Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Woodland

I only started this as a hobby so don't expect stable updates but the chapters going forward will have a minimum of 5k words, this I can promise, but when said chapters are going out though. Hehe.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy reading what I've wrote as much I had fun writing it. And comments on how to make my writing better is very much appreciated. Some tricks and tips. Thank you!

“Beo, come out! Let's go already! “ yells Aspen towards the house, already packing a big backpack and wearing traveling clothes.

He was dressed in brown suspenders over his tan-colored vertical-striped shirt and dark-gray pants. He also wore brown boots(waterproof).

The look complimented his blond shoulder-length wavy hair, alongside his sky-blue eyes.

“(Skiii!~)” he heard a cry inside the house, slightly muffled by being indoors. “C'mon, we need to leave early otherwise we'll have to camp in the forest at night! “

Another 'Skii' answered his call. Aspen went inside, having grown impatient, and discovers Abeona at the end of the hallway standing on her hind legs, reaching for the top of a bookshelf. At the top was a 'shallow relief' carving of the three of them, Sage, Abeona, and him.

"I told you, we'll visit regularly, at least once a month," he said gently to the jumping Skiddo.

The Skiddo looked at him but kept jumping for the carving. Aspen chuckled and approached the bookcase, grabbed the carving, and said to Abeona, “Fine, we're taking it. Happy? “

She walked outside, nodding her head. Aspen shook his head and moaned as he followed Skiddo outdoors.

“Are you ready? Did you forget anything? “

"Skii," she said, shaking her head, indicating that she hadn't forgotten anything and was ready to go.

"All right," Aspen replied with a bittersweet smile as the two of them looked back one last time to the log cabin where they spent most of their lives with their deceased parent.

"Let's go," he said, and off they went on an adventure that the Pokemon world will soon not forget.

———————————————————————

A figure can be seen walking through the jungle while riding a Skiddo with tiny sacks tied to the side. The pair is, of course, Aspen and Skiddo Abeona.

They both glanced around in awe, taking in the amazing sights that greeted them.

Even though they lived in the forest and were bound to go outside, they never strayed too far from the area, hence the reaction.

And Abeona, while not being from the area, had already forgotten most of the sights outside as she was too young at the time.

As they walked, they saw Pokemons going about their daily lives.

Aspen could see Scatterbugs at the side of the trees, it seemed that they were in Vivillon territory.

He wasn't that worried though as Vivillons were known for their docile and friendly nature. As long as he didn't harm them, they wouldn't do anything harmful to them too.

A few other Pokemon other than the Scatterbug line can be seen strolling about too. Oddish's and Glooms, a small amount of Vileplumes and Bellosoms can be seen too.

The Oddish's were in the process of burying themselves in the ground. A few had already buried themselves, with only the leaves on their heads visible.

Because they have sensitive skin, they burrow underground to hide from the sun. They only photosynthesize at night, using moonlight instead of sunlight.

As for the Glooms. Aspen and Abeona stayed away from them, they can't handle the stink they emit.

They also avoided the Vileplumes because they might get spooked by their presence and release pollen, which Humans are allergic to and are also toxic to Pokemons.

Although they did approach the Bellosoms. They were currently dancing and singing.

'Cute,' thought Aspen as he looked at the small Pokemons.

As they got nearer the Bellosoms finally noticed them. Abeona and Aspen flinched and stopped walking, afraid that they would scare them off.

But the contrary to what they expected occurred. Instead, they ran towards them in masse and began singing and dancing, leaving the two dazed.

“Hahahaha!" Aspen having awoken from his trance laughed out at the situation and began dancing with his arms beside the Bellosoms. Abeona, who was initially perplexed, quickly joined in the fun, leaping up and down and singing.

“Skii!~ Skii~” she sang as they danced.

"Don't bounce around too much, Beo!" Aspen chuckled, almost getting thrown off.

The Bellosoms, delighted by the duo's reactions, began to sing once more, waving their arms to the side and shaking their hips in sync with the waving. As they continued to dance, the leaves about their waist swirled along with them.

“Bello~ Bello~” they sang as they danced, drawing the attention of several of the nearby Pokemons.

Aspen, despite having a good time, understood that they couldn't afford to squander their time like this unless they wanted to spend the night in the woods.

