With the Nacrene City gym behind us and Hilda having two badges inside her case, we took a day off due to her burnout and headed out early in the morning. Our next destination was finally Castelia City, but before we could get there we had to go through the Pinwheel Forest.
Apparently, it was the largest forest in all of Unova, and it will take a few days to get through. Thankfully, we were going in fully prepared, as we had both a tent and enough supplies for the journey, though our bags were kind of heavy.
We were slowly approaching the entrance to the forest and we both looked at each other before going inside.
Already, even the early morning sun couldn't penetrate the thick forest, making the place only dimly lit. Critters of all kinds were singing their bug-like melodies while a rustle of grass and leaves here or there made the forest feel alive with activity.
The activity of Pokémon of course.
There wasn't a single animal in here that didn't look like one, not a single boar or an elk was nearby. Instead, the place was filled with small-looking bug and grass type Pokémon. Some looked cute while others less so.
While I looked around the place in slight awe, Hilda kept her stride through the forest that had a large asphalt road that looked like it went on forever. We kept our pace for some moderate time and even let out our Pokémon to join us on the small trek.
It was honestly refreshing to just go on a stroll again, not battling or seeking out other trainers to get stronger.
We soon reached our limit however, and even the sun was already setting so we went off the road and created a small camp nearby. With both tents erected and a campfire already lit, I took it upon myself to make dinner.
I wouldn't trust Hilda to cook something edible.
"Hey, so, why am I not on cooking duty when you are the whole time?" She asked me pointedly while sitting down on a portable mattress, "You make me feel bad like I haven't done anything."
"Do you want the truth?" I asked her, and she nodded, "Then I don't trust your cooking skills at all."
"Excuse you!? I'll let you know that I know how to cook!" She was offended, to say the least.
"What, how to boil pasta?" I shot back and Hilda was about to say something, only to close her mouth and cross her arms.
"Shut up, I'm not that bad," She huffed, making me sigh.
"Look, I have nothing against you for not cooking. If I did, I would make myself known," I said to her, making her drop her pointed stare.
"Then why won't you let me try it?" She asked.
"Because we are in a forest, not a kitchen. One wrong move and we have a forest fire on our hands," I said to her.
"We could have, oh I don't know, buy a portable burner, and not use a campfire?" She pointed out, making me scowl at her.
"Stop complaining for the sake of complaining, Hilda. You're getting on my nerves here," I said to her, and she was taken back before slumping while hugging her legs.
"Sorry," Was all she said while I switched my attention to the stew I was making.
Surprisingly, the berries here were so large and were full of all the necessary ingredients that they made the stew all on their own. I just needed to throw in a steak or two, and we had a soup that both us and our Pokémon could eat.
I portioned it to everyone, five bowls in total, and without waiting for anything, we began our meal. Thankfully, all three of our Pokémon were enjoying their stew and after giving it a taste myself, I could safely say it was delicious.
The only one who wasn't eating was Hilda, who was just gazing at her bowl with a far-off look.
"Hilda?" I called her out, snapping her out of her trance, "You're alright?"
"How can you put up with me?" She asked suddenly.
"You mean…?" I pressed and Hilda gave me a slight nod.
"Yeah, I'm always complaining, the stick in the mud, and just not a good friend. Hell, I made you break down because I just couldn't keep my mouth shut," She said while looking at the campfire, crackling all the while.
I stared at her for a few moments in awkward silence before I broke it with another sigh.
"Hilda, you're a good person. You just show it the most hostile way possible," I began making her look up from the campfire, "Even after what you said to me, you still gave me a shoulder to cry on."
I shook my head.
"But we've already talked about that. No need to do so twice," I said with a small smile before looking at Tusky who was scarfing down his bowl of berry stew, "So, were you going to tell me that Tusky had evolved?"
Hilda sheepishly scratched her cheek, going with the flow of the conversation.
"Well, I was, but in the heat of the moment, I just wanted to surprise you, I guess," She said while also turning to Tusky, "He evolved during one of my battles with the librarians, and I was surprised too. I thought it always took time to evolve dragon types."
