Hoothoot was flying ahead of Gary, but not losing his Trainer. As the sun continued lowering, his eyes were letting off bright red light through the darkening woods as a precaution, his Foresight making sure everything was as it should be.
Gary knew that finding this Fairy Gym might involve tricks and illusions, and didn’t want a repeat of his journey to Obsidian City in the Kanto region when trying to get his very first Badge, where he had been stuck in a forest full of monsters and terrors that ended up being illusions from Ghost type Pokemon.
Electivire and Charizard were following behind Gary.
The environment was actually kind of hostile.
Charizard was grumbling and growling.
Electivire was vocally snapping and chuckling. He might have even been taunting Charizard.
If so, Charizard wasn’t taking it well, his breathing resulting in fire coming out in more and more of his breaths.
Electivire wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, grinning and showing his teeth.
Gary had told them over and over to relax, but he didn’t expect things to be easy. In fact, he had purposely sent them out to see if he could get them to get along, or at least not attack each other unless he ordered it. So far, the two hadn’t fought, but just how much longer that would last was uncertain, and it had Gary on edge. If he could trust that they would only fight on his command, he’d be fine. But not knowing if they’d snap, especially with the hot-headed Charizard having Electivire pushing him on purpose, was giving the child anxiety.
Things were getting louder between the two.
Electivire’s body was sparking, his fur ruffled and on edge, looking more irritated and ready to fight.
Charizard was heaving hard. He wasn’t exhausted or anything, but he was so worked up, and had no release after all of the agitation. He was dying to let loose.
There was a sudden noise.
Gary froze, along with the two Pokemon behind him and Hoothoot ahead. Something new? Gary wondered. A Pokemon?
The sound continued, and soon, a rock was shown tumbling, finally stopping.
Gary breathed out. “Just a rock. But maybe there’s something out there that kicked it, though. A Trainer?” He walked over to the rock and stared through the trees, trying to see anything.
With a cry, a little creature tumbled out of the trees from a higher landing. It landed on its back, breathing hard.
Gary gasped, everyone staring at the animal in disbelief.
The little creature had blood all over its body from severe cuts and injuries. It looked as if the thing might even die right in front of them!
“Hoooot!” Hoothoot determinedly flew over to the injured creature and shined his light on it.
It cried out but barely moved, its head giving weak twitches.
“HEY!” Gary ran over, shooing away Hoothoot. “Cut it out!”
Hoothoot’s red beams turned off as he cawed out shrilly and ascended, flapping to stay in the air.
“It’s real!” Gary insisted as he knelt down by the little green thing that whined some more. It’s speaking the same word, Gary realized. It’s saying its name! This has to be a Pokemon. What should I do?
He grabbed a Poke Ball and froze, remembering back in Kanto when he and June had found an injured Barboach on a beach with the late Prof. Cozmo. Back then, I was scolded for sending an injured Pokemon back to the Lab. But - it did save Barboach. Besides, there’s nothing else I can do! Shakily, hesitantly, he tried to find a clear spot on the Pokemon’s body. When he finally accepted that there was none, he tapped it gently on its bloody shoulder, pulling the creature in with a red beam.
PING!
The Poke Ball vanished with bright flashing.
Gary’s hand fell and he breathed out shakily. “No way. But I did it.” He turned to his Pokemon.
Hoothoot, Charizard and Electivire stared right back, stunned looks on their faces.
“Hoooot!” Hoothoot settled on the ground next to Gary and called out lightly, looking up at him sadly.
Larvitar. The Rock Skin Pokemon. A Rock and Ground type Pokemon. This Pokemon is buried deep underground and only comes up after consuming all the dirt in its way. Its skin becomes hardened due to this process. After a mountain’s worth of dirt is eaten, it will fall asleep and evolve into Pupitar.
“Pupitar... So that’s the first stage of my Tyranitar.” So I have the first stage, now. And I could even... Gary stopped his thoughts. What’s wrong with you? You just possibly saved that thing’s life! And you’re here worrying about the Pokedex? He sighed, ashamed of himself.
