“Cyllene said you had a request for me?”
Beauregard’s face brightened into a childlike smile. “Yes!” he almost cheered. “I’m so glad you’re here. I finally got approved to make this request, the five days of waiting felt like years!"
Alec stood in front of Jubilife’s city hall, the majestic building where the Corps’ headquarters were located, alongside the offices of Kamado and Cyllene. Beauregard, one of the guards employed by the village, kept watch around and outside the city’s walls to keep out any bandits, wild Pokemon, et cetera. The guards were very good at their job; In his time in Hisui, Alec hadn’t witnessed any major break-ins, damages, or crime. Granted, he’d only been in Hisui for a little under a month, but the precedent they set spoke for itself. The only mentions of unwanted entry into the village had been on account of a few wayward Pokemon, which hardly counted as an intrusion.
Regardless, Kamado spared no expense with the village’s security. Each one held a spear and was given combat training, and encouraged to keep as many Pokemon on their teams as they could manage. They spent most of their days mindlessly patrolling and escorting, but Alec supposed that even if they seemed redundant at the moment, he’d be swiftly proven wrong in the event of an actual disaster.
“I’d be very grateful if you caught a Wurmple for me,” said Beauregard, clenching his fists in anticipation. “I’ve been fascinated with the species since I was little and it’s my childhood dream to have a beautiful Beautifly as my partner.” He closed his eyes, as if living out his dream in his head. Beauregard was never seen without his trademark wide smile, and today was no different. He was the type of person who was unconditionally joyful, one whose powerful optimism leaped from person to person, bringing symptoms of happiness. Whenever Alec came through the village gates while on duty, he always greeted Alec with an enthusiastic wave.
That was another part of Alec’s job as a Corpsman, one which rarely saw much time investment compared to his work foraging. Requests. Anyone in the village could put a request forward for a Corpsman to take care of. Their actual difficulty was almost always negligible. Since the only non-retired Corpsmen were himself, Rei, and Akari, the requests were often trivial things such as fetching some items for them, or letting them see or touch a specific species of Pokemon.
Alec still smiled warmly every time he thought of that child petting Tricky on the head. Her mother had requested that he bring a Shinx by - not for her, but for her daughter to touch. She had a picture book of various Pokemon species and Shinx was by far her favorite. By sheer coincidence, she happened to ask the Corps member who had a partner Shinx on his team.
Happy to please, Tricky subjected himself to fifteen minutes' worth of cuddling. Well, perhaps subjected wasn’t the best term for it; he seemed to be enjoying it as much as the little girl was. Alec had made a mental note to be more physical with the little Shinx.
Back in the present, Alec said, “Alright, I’ll have your Wurmple by the end of the day.”
“Fantastic!” Beauregard cheered. “You know where to find me.”
“Any specific details, like gender or size?”
“None at all. As long as it’s red, has a dozen cute little legs, and two big eyes, I’ll be satisfied.”
Alec chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Got it,” he nodded, then turned to head out.
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As Alec trudged through the tall grass, he mentally huffed at the unfortunate timing of the request. Every day, he tended to average around two or three Wurmple to Laventon, and sometimes even a Silcoon or Cascoon - Wurmple’s evolutions. If he’d known about the request sooner, he could’ve just saved one of those for Beauregard.
He couldn’t defer it to another day either, and passively catch a Wurmple. For such an easy request, Alec had felt slightly obligated to finish it that day. He’d feel rather embarrassed if he had to appear as if he couldn’t do something as simple as catching one measly Wurmple. It wasn’t worthy of a dedicated trip out to the fieldlands, so he worked it into his existing schedule.
Every time he passed a tree, he scoured its bark from roots to leaves, hoping to find one clinging to the tree and feeding on its moss or leaves. So far, he’d been unlucky.
Why can’t I find one? he wondered. When I don’t need one, it feels like I see dozens of them. Why is it that common things become so rare whenever you need them?
Above him, Auster cawed. Alec had sent him to be his scout, using his keen eyes to spot any hints of red he could find. “Dar!” he shouted, circling down back to him.
“Find anything?” Alec asked once he got close enough to hear.
“Trix…,” he said, sounding disappointed. Alec assumed that there hadn’t been any results.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, extending his arm and offering it as a perch for him. “Those things are super small, and we’re bound to stumble across one eventually.” Auster chuffed and reluctantly rested on Alec’s arm. “Tell you what, let’s take a break for a bit. Maybe all the Wurmple went and hid once they saw such a ferocious predator. We still haven’t tested everything your new evolution can do.”
