Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Rain Dance ❯ Sleep ( Chapter 16 )
[ A - All Readers ]
By: Bliksem 
For one troubled by nightmare, perhaps the best thing one could wish for is just a good night's sleep.
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.24.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 249 | Status: Completed
For one troubled by nightmare, perhaps the best thing one could wish for is just a good night's sleep.
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.24.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 249 | Status: Completed
It certainly was a strange feeling, that sadness of defeat mixed in with contentment from a job well done. Batoy looked over the railing, watching one of the battles, though his mind focused more on himself than what was happening on the field. After all, this tournament had been about the sole thing on his mind for the past few days and now that it was over, it took all his effort to keep the sinking in his gut from coming. And that was only the root of the problem.
Batoy thumbed the satchel, rubbing it slowly. Its contents troubled him. There was, of course, the microchip that Gidan had taken from him. As the days had passed, Batoy found himself hoping that he’d never see it again. But there it was, covered by a thin layer of bubble-wrap.
But that’s not all that the satchel contained. Included was a small folded piece of paper with a handwritten note neatly etched in cursive. It was this note that Batoy focused on, relaying the words silently over and over again.
|I never wished to do the things I did. In a moment of weakness, I compromised my own ideals, but no longer. It was not my right to take what I did, and it seems that karma has agreed. Things have only become more difficult as a result. I am returning this to you with the hope that you will do the right thing. I hope the trials that you’ve faced have helped you grow, and that you see things in a new light. If we ever meet again, I hope it is under better circumstances.
Sincerely,
Gidan Ustan|
His resolved failed, and the sinking feeling returned to Batoy’s gut. He was at a terrible impass. What was the right thing to do? Give the chip to his father? Return it? Give it to that one boy? His grip tightened around the satchel, and he pocketed it before the temptation to chunk the chip came to him. He didn’t like any of the options. “Maybe… I could just keep it with me until I figure out what to do with it…” he muttered to himself. “I just wish… I really knew what this chip did…”
He looked beside him. Max and Manual were both perched on the bleacher next to him. The stadium had emptied slightly, with supporters of defeated combatants heading home, but most of the lower levels were still packed. Up high where Batoy stood, though, whole bleachers could be claimed for a single person, and many of the tournament participants had headed up there after their last battles. Batoy could see Conner stretched out, a pamphlet covering his head. Leila, the girl whom Manual had decimated in the second round, was talking to two other girls that Batoy’d seen on the field. Very occasionally, she looked his direction and cast him a rather dirty scowl, then go back to talking.
There was a loud commotion below, and Batoy looked down to see what the hubbub was about. The crowd was cheering ecstatically as the two Pokemon below exchanged blows. One, a Ninetales, nimbly leapt from rock to rock as each one exploded to bits moments later by the other, a powerful Kingler that waded in the water. With a wave of its huge pincer, the Kingler sent another shockwave that raced at high speeds, parting the water and shattering rocks. Batoy marveled at how much stronger that Crabhammer was than the one he’d run into before.
But yet, despite its power, the Kingler’s Crabhammer didn’t seem to come close to hitting the agile Ninetales. The fox darted away from another shockwave, this time racing between the rocks with unbelievable maneuverability. The Kingler paused, its target lost and it slowly approached the shore. It paused again, but there was no sign of the Ninetales. Its claws reached the sand, and the moment the Kingler had gotten five feet from the water, the ground around it rippled and the Kingler crashed into the sinkhole. The Ninetales burst out of the ground, a collection of green energy forming in its muzzle. It gave a cry and fired the Energy Ball, and the Kingler could only gargle in surprise as it slammed right into its face. The heavy claw hit the ground and didn’t move, and the match was called to the Ninetales.
“Bet Jet would’ve liked to see that,” Batoy mused as he looked around. Jet and Ollie had trotted off over ten minutes ago and still hadn’t returned. Batoy shook his head. They weren’t in trouble, though. They needed the time together, anyways. They’d come back when they were ready. Until then, he wasn’t going to worry.
---
Another five minutes passed before Jet and Ollie reappeared. The two exchanged a brief nuzzle before chirping to get Batoy’s attention. Batoy glanced back and smiled. “Oh, you’re back. Everything okay now?” Jet nodded and then purred as Ollie nuzzled against him again. Batoy grinned at the two Pokemon. “That’s good. Would you guys mind waiting here for a sec? I gotta do something real fast.”
