Thursday, June 8th, 1978, 1330
After encountering the Chansey—who Ellie had since dubbed "Annabelle"—we packed up our camping equipment without much issue, doing our best to erase our presence as much as possible. Since we had only been there for one night it wasn't much trouble. Ellie took some time to get her new team member cleaned up while Dani and I smoothly disassembled the camp. The older girl was nothing if not reliable, and I was deeply appreciative of her experience if only because it lessened the burden on myself. Ellie wasn't useless, per se, but she certainly was lacking when it came to wilderness know-how.
After we finished, I looked around at the camp, nodding my approval. I threw an appreciative look Dani's way, earning myself a subtle smile in return.
Nice, I thought to myself, happy with the progress I had made with the older girl. She had at least stopped calling me bud in the last week.
There was little evidence besides the remnants of the fire pit to indicate we were ever there. It wasn't necessarily a law to leave no trace—especially where we were, out in the boonies and all. Still, the rangers strongly encouraged trainers to clean up anything they brought into relatively untamed areas of Kanto, like routes fourteen and fifteen. Some of the more commonly trafficked areas were strictly patrolled by rangers to ensure that trainers didn't destroy the environment more than absolutely necessary.
After all, Pokémon battles had the potential to devastate entire ecosystems if things became too out of hand. It varied by severity, but trainers could generally expect a small fine. However, it wasn't unheard of for licenses being suspended if things went too far, especially for serial offenders.
After we were satisfied with the cleanup, our troupe gathered at the edge of the clearing, looking ready for the next stage of our journey. Dani was wearing one of her usual dress shirts, paired with the heavy-duty hiking pants she seemed to wear most days. She was astride Geralt with Venonat on her shoulder and Sycther and Beedrill by her side. All in all, she looked fairly imposing.
Ellie, on the other hand, was holding hands with Anabelle, with Willow wrapped around her neck while Petal and River trailed behind, looking jealous of their new team member. Between Willow and Anabelle, I was sure her starters were reeling with the abrupt changes. I doubted they had to compete much for Ellie's attention prior to the last few days and it was probably wearing on them. I wasn't too worried; of all people, Ellie seemed like she would be able to manage the inevitable team drama without much ado.
The contrast between the two teams was comical; Dani looked like a battle-hardened trainer with her vicious bodyguards while Ellie looked like a walking daycare advertisement. As for myself, Nana and Eon were already out scouting to ensure we wouldn't have any unexpected run-ins when we least wanted them. Larvitar, for whatever reason, hardly left my shadow if he could help it. He seemed to feel very strongly about my safety even though nothing even remotely dangerous had happened to me since he had hatched. I suspected Eon had something to do with it, but it was impossible to verify.
Once we were all gathered, I cleared my throat to draw their attention. "Now that we're all ready, I just wanted to go over the plan for the day. This marks the spot where we're officially in the wilderness; the trail is barely recognizable, and there is no patrolling whatsoever on behalf of the rangers. If there's a spot where things might go wrong, this is it. We'll be heading north through a dense section of forest before eventually reaching the junction between routes eleven and twelve. It should only take a few days if we make good progress."
Ellie cocked her head, raising her free hand. "What kinds of things might go wrong?"
I smiled, happy for the engagement. "The worst-case scenario would be running into one of the local apex predators. According to Sula, this territory effectively belongs to two tribes of pokemon; one of the Poliwhirl family and the other of the Oddish family. They are headed by a few powerful Poliwrath and Vileplume respectively."
"Yikes," frowned Dani. "What a nasty combo. I'd really like to avoid some horrific poison scarring if I can help it."
"No kidding," I grimaced in agreement, thinking of the droves of scarred retainers I grew up with. I didn't want to join them if I could help it. "We're really not equipped to handle a full-scale attack if something happens. So, the most important thing is to simply avoid it. It shouldn't be an issue for Eon and Nana as long as we have clear lines of sight."
As if Arceus himself was mocking my confidence, I heard the telltale pitter patter of heavy rain drops hitting the ground, and the skies darkened noticeably. I felt, rather than heard the booming of not-too-distant thunder.
