Venturing into the Forest
Two days passed as Viola got things ready with a ranger friend of hers who was organizing the venture. Kai spent most of that time writing the review of the restaurant they had been to, and after that digitizing and organizing his thoughts on the city he’d made up to that point. He kept vague tabs on his friends, but was honestly lost enough in thought that he’d missed a text from Mige about exploring a maybe-haunted-but-definitely-dangerous house across town and updates from Crystal about her trainining east of town.
The day they left, the three of them met up with Viola at a cafe near the southern edge of town. She introduced them to Nash the ranger, and two university students name Kyle and Sasha. Together they would go into the Santalune Forest to discover the truth behind the rumors and find those responsible for the destruction. Nash was pretty clear that he did not think that it was Kleavor, but he also supposed anything were possible.
The treck was hard on Kai; he wasn’t used to all of this hiking, and he was just starting to recover from the first hike down from Lumiose City. Sasha kept pace with him and she helped to distract him by talking about her hometown, about literature and food, and her experiences with university.
Nash on the other hand was a harsh taskmaster and often chided Kai for “slowing down the group”. That bothered Kai, who disliked feeling like a burden, but he held his tongue and even fibbed to Crystal when she tried to reassure him about that a few hours later.
As night fell, the group found an injured Budew, who had been attacked by a massive Scolipede, who turned its sights on the group! Kai froze in terror when he saw the creature, but as his friends appeared to start struggling, Kai tried to distract it by waving his arms at it. What the plan was there he couldn’t say. The Scolipede lashed out and attacked him, striking him with its tail and knocking him against a nearby tree.
The pain was excruciating and he was sure from the burning that the injury was probably poisoned. Sasha ran to help him, but he quickly passed out and wasn’t conscious for the rest of the encounter.
After defeating Scolipede, Mige and Viola hurried back to town in the hopes of saving the poor Budew. Nash and the rest remained there, setting up a camp and getting Kai into a tent. They focused on keeping his fever down and administering a concoction of herbs that Nash prepared to counteract the poison. After a little more than a day, Kai began to recover though he was still in and out, and rarely lucid.
The Desert in the Forest
Kai recovered, thanks to Sasha and Crystal’s care. He greeted Mige and Viola the morning after they returned from saving the Budew. He was relieved to see Mige return safely. Kai thanked Nash for saving his life, but Nash dismissed his thanks; that was his job.
Nash called a group meeting, and told them about the treacherous road that lay ahead of them, reminding anybody who wanted to go back to town should do so now. Kai could swear that Nash was looking right at him when he said that.
It was about that time that Crystal lost her temper; she was sick of Nash’s arrogance. She and Mige were Indigo League competitors; they could take care of themselves. Nash was a jerk in response, and by the time Crystal was getting ready to fight him (Pokemon or otherwise), Mige and Viola stepped in and calmed things down (at least a little). Kai was basically just too stunned to react; this was escalating quickly!
Mige suggested that if Nash didn’t want to deal with him and his friends, they could just travel separately—though Mige still had every intention of finding Kleavor. Nash said that was fine with him. He left with Kyle and Sasha, telling anybody wanted to follow to do so.
Kai, Mige, Crystal, and Viola had a brief discussion. Crystal was ready to just ditch Nash, and Viola tried her best to apologize for him. She said that she’d go with them if they split up—since they didn’t know the forest at all, Viola was afraid they’d probably get lost and/or die—but she thought that they should stick with Nash. In the end, they all agreed (though Nash was on thin ice with Crystal, it seemed).
As they pushed on, the landscape became more rugged. Kai was having a harder time navigating the terrain, growing tired and stumbling over stones or thin roots. Mige fell back to walk with him. Kai was grateful that Mige cared and assured him that he’d be fine. He was tired, sure, but he’d get used to it. Right? Mige brought up something else he’d been thinking about, and asked if Kai had any empty Poke Balls. Kai admitted that he didn’t and Mige gave him five. Volbeat didn’t respect Kai, and that probably wouldn’t change until Kai can start gaining some confidence and showing Volbeat that he was worthy of that respect. So, a good idea might be to start by catching a Pokemon if they came across one.
Kai thought the idea sounded reasonable, and asked Mige what he recommended for a beginner. Mige didn’t seem to have the right answer to that question, or at least not an answer that he liked, and told Kai that he would probably know when he found them? It was more of a vibe, really. Kai agreed and told Mige he’d keep an eye out.