He closed his eyes and thought, Even more so, that whole line is a mental burden. It’s nothing but a reminder of that poor Ranger who died from that monster, where the Pupitar and Tyranitar lived. I didn’t even tell the police. Even if she had survived that fall, she’s dead by now. She can’t even rest in peace. All because I had to save my own skin. Where’s my morality? My human decency? I try to pretend like I’m so moral and always ready to do the right thing, but look at me.
The Trainer stood up and looked around. But more importantly right now, what exactly happened to that Larvitar?
There was nothing to see, and nothing abnormal to hear.
Gary stared at the spot where the Larvitar had come from. He remembered how strange it had looked when the Pokemon had appeared. It had tumbled downward, as if from a higher spot. Curious now, Gary took a closer look, stepping into the grass and pushing his way through the trees. It didn’t take long before Gary stopped.
For one thing, he saw a smooth rock. It was strange, at least to Gary, because it looked out of place somehow. Also, it looked like it had been severely damaged. It was mostly rounded except for a spot at the back that was more jagged. As if something had taken a bite out of it, even.
But there was more. Something gleamed. In fact, multiple things did. The fading sunlight had landed right on them as it continued to sink.
Gary lowered himself down and grabbed a chunk of what he soon knew was glass. Glass? This is all glass. That’s man-made! Maybe wherever this came from... Gary looked to the rock, ...did that! A machine, for sure. A machine with glass? Maybe? I dunno, but something happened here and - well, that’s it.
Still, Gary walked further, pushing only a few feet deeper before he was forced to stop again, and he inhaled sharply. His breath was taken away and he was unable to speak, only mouthing out, “What happened here??”
Gary had run into yellow police tape that extended beyond his eyesight on both sides. On the other side of the tape was nothing less than an utter catastrophic event. The ground itself looked entirely displaced, as if a completed puzzle had sections lifted and then dropped back down on the rest of the set. Entire pieces of ground were risen, shattered, trees toppled, toppled rocks on top of toppled rocks. It was a complete war zone.
“Tyranitar... Oh, I mean, Larvitar. Larvitar must have barely survived this!” Gary realized. “Man, after Deino, Kiwi’s really gonna kill me! Not to mention Barboach!” Taking out his phone revealed no service was available, so he couldn’t reach Kiwi like he planned. “I guess that puts the number to seven at least.” He instantly regretted having said that. Sighing, he put his phone back and kept walking along the path, desperate to get out and find help.
Hoothoot flew ahead to keep track of the area with his glowing red eyes.
Electivire and Charizard were completely calm and silent now, following behind Gary.
But after a while, when the sun had fully sunk, Hoothoot’s red eyes and some stars being the only light, Gary and his company were forced to a stop yet again.
“Is this a joke?? We just went past this area, didn’t we?” Gary exclaimed.
His Pokedex was telling him to keep going straight ahead, but there was a stretch of yellow tape keeping them away! Beyond the tape was more absolute destruction.
In the midst of that destruction stood a lady. Her dark-blonde hair was underneath a brown ushanka. She wore a big brown and red coat with a fur-lined hood pulled down. In her arms she held something that seemed to be wrapped in green leaves, her hands in thick, black gloves. A rope was wrapped around her brown belt and a brown bag hung from her shoulder, another large white hiking bag on her back. Her feet stood in long black boots with black fur at the tops reaching up past her ankles.
Gary squinted, familiarity ringing like a bell in his head. Who’s that girl? And why’s she beyond the tape? That’s dangerous. But, I guess it’s also none of my business. He turned from her and stared down at his Pokedex. “Where am I gonna go, now?” He asked this out loud, muttering, certain the girl would turn around, and he could finally get a glimpse of her face through his peripheral.
Sure enough, she did.
And, after looking up in complete disbelief, Gary screamed!
“HOOOOOOOOOT!!” Hoothoot reacted to Gary’s outburst, flapping frantically in place.
“Vire!” Electivire also responded to the boy.
