Plains, Southwest Sinnoh
The sun began to rise, giving light to a grassy plain. The light shed on two small tents, both a green color. Inside the tent nearest to the sunlight, an audible groan could be heard. It was Jacob, who wasn't exactly ready to get up for the day.
Oliver heard his friend groan, and chuckled softly. It was a bit strange to the Oshawott that the Pokémon directly responsible for their current position was Jacob, the one least willing to get up in the morning.
At this point, they had been travelling for more than a week, only stopping occasionally to relieve themselves, or to set up camp for the night.
The Oshawott climbed out of his and Jacob's tent, seeing Sophie. "Morning, Sophie." He smiled at her, stretching his arms.
"Morning, Oliver." The Snivy looked back to face him. "You guys still have berries, right?"
"We're almost out." Oliver answered, looking away, "What about you?"
"I ran out a few hours ago." She sighed.
"I guess this is the perfect time to try fishing." The Oshawott told her, walking over to a lone tree not too far away.
"Fishing?" Sophie asked confusedly, watching Oliver grab a large branch and pull it down. "What are you going to fish, a live Pokémon?"
"No, just fish."
"Fish?" The Snivy became a bit more confused. "What are those?"
"Let me explain." Oliver remarked as the two began to head back to their campsite. "Fish aren't Pokémon. They're some other type of thing called an 'Animal'."
Sophie, who had grown up in Casteel City, was completely surprised to know that not only Pokémon walked the world.
"What are they like?" Sophie asked.
"Well, they can't talk like us, even though some Pokémon look like the fishes that roam the water." He explained, "We could hunt them, and I wanted to use this stick to hit them out of the water."
"Why don't you just make it into a spear?" The Snivy suggested, "That way, we don't have to worry about it slipping away when we make contact."
"I would, but I was never good at whittling." Oliver let out a sigh.
"Good thing I learned." Sophie grabbed the stick. "But if I take too long, I'll get exhausted." As she spoke, a familiar scarlet hue filled her right eye.
Her hand became a light shade of violet, as it grew scales as well. She extended a Dragon Claw from her hand, beginning to chip and whittle at the large stick.
"I'll go wake up Jacob now." Oliver told Sophie as he walked over to the tent Jacob was still sleeping in.
When he opened the tent, he could immediately see Jacob, who was just waking up. The Pikachu propped himself up against the tent's wall, and looked at Oliver.
"Morning, Ollie." Jacob greeted groggily, a small smile on his face. "What's up?"
"Well we're almost out of berries..." The Oshawott began to explain, "...And we're miles away from any type of civilization."
"Noooo..." The Pikachu crumpled down to the floor.
"But, Sophie and I are planning to fish for some food."
"Yes!" Jacob suddenly sprung up. "Let's go fishing!"
After Sophie finished making three sharp wooden spears, the trio headed over to a nearby river in the plains. The river held what seemed to be a large amount of fish. The three all looked at the river in surprise, their spears gripped in their paws.
"Okay, on the count of three..." Oliver began to say quietly. "...We should jump-"
"Strike first!" Jacob shouted, "Strike hard! No mercy!" He jumped towards the river, throwing his spear down and landing on the other side.
"Nevermind..." The Oshawott sighed.
"Now to see what I got." Jacob smiled, gripping the spear and picking it up, only to see nothing on it. "What...?" His eyes widened.
"You aimed for the fish, didn't you?" Oliver asked, not noticing that Sophie was gone.
"Of course I did!" He replied with a pout, walking over.
"You have to aim just in front of the fish, in order to hit it directly." The Oshawott explained.
"I got some." An uninterested voice spoke from the river.
The two looked over before seeing Sophie, slightly wet, but holding her spear that had three fish impaled on it.
"Sophie, you're a natural!" Jacob exclaimed, throwing his paws into the air. "We're gonna live!"
Throughout the morning, the trio continued to fish, and with every throw improving their skills. Oliver was able to catch a few, which completed their breakfast. Jacob was still unable to catch any, the fish only slipping past.
"Hey, Jacob!" Oliver shouted as he put his spear down leaning up against the tent. "Sophie wants us to collect firewood while she cooks breakfast!"
Jacob was standing near the river, crouched down as he looked at his spear. "I caught one..."
