Author's Note:
I'm back! Sorry about the radio silence for this fic! Last summer I didn't have as much time to write, and at the time I wasn't happy with the more recent chapters. So I re-worked them internally and wrote this chapter but never uploaded anything. I need to fill out a couple more childhood memories in Chapter 20 before I update everything, but figured I would upload this in the meantime. Apologies if it doesn't fully make sense given what's been uploaded, though I don't believe there were any significant changes. Arc 2 will be wrapped up in the next couple chapters, but don't expect those to come out any time soon. The chapters are not easy to write. I don't blame you if you let this update pass and wait until the arc is finished. Life updates and what you can expect from this fic moving forward are at the end of the chapter.
DeerhunterTom: Thanks for waiting!
AveragePichu: My goal is to prove the answer is yes, but I don't think I'll be proving that any time soon. I have a lot more chapters I'll have to get through first.
When you read this chapter, you will want to read Melody's voice differently from how you probably read it during the rest of the story. Her voice in this chapter is like…uhh…how do I best describe it? I don't watch a bunch of anime, but I know there's at least one anime that features some learning AI robot modeled and disguised after a young girl. And the voice is almost always quiet, reserved, and relatively emotionless. (I've only seen clips and remember nothing else about such shows.) Anyways, it is that kind of voice. If I wrote this right, the change her style of dialogue will help you get the idea.
Enjoy!
Today is 5/13/2018 and this chapter is 10,000+ words.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, just dream it.
Chapter 28: Lost in the Rain
Running…
He was running…
Tap! Tap! Tap!
He was hearing something behind him…
TAP tap tap TAP tap TAP TAP tap tap tap tap TAP tap!
There were many behind him. He dared look back, only to look away immediately in horror. What he saw was a mob of vaporeon, jolteon, and flareon charging at him. The quadruped immediately kicked into high gear, sidestepping trees and hurdling bushes. His eyes grew wide when he realized the delusively precarious threat now before him. A wall of stones divided him from the exit to the forest. He had no choice! He dove at the wall, feeling the nails of his toes scratch against the rocks until they caught a hard edge. He started pushing himself upward, only to feel the rocks begin to cumble under his weight. He kept kicking, racing against the rocks flowing against him. Ever so slowly he continued rising, but his pursuers were getting close. Suddenly at the very last moment, he saw a red paw reached out to him. It was Melody. He reached out, and she secured a grasp and pulled him up just in time. But he didn't have time to catch a breath. They had to keep running. He saw Kat, Trent, and Drake running with him. He didn't know why they were there, but he was thankful for their presence. They ran in silence, letting the sounds of heavy breathing and pounding on the ground form exchange their messages. Suddenly Melody's paw caught the edge of a vine, and her body flew over her paw off balance as she tumbled to the ground. Trent stopped and attended her. Kieren looked back, only to see them fade into the mob of pursuers.
"Keep running," Kat commanded him. He turned ahead again. His heart was racing, pushing to keep up with his muscles as they pounded against the earth underneath. Another forest was up ahead, this one much thicker than before. Kieren dove into a smaller opening underneath a low-hanging branch following Kat's lead.
"Go on!" Drake commanded. Kieren turned around to realize Drake still at the edge of the forest. His lapras body was too large to fit between the branches. The mob slowly started to envelope him, forcing Kieren to return to his goal of escape as he pursued after Kat.
He finally caught up to her. She was breathing heavy, but he could hear the tapping fading slightly. They were making distance. It wasn't long before the forest disappeared and open hills emerged.
"The city is up ahead," Kat told him. They kept running. They were getting closer to escape. He recognized the sentret and furret, scattering to the left and out of the way of the tailing mob.
"Best of luck," a furret bade them as it passed by quickly. Kieren muttered a thank you, despite the furret already being too far past to hear him.
"Kieren," Kat called for his attention.
"Yes?" Kieren asked between breaths.
"There's something I still need to tell you."
"Huh?" Kieren was caught off guard. What was so important during a moment of crisis like this? He looked up to see a human-made wall with a small doorway at the front.
"You lead!" Kat commanded. Kieren could see it. They were so close to escape, and then Kat would tell him what was so important. He felt his paws hit the hard man-made ground. The light of the sky disappeared as he was inside the tunnel of the wall past the doorway. He turned around, expecting Kat to be right behind him to watch her close the door. But to his horror, she was several feet back. She was running towards him, but somehow going backwards, fading and fading, until the mob began to engulf her. Kieren stood there in total disbelief.
"Nooooo!" He screamed, but nothing happened. The mob was getting closer and closer and closer still, but he was frozen in place, unsure what to do.
Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn't have to do anything, as the door suddenly shut in front of him, blocking his view of the mob and his consumed friends with metal. After a brief pause, he could feel his heart rate pounding, trying to slow down, but not making quick progress. Finally, the pounding of blood through his head began to relax and he could think more clearly. He realized there was nothing in the tunnel, and so he exited.
Just outside the tunnel, he was greeted by tall buildings and strong sunlight. But as his eyes adjusted and he looked down at the streets, he saw a ton of people and pokemon he did not recognize. He started walking, but no one seemed to take notice. The few that did seemed to avoid him. He was alone. He remembered his mission, to find a trainer. Suddenly he reached an opening, several fields of dirt claiming the space. In front of him were trainers, different poses, clothing styles, hair styles, heights, weights, and age. There was a whole horde of them to choose from, yet no matter how much he stared at them, they remained faceless. His heart began racing again. He felt trapped. How could he choose? How was this all real, so fast?
Kieren's eyes blasted open. He saw a pattern of brown and maroon and followed it until blaring red shapes caught his attention. It was eleven minutes after eight! He needed to get up so he could eat and make it in time for tee off. He could figure out what that crazy dream was about later, assuming he remembered it. Today was another day to have fun with Aurelein and the crowd! He was four strokes ahead of second place.
He opened the curtain and immediately realized where half his dream came from…
Rain.
Today was the day. Today was the day everything would happen. It was the day Melody was going to take him out into the rest of the world. Trent wasn't sure what to expect. The weather was acting up, and he wasn't sure if Melody still planned to go out or if she would be stuck at home like yesterday.
Yesterday's activities did manage to cheer her up. The young eevee were just too damn cute for the fire type. After the main training session finished, she started bringing out all sorts of man-made toys and taught everyone how to play games with them. There were these weird flying circles which she called "frisbees", and they would be tossed from eevee to eevee to Drake to Solano and so on. Once the young ones started getting the hang of it, she started chasing after the frisbees trying to snatch one away. That activity managed to tire out a good majority of the young eevee, and they eventually left. But for the few that stayed, Melody brought out a totally different kind of game. She set up two posts in the sand with a narrow net strip tied between them and then drew out boxes in the sand. There were two teams, one on each side, and each team's goal was to keep a ball from hitting the sand on their side. Eventually the remaining young eevee also got tired and left, leaving just the older pokemon to enjoy the game and chat. Melody got a good laugh when Kat revealed how everyone found out she was the infamous Blob Monster. And Andy got hit in the head by the ball a lot.
