Stupefy (verb) - to make someone unable to think or feel properly.
And boy, was I stupefied.
I was honestly half convinced that I was seeing some sort of hallucination born from my fatigue and delirium. After all, in what beautiful world would I be oh-so-conveniently saved by a passing stranger with a giant metal durian? By the current state of my torn up body, definitely not this one.
As such, I didn’t respond to the man’s brazen proclamation and continued to stare up at him with a dazed look on my face. An irate squeal had begun to emit from the other side of my steel guardian, and I realized that it was coming from the Venipede that was still stuck on the behemoth.
“Hey now, no need to go into shock or anything, although I totally understand,” my savior went on without showing any signs of acknowledging the commotion. “I couldn’t count the number of times people have had their voices taken away by the sight of me. Just this once, I’ll let you make the excuse that it’s your broken body making you breathless so you can hide your embarrassment. Don’t worry, autographs will still be given out as long as you give a nice loud ‘Thank you, Viral!’ from the bottom of your heart.”
The man, or Viral as he seemed to call himself, happily yammered on, still squatted on the giant log. Was he trying to keep me calm by distracting me with this giant slop of monologue soup? Or was he legitimately this caught up in his image? Either way, it gave me the time to properly take him and the whole situation in.
Dressed in a short-sleeved white and blue open hoodie, with matching track pants and black fingerless gloves, it was obvious that Viral was on the athletic side. Boasting short, dirty blonde hair and a slim, yet well-built body, he looked in every essence to be as popular as he claimed. His giant grin remained plastered on his face as he yammered on, and I got the weirdest impression that it wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
What really caught my eye, however, were the five variously colored Pokéballs hanging along his belt. I briefly wondered where the sixth one was before I realized that he was holding it in his hand. A gleaming silver top with multiple blue bulbs, I recognised it as a Heavy Ball, specialized for capturing, well, heavy Pokémon.
“--luckily for you, I’m getting better with my cursive, so as long as I have my- gah, I forgot my pen again! It’s always when you need it the most–”
“Um-?” I tried to speak out despite my scratchy throat, which subsequently led me into a coughing fit. “You didn’t, like, hurt the Venipede at all, right?
“Hm? Oh, you mean your little tag partner! Don’t worry, Prickle’s well trained when it comes to her barbs. She wouldn’t hurt anyone with them accidentally, if you catch my drift! Here, instead of an autograph, we’ll just do Pokémon meet-and-greet! Prickle, stop being shy and introduce yourself!”
Before I could even ask who he was talking to, the metal durian began to move. Heavy thumping resounded throughout the clearing as the giant steel pineapple awkwardly, yet steadily turned around to face us two humans.
Oh, I thought. Prickle isn’t a person or a durian. It’s a Pokémon. A–
Ferrothorn. A bulky Grass and Steel type that could endure blows from even legendaries– provided that no fire was involved. The spikes lined across its vast metallic body, combined with its three powerful puncturing feelers, made it quite an intimidating sight to behold– or at least it would have been if it weren’t for the unwanted accessory hanging off its face.
The Venipede from earlier continued to dangle and sway as the Ferrothorn, or Prickle, as Viral seemed to call it, turned toward us. Due to the Poison-type’s odd position, it gave off the appearance of an overgrown, purple booger hanging out from the larger Pokémon’s nose. Impressive, considering the sentient durian’s lack thereof. Luckily for the little centipede, its body had not found itself on the bad end of one of Prickle’s iron barbs, but that was the only positive thing I could say about its predicament.
The little bugger continued to spit and squeal in frustration, and it was quite evident why. With its maw firmly clamped down on Prickle’s metal… peel(?), the Venipede was frantically gushing out acid from its mouth. However, the same purple liquid that had effortlessly cleaved through multiple trees showed to have no effect on the Steel-type. Prickle’s expression remained unbothered as the toxin harmlessly ran down its body before dripping onto the grass below. The little Poison-type was literally biting off more than it could chew; having relied too much on its toxins to dissolve any mouthful, it became stuck on the Ferrothorn, unable to free its gaping jaws. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have mixed feelings on seeing my greatest foe of this world be manhandled so easily.
