Kanto Wilderness II - A Little R&R
“Hi,” Slate said, waving his flashlight at the Rangers. The top of it fell off, clattering as it hit the rocks underneath his feet. Everyone’s gaze followed, locked on the immobile object. “Hey, you can’t do that.”
“Slate?” A woman asked. Slate tried to look at her but found it difficult. It wasn’t helped by the fact that there was a second woman next to her.
“Ranger Holly? I didn’t know you had a sister.” Slate asked. Ranger Holly and her sister moved forward in an oddly synchronized manner.
“Why were you in Mt. Moon?” she shouted. Oddly, her sister seemed to talk at the same time. Slate winced in pain.
“Not so loud, please. I think I have a concussion.”
“And why do you have a concussion?”
“Because two Onix interrupted my sleep,” Slate explained. The gathered Rangers muttered. A second Ranger stepped forward.
“Mt. Moon has been off limits for Trainers for two days,” he said, his arms crossed aggressively across his chest. “Why were you trespassing?”
Slate tried to look him in the face but found it difficult. “Because I entered three days ago? Maybe four. Not sure how long I've had the broken leg. Can someone help me? I think I'm about to pass out.”
Slate wasn't sure what happened after that, as the only thing he could recall was falling sideways off of Scyther's shoulder and everything fading to black. When he did come to, he was on a camp cot in an empty wooden room with a proper cast on his leg and an IV pumping fluid into his arm.
Groaning, Slate tried to sit up to see where he was. The window revealed a treeline in the distance but no other identifying landmarks. He heard footsteps thumping outside the only door in the room, getting louder by the second. They paused for a moment before the door opened to reveal Ranger Holly holding a belt with Poké Balls attached and Ralts riding on her shoulder. With a start Slate realized they were his. Ralts chirped at the sight of him, teleporting from Ranger Holly’s shoulder to Slate’s chest, colliding with him to give him a forceful hug. Slate gave her a gentle one back.
Ranger Holly handed Slate’s belt to him and he gratefully ran his fingers over his Poké Balls. They each shook a little at his touch, his Pokémon recognizing him even from within their balls. He nodded to Holly in thanks.
“Welcome to the Northern Route 4 Ranger Outpost. It was the closest one with the resources to heal you,” Holly said by way of explanation. Slate looked at the obviously empty room.
“Wooden logs?”
Holly rolled her eyes. “No, Slowpoke, one of the Rangers has a Chansey. It's not trained like most in how to heal, but a Chansey Egg helps most injuries given enough time. You'll probably be out of that cast in a week. You’ve been out of it for a day by the way.”
Slate nodded in agreement. He had plenty of experience seeing a Chansey Egg work, both as a patient and as an assistant at the Mt. Silver Pokémon Center. They were certainly wonderful Pokémon and prodigious healers.
“You might be interested to know you had a broken leg, three busted ribs, a concussion, dozens of abrasions and cuts, and lost enough blood to stain those wretched travel clothes permanently,” Holly said, nudging his good leg over so she could sit on the end of the cot. Slate dragged himself to a sitting position to give her more room.
“Sounds like I need to do some shopping,” Slate dryly remarked. He rubbed his dry throat and Holly tossed him his water canteen with a roll of her eyes.
“Yes, shopping. That's the most important thing for you to focus on right now.”
Slate eyed her oddly. “Isn't it? I've been healed and my Pokémon are safe. What else should I think about?”
Holly lunged forward and began to lightly smack Slate on the head. “Yourself. You. Stupid. Little. Idiot!” she said, punctuating each word with a slap. She sat back with a huff.
“Your life is important, Slate. It isn't just enough to be safe after a horrible thing happens, you should care about being safe during it. Or even before it! People fear death because there is no coming back from it!”
“If you had died in those caves your Pokémon might have ended up trapped with no way to escape. You would have left them behind with no way of defending themselves, no way of taking care of themselves, do you want that, Slate?” Holly asked.
Slate did not. However he did not appreciate being treated like a moron. “But I couldn't get out,” he ground out through clenched teeth.