The morning was largely uneventful, and the sky cleared. Favorable weather and travel conditions did wonders to raise the group’s spirits. Finally, around noon, the treeline broke and they arrived at the edge of the Desert in the Forest. Nash reminded everyone to remain vigilant, and the group began to trudge through the rugged, sandy hills. It’d be a couple hours to get through on foot, and Kai honestly couldn’t wait to. He hated sand.
Not far into the area, they came upon a section of their path where numerous wild Pokemon were milling around; Kai counted at least six Dwebble, two Phanpy, and a Drilbur. Nash halted the group and began to instruct them on how best to pass by non-threateningly, but Mige suggested that maybe Nash try to search for signs of Donphan or Excadrill that might be just out of sight.
As he did so, Mige let out Chespin to feel for vibrations beneath ground—and it detected them. The group became solemn as the very real possibility arose that it could be an Excadrill. The group decided that they’d cross one at a time. Nash went first; his steps were light and agile, and while it took a several long minutes, Nash made it without issues. Crystal volunteered to go next, but things quickly went south.
She tried to follow Nash’s path, but her foot slipped and she crashed to the ground. Nash called out to Crystal for her to stay still, and Kai froze with fear. Crystal might die?!? Nash called a signla and Crystal got to her feet, the ground began to rumble, and Nash charged forward to draw its attention.
Everything started happening all at once it felt like, and Kai not only froze but kind of disassociated enough that he wasn’t sure what was happening. Mige and Viola leapt in to help, while Kyle and Sasha moved as far back as they could, leaving Kai standing their dumbstruct.
When the Excadrill attacked Crystal and started to drag her underground, Mige managed to rouse Kai back. He told Kai to command Houndour while he went to save Crystal. Kai did as he was asked, panicking while calling out for Houndour to repeatedly use Ember. Finally, the group inflicted enough damage to it, and Riolu smacked it across the face with a Drain Punch, and the Excadrill fled.
The group hastily reconvened; Mige carried Crystal back to the others and Viola ran to check on Nash. Kai just stood there helplessly. Sasha was thankfully able to stop the bleeding for both Crystal and Nash, and treated their wounds. They would both suffer wounds, but at least they would survive. It was a grusome sight, though, and Kai had trouble looking at Crystal at first.
While first aid was being finished and the group readied to quickly leave this clearing behind in case Excadrill decided to make an ecore appearance, Mige pointed out to Kai that one of the Phanpy from before was watching them and Kai could try to catch it. Kai agreed to and tried to do what Mige was telling him to do, but the Phanpy eventually got spooked and tackled. It hit Mige, bowling him over, but the presence of Riolu was enough to get Phanpy to flee. Kai apologized, feeling awaful for Mige getting hurt, but he didn’t seem upset about it at all.
They pushed on, their pace slower now. Nash admitted they wouldn’t make it to the site that night; Crystal was in bad condition. But there was a place ahead where they could rest safely. Along the way, Mige noticed a figure seemingly stalking them. After investigating, Mige revealed the person to be Selene Reno, a “recruit detective” for a local branch of the International Police. She and her partner Patrat were investigating the reports of “evil-doers” in the area, and while she thought their group looked suspicious, she believed Mige when he said they were on the up and up. She proposed that they team up, and Nash agreed.
Selene had a camp site closer than where they were headed, and just as safe (though a little crowded). On the way, Mige and Selene went to investigate the cries of a pained Pokemon, and returned having saved a Deerling from a pair of fearsome Seviper.
Finally, they arrived at Selene’s camp atop a large boulder. They’d have just enough space for the group to set up some tents (though there might have to be sharing). Sasha helped Crystal set up her tent and tended to her bandages. While camps were set up, Selene left to “patrol” and Mige followed her. Kai sat on the edge of the boulder, his legs dangling over the edge, and he pulled out his notebook and started to write.
He wrote about the forest; its beauty and its dangers.He got pretty far into it when Mige came back and sat with him. They talked, and eventually, Kai asked Mige “how he did it”; he was always so calm and cool. He always knew what to do, and he didn’t ever seem anxious or afraid of anything…meanwhile, anxious and afraid were Kai’s default state. Mige didn’t think he was really what Kai said he was; he was just experienced. Mige supposed that it would be like him trying to write a food review. They had their own strengths.
