Sorry that this took so long to come out. I don't like rushing when it comes to story-driven writing like this. For those of you who have made it this far into the story, I hope you're as excited for more of this story as I am!
Our trio finally makes it to the Traveller's Oasis, bringing a crucial message for a man named Duking. Sergei unveils a new piece of gear to the two young Trainers-to-be, and Hakins gets one step closer to his first Pokemon
"Up, chuvak. Have a look ahead."
My eyes were slow to drift open. Despite the discomfort of the heat, I had slept better in the past hour than I had the whole night in the tent. After a few slow blinks, my vision became more clear. Realizing that I was a bit slouched, I pushed back to an upright position, and looked ahead.
While we weren't at the Traveller's Oasis yet, it was hard to miss. Where I had expected a couple dozen palm trees around a pond, I was instead greeted by a line of lush jungle in the distance so thick that I couldn't see whatever body of water the Oasis was named after. The small silhouettes of various bird Pokemon were slowly circling over the massive oasis, towering jungle trees almost touching the wispy clouds above.
"Woah." was all I could think to say.
"It has grown even bigger since the last time I was here." the man mountain replied. "If you can't find a Pokemon here, I don't know where you will."
I chuckled at that, and then looked over to my right, seeing Dustin marvelling at the Traveller's Oasis like I was. Trapinch had perched her front legs on the dashboard of the cockpit to peer forwards too. Sergei returned his left arm from outside the window, beginning to crank it shut.
"I would suggest closing things up, gospoda." Sergei said, reaching over to crank the air conditioning further. "I am well adjusted to the elements, but the Oasis has a different kind of heat. You'd better ready yourselves."
Dustin nodded, reaching over to crank his window up. As he did so, I couldn't help but stare for a moment. I could still hardly believe that he had just up and left his parents. Dustin may have had a desire to travel like I did, but he was a rule follower. I'd sometimes even catch him echoing his parents' disciplinary mantras when we talked. I'd give him shit for it, of course, and he and I would laugh into a different subject. But, thinking back, I could've sworn that there was something in his eyes as he laughed with me. Some kind of grim acceptance, like the world wasn't going to change his situation, so why do anything but laugh at it? It startled me to realize that Dustin and I, though we reacted very differently, had been thinking a very similar way about things before my battle with Salvator.
Yet, just like me, within days he transformed himself. He was no longer just a defeated rule follower, but had started to be an independent thinker, who believed that he could change what would happen. Without his quick thinking, he'd be on his way to Gateon, tied shut in a knapsack bouncing in the back of a green truck. And we had this journey to thank for it. It was starting to make more sense to me why kids came back from journeys so different; even those who ended up staying out on the open road for a lifetime seemed to have a more valid point. There was something magical about the autonomy to make choices alongside a set objective.
We know that we're going to make mistakes, but it falls on us - and us alone - to rectify them. I thought. If this is what the first leg of this journey has done for us, who knows what the rest holds?
I turned back to the Oasis ahead. We were closing in on it fast, Sergei seeming to be eager to meet up with the people there without further complications. I took a few paranoid glances at each side view mirror, half expecting to see a green truck barreling towards us. Instead, the desolate asphalt road behind us was all I could see, shimmering waves just above the road.
"Are those...roadblocks?" Dustin said to my right, pointing up ahead.
I turned my attention back to our objective. Sure enough, a large fence snaked around the perimeter of the lush jungle, a stray wooden watchtower perched behind it. Up ahead of us were two large metal doors, a small tollbooth-sized shack just in front of it.
"Correct, chuvak." Sergei replied, slowing down to fumble through his glove compartment for something. "These look like the latest perimeter fortifications around the Oasis. No doubt the volunteer trainers just recently set this up."
I turned to the man mountain.
"That's a good sign then, right?" I asked. "That means nothing bad has happened yet?"
Sergei seemed to locate what he was looking for, and pulled out some kind of small electronic tablet. As he turned to place it on his dashboard, I caught a glimpse of the logo on the back of it, which simply read LAB in front of a Poke Ball icon.
