RE: Winds of Time - PokéBeach CYOA - Chapter 5
Chapter 6
You took in a deep breath of cold air and blinked hard. Despite the fear inside, you already knew you had no choice but to ask for help. The trick is getting up the courage to expose yourself, a move you are very hesitant to make. As a hunter, you were trained to hide out and attack your prey at the right moment, not to ask a strange old man for help. As the man and his assistant walked by, you leapt out of the dense tree corpses and into the strangers’ path.
“You have to help,” you said adamantly.
The stern man put a few fingers through his mustache and placed his thumb and forefinger just beyond the bridge of his nose, at the corner of his eyes, and clicking his eyelids. His eyes flickered as he sharpened his vision toward you. However, he was not interested in her at all. He was staring at the bundle inside of her jacket.
“Young girl, are you attempting to smuggle a Pokemon?” he asked.
You made a disgusted face and snapped at him for it. You explained the situation with Piplup and pleaded for some sort of medicine or potion. The man glanced from the sick Penguin Pokemon to the white ground in an act of depression.
“I am not sure if I can find what you need, but if you follow me to my lab, here,” the man said, gesturing out in the middle of nowhere. He noticed your confused face and explained that he owns a laboratory just a few hundred yards away. “You are invited to stay the night and recuperate from the harsh weather. Now, whether you come or not is of your own accord. I am only responsible for the well-being of Pokemon, so you may do whatever you want.”
You couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. He just threatened to heal Piplup up on his own? He can’t just think you don’t want to be there for your own Pokemon. You hugged Piplup tighter and heard its pitiful squeaking. You sighed, turned around, and looked at the two men once again.
The assistant steps forward and directly apologizes for his boss’s behavior. “Professor Rowan has a way with words. He is asking you and your Piplup to come with us to our home, but he doesn’t want you to feel forced. Just the other day, a kid gave us his dying Swinub and didn’t bother staying during its final moments. He moved on with his journey.”
The three of you began to walk on. Sometime during your journey, Professor Rowan stopped you so he could look at the Pokemon. The professor removed your Piplup out of the blankets it was wrapped in and cradled it within his own arms. You frowned at the lack of warmth given to the poor thing, but Piplup’s eyes soon became more clear and conscious than before.
“You see, Piplup loves freezing weather. Even when sick, the Pokemon prefers the cold. While I understand why you wrapped it in blankets, the heat only made the Pokemon sweat more. You need to think about the context of your situation--you have a sick penguin on your hands. What do you do? Keep it warm, but not burning up. However, don’t let it freeze in regular weather, either. Though our body temperature isn’t hot, it is comforting enough for our Piplup to feel a hint of warmth in the cold.”
You listened to the man talk on and on about the environment’s effects on Pokemon behavior, but you eventually tuned him out. Had you, then, been doing the right thing or wrong thing for Piplup? You can’t really blame yourself, though, because you are still an inexperienced trainer with not much of a background. You don’t bother to tell the professor, though, because there’s no telling what he might say. The assistant talked to you more about that poor Swinub, and Professor Rowan eventually felt required to say something.
“I have a complete distrust in children, you see. They are impatient, ignorant, and selfish. I remember this one child that could not stop running around. He even threatened to fine me for not giving him a Pokedex right away. Ever since I began meeting survivors who disregarded their Pokemon, I have slowly began to live in solitude. This is one of the only assistants I can stand anymore.”
The three of you walked in silence for another few minutes before coming up to the lab. It was almost completely submerged in the snow. The roof was pure white and the windows were covered in a thick layer of ice. Professor Rowan grabbed a key from his brown suit and jabbed it in the ice-encrusted hole, causing little pieces of ice to fall onto the soft pillowcase of snow.
First, he gave you Piplup to hold onto before he tried anything. Then, he turned the knob, moved his body slightly back, and then slammed against the door with all his might. The edges of the doorframe cracked with the ice, but the door swung open into a bitterly cold, dark room. The professor ushered the others in and, in an appropriate manner, slammed the door back into its original position. Professor Rowan cleared his throat and peered into the utter darkness of his shelter.
“I know you cannot see anything, but just wait a second,” he told you.
Soon, you heard small pawprints thumping on the ground. They quickly stopped somewhere in front of you and then a flash of fiery light was thrown in what was soon revealed to be the base of a chimney. The cold wood that was already put in the pit began burning with ease. Soon, your nearby surroundings were exposed. You could see two full beds off to the side, a cushiony round dog bed suitable for a smaller Pokemon, and some private possessions like picture frames and trinkets off to the side on random side tables. The center of the room was one long dining table, probably twenty feet in length, cluttered with dirty dishes and used napkins. The leftmost side of the room stayed dark, though you felt at ease being in the presence of fire again.
