Pilot [CATALYST] (Open)

How many stories have there been in the world? A thousand? A million? It’s probably a number completely incomprehensible to the mind itself. So many fairytales and real facts and whatever else all jumbling around inside of heads just spilling out into the form of stories, it’s an unlimited amount because everyone, no matter who they are, comes up with stories. The entire world is full of them. Tales of action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, finding that special someone, we all tell stories. Even if they’re just to ourselves as fantasies, that’s still creating and telling a story. Of course, a lot of stories start out the same ways, have the same kind of plot to them, because no one knows how to change up what we've already thought of. Now, this story doesn’t do that, and it's not a best seller by any means, but I think it’s a—relatively—nice one.

It starts with a young boy, about the age of 6. This kid didn’t have the best life in the world. As in, he lived with his brother—who was an outlaw—in a place filled to the brim with Outlaws. This place, filled with Outlaws with no law at all, was called Grima Outpost, a hellish wasteland that's decayed over time from the town it once was. Now, it was where criminals went to escape the police, to do whatever they wanted...so long as they could put up with the thick smog and unruly residents that lived within the Outpost, which was only merely just a campsite with rickety, poorly kept buildings. It's gotten better over time, but...not by a lot. Radar, a Murkrow, grew up here, living in a world devoid of law. His mind was nothing short of impressionable at this young age, which didn’t help. Radar suffered there. His older brother, Hiro, would abuse him to no end, to the point where Radar just stopped remembering his past. Repressing it. It's hella terrible to talk about, that's what he'd say if anyone ever did ask.

It all changed when Radar turned ten, however, as his brother had a job for him. He was going to take jewels from a cave, something Radar would always remember. Now, it wasn’t because it was a huge accomplishment for the child, no. It went so terribly wrong since the moment he set foot in the cave. What happened? Well, for one, Radar wasn’t expecting a large and powerful dragon known as a Gabite to be there. It wasn’t long before Radar was attacked, just barely surviving and dodging the blows that were thrown his way. Dragon Types are quite powerful, don’t forget this fact. Now, Radar's mind was impressionable, it still is, but what was the one thing watching his older brother taught him? Lie if he needed to. Radar feigned innocence—even though he himself was guilty of jumping at the chance to commit a crime to prove himself to his brother—and said that older Pokémon made him do it.

“They're big and mean and scary!” Oh, did he ever cry. It wasn’t from the big scary Pokémon who would hunt him for doing this, but the big scary Pokémon in front of him. It only made his little fib more believable, however. The Gabite let him go free, saying he'd hold off the ‘big, mean, scary Pokémon’ for Radar if they came this way. He couldn’t believe it worked! Maybe lying wasn’t such a bad way to get out of things... “Go find your parents, little one.” The Gabite ordered, which would be more of a problem than one might think. The reason why Radar lived with his brother is because...well...

His parents left.

Now, it wasn’t the abandonment kind of left, no. I mean, Hiro said that, but he was probably lying! No, what happened was Radar's parents disappeared. They left him, and—now with the added confirmation of what the Gabite told him—he knew he needed to find them. Hiro took him away from his parents, they were probably wondering where he's been for the past four-ish years...

And so, Radar searched for them.

He searched...

And searched...

And searched...

Until...

“Stop!” A Swampert yelled down the streets of Grassveil Town, followed swiftly thereafter by; “Thief!” The now eleven year old Radar didn’t care about the yelling, though, he was too focused on flying, fleeing the scene of the crime. His heart was pounding against his chest, his breathing was heavy and fast, wings—despite the added weight of the beige bag hung over his shoulder—helping him soar through the streets and around the residents of his new, temporary home. Grassveil Town was a town known for its peaceful atmosphere and friendly, welcoming attitude. Of course, this attracts Outlaws like Radar who weren’t willing to live in Grima Outpost due to the environment, but the risk of living there was well worth the reward of having a peaceful life. It was surrounded by forests and was a hotspot for trading and tourism. Sure, there was a police station and a guild, but Radar wouldn’t be staying long...he just needed a break from the travelling he's been doing for the past year.

