When Cid woke up from his slumber, he noticed that someone had wrapped a leg around himself. Opening his eyes, he noticed that there was a brown legged fur wrapped around his body. The human noted that his body appeared to be unusually small. It took him a second to remember that he had been turned into a Pokémon and that the leg belonged to Zoey, the eevee who had saved his life the other day. Just thinking about the Beheeyem made the Cyndaquil shudder, causing him to snuggle deeper into Zoey's fur. Said eevee looked down on the fire-type, when she felt him moving under her leg. She smiled down at him and even gave him a quick nuzzle on his head.
"Morning, sunshine," she greeted him softly.
"M-morning," Cid greeted her back, looking up from under her fur.
"Are you still tired?" she asked. "You can go back to sleep if you want."
"N-no." Cid shook his tiny head. "I'm awake," he told her.
"Alright." Zoey nodded. "A shame, really. I didn't know you fire-types are so comfortable." Grinning down at the smaller Pokémon, the normal-type stood up and stretched her entire body, even her ears and tail.
"Ahh, much better," the former female human sighed in relief. "I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick. Be right back!" Zoey quickly disappeared into the bushes, leaving Cid to his own devices. He too felt the need to stretch himself and took a look at his surroundings.
After they had wandered for a couple of more hours, Zoey had decided that they would sleep the night on the little clearing they had found. It was right next to the road and not too far away from the river. Basically, Zoey had insisted that they walk right next to the river and only use the road as a kind of orientation, checking it out every once in awhile to see if a town was coming up. She reasoned this course of action with that they had no way of storing water in a canteen or something, as such a constant supply was needed and secondly, she wasn't from around. Yeah, apparently Cid had the worst luck, getting saved by a Pokémon who was not even from around. Apparently, Zoey was, as she put it, seeing the world and just happened to stumble upon Cid. Well, he wasn't one to complain. After all, if Zoey hadn't been there, who knows what might have happened.
("Still, it is quite surprising that she believes me being a human just like that. Well, she never outright said that, but I get the feeling that she believes me.") Out of nowhere, Cid's stomach began to rumble. He rubbed his tiny paws over his tummy, looking down on it. ("Oh right, breakfast was a thing. I'm sure Zoey won't mind if I eat an apple, right?")
Zoey had left the bag, which she "confiscated" from the Beheeyem, leaning right next to a tree. Cid walked over to the said bag and opened it carefully with his paws. This simple motion proved to be a little harder than one might expect, but this could be easily justified by him now having shorter arms, than that of a human. It made even this little mundane task difficult for him. Nevertheless, he succeeded in opening the bag, only for the thing to for over and its contents to be spilled out.
"Oh no!" the small fire-type exclaimed, trying to stop all of the contents from spilling out, by placing himself right in front of said bag but only succeeded partially. "Oh no, no, no!" As quickly as he possibly could, Cid hastily placed everything back into the bag, not caring if he made a mess or not. As he was halfway done, a sudden giggle stopped him in his tracks. Turning around, he saw that Zoey had already returned and was smiling in amusement.
"Need a hand?" she asked, making a motion with her paw. Without waking for an answer, Zoey quickly proceeded to put everything back, which roughly took thirty seconds. At the end, she only left two apples outside, as she was feeling rather famished herself. She placed one in front of Cid, before taking one for herself.
"And, back to the apple diet," she commented. "One of these days, I actually remember to pack some bananas," she vowed with a serious tone before she started eating. Cid smiled slightly amused at the eevee's antics. He hungrily devoured the tasty apple himself, enjoying every second of it. He wasn't sure what made the apple taste so good: either because he was a Pokémon now or maybe because it had been a while since he last had an apple. But whatever the reason, he could eat apples every day in his opinion.
After they were done eating, the two former humans simply continued their journey through the unknown landscape. Well, at least it was a beautiful landscape with green meadows, the occasional flowers and lots of flying-types journeying overhead. And that was pretty much how the next couple of hours could be summed up. Unlike the previous day, they didn't get attacked by random wild Pokémon, but at the same time, they didn't meet any traveling Pokémon either. All in all, it was pretty boring. Not that Cid minded that there were no more fights, but still, there was nothing outstanding in the landscape they wandered through. So, at some point, he decided to strike a conversation with Zoey. There was something bothering him, anyways.
