Rayla's Ascent

Ilex Forest: Chapter 4

   
"W-what is it, Horsea?"

        Ledian looks at her in confusion as the Horsea begins wandering off down the stream. The two follow the little seahorse for a moment until Horsea jumps out of the water as high as it can. Rayla follows the image of her new friend as it ascends into the air, almost reaching the treeline. When Horsea starts to fall, however, Rayla's eyes stay glued to the ceiling of trees, her mouth trembling in a curious panic.

    There, nestled on the edge of an oak branch, is a small yet peculiar Pokemon. A Pokemon that Rayla has never seen before.

    It is very small, probably small enough to fit inside Rayla's satchel. It has two fluttering wings that sprinkle yellow dust with every waft. Its skin (or gills) shines in the light in a beautiful turquoise green. Its head is doubly larger than the rest of its body and is shaped almost like an artichoke, or maybe artichokes are shaped like it.

    Rayla doesn't know why, but for some reason, it seems like this Pokemon can see her, and is watching her. Not like how a normal Pokemon would, but like how another Human would.

    Is it... Is it Human? No, It can't be. But why does it feel so... familiar?

    As if on cue, the Pokemon turns and flutters away, slow enough for Rayla to watch in admiration. Almost as if it wanted Rayla to follow it.

    So that's what Rayla does. She recalls both of her Pokemon into their Pokeballs and runs after the odd creature, without ever losing sight of it. After a short few minutes, the creature flies down and rests upon a large mossy stone. It rests right in the middle of a clearing where the natural light from the moon shines down perfectly onto its face as if it were the star of a theater play. It hovers gently over the stone until it falls awkwardly, catching its breath in exhaustion after landing. Without any hesitation, Rayla pulls her Pokedex from her satchel.

    "Celebi: The Mythical Time Travel Pokemon," says the robotic voice of the Pokedex artificial intelligence. It pauses before continuing as if it is at a loss for words and is searching frantically to find more information in its vast database; something that Rayla has never seen happen from any Pokedex, let alone the one she used to scan almost every species found in the Johto Region.

    "Celebi is said to have the power to travel across time, but will only appear in times of peace. They find their homes in places void of life such as mountain ranges or dense forests. Folktales say that when a Celebi travels across time, it leaves behind its egg to eventually guard the place it once called home."

    "Celebi..." she whispers. "Why are you here?"

    Then, her attention turns to a small ball of fur at the base of the stone. The middle seems to rise and fall ever so faintly as if a simple breath were cause for exhaustion. "Is it because of this?"

    Rayla leans closer to further examine the creature and is in complete surprise when Celebi doesn't move an inch upon her intrusion. She imagined that a mythical Pokemon would be skittish to humans, but this one seems pleasant and comfortable; almost happy with Rayla's presence. She reaches down and curves her hand behind the small creature reminiscent of a ball of snow and lifts it up into her embrace. It's small enough to hold in the palm of her hands but the sheer coldness being emitted from its fur makes Rayla immediately respond by wrapping her arms around it and hugging it in hopes of warming it up. However, what seemed like a good idea turns into a sudden realization when Celebi uses psychic powers to remove one of Rayla's arms from atop the creature.

    "You're..." she gasps, taking in the extent of the small fox-like animal in her arms. Its frozen snout exhales icy wind; its pale blue eyes shatter the night sky's reflection as it looks up at Rayla in worry and confusion. "You're not from here, are you? Pokedex, what is this?"

    The Pokedex phone beeps before scanning the creature, but shudders to find information just as it did with Celebi.

    "Error. The identified Pokemon appears in no current update of the National Pokedex. Please submit a field test for further identification."

    A small cartridge pops out from the side of the Pokedex with a small tag that reads SAMPLE.

    "A DNA field test, huh?" Rayla stammers eagerly. "I never thought I'd be able to actually perform one of these."

    She looks at Celebi who still hovers above the rock. It doesn't seem very intent on leaving anytime soon. Rather, it seems to be curious about what Rayla will do with the frail creature. She pets the Pokemon on the side and her fingers instantly become wet with frost. She plucks a small hair from its body, gently enough to not harm the creature, and deposits it in the sample cartridge. Upon closing, the Pokedex buzzes for a few moments before chiming a tone of completion.

    "The identified Pokemon shares 62% DNA with Vulpix: The Fox Pokemon. The identified Pokemon may be a new species of Vulpix not yet discovered by Oak Labs or any of its sister companies. It is advised to leave the Pokemon undisturbed in its natural habitat and report the finding to your nearest Pokemon Research Lab."

    "Curious little fella, where are you from?" Rayla says softly as she caresses the Vulpix's chilly ears. Her voice quivered from the thought of this Pokemon being so far from home. Did Celebi bring it here? If so, then why?

    Celebi suddenly bursts into flight, fluttering its wings and dropping mystical dust around the mossy stone, clearly struggling as it ascends towards the opening of the tree canopy. As Rayla watches from below, she realizes what Celebi is trying to show her, and why Celebi brought her there in the first place.    
    Standing boldly, barely visible through the trees but bright enough to see every detail at a closer glance sits the peak of Johto's biggest mountain glaring back at her with its menacing gaze.

    Mount Silver.

    That's where I need to go.

    Rayla releases Ledian from its Pokeball and hands the baby Vulpix over to him. His six soft glove-like hands aren't necessarily cold, but they'll have to make do for now.

    "Don't worry, Vulpix. We'll get you to a nice shelter where you can live comfortably." She almost bursts into tears at the thought of the weakness and terror that the poor cub must feel right now, but she knows that the only way to save the Vulpix is for her to be brave. "We'll get you to Mount Silver safely, I promise."

    The Vulpix seems to have understood her and finds solace in her promise because as soon as Rayla thanks Celebi and begins walking away, the Vulpix falls into a deep comforting sleep in the arms of Ledian.