Everyone, thank you! All the faves and follows? Wonderful. All the heartfelt comments? Amazing! And the trolls? LOL I find it amusing that I've gotten a few. I appreciate that too though, it makes me feel accomplished.
Obligatory disclaimers: I own nothing in the pokemon franchise. And there is lots of French in this chapter. Translations are on the bottom.
Current team: Loxley-braixen, Tobio-pidgey, Delacour-fletchinder, Zen-zorua, Levi-azurill, Basil-bulbasaur
Chapter 20: Bamboo Bugaloo
Since my father's flight left at six in the morning, he'd needed to be up at four to get ready and have time to drive to the airport. Four in the morning was not what I considered a 'socially acceptable' hour to be awake. But it was my dad, so I'd grumbled a bit, and set the alarm on my phone all the same.
But you know it's early when even the fire type doesn't want to get up.
Loxley grumbled beside me, glaring at my phone with a single bleary eye. My hand desperately patted the bedside table to grab my phone before it not-so-mysteriously toppled over the edge. My braixen's physic powers were still unstable, but apparently he had enough control to try and fling cell phones across the room. Pest that he was.
Zen mewled as I untangled myself from the covers, upsetting her comfortable burrow of cotton sheets and plush blankets. She moved to the foot of the bed with a sniff and cuddled up beside Basil and Levi, who both snored peacefully through the whole thing. Tobio was likewise oblivious, happily tucked into a wicker laundry basket on the dresser with Delacour, though the red hawk ruffled himself awake enough to peep a bit before he nodded off again.
By the time I managed to shuffle into the kitchen, the shower was already running. Sarge was passed out on the kitchen tile but yawned and sat up when I came in, and I ruffled his ears as I gave him a small bowl of kibble. Flipping an old electric tea kettle on, I didn't bother to pretend to rummage through empty cabinets. I just opened my inventory to pull out some vanilla chai and sugar cubes I'd gotten on my last trip to Intermarche. There was an ancient tea service tucked away at the back of the counter, and I rinsed out the cups while I waited for the hot water. By the time dad emerged from the bathroom, already dressed in a pressed dress shirt and vest no less, the tea bags were already steeping in their cups.
"Thank you sweetie." My father kissed the top of my head lightly as he took a teacup. "I appreciate it."
I hummed around my own tea, blinking in the steam. It was too early.
Dad chuckled, adding a single sugar cube to his chai. There wasn't much time before he needed to leave, but we sat in pleasant quietude until he did. It was a quarter to five when he rinsed out his cup and carried his suitcase downstairs. I gave him one last hug before he drove away then stumbled back upstairs, yawning, and crashed back into bed. Grumpy mutterings could be heard as my pokémon rearranged themselves back around me.
XYXYXY
Despite its lack of renovations and kitsch décor, my apartment was actually much nicer than I could have ever imagined. It took up the majority of the third floor, sharing it only with the elevator and a maintenance room, and had exclusive access to a rooftop patio. The ground, first, and second floors were all split into two apartments each. There was a pair of studios and another maintenance room in the basement as well. The basement was currently unoccupied, I think dad had mentioned it was being used for storage, but the rest of the building was rented out, with the building manager living in one of the ground floor apartments. I'd have to go introduce myself eventually, but it was so nice to not need to run the building myself. Instead all I needed to do was take care of my own home and maybe sign some paperwork every now and then. The apartment itself was smaller than I was used to, but very comfortable considering I was in Lumiose City. I hadn't looked at rent prices around the city, but if they matched up with Paris they'd be astronomical. So having a two bedroom flat with a nice sized bathroom (with a clawfoot tub!) and a spacious living area with a good size kitchen area all to myself was downright luxurious.
Stretching out on the hideous but comfortable sofa with a yawn, I flipped through my newest game feature with interest. Interior design wasn't my biggest passion, but it was a form of art and I liked playing around with it. And if the Game was finally going to give me a fun feature, I was going to enjoy it to the fullest. Plus my father would be gone for weeks, if not longer, so hopefully he wouldn't get suspicious about a few cosmetic changes.
Snuggling further down into the cushions, I pulled up the new menu option.
