Lombre and Nuzleaf
Adam the Lombre patted down all that was in his backpack, then closed the latch. "Okay, that should do," he said. "I couldn't carry any more, but it should help."
"Oh, I hope it does," his wife Lisa said. She bumped her lilypad into his. "It sounds like they're having such a horrible time over at that pond. It's good that you're willing to go all the way over there."
He shrugged, then slipped one of his legs into a backpack handle. "It's not that far. Besides, that pond is where I was born. I ought to go. Oof." He struggled for a moment to get the other handle on his other front leg, but it was heavy. "Must've packed it better than I thought. There we go."
The two Lombres then walked out of their little den. "Now don't go pushing yourself with that heavy load," Lisa said. "Take a break if you need to."
"Yeah, I planned on that," Adam said.
"And don't go off the forest paths too much, because then you might end up with heavy undergrowth blocking you or even find the human paths. And you couldn't fight them very well burdened down like that."
"I'll probably have to cross their bridge, but I can do that without trouble," he said. At least he hoped there wouldn't be trouble.
"And watch out for those berries that are still a bit green, or the overripe ones. You remember that tummy ache you had after the last batch when you..."
"I'll be okay," he said, trying to cut her off.
She tilted her lilypad slightly over her face. "I'm just worried about you. Be careful, honey."
He rubbed his cheek against hers. "It's okay; I just need to get going to help them and come back home before dark. I'll see you later; love you."
"I love you too. See you then." She lifted a paw and waved to him as he set off away from their little pond and out into the woods.
It was a nice day out in the woods, nothing like yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, a storm had blasted through the woods hurling all kinds of sticks and stones through the air. Adam and Lisa had hid out in their hut, but it seemed that they had gotten lucky. In another part of the woods, another pond had been hit with a very destructive wind, tearing up the homes of many Pokemon and knocking some trees over. That news had all come from some Spearows who were flying away from that scene. But there were also some Lotads and Lombres over there, cousins and siblings of his. Even if they didn't need all the stuff he was bringing, at least he could check up on them.
To get to the other pond required a long walk in the woods. Adam stuck to the Pokemon foot trail, thinking about things on the way. Sometimes he heard the rushing water of the stream nearby, swollen with water after the storm. He might swim across it any other day, but with as fast as it was going and as heavy as his backpack was, he didn't want to risk it today.
An hour or so into his walk, he heard some strange notes. It sounded like a flute. Possibly a human? Adam walked slower as he came closer to the source of the melody. If it was a human, he'd have to get around it carefully.
It turned out to be another Pokemon, though. A Nuzleaf was siting on a stump, legs crossed and playing the flute music with the green leaf on top of its head. Its long pointed nose swayed in time with the music. Since it was another Pokemon, Adam figured he was okay in simply walking past the stump.
But the Nuzleaf stopped playing when he did. "How interesting," she said. "You don't see a Lombre this far from the water that often."
"The stream's not that far away," he said, puzzled.
She chuckled. "I still don't. You seem geared for a long trip."
"Not that long. I'm going to the reed pond on the other side of the woods. Apparently, they got hit hard by the winds yesterday."
"Ah, that place." She tapped the side of her head. "But don't you need to be on the other side of the stream to get there?"
Adam nodded. "Yes, but I can't swim in the stream the way it is now, and with this heavy backpack. I'm going to try getting across the human bridge without being noticed."
"Oh, now that's going to be hard. Hmm." She thought, then smiled. "But I do recall that the storm yesterday knocked one of the trees across the stream. You might be able to avoid the human bridge by crossing that."
He lifted his front half up on hearing that. "Really? That'll be a great thing. Where is this tree?"
"Mmmm," she twirled her paw in the air, then pointed further down the path. "Go that way until you find an oak tree with two trunks. Then head for the stream and it should be around there."
"I see. Thank you, that helps a lot." He smiled and made a quick bow of his lilypad.
"No trouble, Lombre," the Nuzleaf said. Then she leapt up into the trees, laughing once she was into the leaves.
An oak with two trunks sounded easy enough to spot, as he couldn't think of seeing anything like that before. Adam walked along the path until he found it. Sometime long ago, something had slip this tree's trunk nearly down to the ground. Yet it lived and continued to grow, making it a tree with two trunks. There wasn't a footpath to the stream there, but the undergrowth didn't seem that bad here. Adam headed off the path and towards the stream.
The stream was gushing, frothy and muddy. Adam stood a distance away from its edge and looked around. On the other side, there was a splintered trunk of a tree that had been knocked over. However, the rest of the tree was nowhere to be seen. There was certainly no way across the stream from here.
"Maybe it got swept away," he said. He headed back to the path, for smoother travel at least. But when he got there, the path seemed rougher than before. Looking down, he noticed that he had sticker seeds stuck all over his paws. Grumbling, Adam stopped a few minutes to try pulling them off, at least those he would step on. He didn't get them all by the time he decided that he really needed to be going.
