With their backs to the river, the group proceeded onward. The voice of the waterway faded with each step as a fresh, clean breeze swept through the group. For a while, the gathering travelled in silence, until Totodile stopped and stared at Louis with a concerned look.
"Hey, Louis?" it asked.
"Yeah, what is it?" responded Louis.
"...are you feeling ok?" questioned Totodile.
Louis realised his thoughts had played upon his face, betraying his usual happy features. Memories clouded his mind and unanswered questions followed. He blinked, eventually responding to the small Pokémon.
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just trying to process everything."
Venusaur shifted its eyes to him, sensing the boy's confusion.
"Child…" it said. "...I can tell you have questions."
Louis looked to Venusaur and then back to Taki, Totodile and Tracey. He was about to speak when Taki held up her hand.
"Go get your answers," she spoke. "It's ok."
Louis paused, taken aback by the girl's understanding. He reached into his pocket and rummaged about, eventually producing the jagged, cold and unfinished crystal.
"Here," said Louis. "Don't go too far, alright?"
Silently, Taki took the crystal, nodding. The girl then turned her attention to the young artist.
"Hey Tracey," she said. "Let's go for a walk, okay?"
"Can I draw?" Tracey asked, a hope out his eyes.
"Of course you can" responded the girl, smiling.
The group parted ways, and soon, Louis and Venusaur found a secluded, soft glade within the warm branches. As he sat down, Louis noticed a yellow seed within Venusaur's flower. He wasn't a trainer, but Louis knew what this meant.
'Oh, that's right,' he thought. 'Female Venusaurs have a seed.'
Even though they had just met, Louis sensed a kindred spirit and felt relaxed around the Pokémon as it sat next to him.
"I am going to tell you some things you've probably never heard…" said Venusaur.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party traversed the forest, passing fresh sapling and ancient withered growths. Sunlight penetrated the canopy intermittently while Totodile frollocked in the warm rays, near a small outcropping of shrubs.
A number of Pokémon brushed by the bushes. The group saw a line of Bellossom, Sunflora, and Chikoritas playfully chasing one another.
Totodile couldn't resist.
The urge to jump-in overrode her senses and she quickly joined the tail of the line. Taki giggled and as she turned to make sure Tracey was paying attention to the spectacle, she heard the scratching sound of pencil scribbling on paper.
Tracey had already drawn the event playing before him. With a combination of a sigh and a laugh, Taki approached the dancing, little Totodile.
"Come on, Totodile," she said, taking the little Pokémon's arm. "There'll be time for this later."
Totodile scowled at the girl, a face that made Taki giggle even more.
"Hey, I didn't know your hand could glow," called Tracey.
"What are you talking about?" replied Taki.
She looked at her clenched hand and spotted the glowing light Tracey was referring to.
An indescribable force began to lift the girl's hand, and she tightened her grip on the bright combination of shards.
"Whoa!" shrieked Taki, now sprinting to keep the crystal from escaping her clutches. Totodile followed suit.
"It's doing that thing again," she added.
"Hey! Wait up!" called Tracey, slamming his sketch pad shut.
Taki began to pant, struggling to keep up with the crystal's draw. It had almost slipped through her fingers when she saw...it.
A colossal, old, and hollow tree met her view. A foul, rough, grey bark coated the timeworn hardwood.
At its base, a dark, doorless hollow stared back at them, leading to a pitch-black subterranean cavity.
Hairs shot up on the back of Tracey's neck as he laid eyes on Taki gazing at the monstrous, long-dead tree.
Some distance away, Louis began to speak.
"So...what did you want to tell me?" he asked.
Venusaur cleared her throat and began to speak.
"That tribe you're a part of…" she began. "...it's been in existence for a very long time."
"I'm aware of that," replied Louis.
"Were you aware that your father was connected to it?" questioned Venusaur.
Louis shook his head.
"Not until now," he said. "I haven't heard him mention anything about a tribe at any point in my life."
A hooting Noctowl briefly interrupted them.
"Did he ever tell you about his fall?" inquired Venusaur.
The question confused Louis.
"Fall?" he responded.
– "I'll take that as a no," she said, raising an eyelid.
Venusaur sighed, closed her eyes, and spoke.
"Thirty-two years ago…" she began. "...your father was given the same task by the chief."
Slowly, Louis' eyes widened as his jaw, and the penny dropped.
Taki's feet gripped the earth in resistance, and her heart raced at the thought of having to enter the abyssal hollow.
Tracey and Totodile caught up, struggling for breath, as Taki's eyes watered up.
