20.5
[8:23 PM. Saffron City Streets. Saffron City. Three days later.]
The man trudged through the rain.
The city was uncharacteristically quiet as he walked through the streets. Trucks passed by at regular intervals. Each step he took echoed with a damp sound. The hum of the rain against the pavement, the dull yellow glow around the streetlights, the sound of a Houndour howling at the sky—all of these sensations propelled the man forward. He adjusted his coat with his good hand, bracing himself against the cool rain. He had been walking for days, not stopping to eat or speak to another soul. Something primordial drove his quest and set his feet to inexorable motion. Sleep was rare; he could not move while he slept.
A large black bird perched on one of the streetlights. It ruffled its chest and gave a low caw through the rain.
News had reached the man's ears in fragments. Johto, Kanto—there had been a rift. A man called Blue Oak was the new champion. Tin Tower was gone. These images crept into his mind in a disjointed tapestry of events
The man came upon an officer of the law, the first person he had seen since entering the city. "Hold up, friend," The officer said. "Don't you know about the curfew?"
The man kept walking, ignoring the officer. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"
He did not respond, but simply kept up his walking. "Sir, I asked you to stop. Now I know you probably want to get out of this rain, but rules are rules."
To the man, there was nothing to acknowledge. The officer ran up in front of him and held up a hand. "Now I don't want to have to take you in, so I'm gonna ask you one more time before I start telling you; I'm gonna escort you to the station. Can't have folks walking around in this weather after curfew."
The man stopped and adjusted his jacket once more. "I need to get back."
"Well, why didn't you just say so? Tell me where it is you're going and I'll get you back there fast as I can."
"Silph…Co…" His words seemed far away, strained and distant.
"Silph Co, huh? You work there? They're closed right now, you know that, right?" You got an apartment somewhere nearby?"
"Silph…" The man began to walk again. The officer put a hand on the man's arm.
"I think you need to come with me." The man pulled a pokeball from his belt and released his Growlithe into the rain. The fire dog snarled at the man. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, mister."
The man shook his head, water dripping from the brim of his sopping hat. "Hard way."
The Growlithe leapt at the man; in mid air, a massive bird swooped down and caught the dog in its talons and carried it up into the night. The officer gasped and reached for his nightstick. He ran at the man but never connected. The man had jammed a thin blade in between the officer's ribs. He pulled the blade out and the officer fell to the wet pavement, clutching his bleeding wound. The bird circled overhead before releasing the dog from a height of several stories. The Growlithe hit the pavement like a wet pillow. It gave a high and pained cry before it died.
The man kept walking, never looking back.