"Hey, Zoey?"
"Yeah, what's up?" she asked without turning her head.
"What are we going to do?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" the female Pokémon immediately asked back.
"Well…" Cid fidgeted with his paws. "What are we going to do, when we reach a town? Are we going to stay there or…?" he trailed off, not sure how to continue the question. Luckily, however, Zoey caught on quite easily, as she had been thinking about this stuff too.
"Well, we have two options at the moment. Number one is that we use the next best town as a pit stop, stock up on supplies, get a map and maybe some directions from the locals and then continue our journey until we reach my old hometown, which could take a while. Or, my preferred option, we settle down at the next town, try to find a hotel or something, I get myself a job and try to contact some old friends of mine."
"Hmm…" Cid thought about what he had been told for a moment. "So, we're going to settle down? But… what are we going to tell the people about me?" Unknowingly the fire-type won some points in Zoey's mind for being able to think ahead.
"First things first, don't claim to be a human," she said sternly. "At best it will get you some odd looks and at worst they'll insist on you going to the mental hospital."
Cid flinched at this notion. He may have amnesia, but he still understood the concept of mental hospitals.
"What we will tell them is that you have amnesia."
"...Do we have to?" he asked meekly. Zoey stopped in her tracks, causing Cid to stumble a little. He looked up wanting to know what was wrong, only to all of the sudden feel her snout on his head. She was nuzzling him again. The fire-type blushed a little. The normal-type gave the smaller Pokémon a kind smile.
"Listen, Cid, everything is going to be new for you and you'll inevitably be asked questions to which the answer should be obvious or do things that Pokémon find strange. If we tell everyone about your condition, they'll be more accepting of your behavior and even help you out. Trust me, it's for the better."
"O-okay," the former male human accepted the explanation, albeit he still had some reservations about just telling everyone about this. The duo moved on, while Zoey continued explaining her plans.
"While we're at it, we better tell the local police force about the Beheeyem. If they keep an eye out for them, we don't have to worry about them suddenly showing up and attacking us again. If they're that stupid, anyway."
"And… what am I going to do?" Cid asked.
"Well… that's something I'm still working out," Zoey admitted. "You look around school age, but whether the next town even has a school is up to question. Heck, my place is so small, everyone just homeschools their children. However, the only thing I can properly teach you is how to defend yourself, basic math and reading and writing."
"I-I can red. I think… and write," Cid insisted, although even he had to admit he didn't sound so sure of himself.
"You think, huh? Let's test it out then."
By pure chance, the two came across a sign being placed right next to the road. Both Pokémon looked up and found some text written on it.
"Read it," Zoey told the younger Pokémon, who took another look, before obliging.
"Serene Village, five miles north," Cid read perfectly. ("That's definitely not written in human, yet… it feels like I could always read it. Is it somehow connected to me turning into a Pokémon?") the fire-type wondered to himself.
"Perfect," Zoey applauded. "That's one thing less to worry about. Serene Village, huh? Never heard of it. I wonder if they even have a post office. Wait a minute, does my bank account even still exist?" Zoey facepalmed. "I have been away for way too long."
Cid just looked at his current caretaker curiously.
XXX
It didn't take long for the duo to arrive at Serene Village. The first thing they saw of the small community, was when they arrived on a hill, from which they had a view over the entire village. Cid found himself mesmerized by the view alone. The houses didn't really appear to be built, as they appeared to be grown out of the ground, like trees. The only exception appeared to be one large building, which was positioned right next to a huge lake. The river Zoey and he had been following this entire time ran straight into said lake. They could even see some Pokémon in what appeared to be the local plaza, though they couldn't determine what kind of Pokémon, as the two could only see them as dots in the distance.
"A lot more houses than at the Pokémon Plaza," was Zoey's first comment. "But it looks nice."
"It's beautiful," was Cid's opinion.
Zoey didn't say anything to that comment. After having seen Rayquaza's or even Articuno's home, Serene Village was… definitely an improvement to her home in the human world, but not even close to the other two places.
"Let's go. As much as I love cuddling up to you, I'd love to sleep in a real bed tonight."
Cid blushed a little at the cuddling comment, as he had quite enjoyed it as well. What could he say? Zoey's fur was pretty comfortable. Despite sleeping on the ground last night, he had no problem falling asleep, thanks to said fur.
