Pokemon: Incarnation
Chapter 6: Lakeside Park
The stench of the swamp assaulted my nostrils as it awakened me from my awkward sleep. Guess I'm still here then; still in a world that I was simply not cut out for. It was hard to see as it was still night time, but I could see Nisbeth shuffling around his shack, possibly getting some food. I really owed a lot to this guy, for saving my life and giving me a place to stay, and I started feeling a bit guilty as a result. He noticed me standing up as he gave me a small loaf of bread to eat and a mug of water. Bland, but sufficient.
"Ok, I'll walk you to the edge of the swamp and leave you there. The sun is probably just about to come up, and the library will probably be open by the time you get there. Regardless how the exam goes, you're spending almost all day fishing to make up for this." He said, taking a rather authoritative position that I wasn't too keen on, but I wasn't going to argue with him either.
"It seems pointless that I'm being forced to take the adulthood exam this early. Unless the pass mark is averaged out across all the fields, I'm bound to fail." I said, sighing as ate the rather stale bread. "I'll score a big fat zero in the fight since I can't do it at all."
"Well, not with that attitude at least." Nisbeth responded, trying to perk me up a bit as we set out through the swamp. It'd have been a nightmare and a half if I was alone, but I trusted Nisbeth could protect me well.
"Would it be possible with a couple of week? Possibly, I don't know, but until I know about the basics, I'll never pass." I said, as we walked out of the swamp, the sky becoming a bit lighter.
"Well, if you smash the other four subjects, then they'll likely just focus your education on battle, so you might be able to learn quickly." He said, stopping as I shook my head slightly.
"If only they awarded points for diffusing situations and avoiding violent tussles altogether." I muttered under my breath.
"This world isn't safe Basil – you really need to learn this stuff for your own good." He said before returning to the mire as I made my own way up the hill. The sun, or whatever this star was called, was just peeking over the hills behind the town, illuminating it rather beautifully. I could probably just sit here for a few minutes to just gaze at this picturesque sight, but I had things to do.
It seems like I was the first one in the library aside from the staff members as I grudgingly strolled to the kids section and started trying to cram as much geographical and historical knowledge into my brain, or brains, as my new body had three, as possible. The books didn't go too in-depth about all this, leading me to believe that the exam for those sections wouldn't be too hard. Perhaps the natives here had weak study tactics for something this straight forward to be at the 'adulthood exam,' and I was begging to everything that is good and true that I didn't have to pass each section individually.
"So, did your 'dad' make you get up early to study?" A familiar voice said from behind, making me jump in surprise.
"Damn, Nisbeth, don't sneak up on me like that!" I said, jumping in my skin slightly. "Oh, your question...I came here on my own accord. By the way, do the exams take an average total for the different tests or do they expect you to pass each one. I am really, really hoping its the former.
"Nah, you have to pass each one. I'd have passed by now if I didn't keep failing the math part." He said as I felt myself sink into the stool that I was sitting on. Well, might as well give up here. I could have all the theory knowledge on a pokemon's abilities, but nothing on how to use them effectively myself. Knowing my sister, she'd be a lot better than this than I would be. Maybe she'll have the magic touch when it comes to being a pokemon and not just training them. Who knows – maybe she'll be the one able to train me! The thought of that was both hilarious and creepy, but it may become a necessity if she finds me before I'm able to pass. Come to think of it, she probably has no idea that I was also taken by The Guardian of Forever. Well, she'd find out eventually...
A couple of hours later, I started feeling confident about the geography and history parts. This book right here was a very handy 'how to pass' guide, but it didn't really offer anything on fighting, saying that it was best left to families and practical activities, saying that a textbook can't offer much in that area. A real shame, since I probably could have wormed at least a bit of advice and help from it to make my impending failure less spectacular. I was really hoping that espurr would show up again to potentially help me, but she was nowhere to be seen. Murphy didn't look like he was having much luck either, and his perky demeanour was being defeated by, what was to me anyway, some pretty simple maths. Should I help this guy? Could he have anything that he could offer me? Yet, throughout this questioning, there was a part of me that really wanted him to pass. Why? I didn't really know or care about this guy. It was strange to say the least, and it felt like the exact opposite of how I felt irrationally furious towards Floyd back in the human world. Neither feeling had much logic or reason behind it, and it was really starting to bother me. Still, this was a very minor incident compared to me feeling the need to potentially throw my entire life away, so...why not?
"Right, Murphy, listen carefully. I'm going to explain this to you, and I'm going to get you to pass the maths test." I said, moving my stool next to him to see what he was doing wrong.
