[PKMN FULL] "Past of the Past": A Beta Johto Journey (IC)

---

"Sore.....well I could also be soarrrin' and flyyyin'." Sora remarked, more to himself than anything.

He looked at the other members of the group that had formed. He had to admit that what they were saying wasn't going to get them far.

"I know we are dealing with the cold and maybe a pokemon did do this, but are we even still in Cherrygrove Village? The temperature just doesn't change out of the blue like that. And I was here before sunset and there was still people getting ready for their day, so where are they?" Sora asked.

He listened to Prof. Elm continue to sound like some type of confused Porygon that didn't know how to stream data.

"Daisy... I think that was your name... commanding someone isn't going to get anywhere. I don't know how you lived before, but I can tell by your attitude that you seem to think you have more rights than anyone. Let me tell you this, you aren't home anymore. Not everyone is going to take stuff from you. Especially not Elm who seems to be a confused Porygon right now. I am not telling you that out of hatred, I am telling you that for your own good." Sora said in a calm, but slightly annoyed voice. Not just because of Daisy, but because of the entire scenario.

Sora didn't like acting to way he did, but he thought it was best to tell her what he thought before he yelled out of annoyance.

He listed to Alton has he pointed out someone sweeping who he had not noticed, "Seems like he is the only choice we have right now. We may as well try out luck there." Sora said.

"Yeah excuse us, can you tell us what one earth is going on? The temperature just doesn't change out of the blue like this. Not everyone was expecting it." Sora added to what Alton said.

He wonder about the trainer who ran off, but right now it was best to find a place to warm up. He looked at Kazuko who seemed more cold than than the others. Even with her fire pokemon, he could visibly see her shaking.

Sora unwrapped his scarf is tried to hand it to Kazuko, "Here, you can use this for now. I can tell you seem to be having a bigger problem with the cold. I have been colder. I'll be fine. Would suck to get sick on our first day of traveling... er... however long it has been now." Sora spoke, his breath puffing out in front of him.

---

Sora was waiting for the girl to take his scarf, but after hearing the explanation from the old man, he couldn't wait any longer. So instead, he placed the scarf around Kazuko's pokemon.

"There you go buddy. Get that warm for your trainer." He said as he turned away from the girl and gave the man his full attention.

Before they walked into the house, Sora spoke up, "There was no blockade. I traveled through Route 29 with no problems. I don't recall there being any type of blockade. I arrived in town early this morning and headed down to the beach where there was a flash. I think something happened at that point, which I think Prof. Elm may be trying to explain, but he sounds mad and confused. That is the last thing I remember anyway."

Sora had let is sarcasm drop as he looked back at the others and then turned to follow Alton in. As he entered, he was trying to be silent. Sora came up with an idea to help his hand so all attention could focus on everyone else, especially Elm, so no one had to worry about him.

"Koru, come out please, but don't be loud." He said, as he lifted the pokeball with his right hand. Koru appeared on the floor and looked around, taking in why he should be quiet and nodded.

Sora squatted down and showed Koru his hand. The pokemon started to rub against in a fearful state. The sliminess oozing over his hand.

"Don't worry Koru. It will be fine. When we were on Route 29, I looked you up in the pokedex, which is now useless.... But I read that you could use Powder Snow, can you use that move?" Sora asked.

Koru thought for a moment and puffed out a light dusty snow, which melted from the heat in the house. Sora smiled.

"Awesome, I want you to use a weak powder snow on my hand. It will temporary freeze my hand, which should remove most of the heat from it, removing most of the burn in the process. There may be some red spots, but it shouldn't be burning anymore." Sora said.

Koru nodded and took in air and blew out a weak Powder Snow onto his hand. His hand started to freeze. The snow turned to a very cold water which then covered his hand, removing most of the heat, leaving faint traces of the burn in the form of small to medium blisters. His hand was still red, but not as red as it was. Sora put his other hand on Koru's head and started to pet it.

"Thanks Koru, you are welcome to stay on my shoulder if you want." Sora said.

Koru nodded and slithered up his body and plopped itself on his shoulder.

