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It only takes one step to take courage.
Two steps to leave a life behind.
And three to realise that we all need our adventures.
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The cord of the backpack hums strangely as the opening closes. Everything I need is now behind well-padded fabric. One change of clothes. A month’s worth of underwear, to be on the safe side. Rations for Zorua. Three hundred Pokémon Dollars I’ve scraped together over the last three years to go travelling at some point. And, of course, a few Poké Balls that are mine, but somehow not entirely yet because they are empty.
Feeling the weight in my hands is unfamiliar, but it’s all I need to get off to a good start. The rest I make up as I go.
Darkness has already swallowed this village since two hours ago and the TV in the living room hasn’t been heard for a while. My father has probably gone to bed. That makes it easier to escape.
Silent as a whisper, I creep out of my room. My heart is pounding louder than a Pidgeotto can screech, but it’s nothing more than chaos inside me. No one else can hear it.
The soles of my pale green boots make no sound as I tiptoe across the wooden floorboards, skipping the spots that would otherwise creak miserably. Down the stairs to the carpeted floor in front of the door, my legs move like the skinny stilts of a Doduo. Only then do I allow myself to loosen my tense shoulders.
“Are you there?” My whisper beads through the darkness, punishing me with silence that begs me to run away. But my will remains steadfast. “Ying?”
It takes an eternity before soft taps reach me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Immediately, my Zorua emerges from the shadows. The red and black fluff on her head bobs up and down.
She creeps up to my legs before her nose nudges my thigh and I realise again that despite her adorable face, she's still pretty big. Her proportionally tiny paws make her seem strangely unreal.
With a quick nod, I let her know our journey is beginning and when I open the front door, she is the first to disappear outside with a leap. I follow her as quietly as possible and only when the door clicks shut do I dare to turn and run.
Lili’i isn’t particularly big, nor is Melemele - one of Alola’s five islands - but it’s one factor I can appreciate. The sooner I get out of here, the earlier I find a stop in one of the big cities that no one else here goes to visit.
The darkness greedily engulfs us, and only the occasional rustle in the bushes on the outskirts makes me go faster than I actually am. The heart in my chest hammers against my ribs - undecided whether from excitement or fear that my father might jump out of the shadows at any moment.
The escape route is precisely calculated. Ying has memorised it. Her ears twitch as if she is listening to a distant sound and at the latest when we climb a slope, I realise she has been distracted. We’ll never get off the island from the top.
As the first houses find space on my sides, I dare to stop. Zorua does the same. The gasp on my lips is louder than the rustling of the bushes and as I drop to my knees, the caustic summer heat only becomes more present. I run a hand over my forehead, along under my straight-cut fringe, to dry the sweat.
“I thought you knew where we had to go...” My voice amounts to a pitiful wail as I pick myself up and thrust my hands to my hips. The purple top radiates uncomfortable heat.
Ying’s soft bark, meanwhile, draws out her questioning sound longer than necessary. Then she tilts her head.
“Now we have to walk all the way back.” I can’t stifle a groan.
“Out!”
The sudden voice in my head makes me wince. For a moment, I let my vision wander. But all I can find are dark houses and bushes. It must have been another imagination.
“Out where?”
Once again, the childish voice makes its way into my skull and if I hadn’t already known I was awake, I would have pinched myself. But Zorua’s twitching ears reveal I am not alone in hearing this.
“Can you find out where it came from?” My voice is only a whisper. Waking the neighbourhood at this hour would ensure that a couple of rabid Spearows would be put on my heels and my father would figure out that I left the house long after curfew.
Fortunately, Ying’s ears twitch in confirmation and before I can catch my breath, she’s running. I follow her as fast as I can, but the weight on my back makes me slow down. Maybe I shouldn’t have packed all those Pokémon snacks in the side pockets. Or maybe it’s the Poké Balls, heavy as lead.
Every breath burns in my lungs, but Zorua doesn’t leave me behind. Her jumps slow whenever I threaten to slip out of sight and her quivering nose, because she’s picked up the scent of something other than typical flight, brings hope. It is only before a few steps Ying stops and lets me catch my breath again. Hushed coughing releases from my throat as I brace myself on my knees. Maybe I should have exercised a little more all these years.
Zorua’s sudden, shrill, though soft bark, makes me look up from the dusty floor, straight to long strands of blonde hair disappearing at the bottom of the steps. Someone else seems to have embarked on an evening adventure besides me, and though the thumping in my chest is the work of exertion, it still elicits a smile from me.
“Free!”
The sudden exclamation in my head makes my shoulders shrug. Cautiously, as the helpless whispering voice of a girl trickles down to me from above. She doesn’t want to be found or seen and yet the two of us stand so close that neither of us can avoid meeting. Not when there’s another voice at her side, echoing so strangely in my head.
