Onatu
Youngster
- Pronouns
- he/him
Buzzing through the early morning light, a frazzled ribombee made a hurried crossing through the city streets. In his tiny palms he carried a notepad with some hasty scrawls and checkmarks marking the surface. He paused at one dusty crossing to let a few merchants pass through with their loads, taking the time to check over his notes once again.
“Mustn’t be late. Mustn’t be late.” So his muttering went, eyes frantic as he ensured he had his satchel, badge, and every bit of supplies he’d require. To the untrained eye, they’d think he was with a guild. It was one of the more admirable jobs a pokemon could have after all. Difficult, but it paid well thanks to the services explorers provided. But to the contrary, that was not where this pokemon found employment.
No, his line of work was a different beast entirely. One with its own pitfalls, dangers, and fears. A job with a level of stress most pokemon couldn’t handle - not that he really knew if he could, either. Flitting through the front door of a building, he frantically flew past a linoone sitting behind a desk. Her eyes glanced at him shiftily as just the slightest shake of her head was made.
“You’re cutting it close,” she tutted. The ribombee could only offer an uneasy laugh and a shrug as he kept on. He knew he didn’t have the time to waste with any distractions, not that he wanted to make idle chit-chat with the secretary. This was an important job and no matter what, appearances were everything.
Going past a few other pokemon on his way through the sterile halls, the ribombee scanned for the right door. Hastily tucking his notes away into his satchel, he sighed upon finding the right place. His tiny hands hesitated against the door. Despite his unease, he knew he couldn’t keep his boss waiting. Pushing through his inhibitions to go inside, he forced a cheery smile.
The office he found himself in was pristine. Two chairs faced a polished desk, with a few papers and a package laying atop it. On the far end, a granbull was staring out a window, seeming to pay no mind to the visitor. The bug-type let the door carefully close behind him, adjusting his bag nervously as his wings brought him inward.
“Good morning, sir. I believe you wanted to see me?”
A grunt rose from the other pokemon, causing the ribombee to falter. He had heard a great many things from people about his boss’ reputation. Temperamental. Curt. And incredibly difficult to please. All things he wanted to avoid causing issues with if he could help it.
“And you’d be right, Oliver, my lad. Please, take a seat.” The granbull turned quickly, his eyes squinting to take in the tiny form of his employee. The ribombee, Oliver, forced an uneasy smile. It was rare to get a word from his boss. The most he’d heard was on the first day, but that was for a very specific reason.
Taking no time at all to follow his boss’ directions, Oliver found himself sitting on the almost comically oversized chair. Grasping at the edges to keep a steady hold, he peered up at the granbull’s expectant expression. He couldn’t read what the other pokemon was thinking, but he feared for the worst. After all, he wasn’t in a very high position in the business. Why would he be called in at all?
After what felt like a lifetime from the granbull’s stares, the larger pokemon finally grunted again. Pushing the box on the desk forward, he gestured to Oliver.
“I’ve got an important job for you today, as you might have guessed.” Oliver instantly breathed a sigh of relief. It was just business as usual, more or less.
“A delivery?” Oliver asked. “Why call me in, Harvey, sir? I thought Alice always handled that up front?”
“There’s a difference between then and now. Now, we’ve got something important for you to deliver. This goes to Yellow Hollow - I’m sure you’re familiar with the city - and you’ll be dropping this off with a client of mine, Lars. He runs the bank over there and this is a matter most urgent. As such, I need it delivered by the end of the day.”
For most of this, Oliver had been listening intently. He was completely onboard until the last sentence his boss uttered. Blanching, he felt himself swallow hard as he collected himself.
“Uh, sir, isn’t Yellow Hollow at least a day’s travel from here? And that’s being generous.”
“Is that going to be a problem?” The granbull leaned over his desk, eyes darkening as he looked down upon his employee. “I do recall you were recommended for the position thanks to your ‘undaunted motivation,’ something I remained skeptical of but my good friend was insistent upon. I hope you aren’t making me doubt his words.”
Oliver jumped to his feet, the small pads lightly touching the chair as his wings beat. “Not at all, sir! I simply wanted to clarify the location!”
“So I thought. Then the delivery by the end of the day should be no issue?”
"Not at all sir!” The ribombee flew up to the desk and picked up the parcel from the desk. It was roughly two-thirds his size, an unwieldy thing to lift but he managed to smile as he did.
Yet even as he played it cool, Oliver knew this was going to be far from easy. He had wanted to voice the question of why him and not another, more capable courier. After all, there were faster and larger pokemon they employed that could handle this delivery with ease. If such concerns were going to be voiced however, it would not be in the presence of the granbull before him.
The larger pokemon seemed to relax at the attitude shift in Oliver, sitting back down and waving a dismissing paw. “Then off you go. I hope my faith in you isn’t misplaced, Oliver. Don’t disappoint me now - or your father.”
