Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon > The Spirit of Alola
Slowly moving down the beach, I run my fingers along the rocky wall lining the stone-filled sand. As I amble carefully on, I call out a few times, trying hard to make myself heard over the din of waves on the shore. My hope is that someone will hear my periodic shout and head to my location to check out the noise.
Wanting to keep myself from despair, I try to think about how wonderful this island is, with its exciting new sounds and exotic new smells. But, my mind would instead stress over the fact that I am alone, no one knows where I am, and, despite my assumptions, I could be completely lost and never know it.
I have a general idea of the direction I should be heading, but I have no way of knowing if the path I am on will lead me to my neighbors home, where I can find help, or if I'll find an impassable section and have to turn back. I also run the risk of slipping into the sea, and I can't swim.
In truth, I can tread water, and when I know what direction to go, I'm decent at paddling forward. Due to my lack of sight, though, I run a high risk of drowning if I were to slip into the water. Since I cannot see the land, I would not know which way to travel towards. Even with my innate sense of direction, without solid ground beneath my feet, I wouldn't even be able to tell where I'm facing, especially in water as rough as the sea beside me is growing.
"Oh curses," I say aloud, my words muffled by the crashing waves, furthering my irritation. "Not only am I not fully certain of where I'm going, but I can't even hear my surroundings because of this noise."
I pause my walking and pull in a large deep breath, releasing it with a long push through my nose, hoping to calm the anxious storm brewing inside of me.
The air still smells fresh, but there's a slight chill coming off the windswept seas. The sun seems weaker, though it doesn't feel like it has gone down very far from the start of my trip. Usually, that means clouds are covering it. I also notice an all too familiar, very slight scent coming off the water. It smells as though there may be rain soon.
I set my slow pace once more, determined to keep moving, when I feel a rock fall to my feet, hitting the ground with a sand-softened thump. Reaching down, I pick it up and roll it over in my left hand. It's rough and jagged, not something that would easily slip on its own.
Why did it fall? I ask myself. Another, larger stone falls onto my shoulder, further adding pain to the already throbbing injury.
Raising my head, I sense rather than feel more objects moving towards my face. I cover my head and wait for the rock slide to hit me, but it doesn't—just a light sprinkling of dirt, dust, and a few more minor rocks. Instead, I hear a muffled cry, though I don't recognize the voice over the sound of waves.
"Hello," I call, my head raised to the source. I hear no response, though the clattering of debris continues falling over me on the rocky floor. "Is somebody up there?" I call again.
I do not receive any voice in reply, but rather a louder rattling of stones and dust, than a large, heavier thump in front of me.
"Nya-" a Delcatty calls by my feet.
"Wait, Hop, is that you?"
In response, she pushes her soft head into my leg and chirps happily.
"Hop, can you go get Sashi or Tinsel for me?" I ask. I feel her sit down next to my leg, nowhere near the response I was hoping for.
"How about my bag?" I say, a bit desperately this time. "Can you make it back home and grab my bag for me?"
"Nya?" she mewls back.
"Come on now; you're smarter than that, Hop. Go back home and get me help, please."
In response, she walks up to the wall and scrapes her claws against it.
"Yes," I say encouragingly, "climb the wall and get help."
She scratches a few more times then sits back down by my feet, a bit more heavily now.
"Oh," I sigh, finally understanding. "You can't. That wall must be pretty steep and tall if you can't get up there."
It's a wonder I didn't come out with more severe injuries. I think to myself.
To no one in particular, I speak aloud once more. "I sure wish Rebel or Boreas were here. They'd be able to get us out of this mess." I say, thinking about my bag with all my Pokèballs in it, still sitting by my wife and guide Pokémon. "I really should know better by now than to leave the house without help."
"Even my cane would have been useful," I comment, recalling how this all started when my foot missed the ground. "If I'd been using that blasted thing, I would have at least noticed the drop in earth and maybe even felt the broken fence." I shake my head despondently.
Hop stands and rubs her body against my leg, wrapping her tail around my knees and softly mewling, seeming to try to cheer me up.