Trent chuckled at his reminiscing upon finally reaching the edge of the forest, spotting Melody fiddling with her satchel. She looked up, and a faint scent of surprise drafted across her face.
"You came," she uttered.
"Yep."
"It's raining," she added, glancing out at the hills.
"Yep."
"You know you didn't have to come."
"Yep."
"May I dare ask why?" Melody asked. Her face was void of any particular expression other than slight hesitation she showed towards the rain.
"Timing," Trent answered nonchalantly.
"Oh?"
"Disregard the rain, today's the perfect day to get out."
"It is?"
"It'll all make sense later. Just don't tell anyone about anything and don't ask questions. Got it?" "I guess," she replied after a brief pause for thought. "I'll trust that you have something cooked up again. But aren't you nervous about leaving the tribe grounds?"
"Hell yeah. We gonna go?"
"Oh… Of course."
The two walked for only a short distance, rain pelting them directly now that they were out of the forest canopy's cover. The soft grass was stiffened by the rain as the water-saturated dirt gave in to each footstep. But despite the overcast weather, several lights in the horizon reached the eyes of the two fire types.
"Is that the city?" Trent asked.
"Yes it is," Melody answered softly.
"It's taller than the trees."
"Yes it is," Melody answered again. "We call those buildings 'skyscrapers'."
"Makes sense," Trent answered.
"When Kieren first saw them he ran off towards them to get a better view," Melody told Trent, still with that tranquil voice she seemed to be carrying that day.
"Really? Was he that excited about getting out?" Trent asked somewhat surprised.
"Perhaps he was excited to see something new," Melody suggested.
"Sounds about right," the flareon remarked.
"We need to be on the lookout for him today. Your voice is louder than mine, so do you mind doing the shouting? He must be so miserable."
"You still haven't found him?" Trent asked cautiously.
"No. I wore out my voice Thursday looking for him. And then I got sick." The last bit was stated surprisingly objectively to the flareon. There was little emotion or change of tonality between her statements.
"Hmm…" Trent murmered to himself.
"Do you know something?" Melody asked.
"I wish."
The two continued in silence. Trent needed to think. He had to be careful or he'd blow his cover. Melody was sticking to her façade, even though they were away from everyone. He thought he had a chance with the weird way she was talking, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. He would have to find another way to get her to open up. They kept walking, as more skyscrapers revealed themselves over the hill. Slowly the city seemed to stretch wider and wider – the scale was mesmerizing. Suddenly a thought came to flareon.
"You know a few days ago you were all excited and teasing me about this day…" Trent commented.
"Oh? I'm sorry if I annoyed you."
"No! Don't apologize! It's just, uhh… you've been acting different today," Trent told her, concern filling his voice. A brief moment of silence passed as Melody glanced away and down at the ground, before looking ahead.
"I am like this sometimes," she said still focused at the ground. "Whenever I was feeling down or hopeless, my mother would always tell me to just be pretty and speak a soft melody."
The confession caught Trent off guard. He had no words in response, and Melody was two-for-two in stumping him.
"There's an overpass just ahead. It has a roof we can dry off under," Melody informed the flareon before picking up pace. The flareon followed her lead.
The two quickly arrived onto some sort of hard finely-cut rock that stretched several yards over some other human-carved mechanism. Trent wasn't sure what all of this was, but they were now ascending stone steps under some metal cover. He was just glad they were out of the rain. The stone steps were weird though. He was going up, but every surface was perfectly flat, forcing him to perform a small hop to ascend each one. Melody used a weird stepping pattern to climb them, which appeared more elegant but complicated at the same time. He would have watched her and tried to figure it out if he wasn't worried about tripping on the stones.
The two reached the top of the rock to find a straight and flat path forward. Weird walls with water-like transparency accompanied the passageway. Melody shook her fur, spraying water droplets against the walls. Trent followed suit. A strange sound approached, and through the walls Trent could spot some large moving thing spray water to the sides as it passed underneath them.
"Whoah! Was that a pokemon?" Trent exclaimed.
"That was a car," Melody answered. "We can rest here for a bit."
Trent had no argument. He needed time to think up a Plan C, nevermind what a "car" was. The ground was dry, so he lied down and rested, allowing his internal flame to slowly kindle. It took him some time to shift his thoughts away from confusion and frustration in order to focus on an actual plan. When he tried asking about Kieren, Melody kept to her façade. When he called out her odd behavior, she said…Wait! That was Plan C! But it was also one she could easily deflect if she was even remotely prepared. He would need a Plan D follow-up. He'd need something Melody couldn't deflect easily. What else did Melody say about Kieren? That they would be looking for him? Where? How would she know he was in the area, or wasn't? That's it! If he couldn't get around her façade, he would get her to talk through it. But first, he still had Plan C.
"Hey Melody?" Trent whispered, but his voice was covered by the sound of some object approaching ahead of them and to the left. Sounds here were so foreign, but if he had to guess, it was another one of those "car" things. He stood up, ears alert, which somehow caught Melody's attention.
"It's just another car," she told him. Nevertheless, the sudden light illuminating their surroundings elicited a glance at the incoming vehicle. The car was approaching them on the other side of the right transparent wall, and was slowing down.
"Are you alright?" a chansey shouted out to them from inside the vehicle. Trent could see the large pink pokemon through the transparent wall inside the machine. Behind the chansey was a human also dressed in white and pink.
"We're alright. Just a little wet is all," Melody answered. However, she spoke the way humans did. Trent glanced at her, somewhat surprised by her talent. He knew she could do that, but it had been so long since he'd heard her speak human, and he had never heard her speak in her mellow voice as she spoke today.
"Oh Melody! You're out today?" the human behind the chansey exclaimed. "Please! Hop in! Flareon too! We'll get you wrapped up in towels."
Trent recognized the female voice, though who she was wasn't clicking. He remembered she was friendly, and he wasn't surprised when Melody accepted the offer. The vulpix jumped up over the wall, and a piece of the car slid to the side revealing an opening for Melody to jump into. Trent followed her lead, jumping into the car. Suddenly, stubby pink hands picked up his being and he felt some cushioning wrapped around his body sucking up all the moisture that had been trapped in his fur. He was set back down next to Melody, who was also wrapped in a white thing. A couple large thump sounds startled him, and then he felt the car begin moving.
