New Horizons

As the sun started to fall below the horizon, Xander’s consciousness returned to him for the second time in one day. He stretched his arms forward and lifted his rear, yawning loudly to himself before hopping off the bed. He could hear noises coming from downstairs: clanging pots and the murmur of voices. Not wanting to be a freeloader, Xander wandered downstairs to see if he could help with anything.

Melrose watched patiently as her friend made his way down the steps head first. Each of Xander’s steps grew more confident, but near the staircase’s end– he stumbled. Melrose was quick to catch him, and the two laughed a little. “No worries, you’ll get the hang of it.”

“I still can’t do stairs,” Chile admitted, his voice coming from the kitchen. “My legs are just two darn short…”

“Maybe it’s about time you evolved?” Melrose tilted her head. “You’ve surely been more than ready for a while now.”

Xander turned the corner so he could see the Lotad, and his expression was entirely unsure. He shuffled his feet as he grabbed a wooden spoon for Melrose, holding it carefully in his mouth. Once she took it, he sighed at the floor. “I don’t really know if I like the idea. Having my body change like that sounds kind of scary. Besides, I’m not really a fighter or anything like that.”

Melrose frowned at him. “I guess it’s entirely up to you, but I don’t get it.” She began stirring some sort of broth with the spoon, her tail swishing back and forth happily as she did this. It was a pretty big pot, but Xander still wasn’t sure if it was enough to feed everyone.

“Uhm, hey guys?” Xander approached both of them. “Is there anything I can do to help? You know, with dinner?”

The Pikachu stopped her stirring and thought for a moment, “I don’t really think so? You’re a guest, anyways. So, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t know if I’m capable of that.” Xander’s tail flicked. “I’ve been sleeping the day away while you’ve been hard at work… even after taking on a frightening opponent.” Melrose looked back at him, rather amused. Xander could feel his face get a little heated, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because, you’re being silly!” She giggled. “But, if you really want to help with something… could you go fetch Nate and Koa? They should be done offloading the apples by now. Check the barn.”

“Okay, I can do that.” Xander turned towards the door and pushed it gently. With a click, the door’s locking mechanism was undone and he could fully push the door open. He smiled to himself; it was a pretty clever way to make sure most Pokémon could use such a door. He trotted along towards the bright red barn.

“Careful, Nate. Don’t bruise the produce.”

“I know what I’m doing! Jeez!”

The apple cart was aligned with a large water trough. Nate undid a metal hinge on the back so that the apples would fall out into the trough and get washed. They were spilling steadily, until the pile became level and needed to be removed by hand. The Aipom used his tail to pull the rest of the apples out, and placed his hands on his hips once he was done.

“Told ya, Koa. Ain’t no trouble at all.”

Xander cleared his throat, and the two farm hands turned to look at him. Nate crossed his arms at the newcomer, but Xander didn’t pay this much mind. “Melrose told me to get you both. I don’t really know why.”

Koa nodded his head, “Dinner’s probably just about ready. Get a move on, Nate.”

The large horse Pokémon left the barn, not waiting for the younger farm hand to follow. Nate scowled at Xander harder, “I don’t trust you.”

“Okay?” Xander sighed. “I don’t really need you to trust me? You aren’t my friend.”

Nate, for some reason, took offense to this. He hopped off of the cart and poked a hand against Xander’s forehead. “You think you’re better than me? Huh?”

“What? No?” Xander sighed. “Listen, I don’t really want to play this game. I have absolutely no reason to fight with you… and, I’m more or less sure I’m on excellent terms with Gaius, Melrose, and even Chile. As far as I’m concerned, I’m absolutely okay with that.” Xander walked past Nate. “Let’s just go see what Melrose wants.”

“Ugh, come on! You are so clearly full of yourself! It’s getting on my nerves!” Nate charged ahead of him and blocked the exit. “You’ve convinced everyone else that you’re the shit!”

“I haven’t–” Xander could feel the fur on his back rise, so he took a deep breath. “Can we just–” Nate shoved Xander, clearly wanting to start something. Xander wobbled back slightly, but was ultimately able to keep upright. “I don’t know what your issue is, man.”

