Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 9: The Watchtower

After a few battles with wild Pokémon, Heather's new Joltik was out of stored electricity. It attached itself to a sleeping Electrike, to steal the electricity stored in its long fur, while she gathered Large Leeks and mushrooms. At least she was an expert forager. Scorbunny heated water in her cooking pot and tossed in the pasta she brought from Orre. As the aroma of properly-cooked mushrooms wafted through the area, a boy in a Pikachu onesie peered out from behind a tree. He was about to approach to feign desperate hunger, but someone grabbed him from behind and he morphed back into what he actually was, a Zorua. It was no regular Zorua. It was just like the Zoroark: white with ghostly red tufts of billowing fur. Its eyes were amber.

Well, where there's a weird Zorua or Zoroark, there must be a weird schoolboy.

By the time she sprang to her feet, there was no sign of Zorua or its Trainer. She did learn two things from that encounter. The Zorua definitely wasn't a Shadow Pokémon and it definitely was a Zorua, which meant the other one was definitely a Zoroark. They definitely weren't shiny, either. They were different forms that Heather – and all the scientists she knew – had never seen before.

Triton asked N if he had ever seen a white Zoroark or Zorua. After all, before starting a family, N and Hilda travelled the world to meet as many Pokémon as possible. If someone had seen one, it might have been him, but he hadn't.

What was that boy doing in the Wild Area, anyway? While Heather released Dragapult to check if she was being watched, a chunk of hail landed in Scorbunny's bowl. The Ice-type Pokémon congregating around a distant, crumbling tower caused a whistling blizzard that was audible from miles away. It was intensified by the chill brought by their Ghost-type friends.

Dragapult and the Dreepy in its cannons quickly searched the area and spoke with Dreepy living in dens. They were sure no-one was watching Heather. Dragapult did, however, point towards the tower.

'He went that way?'

Dragapult nodded. Scorbunny stood with paws on hips and a wide grin. It was already enjoying feeling like a secret agent. Heather stroked its ears again. As Scorbunny helped her clean and pack up, the fully-charged Joltik darted to gulp down the remnants of Scorbunny's pasta.

'Was he alone, Dragapult?'

Dragapult nodded again. Scorbunny climbed onto Heather's shoulder. Joltik lodged itself comfortably in her hair. She returned Dragapult. The grass squelched under her boots.

I'll work you out, whoever you are. You're a walking Team Plasma commercial with your Snag Machine and weird Pokémon.

Orre's deserts did get cold at night, especially around Eclo Canyon and Mt. Battle where Heather spent much of her childhood, but she wasn't used to blizzards. The biting cold cut straight through her varsity jacket. Scorbunny jumped off her shoulder into her arms and folded its feet so it didn't set fire to her clothes. Now she was warm enough. By the time she had been walking for almost an hour and lost count of the wild Pokémon she battled, she actually began to sweat.

Creeping through the frosty tall grass, she spotted a shivering Snorunt. Professor Jovi Mesquite did recently introduce a variety of Ice-type Pokémon to Orre, including the Snorunt family, but it was the first time Heather saw one in the wild. A steady stream of freezing wind blew from the mouth of its father Glalie. Heather managed to catch Snorunt without either of them spotting her. The Pokédex app told her it was female. She needed to find a Dawn Stone so it could evolve into Froslass.

Scorbunny and Joltik were hungry again after all their battles with wild Pokémon. Heather didn't want to stop for dinner in the middle of a blizzard. She handed out snacks and continued walking, though she could hardly see where she was going. That didn't bother her. It wasn't unlike navigating a sandstorm.