Chapter 12
Raylian and I met at the Pokecenter the next morning. She joined me at the counter while I talked with the nurse.
"Your Eevee is doing much better today," the nurse was saying as she handed me my Pokeball. "Even so, you shouldn't push him too hard for a couple of days."
I dipped my head. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you again." I accepted my Pokeball and turned to Raylian. "Are you ready to head out?"
She nodded, and together we headed north. Once we reached the northern edge, where paved streets became dirt roads, we stopped.
"Are you sure you have everything you need?" I asked Raylian, even as I mentally checked that I had everything.
"Of course I do," she chided gently, rubbing the top of Luna's head. "This isn't my first time traveling."
I was about to reply when the sound of hooves on the paved ground behind us caught my attention. I turned to see a large covered wagon pulled by a towering Mudsdale, approaching the road we were on. The dark-skinned woman driving the wagon could only just be seen over her Mudsdale's back. When she saw us watching, she pulled up beside us.
"Hello there," she said in a warm voice, giving us a friendly wave. "Can I assume you two are fellow travelers?"
"We are," I said. "And who are you?" It was an honest question, but it came out a little harsher than I meant it to.
The woman didn't seem to mind, though, as she replied, "We're traveling merchants. We sell the same kind of stuff you'll find in any Pokemart but our main customers are traveling trainers and fellow wanderers."
"That sounds nice," Raylian chimed from behind me.
"We?" I questioned.
She nodded. "These roads have gotten more dangerous recently. There have been stories of bandits stealing Pokemon and supplies."
"Stealing Pokemon?" I repeated, flashing back, once again, to my time under the mountain.
"Yup." She nodded again. "I wasn't going to take any chances so I hired two meat shields for protection." She jabbed her thumb behind her.
A groggy voice wafted from the back of the wagon. "I told you to stop calling us that."
The woman just chuckled, "They're the laziest bastards I know, but they're handy in a fight." She looked at us curiously for a second, her deep brown eyes taking us in. "Say, you two are traveling alone?"
"Yes," Raylian and I answered simultaneously. We glanced at each other, grinning.
"Well then," the woman said, not bothering to hide her amusement. "Why don't you come along with us? Safety in numbers and all that."
I considered for a moment and then consulted Raylian and Luna. Luna was as vocal as ever, which is to say, silent and Raylian shrugged.
"It does sound safer," she admitted. "I think we should do it."
I nodded. "Alright," I said to the woman. "We're in."
The woman's eyes lit up and she flashed us a genuine smile. "Glad to have you along." She whipped the reins and the wagon lurched forward. Raylian, Luna, and I fell into step beside it as it rolled along. "Would one of you like to ride up here with me?" the woman asked.
"Oh!" Raylian exclaimed. "I would!" The woman beckoned to her and Raylian hoisted herself up and took a seat next to her.
"Now," she said after Raylain had settled in. "I don't think we've been properly acquainted. My name is Margo, but you can call me Marge if you want." She winked at us. "And this is Jet." She fondly patted the rear of her Mudsdale which flicked its tail in response.
"It's great to officially meet you, Margo and Jet," Raylian said. "I'm Raylian." She gestured to me. "That's Alice."
"And this is Luna," I added, resting a hand on Luna's head.
"Well, Raylian, Alice, Luna." She nodded to each of us in turn. "I'm glad you decided to travel with us. I suppose I should ask where you're going."
"We are on our way to Rufous city," I answered. "From there we'll probably make our way up to Filemot." I quickly caught Raylian's eye to make sure she was actually on board with this plan. She beamed and gave me a thumbs up.
"Filemot huh?" Margo mused. "That's pretty far north."
The wagon continued to roll down the rough dirt road and the three of us continued to chat. We swapped stories about the places we'd been and the things we'd seen. We discussed Pokemon, talking about our favorites and which types were superior. When the boys, who had been lounging in the back, finally came out, they slipped seamlessly into the conversation.
The boys, we learned, were fraternal twins, their named were Alex and Todd. They were both older than Raylian and me by a few years and stood just over a head taller than me.
Alex was a very affable person and I recognized his voice as the one we'd heard earlier from the back. His blonde hair was short and formed a peak at the front. His smile was bright and friendly.
Todd, on the other hand, had much darker brown hair that held little specks of blonde, but it was worn in the same style. He seemed friendly enough, although, he was much more reserved than his brother.
A few hours later, we stopped for a short rest. We were all itching for a chance to stretch our legs and make some lunch. Margo freed Jet from the wagon, and Raylian sat on the ground with Todd. Somehow, she had gotten him out of his shell for long enough to hold a conversation. I watched them, frowning, unsure where my sudden discontent was coming from. I was so absorbed with my feelings that I didn't notice Alex come up next to me.