“So much for escaping,” I sigh drawn out before I push my back through and signal Zorua for us to follow.
The stone steps are double jumped by me. The short path up tugs at my thighs and simultaneously brings me to the end so quickly that I can finally catch a clear glimpse of the problem. The blonde hair follows a light breeze, ensnaring the slender body of a girl in a white dress. The large Poké Ball-looking bag doesn’t match her appearance or slender stature, but the open zip makes me systematically scan the surroundings.
“Nebby!” In faltering steps, the girl stumbles forward a little, towards an old, frail suspension bridge that has long been unfit to be crossed. Still, for a moment, the girl seems at least as tired of life as a Slowpoke looking for shells.
“Hey!” Before I can even sort out my thoughts, I address her. My legs automatically start moving, and when the girl turns around, it’s big green eyes that are scrutinising me with a lost gleam.
“Oh... I...”
She is at a loss for words and I have no interest in her explanations. Instead, I take another look at the hanging bridge, which is hard to see in the dim glow of the moon. The other side cannot be seen at all, but the combative screech in the middle of the darkness definitely sounds familiar.
“Spearows?” The breath escapes me with the answer, yet remains half trapped in my throat. Eyes narrowed, I try to make out more than rotten wood and swaying ropes.
Somewhere amidst the darkness, something squeaks; round and puffy, almost like a Hoppip.
“Please! Someone!” The voice, which before had been only a whisper, screams inside my skull. Instantly, I have to press my hands to my temples. Zorua’s questioning yelp at my side doesn’t make it any better. “Help!”
“Oh no ... I ... I have to do something...” The girl barely gets her stiff legs to move forward. Something in her seems afraid. Perhaps it’s of the altitude; or the Spearows, who are usually less known for their friendliness.
It’s probably the adventure I’ve been looking for. The voice in my head begs. Zorua is waiting for my command, but my lips are stuck together. All that remains for me is to act.
Without a single word, I dash off. The ground seems to crunch under the soles of my boots and the heat builds up under my top. The airy grey trousers, which only get tight at the calves, try to catch and hold the wind of my hasty movement - to create something to cool me down - but it’s no use. My skin boils and doesn’t stop even when I step on the first wooden slat.
With a powerful leap, I overcome the first gap, feel the next wooden plank give way under me, and instantly cling to the rope of one side. The hemp nestles roughly against my hands as it prevents me from falling into the depths. It gives me the grip I need to get onto the next slat and make the last few feet in hasty leaps.
Zorua’s barking behind me conveys she has stayed behind. Ying is smarter than to engage in breakneck actions. She is the only one of the two of us who probably can rescue me when it matters.
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My hands flail wildly as the squeal of the unfamiliar Pokémon draws closer. All at once, claws scrape across my skin, leaving an unpleasant burning sensation, sending me tumbling to the ground; straight over the cloud to protect it.
What can I do?
In my head, there doesn’t seem to be a single command I could give Zorua. She knows no attacks that can be used from a distance to shoot down those damned Spearows. Hissing, I curl up in a ball. The Pokémon below me doesn’t seem to touch me as I do so, though I’m sure there’s not enough room to wait without contact. Presumably, it belongs to the Nebula-type. At least that would explain the strange tingly feeling of my elbows.
“Scary. So scary!”
The voice settles in my head again. It’s not as loud anymore, but the upset sound, very close to my ears, doesn’t make me doubt for a moment that I can hear this Pokémon. At least, it’s the only logic that can be drawn before the menacing cracking below us makes me press my lips together.
We’ve got a big fucking problem.
The Spearows’ claws no longer matter. My torso rears up, fighting the sharp cuts these beasts leave on my arms as I gently press the unknown Pokémon against me. It doesn’t leave much feeling on my chest, but its slightly nebulous form presses against me and the tremor that emanates from it reaches my own shoulders.
But that is as far as we get.
Before I can plant a foot to run back, the wood cracks beneath my knees. My heart slides up to my throat. Screaming is impossible now, and before I can reach out for one of the still solid wooden slats, rescue is too far in the distance.
Wind whizzes through my hair, pulling me down along with the Pokémon in my arms. Zorua barks in the distance.
Eyes wide, I tighten my legs. My weight pulls me backwards, into a position to at least assure that the Pokémon in my arms lands on top of me. Not necessarily soft, but better than nothing.
“I guess that’s it for my adventure.” Giving up sucks, but in free fall it’s all that’s left. The tears in my eyes don't matter. Lowering my head and sinking into the shallow, almost soft nothingness that this Pokémon in my arms brings - a bit like cotton wool shying away from water - calms my senses.
Long enough to bring the roaring in my head back to the foreground.
A voice emerges. Vague, but it’s there. It’s not from the Pokémon in my arms, seems too far away for that.
