XV
Night Daze
Shiri and Ashton were still excited by their conversation with Simon after he left, and this plus their own curious research kept them up until the small hours of the morning. As a result, they woke up late, putting their trip to Johto behind.
Shiri had called her boss to make an excuse as to why she wasn't at work—her shift was supposed to start hours ago—but she only got his voicemail. She left a message about being down with the flu.
Despite the late start, Shiri was optimistic about the trip. Houndoom's poké ball felt reassuring in her pocket. She had never had a pokémon in her entire life, and she was sure she could never battle well. But having Houndoom with her was like having a piece of Simon with her.
He was obviously afraid of disobeying his company. And that Shiri could understand—he may not enjoy his job, but a job it was. But clearly Simon felt a measure of what Pokémon Labs, Inc. was doing was wrong. He was not unreasonable, and he was not lost.
When they settled on the magnet train, Ashton leaned back in his seat, stretching his muscular arms over his head. "Shir, I'm so damn jealous of you."
Shiri looked at him, eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"
He sighed, resting his arm across her shoulders. "For all he annoys the shit out of me, I wish I could make a man like that fall in love with me like you have."
Shiri burst out in laughter. "Don't be ridiculous, Ash," she said, nudging him with an elbow.
"Girl, did you see the way he kept looking at you?" He shook his head. "He's in deep. Real deep."
Shiri rolled her eyes and tried her best to ignore the fluttering in her chest.
They arrived in Goldenrod City close to four o'clock in the afternoon. Shiri had never been to Johto before, despite how close it was to Kanto. Goldenrod was the largest city in the region, with only Olivine to rival it. But as large a city it was, it was still marked by Johto's own natural beauty and simplicity. Unlike Celadon with its paved walks and manicured trees, Goldenrod's streets were more chaotic, as if they had developed on their own. The main roadways were even, and they allowed for cars to pass through on their patchwork paving, but the alleyways which snaked off the main streets here and there disappeared into intriguing hidden parts of the city where Shiri imagined any and every activity could be conjured.
"Where does your family live?" Shiri asked Ashton as they made their way through the city.
"Up north a ways, just outside of Ecruteak City," he answered. Not an hour in Johto, Ashton's accent seemed to have already thickened. He grabbed Shiri's hand and pulled her into one of the alleyways. "Hey, I just had an idea. Let's rent some bikes. It'll make getting down to the forest way easier."
Shiri smiled. "Sounds good to me."
They passed a few cluttered buildings, their windows covered in colorful curtains. Conspicuous signs hung over their doors, noting services such as loans or legal aid. They passed a smoke shop, a very tiny restaurant, and a place only called "Florist" but looked like it lacked any flower arrangements.
Ashton nudged Shiri as they passed it. "That's a game corner," he mumbled to her.
"Aren't those illegal?" Shiri asked.
"Absolutely," Ashton said with a laugh. "It's all on the downlow. After Kanto and Johto made gambling illegal, places like those popped up like daisies. I know they're in Kanto too. I accidentally walked into one in Saffron City once." He laughed again.
Shiri followed Ashton into a modest but clean bike shop. Despite its seedy surroundings, the shop was filled with all sorts of people, from children with their parents to trainers to adults, all browsing the wares.
Ashton secured two bike rentals for the pair of them, and soon they were biking out of Goldenrod City just as the sun was beginning its descent into the horizon. Just by the southern gate, Shiri spotted a small berry stall manned by a teenage boy and a girl of about eleven or twelve. She slowed, calling to Ashton, "Hey, we should bring an offering, right?" Ashton nodded, and Shiri chose several of the best-looking berries from the stall.
They rode along Route 34 with ease. Shiri looked around at her surroundings, struck by all the wild pokémon she saw. A group of drowzee lazed by the riverbank, grazing on the tall grass while an abra appeared and disappeared as it traveled upstream. Rattata skittered between the weeds, pausing to watch Shiri and Ashton as they biked by. A hoothoot, just waking from its daytime slumber, poked its round head out from a tree and hooted.
