PokeWild

David hiked with a new urgency across the plains.

Part of that was because the terrain was nothing new to look at. This was his third trip on this very path in three days, after all. It was also the urge to catch up, to reach that forest in the distance with those achingly familiar trees that just weren’t palm. Mostly though, it was the dark shadow cast down on him from above, surrounding him in darkness and dripping a chill along his spine.

“Knock it off, Cloud,” he shouted, not looking up and behind him.

She squawked at the shortened name as always, but this time it was her own fault. In her attempts to live up to the nickname, she brought it upon herself.

Grumpy though she was, Cloudburst did drift ahead, letting the sun lick at David’s ankles and warm him from his legs up as the shadow moved on.

Cloudburst had always had a bit of vanity in her, enjoying having her feathers just right, compliments and her reflection in still surfaces. That had gone a little further with her evolution. Seeing how much his silly Pokemon was enjoying her own shadow, David was a little nervous about what was going to happen to the first mirror they found. He shuddered as an image crossed his mind. Cloudburst latching onto a ceiling height mirror, and throwing a strop again like with the cliff. The huge bird refusing to move unless David carried the mirror away on his back.

Yes, Cloudburst was entirely too attached to her new shadow, and, now that it was large enough to fully cover David, was enjoying draping that shadow over him. And that led him to the main source of his new urgency. Pidgey was now Pidgeotto. She’d nearly tripled in size, and her stomach had grown to match. Cloudburst didn’t eat three times as much, but that didn’t matter to David’s limited supplies. Especially with the unplanned extra day and a half detour back south.

The hunger clock was ticking down, and he had no interest in finding out what the alarm sounded like.

Her shadow crossed in front of his path again, distorting as it draped over a patch of long yellow grass.

“Look for berries, not at your shadow!” David shouted at her. Really. If she was going to eat all that food, the least she could do was find some for herself.

Unfortunately, there were few berries to be found out in the dry heat of the plains. What bushes they did find were often in the shadow of the sparse trees, or buried in a mess of long grass. All picked clean.

David suspected that they were looking in the wrong place. Or wrong height really. Every now and again they would come across upturned soil, or small mounds built beside matching holes. The flatland wasn’t home to many Pokemon, but they had seen Oddish, Bellsprout, Pidgey, Ditto and both kinds of Nidoran.

A Ditto’s diet was a mystery. He suspected that the pink blob’s stomach or lack of one could eat just about anything, but the other Pokemon were simpler. Oddish and Belsprout took their nutrients from the soil and sun. A Nidoran’s claws were well shaped for a bit of digging. If David had any time to waste, and a better tool than the small trowel in his bag, he would be willing to bet that there was some kind of potato-like tuber in the ground.

What the Pidgey ate was less obvious, which was strange as it was the Pokemon he knew the most about, but it was probably a combination of the missing berries and above Pokemon. The birds were few and far in between, so David didn’t need to worry about it too much.

It was past midday when they reached the small costal forest again. David eyed the shaded floor and soft moss longingly. Under the constant sun, even the long yellow grass was wilting. He was too proud to ask Cloudburst to shadow him after all the fuss that morning, nor was she taking the heat any better. Up in the air there was no shelter, and the only relief was the breeze under her feathers. It had taken her a while to find the balance between speed, which generated heat with each swing of her wings but provided more cool air, and gliding, which was the opposite.

They rested in the shade for a short lunch before setting out again.

When the coastal forest fell away behind them and the shore swept east, David decided that they had officially crossed to Route 13. The change in the environment was as good a sign. Gone were the long, empty plains. In their place were sandy hills, a series of large bumps that resembled an irregular golf ball. The dunes were exposed, but oddly greener than the yellow plains. Tufts of green appeared at their summits, though more frequently in the troughs and valleys between them.

It was an awful place to hike.

David would climb up a shifting slope, his feet sinking with each step, only to slide down the other side. Some of the dips were deep enough he couldn’t see over the lift. Progress slowed to a sedentary walk as he cursed and sweated his way through.

He was about two hours into the new Route when he came across something odd. Stabbing out from the bank of a dune was a fence. A plain wire fence, half buried in the ground. It was weird enough that he had to stop and investigate.

