Adventures Beyond!

Chapter 56: A Mother's Guilt

---

Forest Grotto, Sinnoh

The forest was silent. After a recent incident, the sound of children exploring the forest would be abundant, irritating those who were in the forest for other reasons, like to isolate themselves from other Pokémon in the first place. But that sound was all but gone today. The forest was empty. This was a rare sight. The rustling of leaves above could finally be heard again, the small bug-like Pokémon going about their business as a part of the forest's ecosystem. The ecosystem that had only just recently returned to some semblance of normality.

The forest was vibrant. The damage built up after nine years of constant war, as well as the most recent incident, was finally beginning to repair itself. The grass kicked up by what seemed to be a monster was beginning to regrow. Rainfall washed and eroded the broken trees, which soon became stumps that Bug-Types could call home. Once again, the forest was free. The forest was free to all.

The forest was home.

A small Pokémon strolled through the thick and lush forest, their eyes gently tracing around what they saw. Despite having lived in a free Grotto for a while now, there couldn't help to be a bit of uncertainty bubbling within the hearts of the citizens of Forest Grotto. Was it because they feared that the monster haunting them for nearly a decade would return somehow? Or maybe because many still weren't used to the idea of emergency drills, days of being cooped up within their homes, and the dreadful roaring on many sleepless nights.

Regardless of the reason. A free Forest Grotto was still a new experience for many. Most being children who have spent most— if not all of their lives in fear of the one they would call Nidoking.

Strapped to the Pokemon's back was a bag woven together using thick strands of long grass, which was filled to capacity with berries, nuts, and even a few fish. They would be eating good for breakfast. Ever since Nidoking was exiled, there was an increase in resources returning to the parts close to the town area, and even around the forest surrounding it. This made it easier to collect raw food to cook and eat.

The Pokémon let out a sigh, "Those guys are probably starving by now..."

Using a rope to tie the bag closed, the Pokémon stopped to look up at the trees overhead. This would do. Their bandaged paws gripping the bag and holding it tight, the Pokémon began running to the base of a tree, using it to jump off of and utilizing their elongated tail with what seemed to be a hand at the end to grab onto a nearby branch.

The Pokémon swung around the branch, landing on top of it gracefully, "I should probably pick up the pace if I want to eat breakfast, visit Ms. Lucy, and get back to the treehouse before noon..."

Jumping from the branch to another, the Pokémon began making their way to their destination, a treehouse in the middle of the sprawling forest.

The Pokémon in question was an Aipom named Leah. Now the leader of a small team stationed within a treehouse in the forest, Leah found herself taking on a ton of responsibility after the original leader, a Scorbunny named Logan, decided to go and explore the wider region with the travelers that came to Forest Grotto and became essential to the takedown of Nidoking. She was proud of her friend, seeing that he hadn't come home in a full body cast yet. Some of the members of the team bet that Logan wouldn't last too long without talking his usual shit to the wrong Pokémon and ending up back home with grievous injuries.

But seeing how long it's been since she had seen him, Leah assumed that he was doing just fine out there, wherever he was.

Swinging into a small clearing, Leah could see the familiar wooden balcony of the place she and many others had been calling their home for what seemed to be her whole life. The team treehouse. It took her and Logan years of hard labor, blood, sweat and tears to build the structure, especially in the beginning where they had to collect a replenishable supply of wood, and establish a proper starting point. Despite all of the challenges, they made their own home. She and Logan had been invited by the head of the Forest Grotto Pokémon Center, Lucy, to live in the building free of charge, but this wasn't an agreement that Logan was very comfortable with, Leah agreeing with the sentiment. They did, however, stay there for the years it took to build the treehouse.