The windmills loomed ever larger on the horizon as the sun crept toward midday, a gorgeous scene, but also a problem.
She might have food now, but it wasn't infinite. It also didn't solve her other travelling problem. Another night like the last could very well finish her off and there wasn't a thermal blanket hiding in this picnic basket, she'd checked.
Now, she was presuming that it would be at least a little better inside the forest. Less wind, probably? Less cold, maybe? It didn’t feel good that something as common as a forest was a total mystery to her, but it was the truth.
So, that was her goal, make Eterna Forest before nightfall, find some spooky old mansion the next day, and somehow fight a ghost for her camera. After that? Well, no sense counting her eggs before they hatched.
Could she actually make time though? Another thing she didn't own was a watch, but squinting up seemed to have the sun still slightly more in the east than the west? So it wasn't noon yet, probably.
There had been a tourist map at the start of Route 205 showing the path following the river for a ways before coming to a T. Continue on straight and you came to the Wind Works, apparently tourists went there, for tours or something? Anyway, not what she needed, the windmills were perfectly visible from here anyway.
Head north once you came to a small bridge though, and you'd be on a straight shot to Eternal forest.
Important to note that straight was not synonymous with easy though. So far the path had been on a slight downward slant, which certainly made it easier on her shoulders but good things weren't to last. The bridge was in sight and so was the fact that the ground started to slope up on the other side of the river.
Even if Arceus was merciful (she wasn't) and the path didn't go steeper than 2.5 or even 3 degrees across the whole thing, it was still going to be exertion on a level she'd never endured before.
What if there were also stairs? She'd already gotten stymied back in the Ravaged Path. 205 was certainly better travelled than that tunnel, better chance for another helpful stranger to come along, but that still meant lost time. Perhaps even more than that, even if she didn't want to admit it, was that it would be… humiliating. To have to ask, play the pity card.
She could escape the hospital, but not that.
No matter what, it was going to be a long day, so it was probably best to actually eat some of the mystery food before throwing herself at it.
The intersection where 205 split off was marked by a little rest area, benches and tables, all set up in opposition to the bridge. Even a few vending machines that she couldn't use, unless maybe someone had dropped some change. First though, put this basket on a table. The food was appreciated even if the theft was not, plus the baskets ridged structure made it hard to hang on the chair so it had just been balancing on her lap, not the easiest thing.
It was surprising when the basket made a plaintive and pathetic moan when she set it down though. A moaning basket, a riddle for the ages, a true wonder of the world, and a stupid idea that was quickly discarded when another pathetic sound came out, this time clearly from under the table.
Rolling back a few feet, Hailey took a look under, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Light blue and sandy yellow met her eyes, long ears and a tail shaped kinda like a door handle, all covered in a thin patina of dirt from rolling on the ground. Weird colours, weird shapes, weird behaviour, yep, this had to be a Pokémon. Question was, what should she do about it, if anything?
There were no obvious wounds and weren't Pokémon supposed to be almost impossible to actually seriously injure? This one was probably just being dramatic, besides she'd forget who had called to her seconds after it happened, best just let her get through it.
Was kinda putting her off her meal though.
The food looked good too, better than she mostly was used to getting. First one she pulled out was egg salad, made her wonder if Pomona was actually a cook or she got them from somewhere. Most Pokémon never learned how to cook beyond heating something up in the microwave, but they still usually loved to eat, so a lot of gals tried to use kitchen skills to land a mate, at least if daytime soaps could be believed. So was the ghost an exception? Did she steal them to?
Well, they couldn't arrest Hailey even if that was the case, she was just an… what did you call it, accessory? An accessory at best. Plus she was hungry, and in a wheelchair, you couldn't arrest a hungry girl, had to be against some law.
The sniffling really wasn't helping though, what was the Mon even doing here? She'd just… go, to another table, yeah.
"Sniif, hic, … stupid humans… stupid Ace's… totally fit in… don't even want to eat near me… should just crawl in a hole…" It was partway to another table when that barely audible sob caught her attention. Hailey spun the chair around so fast the basket nearly went flying, but she had to know.
"Hey, did you just say you could see me?" Ok, perhaps not the most tactful thing to shout at someone clearly having their own breakdown, but… no, there was really no excuse beyond bad socialization. The bluntness did get the bunny… mouses attention though. too bad it made her shoot up and bang her head off the underside of the table.
"SHIT FILCHING WINGULLS!"
