As much as the Rangers promised a slow pace, David had to strain to keep up with them as they marched east. Even Bret, who walked bow-legged after his twenty hour-long ride across the peninsula, was having an easier time of it. Every seven to eight dunes, Maggie and he would stop to take a break and wait for David.
After the first hour, David decided this was due to two reasons: the rangers were fitter than him, and more experienced. The first was frustrating, but to be expected. David had not lived all that active a life before coming to this world – the occasional weekend hike did not build an ironman, and two months of catching up could not match years of work in the wilds. That he could stick near them at all was impressive. Marathon dreams aside, he was more envious of the second reason. Their experience.
Bret, Georgio and Maggie walked through the sand as David might a city street. They strolled up the dunes like a conveyor ran beneath their feet. The sand didn’t seem to slide away from them; it didn’t tumble and spill like water down the fall. Descending even seemed easier for them, the sand carrying them further down with each step. The Rangers were fitter than him, and were using half the effort to travel the same distance. It was a losing battle. David fought on for two reasons.
One was the shadow that kept the heat of the sun off of him. Cloudburst, flying high above, was of course having no issue with the pace. She was the only Pokemon visibly accompanying the group. Not the only – Dugtrio made his home below the hills and dunes – but the only Pokemon an onlooker might detect.
Bret kept his Pokemon back, citing issues with sand and glass, which made David step carefully for a while. Memories of that mother Growlithe outside Saffron, and her forest of fire, were enough to give him a picture of what this seaside desert might look like under another powerful Fire type’s influence. Thankfully, none were foolish enough to try claim the sand for themselves. Perhaps disliking the nearby sea, or, more likely, being as vulnerable to endless slivers of glass as anyone else. Back home, everyone knew of the dangers of asbestos, and even the safer synthetic fiberglass. A thick hide could not save the lungs.
Georgio, on the other hand, was a Water type specialist.
“It’s not dry here, David, but it isn’t wet or humid either. All my Pokemon would do is drain themselves and be miserable.” He extended a hand down from the top of the dune.
Grunting, David accepted it and pulled himself up the last few sliding steps. He was moving too slowly to be proud about the help, and Georgio was the main reason he was still traveling with the Rangers. The chatterbox had latched onto him all day, sticking with David instead of walking with his two silent coworkers.
“How long can Water types stay on land?” he asked, bending over to catch his breath. He tried to avoid looking ahead where Bret and Maggie were already halfway up the next dune.
“Depends on the Pokemon and their strength,” Georgio answered, setting his hands on his hips. He appeared content to wait and let David gather his strength. “Right at the bottom is your average Magikarp. They’ll only last about ten minutes out of the water, and will flop about the entire time. The poor things can’t use any other Move outside the water.”
The Ranger rubbed his dark beard. “It is a Move though, that flopping. A Magikarp’s fins are too weak to carry its body weight on land, but with Splash, they can jump up to seven feet high.”
“A jumping Move?” David asked, straightening up. He reached for his flask. “That seems a little...”
“Pointless?” Georgio finished. He smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes expanding. “It might seem that way to us, I don’t think it’s ever been used in a battle, but neither are Magikarp. Splash is fascinating as it’s all about escape. Magikarp know it for one reason alone. To get back to water.”
The Ranger leaned in, his eyes glinting as if he was discussing something fascinating.
David didn’t get it. All fish trashed about when they left the water. They flopped back and forth, even throwing themselves into the air every now and again to try to escape home. Sure, Magikarp using a Move for it was interesting, but not all that special. Not when a hyper beam was an alternative.
No one would fish Magikarp if getting cooked themselves was possible, David mused. He voiced the thought out loud.
It got a laugh out of Georgio. “If hyper beam was more common, we would not be my friend. None of us would be really. Think of this place, where we stand.”
“The dune?”
“Yes! The dune. Did you know this area hasn’t always been dunes? That it is the result of a fight between humanity and a Kingdra?”
