FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

April 12th

The first pokémon that I saw this morning was Chi. I had drowsily awoken from my sweet slumber and went to go take a short dip in a lake nearby to prepare me for the day. The sun was just beginning to rise in the sky and the tiny rays of light illuminated the watery expanse and the sky above it. The gold-blue ether above me was dotted with thin, gray, sheet-like clouds and stretched out to meet the horizon, creating a beautiful dividing line of color. I yawned sleepily, not yet able to fully appreciate the adventures that lie before me and waded into the still, inviting waters. The fur just above my paws slowly submerged and I let the cool, refreshing sensations overtake me. I stayed like that for a few minutes, getting used to the calm, soothing liquid, the cool spring breeze, and the light of the sun.

Then I saw a lithe creature gracefully jump out of the lake. Chi. The buizel's silky; wet orange fur glistened gorgeously as she reached the apex of her jump. I could feel my heart stop. She was just so... so...

Splash! Tiny waves formed, slowly approaching me and I saw her silhouette under the water. She came toward me, slowly at first but gradually picking up speed. She was deep under and didn't make any waves, and I got the feeling that she'd been practicing this for months. Suddenly, she disappeared. ...Silence. ...A few seconds of it... Then I catch a brief glimpse of that amazing orange wonder before huge waves crash into me and somehow carry me further into the lake! I swear to Arceus, those waves had a mind of their own! There was no way I could brace for them! One after another, they relentlessly and swiftly washed over me. For a few seconds, I had no control over my body, because the currents were so strong, and eventually the force of it all pushed me completely under.

Strangely enough, it was very calm below the surface. It was like the waves sought to push me under, but lost interest and completely let me alone once they did. Amid my confused stupor, I saw that stunning, elegant buizel giggling cutely; almost in a "gotcha" kind of way. I tried to scowl at her, but I ended up very obviously trying to fight a smile (and swallowing some water as a result), which of course made her giggle even more. Embarrassed, I attempted to ignore her as I made my way up to the now unperturbed surface. When I broke through, though, Chi was staring me right in the eyes. I looked away real quickly, but then heard her sweet voice sing, "Aww... Come on now, sweetie, don't be shy."

I slowly turned my head back to face her, feeling nervous and uneasy. "Oh... Um... I didn't see you swimming there... So, uh, how's it going?"

She giggled. "Well, I am pretty good at sneaking up on unsuspecting Pokémon in the water," she gloated light-heartedly. She quickly bobbed her head down into the water, then resurfaced and shot a weak tiny stream of water up into the air. She smiled as the stream playfully landed on my head. "I'm doing pretty good right about now, hun. No one has woken up yet, so I've had this whole lake to myself for the past hour or so. I wouldn't get this kind of freedom and space in my old homeland. It's wonderful!" she beamed happily at me.

"Well, I'm glad you like it here," I replied quite dumbly.

"Thank you!" she said. "The locals I've met so far are so nice and friendly! Whatcha doin' today, dearie?"

"Good." I bleated. Yeah. I answered 'good' to that, and I honestly have no clue why. Nerves maybe? I don't know... I hastened to correct my stupidity.

"Oh, no no, I mean I'm... uh... um..." What was I doing? Why couldn't I have just said 'nothing'? I mean, I literally had nothing planned. I searched frantically for words that could make me seem normal again.

"It's okay, darling," she cooed. "You don't have to answer the question".

I was disappointed with myself. I always make things so awkward between us, yet here she was, saving me from my own embarrassment. I swallowed and set aside my worries as they would do me no good. "Oh... Well, ok. Thank you."

She smiled understandingly. "Not a problem."

Chi and I conversed for a good few minutes more and I got less and less nervous as time went on. Chi did most of the talking, which was okay because I didn't have much to say anyway. I didn't have much on my mind and she didn't seem to either, as most of her talk was lighthearted.

My stomach unexpectedly made a loud "rrrr" and I felt a sudden urge to eat something. "I think we've been floating here long enough," the kind buizel chimed. "We should get something to eat, cutie". "Aye" I agreed without hesitation.