"Really, you'll help me Basil?" He said, his face suddenly lighting up. Truth be told, I was hardly a good teacher, but maybe I could explain it in a way that would make sense to him where all previous attempts by his teachers failed.
"Yup, so pay attention! Right, so from the looks of things, you're not dividing these long multiplication questions into bite-sized parts. I'll show you a way you might find easier..." I went on trying to explain different types of questions in many different ways, determined to find out a way that he could get the methods into his skull. I didn't want to dent his confidence going in, since he seemed to be one who learned and improved from compliments rather than criticisms such as myself, but he was really bad at maths. Regardless, I believe that anyone could be good at anything they wanted to be if they put in enough time and effort, and it seems like my methods were starting to yield some results. I could see him break down each question into more manageable parts, and with my guidance, he no longer sucked as hard. At this rate, he'd be good enough to pass, which made me feel oddly happy. Did I consider Murphy a friend? That was hard to tell, as my mind felt torn in two over the issue. Knowing me, I wouldn't have helped him until I knew him better, so why did I feel the need to give him a leg up right there? Did it possibly have anything to do why I couldn't stand Floyd, even though he never actually did anything to me?
"I...I think I can do it! Thanks Basil, thank you so much!" He said, his voice almost squeaking as he pulled me into a tight hug. Well, I guess that was one way to show your gratitude!
"Yeah, just don't fail and stuff..." I muttered as he let me go. "Well, exam starts in an hour, so you should take us there." I said as he lead me out of the library and onto the school grounds. I already saw a family there, talking to one another. It consisted of a very young looking goomy, a sligoo who looked like he was taking the exam and...oh no. Please, mother of mercy, get those two goodras out of there!
"Hey Basil, is something wrong? Nervous about the exam?" He asked.
"It's not that, it's...those!" I said, pointing to the two goodra parents.
"Wait, what's wrong with them? They're, like, the nicest family in town!" He replied, clearly not getting it.
"...I find them absolutely terrifying." I said, seeing the disgusting goop drip from their chins and bellies, making my skin shiver as my hairs started standing on end in fright.
"...Why? No, really, why? I really don't get it. Did you get attacked by one as a child?" He asked as I shook my head.
"Actually, no, I just find their species to be the scariest thing on Earth. I can't explain it at all. It's like why a lot of people are afraid of spiders and stuff. The little things are harmless unless you live in Australia, so there's no reason to-" I said before Murphy cut me off.
"What's so dangerous about the spiders in New Australia?" He asked as I suddenly froze. I just made a huge mistake, casually chatting away if I was still in the human world. How could I recover from this? I needed to lie my way out of this, quickly! But what could I say.
"Er...my...my friend was bitten by one there and needed medical care for the next few days." I said, hoping that would suffice. I didn't actually know anyone who had ever been to Australia, let alone live there, so what I told was one hundred percent garbage. I just hoped that Murphy wouldn't question it too much...
"Never heard of stuff like that happening in New Australia before." He said as I was forced to try and improvize again. Melinda, I could sure use your silver tongue right not to get me out of this jam!
"Rare species. Never found outside of the continent, and it's still very uncommon inside New Australia. Can't remember what the type of spider is called though, so don't ask me that. Anyway, back to more important things; anything you want to ask me about maths before we go in?"I asked, changing the subject while also trying to stay out of sight of those terrifying goodras, who I could hear making strange, unearthly sounds from their mouths.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready. It's a shame I don't know much at all about how meowstics fight though. If you were a helioptile or a heliolisk, like me, I could get you to pass the fight easily! Are you sure you can't battle at all?" He asked as I shrugged.
"It's not that I'm crippled, it's just that my family never considered it important, ergo, we never learned." I said, as we registered ourselves in for the exam. Of course, I filled in a couple of false details so I wouldn't be kicked out of Broussard upon my first and only failed exam, and in no time, we were ready to go.
English was pretty easy as I expected, and it seemed to be at low secondary school level, intended for people around the age of thirteen. It was never my strongest subject, but I still knew more than enough to confidently answer every question and complete every task. From taking the occasional glance at Murphy a couple of desks away from me., it was the only academic thing that he seemed to be confident in, so good for him I guess.
Maths was next, and I found it to be a complete doddle as expected, given I must have been several levels above what they were asking me to do here. I finished the entire paper in fifteen minutes when there was an hour time limit, and that included checking my work at the end.
"It only took you fifteen minutes?" One of the teachers, a watchog said to me.
