Chapter Eight - A Visitor
The stress of the day put me into a bit of a haze through the rest of the afternoon. Before I knew it, night had fallen, and I was already over halfway to Slateport. I decided to call it a day here and cleared a spot by the edge of the water to set up camp with the team. Letting them out to do whatever they felt like, I started building a fire with some wood I'd gathered from the nearby shrubbery. It wouldn't be much, but right now a little warmth and comfort would do me a lot of good.
Before long I had a little blaze going, and I took a look around to see what the team was up to. Somehow it seemed like Toothpick had Saul buried up to his eyes in the sand and was cackling aloud about it. Saul, to his credit, was playing along well, occasionally spinning up a low-power Rollout and spraying the sand back at his playmate assailant. I smiled knowing that even with the terrible things that happen around us, we can still find the time to play and relax when we need to. I grabbed my bag and pulled out a pot, a couple of bottles of water and some berries, making a bit of Aspear berry tea for myself and the boys.
As I waited for the water to boil, my thoughts drifted back to that interview from earlier. I have such a bad feeling that that's going to come back to bite me in a major way. I don't like being used for someone else's agenda like that. I had enough of that for one lifetime back when I was in Team Magma. They used my status as a Ranger then too, trying to push the idea that the Rangers supported their wild ideas of ecological terrorism, as if I spoke for the entirety of my organization when I was really just a dumb teenager with too much power and authority. The drawback of being good at what you do is that people tend to think you know more than you really do and treat you as such. Just because I had good grades in the Ranger School, I graduated early and got to do basically whatever I wanted for a few years, which is never a good thing for a naive fifteen year old. I'm grateful for the things I've learned, I just wish I knew better about when people were taking advantage of me.
Snapping myself out of my reverie, I saw the water had been boiling for a minute or two already and singed myself a little taking the pot off the heat. I dropped the berries into the water, embedding the pot partially into the sand to keep it from cooling too quickly. Looking back over to the team, I saw they had moved on from burying one another into playing tag, and I chuckled at the sight of my party having such a good time while I'm over here brooding.
The tea had been steeping for a few minutes when I heard my PokéNav ringing from my bag. I took it out and saw it was Nurse Claire, which was a little surprising considering the last time I'd talked to her I was just updating her about getting in touch with the Rock Smash Dude. I picked up and answered her.
"Hellooo, Nurse! ~ Crazy hearing from you this time of night, did you miss me or something?"
"Can it with the jokes, Sam. Why are you on the news?"
"What? Already? That interview was less than five hours ago. I was going to tell you when I got to Slateport, I'm not even there yet." I said with bewilderment. The Hoenn Herald must work fast.
"You found a dead body and you decided to tell the news it was a wild Pokémon attack? What happened to leaving it to the investigation team?" She accused, and she really didn't seem too happy.
"I don't know what they're saying! I haven't even seen a television since the interview! It's that damn Hoenn Herald, they must have clipped my voice lines to say what they wanted me to." I retorted, frustrated that I'm being berated by someone I know fairly well. "I said, point blank, that I have no idea what actually happened except that I doubted it was murder or foul play, and that a wild Pokémon attack is just my best guess."
"That's not what the news is saying. And I quote, 'I personally don't believe foul play was involved. This was a wild Pokémon attack. It's a great tragedy what happened to this young man.' End quote. Why the hell would you tell the reporters that when the investigation hasn't even finished? You're not even a Ranger anymore!"
"Like I said, and like I'll keep saying - that's not what I said. You can call the Slateport police and hear my report straight from them. I knew I shouldn't have taken that interview with those sleazeballs. They manipulated my interview and changed it to say something what they wanted to put on TV. I don't know what else to tell you."
This is a mess already, and it's still the same day. I don't want to imagine how tomorrow is going to go. It's going to be a shitshow when I make it to the city.
"Yeah, I just might have to do that, if they're not already being bombarded with calls from people fearing for their lives. You have to clear this up somehow."
"What else can I even do? I told the police the truth, I told the reporters the truth, and I'll tell anyone that asks me from now on the truth. I'm already having a pretty awful day - y'know, stumbling across a dead body tends to do that to a guy - and now you're calling me and throwing accusations at me when you already know who I am. What do you want me to do, Claire? Find The Dialga, turn back time and punch myself in the face so I don't take the interview?"