And so we swam back to shore... Or more like she swam. I really kinda just doggie paddled there. There aren't very many ways a vulpix can swim.

Chi took her sweet time swimming to shore, being considerate of the fire-type. It didn't really take long for us to get there, so it didn't particularly matter if she raced ahead of me, but I appreciated what she was doing.

I envied her slightly as we were just getting out. After a buizel gets out of water, their fur looks clean, silky, smooth, and attractive. After a vulpix gets out of water... well, let's just say it's not pretty.

After we had dried off, we scouted together for some Oran Berries, which were pretty easy to find as they're fairly common in spring. I had 3 and she had 4, a decent breakfast. We didn't talk much as we ate, but we didn't have to as we enjoyed one another's company. Near the end of our meal, she noticed that there was a modest purple spot on my muzzle, so I wiped my paw on it and licked it. Sure enough, it was Oran berry. We laughed a bit too hard at that.

Shortly after we were done eating, we heard bushes rustling. My ears pricked up "Did you hear that?" Chi nodded.

"Sorry," A familiar voice discharged. "I'll leave you alone if you want."

"No, no. You're fine, Baxter. Come and sit with us," I consoled.

A small, sober eevee emerged from the undergrowth, slowly walking forward. He looked like he had just got done crying about something. Poor thing. When he got near us, he carefully sat down and glanced at Chi, then whimpered reluctantly, "I'm really sorry... but I don't think... I mean, um..." he stared sadly at the ground. "No... that was rude, sorry..."

Chi looked quizzically at him. I nudged her slightly, my way of telling her that she should introduce herself.

"Oh, Right. Hello? I don't believe we've met before. I'm Chi. It's a pleasure meeting you," she smiled sympathetically.

Baxter shifted somewhat nervously. "I apologize for not noticing you before... I'm really unobservant. Sorry."

"Oh. no no no, dearie," Chi solaced. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I've only been here for a week. Don't feel bad that you didn't know who I was."

Baxter looked forlornly out into the distance "...Sorry."

Baxter wasn't always like this. In fact, he used to be one of the most happy-go-lucky Pokémon that I had ever met. He really hasn't been the same since his parents and little sister died two weeks ago. Sometimes, it's almost like he blames himself for their passing. He hasn't told me, or anyone, really, much about what happened. Aside from him, no one knows much about the tragedy. We sat in solemn silence for a few more minutes.

Chi finally ventured to break the quiet. "What do you want to do now?" she asked us both.

Baxter continued staring at nothing, probably thinking about something. I shook my head. "I don't know. Have you been to Home Tree?" I suggested.

She put her paw on her chin. "Home Tree? ...I don't believe I have ever heard of it,"

"I guess we have somewhere to go then, don't we?" I supposed. "You can come with us too, Baxy."

Baxter snapped out of his thoughts, looked at me, and gave a mute nod. Without further ado, the three of us set out for Home Tree.

My friends and I live in a quaint little company of about 1,000 Pokémon. In our society, traditions are kept, local holidays are observed, customs are obeyed, and the rules we have are enforced, yet the Pokémon families that constitute this humble community are considerably spread out. The cave where I live is about a half hour's walk from Home Tree and many other Pokémon find themselves in similar situations, therefore the rules regarding home and familial conduct are few and lenient. Home Tree isn't normally particularly crowded, regularly comprising of only about 60 to 80 pokémon, but is still a fair place to talk to other Pokémon, get advice, and generally just hang out.

The walk there was uneventful yet tranquil. Chi made funny faces that made me smile and I returned the favor, while Baxter opted to wordlessly tread behind us. The path that we traversed was full of that early spring beauty; trees were in bloom, flowers were beginning to sprout, the smell of pollen filled the air, the dew underneath my paws felt enjoyably cool, and the sound of pidove cheerily chirping resonated peacefully in my ears. Yet, as I was walking by, I thought that some of the flowers we happened across seemed a tad thirsty, but the thin clouds above, half covering the morning sun by now, implied that this might not always be the case.

