Fri and Keith waited for him on the platform, Keith awkwardly talking things over with her. Jethro came running to them from the door of the Center, fully clothed in his collared shirt and cargo jeans. "Much more appropriate for the outdoors," he said, grinning. "So, Shadyhollow… shall we?"
Fri nodded. "Yup. Should we walk till the end of the jungle, or fly?"
"Whatever you think would be best," Jethro said, smiling lightly. "You know this Region better than I do, so whichever method you think is better for the occasion."
Fri grinned mischievously. "Well, ok then…" Jethro's brow flattened out. I have a feeling I may not like what she has in mind, he thought.
She led the two guys to a paddock full of what appeared to be alicorns.
"Oh, those are cool…what are they, exactly?" Jethro asked, beginning to pull his Pokédex out.
"Thundallion and Mair. They evolve from male and female Nimboal, respectively," Fri responded before he could activate it.
Jethro raised an eyebrow inquisitively, scrolling through the Pokédex to see what a Nimboal was. As he found its data entry, its image reminded him of a Ponyta, but with a mane made of clouds instead of fire. "Huh. Alrighty then," he said, intrigued.
Fri gave a few clicks of her tongue and two Mair and a Thundallion came trotting over, whinnying gently. "Hello there." She rubbed their faces. "Nice to see you again!" The Pokémon grunted in response. Fri climbed the fence until she was standing on the top board and then jumped onto the taller Mair's back. Keith followed, hesitantly climbing on the smaller Mair.
"So I get to ride this one then," Jethro said as he looked carefully at the Thundallion. He was huge, with a barrel rib cage and glossy black fur. His brilliant yellow mane and tail were scattered in the wind, making him look a little scruffy. He snorted, shifting his large lightning bolt shaped wings. He had a jagged yellow horn coming from his forehead.
In contrast, Fri and Keith's Mair had bright white fur with blue wispy patches on their flanks. Rounded feather wings, and a straight horn from each forehead, and they had wispy, watery manes and tails. They looked a lot less intimidating.
"Well, hopefully this isn't too different from riding a Rapidash," he said softly, reaching up and gently stroking the large creature's muzzle. The Pokémon just blinked down at him with its big dark eyes and snorted again. Jethro copied Fri and Keith's mounting method, and managed to haul himself onto the Thundallion's back. None of the Pokémon had saddles, and the Thundallion was significantly taller than the two Mair.
Agitated, the Pokémon took several quick steps before Jethro patted his neck. "Whoa, easy there, buddy, easy. I'm just needing a ride out of the jungle," he said softly
There was a clatter and commotion and Forrest suddenly appeared. He turned straight to Fri. "No," he said flatly.
Fri grinned. "Too late. Right ladies?" The pair of Mair whinnied enthusiastically. It was clear they wanted to spread their wings and fly.
Jethro looked between the two, a little nervous of what might happen. "All of a sudden it's clear what that smile was all about earlier," he muttered to himself. "Why do I find myself unsurprised…?"
"Besides, they know the way back. It'll be fine," Fri was saying. Forrest glared at her. "No," came the curt reply again.
Fri waved him off. "Too bad. We need a ride out of the jungle and this is the fastest way. Hyah!" She whacked the Mair on the rump and it whinnied and took off, Keith's Mair and Jethro's Thundallion following it. The Hoenn native squawked as the Pokémon underneath him bolted off after the other two.
"Um…" he called ahead of him, "...did we just steal a bunch of Pokémon?!"
Fri grinned at him over her shoulder. "Course not! We borrowed 'em, we just didn't pay for the ride like everyone else!"
Jethro rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I swear, this woman is either going to get me killed or arrested before we even get close to the Grand Champion," he said to no one in particular, deciding he could be talking to his…'borrowed' steed. "Not quite how I pictured this day going, but hey, it works." He looked to Fri again. "I don't think that was the best idea!" he called.
"Calm down! I do this all the time! Forrest just has his panties in a wad because we're fighting right now! He won't do anything drastic!" As she finished, they began to descend.
The Pokémon landed just shy of the trees they had left behind. Spread before them was a mass of golden grasslands and hills. "Cripes, this region is like its own tiny planet!" Jethro marveled, his hand running through his hair. "First there are plains, then an oceanfront, then a jungle, and now grassland!"