Charizard grunted out, taking a step back out of confusion of what was going on.
The woman squinted at Gary. “Hey, kid!” She made a swift movement.
A blinding light forced Gary to cover his face and scream.
The green thing in her arms called out with a grumpy face.
“Who are you why are you where are you what are you and when?” she demanded, ducking under the tape and stomping over to Gary, keeping her flashlight in his face.
“C-C-CUT IT OUT! COME ON!! I CAN’T SEEEE!!” Gary barked, getting angrier by the second.
“HOOOOOW?!” she wailed, leaning over the boy, several inches taller than him. “And why were you trying to walk on the clearly taped off part of the mountain? Well?! Were ya?!” the Ranger demanded.
“NO!! I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE TO GO FROM HERE!! WHY IS IT BLOCKED OFF! WHAT HAPPENED OUT HERE??!”
“It was an earthquake, caused by a Tyranitar owned by a guy who works in a Pokemon shelter, I think,” the Ranger responded with sudden calmness, lowering her flashlight.
It can’t be, Gary thought while listening to her. It can’t be her! The same Ranger who- The boy quickly squinted but slammed his eyes shut again. He squinted again a moment later, his eyes still adjusting after being hit by the woman’s blinding light. He was blinking repeatedly, desperate to be able to see without the remaining bright spots in his eyes.
“There are a few of them out here. And it’s not uncommon for their Earthquakes to completely destroy areas. This looks like one of their bad ones. This whole route will have to be rewritten on the maps forever.”
Gary was listening while still blinking his vision back. “It’s that bad? I’ve never heard of something so disastrous. At least not from a Pokemon...” At this point, Gary was at least able to stop blinking and just squinted at the woman.
“Have you not seen this?!” The Ranger held one arm up, keeping the green creature in the other, and she made a complete circle.
Now that Gary could verify this woman visually, even if he was still squinting, he changed the topic immediately. “Wait, excuse me! Forget all this! You’re alive?!”
“Huh?” The Ranger looked at Gary with widened eyes.
“Miss, I saw you tossed off a mountain by-!”
“Wait, don’t I know you, kid?!” the Ranger interrupted.
“YES! We met in Kanto! You got me safely through to Celadon City, and then out here in Sinnoh you found Jirachi and that monster threw you-!”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!” the Ranger exploded with a gigantic smile that almost ate up her entire face. “IT’S YOU, BOY!! WAIT! WAIT!! WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT!! BUTTERFREE BOY!!”
“I AM NOT A BUTTERFREE BOY!!!” Gary burst out. “I raise many Pokemon! My name is GARY!!”
“Oh. Anyway, Gary, where is your Butterfree??!”
Gary opened his mouth to answer her.
“But. Ter. Free. Butterfree,” the Ranger spoke out, staring blankly ahead, looking at nothing, as if she were possessed. “Bu. Tter. Free. Butterfree. Butt. Er. Free. Butterfree.”
Gary cringed hard, his body physically tightening. “Butterfree isn’t with me. She’s at... the Lab.”
“I knew you should have given Butterfree to me!” she focused on Gary again, pointing at him accusingly. “Do you own any other Bug-?”
“HOLD IT!” Gary held out his hand to her chest. “Miss! Well, first of all, what’s your name?”
Both Gary and the woman let their individual hand drop away from each other.
“I’m Pokemon Ranger Kai, at your service! But just call me Kai!” she bowed.
Gary cringed again, visibly. “Kai! Okay, so that’s your name. Totally don’t remember that, but Kai. Okay. Now, um, how did you survive being flung off that mountain by that monster??! Your throat was - like, injured! Bad! Blood!!”
Ranger Kai straightened up. Her expression had gone dark, all signs of joy removed from it.
Her green animal held a matching, serious face, although this face seemed to be the same one it had the entire time.
“Oh. That.” She leered down at him.