Eventually, we came upon a great tree, probably the greatest I know. Walking, I looked on at its numerous thick sturdy branches, beautiful blooming leaves, and towering height, realizing that we were practically at our destination. As we strode toward the base of the tree, we began to see small makeshift huts and a typical number of Pokémon going about their business. This was it, Home Tree. It's not the most active hub in the world, but it's still a worthwhile place to visit now and then.

The buzz of dialogue filled the air delightfully, the young Pokémon (most of whom were a year younger than Chi and I) chased one another, laughed innocently, and cutely bothered their guardians, and older Pokémon (mostly seniors) were trading various berries, herbs, and other edible objects with one another to help relieve status aliments that came with being old. We had the pleasure of meeting one of these older Pokémon, a shiny charizard with a deep gash above his right eye, as he accidentally bumped into Chi.

"Pardon me miss, I didn't see you," his voice was rough and rugged, though a tad strained; I got the impression that he had done his fair share of battles.

"Oh no, it's fine, elder," Chi responded politely.

The charizard made a pleasant grunt. "Elder?"

"It's a sign of respect given by the younger to the older back in my old homeland," Chi civilly informed him.

"Ah so you're new to the area," he surmised. "and I suppose these two were kind enough to lead you here," He concluded gesturing to Baxter and me.

"Oh yes, elder," Chi exclaimed. "These dears have been very kind in showing me around."

He turned and eyed Baxter and me. "Kind indeed. A community cannot survive without kindness," he looked out into the distance for a few seconds, reminiscing something we knew not of.

After a few moments, he broke out of his trance, yet not in an abrupt way. Something else was on his mind now, but he was a little reluctant to bring it up. Again he spoke, "I am sure you are in good paws, yet I am obliged to say, notice that mienshao over there?" he gestured toward a smart looking mienshao, who was calmly conversing with a worried looking mightyena. "She is very knowledgeable about the female body. I'm not going to assume if you were active during this mating season, but if you were and have any concerns, talk to her."

Chi nodded gratefully "Thank you for the information, elder. It's greatly appreciated,"

"Don't mention it. Now, I must be off. Take care." The charizard slowly walked away from us and when he was about 40 feet from Home Tree, he unleashed a mighty roar, flapped his awesome wings, and took flight, disappearing in a matter of moments.

I looked at the mienshao again. I knew that what the charizard had said had been correct, for she had taught those my age and me how that stuff worked last winter in a series of community-required seminars. I knew her to be smart, insightful, and patient, yet strict, serious, and humorless. She frankly answered questions of all kinds, no matter how stupid they sounded, but did not tolerate any jokes or giggling.

Currently, she was gently hugging the mightyena and whispering something comforting in her ear. The mightyena seemed nervous and very nearly in tears, but somehow retained her composure. There were a few more seconds of whispering and comforting, and then the mienshao let go and said, "Just remember what I told you and you'll manage." The mightyena nodded, quickly thanked her, and went on her way.

"Eavesdropping is rude, Vriska. You should know better".

I gasped in surprise. She hadn't even turned around!

"Who is this you've brought with you?" the mienshao continued, unabated.

"My name is Chi, elder. It's a pleasure."

"That it is, Chi, that it is. You shall call me Master Ling. I hear you've been informed of my expertise. Do you have any questions for me?"

Chi asked a question and the conversation went on from there. Out of respect for my friend, I will not relate the conversation in detail, though I was welcome to hear it all (Chi told Master Ling that she preferred me with her since she didn't know Master Ling all that well and the master understood; I said I was okay with this arrangement upon being asked) and none of what was said was too personal. Baxter was requested to leave immediately after the first question was asked, which he did. I'm not sure where he went after that, but I imagine that it was away from Home Tree since I didn't see him the rest of the day. I wonder if he felt intrusive and unwelcome.

Chi's questions were thought-out and practical and Master Ling's answers were as informative and honest as always. I gathered from the questions that Chi had a pretty good handle on how all of this mating and pregnancy stuff worked, and that perhaps she knew more about it than I did. I felt so awkward and nervous throughout the dialogue, though, because I have feelings for the buizel. It was strange, almost surreal to hear her talking about this, of all things. I figure that I can take either one of two things from this conversation: 1. She trusts me with this sensitive topic and telling her my feelings toward her would make her think that I listened to this discussion for some pretty questionable reasons and hurt our relationship or 2. She trusts me with this sensitive topic and it would be wrong of me to betray her trust by not telling her my true feelings. For now, she expected me to be here with her so that she could see that Master Ling was a trustworthy mienshao, so, awkwardly, I stayed put. Despite my discomfort, I listened and actually learned quite a few things.

