Chapter 39: Our Falt in our Storms

The sun was setting almost perfectly aligned to a dirt path. The orange light completely obscured the lens in Ceailean’s glasses as he walked. He clung to his duffel bag, walking fast as if to avoid something. The ground shook periodically to the sound of stomping quickly approaching. Ceailean lowered his head, the anticipation made him start to sweat. Right beside him, Scolipede slowly started to pass him. Noibat silently pointed ahead as if standing atop the bow of a ship, its pose full of confidence.

Scolipede moved ahead slightly more and Marie finally came into view of Ceailean’s peripheral vision. She was laid on her side with her head resting on her hand and her leg forming a pyramid over the other leg.

“Ayyy C.” Marie said, with a smug smile. Ceailean only grumbled. “What’cha do’in?”

“Trying to deal with this chick constantly flashing her ride.” he said without looking at her.

“Cool cool. You know uh… Scolipede is pretty amazing, don’t cha think?”

“Its novelty is wearing off by the minute.”

“Well, why don’t you get on while there’s still some left, C?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

Marie swung herself upright and slouched her head near Ceailean’s head. “Com’on! Why not?”

“No comment.”

“What? Is this an interview now?”

“Yes, my lawyer has advised me not to answer any further questions regarding Scolipede.”

“Mm-hm. Just wait until I sue the studio for wasting my time.”

Ceailean sighed. “Fine. Ma’am, what was your reaction to audience backlash regarding your treatment of Scolipede?”

Marie gave him an annoyed look. “Define ‘treatment’?”

“You know, how people describe how you treat Scolipede like a vehicle, a car, a trophy?”

“May I ask which people specifically?”

“The general public on social media platforms. MyLyfe, Fletcher, HumbleHouse?”

“You mean you?”

Ceailean started to get more into character. He placed his hand on his chest and tilted his head toward Marie. “Please ma’am, let’s keep this professional.”

“You’re gonna talk to me about professional?”

“I’m just doing my job.”

“Then I think those people are big stinky idiots, because Scolipede is better than a car or a trophy.” Marie began to twist her finger on Scolipede's back. “Scolipede is Scolipede, my Pokémon.”

“Very interesting. Do you mind if I get a second opinion from Scolipede?”

“No.”

“I’m gonna anyway.”

Marie sat straight. “Hey! You said you were keeping it professional!”

“And as a professional, I need to get results.” Ceailean walked up to Scolipede and held up an imaginary microphone to it. “Scolipede, how do you currently feel about Marie's particular form of hospitality?” Scolipede moved with a confident stride. It had a pleasant look on its face with a slight blush. Ceailean sighed. “I take it that you’re quite swell.”

Noibat then snatched the imaginary microphone from Ceailean’s hands. “Uh sir…” Noibat took a deep breath and screamed as loud as it could, like it was the lead singer of a metal band. Everyone stopped in their tracks and covered their ears as hard as they could. Marie fell into Scolipede’s back and then rolled off onto the ground.

“Noibat why?!” shouted Marie, her voice drowned out by the noise. Snom then wriggled out from under Marie’s beanie. In its frustrated drowsiness, it blasted Noibat in the back of the head with a gust of icy wind. Noibat fell on its face and everyone gave a sigh of relief. Noibat then jumped back up and tossed the imaginary mic past Snom, making an audible thunk and feedback noise. Snom blasted out of Marie’s beanie with icy wind and Noibat gave chase.

“It’s always something new with Noibat, huh?” said Ceailean.

Marie stood up. “I hope it doesn’t like any more hobbies that are super loud.” She then faced Ceailean and outstretched her arms. “Okay, gimme Fennekin back.”

“No, I think it's my friend now.”

“I don’t wanna ride Scolipede by myself! Either you get on it or I take Fennekin!” Fennekin popped out from Ceailean’s duffel bag and blew a raspberry at Marie. “Fennekin! I thought you trusted Scolipede now! Why won’t you ride on it?” Fennekin blew another quick raspberry. “Stop it.” Another raspberry. “Stop it!” A longer raspberry. Marie palmed her fist. “Alright! I’m gonna stop it myself!” Marie walked up threateningly.