As he shrugged off his backpack, Cloudburst landed. She let him know her real thoughts about the stop by cawing at him and buffeting him with a breeze from her wings.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up,” David said, leaning into the cool breeze. The back of his top was soaked enough that he didn’t care about her laughter. “I should have chosen a Nidoran. They would have helped me dig.”

She squawked at him, not understanding the words, but knowing the intent behind them.

He snorted and began scooping the sand. Grains stuck against his damp skin, but he was past the point of caring. His shoes were so full of the stuff at this point a few extra grains didn’t matter. David dug and dug. Sand fell into the hole he made, but he was making some progress. The fence continued growing, metal wire like roots in the soil. From what he could see, the design was similar to the fence around the grove back in Celadon. He knew that fence well, having repaired it several times and walked around it each morning. That fence had been taller than him. If this one was comparable...

He looked at the dunes around him again. “Woah.” Anything could be buried under these dunes. From above, you’d have no idea.

But Cloudburst wasn’t willing to sit and watch him dig forever. She took to the air again, kicking as much sand in the air as he had dug out.

Grumbling more about a Nidoran, David grabbed his backpack and set off again. To his surprise, the fence continued on the other side of the dune again.

They traveled for another half an hour before Pidgeotto whistled and landed in a valley. When David reached it, she was stepping around a small pond in the sand.

“Nice find,” he said, crouching to investigate the water. It was a three or four inch deep pocket of water with a muddy-sand bottom. It looked too still to drink from, but he was able to wash some of the dirt of the day off his face and hands.

Cloudburst was more interested in the grass around the pond. She chirped at him and tapped a plant with her talons. He walked over to take a look.

“It’s like an onion,” David said, brushing through the tall stalks to find one particularly thick bunch. “Or a leek. You think it’s good to eat?”

Pidgeotto chirped, but she didn’t make a move to pull out one of the stalks herself.

“Maybe after it’s been prepared then?” he pondered, setting his backpack down. Hopefully, his survival guide would have more information.

It did. David was right that the plant was some mix between leek, onion and spring onion. Its bulb and leaves were edible by both humans and pokemon, though nicer once cooked.

“You just want me to dig it up for you, don’t you?” he groused.

She ducked her head under her wing, a much funnier and less effective gesture when her wings and head were so much bigger.

“Are there any Pokemon around?” The guide mentioned it was important to check for nearby Pokemon before harvesting the plant.

“Otto.”

David got to digging. He washed the dirt off as best he could and kept the bulbs away from Cloudburst. No snacking before dinner.

-.-

As the evening arrived and shadows buried the valleys between dunes, an earlier amusement became a pain.

“Ow!” David clenched his hands into fists and hopped on one leg around. His big toe throbbed in his shoe. “Asshole.”

The half buried fence offered no retort. It was barely visible in the dark sand, but stuck out just enough to be a hazard.

Venonat wailed, scurrying closer to David to investigate.

He took a deep breath and set his foot down. “I’m fine.”

It was the fifth time this had happened. He was close to asking for a Bug Bite or a Cannon. All these fences were an accident waiting to happen. It would be a public service to clear a few up…

“Hello there!”

David spun to face the voice, but there was no one to see. The top of the dune to his south was empty.

“Venonat?” David whispered.

His Pokemon twitched, antennae waving. If his Pokemon hadn’t detected the speaker before, he had now.

David palmed Cloudburst’s pokeball. “Let’s have a look.”

Leaving the offending fence behind, he climbed the dune to the south. At the top he found the source of the voice.

The man stood another dune over. His stance was relaxed though he had no Pokemon or supplies beside him. He wore a dark gray top and pants, with an open red sleeveless jacket around his shoulders. His high boots and wide-brimmed sun hat were the same red. It was a uniform, David realized.

“Hello,” he called out warily. He had an idea who this was, but wanted to be sure before he said anything first.

The man waved. “I’m Ranger Georgio. Is everything alright? We heard swearing.”

David blushed, his hand falling from Cloudburst’s pokeball. “Yes, everything is fine. I stubbed my toe.”

“Ah.” Georgio laughed. “Well, if it’s broken, we can offer assistance. If not, we have a camp nearby if you were thinking of stopping for the night.”

David hesitated, looking between the setting sun and the Ranger. He did need to camp tonight, but he also didn’t know Geogrio or enough about the Rangers to feel comfortable accepting that offer. The uniform could be a fancy dress costume for all he knew. This world had its fair share of thieves and criminals.

