Boon nods, I return the gesture. Before the two Explorers know what hit them we charge from our cover of shrubbery and assault. My first move is to use Growl to weaken the enemies; Boon's first move is to lob his pizza box at Wartortle.
"What the-!?" He shouts in a mixture of shock and confusion. Did they seriously not notice us that entire time? I then score three Scratches on the unsuspecting Vulpix, taking careful precaution to keep my distance from Wartortle. Meanwhile the turtle Pokémon is continually nailed by Boon's constant spamming of electricity. A heated blast of fire rushing out of Vulpix's jaws painfully overcomes my face. With frantic movements I pat out the little fire stubbornly stuck to me—Shit that burns like a mother! I bite my tongue to avoid screaming out and charge towards the fox. My glowing claws connect once again, leaving shallow gashes across her face. Although an injured shriek emits from her throat the fox refuses to stay down.
"INCOMING!" Boon's panicked voice reaches my eardrums just in time for a concentrated rush of water to send me tumbling along the ground in agony. I thought the flames in my face were bad, but the water seems to burn the very insides of my body. Whatever Wartortle had hit me with is hell on my new form. My vision turns blurry and the constant ringing of tinnitus echoes through my skull. All outside noise becomes muffled as I bring my arms between the dirt and my chest; with a grunt I push myself partially back to my feet only to be tackled by Vulpix halfway through completing the action. A thought strikes me: Don't foxes have an extremely sensitive nose? A swift kick to her sniffer leaves her yelping on the ground covering her muzzle with two forepaws. Yes, foxes do have a sensitive nose. I take the window of opportunity to check up on Boon still duking it out with Wartortle. Boon's quite vocal in combat, tossing out taunt after taunt as he flips, kicks, and does cartwheels around an increasingly frustrated water-turtle. Vulpix continues sobbing at her injured nose and her partner has his back turned, full focus on the Pikachu. My legs push me ever closer, my claws glow a blinding white as I swing them across the back of the turtle's head. A satisfying grunt issues from Wartortle who face plants grass with a satisfying thud. "Browley!" Boon points a finger to my 6' at the struggling fire fox digging through the team's satchel with her jaw. He attempts to land a few bolts of electricity but shamefully misses every time. Vulpix drags her head out of the bag carrying a shiny blue orb in her mouth. What does she plan to do with that? She casts us one final look before both she and Wartortle vanish in a beam of light shooting from the clouds. Seconds later more light comes down roughly 200 to 250 meters away to the east. What the fuck…? Did they teleport? "Oh man! Not good!" Boon says. "I think they just used an Escape Orb!" The fuck is an Escape Orb? "Those things can take an entire Exploration Team out of danger." Well perfect. How do they work? "I used one myself; really neat when it isn't in someone else's paws. Anyways, what they do is they turn on when they're near a thing called a Kangaskhan Rock, and then a team can use them to warp back." What happens if a rock isn't passed? Are they duds? Boon stares at me with one ear raised at an angle. "Um… do you want to know more? Okay let me think… Oh! I know! If they aren't activated by a rock they'll still work, but only inside Mystery Dungeons. In that case the thingies will warp the team outside the dungeon." Thank you for being useful. I need to find me a book with this kind of knowledge in it, it will be faster. It is hard to believe there wasn't one at the library.
"O-okay. Let's grab their stuff and-h-head back to town." I mutter wiping the dirt off my form.
"About that…" I eye him expectantly. "Escape Orbs take the bag too." Sure enough the satchel is nowhere to be found. Shit! That means we aren't done yet. Sighing, I wave him over.
"C… come on. I th-think they teleported nearby."
"You need help with that stutter?" Shut up. I pull out the map of District 2 once more as reference. According to my rough estimate, the two would have teleported in between two Mystery Dungeons. To their north would be route seven and to their south route five. The Mystery Dungeon to the presumed location's west slightly dips into what was possibly once part of route five. In response to the invasion of land, the map has route five twist into a fairly wide semicircle wrapping along the perimeter of the dungeon then transition back into a straightforward path. Due to this it is possible to reach our new destination without entering a Mystery Dungeon yet again. We can either squeeze between route eight and the northern half of the dungeon or we could follow route five. Boon looks over my shoulder as I chart our next move with a finger. "So you wanna go North? Alright! Lead the way."
