Crusader’s Intermission Hour
Story 1: Two Poké
Beau wasn’t much of a morning person but he hated the thought of waking up late. There were so many hours in the morning that he could be doing things. That’s what he thought about as he walked outside to see the sun peeking over Capim from their home. However, as he walks out into the yard, he feels his paws hit the warm embrace of the large stone on the side of the path leading down to the main road.
Before he could think, he fell to his side and his vision went black. Though, he tried fighting the oncoming unconsciousness by focusing on other things.
It seems like only yesterday that Team Crusader found themselves settling into their home outside of Capim town. But in reality, it was quite a few months now. The days were very similar and they all started to blend together. He didn’t mind though.
Even though a feeling in the pit of his stomach called him a hypocrite for wanting to do the same thing over and over again, the variation of the jobs the team went on during their weeks was different enough for Beau to be content. Granted, he couldn’t completely shake the voice in his head telling him he could be doing more. They were all the same as their first mission. Maybe it was a missing item in a dungeon or a missing Pokemon, but it felt rewarding, and it didn’t feel stressful outside of the few scuffles he got into with the group. They always managed to make it out in one piece.
Even now, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who was settling into the swing of things. Mako was thriving during their jobs. He was the one leading the team every time they went into dungeons, explaining the many types of seeds and berries they found, (especially how to spot fake ones). When it came to navigating in dungeons and completing missions, the group worked as a well-oiled machine with Mako as the engine.
Outside of the dungeons, Beau had started making appearances at the guild. Hearing the Guildmaster talk about Aura, and also still not quite understanding the full extent of his Psychic abilities, Beau found himself in the library a few times a week. When he wasn’t shoving his nose into a book to learn more about how to control his new abilities, he was attempting to talk to some of the other guildmembers.
He's spoken to a couple of guildmembers, but nothing past pleasantries. They may be a few months into being a proper team, but Beau still feels like they aren't really part of the guild yet.
He’d asked the other two to come with him on a couple of separate occasions, in which Mako did join him, if not just for a change of scenery, seems like he also had the same problem with socializing. Though, it seemed like his issue was more that he didn’t want to talk to anyone, rather than he wanted to, but couldn’t.
Dav had declined every single time to go back, always saying “next time” but never following through with that promise. Dav’s behavior was off and Beau could feel it.
Beau can feel his mind beginning to slip now. The unconsciousness is coming to claim him like a very sleepy reaper. That is until he hears a shrill shriek coming from the house. His ears turn toward the sound as he jumps up, any tiredness now yanked from his body.
The door flings open, and Dav sprints outside, it looks like he is holding something on fire above his head. But as he dives into the grass and rolls around, extinguishing the flames, it becomes clear that he isn’t holding something. He is the one on fire.
Beau jumps off the rock rushing over to his friend, his head covered in smoke from the smoldering grass. Mako also sprints out the door to Beau’s side as the two look down at Dav, as he sits up.
That’s when the two of them realize all the cream-colored feathers that made up Dav’s “Hair” are now gone.
“What happened to you Dav?” Mako asks.
Dav doesn’t realize what has happened to him as he shakes off the soot from his shoulders.
“I woke up and I was on fire!” Dav exclaims, “I didn’t want to burn the house down so I ran outside. Talk about a close call right? Scared the shit out of me.”
“That’s great and all…” Mako replies. “But… what happened to, your head?” Mako gestures to where Dav’s hair would have been.
Dav reaches to the top of his head, tapping where he thinks he'll find the soft feathers that make up his whole silhouette. He shoots up to his feet, his hands fiendishly checking for any remnant of his do, but to no avail.
“No. Nononononono you’ve gotta be kidding me…”
“You’re not hurt,” Beau tries to console his friend. “That’s all that really matters.”
“Beau, I’m BALD!” Dav snaps at the Espeon. “I CAN’T BE BALD!”
“It’s not permanent right?” Mako asks.
“I DON’T KNOW!” Dav shouts. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED. I WOKE UP AND MY HEAD WAS ON FIRE.”
“We can fix this right?” Beau says. “Does it hurt? Can we just give him an Oran Berry and get his hair back?”
“Nah, it wouldn’t work like that.” Mako shoots down Beau’s proposal. “It’d have to grow back, and Oran Berries don’t do that. They’re for injuries. Dav looks healthy, he’s just… y’know. Hairless… Featherless?”
Dav falls to his knees, his hands still on his head.
“Man… I can’t be fuckin’ bald… Not now... Not now.”
“Why now specifically?” Beau asks.
“You guys wouldn’t get it.”
“Try us man, we’re a team," Mako adds. "You losing your hair in a fiery explosion is kind of a team issue.”
Dav sighs, and shakes his head, before standing up.
“Look, This weekend was supposed to be a big day for me. So I’ll let you guys in on it.”
“Lay it on us.” Mako eggs his friend on to continue.
“I’m supposed to be… going out this weekend.”
“Like, to an event?” Beau asks.
“No, like… a date,” Dav says, still distraught.
“Wait… seriously?” Mako says. “You’re going on a date?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t gonna say anything since I didn’t know if it’d go well plus I didn’t want to have you guys tryin’ to get involved.”
“Homie, we wouldn’t’ve got involved with anything like that if ya just asked us. Wait is this where you’ve been the last few weeks? Who’re you going to see?” Beau asks.
“Yeah, I’ve been flaking on you guys on off days to go talk to this girl. It’s the Gardevoir from the tavern we all met at.” Dav says.
“Wait, her?” Mako asks, “The one that talks like a cowboy?”
“Yeah, her. But I’m not doing that now.” Dav replies. “I’m not going to show up to the date bald dude.”
“Being bald isn’t so bad. I’m bald.” Mako retorts.
“You’ve been bald since we woke up here. It’s your… look,” Dav says. “I had these big locks of feathers that’re now gone.”
“You don’t even know what you look like bald.” Mako counters.
“I don’t even want to know,” Dav says.
“I’m not letting you flake on the date man,” Mako says.
