Chapter 2: First Steps, First Friends

It had been only roughly ten minutes since Eric had started his adventure to form his own explorer team. His sister Maya had just left with the Noctowl by the name of Nigel to jumpstart her musical career. Both siblings were equally determined in their endeavors & were on their way to success in their own individual fields. Though as Eric was just at the edge of Trinity Village, Marco’s voice suddenly pipes up in the Eevee’s head.

“Oi, kiddo, weren’t you gonna go pick some flowers or something before you left?” Marco asks.

“Oh right, I guess so. Honestly I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.” Eric smiles as he then makes his way to a small side road before the edge of the village. Marco let’s out a little grunt in response before going silent.
Walking along the small dirt path, past a couple small houses, Eric comes to a small fenced off area that’s filled with a beautiful patch of tri-colored flowers. Interestingly enough, there were red, yellow, & blue petals on each flower. In front of the fence, there was a tall wooden shack & stepping out the front door, was a Leavanny who gave Eric a little wave.
“Oh! Eric dear, hello! Just you today?” She approaches Eric & gives the Eevee a small pat on the head, which he smiles at.

“Heheh, hello Elaine. Good to see you again. I was gonna pick some of these trinity blossoms okay?” Eric asks & the Leavanny nods.

“Of course dear, help yourself. These blessed blossoms are open to everyone in this village after all.” Elaine says as she then opens the gate, letting Eric inside.

Stepping past the gate, Eric takes a deep breath, letting the aroma of the trinity blossoms flow on the breeze & into his nostrils, giving the Eevee a rejuvenating feeling that courses through his body. After breathing in the aroma, Eric leans down a bit to very gently pick a small pile of these flowers. Upon looking closer at them, Eric could see that for each individual flower indeed had only three petals, one a vibrant crimson, another a pale icy blue, & the third a striking yellow. The bulb that was in the center of this flower, was a lovely little bulb that had a spiraling pattern of red, yellow, & blue with a small white dot at its very center. The stem was a normal green as Eric picked 5 of these flowers in total. As he sat for a little while in this bed of flowers, Elaine the Leavanny would come walking by. “Eric dear, you have a whole new look in your eyes. Care to share what’s on your mind?” She asks & Eric nods.

“Well, I’m gonna go out & start my own explorer team. I wanted to take some of these flowers with me as you know, a sort of good luck charm I guess.” Eric explains, staring down at the flowers with a meaningful look in his eyes.

“Ohh I see…” Elaine trails off a bit before giving Eric a kind smile. “You know, I remember when you were so little & fragile. You used to come here every day when you felt yourself falling ill. Your family was always so worried about you. You’re sure you want to do this?” Elaine asks & Eric nods his head.

“Yeah, I really want to…. No, it’s more like I have to.” Eric let out a small sigh after he spoke. “I need to go out there. You, & my family are the only ones that know what happened to me back then, & I want to find a way to fix what’s wrong with me. I can’t do that if I stay home all the time.”

Elaine listens intently to Eric’s words & gives a nod. “I see, your mind is made up then dear. How very inspiring. May I have those blossoms for a bit? There’s something I want to do for you so they will stay as they are for you throughout your journey.” Eric looks up at the Leavanny before shrugging his shoulders & handing the flowers to her. Elaine smiles & makes her way to the shack. “Alright, come back here in about 30 minutes or so, I’ll have a little surprise for you when you leave.” Elaine spoke before shutting the door of the shack.

Eric nods his head as Elaine leaves, then after a moment, he would lean & slowly fall onto his back, letting the trinity blossoms fully surround his form as he stares up at the sky. “Man… can’t believe this is really happening. Or I guess, almost happening.” Eric remarks with a little chuckle.

“Are we really waiting 30 minutes for that Leavanny? Are we not in a time crunch or something?” Marco asks but Eric shakes his head.

“Nah, I don’t think so. We’re just gonna go to the next town for starters. We have all the time we need in my opinion. Let’s just take things slow to start.” Marco lets out an annoyed grunt as Eric takes in another deep breath, feeling the gentle breeze blow by. Said breeze would make a small swirl of multi-colored petals dance in the air, giving a rather beautiful display. Eric yawns before his eyes start to get heavy, & before he could say much more on anything, he suddenly fell asleep…..