Ceailean then placed his hand on her face and pushed her back. “Isn’t Scolipede enough company?”

“But I wanna hold a Pokémon in my hands.”

“Snom wasn’t in your hands…”

“T-Then just skin contact!”

“Again… Scolipede?”

“Ugh! You guys just don’t get it!” Scorbunny then rose out of Ceailean’s duffel bag. It yawned into its paw and looked around. Its fur was all frazzled. “Scorbunny, how about you? You wanna ride with me?” Scorbunny’s eyes were only half open from the drowsiness, but it nodded and held up its arms. “Yes!” squealed Marie. She quickly plucked Scorbunny out of Ceailean’s duffel bag and held it in her arms like a baby. Scorbunny yawned and nuzzled into Marie’s chest. Marie’s eyes began to tear up. “Oh, that’s precious.”

Ceailean then outstretched his arms. “Aight, give it back. You were right, that is really cute.”

Marie sniffled and turned away. “Nyo.” She then yawned into her hand. “Aw man, I think Scorbunny’s yawns are contagious.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Ceailean immediately yawned along with Fennekin. “Dang it.”

“It is getting late. I hope Crisis finds a camp site soon.” Then right on queue, a shadow flew past the group.

“Everyone, I have procured a site.” Crisis then dropped down from the sky and landed crouched down with one hand on the ground.

“You really have a flair for the dramatic today.” said Ceailean.

Crisis bowed. “I thank you for the compliment.”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure it was.”

“Why come down here Crisis?” asked Marie, unconsciously rocking Scorbunny in her arms. “Why not just show us on the back of Decidueye?”

“I’d like to keep an eye on you two, also I can better lead on the ground.”

“I don’t think we need a babysitter.”

“I disagree. I feel that if I even take my eyes off you two for a second, you two seem to get into all types of conflict.” Crisis pointed to Scolipede. “That being your most recent dilemma.” Scolipede looked away guilty and mumbled something.

Ceailean sighed. “I see your point. Let’s hurry this up. Seems like everyone’s getting tired.” He then shook his duffel bag, stirring Fennekin enough for it to raise its lulling head.

“I feel I’ve experienced more drama in this last month than I ever have in my entire life.” said Marie.

“It's been pretty tame.” said Crisis. “Just wait until you grow up, that’s where the real drama starts.”

“I’m already dealing with a bunch of shenanigans from my dad’s company. Starting to feel like I’d rather deal with that.” Scolipede then swung its head around and yelled in a raspy voice. “Oh I didn’t mean it ya big baby!” Marie then gave Scolipede a hug. “I’d do it all again for you!” Scolipede made another pleasant expression. Marie jumped on top of Scolipede. “Now, onward-” Scorbunny then groaned in Marie’s arms. She caught her words in her mouth and then spoke with a whisper. “Onward…”

Scolipede rolled its eyes and followed Crisis’s lead.

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() A blueish darkness covers the land. Ceailean and Marie patiently set up their tents with electric lamps at their side. Scorbunny and Fennekin laid asleep inside each of their respective trainers' tents. Crisis, though self employed for perimeter check, kept his eyes fixated on Ceailean the entire time. Then a slow rumble rolled through the air. Crisis looked past Ceailean to see dark clouds approaching them. A flash of light through them signified what they were. Scolipede eyed the clouds with interest. It was melancholy yet somehow still beautiful.

“Be sure to hurry, you two. There is a storm approaching us.” Crisis said.

“A storm?” asked Marie with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. She looked in the direction that Crisis was. “D-Do you think we’ll be okay?”

“You nervous of a little rain, Marie?” asked Ceailean, in a teasing manner.

Marie balled her fists at her hips. “Of course not! But every time we had a storm, it was snow or hail! Even then, I had a house to ride it out in.” Marie pointed to the clouds. “But that is new to me, and I don’t have my house. So Crisis, are we gonna be alright?”

“More importantly, are YOU gonna be alright, Crisis?” asked Ceailean. “You like sleeping outdoors after all.”

Crisis faced the two and crossed his arms. “Don’t worry yourself over me, I’ll find a way to sufficiently shelter myself. But if you two happen to have Skypods, I’d wear them. Rain tends to be loud so I’d advise wearing them if you can’t sleep.”