The four Pokemon nodded, and Batoy smiled at them before heading down towards the concessions. There he waited until the flow of people became only a trickle. Batoy’s smile faded as he made his way to the further video phone he could see. He took a seat and quickly dialed a number, taking a receiver to his ear and listening to the rings. After three rings, the screen flickered on, and Batoy could see Lizbeth hastily pick up the phone. Her hair was tussled, as if she hadn’t gone through her grooming patterns for the day, and she wore her loungewear, even though it’d long since climbed into the afternoon hours. {H-Hello? Batoy?}
“Um… hey, Lizbeth,” Batoy said softly. He wasn’t quite sure why he called, but it felt like the right thing to do. “I… I need your help.”
{Are you okay,} the woman asked, her face showing concern. {I heard from Brand that you lost the TCSM chip. He was absolutely furious.}
“I... got it back….”
{Oh, you did?} Lizbeth’s eyes lit up. {Could I see it?} Batoy nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling the chip out of the satchel. He held it up to the screen, and Lizbeth gave a sigh of relief. {Oh, that’s good. I’ve been worrying about that for a while now. Have you contacted Brand yet?}
Batoy looked down and after a moment, shook his head. “N-no… I haven’t….” He really didn’t want to be fussed at for not doing so.
{I see. Well, don’t worry about doing so. I’ll take care of that. I’m actually quite pleased you gave me the news first. You’re still in Eterna, correct?}
“Y-Yeah?” Batoy looked up, surprised. Usually Lizbeth would scold him for not contacting the right person. This was a pleasant surprise.
{Okay. I’m in Snowpoint right now, but I can have a contact meet you at the Old Chateau in the forest on the west side of the city. The contact’ll give the chip to me, and I’ll give it to Brand. Once you give it to the contact, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Is that good?}
“Yeah.”
{Okay. Well, there’s some business I need to take care of while I’m up here. Contact me if there are any changes to the plan.}
“Okay!” Batoy resisted the urge to grin. He was that he didn’t have to contact his father. Lizbeth was usually a stickler for protocol, so this disruption of protocol was greatly appreciated. “If you say so….” After all, as long as he wasn’t the one getting chewed out for it, he didn’t really care.
Lizbeth gave a pleasant grin, as if a giant weight had lifted off her shoulders. {Well, it’s good to hear from you. You’ve been through some hard times, but you look well.}
“Thanks, Liz. You really think so?” Batoy softened. Maybe the fighting had done at lot more for him than he realized. He certainly felt better than he had in a long time.
{Yes, you do. I’ve known you since you were ten.} Lizbeth looked away, then back. {Well, I must be going. You’re doing a great job, Batoy. Just keep it up for a little longer.}
---
Batoy stood awestruck. His hands tightened on the railing as he watched the battle unfold before him. Beside him, the four Pokemon remained speechless, riveted by the sheer skill of the battles. Below, a monstrous Tyranitar struck, moving faster than Batoy had ever seen. It leapt and pounced like some horrible combination of a panther and a crocodile, slithering and slinking around on all fours instead of standing straight. Its tail thrashed violently as it attacked its target, cloaked in a torrent of sand. Its jaws snapped shut, barely missing its mark.
But the Old Man dodged and weaved graceful, its psychic abilities and surprising speed consistently propelling it out of harms way. With a kick from one leg, it leapt backwards, dodging another crunch from the Tyranitar’s jaws. One hand pushed forward, twirling the spoon to fend off the rush of sand that accompanied it. On the side, Mia stood with her arms crossed. Her brow was marked with concentration, but her face was still jovial. This had been an intense battle.
Contrary, Daniel was scowling daggers and thrust a finger forward. “Damnit, it’s a psychic type! You have the advantage, Tyranitar! Now use Dark Pulse!”
Mia smiled. “Sup, Old Man! Incoming!” The Alakazam pressed both of his spoons across his chest, and the rush of dark energy sailed harmlessly by as he teleported above the raging beast. “And now, Psycho Cut!”
Daniel smiled desperately. “What kind of moron are you? Psychic attacks can’t hurt dark-type Pokemon!”
“That may be,” Mia said with a smirk.
The Old Man slashed the air with his spoons and below him, the Tyranitar roared as sprays of sand flew into the air. The sand beneath the Pokemon began to stir, and the Tyranitar lost its balance as its claws sank into the newly made quicksand. Mia’s grin widened. “Hey, Old Man, now you got ‘em! Energy Ball!” ~Kazam!~ he called, sending a spinning sphere of green energy towards the Tyranitar. The impact preempted a final roar from the Tyranitar as thrashed wildly before finally laying still.
