PokeWild

David pulled down the brim of his beige sun hat. He tugged up the red scarf until it covered his nose, leaving only his eyes visible. He’d said his goodbyes. There was no one left in Celadon that he wanted to see or speak to. But, before he could leave, he had one last task.

The city grew busier as he neared the centre. People weaved back and forth, swarming to and fro around choke points created by the puddles left over from last night’s rain storm. Celadon’s buildings had been transformed by the water. Their dark cream and textured walls had shifted, becoming more of a cocoa colour. The pale green tiles had followed suit, turning blueish.

He was glad he got to see the city like this. It felt so different compared to the Celadon he’d first arrived to, nearly a month ago. Back then he’d been running. Running away from Pokemon, Team Rocket and Saffron city. His backpack had been near empty and his stomach actually empty.

Celadon was a strange city then. Its conformity confusing and the sour smell around the city’s perimeter off-putting. He first thought that he’d reached a small town. The concept of a farming city still did not make complete sense to him. He’d known it was the bread basket of Kanto, but he hadn’t known what that meant.

David had a full stomach now, and a full backpack with poke to spare. Celadon had been good to him.

No.

The people of Celadon had been good to him. From the very first day he’d arrived, he’d been welcomed. By his second day, he had a job, a training group and a place to safely rest. He was grateful to the city, to its people. Like Danny was saying, Celadon would always have a place in his heart. But it wasn't home and now it was time to leave. Experience had taught him it was better not to stay too long.

David stuck to the densest parts of the crowd and thought only of his destination as he reached the Pokemart. Once inside he made a beeline for the General section. One quick purchase and slow repacking to fit the toilet rolls in later, David was ready. He left the Pokemart and headed west.

Apartments gave way to berry orchards. Berry orchards eased in vegetable farms. Vegetable farms grew into fields of grain. There wasn’t much to see on the road to Route 16. Celadon gym was to the south west, Nature’s scent to the northwest. There was nothing but farms and stadiums between them. The road was wide and the going easy. A pungent odour let him know that he was at the city limits before the fields turned into empty plains.

There was one last obstacle before Route 16. Two buildings sat opposite each other across an elevated dirt path. The one on the right was larger and a balm to David’s eyes. A Silver mountain was emblazoned across the building's wooden planks. Metal slats covered the roof, held in place by tree trunks. It was nothing special, but it was the most distinctive building that he'd seen in weeks.

Across from the Ranger's office sat a small hut, with an arch instead of a doorway. The hut was built the same as any building in Celadon.

David approached the Ranger’s office first. As usual it was unoccupied, but for a change a note on the door listed opening hours. He'd missed the morning slot by thirty minutes. The office would be opening again in two hours.

There was little sign of activity around the office, but a series of footprints led him to the bulletin board and Route map. Parts of the map were covered. The noticeboard beside it had overflowed and he had to brush notices aside to get a good look at the map.

Route 16 was a zigzag. The path went west from Celadon until it met a mountain ridge. From there it hugged the ridge and crossed south until the mountains shrank to the earth. After that, Route 16 curved to the southwest to the bridge to Fuchsia. The majority of the Route was badgeless, but the ridge was marked as a four badge zone.

He took a moment to draw a sketch of the map in his notebook. He had no intention to leave the route, but best to be prepared this time.

It took a while to go through the noticeboard, but thankfully no threat warnings were posted. There was the usual lost and found, and a new category of notices had popped up - information requests. The requests were largely for Pokemon sightings. People wanted times, dates and locations for specific species. The most requested Pokemon were Nidoran, but there were requests for Sandshrew, Jigglypuff and a Pokemon whose name David didn’t recognise, Mr. Mime.

David read over everything one last time before turning to the small hut opposite the Ranger’s office. The arch was open, but shadows hid the interior as David approached. He could tell the room was near empty. Aside from a block in the centre the room was bare. Stepping inside, David blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dark and tried to make sense of the room’s centrepiece.

