There once was a time where I yearned for the quiet abyss, one where I wasn't bothered by Trainers begging for another fight or accidentally falling in the midst of an Ursaring cave. It was in those few moments of solidarity that I could let my mind wander and explore the endless combinations my Pokémon could perform at their next contest. We were free to do whatever we wanted, trying new moves without anyone judging what we were doing.

When I heard we were going to Jubilife Village, I figured it'd be similar to Jubilife City, a place where numerous people flooded the streets. It was a suffocating place with nowhere to practice without the fear of a lingering eye. Not that people were always watching, but with so many people there, one could never be so sure when someone would pop out, demanding for another battle.

It was always about Pokémon battles.

No. Jubilife Village was different. The clean paved roads were replaced with a stone path. People were hardly ever out, and when they were, they'd turn their noses away from me. It seemed nice at first. I mean, people were minding their own business, ensuring that their discussions only stayed between them and the person they were with.

Yet something seemed wrong with how quiet everyone was. This type of silence wasn't the peaceful one I once yearned for. It especially proved to be true when I accidentally got too close to someone. The man scrunched his nose and crossed his arms over his chest, somehow growing an extra five inches as he did.

"Go away," he sneered while his little girl hugged his leg. Her eyes filled with fear.

They wouldn't even give me a chance.

"Do stick close," Professor Laventon called, his voice pulling me away from everyone. "We can't have you getting lost."

I scurried away from the rude man, finding the place where Rei and Professor Laventon were standing. They weren't ostracizing me like the others, but that was only because I helped them early. After all, Rei's whole demeanor changed the moment I captured a couple of the Pokémon for them. If I didn't, I would've been left in the wild with nothing to protect me.

Just how much longer did I have to be alone?

"Ignore them," Rei insisted. His voice was low enough, so only I could hear him. He adjusted the red scarf around his neck, not looking at me as he spoke. "The professor will talk to Captain Cyllene, and once she okays everything, things will be different."

"But why are they treating me like this?" I asked. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Oh no, dear girl," Professor Laventon affirmed. "You did nothing wrong. It's just that this village was built not long ago to keep the people safe. Because of the Pokémon, people hesitate to step foot outside the village. New people tend to make them wary."

"But Pokémon are good," I countered. "Why would they be terrified of them?"

Rei shook his head. "I don't know how things are where you're from, but Pokémon aren't always the friendliest. Before Jubilife was built, they tore down many people's homes and took many of our loved ones," he explained.

As he spoke, I noticed his fingers froze on his scarf, tightening around the crimson fabric. It was all I noticed before Professor Laventon interjected.

"That's all in the past! As part of the Survey Corps, we're going to prove that people and Pokémon can coexist with one another. With your help, Everly, I think we can achieve that goal much faster than anticipated," he explained. "In the meantime, I have to ask for you two to wait for me at the canteen. I'll join you two once I address a couple of things."

Rei and I nodded our heads and watched as the older man walked away towards a building that towered over the rest. My eyes widened by how different it looked. All the buildings around us, whether they be shops or homes, all looked identical with their brown planks of wood making up the walls finished with red or blue tin roofs. The building Professor Laventon walked inside was made of red brick and had silver statues of Magikarp sitting on top, gleaming in the sunlight.

Whatever happened inside that building had to have been important.

I didn't have time to gawk at the building, not when Rei grabbed my hand to pull me towards the canteen. Just like a majority of the buildings, it was a typical wooden building. The only difference was the faded green sign made from a twine-like fabric hanging above the door. White letters spelled the word "Wallflower" on it.

While it looked like a cozy place, the elderly man standing there pulled up his upper lip.

"The Wallflower's only for Galaxy Team folk only. We don't have room for outsiders," Beni claimed, looking at me with disgust.

My stomach growled in protest, begging for him to make an exception, but he didn't care as his hands balled up into fists. It seemed like he almost wanted to fight me, but seeing him hunching over and having the amount of wrinkles indented on his face, there was no way that was the case.

Especially from what Rei told me earlier; a majority of people here wouldn't have Pokémon to battle with.

The thought of this not turning into a possible battle should've been relieving, but there was still one problem.

"Can't you make an exception, Beni?" Rei pleaded. "Just this once. Was it not for Everly here, I'd still be trying to capture the Pokémon Professor Laventon discovered."

The elderly man scoffed. "That professor ain't a reliable fella. If he was, he would've helped you," he claimed.

The two bickered back and forth. Rei did everything he could to get me some food while the old man wasn't going to hear it. I sighed, knowing there wasn't anything I could do to make a difference. At least, not that I could think of.

As the two bickered, I took another glance around the village, finding more and more people retreating back into their homes. It wasn't getting dark, but seeing their disgusted looks when they made eye contact with me said it all.