It wasn’t long before a few Pokémon tried to stop him from flying away to safety, mainly because Radar chose to stick close to the ground like he always did. Interference wasn’t uncommon for Radar. In fact, he was used to it by now. Over the past year, he's stolen the odd, occasional thing from supplies for exploring, Poké to buy things with, shiny objects that captured his interest. His prized possession? A necklace with a piece of quartz on the end of it, something he stole from a...Swanna? Maybe? He just saw it, gave into impulses, and took it. To say he was a bit of a kleptomaniac around shiny objects would be an understatement. Radar started to swerve and dip through the opposing force of the five or so Pokémon that tried to stop him, not even registering them.

Now, Radar wasn’t the best flier in the world...not even really a good one. It’s why he chose to stay close to the ground when he flew, so he wouldn’t fall a long distance. Recently, in a place outside of Grassveil Town known as Pêcha Forest, Radar had flown head first into a tree while doing...something. Radar couldn’t quite remember that much, just that a Cranidos named Kestro had helped him out of the forest. Radar's issue was losing focus. It’s why he paid no attention to the other Pokémon and just kept flying. He had a goal in mind, fly out to Pêcha Forest, he'd lose everymon in the trees of the forest. It’s what he usually did, just avoid the trees and go fast, they won’t be able to keep up.

And so he flew, out of the town and through the trees, flying through the forest. His heart kept thumping, the thrill of being chased getting to him, adrenaline flowing through him. All of this was great! Sure, Radar was starting to run out of breath, but it didn’t matter. He'd recently tried to stop stealing, but...when it’s all you know...it’s been rather difficult to stop. As much as he tried to deny it...he did enjoy the thrill of the steal. The excitement of being chased and the fact that he got a reward for not getting caught? That was great, too. He went into a store owned by that Swampert—the Orb Store. Seriously. That’s it’s name—and just started stuffing his bag full of orbs. He got about four of them inside before the Swampert tried to stop him.

You see, Radar was not the most discreet.

He learned from his brother, whom would just walk up to somemon and murder them in way of being beaten to death.

Subtlety is not a skill Radar knows.

He couldn’t hear anymon behind him anymore, but Radar didn’t want to stop, no. What if they were just being quiet? Truth be told, Radar didn’t want to stop because it felt so good. He knew that, once he stopped, he’d have to return to town and sell the orbs the next day. It was great, orbs went for 500P—Poké—each. He couldn’t wait to give his friend, Yigo, the 2000P. Yigo was one of Radar's first friends he’s ever made, and somemon who doesn’t have a lot of Poké. Radar also lived with Yigo, so he had a vested interest in helping him. Besides...Yigo was somemon who made Radar feel really nice inside and happy, he’d do anything for that Sandshrew. Anything. Just thinking of Yigo put a smile on his beak.

And distracted him.

Before he knew it, he'd flown straight into this brown blurb in his way. It’s what he gets for not paying attention, in all honesty. It wasn’t a tree, though. It was soft...and...furry... “Owww...” A voice groaned out, Radar's eyes starting to focus on the brown blurb lying on the floor in front of the downed bird. She had brown fur—hence the brown part of the blurb—with cream coloured fur all around her neck and on the tip of her bushy tail. She had fox like ears and four paws.

It was an Eevee Radar had hit as opposed to a tree. It was an Eevee, and she was a kid like Radar, too.

Radar quickly stood up, looking back behind him. No one was coming, good. “Sorry for flying into you...” He apologized, bringing his wings together and rubbing them. That was something Radar did when he was nervous, play around with his wings, and he wasn’t quite aware he did so. So, it’s best not to tell him if you see him doing it. It would only make him more nervous, you see. And a bit self-conscious. “You okay?” He asked, feeling quite bad about what had just happened. Something that made him different then his brother, Hiro, was the fact that Radar felt guilt. Don’t forget the fact that Hiro does not feel guilt at all. That’s something important to remember for later, trust me.