"You're right, Hop," I say, giving her head a gentle scratch with my left hand. "Well, we can't keep standing about like Dunsparce on a rock. If help can't find us, we'll find help instead!" I force optimism into my voice.
I place my fingers back onto the rock wall and shuffle my bare feet through the sand. The wind begins to gust cold and hard, but dies down just as quickly. I can feel the spray of saltwater more and more as I continue to push ahead. It won't take long for me to get soaked if this continues. The sea must be drawing closer to the wall. That worries me a bit.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this area, so I have no way of knowing if it's high tide, a smaller amount of beach, or if the water is pushed so far against the sand because of the wind.
"Hey, Hop, can you see anyone's house," I ask. No response. "Hop!" I call again.
This time I hear her mewl loudly, sounding aggravated. Worried she might be in trouble, I stumble forward towards her cry, away from the abysmal comfort of the wall.
"Kyu kyu," I hear the yell of an unfamiliar Pokèmon. It sounds small and low on the ground.
I click my tongue and reach into my pocket for my stash of treats, hoping that whatever it is, my offering will keep it from wanting to attack. Then, pulling one out, I crouch down next to the source of the sound.
Hop comes up beside me and lets out a low hiss, followed by a small, defiant spit. She sounds more irritated than protective. I allow my fear to slip away with a push of breath through my nose.
"Hush you," I gently chide at the Delcatty. "You know better than to go fussing with other Pokèmon." I feel her tail slap me irritably in the back. "Stop that, Hop," I say mildly. "That hurts." The heat from her warm body leaves my side once more as she patters away, snorting in annoyance at being chastised.
I reach down again to where I heard the small Pokèmon's sound and tap my finger on the ground. I don't feel anything but sand, so I tap a few more times in a couple of different places. My last tap gets me a result.
I feel a slimy spiky creature below my hand.
"Pyu pyu," it says, wriggling in surprise at the touch.
"Hey, little guy, what are you doing out here?" I coo softly. "Do you have any friends nearby?"
Listening carefully to my surroundings, I don't notice the sound of any more creatures, though the noise of the rising tides would be drowning out the small voices anyways.
"Pyu kyu," it repeats.
"See here, little bud, I have a treat if you want." I hold the pellet on the tips of my fingers and press it closer to where I hear the sound of its voice coming from. I feel a tiny form shuffle over to it, poke it a couple of times with a spiky little tongue, and then I feel the familiar touch of a piece of the offering leaving my hand.
The mysterious little Pokémon chews noisily on the treat, chirping happily as it takes more bites from my pellet. I reach out and stroke my hand along its spines. It stiffens under my touch until I reach behind the spine closest to my feeding hand and give, what I assume, must be the head, a rub. This causes the tiny creature to stop chewing and push back against my hand at what I can only believe is pleasure.
Once the treat is gone, I plop another down by its face and stand back up to leave. My small new friend crawls onto my toes, treat in mouth, and returns to eating.
"Hey, little guy, I've got to get moving." I scold gently. I carefully remove my foot from underneath it and reach for the wall again, but feel the slimy thing crawl onto my toes once more.
"Kyu kyu pyu," It protests back at me.
I stand for a moment and consider my strange situation.
"How about you come with me," I say, locating the spot that got the original happy response and giving it another scratch.
"Kyu." It purrs back.
I crouch down and pick my slimy new friend up. It's not very heavy, about the size of a book, and feels almost like a smooth, wet coral, but for the spikes lining its top. Then, reaching my hand out towards the wall, I scoot back up the coast and place my sore fingers on the rocks once more.
"Hop," I call. "Come on, girl. We need to get moving."
I hear her feet patter up, to, and then past me, heading in the direction we need to go.
"Huh," I say to the creature in my hand. "I have two Pokémon with me now, and neither of you is able to help. Hop has no attention span, and you, my friend, are rather small."
"Pyu pyu," It says back. I guess the meaning of this response and grab another treat from my pocket. It settles down into the crook of my arm and starts to munch away happily, unconcerned by my situation.