The Blaziken recoils
“Why not?”
Beau jumps into the conversation.
“For one, you’ve been ditching us to go see this girl, and now after what weeks of schmoozing her you’re going to flake cause of a bad hair day?”
“Beau I don’t have hair.”
Beau shakes his head.
“Nah, you’re going man, we’ll fix this.”
“How?” Dav asks.
“We’ll go into town and get you a hat or something,” Mako replies.
“Nah, I don’t want to go into town. I want to know why I woke up on fire.” Dav replies.
“We can always go to the clinic in the guild,” Beau says.
“Clinic in the guild?” Dav asks.
“Yeah, there’s a clinic in there. It’s run by uh… Kina… I think her name is.” Beau adds. “You haven’t shown up at the guild in a while. Not surprised you
don’t know.”
“Outside of work, no,” Dav replies. “You know why already.”
Mako laughs.
“Clearly.”
Beau splits off from the group, heading down their path to the main road.
“Come on guys, the quicker we get the answer, the more time we’ll have to get Dav a nice hat for his date.”
Mako and Dav exchange looks before joining Beau on their outing for the day. For Beau and Mako, it’s a normal day of solving problems. For Dav, it’s a
walk of shame.
The group make their way to Capim town, opting to take a side road following the outskirts of town to the guild hall. Dav had insisted they do, lest he
be seen with his “affliction”.
Beau turns to Dav as they're walking, breaking the silence the trio had been in for the last fifteen minutes.
“So, what made you go back to talk to the Gardevoir?”
“Honestly? The voice.” Dav replied. “All of the Pokémon here have normal voices, people from the guild have accents from what I could assume to be
other countries, but that Gardevoir, she’s the first outsider from the guild I’ve met that had any kind of an accent.”
“You think she’s like us?” Mako asks.
“That’s why I went back to find out,” Dav said. “Though we started talking and honestly, I forgot completely. We just seem to vibe really well.”
“I’m happy for ya man,” Beau says. “That’s why you gotta go.”
“I don’t want to go looking like this,” Dav replies.
“Was she excited at going out with you?”
Dav pauses for a moment, pondering what happened when he asked her to go out. It was a few days ago, and he was walking her to the crosswalk where the two of them split off from one another. The sun had set hours ago, and Dav was lighting the path with the fire from one of his wrists, a soft orange glow illuminating the two of them as they said their goodbyes.
“Well, it’s time for me to get some rest.” The Gardevoir says with a soft smile on her face.
She starts to step away, but Dav has finally mustered enough courage to get her attention.
“A-actually, hold on a second.”
The Gardevoir freezes in her tracks as she slowly turns around to face the Blaziken.
“What’cha need?” she questions him.
“I-I was going to ask.” Dav stammered. “Do you… do you work next weekend?”
The Gardevoir pauses, running a hand through the hairlike curls on the side of her head.
“No, I don’t ‘suppose I do.” She says. “Why?”
“I was curious if you’d maybe want to… get together,” Dav says. “Just me and you.”
The Gardevoir pauses for a moment. It looks as if she was caught off guard by Dav’s request. The air feels thick, heavy, almost overbearing on him. The
flame on his wrist flickered erratically, showing off his nervousness for both of them to see.
“Y’know… that sounds, really, really nice. I’d love to.”
Dav’s pulled from his memory back to the present, Beau’s voice breaking through the scene he played in his head day after day after day since hearing
that.
“So, was she excited?” Beau asks for a fourth time.
“Yeah. She was.”
“Then it’s settled,” Mako responds. “She ain’t gonna be weirded out by you not having any hair.”
“You don’t know that,” Dav responds.
“Brother, listen to me.” Mako retorts. “She’s not going to be weirded out, if she really likes you she’ll accept you for you.”
“And how do you know that for sure?” Dav asks.
Mako pauses. A small air of silence befalls the group. Dav looks to his friend; The Munchlax seems lost in thought for a moment before snapping back to
reality.
“I… don’t know,” Mako replies. “Call it a hunch.”
“If we can’t find a hat, one of you guys are gonna have to go over there and tell her not to show up,” Dav adds.
“We’re not doing that,” Beau responds. “You’re going on this date. We’re not letting you sabotage yourself in that way.”
“I’m not sabotaging myself,” Dav replies.
“Whatever, we’re here,” Beau says, gesturing with his head to the road that exits before the guild hall. “Let’s go find out if the nurse knows anything.”
Dav takes a deep breath as the trio makes their way into the guild hall, Dav tries his damndest to not listen to the snickering and sneering from any
guildmembers in the lobby as they work their way to the nurse's office. Soon enough, they’re out of sight of any prying eyes; and Dav feels a weight lift
off of his shoulders.
The trio enters the nurse's office. A voice calls out to them from the back of the room, though the owner of the voice is obscured.
“Just a minute! Take a seat on the table and I’ll be right out.” The feminine voice calls out.
Beau and Mako look to Dav, who sits on the examination table. The table feels more like a large chair. Bigger Pokémon must not visit the infirmary often.
Soon enough Kina rounds the corner from the back, in her hands a couple of small boxes. Dav’s never seen a Pokémon like her before.
“Alright, so, how can I hel—” Kina stops in her tracks as she sees Dav and his condition.
“Yeah… I don’t know what happened.” Dav says.
“This is really something,” Kina replies, taking a closer look at Dav. “Would you mind leaning forward so I can take a look at the top and back of your
head?”
Dav does as he’s told, and Kina runs her hands along the short red feathers that have replaced his hair.
“Does it hurt at all?” She asks.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“And you said you had no idea how this happened?” Kina continues her line of questioning.
“No, I woke up, and I was on fire. Just my head. Ran outside to put it out, and then all my hair just… went up in smoke.” Dav clarified.
“Hmmm…” Kinda ponders.
“Is it permanent?” Mako asks.
Kina shakes her head.
“No, it’s not. Thankfully.” Kina replies, stepping away from Dav, who sits back up in response. “I haven’t seen this in person, but I have heard about it.”