Would the villagers here ever accept me? Or at the very least, tolerate me?

"What if I cleaned the dishes afterwards," I interrupted, tearing my head away from the disappearing villagers. "If you let me eat, I'll help you around the shop."

My words shocked the old man, seeing it made my heart tighten. He was so old, taking care of this place all by himself. Has no one decided to help him around the place?

Hisui was really proving to be more than an unforgiving place; it was a hostile one.

"How will I know you won't just run away the moment you're finished with the food?" he asked.

Ouch.

"I'll make sure she does," Rei claimed. "And you know what? I'll even help out too. You make the best potato mochi that it will be the least I can do."

The old man glanced at Rei, turned his back to scan me up and down as if I was hiding something from him, then swiveled around and shuffled back inside without saying a word. I frowned, but Rei claimed that it was alright and showed me to a picnic table where we could sit and eat our dinner. Apparently, his silence was his way of agreeing to a meal.

Was this how things were always going to be?

"Don't let him bother you," Rei insisted.

"It's not just him," I muttered, lowering my head to rest on top of my arms.

Part of me wanted to close my eyes and wake up from this horrific nightmare, but I knew better to know that everything happening was real. If it was, my partner would have woken me up by now. It was hard telling where my Pokémon were. I was basically alone. I knew no one here except for my ancestor, but there was no use telling him that. Guess I had him and Professor Laventon on my side, but everyone else living here? They wouldn't even give me a chance.

While I was used to traveling alone, this was worse. My entire body felt hollow, like someone scooped out everything that was inside of me and threw it in a fire pit to burn, never letting me feel any spark of hope ever again. 

How could I prove to everyone that I didn't mean any harm? It wasn't like I wanted to be here in the first place. I wanted to be back home, preparing for my next contest. Jaiden was going to be there, and I needed to prove to him and everyone else that I wasn't some useless Trainer.

Yet useless was all I was feeling.

"Rei," a stern voice cut through the air. "I assume this young stranger is the infamous Everly the professor has told me about."

My head snapped up to find a militaristic woman looming over us. She held her hands behind her back, and stood so perfectly straight that I felt my hands clammed up from knowing she saw me so relaxed.

"Yes, ma'am," Rei quickly answered before looking back at me. "Everly, this is Captain Cyllene. She's in charge of the Survey Corps."

No kidding, I thought, looking back at her. Just the way she stood up straight and had the stern expression on her face, I would be shocked if she wasn't in a position of power.

Seeing her cool blue eyes staring down at me, I felt the need to straighten up.

"Professor Laventon has told me how you helped him secure the Pokémon when they slipped away, and he'd like us to feed and house you in exchange for your help," Captain Cyllene explained.

"Wait, so Everly doesn't have to go out in the wilderness‽" Rei beamed. "Hear that‽ You won't have to worry—"

"Slow down," she ordered. In the corner of my eye, I could see Rei shrink in embarrassment. "I'm merely saying we can provide for her tonight. If you want us to provide for you longer, then you have to work for your keep. Tomorrow, when you wake, I need you to come to my office to see if you can prove yourself worthy."

"Worthy?" I asked. "Didn't I just do that when I helped them capture the Pokémon?"

The second those words came out of my mouth, I immediately regretted them. The woman turned her head towards me and raised an eyebrow. Not once did she waver or show any signs of compassion.

I was screwed.

"I am not sure how much Rei or Professor Laventon has told you, but Hisui is not a forgiving place. There are far too many dangers out there that we must take precaution," she reminded me, practically repeating the exact same words I had heard and witnessed all day. "It is up to us at the Galaxy Expedition Team to study this land and deem what is safe and how to protect our people. We cannot take any chances on strangers, especially those who fell from the sky."

When were people going to stop reminding me about that? I wondered. Whatever test she wanted to throw at me, I just hoped it would be enough to have everyone think differently.

"Captain Cyllene is like Hisui, in a way; they're both plenty harsh," Rei explained when the said woman marched away in a strict cadence.

"No kidding," I agreed before letting out a sigh. "Do you—nevermind."

Rei reached out his hand and patted my wrist. "It's a lot to take in. I may not be as good at catching Pokémon as you are, but I have been told I am a good listener. I promise, whatever you say, I'll keep it between us."

I lifted my head, seeing the boy offering a small smile, doing his best to offer some comfort. His red cap that he wore slid off his head, revealing soft blue hair that looked very similar to my grandfather, or at least, older pictures of him when he was our age. There was no denying he was related to me in some way, and knowing that, I knew I could trust him. Everyone in my family was known to keep to themselves.

"Beni, old chum!" the professor's voice boomed. "The usual potato mochi, if you please."