“Un-effing-believeable…” Daniel cursed silently as he recalled his final Pokemon. To lose to a girl that only used one type of Pokemon, that carried and used an unevolved Pokemon, and one that was never used by anyone serious… it was an outrage. He didn’t look at Mia, instead, Daniel turned and quickly left the arena. His irritation and resentment radiated to everyone in the stadium.
Mia only shrugged as the Old Man teleported next to her. “Guess not everyone can take a loss well. Awesome job, Old Man.” The Alakazam gave her a disapproving look, and Mia laughed sheepishly and slapped the Pokemon on the back. “Aww, don’t be testy!” She recalled him into the Pokeball and stepped out of the arena as well.
---
A moment passed before Batoy’s eyes adjusted to the evening sky. The sun hung low, hovering just above the horizon. Fierce orange made way to a calm blue that crept from the Coronet Range. Batoy stretched as his body acclimated to the cool breeze that blew past him. The tournament ceremonies had come to a close at long last.
“I think top four’s a pretty good ranking, don’t you?”
Batoy turned back to see Mia approaching, a satchel slinged across her shoulder. “It’s really incredible,” he said. “I thought you were gonna lose against Daniel and get top eight, but you destroyed him.”
“Yeah, it would’ve been a lot harder if he didn’t get so arrogant. He’s too closed-minded. Wasn’t as fun a fight as it could’ve been, but it was intense, nonetheless.” Mia smiled, but the corners of her lips tugged down with a hint of regret.
“That Ninetales, though… that was one powerful Pokemon. What was that guy’s name? Eric or something?” ~Quilava!~ Batoy looked down to see Jet glaring at him, and he grinned. “Oh, don’t be like that, Jet. I know you would’ve done well had we moved on, but that’s in the past now.” He looked at Mia. “What’re your plans now?”
“Well, -our- plans, if you remember, is to head west. I need to cross through the forest to check something, and then head to Canalave City. Then, off to Full Moon Island.”
“R-Right, our plans.” Batoy resisted the urge to look down; he could feel Jet’s eyes staring at him questioningly. “Are we gonna stop by the Chateau?”
Mia nodded. “I hope to. I heard it’s pretty well hidden, so getting to it may be a little difficult.” She grinned. “But… I can’t pass up a chance to see a haunted house!”
“It’s… haunted?” Batoy’s gut tightened. Perhaps he should’ve insisted on a different place.
“Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t know that?” A mischievous grin crossed the girl’s face. “It’s supposedly filled with ghost Pokemon and the spirits of the deceased. Really reminds me of home.”
“That’s… great…”
“Anyways, I’m tired of standing here. You have everything you’re gonna need?”
“Yeah, I’m set.” Batoy hoisted his backpack on to his shoulder. The bag sagged slightly, weighed with enough food for 10 days. “We should be good for a little while.”
“Great, let’s head out. I want to get into the forest before the sun goes down. If we’re lucky, we can find a place to set up camp.”
---
The sun dipped beneath the horizon and the first stars began to dot the sky. The gibbous moon illuminated the Eterna forest in a pale glow. Batoy could barely contain his awe. The forest floor glew with the moon’s ethereal light. The whole place seemed so different than when he first past through. “Wow… it’s really beautiful…”
~…Qui….~ Batoy looked back to see Jet yawning. The Quilava stopped to rub his eyes, and Batoy smiled. “Guess the day’s been really hard on ya, buddy. Why don’t you get some rest?” The groggy fire-type nodded and gave a final yawn before he vanished into his ball. Batoy stifled his own yawn before looking around. Ahead of him, Mia strolled slowly, but her body stood straight, lacking any hints of exhaustion. “Hey, Mia?” Batoy called. “Don’tcha think this is far enough?”
The girl turned back, a look of surprise on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’d gotten so late.” She looked around a moment before nodding. “Yeah, this place’s as good as any to stop.” Batoy gave her an incredulous look. By her voice, he wouldn’t have guessed that they’d been walking for almost four hours, and for the past hour and a half of that, she’d been quiet, stuck in some daydream.
Mia picked a nearby tree and tossed her knapsack against the base of it. “Tree, I choose you!” she said with playful smirk, and Batoy rolled his eyes.
As she plopped down, Batoy sought out another tree close by. His body suddenly felt very heavy and sleep almost claimed him before his head laid against his backpack. “Night… Mia,” he said between yawns. The night was warmer than normal, and comfortable. Batoy tucked his arms into his shirt, making a makeshift blanket, and almost immediately dozed off.
