I open my eyes. Nothing changes.
My heart lurches in my chest, but reason soon returns and I remember where we are.
“Rayn?”
“I am awake. Come.”
We resume our blind march.
The strategy is the same as it was yesterday. Stay quiet, avoid when possible, bluff if threatened.
At one point we spot a Bronzong and freeze, uncertain of what to do; incapable of discerning any body language.
It slowly Levitates past us, giving no indication that it even noticed us. Maybe it thought, rightly, that we were of no consequence to it.
Rayn looks disturbed after its passage.
Sometime later, as we trace a wall to our right in a slow turn, I begin to notice the Pokémon we encounter change.
Gone are the few Meditite, replaced by a few Zubat. Gone are the Machop, replaced by Zubat. Gone are the long stretches of nothing at all, the space dotted with hanging Zubat.
The air turns tense. Rayn’s fur stands on end.
He stops.
“Cleo,” he whispers, so low even my hearing barely catches it.
“…yeah?” I murmur back.
“I have heard that Luxray can see through solid rock… is it true?”
“Yes. It’s mentioned in every depiction of them.” But why would he mention-“…are you seeing something?”
“…Maybe. I see a faint shimmer ahead, like a cloud of weak lightning.”
Luxray’s pokédex entries always mentioned that they could see prey through obstacles. I had hypothesized they saw the electric currents in living things, but… oh.
“…Zubat.”
“There are… many of them Cleo. A great many.”
“Kill the light on your wrists, and we can ghost through. I’ll hold onto your tail.”
He doesn’t argue. My surroundings disappear, and a star shaped tail brushes my hand.
I grasp it lightly, then follow its pull through the void.
My breathing is silent, long and slow. I unroll both ears, listening for any sound whatsoever, hoping to hear nothing.
Only the rare droplet of water breaks the quiet.
We creep onward.
My heightened focus scrambles any attempt at gauging the passage of time.
Gradually, my lifeline begins tugging to the right, veering away from this place.
A slipping sound. Then a smack against the damp ground. Rayn exhales forcefully.
Shit.
Pain blossoms in my shoulder, a pair of needles stabbed deep into the muscle. I smash myself against the wall on my right, dislodging the Zubat, then finish the Payback with a punch to its small body.
Then the screeching starts.
Uncountable bats shriek and scream in piercing cries, and my hands fly to my ears.
The noise is unbearable.
Two more sets of fangs latch onto me, and I shake myself to throw them off, rolling and snapping up my ears as fast as I can in a flurry of Double Hits.
Double Hit. Two fall. Double Hit. Three more, scrambling against each other to sink their teeth into me. Double Hit.
A wave of lightning washes over us, and dozens of Zubat fall to the floor. I can see Rayn Sparking and shocking, his shining yellow bands revealing a pile of Zubat at his feet.
And the multitude that surrounds us.
It’s not enough. The horde seems endless.
Ultrasonic screams drill into my head from all around, and I lose all sense of balance.
I fall.
Dozens of thin knives pierce every inch of flesh, fighting for a place on my helpless body.
Then the draining begins.
A horrible sensation of emptying invades me. The Zubat are Leeching the Life from me.
I fire a weak Thundershock. It means nothing.
I try to buck, thrash, anything. I have no strength.
I have nothing.
As my vision darkens, all I can muster is a pleading squeak.
I’m answered by a Roar.
“RRRAAAAAAAUUUUUGGHHH!!!”
Lightning explodes.
A fulminous storm engulfs the cavern from floor to ceiling, savaging every bat in its path.
Winged bodies hit the floor like drops of rain. The Electric energy courses through me, but I no longer feel pain. Only a faint warmth.
The warm feeling waxes as the fulgent light only brightens.
Is this…?
I lose track of my thought. Keeping my eyes open is a struggle.
Even without their Leeching, a sick feeling corrupts what little blood I have left.
Just let me sleep…
Something is pushed into my mouth. It tastes sweet.
When I’m unable to swallow it, clumsy paws raise me to sit against the wall, and tilt my head back.
Oh. A Pecha berry. I like those.
An Oran follows. Those are okay.
I remember to open my eyes, and find Rayn’s golden orbs staring back at me from above.
Classic Rayn.
I tilt forward, falling face-first into coarse fur.
Then nothing.
-0-
…Will you stop with the beeping?
Consciousness returns gradually. Gross dry-mouth, a building headache, pangs of hunger, and the Arceus damned beeping.
