(Open) A Fresh Start

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Radar smiled at the sight before him. Radar had arrived in Grassveil Town, what looked to be the town of trade or something like that, and it was a beautiful sight. Pokémon walking the streets of the town, laughing, smiling, telling each other stories. Shop stalls were set up in the town centre with Pokémon at each, seemingly buying something, obviously Radar couldn’t tell. The town had a soothing and relaxing atmosphere to the young Murkrow, feeling at peace in the laid back town, he couldn’t remember when he last felt so content; maybe when he was a kid? He couldn’t recall much of his childhood. He hated growing up in Grima Outpost because of his brother.

Radar's brother, Hiro, was an Outlaw, thus Radar had to live with him in Grima Outpost after his parents abandoned him. Apparently, according to his brother, it was a highly prosperous and abundant town or whatever, but now? It's decayed into a broken down wreck known as Grima Outpost, home to any and all Outlaws looking for refuge from the law! Radar got sick quite a few times there from the toxic smog radiating the area. Mild discomfort? Not for Radar! Needless to say, he was glad he ran away.

A whirlpool of emotions swirled around inside of the Murkrow, doubt, fear, anxiety, and more. Would this place be safe? There’s apparently a guild here, would they try to apprehend him? Would he ever make any friends here, or would they just betray him? Fortunately for Radar, one voice shouted the loudest, his feeling of content the atmosphere here gave him, the relaxation in the air that put him at ease. Just breathe he mentally reminded himself, everything's hella fine, you're hella okay... you're safe, Radar. You would never believe how much the dark type had to tell himself that. So, with a few shaky steps from his talons, he wrapped his fluffy black feathers around his quartz necklace he’d stole, using it as a source of comfort to urge himself to move on. He straightened his bag he had with him over his shoulder, his steps becoming a bit more firm as he planted his talons into the ground. He'd survived this far, what could possibly go wrong now?

Guess he’d just have to wait to find out the answer to that question.

"Money?" A small frown erased the forced smile that Alki had taken so long to place. Who was paying? A small panic entered Alki until she remembered what she'd been doing before this whole fiasco had occurred. She had money. What she didn't have was a brain... Had she really forgotten? Maybe she was just too used to always being broke... She did her best to put the smile back on her face, with even less success than before. "I-I have money, y-you guys don't have to worry about it..." She said, her face pale as she began to fish for an adequate amount of Poke from her bag as she walked up to the counter.

Alki looked at her two companions, doubting herself now that they were actually here. Was the food good enough? Was her company good enough? She wondered... maybe she could leave? Give them some money so they could pay for food and then just... go somewhere, all by herself? That seemed like a nice idea, except... her arms sank to her sides. The tour. She'd almost forgotten. They expected a tour after this... "Err... i-is this place alright with you guys? I... I mean, we can go for whatever kind of food you'd like, is all I'm saying. If... d-dessert isn't what... you guys want..." Truth be told, Alki herself really wanted sweets. She didn't care if it was unhealthy or if too much of it made her feel a bit sick later when she was lying in bed... it made her feel better. But if they didn't want it... and she wasn't even really sure what these two wanted at all... So it was a good idea to ask, right?

She shivered. It was a tiny bit cold, and her fur wasn't really thick at all... She brought her limbs closer together in an attempt to conserve heat. Maybe they had hot chocolate as well? She snuck a glance at her two companions. There was nothing wrong with them, really, but for Alki... well, no matter who it was she was with, she was feeling awfully lonely recently... and she'd been getting sick more too...

"A-Anyways..." She said, as if ending a conversation that she'd never even started. "J-Just let me know what you guys are in the mood for!" She said, trying to add a flair of cheerfulness that seemed awfully, pathetically empty.

Eyes were watching everywhere. Not good.

That Pikachu took the Graveller away and distracted him...who was that? All Radar could do was look on as the two Pokémon slowly faded out of sight, wanting to follow for the Pikachu, but knowing better due to the Graveller. Each time you let him go...? He’s gotten released before? Maybe Grassveil Town might be a bit more forgiving to kids...that Pikachu looked older than the young Dark-Flying Type, but still looked like a kid. Maybe, if you were a kid, they warned you and let you go? Sounds like something that was being abused by this yellow and blue Pikachu. On his back, it looked like there were all these purple crystals jutting out of his fur, but...how? They looked attached to his body, who in Grassveil Town could do that? Or maybe they were just an item...? Either way, it looked natural...how? Radar's thoughts continued to linger on the Pikachu and less on Yigo—who needed it more—as the Pikachu made eye contact with the Murkrow's red eyes. His eyes looked like they glowed for a second, turning yellow, catching Radar's attention immediately like a snap. His eyes actually did seem yellow, almost matching his fur...was anyone seeing this?

Radar felt chills run down his spine as the Pikachu just...stared...or glared aggressively yet subtly...whatever it would be called, this Pikachu was directing it at Radar. The child had looked around a bit, desperately trying to look for who else this older Pokémon might be looking for, before looking back at the Electric Type and placing a wing on his chest. The ensuing wave that followed left Radar petrified, getting the weirdest sense of Déjà Vu from this greeting...it was like that Pikachu had known him for years, that wave was so casual...so...Radar shuddered, trying to remind himself that he wouldn’t know this Pikachu at all. For the most part it worked, but there was still this lingering dread that floated around...he just couldn’t shake it. All he could do was ignore it. So, there he was, left partly captivated and partly horrified at the Pikachu's stare, it froze him in place. It felt...angry...yet confident and friendly, trying to hide the anger. Than the Pikachu held up three of his fingers just enough so Radar could see, mouthing something to him that the bird couldn’t quite make out. The Pikachu smiled, showing teeth that looked like fangs, able to shred the poor child to pieces without any difficulty whatsoever...at least, it looked that way to Radar. It was a sweet and caring smile, but the eyes gave everything away...it was a bad smile.