Arceus damn it all, I thought as I braced myself for the storm that seemingly appeared just to spite me for making such an optimistic comment. Note to self; never say your best-case scenario out loud.
Next to me, Ellie chuckled nervously. "Hopefully, this won't affect the visibility too much!"
Dani sighed loudly. "Let's just get going. If it's going to storm, we might as well make as much progress as we can before the trails get too muddy."
"Good call," I said, standing up to head towards the edge of the clearing, where a small gap in the looming tree line marked where we would officially depart from the relative safety of the coast. The rest of the group followed behind me and we soon found ourselves pressed for space on the trail. It was a pitiful thing; narrow and windy—far more degraded than the last time I had passed through with Sula.
It made for poor travel even in the best of conditions.
And these were not the best of conditions.
The rainstorm had quickly evolved into a deluge, and the droning sound of thousands of rain drops colliding with the dense foliage drowned out all but the loudest of noises. The trees here were much taller than we were used to, and the thick canopy absorbed any light that might have passed through the dark clouds.
I couldn't keep my eyes from darting every which way nervously. I hated the lack of visibility. Despite Nana and Eon's best efforts, we could inadvertently run into a rogue Vileplume that could melt us in seconds, or slip and fall, only to come face to face with a snoozing Lickitung hungry for its next meal. Things were already risky enough before the onset of the storm, and I felt my mood continue to deflate in the poor conditions.
To our credit, we were used to this; it had been raining off and on for the last few days, so this was nothing we weren't prepared for. I braced for another wet afternoon, hoping the squall would recede before it made the dangerous route completely impassable. Our trek went smoothly for the first hour or so, with only minor mishaps here and there, with no sightings of pokemon to speak of. They were wiser than us, it seemed.
Then came the wind.
It started as an eerie howling noise, subtle enough that I first thought my ears were playing tricks on me. Before long, though, the wind became a force of nature that drowned out any possibility of having a decent conversation. It felt like the forest itself was screaming at our trespass.
The raindrops were hitting us like tiny glass marbles, stinging even through the thick clothing I was wearing. If I hadn't been experiencing it, I might have been impressed at the sheer ferocity of the storm.
Together, the rain and wind created an exciting form of weather that I dubbed "horizontal rain," a unique condition only achievable by hitting wind speeds that made it difficult to stand up on flat ground.
I sighed, unable to hear the disappointment in my own voice over the sound of weaponized water destroying the forest around us.
"Mare, should we try to set up the tents and wait it out? It's getting nasty out here, and I don't think we can even keep the younger pokémon out in these conditions," shouted Dani, barely loud for me to hear. She was clasped tightly to her Scyther, ostensibly holding him up, although it looked like he was doing more than his fair share. Venonat was perched on her shoulder, huddled tightly to her neck to retain warmth.
Her voice was thick with an emotion that could only be fear.
She had been riding Geralt for the first part of the journey, as she usually did, but had returned him when his hooves kept slipping in the increasingly mushy ground.
Geralt had nearly fallen several times before she had reluctantly returned the aging fire horse, unwillingly to risk injury merely to stay out of the swamp the trail was becoming. Beedrill had soon followed, his fragile frame unable to withstand the buffeting winds with saturated wings.
After that, she and her remaining pokemon banded together in support. In general, we tried to keep our pokemon out as much as possible, both for deterrence and training. This was pushing it, though, especially for the smaller pokemon that couldn't maintain their body temperature as consistently. Her suggestion made sense in the context, although I was annoyed at our pokemon losing out on a character-building opportunity, which I had long since learned to love.
At least I was still training, I noted with amusement as I pushed my soaked bangs out of my eyes for the hundredth time in the last hour.
Dani's boots were now coated with mud, and she had tied her sopping-wet hair in a tight knot to keep it out of her face. Her face was cold and expressionless as she slogged onwards. If she was afraid, she wasn't showing it in anything but her voice.
