Onward
Hello, again. Now, where did I leave off...
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A creaking sound woke me the next morning. I looked out of the room's window, seeing that it was extremely early. It was still very dark outside. I turned my head to find what make the sound and saw a black silhouette dart out of the room. I tried to stand to follow it, but the pain in my legs stopped me before I started. Determined to find out what was going on, I used my front left leg to drag myself across the floor towards the door. After a minute of struggling, I reached the doorway. I peered out of the room to see if the mystery person was there. I saw the dark silhouette go around a distant corner. I sighed, knowing that I would never catch up at this pace. Defeated, I dragged myself back into the room to wait and see if it would return.
I lay there, keeping an eye on the door. I didn't have to wait long, however, as the dark shape reentered the room shortly after.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Who's there?" a voice answered.
"I asked you first" I responded.
"Delta? Is that you?" the voice asked.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"It's me, Peter."
"What are you doing out so early?" I asked him curiously.
"Oh...um...remember when I said that I stole that book I had a while ago from a Pokemon Center?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I need a new one. I finished that one about a week ago."
"So you stole another book?"
"Yeah" he said guiltily.
"Peter..." a voice said from somewhere else in the room.
"What?" Peter replied.
"You shouldn't be stealing. Ask if you can borrow the book, don't just take it."
"Greg, get off my case, you know that humans can't understand us."
"Not true. Remember your brother's trainer? What about how you've been communicating with Aaron?"
"I suppose. Alright, fine. I'll go return the book and ask later."
Peter stepped back out of the room, returning shortly after without the book. Even though it was still very dark, I could tell from what I saw of his expression that he was disappointed.
"What are you doing awake anyways, Delta?"
"I heard a noise."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake anyone."
"It's alright, Peter."
He walked over to me and stroked my head.
"How're you feeling?" he asked.
"Not too good, my legs are killing me."
"Well, that makes sense seeing as how two of them are pretty badly injured. Here, hang on a second."
He hopped onto the table next to Aaron's bed and opened his backpack. He rooted around in it for a moment before pulling something out. He jumped back down next to me.
"Here we go, the aspirin I asked him to pick up earlier." He opened the little bottle and pulled one of the little pills out, replacing the cap. He held the tablet out for me to take. I took the pill from him and swallowed it.
"Thanks, Peter."
"No problem, Delta. Now, try to get some sleep before Aaron wakes up."
He jumped back onto the table and put the bottle back inside Aaron's bag. He leapt back down and walked over to where he had been sleeping before. I watched him lay down and fall asleep. I followed suit and dozed off.
Later that morning I was waken by Aaron's grasp. He lifted me up and carried me out of the small room. I saw Peter standing on his shoulder and Ryan following behind him. Aaron walked out into the lobby of the Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy stopped him.
"Can you come here for a moment, please" she called to him. Aaron walked over to her desk. She placed a small, white, tube-like object onto the desk. "When his hind leg heals, put this brace on his front leg and have him walk on his own every now and again. It'll help rehabilitate his sprained ankle."
Aaron set me on the desk and placed the brace into his backpack. He thanked Nurse Joy and picked me back up. As he turned to leave, Peter jumped off his shoulder, landing on the desk. He looked around for a moment, trying to find something.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Aaron asked him.
Peter turned back at Aaron, trying to signify to him that he wanted to write something.
"I think he wants paper and something to write with, judging by his gesture" Nurse Joy said from behind him. She picked up a pen and a piece of paper and placed them on top of the desk. Peter turned and saw them, and picked up the pen and began to write a message. Nurse Joy looked at him curiously as he scrawled onto the paper. He handed it to her.
"'Can I take one of your medical books?'" she read. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the little Pikachu standing before her. "You can read and write?" she asked. Peter nodded to her.
"Which book did you have in mind?" she asked, giving him back the paper. Peter quickly wrote down a response and returned it. "'A Guide to Pokemon Anatomy'? I have a question for you now. Were you the one that treated that Eevee's wounds before?" Peter nodded to her once again. "Really? Have you been trained for this?" He shook his head. "No? How were you able to, then?"
Peter hesitated for a moment. He picked up the pen again and wrote his response. Joy looked down at it when he finished.
"You've been stealing medical books from a Pokemon Center? How did you learn to read?" Peter once again wrote on the paper. "You've studied human language? Amazing, simply amazing. You're a very intelligent Pokemon. I'm glad that you've asked to borrow the book this time rather than just taking it. Wait here."
She walked out of the lobby. Aaron stared down at the Pikachu standing on Joy's desk. Peter looked up to face him.
