For all that crossing the river meant entering the Deep Greenforest, and by extension, supposedly one of the most dangerous areas of the Silín region, we had no real issues on the following days of our journey. The path, while not excessively used, was still considered by the local Pokémon to be human territory, and according to Kurt, often acted as a boundary between rival Pokémon. At various intervals, he would announce when we were passing Vileplume, Scyther, Tangrowth, and Sceptile territories, our safety relying solely on the narrow stretch of land that wound between them. This was not to say the path was completely safe. Wild Pokémon still approached it, but these were typically the pariahs and the exiles of their tribes, and so, usually moved alone. The combined power of our group dissuaded them from launching any serious attacks.
It was around this time, I believe, when Kurt began considering giving Capsakid to Darren. I was plenty distracted with Junior, and when I wasn’t scraping, I was far too drained to pay attention to any relationship developments going on in our group. Everyone seemed fine, and at the time, that was good enough for me. But later, when both Kurt and I were less socially awkward, and we actually talked about things, he told me he had entertained the notion of letting Capsakid go with Darren when he lost in Rondo, though it wasn’t till the Greenforest when it became a real prospect.
Kurt was always a pretty unique kind of guy. Whether it was his blood or his upbringing, or simply his character, he had a special connection to fire-types that surpassed even that of Jade with her bugs. He knew them on a level which he couldn’t reach even with humans and much preferred their company. Capsakid was a gift from his grandfather. As a future fire-type, he would fit in well with his team. The ulterior motive was that it was an attempt to get Kurt to interact with something, anything, that didn’t consistently singe his eyebrows. It was an attempt that utterly failed. Neither of the two understood the other or clicked in any way. He did expect some sort of an improvement once Capsakid evolved; however, rushing to evolve him with a fire stone could well hinder his development if used too early, and Kurt was afraid the apathetic relationship they currently had would cause lasting damage between them. Hence, why he was on the lookout for a good trainer to take care of Capsakid in his stead.
He brought the subject up with Darren in the Greenforest. It wasn’t just the battle at Rondo that convinced him, but Darren had the kind of charisma that made people trust and look to him, something that became ever more clear over the course of our journey. Darren, for his part, was adequately impressed by Capsakid’s capabilities and quickly decided he liked the little guy. Capsakid liked Darren because he is the most aggressively ambitious Pokémon I’ve ever met, and he believed he could achieve far more with him than with Kurt. Besides which, fighting with Darren would suit him more than the cool, level-headed style of his trainer. In the end, they agreed if they all felt the same way once we got out of the forest, Capsakid would continue his journey with Darren instead of Kurt.
All of which is well and good, and rationally thought out, but it would come as quite a shock to me when I battled Darren in Silverwind, and unexpectedly came face to face with Capsakid. For the moment, though, that’s neither here nor there. Even while making such crucial decisions, Kurt was able to guide us through the forest until we came to the juncture where we had to leave the path to find the ruins.
“From here, it isn’t far to the end of the forest, and the way forwards is pretty safe,” said Kurt. “I’m going west, on the professor’s request. The trail to the ruins goes through an area contested by Ferrothorn and Amoongus, neither of which are prone to act with much hostility to people passing through, but both of which make the land hazardous and difficult to traverse. Then there is whatever we might find in the ruins. What I mean to say is that I’m the only one, strictly speaking, that needs to go. I know Darren, Sunny, and Calla also agreed to investigate the ruins, but the professor will understand if you decide not to go through with it, especially after the trouble we faced in the beginning. For the rest of you, I would advise you to exit the forest, you have no reason to risk leaving the road. Baltazar, your help would be appreciated, though I understand if you want to ensure the safety of the others. Jade and Quentin should be more than enough, like I said, the rest of the path is one of the safer stretches of the Greenforest, but the decision is yours.”
“I’m kinda curious about the ruins,” said Sarah. “I mean, how often do you get to see something like that before it’s been made into a boring museum or something.”
Rebecca was in agreement with her, though Claire pushed for leaving the forest. She was by no means less annoying lately, but she did have dark rings around her eyes, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one having trouble sleeping at night. That only made her more insufferable. I did not like being able to empathise with my enemy.
We naturally split into groups to discuss what we wanted to do. Darren saw no reason to drop our mission, and he even seemed to be having fun. What surprised me more was that Sunny also wanted to continue. She wasn’t as keen as Darren, but I was learning she was tougher than she looked, and since the Parasect attack, her Pokémon had an edge to them that made me think our next battle would be far trickier than our previous. I saw a similar attitude in Flaaffy, even if she hid it better beneath her laid-back demeanour. I also fully intended to go to the ruins. I’d long made up my mind that, as hard as it was, I was willing to face danger. On top of that, I had to keep my word. I was the one who wanted to take on the mission the most in the first place. This wasn’t to say I didn’t have my doubts. I was tired, and even if I seemed perfectly healthy, I felt strange. I couldn’t wait until we reached civilisation, and I could sleep for a day straight without having to worry about an Ariados dropping on top of the tent. But I would keep going.