Oliver didn’t bother to respond. The moment Harvey had given any sign of finishing, the ribombee had taken off. He needed every second he could get if he were to make it out of Evergreen and down the road to Yellow Hollow in time. And he knew that if any of it was spent dawdling, that granbull would have his wings.
Bursting through the front door, he looked around frantically as he thought through the best plan of action. Evergreen wasn’t the biggest city around, but it would take a pokemon his size some time to get through its streets and on the road. He needed to move, and quickly.
Letting his wings carry him through the streets, Oliver held fast to the parcel in his charge. He wasn’t enthralled with the job, not at all. He was grateful his delivery was so light, but at the same time it would be incredibly tiresome to bring it that distance. No matter though. It was a job, and he had to do it.
“Alright Oliver buddy, just have to remember,” he murmured as he recalled the mantra his job had made him memorize. “‘Hear our rhyme, that we chime, your deliv’ries right on time!’”
It was a simple rhyme, and while to any outsider it might seem silly, he took it seriously. And in a time like this, it was all he needed to remind himself of his duties. Taking off down the path, he found his way through the snaking street of the city, passing various small buildings and tents that made up Evergreen. Merchants, travelers, performers, all sorts could be seen as Oliver passed them by, doing his best to pay as little mind to them as possible. Any distraction could prove devastating to his performance, as he well knew.
Distracted by his own narrow focus, the ribombee kept on his path, failing to notice the scrafty that promptly blindsided him. The lizard pokemon shouted its surprise as it lost both footing and the bag it was holding, spinning out after it knocked into Oliver face-first. Meanwhile Oliver was flung back, being forced to right himself after the impact. Further shouting from beside him rose up as a few onlookers paused at the scene.
The scrafty collected its bearings and looked behind, eyes nearly bugging out of its skull as it saw the source of the further commotion. Picking up the bag, the pokemon looked about for an escape. Oliver, visibly frustrated by the collision, buzzed into the scrafty’s face.
“You need to be more careful! I know I could have stood to be more aware, but to run into someone like that! What’s your problem?”
The scrafty made a “pssh” sound and attempted to swat Oliver away, only further bothering him. Sure he had been distracted, but for someone to run full force into him was just plain rude. And it could have damaged the parcel! Glancing at the small package in his hand, he mentally breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was still okay.
As the lizard tried once again to be rid of Oliver, the ribombee only stuck closer, feeling more persistent in his chastising. Someone had to teach this guy a lesson after all, why not him? He couldn’t really make use of his hands thanks to his current load, but he knew if he could there would be pollen in this guy’s future!
The shouting around them only grew louder, and as the scrafty made one more attempt to get the fairy type away, it was surprised as its hand was caught by a much larger, white-mitted one.
“Argus, you really need to get better at this whole ‘getting away with it’ thing if you consider yourself a thief of any kind.” A poliwhirl yanked the scrafty back, holding tightly onto the latter’s arm as he kept him in place.
“Ow, ow, come on man take it easy!” Argus sneered as he was kept close to the poliwhirl. Oliver looked on, somewhat peeved to have been interrupted but altogether grateful. He wasn’t looking for a fight, but he also wanted to still give the scrafty a piece of his mind. As the water-type secured his lizard captive, a toxicroak arrived on the scene as well, giving a light pat on the back to the poliwhirl.
“Nice work, Gareth! Think Argus might learn his lesson this time?” Oliver hadn’t quite expected such a high-pitched voice from the frog as she spoke to her partner.
“Fat chance!” The scrafty responded. This earned him a light jab from the side from the toxicroak. She grimaced at the lizard’s defiance, but kept on. The poliwhirl shrugged as he kept a secure grip on both of Argus’ arms.
“Doubt it. But he knows we’ll catch him again if he tries anything. Don’t you, Argus?”
Grunting, the dark-type only glowered at the two pokemon before giving one last vain effort at escaping. Naturally this didn’t work, and through it all Oliver just watched the scene unfold with some level of amazement. He knew just what he was dealing with: explorers. And to his starstruck eyes, he hardly noticed his distraction from his own job. Explorers were a league of their own after all, and to get to see them up close was almost too much.
“Hey you. You helped stop him, didn’t you?” Oliver was brought out of his revelry at the sound of the poliwhirl’s question. He’d almost dropped his delivery as he brought himself back to reality, but thankfully kept a grip on it - and his dignity as a result. To embarrass himself in front of explorers would be a fate almost worse than death. But then, so would failing his job.
“I don’t know about that, but he ran into me and I got a bit frustrated,” he explained. “You’ll have to forgive me though, I shouldn’t dawdle. I’m on a job and need to get this delivered to Yellow Hollow by the end of the day.”
The pair gave each other a look, and it said everything to Oliver. Hefting his parcel to a more secure grasp and ensuring his bag was still slung comfortably, he offered the pair a grateful smile.