"We've got to go in," she whimpered.
Barely lit by the ever-shifting rainbow hue, the group took their first steps into the chasm. Numerous skittering sounds like claws on wood began to grow closer. Six sharp sensations pierced Taki's shoulder.
"Uh...Totodile?" she spoke. "...are you trying to bite my shoulder?"
"No, it's standing next to me," Tracey answered for Totodile.
Frightened, Taki shifted her eyes to her right shoulder and saw two black eyes staring back at her.
Before she could scream, a quick blast of water shot her shoulder, removing the curious Spinarak from her body. The shock jolted Taki.
"What was that?!" she blurted.
"It...was just a Spinarak," answered Tracey. "Nothing to worry about."
The young artist lowered himself and moved closer to the little, blue Pokémon
"Nice shot, Totodile," he whispered.
A glimmer from above drew Taki's gaze, as the crystal
Louis regained some composure.
"My dad...was sent to gather the shards too?"
"Yes," replied Venusaur. "Until his fall."
"What do you mean?" asked Louis.
"Your father was on a cliff face, near a river. Something drew him too close to the edge. His foot slipped and he fell out of his mother's view."
"Then what?"
"His mother climbed down after him and found him unconscious, with a gash under his left eye."
Louis started to piece all this information together. With how his father never told him about being a part of the tribe, and now about his big fall in the past. There was only one logical conclusion to it.
"So...did he have...amnesia?" inquired Louis.
Venusaur nodded.
"We think the impact shook the memories from his head. When he awoke, your father didn't recognise the woman sitting next to him, the reason he was here, or...who he was."
"Uh...I-...what?" stuttered Louis.
"And now, young man, the task falls to you."
Taki tried reaching up to the shining light from above. Unfortunately, she was too far out of range to actually grab the object. At first, she thought of climbing up the hollow to get it, but then she remembered about the Spinarak creeping along the structure. Taki turned around to look at Tracey.
"Tracey, can you give me a hand?" she offered.
Tracey was already in a leg-up position, his hands clasped and prepared for her feet. She placed a foot in his grasp.
"On three, okay?" said Taki, beginning to count.
The number arrived and Tracey strained with all his might to lift the girl. His feet bit into the dirt below him. After barely raising the girl to any height, an idea crossed Tracey.
"Taki, let's swap," he struggled.
The girl remembered the Venusaur's words.
"Uh...ok," replied Taki. "I didn't want anything crawling on me, anyway."
They switched as Taki handed the boy the crystal, and soon Tracey was lifted into the hollow's darkness above them, toward the glow.
Louis nodded at the information.
"So I have to finish my Dad's mission," he said.
"That's right," replied Venusaur.
Suddenly, a bright ball of light burst through the seams of the forest, momentarily blinding the duo. Louis shielded his eyes, and as the light faded, a thought struck him.
"Oh!" he exclaimed. "They must've found another shard."
Venusaur nodded, grinning.
"Now is the time of caution, young one..." warned Venusaur.
"...you are close to the end," she added.
Louis continued to stare at the fading glow, its initial flash still obscuring his clarity of vision.
"We should see if they're okay"
Tracey stood and brushed the dark earth from his shoulders. In his hand, he clutched the newly formed crystal. The boy couldn't believe his eyes.
"Are you alright?" questioned Taki. "That was a big fall."
"I'm fine," coughed Tracey.
The boy opened his clenched fist, revealing a new colour on the crystal embedded within a fresh jutting, sharp shard.
"Look!" he said, excitedly. "Did we get it?"
Taki smiled.
"Yeah, we did," she confirmed. "Nice work, kid."
A sense of warmth flooded Tracey, proud to be of some help to his new friends. The trio emerged from the dark, wooden, hollow void to see several sets of familiar eyes staring back at them.
"So, you found another one," called Louis. "Are you guys ok?"
The young artist ran up to Louis, a smile lighting his features, and he held up the collection of shards.
"Look, a green one!" said Tracey, ecstatically.
Louis gazed at the crystal and placed it back in his pocket, and raised a questioning look to Taki.
"A giant tree," said Totodile, sensing the boy's question, pointing.
Someone's stomach grumbled, loudly. A deep, guttural, bubbling interrupted everyone's train of thought. Three sets of eyes looked toward Venusaur, who shook her head in denial. Then, the gazes turned to Louis.
"It wasn't me!" he defensively said.
Taki, holding one hand on her stomach, raised her other arm.
"Uh...that was me," she confessed, blushing.
...wow! Mind. Blown! Who would've thought THAT would happen? ...anyone?
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