"Yeah, it was very easy for me." I said casually. I could see that from the look on Murphy's face that he was struggling, but he also seemed determined to make it work. "When do we get the results?"
"As early as seven o'clock in the evening if you want to find out that soon. One of my colleagues is already marking your work." He replied as I ran through some notes I made for the geography test. I should be able to pass this, but I'd have to actually try this time. I saw Murphy was only able to hand in his work at the last second, and from the face he was wearing, he had no idea whether he did well enough to pass or not.
"I...I did better than last time, I know that at least. Do you reckon it'll be enough to pass?" He asked me, looking nervous, yet hopeful.
"No idea, I guess we'll just have to wait. Though, if you wanted a more concrete answer, I'd say I have a good feeling that you passed." I said, smiling, trying to make him feel better. "Keep this up, and you'll be an adult." I said, muttering to myself about the bizarre requirements for adulthood under my breath.
History and geography required substantially more effort, and in hind sight, if the textbook I found wasn't geared purely to passing the course, then I probably would have failed these exams. It was particularly hard to remember some of the German-sounding cities from Fremdesland, but given I only had a mere day to try and cram information into my brain, I still think I did well all things considered. Murphy looked completely relieved after the history test was over as he swiftly ran up to me.
"You know, I reckon I might have finally passed!" He said, his southern accent getting stronger as his voice went high in excitement.
"Good for you..." I trailed off, knowing what would come last. Well, maybe now would be a good time to just bow out, cut my losses, admit defeat, and start working towards the next victory. I guess I'd just have to tell the examiners that I can't do the combat exam and save me from getting a savage beating.
"Excuse me, Ms Simipour, I've come to announce that I can't do the combat exam." I said as soon as I approached her. She looked at me from the side, facing away from the papers she was marking and gave me a perplexed look.
"Why is this? Is there some kind of medical reason? You don't look hurt or anything." She replied, marking the exams as well as answering my statements. Clearly, she could multi-task well.
"Well, I was kind of forced to take the exam early since I'm not from Broussard and I'm above the age of sixteen. Quite simply put, I can't fight, and all that would happen if I took the test is that I would get hurt and embarrassed." I said, sounding a little sheepish. I expected her to look irritated, but instead, she smiled warmly at me, and I was really wondering why.
"It's normal for children to feel nervous before and during their adulthood exam, but that doesn't mean you'll fail. Here, look at this." She said before showing me my maths test. "One hundred percent, only using fifteen minutes. You're clearly extremely bright, and I'm sure you can pass the combat test." I didn't take too well to being patronized like this as I frowned slightly.
"My family and I never learned how to fight. I can barely even use any psychic or psionic abilities, and this is the equivalent of doing an exam on Ger-er, the language of Fremdesland without the knowledge that the continent even exists." I said, still hoping I could get out of it. Still, I was at least glad I was able to catch myself from revealing that I know things that the pokemon of this world shouldn't know.
"Basil, perhaps this could be the best thing for you. When I teach my class, I always say that the best learning environment is tackling challenges and experiences that are completely new and unknown. Even if you fail, this will surely be a great learning opportunity for you, and should you need another attempt, you'll surely do better than last time. Who knows; maybe you'll learn something about yourself." She said, smiling warmly at me. Well, this would certainly be a lesson in pain! To think I never really considered what it was like being a professional battling pokemon back in England! I always appreciated their efforts back in my trainer days, but this was a whole new perspective...no, it wasn't. They wanted to fight, and they were most certainly able. I was neither of those things.
"Ok, I'll put it another way: The exam is in a controlled environment. Out there in the wilderness, and even occasionally on the streets is a very different matter. Here, you might get a chance to feel what combat is about while it's safe, and if you can't even face up to that..." She said before I finally got the message. She was a persuasive one, and she had won me over. I really should be nipping this issue in the bud before it grows out of hand, as much as I despised the idea.
"...I'll do it." I said, breathing deeply to steady myself.
"Excellent! Oh, you're up first – we're going in alphabetical order." She said, directing me towards the door leading outside onto the school field. Why didn't my parents name me Zachary...
"Ready Basil?" Murphy said, pointing to the watchog speaking to the farfetch'd at the other side of the field. "I think you'll be fighting the watchog."
"Well, they aren't exactly the toughest of species..." I said, shuddering as I tried to think of reasons why it would be so bad. I walked out onto the field very slowly as my name was called as I stared into the watchog's eyes. I remembered that you only had to well enough to pass, not necessarily win. Maybe there was the slightest chance...