The Audino steps back to where she emerged with the small boxes and produces an old, leatherbound book. She opens it, scanning the pages, nodding
to herself, before she closes it.
“As I was saying.” Kina continues. “It’s not permanent. Actually, it’s quite natural for this to happen.”
“Really?” Beau asks.
“Yeah, as it turns out, every so often, Blazikens will burn off the feathers on their head to make way for newer, healthier ones,” Kina says. “The feathers on
their heads are more akin to fur or hair. So it grows back fairly quickly.”
Dav lets out a sigh of relief.
“I won’t be bald forever, how fast does it grow back?”
Kina pauses, opening the book again to double-check her next statement.
“It should grow back to its full size in about… eight days.”
“Eight days?!” Dav exclaims. “I don’t have eight days!”
Kina shakes her head solemnly. “You’ll have to make do.”
“When is your… outing Dav?” Mako asks.
“Four days.”
“You’ll look more or less normal by then,” Kina replies with a reassuring smile.
“We’ll see about that,” Dav mutters. “Thank you though, for looking at me. I didn’t even know this was a common occurrence.”
“Oh, it’s perfectly fine. I’m happy it was merely a cosmetic issue, I’m sorry I can’t fix it right away.”
“That’s fine, I’m just glad it’s not permanent,” Dav says, standing up.
“Please don’t hesitate to come back if you guys need anything,” Kina reassures the group as they get up and leave the guild.
The trio slink out of the guild hall once more, finding themselves at the crossroads between Capim proper, and the shortcut that’ll take them to their
home.
“So, whatddya say we get you a hat?” Beau asks.
Dav pauses for a moment.
“Uh, y’know… Now that I’m thinking about it. Maybe I don’t need one. My hair will be back in a few days, and now I know that this is just something
that’s going to happen, I might as well get used to it.”
“So… we’re not getting a hat?” Mako asks.
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Dav responds.
“Man, I was hopin’ we could’ve got ourselves some food while we were out.”
“Are we out?” Beau asks.
“Nah, just hungry,” Mako responds.
“Figures, we can just cook something when we get home.”
“Fine by me,” Dav responds.
The group begins their walk home. For Dav, he isn’t looking forward to the next couple of days of continuing to be hairless. Even though both Mako and
Beau had gotten over it enough to not stare at him, the few times the group did go out on jobs were difficult.
Dav mostly hung back in the Dungeons the first day, only jumping forward to play his part in the team dynamic. The feral Pokémon in the dungeons
were more focused on killing him rather than criticizing him for his baldness.
Though, the few Pokémon they did rescue had things to say. He couldn’t get the voice of the confused Bagon who kept asking him where his hair went.
Once the second day came, he was relieved to see the cream feathers donning his head once more. While short, it did attempt to reform to its proper
shape. Albeit not very well.
Now that he had an idea of how long it’d take to return to normal he felt himself return to his normal self.
On the third day, the feathers grew once more, He had a proper hairstyle rather than a short cut, though it was more or less just a shaggy mess that
didn’t go down past his neck. Good enough for today.
Beau and Mako took him out that day to prepare for the date, much to his behest. He knew what he wanted to do, but the pre-date jitters had already
taken over his body, and his friends could see that. They spent the day in Capim mostly socializing with people. Some of them were surprised to see him
out, apparently when Blazikens burn their feathers like Dav had, they don’t leave their homes until it’s grown back, relying on the other members of their
family or friends to run errands for them.
Dav didn’t know what to make of this. After all, he would’ve done the same thing. But, he felt comfortable with short hair, like he had never really had
long hair before. It felt natural.
Though, that night, as he lay in bed, he still wondered what she would think of his hair. She’d never seen him without the normal crest he had always had since he woke up. Now he learns that it’s a cultural custom to not leave your home while you grow it back.
Hopefully she didn’t think anything of it. Maybe she didn’t know the culture of Blazikens. He didn’t. Then again, she also seemed like she knew he was a former human. Maybe it’ll be fine… but then again…
Dav laid in bed, worrying himself, being unable to fall asleep, until he heard something on the floor to the side of his bed.
He looked down and saw Beau, looking up at him from the bed.
“Can’t sleep?” Beau asked.
Dav shook his head.
“Nope.”
Beau nodded, turning to the bed, and climbing onto it, so that he could look his friend in the eye from the foot of the bed.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Just nervous is all,” Dav responds.
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you this nervous,” Beau replied.
“You barely remember anything from before all this.”
Beau chuckles.
“True. But you shouldn’t worry. She did say she was excited right?”
“Yeah, she did,” Dav replies.
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“What if she doesn’t have fun? Or is weirded out by me?”
Beau does his best to replicate a shrug.
“She said she was excited. I don’t think it’ll matter.”
“I just don’t want to get my hopes up.” Dav sighs.
“Just have fun man. I feel like you’re overthinking it.”
Beau turns around, hopping off the bed, and retreating to the large cushion in the corner of the trio's bedroom.
Dav took a sigh and lays his head on the pillow in an attempt to fall asleep. Letting the world fade away with his closing eyes; it felt like he didn’t sleep at
all when he finally woke up.
Dav rolled out of bed, and walked out into the living room, before glancing at himself in the mirror Beau had purchased the day Dav started growing his
hair back out.
Now, the hair was significantly longer, running down his back and tapering off as it blended into the cream feathers on his chest and back. Some feathers hung down in front of his face; unkempt from the rough nights of sleep. Dav slicked the bangs back to rejoin their comrades.
He could see something coming together the more he toyed and styled his hair. Eventually getting it to a point he was satisfied with. His hair was now slicked back, coming to a natural point in between the v-shaped crest on his face. The rest of his hair ran down his back, though it draped over his shoulders.
“Looks good.” A voice says from behind him. He turns around to see Beau and Mako sitting at the table already engaged in breakfast.
“You guys have been there this whole time?” Dav asked.
“Yeah,” Mako responds. “You were focused on dolling yourself up, so y’know, we let you finish.”
“Looks great man. A lot better than yesterday’s,” Beau added.