"So Melody, who is the flareon?" the human asked from the seat in front.
"This is Trent. I believe you've met him before? As an eevee?" Melody answered softly. The chansey started making gestures to the human, which the human seemed to understand.
"A broken leg? Wait! Yes! I remember now! It's been a while now, hasn't it? Speaking of which, Trent, how has that leg been holding up?" the human asked. The mentioning of his broken leg was the last clue Trent needed to identify the human as the Pokemon Center nurse, exceptionally caring as always.
"It's just a scar now," Trent answered, which Melody translated for him.
"That's good. I'm glad you feel better. And you're a flareon now! Zach guessed right again."
"He guessed Trent would be a flareon?" Melody asked.
"He's correctly guessed every eevee he's seen," nurse Joy answered.
"So Trent, what brings you out with Melody on such a rainy day?" the chansey asked him.
"Something about Eon Park Square?" Trent tried to recall.
"I believe he needs to be away from the Tribe because of something today," Melody clarified, still in her soft tone for the day. It was starting to creep Trent out a little.
"Oh. Are you part of…" the chansey paused.
"Huh?" Trent perked up, ears poking out from the wrapped towel.
"Sorry. I shouldn't say anything," the chansey concluded, turning quickly towards Melody the moment the female fire type stole a glance out the window.
"I don't mind," Trent answered.
"You're hoping it's happening tonight while you're out?" the chansey asked.
Trent was about to inquire further, but he spotted to his right between the barricade and the wall of the car chansey's hand fold and open, gesturing chatter. This immediately put the flareon on alarm. He stood up on all fours, ears popping out from the towel.
"How do you know about that?" he demanded.
"Please don't worry about it," the chansey answered.
"You should know I have every reason to be worried!" Trent growled.
"Several other parties are interested in what you discover, including the Twin Dragon Council. You remember Anemone?" the chansey asked, unfazed by the flareon's sudden temper.
Trent paused. What the chansey had just told him was brand new potentially game-changing information! He did remember Anemone, and her existence also brought to question things regarding Kieren. But he would save those questions for Drake. The fact that the Twin Dragon Council was interested was alarming. How did they find out? And if they were interested, how big were these secrets?
"I was informed of all of this in case anything broke out," the chansey explained.
"Do you know how they found out?" Trent asked more calmly as he sat back. His anger transforming into internal excitement.
"I'm sure you'll find out when their representative comes to collect the information tomorrow," the chansey suggested.
Trent relaxed, satisfied with the chansey's answers, until he realized Melody was staring at him.
"Don't worry about it. Like I said, it will all make sense later. This is good news," he reassured her. "Just don't say anything."
That was apparently sufficient for Melody, as she picked up whatever conversation she was having with the nurse. It had to do with Zach and some Fia person and school and whatnot. That was as much as Trent could gather. There was mentioning of some "secret", but it didn't seem relevant to anything related to Kieren. As soon as he got around Melody's façade, he would be willing to explain everything to her. But before that, he needed her full commitment to their cause. She couldn't be allowed to hide anything from them.
Suddenly gaps in the car appeared, and everyone exited the vehicle, Trent following Melody's lead. They were walking in some sort of man-made cave. The footsteps of the nurse ahead echoed across the expanse of synthetic rock. The group stopped at a particularly decorated portion of a wall. A soft beep sounded, and two pieces of the wall slid aside, revealing an area Trent was familiar with. It was the Pokemon Center, the very same one he was at when his leg was broken and when Kieren was in critical condition. He reacquainted himself with the building's layout while Melody exchanged items in her satchel with the nurse.
A few moments later, Melody rejoined him.
"Do everything you needed to?" Trent asked her, still studying the bite marks on the coffee table, searching for his own.
"Mmm hmmm," Melody hummed.
"Hey? Why are you feeling so down today?" Trent asked.
"Huh?" Melody emitted as her only response.
"You said earlier you only act like this when you are feeling down or hopeless. Why do you feel that way today?"
"Oh. I've just been thinking about Kieren all day, that's all. He must be miserable with all the rain. I don't think he has a place to stay," Melody told him.
"Where do you think he is?" Trent asked, quickly shifting to Plan D.
"Where?" Melody repeated. "I only know he frequently visits Eon Park Square. That and that he only plans to stick around for a week or so before he'll be leaving for good."
"What?" Trent erupted.
"But that last part is only a rumor," Melody added, although her expression disagreed with her.
Trent was taken aback by Melody's reveal. He had gotten around her façade! This was what she was struggling with!
"Melody, please be honest with me," Trent pleaded. "What are Kieren's wishes? I want to respect them."
Melody sighed heavily. "I don't know."
"Melody! Don't lie to me!" Trent cried.
"I don't know," Melody repeated. "I haven't talked to him yet. I keep missing him. It's apparently common for his species to be quite elusive according to everyone I talked to."
"So even though you know where he is, you still haven't found him?" Trent conjectured.
Melody nodded slowly.
"I see…" Trent murmured to himself as he retreated to his own thoughts. He wasn't sure if he could believe Melody or not. Drake made it sound like her parents didn't believe this was the problem, and she could have just made up the story about Kieren's species being elusive. However, she could also be telling the truth. It was never specified whether or not she knew exactly where Kieren was at all times. She confessed she knew where he was, so her story was viable. Trent regretted not getting more information from Drake before this adventure.
"Nurse Joy? Do you know where I might find Kieren today?" Melody asked, pulling the flareon beside her from thought.
Nurse Joy grimaced, eyes focused on a TV set similar to the one that had entertained Trent while his leg healed.
"I'm sorry. I don't know," Nurse Joy confessed. "My guess is he will want to stay indoors. I don't think he likes the rain much."
"Thank you," Melody answered politely. She began stepping towards the doorway.
"What's the plan?" Trent asked her.
"The plan?" Melody repeated softly. "I have some things to deliver on Main Street. We can check the buildings there. After that, maybe we can go to Eon Park Square."
The two fire types left the Pokemon Center after a very grateful thankyou to the nurse and chansey. This time the two were equipped with raincoats that fit to their form. Apparently a Delphox that had stayed at the center once found and used three boxes of garbage bags to make raincoats for fire types. Nurse Joy commented the center was very lucky a rainbow-colored muk from outside the region was also staying during the time, but now they had all these extra raincoats. Trent was especially unsure about the raincoat at first. It was weird not feeling his paws touch directly on the ground, with the weird sensation of the clear plastic only furthering his dis-orientation. However, when he stepped outside and realized that the rain didn't immediately suck anymore, he was very, VERY thankful.
