The End of a Project and the Start of a Journey

[coub]

A still darkness has been my backdrop for what I think has been twenty minutes. I have been monitoring the connection between my mind and body, waiting for sleep paralysis to settle in. I do this by focusing my awareness on just the sensations of the body and the rhythm of the breath. Thoughts come and thoughts go as I wait for it. Just as I watch the next thought go and let the next breath out, it happens. A faint tingling begins in the fingertips and toes and travels across my limbs to cover me entirely. It feels as if gravity has been slightly increased and my body is now glued to the soft bed sheets below it. A smirk begins to grow before it is stunted by another breath. It begins.

I take a few more breaths letting the vibrations subside completely and in their place come a flow of colors whooshing around like the inside of a washing machine. Abstract color becomes fleeting glimpses of various environments I have witnessed and created within my mind flooding my subconscious. All of this signals to me that theta waves are now being emitted from the synapsis in my brain now. From this point I know that I cannot progress any further without removing myself from my worldly body, so I begin to craft a new spectral form to inhabit.

First I begin to expand my awareness into the bedroom that I have become familiar with sleeping in for many a year now starting with the basic shape. With my bed in the corner of the small room, I begin to work my way out across the silky sheets to the oak desk directly adjacent to it. Without vision I can see with an almost sonar representation of the room feeling the subtle vibrations whispering from each object I become aware of and I stretch the substance of myself that which is the room around me and before I can take note of every object individually it has already become the full picture; a beautiful crescendo of whispers and quivers dancing before a point of conscious awareness.

I craft a pair of eyes next to the warm oak desk looking toward the wall behind my old husk I will inevitably have to return to but for now it shall remain in limbo. Without willing it, I am immediately granted sight through these new eyes and what was once a matter of vibration is now a stable form of reality once more. A silhouette is dropped like a curtain underneath the pair of grey-scale eyes and I take my first breath within. The breath then gives life to the spectral form and color flushes through as I feel my new body for the first time. Now I am ready.

I turn around and head for the door imagining my long-term nemesis and project of a rock climb on the other side, which in the old world my husk lives in would take me an hours walk to reach, knowing fully that it will be there once the door is opened. I reach out with smooth unwrinkled hands and twist the cold handle. Sure enough there it stands in an Escher-esque view juxtaposed and intertwined with the door and the start of the hallway that is normally behind it. I step through the doorway and begin to stare her down.

For four months I have climbed this specific route up the cliff side to no avail, attempting to ascend well over a hundred times now. Sometimes I wonder why I enjoy climbing despite so much despite the constant failure, but it seems to be some sort of compulsion - despite the moment to moment lack of satisfaction, the actions continue happening in a sense of a promise made to myself that it’ll be worth the effort and pain at some point. I reach behind me into the chalk bag that has now strapped itself around my waist and look down at my rubber-covered shoes now hugging tightly to my feet, as I head for the start of the route.

I have felt it nearing completion for some time now where its just a matter of dialing in everything just perfect. It’s within my abilities if I could just perform it all to the T. I would be only a dishonest man if I said that I had a clue what I will do with myself after I am done with it, as it has been the only driving factor in my life for several months now, absorbed completely and singularly on it.

At the very edge and well below the town I look out under the shelf of the rock face and at the sunrise painting itself across both the sky and sea framed beautifully by the smooth yet edged stone above. The water below being devoid of rocks, makes rope unnecessary for a safe fall and provides a most invigorating incentive to not let go from the crux of the long route above, despite how tiresome the body may become. As I reach around from the small path leading to the drop off and start of the route I grab ahold of the large flake jutting out ever so slightly and I’m off.

Thought is not even brought along with me as my body preforms the movements it has learned to enact through many a trial and error before this attempt and I feel a rhythm warm my entire body against the chilled stone surface. Before I even realize it I am already halfway and well past the initial string of troublesome moves moving toward the crux of the entire route. I immediately push away the thought of how agonizing these coming movements are and let my body preform its task as I ride along. I breathe deep full breathes into my forearms as I burn past the crux and back into the largely in-cut jugs of rock above leading to the top-out point. I cannot believe I have sailed so easily through the entire thing as I reach the final holds hesitating only for an unfamiliar sound.

A scratching from above the cliff-top can be easily heard despite the loud crashing of the waves beneath me as I question what could lie in wait. The top of the route has no difficult hand nor foot holds so the large drop, which could easily break a few ribs, is much less daunting; however my imagination runs rampant at the seemingly boundless possibilities that could be waiting above me. I forget that I am in fact asleep and in a world I have created as I reach for the final rail marking the finish of the route, the top of the overhung cliff, and the origin of the scratching and what I can now make out as deep breathing.

Pulling my weight over the top I witness this most majestic gaze of two eyes seeing beyond me, beyond the horizon even. A gaze locked with the future events. A tall Xatu stands noticeably distraught as it meets my eyes and connects for a solid five seconds before reacting. I mantle the rest of my body over the top and stand up as the Xatu lets out a large relieving sigh. It steps forward to me and cracks a warming smile as words form from an unmoving mouth begin to sound off.

“I have waited quite a long time for this moment young one.”

With the Xatu standing now directly in front of me, the rest of the space between us is closed by its left claw as it is lifted slowly up toward me. Before I can react the claw slams against my chest and I plummet off the cliff side and down into the water below.

Silas' worldly husk is jolted back to life as he sits straight up in his bed; his head aches and heart races as he looks out his window.

“What in Arceus was that all about?!”

[coub]

While crawling out from underneath his sheets, Silas felt the weight of his body still jetlagged by last nights adventure. He pulled himself up and back against the wall and took inventory of himself. The heavy bags under his eyes felt as if they were slightly tilting his head forward they weighed so heavily on his face and the subconscious act of blinking had now become almost a workout in and of itself. He swallowed and took a few deep breaths as he slid his legs out from under the sheets to the side of his bed and next to a dense oak desk. Pushing down on the handcrafted oak, using it as a crutch, he forced his muscles to work again. They ached disobediently in response.

Silas took a deep breath looking forward at the door to his room. Despite an odd ending to a dream sequence, last night had been a success. After attempting to climb the route well over a hundred times both in the real world and in his lucid world, it was a great relief to finally complete it in at least one of them. That’s undoubtedly a huge step forward! He zoned out for a moment playing the dream in his head again. Even really vivid dreams can be fuzzy memories to the mind even moments later when you wake. His eyes wandered around the room not really focusing on any one thing but just scanning while the mind was busy. While there were virtually no windows in the bedrooms of their house, shafts were made from each interior room leading outside to provide the much-needed ventilation inside the hollowed stone buildings. The smell of the ocean was a constant one in these houses. It was close to the cliffs, heck it was in them even, which made it an expensive home but hardly the most comfortable of places to live.