“That was a lot of fun, everyone, and though I want to keep going, we have to get going on our way. Goodbye!~” he said as he nudged Abeona with his right leg, wanting her to continue walking, and waved at the Bellosoms.

The plant Pokemons waved goodbye as well.

———————————————————————

11 hours have passed since they danced with the Bellosoms.

Along the way, they encountered all other kinds of Pokemons, some friendly while others were aggressive. The former, they just waved at them not having the time to play while for the latter, they just ran away.

Most local Pokemons are territorial so they wouldn't chase anybody outside their area unless for a very important reason. Poaching their young for example.

So Aspen and Abeona just ran until they got outside their area and the chasing Pokemon/s returned but not without giving them a glare, which Abeona paid in kind.

A glare too, but not intimidating, cute at worse.

The sky was now turning orange, they left home an hour or so after dawn. It was soon approaching nightfall and would have been bad if they hadn't reached their destination yet. Camphrier Town was now visible at where they were at, they would reach it as soon as it turned dark.

“We're almost there bud, just a couple more to go.“ he whispered to Beo who soon picked up the pace, almost sprinting to the town.

They passed by other people on the way who called out to them as they were moving too fast. They were following a dirt road heading towards the town so they were bound to meet some people along the way, people on their way home.

'30 minutes of sprinting and Abeona is still not tired, as expected of my partner. And looking around, houses are getting more common, along with farms, lots and lots of farms,' thought Aspen as he looked around.

He didn't know what kind of crops they were, only that they looked similar to wheat but thicker. The strange crop filled the fields, stretching far and wide. Farmers were getting ready to head home, cleaning up their tools and whatnot. He wasn't that much of an expert when it came to farming.

Some people would wave at him, sometimes he would notice and wave back, and at times he didn't he just passed them by.

After a couple of more minutes, they finally reached the entrance, no guards were asking for ID's or something else which he found as a relief as he didn't have any form of identification. He hoped that wouldn't be a problem in his journey.

Entering the area they are greeted by buildings of which the smallest is 2 stories high. They lined up the streets and at the center of the town, you could see a small mountain. Too big to be considered a mound but not big enough to be a mountain.

At the top of said small mountain sits a medieval castle made of stone, it had towers connected to the building at the sides with spires at the top offering a classy look.

People on the streets were becoming fewer and fewer as they went inside their homes, so Aspen had to stop gawking to ask for directions.

He went to the nearest person he saw and asked “Good evening mister, where can I find the Pokemon center?“

The person he asked was a man in his thirties, sporting a casual attire with a bag of groceries. He looked at Aspen and pointed in a direction while smiling, “Over there kid, just go straight then left if you can't go straight anymore.“

“Thanks, old man!“ said Aspen as he urged Beo to move. “I'm not old! I'm young at heart!“ responded the man with a shout earning him a chuckle from Aspen.

Following the instructions of the 'young' old man, Aspen and Beo soon found themselves at the front of a huge red-colored building with a Pokeball logo at the center.

They went near the glass double doors when they suddenly opened on their own, scaring the hell out of them. Turns out it was automatic.

They both yelped, which was heard by the people inside the building, making them chuckle. Aspen coughed on his fist and headed to the reception area, where they also heal Pokemon as well as other things.

“Good eve' nurse Joy, I would like to register to be a Pokemon Trainer,” Aspen said as he stood in front of the pink-haired nurse.

“Good evening, to be a Pokemon Trainer you must be 13 years old. Did you bring any identification to prove your age?“ she asked and looked at him with a smile.

'Crap, I don't know,' thought Aspen as he sweat, not knowing what to do.

“U-Uhm, I don't have any ID's, I am 13 though, is there another way I can be a trainer without them?“ he asked unsurely, rubbing his neck as he talked.

The nurse looked at him and chuckled, “It's fine, we just need to proof of your being, to be sure you are from Kalos and not from the other regions among other things.“ she said as she stood out of the reception desk and went to the computer-like machine just beside and typed something.

“Let this scan your face so we can identify you,” she said still having a smile on her face.

Aspen sweated more nervously as he stood in front of the machine, not sure if Sage registered him as he never really thought about it too.

'Of course, I need to register, what kind of country wouldn't register their citizens, stupid!' thought Aspen as he admonished himself.