Sora stood from his squat and walk over to where Alton was, "Yeah time has passed. At least 3 months I would say, judging by what the old man said, I'd guess it is at least January, maybe February. Time has passed, but is that the only thing? Also, that flash we saw, Elm said it was a Pokemon, I think. B I don't think it was a Celebi which is the only pokemon said to travel through time that I can recall. Then again, I didn't really see a pokemon, it was too bright anyway. It wouldn't be too odd for some type of pokemon to have possibly transferred us to another dimension as well, but... I don't know of any pokemon who can do that. I mean I have read stuff about other regions, but I would think those were just myths."

Sora wanted to figure out what was going on. He wanted to know everything about this situation. Would his mother and sister believe him? Were they worried about him? He was sure they were. He wanted to make a beeline to Mahogany Town, but if there were blockades, would it even be possible to get there?

"I wonder... if we have been transferred to a future, would there be missing posters up for us? I know we are trainers, but I'd think our families would be worried if they hadn't heard from some of us in a while. We should at least be around a time where Prof. Elm is known... possibly not long from our previous date since the old man seemed to recognize Prof. Elm without thinking he looked younger or older, just beat up. " Sora said.

Sora started to look around the home for a calendar or something so he could get an idea of the date and possibly the year they were in.

Tyson Larx Tyrone -
Chapter 1, Episode 3: "... Whoa... Oh Hi."​

He just felt like time stopped. I mean, it's not the first time, but still. Time indeed stopped. At least, for him.
He eventually saw himself back in Cherrygrove. With a damn headache of all things.


He was... Mildly interested. He simply glanced at the sky for a while, having an internal reaction, and internal think time, an internal 'whoa'. And indeed was an interesting 'whoa'. He felt... Mildly different. Still not motivated, but... 'Whoa'. To this point we was admiring and 'Whoa'-ing there, and some people who passed by, mainly people who were townsfolk, thought he was crazy. For a moment, he almost did not notice Elm. Almost is the right term though.

Honogma brought him back from Space, heaven, whatever the 'Whoa' place was, pulling on his leg, and pointing to Elm, who then pronounced his name wrongly. Huh. Suddenly, time went from a standstill to a slow pace, and instantly, to a really fast pace, to him. Plus the pounding headache. Kinda... Made him kinda not catching to the conversation at all. He simply tried to get a hold of everything in the conversation, happenings, events, but failed to do so.

He simply set his Bag down, and searched for a bottle of water. Maybe water was what he needed. He drank a bit, drank some more, drank the whole bottle. He just felt this huge, pounding headache. It hurts, and the Honoguma showed worry. It then kept calling out for something, pointing for Tyson, who was not having a good time at all.

Suddenly, for a moment, time started to slow down again for him, it went from insanely fast to fast, then from fast to mildly fast, and then back to the normal pace. Once he felt he could finally pay attention properly, he just asked one question.

"My head... What just... Happened?" He questioned, putting his hand on his head. He still had a headache that made him slightly dizzy, but now he could pay some attention. Not full attention, but some.​

"Thank you." Kazuko replied quietly when Sora placed the scarf upon Honoguma, who promptly focused on warming it up. After a few moments, she gently took the scarf off her Pokemon partner, and wrapped it around her neck. Sweet, sweet warmth...but she couldn't just lose herself in that feeling now. She had to figure out what to do...and how to rally everyone, if leading everyone was her choice.

Kazuko knew she had a few options-first, she could get more answers from Elm or even the Masked Man, she could try heading for the next city to see if it, too, was affected by this mysterious cold spell, she could try and catch some Pokemon-although she'd be able to do that with some of her previous options, or she could follow some of the others into one of the houses. But she couldn't completely decide what to do yet.​

Tyson Larx Tyrone -
Chapter 1, Episode 4: "The Professor himself."​

Tyson just tried to get a hold of the surroundings. While his vision was somewhat dizzy, maybe blurry, he did see Elm entering a house. Belonged by a weird dressed man. Before redirecting to the house, he decided to splash some water from the bottle to his face. Maybe that'd help him. Eeh it did no miracles, the small headache was still around, but i guess a good splash to the face solved the problem of seeing blurry. He moved to the house, and before entering, overheard Elm and this other person with him talking, before they ran off. He then entered and questioned a single question to Elm.

"Are... Huh, Are you alright?" He asked.