Auster preened his feathers proudly and stood up straight, reveling in his Trainer’s praise. As Alec looked around for a suitable area for training, Auster wondered about what he was capable of, too. His wings felt like they were bursting with energy, and his internal pool of energy swirled with never-seen-before vigor, like an Electric-type that got struck by lightning. As he’d expected, he didn’t instinctively have any new knowledge of a new move, but he absolutely had the capability to learn a new one.
From the Pokemon in the forest that had already evolved, he’d heard that evolution can bring with it new instincts alongside a new form. Bibarels suddenly knew how to use Aqua Tail, Kricketune knew Arial Ace, that sort of thing. He felt more confident in his flying abilities, though he assumed that was more brought about by his larger and stronger wings.
“Alright, let’s see what you got,” Alec said. “Your evolution looks like it leans more toward your Flying half over your Grass half. That’s really good.”
Auster tilted his head. But he was still the same person? What does that mean?
“What I mean is you look more like a Flying-type that can use Grass moves, instead of a Grass-type that can fly. Your Grass technique is already great, so this’ll help you be more well-rounded. You’ve probably got the potential for a new Flying-type move, better than Peck or Gust.” Alec stopped to think for a moment, letting Auster hop off his arm and flutter down to the ground. “But I’ve been wondering about something. Back in the distortion, you evolved to fight off that Glaceon. When you attacked it, what move was that?”
Now that he thought about it, Auster had no idea what move he’d used. In the heat of the moment, the only thing on his mind was the fact that his Trainer was in danger. He’d only focused on simply attacking as hard as he could, in any way possible. He thought for a moment, trying to recall what he’d done.
“I don’t think that was any of your existing moves,” Alec pondered. “It made contact, so it only could’ve been Peck or Tackle, and neither of those moves seem like what happened.” Auster nodded in agreement. Experimentally, he tried kicking his talons. He felt particularly foolish doing so, more like he was trying to take large footsteps instead of kicks.
“Was it a kick?” Alec asked, seeing Auster’s experiments. He chirped out a brief reply in affirmation. As Auster tried to jog his memory, Alec muttered to himself. “If it really was a kick like that, then there’s a chance it wasn’t a Flying-type attack at all. What if it was a different type? The first one that comes to mind would be…”
He snapped his fingers, drawing Auster’s attention. “Stop for a sec; I have an idea,” he said. Auster curiously stopped and looked up at Alec. “When you attacked, you were airborne and flying pretty fast. Let’s try this: You go a little over there and build up speed. I’ll toss a rock up in the air, and you kick it.”
“Dar!” Auster chirped, already flapping his wings to get into position. Alec selected a stone from the ground, one that wasn’t too heavy or coarse. “Ready!” he shouted.
Auster took to the skies, climbing a few feet up, before tucking his wings in and diving. He gained speed very quickly, the edges of his body barely beginning to blur. Once he was close enough, Alec tossed the stone up and watched closely. Due to his speed, his form gained a faint blurry fringe, blowing his previous top speed out of the water. As he grew closer, his blurring form gained a faint whitish-brown trail, indicating that he was channeling Type energy for a move.
Alec furrowed his brows, trying to watch as closely as possible. He didn’t recognize the whitish-brown color; it definitely wasn’t anything he’d ever seen in person before. That proves my theory, he thought. I know for sure that Flying and Grass energy isn’t that color. That’s a Fighting-type move!
Just at the last second, Auster thrust his wings out, which slowed him down a bit. Using them as leverage, he pitched forward and swung his leg out in a horizontal arc. His talon, trailing wisps of the unknown energy, whooshed through the air, missing the pebble by a couple of inches. Auster squawked, using his wings to correct his trajectory.
The pebble fell lightly to the ground. From his perspective, the maneuver felt a little sloppy, for lack of a better term. Obviously, he didn’t have anything to reference and compare it to, but the way Auster moved just didn’t seem to be the right way.
As Auster did a wide turn to slow down, Alec pondered what happened. His flight and wings were excellent, but it seemed he wasn’t properly coordinated with kicking yet. He seemed to have been focusing on how to move his wings, with the actual kick being an afterthought.
“That was a great first try,” Alec said once Auster was close enough to hear. “And you confirmed my theory, you’re using a new type of move! I’m basically certain that you somehow…” Alec trailed off when he saw the upset look painted across Auster’s face.
“Dartrix!” he chirped frustratedly, almost like a curse. He looked down at his talons, opening and closing them repeatedly. He thought he’d had it!
“Oh come on, nobody expected you to get it perfectly on your first try,” Alec deadpanned. “We have the entire day to practice, we’ll get it for sure.”