In a clearing in the grass, Shiri spied two trainers in a pokémon battle. She slowed to a stop to watch them: one was a boy of about thirteen or so, commanding a male nidoran against a girl his same age who had a snubbull. The snubbull was winning.
"You all good?" Ashton asked, drawing Shiri's attention to him.
"Oh, yeah," she said. "I was just curious."
"Never seen you so interested in pokémon before," he said, grinning.
Shiri shrugged with a smile. "Guess things are a little more interesting outside of Viridian City."
They took a short rest at the gate before the forest. Shiri gazed out at the dark pathway through the gatehouse window. "Is it too dark to go?" she asked Ashton.
Ashton bought a couple of lemonades from a vending machine and handed one to Shiri. "Oh, nah," he said as he opened his drink. "It looks like nighttime in that forest all the time. It's hella dense." He patted his messenger bag. "I got a flashlight, so don't you worry, girl."
"A flashlight?" Shiri asked. "Just one?"
Ashton shrugged. "Do we need more than that?"
I certainly hope not, Shiri thought to herself. She wrapped her hand around Houndoom's poké ball. It felt sturdy and warm.
After they rehydrated, Ashton and Shiri continued on foot into the forest. It was much noisier than Shiri expected. Pokémon were alive and active all over the place. She spotted several psyduck congregating at a pond, a pile of berries gathered between them. Hoothoot fluttered between the tall, dense trees, their eyes glowing with their own light. Other pokémon, hidden in the darkness and brush, buzzed, chirped, hummed, and skittered. Shiri held onto Ashton's arm, afraid if she fell too far behind she would be lost in the woods forever.
Ashton's flashlight illuminated the ground before them, but not much else. Still, he insisted he knew the way. "I've been through these woods multiple times," he assured her.
"How recently?" Shiri asked.
Ashton was quiet as he thought. "At least eight years ago."
Shiri bit her lip. "That's kind of a long time, Ash."
He waved the flashlight dismissively. "How much can a forest change?"
Quite a bit, it turned out. They wandered the forest for what felt like hours, passing by the same-looking trees and shrubs and vines and weeds. Then they came upon the psyduck pond again.
"We went in a circle," Shiri said, her voice flattened.
"No, no, that's a different pond," Ashton said, shining his flashlight over it. The psyduck looked their way, surprised. Two started to approach them.
"Ashton, I think you made them angry," Shiri said, backing away.
"No problem," Ashton said with confidence. "They're no threat. We'll just keep moving." He hurried past Shiri, and she caught his arm as they made their retreat. They turned past a tree and were met with a large golduck.
Shiri shrieked, then slapped her hands over her mouth. The golduck peered at them, snapping its beak aggressively. It was nearly as tall as Shiri, its head at about her chin.
Ashton turned back, but they met with three psyduck. All three of them had their pudgy hands on their heads. Ashton grimaced, his hand on the cherish ball in his bag.
In her pocket, Houndoom's ball started shaking. Shiri felt it, and she pulled the ball out just as it opened, and Houndoom appeared before them. Houndoom faced the golduck, baring her large teeth and growling. The golduck hissed back, and before Shiri could react at all, Houndoom lunged at the golduck and sunk her teeth deep into its neck.
The golduck cried out, and the psyduck scattered. Houndoom released her opponent, and it retreated into the brush. Shiri sighed in relief as Houndoom returned to her side, her tail up and wagging.
"Oh Arceus, thank you," Shiri said. She surprised herself at the outburst. She had never before really thanked Arceus for anything. It always seemed weird to pray to a pokémon, even one as mythologized as that.
Ashton himself let out a long breath, laughing out his nerves. "Okay, that was a little bit of a close call," he said.
"Maybe we should leave," Shiri said, hugging her arms to herself. "I feel like we are really underprepared."