“What was that?” Holly asked. Slate sighed, taking a deep breath to force himself to relax.
“I couldn't get out. I’ve read the Trainer manuals, the field guides. We made camp safely, sprayed the Repel to keep the disturbed Pokémon away, we did everything we were supposed to do to be safe. But those two Onyx tore through our camp anyway. How am I supposed to prevent that?” Slate asked somewhat cross.
Silence stretched between them. “I've been unfair to you, I apologize,” Holly said. She rubbed her forehead and eyes wearily and only now did Slate notice how exhausted she looked.
“Sometimes you can't do anything. You can do everything right and still lose and that's just a fact of life. In a world where a single Pokémon can level cities and decimate armies all on their lonesome, it's even more apparent than that,” Holly explained. Slate nodded thoughtfully.
“So what caused the Onix to attack?” he asked. Maybe he could avoid it in the future.
“A migration of Steel-types was tracked into Mt. Moon. It isn't uncommon and most of the time nothing happens, but sometimes the native Pokémon get displaced. One of the Onix that attacked you was pushed out of their territory by a small herd of Lairon into the other's territory. They immediately began to fight for dominance which was unfortunately near your campsite. The Rangers tracked the disturbance almost as soon as it happened, sending out a second, emergency alert to evacuate the area. It's why we were at the entrance, to begin to comb through to look for survivors.”
She sighed explosively. “But that doesn't help anyone already underground, out of range. You weren't the only Trainer attacked, a trio of Trainers tried to capture an Aggron from the migration. It managed to kill one of them before the Rangers arrived. They had to put it down to get it to stop.”
Slate wondered if she was talking about Brad, Patty, and Lincoln. Even as rude and mean as they had been, he wouldn't wish any of them dead for it. He hoped they were alright.
“It wasn’t my first time in such a situation,” Slate eventually said. Ranger Holly looked at him while Ralts crooned softly.
“What do you mean?” she asked in a guarded tone.
“Being trapped between two furious and dangerous Pokémon. It happened when I was a kid, a Houndoom and an Ursaring fighting one another for the honor of eating me,” Slate’s lips twisted slightly as echoes of fear and pain fluttered through him. “The Houndoom had stalked me before that, injuring me, but the fresh blood attracted the Ursaring’s presence.”
Slate laughed, a short and dark thing that sounded far too bitter for anyone’s liking. “I bet the Houndoom was dumbfounded when it was blindsided by that thing. It threw the Houndoom through the air, smashing it through a few trees before it finally rolled to a stop. They forgot me for a moment while they fought.”
He trailed off as memories flashed before his eyes. The running, the danger. Every time he moved, the two Pokémon would be there, tumbling through the forest as they tried to tear one another apart in order to kill him. Claws and teeth far too close for comfort, trees smashed in half and boulders shattered by the two Pokémon.
Ranger Holly nudged his leg, bringing him back to the present. “When was this?” she asked.
Slate shrugged. “About eight years ago. Time is fuzzy there for a bit.”
“How come?”
That earned her another shrug as well as a small smile. “Because I woke up in the middle of the Mt. Silver mountain range with no memories. I’m not certain how long I was living in the wilderness but according to Maggie it was at least ten months, maybe a few more.”
When Slate turned to look at Ranger Holly he was surprised to see she wasn’t surprised by his claim. If anything, she looked resigned to Slate’s words, which was a very telling data point. “You knew,” he said, accusation lacing both words. Ralts wrapped her small hands around his neck in an effort to calm him.
Ranger Holly gave him a short, shaky nod. “You’re Case 12. All Rangers study your experience.”
Silence filled the room as both Trainers looked at one another. Ralts crooned again as she pulled at Slate’s hair, causing him to twitch and gently move her hands away. “Why do Rangers study me? What’s Case 12?”
She sighed. “You’re Case 12. It’s your file that the Pokémon League started when they began to investigate why you were on Mt. Silver to begin with, as well as how you survived. It might surprise you but everything you’ve already done so far on your Journey? That kills most Rookie Trainers. Hell, it kills most experienced Trainers too!”