The Eevee slowly stood up, groaning a little, her ears flat against her head. She was angry. “Oh Arceus, you already assaulted me and now you have to harrass me on top of it?”

“I’m not trying to...” Radar responded, the Eevee just walking away. Radar went to follow her, still feeling bad and wanting to apologize. That, and he wasn’t sure if he could exactly leave Pêcha Forest just yet... “Just hella sorry for assaulting you...”

“Don't you have anything better to do than following me around, apologizing over and over?” He'd only apologized twice.

“Um...not really” Radar admitted. “I could be heading home, but my friend sleeps a lot in the mornings and without him I’m just waiting around underground and not really doing anything, so...” There was also the fact that Pokémon were still probably looking for him, so it was safer to be out here in the forest than in town. “No.” Radar admitted. “I don't...”

“That’s sad.” The Eevee responded.

“Uh, what about you?” Radar asked. “Do you have anything to do?”

“Not as long as I have random birds attacking me.” She responded, stopping and turning to look at Radar. “Why weren’t you looking where you were going, anyways?”

Because he was fleeing the scene of a crime? Does that work as an answer? “I wasn’t always not looking where I was going...” Radar admitted. “Just going really fast and I didn’t see you...”

“What, is someone chasing you?” She asked, stepping a bit closer to Radar. “I better not be about to get jumped because of you.”

Wow, this Eevee was angry. “No...” Radar said—rather unconfidently—as he looked back behind him. Still, no one was coming. Did they give up? “No, just...going really fast. I enjoy racing through the trees.” Radar lied. “What are you doing out here?” He really did not want to return to town just yet.

“Well I was looking for some peace and quiet.” She explained. “Now I’m trying to walk off a headache.” She turned around and started walking again, still looking quite upset. It was either an upset Eevee or an upset town, though, and he’d take his chances with the Eevee as he followed her. “Thanks for that.” She added.

“You’re welcome.” Radar commented with a smile. “And...I am hella sorry about that...” Radar had developed quite the interesting dialogue from things his brother said. Where his brother, Hiro, learned certain words, Radar didn’t know. Still looking back over his shoulder to check for Pokémon coming, he wasn’t doing the best job of hiding the fact that he was most likely being chased. “Uhm...could I come with you...?” Radar asked the Eevee. “For peace and quiet?”

“You already are.” True. “It’s a little late to start asking for permission now.” That is also true.

“Can I ask anyways?” Radar inquired. “Just to be nice?”

“No. First rule of peace and quiet.” Be quiet. Hence the quiet part of peace and quiet.

“Right...sorry, this is my first time...” Radar admitted, already forgetting the first rule of peace and quiet. “As far as peace and quiet goes...”

“It shows.”

“I figured.” Radar said. “Sorry if it’s bad...or...not the...you know what, never mind...” Radar said, realizing he was probably upsetting this Eevee by continuing to talk. He really shouldn't have been talking at all. “Just...sorry...”

“Just...” The Eevee let out a sigh, stopping and turning to look at Radar. “Think of something to keep yourself occupied.” She told Radar. “I like to admire the environment.”

Admiring the environment, huh? That doesn’t sound so bad. “Yeah, that might low-key be nice...” Radar responded, and, once again, there was more of that interesting dialogue there. Be prepared for more to come, Radar's not quite aware of the fact that he sounds very odd and different. The environment, though? It was a lot better than Grima Outpost's. There was green grass growing, and trees and bushes with berries in them all around. There wasn’t a lot of interesting stuff around to see, but...it was definitely just nice to look around. “It is really nice just looking around...” Radar admitted, but once again forgetting... “Oh, wait, sorry, quiet. No talking. I...forgot...”