"Cool, but we have to go collect some firewood!" Oliver shouted in the distance, walking a bit closer.
"You want it for yourself, but it's mine..." Jacob spoke quietly, but just enough for him to hear.
"Huh?"
"I fished it myself..."
"Jacob, we gotta-"
"My precioussss!" Jacob turned around, hissing at the Oshawott.
Oliver stumbled back before the Pikachu took the fish off of his wooden spear and threw the spear in his direction. The Oshawott yelped before barely avoiding it. He ran in the opposite direction, Jacob in hot pursuit.
Once Oliver was far enough away, Jacob went to a nearby tree and sat down under it, holding the fish close to him.
Oliver shivered, shaking behind Sophie.
"Does he do this often?" The Snivy asked, looking back at Jacob.
"It happens whenever he's hungry..." He answered, "...I guess being in the wild for so long multiplied the effect..."
"Let's go gather some firewood, I'm getting pretty hungry too." Sophie remarked, her stomach rumbling.
The two walked away, talking with each other.
While in the forest, Sophie was explaining something to Oliver, making him nod in response. She explained that she went to go talk to Bianca that day the two were left alone.
"Oh, so you trained with her?" Oliver asked, looking interested.
"Yes, she was one of the only Dragon-type Pokémon in the gang I lived with." Sophie nodded. "She trained my abilities and helped me not go crazy using the power."
"What do you think it is?" The Oshawott looked at her, a note of concern in his voice.
"I don't know, to be honest." She replied, "It can really hurt when I try to go past my personal limit, and it could also take over my mind."
"It can?" His eyes widened.
"Whenever you see both of my eyes turn red, stop me at all costs." Sophie told him, sounding extremely serious.
"Wait, what if you controlled the power?" Oliver questioned.
"I'll say so." She told him. "Anyways, how far are we from Forest Grotto?"
Oliver pulled out the map from his map holder before looking down at it. "Okay, we're pretty far from there, but if we start in the morning, we'll get there by late at night without any breaks."
"That far?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, and there's tons of forest area surrounding it as well." The Oshawott told her. "It's a pretty big place."
"Jacob's going to be pretty happy about that fact." Sophie remarked, "He's so gung-ho about exploring different and unique places."
"I don't know, it does seem pretty interesting." He looked at her with a smile. "I wonder who we'll meet there."
"Hm..." Sophie looked down for a moment before looking back up at Oliver. "Where'd you meet Jacob, anyway? I might've forgot"
"Hm?" Oliver's eyebrow raised at the sudden question. "Well, I met him in my childhood, back in Kanet Village."
"I know Kanet Village isn't as advanced there, so what's it like?" The Snivy asked, appearing to be interested in the subject.
"Well, it's a very nice place." He replied. "Everything's pretty close-knit, and we have newspapers instead of televisions. Well... One house in all of the village has a large t.v, but he's pretty stingy about it."
"Then what do you all do for entertainment?"
"Well, a bunch of things." Oliver told her, "Playing cards, barbeques, local events, there's a lot to keep us entertained."
"Hm..." Sophie looked down for a moment before looking back up at Oliver. "I'd like to see it sometime."
"That sounds great." The Oshawott smiled brightly, "I'd be glad to show you around Kanet and show you how we live."
He then picked up a few twigs that seemed good for firewood.
"This seems like a good place to collect firewood." Sophie told the Oshawott, kneeling down to collect a few.
Oliver nodded before doing the same as her.
The conversation with Oliver a few moments ago unnoticeably put her in a slightly better mood than usual. It was nice to her that she had a friend so willing to help her, especially after how much he helped her in the past.
"Mom would be so proud to know that I've made a new friend out here." Oliver thought, knowing how much his mother cherished friendships.
He snickered to himself. He remembered his father telling him that his mother remained friends with him long after they both confessed. Partly out of fear and another out of love for their friendship.
his mother sure was a bit strange in his eyes.
After collecting enough firewood, they placed it a decent way away from the two tents. Oliver was able to light the pile of firewood by using friction. He and Sophie then put a few dry leaves on it.
After sustaining the fire for a bit, Sophie took three sticks before sticking them into the ground, putting the fish on the other end and having them hang over the fire.
"Jacob!" Sophie shouted, "The food's going to be ready soon!"
The Pikachu ran over, quickly sitting beside the two. "Food?"
