< The Path We Create >
Slowly, crouching on the grass, she slowly approached the sleeping Tinkatink, the baby sleeping, hugging their hard-earned metal hammer that the baby crafted from scrap iron from the other Pokémon in the mountain range.
The pink baby Pokémon hugged the hammer it made tightly, and before it had any chance to wake up, Felicia took out her camera and quietly took the photos. The ranger around this area specifically told her not to use flash due to how the Pokémon around are mostly from the mine, so they are not used to flashing light in their eyes.
With her work finished, Felicia quietly left the area so that the Tinkatink could have her well-deserved rest. When she looked up, she could see the massive Pidgeot tailing after her. That girl is Ponewt, the Pokémon that the ranger she is familiar with released to keep her company.
Even with those massive wings that could make a mini tornado, Ponewt was still able to fly so silently that not even the usually sensitive bug-type Pokémon was disturbed. Felicia made the hand signal discussed before, and the bird slowly descended to her.
"Thank you for coming with me, Ponewt." Felicia slowly caressed the head of Ponewt the Pidgeot; her feathers were preened with such care that they were silky smooth.
Ponewt was larger than her kind by at least three times, coming at around four meters tall, probably because there is a titan gene in her. That's what makes her the alpha of the local Pidgy and Pidgeotto.
"Pidge~" Ponewt cooes at her, pushing her head deeper to let Felicia scratch even deeper on her neck.
"Hehe, alright. Our work today is done; let's go back and report our findings to Mr.Marcelo." Felicia quickly strapped her camera over her neck, which pushed the necklace, making a light clicking sound. She took out a small capsule and pushed the button, and out appeared a riding seat, which she quickly attached to the Pidgeot.
This seat is something she got from Mr.Marcelo for helping him with his work. Well, the seat wasn't made for Felicia's size, so they are quite large and even with the safety belt on. Once Felicia got up onto the seat, then with the windshield on, she slowly caressed Ponewt's feather, signaling her that Felicia was ready.
Ponewt took her signal and spread out her massive wing, the massive wing length to eight meters combined, with one little beat, that was as silent as the night. Felicia was already off the ground and in the sky.
A smile crept up on her as she spread out her arm and let the wind hit her softly. They were flying fast, at least around half a mach, due to Felicia's child's body, and even with this, Ponewt put up a barrier of tailwind that would keep the wind pressure from crushing Felicia's body.
"The sun feels very good today, right Ponewt?" Felicia slowly caresses Ponewt's feathers, with the Pidgeot cooing after her in affirmation.
Felicia picked up her camera and started snapping pictures of the sky, the forest with various Pokémon flying by, and by chance, she even managed to capture the wild Lucario teaching two little Riolus how to throw a punch.
After a quick flight of 20 minutes, she landed on top of the ranger tower, and Felicia quickly unbelted from her seat and hopped down.
"Oh! You back already, lass?" The man with bronze skin, sitting on the tower with an icy drink in hand, waved at her.
"Yes, I got a lot of good pictures this time too." Felicia took the camera hanging on her neck and quickly uploaded the picture onto her phone and shared it with the Ranger network.
"Ay, Good work as always, Oh? This is the Tinkatink I ask for, right? Good thing the little gal finally forged her hammer." Mr. Marcelo said, still resting on the sunlounger, casually drinking while looking through the photo.
The little Tinkatink that Felicia has gone after to get the picture was marked, since the little baby got separated from it group, the baby was espiecially weak for her kind, and from what she observe, she often get lost in the forest, often did she need help from Ponewt to subtly guide the baby back from Desert to back to her mountain range, with the help of Ponewt, her group would found her soon, after all the leader was a Tinkaton.
Welp, that was all in a day's work; the rest she would leave to the local ranger who knew much more.
Ding!
Hearing the familiar sound, Felicia checked her phone and quickly bowed lightly. "Thank you for this week's payment." The fifty Poké Dollars, while not much, are better than nothing; she could get quite the luxurious meal if she wanted with this, but she would save it for when she was ready.
She has already saved over fifteen thousand Poké Dollars, which are being set aside for daily use and emergencies, and she keeps them in a separate account. All in all, for a girl who hasn't even received her Official ID yet, fifteen thousand is quite a lot of money, not as much as those kids who often battle or have a part-time job that pays daily…
"No worry, great, you keep working with us. I will have Ponewt escort you to the edge of the forest. Get home safe, little lass. Rumors have it that there are some wild Pokémon on the loose." Mr. Marcelo quickly dismissed Felicia with a wave, but still gave her a word of warning.
"Thank you, I will be careful." Saying her thank you and goodbye, Felicia got down from the tower with Ponewt still following after her from the sky. The Pokémon in this area were already familiar with her, after all, just passing this forest was next to Pokémon Center and the park she often visited every day, in fact, that's where those daily use money gone to.
