I have lost track of time as I limply, and finally, walked out of the stupid ruins.
"Well, that twenty-seven minutes of walking and flying around in darkness is finally over!"
...I sighed as I ignored my flying clock.
"You're welcome," the Zubat smirked, gliding above me in a circle.
I gritted my teeth as I slowly and gently placed both Fay and Vixie on the ground. My extra ribbon-thingies hurt so so much, but I took a deep breath as I tried to move them, grabbing Saur and Shock off of my back, and gently placed them with the others. With that done, I collapsed on the ground, panting for breath as my vision blurred.
"Oh! Oh!" the Zubat yelped in fright. "Food! Right! H-hang in there, big guy!" he said, his voice trailed off, as well as the flapping noises of his wings as he flew away.
The evening air was really cold out here. Trainers or other predatory Pokémon could easily spot us here in the open, but luckily, the ruins' entrance walls kinda extended further, shielding my friends and I from sight.
...and that Zubat... I met him...er...rather, I stepped on him while I was still inside the ruins. He said something about making a slow progress of crawling out so the Unown wouldn't notice him. He and his friends were caught in the Unown's trap, and he was the only one lucky enough to survive. As a bat, he was blind, so luck really contributed a lot to his survival back there.
I was too weak to yelp after two berries fell on my head. I didn't realize the Zubat, but now that I did, I heard him already flying away again.
My stomach growled weakly after the smell of berries entered my nostrils. Despite my blurry eyes, I saw the other one rolled away from me, and stopped beside one of my friends. The other one was a paw's reach in front of me. I gritted my teeth as I forced my brown paw to grab a hold of it with the help of my nails. I...guess I'm an Eevee again... I exhaled, then inhaled as I pulled my paw back. Ugh...my body is so painful right now, but my mind was too weak to register them al—ow...
The Zubat dropped two more berries on me, and flew away again.
I was really really tired, but I had to eat something... I might not be able to wake up if I do give in to sleep, and that scary thought was enough for me to force myself to eat the berry on my grip.
The berry felt hot and spicy, but I tried my best to ignore the burning sensation on my lips. I'm probably eating something that removes the frozen status... Rawst, maybe? Not sure... I never cared for the berries except for Orans, Sitruses and Leppas when I was still playing the game... I'll just...try and eat the counterpart berry next...
The Zubat kept on dropping berries, either on me or not on me. I was getting annoyed at him for dropping them on me, but I kept it in. I should be thankful that the bat was doing the trouble of collecting berries for me...for us to eat.
...I just hope my friends wake up soon...
"Is that plenty enough?" the Zubat asked, gasping for breath as he wobbled from where he stood.
...I was actually having a hard time seeing him able to stand up like that. Weren't their feet...pointed, or something? Anyway, I weakly nodded. "Ye-yeah... This is...plenty enough..."
"Cool!" he said, swiping a wing on the small mountain of berries to grab one. He bit on it...and sucked the juices quicker than a blink. "Ah! That hits the spot!" he said as he grabbed and bit another one. He spat it back. "Pleah! Sitrus! Bleak..." he stuck his tongue out in disgust. Poor guy, can't see the berries he wants to eat. But...
"Can't you smell them?"
He grabbed another one. "Too hungry to smell." He bit the berry and sucked it dry.
After about...I lost count how many berries he sucked...but after that, he lied down on the ground on his juice-filled belly.
"So..." he said as I was chewing on my third berry. "...who are you and where's the big guy?"
I gulped down what I was chewing and winced at the pain that I was still holding back. I'm slowly regaining my strength, but at the same time, I'm also slowly feeling how painful I was at the moment. I took a deep breath, the cold air easing the pain a bit, and sighed. "I...was that big guy..."
"Oh?"
My ears drooped as I sighed again and grabbed another berry. "It's a long...and complicated story..." I still couldn't believe I could do that. Also, I have no idea how I did that. But I was so thankful that I did it. 'Cause if I wasn't...then...
The Zubat nodded with a smile. "Okay, okay! Maybe you can tell me all about it in the morning?"
"Erm...h-how can you tell the time?"
"Dunno. I just know."
"Ah..." I don't wanna know then.