Elm grumbled as Toya, the Apricorn craftsman, finished stitching the last of the Professor's deep cuts. As Toya took some small scissors from his sewing kit to snip off the stringed needle, he spoke up for Elm:

"He's fine. It was just some bad cuts. Here, Professor, let me take your glasses and remove those sharp bits out of the frames."

As the man plucked them from Elm's head, he turned his back to Tyson as he began to fiddle with something or other out of the Trainer's sight.

Elm turned to face Tyson, looking none too pleased. "You? Must come with me. Go to Violet. Something wrong here. Colder than usual. Must be Pokemon. Look for buggy on way; was at cherry walk when flash, so must be cherry walk here too." He sniffed, wiping his nose. When he pulled his sleeve back, he saw blood on it. Though the air was warm in the house from a fireplace, it was dry, and he now suffered a small nosebleed.

He continued, "Come, you and others to follow Alt-boy. Let go."

"Huh... sure? I mean... I did not see the buggy on the Forest but... I could try?" Tyson said, with a pounding headache.​

---

After a few minutes passed, Kazuko finally decided on what to do next. Recalling Honoguma back into his Pokeball, she made her way towards the nearest house, wanting to see if one of the others is inside.

She wanted out of this cold, but she also wanted answers. What had sent them to this strange place and how long was she out? That question deeply concerned her, wondering if she had been out for too long. To her, there was a good chance that she's actually dead. She tried her hardest to push that irrational thought out of her mind as she approached the doorway.

At the same time, Sora had been looking and finally found a calendar. Confirming that two months had passed. It sank deep in his heart that he hadn't spoken to his family in two months. He knew they had to be worried.

He had heard the grunting Elm multiple times while he was on his search. He didn't catch everything other than they were meeting in Violet Town and a few other pieces of information that seemed important to him at the time. He turned to see that Tyson had entered and Alton was gone.

He walked over to Tyson and Elm before they themselves had left.

"Tyson, I know we agreed to have a battle, but things have obviously come up. I am leaving now. I will see yall soon. Hopefully in Violet, we can battle." Sora said, turning away and walked toward the door.

His mind was not where it should've been, he walked out the door, concern had built up. He had opened walked out in a hurry without looking. He collided with Kazuko and his mind returned to earth.

Her own mind jolted out of the fog of anxiety when she collided with someone-or something. It took a good bit of effort for her to keep from falling over, and just greatly stumbled backward.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, looking up once she regained her footing to see that it was Sora.

Sora was glad she didn't fall, "No. I am sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. My mind was else where."

He looked around noticing that Kazuko was the only one outside, "Where did Daisy go? I thought she was out here as well."

"It's fine." Kazuko replied. "As for Daisy-May, I actually don't know. I must've been lost in my own thoughts too much to notice." She rubbed her arm a bit.

"Did you find any answers regarding our situation? Especially h-how long...." That relatively unwanted thought crept back into her mind, causing a well of anxiety to bubble up within her body.

Sora noticed that she was worried or something. He could tell by the way she rubbed her arm. Too many times he had seen his sister, mother, and his best friend do it. He walked up to her and placed his uninjured hand on her head as he had done to his sister in the past, "Prof. Elm seems to think a pokemon did this." He said, taking his hand off her head.

"As far as time goes, two months have passed since we were in Silent Hill. I don't know how, but what the old man seems to be true. Which means he is probably right about everything else he has said. Everyone seems to want to meet in Violet City. Since that is the next settlement, we may as well head there as well." Sora said, looking away.

"We seem to be the only two not in a group and Daisy is no where to be seen. Do you want to travel with me to Violet?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his head.


Kazuko smiled a bit upon feeling Sora's hand on her head, purely from the comfort of the gesture. "A Pokemon did this? I'm actually not surprised."

The next statement, however, caused her to gasp sharply, raising a hand to her mouth. She coughed a few times from the sudden rush of cold air into her lungs. Kazuko then tapped her arm a bit, enough so that it would sting slightly-upon feeling that sensation, she sighed in relief. "But...how am I...not...dead?" She then just shook her head, as if shaking that rather idiotic statement away.

Upon hearing the reasoning how they ended up here, it was obvious why she was alive! They were just sent forward in time, not unconscious for two whole months! Kazuko felt like a bit of an idiot upon realizing this.