A pack of berries costs ten Poké Dollars, which gives her a wide variety of them. Well, it's a mixed bag, so it costs less, and there are no actual rare berries in them. Those cost upwards of a hundred and even thousands per pack.
Thinking about it, the hours she spent trying to gain the trust of the local ranger and the Pokémon around the area, it took a big hit in her allowance to the point her mother scolded her harshly and even cut her allowance in half.
But it was worth it in the end, because now she could take a photo of the wild Pokémon, even manage to befriend the local ranger, and get a ride on Ponewt the Pidgeot.
And she also makes her own money now, though her mother still gives her allowance, which are saves toward her academy fee instead.
With a wave goodbye to Ponewt, she made her way to the Local Pokémon center to buy a berry bag.
"Oh! It's our best customer. Why hello, little Feli." The nurse Joy leaned forward from the counter, with a relaxed smile, and on her side was a pack of berries ready.
"Hello, it's good to see you so relaxed today too." Felicia gave her a standard greeting, to which the nurse simply nodded.
"Well, the battle academy year hasn't started yet, and the gym circuit has already ended, so it gives a lot of time to relax during this time." The nurse handed over the bag, alongside some poffin.
"Poffin…how much?" Looking at the bag, it contains around 10 poffins. So with the estimated market price along with the ingredients price…most of them are sweet flavor, so it's quite easy to get, take away the labor cost, the tool cost…packaging and time it took to make each batch, then it should be around…twenty-two? No, no, depend on the quality, which, while it isn't perfect, it's better than most sold by the Pokémart, so twenty-five?
"Those are something I made, it's a gift for your hard work." Nurse Joy said with a chuckle before patting her on the head. "Now shoo! The Pokémon are waiting for you."
"Ah…Thank you." With a bow, Felicia quickly paid for the bag of berries, before quickly running away, unbewar of the redness in her ear.
Approaching her usual spot in the park, she sat down on the grass before putting the bag down. Felicia stared at the Poffins on her hand. "Gift…" She received gifts before, all of which were from her mother and cousin, but never from…other outside of her family.
Taking a bite out of the pink puffin, the sweetness filled her; the chewy texture alongside the crunchy edge was…amazing. "She uses Watmel, Magost… there's also a hint of Belue extract, for the texture…did she add sticky rice flour too? She probably uses Pincha soda?"
It's good, the poffin, while berries do affect Pokémon, those effects do not occur to humans, no matter how much they consume them. But eating too much is still not good for the body.
"Pichu!" Suddenly, two little rodents playing together from the bush startle Felicia. It was Pichu, the pre-evolution to Pikachu.
The two little rodents were playing with their tails touching and crying out. On top was one with spiky ears, a female.
The little rodents playfully touch each other's cheeks and release electricity, laughing along with each zap. Felicia moved slowly as her hand reached the camera and quickly snapped up a few photos of the Pichu.
"Chu!" the male cried out as he got up and ran around chasing the female Pichu.
With her smile deepened, Felicia quickly took more photos until finally the Pichu stopped and came to notice her.
"Pi?" "Pichu!" The two little Pichu quickly approached her without fear, probably smelling the Poffins. Seeing this, Felicia only let out a small smile before reaching into her Poffin bag along with some berries for the two.
"Pichu!" The male Pichu holds the poffin up and starts dancing around, which the female mimics, creating this cute dancing, which Felicia did not miss the opportunity to take a few photos.
"Corvis!" "Flec!" The two cries of Pokémon make her look up and smile even more. The usual duo have come back to have their daily rival fight, with Fletchinder gaining the upper hand this time due to his being able to warm up his body faster than Corvisquire, and being able to bind him with the vine she picked up. Well, those got burned up fast.
Ever since she first met the duo on that day, they have been fighting nonstop, even during their mealtime. Or snack time when Felicia comes with berries.
Felicia watched as the Fletchinder swooped in with high speed, its body burning with flame, and hit the wing go Corvisquire, who was unable to get out in time, but instead of letting it get free, the Corvisquire immediately used its claw, coupled with its weight, to bring down the Fletchinder; both fell down at the same time.
Panting while glaring daggers at each other. They come to a stop once they finally spot her along with their treats.
Felicia could only let out a little chuckle seeing their antics as both approached her, with Corvisquire getting closer for Felicia to 'comb' her feathers, while the Fletchinder just took the treat and flew up into the tree, and he began to roast the berries with his body heat before eating them.
As Felicia continued to rub the feather, feeling the oil in her hand, she could see the two little Pichu already falling asleep, nodding off after their stomach were full and finished playing, both did not release any electricity in their sleep, meaning they are on the verge of evolution into Pikachu now.