Eventually, I could feel the conversation winding down and Chi running out of questions to ask. Finally, I thought, I could be done with this, but then Ling asked, "How about you, Vriska, do you have any questions?"

I froze up. I had questions. I had a lot of questions, actually. Yet, when pressed, I couldn't think of them, so I just sat there in silence. The master waited patiently and didn't say anything, as did Chi. They were both so nice.

"Ummm..." I finally began. Was I going to ask something? Was there a question that would instinctively form on my lips? Would I simply embarrass myself in the worst possible way? I trailed off. Silence.

"No," I at last mustered to squeak. I looked at them both. Master Ling seemed to understand my nervous spell, at least in the sense that I had questions but was too nervous to even recall them. Chi, however, I believe, seemed to think I had questions, but was uncomfortable asking them. I admit that I can't know for sure what Chi thought, but I felt a difference between how the master and how my friend were expressing the sympathies on their faces, where the former was a disheartened sympathy and the latter was a disappointed one. In any case, it didn't matter, for the episode had passed and they both knew that I was uncomfortable and couldn't ask anything.

Master Ling spoke to me calmly. "It's quite all right, Vriska, it's quite all right. If you think of one, don't hesitate to come back to Home Tree and ask. Now I'm sorry, but I must ask you both to leave; someone else is here to see me and they've waited for quite a while." Chi and I turned around. We didn't even notice the zorua restlessly waiting for the astute mienshao to be rid of us. "Before I bid you farewell, however, I must inform you two- and you as well, Yvette, since you are a zorua- that if you are pregnant then your first symptoms will materialize by the end of this month. If you know your body, which I now know that all three of you do, then you should have no trouble noticing them. With that, I wish you two good fortunate."

Chi wanted to more thoroughly explore Home Tree afterward, most likely to take her mind off of such a serious topic, and so we did. There isn't really a whole lot at Home Tree and we were mostly relegated to conversing with the locals. Chi, for her part, was quite charming and amicable, bringing smiles to what were strangers to her. They expressed great delight in this kind, lovely newcomer and warmed up to her fast. She didn't neglect the young'uns either, electing to play, chase, hug, and tickle them to their little hearts contents; it was so cute to watch.

The Sun had risen to its apex and was now beginning its slow afternoon descent. Currently, thin, whitish-gray clouds veiled the bright golden globe and though much light penetrated through those clouds, it was getting a smidge chillier. The clouds were starting to become darker and heavier, though not yet ominously so, and it was becoming more and more probable to the community that it would soon rain. Some of the Pokémon understandably didn't like the rainstorms or showers, and embarked on (what was for most) a long road back to their caves and dens. Chi and I, however, stayed near Home Tree since we didn't particularly care if we got wet. It was always fun to play in those delightful showers with a few friends (that is, if it didn't start to thunder). Since Chi was now my friend, I figured it would be a good time to ask if she would like to play in the rain with me today.

"Chi?" I began.

"Hmm?" she hummed.

"I was wondering if... um later today you might want to-" a huge wall of water cut me off and launched me ten feet away, throwing me onto my back.

"You fell for it again, Vrisk-Vrisk" the old friend mused. "You always do,"

"Shut up, Tonto! The sun was in my eyes!" I shot back.

He laughed. "That's a dumb excuse and you know it. You gotta be ready for that kinda stuff later this afternoon, or you're gonna get soaked."

I histrionically glowered at him.

He strode toward us. "This is a new face. A pretty one, too," I internally shook my head at him.

"Oh?" said Chi, smiling. "Well, thank you, darling. It's a pleasure meeting you."

The totodile bowed before her "No, the pleasure is mine."

"Alright, I think that's enough, Tonto," I bemoaned. I was getting annoyed with him.