He only awoke once that night to the sound of mumbling. It was muffled and distant, and Batoy couldn’t tell if only one voice or several spoke. Whomever the owner, the voice simmered with reluctance and regret. Batoy pulled his legs closer to him and squeezed his eyes closed, letting sleep recover him again.
Batoy thumbed the satchel, rubbing it slowly. Its contents troubled him. There was, of course, the microchip that Gidan had taken from him. As the days had passed, Batoy found himself hoping that he’d never see it again. But there it was, covered by a thin layer of bubble-wrap.
But that’s not all that the satchel contained. Included was a small folded piece of paper with a handwritten note neatly etched in cursive. It was this note that Batoy focused on, relaying the words silently over and over again.
|I never wished to do the things I did. In a moment of weakness, I compromised my own ideals, but no longer. It was not my right to take what I did, and it seems that karma has agreed. Things have only become more difficult as a result. I am returning this to you with the hope that you will do the right thing. I hope the trials that you’ve faced have helped you grow, and that you see things in a new light. If we ever meet again, I hope it is under better circumstances.
Sincerely,
Gidan Ustan|
His resolved failed, and the sinking feeling returned to Batoy’s gut. He was at a terrible impass. What was the right thing to do? Give the chip to his father? Return it? Give it to that one boy? His grip tightened around the satchel, and he pocketed it before the temptation to chunk the chip came to him. He didn’t like any of the options. “Maybe… I could just keep it with me until I figure out what to do with it…” he muttered to himself. “I just wish… I really knew what this chip did…”
He looked beside him. Max and Manual were both perched on the bleacher next to him. The stadium had emptied slightly, with supporters of defeated combatants heading home, but most of the lower levels were still packed. Up high where Batoy stood, though, whole bleachers could be claimed for a single person, and many of the tournament participants had headed up there after their last battles. Batoy could see Conner stretched out, a pamphlet covering his head. Leila, the girl whom Manual had decimated in the second round, was talking to two other girls that Batoy’d seen on the field. Very occasionally, she looked his direction and cast him a rather dirty scowl, then go back to talking.
There was a loud commotion below, and Batoy looked down to see what the hubbub was about. The crowd was cheering ecstatically as the two Pokemon below exchanged blows. One, a Ninetales, nimbly leapt from rock to rock as each one exploded to bits moments later by the other, a powerful Kingler that waded in the water. With a wave of its huge pincer, the Kingler sent another shockwave that raced at high speeds, parting the water and shattering rocks. Batoy marveled at how much stronger that Crabhammer was than the one he’d run into before.
But yet, despite its power, the Kingler’s Crabhammer didn’t seem to come close to hitting the agile Ninetales. The fox darted away from another shockwave, this time racing between the rocks with unbelievable maneuverability. The Kingler paused, its target lost and it slowly approached the shore. It paused again, but there was no sign of the Ninetales. Its claws reached the sand, and the moment the Kingler had gotten five feet from the water, the ground around it rippled and the Kingler crashed into the sinkhole. The Ninetales burst out of the ground, a collection of green energy forming in its muzzle. It gave a cry and fired the Energy Ball, and the Kingler could only gargle in surprise as it slammed right into its face. The heavy claw hit the ground and didn’t move, and the match was called to the Ninetales.
“Bet Jet would’ve liked to see that,” Batoy mused as he looked around. Jet and Ollie had trotted off over ten minutes ago and still hadn’t returned. Batoy shook his head. They weren’t in trouble, though. They needed the time together, anyways. They’d come back when they were ready. Until then, he wasn’t going to worry.
---
Another five minutes passed before Jet and Ollie reappeared. The two exchanged a brief nuzzle before chirping to get Batoy’s attention. Batoy glanced back and smiled. “Oh, you’re back. Everything okay now?” Jet nodded and then purred as Ollie nuzzled against him again. Batoy grinned at the two Pokemon. “That’s good. Would you guys mind waiting here for a sec? I gotta do something real fast.”
The four Pokemon nodded, and Batoy smiled at them before heading down towards the concessions. There he waited until the flow of people became only a trickle. Batoy’s smile faded as he made his way to the further video phone he could see. He took a seat and quickly dialed a number, taking a receiver to his ear and listening to the rings. After three rings, the screen flickered on, and Batoy could see Lizbeth hastily pick up the phone. Her hair was tussled, as if she hadn’t gone through her grooming patterns for the day, and she wore her loungewear, even though it’d long since climbed into the afternoon hours. {H-Hello? Batoy?}
“Um… hey, Lizbeth,” Batoy said softly. He wasn’t quite sure why he called, but it felt like the right thing to do. “I… I need your help.”