The streets were nearly empty, with the exception of a few water types that had fun splashing around in the accumulating puddles. Their trainers must have been inside one of the many buildings that the flareon and vulpix passed.
"This is our first stop," Melody spoke. Glass doors split apart providing an opening for her to enter. Trent waited outside, recognizing there were people inside. If he followed Melody in he would likely be introduced, and he wasn't in the mood for that. Instead, he decided to ask the frolicking water types if they had seen an "umbreon" around. Trent still wasn't used to that species name, but he was very fortunate he remembered it correctly.
"Do you mean the one that walks through here every afternoon towards Eon Park Square?" a mudkip responded.
"He walks through here?" Trent asked.
"Yup! Right down this road. I've seen him the last few days. He talks to the construction crew sometimes."
"Thanks," Trent answered, glancing back at the building where Melody had vanished. Hopefully she knew what this "construction crew" was. The moment he looked back, the mudkip had already run off playing in the rain.
Fortunately, Trent didn't have to wait long for Melody to reappear. She walked out slowly, head still down, as she emitted a sigh.
"A mudkip told me Kieren walks this road towards Eon Park Square every afternoon," Trent answered.
"Really?" Melody asked, still quiet with that weird reserved voice of hers. She did lift her head up a little more snappy this time though.
"The mudkip also mentioned Kieren talking to some 'construction crew' sometimes on his way," Trent added.
"I suppose that makes sense. They are building an extension to the gym. It is not far down the road."
Trent was still trying to unravel how to elicit more emotion out of Melody. Nothing seemed to neither excite her nor disappoint her. She was strangely lifeless. He also wasn't sure if Kieren's routine was new or old information to her. But what he did know was that she started walking down the road, if only for a few seconds before she came up to another area that had the transparent glass sliding doors and entered.
"Hello Melody," Trent could hear through the opening. "I like your raincoat."
"Hello. I have yesterday's report," Melody responded. Trent peered in to see Melody dig through her satchel and pull out some white rectangular object. Some human inside picked it up.
"You seem different today. Are you ok?" the human asked.
"A friend is waiting for me," Melody answered. "I wish you the best of luck today."
"You too!" the human responded as Melody exited.
"Who is this friend who is waiting for you?" Trent asked as the two began walking along again.
"A friend?" Melody asked.
"I heard you say a friend is waiting for you while you were inside."
"Were you not waiting?" Melody asked. She turned to the left towards another entrance before Trent could even react. Apparently he was the friend? Regardless, it was apparent that Melody was acting in haste. He watched her repeat the same procedure through the next transparent wall.
"You seem to be in a rush," Trent commented as she reappeared again.
"Yes," she responded. Trent waited for more, but she gave no further information.
"How come?" he finally asked.
"I want to show you Eon Park Square while it is still morning," she answered, absent of any concern or excitement.
Trent did not further the conversation. Instead he watched the pattern continue. She would enter some place, a human would try to start a conversation about her raincoat. She would ignore it and give them something. If they still kept trying to make conversation, she would apologize and tell them she had a friend waiting, and then she would quickly head back outside. It was very methodical, controlled, and predictable, which meant she had a plan for the day. But what plan that was, Trent wasn't sure yet. He could think of three different scenarios.
The first scenario was that she was telling the truth. She just learned about Kieren's routine from the mudkip, and was hoping to intercept Kieren after spending time in Eon Park Square. The second scenario was that a meeting with Kieren was planned all along, and she was trying to hide it. The third scenario was that she was purposefully trying to avoid Kieren. Perhaps Kieren lashed out at her or something?
"Shit!" Trent mumbled to himself upon the realization. If she met Kieren, but the meeting didn't go well, of course she would hide it! Whether it was because Kieren was leaving and didn't want to be followed or he was just bitter about being expelled, it was possible that an encounter could have gone poorly. Fortunately for Trent, Melody didn't seem to notice his mumbling. He returned to staring at the rain hitting the ground, raking every neuron in his brain for a plan to address Melody on the issue. Did he have time to wait until the afternoon? He needed the time, and Melody was going to show him this Eon Park Square place anyways. He just wished that she was acting a little more herself for the tour. Did she act like this when she gave Kieren a tour of the area?
"On your right is the gym," Melody broke the silence. They had walked a short ways past the buildings, so Trent had assumed they were done with stops for a while. Sure enough, there was a large building that looked very different from the others. It seemed more detailed. It had unique patterns and shapes with sharp edges, and there were these pillars in front with stone carvings of pokemon in battle on top of each one. Next to it was some sort of skeleton frame that was completely hollow. It seemed unfinished. Perhaps that's why there was a "construction crew"? Because whatever they were constructing, it wasn't finished yet? It also had something to do with the "gym", and Trent didn't know what a "gym" was.
"Wait, what's a gym?" Trent asked Melody.
"It's a place where trainers battle and try to qualify for the Pokemon League," Melody answered. "Have you ever heard of something called the 'Elite Four'?"
"Grandpa?" Trent uttered at the term.
"Kieren said something about your grandfather being a part of the Elite Four," Melody stated. "The Elite Four are four strong trainers which run the Pokemon League. Only trainers who have proven their strength at eight gyms throughout the region are allowed to compete in an annual league tournament."
"I think that makes sense," Trent told the vulpix.
"Up ahead is Eon Park Square. The entrance has a scanner that ensures only Pokemon pass through. The beep often startles newcomers."
"Did you ever show Kieren Eon Park Square?" Trent asked.
"No," Melody answered after shaking her head at the ground. "According to the local banker, a musician was showing him around on Monday."
"Do you think we could ask this musician if he knows anything?" Trent suggested.
"Unfortunately he is likely too busy preparing for the concert Sunday night," Melody answered. She stared at the ground as the two of them continued. Trent wasn't sure how to interpret this newly expressed emotion. He ran through his three scenarios again. If Melody was telling the truth, then her reaction made sense. But if she had an arranged meeting with Kieren, then this reaction of hers was fake. And if she was avoiding Kieren, then talking to this musician could have been a good way to avoid him, especially if this musician was a talker as Trent suspected. The third scenario so far seemed the most likely all things considered. But it also suggested there were holes in Melody's plan that the flareon could exploit. However, he had to be absolutely sure she wasn't telling the truth before he could take action.
Melody entered what seemed like some kind of forest grotto. There were signs around it with words Trent couldn't read. The flareon followed the vulpix inside. Just as Melody had stated, there were a couple small beeps that sounded as they passed through the tunnel of vegetation.
At the end of the tunnel was a sight to behold. There were lights flashing and glowing everywhere! Large structures seemed to decorate the area and host the lights. And there were pokemon, lots of pokemon.