Gary didn’t step away, but he did lean back, his body trembling. She must be reliving a traumatic experience, he realized. A horrible tale of survival and a test of her instincts in the wild, all alone and frightened, making her way with what little she had to make it with, day by day, night by night, eating off the land. That all must have hardened her into becoming a completely different person, all in the name of survival. All for the desire to see tomorrow. And here she is now, remembering every heartracing moment of those experiences, ready to unleash her stress, pain, struggle, and devastating losses upon my very being.
Ranger Kai then smiled widely and let out a long, happy cry, her green pet in her arms maintaining a grumpy gaze while letting out a noise with her.
Gary wailed out in fright, ready for mayhem, horror, and a lot of yelling and tears. “Huh?” he reacted, realizing she was smiling.
Ranger Kai gripped her Swadloon in a tight hug and gushed, “We surviiiiiiiived!! Me and Swadloon actually made it!!! We used our trusty Escape Rope,” she grabbed at it, “and used it to escape death! There really isn’t much to explain, honestly, Gary. I mean, I was in bad shape at one point, but Sewaddle wrapped up my wounds with String Shot and, crying, she evolved! And suddenly my neck was all better! But it’s not a real surprise! I’m an experienced Pokemon Ranger, and with my trusty Pokemon and convenient equipment, we can do anything!”
Gary could have just fallen to his face right there and then. All this time, I was worried about her, hating myself for what I did, or, didn’t do... and she survived?? Gary’s eyes then widened big.
“Hey... Hey! HEEEEEEEYYYY!!” The Ranger choked out, strangling as the monster wrapped one hand around her throat, her long fingernails digging into Ranger Kai’s throat and forcing out blood!
The monster’s tongue swirled around her big mouth while shouting at the woman she held, and more blood squirted out!
Finally, the monster pulled back her arm and flung the Ranger right off the edge of the mountain!!
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
You know what? Gary smiled. Actually, I’m just so happy she’s fine! I don’t really understand it at all, but her neck is seemingly fine somehow! She’s alive! But... He glared outward, looking at nothing in particular. So is that monster!
“Why are you here?” Ranger Kai suddenly asked.
Gary was jolted out of his mindstate. “Huh? I’m-”
“I asked, why are you here?”
“Yeah, I was about to answer. I’m just-”
“Then why did you ask, ‘huh?’”
“KAI!” Gary burst out, getting mad. “I’m-!”
“Why are you yelling at me?”
Gary grit his teeth, ready to yell again, but, somehow, forced himself not to. “Kai-” He stopped. “What did you even ask me originally?” At this point, he had no idea what was even going on anymore!
“Why are you here?” Ranger Kai answered.
“Kai, I need to get to Daint City, and my Pokedex-”
“You’re unlikely to be able to get there on foot. If you have a Pokemon who can fly you over, like that big Charizard there, then you’ll probably be fine. Daint City is safe and accepting Gym matches, but right now, the closest place from here is Hearthome City.”
“Hearthome City? But they don’t have a Gym.”
“I know, that’s why you need to get there first, in order to make it to the closest, and safest, Gym at the moment, which is Veilstone City.”
“Veilstone?” Gary pulled out his Pokedex and checked out the Town Map. “Man, traveling this region sure is a damn maze, huh?” he muttered. “Bad enough what happened after Mt. Coronet came down. Now this Earthquake?”
“You’ve got that right! Mt. Coronet was like, the foundation, or something, of the entire Sinnoh region!” Ranger Kai chimed in. “I don’t know what can be done about it, but it goes to show the flexibility and determination; the refusal to give up in spite of seemingly impossible forces, that these great people of the Sinnoh region were able to-”
Gary was screaming out in a rage, interrupting Ranger Kai. “Veilstone City??? And...” Gary punched more buttons on his Pokedex for a moment. “After I get to Hearthome?? That makes no sense!! This will take me forever! The route to-!”
“I told you, Tyranitar Earthquakes can redo routes forever. Trust me. I was sent out here to see how things were after the whole ordeal, after the police and other rangers did their initial investigation and checkup. This path is over, kid. For the time being, you need to get to Hearthome City, and then you can get to Veilstone. After that, the path should be fairly easy. That map you have now is out of date.”
