Hopefully, I'll be more consistent with how frequently I update now. I'm trying to get back into writing more often, though I have other things to do as well.
Still, I hope you all are enjoying my story so far.
Vines & Briars
Chapter 3: Memories & Travel
Rick awoke, surprised that he was breathing. He was on his back, sprawled out on solid ground… and most definitely alive.
Given that swim Shiftry forcibly sent me on, it's gotta be a bit of a miracle that I did survive.
It startled him when someone in his head responded.
"Yep. A miracle indeed. I guess sending you there was a little hasty on my part and you need a little more time. Sorry about that. I like your spunk though that you showed before Shiftry. Just what I need for this."
Rick's eyes snapped open and he looked around.
"Who's there?" he said quickly, but he didn't see anyone.
"Y'know, you should stop trying to look for me. Not like I'm actually present in the local area. I'm just contacting you. " The voice said, "Anyways, I helped you out this time. But do try to gain some strength; 'cause you're gonna have to return there sometime. And soon, please… if I have to intervene, there could be a mess and no one likes that."
Rick shook his head.
Who are you? And why don't you just come talk to me in-person?
"Oh there's no need for that. Besides, if you do my little errand for me, we'll meet. Trust me."
The voice seemed to be a little smug.
What errand?!
"Ask around. I'm sure you'll find out what you need to do." The voice said, "Until then though, I'll leave you figure it out and leave you alone now. You'll have to handle things for yourself from here on out."
Wait!
However, whoever the voice belonged to, some sixth sense told Rick that they had left. He had his mind to himself again.
That conversation having ended, Rick rolled over and looked around at where he was, taking in his surroundings.
It was definitely a new location.
He was of course on a beach, though there was no sign of a forest here, which in Rick's mind already eliminated the possibility of this being the same land he had been on previously.
Or perhaps I'm still on the same land… just a different area.
He wasn't going to find what the truth though if he didn't go out and explore the area and find out where he was. So, he stood up, took a moment to gain his bearings (and some balance), and then set off across the sand.
He didn't have to go far before the sand of the beach ended and he found himself facing a wall of tall grass.
I know grass isn't nearly so tall for a human… really makes me wish now that I was human again. Why'd I have to be transformed like this anyways? Couldn't I do this errand as a human?
His thoughts wandering over the general issue of being stuck as something he originally was not, Rick headed into the grass.
-0-
It didn't take long for Rick to get lost in the tall grass. He might as well have been walking through a corn-maze for all he could see or navigate through. He was too small to push through the denser grass and so he was forced to take whatever route he could find that was unbarred by the tall reeds.
He wasn't particularly surprised when he came across another pokemon. A simple, purple-colored rat. He felt like he knew the species but any memory about the species didn't want to come back to him.
Before he could even consider asking the rodent-pokemon about where he was exactly, the rat charged at him and struck with a very swift attack which knocked Rick clean off his feet.
Ow! Are all pokemon this aggressive against other pokemon in the wild?! How do pokemon survive if they're like this to each other?
He got up and moved just in time to avoid another attempt by the rat to attack him.
"Alright. Enough." Rick growled, now fed up with other pokemon bullying him and pushing him around. Reacting on somewhat human instincts, he lashed out at the rat, literally. Had he been human, he would've been aiming a punch at his target. As he was though, there was instead a sharp snap as the vine serving as his hand and arm whipped out and slapped the Rattata hard.
The blow knocked the rat away but it persisted, attempting to get close and bite him.
"Erg! Go away!" Rick yelled and, after back-stepping to avoid those teeth, he threw himself forward in a tackle. His attacker was smashed under the blow and struggled with consciousness for a few seconds before passing out.
Taking a minute to dust himself off, the former human regarded the rodent.
I don't think pokemon usually attack each other without reason… not like this. At least, if what I think I remember is right.
His memory on the matter was still very foggy at best, most of it still lost somewhere in his head. But, he was certain in some corner of his mind that pokemon weren't normally so hostile to each other.
But why? What did I do to this… rat to warrant getting attacked? Or if it wasn't me, then what made it so aggressive to just attack me?
Puzzled on the matter, Rick continued onwards through the grass field, thinking it over as he attempted to continue navigating forward.
