"Careful, now," warned Rush from overhead. The Marshtomp watched as his trainer nervously climbed the rock face. "Almost there-"
Hand clasped hand, and the Mashtomp pulled Slick up onto the ledge. "You fool," sighed Rush. "You're going to get yourself killed, one of these days."
Slick laughed. "I can't die! I haven't even become Champion yet." Rush blinked, then quickly grinned. Regaining his breath, Slick got to his feet. "Let's go a little further."
They reached a lush grove, ripe with berries. Tapping each Poke Ball on his belt, Slick let out the rest of his Pokemon. "Let's set up camp here," suggested the trainer as Sektek, Shana, Bailey, and Insyte appeared on the grass. "Rush, will you do the honors?"
Nodding, the Marshtomp approached a large bush. His eyes flashed with a mysterious power. Drawing back a fist, Rush struck the bush with a deliberate strike, cleaving open a large hole. The Mashtomp looked back at Slick nervously. "That all right?"
"Good job! Let's make our base here." Tossing Rush a yellow Pokeblock, Slick glanced back to the others. "Feel free to relax, but be back in an hour, okay?" Getting onto his hands and knees, the trainer crawled into the bush.
Yawning, Insyte curled up for a nap. "I'll look for kindling," said Bailey. "Shan, shall we?" Nodding, the Vulpix followed the Wingull away.
Looking around, Sektek started to say something, but his throat was dry. "Gonna go find water," stammered the Pikachu, padding off.
"All right," said Rush. "I'll stay here with Slick. Everyone, be back here within an hour!"
Up ahead, Sektek spotted a freshwater pool, fed by a tiny creek trickling down the mountainside. The Pikachu's eyes widened. Lying down by the pool, he splashed his face with cool water, droplets crackling as they hit his cheek-pouches.
He frowned. The wilderness had fallen silent, the wind going still. Was a predator nearby? "Hello?" called the Pikachu, scanning the pool, his black-tipped ears twitching.
"Hey, that's not your water!"
Startled, Sektek turned as an Eevee poked her head out from the grass. Momentarily, confusion flickered in her eyes. Then, she shook her head. "Hey, Pikachu," said the Eevee. "You're tresspassing, you know that? And stealing our water."
He knew those eyes. Knew this voice, knew this scent. The little flick of her ears that accompanied her stare. But it was impossible. Venvel lived three thousand years ago. "Uh, what makes this your water?" asked Sektek lightly. "This, ah... It's a lot of water for one Eevee."
Her dull eyes flared to life. "You know what I mean!" snapped the Eevee. "It belongs to... to my pack." She stumbled over the last few words, as if they were unfamiliar to her.
"Your pack?" echoed the Pikachu, glancing around. "Where-" No, wait. He was getting ahead of himself again. "Look, I'm sure there's plenty to go around. We-I'm just passing through."
The Eevee glared. "That's not an excuse! Doesn't your pack know any better?"
Right. About that. "Uh... I don't have a pack," explained the Pikachu, looking at the ground. "I've got a trainer. I guess that's 'like' a pack?"
Shock and disgust flashed in the Eevee's eyes. "What? A trainer? Like, a human trainer?" she spluttered, pointing at him. "Then you're a-a..."
"Domestic, yeah." The Pikachu's throat was dry. Not just from thirst, now. A pack? Of course, a pack. All wild Pokemon had packs in this era. He'd already decided to move on from the old world, hadn't he? "Calm down, okay? My human isn't here."
"Your human?" Her hazel eyes lit up. Grinning, she began to circle him. "Ooh, running away?" taunted the Eevee, licking her chops. "Tsk tsk. It must be scary, having a human control you."
"What-no, wait! I'm not running away-" He massaged his head. This was getting out of hand. "Look, I just came for a drink, so... uh..." The tip of her tail tickled his shoulder, and the Pikachu lost track of what he was saying. "Listen, I like my trainer, okay?"
She snorted. "Ridiculous! Humans... humans can't possibly understand Pokemon." Still, the Eevee relaxed her haunches and glanced around. "All right, fine! I don't think anyone else's around, so go ahead, get a drink. But I- don't do anything funny, okay?"
"A-all right." Getting back down, he lapped at the water, fully conscious that she could see his every movement, every nervous spark on his cheeks, every ripple through his fur. Her warm, faintly musky scent tickled his nose.
The Eevee sighed in relief when the Pikachu finished drinking. "Ugh, you're a lot of trouble, you know that?" she muttered, shaking her head. "If someone else found you..."
The tip of her tail brushed past his leg, not quite touching. "Thanks for the water," said the Pikachu, grinning sheepishly. "I'm Sektek."
"Yeah. I'm Venvel." Her smile flickered briefly. "A-anyway, I need to get back now. You got lucky, so don't stick around!" Turning, she trotted off, leaving the shocked Pikachu standing by the pool.
Meanwhile, back at Slick's makeshift secret base, Rush watched as Slick flopped on his sleeping bag. Turning, he listened to the soft rustle of the trees, the ground warm underpaw. Slowly, his smile flickered and faded.