"Yeah. A few minutes, and they should be cooked." The Oshawott replied, looking down at a book. "To make sure they taste good, we have to turn it occasionally to make sure it gets cooked on the inside, too."
"Yes!" Jacob smiled excitedly.
"Wait, where's your fish?" Oliver looked around.
"Um..." The Pikachu looked away. "...A flock of Pidgey took it..."
"Pfft..." Sophie stifled a small chuckle.
"Okay, I'll go get some berries to make a balanced breakfast." The Oshawott tried to hide the amused look on his face as he went back to the tent.
After a few minutes, Oliver arrived back with three berries in his paws. These were some of the last remaining berries in their possession. He passed one each to Jacob and Sophie before opening his mouth to speak.
"Okay, aside from these berries, we only have three more." He told them, "So be conservative of the berries while you eat, okay?"
The two nodded before Sophie placed hers down, wanting to eat both the fish and berry at the same time. Jacob struggled a bit, trying his hardest to control his hunger as he put his berry down near the fish he was planning to eat.
"Jacob, let's go to the river and get some water to drink." Oliver showed Jacob a canteen he had brought. "Luckily, I remembered I packed this, so we can store a bit of freshwater in my canteen. Sophie, did you bring one?"
"Yes, it's in my bag." Sophie nodded before Oliver went to go get her black-colored canteen.
"Jacob, did you bring one?"
"Umm..." The Pikachu began to sweat. "...I'll get back to you on that one."
"That makes sense." Oliver let out a sigh. "You can just share mine, but you better not put your lips on it."
"Aye-Aye!" Jacob gave him a salute as the two walked off to grab some water from the river.
Sophie, who was left alone, looked at the three fish cooking over the fire. One was slightly off to the right, the fish turned away from the other two. She looked down at her berry, gulping softly.
Meanwhile, Oliver and Jacob had just finished filling the canteens with water, preparing to head back to the camp to finally eat something.
"When we're not worried about how we're going to eat, this place really is beautiful." Oliver remarked, looking around at the sights.
"Isn't that one of the reasons to travel?" Jacob looked over to him with a smile. "The sights you can see are truly next to none."
"I guess so." The Oshawott nodded, "But I kind of like making friends more than looking at sights."
"You have a point. Without Sophie being around, getting out of Casteel would've been way more of a struggle. Not to mention getting food would be harder." The Pikachu nodded.
"Yeah..." Oliver smiled softly. "We were pretty lucky that she decided against letting us get our minds erased..."
"But speaking of Sophie's fishing skills, will the fish be done by the time we get back?" Jacob put a paw over his stomach.
"Yeah." He nodded, giving his best friend a small smile. "They will be. We can finally eat."
"Yes!" The Pikachu jumped with joy, hurrying back to the campsite. "C'mon, Oliver! Let's eat!"
Oliver went to follow, but immediately stopped to look back at the water. He felt somehow unnerved by the water, looking at it confusedly. He hesitantly backed away from the river before going to follow Jacob.
The trio happily ate their berries and fish, Jacob eating more like someone who hadn't eaten in weeks. Well, he did go to sleep early the previous night and missed dinner.
"Good thing we don't have to worry about food anymore." Sophie spoke, eating her fish neatly. "This is really good."
"No kidding." Jacob added, a wide smile on his face as he ate his fish. "We won't have to worry about a food supply for a while."
"That's only if we camp nearby rivers and lakes." Oliver told the Pikachu, "Otherwise, we still need a decent supply of berries."
"Right..." The Pikachu let out a sigh. "Surviving off of the land is really hard. I wonder when we'll reach Forest Grotto..."
"It's a very long day away." The Oshawott replied. "Or two days if we're lazy."
"That's great." Jacob smiled. "I haven't been more ready to leave an open area. We've been in these plains for days..."
"Speaking of..." Oliver spoke up. "...We should probably get moving, since we've had breakfast."
"Oh, you're right." Jacob's eyes widened, "With all of the fishing, I forgot that we were heading out soon." The Pikachu stood up.
"I'll pack up the campsite." Oliver told them, "Jacob, you handle stopping the fire, and Sophie, pack up your tent."
The two nodded before all three began to pack up to leave.