Maybe I should just go back to sleep.
“Cleo?”
My eyes shoot open.
“Rayn?” My voice sounds reedy, like it’s never been used.
I turn my head toward him, a surprisingly difficult manoeuvre, and come face to face with a Luxio.
“Wait. When did you evolve?”
His worried look turns dry. “You have seen this form already.”
Have I? ...Wait.
It all comes rushing back.
“Oh fuck. I was dead. There’s no way I lived through that. I felt the… the life being drained from me.”
His proud bearing deflates. “I failed you.”
“What? What’re you- *cough**cough*-damn can I get some water in here? What are you talking about? You saved me.”
Rayn presses a button on the ground next to him, and I finally take a moment to look at where I am.
The room is sparsely decorated. White walls, anachronistic wooden carved chairs, electronic monitors… a white linen dog bed.
“Is this the Pokécenter?”
“Yes. They say you will need to eat much, but can leave in two days.”
“Did you… carry me here?”
“Yes. Your satchel too, but the strap broke. An old human swore to fix it.”
“Wait, wait, wait, back up. We’ll get to that. Don’t skip the important part. You carried me, and my bag, out of the cave, alone, indisputably saving my life. You did not fail.”
“I was leader. I put us in that situation.”
“We agreed to risk it.”
“I set the plan, I am responsible.”
“You couldn’t have predicted that would happen!”
“We should not have even BEEN THERE!”
The door opens. Outside is Nurse Joy, holding bowls of food and water.
“Is it too much to ask for a fucking plate around here!?” I lash at her.
The nurse freezes.
I force myself to exhale.
“…Sorry. That was rude of me. Thank you for the help, but can I please just get a normal cup and plate?”
Nurse Joy recovers instantly. “Of course! Sit tight and I’ll be right back,” she says with a smile, then closes the door behind her.
I’m left with a smouldering Rayn.
His eyes are on the ground.
“Why did we even attempt it?” His words are deliberately slow. “We did not consider for a single moment just waiting for the Rangers to finish. Why are we racing to Veilstone? There is no deadline. Our life does not start when we get there. What was the point of this?”
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I gape at him, stunned.
Why couldn’t I just wait?
We stay in silence until Nurse Joy returns, an Audino carrying a low Japanese-style table. Audino sets the table down, then the nurse sets my food on top. I’m surprised by her appearance, but then again what did I expect? This Nurse joy is a middle aged woman, not even remotely similar to Eterna’s Joy in facial features. The only commonality is the pink hair. Part of the uniform, I guess?
“Here you go, honey. I’m not sure if your friend has told you, but you need to eat a lot for a few days to regain your strength. Other than that, you should be just fine. Call if you need anything.” Her words are bright and cheery, Nurse Joy looking unfazed by my human speech, or its contents.
“…Thanks. Sorry again for…that.”
She waves it off. “Don’t mention it. You and your friend looked quite a sight stumbling in yesterday, so it’s normal for tempers to be running a little hot. Don’t spare it another thought.”
She bows, the Audino bowing with her, then they leave us once again.
I work through a heaping plate of vegetables and berries, washing them down with gulps of water, delaying the inevitable. The IV drip taped to my wrist hurts when I move too fast.
He’s right. Even if it took a few days, or a week, hell even a month. Why risk it?
“I guess… I guess I didn’t think we would lose,” I blurt, surprising myself even as I say it.
“…Arrogance.” Rayn scoffs. “Already repeating the mistakes of my father. A lesson I thought I learned against you, no less.”
Rayn stews in his thoughts, his scowl gradually deepening.
“I thought myself strong, just for beating a Snover in a childish bout. Laughable. A pair of yearlings still in their child forms, convinced they surpass skilled teams. ’You lack instincts’, I said.”
He shakes his head, disgusted.
“Congratulations on the evolution, by the way.”
“Thank you. If we continue as we are, there will not be another.”
I can’t seem to think of a response.
I finish my food in silence.
Then I shake myself. Snap out of it! Time to start making moves.
I clap, startling Rayn into looking at me. “Alright! Enough of that. We hadn’t failed in a while, we got cocky. Fine. What now?”
“…You need a ranged option.”
I huff. ”Don’t I know it. I can’t slap down a hundred Zubat one hit at a time. …The thing is, I’m shit at Thundershock, and the Normal area attacks that come to mind are Swift and Round. I have no idea how either of those work.”
Rayn focuses, and I congratulate myself for driving off his gloom.