“Look I shouldn’t waste your time and I really shouldn’t be wasting any more of mine. I’m glad if I was of any help, even though I don’t think I did much of anything. But best of luck with your ventures!” The toxicroak reached a hand out, waving Oliver’s comments off.
“Hold on now, you’re having to get to Yellow Hollow by yourself? You sure you can manage that? I mean no offense but that’s quite a distance to travel in a day.”
“I have to, it’s my job!”
It wasn’t going to amount to much, but Oliver at least appreciated her concern if nothing else. Starting to flit away, he gave the slightest of nods. The poliwhirl motioned for his partner to join him.
“Let the guy be, Sara. He’s determined, that’s admirable. But hey kid, be careful. Road isn’t too dangerous out that way but you never know what kinds of hooligans you’ll run into. Like this idiot.”
Yanking along the scrafty, Gareth’s expression conveyed some satisfaction as Argus cursed softly at being mentioned. Oliver gave another nod. He really wished he could talk more, but even this interaction was enough for the fan in his heart. That they were even concerned was more than he could have expected, too!
“Alright, I’ll try,” the toxicroak had responded. “But honestly, like my partner said you should be fine on the road. If you’re that determined we’ll stop wasting your time, but we are always glad to see civilians helping bring about some justice around here. If you ever need anything, reach out for us. We do a lot of work in the area so I’m sure you could find us in the local guilds from time to time. Until then, hop to it and best of luck!”
Oliver didn’t need to be told twice. Reinvigorated by the praise and experience, he hit the road at high speeds, careening over the heads of most pokemon and weaving past the rest. He had wasted enough time, that much was certain. It was late morning, and he still needed to get out of the city. It’s not like it had grown, but it sure felt like it was taking forever.
Of course, he did get stopped once by a sickly tyrogue, pulling a pollen orb out to give to the pokemon. And then he found himself being stopped once again by a caravan of merchants, not wanting to risk flying overhead and running the off chance of losing his grip on the parcel only to drop it on someone’s head. Come to think of it, despite his best intentions it felt like the world kept throwing distractions in his way. Not that he was mad, the ribombee had to note.
In fact he was all too happy to help a pokemon like that tyrogue in need. And the pause with the caravans had helped him to catch his breath, while also giving some quick directions to one of the incoming merchants who had wanted to know where a nearby guild was located. It wasn’t helping him any, but he couldn’t really help it. It was just in his nature.
But that didn’t excuse him from the main task at hand, and he knew it. As he finally reached the path leading eastward, he breathed a sigh of relief. No more distractions. An open road with nothing but miles of nature lay between him and his destination. He took a moment to adjust his grip on the package and put his bag back in a more secure position. Once satisfied with how things felt, he shot down in the direction of Yellow Hollow as fast as his wings could beat. For being such a small pokemon, he had an absurd amount of energy - something he knew would come in handy on a day like today.
It wasn’t the most difficult trip to be honest. After exiting Evergreen, the world had virtually opened up. No more buildings and constant bustle of various pokemon, instead he faced the wild world around him. Aside from the buzz from his wings and the rustle of trees overhead, it was a peaceful journey. After all of the stress and excitement from earlier, it was certainly a welcome change!
“Just have to make sure I stay moving as fast as possible.” Oliver noted the sun’s position overhead, looking just shy of midday. He still had miles to go to get there, and compared to larger fliers’ capabilities it was almost a joke.
But no, he knew he had a job to do. He could feel the invigorating rays of the sun as he continued his journey, thankfully passing no one else on the road to distract him. He needed every bit of focus he could get.
“Hear our rhyme, that we chime, your deliv’ries right on time!”
Out rang the old slogan, this time sounding more like a war cry in its delivery. It was like a marathon to get there, one that he had to almost sprint with the pace he was moving his wings. No matter what though, he didn’t let the thought of exhaustion take over. He knew the moment he gave in he was done for, and in more ways than one.
Green trees and plodden earth blurred by. Much like before he was entering almost a zen-state, the desire to succeed being the only way he could push onward. And like earlier, it was proving a mistake.
Several hours on the road and while the scenery hadn’t seen much of a change aside from the occasional traveler in passing, the skies above certainly shifted. Being so determined to finish his job Oliver had paid no mind to what was happening until a strong gust managed to send him tumbling. The parcel slipped from his hands and fell to the ground with a light thud. While it looked none the worse, he was terrified to consider the damage.
Equally frightening however was the looming threat overhead. The winds were whipping up something fierce, and the sun had long been obscured by an ominous front.
“A squall!” He panicked as he dived for the parcel before the winds could carry it away any further. There hadn’t been any word about bad weather over this way, though he knew he could have checked himself. Cursing his lack of preparation, Oliver knew he had to handle this one way or another.