"What's wrong, Vrisky? Can't a totodile be civil?" he proposed.I glared at him.

He laughed, "You should lighten up, Vrisks. I'm merely being a gentle-mon."

"Chi, this is Tonto, totodile extraordinaire," I introduced sardonically.

Chi chuckled. "Greetings, noble beast of Home Tree."

Tonto posed heroically and cried in an exaggeratedly deep voice, "I, Tonto, the Noble Beast of Home Tree, fight against injustice and oppression whenever they rear their ugly heads. With my incredible nimbleness, I can dash around and attack evildoers before they know what him them. With my cleverness, I can think of effective ways to get rid of all evil creatures that appear. I fight for the defenseless! I fight for justice! I fight for my great and bountiful motherland, Home Tree!"

I scoffed at him melodramatically. "You and I both know that you're the trouble-maker of Home Tree, a far cry from being a Noble in any sense of the word. You're so full of hot air!"

"A vulpix is saying I'm full of 'hot air', eh? Now isn't that ironic?"

It wasn't the first time he used that joke, which is to say he uses it whenever he can. Normally I would scoff at such a corny-joke, but this one always makes me smile for some reason and this time was no exception. He looked at me with his usual "gotcha" expression on his face.

We spent the next half hour or so, just hanging out at Home Tree, talking, joking, singing, and generally acting like fools. Chi and Tonto warmed up to one another quickly and got a feel for one another's personalities, and it was fun watching how they interacted. After the half hour was up, we realized that we were all quite hungry now, so we made a deal with a fennekin who was trading pecha berries for some herbs that we would give her the herbs she wanted within 7 days if she gave us the pecha berries we wanted now (we could have went and scavenged for some of those ourselves, but we were too hungry). Chi, Tonto, and I sat down a few meters away from the fennekin and ate our lunch while Tonto and Chi got to know one-another more personally.

"I've never met a totodile before today," began Chi. "I'm glad to have met you, dear."

"Oh?" Tonto returned, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"You see, darling, I come from a community of mostly buizels, so there are a few species of Pokémon I haven't met yet,"

"Ah! So that explains it!" he blurted. "My friends and I go on adventures, and it sounds like you could definitely use a dozen or two of those!"

"Adventures? What exactly do you mean?"

Tonto grinned roguishly "What do I mean...? I mean exploring new places, teaming up on monsters that are 20 levels above us, digging in the dirt, sand, and mud for buried treasure, traversing dark, scary caves, splashing around in lakes and rivers after dark, making up stories, racing through the deep forest, trying out new moves, meeting new Pokémon, sometimes a combination of those things... I'm the leader of my adventuring group-"

"Who made you the leader, you jackwagon?" I interjected.

He laughed then continued "My adventuring partners are Appy, an aipom, Vriska, who's right here, and Baxter, an eevee."

"That's so neat. Why didn't you tell me you were an adventurer, Vriska?"

I shrugged. "I didn't think of telling you."

"Didn't think of telling me?" she gasped in disbelief. "You should be proud of being an explorer, facing the unknown with such passion! Going on adventures sounds like so much fun! I'm more surprised Baxter is an adventurer, though; he seems sad and unconfident."

"So you've met ol' Baxy, then," Tonto replied sadly. "He hasn't been his old self recently. Before last month, he never turned down the chance to adventure. He was always so eager and excited to see new things, meet new Pokémon, experience new things... but now..." he shook his head tragically. Silence.

Chi changed the subject. "...So, I've never met Appy before..."

Tonto's expression changed almost instantly. "Yep, good old Appy, she's the weirdo of the group and we all love her for it. Her interests change quickly and radically and when we think we have her figured out, BAM, she surprises us again."

Chi cocked her head to the side, obviously interested "Can you explain, sweetie?"

"I can give a few examples, I suppose. This one time, she found a colorful instrument, made by humans, just lying around somewhere. She became fascinated with it for the next four days and became insanely good at playing it, and then one day suddenly became bored with it and threw it into a river. Another time, she got obsessed with a herd of rapidash and ponyta for a week, studying what they ate, how they communicated, how they played and cuddled, and then lost interest. I remember she spontaneously got over her fear of heights once, recklessly charged down great hills and cliffs, then became scared of heights again for no obvious reason. We put up with her strange habits, though, because she is creative and has a versatile skill set, worthy qualities of an adventurer."