Congratulations on your new Home Base and welcome to Lumiose Living! Our goal is to help you live out your dream in a Kalos home of your very own. We provide an extensive collection for you to design on a personal level so we can deliver on that promise! We just know you'll have a great time!
We have several designs available for your immediate use. We want to help you make your home the best it can be! You can also visit our various locations around Kalos for more options or procure furnishings and décor on your own. We're so excited to see what you'll come up with. Show us what you got!
Currently Available:
Walls
[Equipped] Patchwork Wallpaper
€50000 Plain plaster walls
€65000 Light Blue plaster walls
€65000 Light pink plaster walls
€65000 Beige plaster walls
€65000 Blue plaster walls
€65000 Red plaster walls
Floor
[Equipped] Old Blue Carpet
€50000 Plain wooden planks
€40000 Beige carpet
€40000 Blue carpet
€40000 Red carpet
Furniture
[Equipped] Unsightly sofa
[Equipped] plain wooden lounge table
[Equipped] plain wooden bed [x2]
[Equipped] plain wooden wardrobe
€50000 Plain beige sofa
€50000 Plain blue sofa
€50000 Plain red sofa
Appliances
[Equipped] Antique Washing Machine
NA
Décor
[Equipped] Old Book Shelf
NA
Kitchen
Kitchen cannot be remodeled at this time
Bathroom
Bathroom cannot be remodeled at this time
I hung my head in defeat. This feature had so much potential! And I could barely do anything with it! My lips twisted as I considered what to do. Checking my phone, I could see a brick and mortar store for Lumiose Living on the other side of the city. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a phone number listed or any way to order online. Admittedly, online stores didn't seem to be a common thing here on Pokea. There was no equivalent to Amazon or Ebay to be found on the internet. Maybe I'd get lucky, and actually going to the store would earn me a catalog or something. I really hoped it wasn't like the clothing stores in the old DS games, where you had to show up on certain days to get specific items. Or worse, like Animal Crossing, where everyday was something new and good luck ever seeing it again.
Shaking my head at all the nonsense, I quickly tapped through what little options I had available. I was forever allergic to the color beige. I hated it. All the old almond colored electrical plates in my flat were unsightly, and would get replaced as soon as I could find out how. For now at least, I switched the walls to light blue. And gasped.
I had gotten used to the world pixelating as I moved in and out of my Instant Dungeons. This was different. The mish-mashed wallpaper seemed to peel away like flower petals to reveal the softest French blue walls. The paper bits fluttered about, hanging in the air for a few brief moments before vanishing. My breath caught as I sat watching it all.
"Alright Game," I whispered begrudgingly, "that was a cool effect."
Anything was preferable to stripping wallpaper but what a gorgeous alternative …
The bedazzling shimmer continued when I switched the floor to wood and the sofa to dark blue. There was literally nothing more I could do after that. At least I was given the option to have the money came from my bank account, and that with all the money from the League the improvements were affordable. It hadn't even been half of what the League had initially deposited into my account and my flat looked so much better for it. A quick look inside the bedrooms confirmed that the walls and floors had been changed throughout the apartment, though I did get a notification that I could change rooms individually. I wasn't willing to spend more at the moment though.
Looking around my apartment with a satisfied nod, I grabbed my new keys from my inventory. As nice as the new design was, my cupboards were still empty. I might be heading off into the wilderness in a few days, but I wanted to be able to come back home without needing to go shopping immediately. Most people didn't realize just how many 'bare essentials' a home actually needed, and mine had almost nothing.
Luckily, according to the maps feature on my phone, there was an Intermarche just a few blocks away.
As usual, the Game added it only after I got there myself.
XYXYXY
It was only two days until April, which would bring a second monthly payment from the League, which meant even with my new Home Base feature I had absolutely no financial issues whatsoever at the moment. And it was so, so very nice, I thought as I scooped an entire armful of miso soup packages into my cart, to be able to go shopping without worrying about a budget. It was a novel experience for me, and I was trying not to go overboard with the myriad of spices I was adding to my basket. I wasn't trying too hard, however, and several boxes of mochi quickly followed the miso into the basket. Soy sauce, gochujang, pickled ginger… all of what I considered staples had been out of my price range before and I relished having them back in my life. Kalos cuisine was divine, no doubt about it, but I missed my good old stir-fry noodles. Speaking of which, several bulk packages of ramen were also added to the ever-growing pile.