Being caught in a storm was bad enough. For a ribombee it was something else entirely. Their frail bodies weren’t built for storms, and if his wings got too wet he’d be useless. And this was before the matter of the delivery.
He knew he didn’t have much time. There was so much that could have been done, but at this time he just needed shelter. Spying along the trees, he sought a hole or nook large enough to squeeze into and avoid the rain. With each passing moment, the force of the wind grew stronger and the distant rumble of thunder grew closer. He could practically feel the air pressure dropping as the moisture began to be sucked out. This was going to be bad.
“Come on!” He cried loudly. “There’s got to be something!”
Frustrated, he was about ready to give up until a small spot stuck out to him from a tree. He knew there wasn’t much time, but he had to be careful. Pushing his load in first, he ensured there was enough room to situate it before squeezing in as well.
Snug was a kind way of describing it. In actuality there was virtually no room to move around. Shifting just enough, Oliver turned his body until his folded wings faced the parcel. While he was still inside the nook, he wasn’t far enough in that he would be completely protected. Though, a drenched face would be preferable to useless wings or a sodden delivery. Either would have his boss, and his father, more than a little disappointed.
Squinting as the cold wind lashed at his face, he could just make out the first of the raindrops beginning to fall as the squall finally blew overhead. The intensity of the system was fierce as the rain and wind began to pelt him and freeze his body. He wasn’t built for this. It was enough to nearly make him falter. Yet something inside burned on and told him to hang in there.
He had a job to do. And no matter what the world threw at him, he was going to do it to the very best of his ability. Gritting his teeth, Oliver dug into the woody interior of the tree with all of his might. Not a single drop of water was going to get through, no matter how bad it got.
The storm almost seemed to strike at his defiance, intensifying in short order and bringing with it even stronger winds and harder pellets of rain. It felt like needles against his fuzzy body, each chilling him to the bone as he fought to keep things dry. He could feel some starting to get onto his wings. Not enough to disable him, but enough to worry him. Just how much longer would this last?
In time, the storm did pass. As rapidly as it had set in, the clouds did part and the wicked precipitation came to an end. The change in the air was immediate, and Oliver could feel the sun almost instantly warming him again. It was over, he made it through. But the package!
Contorting his body in the small notch, he could feel the stress of the moment melt away when he caught sight of the almost totally dry box, the wrapping looking only slightly damp on the corners. He’d done it. Somehow anyways, he’d managed to keep all of that rain off of the delivery. He certainly looked a bit worse for wear though. The drenched fuzz on his body would be freezing if not for the warmth of the light shining in.
Another trial down, and still he had to deliver the package. It wasn’t necessarily exhausting, though the stress of the day was beginning to wear him down. But it couldn’t be that far at this point, could it? He poked his head out from the tree. In finding shelter he’d wandered a bit off the trail, but he knew where he’d come from. Getting back would be the easy part. Finishing the journey and ensuring he didn’t miss his mark? That would still be hard. In fact, there was a good chance he wouldn’t make it.
“Guess that’s that. I can’t waste more time; I’ve got to move!” Despite nerves beginning to set in, Oliver sprang out of the tree. Tugging his box out with him, the fairy-type shook his wings clear of the dampening they’d experienced. Good, they weren’t completely soaked. And with the sun already pulling moisture out of his coat he knew his wings would be back to complete operation soon enough.
Giving them a test run, Oliver felt the familiar vibrations from his back as they began to beat. It wasn’t enough to give him liftoff just yet, but he could feel as every bead of water sprang off, clearing them steadily of any sign they’d been hit.
With a satisfactory final shake, he leapt into the air. Buzzing wings caught his fall and once again lifted him back onto his journey. He almost stopped for a moment after a triumphant whoop had escaped him. Normally he wasn’t so exuberant, but after that? He’d weathered it like a pro! He almost felt as if he could take on anything - not that he was about to tempt the fate of nature again.
But that cheer did feel good. He wasn’t giving up. Being held up by all sorts today wasn’t going to stop him. No pokemon nor storm would prevent him from getting the job done.
“Here I come!” he yelled. “Yellow Hollow, I’ll see you in record time!”
If he had been fading before, this was certainly a second wind. He had drive and a will to succeed no matter what. His boss wouldn’t be able to believe it, and nor would the customer. He’d show them all. In fact, if anyone else could have been there they’d watch as a tiny, yellow blur sped back onto the path and further eastward. Oliver was grateful for once not to be bound to the land, seeing how muddy the road had become. He was free to move as fast as his body could carry him, and so it did.
Miles passed by without any further fanfare. The scenery remained, but in time he could catch the familiar sign of smoke rising in the distance against a dark backdrop. Yellow Hollow was nearing, and with it his trial would be ending. The day wasn’t over just yet thankfully. Even as the sun was hanging lower by the minute, there was still a bit of daylight left. He’d make it count.
