After an exciting Monday, the remainder of the week passed uneventfully. Tommy found himself crushing hard on Nessa and all of the work he put into not being awkward around her at the beginning of the year went down the drain. Every time he looked at her, his stomach got butterflies and his mind wandered to their fooling around in her bed. Neither of them had broached the subject since Monday, sticking to completely superficial topics like class and the weather.
To make matters worse, Ashley wasn’t happy with him at all. She had been in a foul mood all week and the only feasible reason that he could even think of was that she also liked him. Every time the thought came into his mind though, he told himself he was just being foolish; he was convinced that there was no way that a girl as beautiful as Ashley liked him in a romantic sense.
Hell, he still wondered if Nessa liked him even after what had happened between the two of them. He couldn’t decide if she had been acting on genuine feelings or if she was just feeling vulnerable at that moment.
He wasn’t brave enough to ask and find out.
After breakfast on Saturday, Zach and Melanie loaded everyone into a bus and started the drive over to the Mart.
“We’ve been called into the field next week,” Melanie grinned excitedly. She was riding next to Zach in the front of the bus and could hardly contain her nervous energy.
“Who’s going to be teaching us next week then while you two are gone?” Krista asked dejectedly. Tommy could tell the girl hated the thought of missing any opportunity to learn. “Will classes be postponed?”
“Melanie means that all of us are being called into the field,” Zach adjusted the rear view mirror so he could look at everyone in the back. “Normally various alumni and assistant professors would be called out to handle these things but with the… purge from last semester… Well, suffice to say the school is currently short handed.”
“Right so that means you kids lucked out and we get to go on our first excursion of the semester early!” Melanie tittered. Tommy still found it weird that she acted like she was older when they were basically the same age.
“Uh, are we ready for that?” Harper asked softly. She had begun to ask more questions and warm up to everyone over the last couple of weeks. “It’s only been a few weeks since the new term started. We haven’t even started battling each other yet.”
“You’ll be fine!” Melanie assured them in a half-assed tone as she waved her hand. “Learn by doing! Besides, what could possibly go wrong?”
“We could get murdered by Team Rocket?” Jon quipped. “Just off the top of my head.”
“Melanie and I will scout the city ahead of your arrival while you guys travel,” Zach reassured them.
“Wait, we aren't taking the bus?” Ashley blurted. “You mean we’re actually hiking?”
“You won’t have the bus forever!” Melanie laughed at everyone’s misfortune. “Best to get used to it now!”
“Where are we going?” Tommy asked nervously. If they were hiking then he was worried there was only one place that their destination could be.
“Azalea Town!” Tommy winced in horror as Melanie confirmed his worst nightmare. “A hike through the Ilex Forest and then Azalea Town on the other side!”
“Shit…” Tommy swore under his breath. His mind was already running through everything he was going to need to survive in the near pitch dark forest for the next week.
“You’ve been before?” Tommy saw Zach raise an eyebrow in the rear view mirror questioningly.
“No. It’s a few days hike from our ranch and my parents would never have let me go even if I wanted to anyway,” Tommy informed his teacher. “They’ve always told me it’s an ancient forest and that it’s best to leave it alone. Many trainers traveling through the forest stopped at our guest house and told us horrible stories about the place though. It’s supposedly terrifying, especially to those who lose their way.”
“It certainly isn’t for the faint of heart,” Zach agreed. “But if you all work together you should be able to make it through in one piece.”
“Why are we being called to Azalea Town in the first place?” Spencer asked. “What do they need our help with?”
Zach and Melanie shared a sideways glance before answering. “To be honest with you guys… we don’t know. That’s one of the reasons we’re scouting ahead of you kids. All we’ve been told by the gym leader is that there have been some frequently increasing disappearances and some agitated Pokémon in the forest.”
“Well that doesn’t sound concerning,” Jon muttered under his breath. “How do they expect us to be any help anyway?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, and even if you don’t help a lot it will still be a good experience for each of you,” Zach told them. He turned the bus into the mall parking lot and found a spot to park right up front. “Anyway we’re here, let’s head in and gear up for the trip.”
“Anything important we should grab while we’re here?” Krista asked.
“Repel,” Melanie laughed. “Now come on, let’s go.”
----------------------------------------
“I left my Repel on my nightstand,” Tommy heard Jon lament as everyone exited the city bus at the edge of Goldenrod. He closed his eyes as he took his first step off of the pavement onto the familiar dirt path that marked the beginning of Route 34. It felt like a lifetime ago that he rode his bike to and from school everyday, Tori weighing him down, while Houndour chased the wind ahead of them.
In reality it had just been a few months.
Zach and Melanie had been true to their word, leaving early in the morning to fly to Azalea Town. They told the students that everyone was on their own until they made it. Tommy considered this to be his first real field experience; he had been in charge of himself and had no help from anyone on what to pack, the route he should take to reach his destination, or anything else for that matter. He hoped he packed everything he needed.