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Since we were all in agreement, our decision was made quickly. We told Kurt, and even with the trouble I had reading his expressions, I think I saw a bit of relief slip in when we did.
“If you’re all going, I think we should go too,” said Luca. Her group had been at a deadlock, with her being the only one not to weigh in strongly either way until then.
“Yes!” said Sarah, pumping her fist. “This is the exciting bit of the adventure.”
“You don’t have to,” said Sunny, looking at Luca. From what I could see, she was still ignoring the rest of them, though she had gotten so good at it, I don’t know if it was even intentional anymore.
“I know,” said Luca. “But what kind of trainer would I be if I let my, I mean, if I let people I felt close to go on an adventure without me?”
Sunny nodded, and Claire threw her hands in the air.
“Fine! If everyone’s going, then I’m going. I’m certainly not leaving on my own.”
“Everyone is not going,” said Quentin. “Jade and I are heading to Wavecrest and pray we make it in time for the photoshoot we have there.”
“Jade is going,” said Jade. “You can do what you want, but I’m not backing out now. Just delay the shoot by a few days, it’ll be fine.”
“Please, Jade. You’re going to get me fired.”
“If they fire you, I’ll quit. Besides, I’m not just being unreasonable for the sake of it. Think about it. If we get a few good shots of me in these ruins, think of all the publicity it would bring. They’ve been wanting me to pull some kind of stunt for ages, and since I didn’t win in Rondo, I think this is the next best thing. Jade Silks and the Ancient Ruin; get a good photo of me, and that’ll be the headline of the next issue of the Trainer’s Magazine.”
“You just made that up on the spot,” said Quentin.
“I’m not wrong, am I?”
Baltazar gave a big laugh and said something about how good it was to see youngsters with such gumption, whatever that was, and just like that, it was decided that the ten of us would dive deeper into the forest, ignoring our last easy way out. It was, looking back on it, an idiotic decision, even with the information we had then. It wasn’t one I’m not proud of. If we knew what was happening in the ruins, I might have made a very different choice, though, thinking about how I was back then, I very well might have doubled down instead.
The going got tough as soon as we left the path, and I suspected more than one of us immediately regretted our decision. If I thought wading through the undergrowth was a challenge before, the mass of thorns lacing our way made it all so much harder. I knew full well I was going to look in the mirror in the Wavecrest Pokémon Centre and find not an inch of my skin unscratched. Between Junior and the foliage, I was looking like one of those Scratch Pads they gave to Glameow.
It was bad enough that my training with Junior had to be put on hold, and I wasn’t even the one to enforce it. For the first time, she piggybacked on my head without trying to kill me, hissing and screeching at the brambles that hung in long vines from the branches of the trees above.
Between that and the patches of bog where our boots sank deep into foul-smelling water, we were forced to march in silence, alert for any dangers that would catch us unaware in this hostile terrain.
Our only comforts were Megu and Comfey, both of who had to regularly cleanse us from poisonous thorns, Comfey while we were on the move, and Megu, who was too big to walk through the area comfortably, whenever we stopped for a break.
As the first day ended and the second one began, the pressure only continued to mount. We were all moving at Snebby’s pace now, even though she was comfortably in her pokeball, and the only one having any fun was Buzzkill. He was at home, swinging from the vines, and splashing in the toxic marsh water. He caught me looking at him several times, and I can’t say my expression must have looked pleasant. It only served to encourage him, and honest, I wasn’t that upset. He worked well with Kurt to guide us through the less treacherous areas, and it would have been a challenge to advance without him.
On the third day, Kurt claimed we had almost made it through. We had little more to go. It wasn’t easy to believe him, given I was cut as many times in the first hour of that day as in the last three hours of the previous one, but I was past caring. Even if my attention was dwindling, there were plenty of others still on guard. Around noon, I saw Kurt freeze up. Instantly alert, I heard what worried him. Something was rushing towards us. Something with hooves. I took in our surroundings, confirming that we would not be able to run. That left fighting, but Flaaffy would get her wool caught in the thorns. I would have to rely on Junior and hope the others could fend off the whatever it was.
We were ready and tense when I saw horns and a mane of leaves and a strangely familiar Gogoat gallop into the scene.
