Finding One's Way

by Curiosity44

Life and Death, the cycle repeats, it's the natural order. When one life ends, another begins. But sometimes, distortions appear. And in those moments, the cycle finds a way to correct the imbalance. For at the end of the day, all beings return to the cycle eventually. Whats a guy to do but just enjoy the ride? AU world for things I will change. Single Pairing. Psychic focus MC.

5. The Mountain

AN: Update for the day.

Big shout out to those of you who reviewed.

Abbadon44, andrew1011, brandt128, Haseo187, you guys/gals/others are awesome and your words appreciated.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own content and my balls.

Chapter 4: The Mountain

"*Huff* *Huff* Slow down you damn fluff balls!"

"""Ee!"""

I rolled my eyes at their indignant calls and shouted back over the wind.

"I don't care if you have names now! Your still adorable fluff balls to me!"

They turned their heads and moved on while I laughed.

The night was long but eventually we found names for the other two.

Going off of the god and goddess theme, we found two more they liked.

The second oldest and only male was now Nox. And the youngest had taken on the name of Khione.

It wasn't a quick selection either but it did eventually happen.

Thankfully I could get some sleep after it all and when I woke next, the sun had just risen and new day had begun.

Sleeping on uneven rock wasn't great for my back, but it wasn't a big deal, especially with the warm air and fluffy company.

Or maybe that's just me thinking with my earth memories of humans with weaker bodies. Who knows.

We enjoyed a breakfast of Oran berries with the three of them sharing one considering their smaller size but the berry had so much packed into it that it was a full meal for them.

I saved the last two for another meal in case we couldn't find food by tomorrow and we got started on another day of climbing.

My burns had also had great progress once more while I slept.

It couldn't have only been the Oran berry at work so it must mean that my body really did have a very high recovery rate.

Whether everyone in the world was like that or if it was because I had a child's body, or perhaps even some bull-shittery with my birth, I really didn't know.

But I was ok with the results.

If it healed at the current rate, I should be mostly recovered outside of scarring within a week.

We had been climbing for hours more and took a break mid-way through but we were approaching the top now and the wind had picked up at this altitude.

'We must be at least seven to eight hundred meters up at this point. What a rush.'

Looking at the view was breathtaking and the possibility of falling made me feel an exciting feeling of fear.

One that doesn't paralyze you but pushes you on to conquer it.

My hands and feet kept moving as I climbed.

One hand hold at a time, one step at a time.

I let my mind zone out peacefully and focus fully on the actions.

And before I knew it, I almost slipped when my hand reached up and hit only air.

I blinked and looked up to see I had reached the top.

"Haha over so soon?!"

I pulled myself up and rolled over the ledge while breathing heavy.

I just lay there, my leg dangling over the ledge as I looked on with my head against stone.

The world stretched on below me, shining and stimulating.

My lungs were puffing but my heart was blazing.

'I love this world.'

"Ee!"

An excited call broke me from my trance and I shook my head.

"Yeah, yeah, give the poor human a minute would you?"

I got to knee's and pushed up to take a look at where I ended up.

"Wow, not what I was expecting."

Stretched before my eyes was not the image of a mountain peak but more flat stone then I would have expected.

It rose into mounds in some areas and dipped in some area's but it was more or less a plateau.

There were pockets of greenery here and there, some tree's growing between the rocks, large crevices between the stone, and strangely enough, some kind of smoke or steam to one side.

The eevee's were dancing around and play fighting over a mound with their endless energy and I left them be while I explored.

The plateau had a big surface area, creating something of a circle in diameter.

I walked past some tree's and a happy smile grew on my face as I noticed things growing in them.

Banana's.

I climbed up the trunk and grabbed one from a bunch and opened it up.

"Hahaha, it's really a banana. What a gift."

I took a bite and then grimaced as I swallowed.

"Gah, unripe. Bad pick."

Still, I wasn't going to waste good food so I ate it.

Jumping down, I tossed the peels into the roots of the tree. It would decompose and become nutrients once more.

What most forget is that fruit tree's often produce an overabundance.

The fruit that falls to the ground becomes nutrients for insects and the tree once more. It's a cycle that continues throughout the tree's life.

With the find of banana's, I ran around the plateau to check the tree's and to my joy, I found three other types of edible food.