"Anyways, I would really appreciate traveling with you." she remarked as a small smile on her face turned to a frown as the extra warmth Honoguma residually left on the scarf was fading, as the chills were starting to return. She intended to send him out once more once they were on the road.

Sora was a bit surprised by her statement about not being dead, but pushed it aside as he turned around to face her, offering a small smile. He was worried that she might still get sick from what she was wearing, but if it was morning, he doubted the store that sold clothing would be open.

"Alright. I guess we should probably get moving. It also seems to be early, so nothing is really open right now. If we keep walking, we should be able to stay warm for a bit. Hopefully the temperature will rise as the day grows." Sora said.



Sora and Kazuko walked for a few minutes in silent. Sora didn't know what else to say, and Kazuko was probably too cold to speak. They followed to large road through the village, eventually leading to a border station. A woman leaned up against a booth counter that was off to the side, looking at her clipboard and other documents that she held in her hands. A Growlithe sat at her heels, sitting and looking diligent. Beyond her, a wide shutter door for the station was closed which they figures was the road to Violet City.

Kazuko was freezing cold once more by the time she approached the border gate, praying the inside was warm. She immediately darted inside once the door was reached, adjusting her scarf once more.

Kazuko could see that the doorway onward was shut. She spotted the officer at the booth section of the gatehouse. Unsure if she was allowed to pass or not, she approached the officer to ask. "Ma'am?"


Sora couldn't say anything in time before Kazuko took off, but he followed after her. Even though he did not recall there being a border gate on Route 29, he now realized the old man was correct. He wondered if he had some how slipped past the border house without realizing. He did travel under the cover of night, so maybe he was half asleep as he traveled and just didn't remember it.

Sora entered the Border House as well, "We would like to get through the gate please."


The woman wore a standardized police uniform. She looked up from her clipboard, "What are you two kids doing up at this hour, dressed like that? What business do you have beyond this border?"

"B-both of us need to get to Violet City." Kazuko stuttered, mostly out of nervousness. "As for our clothes...." Kazuko paused, trying to think of an explanation. How the heck would it even work? Nobody would believe the truth.

"Well, we are pokemon trainers. As my friend said, we are meeting some friends in Violet City." Sora said, noticing Kazuko stuttering.

He didn't see much wrong with his own clothing, as he wore this most of the time throughout the year other than in the middle of summer, "Well I am always dressed like this. So this is my normal clothing."

He looked at Kazuko, but couldn't think of what to say for her. Even though he tried his best to come up with an excuse. Then he wondered he could explain the truth to her, but he knew it would be hard to believe.

The guard interjected, "Show me identification."

Kazuko's eyes widened slightly as she shakily pulled out her trainer ID. "Please don't tell m-my mom I'm here..." she stammered, handing over the small card.

"She w-won't be happy..." Kazuko then stepped back, rubbing her arms a bit, so Sora could hand over his card.

Without hesitation, Sora pulled ID from one of his pockets and showed it to the officer.

The guard held her stern expression as she picked up the small passport-like booklets the two presented her. Flipping to the front of one, she glanced up at the boy, matching the small photo printed on the first page with his likeness. She gave him a proper nod and returned his ID.

As she gave a cursory glance over the girl's, she said, "So tell me, Ms. Himura, why I should not tell your mother you are up at six-thirty in the morning dressed in summer clothes and shivering, trying to ford a day's walk to Violet City, despite the month-long warnings of increased violent feral activity?"

"S-she doesn't want me out on a journey...o-or anywhere." Kazuko stammered, growing increasingly nervous and increasingly cold.

She glanced over at Sora, as if pleading for help with an explanation. She attempted to take a deep breath to try and calm down, but said breath was shaky.

Sora tried to think of something to say, as he accepted his ID back, but he hardly knew her. As he started to speak, the officer continued.

The woman shuts the booklet. "Stay there. I'm going to run a check on your background and see if you're on our inter-regional Missing Person's board. If you are, your mother is going to hear about it, and you'll be coming with me back to the station, Ms. Himura. Stay right there."