"Perhaps, but that does not mean that something bad won't happen." he replied. "Normally, the folks here will periodically move up the fortifications as the jungle continues to grow and spread. The jungle only looks to have expanded a bit though, so they should have had time to reinforce this new position. But I remember how they looked the last time I was here, yes, and these are far weaker. No wall or anything, but just a tall fence. The Trainers from Mt. Battle can't have been here very long."
"Do you think that Cipher knew that?" Dustin asked. "Is that why they decided to block communications at this exact time?"
Sergei shrugged, taking a moment to rub his eyes.
"Hard to say. We aren't even sure if this disturbance is anything more than just an unpredicted...eh...anomaly. Though you're likely getting at something here, Dustin. We'll have to get a feel for the situation once we're inside."
A figure stepped out from the shack in front of the gate, waving his arms to get us to slow down. Our titanic truck slowly let up the gas, the engine quieting down as we did. The figure was quickly coming closer, and I could now see that it was a young man standing in front of the gate. He didn't look much older than me, and I felt a jolt of concern as I pondered the implications of that.
We drifted to a stop about a few feet in front of the shack. The young man dashed awkwardly around the truck to get to the driver's side. He was dressed for the tropic heat Sergei described, wearing a tank top and jeans that looked to have had the pant legs cut to the knees. He was clearly of quite a pale complexion, as his face and shoulders were almost crimson with sunburn. He adjusted a worn pair of glasses as he rounded the front of the truck to Sergei's side. Sergei rolled down the window, reaching for the tablet he had stowed on his dashboard.
"State the nature of your arrival." the teen said, his voice pitched and high as he spoke.
"Da, you're new alright, pisk." Sergei replied, chuckling. "How long did you spend memorizing that line?"
The young man froze for a moment, his eyes darting to the left and right nervously. Sergei shook his head.
"Relax, young man. We're your backup, here to re-establish communications with the Krane Laboratory."
At saying this, the man mountain held his tablet out the window. The young man gingerly took it out of his hands, turning it on.
"That is an Entry Permit from Professor Krane himself, also signed by Salvator. We are carrying very important information from the outside, and need to speak with Duking."
It was hard to keep my eye on the young man, given how tall the truck was, but I saw his arm hand Sergei back the tablet, reassuring me that we could avoid another fight.
Seconds later, the young man reappeared in front of us, now facing the large metal gate. He turned to the lone watchtower behind the fence, where another young adult was posted. He gave the thumbs up, using his arm to simultaneously block out the harsh sunlight. The watchtower person (who looked to be a woman) nodded, signalling to a person out of sight.
A large thunk rang through the area as the gate slowly slid open, sand trickling down from the opening gap in the gate. The metal doors swung inward, revealing a relatively narrow dirt road flanked by dense jungle on either side.
The young man began walking back to his shack, wiping his forehead. He cleared from the road after a moment, Sergei driving forwards right on cue. The truck passed the open gates, overhanging branches and vines now blocking out most of the sunlight above.
The first thing I noticed was the sounds. It no longer felt like we were in the middle of a massive desert, and the sounds of dozens of Pokemon at every level of the jungle were even audible through the truck. The second thing I noticed was the humidity. Even in the comfort of the cockpit, I could feel that it was a lot harder to breathe.
I'm too used to dry air, I thought. And if it's this bothersome in the truck, I'm dropping dead as soon as I step out the side door...
It was also hard to gage just how big the Oasis was, even knowing how far it stretched when viewing it from the outside. The road took winding turns, the foliage not giving a clear line of sight on how long the road was either.
"I've never seen a lot of these plants before…" Dustin remarked, tapping my shoulder and pointing at a massive fern to our right.
We were driving slowly to avoid going offroad, so I had plenty of time to pay more attention to it. I began to understand what Dustin was saying. A lot of the plants in the Oasis jungle seemed like large mutant hybrids of other normal plants. Upon closer inspection of a fern, a long stalk extended some fifteen feet in the air from the base, ending in a brilliant bunch of blossoming blue flowers. These odd ferns were all over the forest floor, along with all manner of other trees, flowers, and shrubs. And that wasn't even mentioning the extreme variety of Pokemon I was seeing.
