Chương 38: Chapter 34

I'd thought I was good at finding things. It turns out that seeing through walls, being able to pinpoint people inside a wide radius, and the ability to taste and track emotion don't mean much when I'm nearly certain whatever just passed through can teleport. That's the only explanation I have, anyway. The two humans have finally managed to catch up to my wild searching, and I hold in a laugh as they end up exactly where they started before chasing me. It's not like I needed to look that far out.

They're rather eager to follow me, though. Well, with my mystery stalker still a mystery, where do I go? There are a few places that simply don't close in the city, and a lot of the more nocturnal pokemon are still awake, if generally good at stealth. I'm discounting any potential dark-types since they're all cheating. Not that I've seen too many, come to think of it… b ut I suppose that's my enti re poin t. I h aven't seen that many, and I know they're around.

There's certainly a part of me that's tempted to just fly off, to explore as far as I can for no real reason. I suspect that it will stay that way until I do, but I have all the time I could ask for, so there isn't a rush. How far could I go in a single night? I'd bet the answer is very. More realistically, there's a lot of forest I flew over on the way back here today, and it put the scale of Almia in perspective. I've seen barely any of it, and I don't know where to start on the rest.

The forest is spread over most of it, but I saw plains north of Pueltown, past the sea that surround s the city. There's a massive river that cuts through most of the forest, too, and I imagine it's what feeds all the smaller rivers and lakes to the west. Right now, however, I am somewhat limited by the need to not completely abandon the humans following me. Weaver can help them find me, but I'm so much faster than them that it's honestly sad.

Although, really, this is the same issue I've had almost every night, only with a small twist now. What do I do to keep myself from going crazy out of boredom? I miss the internet… Although I suppose I have it to look forward to. Maybe … Is there an arcade somewhere in this city? It's the right decade, but I haven't seen one yet. I've thought about finding a library a few times, and I have found one, but I don't think they'd be open this late.

I do appreciate that they simply let me, a seemingly wild pokemon, float in. I think most people around know that I'm a ranger partner now, though. Am I famous? I hope not … Bored! Is this why pokemon enjoy battles? It's simply something to do that—assuming you have a few ground rules—won't leave you hurt too badly and passes the time. I'm genuinely considering it, fuck. Maybe I should just check out the groups of nocturnal pokemon scattered around.

It turns out that when you have a decent, if small, portion of a population in a city like this that don't have anything like a human schedule, there will be a few places that cater to them. I don't know if I'm feeling that social right now, though. I know where this kind of stalling leads. I'm self aware enough to recognize what will happen if I don't choose something, anything to do while I have the drive, but nothing feels right. Finally deciding on a completely different option, I start flying west.

I've had enough of trying to figure out what to do, so I'll just do this and see what happens instead. I was already planning to head out at some point tonight anyway.

Making my own materials, as good as the idea had sounded, isn't going to happen quickly. I can cut a tree down well enough, but… Okay, 'cut' is the wrong word, and that's the problem. Using psychic power with the precision needed to cut, cleanly, through green hardwood is both slow and frustrating. It's good practice, though. Makes me wonder what my stalkers think of it, as all they're seeing is me slowly carving a line through a tree. Speaking of…

I give the top of the tree a shove, and the whole thing falls with a cracking, creaking groan. I slow it before it hits the ground. I probably could have stopped it were I cycling my power. I could say 'using Calm Mind' instead, but being the one using the power, I don't want to think of it like a 'move.' It really isn't that simple, i t's a combination of mindset and power that work together to make me stronger as a whole while I maintain them.

Regardless, I have a felled tree that was cleanly cut instead of shattered. So… now what? Cutting it into boards to dry is going to be just as annoying as cutting it down had been, only longer. I could make log walls, I suppose… except that this tree was too big for that because I was thinking about how many boards I could cut it into when I started. Gods dammit. I have so much control, but making a functional saw-blade takes too much concentration, even with my enhanced level of it.

