The Legend of Leen
Chapter 2: The Hidden Village
The sun was setting when Jason and his team arrived at the village. That morning, before making the trek down into the valley, he had chosen Sphya, Sugar, Elecuty, and of course Leen for his on-hand Pokémon. Thankfully, the group arrived without any further attacks.
Hardly anyone noticed them walk into town at first. Everyone seemed to be busy rushing about with chores: milking Miltanks, retrieving Doduo eggs, and repairing houses. It surprised Jason how many Kanto/Johto Pokémon there were on this side of Hoenn. And with a large channel separating Hoenn from Johto, and an even larger one separating Hoenn from Nyor.
Jason wondered how they could have gotten here, but then he quickly realized that they must somehow have migrated to the islands in the distant past. But then, he thought, maybe the opposite could explain why Nyor Pokémon—or at least the ones he had encountered—were so strong. They could have migrated from Kanto/Johto and their offspring been imbued with the elemental powers of their new region.
But how could that be the case when all the ones he had encountered had been land-dwelling Pokémon, including Rock types?
And a town, here in a land where no human being was supposed to have set foot? It all only added to the mystery and reinforced Jason's hunch that the Ere government had things it wasn't telling them.
But why wouldn't they have mentioned a town if they knew the possibility that Jason might find it?
So many questions. Time to get some answers.
Jason was trying to figure out who to ask for help and what to ask, exactly, when something caught his eye. In the middle of the town there was a stone statue of a Dugtrio set on a pedestal. As he and his team walked by a cabin, they all turned their heads to glance at it, and even Sphya's keen senses almost missed the boy coming around the other side of the house.
"Yon," the Espeon warned, a split second too late.
"Oof!" The boy grunted, dropping a bundle of logs he had been carrying.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" Jason exclaimed, stepping back from the impact and bending down to help pick up the fallen wood.
"Whoa, sorry!" The boy said apologetically, "Lemme get that stuff out of your way!"
"Don't worry about it," Jason said with a friendly smile, glad that the boy wasn't angry at him.
"I guess I should watch where I'm going, huh?" The kid returned a sheepish grin.
As Jason stood with the bundle of logs in his arms, he noticed that the whole town was turning to stare at them.
He had wondered last night and on the way down the valley whether there were other towns like this or if the citizens lived in isolation. He was beginning to believe the latter because it was apparent that they didn't receive guests very often, if at all.
"So are you guys from Galaia?" Asked the boy, who looked about 13.
"Galaia?" Jason asked, his original hypothesis refuted. "Where's that?"
The boy's eyebrows shot up.
"You mean you're not from Galaia? Where are you from, then?"
"Uh . . . long way," Jason smiled a little, unable to help feeling proud about just how far.
It probably wasn't every day that this kid—but really a young man, at his age—got to meet someone from another dimension.
"Ere?" the boy gawked. "Are you an explorer?"
"Well . . ." Jason struggled to explain, "I'm from . . . it's kind of a long story. My Pokémon are from east of here," he said, not sure if people here would be familiar with the other regions, and not sure how to tell the boy he was from an alternate universe.
"Hoenn!?" The boy asked amazedly.
Wrong again. Apparently they were familiar with the other regions. Then how were the other regions not familiar with them?
Jason decided to shift his assumptions a little bit.
"Some are from Hoenn, some from Johto, and some from Kanto. But this guy here," he motioned to Leen, who hopped onto his arm affectionately, "Is from somewhere else."
The boy's jaw dropped. "You've been to Kanto!? That's on the other side of the Big Island!"
Jason grinned broadly. "Yep. My name's Jason. This is Leen, Sphya, Sugar, and Elecuty," he introduced the Pokémon currently with him.
"Wow, those Pokémon really are from all over the world!" he exclaimed, "A Blissey! Wow!"
Jason tried to remain humble as the kid's exuberance sent a surge through him.
"My name's Benjamin, sorry," the boy continued, trying to shake Jason's hand but almost dropping the wood again in his excitement.
Jason leaned in to help him steady himself.
"Ben, watch what you're doing!" Came a stern voice. "Clumsy kid."
An unshaven, middle-aged man with dark hair walked up to them. Jason watched as Ben's eyes sunk for a moment.
"Oh, no, it's okay," Jason said quickly, flashing Ben a smile, but the younger man was too busy looking at the ground to notice, "I ran into him. It was my fault."
