Pokémon: Ad Astra Abyssosque

| TEN

MEA LIBERTAS MEUS CANOR

. . .

AFTER a quick, light breakfast, Ash, Pikachu, Ophelia, and her Pokémon took the road to their destination. Falcon Coast.

"Bye, uncle! See you later!" Ophelia bid her goodbyes, very loudly. She walked backwards as she screamed words of reassurance. Ash had taken the liberty to stop her from tripping every now and then. The both of them were all set for the day; snacks, P.A.I.M.O.N, a map, extra clothes, money, and a lucky keychain were stored inside their bags. Ophelia brought a red and brown backpack, Ash with a small black sling bag.

Unfortunately, Diluc had more pressing matters to attend to, leaving the two on their own. "Take care!" He shouted back. "And don't break anything!"

"I won't! We won't!" They were nearing the path back to Springvale, so her shouts got louder and louder each step. "We'll behave! Promise!!" Diluc said nothing more and just gave her a nod. Ophelia had turned her heels and joined Ash and Pikachu on the road.

With the redhead humming a soft tune, they reached Springvale in record time, making up for lost minutes with her long goodbye. "I wonder where Dio is..." Ophelia wondered, twisting her head in hopes to spot the shiny.

"Diona the Delcatty? I met her yesterday, kind of, she was hissing at Venti and her trainer." He recalled the cat-like Pokémon's aggressiveness towards the two.

"Oh, that's because she absolutely despises  wine, or anything with alcohol in general. Venti and Draff are popular drinkers around here and she's got a bone to pick with them both. Kinda ironic considering how Draff's literally her Pokémon Trainer." She explained. "And with my uncle as the main distributor of alcohol, she kinda has stored up anger on my family too, uncle Kaeya more so. But despite that, she at least lets me pet her." She turned her head up on the windmill. "And I had hoped to get one scratch today..." They reached the lakeside but no Delcatty in sight.

'Guess, I'll just pet her next time' Ophelia thought as they continued their walk.

Perhaps it was because of his hungry stomach that Ash didn't notice the abundance of Pokémon on, and at the side of the road. Bug types were nestling by the apple trees, he saw a mother Mightyena teaching her young to hunt, and a boar-like Pokémon eating grass a bit far from them. Some small Pokémon could be seen playing where they were vulnerable but didn't care about the passersby, some even greeted them both which the three merrily returned.

'Truly different from what I'm used to, I'd say' He thought. Normally they'd hide from trainers and battle for freedom, or in some cases to see if the trainer is worth it.

'Perhaps this was the "Freedom" Diluc talked about earlier?' He knew throwing Pokéballs at the creatures was considered a crime, but he just couldn't believe how carefree they were, trusting people wholly and eventually joining them without force.

His joyful thoughts continued even as they reached the huge oak tree. "Ah, Vennessa's tree." Ophelia drawled out. "How I missed climbing your branches." She reminisced, walking close to its trunk and feeling the wood. Ash didn't stop walking but took his time to say hello to the freed Pokémon from yesterday. Pikachu had already jumped off his perch and ran to his new friends.