Soon after, Eric would find himself drifting in total darkness, unable to tell what was up or down. There was the faint scent of trinity blossoms but it was quickly fading away. Eric’s eyes shifted around quickly as he could not ascertain which way was up or down, filling his head with anxious thoughts. “H-Hello?” Eric calls out into the darkened void but is met with no response. “M-Marco? Come on! This is you isn’t it!? What’d I do wrong!?”

Still met with silence, Eric sighs as he starts to try & maneuver himself through the darkness. His paws would eventually touch something solid to stand on & he would proceed through, unable to tell which way he was even going. “If this is your doing Marco, can you tell me why at least? I don’t wanna get scared just for no reason!” Eric calls out as he continues walking.

“Hmph. You’d like to know that wouldn’t you?” Marco spoke, his voice echoing in every direction, making Eric jump a bit in shock. “I can already see it happening kid, if you don’t take the initiative to get this team of yours situated sooner rather than later, you’re just gonna have way more problems down the line. And do you really want that on your mind? You’re already horrendous under pressure as it is.”

Eric seemed to hesitate as he heard Marco speak. As much as Eric hated listening to this agitated voice in his head, he did make a good point. Taking it too slow would be a bad idea, & yet part of him didn’t want to risk overexerting himself. But the overwhelmingly forceful presence Marco’s voice carried was always a persuasive factor on its own. “Y-You’re right… I’m sorry… I’ll wake up soon, & we can get going.” Eric lets out a little sigh.

Marco huffs in response before everything would go dark.

A moment passes & Eric’s eyes open once more. He sits up & looks around to see his surroundings unchanged, though Elaine was also in view, waving to Eric now upon seeing the Eevee awaken.

“Ah! Eric, I figured you fell asleep, & just in time too, I’m all done!” She says as Eric makes his way over to her. Elaine would then show with a little flourish 5 little slips of paper, & pressed into each of them, is a trinity blossom, very well pressed. “Here you go. Little blossom charms for good luck on your journey.”
Eric looks at each of these charms with wide eyes & he accepts them with a beaming smile. “Thank you! These are lovely!” He then gives Elaine a hug, then stretches a bit. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.” Eric then starts to make his way out of the village proper, with Elaine waving goodbye.

“Hey, that wasn’t so bad now was it?” Eric asks once he was finally on the way out of the village & on the main road, walking along the side of the dirt road, Eric glances down into his bag, admiring the pressed flowers before turning his attention back on his walking forward.

“Tsk, like I care. I’m just glad we’re finally on the move. Had about enough of seeing the same little sights day after day.” Marco remarks with a scoff.

Eric pouts a bit at this. “Oh come on, you! Trinity Village is my home! And it’s your home too!” Eric gives a small smile at that but was met with another scoff in response.

“Oh please! Don’t try to sell me that. That place is no home for me, & you know it! My home is elsewhere & I will be getting back to my home, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!” Marco says in a stern tone, making Eric whimper slightly.

“Okay okay, sorry for trying to cheer you up…” Eric mumbles under his breath.

Continuing onward, Eric would travel onward for the greater portion of an hour & a half, Eric would soon see the sight of some tall buildings in the distance. Getting closer & he could see a large arching sign that read: ‘Allenwood’. Seeing this, Eric’s expression brightens as he picks up his pace. “Allenwood! Finally, we’re here!” He quickly makes his way through & enters the town proper.

Stepping through, Eric could see there was significantly more hustle & bustle than the sleepy little village he lived in. There were all sorts of pokemon going about their business, some of them were in little stands on the side of the main town road, some of them calling out their various wares for sale. Eric couldn’t help but browse at many of the different stands & what they had for sale. Though after a little while, Eric looks around to see a tavern in the town’s square with a sign that reads, ‘The Dancing ‘Mon’.

“Hm….” Eric thinks to himself for a moment & before he could say anything else, his stomach grumbles.

“Welp, guess you know what you’re doin now. Got any money?” Marco asks, to which Eric rummages through his bag & pulls out a small sack of poke.