“You coming Tommy?” Ashley asked him. She had stopped to wait for him while everyone else was already almost to the top of the first hill.
“Yeah, sorry,” he chuckled to himself as he jogged to catch up with his friends. “Just feeling a bit sentimental.”
“Do you want to stop at your house and say hi to your family?” Ashley asked him as he caught up to her and the two of them began the climb.
“Nah, it’ll be too hard to leave again,” he shook his head. “Mom will make a big fuss and try to cook for everyone. I don’t want to waste an entire day, we need to get to Azalea and it’s a long journey.”
An uncomfortable silence lapsed between them as they each remembered they hadn’t spoken to one another much over the last week.
“Sorry,” he said after a few minutes.
“What are you apologizing for?” She asked him.
He racked his brain, why was he apologizing? “I don’t know actually… It just felt like the right thing to say.”
Ashley sighed. “You haven’t done anything wrong Tommy, so don’t apologize. Now come on, let’s catch up with the others.”
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They crested the top of the first hill and Tommy smiled as he saw his ranch and the familiar grasslands spread before him. A light breeze blew across the top of the hill and he closed his eyes one last time, steeling himself for the journey ahead.
“Race you to the bottom,” he grinned at Ashley. He took off running, laughing as she shouted from somewhere behind him, and the both of them were left gasping for air as they caught up with the rest of the group at the base of the hill.
It was a long walk to the edge of the Ilex Forest. The first few days and nights passed uneventfully, the fair weather spurring Tommy and friends along quickly as the kilometers fell away beneath their hiking shoes. They spent their nights gathered around one big fire, joking and laughing as they broke bread and camped together. Tommy always slept beside Houndour in the evenings; she was warm and incubated the egg that he kept tightly tucked between the two of them. It didn’t feel any closer to hatching than the day he first rescued it from the ship, despite Ashley’s egg hatching only a few days ago.
After a great first couple of days, it was with a heavy heart that Tommy awoke on the third to an overcast and gray sky. He quickly roused everyone, hoping that they could hike a fair distance before it started raining. He knew that they must be getting close to the forest now, but it would still be another day at least, and any rain would only further hinder their progress. Everyone quickly broke their fast, packed up their gear, and hit the trail.
The morning hike passed uneventfully, everyone keeping to themselves and not speaking too much due to the cloudy weather. Soon after a break and light snack for lunch, Tommy felt it starting to sprinkle. He looked around nervously at the endless sea of brown-green grass that spread out before him as he chewed his granola bar absentmindedly.
“We need to find somewhere to take shelter from the rain,” Krista said as she reshouldered her pack. “We don’t want to be caught in the open in the middle of a bad thunderstorm.”
As if her words heralded the storm, the light drizzle began to deepen mere minutes after they quickly set off once more. Tommy looked up worriedly at the once gray clouds that were now almost black-green. Streaks of lightning jumped in the sky from one cloud to the next and thunder rumbled ominously across the plains as the wind picked up in intensity.
With each passing moment it was getting more difficult to see the trail and just when Tommy was worried that they wouldn’t be able to find shelter, Max pointed to a copse of trees in the distance.
“Let’s go!” Spencer shouted at everyone over the wind. They took off sprinting towards the trees as the heavens above released a deluge. Tommy was left panting for breath and soaking wet as he reached the stand of oak trees alongside everyone else. They made camp under the canopy of leaves, Tommy quickly pitched his tent and then moved to help others who were struggling against the wind’s mighty breath.
The group spent the rest of the afternoon and evening huddled closely around the flickering campfire, shivering in the freezing winter rain and eating meager rations. After dinner, many of Tommy's friends retired to their tents, the warmth of their bedrolls beckoning them to the land of pleasant dreams.
Tommy sat with his back resting against one of the logs in front of the fire, watching the storm howl outside the safety of their shelter. He held his Pokémon egg in his lap, rubbing his hands across the egg’s smooth surface and listening to the sound of the rain.
He didn’t want to sleep. Since returning to school, he had been more restless, the empty halls and buildings only serving as further reminder of all that had been lost to Team Rocket over the past months. He closed his eyes and tried to will away the dark thoughts, but all he saw were the eyes of the deceased students as if someone had etched the faces on the insides of his eyelids.
He opened them and sighed as a flash of lightning illuminated the world outside the camp. Tommy bolted upright, straining his eyes as the shadow of a great figure briefly flashed before them.
A second lightning strike a moment later revealed nothing.
He clutched the egg tighter, heart hammering in his chest. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Spencer asked, as he sat on the log beside Tommy.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Tommy clutched his chest and chuckled nervously.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep either,” Spencer watched the storm in silence beside Tommy and idly chewed on some trail mix.