For the past fifteen minutes, Radar waited to go back to town, hoping that they wouldn’t still be looking for him...but then something weird happened. Fifteen minutes turned into thirty...which turned into forty five...he just kept following this Eevee. He liked just wandering around and or relaxing in a forest, and the two had exchanged—Radar continually asked her to do so—names. This Eevee's name—after no small amount of pestering—was Li, which was a name Radar would be sure to remember. Why? Well...maybe he wanted to do it again sometime. The whole peace and quiet thing.

Now, though, he had a different issue.

Getting home before Yigo woke up.

If that was even still possible.

Yigo slept in late in the mornings, but Radar didn’t think he slept till noon. If anything, Radar could just slip into the burrow with only a few minutes to spare, hoping Yigo wasn’t awake yet. Which he probably was. Radar was once again trying to race through the streets of Grassveil Town, making sure to stay low to the ground, and this time slowing down while passing Pokémon. Hopefully he looked like a kid flying through town for fun, and he didn’t need that Swampert or anymon else who might recognize him to pay extra attention to him.

Wow, Radar was hoping for a lot of things.

(No one’s joined yet... Here, have a post and let’s kick things off together, okay?)

(P.S. Sorry if it sucks. And now I sound like you~)

Chiron was walking through the streets of Grassveil Town, deciding to go somewhere he really liked for the rest of his school's lunch. The Small Pond. So far, the day wasn’t going that great. He tried to make friends with three different Pokémon, but none of them wanted to be friends. Then to top it all off, his teacher kept calling on other Pokémon, even though he was raising his hand, just because he answered too many questions. That he needed to give the other kids a chance at answering themselves.

So, Chiron was understandably in a bit of a bad mood, and he was secretly wandering off to the Small Pond for a swim to calm down. He’d just head there, swim for a little bit, and come back. Hopefully the second half of his day would go unexpectedly better.

Then there was a Murkrow who flew by him, seeming to be in a rush. He looked like he was a kid, too! Great! Maybe he could make friends now. “Hey!” He called out to the flying Murkrow. “Can I talk to you?!”

Always ask first.

The night had been an alright one, not as bad as those from winter for sure. The Sandshrew could at least stay warm without needing to sleep by someone's side and rely instead on the little pieces of cloth he owned instead. Granted, that was probably why he hadn't noticed that the Pokémon living with him at a burrow just outside of town was missing.

Yigo couldn't even notice that after the great night he had woken up from. All in all, he had overslept a little and felt in a great mood. Upon noticing that Radar wasn't anywhere to be found within the underground dwelling, he... Went to take a berry from the few supplies that there were around.

Yigo felt a bit worried but, considering their living conditions, he could imagine Radar getting up early to go scavenging, trading or foraging while he himself slept. Those tasks took time and the dark bird could probably use Yigo's help in any yet... There was little more to do than lying in wait. If he left the burrow in search of Radar, the latter could come back to find an empty dwelling and get worried. Besides, Yigo didn't even know where he went. Grassveil Town? Pecha Forest? Shadowhue Forest? He had no clue.

For the time being, he'd just have something for breakfast and get his gear ready for a trip to the forest later that day. Grabbing his breakfast he noticed that there wasn't much more than what he took and someone will need to take care of that when Radar comes back.

... because he was coming back, right?

(Big special thanks to PrimordialPrim for providing me with a description of Yigo's burrow, thank you for that)

Everything was—surprisingly—going well so far. At least, until...

“Hey!” A voice shouted out behind Radar. The Dark-Flying Type tensed up at the voice, stumbling in the air a bit before landing on his talons, frozen.

Did somemon recognize and call him out for stealing already?

“Can I talk to you?!” The Pokémon called out, voice sounding unfamiliar to the Murkrow. He actually felt a little scared to turn around. Sure, the Pokémon sounded like a kid, but maybe it was one of the same Pokémon chasing him.

Then again, probably not.