"You've been stealing from Pokemon Centers? Why?" Aaron asked him.
Peter turned around and wrote his response onto the paper and handed it to Aaron.
"'Because Ryan needed help and there was no easy way to communicate to the Daycare owner, so I stole a book and some supplies from the nearby Pokemon Center. I've been studying Medicine ever since then.'" he read. He stared at Peter for a second before Joy entered the room carrying the book that Peter had asked for.
"Well, here you go. I wish you luck in your studies, and please don't steal from Pokemon Centers anymore. Do like you just did with me and ask" she said, handing him the book. Peter scrawled once more onto the paper before hopping back onto Aaron's shoulder. Joy picked it up and read it.
"You're welcome. Have a safe trip."
Aaron walked out of the Pokemon Center and looked around for a moment. He walked over to a map board against the wall of the Center. He examined the map, trying to decide where to head next. I noticed that there were some small islands north of Ryca. Aaron saw one and pointed at it.
"Why don't we head there? There's no description of that island on any map I've seen. Maybe there's something there no one knows about."
Aaron began to follow a road leading north out of Ryca. After about an hour or so, we came across a dock that had ferries to the islands that were marked on the map. Aaron walked into the small building near the dock. A man sitting behind a small desk greeted us as we entered.
"Welcome! Come to take a trip to one of the islands?" he said to us.
"Actually, yes. I want to go to that island" Aaron said, pointing to the island on the map. The man's jaw dropped.
"Are you crazy!? No one goes to that island. People say it's cursed. The only people that have been known to go there have never returned."
"That just makes me want to go there even more" Aaron stated. The man seemed a bit unnerved at his response.
"What's wrong with you, boy?"
"Nothing. Me and my friends here are explorers and we want to check the place out."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am."
"Well, if you want to, I can't do anything to stop you. I can't just refuse someone service based on their destination. I'll have a boat prepared for you, wait here" the man responded, leaving the building. He returned a few minutes later. "Alright, it's ready, come with me."
We followed the man out onto the dock. He led us to a small boat. Aaron climbed aboard, Ryan cautiously following him. The man boarded after Ryan.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Captain Raney" he said.
"I'm Aaron" Aaron replied. "They're Ryan and Peter, and this little guy is Delta."
"What happened to him?" he asked.
"He was attacked yesterday."
"Is he alright?"
"He should be."
"Well, that's good. Anyway, let's get sailing."
Raney untied the boat from the dock and we began moving. He steered the boat away from the dock and unfurled the sails.
"The trip's going to be a bit of a long one. Shouldn't take more than 24 hours, though" he said to us.
We sailed along the sea. Ryan and Peter stood at the bow, staring off into the distance. Aaron was sitting in the cabin reading a magazine he found. I was lying on a cushion next to him, trying to take a nap, but I couldn't fall asleep with the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat and the pain in my right legs. Peter walked into the cabin and looked at Aaron's pack. He walked over to it and opened it, retrieving the book Nurse Joy gave him earlier that morning. He leapt up next to me and opened the book and began to study the its contents. I continued trying to fall asleep, eventually managing the task.
I woke up a few hours later, feeling refreshed. I looked around the cabin to see Peter still poring over the book. I noticed Ryan lying on the floor of the cabin. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling of the cabin. He turned his head slowly and saw me watching him.
"Hey, Delta. How did you sleep?" he asked me.
"Alright, I suppose" I responded. "Are you okay?"
"Not really. Feeling a bit seasick. That's why I came in here."
I noticed that Aaron was no longer in the cabin. I looked outside to see him talking to Captain Raney. I set my head back down. Aaron walked back into the cabin.
"Oh, hey Delta. How're you feeling?" he asked.
I looked up at him, trying to think of how to communicate to him. I simply smiled at him, trying to tell him that I felt alright. He smiled back and began to stroke my fur. I gently pushed my body into his hand as he pet me. I loved the feeling of it running along my skin.
We sailed for hours on the sea. Night fell, and it was a cold one at that. I shivered slightly as an ice cold breeze blew through the cabin. Aaron pulled two blankets from his pack and laid one onto the floor for us to use. He took the other and laid down and fell asleep. I lay there under the blanket that Aaron had given us. Peter and Ryan had crawled under it as well. Ryan quickly fell asleep, still feeling sick from before. Peter turned to face me.
"Good night, Delta" he said sleepily.
I yawned. "Night, Peter" I laid my head down and drifted off to sleep.
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Our quest to explore the world continued, and so did Peter's quest for knowledge. I need to get going, I have some errands to run. I'll talk to you later, alright? See ya!