We continued driving for a while after that; I found myself constantly asking Dustin which Pokemon were what, as there were many that I hadn't ever seen. Dustin hardly had to check his Pokedex to answer my questions, answering curtly in an almost egotistical fashion.
"I can barely see the soil around here…" I told Dustin after some time had passed in silence. "How am I going to look for Pokemon when I won't know where I'm stepping?"
"That's one of those questions that I think we're both looking forward to figuring out." Dustin replied, giving me a smile.
I smiled in return, knowing we were on the same page, but also painfully aware of a difference of scenarios.
"Easy for you to say." I replied, gesturing to Trapinch, who seemed enthralled by the change of scenery. "You actually have a Pokemon to battle with. Only option I've got is to give some wild Pokemon a hug or something, and hope it doesn't throw an attack at me before or during that..."
"Then we'll stick together." Dustin declared. "It wouldn't hurt to have a partner to help navigate through this place anyways."
"You two are going to need a lot more than a buddy to navigate the Oasis successfully." Sergei chimed in. "First you get some actual guidance from the man who runs this place, and then we can talk about wandering off, ah?"
"We wouldn't have it any other way." I replied.
"Who's this guy we're meeting, anyway?" Dustin asked. "What does this Duking guy do?"
Sergei let out a deep laugh.
"He helped create the jungle we're driving through right now, gospoda! Duking is a revolutionary man, who discovered emerging Wild Pokemon in Orre before anyone else. He was an...eh...adventurer of sorts. He wandered the whole of Orre, marking any habitats or areas that could be suitable for wild Pokemon to inhabit. Thanks to him, we knew where to focus our efforts." he said.
The man mountain took a moment to admire the scenery for himself, a content smile plastered on his rough and ragged face.
"Plenty of credit goes to Celebi for all of this growth, though." Sergei continued. "The scientists could only do so much. Which leads us to now. Duking now watches over the Traveller's Oasis, and coordinates the rotation of trainers from Mt. Battle to ensure this sanctuary's protection. Not counting the Guardians, of course."
"I think it would help if you could be even more cryptic." Dustin joked. "I'll bite, though. Who are the Guardians?"
Dustin made sure to put extra sarcasm into "the Guardians"
Sergei smiled knowingly.
"Better that Duking introduce you to them. We're just about there anyways."
Right as I was ready to cast doubt on that notion, my eyes caught a blast of sunlight as we suddenly emerged from under the shade of the canopy. We were now in a large clearing, with a vast expanse of short grass and flanked on all sides by towering trees. The plant life had been kept under control in this area, so it was easy to see our surroundings in the open field. To the right was a large wooden cabin, the wood's unique color presumably that of the trees around it. A dirt parking lot laid a couple dozen yards in front of it, three large jeeps occupying only a fraction of the large space.
To our left were a variety of crops being grown, bunches of various fruits and vegetables surrounded by water, a natural river calmly flowing from the treeline opposite us. While I couldn't pinpoint the exact origin of the water flow, it felt safe to assume that it was coming from whatever oasis was keeping the jungle so healthy.
Sergei's truck pulled into the dirt lot, the man mountain gliding the truck to stop just to the right of the parked jeeps. The engine fully turned off, and Sergei turned to face us.
"I know you'll want to complain about the heat, gospoda. But just remember that it's not easy for me either, and convince yourselves not to complain, ah? Whine enough and you won't get to see what I made for you."
With that, Sergei opened the driver's side door and stepped out, quickly closing the door behind him. Dustin followed suit, pushing the door open and securing Trapinch in his arms before stepping fully out of the truck. He seemed to stagger for a moment, and then gave me space to hop out too. Making sure to grab my backpack as I exited the vehicle, I Ieft the threshold of the truck, and realized that Sergei hadn't been exaggerating.
I barely remembered to shut the door as the humidity made me almost forget how to breathe properly. Within seconds of standing in the dirt lot, I felt sticky and sluggish. My mind was frazzled, and the afternoon sun beaming directly down on me was not helping my focus.
"Holy shit." I said simply, reaching to wipe my forehead, which was already beginning to accumulate sweat.