Frowning, I wondered if the cashier could help me get a cab home or something. It might be less than a full kilometer, but I was going to be buying a LOT of stuff. A broom and dustpan, and a ton of various cleaning supplies. Dry staples like tea and rice, canisters to store them in…
Was the taxi service even still running? There were still rolling brownouts across the whole metropolitan area. Barricades were blocking roads all over the place and the police were quick to turn non-residents away from various neighborhoods.
A vine slowly entered my vision, carefully waving a package of colourful pokepuffs over the cart.
"Swaaaar?" Basil cooed sweetly. My bulbasaur was unfairly adorable, and I was grateful he was at least asking politely. Levi would have just eaten them without asking. I knew this, because he'd nearly done exactly that back in the berry section, the menace. At least the produce attendant had thought he was cute, laughing as I chased him down and pried the nanab bunch out of him mouth. The attempted thievery had been waved off by the giggling clerk as I shut the azurill back in his ball. Maybe evolution would calm down Levi's antics. I hoped so. I really, really hoped so.
I sighed.
"Get two," I told Basil. My bulbasaur cheered, dropped the pokepuffs into the cart and toddled off down the next aisle to get another package. I pushed my basket away from the international section to follow him. I needed another bag of Pandepâture anyways. Oh, and lure blocks. Louis had texted me about getting some of those for our little expedition.
All in all it was a successful shopping trip. I'd gotten enough stuff for the apartment to be at least moderately livable and a bunch of supplies for the road as well. I was even able to get a car home, too. After tipping my cab driver very nicely for helping me carry everything into the atrium, I chose to shove it all in my inventory again rather than try to haul it all into the elevator. Most of it needed to be there anyways.
"Fuck!" I swore just as I slid my key in the lock. "I forgot sunscreen!"
Knowing I'd never remember if I left it for tomorrow, I relocked my apartment and trudged back to the elevator. Of all the things. I was finally, finally getting over my funk after a month in this new life. And my ADHD decides to kick back in.
Why couldn't my stupid Gamer's Mind fix that?
XYXYXY
Le Chemin du Versant, or Route 5, didn't actually begin right outside of Lumiose City. Because, again, Lumiose was a vast network of suburbs ringing the city center. No, Route 5 actually started over thirty kilometers from Illumise proper, in a far southwestern corner that had its own walls, distinctive yellow tile rooves, and flowers being sold everywhere in clusters of vibrant courtyards. Ville Tulipe was a riot of color as I got off the city bus, backpack securely on my shoulders and Zen trotting just behind me.
Like in Santalune, the barbican that opened to the route was only for foot traffic. Cars and busses exited the city over a kilometer west through carefully guarded parapets. Chemin de Versant was rather like a national park, with walking and bike trails winding through over sixty kilometers of protected hills and forests to the eastern edge of Camphrier. Even here, at the narrow gatehouse, a Pokémon Ranger with a furfrou could be seen walking around.
Unlike in Santalune, the gate out of Ville Tulipe was deep enough to hold a small tourist counter. There were colorful pamphlets, snacks, bottled drinks, and even some small souvenirs for sale. A female clerk in a fancy grey uniform was ringing up a bunch of snacks for a group of kids as they poured over a map of the counter. Sneaking by, I snagged a brochure in Common from the kiosk. With a salute to the clerk, I was out the door.
Sunshine beamed down and a soft breeze ruffled a faint floral aroma through the air. I breathed deep, eyes shut and face turned into the warm light. It was only Wednesday, and I had five whole days until I needed to be in Camphrier. I had plenty of time for leisurely hiking and looking for pokémon. It was going to be so nice to have a peaceful camping trip.
"LUKA!"
"ZwoooraaA!"
"Aaaaargh!" I screamed, twisting a frantic zorua high up on one shoulder as I swiveled to raise my hwando into a defensive position. The blue mass speeding toward me rushed by, artfully dodging the blade and stopping barely a meter away.
"Luuuuuka?"
Zen snarled next to my ear. It was surprisingly menacing for such a tiny fox, but it wasn't hard to see why.