"Affar," the man introduced himself gruffly with a firm handshake. "What brings you to these parts?"
"I'm kind of exploring," Jason explained, "These are my Pokemon, and—"
"You a hunter?" Affar interrupted.
"A . . . no, a hunter?"
"We got hunters coming in here recently. Bad idea. The last two got themselves killed. It's dangerous around here."
"Pokémon hunters?" Jason asked.
"What else would they be hunting?"
"Wait, you mean, like, trainers? Catching Pokemon? Or—"
"I mean hunting them. With weapons."
Jason and all his Pokémon recoiled a bit. He had met people that exploited Pokémon for profit, and that was bad. But was this man saying that people actually . . . killed them? Pokémon were sentient creatures, not animals. That didn't even make sense.
"Don't act like you've never heard of such a thing," Affar said accusatorily, eyeing Jason's taken-aback expression with cynicism. "That won't work with me."
Jason shakes his head. "I haven't heard of anything like that. That's sick. I can give you my word that I would never do anything like that."
"But is your word good enough?"
Jason was stunned. There was a clear distinction between Ben's demeanor and Affar's. Were all the older people in this town so untrusting? Jason had watched movies where small-town communities acted this way, and he had even experienced it with aliens on other planets, but it was weird to see members of his own species treating him this way.
Was Affar just unusually distrustful? If not, he couldn't imagine what these people had to have been through that would cause them to be so wary of strangers.
Jason instantly removed his pack and handed it to Affar. Leen fluttered to the opposite shoulder to avoid the straps. Then, Jason spread his arms wide in a gesture of vulnerability.
"I have no weapons. You can see the Pokéballs on my belt and bag; I have 30 of my friends here from Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto. I'm a trainer, not a hunter, and I'm from the parallel world of Earth. I've come to Nyor to explore, to discover new Pokémon and new forms of evolution."
Jason didn't mention Silph Co. because he didn't want to worry them about a large company coming in and trashing their countryside. Nor did he want Silvia and her colleagues in trouble with Ere if it turned out that these people were in touch with the government there, after all.
Affar looked through the pack, but Jason could tell that the man was already relaxing his guard. Jason breathed a sigh of relief as Affar nodded.
But Affar still pressed a little further to be sure of Jason's motives.
"So you're trying to get stronger, huh? Capture some new Pokemon? I thought real trainers only traveled with six Pokemon."
"I'm not really looking to capture, and I'm done with my training days for the most part. I'm actually here for this little guy," Jason ruffled Leen's soft neck feathers affectionately, "He wants to evolve, and I think this region may hold the key to helping him."
Benjamin's eyebrows had shot up again when Jason mentioned his home being in the parallel dimension. Now, they furrow and his head tilted to one side.
"That looks an awful lot like the bird from Grandpa's painting."
Jason's heart began to race as the statement registered.
"You've seen this Pokémon before?"
Affar nodded, "It does look somewhat like it, now that I think about it."
Jason was happy to see that Affar trusted him enough to try and sound friendlier now, rather than trying to scare him away.
"His name is Leen. That's the name of his species, too."
"Leen!" Leen chirped happily.
Affar nodded, his demeanor softening reluctantly. He turned to Ben.
"Ben, I'll take care of this stuff," he said, returning Jason's backpack and taking the wood. "Take Jason and his Pokémon to your house and get your sister to make them some dinner."
The sun had almost set, and oil or gas streetlamps began to come to life. Now Jason could hear the murmurs as he walked by the crowds of people. They were asking about him and commenting on his Pokémon.
It was funny because the adults were asking the kids what Pokémon they were. Maybe they had radios here or something, and the kids were into listening to the matches just like kids around the world watched them on TV. If they knew about Pokémon and trainer rules in places outside of Nyor, they had to have some kind of contact with the outside world. Probably through Ere.
Jason wondered if they had ever heard his battles on the radio. It would have been a long time ago; he hadn't been in a Pokémon tournament for years now.
On the way to the house, Jason tried asking Ben questions about the town and its inhabitants to get him to cheer up, as well as to get some information.
The town was called Borom. Apparently, the larger town of Galaia lay to the northwest, and settlers from there had traveled out here in an attempt to reach the sea about two centuries ago. The terrain to the east was even more treacherous and impassable, and the Pokémon attacks were just too vicious.