Gary’s mouth dropped. “But... I was...” His head fell. I can’t believe this. “Wait!” He looked up again. “How come I didn’t feel this Earthquake! Something this catastrophic, I should have noticed some quaking!”
“That’s because you were on the right path to Daint City,” Ranger Kai stated.
“Because I was on the right path?” Gary didn’t understand, and with Ranger Kai, he wasn’t surprised he didn’t get what she was saying.
“Yes. You were on the right path to Daint City, but Daint City is a hard Gym to reach because it’s a Fairy Gym, and a fairy city, with fairies!” Ranger Kai beamed joyfully.
“Okay? I’m not sure what you’re getting at exactly,” Gary replied, even though he actually felt he might be seeing where she was headed with this.
“Fairy types are so cool! They’re like, the next best thing to Ghost and Bug types!” Ranger Kai gushed, gripping her Swadloon tightly.
“Swaaaaad! Swaaad!” Swadloon choked, her eyes bulging. She kept struggling to breathe for another minute.
Gary just watched at first, but he finally gave in to genuine concern. “Hey, Kai...?” he decided to try.
“Yeah?” Ranger Kai loosened her grip on Swadloon, who gasped out, breathing in air desperately.
“Swadloon? You okay?” the Ranger asked her Pokemon.
“What was your point, Kai?” Gary now asked impatiently. “I’m on the path to the Fairy Gym. So what?”
“Oh! You didn’t let me finish!” Ranger Kai’s body glowed with excitement.
You weren’t even talking! Gary silently fumed.
“Fairy type Pokemon are known for gimmicks and games, so trying to locate a fairy city is bound to lead to tricks and traps and magic and glitter, so, you likely weren’t aware of the Earthquake because the fairies did their magic thing! They probably don’t like you and decided to keep you away!” Ranger Kai’s teeth were gleaming in a huge smile she had for Gary.
“HOW IS THAT HELPFUL FOR A GYM LEADER, THEN?!!” Gary blew up. “I’m supposed to be finding and fighting this person!! What use is a Gym Leader who can’t be found??!”
“That’s the nature of fairies!” Ranger Kai shrugged, still smiling.
“That doesn’t make a single lick of sense!!” Gary argued. “I don’t have time for this idiocy! That’s dangerous, too! People could get hurt if these Fairies are really pulling crap like that! Missing people! Lives lost! I can’t-!!”
“Hey, don’t discount us rangers! This is what we’re trained for!” Ranger Kai told Gary easily. “This is our job! Don’t you worry, Gary! This is why they put me out here. I’ll escort you to Hearthome City, and then Veilstone City. This is my civic duty!”
She’s gonna accompany me to two different cities this time?? Gary freaked out in his head. NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
“Come on, Gary! And we can discuss what Bug and Ghost Pokemon you’ve captured along the way!” Ranger Kai marched ahead, chattering along the way.
“BUT I HAVE CHARIZARD!!” Gary smiled like a lunatic. “HE CAN CARRY ME!! I DON’T NEED YOUUU!!”
Ranger Kai stopped walking and looked back. “Oh. In that case-” A sound went off and she pulled a small, flat device out of her pocket. “Actually, no can do, kid,” she said while staring at it. “Daint City is closed for business.”
“WWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?” Gary bellowed.
“Just got word from HQ. That’s headquarters in case you didn’t know. From here, we need to get to Hearthome City. You’re coming with me.” She walked off, continuing to talk, but about what, Gary had no clue. Soon, she was gone from sight.
Gary stared at his Pokedex again, and then looked up at where Ranger Kai had disappeared from. I don’t have a choice, do I? If I lose her, I’m screwed out here after this earthquake. The map won’t help me. He could have cried in that moment, his lips actually quivering, but instead, he inhaled big and put on a determined face. “Screw it, then! EVERYONE! LET’S GO!!” Gary ran, and his Pokemon went after him, catching up with Ranger Kai.