The duo of former humans, quickly headed down the hill and towards the village as they did so. Further view of their soon to be hometown was obscured by a group of trees growing right in front of the village, at least until they were only a hundred meters away from the entrance.
Once inside, Cid and Zoey could get a better look at the houses. They actually did look like trees, hollowed out trees to be precise. Yet the wood didn't appear to have died. Quite the contrary, on some houses there were branches with singular leaves growing on them. But they didn't enjoy the local architecture for long. The biggest building in town had particularly caught Zoey's interest, as such, she led Cid over a bridge towards a plaza, where a bunch of Pokémon were gathered.
There was a Kecleon running a small shop (because they're a mafia family), the biggest building turned out to be a café, for some reason there was a big, black box standing right next to the Kecleon Shop and finally, there was a small tent with a Hawlucha inside. Other Pokémon included a Lombre (Zoey needed a moment to realize that this wasn't the Lombre she was acquaintanced with), a Raticate (sadly not the Alolan Version), a Magby, a Hippopotas and even a Carracosta. Already this place had more Pokémon living in it than Pokémon Plaza. And from the looks of things, this was only a part of the entire population.
"Wow… so many Pokémon," Cid spoke with awe in his voice.
"Definitely a lot," Zoey nodded in agreement. "Look at that lake. Makes you just wanna dive in and swim to your heart's content."
"N-n-n-no, thanks," Cid disagreed, suddenly feeling not comfortable just looking at the lake.
"Oh, right. Fire-type." Zoey facepalmed and laughed at her own goofiness. "This will make baths a bit more complicated," she mumbled to herself, before clearing her throat. "Anyways, what should we do? Go to the café and have something to eat or look around the village first?"
Cid contemplated the question for a moment, but before he could give a proper answer, his stomach decided to go ahead and give its own answer in form of a very loud rumble. The former male human blushed in embarrassment, to which the eevee only laughed.
"Alright, the café it is," Zoey proclaimed and walked ahead, Cid following close behind. The inside of the café was richly decorated to Zoey's surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting this from a café that was placed in such a small village. It was apparently run by a Kangaskhan and her child. Once again, Zoey found herself frozen up in place for the briefest of moments, as the usually female human needed to remind herself that this wasn't the same Pokémon she remembered.
The two newcomers placed themselves in a corner of the at this point in time empty café. It was too early to tell if this was a usual occurrence or if the two had just arrived at the right time of the day. The menu was short as one might expect of something being placed in the countryside, but the selection was promising to say the least.
"Jeez, everything here looks so tasty," Zoey said in a good-hearted fashion. "But I think I'll go with the classic fruit salad for now. What do you want?"
Cid couldn't decide as quickly as Zoey. A fruit salad sounded tasty, but aside from that they offered here some baked berries and other fruits, various ice cream and when it came to the drinks, he couldn't even fathom to imagine what they were supposed to be, with the exception of two things. Apple juice was pretty much self-explanatory and somewhere in the recess of his mind, he could remember always being fond of lemonade.
"Hello, you two. Are you new here?" a voice suddenly interrupted Cid in his musings. Looking up, he found out it was the owner of the establishment holding a notepad and a pencil, ready to take their orders.
"Yup, we just arrived here," Zoey answered.
"Oh my and where do you come from, if I might ask?"
Now Cid was getting ever so slightly nervous. He wasn't exactly ready to tell anyone about his condition just yet, not when he hadn't even come to terms with that idea. Luckily, Zoey was there to save him once again.
"Pokémon Plaza," she answered simply.
"Pokémon Plaza? Isn't that on another continent?" Kangaskhan asked, obviously taken by surprise and even Cid was taken aback by this piece of information.
("Zoey's home is on a completely different continent?! Just how long has she been traveling and how far for that matter?!") he wondered to himself.
"Eh, I like to travel a lot," Zoey waved off. "By the way, is there a post office nearby? I need to write a couple of letters. You know, keep in touch with friends and family."
Kangaskhan smiled when Zoey mentioned friends and family. "Well, we don't have an office per say, but Pelipper comes here every morning and takes the post with him. We're so far off from the bigger city, an entire office would be a waste," she informed the newcomers.
"That's good enough for me, thanks. Do you happen to have paper and a pen that I can borrow? I kinda ran out the last town," the eevee smiled sheepishly. The café owner laughed.