"I'm sure we're almost there," Ashton said. He rubbed her shoulders affectionately, trying his best to sound reassuring. "Besides, this is supposed to be an adventure. It can't all be easy."
Shiri smiled down at Houndoom. "We'll keep Houndoom out with us, then," she said. Houndoom barked like she agreed. Shiri wondered how much she understood human language.
They continued on. Houndoom led the way, sniffing around and occasionally growling at something she deemed a possible threat. She was a fantastic protector.
But time ticked on, and Shiri's feet began to hurt from their continual and seemingly progressless walking. They stopped for a few minutes to rest, and Shiri sank down on a small boulder, stretching her legs out before her. Houndoom sniffed around, securing a small perimeter.
"Ashton" Shiri said, trying to keep the irritation from her voice. "When are you going to admit you're lost?"
"Honey, I'm not lost," Ashton said with his usual confident tone. "The shrine is closer to the Azalea City side of the forest, okay? It takes a while to get there."
"We've been going in circles!" Shiri snapped. Ashton's grin disappeared, replaced by a tight frown.
"I got this, Shir," he insisted.
Shiri looked at her phone screen. "Ashton, it's almost eight o'clock."
Houndoom stuck her snout into a bush, her tail standing up. She pawed at the ground.
"We've been out here for hours. We're going in circles!"
"Calm down, Shir, it's going to be fine."
"We should have brought more flashlights. And a map! Why don't we have a map! I should have thought of that."
Houndoom stuck her head deeper into the bush. She was pulling at something, backing up to leverage it out.
"Just chillax, yeah? I wouldn't lead us into anything dangerous."
"We don't even have any real food."
"There's the berries."
"They're for Celebi!"
Whatever Houndoom was pulling at tore free. She brought it over to Shiri and dropped it at her feet, panting lightly and wagging her tail in satisfaction.
Ashton shined the light on it. It was a small waist pack, its strap torn. It was covered in dirt, but the pack itself was intact. Shiri picked it up, finding the zipper and opening it.
Inside was a small collection of items any trainer would bring with them: a few poké balls, a couple of potions, some pokémon food. There was even a couple of energy bars inside.
"Guess someone dropped that," Ashton said as Shiri pulled out the contents and laid them out on the ground.
"There's no wallet or anything," she said. "No way to find out who lost it."
Ashton shrugged and picked up one of the energy bars. "Finders keepers, eh?" he said, picking up one of the bars. He peered at the wrapper in the light. "It's not expired." He opened it and took a bite. "Not stale, either."
"Shouldn't we turn this in somewhere?" Shiri asked, but her stomach rumbled.
Ashton swallowed his bite. "Finding and losing shit is just part of the pokémon trainer experience," he said, taking another bite. "Consider this a gift from the forest."
Shiri sighed, but she didn't have the energy for any more protest. She ate the other energy bar, then returned the items to the pack. She tied the torn straps together and slung it over her shoulder.
She got to her feet, brushing dirt off of her butt. "Sorry I snapped," she said to Ashton.
Ashton put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed lightly. "I'm sorry I got us lost," he finally admitted, his voice low. Shiri sighed and hugged his waist. "But I'll get us out of this mess, Shir, I promise."
Houndoom barked, and Shiri and Ashton looked at her. She trotted up the path from them, then looked back and barked again, turning in a small circle.
"I think she wants us to follow," Shiri said, letting go of Ashton. They both walked over to Houndoom, and she barked and trotted along again, leading them through the forest.
They quickly came to a small clearing between the trees. A wooden fixture was placed upon a stone pedestal in the center. It was square, with three walls and a small set of doors which were open. Vines covered the fixture, cascading down the sides and snaking along the pedestal. Inside the fixture was a small silver dish, an incense holder, and an unlit candle.
Shiri gasped at the sight and ran over to it. Ashton joined her quickly, sweeping his light over the fixture. "This is the shrine," Shiri breathed. She wanted to cry with relief.
Ashton laughed. "What'd I say, eh? I told you I knew where I was going."