David’s eyes flicked between the slip of paper in his hand and the carving in the tree stump before him.

Nature’s Scent. This was the right place.

The letters on the stump looked like they had been laser printed onto the wood. Flat gray lines neatly etched in a sharp contrast to the messy scribble on paper. The stump itself was stripped of all bark and even with its base buried in the ground it rose two feet or so above his head.

He'd had a hard time finding his way here - which wasn’t much of a surprise when you took into account that there'd been only two words he had to go off and the size of Celadon city. It had taken nearly two hours of wandering through the streets asking for directions, following bad ones or getting lost again before the good ones could be of use. The style of the city’s building never really changed. Only the Pokecenter and Pokemart stood out. It made navigation tricky.

In the end he’d only made it here after a group of locals playing cards took pity on him. They’d started by explaining that the farm was in the north-west of the city, and not the south where he'd ended up. One of them brought him most of the way here once the players had stopped laughing at his expression.

The city hadn’t become any quieter as time passed and the crowds and festivities only grew as his frustration built. If this didn’t pan out he was ready to retreat out of the city and back to where he camped last night. After hours spent walking through the city, the long hike didn’t sound so bad.

Returning the slip of paper to his pocket, he adjusted his backpack straps and began walking up the road towards the farm house in the distance.

Nature’s Scent orchard was situated in what David thought of as the third ring of the city.

The fifth and outer ring was made up of the grain farms. Aside from the crops, the sour smell was the biggest indication that you were in this area. The fourth ring consisted of vegetable farms. Buildings grew more numerous and developed as you passed through this ring. The second held larger parks, training grounds and the large apartment blocks. The innermost ring was also full of large apartment blocks, but the ground floors were more shop orientated. The presence of the Pokecenter and Pokemarket alone were enough to make the city center distinct.

The third ring, which included Nature’s scent, housed the berry orchards. What this meant as David walked past mauve bushes with white petals and bright pink berries, was that Benny had massively undersold it when he said "They grow berries". Having seen the place David no longer had any expectation that they would buy from him. The one or two berries that he would struggle to find meant nothing when they grew them by the hundreds if not thousands. At this point he was taking the time to visit as he had nowhere else to go and refused to believe that the last few hours to have been for nothing. Maybe Benny's relatives would know about some other kind of work he could do instead. At the very least if Benny wanted to know he would be able to find out that David had made it to Celadon.

The repeating rows of berries bushes were beautiful. Mauve, white and pink created a unique tapestry that continued to catch his eye. The sight didn’t hook him as deeply as it had earlier that morning, but it was still a wonder. He couldn't help but want to know more. There was no machinery in sight. Each bush was different in height, width and number of berries. That wasn’t to say that the bushes weren’t tended to, the path between each row was well trodden and clippings littered the ground around some of the bushes.

But David wasn’t surprised to see the lack of machinery. The lack had become a staple of this world. What surprised him was the absence of Pokemon. There was no life amongst the bushes, only signs of it and...

David slowed as he met the eyes of a young boy with curly black hair.

He lifted his hand up to wave.

“Hello!”

The young boy turned and fled into the bushes, darting between them until he was out of sight.

David jogged forward until he was even with the next row, then the next one but the child was gone. For a moment he considered hopping the chest high fence between the road and the bushes. A woven net blocked off the lower section, but he could push his bag through a large horizontal gap that began at waist height. Clicking his tongue he stepped back. There was no good reason to chase despite his instincts. It was probably best not to trespass. The kid either lived here or like all the other children he’d seen today, was just having some fun on the festival day. Stealing berries from the neighborhood farm could be a rite of passage.

He left the fence behind and carried on down the road.

The farmhouse, when he reached it, was more of what he’d been seeing all day.

Dark cream walls with green roof tiles. A large patio faced the road and the signature long table in plain view. It was a large building, clearly a home for an extended family.

David spent a minute searching for a bell of some kind before hesitantly approaching the patio. The wooden steps creaked as he called out a “Hello”.

A few calls later and with no response, he peered into the closest window. There wasn't much to make out from the dark interior.

*They must be at the festival.*

He straightened with a groan. It wasn't worth waiting. Who knows how long they could be. It would be a pain trying to find this place tomorrow. He was going to have enough trouble as is making his way back to last night’s campsite.

David turned to leave only to jerked back.

The old man standing at the base of the steps continued to wipe the sweat off his forehead with a rag and stare at David. He had a large bald patch down the left-hand side of his head, and the rest of his hair was thin. Each wipe of the rag gathered his remaining hair into lines. His expression was flat, completely unbothered by David's surprise.

“What are you sniffing around for then?”

“Eh.” David looked around the patio and then at the wide open area between the house and the orchard. Where had the man come from? “I’m looking for Oliver Laurel?”

The man’s mustache twitched. It was bushy and full and ought to have belonged to a man several decades younger. “You have a Rattata?”

“No?” David replied, not sure where the man was going with this.

“What do you have then?”

“A Pidgey,” He answered slowly. Was this small talk or was the man trying to determine a response to an intruder?

The man sniffed and walked forward to join David on the patio. He gestured over at the long table.