"Good call," I shouted back, but there wasn't much I could do on my end. "Let's at least return the little ones, at least." I hadn't officially caught Larvitar in a ball yet, so he was fated to experience the storm with me since I wasn't about to dig through my bag to find an empty ball. She simply nodded before returning her Venonat, leaving only Sycther out for mutual support. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer that I really didn't have at the moment.
My face scrunched with distaste as I considered our options. From my earlier perusal of Sula's map, I knew we were relatively close to the golden star next to the hot-springs symbol, but I needed to figure out what to look for, especially with our currently limited visibility. I could hardly see more than a few meters beyond the trail at this point, putting us at serious risk for a run in, although I doubted there were many pokemon out and about in this weather.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
On the other hand, we were at genuine risk of injury or even hypothermia as the constant contact with wind and moisture slowly but surely drained our body heat. There was no good option in this case.
"I think we should keep going," interjected Ellie before I could respond. "There's, like, no chance that our tents will even remotely hold up in this situation. We should keep moving and hope we find shelter."
Despite Ellie screaming to be heard over the rain, I was lip-reading more than listening.
"She's right," I shouted back. "As much as I loathe the thought of continuing through these conditions, we'll have better luck finding a spot with cover or just getting out of the area entirely. I don't even think the rain covers would do much with the angle the rain is coming at." I gave a helpless shrug of my shoulders.
Dani frowned but deferred to my response. "Still, let's at least return everybody but Eon and Nana; they should be enough to keep watch. I think. Hopefully. Look at Larvitar; the poor guy is freezing," she suggested, gesturing at the tiny pokémon clutching at my leg fruitlessly to stay warm.
I sighed and knelt down to rub some warmth into his little shoulders. His turquoise flesh was cold to the touch and he leaned into my touch desperately. "Yeah, good call, Dani, if only I had caught him with a pokeball," I replied with a chagrinned smile. "He's here to stay for the time being."
I pulled him in for a brief hug, doing what I could to warm the guy. "You gonna be okay?" I asked as I pulled back.
Despite his shivering, the pokemon nodded back resolutely, his eyes showing nothing but determination.
"See," I said, turning to Dani, who rolled her eyes. "He's gonna be fine. Still, Ellie should probably return Willow and the others, at least."
"Yes ma'am," saluted Ellie with a playful smile, still somehow finding the poise to humor us even as the storm screeched in protest.
Ellie obediently returned her pokémon, leaving us with only Nana, Eon, Scyther, and Larvitar.
Nana, in particular, looked quite miserable. He had always been a dependable pokémon, but I knew he hated being wet like this, even if he didn't show it much to the others. I could still only barely notice his discomfort after years of constant exposure. There was something subtle about the way he held himself that was just a tiny bit different from usual.
On the other hand, Eon's eyes were sharp and focused; ever since Larvitar had hatched, she had approached everything with a gravity absent when it was just Nana and myself. Her normally gleaming coat was weighted down with moisture, yet she seemed as elegant as ever. She was currently warily scanning the sides of the trail in case we ran into something abruptly.
"Nana, Eon. Scout ahead to ensure we're not about to run blindly into any pokémon fleeing the storm. If you spot anything, return immediately to notify us so we can alter our course accordingly," I ordered. "Be careful. If you see something you can't handle, just get back here so we can overwhelm them with numbers or run if necessary."
The two pokémon shot off after nodding their understanding of the orders, ignoring the water that cascaded onto them as they came into contact with the moisture laden brush alongside the trail. We began hesitantly following after them, trying to make some ground despite the environment's efforts to stop us.
Dani whistled in appreciation at the discipline. "I know I've said it before, but that's some fire-type you have. There's no way I could convince Geralt to run into an absolutely drenched forest like that. Got any tips?"
I smiled awkwardly, knowing my answer wouldn't be helpful, but at least the conversation could distract us as we pressed on.
"No tips from me. He's been like this from day one. If you met his sire, you might understand. Kiriel's Arcanine, Kuro, wouldn't be caught dead even blinking in hesitation at a single order, no matter how dangerous or unpleasant it might be. Nana compares himself to that, so of course, he wouldn't balk at a little water."
"Guess I'll have to meet him sometime," Dani replied, and I nearly tripped at the thought of inviting her into the compound.