“Yeah, just anyone can have Skypods,” said Ceailean sarcastically. “Those things cost a fortune. Marie, why don’t you give me yours?”

Marie scoffed. “As if. Plus, I don’t even have mine, remember?”

“Oh yeah… But you didn’t even get new ones at Camphrier?”

“I can’t just ask them to get me super expensive stuff!” Marie placed her hand on her chest gracefully. “That would be uncourteous of me.”

“Because you're just the spittin’ image of courteous huh?”

Marie stomped a foot towards Ceailean. “You wanna go, C!?”

Crisis cleared his throat, gaining both of their attention. “In any case, I would also advise you two tie your lamps to the outside of your tents. That way if any of you get washed away, I’ll be able to tell.”

A chill went down Marie’s spine. “T-That can happen?”

“I haven’t been able to geologically evaluate the area around here. So for all we know, we could be setting up camp in a dormant river.”

“Don’t scare her, Crisis.” said Ceailean. “We’re on an incline, I’d find it pretty unlikely that could happen.”

“I only voice my concerns. Plenty of Team Harmonious thought the same thing. I can say that they had a less than pleasant day afterwards.” Marie gulped at this. “And should you feel less confident, I would also advise whose tent you sleep in. If you two get swept away, it would be better to be together.”

Marie contemplated for a moment. She looked at Ceailean for a moment. She blushed slightly and turned her head away. “I’m not scared of a little water, I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself I guess.” said Ceailean, clearly unbothered by the decision. Marie couldn’t help but pout at it. “Noibat! Snom! Best you two come back now! A storm’s a comin’!” A distant purple light burst in the distance. It came closer and Noibat flew down. It dissipated its dragon rush before flopping into the air mattress. But it forgot it was bouncy and it ended up smacking itself against the roof. It held its forehead and moaned in pain. “Such a goofball,” said Ceailean.

Snom then shot itself into Marie’s tent, landing more elegantly next to Fennekin. Scolipede approached Marie and looked inside the tent. “Oh sorry Scolipede, you’re a bit too big to fit inside. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure that your pokeball is in a spacious place so you can see all of us.” Scolipede nodded. Marie then returned it to its pokeball.

“Last chance, Marie,” said Ceailean. “Choose which tent to sleep in-” Marie pondered, maybe she would this time- “Ya know, if you’re scared.”

Marie’s face scrunched up, no way her pride would let her now after that. “I’m good.”

“K, night Marie, night Crisis.”

“Yes, sweet dreams,” said Crisis. He then walked off towards the edge of the clearing. Ceailean tossed himself in his tent and zipped it up. Marie sighed and gently slung herself inside.

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() The crack of thunder rolled through the air loudly. Marie looked straight up on her bed, looking massively unamused. The rain pounded on Marie’s tent like someone was showering coins. The howling winds whistled and shook Marie’s tent. Though Fennekin and Snom were out like a light, she couldn’t sleep with all the noise. She watched the rain spill over the exterior of the tent, illuminated by the lamp outside. Then after a moment, she stuffed her pillow over her face and gave a muffled groan. It probably would’ve been better to sleep in Ceailean’s tent, because at least then she would have something to think about.

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()Ceailean on the other hand, was sound asleep. The rain however started to stir something within his mind. The pattering of fabric turned into the sound of pattering of glass. Ceailean was in a dark room, lit only by a single desk lamp on a work table. Lightning flashed outside, followed closely by the rolling thunder. Ceailean wailed like a baby and tossed around in bed. But he was surrounded by a cage like contraption. A crib? Something walked up to him. It was obscured in shadow, but Ceailean could make out that it had pointed ears on its head and… dreadlocks maybe? He couldn’t think of any other person other than Aeise with dreadlocks, that would be pretty weird of him to show up in his dreams.

Oh? Dreams? He acknowledged it, he was in a dream. He tried to pick himself up, but his body didn’t listen. It felt more like he was spectating the world in someone else’s body. Ceailean reached out desperately, begging for comfort from the storm. The figure made a subtle gasp. It slowly reached its paw out towards him. Ceailean reached as well and took hold of it. It felt rough around the palm and the skin felt like coarse fur.