Dustin was clearly having trouble too, but seemed to be handling it a little better than I was.
"Sergei went around back. Let's go get whatever he's made for you." he said, walking towards the back of the truck.
Seeing my friend stay focused helped me rein myself back in, and I followed after him, feeling some reprieve from the slight breeze my movement was creating.
Dustin's hunch was right. Sergei had just finished lowering the ramp in the back, his face already glistening with sweat. Hard as it was for me, I did not envy Sergei's beard in this type of heat.
"It will get more bearable, gospoda, but only as long as you stay hydrated." Sergei said, walking up the ramp. "Now which crate did I put the damned thing in?"
While Sergei rummaged around the back of the truck, Dustin and I began to more thoroughly scan our surroundings. My friend took off his beanie, his curly blonde hair flowing out and falling to his shoulders.
"I'll be honest, man." Dustin said, stuffing his beanie into his pocket. "There were a couple times the past day and a half where I didn't think we were gonna make it here. That's gotta count for something, right?"
I nodded, eyes canvasing the treeline.
"No doubt, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna sit on my laurels and call it quits now that we've made it. I'm still no more of a Trainer than Pock is."
Dustin scoffed.
"Even if the cabin's nicely air conditioned? Even Pock knew to stay the hell inside in the afternoon."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. As I took in my surroundings more, my face grew more serious.
"I don't know how, but I'm going to catch a Pokemon here. I've come too far to come back empty handed. It's really important to me that I do this."
Dustin tilted his head.
"I'd think so, yeah." he replied, seeming a bit perplexed that I would say something that seemed really obvious to him.
"It's more than just having one to battle and stuff, or just the concept of it." I shot back, shaking my head slightly. "The whole reason I'm out here in the first place is because I told Salvator that I wanted to really experience Pokemon, in a way beyond just battling. To be honest, I'm really not sure what that means to me yet. You know what I mean?"
Dustin began to nod, but then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"To prove yourself to him, right? Only met him over hologram, but he has egomaniac written all over him."
I fist bumped Dustin at hearing him say that, and then turned back towards the jungle behind us. The buzzing and chirping of Bug Pokemon filled the area, caws from bird Pokemon echoing from up above.
"While I'd love to wipe the smirk off of Salvator's face, it's more something that I've gotta prove to myself. Am I really ready to train my own Pokemon? I know what I think I'm capable of; now it's time to see whether I'm right or not."
Dustin placed a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to him as he gave me a reassuring nod.
"You and me both." he said. "No promises about soothing our own self-doubts, but let's start by proving the overbearing adult figures in our lives wrong."
I nodded in return.
"That's a good place to start." I replied.
I was silent for a moment, but then found myself chuckling.
"You good?" Dustin asked.
"I'm good." I replied. "But when do you think we'll get out of this deep and philosophical phase and get to full-time kicking ass?"
Dustin shrugged, straightening his posture.
"I don't know what you're talking about. There's a busted green truck out there in the desert that says I've already gotten there."
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Oh really? We going to act like your 'overbearing adult figures' comment wasn't you projecting?" I replied with a smug grin.
Before Dustin could think up a witty reply, Sergei made his way down the ramp, holding some kind of accessory in his right hand. He walked over to us, giving us each a look in turn. He ran a hand through his beard thoughtfully, his gaze darting back and forth between me and Dustin.
"Something...wrong, gospoda?" he asked carefully.
"Nope."
"Nope." we replied in sync.
Sergei gave us each a nod.
"Good, good. Now, time to show you what I made."
Sergei pulled his right arm from behind his back, giving us a closer look at what this thing was exactly.
It was clearly an accessory for one's forearm, due to its larger size. It was bound by leather, a few rogue strips of metal binding the device together. The part that Sergei was showing us had some kind of digital interface, reinforced with small metal screws around its perimeter. A strip to the right of the interface resembled that of a small solar panel. Another notable thing about the accessory was several metal nubbins sticking out of the far end of the thing, the protrusions barely larger than the top of a push pin.
"What is this for, Sergei?" I finally asked, the intricacies of the device transfixing my attention on it.
