Past events, something that happened long ago that you can't just let go. Something that scares you so much that it's always there just poking in the back of your mind. Oftentimes I've had a nightmare where I'm just a kid running away from pokemon chasing me in a dungeon I got lost in. Every single time, I run into a dead end and curl up, bracing myself as I get hit again and again by attacks, unable to defend myself…


I heard a few loud knocks on my door as I slowly stirred awake and rubbed my gem eyes. It was already morning and from the sound of it, my mom wanted me to start getting ready.

“Topa, are you alright? You were supposed to wake up five minutes ago.” I heard her say behind the door before opening it. “Was it that nightmare again?” She asked with a concerned look on her face as all I did was just give a slow nod and stood up.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep. Guess these last few days have made me a bit nervous.” For a second I glanced over at the round window and watched trees swaying in the cold breeze that blew outside. I was more disappointed in myself that I still wasn't over what happened after all of these years later.

“It's fine, I told Norbert you'd probably run a few minutes behind schedule, but you should be more excited.” A stern tone in her voice as she handed me my bag. “Now come out to the kitchen and get some breakfast, you're gonna need it for the long ride to the grass continent.”

“Do I really need to go that far? What if something happens to you, our village isn't that big and-” I protested, a bit of shakiness in my words. I did have a point, Pokemon Square was closer and easier for keeping in touch.

“No buts, the mayor said Capim Town was the perfect place to start. You'll get to see a lot more of the world, now get your butt moving!” She got behind me and pushed me along out to the kitchen. 

The smell of roasted berries filled the air as we both sat down. My mom started to put the roasted berries on the plates with some small cups of water beside them as we began to eat. Occasionally my mom would look over at me before halfway through her plate she got my attention by clearing her throat.

“Look sweetie, I understand you're worried about going this far from home but you're grown now, if you don't get over it you're gonna go your whole life scared. And I'm not gonna have that if I can help it.” She said before going back to eating.

She was right, getting lost and injured in that dungeon traumatized the hell out of me, to the point where I didn't want to even think about going near a dungeon or too far from the village again. Even with my knowledge of items and traps from the many lessons I took growing up, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to hold my own against other pokemon cause all I could muster was one weak astonish. 

After we finished up breakfast she led me out of the house, pulling out a white tattered scarf. The feel of the fabric and the tears at the end- it was my dad's. 

“Mom, why are you giving me this? You always held onto it ever since he-” But she just shushed me and put it around my neck.

“Your father told me to give this to you whenever you were finally ready to leave. If I didn't, the dang thing would just be collecting dust. Who knows, maybe you'll feel a bit more brave.” She replied, as she began to walk to the outskirts of the village. 

Since it was still a bit early in the morning the light was just barely getting through the pine trees. The village wasn’t really even that big honestly, more of a settlement made of four buildings. I remembered as a kid just playing near the kindling brothers’ house near the wood piles they would make into charcoal for everyone. Mar and Frank, a Magmar and Monferno, would get up real early and get the wood chopped and ready to incinerate. In a short amount of time, the village would be filled with a fireplace smell I found comforting. The only shop in town was run by the mayor, a Kricketune by the name of Stradivar, a humble guy who always would be having conversations with my mom when she wasn’t busy. 

My mom stopped near the simple arched log gate, the moss and mushrooms from the wood showing its age. The shop was close by so the mayor could greet anyone who stepped through and offer to show them the wares that he sold. She just walked over to the shop and gave a knock on the counter a few times before he just suddenly popped up, bumping his head against the nearby shelf in the process.

“Yeowch!” The nasally, high-pitched voice from the Kricketune said. “I really gotta move those shelves more towards the back later.” He quickly muttered out before rubbing his head and facing us both with a happy mustached expression.

“You got the supplies ready, and that “Surprise” you and Frank kept talking about?” My mom said just pointing to my bag before taking it and handing it to the mayor. “I swear Strad, you could have someone right in front of you, and you’d still bump into something.” She gave a slight sharp-toothed chuckle as I saw him quickly take the bag.

His movements were very fast and to the point, easily organizing what was needed into the bag. It was all a blur to me and just reminded me of how frantic he was getting everything in his shop organized. Each berry and seed put in just the right spot for any customer to be easily drawn in to buy something.

“Now Sappha, depth perception isn't my strong suit and you know that,” hHe called back, setting a wrapped package to the side, guess that was the “Ssurprise” they mentioned. “There we go! Everything in there is neatly tucked and packed away, not even an earthquake could send the contents shuffling about!” He chuckled before just fixing his mustache with one hand and then just motioning with his other for me to come over, which I did.

My hands grabbed the package and it felt fairly light as I opened it up. To my surprise, it was a little wooden slingshot, similar to the one I was taught to use a few years back when my arms would always get tired from throwing gravelerocks. I firmly held and pulled it back, feeling how it was a bit harder to do so compared to my old one. My hand let go of it and a loud THWANG! echoed and the stretchy material almost came back and smacked me in the face. “W-Whoa this thing packs a punch,” I thought to myself, but mom just let out a little giggle seeing my sudden reaction.

“Well kiddo, the old one you had was starting to break apart a bit, so me and Frank thought you could use one with a bit more oomph in it,.” Stradivar quickly said before showing me my bag. “Here, you got some berries, a few seeds, and two escape orbs. I hope you don’t have to go into a dungeon until you’ve gotten more experience using moves, but this should suffice if you get yourself in a pickle.” He just closed the bag and slid it back along with a small bag holding some gravelerocks in it.