“Pretty awesome, isn’t she?” Viral beamed. “I trained Prickle to be able to take hits from Conkeldurrs without breaking a sweat, so a little bug isn’t gonna be able to accomplish anything. Anyhow, let’s get my favorite fan off the ground. Won’t do me much good if people see me letting you stay all poor and battered in my vicinity. Haha!”
Hopping down from the giant log, Viral pulled me up from the ground by my somewhat limp arms without even a grunt of exertion. That grin of his remained unbothered as he set me up on my feet.
Uh, I know people from back home would often describe me as “lighter than a feather”, but…
I said before that I wasn’t athletic nor was I out of shape. I didn’t exercise much, but I was also a picky eater. These two traits ended up with my body weight fluctuating around the 55 - 65 kilogram interval, with the exact number depending on how I was feeling that week. I know that I wasn’t exactly “heavy”, but Viral wasn’t exactly “bulky”. To lift me up without breaking a sweat was…
“Yikes, you really got torn a new one! I don’t know about your folks, but mine would definitely have a conniption if they saw me wearing rags this abused,” Viral said, apparently oblivious to my growing bewilderment. “Seems like you’re having a hard time standing too. Ah right, pretty sure I should have something for this–.”
I was momentarily confused as to why he reached behind his back, only to then realize that he was actually wearing a small white pack. The sling of it matched the details of his hoodie, making it camouflage against his person, or at least just enough that you’d miss it if you weren’t aware that it was there.
“Here we are,” he exclaimed while pulling out what looked to be a steel canteen. “I normally save this to treat myself and my squad after a good training session, but safety first and all that, right?”
He tossed the bottle up in the air and I awkwardly managed to catch it in my hands. I heard and felt the liquid inside slosh about.
“Um, thank you very much, but what is–?”
“Berry Juice! Obviously it won’t heal your injuries as much as if you were a Pokémon, but it should help restore your fatigue and turn that frown upside down. It’s really unnerving to meet a fan who wasn’t jumping for joy and screaming at the sight of me.”
“Uh-huh...”
Gingerly unscrewing the cap so as to not accidentally cause any damage, I hesitated for a moment before bringing the cold container to my lips.
This–this should be fine, right? Even if I am taking advantage of his kindness for my own gain, it’s not like I can just say, ‘Oh, actually, I’m good, thanks.’
I took a sip.
“--!”
“Pretty good, right? Personally, I prefer it sweet, so I like to add a lot of Oran berries. Although, a little secret for you, I actually go for a more spicy blend before a match. Really gets that blood pumping all the more.”
It definitely tasted super sugary, almost to the point of being cloying. I’m a bit of a sweet tooth myself, but drinking this every day would set off way too many alarm bells in my body. The idea of someone as fit as Viral chugging this made me question his earlier show of nonchalant strength.
However, as I continued to glug down the candied juice, I felt a surge of energy slowly make its way through my veins, invigorating my body and replenishing my stamina. Even though just moments earlier I had been unable to even stand on my own, I now felt energized, practically ready to run a marathon.
“Wow,” I breathed, testing the mobility in my arms and legs. Apart from a few sore joints, I was practically good as new. “Thank you so much, um, Viral. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t intervened. I honestly don’t know how I could repay you.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I politely bowed and said my thanks, which, as usual, came out a bit stiffer than I intended. I winced at that. Showing sincerity wasn’t a strong suit of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely grateful; I just never knew how to properly express it through words.
“Hm,” Viral mused, eyeing me up and down. “I kind of got this feeling when I first saw you, but you really are a weird one.”
I blinked at him. That grin of his hadn’t left. Was he joking? Or just straight up making fun of me?
“Um–”
“Well, never mind that now! I said it before, right? A good Berry Juice always hits the spot, but it won’t completely relieve you of all your injuries. Especially Poisoning, something that this little fart loves to inflict. So, did it scratch you at all?”
Viral gestured to the still writhing Venipede while beginning to rummage through his pack again, likely looking for a first-aid kit or something of the like.
“Well, no…”
“Ah, lucky you then. Poison always sucks to get rid of if you don’t know what you’re doing. What about Rollout? Your bones definitely wouldn’t have agreed with that one.”