Auster looked up at Alec and cawed sharply, as if to say “I did it perfectly the other day. Why can’t I do it again? He swiped at the dirt with his talons a few times in his annoyance.
“Come on,” Alec said. “Go again. This time, try not to focus on your wings so much. That’s your mistake; You’re not used to attacking with your talons, so you’re not adjusting properly.”
Auster looked perplexed. “Give it a shot, but don’t go for speed or accuracy. Just focus on getting that kick as smooth as you can. I won’t throw a target this time so you won’t have to focus on anything else.”
With a chirp of confirmation, Auster took off to try another pass. He didn’t fly as far away as he did last time, heeding Alec’s suggestion to take it slowly and focus on technique. As he tucked his wings in and fell into a dive, Alec again noticed the fringe of whitish-brown energy. This time, however, it was noticeably brighter as Auster poured more of his mind into channeling it.
This time, as Auster swung around and kicked, Alec knew something was different. Instead of faint trails of whitish-brown energy, his entire talon seemed to glow with bright molten gold energy. Like a newly unblocked pipe, the Fighting-type energy flowed freely.
Auster slowed down and flew back to Alec, a look of bliss on his face. “See?” Alec laughed, spreading his arms wide. “That felt different, didn’t it?”
Auster trilled, bouncing happily side to side. He agreed, that try did feel distinctly different than before. He jumped up into the air, chirping excitedly and raring to give the move another shot.
Alec’s gaze hardened confidently. “I think you’ve got it,” he said. “Go for the full move this time, and hold nothing back. Like before, I’ll throw the rock up when you’re ready.”
For the third time, Auster flew up and began to gain speed. The wind flew past him, rustling his feathers and bringing life into his soul. For an instant, he felt bad that Alec and Tricky would never experience the wonder of flying. They might get a taste if he evolves big enough to carry them, but he knew the experience wouldn’t come close to even being comparable.
Once Auster reached the apex of his ascent and leaned forward into his dive, he emptied his head of all the stray thoughts that were clouding his mind. As he gained speed, his mind was as clear as the cloudless sky.
He saw Alec throw the stone up into the air while watching him closely. His eyes narrowed into a thin glare and he focused on how he’d moved his body. The only things he could hear were the sound of the wind and the blood rushing through his body. Once his instincts told him it was time, he thrust his wings out and twisted, watching in what felt like slow motion as his talon came around and slammed into the rock, sending it flying.
With a whoosh and a crack, Auster sent the pebble flying. It quickly vanished into the treeline, too far away to be recovered. He stuck his wings out and banked up, doing an upward loop to lose momentum. He eventually came to a stop at Alec’s feet, a look of pure bliss and satisfaction on his face.
“Dartrix dar!” he cheered. The last embers of the Type energy he used on the attack gently faded away.
“That was awesome!” Alec gasped, wide-eyed. He looked over into the distance, where the rock disappeared. “It looked like you almost sent that pebble halfway across the ocean. I didn’t expect you to get it down so quickly, let alone on your third try.” Auster puffed out his chest at Alec’s praise. One move down, what’s next? he seemed to say.
Alec stopped for a moment and tried to remember if he’d ever seen a move like that before. “It’s not High Jump Kick, it’s not Rolling Kick, it’s not Double Kick,” he muttered, combing through the few Fighting-type moves he knew off the top of his head. “What do you think?” he asked Auster.
The names of Pokemon moves were an area where uncertainty ruled back home. No matter what language you spoke, commanding the equivalent of “Tackle” would always be understood by a Pokemon. This implied that it was more a matter of intent when calling out a move. It made sense; Pokemon were naturally able to gauge a human’s intent with their instincts - even if they didn’t have any Psychic abilities or anything similar.
Auster already knew what the move was called - rather, he knew the intent that Alec would give off when he called it out. He tilted his head, confused at what Alec was trying to do. He remembered they’d done something similar, the day they’d met Tricky, when Auster had first shown Alec Leafage.
Suddenly, Alec snapped his fingers. “Axe Kick!” he exclaimed. Auster trilled in agreement, sensing the correlation between the name and the move he’d just used. He fluttered a few feet up and spun in a backflip. “So you used Axe Kick to defend me from that Glaceon,” Alec muttered. “That explains why it went down after just one strike, because Fighting type moves are strong against Ice types. Nice job, buddy.”
He stretched his fist out and looked down expectantly at Auster. He held it out for several seconds, waiting for him to get the picture. Auster tilted his head, not knowing what Alec wanted him to do.
