[Chapter Size: 1740 Words]
While scavenging through the shipwreck, Arthur was searching for anything he could use, but most importantly, anything edible to satisfy his hunger. After all, while the previous owner of this body, Art, had been kept as a prisoner, he wasn't given much food, which had left his body quite weak.
"Where is it? Did nothing really survive?" Arthur muttered as he strained to push aside a piece of wood.
After moving the plank, Arthur found a sealed barrel. A relieved smile spread across his face as he nudged it and noticed it was full, making his grin grow wider. Using what little strength he had left, he struggled with the lid but eventually managed to pry it open.
Inside, he saw some round, blue berries. Despite not looking very fresh, Arthur immediately recognized them as Oran Berries. He offered a quick prayer, though should it be to God, or Arceus now?
Taking a big bite, he sank his teeth into one of the berries.
'Hmm? Pretty firm,' was the first thing he noticed. The berry's firmness made it slightly harder to chew. Still, it was worth it, the flavor was complex, bursting in his mouth with each bite. It was a strange sensation, but not unpleasant.
In short, Oran Berries were pretty tasty, at least, in Arthur's opinion.
After finishing the berry, Arthur felt a bit of energy return to his body. He rubbed his stomach, beginning to think about what to do next. After all, he was in a foreign land, and even though he had memories from his past life about the Pokémon anime, games, and manga, that wouldn't help much now, he was, at the very least, a thousand years in the past.
That alone was already a problem. On top of that, he had to understand how things worked with nobility and knights. After all, he wanted to train a Pokémon, or rather, as they were still called here, Monsters or Beasts.
And for that, he needed to better understand the world around him. He was a stranger in a foreign landone that was only partially familiar to him.
Arthur drifted into thought as he gazed at the sky, trying to plan his next steps in this unfamiliar land.
'First, I need to find shelter. If this really is the Hoenn region, then it's a tropical area. And tropical areas tend to have a lot of rain. So, shelter is a priority,' Arthur thought, narrowing his eyes at the clouds above. He watched them grow darker far faster than expected, but then again, this was the Pokémon world now. He'd have to get used to its strange, mystical, and fantastical nature.
Especially since he was living in the *past* of the Pokémon world as he knew it. If the modern world already hid many mystical secrets, what could be said about its past, where such things were likely commonplace?
"Phew..." he sighed, standing up and dragging the barrel closer to the forest, as the area he was in would soon be flooded once the tide came in.
He was tired, but he forced himself to drag more of the ship's wreckage toward the edge of the forest to build a shelter. After some time, he managed to gather enough large wooden planks to construct a small hut. It wasn't much, but it would shield him from the rain and the unpredictable weather of Hoenn.
The shelter was small, just a messy, triangular pile of wooden boards. Pretty ugly, really. But that didn't matter. It was just temporary.
Dragging the barrel next to the hut, Arthur felt exhaustion wash over him.
It had been too much effort for a body already weakened. After setting the barrel down, he simply collapsed inside the shelter and fell asleep.
…
In the tall grass near the forest, unbeknownst to Arthur, a pair of eyes watched him.
It was a small creature, somewhere between a cat and a dog, with brown fur and a fluffy tail tipped in white.
If Arthur had seen it, he would have recognized the little creature instantly.
It was a small Eevee.
She watched Arthur with curiosity, as she had never seen a creature like him around here in her short life. The older Pokémon of the forest had spoken of beings like this before, if Eevee remembered correctly, they were called humans. The elders always tried to tell stories about them, claiming humans were cruel and always caused conflict.
But Eevee had a curious and daring nature. She often ventured into the territories of other forest leaders to steal berries, even if she failed most of the time. She also loved playing tricks on the Slakoths who were always sleeping.
Yet despite her playful nature and interactions with other Pokémon, she felt lonely. She had never met another of her kind in this forest. She had been alone since the day she was born.
"Eevee."
That's why she felt something strange when she saw the human, who also seemed alone.
As time passed, and after realizing Arthur was fast asleep, Eevee decided to approach and observe him more closely. She had done this before with other Pokémon, she was always that kind of explorer.
"Eevuii?"
As she got closer, the first thing she noticed was Arthur's bluish hair. She sniffed his face and picked up the scent of the sea, understandable, considering how long he had spent in the water. With great curiosity, she examined and sniffed every part of Arthur she could reach.