{Are you okay,} the woman asked, her face showing concern. {I heard from Brand that you lost the TCSM chip. He was absolutely furious.}
“I... got it back….”
{Oh, you did?} Lizbeth’s eyes lit up. {Could I see it?} Batoy nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling the chip out of the satchel. He held it up to the screen, and Lizbeth gave a sigh of relief. {Oh, that’s good. I’ve been worrying about that for a while now. Have you contacted Brand yet?}
Batoy looked down and after a moment, shook his head. “N-no… I haven’t….” He really didn’t want to be fussed at for not doing so.
{I see. Well, don’t worry about doing so. I’ll take care of that. I’m actually quite pleased you gave me the news first. You’re still in Eterna, correct?}
“Y-Yeah?” Batoy looked up, surprised. Usually Lizbeth would scold him for not contacting the right person. This was a pleasant surprise.
{Okay. I’m in Snowpoint right now, but I can have a contact meet you at the Old Chateau in the forest on the west side of the city. The contact’ll give the chip to me, and I’ll give it to Brand. Once you give it to the contact, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Is that good?}
“Yeah.”
{Okay. Well, there’s some business I need to take care of while I’m up here. Contact me if there are any changes to the plan.}
“Okay!” Batoy resisted the urge to grin. He was that he didn’t have to contact his father. Lizbeth was usually a stickler for protocol, so this disruption of protocol was greatly appreciated. “If you say so….” After all, as long as he wasn’t the one getting chewed out for it, he didn’t really care.
Lizbeth gave a pleasant grin, as if a giant weight had lifted off her shoulders. {Well, it’s good to hear from you. You’ve been through some hard times, but you look well.}
“Thanks, Liz. You really think so?” Batoy softened. Maybe the fighting had done at lot more for him than he realized. He certainly felt better than he had in a long time.
{Yes, you do. I’ve known you since you were ten.} Lizbeth looked away, then back. {Well, I must be going. You’re doing a great job, Batoy. Just keep it up for a little longer.}
---
Batoy stood awestruck. His hands tightened on the railing as he watched the battle unfold before him. Beside him, the four Pokemon remained speechless, riveted by the sheer skill of the battles. Below, a monstrous Tyranitar struck, moving faster than Batoy had ever seen. It leapt and pounced like some horrible combination of a panther and a crocodile, slithering and slinking around on all fours instead of standing straight. Its tail thrashed violently as it attacked its target, cloaked in a torrent of sand. Its jaws snapped shut, barely missing its mark.
But the Old Man dodged and weaved graceful, its psychic abilities and surprising speed consistently propelling it out of harms way. With a kick from one leg, it leapt backwards, dodging another crunch from the Tyranitar’s jaws. One hand pushed forward, twirling the spoon to fend off the rush of sand that accompanied it. On the side, Mia stood with her arms crossed. Her brow was marked with concentration, but her face was still jovial. This had been an intense battle.
Contrary, Daniel was scowling daggers and thrust a finger forward. “Damnit, it’s a psychic type! You have the advantage, Tyranitar! Now use Dark Pulse!”
Mia smiled. “Sup, Old Man! Incoming!” The Alakazam pressed both of his spoons across his chest, and the rush of dark energy sailed harmlessly by as he teleported above the raging beast. “And now, Psycho Cut!”
Daniel smiled desperately. “What kind of moron are you? Psychic attacks can’t hurt dark-type Pokemon!”
“That may be,” Mia said with a smirk.
The Old Man slashed the air with his spoons and below him, the Tyranitar roared as sprays of sand flew into the air. The sand beneath the Pokemon began to stir, and the Tyranitar lost its balance as its claws sank into the newly made quicksand. Mia’s grin widened. “Hey, Old Man, now you got ‘em! Energy Ball!” ~Kazam!~ he called, sending a spinning sphere of green energy towards the Tyranitar. The impact preempted a final roar from the Tyranitar as thrashed wildly before finally laying still.
“Un-effing-believeable…” Daniel cursed silently as he recalled his final Pokemon. To lose to a girl that only used one type of Pokemon, that carried and used an unevolved Pokemon, and one that was never used by anyone serious… it was an outrage. He didn’t look at Mia, instead, Daniel turned and quickly left the arena. His irritation and resentment radiated to everyone in the stadium.