I touched my chin in thought.
"I did hear Juniper say something like that. But then what made Tusky evolve so early?" Hilda shrugged.
"I wish I knew. Maybe the final evolution is the one that takes the most time, but that is just a wild guess," She then looked at Diana, "And from what I know, Deinos are supposed to be the most notorious example of long evolution time. Not to mention how hard they are to raise."
"How much are we talking about here?" I asked her.
"There were quite a few examples that a Pokémon was already in its final evolution while a Deino wasn't even in their first," She said, "Though any fully evolved dragon type are one of the strongest Pokémon out there."
I turned my gaze at Diana with a perplexed expression, a whirlwind of questions invaded my mind that begged to be answered. When did a Deino evolve? When would Diana evolve? What would she look like after evolving?
"Are there any restrictions when it comes to owning set dragon types? I don't think a fresh adult having such a Pokémon would be a good idea," I said and Hilda struck a thinking pose.
"I actually don't know," She said, "Though I don't think you should worry too much. I think it'll take some time before Diana evolves into a Zweilos. You don't fight often anyway."
That didn't reassure me at all. I turned my gaze back to Diana, who already ate her portion, and tried her best to pry off some of the stew from others, much to Tusky's and Bunni's annoyance.
"Diana, come here," I said to her, making her tilt her head before hopping next to me.
"Dei?" She asked and I gave her my bowl.
"Eat up, you look like you need it more than I do," I said to her.
"Dei!?" She asked in disbelief.
"Yes, it's yours," I said to her, and without any indication, she took the bowl with her mouth and ran away, making me smile. Even if Diana would evolve into something scary, it would still be my Diana.
And nobody would be able to convince me otherwise.
"That girl will be the death of me someday," I mused out loud while Hilda had a wide stare.
"How do you do it?" She asked, taking me by surprise.
"What do you mean?" I asked back.
"How can you just tell what Diana thinks or wants? You're able to pick up on even the slightest gestures," She pointed at Diana who was also devouring my bowl of food, "This just proves my point."
To say she caught me off-guard would have been an understatement as I had what to say to that.
"I don't think I can answer that, Hilda. I just can tell, and I didn't really look much into it. I'm happy me and Diana have some common ground. Even though she bites my coat a lot," I told her and she gave me a disappointed look.
"I was hoping you could tell me some sort of trick because I have problems with both Bunni and Tusky. I just can't read them sometimes," She said. Now that she mentioned Tusky, I was quite curious about him as well.
"And what of Tusky? How did he handle his evolution?" I asked Hilda and she crossed her arms while raising her chin.
"Like a champ. He was battle-ready just like Bunni and we defeated every librarian easily, just like Lenora," She boasted while I gave her an exasperated smile.
"Hilda, I think you should do something about your egoistic attitude. You'll look like a fool when you don't back up your words," I said to her, making her huff.
"Now look who's trying to hurt someone's feelings," She shot back while I lazily waved my hand.
"I know you can take whatever jab I make, unlike me," I said to her, "I'll just have to hope you will tone it down a little. Though I'm willing to admit that backed-up trash talking does give me some enjoyment, as long as it is tasteful."
Hilda snorted at that.
"And you're trying to lecture me about being egoistic? You're quite full of yourself too," She remarked, making me snort as well.
"Playing games online will do that to you," I said, making Hilda perk up.
"You didn't tell me you like playing video games," She accused me while I shrugged.
"It never came up, but I played a fair share of games."
"Oh, have you played the newest fighting game—" And the conversation devolved into two geeks reminiscing about how bad and good some games were. We went on well into the night before we just called it and went to sleep.
A dreamless night was something I appreciated greatly.
{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}
Honestly, the trek became less and less interesting as time went on. The endless forest was getting on my nerves and seeing the road being just one long and endless line discouraged me, to say the least. It almost felt like we weren't making any progress.
It didn't make things better that the place was almost silent either.
"Arceus above, this is so BORING!" Hilda shouted into the forest but not a single echo was heard.
