The inside of the tree rattled wildly, swerving left and right. My towering blockade of burnt Oran Berries toppled over and rolled, knocking and bouncing haphazardly all around. I swatted away some rogue berries, shooting in Pidgeotto’s direction. It seemed Rayquaza swooshed around, circling once more, trying to locate Missing No.‘s outburst of power that disturbed the surroundings. 

 

The inside of the tree darkened even more as the dragon-type Pokemon quickly flew overhead. The tree leaned heavily to one side after another torrent of turbulent wind. Freaking out, I used one of my small claws to grip the wood floor for dear life while my other arm desperately wrapped over Pidgeotto as I tried to hold on.

 

“Piiiiii-kkkaaaaa!!!” I groaned from the strain on my arms and paws. 

 

Wincing from the pull on my body, I lifted my head and looked at the hole. The twilight of dusk dimly lit the outside. However, I could clearly see all the other trees and their leaves violently shaking in the wake of a powerful gale from the humongous green-scaled dragon Pokemon, Rayquaza. 

 

Okay, so I know it would be bad and dumb of me, BUT! Come on, it’s Rayquaza! I HAD to take a peek! And, of course, I wasn’t going to mess with Missing No. either. If it was telling me the truth and really did somehow reincarnate me or transmigrate me over to the Pokemon world, I was definitely in no position to try and point any fingers right now.

 

“SHOW YOURSELF!”

 

A low roar reverberated through the surroundings, sending everything trembling. The shaking stopped as Rayquaza stopped flying from being unable to locate the perpetrator. 

 

Wait. Does this make me one, too?! Perpetrators?! I’m still technically innocent. I think? Shoot! What do I do?! 

 

But I knew one thing for sure. I would still take a peek at the Legendary Pokemon of the Sky! I tiptoed over toward the triangular exit of my abode. Pressing my back tightly against the wall of the tree, I slowly inched closer to the opening to take a peek. My cute circular red dimple extended out first, followed by part of my adorable face. I only dared to look on with one of my eyes. However, I bubbled from the thrill and excitement, and yet at the same time, panicked from the chance of being caught. 

 

I looked up to the sky. The sunset where I was, but from higher above, the sun still extended its golden orange rays across to the opposite horizon. 

 

And there — in the middle of all of it — Rayquaza floated majestically, his long jade body with gold markings rippling like jewels in the light of the setting sun. His noble dragon head looked around as his elongated body slowly swerved and swayed in the air like the eastern dragons. 

 

I was taken. I kept staring and marveling at its magnificence, but that quickly stopped.

 

“Oops! Time to go!” 

 

“I SAID SHOW YOURSELF, INTRUDER!”

 

Rayquaza bellowed angrily into the sky, and that was my cue to go. My last sight of the Legendary Dragon Pokémon was of him roaring and thrashing his long tail in the sky, whipping up hurricane winds into the surroundings. 

 

I ran back towards Pidgeotto and wrapped one arm back down around him while the other gripped the wood floor. 

 

“Thank goodness, Tree, that you’re so sturdy!” I said, wanting to pat the tree for its protection.

 

The plants in the Pokémon world were pretty hardy, and I was extremely thankful during this whole ordeal.

 

Suddenly, I jerked down and looked at the groggily mumbling Pidgeotto in surprise! 

 

“Huh? Sax? What’s going on?”

 

“Hey, buddy! You’re up! Um, well, to answer your question, you see uh, there’s this angry Pokémon outside. He’s not very happy.”

 

“Huh? Who? Is it that psycho bully, Ursaring?”

 

“Ursaring is a bully? No… He’s, uh, a bit more troublesome than Ursaring. Rayquaza is kinda throwing a hissy-fit, rampaging and sending out a hurricane outside of the tree.”

 

“…” Pidgeotto needed a moment to digest my statement. “WHAT?! RAYQUAZ-!” The bird Pokémon jerked up and shouted too loudly, causing him to break into a painful cough. It would seem that Oran Berries couldn’t heal broken bones.

 

“Bro, chill. You’re still injured.” I said, holding Pidgeotto’s back to give him some needed support.

 

“But it’s Rayquaza! Why is he here?! And why is he angry?!”

 

I looked away with sweat building on my guilty face.