Radar took a deep breath in, then out, then turned around to face the Pokémon behind him. He saw a Totodile who looked to be a kid standing there, this Pokémon probably being who called him as no other Pokémon seemed to be looking directly at the bird. “I need to go, I’m in a hurry.” Radar explained, starting to back up. He wasn’t too far from Yigo's burrow. It was just outside a town in a hill, if he raced there as fast as he could, maybe he might just make it before Yigo woke up. Maybe. Hopefully. Radar really didn’t know what to say to Yigo if he was awake, the Sandshrew didn’t know he left the burrow nearly every morning or that he was a frequent thief. Yigo didn’t know any of that. “I’m hella sorry.” Radar apologized, flying away. He could make it!

He flew through the town gates, making sure to make a left turn, destination locked as Yigo's Burrow. Radar was flying up to the hill so fast he accidentally flew over the entrance, flying a little higher so as to not crash onto the burrow's ‘roof’. That would probably wake Yigo up. Instead, Radar had his abrupt little crash landing on the other side of the hill. Which actually hurt. Ignoring—mainly due to adrenaline—the pain, Radar still flew right back to the entrance, it actually being visible in the hillside during the spring. He flew down the diagonal tunnel which went forward and down, and it was a short flight being that the tunnel was barely five feet long. What Radar didn’t—and, yet, partially did—expect was seeing Yigo already awake, and the Murkrow had a bag of four orbs and no excuse as to how he got them. Still, seeing Yigo was enough for a smile to grow, even though he was probably in so much trouble right now. so much trouble.

Talons firmly planted on the ground, the dark-feathered bird slowly placed a wing to the strap on his bag, opposite wing raising in a way of silently saying hi. He was busted for leaving. “Hi...Yigo...” Radar said shyly, raised wing lowering down as his other wing still gripped firmly to his bag.

“I need to go, I’m in a hurry.” The Murkrow explained, backing away from Chiron. “I’m hella sorry.” And just like that, the bird flew away. Chiron started to feel really upset, getting rejected was never good. But then Chiron realized that, technically, he never actually got rejected. The Murkrow was just busy, that was all, he never said no. Chiron would remember that Murkrow, one thing that made it easy was his feathers and how they looked so incredibly fluffy. Yes, Chiron would remember that Murkrow, he'd seek him out later so they can talk.

It was time to start learning about birds, and, more specifically, Murkrow, all in preparation for when he’d see that Pokémon again. Chiron would pass on going to the lake, he had studying to do. Studying, research, and memorization, he might even impress this Murkrow so much he’d actually appreciate it. No one appreciated it when Chiron looked into his potential friend's species.

A little shake on the hill's surface caught Yigo's attention. Something big must have made his way onto the hill, he thought for a moment but his heart hoped that it was Radar instead. It had been a while since he had breakfast and was readying his pink, dusty and ragged Trap Scarf. He might need that in the future.

When he started hearing something coming from the tunnel leading to the surface, his ears perked up and all eyes were directed to the entrance of the burrow. Radar was coming back! The dark feathered bird was back! This all made Yigo smile, his tail accompanying the overall feeling by waving from side to side very pleasantly. "Hello, Radar! Good morning~"

His voice was full of cheer, a noticeable change from the sickly, tired mood he had been carrying through the winter. Yigo's eyes curiously looked at his friend's wings, answering one wing salute by waving his arm for a moment and looking curiously at the other. It felt like he had something. His head leaned forward, looking at that wing with awe and curiosity "Uh? Did you go on an adventure while I was out? Did you find something nice?" He inquired before standing upright with glee "That's great! Haha! Be sure to take good care of it. Don't worry, you don't need to give me anything. Your treasures are only yours!"

He sat down and began scratching his ear, grunting a little as he did so. He was still planning to go out and go foraging and now that his friend was there to help with the task, it should be more than easy to do so "The weather looks really nice and warm... I can't think of a better time to head to the forest and get some more food. How does that sound, friend?"

