Chapter 13
When life gives you berries...
Seeing how Felix had several problems to deal with at the moment, he chose to tackle the worst: his hissing at the wild Pokémon. Ruptured ear drums and being lost in a forest do not seem too bad while you are slowly losing your humanity. Having had already enough of the day he slumped to the ground and let his head hang. His mind was racing with possibilities. Was he going to turn into some feral Pokémon? Pokémon seemed to always be intelligent creatures but how much of that is actually true. Do humans only perceive Pokémon as intelligent? Glancing up he saw Byte sitting in front. The sight of him made him smile at his own stupidity. Pokémon were intelligent. Byte was the perfect example for it. Hell, he already had a lengthy conversation with him, but were all Pokémon like him. Byte was special, after all. Felix had half in mind to call out Sara to check, but the silent world around him reminded him that he was still deaf.
While contemplating his changing life he pulled out his tail. It was slowly getting to long for his pants seeing how it now almost reached his ankles. He sighed in dismay. How should he hide it once it grew too long? Propping his head on his hand he just sat there. Not thinking, just being. The forced silence was bliss at that moment as it brought peace to Felix. A tap on his leg brought Felix back and he saw a concerned looking Byte. Felix smiled and gave him a quick pat.
"I'll be ok." he said. Byte only nodding in response. Grabbing another Sitrus Berry, he looked at the sun and tried to determine were south was. Considering the next Gym they wanted to visit was in Vermillion City, south was his best option. He would either find Saffron City or at least a Route that leads to it and Gaby would probably be waiting for him there. Giving the sun another calculating look, he chose a direction and started to walk. He hadn't gotten far as suddenly a green Pokémon flitted out of a nearby bush and stopped right in front of him. It had a teardrop shaped head with two small antenna sticking out of it. Felix could also see two small wings on its back, but it didn't seem to need them in order to fly.
The Pokémon seem excited and was talking pretty fast if the movement of its mouth was any indicator and before Felix could even comprehend what was happening, it gave him a small wave and disappeared in the woods again. Looking down at Byte, he asked him.
"What in the world? I hope whatever I just missed wasn't important, like a warning or something along that line?"
Byte shook his head.
"But you did understand what it was saying?"
Byte nodded
"Well, at least you can tell me later, by the way, do you know which Pokémon it was?"
Again Byte nodded.
"At least something to look forward to."
The trip through the forest was at the same time boring and totally fascinating. It was boring because absolute nothing happened. He passed tree after tree after tree. Not even a Pokémon showed itself. On top of that, he ate the rest of Sitrus Berries. On the other hand his hearing returned while he was walking. Either the Sitrus Berries were started to show their medical properties or he somehow developed some crazy healing ability. He really hoped it was the berries. It started with really low tones like the thump of something heavy falling down. Shortly after a quite background noise set in which gradually got louder. Around dusk his hearing returned to the point where he could tell that Byte was saying something but couldn't understand what. Felix spirits were considerably raised at the prospect of hearing things. To brighten his spirits even more he entered a grove full of different berry trees. All of the different smells from the Berries mixed in the air to create an intoxicating aroma.
"This is awesome." He said more to himself than anyone. "It's like… it's like … someone" With a large yawn Felix slumped to the floor. Byte laying peacefully beside him. Unfortunate for Felix he did not see the small grass Pokémon who was dancing in the setting sun. It started to release Sleeping Powder once the boy and his Pokémon entered and it now stood over them tilting its head and putting a hand to her chin to think.
"Bell?"
It quickly came to a conclusion as it happily hopped away doing a small spin with every hop. After a short while it came back, this time accompanied by an old man. The man was grizzled and apparently needed a walking stick to move at all.
"Well, well, well, Bellossom, what do we have here?"
Felix woke up with his eyes still closed. He was lying on a wooden floor. There was also a pillow under his head and a blanket on top of him. It wasn't the best sleeping arrangement but it was somehow at the same time homey. Felix's ears twitched as he realized that he could clearly hear again. Enjoying his healed sense, he kept his eyes closed and tried to hear as many things as possible.
