"I better find some firewood soon while there's still light," mumbled the young man as he eyed the surrounding forest. The shadows were deepening already. He reluctantly got to his feet. "Come on, Ukyou. I'm gonna need some help carrying the wood that'll last us the night."
"[I hope you're not suggesting that I am to be your beast of burden,]" the Pokemon said with a delicate sniff. She closed her eyes as she rested her head on the ground once more. "[I am a delicate creature, sugar, and I deserve to be treated like a lady.]"
Ranma gazed sideways at his recalcitrant charge with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to get stronger? And learn how to fight. Or did ya change your mind about that?"
"[I have not changed my mind,]" replied the Ponyta as she opened her eyes. A strange light seemed to burn in her eyes. "[I will become the strongest Ponyta my herd has ever seen. I'll be so strong that I'll be the youngest Rapidash ever! Then I'll show those nags who has the last laugh!]" She was on her feet, her breath steaming out of her nostrils. Then she gave another delicate sniff. "[But I fail to see how this pertains to that.]"
"Well," answered Ranma slowly, as he eyed the Pokemon with a wary gaze. "If you want to fight, you're gonna have get used to getting a little dirty."
"Besides," he continued, "if we're gonna have a fire running all night, we're gonna have to haul as much windfall as we can get while we still got light to see with. Don't know about you, but I like being warm at night." Ranma started walking towards the trees.
The Ponyta stood there in the field, watching as her new Trainer walked here and there at the edge of the surrounding forest. She watched as the human gathered fallen branches from the ground and piled them up near some large rocks. Her Trainer then entered deeper into the forest.
A breeze suddenly blew through the field. It seemed so cold and desolate now, without her new companion. The nights she had known in the past had been warm while she had been with the herd. But now, it would probably be cooler without the presence of the other horses. No other horses? There wouldn't be any friendly mares to sleep next to at night! And there would be no watchful eyes to guard over her while she slept! Ooo, this rash decision to leave the herd to find a Trainer was starting to resemble a bad decision on her part. Whickering in a worried tone, the Ponyta chased after her Trainer.
Later that evening, the young man and his Pokemon were gathered around a roaring campfire. He had decided to settle down for the night closer to the forest, in a rockier portion of the field. There was a smaller chance of starting a wildfire that way.
After uprooting a small boulder to make a firepit, he had fiddled around with a firestick and some tinder for several minutes, trying to get a fire started. When he had been asked by the Ponyta what he was doing, he had replied that he was trying to start a fire and would appreciate not being distracted. When the Ponyta had risen up and had struck her front hooves together to create sparks that landed on the kindling and tinder, he had felt somewhat foolish. But, as he had a fire to tend to, his thoughts did not linger long upon it.
Feeling a bit hungry, Ranma had considered rooting around in the fallen logs nearby for some beetle grubs until he remebered about the backpack that ditzy genie had left behind for him. Inside, he had found some energy bars which he quickly gobbled up. A pile of twelve wrappers and an emptied thermos later, he was leisurely examining the remaining contents of the backpack.
There was the camping gear like the cooking pot and the cast-iron pan. There was also some unexpected items like the strange computer thingy and the beltpack. And then there were the weird stuff like those red and white metal spheres and the cans of Poke-Chow. And there was also a newspaper clipping that had an ad for some Professor in Pallet Town needing assistants to care and feed the Pokemon he was studying.
Well, since Pallet Town was only three miles down the road, might as well check the place the place out. Probably was what that genie was talking about before she disappeared. And since he didn't have any money on him, it was as good a place as any to get used to this world. Maybe he could pick up a little bit more about what he was supposed to do as a Trainer as well.
After stoking up the fire to last through the night, Ranma settled down beside his slumbering Pokemon. Leaning back against the warm Ponyta, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
See other episodes by The Masked Lurker
(Posted Sun, 25 Jan 2004 06:58)
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