Yigo definitely stood out from other Sandshrew. Aside from a Sandshrew's natural yellow, brick-patterned skin, Yigo had a scar from his right eye going all the way down to his nose. Radar used that as somewhat of a form of confirmation, to make sure that a Sandshrew was really Yigo. Yigo also frequently stood on all four paws, a little behavioural quirk Radar had noticed...not quite unlike how Radar would always rub his wings together whenever he was nervous, something he hasn't noticed. Yigo wore a pink scarf around his neck, which was also dusty and ragged. “Hello, Radar! Good morning~” Yigo said to Radar, watching him with a smile and a wagging tail. His voice was cheerful, unlike the tired and sick Yigo who stuck around throughout all of winter. Radar learned Yigo did not like the cold. At all.

The high pitched shriek he let out the first time Radar saw Yigo's butt touch the snow was enough proof of that.

Yigo then waved his paw—most likely as a response to Radar's raised wing—as he looked at Radar's brown bag. “Uh? Did you go on an adventure while I was out?” The Ground Type asked. “Did you find something nice?” No, I just stole something, that’s all, Radar thought, starting to panic, Yigo knows who he is! He knows Radar's an Outlaw![/color] Radar did everything he could to put on a smile and act calm, heart racing, thumping hard against his chest. A part of him prayed Yigo didn’t know who he really was, but Yigo could see the bag. He could see the orbs—except probably not, his bag was closed after all. Radar could see Yigo saw that he was an Outlaw, Radar had lived in Grima Outpost after all!

Then again, Yigo was ten. Which was something Radar seemed to forget. “That's great!” Yigo said with a laugh. “Be sure to take good care of it.” Radar wasn’t dealing with an adult. That, and Yigo seemed to always blindly trust Radar. Why did that bird never realize that and use it to his advantage? He could get away with so much! “Don't worry, you don't need to give me anything. Your treasures are only yours!” Radar couldn’t stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief—a breath he hadn’t even known he’d been holding—as Yigo sat down, scratching his ear, grunting as he did so.

Radar started looking around Yigo's burrow, the place he called home—at least for right now. The Main Chamber was fairly large, though apparently it was originally much smaller in size and it got expanded to be able to fit other Pokémon inside. Radar liked that it was big, it was roomy and, even though it was weird, Radar liked living underground. There were three tunnels in the Main Chamber.

One led to the Bed Chamber, a small area mostly filled with hay. Radar strongly doubted that any Pokémon taller than him or Yigo would fit, seeing as Radar himself could just stand up in there. It was small.

Another tunnel led to the Storage Chamber, where any supplies were kept. They were hidden under a blanket of dirt to hide them, just in case a Pokémon breaks in and tries to steal them. It was really only the food that was visible, which...usually...wasn’t very much.

The last tunnel led to—what Radar likes to call—the Empty Chamber. Seriously. It’s empty. Nothing to see there. At all. Why are you still even reading about the Empty Chamber, just go to the next paragraph, skip this part. It’s the same size as the Bed Chamber, but with nothing in it. It’s essentially empty. Not even essentially, it just...is empty. Stop reading this part. Why are you still reading it? Do you have nothing better to do? Is the next paragraph down not good enough for you? Why do you want to read about an empty chamber? There’s literally nothing there. At all. No plot relevance whatsoever.

“The weather looks really nice and warm...” Yigo said. “I can't think of a better time to head to the forest and get some more food.” Right, foraging. Yigo didn’t have much Poké, so he couldn’t buy a lot of food. So, Yigo and Radar went searching for food so much that it basically became routine for the Dark-Flying Type. Though this is the exact reason why Radar stole things; to sell them and give Yigo the Poké. That, and...it was pretty fun. “How does that sound, friend?”