“No,” David answered, staring at the miles of sand around him, then at Georgio in disbelief.
“Yes,” Georgio answered smugly. “The sea dragon wanted to expand its territory, and this low-lying land was right there for the taking. It was a Route back then too, but words on a map and sign mean little to a Pokemon. Waves began to crash against the shore. Great, terrible waves taller than a building. A patrolling Ranger noticed and alerted the League. We humans sent out a force to respond, which it did in force.”
Georgio sighed and crouched down to gather a handful of sand. It slipped between his fingers.
“Too late for all those on the Route. The Kingdra was slain, killers cannot be left so close to our borders, but even with Haze the battle was not constrained to the ocean. Half the land had sunk, and cracks splintered what little of the path remained above water. So, the league intervened once more, building supports and filling the land in.”
“The fences,” David murmured.
“Hmm. They weren’t always buried. But all that stone and soil must come from somewhere. The land began to sink again, but strangely, the water did not rush in to claim its due. Instead, all those supports stole more land from the sea in retaliation.”
“Wait,” David interrupted. “Why fences? They could hardly hold the land together. Were the dunes the plan all along, or were they there for another reason?”
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Georgio shook his head. “The dunes were an accident. The fences were to guide trainers away from damaged areas and sinkholes. All this, this was fate. Fate and human power.”
David stared out at dunes as far as he could see. He could believe it. Humanity created deserts with their mistakes all the time on Earth. They were also capable of wonders like the polders in northern Europe. There was no reason to suggest that with the company of incredibly powerful monsters that humans would be any less creative or destructive.
“Okay, that is a great story. But what does it have to do with Magikarp and Splash? You can’t be trying to say that Splash caused all of this?”
“No,” The Ranger snorted. “Why do you think Magikarp use Splash?”
David squinted at him. They’d been over this already. “To get back to water.”
Georgio’s answering grin told David that he’d walked into the first step of a trap. “And why would they be on land?”
“Beyond the obvious ‘something wanted to eat them’?”
“Yes.” A red jacket clad arm pointed at the shadow circling around them, then traced it up to the Pidgeotto above. “Do you think jumping a little higher would save a Magikarp from your Pidgeotto? From a Pidgey? A Spearow?”
“No...” David answered, waiting for the Ranger to make his point.
“I believe Splash is only effective against one creature on this planet. Humans. Only we could be escaped by such paltry efforts. Only we fish Magikarp from the seas in such bulk to necessitate this.”
Georgio paused. “Magikarp learn Splash, because it can save them from humans. The same people that saved this land from the sea, changed it to a desert with our actions. And if we can do that-” He looked at the sea of dunes in the distance. “-What else could we be capable of?”
David followed his gaze, but he could tell he didn’t feel the same amount of awe. Perhaps the Ranger’s theory should have filled him with hope or fear, but instead it fell flat. Creatures adapting to humanity was the norm in his mind, not the opposite, which seemed more common in this world. Taming the land and harvesting the sea was a given, not an impossible goal. If anything, the faith in Georgio’s voice did nothing but dishearten him. David didn’t want to protect the land from wild Pokemon, or reshape it as desired.
He wanted to go home.
If the people here had such trouble with these simple things, how was he going to accomplish that?
“Oi!”
The shout came from the top of the next dune over. Bret and Maggie stood there, the short brawny Ranger clearly annoyed given all his waving. Maggie showed no sign of her emotions, standing still with her arms crossed, but David expected no less frosty a reception when they caught up. She had not been receptive to his presence, and did not look away when he caught her glares.
“I guess we better catch up,” David said, placing his water back in his bag.
“Yes,” Georgio muttered, still staring into the distance. “We had better.”
That day they hiked until the sun dropped below the tallest of dunes, stopping only for a brief lunch of ration bars. Georgio was friendly enough to share some of his with David. When they made camp, David followed the Ranger south to the coast. As tired as he was, he wanted to see if he could learn how the more experienced trainer caught food.