"This is what you'd call a vambrace, of sorts." the man mountain replied. "This is a little piece of gear that is meant to attach to your arm. It's a high-tech navigation device that uses satellite data to accurately produce three-dimensional maps of most areas of the region. It runs on the same grounded connection that your PDA does, so it is the...eh...best of both worlds, yes!"
"How does it work?" Dustin asked, practically leaning on me to inspect the vambrace.
"First we have to see if it fits." the man mountain said. "Hold out your right arm."
Dustin and I did this simultaneously, and then gave each other an annoyed look.
"I did what he asked me to." Dustin said defensively.
"He didn't even know you were coming on this trip with us until like a day before. There's no way this is for you."
Sergei cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Hakins is right. I built this to fit perfectly on his arm. Salvator sent me all of the specs and everything."
Dustin looked like he was thinking of something to say, but eventually gave up and stepped back.
"I mean, it would suck if you put a bunch of work into something that didn't fit on me…" he said, his voice more of a mutter.
I gave Dustin a single pat on the shoulder, then held my arm out further. Sergei crouched down slightly to get to my height, carefully angling the vambrace. I could now see the bottom of it, which wasn't fully attached. There was about an inch gap between one piece of the bottom and the other.
"If you need to take this thing on or off, just flip the switch right above the digital screen." Sergei said, making sure that I could see the small switch he was talking about.
He then placed the device fully on my arm, flipping the switch once he was satisfied. The bottom clasped fully together in an instant. Sergei let go of my arm, and stepped back as well.
"It took a lot of time to try and get it to a reasonable weight. How does it feel, Hakins?" Sergei asked, admiring his handiwork.
It was certainly more weighty than my left arm was before, but not in an uncomfortable way. I began to make small rotations with my shoulders, getting accustomed to the feeling of the vambrace on my arm.
"Pretty good." I concluded.
Sergei let out a hearty laugh.
"Fantastic! You are looking more and more like a ruffian by the day, chuvak! Now, activate the device by double tapping the screen. She should work without a hitch!"
Feeling as excited as the man mountain was, I gave the screen two quick taps. The device powered on, letting me know in white text that it was scanning the surrounding area to pinpoint my location.
After a few moments, the device seemed to pick up on where I was, and the screen projected a few inches upwards, a monochromatic cyber-replication of the whole of the Traveller's Oasis now in a miniturized view.
"You made this, Sergei?" I asked in disbelief, moving my arm around and watching the map rotate.
"Salvator provided the technology for this device." Sergei replied, taking out his canteen. "But yes, I built it. I've made holographic maps for war rooms, and this was just a smaller version of that. It's touch sensitive, so you can move it around with your hands. Tap the image twice to see where you currently are...yaddah yaddah...look, you two. We can finish this later, but right now we need to speak with Duking."
"Well if ya travelled all the way out here to tell me somethin', it's gotta be worth giving an ear to!"
Our trio whirled around to see a massive man step out from behind our truck. While I had thought that Sergei towered over most at somewhere around 6'3, this man was somehow a larger version of Sergei. He was absolutely shredded too, his arms threatening to explode through his tight black t-shirt. He had long brown hair that ran behind his shoulders, and a thick moustache gracing his upper lip. Most bizarre about him was the grey fedora perched on his head, the blue band of the hat holding an emerald colored feather.
People really teeter between jacked and frail in this region… I thought, feeling really weak and small in the presence of both Sergei and this man.
"I'll be damned! It has been too long Duking!" Sergei exclaimed, walking over to him to clasp arms, their biceps bulging out as they did so. "How long were you waiting for your entrance, mudak?"
"Just happened to get the phone-in that a gruff-looking fella ridin' in a massive vehicle had a message from the 'ol Professor to bring to me, and I had to come out to make sure that it was who I thought it was. How the hell are ya, Sergei?"
I shook my head in disbelief. It felt like everybody in Orre seemed to know who Sergei was.
"The Orre desert has treated me well in recent years, my friend. It was inevitable that the winds of fate would bring me back here to the Oasis, though." Sergei said, taking a swig from his canteen.
"This message, yeah?" Duking said. "We can discuss this in my office at the cabin. But first you've gotta tell me who you've brought along for your field trip."
