The sun was shining on the day, the breeze felt amazing, but after about fifteen minutes of travel I realized how late we began our journey. The sun wasn't low, but it would set in a few hours. I didn't know exactly how far we needed to travel, but I knew we still had a long way to go. We would have to stop for the night, unless it was safe to travel at night. I doubted it was, but seeing the determined look on Oshawott's face made me unwilling to speak up. We also didn't bring any food, so we would have to go without any. This was going to go badly, I could just tell. We traveled, passing forests, plains, hills, and even through a tunnel that went underneath a mountain! In spite of our growing exhaustion, we managed to keep a fast pace. Time passed, and as expected the sun was getting lower and lower until it had finally passed the horizon. It was a moonless night, lit only by the stars. By the time the sun was fully gone, we were halfway up a mountain. An endless abyss was on our left, and a cliff that reached into the darkness above was on our right. A cliffside path wasn't an ideal place to be traversing on a very dark night, and no amount of enthusiasm was going to keep me quiet.
"This is lovely. I can't see a thing!" I shouted.
"Shh, quiet. There are nocturnal predators, you know." Oshawott said.
"I see, predators that can see us, but we can't see them." I responded.
"I know it's hard to see, but we have to keep going." Oshawott said.
"I can only see a few feet in front of us. If something attacks us we'd be dead before we even knew what was happening. Right now the cliffsides around us are providing a little bit of cover, so we should be safe from predators for the most part. If we keep moving, we might not even realize if one of us falls behind, or disappears entirely. Not to mention that movement and sound makes it easier for them to find us." I argued. My words fell on deaf ears. Well, technically while Oshawatt have ears, they're on the inside, and sealed with a waterproof membrane. The nubs seen on the top are more useful for detecting vibrations under water than hearing sounds above. This means Oshawott are really bad at hearing noise outside of water unless you are directly facing them, so it's entirely possible that he actually didn't hear me.
Cyndaquil have somewhat similar ear structure, but their hearing is notably more sensitive. Cyndaquil's sense of smell is far better than their hearing, though. Their sense of smell is almost as strong as a Growlith or Arcanine, so they can smell things from over a mile away. Oshawott took a step forward. There was a sudden rustle and rumble, and I barely was able to react quick enough as I lunged to grab Oshawott from falling off the cliff. While both of us were nearly dragged off the cliff, through some miracle we managed to not tumble into the abyss below. We both sat on the ground, panting in a mix of fear and exhaustion. Cyndaquil looked worried, carefully walking to our side so he wouldn't become a cliffside pancake. Thoroughly fed up with the dark, I made my voice loud and clear.
"I'm making an executive decision, we are stopping for the night." I stated. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. My heart was still beating heavily, even though the immediate danger was over.
"I, uh, sure. Okay." Oshawott responded. Walking away from the cliffside, a quick search found us a small overhang in the cliffs to our right.
"This should keep us safe from rain and from being seen from above. You guys should rest up, I'll wake you if something comes up." I said. Oshawott's eyelids were drooped downward, before he quickly opened them them, blinking a few times after. It was clear he had exhausted himself during our fast paced trek, so I figured this was something I should do.
"No. I was the one who exhausted us by constantly pushing forward, and I was the one who nearly fell off a cliff, I'll be on watch to make up for that." Oshawott said.
"I'm not really tired, though." I responded. It was true, I was far from tired. If it wasn't so dark, and the ground was less treacherous, then I wouldn't have objected to continuing. However, it was simply to dangerous for any of us, and I wasn't going to risk getting anyone killed if I could help it.
"Both of you sleep. I'll watch." Cyndaquil stated. This surprised both of us.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Oshawott clearly needs to sleep, and you're still recovering from a major injury." Cyndaquil responded. I jerked back, surprised. I honestly forgot I was injured. I suppose I didn't realize I was missing my tail since I was used to not having one at all, but as a Pokémon I was considered severely injured and partly disabled without it. I wondered if it going to be hard adjusting to having one, assuming I survived long enough for it to grow back. I didn't really know. Though, I'd been adjusting to walking on four legs so I was fairly certain it would be fine.
We really rushed forward without thinking about what anything. We didn't have any food, we didn't bring a bag to carry any berries or seeds. We didn't even bring anything to sleep on, we just rushed forward without thinking about what we might need. The only thing we had was a map. I took a look at the map. Earlier I was shown the path we would take to reach Pokémon City, or was it Pokémon Central? I'd heard Oshawott call it both, so I wasn't certain. The path we took would place us near a dungeon labeled 'Mt. Blaze'. It's a dangerous volcano that is rumored to house a legendary being known as 'Moltres'. Oshawott talked a lot about it on the way. It's said that it's always spewing rivers of magma. If the volcano is as volatile as described, and the 'rivers of magma' isn't hyperbole, then the only way past those rivers would be through Mt Blaze itself. I knew we didn't have the supplies to go around them. We'd make it there by tomorrow, but we would have to make a decision before then. Right now, none of us were alert enough to fully plan anything. This was idiotic, why did I agree? Why did Oshawott not think things though? Why didn't I say anything? I thought it was weird we didn't have anything with us aside from a few accessories, I should have brought it up while we had the chance. Only one thing was for certain, we needed to be ready for anything.
