"Seedot!"
As I was wandering about the forest in search of Petayas, the little dude just completely vanished from sight. My bets are that he wandered off in search of some more Petaya Berries… and I have just wasted the past 20 minutes looking for him. We've only been in the Petalburg Woods for about two hours at this point, and it was starting to get darker, which is saying a lot, given the gloom of these woods normally. Sooner or later it's going to be pitch black, and I won't be able to see a thing. Makes me wonder how the diurnal Pokemon know when to go to bed. If it were me, I'd have gone to bed at midday and been none the wiser. Maybe they just grow used to it after a while? Ah nevermind, I'm getting off-track. Where the heck is this little acorn?
I waited a little while longer for Seedot where I was. That's been my pattern for good while now. I call out to him, wait a little in case he's catching up, move to a new place, and then rinse and repeat. I figure that when he doesn't respond after a while, he's probably not anywhere nearby, meaning it's best to move on to another area.
Normally, there are neatly laid out little paths in the midst of all the foliage, so people can find their way around. I've been trying to stick to these paths in the hopes Seedot was near them… but I'm starting to think that he's wandered off the trail. If he has, I have to hurry in finding him, if it reaches nightfall, I'll never be able to see him, especially with the massive conglomeration of plants that make up what is not the trail. He's so small that when he's covered by the plants and darkness, I doubt I'd find him once nightfall hits.
I was more concerned with Seedot's safety than collecting all those Petayas at this point. If I came back with him half dead, or even worse, completely absent… I wouldn't hear the end of it from Ms. LeFitz for the rest of my days.
Oof…. I can feel the shivers running down my back. Let's maybe not think about that possibility.
I'm starting to get a bit anxious at this point. I know I'm not too far from where I last was… but I may as well try again. Who knows, maybe he's a bit slow, given he's probably carrying around Petayas all by himself. How he does that, I'll never know, but I doubt that it's easy for him.
"Seedot! Come on, where are you little guy!?"
As soon as I finished yelling, I could make out a bit of rustling from the nearby bushes. I'd assume it's Seedot, finally catching up to me. He despised me when I called him by that moniker.
I placed down the crate of Petayas I was carrying and rushed over to the bush to peer inside. If Seedot's inside, he's bound to have berries, and we can get this over with much more quickly- Oh.
As soon as the leaves were turned back, one very angry Cascoon leapt out at me. Before I could react, it had rammed into my torso and pinned me to the ground. I could see it shooting its spikes out to my sides. It was ensuring I couldn't escape. Ok, this is not good. I can't move, which means I can't escape, and its underside is too hard for me to just punch. It can just shoot its belly spikes before I can act, as well.
Oh Arceus, this had better not be it. I do not want to die to an Arceus-forsaken Cascoon! I am going to have the most embarrassing gravestone of all time. No, enough about that. There's gotta be some way out of this, some way that I can-
Before I could think it over more, Cascoon got sent flying by a sudden attack, immediately releasing me from its hold. Turning to where it landed, it was glaring to my right, but it soon turned back to glare at me. I looked to my right, and found Seedot was standing there, and I'm guessing he must have been the one to have Tackled Cascoon. Cascoon glanced between the both of us and scooted back into the bushes. Guess it must have decided I wasn't too important after all. Hopefully that's the last we see of that horrible thing.
"...Thanks Seedot." I walked up to him and gave him a rub on the head. "I would have been Cascoon meat if it weren't for you." Seedot's face beamed with pride. I'm glad someone's feeling super positive, because dear Arceus I would have been a goner if it weren't for him. Maybe I should consider getting a Pokemon… Eh, one problem at a time, and speaking of…
Glancing behind Seedot, I noticed a considerable number of Petaya Berries lying broken on the ground. They were absolutely smashed to bits, and some of their insides were very clearly visible. That's like, the opposite of salvageable. Seedot took notice, but very quickly decided the ground was much more interesting than the Petaya stash.