-0-
The Rattata was the first grass-land resident to attack Rick, but it certainly wasn't the last. As he encountered more pokemon in the field, none of them seemed willing to even start talking with Rick. First thing any of them did was attack him and he was forced to either retreat or fight back.
By the time he had gotten deep into the field, Rick was sure, even if he couldn't remember anything about them clearly, that pokemon generally got along better than this. He was sure any group of intelligent creatures, human or not, would be more cooperative with one another than the ones he was meeting out here.
I'm just passing through. Can't they just leave me alone at least if they're not gonna give me directions or something?
But this clearly wasn't the case and Rick felt a great deal of relief when the grass finally started to thin out and he could push through it rather than having to navigate through the paths in it.
He stepped out into the open air again and looked around at his new surroundings, including glancing back at the grass he had just emerged from.
Whew… good riddance to that field. I'll be grateful right now to never return there.
He was sore all over from fighting off attackers half the day and if there had been any doubt before, he couldn't deny now that the vines that had served as his weapons were part of him as they were also stinging. He had whipped a considerable number attacking pokemon using them and now the nerves inside them were feeling frayed and almost numb.
Glancing up at the sky, he took note of the sun's descending position.
I need to rest... night's approaching.
He proceeded, looking for a suitable location to rest.
After perhaps another hour, at which point the landscape was gradually dyed a deep orange from the setting sun, he finally found a lake and a small rocky hole to take cover in nearby. Though it was rough ground, it was clear enough for him to lie down and feel at least slightly comfortable. He found himself most comfortable in a mildly coiled position on the ground, his head near the fan-like set of leaves on his tail.
I still have so little idea of where I am… why I'm here in this form… or what really happened to me. Why can't I remember anything about myself… except my name and that I was human?
He dozed off as night set-in.
-0-
"Why are you following me around?"
"I just want to get to know you. Is there really something wrong with that?"
"I… It doesn't matter… I'm not worth your time…"
"Wait!-"
Rick snapped awake and stood up quickly, blurting out the last word that he had been speaking. It took him a minute to realize that the person he had been talking to had entirely been in his dream. He was still alone… he was still some manner of pokemon… unlike in that dream.
His memory was still so blurry; the other person in his dream had seemed to be just a black space… it was like someone had cut their very image out of his mind. He knew they were there… but he couldn't remember their name… their appearance… even their voice had seemed so ambiguous he wasn't sure if they were man or woman. Like talking to a shadow.
Who was that I was speaking to in that dream? I wanted to get to know them, I guess… but now I can't remember a thing about them. Wish I could remember, maybe I can find them or perhaps they're the one who did this.
A few more minutes of thinking rendered no further information from the dream and daylight was just breaking. Dawn. The rest of the night was such a blur that Rick couldn't clearly remember anything else he had dreamed over the night.
"I'd better just get going." He murmured to himself, stepping out of his shelter and looking around again.
The nearby lake was pristine and clear in the morning light, giving the area a definite beauty that Rick couldn't help admiring. He felt pretty sure he hadn't seen anything quite so full of natural beauty before now.
Despite his waking confusion, he smiled. It was a wonderful sight to wake up to, no doubt about that.
Then his stomach growled.
Oh… I haven't had anything to eat since… well, since I woke up.
He didn't know (and couldn't remember from his human life) the fact that, due to being half-plant at least, his body was naturally photosynthesizing the sunlight it collected, cutting down his need to eat. Though it wouldn't keep hunger away permanently.
It seemed hunger was catching up to him now. He looked around the local area and spotted nothing that looked edible to him. Hoping to find something on his way, Rick proceeded to the left following the lake's edge.
Eventually, he found something that appealed to him. It was a small, round berry, blue in color and looking fairly hard.
Picking it up, some corner of his mind echoed a word: Oran.
The only explanation for this was that it was some minor piece of his memory coming back to him. The vague memory reminded him that this berry was perfectly safe to eat, and so he popped it in his mouth.
The taste was mixed and mild and when he swallowed, Rick felt considerably better overall.
Well, that's handles that. Now… I guess I'll just keep going.