“Oh? You finally got curious?” said a muffled voice. The figure quickly backed away and looked away bashfully from the door. In the doorway stood a shadowy figure, but the voice Ceailean knew all too well. His father. His father chuckled. “It’s okay, it's natural for you to be curious. Lace still won’t let you see him, huh?” The figure nodded. Ceailean’s father stepped forward, revealing himself in the light. He wore tan pants and a light blue button up shirt with rolled up sleeves. His brown hair was combed straight back and he had a mustache of the same color.

“I just want you to know that I believe in you, even if she’s a bit stubborn. So, I’m counting on you to watch over him whenever we can’t. You can do that can’t you?” The two stood there for a moment. The figure then gave a subtle nod. “Thank you so much, you’re the best.” The figure then asked something in a rough voice Ceailean couldn’t make out. “Oh, his name. He is named Ceailean, Ceailean Crimis. He’s gonna be like… you’re little brother.”

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() Another crack of lightning. Ceailean immediately woke up in a cold sweat. He sat straight up and groaned. “Couldn’t you not, Mind?” he said while messaging the side of his head, “I’m getting sick and tired of these memories turned to dreams.” He looked around. It was still pouring rain, but he could hear the slight sound of yelling. Noibat was sitting in the corner watching anime on Ceailean’s pokédex. Ceailean reached over and snatched it away from Noibat, much to its protest.

“Hey, it's time to go to bed.” Noibat pouted. But begrudgingly, it made itself comfortable next to Scorbunny and laid down to rest. Ceailean sighed and looked at the time. 10:54, barely even 2 hours of sleep. Ceailean flopped back down on the bed wondering how he was going to go back to sleep. He laid there silently for a bit, watching the rain run off the tent. But then he started to hear distant voices. He sat up to see if Noibat went back on the pokédex, but it was sound asleep. Ceailean laid back down confused, but the voices sounded like they were getting closer. They had a tinge of panic in them.

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() “By Arceus! What the actual heck, Falt!” shouted a girl.

“How was I supposed to know a storm was gonna roll through, Topaz!” shouted Falt. The two were running as fast as they could through the rain. The path was barely visible through the heavy rain and their dinky Rotom-phone flashlights.

“You coulda known by not mixing up east and west! I told you those clouds were heading towards us!””

“Well sorry I’m not the weather man! Apparently predicting the weather is actually harder than anyone would think!”

“I knew this would happen! I literally just told you! And on that note, why didn’t you just check the weather app!?”

“Well sorry for having a little faith!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The two stopped running. “Ugh! Forget this, we need to find some kind of shelter already!” The two looked around the area.

Falt put his hands around his eyes like binoculars. “I can’t even see 5 feet in front of me!”

“By Arceus, you’re hopeless!” Topaz then pointed off towards a light. “Look, I found a couple of lights that way. Maybe there’s people camping out there or even a house?”

Falt then scratched the back of his head. “Uh… maybe we don’t have to do that? They might be evil forest witches or just not wanna be bothered-”

“No! I’m not standing in this rain anymore! You gotta learn how to talk to other people already, and I’ll drag you with me if it means dragging you along with me!” Topaz then grabbed Falt by the shirt collar.

Falt’s knees buckled slightly. “W-Wait! Look, the Pokémon center is just over this hill! If we just get there, we’ll finally for sure get out of this.”

“I can’t believe you! Fine! Something! Anything!”

The two started running again until they got to an area where the path was on an incline. Water flowed like rivers on either side of the path in the dug up gutters.

“This hill, Falt?” asked Topaz.

Falt looked at the map on his phone again. “Yep, should be.”

“Good, now hurry up ‘cause I’m willing to leave you behind to get out of this rain!”

The two hastily hiked up the hill, but Topaz was finding it hard to hard. The ground felt sluggish and malleable. She looked down and pointed her flashlight down on her shoes. They were absolutely covered in mud. “Ew, look at all this stuff. I’ve got mud all over my brand new tennis shoes!”

“We’ll clean up at the Pokémon center, let’s just-” Another crack sounded out, but there was no accompanying flash.

“What was that?” the two asked in unison. They looked up the path. A huge amount of water was streaming down the path. Then not far behind was the rushing landslide of mud.

