Beau found himself at the edge of town, looking back at where his old memories would lay to rest alongside the one he loved most. As he did this, there was a part of him telling him to go back, that it doesn’t have to end this way. But he knew deep down that it did, and there was nothing his conscience could do to convince him otherwise. There was no going back. This is it, the end of one life, and the start of another. 

He took his first step into the new world, his new life.

“Hey, watch out!” 

Before Beau had time to figure out where the voice came from, or at the very least make some sort of reaction, something from behind pushed him down to the ground and kept him there. He tried squirming, but it was no use. He did manage to turn himself around enough to at least see who fell into him like that.

A growlithe lay on top of him, seeming just as dazed as he was. His fur was scruffy and dirty, and when they locked eyes for a brief moment, Beau caught a glimpse of the growlithe’s piercing red eyes. 

“Shit, I’m sorry! I was just-” the growlithe was beginning to say as he was getting off of the confused buizel before being cut off by another voice in the distance.

“You little shit, when I catch you I’m gonna fuckin’ skin ya alive, you hear!?” The voice yelled in rage.

The growlithe looked at Beau, who was even more confused now, “We need to run!” 

“Wh-what?” Beau finally spoke, unable to process what was happening, or at the very least what he was feeling just then.

But without saying another word, the growlithe grabbed his paw and began sprinting towards the opening of the nearby woods. Everything was moving so fast, it seemed Beau had no time to think. As they entered the woods, he turned around and was able to catch a glimpse of who was chasing them in the distance. It was a man, probably in his late 50’s, holding a butcher’s knife and wearing a white apron. He seemed exhausted already, and was starting to slow down with each step the two pokemon made further into the woods. Beau looked back at the growlithe, who still seemed to be focused on reaching deeper in the woods. 

“Hey, I think he’s stopping!” Beau said to him.

“Good, we’re almost there anyway!” 

“Almost where?”

But Beau got no answer, and he wouldn’t for another minute of straight running. Eventually, they slowed down, and once they came to a full stop, the answer became a little more apparent to him.

They stopped at an opening in the middle of the woods, and in the middle of that was what seemed to be a wooden fort. It was about the size of a small bedroom, which for two small pokemon like themselves would be the equivalent of a small, one story house. It was clearly amateurly built (probably by the growlithe alone), with its wood boards having no symmetry, leaving gaps that seem to be covered from the inside with blankets. 

“Welcome to my home, built it all myself” the growlithe said with exaggerated confidence.

Beau looked at it with awe, despite it being so poorly built, it still amazed him that this growlithe built it all himself, especially considering its size. He was only able to let out a, “woah” as he continued staring at it.

“Yeah, got all these wood boards from town. They were just lying around, and I knew I could put them to good use. So after several days of bringing them over here and uh…borrowing a few tools, we have this amazing piece of work you see before you.” The growlithe explained. 

Then suddenly his awe-stricken gaze snapped, and Beau turned to him, “Wait, who was that guy back there? Why was he chasing us- well, you?”

The growlithe paused for a moment. It was unclear if he was thinking of a good explanation or trying to find a decent lie to stick with, “I uh…you wanna come in? I’ll explain everything soon, it’s just starting to get late, y’know?”

Beau didn’t even notice the time, barely able to see the sun beginning to set through the trees. Had that much time really passed, or did he ever notice the time since he left? The town he lived in was quite large, and for a pokemon his size walking around and reaching the edge of town, there was no doubt that it would have taken him almost all day. No matter the case, Beau nodded quietly and they both set foot into the make-shift house. 

The inside looked just as randomly put together as the outside. A variety of blankets covered most of the walls, with a few spots revealing the wood behind it. There was a mini fridge beside the entrance, though given that there was no source of power anywhere to be seen, Beau wondered why it was there to begin with. At the back of the room, there was a make-shift bed, complete with a bunch of stacked fluffy blankets acting as a mattress, and a few plushies scattered on top. The floor- if one could even call it that- was just rugs placed on the cold, hard ground. It was decent for what it was, and the circumstances it was made in, and it only made Beau even more impressed.

The growlithe pushed a wide piece of wood over the entrance, making Beau assume it acted as the door. He turned around with a smile, “Oh, the name’s Rocko by the way, just thought you should know.”

“Beau”

Rocko looked at him intrigued, “So what’re you doing out here anyway? I’ve never seen you out and about before.”

