Wishes aren't that Great
Author Note: I hit my first bit of writers block, hopefully it doesn't persist. I'd forgotten how crappy it is. I have the entire story planned out but for some reason I just couldn't write at all. Sorry for the wait folks.
I figured some may be confused as to the DNA breeding thing and that's fine. It's a new innovation I'm adding to the category(That I know of, I haven't seen it anywhere as of yet. Though I haven't read all of the pokemon stories either... I've mentioned this before no?). However, as stated in my profile, in this first person PoV story I'm avoiding omniscient readers for the most part, so if I can't explain it in the story then I'm not worth my salt. All you confused folks, and all those whom are curious as to the specific details, will have to wait for clarification as it comes up later on.
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon in any way shape or form.
'yap yap' thought speech
"blah blah" spoken speech
Chapter 20 - Unsuccessful Effort
The sun was passing midday in a gray filled sky as I traveled to my self-designated living area. The lush grass breathed life into me as I trotted along, tiresome woes easing away. The flowers that littered the area left a sweet scent of spring in the air, one that hadn't been present outdoors where the world wasn't preserved in this perpetual state. It was a still life scene whose experience was granted to me. I felt fortunate, if anything, that I had been graced with this place as I had. 'I'm convinced that I'll be human before winter is out, so this is a scene I won't experience like this.'
Nearing the water front of the crystal clear water, my paws stepped onto wet grass trailing from the pond towards the center of the area. 'Looks like someone went for a swim.' The grass clung annoyingly to the pads of my back and fore paws and I forced myself to ignore it. 'Every time my feet, my hands also... my "paws" got wet things cling to them incessantly, trying to clean them while they're still damp is futile and just makes things worse. This really gets annoying.' I missed having shoes, but the feel of the earth under my limbs surfaces, the grass brushing past my paws with each step, felt nice also. 'Clothes were used to separate us from the elements, I don't have any such protection now. I feel like I'm a lot more in tune with the land now than I had been before though, so a silver lining for that cloud at least.' I grinned at this wry thought, amused by the novelty.
Thinking about clean appendages I glanced down upon my arms for a moment to take stock of my cleanliness. 'No good, I'm already oily and gritty again. I haven't even been rolling o nthe ground or anything either... It seems that simply rinsing myself off isn't going to be at all effective.' I momentarily missed the constant grooming I'd received from the others when I'd first awoken before now, but I didn't like being dependent on others for basic needs. 'It had been nice though...' I couldn't shake off the longing and felt my self going into a bit of a haze with my wandering thoughts, so shaking my head, I changed my direction to the water source.
I waved at the few belsprout that were planted in the shore a ways from me but wasn't given acknowledgment. 'I'm sure they're in a world of they're own, enjoying the sun right now.' I couldn't blame them either. With the smooth refreshing water reflecting what of the sun that shone through the clouds, they're likely in a state of bliss at the moment. 'Especially since they don't have to worry about anything attacking them.' That was definitely a nice feeling. At the colony it wasn't a problem but since I'd left it I always had a under riding sense of vulnerability. Here, it was mostly muted as well. Not completely gone, but it's bite had been removed.
Shoving myself into the depths once more I was hit briefly with the chill before I quickly adapted to it. It was strange swimming with fur, it was almost like I still had clothes on if it wasn't for me feeling being intimately aware of what continuously happens to it. 'Just swimming isn't going to help me get clean though, I need to figure something out even if I end up gnawing my fur off.' Diving down some I returned back to the shallow shore area to begin my task.
It wasn't very productive just nipping at my fur and such while trying to rub out grime. I tried to duplicate how it had felt when Nimbus had been doing it but it was definitely not as easy as it looked. After my fore arm I had reached my arm pit and stopped cold. 'I want to be clean but... that's just going to far.' I knew that they would lick their paw and wipe it at the hard to reach areas but I wasn't exactly sure how that worked. 'I'd probably still taste this area if I did that also, so it wouldn't help anyway.'
After a moment of staring I just tried to finish the other area's that weren't disagreeable and instead decided to just rinse and scrub this spot for the time being. "I don't know how they bring themselves to do those area's. Maybe you get used to it after a time but... ugh, no thanks.'
When I had finished with my upper torso and the tops of my feet, I refused to lick out the grime on the bottom of my padded feet, I reached another issue. 'I can't very well reach my head and ears...' Licking my hand until I was satisfied that it could do the trick I began to try and reach my head with the slimy appendage. The whole endeavor made me feel dirtier than when I had begun and I was more than happy to rinse the offensive liquid from me as soon as possible.