Boon spends the entirety of the otherwise uneventful walk talking about random nonsense. Honestly, nothing he says has any relevance to anything. I do not care if Duckletts like to eat peat moss. We finally stumble upon an outpost not very far off from where I guessed. Man, that practice in Africa is paying off even here. I do not wish to rush in yet, so I raise a clenched fist to head level and hope Boon understands the basic signal. To my surprise he does and stops moving immediately. "Holy crap that is a big camp." He whispers. It's true though, we are no longer going after two Explorers anymore. There are roughly five of them in the fortified area. Teepees are scattered all around and thin sheets of metal surround the installation. Now would be a great time to have binoculars again, but unfortunately I lost those when I woke up as a Charmander. These Pokémon we are about to fight are explorers, maybe they will have a pair I can snag.
Despite my lack of an observation tool, with Boon's help we barely make out two of the Pokémon tending to the injuries of their retreated brethren; my Pokédex book identifies them as a Spoink and a Skitty. That puts the count at four, the fifth Explorer—a Baltoy—is guarding the southern entrance. It is a good thing I chose the northern path for we would have been spotted otherwise. None of the Explorers appear threatening, but I know from experience looks can very well be deceiving. I decide not to take any chances. We'll simply creep in from the northern entrance, loot their tents, and sneak back out. My partner rolls his shoulders letting out faint cracking noises.
"So what's the plan this time?" He asks. I relay our course of action which he raises no objections to. Boon doesn't want to fight these guys any more than I. With that we move in towards the outpost and stack up against the northwest wall. Taking a peek through the entrance reveals a reassuring sight—none of the Explorers have taken notice of our presence yet, and I hope we can keep it that way. There is a teepee on the other side of the very same wall we currently hide behind. That will be the first stop. After waving Boon to follow me we carefully take steps inside the tent. There are two stacks of hay in the center and several empty boxes along the sheeted walls. "Well," Boon whispers with his hands on his hips. "There are a lot of boxes, no stolen peppers." Resting inside one of the crates I spy a stack of papers covered in ink: Spoink's Diary. Meh, why not? If it helps me learn more about what's happening on this island then it would be foolish to ignore. I shove it into my bag and give a nod to the Pikachu in the room with me. "Are you seriously going to steal that? You bastard!" Boon teases with that grin of his. He checks outside the teepee quickly and delivers a thumbs up. "All clear. The next one is close by too!"
We spend the next couple of minutes hopping from tent to tent. None of them hold what we are looking for, but we do score a Pecha Scarf and a couple of Blast Seeds. To be honest I don't care for the neck warmer, but three makeshift grenades are enough to make me happy. The last tent's entrance is way too close to the Explorers to check without being spotted. Well shit, so much for taking the stealthy approach. I run my thumb along a Blast Seed and gauge the distance. If these explode like a real grenade does then I can take all four of the Explorers out with one throw. My partner can then pick off the fifth one while I search the final tent. I raise the seed in front of Boon's eyes and give it a slight shake, wordlessly asking him, 'How do I make this blow up?' He points towards the tip of the seed and whispers,
"Pull the tip off and count to three. Wait! On second thought, don't count. It explodes after three." Perfect. I follow his instructions and lob the seed to the grouping.
BOOM!
Goddammit! The seed works, though not as well as I hoped. While all four Pokémon were indeed hit in the blast radius, they only suffered minor burns from the explosion. I just alerted the entire camp to our presence. Boon's ears erect themselves straight into the sky in what I assume to be something in between fear and shock.
"HOLY CRAP!" He screams. Within seconds all five Explorers stop what they were previously doing and break into formations. Shit, these guys are organized. Wartortle limps to the nearby tent while barking orders to the rest of the Pokémon.