“Yeah, looks like mom snuck it in for me before I left.” Eric smiles before making his way inside. Upon pushing the door open however, Eric could see that the tavern unfortunately looked really empty, save for the sound of a broom sweeping along the floor. He tilts his head slightly & steps inside more, pushing past a chair to see that the majority of the chairs & tables were pushed away & into a small circle. In the center of the circle of tables & chairs, Eric catches the sight of the back of a short, yet lithe blue & black furred figure, setting a broom against a chair. Eric could then see this figure a bit clearer after a small cloud of dust had settled, now identified as a Riolu, start to take a few steps back, then stretch his arms upward for a moment, letting out a low groan. “Man, what a slow day. When’s Gramps coming back…?” The Riolu mutters, then after tapping his foot on the floor, he starts to take methodical, rhythmic steps to the side, slowly spinning his body once, twice, three times before leaping up onto a chair, balancing on one foot paw before jumping off & spinning quickly before gracefully landing on both feet, then with that bit of descending momentum, goes into another spin & stops, one arm outstretched, now fully facing Eric. It is then Eric could see the set of red glasses that gently rested on the Riolu’s snout.

“Oh! Hi there, welcome.” The Riolu blinks twice, then straightens up a bit, placing a hand on his hip as Eric gave a small round of applause. “This here’s the Dancing ‘Mon, but sorry, we’re closed right now. The owner stepped out for a bit & I can’t really run this place by myself.” He admits with a little chuckle.

“Oh, uhh, sorry. I wasn’t aware this place was closed. Sorry.” Eric lets out a nervous chuckle of his own as the Riolu seems to look Eric up & down briefly.

“Are you by yourself? What’s your name?” The Riolu asks, tilting his head.

“My name’s Eric, uh, what about you?”

“Heh, my name’s Riley. Nice to meet you Eric.” The Riolu, Riley replies, sauntering up to Eric & he holds out a hand, which Eric shakes. “Ya know, now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.” Riley remarks, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Umm, maybe? I remember there was a talent show a few months back.” Eric remarks & at that, Riley snaps his fingers at that. “Ah! That’s right! I remember, I participated in that. Shame I didn’t win, that other Eevee that played the piano was a literal genius, using the move swift to play the keys she couldn’t reach. Man, she was smart.” Riley grumbles a bit at that, to which Eric chuckles some more.

“Yeaaaah, uh that was my sister.” Eric admits with a little shrug.

“Huh, ya don’t say. I can see the resemblance.” Riley leans in a bit closer to look at Eric, the two practically staring into each other’s eyes. After a moment of pause, Riley leans back. “Hey, why don’t we get outta here? My grandpa’s still out & left the tavern all dark while I cleaned it. Come on, it may be hot today, but it’s still lively outside.” He says as he then makes his way to the door, holding it open for Eric who nods & makes his way back outside.

The now pair of pokemon would then make their way through Allenwood Town, with some individual pokemon greeting Riley, who happily greets them back. They head up to a small hill on the edge of town, where Riley sits down & gestures for Eric to sit with him.

“So, have you been traveling by yourself?” Riley asks once Eric took a seat.

“Not for very long, just starting from Trinity Village.” Eric replies as he looks out over the town with Riley. “Actually, I’m trying to start up an explorer team of my own.” Eric gives a little shrug of his shoulders as he says that. “I haven’t asked anyone yet though. I uhh, guess I haven’t thought this through very well huh…?” As Eric spoke, Riley could see the Eevee’s expression lower bit by bit, as well as getting a slowly growing sense of self doubt via his passive ability of light aura sensing.

“Hey, no need to feel bad, it’s tough taking those first few steps. I mean you said so yourself you haven’t asked anyone yet. And this is a lively town, why don’t we go around & see if there’s anyone who’s willing to give things a shot with you?” Riley offers a hand out to Eric as he speaks, a gentle breeze blows by, ruffling the Riolu’s somewhat scraggly fur as he gives a friendly smile.

Eric stares at Riley for a solid 10 seconds, unsure of what to say at first, until Marco rudely clears his throat to startle Eric.

“Oh! Uhhh, y-yeah of course! That would be great, thank you!” Eric takes Riley’s hand & the two get back onto their feet & start heading back down to town.

Going into the town’s square once more, the duo made their way around, chatting up the local pokemon & inquiring about anyone who would be interested in forming an explorer team with Eric. Though the majority of these conversations involved Riley initiating, & with Eric only chiming in every once in a while. However, the conversations would all more or less have the same result, there being a polite decline along with some extra reason strung along. After twenty or so minutes, the duo both collectively sigh as they both sit down on a bench together.