A lucario, very nearly my height, stood in front of me, with its studded fists raised. Its nose twitched, and amber eyes narrowed a bit when it saw Zen. I worried for several long moments if this Lucario would be as inimical towards my little dark type as Louis' riolu had been. But with another sniff, it nodded, body relaxing and eyes brightening. Cautiously transferring my dagger to my left hand, I slowly raised my right for the quasi-legendary hound to sniff.
It wagged its tail slowly and nuzzled my hand.
"Luuuukaaaa," it crooned, shoving its whole head into my palm.
Relaxing, I rubbed the coarse fur on the lucario's nose. I was fairly certain the steel type was friendly, if not woefully out of place.
"Well, hello handsome," I smooched at the bipedal canine, much to Zen's vocal displeasure, "Where did you come from?"
"Luuuuuu," the Lucario wuffed, stepping closer for more cuddles. I happily obliged.
"Lucario!" A loud voice echoed from behind me. Both the Lucario and I flinched at the sudden noise. It pulled away, and I turned to see a vaguely familiar blonde rushing towards me.
Oh. Oh no. Yeah, I'd recognize those funky armored roller skates anywhere.
Unfortunately, it seemed the person wearing said roller skates recognized me too. I was once again face to face with Kalos' fighting type gym leader, who had a fearsome scowl still etched into her face.
"Desolee," she drawled disingenuously before snapping at the pokémon behind me. "Lucario, pourqoui as-tu fui?" (1)
"This sweetheart's yours?" I could believe it. Another twitch of my fingers and the Lucario pretty much planted himself headfirst back into my side. Why such an affectionate pokémon would belong to someone so unfriendly…
"I was just doing some special training with Lucario when he suddenly dashed off…," she offered with a dismissive wave of her gloved hand, "et j'sais pas ce quis est passé par la tête de celui-là…" She punched her fists into her sides, frowning at her pokémon. "C'est à cause de se dresseuse? Elle a une aura spéciale?"(2)
The Lucario whined, tilting its head, but didn't offer any explanation. It felt … odd. My pokémon never seemed to have any problems communicating with me. But it felt like, despite her being a gym leader, the Lucario either didn't know how to properly answer Cornélia… or he didn't want to. They stood staring at each other for almost a minute before the blonde sighed and hung her head.
"This Lucario is always getting worked in battle with my other one," Cornelia grumbled. "Maybe it's just been waiting for un dresseur to appear who's strong enough to challenge it."
"Dresseuse," I corrected her, enjoying the way she blinked in shock. "He came to me. I'm a girl, just like you. Dresseuse." (3)
If I enjoyed Cornélia's shock, I enjoyed the way her whole face twisted even more as she realized I was correcting her Kalais. Maybe I shouldn't be baiting people who could kick my ass, but the gatehouse was right there. Ranger included. She couldn't make too much of a scene in front of that many witnesses.
She muttered something softer than I could hear, and I was starting to regret not having Loxley out. I might not get an exact translation, but my starter was pretty good at getting the main point across.
"Lucario est un pokémon qui peut voir l'aura des gens," Cornélia grumbled, cheeks now pink as several facing were beginning to peek around the doorframe from the gatehouse. "Et j'imagine que la tienne lui plaît bien. Il est toujours à se tirer la bourre avec mon autre Lucario. Peut-être qu'il attendait juste du voir apparaitre une bonne dresseuse comme toi?" (4)
All the Kalais would have normally been excruciatingly annoying if I hadn't at least had some clue that Cornélia was explaining lucario's aura abilities to me. The details of what she was saying were beyond my still improving language skills, but there was a +100 blinking almost unwillingly in green above the gym leader's head as she straightened up.
"Mais j'ai oublié de me presenter, pardon," she continue more seriously, "Je suis la Championne de Yantriezh, Cornélia." She gave me an assessing once over. "I'm sure we'll be battling sooner or later. I'll be looking forward to it. T'as l'air d'être du genre à collectionner les badges, alors mes patins me dissent qu'on va s'revoir à un moment ou à autre. J'suis sûre que ça se passera comme sure des roulettes!" (5)
And with a curt little dip at her waist, Cornélia twirled towards the gatehouse and skated away without another word. The two Lucario followed after her obediently.