I didn't even have to get close to know the Petayas just weren't salvageable in the slightest. Not a single one seemed anyway close to intact. I guess Seedot's Tackle must have caused him to drop all the Berries he was carrying. Man.
Seedot glanced over to me, seeming disappointed by the sudden mood shift. I looked up from the berries and to the dense trees above us. It didn't seem too dark yet. If we're lucky, we might have a shot at getting back home before it becomes nightfall.
"Alright, let's try further down the south end, we haven't checked around there yet. We might be able to scrounge up a few Petayas before Ms. LeFitz kills me." Seedot shook his head, seemingly unimpressed with me.
"Look, I understand she isn't actually going to do that, but… ah, whatever, come on, let's go."
I picked up the crate and set off, with Seedot following close behind me. We're going to bring at least something back. I'm certain of it.
Walking, as it turns out, is seriously a chore. We were only about halfway to the south end of Petalburg Woods, and all that's happened is that it's just gotten darker, with no extra Petayas in sight. So yeah, I'm bored, kind of stressed, and not having the best time. And all that means is that I'm dreading that math homework back at my dorm even more. I knew I should've listened to my Mom when she said math homework was the root of all evil.
And so here I am, just thinking about stuff, usual stuff, things like scheduling and what my math problems could be… Not like that helped with my work though. I'm not sure why I expected my brain to remember the problems given I barely looked at them, but hey, here we are.
On an unrelated note, at least the crate's a bit lighter. As it turns out, it wasn't just our walk that was heading south. Our Petaya stash had been steadily decreasing as a large number of forest Pokemon had been snatching our berries before we could react. Most of them were bird Pokemon like Taillow, or insectoid Pokemon like Ninjask. Seedot was scared deathless by those kinds of Pokemon, meaning we had no way to get them to stop. And thus, here we are with fewer berries than what we had started with in the first place. I couldn't even cover this thing if I wanted to either. Just my luck that we got some of those old wooden crates with no top on it and not anything that came from the modern age. Old Ms. LeFitz and her antiques… man. And it was also just my luck that it was inching closer and closer to sundown the more we walked. I'm losing hope we'll come back with even half a crate of Petayas at the rate we're going.
Seedot was busy sleeping in the now much more empty crate. It was empty enough that he could roll around in there without repercussion. He also puts up enough of a fight that the Pokemon will probably ignore him. Probably.
Still, this excursion had taken a lot out of both of us. I was mainly powered on adrenaline right now, and I assume Seedot's already used most of his. You may be wondering "John, what exactly is so stressful about this situation that you're working off of adrenaline?" Firstly, I nearly died to a Cascoon today. Secondly, I have Ms. LeFitz to look forward to when I get back, a fate worse than death.
Actually, looking at Seedot, it makes me wonder… How did those two meet? Given how old they both are, I guess they've known each other for a long time… makes me wonder honestly. Maybe they met back when Ms. LeFitz was nicer? I can't imagine Seedot sticking with someone that nasty constantly. Or maybe she had a softer side I didn't know about…
…
Hah, fat chance on that one.
Still, I've been thinking for a while that maybe… OH SHOOT WHAT IN ARCEUS' NAME IS THA-
And as it turns out, maybe it would have been a good idea to do this thing called "paying attention," mainly because that was a nasty tumble.
Ow. I can see the dirt in front of me. Actually, scratch that, I can feel it. And I can feel the scrape on my leg… Actually, I can feel a bit more than that. I am in agony right now. What did I even…?
Oh, I see. I tripped on a root while I wasn't paying attention. That's fun. It's a pretty big one too… Hitting that thing was like stubbing your toe on the fridge, and I am not enjoying the feeling.
Seedot was standing just ahead of me. Seems he fell out of the crate as it dropped. Unlike me, he was actually being responsible and checking out if our Petaya stash was alright or not, but I can tell that he was not enjoying the rude awakening. Oh, hey, seems he's finally noticed me. Great.