"Of course dear, it's no problem. By the way, that is a nice scarf that you're wearing."
"Thanks!" Zoey's smile brightened. "This thing means a lot to me! There exist only two of those, you know? The other one belongs to-" The female newcomer found herself interrupted, when all of the sudden Cid's stomach began to rumble in protest, causing the two female Pokémon to laugh, while the cyndaquil was embarrassed once again.
"Oh dear, how rude of me. You must be hungry after all of the traveling you two have done. Just tell me what I can bring you and you'll get it in a jiffy," the kangaskhan proclaimed. Zoey ordered her fruit salad with a glass of oran berry juice, while Cid went with baked apples and lemonade. Just like Kangaskhan promised, it didn't take long for their orders to arrive. Zoey paid upfront and gave the owner a tip, even though their money supply was fairly limited at this point in time. But both could agree that the food was quite worth it. After they were done with their individual meals, Kangaskhan brought Zoey the promised writing utensils, allowing the eevee to start writing her letters. The thing was, although she eventually learned how to write as an eevee, it was still quite the difference from writing stuff as a normal human. As such, Zoey could see that this would probably take hours until she would be finally done. Unless of course, she wanted her letters to come out as completely unreadable.
"Hey, Cid, I'm gonna be stuck here for some time, so how about you take a look around the village yourself?"
"Um… if you're sure?" the cyndaquil answered hesitantly.
"Of course. I don't need to tell you not to leave the village, right?" she asked in a sarcastic matter.
XXX
As Cid stepped outside, he was greeted by the smell of flowers entering his nose. To be entirely honest, he wasn't sure what he should do now. Sure, exploring the town sounded like a good idea at the moment, but seeing all of those Pokémon around him made him quite nervous. He wasn't sure if he could really talk to any of them.
("I don't really need to talk to anyone just now. It wouldn't hurt getting to know the place. It's definitely better than sitting around and-")
"I knew it!"
"Ah!" Cid jumped in place when he suddenly heard a voice screaming behind him. Turning around, he found out that it had been a green and white Pokémon who had made the noise. Said Pokémon was grinning at him as if he had just given her a new toy or something.
"I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!" she, the voice was definitely female, went on. "I totally saw you go into the café with that eevee! Where are you from? What's your name?"
Still recovering from the surprise, Cid was taken aback by how fast the Pokémon in front of him spoke. By the time he had gathered his thoughts, the Pokémon went on.
"I am Snivy. I live right next to Mr. Nuzleaf's house! Oh, since you're new here, you probably don't know where that is. Here, let me show you!"
"Wha-?! Wait!"
But Snivy wasn't listening. The little fire-type was so out of his element, that he couldn't do anything as the female grass-type pushed him through Serene Village until they arrived in front of a house with a blue rooftop.
"See? It's that house right up there!" she proclaimed.
"I… see…" Cid responded slowly.
"So, where are you from?" Snivy repeated her earlier question. "Are you that eevee's child or something? Is that even possible? Yeah, right, like that could ever happen. Ha ha ha ha ha!"
("She's… excited? I guess…") the fire-type thought to himself, as he tried to figure out the village local in front of him.
"Oh right!" and the Snivy still went on. "But this is your first time here, right? In that case, I'll show you around the place! Come on!" And just like that, Cid found himself being pushed back to where they left off: the village square. While he was being pushed, Snivy still continued talking.
"What did you say your name was? Or- wait. Did I ask you that already? I didn't ask you, did I?"
"I-I-I am Cid," the former human managed to stutter out, just as they arrived at their destination.
"I see!" Snivy nodded to herself and walked right in front of Cid. "Sorry about that! I went and asked and never even gave you a chance to answer!"
"I-It's alright," he told her back, finally managing to catch himself.
"...Hmm? Am I annoying?" the grass-type asked out of nowhere. "You're totally thinking about how annoying I am right now, yeah?"
"W-what?!" Cid exclaimed aghast. "No, no!" he denied vehemently, shaking his head.
"Really? That's awfully nice of you! You're a really nice guy!"
"Er… thank you?"
"Oh, hey Cid!" another female voice called out to him. Both Pokémon turned around and found Zoey running out of the café. "Good thing you're still here. I totally forgot to give you something. Here." The female eevee placed a small bag on the ground in front of the cyndaquil. He could hear the sound of coins hitting each other, as the tiny bag hit the ground.