“Sit down. I’ll be back in a second.”

“Are you...” David trailed off as the man shoved the door open and disappeared inside. He looked around, gaze lingering on the road away before and sighing before sliding his backpack off.

He needed a break anyway. His sigh of relief upon sitting down more than proved that.

The old man rejoined him shortly after. He set two glasses down on the table and a jug of water.

“I’m Oliver,” The old man said. He paused while he poured the water.

David's attention was immediately drawn to the clear liquid splashing into the cups. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was. There were no streams by last night's campsite and his canteen had run dry by mid-morning.

Oliver filled both glasses and slid one over to him before continuing. “So Benny sent you my way.”

David nodded as he took a sip. The water was beautifully cool.

Oliver took a swig from his glass.

“Awful man. Full of shit and always has been.” Oliver turned to the side like he was about to spit only to stop, thinking better of it at the realization he was on his own patio. “I told my sister that you know. When they first started dating.”

The old man narrowed his eyes.

He seemed to be waiting for a reaction or an argument, so David raised an eyebrow and hummed.

Oliver smacked his lips and sighed. “She looked me dead in the eye and told me shit is the best fertilizer.”

A smile grew on the old man’s face until it turned into a laugh.

David couldn’t help but grin too. Benny's wife sounded like an interesting woman.

Oliver’s laugh grew until it became a howl. “You should have seen my face. I must have looked like fertilizer myself.”

“Oh.” Oliver swiped at his face and took a breath. When he met David’s eyes his face was flat. “I don’t like the man, but he was a good husband to my sister and a good father to my nieces and nephews. For that I’ll give you the benefit of my love for my sister and not my distaste for her husband.”

Oliver finished his glass and stood. “Bring your bag. I’ll show you where you'll be.”

And with that he strode off the patio and towards the side of the house.

‘*What?*’

David stared off after the man. What did he mean "where you'll be"? Downing his water, he grabbed his bag and hurried after the man. He hadn’t had a chance to get a word in the entire conversation.

“What do you mean where I’ll be?”

David caught up to Oliver as the man strode down a small farm path. He was faster than he had any right to be at his age.

“I’ve no need for more berries.” Oliver stated with a scoff as he pointed off to the side at the continuing orchard. “Benny may not know his Persim from his Pecha, but he’s a sly sonofabitch. If he sent you my way and got my sister to include it in our letters, he sent you here to work.”

David slowed his step and couldn’t help but smile a bit and picture that old stall. It was oddly comforting. Maybe he and Pidgey weren’t so alone after all.

“Both you and HIM, were lucky that it’s about to be a busy period.” Oliver continued as the path began to curve through the surrounding plantations. “Any other time and I would have sent you back to him with as much fertilizer as you could carry.”

Glimpses of green and brown stuck out through the mauve leaves.

“You can get settled in today and start tomorrow. Come around the house and I’ll sort you out.”

“What time tomorrow?” David interjected. It was hard to get a word in, and he had to take the chance while he could. “I have some training battles mid-morning.”

Oliver paused and turned to look at him with an incredulous expression, mustache quivering. “What time? Busy are you? Something more import...”

Oliver trailed off and seemed to consider something. He turned and set off down the path again.

“Lunch tomorrow at the house. Just this once. You won’t be getting mornings off in future. AND!” Oliver held a finger up to the sky. “You won’t get paid if your Pidgey can’t fight.”

“Paid? And what do you mean if Pidgey can’t battle?” David asked.

The old man just walked faster.

Around the next corner the plantation ended and trees began.

Oliver paused at the outer edge of the trees.

“Here’s where you’ll be staying. This grove is where we harvest the rarer berries. You can pitch your tent in a small clearing ahead.” Oliver turned to look askance at David. “I hope it’s clear that neither you nor your Pidgey are to eat the orchard berries or anything else you find in here.”

David nodded. “Crystal.” He still wasn't sure what was going on, but it was looking like he didn't have a hike out of the city ahead of him. Right now, that was enough to make him compliant.

“Good.” Oliver said, reaching forward to stroke one of the trees. “I’ll leave you here then.”

He turned and started back down the path again.

“Wait,” David called after him.

Oliver paused and turned back towards him with an annoyed look on his face.

“Did Benny tell you about why I left Saffron? Some dangerous people were after me.”

It was a risk mentioning it to Oliver. It was clear that Benny and him didn’t get along and there was only so much that could be shared in a letter. This job and camping location could be everything that he and Pidgey needed to make Celadon work.

But.

David remembered metal bars and red eyes in the dark. He couldn’t drag anyone else into that unknowing. The thought of flashlights coming in the dark for the farm...

Oliver’s brows narrowed. “I was given the gist so let me make one thing clear. This is Celadon, the heart of Kanto. You leave it all behind, and it won’t follow you here. If I hear that you’re causing trouble - and I will hear if you do - then you’re out. Not out of the farm, out the city.”

He lingered a moment after David’s replying nod before slipping through the gap in the upper section of the fence and disappearing into the orchard.

David watched him leave before turning back towards the grove of trees.

“Right. I suppose I better get the tent setup.”

This part was familiar at least.