“Is there a Special Fighting move?”
“Aura Sphere, Vacuum Wave, and Focus Blast, none of which I can do as a Buneary.”
“…Maybe damage is not the way. Your Thundershock is weak, but your understanding of lightning is impressive.”
“Humans know a fair bit about it.”
He nods absentmindedly. “A Thunder Wave. Weak, but diffuse. Lightly disrupt your opponent’s entire body and they will struggle to move.”
That… might work.
“I like it. Probably good practice to improve my control before I try Thunderpunch, anyway. And you have something new to work on.”
“A proper Shockwave, with my new power.”
I smirk. “No. Roar.”
“I cannot Roar.”
“I saw you do it. The Zubat were running scared before the Shockwave hit. I don’t need to tell you that scaring your opponent into running away is a powerful tool.”
Rayn rarely allows himself to look surprised, so I savour the moment.
He quickly collects himself. “We should use our spoils from Dusty to buy that Potion humans use, and more food for you.”
“That’s your money, spend it on yourself.”
“I will buy vegetables for me, then. Keep them in the satchel.”
I roll my eyes. “One evolution, and he thinks he’s the adult.”
“…”
“Rayn?”
He flicks his star-tipped tail. “Nothing. We will be better. That is all.”
The rest of the day is spent in companiable rest.
-0-
Celestic Town is an old place, and it shows. In the houses, in the antique shrines, in the people.
Idols like royal birdhouses are tended by elderly priests, while gnarled hands weave and carve in the porches of log cabins and park benches between neighbourhoods. The village is built in tiers, giant flattened steps on a staircase down the mountain, into the mists below. Surrounded by mountains to the west, north, and south, and a valley of impenetrable white to the east, this is a place forgotten by the world.
At least until recently. With the events at Spear Pillar, the old legends found here might merit a second look.
After my discharge Rayn and I wander the streets unmolested, the story of our arrival into town having quickly spread. I avoid speaking human to save myself from having the same surprised exchange fifty times, and we manage just fine. For three days we rest, supplying ourselves with a pair of Potions at an affordable twenty dollars each and enough food to refill the bag and last me a couple weeks without foraging. Rayn apparently ate his fill of Zubat and won’t need to hunt for a few days.
We visit shrines, recover my mended satchel, now with a blue ribbon woven into the strap for the price of a pair of pinched cheeks, and just bask in the languid pace of life here. On the day after my release from the Center we visit the famous cave mural of the Lake Guardians.
Over ten feet wide altogether, impressive likenesses of Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit cavort through the background sky, surrounding stylized depictions of Dialga and Palkia, simplified into sharp strokes of blue and waving curves of pink. A great white light reigns above it all, but it is clearly not the sun. The games do not do the work justice. I tell Rayn about Legendary Pokémon from other Regions each night.
Even so, after our three days of peace are over, we find ourselves at the edge of a wooden bridge, whose gently swaying ropes and thick planks quickly disappear into the fog.
“We just can’t resist, huh?”
Rayn shrugs. “We are not made for resting.”
“I guess not.” I set my shoulders, then adjust the blue-striped strap across my chest. “This Route is long and dangerous, almost as long as all we’ve travelled so far. Then we pass by Solaceon’s farms and ranches, then Route 215. Then Veilstone.”
“We are prepared, and will divert to Solaceon if necessary.”
I nod. We set off into the fog, side by side.
-0-
From a curtain of black to a curtain of white, our trek sees us swallowed by the mists, and they give no indication of wanting to spit us back out.
The first two days are spent crossing bridges and hugging the walls of cliffside roads. The near-zero visibility forces us to trust in the safety of the Route, and that there’s actually something on the other side of the bridge. The gaps between creaky planks show visions of distant rapids and a fall to certain death with each swaying step. The crossings are nerve-wracking, to say the least.
Our renewed sense of prudence turns us into model travellers, and we stick to the path marked periodically by small stone obelisks. Most are kept in pristine condition, with signs that mold has been repeatedly scrubbed off. A couple are broken, and in a panic inducing moment we somehow miss one entirely, but eventually we find our way again.
At one point, Rayn scales down one of the safer-looking paths to the riverbank to hunt while I wait by the roadside, unwilling to participate. To my bafflement, he returns sated and with what looks like a CD hanging from his thin tail.
“Is that a TM?”
He waves it forward, inspecting it. “You know these? There is a human corpse by the bank, a fall most likely. This seemed valuable.”