“Man, that stinks. Shame there wasn’t anyone in the square that was interested.” Riley glances down at Eric, pushing his glasses up a bit as he speaks.

“It’s okay, thanks for trying with me anyway. It really means a lot.” Eric replies with a small smile. “Say, wouldn’t you want to make a team with me?”

Riley thinks for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders. “I dunno, I think it would be nice, but I don’t think I can for right now. I don’t wanna leave my gramps all by his lonesome.” Riley explains. Eric sighs as he looks down to the ground.

“So there’s no one else around that can start a team with me, huh… I’ll have to go to another town then.” Eric looks somewhat dejected, a feeling that Riley was able to quickly pick up on due to the aura. Though before he could say anything else, the pair could hear the sound of light talons scraping against stone as a voice spoke up to them.

“Hey! You’re going around looking for an explorer team or whatever?”

Riley & Eric both look to see a Murkrow wearing a small red bandana approaching them. Riley’s expression turns to a grimace as the Murkrow approaches, while Eric’s expression brightens.

“Yeah! Well, I’m the one that’s looking to start a team actually!” Eric gives the Murkrow a little smile.

“Oh really? Well then…” The Murkrow pauses for a moment, looking Eric over briefly, before he seems to don a more amicable expression. “You can consider yourself lucky! For I, Dante Murkrow, would be more than happy to start a team with you!” The Murkrow spoke, placing a wing to his chest.

Eric lets out a gasp at this as he looks far more excited, his tail starting to quickly wagging back & forth. “Really!? Are you serious!?” Eric quickly hops off the bench & approaches Dante, leaving Riley alone on the bench. As he does, Dante puts a wing over Eric & starts to walk away with him.

“Sure sure, come on, tell me all about it Eevee. I’m just dying to hear it.” Dante spoke, chatting up Eric as he seemed eager to hear what Eric had to say about the idea of an explorer team. As for Riley, he zeroes his gaze in on the Murkrow, his aura sense picking up on something different, but before he could say anything, the two had already left. Riley sighs & slowly slides off the bench.

“Great… Why’d that guy have to show up all of a sudden?” Riley grumbles to himself. “Ah well, not like I could do anything, I have the tavern to help run with Gramps after all, maybe I’m just paranoid…” Sighing once more, Riley would then slowly walk back to the Dancing ‘Mon, his hands behind his back as he gazes up at the passing clouds.

Stepping back into the tavern, Riley could see that it was now well lit, with all the tables & chairs fully in place. The only one inside was a somewhat elderly looking Charizard wearing what looked to be a simple looking gray vest, their wings pressed in against their back, along with a pair of thin reading glasses resting on their snout as they appeared to be doing a crossword puzzle. Over in the corner of the tavern, there was what looked to be a rather extravagant looking record player that was letting out some smooth piano song, one that the Riolu had taken a particular liking to.

Riley’s expression brightens upon seeing the Charizard & he starts to waltz his way over to him. “Hi Gramps, I’m back! Sorry I left without saying anything!” Riley chuckles a tiny bit before spinning once & goes for a hug.

The Charizard looks down to Riley & gives a small smile, patting the Riolu once on the back.

“Ah Riley, there you are. So, did you enjoy your little outing?” Gramps asks & Riley nods before hopping up onto a chair beside the large Charizard. “I see you’ve been keeping up with your practicing as well. That does this old heart of mine good.” Gramps places a clawed hand on Riley’s hand, who smiles wider as he feels the hand ruffle his head fur a bit.

“Thanks. I did learn from the best after all.” Riley remarks as he rubs the back of his head briefly. “Anyway, it’s been slow today, but I did meet someone new. You remember that Eevee family from Trinity Village that came for the talent show like, a month back?” Riley asks & Gramps nods his head as Riley continues. “Well as it turns out, the youngest son, Eric, came here today. And he’s actually looking to start an explorer team!”

“Ohh is that so? Did he ask you to take part?” Gramps asks, tilting his head slightly.

Riley’s ears drop slightly at that. “Yeah, he did actually…”

“And I take it you said no?” Gramps raises an eyebrow at this.