We were quiet after that. He was blindly staring at me, and I was eating a few more berries. As I chewed, I was also cursing myself for putting myself and my friends in danger...
My excitement made me blind of what the movie had showed me. The Unown couldn't grant wishes. They only make you think they can, through illusions and psychic powers... That little missed info almost caused me my own life, and my friends' lives, and I doubt they could ever forgive me for that... I doubt that even I could ever forgive myself for that...
Shock would be so angry at me... Fay and Saur would be disappointed. Vixie would...
"Hey," the Zubat suddenly said, breaking both the silence and my train of thought. "I heard that half-eaten berries won't be delicious if you let it seep a lot of cold air."
...oh... I forgot to continue eating...
"But since I'm talking now, I just wanna say that it was really cool how you managed to save yourself and your friends from those energy-leeching bastards!" he said with a smile.
...without the eyes' expressions, I could barely tell if he was smiling genuinely, sarcastically, angrily, or whatever...
"So if you're thinking that you did something bad, then don't! You saved them! And they're alive!" he blindly turned to my friends' sleeping forms, his smile had gotten smaller. "...unlike I...who was helpless... I just listened to my friends' cries..."
"You were powerless..." I said, not in the mood to feel sorry for anyone else but me and my friends. "...and you're a poison-type. You're weak against them anyway."
His smile was gone, and he was quiet for a while, until, "you're bad at helping others' feelings..."
"Sorry..." I sighed. "I'm still...angry at myself. I...was the reason the Unown got us..." I weakly threw my half-eaten berry...somewhere. "I almost got them killed because of my selfishness..."
I was being selfish from the start. They didn't mind it at all. Have I gotten used to it? I selfishly try and steer our group to one hopeful place to another, hoping that I could find a way to go back home, without thinking of the dangers that awaits us there!
...then again, how could I even know what the Unowns were capable of doing...or their intentions of meeting other Pokémon...
I sighed... Again, selfishness... If I was patient, like Saur, then I could have thought of asking the nearby Pokémon about this place first...
"You're a good Pokémon," the Zubat suddenly said in a calm voice.
I glared at him. "I got my friends almost killed. I guess that's your definition of a 'good Pokémon.'"
He shook his head, albeit with a little bit of difficulty. "You admit to your mistake. You felt sorry for your actions. And I think you also think that you want to change your ways." He nodded with a smile. "That's what a good Pokémon is."
I frowned at him... I wanted to argue that I'm not really a good Pokémon. I'm not even supposed to be a Pokémon in the first place. But, arguing with this simple-minded Zubat might be not worth it...
...still...
"T-thanks," I said with a small, yet sincere smile. "I'll...try to be better."
He nodded twice, still with a smile, and then flapped his wings. He flew up, hovered there, and circled, flew back at the ruins' entrance, and hung himself up-side-down on the ceiling.
I arched him an eyebrow.
"I'm sleepy, which is kind of weird for a nocturnal Pokémon such as myself. So, good night, little big guy!" He stretched his wings, and folded them back on his sides. "I'll keep an ear out in case you need help with anything."
Wow... I'm actually cursing myself for cursing the Zubats to just die during my cave travels in the games. I wanted to ask for his name, but I think he's already asleep.
"Ungh..."
My ears perked up as I sharply turned, and hissed at the sudden jolt of pain that coursed through my body.
"Guh...muh..." Shock mumbled, stirring weakly.
"Hey, hey," I hurried over to his side, and helped him to sit. "E-easy now..."
"I'm so...weak..." he blinked weakly. He sniffed, and his mouth started to water. "...and so...hungry..."
I picked up a berry and...pawfed(?) Shock. He didn't want to be helped like that, but after the berry fell off of his hands, he surrendered and allowed me to help him.
"Wh-what happened?" he asked after his fourth gulp.
I slightly shook my head. "Long story... I'd rather...tell everyone what happened at the same time, if it's okay..."
"Wh-where are..." he slightly turned, and saw them. "...oh..."
My ears fell flat. "Yeah..."
He turned to me, and studied me.
I sighed through my nostrils and nodded slowly.
He looked ahead and sighed. "I...guess that's what happens if all of you make babies all the time..."
I blinked at him. "Wait...what?"