“Rayn! You can’t just rob someone’s corpse!”
“Again, you speak as if this is known by all. He is not using it.”
I rub my forehead. “…Yes, that’s fair. But graverobbing is not ok among humans. Whoever that was, his possessions should be sent to family, to help support them now that he’s dead.”
Rayn blinks.
“That is nonsense.”
“It’s just how humans do it.”
Rayn shakes his head, as if disappointed at human idiocy, but says no more. I…succumb to my hypocrisy, and stash the unlabelled Technical Machine in my satchel. I’m rewarded with a smugly raised feline brow, as if I’ve just proven his point. Maybe I have.
As the river crossings finally end, our path forward is made clear by a fierce wind that scours away most of the white miasma.
Revealed is a narrow valley between two cliff faces, crowded with dense woods. The cause of the sudden visibility soon makes itself known, with a piercing cry that elicits a primal shiver in me.
Staraptor.
Looking up instantly, I spot the large falcon flying overhead, their red crest obvious against the cloudy sky.
The distant bird flies past us… away from us. In their claws is a figure in a Ranger’s uniform, binoculars held to his face.
I release a held breath. Looking for the dead traveler, maybe?
Rayn eyes the fading pair dispassionately. To him it probably meant nothing, since he wasn’t really at risk. Carnivores don’t usually eat carnivore meat; it’s not good for them. Still, I hope the Zubat incident has at least given him a bit of perspective. As would be obvious to most, it’s not fun to be preyed upon.
Down into the thicket we trod, keeping to our straight-laced practices. The Route markers remain our best friends, and we easily dissuade Pokémon that prod the newcomers for weakness with a few sparks from Rayn. His presence wards away the Noctowl at night, but I still wake up whenever a soft hoot is heard from too close. Not that it would have made any difference if they didn’t want to be heard. Noctowl flight is absolutely silent.
We make our way, slow and steady, the dense trees slowly turning into towering tall grass. At least, towering for me. I manage to replenish my food supply in the meantime, with an especially lucky find of a Razz Berry bush I only spot because of Rayn’s stalking of a nearby group of Psyduck. Their struggle in the tall grass reveals the hidden trove, and I help myself gladly.
And then, after nine long days in the humid mists, as the valley narrows, we traverse the gap between sheer cliff faces. The air that blows softly from the south exit warms my face, and then…
We’re out.
No enraged Pokémon attack, no apocalyptic event, no near-death struggle… we’re through.
Plains of tilled earth and depleted pastures stretch before us, Winter’s fallow state diminishing their beauty only slightly. We still spot plenty of Mareep, Flaaffy, Tauros, Miltank, Ponyta, Rapidash and other, rarer sightings like a pair of Donphan and a singular Blitzle among a herd of Ponyta, all grazing on the remnants of Fall under a grey sky. The farms and ranches are delineated by what must be symbolic fences, since there is no Pokémon who could not simply ignore them if they so wished.
“Huh.”
“Surprising. I hope the calm lasts.”
I scowl at Rayn.
“…What?”
“You jinxed it.”
He stares at me.
“You’ll see.”
We set off along the Route, snaking between farmsteads. Not ten minutes later, the rain starts.
-0-
The afternoon slowly fades into a dark twilight, and we drag our sodden hides in the direction of a broad building at what I’m pretty sure is the crossroad between Routes 210 and 215. We approach it from the back, a roofed front-porch beginning to peek out as we round the premises on the right side.
Our pace quickens at the promise of shelter.
We reach the crossroads proper to find a scene that dashes my hopes for a quiet night. A young woman is arguing loudly with an older man at the door to the…restaurant? His skin is tanned leather and his hair a coarse blonde, in contrast to the woman’s light skin and clearly dyed black hair. Even through the rain, I begin to catch their words.
“…to go? No one will hire me! I don’t even have Mittens anymore! Dad, please. I told you, I didn’t know, I swear!”
“I should’ve known when you came home with that stupid blue hair. I didn’t see it, didn’t want to see it. I’m sorry Maggie, we failed you. But I’m not gonna let you live off of us after all you’ve done. It has to stop. We have to puncture the wound and let it drain.”
“I DIDN’T KNOW!”
“Goodbye. I hope you find a way to straighten yourself out.” Sensing what’s coming, the woman attempts to force the door open, but her father is stronger.
It shuts in her face.
She stares at it for a few seconds, then staggers to the edge of the wooden porch, and sits. And weeps.