"This is Hakins, and that is Dustin." Sergei said, gesturing to each of us in turn. "These two young men are here to catch Pokemon."
Dustin and I both gave a nod. Duking seemed confused, however.
"Catch Pokemon? Don't they already have theirs, being older?" Duking asked, seeming aware that he was missing something.
"Well, I don't actually have a Pokemon of my own yet, so I thought I could find one here." I said, watching Duking's expression flip from confusion to unbridled joy.
"Wait...you're a NEW TRAINER?" Duking posed.
When I gave him a nod, he threw his head back and hollered joyfully into the clear blue sky.
"That's truly somethin'! I never thought in a million years we'd have any new trainers startin' in Orre. Why, I'm honored to have the opportunity to help ya out, Hakins!" Duking added immediately, giving me no time to address his question.
"Not to spoil the excitement of a new trainer…" Sergei cut in. "But we really should discuss recent events first."
Duking gave his head a couple of taps.
"Of course, Sergei. Alright, follow me you three; some cool air should do ya good!"
He and Sergei walked side by side towards the cabin, catching each other up on what they had done since last seeing each other. Dustin and I followed behind them, eager to get a reprieve from the heat.
"If what yer telling me is correct, we have quite a predicament on our hands." Duking said, placing his fedora on his desk.
We had just finished briefing Duking on the potential situation with Cipher. We were all sat in Duking's office, which was situated on the first floor of the log cabin. Duking was sat behind a desk cluttered with notes and various sketches of architectural designs. His office had windows on three sides, allowing plenty of light to flow through and illuminate the room. Our trio was seated in ornate carved wooden chairs facing the desk, Sergei taking the most central seat relative to the desk. Dustin and I were still close by, but sat more on the wings. Before the conversation, I had also set up my PDA and phoned Salvator, whose small hologram was projected at the edge of Duking's desk.
"I still do not understand, my friend…" Sergei said, rubbing his eyes with his hands while hunched over in his chair. "How is that you did not notice that all wireless communications had ceased?"
"We were too busy here to take any of the technical jargon with a lotta concern." Duking replied. "Things like satellite connection fluctuate out here 'round the Oasis, and I was too busy getting the newbies caught up to speed to think too much about whether the TV was gettin' a signal."
"This batch sounds exceptionally young if they require this much extra guidance; aren't more established trainers normally supposed to man the posts at the Oasis?" Salvator asked, his voice slightly distorted by the holographic transmission.
Duking sighed.
"You'd think so, right? I mean, with what we're protectin' that should go without saying. But the superiors at Mt. Battle argued that a week with these youngsters wouldn't hurt. Still, if what you're tellin' me is true, these aren't Trainers I trust to hold their own against an Outcast attack."
"How many are here with you right now, and how long have you had to prepare them for a possible attack?" Sergei asked.
"Got seventeen here right now, if ya don't count Silva, which normally would be enough, 'cept they're less productive than the folks Mt. Battle normally sends. Bet you three saw the state of the perimeter defenses; that's the handiwork of these newbies. Had these kids here just under a week now, and they've got me nervous."
"We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility of an imminent attack by the Outcasts." Sergei said, his hands interlocking seriously. "We know that they're all experienced Trainers who are well-coordinated and will likely be spearheaded by an Ex-Admin. Duking, we should get the Trainers into positions at once!"
"Slow down there, old friend." Salvator said, reaching his hand out to indicate calm. "Even if they banked on the next rotation of Trainers being so inexperienced, I doubt that they would be so reckless as to attack in broad daylight. Assuming that their base of operations is outside the sphere of interference, they will likely prefer to attack in the cover of darkness. I believe that you all should spend the day preparing basic defenses. I assume you still have those motion sensors we provided you, Duking?"
"Yes, and I'll get my Trainers on that at once." Duking replied. "Silva!"
Footsteps thumped their way to the closed door of the office, and a young man burst in. He wore a thin grey track jacket and shorts, and had greyish blonde hair that was spiky in much the same way that mine was, albeit a bit more like a carrot top.
"What's up, Duking?" Silva asked, his gaze darting to each of us with confusion.
