A mouth-watering scent of cooked fish spread out across the ruins, while Riolu was staring at the fish above the fire so intensely, Orion was afraid he would somehow telekinetically move it towards him. Which would be incredible because Riolu couldn’t even learn the move!

“It's almost done,” Orion said as his own stomach rumbled.

He looked at the distant Taurus, which had been roaming the massive muddy fields, eating the green grass from the side of the river and the more yellow stuff throughout the mudd.

“It's too bad I don’t have another ball,” he muttered. “Having one of those along would be very useful.”

“Riiiiii,” Riolu said wistfully.

“Yeah,” Orion said. When he didn’t get a response, he looked up and saw his Pokemon was still only looking at the fish.

It didn’t take much longer for it to be ready, and as Orion removed a large chunk, he handed it to the tiny Pokemon.

“Be careful, it’s-”

Riolu shoved the fish in his mouth and swallowed before standing still as his eyes widened

Orion felt a wave of pain and fear shove into his mind, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

“Riolu!” he shouted, looking around in panic.

Sadly, they had no water, and he had no idea what to do.

Riolu began coughing and then ran around in circles. It lasted for a few minutes, but soon, Orion felt the external pain and fear leave, left only with a lingering annoyance before that also vanished.

“You okay?” he asked, looking at Riolu, who stopped running and looked at him with wide-open eyes.

“Riiii,” the tiny Pokemon whined, his voice deeper and rougher than it had been before.

Seeing Riolu glare at the remainder of the fish as if it were its fault for what had happened, Orion couldn’t help but snort.

“Cooked things are hot,” he said, grinning at Riolu. “Look!”

He took a slice of fish and began carefully blowing on it, then touched it with his finger before blowing again and finally taking a bite.

Mmmm, so good,” he said. “But still a little warm!”

Riolu inched closer to the fish and held out his hand.

Orion gave him a smaller piece, and Riolu frowned before gingerly blowing it. He continued for a while before prodding the fish with his finger. Then he blew again and finally took a small bite. His eyes widened, and he smiled at Orion.

“Good, right?” Orion asked as he bit down on another sliver of the Remoroid. As he did, he realized it was the first time he ate any form of Remoraid.

I wonder why I don’t feel anything, he thought as he bit down into another sliver of the silvery fish.

It took them a while, but they finished most of the fish, with Orion surprising himself with how much he ate.

As he stared at the dimly burning fire, he saw that Riolu had fallen asleep, and with a smile, he picked the tiny Pokemon up and huddled him close. Riolu snorted slightly but continued sleeping.

Staring at the fire, then at the ruins, Orion sighed. He had always wanted an adventure, and although he’d never wanted it to be like this, there was no more changing it. At least not unless he finds some powerful legendary Pokemon that could control time.

I’ll head to Old Ferrum Town tomorrow, he thought. There, he could find out what had happened, what war his sister had been talking about, and why she never came back.

He remained awake for a while, finding the darkness beyond the fire and the soft sounds of the distant forest more frightening than he had ever before. The rushing water of the distant river didn’t help. Even then, he must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing he knew was that something was poking his cheek.

Moaning softly, Orion opened his eyes, blinking against the bright light of the sun. Riolu was sitting beside him, grinning as he prodded him in the cheek again.

“Wu- wah, I- I’m awake,” Orion muttered as he looked up and realized he was lying on the ground beside the now dark fireplace.

Pushing himself up, he saw a clear blue sky with a few clouds moving past it. A group of flying Pokemon, Pidgey if he had to guess, flew across, high in the sky.

“Riolu, ri, ri!”

“Yeah, I’m thirsty too,” Orion said, before realizing he could sense what the tiny Pokemon wanted. He looked at it, but all it did was point at the river.

“Sure, but let's get away from this place before we get close. I’m not sure those Pokemon would be happy to see us,” Orion said as he thought about the angry Remoraid.

He and Riolu moved away from the ruins, and when he reached what used to be the safer, south Ferrum Forest edge, he took a final look at the ruins of the ranch.

“After we figure out what's going on and get a safe place to stay, I need to come back here and get some stuff,” he muttered.