She moves herself into the booth, sitting down at a desk and pulling up a Johto-Kanto database on her computer. As she types away, she asks into a microphone whose speaker is built into the booth's window: "What are the last four digits of your Individual Number?"

Kazuko remained in place, shivering as she waited for any questions. "4184..."

The Growlithe, still at the feet of the pair who walked in, continued to stare up at them almost expectantly. After a long moment, the woman within the booth stepped out, and made her way before Kazuko.

Presenting the booklet back, she says plainly, "You are not a Missing Person, so I have no obligation to detain you and contact your mother."

She then addressed the both of them,"Normally, the police escort service would be available for safe guidance through the route to Violet City, for serious business, civilian, or emergency matters, but they do not run at this hour. I will allow you through, because you are licensed Pokemon Trainers, enrolled under Professor Elm. You've had this ID for enough time to be able to fend for yourselves with your Pokemon, but just remember, it's very dangerous out there. Be safe. I hope fortune finds you in Violet City."

Stepping back into her booth, her Growlithe follows staunchly at her heels. Operating a control board, she pulls a lever, and the shuttered door to the station lifts just high enough for the two to duck under and out.

"Oh," she mentions through the microphone, "Visit the Pokemon Center when you get there. You'll all need a safe place to recover. Go on."

Kazuko nervously remained standing while waiting for a response. She sighed with relief once her ID was handed back to her, and her mother would not be contacted. Despite this, her shivering did not seem to lessen.

After being treated to an explanation, she stepped through the doors, the sudden blast of even-colder air only escalating the chills running through her. Her hair was blown backward, the scarf. She tensed up as the gust blew through.

"I need to sit down..." she mumbled to herself, stepping through the gate and off the main road, taking a seat, one hand almost instinctively on Honoguma's pokeball.

Sora guarded his face from the sudden blast of air that rushed by as the gate opened. He followed behind Kazuko as she took a seat of the main road. "It is a 12 hour walk non stop. At least that is what Elm and Alton seemed to think at the house. I am not sure how long it will take us, so take your time."

Sora placed a hand on her shoulder as he watched the surrounding area.

He turned back to the officer, "Thanks. We will head there as soon as we get there."

"I'm very sorry..." Kazuko trailed off. "I-I s-seem to have lost m-my breath...." She got up slowly, but her movements seemed sluggish, her face pale. "Again, I-I'm very sorry....I g-guess you must have s-some questions after everything th-that happened since we've started t-traveling. I c-can answer most of y-your questions, that's n-not an issue...." She tried to keep talking, but ran out of things to say-and that was the last thing she needed right now. She had to keep pushing onwards, keep moving towards Violet City. It wasn't safe out here, and for someone like her, even moreso. "L-let's get moving...." Kazuko then paused. "W-wait...how much f-farther to Violet City?" It had only been mere moments ago that they were both told it was a 12 hour walk away. Something was clearly wrong.​

Missing Post: Post 12-On the road to frozen dea-I mean Violet City.​

It is now 2:30 PM.​

Sora watched as Kazuko stood and tried to continue forward. He walked over toward her, thinking that she might fall.

"12 hours is how long the walk is. We will have to make camp at some point. Are you sure you are ok?" Sora asked, walking along side her.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine." Kazuko insisted, but she was clearly lying through her teeth. She was NOT okay at all, as she was still shivering violently. "I... I might need a b-bit of help, though....."

Sora was pretty sure he couldn't convince her to take a longer break. He knew they needed to get got, there was no doubt about that, but he didn't want to push her. He thought about what to do for a moment. Then, he spoke:

"I can help you. There are a few ways I can think to help you. You can either hold on to my arm or hop on my back. The choice is yours. Unless you have another idea." Sora said.

"I-I think it would be wise to j-just hold onto your arm...." Kazuko stated. "I-I still c-can walk a bit...." As much as she knew things were going downhill for her, she was utterly determined to prove she could be independent-though at this current time, her judgement was fairly impaired.

Sora nodded and offered his right arm to her, "Alright. Just take my arm then. We will make it through this route together. We probably should try to walk for at least six hours, but if we can't, we will find a shelter. Somewhere." Sora said.

"Alright..." Kazuko trailed off, gently latching onto Sora's arm. "I-I'm ready..." She began to walk, er, stumble along.