Finally receding from the water, completely drenched from prolonged exposure to the liquid, I shook myself violently. 'I really hate how I poof up after swimming.' It was difficult to smooth out all of my angry on end fur, the whole of my body being in this state. I could see myself having a streak going up my back from where my arms just couldn't reach around very well, even when I twisted myself oddly at the torso. Doing this made me think of the differences in this bodies dynamics compared to what I had grown up used to having and being able to do. 'I bet I could scratch my ear with my foot if I wanted to, now that would be an interesting nervous habit to have.' I chuckled quietly, having made light of a recent development that had me concerned.
Looking upon the finished product of my endeavors I couldn't help smiling, 'Not perfect but definitely a lot better.' My tail wagging had me quickly changing my attention to it, attempting to stop it's movements. Having such a tell sign for how I was feeling, and the fact that it seemingly didn't obey conscious thoughts yet, had me irritated with the appendage. 'Not to mention all the imagery and association with tail wagging when it comes to people, I don't want a cute pet image if I can avoid it.' I knew how I'd felt upon seeing our pets tail wag and how others reacted as well. It was all fine and good when it was him, but thinking of myself being in that kind of spot had me preemptively embarrassed. After a short time my task proved futile and I let the issue be.
Before I had a moment to think of what I might do next I almost fell over from a horrible stench that wafted my way. 'What on earth could this stench possibly be!?' I was grasping at my face and desperately trying to ease the burning it felt along with the tears that were beginning to run down my face. Looking about the area with my watery vision I tried to glimpse what could be causing this offensive odor. The shock of red and blue coming towards the water front gave me a shock of realization. 'Was I so deep in thought this morning that I didn't notice the smell this morning!?'
The gloom was waddling his way slowly over to the side of the pond just a stones throw from me. My nose and mind were screaming in pain and I wanted to gag, throw up, and pass out all at the same time, but instead I stood there stock still staring ahead at the plant pokemon. Never before in my life would I have deemed it possible to smell something so awful.
I had come across gloom when I was out and about the year prior, but after covering my nose with a wet cloth was able to handle it for the most part, as long as I didn't get to close to them. Never before had they smelled so strongly as this however, and it left me cursing this heightened survival sense of smell I wielded now.
The gloom only splashed himself a bit and seemed to rinse his mouth out for a second, the nectar drool quickly replacing itself before he turned back the way he'd come. Pausing for a sec he waved my way and seemed about to say a greeting when my frozen pain was noted. He instead turned and left the area rather sadly and I was left feeling sympathetic to the seemingly lonely creature for a moment. This was all noted in the background of the overwhelming pain of course.
By now I'd closed my eyes and was trying to steady my breath as my senses started to ease themselves back from their shock. My nose was running and I wiped viciously at the escaping liquid. 'That's not a pleasant feeling, having snot in my fur.' Aside from the encounter just now I was mildly irritated at having my once clean pelt being dirtied so quickly. Hobbling back to the water, I tried to finish collecting myself as I rinsed the offending substance out.
"Quite troublesome isn't it?" My head whipped to the voice's origin so quickly the world spun in my view and it took a moment for my vision to catch up with its sudden motion. Before me sat an amused eevee, one eyebrow raised, staring at me. I returned his stare with a blank look of my own upon seeing this new individual. After a moment he seemed uncomfortable with the looking and tried to break the ice between us, "That looked like the first time you've come across a gloom. Didn't see much of them from where you're from?"
'Another eevee? I'm starting to question this species rareness. In the span of a month I've seen four of them in various manners. Did I just not look hard enough when I was human or do pokemon in general have this kind of luck when it comes to stuff like this?' He'd started to wave his paw in front of me and I broke out of my trance for a moment. "Huh? Oh yes, I haven't come across any so close as that like this yet."
"With how young you are it makes sense I suppose. Your herd would keep you well away from such poisonous species." He was nodding to himself now, eyes closed.
"I'm not that young, I just hadn't come across one is all. Who are you by the way? You seem to know about me well enough..." I didn't like how he was talking down to me regarding my age. Though I knew I had just been a pichu a short time ago and so these folks would see me as a just aged young adult, and thus they had to base they knowledge on this instead of my actual age. 'Not that I was old as a human either. He could be a twenty-four year old talking down to me when I was sixteen
"Oh, sorry there Stratus. My name is Hail and I've been issued as your case worker by miss Starestcilis. To provide you with information and assistance during this lifestyle transition." He gave a small bow at the end of his practiced introductory speech. I was left staring at him for multiple reasons. "As for that gloom, you won't have to worry for very long. His trainer dropped him and a dugtrio off for the day while he's visiting a family member on the staff. No doubt they'll be gone before the night is over. We don't typically allow such types into this room, but... well you know how favoritism goes. His aunt being on the staff and all." He gave a sour face at this, looking off to the side.
