Shadowed Over Fairy Dust
3
The Slumbering Weald
A/N: This Fan Fiction is based on the Galar region and games (Sword/Shield) featuring CanonXOC
Anani woke early the next morning to the sound of a heated conversation between Leon and Hop. Rubbing her sleepy eyes she quickly dressed herself and slipped outside to see what the fuss was about.
"Come on, Lee!" Hop huffed,"You've got to let us take part in the Gym Challenge! Please?"
"The Gym Chalenge, huh?" Leon blinked,"The single greatest competition in all of Galar?" he pondered,"You sure you're not putting the cart before the Rapidash there, little brother?"
"Lee! Please!?" Hop stated,"You know we can't participate without an endorsement...who better to endorse Anani and me than you!? Huh?" Hop blinked as he noticed Anani wandering into the yard.
"Ahh, top of the morning fun shine." he grinned as he waved,"Sorry if we woke you. I was just talking to Lee here about endorsing us for the Gym Challenge."
"Oh wow, really!?" Anani beamed,"Would you really endorse us!?"
Hop smirked. He knew he had found vistory as he folded his arms to Lee, now out numbered by two bright eyed trainers to one.
Leon sighed.
"Very well then..." Leon said softly,"If the Gym Challenge is really something you two are considering taking on, then you need to learn a bit more about Poke'mon before then." he stated,"Before you consider collecting Gym badges, you might want to consider getting a Poke'dex first."
"A Poke'dex! Got it!" Hop beamed,"So we should head off to the research lab!"
"Bingo." said Leon,"It's not too far, the lab is in Wedgehurst after all..."
"Then that's where we'll go!" said Hop, quickly clasping Anani's hand in his and running out,"Catch you later, Lee!"
As the two made way En route outside, Hop quickly pulled out a map and unfolded it for Anani to see.
"Lee's right." he stated,"The research lab is in Wedgehurst, according to the map here it should be-" But in a flash, the map was then swiped away.
"What gives!?" Hop blinked in confusion as he searched rapidly only to find that a wild Nikit had swiped away the map between its little fangs and snickered,"Oi, you silly Nikit, you give that back right now!"
But the little fox paid no heed. Only snickered and ran off.
"Oh no you don't! Let's go Wooloo!" he cried out, releasing the sheep poof from its Poke'ball.
"Good idea...we'll help too!" said Anani,"Go! Punkoon!" out popped Punkoon the Zigzagoon,"Help Wooloo and go after that sneaky little fox!" Following command, the two gave chase, with Hop and Anani in tow. Things got intesne as the three darted ahead, but the Nikit managed to slip the fence, and, in an attempt of capturing it, Hop's Wooloo took a rolling dive straight into the fencing, breaking it open with a loud crack and the two young trainers gasped.
"Anani..." Hop said,"...Did you hear that just now?"
With a goal set in mind, and just because he enjoyed a little chaos, Anani's Zigzagoon zagged forward into the now open entrance of the Slumbering Weald.
"No! Punkoon!" she called out to it,"Must you always cause such trouble!?"
"The gates open...!" said Hop as the two finally made it to the forboding entrance to where they were forbidden to go. The place where they met for the first time...
"Aw man, the fensing that Lee and I built up for it is shambles now..." he groaned.
This...Place...
She thought to herself.
"This is the Slumbering Weald..." said Hop,"That place is totally forbidden..." He blinked, "I remember the Professor's grandaughter went in there once...And she came back in a real state! Which is nothing compared to the earful she got from the Professor after..."
"But...Punkoon's in there..." Anani said softly,"Along with Wooloo, not to mention that Nikit who stole the map...!"
"True...you're right." Hop blinked,"I know you don't remember much..." he blinked, " But I also know that this was the place I found you..." he said,"And as I recall...you weren't in a very fine state yourself either...so...what do you say, Anani?"
She pondered for a moment.
He was right of course. It was on the forest bed floor of the Slumbering Weald that Hop had discovered her battered self. She had no idea how she got there, why she was there, or what had happened to her. It was all hazy. But one thing she did remember...was fear. Even with that though...she had already made up her mind.
"What do you mean What do I say!?" Anani huffed,"Of course I'm going in there! I've got to get Punkoon!" she blinked,"And your Wooloo..." she blinked,"Even if we fail to find the Nikit and the map, we've still got to got to save our Poke'mon!"
"Right!" Hop nodded,"Even if we're not supposed to...this is the kind of scene where you simply have to do what's needed!" he stated,"I hope you're ready for anything because we're going in Anani!" he said and took her hand in his. She didn't realize it right away until Hop squeezed her hand, but she was trembling.
"Don't worry, Anani." he said to her,"I'm with you...you're not going in by yourself and I certainly won't let you." he grinned,"Now come on...let's go save our Poke'mon!"