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A creaking sound woke me the next morning. I looked out of the room's window, seeing that it was extremely early. It was still very dark outside. I turned my head to find what make the sound and saw a black silhouette dart out of the room. I tried to stand to follow it, but the pain in my legs stopped me before I started. Determined to find out what was going on, I used my front left leg to drag myself across the floor towards the door. After a minute of struggling, I reached the doorway. I peered out of the room to see if the mystery person was there. I saw the dark silhouette go around a distant corner. I sighed, knowing that I would never catch up at this pace. Defeated, I dragged myself back into the room to wait and see if it would return.
I lay there, keeping an eye on the door. I didn't have to wait long, however, as the dark shape reentered the room shortly after.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Who's there?" a voice answered.
"I asked you first" I responded.
"Delta? Is that you?" the voice asked.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"It's me, Peter."
"What are you doing out so early?" I asked him curiously.
"Oh...um...remember when I said that I stole that book I had a while ago from a Pokemon Center?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I need a new one. I finished that one about a week ago."
"So you stole another book?"
"Yeah" he said guiltily.
"Peter..." a voice said from somewhere else in the room.
"What?" Peter replied.
"You shouldn't be stealing. Ask if you can borrow the book, don't just take it."
"Greg, get off my case, you know that humans can't understand us."
"Not true. Remember your brother's trainer? What about how you've been communicating with Aaron?"
"I suppose. Alright, fine. I'll go return the book and ask later."
Peter stepped back out of the room, returning shortly after without the book. Even though it was still very dark, I could tell from what I saw of his expression that he was disappointed.
"What are you doing awake anyways, Delta?"
"I heard a noise."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake anyone."
"It's alright, Peter."
He walked over to me and stroked my head.
"How're you feeling?" he asked.
"Not too good, my legs are killing me."
"Well, that makes sense seeing as how two of them are pretty badly injured. Here, hang on a second."
He hopped onto the table next to Aaron's bed and opened his backpack. He rooted around in it for a moment before pulling something out. He jumped back down next to me.
"Here we go, the aspirin I asked him to pick up earlier." He opened the little bottle and pulled one of the little pills out, replacing the cap. He held the tablet out for me to take. I took the pill from him and swallowed it.
"Thanks, Peter."
"No problem, Delta. Now, try to get some sleep before Aaron wakes up."
He jumped back onto the table and put the bottle back inside Aaron's bag. He leapt back down and walked over to where he had been sleeping before. I watched him lay down and fall asleep. I followed suit and dozed off.
Later that morning I was waken by Aaron's grasp. He lifted me up and carried me out of the small room. I saw Peter standing on his shoulder and Ryan following behind him. Aaron walked out into the lobby of the Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy stopped him.
"Can you come here for a moment, please" she called to him. Aaron walked over to her desk. She placed a small, white, tube-like object onto the desk. "When his hind leg heals, put this brace on his front leg and have him walk on his own every now and again. It'll help rehabilitate his sprained ankle."
Aaron set me on the desk and placed the brace into his backpack. He thanked Nurse Joy and picked me back up. As he turned to leave, Peter jumped off his shoulder, landing on the desk. He looked around for a moment, trying to find something.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Aaron asked him.
Peter turned back at Aaron, trying to signify to him that he wanted to write something.
"I think he wants paper and something to write with, judging by his gesture" Nurse Joy said from behind him. She picked up a pen and a piece of paper and placed them on top of the desk. Peter turned and saw them, and picked up the pen and began to write a message. Nurse Joy looked at him curiously as he scrawled onto the paper. He handed it to her.
"'Can I take one of your medical books?'" she read. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the little Pikachu standing before her. "You can read and write?" she asked. Peter nodded to her.
"Which book did you have in mind?" she asked, giving him back the paper. Peter quickly wrote down a response and returned it. "'A Guide to Pokemon Anatomy'? I have a question for you now. Were you the one that treated that Eevee's wounds before?" Peter nodded to her once again. "Really? Have you been trained for this?" He shook his head. "No? How were you able to, then?"
Peter hesitated for a moment. He picked up the pen again and wrote his response. Joy looked down at it when he finished.
"You've been stealing medical books from a Pokemon Center? How did you learn to read?" Peter once again wrote on the paper. "You've studied human language? Amazing, simply amazing. You're a very intelligent Pokemon. I'm glad that you've asked to borrow the book this time rather than just taking it. Wait here."
She walked out of the lobby. Aaron stared down at the Pikachu standing on Joy's desk. Peter looked up to face him.