It didn’t change Kai’s thoughts on Mige. He was a hero. Mige countered that Kai had done the same thing with Scolipede, and that meant Kai was a hero too. Kai was a bit flustered, as nobody had ever called him a hero before. Kai confessed that he was afraid of…everything. But with a good friend like Mige, maybe he could learn to be as cool as he was. Mige insisted he wasn’t cool. but Kai simply stated that Mige was cool to him. That was that; Mige got a 5-star rating as a friend. Review was sent out into the universe! Nothing Kai could do about it!
The two shared a laugh and Mige left to check on Crystal, though their conversation gave him something to think about. Really, Mige’s encouragement was conflicting with his own fear and self-doubt. A part of him knew that he’d just get in the way or freeze again the next time something bad happened. He was worried about becoming an obstacle, rather than a friend or an asset, and the thought of being asked to leave or stay behind gnawed at him.
That night, despite Mige setting up his tent for him, Kai would lie out by the campire to keep Mige company. Look at the, just two buds sleeping under the stars. What a couple of cards!
The next day, Kai awoke to some breakfast followed by a group meeting. Selene had it on good authority that things might be more complicated than Nash had thought. She didn’t think that the cause of the issue had to be an either/or situation: there were probably really bad people who were doing something with a big, scary Pokemon.
This made thins more difficult. On the one hand, that meant there were likly criminals or other bad people out there, and if that were the case Nash wanted to just take notes and coordinates and then leave to report it. On the other hand, they couldn’t just leave whatever Pokemon they had explotied and maybe even in pain. Mige at least indicated he was going to help the Pokemon, whatever it was. Viola agreed.
Nash tried to convince them how bad of an idea that was. Only about half the people in their group could fight at all, and two of them were badly injured and wouldn’t hold up too long in a fist fight. If there were even just six people there, their group was horribly outmatched and outgunned. Regardless, Mige and Viola had made their decision. So, Nash came to a compromise: they’d change the nature of the operation, but in doing so, any non-combatants would stay here.
After some discussion and debated, that would be agreed-upon course of action. Mige talked to Kai to confirm whethere Kai wanted to stay or go. It was his choice in the end, Mige assured him. Kai wanted to help, but…hearing Nash talk and remembering the days before, Kai elected to remain at the camp site, if not because Crystal would probably appreciate someone to talk to and look after her while she’s hurt. He gave Mige the Poke-Treats he’d made the night before they left Santalune City.
The Benchwarmers
The next morning, Kai was woken up by the sounds of Mige stirring and Nash getting everything ready to go. Viola was likewise up, and passed out some granola to everyone (including Kai). Nash explained to the group how the operation would be proceeding. He and the others would be traveling north, leaving markers as he had been before, and would check in on a satellite walkie with the group every hour. If at any point Nash went three hours without checking in, the group was to radio the Ranger’s Union using the channel and the passphrase he provided, alerting the Union that there was trouble afoot.
After the Away Team left, Kai remained by the fire with the walkie. He looked over Nash’s message, trying to memorize it in case he misplaced the paper—and also jotted it down on the inside cover of his journal.
The day passed slowly. Kyle wouldn’t stop complaining and Crystal’s patience with him was getting thin, and they bickered quite a bit. The main indicator that time was still passing were Nash’s hourly check-ins. Kai wanted to ask more questions, he didn’t want to distract them (or have Nash yell at him again). He took his role as “the walkie guy” seriously.
Around eleven, a storm seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Kai retreated with Crystal and Sash into Sasha’s tent (Kyle was pouting in his own tent). The three of them talked a bit, and Kai was pleasantly surprised that Crystal seemed to be curious about his work. He explained how the restaurants are chosen, how each food writer has their own specialties, and a bit of how he broke into the business. The conversation turned to Sasha’s experiences and her hopes of becoming a real, great historian one day. She’d hoped that coming on this trip would mean she would be a part of some great discovery.
“Selfish of me, perhaps, to have hoped for recognition instead of wishing to help that poor Kleavor…” she said.
“I don’t think it’s selfish.” Kai said, “There’s nothing wrong with having ambitions to motivate you. You’re still here, though. You’ve given of your time and your energy, and without you I’m not sure Crystal and I would be okay. I don’t think you’re selfish at all.”
That seemed to make Sasha feel at least a little better. She changed the subject, asking Crystal about her own experiences as a model and a cheerleader. Kai actually found the whole thing to be kind of fascinating.
As it grew dark, Crystal started getting restless and ended up going for a walk despite Kai’s urging for her to stay. For his part, Kai dutifully remained with the radio. He waited, eventually just listening to Sasha singing an old Kalosian pop song with the rain as a backdrop. Her voice was nice, and it was so peaceful that he almost didn’t notice that Nash had missed a call. He checked his watch, and confirmed the time with Sasha. He felt a little nervous, but Sasha said that given the weather and the situation, he may not have realized it was time to radio in. They were fine, she was sure.