Within another hour he had made it despite the day’s stress beginning to really wear at him. He hung low to the ground, the weight of the package almost feeling like lead in his hands. Even with the end in sight, he could feel the struggle setting in once again. There was only so much he could do, and to be pushed that far in a day was indeed a challenge. But he had succeeded! As he meandered towards the location of the bank, the sheer elation in his heart was almost too much to bear. It wasn’t the end of the day just yet! Even with the sun just barely poking over the horizon, he knew he had time. The bank was just down another block. He’d been down these roads before, enough that he could memorize the layout. He had this!
Coming up around the corner, he caught sight of the city’s bank, a small brick structure nestled between a handful of others. There were also a few candles viewable through the windows, signifying it was still open. With a final burst of effort Oliver flew down the mostly deserted road, letting loose yet one final cheer. He was grateful no one would be there to see him act out like that, but it just felt right!
Coming up to the heavy wooden door, he paused but a moment to catch his breath. Leaning in, he was surprised at how surprisingly easy the door was to open. Had he grown that much stronger today?
But as the door swung open with greater speed, the ribombee found himself stumbling over himself once more that day. Still gripping onto his delivery like a vise, he pulled himself together only to realize what had happened. Standing in the doorway was an older watchog with a rather perplexed expression. All the more surprising was Harvey right behind him looking equally confused. It was a few moments before anyone found the words to speak.
“I, I’m here with the delivery, sir!” Oliver proclaimed, lifting the box up with whatever strength he could still muster. “I hope I’m not too late! I know it’s dark and you were on the way out, but I really did try to get here in time!”
“So you did.” The granbull shifted his large jaw from side to side, appearing to be at a loss for words. His companion took the package from Oliver’s hands, giving a slight nod to the tiny pokemon. The literal and figurative weight being lifted off was more than apparent, and the ribombee couldn’t help but stretch his arms in that moment.
“I wouldn’t call it late,” the watchog began. “But I wouldn’t exactly call it on time, either. We’re closed now, you see. In fact we’ve been closed quite some time, but Harvey here had managed to convince me to wait in case you were held up somehow. But really, I’m rather disappointed it took you so long. Aren’t you supposed to uphold a standard? Just look at you even: disheveled, filthy, and lacking spirit. Do you honestly expect me to believe you put your best effort forward?”
Oliver almost faltered. This wasn’t what he was expecting. He’d done his job, right? He did everything as best as he could! “But I still got here before the end of the day!” he interjected. Harvey stepped forward, shaking his head.
“Oliver, listen. I got here long before you did. Did you get lost? I know I trained you better than this. This isn’t the quality of work I expected when your father gave me such glowing praise. This is hardly what I’d call serviceable at all, and Lars certainly agrees. Do you truly expect to get by in life treating your job like this? Because I’ll tell you something kid, it won’t work out that way. Not by any means.”
“Harvey, sir, I don’t understand. I did everything I could!”
“And? You didn’t do enough.”
The granbull stepped past his watchog companion, leaning into Oliver’s face as he did so. It was an awkward comparison, when the bug-type was hardly the size of the granbull’s head, but it was enough to be intimidating in that moment. “After all I did, I expected this to be one simple task for you to pull off. You should feel ashamed and disgraced by your appearance and your tardiness. Be fortunate I won’t tell your father about this; you can just fill him in yourself when you get home.”
Oliver’s mind was swarming with questions, fears, and thoughts. He looked from Harvey to the watchog, expecting them to suddenly break out in laughter like it was some demented joke. It had to be. He did the best possible job. The package wasn’t even damaged, and he got there just in time! Surely that had to matter!
“Harvey’s right,” Lars said. “You were given a job with full knowledge of the expectations. Having worked with him for years, I expected better. You bring nothing but shame to his company, his hard work, and your father’s words. You best think long and hard about that.”
Harvey and Lars walked past Oliver, closing up the door of the bank as they began to go on their way. The ribombee didn’t know what to do. Making a move to follow, he felt Harvey’s piercing glare stab through him.
“I think he’ll have plenty of time to think it over. In fact, I think you’d agree with me that his time is about to open up a good bit.”
Oliver lifted his sullen head, eyes widening. “Sir, no…”
“You’re fired, Oliver. You’re through.” The gruff voice of Harvey rang through Oliver like a bell, shaking him to his core. As if that weren’t enough, the granbull leaned in once again. Smirking, he whispered something that finished the job.
“And between the two of us, I did this all as a favor to your father. I never intended to keep you on the job, just long enough to get your old man off of my back for what I owed him. Well favor repaid, wouldn’t you agree? And don’t bother telling him about this exchange, either. Alice already sent a letter his way after you left this morning.”
If Oliver’s heart could shatter any further, it would in that moment. He could feel tears begin to well up in his eyes. He didn’t want to appear so weak, but this was becoming too much.
