Cashe, Lindon, and Emilia entered Tapu Village early the next morning. Their camp was only a few miles up Route 17, and on the back of Mudsdale, the journey was short and swift.
The morning sun peeked over the crest of the island as the rounded the final corner of the route and entered the village. The enormous form of Mount Lanakila towered behind it, the stark face of the enormous hunk of rock casting an ominous shadow over the small village. Oddly, the paved, flagstone road transitioned to packed dirt as they entered the area around the village instead of the pavement from which most towns’ roads were made. Two roads branched away from the village, one leading to the ocean, the other, to a set of stairs that climbed the mountain. Victory Road.
Tapu Village itself was tiny and quaint. A single road ran through the village, the entire structure built up around it. Riding into town on the back of Mudsdale, Cashe could see the entirety of the village that lay before them. The road followed the curve of the island, the town built up around it. On the mountain side of the road stood the village’s only Pokemon Center, by far the largest structure. It was flanked by a pair of small shops - a general store and a pokemon groomer by the looks of it - both maintaining the worn appearance so common to small towns and villages that saw limited visitors. There was no need to keep up appearances when your customer base was almost entirely made up of a few dozen villagers.
Farther down the road, still on the mountain side of it, lay a row of houses. They were single story, low to the ground, and built in the traditional Alolan style, made mostly of wood, with bamboo roofs and covered porches. A few more shops followed the houses, and some sort of larger building that might be a school or a community center.
On the sea side of the road lay a small motel, the village’s only residence for those visiting it. A small neon sign flicked in the morning light, the word ‘vacancy’ blinking in and out of existence. Cashe grinned. It was good to see some things didn’t change between worlds. A small restaurant, a diner, sat beside the motel. It had dirty windows and no visible sign for a name. A wind chime hung from the door, ringing with the early morning breeze that rose from the sea. The few trees and bushes that lined the road through town shuddered with it, making it appear as if the entire town was shaking in the wind.
“Quiet,” Emilia commented as they rode into the town proper. Her voice sounded hollow in the empty town.
“It’s early,” Cashe said, “Not much to do in a town like this.”
“Hmm,” Emilia frowned, her eyes running down the length of the road that made up the town. No curious faces came to greet them, no sounds of work or movement at all could be heard as the wind died down. “Still strange not to see kids or something.”
“They might be staying inside because of the pokemon,” Lindon suggested.
“Still,” Emilia looked over at the shops flanking the Pokemon Center as they passed them. Both were covered in dirt and grime from the seawater carried by the wind and in desperate need of cleaning. The pokemon groom was empty, lights off, while from the door of the general store a closed sign hung. Through the dirty window, Cashe could see a thin layer of dust covering the shelves on display, undisturbed for some time.
They rode past the Pokemon Center - that, at least, had its lights on - and approached the motel. Its blue painted roof and white walls were similarly stained from the ocean, but the lights were on as they stepped inside.
The main foyer of the motel was a small carpeted room with a single desk sitting beside a hall that led to the rooms. Passed out in an ancient chair behind the desk was an overweight man in a dirty, red tee-shirt and a fishing camp. Emilia approached the desk and rang the small bell on top of it.
The man didn’t stir, but a rustling sound came from beneath the desk and a Gothorita hopped up onto the man’s lap. The pokemon was two feet tall and covered in black skin. It was humanoid, in the shape of a child wearing a dress, with a round head and two similarly sized buns on each side of its head. A pair of white bows flared out from each bun, with another pair on its chest. The pokemon greeted them with half-lidded eyes and a blank expression on its face.
“Hello?” Emilia said.
Gothorita tilted its head to the side.
“Do we need to talk to him or can we talk to you?”
Gothorita’s only response was to look away from Emilia and towards Cashe and Lindon.
“We need three beds for a night or two,” Lindon said, giving Gothorita a friendly grin. Gothorita ignored the grin, but turned around to the wall behind the sleeping man and a rack of keys that hung there. Each key dangled from a labeled hook, a dozen in total. Four keys were already missing from the hooks. Gothorita plucked three more from the wall and placed them on the desk.