“Ri!”

“Glad you agree, buddy,” Orion said as he smiled at the Pokemon.

Walking across the mud and grass-covered ground of the southern forest, Orion kept his eyes open. Riolu was running next to him, not interested in being carried but seemingly filled with energy. It kept rushing into any area the sun managed to reach, staying there for a few moments and seemingly enjoying the sun.

I need to get my mind into this, Orion thought as he recalled that Riolu far preferred the daytime over anything else. Get to town, find out what happened after the war, and-

He blinked and he felt a sense of dread bubble up. A soft Ri came from the side, and he swallowed.

“Sorry, buddy,” he whispered. “But I just realized I don’t even know if the towns and cities are even still there. Sis said that Tecno city was laid to ruins. Who knows what happened after? She definitely never came back, and that last massage was a long, long time ago.”

“Riooooo- lu,” Riolu crooned softly.

“I'll be fine,” Orion said, shaking the worry away and grinning at his small friend.

They continued through the forest, and what should have been a three-hour walk quickly turned longer. None of the paths he knew remained, and Orion nearly got lost twice. The only thing helping him were the largest of the trees, which hadn’t grown much more and which he managed to recognize.

Four hours later, and by his estimates, an hour before they would reach Old Ferrum Town, Riolu stopped moving. The difference between the happily dancing Pokemon, dashing between areas of sunlight, and the frozen blue and black form was so abrupt that Orion felt his hair stand on end.

Looking up, he saw the tiny blue head cocked to the side before a soft growl came from Riolu. His gaze was focused on a group of bushes. For a few moments, nothing happened, then a soft growl came, and a moment later, a dark shape pushed itself out.

Houndour!

Orion gritted his teeth about to run forward and shout at it when he felt a sense of interest and combativeness from his tiny friend.

“You want to fight it?” he whispered, just to be sure.

“Ri!”

“Alright… be careful because it's probably been around here for a lot longer than you,” Orion said.

He didn’t want to tell the others that he was probably weaker because that might negatively impact his self-confidence. As little as Orion knew about Riolu, he had been around to raise hundreds of baby Pokemon, and many of those were the black fighting type Taurus native to this region. One of the things they all had in common was their early interest in fighting and combat.

A quick look showed that the Houndour only had eyes for Riolu, the dark orbs glowing a fiery red.

Fire and dark, hopefully it's not too high level yet, Orion thought quickly as he instinctively fell back to his uncle's terminology. He licked his lips, somewhat worried. Riolu had only been hatched a day ago, making him too young. Still, the desire to do battle was strong from Riolu, and as he felt it, he felt his own grow to match it.

“Alright, be careful of it. If you see any gas come from its mouth, use quick-attack to dodge it,” he said.

He felt a quick burst of acknowledgment, then Riolu made its move. Normally Orion would have told him what to do and when, but at this young age, Riolu would need to practice by himself a bit. Still, Orion kept a close eye out, and not just on the battle. Houndour were pack animals, and he had no interest in getting backstabbed.

The area was swamped in light as a tiny burst of fire erupted from the Houndour’s mouth.

Ember, Orion knew, as he clenched his fists.

The fire almost instantly reached Riolu, but the tiny blue Pokemon dashed to the side before rushing in. As it did, Orion saw the Houndours maw turn dark.

“It's going to use Bite,” he said, trying to remain calm but starting to get very worried.

Bite wasn’t a simple move for a Pokemon in the wild to learn. By his uncle’s ranking system that made it what? At least level sixteen?

Shit! That was way too high for Riolu!

Before he could say anything, Riolu was coated in a gleaming white light, its movement speed tripling or more. It closed the remaining distance in a heartbeat and slammed its fist against the bottom of the Houndour’s jaw before dashing a few steps to the side.

The Houndour just blinked, shaking its head before turning to Riolu.

Not good, Orion thought as he looked around for a way out. This Houndour was way too strong for Riolu right now!

Another Ember burst from its maw, and although Riolu dodged most of it, a black streak was drawn across its blue fur. The smaller Pokemon let out a furious shout and shot forward in another quick attack, striking the Houndour’s head.