"Welcome to the Eon Park Annual Festival!" some floating orange pokemon with two extruding spikes greeted them. "Oh! Melody, it's you! Welcome! And who is your companion?"
"This is a friend from the valley," Melody answered softly after a quick head gesture towards Trent. "I am introducing him to the area and facilities."
"Dear miss Melody, do you have a cold? You do not sound your normal self," the floating pokemon asked in concern.
"I am fine. It is just the rain is all," Melody responded.
"Well you know where the indoor facilities are. Tropical Foods is pretty quiet right now," the floating pokemon added.
"Thank you," Melody answered.
The two began walking through the festival. It was a lot of sights and sounds for Trent to take in. Everything was all so new. Melody began adding her commentary to the things Trent was looking at.
"To the left is the local grocery store, Tropical Foods. If you would like, we can have lunch there."
"That sounds nice," Trent answered.
"To the right is the bank. This is where people manage money things. Money things get very complicated when investments and loans are involved."
"It looks busy in there," Trent commented.
"The bank usually has a fishing raffle game during the festival. It is quite popular," Melody explained.
"Is it because there's this festival going on that you invited me here today?" Trent asked.
"Honestly, I completely forgot about the festival," Melody answered surprisingly peacefully. "It happens every year during the golf tournament. Many trainers from other regions bring their pokemon here."
"Do all of the pokemon here belong to trainers?"
"Many do, but not all of them. There are homes on the other side of the town where some of the civilized wild pokemon live. I can show you if you would like."
"Sure?" Trent guessed.
The rest was a blur of new words, sounds, and pokemon for the flareon as Melody provided the tour. Even in her reserved state, she proved to be knowledgeable and informed of everything that was happening. There were shops that sold food, shops that sold battle items, a shop that sold baskets identical to the ones found at the tribe's inventory station, a shop that sold "electronics", and shops that sold all sorts of interestingly bizarre items unfamiliar to the flareon in the raincoat. Then there was the "police investigation building", the "post office", the "library", the "community center", the "training facility", the "safety department", and a "studio". Melody was good at explaining it so that it made sense. But despite the effort, there was no way in hell Trent was going to successfully use any of these facilities anytime soon. For starters, he couldn't read anything. At least the pokemon talked in natural pokemon speech rather than human words. But they used that written language that made no sense. How did Kieren figure all this out so quickly? It certainly didn't help that on top of all that there was the festival in which all of these places and pokemon were supposedly doing different things than normal.
"What were those two talking about?" Trent asked after a blastoise and a charizard passed infront of the two fire types.
"Oh. I wasn't listening. Sorry. What did they say?" Melody asked, breaking her temporary stare at the ground.
"Something about aura lane and passing and not playing well and the rain. I think I heard something bow-greed or something like that too," Trent tried to recall. The vulpix took a moment before responding.
"They might have been talking about the tournament," she concluded.
"The tournament?"
"This is the first time a pokemon was invited to the tournament. It's a pretty big deal."
"What kind of pokemon?" Trent asked curiously.
"I…don't know," Melody finally answered. "The whole incident reminds me too much of Kieren, so I try to block it out."
"Is it Kieren?" Trent asked suspiciously.
"No. This is an invitational tournament with some of the best players around the world, while Kieren has only played once in his life. There is no way Kieren would be invited to such a prestigious event."
"Fair enough," Trent acquiesced.
"These are the suburbs," Melody changed topic as shed directed the flareon's gaze towards the buildings ahead. "This is where some of the town's residents live."
The suburbs were more strangeness for the flareon. These structures looked completely different from the festival area. Some resembled pokemon, while others imitated what seemed like the environments described by tribe visitors. Many had flowers, some had stone statues, some had creeks. There were sculptures and patterns depicting all sorts of pokemon and nature and things Trent did not recognize. The sound of the festival had become distant. They passed a couple of pokemon headed the other direction as they navigated through the turns and bends of the oddly comfortable pathways between the buildings. But aside from those pokemon, the area was quiet and peaceful.
"What does that sign say?" Trent asked, noticing a sign oddly out of place with the rest of the scenery.
"It says it is for sale, which means no one currently lives there," Melody answered. "It has been on the market for quite a while, but there aren't many pokemon who wish to live in Eon Park Square and can afford such a place."
Melody started heading back the other way. Trent followed. Soon they returned back to the festival where that orange floating pokemon decided to greet them again, or was he a different pokemon? Trent wasn't sure, because he welcomed them as if he hadn't welcomed them earlier that day.
It was a little past noon by the time they reached the "grossy tropics shop-whatever". Trent followed Melody as she walked inside. Like the buildings out in the human part of the city, this building also had automatic sliding transparent doorways. It was also one of the largest buildings in Eon Park Square, and the inside showed exactly why. Food everywhere! The smells were what hit the flareon first, but his eyes quickly filled in the picture. As they walked through, there were rows and rows of berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even grains. Then there were all sorts of other stuff which was supposedly also food, but had the strange writing patterns and looked like metal. It didn't make much sense, but Trent dared not question it. He knew from past experience that if there was one sure way to piss off a random nearby pokemon, it was to criticize their favorite food.
Melody didn't explore the rows much, instead she went straight to the left where there were a bunch of pokemon behind a counter. Images of weird items decorated with more familiar fruits and vegetables were visible above the pokemon. And inside the counter, actual items matching the images were visible.
"Hello Melody! The usual?" some red pokemon with two arms, long claws, and a protruding jaw asked from behind the counter.
"Yes. Three. And also two mild spice-herb deluxes," Melody answered.
"Are you sure?" the bipedal pokemon asked. "Your friend there doesn't look like the mild type."
"The mild is for myself," Melody responded, which seemed to surprise the bipedal pokemon.
"It is not the first time she's ordered that, Bernie," spoke an arcanine that appeared behind a wall behind the counter. This labyrinth of walls behind the counter was confusing the flareon. "Dear Melody, I hope that whatever is troubling you resolves itself soon." The arcanine gestured towards the bipedal to head back, and the proceeded to take the bipedal creature's place by some weird advanced mechanism. Melody passed some kind of thin rectangular object to the arcanine, who touched it against the mechanism. Trent heard a beep sound, and the rectangle was passed back to Melody. Then the arcanine scooped out 5 triangles out of the circles of some of the items inside the counter somehow (Trent gave up trying to understand all of these contraptions), and passed them to Melody on some flat surface. Melody took it and balanced it on her six tails.
"Should we find a place to sit?" she asked Trent.