“Go on,” Alec said, shaking his hand. “Don’t leave me hanging.” Eventually, he gave up and explained what he meant. “It’s a fist bump. It’s a way that humans say ‘Congratulations’ or ‘Thanks’ to each other. You’re supposed to tap yours on mine.”
Auster let out a low chirp and jumped up from the dirt, hitting the tip of his wing against Alec’s outstretched fist. As he fluttered back to the ground, Alec just laughed.
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Legendaries Above, that took forever, Alec thought as he pocketed the Pokeball he’d just used to catch Beauregard’s Wurmple. The one they’d found was caked in a thin layer of mud, meaning it blended in with the tree trunk it was clinging to. The only reason he’d spotted it was thanks to Auster’s keen eyes. He nearly walked right up to it and scared it off before he squawked in warning.
As he caught it, Alec had felt an uncharacteristic sense of nervousness. He’d caught so many Wurmple, and Pokemon in general, that the act of silently sneaking through the grass and throwing the Pokeball was mundane, almost routine by now. But still, the nagging knowledge that anything could go wrong and he might lose what seemed to be the only Wurmple in all of Hisui…
Well, it was over now. He patted his pocket for the fifth time in the past minute, just to make sure nothing happened to its ball, as he walked back to the village. The afternoon sun was quickly fading into the horizon and his necklace watch read 4:37. Somehow, this one request had taken up most of the day.
Overall, he felt slightly frustrated that he had to spend the entire day doing something that, for all intents and purposes, was a waste of time. Seriously, he spent hours catching a Pokemon that basically grew on trees!
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Yeah, but it’s your literal job, he thought. Which was fair. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a little frustrated that it took so long. On the bright side, he’d gotten some productive training in with Auster. That Fighting-type move would work wonders in the future. Before, the only Types of moves his team knew were Normal, Grass, Flying, Electric, and Dark, which overall was an abysmal coverage. He’d seen firsthand how effective Fighting moves were against Ice types.
As the gate of the village appeared in his sight, he looked upward, deep in thought. Although he easily could have blown off the request and spent the day training or having fun, the feeling of helping out Beauregard outweighed anything he could have done. That was one important lesson his mother instilled in him: That while one’s own goals were important, the goals of others were equally so. Sacrificing your own time to give someone else a foothold on their climb, from a utilitarian perspective, was completely useless. Only a detriment to himself.
But in reality, it was completely different. Simply the good feeling in one’s chest it brought was almost always enough to outweigh any downsides.
“People like to preach about how humans are inherently good people, or how everyone has a suppressed evil side,” Jennifer, Alec’s mom, had said. “But I don’t think that’s true. Nobody ‘leans’ toward good or evil. It’s entirely up to you to make that choice to be good. I don’t know if it’s an excuse or whatever, but I’ve always thought these things only condone people who do bad things in spite of their supposed inclination for good, or lift up the self-righteous for the good they do despite their inclination for bad. No, I think that the responsibilities for how you act are entirely on you. So it’s up to you, and you alone, to be the pebble that starts a ripple effect of good. You’ll mess up, you’ll have bad days, and you won’t be good your whole life. And that’s okay. The only thing that matters is whether you can pick yourself back up and make the better choice next time.”
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The look on Beauregard’s face when he saw Alec approaching nearly sent Alec into a hysterical laughing fit. Seriously, the man looked like a little seven-year-old unwrapping a present on their birthday. To be fair, he’d said it was his childhood dream to raise a Wurmple.
It wasn’t derogatory laughter, far from it. Alec was just so caught off guard by his enthusiasm. His joy spread contagiously, and he quickly found himself mirroring Beauregard’s wide, unconditional smile. He might’ve imagined it, but Alec felt a slight force shaking in his satchel. Was the Wurmple wobbling from within its Pokeball?
These two must be meant for each other, Alec thought, laughing in his head. It’s fate that Beauregard raises this very Wurmple.
“Do you have it?” Beauregard pleaded, wide-eyed. “A Wurmple?”
Alec chuckled, rummaging in his satchel. “Yep,” he simply affirmed. “The strongest one in all of Hisui.” He pulled out the Pokeball containing the Wurmple, one that he’d picked because it was the best-looking, and tossed it to the ground. In a flash, a small red Pokemon appeared, no longer than a couple of inches and only reaching up to Alec’s ankle.
Alec swore he saw Beauregard’s knees wobble at the sight of it. Of all the Pokemon in Hisui to pick, why Wurmple? he thought. Surely the kids here have higher aspirations than training such a common Pokemon. There’s got to be some kind of story here.
Beauregard knelt down and got as low down as he could, still not anywhere near Wurmple’s eye level. It looked at him with large, beady black eyes curiously. Alec mentally pictured him lying fully down, belly on the dirt, just to talk to it.