"In a few hours wake one of us up and get some rest. We should be rested and prepared to go into a dungeon if needed." I stated. Cyndaquil tilted his head, and I explained my thought process, omitting how I felt about Oshawott putting us in this situation. Cyndaquil seemed somewhat taken aback, but soon gave a quick nod in response. I said down on the ground, thinking about how life had been so far. It only had been about a week since I got to this new world, and there I was, thrust into an adventure without thinking about the consequences.
"This's been... something. I don't know what's going on, or how I got here really. Well, I know how I got here, but I don't know why I agreed to go. I've never been the most attentive person, but I'm not this bad usually. Instincts and that strange godly deity thing have normalized most of this. At least, I hope the deity had some part in this. If it's just instincts, then will it only get worse? The voice said this body was a wild Pokémon which died. Did I inherit the instincts of the Treecko, or is it just slowly seeping into my consciousness? Am I gonna go wild and crazy and forget everything? Will I remember being human? Will I ever return to being human? Okay, what did the voice say again?
Uh, it said, 'We usually use feral Pokémon so there aren't any families that will worry about a sudden shift in personality' or something like that. I don't-wait. 'Usually'? 'I'm not the first human to become a Pokémon? Maybe there are other humans who can help me out! But, if they're also Pokémon, how would I be able to tell, and they may not even be alive anymore. It could have been years and years ago for all I know, or they could have been killed by an angry mob. Ugh, this is extremely annoying!" I thought. I took a deep breath. I knew I wasn't going to get any answers like this, and I was still to confused and frustrated to plan anything. I laid down and rolled onto my side, seeing the Rambo Otter sleeping soundly.
I've always liked animals, animals were easier to get than people. If you treated them well they didn't really care what you acted like, but people were mean if you didn't act the way they want. Rambo Otter wasn't exactly a normal animal, but he wasn't too difficult to understand. He laid out who he was and what he wanted pretty clearly. Plus he's extraordinarily adorable, too. One thing's for sure, while my instincts didn't and still don't find him adorable, my human mind really wanted to squeeze him. I still want to give him a big hug on some nights. Even if he doesn't have the Power Band on, the tuft of fur sticking up is just "otterly" adorable.
"The day I stop finding Sleepy Rambo Otter cute is the day I'll really start worrying about these instincts." I thought. As it was, I felt assured knowing my mind was still intact. In spite of not being tired and my thoughts racing at the speed of sound, I somehow managed to fall asleep. The sleep was uneventful, just the relaxing, easily forgettable void of a dreamless night. When I woke up, the sun was shining on a cloudless morning. I turned to my side and noticed Cyndaquil asleep near me. Oshawott was keeping watch. Sitting up and stretching, I walked over to him.
"Hey." I greeted. He jumped a little in surprise.
"Oh, it's just you. I guess we can head out soon, then." Oshawott said.
"Yeah. Oh, right. I noticed something, if Mt. Blaze is as active, then-" I started to explain, but Oshawott interrupted me.
"I heard. I don't think going through Mt. Blaze is a good idea." Oshawott responded.
"Yeah, I know. However we don't have a lot of options. We need to decide here what to do. We can't go around the magma rivers as we'll starve before we get there. We can't live off the land because here won't be enough food to find. The long path is clearly quite barren, and even if there is anything edible, we'd be competing with the locals. That seems like a good way to get attacked by angry hungry Pokémon. We can't continue until we're sure what we're going to do if things are bad." I stated.
"You're assuming there are going to be magma rivers. If there are, we'll think of something, don't worry." Oshawott responded, turning to face the path. I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.
"No!-Sorry, no. We need a plan first. Do either of you have a way to get through the fire? Cyndaquil, you're fiery, right? I think you're strong enough to carry us across individually. It'll be tiring, though the alternative is starvation. Find a shallow path through the magma, cross back, then carry us over one at a time. Ok?" I said.
"It'll be hot, you'd still probably touch the lava at some point and be badly hurt." Cyndaquil responded.
"Do we have any alternative?" I asked. The pair looked at each other and nodded.
"Alright, let's go." I stated. The path up the mountain was less difficult now that we could see. Aside from hiding under a small overhang from a wild bird Pokémon, nothing of note happened until we reached a barren path. Trees were getting less and less common. Burn marks from scuffles between wild Pokémon seared the landscape. More and more evidence of constant fire dotted the ruined path. Then it was there. On our right in the far distance was the infamous Mt. Blaze. Being so close to somewhere so dangerous sent a shiver up my spine. It felt wrong, violent, like going anywhere closer to there would unleash the fiery wrath of the entire mountain upon us. It was nightmarish. In front of us lay a golden yellow and red river.
"Looks like you were right about the magma river." Oshawott said.