"Are they that interesting?" Alex interrupted my thoughts.
I jumped a little, startled. "What?"
"Your friend and my brother," he said, motioning in their direction. "You were staring."
"Oh," was all I could think to say as I shifted my weight from foot to foot.
There was a long pause as we both fished for a new topic.
"So," I started, trying to disperse the awkward atmosphere that had taken hold. "How long have you guys worked for Margo?"
He scratched his temple as he thought. "It's been a couple of months now I think. I couldn't ask for a better job." He flashed a winning smile.
I returned his smile, trying to ignore the fact that I could still see Raylian and Todd out of the corner of my eye. "Anything interesting happen in those months?"
He grunted. "Nothing big, but there was this one time that this kid, who must have been even younger than you, came up to our wagon and refused to buy something until someone battled him. Of course, I stepped up to that challenge and you know what happened?"
"What happened?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"He wiped the floor with me."
I burst out laughing, I couldn't help it. "Are you serious?!"
"First of all, ouch," he said, grinning. "Second, yes, I am serious. He didn't even use his whole team!"
"You could at least try to save some dignity here," I said, still chuckling.
"I've never been beaten so badly, even to this day." He shook his head, but he was still smiling. "Hey, I have an idea."
"Are you going to ask me to battle you?"
"Whoa, yeah. How'd you guess?"
I shrugged and, instead of responding, I waved him over to a nice open space.
"So, what kind of battle are you looking for?" I teased as we took up our positions.
"How about a one-on-one? We go until one trainer either surrenders or is out of Pokemon."
"Sounds perfect."
I looked over at Luna, who was comfortably stretched out in the sun. Alex reached for his first Pokeball. I decided to leave Luna be and I let Shock out of his Pokeball.
"A Shinx," Alex noted, "good choice." He tossed a Pokeball onto the field and a large, bovine Pokemon leaped out.
I took an involuntary step back and Shock nearly jumped into my arms as it snorted at us. It had a soft brown body and a mane of dark silky fur around its neck. Three separate tails whipped around behind it and a pair of grey horns curled up from its head. I'd never seen a Tauros before and somehow I never thought they'd be so intimidating.
The noise we made had brought Raylian and Todd wandering over to watch. Even Margo and Jet were looking in our direction. I crouched next to Shock and scratched him behind his ears to reassure him. His feline form looked so small compared to the beast in front of us. I whispered some quick words of encouragement before standing up and getting right to it.
"Shock, get in close and use spark," I commanded.
I bit my lip as I watched him sprint away. I wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to use that move but I was willing to bet on him.
To my surprise and delight, I could see threads of electricity buzzing around Shock's body as he ran. He darted underneath the Tauros and all it took was for him to brush up against one of its legs. The electricity jumped from Shock's body and ran through the Tauros, causing its muscles to seize temporarily.
"Great job!" I cheered. "Now, stay close." By keeping him close to Tauros I could use Shock's size to his advantage and effectively prevent the Tauros from using any long-range moves like a tackle.
I watched triumphantly as Shock flashed around the Tauros's body, making it dance around in confusion.
"Use tail whip, Bull," Alex called.
The Tauros, Bull, stopped dancing around and began to wave his tails back and forth in a strangely endearing way. Shock came to a halt and stared up at Bull, entranced by the movement.
"Now, Bull, tackle it!"
"No! Shock!" I shouted in an attempt to warn him.
Luckily, due to their proximity, all it took was a small leap out of the way and Bull charged off, nearly trampling Todd before he stopped himself.
"Tackle him back!" I didn't expect a tackle to do much considering the size difference but it was worth a shot.
Shock leapt once more into motion and had a nice big run-up before he slammed into Bull's side. The Tauros slid back a step but was otherwise unaffected.
"Try another tail whip!" Alex shouted to his Pokemon.
Shock was ready though, and before it could affect him, he sprung up and nipped at the tails. Bull let out an irritated snort as Shock resumed running in frenzied laps.
It was evident that Bull's aggravation was growing as he continuously failed to pin Shock down. His trainer seemed to share that aggravation. Alex had balled his hands into fists and I saw him scowl for the first time as he watched events unfurl.
Eventually, he gave a one-word order. "Rage!"
Knowing this was bad news, I countered with my own order. "Spark!"
The energy was visibly building on Shock's body while above him, Bull reared up and let out a deafening roar. Bull's front hooves came down so hard that I could feel the earth shake. Instead of the silly dance he'd been doing earlier, Bull proceeded to stomp around, tearing up the grass and sending clumps of dirt flying.