"Have a nice day!" I yelled after her. I wasn't expecting a response and I didn't get one. I turned my head to look at the zorua still arched on my shoulder.
"You okay, Zen?"
"Zwaaaaaaar," she grumbled, shuffling further into my neck but not taking her eyes away from the direction Cornélia and her pokémon had gone.
"Yeah." I reached up to skritch my fox under her chin. "That was weird."
And I turned back to the path.
XYXYXY
[Map Alert!]
Field Dungeon
You have entered the Versant Forest, a special area designated as a field dungeon!
Would you like to review [Dungeon Basics]?
[Y/N]
I pressed no, and another game window appeared.
[Quest Alert!]
Onward March: You have entered Versant Forest, but there's a long way to go before you can call it a day! Make it to the [Campsite] before dark!
Completion: 100 EXP, +€1000, [Base Camp] unlocked!
Failure: 10 EXP, [Base Camp] reserved until morning
Accept? [Y]/[N]
I pressed yes without a thought. A new green diamond appeared on the edge of my vision and my mini-map gained a little green arrow at the edge of the unfilled diagram. The campsite I was aiming for was to the south. According to the paper pamphlet it should be about thirty kilometers along the path. Quite a walk, and at the leisurely pace I intended, it probably take me most of the day to get there. But that would put me a bit over halfway through the forest trail. A good spot that would be far enough away from most people to hopefully find some pokémon and close enough to make it to the next town after another reasonable day of walking.
A day to get to camp. A day training and catching pokémon. Another day walking to Camphrier. That left me two days for either unforeseen delays, which was entirely possible with my life, or two days of relaxing in Camphrier's Pokémon Center while I played tourist. I remembered quite clearly there was an old castle there, and I was absolutely going to see that if I had the time. Museums, art galleries, old forts and mansions… So I was a nerd. Big deal. Maybe when I came back to Lumiose I'd have some time to check out all the fun stuff in the big city.
Stupid power outage. Ruining my chances to explore.
The pamphlet from the tourist desk held a surprising amount of information. Letting Basil out so he and Zen could walk ahead, I let them keep a lookout while I focused on reading.
The Forêt de Versant lies at the heart of Kalos' verdant agricultural district. The vast meadows and winding forests run from Lumiose City in central Kalos all the way to the city of Relifac-le-haut. This protected wilderness began over three hundred years ago as a vast private forest owned by the noble Montchêne family, a previous claimant to the throne of Kalos. The lands were nationalized in 526 LE after the monarchy officially came to an end.
The Fort de Vanitas, a registered heritage site, also sits within the Forêt de Versant at its northern boundary. The castle town originally functioned as both a hunting lodge for the elite as well as a forward guard protecting the Palais Chaydeuvre and the vast farmlands beyond. It has long been under the protection of the noble Shabboneau family. In time the village of Camphrier grew up around the citadel to support the fortification.
Today the Forêt de Versant is graced with a number of rare flora and fauna originally cultivated for the royal forest. Majestic oaks and fragrant cypress were grown for their industries alongside exotic imports such as bamboo and a wide variety of berries to feed the carefully managed stock of wild pokémon. Rare species, such as pancham and doduo, which were imported centuries ago, can still be found here to this day in addition to the more traditional species of the Kalos region.
My face scrunched as I tried to digest all the information. It … really didn't sound much like the game at all. I knew after living in this world for a while that everything was very different from the video games, it had to be to have a functioning society… but it was still a little mindboggling just how big everything was.
Once I was past the recreational area that held an enormous playground and several picnic gazebos alongside the skatepark, I followed the signs and turned south. Clearly less popular than the open path to the north, the forest path was blessedly quiet. Ancient trees quickly rose up, swallowing all but the trail and silencing the residual noise of the park and city beyond. A few trainers lounged at a single picnic table about 100 meters in, but after that the path was deserted. A low fence ran along one side of the trail when it ran next to a cliff or the river, but beyond that there was none of the landscaping like I saw in Santalune. Just me, the forest, and birdsong. It was bliss.
"Laaaarek!"