Seeing the Pokémon like this brings her so much peace that she dozes off a little, with the Corvisquire still letting Felicia 'comb' her feather. She learn that what the Corvisquire likes to do is called preening, not combing.
When she woke up, the sky had already turned an orange hue, and it was already evening. The two little Pichu were now already rummaging through her berry bag, with the poffin bag now gone too, probably from the other wild Pokémon in the park.
Corvisquire and Fletchinder have already left for their nest, the people are already thinning out, and it's time for her to go home.
Getting up, she startled the two Pichu, but they didn't release their electricity. Thank Arceus, it would hurt a lot.
"Let's meet again next time." With a light pat on their head, avoiding their cheek to not get shocked, Felicia leaves the park for Levincia, the former port city.
The city landscape certainly changed a lot since Iono, the now Gym leader of Levincia, took charge and changed up a lot of the city outlook to be more modern. Though what remains is still the battle arena in the middle of the city, while it took some change, most of it still remains the same.
Felicia walked past the various shops, passed many uncles and aunts selling their items, and came to a stop at the apartment. Quickly making way inside, she took out her keycard and entered her room, the inside already wafting with the scent of food.
"Dear, did you go and play with the Pokémon again? Go take a shower and come eat." Her mother, Anisa, said from the kitchen, which Felicia obeyed.
After finishing the shower, she sat down at the dining table, and the food was served. Simple fried rice for today.
"Thanks for the food," Felicia said before slowly digging in. The fried rice was spicy, just as she liked. The rice falls apart nicely, not crumb together, and each grain is full of flavor.
"How did the photo shoot go today?" Her mother asks, eye full of smile, so Felicia began to recount her day, the time she spent making Ponewt Guide the baby Tinkatink, how she saw Lucario teaching their young, and the time she had spent with the two little Pichu and the usual antics of Corvisquire and Fletchinder…
"...Mom…Can I-"
"No, until you meet one that would resonate with you." Her mother replied immediately, cutting off the rest of Felicia's words.
"...what does resonate even mean…" Felicia mutter was not escaped by her mother's ear.
"You will know when the time comes, dear." Her mother's reply was cryptic, as usual…
"Then…can I ask about…dad?" When her mother heard that, a frown immediately appeared on her face. But she quickly brushes it off.
"We can talk about him when you grow up." That was all she replied before she finished her meal and took the dish to wash.
Felicia knew her father was alive, well, not with her, but alive. He got a divorce after Anisa was unable to endure to constant ignoring from him, even during her birth and her birthday; he never showed up, never called, or even left a message. She heard some rumors from her aunt when they thought she didn't listen, mostly about how he focused on research so much he forgot about his family, and even when she was born, he didn't have the decency to even visit to see his child, or visit even after the divorce, that's why she never even saw his face.
The only reason Felicia even wants to talk about him is that he is researching Pokémon in the Crater zone, where no one is allowed to go. That was all; she didn't have anything to add for that man.
For all she knows, by now he might already be dead. The Crater zone is unpredictable after all, or that's what she heard from the ranger, Mr. Marcelo.
Felicia quickly finished her meal and washed the dishes. She went back to her room and started her daily accounting. After she finished, the sky had truly darkened, and it was time for bed already.
Took out her phone to set the alarm for tomorrow, she quickly organized her pictures. Tomorrow was Monday, and she needed to go to school…Well, it almost ended anyway, and she already remembers all there is for the elementary school, plus middle and high school material, that was how good her memory is, pretty weird, isn't it?
Though just because she remembers doesn't mean she can apply them whenever she wants, it's just that…remembered.
"Resonate…" What does that even mean…What does it mean…to resonate with a Pokémon…? Is her mother just throwing around fancy words just to not let her get any Pokémon? It's been like this ever since she met Kelly.
Felicia would ask her mother for a Pokémon, but the woman refused, every time. While her family isn't rich, they are quite well off for even in Levincia, a city that is full of modern technology. They could go around the globe for vacation two or three times if they want to, and wouldn't need to worry about money…well, now it seems she is actually quite rich…
Caring for even a high-maintenance Pokémon would be a bit of a problem, but not impossible, and she didn't even want that; she wanted to take in both the Corvisquire and Fletchinder since they were Fletchling and Rookidee, both Pokémon are very independent, but her mother vehemently refused every time.
The woman would use the same excuse without fail, having a Pokémon resonate with you this, or resonate with Pokémon that, at this point, if she just said no, would make Felicia feel a hundred times better than these cryptic things.
"There's no point in thinking Feli…It's time to sleep." Muttering softly to convince herself, Felicia slowly fell asleep.