Mango's, Avocado's, and tomato's.

Adding in the banana's, this plateau was already shaping up to be a paradise.

'I'm not sure how the seed's found themselves here, but the nutrients from the soil beneath the rocks must be incredibly rich to support all these tree's.'

I recalled the hot air from the cave I slept in and nodded.

'That means this rock mountain is likely a dormant volcano. With lava flowing deep beneath the earth, the heat that rises does wonderful things for plant life along with the nutrient rich soil left behind from the effects of lava.'

My eyes flashed as I considered something.

'Wait, such rich soil is sure to have…'

I scanned all the tree's in sight but I didn't find what I was looking for.

'That doesn't make sense, there should be a berry tree somewhere around the place.'

As I looked around the plateau for a sign of the berry tree, I came upon the source of the smoke or steam I saw before and got excited.

A natural volcanic hot spring.

'I've always wanted to try one.'

That thought made me pause.

"Wait, no, I always wanted to try one in my first life. Yeah, that's better."

I recall having a love for hot springs then but outside of man-made locations, it was hard to find something truly natural.

But right before my eyes was a series of small pools of steaming water.

The rims of the pools had a slight red and yellow texture showing the sulfur in the water.

I stuck my hand in and hummed at the temperature.

"About a 100 degree's I would say, maybe 110. Just perfect."

Pulling my hand out and waving off the water, I stood and looked around.

"Hm.. it's no wonder I didn't see the pools at first. These boulders are in the way."

The plateau was circular in shape and with me coming up from the south west side of the mountain, the springs weren't in my direct line of sight here at the eastern side.

The center was mostly flat ground with large crevices leading deeper into the mountain.

Mounds of rock and dirt surrounded the center with trees of all kinds growing between the stones with roots going deep underground.

The only change was on the east side where water seemed to bubbling up from inside the mountain to form pools of steaming water.

It was a perfect place to set up camp for a while.

'Hm? What's that sound.'

The faint sound of rushing water hit my ears and I walked to the eastern edge of the mountain and looked down at the island.

'Wo.'

The view before my eyes was genuinely surprising from what I thought it would be.

From the southwestern side of the mountain all the way to the coast was nothing but pure green jungle.

Beautiful but it was all the same wherever you looked.

But here on the east side it took on a whole different appearance.

Firstly, there was the lake.

Because of course there was a lake on the opposite side of the mountain from where I was.

Water was gushing out of a waterfall from the side of the mountain to fill up the lake, and from the lake formed three separate rivers branching out.

One went south west which was the one I had found and followed.

One headed to the coast.

And the third cut north on a curve all the way to coast.

The river northward also seemed to act as a natural barrier between the lush jungle and a wide open grassland taking up the entire east and northeast side of the island.

Even from here I could see hundreds of figures moving through the prairie.

Pokemon were grazing, running, and simply going about their lives.

I could name at least a dozen among them.

Tarus, Rhyhorn, Mareep, and Doduo were gathered in herds of their own and moving together as they ran, grazed, lazed, or drank from the lake.

The lake was crystal clear, even allowing me to see through the surface from all the way up here.

I was able to identify Magikarp, Goldeen, Krabby, Wooper, Azurill, and I think I saw a Slowpoke.

'Well, it was a Slowpoke or something else bright and pink in the water.'

I couldn't make out anything deeper inside from up here.

Hell, I was surprised I could make out that much already from up here.

Interestingly enough, while I saw various herds of each of the four big group Pokemon, I didn't see anything else around them until I gazed northward.

There, in the, let's say 'upper grassland', were at least a dozen visibly moving Pokemon.

All moving alone or in small groups but none were fighting at the moment.

The thing that surprised me though was that the ones I could identify from up here were all evolved forms.

Raticate, Nidoran, Arbok, Donphan, Persian, I was having trouble seeing others but from the ones I could, there wasn't a single first evolution form.

None of them were fighting but just minding their own business.

I tried to think of what they were all doing there but ultimately shrugged.

'I'll figure it out later.'

I just enjoyed the view as the warm tropical wind blew my hair back and looked on at the beautiful Pokemon filled island.

It was like a paradise come to life.

My eyes did twitch a bit when I realized the mountain was easier to climb from the eastern side but considering I enjoyed the hard climb, I let it go.