“You think?” Dav replies. “It’s nothing like from before it burned off.”
“Like I said last night, it’ll be fine. It does look better though.” Beau continued. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Dav takes a seat at the table, taking some of the sauteed greens and mushrooms from the pan, before setting a Veluza filet on top.
“What’s with the big breakfast?” Dav asks, taking a bite of the medley of greens and meat.
“Big day for you means a hearty breakfast,” Mako replies.
“We went out early this morning to get stuff,” Beau adds. “When’re you supposed to meet with Gardevoir anyways?”
Dav pauses for a minute, savoring the food, while also recollecting the time the two were supposed to get together.
“Uh… little after midday, at the crossroads where we normally split.” Dav recounts.
“Dav, it’s midday right now,” Mako replies.
There’s an awkward silence for a moment; which is broken by Dav attempting to scarf down what he can of the breakfast in front of him.
After eating as much as he can, he flings himself from the table and bolts out the door, grabbing the group’s treasure bag off the hook on the way out.
At the crossroads, Gardevoir approaches the meeting spot she told the Blaziken she’d meet him at for their day out. She looks to the sky, seeing the sun
begin to move from its place directly above her.
Scanning the road she sees him walk down every time they leave the tavern, she can’t help but wonder what’s taking him so long. He seemed oh so
nervous asking her to spend the day together, but then again, she’d never seen him like that before.
As she looks down the road once more, she finally catches a glimpse of him. Is he… running?
The Blaziken charges up to her, stopping a few feet in front of her, clearly out of breath.
“Hah… hooh… sorry, I was late.” He says, panting in between breaths.
“Are ya alright?” She asks him.
“I’m… I’m fine.” The Blaziken pants.
He finally stands up, facing her. It’s only now she noticed that something was different about him. His crest is short, almost misshapen.
“What happened to…” She asks, her hand gesturing to her head.
“Oh? This?” The Blaziken says running his hand against his crest, as if he’s trying to affix the feathers in a certain style. “I uh… it burned off.”
“Oh?” She asks him, she’s never seen a Blaziken without a long crest before, and seeing his so short, it piqued her interest.
“Yeah… it’s something we do. Every so often the feathers on our heads will burn off, and they’ll grow back. Mine uh, they haven’t completely grown out
yet.”
“I’ve never seen a Blaziken with feathers like this before. It looks totally different.” She says, her hand reaching out to his head.
“Normally we uh… we don’t go out until it’s grown completely back.” The Blaziken says, noticing her hand. “But I didn’t want to cancel today.”
The Blaziken doesn’t stop her from placing a hand on the feathers that draped over his shoulder. She’s surprised at the texture, it’s soft but separated,
like a mix of fur and feathers.
She realizes that she just breached the Blaziken’s personal space; she reels her hand back in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry bout that.”
“It’s fine.” He chuckles. “I’m still getting used to it myself.
She scans the Blaziken once more. She can’t seem to get over how strange it is seeing him looking so… differently. There’s a strange aura she’s felt since
he showed up that first night, confused, yet confident.
This new crest he has is interesting, in a way she can’t describe. The feeling she has isn’t a bad one.
“Shall we?” she asks.
“Of course, where off to first?”
She pauses, looking down the crossroads.
“I wanna see yer area.” She replies. “Did you make it to Capim?”
The Blaziken nods, beginning to walk down the path he came from.
“Yeah, I actually live just outside of Capim now. I’m happy you remember.”
“Of course I’d remember.” She replies.
The walk to Capim was a lively one for the two. In the tavern, Gardevoir had to make sure she was doing something and didn’t get a lot of time to talk to
the Blaziken outside of their walk to the crossroads.
However, from their conversation, she gleaned a lot about him that she wouldn’t've been able to while working.
Since they met the first time, he joined an explorers' guild. His team was composed of the two Pokémon that showed up at the tavern shortly after he
did. She vaguely remembers them, but once he had mentioned it was an Espeon and a Munchlax it all came back to her.
According to him, they’ve known each other for a really long time. He talks about the two of them as if they’re family, despite being completely different
Pokémon.
She asked about his actual family, but that seemed to be a bit of a sore subject for him. He said he didn’t really remember his family. He knows he was
born, and he grew up with a family. Though he did tell her that his father worked in building houses. They used to work together to build houses for
others.
“I never took you for someone who’d be good with their hands.” She said.
“I mean… it’s hard labor, but it pays off.” The Blaziken chuckles. “Actually, I built my own house.”
That took her by surprise.
“You built yer own house? That’s really impressive!”
“Not by myself, everyone chipped in, and we got some builders to help.” He continued. “It was a tough process, but I think it turned out really well.”
“I’m really impressed by the fact you did it at all. All I know is servin’ drinks and makin’ people smile.”
“Two things you’re really good at!” The Blaziken chuckles.
“You flatter me,” Gardevoir replies. “But it’s not really my thing.”
“You don’t like working at the tavern?”
“Oh, I enjoy it!” She continues. “But it’s not what I want to be doing in the long term.”
“What do you actually want to do?”
Gardevoir can’t help but giggle at the thought of what she’s about to say.
“Alright, I’ll let ya in on what I wanna do. Workin’ in the bar, I keep seein’ Pokémon come in with these tattered bags; Items falling out all the time. I took
up a small hobby of fixing them when I have time.”
“That’s actually really cool.” The Blaziken replies, listening intently to her story.
“It’s gotten to the point where some Pokémon are asking for replacements. I actually quite enjoy making new treasure bags. I’ve made some extra money off of it, so I’ve been saving up to open my own shop, well before I met you.”
The Blaziken pauses, she can tell he’s running the scenario through his head.
“You probably think it’s silly.” She says.
“No, I actually think that’s a great idea.”
“Really?” She asks.
“Yeah, There are so many explorer teams in Capim who might need repairs or just gear in general. Look at my bag.” The Blaziken shows her his bag
which has already shown a lot of wear and tear. “This bag is only a few months old. You’d be a hit without a doubt.”