Chi giggled cutely upon hearing of such a bizarre pokémon. "I'd be interested in meeting her. She sounds entertaining."

"Oh, she's more than entertaining," Tonto rejoined and left the subject at that.

"What will you adventurers be doing today?" Chi wondered aloud.

Tonto looked up, smiling gleefully at the darkening sky above. "You and me are going to play in the rain and soak Vriska mercilessly."

I scowled at him. "Hey! Who said Chi was on your side?"

Tonto recoiled. "Okay, okay, fine Vriska. We'll have a free-for-all, but you'll still be soaked by the end cuz' you're a fire type and Chi and I are both water types."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," I challenged.

"Bring it, fire pup!"

I sprang up and tackled him to the ground "Take it back! Take it back or I'll tickle you!"

He looked me dead in the eye. "I said 'Bring it, fire pup.'"

I rubbed my paws quickly on his belly and sides and though he smiled, he did not laugh. He had to be ticklish somewhere.

"Aww... Poor Vriska can't find a place to tickle me. What a shame."

I tried his belly, his chest, his feet, his neck, even his face, but I could not find that elusive sweet spot. After a few minutes, he must have decided that that was enough entertainment from me for he unleashed a torrent of water from his mouth when I was rubbing his chin, hitting me in the face. I flew back a few feet, landing on my back on the ground. Tonto rose and approached me, smiling smugly all the while. I got up, a few streams of water dripping off from my head, the rest of my body remaining dry.

"That's what you get for trying to tickle me," he declared brashly.

I glowered at him, hoping vainly to intimidate him with an aura of enmity.

"Vriska, Tonto," spoke Chi, "I think we should wait until we're all done eating lunch to start tickling and spraying water at each other,"

Tonto and I looked at one another and simultaneously nodded our heads and shook paws, commencing our momentary lunchtime truce. The three of us resumed eating our pecha berries under a canopy of ever-darkening clouds while the winds blew stronger; the temperature became cooler, and the general atmosphere more ominous. Our dialogue, on the other paw, did not die down; on the contrary, it became more enthusiastic and fanatical. The rain was coming, the rain was coming, the rain was coming.

We finished our lunch and thought it would be better to play around in a more open area, outside Home Tree. Laughing, we stood up and went merrily on our way, savoring one another's company. We didn't look back when we left the premises, as we would most definitely be back again someday. We walked, talked, smiled, joked, hooted, and whooped as we made our way back in the direction Chi, Baxter, and I had come from this morning. The afternoon was almost over now, and the sky was almost completely black; what Rita had predicted for today was almost certainly true. Yet, none of us perceived the sky to be sad or dreary, or at least I didn't. The blackness reminded me of adventures, of exploring caves and lakes and the underground, of the unknown, waiting for a daring, curious Pokémon to unravel its mysteries, of friends accompanying one another on these adventures, and sticking together through thick and thin. These clouds, so thick, so heavy, they were on the edge of bursting seemed to me to convey that something new, beyond this storm, must be waiting.

"Hey! I felt the first drop!" shouted Chi vivaciously, a wide smile illuminating her.

A few short seconds afterword, Tonto and I started feeling droplets of water ourselves, and that's when we knew it was on. A huge gush of water sprayed from his maw, but he did not anticipate me dodging with a quick attack and promptly tackling him to the ground. I had him pinned underneath my paws, completely at my mercy, until he double-teamed out of my grasp. Now I was on all fours again, staring dumbfounded as he shook his tush at me, obviously enjoying his great escape.

