The younglings would gradually enter the house after the scruffy pokeman allowed them entry, with Wendy waving them goodbye. ”If you ever stop by Delta City, look for me at Gull Wings Deliveries! That’s where I work. I hope the best for all of you, thank you!” Wendy flew off into the storm, to complete her duty as a courier. Thus the scene switches to the rough neck scrafty and the other Pokémon within. He lowered his hood and put his rock, which he had brought in, onto the table.
”Right. Well I guess some introductions are needed. Name’s Merc. This is my kid, Honey Buns.” Merc patted the pink bunny, Honey. ”The kirlia there is Honey’s friend, Seraph. She was just visiting when this freak storm came through, been stuck here with use ever since. The hungry boy is one of my workers, Munchi.” Merc sighed as sat in his chair, looking rather tired and stressed. He looked at the other Pokémon with a hint of distaste, but mostly apathy. ”Look, I’m gunna be honest with ya. This ain’t no normal storm. I’ve worked these fields for an odd ten years or so, been in my fair share of tornadoes and hurricanes, but they don’t last this long and this badly. Especially not at this time of year!”
The kirlia, Seraph, nodded as she took a Calendar off the wall. ”Mr. Merc, why don’t you just rest for now? I’ll take care of the children for now. I already made some soup too.” Merc grumbled but complied, standing up to go get something to eat. He finished his food quickly and then went into another room, and barely a few seconds after he was snoring. Meanwhile Seraph turned to the others, laying out some cushions for everyone to sit around the fire place. ”Please forgive his attitude, he’s actually a very nice man. But this storm has caused a lot of damage to his farm, and three days ago his wife went to go get help but hasn’t come back since. Between trying to save his farm, fighting off the others who try and steal our crops, and worrying his his wife, he’s under a lot of stress.”
Seraph laid the colander on the floor for everyone to see. Noticeably, it looked somewhat crude, like it was handmade instead of machine pressed, and there weren’t any names for months. It was simple labeled “Autumn Third Quarter” and the days were labeled one to twenty-eight (1-28) instead of the former humans 30-31. There were also notes and small marks in the boxes for each day. ”About sixteen days ago I came here to visit Honey and collect some berries for my family. I was only suppose to stay for three days but when the storm came I thought I should stay and wait it out. But that wasn’t a good idea.”
Then the kirlia pointed to a box a two days later labeled “flash flood”. ”Two days of constant rain and suddenly the fields were flooded. So much water came down that it actually tore out many of the berry bushes that were planted, flooding the fields and ruining their crops. I know you’re young so I won’t make it complicated, but berries can’t grow under water. Mr. Merc and Munchi have done as much as they can to clear the flood waters, but this constant rain just keeps filling up the fields. Not to mention the others who come and steal.”
Seraph points to another day almost a week after the flash flood day. This one is labeled thieves. ”A lot of desperate Pokémon displaced by the storm came and tried to steal from us. At first they were just picking at the scraps out in the fields, but then they tried to break into the house and the barn. Merc and his wife, Mimi, as well as me and Munchi, fought back when we could. Thought that was the end of it. But I guess since we never let those thieves in, they think we have a lot of food left. But we don’t, not enough for all of them.”
If the others looked towards Munchi, he was cradling the large rock in his arms. It wasn’t like the type of rock you’d find on the ground; it was huge, smoothly carved, and now that they could see it closer and with better light, had some old bloodstains in it. ”It gets worse. It’s been nothing g but one disaster after another. Thunder storms end up causing the barn to burn down, or at least start a fire from inside of the barn, and we barely managed to get our seeds and tools out. We lost a lot of supplies when that happened. That didn’t stop the thieves either as they just started to attack the house, but fortunately we still are able to beat them back. At least, until the ghosts showed up.” Seraph flipped the calendar a few pages and showed a familiar image to the party: monochrome Pokémon with red eyes.
”They looked like the sort of Pokémon you’d see around here, but they were grey looking with glowing red eyes. They didn’t speak or make any demands when they showed up, they just attacked. Merc was really helpful in fighting them, but we knew something was really wrong now. An unstoppable storm, regular Pokémon turning into ghosts, and all the flooding was just getting too much for us to handle. Ms. Mimi, the fastest out of all of us, volunteered to go see Lord Rero, who owns these lands. He’s a nice man who also helped build the farm and a lot of other things around here, and strong to boot. We hoped maybe he could help or was working on some way to help, but we never heard back from Ms. Mimi or Lord Rero.”
Seraph sighed, as if all of the talking had been exhausting. Honey, who had left, cane in carrying a large pot and balancing a few bowls on top. There were also spoons in the bowl. ”Um... I know daddy said get your own food, but momma, she wouldn’t like it if we didn’t feed our guests. It’s not much but I hope you like it!” Honey distributed the soup, giving everyone a bowlful. No one had more than any other, not even Munchi who quickly finished his in one gulp. Honey snuggled up near Seraph, using the lithe and thin Pokémon as a sort of barrier between the others. Seraph patted Honey’s Head.
”Anyways if you want food, I guess after you all rest we can try to go look in the forest. Berries won’t grow in these conditions, but mushrooms could. And... If we have to... Maybe we could do some hunting too.”