Yet, I can easily tear stuff apart. Doing that's as simple as pointing two psychic zones in different directions or even pointing one zone in a twisty direction. The problem there is that it tears. U nevenly. A wedge doesn't work, either. That's more like taking an axe to something, and it isn't clean enough. My current method of imitating how a saw works is functional, but slow if I don't want a slight lapse to shred my cut.

Take a th in area, bring it right against where I want to cut, and shove power through it laterally. It works, barely, but since I can't make psychic forces into anything truly solid, it's inefficient. It needs to be done from the outside and in small increments. Also, I'm never doing that inside something again. It's a lot of work for someone used to having electric saws, but, since I want this to be nice and not a pile of scrap-wood and metal shavings, poor cuts aren't acceptable.

I suppose buying wood and a saw is still an option, kind of, and I will need to buy other materials, but I'm at least a few more months away from being able to go from 'volunteer partner' to an employed citizen in my own right. That's not even to mention what I'm certain the lumber prices will be. At the moment I'm free to cut down and or destroy as much as the pokemon around here will let me, as laws don't really apply to us out here, but there's no logging that happens locally— anymore —as far as I can tell.

That means imports, which will send prices up. Ranger's are apparently paid fairly well though, and I doubt I'll have other expenses, so who knows. I'm repeating myself again. Back to trying to cut more efficiently. Ever since that shady fox mentioned it after I asked about illusions, I've had the thought of how to… B lend? Combine? How to use multiple power types together just sitting in the back of my head. The problem is that I don't know how.

I can use two, maybe even three at the same time, but they're separate. Self-contained. And trying to put them together ends up with it all fizzling out. I was told it was possible, however, so there's that. I'm assuming it's some magic thing that I don't quite have the feel for yet, but it makes sense when I think back on the games and cartoon. They weren't anywhere near accurate, but they were right about broad strokes. Such as the sheer number of different 'moves' any given pokemon can learn.

And that makes a lot more sense if mixing powers expands that list. I just don't know how. Yet. This is mainly my line of thought for cutting more easily due to how my ghost power tends to interact with… everything physical. It eats at things. So, if I could focus and contain it to a thin, preferably blade-shaped area, I'm almost certain it would make cutting easy. Except that ghost power has a tendency to spread and feather out, even if I keep it as contained as I can, which also always ends up as a sphere.

I suppose the good news from all this is that I've succeeded in keeping myself busy for a bit. Or a while. I'm not sure, but the sun isn't up yet. What should I do with this tree now? I'm probably missing something entirely obvious that would make splitting it into boards easy, but beating my head against the problem won't help me figure it out any faster if I am. It might actually make it take longer. Hmm, let's just drag it over here where it will be off the ground. Steady, ready, release. Now, lift.

Holding an entire tree makes me feel like a superhero, but I can't let that feeling distract me as I move the thing onto the still-standing foundation of my cabin. It won't dry properly, both with how large it is and with the bark still on it, but it shouldn't start rotting as fast now that it's there. … I need to remove all the branches. And to get a tarp. Shit. You know what? I think getting ahead of myself out of excitement is a good sign. I'll take it. And tearing branches off will be easy.

First, though, I should check in with the two men watching me from afar. I, of course, vanish from reality to do so. No point in letting them know I'm doing this, after all. Moving through a space without space, I head toward the two gray orbs a decent distance from my little clearing. I can taste how wired they are on caffeine and whatever else is in chesto berries before I reach them. I angle myself– Never mind, I bump into what I'm pretty sure is Weaver.

"You'll give the game away like that, Smokey," She playfully admonishes. I can hardly see you, you menace. Moving back a bit, I do my best to make out her form before angling myself into the humans' blind spot behind them. I t hen reconsider and move to above the pair. It's something Weaver told me about humans that I'd never thought about until she did, and then I couldn't help being amazed that she was right. Humans don't really look up that often. Not unless they have a reason to.

I had to look through my memories after that, and I couldn't remember a time I ever did where there wasn't something that had already moved my attention that way. And, despite my glowing eyes, I'm not giving them a reason to look up since the small amount of red light I'm emitting isn't anywhere near the same amount the duo's little red-tinted lantern is. Funnily enough, I think these two have it set so low they can barely see, but it's practically a beacon to anyone with night vision.