They had wandered around the area as winter approached, finding little streams and food sources to survive off of, but knowing that they wouldn't last for long. They eventually discovered that for some reason, the Pokémon didn't come into this little cleft. Their leader used his Dugtrio, named Borom, to dig a hole into an underground spring far beneath the mountains and make a well.
Jason thought it was neat that they had named their town after the Pokémon that had saved them.
"The people brought lumber from a small forest northeast of here, and they started the town here," Ben explained.
Jason had seen some dark patches in the distance on the way down this morning that he had thought might be a forest. He had figured that was where the town got the wood to make the cabins. But it was an awfully long way off.
He was about to ask how they defended themselves when they went to the forest for lumber, but then they arrived at Ben's house. Jason returned all his Pokémon to their Pokeballs, except, of course, for Leen.
"Shelly," Ben called, "Whatcha makin? We're gonna need a LOT more of it."
Jason crossed the threshold and peered around at the house's interior. To the right was a quaint little living area with two, wooden chairs and—to Jason's amazement—what looked like an old television.
To the left was a kitchen. There, a tall girl with shoulder-length brown hair turned around. She looked to be in her late teens, and she was very pretty.
Her viridian eyes met Jason's for an instant. At first, they were curious, but then something registered, and a strange look flashed across them—he couldn't tell what it was—and then they turned cold. She turned around, flushed, and didn't say anything for a second, just went back to stirring something in a pot.
"One more pile of crap coming right up," she said.
Wow. That wasn't standoffish at all. Jason smirked a little. It was nice to find girls like this every once in a while. They made life interesting.
"Gee, that's polite," Ben mumbled, and as Shelly whirled around to respond, he continued, "C'mon, I wanna show you downstairs."
Jason followed him, throwing a sympathetic shrug in Shelly's direction. The girl rolled her eyes for a reason Jason couldn't figure and spun around to the stove again.
There was no dividing wall between the kitchen and the living room, but at the back of the house were two doorways. The one on the left had no door and led into a hallway that Jason guessed contained bedrooms and a bathroom. The one on the right had a door with a simple, wooden, turning knob. This Ben opened to reveal a winding staircase.
The stairs creaked as they descended, and at the bottom Ben opened another door to the basement. He flipped on a little switch on the wall, and a dim lamp flickered to life. There were no wires connecting to it, only metal tubes.
"There are natural gas deposits underneath the town," Ben explained as he saw Jason glancing at the tubing, "Over the generations, Galaia caught back up with us and we started trading supplies. They're a much bigger town than us, so we rely on them for modern conveniences like the metal for the tubes and our TVs and stuff."
"So do you guys have any contact with the outside world? Or is it just through television?" Jason asked, looking around the room.
It was basically a little study. There were some comfortable chairs and bookshelves lining the walls. The light wasn't very good for reading, though.
Ben winced a little bit. "We're not allowed to leave the town. It isn't safe. The adults go to the forest to chop wood—that's where my granddad is right now—and sometimes people go to Galaia. But I've never gotten to leave."
Jason felt a twinge of sympathy. He knew what he would've been like had he been in that situation: Take me with you, pleeeease!
"Well, I can tell you about trainer stuff if you want," Jason offered, unsure if that would make Ben feel better or worse, "I've had some pretty cool experiences that might be better than just what you get to see on TV."
Leen cooed in agreement.
Ben brightened up considerably. "Man, I would love that!"
They sat down in a couple of rocking chairs, and Jason told Ben about his first Pokémon adventure in Kanto, battling the Elite Four. Ben was asking lots of questions, and he wanted to hear more, so Jason told him about meeting Ash Ketchum, and about his adventures in the Parallel World. He had almost gotten to the search for the Second Mediator Crystal and meeting Leen, when footsteps sounded on the stairs.
"Dinner's ready," Shelby said impersonally, "There won't be enough for all your Pokémon, but you and he should be okay."
With that, she marched back upstairs.
Jason felt awkward, but Ben didn't seem uncomfortable.
"Sorry," Ben said.
Jason wanted to know why she was upset—she had seemed stressed from the minute he walked in the door, but especially so after seeing him. He didn't know what to make of it, but he didn't want to pry if it was something personal.
"Come on," Ben was saying, "Let's get some food. We can talk more upstairs."