Basil and Zen squawked in alarm and I tumbled forward as something heavy slammed into my back. Staggering up onto my elbows, I could see a large green and yellow dog snarling at my pokémon in front of me. It had my brand-new backpack in its teeth.
Electrike lvl 25 …
"I have got to stop jinxing myself!" I snarled, lunging up at full speed at the electrike.
All those dexterity sessions in Super Training had paid off. The surprised electric pokémon didn't react in time, and I was able to grab one of the straps before it could get away. It snarled, sharp teeth digging into the thick canvas as it pulled. Cursing loudly, I chose to let go rather than risk having the expensive pack shredded. I wasn't wasting dad's money like that.
"Basil, muchi!" I growled as I stepped backwards out of the line of fire. A dark green vine snapped through the space I'd been standing to crack against the electrike's large head. It howled, a thin red line welling on its crest, and dropped my bag. I snatched it up by the straps once more, dodging the enemy canine as it dodged a shadowy tackle from Zen.
It stopped several feet away, eyeing me and my pokémon with narrowed eyes before considering something further down the trail.
"Taan!" It barked. And jumped for my backpack again.
"No, no, no!" I hollered, spinning away from the crazy dog. When I twisted back around, it was with my dagger out.
The electric pokémon bounded out of range of the blade, and I stopped horrified.
My pack was still on my shoulder, but the electrike had successfully snatched my water bottle out of a side pocket, and was rolling the metal canteen in its mouth.
Quest Alert!
"You little shit," I gasped, ignoring the pop-ups. "Give that back!"
It didn't, choosing instead to turn tail and run further into the forest.
"Get back here!" I screamed, sprinting after it. Desperate cries behind me made me stop long enough to pull Basil back into his pokeball. Bulbasaur were not fast creatures. At least Zen was agile enough to keep up.
Oaks and pines gave way to thick clumps of bright green bamboo. I crashed into a line of picket fence as I rounded a sharp curve in the path, narrowly avoiding a tumble into the river. The trail split, and Zen dashed south yowling in fury. I followed without a thought.
This section of trail was even less popular, with a thick layer of slim leaves creating a yellow carpet over the dirt. A hill rose in front of us. The electrike stopped briefly at the top, setting down my water bottle long enough to bark urgently before picking it up to dash off again.
Clumps became copses, then whole groves. Soon there were barely any oaks left. Only the occasional giant, tall enough to escape the suffocating mass of bamboo were the only trees left in the thickets.
Another twist in the path, and the electrike stopped to bark again.
Slowly jogging to a halt, I was hit with a sudden realization.
"It's like it wants me to follow it…" I mumbled.
+1 WIS for considering the situation carefully!
Waving the game alert away, I pulled out Loxley's pokeball.
"Brrraiwar!" Loxley shot out of the amorphous light of the pokeball, already mad and shooting a ripple of pink energy in the electrike.
"Loxley, wait!" I said as the green canine dodged, taking off down the path again.
My braixen looked up at me in disbelief. He barked sharply, sending a mental grumble that dripped with overprotectiveness.
"Sweet of you, Lox." I reached down to rub his warm ears. "But I need to know why it's playing keep away."
Loxley's ruby eyes stared deep into my own for several long moments. Then he nodded and raised his front paws.
Gently, I pulled him up and plunked him down on my shoulders and took off again. My starter was still new to running on two feet after all. He could be faster than me, true, but only for short distances. Right now I still had a longer stride and more ED points to burn with my speed skill. Which was going up as I followed Zen after the rogue electric type.
It was waiting for us around another bend in the path. The electrike woofed happily when Loxley yowled something at it, and took off again.
'High.' Loxley grumbled into my brain as we ran after the green monster. Something shiny gleamed out of reach in the shadows. It was massively important. At least to the electrike.
"So I'm going treasure hunting for a wild pokémon?" I moaned to my starter.
Loxley shook his head. A blurry image of a human boy. A crowded city that had to be Lumiose. Loving. Missing.
"It has a trainer," I acknowledged. "And I'm probably gonna have to find him too aren't I?"
Loxley didn't have time to respond. The electrike had disappeared around another thick clump of bamboo in the distance.
With another boost of speed, and another decent percentage to the skill, I followed.