“By Arceus, RUN!” shouted Falt. The two sent themselves sprinting down the path. They huffed and puffed while a tidal wave of mud flowed after them. Falt then stepped on a flat rock and slipped so hard his foot went towards the sky. He landed on his back hard and groaned in pain. Topaz whipped back around and tried to pull up Falt.

“Come on, get up!” But then she looked towards the landslide, just for it to immediately wash them both up. The hill became a slip ‘n slide of mud as the two slid down screaming, barely able to stay straight.

“Somebody help us!” shouted Falt. Topaz was on the verge of tears as she curled herself up in a ball in hopes of not getting hurt. All of a sudden, someone grabbed her arm. She looked up, but couldn’t see their face.

“Grab the other one! Hurry!” They shouted. Topaz looked to see Falt sliding by just beside her. She reached out and grabbed him.

Falt looked up. “Whoa, Topaz! You saved us!”

“Not yet!” shouted the person. A flash of lightning revealed their face. Ceailean was clinging onto a tree and holding onto Topaz with the other.

“Don’t let go!” shouted Topaz.

“I won’t!” said Ceailean. “On three, I need you to try and move up towards me! You got it?” Topaz and Falt nodded. “Okay, one two, three!” Ceailean pulled while the other two climbed back up on their feet. They slipped and stuttered as it was hard to get a grip on the ground, but they made progress. “Come on! Almost there!”

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut straight through a nearby tree. The trunk snapped to pieces and fell towards the group. “Look out!” shouted Falt. Ceailean saw the falling tree and knew there was only one option, he had to fall down with them. But just as he was about to let go, a flash of purple and orange surged through the rain. The light collided with the tree and splintered it to pieces. The purple light flew past the group and Noibat looked down on them. Scorbunny then landed next to Ceailean and began to tug on him to help.

“You guys?” Ceailean smiled, “Okay, let’s do it!” The two pulled with all their strength to pull up Topaz and Falt. But then, the tree that Ceailean was clung to started to tilt. He looked to see that all the dirt under it had been washed away and the roots were exposed. “Hurry! It’s falling!”

“Come on come on come on!” Topaz rambled to herself. The two were so close. Topaz was now close enough for Ceailean to wrap his arm around. Falt almost got there, but the tree finally gave way. The group gasped. Noibat flew in with dragon rush and tried to hold the tree up itself. It flapped its wings as much as it could, but the tree was just too heavy.

“Noibat! Get out of the way!” said Ceailean. Noibat stood firm however, determined to hold the tree up long enough for them to get away. But then, a flash of green and orange bashed into the side of the tree and knocked it into the path. Noibat gasped as the group started to fall.

“Noibat! Use 100% dragon rush!” shouted a voice. Noibat complied and exploded into a harsh purple light, casting shadows everywhere. Three arrows then shot into the group's shadows, freezing them in place. “Get the other two! I’ve got Ceailean!”

Falt and Topaz felt something large grasp their shoulder. Before they could react, they were both yanked into the sky by Decidueye.

“Crisis.” said Ceailean.

“Correct!” said Crisis, landing next to Ceailean. He kicked the arrow away from Ceailean’s shadow and pulled him up to higher ground. Scorbunny reached out its arms, crying for rescue. “Recall Scorbunny Ceailean!’

“R-Right! Scorbunny, return!” Ceailean pointed a pokeball at Scorbunny and shot the return beam, but shattered on contact with it. “What!?”

“That’s right, you can’t recall Pokémon when they are in spirit shackle.”

“You remember now?” said Ceailean.

“Stay here, I’ll-”

“No! Screw that!” Ceailean then picked up a large rock and tossed at the arrow, snapping it in half. He then pointed his pokeball again. “Scorbunny, return!” Scorbunny was then brought back into its pokeball.

“Let’s get out of here.” said Crisis. “Back to the camp.”

The two made their way back, just as Decidueye landed Falt and Topaz next to the tents as smoothly as it could. “Get inside Ceailean’s tent, quickly!” instructed Crisis.

“Mm-hm, yeah!” said Topaz, nodding profusely. She went inside the tent with Falt following suit. Ceailean went inside along with Noibat and got ready to zip it up, but he noticed Crisis wasn’t going to join them.

