After our Pokémon had been healed, we left Rebecca and continued down the straight path which led to the end of the forest. The crimson hued trees slowly became fewer and fewer, until finally, there were no more. Jessica and George said their goodbyes and continued onward to their home, presumably. To be honest, I wasn’t too interested in escorting them all the way back, and they were more familiar with the city than I was.
The buildings in Magnes City were all made of dark stone or brick and had tendrils climbing up the walls, slinking in and out of cracks in the mortar. The cobbled streets were wide, with vendors lining either side to sell fresh fruit and vegetables to eager shoppers. The flier I saw had mentioned something called the “Winding Vine Labyrinth,” so I figured that would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, my map lacked specific information on each city and town, so I would have to figure that part out on my own.
As I strolled through the bustling streets, I noticed that many people were using their grass type Pokémon as a means of transportation. Giant tortoise-like Pokémon, amphibious creatures, and even goat Pokémon were some of the kinds that I saw. Many of the larger Pokémon had bags of fresh produce perched on them alongside their trainer.
To my north, a Pokémon Center stood, much taller than the one in Melgem Town. Its signature orange Poké Ball was braided with the long vines that seemed to be everywhere in this city. I decided that would be my first stop, surely someone there would be able to point me in the direction I needed to be going.
***
“Welcome! May we heal your Pokémon today?” The young nurse behind the counter politely greeted me.
“No thanks, not now.” I looked around. There was a trainer operating the PC, then another few talking to each other in the corner. An escalator to the left side of the counter led to a second floor. “Say.” I approached the front counter. “Do you have any idea where something called the Winding Vine Labyrinth is?”
“Certainly.” The nurse smiled and pulled out a map of the city. “Just past here, there will be a stone set of stairs. You’ll want to take those up… here.” She drew a line on the map with a pink pen and circled another area. “After that, there should be plenty of signs leading you there, and it will be right here on the map.” She circled another area with her pen.
“Thanks, that doesn’t look to bad.”
“Nope. It’s not.” She grinned, brushing her bangs to the side. “You must be new to Magnes City. Here, you can take this map with you.”
“Oh, no, that’s alright. I think I’ve got it now thanks to you.”
“I insist.” She pressed the map into my chest.
“Well, when you put it that way.” I laughed, taking the map from her. “I guess I’ll just have to.” Something about the look in her eyes made my cheeks burn, it was quite unsettling. Or maybe it was something else. I looked away, because I couldn’t decide which. “See you next time.” I gave her a short bow and headed straight for the door.
“Make sure you come back to visit me whenever your Pokémon need healing!”
***
The nurse’s directions were spot on. The Labyrinth was less than a five minute walk from the Pokémon Center, and swathes of people stood outside of the front gates as I approached. The Winding Vine Labyrinth appeared to be an outdoor maze made up of mostly bushes, vines, and other foliage. The maze itself looked to stand about ten feet tall, and an adjacent building displayed the participants’ progress via a series of monitors.
“All contestants must be lined up neatly in the queue,” an older man wearing a blue windbreaker ordered.
A line formed behind an old fashioned wooden and gold sign that read Labyrinth Queue. I approached the man who was giving directions and cleared out my throat with a nervous cough.
“So, what does it take to participate in this?” I asked.
The man, who was much taller than I, spat on the ground and looked off to the side. “There’s registration in that building,” he grunted. “Costs 1000. After you’ve registered your Pokémon and paid, you wait in line over here.”
I thanked him and headed over to the registration building. Despite the number of people outside, there were only a few people in line ahead of me which was surprising.
“Name and Pokémon breed,” the woman at the desk said when I reached the front of the line.
“My name is Saren, and what do you mean by Pokémon breed?”
The woman sighed and pulled out a leaflet which explained the rules of the Labyrinth. “Each participant chooses one Pokémon to run the Labyrinth. The Pokémon who gets to the end first, wins. If two Pokémon meet each other in the maze, they have to battle, so only the winner can advance.”
“I see. Then I’ll enter Cyndaquil.”
The woman sighed again and pointed to a line at the bottom of the leaflet. “No fire type Pokémon are allowed and only Pokémon that are not fully evolved may enter,” she said.
“No fire types allowed?” I bit my lip. “Why not?”
“You tell me, the whole maze is made of plants.”
“Alright then, I’ll just come back later. Thanks for your time.”
“Next in line, please.”
***
I sat at the top of a hilly plateau in Magnes City, watching the sun set with Cyndaquil at my side. Since I couldn’t enter him into the contest, I had no choice but to wait until I could see Rebecca again to capture that Pokémon she was talking about. There would be no doubt that I would need it to challenge the Gym Leader, as well.
We watched the orb of burning orange slowly creep across the sky until it disappeared in finality beyond the horizon.
“That’s a nice Pokémon you’ve got there,” a girl’s voice said.
I looked around and saw her. A girl, about my age, sat several feet away from me, watching the sunset with a turtle Pokémon. “Thanks, yours too. What is it?”
“This is Blaster, he’s a Wartortle.” She scooted a bit closer to me. “Yours is a Cyndaquil, right?”
“Cool. And yeah, how’d you know?”
“Oh, I know a lot about Pokémon. And I have a Pokédex, so whatever I don’t know I can usually find out, at least.” She flipped open a small, red device to reveal a brightly lit screen. “Don’t you have one?”
“No, I don’t. I’ve heard about them though.” Cyndaquil hopped into my lap with a squeak. “Where did you get yours from?”
“Professor Tarsen. I’m from Coalluse Town, so he’s in charge of starting trainers on their journey over there.