"Don't worry, these are good friends of ours. What I need you to focus on right now is coordinating the Trainers we have. Get motion detectors set up and get the camera grid online! Grab the earpieces from the network room and make sure everyone has one."
"Got it, boss." Silva replied, grabbing a walkie talkie from his waistbelt before exiting the room, shutting the door just as he began talking on it.
This whole situation felt a lot like an earthquake drill, and I wasn't comfortable just staying silent with my tail between my legs.
"How can me and Dustin help?" I asked, freezing as I felt three other sets of eyes lock onto me at once.
"I'm with Hakins." Dustin added. "What can we do to bring it to these guys?"
Duking shook his head.
"I'm glad you two are willin' to lend a hand, but if I heard correctly, you're here to catch Pokemon. Fightin' Cipher is a lot different than whatever mercenaries or other unsavory characters y've had a run-in with so far." he said, leaning forwards in his chair.
"Having fought in two Shadow Incidents, I agree with Duking." Sergei added. "You've done incredibly well with what we've had to deal with so far, but Cipher is much more dangerous." Sergei stopped for a moment to give Salvator a wink, who tilted his head when he mentioned 'what we had to deal with'. "Cipher's Peons are experienced Trainers, and you two aren't quite there yet. I do not mean to offend you by saying this, but you are not viable options to engage and hold back a Cipher attack."
"And need I remind you that you do not have any Pokemon of your own yet, Hakins?" Salvator added, giving me a raised eyebrow.
I was silent for a moment after that. Up until recently, Cipher was something that was distant from me. It was a topic of discussion at the dinner table with my parents; it came up in news exposés and documentaries of the two Shadow Incidents. Part of me was still quite scared of what they were capable of. But I knew that I didn't want to be useless with a threat like this looming.
"Look...I can't argue with what any of you are saying…" I began. "But Dustin and I can contribute here. Maybe we can't be manning the perimeter or anything, but you can't tell me that there isn't something that the two of us can do to help right now!"
Duking, Salvator, and Sergei all exchanged a look, and it was almost as if they were convening with each other silently. My feet tapped the hardwood floor nervously, and I looked over to see Dustin carefully examining the expressions of the adults in the room, trying to decipher what they were thinking.
Eventually, Duking sat up from his chair, and walked over to Dustin and I.
"Alright you two. Normally, I wouldn't allow kids as young as y'uns to get involved, but we're frankly strapped on resources and manpower right now. We'll need runners for the night shift to make sure that any attacks at our perimeter are reported to the Guardians as soon as possible, so they don't get caught by surprise. Think you lads can handle that?"
As I formulated a response, Dustin rose out of his chair.
"As soon as we figure out who 'the Guardians' are, we can handle that no problem." he replied.
To my surprise, Duking laughed at Dustin's reply, his muscled arms rippling as he did.
"Confidence is the first step to success." Duking said. "I'll have one of our newbies show you two where the Relic Stone is. And about your question, the Guardians are a group of Golurk sent from Unova to make sure that we have a constant source of protection for the Relic Stone against attacks. We wouldn't be so comfortable rotating Trainers if they weren't here."
"What do we do after we've been to the Relic Stone?" I asked, eager for more instructions.
"We'll give you lads directions to the section of the perimeter that you'll be stationed at." Duking replied. "Get a good idea for the best path from it to the Relic Stone by going back and forth a couple times."
"The time spent exploring routes in the jungle should give you ample opportunity to find a Pokemon to catch, Hakins." Salvator added. "There are many unique Pokemon at the Oasis that aren't found anywhere else in Orre, so make sure not to waste this opportunity."
"Ah, yes, one more thing, chuvak!" Sergei exclaimed, bounding over to me and Dustin. "Hakins, your vambrace's holographic map should serve you well here. Make sure to adjust relative zoom and perspective to help chart out your course."
"Let's get to work everyone!" Duking said. "Sergei, Silva could use your help gettin' the surveillance & localized communication network up and running again. He should be in the basement."
"Da, sounds good." Sergei replied, turning to Salvator's hologram. "We'll take care of this, my friend. I will update you once we've secured the Oasis."