“I have waited quite a long time for this moment young one.”



“Why would I have dreamed that?“


After running downstairs, Silas quickly smeared cream cheese over the surface of the bagel halves, and folded them back together for consumption. He held the bagel sandwich in his mouth, grabbed his climbing shoes and chalk-bag off the rope that they were each clipped to and head out the front door.

Stepping out the front entrance brings you to this short ramped tunnel and up to the streets of the town. Silas felt the crisp bite of the sea-chilled air in his nostrils as he took in a deep salty breath. While the ventilation shafts in the houses do provide some ventilation, the moisture can do terrible things to what is effectively a stone hole. Realizing that it was a bit more chilly this morning to climb without his baja jacket, he jogged on back and reached through the door for it on the coat rack. The slightly uncomfortable temperature is normally not preferred for most people, however a colder temperature allows for optimal friction for both the shoes and your hands when climbing. This day was quickly shaping up to be a great morning for an attempt at his project.

Silas was in a deep focus, forgetting to make eye contact with several folks whom he saw everyday. Most of the townsfolk knew he was a climber and his focused march of sorts thru the town was one they were familiar with as he wasn’t the only climber in town. He worked his way around the town to take a more quiet and scenic route and preserve that stillness we wake up with most weekends. Silas took in the incredible view of the gold and white painted waters dancing below as Wingull and Pelliper rode the winds high above the town and far beyond clear sight, silhouetted above the horizon line. Having lived here his entire life thus far, he was familiar with all the different ways this view changed depending on wind and rain conditions or time of day. He knew he was fortunate to get to experience daily what views that travelers who stop by are fortunate enough to witness even once in their lifetime. He felt guilty too how he still longed to see more of the other parts of the world and of other places to climb. He wondered what it felt like to climb on different types of rock out there and what unique ways the rock out there had formed. He made sure to appreciate these views to shake the guilt and just because it was so hard not to be awed by it some days. Standing there still for quick second he thought to commemorate the moment with a short poem. His subconscious quickly drew up this and he spoke it in his head to only share it with the moment itself.

With each morning the sun doth rise
A scene seen differently thru different eyes
A breath roots the moment wether or not we realize
Time pulls us ever forward thru invisible ties
But we slip away as the sun does when its the moons turn to rise

“Silas, my brother! How in the world have you been?” Spoke a familiar voice.

Quickly whipping around to confirm the source of the voice, Silas’s face warmed into a grin, with the face of the source confirming his.

”Kellan, man! It has been far too long!” Silas said and ran over to meet his old friend.

Kellan was a young man two years Silas’s senior, whom Silas had grown up with before the day Kellan embarked on his Pokemon Adventure. Silas remembered that day so clearly even though the event was so long ago. Two years goes by quickly in the grand scheme but Kellan had grown much since he had left.

“It sure has dude!”

“If I had seen you first I might not have recognized you right away. Look at you man.”

“That’s kinda hard from my view.”

The two chuckled and embraced. Sporting a dark and thick yet relatively short beard now, his appearance contrasted highly to the clean look Silas remembered. Kellan’s Furret climbed out of his backpack and perched its front legs onto Kellan’s shoulder.

“Wow, even Tuft is hard to recognize these days!”

Kellan just beamed with pride and scratched the back of his head anxiously.
Silas remembered when Tuft had been a young Sentret still who had a tuft of fur that sprouted from the top of its head. Even after evolving into a Furret, Tuft still had that the same signature messy fur tuft on its head ensuring that it was it fact Tuft. After Kellan left Silas would dream about where Kellan may be and what he had accomplished out there, then he’d imagine that he were out there too and what he would do. His parents were strict about his future though, and imagination was going to be the only way he experienced a future with pokemon according to their plan for him.

Silas’s father, Ken, worked in Central Godai with a solid job that he had worked extremely hard for so that the family could live comfortably. Ken didn’t want Silas growing up in Central Godai though, so he opted to have Silas’ mother Rebecca raise their son in a place that he could enjoy his childhood until he was old enough to start getting internships in Central Godai. After Silas would make it to Central Godai the plan would be to have Rebecca move into Central Godai as well until Silas was well situated on his own there. From there his father would retire from the government and he and Rebecca would live comfortably anywhere they liked. That had been the plan since he was born. If he chose to travel with Pokemon, Silas knew that would ruin the plan that had been in motion and that both of his parents would be extremely disappointed that Silas chose a very unstable form of living over a perfect one that would be literally hand delivered to him. They had told him this on multiple occasions, not just on the subject of becoming a pokemon trainer but for any other “unstable future” he had dreamed up. Climbing was even going to go from a daily passion to one of his paid vacations of the year at some point.

Kellan and Silas took in the view of one another and then Silas rubbed the hair on Tuft’s head. Tuft purred in response and then rested its head on Kellan’s shoulder.

“How have you been my friend? Judging by how much Tuft has grown I’d say you two have been doing great! Haha.” Spoke Silas warmly with a wide smile.

“Oh man, he sure has grown hasn’t he? Two years, can you believe it? It feels like we’ve been traveling for so long. We’ve seen a lot, and survived a lot.” Replied Kellan brandishing a grin while scratching Tufts chin.

“That’s wild…I’d love to hear all about it man. How long are you back in town?”

“I’m just here for the day before we head south to Glosterrice, we haven’t made it down that far yet and going this way allowed we to come back home for the first time. I’ve met up with Mom and Dad out and about a couple times though. But yeah, first time stepping foot here in Amadour since Tuft and I first set out. I’ve got to admit, it’s really surreal man.” Spoke Kellan as he scanned the town with his eyes noticing the small changes.

“I’m sure it is dude, man I really envy you two and what you’re doing… But hey, I can’t imagine better climbing out there then what I have here.” Silas replied with a nervous laugh as he became overly conscious of how he wouldn’t have it for much longer.

“Haha! Says the man who’s never left town! Man I saw so many wicked rock formations out there that I tried to climb in these shoes but to no avail. I know that if you and I were out there we would take the time to get some wicked first ascents! I’ve been trying all year to get my mom to send me my old climbing shoes and chalk bag but she keeps forgetting.. I know she’s just afraid of me twisting my ankle or something when I’m too far away from a town or anything but I’ve got too much to lose to be reckless on a boulder. But seriously man, you would have a blast out there.,” Kellan asserted loudly before calming down to a more relaxed demeanor.