I unfolded my map that I had kept in my pocket. Coalluse Town, huh? If I kept on the route I was going, it would be awhile before I reached that town. “Well, it’s been great chatting with you, but Cyndaquil and I have to be going. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
“Sure, no problem. Don’t let me keep you.” She winked.
I stood up and grabbed my bag, then returned Cyndaquil to his Poké Ball.
“I’m Cassity, by the way.”
“Oh, I’m Saren. It was nice meeting you.”
As much as I wanted to stay and talk with her, I had to meet Rebecca back in Rubired Forest. I’d been waiting for nightfall for most of the day, and now that it was finally here I was getting giddy with anticipation. This morning I had received my first Pokémon, and now, by the end of the day, I would have two. Hopefully all would go as planned.
***
The darkened woods of Rubired Forest reminded me that perhaps I should have been better prepared. I fished around in my bag for flashlight, but it was tiny and barely adequate enough to cut through the blackness. Lucky for me, the path back to Rebecca’s was a straight shot from this side and it wouldn’t take too long to get over there.
After a few minutes, I could see Rebecca’s house in the distance if I squinted. The light at her back porch turned on, radiating a dull orange luminance like a lighthouse that was far past its prime. Wind whistled through the trees that swayed to and fro, rustling their leaves with every gust that blew.
Rebecca stood at the back entrance, her white dress glowing gracefully in the breeze. She beckoned for me to come inside.
“I’m here.”
“You’re prompt.” She smiled. “It’s cute.”
I blushed. Cute wasn’t really what I was going for but I would take it. “So, about that Pokémon.”
“Right. As promised.” She opened her hand to reveal a small, greenish stone with a glowing yellow core. “It’s a thunderstone.” She started walking toward the center of the backyard and I followed behind her. Rebecca knelt down and placed the stone on the ground. “Just stand back and watch. It never fails.”
I stood beside Rebecca a few feet away from the thunderstone, my hand gripped tightly on Cyndaquil’s Poké Ball. We waited a few minutes in complete silence. I was beginning to sweat, the anticipation was killing me.
“Don’t act so nervous,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Shhh.”
The grass quivered and tiny, padded footsteps scampered from the other side of the picket fence. My eyes darted to find the source of the sound. Rebecca was right. A wild Pokémon had appeared.
Right as I had looked, I saw a small, cat-like Pokémon. The front part of its torso was a pale blue, with the back half a charcoal black. The star on the back of its tail glowed yellow, lighting up the rest of its body faintly. It didn’t notice us standing right there, or maybe it just didn’t care. Either way, it sniffed and wagged its tail in delight as it slunk through the grass toward the thunderstone.
Rebecca looked at me and nodded.
I breathed in deeply. “Cyndaquil, go!” I threw the Poké Ball to the ground.
The wild Pokémon shot a look at me but continued to creep toward its prize.
“Cyndaquil, use Tackle!” The mouse Pokémon kicked off of the ground, running full throttle into the wild Pokémon.
The cat Pokémon looked in enough time to see Cyndaquil’s body hurtling toward it, and it let out a burst of electricity on impact. The shock came too late, and the wild Pokémon was knocked several feet backward. Cyndaquil landed and shook his head a few times, appearing mostly unfazed.
“Follow up with another tackle!” I shouted.
Cyndaquil charged at the downed Pokémon, slamming his body once more into it. The wild Pokémon stood back up, its knees wobbling under its own weight.
“You’re mine.” I grinned and tossed an empty Poké Ball near the cat Pokémon. The ball opened up and cast a red beam of light at the weary Pokémon, drawing it into the ball and then shutting itself. The Poké Ball shook one time, then clicked and sat motionless in the grass. Cyndaquil swung his head back and forth, scurrying in circles like it was performing a victory dance. He squeaked and the spots on his back shined orange, and jets of flame flared up from his back.
“Looks like you just caught a Shinx,” Rebecca remarked.
“Is that what it was?”
She giggled and shook her head. “Of course, you’re new; I can’t expect you to know everything just yet.” She reached down to pick up her thunderstone. “Yes, that was Shinx, an electric type Pokémon. I’d have captured him myself long ago, but I already have so many Pokémon here I just wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”
“Cyndaquil?” The fire mouse Pokémon turned to face me. “Can you use Ember now?”
Cyndaquil opened his mouth as if he was about to yawn, but a fire ignited from within and he cast out a small ball of flame that hit the ground and scorched a circle of grass.
“Hey, watch it.” Rebecca nudged me in the side with her elbow.
“Oh, sorry.” I tightened the muscles in my neck in an over exaggeration.
“Just messing with you.”
“Cyndaquil, come on back.” I held out his Poké Ball and he was zapped back inside. “Hey, thanks for all your help.” I offered my hand out to her.
Rebecca grabbed my hand and pulled me into an embrace. “Take good care of Shinx.” She let go of me, her cheeks flushed pink even in the pale moonlight.
“I will.”
“Call me if you ever need anything.” Rebecca jotted her phone number down on my hand.
I don’t know where she got the pen from, but I was sure glad she had it. I was already half way out of Rubired Forest before I realized that I had no place to stay the night, and I hadn’t really eaten anything all day. Poor planning on my part, I guess.
So, I ended up calling in her favor a bit earlier than either of us would have guessed, but it worked out well. She was a good cook, and we ate a quick meal while chatting about life in general. While she was kind enough to let me stay the night, she didn’t have a guest room. I offered to just sleep on her couch, but she wanted the company, so I ended up sleeping on the floor in her room instead. We talked for a while until we both got too sleepy to carry on any more conversation. I’m certain the couch would have been more comfortable, but I couldn’t be picky anyway.
Oh, and she snored. Not much. It really wasn’t that bad, I convinced myself.
Pokémon Rogue Destiny 