“Thanks,” Emilia picked up the keys. Gothorita didn’t acknowledge her, simply staring until the trio walked away.
“That was weird,” Cashe said, looking back over his shoulder as they turned down the hall. Gothorita had hopped off the sleeping man’s lap and returned to her hiding spot under the front desk.
“Normally pokemon are friendlier than that.” Lindon nodded.
They came to their rooms and Emilia tossed them their respective keys. The motel only had twelve rooms, so they ended up right next to each other. Cashe stepped into his room. It was small and musty, like everything else in the village. The bed squeaked as he tossed his backpack onto it, old springs making their presence known. He returned to the hall after checking the bathroom (also small and dusty) meeting back up with Emilia and Lindon.
“Lindon, where did you get a rock?” Emilia said. Lindon had returned to the hall with a smooth, polished stone in his hand. It was the size of his fist and looked to have come from a river or ocean.
“It was under my bed. A bunch were!” Lindon said with a grin.
“You check under your bed in hotels?” Emilia said.
“You don’t?” Lindon gave her a skeptical look.
“So, what now?” Cashe said, pulling them back on topic, “Head out into the wilderness searching for pokemon? Come back for dinner?”
Stolen story; please report.
“Yes!” Lindon was practically shaking in anticipation of finally searching for the elusive Vulpix.
“No,” Emilia said, shaking her head, “We need to find the missing gym trainer and find out about any strange pokemon activity first.”
“That could take all day,” Lind said, frowning.
“We could do both,” Cashe said, “I can take Lindon out into the fields. Find a few pokemon. Maybe a few battles. Talk about girls. Make it a boys day out.”
Emilia snorted in amusement, looking between the pair, “Make yourself into a couple of rugged, manly men? Don’t know if you two are up to that.”
“I can be rugged!” Lindon complained.
“And you can do the girly stuff,” Cashe continued, “Stick in town. Go shopping. Chat. Check around for rumors of pokemon. Maybe see if you can find Dee, Yu, and Maeve.”
Emilia snorted again but Lindon frowned, “Why would we want to find them? They are the competition!”
“If anyone has noticed signs of a powerful pokemon in the area, it's them.” Cashe said, “They’ve been out here for a week as well, so getting the lay of the land from them could be useful.”
“They might have caught a Vulpix already,” Lindon sulked.
“They sounded like they were looking for Sneasel and Weavile, so maybe not,” Emilia said, “Those territories overlap, but everything avoids Sneasel in the wild. They’re too dangerous and they hunt in groups.”
Lindon looked slightly mollified. Cashe raised an eyebrow, “So, what do you think? Search for a day, while you investigate here?”
Emilia nodded, “It’s not a bad idea. Make sure you keep your pokedex on you, though. Tape it to your head if you can. If I find something out, I’m going to need to reach you right away.”
“Sounds good, let’s go,” Cashe nodded to Lindon.
“Wait,” Lindon ran back to his room, returning with his overstuffed backpack. “Just in case.”
“Yeah, good idea.” Cashe grabbed his own backpack from his room, returning to the hall a moment later.
“Get everything now?” Emilia said.
“Pokeballs, pokemon, pokedex, pokepack.” Cashe nodded.
“How is it a pokepack?” Lindon frowned, “Is it supposed to be a Geodude or something?”
“Everything else is a poke-something,” Cashe shrugged, “I didn’t want it to be left out.”
***
The fields around Tapu Village were not like those they explored on Route 3. The grass was shorter, only up to Cashe’s thighs, and the terrain was rugged, rocky, and inclined as they approached the mountain. At the far end of the large field they were in, the mountain rose into the distance, rocky cliffs and scattered trees lining the edge of the field.
The lack of town around them, open field, and proximity to both the mountain and the ocean meant a stiff breeze constantly buffeted them as they moved . The grass of the field rolled in waves with the wind, making it nearly impossible to tell when it was moving due to a pokemon, or when it was simply an errant gust of wind shaking the long stems.