“Man, I can only imagine. It sounds incredible.. My dad has set up an interview for a possible internship in a few weeks. So, I mean I’ve gotta do that and see what that brings me. But if I end up making as much as my dad someday then I can afford to take trips and see the world too..” Silas spoke with a rasping voice, slightly cracking, from the tensing muscles in his throat.

“Silas, you meditate every day, you’re almost perpetually rock climbing, when you aren’t climbing you’re writing wicked awesome poetry and stories,” Kellan took a breath and a moment to quickly gather his thoughts before continuing, “Not to be disrespectful, but what could you possibly get out of a desk job in, of all places, Central Godai? I mean, don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with that kind of work; but dude I’ve known you since you were five years old and you are far too open minded and free spirited to lock yourself away in a cubicle. I remember reading one of your stories that detailed battle techniques that were so clever. They would even best my team even after our two years of training! I still think about how you might tackle a problem out there. I’ve been out there and I’ve seen what it takes to become a successful trainer and someone as clever as you could not only go incredibly far but the feeling of being out there in nature with just you and your team learning how to live with one another and connecting in such ways I didn’t think were possible, struggling to make it through the current route and into the next town, adding new members to your crew as you go along, it – it all just makes you feel so alive in such a way that you won’t ever get to experience in a box inside of a building!” Kellan spoke heatedly with a fire in his eyes disregarding the need to take any breaths before realizing that what he said may be hurtful.

Silas struggled to find the right words to say but he felt too conflicted to commit to any of the things he felt like saying. “I..I… It’s just…” Kellan’s words cut deep, and while they contradicted what Silas knew he was supposed to do, he had to admit that they weren’t wrong. Silas thought deeply as he looked out over the ocean away from Kellan.

“I’m sorry dude, I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t want you to make a decision that you may regret for the rest of your life when I know for a fact that you would not only enjoy life so much out there, but you would be damned good trainer too. This isn’t how I wanted to reconnect with you after being gone for so long, but I care about you brother and I’m just trying to look out for you.” Kellan spoke softly yet warmly as he placed his hand on Silas’ shoulder before continuing, “Tell you what, I’m gonna go meet up with my parents, unload all my gear, and get some food our stomachs but you should come over for dinner tonight and then we’ll go out and smoke cigars at the edge of the woods – Only this time, I’ve got some really nice cigars and we don’t have to hide it from anyone haha! What do ya say?”

After taking a moment, Silas turned back to Kellan and cracked a smile before responding, “Sounds like a plan brother. It’s really good to see you again, and don’t worry about anything you said dude; I know you’re just looking out for me. I’ve got a project to go and hopefully piece together now, so I’ll see you later this afternoon.”

"Well best of luck my friend, we might be able to squeeze in some climbing together before I head out again I don’t know yet for sure though."

Silas and Kellan embraced one more time before turning and heading opposite directions. Tuft raised his ears and turned his head toward Silas curiously as the gap between them increased until Silas was completely out of view. Silas lowered his head deep in thought as he traversed the less than ideal walkways and stairs toward his long-term project.

[coub]

Silas tried to suppress these thoughts for a later time where he could sit and think as he made his way to the edge of town. He focused on each step he took as he traversed the precarious stairways and overlooking walkways making note to slap on a smile accompanying a wave whenever passing by anyone.

Silas enjoyed the fact that it was difficult to add new homes to Amadour because that kept the town from growing much larger than it was now. That also kept the town very quiet unless you were in the center of town or the docks. This provided for not only a strong sense of community among the town but for Silas, it also provided for quiet locations to meditate or simply sit and ponder without much distraction. He enjoyed that very much, and hoped it wouldn’t change. If he could, he’d replay today over and over but he knew time was the only thing more strict than his parents.

Silas made his way down the last staircase on his path the where the roar of the sea was overwhelming. He thought to himself how odd it is the way the closer you get to the ocean the more dry you seem to feel. The dank smells of Krabby and Goldeen fought thru the salt. As he made his way across the stone he noticed that the air had chilled by at least 3 degrees from the location he had talked to Kellan which was three degrees in the right direction as far as he was concerned.

From here Silas climbed up and over some sharp and steep jutting rock onto a relatively large section of stone that was covered by moss and blocked by the wind by an overhanging rock face beside it. Just below this was the way down to the start of all other climbs in this area of the town but up where he was led only to his project. It was still an unnamed climb and as such had no established rating of difficulty and those who knew about the climb knew that Silas had been the one to clean the climb and should get first ascent of the climb. With that came the rights to naming the climb and declaring what difficulty it would be. Anyone else who climbed it after that point had rights to contest the difficulty of it, but the name would always stay.

Silas had spent about as much time here as his own home, though you wouldn’t know it by the lack of any noticeable impact on the location. Silas respected this location and wanted to have as little impact as possible on the area. The face of the rock that the climb went up took several weeks of cleaning moss and dirt off of, and he even felt bad about the necessary removal of moss to make the climb possible. He removed no more than was completely necessary and to make the climb safe from loose rock falling while climbing or while underneath the wall in the water.

It was also a place of meditation even when he wasn’t here to climb and before he was an able enough climber to recognize the potential route here. The place had brought him many answers to questions he had come here with. The unyielding stone or relentless sea here may not have brought answers to these questions themselves, but the presence of both had certainly helped Silas find them within himself.

After sliding his gear off of his shoulder and onto the stone at his side, Silas sat down with his back against the cold rock behind him. He reached over and grabbed his shoes and chalk and set the bag further away from the edge. He looked out over the water some fifteen feet below him framed by the drop off of the cliffside into the sea. Silas took a deep breath in holding it for a while, feeling it stretch his lungs a bit. As he let out the breath he relaxed all of his muscles and gave into his thoughts.

“Man… Kellan’s words certainly cut deep and my immediate instinct is to push them away as not valid to my situation... But I cannot argue that what he said isn’t true.” Silas slowly confessed taking many pauses and full breaths between each thought. “However… Does it trump my parents plans?”

Silas narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow staring at the dancing horizon briefly before lowering his head. With his head lowered and eyes focused still, Silas brought a hand up resting on his chin before retreating into his mind. In this short moment his mind scanned back through the conversation and Silas brought the most painful words up to the forefront before analyzing and commenting on them. Silas’ dark eyes peered far out into the horizon once more.