"Spoink! Skitty! Take left flank, Vulpix suppress with Flamethrower and Baltoy take right!" Thank you for calling out your plan, dick-for-brains. I elbow Boon and whisper my own command:
"Sh-shoot Vulpix and take out B-Ba-Baltoy. I'll handle right." Boon responds with "You got it!" and I focus on the incoming Pokémon. A Growl escapes my lips and I toss my next Blast Seed at the charging duo. Vulpix shoots off a brilliant burst of flame I narrowly dodge which Boon responds to by launching a few streams of lightening in her direction. Out of the three, only one manages to make impact but Vulpix shows no signs of slowing down. My claws scrape against Skitty's hide yet it too refuses to throw in the towel. Without warning a beam of glittering light emits out of the pink orb balancing atop Spoink which hits me in the hip. Clutching my pounding pelvis, I duck underneath a glob of repulsive smelling purple liquid released from Skitty's mouth and retaliate with another Scratch. Spoink once again tries to blast me with the laser move but this time I'm ready for him (or her, I can't tell). My arms hold Skitty firmly in place as the rest of my body swings over the pink kitten. I ram my hands into her side and push as hard as I can. It takes some effort but I shove her into the line of fire for use as my living shield. Perhaps the half-baked plan worked out too well. The laser causes the Skitty to explode in a brilliant shower of blood and organs. Most people would be scared out of their mind, but I have already had my time for that. One of the highest pitched squeels I have ever heard penetrates throughout the battlefield. Reflexively I twist my head towards Boon who stands above an unconscious Baltoy screaming bloody murder.
"WHAT THE FLYING FUCK!? Are they trying to kill us!?" Apparently! Which means that I am no longer concerned with bringing Kecleon back two living thieves. Spoink stares wide eyed at its friendly fire giving me the perfect opportunity to activate my last Blast Seed and lob it at the spring-based pig. The effect is rather comedic—a fine coating of soot covers Spoink from head to toe (spring?), much like cartoon characters when a bomb goes off in their faces. A single Scratch is enough to knock out the otherwise defeated Explorer. With both Baltoy and Spoink out cold, the two Pokémon who brought us here in the first place are all that's left. Neither two are anywhere to be seen. Did those cowards run off again? At least this time they had the courtesy to leave us their bag, it sits just outside the tent they were inadvertently guarding. Perhaps during the fight Wartortle retrieved the satchel to find more items. I can hardly believe we let those two get away twice now. Then out of the corner of my eye I notice a Pokémon sprinting through the foliage: Vulpix. That orange fur of hers does her no favors. Her partner is still missing, but it is far better to get one than to get none. Pointing a finger in the direction of the abandoned satchel, I give chase.
"G-go through their bag! I'll be right back!" I shout as I sprint after my target. She lowers her head with tightly clenched eyes upon catching sight of me. "Get away! Get away from me!" She is running South, straight for a Mystery Dungeon. The bitch intends to loose me in that labyrinth, I need to hurry or she will succeed. Unfortunately for her, the hill curves down—yet Vulpix foolishly continues to run, giving me the high ground. I got her now. I bend my legs as much as I can, following by launching myself into the air above my prey. Gravity completes the pounce, sending both of us rolling along the dirt of route five just above the dungeon's entrance. The weight of my impact as well as the force from tumbling twists her right hind leg into an unnatural shape, making my job all the more easy. Naturally she attempts to drag herself away from my approaching figure, but her broken leg makes her maneuvering slow and unsteady. There is fresh blood smearing itself along her path, I notice a bone forcefully jutting out from just above the joint in her hind leg. There are visible tears running across her muzzle as well, but whether they are from fear or pain I do not know.