*
“Butterfree, Paras, Scizor, Silcoon, Dustox, Illumise, Kricketot, Kricketune, two Jellicent, and Cutiefly...” Gary read off wearily.
“Better than I expected, but faaaaaaaaaaar worse than it should be,” Ranger Kai responded.
And Beedrill, Gary kept to himself. My lost friend...
“How can you have so many Pokemon, and yet not like, fifty percent of them are Ghost, and fifty percent of them are Bugs?” Ranger Kai questioned.
Gary groaned openly, fed up with this woman. But nothing he did seemed to pass off as a sign to her to shut up!
“For having so few Ghost and Bug types, you are hereby judged!” Ranger Kai decided.
“And what does that even mean??” Gary demanded, losing his cool.
“It means you are judged,” Ranger Kai repeated.
“Aaand??” Gary insisted.
“JUUUUUUUUUUUDGED!!” Ranger Kai raised one finger into the sky, and then brought it down swiftly.
An idiot. As always, Gary kept to himself. How is this, a Ranger??
“By the way, have you seen Burgh’s butt? I’ve been hearing rumors about it lately.”
“Butt??”
“Yeah. Burgh’s butt!” Ranger Kai smiled, her eyes gleaming with insanity.
“Burgh? Who’s that?”
“You don’t know Burgh’s butt?!!” Ranger Kai’s voice echoed.
“I don’t know Burgh!” Gary shrugged desperately.
“Burgh is a Gym Leader of the Unova region, where I’m from! He raises Bug types!”
When I go there, I might keep in mind to avoid that spot, Gary kept to himself. In fact, maybe I should avoid the whole region if that’s where she’s from.
“I heard from a friend or two that his butt isn’t that bad, but, I bet it can’t compare to Emmet’s. Or Grimsley’s. They both are too kawaii. Maybe Burgh is better than Ingo, but I’d have to see that to believe it. Butt conteeeest!!”
This loon is not taking me to two different places, Gary swore. I’ll sooner go back home and return to school!
“You know, you won’t believe the things we as Rangers see out here. You’re in for a real eye-opening experience for the next few weeks.”
Weeks??? Gary nearly slipped out. “Uh... I don't think it should take that long to get to Hearthome City and then Veilstone...” Gary said with a fake smile.
“Well, you never know. Veilstone City, Solaceon Town, and Celestic Town were hit by the Mt. Coronet attack severely. Veilstone came out okay, but with this new incident, things have surely changed for them, too.”
Things have surely changed, Gary repeated in his head. You got one thing right, Kai. Things have surely changed... His feet practically dragging now, he added, And it only seems to be changing for the worse.
*
“You know why I love Ghost types so much, though, Gary?” Ranger Kai asked.
“Kai, you already told me why, in ten different ways!” Gary complained.
“Yeah, but do ya wanna know the biggest reason of them all??”
“Honestly, no.”
“It’s because of Psychic Pokemon thinking they know every damn thing. With their big brains and telekinetic powers and having unlocked the secrets of the mind and using it to affect our physical and mental reality. Who do they think they are, huh??”
Gary didn’t know how to reply to this kind of a statement, his mouth just hanging open.
Previously, the duo had stopped to feed all of their Pokemon.
Ranger Kai had mostly Bugs with her: Swadloon, Dunsparce, Galvantula, Ariados, Kricketune, and a Caterpie. She was especially excited about her new Caterpie, reminding Gary that she was jealous of him having a Butterfree when they first met, and she was sure to get one any day now as “Bugs are so easy to raise! That’s why they’re the best!” She was also very disappointed that Gary had not one Ghost or Bug on his team, regardless of the fact that he did own Bugs and Ghosts.
Gary didn’t want to, but he gave his Pokemon less than normal to eat, and he himself ate very little. He just wanted to get this trip with this crazy woman over with and never run into her again!
His Pokemon were staring in confusion between their bowls and their Trainer.
Sorry, guys, Gary thought, recalling all of them but Hoothoot and Electivire, and then waited on Ranger Kai’s Pokemon to finish.
