At some point during the several days of travel, Ethan had thought that maybe he’d reach some apex of the mountain, or a plateau, then gaze across the massive expanse from high above. Yet, as days passed and the route that ran between the nestled spires of rock slowly transitioned into a downhill trek, Ethan began to think that maybe it was just wishful thinking.
He’d passed a dozen or so others making their way toward Celestic Town from Eterna City, and even got passed by a very enthusiastic young woman who’d ran up behind him and left him in the dust as she continued forward in a sweaty jog. The wild pokemon also didn’t stray too close to the route either, leaving Ethan alone with his thoughts for most of the time traveling. Very rarely, he’d spot a Geodude resting, and once he’d spotted a Gligar gliding up above, but other than the Skarmory that had attacked him, he’d been left alone.
The excitement and adventure of his trek back home had faded, leaving only a monotonous slog through rough terrain. By now, his calves burned from walking downslope for so long, prompting him to take many breaks and rest as his trip slowly crawled to an end. The last trainer he passed told him that if he made good time, that he’d arrive at Eterna city by the end of the day, but with all the breaks he’d been taking, Ethan thought that maybe he wouldn’t make it.
The good thing about spending days out in the wilderness, was his pokemon. Shuckle sadly couldn’t walk with him, and his berry bud was much too hefty to carry for extended periods of time, but they got together when he stopped for the night or for lunch. Shuckle wasn’t afraid of strangers anymore, just a bit wary. This was more than he could have asked for. No longer did his bug hide in his shell and use Withdraw as soon as someone came near.
Smeargle was his normal self, often spending his time helping Ethan or asking to stop for a bit to paint a bit on many of the rock walls along the way. Ethan didn’t mind the stops, and Smeargle obviously rushed his art to not take up too much time. Still, leaving surprises for those that came after them was a pleasant thought, for them both.
Tinkatuff only came out to eat and to play with her hammer and newfound metal. She didn’t enjoy walking along the route, finding it boring and wishing for any battles at the slightest sound. Still, his pink gremlin wasn’t sad or upset at their traveling, just bored and wanting something exciting to happen.
Pachirisu was his main traveling companion, with Pichu being a close second. With Pichu, Ethan had to keep his eyes peeled to make sure the little mouse didn’t run too far away or get lost, but Paichirisu took good care of his little boy when they were out together. His blue and white squirrel seemed to find the many nooks and crannies of the rocky route intriguing, often finding rocks, odds and ends left by others, or junk in general squirreled away deep within. But Ethan could tell that the wonder was fading from his fluffy friend. Pachirisu yearned for the trees, of which there were none around.
Meloetta… Well, she’d been fairly quiet when she was out and about. She floated about, played with her new digital instrument, sang songs with him, taught him, and vanished when someone else came by. It was nice, but they hadn’t grown too much closer to one another. Her only real interest was music, which Ethan also appreciated… but there’d been a lot of music recently. Meloetta had started using Psychic to control his hands when he learned the guitar, teaching him by guidance. He still had no clue how she knew how to play everything, but she did, and she grew frustrated when something wasn’t done well.
How would it feel to be an expert at something, never having known what it was like to be a novice? That was probably what she felt when Ethan bumbled around with the guitar or the keyboard. Although she grew frustrated after many mistakes, she didn’t grow angry. It was more an incomprehension of being unskilled. Thankfully, all that frustration faded in an instant when she heard something new…
But Ethan was running out of songs to pull out at a moment's notice. She’d heard all of the songs on his phone, thanks to Chatot, no doubt. So, it left him thinking of songs that weren’t on his phone that he hadn’t heard of in years.
With acoustic in hand, Ethan played many of the classics… with a lot of help from Meloetta guiding the way. Ethan, sadly, was now a Wonderwall player, like the guy in every single school who thought they were hot shit for knowing it. Alongside Wonderwall, he learned Collide by Howie Day—which was one of his favorites—More Than Words by Extreme, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin… which probably meant that he was going to be banned from playing in music stores soon enough. That felt like something that would transcend worlds.