I'm hovering over them only partially to sate my curiosity. Mostly, it's because I know Weaver, whether she's showing it or not, is bored and will enjoy watching the two humans be clueless while I'm right next to them. I phase in, listening to what the two are talking about.

"–Cut and move a tree like that?" Rowan asks, sounding almost curious. He's fascinated.

"They were very deliberate with the cutting too," Oak says, noting something.

"As I said, testing, considering, testing again. And only committing after finding a clean method." After a second, Rowan speaks, "It's only just struck me, with how the pokemon maneuvered it, but could it be an attempt to rebuild some form of shelter…?" The man considers. His eyes light up, as do Oak's, the taste of excitement ratcheting up,"…Or to gather the materials for something more complex."" Misdreavus is, without doubt, intelligent enough to reverse engineer a construction process," Oak nods excitedly.

"I'd imagine then that what we're seeing is them trying to rebuild something they consider part of their territory."" Or, at the very least, the beginning of that process," Rowan muses.

"We won't know without more observation and perhaps another interview afterward." He goes back to watching my clearing through his binoculars, "Although the pokemon hasn't returned yet." I… shouldn't be surprised they managed to realize what I'm trying to do. They would need to be pretty smart to get to their positions. Several seconds pass before Rowan speaks again, "How long do you believe the pokemon can maintain invisibility?"

"They display far more alacrity with the action than I'd thought," Oak notes.

"I suspect that has to do with a difference in physiology to the only other point of reference, though."" You wrote that the gastly had a need to reconstitute regularly," Rowan adds, looking down again to read from an old-looking note– sketchpad, "Perhaps this pokemon is the same?"" I don't think so," Oak denies, still scanning for me.

"There is a clear difference between the acts. Gastly… visibly disperse when they disappear. I believe they become invisible by spreading themselves so thin that they can't be seen. Misdreavus' vanishing isn't that, and I can't think of how they're doing it with their more solid physiology. Perhaps we should inquire about a more in-depth physical examination again."

"My Kantonian isn't the best, but you wrote that haunter lack the ability?" Rowan asks, scanning the page again. Oak shakes his head, "Ah, no. I wrote that I was unable to observe or even confirm if or how the evolution affected the pokemon's ability. Kiko and I–" Oak cuts himself off.

"Well, you already know, but Kikuko was only willing to allow me so much time with them." Hmm. Well, I can see how my 'invisibility' could be confusing without already knowing how I do it. Maybe they'll connect it to my ability to pass through things at some point. Actually, I'd bet they will, soon enough. I t's not a large leap once you think of it. I surreptitiously glance down at Weaver. She's still standing at attention like a serious guard, but she has a small smile on her feline face now. That's good.

I move slightly closer to the men. I then freeze entirely as Rowan turns to regard Weaver, not noticing me directly above, "The pokemon hasn't left the area, have they?" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Weaver, face now stony and impassive, shakes her head. Rowan frowns, though he does turn to look back at my completely empty clearing. Once he does, Weaver's face splits in a wide grin.

She's probably knowingly bending what Rowan meant by 'the area,' very willfully, but I'm all for it. I'm committed to the bit at this point, so I start looking around at all the notes and supplies neatly set around the two men. I can chuckle to myself about how insane this whole thing feels to me, but they're clearly experienced at it. They each have a large thermos of something I'm betting is pretty strong and simple cups for water they're pouring from a jug.

There's also a well-sealed bag of what I think is hard-tack currently being used to keep their light off the ground, several notebooks, a sketchpad, and… There's really no other way to put it, those are piss bottles. At least I'm confident they'll clean up after themselves. Throwing a glance at the still clueless professors, I take a closer look at one of the books in particular, the one Rowan has open. It's Oak's sketchbook, the one that has his notes on gastly in it.

It's older than the others I see around, though it's been cared for. I know I won't be able to read it—it's in 'Kantonian,' not Sinnohan—but I'm more interested in the images anyway. The page it's currently open to shows… that Oak is damn good at drawing. On the page, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of notes, two shadowy orbs, both with beady eyes and the impression of fangs, float on either side of a severe-looking Japa– Kantonian woman with the slightest hint of a smirk on her face.