The Gardevoir pauses for a bit, picturing her own shop in the middle of a bustling town like Capim. She imagines opening the doors in the morning and
seeing explorers and rescue teams flood the store, taking her stock of bags and kerchiefs. When the Blaziken speaks up, she’s pulled out of her
daydream.
“We’re here.”
The couple stops at the front of Capim. For the Blaziken, this was a normal experience for him. But to Gardevoir, this was something she’d never seen
before. She looks at the bridges splitting off from the entrance, attaching to the tops of massive stumps. It’s nothing like she’s ever seen.
“You go here every day?” She asks.
“Yeah, every time we want to go to the guild. But there’s plenty to do here than just see the sights. Come on.”
The Blaziken takes her hand, and the couple work their way down the winding staircases all the way to the ground level. Gardevoir is completely
entranced by the verticality of Capim, and the amount of Pokémon who live here, the whimsy of the town worn off from years of daily life inside.
“Why don’t you live here? This place is incredible.” She asks her date.
“Eh, I had a dream about working with my dad, and I took it as a sign to build my own home. Plus, the place is great for a visit, but not great for living if
you ask me.”
“I wanna disagree!” She says, continuing to scan the streets for anything that looks interesting to her. “I always lived in quiet places, but a bustlin’ city
like this? It’s a total wonderland.”
The Blaziken chuckles.
“I gotcha. I guess Capim does have its merits.”
As the two continue, the Gardevoir sees a shop that sells items. Something she’s never seen before. This begins a chain reaction where The two
Pokémon make their way through Capim’s shopping district, exploring all of the wares the storekeepers have to offer.
Gardevoir’s mind is racing, seeing every intricate and quaint shop, run by every type of pokemon from almost all walks of life. Her ideas for her own
business seem less like a dream, and more like an actual career path. It’s exciting to her, to know that a town like this is just an hour’s walk from her
home. She occasionally looks back to the Blaziken every now and then to see if he’s enjoying himself. He’s perused most of the shops already, but it
seems like the second time around, he holds an enthusiasm for this experience.
Did she have that effect on him? Did he always smile so warmly? She wonders if she’s even talking to the same Blaziken from the tavern. He seems, so
different now. Maybe it was just cause it was dark in the tavern, and dark when they said goodbye at the end of her shift.
It had to have been. He wouldn’t forget his voice or his speech.
She couldn’t shake the feeling she had as it seemed to continue throughout the day. It was like spending time with him without the worry of trying to
look busy just made this day feel so much more… special.
She thinks back to the first time he showed up after they met. Seeing him again was a surprise; but a welcome one. Then, once turned to twice, and
twice into multiple. That was two months ago. Now, they’re spending the day together, like a couple…
The Blaziken’s voice pierced through her thoughts, and she realized she had been staring at a Pecha Berry for the last five minutes.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She said, her face flush.
The Blaziken looks out to the road.
“There is one place I want to take you, unless you’re not hungry.”
Gardevoir nods in response.
“I could absolutely eat.”
“Follow me then.”
The Blaziken turns around, She follows behind him until they walk out the front doors, and his hand immediately takes hers. Right, that’s what they were
doing since the city was so crowded, don’t want to get separated.
He takes her down a winding path that sat a distance from the shoreline, before pointing to an opening between the trees, going into the square, the
path had a few Pokémon on it, but it was much less crowded compared to the streets they had been walking all day.
“Down here, it’s a small place.” The Blaziken said, pulling her down the path.
The two approach a stump that’s situated in the middle of the town. Surrounded by most of the other tree husks, the atmosphere changes, and this area
seems, moodier.
The Blaziken opens the door, and Gardevoir is greeted with a scent she hasn’t smelled in a long time.
Broth, stock, and a hint of green onion.
The two take a seat at one of the small tables in the middle of the eatery, as the Blaziken walks up to the counter.
She watches as he talks to the figure behind the bar, a soft chuckle from him, a handwave in her direction, and the clink of Poké.
He approaches the table, sitting down with her as they wait patiently.
“How’d ya find a place like this? I haven’t had soup since I was sick at my Ma’s house.”
The Blaziken laughs.
“Shortly after we left the tavern, we made it to the guild, but we ended up having to stay the night somewhere else, we stayed here. It’s a restaurant and
an Inn.”
“Well I’ll be.” The Gardevoir responds. “It’s so… cozy.”
“I know, that’s why I wanted to bring you. It’s my favorite spot in all of Capim. I’ve been here plenty of times since.”
The two hear the sound of bowls being placed onto a tray, and The Blaziken instructs her to look towards the far window until their food arrives.
She does as she’s told, and she stares out the window until she hears the sound of ceramic connecting with the table they’re sitting at; followed by a voice.
“You’re all set.”
She looks back to the soup brought to her; It’s like any plain noodle soup. She turns to see who’s responsible for bringing it to her, realizing she’s come
face to face with a Primeape. That is until she realizes that he’s facing away from the two of them.
“Nice to meet you miss. I’d shake your hand, but I would like to leave a good first impression.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you as well,” Gardevoir replies.
There’s a grunt from the Primape.
“Has my regular been treating you well?”
“He has, thank you for asking. Seems like we share a bit in common.”
“That so?” The Primape asks.
“Yup, He’s also my regular.”
The primape lets out a chuckle.
“Seems we do share something in common after all.”
The Primape chef passes the Blaziken on his way to the bar, leaning towards him. She can faintly hear him say something to her date.
“She’s just like you said, you have my approval.”
The two, now left alone to their own devices, both share the noodles in the quaint quietness of the restaurant.
Dav’s happy he took Gardevoir here, He was telling the Primape all about her whenever he came in after a long mission, and Beau and Mako were too
beat to stop by.
He knew he made the right choice bringing her here, and now they have a moment alone, he finally speaks up on his own.
“You enjoying the noodles?”
Gardevoir looks up from her bowl, giving a slight nod and taking a napkin to clean her face.
“Yeah, they’re just… delightful. I haven’t had a thing like this in a long time.”
