"Congrats! The Princess is saved once again!" A young man sits cross-legged on the floor of his plain bedroom, a halfway-tucked bedsheet resting over the bed just behind him. His caramel-colored eyes rest on the dusty screen in front of him, staring at the "Continue? Y/N" option before him. He takes a swig of his caffeinated lemonade soda as he watches the looping victory animation of the knight carrying the princess off into the sunset.
"If only it were that easy...", he mumbles to himself as he presses the 'No" option, returning to the main menu. The young man would love nothing more than to help someone in the same way that knight helps the captured princess, hoisting her off to a world where she can truly be safe. A world where she can be happy. He sets the controller down, and looks over at the clock.
"Damn, it's already ten?!" He gets up, deciding now would be a good time to finish up that book report that's due in a few days. He had been putting it off for too long, mostly due to the slew of issues he's had to deal with since the week started. First, the Rockruff he adopted ran off into the night, and is nowhere to be seen. The old lady he bought it off of warned him that it was quite skittish, but he wrongfully assumed it had finally gotten used to him, after a few weeks of accepting food and the occasional head pat. Why it bolted off the first chance it got was beyond him. Shortly after that, one of his best friends started ghosting him for no reason. He couldn't fathom what he could have done to offend him. He had spent the past few days ruminating over what he potentially could have said that might have pissed Cedrick off, but nothing came to mind. Between that and looking for his lost pokemon, almost getting lost in the forest just beyond his house on more than a few occasions in the process, he felt completely distraught.
"All I want to do is help people and this is how I'm treated in return?", he grumbles as he pulls his binder out of his backpack. As he places the binder on the table, a small note slips out of it onto the desk resting alongside the wall next to his bed.
He picks it up and unfolds it, holding it up to the moonlight filtering in through his open window on the opposite side of the room. It is quite hot this time of the year in Orre, and keeping the AC on 24/7 weas just too expensive.
*Hey, Wyatt. I know this is sudden and all, but I thought out of everyone, you deserved to know the most. We've talked about getting out of this dust bowl and moving to a different region, but it was always just that; something we talked about. You and I both know airplane and boat tickets are well beyond our budget, but I think I've come up with a way to live the dream we've always wanted, without spending a single cent doing it. Come meet me at my house this Saturday night, and I'll show you what I have in mind. With any luck, you'll be able to tag along.*
"Shit, that's tonight!" He curses himself for not seeing this earlier. It was probably sitting in his binder this entire week and he was just too distracted to find it. He grabs his backpack, dumping out his school-related belongings and adding in a few personal possessions of his, mainly some food and water, an extra change of clothes, his pocket multitool and his last pokeball. He slings the packpack behind him and grabs the Pokegear resting on his table before leaving.
*Cedric's house is a few miles from here. If I use my bike, I might be able to make it there in about half an hour.*, he thinks to himself as he opens up his Pokegear. He pulls up the phone app and tries to contact Cedric as he makes his way down the stairs, grabbing the bike next to the front door.
It takes a few rings, but he does eventually pick up. "Hey, bud! Where are ya? I was just about to call.", Cedric says, not even bothering to make sure it's Wyatt on the other end.
"Sorry! I didn't see your note until, like, a few minutes ago. Which begs the question; why didn't you just text me?", Wyatt asks as he clumsily fits his bicycle through the doorway with one hand.
"Because you never read your texts, dude! I figured the note would be the more reliable option."
He looks down at the massive pile of backed-up notifications he's never bothered to open on the messaging app. "...fair enough. Either way, I'm on my way now. Is time a serious factor here? Do I need to hurry?", Wyatt asks, walking his bike down the gravel path towards the smooth dirt road a hundred or so feet from his house. It rests in an open field with a sparse forest about half a mile out, growing around a river that makes for one of the few fertile patches of land in the area. Everything else mostly consists of rocky terrain and dry dirt that is barely capable of supporting an occasional patch of grass or weed, if that.
"Not really, but the faster you get here, the more time we'll have to plan this out.", Cedric says, refusing to elaborate.
"Plan what? I swear if this involves stealing from someone...", he says, unamused.
"Stealing? No. It's just... There's a boat with trade goods docking into the nearby pier, and from what I understand it's heading to Unova. We could stow away on it and hitch a ride out of here! I've saved up some money for us to-"
"That's your plan?! Hide away on some boat for days on end? Throw our current lives away just for a change of scenery? What's your mom going to think? What's my mom going to think?!", he asks, clearly not on board with the idea.
The fact that he is still riding his bike to Cedric's house implies otherwise, however.