They sat down to eat what was some kind of broth with potatoes. It wasn't great, but Jason didn't say anything. Shelby wasn't there; she must've taken the food to her room.
"So where are your parents?" Jason asked, trying to make more conversation, "Is . . . what was his name, Affar? Is he your dad?"
Ben frowned and turned away. "No," he said quietly, "My parents are dead. Affar's my uncle. My grandfather is raising us now."
Leen stopped eating and furrowed his brow in sympathy.
Jason's heart melted.
"I'm so sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject."
Ben nodded, clearly trying to maintain control of his emotions.
Jason never knew what to say in these situations. He guessed no one did.
"Do you . . . want to talk about it? I don't know if that would help, but . . . I can listen if you need me to."
Ben bowed his head and pushed his bowl away, a thin stream of tears easing its way down his cheeks. He spoke quietly, but his voice was steady.
"They were killed by Pokémon, saving a little girl from Galaia. They were there to get supplies, and she was playing, chasing her Pokémon around . . . a Bunneary, I think. Anyway, she . . . Galaia is safe because it's built into a mountainside, and she ventured too far out from the city. The adults didn't have time to spray themselves with the Repel that we use when we travel outside the towns. A bunch of Weezing came out of some caves and they were gassing her. One tried to hit her. My parents got in there and fought them off and handed her to her dad, and he took her and ran. But the Weezing got mad and knocked my parents out as they were leaving, and . . . that was it."
His voice started to falter at the end. Jason pushed his chair aside and knelt by Ben, laying a hand on his shoulder. The boy exhaled sharply, just for a moment, and then he regained his composure.
Leen added a melodic note of condolence, hopping next to Ben and snuggling up next to him. Ben massaged Leen's neck feathers with a grateful smile.
"Thanks," he said, "Both of you. I'll be okay. My parents were heroes, and I couldn't be prouder of them. It's just . . . it was only three months ago, so . . . ."
Jason nodded. His parents were still alive, but he had been through grief before. Pain from the old days of serving in Ziton's military welled up in him.
"That's hard," he said, "When you lose someone."
Ben nodded, too. Jason gave his shoulder a squeeze and returned to his seat.
Leen cooed with a gentle smile, offering its support. Ben left his hand there, stroking the Pokémon's soft, golden coat.
"Okay, my turn again," Jason said, trying to lighten the mood. He was about to start a funny story, when the door to the cabin opened.
"Ben, we've got some logs for you to help—oh, hello there, didn't know we had company!"
A short, older man, about sixty or so, had walked in with a burlap sack slung over his shoulder. He had a kind, weathered smile that reminded Jason of Professor Oak.
"Hi," Jason stood up and introduced himself, "My name's Jason, I'm a Pokémon trainer traveling in the region. Sorry if I'm intruding or anything."
"Oh, no," the man's smile got even wider, "We're happy to have visitors. It's been a very long time indeed."
So maybe it was just Affar who was so cautious. Jason wondered why.
"Grandpa, aren't you forgetting to introduce yourself?" Ben joked.
"Oh, yes, yes, silly me! My name is William Stone, but you can call me Grandpa, too, if you'd like!"
"Leen!" Leen piped up with a self-introduction.
"Oh, we mustn't forget about you, little one!" Grandpa Stone reached out a hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance! I don't believe I've ever seen a Pokémon like this one. Is it newly discovered?"
"I actually discovered him several years ago, but most people don't know his species exists. I'm kind of keeping it a secret since there are so few left. As far as I know, he's the only one with a trainer."
"Fascinating. I believe you may have something common with us, then. May I ask what he's called? His species I mean. Or do you want to keep that a secret, too?"
Jason's ears perked up at the "something in common with us" part, but he decided to answer the question first.
"He's called a Leen. I can't reveal the location of their nesting grounds, but I can tell you that it's not in this dimension."
The old man's brow arched in surprise. "A Pokémon from Earth? How is that possible? I understood that Pokémon were encoded into the digital makeup of this Universe."
Wow. So these people were in touch.
"Apparently, just as trainers can move from world to world, Pokémon can, too. My team and I have been doing it for years now. Although I'm not sure how the Leen got there."
"Then does the other world know about our world's existence? I understood that only the trainers who crossed over were familiar with Pokémon. But if Pokémon can travel to your world . . . ."