Looking around the local area, Rick noticed a forest over to his left. After his last experience with a forest, Rick had no desire to go into another one so soon… and looking ahead, it looked like the lake was going to lead to yet another forest. It actually astonished Rick that he could see the second forest from so far away. He was sure it was much further away than the one on his left and yet it seemed no less visible.
There was a gap in between the forests though. What appeared to be a valley between them; a veritable crevice in the ground.
Well, I'd prefer to go between the forests than through them so…
Rick headed for the gap in the forests, planning on passing through and exploring further.
As he got closer, the ground started to sink inwards and the boy realized he was heading into a ravine that divided the forests from each other. The ground was fairly dry so he judged that it was unlikely he would encounter any trouble with water flooding the ravine and possibly drowning him.
Still… something about the ravine was making him uneasy.
I doubt I'll get anywhere though if go into one of the forests and the lake looks like it just leads right to that other forest.
The forests lined the edges of the ravine, so there was no going around them or the ravine. He would have to go directly through the ravine. He couldn't help noticing the forest further away had abnormally large trees. The trees would've dwarfed any human. It certainly explained why the forest had been so visible from afar. He turned his attention back to the path before him though.
"Here goes nothing…" He said to no one but himself and proceeded into the ravine.
-0-
The ravine was easier navigating than the grass-land had been. He could see what laid ahead clearly and his course was just as clear. There would be no taking short-cuts here though. If he had the force of will to do so, he likely could've pushed his way through the grass. In the ravine, his walls were of solid rock.
No trouble. At least the air's a bit more open in this place.
Having open exposure to the sunlight also filled Rick with an instinctive comfort.
As he proceeded deeper into the ravine though, the sun was starting to feel a little warm and he found himself dealing with more creatures… more pokemon. Nonetheless, the extra sunlight energized him and he fought back with that extra energy.
Many of the ravine's residents seemed to be made from the rocks themselves, some dropping right off the sides of the ravine walls and rolling into his path. Most looked like rocks with a face and arms.
Fortunately for Rick, it seemed that his whip-like vines were their bane. As they attempted to stand in his path, he would lash them with his vines and though they were made of rock, the strikes hit and dealt punishing harm to them, prompting them to retreat and keep out of his way.
I could get used to fighting like this…
He continued on his way, feeling quite confident in himself as he proceeded on through the ravine. He even found more berries as he continued and ate them as they came, keeping himself feeling invigorated and vital.
He was passing through what looked to be roughly the mid-point of the ravine when something completely different occurred.
He was climbing over a rock in his way to continue onwards when two pokemon he hadn't seen before came around a turn in the path and reacted to him with alarm. Rick vaguely recognized the puzzlement in their expressions; they didn't know what he was.
One looked like a black mouse with a cream-colored underbelly. The other… well, Rick wasn't sure what to make of it but he didn't get a good look at it before the mouse said something to his companion and advanced on Rick.
Before Rick could do more than blink, the mouse inhaled and spat a small, hot ball of fire at him.
Even before the fire touched him, Rick's heart seemed to jump in terror upon seeing it. When it did come in contact with his skin, bursting across him, Rick felt nothing short of purest agony. He knew fire would hurt for any living creature (except apparently this mouse, which breathed it) but to him, this pain went beyond the mere standard. It was amplified twice over from normal. He screamed.
Quickly dropping down, he rolled on the ground, trying to smother the fire in the dirt before it could try to engulf his flammable body.
The mouse that had spit the fire at him inhaled again, preparing to torch him further.
"No! Don't! Please!" Rick yelled quickly, pleading. He was in no position to stop his attacker and even if he had been in a position to fight back, he doubted he could confront anything that wielded fire like this.
"Wait-!" the other pokemon started to yell as well, but its companion was already exhaling and more fire billowed forth to incinerate Rick, who screamed again and tried his best to shield himself from the blaze coming at him.
"I said wait!" the other pokemon yelled again.
Rick collapsed on the ground, his body searing with agony as the fire ate away at his leaves and skin.
Then someone's hands (or rather paws) started patting Rick down and the flames were stifled before they could do further harm.
Nonetheless, the damage was done and Rick felt not only terrified by the fire that had hit him, but very weak now as it had sapped his strength.
The pokemon that he had just encountered were saying something, but weakness was making their words blur in his ears and… helpless to do anything, Rick passed out.