Ranger Kai herself was eating granola bars or something similar. Since then, Ranger Kai had been blabbing on about... anything and everything she could possibly think of, it seemed. From men’s butts, to Bugs, to bugs, to ghosts, to Ghosts, to even politics, like the ever-controversial Senator Slowking. “Like, Psychics are such know-it-alls, right? That's why Ghosts are so much better. And smarter. Because they’re already dead. They know it all! They exist on a whole different plane of existence and know the things the living do not!”
Ghost types aren’t actually de- Gary started in his head.
“And, Bugs are better than Psychics, and that’s why Psychic types fear Bugs! They’re so smart, right? Smart enough to know that Bugs are superior to them and to stay away!”
That’s not how- Gary started up again in his head.
“I mean, this is why I support the Phantump administration more than the Abomasnow administration. I’m not racist or anything!” Ranger Kai held out her hands frantically. “I mean, I totally don’t support the Phantump administration’s policies, but, like, Ghost types are so kawaiiiii!! And, this is back to my point, Pokemon like Senator Slowking are an absolute problem for this world, but I also am not a fan of Congressmon Oranguru, either! I just want the Phantump administration to take over and get rid of Slowking and Oranguru. I think that might solve some issues, but at the same time, I know the Phantump administration is horrible, too, but, it’s the lesser evil, you know?? Like, Slowking has to be stopped, first and foremost, then Oranguru, and the Phantump administration is next! Believe me!” Ranger Kai had a desperate look on her face, and for as little as Gary knew about or was interested in politics, even he knew why.
The Phantump administration seemed to have a constant, violent connection with white supremacy, despite continuous denial of it. But every political party seemed to come with some extremist group to be associated with when certain things were brought to light.
Gary tuned the woman out as she continued to defend her views. Man, I will never vote or get into politics, Gary promised. I don’t care! Look at what it does to people! I mean, it’s bad enough Ranger Kai is how she is, but getting herself into politics is just crazy! This person is allowed to vote??
Still chattering endlessly, her Pokemon even done eating by now, the woman was now cleaning up the bowls and mess and after returning all her Pokemon aside from Swadloon, carrying her in her arms, the five continued on.
Gary’s Hoothoot led the way, keeping his shining light from Foresight ahead.
“Women deserve the right to abortions,” Ranger Kai was saying.
Gary’s eyes widened, his attention grabbed again.
“It doesn’t matter the reason, but Senator Slowking is trying to argue against that. That’s not right! Your body, your choice, right??”
Gary’s mouth fell open. But it’s... Gary stayed quiet, even though he didn’t want to. Your body? But - that’s the body of the baby. That has nothing- His thoughts were interrupted seeing what was up ahead. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Elect.” Electivire stopped walking.
“Huh?” Ranger Kai had also stopped. “OOOOOOOOOH!!”
Swadloon stared ahead in awe. “Swadlooooon...”
Hoothoot flew forth, using Foresight on what was ahead.
When the object didn’t change or disappear, Gary was even more amazed. “What...?”
Hoothoot was scanning an egg much larger than any egg possibly imaginable! It’s not that the egg was unimaginably large, but for an egg, it was unimaginable!
Did a whale lay that?? Gary wondered.
The egg was almost Ranger Kai’s height. Its colors were a mix of dark blue-green and a cream color.
Ranger Kai approached the egg and touched it. “It’s a Pokemon Egg! How beautiful! You don’t just find these lying around! I bet a Trainer ditched it, unable to care for it. It figures. Humans can be so irresponsible. Was probably a man.”
“Why’s it gotta be a man?” Gary frowned at her.
“Because a woman’s motherly instincts would never allow her to leave behind a baby,” Ranger Kai answered, keeping her back to him.
“Women do that, too! Babies get dumped when they’re not wanted! That’s many abortions! What are you-?!”
Ranger Kai whipped around sharply to argue back at him, fury on her face.
But Gary was ready to fight right back.
