PokéFarm - A Story

Prologue

"My dear Ku-chan,

How are you? How is your life in the "big city"?

It has been a while since you last visited our village, do you still recall those days?

I'm sorry if this letter of mine reaches you at a bad time, but I would truly like you to visit me as soon as possible. I know, it is a strange request from your Grandpa's old friend who you might not even remember anymore, but you are my last hope.

I'll explain it to you when you come to visit.

Hope to see you soon.

Yours,

Yamada Haruhiko"

It was a sunny day in March, just a few days before the beginning of spring. The Flying Taxi landed near its stop. "Thank you so much, have a nice day!", the young man said, paid and got off. He was wearing a red and white cap, dark sunglasses, a simple, bright blue hoodie, and black jeans over new, white sneakers. The boy took a big rucksack out of the taxi and put it on his shoulders, which made him seem like a not-so-well-prepared hiker. Corviknight cried, energetically beat a few times its huge wings, and took off, while the young man was checking his smartphone.

"Yamada-san's farm should be nearby... to the left?", he mumbled as he blindly followed the indications of his GPS.

Half an hour later, he finally arrived at his destination.

"Is this... Yamada-san's farm?!", he exclaimed surprised, taking off his sunglasses. The house he was in front of was shabby and had most likely been abandoned for years: the doorknob of the front door was falling off; the windows were all closed and sealed with their old, half-broken shutters. Yellowish paint was coming off the walls and some Joltiks had made the sealing of the porch their home. No kidding, what is this place? On the doorbell, he could just barely read what seemed to be the name "Yamada". It should have been the right place then. The young man tried to ring the bell, but no sound was heard, so he tried knocking on the old, worn down door and yelled: "Hello? Yamada-san? Is anybody home?"

"He's not here anymore.", answered a female voice.

"Oh my God! You almost scared me to death!", he said holding his hand on his chest. The girl seemed to be his age, perhaps a few years younger, and she was wearing a white dress and a big straw hat. Copper red, long, curly hair framed her small and beautiful face which had a weary expression on it.

"Who might you be?", she asked without turning her emerald gaze away from the unusual guest. The young man took off his sunglasses, showing his dark brown eyes.

"Yes, hum, I'm sorry, My name is Kurran Oakley. My Grandpa was Yamada-san's best friend and..."

The girl's expression abruptly brightened. "Ku-chan? Is that really you? Unbelievable!" She laughed. "It's me, Karin, Yamada-san's granddaughter, do you remember me?"

Kurran widened his eyes. "Rin-chan? Wow, look at you! I wouldn't have recognized you at all. It has been quite a while, ten years or something like that?"

"More or less, yes. How have you been? Your family never visited the village again after selling your grandparent's house."

"Oh well, you know, after Grandpa died, there was nothing left to do here, so... But it's a long story..."

Karin laughed and took Kurran's hand. "We have all day to catch up! But let's talk in front of a cup of tea, shall we? I was just on my way back home on my wagon when I saw you banging on my gramps' old door." Karin pointed to an empty, wooden farm wagon standing on the road. A beautiful Mudsdale was patiently waiting in front of it.

"Sure, why not?"

Karin tugged Kurran to the wagon and asked him to take off his rucksack and to put it on the back. Kurran did as she said and as soon as he was seated near Karin on the front, she softly snapped the reins and Mudsdale began to pull.

"So, tell me Ku-chan, how comes that after all these years I finally meet you at my grandfather's farm?" Karin smiled at Kurran, her hair softly moved by the wind.

"Well, actually I was contacted by Yamada-san himself. He sent me a letter a while ago saying he had to tell me something important and that it had to be in person, but there was no address nor phone number on it, so I couldn't answer right away. Is he alright?"

Karin didn't reply right away. "I'm so sorry, Ku-chan. If I had known about it, I would have phoned you..." She stopped as she tried to hold back her tears. "Gramps has died a few days ago."

Kurran was shocked. "Oh. I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't be, how could you have known? He had left the farm seven years ago, because of some serious health issues and... Well, you saw what became of it. My family couldn't take care of it and gramps just did not want to sell, so..."

"I see."

The marvelous day seemed to get colder, all of a sudden. Then Karin decided to change the subject.

"So tell me, how is life going in the capital? I heard that you started an important job in an office after graduation, didn't you?"

Kurran smirked. "And how comes you're so well informed?"

"I have my sources, you know? Let's just say that your sister and I are still pretty close, even though she's overseas and we chat just a few times a month." Karin blinked at him.

"Oh, you do? Well, that's funny, even my parents can't get in touch with her that easily and I last heard of her on Christmas."

"Never underestimate friendship between girls, Ku-chan.", she said laughing. Kurran rolled his eyes and decided to let it be. "So? Tell me about your big job in that office.", Karin insisted.

"Oh, well, it's... erm... I was fired last week."

"What?! Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked. What happened?"

"Nothing much. They had to cut costs. You know how it works nowadays, it's no one's fault, but still... I needed a change of air, so I decided to visit Yamada-san."

Karin put her hand on Kurran's, making him blush a little. Her palm was warm and soft and... "You did the right thing coming to Postwick." She smiled at him, making his heartbeat rise. "I'm happy you're here."

"Oh... well... ohm... th-thanks." Kurran stammered. He was somewhat relieved when Karin took her hand away, but also a bit sad.

"By the way, do you have a place to stay? Johnson's Tavern is closed for holidays, you know."

"Are you serious?! Oh, damn it! I was so sure that he would have a room free, I didn't even bother to check if they were open or not."

Karin laughed wholeheartedly. "That's so you, Ku-chan! But don't you worry, you can stay at our house, mum and dad will be thrilled to see you again."

Kurran sighed with relief. "You saved me there, Rin-chan, thank you!"

"Oh, stop it, it's the last thing I can do for an old friend."

Yeah, an old friend... , he thought.

"We are almost there, just a few minutes."

In the distance, Kurran could see a group of houses bathing in the warm sunlight, surrendered by green, and golden fields and in the west, as mysterious as ever, the dark green Slumbering Weald. Kurran smiled. Nostalgic thoughts came up in his mind, thoughts about his childhood in the countryside with his whole family, with his friends. It had been a happy, carefree time.

"Say, Ku-chan, do you still not have a Pokémon?", Karin suddenly asked.

"Ohm... yes, I don't have one, yet. Even though I'm almost twenty, I just couldn't get one. Why are you asking?"

Karin smiled. "It's a secret, you'll find out soon enough." Mudsdale neighed. "Here we are! Welcome to "Ever Green Farm"!"

(Picture by: Orioto, http://deviantart.com/orioto)