Chapter 6

"That doesn't look good." I muttered under my breath.

Sitting comfortably on Tweety's broad back I gazed through my binoculars and eyed the horizon with something akin to wariness.

Tweety, proud bird that he was, currently demonstrated his mastery of the thermic and effortlessly held his place in the sky, which made it easier for me to get my bearings and decide my next course of action.

With Tweety's rope securely tied to my belt I felt safe enough to keep one hand on the map, which was spread out on Tweety's back while the other held on to the binoculars, which swiveled from side to side, trying and failing to get a scope on the ginormous thunderstorm that seemingly stretched as far as the eye could see.

Breathing a sigh of indecisiveness, I let go of the binoculars and left it dangling on the strap around my neck, and reached for the compass in my jacket.

My eyes went from compass to the map and then further to the dark clouds in the distance, and then they did it again, but this time with a bit more trepidation.

"Where…" I began as my gaze went over my immediate surroundings, trying to spot something that could clue me in on my exact location, because slowly but surely, I got the sinking feeling, that I drifted off course.

At the end of the day, I simply had to travel northeast until I hit big ass mountains, but with the precarious weather ahead and my waning confidence in my coordinates, I was seriously considering landing for the night and waiting for the storm to dissipate.

But…

"I promised to call…"

Breaking that particular promise to my girlfriend on the very first day…, yeah, I couldn't do that. Wouldn't do that to her.

Plus, this densely wooded area wasn't exactly Tweety's home turf. A pissed-off Pokemon and I would be scratched off the census.

An Ursaring ripping my head off, a Persian mauling me to death, or an Arbok swallowing me in my sleep…

Vivid scenarios in mind, my binoculars were quickly back in my hand, and I quickly scanned the distance, this time in all directions, somewhat desperate to find anything related to civilization.

To my right, south-southeast…

'The hell?'

I almost gasped in surprise, but that surprise quickly passed and was replaced by a weird mixture of worry and relief.

Fucking Pokemon Tower!

Goddamn Lavender Town!

How the fuck did I drift so far east?

An ice-cold shudder went down my back as I gently signaled Tweety to turn and head for the place we would spend the night at.

"…and you will stay in sight of the routes from now on?" Christy asked again, a tiny bit desperate to make sure, that the lesson of my previous flight really did sink in.

"Yes, I promise," I answered in placating manner, one part trying to calm her down and the other part of me being on the same page as her anyway. "And I will call as soon as I reach the Pokemon Center on Route 10."

"That's good." I watched her close her eyes for a moment and breath a small sigh of relief. "I've got to get back to work," she went on with an apologetic tone and a short glance towards a clock, which I knew was above the reception desk of her Center. "Remember, you can always call or leave a message and I will help you out."

"I know and I will." I promised, the alternative, just winging it, was just too risky for me to even consider.

A short awkward pause later I carried on.

"I guess, that's it," I awkwardly scratched the back of my head and smiled mischievously at the monitor. "Do you want me to blow some kisses or is an honest heartfelt 'I love you' enough?" I asked and watched her pretend to think about it for a second.

"I guess your 'I love you's are good enough, so hit me." She finally answered with a smile and leaned back in her seat, pretending to wait, as if I was about to deliver some bad news.

"Well, then," I playfully cleared my throat, "I love you."

This time her smile was big and true, and she immediately answered in kind. "I love you, too." She whispered into the microphone on her side, before quickly checking for eavesdroppers.

"Before work today," She began only to pause for a heartbeat.

"I tried on the new white swimsuit," She suddenly went on in a conspiratorial whisper, that made me lean closer to the monitor and play along with the whole secrecy game. I watched her bite her lip playfully before suddenly her wide-eyed gaze met mine, which barely hid my excitement at the mental image.

"It was so skimpy and tight." She whispered scandalized and I couldn't help but swallow, my now wide-eyed gaze not faked in the slightest. "…like I was standing naked in my room, oh," Her hands went to her cheeks and now she looked positively embarrassed. "I felt so naughty, Corey."

Gently putting the receiver down my gaze swiveled away from the screen right towards a potted plant in the corner of the room.