"My world doesn't know of this world's existence. When my Pokémon have crossed over, it's always been for very secret purposes. I don't go for joyrides on my Charizard . . . at least not in broad daylight."
"Then you're from the other world?"
"Yes," Jason affirmed, "I've used my Pokémon to defend people in certain situations. I used to be involved in a sort of secret peacekeeping organization."
By now, Jason was used to explaining in general what he had spent much of his childhood doing, without going into unnecessary detail. It was weird enough being from another dimension. Letting strangers know you were once trained as a secret super soldier for the military of another planet was often a little hard for them to swallow.
"I see," Stone said.
There was a brief silence as the grandfather stared at the golden bird perched atop his table. Their eyes met for a moment, and it seemed something hypnotic was passing between them.
"Hey!" Ben exclaimed, "I almost forgot! The reason I wanted to show you the basement in the first place. Grandpa, can you show him that painting you have? The one of the rainbow bird?"
Stone cocked his head in thought. "I suppose I could . . ." he trailed off. "Well, yes, I suppose I could."
Wonder what that's about, Jason thought.
The trio walked downstairs, and Stone led them to a portrait on the right wall that Jason hadn't noticed before. It was kept in a simple, wooden frame with a glass covering, which was a good thing because the painting didn't seem to be in very good shape. It was peeling and cracked at the edges, and the color was fading. It looked like it was over a hundred years old—and had seen some weather.
But the figure in the painting was unmistakably a bird Pokémon that closely resembled Leen. It had the same set of three long, loose feathers sticking out the back of its head, and the same three, flat tails that trailed behind it, making it reminiscent of a small Articuno with more flowing features rather than sharper ones. The difference was that this Pokémon was not gold. Instead, its feathers were a myriad of colors.
"In Galaia, they call it the Rainbow Pokemon," Stone said, "Most people think it actually represents many of the Legendary Birds that we see in these mountains from time to time."
Legendary Birds! There it was: confirmation that the sightings had been legitimate!
Leen hopped up on Jason's arm to have a look. He glanced at the painting, and then at his own body a few times, trying to compare them.
"The beak is longer," Jason noted, "But that could just be the artist. Who painted it?"
"My great grandfather," said Stone, "And his wife took it with her when she brought her children here. She was part of the group that founded this town."
"I told him about the migration," Ben said.
Stone nodded. Ever since looking at Leen he had seemed to be deep in thought. Now, he was choosing his words very carefully, like a scholar, Jason thought.
"There is a legend," he said, "That a mountain in this region of the world was the birthplace of Moltres, the Legendary Bird of fire."
Jason's heart jumped.
"It's not unlikely, either. Once, about thirty years ago, two men came looking for rare Pokémon. They were excited to hear about that mountain, and they ventured off to find it. One of them returned two months later, claiming to have seen it, but the other man had died in the journey. The first man left again after that, hoping to find more legendary Pokémon, and we never heard from him again."
"Was he one of the hunters Affar mentioned?"
"What? Oh, no, no. Those were men who had been coming from the islands—mostly the Johto region—in the past two years or so. The last time a group came was about two months ago. Affar and some others went out with their Pokémon to deter them, but all they found were . . . remains."
"I've noticed that the Pokémon in Nyor seem to be able to handle themselves quite well."
"Indeed," Stone replied grimly, "More so now than ever. They've not only gotten stronger in the last few years, but more violent as well."
Ben turned away at that. Jason felt another pang of hurt for him and his sister.
"I'm sorry if Affar was cross to you," Stone continued, "He's concerned about your safety as well as the respect we should show to the Pokémon that live among us in this world."
Jason nodded his agreement and turned back to ponder the painting some more.
"We sometimes see other birds in the sky," Stone continued, "My grandson, when he was very young, claimed to see a great, golden bird that, after watching television and learning about the different types of Pokémon, he believed was a gold-colored Ho-oh. I believe that that is possible."
"I came here to find a way to evolve Leen," Jason said, "We know he's capable of evolution, and there's a lot of elemental energy in this part of the world. I've heard the reports of Legendary Birds here, and I think this may be where Leen can evolve into one of them."
Grandpa Stone nodded. "Then you may want to travel to Galaia. This picture was painted based on an ancient stained-glass window there. You may find more about the history of this region and the legendary birds there. You'll also find people there who are more knowledgeable about the Nyor region, who might know where the fire mountain is. But I have something else to show you."