Another kilometer or so down the trail, the bamboo thinned out again. At least enough for a small meadow of wildflowers with a single towering red oak in the center. The electrike had both front paws on the base of the trunk, scrabbling at the mottled bark and whining.
Loxley slid down from my shoulders as I carefully made my way over, mindful of the unpredictable nature the electric type had displayed so far. My starter had no such compunctions and trotted forward with a hiss. He scooped up my discarded water bottle in his own front paws and proceeded to whack the green pokémon upside the head with it.
I trotted backwards immediately, Zen at my heels, as Loxley scolded the surprisingly repentant looking canine in a long tirade of harsh snarling and a heavy press of mental energy.
"Are we done?" I ventured, when the pressure of Loxley's displeasure finally lightened.
Both Loxley and the electrike barked. Loxley nodded, crossing his arms in a huff, and the electric type went back to pawing at the tree.
Walking back up, I couldn't help but frown. The discoloration on the tree wasn't the bark so much as it was the lack thereof. From the ground to almost five meters up, it looked like something had bitten whole chunks out of the oak. Like a gods damned apple. My own pokémon weren't capable of anywhere near that level of physical damage and I wasn't at all comfortable with something that was. If I was lucky, whatever had done that was long gone.
I stared up into the dark branches. The lowest branch was two meters above the highest bite mark.
"There's no way I'm getting up there," I muttered. It was too tall for me to climb, and Basil's vines wouldn't be able to reach high enough even if he was strong enough to lift me. And he wasn't. I palmed a different pokeball. "Tobio! You're up!"
My pidgey appeared in a flap of feathers, and immediately squawked and darted into the sky when he saw the electrike.
I sighed, shaking my head up at my bird. The green electric type was buzzing with a light static, so I could hardly blame Tobio for getting away from an obvious type disadvantage.
"Back up, mutt," I ordered, nudging the electrike with the side of my foot.
It grumbled a bit, but obeyed after another sharp hiss from Loxley. Tobio was willing to land on my shoulder once the hound was out of range, and even more so to fly back up into the tree when I asked.
"Look for anything shiny, buddy!" I called up to him as he hopped through the thick twist of limbs.
"Piijo!" Tobio chirped back. Leaves rustled as my pidgey explored the tree canopy. Several little blue oran berries were knocked loose from various crevices. I scrambled to catch something that sparkled as it fell, but to my surprise it was a tiny disk case that my observe ability identified as TM 01. The electrike sniffed it cautiously before shaking his head and going back to circling the tree.
"Try again please, Tobio," I asked.
More branches shook and Tobio let out a triumphant warble. He swooped out of the oak tree, carrying something large in his beak. I lifted my arm so he could perch on it, and Tobio delicately lowered a brilliant lime green gem into my palm.
[Rare Item Discovered!]
You have discovered [Legendary] Manectite! This mysterious stone might help a certain pokémon mega evolve!
Congratulations! You have obtained a Mega-stone!
The electrike howled in delight, zooming back and forth across the meadow.
XYXYXY
It took quite a while for my interim companion to get over his zoomies. The electrike was practically over the moon for the mega stone Tobio had found and hadn't put it down since I'd given it to him. I almost felt a little guilty, because no matter how excited the poor dog was, there was a very good chance it wouldn't be keeping that manectite. I had no idea who its trainer was, after all, and I wasn't giving legendary crystals to people I didn't know. I'd probably take the gem back to Professor Sycamore at some point.
Electrike had never been my favorite electric pokémon, and I definitely didn't want one after today's mess.
Me. Sprinting. No.
I frowned at the dog rolling around in the grass again.
A distance crash echoed over the forest and all of my pokemon twisted towards the sound. Ears pricked and noses raised high, sniffing the air.
The electrike bayed.
Manectite stone clamped between its teeth, it shot out of the thicket in the direction of the clamor. I scrambled after it, rushing to pull everyone but Loxley and Tobio back into their pokeballs, and another chase through the bamboo lined trail ensued.
The electric canine was faster this time, no longer concerned that I was following it. My ED drained rapidly as I burned points to keep up with dog's frantic pace. I was barely able to keep it in sight most of the time, the long spreads of path turning sharply around thick bunches of reeds that blocked my view.