"You're the one who told me about them." I responded. Just as we were preparing ourselves, I heard something. Oshawott didn't seem to notice, but Cyndaquil did. After a moment, the three of us were all scouring the landscape when we noticed it. A Pokémon slowly traveling towards us. Oshawott and Cyndaquil readied themselves, but I simply blinked in surprised.
"Torkoal?" I wondered. Oshawott and Cyndaquil looked at me in surprise.
"You know them?" Oshawott wondered.
"Sort of, yeah. He was getting a check up in the hospital while I was recovering. We talked briefly, but I didn't chat with him for long. What's he doing here?" I explained. The old tortoise slowly walked up to us.
"It is you! I thought I recognized you due to your tail being missing. What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same question." I responded.
"I live in Coalton, a small town nearby." He responded. There wasn't a Coalton on our map, and I stated as much.
"It's not on most maps, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. It's not really an official town, even. It started as a collection of Pokémon who banded together to deal with the rough environment. I would know, I was one of it's founders! Hahahah!" The Torkoal explained.
"Why did you go to our town, then? Isn't Pokémon Central closer?" Oshawott asked.
"It's about the same distance, actually. Maybe Pokémon City is closer, but the path there is more dangerous than to the other so it's easier over all." Torkoal explained.
"Wait, is it Pokémon City or Pokémon Central?" I asked.
"Haven't you heard of it?" Torkoal asked.
"Apparently the blood loss and severe trauma caused a bit of amnesia." Oshawott explains.
"Oh! I'm truly sorry, I had no idea." Torkoal said, bowing his head. The glowing yellow light shone on his bald, dry, reptilian skin.
"It's okay, really. Honestly, it's kind of fun learning about these things. It's like a mini adventure learning what I don't know. Uh, I mean, yeah, you get it." I said. Torkoal lifted his head and smiled.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're in high spirits." Torkoal stated. A large, genuine smile was on his face.
"So, uh, Pokémon City or Central?" I repeated.
"Oh right! I forgot you asked, sorry. It really depends on where you grew up, I suppose. Officially it's Pokémon Central, but as it's the largest city in the world it's often called Pokémon City in smaller towns and villages." Torkoal explained.
"I see, ok, then." I responded.
"Now, with that out of the way, why exactly are you here? Shouldn't you be lying in bed healing?" Torkoal asked.
"We're trying to form a Rescue Team, but we have to get to Pokémon Central to do that." Oshawott responded.
"Oh, I see! I suppose it isn't too surprising, anyone tough enough to endure getting their tail cut off and the surgeries afterwards would make a good rescuer. But don't you think you're pushing it a little?" Torkoal stated. His head tilted to one side. I don't think there were that many surgeries after I got my tail cut off, just one as far as I remembered.
"I'm very far from home, far enough that I don't really have a home to go to right now. So I had a choice to be a homeless, crippled Pokemon in the city or be a homeless, crippled traveler. Honestly my options weren't ideal either way." I responded.
"I see. Crossing this magma stream won't be easy, you know." Torkoal stated. We looked down at the ground. We had a plan, not a very good plan, but it was something. Still, it felt embarrassing that we were caught in such a predicament at all.
"Hmm, you know, I could get you across." Torkoal said. We jumped a bit, surprised by his offer.
"No, no. You don't need to do that." I responded.
"I don't need to, but I want to. Consider it repayment for checking on an old man while he was days away from home." He said.
"But, won't we be heavy?" Oshawott asked.
"I may not look it, but I'm more than strong enough to carry all three of you across at once." Torkoal responded, a large smile and laugh following shortly. We weren't in a good position to say no. While Cyndaquil insisted that he would wade through the lava on his own, at Torkoal's insistence we all sat on his shell as he waded through the lava. There were moments where the lava went quite deep, but Torkoal seemed to swim though it with ease as if it were water. Somehow he managed to keep us far enough from the lava that we didn't get burned, though it was still nerve-wracking. Something told me he has done this before, so I asked.
"You are absolutely correct. This used to be a fairly common crossing spot for rescuers and looking to get to the lands further north. Nowadays, not too many non-fire types come this path anymore after rumors of the Moltres being in Mt. Blaze were found to be true. Still, sometimes a Pokémon or two show up needing to cross, like you three." He responded.
"Wait, Moltres is actually in Mt. Blaze?" Oshawott responded. The look on his face told me he was really excited to hear about that.
"Yup! Not many Pokémon are comfortable being this close to the mountain. They were afraid they'd be encroaching on Moltres's domain. Moltres doesn't actually leave the mountain much, though, so if you want to see it you'd have to reach the peak." He responded. Something told me Oshawott was not afraid Moltres would fry him. Honestly, he'd probably be happy that Moltres was the one to cook him. Soon after we reached the other side, completely unscathed.
"Thank you!" I shouted, waving towards the Torkoal as he swam away.
"It was hardly a thing!" He shouted in response. The glow from the magma shone on our skins, overpowering the light from the sun and casting a light shadow on the black dirt in front of us. There wasn't very much left to go.
"If we move quick, we should be able to make it! Come on guys, let's go!" I shouted.
"Yeah!" The two of them cheered, leaping into the air.