"You're… you're right. I'm sorry. My family is just panicking because they saw the news too." She sighs, a little deflated. "My mom is here freaking out about the idea that a Pokémon Ranger said a wild Ursaring is going to tear her limb from limb. Ursaring don't even live around here. I don't know how to tell her otherwise, and the fact that I know you would only make it worse. The people that watch that show are already easily influenced. Just make sure you don't take any more interviews, okay? We don't need to add fuel to the fire."
"... Yeah. You got it. Take care of your family. I'm leaving the region after this next gym battle. I'll keep you updated. I'll talk to you later." I say with a touch of defeat in my voice before hanging up.
I'm going to have to take the initiative and tell everyone I know that that's not what I really said. I'm probably going to hear from the Ranger Association that I'm claiming membership and spreading lies on television. I don't want to deal with this. I can't wait to get to Unova.
I put my head in my hands for a moment, before I feel a pokémon nudging up against me.
"Not right now, Toothpick, go play. I'll be there in a minute."
He nudges me again. Then completely pushes me onto my side. Wait, what?
I look up and see a pokémon that is distinctly not my partner looking at me inches from my face. And then it licks me. All the way up my face. I sputter and wipe my face to make sure I didn't get any pokéspit in my mouth, before scooting back for a better look at the one assaulting me.
Wiping my eyes again, I see it's a pretty decently sized quadruped with big ears, a dirty black mane and eyes that are simultaneously dull and dim while also being completely aware of the situation at hand. Oh! It's a Mudbray. I saw a few of these back in Almia on farms.
"Well, hey little guy! You caught me at a bad time, sorry about that. What are you doing here? Don't normally see you guys around these parts."
He brays loudly, before pushing me out of the way again and starting to drink my tea out of the pot I'd left to cool. Laughing, I rub the new arrival behind the ears for a moment and call for my team. I hear the pair scamper up to us, and immediately the Mudbray's attention shoots up from the tea and directly at Saul, before jumping over my lap and going directly for him and starting to lick him. Saul's eyes widen in alarm, before attempting to roll away. While it was a brave attempt, the Mudbray easily keeps up with him and chases him across the sand, getting its licks in any chance it had.
Toothpick seemed to find this highly amusing, and he cackled a little bit before joining in the game. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene myself, and it didn't take long at all before the stress from before had completely slipped my mind and I got up to play too. Saul was outnumbered so I went to even the odds, picking him up and running away from our pursuers, and it was at that point when I saw how fast a Mudbray can actually run when it tackled me headfirst and knocked both the wind and Saul from me. I took my time getting up, because wow that actually kind of hurt, and I used that moment to check the Pokédex to see more details about Mudbray.
Why the hell is it almost two hundred and fifty pounds? No wonder that hurt so bad. I saw Saul was getting worn out, so I went ahead and recalled him to his ball for a break, and the two troublemakers looked at me pointedly as if I'd just taken their favorite toy away.
So, then they started chasing me instead.
The time seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, we were all wiped out, and went to go back to the campsite. I grabbed water for everyone, and it didn't take long at all before we all fell asleep by the fire.
Morning came too quickly. I woke up blearily, and to my surprise, the Mudbray had actually stuck around all night. I was convinced it was just wild and wanted to play for a while. I decided at that moment I wanted this guy to come with us. With as much fun as we'd had, he would be a welcome addition to the family. I'd have to make sure to establish boundaries between him and Saul though.
Using my Pokédex to scan the Mudbray while it slept, I realized it was also a male. A whole team of guys so far. I swear this isn't an active choice on my part, this is just how it's played out. I also realized he was incredibly young for his size, less than a year old, when both Toothpick and Saul were several times that age. Toothpick was at least six or seven by now, and he could have easily evolved at any point up until now, he's just elected not to do so, and there's really no telling how old a mineral-type Pokémon like Saul is without a lab examination, but considering where we found him, he could be decades old by now. Maybe even older than me.
Within a few minutes though, he woke up and looked over at me, before staggering his way to his feet, plodding over and laying back down right next to me. He's a sweetheart already. I scratched him behind the ears, growing fonder of the little guy every minute.