It sounds like the usual routine. “Sounds great.” Radar replied, moving to a wall of the burrow and placing his bag down, making sure it was still completely shut. Yigo said Radar's treasures were his own, but Radar was still going to sell his ‘treasures’ to get Yigo Poké. He needed it more than Radar did. Radar’d just hold on to the orbs for the time being, and he'd try and sell them tonight or tomorrow morning. “Which forest?” Radar asked. There were two forests just outside of Grassveil Town...Pecha Forest And Shadowhue Forest—name sounds quite ominous—were both places where Radar and Yigo could go forage for food. Admittedly, Radar was kind of hoping for Pecha Forest as he'd only been in Shadowhue...twice? Maybe? Pecha Forest was what he knew, and where he felt most comfortable.

Either way, Radar just got back from a forest, and was already going back to one again. Hey, maybe he'd see that Eevee—Li—again...that would be a nice surprise.

Radar might have preferred Pecha Forest as his destination, in complete opposition to Yigo's preferences. The Sandshrew had been there many times and he had hardly ended up well due to the many grass types living there. Either he ended up fainting, bruised or poisoned. To him, the decision was clear.

"Let's go to Shadowhue! Pecha must be very crowded today. Besides, darkness has never been an issue for us, right? And even if we get into trouble... bugs fight worse than plants. Looks like there is no competition at all, uh?" Yigo remarked with quite some optimism, nuzzle tilting up and chest puffed out. He dropped the act after a moment with a giggle "I just need a moment to grab my belt and bag and we are set to go"

As he said that, he turned around and walked on all fours towards the tunnel that lead to the Storage Chamber. He had to squeeze through to the chamber before managing to stand inside. There was still some food there but it would last Radar and himself a single day. Quite hidden for those eyes only interested in the food, there was a piece of leather with a satchel hanging from one of the sides. The satchel seemed small at first glance but it could roughly hold up to six items inside. Moreover, it was already holding an item, one that was the most precious for the small ground type. A trump card in case there was the need of one.

Holding the belt with his mouth, Yigo returned to the Main Chamber and finished gearing up for this mission by wearing the belt around his hip. How he did that was befitting of a Pokemon capable of curling around himself and without fingers. Not like Radar had any to help anyway. He held both ends to the sides of his hip and got onto his back. His mouth took one end of the belt, the one with the ring and buckle, while his claws could get to the other end and 'thread the needle'. Simple and clean.

"Ready to head out!" He exclaimed excitedly. How he has missed the better weather of the region. Perhaps it was a nice time to relax and hang out with his friend carelessly "Y'know, I was thinking that after this... we could do something fun and special. We'll see!"

“Let's go to Shadowhue!” Well...guess Radar won't be going somewhere familiar. Sh*t... “Pecha must be very crowded today. Besides, darkness has never been an issue for us, right?” Yigo explained, but Radar still kind of wished it could be Pecha Forest. It was a nice place to be, and, after some peace and quiet, Radar might actually like it a bit more than he originally had. He really wanted to go to Pecha. “And even if we get into trouble... bugs fight worse than plants.” True...even though Radar had no issue with either of those types... “Looks like there is no competition at all, uh?” Well, there was. Pecha Forest had plenty of berries—it was actually kind of known for that—and there were usually really friendly Pokémon there who would help. Some of the two most notable Pokémon were a certain Cranidos and Growlithe.

That, and Radar felt a lot more comfortable there. He knew Pecha Forest.

And it wasn’t super dark...sure, the dark never bothered him, but it was still nice to have some light.

Yigo was just standing there, though, with his chest puffed out and his muzzle up. He really wanted to go to Shadowhue, didn’t he...? It wouldn’t be that bad to go there, just...going to the creepy, spooky forest that Radar didn’t know his way around at all...no problem. Actually, big problem, Radar really didn’t want to go. But...seeing Yigo really want to go...Radar'd just have to tough it out. Shadowhue wasn’t so bad, just...scary. Really scary. Yigo then returned to normal, stopping his whole ‘tough mon’ act as Radar assumed it was, giggling. “I just need a moment to grab my belt and bag and we are set to go.”