No way I'm letting her get anywhere near Sula or Kiriel. I will die before I let that happen. They would tell her every embarrassing thing I've ever done. I would practically melt from shame.
I caught myself before the minor slip turned into a major fall, but I apparently wasn't smooth enough to avoid notice.
"You okay, Mare?" asked Ellie with concern. "It's not like you to trip! I've seen how you move. You're like a Persian or some other agile pokémon that I can't think of right now. It's kinda freaky, honestly."
Dani's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Freaky, how so?"
"It's hard to describe, like, it's almost like he glides over things? He's super quiet at night, and I haven't seen him stumble besides that one time he tripped on a rock in the creek in front of that Poliwhirl on the second morning. He barely managed to get away before it punched his face in," explained Ellie in detail. She mimed throwing a haymaker and barely avoided slipping from the awkward-looking movement.
I could feel my face burning at the story, even in the cold. Leave it to Ellie to choose this particular moment to remember little things like that.
"Can we move on from this? It's slippery, people fall. I'm people. Sometimes, I fall, too. Let's just keep moving," I said brusquely, moving even further ahead of the other two.
"Somebody's grumpy," teased Ellie as she settled behind me. "Should I tell her more about it? Or about how you almost started crying on the first day?"
"Definitely grumpy," agreed Dani, although I could tell she was still curious about Ellie's comment.
"Moving on!" I shouted while storming off ahead of them. I was grateful that the storm mercifully drowned out the giggles I knew were following me.
We need to add a boy to our group, and soon. I've spent enough of my Arceus damned life being teased by girls, I thought with a shake of my head as we continued our trek. We made it another hour before tragedy struck.
I might've managed to catch myself before I took a tumble, but Anabelle did not. Not that I could blame her, considering her paddle-like arms did little to stop her large mass, even in the best of circumstances.
"Chansssssssssss," the healing pokémon wailed in shock as she finally slipped while we were making our way down a particularly steep slope.
"Anabelle!" Ellie cried out worriedly.
She tried to catch Anabelle and even got her fingers on the edge of the pokemon's 'dress', but all that did was tear a massive rent in the garment. Anabelle tumbled down the incline, landing in a tearful, soggy mess. Ellie darted down after her, narrowly avoiding a similar fall.
"Chans,chanssey-chans," our newfound friend sobbed as she beheld the torn article, holding it up to the sky as if to protest the storm itself. The green shirt was torn nearly in two and saturated with the cloying mud inundating the trail.
"It's okay, shhhh," Ellie comforted soothingly. "Cry if you need to, but we can get you a new dress as soon as we get out of this storm. I promise."
The pokémon looked up at Ellie hopefully. "Sey?"
Ellie knelt down and gathered the poor girl in her arms for a hug, completely ignoring the pasty coating of mud now liberally coating her own clothing. She calmly stroked Annabell's back as the pokemon wept at her loss.
Dani looked at me uncertainly, and I shrugged resignedly, unsure what to think of the odd but touching sight.
We stood awkwardly in the pounding rain for a few moments until Ellie finally calmed Anabelle down enough to continue.
I sidled over to Dani carefully. "I wish I had a big sister like that. There is no way Sula would be caught dead doing something like that for me. She'd probably laugh at me and wait for me somewhere nice and warm."
Dani sidled back, moving close so I could hear her over the rain. Her warm breath misted over my throat as she whispered back, "I wish I had a big sister like that, too. It shames me to admit that there's no way I would do something like that for either of my little siblings, no matter how cute they might be." She turned to look at me. "Ellie's something special, isn't she?"
I nodded back, refraining from gulping loudly at the close contact. Could blushing prevent hypothermia? The warmth radiating through my body seemed to indicate so. "Yeah, she really is. We're lucky to have her. She might still be a rank amateur, but at least she's got natural talent in spades."
I knew what Dani meant. Ellie was different. Even after my heartfelt admission a few nights ago, I was still adapting to the entirely different level of compassion and empathy Ellie seemed to naturally exhibit. Empathy that seemed to extend even to random pokemon encounters.