Trent just rolled his shoulders. Melody started walking towards some weird complex structures that had raised cushions and more-raised flat surfaces. He quickly figured out what they were for when he noticed other pokemon sitting on the cushions with weird items on the table. Melody picked one out where the height of the table was only marginally higher than the cushions and placed the items balanced on her tail on the table. Trent didn't need to be told to jump up on the seat. Melody jumped up on the opposite seat facing him.
Melody picked up a plate off the tray with two slices and set it to the side. Afterwards, she nudged the tray with the remaining slices towards Trent.
"You should try it," Melody suggested to Trent. "I think you will like it."
Trent hesitated, instead opting to watch Melody take a bite first. She bit into the triangle wedge that contained some brown bottom, red and white juice in the middle, and an assortment of herbs, mild pepper chunks, and berry slices. She swallowed the entire bite, suggesting the entire thing was edible. Trent followed her example and bit into one of his three slices. A fiery sensation exploded in his mouth, as spices reacted and engulfed his senses, shooting flames down his throat.
"Wow!" Trent resounded after swallowing. "This flavor is amazing!"
"I'm glad you like it," Melody remarked with a faint smile.
Trent had no clue what he was eating, but everything he tasted tasted like food. And the food tasted AMAZING! He was already halfway into his third slice by the time Melody finished her first. Neither of them spoke as they ate, but Trent didn't care. The food was too good to care! A couple more bites, and his plate was empty. He looked at Melody, who was only a third of the way in of her second slice.
"If you want more, you can take this up to the counter and ask for 'Ultra Hot' and the number of slices you want," Melody informed him while passing him the small rectangle thing. "You can give this to them when you order. They will give it back to you along with the food."
Trent nodded. He wasn't that much hungrier, but it was awkward just watching Melody eat. So he took the card and walked back up to the counter where the arcanine was still standing.
"Ultra Hot?" Trent repeated as he handed the arcanine the card.
"How many?" the arcanine asked.
"Just one."
"Are you from the valley too?" the arcanine asked as he scanned the card.
"Uh…yea," Trent answered slightly surprised.
"It sounds like there's a lot of drama down there right now," the arcanine commented.
"Yea…there is," Trent sighed. "I guess word got out about Kieren?"
"All we know is that he is from the valley and has a tricky history with the tribe," the arcanine disclosed.
"I'm still trying to figure out what even happened," Trent confessed. "I'm his cousin Trent by the way. Feel free to tell him I was out looking for him if you see him. Do you know how he is doing by any chance?"
"He was doing quite well the last two days, but from what Bernie's told me, he's been having a rough day today."
"Shoot! Well hopefully I can find him today," Trent muttered. "Thanks for the info." He took the food and the card and returned back to Melody.
Melody didn't say anything when he returned and placed both the card and the food back on the table. She still hadn't finished her meal despite Trent having gotten caught up in conversation.
"Thank you for this! This was really good," Trent exclaimed to the vulpix just before biting into his new slice.
Melody just nodded with a soft hum as she continued slowly eating. Trent wondered what her slices tasted like. He was eating her "usual", which meant she was eating something different, but it wasn't the first time she did that according to the arcanine. He wondered if she behaved the way she was behaving today whenever she ordered it. The two of them finished their meals in silence.
Melody was the first to stand up. After taking her card and putting it back in a relatively hidden pocket in her satchel, she put all the plates back on the tray and then jumped off the seat. Trent jumped down and observed as Melody carefully balanced the tray on her tails again as she carried it to some mechanism. Trent had no idea what the device was, but Melody dropped the tray into it and it disappeared. Trent followed his fire-type friend back outside where the weather seemed to have only gotten worse. The air was colder, and Trent could feel the pelts of large droplets through the plastic of his raincoat.
"Why don't we ask the rotom if Kieren has come through yet," Melody suggested. She began walking out in the open towards where they entered. But just as she reached within talking distance of the orange floating pokemon, a psyduck came waddling through the entrance as if it was the best day ever.
"Good afternoon, Diederick! Hi Melody!" the psyduck greeted merrily.
"Oh. Hello Clyde," Melody greeted back. "What were you doing outside the festival?"
"I was asked to tell Kieren his meetings for today and tomorrow were cancelled," the psyduck answered. Melody's eyes blasted open.
"Is he on his way here?" she asked, her more normal tone of voice shining through her speech for the first time that day.
"I don't think so," Clyde answered. "He turned back the other way after I updated him. He mentioned something about a place he wanted to investigate."
"Shoot!" Melody uttered. Without any warning, she dashed off through the gate towards the city. Trent turned to the psyduck, who just tilted his head sideways.
"Melody!" Trent roared as he set off after the six-tailed pokemon.
He found her staring off into the distance outside the town gate. She was breathing heavy, legs stiff and neck stretched. Her tails were nearly uncurled and fanned flat almost horizontally.
"Melody?" Trent spoke. He looked out where Melody was staring, but couldn't see anything but the drops of rain bouncing off the hard ground.
Melody took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Just be pretty and speak a soft melody," she told herself, just barely loud enough for Trent to hear over the sound of rain. "Trent, we have to find him!" she cried in a determined – yet still not her normal – tone of voice.
"Where do you think he went?" Trent asked. He was starting to doubt his theory that Melody had already ran into Kieren.
"I think he might be in the alleys," Melody answered with a huff. She started running off again. Trent started running by her side. Melody explained her thoughts as she ran. "If he is all black like you said he was when he evolved, then he might have caught the attention of one of the alley gangs. Perhaps he decided to go back and investigate?"
"I wouldn't know," Trent answered. "I guess it's worth a shot!"
"Then we'll split up. I'll take this first path, you take the next one over. We'll meet up at the other side and go down to the next two."
"Right," Trent answered without thinking. He ran into the second alley between two shops and looked around. It was dark. There were a couple of dumpsters off to one side, where some green pokemon were hanging out.
"Kieren?" Trent called.
"You lookin' for deh umbreon?" one of the green pokemon asked him.
"Have you seen him?" Trent asked.
"Not in this alley."
"Thanks," Trent answered. "Hold on, how did you know we were looking for an umbreon?" Trent paused.
"Hey, just cuz I'm in dis back alley here don't mean I don't know da happenin's of dis city. Pretty much everyone knows who Kieren is. But aside from dat, all we know is dat he has a tricky past from da valley and is good at what he do, dough I heard he has hadding a rough day today."
"Sorry to bother you then," Trent answered.
"Just know dat if you plotting somethin', dat he's got da whole city got his back!"
"Trust me, no one who hated him cares enough to leave the valley," Trent answered. "I'm glad he's got friends out here."
"Well guess I wish you good luck den valley dweller!"
