“Now first of all, I do have one question that must be answered – what is a child like you doing out in the woods like this?” the slowking asked.
Leo frowned, but decided he was a little too tired to try to play any mind games.
Besides, it was a slowking.
What was the point of lying to a pokemon?
…
“No idea,” Leo answered honestly.
“I, quite literally, fell through the sky one day,” at this, the slowking’s eyes widened.
Then they narrowed, and the pink creature sat forward, stubby hands resting on his knees.
“Explain,” he demanded in all seriousness.
“Do you know of Lunala?” Leo asked.
The slowking hummed and stroked its chin, closing his eyes for a moment.
“The embodiment of the moon, yes?
That legendary being which is said to travel between dimensions – and makes its home originally in those islands to the far south, I believe,” the slowking mused, nodding.
“Right, that one.
Big old bat creature made of stars.
Anyways, I originally…well, I can’t quite remember what I was doing, but I was just living my life when all of a sudden I fall through a hole in space and time, land on a tropical island with my friend, the sky opens again and Lunala comes through before whisking me off to here – and dumping Jack, the friend I mentioned, god knows where.” Leo summarized bluntly.
This wasn’t the story he would probably give to other humans, of course, but telling the slowking probably wouldn’t cause any harm.
He might even have some insight into the situation that Leo hadn’t thought of yet.
“I see,” the slowking murmured.
“That is quite the story you’re telling,”
“The truth is stranger than fiction sometimes,” Leo said with a shrug.
“I mean, it’s awfully strange that you can speak English, my native tongue.
I didn’t know English was a multi-universal language,”
“Maybe you’re not speaking this…English, who is to say that you are not speaking our native tongue?
Perhaps the legendary pokemon made this possible,” the slowking remarked casually, waving one arm dismissively.
Leo blinked, and the frowned, immediately wanting to dismiss the notion before realizing he had no way to disprove the slowking.
Namely because the unown letters still looked like English letters to him, and who’s to say his perception of language hadn’t been changed?
Lunala was part psychic type, right?
So wasn’t that plausible?
“Y’know, I wasn’t actually wanting a rational answer,” Leo grumbled, rubbing his already aching forehead.
“Apologies, it is a habit of mine to play the Giratina’s advocate – especially when I am distracted.” The slowking murmured.
Leo huffed and shuffled back, moving to lean against a nearby tree.
He was still cold, and it was still chilly, but his conversation with the slowking was definitely taking his mind off of things.
“Unfortunately, this is beyond my ability to comprehend.
Your situation is unique, so far as I have heard,” the slowking said eventually, shaking his head and sighing.
“You…believe me?” Leo asked hesitantly.
The slowking nodded, tapping its head with a smile.
“I am a psychic, dear child, I can read the base brainwaves of your mind to tell whether you are lying or not.
And either you speak the truth, or have gone insane – though I doubt it is the latter,” the slowking said.
Leo blinked slowly, then nodded in understanding.
It felt a little strange knowing that the slowking was essentially reading his mind, but he felt awfully calm about it.
Maybe he was just desensitized to surprise by this point.
“It also coincides with the rumors I have been hearing going around the forest.
You have been travelling with the slowpoke herd for three and a half months –”
“How long?!” Leo interrupted, eyes flying wide open.
He hadn’t think that much time had passed!
The slowking, however, forged ahead, uncaring of Leo’s surprise as he explained his thoughts.
“Starting on the day of the spring equinox.
I felt an awfully large surge of psychic activity that day – perhaps Lunala had something to do with it,” he said, nodding.
“Though I would not be surprised if other legendaries were involved besides the Living Moon.
Perhaps the lords of space and time?
T’would not be unreasonable for you to have disturbed their domains in your travel,”
“Huh,” Leo said eloquently.
The slowking shook his head and smiled at him.
“Though all of this is guesswork on my part.
It will most likely be up to you to figure out your own situation,” he said, and Leo nodded, disappointed.
After a few moments of silence, during which time Leo added more wood to the fire and laid more out to dry, the slowking spoke again.
“I do believe this topic has brought us off-track.
My true purpose in coming here was to meet the friend of the slowpokes,” the slowking said, smiling.
“It seems to me they have been in your care for a while now,”
“More like I’ve been in their care.
Doubt I could have survived without them,” Leo said honestly, huddling closer to the fire as the chill began to set in once more.
“Indeed,” the slowking said somberly.
“It is quite impressive you have survived this long, and even had the ability to survive against the weavile pack,”
Leo shuddered at the mention of the creatures.
He’d seen a few of their tracks since the attack – having made sure to memorize their footprints so as to be better prepared – though hadn’t actually seen any of the sneasel.
That just meant the sneasel were still around, and he needed to be prepared.
“Less like survived and more like got saved by the slowpoke,” Leo muttered, shaking his head.
The slowking nodded, eyes roving over the sleeping forms of the slowpoke.
“It feels a little weird, being so indebted to the slowpoke.
Don’t think I’ve ever really felt that way for…most anyone before, besides maybe my parents,”
“Slowpoke do not count debts,” the slowking said sagely.
Leo grunted but didn’t reply, not doubting the slowking’s words.
The issue was, he couldn’t think of a way to repay the slowpoke, besides maybe finding and king’s rock or whatever to help King evolve.
They wanted for nothing, really.
Food was plentiful, and life was good for a slowpoke.
Leo’s thoughts began to wander as silence reigned, unsure of what to ask and even if he needed to ask anything.
True, he wanted to know the location of any civilization, but for some reason he couldn’t get the words out.
Like they had lodged themselves in his throat and refused to budge.
His thoughts drifted to his home and family, who he would most likely never see again, barring another twist of fate.
His musing was broken by a wet head butting up against his back, followed by a low call from the slowpoke.
Leo turned and smiled tiredly at who he recognized as King, the slowpoke ambling forward to lie down with a thump next to him, staring at the slowking unblinking.
“Hey King,” Leo said with a smile, scratching King’s ears.
They flicked, droplets of water sent flying from the motion.
“What are you doing up, huh”
“She is a good slowpoke,” the slowking said, making Leo’s eyebrows raise.
Well, at least he knew King’s gender now…though should he rename her Queen then, if it’s a girl?
The slowking leaned forward, meeting Leo’s eyes intensely.
“Though why do you call her King?”
“Oh, uh, because that’s what she is?” Leo said with a frown, scratching his cheek and glancing down at the slowpoke beside him.
“I mean, just look at what she does at night.
King here always circles the herd, never bedding down until the last slowpoke has settled in – and at some point included me in that circle.
Not to mention that she was the first to respond to the sneasel.
If those aren’t the actions of a leader, I don’t know what are,” he summarized with a shrug.
…
A/ N: The Story Needs More Power Stones 😉