The machine beeped every 1 second as it loaded, checking if he was in the database. Each beep was like a hammer to the heart for Aspen, his nervousness getting higher and higher until the machine sounded out.

[Registered! Aspen Woodland, Male, 13 years old, Residency: Camphrier Town, Occupation: None!]

“That's all we need, I just need you to sign some paper-” the nurse stopped talking as when she looked at Aspen... he was crying.

With a shocked and tear-filled face, Aspen just stood there, his eyes lingering on the last name right beside his name.

“Woodland… S-sage's surname” he murmured, having trouble talking as if something is blocking his throat, he stopped himself from bawling his eyes out. That would be embarrassing after all.

He only got hold of himself when he felt a pull on his sleeves. He looked and saw Beo, smiling at him with a few tears in her eyes too.

Aspen chuckled as he finds the situation similar to what happened yesterday. Rubbing his eyes with his sleeves, he looked toward nurse Joy finding her at a loss for words, and said, “Sorry about that nurse Joy, an inside thing. Got emotional.“

“No, it's okay. Sometimes it's necessary to cry, don't hold it in, becoming a trainer for the first time is an emotional event, I understand” she said as she smiled warmly at him, having awoken from her trance. Aspen blushed and wanted to say that it wasn't because he was that happy to be a trainer or something cringe-worthy like that, but he held it in.

“Where were we again?“ he said as he chuckled, trying to continue where they left off.

“Oh yeah, as I was saying, now that we've confirmed you are what you said you were, you just need to sign a few papers to officially become a trainer. We also give out 5 Pokeballs and 2 Potions for first timers, after that, you'll have to buy them on your own.“ she said as they went back to the reception area and handed Aspen the papers. “You can sign them at the tables over there if you want.“

Aspen looked over and he did find coffee tables with couches on the side. He went over there and sat on one of them. He spread the papers and studied them, finding that they were only general questions, such as whether he had records of family ailments, aspirations, family, if he has any experience training Pokemon, if he had Pokemons, and so on.

He had just completed answering half of them when he was interrupted, he looked up and saw that it was someone he didn't know, a man his age, or possibly younger. Confused, he waited for the person to talk.

“Just registered to be a trainer? Congrats man, you even cried and all, guess you must really be happy then,” he said with a big smile. Aspen blushed hearing that.

“No, I didn't cry because of that!“ said Aspen as he waved his arm, blushing wildly.

'Who the hell is this dude!? And why is he talking about that!' thought Aspen embarrassingly, wanting to forget about that particular recent event.

“No need to be shy dude! Expressing your feelings is manly! no need to be embarrassed,” he said some more while laughing.

“No! It's really not about that!“ Aspen said this time with more emotion, but still having a massive blush. The young man stopped and looked at him. He then said, “Sorry about that, if I got it wrong, no, even if I got it right, wasn't my business,” he said this time having a blush instead of Aspen and rubbing his neck.

Aspen looked at him and chuckled, “Nah, it's fine. Thanks, and my name's Aspen, Aspen… Woodland.“

The young man seemingly not noticing the pause or just didn't care stretched out his hand and said, “Calem Xander, nice to meet you!“

You are reading story Pokemon: Engraved at novel35.com

———————————————————————

“Just don't write anything there, not really necessary, saves you time,” Calem said as he went through Aspen's papers, it was an essay type of question. He was helping him as a way to make up for what he did before. Aspen wasn't really bothered but he wouldn't refuse free help.

Calem looked at Abeona who also trying to help Aspen in her own way, by staring. He inquired, “Does your Skiddo not like being in a Pokeball? It's more convenient though, considering the size.“

When Abeona heard her name called, she turned away from the papers and glanced at Calem thoughtfully. She was also wondering why she didn't have a Pokeball yet; she wasn't particularly bothered, just puzzled. She looked at Aspen, waiting for him to answer.

“Hmm? Ah, no, Beo doesn't have a Pokeball yet, didn't feel the need for one because we were living in the forest,” he answered, turning back to his papers after glancing at Beo. “Does she have to? “

"Not exactly, but if you're planning on letting Beo take gym battles then yep, she would need to be in a Pokeball, it counts as an ID for them too in a way," Calem said to Aspen. "You wouldn't be able to get Beo on official gym challenges without a Pokeball." He was initially unaware of this as well; Professor Sycamore had to inform him. "However, enough of that! Did you say that you lived in a forest? like, you never left? visited any towns or cities? Excitedly, Calem questioned.