Seedot came scurrying over to me, and it seems like he's only just noticed that I was down for the count. Glad you care so much bud. Seedot lightly headbutted me a few times and then jumped. Seems he was trying to encourage me to get up. I'm trying, little guy, one thing at a time.
Ok, let's get up… and… oh Arceus my leg does not like that.
I got up with some semblance of difficulty… actually, scratch that, a lot of difficulty. My leg hurts a lot. I'm nearly certain that it's sprained, just judging by the pain alone… Which is not good for me. I've got to turn back with what I've got… all the Berries are certainly going to be gone by the time we're back, and I have to do all of the walking we just spent ages doing on a sprained ankle. This is basically the opposite of what they advise you to do when you get one of these, but hey, such is life.
And besides, it's getting dark. And when it's dark… Well, that's when the Murkrow come out to play. And I do not fancy encountering those guys at their most diabolical when I can't even see them. Not to mention, bad omens and all… Oh well, as if this ankle already isn't a bad enough one already. Guess I should take the crate and get moving…
…
Where's the crate?
I found the answer very quickly.
"A Vigoroth?"
Hearing its name, the Vigoroth turned its head to me before looking back at the berries. It stared at me again for several seconds, before it turned tail and darted straight into the depths of the woods.
"Hey! Get back here you big monkey! That's ours!" Okay, definitely not my best insult, but I'm not exactly worried about that right now. Ms. LeFitz is gonna have my head if I don't bring anything back, and sprained ankle be darned, because I'm more scared of her than I am of this ankle. So I'm doing the one thing any sensible human would do.
I'm gonna run after it.
The Vigoroth was already far and away by the time I began going after it, but I've got to be persistent. That thing can only go so far, right? I hope so, anyways. Right now, my situation is based on luck, which isn't exactly my strong suit.
Unfortunately for me, this Vigoroth is moving fast. I'm losing track of it already… that's never good. It's basically a white speck on the horizon as of right now. Can this thing comprehend the idea of slowing down?
Ow- Oh Arceus my leg hurts like nothing else. Dear goodness… I don't think I physically can continue going after this thing anymore, otherwise I might…
…Trip.
Ok, I've managed to limp a fair bit away. That tumble was not fun, and my leg feels like Groudon's lava right about now. So… maybe running on this thing after a super hyperactive monkey wasn't one of my greatest ideas… Ow… but right now, I think the best thing to do is find somewhere to sit down and take a breather-
Oh, hey, perfect, actually. A clearing. And it looks pretty empty too. Hope I'm not disturbing another Cascoon or something. I've had enough ambushes for one lifetime.
Oh well, at this point, that would just be added to the checklist of subpar things that have happened today. Being turned into paste would probably be the worst on said list, but hey, I'm too tired to care right now. I just need a lie down.
I propped myself against a tree around the exterior of the clearing. At least if there was some big dangerous Pokemon, I could hide in the bushes.
And then… I finally was able to sit down.
It's only dawned on me now just how tired I've been. I don't think I've taken a single rest during this entire trip, and my leg is feeling even worse now that it's not running off of adrenaline. I once got bit by a Zubat when I was seven. That hurt like nothing else could, and it's the worst thing I've experienced in my life. Take that pain and dial it up by eleven.
I can only imagine what Ms. LeFitz is gonna do once I'm back. Make me sell Lava Cookies at Jagged Pass maybe? I hope not. I've got a college schedule to maintain. Maybe she'll force me to go Clamperl diving. Scratch that, I couldn't even swim if I wanted to. Oh well, so long as it's manageable, I'll at least have Seedot by my side to help me…
Wait, hang on. Where's Seedot?
I looked around, and sure enough, no acorn in sight. I must have lost him while chasing after Vigoroth. Drat. This is the second time today.
Guess I'll have to wait and see if he can find me, I'm in no shape to run around after him.