'Miss Stares..lis? I can't blame those kids for not getting that name at all, I may have to call her Star myself. That comment on the gloom almost felt prejudice... maybe I'm missing something though.' I chose not to comment on that particular venue just yet. 'I don't have anything against the gloom, I just couldn't handle them yet. He seemed nice enough.' I still felt bad for being so discomforted while he'd waved at me, being unable to do anything other than clutch my face. Hail? That's an odd name for an eevee to have, or any pokemon that's not a water nor ice element type. "Sorry if it's rude, but how did you get the name Hail? Planning to evolve into an ice type I take it?"
He didn't seem surprised at all that this was the fist indulgence of my curiosity and replied while shaking his head. "My mother was a bit of an overzealous glaceon. I'm sure you've figured out the path she wanted me to follow." It must have been a rather troublesome thing for him to go through growing up, but he seemed to be dealing with it in a jovial manner regardless. 'I doubt any would like having such an assumption of their future forced on them like that.'
"I'm not sure I follow entirely as to what you mean by my case worker." I had a good idea what he was supposed to do for his trainer but didn't want to seem to well informed. I'd slipped up in that direction a few too many times already. 'It's actually rather clever to have a pokemon partner bridge that gap between pokemon and humans to work with a feral pokemon on the verge of domestication.'
"Ah, Violet said you knew some things but I guess it was limited." He'd tilted his head side ways slightly, as though disappointed that I was unable to operate on a level he'd been expecting. This statement had irritated me deeply, 'I didn't know playing the fool would sting my pride in such a way. It really does seem like I've gained an arrogant disposition during my time away from intellectual conversations and just about anyone that could talk to me in general on a social knowledge level.'
I'd been clueless at the pichu colony, but I had the crutch of amnesia to fall back on for not knowing what seemed like simple things to them. Here, in my heart I knew many answers but had to hold the story of my origins to a level of credibility. 'Ones history is a lot more focused on here than in the wild also, and holds a great risk.'
He continued on, oblivious to my grimace, "It's simple really, I'm just going to teach you about some things involving how humans live and how you'll be co-existing with them. They lead very different lives and it can be very confusing at first. I'm here to preemptively dispel some of that confusion."
"Ah, that is pretty simple then." I gave a nonchalant tone as I made this comment, down playing the importance and level of ability such a job would require of someone. I felt bad after saying it, but a part of me wanted to get back at this eevee. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. 'He's only doing his job, I shouldn't belittle him like that... Even if he did so to me several times in the couple of moments since we've met. Though he could have just been talking and I was looking too deeply between the words.'
He looked upset for a moment at my statement but in a well practiced move from experience in "people relations" let it slip as he resumed an easy going expression. "We'll try and keep it that way, wouldn't want to give you more than you could handle or anything." He was smiling cheerfully, but inside I knew he had to be grinning.
'There's no way people word things like on accident.' I too was outwardly smiling, but inside I was almost frothing at the mouth. "Thanks for that, I think I'll be fine though." I could have given him another snarky reply but decided to be the mature one and cease this verbal conflict. "Where do we sta-"
"Stratus!" A high pitched voice called out to me from the distance. Looking towards the call of my name found two minun bounding my way once more. They both stopped just short of me though and stared at Hail with a sour look. DC almost stuck his tongue out even, but when he started to his brother pulled on his ear causing him to cease the action.
"I see Pearl let you two go then?" Hail didn't look particularly happy to see them either, obviously the trio didn't get along very well.
I just looked between them as the tension steadily began to grow. I was almost chuckling nervously seeing the look of guarded determination upon the minuns faces while being stared down by and apathetic faced eevee. If this was one of those old movies about the desert frontier, when a pokemon showdown was about to begin, I was sure I'd see a tumbleweed drift by at this point.
AC was the one to finally break the built apprehension, "We spent the morning with her and she had other pokemon to speak with today. So she brought us back here." This was anything but the happy going minun I felt I knew.
"I see she took a moment to bathe you properly." He'd glanced at DC, whom I hadn't noticed was as clean as his brother. 'I guess I was just telling them apart like I had Stratus and Nimbus. Minor differences in expression and how they seem to my senses.'
His brother didn't bother to stop him from sticking his tongue out at the eevee this time. Hail looked unamused, but I didn't figure that sort of thing would go over well with many people. I jumped in before the situation could escalate any further. "I was wondering where you two had gone off to. Who's this Pearl you were with?" I gave them my biggest smile and looked genuinely interested in this information about them, which I was.
Immediately pulled out of their guarded state their expressions changed when they looked to me. They were still stealing glances and seeming wary of the other mammal, but for the most part ignored him entirely.
Nodding his head at me, AC's earlier excitement made a come back, "Pearl is a wartortle! She takes us swimming and playing and-" AC stopped to take a breath, which surprised me. It felt like they'd said much more than that before without needing to refill their lungs. 'I hope he's not so excited as to send himself hyperventilating.' I wouldn't put it past either of the mouse pokemon though.