Harvey continued. “Your old man will know you were a slacker on the job. A good-for-nothing. A complete waste of my time. And he’ll believe one of his oldest friends, but not your word coming second. I’ll keep his business, while keeping the both of you out of my hair. It’s a win for everyone - except for you, of course.”
“But...why? What did I do to deserve this, sir? I did the best job I could!”
“You did, and you know what? You did some good work But don’t think for a second I wanted to keep you around. You were a means to an end, and nothing more. Today was an excuse to do just that. Now kid, get lost before I call the cops for harassing Lars and I. I’ll give you five seconds to get moving.”
It was but a second for Oliver to glance between the emotionless stare of Lars and the hardened grimace of Harvey before he made up his mind. Dropping his satchel in his rush, he flew back down the stretch of road he’d come up on. Blindly tearing past a few early evening pedestrians, he flew with no plan in mind. What was there to do? He was just fired after all. His father would have his head for ruining an opportunity even if it was rigged against him from the start. He was in a city without lodging, food, or a future. He was hopeless.
Eventually he found himself in the city square. A beautiful stone fountain graced the center, with carvings of whiscash, horsea, and a starmie stood strong as they shot bursts of water in their fanciful display. Rubbing away his bleary eyes, Oliver leaning over the thick metal railing to watch the calming display while he organized his thoughts.
He needed a plan. But he needed food first. Reaching down, he noticed immediately the missing satchel. He knew where he had dropped it, but part of him was afraid to go back and grab it. Still, if he didn’t someone else was bound to grab it. Harvey or Lars could have, but he hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want to see either of them again.
“Hey kid, rough day?” Twisting his head, Oliver caught sight of a tattooed smeargle slumped against the iron gate surrounding the fountain. The dog pokemon had an array of rocks and other objects haphazardly painted around him, some simple and some looking remarkably complex. He lazily lifted his head to look at Oliver, offering a soft smile.
“You could call it that,” Oliver responded with a humorless laugh. “Just a lot to handle in a day.”
“Some days are like that. Just know they won’t last and that they do get better. Take it from me, I’ve had my good days. I’ve had my bad. I know that no matter what, the world keeps turning. I keep trying to make the most of it. You get me?”
“Yeah...I think so at least.” The smeargle chuckled.
“Good life advice might not be what you need right now. But just don’t let yourself completely fall down. Take the time to live in the moment, accept the feelings you have, and grow. Trust me, it’ll get better.”
Oliver couldn’t muster a response. He was feeling too down by this point. He really was a lost cause, wasn’t he? Lost his job, lost the respect of his father most likely, lost everything. And sure maybe things could turn around eventually, but right now? He was in the deepest pit of despair he could dig up. And he didn’t see it getting better any time soon.
“I appreciate what you’re doing, but I really should get going. I realized I lost my bag somewhere. I need to get it before something worse happens.”
The smeargle waved him off with a smile. “Go. Just keep your chin up, kid.”
It didn’t take long to return to the bank. Even as his body felt all the more run down, he felt energized to finish the day. He just needed his satchel, to grab a bite to eat, and finally get somewhere to sleep. Yet as he scanned the dusty street in front of the bank, he found the bag was nowhere to be found. Attributing it to his exhaustion, he flew closer to the ground, spying a point where his bag had most certainly made an impact into the dusty earth. Someone had to have picked it up. Harvey? Lars? Or someone else?
He could see sets of footprints all around, but he wasn’t much of an explorer. He couldn’t tell who made what, especially in the quickly fading sunlight. Without another light source, he would be completely lost on pursuing any possible leads.
Well, that did it. The pep in his wings finally giving out, Oliver crumpled to the ground in a heap. Sniffling, he punched the dirt with one of his tiny hands.
“This is stupid! I try to do everything right and I keep getting kicked down for doing just that! What’s wrong with me?”
He felt everything collapse in that moment as hot tears finally freed themselves from any restraint. There was no one to keep a brave face in front of anymore. He was alone with his mistakes and regrets. He’d been a pawn in his boss’ games. A failure at his job. And after all of the stress today had brought, he found it impossible to hold it together. It was ugly to hear himself bawl like that in public, but he didn’t care by that point. Few pokemon were coming up this street, and fewer still even looked his way. Not that he could blame them, who would want to be troubled with his problems?
The dirt grew damp over the time he laid there, his hot tears muddying the ground and reducing his place there into a complete mess. He didn’t want to move. Where else was he going to go? Home? Like his parents would take him in. Evergreen was too far to make another trip, and it was dangerous to travel the roads at night. The best he could do was just stay in that spot. At least he’d found exactly where he felt he belonged: in the mud to wallow and be forgotten.
Occasionally a pokemon would pass by and give Oliver a glance or two, but most seemed too preoccupied to give him much of a thought. It wasn’t unusual, that simply was how it was at night in a small city. He was grateful though; talking to anyone sounded like a hell he didn’t want to deal with at this time.