Circling around the plateau to the southern edge, the jungle continued on just the same as the south west direction and even the western side of the island.

I couldn't see through the tree line so I had no idea what was down there.

All I knew was that a Beedril colony lived around an Oran berry tree in the south west direction.

The north west was where things changed up from the jungle to a very rocky terrain full of massive boulders and craters.

It was almost like massive Pokemon had duked it out there and tore up the jungle to permanently create a rough rock and dirt area of the island.

Even from here, I could see various rock and ground Pokemon popping up and going about their lives.

Geodude and Sandshrew were basically all I could tell.

I might have seen a Graveler, but it could also have just been a boulder.

Hard to tell with those guys.

To the north, the jungle continued from the rocky area to the river that divided the jungle from the grassland.

'So, quick overview.

South east, south, south west, and west is jungle. I only know one set Pokemon in the southwest zone.

North west is rocky terrain. Rock and ground type Pokemon.

North is jungle. Not sure what is in there.

North east is the upper grassland. Lots of evolution Pokemon. Quick way to commit suicide.

East is a lake half in the jungle and half by the lower grassland. The lake has plentiful water Pokemon and looks peaceful from eagle eye view. The lower grassland is taken by four main type of Pokemon herds.

And surrounding the whole island was an outer circle of sandy beach. Didn't see any Pokemon on the beach from the south east side.

Of course, the center was taken up by this massive rock mountain with what I believe to be magma deep underground.'

I eyeballed the distance from coast to coast and estimated the size of the island.

'Hmm… seven, maybe eight or nine square miles. Somewhere between seven and nine for sure.'

Satisfied with my new understanding, I looked on at the horizon and was both happy and saddened by the lack of anything else in sight.

'Looks like this place is truly deserted. On one hand I'm incredibly happy to be free like this while on the other it would be nice to know where in the world I am exactly.'

I tried to recall where my past life was told they were going but the damn child mentality had him not even paying attention after he heard about going to an island.

Kids, so excited by the simple stuff and never minding the details.

In the end I shrugged and let it go while taking on a wise old man outlook.

'I am where I need to be.'

I held up a serious pondering look while looking into the distance before I broke character.

"*Pft*, I always wanted to do that. Alright, where are those fluff balls? They have been to quiet."

With a skip in my step at having understood the layout of my new home, I went on the hunt for three mischievous cat/dog/fox hybrids.

It took me a few minutes to my surprise before I found them all hovering at the northern edge of the plateau and talking animatedly between each other.

Considering they were at the edge; I decided not to try and spook them just in case and made my footsteps clearly heard.

Their ears twitched as they looked back at me.

"Now what has you three acting all quiet for huh?"

""Ee.""

"Eev."

Isis waved her paw in a 'come forth hooman' gesture and I chuckled before coming over and patting their fluffy heads.

"Whats up girl, find something?"

She purred under my touch and pointed a paw down the mountainside.

Raising a brow, I peered over the edge and my eyes widened.

"Ha! I knew there was one of those things up here! Good catch girl."

She puffed out her chest proudly and I pampered her for a few minutes while of course giving the other two attention before they jumped me for playing favorites.

Isis was a mature girl; she allowed her siblings to partake in my holy hands for all of a minute before claiming them once more.

With the three satisfied for the time being, I looked back over and smiled.

'I knew a berry tree had to be up here. No way one wouldn't grow with such a rich environment for plant life.'

I looked back at the plateau and nodded.

'It also makes sense why the plant life is so limited up here.'

The tree's with produce are scarce and aside from them there were only a dozen or so tree's without any grass, moss, or bushes.

The berry tree was growing literally out of the side of the mountain top and was a few dozen or so feet beneath the edge.

My eyes narrowed at the shape of the berry.

It's flesh was a light blue and it was shaped like a fist sized strawberry.

'Well, my lucks a bit ridiculous no? Perhaps I'm the protagonist hehe…'

I pushed aside my amused thoughts and looked seriously at the scenario.

'Point one - I'm still badly burned and there just so happens to be an uncommon wild berry tree right in front of me holding berry's naturally generated to help with burns.

Point two – I am standing on a mountain top that has a decent amount of natural food and a peaceful environment.

Point three – The idea of a wild berry tree without a protector is almost improbable.

Point four – I have no seen a single Pokemon on this mountain top so far.

