Where Freedom Lies [Pokémon Horizons X Male Reader]

Prologue| Big Dreamers

At the break of dawn, a myriad of flying-type Pokémon soared through the skies of Paldea. Their wings stretched wide, catching the early morning breeze that propelled them forward, gliding effortlessly through the soft hues of the waking sky. The wind ruffled their feathers, carrying them higher as they cut through the air with grace and freedom.

"Amazing!" A young boy looking up at the birds commented with stars in his eyes, his worn out clothes softly flowing with the wind. "I wanna fly too!" He smiled at the free nature of the avian creatures, a nature he wished to possess, too.

But alas, life wasn't as generous as the boy wished. Humans were bound by the earth, incapable of soaring through the skies like the winged Pokémon he admired. The freedom they possessed, gliding effortlessly through the air, was a gift forever out of his reach—a thought that filled him with quiet frustration.

A deep growl from his stomach interrupted his brooding. With a sigh, he shook his head, forcing away the gloomy thoughts. He couldn't afford to dwell on such fantasies. Not when he hadn't eaten since the previous day. His first priority had to be survival, no matter how much he longed to keep watching the skies.

Growing up in poverty had taught him many hard lessons, especially without a parent or guardian to guide him. But what he hated most about his situation were the endless sacrifices. Every day, his joy was overshadowed by the need to focus on basic necessities. Every bit of fun, every fleeting moment of peace, had to be sacrificed. It was survival or death.

And no child of eight should ever have to make that choice.

He scanned the area, eyes flicking between stalls as he searched for his next meal. His gaze settled on a newly opened food stand, its display bursting with fresh fruits and berries, ripe and inviting. Without drawing attention, he shifted his focus away from the stand, casually weaving through the crowd as he slowly approached his target, careful not to catch the shopkeeper's eye.

As soon as he got within reach of the food, his hands shot forward, stretching impossibly far to snatch whatever he could grasp. With arms full of whatever his fingers closed around, he turned on his heel and bolted.

The boy weaved through the bustling market with practiced ease, his small frame slipping through the crowd like a shadow. His bare feet barely made a sound against the cobblestone street, and his eyes darted from side to side, scanning for a quick escape route. The shopkeeper's voice echoed behind him, but he didn't dare glance back.

Some of the bystanders blinked out of their shock, murmuring amongst themselves, but none moved to give chase. After all, who would bother with a street urchin?

A nervous smile crept onto the boy's face as adrenaline surged through his veins. Although he couldn't fly as he wished, running like this felt like the closest thing to it. For that reason he kept on running, even though he was long in the clear, he wanted to savor the rush. His feet pounded against the ground, his torn shoes doing little to protect him from the harsh impact. His soles started to bleed, but he barely noticed—the sheer joy of the moment drowned out any pain. And so the nervous smile that previously marked his face transformed into one that could only be described as a smile of euphoria.

He had no idea how long he'd been running, but he wasn't paying attention to that—not that it would matter if he did. The sensation of his body slicing through the wind, his legs working at full power, and his heart racing all sent him into a euphoric rush. For once, even if just for a moment, he could be the child he never got to be.

With his impressive speed, the boy quickly reached his destination: a crumbling cottage deep within the Paldean forests. The structure looked ready to collapse in on itself. The door had been destroyed long before the boy had started calling this place home. The walls were riddled with holes and clawed with scratch marks, and the roof—much like the door—was gone entirely, leaving the interior exposed to the elements.