DC cut him off, proving his need to stop was in fact a weakness between the two of them, "We told her what you'd said about Mount Moon so she was showing us pictures today! It was so cool! Did you really live in that area? It must have been-" He was forced to stop as his brother began to pull on his ear sharply.
"So great to be out there like that. Won't you take us please? We'll be good I promise!" I didn't bother stopping the chuckle at seeing AC's pouting face whilst his brother was flailing at him as he pulled on DC's ear.
"Ah well... you see..." I was scratching at my ear again, much to my chagrin, and forcefully removed my hand from the spot. I had to keep focusing on the arm to make sure it didn't return to it's longed for location. For some reason I really didn't want to let these two down. I really liked how they regarded me and didn't want to jeopardize my place as that "cool older electric mouse" they seemed to hold me in. "I.. well... err-"
I was saved from letting them down with denial by Hail, "Stratus is actually learning how to live with humans, so him taking you out on a woodland excursion isn't really a possibility." Though I was glad to have dodged a bullet, I didn't like how painfully he'd dropped this information upon them.
The brothers didn't seem to appreciate his sentiment either. "Stratus could take us. He's really strong and knows all about the woods he does." I hadn't even thought the brothers were capable of glaring but there it was. 'It's like seeing a purple farfetch'd... Exactly what happened between these three to make them like this?' Though I held no great love for Hail, our first meeting having been a poor one thus far, I certainly didn't think he was worthy of such dislike.
I was pulled, literally, from my musings when the two brothers had somehow managed to come to me, grab a hold of my arms, then started to drag me away from the pond and case worker. "Come on Stratus! I want to show you our rock!"
"Ya it's great. Imbetween a stream and next to a waterfall. There's the shiny wall next to it also!" 'I'd forgotten about that mirror...' They were smiling again at least. I didn't feel I was set to part with Hail just yet however and started to stand my ground between the twin assault. I only managed to slip upon wet grass and was sent stumbling before planting myself on the ground.
The two brothers had let me go and were in front of me looking worried that they had upset me with this action. Before they could claim any apologies I smiled and gave a laugh, "This is no good, I'd just cleaned up even." I stood myself up and began to pick the grass out of my fur, grimacing at the mud that had found a home on me as well.
"Sorry Stratus... Did you want to impress Violet also?" DC was looking at me despondently as he said this, as though he'd troubled me greatly. 'I suppose it is bothersome, but not that bad. Children do exaggerate things beyond what they are I suppose.'
"Violet? No, I just tried to get clean is all. No worries you two, this sort of thing happens." They looked confused that I would try to get clean without having an underlying reason like that, but I wasn't very surprised at this. 'They'll value being clean when they're older I'm sure.'
"You'd just bathed? I'll have to cover that too than it looks like, here I thought you'd just gone running again like this morning." I almost felt my eye twitch as the eevee said this from behind me, almost. I could imagine him waving his hand in front of his nose as he said this also.
'Wait, how did he know I was running this morning? Are there camera's in here? Wait, yes... that makes sense.' "Oh Hail, you can bathe me any time..." I left my statement hanging as I gave him a quirked eyebrow. 'Two can play this game of wit and cynicism if that's how you want it to be.'
I was anything but disappointed as he gave a disquieted look of momentary horror before he realized I was poking fun at him and he regained a sour look. 'Oh yes, we'll get along fine I'm sure.' I turned back to my dirtied chest and began to work the filth out as best I could. 'I'll have to take another swim no doubt.' I inwardly sighed at this thought.
"Look look!" AC was hopping up and down pointing to the overhead see through window that acted as a roof for the area. I was busy trying to get the dirt out of my chest fur when I heard his brother gasping and hollering his own exclamation of surprise.
"Well I'll be..." Hail muttered his own surprise when he, presumably, saw what the twins were so excited about. Finishing my first priority, I turned to follow their line of sight and gave a gasp of my own. It held a tint of fear unlike theirs.
END Chapter 20 - Unsuccessful Effort
Parting Author Note: I've been missing a lot of the characters I've made thus far. I'm doing my best for every character to have a 'soul', as it were, the more Jek gets to know them. Just as with any person you meet, the less you know of them the less interesting and more 'cookie cutter' a person seems, while if you get to know them you find them to be unique and interesting. So I feel like I'm physically hurting myself every time I seemingly leave a character behind due to the plot progressing past them. I've been tempted to write a couple chapters on some of them but felt it would just hurt me more than leaving them be for the time, if not indefinitely depending on the individual.
No yee haws, I miss the my beloved characters. I'll be crying over here if you need me... they were so cool... why? WHY!? Noooo... nooooooo.... ; ;