Well, let's see here… this place is looking pretty nice, I guess. I'd probably come here to watch the sunset or something if I wasn't in such a dire shape. I didn't even know a clearing like this existed in Petalburg Woods. You'd think a clearing with as large a hole in the treetops would be popular, right? Seriously, the roundness of this circle is almost unnatural. It's like someone got a cake cutter and sliced it out of the forest. Obviously not what happened, but still.
Ah well, at least it was nice and sunny. Well, with as much sun as you could get around this time of day, anyway. By the looks of it, it was decently close to sunset. The sky was beginning to change color from a light blue to a burnt orange. Not bad overall, this clearing gives a really nice view. But it also means we've failed in our task at gathering the Petayas in time, and that means Ms. LeFitz is gonna kill me.
Man, I remember when I first met her. I could've had a normal first meeting, but nope, I bumped into her cart and got a stern talking to, and then all of a sudden I had to go to Slateport City to buy some berries for her. As a newcomer to the city, I was very confused on where Slateport was, and needless to say I got a teensy bit lost. And by a teensy bit lost, I mean I accidentally wandered onto the top of a volcano. Figuring out how to get down again was a doozy, and having to explain that to Ms. LeFitz… well, I haven't been the same since for a good reason.
…
Well, staring at this sky sure is exciting. And a bit boring. And a bit painful, my leg still hurts. Maybe I should try shouting for Seedot again? Actually, last time I did that, I nearly signed the contract for my own death, so…
And almost exactly as I thought that, a bush started rustling next to me. I couldn't move because of my ankle, so if it was that Cascoon back for vengeance, then I was in some hot water. Alright, brace yourself John. Whatever it is, just hope it won't kill you-
And out of the bush popped none other than Seedot. Covered in a bunch of leftover leaves and looking very tired, yes, but it was Seedot. If it didn't hurt to move, I would have fallen over and hugged him. A familiar face is something I needed right now.
Seedot seemingly reciprocated. When he saw me he hopped up in the air with glee, looking extremely happy. Guess he was searching for me as long as I had been lying about here, huh? I really need to stop making him chase after me so much.
"Sorry about all that little guy, I got a bit too caught up in everything." Not my greatest explanation, but Seedot understood. He sat down next to me, seemingly enjoying the rest, but something soon caught his eye. He scurried over to it and began inspecting it, and to me, Seedot sort of looked like he was almost scrutinizing it, whatever it is. Almost like… he was trying to figure out what it was, in a way, or why it was there.
Alright, he's got me curious now, let me just scootch over a little… Hm, this still hurts a bit… but I think the rest is doing me good. If I can scootch without my leg going berserk, then that means I might be able to leave this forest later. Keyword, might. But I suppose one thing at a time. What is Seedot's mysterious object?
…
I don't know how I didn't notice this earlier, because simply put, this is the most brilliant feather I have ever seen. It was smaller than a Taillow feather, and was rather matte, which I guess explains how I hadn't noticed it, but when the sun shone on it, the light reflected back with the most brilliant luster imaginable. Seedot definitely had a good eye to notice this lying way off to the side of the path.
The feather glistened a dazzling red, a type which I would describe as a bright crimson. Makes me wonder what species it belongs to. I had never seen anything like it before, and its allure seemed odd given the typical dreariness of Petalburg Woods. I don't think I've heard of anything this vibrant around here. This, I'd say, is definitely worth keeping as a souvenir. Even if it is from a trip where I almost got murdered by a cocoon and had my fruits stolen by a monkey, but hey, what can you do? Besides, whatever species this belongs to must be a cool one… I'm super interested in figuring out where this came from. Might be a fun side hobby. Maybe. I dunno, might be short, might be long. I'll figure it out as I go along.
I picked up the feather, and that's where everything went wrong.