"Consider it pocket money. Buy yourself something nice, while I'm busy," Zoey told him.
"Thank you," the former human answered and picked up the bag of coins.
"Hm?" Zoey just now seemed to notice the company Cid was in. "Oh, hey there little snivy. I'm Zoey. Me and Cid just arrived in town."
"Hello, Miss Zoey!" Snivy greeted back enthusiastically. "I'm Snivy. It's nice to meet you! Say, are you Cid's mom?"
"Say what?!" Zoey exclaimed, clearly not expecting to be asked that question. However, just a second later her expression became thoughtful for some reason. "Well, Cid and I do share the same egg-group, but… I can't remember accidentally laying an egg or something." She smiled suddenly. "Then again, my memory is not the most reliable thing, so maybe?"
Cid gaped at the eevee, while the normal-type couldn't keep it to herself and she started to laugh. "Nah, just kidding." She winked at the two kids. "I'm Cid's guardian."
Snivy let out a giggle. "You're funny, Miss Zoey."
"Thank you," the normal-type's smile brightened. "Anyways, I got some letters to write. Have fun, Cid. Be sure to be back at the café around sundown, okay? I have rented a room for us to sleep in."
"Okay," Cid simply replied.
"Alright then. Have fun kids." Having said that, Zoey quickly returned to the café building, leaving Cid and Snivy behind.
"Hehe, she's really nice," Snivy commented. "Alright then! Since you've just gotten a little bit of money, why don't we check out Kecleon's stand?"
"Umm… okay," was Cid's reply. He figured since basically everything was still new to him, it would be good to have a guide of some sort. And since Zoey would be busy for the next couple of hours, having Snivy to show him around, who even lived in this village, would be great. As such, the two made their way over to Kecleon's little shop, where they were greeted by the owner.
"Why, hello there Snivy! Today with a friend? Hmm, I don't believe I have seen you before," Kecleon spoke, tapping a finger under his chin.
"This Cid," Snivy introduced the new pokémon to the local one. "He just arrived today. I'm showing him around."
"Well, that's awfully nice of you, Snivy. I'm Kecleon and as you can see, I own this humble establishment here in Serene Village. Speaking of establishment, is there anything I can do for the two of you?"
"I'll have a green gummi!"
"Haha, as always!" Kecleon grabbed the item in question and placed it on the counter. Snivy in the meantime had produced her own bag filled with coins and paid Kecleon upfront. "Thank you!" she shouted and stuffed the tasty treat inside her mouth.
"And what can I do for you?" Kecleon spoke to the newcomer. Cid wasn't sure what he should get for himself. While the shop was definitely of the smaller variety, basically everything was new to him, making it ever so slightly overwhelming to decide for one of those things. However, when his eyes fell on a basket filled with nothing but apples, his mind was made up.
"Could I have an apple, please?"
"Why, of course! Here you go!" Kecleon grabbed into the basket and produced an apple out of it. Cid in the meantime placed the required amount of coins on the counter, which luckily was low enough for his small body to reach up. Once he got the apple into his tiny paws, he immediately began munching away on it, until nothing was left on it.
"Wow, that was fast," Snivy commented. "Are you sure you aren't a muchlax?"
While Cid didn't know what a muchlax was, he still blushed in embarrassment, when both Kecleon and Snivy began to laugh."
"Have a good day, children."
"Bye Kecleon!" Snivy waved off before she and Cid walked away. "Okay, what next?" the grass-type thought out loud. "You have already been to the café, so we can scratch that one off the list."
Before she could come up with something, the two children heard a voice shouting: "What?! Goomy did?!"
Wondering what was going on, the two kids turned their attention towards the voice. They found two more Pokémon standing in front of what appeared to be another exit out of the village.
"Huh? These are Deerling and Shelmet," Snivy told her companion.
"Yeah, well, he insisted on going…" Shelmet drifted off.
"No more excuses, Shelmet!" Deerling shouted angrily, surprising both Snivy and Cid. "Tell me the truth! You and Pancham pushed him into this, didn't you?"
"Th-that's… not fair, Deerling!" Shelmet looked down, a guilty expression appearing on his face. "He's the one who said he wanted to go! How can you stand there and blame us?" It didn't sound like Shelmet believed even a single word he himself said.