“I do truly yearn for traveling and seeing what Godai has out there to experience, but if there is one lesson my father has stressed it is that in life we have to put in hard work to get the things we want in life… While a desk job in Central Godai is far from inviting to me, it can offer the means to travel this world in small trips spread out through my life. If I do well for myself I will be rewarded with more money and more time to devote to traveling. On top of that, if I ever find a girl worth settling down with, I’ll have the means to support the both of us and in the distant future a child of ours and give my family whatever their heart so desires. Hard work, high reward.” Silas spoke these words slowly and intently. The thought of a family and a kid of his own someday felt incredible within his heart even to just imagine. Emotions danced and tugged as scenarios of intimate talks with a wife and staring deeply and warmly into a child’s eyes played out in short clips. Silas felt good about this conclusion.

I’ve been out there and I’ve seen what it takes to become a successful trainer and someone as clever as you could not only go incredibly far but the feeling of being out there in nature with just you and your team learning how to live with one another and connecting in such ways I didn’t think were possible, struggling to make it through the current route and into the next town, adding new members to your crew as you go along, it – it all just makes you feel so alive in such a way that you won’t ever get to experience in a box inside of a building!” These words physically hurt, the conflict in them in how they rang true but conflicted with his future. Kellan was absolutely right about everything he said. If he were honest with himself it was what he wanted for himself as well. It came down to that, what he wanted for himself and what his parents wanted for him at a point of convergence..

“I could achieve the same end goal as the plan that my parents have laid out for me just minus the copious amount of pay I’d receive. Instead of spending half of my life locked away in a cubicle, I could be out exploring and connecting with the world each and every day on a level of intimacy one could only experience from immersing oneself in it. No amount of writing behind a desk and no amount of short trips staying in hotels will ever substitute that, Kellan is absolutely right about that. Hell, if I became a strong enough trainer I could even become a gym leader and then that’d solve the money issue as well!” As words poured from Silas’ mouth with increasing intensity, he began fidgeting with his limbs unsure of what to do with himself until he had finally worked himself onto his feet standing and looking out over the deep blue ocean below. He was afraid to take the thoughts further, but was buzzing with energy over it now.

“But first I have unfinished business with this incredible climb.”

Silas looked over his shoulder at the start of the climb that he finally completed for the first time in both the dream world and in real life last night within a place he called the Void. He could dream up just about anything in the Void but this climb had become just as daunting for him in his dreams as it was in real life. Sometimes even more so, with the added dimensions of a nightmare or the water no longer being there to catch his fall. Regardless, last night he had made it possible there. He felt that he could make happen for real today too, but he needed to focus.[/font]

[coub]

Silas ran his mind thru the motions of every movement of the climb, deliberately focusing on the placement of each foot and every large handhold that he could rest one arm at a time to get some energy back. The temperature was perfect, just chilled enough to stick but not enough to shake. He breathed deep several times and stretched his arms well for a while as he stared out across the deep swelling waters.

As he put on his shoes and chalkbag he played the sequence of moves in his head again once more before beginning the climb. He opened his eyes and dipped his hands into the chalk bag around his waist and hanging from his backside. He clapped his hands together and took the deepest breath yet.

Silas began the climb by grabbing ahold of the rock face with his right hand and swung his upper half around the corner of the rock and above the open water below. The rock face was so steep that you couldn’t see the start of the cliff below, only the water. What could make people more scared made Silas feel relief that if he were to fall there was no rock to avoid on the way down. The hope, was that he wouldn’t fall at all this time. What is called a clean ascent from start to finish.

Silas traversed sideways across the rock after bringing his feet around the corner. He worked his way more sideways than up to begin with as it and underneath the hardest path up the solid stone cliffside. Large flakes of rock were all over the cliff face some large enough even to stand on, but on this path up there were only two flakes that could pass as large and even they barely fit both hands on them. Instead were tons of smaller hand holds, some so small that only the first digit of each finger could wrap over the rock.

At first look, and for the first twenty attempts at the climb it seemed that it was a pure gauntlet of strength all the way up, but once Silas had done the climb so many times that the moves had become muscle memory for his body, he had learned each place where he could get even just a moments rest for an arm to turn the climb into more of a test of how much you could regain during the fight rather than just how much power you had.

He began working his way up, his body more leading the way than his mind controlling where it went. He felt good, he was usually more tired by this point in the climb than he was. He felt right in tune with the dream, this was the one - the time he would make it all the way through. He kept working his way up at a great pace, using each place he knew he could to regain some energy back.

Two thirds of the way up the wall begins to make a corner and the path up takes you right thru the corner. The really positive holds don’t seem to follow up into the corner though, where instead large bulbous growth like structures have formed in the rock there and you have to sort of wrestle your way around them without any great places to rest. It’s a mad dash to the finish here. Silas was just to the left of the start of this long corner going up and stepped around much like the start of the climb instead this time stepping into the corner instead of around one.

As he stepped around into it his foot slipped on the opposing side. The side of his body caught the wall hard but stopped his body from slipping down. Not a great start to this section, and it was a thought fighting for ground in his head. He had to force it out and use his breath to make do with what he had of the situation. He was only a few body lengths away from the top and he fought like he was wrangling a bucking Tauros as he worked his way through the bulbous section at the end. And as his forearms were tightening up and burning like hell his hand hit the top of the wall. He reached his other arm up to grab it with both hands and lifted his way up just beaming. He pulled himself up and over much less gracefully and more like a beached Seel and then dragged himself away from the edge onto stable ground where he just lay on his back laughing into the wind.

[coub]

Silas could hardly squeeze his hands into a fist his forearms were so pumped tight and full of lactic acid. He was so engulfed in the experience of satisfaction that he couldn’t hear the roar of the ocean below or the constant squawking of Wingull carried out over the waves. One sound stood out though and broke his focus. It was a call of a Pokémon to be sure and with its frantic nature conveyed fear.

Silas sat straight up and turned his ear to the cliff. It was difficult to make out where exactly the sound was coming from. He rolled forward onto all fours and crawled toward the edge, that memory of the dreams ending keeping him slightly on edge.

As he peaked his head over the top the source became apparent. He recognized the spot immediately. There was a little Natu perched on the ledge halfway up a climb called Blood, Sweat and Wingull Droppings.

“Well, it’s not a Xatu.”

The climb was an easy one and even easier for most flying type Pokémon to make it up, but Natu don’t have fully developed wings, resorting to hopping around and short glides thru the air at most. This little fella was stuck without help and no nest or mother Xatu was in sight.