By the water he met Georgio’s second Pokemon, Skim. The creature was not one he recognised, though he saw similarities between it and a fish from earth. It was a huge, flat Pokemon, easily eight feet across at the wing-like fins. Much larger than even the biggest stingrays on Earth. Thankfully this creature was friendlier, with a tail instead of a deadly stinger trailing behind it. Not all the differences were like this. The Mantine had two large antennae-horns, and its skin was rough like that of a shark.
Georgio’s Poliwhirl, Flops, was better at catching Krabby. Skim was simply too large to come close to the shore. The Mantine’s size restricted it to deep water, making it clear why the Ranger had not released it the previous night. At least that’s what David thought.
One moment the giant Pokemon was swimming through the sea, a shadow underwater matching the pace of Cloudburst’s shadow above. Then it breached the water, slicing out into the air. Skim flapped its fins.
It flew.
Cloudburst let out a shrill, the surprise giving her the same fright it did David. Tendrils of lavender swirled off the giant body quickly approaching her. She flapped her wings furiously to gain more height. Mantine was large enough it must have seemed like Cloudburst was falling, the ground growing closer.
Georgio’s laugh reminded David of his own surprise. He closed his mouth with a clack.
“Incredible sight, isn’t it?”
“Where- How did you find her?”
“Mantine are only found in the far west waters of Johto,” Georgio answered with a knowing smile on his face. “They’re rare in Johto too, but my, is it worth a visit.”
Above Cloudburst settled and dived towards Skim. She began to circle the much larger Pokemon, spiraling around them. Skim continued unbothered, or unable to reciprocate, flying straight and steadily through the air.
Cloudburst learned about catching crabs in the end. By the time Skim sank back beneath the waves, Flops had stunned enough with his belly to feed them all. It wasn’t a wasted trip though. David had learned plenty.
-.-
“We will reach Route 12 tomorrow morning. Have you decided where you are going?”
No one had been talking, but the campsite grew quieter at Georgio’s question.
“Yes. I think I have,” David answered.
Vermillion was the safe option. It had a gym his Pokemon were neutral to, and connections to Saffron, which he had no reason to avoid anymore. He wasn’t eager to face Sabrina again, especially not in any kind of battle, but the city was no longer such a danger.
The only destinations to the north were Cerulean city and Lavender town. The Electric type gym, the type that he had no experience of and Cloudburst would be weak too and a ghost town.
“I’m going north.”
There was nothing to the north for David but graves. Graves and ghosts. Both were always accompanied by stories. Now free of the League’s deadline, David didn’t need badges. He needed power and information. Lavender town was one of the oldest settlements in Kanto. If anywhere had a clue for him about how to get home, it would be there, in some forgotten story about Legendary Pokemon.
Georgio’s explanation of his theory had reminded David of that.
“North? I don’t think- You should-”
Bret cleared his throat. “No interference with journeys.”
“This hardly counts as-”
“Orders,” Maggie interrupted, staring down David again.
There it was again, the same shutdown of conversation as the previous night. Now David had more information. Whatever the three weren’t saying, it was related to orders they had gotten, orders that called them away from their postings around the peninsula.
Louis had said that all the Fuchsia Rangers were strangely busy as well. Were they covering a wider area to make up for other Rangers leaving?
“Has something happened north of here?”
The Rangers shared a glance. It was Bret who finally spoke.
“Any warnings would be posted on Route notice boards.”
“But, if we were walking into something, you’d tell me?”
“Rangers have a duty to warn trainers away from dangers, yes.” Georgio glared at his colleagues.
“But this isn’t that?” David surmised.
“No,” Maggie answered, looking away from him to poke at the fire and move her feet closer to it.
“Then north.” Vague warnings weren’t enough to change his mind. He needed answers. Direction.