Stone walked over to a bookshelf, and Jason followed. He pulled out a dusty photo album, sat down in a chair, and flipped it open. Inside were black and white pictures of what looked like ancient, stone carvings.
"Arcticuno," Jason pointed at one, "You can tell by the head crests."
"Is that one Regigigas?" Benjamin tapped one.
Jason perused the photo in question. "It looks like it could be. Or one of the other Regis."
"These were also taken in Galaia, some by my great grandfather, and some by my grandfather as a boy."
Jason saw Moltres, Ho-oh, and Zapdos, along with some other birds that could have been Pidgeot or Staraptor, or maybe different Pokémon entirely. There was one carving that was clearly an ancient Mew.
"When were they carved, do you know?"
"Millenia ago."
"Millenia. That means . . . maybe Legendary Pokémon were legendary even back then."
"Or perhaps they were simply more common."
Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"
Stone shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Just another theory."
Jason shrugged. "I'm all ears. I'm just kind of exploring all the possibilities at this point."
"Well," said Stone, "I only meant to say that sometimes people take notice of spectacular things, but they also take notice of things that contribute to their lives in great ways just because of the quantity of services those things provide. Perhaps the Legendary Pokemon were special to them because they were part of their daily lives."
Jason nodded. "That makes sense."
There was a lull in the conversation. Then Jason had to ask.
"If the bird in the painting represents many Pokémon, and it's symbolized by only one . . . do you think they could all come from the same Pokémon? I mean, do you think a Pokémon could evolve into many others like that?"
"Like an Eevee?" Ben offered, "Only with a bird?"
Leen chirped in excitement at the possibility.
Stone revealed a very small smile. "That would be very interesting to find out. I don't think you should waste any time getting to Galaia."
Jason was excited. "I'll leave first thing tomorrow, if you'll let me stay here for the night," he caught himself being self-inviting and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, I'm sorry, I . . . would you mind? Sorry, I shouldn't have asked!"
"Of course," Stone chuckled. "We'd be happy to have you. If you don't mind staying down here, I can get my granddaughter to fetch you a pillow and some blankets."
Jason nodded. "That would be perfect. Thank you so much."
He was actually anxious to talk to Shelly if she'd let him. Maybe talk to her about whatever was making her want to be so standoffish. Something in the back of his mind told him that attempting to do so would only make things worse, but the problem-fixer in him wouldn't let him miss the opportunity. Plus, he was a believer in God, in Jesus Christ, and saw life's happenings as destiny. He had come to this town, this house for a reason, and that reason was to make a difference in the lives of the people here with whatever time he had with them.
"Can I stay and talk with Jason some more?" Ben asked.
"I think you need to get some sleep," Stone smiled, roughing his grandson's hair. "We still have that lumber for you and Donphan to move in the morning."
Ben sighed. "Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Jason. I hope I see you in the morning."
"Thanks, it was really great talking to you, too. And I'll be praying for your family about everything that happened. I don't know how much that means to you, but I know that God has a reason for all of it."
Ben nodded, and Jason wasn't sure how he took the statement, but it seemed positive. Jason hoped so.
Bidding one another goodnight, they all parted ways, but not before Grandpa Stone welcomed Jason to the books in his library, and the photo album, to study as he pleased.
A few minutes later, Shelly came down the stairs carrying stuff to sleep on.
"Here," she said, tossing him the pillow and covers without so much as looking him in the eye, "Good luck getting yourself killed tomorrow."
"Hang on a second," Jason said as she turned away.
She stopped at the steps and angled just enough so he could see her left eye. She didn't look at him. He knew he had to be careful here, so he prayed a quick prayer for wisdom.
"Did I do something to offend you earlier? I didn't mean to be upsetting."
"You didn't. We just don't like having company very much. Small town community and so on." She still hadn't turned completely to face him.
"Well, Ben and your granddad seemed to be okay with me. Are they just being nice?"
Shelly sighed and rolled her eyes. Now she turned around.
"We don't waste time leaving this town unless we need to for supplies. If you want to get killed, fine, but you come here and stir my little brother up wanting to leave here, and he's going to get himself killed, too. I think I have a right to be annoyed, because now I have to convince him not to run off and play make-believe games out in the hills where he'll get slaughtered by Pokémon."
"I'm sorry," Jason said, "I didn't mean to make him think that way."