 

“Huh? What are you looking at?” Pidgeotto asked, missing part of my show of guilt.

 

I fixed my face and glanced back with an awkward smile, shrugging while shaking my head. “Ha. Ha. I thought I saw Rayquaza’s shadow. My mistake. Anyway, how would I know what Rayquaza wants? If you’re up for it, you can go ask.”

 

Pidgeotto fervently shook his head.

 

“Yeah, me neither.” I lied, kind of.

 

An ear-shattering screech made both me and Pidgeotto wince and cover our ears. Rayquaza blasted a deafening roar of frustration and sent one final sweeping blow of hurricane gales before his angry but fading shouts echoed from the distance. 

 

“Phew,” I said, wiping off the sweat on my furry face. “That was a close one. I had enough of Legendary Pokémon for one day.”

 

Pidgeotto nodded. “I never want to see a Legendary Pokémon unless it’s Arceus. Everyone else might kill us.”

 

“Ha. Ha. Yeah…” I dryly laughed. Tell me about it. I may have gotten away with Suicune, but I don’t think begging Rayquaza would have worked. 

 

However, Pidgeotto was right! I wanted to see Arceus too! “Do you know how to find Arceus?” I quickly asked with gleaming hopeful eyes.

 

Pidgeotto struggled as he adjusted himself to lean to the side, taking off pressure on his broken rib bones. He tilted his head, thinking seriously about my question. 

 

“Maybe when we die? If we’ve been good Pokémon, maybe we will get the chance to see the Creator.”

 

My gleaming eyes wilted from my crushed hopes for an easier way to find Arceus. Actually, maybe it would be easier to meet the God Pokémon if I did die, but I had no guarantees that Arceus would revive me. But was I even a ‘good’ Pokemon? Was I even a Pokémon at all? I don’t know.

 

But what could I do to convince Arceus to grant me my wish if I did meet him while still alive? Dang it. I’ll have to ask Ho-oh that, too. Or maybe there is another way? Making a wish… hmm… countermeasures need to be put in place…

 

“Thank you, Sax. You helped me escape my demise.”

 

I smiled at Pidgeotto, breaking away from my thoughts. 

 

“You’re welcome! But don’t thank me completely just yet. We have to figure out how to heal your broken bones.”

 

“Only the humans can properly heal me in this forest. There are no healers left here after Ursaring drove them away.” Pidgeotto stated with reluctance. He looked towards the hole that led out of the tree. It was as if he was now a caged bird. “Is it fated for me to be captured? I lamented the day I became a servant, or worse, a slave.”

 

I thought a little more about how being forcefully taken would feel. Not a good feeling. Many would still fight back. 

 

What if the trainer was cruel and abusive? Could we kill our trainers? Maybe run away? Would we be hunted down for going ‘rogue’? What would happen to our Pokeball? Maybe we can still break out and shatter the ball? 

 

“What about the healer Pokemon you were talking about, Pidgeotto? Maybe I can find one and sneak them here?”

 

Pidgeotto shook his head. “They would not return. None of them would dare risk facing the enraged Ursaring. The Pokemon with healing moves in the forest are only the grass types. For some unknown reason, Ursaring hates the plant types.”

 

“What’s he got against them? I like plant types.”

 

“Don’t know. You can ask if you are curious,” Pidgeotto quipped back with a smirk.

 

I huffed back, “OK, I see your game. No, I don’t want to either. Oh, hey! Maybe we can go find them instead?”

 

Pidgeotto sighed again and looked down. “You see, I am not exactly innocent either. Bird types and plant types are not on good terms. Many feed on plant Pokemon. But it is for survival. Maybe if it were the Chansey, they would help. However, the Chansey do not live in this area either.”

 

“I see. That’s what you mean by only humans would be able to heal you.”

 

The bird Pokemon grunted from pain as it leaned its head lifelessly on the curved wall of the hollowed room. I could see Pidgeotto giving into the fate of being some human’s Pokemon, and I tried to comfort the bird.

 

“How about I try finding you a good human? At least a decent person who won’t abuse you too much.”

 

Pidgeotto looked back at me with widened, surprised eyes. “You’d do that for me?!”