“Yeah, my foster mother Sage found me in Allearth forest as a baby, she took me in and taught me how to carve wood. We pretty much-led hermit lives,” Aspen said. He didn't mind people finding out he lived that way—some might be a little embarrassed to simply live in the forest and have never been to a city—but he didn't care; in fact, he was proud of their way of life.

Hearing it made Calem pause, a little intrigued about the "found in a forest" bit, but then ignored it because it wasn't his place to question that, they weren't that close yet. He instead focused on another part, he said, “That's cool! living alone in a forest, far from anything, with Pokemons. What is it like?“

Aspen responded with a smile, "It was peaceful; I only had to worry about food and firewood for the hearth, aside from the occasional issues like poor weather and such. I did what I felt like doing anytime. If I wanted to carve something I would find a suitable wood and start carving on the spot. We had a lake right next to our log home, which made things much more convenient when I got hungry and went fishing for meals."

“Skii!~,” Abeona smiled and quickly nodded. “If it was that good why'd you guys leave? “ he asked, confused and curious about the reason why a hermit would suddenly decide to not be a... hermit.

“Sage, she passed away a year ago, told us to go outside and travel the world, to gain more experiences. I should make my decision after that, she said. She's right; I enjoyed living there, but I should venture out and explore more of what the world has to offer. I should only live as a hermit once I've done more things and feel like that's what I really want to do, to have more references,” Aspen said with a melancholic smile.

"Ah, sorry," murmured Calem, feeling embarrassed about bringing up something Aspen probably felt sad about.

Aspen chuckled and said, “Nah, it's fine. We've already moved on, a year is a long time, but we'll always remember her in our hearts. And we're not going on a journey just because Sage said so, we wanted to do this too. Right Beo? “

“Skiddo~,” said Beo with a nod. Aspen added, “We've been planning to for a long time now actually, just didn't think we'd do it due to Sage's passing.“

It was getting awkward so Aspen attempted to change the conversation, "So, where are you from? Did you just become a trainer too?" he said turning the questions to Calem.

Calem rubbed his neck and said sheepishly, "Looks like I was the only one asking questions," he said with a laugh then continued, "I'm from Vaniville Town, and yes, I just became a trainer too, about a week ago."

He then took a Pokeball from his knapsack and released a Pokemon. A red blur came out of the ball which quickly formed the outline of a small bipedal Pokemon, which became clearer as it landed on the ground, finally revealing what it was, a Chespin, a brown-skinned bipedal creature with a green spikey helmet on top of its head.

"Chespin! Ches!~" cried cutely the now released Pokemon. He looked at his trainer puzzled as to why he was let out, not that it was unusual; he was always outside his ball, just not this time.

"Meet Almond, my Chespin. Al, this is Aspen, he just became a trainer, say hi." Calem gestured to his Chespin to greet Aspen, which the Pokemon did in kind by looking at Aspen and crying 'Ches!~'.

"I'm not sure why, but Professor Sycamore decided to sponsor Vaniville's upcoming trainers this year, meaning me and my friends who had just started our Journey. That's how I got Almond as my partner, the prof. gave us starters and a Pokedex, and he would also give us a weekly allowance for basic necessities such as food and medicine, money for hotels or inns isn't included though, we'd have to figure out how and where to get those on our own," Calem said as he took out a red thin square device.

Aspen eyed the device he assumed to be the Pokedex. It was square-shaped and very thin, as thin as a pencil, with a metal body painted red on the front and black on the back, and the whole device was separated in half by a glass circle-shaped design.

Confused as to where the screen was supposed to be considering the glass part at the center was only as wide as a ruler and a ping pong ball, "That's supposed to be a Pokedex? How do you use it?" he inquired, his tone doubtful.

"I can see why you're confused; I was too when I first got it," Calem explained as he gripped both ends of the Pokedex and pulled. For a brief moment, Aspen worried that the device might split in half, but his fears were unfounded as the Pokedex stretched and lit up, followed by a mechanical sound signaling that the Pokedex was powered on and ready to use.