"This time, I'm with you on that one. This became dull very quickly," I agreed before Hilda groaned in frustration.
"Just how long is this road!? We've been walking for three days now and the end is still nowhere in sight!" She complained.
"Now I wish we had something like a car, it would make things a lot simpler," I said before Hilda turned to me.
"You have a driving license?" She asked and I quickly brought my wallet and my license in one swift motion. Hilda looked at it in slight awe, though I wasn't sure it was the card or something else.
"I'm honestly impressed by how quickly you pulled it out," I gave her a deadpan stare. Of course it wasn't the card.
"Hilda, this isn't something to be impressed by," I told her exasperatedly while she shrugged.
"Certainly more impressive than this trek through this stupid forest," She remarked.
"...Fair," Was all I said.
"Still, I wish there was stuff to do. We've done nothing other than just walking, eating, sleeping, and then walking again. Nothing in between," Hilda complained.
"While I like when things are calm and quiet, I agree that boredom is still an issue," I said, but still pressing onward towards Castelia. It was the place that would tell me if I was on a wild goose chase or not.
A sudden cry from a Pokémon interrupted our stride, making us both turn to the source of the sound. A small purple centipede with large yellow eyes and a tough-looking shell crawled its way to us before adorning a pleading look.
"Ven!Venipede!'" It said, trying to gain our attention.
"What is a Venipede doing here?" Hilda asked out loud, "They should live deep inside the forest, not next to the road."
"Whatever it is, it probably has a reason to be here," I said before kneeling down to the little guy, "What's your problem?"
"Ven, veni-pede!" He said while hopping up and down, before rolling on the ground. He then shot a string of webs in the direction of the forest. I put my hand on my chin.
"I see," Was all I said before turning to Hilda, "Trouble's brewing inside the forest."
She stared at me in awe while I gave her a small smirk.
"You wanted something to happen, right? Well, this might be our chance," I said to her but she was still stunned.
"How in the holy mother of Arceus did you understand what he meant!?" She shouted while pointing at the Venipede and I was taken for just a fraction of a second before it just dawned on me. How was I able to…
"I can't understand it either, but I just do, alright? We're wasting time here, the Venipede is getting impatient," I urged, and true to my word, the little guy wanted to go as soon as possible. Hilda groaned before nodding.
"Fine, I'm getting tired of nothing happening in this damned forest anyway," She said while calling both Bunni and Tusky out before turning to them, "Let's go, and keep your guard up."
They both let out their cries before I summoned Diana as well. She turned to me with a wide grin, probably already heard what the situation was. I only nodded before turning to the Venipede.
It backed off a little before I only brought a hand down to its level and gave it a reassuring smile, "Hop on, it'll be faster this way."
The Venipede was cautious at first before coming closer and sniffed my arm. He then tentatively took his first step and oh god was this a horrible idea. It used its little legs to crawl up and I felt every single one neatly stabbing me through my coat, sending shivers down my spine. The Venipede was surprisingly heavy too.
It didn't hurt, but that large centipede climbing up my arm was going to be in my nightmares for the rest of my life.
It settled itself around my neck comfortably and I gave it a shaky smile.
"You good?" I asked the Venipede and a quick "Pede." with a nod gave me the answer I needed to hear. I turned to Hilda who was stunned and disgusted at the same time that I let the guy climb on top of me.
"You're the bravest and the dumbest person I'd ever seen," She remarked.
"Thanks for the compliment," I said, sarcasm oozing from my voice, "Come on, we have to move."
We began a brisk walk inside the forest, the Venipede always shooting strings of web to show us the way to the source of the problem. We started to hear the cries of Pokémon, and that made us pick up the pace, and soon reached the place of interest.
It was one of the few alleys with few trees, the place was lit by the afternoon light of the sun while a single pond was one of the few things present. We reached the place carefully while keeping a low profile, and after a brief search, we found what the Venipede wanted us to find.
A metal cage filled with other Venipedes, and Sewaddles. They were crying for help while pushing against each other, the bars barely containing them inside. I balled up my fist, angry at the fact that somebody would do this.