There was another person in the room. His breath was clearly audible. Every so often Felix could hear the rustling of a turning page. There was also, what Felix assumed to be, a Pokémon in the room. It's quite breaths were barely audible but it moved a couple of times while he was listening. Every time it moved one could hear the rustling and a quite ringing. Felix finally decided to open his eyes and immediately cried out in shock. Byte had been levitating over Felix and was holding his face directly in front of his.
"Trainer has healed from all afflictions!"
"He's been waiting like that since he woke up."
Looking for the source of the voice he found the human he heard earlier. It was an old man. The few pieces of hair he had left on his scalp were snow white. Age had bowed him but at the same time he had the air of wisdom around him. Putting away the book he grabbed his cane to stand up.
"You had a nice little nap. You want some food?"
Felix gave Byte a quick pat and moved him from his face. "Um… sure, why not?"
The old man seemed to jump a bit in his happiness. "That is great. It was so long since I had a chance to talk with a fellow human being. I have been living out here far too long."
The old man shuffled out of the room and Felix got up off the floor to followed him. He seemed to be in a small cottage. There were two rooms. He apparently just left the sleeping room and entered the combined living room and kitchen. The old man pulled out a bowl and started filling it with various berries. Signaling Felix to take a seat at the table he put the bowl on it and pulled up a chair himself. Felix's eyes grew wide and he hastily picked a Lum Berry
"So…" Felix said between bites. "What are you doing way out here."
The chest of the old man puffed out as he proudly explained.
"I am the Berry Master of Kanto. But you can call me Bob. I searched the whole region for the perfect place to make the perfect berry grove and found it here. "
Kanto has a Berry Master? Was the first thought that went through Felix's head. At the moment, there was no way that he would doubt that claim. The Lum Berry was delicious. He had a question however.
"How did I end up here? Last thing I remember is entering the grove."
Bob shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Well, sorry about that. Bellossom was kind of surprised by your sudden appearance and reacted instinctively."
Felix twitched at the word instinctively and he could also feel his tail twitch behind him. Oh damn, I forgot. Hopefully he hasn't noticed yet. He slid the chair he was sitting on around, so he would sit directly opposite from the old berry master and hopefully hide his tail behind his back.
"Not a problem." Felix replied with a smile.
"There is one thing I would like to know though." Oh no, he noticed. "What is that Pokémon you have there." Bob glanced down to Byte. "It looks like someone used sandpaper on a Porygon."
Felix laughed partially because he was relieved and partially because he found the comparison funny.
"Sort of true, Byte evolved into a Porygon2."
"I never knew that they evolved. I remember back in the day when they first announced it. There was a big uproar about them."
Felix nodded in agreement "I met some people who still find it questionable."
"Well, a Pokémon is a Pokémon if you ask me. And talking about which, do you treat your Pokémon with the respect they deserve?" The old man suddenly asked seriously.
Taken aback by the sudden harshness Felix quickly answered: "Yes, of course I do."
Looking down to Byte he said "Beep, Beep, Booperty. Beep."
"Input error: Unrecognizable language. Assuming that human is requesting confirmation. The statement Felix made is true."
"Yup, your buddy agrees with you."
"Wait, you can talk to Pokémon?" Felix didn't quite want to believe it.
"Of course I can. Every Pokémon has their own dialect. One just has to figure out which one it is. Watch and learn." Turning back to Byte he said. "Bloop. Bloop. Bleep-Bloop."
"Prolonged isolation can cause severe mental health issues."
"It likes cucumbers."
"Pardon me?" Felix was trying to find some kind on sense in that statement
"Your Pokémon likes cucumbers, don't ask me why."
"He."
"Pardon me?" This time the old man looked confused.
"My Pokémon, Byte is a male."
"Well, in that case." Bob got up and bowed as low as his body let him. "Boop, Beep, Boop."