"Ready, Basil Meowstic? Here, I, the almighty vice-principle Watchog, will be the most prestigious gatekeeper to your ascension into adulthood!" He announced dramatically, making me think that he was getting way into the idea of beating up a 'child' as he made dramatic gestures to everyone around him. That watchog seemed to be acting as if this was showman wrestling, something that drove me crazy as a child since all my friends adored it way more than I did. The farfetch'd looked like he was finding it hard to
Ok, Basil, just think clearly for a second: Let's see what strengths I have. I'm a professional battle strategist, and my opponent is a watchog, so how would I figure out the plan that gives me the best chance of winning. Well, they're never used by any trainer anywhere near my sister's level since all they have is alarmingly good reactions and nothing else. They only have a bog-standard set of physical abilities and they're not a particularly agile species. Now, if I were the trainer, I'd ask myself to keep a safe distance, look away from any hypnotizing abilities should it use them and just wear it down with a careful, yet precise psionic assault. Should be straight forward, but the meowstic that I would have is genuinely terrible, and I don't know what this watchog can do, or how the pokemon differ in this world aside from being civilized.
"Begin in three...two...one...go!" The farfetch'd yelled as I suddenly the enthusiastic watchog sprint right at me on all fours. In the body of a smaller being, it moved considerably faster than I could anticipate, forcing me to dive clumsily to the side as it lunged at me, teeth and claws bared for attack.
"Holy fuck! Stop, please!" I screamed instinctively, suddenly feeling terrified of the pokemon attacking me like that as I scrambled to my feet. The watchog gave me a confused look and shrugged.
"You do realise this is part of your test, right? I'll give you a point for avoiding my attack...I suppose." He said, his enthusiasm vanishing into the void as he stared lazily at me. I saw that he was going to try and lull me into sleep with hypnotic techniques, so I quickly looked away and kept a big distance – I was having none of that!
"Seems like you've studied fighting theory at least." He said, sounding almost impressed. I guess these fools here were easy to impress within certain fields. He suddenly ran at me again as I kept backing off, getting ready to dive out of the way at the last moment, but instead of diving at me, he suddenly kicked a wad of mud and dirt right at me. This change in approach caught me off guard as the earth hit me pretty hard, and one second later, I suddenly felt a very sharp pain across my side as I fell over, clutching it in agony.
"Ow! OW! Oh...oh no, it's bleeding! How could you do that to me you 'child' abuser!?" I yelled out, trying to keep as steady as I could through the pain as I pushed myself to my feet with one arm, my other one clutching the wound I just received. The watchog looked completely dejected as his palm met his face quickly as he shook his head.
"Principal, can we just fail Basil already? This is...this is beyond sad." He said loudly, his voice becoming incredibly monotone. I looked at the principal and nodded hard with a big smile on my face, trying to encourage her to step in and end it so I could get someone to look at my wound.
"Basil's still in fighting shape, so I'll decide when it's over. Basil can still pass you know." She said as I went to protest.
"I give up! I announce my defeat! I am conceding this victory!" I announced, storming up to her, grunting and groaning at the pain in my side.
"...That's a mild scratch Basil. I like to see every student push themselves to their limits so they can discover for themselves what they're capable of. It's the best learning experience possible, so I'm not letting you give up here." She said, giving me a friendly looking smile, though I certainly didn't welcome the friendliness.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." I said, half murmuring half whining as I turned to look at the watchog again. Behind him on the sidelines, I saw Murphy looking a little dismayed at my performance, yet he still cheered me on anyway, somehow thinking I could suddenly pull a miracle off. If I were my sister, maybe I could do such a thing.
"Basil, could you at least try to attack me, ok?" Watchog said, his face growing even more disgruntled by the second.
"I don't know how! I've been telling everyone and they never fucking listen to a word I say!" I screamed as he ran at me from side to side, trying to trick me. From a trainer perspective, I could easily tell his every move, but it was much harder to do so while focusing on your own actions as well, something a trainer never really had to do. Through the pain and the fear of getting another agonizing lesson, I lost my nerve and turned tail to flee, trying to desperately escape this animalistic, violent exam. As predicted, I was the slower one and I soon felt him pounce on me from behind, tackling me to the ground as my body started shaking in panic.