Then again, if they were going to try robbing him, it wouldn’t matter if he said no. It would be easy enough to find him again now that they’d seen him.

“Do you have an ID I could see?” he called over.

Ranger Georgio smiled. “I do.” He reached into a pocket in his jacket and waved a badge in David’s direction. The metal flashed in the sun.

David weighed up his options once more before placing his hand back on Cloudburst’s pokeball. He leaned down to Venonat. “Let me know if you find anyone else.”

Venonat warbled his acceptance, antennae twitching.

The slow walk down one dune, through the valley and up the next was tense, but without incident. Georgio never moved. Venonat never got alarmed.

“Here,” the ranger said, passing over his badge. He appeared to be in his thirties with a thick dark beard and faint sun wrinkles around his eyes.

The metal had a symbol imprinted on the front, a circle with waves spilling off the sides. A number was printed on the back, alongside ‘G.Beck’. It looked as legitimate as it could to someone who had no clue about the organization.

All David knew was that Georgio was wearing a similar top and trousers to Finn, if not the same jacket or color scheme. That was also explained by how Finn described the Fuchsia Rangers as being run by the city.

He handed the badge back. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Georgio responded easily. “You were right to check. Now, I’m pretty hungry, so are you interested in joining our camp?”

Inherently suspicious though David was, the chance to find out information about the Route ahead, and how far he had yet to go was too much to pass up on. “I will, if you don’t mind.”

“No issue at all,” the ranger laughed. “To be honest, I’m looking forward to some company.”

David’s brows rose unbidden. “I thought you said ‘we’?”

Georgio shook his head slowly and sighed. “You’ll see what I mean.”

The Ranger’s camp was another three dunes over. Three tents had been set up in a long trough between the rolling waves of sand. All were three to four times larger than David’s, and sported the same logo as on Georgio’s badge in bright blue. It was official enough to make him relax.

One tent was tied shut, the other two were left open, with two large bags stored at the flap to keep them out of the sand. A good five meters away from the tents was a fireplace, crackling away with a small flame. Sitting beside it was a woman. She wore the same outfit as Georgio, bar the boots. Her feet were bare and stretched out in front of the fire.

“That’s Maggie,” Georgio introduced, spotting his attention. “Maggie! This is...”

“David.”

“David!”

Maggie turned. She had ginger hair and a button nose. She waved, then looked right back into the flames without saying a word.

“She doesn’t talk much,” Georgio supplied. He gestured at the closed tent. “Bret is asleep. He rode through the night to meet us. You’ll have to introduce yourself to him tomorrow.”

David raised an eyebrow. Georgio had just shouted across the camp.

“Oh, he’s out like a light. Stuffed his ears, too. Our Pokemon like to make noise.” Georgio looked over at Maggie. “Mine do anyway. So don’t worry about Bret.”

“Alright,” David said. He looked at Venonat, who was watching the camp in fascination. Venonat wouldn’t be much of an issue, his speech blending into the sounds of the night quite well, but Pidgeotto tended to be louder. With a shrug, he released his shoulders from the weight of his pack. “Where would be good to...”

“Over there.” Georgio gestured at a spot on the other end of the trough from the campfire. It too, was five meters away from the Ranger’s tents.

That suited David just fine.

“Why don’t you get set up? I’ve got today’s catch, and there’s plenty to go around.”

David nodded. It didn’t take long to pop up his tiny tent, and when he visited the fire, he brought some of those leek-onions he’d found earlier.

“Fantastic,” Georgio said with a pleased smile. The cleaver in his right hand was less welcoming, but the shapes laid out on a tarp behind the Ranger didn’t leave David worried for his life. “Those will go great with the Krabby.”

David bit his lip as he looked at the Pokemon. The three laid out were on the larger side of the ones he’d seen on the beach. It still felt strange to consider eating Pokemon though.

He looked behind him at the small fire and Maggie. Her eyes flicked to meet his briefly before staring back into the flames. If he had to guess, he’d say she was between him and Georgio in age.

When he looked back at Georgio, the ranger had his cleaver raised high in the air. “Have you eaten Krabby before?”

What followed was grisly but educational. There were no complaints from man nor beast when it was served.

David had found his next source of food.