Chapter 2: See You Later
Adrona. No matter where you went, that single word would ring in anyone's ear. What exactly was that place? Unbeknownst to many, Adrona is a small region just off the coast of a much larger and intimidating region. What's the name you ask? Only those who had ever wandered out of Adrona would know its name, but for now, not a single soul knew – although it was arguable. Many tales arose over generations that spoke of countless who were lucky enough to become trainers and head towards the unknown; unfortunately due to its 'much better lifestyle' no one returned. Those who wandered out decided to stay, but for the most part, it was either that happy tale or the actual one – they perished in their travels. However, despite many difficulties, there are many thriving villages and areas that seemed to flourish since the beginning of time in the Region of Adrona – only Arceus could wish them all well.
It was only mid-morning that the chirps of the Pidgeys and quacks of the Duckletts slowly awoke an exhausted – to say the least – teen who groaned as he avoided the sun's rays. Days rolled by and still he was incredibly sore from the trials. The rustling of leaves and branches swayed by, the crisp fresh breeze attempted to lull Vere back to sleep, but being the early riser he was, the newly appointed trainer fought against the gentle caress of sleep, apologizing and promising to see her again once the moon shone.
'Good morning Vere!' a happy voice flowed inside the adolescent's mind allowing the human to crack a smile at his greeter. It was indeed pretty early, but as of right now, everything was perfect if one would omit his breakdown days before.
"Good morning to you too Sol. You're up early." Replied Vere, his voice laced with amusement. It was strange having someone in the household be awake at the same time he was. He glanced at the battery operated clock. 6:28 am. Huh, just two minutes off from the alarm. The trainer shrugged, causing his woolen blanket to fall off his shoulders and onto the soft mattress below.
'I'm awake because you've awoken.' Sol said, pushing his paws together nervously. It felt weird to give a lecture to his trainer; the human was older than him, and technically speaking the Sandshrew was an infant Pokemon but still, compared to the other life forms, they aged much quicker but still maintained their mortality until their perfect partners died. 'I know when you're about to wake, and if I choose to, I do the same.'
"I see." Vere waved his hand dismissively, brushing a finger against Sol's ear, watching it twitch in annoyance. Hah. "I guess there's more to this bond than what was initially taught. Thank you Sol."
'No problem Vere. What will we do today? This is the day before we leave, no?'
A low chuckle came from the teen as his eyes closed. Taking a deep breath and slowly turning his head around the room, the trainer sadly took in his surroundings all the while tapping at his necklace – an annoying trait he picked up from his own nervousness. "We're actually leaving today. Soon." he replied. "We packed up everything last night. Aunt Cara and Uncle Rob will take care of the food and money. They said for us to wait and rethink about what we need in case we forgot anything."
Sol hummed in excitement, wagging his tail causing the curtains near the window to swoosh in the process. For some reason the little mouse Pokemon was incredibly anxious and needless to say – very much excited, for reasons he had absolutely no clue why. Maybe it was because he was going on an adventure with his bonded trainer, or maybe because he would be able to make friends with the other wild creatures. Heck, maybe because this had been what Vere had been waiting for since his entire life! It wasn't uncommon to have the feelings flow through the duo; it was what being bonded meant. The chosen Pokemon would be able to feel the thoughts and emotions of their human partner as long as it was permissible. It wasn't like Vere hid anything from Sol, so that meant the Sandshrew took it as a good thing. Their talk last night was something both teen and Pokemon went through, should the human decide to reveal about his past. It was sad to say the very least, but what was the meaning of sad exactly? Personally, Sol believed that in order to feel sad, one would have to first feel happiness. Even if Vere's parents were ripped out from his life at a young age, the human still had Sol right? Still, even all that, it had only been less than a week since the ground type hatched and was brought out from the Cave of Prime; all this experience had been very intriguing. Free to wander the quaint village, Sol had learned that both he and Vere were born in Roscrest – a village known for their export of fresh fruits and vegetables to the other villages inside Adrona. The rituals that took place here were one of a kind, unique to the other places. This included the trials that his human had gone through. Not many people knew what the neighboring villages' rituals were, but it was safe to say most of the villagers couldn't have cared less. The civilians were very much in tuned with their own daily life in Roscrest, the place each person held proudly.
According to Vere's exciting tale, just two weeks before he had obtained Sol, the teen had to undergo tests that involved his intellectual abilities as well as his survival skills. Each round tested his courage and his motivation to make it to the end. Unfortunately, he was up against two other wannabe trainers and for better or worse, only one could make it to the end – this was Vere. Luckily for the sanity of the three males, neither disclosed their names or their history, making them only mere pawns in the game to become a trainer. Those who had failed to complete the ritual had either perished in their attempts or had gotten picked off by natural causes ranging from a hungry Fearow or the merciless pull of the river currents. Despite it all, for the one adolescent who was victorious, he or she would be honoured and respected for the rest of their lives – well to an extent really; it was hard to say because just like human nature, depending on the likeability a person held, they would either be envied or loved.