Silas knew immediately that he had to help. He rose back up to his feet and looked for the path down. For how difficult it was to climb up, you were always met with a very nice and easy hike back down. He heard the cries ringing out the whole way back to his backpack and all the way back up to the cliff top. He hiked over to be above the climb that the Natu was halfway down using both his memory of the top out and the sound of the Natu crying out. Once there he tied a rope off to a tree, put his harness on and then dropped the rest of the rope down the cliff side. After connecting himself to the rope he began his descent down using a belay device that let him control when he was lowered down the line and when he wanted to stop. On his harness was an ascending device with a daisy chain of climbing rope hanging which would be used to pull himself back up in conjunction with the other device.

He arrived at the ledge very quickly and once there he swung himself over to where he could sit on the far side of the ledge from the Natu. He was nervous, he didn’t want to scare the Natu and it accidentally fall down into the water below. The little Natu had squeezed itself to the very edge and was staring wide eyed watching Silas’ every move very closely. It was still squawking something awful but there had been no sign of a Xatu around to rescue its child.

He called out to it and reached an open hand out to it. The Natu recoiled into the corner terrified. It didn’t understand that he was here to help it. He thought to himself, that perhaps if he just sat there and meditated he could maybe show that he wasn’t a threat to this little guy. He sat against the wall of the rock and pulled his legs into a comfortable folded position. He focused his awareness on his breath and tried his best to send out positive vibes. He listened as the crying stopped for a moment and then he heard a scraping sound against the rock and following that frantic flapping. He opened his eyes and didn’t see the Natu anymore.

He leaned forward and saw the little bird failing to slow its fall into the water despite frantically flapping its wings. He grabbed his belay device and the rope and kicked off of the ledge. He lowered quickly but controlled so as to make sure he wasn’t producing too much heat on the rope by going too fast. About halfway down from the ledge to the water he heard a splash. The little Natu was frantically splashing its wings to stay at the surface of the turbulent water below. A wave came in and took it underwater for a moment.

The Natu came back up sputtering. Silas lowered down to the water then while still connected to the rope he swam over toward the Natu. When it saw him coming it turned to swim the other way and it did so right into a wave. The wave carried it over right into Silas’ arms who pulled it up from the water and the wave carried both of them hard into the rock behind them.

Silas spun around in the water and kicked off and away from the rock face. It was very dangerous to get yourself pinned against a rock face and swelling water. He tore the neck of his shirt enough to fit the little bird Pokemon and stuffed the Natu in from the top once he had made it large enough. The bottom of the shirt was cinched tight around waist by the harness he was wearing so it held the Natu in place in his soaking shirt. The little bird Pokémon probably thought it had been eaten by the way it was squirming about.

Silas stuck a foot into a daisy chain and started working his way back up the rope. The Natu eventually settled down a bit and looked around from the torn neck hole as they made their way up. Silas said several assuring statements that seemed to actually calm the Natu as they went. It seemed to realize that first it wasn’t eaten, and secondly that this human might be trying to help it.

Once they reached the top Silas carried the Natu over to his backpack where he pulled him out of his shirt and dried it off with a towel. He was careful with the feathers and dried him in strokes before wrapping him in the towel completely. The little Natu just studied him the whole time trying to regain its breath and let its heart rate settle. Silas then sat back and pulled out some berries that he had in his backpack already. He popped a couple in his mouth and then offered some to the Natu.

“Still don’t trust me huh? Or maybe you’re a picky eater like me?”

The Natu kept its gazed set while shivering either from the cold water or the excitement of the situation.

“I’ll leave these here in case you change your mind.”

He lay the berries on the ground between them and winked at the little guy. He then got up and pulled the rope up and laid it out in a nice flat spaced out coil on the flat ground to be baked dry by the sun. The Natu seemed to be warming up in the sun too or relaxing a bit more as his shivers were gone.

“Where’s your nest little guy? Your home?”

The Natu dropped its head.

“Hey buddy, where is your mom? Do you know what I’m saying? Where is your nest?”

The Natu looked up at Silas with tears in its eyes. He shook around in the towel, so Silas pulled it down around him and then sat back the way that he was. The Natu stepped off of the towel and shook its feathers out and then seemed to prepare for a demonstration. He pushed the towel around a bit and made it look like a nest before stepping in and demonstrated what looked like being fed by its mother. Then he used one wing to make a flat vertical wall and with the other wing made a large wave, then crashed the wing into the other one. Then it performed being scared and small covering its eyes with its wings. Then it got larger and turned around stretching it’s wings out in a protective manner in front of the nest. He stood on its toes up high to make an even larger wave with both wings and then jumped back into the nest and covered his eyes again. He slowly uncovered them and then looked around calling out then cried very real tears.

Silas came over and grabbed the Natu setting it down in his lap. He had understood the whole story, and felt so very sorry for the little Pokemon. He remembered a really bad storm almost a week ago which meant this little guy must have been surviving on its own for days eating who knows what. He sat holding the little Natu for some time as the rope dried and his shirt soaked with tears.

[coub]

Silas looked down at the Natu sitting in his lap. It looked so helpless and scared of the world. It hadn’t learned how to fend for itself out there and clearly needed someone to take care of it and teach it how to survive. He also knew that his mother wouldn’t allow him to bring it home and take care of it. He wondered if this was a sign, a force of nature guiding him toward the path that he should be on.

What was certain was that this little Pokemon would need to be fed, and what snacks he had on him wouldn’t cut it. I wonder if Kellan could or would take him along on his adventures. That’s what I’ll tell mom that I’m doing with it. I’m only feeding it and holding onto it until Kellan can take it.

“Hey little guy, do you want to go and get some real food? I know a way back to my place where we won’t run into a lot of people.”

The little Natu seemed unsure in its face but still nodded in affirmation.

“Alright man, well let me get my backpack on and then I can carry there.”

The little Natu chirped a delighted response. Silas went and wrapped the mostly dry rope up noting to himself that he’d need to flake it back out at home to let it dry completely tonight. He packed everything loose back into his pack, zipped it up and closed the cover flap over the rope with it spilling out neatly from each side of the pack. He then went over and scooped the little bird pokemon up and held it in front of his face.

“You ready?”

It chirped again and the two were off. He held the Natu tucked in one arm like someone might with a football so that he could balance with the other arm on their way back down to where the climbing session began. The little Natu watched wide-eyed the whole way down.

“You ever been this far from the cliffs before?”

The Natu chirped, eyes still glued to the trail.

“Yeah, I don’t know what you said to be honest, but I guess either way it’s a new adventure for the both of us.”