"You seem pretty alright, little fella. What do you say about coming with us on our adventure? We could use someone like you around."
He looked up at me with curious eyes, leaning on me a little bit. He's a lot more expressive than Saul, but that's not a high bar to meet. Suddenly he hops to his feet, whinnying a war cry with a challenging expression. He stomps the sand, bucking his head as an invitation.
"Ohhh I see, you want to battle? Sure! I'll prove to you that we're more than strong enough to have you along for the ride. Who do you want to battle?"
He plods over and licks Saul on the head to wake him up, who rolls out of the line of attack in surprise. I explain to him what the plan is, and he seems more than happy to oblige, to show this upstart that we were all just playing last night and he's stronger than he looks.
"Alright then! Saul, get us started!" I direct, and his eyes immediately start glowing to indicate he's using Ancient Power.
The Mudbray's eyes widen in surprise seeing rocks and branches floating in the air, and he jumps out of the way of the first handful of projectiles but takes a couple of good knocks at the end of the attack. He hops to his feet and charges headfirst at Saul, then rearing onto his hind legs and pounding the sand, powerful shockwaves roar through the ground and send Saul tumbling all the way into the grass.
I can hear the telltale sound of Saul building up speed in the grass and he shoots out and slams directly into the Mudbray, knocking him to the ground, before reversing direction and hitting the beast again with his Rollout attack. The Mudbray lurches to his feet, clearly winded from those strikes, but he waits for Saul to shoot back at him and takes the precise shot to kick him dead on with his front hooves. The kick stops Saul in his tracks, before the Mudbray kicks a second time with his back legs this time, a solid thwack that definitely leaves Saul a little dizzy.
Saul shakes off the attack though, putting his serious face on. He fires off another Ancient Power, this time taking hold of Mudbray himself, flipping him over and dropping him directly into the sand from midair. The fall knocks the wind out of him, leaving Mudbray breathless, and he shakes his head in defeat. I smile and pat Saul on the head, before walking over to Mudbray.
"See? We can protect ourselves. But I want to help you grow stronger too. Will you come with us?"
Battered but not beaten, Mudbray looks me in the eyes for a few moments, and I hold his gaze. I get the feeling he's looking for more than just mindless strength or simple kindness, so I keep my eyes locked onto his, showing myself with no pretenses and letting him see me as I am. After what felt a lot longer than it actually was, he nods softly, and I smile happily at him.
"I'm so glad. Welcome to the team, buddy."
I grab a ball from my bag, and tap him on the head with it. The ball shakes a couple of times, and then clicks. I've got myself a Mudbray.
I send him right back out, and it's at this point Toothpick finally decides to wake up and grace us with his presence. He waddles over, and chatters happily seeing Mudbray decided to join us after all. I can't help but think he helped out, trying to talk Mudbray into it last night. It's at this point it registers that I have to think of a good name for the little guy.
"So! Introductions are in order. This here is Toothpick, he's been with me for years, and your friend over there is Saul T. But now we've got to give you a name too, so I'll throw some out there and you tell me which one you like best. Okay?"
He nickers in agreement, and I think for a moment.
"How about Elmer?"
He looks at me with a flat expression. Guess that's a no.
"Hmm… you could be Half Fast?"
He rolls his eyes. I don't think he appreciates my sense of humor.
"You could be Mayo! Mayo Neighs. How about that?"
He kicks a little sand at me. Yeah, he definitely doesn't think I'm funny. I'll wear him down soon enough.
"Hm. How about Edward? I could call you Ed."
At this one, his eyes light up. I think he likes it. Perfect, I do too.
"Alright then! Welcome to the team, Mister Edward! We're so happy to have you. Now, who wants breakfast?"
The team cheers - or, as close to cheering as Pokémon get - and I get started on rebuilding the fire from last night. Berries and pokémon food are nice, but this calls for a little more than that, so I started pulling out the better ingredients from my pack. We'll be in Slateport by the end of the day, I can restock there.
It's at this point I notice my PokéNav light is flashing, saying I've got messages unread. Right now, though, I don't want to deal with that stress. I just made a new friend.
The real world can wait until after breakfast, at least.