XXXXX
All seemed quiet in the Slumbering Weald. For whatever reason...it always seemed quiet in these woods...almost as though it were its own world seperate on of its own...
It held a strange calm...and an uneasy peace...
A thin mist covered the treetops and a light fog showed the way through the forest. It gave it an eery and forboding feel...
"That Nikit..." Hop said softly,"Where do you suppose it ran off to?" he blinked,"And Punkoon and Wooloo...I hope they didn't go too far..." Anani was without words for a moment. Something about being in this place rested unwell with her. She moved in closer to Hop and he sighed and looked up toward the trees,"The fog's coming on thick now..." he said softly as he tightened his hold on her hand,"If we don't find out Poke'mon soon...this might be trouble." he blinked,"Stay close to me, got it?"
"Right..." Anani nodded, and gripped tightly into his hand as he took off running. As they pushed through the mist an echoing howl cried in the distance, its source hidden within the fog, stopped the young trainers in their tracks. As though it were a warning...
"Did you hear that?" Hop whispered softly,"Do you suppose it was the battle cry of a Poke'mon?"
"Hop...I can't say what that was..." she said firmly, " And I certainly don't want to stick around to find out!"
"Right." Hop nodded,"Let's push on, then..."
Just then, the cry sounded once more, only this time, it was louder.
"Let's hurry, Anani!" said Hop,"I think our Poke'mon might be in real trouble!"
"Hop! Look! Ahead!" she said pointing within the mist, it seemed Wooloo and Punkoon now had the Nikit surrounded, still holding onto the map.
"Bang on!" said Hop,"Say...Anani!" he blinked," I just had a right smashing idea!"
"Really?" Anani huffed,"And what could that be?"
"You should try to catch that Nikit!" he said.
"Say what now!?" she blinked.
"Think about it!" said Hop, Your first Poke'mon was Punkoon, and I caught him for you." he said,"Then Lee gave you Bloo." he stated,"You say you want to be a Poke'mon trainer but you've yet to have caught one of your own, right?" he beamed,"Now's your chance!" he stated,"I'll even lend you a Poke'ball." he smiled and handed over one of his spares,"I caught Wooloo, so I already know the thrill of catching Poke'mon." he stated,"It wouldn't be nearly as fun if you didn't get to experience it too..."
"Right..." she blinked as she humbly accepted yet another of his generous gifts, and she grinned,"All right, then!" she beamed,"I'm gonna catch that Nikit!"
"Bang on!" Hop beamed.
"All right, you heard Hop, Punkoon!" she called to her Zigzagoon,"Nikit, we're challenging you to a battle, right now!"
"KeKeKe" the little fox seemed to snicker, but didn't refuse the challenge.
"Very well then...Punkoon! Use Tackle attack!"
"Zagoon Zaaa!" Zigzagoon cried enthusiasticly and obeyed his order. He threw in a full body tackle against the small fox, taking it by surprise as he fell back and was forced to release the map he held in his little fangs. He didn't take kindly to the assult and countered with a basic Beat Up attack, not that it did much considering the damage from such an attack was dependent on the number of Poke'mon in a party. Since this Nikit was wild, it could only hit once. It took only a few more good tackles before the timing seemed right to go for the kill.
"All right then...Poke'ball GO!" Anani called out. It hit spot on and the red light took in the Nikit and absorbed it into its containment. after a few shakes of the ball the very satisfying ding sounded, signified a successful capture. "Hop! I did it!" Anani beamed.
"Bang on, Anani! That was Wicked!" Hop grinned, sharing in her enthusiasm. Smiling to herself in satisfaction, she collected the Poke'ball that now held the Nikit within it,"All right you little thief..." Anani snickered as she spoke to the ball,"I think I'm going to call you Swiper." she chuckled.
"Aye, Swiper, no Swiping!" Hop laughed as he was now able to collect the wrinkled up map that had caused all the trouble.
"And as for you, Punkoon..." she smiled scooping her Zigzagoon up in her arms in relief, giving it a warm embrace. Hop smiled, happy to see that their Poke'mon were unharmed, when suddenly the fog surrounding them began to thicken.
"What's this!?" Anani called out.
Hop began feeling around for her hand, to quickly grasp and move in close together.
"This is mad..." he said as he pulled her in close to him, one hand holding hers while the other rested on her other arm as the two darted their heads around within the fog,"I can't even see my own hand infront of my face!" he gulped,"Now I think I'm beginning to understand why this place is off limits..."
"Hop...we should go..." Anani said nervously.
Something didn't feel right...
A looming presence hung heavily around them. Each one searched for its source, soon to be greeted by what appeared to be a tall and massive wolf.
"What in the-" Hop called out and instinctively pulled Anani back behind him. The beast lifted its mighty head and let out a battle cry, rushing in at them.