Aspen looked at the device in wonder. It reminded him of a flip phone, but instead of flipping it, you stretch it. Calem noticed his expression and offered him the Pokedex, asking, "Wanna try it?"

He nodded and took the device, hovering it over Chespin. The Pokedex vibrated a single time alongside a 'Ting!~' tone and booted a line of text detailing all about the Pokemon Chespin.

"I disabled the audio option and just converted it to text, didn't want to scare whatever Pokemon I used the dex on," said Calem as he noticed Aspen waiting for the voice function. Aspen nodded, thinking that it was indeed better to mute that function if he was hunting Pokemon.

He returned the Pokedex to Calem, "Thanks for letting me try, not often do you meet trainers who have a Pokedex," he said in a joyful tone, then asked, "So, I'm done with this, do I need to do anything else?" shaking the papers with his hand.

“Yeah, just need to pass that to nurse Joy to finish everything. But you should really put your Skidd- I mean Beo in a Pokeball if you want her to battle in gyms,” Calem said, “I can give you one if you want, as compensation for me being a little rude before,“ ending it with a laugh.

“No! It's okay, that's a Pokemart right? “ Aspen inquired, pointing to the right side of the room, “I'll just buy one there, I've got a fair amount of Pokedollars from Sage's savings,” he said while making a thumbs up, not even a bit guilty about using his foster mother's money.

Although Aspen said all those to deny the gift, Calem insisted, picking a ball item with a red top and a white bottom from his bag, a Pokeball, and passing it to Aspen, saying, "If you won't accept it as compensation, take it as a token of our new friendship... I mean, we are friends, right?" smiling, he handed Aspen the Pokeball.

Aspen chuckled as he shook his head, smiling as he accepted the Pokeball, "Thank you."

Calem just grinned and said nothing. Aspen looked at Abeona and motioned for her to come closer, listening to her brother she walked towards him.

“Would you like a Pokeball, Beo? You don't have to if you don't want,” Aspen said nonchalantly as he put out his right hand, holding the Pokeball. He didn't care, if Beo didn't want to battle then so be it, wouldn't change anything.

Beo merely stared at the Pokeball for a few seconds before pressing her forehead on the Pokeball's center, a small white circle protruding from it. A mechanical sound of something being absorbed rang out as her entire body glowed red and was sucked into the suddenly open Pokeball.

The Pokeball promptly closed once the Skiddo was completely taken in. The ball did not move an inch, indicating that Beo did not resist the capture.

“I guess this is where I say 'I caught a Skiddo!' right?“ Aspen murmured with a chuckle. “Yeah! That's the spirit!“ answered Calem in a bright tone, which made Aspen shake his head and chuckle even more.

Aspen stared at the Pokeball in his palm for a few seconds before pressing the button in the center and pointing it in front of him, releasing Abeona. The ball opened and a red light came out which quickly formed the body of Beo. She looked around and spotted Aspen and ran towards him in a skip crying “Skii~ Skii~” looking very excited.

“What? did you like it that much?“ said Aspen laughing as he played around with Beo, he looked at Calem who was smiling at them, and said, “I'll just pass these papers to nurse Joy and then register Beo.“

Aspen took the documents and headed to the reception area, where nurse Joy was waiting. She noticed him approaching her, assuming Aspen was probably finished or had questions, and smiled at him, asking, "Done?"

"Yup, nurse Joy, I just finished signing them, and I also want to register Beo, my Skiddo," Aspen remarked as he handed the nurse his registration forms.

Nurse Joy checked them as she flipped through the papers, sometimes taking a bit of time at a particular section and humming as she read what Aspen wrote.

"I don't see anything wrong with the paper, you're basically done, only a picture for your trainer ID and an hour of waiting and you'll officially be a trainer, congratulations," she says after a few seconds, smiling. "And simply give me your Skiddo's Pokeball tomorrow or when you get your ID to register your Skiddo."

“Thanks!“ Aspen replied with a huge smile, eager to finally officially begin his journey. Then he remembered that he and Beo didn't have any place to stay for the night. “Nurse Joy, do you know where I could sleep tonight? A hotel or something.“

Nurse Joy was about to answer when she was cut off by Calem, “The Pokemon centers have cheap lodgings for trainers, I already booked one, we can share!“ he said smiling.