“It did use it, yeah, but it didn’t hit me at all…”
“Okay…” Viral stopped looking through his bag to raise an eyebrow at me. “So, did it get you with anything or what?”
“Er, not really, but there was this thing it did. It was a… Screech, I think? Or maybe a Growl? Some sort of sound based attack that dazed me, and seeing as how it was from a Venipede…”
Viral’s eyes suddenly turned serious. He gave my battered state another look, this one much more sharp and keen, all signs of his aloof smile now gone. Was he doubting my story? Had I said something wrong?
“That’s it?” he inquired. “It didn’t hit you with anything? Anything at all? No bites, no tackles, no nothing?”
Oh, he’s surprised that I look this bad despite-
I suddenly felt my face heat up from embarrassment.
“Well I- I mean, there was this time my stick got blown back- it didn’t really hit me, but- and I was rolling around… on sticks- sharp sticks- and there was- uh, well I was- I was running around a lot and-”
I flailed around trying to find an excuse for my poor state. It didn’t make it any easier that my assailant was currently cosplaying as an angry Christmas ornament. Although, in hindsight, I guess it was my fault that I looked like this. There had definitely been some close calls, but none of the Venipede’s attacks had actually met their mark. The only damage I sustained was simply the result of how I had dodged and my shortness of breath was due to my lack of fitness.
Again, everything was my fault. If I had just worked harder, I wouldn’t have had to inconvenience Viral and take his Berry Juice. If I had just thought about it better, he wouldn’t have had to take time out of his day to worry about me. If I had just…
I was interrupted from my somber thoughts when I heard a light snicker. Looking back at Viral, I noticed that the young man was trying, and failing, to hold back his laughter.
“So, let me get this straight: you wandered on into Redleaf Forest without a Pokémon or Poké Ball, tried to scuffle with a little itty bitty Venipede, and then had to be saved without even taking an actual blow?”
“I–I didn’t just ‘wander on into’ this place!” I hotly protested. “And I did have a Poké Ball with me– gah! Where’d the Park Ball go?!?”
Thanks to the rejuvenating properties of the Berry Juice, I was able to frantically scramble about on the uneven floor to search for my precious starter item. Even though it had failed me in my dire time of need, I still felt an obligation to not just leave it behind, forgotten in a random forest clearing.
“Where is it… where is it… ah, there–!”
Ecstatic that I’d managed to find it with little difficulty, I extended my hand out to grab the half-yellow orb– only for Viral to reach it first.
“Ah- hey, that’s mine!”
“Whoa, never seen this brand before,” he said curiously, completely ignoring my complaints. He tapped at the middle button and slightly furrowed his brow when nothing happened. “Hm, stuck in its enlarged mode? Okay, I take it back, kid; you’re even more reckless than I thought. You’d have been better off without this piece of junk.”
I was so frantic to get back my Park Ball that I almost didn’t catch what he said.
“I said that’s mine, and you better not try to steal- wait, what? Why? I thought you said-”
“Seriously?” Viral sighed with a small smile. “Did you honestly think it would go well for you to wander into a Flood Route with a malfunctioning Poké Ball? I thought you were just crazy, but maybe we need to add ‘stupid’ to the repertoire.”
“Wha-!? But I– you don’t– I didn’t–” I sputtered at the sudden insult. What the heck was I supposed to do? It’s not like I chose to come here myself! Whatever mystical force brought me here is the one you want to blame for lack of foresight. I’m innocent here! I was framed!
I sighed and decided to not voice those thoughts. I’d probably just come off as insane or being childish for making such outlandish claims. I’d be better off saying I got taken by some storm or something. Storm…
“Anyway, can I– may I have my Park Ball back?” I asked, while nervously regarding the thrashed clearing around us. “I don’t know what caused the destruction around here, but whatever monster it was could still be nearby and attracted to all the noise.”
Viral regarded the surrounding carnage with a grin.
“Monster, you say?” he asked in a slightly amused voice.
“Grk-! Well, I don’t see a Venipede causing all this destruction,” I said defensively. “If there’s something like a Tyranitar around here, I don’t wanna be caught near it.”
Viral shot me an appraising side-eye.