“Hey there,” he said. “I’m Beauregard.”
“Wur?” it asked, tilting its head.
Beauregard cleared his throat. “I want to help you grow stronger. You wanna get stronger, right? You want someone to stand with you, no matter what?”
Quickly, Wurmple nodded, crawling towards him. Alec stepped back, not wanting to intrude on the moment.
“Great!” Beauregard cheered. He picked it up and lifted it to his shoulder, where he let it ride. “We’re partners, through thick and thin! You need a name. Now, you’re not just any Wurmple. By Sinnoh, you’re gonna be the strongest Beautifly in all Hisui.”
“Wurmple!” it cheered with stars in its eyes. “Wurmple wur!”
It had barely taken Beauregard four sentences to convince Wurmple to be his partner. Any doubt in Alec’s mind of these two being destined for each other was instantly erased. Even though Beautifly and Dustox were relatively weak Pokemon, quickly plateauing in strength in comparison to other species, Alec did not doubt that these two would be a force to be reckoned with before he knew it. He offered Wurmple’s Pokeball for Beauregard to take, and he regarded it like a starving man holding a loaf of bread. In shock, he admired it for a few moments before clipping it to his belt.
“Hmm,” Beauregard hummed. “I can’t give you any boring old name. It needs to be special." He froze for several moments, thinking. “You’re definitely going to evolve into Beautifly. There’s no way that a Pokemon as beautiful as you won’t end up beautiful. I think your nickname should reflect that.”
Wurmple hopped in agreement, flailing its little feet. “Do you like ‘Beautifred’ or ‘Beaugene’?” he asked.
Is he trying to give it a matching name to his own? Alec thought with a barely suppressed laugh. “It’s a girl, by the way,” said Alec. While there was nothing wrong with giving boy Pokemon traditionally feminine names and vice versa, it tended to be awkward for both the Pokemon and Trainer. Good Trainers picked nicknames with input from their Pokemon, running it by them before finalizing anything.
“Oh,” he hesitated. “Then how about ‘Beauticia’? It definitely suits you.”
Wurmple voiced its agreement with the suggested name. It squeaked several cheers, satisfaction evident on her small face.
“Alright then, it’s settled. Nice to meet you, Beauticia!” He turned to Alec, faint tears welling in his eyes. “I can’t thank you enough,” he said. “Seriously, I feel like I’m a little kid again, reading storybooks by the fireplace again.”
He stretched out his hand, and Alec firmly grabbed it. Beauregard nearly yanked Alec’s arm out of its socket with how enthusiastically he shook it. On his shoulder, the newly named Beauticia cried out in discomfort at being jostled by Beauregard’s movement.
“I’m so sorry!” he trembled. “I’m still getting used to this whole ‘Pokemon’ thing.”
“I was the same way,” Alec chuckled. “My partner Rowlet always complained about bumpy shoulder rides.”
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Later that day, Alec made his way back to Jubilife’s city hall to consult the message board for another request to take care of. His errand for Beauregard had gone very smoothly and as Alec entered the building, he received an enthusiastic greeting from both him and Beauticia, still riding on his shoulder.
The message board was immediately inside the building, intentionally placed for ease of access for both the townspeople and Corpsmen alike. Alec scanned the slips of paper pinned to it, skimming their details.
He hadn’t been focused for too long before he heard a faint shout coming from outside the building. The voice was feminine and sounded like it was approaching quickly. He raised an eyebrow and slowly made his way over to a nearby window to look outside. Just as he reached it, the great doors of the city hall burst open, revealing the source of the shouts. A woman rushed in, wearing a red cloak and a bamboo hat.
The woman immediately locked eyes with Alec. “You,” she gasped, panting heavily and leaning on her knees. “You’re that new Corpsman, right?”
“I-”
She barely waited for him to open his mouth before replying. “My son needs your help! My precious baby, a Pokemon grabbed him. I saw it grab ahold of his arm and drag him away! You have to help me, please!” She grabbed him by the arm, pulling down on his sleeve.
“Hold on, calm down for a moment,” Alec said firmly. “What species was it?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It was big, big enough to carry off a Mudsdale. Purple too, like a festering bruise.” Her hands were trembling and her breath was wavering. “Can you help him?”
“Where is he?”
“Prelude Beach, just s-”
And Alec was already gone from the building, launching into a full sprint. Something about her tone of voice resonated deeply within him, urging him forward. His feet carried him, spurred on by the lingering vicarious panic still ringing in his ears.