Even though he seems like a perfectly level headed kid and there's more to why you're angry than you're telling me. It's about your parents and you aren't dealing with your emotions.
The truth was, Jason had already started formulating plans to return to this town after his adventure ended and see if there was a way the adults would let Ben become a trainer in Kanto. Jason could see it in his eyes. He had the spirit of a trainer. The world needed kids like that, and he hated for someone with that much spirit and potential to be trapped in a little place like this when he wanted to be out there.
"Well, you did," Shelly answered simply, "Enjoy your night."
She spun on her heels again and headed for the stairs.
"Shelly, I am sorry, and thank you for the blankets. I really appreciate the hospitality, and I'll be out of your hair soon, I promise."
She hadn't even stopped.
"Good," she called back from the top of the stairwell.
Wow. That was rough, thought Jason. But he had done his best and felt like he had at least planted a seed of kindness there that he knew God would use to help her deal with things regardless of whether Jason was present or not. He reminded himself of that, and it helped him not feel so bad that he wouldn't be able to spend time gaining her trust.
He and Leen stayed up reading for a while, but Leen soon started nodding off, so Jason called out Cinder, his Ninetales, to curl up with Leen in the corner.
One of the most recent editions to Jason's strongest bracket of Pokémon—recent being two years ago—, Cinder had a motherly, nurturing spirit that made Jason feel as warm inside as the flame that burned within her.
She had always been that way, even as a Vulpix, helping the other Pokemon in his second Hoenn team, taking care of them and using her strength to help them along in their training.
Even the other day, before the fight with the Vileplume, she had been the first to scavenge for berries for the rest of the group. She was a much-needed emotional boost at critical times, and his affection for her was nearing the level of tenderness he felt for those who had been with him since his first Pokémon journey through Kanto.
Speaking of Kanto . . . he needed to call Silvia.
"You better have a good reason for waking me up," she griped when she picked up the phone.
"I haven't given you my report yet."
"So you're not bleeding in a ditch somewhere?"
"Nope. But you're not gonna believe—"
"Then what are you waking me up for? We can do that in the morning. You call me at 2 am, I worry that this was an actual emergency, and what am I not gonna believe?"
"There's a town here. Two, actually. At least two. I forgot to ask if there were more."
Jason heard scrambling on the other end.
"Okay, I'm getting out of bed and turning the vid system on, but I swear if you say one word about my hair, I will find a way to resurrect Arceon and put you in a private Universe with it and watch you burn."
"Okay, chill, I'm not gonna care."
The vid snapped on.
Jason pointed a finger and fake-laughed.
"You dirty—"
"Relax, you look fine."
"Anyway. Hair. I mean . . . Urgh! It's too late for this."
Now Jason really laughed.
"Town. Tell me about this town," said Silvia.
Jason proceeded to inform Silvia about Borom and Galaia, and about the painting and the possibility of Leen evolving into one or more Legendary Birds. He also told her about the Pokémon battles he had faced and how all three of the wild Pokémon's stats had been way off the charts. The only thing he left out was the story about Ben's and Shelly's family, since Ben had shared that in confidence.
Silvia shook her head in marvel. "Legendary Birds and super Pokemon . . . couldn't get much better than this."
Jason smiled. "It will if I can find a way for him to evolve," he nodded at the sleeping Leen. "Oh, and Silv? There's a kid here whose house I'm staying at. He really wants to be a Pokémon trainer if he ever got the opportunity. After we're done checking this place out, can we—"
"We'll work something out, if we can get the okay from the big boys."
Stephen could probably pull some strings to give Ben a shot at training as a career without causing too much of a stir in the press about his homeland. Until Ben got good enough to be publicly recognized, that is, but that was something they'd have to deal with if it came to it.
"Okay, thanks. Anything else I can tell you?"
"Not unless you think of anything. This mean I can go back to sleep now?"
Jason grinned. "Yup. Good night, Silv."
She flashed him a smirk. "Good night."
Jason nestled down in one of the chairs, exhaustion overwhelming his excitement at the prospects this strange land held. The last thing he remembered as he drifted off to sleep was an exciting image of a rainbow bird splitting into many colorful threads, and each of those threads becoming a new being in its own right. Some of them had names, too: Char-Char, Freezy, Tulip, Flambo, Cinder, Leen . . . .