Rayn and I stare, pelted by raindrops as we watch this unfold.
“Could we still sleep there?”
“Doubtful. He might check to see if his daughter’s actually left… and if this is what I think it is, the owners of this place are quite strong.”
“This is a Gym?”
“No, a battle diner, I think. Many people come here to eat and fight.”
“Dangerous.”
As we consider our options, the door opens again, revealing an older woman, presumably this Maggie’s mother. Their faces are similar.
“Mom, please. I don’t have any Pokémon, any money, clothes, nothing. You’re sending me out to die!” Maggie pleads, scrambling from her seat to take her mother’s hand.
The woman tears her hand from her daughter’s grasp, putting in its place a full duffel bag. “Here are your clothes, food and a bit of money.”
She visibly struggles with herself. “…It’s all you’re gonna get. Your father’s right. We can’t condone that lunatic’s actions, or yours. I just… I don’t know what to do anymore, Mags. At some point you have to put in the work yourself. Make an honest woman of yourself.”
“Mom… I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Just let me in, please. I can… I can leave in the morning.”
The woman shakes her head. “You’ve said that before. I don’t have the strength to do this again. …Goodbye Mags.”
The door closes again. Maggie lets it.
I watch someone’s life crumble in front of me. What am I supposed to do here?
Should I help this girl? She may have been thrown out, but just in that bag she has more stuff than I’ve ever had. Can I even do anything?
I shake my head. I don’t have to meddle in everything.
Sleeping here is no longer an option. If the owners find Wild Pokémon on their property with the night they’re having, I wouldn’t count on compassion and an open hand.
But we’re in a farming plain with no canopy cover. If we spend the night under Winter rain, we might not wake up.
“How far is the nearest forest?”
“My thoughts exactly. I’m not sure, but we should run east. The Route should have tree cover, and we can set up in a sturdy branch to avoid wet ground.”
Rayn nods.
I look back to Maggie.
Fuck it.
“Hey!” I call out. She whips her head around in search of the sound.
“If you’re not staying there, start running. South, east, north, whatever. You don’t want to be out when it gets really cold.”
She finally spots our silhouettes through the rain and freezes.
I glance to Rayn, and we accelerate. I turn back to watch Maggie stare after us from the porch.
Then I catch up with Rayn.
For an hour we race past ranches, then open plains. The ground beyond the raised Route begins to turn muddy, weeds and rough shrubbery overtaking tall grass. Our surroundings grow wetter with every step.
“Rayn, there.” I point out an ancient oak, incongruously standing amid thin-trunked trees and the tall reeds that begin to appear amid the muck.
“Yes. We might not see another like it.”
We hurry toward its low, wide branches. As soon as we leave the Route, our steps sink inches into the mud, almost trapping me before I start stepping on the tough plants for support.
Our spot in the tree is contested. First by a small flock of Beautifly, which Rayn scares off with a Shockwave, then an overconfident Aipom, so assured of his speed that he doesn’t react to my Quick Attack until my foot is already in his face.
Rather than be dissuaded, he retaliates and tries to slap me with his hand-shaped tail. I suffuse my body with Fighting energy and take the slap to the chest, grabbing the tail with my meagre strength.
Not that it matters. Nearly two weeks of training with no crises has been enough to adapt my Thundershock. Switching my focus to Electric energy, I feel the buzzing in my nerves. The energy is like a live battery, clamouring to escape my body, to equalize the differential in charge I create. I release it in a Wave, a weak pulse that doesn’t burn, but penetrates.
The Aipom’s limbs lock up. I Double Kick him.
As I watch the monkey fall to the earth, then get up and slowly make his way through the mud, I begin to feel guilty.
I stomp on the feeling. We gave him a chance, and even after he saw he was outmatched, he came at me again. I can’t trust someone like that to sleep in the same space as me. He’ll find something else, and we’ll be gone tomorrow anyway.
We settle under our temporary roof, earned by right of combat. I eat my dinner, then talk to Rayn about human family units. He dries his fur by producing weak Thundershocks that evaporate his soaking coat, and I try the same. It takes me about ten times longer, but being dry is completely worth it.
The previously freezing night turns almost cosy, now that I’m dry and listening to rain fall beyond the leaf cover. A peaceful night is all I could ask for after Rayn jinxed the day.
We awaken to find a muddy bundle curled below us.
Maggie, sopping wet and shivering lightly. Her lips are blue.
I sigh. One-one on the jinx scoreboard.