Crystal came back after it was dark. They talked about the missed call, and the tension only grew worse. Sasha made everyone dinner. Two hours without a call. Now even Sasha was starting to get worried. After the third, Kai wasted no time radioing the Ranger’s Union and giving them the message Nash had left. By this point, he HAD memorized it. The Union assured them that they’d be sending out a search party, and that they would contact them again shortly; they just needed to wait up and hang tight.
After a few hours without any more contact—either from Nash or the Union—Kai called in again. This time, the ranger was a bit short with them and insisted that Nash had established contact with the Union. He asked Kai to stay off of the radioband, and he did. By morning, there was still no sign of them—and no sign that anybody had passed through, either by foot, ina helicopter, or otherwise.
Crystal wanted to go find them, and even started packing her bag to do so. Kyle insisted that they stay at the camp site; both the Ranger’s Union and Nash were expecting them to be there. If they just left, they could get lost and the situation would only be getting worse.
Crystal and Kyle argued back and forth, but eventually Sasha had to side with Kyle. Right now, the best thing they could do was to wait until they heard from Nash or the Union. Crystal reluctantly relented, but told the others that she was going to look for them in the morning if they didn’t hear back soon.
Now time really seemed to be crawling by. Kai busied himself by trying to write. Not even stuff for his travel guide,either; he was writing poetry again, which he hadn’t done for years. In the late afternoon, as Crystal and Kyle were bickering about whether it was time to go or if they should stay put, Kai spotted the group returning.
When the team returned, Kai was so relieved that he felt like he could cry. He had a ton of questions, even more so after they explained what it was that they found up there, exactly: Team Relic. Kai had heard of them before, but they were usually described as luddite extremists. This seemed like something different. It reminded him of Team Happy back in Ransei. They were a similar cult-type of group, regarded as buffoons until they started actually hurting people. He didn’t voice those thoughts at the moment, but he kept it in mind moving forward.
Eventually, Mige was able to use his HoloCaster to contact help, which would send out an air evac unit. Since the helicopter wouldn’t have room for everyone, and would need to make two trips, Nash, Viola, Alexis, Kyle, and Sasha went back first; Crystal, Kai, Mige, and Selene would remain on the rock shelf for the helicopter to return.
While they waited, the four of them talked in more depth about what Mige had seen and gone through with Team Relic. Kai tried to reassure Mige and Selene about how things had turned out. It wasn’t a total victory, but they had something now that they didn’t before: knowledge. About the group, their methods, even clues that might eventually help lead to their intentions.
“They say that failure is often the greatest teacher, afterall.” Kai said to Mige.
Kai was shocked to learn that Selene was not actually a Deputy for the International Police.
During the wait, Kai was blasted in the face by a jet of water, followed by hysterical laughing. A Panpour! He blasted Kai again, who sputtered and tried to pleas with the aquatic monkey to please stop. Mige seemed surprised to see it; that Panpour had been following him since the morning.
After getting water-gunned a few more times, Kai got to his feet and grabbed one of the Great Balls that Mige had given him. If he was going to get stronger and convince Volbeat to respect him, then it started here! Kai caught the Panpour and released it a few moments later. He offered the Panpous a hand in friendship—and got another blast of water to the face.
Well, it was a start; at least Panpour wasn’t punching him in the face.
The chopper returned to get them around an hour or so later, and Crystal fell asleep on Selene’s shoulder on the ride back.
Return to Santalune City
Kai felt relief wash over him as he disembarked the helicopter, once more in civilization. After a last conversation with Nash, they returned to the Pokemon Center, spoke with Viola, and then discussed what their next step was going to be. Crystal’s shoot was only about three weeks away, so they needed to start heading in that direction—which works out, because that was where one of the only two C-Class gyms in Kalos could be found.
Their business in town wasn’t done yet, however. Crystal still needed to get her badge, and Mige was still curious about a strange, abandoned building he’d seen the day before they left for the forest. Kai was grateful he’d have time to properly rest before he was forced to hike and camp again.
Crystal mentioned getting blackout drunk the next night, and Kai felt that a night out woud be nice. Maybe they could all go out together? Crystal supported the idea of a pub crawl, and Mige seemed into it, too. Looking forward to their plans, Kai went upstairs where he took a shower and promptly passed out on his cot.