That's probably 'Kiko,' interesting. Looking at the other page, there's something… off about what I assume is a sketch of a haunter. The gastly had almost been, dare I say it, cute, but this sketch is creepy. There's no other way to put it. It's a gaping maw with large, dead eyes and two long-fingered hands ending in claws. The whole thing sort of fades out at the bottom. The drawing is tripping something in my head, and I'm again impressed by the man's skill at art. That is a ghost.

I know I'm one too, but I don't look like that. I look more like some kind of deep sea creature than a physical nightmare. I'm not jealous, though. I can at least look nice if I dial it back. What a thought that is. Mmm, one of them noticed me. It is a bit frightening to be so close to something that you hadn't noticed, isn't it? Tasty. I turn to face Rowan, who has a hand to his chest and is very obviously holding in some less-than-polite words.

"Boo," I say, deadpan. Oak nearly jumps, whipping his head around to look at me. Rowan turns his now full glare on Weaver, "You didn't feel it prudent to inform us of the pokemon's presence?" He doesn't quite hiss. Weaver, who I'm certain is laughing her ass off internally, simply shrugs.

I wish Oak and Rowan would call it a night already. Despite what I'm sure is a decent effort on their part, I can only ignore their presence so much. Eh… I really want to talk to Marshal or Weaver about power-slash-energy manipulation right now, but Marshal is out because of those two. Coincidentally, so is Weaver. And of the few people in the woods I'm friendly enough with to consider asking instead, I'm pretty sure Leaf is the only one that doesn't sleep. Or, well, 'doesn't.' It's not the same as my thing.

Great, now I want to see how he spends his nights. Except I have some hangers - on that I don't think would be appreciated right now, and I'm still not sure how to approach him again after I turned him down yesterday… Or was it two days ago now? I don't know if I handled that well, but I hope I did. … Maybe I should go check on him, just to see if he's okay. I allow myself a frustrated sigh, rising to look out at the horizon again. It's not dawn yet, but it might be time to head back to the ranger base.

Onaga gets up early. Of course, she also runs through her exercises for an hour as well. It's Friday… The calendar being the exact same is still weird. Anyway, Friday. That means Onaga will be doing endurance training. Gods, the Rangers are all insane. I wish I could say I didn't know what a seven-day workweek feels like, but they seem ready and able to keep going. And they're expecting to do this for most of a year. … Although it's not like I haven't seen them take breaks. Even if they're short.

And they do have us to help. Voluntarily, which is nice. I really hope I never find out what being in a pokeball is like. Yeah, that's enough of that. Letting myself obey the laws of gravity, I start to drift down. My enjoyment of which is ruined when I easily spot two shapes intently watching me, highlighted by their lantern. You know what, yeah, I'm tired of being 'observed' by the professors right now. Vanishing, moving, carefully searching, moving again, and then reappearing next to Weaver, I tell her as much.

"I'm a bit done with these two right now, and I'm pretty sure Onaga's going to be waking up soon."

"Yeah?" Weaver asks, squinting past the surprised humans to look at the eastern horizon.

"I can't see it from here, but if you say so. Heading back?"" I was planning on it," I shrug.

"Honestly, I'm Kind of hoping today will be more rela–" I'm cut off as Weaver puts two claws over my mouth, "Trust me, Charlie, you don't say anything about that out loud." Ah, she's serious. I feel like I should protest, but on second thought…

"I take your point," I concede, muffled as I pull back from her. She keeps extending her arm to shush me until I'm out of reach. ▲▲▲ ▼▼▼ Espeon didn't sleep well. I didn't sleep well either, but nightmares are fairly normal for me. I think that might have even helped, frankly. Unlike most of my nightmares, I can easily remember the one from last night. I assume because it wasn't mine. Moreover, the fact that I managed to stay calm once I realized what was happening helped soothe Espeon as well. Gratitude. Harmony.