Dav chuckles to himself.
“Glad I brought you here.”
“I am too.”
Dav takes a deep breath, he knows what he’s about to ask, but it’s been eating away at him all day.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Gardevoir nods.
“Sure, I’m an open book. What’cha want to know?”
“I want to ask about how you talk.”
Gardevoir pauses.
“There somethin’ wrong with how I talk?”
Dav holds his hands up, his voice defensive.
“No no, I didn’t say anything like that. I’m wondering where you got the accent from. I’ve never met a Pokémon who spoke like you do.”
Gardevoir giggles to herself. Dav can feel himself begin to sweat. Everything was going so well until he brought this up. His curiosity just had to get the
better of him.
“Y’know, yer not the first person to ask ‘bout that,” Gardevoir replies. “I always told any Pokémon who asked I got it from my ma.”
“Your mom?” Dav inquired.
“Yeah, my ma sounds just like me. It must’ve rubbed off when I was growing up.”
Dav presses further into his line of questioning.
“Where’d your mom get it?”
Gardevoir pauses for a moment, as if she was remembering something from long ago.
“My momma moved from a town off the continent. I don’t know if you’ve heard of-a place called Luciana?”
Dav pauses, trying to remember if he saw any place called “Luciana” on the maps in Clover.
“No, I can’t say I have.”
“Figures.” The Gardevoir continues. “Momma told me that it wasn’t a popular place. But the stories she told me still make me wanna go.”
“What did she say it was like?” Dav asked.
Gardevoir looks to the window, there’s a small shine in her eyes. Something Dav hasn’t seen a lot of. She turns back to him, a smile on her face, like she
was waiting for him to ask that question.
“She said that back in Luciana, the buildings stretched to the sky, and the city kissed the river for miles. They’d sell things along the shoreline, and
people would be awake for all hours of the day.”
Gardevoir’s enthusiasm begins to grow as she continues to talk.
“Every year, people from around the continent would come to visit, and they’d have a party that’d last a full day and night. Nobody slept, and it was so
crowded.”
“That sounds awful,” Dav replies, imagining being stuck in a massive rowdy crowd.
“But everyone loved it! Momma said that she didn’t want to do back though.”
“Why’s that? Sounds like she remembered it fondly.” Dav asked.
“Cause she had me, said that since she had me and Dad, she didn’t need to return home.”
“I guess that makes sense. Home is where the heart is, right?”
“That sounds like somethin’ my momma would’ve said.”
The two share a laugh, Dav looks down, noticing that both of their noodles are empty.
“You ready to go?” He asks.
Gardevoir nods.
The Blaziken gets up, and Gardevoir watches as he takes the two bowls from the table, carrying them back to the counter where he thanks the Primape
again for the food. He walks back to the table, and She gets up to greet him. The two walk out of the restaurant, and back into Capim; The sun
beginning to touch the horizon.
“Where to now?” The Blaziken asked.
Gardevoir thought for a moment, what else did she want to do? Their day was coming to an end, and the time for her to go home was drawing closer
with every passing second. She didn’t want it to stop, she enjoyed being around him. So she had to make the last place they go count.
“I wanna see your house.” She said, confidently. “Ya mentioned you built it yourself, and I’d like to see it. If that’s alright with you.”
The Blaziken seemed to freeze for a second, something she said must’ve set him off, as she could feel the air around him warm up.
But as soon as he froze, he unfroze.
“Sure, we can do that.”
The two made their way to the entrance of the city again, the Gardevoir still entranced by city life in Capim. Even after taking a break away from it, it
seemed magical.
The Blaziken pointed to a worn down path, not entirely noticeable, but the stamped out and slightly browning patches of grass showed that this trail
was being used more and more often.
“This way.” He said, his voice calming, more confident.
The two climb the slow incline of the hill, Capim getting smaller and smaller the more they travel up. Gardevoir looks back, seeing the lights of the city
turn into a twinkling constellation of civilization joining the horizon’s reflection of the growing night sky on the water.
“Ahem.”
She turns to the Blaziken, whose weary expression concerns her.
“Something wrong?” She asks.
“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something. It’s kinda been bothering me since we met.”
“What is it?”
The Blaziken takes a deep breath.
“You mentioned when we met, that ‘my secret was safe with you’. What did that mean?”
Gardevoir can’t help but laugh.
“Oh, that. I was wondering when you’d bring it up.”
“You were?” The Blaziken asks, seeming even more worried by that response.
“Duh, you walked into the tavern the first time we met and you stood out like a sore thumb. It was clear from the start you weren’t born a Pokémon.”
She giggles.
“Can you blame me though?” The Blaziken can’t help but laugh back. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
“The hair doesn’t help either.” She laughs.
The Blaziken, in response messes with his hair, before fixing any stray feathers that got rustled.
“I’ll be honest with you, I had no idea that it was customary for Blazikens to become hermits when this happened. If I knew I would’ve cancelled today.”
“I think it’s a bit of a blessing in disguise. I like it this way.” She replies.
The Blaziken gives her a puzzled look.
“You do?”
“Yeah!” She says, a soft smile on her face. “It makes you stand out; as much as how I sound does. We can stand out together!”
“If you like it so much, maybe I’ll keep it this way.” He replies.
“As long as you let me keep it kempt, I may be good at fixing bags, but I also know a thing or two about looking good.”
“You are just full of surprises today.” He laughs, “You make bags, your family’s from another continent, and you can do hair. You’re really showing me
up.”
“You’re the one from another world.” She giggles. “Not like it wasn’t easy to spot, but I’ll say, I didn’t think today would’ve went so well.”
“What were you expecting?” The Blaziken asks, his tone of voice changings, it’s more curious, inquisitive, almost a little taken aback.
“I.. I don’t know. Honestly, I was expecting to have a good time, and I have been I’ve just… It’s been a while since I’ve been out. Plus, you’re y’know, not a
native.” She winces at her words.
“Is that… a bad thing?” He asked.
There was silence between the two of them. She stopped walking.