Now that made Hailey jump, as much as she could anyway. The basket still went tumbling, plastic wrapped, diamond cut sandwiches spilling everywhere. Good thing there weren't actually any Wingull around, or Starly, they'd be mobbed.
The voice wasn't what she expected either, a lot of gravel, crackle even, bound up in a small package. Climbing out from under the table, rubbing her head, Hailey could finally get a proper look at the dusty stranger. Chop the ears off and there was no way she could have cleared four foot, maybe just barely 4’. With the ears though, well they were longer than her head and up like antenna. Bright blue as well, same with her hands, eyes, and little circular minus symbols on each cheek. Her body was slender, but not bony the way Hailey was. Modest chest, a rear that some others might describe as pert, and a large head that created a innate sense of cuteness.
Or would if she wasn't scowling like someone just hit her with Noxious Gas. Honestly, she reminded her of some stock character in one of her daytime shows, what were they?
"Of course I noticed someone ignoring me! What, you think you're invisible?"
It was utterly bizarre. A few days out from Jubilife and not one, but two Pokémon were suddenly talking to her. What the hell was going on?
It wasn't like there was some magical curse that had been broken by stepping over the city boundaries, this wasn't some fucking Fairy tale. The cave Zubat were proof of that, they didn't notice her at all! And Thảo! She still needed to be (metaphorically) beaten over the head with her existence! Plus it wasn't like wilds had been on her way here, when a young woman alone in the wild should have been like sending up a flare. So what the hell was up?
With all the questions, there was only one answer that was logical, one answer that would make sense.
"Yes?"
Ok, in retrospect, perhaps that wasn't the clearest answer to give, the one that would raise the fewest questions, but it wasn't exactly easy to explain your whole convoluted medical history in a sentence. Even if she could have, that may not have helped with this lady though. As the other got closer, a watery redness became visible in her eyes.
"Yes? Yes? Oh lovely, apparently in addition to everything else, we've got a regular Sneasel here looking to kick me while I'm down. Why did Arceus ever curse us with Humans anyway?"
If her interpersonal skills were almost non-existent, then Hailey's comforting abilities were even worse. It wasn't like anyone ever came to confide in her at the hospital, or seek a shoulder to cry on. The closest she'd ever gotten to that was being talked down from her panic attacks when she’d been young and convinced the latest fit was the one that was going to kill her. She’d gone numb to that over time.
Once again, daytime TV was her only guide, and the best she could guess was that this was a very delicate situation. A Pokémon’s emotional breakdown could be… dramatic. It would take tact and confidence to defuse this situation.
"Wh-hey! Fuck you! You don't know me and it's not like I could go around kicking anyone anyways!" Nailed it Hailey, just what she needed to hear.
Almost involuntarily, Hailey tensed up, some long dormant instinct bracing for an incoming move. Electrocution? The yellow said electricity, but the blue could be water. Electrocution or waterboarding from a Pokémon who had no idea what she could take in comparison to other humans. Oh this was going to be fun.
The tensing went on for several long seconds. Eventually though, all the effort started tying her near non-existent muscles up in knots, so she relaxed, and looked back at the blue ear'd lady.
She was still standing the same distance away, tensed up as well, even visibly shaking. A cascade of blue sparks was falling from her cheeks, so that was a good call on electricity, but it wasn’t really directed. And her hands, they were balled up in fists, furiously rubbing her eyes.
"Why… are you still blurry? What kind of trick are you playing on me now?" The voice was still raspy, abrasive, but the note of pure sadness in there couldn't be missed by anyone, not even Hailey.
'Because… that's just how I am?" Ok, wrong answer again, so Hailey had to race to bumble out more of an explanation before Ms. Sparky got worked up again. "Literally! I'm, I'm being literally here! Usually Pokémon can't even tell I exist, they just look past me, I've got paperwork about it and everything!" Her hands were waving in front of her body, as if that clarified anything.
It did stop the other girl in her tracks though, her hands half raised to keep rubbing. The silence uncomfortably stretched another few moments longer, till, fully tinged with incredulity, the cracked out "That might be… the stupidest excuse I've ever heard! What is your deal!"
Outstretched hands pulled back to rub her face, this wasn't going to be easy, or brief, was it?
How had they both gotten walking (or rolling as the case might be) up the trail toward Eterna Forest? Mutual stupidity and stubbornness was what Hailey was going with. Some folks, like Carita, just brought the sandpaper out in her.
Gem, that was the Mon's name it turned out. Sounded fake to Hailey, but Pokémon names were just like that most of the time.