He agrees, evidently. The nightmare had been… cold, dark, suffocating, and so oppressively lonely. That kind of dream. I couldn't stop it, but I was there, and that's all he needed to know. … It occurs to me that I asked Ohkido the wrong question about espeon yesterday. I asked about their psychic bonds in general, but not why they bond. I think I've figured it out, though, after thinking about it as a whole. The reasons are the exact problems Espeon is having.

I think espeon, as a species, can't handle their emotions alone. I truly hope Ohkido's research on the subject makes it into the ranger school curriculum at some point. Having more context probably would have helped me realize this sooner. I should ask the man what he thinks of my assumption. See if it fits his likely better understanding. I should also get out of bed at some point. My normal alarm clock may not be here, but I'm so used to waking up around now that she doesn't need to be. Pleasure.

Espeon purrs from where he's curled next to me. Yes, lying in bed is nice, but I have a schedule to keep. Dejection. Understanding. I slip out of bed, smiling as Espeon moves to its center. Indolence. As long as you're happy. I will be making sure you eat soon, though. And on that thought, a light snack before I get started. I'm rather surprised to see Weaver and Misdreavus waiting for me in the kitchen, t he weavile with the remains of a few pokeblocks in front of her.

"You two didn't just run away from Rowan last night, did you?" I ask. They glance at each other. Weaver raises an eyebrow at the ghost and receives a raised brow in return. Then they both incline their heads. Several seconds of this escalation pass, the pokemons' expressions becoming increasingly exaggerated before Misdreavus breaks, understanding they won't beat Weaver at that game. The floating pokemon turns and shakes their head at me, "Dreave, misser misdreavus."

Weaver, still in her pose, nods at Misdreavus before scarfing down the last of her meal.

"Weavile vile weavile," She says, waving as she exits the room. She's been up for a while, she deserves to sleep.

"So, how was it?" I ask the remaining pokemon, fishing my nearly empty box of granola out of a cabinet. I catch them rolling their eyes from the corner of my vision." Mis-dreav-us," The pokemon says, drawing it out. Hmm, is that 'annoying'?

'Grating'?

'Stressful'? Or possibly all three.

"…I think I know what you're saying, but could you–" I stop as I turn around. Misdreavus has moved so that all I can see are their large eyes watching me from inside the far wall.

"Okay, I get it," I say.

"Dreavus," The pokemon nods, moving back into the room.

"I hope you didn't take it out on them too badly." Misdreavus thinks about that for a moment, then equivocates with a few limbs. I crunch down on my handful of oats and nuts, considering that.

"… You didn't deliberately mess with them, did you?" That makes them bobble in the air for a second before shrugging with a head shake. So, no more than they otherwise would have, I assume. How deliberate they are about what they do while being observed matters. In one sense because Misdreavus is the first member of their species to be successfully studied since, apparently, Laventon. Although, In another sense this whole thing was doomed the moment Weaver decided she wanted the pokemon in her pack. I shrug.

To be completely honest, I understand why Misdreavus would chafe at being watched so closely. Especially if they just want to relax while they can, after yesterday.

"I'll admit that the timing of everything could have been better," I say, snagging a cup of water to wash my food down.

"Still, you're… handling it well," I almost put that as a question, but decide against it. Misdreavus… doesn't react beyond coiling their mane a bit, their focus locked on me. Taking a drink, I try the same thing I did yesterday. Pushing support to the front of my mind, I see the pokemon's eyes narrow slightly. Still, they don't make any other moves." Well," I begin, finishing my water, "I hope you're ready to be my only partner for most of today."

That makes the ghost blink twice before glancing in the direction of the barracks.

"Mis," They say, nearly sighing in obvious realization. The signs of anxiety are obvious now that I know what I'm looking for. The mane coiling into limbs, the faster patterns under their skin, the loss of clear focus in the eyes, even the slight increase in the haze around the pokemon's silhouette.

"I know you've been relying on Weaver's presence," I tell Misdreavus, leaning back on the counter-top, "But you'll be fine, even if there's an emergency. We've been over all the basics and most important protocols. And while those were meant to be introductions, you remember everything, right?" Misdreavus slowly nods, not quite relaxing. Hmm, what could they be thinking right now?