"Arceus above, why are they caged?" Hilda exclaimed.
"No clue, but I wouldn't put it past that somebody might be here with us," I said, looking around warily and expecting company to show up.
"Tusky," Hilda began, gazing at the cage with contempt, "Pull the bars away."
"Frax," He nodded, before grabbing the metal bars and began pulling them apart. He grunted while using all his might to at least bend the metal beams, but it was no use. They were too tough to bend.
One Sewaddle, a Pokémon that looked like a larva wrapped in a leaf, was almost about to squeeze its way through the metal confine, but we were suddenly cut off-guard.
"What's going on here!?" Shouted somebody behind us, forcing all of us to turn and we spotted four similarly garbed people. They seemed to be wearing some sort of teal leather armor, with a white apron draped over it. Black tight suits were underneath and pokéballs strapped on their belts, something told me this was not going to end pretty.
"What do you think you're doing with that cage?" One of them asked, her hand already on her only pokéball.
"Who are you, and why are you caging these Pokémon!?" Hilda demanded, Tusky and Bunni growling in their direction as well.
"Wouldn't you like to know, little girl. This is strictly under the orders of our king," Another one said, "Now leave this place and maybe we will let your little interruption slide!"
While I could admire sorting out a dispute with diplomacy, a Pokémon in a cage was still a Pokémon in a cage.
"I don't think we will leave any time soon. Not until you release these Pokémon," I said defiantly while pointing my hand at the cell.
"Venipede!" Shouted the centipede on my shoulder.
"Fine, I guess we do it the hard way. Plasma! Attack!" Shouted the probable leader and all four of them let their Pokémon out of their balls, and a squad of Purloins and Patrats while led by a Watchog. I scowled at the sight.
"So, we're battling our way through, huh?" I asked Hilda who had a smirk in place.
"Kind of expected. Besides," Her smirk turned into a contempt stare, "Nobody cages Pokémon against their will and gets away with it on my watch."
"Alright, Tusky can handle the Watchog. Let Bunni and Diana deal with the rest," I clicked my tongue, "Though we are heavily outnumbered here."
"Quality over quantity. Tusky, get that Watchog! Bunni, keep Tusky safe!" Hilda shouted and after shaking my head in exasperation, I turned to Diana.
"Any Patrats and Purloins are fair game, Diana," I said to her.
"Deino," She said with a nod before she charged alongside Tusky and Bunni and all hell broke loose. Tusky, already having experience fighting a Watchog, went immediately on the offensive, attacking the Watchog mercilessly. What we had problems with were the little underlings.
They were just too many and had incredible endurance and tenacity.
"Diana! To your left!" I shouted and Diana pried off the Patrat biting into her mane before shooting a stream of fire at a Purloin. The cat stayed on its feet, grimacing in pain before sparks formed on its body.
Score, that was paralysis, it was out of commission. Diana would have to be fine for now, so I switched my attention to Bunni because Hilda already had her hands full with that Watchog.
"Bunni! Create some distance and use a Work Up!" She did as she was told and backed off and began creating the same sand particles, but it wouldn't be that easy for me.
"Perloin! Attack that Herdier now!" Shouted one of the grunts, with a second one joining as well, "You too, Patrat!"
Damn it, Diana was too preoccupied with the rest and nobody was around to help her, but then a plan invaded my mind that begged to be tested.
"Venipede," I said suddenly, turning to the critter on my neck, taking it by surprise, "Shoot your webs on those two."
"Venipede!?" It asked and I nodded.
"Yes, I don't see anybody around to do so. You'll be fine," I reassured. He was hesitant, just like when he climbed my arm, but then a determinant nod was my answer.
"Good, now hop to it!" I commanded and with a "Pede!" he jumped off my shoulder and shot a string of webs in the Patrat's direction and it worked like a charm. The squirrel was caught inside the sticky net and was unable to move as it flailed around to get rid of it.