Riley nods his head in response. “Yeah, I mean, I really want to join Eric, but I don’t wanna leave you alone either. You’ve done so much to take care of me ever since mom & dad well, you know….” Riley slowly removes the glasses from his face & stares into the lenses, his reflection slightly appearing, staring back at his now saddened expression. “I just, don’t wanna seem ungrateful by just leaving an old man like you all alone.”

Gramps stares at the Riolu before adjusting his own glasses slightly.
“Riley, come now. You really think I’m that old & frail? I’m still one of the best dancers in all of Stratos! Retired, sure, but still one of the best. I can take care of myself.” Gramps gives a little grin as Riley looks up at him once more. “Come my boy, there’s another reason you want to join that boy & his little team, isn’t there?” Gramps asks, making Riley jump a tiny bit.

“Y-You could tell I have another reason?” Riley blinks twice at this & Gramps simply nods. “Man, I always forget how shockingly intuitive you are…” Riley trails off, taking a deep breath & exhaling, slowly slipping his glasses back on.

“Okay, there is another reason, but I don’t wanna seem selfish if I tell him.” Riley brings his hands together, looking down at them as they begin to tremble slightly.

“Hm…” Gramps stares down at Riley for a moment longer, then glances at the crossword puzzle he was working on, then back to the Riolu.

“Well, in my humble opinion Riley, even a selfish reason should serve as motivation enough to want to go & find answers, especially if you’re traveling with others. Just don’t let that selfish reason prevent you from making the right decisions. Does that make sense?” Gramps gives Riley a somewhat firm, but still equally caring look, which Riley nods his head to.

“Yeah, that does make sense. Even if my reason is selfish, I can still go with him?”

“Of course! Everyone’s got their own reasons for doing what they do, & who knows, should everything go well, then you can fulfill your wish with whoever it is you travel with. And if you happen to trip & fall, you’ll have friends & loved ones to help you back up.” Gramps sees Riley’s expression brighten before he feels him hug once again. Gramps smiles & hugs Riley back before setting him back down. “Don’t worry about me Riley, I can handle myself. If you want to go, then don’t let me stop you. But before you do…” Gramps then slowly gets up from his seat & makes his way over to the bar, taking slow yet methodical steps to which Riley could clearly see the old Charizard was walking in time to the music playing in the background. Even his tail, still alight with a bright & healthy flame was idly swinging in perfect time, like the arm of a metronome as Gramps went & grabbed a small box. Walking back over, he hands it to Riley who opens it to find it filled with bundles of dark gray cloth. He pulls one out with a curious look to see they were in fact bandanas. “Gramps err, how long have you had these? I mean, they’re lovely, but have you always just kept a box full of bandanas under the bar?” Riley asks, semi-deadpan as he looks up at the old Charizard, who simply chuckles to himself. “Also, there are like five in here. Eric & I are the only ones on a team, or at least, going to be on one.” He adds, cocking an eyebrow as he speaks.

“Ohh don’t you worry about where they came from my boy. They’re a parting gift for you & the friends that I know you’ll be making on your new little adventure. Treat those with care, & good things are sure to come your way, okay?” Gramps says while walking back to his chair & sits down once more. Riley couldn’t help but smile as he closed the box.

“Alright, I will. Thank you. On that note, I’ll be going now. I’ll see you around.” Riley then turns & makes his way over to the door, waving goodbye to the Charizard, who waves back.

“Happy trails my boy! And whatever your reason might be Riley, I have faith you’ll make good choices!” Gramps says as Riley slowly closes the door.

Once he was outside once more, with the box tucked under his arm, Riley then closes his eyes & takes a breath, the appendages on the side of his head slowly lift as he tunes to his aura sense more than before. It’s then through this sixth sense that Riley manages to pinpoint Eric’s aura.

“Huh, the edge of town…? And I sense Dante’s aura too… hold on, is that a third? Did Eric make another friend already? Man, now I have to catch up to him!” Riley then hops in place a couple times before breaking out into a run, grinning to himself as he hastily catches up with Eric, though as he gets closer, he could sense that something was off. “Uh oh, why does Eric seem more distressed than before? What the hell is Dante doing?” Riley wonders to himself, ducking & weaving through the crowded streets of town. It’s until he arrives at the edge of Allenwood Town that he finally sees the cause of Eric’s distress…