"If you're worried about something…" I trail off leadingly. The ghost doesn't respond for several seconds, obviously thinking. Then they rotate in the air, "Dreavus… Mis misdreavus," The pokemon says, sounding uncertain. They point one of their arms at themselves before… I think they're trying to look panicked. That's not what Misdreavus looks like when they panic, as t hey don't express much when they are.

"You kept yourself together yesterday," I point out.

"And Weaver trusts you. That's good enough for me to do so as well." That statement prompts a look from the floating pokemon.

"You're smart enough to know she has good judgment," I chuckle. Misdreavus doesn't say anything to that. However, after another moment passes I see the telltale light of them forcibly calming themself." So," I begin, pushing myself off the counter, "Today's plan is just the two of us. I'll run through my exercises and drill you on a few things to be safe, we'll make sure Espeon eats something for breakfast, I'll have breakfast myself, and then we head out to wherever Karlos has us positioned today. Any objections?"

The ghost simply rotates in denial. I'll take that for what it is. Progress. A whole conversation without another pokemon present. And there will probably be more today. Confusion. Dissent. I know, but you weren't involved at all. Acceptance. We make our way to the rec room, and I'm only mildly surprised to see Katie watching the TV when I open the door. Considering the time, she'll probably be heading to bed soon.

"You aren't hung over, are you?" I ask, stepping to the weight equipment. Katie glances at me, shaking her head, "Not anymore, but Karlos did ask me to not let that happen again. At least while we still have only three operators," She says, bashfully.

"I… did go a bit overboard. But I finally had a day off, you know?" I try to give her a flat look, but I can't keep it straight, "I do, even if we don't tend to get days off." I don't think I've been fully off duty since I got placed here. In reserve at times, when we weren't short-staffed, but never off duty.

"So, what's on?"

"Mostly re-runs," Katie shrugs, "Although earlier—last night, I mean—there was some tournament up in JubIlife. So the new battle season's officially started." I hum, not having anything to say about that. Battles can be entertaining sometimes, but they've never been my thing. I u sually only watch the Indigo Conference or the Lily of the Valley.

I settle myself onto the padded seat before turning my gaze on Misdreavus, ready to get started on drilling their first reactions, and pause at the look they're giving Katie. They're… concerned.

"Katie, are you feeling alright?" I ask, looking back at the blonde woman.

"What?" She starts, glancing at me.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." I pointedly incline my head towards the floating empath, and she sighs, "I… Look, I know I've been a bit stressed recently, and yesterday I went too far with trying to forget it all, but I'm fine, really. It's all just catching up to me." I keep my eyes locked on hers for a second before nodding, glancing at Misdreavus, "If you're sure." The ghost seems to have accepted that explanation as well, turning to face me.

"Right, then," I begin, taking hold of the weight-machine's levers, "I want you to react as fast as you can. Hostile pokemon attack in city limits, go." To the ghost's credit, they hardly seem to think about it before creating a wall of psychic force, angled to put us behind it. And it's the correct response: I solate and defend. Pokemon are very destructive if they start to escalate.

"Good. Fire, go." The shadowy pokemon just points at me. Not enough information, check with me. Correct. Honestly, I'm confident they don't need procedure drills, but combat and tactics will require more time and pokemon. Doing those drills always takes a good chunk of the day and usually takes convincing a few wild pokemon to help, alongside another ranger. Weaver will certainly help, but I don't know if I want Espeon involved.

He's a former battle pokemon, so I doubt he'll need much help with the fundamentals, but he's also… He still needs time to recover and shouldn't be involved with that right now. Shame. Desire. I know, but the best thing for you truly is to relax, recover, and eat. We're lucky you only need minor physical therapy, but that can only happen if you get the calories and protein you need. Espeon doesn't respond, although I feel him accept what I thought anyway. I realize I've just been exercising quietly for too long.

Back to Misdreavus, "Migratory wild pokemon are…"