Valen found himself suddenly seated in a chair, staring into the gaze of a very intense senior before him. At first, he thought he’d done something wrong. “Uhhh…” He tried to think of what to say. Had he come off as too forward?
His trepidation lessened as he found himself listening, not to scolding, but a warm winding tale about Highhill. This is… Nice. He sat back in the chair, letting the story unfold.
There was much the old man had to say and it wouldn’t have been accurate to say Valen could glean everything from it, but he tried as hard as he could. Some of the details gained may have been fuzzy, but the main points he was able to retain. Perhaps the most inspiring and captivating tale of all was the story about a hero that took down a monster.
Hero. It was a powerful word, especially to a child like Valen, who dreamed of being a hero. Someone who could save people and make a difference, he thought dreamily. There was no terrorizing monster now, and who knew if the forest guardians existed, but there were some troubling rumors stirring about Amethyst and Virtue. Just for a moment, Valen toyed with the idea of being able to woosh in on the gangs and shut down their awful antics. Brushed away just as quicky, the notion was tossed out. You’re still just a kid… With a Porygon who doesn’t listen to you and a Snivy that doesn’t like you. Grow up. But there was still that excitement and wonder that caused him to tremble-- where were those forest guardians now? Did they still exist? What had the monster been? How had they taken the monster down? Even as the elder moved onto different topics, the legend remained in Valen's mind.
When the old man finished, he was quiet for a moment, reflecting and uncertain of what to say. But finally he flashed a smile. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I loved hearing about Highhill, and the information you gave was really useful.” His words may have not been the most sophisticated, but his appreciation couldn’t have been overstated, and he could only hope he expressed his feelings well. But it was late now and Valen wanted some time to rest and parse through all the information.
After thanking the man and heading back to the pokemon center, Valen took a room for the night. Letting his pokemon out of their capsules, they looked less than pleased. He wondered what was wrong at first before realizing.
“Oh, that pokemon on Route 1, right? Guys,” he sighed, exasperated. Pokemon were very much like children, he thought. “I’m sorry but I didn’t want you guys getting hurt! And you know, that pokemon was probably more afraid of us than him. We knew better, didn’t we? Besides, you guys were stronger and that’s not fair.” The last part he wasn’t sure about, but he was willing to bet. After all, Qwerty had looked like she had been winning.
The Snivy folded his arms and flicked his tongue with a soft hiss, though his head was tilted as if he were entertaining Valen’s point at least. Qwerty hovered around in circles uncertain, but swayed.
“You didn’t have one fight, it’s not the end of the world. Qwerty, just earlier today you didn’t want to fight those Shuppet, remember?” Valen pressed. “I know that Growlithe attacking probably made you angry, but we don’t always have to retaliate. It was just dumb. It's not like it was gonna solve anything.”
Qwerty let out a sigh, bumping into Valen’s shoulder. She conceded.
“Knew you’d come around,” Valen smiled, patting Qwerty’s head. “Let’s all get to bed. Oh and Snivy,” he paused. “Mind if I call you Basilisk? Basil sometimes, for short.”
The Snivy let out a tiny ‘hmmph’, curling his leafy tail around him, a ghost of a smile—but a smile nonetheless—curving his snout.
The next morning Valen woke up early; the habit of getting up around 7 AM for school had not yet left his internal clock and was far from doing so. The only thing to do then, was prep and get ready for the day. So, after withdrawing some fresh clothing items from his PC, freshening up, and getting breakfast, Valen, Qwerty, and Basil were up and out to explore the day away.
Bounding about with energy however, Qwerty and Basil were raring for some training first. They were chasing each other around in circles, giggling. Hmm…. Maybe they can train together? It seemed more practical to train his pokemon together, rather than against wild pokemon. After all, even if wild pokemon challenged them, it felt a little unfair to just use them for level up fodder.
“Okay, so I have an idea, how about you guys spar against each other?” Valen suggested to the rowdy duo. “Basil, you come at Qwerty with Vine Whip and Qwerty, you practice with Conversion 2 and Psybeam! Remember, you guys are sparring. You're figuring out your techniques and stuff!” And afterwards, we're gonna go to Silent Shrine. Some prayers and luck were in need.
After some good effort and training from Basil and Qwerty, and a firmer grasp on how his pokemon battled, Valen hurried along to the Silent Shrine.