It wasn’t a flat block, the top was mottled and rough in some areas and smooth and glassy in others. Shapes rose up from the stone. The texture of the closer shape was odd, closer to.. no, it was wood. A trunk grew out from the messy stone, reaching with limbs to a sphere-like form on the other side of the block. From one angle it appeared that the curved form had large leaves, from the other a cap. The trunk was in motion, one limb clawing at the ground as the other reached futilely for the still form opposite.

It didn’t look like they’d be able to make it. Their torso was embedded in the stone, forever unable to move. Their head reflected that knowledge, carved out of the trunk to hang low even as they reached forward still.

David stepped closer and noticed a small plaque.

“All lives are important. All eggs are equal. East or West, we can all die alone. We can only live together. Life must go on.”

The plaque wasn’t signed. There were no dates or names.

David knew enough to understand it was about Kanto and Johto. About a war that few talked about, but one that pervades every aspect of this world. He took another look at the statue, noticing now the mushrooms growing along the torso and arms, the patches of moss sprouting from the destroyed earth, the strands of grass poking out from the corpse opposite. He suddenly felt like an intruder in this place, this shrine. David lowered his head and quietly turned and left.

The mood from the shrine followed him back out into the light. A month has passed in this world. Someone must have noticed he was gone. Was his family, the police, anyone still searching? Reaching out for him like the trainer encased in mud, or had they given up by now? Was there a small shrine for him in a graveyard somewhere, like the shrine behind him for that still form?

Could he make it home? Could he find a legendary Pokemon that would send him back? Could he survive it? Or would he be another trainer lost to the wilds?

What should he do?

David walked for about ten minutes, lost in his thoughts before he reached for the ball around his neck.

“Pidgey!”

“Hi Pidgey,” David said, opening his eyes after the flash and looking at her fondly.

Pidgey spread her wings, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings before starting to hop in a circle, her old habits kicking in. It wasn’t a very effective habit out here in the plains where long grass dominated the ground. Pidgey grew frustrated after a hop or two and with a squawk, she pulled her wings back and shot herself up into the air.

“Pidgey!” She cried, announcing her presence and air dominance, even as she scanned their surroundings.

Movement to the left caught David's eye.

Two heads sprung up from the grass. They looked at each other, beady eyes glistening amongst the balls of hazel fur. After a few seconds, now satisfied that the other wasn’t to blame, they looked outward. The two heads swung in opposite directions, only for the left head to pause as it caught sight of David and Pidgey. It let out a hoot, shaking slightly. The right head stopped and swung back until it saw David too. In sync, both heads swung back around the other way. The Doduo began to run away, bobbing up and down as it did so.

David watched it go and began to laugh. Pidgey glided down beside him and hopped forward, down the road.

“Time to go is it?” David smiled down at the small bird Pokemon.

“Pidge!”

David started to walk and Pidgey hopped alongside him. The air was fresh, full of that earthy ‘grass after rain’ smell. Tall grass swayed in the wind. The horizon was an ocean of green, rising in the distance until the green darkened and slowly turned to brown. The mountain loomed above all, providing a marker, a destination and a spectacle.

The day was looking up. The sun was shining like all the bad weather was behind them.

David looked down at Pidgey. “Storm?”

Pidgey slowed, glancing at him before hopping forward.

David carried on walking. They would have plenty of time over the next few days. He would find the answer.

“Pidgey.”

A no then, but that was a long time spent considering. Was he close?

“Tempest?”

“Pidgey.”

“Hurricane?”

Another period of waiting.

“Pidgey.”

“Typhoon?”

A quicker no this time. He was getting further away.

“Cloudburst?”

More waiting. David was relaxed. Almost too relaxed that he nearly missed it.

Pidgey hesitantly pecked forward.

David blinked at her.

“Cloudburst.”

Pidgey pecked forward again.

David slowed and crouched down to face her. “Huh. Cloudburst. It’s nice to meet you.”

Pidgey stared at him blankly.

David grinned and stood back up. “This will take some getting used to. Maybe I can call you Cloud for short.”

Pidgey squawked and batted her wings at him.

David laughed. “Oh, Cloudburst is fine but Cloud isn’t? When did you become so particular?”

Pidgey folded her wings back in and smoothed her ruffled feathers. Without another word, she turned and began hopping down the path.

David smiled and followed.