"Quite easily," Deerling retorted. "You're the ones who are always teasing poor Goomy, after all! Someday you're going to go too far and it'll be too late for sorries then!"
"Hey guys," Snivy made her presence known, getting the attention of the two Pokémon. "What's up?" she asked.
"Oh, hello Snivy," Deerling sounded a lot calmer when talking to her fellow grass-type. "And who's this with you?"
"That's Cid. He's new in town. So, what's this about Goomy?"
"Th-that's none of your business," Shelmet shouted immediately.
("Huh? Why is he so aggressive towards Snivy?") Cid wondered to himself.
"Quiet you!" Deerling shouted, causing Shelmet to shut his mouth immediately. The grass and normal-type took in a deep breath, before explaining things to Snivy and Cid. "You see, Shelmet and Pancham tricked Goomy into doing some kind of challenge. Something about proving that he is not a wimp or something."
"Oh," was all that came out of Snivy's mouth.
("A challenge?") the fire-type repeated inside his head. ("Why do I get a bad feeling about this?")
"They tricked him into going somewhere dangerous," Deerling went on.
"And where would that be?" Snivy asked in return, to which the deer pokémon turned towards Shelmet.
"That's what I want to know. Where did you tell Shelmet to go?"
"Uh… the Foreboding Forest," he answered, slowly.
"Say what?!" Deerling exclaimed in shock.
("Foreboding Forest? I hope the name doesn't imply-")
As if she had heard his thoughts, Snivy turned around and explained to Cid just what the Foreboding Forest was.
"The Foreboding Forest is a dangerous place, filled with aggressive Pokémon. The adults always tell us to stay out of that place, because they claim it's TOO dangerous for us kids."
"And for a good reason!" Deerling exclaimed. "And now Goomy is inside of that forest! We have to do something!"
"Yeah!" Snivy shouted enthusiastically. "We need to go into the forest and save Goomy! Come on! What are we waiting for!" Having declared that, the pure grass-type ran ahead.
"H-hey! Wait, Snivy! It's dangerous to go alone!" Deerling shouted before running after her.
"Wait, Deerling! We can't let anything happen to the class best!" Shelmet shouted as he ran after his apparent classmate, leaving Cid alone.
("Oh no! What should I do?! I can't let these children go into a dangerous forest all by themselves! But, I can't leave the village. I promised Zoey not to do that. Besides… I don't even know how to fight. The few times I used an attack, it was purely by accident.")
Cid turned around and looked at the café that was only a couple of meters away from him. ("Zoey can help them. She had no problem protecting me. But…") Cid looked at the ground, troubled. ("If I tell an adult about this, the other kids no doubt will get into trouble. And if they get into trouble because of me, they'll hold it against me. What should I do?")
The small fire-type looked back and forth between the café and the exit of the village. After a minute or two, he made his decision.
("Even if they hate me, it's not really worth if someone gets hurt in the end. Or worse…")
XXX
In front of the Foreboding Forest, Snivy and Deerling were currently busy talking to their classmates Pancham and Shelmet.
"What?!" Deerling exclaimed. "He still hasn't come back out?"
"Yeah, that's right," Pancham answered in an arrogant tone. "It's been a pretty long time, too. I knew he was a total wimp." The panda pokémon made a not-impressed gesture with his hand.
"No surprise there," Shelmet agreed. "He shoulda just admitted what a wimp he is and kept his mouth shut."
"But he had to go and talk big, like he could handle this kind of place," Pancham went on. "He was boasting, saying, "I'll show you!" That's what got him into this mess."
"Hey, wasn't it you two, who got him into this mess?" Snivy glared at Pancham, who just ignored her.
"He's probably huddled up somewhere in the forest, petrified and sniffing back tears!"
The two children laughed, causing Snivy and Deerling to get really angry.
"You are so mean, Pancham!" Deerling shouted. "Goomy isn't even the same age as us yet!" she argued.
"Yeah!" Snivy agreed. "And if you're so tough, why don't you just go into that forest yourself?!"
"Wha-?! Hey, it was Goomy who talked big like that! Not me!"
"Well, in that case, I'll go after him," Snivy proclaimed.
"Me too!" Deerling added, causing her two male classmates to get in her way.
"No way! You can't go in there, Deerling!" Shelmet shouted.