Was it a bad thing? Should she just tell him that it is and end things? Turn away and run? These feelings she felt were for someone who wasn’t born a
Pokémon like her. Should she even be feeling this way? If she did, would he try to follow her? As she looks at him, sees the worry in his eyes. She knew
that these feelings she had were mutual.
No, she couldn’t run. Not after today. She’s talked to other Pokémon before. But, something was missing. She felt it deep down. Other Pokémon
ridiculed her for her voice, never taking her seriously, it made it hard to form connections with them. On top of that; the hours she worked made it nearly impossible to spend time with people. Nobody wanted to spend their time talking to her while she worked. She could never make it happen.
But he did; He showed up, waited patiently while she ran tables, while she made drinks, and smiled when she stopped at his spot on the bar.
He brought her fresh fruit during her breaks, he asked her how she was. He cared. Sometimes, more than she cared about herself.
When she was run ragged, he was there to help her, to walk her to the crossroads after work, to make sure she was well enough to get home. Him asking her to spend today with him was the only time he ever asked for something.
“No.” She replied. “It’s not.”
She watched a wave of relief crash into him. He put his hand to his chest and took a deep breath.
“Oh, that’s good to hear.” He said. “I know it’s probably a lot to process. If it’s too much, I totally understand.”
She shook her head.
“It’s not too much. It’ll just take some getting used to. But I don’t see it getting in the way, You’re still the same, even if you aren’t from here.”
“It’s true.” He added. “I was a Pokémon for only a few days when we met.”
“For real?” She asked, rejoining him to start walking once more. “That just begs the question though; Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“For one, you already knew so I thought it was okay. On top of that, if you didn’t; I had no idea what your reaction would be. I’ve been horrified of not
blending in.”
He takes a breath. “I don’t know if I can go back, and the last thing I want, or my friends want, is to be an outsider in this world.”
“Your friends weren’t always Pokémon either?” She inquired, thinking about the other two Pokémon coming in, and the conversation they were having
about bipedal versus quadrupedal. “Didja all used to be uh…” She stumbles over her words, it’s on the tip of her tounge. “I think it’s called ‘human’. I’ve
heard that’s mostly what people who’re new Pokémon used to be.
“Yeah, that’s right.” Dav nods.
“What was being a human like? Could you control fire?” She asked.
“Oh… uh. No I couldn’t control fire, we didn’t have abilities like Pokémon do. Humans do walk on two legs though. I guess if I had to compare a human
to something here, it’d be kind of like you but without the psychic abilities.”
Gardevoir’s eyes light up hearing that. Humans were like her. Or at least Pokémon like her. She felt like a kid again, hearing stories about fairytales.
Except, they were real now.
“There’s so much I wanna know, what did’ja look like? What did’ja do for a job? Did they have mystery dungeons? Is that where you learned ta build
houses? What did you and yer friends do?”
The Blaziken chuckles to himself, his demeanor humble and sheepish.
“Truth be told, I don’t remember. In fact, everyone on my team doesn’t really remember. We have some memories from before we were Pokémon, but I
don’t know anything more than I used to build houses with my dad. We’ve begun to remember things over time, but nothing really interesting.”
“You need’ta tell me the moment you remember something big!” She continues. “I could help you remember!”
“Maybe! But, I don’t really want to focus on that right now. The moment I remember something important, you’ll be the first to know.”
Blaziken points to the top of the hill.
“We’re here.”
As she turns to see their destination, she sees the warm lights of candles glowing through the windows of the house sitting atop the hill. It’s like nothing
she’s ever seen before.
“You built that?” she asks. “Is that what a human house looks like?”
“Yeah, that’s what they look like.” He replies. “I’m pretty proud of it.”
“I would be, even if it’s nothing like the houses here.”
The Blaziken chuckles.
“That’s why we’re far away.”
The two approach the door, and the Blaziken peeks in, she can hear a few whispers from inside, followed by the clattering of metal.
He opened the door, and the two entered. The home inside was cozy a large front room, with a door in the back, and there were a few wooden chairs
and a table. A furnace and candles bring an ample amount of light into the abode. On the floor sat the two other Pokémon she met in the bar, a wooden
board in between them carved squares checkering the board, but also crude lines covering it, depicting ladders, and something else she didn’t recognize.
“Welcome back Dav.” The Espeon said. “Nice to see you again Ms. Gardevoir.”
Dav? That was his nickname?
“Nice to meet you too Espeon.” She said, kneeling down to see the game the two were playing.
“What’re y’all playin’?”
“It’s called ‘Chutes and Ladders’. It’s a uh…” The Espeon replies.
“She knows,” Dav says.
“Oh, okay.” The Espeon continues. “It’s a human game.”
“It’s a race to the top.” The Munchlax continues for his opponent. “You roll the dice to move forward, if you land at the bottom of a ladder, you can climb
up to the space at the top, but if you land at the top of a slide,” He points to the other marking she didn’t recognize. “You have to go down to the space
at the bottom of it.”
“Oh, that’s really interesting.” She mused. “Do you normally play games like this in your old world?”
“Sometimes?” The Munchlax responds. “There’s more than just this, but it’s the only one we remember.”
“I’m sure if we had a deck of cards we could play other stuff.” The Espeon added.
“I’d like to play Texas Hold ‘Em again.” The Munchlax laughed.
She stands up, glancing over to The Blaziken, er’… Dav; he’s standing at the door still, before noticing her gaze on his.
“Oh, sorry ha-ha, you want a tour?” He asked.
“Sure!” She replied.
He leads her to the back of the house, showing her the door, which brought them into the bedroom, there were two square beds propped up by a
stand. The beds themselves were made out of cotton, and wrapped in fabric; layers of fabric sat atop the wrapping, and stuffed bags of cotton sat at the
end of the bed facing the wall.
She’d seen beds like these in some inns before. She thought they were designed after some ancient bed design that royalty used to sleep in. But Dav
explained to her that they were beds that humans would sleep in normally.