But its sound comes frantically closer.
My head lifts. My eyes turn upwards, towards the bridge, which by now is way out of reach. The bottom won’t be waiting much longer. Maybe another ten seconds - probably less. But there, above me, something moves. Like a flash, it darts in our direction, and the closer it gets, the more it looks like a big yellow bird.
“Idiots. Nothing but idiots.” The voice in my head snaps. “But brave they are. Brave indeed.”
There's nothing I can say. I'm not even sure if I’m dreaming, or if this bird is actually talking to us - or anyone. What clearly comes over me and the Pokémon, however, is a creature grabbing me by the leg. The free fall stops instantly, yanking my torso limply downwards, and my leg abruptly upwards.
My stomach contents threaten to come all the way back out as the Pokémon and I are propelled back upwards at breakneck speed. In the next blink of an eye, the broken bridge is below us and before I can even gasp for air, the yellow-bird-thing flings me straight over to the girl, who has her hands pressed in front of her mouth.
Again, free fall accompanies me, but this time it doesn’t take nearly as long before I hit the ground shoulder-first. The explosive pain in my bones travels across my chest, squeezing the breath out of my lungs and eliciting a gasp before I land on my back and roll around myself a few times. Only after three turns do I find peace on my side - the unknown Pokémon still in my arms.
“Nebby!” The girl’s cry doesn’t reach the blurred world I live in for longer than I should. The only thing I can feel is the Pokémon breaking away from me.
“Sorry! So sorry!” Its words go unheard by the stranger, but she wraps it in her arms anyway - just as I turn my body onto my back.
Actually, remaining on my back would be the better option. It probably won’t be long before the sun rises and if I haven’t escaped this damn island by then at the latest, it will be easy for my father to capture me and ground me for the next four decades.
“Shit...” Stretching my arms from me, I cast a glance over at the star-filled sky. It’s almost idyllic until the bird-like something appears a few feet above me.
For a moment it seems to stare at me before it splits its face and I realise this thing may not be a bird. But I don’t have the words to call it anything else and before I can find the beginning of a new name, it lunges out. My fingertips twitch. Running away is out of the question. So I just watch it throw something at me with force.
It sparkles, shines, looks tempting and yet forces me to jerk my head to the side hastily before it can break my nose. The dull thud brings me to a sitting position before I can realise that a stone has been thrown at me.
A fucking shiny rock.
“What’s your bloody problem?!” I can’t help but snap my head back and stare at this thing in the sky. Clenching my hands into fists, I purse my lips. Maybe I should ask Ying to do something about it. But my Zorua is still standing by the bridge, ears perked and posture crouched.
So that Pokémon up there isn’t to be messed with.
“Take it.” It just stares at me, its voice clear in my head. “Take it. You’re going to need it.”
“Need it?”
“You can understand me? Hah! I knew you were interesting!” It closes its shell again, as if I’ve seen enough of its slender body and the bold orange it wears for adornment. “Take it as a gift from me, the great guardian deity, Tapu Koko, of this island. Take it and show me if you have the responsibility and power to use it. Show me what you humans can do!”
“That’s a stone...” Again, I look at the shiny object that almost cost me a crooked nose. It’s pretty and the shallow shimmer on its surface makes it a little more attractive. But I have no clue what to do with it.
“I think it wanted you to take it.” The girl’s voice moves closer and a sideways glance reveals she is standing next to me by now. With her Pokémon in her arms, she doesn’t seem to have noticed what has happened at all.
But another glance upward doesn’t bring answers either. Tapu Koko has disappeared. For not having a pleasant character, it’s damn fast at running away.
I have no choice but to accept the sparkling stone.
“Um...,” again the blonde draws attention to herself, brushing aside a strand of her hair and adjusting the white hat with its oversized brim, “thank you for saving Nebby.”
“It was in danger. Helping a Pokémon in distress is the least I can do.” With difficulty, I gather myself up. My legs are as soft as pudding.
Zorua slowly creeps back to me as well, finding space next to my legs and rubbing her soft fur against me.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” As I pat my clothes with the flat of my hands, my gaze wanders up and down her white dress.
“Um... n-no. I just...got here today,” she replies. “I’m Lillie.”
“Domino,” I introduce myself in return. “What brought you to this desolate island?”
“I ... well ... work here as an assistant for Professor Kukui ... to get to know Pokémon better.”
“Ah...” Somewhere I’ve heard of this man before, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Someone involved in Pokémon research is not someone my father likes to see. That’s probably why I haven’t met him yet.
“Would you go back with me?” She presses Nebby tighter against her body. “There’s rustling in the bushes all the time and ... after everything that’s happened, I don’t dare go back alone.”