In truth, he had no idea where Prelude Beach was. But as soon as she said it, he felt like he knew exactly where to go. He couldn’t explain it, he just … knew. He didn’t bother questioning it. Now definitely wasn’t the time for things like that.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, sang his feet in a harsh staccato rhythm.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, answered his heart, working overtime to fuel his dash.
He didn’t need to dodge around people. Most villagers saw him coming and knew that something was wrong, so they moved out of the way for him, almost like an ambulance. His feet thundered as he crossed the small bridge over the irrigation canal running through Jubilife’s center.
She said that the Pokemon was big and purple, Alec thought. That sounds like a Drifblim or a Crobat. Could be a Nidoking, Gligar, or Gengar, too. He didn’t have the mental capacity right now to logically think his way through these options. He just thought of every big and purple Pokemon he knew of. It’s probably one of the first two, so I should use Tricky. His Dark and Electric moves counter both of those.
He tapped his hand on Tricky’s ball a few times, and the little Shinx appeared beside him in a flash of energy. He came out midstride, easily keeping pace with Alec.
“Shi?” he barked curiously.
Between breaths, Alec explained. “Get ready to face off against a strong Pokemon. It took a kid from the village. Use Charge to prepare yourself.”
The melody of rushing blood was soon accompanied by the crackle of static electricity as Tricky began channeling his electric power preemptively. By now, they’d long passed the fields of agricultural lands near the outskirts of Jubilife. The land around them was still clearly developed but lacked any buildings or anything. The terrain was very steep and hilly, meaning Alec had to take long detours around them.
Something within Alec told him that their target was just around the next hill. He slowed his pace, feeling his legs immediately complain from their overuse. Pulling an all-out sprint for those five minutes definitely was pushing his body’s limits. Tricky followed his lead, putting as much of his available energy as he could into charging his power.
Between heavy breaths, Alec said, “Be careful, Tricky. The kid’s probably nearby, and we don’t want to risk hitting him too.”
“Shi,” he confirmed. Alec could still hear the crackle of electricity being generated, but it noticeably decrescendoed down to the occasional pop. Just over the hill, Alec could see the roof of a wooden shack, likely used for storing fishing-related items to protect them from the elements. The kid and kidnapper were likely nearby.
Just around the corner, there was a large rock, big enough for Alec to crouch behind. Crouching low to the ground, he crept closer, being careful not to step on any twigs and reveal himself. He shuddered, not wanting to repeat that mistake ever again. His leg, where a faint scar remained from the Staravia’s attack, grew cold with the memory.
Faintly, Alec could hear a child’s voice. Was it laughing or crying? He peeked out from around the rock. In a large clearing, next to the wooden shack, was the young boy. He was sitting down on the grass, using a stick to scratch a drawing into the dirt.
But Alec’s eye was quickly drawn to the large floating Pokemon hovering next to the boy’s head. “Legendaries Above…” Alec muttered. Hovering above the child was a large Drifloon, the largest of the species that Alec had ever seen. Its strings were wrapped around the child’s wrist and it bobbed up and down with the winds. It watched, calmly and unblinking, as the boy continued his drawing.
Alec watched for a few moments longer, trying to discern if there was any active danger. Strange, the woman sounded so panicked when she burst into the town hall. He’d thought that the child was in mortal danger.
Slowly, he crept out from behind his vantage point. He stood back up to his full height and motioned for Tricky to follow him with a wave. When he looked back at the boy and the Drifloon, they both were staring straight at him.
“Who are you?” the boy asked.
A chill shot down Alec’s spine. Still, he continued forward, being careful to leave his hands visible and to not make any sudden movements. “I’m Alec,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“Nikaro,” the boy said, tossing his stick aside and standing up. “And this is Drifty. He’s my friend.”
Alec furrowed his brows as he slowly strode forward, each step feeling like a surgeon administering a shot. Precise and calculated. What does he mean, “friend?" he thought. “Your mother is looking for you,” he said, in the sweetest and most approachable voice he could muster. “She’s very worried. She sent me to look for you.”
Nikaro shook his head. “Well, you can tell her not to worry about me,” he said, voice sounding frustrated. “I’m running away from home. She won’t let me hang out with Drifty.” He stamped his foot on the ground to punctuate when he finished talking.
Beside him, Drifty bobbed itself up and down in agreement. “Loooon,” it said, drawing out the “oo” sound until it was indistinguishable from the ocean winds.
By now, Alec was within a handful of paces of Nikaro and Drifty. “I don’t know about that,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m a big kid and I can barely manage living by myself.” He knelt down, putting his hands on his knees. “Tell you what,” he said. “Come with me, and I’ll help you talk things out with her. I’m sure that she’ll understand if you tell her how you feel.”