Shock did his best to avoid the flailing hooves but he couldn't keep it up forever. During one of his laps, a hoof came soaring towards him. It missed his body by inches but it came down on his tail, trapping him in place. Shock let out a shriek of pain even as the physical contact initiated his attack.
The electricity that had been building around his body as he ran now coursed up the legs of the Tauros. There was a quiet sizzling sound as parts of Bull's fur began to turn black. He stumbled off Shock's tail with a whine and faltered slightly.
It didn't take Bull long to shake off the attack and soon he was back to raging. Shock scrambled to his feet just in time to avoid getting smacked in the head. I watched with my heart in my mouth as Shock was pushed back, dodging frantically. His luck didn't hold though, and he was caught by a stray hoof and thrown across the field. He landed a few feet away from me and struggled to get to his feet again.
"You're looking a little rough, buddy," I called to him. "Come back." He staggered back to me and I stroked his dirty fur before I returned him to his ball.
I took a moment to watch Bull. The Tauros was bucking and stomping so wildly that I half expected him to knock himself over. Shock had done a number on him, though, and I didn't think it would take too much effort to finish him.
I made my decision and let the Eevee out of his ball. The nurse had cautioned me not to push him too far but I was confident he could finish off Bull without overexerting himself.
I hadn't seen the Eevee since I found him when he'd been so dirty I could hardly tell what he was. Since then, he'd been cleaned and given a trim and I could see now that he had deep red-brown fur with a cream-colored ruff around his neck.
The Eevee looked up at me with large brown eyes. He turned around, saw the raging Tauros, and took a step backward.
"Eevee," I said confidently, "go in for a tackle." I waited... but nothing happened. When I looked down, the Eevee had curled into a quivering ball. I scratched the back of my head. "Uh..."
Alex peered at me curiously. "What's going on?" he called.
I thought back on when I'd seen this Eevee get abused by its trainer and I sucked in a breath. I hadn't interacted with this Eevee at all since then and now I was trying to make it battle. Gingerly, I scooped up the shivering Eevee and carried it over to Luna. I placed him close to her and gave him a gentle pat before returning to the battle.
"I'll explain later," I yelled to Alex. Then, I let Crystal loose and the fight resumed.
It was a close battle, and I had to call on Luna near the end but we won. After it was over, I approached the Eevee once again. It had taken to cautiously exploring the area and had gotten along with Luna but seemed wary of humans. When I got close enough, I sat down on the grass and beckoned to him, letting him come to me on his own time. It took a while, but eventually, he did come close and allowed me to touch him.
I carefully picked him up and carried him over to the wagon. Jet had been reattached to the wagon and everyone was ready to go. The wagon was stocked with all the revives and potions we could ever need, so I sat in the back with Alex and we let our Pokemon out to heal them.
Once that was done, Alex jumped off the back and sat astride his Tauros, keeping pace with the wagon. I stayed in the back with the Eevee on my lap. I had affectionately named him Red, due to the color of his fur. Red, although not fully comfortable yet, had seemingly accepted my presence.
I leaned back against a crate of potions and stared out at the road behind us. I could hear Raylian chatting happily with Margo at the front of the wagon. The movement of the wagon and the gentle clop of hooves was surprisingly soothing and before I knew it, I was falling asleep.
When I awoke, the sun was going down. The landscape around us had changed from a forest to a more open area. The forest seemed to be thinning slowly, but I could tell we were nearing the open plains.
As the sun continued to sink lower, our pace began to slow. Eventually, we stopped altogether and I heard Margo clear her throat. "It's getting late, we'd better find somewhere to make camp."
The wagon pulled off the old dirt road and stopped some ways away in a copse of trees. We all pitched in to help pull supplies off the wagon and set up a secure camp. Raylian and I got a fire started, the brothers laid out our supplies, and Margo sprayed the perimeter of the camp with her strongest repels.
After all our preparations were complete, we settled down for the night. Margo roasted dinner over the fire and we spent the evening sharing stories and laughing. One by one, though, we all fell asleep.
I awoke with a start. I couldn't put my finger on what had woken me, but something didn't feel right. The fire had died hours ago and my companions all slept soundly around me. I gradually sat up. A slight breeze rustled the leaves above me and I shivered. I couldn't see anything beyond the camp and I was about to reach over for Raylian when a branch snapped.
I froze, trying to calm my heartbeat. I turned ever so slowly towards the source. I watched as a figure stepped out into our clearing. It was too dark to see their face, but I could pick out the colors of their uniform. Purple and black. The figure took another step forward, locking eyes with me.
"That's the one," a voice hissed. "The small one with the white hair." There was a horrible pause. And then, "Get her."