“Yes, we offer as said by trainer Calem, 'Cheap' but quality lodgings just above, the 2nd floor, the payment is only for the room and not by the number of occupants so sharing is allowed, as long as you don't damage any properties of the center,” nurse Joy added.

'Wow, that's convenient. And there's even a Pokemart inside the building just at the side, really convenient. Guess I'll be using Pokemon centers as lodgings from now on, at least until I find a better deal somewhere, which is unlikely,' Aspen mused as he nodded along to Joy's explanation and rules.

“You can get your trainer ID and freebies in an hour, or tomorrow morning if you prefer. Just come here to the reception area if you want to accept them, and have a pleasant night,” she said, bowing in a Japanese style.

“I'll pick it up in the morning then, nurse Joy. Thanks again.“ Aspen said as he followed Calem up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor followed the color scheme of the first floor, with white and lines that give off a modernized feel. A hallway stretching from the stairs to the other side was layout on the second floor, with rooms with numbers attached to the doors at the sides.

"Our room number is 13," Calem said without looking at Aspen, simply looking forward and walking. Aspen nodded in response, doing the same as Calem, merely taking in the sights, after all, he might utilize this feature regularly in the future.

Some doors on the side had plants, while others did not, and there were a few photos here and there, making the hallway feel less vacant.

After a few seconds of walking, they finally reached their destination, room 13. Using the card key nurse Joy had given them, they opened the door and entered the room.

It was furnished with a single bed on the right side and a table and chair in the center. The room was also air-conditioned, and there was a wall-type closet on the left side of the room where they found a few sleeping mats, most likely for trainers who chose to share rooms because there was only one bed.

Aspen took the blue sleeping mats, which were thick and fluffy enough to feel like a proper bed. 'I guess nurse Joy didn't lie about the quality, these are really excellent for a room this cheap,' he mused as he settled into his sleeping mat.

At first, Calem wanted to share, to sleep in the same bed as he felt awful taking the better bed for himself, but it would have already been too much thought Aspen; he had already paid for the room, so he should at least sleep in the proper bed.

The room was small. If multiple Aspen's lined up on their sides only 8 of them would fit, so Beo had to go back inside her ball as the room was too small to accommodate the three of them comfortably.

Aspen reached inside his large backpack and pulled out two wooden lunch boxes that stuck together to form a large lunch box wrapped in black rubber to keep them in place, as well as various wooden cutlery such as a wooden spoon and fork. He then took out a large water bottle filled with river water and glanced at Calem, saying, “Wanna eat now? or have you eaten dinner already? “

Calem had a blank look on his face as he watched Aspen take out all those items, he only awoke when Aspen spoke to him, "Wow, you're pretty prepared, huh?" he chuckled. "But no, haven't eaten yet. Can I have some in exchange for my crackers?" he added with a grin, putting out his hand clutching the see-through plastic wrap he took out from his bag packed with what Aspen assumed to be crackers.

Shaking his head, Aspen opened the lunch box, and inside was dried Magicarp. He held out the lunch box with the dried Magicarp to Calem and asked, “Want some? dried Magicarp, tastes bland but it's meat.“

“Sure, thanks. Take these crackers to go with it,” said Calem as he gave Aspen some of his crackers. He then noticed the other lunch box and asked, “What's inside that one? “

"That's for Beo, I'm going to send her out to eat too if you don't mind," Aspen said, looking at where he was pointing.

Calem shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind. Aspen then grabbed Beo's Pokeball and let her out. The Skiddo upon getting out of her Pokeball looked around confused about why she was let out.

“You weren't able to photosynthesize during our way here. I was riding on your back remember? “ asked Aspen to the Skiddo who nodded, remembering that Aspen had indeed ridden on her back the whole trip. “You're probably hungry right now," he added and continued by saying, "Sit down and I'll prepare your Pokeblocks. green your favorite ones,” which got the Skiddo excited.

“You know how to make Pokeblocks?“ Calum inquired. It was like learning that your friend knew how to bake a cake, not that hard, you could learn how to do one if you studied how but not a skill you would expect from a guy friend. Except if the said friend worked as a Chef or any job related to cuisine.

Aspen opened the other wooden lunch box, which contained green Pokeblocks. When Beo saw that, she got thrilled, drolling a little and whining at Aspen to hurry up. Her brother merely chuckled as he handed out the Pokeblocks to his impatient little sister.