Anyways, Gem hadn't exactly taken the explanation of her condition being 'just how it was' at face value, ever more loudly demanding the truth as if this was some secret camera show set up to fool her in particular. “Where's your partner? What move are you using to do it? Who put you up to this?”
She didn't seem to like the answers she got, those being: “Don't have one, it's not one, and Arceus herself for that thing you did two summers ago, you know the one.” Yeah, Hailey was getting a mite annoyed with this blue tipped brat. It was hard enough to collect all the fallen food back into the basket while being yelled at.
It was when a couple passed the rest area by, clearly giving them some concerned eyes, that she just gave up on trying to eat. If food wasn't going to happen now, then she might as well not lose any more daylight. Abruptly spinning the chair in place, she rolled off over the bridge.
To her left, a strange sweet smelling tree waved in the breeze among patches of long grass, almost hypnotic really. To the right, packed earth quickly turned to stone, smoothly rolling into ever steeper ledges, where some ancient glaciation had carved them out. And ahead? Route 205, a thin valley that snaked up the incline, stairs lead up an escarpment but thankfully the ground level path seemed free of such obstructions.
A shame she wasn't alone.
"So, if I see a Ranger should I complain I'm being stalked? Pretty sure they take that kinda thing seriously."
The Hmmf that came back at her sounded almost practised in its perfection, an absolute mix of dismissal and condensation. "Please, don't get so full of yourself, my destination is just also this way."
Her tone had evened out from the wobbling of earlier but it still didn't ring true to Hailey. Even if she did have a real reason to go this way, why was she keeping perfect pace with her? A pace she could only describe as a strut with the way the Mon was rolling her hips and placing each foot deliberately. Keeping that up while matching speed must have been murder, but this weirdo was apparently determined to do things the stupid way.
"So, why not take the upper path then? Probably be faster than weaving around all the crap down here." The valley floor was relatively open, but also scattered with patches of tall grass, strands of trees, and loose rocks. Bloody annoying it was.
"And get my paws all dusty? I bet you'd like that."
"Wouldn't care either way, would save me one obnoxious… whatever you are." Her long, stringy hair made it easy to keep an eye on the Mon to her right without being conspicuous and that line definitely got a reaction. A slight hitch in the stride, quick flick of the head, before correcting to normal.
"Oh em geez! So you're not just rude, your stupid to? What, did you fail out of school in kindergarten so you can't recognize a Minun?"
"Doesn't meant anything to me, no point in keeping track of all you little weirdos."
"Arceus, no wonder your alone, who would put up with you?"
'And I suppose you're doing so much better, little miss cries under a picnic table? Besides, why should I put up with anyone who can't even see me properly?" A headache was coming on and it wasn't just from hunger, or the sweat beading her brow. Wasn't like she could just stop either, she'd already lost enough time and given her current luck, Gem would just stop to, so she could snark at her some more.
Still, she had to admit, the profoundly offended gasp she got in return was a little satisfying.
"I, well, a lady's emotions are no business of a bitch like you! Besides, I'm on my way to meet my partner I'll have you know. Not that I'd expect you to understand."
"Nope, not at all. I'm just after a little thief, almost as annoying as you really." The last bit was wheezed out. The grade might be fairly gentle down here, but it was still more than the flat hospital floors she was used to. With a shudder, she came to a stop. A break for water and air was absolutely mandatory now, having a fit in this company might be worse than dying.
The Minun kept walking, one step, two, three, before spinning around, hands on her hips to complete the scene.
"Now what's wrong with you? You drop your brain back there?"
"Least it would be noticeable if I did, unlike yourself." It was hard to keep up the candour while trying to catch your breath, but she tried. "Why do you care, don't you have a oh so important, totally real meeting to get to?"
More sparks leaked from Gem's blue cheeks, but she didn't seem to notice, focused as she was on staring Hailey down. Maybe it was like blushing for her, who knew how Mon worked. Another gulp of air and her vision turned downward, focusing on actually catching her breath now.
The light tip tap of the Minun's steps started up again, bringing a brief hope she'd be able to complete this Fool's venture in silence, falling apart as hands came down on the chair's handles. She was rolling forward again.
"Guess I'll have to just take over this for you, after all, Humans are helpless without us. Perhaps if you can stay awake long enough to see me actually seal the deal on my Bond, then some education will actually get through that ratty hair of yours into your skull."
Fucking Pokémon, was all she could think as a coughing fit caught the retort in her throat. Even when they weren't ignoring her they couldn't do her a favour.