She hesitated to flop onto the bed, but after a go-ahead from Dav, she fell face first into the mattress. She was enveloped by the cotton and fabric, it felt as if sleeping upon a cloud. She didn’t want to get up, but ended up forcing herself to as she felt her eyes get heavy.
Dav showed her a storage closet, and some of the kitchen back in the main room. The two looked out the window and realized that night had taken
over the sky.
“Oh, it’s dark. I should probably get going.” She said.
“Why don’t I walk you back? Least to the crossroads?” Dav asked.
She gave a soft nod, and the two headed for the door.
“It was nice to meet you.” She said to the Espeon and Munchlax.
“Nice to meet you too.” The two pokemon both replied.
The two stepped out of the house, and a chill hit the both of them.
She heard a soft, whoosh and looked down to see small flames flickering from Dav’s arms, his body radiating a warmth to combat the night chill.
She took his hand without a second thought, and the two began their walk to the crossroads. Stepping off of the path, and taking a direct route through
the hills.
There was a soft silence between the two before she spoke to the Blaziken.
“Dav, that’s your nickname?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s been my name for as long as I can remember.”
“How do you get a nickname?” She asked.
“You’re born with one.” He said. “The Espeon’s name is Beau, and the Munchlax’s name is Mako.”
“So you all have nicknames from when you were born?” She inquired.
“Yeah, that’s how it worked for humans. Is it different for Pokémon? I only know you as ‘Gardevoir’.”
“Nicknames are a tricky thing.” She says. “Nicknames are given to Pokémon by family or friends. It’s a pretty big deal.”
“That’s really interesting,” Dav says. “I’ve never had anyone ask about my name before. Nor how I got it.”
There’s a silence between the two of them, she feels the warmth from his arms shielding her from the night air. Lights flicker from bioluminescent
Pokémon in the skies, and the sounds of others resting for the night in the trees. She swears she can hear the chatter of someone setting up a camp for
the night. The night feels… perfect, almost like something out of a storybook. As they reach the crest of another hill, she sees the crossroads begin to
appear in the distance.
She wants to thank him for a wonderful day. This has been something she’s been looking forward to for a long time. Not just a day out with someone like him, someone who cares. But a break from the monotony of manning the bar at the tavern. Her mind draws back to their conversation about nicknames. They’re supposed to be given by someone important right? He and her have been talking for a long time now, could she… should she? But before she has any time to think about it, her mouth speaks before her mind allows her.
“Would ya give me a nickname?”
“Huh? Really?” He asks.
“You don’t have to! I’m sorry that was way too forward.”
“No… actually; I’d be honored to.” He replies.
She can feel her heart skip, her chest running on all cylinders. She covers a hand with her face. Is this how she should be feeling, hearing that he would
be honored to do something… so important to her kind?
The two stop at the crossroads, back in the same spot where this whole day began.
“If it’s not too big of an ask… I’ve never had anyone in the years I’ve been around be able to do that. I have to tell ya Dav. Talking to you for these last
few months, it’s been just… grand. Having you ask me to spend the day with you… Just being around outside of the tavern, I’ve never been happier.”
There’s a quick increase in the temperature around her, as Dav looks away. However, as the heat subsides, he looks back to her.
“I feel the exact same way. I don’t know what made me come back to see you, but I’m glad I did. I would be honored to nickname you.”
She can’t help herself, she lets go of Dav’s hand, and wraps her arms around him, burying her face in the cream feathers on his chest.
“Thank you… thank you so much.” She says.
She feels the air get colder, though the warmth returns as he wraps an arm around her back, and another around the back of her head.
“Of course… I feel like, you’d do the same for me.” He replies.
There’s a silence, as their embrace feels like it lasts hours. Just the warmth from the Blaziken, and the quiet sounds of the night.
Dav breaks the silence.
“I think I have one.” He says.
“What is it?” She asks.
“I thought about your voice, and I feel like I have a nickname that’d match. What do you think about… Charlotte?”
“Charlotte?” She replies, the name hanging in the air.
“I… I love it.”
Mako and Beau lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
“When do you think he’s going to get back?” Mako asks.
“Pizza ze heck outta me,” Beau responds in a stereotypical Italian accent
The two giggle on the ground like idiots at Beau’s joke, until the sound of the door opening causes them to sit up.
Dav steps in, a massive grin on his face.
“That went great.” He said.
“Yeah?” Mako replies.
“She seemed like she had a good time,” Beau adds.
“Guys, she asked me to nickname her,” Dav says, clearly on cloud nine.
“Is that a big deal?” Beau asks.
“Oh totally,” Mako replies. “I’d assume nicknaming a Pokémon is a huge thing. I mean how many other Pokémon have we run into who have actual
names and weren’t previously human?”
“So, what’d you nickname her?” Beau asked.
“Charlotte,” Dav says. “I think it fits her.”
“Yeah, that sounds like that’d fit with her accent,” Beau responds.
“Speaking of, did you ask her about that?” Mako adds.
“I did! I brought it up when we got something to eat.” Dav says. “Turns out she got it from her mom. She said her mom talked like that all the time and it
just stuck.”
“Really? Did she say how her mom got it?” Mako inquired.
“Oh, yeah. Apparently, her mom is from this far-off town called Luciana.” Dav clarified. “It’s some big city-type place on a river, and they hold this big
party every year where people from all over the continent come. Everyone there has the accent.”
There’s a silence in the room. Beau’s gears begin turning in his head. A town on a river? Accents like Charlotte’s from everyone who lives there?
“Dav…” Beau says.
“What?”
“Luciana doesn’t sound familiar to you?”
“Not to me,” Mako says.
“Yeah, it’s gotta be way away from the Grass continent,” Dav adds.
“No no, that can’t be right,” Beau says. “That can’t be.”
“What’re you on about?” Dav asks.
“City on a River, massive party every year…” Beau continues. “It’s New Orleans, Mardi Gras.”
There’s a silence in the air. It clicks in Mako’s head.
“Holy shit… it’s not Luciana Dav. Her mom was talking about Louisiana.”