Pokemon Slate Gray

Season 1 - Episode 05: New Dawn

After locating the set of keys his mother had used to let them into their new house the day before, Slate locked up and set out with his new Cryote friend by his side. They munched on cereal bars from Professor Larch's bag of goods as they made the journey down to Marcona Village. Slate's mingled feelings of excitement, nervousness and fear overwhelmed any taste the breakfast food may have had, but the pup seemed to enjoy his.

In the light of day, Almony Island looked quite different. There was movement here and there, of people and cars heading off to work in the village or the mainland beyond; and the air was full of the smell of seawater, the buzzing and chirping of unseen bug Pokémon, and the flapping wings of distant bird Pokémon in the bright, clear sky. It would have been an idyllic setting if not for the knowledge of the previous night's events.

Slate wondered how many of the occupants of the nearby houses had seen or heard the fleet of black cars that had rolled in like a storm and taken his mother. Had his new neighbors been aware of the danger of Team Shade? Were things so bad in Nutera that people were afraid to intervene or even speak out? Or had they simply chosen to ignore the ruckus caused by the circling helicopter?

He resolved to find out. Once his mother was safe, Slate would investigate Team Shade and Silph Co., if they were indeed one and the same as Professor Larch hypothesized, and he would gather all the information he could on them. With enough data, his mother would be able to expose them with one of her scathing newspaper articles. Maybe then, things in Nutera would improve and the professor could come out of hiding.

Lost in thought, Slate had not noticed their arrival at the winding road that led down to the village below. Thankfully, as he and the Cryote descended, they did not come across any more Mardupe. However, they did spot several bird Pokémon that Slate did not recognize, which quickly flew away upon sighting the pair, and three small, red bug Pokémon, which did not.

They were gathered near the spot where the Mardupe had attacked. Apparently, Slate had missed a couple of the items that had escaped from his grocery bag. They appeared to be gathering up the remains of a torn packet of dried pasta.

"What are those?" Slate said to himself and the Pokédex attached to the bag strap across his chest came to life with a *ping*. It identified the bug Pokémon and read their entry aloud, then Slate unclipped the Pokédex for a look at their detailed information.

SPECIES: #016 Akant
DERIVATION: Aka (JP: Red) + Ant
CATEGORY: Forager
COLORING: Red / Orange / Yellow
TYPE: Bug / Fire
ABILITIES: Unnerve / Swarm / Strong Jaw
DETAILS: Like soldiers, these Pokémon march single file in search of food to present to their Queen. They are not generally hostile but will attack en masse if their work is interrupted or their colony is threatened.

The larger of the three snapped its pincers in warning as they approached. "Easy, Boy, just let them be," Slate said to the Cryote at his feet, which had begun growling. It glared at the wild Akant but followed Slate's lead, walking around them at a safe distance.

They weren't bothered by any more Pokémon after that but as they made their way into town, they came across a queue of traffic. Upon turning the corner, Slate could see that the cars were backed up into the distance in the direction of the island's edge. Rather than take the shortcut to Professor Larch's house, he headed up the high street to see what was causing the unmoving procession of honking cars.

Along the way, Slate noted that there weren't as many shops as he had thought and none of them were very big. There was, however, an unremarkable-looking Pokémon Gym in the center of town. He'd have mistaken it for any other shop if not for its awning and windows sporting the official Pokémon League logo. On the opposite side of the street, he spotted an herbalist shop but there didn't appear to be a Pokémon Center anywhere around, which he thought was odd for a town with a Gym. He supposed it was a sign of how reliant the Island was on the regular ferry service.