After finally managing to stay on the same stretch of trail for almost a kilometer, the electric suddenly broke into a full sprint and darted around another bamboo covered hill with a howl.
Just as it vanished, a girlish scream rang out through the thicket.
A rather familiar girlish scream.
Picking up speed, I rushed around the corner after the electrike only to stop dead in front of absolute chaos.
The canine I'd been chasing all day was standing absolutely still, back arched, hackles raised, and snarling. Rivulets of lightning crackled around it.
A tree had fallen. Under it, in an eerie mirror of how I met Oscar, was a teenage boy, blond, wearing blue coveralls and a weird grey backpack. He was conscious, but only just. That tree trunk wouldn't be moving no matter how hard he and Tierno shoved.
And Tierno was there, back pressed against the trunk as he tried to move it off the other boy.
Shawna was on the ground in the middle of path, curled into a tight ball and sobbing. There was blood streaked down her legs. Her bag was strewn open beside her.
Serena was standing, barely, in front of her. Shoulders shaking as she struggled to breath. Oh, look, she still had the hunting knife I lent her back in Aquacorde. She was brandishing it in front of her, and I could see blood on the blade. And on her arm.
Trevor was beside her, also smeared in blood. He was shaking, and holding a pokeball.
My eyes widened as I looked beyond my blonde … acquaintance. Standing on two powerful triple-toed feet, with tiny arms and a massive head, was an honest-to-gods dinosaur. Taller than Loxley, but not as big as the Lucario from earlier, the raptor was wide and muscular, rough brown scales covering it from nose to tail. A tyrunt, the part of my brain that still squealed like a ten year old realized with glee. An itty bitty T-rex and one of my absolute favorite pokémon ever.
Then I saw the round blue jewel it was gnashing between its jaws.
And the laughing man in a red suit standing behind him, tossing another red gem between gloved hands.
Henri Milan Level 15
HP 412/500 MP 15/15 ED: 8/10
A special operative for Team Flare, he has a very specific mission.
The description my observe ability gave meant nothing to me. I didn't give a damn about this moron's mission. My friends were clearly hurt and I was already frustrated from the whole damned day. That man had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the right time. And he was looking like an all too acceptable target. With Tobio circling low overhead, Loxley slid off my shoulders to stand in front of me, with claws out and lips curled up to expose sharp fangs. I snarled too, stomping past Serena as I let the rest of my pokeballs roll out of my pockets, cracking open in pops of light.
I raised my own dagger. And lunged.
Oh look, more elements of both the game and manga plot.
The Home Base intro was taken nearly verbatim from Happy Home Paradise with smidges of the HHA letter from the beginning of ACNH. I'm not sorry, the game is too cute. And yes, I try to think of all the ways to annoy myself with this game.
1-"Lucario, why did you run away?"
2-"And I don't know what went through this one's head. Is it because of this trainer? Is her aura special?"
3-the French word for "(Pokémon) trainer" is dresseur (masc.) or dresseuse (fem.) It means animal trainer/tamer, but can also be applied to sports like horse racing.
4-"Lucario is a pokémon that can see people's auras. And I imagine yours pleases him as well. He's always fighting with my other Lucario. Maybe he was just waiting for a good trainer like you to appear?"
5- "But I've forgotten to introduce myself, sorry. I'm the gym leader of Shalour City, Cornelia. … You seem like a Badge collector, so my skates tell me we'll see each other again sometime. I'm sure it will go like clockwork."
*All of this is almost a direct transcription of Cornelia's (Korrina's) introduction from the game in French [insert evil laughter]. Oddly enough, she speaks fairly informally, even in the French version. It was a little difficult to understand when I played, so I figured it belonged in my fic.
In no particular order!
Miharu Tousaka: You're welcome. Happy to have dragged you back into the fandom.
Jpmorin: I'm glad you're liking the Gamer elements. I'm having fun making my own life difficult.
Frostdahomeboy: I inspired a whole binge? Why thank you! And I'm glad you like how the pokémon are interacting with each other and the Game. I debated on that for a bit but psychic types are supposed to be really smart and foxes are particularly clever.
Unsuspecting, Saku Hyuuga: Thank you! Glad you've enjoyed it so far!