Silas let himself pretend for a moment that he was a Pokemon Trainer and that this little Natu was his partner. It was exciting to think of all the possibilities that path would bring. He imagined himself as a gym leader with a strong Xatu at his side. Then a Trainer with eight shiny badges on his backpack meditating with a Xatu preparing for final challenge. He was sad to let go of the daydream once he caught sight of his home. They came up to the entrance and Silas held up the Natu in front of him.

“Well, this is it. This is my home, and most importantly this is where the food is! My mom should be home soon, which is fine but she doesn’t exactly - She may not be the nicest, but she means well. Don’t take it personally okay?”

The Natu seemed to process his words and so Silas just smiled at him, then the two of them went inside together.

[coub]

Inside the house Silas called out for his mom just to be sure that she wasn’t home already and the silence answered him. He sat the Natu down on the table and went over to the kitchen area still in sight of the little Pokemon.

“Well, this is my home. It’s expensive but not much to look at if you ask me.”

He grabbed some food from in the kitchen pantry and set it out on the counter top. What sounds good to you, fish? Ooh, I know I’ll make us some sushi. He put some of the food back in the pantry and pulled out some fish and rice instead along with an avocado and some cucumber.

“Feel free to look around man, this will take a little bit of time. If you get lost call for me but it’s not a huge place it goes this way and then it goes back the other way.” Silas said while making waving motions with his arms between preparing the food and glancing over toward Natu.

The little Natu chirped in response and looked around at the two directions it had to choose from before hopping down to the floor. Silas held laughter in at the sight of the Natu frantically flapping its wings to slow its fall to no avail. Natu came to the ground with a thump and shook its feathers out before committing to a direction. The little Pokemon headed off down toward Silas’ mother’s room.

Silas cut up what he needed of the fish and put the rest back. He sliced it into smaller pieces and then prepared the rice. The Natu hopped its way down the hallway looking up at the pictures on the wall and stopping to look closer at a few of them which was hard from Natu’s low angle. He made his way into the doorway of the large master bedroom and looked around from there. It was huge to the little Pokemon, much larger than its nest to be sure. It smelled differently in here too and it made Natu think of its mother. It turned and left without going in and felt a little sadness welling inside.

Silas was cutting up the cucumber as he heard little feet hopping down the hallway again. He looked up and smiled at Natu who turned to look back at him before continuing on. The Pokemon hopped up onto the couch in the living room and stopped to try and make sense of the large television on the wall. He did enjoy looking at the large painting on the other wall though and stared at it for a good bit. When he was content with looking at it he rolled off of the couch and continued hopping through the house into the hall heading toward the other bedrooms. Silas watched him disappear down the hall and put away the half of the cucumber that he hadn’t used. He cut some of the avocado up and set it aside and then mashed the rest up into a paste.

Natu knew that it had made it into Silas’ bedroom by how the room smelled just like him. He hopped across the carpet and then up onto his bed. He laid down and looked around the room thinking on how much more comfortable it was than his nest as well. He thought about how he wished that this could be his new nest.

“Alright, they’re ready!.”

Natu sat up in the bed and hopped off onto the rug below. Even the floor was soft here he thought as he made way back down the hallway and reasoned that he would continue his exploration after eating as he made it to the dining area again.

Natu hopped up into a chair and then up onto the table where a dish of sushi rolls were laid out along with some pieces of fish laid out by themselves. Silas came back over with a glass and a dish of water for them each to drink and sat down at the table with Natu.

“I didn’t know if you’d like the rolls so I also left some fish just by itself. Your choice. I’d stay away from the spicy chips and dip if I were you. Dig in though, I’m sure you’re starving.” Silas said as he stuffed his face with a roll.

Natu started with the fish by itself and was delighted with how salty it was. He shook his feathers and licked at his beak.

“It’s good right?” Silas said but could hardly be heard from his mouth full of food.

Natu chirped happily and kept eating as fast as he could. He tried one of the rolls which was so much more delicious than he ever thought food could be. Silas could tell by the look in Natu’s face that he was as big a sushi fan as himself.

The door swung open and Silas’ mom came through with bags full of groceries.

“Hello, don’t worry I grabbed everything already. Come close this door though for me would you?” Silas’ mom said as she went directly to the kitchen and set the bags down on the floor before shaking out her hands.

Silas and Natu looked at each other and both stopped eating. Silas got up and went to the door sweating already. He closed it and turned around seeing that his mom still hadn’t seen the Pokemon not just in the house but eating food on her table. He turned and looked at Natu who still hadn’t started eating again and who was staring at his mom.

Silas’ mom let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to look at Silas who was still looking at Natu.

“So how was your- Oh! Ahh! Silas! Why is there a Pokemon eating at my table right now?!” Natu shrieked in response to Silas’ mom yelling.

“Mom I’m sorry, listen though.”

“Don’t tell me to listen, you listen. You know my policy on Pokemon in the house!”

“Okay but seriously Mom, I saved this Natu’s life today while climbing. It was crying out and scared on the cliff side so I lowered down to help it and it freaked out so it jumped off into the water and so I had to lower down completely and save it from the water.”

“Sounds like it was fine until you scared it off.” Silas’ mom laughed to herself.

“Well no, its nest and its mother were washed away in that storm we had.”

“Did it tell you that?” his mother said dripping with sarcasm.

“Well actually yeah, not in English but it told me that in its own way.”

“That still doesn’t explain why its nasty feet are all over my table right now though Silas.”

“It hadn’t eaten in maybe days mom, I had to bring it home and feed it something. Can we please just finish eating and then I’ll take it outside. It has already gotten the table dirty, so we might as well finish eating and then I’ll clean the table.. twice.”

“You’ll take it outside and then what? Don’t think for a second you’re keeping a Pokemon for a pet Silas. What are you going to do with it?”

“I know Mom, I know. Kellan is back in town for a while, I was gonna see if he wanted to take it with him.”

“Good. When are you doing that?” She said with her arms crossed. Silas could hear her foot tapping the floor.

“Just hand me a container and something to clean up with and I’ll take this food with us and I’ll go find him right now.”

“Here you take the food and the Pokemon and I will clean this mess up, like always.”

Tension was high as they kept from saying anything but being just as noisy through moving things around passive-aggressively. Silas boxed up the food and carefully grabbed Natu and placed him on his shoulder and made his way to the door.

“Bye.”

“I love you.”

Silas mumbled an I love you back and mumbled some more things that only he could have made out as words on his way through the front door.