It was probably an hour before Oliver heard voices closing in. Probably police come to remove him from the property. He let loose a heavy sigh as he wiped at his still wet eyes, pushing his body into a sitting position. A gross feeling overtook him as he realized the side of his head was caked in mud from his pity party.
“Just kick me while I’m down why don’t you,” he muttered to himself. Truth be told he was expecting the worst as he cleared the remaining tears and brushed the mud from his coat and face as well as he could manage. Best to look somewhat presentable to the police when they take him away.
“You know we usually try to do the opposite. We have to, it’s part of our job.”
Oliver shook his head, freeing any remaining tears and mud that he could. Looking up from his spot on the ground, he was surprised to see a poliwhirl and a toxicroak crouched in front of him. The two shared the same warm expression as the toxicroak reached out to help him to his feet.
“Thought it was you. You’re the guy who was making that delivery earlier, yeah? Looks like you made it here after all, and in one piece!”
Even though the poliwhirl appeared jubilant, Oliver was still more than a little confused. Why were these two here? Weren’t they in Evergreen earlier today? He must have been an open book to the explorers in front of him as Sara gave a modest shrug and answered his thoughts.
“Before you ask, we have a partner who works part-time with us. She’s a pidgeot so she was able to airlift us over here fairly quickly. Now as for why we’d be here? Turns out we’ve got some business with you. First things first though!” She pulled her own pack from around her back and, after a short rummage, pulled out a very familiar satchel.
“Found this in the hands of a crooked granbull up the road. Caught him behind a building trying to be sneaky as he rummaged through. Lucky we caught him not only in the act, but as he tried to make a run for it, too.”
“Harvey took my bag?” Oliver would have been mad at his now former boss, but then he was the one who had dropped the bag in the first place. It would never have been a problem if he’d been more careful. Dragging his hands down his face, Oliver couldn’t believe he’d made such a stupid mistake. Sara’s reassuring hand steadied him however, her face somehow softening further.
“Don’t beat yourself up. These things happen after all, and we were more than happy to help. That’s all part of the job.”
“So should I tell him?” Gareth’s voice spoke up, sounding clearly excited about something. Sara held her palm over, carrying Oliver closer to the poliwhirl without much of a second thought.
“Be my guest. I get the feeling he’s going to be interested in this little tale.”
“Tell me what now?” Oliver looked back at Sara and then to Gareth. He was feeling a bit better from before, but that didn’t stop the confusion from settling over. What were the odds of running into these two twice in one day, and in two different places like this? Still whatever Gareth had to say was clearly eating at the poliwhirl. Appearing as if he’d explode with giddiness, the polliwog pokemon leaned in with his hands raised up in suspense.
“So earlier today we took that Argus fellow in, yeah? Well on our way out, Sara had a thought to swing past Gran Couriers after we’d run into you. Something about your errand rubbed the both of us the wrong way. Sure it’s not that unusual, but taking everything into account we got from you earlier it just felt off. What do you know, we caught that granbull in a rush to get out of town and hopping on a corviknight service to, by the looks of it, here.”
Gareth seemed to be getting into full storytelling mode, his eyes narrowing in elation as he continued. “So we go inside and there’s some sweet linoone named Alice working up front. We were going to ask her a few questions about you and that granbull, but she just hands us a letter and tells us to get rid of it. Says it was a crude attempt at her boss to take advantage of an employee and handed us the note he’d written requesting it as evidence. Now that just seems pretty scummy already, doesn’t it?”
“Definitely scummy.” Sara interjects.
“So wait, you came here for Harvey to begin with?”
“Sorta. We wanted to ask him some questions behind his motives. Turns out we didn’t have to, we put everything together pretty quickly once we found him.” Gareth idly stretched out an arm.
“Though we did assume the worst when we first saw him with your bag. But with the note’s contents, the job you were running, and that sleazy Harvey doing what he was doing we had a pretty solid lead on things. And judging by that look in your eyes, I’d say we did a good job.”
“I...yeah, you got it there,” Oliver stammered, completely taken aback. “I just can’t believe you guys went through all of that trouble. And that letter, did you really get rid of it?”
Sara reached into her bag with her free hand. Fishing out an envelope, she waved it with a scoff.
“Figured if it was about you, you should have the honors of handling it. A pokemon like him doesn’t need to be writing lies to keep business flowing. Being a petty thief too was just another knock against him.”
Taking the letter into his trembling hands, Oliver could see the address to his father clear as day. It made him feel a mixture of things. Anger, relief, it was a mess in his head.
He didn’t bother to open it. He knew it would only bring worse out from him, and after a day like today even more emotional distress was the last thing he needed. Crumpling up the envelope, he let it fall to the ground. That was it. He may have been fired, but he wouldn’t have to fear what would happen back home. His father would be none-the-wiser about the entire incident.