It’s a tough decision. If I accompany her back, wherever that may be, I’ll be wasting even more time I shouldn’t have wasted in the first place. Then again, I can just try to run away tomorrow once more. Not everything hangs on this one night. Doing something good for a change isn’t the worst decision to make.
“Whatever. Where do you want to go?”
“To Professor Kukui’s,” Lillie replies slowly. “But we have to be quiet. He can’t know I left the house this late.”
At least that part we have in common. That’s more than I expected.
With a significant nod of my head, I turn towards the stairs. My escape has failed. But at least I have been able to help someone, and Tapu Koko has given me a stone. A fist-sized shiny stone that will probably look good on my dresser tonight.
Maybe I’ll leave it for my father as a keepsake.
The steps bring us back to the houses and the expansive wooden area that I completely ignored the first time I passed by. Its unadorned presence just doesn’t have anything that one would like to look at for longer than necessary, and again, I would prefer to push it into the background. But the chubby figure leaning against the edge waves at Lillie and me.
“Oh no...” Lillie’s sigh makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “The kahuna.”
“Who?” Brows raised, I turn to her. Since living in this place for almost five days now, I haven’t really met anyone. Someone spoke to my father once, but he sent me to my room and that was all I got out of the visit.
“Hala, the kahuna,” Lillie explains. “He was chosen by one of the guardian deities to make sure that everyone here is doing well. I think in his case, it was Tapu Koko.”
The thing that threw a rock at me. I seem to have more in common with the people of this island than I would like. Still, we can’t just run away. That guy there, getting closer, may be old, but he’s also a Pokémon Trainer. As is pretty much everyone here. And I don’t need more rabid Spearows ruffling my hair.
“I knew I heard someone in the distance.” His old voice is as strong as a Machamp’s shout and as he thrusts his hands to his full hips, I can’t help but sigh. “And I see the two new girls from this island have already met.”
“H-Hello...” Lillie forces herself to bow curtly as I tilt my head.
“No need to be shy! My Pokémon let me know what happened. Lillie, you need to take better care of yourself. And you ... Domino was your name, wasn’t it? You showed courage, but all this could have ended in terrible foolishness.” He stretches his back a little so that his big belly stands out clearly under his blue shirt. I don’t know much about him, but from what my father has told me, Hala is probably the sumo wrestler you see bits about on the dull sports news now and then. “What I’m wondering, though, is what you two are doing here at this hour. It’s four in the morning.”
Neither of us can bring ourselves to utter a single word. But if he’s already caught us, he’s certainly going to pay attention to what we’re going to do next, and in my case, it’s better to be honest. He can’t do more than shake his head at me.
“I’ve been trying to get off this damn island.” Snorting, I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Zorua and I tried to escape.”
As if on cue, Ying makes a sound of agreement and presses herself closer to my leg. Hala, however, eyes us.
“Your father doesn’t allow you to, does he?”
“No. But prohibitions don’t stop me from doing it.” I shrug. “And no one else will hold me back.” My voice lowers. It could be better. Nicer. But the truth is all I have left. “I want to get out there and live my life. I want an adventure that no one else can have. This island ... isn’t my home.”
“So you haven’t arrived where your heart feels at home yet.” The growl in Hala’s throat almost seems as if he understands what I’m trying to tell him. “The stone you got from Tapu Koko, will you give it to me?”
I don’t need to ask how he knows about it, after all, he said that his Pokémon told him what happened. However that’s supposed to work. I only understand Zorua from her body language. But I would probably never understand if our house was on fire and Zorua was trying to sum it up in Pokémon language.
Without further ado, I give him the stone. That shiny thing has no value to me, anyway. Hala, though, looks at it for a moment before a knowing smile settles on his features.
“I won’t stop you if you want to go. But it’s a rough world out there sometimes and you’ll have to be strong to get through it.” Again, he looks at me as if he understands my problem better than anyone else. “How about I help you?”
“Help me?” It sounds more insane than I expected.
“Absolutely. You’ll get out of here easier if you have an island challenge amulet. Besides, a Pokédex would help you.” He waves the stone in his hand. “And Tapu Koko’s gift could be of use to you, too, once I get it ready.”
There are too many things I don’t understand. But knowing that I can get someone to help me get off this island is a damn fine thought. It’s even more than I can hope for, which is why my arms loosen and I take a deep breath. “What do I have to do for this?”
“We have an island festival in two days. My grandson, Hau, he’s your age, will be there, and he wants to perform in the battle performance with his first, own Pokémon. He needs a battle partner.” His grey beard trembles as he snorts vigorously. “If you go up against him and win, you’ll get everything you need to go. ‘Cause then I’m sure you can make it out there. You and your Zorua.”
Two days. Just two more days and I can leave - with help and little things to make all these matters easier for me. All I have to do is prove my bond with Zorua.
All we have to do is win.