helped us fight the bad guys."
"Bad guys?" Meganium asked, beginning to see the cuts on Absol's back in her peripheral. She turned to the monochrome Pokémon for an explanation.
Absol retained her composure. "We were attacked by three bad Pokémon. Bulbasaur and I were able to hold them off with only a few cuts and bruises to show for it. All things considered, we were very lucky."
"I helped too!" Chikorita added, causing Absol to wince.
"I couldn't stop her. I told her not to."
Charizard held up a hand. "It's all right. We knew this would happen eventually. Would... would the two of you mind stepping outside for a moment? We need to talk with Chikorita for a while."
Absol nodded and quietly walked away, gesturing Bulbasaur to do the same. He obeyed, but continued watching the family until the wooden door closed behind him.
Outside, Bulbasaur could see some of the other explorers finding ways to amuse themselves. One nearby Pokémon, a Gible, who looked like a short-legged shark, was digging through the dirt, his pointy fin poking just above the ground. Although the shark looked much older than him, he was about Bulbasaur's size and, from far away at least, seemed pleasant enough to talk to. Bulbasaur approached him.
"Hey, whatcha doin'?"
He looked up. "Diggin'. You wanna help?"
Bulbasaur looked at the impressive pile upturned dirt with a degree of admiration. "Looking for something buried there?"
Gible climbed out of the trench he'd built and wiped the side of his face with a short arm. Bulbasaur couldn't help but notice his sharp fangs.
"Nah, I just like diggin'. Good for the body and mind, y'know? I'm Gible, by the way," he said, introducing himself unnecessarily.
"Bulbasaur," the grass Pokémon replied, holding out a front leg, forgetting Pokémon probably didn't shake hands like humans. He put his leg back down while trying to make his movement look natural.
"You staying at the Explorer House?" Gible asked, making the question easier by pointing to the place he'd recently left.
Bulbasaur didn't know how to answer the question. For all he knew, Chikorita and her family were in there, discussing whether he was even allowed to stay. And in light of the fact that he was partially responsible for her getting involved with those bad Pokémon, it was understandable if they refused him.
He wondered what he'd do if that happened. Without any clue where he was, who he was, or what happened to him, being turned away would leave him homeless and helpless. He could only pray hospitality was a value among Pokémon.
"Just visiting," he said, swallowing to hide his worried expression. "Dunno if I'll be around for long."
"We'll be glad to have ya," Gible said with a toothy grin. "Lemme introduce ya to the other explorers. HEY EVERYONE! WE GOT A NEW EXPLORER HERE!"
"I never said I was-"
Someone shoved Bulbasaur from the side, nearly toppling him. He turned to see a bipedal dragon with two horizontal tusks protruding from her face, returning his confused expression with a mischievous one of her own. She was an Axew, but unlike most Axew, which normally have green scales and a light green collar, she was a faded black with a pink collar instead.
She pushed him again and held her grin, watching him carefully.
Bulbasaur couldn't tell whether she was testing him, challenging him, or playing with him. He decided to play it safe and avoid making enemies. "Hey," he greeted her, trying not to show how frustrated he was.
She poked his nose. "You play hide 'n' seek? We're short on players after Gible quit."
"C'mon, Axew, you won't let me hide underground," Gible said, with his hands on his hips. "What am I supposed to do?"
Bulbasaur made a face. "I'm not familiar with the area..."
"Good," she said. "I wanna win."
"Who else is playing?"
"Me," a voice whispered beside him.
Bulbasaur visibly jumped, making Axew nearly fall over laughing at his reaction. Bulbasaur glared back at her, which succeeded in only fueling her giggles.
A Shuppet came into view, staring at him with his large, multicolored eyes.
To Bulbasaur, Shuppet looked like a used napkin. His body was spherical, save for a spike atop his head. A faded purple cloth completely covered everything except his two bright and watchful eyes. But those eyes- they seemed otherworldly to him. For a brief moment, they scared him.
The spike on Shuppet's head began to glow faintly. He continued watching him as Axew recovered from her fits of laughter.
"Oh man, you're one timid Bulbasaur," she said with a chuckle, attempting to deliver a friendly punch to accent her words. But to her disappointment, Bulbasaur evaded the gesture and shook his head.
"Don't do that."
She held up her hands defensively. "A'ight, a'ight. No need to get all angry. We're just playin'."
"That Pokémon does not exploring," Shuppet said, pointing to him with the flap of his cloth.
"How can you tell?" Axew asked, ignoring his poor grammar.
"His eyes tell me total truth."
"They look like normal eyes to me," Gible interjected. "Quit givin' him a hard time, Shuppet. And you too, Axew."
Axew folded her arms. "Whatever. So you wanna play or not? We'll let you seek if ya want."
Bulbasaur didn't need to examine the landscape to know there were far too many hiding places to realistically search all of them. The forest was so dense, so teeming with verdant life, even maneuvering was difficult at times. The seekers were at a clear disadvantage.
"I'd rather hide," came the confident reply.
"Suit yourself. You see the sun?"
As difficult as it was to make it out through the trees, it was clear the sun had begun setting, turning the forest into a land of colored lights and long, mysterious shadows. In less than an hour, the sun would completely fade from sight, leaving only darkness in its wake.
"When the sun sets, the game is over. If you're still hiding, you win. Here's the catch though- you have to hide someplace where you can see the sun."
Bulbasaur began to look around preemptively for good hiding spots. "Fair enough."
"A'ight then. Shuppet, you wanna look for us?"
Without any warning Shuppet began counting. "One... two... three..."
"No no no no!" Axew groaned. "You have to close your eyes and look away. We're supposed to be hiding."
"Okay," he said, turning to face a large tree. "How many numbers do I need to be counting?"
"Just... count to a hundred or something. You know all the numbers, right?"
He nodded. "One... two... three... four..."
Needing no further instruction, Bulbasaur and Axew ran off in different directions.