“Bit too late for that,” he said ominously. “It’s already here.”
“Eh-?”
“That monster comes to this exact spot on the same day of every week. You didn’t notice? It got here about 5 minutes ago.”
“Wha-? But then why hasn’t it done anything?” I nervously looked around, half expecting some sort of giant dinosaur to be staring at the both of us from the edges of the clearing.
“Hm, actually it has.”
“Huh? What did it do?”
Viral's grin broadened. “Saved some gullible idiot kid who was about to become Venipede chow.”
I stared at him blankly for half a second before his words finally sank in. My face apparently looked much more shell-shocked than I felt because Viral burst out into uproarious laughter.
“Your face!” he howled. “I really had you going for a minute there!”
I gritted my teeth in embarrassed annoyance. It was getting really hard to keep seeing this guy in a positive light. Sure, he had saved my life and provided me with medical care, but that didn’t give him the right to poke fun at me for things beyond my control. I hadn’t chosen to start my journey in a dangerous forest with nothing but a malfunctioning Park Ball. I hadn’t wanted a giant venomous centipede to leave me in tatters. I had just been showing necessary caution in response to a potential danger. Seriously, how was I supposed to realize that a human being was responsible for this forest aftermath?!
I didn’t want to think of my savior in such a light, but he reminded me of the class brats back at home. They hadn’t necessarily been bullies, but they definitely thought of themselves as higher than their peers for no reason. The types who loved to point out everyone else's shortcomings. Just the images of their faces pissed me off.
“What, Prickle did all of this?” I blurted before I could catch myself. “I find that difficult to believe considering her trainer seems more the type to yap than actually help.”
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN SAYING, YOU MORON?!?
“Er- no, I meant-”
I scrambled to backtrack and apologize profusely for my sudden outburst; however, Viral seemed to take no offense toward my blatant attack at his ego. In fact, if anything, he looked overjoyed at my snapback.
“Oho, ouch! I mean, you’re not completely wrong, I guess; I just like to believe my voice has a healing property so strong it's useful in every situation. Speaking of which, it looks like the Berry Juice has completely kicked in and now you’re as healthy as a Ludicolo.”
Had he been purposefully probing me for a reaction? What the hell?!
“Um, well, sorry for that anyway.”
“Hm? What, why?” He asked, seeming to be genuinely confused.
I didn’t know what to make of the man in front of me. He seemed to jump from serious to funny and kind to cocky on a moment’s notice, so fast I always felt like I was a beat behind. It created such an odd sense of vertigo in my emotional state that I’d inadvertently just spat out what was on my mind. And it was because of this crass nature that it took me this long to acknowledge what Viral had implied from before.
“Wait, so you’re telling me that-” I turned around in a slow circle to take in the artificial clearing. “You’re the one that did all this?”
“Well, technically you were actually closer to being correct with that Prickle quip. I guess you could say this is the result of my team’s best efforts. This is our own little private circle of land that we use to practice and train in peace. It’s kinda a secret base thing, so hush-hush, alright?”
“Your… training ground?” I asked in wonder.
“Anyway,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I’m already getting sick of just standing here, and you’re probably frothing at the mouth for a shower of some kind, so let’s head on back to Emulor City, aight? This place is pretty far off from the main path, so I’m going to take the safe bet and say you don’t know your way back?”
“Uh, no,” I answered plainly. Hell, I didn’t even recognize the name of the city.
“Well, come on, then,” he grunted with a stretch, and began to walk in the opposite direction from where I had entered the clearing. “‘Haste makes waste’ and all that. Or wait, that’s not it. Argh, I never know how to use Brif’s stupid sayings. Ooh, maybe it's ‘Only the diligent Magikarp may become a raging Gyarados!’ Hm, better, but I still don’t think that’s what I was going–”
I half listened to Viral’s ramble as I followed along closely behind him. The redwood trees continued to pillar up into the sky, and shrubbery stayed as ordinary-looking as ever. Yet, despite no obvious signs pointing to where the closest settlement was, Viral confidently trudged on through the foliage. I cast one more look behind me at the desecrated clearing and felt a small smile form on my lips.
My Pokémon journey was only just beginning.