[coub]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Pokemon Declaration}

Pokemon
Natu Caught at Level 5 Nickname: Ajna Gender: Male Type: Psychic/Flying Ability: Synchronize Height: 0’8” Weight: 4.4 lbs Health: Scrawny EXP Rate: Medium Fast EXP Gauge: (7/9) EXP Gained: 0 Level: 5 Division: D8 Total Stats: 55 Attack: 10 Defense: 9 (%) Sp. Attack: 13 (23%) Sp. Defense: 9 Speed: 14 (25%) Vitamins Used: None	Moveset: 1. Leer 1. Peck 5. Stored Power - Unique Moves: - - - - Item:

Silas slammed the door behind him and immediately regretted doing so as Natu shrieked from being caught off guard.

“Sorry bud.”

He knew his mom would scold him over it too when he got home and there was a pretty good chance he knocked something off of the bookshelf against that wall. He began to jog when he thought about her potentially opening the door to get the yelling in ahead of time.

He came back to a walk once he was out of yelling distance and held up the Natu that was perched in his arms so they could see each other.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about the way she acted in there. She’s really not a Pokemon person - she’s not really a people person either but she is my mom. You are awesome though, so don’t think that she acted that way because of you.”

The Natu smiled back at Silas and the two of them went along the way into the center of town. He knew that he had to find Kellan and offer for him to take Natu as part of his team but Silas really felt connected to this little Pokemon despite the short time that they had spent together. What he really wanted in this moment was to be this Pokémon’s partner and go traveling with it. He was very scared of the thought of disobeying his parents though.

“Silas! Hey! Over here man!”

Silas snapped out of thought and looked over where the voice came from. Kellan and Tuft were standing by the overlook with Daisy who was an old friend that both Silas and Kellan shared growing up. She was there with her Sewaddle named Killer who was quite the vicious little thing despite its size. She had registered as a trainer a while back but had never set out on an adventure opting instead to train locally while still working at the flower shop that her parents owned here in town. She seemed to have made the best of both worlds work for her situation. The three of them played games online together often growing up but even before Kellan set out of town Daisy spent less and less time with them. They were all still friends for sure, but there was distance there between all of them.

“Hey guys! Just who I was looking for!” Silas said as he jogged over to them.

“Wait, is that a Pokemon I see in your arms Silas?!” Kellan yelled.

“Uh, yeah... About that.”

Silas slowed down to a walk as he got closer to them and held up the Natu so that they could see it as he came to a stop beside them.

“I don’t believe it! What I said earlier really got to you then huh?” Kellan said as he reached out to stroke under the beak of the Natu. Natu was reluctant until he realized that it felt good and closed its eyes.

“I don’t get it, what’s the big deal? It’s not like it’s in the house.” said Daisy used to seeing Silas with Pokemon, but knowing how strict Silas’ mom was.

“Well, yes it did Kellan and yes he was Daisy but it’s a long story. It’s not my Pokemon, I’m just helping it.”

“We’ve all got time man, let’s hear it.”

“Good to see you by the way Silas. Yeah, I’m all ears.” Daisy said.

“It’s good to see you too Daisy, and you as well Killer.”

They all exchanged smiles and Silas introduced the little Natu to everyone. He explained to them how he had finished his project while climbing earlier and how he found and saved the Natu right after finishing the climb. Then how his mother reacted to coming home to a Pokemon in the house.

“Wow, that is incredible man. You really were in the right place at the right time today. Congratulations dude what do you think the climb goes at?” Kellan said.

Daisy added her support in as well and waved at the little Natu.

“Thank you guys. Yeah I really was I suppose. I’d say it’s a solid 5.11 man, harder than any 5.10D I’ve climbed by far. It’s my as well as Amadour’s first 5.11.”

“That’s amazing man, super proud of you. Well, on to the next project then huh?” Said Kellan.

“Well that’s just it, I don’t think there’s anything harder than that on the cliff. Anything else that might be there would be like 5.12 or 13 or something way above my pay grade. Running laps on this new climb alone won’t get me into that league I’m afraid.”

“Well hey dude, all the more reason to get out there and find some new stuff to climb! You need it dude!”

Daisy played games with them but she never took to rock climbing like they did, these numbers and letters were gibberish to her. She just kept smiling as the conversation moved on.

“It’s more time to study according to my mom. Speaking of, I told her that I would come and offer to have this little guy join your team.”

The words hurt to say. He didn’t want to part ways with Natu.

“No offense man but absolutely not. You saved that Natu and it belongs with you. Silas what is really stopping you from taking it with you and traveling around together? You are of the age to make the choice for yourself to be a Pokemon Trainer or not. And it’s your life here, so it should be your choice what you want to do with it. It’s fate that you found this Natu today man, admit it.”

“Kellan man, come on give him some slack. I mean, we all know how your parents are Silas. No offense.”[/font] Daisy added.

“No he’s right Daisy. I’ve been thinking about this all day and really I’ve been day dreaming about it for years. I have to at least try to do this, I don’t think I can live wondering what my life would have been like had I taken the chance. If it doesn’t work out I can still try and do things my parents way and just beg for forgiveness for disobeying them. I can’t ask for their permission though, they’d never give it. If I do this it has to be a secret to them long enough for me to be well away from home. If I’m serious about this I need to make sure Natu is on board too.”

He sat Natu down on the stone wall beside him, crossed his arms and sighed.

“Well little man. What do you say? Would you like to go on an adventure with me?”

The Natu chirped delightedly.

“Now, I can see you’re excited but that means that we’re going to travel all over the world through caves and y’know real dangerous places. You think you’re up for that? Being my partner through all that stuff?”

The Natu’s delight didn’t decline in the slightest. He chirped a tune and stepped in place repeatedly.

“Well, I suppose it’s safe to give you a name now.”
He lifted an arm out of the fold and up to his chin squinting his eyes.

You could see a little lump under the feathers of its neck as the Natu swallowed, its eyes were wide.

“Natu and Xatu are Psychic Type Pokemon-“

“And Flying type!” Daisy added.

“Right. And Xatu can supposedly see into the future. How about Ajna? It’s the word that represents the third eye chakra.”

“Whoa, I like that” Kellan said.

The Natu seemed honored with this name as he looked at everyone’s reaction to the name. He looked back at Silas and jumped up and down flapping lightly.

“Well it’s settled then Ajna. We’re going on an adventure.”

He turned and looked at Kellan and Daisy.

“Well, what does it take to get started Kellan? I’d like to leave as soon as possible so my mom doesn’t catch wind of anything before I leave.”

“Dude you can fill out and submit the application on your holocaster. Oh, that’s right you don’t have one do you?” Kellan said.