“Crisis! Come on!” said Ceailean.

“I cannot at the moment, Ceailean.” said Crisis. “I will have to perform a proper geological survey to ensure that the tents are out of harm's way.”

Ceailean sighed. “Well, be careful then.”

Crisis nodded. “Be sure to be courteous to our new guests. Warm them up any way you can.”

“I’ll try.”

“Decidueye, Farfetch’d and Gurdurr have already moved on ahead of us. Take us up the hill and we’ll start from there.” Decidueye nodded and grabbed Crisis, flying off above Ceailean.

Ceailean zipped back up the tent and exhaled sharply. Falt and Topaz miserably sat in the corner of the tent, dripping wet. “The heck were your two thinkin’? Running through rain like that?”

Topaz immediately pointed her thumb at Falt. “This dingus!”

“Are we really gonna start this again?!” said Falt.

“I keep starting things over and over until you stop doing super dumb things!” shouted Topaz, shaking her fists at her side. “Is it so hard to look at a weather app?!”

“Well if you think it was so simple, why didn’t you?!”

“Because I had already told you the clouds were coming! I was right the whole time!”

Ceailean snapped his fingers between the two. “Hey! I think that’s enough. We’re gonna be here for a while and I’d rather not have you two shouting at each other the whole time.”

Falt immediately shrunk down. “Y-Yes sir…” He then quickly moved to the opposite corner of the tent and hung his head against the wall.

“Sir?” asked Ceailean.

“Oh, Falt can’t talk to other people very well. A socially anxious thing.” said Topaz.

“Shh! Don’t just tell him that!”

“Would you rather just show him yourself?”

Ceailean clapped his hands loudly. “Okay, I get it. We all have our faults, I will not judge.”

Falt turned around. “R-Really? Okay…” He scooted himself forward, knocking the knuckles of his hand into Ceailean’s pokeball. The pokeball released Solosis, who had looked like it was enjoying a spa with slices of berries on its eyes. It heard the rain and smelled mud in the air. It grew frustrated and tossed down the berry slices on Ceailean bed.

“You seemed like you were enjoying yourself,” said Ceailean. Solosis only pouted and looked at him accusingly. Ceailean pointed to Falt. “Hey don’t blame me, talk to that guy.”

Falt gave a sharp gasp. “Threw me under the bus!” Solosis then got right up his face and started to berate him. The two argued with each other while Topaz was hesitant to talk.

Wanting to get a word in, Topaz raised her finger. “Is it… really that important?” Solosis immediately turned around and got up in Topaz’s face, telling her to but out. Topaz immediately curled up in a ball and covered her face with her hand. “Ah! I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me!”

“Well isn’t that something,” said Ceailean, realizing the duality of the situation.

A hand then clutched the top of Solosis. It made Solosis turn around right into Falt’s face. His expression was that of threatening seriousness. “Hey,” he said in a low, coarse voice. “You threaten my sister like that again, and I’ll be sure to use you as my personal stress ball.” Solosis’s heart sank and started sweating bullets. It broke out of Falt’s grip and poked the button on its pokeball, returning itself inside.

“At least I know you guys care about each other.” said Ceailean.

“Yeah, that's probably why she won’t just let me go on my own. I’ve used it to go places with her she never wanted to.”

“I’m… pretty sure that’s not how you’re supposed to use that kind of relationship.”

Falt made his way over to Topaz and shook her by the shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Topaz sniffled. “Y-Yeah. Who knew you had such a mean Solosis.”

Ceailean shrugged. “Hey, I’m sure if you get to know it… it would still seem kinda the same.”

“No secret caring personality?” asked Topaz.

“Well, I’ve only had it for about 3-4 days. So far, all I’ve got to know about it is that it has a spoiled princess vibe about it.”

Noibat then snickered at Ceailean description. However, this sent a shiver down Topaz’s spine. “W-What was that?” she asked with a shiver in her voice.

Ceailean looked at her disappointingly. “It’s just Noibat.”

“You have a Noibat!” Topaz said with an exclaiming whisper. “Those freaky deaky Pokémon that live in caves!”

“Your Pokémon lives in caves underwater, how is this any different?” asked Falt.