I am reminded once again of my journey before awaking in the Jichi islands. As the body count of men I killed in Africa rose, people began to tell stories. Granted, these stories were all insane rumors, but rather fun to listen to nonetheless. One of the craziest rumors I heard was that I am a literal monster from some ancient folklore reincarnated in human flesh who would rather torture my victims than kill them quickly. 'Victims', they even called them that! In actuality, I would rather my targets to die quickly than slowly. A slow death means they might call for medical attention, or if all their buddies nearby are dead, someone else might be able to find and help them later. The hardcore motherfuckers might even attempt shooting me with their sidearm while they bleed out. For obvious reasons I could not have any of the above happening, so I would do dying combatants the favor of finishing them off then and there. Here I am making that same decision again, only this time I'm choosing to finish off a super-powered fox. My weapons are all gone, and I suspect my PP is running low from the fight. I scan the road looking for something, anything to use. Thankfully I spy a rather large boulder on the road. That will do nicely. With some effort I lift it above the quivering Pokémon.
"Please…"She begs softly. I raise the rock higher before letting it drop.
Back at the outpost Boon has the satchel strapped around his right shoulder with the carrying case resting along his left hip/leg. He seems rather nervous, and he should be. Two Pokémon died (he only knows of one at the moment) and someone managed to escape. Because we were the attackers, Wartortle is no doubt going to say we were responsible for the deaths. Regardless, Boon reports his progress on our task.
"They have peppers and stuff Kecleon would sell in here, so I think we got everything. Oh, and the tent was empty except for a bed and this map." He hands said map to me and I discover it to be almost a duplicate of the one I am carrying now. What stands out are the two brightly colored markings with numbers underneath them. There is one mark in our current location and another mark in the northwest corner just south of a Mystery Dungeon. I stare at the markings for a handful of seconds then realize that these are the locations of Exploration Team camps. This will be useful. I pack the new map and realize we still have another problem to deal with. I clear my throat before speaking.
"He-Hey Boon?" The Pikachu looks in my direction. "T-" My speech cuts itself off and after several seconds of silence I am forced to swallow in order to finish my sentence. "Th-there's still two Explorers here."
"Yeah?"
"We… can't let them live."
"What!? Why not!?" He shouts. My eyes dart to the side as I contemplate how to explain this to him.
"Because th-they'll wake up and tell ev-v-v-everyone. Or they'll c-come after us." Boon stares at his feet in contemplation for a good deal of time. Finally he brings his gaze up ever so slightly and sighs.
"Fine. But I'm not going to do it." I yank the stakes used to hold the tents down out from the dirt and casually I approach Spoink, scanning his unconscious form. There are still faint streams of smoke rising from his nostrils. I'm no expert on Pokemon anatomy so I cannot simply aim for the heart. Instead my first stake finds itself rammed between the pig's eyes. Bright red blood squirts out in a manner much like when one places a finger on the nozzle of a fully blasting gardening hose. The stake is pushed further into Spoink's cranium for good measure. There is still a bright pink ceramic ball resting a short distance from the head of the now passed on Explorer. Judging from the condition I believe the orb looks like it can fetch a good price, so I pack it when Spoink's blood ceases it's threats of dislodging my carefully placed stake. Baltoy proves to be quite the challenge to kill due to the hardened surface of it's skin. Its surface is comparable to hardened pottery clay; a light tapping with my knuckles creates a hollow thumping sound. Regardless, I attempt to lodge my stake into what I can only assume is the head, but to no avail—it simply leaves a harmless white streak. I think back to when Wartortle hit me with water and when Vulpix shot fire at my face. Logically the fire should have harmed me far more than the squirts of H2O, yet the opposite held true. Perhaps I am still thinking incorrectly on these moves. Maybe Pokemon battles are not truely between two monsters, but rather between the Ambers (or as Boon would say, PEN15s) of the two. Skitty's combustion was an example of Amber attacking the actual combatant. As to why this happened I don't have the slightest idea. All I know for sure is that something went horribly wrong back there, and now three Pokemon are dead as a result. I'm about to increase that count to four, I only have to figure out how to kill Baltoy. An idea forms in my head at that instant. The idea may not work at all but it is worth a try. I shrug off my backpack and weigh it in my hands. While it is certainly not as heavy as the boulder used on Vulpix, brute force should be able to crack through the armor with enough swings. Sure enough it does. When I finish tying up the loose ends I am able to, I wave for Boon to follow me. He hesitantly nods and we silently trek back to Timburr Town. Boon takes several looks back at the outpost the entire trip.