Eventually, they finished up. They had their packed bags, and were ready to begin travelling once again. Sophie decided to bring her spear along, tying it to the side of her backpack.
The trio then began to leave, but were soon halted.
"Stop!" A deep, masculine voice shouted at the three. They could hear a pulsing energy behind them, making them turn around to see what it was.
It was a Gyarados, who was charging a Hydro Pump in their direction. It was swimming in the river that the trio were hunting from The Gyarados suddenly jerked forward, shooting the attack at them.
The three were barely able to avoid the attack, still being knocked back by the shockwave.
"Ow..." Oliver groaned as he sat up, only to see Jacob's cheeks sparking with electricity, and Sophie gritting her teeth, standing in front of him.
The two dropped their backpacks before running forward and towards the large Water-type Pokémon.
Jacob shot a Thunderbolt forward, managing to land the attack. But despite the overwhelming type advantage, the Gyarados didn't appear to take much damage. The Gyarados simply used his tail to swat Jacob away, making him hit the grass below hard.
The Pikachu let out a faint grunt, the landing making him a bit winded. As much as he wanted to get back into the action, he knew he would have to wait a bit before he could breathe properly again.
Meanwhile, Sophie had managed to get behind it before jumping onto it's tail. She was willing to bet on her own personal skills, not wanting to let it have any more time to torment them.
Oliver noticed what she was doing, and ran forward after grabbing Sophie's spear. "Hey, Gyarados! Why are you attacking us?"
Sophie silently and quickly ran up the Gyarados' back, making her way up to his head.
"You were hunting the fish in this river." He told Oliver, looking over him. "This is my territory, and those are my prey!"
"Well... Can't we just be on our way?" The Oshawott asked, "We only needed those fish to survive.
As the two had their conversation, Jacob was finally catching his breath again, ready to fight. It was then when he realized that he was a bit of a distance away because of the attack earlier.
"I just can't let you go." The Gyarados looked at Oliver with a light scowl.
"Oh... Is that the case?" Oliver inquired, looking away. "I guess we just have to... Hah!"
In the middle of his sentence, he threw Sophie's spear right at him and towards his face. This was an unsuccessful attack, however, when the Gyarados simply moved his head to the side.
"Did you think you'd actually hit me with that?" The Gyarados asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No." The Oshawott smiled nervously. "I'm not as good at hitting things as Sophie is."
"Who?"
A sudden whistle from behind alerted the Gyarados, who turned around to see a familiar Snivy looking back at him with a spear in her right hand. He gasped before beginning to charge a Hydro Pump, but was suddenly paralyzed by a Thunderbolt from Jacob.
"Just in time!" The Pikachu exclaimed, running up to stand next to Oliver.
"Nice save, Jacob." Oliver smiled.
He was rendered unable to move, and only could watch as the spear was thrown right into his eye. The Gyarados screamed and roared in pain, alerting several Flying-type Pokémon that soon began to fly in the opposite direction.
As he screamed, Sophie hit the ground next to Oliver and Jacob with a quick roll before grabbing her backpack and beginning to run off.
"Sophie?" The two boys asked in unison.
"We have a window of opportunity." She told them, still running. "Without those dirty tricks, we would lose in a fight. Let's get going."
Oliver and Jacob looked at the other before smiling, grabbing their bags, and following close behind Sophie.
The roars of the Gyarados could be heard echoing in the distance as the three continued to run in the opposite direction and towards where Oliver knew Forest Grotto was.
"Oliver? Are we going in the right direction?" Sophie asked, looking back at the Oshawott.
He pulled his map out of its container before looking at it as they ran. "Yeah!" He answered, trying to speak over Gyarados' roars. "If we continue in this direction, we'll be good." He quickly slipped the map back into its container.
"Yeah!" Jacob exclaimed, beginning to run in front. "I can't wait!"
"I wonder what life outside of Casteel City has to offer.." Sophie thought, remaining silent as she ran behind Jacob.
Oliver, who was in the back, wore a soft smile as he ran. He could feel his stamina fading, but for some reason, the excitement he felt from both of his friends kept him running. He knew how much Jacob yearned for adventure, and he knew how excited Sophie was to start adventuring as well.
The roars of the Gyarados could be heard slowly fading in the distance. Oliver looked back at their previous campsite to see that he was retreating into the water of the river.
Victory.