But both of them were silenced.
The huge Egg trembled several times before stopping!
Everyone was frozen, watching.
“Is there something alive inside that thing??” Gary questioned.
“Of course! Gary, shame on you! That there’s a Snorlax Egg!” Ranger Kai explained.
“SNORLAX??!!” Gary blew up.
“That’s right.”
Ranger Kai turned from Gary and touched the rounded object again, rubbing it slowly.
“So, it’s the Baby form? I forget the name. Why is it so big, though?”
“Munchlax is the Baby, but this isn’t a Munchlax Egg, Gary. This is a Snorlax Egg!” Ranger Kai stated.
Gary stared at her with mass confusion. “What do you mean??”
Hoothoot stared back at his Trainer before returning to the Egg and scanning it again with even more energy than before, desperate to find something.
“You see, when a pair of Snorlax make an Egg, they produce a Snorlax Egg. But only when with the item Full Incense, they breed the Baby, Munchlax. This, is definitely a Snorlax Egg. There is no doubt about it.”
“Wwhhhooooooaa.” Gary was impressed with the Ranger’s knowledge. “This is an incredible experience! But, what do we do now?”
“Well, I can’t possibly care for this. If I were alone, I’d take it to HQ to find a home, but considering you’re here, why don’t you care for it?!”
“WHAT??!!” Gary was in shock! “I can’t! Look at the size of it! How can I travel with that?!”
“Oh, come on, Gary! It’s shaking hard! It won’t be long before it hatches. Before we even hit Hearthome City, it’ll be out and you’ll have it in a Poke Ball instead!”
“The Snorlax...? But, how can a Snorlax even fit in that!” Gary responded. “Snorlax are huge!”
“It’s still a baby! Just not a Baby! You know?!” Ranger Kai answered. “And the Egg doesn’t represent the size of the Pokemon inside, anyway! You’ll soon see. In the meantime, walk with the Egg, keep it warm, and it’ll hatch in no time!”
I mean, I don’t wanna pass on the opportunity to own a Snorlax! Gary kept to himself. And Rob took my Munchlax, so this will be my chance! Snorlax are awesome! He finally approached the Egg and stopped in front of it. He held out one hand slowly. “OH!”
The Egg startled Gary as it started shaking again!
“Yup! That baby’s gonna hatch any day now!” Ranger Kai said proudly, her hands on her hips.
“Wow,” Gary smiled. He tried again, slower than the last time, to touch the Egg. He ended up with his hand on it. After a moment, his other hand found its way on it.
“Get used to it, Gary.”
Gary smiled at the woman who was smiling back at him.
The woman kept her smile. “You know, I should catch this Snorlax, and I could trade it for a really cool Bug type, I bet. Snorlax are actually pretty valuable. I’ll take it off your hands.”
“NNOOOOO!!!” Gary grabbed the Egg in both hands and hoisted it over his head, motivated now more than ever before. “This Egg weighs nothing! And it’s mine!” Gary’s energy was cut short as he held it high. Oh, crap, this thing weighs more than I would have wished!
“Oh! Look at you! You really can handle it! Okay! You win, Gary! The Snorlax is yours!”
Gary smiled bravely, but his body’s limitation was saying otherwise as he struggled with all his might to keep his legs from quivering. He rested the Egg on his back, between his shoulder blades. “Yeah! I’ve got this!” He stood taller than he ever had, letting out a powerful roar of victory. It was heavy, but it wasn’t beyond carrying. In fact, after accepting the weight of it, it wasn’t all that heavy. Especially compared to what was supposed to be inside. I can totally do this, Gary believed. I’ll hatch this baby, and I’ll have a whole, brand new Snorlax to raise! This is g-
The Egg started to shake again.
Oh, please no. Gary’s eyes widened as they raised to the Egg over his head, his legs quivering under the movement. Don’t hatch now, of all times! The Egg shook harder, and Gary wailed out helplessly, falling to his face. This is how I’m gonna die. Under a whole Snorlax!
The Egg rocked again.