"Get off! GET OFF!" I screamed in terror as I felt that I could no longer flee in my position. I heard the watchog mutter something to the simipour, as my fear began to manifest itself in another form. My vision changed slightly as certain...things came into view. Was this the psionic plane again? What did this constitute of? I saw a rather large field around the watchog above me, but I couldn't make sense of it at all, nor could I use it in anyway. I suddenly saw that he had his teeth bared at me as I shrieked in panic. I wasn't sure what happened, but watchog was off me and was about a couple of meters to my left.
"Wait...you actually did something?" Watchog said, getting up before did. "Well, I guess that doesn't make you the worst ever student to take the combat exam. Care to try to show a bit more now?" He announced before scooping up some mud in his hand. Thinking back to last night, maybe this would be the only way I could pass – I had to open up my ears and just hope for the best! Dodging the ball of mud he threw at me, I forced my ears open by using my hands as I felt that bizarre power surge through me once more as I stared at the world with four eyes. This was my only chance to get this over and done with, and I had to try it now! But what could I do? I had no control over this psychic energy and I already started to feel it spiking to uncomfortable levels. I wanted it to stop, I wanted all of this to stop! Glaring at watchog, I saw the sensitive neck of his. Maybe if I couldn't control it, maybe I could just attack him there somehow! Running at him, I yelled out in fear and fury, but before I could get there, I felt my body buckle under the sheer energy as it felt like my frame got hit by an explosion of some kind. I felt myself being tossed into the air and one second later, everything suddenly went blank.
"That was probably the strangest combat exam I've ever seen...oh, you're awake Basil. That was...interesting." I heard Murphy say as I saw the blurry outline of his yellow and black body to my right.
"...What happened?" I said weakly as I saw an audino inspect me.
"Mild head injury, you'll be fine in an hour, so just rest here. You can see the rest of them take the combat exam from here if you want." She said as I nodded, wanting to see how Murphy would do if he hadn't already taken it yet.
"I'll stay...how long have I been out for?" I asked. I felt very weak as dull pains throbbed over my entire body, making it hard to move at all.
"Just twenty minutes." She replied, not giving me any eye contact as she finished off her inspection. Needless to say, I think I'd prefer the medical support back on my world.
"I failed, didn't I." I muttered sadly, seeing that all that shit I went through was pretty much for nothing.
"Obviously! I didn't expect you to be that terrible Basil!" Murphy said while grinning before suddenly looking guilty. "...Sorry, just my initial reaction, I swear I didn't mean to say it like that."
"That's fine..." I muttered, frowning at him. "Anyway, looks like you're up Murphy." I weakly gestured to the teachers with my head as I saw him sprint over to them with incredible haste. The teachers over there seemed to be arguing among themselves before farfetch'd grudgingly entered the field, looking rather nervous as he held its stalk in his wings. Over the next five minutes, I would understand why he was anxious. Murphy, for all his goofiness and immaturity, was a real joy to behold in combat. The way he ran and leapt in many different directions, firing off many electrical attacks as he did so, was like something out of the regional leagues of competitive battling. Seeing him be able to dodge almost everything while retaliating with great accuracy suddenly made me very glad that he was my friend and not my enemy. While Watchog was clearly holding back against me, Farfetch'd was clearly trying his best, and while he was able to land a few good hits in, an unexpected stream of fire from Murphy suddenly shut him down.
"Damn, that was actually pretty amazing!" I said, his performance out there making me feel a bit better.
"It was always pretty easy to me." He said happily as I saw Farfetch'd limp over to the other teachers, and I could imagine that he was grumbling about being picked to test Murphy. "I overheard them by the way, you failed spectacularly, just in case you didn't already figure that out."
"Trust me, I was able to work that one out for myself. I would say that screaming like a little girl would have lost me points, but I bet even a few little girls have passed this." I said, grumbling as I got to my feet. All things considered, I wasn't too badly hurt, and I felt as though I could walk fine. Maybe I was being a bit melodramatic back there, and from what I could tell from the others taking the exam, it was clear they were being very careful to not hurt each other too much.
"I think I'm about to be handed my results! Hey, I think I might have actually passed everything this time! Come with me, I'll show you to my mom and pop!" He said as I smiled awkwardly, as if he was treating me as some trophy to show people, though I'm sure he meant well.
"If you're quick." I said, not wanting to elaborate further. I didn't want his family probing around who I was too much after all. I grabbed my results first from Simipour and looked at them right away. As expected, English and maths were pretty much a one hundred percent result, geography and history were fairly narrow passes and...well...sixteen out of a hundred for combat. All things considered, it wasn't quite as dismal a result as I expected.