With her curiosity about the human satisfied, her attention shifted to the barrel. Eevee had seen the human take something out of that tree trunk-looking thing, was it a berry? She wasn't sure what exactly it was. But based on what she saw, she was fairly confident there were Oran Berries inside.
She approached and sniffed the barrel, confirming her suspicion with the familiar scent of the berries. Climbing on top, she pondered how to open it. Then, na idea came to her, she tipped the barrel over so it lay on its side. Using her sharp claws, she began to pull at the lid. Applying all her strength, she heard a crack as the lid popped off, sending her rolling backward.
"Eevuii!"
With her head now covered in sand, she looked toward Arthur to see if he had woken up. Realizing he was still asleep, Eevee let out a sigh before shaking the sand from her fur.
Now free of most of the sand, Eevee darted toward the barrel, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the berries. She had never seen so many up close before. In her mind, this amount of fruit could only be found in the territory of powerful forest Pokémon like the Slakings or the Ursaring in the forest center, where fruit trees grew close together.
In other strong Pokémon territories, like those of Gardevoir, Exploud, and Manectric, fruit trees were much more spread out. That made it easier for other Pokémon to sneak in and steal fruit, like a Murkrow she once met.
She bit into na Oran Berry, savoring its taste. It had been two days since Eevee last ate. This area near the beach was shared by many weaker Pokémon, meaning intense competition for food. As a young Pokémon, she wasn't strong enough to fight the older ones.
And just beyond this area lay the territory of the Manectrics. Unlike the more benevolent Gardevoir or the lazy Exploud, Manectrics weren't welcoming to Pokémon of other species, nor were they lax in patrolling their territory. That's why Eevee had gone hungry for two days,sneaking into Manectric territory was simply too risky.
After enjoying a few berries, Eevee felt satisfied and lay down on the sand, her gaze fixed on Arthur. Suddenly, her fur bristled, she sensed something. It was na instinct that came from deep within her. As far back as she could remember, she had always had this instinct, and it had saved her many times during her berry-stealing adventures.
Looking up at the sky, Eevee realized what had triggered her reaction: rain. She hated rain. It always forced her to seek shelter, keeping her from exploring. And if she failed to find cover in time, she'd get drenched, possibly even sick if she couldn't dry off quickly.
Raindrops began to fall quickly, and Eevee, who hated the rain, started searching desperately for shelter. Looking around frantically, she noticed that the only viable shelter nearby was the small tent Arthur had built.
With her body glowing with white energy, she swiftly darted between the falling raindrops, avoiding them as best she could.
Once inside the small tent, Eevee sat down and looked up at the sky, watching the rain pour down.
BOOOOOMMM
Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed from afar. A thunderclap had struck somewhere in the forest, making Eevee flinch and whimper as she crouched down with her ears flattened. She was terrified of thunder.
"Eevee... Eevuii..."
BOOOOOMMM
More thunder rumbled through the forest, frightening her even more.
'Huh? Thunder?' Arthur wondered as he heard the distant sound. Opening his eyes, he saw flashes of lightning illuminating the sky in the direction of the forest.
'Wait... what is that?' Suddenly, he noticed a small curled-up figure inside his tent.
At first, he couldn't quite tell what it was, until he saw the brown fur, the soft, fluffy ears, and that unmistakably bushy tail.
That curled-up figure inside his shelter was one of his favorite Pokémon, an Eevee.
Arthur sat up and looked outside, realizing just how heavy the rain had become.
'I knew it would rain. Good thing I built this tent.'
He sighed in relief, thankful he had managed to gather the strength to put together the shelter despite his weakened condition. With his body still fragile, catching a cold now could be very dangerous.
Lowering his gaze, he noticed some berries scattered in front of the tent, realizing Eevee must have opened the barrel and eaten a few. With a slight smile, he leaned closer to the small creature, studying her carefully.
"Eevui?"
Eevee's ears twitched, she had heard something. Lifting her head from where it had been buried in her tail, she saw the human staring at her with a strange expression, which instantly put her on alert.
Realizing she had noticed him, Arthur quickly softened his gaze, trying to appear as gentle as possible.
"Ah? Hey... Eevee?"
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