Rei and I pulled our hands away from one another before snapping our heads towards the professor who walked towards us. The man he called out for was nowhere to be found, but that was a good thing, wasn't it? If the older man was there with our food, then it'd be rude of us to eat it when he didn't have any in front of him to do the same.

Though, with Hisui being vastly different from Sinnoh, would the same thing apply?

"Has Captain Cyllene paid a visit yet?" he asked, earning a nod from Rei. "Oh good! Then I assume she has told you all about the trial."

This time, I shook my head. "All I know is that I have it first thing tomorrow."

Professor Laventon glanced over towards Rei, who nodded his head in confirmation. He frowned, before saying, "oh, well, I am certain she has her reasons for not giving out the exact details just yet. Everly, you must absolutely pass this trial first thing tomorrow. Luckily for you, I have just the thing for that."

He pulled out three Poké Balls from his lab coat and laid them on the table. Then, one by one, he grabbed a Poké Ball and tossed it up into the air. The first Pokémon he did this with was the feathered Pokémon, the exact same one that kept running away from me until I was able to trick it with some food.

"This here is Rowlet. Rowlet can photosynthesize like a plant, and apparently it battles using its sharp feathers," he explained.

The next Poké Ball revealed the spritely little Pokémon that Rei was able to capture.

"And that one is Cyndaquil!" he continued. "The fire burning on Cyndaquil's back will flare up whenever it is surprised or irate."

I knew what would come out of the final Poké Ball before he even tossed it. Inside would be the Pokémon Rowlet and I had to fight together in order to capture her.

"Lastly, we have Oshawott. Oshawott naps while floating on the water, and it can battle using the shell-like object on its belly!"

All three Pokémon looked up at me with wonder, reminding me of the first time I went to Professor Rowan's lab to choose my first Starter. I wonder what he would think about as I was doing the same. Would my partner be upset with the fact that I was replacing him? That wasn't the case at all, but for some reason, I couldn't help but feel that way.

No one could ever replace my partner. This Pokémon I was choosing was just there to help me while I was here. I wanted to lie to myself and say I wouldn't get attached to whichever one I chose, but that was already too late.

Maybe, whatever brought me here would allow this new partner to come back with me? It was wishful thinking. Who truly knew if I could ever make it back home.

"Well, my girl, I did make you a promise earlier. Which Pokémon would you like to keep as your very own?" the professor asked.

"I choose Rowlet," I stated. "He helped me capture Oshawott, so it only makes sense."

The professor nodded his head as he returned the said Pokémon back to his Poké Ball and handed it to me. "Excellent choice. Rowlet is all yours now. Take good care of him."

I nodded my head before looking down at the wooden Poké Ball.

Even if most of the people here in this village didn't trust me, at least I would have a Pokémon by my side to keep me company.

✧ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✦✧✦ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✧

While I was promised a free meal for the day and a place to stay, I still fulfilled my promise to the man who made the potato mochi. It was the least I could do for him since he made extra for me to take on the road. Besides, I needed to prove myself to everyone here that I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to survive and make it back home.

Oddly enough, I doubted the captain had any faith in me to pass tomorrow's trial. When Rei and I were done cleaning the dishes, she came back with an elderly woman who worked at a hair salon, claiming she agreed to let me stay with her for the night. I didn't think much of it, until I walked into her home, finding nothing but a blanket on the ground for me to sleep on. Even at her age, she didn't have a bed for herself, only a small futon which she passed out the moment we got there.

With her fast asleep, I figured I would follow suit, but the moment my head hit the ground, I was greeted with loud snores that made it impossible to fall asleep. I looked around, finding the moonlight seeping through the window beside her. She was fast asleep so soundly that if I wanted to sneak outside and enjoy the night air, she would have never noticed.

The only question was if I should go outside and explore the area around me or if I should try and get some sleep for tomorrow's trial.

Author's Note:

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Feel free to let me know your honest thoughts. I always love hearing what you guys think!

Heads up: chapters will be much slower than before. This is because of various reasons, one of which is because of what's going to happen next. The last chapter, I could somewhat prepare before I received all the votes. This time, the chapter question will decide how the entire chapter goes. Neither choice will be faster to write than the other. All I can say is that one choice will follow the game more faithfully while the other one will add some twists, maybe introduce some characters sooner than the game did (but can I say for sure? No. It just all depends). Both may have positive and negative consequences, but not necessarily where you may think them to be, so choose carefully!

Chapter question will close on August 14, 2023. Vote before then to have a say on what happens next.

Chapter Question:
What do you think Everly should do: try and fall asleep or explore Jubilife City at night?

Pokédex Entry: Oshawott | Sea Otter Pokémon
Type: Water
Location: Unknown

Also featured: Everly (or in game, it's Akari! I did change the name for story sake)

Picture found on Pinterest.