"Recommend immediate departure." Byte backed away from the man and hid behind Felix's chair.
"Ah… how cute. He's a shy one." Bob said clasping his hands together. Walking over to a small cupboard he pulled out a bottle with two small glasses. "Berry Spirit, made it myself out in the shed. You want a shot?"
"Um… no." Felix said now slowly warming up to Byte's request.
"Ah well, your loss." The old man sat back down. He opened the bottle and took a swig directly out of it. He filled up both shot glasses emptying one immediately, before refilling again.
"Why the tail?" he finally said in a cheery conversation voice.
The question stung Felix. Crap, he noticed after all. In spite of himself his tail started lashing back and forward becoming clearly visible to Bob. Seeing Felix react badly to the question he rephrased it.
"What I mean is why you did have a tail surgically attached. There must be some kind of motivations behind it. You don't have to go into details. I was just interested in generals. The color choice is also a bit weird. I mean pink. Not really appropriate for your gender, is it? Unless you are gay, then it would be totally appropriate. I am not saying that it is bad. I am a tolerate guy. My best friend is president of the Gay Association of Kanto. Just saying having a pink tail surgically attached may indicate homosexual tendencies."
Felix started to relax. Why not talk about it? Who could Bob ever talk to, apart from his Bellossom? Even if he ever met another human being, who would believe him?
"It just started growing."
"You are kidding me. One morning you woke up and had a tail grow out of your butt?"
Felix nodded in conformation.
"By Arceus golden wheel, that would have freaked me out. It is amazing that you didn't go all kuku-bananas." Bob took another berry shot. "You still haven't told me why it is pink."
"That is just how it grew. I never chose it."
The crazy Berry Master started to laugh. It took at least a couple minutes for him to calm down. Byte kept repeating his recommendation to Felix, but Felix decided that they could stay a while. Bob was surely crazy but not dangerous. Probably he was just lonely.
Finally Bob caught his breath and finished off the last berry shot. Still chuckling he pointed a shaking finger to the roof and said: "Someone up there hates you."
This brought a small smile to Felix's face. "Probably."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Bob suddenly serious again.
"Do, what could I do? This is clearly out of my control."
"Bull. Ever heard of the saying "When life gives you berries"?"
Felix sighed. "Of course, when life gives you berries, make jam."
"Who told you that crap?"
"What? Why?" Felix asked confused.
"When life gives you berries, don't just take the berries and make the best out of it. Make life take the berries back. Get mad! Tell life I don't want your damn berries! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give you berries! Ask life if it knows who it's dealing with. You are the guy who will burn life's house down. With the berries! Study and invent combustible berries and throw them at life's house."
During his small speech the old man got to his feet and pounded his hand on the table to emphasize his points. Felix on the other hand was trying really hard not to laugh. He wasn't sure if the Berry Master was just always crazy or if this was the liquor talking. But he did manage to make Felix think.
"So…" Bob said finally calming down. He grabbed the booze bottle again and bypassing any etiquette involving glasses to a good long pull from the bottle. "what are you going to do now?"
"Continue looking for my traveling companion. We got separated."
"Friendship. Good, good. That is important. But what I actually wanted to know is what are you going to do about yourself. If I had to take a wild guess is that you are hiding that tail of yours. It will grow stronger and stronger and one day it will come out of hiding and destroy you!"
"The intoxicated human has a valid point."
"So what do you suggest that I just run around with my tail out?"
The Berry Master nodded violently.
"If the world doesn't care what you think, why should you care about what the world thinks?"
Using his cane he hooked Felix's bag with surprising dexterity and pulled it towards him. Grabbing it, he threw it at Felix.
"Here, Bellossom and I took the liberty to clean up your stuff. Also, I had Bellossom make a couple adjustments to your clothes. That must be uncomfortable having your tail like that."