"Oh Basil, before you go, just a quick word about the sort of curriculum I'll line out for you. Clearly you're more than fine for math and English, so no education needed there. One class for history and geography should be sufficient, which leaves the...obvious issue." The simipour said to me just before I left before turning around.
"I did say I couldn't fight. I don't know what else you expected from me there." I said, frowning ever so slightly.
"Yet you were able to do something! You didn't just lie down and take it! I think you must have learned something from that, right Basil? Anyway, most of the time it will be combat focused, and I might even be able to get you some more specialized tuition from a meowstic once a week. From what we saw, your theory combat knowledge seems to be good, so if you focus hard on that one area, you might be able to pass in a mere four months or so!" She said, sounding very happy for me, which was in star contrast to how I felt. Four months of potentially being trapped in this little village?! No! I can't accept this! There had to be another way! Forge an adulthood ID card? Somehow cheat the exam next time? ...I'd find a way. I'd find a way to start my real search for Melinda.
"Yeah, sounds good..." I said quietly before rejoining Murphy who looked like he was talking to his parents, looking very excited.
"Sorry we couldn't attend the exam, we both had work." The mother said before seeing me approaching them. "Oh, is this Basil? Pleased to meet you! Murphy here spoke highly of you."
"Yeah, that's me." I said softly before shaking their hands. The foster father, a carracosta grunted at me before shaking my hand.
"I heard you helped Murphy here with the math exam. Let's hope it paid off then. So, Murphy, care to show us your results?" He asked before Murphy started looking through the results papers. Pass...pass...pass...pass...and pass! Murphy's face lit up like the sun itself before screeching for joy, leaping at least an entire meter in the air in jubilation.
"YES! Yesyesyesyesyesyes! Thank you Basil, you're a life saver!" He said, hugging me tightly. Seems like he was almost as physically strong as he was agile, for I felt badly crushed and found it hard to breathe.
"It was...all you..." I said, trying to squeeze my words through a tightened chest. Murphy put me down before going to hug and celebrate with his parents, who looked equally relieved as they did cheery. Good going for Murphy I guess, and while I felt happy for him, I wasn't any closer to finding Melinda. Regardless, as an adult, he could prove useful to my mission, so I think that befriending him would be a good idea.
"Hey, we should all go to Lakeside Park now! Maybe I can have one of those beers now that I'm an adult!" Murphy said excitedly, making me sigh. I really could use a nice cold one right now.
"Oh, why not. I'll get you one once we get there." The carracosta said as lead us down a fairly busy path that somewhat lead downhill. In the short distance, I saw a sparse crowd all sitting and standing around the shores of a lake with many stalls, giving an all round feel of a good place to hang around and relax after a tough day.
"Is it usually this busy?" I asked as Murphy shook his head.
"It's usually a bit quieter, but there are more peaceful areas a bit further out. I'll take you there at some other point, but right now, I just want to celebrate!" Murphy said, bouncing slightly as he walked beside me.
"Psst, Murphy, I don't suppose you could smuggle me a beer, could you? Where I come from, you were 'of age' when you hit eighteen, so you can hopefully understand my predicament." I said quietly so his parents couldn't hear. He looked a bit uncomfortable before nodding.
"Sure, anything to repay you." He said and chuckled as he ran down to join the crowds, leaving me with his parents.
"So where are you from anyway? I'm assuming from Conviction, right?" Murphy's mum asked me as I nodded.
"Yeah...sorry if I'm not feeling talkative right now. I'm real happy for Murphy passing and all, but I was a living disaster in the combat exam, so I'm not feeling too good right now." I said, hoping it'd deflect their quizzing that I was sure they were about to unleash upon me.
"That's rather queer: completely acing that ornery math test but flunkin' the combat. Everyone round these parts always finds the combat the easiest part. Did you just choke or something?" His dad asked me in his deep, gravelly voice. If he was to probe me like this, I'd rather it'd be due to the exam.
"I'm just really, really bad at fighting but great at maths." I said simply before running over to join Murphy who had a small beer and a bottle of juice in his hands.
"I sneaked some in for you." He said, winking at me as I smiled back at him before taking a drink. Tasted extremely bland, but it still hit the mark just fine. While it was quite different from the stuff back where I lived, it still reminded me very much of home. The sun looked like it would set in about a couple of hours, so I couldn't spend too long here as a trek home was already dodgy enough during the day.
"S'cuse me, comin' through..." A wavering voice said from a tall yellow pokemon as it stumbled by. It reeked of booze and it dropped an empty bottle right next to us.
"Seen that ampharos before?" I asked as I saw it stop in amongst the crowd.