Melody was waiting for him at the other end of the alley where there was another street. However, the buildings on this street were much less colorful. Or at least they didn't seem colorful in the rain. The rain was getting heavier so it was hard to see to begin with.
"Anything?" Melody asked.
"Do you need an answer?" Trent quipped.
"No. I'll take the odd alleys. You take the even ones."
Trent just nodded in response, continuing down another alley. This one was empty, so he skipped one and went down the next. That one had a friendly spinarak who told him the same thing the arcanine and green pokemon told him. Alley by alley, Trent continued, occasionally meeting up with Melody who also was not having luck. He called for Kieren's name three times every alley, and occasionally bellowed into Melody's alleys for good measure. Minutes passed. The rain kept pouring. They were well past the colorful human shops and were navigating between large skyscrapers. Everything was gray. The sky was gray. The buildings were gray. The ground was gray. And no Kieren. Slowly the buildings began to shrink in height, and Trent could see the end of the city ahead. By the time he reached the edge, Melody was already waiting by some odd building across the street laid parallel to the alleys.
"It's locked already," Melody informed him.
"So where do we look next?" Trent asked her.
A crack of thunder interrupted Melody's answer.
"Let's check the other side," Melody repeated. Her face had grown pale, eyes full of worry.
"We have to move quick," Trent warned her.
The two set off once more, each checking every other alley, talking to the local pokemon, and shouting Kieren's name. The winds began to gust in bursts, spraying rain drops sideways. Trent's nose started to get wet as droplets snuck underneath the hood of his raincoat and latched onto the fur on his face. Trent pressed onwards. The gusts became more frequent. Flashes of lightning warned of the loud roars of thunder to come. Suddenly the rain started falling fast and hard. The water was dripping in front of Trent's face like a waterfall. Then the wind howled. Trent turned his back against the wind. Why was the wind so strong in the city? He could feel it beat against his body, urging him in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Suddenly Melody reappeared out of the alley behind the one he was in. Her face was a alarmingly light pink, as well as her paws and tails. She was losing strength.
"We have to keep going!" she cried as she pushed herself against the wind. But as she did so a pair of lights shown across the two as a noise of rushing water approached them. It was a car. In fact, it looked faintly like the car they were in earlier that day. The car slowed to a stop next to them.
"Melody! What in the world are you doing out here right now?" the nurse shouted out of the vehicle. "Get inside!"
"We have to find Kieren!" Melody screamed back. She continued to press against the wind, shaky step by shaky step.
"Melody! Get in the car now! It is too dangerous for fire types like you to be out here!" Joy pressed.
"I don't care! I need to find Kieren!" Melody shrieked.
"Melody! Get in the car! NOW!" the nurse countered. "Trent, you too!"
"Come on, Melody," Trent told the vulpix, giving her a little nudge as he started to approach the vechicle.
"No," Melody spat back. "I'm going to find Kieren."
"She's lost her mind," Trent though to himself. He jumped in front of her and snarled. "Get in the car!"
Melody planted her feet in a defensive stance, waiting for Trent to make a move.
"Tch," Trent grumbled. He glanced around at his surroundings, marking his target in his mind. "Chansey, catch!" he commanded as he began charging a shadow ball in his mouth. A split second later, Melody's eyes turned purple. Trent bit his shadow ball and sprung to the right, bouncing off the wall and slamming into the vulpix with quick attack. She flew right into the chansey's arms, and he quickly followed inside. Nurse Joy manually slammed the door shut from the inside and locked it.
"She's out," the chansey told them as the nurse looked back at the chansey.
"Shit! Sorry," was all Trent could utter out.
"It's fine," Joy reassured him. "We'll get her back up to strength at the Pokemon Center. Have a seat. Chansey will help you get your raincoat off."
Trent watched as the two medical experts took control of the situation. Nurse Joy sat back at the control seat and started to make the car move towards the Pokemon Center. Meanwhile, the chansey was already at work removing Melody's raincoat and checking her vitals. Trent had a lot of questions, but didn't feel like voicing them. He let the chansey do her thing as she unwrapped him from the clear coverings and quickly returned back toward Melody.
After a short while, the vehicle began to slow down. Trent looked out the window, but rain was still rushing down it. He jumped back slightly when the door opened, licensing cold air to rush in.
"Maeleigh!" the nurse shouted out the doorway. "What in the world are you…Nevermind! Just get in!"
It was another fire type, a braixen, who jogged into the car, concealing something close to her figure with other white things hanging from her arms. When the door shut, she sighed.
"Thank you!" she told them, relaxing her arms to reveal the items she was carrying. Trent had no idea what they were, but on one he noticed the logo of the place he ate at earlier that day.
"Let me guess, you were trying to beat the storm and lines were bad?" the chansey asked the new passenger.
"Pretty much," the braixen huffed. She set her luggage on the floor including the white objects strung on her arms and grabbed onto some loop on the ceiling. The chansey tossed her a towl, which she patted against her face and neck with her free hand. The car began moving again. "Oh my! Melody?" the braixen exclaimed in shock when she took time to examine the other passengers in the vehicle.
"She's been acting quite reckless lately," the chansey explained. "It sounds like there's a lot of drama in the valley right now. Trent can probably explain it first hand."
"It's a mess," Trent commented, glancing down at the seat.
No one spoke after that. Maeleigh resorted to watching the rain out the window while drying off. Chansey continued tending Melody. Trent just gazed at nothing in particular and tried to make sense of what happened. Melody went crazy! He never remembered her being so irrational and reckless. No wonder her family wanted her to stay at home! But also, he and Melody again failed to find Kieren. The flareon's cousin was nowhere to be seen. And yet the fire types were so close to finding him too! Had that meeting or whatever Kieren had not have been cancelled, or had they finished eating earlier and headed back out to the city, they would have found him! But by the time they got there, he was gone. Who was he originally going to meet with, anyway? Did he already figure out the start of a new life? Or was he perhaps meeting with someone from the Twin Dragon Council? Either way, it seemed like Trent would have another shot come Monday. If Trent had to guess, Kieren's meetings were canceled because of that festival that was happening. The mudkip said that Kieren routinely made that trip in the afternoon, and Trent doubted that Kieren would be comfortable leaving the area for good until he made up those meetings. However, that wasn't guaranteed. The flareon needed more information before he could finalize his next plan.
The car slowed to a stop, this time in the enclosed garage by the pokemon center. The braixen was the first to exit the vehicle, having already strung her parcels back on her arms. Trent followed suit.
"Do you need help?" the braixen asked the chansey.