“No I don’t. We use my moms to talk to my dad or the computer.” Silas said while scratching the back of his head.

“Hey, I know what we can do. When you fill out the application put the address of where to send your holocaster and Pokédex and stuff to my address. Then, when they come in like a week’s time they’ll come to me and I’ll just give you all of my stuff that I recieved. I’ve honestly only used the Pokédex they sent me once when I first got it and I can sign out of my holocaster and have you set up an account on it.”

“Wow. Daisy, thank you so much for offering that. I guess, yeah, that makes the most sense.”

“Cool. I’ll sign out of my holocaster right now. Uh, I can run home and get my Pokédex too and bring it back real quick if you’re trying to leave like ASAP.” Daisy said.

“I wouldn’t set out this late for the start of your adventure. You don’t want to travel in the dark the whole first day much less pick a place to set up camp in the dark. You should set out in the morning before sunrise at the earliest.” Kellan said.

“Okay. Yeah, I think we should set out in the morning then. Could you take Ajna for the night so that my mom doesn’t suspect anything and meet me in the morning?”

“Yeah, I could. I wish you could just keep him at your moms place but I understand. I know you do too.”

“Are you fine with that buddy? Just a sleepover with Kellan and his friends tonight and then we’ll leave together super early tomorrow morning? He has some pretty cool friends man.”

“Or, better yet you could sleep over at my place too like old times!”

“Would your parents be fine with that? It’s your first day back.”

“Hm, good point. Oh, duh dude. Just bring Ajna into your house in a Pokeball and then bring him out once you’re in your room for the night. You brought your backpack so you can pack what we buy from the shop in that to bring it into the house and then pack the rest once you’re in your room.”

“Oh, of course. Never mind bud, we’ll just sleep in my room tonight. I guess I’ll need to buy Poke-balls tonight.”

“Yeah you will, among other things but don’t worry I’ll help you pick out everything you need so you don’t waste your money on stuff you won’t need or will just crap out on you in a couple of weeks out there. But here you can have this one for Ajna right now.”

“Oh, thank you so much. Alright Ajna, here’s a Pokeball. You’re gonna go inside of here for just a moment and then you’ll come right back out just to register it to you.”

Ajna looked very confused on how he would fit into the tiny Pokeball and scared at how squished he would be.

“I know it looks tiny but you’ll see how much space is actually in there. Here, Tuft lets demonstrate for them.” Kellan said.

Tuft looked at Ajna and laid back on the stone very comfortably with its arms behind its neck to show how relaxed he was. Kellan pulled the Pokeball off of his belt and a red beam came out of the Pokeball as it opened up. The beam worked its way over to Tuft and engulfed him. Still calm, Tuft disappeared in the beam and it retreated back into the Pokeball. Kellan tossed the pokeball up into the air and then held it out again.

The beam worked its way over to the wall where Tuft was before and then his form could be made out in the red glow. Tuft was doing a handstand now with his tail pointed tall into the air. Then he let his tail drop and his back legs along with it in front of his body and like a slinky let the momentum flip his body forward. He landed standing tall with his arms up in the air like a cheerleader. Everyone clapped and Ajna seemed very pleased and at ease over the idea.

“Your turn now Ajna. You ready?” Silas asked.

Ajna nodded in response and Silas held out the Pokeball towards Ajna who had his eyes closed now. The beam washed over Ajna and he was pulled inside the Pokeball.

“Congratulations Silas.” Kellan said.

Silas smiled at Kellan and pointed the Pokeball at the ground beside him.

“Maybe not on the wall for his first time.” Silas laughed while saying.

The beam washed out onto the ground and Ajna’s form came out of the glow. He looked around disoriented a bit.

“Not too bad was it buddy?”

Ajna looked content.

“We’ll only use this when we totally need to.” He went and tucked the Pokeball in his backpack and rejoined the group.

“Sweet. I’ve logged out of my holocaster. Go ahead and set it up in your name.” Said Daisy.

Daisy tossed the holocaster over to Silas and he began the process of making an account.

“Do you have an account? No I don’t. Cool.” Silas read aloud the prompts and responded to himself.

Tuft came over and climbed up on the wall beside Ajna introducing itself proper. Tuft leaned back on the wall proud of its experience. Ajna beamed with pride of his new name.

“Alright cool, the account has been created and bingo there’s the application.”

“So Silas, I have a condition for doing this for you.” Daisy said.

“What? You’re getting brand new stuff out of this.” Silas laughed.

“Yeah, but I’m without a holocaster for at least a week.”

“What will you possibly do with yourself?” Silas said sarcastically.

“Well, I’m getting up before dawn tomorrow to bring you that Pokédex and I’m bringing it on the condition that we have a battle, your first battle as a trainer before you set out. I’ll make sure Ajna is healed up before you leave. Pokemon Centers are always open. You need to be prepared for a fight when you leave here though.” Said Daisy with a fire in her eye. Killer was seeing red at the proposition.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. What do you think Ajna? You up for your first battle tomorrow? We can discuss strategies tonight before bed.”

Ajna was riding on a high of emotion. He looked over at Tuft who nodded his head in support and Ajna snapped into a straight posture and nodded his head sharply in confidence.

“Perfect. Killer and I will be ready.” Killer was frothing at the mouth.

Killer growled and shook his head around fiercely and then fell over laughing.

They all laughed hard, as hard as they used to while playing games online together growing up.

“Oh, it needs a picture now. Here Ajna get in frame.”

Silas slinked down against the wall and Ajna jumped onto his shoulder.

“Perfect, here we’ll get the water in the background too. Hey, you are pretty photogenic!”

Ajna jumped back down next to Tuft on the wall and the two exchanged smiles.

“Application processed. Heres the digital version of my ID guys. Check it out.” Said Silas holding the holocaster out for them to see.

“Hey! It’s official now! Pokemon Trainer Silas. Hey, that is a good photo. Trainer Type: Rock Climber. Ahh, that’s perfect man.” Kellan said.

“This is so exciting!” Said Daisy.

“Alright man, well we should go to the shop and get you some supplies then.” Said Kellan.

“Okay perfect, let’s do it.” Silas said while winking at Ajna.

“Alright guys, well good night and congratulations Silas, I’m really proud of you. And congratulations to you too Ajna. I’ll see you both in the morning for our battle and to give you your Pokédex. Goodnight Kellan, I’ll see you and Tuft in the morning too.” Said Daisy.

They all exchanged hugs in turns and Daisy left for her house while the boys and their Pokemon went off together to get some shopping done.