"AHH!" they both screamed and instinctively released their Poke'mon to defend themselves. Scorbunny and Sobble took to the field and began firing rapid attacks...
But it did little good.
"What's going on!? Our moves have no effect!" said Hop after releasing an Ember attack when Sobble's watergun had failed. The mysterious Poke'mon stared, fixed gaze upon them.
"I don't understand..." said Anani as Bloo fired another Watergun,"No matter what moves we use it all just seems to pass right through it!"
Suddenly, the beast let out a slow heave of breath, which only thickened the fog around them so much that now Anani and Hop couldn't even see eachother, even as close as they stood.
"Anani!" Hop cried out,"I can't see anything, are you okay!?"
"Y-Yeah...I think so..." she said nervously trembling,"Hop, I'm scared!"
"-I can't see anything! ANANI!"
Nothing but the sounds of their screams echoed through The Slumbering Weald...
XXXXX
"Nn...ngh..." Anani grunted as she tried to blink her eyes awake.
Again...?
This feeling was all too familiar...
Waking from a sleep upon the floor of the Slumbering Weald. Only this time, she wasn't alone. She woke in the arms of Hop, who seemed to hold her as though it were a means of protecting her from whatever threats that hid the now lifted fog.
"Hop...?" she blinked,"Hop!" she gasped and quickly rose to shake him,"No, Hop, please! Don't leave me like this, you can't-!"
"Mmnh..." he groaned and blinked open his heavy hazel eyes.
"Oh Hop...thank goodness you're all right!" she sighed in relief.
"Anani...?" he blinked and gasped,"Anani! Are you okay!? Are you hurt!?"
She shook her head.
"I'm fine now." she said with a relieved smile as she swiped away her worried tears,"Thank you, Hop...for everything."
"Anani..."
"Hop! Anani!" the concerned cries of Leon cut through the trees as the champion himself ran blindly up to their spot.
"Wha? Lee?" Hop blinked,"How'd you find your way here?" he asked,"You're pants with directions...you always get lost!"
"Oh THAT'S nice to hear from the little brother that had me worried sick!" Huffed Leon as he took Hop into a tight squeeze,"I waited ages for you two and you never showed..." he said, slowly peeling himself away from Hop," For both you!" he heaved a heavy sigh as he pulled in a still shaken up young Anani into a double embraced shared with Hop,"You two had me worried...I'm so glad you're safe!"
"We're sorry Lee..." said Hop,"A Nikit stole our map and so we sent Zigzagoon and Wooloo to go after it and they all wound up in this place." he explained,"Anani managed to catch that Nikit in a Poke'ball I lent her, and-" he gasped,"Wait Wooloo! Zigzagoon!" he panicked,"And Sobble and Scorbunny too-are they okay!?"
Leon smiled warmly and gave a gentle nod as he chuckled.
"I returned them all safely to their Poke'balls." he said,"They're all just fine, but you were all fainted by the time I found you here." he blinked,"You know this place is out of bounds." he huffed,"But still it took courage for you two to come in here all the same...and I can understand well enough why you did it, so..." he smiled warmly and placed a gentle palm on each of their heads,"Good on you two."
"I'm glad to see everyone is all right." Hop said with a grin,"I thought we'd had it once that fog rolled in thick and that mad Poke'mon attacked..."
"What!?" Leon blinked,"Attacked by some mad Poke'mon? what are you talking about, Hop?"
"It seemed so much stronger than any Poke'mon I had ever seen before!" he explained,"It just had this sort of...presence..." he blinked,"Our moves didn't even touch it." he stated,"In fact, they seemed to pass right through it!"
"Your moves passed right through it, huh?" Leon blinked,"So...the fierce Poke'mon they say live here in The Slumbering Weald...could they actually be just illusions or something? Hmmm..." he pondered and chuckled,"Well perhaps if you two get strong enough then you could be the ones to reveal that truth someday." he smiled,"For now...we should get out of here...huh?"
Leon blinked as he set a concerned gaze upon Anani, who had her back toward him. Gazing out into the distant fog of the Slumbering Weald, visibly trembling.
"Anani..." Hop said softly,"That's right...I found her in here...she was in a real state back then..." he said,"I wonder if perhaps she may still be afraid?"
"Hmm..." Leon nodded and gave a gentle smile placing a warm hand on her small shoulder,"You'll be all right now that I'm here with you." he said softly. Acknowledging this, she returned his smile and nodded.
"Well...even if we did get an earful from Lee..." Hop shrugged,"What an experience!" he beamed,"This will make a pretty fine first page in the tale of my legend!"
"Try front page of the paper!" Anani teased,"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" she said,"Boy unconscious on the forest floor!"
"HA! If I ever find a copy of that paper, I'll frame it!" Leon laughed.
"Oh POSH on you!" huffed Hop as Anani ducked and weaved away from his capture before she took off to run ahead as he gave chase.
To Be Continued