"You've been stealing from Pokemon Centers? Why?" Aaron asked him.
Peter turned around and wrote his response onto the paper and handed it to Aaron.
"'Because Ryan needed help and there was no easy way to communicate to the Daycare owner, so I stole a book and some supplies from the nearby Pokemon Center. I've been studying Medicine ever since then.'" he read. He stared at Peter for a second before Joy entered the room carrying the book that Peter had asked for.
"Well, here you go. I wish you luck in your studies, and please don't steal from Pokemon Centers anymore. Do like you just did with me and ask" she said, handing him the book. Peter scrawled once more onto the paper before hopping back onto Aaron's shoulder. Joy picked it up and read it.
"You're welcome. Have a safe trip."
Aaron walked out of the Pokemon Center and looked around for a moment. He walked over to a map board against the wall of the Center. He examined the map, trying to decide where to head next. I noticed that there were some small islands north of Ryca. Aaron saw one and pointed at it.
"Why don't we head there? There's no description of that island on any map I've seen. Maybe there's something there no one knows about."
Aaron began to follow a road leading north out of Ryca. After about an hour or so, we came across a dock that had ferries to the islands that were marked on the map. Aaron walked into the small building near the dock. A man sitting behind a small desk greeted us as we entered.
"Welcome! Come to take a trip to one of the islands?" he said to us.
"Actually, yes. I want to go to that island" Aaron said, pointing to the island on the map. The man's jaw dropped.
"Are you crazy!? No one goes to that island. People say it's cursed. The only people that have been known to go there have never returned."
"That just makes me want to go there even more" Aaron stated. The man seemed a bit unnerved at his response.
"What's wrong with you, boy?"
"Nothing. Me and my friends here are explorers and we want to check the place out."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am."
"Well, if you want to, I can't do anything to stop you. I can't just refuse someone service based on their destination. I'll have a boat prepared for you, wait here" the man responded, leaving the building. He returned a few minutes later. "Alright, it's ready, come with me."
We followed the man out onto the dock. He led us to a small boat. Aaron climbed aboard, Ryan cautiously following him. The man boarded after Ryan.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Captain Raney" he said.
"I'm Aaron" Aaron replied. "They're Ryan and Peter, and this little guy is Delta."
"What happened to him?" he asked.
"He was attacked yesterday."
"Is he alright?"
"He should be."
"Well, that's good. Anyway, let's get sailing."
Raney untied the boat from the dock and we began moving. He steered the boat away from the dock and unfurled the sails.
"The trip's going to be a bit of a long one. Shouldn't take more than 24 hours, though" he said to us.
We sailed along the sea. Ryan and Peter stood at the bow, staring off into the distance. Aaron was sitting in the cabin reading a magazine he found. I was lying on a cushion next to him, trying to take a nap, but I couldn't fall asleep with the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat and the pain in my right legs. Peter walked into the cabin and looked at Aaron's pack. He walked over to it and opened it, retrieving the book Nurse Joy gave him earlier that morning. He leapt up next to me and opened the book and began to study the its contents. I continued trying to fall asleep, eventually managing the task.
I woke up a few hours later, feeling refreshed. I looked around the cabin to see Peter still poring over the book. I noticed Ryan lying on the floor of the cabin. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling of the cabin. He turned his head slowly and saw me watching him.
"Hey, Delta. How did you sleep?" he asked me.
"Alright, I suppose" I responded. "Are you okay?"
"Not really. Feeling a bit seasick. That's why I came in here."
I noticed that Aaron was no longer in the cabin. I looked outside to see him talking to Captain Raney. I set my head back down. Aaron walked back into the cabin.
"Oh, hey Delta. How're you feeling?" he asked.
I looked up at him, trying to think of how to communicate to him. I simply smiled at him, trying to tell him that I felt alright. He smiled back and began to stroke my fur. I gently pushed my body into his hand as he pet me. I loved the feeling of it running along my skin.
We sailed for hours on the sea. Night fell, and it was a cold one at that. I shivered slightly as an ice cold breeze blew through the cabin. Aaron pulled two blankets from his pack and laid one onto the floor for us to use. He took the other and laid down and fell asleep. I lay there under the blanket that Aaron had given us. Peter and Ryan had crawled under it as well. Ryan quickly fell asleep, still feeling sick from before. Peter turned to face me.
"Good night, Delta" he said sleepily.
I yawned. "Night, Peter" I laid my head down and drifted off to sleep.
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Our quest to explore the world continued, and so did Peter's quest for knowledge. I need to get going, I have some errands to run. I'll talk to you later, alright? See ya!