The moment we reach town we report straight to Kecleon behind Elvis' shop who greets us with open arms, literally. I choose not to accept the hug, but after what Boon went through today I can't fault him for taking up the offer. Our employer, still embracing the Pikachu, looks me straight in the eyes.
"So I assume you weren't able to bring me back two crooks to use as training dummies in the dojo." He says. I nod and Kecleon takes an uncomfortable glance to the Pokémon still tightly attached to his purple chest. "Alright Boon, you can let go now." He informs. When Boon still refuses to remove himself, the delivery boy pries him off with both hands. "Did you at least get my crap?" The still shaken Pikachu hands Kecleon the entire Exploration Team satchel as an affirmative. Kecleon simply shakes the bag empty over a hollow wooden crate. He looks through all the items and gives a satisfied nod of approval at the merchandise. "Excellent! Very wonderful! Now I can go back to the temple and bring more supplies. This time I'll hire bodyguards… Ah! One more thing!" Kecleon digs through the wooden box and pulls out a handful of peppers as well as a single seed. The chameleon hands the peppers to Boon and utters a "Catch!" to me before he tosses the seed underhand. I examine the Reviver Seed closely and notice a faint red vein glowing ever so slightly from within. Reviver Seeds have a glowing red vein, I'll remember that for later.
Our next stop is the pizza shop; Boon needs to pick up his next order and get back to work. Deciding that reporting to Infernape is not my job, I allow my backup to enter the store unaccompanied. While I wait on Boon, the children from earlier today return. The armored whatever-the-hell-it-is looks me in the eyes and repeats the offer from earlier.
"Do you wanna play now, Charmander?" Fucking kids, go away. I shake my head no for a second time to which Aron replies: "Are you sure? We'll go easy on you if you want." With my right hand I gesture for them to scram, but they simply refuse to let me be this time. "Do you not like tag? We can play hide-and-seek! Or cops-and-outlaws! Or rescue teams! Or Poker!" I blink. What was that last one? The door to Inferno's Pizza swings open and out steps Boon carrying a stack of pizza boxes almost as tall as him (which come to think about, isn't actually very tall). All three of the kids squeal in delight upon seeing the columns of cheese and tomato paste. "PIZZA! Can we have some? Can we? Can we? Canwecanwecanwecanwecanwecanwecanwecanwe-" This is why I hate kids. Not being able to stand their annoying begging any longer, I perform Growl on the children which scares them off to some other part of town, possibly to their mothers. Boon shoots me a disapproving frown which I promptly ignore.
"Hey Browley, you might want to head to my house. Infernape says it's about to rain again." I look to the clouds and notice they are indeed both dark and low. I cannot believe I forgot that tropical islands tend to receive shitloads of rainfall. "I'll be delivering pizza for another couple of hours, so I'll see you when I see you. I already told my boss there's a Pokémon outside town wanting to kill me, so I'll be in Timburr-no homo-if you need me." Alright then. I don't fully approve of telling Infernape any hints of how the delivery ended, but as long as Boon didn't specify why Wartortle is possibly circling the wall, waiting for us go back outside, then I suppose it's okay. "You know where the keys are, right?" Boon checks; I nod. "Great! See you later!" He rushes off towards the southwest and I take another look at the clouds above. Before I go back to bed I should sell the scarf we stole from the outpost. There is no way I'm going to talk to the monkey, so instead I walk east to Leavanny's.
"Oh! Hello dear, it's so good to see you again." The leaf Pokémon greets me as I step into her shop. "How may I help you?" Soundlessly I open my rucksack and point to the neck warmer, causing Leavanny's eyes to sparkle for a brief moment. "Is that a Pecha Scarf? My, and in perfect condition as well! If you would like to sell this I can offer 90 Poké." I take the money and offer the drawstring sack as well. She seems a bit disappointed I only used it for a day, but offers me 50 Poké regardless. I will never understand how I can make more money from a scarf than from a bag.