Suddenly, a small Pokemon walked up to your legs. It rubbed against you like a cat, but it was more fox-like. It looked cold, much like everyone else, but the fire obviously made it more powerful. Professor Rowan exited the area and went on to the left side of the house. The assistant quickly brought you a chair as you sit down with the sick Piplup still lying in your arms. Though it was asleep, you were able to feel the sickness in its breathing. Piplup was trembling just slightly, but enough for you to worry.
Professor Rowan returned with a small pillow. He set it by the fire (though at a decent-enough distance as to keep it from overheating) and laid Piplup down on it, allowing its head to sit at a more comfortable angle than just keeping it on the cold ground. You smiled at seeing it being taken care of, but you wonder what is going to happen next.
While Piplup was left near some heat, the assistant strikes a match he found on one of the tables and began to light candles all around the rest of the one-room house. You told yourself, though, that there might actually be other secret rooms. The man left you alone with the professor and then called for the other to talk to him in private.
You sat alone beside Piplup and the velvety-feeling fire fox. You thought about your journey from the previous town to this mysterious house. Was it actually worth it? You ended up getting Piplup sick and yourself taken into custody by two scientists. What are they going to do?
“Excuse me,” Professor Rowan said from the other side of the room, closer to one of the ends of the table. He stood on the line between the middle and left part of the house. “I have a few questions to ask you. Now that I have brought you to some shelter, we have a serious talk ahead of us.”
You nodded and stood up, pushing back your stiff, icy hair and tucking it behind your ear. You went over to the table and sat down next to the edge. Promptly, Professor Rowan did as well. The assistant quickly ran over to sit across from you and beside his boss. He looks you square in the eyes.
“I know your kind. You kill Pokemon for food. For the adrenaline. I do not approve of any of these methods. I see something in, some light in this dark new world. I need you to do something for me, and you need to do it for yourself, too. I have given countless machines out to trainers, but I always find them in the snow, the trash, or in the hands of a thief. Do you know what this machine is, young girl?”
You watched as the professor’s assistant lifts a red system into your view. It had creases on the front as if a part of the mechanism popped up. There was a blue dot at the top of the machine, probably for some notification of some sort. You shook your head and apologized for not knowing. Professor Rowan was not affected by your answer. He didn’t even blink.
“I trust you, but I’m not sure why. Like I said, there is a spark in your eye that says you can succeed. I want you to take this machine and study the effects of Pokemon in this new habitat. This machine--this Pokedex--is an encyclopedia of Pokemon. In other words, it has all the information you need. However, it will only bring up the information upon meeting a new Pokemon.”
You perked up and thought about the excellent opportunities the item can bring. It could tell you what to watch out for, what moves to expect, and even if a Pokemon were to taste good or not. You explained to the professor that you are interested in the weather’s effect on a Pokemon’s activities. He nodded in approval. However, he sharply opened his eyes and stared at you coldly.
“Now, like I said, I know your kind.”
Your face grew more serious as you take that insult to heart.
“However, I will not discriminate by any means. You were born to be a hunter--that’s what you do, and that’s what humanity has done for a very long time. But,” the professor continued, grabbing the Pokedex for emphasis, “I need to know something. You kill Pokemon for food when there are still fruits and berries that are somehow still growing through this weather. You should not be eating these poor creatures in such a manner, or, at least, that is how I see it. Accepting meat from an outside source is fine, though, because you do not want a sacrifice to go to waste. I just do not want you to be using your Pokedex for hunting.”
You thought about the consequences of not killing Pokemon. Surely the old man has realized that this is a new era? Humans and Pokemon cannot maintain any balance. One group now has to dominate over another.
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘We are under new circumstances!’ Nonsense. The relationship between humans and Pokemon can be saved. You have the tools to make that happen. However, you yourself must go down that path. Think about it. Do you want to be a hunter,” the Professor said, gesturing toward your bow that has been exposed from our back pack. “Or a gatherer?” he asked while tilting his head toward the Pokedex.
You have been raised to kill Pokemon for meat. You have always known it can be necessary at times. However, this man is giving you the opportunity to change that and thrive on your own in the name of balance. What do you think you should do? Should you
A: Decline the offer and continue your journey the way you want to--you have a right! [Hunter]
B: Accept the offer and stop your killing (even if you thought it was necessary) in the name of balance [Gatherer]
Remember, the Pokedex is useful to you as a tool of information--what to avoid, what to check out, and what to do if a situation goes wrong. It will always be there if you need it. However, you may not need it at all. The choice is yours, PB. What are you going to do?
You have until
Sunday, October 12th to cast your votes! Be wise in your answer, or it may come back to haunt you!