"Guess we should be off then." I sigh, happy for the company, but worry still twisting into a knot in my stomach.
Wanting to keep myself from despair, I try to think about how wonderful this island is, with its exciting new sounds and exotic new smells. But, my mind would instead stress over the fact that I am alone, no one knows where I am, and, despite my assumptions, I could be completely lost and never know it.
I have a general idea of the direction I should be heading, but I have no way of knowing if the path I am on will lead me to my neighbors home, where I can find help, or if I'll find an impassable section and have to turn back. I also run the risk of slipping into the sea, and I can't swim.
In truth, I can tread water, and when I know what direction to go, I'm decent at paddling forward. Due to my lack of sight, though, I run a high risk of drowning if I were to slip into the water. Since I cannot see the land, I would not know which way to travel towards. Even with my innate sense of direction, without solid ground beneath my feet, I wouldn't even be able to tell where I'm facing, especially in water as rough as the sea beside me is growing.
"Oh curses," I say aloud, my words muffled by the crashing waves, furthering my irritation. "Not only am I not fully certain of where I'm going, but I can't even hear my surroundings because of this noise."
I pause my walking and pull in a large deep breath, releasing it with a long push through my nose, hoping to calm the anxious storm brewing inside of me.
The air still smells fresh, but there's a slight chill coming off the windswept seas. The sun seems weaker, though it doesn't feel like it has gone down very far from the start of my trip. Usually, that means clouds are covering it. I also notice an all too familiar, very slight scent coming off the water. It smells as though there may be rain soon.
I set my slow pace once more, determined to keep moving, when I feel a rock fall to my feet, hitting the ground with a sand-softened thump. Reaching down, I pick it up and roll it over in my left hand. It's rough and jagged, not something that would easily slip on its own.
Why did it fall? I ask myself. Another, larger stone falls onto my shoulder, further adding pain to the already throbbing injury.
Raising my head, I sense rather than feel more objects moving towards my face. I cover my head and wait for the rock slide to hit me, but it doesn't—just a light sprinkling of dirt, dust, and a few more minor rocks. Instead, I hear a muffled cry, though I don't recognize the voice over the sound of waves.
"Hello," I call, my head raised to the source. I hear no response, though the clattering of debris continues falling over me on the rocky floor. "Is somebody up there?" I call again.
I do not receive any voice in reply, but rather a louder rattling of stones and dust, than a large, heavier thump in front of me.
"Nya-" a Delcatty calls by my feet.
"Wait, Hop, is that you?"
In response, she pushes her soft head into my leg and chirps happily.
"Hop, can you go get Sashi or Tinsel for me?" I ask. I feel her sit down next to my leg, nowhere near the response I was hoping for.
"How about my bag?" I say, a bit desperately this time. "Can you make it back home and grab my bag for me?"
"Nya?" she mewls back.
"Come on now; you're smarter than that, Hop. Go back home and get me help, please."
In response, she walks up to the wall and scrapes her claws against it.
"Yes," I say encouragingly, "climb the wall and get help."
She scratches a few more times then sits back down by my feet, a bit more heavily now.
"Oh," I sigh, finally understanding. "You can't. That wall must be pretty steep and tall if you can't get up there."
It's a wonder I didn't come out with more severe injuries. I think to myself.
To no one in particular, I speak aloud once more. "I sure wish Rebel or Boreas were here. They'd be able to get us out of this mess." I say, thinking about my bag with all my Pokèballs in it, still sitting by my wife and guide Pokémon. "I really should know better by now than to leave the house without help."
"Even my cane would have been useful," I comment, recalling how this all started when my foot missed the ground. "If I'd been using that blasted thing, I would have at least noticed the drop in earth and maybe even felt the broken fence." I shake my head despondently.
Hop stands and rubs her body against my leg, wrapping her tail around my knees and softly mewling, seeming to try to cheer me up.
"You're right, Hop," I say, giving her head a gentle scratch with my left hand. "Well, we can't keep standing about like Dunsparce on a rock. If help can't find us, we'll find help instead!" I force optimism into my voice.