That night while lying in my cot I decide to read through Spoink's entries. After all, it's not like he'll be able to get upset about it anymore. Boon's snoring is also rather difficult to drift off to so I figure I might as well use my time for something semi-productive. Using my tail as a backlight, I squint at the text messily written on the stack of paper.
Spoinks Diary
Entry 1- January 20th
Today's the day!
Yippee! I finally did it! I joined an Exploration Team! I so dearly wished to join the Wigglytuff Guild like my heroes, but after their recruits saved the world twice Chatot was forced to raise the standards to deal with the ginormous amounts of Pokémon wanting to join. Team Shellfire is a good team though, Squirtle is a friendly leader and Vulpix is nice too! I hope I can become as strong as my idols! Ever since they found my lost pearl, I've wanted to join an Exploration Team just like them! Already we are heading on an expedition! I am so excited! Squirtle says the place we're going to is an archipelago called the Jichi Islands. I wonder what types of treasures we can find there?
Wow. First day on the job and already he's deployed? Rough luck, I killed him only a couple months into his career. Meh, that's how the cookie crumbles I guess. I wonder how many people in Africa I killed who were just barely starting out? I know at least one of them was sorely regretting ever coming to the country (or even the continent) as he ran through the jungle. Getting the drop on him was fun, his face was the best part of the experience. God, I sound so morbid. I wonder what other entries Spoink wrote…
Entry 2- January21st
Seasickness
Bleh, I don't feel like reading about that. I gaze from the diary and settle my attention on the nearby table. On it rests three fresh Jichi Island peppers. Boon already ate about twelve of them, but he was courteous enough to leave me a few. With both hands I push myself out of bed and walk to the remaining plants. My partner warned me multiple times these are extremely hot, but how bad can they be? I've tried the habanero and lived to tell the tale, (okay, I lived to keep the tale forever ingrained into my memory.) so why would this be any different? My index and thumb gently pluck one pepper by the stem and raise it over my open maw. With a quick 'snap' my muzzle closes on my snack and I roll the food in my mouth as I chew. Hmph, I don't see what the big deal is-holy fuck that is insane! Already I can feel the effects of the pepper spreading. My mouth is overcome with the heat and I cannot help panting like a dog at the intensity. Where does Boon keep the trough of water? All the way on the opposite end of the room? Of course it is, Murphy's Law is in effect now. I rush to the canister of water and plunge my face in, not caring how warm it is. I try to swallow the liquid but the pepper is so hot it seems as if there's a lump in my throat. With a quick movement I swing open the door to the outside and spit out all the water swishing inside my mouth. A burning in my stomach persists, making me feel the urge to vomit. The sheer number of times this island has fucked with my digestive system in two days is staggering. Why did I eat that stupid pepper!? From inside the shack I can hear muffled laughter. When I look back into the interior I catch a quick movement in the top bunk, followed by exaggerated snoring.
I don't dream of Africa. Instead in my dream I'm lying in the sand and completely motionless. That very same voice from when I first arrived on these islands speaks again, but this time my hearing is muffled by the constant pounding of my heartbeat. I can discern only some of the words spoken. "This…my…here. You…left…contaminated…inside. Inside of…all...you…gave…Brooke…explain..." The dream ends there, and I awake to another morning in Jichi. Silently I yawn as I rub the sleep from my eyes and contemplate on the dream. What the hell was that? When my feet drop from the cot to the floor there is a dull stiffness in my thighs. My stomach still feels slightly queezy and swallowing remains an uncomfortable task. Boon leans over the edge of his hanging fabric and cheerfully greets me with a friendly, "Good morning!" I nod a greeting in return while reaching for the fruit bowl resting on the cabinet. While I'm up I decide to read the sheet of paper still carelessly tossed next to the picture frame. To my dissapointment it is simply a mess of illegible scribbles. Shrugging my shoulders I grab a kiwi and after peeling it in two with my claws, chow down. "Hey! Toss me one those, won't ya?" Boon shouts. He fumbles with the thrown fruit at first but succeeds in catching it with his feet. I glance at the table with the two remaining peppers as Boon licks at the green of his breakfast and I remember I never finished reading the diary last night. The third entry is about arriving at the islands. Much like I overheard, the "Guildmaster" of Team Shellfire forbids the Exploration team from visiting local villages, although no reason for the decision is given. Entries four though eight are irrelevant rants about performing guard duty rather than exploring as the job title entails, however entry nine is interesting, even if it is short.