A heavy thump distracted the last of Sol's reminiscing as he turned away from the window to look at his evolved trai- oh wait, no. What was it again? His human had explained to him that his species enjoyed changing…clothes. Yes, that's right. These…clothes…were apparently an enjoyable pastime for Vere's species as they didn't stick to one 'set' or so his human said.
"Ahem." Vere cleared his throat, eyeing the Sandshrew accusingly. "I heard that." He laughed, tugging on the last part of his attire before walking to the mirror. The adolescent turned around, admiring whatever he was admiring. He smiled, drawing his fists to his side, questioning his choices. It was resourceful right? Vere wasn't someone one would call tall, but he was at least average, if not just slightly shorter by an inch or two. His eyes came from his fathers as they held a grey shine to them whenever they hit sunlight; it was nothing unusual – rather very common, but Vere held them as his star features anyways. His royal blue hair stood out the most in his village for it obviously wasn't his original hair colour; everyone wants to be unique in some ways, but unlike those who were dreamers, Vere was a doer and thus asking the village hairstylist to dye his hair permanently blue with the berries found within the area and have half of his bangs cover his left eye. Due to his time training and being outdoors, he was tan, but not enough to cause sunburn and not enough to be called dark. Vere shrugged. He had to admit, give or take he was pretty lucky on his skin. Some of his peers definitely had problems especially with sunburn if they stayed out a few seconds too long. Sucks for them.
'You look pretty good, I think.' Sol said, his head turning to look at the black and blue striped cotton armbands. 'What's that for?'
"Ah, thanks! And these are what we call armbands." The teen brought up an arm pointing and stretching the elastic. "They're used to capture any sweat that us humans tend to do. That way I can have a firm grip if we ever get ourselves in a bind."
Turning back to inspect the remaining clothing choice, Vere fidgeted his back pockets, making sure they were big enough to hold his wallet. It took him forever and a half, but just recently he was able to get his hands on a newly made silk sport shorts with a few pockets here and there. It was light enough for him to swim in, and airy enough so that his legs could breathe when the sun was beating down. The most difficult choice had to be his jacket. It was currently summer in Roscrest and needless to say it was ridiculously hot; however being the villagers they were, hot was not an issue, it was what happened when the sun went down that everything hit a temperature that was too cold. Vere shrugged once more, flicking a loose thread hanging down from his tee shirt underneath. The trainer knew his jacket was very durable and lightweight but he had to make sure it would keep him warm if he was in some kind of trouble. Dark colours were always the way to go, and with his tee shirt at a dark cyan blue and the top of his hoodied jacket a charcoal black and a light blue stripe across his chest, the blue haired male had to agree it was probably the best choice. His shoes and socks were a no brainer and Arceus forbid if he screwed that up, then he definitely deserved to die out there in the wilderness.
A feeling of laughter spiked in Vere's mind, taking a few seconds for him to realize it wasn't his but rather Sol's. The last thing he heard before Aunt Cara called for the duo was, 'My human has such a morbid sense of humour.' He smiled, glancing at himself one last time in the mirror. He was ready. Heck, more than ready even. It was time.
"Yes Aunt Cara?!"
"Come to the kitchen! I have a surprise for you before you go!"
Shuffling together the last of his items, Vere flung his knapsack over his shoulders leaving room for Sol to jump onto the other side, resting his paws softly against the human's neck. Perfect place to rest if you asked him.
Upon entering the living room, both were attacked by a furious hug from a man and his wife. Surprised, Vere froze as he tried to get a better look at his assaults, and when he did, the teen laughed.
"Hiya Uncle Rob!" he laughed out, hugging his Aunt and Uncle back with just as much force. Arceus, he was definitely going to miss them immensely. As the three humans attempted to hold back their tears, Cara presented her nephew with a rather large bag that held what she called 'goodies'.
"Sweetheart, this holds your emergency belongings as well as a few imperishable foods with specific berries. I'm sure you'll be able to recognize them. Use them wisely, they were hard to find! Inside, for the sake of money you'll find exactly five thousand pokedollars. Always remember that if you need more, all you need to do is come back safe and sound…" Her words trailed off as she took this pause to wipe a tear away as she gripped the boy in front of her tighter in her hug. It was very hard to admit that for someone she had put all her love in, – due to her inability to have a child – had a large chance of never returning and just disappearing like all the other trainers before him. In other words, she had a high probability of losing her one and only son. Sensing her distress, Rob took over, his own voice not faring any better.
"Don't listen to her kid. We'll see you again alright? Those other guys probably did something stupid. We've known you since forever, and no way are you going to make those same mistakes."
Sol and Vere nodded, his eyes glued to the floor; he just couldn't look either at them in the eye.
"Okay then. I guess this isn't a goodbye but a 'see you soon', right?" the trainer asked, confidence shown clearly in his eyes. Vere took walked towards the door, his back turned towards his…pseudo parents, pausing just at the door handle when he heard one last saying from his Uncle.
"See you later, my son."
The gates finally broke, allowing his tears to run freely down his cheek as he used his free hand to grip his necklace tightly. Without another word, the adolescent opened the door, took his last steps outside and closed the door with an audible click.
He didn't look back.