"Nope. Wonder what his problem is?" He replied as I saw him take some strange device out of his bag and held it high above his head in dramatic fashion.
"What's he doing?!" I said as the crowd looked closely as voices started sounding from the strange pale blue object in his hands.
"So on today's thirtieth gathering, we are discussing a recent phenomenon that has been the subject of discussion all around the world: The increasing occurrence of pokemon claiming to be human." Upon hearing those words being said from the object, my ears tuned in so hard I had to stop them from prying themselves open. Here we go – a lead! I squeezed close as I tried getting as close as possible to the drunk ampharos to hear every single syllable as clearly as I could.
"There's been a total of thirty-seven cases over the past two months, and while pokemon claiming to be human wasn't unheard of before hand, the most prominent example being The Sound of Perseverance from thirty-five years ago, it seems to be a lot more frequent than it used to. Here, I have invited a few guests with some knowledge to discuss this with a variety of different opinions. We have Charlie Ampharos, owner of the Newer Orleans Excursion Club, Guildmaster Bibarel from Treasure Town's Bibarel Guild, the high priestess of the Humanistic Faith, Alice Pangoro and Pierre Lucario of the Global Astrology Foundation. I'll pass it over to Charlie for his views on the situation." The unidentified voice said, which I presumed to be some kind of host. The ampharos in front of me looked proud, so I assumed he was Charlie.
"Sierra and I have been looking into possible causes for this, but we found nothing yet. It's probably the greatest mystery of the world – what are humans? Well, aside from being fairly skinny beings about my size of course. It's a real shame the mayor of Syrinx is so tight-lipped about the whole thing, he could be a real good help here." Charlie said from the strange pale blue device, sounding a lot more sober and lucid than he did now. Shame he seemed like he had a bit of a drinking problem, else he could be of more help. Hopefully I could catch him alone so I could get him to tell me what he knows.
"Michael has requested have people not ask him about the human world, and I believe we should respect that." A female voice said, which I assumed was Alice. "Besides, let's take everything we know about the humans so far – they helped us all ascend from our savage origins and during times of great peril, they have returned to help us deal with the problem such as narrowly averting a war across New Australia and making Syrinx and the rest of the continent into the most prosperous area in this world! I know you've had your own dealings with humans, Bibarel. Can we call you by your birth name?"
"Gosh, it's not really appropriate where I come from outside of close friends and family. Bibarel will do. Anyway, Floyd, or The Sound of Perseverance if you insist on calling him that...just mentioning his name is a touchy and divisive subject these days, given how some churches have sprung up a few years after he came and went. Well, as someone who knew the guy for a couple of months, he seemed to be on edge all the time, and didn't seem like he even wanted to be there at times. Irritable, but always tried to do the right thing. I think if you actually met a human, you wouldn't be able to tell unless they told you, because they act like us, complete with qualities and flaws."
"Have you ever considered the reasons why they come here though?" The fourth voice said, and by process of elimination, it must have been Pierre. He, like Charlie, sounded like he was from Broussard. "Can we be sure it's just our of sheer benevolence?"
"What other reasons could it be?" Alice responded, sounding quite taken aback.
"The Sound of Perseverance comes as soon as there's a crisis. Bibarel, did he start warning everyone as soon as he arrived?" Pierre said.
"Uh, nope, he didn't. He said he had a damaged memory though, and he only seemed to remember about it until many weeks later." Bibarel responded in with a homely sounding English accent, making this world feel that bit less foreign.
"Some very odd circumstances, don't you think?" Pierre responded, which seemed to make Alice angry.
"Ok Pierre, what are you getting at?! The more I look at you, the more I see you as a potential Pale Communion sympathizer!" She retorted, sounding like she was spitting slightly as she spoke.
"Of course not! Those murderous scumbags have supposedly killed over fifty people by now! They seem to strike if they even think you're a human! Charlie, Bibarel, I trust you're working with the police to help shut them down." Pierre said, sounding angry at the accusation.
"...We found someone who claimed they were human a few days ago...we found them dead yesterday evening. Looked like they were killed with a heavy bludgeoning attack." Charlie said, suddenly sounding more serious. My heart stopped all of a sudden upon hearing this. No, it couldn't be! It can't be! Was it all over already!? I just had to ask who he or she was called now! ...I couldn't. Not now that I knew that the Pale Communion could target anyone who seemed suspicious to them, and blurting out like that in public could get me killed indirectly. I had to think carefully about this. Ok, I'd just follow this drunk pokemon after he walks off and keep on him until I get some answers. I'd say that investigating humans was just a childhood hobby of mine if he asks me any uncomfortable questions; hopefully that'd be enough.