The rain must have gone on for 3 or 4 hours, and in that time, we had an absolute blast. I chased Tonto, Tonto chased Chi, Chi chased me; I slipped in the mud, Chi made Tonto slip in the mud, my fur get wet, Chi's fur got wet, Tonto hit Chi and me with his water blasts, Chi tackled me, I tackled Chi, she tackled Tonto, he tackled her back; we all splashed each other with puddle water, I used quick attack to great effect, fooling them both consistently. It was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of memories made in those few hours with Chi and Tonto that I won't soon forget. One of my favorite moments, though, was right after I bonked heads with Chi. We both looked at each other briefly then and our eyes met. I can't tell what she saw, but I know I saw a pair of genuine, kind eyes and a shy, beautiful smile, which absolutely melted my heart. Of course, we were then punished for our inaction with a water-blast to the face (*cough* Tonto *cough*), but the moment was good while it lasted.

At last, the rain began to die down and a waning gibbous began to appear in the eastern night sky. We were all tuckered out at this point and we all openly admitted to it, even Tonto. He was on his stomach, huffing and puffing heavily, while Chi and I were on our backs doing pretty much the same thing.

Chi looked at me from where she was a few feet away and puffed cutely. "Thank you so much for hanging out with me all day. I haven't had that much fun in quite some time."

I smiled gratefully at her, but I wasn't sure if she saw.

"What, you're not going to thank me?" wheezed Tonto.

Chi chuckled. "Ok, ok, thank you too Tonto," she gave in endearingly.

The three of us stay laying on the ground for the next half hour or so, catching our breath and talking lightly, occasionally noticing an interesting constellation or two to point out (like Frasi Mightyena of Old Viridian) in the ever-clearing night sky.

Tonto slowly lifted himself up and walked toward us. "So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?"

"I can't think of a single thing right now, honey, but I think I'll go explore Home Tree some more, just to get a better feel for the place," answered the buizel.

"And you, Vrisky?"

"I honestly don't know right now. How about you?"

"Well, we still need to give that fennekin the herbs we promised. I think I have a general idea as to where we should start searching."

"We have a whole week, though," I rejoined tiredly.

"But...But adventure," whined the totodile.

I laughed weakly. Tonto and his never-ending appetite for adventure; got to love the guy.

"You know where I'll be if you decide you're interested." He walked back in the direction of his residence, doubtless quietly scheming something mischievous for the future.

Chi and I lay quietly in the grass for a few more minutes, gazing at the black, inviting canvas above. It was still and quiet; quiet and still, for a reprieve from sound naturally occurs in the night. Finally, I rose.

"Are you going to bed, dear?" Chi inquired quietly.

"Yeah. You have somewhere to sleep?" I asked.

"Out here..." she replied.

"Out in the open? With no protection from the dangerous creatures of the night...?"

She was calm. "I much prefer to sleep under the stars; they're so pretty. I don't worry about the 'dangerous creatures of the night' as you put it; I'm a light sleeper."

I nodded. Most Pokémon find little burrows or caves or dens to sleep in and I have not a clue how those who don't survive. Realizing that I couldn't talk her out of it, I left her and retired to my cave for the night.

...But once inside of my home, I could not fall asleep immediately; I never can. I don't know how it happened, but this strange, strange device created by humans for humans has intrigued and fascinated me. I first encountered it in a so called "suburb", a place where those freaks, who keep Pokémon as mere pets and nothing more, house themselves.

I have but one friend who lives in those suburbs, a peculiar fellow who entertains himself with this attention-grabbing device for hours on end. He knows its ins and outs, its ups and downs, all its circuitry and everything even better than most humans. In fact, much better than nearly all humans, I'd say.

Knowing that most wild Pokémon's opinions on those nasty, vile, Pokémon-enslaving monsters aren't particularly favorable, I realize that owning this device is foolish and dangerous, perhaps more than I am aware. Yet, when I open up this contraption, when I go on "websites" I like, when I learn information that I never knew before, when I see that I got a message from Sparky this afternoon, I find myself in a new, free, and incredible atmosphere and find it difficult to believe that this machine is just another one of the dastardly humans' worthless hunks of junk.

I usually end my night on this thing, and tonight is no exception. There are things I check on a nightly basis; I take a good 40 minutes to see what's going on in the strange worlds the appliance transports me to. I have just ended doing that for the night and am now finishing up my journal. I don't have much else to say and I'm feeling pretty tired right now, so I'm going to wrap this up now. Good Night.