Further down the path, he heard that flute music again. He found a Nuzleaf playing its leaf while leaning against a tree. Was it the same one, or another? He tried to walk by.
But the music stopped again. "What happened?" she asked. "Didn't you cross the stream?"
"The tree got swept away by the water," he told her. "And I got sticker seeds all over my paws going that way, so I'm going to stick to the foot paths this time."
"Oh, sorry," she said. "I'm not watching the stream constantly, you know. Then how are you going to cross the human bridge safely? Maybe you need a disguise."
"What do you mean by that?"
She picked up a stick that had some dried leaves on it. "You know, getting some branches and making yourself look like a bush. We hide best while in the bushes, right? So if you were to look like a bush, no one would look twice at you crossing the bridge."
He considered it. "I wouldn't have thought of that. But, I'll see what it's like when I get there. Thanks for your advice."
"No problem." She then jumped back into the trees, laughing.
Adam continued on the Pokemon trails until he came to the area that the humans had cleared for their use. While he had thought about the Nuzleaf's disguise idea, he decided against it. It would only waste more time. He left the woods and started heading for the bridge.
Before long, there was a call from a human boy. "Hey look, it's a Lombre!"
He froze, but then the human girl with the boy said, "Wait, leave it alone. Can't you see his backpack? He's probably owned by somebody and was sent to go do something."
"Huh, guess you're right," the boy said.
Adam smiled as he started walking again. So there had been no need to worry. They could tell that he was doing something important. With the way clear, he headed across the bridge. It was a sturdy thing of stone; the storm yesterday didn't seem to leave a scratch on it.
On the other side of the bridge, he found an old human woman standing there with a wheelbarrow. Adam tried to walk past her, but then she came over. "Is that you, little Todd? You've had me waiting."
"I'm no one you know," Adam said, even though the human wouldn't understand him.
With his heavy backpack, he wasn't able to get away from her when she reached over and grabbed the handle of the pack. "And I think you've brought a little too much on this trip, dear. You're going to hurt your back with all that." She started to pull it off; Adam tried to struggle away, bu that only let her get it off easier. She then headed back to the wheelbarrow to drop the backpack in it. "And just what have you been playing in? Your hands are filthy and slimy; I'm not seeing all that well, but I can sure feel them. Come along, there's things to be doing." She then picked up the handles of her wheelbarrow and pushed it along.
Adam ran after her. "Hey, give me back my pack!" he said. "It's got important things in it I need to give my family back at the reed pond."
"Speak clearer, dear," the old woman said, not slowing even though she was on a small path in the woods now. "My hearing's not what it used to be and I can't pick out your mumbling. Oh, but listen to me complain. It's wonderful that you'd come to help your dear granny on such a nice day."
"But..." Adam protested, then decided it wasn't worth it. He followed the old woman. While she was going the right way, he had no idea if she was going to the right place.
After some distance, they heard a flute playing. Or rather, a Nuzleaf... the Nuzleaf. She was sitting on a sign now. "You're no fun," she said when they got closer. "You didn't even try to become a bush."
"You've been giving me pretty rotten advice today, I think," he said. "I was able to cross the bridge just fine, but then this old woman stole my pack."
"It's not like I'm some Alakazam, Lombre," the Nuzleaf said, hopping off the sign. "But if you want your pack back..."
"And just what are you doing here, missy?" the old woman said unexpectedly. She grabbed the Nuzleaf's nose and pulled her closer. "These woods are dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. You don't even have a Pokemon with you, do you? Just hanging out here and playing your little recorder."
"Oooh, not the nose," the Nuzleaf whined, her body going limp for some reason. "Let go of my nose. I won't bug you, just let go."
The old woman did let go, but not before pushing her away. "Now get back home and don't waste time about it."
"Ugh." She leapt into the nearest tree. "And it's not a recorder, you foolish woman!" Then she took off.
"Um, do you know that I'm a Pokemon?" Adam asked, curious. Either this woman was really smart and tricky, or she was delusional.
"Don't worry abut it, Todd," the old woman said. "You're just fine with me. Now let's get to that reed pond."
Amazed at this strange person, Adam followed her all the way to the pond he had been born at. He was able to meet up with his family and give them the things to help them rebuild after the storm. Then, he followed the old woman back to the bridge, where she gave him his backpack back and told him to go on home too. Had she understood him? Or was it all a really strange coincidence?
…
Sapphire entry: Lombre's entire body is covered in a slippery, slimy film. It feels horribly unpleasant to be touched by this Pokemon's hands. Lombre is often mistaken for a human child.
Nuzleaf Emerald entry: A forest dwelling Pokemon that is skilled at climbing trees. Its long and pointed nose is its weak point. It loses power if the nose is gripped.
Posted for the spring equinox, 2012. Most of Nuzleaf's entries actually mention how it uses its leaf as a flute, and that it causes dread in those who hear it. Must be some pretty creepy music.