I turned the feather around in my hand a little to get a better view of it, and the light glistened even more vibrantly than when I had initially seen it. However, the feather did something I wasn't expecting. It began to sort of… melt. But not just your regular old melting, nah. The feather was beginning to melt into my skin.
I was caught completely off guard, and I knew full well then I had to get it off my hand. I didn't know what that thing was, or what it was intending to do. But if something's melting into you, typically it's bad news.
I tried to swat it off my hand, but all that did was get it attached to my other hand as well. I tried shaking my hands, but the feather-turned-goop just stayed stuck to my hand. I don't think even a drop fell off.
I began thinking about what else I could try, but the feather's form had almost entirely dissipated into my hand. As soon as it had begun, it was over, and the feather was gone, as if it had never existed. There was no pain felt, and no new injuries added to my body. The feather just ceased to be.
I sat in silence, staring at my hand, the memory of the feather still fresh, but it was just gone. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. How is that possible? T
Seedot was jumping up and down frantically next to me, trying to signal my attention. He seemed worried, and I couldn't blame him, because frankly? I was too. What is this feather? Why did it… melt into me?
"D-don't worry about it Seedot. I'm sure that whatever that was, it was just some Pokemon's form of playing a prank on me." I know full well that Seedot knows that it isn't the case, and honestly? So do I. But regardless, I just… I don't want to think about this right now.
…
Let's see… old lady, yep. She's still scary. Scarier than anything else that can be conjured up right now, anyway. I'll worry about this… thing, another time. I can't… no, I won't focus on this… not while I still have her and my ankle to deal with.
I made my move to leave. I guess the rest did my ankle a favor, as it was moving with less pain than it was earlier. That's gonna begin to sting later, though. Best get a move on while it lasts.
Seedot began following close behind me. He looked very apprehensive about the whole thing, not to mention concerned. He saw the same thing I did, so he's probably just as freaked out. Which worries me even more. You'd think a Pokemon would know if this was natural or not, but Seedot's reactions didn't look to me like he thought it was natural…
"Come on little guy, it was probably a Duskull playing an optical illusion on us, or whatever they do." I gulped after saying that. That thought was more for reassuring myself than Seedot. It was always possible those little trickster Pokemon were up to their shenanigans, but I know full well they didn't like Petalburg Woods thanks to the large Volbeat and Illumise population…
No, stop second guessing yourself John, that was almost certainly it. Stop worrying about the feather. Stop it. Now's not the time.
I got up and walked off. Seedot followed behind me, but I wasn't constantly checking on him. I needed to get home ASAP. My knees were trembling. That wasn't like me. I'm slightly jittery. Again, unlike me. There was nothing wrong with that feather… no, there must've been… maybe.
What could it have been? Where did it come from? Why did it… melt? Yeah, even if it's harmless, that's definitely worth a read. Must be rare… or something. Maybe a feather from some rare Pokemon that can melt its feathers? Must be it.
I can check in with the library tomorrow. Mrs. Ecklevee is gonna be so surprised to finally see me taking a book out, I'll say that much. Heh. Still, gotta get back soon. The sky's beginning to darken a ton. I'm even beginning to see the stars.
Man, that brings me back, the stars. Man, it's been a while since the last time my friends and I stargazed by Rusturf Tunnel. All those constellations… man is it fun… Looking for em, too. When one of us spots a constellation and directs everyone else to it… Boy is it cool being that one. One day, though, we'll all see those constellations together again, and…
Wait, hang on. Shoot! How could I have forgotten!? The stars! That's why I was cramming all that work in earlier. Stargazing. Tomorrow night, with my buds. That's embarrassing.
Wait a second, how much more work did I have back at home again?
…
Curse you, Ms. LeFitz.
Still, even as I proceeded home… something was nagging at me. My mind was off of that feather for now… but it was like something was planted back there. A seed that wouldn't sprout, just sitting there, waiting for the right time… And I really only had one though at the time… one hope…
This better not bite me back in the butt later.