Sora walked at the fastest speed possible without causing Kazuko to stumble too much. It took him a few minutes to find the right speed, but once he did, everything seemed to go smoothly.

"I wonder how far the other are. I am sure they are about an hour or so ahead of us by now." Sora said, the sun finally starting to rise in the sky.

Kazuko's shivering barely lessened despite the sun. Her stomach growled loudly, prompting a flurry of wild Pokemon to flee, the grass rustling. She glanced down, incredibly embarrassed. "S-sorry..." she choked out, fumbling through her bag as best she can to get something to snack on. She'd be blushing if all of her bloodflow wasn't trying to keep her warm.

Sora couldn't help but chuckle a little. He was supposed to be serious, but after that, he couldn't help himself. He stopped for a moment so that she could look for whatever it was she was looking for in her bag.

"At least they weren't Ursaring or some other pokemon. Otherwise we would be in trouble right now." Sora smiled.

"You're right on th-that..." she trailed off, before pulling some food out of her bag. Unwrapping a few of the items, she began to hungrily eat them. "It w-wouldn't have been a good idea to w-wait any longer...." she mentioned, finishing off the food.

___________________________________________________________________________

5 hours later....

Sora and Kazuko walked for five hours, and it was now early in the afternoon. He was sure they had almost caught up with the group ahead of them, but he couldn't resist the look of a pear tree off to the side and suggested to stop and take a small break. He also had to really use the bathroom and there was a small stream he could use to wash his hands in near the pear tree. It was a small stream, not even large enough for his foot to step in. As he got to it though, he found that it was frozen, but that didn't stop him. Instead, he found a rock broke, ice off and rubbed it in his hands to let it melt and make water.

"Got to love the taste of pears. It was surprising to find any left. Usually they are all on the ground and rotten by now, but I guess there was a few left." Sora said.

Kazuko agreed to take a break, especially since the pears looked really good to her. In addition, she wasn't exactly feeling too well, and not from hunger. By the time Sora had returned, she was seated once more, leaning against the tree. She had tried to get a couple pears for herself earlier, but couldn't exactly reach in her state.

Sora immediately noticed that Kazuko's skin was starting to turn a blueish color. He quickly trotted over to her and squatted down, "Hey are you ok?" Sora asked.

He thought he knew what he was seeing, but he wasn't exactly sure.

It took a few moments for Kazuko to realize that Sora was addressing her. She just shook her head, her shivering having completely stopped, a numbing feeling having spread through her. All she wanted to do was just curl up somewhere and wait out the cold spell.

Sora placed a hand on her forehead. As soon as his skin touched her's, his memory returned to the night that he had fallen into the Lake of Rage.

"Damn it. Should have realized sooner." He spat, cursing himself more to himself.

Sora quickly took of his own jacket, and wrapped it around Kazuko. He was sure he would be fine in the weather with his long sleeve as long as they found shelter before nightfall.

Kazuko felt a hand against her forehead, and later Sora's jacket wrapped around herself. She felt only slightly better for the time being. She struggled to choke out a simple "Thank you." but speaking had grown difficult for her.

Sora bit his lip, unsure of what to do. There was no way he could make it to Violet Town in time. He had to find shelter. Even though he loved Ice Pokemon, at that moment he wished he had a flying pokemon to scout the area. He had never been on this route before.

"It would be nice if I had a flying pokemon right now." Sora spoke, and then he got exactly what he wished for, but in an entirely different fashion, as a flock of wild Pidgey flew overhead.

Sora looked up and he shook his head, "That isn't what I meant!"

He quickly scooped up Kazuko and her belongings and quickly ran for the trees, hoping to find shelter. As they ran, Koru popped out of its poke ball and cried a battle cry, slithering to the top of Sora's head.

"Koru! Thanks for coming out. Don't try to take on all of them, there is too many. Use Icy Wind on the ones that get too close." Sora asked, as they continued to run.

Kazuko was still fairly out of it, but she did notice being scooped up by Sora. "Wh...." was all she could get out. Her eyes widened upon seeing the incredible flock of bird Pokemon. Instinctively she attempted to reach for Honoguma's pokeball, though movement was incredibly difficult for her.