The wind chilled the air, and Cashe was glad he followed Lindon’s example and brought his backpack with him, as he had long since fished into its depths for an extra layer to help keep the chill off. As they moved through the field and approached the mountain, they rose in elevation, leaving the small shape of Tapu Village behind as it sank into a dark lump of buildings in the distance.
The pokemon surrounding Tapu Village were unlike those of the earlier routes as well. Instead of the curiosity and aggression of Route 2 and Route 3, the pokemon took steps to avoid Cashe and Lindon as they moved through the brush. Cashe spotted a Gumshoos and Raticate once, but both pokemon darted away as soon as they approached.
Since Lindon was the one searching for a pokemon, he took point, leading with Magneton out of its pokeball. He also took a page out of Cashe’s book and placed Goomy on top of his head, acting as a look out.
After a few hours, the morning sun disappeared behind the mountain and a layer of cloud began to form, far above their heads, bloating out the light that managed to make it around the peaks. The world darkened and the air grew cold and heavy, the wind picking up as the weather changed.
“Looks like a storm,” Cashe said, craning his neck as the dark layer of clouds spread across the sky. The first drops of rain, fat and wet, slapped him in the face as he looked. “We don’t want to be caught in the plains during a storm. This is where floods happen. We should turn back.”
“We’ve barely seen any pokemon,” Lindon said.
“We can’t stay out here,” Cashe said. “It’s not safe.”
“What do pokemon do in storms?” Lindon argued, “They can’t go to the village, so it must be safe enough.”
Cashe frowned. That was a good question. The pokemon were so skittish, it was unlikely that they would risk venturing out of the fields. His gaze passed over the edge of the mountain and the rocky cliff face.
“There must be caves they hide in,” he said.
“Then we can, too,” Lindon said, nodding his head as if that would make Cashe more likely to agree, “Plus, if all the pokemon are hiding in caves, it will make it easier for us to spot them.”
Cashe scratched his chin as he considered it. They were closer to the mountain now than they were to the village, and the rain was starting to pick up.
“Alright,” Cashe said, “Let’s go.” They began to hurry, no longer taking their time in an attempt to get as close to pokemon in the field as possible, instead marching at an increased pace towards the towering mountain before them. The air cooled further as they hurried, dropping precipitously as they climbed through the rocky terrain.
Cashe took out his pokedex as they marched, flipping through the options and calling Emilia. After a few seconds of silence, she picked up.
“Hello, Cashe? Is everything all right?”
“Looks like a storm is brewing,” Cashe said, “We’re heading to the mountain to try and find a place to huddle up and let the storm pass.”
“Okay,” Emilia’s voice was tinged with worry, discernible even through the fuzzy connection, “Be careful. Any signs of Wynn or dangerous pokemon?”
“None,” Cashe said, “Barely any signs of pokemon at all. Any luck there?”
“I’ve barely seen anyone. I tried to talk with the man at the motel, but he is in the deepest sleep I’ve ever seen, and that Gothorita is no help at all. I’ll call you back if I find something out. Dee and his group are supposed to be back down from the mountain tomorrow, so we can talk to them then.”
“Depending on how long this storm lasts,” Cashe said. The clouds showed no signs of parting, “We might be out here overnight if it doesn’t pass before sundown. Don’t want to make the journey in the dark.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
“You too. I’ll let you know if we aren’t able to make it back.”
Cashe hung up, returning his pokedex to his pocket and increasing his pace again. Lindon hurried to keep up and before long they found themselves at the edge of the mountainside. The sheer cliffs towered above them, stretching into the distance.
“Keep an eye out for movement and falling rocks,” Cashe warned as they made their way along the mountainside. Lindon craned his neck, staring up into the raining skies with a wary look on his face and hurried after Cashe.
They were able to find shelter after some searching. It wasn’t so much a cave as it was a crevasse in the side of the mountain, a deep crack that was tall and wide enough to allow them to slip though and set up a tent, but only just. It was impossible to tell how deep the crack reached into the mountain, it narrowed quickly and twisted, cutting off all light. If there were pokemon in there, they would have to be small, so Cashe wasn't too worried. With nothing else to do, he set his backpack on the ground and began setting up a camp.
****