The only problem was that it only worked on the Patrat and the Purloin was free to attack Bunni. I wanted to command the Venipede to attack with another string shot but the Purloin was too fast and I tried to command Bunni to stop.
To my surprise, another string of webs shot from the back, catching the Purloin. I looked at the Pokémon with bewilderment before turning my gaze back at the cage and spotted the stuck Sewaddle in the bent bars of the cage.
I quickly told Bunni to engage the ensnared duo of Pokémon before turning back to the Sewaddle.
"Seeeeeew!" It squealed while trying to squeeze its way through with its tiny legs that locked more like small yellow marbles instead. A chuckle escaped my lips before reaching it.
"Thank you," I said, before carefully grabbing the guy from behind, "I'll help you out here."
I carefully pry the Sewaddle off from the bars and with a dull pop, I was able to wiggle him out before he let out a happy "Waddle!".
"Thanks for the safe back there," I told the guy, and he eagerly nodded. I looked back at the battlefield where the cries of our partners and enemy Pokémon echoed in the forest. Tusky was still dealing with the Watchog and even though he already beat one, the nuisance Bunni and Diana couldn't deal with bothered him.
Which gave me an idea before turning back to the larva.
"We're gonna need all the help we can get. Think you're up for it?" I asked him and quite the contrast to the Venipede, he jumped from my arms, landing on the ground with barely any sound.
"Sewaddle!" He said excitedly.
"Alright, go help that Fraxure deal with the small fry. You'll get some back up soon enough," I said and without giving me a reply, he bolted with surprising speed to the front lines. He soon also shot a string of web, that knocked down one of the Patrats gnawing at Tusky's leg.
While the Sewaddle continued his sticky assault, Hilda suddenly turned to me and once she spotted my gaze, she gave me a curt nod before involving the Sewaddle in her strategies as well.
I turned back to the cage with the pleading Pokémon inside begging to be released as well.
"Give us time, we'll get you out of there," I promised before bringing my attention back to the brawl.
The paralyzed Purloin was already gone while the duo trapped in their web were already out of their confines, Bunni doing her best to take them down, but to no avail. Tusky was still fighting that Watchog, but the Sewaddle was a great boon to the fight as he was back on the offensive.
Venipede was looking around warily, scared that anything would suddenly jump on him, waiting on the backlines for my commands, and Diana bit off a little more than she could chew. She had more than three Pokémon on her tail, making this fight extremely outnumbered.
But it was still workable.
"Four Patrats, three Purloins. Each still in fine condition to battle. I have three…" As I mulled over my thoughts on how to handle this situation, I gazed at the three distinct battles going on, and just like a single light bulb lighting up a dark place, I knew exactly what to do.
"Venipede! Bring Diana back with your web on my mark!" The shocked expression from the centipede was palpable, "Don't worry, she is one tough Deino!"
I turned to Diana.
"Get your flames ready, Diana! Bear through what they throw at you, and shoot them out on my mark as well!" I shouted while Venipede just went with the flow and wrapped around Diana's body a string of web while wisps of fire escaped Diana's mouth. She was still getting attacked, but she was one tough girl.
"Mark!" I shouted and in one swift motion, the Venipede pulled with all his might on the web while Diana shot out a stream of purple flames at the ground, propelling her in the air while her enemies were bathed in the draconic fire.
She landed on all fours perfectly while the string fell off of her before I pointed my loose hand at our opponents.
"Another Dragon Breath, Diana! Venipede, throw anything at them from afar!" I commanded, adrenaline and pure instinct leading my thoughts. Both of my companions shot out another round of attacks, sharp-looking needles from the Venipede, and another batch of hellfire from Diana before shouting their cries in unison.
"Deino!"
"Venipede!"
The two Patrats and a Purloin were engulfed into another batch of fire while being punctured by probably poisonous stingers. Soundly defeated, they slumped to the ground with burned marks and a few needles stuck in them.
But there was no time to celebrate yet.
I turned my gaze at Bunni who was faring well enough, but we were slowly gaining an advantage, and wasting that would be… well, a waste.