What does this all tell me?'

My caution was raised to the peak as I looked around warily and put a hand on Isis and Nox's head.

"Ee?"

I put a finger to my lips.

"Shh. Don't you think it's a bit to quiet up here?"

The eevee's seemed to understand the situation and looked around a bit more carefully.

We silently listened while holding our breaths.

A minute.

Two minutes.

Eventually the tension was broken by Khione who couldn't hold her breath anymore and loudly exhaled.

"Eeee."

I chuckled at the sight and let some of the tension leave me.

'Maybe it's not a great idea to get worked up. My line of sight is clear and I don't see anything around me.'

I turned back to the tree.

'But still… it can't be this easy.'

"Let's sit tight and watch for a bit, if nothing pops up in the next hour, I'll try to grab some of them."

"Ee."

"No, only one of should go just to be sure."

"Ee."

"I'll be the one to go."

There was no ledges between it and the edge so the Eevee couldn't make the climb even if they wanted to.

"Ee!"

"No."

We didn't know what was down there for sure and I would have my hands full just climbing as it was.

The three looked annoyed at my adamant refusal to put them at risk and I wasn't going to budge.

Not at all.

Not even as Nox put his paws on my chest and looked up at me with big…watery….eyes…

"Eev."

"N-no, I said no Nox."

"Eev."

"No, s-stop that."

"Eev."

"Grrrr…"

"Ee."

"Gah! What the hell. Fine!"

"Eevee."

The water works vanished from his eyes as he backed off and I swear he just mimed brushing some dirt off his shoulder.

It was only then I realized the girls had sat back and let him work.

My brow twitched.

"Oi… did you just use a Pokemon move on me?"

Nox looked away from me and the girls didn't meet my eyes.

"Noooxxx…."

He ignored me and jumped up to my shoulder while pointing forward.

"Eev!"

I gave him the stink eye.

"This conversation isn't over."

He cheekily licked my cheek.

Isis and Khione came up behind me and butted my legs with their heads.

""Ee.""

I sighed and let it go. For now.

"Yeah, yeah, were going. But seriously, only Nox is coming. I can't move quickly with more than one of you."

The girls didn't look happy but they at least conceded this time. I literally only had one shoulder for them to ride with my burns and they were conscious enough not to directly touch my wounds.

I took one more look over the ledge but didn't see or hear anything aside from the wind.

"Alright, you ready buddy?"

"Ee."

"I'll be our way up and down. Try to grab a berry and come right back to me alright?"

"Ee."

He nodded his head seriously and I got going.

It was only a few dozen or so feet. Nothing for me considering the climb up to the top.

I found foot and hand holds and made my way down slowly.

'I know I'm being a bit paranoid here but that little sting with the Beedril has me on edge.'

We kept our ears peeled and the girls were watching carefully from up top.

'A bit more.'

It was a tense minute until I softly set my feet down on the wood of the tree.

It groaned slightly under my weight but held strong without issue.

Me and Nox had our eyes open scanning the branches but the canopy was a bit thick and it was hard to see each branch individually.

Getting my feet settled, I grabbed Nox from my shoulder and put him down while whispering in his ear.

"Alright boy, grab one and come on back. If you feel any danger rush back and forget it alright?"

"Ee."

He softly replied and walked forward bravely.

The wind was a bit stronger considering the tree was literally in the air so I had to squint my eyes and keep a firm grip.

It was a long way down and I had no interest in taking the express route.

Nox was a lean, mean, killing machine.

He prowled forward carefully and silently but there was nothing in sight. No sound and sight of another Pokemon.

He got up close to a berry and gently put his teeth on it before pulling back as it snapped off the branch with a sharp *Twang*.

(AN: If you want some fun, play 'Black Betty')

We both froze and listened closely for a moment but all was still silent.

'*Phew* my heart stopped for a second.'

Nox too calmed down and turned with the berry in his mouth and big smile.

He looked at me and I swear I saw his excitement at having the chance to help heal me in his eyes.

It was adorable.

If only he didn't send out a cheer of victory.

"Eev!"

He happily called out and then we both froze at the feeling of a gaze on us.

Looking up, I made out the sight of a bird unfurling it's wings and looking down at Eevee with sharp and wild eyes.

My heart skipped a beat for a moment before I internally sighed in relief at the sight.