Except he was still fired. And with Harvey being apprehended by Sara and Gareth, it wasn’t like he could go beg for his job back, not that he would do that after what had transpired earlier that evening. Even the thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Thanks for all of your help today,” he said to the explorers. “I mean it, you both went above and beyond here. I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even know if I can properly pay you two back for all of this, either.”
He began to poke around in his satchel for coins, hoping to have enough on hand to not look pitiful. Gareth however pushed the satchel back down, earning a quizzical look from Oliver.
“Don’t be bothering with that. Consider it returning a favor for helping us earlier today.”
“Isn’t that how it works though? I pay you for your help? It would feel wrong to just leave this after wasting your day like this.”
“Didn’t waste our day,” Sara countered. “In fact, we were able to stop a jerk from completely ruining another’s life. Maybe we didn’t stop it all, but we did prevent the worst from happening.”
“Yeah...thanks.” Oliver meekly sighed. He was grateful. Beyond grateful even. But even now he felt lost, just with some money and his bag. It wasn’t nearly as bad as before at least, he had to admit that.
He lifted his body from Sara’s palm, wings finally feeling strong enough to carry him once again. Hovering at eye level, he smiled.
“I wish I could pay you two back somehow though. But maybe once I get a new job I can save up enough and pass it on. A donation or something.”
Sara and Gareth traded glances. If Oliver didn’t know any better, he’d almost feel like they were sizing him up. For what, he had no clue. He was far too tired by this point, ready to just thank them and move on.
“About that,” Sara said. “What say we do something mutually beneficial? You need a job. We could use someone extra on the team. We’d train you, board you, all of that. If you’re so set on paying us back, then we could talk about a small pay cut from the first few jobs.”
The suggestion nearly knocked Oliver over like a strong gust. Him, an explorer? That sounded absurd, why would anyone want him to join their team? He was hardly trained for battle, though he could hold his own. But even so, were they really willing to chance it?
Sara continued. “Gareth and I were impressed at how you held up Argus earlier. There wasn’t a fight, but for your stature you manage to keep a guy like him occupied for long enough that we were able to take him in. Your resolve and commitment to your courier job showed a lot, and that you managed to make it here in a single day speaks volumes. Harvey never cared to see that, he saw only a nuisance. We see nothing but potential. So what do you say?”
“I mean, that’s a lot to take in. Do I have to answer now?” Oliver felt dizzy. Was it the insanity of the offer, or the exhaustion of the day?
“We can let you think it over. But here, why don’t you join us? We’re going to get a room for the night, we’ll take you with us so you don’t have to worry. You can consider it with a good night of sleep and go from there.”
Oliver nodded. He couldn’t just make a decision now. Even with his heart leaping at the idea, his mind was clouded and confused. Was this all a joke maybe? Maybe he was just dreaming, and he’d wake up soon. As he flitted along with the two larger pokemon though, the reality of it all became all the more apparent. These explorers had asked him to join them. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to catch the eye of a team to the point that they’d invite him to join. This was the kind of opportunity that came only once in a lifetime.
That was it. Pausing in the street, he took a deep breath. Rubbing off a bit of the remaining mud, he called out to the others. Sara and Gareth stopped, both giving an inquisitive look his way.
“I’m in. I don’t know how this will go, but I don’t want to let the opportunity pass me by. I’ll join the team. And uh, since we’re going to be working together I figure it’s only fair you know my name is Oliver.”
A grin broke across both of their faces. Sara walked over as she offered her hand, speaking proudly. “Well let me be the first to welcome you, Oliver. Sara, captain of our little team. It’s an honor to have you join, and I’m certain you won’t regret it.”
“That you definitely won’t!”
Feeling a rough pat to the back, Oliver nearly lost his midair balance. Gareth laughed but appeared apologetic. The ribombee laughed as well, softly at first but rising in volume. He felt joy. Maybe a bit of it was the fatigue, but he was still very happy. After a day that could not stop beating him down, to end it like this...he didn’t even know how to react. It just felt surreal.
“You guys...thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Gareth said. “We did what we felt was right. And we’re both thrilled to have you join us. Now come on and let’s get you cleaned up. You’ve been through hell and back today it looks like. You deserve a good night’s rest.”
Couldn’t argue with that. Oliver chuckled weakly as he readjusted his satchel for the trip down to the hostel. Looking at the two pokemon he was with, it still was hard to believe the series of events that lead up to it. He didn’t know if it was worth it in that moment, but his heart seemed to feel that way. No matter. He worked hard before, and he had every intention to keep going. His new teammates wouldn’t have any regrets about their decisions if he had his way, and he planned to make sure of it.
Flying alongside them, the trio eventually found their way to a hostel for the night. Oliver collapsed into a comfortable heap after washing up, snuggled up to a light blanket on a small cot as the day’s aches finally caught up to his body. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled peacefully, with dreams of the adventures to come filling his head.