"Diana, Venipede, let's go help Bunni!" I said urgently before they both bolted to her, again, surprised at the speed the Venipede was going, all trace of fear was gone from the centipede. In fact, he was able to get there faster and rammed into a Purloin that was about to attack Bunni from the back, giving her the freedom to counter.
"Herrrrdier!" She shouted while crunching down on the Patrat in front of her, before throwing the Patrat the grunts' way. Instead of focusing on them, we regrouped with Hilda while another group of Pokémon came out of their pockets.
"How many do they have!?" Shouted Hilda, visible sweat pouring down her temples, and breathing heavily, "Tusky, keep your claws up while the Sewaddle protects you! Little guy, shoot anything in your sight that isn't one of ours!"
"Fraxure!"
"Sewaddle!"
Tusky didn't switch his attention, charging against the Watchog who blocked Tusky strike with a crossguard, but that didn't stop Tusky from continuing. He attacked again, and again, the Sewaddle keeping the small fries from him, but couldn't deal with any of them.
That was our cue.
"Diana, Bunni, charge! Venipede, stay at the backline with the Sewaddle and shoot anything in sight!" I commanded, the trio doing as they were told and turning the odds mostly one to one.
"What took you so long!? These guys are unrelenting!" Hilda complained about a scowl.
"Hilda, keep your snark after we deal with them! Focus your attention on what matters!" I shut her down, much to her surprise.
"You're actually taking things seriously for once," She remarked.
"Hilda," Iwarned her, and she gave me a curt nod.
"Right, right. Now then," She turned to the grunts who our Pokémon were defeating slowly but surely, "Give up! We're beating you even with your numbers! Release them!"
The grunts, taken by surprise with Hilda's sudden statement, stared at her incredulously before their leader stepped forth.
"We won't stop until those Pokémon become a part of the great Team Plasma! And we won't fail our king!" He shouted again, "Watchog, deal with that Fraxure!"
"Hog!" He shouted as well and charged against Tusky, but before the Watchog could attack, he got stuck into another net that was probably set up. With a wide opening to take, Tusky finished the large squirrel with a crackling uppercut, sending it flying back to its owner.
"Xure!" Shouted Tusky at the leader whose scowl was so deep, his eyebrows were almost knitted.
"This fight is already decided! Unless you have something else then open that cage now!" I demanded but a mirthless chuckle escaped the leader's lips instead, scorn radiating from him like a bad smell.
"You think this fight is over? We haven't even begun the main act," He said, trying to keep up some form of a charade that I had zero interest in.
"Quit your roleplay and give us the key to the cell. Or else," I warned, but the leader was unrelenting.
"Acting all high and mighty will only make your fall that much painful," He said before an evil smirk was plastered on his face while taking the second and his last pokéball from his belt, "And I'll gladly show you your place to fall."
He threw the ball into the air and I was expecting a lot of things to come out, but what I saw made my blood run cold.
From the white light emerged a crocodile-looking Pokémon with red skin and black stripes. It stood on its hind legs, standing tall and proud while his claws were ready to snatch anything with ease. The jaw was stretched out, just like a normal crocodile, and its eyes were formed in a way that made it look like it wore black sunglasses.
You'd think a crocodile wearing sunglasses wouldn't be intimidating, but that thing in front of me was anything but that.
"Kroooookodile!" It roared, the power of its yell vibrated through my body, shaking nearby trees, and made us all back away from it in fear.
This… we weren't ready for this.
"Hilda!" I turned to her, but the only thing I saw was Hilda gawking with both hands against her chest, shaking uncontrollably, "What is that!?"
"That's…" She almost wasn't able to finish her sentence but tried to steel herself as much as possible and what she let out was barely above a whisper, "A Krookodile."
AN: People like cliffhangers, right? Anyway, I'll try my best to get the next chapter as soon as possible. You are dying to find out what happens next, right? If you do, I'm just happy that you people get this far into the story, and your reviews always make my day.
If you want to join our discord server, here is the link.
Link: gg/9XG3U7a
God's speed.