'Oh, it's only a Wingull. Fuck that's not good for my..-'

"WINGULL!"

My eyes opened wide as it shouted and the sound resounded through the space.

Nox didn't hesitate and ran straight for me while a second bird hidden in the branches woke from the call.

'Oh fuck.'

"SPEAROW!"

A Spearow shouted just as loud as the Wingull and that's when I finally realized why I couldn't see any guardian for the tree.

Why there wasn't any other Pokemon on the mountain top.

The answer was simple and staring me in the face.

I turned my head around to look at the mountain side and just as I saw the literal dozens, if not hundreds, of crevice's similar to where I slept the night before, a thunderous war cry of dozens of Pokemon answered the first ones call.

"""WINGULL!"""

"""SPEAROW!"""

"NOX!"

"Ee!"

Nox literally jumped and glowed white for a moment before he zoomed toward me over the branches and slammed into my chest with a thud.

"Oof! Gah. Hang on buddy."

"Ee."

I ignored the pain in my chest and climbed just as figures launched into the air from the crevices.

Ten, twenty, forty, eighty, a hundred sixty, over two hundred avian Pokemon took flight as I frantically climbed like my life depended on it.

Because it did.

The almost literal cloud of flying Pokemon were divided in two groups of Spearow and Wingull and they all looked ready for a fight as the first ones who sent out the call pointed a wing at us.

"Eev…"

"Don't say it man, I know!"

"SPEAR!"

"WING!"

The calls resounded like a storm as dozens of birds flocked at us.

I saw a shadow grow larger on the wall just as Eevee called out and kicked my legs to jump to the side at another hand hold.

And not a moment too soon as four birds slammed headfirst into the wall and bounced off.

Others dove in and I was basically walking a tight rope here.

I couldn't fight back or risk falling, and while I'm proud of my free hand climbing skills, I'm not that strong to just be jumping around on a vertical wall over seven hundred meters in the air so casually.

Birds dove in to try and rake us with their talons as Nox on my shoulder lashed out with his paws and little claws to bat them away.

Thankfully, the cavalry came in the form of the girls up top thinking quickly and kicking their feet against the dirt to drop a makeshift sand attack cloud down on us.

It was harmless to me who was climbing the wall but not so much to the flying Pokemon who lost their line of sight and panicked.

One thing I was very thankful for was the fact that none of them were using an actual Pokemon move.

'Must not be intelligent Pokemon. Always be thankful for the small blessings in life.'

My hand hit air as I broke the surface and threw myself up while Nox jumped off.

The girls rushed over and checked on us.

"*Huff* *Huff* thanks girls. Really saved us there."

"Ee."

Nox nodded along and I noticed he still had the berry held in his mouth.

I smirked and patted the little trooper before taking the berry and stuffing it in my pocket.

"We need to move; I don't know how long that sand cloud is going t-…"

"FEAROW!"

"PELIPPER!"

A massive gust of wind blew away the cloud as the calls sounded out.

"That answers that. Let's go!"

They didn't argue and the four of us took off running just as the swarm of birds led by a large Fearow and Pelliper broke the surface and chased after us.

My eyes scanned the plateau quickly and I made a choice.

"Aim for the crevice in the center!"

"""Ee!"""

The crack was large enough for us to fit and slide in but they would be sitting ducks if they tried to come in after us.

The birds were gaining quickly on us but the big bosses were the ones really at our heals.

Fearow reached us first and I dove tackled Khione out of the way as it's claws came swooping in to grab her.

Fearow bellowed angrily and went to turn in the air just as Pelliper came in for a swing at me only for Isis to tackle me, and consequently Khione, out of the way of its claws as it too angrily called out its name.

We lost some time at the maneuvers and half a dozen birds dove in with sharp beaks but I put myself between them and the eevee's.

"Gah!"

I couldn't help the grunt that escaped when their beaks pierced my skin but they didn't get much time for more as the girls and Nox were quick to glow white and tackle the birds out of the way.

"Ee!"

Isis called out and we didn't stop as we reached the crevice.

Isis was the fastest and dove straight in.

Nox was next as the most muscled of the three and reached it.

But Khione wasn't fast enough as Fearow dove back in.

I was right beside her and saw her eyes widen in fear before my hand lashed out and grabbed the scruff of her neck and I tossed her toward the crevice.