Riolu is faster?

Orion frowned, slightly confused but also getting some confidence. If Riolu was faster that might work. He tried to recall what he knew about Riolu. It didn’t make sense. Although Houndour wasn’t the fastest Pokemon around, it should be-

Oh no!

“Quick attack dodge,” he shouted, unable to keep the fear from his voice.

A blast of confused surprise came into his mind, but Orion was happy to see that Riolu listened and used its quick attack to rush back. Just in time to, as the Houndour moved with a burst of speed belying what it had done before, its Bite slamming shut in the now empty space where Riolu had been.

“Follow me,” Orion shouted, running towards the distant bushes.

Riolu caught up within a moment, and he quickly grabbed the tiny Pokemon. Seeing it breathe heavily, he cursed. He should have run as soon as the Houndour appeared!

A wave of fear came from Riolu, and Orion jumped to the side. Fire flung past him as the Ember struck a tree, but as worried as he was before, Orion was less worried now. Unless the Houndour had been heavily injured or tormented, he wouldn’t chase them. They were too lazy for that, and only fighting Pokemon chased others for a fight.

Which makes this doubly stupid, he thought.

If his uncle Basil had heard he’d had to run from a Houndour he wouldn’t ever hear the end of it. It would mean cleaning the Taurus dung for a week straight!

He was startled when there was another wave of fear, and he jumped aside, dodging another Ember. Risking a quick look across his shoulder, he saw the Houndour continue running after him. It was very obviously not moving as fast as it could, its eyes glimmering hatefully.

What the heck is wrong with this Pokemon?

Orion turned left, his mind working overtime. There was no way Riolu could beat it right now, and neither could he outrun it. If this thing became serious he’d be… well, he’d be dead?

He shivered as he saw something glisten in the distance.

The river!

Without thinking any further, Orion turned and sprinted straight to the river. Another Ember flung close along his head, and he licked his lips. Riolu’s ear-like appendages were rising to the side, and he felt another burst of fear. He jumped behind a tree as more Ember flung past him.

“Good job, keep it up,” he hissed as he continued running.

It took them a horrifyingly scary minute to reach the river, and as he did, the Houndour behind him was growling. Orion was holding a sharp rock which he’d managed to grab while hiding behind a tree, and he hoped it was enough.

Why is this thing not running faster?

As he reached the side of the river, he looked down and saw the clear water below, teaming with Pokemon. Knowing he had barely a moment left, he picked out a large Barraskewda that was hovering near the surface and hurled the stone at it. He jumped forward, dodging below another Ember, praying his aim was good.

A heavy splash came, and then he heard the tapping of feet. Rolling on his back, he saw the Houndour scowl at him while it walked forward. As it did, he realized it had a scar across its left leg, which he’d missed before, and it was limping slightly.

Fire leaked from its mouth.

“Shit,” Orion muttered while he felt fear blossom from Riolu. He was about to toss his new friend into the river, when a dark shape surrounded by a stream of water shot across his head.

The Houndour’s eyes opened right as the Barraskewda slammed into it with Aquajet.

Orion rolled sideways across the mud, ignoring the angry howl and wet flopping, scrambling to his feet, and sprinting away.

A minute later, his breathing ragged, he felt a short burst of joy from Riolu, and he slowed down before leaning on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When he finally managed to stand straight again, he let out a deep shuddering sigh.

“Damn, I wonder why he was so intent on chasing us,” he whispered.

“Riolu, ri, ri,” Riolu said, muttering a bit and shaking its head in annoyance.

Orion felt the annoyance from his little friend, who seemed irritated that they had had to run.

“Don’t worry. We just need to get you some training with Pokemon around your level before we do this again,” Orion said as he cracked his neck.

His body was sweaty, but he felt surprisingly good, and after a moment, he looked around. He’d somewhat automatically run toward Old Ferrum Town, and from examining a massive oak to the side, he realized he was half an hour away.

“Still… there shouldn’t be such a strong Houndour here,” he muttered as he continued walking.