I place my fingers back onto the rock wall and shuffle my bare feet through the sand. The wind begins to gust cold and hard, but dies down just as quickly. I can feel the spray of saltwater more and more as I continue to push ahead. It won't take long for me to get soaked if this continues. The sea must be drawing closer to the wall. That worries me a bit.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this area, so I have no way of knowing if it's high tide, a smaller amount of beach, or if the water is pushed so far against the sand because of the wind.
"Hey, Hop, can you see anyone's house," I ask. No response. "Hop!" I call again.
This time I hear her mewl loudly, sounding aggravated. Worried she might be in trouble, I stumble forward towards her cry, away from the abysmal comfort of the wall.
"Kyu kyu," I hear the yell of an unfamiliar Pokèmon. It sounds small and low on the ground.
I click my tongue and reach into my pocket for my stash of treats, hoping that whatever it is, my offering will keep it from wanting to attack. Then, pulling one out, I crouch down next to the source of the sound.
Hop comes up beside me and lets out a low hiss, followed by a small, defiant spit. She sounds more irritated than protective. I allow my fear to slip away with a push of breath through my nose.
"Hush you," I gently chide at the Delcatty. "You know better than to go fussing with other Pokèmon." I feel her tail slap me irritably in the back. "Stop that, Hop," I say mildly. "That hurts." The heat from her warm body leaves my side once more as she patters away, snorting in annoyance at being chastised.
I reach down again to where I heard the small Pokèmon's sound and tap my finger on the ground. I don't feel anything but sand, so I tap a few more times in a couple of different places. My last tap gets me a result.
I feel a slimy spiky creature below my hand.
"Pyu pyu," it says, wriggling in surprise at the touch.
"Hey, little guy, what are you doing out here?" I coo softly. "Do you have any friends nearby?"
Listening carefully to my surroundings, I don't notice the sound of any more creatures, though the noise of the rising tides would be drowning out the small voices anyways.
"Pyu kyu," it repeats.
"See here, little bud, I have a treat if you want." I hold the pellet on the tips of my fingers and press it closer to where I hear the sound of its voice coming from. I feel a tiny form shuffle over to it, poke it a couple of times with a spiky little tongue, and then I feel the familiar touch of a piece of the offering leaving my hand.
The mysterious little Pokémon chews noisily on the treat, chirping happily as it takes more bites from my pellet. I reach out and stroke my hand along its spines. It stiffens under my touch until I reach behind the spine closest to my feeding hand and give, what I assume, must be the head, a rub. This causes the tiny creature to stop chewing and push back against my hand at what I can only believe is pleasure.
Once the treat is gone, I plop another down by its face and stand back up to leave. My small new friend crawls onto my toes, treat in mouth, and returns to eating.
"Hey, little guy, I've got to get moving." I scold gently. I carefully remove my foot from underneath it and reach for the wall again, but feel the slimy thing crawl onto my toes once more.
"Kyu kyu pyu," It protests back at me.
I stand for a moment and consider my strange situation.
"How about you come with me," I say, locating the spot that got the original happy response and giving it another scratch.
"Kyu." It purrs back.
I crouch down and pick my slimy new friend up. It's not very heavy, about the size of a book, and feels almost like a smooth, wet coral, but for the spikes lining its top. Then, reaching my hand out towards the wall, I scoot back up the coast and place my sore fingers on the rocks once more.
"Hop," I call. "Come on, girl. We need to get moving."
I hear her feet patter up, to, and then past me, heading in the direction we need to go.
"Huh," I say to the creature in my hand. "I have two Pokémon with me now, and neither of you is able to help. Hop has no attention span, and you, my friend, are rather small."
"Pyu pyu," It says back. I guess the meaning of this response and grab another treat from my pocket. It settles down into the crook of my arm and starts to munch away happily, unconcerned by my situation.
"Guess we should be off then." I sigh, happy for the company, but worry still twisting into a knot in my stomach.
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