Sora didn't notice Kazuko trying to reach for her poke ball. He was only paying attention to what was in front of him, dodging trees to the best of his ability. The Pidgey started to attack, swooping down, pecking at Sora's head and body. He could feel bursts of cold flying off his head and down his neck, make him shiver from Koro's Powder Snow attacks. It didn't stop Sora though. He was determined to find shelter somewhere, somehow.

Koru cried out a few times, obviously getting pecked by the flying pokemon's peaks. He was thankful that Koru wasn't a grass type.


Kazuko finally managed to grip her Pokeball, but the sudden cold from any residual Powder Snow attacks nearly left her unable to move, she was already numb as is. But she thankfully managed to press the button, releasing Honoguma. The Pokemon, noticing his trainer in a dire state, was immediately on the offensive. Honoguma would either Tackle or Scratch any of the Pidgey that got within his reach.

Sora stumbled when the bear pokemon appeared suddenly. He nearly falling as he ran, but managed to stay upright, but the struggle also made him brush a tree to his left side, causing him to bounce to right and into a low hanging limb which left a scratch on his lower cheek. A pidgey threw itself into Sora, causing Sora once again to stumble, but this time, he didn't stay up right. He stumbled, but turned his body so that his bag would break his fall, as well as his own body breaking Kazuko's fall, but caused him to lose his breath.

The Pidgey hovered above, as if waiting for the right moment to strike. Sora layed helplessly as he tried to regain his breath. Both Sora's and Kazuko's pokemon were still up, shaken, but still ready to fight. Sora looked around for a shelter where they could rest for the night and get away from the Pidgey.

After a few minutes, he saw an opening in an old oak tree, it was hollowed out. He sat up as best as he could.

"Sorry for this." Sora said, putting Kazuko over his shoulder, allowing him to rise.

Kazuko gasped when she felt Sora suddenly fall. She was completely helpless to stop the descent, which had also caused her to bruise a good bit. She just laid there, staring up at the sky, at the Pidgey still flocking above them. Honoguma was still fending against the onslaught for the time being.

Kazuko felt herself be pulled up over Sora's shoulder, and heard an apology from him. She replied with a simple "It's fine..." when she both comprehended what was going on, and mustered up the strength to speak.

"Let's see.... it's about 30 yards away... I know I can make it." Sora spoke to himself.

He took a deep breath, "Koru. Let's go." Sora announced. Koru nodded and slithered up Sora's body to the shoulder.

"Honoguma, I know you aren't my pokemon, but I need your help if you wouldn't mind assisting to a little bit more." Sora asked.

He figured Honoguma would quickly follow as he ran, there wasn't really time for it to wait around. So Sora took off toward the opening in the tree, too focused on one thought to see the Fire-type at his heels. The Pidgey tried to block his way, but they were too slow in the cold weather to block off the path. Sora ran through a gap in the Pidgey and into the gap in the tree, big enough for at least three people to sit in. It looked ancient, rotted out maybe more than a decade ago. He waited a few seconds for Kazuko's pokemon to get through the hole, then spoke a command.

"Koru, freeze the opening!" Sora roared.

Koru nodded and in no time at all, its Powder Snow had frozen the gap shut. The ice was thick and solid, so even a flock of Pidgey would have a hard time breaking it. Sora quickly placed Kazuko on the ground and tore bark off the side of the rotten tree. He made a hole, from the bark he had torn, large enough so smoke and other poisonous gases could escape. He knew it wasn't large enough, but he didn't want to make it too large for Pidgey to get through. He had to work with it for now. He would make it larger later that night. He didn't think there would be any nocturnal pokemon around later other than Hoothoot, which can't move very quickly anyway.

Sora quickly began to start a fire with what was around him, He needed to make it warm as possible. He had learned how to make a fire a few weeks after he had recovered from falling into the Lake of Rage from his mother. After a vigorous minute or two, a fire started and he started to blow on it to help it grow. He was certain that it wouldn't bother the solid ice door too much because of how cool the air was, but if it did start to melt, he would refreeze it. If the pidgey went away soon, he would go out and find a better door.