With a sense of dread he opened up his rucksack and pulled out an extra pair of pants. They looked normal except from the small hole it now had on its backside. Pulling out a pair of boxers he found a similar hole there as well. Bob took Felix's shocked silence as inability to form his thanks into words.
"You don't have to thank me. Thank Bellossom tomorrow. But it was my idea." He added proudly. "Please take as many Berries as you can carry when you leave. I have enough. Right now, I think I may have a small nap, I am getting tired." With that, he laid his head on the table, closed his eyes and began to snore.
It took Felix a while to transport the drunken old man back to his bed. After he was carefully tucked in, Felix got his cleaned sleeping bag and got himself ready for bed. The whole in his pajamas was wide enough for his tail. Although he hated himself for admitting it, it was infinitely more comfortable then stuffing the tail down a pant leg. It was also clear to Felix that he had now been spoiled and never could go back again.
Felix got up at dawn. Bob was still snoring away in his bed muttering something about "good gay kids." The only other beings awake were Bellossom dancing though the grove to greet the suns first rays and Byte. Within fifteen minutes Felix had packed everything, including a huge amount of berries.
"So, Bellossom, do you happen to know where the closest city or route is?" He asked as the Pokémon danced by him. Bellossom stopped thought a moment before she exclaimed and jumped up to perform a graceful Pirouette. When she landed both hands pointed in one direction.
"Thanks, a lot. Maybe if we get time will come and visit again."
Bellossom exclaimed loudly and waved them good-bye as Byte and Felix left the grove.
While moving through the trees Felix finally had a chance to ask Byte a question.
"So what did that green bug-looking like Pokémon wanted to tell me yesterday."
"Gathering needed information. The Pokémon in question was identified as Celebi, the Time Travel Pokémon according to various databases. It wanted to meet you but had to do it in secret because it was against the rules. The only other remark it made was that it's time was now up and that it would meet us again in the future."
"You are kidding me, are you?"
"Negative."
"That makes no sense, what so ever."
Byte actually sighed at that. "Affirmative."
It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the route. Felix hid in a bush and turned to Byte.
"Do you think I should go out like this. I still have a pair of pants without a hole." he asked his trusted companion with at small wave at his tail.
"Affirmative. It would be the best for the physical and mental well-being for trainer."
Felix hugged himself. "What will the other's say, especially Gaby?"
"The other humans are subject to the obligations you call law. The reaction of pink trainer is not predictable."
Felix sighed and pulled out another Pokéball. With a flash Sara materialized.
"Yeah, finally out of the Pokéball again. It had been a while."
"Hey Sara, I think you don't know yet. I can understand you now."
"Hey Felix, what you mean? You could understand me perfectly since the day we met. Woah, what happened to your teeth?"
"Never mind that now. Do you think I should let other humans see my tail?"
Without hesitating Sara answered. "Of course."
"Why?" Felix wanted to know.
"Because it is such a nice tail. You should show it off."
Sighing to himself he murmured: "Well, I can at least try it. What is the worse that could happen. I get looked at funny and maybe get asked a question. I could always start hiding it afterwards again." He was trying to convince himself. Not wanting his tail cramped again, he gathered all the courage he had and with a big step, moved onto the route.
He had expected people to scream. He even expected people with cameras to surround him, only to be caught by the Rangers to be released into the wild. What they had not expected however was to see a small guardhouse with a sign proclaiming: "Welcome to Lavender Town"
And with this chapter we officially move into the 40k+ word bracket. Make your Warhammer jokes while you can. I know this chapter took longer than usual to post. Life threw some curve balls and you can pick your generic sad story to insert here. I won't bore you with it. The "When life gives you berries" Speech is based on the quote from Cave Johnson "When life gives you lemons." Credit where it is due. You also may have noticed that PokéSpeech was only cursive in this chapter. The Doc Manager only saved half of the underlined words. I will try and fix it.
I would like to thank everyone who left a review or added this story to their fav/story alert list. You are all awesome!
That is it for now.
benthefirst, signing out.
Boom Boom Pow Away!