"EE!"

She called out but I wasn't paying attention.

I did what I wanted to and I didn't regret it.

But that still didn't mean I was going to lay down and die.

Fearow's sharp claws came swiping in and all I could do was try to jump aside and raise my arm to block my body.

A sharp pain struck me as I was thrown aside by the sheer wind pressure of the blow and got the wind knocked out of me.

'No time to rest, need to move.'

I refused to let the pain get to me but I was able to spare a glance and register the three deep gashes in my right arm spewing blood.

'I was able to dodge it for the most part. It's only a surface wound, I'll be fine.'

I tried to reassure myself and got my feet under me but as I picked myself up, I saw a growing shadow building beneath me and my eyes widened.

'MOVE!'

I shouted mentally but there was only so fast I could go.

Just as I kicked off the ground, Pelliper came swooping in with its claws raised.

It's figure grew larger in my eyes as a sharp pain spread through my mind and unknown to me, my eyes glowed ever so slightly.

Pelliper flinched ever so slightly but it's attack didn't let up.

But in that second of time, three white blurs appeared out of nowhere and slammed into Pelliper's side like cannonballs with a mighty cry.

"""EEVEE!"""

My eyes watered a bit at them coming back for me but I pushed it down.

"Damn it you fluff balls! Let's go!"

The three turned with shit eating grins on their faces but I noticed a slight limp in their step.

'That attack hurt them as much as it hurt Pelliper.'

I didn't say anything but my heart felt warm.

We were only feet from the crevice and we dove into it.

But just then, Fearow came back for another blow.

We were airborne so all I could do was turn my back and shield the trio from the strike that cut into my skin and shot us downward into the hole.

I landed on my left side, right on my recovering burns, and groaned loudly.

My back was stinging and I didn't know how bad the cut was.

"Ee!"

The trio worriedly poked their heads onto mine but I pushed them off with a bloody hand.

"Gah, guys, the entrance. Block, the entrance."

I grunted out the words but they got the message and stood ready side by side at the entrance above us.

And not a moment too soon as three Spearow and a Wingull dove in.

The crevice was narrow, barely a few feet wide, but it dropped down a good dozen feet and led deeper into the mountain.

Hot air was blowing from deeper within.

A bird Pokemon with any intelligence would have hesitated and thought twice about trying to enter such a place but these guys were not intelligent.

Their eyes were feral, they didn't use Pokemon moves, and they moved like a beast rather than a Pokemon.

I didn't truly realize the so called 'obvious' difference that my past life's memories had between an intelligent and feral Pokemon before now, but now I really got it.

I understood.

These were beasts, not the loving and intelligent thinking Pokemon I saw in the games or witnessed as a child.

The birds were confined in and unable to maneuver by the narrow crevice as my allies tore into them with teeth and claws.

I smirked at the sight.

I might have been hesitant before about this, but the pain and scenario bled that out of me real quick.

I coughed up some blood and spat it out as I picked myself up with bloody hands just as more birds entered in.

My eyes glinted in the poor lighting as I drew the knife I had and stood between my Eevee.

"Let's repay these fuckers for their hospitality huh?"

"""Eev!"""

They raised their own war cries in reply and we stood our ground.

This was life and death right here and we weren't pulling our punches.

Birds came down in two's and three's with feral eyes and were met with teeth, claws, and steel.

Blood painted the wall and the corpses piled up until after around three dozen birds they stopped coming.

I fell to my knee's dizzy from blood loss and breathing heavily, but I didn't let myself drop my guard just yet.

The trio gathered around me with blood matted fur but I was glad that it didn't belong to them.

I hoped it was so anyway.

"Anyone injured?"

I got three pointed and deadpan looks they managed to pull off simultaneously and chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just make sure the coast is clear before we lick our wounds."

They nodded their heads and we silently, or as silently as we could at the moment, made our way up the slope and carefully peered over the edge of the crevice.

"*Whistle* so they weren't teammates after all huh?"

I exclaimed in surprise as we looked on at the utter war zone going on between the Spearow and Wingull group led by the big boss's clashing in the center.

Apparently with their target gone, the two sides turned on each other without hesitation and began a massive brawl.

The wing pressure alone was intense as the evolved forms flapped their wings.