“It has those flappy wings, and that creepy fur, and… and… who knows what kind of stuff it has living on it from all those… cave things it does!”

“You know it can hear you right?”

“Is that bad? Will it hurt me now?!”

Noibat then looked at Ceailean with an expression that practically said ‘Is she for real?’. “I assure you, it won’t. Like, 90% sure.”

“I don’t like those odds.”

“Does it make you feel a little better that I didn’t find Noibat in a cave?”

“T-Then, where did you find it?”

“In a clearing, then I caught it in this gamer dude's house.” Topaz and Falt looked at him, confused. “It's a long story. Why don’t we just try and get warmed up.”

“Y-You don’t want us all to huddle up or anything, do you?” asked Falt.

Ceailean sighed. “No, I have a better idea. Try and stand in the corner for a bit.” The two did so. Ceailean spread his arms out and pushed all his stuff to one side of the tent as far as he could. He then fished the gas grill out of his duffel bag and set it on the empty side of the tent.

“Is that really safe?” asked Topaz.

“Prolly not, but I don’t want you two to have a mental breakdown if we tried to warm up using… What's his name anyway.” Ceailean turned on the stove and scratched a match, igniting it. He then put it near the burner and it lit aflame.

“Dibs on the closest spot!” said Topaz.

“Hey no fair!” shouted Falt. The two, regardless, huddled next to the flame without much issue with each other. Ceailean moved over to the tent flap and opened it up slightly from the bottom.

“What are you doing?” asked Topaz.

“I don’t wanna run out of oxygen. Do you?” Ceailean said, flopping onto his bed. “You guys okay sleeping on the ground or do i need to make room?”

Topaz waved her hand away at the question. “Oh no, we’ll be fine on the ground. We have sleeping bags.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” The group remained silent for a moment.

“And, thanks for saving us back there… and letting us stay with you.”

“Eh, just wanted to help. By the way, I don’t think you two have introduced yourselves.”

“Oh! Well, I’m Topaz. And this dingus is my brother, Falt.”

“Hey…” complained Falt.

“Who might you be?” asked Topaz.

“I’m Ceailean. Just another trainer in the middle of their journey.”

“Really?” said Topaz, full of interest. She scooted closer to Ceailean to listen more closely. Falt immediately took advantage of this and took her spot. “Where are you from?”

“Snowbelle. Why?”

“That’s so cool! You never hear any trainers say they come from Snowbelle! You’d hear about more people coming from other regions!”

“Is my life really that interesting?”

“Well, it's just that we’ve never talked to that many trainers because somebody is too afraid to talk to people!” Falt groaned and waved her off. “We’re from Santalune and our parents wouldn’t let us journey on our own, so we were forced to go together.”

“You say that as if it's a detriment.”

“Well yeah, I’m sure you would know what having a sibling is like.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“You’re… alone? No, that came out wrong! Um… you’re… all there is?” Topaz still winced at this less than ideal wording of the question.

Ceailean chuckled. “Not particularly. I still have friends around.”

Topaz wiped the top of her forehead. “Oh… good.” The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment.

“Ugh, just ask him already.” said Falt.

Topaz whipped around with her mouth next to Falt’s ear. “It is the last thing for you to say anything about talking to other people!”

“Ask what?”

“She wants to know if you wanna have a Pokémon battle.” said Falt.

Topaz looked back and forth between Falt and Ceailean. “Uh… yeah. What he said.”

“I think it's better you ask Marie that kind of question.”

“Who’s that?”

“Our neighbor.” Ceailean then pointed to the dim light through the tent wall. “She’s the one who does all the battling stuff. Or at least gets the most competitive about it. You’ll probably have to ask tomorrow though.”

“Oh, then what are you doing on your journey?”

Ceailean found the words stuck in his throat. He didn’t have a concrete answer. Why was he here? He thought back to his birthday wish. “All I wish for is the greatest Pokémon journey ever.” How naïve it felt to say that, even if it was barely under a month ago. What was the goal? He couldn’t just say he wanted the greatest Pokémon journey ever without a higher goal in mind. But then he thought of something. No, that can’t be the reason. He said he would let it go. A shiver went down his spine as he tried to repress the thought.