Sergei and Salvator exchanged a nod, the man mountain ending the transmission shortly after. He grabbed my PDA, and together, Duking and Sergei made their way to the door out of the large office. Duking stopped in front of us first.
"Your guide will be outside the house in a few minutes."
With that, Duking exited the office. However, Sergei also stopped and turned to us before he left after him.
"I won't be right alongside you to keep you safe this time, gospoda. Tread carefully, and watch for Pokemon you have no business pissing off, ah?"
"We'll be alright." Dustin replied. "With any luck, this will all be a false alarm."
Sergei smiled. He placed my PDA into my hands.
"Make sure to get some rest before your night shift. They'll need you out there."
Seeming satisfied with what he said, Sergei bounded out of the room after Duking, leaving me and Dustin sitting in our chairs.
We both rose from our seats, and gave each other a glance.
"When we scout the perfect route and get the Guardians on Cipher's ass, I'll be waiting for our medals." Dustin said.
"Damn straight." I replied, connecting on a fist bump with him.
We hurried out the office door, quickly descending the stairs of the log cabin and exiting out the front. Thankfully, the porch had roofing over it, and provided a bit of shade that mitigated the intensity of the tropic heat. Not looking to get too settled, Dustin and I waited standing up, our eyes scanning the large clearing that we were in. I caught a glimpse of Silva at the edge of the jungle across from us, talking to a couple more Trainers. A ways away, a group of Deerling were eating at the tall grass, a Sawsbuck scanning the area carefully for threats.
"No sign of our guide yet." I said. "Is Trapinch still with you?"
"Yeah, she's back in her Poke Ball right now, though." Dustin replied. "She got bored like five minutes into the meeting."
"Like Trainer like Pokemon." I said with a laugh.
"Hold up, hear that?" Dustin said suddenly. "Sounds like a car's coming."
"That might be our ride." I replied. "Let's get going."
Dustin and I made our way off of the porch, the sun bearing down aggressively on us as we made our way to the dirt lot. Sure enough, a jeep emerged from the side of the jungle that we had come from, but drove right past the dirt lot. It came to a stop in front of the log cabin. The passenger's side door flew open, and the young man who greeted us at the gate stepped out of the jeep. An arm reached from the driver's seat, shutting the door behind him. The jeep then took off down another road, disappearing in the dense jungle.
Where I expected the young man to get right to business, he instead quietly shot me and Dustin looks in turn. Now that he was standing right in front of us, I could see him in a little more detail. Unlike some of the other young Trainers I'd seen so far, this guy looked like he was our age. Tall, wiry, and painfully pale white, I saw him wince as his sunburnt shoulders grazed the side of the jeep door. His spectacles must have fallen or been hit by something, because they were as crooked as his posture. All in all, he was odd-looking, and clearly not a socially magnanimous guy.
Not having any patience for even the few moments of silence that passed after the jeep had left, I cleared my throat loudly.
"You're the guy taking us to the Relic Stone, right?" I asked.
"...Yes." he replied simply, his voice pitched as if not being used often.
"Cool, cool." Dustin said, offering his hand. "I'm Dustin, and this is Hakins. We're here to be your runners."
Dustin had a charismatic smile as he kept his hand outstretched, but it slowly faded as the young man simply stared at Dustin's hand.
"It's no big deal if you're not into handshakes." my friend said quickly, chuckling as he put his hand down. "But a name wouldn't hurt."
The young man seemed to have difficulty even responding to that question. After taking an awkwardly large deep breath, he spoke.
"My name is Theoren." he replied, bowing slightly. "It's nice to meet you both."
He pointed out into the field. I strained my eyes, and saw a small trail at the treeline.
"The Relic Stone is over there...follow me." Theoren finished, beginning to walk towards the trail without giving us a second look.
Dustin and I gave exchanged a puzzled expression, and then followed after him. His weird build made it to where his steps were uneven and uncertain, so we had no trouble keeping up with him. We quickly reached the treeline, and began our trek up the narrow trail, bound for the Relic Stone..
As always, feel free to send me a PM if you have any comments or questions, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Stay safe, and have a good day!
- Spinda