“But what about Drifty?” Nikaro asked, tugging the wispy string taut and close to his chest. He held tight to it with both hands, as if the winds would rear up and rend it from his grasp.
Alec hesitated. His mother sounded completely beside herself describing Drifty. She made it sound like it was some kind of blood-crazed monster. It’d be very difficult to convince her that they’re harmless. He took a deep breath, then spoke. “I can’t make any promises, but if you come back with me, I promise I’ll stick up for Drifty.”
“Promise?” Nikaro asked hopefully.
“I promise.”
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Alec gently gripped Nikaro’s hand as he led him back toward Jubilife. Drifty, the seemingly harmless Drifloon that had taken a liking to Nikaro, bobbed up and down wistfully in the wind as Nikaro towed it by its string.
Nikaro’s mom will probably be at the village gate, Alec thought as they walked. I should make a plan for how I’m gonna handle this. He shot a glance back at Nikaro, who looked uneasy and kept alternating his eyes between the ground and Drifty. His arms were tense and his hands held tight to Alec’s hand and Dritfy’s string. Mentally, Alec wondered if Drifloon’s string could feel. Hopefully, it couldn’t, because it would likely be in a lot of pain, based on how tightly Nikaro held it.
“What’s your mom’s name?” Alec asked, more to break the silence than out of curiosity.
“Miki,” Nikaro monotoned.
“And what does she have to say about your friend?”
The boy glanced up at Drifty and sighed deeply. “Nothing good. She always says that I’ll get hurt if I play too close to a Pokemon. I know it’s not true, though.”
“Hm. Yeah, I’ve met plenty of adults who’re nervous of Pokemon.”
“It’s not all Pokemon, though. It’s like she’s only afraid of Drifty. She even let me hold a Bidoof once, when a wandering merchant had one.” He looked up at Alec, eyes wide and growing damp with preemptive tears. “You know the old story, where someone grabs ahold of a Drifloon’s string and gets carried all the way down. But I know he wouldn’t do that to me! He’d never!”
“Driiiiffffffff…” Drifty seemingly agreed. Alec shuddered at what Nikaro had said, and inspected Drifty from the corner of his eye. No, that definitely wasn’t a Pokemon that lived up to such a nightmarish story.
Of course, back home, he’d heard of all sorts of horror stories involving Pokemon. One of his favorite horror films was set in a world where all the Pokemon that used echolocation to see - Noivern, Crobat, Whismur, etc.. - all went crazy and attacked anyone who made noise. But the difference was that everyone understood that they were simply stories. Here, a vicious rumor about a Pokemon could very well instill widespread terror, effectively killing any chances of positive human interaction for that species for generations to come.
The notion bothered Alec. He’d had his fair share of nasty rumors spread about him and he simply didn’t want to ever deal with that kind of junk ever again. He spat on the floor, rotten taste rising in his mouth.
Alec hummed in acknowledgement. “Yeah, I’ve heard that story before. I haven’t hung out much with any Drifloon, but they definitely wouldn’t do anything like that from what I’ve seen.” He glanced over at Tricky, who had hopped up onto his shoulder. “If you treat ‘em right and with respect, you’ll get yourself a lifelong friend.”
Tricky purred as Alec reached over to scratch him behind his fluffy ears. Nikaro smiled, tears fading. “Drifloon!” Drifty cheered, bobbing up and down slightly.
A little while later, they reached the gate to the village. Nikaro’s mom, Miki, stared in shock as they approached. Her mouth hung open and her arms hung limply at her sides. She stood just outside the gate, a few spear-wielding guards flanking her.
After a quick moment, she shrieked and bolted toward them. “Get your soul-sucking, filthy hands off my baby!” she shouted. “I won’t let you take him! You can’t!”
Her voice was desperate, ragged. Enough to drive a shiver down Alec’s spine. Still, he stepped forward, putting himself between them. “Miki, wait,” he shouted as assertively as he could. “He’s safe!”
Miki stopped, a look of pure bewilderment replacing her terror. “You said you’d get rid of that monster!” she shouted, nearly in hysterics. “It’ll take him away, I know it will!”
A knot twisted in Alec’s gut, but he held his ground. Part of him desperately wanted to relent and do as she said, simply by hearing the desperation in her voice. “That’s not true,” he said, mustering up conviction. “This Drifloon’s not going to take your son away. He-”
“How do you know?” she interjected. “How do you know that it won’t?”