“That’s…” Slate’s denial trailed off. For years he lived in a Pokémon Center, being awoken at all times of night to help Maggie deal with emergencies, pitching in to help when they were short-staffed, and witnessing the aftermath of foolish Trainers braving the dangerous slopes. Life was dangerous, doubly so around Wild Pokémon. “True, I guess.”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Ranger Holly nodded. “So yeah, everyone is interested in how a kid survived one of the most dangerous regions of our world. It just isn't done, Slate. The Silver Mountain Range has divided Kanto and Johto for generations, not because of its physical properties but because of the Pokémon contained within it. The only force that could potentially overcome it would be the Dragons of Blackthorn but they could never hope to hold that wide of a territory indefinitely, even at their peak.”
Unbidden, a memory of a meteor falling from the sky filled Slate's mind. Hundreds of Pokémon fled it, rushing around and over Slate in a bid for safety. A wave of air knocking Slate down a moment later, before everything faded to black. He shook himself.
“So it's just because of that?” he asked.
Holly shook her head, laughing sadly. “Just because of that. Maybe one day you'll understand, Slate, but humans just weren't designed to prosper in the world of Pokémon like you did.”
Slate didn't understand but put it from his mind. Maybe time would give him clarity or maybe it would muddle things further. All he could do right now was rest.
So he did so, falling asleep clutching his Pokémon.
----------------------------------------
The cast came off. Considering a week ago it had been broken, Slate was quite pleased with the healing power of a Chansey Egg. After dressing in clean clothes, and throwing his old ones into a fire to burn, Slate resumed his journey to Cerulean City. Not before Ranger Holly tracked him down however.
“Join me up at the cape after you beat the Gym,” Ranger Holly had told him. They were outside the log cabin that was the Ranger Outpost and all around them for miles was beautifully untapped wilderness.
“What's at the cape?” Slate asked.
“My friend Bill's lighthouse. You'll love it, he knows everything there is to know about Eevee and you can learn a lot from him.”
Slate nodded. “I'll meet your boyfriend then.”
“He's not my boyfriend!” Ranger Holly pouted. “Not for lack of trying.”
Still, her recommendation was a good one as he was always interested to learn more about Pokémon, especially one such as Eevee. But before Bill's Lighthouse, before even challenging the Gym, Slate had to endure Maggie’s gift in Cerulean City. He almost couldn’t wait.
But he forced himself too. He knew he needed to work with his Pokémon, to help them grow and bond, and he himself needed the small breather after the events of Mt. Moon. So despite the offer of the Rangers to give him a lift, Slate decided to hike to Cerulean, through the almost wilds that surrounded it.
According to the Rangers, the Pokémon League was prepping the area to turn it into another “Breadbasket” route, not unlike the one between Cerulean and Saffron City. Many of the rolling hills had been cleared of trees and foundations for future homes had been dug. Here and there Slate found new fences, indicating the boundaries of farms and ranches that would eventually be established there. Between Mt. Moon to the west, Cerulean to the east, and the rest of the Lunar Mt. Range to the north and south, the area was almost perfectly defensible with routine patrols. Perfect for civilians.
But even as Slate and his Pokémon walked unfinished roads and paths, he couldn’t help but mourn the loss of wilds here. The area would provide much in the future but Slate couldn’t help but wish it weren’t necessary. He wondered if Mt. Silver would one day end up the same. He hoped not.
So he turned to his Pokémon to distract himself. They shared every meal, they walked every path together. Slate watched and encouraged them interact with one another, allowing them to discover their own niche in their team’s life. It was fascinating.
Scyther was vigilant. She kept her eyes on their surroundings, the trees, and the sky above. Every time they made camp she would scout in a wide circle, ensuring nothing was nearby that might threaten them. Twice she had warned them away from dangerous Pokémon, although Slate only realized it after the first one, a Raticate, had attacked them in the night. He learned to listen to her judgement.