Meanwhile, Kazuko was comprehending what was happening. By the time she realized what was unfolding, she was already on the ground inside the tree. Honoguma went right over to her, staying nearby, as if on standby, awaiting his next command.​

"Don't be such a baby, it's not that bad," Riven scoffed. The champion adjusted himself while his striped canine emanated some warmth—the stranger used the tree behind him to bring himself on his feet. Riven watched as this inebriate continued to retch. "It's a hangover remedy. Looks like it worked."

"Do you think that justifies you shoving gunk down my throat?!" Evidently, this man seemed like he rarely used an indoor-voice—it felt as though every moment he had this urge to bellow and bicker like some grouch.

A scowl formed on his face as he glared at Riven. The scarlet-haired trainer didn't bother reacting to such wild gestures—his Arcanine however disliked the aggression. Instinctively and in an assertive manner, the canine positioned itself between its master and the drunkard. It aimed its snout towards this unstable man.

The distance between the stranger and Fire-type's fangs was dangerously close; the Pokémon's breath even caused the man's face to produce a few beads of sweat from all the searing heat. "Stupid ass mutt," the man muttered as he nudged at the canine's muzzle with his hands. He seemingly ignored this beast to focus his attention on its trainer. "Anyways, where the hell am I?"

Riven contemptuously shook his head at the sight of this man challenging his Arcanine. "We're in Violet City, judging by the tower." He guided the man's attention to a building structured with multiple eaves—its design made the rest of the town nondescript in comparison. However, leaving out some additional details that transpired while the man was unconscious, he nonchalantly admitted, "Don't recognize anything else."

"Oh, great." There was a lack of emotion or care in tone, contrast to all the melodrama he stirred up earlier. "Who are you?"

"Not going to introduce yourself first? Well, not that I expected that kind of civility from a hopeless drunk. Riven. Now, I believe it's your turn. First of all, who are you, and what was that Pokémon you had?"

"Look, no offense—actually, scratch that, fuck you. I honestly don't want to play twenty questions with you. I mean, what are the hell are you even asking about? What Pokémon? You mean this shit-stain?"

The man who seemingly forgot to provide his name pulled out a spherical device from underneath his coat. The way he recklessly tossed it to the side suggested he had no consideration or compassion for the organism contained inside. The PokéBall split open upon impact and produced a bright flash. A light green blob emerged into existence, and its presence caught the striped canine's attention.

This... thing just stood idly in place, its eyes devoid of any intelligence or life, though it would wiggle its gelatinous form at times—sporadically so. Compared to Riven's Arcanine, this creature looked outstandingly unimpressive. It was also rank with the scent of decaying corpses.

"This is the only Pokémon I had on me ever since I arrived in this ass-backwards country. Now, if we're done—"

"No, the gas cloud, you ass." Riven crossed his arms and began resorting on a demanding tone. "Don't waste both of our time playing dumb because whatever it was, it's gone."

"Gas cloud? Gas cloud. Gas cloud?" He seemingly acted as though he was genuinely pondering on what Riven was alluding to—was this drunkard actually trying to thin out the champion's patience? "Oh. You're talking about that." One of his eyebrows rose as he seemed to be curious. "Listen, there's only two people who have to gall to inquire me about that: those who are smart enough to know what a Gastly is, and those who want me dead. And Johto has yet to prove it has anyone or anything that can be considered smart."

"It's been a few hours since I found you, and you're not dead yet, so place your bets."

"Yet is the operative word here. I mean, cripes, wouldn't you want answers before you murder me?"

"Okay, what if I say you won't die? I don't exactly have the luxury of murder. If there are people who do, then all the better that I'm the one who grabbed you."

"Luxury? How about this—you can have the luxury of kissing my ass." He let out a chortle despite visibly looking agitated. "Jeez, you're pretty presumptuous even though you've done literally nothing beneficial for me."

"You were passed out in the middle of a busy road, and that Pokémon was floating around like it was nobody's business. If anyone's after you, I'm probably the reason you're still alive right now."

"Listen," he brusquely interposed, "you are assuming as if I never passed out in public before. I mean, for all you know, I could have strategically placed myself there as part of some plan I came up with—and you just callously fucked up everything."

"And the greatest plans are the ones fuelled by alcohol, right? And what about the Pokémon people would kill you for? What if it got away?"

"Stop calling it a Pokémon. It was a bait."

"Bait for what?"

"For fish!"