Something about his eyes just conveyed bad, sending Radar into a high alert sense of panic and dread.

“B-Brother?” Radar was just about ready to scream in fear and alarm at the sudden shock of hearing Yigo's voice, recoiling back and taking a deep, sharp breath in, keeping his beak shut as tight as he could. These deep breaths went on for a few seconds, Radar finally calming down from that intimidating encounter with the Pikachu—who was now out of sight. Radar's attention drifted back to Yigo, the Sandshrew still holding on to him...it felt nice, Yigo holding on to him like that. But then there was the issue of lying...surely Yigo hated him now. Radar just panicked! He panicked, and what he said was the first thing that came to mind! Hiro’s said that line so many times, and sometimes it helps...other times, not so much...the point is, Radar panicked. He panicked, and that lie just flooded out his beak...it was self preservation...or something along those lines. Radar was just about to speak again, Yigo cutting him off. “I'm... I'm okay now.” The young shrew mentioned, slowly pulling away. Radar wanted to resist, wanted to keep Yigo close, but he noticed everymon watching them...all those eyes on them. “R-Radar... Let's leave.” Yigo stated, standing up on his fours, using the distraction of the eyes watching them to pull away from Radar.

Radar felt scared, was Yigo actually upset at him for lying? “Y-Yigo, I...” His voiced trailed off, looking at everymon who was watching. In this large crowd, it was so easy for Radar to feel alone. So many eyes watching him...it reminded him of how Hiro used to look at the young Murkrow when he cried after being thoroughly assaulted by his brother...bad memories, Radar wasn’t going back to those thoughts and memories anytime soon. They taught him crying was bad, but that was the only positive that came from those memories... “N-Nothing...” Radar responded, not able to finish saying what he was going to say. “Let’s get out of here.” Radar made the best smile he could—which wasn’t that great or sincere of a smile...pretty fake—as he got up and started flying in place, worried what Yigo now thought of him and what their friendship would be like now. Would Yigo ever trust him? Radar did however, land on the ground for a second, talons placed beneath him as he stood “Uhm...” One problem, though, and it was a tiny one... “Where exactly do we go?” Radar asked, whispering this to Yigo.

Radar's mention made Yigo turn to him a bit more desperate, the shining spot in his eyes glittering as if he was about to cry. His mouth, slightly open at the moment, was nearly issuing a low murmur. Hopefully, Radar didn't try to argue against leaving, taking flight in front of him instead. The ground type felt his heart burning and hurting inside, he himself wanted to shout but no voice coming out, not a single squeak as he closed his eyes trying to flee the image of Grassveil's people.

When Radar landed for a moment to ask for directions, Yigo could do little but shout "I-I don't care! Anywhere!" followed by a painful squeak before curling into himself. There, he was finally safe. Inside his curl, no one could lie to him, no one could harm him. No one could try to take his heart and play with it as if Yigo was a doll. From there until rolling out there were only a few seconds. He didn't care where he'd end up.

The Pokemon around Radar and Yigo stared at them for a moment. The kids at the garden had stopped playing and making fun of the big police officer to focus on what the ground type and dark-flying type were doing yet blocked from getting close by a Nidorina. The messenger that greeted them before was also there, feeling sad about what the two of them might have seen yet Yigo rolling forced him to throw himself to the side or suffer a crushing direct blow. He could do little more than watch from the floor as the Sandshrew left the plaza. His destination: the other side of the western gate of Grassveil town. He knew the path well. He had been fleeing to that single spot so many times since he was a kid. He knew it by heart. No need to watch, no need to feel, it was all instinctive.

“I-I don't care! Anywhere!” Yigo shouted back at Radar, the bird stumbling back trying to get away. D-Did...did I do something... Radar's thoughts trailed off when he realized exactly why Yigo yelled at him, or was angry at him. Radar lied. Yigo probably did despise him for it. Radar felt really upset, not knowing how to fix things or do anything right as he helplessly watched Yigo curl into a ball and start rolling away. Again. Radar absentmindedly followed Yigo, not really sure what to do, taking one last glance back at the police station...and that weird Pikachu...Radar didn’t know him, he was confident of that. Why did it feel like he did? Radar turned away, weaving through the crowd, trying to keep up with Yigo who seemed to know exactly where he was going. Halfway through the journey—Radar being thoroughly confused about where they were going—the bird wanted to call out. He bit his tongue, however, knowing he probably shouldn’t say anything...Does he even know I’m following him...?

The Dark-Flying Type merely followed...and followed...and followed his friend for the rest of the journey, too afraid to say anything and be left with silence or be told he couldn’t follow. Radar felt terrible, watching Yigo scream and hold the avian Pokémon in his arms...police were horrible Pokémon...they’ve tried to take everything from the kid, and no more. He was safe now, he just couldn’t get in trouble. He could do that. Maybe someday the police'll pay for everything they’ve done—justified as it may be—and Pokémon like Radar could be free from the law! No more police, just...less awful Pokémon in the world. It was a nice thought...little did Radar know that they had reached their destination, the bird flying right passed and over where Yigo was going. After a bit, he turned back, spotting Yigo again. He landed, looking back at the town.

Welcome to Grassveil Town, Radar... The Murkrow thought. Next stop; home...