"It should be a safety notice, but if there are any humans listening to this recording, do not let anyone, and I mean anyone know who you are. It's too dangerous right now, and it will remain that way unless we find out who these Pale Communion people are and shut them down." Bibarel chimed in, also sounding serious.
"I can say without a doubt that the Pale Communion are the biggest threat to the planet right now. What if the humans find out that they have been killing their visitors?" Alice chimed in as Pierre spoke next.
"I have said previously that the humans could be potentially dangerous since we know very little about them, and with the power to travel between worlds, I agree that potentially getting on their bad side could be a very big mistake." Pierre said before Charlie spoke up again.
"Still doesn't answer the question of who these humans are though. I heard rumours that The Guardian of Forever one time visited their world about thirty years ago, but he's not been seen in some time." Charlie said, catching my attention again. Is it possible he knew something about him?! How could I get him to tell me more?! Glancing over at Murphy who barely drank any of his beer, I started wondering if I could get him to give me a couple of more beers to bribe the drunk Charlie for information. I'd take the chance being late home if possible, daring to take the trek in the dark! A chance like this might not come around for a long time!
"Hey Murphy, you couldn't smuggle me a couple more drinks could you?" I whispered to him. "I'll pay you back for them within three days, I promise."
"Uh...sure." He said, looking a little uncomfortable, but happy enough to help me out. Finishing my own beer, it felt like I had drunk four already, which was probably down to my vastly smaller body. Feeling a bit woozy, I saw the crowd start to disperse as I took two more beers from Murphy. They too were disguised as juice bottles, and I saw Charlie about to leave. This was my chance!
"Murphy, I'll be back in about, say, fifteen minutes. I think your parents want some time with you." I said before following Charlie to a quieter part of Lakeside Park without him realising I was there for quite some time. I didn't even bother to see how Murphy was doing, since I was way too preoccupied with greater things, and once he was isolated enough, I got his attention.
"You must be Charlie from the sound of that blue thing!" I said, sounding happy. "What are they called again? Slips my mind."
"Frisms. Just thought I'd share one of the recordings here since they're really rare and expensive. Well, not entirely free, since people usually pay me with drinks. Anyway, if you're here about wanting to join the Excursion Club, I'm not accepting new recruits right now, so buzz off." He said, slurring his words and burping loudly. "Is it fine if I sleep here?"
"Er...it will be. I just wanted to ask a few things, and it's nothing about the Excursion Club." I said as he gave me a funny look.
"Yer not from around here, huh." He said and chuckled.
"Just wondering about the human you said was killed. Know who she or he was?" I asked as I felt my body freeze in anticipation of his answer.
"Not just now, just let me get a drink..." He said, muttering as he searched his bag. "...Aw, I'm out." He said in frustration, as I saw this as my opportunity to help him.
"Here you go, I got you covered." I said with a smile. "It's beer, don't worry."
"Why's it in a juice bottle?" He said, looking at it before sniffing. In hind sight, this was something I forgot to consider – was smuggling alcohol to 'children' common? Did I just reveal myself as being underaged?! "Whatever, smells good." He said, shrugging as he took a swig.
"Anyway, about that human-" I asked before he looked at me.
"So curious about her, aren't you?" He said to me before taking another large swig. "Why is that?"
"I find these otherworldly visitors fascinating and I want to know as much as I can about them. Just a hobby really, not planning on being an investigator or anything like that. Just curious to find out stuff you can't get in the library." I said, hoping he'd buy my story.
"Fair enough. It is one of the world's greatest mysteries after all." He said, finishing the beer with another huge swig before swaying where he sat. "Ok, got a few notes here. I'm probably not supposed to casually reveal information like this, but, eh, she's dead and it's not like the Pale Communion can kill a dead person they already killed. Don't ask me why they're coming here more frequently than usual though since we just got a bunch of dead ends. Probably just a bunch of pokemon claiming to be to make money from fools though. Trust me, I found out the hard way." He blathered on and on, burping a few times as he talked as the smell of booze filled the air around him.
The notepad he brought out of his bag only remained in his hand for a pitiful two seconds before he accidentally dropped it on the dry grass beneath his feet. Reacting swiftly, I picked it up to have a look and saw a page on pokemon who identified themselves as humans, and as I continued to stare blankly at the page, the list of names started to horrify me to the core and it was a very cruel reminder of just how far up shit creek I really was.