As Ethan walked down the semi-steep incline down the route and the sun was beginning to set, he had thoughts about pushing through the dark to reach Eterna City. It should be close, maybe around the next bend in the path, but he didn’t know for sure. Pachirisu was currently out, giving him a very close staredown from where he was wrapped around his neck like a scarf, nose nearly touching his eyeball as he was harshly judged for his emotions of stubbornly pushing through.
“It’s a little walk in the dark. Stop staring at me.” Ethan grumbled as Pachirisu slowly leaned away, ending his judgment.
With a shrug of his shoulders to payback Pachirisu for his judgement, Ethan continued onwards as the sun set lower and lower, sending long shadows over the route, making the walls on either side of him seem larger and larger by the minute. Thirty minutes later, Ethan was using his phone’s flashlight to see where he was walking. The cloudy overcast sky from the day blocked out the moon and the stars, leaving him in pitch black darkness.
“Pachi…” Pachirisu whispered, tightening up around his neck as his hair stood on end.
“There’s nothing out there. We’re almost to the city. It’s just dark.” Ethan replied, reassuring both himself and Pachirisu, because if he got scared… then Pachirisu would know.
After another thirty minutes of walking through pitch black darkness, Ethan finally grew a brain cell and looked at his phone to see exactly how close he was to the city with his GPS. As soon as he looked at the map, he grew confused. “Pachirisu, look.” Ethan held his phone up, the light of the screen highlighting his squirrel's face as he peered at it.
The map said that they were there already.
A ripple of goosebumps roiled across his skin, causing the hair on the back of his neck and airs to stand on end. With only a mild bit of panic and worry, Ethan threw out Smeargle’s pokeball, releasing his painter and giving an order. “Flamethrower into the sky. Light up the area.”
With a swish and a flick of his tail and a bark of his name, Smeargle pointed up into the air with his tail, sending forth a billowing Flamethrower into the sky.
Smeargle could hold the full force of Flamethrower for about five seconds, something they’d tested in the past. As his eyes adjusted from going to pitch black to a world of fiery orange rock walls, Ethan blinked and blinked. Then, he got a good look at his surroundings just before it all faded back into darkness.
Ethan pointed ahead, his hand visible thanks to the light on his phone. “There’s a bend over there. Follow me.” His hand whipped out, firmly grasping Smeargle to keep him close and safe, then gingerly stepped across the ground, making sure he wasn’t going to twist his ankle on some loose stones.
When they turned the bend, bright neon lights and streetlamps greeted them. “Oh…” Ethan turned his head, facing Pachirisu, who looked out over the city with relief. “Told you it was fine.”
“Ow!” Ethan hissed, rubbing his cheek from where Pachirisu nibbled. “Sore loser.”
—-----------
After a short walk down and into Eterna City, where many more people walked the streets due to the avalanche business being taken care of, Ethan made his way to the Pokemon Center to grab a room for the night. Due to being a trainer, he did indeed have an allowance of free rooms each year. Manning the desk, was someone he was pleasantly surprised to see. “Jocelyn!”
Hearing her name, Jocelyn, his former Nurse Joy, leaned aside, looking past the rows of people waiting their turn in front of him. Said people, who were also now turning to look at him due to his shout. “Ops, sorry.”
Soon enough, it was his turn at the front desk. “Hello, Jocelyn. A room please.”
“Ethan, it’s good to see you again. Joyce told me you walked from Celestic Town?” Jocelyn asked as she typed away at the tablet in her hand.
“I did! It was more boring than I expected, but still something new for me. How are you?” He asked.
“Busy. Very, very, very busy.” She let loose a heavy sigh as she gave her tablet one final swipe. “Room 17. We’ll need you to vacate the room by noon.”
“No problem. It was nice to see you again. Feel free to come by the ranch if you get the chance. Joyce would like to see you more.”
Jocelyn waved him away, already looking at the next person in line, but nodded and gave him a slight tired smile.