“Is everything alright?” Tommy asked his friend after a few minutes. Spencer was uncharacteristically quiet and Tommy raised an eyebrow inquisitively as the boy was startled from his reverie.
“Yeah, fine,” Spencer grunted. “Just missing home. Missing my mom and my little brother. I hope they’re doing okay without me.”
“Is home far away?” Tommy asked as he helped himself to some of Spencer’s food. He was realizing now that he knew almost nothing about his friend.
Spencer nodded. “Yeah, up by Mahogany Town actually. There’s a lake to the north of Mahogany that the locals call the Lake of Rage; I hail from a small nameless village on it’s northern shore.
He smiled down at Tommy. “I miss it a lot. I miss the summers me and Wes spend fishing, that’s my little bro. I miss the winters, bow hunting with dad. Mom’s cooking is great, better than yours.”
Tommy chuckled. “It sounds awesome. You’ll have to show me around sometime.”
“For sure,” Spencer wiped his eyes and grinned. “If you show me the ranch.”
“Deal,” Tommy nodded, “Why do they call it the Lake of Rage?”
“A local legend,” Spencer’s eyes twinkled mysteriously. “Seek ye not the great red fish, find it only if death is your wish.”
“Well that’s not terrifying?” Tommy grinned. “Lemme guess, you spent your entire childhood trying to fish it up?”
“You know me too well already, Thomas,” and the two of them shared a laugh. Electricity danced through the clouds above their heads, illuminating everything once more.
“Did you see that?” Spencer jumped to his feet and Tommy quickly followed suit. “A great shadow, just outside the stand. I hope my eyes are playing tricks because it looked bigger than anything I’ve ever seen or hunted before.”
Tommy nodded and turned his head trying to see in all directions at once. “Yeah, that’s why you scared me earlier. I thought I saw something just before you walked over to me.”
“I think I’d feel better with my bow in hand,” Spencer shifted nervously on his feet. “Will you be alright here for a minute while I go over to my tent?”
Before either of the two boys could move, the air around them rent and a great beast bigger than anything Tommy had ever seen stood right in front of them. It stood on four legs, shoulder to shoulder with them despite each of the boys being two meters tall.
Teeth the size of Tommy’s forearm protruded from its snout and claws longer than daggers carved away the packed earth as if it were wet clay. Its fur was yellow with black stripes and it immediately reminded Tommy of an animal he had seen before in a picture book; a tiger, an animal that lived in faraway jungles.
The beast’s every exhale was that of rumbling thunder and Tommy stared mesmerized as streaks of lightning danced and flashed through the wispy purple thundercloud that rested upon its muscled back and shoulders.
It regarded both Tommy and Spencer in turn with its piercing orange eyes and neither boy dared move a single muscle in the presence of this massive predator. Seconds passed in still silence until Tommy exhaled, tension leaving his body when he could no longer hold his breath. He could swear that the beast almost smiled at him.
You are needed, the beast spoke but also didn’t speak.
“It can speak?” Spencer breathed. “Is it a Pokémon?”
The beast turned its eyes to Spencer and he immediately shut his mouth again.
“Who could possibly need me all the way out here?” Tommy dared to ask the giant cat. It turned its gaze from Spencer and regarded him once more; he felt his breathing restrict under the weight of its knowing gaze.
She needs you, the beast spoke again. They have taken her.
“Yeah, Tommy’s not going anywhere without me,” Spencer bravely spoke up, actually managing to take a step closer to the beast. Tommy had to admire his friend’s strength; he felt like collapsing under the pressure that the beast was giving off.
It turned to regard Spencer once more, a guttural growl rumbling in the back of its throat; Tommy tried to ignore the ominous rumbling of the thunder in the air all around them. When Spencer refused to back down, the beast blinked its eyes once in surprise and then nodded.
Very well, brave warrior, the beast agreed. Spencer collapsed to his knees exhausted now that the pressure was gone. Are the two of you ready?
Tommy ran over to help Spencer to his feet, but the boy brushed him away. “Just go get my bag out of my tent, everything I need is in there. I can’t stand up right now.”
As quietly as he could, Tommy ran to both his and Spencer’s tents and grabbed each of their bags, slinging them over his two shoulders. With their gear collected he returned to his friend who was trying to get his feet again; the beast watched from the side.
“Where are we going?” Tommy asked as he offered Spencer a hand and helped the boy onto a log.
A place of great power, the beast told him. Now come, we must make haste. The forest awaits you.
The beast strode over to where he and Spencer were by the fire. It lowered its head towards the two boys and Tommy felt a pressure building in his ears.
“Tommy! Spencer!” Ashley shouted, eyes wide as she emerged from her tent clutching her Togepi.
She came face to face with the storm and Tommy turned his gaze momentarily to look back at her.
The last image he had was the concern plastered on her face and then a flash of light and crack of thunder later and he, Spencer, and the beast vanished.