And just like that, Yigo was off, walking on all fours to the Storage Chamber. Radar didn’t even really get a chance to protest the decision as Yigo was just off to go get his belt. Yes, belt. This Sandshrew owned a belt. There is nothing odd about that at all in this day and age.

It took a short moment for Yigo to come back, carrying a piece of leather—with a satchel hanging from the side—in his mouth. First, he held both ends of the belt to the sides of his hip. Then, getting onto his back, his mouth took the end of the belt with a ring and buckle on it. He used his claws to get to the other end with no ring and buckle, and used them to move that end of the belt through the other end. It’s a little confusing to describe, but kinda fun to watch. Yigo could curl into himself, so he did just that to put on the belt. Apparently it was called ‘threading the needle’. “Ready to head out!” He exclaimed, excited, back on all fours. “Y'know, I was thinking that after this... we could do something fun and special.” Wait, really?! They'd finally be able to do something again?! Just them?! Was it Because the snow was gone? “We'll see!”

Oh, Radar really wanted to do something fun with Yigo, it just being the two of them. Why Radar left the burrow so much and so frequently in the mornings when Yigo was asleep because he was bored, and he wanted something to do. He did miss Yigo, though...doing something isn’t really the same when you’re not doing it with one of your closest—and only—friends ever! Yigo had always stayed inside the burrow—only coming out to forage—because of the snow, and the cold, and Radar was getting stir-crazy just being cooped up inside underground all day. “Please!” Radar blurted out, a little bit desperate for something to do with Yigo. “Please, can we? Can we!?” He was smiling, excited, for the first time in a long while he was actually acting like an excited, happy child.

Yigo seemed to just...bring out that side of him. That happy, friendly, excited side, like everything was great. Like he had a normal childhood, a happy one. Radar started rubbing his wings together, shifting around on his talons, getting a bit antsy just thinking about going out and doing something with Yigo. “I’ve low-key hella wanted to do something with you for a while!” The smile on Radar was ginormous, absolutely raring to go outside and get foraging out of the way so it could just be Yigo and Radar Fun Time! “Let's go!” He cheered, flying straight to the entrance of the burrow and zooming out as fast as he could, now currently beyond excited. “Hurry, I’ll race you there!” He called back to Yigo from outside, flying back to Grassveil Town's gates. He was ready to forage, and he'd forage so quickly him and Yigo would have the entire rest of the day together!

This...

Was...

Great!

Now he just needed to remember where Shadowhue Forest was exactly...

"I really want to have as much playing time as I can so... let's gather food fast!" He answered to Radar's plea "I've been wanting to play together as well, haha!" Now they were both eager to be done with the chore that was foraging. Radar came out of the burrow quite fast!

Yigo followed suit, diving into the exit tunnel like if it was a pile of hay before squeezing back to the surface. Once outside, he got on all fours like usual and shook his body a little before raising his ears and looking at the sky. It was not... as early as he expected. His expression was one of a curious 'mon, staring up with his mouth somewhat open in an 'o' shape "I think I may have overslept today!" he said with a giggle right before being challenged by the dark bird "A race, uh?" It felt so unfair from the outset as Radar had the ability to fly. Nevertheless... did it matter? At all? "You ain't leaving me behind that easily! Let's go!"

Using the emotional impulse of that last word, Yigo surged forward towards the woods. His burrow was located close to the one called 'Festivity Forest' while the next, closest forest was Pecha Forest. He had just so happened to choose the area that was on the opposite side of the town, a detail that Radar seemed to have already caught on as he saw him fly towards the gates of that peaceful town. But as he promised, he was not going to give up all that easily, running as fast as he could below the bird's shadow. Going through the town's roads might be a bit troublesome if it's crowded and, at this time of the day it might be. Let's hope Yigo's dodging skills have improved...