Mia only shrugged as the Old Man teleported next to her. “Guess not everyone can take a loss well. Awesome job, Old Man.” The Alakazam gave her a disapproving look, and Mia laughed sheepishly and slapped the Pokemon on the back. “Aww, don’t be testy!” She recalled him into the Pokeball and stepped out of the arena as well.
---
A moment passed before Batoy’s eyes adjusted to the evening sky. The sun hung low, hovering just above the horizon. Fierce orange made way to a calm blue that crept from the Coronet Range. Batoy stretched as his body acclimated to the cool breeze that blew past him. The tournament ceremonies had come to a close at long last.
“I think top four’s a pretty good ranking, don’t you?”
Batoy turned back to see Mia approaching, a satchel slinged across her shoulder. “It’s really incredible,” he said. “I thought you were gonna lose against Daniel and get top eight, but you destroyed him.”
“Yeah, it would’ve been a lot harder if he didn’t get so arrogant. He’s too closed-minded. Wasn’t as fun a fight as it could’ve been, but it was intense, nonetheless.” Mia smiled, but the corners of her lips tugged down with a hint of regret.
“That Ninetales, though… that was one powerful Pokemon. What was that guy’s name? Eric or something?” ~Quilava!~ Batoy looked down to see Jet glaring at him, and he grinned. “Oh, don’t be like that, Jet. I know you would’ve done well had we moved on, but that’s in the past now.” He looked at Mia. “What’re your plans now?”
“Well, -our- plans, if you remember, is to head west. I need to cross through the forest to check something, and then head to Canalave City. Then, off to Full Moon Island.”
“R-Right, our plans.” Batoy resisted the urge to look down; he could feel Jet’s eyes staring at him questioningly. “Are we gonna stop by the Chateau?”
Mia nodded. “I hope to. I heard it’s pretty well hidden, so getting to it may be a little difficult.” She grinned. “But… I can’t pass up a chance to see a haunted house!”
“It’s… haunted?” Batoy’s gut tightened. Perhaps he should’ve insisted on a different place.
“Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t know that?” A mischievous grin crossed the girl’s face. “It’s supposedly filled with ghost Pokemon and the spirits of the deceased. Really reminds me of home.”
“That’s… great…”
“Anyways, I’m tired of standing here. You have everything you’re gonna need?”
“Yeah, I’m set.” Batoy hoisted his backpack on to his shoulder. The bag sagged slightly, weighed with enough food for 10 days. “We should be good for a little while.”
“Great, let’s head out. I want to get into the forest before the sun goes down. If we’re lucky, we can find a place to set up camp.”
---
The sun dipped beneath the horizon and the first stars began to dot the sky. The gibbous moon illuminated the Eterna forest in a pale glow. Batoy could barely contain his awe. The forest floor glew with the moon’s ethereal light. The whole place seemed so different than when he first past through. “Wow… it’s really beautiful…”
~…Qui….~ Batoy looked back to see Jet yawning. The Quilava stopped to rub his eyes, and Batoy smiled. “Guess the day’s been really hard on ya, buddy. Why don’t you get some rest?” The groggy fire-type nodded and gave a final yawn before he vanished into his ball. Batoy stifled his own yawn before looking around. Ahead of him, Mia strolled slowly, but her body stood straight, lacking any hints of exhaustion. “Hey, Mia?” Batoy called. “Don’tcha think this is far enough?”
The girl turned back, a look of surprise on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’d gotten so late.” She looked around a moment before nodding. “Yeah, this place’s as good as any to stop.” Batoy gave her an incredulous look. By her voice, he wouldn’t have guessed that they’d been walking for almost four hours, and for the past hour and a half of that, she’d been quiet, stuck in some daydream.
Mia picked a nearby tree and tossed her knapsack against the base of it. “Tree, I choose you!” she said with playful smirk, and Batoy rolled his eyes.
As she plopped down, Batoy sought out another tree close by. His body suddenly felt very heavy and sleep almost claimed him before his head laid against his backpack. “Night… Mia,” he said between yawns. The night was warmer than normal, and comfortable. Batoy tucked his arms into his shirt, making a makeshift blanket, and almost immediately dozed off.
He only awoke once that night to the sound of mumbling. It was muffled and distant, and Batoy couldn’t tell if only one voice or several spoke. Whomever the owner, the voice simmered with reluctance and regret. Batoy pulled his legs closer to him and squeezed his eyes closed, letting sleep recover him again.