He felt his heart sink as Rocko asked that question. He wanted to forget his past, create a new life here- or anywhere for that matter, as long as it wasn’t back where he once called home. The mere thought of his life before now practically destroyed him from the inside, so how could he possibly bring himself to explain it? He just couldn’t.

Seeing as he couldn’t, or more accurately didn’t want to, explain the reasoning for his sudden appearance in the wild, he turned the question to Rocko instead, “Hold on, you still owe me an explanation. What was all that about?”

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, like why was he dragged into this? How long has Rocko been living out here? Why was he so willing to talk to a complete stranger? Rocko looked down and chuckled, like the explanation was going to be some funny story. Then he looked back up at Beau.

“Well…I went into town to grab more stuff, like I usually do. I was getting low on food, so I thought I could check around in the dumpsters to see if I could find anything good. One of the dumpsters I checked was behind this restaurant, I hadn’t been near it in a long time, since the last time I did I was shooed out by the owner. Today, though, I thought I could give it another shot. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Well, as I reached closer, I could smell all the food that was being cooked inside, and it all smelled amazing. So in my moment of brilliance, I thought, ‘fuck it, I’m going in’, and did just that. 

I snuck in through the backdoor, which for whatever reason was left propped open, and I swear it was like I walked straight into heaven. There were people cooking dishes left and right, and some food was left out on a counter beside where I walked in, and lemme tell ya, my mouth was watering so much I swear I was making a huge puddle on the floor. Anyway, I noticed those dishes on the counter beside me, right? And no one was paying attention, they were all doing their own thing, so I thought I could be sneaky enough to jump up and have a quick bite. Heh, well I probably picked the worst moment to get up there, because the moment I did, I kid you not, the owner walked into the kitchen and the first thing he saw was me. His face went as red as a tomato in like two seconds, I swear. And then he grabbed the knife laying on the counter beside him and just started bolting towards me. So uh..yeah, I started running and kept running until I bumped into you. I’m honestly surprised he ran as far as he did haha, pretty sure he almost got run over a couple of times on the way too.”

Well, that certainly was quite the story, Beau thought to himself after the growlithe finished his long explanation. Somehow, that story left more questions than answers. 

“Wow, that was…”

“Yeah, pretty sure he was actually looking to kill me, and maybe you too just for good measure, which was why I dragged you along with me. Sorry about that, by the way.” 

“No, thank you. If that guy really was planning to kill us both, I’m glad you saved me from…that.” Beau wondered why he was thanking this stranger who almost got him killed for nothing. He was grateful though, and he didn’t want to let what he saw was the reality of the situation deter that. 

Rocko smiled, “Yeah, of course. Besides, I don’t think it would be good for my conscience to have the death of some stranger by my own doing loom over me for the rest of my life.”

Then silence fell upon the both of them. To Beau, it felt like that awkward silence lasted for eternity, and that it would never end. Forever the both of them standing and saying nothing, desperately looking for something- anything to talk about. But they only met each other several minutes ago, what common ground could they have?

Rocko finally broke the silence, though the question he was about to ask would make Beau wish he never did, “Now your turn, what are you doing out here? Skipping town or something?”

Beau’s heart sank. He felt like that was a question he could only answer with time, but how long? How long would it take to be at peace with his owner’s death so he could finally explain why he found himself outside of town, planning on never returning? How would he know if he’ll stay with Rocko long enough for that to even happen? Will it even happen? 

He sighed, “I…can’t say, it’s complicated.”

Rocko’s happy demeanor faltered, showing empathy towards Beau, who clearly seemed to be saddened by whatever it was that led him here. He knew then that he shouldn’t talk about it any further, or bring it up. 

“That’s okay, you don’t need to say if it’s personal. It’s none of my business anyway.” Rocko assured in a tone similarly empathetic to his expression, “Well, you could stay here for as long as you need, it’s no problem to me. Actually, it’s kinda nice to have company for once.”

Beau smiled weakly, “Thank you, I promise I won’t be a burden, or at least I’ll try not to be. Just lemme know if I do though, alright?”

“Heh, will do.”

Rocko jumped up on the bed, patting the other side to signal Beau to follow. Awkwardly, he did just that, and then lay down on the side Rocko patted, leaving more than enough room on the other side of the bed for him. But despite all that room, Rocko lay close enough to Beau where their backs touched, and as they did, Beau remembered that night when he and his owner laid that same way, before he awoke the next morning to his owner’s cold, lifeless body. Tears swelled in his eyes as he closed them, desperately trying to forget.

“Goodnight,” Rocko said.

Beau said nothing.