 

The Ho-oh’s feather crossed my mind. “Well, my intentions aren’t exactly selfless. I need to find a human worthy to receive Ho-oh’s Rainbow Feather. I need to meet Ho-oh.”

 

“Then we’d be fellow companions! Brothers in arms!”

 

Fellow Pokemon companions and brothers, but subtract the ‘arms’ part. I don’t want to go to war! I just want to return to being human! But I think Pidgeotto meant ‘arm in arm,’ or in his case, ‘wing in arm?’

 

I hid my extra thoughts behind a smile and nodded my head. “Tomorrow! I’ll start observing the human trainers in the area.”

 

“Yes, but please be careful. Ursaring patrols the woods. He usually avoids the main routes taken by the humans, but you never know where he will show up.”

 

I nodded, heeding my new adventuring companion’s words. “You want any more Oran Berries?” 

 

Pidgeotto shook his head, “No, I am fine. Thank you.”

 

“Okay,” I said, stuffing down the more burnt berries to fill my belly. I will have a busy day tomorrow and need the extra calories. After cleaning up the room and piling back the berries into the corner, I returned to Pidgeotto’s side. 

 

“Good night, Pidgeotto. See you in the morning.”

 

“You too, Sax. Good night.”

 

…

 

A low steady thump awoke me from my slumber. My toes felt chilly, and I nuzzled into the soft warmth covering my body. A grunt of pain startled me wide awake. I opened my eyes to see myself wrapped under Pidgeotto’s wing and next to his side. 

 

“Sorry!” I hurriedly apologized while slipping out of Pidgeotto’s warm embrace.

 

“It’s ok. You looked cold.”

 

My cheeks flushed with added heat from embarrassment. “Thanks, Pidgeotto.”

 

“No problem. Anytime.”

 

Down on all fours, I pushed back my legs and extended my tail straight as I went in for a nice back stretch. My muscles trembled from the refreshing stretch, and I lowered my head down into a yoga ‘child’s pose.’ 

 

“Chaaaaa…” I said, breathing in the cool morning air while my shoulders tingled from the good feeling. “Ahhh, that felt good.” 

 

I hopped over to grab some berries for our breakfast. Handing Pidgeotto his share, I munched with a mouthful of berries while I told Pidgeotto, “after’z eat’en, am gon’ngs to obsh’erve,” 

 

I gulped down my mouthful before repeating what I said. “Gonna go observe some humans after we eat. It’s kinda boring, but eat some more berries if you’re hungry.”

 

Pidgeotto nodded. “Thanks, Sax. Be careful.”

 

I patted my chest and confidently stated, “You can count on me! Don’t move around too much, okay? I will see you later!” 

 

I waved goodbye as I slipped through the curved triangular hole and walked onto the charred bark of the tree. Turning my butt and tail around, I climbed down the tree while leaving footprints of burnt ash along the tree trunk.

 

My feet touched the ground, and as I turned around, a thought crossed my mind as I looked off into the unknown forest while standing on a short patch of vegetation. 

 

Who knows what predators lurk behind the towering trees or bushes? I need some added insurance. I need to get stronger.

 

“Oh wait! My skill point!” I exclaimed, startling some nearby Pidgey and causing them to fly away. I slightly hesitated, wondering if Missing No. would show up again, but I doubt he would appear and draw the attention of the Legendary Pokemon being so out in the open.

 

Thinking of the status window, the normal blue screen popped up. I focused and pressed on my skill points.

 

Available Skills points: 001

 

Another window popped up, giving me a small fright. But then my eyes widened with surprise! 

 

Available Moves to Learn:

 

Thunder Wave

Double Team

Electro Ball

Faint

Spark

Agility

… (Press to see more)

 

Take Down

Agility

Protect

Thief

Disarming Voice

Trailblaze

… (Press to see more)

 

Moves with Special Requirements in addition to points:

 

Psychic

Hyper Beam

… (Press to see more)

 

Unique Moves/Skills (Locked)

??? 

… (Press to see more) - Locked

 

Not only could I learn my normal move set with the skill points, but also the TMs! 

 

However, what are unique moves/skills? That’s something new and unusual.

 

I shook my head, focusing on what I could do. I scrolled through the ™ list and tapped the screen, picking one of my favorite moves!