Vulpix was calm. While not adverse to playing, she seemed more interested in observing her surroundings, the other Pokémon, and Slate himself. Slate discovered that she was capable of manipulating the temperature around them slightly, when one morning they woke to find themselves covered in a small layer of ice that Vulpix had created while she slept. While Scyther hadn’t been appreciative, they did enjoy a small break of play-fighting in the snow.
Aron was curious about everything but he had no patience for discovery. It was not uncommon for Slate or one of the other Pokémon to free Aron from whatever mess he had stumbled into, sometimes having to pull him out of rotted logs or encouraging a Wild Pokémon he had bumped into to leave him alone. Through a few tests, Slate managed to determine Aron wasn’t stupid, he just had no understanding of anything. He reasoned Aron must be very young.
Last was Ralts, even though she wasn’t Slate’s Pokémon. She was more lively once they left Mt. Moon behind, and interacted much more freely with the other Pokémon. She would often Teleport from Slate’s shoulders, to Scyther’s wings, to Aron’s shell and back again as the fancy struck her. She and Vulpix would throw snow the latter made at each other, while Aron would trot back and forth between them.
It was very enjoyable, and much needed, but it couldn’t be all play. Slate began to properly train with his Pokémon, studying what they could do and how they could apply it in the future.
The easiest was Vulpix. Thanks to having access to her Pokéenergy Mapping, Slate could see all of the moves she could potentially learn. The real difficulty was discovering how she could call upon those moves.
It was one thing to know she could use the move Blizzard, it was entirely another to know if she had to channel it through her tails, her paws, her eyes, ears, or some combination of them. Every Pokémon was different and every Pokémon had to experiment to discover what they could do and how to do it.
The simplest move for her to learn was Draining Kiss. As it had to be performed with the mouth, all Vulpix had to do was bring Fairy-type Pokéenergy there and kiss or bite her target. It took her several attempts, and several impatient minutes from Scyther who was displeased about being attacked, for Vulpix to do it consistently. But Slate grew curious.
Vulpix bringing Fairy-type Pokéenergy to her mouth enabled her to use Draining Kiss. But what if she brought Ice-type Pokéenergy there instead?
Slate had Vulpix do so and he was fascinated to see how her breath fogged. A quick bite and an upset Scyther later revealed it wasn’t an Ice Fang that Vulpix had done but something else. Slate puzzled over the Pokéenergy Mapping before encouraging Vulpix to breath out as hard as she could.
A freezing wind swept through their camp, causing their teeth to chatter. A layer of ice covered everything and Scyther chittered in disgust before moving to the far end of the camp, ignoring Vulpix’s apologetic bark. Slate grinned but decided that had definitely been an Icy Wind.
Slate had Vulpix try again but to hold it in to see if they could intensify the move but at a specific location. It worked but Slate noted that there was an unusual amount of mist lingering in the air. He had Vulpix repeat her action, but to not unleash the move. To his surprise and glee the campsite filled with Mist for a moment before Scyther chittered furiously, batting her wings to keep it away from her.
Unfortunately they weren’t able to figure out how to perform any of her other moves. Still, it gave Slate plenty of ideas for the future and he had Vulpix practice performing the moves over and over again, hoping to teach her to perform them naturally.
Slate made sure to work with Scyther away from Vulpix for the first few days to help ensure she relaxed and forgave the Ice-type. Vulpix even assisted in that by demonstrating Swift to Scyther multiple times, aiming for the rocks and trees around them.
From what Slate was able to determine, Core Moves, such as Swift, could be passed along from one Pokémon to another through repeated demonstrations. The second Pokémon would often have to figure out how to perform it on their own as every Pokémon differed. While Vulpix’s Swift came from one of her tails, that obviously wouldn’t work for Scyther.
Through a few days of practice, Scyther discovered she could launch Swift from her mouth. Unfortunately, she had been targeting Vulpix due to her frustration with the Ice-type at the time and had startled her rather badly when she was practicing her Icy Wind. On one hand, it allowed the two Pokémon to finally relax around each other.