“My issue is you!” Nate shoved him again. “Tussle! Show me what all the hype is about!” A smile appeared on the Aipom’s face, as he clearly excited himself by challenging Xander like this.

Xander’s ears flattened against his head. This Aipom has the emotional maturity of a toddler, which meant Xander probably wasn’t going to get out of this without a slight scuffle. Xander pounced towards Nate, shoving the Pokémon back with his two front paws. The Aipom fell to the ground.

“There. I tussled , yeah? Let’s go–”

“C’mon! Use Scratch! Ember! Something, you liar!”

“Liar? What are you…” Xander thought for a second. “Wait, is this about Melrose saying I can’t use any moves? That was serious. Why would I ever lie about something like that?”

“I don’t know! You’re the one who’s making all this mysterious nonsense up.” Nate got back up and dusted himself off.

“Listen, kid. I’m going to go inside the house. You can hate me, like, if that’s really what you want. I’m not going to humor this, okay?” Xander walked past without looking at him. Nate was grumbling to himself, but Xander lacked any further patience for the Aipom.

Leaving Nate in the barn, Xander returned to the kitchen with a dejected expression. Melrose called out loudly as she whacked at the side of the pot with the wooden spoon. “Soup’s on!” Chile excitedly hopped up to the table, and Xander followed suit. She tilted her head when she noticed the missing Aipom. “Where’s Nate?”

“He’ll probably show up soon,” Xander shrugged. “He was throwing a fit about me after Koa left.”

“Oh, maybe he’s just feeling challenged by having another man around the house.” Melrose teased. Chile laughed, but Xander wasn’t feeling quite as amused. Melrose noticed, and stopped the tease by patting Xander on the back. “He’s just weird about things, promise. It’s nothing to make a fuss over.”

“Melrose!” Gaius’s voice boomed from the back of the house. “Can y’all come eat at the table in ‘ere? I wanna talk to everyone!”

“Yes, Papa!”

Chile sighed, having just exerted the effort to make it to the chair. He jumped back down to help Melrose get everything to the garage side of their home. Xander was quick to assist, and the group got the stewpot to Gauis. The Tropius looked down at everyone, “Thank you, Rosie. Chile, Xander– Hey, wait one second.” He tilted his head. “Where’s Nate?”

“Still in the barn, I guess.” Xander sat by the table. Koa gave him a weird look.

“You didn’t walk with him back to the house?” The Mudsdale huffed, “You kidding me?”

“He’s the one who didn’t follow me back.” Xander rolled his eyes. “It’s not a big deal, really. He’s probably just sulking–”

“Everyone shut it. I’m here, jeez.” Nate entered through the open back entrance and sat at the table. “I was just making sure everything in the barn was in order. Why we all in here?”

Gaius blinked slowly down at the group, before smiling to himself. “Everybody settle. I have some important news to share.” The Pokémon looked amongst themselves before all sitting down and giving Gaius their full attention. Even though Xander knew what was coming, his stomach was hit with the usual anxiety brought by this level of fanfare.

The Tropius lifted a package away from the wall and set it on the table with his mouth, “Melrose, I want you to open this. This here box is addressed from the capital.”

Melrose’s eyes grew big, “Wait, you don’t mean–” She grabbed the package and pulled it closer to her, eagerly tearing it open without any theatrics. Inside was some sort of badge, a small bag, and a scroll. Melrose squealed with delight as she unrolled the letter.

“Dear Melrose,”

Melrose’s tail already started to swish from excitement, just from reading her name aloud.

“I am excited to inform you of your acceptance into the Rescue, Exploration, and Defense Academy. Report to the main building as soon as you receive this letter. We have provided you with this Academy Badge, which proves your authenticity, and a beginners Treasure Bag. Make haste, and travel safely.

–Adeline of the R.E.D. Academy staff.”

Melrose took a pause after reading the letter out loud before hugging the closest Pokémon to her, which just happened to be Xander. Xander let out an off-put laugh, but Melrose didn’t seem to notice.

“It got here real quick, I must admit.” Gaius chuckled to himself. “Ol’ Zeph must have actually submitted everything on time this year. Or, perhaps them Mail-Mon are gettin’ way better at their jobs. Either way,” He smiled fondly at his daughter. “You’ll be heading off for school tomorrow at sunrise.”