Deep breaths, ignore the laughing figure in the corner of my eyes on the screen, just calm down.

Conscious of the fact, that we were in the middle of a good-bye and that my girlfriend had to get back to work I gingerly picked up the receiver again, still very much hot and bothered.

"A bit of motivation and something for cold nights, love you." Christy said quickly, her voice brimming with laughter, before she blew me a final kiss and promptly hung up, leaving me high and dry.

This time it was me checking my surroundings, probably a lot less inconspicuous than I hoped, and quickly noted the three young trainers on the other machines in the little room.

'Let's just sit here for a few more minutes.' I decided faintly embarrassed by my current state.

"I guess we can take off bright and early tomorrow morning." I murmured quietly more to myself than to my utterly relaxed companion, who studiously kept on ignoring me in favor of enjoying the cool night breeze, bouts of dozing, and the handful of treats I put in front of him on the part of the Pokemon Tower's roof, that was out of sight from the town below.

I really really shouldn't be up here, particularly with my Class 3 Pokemon out, but once you have been up in the sky, could almost imagine seeing the curvature of the earth, you just wanted to be there again, and with this cloudless night and a near-full moon hanging over Lavender Town I simply couldn't resist.

Eyes on the distant thunderstorm, that lazily drifted east over the mountains towards the ocean, the faint breeze that could very well be the outermost extensions of said storm on my face, while sitting on the roof of Kanto's more famous monuments.

This truly was…

"Hoot…hoot"

"Wha…!" Suddenly very glad to sit a few feet away from the edge of the roof I nearly jumped out of my skin by the sound coming from directly next to me.

Head whipping around my gaze landed first on Tweety, who was sporting the most perplexed expression I have ever seen him with. Immediately following his gaze, which was directed to where I put his snacks on the roof, I saw a ball of brown feathers contently nibbling away on one of the avian treats.

"Hoothoot"

Utterly unbothered or simply unimpressed by the apex predator, whose gaze was slowly shifting from perplexed to seriously annoyed, I recognized the Pokemon for what it was.

A Hoothoot.

A Hoothoot, who kept on nibbling on the little treat and ignoring us to gaze out towards a nearby meadow between the town and the edge of the forest.

Searching for potential prey like Rattata or Caterpie I reckoned somewhat fascinated and absently put some more treats in front of Tweety to lower his blood pressure given the perceived slight against him.

Curious, I leaned forward, intent to get the attention of the little bird without startling it, when suddenly the most horrible cry I have ever heard rang through the air.

For a second time tonight, I was startled more than strictly necessary, and my gaze whipped towards the meadow, hoping to get a clue on what the hell was going on.

"Hoot…" Not spotting anything from this high up my gaze went back to the little bird, who got my attention with its quiet hoot, that almost sounded…annoyed?

Definitely.

The pitiful crying kept going and I could swear the Hoothoot's gaze became eerily flat, and not a second later it hopped up once, spread its wings in one smooth motion, and silently sailed down towards the meadow.

Curiosity maxed out I jumped up, too, and motioned for Tweety to get up as well…, which he did…eventually…after some more treats.

A handful of seconds later we circled above the meadow and the origin of the wailing became apparent.

The Hoothoot had already landed in front of a little brown Pokemon, that was crying its heart out towards the moon.

'Is that a skull?'

"Hoothoot" The little bird cried out surprisingly loud and successfully got the little banshee's attention.

And it kept its attention.

The cries became sobs, then it started to sway on its feet,…and then it fell forward…asleep?

'Holy crap.' I could help but think as we landed, now eyeing the small bird in an entirely new light.

I wasn't an expert, but even I knew, that that was something seriously advanced.

Night quiet again I thought for a second before I spontaneously tossed two things in two different directions.

A Pokeball landed on the sleeping figure, that vanished without trouble, and a treat, that was easily caught by the beak of the little badass.

Meeting its relaxed gaze with a relaxed gaze of my own I held up another Pokeball and gave a subtle nod towards Tweety, who was standing proudly next to me.

The message clear.

...

How about joining us?

...

A handful of silent wing beats later I felt a new weight on my shoulder.

…

'Eat your heart out, Falkner!'