They weren't using any moves, but their sheer size and strength was crazy as it was.

"Come on, I think we're done here."

"Ee."

The four of us retreated deeper inside the crevice until we found a semi closed off area.

We set up a makeshift alarm in the form of a couple rocks piled up at the entrance and sat down heavily.

I wanted to pass out but grimaced as the pain of my new wounds spiked.

Looking around, I didn't exactly have many options so I sighed and removed my pants.

'They were such good pants to.'

"Ee?"

The trio huddled around me and I shook my head.

"I'm fine, think you three can gather some sticks from the entrance? The draft in here is strong enough for us to light a fire and not worry about dying from smoke. We can roast some bird meat."

They smiled and nodded before dashing off and I shook my head at their eagerness.

'Those three make this whole journey way more worth it then it would be alone.'

I smiled at the thought and then frowned at my pants.

"*sigh*, thank you for your service."

I tore into my pants with my knife and cut out thin strips of cloth.

I didn't have anything to clean my wounds with but I would just have to hope this body of mine and some berries will be enough to handle the worst of it for now.

'The hot springs would be good but I'm not heading back up without a good rest.'

The three came bounding back in with dry wood from the entrance.

Tree's and roots broken off and just sitting down there gathering dust.

"Thanks you three, put them over there ok?"

I pointed off and they dropped the branches and took off for some more.

"So much energy."

I felt like an old man commenting but I focused on my work and soon had enough strips to use.

I basically ripped up both legs of the pants to make them long enough.

I tied them tightly around the three gashes in my arm and stemmed the blood flow with a makeshift torniquet while I got the bandages on.

The gashes on my back were harder to bandage but I made it work, albeit pretty shitty, and got something covering the wounds to stem the flow.

It wasn't exactly sanitary but death by blood loss was my first issue to deal with. The rest could come later.

Touching my chin, I frowned at the trace of blood and found another cut on it but the blood had already congealed.

'Hm.. this body really does heal abnormally fast.'

I held a hand to my head as it pounded.

Ever since that moment with the Pelliper it had been pounding but I pushed it down to deal with more important issues first. Now it was making a reappearance and I grimaced.

"Ee."

I rose my eyes and didn't know one eye was bloodshot at the worried gaze of Isis.

She stepped forward and butted her head softly against my chest while I smiled down at her and pat her head.

The headache already felt like it was subdued under her adorableness.

"I'm fine girl. How was the wood colle…"

I rose a brow at the wood pile that seemingly grew taller than me while I worked.

My eyes trailed to the two happy Eevee staring at me with damn wagging tails.

"Is this because you wanted to help, or because you wanted some cooked bird?"

The two looked to the side and I laughed as my stomach grumbled.

"No worries you two."

I looked down at Isis as she looked at me and for a second I thought I saw something flash behind her eyes but it was gone before I could really think about it.

"You to girl. Let's get some grub and crash."

"Ee!"

They cheered and went to fetch the birds while I got a fire going.

Thankfully I had a lighter because one skill I definitely was not able to learn was how to use sticks to make a fire through friction.

I straight up 'noped' out of that lesson.

Soon enough, we had a fire lighting up the cave where we only had some sunlight from a few cracks shining down before.

My body instinctively clenched up before the fire but with Isis in my lap, and the pain of my wounds, I felt myself calm quickly.

Even my body was too exhausted to truly react.

And like I thought, the smoke was blowing up and out from the updraft coming from below.

Using my knife and the help of my little helpers, I was able to pull the feathers and dump the intestines away before spit roasting them on the fire.

It wasn't the best but it worked.

As the meat cooked and three pairs of eyes stared at it with intense focus, I closed my eyes and overwent the events.

'It was stupid and naïve of me to assume there was nothing around. The situation was bad and it could have been worse if some other Pokemon that was even more deadly had been there.

What was I supposed to do if it was a poison type?

I feel confident in recovering from wounds with time but poison getting in my system will be game over.

And what about the eevee's? Was it right to risk them for the chance and curing my burns?'

I thought over that last point and then internally chuckled.

'Ha, they would probably scratch me if I mentioned that thought. They made their own choice to act of their own free will. I didn't manipulate them.

That doesn't mean I want to risk them but if they make their own choices I can't deny them without logical reasoning.

It's not like I'm their maste…'

That thought made me pause.