Fri grinned. "Yup. And in the south it has volcanic wasteland that fire Pokémon love, bordered by a tiny desert, and even frozen peaks in the far south."
"I rest my case," Jethro muttered.
They all jumped off the Pokémon, who immediately took off back the way they had come. Fri waved at them. "Thanks for the ride!" There was a distant whinny in reply.
She turned on her heel and began to stroll casually through the tall grasses. In the distance, Jethro could see a black spot on the horizon. Fri seemed to be heading straight for it.
"Shadyhollow, right?" Fri winked at him.
"How did you guess?"
He suddenly realized something and frowned. "If this is a direct Route from Treetop Town to Shadyhollow, why exactly is there no visible path?"
Fri shrugged. "Lots of people go into the jungle...not so many come back out. You do the math."
Thinking back to the lake, he could see why. "Uh-huh...a little...what's the word I'm looking for, something like Macabre…?"
Fri chuckled. "I meant lots of people choose to stay in Treetop Town, which has all its supplies delivered by AirMair. So there's no path because people almost never leave."
"...oh," the Wanderer finally said after a few silent moments. "I can understand that. Nice town, nice folks- Forrest is debatable on that remark- amazing view…
Fri chuckled, a knowing smile crossing her face. "He's really not so bad when he isn't throwing a hissyfit."
"Who isn't?" Jethro asked himself under his breath. "So, anyway… where do we go from here?"
Fri pointed at the black spot on the horizon. "It's a straight shot right to Shadyhollow." Now that he looked closer, it looked like there was a storm brewing above the town...and only the town.
"Uhhhh…" he held the note for a few seconds. "Do I wanna know the story on this one? Because I'm starting to find the list of surprises and new discoveries...somewhat extensive."
Keith shivered. "I hate that place! Why do we have to go there?!" His voice had taken on a fearful and whiny tone.
Fri smacked him lightly on the back of the head and he complained more. "Stop being a wimp. You know that's how we get to Victory Bridge."
"But, Fri-" She cut him off. "Hush. You whine too much."
"I take it that the answer to my question is a 'no' then," Jethro muttered to himself. "Alright, so what makes this place so frightening, I risk my own mental sanity by asking this, by the way."
Fri looked thoughtful. Jethro could see her tongue pushing against her cheek as she tried to decide which words to use to start her story.
"The place has always been dark...natives avoided it like the plague (or a Trubbish pile). About 150 years or so ago, a wealthy businessman decided to settle the place...the jungle was bigger then, and bordered the spot directly."
She paused before continuing, as if she were remembering how it looked herself. "The natives warned him against it...they said it attracted bad spirits and that he was doomed to failure. He didn't listen and began construction on the town anyway."
Jethro glanced over at Keith. He looked ready to jump out of his skin. "Since the day he began building...the site has had all kinds of horrible accidents. People passed away, Pokémon passed away. Eventually a large cemetery began to form outside town."
Keith shivered. "Gives me the heebie jeebies...that place is cursed."
"For those of you from Kanto, ring any bells?" Jethro said from one side of his mouth. He shook his head. "Interesting thing about this Region, Number… I forget, really… Town with a flippin' cemetery! How enticing…"
Fri raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sort of like a flat Pokémon Tower. I wasn't completely done yet…"
"Strange things continue to happen. A darkness unparalleled hangs over the city constantly. Dark alleyways are abundant...and so are strange and sometimes dangerous figures looming in them. People go missing and don't come back, or return and just aren't the same...doors open to houses like they should one minute and other places the next. People end up halfway across the region with no way back and Pokémon growl at nothing. People are a little...unwelcoming there if you can't read them properly. Can't really blame them though."
Jethro let out a sound that was a mix between a chuckle and a nervous squeak. "Nope," he said. "Nope. No no no, nopety nope nope no- the only reassurance I have right now is that my Golurk is part Ghost Type…"
Fri smiled at him. "What? The Wandering Hero has no sense of curiosity or mystery or adventure?" She shook her head. "I think it's fascinating...and a little ironic, considering we have a city in the region called Ciudad de Muerte...City of Death. It's more lively than Shadyhollow, by miles!"
"Definitely seeing the irony there," Jethro said with wide eyes. He suddenly turned to the town and straightened up. "Well…ain't gettin' any deader!" He walked on. "Oh, what wonders and mysteries await us today in the town of Shadyhollow… yay…"