Entry 9-May 3rd
Evolution!
Squirtle evolved today! While we were exploring a dungeon my team leader glowed brightly and transformed into Wartortle! Vulpix says I'll be able to evolve too if I keep up my hard work!
P.S. I still haven't seen my heroes yet, and I get the impression Wartortle is jealous. Don't worry though! We can make it if we work just as hard as they did!
So Wartortle is an evolved Pokémon? I wonder if Squirtle is similar to Pichu in that they are both base forms. More importantly, can I evolve? Not that I want to, I'm still getting used to this Charmander body. But what does evolution even do? Boon didn't go into much detail of the topic. If it only changes the appearance of a Pokémon then I cannot see any practical use for the process at all. Well, maybe disguise. But that too could be seen through by those with knowledge of what species transforms into what alternate form. Hurr, where did the Squirtle go? All that's here is a Wartortle, hyuck! I flip through the remaining entries and when I am about to throw the stack of papers out the door one page catches my eye:
Entry 34-June 9th
Sickness?
A Pokémon passed by our camp today, but it looked sick. It staggered around when it walked and its eyes were red and puffy. Wartortle tried to tell the Pokémon to rest in our camp but he said it just shook its head and rushed on towards Timburr Town mumbling something. We completed more jobs sent to us by the E.T.F. in the mail, but by the end of the day none of us saw that Pokémon again. I hope it's alright…
Why does this interest me so much? Something about this entry just calls out to me, as if reaching my subconscious. Perhaps this has something to do with the holes in my memory? With a free hand I wave Boon over and show him the few sentences. Maybe he knows something about this. The Pikachu's eyes dart back and forth across the paper and every couple of seconds his ears twitch. "I don't remember this guy." Boon says. "Then again, I was partying too hard that day to pay attention to anything. Did I tell you that's my birthday?" Congratulations. "Anyways, ask Watchog about it. Or the Patrats. They run the gates." Of course, the guards surely have information about this Pokémon. We head out the door and walk along the northern wall of Timburr Town immediately. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me-what am I even doing? I want to escape this island, yet I have no idea where to even start. Based on the limited technology I have seen so far it may be reasonable to assume these islands don't have a plane I can use to fly away in, unlike Africa. This tail is also making me paranoid about leaving via water. The only things I have to go on are my first few seconds on this island, that strange dream, and the impulse I had felt when reading Spoink's diary. Something tells me they are all connected somehow. The question is—how? I will need to learn about the Jichi Islands more than I thought. Studying my environment is no longer about survival; it is about escape as well. This mystery Pokémon had my curiosity, but now it has my attention.
Upon arrival of the north gate, the lead Patrat from yesterday greets us with the same message as before, like a broken record. "Will you two be headed for Division 2 today?" The guard asks. I shake my head no; if we do leave today, it won't be right now. "Then how may I assist you?" I let my eyes roll to Boon so he may answer for me.
"Do you remember any drunk Pokemon stumbling through here on the. .." Boon snaps his fingers in rapid succession. "Ninth?"
"Of this month?" Patrat clarifies. He brings a finger to his chin in thought for a moment, then lowers it back down to his side. "Yes, I believe so. I unfortunately cannot recall which type of Pokemon it was, and my documentations of him are missing. I suspect someone-" he casts a glare at the Patrat on the scaffolding who shrinks out of sight. "-used the paperwork to wipe his bum!" Fuck! Useless! With no more to talk about, Boon says our goodbyes and we trek across town to the southern gate. Watchog is just as helpful.
"Naw, I ain't seen naw poke-man dat day dat I's can 'member." He informs us in his broken English. My lips part ways to allow a heavy sigh to escape then firmly seal shut. This is getting me nowhere quickly.