Alec took a deep breath. In, then a sharp exhale. “Because that’s just a campfire story. A myth. Designed to scare children into staying away from the Pokemon that are actually dangerous.” He turned to the side, gesturing to his satchel. “I’ve caught several Drifloon, and none of them are even remotely dangerous. This one just happened to take a liking to your son. They were playing together, completely safe, when I showed up at the beach.”
Miki was speechless. “I-” she started, then paused to reconsider. “The professor said the same thing, just the other day. Is it true, that it really won’t?”
“Ma’am, I’d be shocked if Drifty could lift a pebble, let alone your son.”
“Driiff…” Drifty agreed. Miki stared at him, breathing heavily and confused. Eventually, she sighed.
“Nikaro, is this really what you want?” she asked, with a faint crack in her voice.
Faintly, and hopefully imperceptibly, Alec let out the breath he’d been holding. Legendaries Above, thank goodness, he thought. She’s taking this well.
Nikaro, mouth curved down in a somber frown, nodded slowly. “Mommy,” he said longingly. “I changed my mind, I don’t wanna run away anymore.” He dashed forward, shoving past Alec and running straight to his mother. Drifty - unwillingly - trailed behind him, just happy to be along for the ride. Nikaro nearly tackled his mother to the dirt with the hug he gave her, like a mamma Ursaring and her cub.
Miki’s eyes were rimmed with a few faint tears. She shot a quick glance up at Drifty, who stared off into nothing. She shuddered and winced, then shifted her shoulders to move away from him and held Nikaro tighter. “Okay,” she said. “I believe you. Your, uh, friend, can stay.”
Nikaro’s face broke into a massive smile and he pulled away from Miki. “You really mean it?” he asked, his tone completely shifting. “Drifty, you hear that?” he asked, drawing Drifty’s attention. “You can stay with me!”
Where Drifty’s, well, drifting, had been whimsical and floaty, it now bobbed up and down with a passion. His normally stoic expression was painted with glee. “Drifloon! Drifloon!” it cheered.
Miki forced out a nervous laugh.
“Thanks, Mommy!” Nikaro rejoiced, going back in for another hug. “I promise I’ll never run away again, no matter what.”
Miki exhaled in defeat and patted her son gently on the head. “Come on, sweetheart,” she said gently. “Let’s get you some lunch. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
“Okay!” Nikaro grabbed his mom’s hand.
Miki shot a trepid glance at Drifty. “Nikaro, um, what does your friend eat?”
“I dunno,” he said cheerfully. “I haven’t seen him eat anything yet.”
Miki shot a look of bewilderment over her shoulder to Alec. “I’m pretty sure Drifloon don’t need to eat anything,” he shrugged.
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Alec hoped he’d never have to come back here. But here he was. Only a couple days later, as a matter of fact.
Before him, Kleavor bowed its carapace-covered head in respect. There was but one last thing he needed to do in the fieldlands: Return to Grandtree and take the Insect Plate for good.
Lian was around the woods somewhere, likely gathering food to offer to Kleavor. As the Noble’s Warden, he wouldn’t be found too far away from it at any given time. That meant Alec was on a bit of a time limit, as something told him that Arceus would rather the nature of the Plates remain a secret.
“I’m back,” he began. “I’m supposed to keep that Plate, right? It’s my duty now to take care of it.”
Kleavor nodded.
Alec shrugged. “Alright, I guess. Arceus did say I’d be fine holding it again,” he grumbled, walking over to the gash in the tree where he’d found it the first time. Remarkably, the gash had begun to close being smaller by a small margin - about a centimeter or two - than it had been the other day. Still, Alec was able to fit his hand inside.
He grimaced as the uncomfortable feeling of splinters, moss, and sap assaulted his hand. This is uncomfortably similar to last time, he thought with a grumble.
Slowly, he pushed farther into the tree, until his fingers met the same cold feeling that nearly split his mind in half the last time he felt it. The unexpected feeling sent an involuntary shiver up Alec’s spine, causing his heart to skip a beat and nearly scaring him into yanking his hand out of the gash. He paused for a minute to catch his breath.
Calm down, he thought. Legendaries Above, let’s get this over with.
He closed his eyes and shoved his shoulder against the tree, reaching his hand far enough to wrap his fingers around the Plate. As soon as he found purchase on its slick surface, he pulled it out with all his might. An unknown feeling formed in his chest like he was staring down a giant.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. A blinding glare met him, rebounding from the Plate’s unnaturally glassy surface. He exhaled deeply and loosened his grip, knowing he was safe. Now that the Plate was out of the tree, there was no way to get it back in.
This is my responsibility now, he thought, shooting a glance back at the gash in Grandtree’s mighty trunk. This is my journey. This is my mission.