“Congrats, Rosie!” Chile smiled up at her. “I’m so proud of you!”

Koa nodded with a smile on his face, “We’re gonna miss you ‘round the farm, but it’s great to see you so darn excited.”

Nate stirred, and everyone looked at him expectantly. The Aipom kept his face away from everyone, before turning towards his foster sister with tears running down his face. “I’m gonna miss you Mel!” He choked back a dramatic sob and joined the Xander-Melrose hug pile, causing everyone aside from a certain Litten to laugh. “Lil’ Melrose is growing up without me! Bwah!”

It took a few minutes, but eventually the group started to calm down again. As they ate dinner, Gaius began to explain what he had already told Xander in private. Xander himself was mostly just nodding along, the majority of his attention focused on how good the soup was.

Melrose could hardly hold in her excitement, “You’re really trusting Xander and me to get to the capital on our own?”

“Not entirely, since It’s a fairly long way-away. Koa will go with you both, then head straight back. I don’t want to lose too many of y’all all at once, especially when we’re already low on staff. Can’t imagine you runnin’ into much trouble on your way there, but I’d rather know you got to the city safe-and-sound.”

“I travel much faster than most Pokémon do, so we’ll make great time.” Koa boasted, puffing his chest out.

Nate hit the table with his paw. “Am I the only one who don’t trust this actual stranger with Melrose?!”

“Yep,” Melrose put simply. “I think you are literally the only one who has a problem with him. So get over it, you knucklehead!” Melrose stuck her tongue out at Nate, but this time the Aipom didn’t return the tease. He just crossed his arms and went quiet.

The rest of dinner went along just fine. Everyone shared their emotions about the whole event as they ate, aside from Xander… who didn’t have much to say at all. From the moment he met Melrose, he had just been going with the flow. There really wasn’t much else he could reasonably do, and a sense of purpose was a great distraction from the existential dread of waking up in an unknown world.

Melrose, Nate, and Chile all carried the dishes back to the kitchen. There was some shouting about whose turn it was to wash everything, but Chile ended up volunteering to save everyone the grief of listening to Melrose and Nate bicker again. Spared from being caught in the crossfire of such an exchange, Xander climbed the stairs and collapsed back onto the bed. Despite waking up from a nap just a couple of hours ago, a belly full of soup created the perfect conditions for drowsiness.

However, just before Xander could doze off, Melrose peaked her head inside of the guest room. “Hey, Xander? Are you still up?” The Litten made a small noise before turning his head towards the noise. “Sorry, I just don’t think I’m tired enough to sleep yet. I can go bother someone else–”

“Nah, nah… It’s fine, Melrose.” Xander sat back up on the bed and pawed the mattress next to him. The Pikachu sat where her friend gestured. “Are you anxious?”

“Hmm, maybe. I think it’s a good anxiety though! I want it to be tomorrow already, so badly that I can’t sleep!” She let out a sigh, “but staying awake just makes it take longer!”

“Heh, you say that, but sleeping doesn’t make time pass any faster. It’s all based on your perception.” Melrose gave Xander an irritated look, and the Litten rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a smartass. I get what you mean.”

Melrose gave him a playful nudge. “I was just playing. I like the way you talk.” She smiled, but it faded after a moment. “Can I ask you something, Xander? How do you feel about all this?”

Melrose’s question took Xander off guard. It had to sink in before he could come up with an answer. “Is it rude for me to say I feel nothing?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, I’d obviously be offended if you knew me for years!” She giggled and kicked her feet back and forth. “What I care more about is whether or not you’re actually okay with going to the capital with me.”

“At first, I was really unsure about it, mostly because it seemed like a great deal of responsibility all at once. When I think about it though… it’s not like I would rather stay here.” He nodded, almost as if he needed to affirm that to himself as much as Melrose. “You’re my friend, I think? Traveling with you sounds fun.”

The smile was back on Melrose’s face. “Thanks for telling me that.” She took a deep breath before hopping off the bed. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep now. Goodnight, Xander.”

Xander watched as Melrose left the room, letting a smile appear on his own face before curling back up on the bed. He mumbled to himself as he tucked his face into the sheets. “Goodnight, Rosie.”