"What are they gonna do, ground us from across the ocean? If they really care about us, they'll be happy that we're finally where we want to be in life. So long as we check in every so often and prove we're not dead, or whatever."
There is a long pause as Wyatt cruises his way through the downhill portion of the trip, leading up to the bridge crossing the river.
"...c'mon, man! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity-"
"I know, I know! I'm on my way. I'm willing to hear you out. I just don't want to end up in jail or something over this, if your plan goes sideways.", Wyatt says, slowing down as he crosses the old wooden bridge. It creaks a bit under the weight of him and his bike.
"Don't worry. It's just an old merchant ship. I doubt the person running it will turn us in on the spot. Worst-case scenario, I can bribe him with my savings. It won't be ideal, but I'm confident it'll work out in our favor."
"Yeah, that's what you always say...", Wyatt grumbles, speeding up for the last leg of the trip, which is a straight shot to Cedrik's house. He could feel his heart pounding, mostly from excitement, but also from the effort of pedaling the bike.
"Man, I wish I still had that Rockruff..." He thinks about the one pokeball he has to his name, wondering what he might be able to catch in whatever region they end up in as he speeds toward his best friend, and what might be his only chance at a better life.
"...Taral, hurry up! We're getting ready to leave!" A boy in baggy, white-and green clothing continues packing his clothes, doing his best to hide a sizable pouch of coin as he does so. "Yeah, I'm almost ready, mother! I'm still looking for the right outfit to wear!", he hollers, closing the briefcase. He looks over to his vanity mirror and combs his sterling-colored hair one final time, his bright blue eyes staring back at him. "This is my only chance. If I can't find a foreign merchant selling one of those fancy capsules, I don't know what I'll do..."
He sighs, before putting the simple bamboo comb back into its designated place in its drawer. Got to keep everything orderly or his parents might think he's not 'disciplined' enough. Can't have that.
"TARAL! WE'RE LEAVING!" His mom's shrill voice echoes through the house. "Yes, I'm coming!", he says, grabbing his briefcase and hurrying down the stairs.
His parents are already out the door by the time he makes his way down. "Honestly, I thought you would be more enthusiastic about this, considering it's an opportunity to leave the estate.", his mom says as he approaches the carriage.
"I am! Which is why I want to make the best first impression I possibly can. And having an impeccable appearance is important for that.", he says, getting into the back seat.
His mom smiles, looking back at him from the front passenger seat she's sitting in. "That's my boy!" She leans over and pinches his cheek. It hurts a bit, but he does not protest.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us, and it's good to hear that you're taking things seriously."
His father does not respond, already poring over some instructional book. "Well, then. Let's see how serious you really are.", he says in an authoritative tone. He begins drilling him on the various rules of proper etiquette and manners on the way there, which Taral aces almost perfectly.
"Well done, son. Still room for improvement, but I am proud, nonetheless.", he says as he closes the book.
"That's great to hear.", Taral says in a distant tone as he stares out the carriage window. It's relatively small, but does give a nice view of the rolling hillsides and forests of southwestern Ransei. He knew better than to get excited at his father's praise, despite how rare and brief it usually is. As far as his dad was concerned, every moment celebrating past successes is a moment wasted. If it were up to him, he would have no time to himself whatsoever.
Luckily, his mom is much softer on him, and refuses to budge on the few privileges he is allowed to have. It's the main reason he's saved up every spare coin he could obtain; to get a pokemon of his own and put this region behind him; abandoning its stiff, outdated customs in the process. Unfortunately, this plan hinges on finding a pokeball imported from one of the other regions where such devices are actually commonplace; otherwise he'll have no reliable way of taking the creature with him.
"You still want to browse the shops while we're there, Taral? It looks like we'll be arriving a bit early, so you'll have a few hours to look around."
His father sighs. "Knew we should have brought the algebra book. This would be a wonderful opportunity to-"
"Let him have his fun for once, Daido. You'll burn him out with all this incessant studying."
He scoffs, but does not push the subject.
"What are you thinking about buying?", his mother asks.
Taral knows exactly what he's going to buy, but pretends to ponder the question.
"...probably another journal. My current one is almost filled up."
His father frowns. "Think you'll fill this one with notes on a real discipline, like law or medicine, instead of writing down every little detail on those... beasts that roam the estate?", he asks in a condescending tone.
"Oh, settle down! Being a pokemon professor is every bit as valid a career path as a lawyer or doctor. He'll bring plenty of honor to our family, either way.", his mother says, reassuringly.
Again, he scoffs but does not protest. No one says a word for the rest of the trip. The tension in the air is palpable, but Taral doesn't mind so much. He's used to these moments by now. Yet another reason to leave, and make a new life for himself elsewhere.