"No, but thank you," the chansey answered. The nurse was already by the entryway to the Pokemon Center, performing some human gesture that apparently the door acknowledged, as it split open. Trent followed the nurse in, just in case the nurse wanted him to fetch something for Melody. The braixen was right behind him. She veered off to the right side of the commons and entered a side door.
"Maeleigh? Oh my gosh thank goodness I was so worried," spoke a female human voice from the room over. Trent couldn't hear the rest of the reunion as the door shut. But damn that braixen was badass! Melody was right about one thing: Trent needed to learn to get food out here in the city! He debated whether or not he wanted to enter the shop, but ultimately decided he didn't have the appetite with everything that was happening right now. Instead, he lied down under the coffee table and tried to relax his muscles which were a little stiff from the cold rain and wind. He watched the nurse and the chansey carry Melody into a back room, and then he fell asleep.
The sound of whispers woke the flareon, though he didn't mind. He felt much more refreshed. He got out and looked out the window. It was late dusk, and the rain had stopped.
"Oh, Trent!" the nurse exclaimed. "I'm sorry if we woke you."
"I was done napping anyways," Trent yawned, stretching out his hind legs. The chansey translated to the nurse via fragmented speech and gestures.
"Oh good," the nurse replied after understanding. "By the way, we got a call from the gym leader informing us that Kieren was there and left shortly after it stopped raining. So he was safe inside during the storm."
"How long ago was that?" Trent asked.
"About a half hour ago," the chansey answered.
Trent sighed, ingesting the new information. The news was relieving, but also a little alarming. The good news was that Kieren was safe. However, Melody said strong trainers were at the gym. If Kieren was there and was planning to leave for good, was Kieren scouting for a trainer? If that was the case, Trent didn't have much time to catch up with him or say goodbye. Would Kieren make the effort to say goodbye before he left? The last thing Trent did to him was attack him, so probably not. There wasn't any point going out looking for the umbreon though. Kieren was probably turning it in for the night. Trent resorted to imagining what kind of trainer Kieren would end up with? What other pokemon would be with the trainer? How would Kieren interact with them? Numerous scenarios played through Trent's head as the light through the window faded away. Several hours passed, and soon the chansey approached him.
"Are you staying the night?" the chansey asked him.
"I'm not sure," Trent answered. "I don't want to leave Melody behind, but at the same time I don't want my parents to start worrying about me either."
"Melody's father is coming to pick her up. He thought she was at the festival. You probably want to head out now before he sees you."
"Yea…" Trent sighed, taking a moment to think. "As much as I want to ask the guy a couple of questions, I probably don't want him to associate me with this mess."
"Not when you've got a big paradise to return back to," the chansey added, patting him on the back.
"One problem though," Trent posed, "how do I get back?"
"Straight out the door, just follow the road until you reach the edge of the city, and then take a right until you see the bridge. From the bridge you should be able to see the forest."
"Thanks," Trent acknowledged. "And seriously, thank you for everything today! I'm sorry we've been such a burden. It was my fault for encouraging Melody to go out."
"No need to apologize!" the chansey boomed back at him. "That girl was going to go out and do her errands and lose her mind in the rain regardless of whether or not you came. If anything we should be thanking you for taking care of her!"
"You might be right," Trent conceded. "I guess I should get going then. Thank you again!"
"Come visit again sometime," the chansey waved back as the flareon left the building.
It was late, almost midnight, and the umbreon was tired. But he knew he needed answers or else he wasn't going to sleep. The elevator finally made it to the main floor, and the sliding doors opened. The front desk attendant looked at him, but didn't seem to think anything was wrong. Was it normal for his species to be out this late? Regardless, the cool air of night struck him again, but it was already warmer than the rain earlier that day. He slowly trudged along the street, no longer resisting the fuzzy questions plaguing his mind. Finally, he reached the red and white building.
The chansey looked up at him somewhat alarmed when he walked in.
"Kieren?" she asked. "What in the world are you doing here up this late?"
"Can't sleep," the umbreon answered without much thought. "Got a question for you if you don't mind?"
"Shoot."
"I learned today at the gym that there was someone that was supposedly wanting to be my trainer, and that that person would be really good," Kieren began. "I was told you knew who this trainer was?"
"Oh yes! Of course!" the chansey exclaimed. "However, are you looking for a trainer to have a trainer, or are you looking for a trainer to leave the city?"
"Huh?" Kieren asked a bit surprised. The chansey elaborated.
"I ask because that particular trainer lives in Eon City, and won't be heading out on a journey for a while. It would be in everyone's best interest that you would be comfortable living in the city on your own for a little bit before you commit to that trainer. Or you can find someone else."
The umbreon did not respond. Rather, he just stood there and tried to think. But he quickly realized he was too tired to think.
"Thank you," he told the chansey. "I'm sure I'll have more questions soon, but I am too tired to think right now."
"I wish you the best," the chansey waved as Kieren left and slowly retreated back to his hotel and his temporary bed.
The air was cool. The wind was still. The stars were bright. And the trees were still dripping with raindrops. Most of the habitants of the valley had turned in for the night. But at the edge of the forest, things were anything but calm.
"You're back!" greeted a female eevee voice.
"How was it out there?" a male eevee voice supplemented.
"It was crazy! I'll tell you more tomorrow! Did anything happen here?"
"Trent! You have to hear this for yourself! Follow us!"
Author's Note:
So a bunch of you are wondering if the next chapter will be uploaded within the next two years. The answer is probably. I'm pretty much done with school now and will be entering the workforce, which means that my scheduled work will be constrained to fixed hours. In addition, most of my friends are still in school, so once Fall comes around I'll probably be lonely and bored on weekends. Writing is my (very effective) solution to that problem, so as long as I have ideas, you might see chapters more regularly. But I need ideas! Right now I need scenarios, little stubs that I can work off of, both for childhood memories in the tribe and random other happenings in the tribe or in Eon Park Square. Just little sparks for me to run wild with and add some variety to the story! Reviews or DMs work. Other than that, I'll be updating my profile shortly with my new review policies.
Other random life things, I've been really enjoying Unity's ECS and SRP tech lately. I'm currently involved in 3 different game projects. DM me if you want more info on those. Also, the 3rd Annual Online Game Jam is scheduled for June 15th. I actually don't know what the theme is yet as I'm competing against all the undergrads. But apparently the theme is something I'm really good at, and a lot of people are really excited to see if I come up with something crazy cool. The actual jam is open to anyone on itch io if you feel like joining. Aside from Game Dev and stuff, I've been playing a lot of unranked Pokken 3v3s in the evenings. I go by Dreaming381 there. I'm not that great, but I have fun. I hope you all have an awesome summer too!
~Dreaming I'm Latios