On the other hand, Slate had to spend a few hours carefully thawing Aron. Fortunately, the little guy wasn’t too upset about being partially encased in ice. Unfortunately, he tried to encourage Vulpix to do it again.
It was after this event that Slate noticed Scyther had been doing something curious. Before every attack her eyes narrowed in focus before she struck. He noted the following attacks would often hit far harder than they should but not always. After some more observation and consulting the notes he had originally obtained about training Scythers, he realized she had at some point learned Focus Energy.
The only other move Slate and Scyther were able to determine was Silver Wind, brought on by Scyther’s wings flapping when imbued with Bug-type Pokéenergy. Considering how it could temporarily boost a Pokémon in all aspects, Slate had Scyther practice the two moves almost every single moment, until they became instinctual.
Aron was young. He wasn’t as small as a newly hatched Pokémon but his curiosity and decision making were rather questionable at the best of times. While he was amicable to the training Slate directed him toward, his attention span often wavered at even the smallest of distractions. Slate had a feeling he would have to find ways to make the training more interesting.
The tiny Steel/Rock Pokémon did know a handful of moves. Iron Defense and Rock Polish Slate could identify right away, although he wasn’t certain if Aron slamming himself into his targets was a move or not. However, one move did surprise Slate beyond anything else.
Purple flames licked at Aron’s body, not damaging him in the slightest. He gained a sudden burst of speed before boldly throwing himself through the air, smashing through whatever barrier was before him, be it rock, tree, or Pokémon. Slate was dumbfounded the first time he witnessed it.
Every young Trainer has a phase where they obsess over Dragon-type Pokémon. They pour over the books, movies, and pictures available, finding their favorites and dreaming of the day of one day catching one. Most Trainers grow out of this ambition once they learn how dangerous Dragon-types are, even to their own Trainers. But the knowledge would remain.
Slate knew a Dragon Rush when he saw one. It was still weak and limited by Aron’s size, weight, and power, but one day it would become a devastating attack capable of carving a tunnel through a mountain. With it, Aron could one day become an unstoppable juggernaut. Slate couldn’t wait.
They would have to work more on teaching Aron Swift. It might simply be beyond the little guy at the moment but Slate was patient. Dragon Rush alone would be a painful surprise for any Pokémon Aron might face.
While Ralts wasn’t his Pokémon, Slate didn’t try to stop her from interacting with his own Pokémon while they trained. It would be good training for them, dealing with and working around a non-hostile Pokémon. And if Ralts would Teleport around, landing on the back of a focused Pokémon just as they were about to use a move, Slate would turn a blind eye to it.
Days passed like this. Slate knew he wasn't making a beeline for Cerulean City but he and his Pokémon were satisfied with their pace. They were learning and relaxing and after the ordeal of Mt. Moon they needed it. Which was why when it took a week for Slate to feel the inclination to head directly for the City, they moved through the route in a vague north-eastern direction. Eventually they would hit a road and they could follow it to Cerulean City.
Life was good.
----------------------------------------
Time Tracker:
Days passed in Chapter: 18
Total Days: 53
Trainer Card:
Name: Slate
Occupation: Trainer
Ambitions:
* To find his long lost Starter
* To become a Generalist Master, a Master of all Types
Badges: Boulder(II)
Trophies: Inter-Regional Rookie Tournament Qualifier (3rd)
Carry Limit: 3/4
Key items: Lucky Pebble, Aron’s Rock
Pokémon: 3
Name: Scyther (F)
Type: Bug/Flying
Potential Moves: Counter, Fury Cutter, Air Slash, Focus Energy, Silver Wind
Core Moves: Rest, Swift
Name: Alolan Vulpix (F)
Type: Ice
Potential Moves: Moonblast, Ice Shard, Confuse Ray, Draining Kiss, Icy Wind
Core Moves: Swift, Rest
Name: Aron (M)
Type: Steel/Rock
Potential Moves: Dragon Rush, Iron Defense, Rock Polish, Heavy Slam
Core Moves: Rest