'Are they my Pokemon? No, well…hm…. Usually a trainer catches a Pokemon with a pokeball but is that truly necessary?'

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel…something.

It was like a warm feeling in my chest that helped me trust and care for the three Pokemon around me at the moment.

It was intangible. I had no proof of the concept, it wasn't visible.

But it was there.

I moved a hand and scratched between Isis's ears on my lap even with my eyes closed and I felt that feeling almost tingle.

'Is this what a bond between a human and Pokemon is like? At least a very early one?'

I thought deeper on it before I opened my eyes and looked at them.

"Hey."

Three pairs of eyes turned to me.

I tried to be blunt.

"Are we a team?"

"Ee?"

They tilted their heads in confusion.

"I mean, us, are we a team? You know, human and Pokemon? We watch out for each other and make each other stronger and all that?"

The three looked at me a moment longer and then….Isis put her head back down and closed her eyes.

Nox and Khione moved by my legs and rested on their paws.

A mix between a chuckle and a cough came from my throat at their answer.

"Thanks guys. I'll take that as a yes."

I pet their heads and they purred gently while rubbing their heads against my hands.

I still had one more question though.

"Any dreams I should know about? Wanting to be the strongest or prettiest or something?"

My answer was three tail smacks to the face.

I scratched my red cheeks and nodded.

"Right. You're the strongest and prettiest already. Survival and having fun is the focus."

Their tails went back to waving gently in the air and I shook my head.

'Damn fluff balls.'

Their answers helped me through my internal questions.

We are a team.

We didn't need a pokeballs to grow a bond. Our bond was stronger even without the mechanical aspect.

A pokeball would just be a convenient movement device if anything.

We sat in comfortable silence as the birds were cooked and soon enjoyed a nice bird feast.

Contrary to my expectations of the meat being dry or tasteless, it was packed full of flavor.

The meat dripped with rich fatty oil onto the flames and turned a perfect golden brown.

And the meat itself melted in your mouth from the softness of it.

It was heavenly.

Or maybe we were just that hungry.

The three gluttons ate three whole birds each.

I managed two before calling it quits and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I retained my pride by saying I wanted to eat an Oran berry.

We had two left and I needed at least one for my wounds. The other could be saved since they were satisfied with the meat feast.

I wanted to see how long the meat from a Pokemon corpse would last so I cooked one more and put it beside an uncooked one.

I would see by morning if any effects happened to the two.

The other things to see was just how effective my body could be with the help of an Oran berry, my natural recovery rate, and the bird meat.

Between the three, I wanted to see how much I could recover in a single night.

From my past lives memories, I understood that humans didn't eat feral Pokemon that often.

The reasoning wasn't that it's not allowed but that humans didn't need to.

With normal domestic animals around and an abundance of produce in the market, it wasn't necessary to try to hunt a feral Pokemon.

Especially when you could just catch a grass Pokemon and have it help you grow produce to eat.

Not only that, but humans just were not able to raise the majority of feral Pokemon like cattle.

There were some for sure, but the majority was to violent, could occasionally use Pokemon moves by accident or when startled, or could evolve and risk the lives of everyone around.

It just wasn't worth it.

But it was well documented that feral Pokemon were highly nutritious. They were used in many nutrition products for athletes, both Pokemon and human.

Funnily enough, I recalled this info from a tv program my past life had watched because he thought the Pokemon partner of the show's speaker to be cool.

It was a Metagross.

I approve of my past self's opinion.

So the bird meat was supposed to be good stuff for my body.

'I hope so anyway.'

I swallowed the Oran and Rawst berries and laid back against the wall, currently only dressed in briefs, boots, and bandages.

Thankfully my past life's mother had chosen boxer briefs for me, Arceus bless her soul.

So there I sat, covered in dry blood and bloody bandages with a fifth of my body suffering from burns, almost nude in a child's body, inside a crevice at the top of a mountain on an uninhabited island somewhere in the Pokemon world with three fluff balls curled up into me.

And I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I felt myself slip into slumber under the influence of a full stomach, a warm cave, and my fluffy friends.

I was content.

I slept and dreamt not of the horrors of my lives, but of red eyes, purple hair, and a bewitching giggle that soothed my soul.

Chapter end.

Coming Soon: Changing Fate, Recovery, Empathy.