Not naturally, I corrected myself. From being the only child standing between two fighting parents. There is no need to take away from her efforts.
Ellie held Anabelle's hand through the rest of the storm, patiently helping the pokémon navigate the treacherous trail.
Watching them warmed my heart; Ellie might not have caught Anabelle officially, but she was already hers regardless.
Nearly four hours later, the storm finally abated. I didn't think we had actually made it that far, maybe eight kilometers at the most, but it had felt like ages. I was cold and tired, hungry, and just generally miserable. Not that I would let that show or say anything. I knew better than to display blatant weakness like that, if only because it could reduce morale for the others.
Although we had been searching for anything remotely resembling shelter, we had found none. We simply continued down the path, ardently hoping for a reprieve from the relentless waves of water. I eventually had to pick up Larvitar, as he was too clumsy to navigate the mud. My arms and shoulders burned from holding up the dense bundle of weight for hours on end, and I was about ready to keel over.
As we shuffled onwards, the rain and wind gradually slowed down before stopping entirely. It wasn't sunny by any means, but the tumultuous cacophony of noises had finally departed, and we could at least hear our thoughts once more. My voice had long since grown hoarse from the constant shouting the storm required from us to be heard.
Dani and I emerged largely unscathed, having enough dexterity to catch ourselves before we fully lost our balance. There had been a number of close calls, but we had both avoided anything more than a knee in the mud at most. I was grateful for my well-made leather boots. Even after hours in the rain, my feet were still comfortably dry, although my feet ached from the extra weight.
Ellie and Anabelle were not so lucky.
Anabelle's normally light-pink fur was dyed a dirty brownish-grey from the multiple spills she had taken over the last few hours. Ellie fared little better, and she was coated top to bottom with a thick layer of the sticky, foul-smelling substance the trail had devolved into.
Nonetheless, they were somehow beaming brightly. Power of friendship and all that bullshit, obviously. Ellie had clearly grown up watching ridiculous pokemon anime.
On the other hand, although she didn't fall nearly as much, Dani looked worse for wear; the poor woman was soaked to the bone and was shivering uncontrollably. Her lean and muscular physique was clearly doing her no favors in these conditions. Everyone wants to be fit until they freeze to death in the rain.
"Let's stop for a rest," I suggested, although it was as much for me as it was for Dani. My arms felt like burning leaden ropes attached to my torso at this point. "Nana, would you please take a moment with Dani so she doesn't break her teeth? My mouth hurts just listening to you."
Nana emerged from the brush nearby. Steam rose from his fur as he raised his external temperature to prepare for the well-practiced technique. Although I was by no means a fire-type specialist like my sister, I firmly believed that traveling in the wilds without a fire type was negligent in the extreme. They were beyond valuable in situations like this, or even in just starting a fire or scaring off the abundant grass types in Kanto. Without Nana, I would have certainly died from hypothermia on at least three separate occasions.
"M-mare, I'm c-completely f-fine. This i-is u-unnecessary," Dani protested weakly.
I shook my head. "This is non-optional. Nana, steam dry, please. Dani, grab onto him and hold on for a few minutes until you're dried off, at least for a bit."
Dani wrapped her arms around Nana gingerly as if she was afraid he was going to burn her or something. "Ugh. He s-smells l-like wet d-dog," she complained.
"Lithe! Growlithe," Nana growled defensively.
"And so will you! But you'll smell like a slightly drier wet dog, at least. And hopefully, you'll stop shivering, more importantly," I said in a faux chipper tone. I found that cheer, even false cheer, tended to help improve the mood.
"S-Sorry, Nana," Dani apologized contritely. "T-thank you."
I nodded in satisfaction at the gratitude; it was only proper to thank pokémon for their assistance. Especially such a fluffy and reliable one such as Nana.
I found my tight shoulders relaxing in contentment at the sight of Dani hanging on to Nana as he "steamed" both of them until she finally stopped shivering.
My enjoyment of the tranquil scene was interrupted as Ellie shouted from somewhere around the next bend in the trail.
"Mare," Ellie bellowed excitedly. "Mare! Come look at this, quick!"