“It’s uh… hard to say for sure right now.”

“Oh. Well at least I remember this saying my mom said to us our whole lives. ‘It’s never bad to try new things.’ she would say.”

“Really?” Ceailean then smirked, “Maybe I’ll try jumping off a cliff and see if I can fly.”

“What?! No! That’s not-”

“Maybe I’ll drive a car with a blindfold. Or even try to roller skate on gravel-”

“Stop it! Ugh, way to take such an inspiring quote for us and put a pessimistic twist on it.”

Ceailean’s smirk disappeared. “Uh… sorry.”

“It was meant to signify that as long as you’re trying to find what to do in life, you aren’t wasting time.”

“She meant that huh? She sure seems… optimistic.”

“Nothing has to happen immediately, Ceailean. We’ll all find our own way soon enough.”

“Uh huh.” Ceailean contemplated what she told him. “I’ll uh, keep that in mind.” Topaz smiled and moved back over to the grill, shoving Falt slightly as she did so.

He observed the two near the fire, their features now lit by it. Topaz was dark skinned. She had greasy black, shoulder length hair and was somewhat longer than Ceailean’s, along with bright emerald green eyes and freckles. A thin single bang hung down the middle of her face. She wore black shirt, blue jean jacket, black jean leggings, and white tennis shoes. Though most of her fit was covered in mud.

Falt shared many similar facial features with Topaz. Dark skinned as well as freckles on the face. Though his hair was the same color, it had what Ceailean swore was a slight purple tinge to it. The hair was furled up like someone kept rubbing their hand through it. His eyes though were a paler shade of green. He wore black sweater, light blue shirt, basketball shorts, and black and yellow tennis shoes.

“You guys are twins, huh?” Ceailean asked.

Topaz turned around. “Are we that obvious?”

“I guessed based on the eyes.”

“Well you are correct, we are in fact twins. Though I am the older one, so I get to boss him around all I want.”

“By 6 minutes, Topaz! It's like saying you have one more dollar than me!” said Falt.

“Then I would also be able to say I’m richer than you also.”

“You just take whatever you can get, huh?”

“I try.”

“Well at least I can talk to Pokémon.”

“Well at least I can talk to people!”

“Shhh!” said Ceailean. “Keep it quiet guys. I’m gonna try and go back to bed. The dial on the burner is on the right. Turn it to the left.”

“Wait, you’re not gonna use it to get warm?” asked Topaz.

“I’ll get warm using my blanket.”

“Warm yeah, but also while damp?”

“I’ll get used to it.”

“Suit yourself I guess.”

“Oh, and no staying up past midnight.”

“What?! On what authority?”

“I can kick you out of the tent, is that authority enough?”

Topaz and Falt pondered for a moment. “Fair enough.” they both said in unison.

Ceailean chuckled. “I don’t mean to be too harsh. Just be quiet is all I ask.”

“Feel like that's a given for anyone trying to sleep.”

“Just thought I’d remind you two. Oh! And one more thing. I had another Pokémon helping us out there and I’m sure they’re soaked too. So I’m gonna let them out to join you by the grill. Promise you won’t be too mean to them?”

“Mean? How am I mean? What if they’re mean to me?”

“Your insinuations don't help.”

“What does that word even mean?”

Ceailean sighed. “Just, don’t freak out okay?”

Topaz pondered for a moment. “S-Sure.” Before Ceailean reached his pokeball, Topaz traded places with Falt. Ceailean then let out Scorbunny, whose fur was all wet.

“Tried to dry off near the stove Scorbunny. And try not to freak out Topaz there.”

“Yeah, she might wet her pants.” teased Falt.

Topaz then started slapping him as hard as she could. “I, would, never, do, such, a, thing!”

Scorbunny nodded to Ceailean and walked over to the grill. It simply sat down and held out its paws towards the fire. Noibat then came up and sat next to it. The two smiled at each other's company. Topaz looked at them with uncertainty, but tried her best to remain calm.

“Alright, night you two.”

“Night, Ceailean. And… thanks again.” said Topaz.

“From the both of us.” added Falt.

Ceailean nodded and turned around on his bed. The rain, along with the slight sound of the gas burner, helped Ceailean eventually drift off to sleep.