"What if something happened to you? We can't let that happen to our idol!" Pancham argued. "Let the idiot go all by herself!"
"Hey, I heard that!" Snivy shouted.
"Are you kidding me?!" Deerling shouted.
It was to this scene that Zoey and Cid arrived. The two had been listening to the conversation of the school kids for some time, mainly because their voices could be heard from pretty far away. Even the entrance of the forest was unnaturally silent.
"Hm, who's this?" Shelmet was the first one to notice the two newcomers. Zoey and Cid stepped forward, the former having an angry expression on her face.
"Ah! A-an adult!" Pancham exclaimed.
"Oh, Cid! And Miss Zoey!" Snivy shouted in excitement.
("Funny") Zoey thought to herself ("I'm technically still a teenager, yet these kids already see me as an adult. Ah, what gives? One month doesn't make that great of a difference, does it?")
"I'll deal with you two later," she growled at Pancham and Shelmet, who jumped backward in surprise and fear. Having successfully put the bullies into their place, Zoey turned her attention to Deerling.
"So let me get some things straight, real quick. Your friend Goomy is missing in this forest. How long exactly?" she asked in serious tone.
"Uh…" Deerling herself was nervous all of the sudden. "A couple of hours at least…"
"So possibly hungry, but still in good condition. Given that you're all kids, Goomy probably isn't much of a fighter, huh?" Worry could now be heard in Zoey's voice.
"Y-yeah," Deerling admitted.
"She's got the worst grades in PE."
"Snivy! That was uncalled for!" Deerling chided.
"What?" the other grass-type asked, offended. "It's true."
"Okay," Zoey spoke up before the two children in front of her began to bicker. "I think we can skip the question as to what kind of Pokémon live inside the forest, given that you probably never entered it."
None of the Pokémon present dared to answer that question.
"Right, I see." Zoey turned towards Cid. "I need to ask you to come with me."
"W-what?!" the fire-type exclaimed in shock. "B-b-but I-!"
"You don't need to fight," Zoey quickly assured him. "However, four eyes see more than two. I have never been here, as such I need all the help I can get in order to find Goomy. Together we can see more and hopefully we'll find Goomy quicker too. I can go alone, but if I take too long, something might happen to the poor Pokémon."
That got Cid's attention. He hadn't thought about the child trapped inside the forest and he could see the logic behind Zoey's reasoning. She had already proven that she could defend him, if the need arises. Plus, if it helped to prevent the child from getting hurt, then he was definitely in.
"All right," he said and nodded seriously.
Zoey internally flinched, seeing as her plan had worked a little too well in her opinion. ("I'm sorry Cid. But if Arceus really has a bigger plan for you, then I need to make sure you're prepared for whatever is coming your way. After all, this isn't a video game, where you can try again and again and again, until you finally manage to defeat the final boss.")
"Okay." Zoey wanted to enter the forest right at this moment, however, she found herself stopped before she even made the first step. Snivy was all of the sudden standing in her way and beaming up at her.
"I want to come too! I can help you find Goomy!"
Zoey gave the small grass-type a hard look. ("She's really eager to go. Kinda reminds me of myself, back when I started. But she is even younger than I was!") The eevee internally sighed. ("At this point, I can't rule anyone here out as possibly being Cid's destined partner. Granted, Snivy is pretty high on the list for being a Starter Pokémon... Arceus, what the hell made you so high to enlist the help of children? I want some of that!")
"Alright," Zoey said after a minute.
"Yay! Adventure! Come on, come on, let's go!" Snivy ran ahead.
"Hey! Stick close to me!" Zoey shouted after the grass-type. Using her Quick Attack, she easily managed to pass Snivy and stop in front of her. The poor smaller Pokémon straight up crashed into Zoey and landed on her back due to the recoil.
"No running ahead," Zoey told the grass-type sternly. "We'll be looking for Goomy together. Got it?!"
"Yep, yep!" Snivy nodded enthusiastically, her good mood not even receiving the slightest damper.
"Good. 'Cause I have no problem leaving you behind, if you run off like that. I'll even tie you up, if I have to."
This made Snivy slightly nervous, but she didn't show it outright. Instead, she got off the ground, dusted off her arms and legs and gave the eevee a salute. "Yes ma'am!" she shouted, causing Zoey to giggle and Cid to smile.
"Alright, alright, let's go already."