“Yeah, Sage taught me how to make them. Said they're tasty for Pokemon, and I should learn how to make tasty food for Beo.“ Aspen chuckled, remembering the fond memory.

Calum nodded along as he ate his crackers alongside a few Magicarp slices of meat, he then glanced at the Pokeblocks and said, “I heard humans can eat Pokeblocks. Can I have one? I'm rather curious about the taste.“

Abeona whined hearing that not finding the idea of sharing her favorite food pleasant. “C'mon Beo, it's just one,” Aspen chided.

Beo, although not liking the idea, still gave a piece to Calem who said he didn't really want one that much after seeing the Pokemon's expression but still took it after Beo insisted. If she planned to give then she will give, she's stubborn that way.

Calem looked at the thumb-sized green cube in wonder, sniffing it but finding that it doesn't emit any odor. He shrugs and pops it in his mouth, and immediately regrets his decision.

“Euch! Huuk! W-what is this?“ Calem coughed as he choked on the Pokeblock. 'Bitter! ' he thought as he was about to spit it out when he saw the Skiddo's expression, it was as if she was saying 'Spit it out and you die' with just her face. Fighting the urge to puke, Calem forced himself to swallow despite feeling as if his tongue was burning from the bitterness.

Aspen's face fell as he looked at Calem, he said, “Oh my god! I am so sorry! I totally forgot that green Pokeblocks are very bitter, I was just so excited about being a trainer and everything. Here have some water!“ he finished saying as he quickly handed Calem his big bottle of water.

Quickly accepting the bottle, he drank it down, chugging it as if he was parched from not drinking anything for a week. Still coughing he wiped his mouth with his arm and said, “N-no, it's my fault. As they say—cough!—, curiosity killed the cat,” while still coughing from the leftover bitterness.

“Skiddo~” Abeona murmured as she shook her head, disappointed at the human's display. Calem chuckled at Beo's reaction, “You have an… acquired taste.“

“Beo's liked bitter things even when she was still very young. She even sometimes steals Sage's coffee, and a few times her coffee beans,” said with a wry grin, handing some more water and some fruits to Calem. “Here, eat these Lum berries too, they're sweet,” said Aspen as he handed the berries to Calem.

Popping one in his mouth, even though he was slightly hesitant about it remembering what happened to him when he ate one carelessly, he is pleasantly surprised because it was incredibly sweet, exactly like Aspen stated.

Aspen guessed what Calem was thinking from his look and remarked, "Lum berries are delicious if they're ripe, it changes flavors based on the maturity of the fruit. An example is when they're too ripe, instead of being sweet, they're bitter, and if almost rotting, sour."

“In fact, I made those green Pokeblocks from overripened Lum berries,” he casually added, making Calem choke on the fruit. “You learn something new every day,” Calem chuckled.

They continued eating in silence with the occasional chitchat and soon cleaned up once they were done. Aspen picked up Abeona's Pokeball and said, “You should come inside now girl. Even now it's kind of crowded in here, I'll let you out as much as you want tomorrow.“ Beo nodded, though she whined, and returned as Aspen pressed the return function of the Pokeball.

The room became much looser after Beo went inside her Pokeball. They both nestled under their blankets and turned out the lights, eager to sleep because they needed the energy to continue their journey the next day.

Amidst the dark and silent room slightly illuminated by the outside moonlight, only faint breathing noises could be heard, that is until Calem spoke, “You awake Aspen?“ he asked.

“Yeah, why?“ he answered, already having his eyes closed.

"You've been quite cool and we kinda get along, so I was thinking if you'd like to travel with," Calem said, looking up at the ceiling, which was somewhat illuminated by the faint light coming through the open-curtained window. "Partners and all that," he added.

"I need to talk with Beo about this," Aspen answered after a few seconds of thought. "I... we honestly don't have any ideas on what to do. Although I said we've been planning on leaving at some point in time, that was just it, leaving," he paused, searching for the proper phrase to say, and continued, “If we do decide to travel with someone else, we'd also like to travel with you, just saying.“

“That's enough for me,” he chuckled, “Good night.“

Aspen turned in his sleep and muttered back, “Good night.“

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